Live fast, die young, leave your corpse looking good

Selfies on mountains will show where I stood

I knelt down and prayed with the lowly,

In every way striving to be holy.

Attending church weekly to pray and sing,

Failing at nothing, except everything.

Lord have mercy on me, a sinner;

Thought I was expert, but alas, beginner.

Poor relationships with family and friends

Hating the means, but loving the ends.

While I cannot see beyond my next breath,

Samuel Rutherford focused on death–

Grant me the grace to emulate the godly

Fervent in prayer, and faithful in body:

May my body reflect what my heart knows,

And remain standing despite the world’s blows.

Paul said he ran the raced and finished the course;

God saw his heart, not the strength of his horse.

The humble reside in lowly places,

Standing in gaps and filling in spaces,

Interceding on behalf of the brothers,

These women here are my sisters and mothers.

Forgive me Father for the wrong I’ve done;

Let not false teachers block views of the Son,

And may I not stop what the Spirit’s begun.

Some need encouraged in their daily grind,

But weaker souls know nothing of the kind.

Labor is home in a physical sense,

Applying a trade with just recompense.

This type, only, knows themselves to the bone —

Their good when gathered, their faults when alone.

They are able to grow by having root;

Trajectories matter, specifics moot.

But not all share this joy of weary hands,

Life happening while making other plans.

Where do they turn for help, these honest men?

Who know their faults and work despite their sin?

Who let not laziness enter their head,

And toil that they may eat their daily bread?

There are several options for this lot —

Some men were taught the wise, and some forgot.

Perhaps it was not drilled into their mind,

Their elders choosing rather to be kind.

These notions plague those who still assemble,

And the field — the church should more resemble.

Diligence in life, in heart, and doctrine

Sadly, do not come together often.

Perhaps this is what keeps tradesmen away,

And not so much that they have gone astray.

Perhaps if there were men like them in charge,

Whose heart was open, and duties discharged,

Then these guys would come back into the fold,

For we have the keys, not them (we are told).

Wrapped in linen, our mummified Savior
Entered the depths, a weary thief in tow;
“Look to this One, and not my behavior,”
His cry is ours; we are that thief also.

To be our guide, underneath Hades, death,
Our captain led the way for me and you;
Came out the other side, and took a breath,
And turned around to pull his brother through.

Now we, with Christ, inhale this sacred air;
Eternal living, bought for all to share.

To listen, and to learn, without learning,
Regurgitating pearls as everyone sits;
To read, and sing, and pray without yearning,
Is one who looks in a mirror and forgets.

Chatting and gabbing, waxing thick and thin,
Displaying knowledge known to only some;
Picking it up where lesser talkers end,
To lead the charge, and beat the weary drum.

Yap, yap, yap, we have done enough talking,
Empty the streets created for walking.

The finished product, however finished
Telling the tale of author, creator,
Over a lifetime, the later diminish,
Lesser projects submit to the greater.

Simple to beauty, sanctifying shifts,
When he ascended, Christ doled out the gifts.

For here we are, observing from below,
Our Brother hangs between heaven and earth;
Why God has forsaken, we fail to know,
And why this death? O Mary, why this birth?

Thank you, God, for denying us insight-
We could not handle such information;
We grope in darkness, fearing only light,
Our joy is gone, our life, and our station.

Light of the world, a city on a hill;
We mourn this night our King, Messiah still.

Rather than outward, looking for a gift;

Speaking, rather than looking for a word,

Pernicious tendency, this selfish drift.

Such introspection leaves all hope behind,

Pursuing me, sacrificing all else;

Unsurprising was all, I came to find,

This humdrum path of discovering self.

The answer lies outward, over, above,

Where every other man is my better;

This wondrous world just waiting to be loved-

As am I, this highly-beloved debtor.

This inner self cannot cease offending,

But this world, this gift, this life unending.

“You can’t take it with you”, the preacher said;

Speaking, of course, about my daily bread.

“Where are you investing time and mammon?”

“And where will your soul be in time of famine?”

I didn’t know how to answer this man,

Or what to think, what or what not to plan:

Am I supposed to have zero wealth?

The prospect is dismal (the straw man’s myself).

But setting aside my over-lazy mind,

I forgot about it, lied down to unwind.

Well, this righteous sentiment kept,

And remained with me after I had slept.

But rather than applying it at once,

I saw it working through the weeks and months.

“Step aside and let God’s Word have His sway,

For He will conquer the world anyway.”

Such a One is near the broken-hearted,

And widows and their mites are soon parted.

Coming from mountains, rolling into seas,
Gathering, filling, moving down the track;
Rampaging, easing, slowing to a freeze,
The winter solstice with its thermal lack.

Wanting to live, and grow, and thrive, and breed,
Life-giving fluid slows along the bank;
Beasts coming down to swim, and bathe, and feed,
Gentler creatures remember where they drank.

Rain splashing down, a river, creeks will find,
Violence of water soothes an anxious mind.

Poor in spirit, yet Possessor of all,

Bestow on me divine contradiction;

And surely bid me hear You when You call;

“Here I am, Lord, send me on a mission.”

Regard not my lack, think not on my dearth;

Accomplish Your task, point me toward the west,

To a new Eden, indeed a new Earth,

My lips are unclean, same with all the rest.

And yet You use the lips of unskilled men,

To preach, exhort, and bring us to our knees,

To call us back and teach us once again,

The foolish lips of Paul and Sosthenes.

And fools for Christ, we all with one accord,

And bated breath, sing ever to our Lord.

Prayer

Effectual, fervent prayers availeth much,

Thy kingdom coming down in time and space;

Earth enlivened by a heavenly touch,

Men becoming one, the heavenly race.

Prayers for unity, holiness, the rest:

Seeking the Lord while yet He may be found;

My lips unclean, my fist upon my breast,

Think on me, Lord, and spit upon the ground;

Heal my blind eyes, deaf ears, and stony heart,

That I may walk before You in the light;

Mend together what You’ve taken apart,

That which is bent, make to stand aright.

All this my prayer, amen, let it be so,

But naught will happen if I don’t let go.

Men Convicted

Men convicted have two legs and know it,

Hind quarters fixed, and ever at alert;

Not excited, not so much to show it,

Stable for the long, not so much the spurt.

Aware of where he stands, and how, and why,

Comfort remains when travelling he goes;

Step after step, now walking to defy,

And wage the battle from within the throes.

For life is war, to conquer and subdue,

Starting within, rebellious spirit;

Once tamed, love and kindness flow through;

Gentleness speaks, for those who can hear it.

Wandering sojourner, free and constrained;

Victorious pedestrian, unstained.