three shots in the arm, 1-2-3
a complex formula, tailor-made by men in lab coats
who just want to keep her safe so she can run and play
pain with a purpose she can't see to believe
and I take in the moment of a metaphor
One week, two messages, a scary moment, more bad news,
scripture tailor-made just to keep me safe so I can run and play
countless whispers from You spurring me on
as the radio sings "so sweetly broken, holy surrender"
and all I can do is smile
at how you find ways to speak to me
in this noisy, pain-filled,
crazy, beautiful world
where I can be sweetly broken
and still complete the race
even if I cross the finish line
on my knees
I know You'll be waiting
to help me up again
"At the cross You beckon me,
draw me gently to my knees
and I am lost for words
so lost in love
I'm sweetly broken
Holy surrender . . . " Jeremy Riddle, Sweety Broken song
"The question is not whether or not your time in prison will come, but rather 'Will I do my jail time in a way that is purposeful or purposeless?'" Rob Wegner, "Viral Attitudes" sermon 4/19-20/08
"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NIV)
"God's desire is not always to make you happier, it's to make you holier . . . Come to the one who loves you most and loves you best . . . many of you are almost ready to give up because of the crisis that come your way that have almost nothing to do with your own actions . . . gardening, like life, is an act of faith . . . you put all you can into it, knowing the storms might come . . . all I can say tonight is don't give up. Never give up. The last page of the story hasn't been written." Dr. Bob Laurent, "Never Give Up" sermon 4/24/08
"Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we'd better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!" Hebrews 12:1-3 (Msg)
1 comment:
As if those two messages separately weren't enough, they decided to put them back to back. Talk about some things to chew on!
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