Spring greetings !
MAY blessings attend
you, in this sprightly season –
vibrant days of MAY
~~~
Archive for April, 2012
Invective: a vehement accusation or denunciation, especially of a bitterly abusive kind
He stands before me quaking,
in anger, not in fear.
Hate-filled eyes, so murderous
and neck veins under strain.
Venom of spitting cobra
poised to strike its victim
~~~
Then flowed a raging river,
uncontrollable torrent of
invective: intent on belittling,
on wounding, on destroying.
No thought for dignity here,
gone all semblance of respect.
~~~
And I’m left dazed, bemused
that one, held in such regard,
could metamorphose instantly
from niceness into nastiness,
as before my very gaze
Apollyon is unmasked.
Credit for the ‘title’ goes to my wife, Sue – with special thanks !
Seems to me that many modern ideas of God fall lamentably below His awesome reality. Rather than the all-glorious One, worshiped by angelic hosts and revealed in Holy Writ, we have witnessed the emergence of a pathetic creation of the human mind, utterly unworthy of the title “God”, and yet unblushingly paraded and patronized as god … in my view a monstrous idol – a psychological, but unreal, rival to the True and Living God.
How come this travesty ? One answer could be that we have pandered to those who remonstrate that our faith should be more palatable, and consequently we have set about removing anything that is deemed offensive or politically incorrect about the ‘biblical’ revelation of the Deity.
“Our God is an awesome God” goes the lyric of a well-known worship song. “Awesome” – a much over-worked, and greatly trivialized word – actually meaning inspiring reverential wonder or fear. Question is – does this new-fangled god manage to inspire reverential wonder or fear in anyone, or is it no more than a ‘chum’ who everyone gets along with, and who is overly tolerant of the intolerable behaviour of many of its ‘so-called’ worshippers.
Hear the prophetic words of A. W. Tozer: “Among the sins to which the human heart is prone hardly any other is more hateful to God than idolatry, for idolatry is at bottom a libel on His character. The idolatrous heart assumes that God is other than He is … The heaviest obligation upon the Christian Church today is to purify and elevate her concept of God until it is once more worthy of Him” – cited from his book “The Knowledge Of The Holy” (recommended reading)
A powerful phrase hit me the other day, as St Paul quotes from a Jewish psalm in his epic letter to the beleaguered believers in Rome. Most English translations have it: “There is no fear of God before their eyes”.
Now, I wonder, does this go some way in further explaining the present morass – ‘no fear of God’.
What can we expect to see when the ‘fear of God IS before our eyes’. Well, perhaps a fresh study of the subject within the biblical book of Proverbs will assist, and is duly recommended, replete as it is with references to this distinctive characteristic, which, sadly, is conspicuous by its absence.
Go on I dare you !
Perhaps we might then return to the Majestic One His true identity.
A poem of praise to Jesus, the Messiah
Beholding such beauty in Your world
I exclaim: ‘You are beautiful’
Feeling such sympathy in Your gaze
I confess: ‘You are empathetic’
Hearing such tenderness in Your voice
I maintain: ‘You are compassionate’
Finding such forgiveness in Your heart
I’m encouraged: ‘You are merciful’
Knowing such love flowing from Your being
I’m enveloped: ‘You are accepting”
Valuing such purity in Your motives
I believe: “You are holy”
Sensing such authority in your Word
I proclaim: “You are Sovereign”
Easter in a triple acrostic for our Triune God
God’s story
Grace abundant
Glory revealed
Offended law-giver
Offered sacrifice
Outrageous mercy
Saviour risen
Sins forgiven
Salvation certain
Punishment inflicted
Penalty exacted
Peace restored
Excluding no-one
Eternity assured
Endless praise
Love divine
Lightening darkness
Life bestowed
READY WRITER 