We are still at war

After I Peter 2:9-12

We are a priesthood, yes,

called and chosen to proclaim

and live in the light, but we

are still at war with the passions

of the flesh. The struggle

is common to all of us, so while

we struggle individually we 

also struggle collectively. But

we know we are to keep

ourselves free from the passions

which seem to tear at us

with the talons of a hawk. We

are to keep our conduct

honorable, so when we are

called evildoers, when we

are criticized and condemned

for what is right, our conduct

and deeds are plain to see

and speak of the one who

chose us. The war continues.

 

Photograph by the British Library via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Some Sunday Readings

 

Holy Bravery: How Christian Men Act Like Men – Greg Morse at Desiring God.

 

How Intellectuals Found God – Peter Savodnik at The Free Press.

Paupers to princes

After I Peter 2:9-12

We are paupers, mired

in our poverty, 

in our emptiness,

in our lack of purpose,

floundering in darkness.

And yet we are paupers

chosen, called to something

higher, far higher, called

to royalty, to holiness,

called to leave the darkness

and embrace the light, 

the marvelous light. And 

the emphasis is on “we;”

we are not alone, called

together with the others

chosen for the priesthood,

priests who have received

mercy.

 

Photograph by Annie Spratt via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Some Friday Readings

 

Christmas Poem – e.e. cummings at Kingdom Poets (D.S. Martin)

 

“The Burning Babe,” poem by Robert Southwell – Sally Thomas at Poems Ancient and Modern.

 

The Thief’s Good Works – Jackson Gravitt at The Gospel Coalition.

 

The oldest priesthood

After Hebrews 7:11-28 

Before the Levites.

before the sons of Aaron,

it was, and is, the oldest

priesthood. An order

of one, one person,

one man, the one sent

to serve, to minister, 

to save, one sent

to live and die and

rise again. This is

the priesthood, older

than Abraham, older

than Terah, older

than Adam. This is

the priest who created

the world; this priest

saved the world.

This priest is a king.

 

Photograph by Michel Grolet via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Some Friday Readings

 

Sunday News – poem by Brad Davis at Kingdom Poets (D.S. Martin). 

 

The Good in Regret – Seth Lewis.

 

“Sonnet Reversed,” poem by Rupert Brooke – Sally Thomas at Poems Ancient and Modern.

 

How ‘apocalypse’ became a secular as well as religious idea –Erik Bleich and Christopher Star at The Conversation.

 

“The Bag,” poem by George Herbert – Rabbit Room Poetry.

The kind of Salem

After Hebrews 7:11-28 

A few, fleeting references:

a blessing, a tithe, a king.

He was a king, not

a priest, and yet a priest,

who gave his name

to an order, an order

of one king, one priest,

one man, one man who

lived and died, one man

who gave his name

to one king, one priest,

one man who lived and

died and lived and lives

forever. It is the order

we are called to, the order

of Melchizedek.

 

Photograph by Pro Church Media via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Some Sunday Readings

 

Expectation – poem by Sarah Spradlin at Rabbit Room Poetry.

 

Song of the Week: “I Know That My Redeemer Lives” – C. Christopher Smith at The Conversational Life.

 

The Prophets: René Girard – Cynthia Haven at The Free Press.

 

In Memoriam: Janet Reid. Literary Agent.