Entering Rest

                           Entering Rest

“

Go past the outer courts

The lambs blood now your passport

Spirit washing all stains away

Escaping hell to pay

To the light and bread

Here your soul fed

Prayer and praise 

Open pathways 

No longer a dividing wall

Hear the sound of his call

Enter into the most holy place

Here meet face to face

To sit with the one enthroned above

To bathe in his grace and love

To find reprieve from the worlds demands

Believing he Is, the only command

Sitting in repose

Confident in approach

Aaron's staff in your hand

Manna and provision to command

Mysteries and all his ways engraved

No longer to laws enslaved

Forever seated to his right

Even after heavenly insight

The walk eternally directed

      The earth to heavenly kingdom subjected

        And in the secret place of the most high

            Given Power and authority to sound the battle cry

To stand the ground by Christ’s blood

    On the serpent we now dare tread

        

     As we rest in all His eternal deeds

 He before the father pleads

We the children of God enter in fullness

And are not kept from his goodness

With assurance the work is done

We can trust all to the son

And enter into rest

Turn Right

Turn Right

Let us learn we don’t need to turn far, in order to turn right.

His righteousness is right in front of us.

Ours to have and to hold into eternity,

Jesus’ righteousness, leaving no spots unturned.

Though we often leave, making left turn after left,

Simply turn right and see he has never left.

When we fail and falter,

We never fall far enough for the father to forget,

His right hand reaching down in compassion.

No need for stacking our stuff to raise ourselves up,

The one seated at his right hand placing us in right standing.

For we stand in the presence of the righteous one

And with The helper we can turn and do what is right.

The spirit within directing right and left, discerning good and evil.

Today let us hold firmly, today we can leave behind the past

Today we are made right again,

As long as it’s today, His mercies made new in our turning.

Let us Seek a righteousness not our own

And let us not turn away

 for the leftover crumbs of this world,

But enter his courts with confidence, believing in the one, who left his heavenly kingdom to make us right.

Romans 10:10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

Philippians 3:9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,

Isaiah 32:37 “And the work of righteousness will be peace, And the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever.”

Hebrews 8:8 Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, ² and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being.

  

Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. ¹⁴ But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

What do I know of lament?

What do I know of lament?

Of what do I understand of suffering?

How do we call witness to a loving God in the face of another’s pain?

Where is mercy when injustice runs rampant?

What does grace mean when you are oppressed

Is it just for the privileged to be blessed?

Oh what do I know of lament?

The earth cries out from the burden of pollution

The waters rail against toxic waste

The bodies of our children pile up in decay

Sickness and cancer abounds

How can we deny the pain all around?

What do I know of lament?

Hatred and love of self is on the rise

“Isms”, places that  divide

Waistlines and wallets fatten

As poverty and hopelessness devour

Trust is twisted as other’s abuse power

What do I know of lament?

 Church’s wounding those all around

The truth of Jesus buried beneath the ache

Cities and countries gobbled up by quakes

Flood waters wreaking devastation

The groaning of all creation

What do we know of lament?

In honest appraisal let us asses,

 All artifice stripped so we can enter in,

In all our ugliness, hurt and pain.

Let us wail and repent

Give voice to our lament

Who knows of lament?

He does…

The one who formed all, waits to hear our cries

The one enthroned above who longs to respond

The one who bent down low to come along side

His arms aching to hold and comfort as we stop pretending its ok.

Jesus the son dying to make the only way

Psalm 22:1-5

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
    Why are you so far from saving me,
    so far from my cries of anguish?
 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
    by night, but I find no rest.^[b]

Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
    you are the one Israel praises.^[c]
 In you our ancestors put their trust;
    they trusted and you delivered them.
 To you they cried out and were saved;
    in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

Good Friday prayer

Good Friday Service Prayer

Dear Father in heaven, we thank you for this time to gather and reflect on your promises of redemption ,the hope of reconciliation and gift of eternal life all fulfilled by your son’s bloodshed.

We thank you for the specific point in time that you chose for Jesus to die on the cross and rise again, help us tonight, Holy spirit to  understand that, that one act was not just an Historical moment but is truly an eternal one covering the expanse of all time and space.

Come remind us to lay down all our sins, fears and pride at the cross, where you ,dear Jesus, took them upon yourself, your own flesh and laid them to rest in your broken body.

Teach us how in receiving and believing we are marked by the blood of the Passover lamb,just as Jesus was put to death but overcame the grave. We are now marked to pass from death to life, to worship the lamb into all eternity declaring

“Holy,holy holy is the lamb who was slain, who was and is and is to come.”

Lord give us revelation about where we have denied you and where you want to bring new life this season.

Holy Spirit tonight give us a new perspective, one from the fathers view. Teach us to see what the father see’s and do what the father does and love like the father loves, even as Jesus did, being obedient even unto death. Teach us what your kingdom come your will be done  on Earth as it is in heaven looks like.

Tonight Lord awaken our hearts to worship you in spirit and in truth for your glory and honor.

Amen

Honor

Honor

Romans 12:10 (MSG) Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.

Idols lifted high

My rights, my wants the cry.

Self-esteem and Pride rising

While honor and respect is declining.

To give up ones seat

Now equated with cowardice and retreat.

The call to holiness resounding,

The time for biblical grounding,

Arising up from hearts surrendered,

His honor and glory being remembered.

To honor the one and only son,

To relinquish control and be undone,

To lift another higher,

Becomes a gospel magnifier.

Submitting to leaders and authority

Posturing to give others priority

This brings honor to the father

Let us lay all else at the altar.

Lord God don’t let us falter,

Let us not follow the impostor,

But whole heatedly bring glory to your name,

 And cease and desist in groping for fame.

While we await the day we will be lifted high

Joining the great witness in the sky

Let us with holy wisdom understand

We in Christ are already seated at his right hand.

John 5:220-23 (MSG) The Father handed all authority to judge over to the Son so that the Son will be honored equally with the Father. Anyone who dishonors the Son, dishonors the Father, for it was  the Father’s decision to put the Son in the place of honor.

Christ in us Hope of Glory

Christ in us Hope of Glory

Beauty forming

Light swirling deep with in

Luminous seeds germinating

Boldness emerging

Teaching others to breathe

Praying in faith

Sharing in truth
Building each other up

Loving to realness 

Worshiping into eternity

Sacrificing of Pride

Walking in obedience

Identity in Christ taking root
Reaching out in unity
Transforming our world

From glory to glory

Christ in us.

Colossians 1:26-29 (TheMSG)  "This mystery has been kept in the dark for a long time, but now it’s out in the open. God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing. The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God’s glory. It’s that simple. That is the substance of our Message. We preach Christ, warning people not to add to the Message. We teach in a spirit of profound common sense so that we can bring each person to maturity. To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less. 

Holy God, Abba Father

 

God is holy and to be held in awe and reverence, honored and lifted high. On our own we cannot approach him and yet in his compassion he  sent his son after us, spilling his own blood so that we could have a transfusion and have part in the fathers DNA. Jesus is our only access point. In believing and receiving this gift we are now brought into fellowship with the father and have access to our Holy God. As we rely on the Holy Spirit in surrender he reveals truths and continually directs us to the father’s heart.