1. ARE YOU FIRST IN LINE, LAST IN LOVE?
   
   He was zealous to begin with,
   Grateful. Just to be chosen.
   The sun was hot, but does it even matter?
   O for the honor of serving the Master.
   
   But somewhere along the line, he shifted ...
   His eye from the owner to the “others”;
   Instead of laboring for the Lord of the vineyard,
   He looked for rights, rewards, recognition.
   
   And so his days stretched long and hard,
   Everything became a chore.
   He lost the joy of serving in the vineyard
   When he forgot God’s grace and call.
   
   Are you first in line, last in love?
   Have you forgotten why you came into the vineyard?
   Have you become weary? Is your eye envious?
   Remember: the last shall be first, and the first last.

I AM NOT A PRISONER

Reflections from studying the man Paul as he wrote to his disciples from a Philippian jail (from the book of Philippians):

I AM NOT A PRISONER

To the shackles on my feet –
I stand tall and steadfast as a bond-slave of Christ Jesus,
I can do all things through Him who strengthens
Me.

I am not a prisoner,

I am not defined by my chains;
To know His power, I count all things as loss,
For to me to live is Christ, to die is
Gain.

I am not a prisoner -

Of man-made glory, greats and
Gods -
These soon shall pass, but O for the surpassing
Value of knowing Him, and reaching His upward
Call.

I am not a prisoner -
The Son of God has set me free
To serve and suffer for the sake of the gospel,
To fly beyond these walls, to dare to dream.

“I draw a line on the sand

And it cannot be crossed.” (Jer 5:22, The Message)

“I draw a line on the sand

And it cannot be crossed.”

The sea, with its pride may rush and roar,

Yet must bow humbly, be hushed, . . . withdraw.

“I draw a line on the sand

And it cannot be crossed.”

Man may be smart, he may scheme and soar -  

But he’s nothing till he’s still, and knows He is God. 

“I draw a line on the sand

And it cannot be crossed.”

When He orders, “Move!” No angel can halt;

When He says, “Go!” No power in heaven and hell can stop. 

“I draw a line on the sand

And it cannot be crossed.

Why do my people not stand in awe?

Why do they dishonor Me, and follow after false gods?

Today is the last day of the year 2013. Here's my wish for everyone:

COME & SEE

The disciples were curious,
“Teacher, where do you live?”
Jesus turned around, waved, and said,
“Come, and you will see.” (John 1:39-40)

The woman at the well was shocked,
“He knows everything about me!”
“Come, see Him who gives living water.”
And those who did believed. (John 4:28, 40-41)

Mary was afraid and trembling,
“Where is my Lord?” she cried.
“He’s not here, He’s risen  –  come see
“The tomb’s empty,” the angel replied. (Mat 28:5-7)

As 2013 draws to a close,
Here’s a prayer for you, my friend,
May you come every day to Him with curiosity,
And see His grace, His love, His plan.

Come, leave all that behind -
The old, bad, ugly;
And see Him who knows and cares for you  –
And Who fills you with fresh grace and beauty.

Come and see, fear not, He's alive,
He lives in you and me -
And in anyone who will make room for Him,
And say, "Yes, I want to come, and see."

Still thinking about Christmas and gifts these few days, and came across one of the most tragic rejections of a gift: Numbers 13, when 10 of the 12 spies came back from the land that God had wanted to give them and said, "No go!"

GRASSHOPPERS, ANY?

They saw the land flowing with milk and honey

But chose to focus on the ‘too strong”, “too many.”

They heard the Voice who led by day and by night
But listened only to the song:“We’re grasshoppers in our own sight.”

Instead of crying to Him who called from heaven,

They complained, and cringed under defeated giants.
Giants that plunder dreams with no power,
And rain on vision with silent passing showers.

Giants that steal our passion for faded glory,

And hold us prisoners to yesterday’s stories.
That make us forget we, too, have dreams; and keep us living
For other man's imaginations - that we can’t fulfill or believe in.

If God has given you a vision, a dream -  

That you can see clearly even when you’re not asleep;
Starve your fears, seek hope, silence the doubters -
Remember: without dreams we live as shadows, with no faith we miss the mountains.

With the Christmas rush for year-end feasting and gift-buying, here's a thought on "things" from Eccl 5.

THINKING ABOUT THINGS 

Do not love “things.” 
“Things” won’t satisfy us. 
They only make us want more (Eccl 5:10).

Do not think, “If I have more things, my problems will be solved.”
“Things” don’t give world peace (Eccl 5:11).
“Things”, in fact, rob us of rest (Eccl 5:12).

Do not place security in “things.” 
Things don’t belong to us; 
They rot, get stolen, they must be left behind - every bit of it - when we die (Eccl 5:15).

Success in life is not in the gathering of enough “things.” 
It will never be enough.
Success is in gathering enough wisdom to be satisfied with the much or little we have (Eccl 5:18).

Reward in life is not measured by how many “things” we possess.
We will never possess "things"; they possess us.
Reward is in possessing the time, freedom and health to rejoice in the fruit of our labor with the many or few we love (Eccl 5:19-6:1).

Luke 18:35-19:10 has the back-to-back story of two characters: the blind beggar and Zaccheus the tax-collector.

Here’s a reflection as I thought about year-end wishes, an evangelism talk that's coming up next week:

Zaccheus, poor Zaccheus, he was too short;

But Jesus was coming, he refused to be stopped;
“I’ll look like a clown, I know, if I climb up that tree,
“So go ahead, laugh at me! Today the Master I must see.”

The blind man, the poor blind man, he was, um, too blind;

And people around him weren’t even kind;
“Shh, get lost, you’re only a beggar!”
Did that stop him? Ha! No, he cried even louder.

Jesus was busy, but not too busy to stop

And say to Zaccheus, “Come down, you and I got to talk.”
Yes, it was really noisy, but He heard the blind man’s cry,
“From now on you’re free, come, regain your sight.”

You see, it’s never ever about whether we’re too short, too blind,

Too late, too far gone, too shy, too lagging behind;
What it's about is do we know when God is passing through,
And are we ready with an answer when He asks,
“What do you want me to do for you?” (Lk 18:41)