If you suffer

After I Peter 4:12-19 

If you suffer

for his name’s sake,

be unashamed,

be alert, be awake.

 

If suffering comes,

then glorify God;

trust your creator,

continue to do good.

 

Your behavior is spared

from judgment to come;

the godless will perish,

all, not only some.

 

Hold fast to your Lord,

stay strong in the word;

your suffering is short,

your cries have been heard.

 

Photograph by Abishek via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Some Sunday Readings

Do ye the little things – David Warren at Essays in Idleness.

Glorious, Obvious Difference: The Complementary Souls of Men and Women – David Mathis at Desiring God.

Following No Other Way – Nathan Beacom at Comment Magazine.

Own Your Faith – Jacob Crouch.

Stones and Fonts – Barb Drummond at Curious Histories.

Managing expectations

After I Peter 4:12-19 

On the horizon

and in your face,

the trials will come,

so bear with grace.

 

The fires will test,

the trials will harm;

no need to fight,

no need to arm.

 

Reviled for his name,

suffering for belief,

the fire brings joy,

set aside your grief.

 

The judge is coming,

judgment draws near;

you’re godly, not godless,

with nothing to fear.

 

Photograph by Jan Tinneberg via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Some Friday Readings

Photo with Bald Heads – poem by Marjorie Maddox at Kingdom Poets (D.S. Martin). 

Why I Complain – Samuel D. James at Digital Liturgies.

The Indispensable Inefficiency of Prayer – Seth Lewis.

A Sonnet for George Herbert – Malcolm Guite.

10 Things (about grief) That Are Different Than What I Expected – Kirsten at Faithful Paradox.

Spires of City Churches – Spitalfields Life.