Hidden manna

After Revelation 2:12-17 

To those who 

hold fast in 

the face of 

persecution

and destruction, 

in the face

of hostility 

and ridicule,

to them is 

given the hidden

manna, sustenance 

designed to provide 

and nourish

in the face 

of compromise

and surrender 

which seem

overwhelming 

but will be

dispelled and 

destroyed.

 

Photograph by Roger Vaughan via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Some Sunday Readings

 

The Ways of a Father in Challenging Times – Kenneth Wingate at Ligonier.

 

Love Never Fails – Kwan Johns at Evangelical Magazine.

 

When the Monsters Came: There is Beauty – Seth Haines.

 

A white stone

After Revelation 2:12-17 

To the one who conquers,

to the one who prevails, 

I will give a white stone,

a smooth white stone,

one bearing a new name,

the stone of admittance,

the stone of acquittal, 

bearing a new name for

the one who receives it, 

a name known only 

to the one who receives

the stone. It is the stone

of new identity, a washed

and cleaned identity,

admittance to membership

in heaven.

 

Photograph by Dynamic Wang via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Some Friday Readings

 

Absalom, Absalom – poem by Brian Yapko at Society of Classical Poets.

 

“A Quintina of Crosses,” poem by Chad Walsh – D.S. Martin at Kingdom Poets.

 

Martha and Mary – poem by Tania Runyan at Poet Jesus.

 

“Lord, in the Morning,” hymn by Isaac Watts – Joseph Bottum at Poems Ancient and Modern.

 

A Sonnet on the Transfiguration – Malcolm Guite.

 

Means With No Ends – Seth Lewis.

 

The Picture on the Nightstand – Kara Dedert at Think Twice.

The culture's always with us

After Revelation 2:12-17 

The culture’s always with us,

No matter how much we

resist. It seeps through cracks

in the walls, spaces beneath 

doors. It assumes fine robes,

hiding false teaching. In

the name of love, it accepts

behaviors no matter how bad.

It blandly smiles words of

live and let live, or it rejects

discipline and calls it

compassion and understanding.

So press on; hold to what you

know is true. Resist the culture

in prayer and action. Discern

the right and the true, often so

obvious you can’t miss it. Listen

to the spirit teach yourself and

others. Keep your hearts safe.

 

Photograph by Brett Jordan via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Some Sunday Readings

 

The Abolition of Man and the Invention of a New God – Benjamin Myers at Magnus Institute. 

 

6 Seasoned Pastors on Best Practices for Men’s Ministry – Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra at The Gospel Coalition.

 

Walking down a street

Walking down a street,

a simple walk, unencumbered,

I am assailed, afflicted

tempted by the idols,

idols with jeweled eyes,

enveloped in smoky incense,

pungent, swirling around

their stone feet, attended

by their servants offering

bodies for a small fee,

a contribution to the gods.

The music moves among

them, drowning the cries

of those cooked in oil,

those who turn their heads

from the gods, the incense,

the servants, the music,

the hearts scalded and

seared.

Photograph by Peter Griffin via Public Domain Pictures. Used with permission.