Relentless
Powerful
Uninhibited
Purposeful
Your waters flow
To fall in I would be carried away in Your current.
To fight would be a losing battle.
To acquiesce
To surrender
would be to go with Your flow
Not mine
To be carried away is to end up,
somewhere.
You know
So here I go,
I want jump in.
Creation
More
I gaze at the glass-like beauty as it,
Reflects it’s surroundings
Hosts the song of birds
Teams with life unseen
Yet,
It is just a glimpse.
There is so much More that I haven’t experienced – More to be known.
I can’t take it all in with a single gaze.
But I know there’s More,
and I want it.
I want to gaze at Your full beauty.
I want more than what I know now.
This world reveals Your handiwork now,
and I praise You.
But it is not enough.
I know there is More
and I want More,
More of You.
The Director’s Chorus
The chorus of creation makes the most beautiful music
under the direction of
the Director;
perfect music for a weary soul.
I sit down and the concert begins;
shielding me from the noise out there,
giving peace to my noisy heart.
I sigh a happy smile,
and enjoy.
The Director leads the way,
cueing every sound.
Soon I’m lost in perfect harmonies,
the world out there is forgotten.
But soon a person jogs by
and startles me away from the creation chorus,
my heart races,
but I quickly reengage the concert.
Again I am lost,
and my heart is calm.
Birds sing their melodies.
The wind adds its part.
The trees applaud with joy.
The flow of the river keeps everything together.
The Director’s composition is perfect.
Nothing did He miss.
As I stand to reenter the world;
I applaud, praising the Director.
I am ready now,
ready to reenter the world,
with a heart that is at peace.
Creation Chorus
As the morning sun rises above the horizon, shining it’s life-giving light for the world to see, may my rising this morning shine the glory of your love and grace.
As the birds sing their beautiful song, filling the air with joy and peace, may I sing Your praises of joy and peace that comes only through Jesus my Lord.
As the flowers open to receive the sun’s light, soaking up every ray, may my heart be open to receive Your Word, soaking up every promise.
As Your creation is faithful in returning praise to You, may I not cease to worship You and thus be put to shame by the rocks crying out.
And so, as this new day begins, fill me with Your Spirit that I may join the creation chorus as we joyously sing Your praise in beautiful harmony.
To You be the glory, oh God, this day and always.
Amen.
The Path
Creator God, awesome and mighty,
You burst forth in the morning,
holding nothing back.
You make a grand entrance,
announcing Your presence.
Oh Lord, there You are.
But how, oh Lord, can anyone possibly say this isn’t from You? How could they even think such things?
I am perplexed by that thought.
For there is nothing random here. Only Your masterful hand lovely painting every stroke of color; each one planned and purposefully presented that all glory may be Yours.
Every hue.
Every ray of light.
Every beautiful detail.
Everything! – emanates from You.
Oh Lord my God, You blessed me this morning with this beautiful tapestry; for to see it was a pathway to Your glory – knowing that something even greater than this awaits me because of Jesus.
Oh God, I am in awe.
Wow!
Thank You for this morning artwork, but even more than that, thank You for this path to remember Your grace through Jesus Christ. I can hardly wait to see what awaits me.
To You be all glory, honor, praise and worship, through Christ Jesus my Lord.
Amen.
The Lake
Peaceful and quiet,
your waters are serene.
Gentle and tranquil,
Oh, how I love this scene.
The sun’s rising slow.
The colors of the morn.
You help set the stage.
This day will be adorned.
The loons sing their song.
My children laugh and play.
The sounds of the lake,
I could listen all day.
Time is so slow here,
Just inching right along.
Oh so refreshing,
I wish I could prolong.
But sadly we’ll leave,
And have to say goodbye.
God, thanks for this lake,
Its You I glorify.
The Mountain
Living in a beautiful valley in Western Washington, Mt Rainier (or as locals call her, “The Mountain”) seemingly stands guard over us like a sentinel. The beauty of this mountain, though, seems to hide the fact that our old girl is an active volcano. It’s beauty is intoxicating and never gets old. Maybe that is why we sometimes forget her potential explosive side. Whatever the case, it’s this masterpiece of creation, shrouded in mystery, that has inspired the following…
Majestic in beauty,
Masked in mystery,
Seemingly docile,
But you are oh so not.
Taken for granted as people live unawares.
Enjoyed and photographed,
People standing in awe.
Your presence so imposing,
Your potential almost ignored,
You stand over our valley,
Seemingly on guard.
I know that you are there,
Yet I never tire of the scene,
Your radiance is ever changing,
Always taking my breath away.
I could stare at you for hours,
And never get bored,
Your artistic beauty is always there,
Your splendor pointing me to God the Creator.
You seem larger than life,
But I know that is not true,
For God Almighty is bigger still,
Whose majesty is unmatched.
And so I stare and stare and stare some more,
Gazing at you,
You are so beautiful,
Reminding me that God my Father is more.
Breathtaking
God is oh so…
amazing
awesome
creative
majestic
artistic
awesome (did I say that already?)
Awe-inspiring
And a host of other adjectives.
To look at this scene; this artwork, and say this is just a random event is to live a life with blinders on. A sad life, really; going through life in black and white without the wonder and majesty of our Creator God. This is not random but purposefully crafted for our enjoyment but more importantly to the glory of God. People have complimented me on this photo, but really, how I can (or anyone for that matter) take credit for a beautiful photo like this. I mean, this scene was and is there. I just happened to be there to capture it on some digital media. This is God’s masterpiece, painted on His canvas and with His mighty hand.
And this is just the tip of the iceberg. God’s masterpieces are all around you. Stop and smell the roses (or look at the mountains) and give God the glory.
Holy and awesome God, Your mighty hand is powerful and gentle. It can shake and rend the heavens and the earth and it can cradle a new-born life. Your hand can also craft a scene that can take our breath away; drawing our attention to You. Oh God, what can be known about You is indeed evident in creation. May we never be so busy as to miss Your majesty all around. Thank you for taking my breath away with such beauty. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
Oh Wow…
There is no way this is a random act of the universe. This has our Creator God written all over it…
Mount Rainier from Puyallup, WA
Wow…oh wow!
The Pastor -|—
Men, Enough is Enough
The following is my latest article in the Tacoma News Tribune, published on Saturday, Nov 18…
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. [Genesis 1:27]
Please indulge me as I go on a little rant. Ever since accusations of sexual misconduct began to surface involving Hollywood producer, Harvey Weinstein, accusations from various other women have surfaced left and right. You can’t login onto social media or turn on the news without hearing about someone else coming forward. Don’t get me wrong, I am not blaming these women, but rather I am embarrassed for men in general. This is not right and we, men, need to step up and do something. We need to say something and raise the bar for the next generation. There is something definitely missing in people to cause them to think that it is okay to treat people as just sexual objects to satisfy one’s own desires. I am not saying I am a model man; “Look at me and see perfection”, but something needs to change in this culture. Something has to give.
Treating people as something less than what God created them to be is a sin. God created men AND women in His own image; both equally precious in His sight. Men and women are both equally loved and loveable. They are created for a purpose but not for the purpose of being abused or harassed or treated as an object. I imagine God, the Father, being saddened to see His daughters (women) treated like this. For men to treat women like an object is to disobey the creational purpose of God. God created men and women and then brought them together in marriage. Through marriage, God is putting the relationship of Christ (bridegroom) and the Church (bride) on display. Ephesians 5 says, Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
Sexual abuse and harassment of women is so contrary to God’s purpose for men and women. Godly men ought to be angered and offended to see and hear other men acting so immature and irresponsibly. Godly men need to stand up and say, “No more!” Godly men need to be shaken to the core and be determined, more than ever, to be godly examples to our sons and to the rest of this world. Godly men need to teach our daughters what it looks like to be treated with respect. Godly men need to take the reins and write a new narrative for our culture; that harassment and abuse of women is no longer welcomed. Men, let’s be the men God created us to be and glorify God through our example. Let’s take back our godly roles.
Rant done. All praise be to God. Amen.
The (feisty) Pastor -|—
The Heart of a Pastor 