You Are Not Alone

You are not alone.
You do not have to
give yourself to another,
for cheap thrills
and passing pleasure.

You have infinite worth.

God became flesh to save you,
from the aching longing
that consumes your soul,
and drives you deeper
into darkness.

You do not have to sacrifice yourself,
on the altar
of permissive permission,
where anything and everything
is now somehow acceptable
to civilized society.

Shame and dishonour
have been cast away,
yet still somehow sticks
to the individual,
however much
they confess
their freedom of choice.

You don't have to sell yourself
into slavery,
to the growing compendium
of addictions.

You can choose true freedom,
that comes only with a price tag,
that another has already paid.

It is freely given.
It is freely yours.

Just receive it from
the Saviour's
out-stretched hands.

I Need You More

Lord, I need you more,
more than words can say.

I need you more.
Complacency sits
comfortably in my heart,
soothing my justice cry
for others into silence.

I need you more.
I find myself
satisfied enough with
this version of reality,
to stop the spiritual struggle
that breaks open true life.

I need you more.
To wake me up,
to see the hour
is so much later
than I thought.

I need you more.
I have appointments
not to be missed.
If I do,
there could be
eternal disappointment,
that no one can remedy.

I need you more
than my self protection
will show,
or my self preservation
will admit.

I need you more.
I will never comprehend
how much.
But I say it,
and I think I mean it,
even more
than yesterday.

Walking With A Limp

I walk with a limp,
because of what I have done,
and what others have done to me.

I have wrestled with God,
not face to face
as Jacob did,
but from time to time
over the years.

I have wrestled with
the aching questions,
the need to comprehend
myself and others
more than I do.

I have wrestled with God
about my frailty,
and He knows the depths of it.

I have wrestled with
wanting more than I now see,
something of the supernatural
that seems beyond my reach,
but is evidently there.

I wrestle for a while,
and then let go,
and walk away
consumed by my own lack.

I walk with a limp,
but I still choose to walk.

Mark of the Beast

Black and white
cowboy hats
are swapped.
The good guys
become the bad guys.

The law abiding
become the law breakers.
Outcasts,
society misfits,
refusing to conform
to take the mark.

Unable to buy or sell,
unable to travel
through security checks,
excluded from every
pervasive technological interaction.

A people group
refusing to bow,
as Daniel's friends
once did in Babylon.

They survived the
fiery furnace,
and walked out of it
unharmed.

Those called by
Christ's name
will face a future
challenge.

Whether to bow
to the demands of
the mark of the beast,
or whatever
the consequences,
continue to put their trust in God.