The End.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

(Revelation 22:13 ESV)

 

 

The Beginning is the End

Of all things...

 

And nobody knows

What type of trouble

Tomorrow will bring 

Famine, plagues, natural disasters

Terrorism, AIDS, or ridiculous banter 

About how it's all gonna finish 

(Possibly a "Zombie Pandemic"?!)

Prophets for profit postulating

Nuclear Holocaust and derision 

Bible in one hand

Headlines in the other 

It's the gospel according to Chicken Little 

Time to duck and cover

Because the sky is falling  

And Scientists are falsifying data

Cookin' up the books 

To support the calculations 

Of an extinct civilization 

So, Black Hole Sun, won't you come 

Because Pakistan's got the bomb

North Korea's still trippin'

And Russia's a cause for alarm

 

Left Behind got us blinded

Looking to LeHaye and Camping 

To lead us 

I'm holding on to a passion

For the Parousia -

Waiting To see Jesus

Coming back the way he left 

Quick as lightning 

Flashes east to west 

The real King is back in the building 

There's nothing comparable to that 

The last day in this life

Becomes the first day of forever 

No more death and sorrow 

And unspeakable joy

That can never be measured

 

It's gonna happen 

Just as He promised

But only God knows

When is "then"

For now, you should go plant an apple tree

Seek the Lord and repent of your sins - 

 

Because you just never know;

Tomorrow could very well be...

 

THE END.

 

(cf. John 1:1, 2; Matthew 6:34, 24:27-28, 36-44; James 4:14; Revelation 19:11-16, 21:1-4, 22:13)

 

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Ain't No Pastor

“…For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”
(Jude 1:4 ESV)

Wake up, you sleepy heads!
And before you let “amen”
Leave your lips
You need to seriously reconsider
What’s being said because…

THOSE WORDS ARE DEAD.

And that ain’t no pastor
That’s an actor –
That’s why he's woofin’ and wailin’
It’s all just a performance
To keep you from paying attention
To what he’s really saying
He could’ve said, “I’m Sarah Palin!”
And everybody would still be swayin’
But if you listen with discernment
You’d know this dude is whack
‘Cause he says
If you want God to bless you
Then you gotta earn it, jack

That ain’t no pastor
Sure, he’s “preachin’”
But he’s reachin’
Way out of context
With the scripture that he’s readin’
Faith like a mustard seed
Has nothing to do
With how wide I’m willin’ to
Open up my checkbook
It’s believing that
The Lord is my trust fall
So I don’t even have to look

That ain’t no pastor
And what you’re hearing
Is not a sermon
That’s not Holy Ghost fire, Homey
He’s got a mouth like a furnace
A fire-breathing dragon
With no capacity to be honest
Ready to scatter the flock like ashes
And many will never see it comin’

No, these aren’t pastors
At best, they’re bastardized renditions
The agony of deceit –
Full of hypocrisy and omission
Please, take up and read
Don’t let your souls be led astray
‘Cause every dog will have its day
To tragically discover
Exactly how its own vomit tastes…

(cf. Isaiah 51:17; 1 Cor. 15:34; Revelation 3:2, 3; Lamentations 2:14; Ezekiel 13:9, 22:28; Matthew 7:15, 24:11-24; Luke 6:26; John 5:39-44; Acts 17:10-11, 20:29-30; 2 Peter 2:1, 18-22; 1 John 4:1)


Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

As Far As the Curse Is Found

Eternity shut in a span
God becomes a man
And introduces Himself
In the form of a child
To execute His wondrous plan;
Redemption so close at hand
That you could literally touch it
And He too would touch us...
As far as the curse is found
He would detoxify the dust

With the government on his shoulders
And boulders of debt around our necks
He traded His glory for a yoke
And descended willingly into death;
Born into scorn
Living to die
To show that the Strongman
Just ain't strong enough
And to snatch us from the fire
The light shines through the darkness
And the darkness can't overcome it
So, when the shepherds heard the good news
You know they had to come runnin'
To behold the One foretold
The Axis of the world
With a love so bold
That He'd come as the Prodigal Son
To bring wayward siblings back home

He who knew no sin
Was born so that we
Could be born again -
Immanuel has come!
Peace on earth
And goodwill towards men

(Luke 2:8-14)

Merry Christmas,
SDG
Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Newtown

“Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”  - Matthew 19:14 ESV

"Evil has visited Newtown today..."


But despite the ages of most of the victims
We're seeking a higher education
In the face of a tragedy so senseless
'Cause the definition of wickedness
Ain't so elementary...

Not anymore.

Dark days like these
Leave us clamoring
And grasping for the door
From Columbine, to Virginia Tech, to Sandy Hook;
Leaves no doubt in my mind
That Screwtape's up to his old tricks
Doing everything he can
To make sure that our faith is shook

"Look...where is God now?
Where's the goodness he promised?
Love don't let little kids die, man!
Stop frontin' and be honest."

As I read the countless status updates
And timelines filled with fear and rage
I'm reminded of the words
That the Rock of Ages said:


"Let the little children come to me..."

You can't stop em -
Don't try to hold em back
There in the arms of the Good Shepherd
So they'll never again want or lack

It was an act of the most vicious kind
Orchestrated with the intent
Of distracting from God's sovereignty
And get us to question his omnipotence
But yea though we walk through valley
Of the shadow of death
His grace is still consistent

He gives us a peace that surpasses all understanding
His overwhelming mercy still abounds
Even amidst the unspeakable atrocities
That puts young loved ones into the ground


The graveyard is the Farmer's field
And he will one day reap what he has sown
And we will all behold the glory
Of the greatest harvest

The world will ever know

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon 

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Thanks a Lot

I remember a time when a homeless guy cleaned my windshield and I gave him what I had on me…
a couple of quarters and a dime.

He looked at me and said, “Is that it?”
‘Is that it’?! I was livid
Because first of all
He could’ve cleaned my window
Better with spit
I gave him all I had
(Minus my debit card)
But it didn’t matter –
He had no regard for it
Here I am trying to do the Lord’s work
And he’s looking at me like
“Thanks for the change, jerk.”

As far as he was concerned
I might as well have given him nothing…

But his reaction was pushing the button
On a deeper subject
That touches us all
The fact that we’ve been given
The world and everything in it
But we treat it like a mall
We consume until we’re full
With no consideration
Of the considerate nature
Of how it got here
We’re allergic to the concept
That we’re dust…
I too often have a hard time
With the fact that
I’m a sand castle with a pulse;
The same stuff they’ll use to bury me
Is the essential ingredient
To my physical make up

I’m nothing more spit and clay
In it’s heyday …

We think that we’re made men
But we can be done in
By the slightest headwind
We confirm our ignorance
To our disposition
With an oversight
To this revelation:
The air we breathe can’t be seen
And that speaks to the attribute
Of our Creator
We constantly demand
That He show His face
When His DNA is in everything
That we taste, see, and touch
Our senses are drenched in Him
Without so much as a mention
And we could give a…

You know what?
I’m just gonna go ahead and say it–
We’re going nuts
Looking for a payday
When Yaweh has already paid for us
The check ain’t in the mail
Because your debt
Was nailed to the Cross
That’s the equivalent
Of getting 100% gratuity
Only to treat it
Like a stop-loss

So the slightest inconvenience
Sends us flying off the handle
One little prick of the needle
And the damage is done -
We start accusing God
Of giving us way more
Than we can manage
And start calling for His job

No graciousness filling our hearts these days
Instead, we’d rather waste our time
Like disappointed kids on Christmas
Throwing temper tantrums
Because we think that
Santa must’ve missed us

We’re nothing more than straight up beggars
Who always think we deserve better
Than what we’ve been given
Always trying to hit the lottery
When we ain’t even
Got a pot to piss in

The sin committed by our first parents
Was rooted in a lack of gratitude–
Having everything wasn’t good enough
So they forgot to say, “Thank You.”
So greedy that they couldn’t even leave God
That one tree…
A blatant disregard for the Law
Mixed with an eagerness to take His place
(And that, kids, is how we came
To celebrate Black Friday)

Man, we’d all be turkeys on a plate
If it wasn’t for His grace
He became a sacrifice
Given for ignorant creatures
Who weren’t even trying to relate…

So while you’re thankful for your food
Remember that He’s the one
Who bought the farm
And if you thank Him for the calm
You gotta thank him for the storms
Be grateful for the good and the bad times
If you’re a have or a have not
He gives us abundant life through everything
And for that we gotta say,
“Thanks”...a lot





(cf. Psalm 100:1-5; Jonah 2:9; Philippians 4:6; 1 Thessalonians 5:18; 1 Timothy 4:4; Revelation 7:12)

Happy Thanksgiving,
Shon 

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Re4m

Reform me...

Conform me.
Mold me.
Make me.
Shape me.
Do whatever you have to do -
Even if it means
You gotta break me
Don't forsake me
Wake me up
Remove the scales
From my eyes
I'm seeing men as trees

Falling down around me

Because I was born
Legally blind

Out of sight
Out of my mind
No appreciation
For the divine
Design flaw
To the interior;
A heart that's wicked
All the time... 

Until Another Kind

Love sublime

Comes to the rescue

Of a villain

Cleanse me through a bloodletting...

This redemption's gonna kill me.

(cf. Romans 8:13; 12:1; 1 Peter 3:18-22)

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Magic

Jesus isn't “magic”...

It doesn't matter what Sarah Silverman says

Resurrection isn't just some neat little trick

It's literally coming back from the dead

Desperately unconscious

Fatally non-responsive

So far removed from breathin' 

Next thing you know,

Reports are comin' in

That everybody's seen him

(Something like five hundred people!)

 

Instinctively, the conclusion

Is most likely mass hysteria or illusion

But answer this:

When's the last time you heard

About that many people

Simultaneously crackin' up

And having the exact same delusion?!

There ain't an institution big enough

To hold that much crazy

So if you believe

That's how it all went down

Your story-tellin' is lazy

 

How hazy would your facts be

If you saw someone murdered right in front of you? 

I bet you could tell that story for the rest of your life

And still recite every single detail

Accurately and on cue

It could be 50 years from now

And there would still be no change in your point of view...

Especially if that person

Now a few days removed

Shows up at a dinner table

Sitting right across from you

Chewin' his food

Doin' all the other things

A dead man don't have the capacity to do

 

No, that ain't magic

It's majestic and it's traumatic

The last great enemy of our humanity

Suddenly movin' backwards

It wasn't a simple trap-door revealed

There was glory being concealed

Underneath a cloak of humility and charity

Taking back what the Strongman tried to steal

 

There's no sleight of hand

When you got holes in 'em, man

And if there's nothing up your sleeves

But Aces and eights

Then you better have a foolproof plan...

 

The Son of God became man

To withstand the wrath of his Dad

As a ransom for many

Remained slain for three days

Only to get up

And give vanishing lessons the business

When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”

“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”

 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

- (1 Corinthians 15:54-58 ESV)

Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Rendering Unto Caesar: Presidential Elections to the Glory of God

https://www.evernote.com/shard/s21//sh/0c11fa8e-e179-4639-8961-51723da3b081/0...

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Ten (Law Is King)

Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. - Romans 3:19 ESV


If you had a projector
Connected to my head and my chest
It would showcase nothing but an independent festival of darkness
Bleak thoughts to match a black heart
Every matinee selling out to the sinful desires of my humanity
You know Kierkegaard was right;
You’d be shocked and amazed at what a sane man
Dreams about doing in the broad daylight

And if accountability of consequence
Lifts even for a second
The fantasy becomes reality…
What masters of debauchery we are
Nightmare walking…
Psychopath, stalkin’…
A Gorilla in the mist
Notorious for poppin’ off with my two lips…
With two fists up

Because I consider every punch I throw
To be therapeutic or medicinal
Because if there is no God
Then everything is permissible to us
It all boils down to dust
Knocking the rusty latch off of reason, then
Now it’s like someone opened up a floodgate
And in a blind fit of rage
Recklessly misplaced a wooden stake –

I’ve got 2x4’s disguised
As splinters stuck in my eyes
Violence begets a nihilist
And now the nihilist wants to get violent
Because he’s somebody’s child
The only problem is
That we were separated at birth
And I’ve been raised in the wild –
Exploiting my desertedness
Using it as ammunition to lash out at a “negligent parent”
Resolved even more now to respond
Solely to the vibrations of my own larynx

I’m a rebel whose primary cause
Is to be an embarrassment to my inheritance
I don’t want a share…I want it all
And now I’ve got it; A bunch of empty wallets
In a clenched fist of covetousness
So there’s a rumble coming from deep within the jungle
Because my Father’s given the order to give chase
“LEX REX” on my chest branded with ten phrases
Serve as a valuable reminder
Lay down my arms and wait for grace
Or just keep running, only to die tired


For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. - Galatians 3:10-14 ESV


Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

Zeros & Ones: Sermon on The Mount (Pt. 1) - Broke, Broken, Soft-Spoken, and Easy-Goin'

We begin our latest study on the "Sermon on the Mount". We take an in-depth look at the words of Jesus as he lays out principles of the Kingdom of Heaven, and what it really looks like to be a lover of God and our fellow man. We begin with the counter-cultural notion of the word, "Blessed". In a day and age where the prosperity, health and wealth, word of faith "gospel" is so readily embraced, we see with great illumination from the Scripture how our Lord turns the idea on its head...

 

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Heaven Underground

"For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water." - 1 Peter 3:18-20 ESV

"For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does." - 1 Peter 4:6 ESV

 

Heaven didn’t just come down… 

It went underground 

We couldn’t go and get it 

It had to come and get us 

Because we were held hostage 

In the darkness…slaves to the dust 

A bunch of guilty as charged 

Criminals at large 

Conspiring since the beginning 

To assassinate God 

And if you find that statement offensive 

It’s understandable 

But you still have no defense against it  

And you know it –  

Your fingerprints are showin’ 

And herein lies the biggest problem 

Because even if you’re Robin Hood
You’re still a thief –
Because you’re robbin’
No sob story is good enough
To regain that trust
Our red-handed antics
Have left us stone cold busted

And in case you couldn’t tell
We’re disgusted with the outcome
But too prideful and bitter to ask for help
So we put our roots down firm
And build ziggurats wherever we dwell

But how we gonna reach the Kingdom
When we don’t even speak the same language amongst ourselves?
And when our stairway to Heaven was vanquished
It all came crashing down in an epic fail…

The most frightening attribute of God’s character
Is that He is good and a Just Judge
So He will always rule in favor of righteousness
Not based on what I think I am
Or who I thought I was

Truth is…
I’m a lying, cheating
Backsliding heathen
Full of murderous intent
And I’m stealing by just breathing
With no plan to give up the lifestyle
Anytime soon
So the mercy of the Court
Will have to be way more than prevenient
Because I’m already doomed…

Therefore grace has to intrude
As the Kingdom manifests the expanse
Of its territorial boundary
To dig us up out of our whitewashed tombs
And shut down all of the foundries
‘Cause the Devil’s melting down the metal
Turning plows and pruning hooks into swords

But the Kingdom of Heaven came among us
To suffer the violence
So Death can never have the Final Word


"From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force."  - Matthew 11:12 ESV

Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Ground Zero: Modern "Evangelism" v. The Gospel

Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.  - (Jude 1:3-4 ESV)




(cf. Judges 21:25; Luke 3:9; 2 Timothy 4:3; 1 John 2:19; Revelation 14:13)


Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Last Shot

If I say, “I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,” there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot.
- Jeremiah 20:9 ESV

2012 is the year of the Dragon

So it’s like fire in my bones

And I’m about to let it go

Truth so hot

That it’s got your boy spittin’ flames

And let the Word of God

Get “@you” like a Twitter name

I wasn’t tailored to snatch the mic

Swiftly like ‘Ye did

I’m bangin’ out life sentences

Like a Rikers bid

So follow me to be freed

From your life of crime

Catch it if you can

Before you’re out of time

 

He took me from sin-sick

And made me even ill-er

Went from a stone cold murderer

To a natural born killer

Gave me a clean heart

With a dangerous mind

And a Canon full of bullets

To put in every line

Pumpin’ hot 16’s into my voice stream

Hit everything within earshot – never missin’

Take your crooked lines, pull the trigger

Time to lay ‘em straight

Just like your heartbeat…

‘Cause it's death today

 

Taking aim on dead men

Like it’s the Walking Dead

But they need shots to the heart

Not holes in the head

Minds darkened;

Kick-started from the brain stem

Couldn’t find their way out with a flashlight

(Or even two of ‘em)

So I light 'em up in the chest

‘Cause their vests are defective

Self-righteous pride can’t save you

From the heat that I’m packin’

And if you pull your piece

Then peace be still and just let it happen

I’ll be at peace with my Maker

When that choppers’s clappin’

 

So let me clear my throat

And speak a little louder

‘Cause I don’t think you can hear me

Over all of that firepower

Lord, make my narrow straight

And may my shots stay true

He’s got you in the Cross…

And God is still good

For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!
- 1 Corinthians 9:16 ESV

Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Mastodon

What I’m about to endeavor

Could potentially be bad for my health…

But man, it‘s like,  "whatever"

Just chalk it up to me

Carving out a niche for myself -

My life's been pulled off of the shelf

And know that

Once my feet start moving forward

There will be no swaying

To the right or to the left

I’m a hard charging moving target

Getting up close and personal

Like a mastodon coming at you

With adamantium in his vertebras

The Truth is closer than it appears

And the mirror exposes fears

So I smashed out the rear view

And haven’t looked back in years

Told my peers not to mourn

The old way is gone and forgotten

The Sun has risen over a brand new day

Now it’ll take a lot more than Hell to stop me...

 

(cf. Matthew 11:12, 16:18; Acts 5:33-42)

 

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

 

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Rat Race

They say that – 
“Trap money good, but rap money’s better” 
But I’m chasin’ the King of Kings 
Not whips, chains, and cheddar... 
If you’re livin’ for that rat race 
You’ll only end up with a rat’s fate 
Trapped in a rat maze 
Until you break your neck  
Just to get a taste… 
  
Trappin’, rappin’, stackin’ 
Gettin' money in the rotation 
Got a steady cash flow, but your soul’s runnin’ dry – 
(Damnation) 
Sippin’ on that “you” syrup 
Instead of sippin’ on that Good stuff 
That purifyin’ Living Water 
And you’ll need way more than two cups 
  
Because I’m spittin’ like a fountain 
With a faith that can move mountains 
You see, the dead’s been risen 
So you know what that means – no body count 
Because when it’s all said and done 
It’s a casualty of one 
The death of death in the death of Christ 
From dark sky to Son rise – a new day’s begun 

(cf. Mark 8:36; 1 Timothy 6:10; Hebrews 13:5)

 

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

A Hum

"The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” - John 3:8 ESV

Something; A sound of some kind

Spinning in my ears like a hurricane

Affecting and effecting …

From the top of my head to the bottom of my feet

Urging me, pushing me, conversing with me -

I...am...transformed.

Becoming alien to family and friends alike

A totally different being than yesterday

There is no turning back, for I now understand -

Transmission to transmission, it has no end

“Comprehend or Perish.”

When He speaks, I listen.

(cf. Psalm 143:10; John 14:26; Luke 12:12)

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

Hyde & Seek

A part of me wants to come out and say, “hi”
But there are two that reside
Inside of this mind I keep confined from the general public
To make sure that everyone's safe
Because you can never really tell who's gonna show
Up in the rafters or ducked down low -
Behind the bushes in the park or at a local picture show
Or I could be in plain view...you just never know
So please don't assume based on appearance’s sake
That a snake is not a snake because his rattle never shakes;
For in the tall grass of obscurity, I wait and I lie
And when the sun goes down, remember:
Jekyll always runs into Hyde…

(cf. Jeremiah 17:9; John 3:19; James 3:10; 1 Peter 2:11)



Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

Precipice

Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.  - (Jude 1:3-4 ESV)

 

We are on the precipice of an exodus...

The stuff we’re hearing out of most modern-day pulpits

Amounts to an epic fail

Pastors pontificating on bar stools

Telling old wives’ tales

Not intoxicated by the Word

But drunk off of themselves

Proper prophesying

Appears to be a dying art form

While the power of positive thinking
And prosperity of wealth are the norm

We are on the precipice...

The pursuit of Truth has been relegated to the shelf
As these wolves in stealth mode are pointing the flock
In the direction of the self-help section
They've got new laws to cover your flaws
Telling me that my excellence is in my ability to excel at Lent
And that when I survey the wondrous cross
I can bet my last dollar that the Lord wants me to be rich

Rob Bell says to just say no to the notion of Hell
And Joel Osteen says I can have it all and have it right now
(Did I forget to mention that both of those are bestsellers?)
Oh well - Farewell to the deferred gratification
Of being face to face with the Savior
And since everybody wins
There's no need to repent
For our misguided thinking and behavior

We are on the precipice...

Of becoming obsolete

Watered down like a sandcastle edifice

And now the dry bones are starting to surface

As the evidence to our detriment

The axe has been laid at the root

John the Baptist said it first

And if he was alive today

They'd still be trying to put that dude

In a pine box and a hearse

"Off with his head!"

But blessed are the dead

Those who die in the Lord from now on

We are on the precipice of a resurrection...

But I thought you knew that all along?!

(cf. Judges 21:25; Luke 3:9; 2 Timothy 4:3; 1 John 2:19; Revelation 14:13)

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

Rose

She dreams of being treated like a queen

She wants to be known

Wants to be seen…as a human being

She longs to be treasured

Not measured on her features and appearance

She knows she’s meant to be more

Than an object of lust

For men who leer

It makes her flesh crawl

Every time they get near her

But the reality is

That it’s all she’s ever known

Papa was a rolling stone

And when he was home

He was a boulder of destruction

Tearin’ up the house in a drunken rage

And hittin’ her and mama in the face

For missing a simple instruction –

While he’s still cussin’, still fussin’

It was disgusting…

She had to get away

But in her haste to find safety

She started looking for love

In all of the wrong places

Many a days wasted

On suitors that shouldn’t suit her

Because all they wanted to do

Was use her up, then lose her

Sugar, spice and everything nice

Is replaced by sex, deceit, and deadly vices

To those who know her

She’s a rose of a different kind

Not altogether lovely

But fine enough for a good time

And her new man don’t mind sharin’

“‘Cause I bet those dudes will pay top dollar

As hard as they be starin’”

Now she’s out there as eye candy

As her reality sours

The breath of strange men heat up her neck

And she’s getting paid by the hour

She’s been rejected so long

That she resolves to accept it

Believing that it’s better

To play by her own rules

Than to go through life dejected

She says, “The situation is screwed up

And since no one else seems to give a f---

I’m gonna make the most

Out of my station in life;

Make some money and get high – bottoms up”

Truth is she’s feeling stuck

And her identity is in shambles

A rose that’s lost her petals

Instead of a lily among the brambles

Built for love and dominion

But worn down by others’ opinions

She fails to receive the mantle

For which she was attentively intended

New day, new city

While the nights all look the same

And she cries herself to sleep

Because the showers can’t remove the shame

My sister, you are more than the sum of your deeds

Don’t listen to the deceivers

You’re more than just a perverted history

Of a long line of leavers

You were created with dignity and purpose

For a lover who sticks closer than a brother

He wants nothin’ but the rose

And gave it all to show that you’re worth it

(cf. John 8:1-11)

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon