Rescued from the Rapture

6/15/24

Strokes on canvas come to life.

Entangled particles of love explore.

Earth orbits a dying sun—

mere reflection and mortal strife.

A villa with a view not easily ignored.

 

“For by grace you have been saved through faith.”

Soil of Vine rich with trust.

Proverb and parable collide—

good deeds like talents buried

turn to rust.

Listen to chimes of old,

a call to Middle-Eastern metaphors of grace:

fruit of branches pruned fills the cup

the Gardner-Groom lifts up

to bless and toast and taste

the sweetness of the day,

a much-anticipated day

when He can see His eclectic bride eternal

face-to-face.

 

For now, the genealogy of suffering

is in every kiss.

While the already-not-yet kingdom of God

is continually crafted,

sanded down and stained

into His pre-ordained workmanship.

For we are Heaven’s masterpiece,

framed in doctrines of sweat and bliss.

Incarnated poems

(“created in Christ Jesus to do good things”)

clip Icarus’s apocalyptic wings

as feathers of pride melt

like sun-struck wax

when we abide inspired

with tongues of fire

from Holy Spirit lips.

 

To be clear, this is not an anti-rapture poem but a poem about an obsession with the rapture, to the point that we fail to “come to life” here-and-now, merely giving lip-service to Paul’s Spirit-inspired declaration “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago” (Ephesians 2:10, NLT).  

1/16/25

It’s time to start giving back. After years of researching, writing, reading, and studying in the fields of psychology, theology, philosophy, ethics, and spiritual formation, I have decided to become a spiritual life coach for men. My personal conviction is that coaching is modeling. And modeling is coaching. My heart is to see Christian men…

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12/23/24

Category: JESUS, Scripture

…the linguistic problem hammers the last nail in the coffin of the traditional setting of “the inn” being some sort of hotel. In Greek, katáluma is translated “lodging place,” “upper room,” or “guest room.”[6] Only a few translations call it something other than “the inn,” which lends itself to misinterpretation by Westerns who think of “the inn” as a kind of hostel or motel.[7] But Matthew’s gospel makes it clear that the Maji entered a “house”: “And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.”[8] So, the traditional telling of “no room for them in the inn” should be translated “no room for them in the guest room upstairs.”  

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12/21/24

When Josh Brolin gave Thanos a humanity, it sent shock waves not only into the Marvel Cinematic Universe but also into ours. That is, when personified evil is torn over killing half the world’s population but sees it as a necessity, his character becomes believable, which is terrifying to watch. After accomplishing what he thinks…

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