Monthly Archives: January 2020

Spiritfire Proverbs 21:16, “One Who Strays”

“A man who strays from the path of understanding
     comes to rest in the company of the dead.”
 
Recently, my family read a kids version of Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan as retold by Gary D. Schmidt & illustrated by Barry Moser.  It helped my kids to better understand the ‘path’ and why anyone would stray from it.  First, we spoke of the “Path of Understanding” as that of the discernment between right and wrong.  When I asked my kids what they thought could be a reason why someone would stray from it, we talked it over and flushed out a few: “Distractions”, “disobedience”, and “following the crowd”.  
 
I then described how a rock rolls down the ravine and eventually “comes to rest” when it is done.  Often times our momentum needs to run its course, like the rolling rock, before we can come to our senses and realize we are lost.  The many times I’ve misled our family on road trips comes to mind.  The “company of the dead”, we discussed was no place they wanted to be and reminded us of those who dwell at Folly’s House.
 
When I asked my kids “Where is Jesus?”  They spoke about how Jesus is the “way, the truth, and the life” as in John 14:6.  We then unpacked the judgment of the Proverb.  Once you stray, sorry, you are with the dead.  Then I asked, “How does Jesus make the ‘one who strayed’ into a new creation?”  Repentance, grace, and forgiveness was the response.  Matthew 18:12-14 tells us how there is rejoicing when the sheep who was lost is found.  The Parable of the Lost Son in Luke 15:11-32 brought this proverb to its fulfillment by telling the journey of a son who went astray and finally returned to his father, who was filled with joy to receive him.

Half-A-Year With God

Half-A-Year With God
 

At the outset, I only knew life was getting too complicated for me.  God pulled me close and reminded me to look at Him.  So, to do that I more or less copied the format of Psalm 119.  Over 182 days, or half of a year, I took the letters of the English alphabet and listed 7 words of each that can be used to describe God.  I did this one word per day often asking God which one I should use.  I think I failed maybe once or twice to keep that schedule.  I then would think on Him and write whatever came to mind.  I eventually had to limit each word’s description to around 7 lines according to my notes, but I didn’t need to start doing that until around ‘E’.

At first, I was excited as A-G were fun.  I liked thinking about Him, and before I knew it, a lot of time had passed- 49 days to be exact.  Then what I was doing started to sink in.  I knew I liked thinking about Him, but I began to wonder, ‘Did I like it that much?’  I felt the first pangs of frustration around ‘M’, as I began to want to do my own thing.  I still liked doing it and knew/appreciated the value, but it was starting to get in the way.

Then by ’S’ I had turned over another leaf and began asking myself “Who am I?”  I didn’t deserve to do this.  “I am not worthy”.  Then things started moving faster.  Voices and accusations from others could be heard:  “He sure likes to listen to himself.”  “He’s full of himself.” etc. and the question of, “Why is he even doing this?” echoed around in my head. They made their appearance in the last word of the last letter in the form of a mirror.  As it crumbled with vanity, I reflected on this journey.
 
This assignment was given to help me keep my eyes on Him, and though life didn’t get any less complicated, it accomplished the task even more than Bible reading.  Which reminds me, the verses I put at the end of every entry were at times silly and sarcastic, at others quite pertinent to the word.  I often found them with a Google search:  “‘Word-of-the-day’, god, verse”.  I would read it to see if I liked it, then done.  Lack of sleep and sickness also took its toll on me as week ‘Z’ was just bad, which I’m sure was reflected in my writing style.
 
All things considered, I’d do it again.  It is better than any personality profile test.  The words I chose revealed what I most think about in regards to God.  Most of the time I had 20+ words to choose the 7 from.  At others like ‘Z’, I had around 10.  I know I learned a few new ones as well like ‘xyresic’, which helped to increase my vocabulary.  During any letter with which I had difficulty finding my 7, I again used a Google search:  “‘letter’, words”.  Theologically, I haven’t combed through this to see where I fall on the heretic/orthodox line.  I imagine I’m all over, like my alphabetizing ability.  I do remember ‘God’s favor’ being a consistent theme, which makes sense as it is something I pray for every day.
 
One last thought, as my kids grow, I know I won’t be here forever.  This will probably be one of the greatest things I can pass down to them- more or less a, ‘What I think about God’.  If they would pass it to their kids, adding their own “Half-A-Year With God”, their kids would see their lineage and heritage of thought/prayer/relationship with God that may encourage their own.  If you choose to do this, feel free to make up your own rules.  I also posted this with links to whatever I wanted, again found by a Google search.  
 
In an age when we take pictures of what we eat, may this be something of longer lasting and edifying substance.

7 Words that describe God- ‘Z’

7 Words that describe God- ‘Z’:
 
Zapateado
Zealous
Zeitgeist
Zenith
Zest
Zoo
Zoro
 
When I was a camp counselor, we used to sing “Romans 16:19” by Chris Tomlin. One of the verses of the song is:
 
“And the God of Peace will soon crush Satan And God will crush him underneath your feet!(UH!)”
 

There was a dance that went with the song and we would stomp our feet with the “UH!” I know You know all this but when I learned zapateado was a Mexican dance that involved stomping the ground, I immediately thought, “This is one for ‘Z’!” Thank You, Lord, for giving us the final word for this life and with You it is, “Victory!” with a stomp!  Psalm 149:3

You are the One who has pursued me with a terrifying focus. In my youth, I was left with nowhere to run, nowhere to turn to, nowhere to hide. I was jumping at shadows, for even they could claim me. I had nothing of substance to hold onto, so it was a horrible game of nightmares and panic when the lights turned off and the doors were closed. I saw many things and heard even more, yet You would not let me drown. You reached me and showed darkness Your zealous heart for me. Your Light held power and gave life and love while casting back the shadow. I knew even then that the smallest light banishes the dark, as long as it lasts, but Your eternal flame stayed with me. It never dimmed. It never faded. Darkness fled as it realized I had been claimed by He who is greater than shadows.  Isaiah 9:6-7

Yours is the zeitgeist of all time. It ultimately belongs to You. We have different attitudes based on what only You fully know. We interpret the times based on our limited time-based experience. We can’t see all as You can. Some say the zeitgeist of our time now is enslavement, maybe it has always been so. If we obey, then ‘they’ will end things like poverty. Yes, Lord, our time here is loaded with those who want to control us. Our belief in You, as the One who created us, is the Only Author of if there even are any limits. You are about freedom, but ‘freedom’, when defined by any other is another form of enslavement. If we make You the Zeitgeist of our lives, then I believe the shackles will fall. For the one who defines how high is the sky becomes the author and director of everything beneath it. You Who knew no limits, not even death itself, is Who I want in control of my life. May You be my Zeitgeist. Revelation 12:9

You are my Zenith, my highest point. There is nothing in my life that is higher than You. What You want for me is what I daily train myself to want. Whichever direction You point me in is where I seek to go. How You want me to get there is how I determine my steps. Why You want me to be there I trust in You. When You want me to go is when I take my first steps. Who You want me to go with is who I bring along or whom it is I am to follow. There is nothing and no one else I seek for guidance, no other point or person in my existence. You always raise my eyes up. I am never brought low in my soul when I consider Your generosity towards me. Everything about You makes me better. The journey You bring me on is like the journey of the magi that followed the star. You brought them to Your Son. I, like them, endeavor to do the same.  Psalm 75:6-7

You are my greatest joy, my Lord. You are my Zest! Knowing You brings me to worship. Reading of You blesses my mind. Talking about You is the only subject worth talking about. Praying to You gives me peace even when life is crazy. Writing about You in this exercise has been glorious! I thank You for giving this to me! You bring my thoughts into words and use my action to write it. You have daily filled me with the zest needed to accomplish the task. I have enjoyed talking with You to figure out how this would even be completed. You guide me daily in my thoughts and provide me a way to see You wherever they go.  Psalm 27

More than a word, a zoo is a place. Zoos are what brings to people what they’d never see without. Elephants, lions, hippos, tigers, kangaroos, etc. are not everyone’s daily experience. You bring me to new things all of the time. In much the same way as a zoo, you help me to recognize there is more to life than what I am confronted with. We gain humility when we see how big is the world. For us to see and know that You answer all kinds of prayers very differently, strengthens our faith. From silverback gorilla prayers to pygmy marmoset ones, we see that we truly can come to you with all kinds of requests. I gain comfort from knowing You, even a portion of how big You are, and that You care for even the smallest creature. Nothing misses Your Eye. You consider all things. You are my Zoo, and every time I consider You I am confronted with how much I don’t know.  Genesis 1:25

You are my Zoro, my hero who saved me from the villain. Too often do I look to myself and my strength for deliverance and protection, but I am unable to save anyone, least of all myself. I know it’s rare for me to see outside of myself, but when I do, I see a multitude of things. I take myself too seriously. Perhaps all is not as I see it. Perhaps everyone is fine and there is no need for concern. Here I am at the end of this exercise and I had the thought to delete all of it. It is just another example of my ego after all. Then I look around. I see others hopelessly trapped in their own cells, and the mirror falls. I look down at my chest and I see the mark, His mark, like the one Zorro would leave behind telling all he was there. I can’t save them, but You can. I am a witness as Your mark on me testifies.  2 Timothy 4:18

7 Words that describe God- ‘Y’

7 Words that describe God- ‘Y’:
 
Yacht
Yahweh
Yearbook
Yeast
Yield
Yodel
You
 
Hahaha, You are my Yacht! Your favor makes others seeth with jealousy as I sail by. “What about the starving children?!” they sneer. “He’s so selfish!” they say as the length of You gives them time to reload another disdainful remark. Still going, they huff and puff trying to offer a damning comment that would return me to them. Still going, even I am beginning to wonder, “Is this cruel, Lord?” “Let them mock my love for you,” You reply. “Yes, Lord,” says I, “then wash my hands and head as well!” “No need, for you are clean,” You say as You finish sailing past the foe. I look back wanting to offer them some comfort as they continue to shout at me, but their voice fades as they become smaller. “When will they turn and see their yachts anchored at the harbor?” I ask, but then You pick up speed and all questions, no matter how well-intentioned, are left to float as a buoy warning any who follow of the rocks of pride.  Psalm 84:12
 
Thank You, oh LORD, for giving us a Name by which we can call You. A Name that was given to us from the fire that didn’t consume, but made holy. You told Moses to offer it as proof to Your people that his mission was from You and that their salvation was nigh. You are not a god who overwhelms his people consuming them in madness. You do not use us up and cast us aside. You are not in the business of abuse but are in one of sanctification to make us holy. You gave us a Name that tells us we are not alone. It reassures us by letting us know You beyond that of idolatry. They have an image that they made with their hands, we have a Name.  Exodus 3:13-15
 
You are my Yearbook, the best highlights of my life. With You, I remember my greatest victories. I wouldn’t have had them without You. You opened the door and granted me access to power I didn’t and still don’t have on my own. I also see my painful heartaches, my missed opportunities that for some reason made sense back then. You make even those a memory best left behind. With You, I recognize nostalgia as an illusion. I remember so much that has happened in my life and so much that was said to me and how much I have changed since then. You are the theme that carries me through my painful embarrassments and unveils the undeserved possibilities of tomorrow.  2 Corinthians 9:8
 
Lord, I want You in every part of my life. There is no part that I want to hold back from You. You know everything anyway. It doesn’t make sense to keep anything from You. You know my thoughts, You’ve heard my words, You’ve seen my actions. You know my triumphs, You know my shame. It is pointless. Like feigning innocence when I run a red light in front of the police. I know what I’ve done and why and You do too. Even if all of society placed me in the right, it is Your judgment I long for. Yours is the only One that matters. Your Spirit is like Yeast to my life. You are always at work. The more I’m in line with You and Your will, the more I am able to taste Your joy, and the more free I become. Your Word helps me to discern Your path, and I want to run in it.  Matthew 13:33
 
Everything has motion. From the planets and other things in space- things beyond my view, to oceans and volcanoes- things within my view, there is only One before whom all things Yield. There is only One with the power and authority to make even time itself stand still. You are the One, oh Lord! In my humanity, within my mortal bonds, I am always moving- breathing, heart beating. One day coming will see my motion cease. Even in death, I read of the heavenly hosts singing. Is there then movement after life? If there is, the yielding, the stillness, belongs to You and You alone. I yield my thoughts and You open me to marvelous things. I yield my words and You replace them with ones that give life. I yield my actions and You provide to accomplish more than I could dream.  Romans 6:13
 
You are my song, my shout, my echoing Yodel. I stand on the mountain tops overlooking my life and I listen for Your call. I hear Your voice in the distance calling out a yodel of love. Though I may walk through life’s dark and twisted trail, Your voice echoes clearly guiding me on. Even if armies surround me and the thunder of their battlecry deafens me, Your voice cuts through the din and delivers me. Their cry that was meant to trap and terrify me has become their own doom. For You lift me high, beyond the reach of any man. The avalanche is coming and is even now at hand and will bury all. It is destruction, but I listen to Your yodel that carries me to You.  Colossians 3:17
 
You are God. You are the One I pray to in times of panic, in my desperation. In my joy, I give You praise. I turn to You because You are not me. I do not see all, You do. What I would do may have begun from good intentions, but as the chips fall, they’d reveal I only do what suits me and my fallible conscience. You are the only One who is right, pure, and good. I would have to be thousands of years old that I may see the endgame of my decisions, even then it wouldn’t reveal enough. I’d need to be there in the beginning and at the end to judge fairly if my decision was the right one. Each choice is connected to others which were made by others that were made by others… A genealogy of selfishness or charity would tell the tale. Where would I find myself without You?  Psalm 16:5-11

 

7 Words that describe God- ‘X’

7 Words that describe God- ‘X’:
 
Xboba
Xenial
Xenolith
Xerlo
Xesturgy
Xmas
Xyresic
 
You are Xboba from ancient times. You have seen civilizations rise and fall. Scripture says (Psalm 22:28, 66:7) You directed them to keep Israel an obedient nation. Satan says in the New Testament (Matthew 4:8-9) that he controls them. Scripture also says (John 8:44) satan is a liar so he cannot be trusted. You have seen faith rise and fall. Is it stronger to walk on water than to love your enemies? To heal a man born blind than to open the eyes of the ignorant? What does it mean to follow faith throughout time, to witness the effect of Your people? To watch how You have lead them through kings and wars, inventions and paupers, perspectives and philosophies, that would be an education worth having. I would very much like to see that timeline. We scratch at things and claim it is worthy of note and give Ph. D’s to those who study them, but You are the only One worthy of note. Our history books ought to read very differently.  Daniel 7:9-10
 
Your love always challenges me.  I know I am cautious with the unfamiliar.  You are Xenial.  You welcome the foreigner, those who think differently and are from another place.  Thank You that we don’t have to look the same, act the same, or talk the same.  When I consider myself, how am I any better than anyone else?  When I consider another, how are they any worse?  All elevation of differences of trait, appearance, accent, background, etc. have more to do with pride and vanity than love.  But based on what?  Because they were born from a different place?  It hardly seems fair or appropriate to gain or lose favor based on things no one chose.  Thank You for showing us a better way.  You love both the Jew and the Gentile.  Hebrews 13:1-2
 
You clothe me in You. You wrap around me. I want others to see You, not me. You are my Xenolith. You protect me in arms of stone. With cooled magma, you embrace me. I am enveloped and made new. You never leave me alone to fend for myself. I remember when I was a kid, we went on Wilderness Trips. One trip, it had rained for days, worse than any other before or since. It was cold, everything was wet. We camped at the bottom of a hill and were washed out in the night. We climbed up the hill in the dark to resetup camp at the top. I was last and didn’t have a flashlight. I tripped, everything fell out in the rain. By the time I made it to the top, I was shaking uncontrollably with the beginnings of hypothermia. A man named Mark waited for me. He held me in his arms until I wasn’t shaking so bad. The other kids slept close around me that night. Just like Youth Sponsor Mark, and my friends, You surround me and draw me near.  Deuteronomy 31:8
 
Though I’ve learned xerlo means- a person’s place or their things that they keep at their place, You are the One I want most in my home. So for this list and to accomplish this exercise, You are my Xerlo. My home can be filled with top-of-the-line gadgets and appliances, unique conversation starters, comfortable couches and chairs, beautiful art and plants, and thought-provoking colors and interior design, all of which would be very nice but if I don’t have You, it is pointless. I want my home- whether it be a palace or a cave, to be a dwelling place for Your presence. I have been to enough places that carry a different presence. If I were to “scratch the walls”, I feel like the place would crumble. But with You, a place is filled with joy and peace beyond gadgetry.  Revelation 21:1-4
 

I had to learn some new words for this letter and I don’t know if I am using them correctly, but I know Your work in me improves me. You polish me, in a way, and make me shine. Your xesturgical practice makes me better and makes You a Xesturgeon. You polish me by purging me from my sinful state. You clothe me in better robes than I own. You prepare me to shine like a jewel in Your kingdom. You loved me in my unpolished state. I know I was hard and jagged and covered in dust, but Your work of xesturgy made me into what I couldn’t make of myself. I would be lost in a pile of worthless rock. We all look the same without You- striving to matter, striving for gain. Thank you for Your love which makes the worthless into something of great value.  Psalm 144:11-14

Tis the season! Well, close. Thank You for coming to us! I don’t think I would have known or even have been expecting. I would have gone about my day ignorant of Your arrival. “Great, another baby. Another mouth to feed. And look at them! In a stable, nonetheless. That’s no place for a birth,” I can hear myself grumble. What would I have done differently? Complain, that’s for one. Maybe plan the trek to Bethlehem a little better, for two. If that is his ‘hometown’, surely Joseph had family or friends there. Fine, say he didn’t. I wouldn’t have my son born in a barn! I’d find a couple or someone to switch rooms with. Old man Jenkins can sleep in the hay for the night! “My wife is having her child for crying out loud!” I’d say. If I didn’t have money, Mary rode a donkey, sell that. No time?! Well, this is just great! Yeah, I’d miss it totally. Merry Xmas!  Luke 2:1-21

You are Xyresic, oh Lord. You cut right to the truth of me. Your sharpness never dulls because You want more for me. It is written, “For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and is able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12, WEB) Though I know I am subject to the judgments of man, You know my heart. I am more than safe with You. When I look around at those who don’t know You, they are like zombies- always hungry, never filled. They wander around dazed with arms outstretched trying to find another person to devour. If they would taste You, and submit to Your xyresic Word, they would see and know that You are good. Thank You, Lord, You are the only cure for our zombie-like state.  Hebrews 4:12