Rivers flow for a reason

No tears from the river split like a rock,
Fountain-sprayed spirit hit hard without talk,
Ready for the pain coming never blinked or balked,
This is the sacrifice.
Open the door. Just walk.

Preparing the crowd,
Fever pitch loud.
Deceit spreadin',
Wheat lump getting leavened.

Invisible Chaff-staff laugh at the misery,
But, indivisible, this was planned from pre-history.
He never missed a beat.
Full allegiance to the mission,
Amazing hate-crime crowds with an invulnerable decision.

Standing fast, then lifted to the sky,
Held by the will of God,
Jesus Crucified.
But, it was a fight that wasn't ever even.
He disarmed all opponents,
To death's captives He is Freedom.
So He leads them.


Moments pass when anger swells in the stomach pit,
You want to fire shells, and yell how your sick of it.
Injustice flows like it runs the show,
But then you're called back to remember for Whom you hope:
Jesus. He reigns. Repent. He is coming again.


 

Talked to death

I'm positive that he brushed me walking by,

Snickering as he passed, whispering "you're mine; you're gonna die."

I thought nothing of it,

I dismissed the slight, to divert my attention from it,

I mean, nobody wants to die, or even think about it.

But, in reality I was living the popular lie.

Easily, I slipped under the covers at night

With no time to reflect because I was too tired,

Worked to the bones.

Sleep meant escaping the groans,

The groggy feelings.

But, all that diverted attention kept me from seeing the end of these actions.

I was living for false satisfaction.

Even the money I made couldn't be spent

Except to assist my poor attempt to reshape the life I'd bent.

I was a sad sight for the soul-seer,

Even though on the outside you may have thought me top tier.

But he knew, and he told me the truth.

He told me the end was death for my days wasted slaving for praise tasted,

Tasting like sand in my mouth, like held gold turned oil,

As if the feast you stored up suddenly spoiled.

The end of my actions was no good, and he knew.

But what he never told me was what I should do.

He left me with no hope.

He gave me no rope.

He offered no help.

He just laughed at my sorry state.

Then came the Samaritan who had compassion.

He saw my hollow life and didn't wait for me to ask him.

He just busted right in, seeing me, the emergency,

Analyzing my wounds, assessing my injury.

He saw that I was helpless, and he just graced with His care,

I had faith that this man was bearing a burden none else would bear.

I was a wretch when he found me, 

Waiting to die aside the road of life.

But, he found me, and instead it was death who died that night.

My people

Crushed, smashed, bruised, beaten, twisted,
Kicked, punched, stopped, slapped, evicted,
Dissed, tripped, blocked, bullied, afflicted,
Pushed, bloodied, dropped, teased, restricted.

That's the way we roll, prayer and preaching as the vehicle,
Getting the message told, by means of great miracles,
Planting fields of gold, by the Spiritual,
Bringing new from old, God's word framed lyrical.

Gene Edwards's "Living Close to God (When You're Not Good at It)"

In fascinating Edwards fashion, this book is written with the majority Christian in mind.  By "majority" I mean the uneducated Christian, the Christian who, likely, would be unable to read the book because he or she is illiterate.  At least, that's the majority Christian pre-1600 as that was the world majority pre-1600.  Edwards addresses the question:  How did brothers and sisters live close to God if they couldn't read the Bible, and if most towns didn't have more than a couple Bibles if they had any at all?  His point is that these brothers were close to God, and so this belief that elevates educated Christians above uneducated Christians is partiality-employed fiction.  It's spiritual elitism.  But, the Way, Edwards explains, is a little more palatable by the end, and so if you think he's contra biblia, there's no need to worry or put on your armor and unsheathe your sword.

Edwards is a storyteller at heart - a great one.  It only makes sense that this teaching would come by the story of his life, his testimony of quick success in ministry and a rise to prominence in the American evangelical scene.  His dilemma, however, was that he didn't have a true intimacy with Christ that was living.  He knew Christ, but as if from a distance, or through a window.  He was searching for that abiding presence.  He hungered and thirsted, and this book tells what he found, why it could be found the way he found it, and the practical steps Christians who aren't predisposed to spirituality can take to encounter God.

The primary point Edwards makes is that Jesus Christ is near, and you can encounter Him daily.  And, this entire experience is tethered to the Word of God.  It's not just written about in the Word/Bible.  It fundamentally relies on the Bible.  The Bible is the foundation for his teaching and the Bible is the foundation for its practice.  This teaching is that you meet God through His Word.  And prayer, which he semi-rails against (not true prayer, but a false kind of prayer that is only about lists and wants and requests divorced from relationship) in the first part of the book, is actually the method and means of touching Christ and knowing God.

If you're a theologian, this book will probably frustrate you to no end.  Edwards is too poetic and prophetic.  His style and content will likely drive you into criticism mode.  I think you'll end up agreeing with most of what he says, but the process will be painful because you'll be searching for ways to reconcile what he says with terminology he is unwilling to employ.  This book is truly for the believer who doesn't have a clue what it means to know God deeply or "spend time with the Lord in prayer."  Those are just "Christianese" words and phrases that make people think you're a fanatical weirdo who doesn't know right doctrine.  Edwards isn't a fool, he graduated college at 18 and had an M.Div by 22.  But, the accolades and fame were empty and couldn't fill him like Christ does.  Give his teaching a chance, and leave whatever chaff you find.  It's a short 110+ page read.

EXCERPT

CHAPTER 1

NOTE:  I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review

Double-posting

I just double-posted four (4) new wisdom application articles.  Check out WisdomApp for more posts like these.

Knight no more

The former head of The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is being stripped of his knighthood because of his failed leadership – complicit in running the bank into the ground. I gave a hearty “bravo!” to that before finding out that he holds many titles.  I wonder whether this act of public dishonor will impact his future employment opportunities or leadership decision making.

Here’s a little background (from Wikipedia article) on his rise to prominence and the results of his aggressive leadership style:

• December 2002 - Forbes (global edition) "Businessman of the Year", which described him as an original thinker with a fast-forward frame of mind who had transformed RBS from a nonentity into a global name.
• 2003 - 2006 - No.1 in Scotland on Sunday's Power 100
• December 2003 - "European Banker of the Year" in 2003
• June 2004 - Knighted in the Queen's 2004 Birthday Honours list, for services to banking (annulled in 2012 for playing a major role in the banking crisis)
• June 2004 - awarded an honorary doctor of Laws by the University of St Andrews
• July 2008 - awarded an honorary fellowship by the London Business School

….

From the time that Goodwin took over as chief executive until 2007, RBS's assets quadrupled, its cost-to-income ratio improved markedly, and its profits soared. In 2006 pre-tax profits climbed 16% to £9.2 billion with significant growth coming from its investment banking business. By 2008 RBS was the fifth-largest bank in the world by market capitalization. One of the factors in its rise was its enthusiasm for supporting leveraged buyouts. In 2008 it lent $9.3bn, more than double its nearest rival.

….

In August 2011, Goodwin moved out of the family home in Colinton after being asked to leave by his wife. The move followed media reports of an extra-marital affair with a colleague at the Royal Bank of Scotland.”

It just so happens that:  “once a year he would go on shooting trips to Spain with Santander chairman Emilio Botín.” 

In everything the prudent acts with knowledge, but a fool flaunts his folly. (Proverbs 13:16)

Poverty and disgrace come to him who ignores instruction, but whoever heeds reproof is honored. (Proverbs 13:18)

One who is wise is cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool is reckless and careless. (Proverbs 14:16)

The discerning sets his face toward wisdom, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth. (Proverbs 17:24)

Who can you trust?

The big battle will continue to rage between these industry giants.  This article explains how the settlement related to former CEO of HP’s leaving and joining Oracle as President included a clause (in one form of the draft) that required continued support by Oracle for HP’s server technology (of which HP was the only provider in the industry).  Well, Oracle acquired Sun Microsystems and wants to look to its own.  Thus, it tried to break that [shaky] contract.  Both sides are spinning the information to make them look positive in the public eye (Oracle – ripping the veil off HP’s scheme to make money with a dying technology that IBM wanted killed 20 years ago but didn’t because of a half-billion dollar payment by HP; HP – revealing the ulterior motives of Oracle to break agreement and steal its customer base and sabotage its customers running the HP technology by limiting support). 

“The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.” (Proverbs 18:17)

Which organization do businesses support with their investment as the partners turn competitive:  the company that keeps critical information from you about the capital intensive investments that it wants you to buy from it or the company that doesn’t want to honor its word because its bottom-line can fare better without your involvement?  Both seem untrustworthy from where I’m standing.  And, their arguments are equally strong/weak.  Hopefully forthcoming evidence elevates at least one side’s integrity.