4 a team of Jesus-followers in a nearby town.

God give this team & their leaders
boldness, wisdom, clarity, love;
that wooed, listeners can be heed-ers,
of your Life-Message from above.

On their wedding day, they asked us to pray

God, thanks for Bethany
& this Nathaniel guy.
Know there isn't any
more they can do than try.

Please help them not to fly
past  the primary step, which
must come before we try
to do good things. To switch

ON that small power point,
-even if we’re plugged in,
else  work won’t be anoint-
-ed with power to beat sin.

So, help them both to win
battles to be “hearted” -
-check power’s ON, plug’s IN,
before trying’s started.

Amen

Some things just ARE!

God remains good

even when I 

don't know, nor could

tell how - or why?

Love is like that;

it 'snot explained,

goes in to bat

not for what's gained

for itself. It

is a first cause.

"Happens!" - like "shit".

Has no "because.."

..which comes after;

"Because" comes first.

Love's the rafter.
Love is what nursed..

..each of us in-
to this world, and
any be-ing!
It is not bland.

It does the seeing!
Hardly the blind,
softly showing
us what we find..

..all our knowing
that's worth anything
'scome through going
where Love's leading.

God is working, Life is lurking!

God, may your   name be honoured.
in your land   - we walk upon it!
Take charge o'er    what you've given.
Many lambs,   bleat for heaven!

May your will   be done - these "here"s,
as it is    when LIFE appears.
You who've killed    death, by contact.
Christ! It's his    life we have backed.

Oh that NEW   kind of living
has no few   ways of giving.
All that's done   is a sieving
of what's come   from beliving.

More truly:   AU THOR IT Y
is all yours   and thus because
as you said   we are all dead,
yet YOU can   raise us again.

Hallelu, Hallelujah!
Amen.

"Pray for me" says Sophie.

God, you've grown Sophie
up, so far; & will
help her rest, grow free,
and care, as able.
And where she's just not;
to not fret or pout,
but give thanks for what
she's got: "Do" without,
or ask for help from
who you've put around.
Glad that your breath's gone
out, to save who's drowned.

The "Solit--- Confinement" of M--- (& me) Part A

The Scripture & the "Script you are"
-breathed into by the Holy
breath of Life - giv’n CPR
and TO LIFE comes the lowly.

Well God, right now, here I am…

1). Am I now a holy COW?

(* let the reader understand)

Confessed of sin, (& just how? -

own it as - just what it is,

& own it too as mine,

send it far away - as his

commands did all the time

[with all those unclean spirits

who seemed to dog his life

so he would only hear it’s

voice in his ears - & mind.

The bully-ing & shouting,

the sneaking plaintif cry,

were all sent on an outing

- and never explained why!

He didn’t stop and load up,

(but neither did he pry)

but every time they showed up

he shut them up, “Out-side!”])

Offered up, a sacrifice

to God, in life & death.

That all I do, as with Christ,

be God’s: thought, act, word, breath.

Walking in the Spirit’s life

thus seeing, as did Christ.

Thinking, acting, as his child:

Love’s no great sacrifice.

2). Jesus, I'm imagining 
you here, since by reasons good
I know you are, and you're King.
I wonder now just what would.... (t.b.c.)

The rhythms of LIFE in our (BMC) community.

God, please help us to 

see things as you do. 

We want to listen,

let your life glisten:

Love & truth both to

join in our task-group.

That we might re-al-ly

serve this old BMC.

We need your breath-wind

to blow, else we'll hind-

-er your true rhythms;

as corpses need life given.

Blood beating, breath drawn;

mouth to mouth, CPR.

Song sung, & beat kept,

in your rhythms 2 B swept!

Amen

All in a day’s work - TAKE 2

Although we’re of-ten diff’rent
on the issue of “keeping”-
"old stuff that has been broken
down" - some smiling, some weeping.

Most of us know that some things
should be thrown out and others
could be kept for re-use-ings.
One kind of keeping  smothers,

and one re- uses things well.
But when-ev'r it comes to “Things”-
“that just must be done”, I’ll tell
you a way that brings us wings:

Do it! Don’t just hang around,
for the more you put it off;
the more it wastes time & ground,
and somehow it makes you “soft”.

“Soft” in the worst way to be
sometimes we must be quite hard.
Do the job, and then you’ll see
it came good, & hasn’t jarred.

A day’s work gets done by this
mode or meth-odology:
clarify just what you’ll kiss
“Hello” & “Goodbye” to. See,

the first job that must be done
is work out “What’s the job here?”,
second one is just as fun:
“Just do it!”, with love, not fear.

Relevant background quote/thought:

• “your love has meant hard work” (NT: 1Thess 1:2-3)

2 days later, how did cater?

Dear Sister Kate,
how ya going?
How was the meal
with your family?
Hope your mind's slate
is now flowing
with more that's real
to set you free.
But if it's not,
Oh please dear God
Remind Kate still
of Your good will..
..t'wards not just men,
when Mary, when
she brought to birth
your Son to Earth.
Amen/women.

Anothen (Gk:=from-above/again) Wisdom

Master, we’ve worked hard all night, and yet

caught nothing; but if you say so I’ll
on the other side, let down my net.
(But you don’t appear to know our style,
or much about fishing, you’re still wet
behind the ear - in this sphere, & while
you speak confidently, you don’t let
others teach you, from their store or pile
of wisdom they’ve learned, - & won’t forget.)

No slouch,    but ouch,
His grace   is traced..
2 “Grouch”    a stoush
of fish    was dished,
and such    said much
more than   words can.

Lord depart from me,   for I am ae
man who falls short of   for why I’m made
My cat-eg-or-ies   are all undone.
Don’t think I could fol-low -  walk or run.
Hurts to have you stay   & treat me so.
This is a grace, that    I have not known.
Later on, they said   that “good, for bad”
was “coals of fire on head”;   Yes, it’s mad!
I’ll follow till I’m dead,   and be glad!

Some relevant back-ground thoughts/quotes:

• Luke 5:1-9: Simon hung out with Jesus (which is always a two-way thing), then listens to Jesus's words of counsel (even in a sphere of life that Simon may have thought him un-qualified), and acts on them.. the result is astounding, not "normal", unconventional, enough to make him feel unworthy of Jesus' presence. Jesus words/actions convince him (for a time?) that he can trust Jesus to look after his food/family & he can do the job Jesus is calling/sending him to do (which happens to be another step up from fishing for fish).

• Jesus prays [= Hangout with God and Listen to his counsel (HWGALTHC)] before he goes to preach throughout Galilee (instead of staying in & around Capernaum, where he has now set up house.
• Jesus prays (HWGALTHC) before choosing the twelve (including someone who would betray him)
• Jesus prays (HWGALTHC) for hours after feeding the 5k families, when they want to make him king, then trusts God to enable him to get to the other side  of the lake anyway (without a boat, & without walking around)
• Jesus prays (HWGALTHC) before throwing out the unclean spirit in the boy with epilepsy, when his disciples (who had been given authority over ALL unclean spirits) couldn't.
• Jesus prays  (HWGALTHC) in Gethsemane & is enabled to take his human body to a suffering & death that it dreaded (on the way to great JOY), like a mother giving birth.
• Jesus prays (HWGALTHC) and Simon "comes back" or "returns", and can be given the job of strengthening his brothers, &...
• John 21:1-14 "deja vu" Jesus comes to hangout with Simon/Peter & Peter runs to him, does a job for him, dialogues with him, listens to Jesus' questions, tries & fails to answer,  and can be given the job of feeding Jesus' sheep.

beaux & arrows

A new "Learner with the Courage 2 Teach".

God, thank you 4 this arrow,
shot from home 4Ur bidding,
into a world that is slow,
or "dead" (know you weren't kidding).
Thank U 4 this bow (called Hun).
Please shoot arrows from her too;
all the children ("daughters"/"sons")
she helps 2B more than "zoo".
4the Spirit of Ur son
that you've put in her will bring
dead 2 life, with anyone
who hears his voice, - they will sing!
Amen.

All in *a day's work*

Why must I every morning,
and afternoon as well,
have this *job* thrust upon me?
It comes back like a smell.
As I now think about it;
it's not that I feel bad,
I certainly don't doubt it
must be done, or I'm mad!
A bit of quick reaction
is called for here, (with slow).
Don't feel like crucifixion,
but maybe each new blow...?
That calm determination
to do what must be done,
to nail down (no frustration)
- like they did to "the Son"..
"The Son of Humanity",
he fondly called himself;
He, the archetype of me,
would go through this, to Hell.
His followers would doubt it,
they'd say "That's not the way".
He didn't HAVE to do it;
they did, so he would pay!
I needed crucifixion;
he didn't, not a bit.
So Love goes to Jerus'lem,
his hand, my glove, that fits.
---------------------------------------
"Soldier" doing his job well,
"just bang on in that nail"-
quick and clean, no living hell
of playing cat/mouse games.
For in me, it's not the good,
the holy and the true,
that must be nailed down, or should
be buried dead and blue, ...
...but the Judas, anti-christ,
however he got there,
that must be killed, sacrificed (?)
O God it's hardly fair!
Not fair that he who never sinned
would let love so constrain him,
and show up all my blustery wind.
"The Son of Love" I name him!
And, gladly name this undead thing
and to "Gehenna" send it;
unless your spirit blows and brings
life "from above", can't "mend it"!

*And he said to them all, "If you want to come with me you must forget yourself, take up your cross every day, and follow me." (Luke 9:23; GNB)*

Some relevant background thoughts/quotes:
“you shall love your neighbour, as you love yourself” OT (Lev 19:18)

Maybe Jesus opened that “yourself” up a bit when he said: (luke 9:23) “And he said to them all, “If you want to come with me, you must forget yourself, take up your cross every day, and follow me.” And then (John 13:34) “And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

• He didn’t quite pamper them. He spoke the truth, he challenged, he was gentle (in some circumstances), he was severe (in others; e.g. “Get behind me Satan” etc), he let them see his feelings...
• Did Jesus also love, say, the Pharisees? or the Teachers of the Law/ Scribes? Was his severe talking to them, simply the way that love had to be expressed in that context to them as leaders (“to whom much has beeen given, much will be required”), in order to wake them up(!) - as with his other comments to Peter?

To my brothers in LTG:

Just to let U know brothers,
God loves us & as we "speak"
I recall: "pray 4 others",
"how'd my reading go this week?"
Just prayed 4 my friends,
& also for you 3 men.
Only got up to John 10
glad to do it once again.

A sister felt she was sinking & asked for prayer

Oh God thank you
4 my sister.
She feels like poo-
in a blister.
Sad, & sorry,
& not much good,
{know the story,
& how "he" stood
with us in this
un-kind of plight;
he's our presen(ts/ce),
he is our light}
Our lives R built
on sinking sand,
but his life spilt
is our command
and beckon still
to walk where he
has walked, & will
he set us free?
Please help my sis
in darkness now,
to be remiss
with this world's sounds,
& forget to
remember well
her worth as viewed
from this world's hell.
Amen, amen.
Small Paul, a friend...