…IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD…

If you have been lost in the whirls of the busy city and no longer know what it feels like to be refreshed; maybe you feet are worn by the long walks it takes day in and day out; or your senses dulled by the noises that clog your system, then it may be somewhat difficult if not impossible to relate with times of refreshing. I mean after a certain period of time the body tends to acclimatize to its surrounding and thereby becomes alien or defensive to a new sense. I'm sure it's easy to understand the strangeness of a new horizon that brings a peculiar form of weather, in this case the temperate kind, when, as an organism, symbiosis has been established with the tropical.

But hold on…
You can feel it again.
I speak of the times of refreshing.
They are not coming FYI!
They are here!
You are seated right in front of me. In this place you can sense again. There might be a thousand excuses to why you no longer have time for the common; why you no longer indulge in the simplicities of life; why anything less than complex isn't real and cannot hold any form of truth; why the gospel of Christ Himself, as simple and profound, seems incredulous and ludicrous to your liberated mind.
But hold the phone….
If you won't converse with another, and welcome others' opinions then hear what is real as it passes by. Listen to what hovers around; though seemingly transient, yet real. You know it's there though you can't see it. It's the breathe from it that you rely on to live on. Since you're seated then you can, for a brief moment, suffer it to wash you over.
Drown the echoes from your wisdom head. Put off the thought that bears you away to the unreal and for one time, in this lifetime, relax and appraise.
The seconds turn to minutes and for once you feel like you just rested for the first time in eternity. Its like needing a massage so bad that once you get it you drift off in slumber and only stir when something foreign rudely intrudes.
Open your eyes now.
You felt it didn't you?
You touched it isn't that true?
You saw it face to face but for some reason, just like me, you can't explain or describe it. it's beyond words and astounds you so terribly.
It's the wind bearing witness to what is invisible yet existent; what walks on the wings of the wind.
The times of refreshing are here!
If you want to relax again and go through this marvelous experience then come again to this House: God's House, where you thought He didn't exist and let the silence that abhors time teach your proud self that it can be refreshed from the outside.
Imagine if it were always from and in the inside.
Come again I beseech you into the House of the Lord for the times of refreshing wait for no one and yet, is for everyone.

IN AN ENDLESS TRADITION OF GOD'S WORD AND THE MIRACULOUS!!!

The prisoner of Christ

AND I SHALL DWELL

"To dwell in happiness!"

I love this phrase!
Sometimes, there are words we say that are judged by our hearers based on the triviality that beds it or the seriousness that ushers it. It is good to listen to the heart when, in passing, it voices that, "I would love nothing more but to dwell in happiness." Wouldn't it be nice to be at a place in life and love every minute of it. Remember the saying that "when change is avoidable, not to change is inevitable!" Conversely, there is a part of life that is not susceptible to change. A part that cannot be corrupted by the irresistible influences the world enforces. There is a place, remote and real. Therein lays peace. When the strong winds blow, and the tempest visits; when the storms rage and age rises; when time is lost in continuous motion and blissful moments sublime; there is still a place.

Do you hunger for it? I may have said it in passing, like many of us who voice out the truth in casual conversations. Our shoulders shrug as we laugh off what truly matters to us and holds heavy in our hearts. Do you recall the scriptures saying, "Avoid jestings…?"

Why?

The truth is we have missed the truths confined in words of playfulness and hurt another when we never got to know what is truly being said. You might think you know someone when you can quote, word for word, what was said. Unfortunately, we say more without words than we should.

But listen to this again.

…And I shall dwell …

When said in passing, this phrase still is profound. Powerful. Beautiful. Wonderful.

I shall dwell!

When David proclaimed this he declared it for himself. "I," he said.

When David declared this he was sure of it. "I shall," he said.

When David was sure of it he meant to stay for good. "I shall dwell," he said.

When you hear others say a word or two, and you don't know or truly can decipher, amidst many mystifying words, what is being said, listen again to what is not said.

After sin possessed man, from God's side, we fell

After healing, from Christ's sacrifice, made us well

If there is no other thing I know, this I can tell

That always, in the Spirit's bosom, I shall dwell!

The Prisoner of Christ

All the days of My Life

IN AN ENDLESS TRADITON OF GOD' WORD AND THE MIRACULOUS

    To hear the words above said by teenagers would literally mean a time period they would hasten to arrive if they have the chance or should I say choice to make the change. If it were to be said by the aged, it would mean probably mean a whisper that ordinarily lets itself out if not willed, or a vapor, caught by the eye for a moment, only to disappear into the air.

What about if it were to be heard from the lips of the proud who would only bask in the idiocy of personal gain in order to ride over the weak? What if it grazed the mouth of the self-pitied in search for more pity to justify personal failures?

But listen closer.

Feel the power stemming from the simplicity of such everyday words. This time these words were said by the least expected of the mass. If anyone were to utter a word, you wouldn't have thought of this individual. It came from the lips of a man whose heart resembled that of a teen; a man whose beard definitely matched the aged. Here spoke a man whose life's conquest calls for his every word to be edged with pride; a man who could have trodden the path of the self-pitied in search for God's own heart.

Yet, if you read closely, and listen deeper, as deep calls to deep, the first thing that strikes you in this passage is humility.

All the days of my life!

"Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God."

I don't know if you can see that in the phrase. It echoes powerfully a humbled man who knows his days are not in his hands but in the hands of the Giver of Life.

So, here it is! The lips of the least expected have declared it! The humbled have spoken the same words but yet it sounds different!

You may owe your life's work and all that you are to yourself, and I have to tell you, what a load of work you must have put into it, but David knew different. He owed his life to someone else. With his eyes looking up in worship, and his hands outstretched in complete surrender, we have a model to emulate. Remember we were commanded to look unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith! Why not follow the footsteps of a man after God's own heart?!

Therefore, when you seem to have it all, and know it all, and overcame, unlike any other, whatever stress and strife; 

Do take a step back and give honor to the one who gives honor, and gaze at the one who exalts the humbled, by pledging allegiance to Him, 

all the days of your life. 

…Goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life…

 

The Prisoner of Christ!

…Shall Follow Me...

IN AN ENDLESS TRADITON OF GOD'S WORD AND THE MIRACULOUS

It would have been easy if I were to ignore the true significance of the word "shall" in the phrase above but my heart wouldn't let me. A word that bears no typical meaning in our generation and barely used even by the scholastic of us still strives to exist and proclaim its significance and utmost relevance if, by chance, we leisurely look up its root and uncover the dirt to reveal the gold in its profound rarity.

To express determination that instantly obligates us to what has proceeded from our lips or from another strikes us like a bolt from the blue in the present day world.

Yet, the scripture retains it. It marks not only one, but many pages of the wisdom-filled, unflipped pages of our bible. Do you remember when you found the strength to do what you have declared without a promise said? When did the heart of man need a backup word called "promise" before belief is born within to accept what has been said? Do you know there was a time in history when words spoken are automatically, deeds promised?

Though it might sound ludicrous yet those times did exist.

And they still do!

…Goodness and Mercy shall follow me…

We may need to go further in order to find some form of meaning to these phrase but take a step back from your fast-paced, crazed world and see the abundance of blessings contained and still retained in that phrase.

Tis' is to say that God has spoken!

God's words are obligations!

God's words are sureties!

Tis'to say that no matter the poverty that afflicts our over-resourced world, goodness and mercy will come to me. If it be I alone, and truly this is not to be found illed with folly, goodness and mercy shall follow me!

Why?

Simple!

It was said!

It was done!

So don't let the situations that clamor your ears from hearing what the Spirit has said to the churches, be your lasting convictions and the last hanging ropes of existence. The Spirit is not speaking on the outside with the noises we breathe as needed air into our lungs.

The Spirit is speaking within!

The testimony is sure and true!

Look at the promise which is yours-already due!

Why worry about what is going to be-

When the Word says "Goodness and mercy shall follow me?

The Prisoner of Christ

Surely Goodness and Mercy

IN AN ENDLESS TRADITION OF GOD'S WORD AND THE MIRACULOUS!!!

Let me ask:

Have you ever waited for a prayer to be answered?
Did you persevere till the dawn of the morn for some form of response from the throne of Grace?
I remember saying once: “If you ain’t gonna answer my prayer, at least acknowledge my existence.”
Nay!
I must have said that more than once!
For those whom the journey through life has been anything but rosy; the hearts of likings who identify with my cry, definitely know what I speak of.

Maybe your dilemma is as paramount as the terrible wars fought in the past. I’m sure your shoulder must have slumped once before, from the weighty burdens of pain. Do you know what it feels like for a few to stand against many? Can I press you to recall, and if you can’t, then fantasize about what it is to withstand when at the verge of Babylon’s flames?

Can I speak my mind, or do you think I impose my willful thoughts on thee?
Can I share a story, or do you think it best to avoid truth and then, flee?
Will you spare a moment, or would you prefer to voice out: “Let me be?
Will you listen for a second, or do you know, from life’s experience, you don’t have the key?

Come.
Stand with me.
We are about to be cast into Babylon’s flames.

Come.
This you must see.
The three Hebrew brothers have declared we embrace the flames.

Behold.
We have cried all night long. The dawn has come and still we’ve heard nothing from the hills were comest our help. It is time. The wait has been long. The stress has been draining; the perseverance, now long-suffering.

The man after God’s heart now speaks:
“Surely goodness and mercy.”
The evil man belonging under God’s feet proclaims:
“Will you bow down and worship me?”

King David said there is still a certainty. King Nebuchadnezzar said there is no place for importunity.
The three Hebrew brothers are still standing. That is surely consistency!
King David is still singing. What continuity!
The Angels are still praising. The sounds, so heavenly!
The night has come and gone. Nebuchadnezzar declares worship. What mutiny!
I urge you still. Let us defy the earthly and hold on to divinity!
We may be struck down or be in the face of death as we speak but there is one portion meant for us! Just one path mapped out in destiny:
That despite the pain, the sorrow or tears life brings us, our hearts are still resounding, and our hands will remain steady. Our legs are still standing and our voices are always declaring:

Surely Goodness and Mercy.

The prisoner of Christ

…My Cup Runneth Over…

IN AN ENDLESS TRADITION OF GOD'S WORD AND THE MIRACULOUS!!!

I have seen Oliver Twist once.
Nay! It must be twice or thrice.
When I find myself take a walk down memory lane, I realize many instances where I’ve been the least deserving of anything unlike hungry Oliver.

Oliver was still able to ask for more.
I had always known, by my actions, my penance was to be erectly poor.
Oliver’s fear crumbled while his belly grumbled for food worth asking for.
My heart knew the truth not to display defiance when shown the door.

If it be that I go hungry or full, I know what I deserve. Sometimes, popularity seems to denote fame and tend to send little spidery feelings of importance down one’s spine. We are consumed with anything media, and idolize, if not purposefully, then subconsciously, the icons paparazzi struggle to proclaim and/or reclaim. I’m sure the lust to be known dwindles when the reason of knowledge is not to praise but to disdain. When many shoulders rise higher in the flashes of camera lights, you might shrink and wish that the floors would swallow no one but you in the ambience of travesty.


Have you ever been in a situation where the exit was sealed?
Have you had your cup stretched out with sorrow-filled?
Do you know how the daily poor feel when they ask for a piece but, in return, get crumbs?
Do you know the heart’s pace of the fearful, when asked to face a crowd, sounding like jungle drums?

At life’s limit, you venture not to ask anymore. Drained of all hope, you stop to watch the favored ones drench themselves in stupor. Withered of all faith, tears come as the wise bask in their fill of knowledge. Robbed of all love, Tis comely to expect the pass of the richest wine, served first to the most blessed, and then to the rest.

Will you approach the table of cups to get served if it was customary that you and I, the chiefs of sinners, partake also? Everyone took a cup. Will you take only one? Did you reach the table at a time when the finest cups were in possession, leaving you with the only rugged, wooden cup? Hands stretch out for cups to be filled with wine; could you barely raise yours?


The cold wind matched in from the silent sea in the distance running a chill down the rich and the poor.
He came in to only put a coat upon you as cover.
He ushered you to His table, like David welcomed the lame son of Jonathan to dine at his table for ever.
You might wonder who it was that paid the price to be your lover.
T’was the same one who anointed you with oil before; how could you forget the Father?
Others may judge and walk away in disgust but His Spirit didn’t just come to hover;
But now resides in you and me; as we delight in the feast before us…I dare say…am the most blessed for my cup runneth over!!!


The prisoner of Christ!!!

Thou Anointed My HeadWith Oil

IN AN ENDLESS TRADITION OF GOD'S WORD AND THE MIRACULOUS!!!

The crowds gathered.
Both the wretched and the rich; the Gentiles and the Jews.
Everyone was waiting for the anointing.
Stories have been told, before I was born, about the God of the land pouring forth His precious oil on His chosen ones. It was to be a grand occasion. The whole universe waited in anticipation of such grandeur.
You could see the distinction of places occupied by the rich to the poor.

The former took the high grounds paved with gold while the latter, of which I belonged to from forever, garbaged the low grounds, soaked in filth as the mud seeped in slowly into our bare feets.

“He approached,” cried someone from the crowd.
I tried to get a closer look but as always, got shoved to the back.
There was silence as footsteps were heard.
Something was definitely wrong.
The rich should be celebrating by now. There should be the usual banters thrown at us from the high grounds but the silence announced something else. Crashing of gold glasses must be cutting across the air as the rich were meant to celeberate but this signal, I tried to pick up with my ears.
The seconds stretched on endlessly as I scratched off ticks from biting off what was left of me.

“Oh no!”
“This cannot be,” declared another rich folk.
“He walks towards the low grounds.”
“Tis betrayal holds no bounds.”
“Our God has forsaken us,” announced the most opulent of them.
“He goes to those whose lips do nothing but curse.”

Again I tried to see what my ears heard but which my heart couldn’t perceive.
Murmurings grew in the low grounds as I heard the footsteps now. It wasn’t loud but yet it was! The grounds didn’t shake but our hearts did! We couldn’t speak, yet our very souls were already reverberating from impounding echoes!
Truly He approached the weak. The low. Defiled. Depraved and the Wretched.
I didn’t know when my head dropped low in fear and did obeisance, for my God approacheth.

My Christ is here! My precious Holy Spirit Divine has come!

The crowds in the low grounds parted as He came into and through us.
The footsteps were getting closer.
I could feel them within myself as I tried to fight from being drowned by my heartbeat.
He’s coming closer.
My eyes closed as tears flowed down my mudded cheeks.
He’s standing in front of me.
I knew from that moment how condemned I was. I knew that there was no other reason for my God to stand in front of me but to judge me and send me to the uppermost darkness for all time.

My knees buckled under and knelt before the King of Kings.
The Lord of Lords.
The Ancient of Days.
Tears were flowing uncontrollably now.
I couldn’t apologize for the sins so many.
I couldn’t stand ‘cos my burdens so heavy.

Then I felt something touch my head. It felt like a drop at first but then I could feel calmness introduced into my blood veins as the liquid ran through my head. I was shaken from having cried a bucket. I had bathed in the rain many times just to be a little clean but this liquid did more than the rain.
The itch on my head was no more.
I watched as it ran down my hands and for the first time, in a long time, I saw the true colors of my skin.
The burdens in my heart felt lifted and when I dared to look up to my King, there was no condemnation in His eyes.

YOU CLEANED MY HEART FROM THE SPOIL
YOU LAID MY SOUL OUT LIKE A FOIL
YOU DIDN’T WELL UP IN A VIOLENT BROIL
YOU ANOINTED MY HEAD WITH OIL

WHEN THE RICH SHOULD BE THE ONE
WHEN, AS A PEASANT, I WAS DONE
WHEN I’D GONE TOO FAR TO RETURN
AND MY HEART ALWAYS DID MOURN

WHEN I THOUGHT YOUR ANGER OVER ME WOULD BOIL
WHEN MY GUTS, AT MY DISGUST, DID RECOIL
WHEN MY BURDENS HELD ME TO THE SOIL
THOU ANOINTEST MY HEAD WITH OIL

….so go on and bear your heart out to the One who chose you out of the low grounds
...you don’t need to labor for grace or toil, for God, hast anointed your head with oil

The prisoner of Christ

IN THE PRESENCE OF MY ENEMIES

IN AN ENDLESS TRADITION OF GOD'S WORD AND THE MIRACULOUS!!!


You have seen their faces.
You know how they look like.
Creatures you would have denied were not formed by the same God that formed you.
There eyes sparkle with hate and evil. Their lips darkened by the smoking cigars of darkness.
You must know those I speak of.
To call them enemies would be too kind of us. You know the many names that cross your mind when you see them. Should I be so bold to speak? Could it be that I’ve found the courage to be true and real with how I feel?
They sometimes approach in horde, coming for the kill. These ugly, vile, wicked, inhuman humans, possessed by principalities to cause harm and pain to your innocent self, have become somewhat of a familiar encounter with you.
You can pinpoint their exact location, and tell when and where next they’ll strike in a heartbeat. How you’ve survived for these years still remains a mystery once you find it in yourself to reminisce. There are seasons of war and seasons of peace where you can find some time, if it will, to relax and listen to the calming silence.
What if, if I may ask, you find, within the silence, characters of Brutus and Cassius, as friends? What if, to your bewilderment, you find enemies amidst those you call loved ones? When will you see that greater harm can come from those close to you than those afar? When will you come to find peace in knowing your enemies by heart and not by face?
In horror and deep-seated anguish, you must have cried. The earth must have been shaken by the grief that escapes your lips to claim the air. The birds must have ceased, if it be for a moment, not to venture into the skies because of the terrible winds of mourning that blows out from your lungs.
“Father, why am I encamped around by such great evil? Why is it that in the world there is so much tribulation? Why does it seem that there be no more seasons of rest and why have my solace being intruded by the world rulers of this present darkness?”

(silence…a still small voice whispers…)

YOUR BLESSINGS AND CHASTISEMENTS ARE SET ON A HILL FOR ALL TO SEE;
YOUR STRENGTH AND SUFFICIENCY COMES FROM NO ONE BUT ME.
BLESSINGS, THAT YOUR ENEMIES MAY SEE THAT I DO NOT LEAVE MY CHILDREN BEHIND;
THAT THEY MAY NOT GO FAR WHEN THEY’RE PUZZLED ABOUT YOUR SOURCE, AND SEEK TO FIND.
CHASTISEMENTS, LEST YOU BE EXALTED ABOVE MEASURE AND STUMBLE;
ENEMIES ARE GIVEN AS THORNS IN YOUR FLESH FOR YOU TO STAY HUMBLE.
SO NOW BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS AND SEE THE BOUNTIES I HAVE PREPARED FOR YOU;
REMEMBER YOU WILL NEVER BE FOUND WORTHY BY WHAT YOU HAVE OR DO.


“Oh sweet, precious HolySpirit, I shall ever be grateful for what you’ve done for me and I now fall on my knees,

For you have prepared a table before me in the presence of my enemies!!!


The prisoner of Christ

THOU PREPAREST A TABLE BEFORE ME

IN AN ENDLESS TRADITION OF GOD'S WORD AND THE MIRACULOUS!!!



I don’t know if you ask me.
I really don’t.
It seems to me that I have, most times, been the one to wait on another.
If there be, as I’m sure there is, that someone has attended to me; my mind is clouded by my own servitude and not of any other.
So be it said that I have thus, chosen to incline myself to even welcome and explore the numerous uncountables when I have been served.
I have grown to have food provided by a guardian. This task has seen its way through parents to loved ones.
A dutiful servant regards a simple gesture of attention more so as a luxury; ‘Tis be also regarded likewise as common in the heart of the opulent.
When a rare occasion becomes a recurring event, adoration dwindles in the prescience of familiarity. What should be held in utmost grace and gratitude becomes scorned and devalued by the eyes of the commoner. It is verily so that servitude may be necessary in life’s course, (Nay! for it is indeed mandatory, in some shape or form), the heart longs, if not for a long period of time, for a brief intercourse with the feeling that courses through the one being served.
I proclaim the inevitability of servitude in the climb to greatness! I fantasize with the emotion of the served, in its ethereal royalty and loveliness!

Unfortunately, I may serve another all through the brevity of human life and have it not reciprocated. It is funny how those held in the inextricable jaws of sin, poverty, and death, cannot reason within their finite minds, nor welcome the sheer thought, to serve first in order to climb the ladder, the same kind that Jacob saw in his dreams.
If the poor cannot serve, what can be said of the rich?
The camel can go through the needle’s eye but not so the rich.


“…the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

Can you then quantify the inexorable wellsprings of astonishment, and eventual down flow of elation when the Creator of both the rich and the poor decides to stoop low and serve?
Will it ever be found, in the vain lips of Man, the exact words to qualify the depth, and height, and length, and breadth, of the immense riches and quickening of human spirits when God resolved that our place, He was to have?
Bear with me this thought: “for whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? Is not he that sitteth at meat?...”

Jesus went on to finish that above statement by saying: “but I am among you as he that serveth.”

For this reason I put away my expectation to be served.
I renounce, with a resounding declaration, my portion to be halved.
No man needs to serve me; no one needs to feed me.
I have come to know the unknown. Please, let me share with thee:
There’s no greater portion, nor inheritance, and thou must wanteth not -
For the rich serve thee, it may or may not be
Tales can’t fathom; legends cannot compare, eyes have not seen as I see
When God, in Christ Jesus – the blessed One forever! - came to serve me
Join me at the feast of eternity to exclaim:
Thou Preparest A Table Before Me!!!




The Prisoner of Christ

…THY ROD AND THY STAFF THEY COMFORT ME

IN AN ENDLESS TRADITION OF GOD'S WORD AND THE MIRACULOUS!!!





Shepherds are known to carry Moses-like rods when wandering the earth in search for flourished grasslands for their sheep. Like we all know, there are times of great abundance, and there are times of great scarcity. A man that has trudged the sands of time and have faced and fought the insurmountable Goliaths will slowly have the memories of his great feats slip into oblivion when in the round of great plenty and a seemingly, lasting peace.

Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me…

Sometimes the experiences we have within our grasp soothe in us reservoirs of unequalled wisdom and undeniable folly. The former, when there isn’t anything new under the sun because you probably have faced such a challenge or have an idea how to deal with any rising circumstance due to previous exploits. The latter, when the characteristic pomposity that accompanies greatness nourishes self-aggrandizement and slowly, the little wisdoms of a child are no longer championed by you.

Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me…

It’s times like these that a heavy rod laid on the back is in order; times when a king’s guiding staff, from you, must not sunder. Verity bespeaks that the rod be not spared, and the staff must be heard. Since obedience is better than sacrifice, the rod must disobedience, sacrifice. When obedience brings forth abundance, the staff must be your only guidance.

So, if you need Christ’s rod to strike when you find on your lips murmurs and grumbles, then you need to pray this prayer with me. If you need His staff, the Holy Spirit, to guide when you find on you mind arrogance, self-deceit and blasphemy, then this proverbial words you must see.

“Remove from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? Or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.”

I now adjure you to come out of your folly and see-
Come, come, and from your acquired wisdom flee,
And maybe then you’ll be able to honestly say with me -
Father, “Thy rod and staff, they comfort me.”

The prisoner of Christ

…For Thou Art With Me

IN AN ENDLESS TRADITION OF GOD'S WORD AND THE MIRACULOUS!!!

Have you ever been lonely before? Have you felt the deep pangs of heaviness that escorts the heart-felt pain loneliness brings? I guess it would be appropriate to know what loneliness is so as to know what one accrues as its fruits. It is possible that such clear-cut, none-needed definition of such a plain and simple word as loneliness could be misconstrued even by the heights and depths of human wisdom. I could summon the Webster’s Dictionary to do justice to this or could place, line by line, the many profoundly-proclaimed dictionaries to decipher the weights of such a feeling. The truth still stands that there are no resources out there that can tell the heart what it feels except the heart. A shrewd bystander that has collected the many experiences of travelers still doesn’t know nor can describe the cavernous sensation of loneliness like the traveler.

Maybe you know what I’m saying. If it be possible that you have experienced it before, then I say to you it is good. If you haven’t, then celebrate not. You will come to know this great companion of all great men and women. Many have sought solace in family, friends, relationships and activities to rid themselves of such a fate having failed to realize that such means are solutions temporary with time.

David felt this once.

Nay! he felt it twice.

When his own blood sought for his blood, it must have been thrice.

Job knew this. He was cloaked and clothed with it.

A man of great wealth became of great dearth. Jesus lived this. When his skin broke up in sweats mixed with blood, Oh, His heart felt no bliss.

If you empathize with these great men because you have felt this loneliness of a spirit then you should have craved for the same thing. Nay, you must have yearned for it.

“Be with me!”

Sometimes these are the words that shout out of the acts of many law breakers.
“Stay with me!”

Sometimes these are the words championed in the sought for counseling from broken-hearted loners.

Hear then, O ye lonesome creature
See with your heart and not your eyes the real picture
In the lonely nights, God’s Spirit hovered the earth
While there was chaos, therein, He gave birth
When you feel the loneliness no one can solve
Come to the spring of life, for Jesus can absolve
Jonathan told his armor bearer, “Are you with me?”
If the Lord be with me, from the enemy I cannot flee
Come. O ye people. Come!
The physically strong and the lonesome
Jesus! There are no words before or after, I now know and see
That it is a statement not a phrase,
“FOR THOU ART WITH ME!!!”

The prisoner of Christ

I FEAR NO EVIL

IN AN ENDLESS TRADITION OF GOD'S WORD AND THE MIRACULOUS!!!

I hear it!
I think you do too.
The sound of an inestimable silence.
The reverberations of such heavy stillness.
My soul longed to be crushed by some mighty blow than to endure the cold torture of the quietude. If it be that something approaches, I bid it, “Come. Come speedily.”
Will my resolve be stretched beyond its elastic limit as I bear the agony of no intrusion?
The last of my strength spent to withhold the shrieking sound working its way through the hollow pathway to my voice piece.

I’ve been here before.
I’ve felt like this for sure.
In the utter quiet there’s war.
My Will broke, I do this no more.

“Father! Here thy son!”
“Bid that which cometh to come!”
“Master! Your Will be done!”
“My loudest might sounds like a hum!”

Suddenly, the earth quakes and my adversary approached. Darkness gave birth to its greatest weapon-Fear. In the faintness of my fading vigor, I remembered a small lad.
Someone. Some child. He walked this path once. Ye, him alone.
He must have thought it fitting that five stone would be enough. Jehovah knew it took only one. He must have figured to release the sling with all his might. Jehovah knew it took only faith. He must have seen the beast in front of him as a defiant of the Living God. Jehovah knew he was born for such a time as these.
The beast must have counted on feeding the little lad to the birds. Jehovah knew His will be done. The beast must have rested on the power of his armor. Jehovah knew the armor of His own power. The beast must have proposed to kill the lad for sure. Jehovah knew it was disposed of Him to lead the beast through death’s door.

So here he stands in front of me. The same beast. The same but of another. Here he looks at me. The same look thousands of years ago. The same but of another. Here he thinks the same. The same thought wars fought before. The same but I no longer bother.
A lad stood once here before. Thus I stand.
A boy won with one stone. So surely, I’ll win.
The same boy said "the Lord said to my Lord..."
The same Lord Jesus stands with me now.
Though it be big, strong, and fearful, if it will, be it the devil.
In the largeness of my smallness, I fear no evil.

The prisoner of Christ!

…the valley of the shadow of death…

IN AN ENDLESS TRADITION OF GOD'S WORD AND THE MIRACULOUS!!!

This is the place.
Look at it.
See the very pathway that has swallowed up fallen saints. Can you make the steep terrains that define its valley? If your existence has been shaken by world tragedies then think again ‘cos this is worse. If you thought that the ghetto kills people more on your bloodied alley then reconsider, this is more than just a valley.
See the river of thickened blood flowing through its hollow. Watch as the sun fails to smear the thick darkness below.

Many are called but few are chosen. ‘Tis here, above all else, you will find the true test bespoken. ‘Tis here, beyond all else, saints have found their humility false. ‘Tis here, defy all else, horses and chariots venture not but pause.
The praise of great men who slew Goliaths stifles in the echo that reverberates from the surrounding hills. The nightly sound from the forbidden beast touches your spine with chills.

Look at your faces-filled with blood as bravery deems from your essence. Must I now tell you that this road is the only path that leads to the Savior’s presence? Will you stand where others have fallen? Will you look at the deathly fiend while your Master bids you to come in?
Children of the past, brace yourselves to be men of the present. Awake, and do awake fast. We have a helper. He is heaven-sent.

See how the vultures rise from their carcass. Look how they stare in anticipation for us.
If you think you came this far to walk through this alone then you need to sever from your folly. David approached Goliath with God’s sufficiency and that made him holy.

And if you fall…if u fall. Remember the One who fell and got up. Do not forget the Christ who made us one, both the fallen and the standing.
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, so what? It won’t be the first time. He brought me thus far. He will take me home.
Though my legs sink the quickening of the sand dunes, then what? My body may be taken but not my heart.

Though I be struck and torn by the inhabitants of shadows, I care less. I’m dead in Christ already. So I do not live but Christ lives in me and the life I live, I live by faith in the Son of God who died and rose again.

Soldiers: We are ready!
Alas! The response required of Christ’s saints.
Let’s dare to venture into the alley full of sorrow and the devil’s breath;
Come. We go hence, through the valley of the shadow of death.

The prisoner of Christ

...FOR HIS NAME SAKE!

IN AN ENDLESS TRADITION OF GOD'S WORD AND THE MIRACULOUS!!!

Do you know, if I might ask, the reason of existence? I mean what’s the point of living without any sense of purpose? Have you ever being in a fight where you know, by the stance of your opposition, there is no chance but you went in anyway just because

You wonder why the ellipsis? Well, so that you can fill in the space.
What was the motivation? What was the inspiration? Was there ever a reward? Did you get a return? Maybe it was love…maybe lust…maybe envy…maybe pride.
There are times when we don’t need a reason to do things. All we need at such moments is just to act. Many call it living. Stop the procrastinations that totally wind you in and take a bold step and do something spontaneous. It would be inappropriate to stifle this piece with debates to ruffle such clean sheets.
Be it as it may, there are other times when your heart finds an urge - some inexcusable, and indelible stroke of reason.
Powerful. Unquenchable. Vibrant. Potent. And real.
Painful as it is, many have fully accepted a life of mediocrity. The twist and turns of life have really shut down the fire that burned once in them; the love that captured their hearts; the anger that ruptured their control to do. “…the love of many has wax cold.”
Jesus said we shall receive whatever we ask in His name. Precious Jesus authored and finished our faith for His name. A good example here is for me, without reason, to proclaim Him the blessed One forever.

You look tired dearly beloved. You have traveled far haven’t you? Look at your feet so sore. I pray thee, can you take any more? Touch your temple. You do need a drink from the living cisterns. It’s been a while since you’ve waited. Will you give hope credence?
Stand up for a while. Glance ahead of you. The latter road seems to be longer than the former.
If you were of Israel, I’d champion David’s mighty men! If you were of Greece, I’d call you Spartans. If you were of Africa, I’d praise the name Carthaginian.
Nay, not of all these are you from but of one whose city is the New Jerusalem; a citizen of heavenly places; a creature adopted as God’s son.
Still tired? Look. The Giants of Anak approach!
Thirsty? Stand. The desert wind blows.
Hungry? Hold your ground. The seven years of Egyptian famine looms.
Listen. The Master speaks:
Christians. Fellow soldiers of Faith. Lovers of Hope. Carriers of Love.
Arm yourselves. Draw your swords smeared by God’s Holy Word. Take up your shields fastened with faith. Where is thy silver helmet cast in the fiery furnace of salvation? Show me your feet shod by Christ’s gospel peace.
Stand with me.
If there be any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, fulfill ye my joy and brace yourselves. We do not live because there wait, for us, a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.
We go like David against Goliath, in His Holy name.
Feel your foreheads.
Feel out the name written on it and embrace your owner.
Do you care to drink again from the living waters?
Answer me soldiers.
Strike the ground like Moses stroke the rock. Let the waters from Christ, your solid foundation, gosh out in power. Let it flow and remain like a lake…
…fill yourselves for we go a step further for His name sake.

The prisoner of Christ

...HE LEADS ME IN THE PATH OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

IN AN ENDLESS TRADITION OF GOD'S WORD AND THE MIRACULOUS!!!

Do you care to notice that lovely meadow? Care to crave for its loveliness as it waits on the other side, full of promise? Watch, I adjure you. Watch. See how the rivers flow of milk and honey? Try to relish how the sun dares not to set in the New Canaan.
Care to join the crossover team?
What was that?
You ask of how?
Look. We have a leader.
Behold. There is the path that leads to bliss.
You hesitate?
Oh! I see.
Your life has been filled with devils, and your soul, mingled with filthiness that you found yourself unworthy to even enjoy a glimpse of the new heaven and the new earth, let alone go with us.
Be still. Beloved.
Let us reason together.
I felt that way too. I know the heavy burden my soul carried. I felt the milestone tied around my neck. Look briefly at the scars the mighty tides of life have inflicted on me.
It was all my doing.
In sin I was conceived. In sin I was born.
But before you drink again from the dregs of bile, and wallow in the mire of squalor, let me, if you please, give light to your darkness.
See the master? I mean the one who leads us in this journey?
Yes. He is the one who glows in light too bright for the eyes to hold.
He told me that He leads all of us who bear no inkling of rightness.
He came to seek and save that which is lost.
He said those that need a physician are not those who are whole but those who are sick.
So I beseech thee. Sample those of us who are on this path.
Look how vile and despicable we are. See the rottenness of our teeth, and the incorrigibility of our essence.
Now do you see how you fit in?
Do you dare to care?
Will you care to dare?
The acceptance of our insufficiencies is the perfection of His efficiencies.
For it became of him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of our salvation perfect through sufferings.
So if our leader, the God of light and love, would care to cross over in order to lead us to His kingdom, won’t you think it suffice enough to show gratitude by yielding to follow?
Don’t common sense prick you to lay off the sin that easily beset you and come with us?
Come.
You have tried to be right before but you failed.
Follow.
You have struggled to stand before but you fell.
Obey.
You have traveled many paths before but you found nothing.
Look at the bridge.
You can’t see it?
Wait.
Let me lift you up as my strength can bear.
Be unburdened and awake your confidence.
The road may be hard, steep, rough and long but do not fear
He leads in the path of righteousness!

The prisoner of Christ

He Restores My Soul

IN AN ENDLESS TRADITION OF GOD'S WORD AND THE MIRACULOUS!!!

It’s been a long journey.

It wasn’t so hard to understand the possibility of taking advices from King David, a man who got chased from his throne by his own son. I joined him in his flight.
Do you think it strange when I ended up in prison with the ruler, Joseph, a man who was sold by his own brothers? In the darkness we gasped for light.
It wasn’t a mystery discovering the great supplanter, Jacob, whose life was desired to be ended by his own twin. We ran away with all our might.
Would you have been puzzled when I found myself in a ship with Jonah, who thought it best to run from his God? Storms in the ocean turned us white.
It wasn’t at all startling to find myself locked up in an ark with Noah, who shut himself and his family from his own people. Our lives were shaken by the waters’ height.
Maybe it should have been a wonder when I ran from Damascus with Paul, who was to be killed by his own religious brethren. He taught to fight the good fight.
But…
It was with great humility we were all summoned to join, in death, our Savior, Christ Himself, who didn’t survive eternal punishment from his own creatures. He gave us the strength to go on even in the chastisement and blight.

Christ promised us restoration.
Spirit guaranteed our redemption.
God ushered His Son – a reward.
Jesus gifted the Spirit – His due we can never afford.

Paul suffered the most of all the apostles….but God…restored his soul.
Noah wept at the futility of his muscles ….yet God…restored his soul.
Jonah repented at the belly of the beast…but God…restored his soul.
Jacob ran in fear, for his brother’s right he leased…yet God…restored his soul.
Joseph yearned and long-suffered for his family…but…God restored his soul.
David wrote some psalms in pain…but…God restored his soul.
Christ was killed for my gain…and God…raised his soul.

I look back and couldn’t see anyone, yet, somehow, without a doubt, I knew I was surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses. It wasn’t the first time I found myself in such a predicament. Some were sufferings for good; others, by my own foolishness.
Nevertheless, he restored and still restores many. He shall surely restore me again.

The sand felt hot under my cracked feet.
My belly roared for some form of meat.
In spite of it all the bleak distance shone in hope. Courage seeped into me again to take another step.

Why?

Because every time I’ve found myself in lack, Spirit made me whole;
Each time I found the strength to go, Christ was, and still is my goal –
And every time I get caught in the deep, God, He restores my soul!!!

The Prisoner of Christ

He leads me beside still waters..

IN AN ENDLESS TRADITION OF GOD'S WORD AND THE MIRACULOUS!!!

I was by the ocean once.
I feared it once. I still do.
I could hear its distant sound as we drove miles away towards its bed.
It had its voice. It refused not to be heard. Its language, no matter how vague it was, commanded the arrest of all creatures. If I were so bold enough to put words to its eloquence I’d say, “Hear me- a defiant of all boundaries; a crash of mighty thunders. Indeed I, must be heard.”

18 yrs later. Fully grown and masked with unequalled depth, God leads me back to my fear. The torture of my soul. The echo that chills my bones.
He laid me down in green pastures once. It was time to walk the waters.
Peter had the courage to take a few steps on the tremulous sea. Yet, my soul, how decadent it is, drowned in the sands.

GO.

It was a command. My sufficiency-the precious Holy Spirit of grace-ushered on.
I could have sworn I saw, in the distance, the Leviathan rise and submerge.
Sea creatures crawled out in flight of such terror.

“Why must I go?” My soul asked God.

LOOK UNTO ME.
‘TIS BURDEN MANKIND MUST TOW.
HENCE, ALL FEARS FLEE.
‘TIS PATH MANKIND MUST TROW.

I heard Peter cheer in a cloud of witnesses, “Go. Son. Go. Let not my letdown be yours to know.” I had journeyed with two pairs of footprints. Without looking down, I knew there was only a pair as I walked on.

Eyes steady…Faith ready...
From sunrise… To sunset…

The only hold the great waters had on me was a soothing caress of my worn-out feet.
The same waters, of which the skilled of sailors melt at its fierceness, became still.

My problems’ bigness decreased; so did I.
My Christ’s vision increased as my praise went high.
Temples relaxed; shoulders collapsed. Man proposed it falters;
God disposed as he led me beside still waters!

The prisoner of Christ!

HE MAKES ME LIE DOWN IN GREEN PASTURES

IN AN ENDLESS TRADITION OF GOD'S WORD AND THE MIRACULOUS!!!

It was one of those nights that claimed its displays of both good and evil. A tired soul walked past a couple of guys perpetrating atrocities under a tree on his way to the tennis court. His destination was saturated with an atmosphere filled with cries of fellow crusaders. Every night he would come, like a sheep in obeisance to his shepherd, for the nourishment derived from green pastures. Once he crosses the dangerous bushes, his heart would find such soothe as his feet felt the coolness of graveled grounds.
Samuel would walk the first two courts before stopping at the third. He would lie down on the gravels and use his slippers as pillows. Many crusaders would walk by, pause for a second and stir at the absurdity of this fellow countryman before walking away with a disapproving nod.

After a while of intense prayers, the Shepherd came to visit along the courts' garden. The first stop He made was by a young crusader who had rested on the wall in slight slumber.
“Dear sheep of mine,” said the Shepherd, “where would you seek to lay down?”
The young crusader stirred and replied, “Master, set my feet on easy grounds were solace is not what is sought for but wherein lies in excess; where I no longer twist and turn in the beds of life seeking comfort where there is none.”
“Son,” replied the Shepherd, “why haven’t you asked me for the very thing that provides sustenance to your weary soul? Why doesn’t your spirit thirst for the soothing waters that streams from wellsprings of life? Why doesn’t your existence hunger for the feeds that give strength to the many sheep? Wait a while here. Let me ask your brother and find out his desired pasture.”
The Shepherd moved closer towards the tired soul that found rest on prickly grounds.
“Dear child, why have you found peace on such bristly surfaces when your brother rests his back on Jericho walls?”
Samuel, the tired soul, stirred from his slumber. “I have sought solace before in places of human rest and found my soul robbed of calm; I have once rested on the Jericho walls, in pride and wealth, but have suffered a lasting wound as the wall came crushing down my back. My feed is to eat from the bare shrubs that scantily grow on the dry earth and I have now found solace in the prickly grounds of life’s persecution, derision and scorn. Master, I beseech thee, let me dwell in the sanctity of thy Truth for therein lays liberty.”

The Shepherd called the young crusader and declared: “You have asked me for easy grounds. Well, here they are. Lie beside your brother and learn;

You asked for beds of rest. Well, don’t look far. Lie beside your brother and yearn.”
He then turned to Samuel and said, “Come my child. You now fully understand what it means to abide and be faithful in all things. Come. Lie down in green pastures, for the grounds you stand up from is now your former pastures. I have lain with you, the whole time, and will always be with you.”

Samuel looked up as the young crusader joined him on the floor. He looked unto his master and said: “Master, I beseech thee, let me stay with my brother, for surely we travel the same course and therefore will lay in green pastures together. I have come to realize that your never-ending provisions abound even on prickly grounds. Pls hear my request and grant the desires of thy servant's heart.”
The Shepherd looked at him proud to have a sheep like this in His camp. “Then I shall watch over you as always in case the enemy tries to rob you of your joy for I am the Lord who watches, the Lord who saves.”

“…for I have learned, in whatever state I am, therewith to be content.” – Phil 4:11b
No matter what I go through, my heart still speaks that God's grace affords providence in all things. Whatever situation I find myself, I regard all as my green pastures
… He makes me lie down in green pastures.

The prisoner of Christ

...I SHALL NOT WANT

IN AN ENDLESS TRADITION OF GOD'S WORD AND THE MIRACULOUS!!!

I was privileged to know my father before he was pruned from this world. My lovely sisters would be sent by we miscreants (my brothers and I) in request for a favor. This request ranged from going out to rent a movie or play games to visiting the country club where we, as kids, had so much fun. Irrespective of the number of times we'd had more success than failures at this, our hearts raced with either the same or a greater anxiety as we waited in anticipation for our sisters to return with the verdict. I remembered the last time the room to my father's door slid open and my sisters came out with a gleeful face. "Dad said we should all dress up cos we leave at five."

It felt great to have a father who was always there for us.

It felt great to have sisters who advocated and stood in the gap for us.

It felt great to have a family who stood as the Great Wall for us to relax our backs on, anytime we wanted.

Food was always on the table; clothes, on our backs; tuition was always paid, and life felt so good.

I SHALL NOT WANT!

The fact that my father was always there to provide for us made me feel like, for the rest of my life, my lot would be laid with beds of roses. The presence of his love convinced me that in the toughest of times, I would have someone to count on at all times. My father's nightly inspection of his kids while we slept stirred me into deeper slumber all the time.

I SHALL NOT WANT!

A powerful observation was that sometimes my father denied me of my demands from time to time but I knew I was denied for my good, and my good only. He never gave me a stone in exchange for food. He never gave me a rebuke in exchange for encouragement. He never spared the rod in exchange for abuse.

...Because he was my father I never lacked what I needed.

Nature has granted me the right to infer that if my earthly father cared this much, and if the Lord is indeed my Shepherd, then I can say I Shall Not Want.

"If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you." -Jn15:7

I SHALL NOT WANT!

As kids, we needed to send someone to go for us and advocate for us; so also, His "Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be uttered..."

As we got our desires met just because of our earthly father's presence so also our needs are met when we ask the Lord.

The true test to verify my sonship to my earthly father is a positive paternal test.

The true test to verify my sonship to my Heavenly father is the Word that abides in me!

I don't receive everything I ask for from my earthy father. Why? He knows when to deny and when to provide. Simple.

I don't receive everything from the Almighty God. Why? He knows me more than I know my self and sometimes "I ask amiss to consume it upon my lust."-James 4:3.

...

Five minutes later. Fully dressed and ready to go out. My father came out of his room. "Come on kids. Its time to go."

THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD; I SHALL NOT WANT...

The prisoner of Christ

THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD

IN AN ENDLESS TRADITION OF GOD'S WORD AND THE MIRACULOUS!!!

I thought of how best to dignify the Lord with one of the rarest, most beautiful, artistic write-up about His shepherdry (if there is such a word), but the Holy Spirit hit me with a bombshell: no human vocabulary can ever qualify the selfless sacrifice; the loving grace; the encompassing shadow of His watch as the Lord of our lives. My intent is to try and delve deep into the unrevealed mystery of Psalm 23 and try to feast upon the deciphered keys of Christ – our Lord and our Shepherd.

The Lord is my Shepherd!
Eternity is quite challenged by my loss of counts of the times I’ve read this particular Psalm without stopping for a second to ponder on its treasury or be engulfed by its richness of Truth.

The Lord is my Shepherd!
I remember, not too long ago, when I would see, from time to time, nomads who would travel far and wide to find enough feeds for their cattle and sheep. From a distance, it seemed their lives were totally dependent on the welfare of their herds. When night would come they would build hatches and watch the herds with their lives. If there be, by any chance, a predator in search of fresh meat, it would have to go through these nomads who equate the lives of their animals with the cost of theirs.

The Lord is my Shepherd!
It’s quite remarkable how such a simple story could hold such great ounces of foolishness that defies the mightiest of worldly wisdoms. There hasn’t been any well-written story by the profoundest of script writers that has such resounding wellsprings of life like the story above: an unknown African nomad who watches his sheep with his life.

The Lord is my Shepherd!
Now I know what stirred the mind of David when, by the inspiration of the Spirit, penned down these great words: The Lord is my Shepherd. Why wouldn’t he when it was The Lord who saved him from the mouth of the bear in the fields; why wouldn’t he when it was the Lord who provoked him to pursue the beast that took his sheep from its shelter.

The Lord is my Shepherd!
There are no complexities in this! Dwell on its simplicity. Christ will watch over you. Why? He is your Lord. It comes natural for the Spirit to guide and love you. Why? He is your Shepherd.
I sleep with such sweet release! I slumber at His watch! My heart rests because I know, without a doubt, the Lord watches; the Lord saves!

The Lord is my Shepherd!!!

Selah

The Prisoner of Christ

Finish the work!

IN AN ENDLESS TRADITION OF GOD'S WORD AND THE MIRACULOUS!!!

"...my food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work" -Jn4:34

No man needs to be told that food is a necessity of life! Oh, what importance is credited to the invisible wind that affords us abundant breathe; oh, what power a family's love carries in the nourishment of a child; oh, what lasting effect sheer words of encouragement has to mold the broken walls of despair. Yet, in all these things, you cannot cause a smile to appear on a hungered face; the greatest of comedies cannot amuse a starved soul in need of the simplest, most basic element of life; David's mighty men may be found unable to muster the singlest of strength after days of deprivation.

But Jesus! - Sweet Jesus, staring at the cold face of hunger, declared he had already found His satisfaction; Jesus! - Wonder-working Jesus, when He epitome a vehicle of drained strength and utmost weakness, proclaimed His contentment: "my food is to do the will..."

Another striking phrase in this blessed scripture is "who sent me." Hard work gets a new job and realizes that his new high income doesn't implore the need of his expertise. Diligence suffers in frustration when a day of idleness begets another day. Dutiful agonizes in the presence of a good week at work when his ingenuity is unchallenged. Creativity drowns in despair when he lies lame throughout a week of nothingness.

But Jesus! - Master Jesus, had a purpose! Jesus!-loving Jesus, knew His will! Unlike a servant who bites his nails till his soul is stirred by an outcry from the Master to complete a task, Jesus served from the Beginning with a mission. Oh my soul, how I long to be sent! My terrible soul, how I crave to do! My restless spirit, how I tire of wandering and hunger for exploit rendering!
Thanks be to Jesus for in His word I found my lifelong destiny.

Lastly, what does it mean to "complete His work?" Foolish, the precious words of the Spirit declares a man who builds without counting the cost. He is like a fool who claims to embark on a treasure-finding quest when his soul is due to be taken the previous night. He is like a talebearer whose words hold no ground in the midst of the city. Spirit's task is to walk the journey all the way. God's command is to begin and end. Christ's bid is to do and finish.

Therefore, Christ's food is my food. Christ's will is my will. . Christ's grace is my grace. I will also do the will of Him who sent me which is to believe and spread the gospel. I will not live on bread alone but on every word that proceed out of the mouth of God. I will complete my work just like Christ and my sufficiency is the precious Holy Spirit-my life, my everything, my all.

What is your food?

What is your will?

What will you complete?

The prisoner of Christ!

In My Minds Eyes...

IN AN ENDLESS TRADITION OF GOD'S WORD AND THE MIRACULOUS!!!

In my mind's eyes I see a new Me-God's own creation, whose courage never falters; whose legs never flee
In my mind's eyes I see a brave Soldier-God's own beloved, whose face bespeaks strength; whose strength stems from hunger
In my mind's eyes I see a good Son-God's own begotten, whose sacrifice was ultimate; whose Will is done
In my mind's eyes I see a new World-God's own earth, whose circumference is rounded in good; whose children are not galled
In my mind's eyes I see a new Race-God's own people, whose purpose is worship; whose desire is to see the Creator's face
In my mind's eyes I see a new Peace-God's own doing, whose authenticity isn't determined by polity; whose treaty isn't based on sanctions or fees

In God's eyes I see Love-a perfect description of which the heavens open for a dove
In God's eyes I see Hope-a perfect assurance of which, with present sufferings, I can cope
In God's eyes I see Faith-a perfect belief of which its not too long before I breath

What we see now is totally opposite to what is observed here.
If I be said to be unreal then my contentment lies not with what I see or feel;
If I be said to be a dreamer then my unresolved persistence will make the world a believer;
If I be said to be a counterfeit, then my proof comes when we meet at the Master's feet;
If I be said to be an outcast, then my worries of not being persecuted becomes of the past;
If I be said to be imperfect, then my soul is gladdened because it has revealed its defect;
If I be said to be imprisoned, then a prisoner of Christ I am proclaimed as envisioned.

In my minds eyes...In God's eyes!!!

The prisoner of Christ

A NEW BEGINNING!!!

IN AN ENDLESS TRADITION OF GOD'S WORD AND THE MIRACULOUS!!!

A new beginning is to many a resolution...
to some its a beacon of hope that things are going to get better...
to some its another repetition of a failed pledge...
to some its a defiance of a failed self...

A new beginning is to many a declaration...
a proclamation of planned achievements...
a voice over reality proposing newly-found dreams...
a wash over of external strengths over internal weaknesses...

A new beginning is to many a new foundation...
a beautiful outlay of gold over filth...
a mix of stolen warmness with coldness...
a lavish of untrue words embedded in fantasy...

A new beginning is to many a new decision...
a realization of insufficiencies and emptiness...
a rare humility of kneeling before the God...
a year dedicated not to earthly pursuits but divine exploits!

Look deep; know thyself; embrace thy faith; lose thy fate...
Look up; beyond the horizons; call the Christ; believe the Christ...
Look beside; help thy brethren; love the poor; supply the cure...
Look down; humble thyself; hold thy meekness; His Spirit the witness...



The prisoner of Christ!!!