Forgive Me.

My knees that have bowed before selfish gods dig into this floor.
My mouth that has cried praises to itself cries selfless cries like it never has before.

My hands that have worked hard against You tremble in your midst.
My eyes that have wandered for worship now rest on You and are fixed.

My head so full of my own ambition hangs so very low.
My back is bent before You screaming of everything I tried to carry on my own.

My eyes are slammed shut, overwhelmed with shame.
My body shakes, this clump of clay to meet with a holy flame.

My breath catches in my throat as I discover you are the very air in my lungs.
My tongue moves to form praise for the One from which all Hope comes.

I am paralyzed here. My quaking hands lifted high.
I know I have been blind and deaf. Nonetheless, oh God, draw nigh.

Repentance, like a breaking dam, pours from my posture.
I have treated my life like it was my book to write. I am my own author.

An ounce of pride is far too much. Destroy it while You are here.
Wash me with fire. Clothe me in white.
Help me see! Help me hear!

An ounce of independence is far too much. Teach me again to trust You.
Oh, Voice On The Wind, come!
Come to my rescue!

How could I go a single day without kissing Your face in prayer?
How could I orchestrate my own life? How could I even dare?

Forgive me, Father. I have been far from you. Not in deed, but in heart.
How did I forget that You are my ending, and You, oh Lord, are my start?

You were my first Love. You will be my last.
You are all of my future.
You hold all of my past.

__________________________________________

My eyes open. I am mystified.
My head is lifted, my hands are still, my tears are dried.

Tears swell in my eyes again as I realize You have come and gone.
Only You could leave Hope on a heavy heart that outshines the dawn.

I shake my head from side to side as I marvel at your wonder.
Like a loyal friend, you silently forgave me. Silence from the God of Thunder.

You, Almighty God, visited me in my room.
The Victor over all evil. The One who died and then walked out of the tomb!

A few small moments and You have restored my soul.
A few small moments and like a thief, all of my sin, doubt, shame, and pain You stole.

A few small moments have become larger than life itself.
Because You, oh God, are more than an old dusty book ignored on the shelf.

I am only alive, not my body but my soul, because You live.
Now, teach me to love like you. Teach me, oh God, how to give.

Teach me to forgive in silence and quiet.
Teach me that the wrongdoing of others is no call for a riot.

Teach me to shout of Love, not with my mouth but with my life.
Teach me to be a trustworthy person, a loyal friend, a faithful wife.

Teach me how to walk in strength like lightning but to be as humble as the grave.
Teach me that Love is the most powerful position, mighty enough to save.

God, if it be possible, teach me to be like You.
Maybe I can love people from darkness to light, from blindness to sight too.

Oh God, teach me to be like you.
Oh God, Please do.

Let's.

We live in a world where evil can possess a man to riddle masses of people with bullets.

We live in a world where if someone doesn’t agree with one’s belief system, they’ll put a gun to their head, place their finger on the trigger, and pull it.

We live in a country where women and children are loaded into trucks like store product and transported through our states.

We live in a country where those women and children are sold to be hidden, beaten, and raped.

We live in a city where an 11-year-old can walk home from school and be stabbed by a stranger to his death.

We live in a city where a man takes the place of God in believing he should choose when you breathe your last breath.

We live in a world where children are mentally and physically abused in their own homes and are urged to stay silent.

We live in a world where the souls of countless people are screaming for help, but their mouths stay quiet.

We live in a country where we don’t have to get out of our air-conditioned cars to get food and to get drink.

We live in a country that lives blindly to the fact that someone dies every four seconds from hunger. Does that make your heart sink?

We live in a society where everything is debated, down to whether an individual is male or female.

We live in a society where movie and music stars are heroes, and those that die for our freedom get lost in the details.

We live in a world where people who stand stubbornly for their opinions are still incredibly confused.

We live in a world where when evil things should sicken us, we find ourselves amused.

We live in a place where these very words will offend you because, regardless of the truth, it’s not what you see.

We live in a place where because I said something you don’t agree with, I should have to say, “I’m sorry.”

So, in this world, of what can we be certain? Is there anything in this world that is absolutely true?

I guess this question can only be answered in the moment you look in the mirror and see you.

Despite your opinions and your ideas, do you truly value the lives of others?

Despite race or skin color, when you look at people do you see sisters and brothers?

Do you know well that homosexuals, heterosexuals, and every label in between bleed just like you? Red blood.

Or do you look at those that are different from you and see pigs playing in the mud?

Do you fight to save those that are dying of hunger or those that are sex slaves?

Or are you too busy screaming your opinion while you do nothing but help dig their graves?

Instead of brawling to be right, let’s seek to do good.

Instead of going to war for our opinions, beliefs, and theories, let’s just do what we should.

Instead of getting the last word and winning the debate,

Turn to love, seek to understand, relinquish your hate.

Instead of using a hashtag or updating your profile picture about prayer,

Actually get on your knees before God on the behalf of others because you genuinely care.

Treat every person you meet like it could be his or her last day to live. Treat them with compassion.

Live everyday like it’s your last day to live. Wear love like it’s in fashion.

So, of what can we be certain in a world of uncertainty? Love never fails.

Hatred will lose. Opinions will falter. But Love! Love always avails!

Do you see the hungry? Feed them!

Do you hear the slaves? Free them!

Do you see the lost? Lead them!

Do you hear the forgotten? Heed them!

Do you see the abused? Defend them!

Do you hear the broken? Mend them!

Silence your opinions, and turn up the volume on your grace.

Live your convictions. Stop screaming about them until your red in the face.

Let’s not say that we’re praying when we know that we’re not.

In our rooms, in silence, let’s speak to God on behalf of others, as we ought.

Let’s not preach about love and have nothing to show for it.

Let’s love so extravagantly that even the evilest of hates can’t ignore it.  

There is right, and there is wrong, but let’s not fight to be right.

Fight to be a beacon of hope in a hopeless world. Fight to be a light!

Climb up the hill where hatred and judgment have never made it to the top.

On your way up, though a very hard hill to climb, bitter resentment will drop.

Let's climb up the hill where love cannot be hidden or ignored.

Let's climb up in the face of hate and watch the unthinkable be restored.

LETTER TO THE RICH MAN

Rich Man,

We often make excuses to cover up what the Messiah asked of you.

We throw sugar and make pretty what he actually told you to do.

The text is very clear. The letters are in red.

Jesus said exactly the words we thought He said.

“Give up your possessions. Give everything to the poor.”

It’s astonishing, I know, that He even asked for more.

“Once you’ve given everything, come and follow me.

Give up your life, as you’ve known it, and watch who you become to be.”

We say he only asked for your possessions because there was more wealth in store.

Look! Like magic! Money through this door!

We say he only asked for your money to test the extent of your belief.

Look! I was just kidding! No reason for your grief!

The reality is, you knew He didn’t ask for your stuff so you could end up with much more.

You knew He asked for your stuff so He could make you poor.

You knew He didn't ask for your wealth as a grueling test of faith.

You knew He asked for your stuff so you could look God in His face.

You had too much comfort, too much ease, and too much security. You would never break.

Skin you can't cut and a heart that can’t bleed? I would call it fake.

You were externally rich but internally broke.

You walked away from Eternity, miserable with the words He spoke.

He was offering you a life far beyond riches and possessions.

But these things were your idols, your altars, and your obsessions.

The Messiah was trying to give you a life with great meaning and great depth.

You knew this, but the process to you looked too much like death.

Rich man, it would have been good for you to kiss your stuff goodbye.

Rich man, it would have been good for you to go through the dark season of, “Why?”

Rich man, you would have found your greatest riches in your poverty.

Rich man, you would have found your freedom making giving your life’s policy.

There’s power in weakness. There’s beauty in being broken down.

Rich man, we have the most power when before God, we put our faces to the ground.

You knew He meant it when He said give up everything and then come and follow.

You knew He was making an effort to heal your soul so hollow.

When you read those red letters, and you’re astonished at what He said

Just remember He’s only trying to awaken you from your sleep so dead.

Don’t make it pretty. Don’t sugar coat the cross in which Christ has called us to carry.

No, look it in the face, and make a covenant. Through pain and promise, to You oh Lord, I am married.