I searched for you, LORD, in government halls.
Hoping laws would bring you to me.
But the laws were hollow, empty and bare.
Your love I just could not see.
I searched those who claimed only they know your way.
All other voices, they claimed, kept you away.
But the only voice they heard was their own, not yours.
Through them you had nothing to say.
I searched through Facebook, through Memes and posts.
I liked till my finger was sore.
Still your truth eluded my grasp.
And I knew that there must be more.
When all else had left me empty,
And life a disappointing defeat,
Your love came through, for while looking for you,
You were lovingly looking for me.
I trust nothing else to bring me to you.
Put nothing else first in my heart.
I give you my life, my soul, my all.
That's the only place I can start.
MDM 10/20/2016
Thursday, October 20, 2016
Thursday, October 6, 2016
One In The Spirit
"We are already one. but we imagine that we are not. And what we have to recover is our original unity. What we have to be is what we are."
- Thomas Merton "The Hidden Ground of Love"
In a society so desperately seeking "inclusion", we are more diverse than ever before. We fight for our rights to individual identity and purpose, then fight again when that individualism keep us from being "included", treated like others. It's even reflected in our churches, where we claim to be the one body of Christ, but each part claiming "they're the real one"! According to a study by the Gordon-Caldwell Theological Seminary, there are approximately 41,000 different Christian denominations and organizations in the world. That seems like a lot of nit-picking to me, about something that should be simple, plain and true.
God, He is the one true God.
Jesus, His Son, came and died and lived again that we would be reconciled to God.
The Holy Spirit, He is comforter and guide to lead us to God's truth.
And somehow, beautifully, mystically, those three are one.
I'm not disagreeing on those divisions that exist are needed. Each one reaches out to someone else, someone who could only be reached by that particular light and way of reasoning. Our problem occurs when we begin to think our way is the "best" way. That we have a bit of an edge on someone else. And there lies the fatal flaw. It is NEVER "our" way. It is GOD'S way. His only. All any of us can ever do in this life is look through a dark mirror at Him. What we see, or think we see, is dim compared to what God truly intends for us, and absolutely dark compared to the light of who He truly is.
The time has come for the body of Christ to consider itself just that, HIS body. Of which HE, not us, is the head. We get so offended by the little pinpricks of inconvenience in America that come upon us, while others in other countries serve Him with the giving of their lives. We must stop worrying about what we consider as slights to the rights we think we should have, and begin to think of ourselves as servants, together, of the very ones that hurt us. Our hate, our indignation, will do absolutely nothing but fan flames of more hate. We must be servants, just as Christ was a servant. We must love, even as He loved.
We, His body, must stand together, but not in Our strength, we have none. Not in Our superiority, for all have sinned. The strength that will see us through is dependence on Him alone, not ourselves. His guidance, not ours. His love, encompassing all, and reaching out to all, not the noisy sounds we make by ourselves. A different kind of inclusive...In the world, not of it. Not to force others into submission, but to draw them in by Our submission to Him. Not to draw them into ourselves, but into Him. Then there is unity. Then there is a power greater than any the earth can raise against us. Then He is glorified. Then we are His body, His bride, His church.
We are one in the Spirit, We are one in the LORD
We are one in the Spirit, We are one in the LORD
And we pray that all unity, will one day be restored
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
And they'll know we are Christians by our love.
- Thomas Merton "The Hidden Ground of Love"
In a society so desperately seeking "inclusion", we are more diverse than ever before. We fight for our rights to individual identity and purpose, then fight again when that individualism keep us from being "included", treated like others. It's even reflected in our churches, where we claim to be the one body of Christ, but each part claiming "they're the real one"! According to a study by the Gordon-Caldwell Theological Seminary, there are approximately 41,000 different Christian denominations and organizations in the world. That seems like a lot of nit-picking to me, about something that should be simple, plain and true.
God, He is the one true God.
Jesus, His Son, came and died and lived again that we would be reconciled to God.
The Holy Spirit, He is comforter and guide to lead us to God's truth.
And somehow, beautifully, mystically, those three are one.
I'm not disagreeing on those divisions that exist are needed. Each one reaches out to someone else, someone who could only be reached by that particular light and way of reasoning. Our problem occurs when we begin to think our way is the "best" way. That we have a bit of an edge on someone else. And there lies the fatal flaw. It is NEVER "our" way. It is GOD'S way. His only. All any of us can ever do in this life is look through a dark mirror at Him. What we see, or think we see, is dim compared to what God truly intends for us, and absolutely dark compared to the light of who He truly is.
The time has come for the body of Christ to consider itself just that, HIS body. Of which HE, not us, is the head. We get so offended by the little pinpricks of inconvenience in America that come upon us, while others in other countries serve Him with the giving of their lives. We must stop worrying about what we consider as slights to the rights we think we should have, and begin to think of ourselves as servants, together, of the very ones that hurt us. Our hate, our indignation, will do absolutely nothing but fan flames of more hate. We must be servants, just as Christ was a servant. We must love, even as He loved.
We, His body, must stand together, but not in Our strength, we have none. Not in Our superiority, for all have sinned. The strength that will see us through is dependence on Him alone, not ourselves. His guidance, not ours. His love, encompassing all, and reaching out to all, not the noisy sounds we make by ourselves. A different kind of inclusive...In the world, not of it. Not to force others into submission, but to draw them in by Our submission to Him. Not to draw them into ourselves, but into Him. Then there is unity. Then there is a power greater than any the earth can raise against us. Then He is glorified. Then we are His body, His bride, His church.
We are one in the Spirit, We are one in the LORD
We are one in the Spirit, We are one in the LORD
And we pray that all unity, will one day be restored
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
And they'll know we are Christians by our love.
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