Sunday, November 28, 2010

Faith


Faith.

To have faith in God seems to come naturally,

However, when you stop and meditate on this it will only take just a little while to realise how extraordinary this faith is.

I wonder whether it’s not our faith that is at the centre of our belief structure; rather it is the Faith that God imparts to us, a faith that brings hope and peace in the knowledge of God.

Where is my faith?

I have chosen to have faith in a gracious God. I have chosen to believe that God is loving, for he is love, he is merciful for he is mercy, he is accepting for he is acceptance.

Moreover I have chosen to have faith in His work on my behalf, that there is nothing I can do to bring myself into his love, that there is nothing I can do to earn his acceptance, that I am loved, graced and forgiven because of his love for me and not my love for him.

Once upon a time I struggled and strived to have faith, to grow my faith, to strengthen my faith. I tried with all my might to journey alone across the chasm between earth and heaven. I failed. I felt great sorrow, I silently condemned myself. Then, like the dawn of a fresh new day I saw it for what it was. There is nothing I can do to achieve God’s love, my glorious privilege, our glorious privilege is to receive. All my life I had been struggling to achieve what I had already received and as my faith grew in who God is and what he has already done in his love, I was able to leave behind my sad and painful journey and, held and affirmed by his faithfulness, be carried along by his hands of grace.

Faith.

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Love



Love declares this symphony of grace,

Mercy pleads the eternal truth

That holds all creation in awestruck wonder:

The God who comes to us,

unbidden.

The God who loves us as we are,

unconditionally

regardless of our actions,

our history,

our shame,

our disgrace

our faithlessness.

A God who refuses to turn away from you, from me,

even when pierced by our self righteous nails,

Death could not separate love from his goal.

Could it ever be possible that we could discard our strivings,

leaving behind our religious works and false piety

and simply receive this divine gift ;

love.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Receiving




One transcendent moment,
an awakening
an awareness
a beauty
that is far beyond normal reality.
a gift
that is given
without reason,
rhyme or song.
where heaven
stoops
and embraces
our fears
and our failures
with
mercy,
forgiveness,
grace
and love.

and the glorious revelation?
we have nothing to offer,
nothing to sing
nothing to say.
with empty hands
and hollow hearts
we have only one
part to play.

we receive.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

More than we could ever ask or think.



Surely, loving a 'deity' comes naturally to almost every soul. We all seek spiritual comfort, and soul peace. Throughout the ages mankind has sought a relationship with the divine. However, the Christmas and Easter stories show us "divinity" in an entirely different light. Christmas shows us a God who goes to the most extraordinary lengths to establish a relationship with mankind. Jesus is "God coming to us". He turns the tables on our seeking. We become the "sought after".
Easter shows us a greater miracle. God forgives the unforgivable. He refuses to respond to every action and deed that mankind inflicted upon him and chooses simply to respond to his own love for mankind by forgiving and gracing us beyond measure.
We spend so much time telling ourselves through our songs, prayers, services and promises how much we love God and all that we will do for him. The miracle of grace lies not in our own actions and love for God, but rather His love and actions for all of us broken, frail and failed recipients of grace.

Friday, November 19, 2010



The memories that haunt me,
the thoughts that remain,
the past and the darkness
must be washed away,
to look to the future,
to turn from the night,
to rise with the dawning
to dance in the light.

Sometimes I am fearful
and faith runs away.
Sometimes I am weary
with nothing to pray.
Anxious and lonely,
scared and alone
I long for the sunlight
to flood these dark days.

Oh Light,
Oh peace,
You come and fill these days
Oh love,
Oh grace
You come and fill this life.

The past is behind me,
it's buried and gone.
I turn to the sunlight
to carry me on
The future it calls me,
I wish to be whole
to live in the daylight
with peace in my soul.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Oh grace.



Let the light shine
until our eyes are blinded by the light.
Let your mercy fall,
our hearts bursting with love.
and grace,
grace for you, grace for me,
grace for us all,
grace, shouted and sung
till our voices can scarcely speak
caught in
awestruck
wonder.
Oh, if we could be
completely overwhelmed
from every shortcoming,
from every pain
and every shame
for all this is covered by
grace
mercy and love.

For we battle with our flaws,
our weaknesses betray us
we struggle with the light
constantly shaking ourselves free,
to rise above lives
that often feel out of control
and reckless.
What a mystery is this,
the promise of freedom
to the chains and shackles.
Grace wrestles with us all.
with our hearts and voices.
our tomorrows shaped
by what we cannot understand
or fully grasp.
Grace.

Monday, November 15, 2010



quiet my soul,
peace, my heart,
still my thoughts
pause and rest.
gentle lies the light
on the truth that is seen
wait and be patient
take time to be free.
walk, footsteps softly
hold, don't restrain
love with abundance
speak mercy and grace.
quiet my soul
peace my heart
hear heaven's rhythm,
sing angel's song.

may the day find you with eyes open
like a child let loose to play.

quiet my soul
peace my heart.

a meditation

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Doubts


Faith means we have doubts.
If we didn't have doubts we wouldn't need faith.
That's the beautiful truth,
we are accepted in our weaknesses
not by our strengths

Help me to see.


If I open my eyes,
I could see,
seeing calls me to be responsible
and being responsible calls me to be a worshipper.
Being a worshipper calls me to care.
In caring I could be the answer
to someone's prayer.
Before another word leaves my lips,
Oh Lord help me to see.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010



Sometimes the night
overtakes the day
as if morning
has surrendered it's sun.
Sometimes a grey mist
obscures the dawn
the light
struggling and forlorn.
Sometimes our hearts
flawed and failed
are restless
anxious,
dark,
our thoughts
submerged
in weakness
and fear
hopeless, helpless.
lost.
sometimes what is known,
what is precious and dear
takes it's time
to sing and dance.

And sometimes
the dawn,
the light,
and peace
returns
once again
with
joy.

Sometimes I forget
I fail to see,
whilst a captive
I am free.

Monday, November 08, 2010

Faith



I wish I had 'fact'.
infallible,
confident,
practiced,
perfect.
However,
I am unsure,
my mind struggles
my heart wavers,
I am imperfect
and fallible.
Dear God,
help me have 'faith',
so I can be human,
and flawed,
yet loved
and
adored.

Saturday, November 06, 2010

Road Map


Go to Google maps.
2. Go to "Get Directions."
3. Type Japan as the start location.
4. Type China as the end location.
5. Go to direction #43. 6.
Laugh, and repost... :)

Friday, November 05, 2010

You Cover me




You Cover Me.

When all is lost
and fears have won,
you cover me
you cover me.
when darkness strikes
and light grows dim
you cover me
you cover me.

and in the midst
of my troubled seas
where storms may rage
overwhelming me

you cover me
you cover me
oh my Lord
you cover me.

when I am lost
love's light has come
you cover me
you cover me
the darkest life
love flooding in
you cover me
you cover me.

and in the midst
of my troubled seas
where storms may rage
overwhelming me

you cover me,
you cover me
oh my Lord
you cover me

Thursday, November 04, 2010

I pray


I pray that the Jesus who inspires me is the Jesus who enlivens me.

I pray that I am not 'word" dependant, debating and disputing..

I pray that I am always caught at the foot of the cross

horrified by my own religious actions

astounded by forgiveness and grace.

Monday, November 01, 2010

Can you hear?


I can hear the world outside,
the windows are open
and the day has begun it's endless, restless chatter.
A dog, barking alone
yowling cats
the sprinkle of rain
on the tin,
traffic,
the groan of buses,
trucks and cars.
the wind,
the trees,
birds,
life with it's sounds
and it's noise.

inside?
inside there is peace,
stillness
even when I hear my own familiar voice,
nattering away.
Inside?
my heart is quiet,
rest
and home.

I am graced.
I am loved.
I am under the deluge
of an extraordinary gift.
Wrapped in flesh,
he appeared,
unannounced ,
almost entirely unrecognisable.
Laughing,
smiling,
bleeding,
dying.