Taste

Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

(Romans 7:24 ESV)

What happens when the taste

Becomes stronger than grace?

When I’m more about seeking the thrill

Than seeking your face?

The burnout is inevitable

But the rush is so incredible

You only live once

And I don’t want it to be regrettable

Half of me says, “One time never hurt anybody.”

The other half says I worry too much:

“You don’t even have to think about it.”

Eat, drink, and be merry

Never seems to be scary

Until you discover

That the meal’s being prepared

In an environment that’s unsanitary

An occasional lick of the spoon

Now turns into a toxic addiction

And my microscopic pursuit of joy

Has led to a life of telescopic affliction

Tried to divide my passions

Between redemption and lies

But when the latter won my affection

It left me with no way to climb…

Yet your mercy still abounds

Like a shot to the heart

While I was on the ground dying

(In this case, not a bad place to start)

Behaviors I used to savor

No longer renew my confusion

Now I’m infused with new life

To comprehend your mercy and beauty

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

(Romans 6:1-4 ESV)

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

(1 John 1:9 ESV)

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

(Hebrews 4:15-16 ESV)

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

Dust To Glory: A Ghetto Love Story

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.   -  (Hebrews 4:14-16 ESV)

A king without a castle born to an unwed mother

All the while, rumors circulate that he was fathered by another

Homeless for a while, then raised in the ghetto

Along side the hoodlums, riff-raff, rebels and winos

But He went to synagogue

Because that’s how his mom and his step-dad raised him

He’d grow up to be famous

But who really knew that then?

Coming up poor ain’t a means to an end

It’s hated, it’s shameful and often equated with sin

But not Him…

He left the block for the wilderness to fulfill the call in His life:

“Hey, why don’t you slow down? Take it easy…maybe even get you a wife.

Word is your real father, man, is crazy rich.

You’d never have to work a day in your life if he broke you off a pinch.

But if not him, come with me…I got a grip you can hold.

You can have anything you want. I got it under control.”

“Hell, No.”

Home is where the heart is

So the hood was His home

And used His life to let the hood know

That they were never alone

He became the people’s champion

So they gathered around Him

Politicians start to panic

While His family starts to clown Him

Pharisees start hatin’

And they call Him a “Birther” :

“This dude is sayin’ he’s from heaven

But he ain’t nothin’ but an earthling.

Everybody here knows him from that Nazerene block

No good can come of that place, they’re some real bad stock.”

But He didn’t stop

So now they wanna stop Him

His friends start to worry

That somebody’s gonna pop Him

Cool by Him

Because He already knew the risk

His death was the outcome

For which he sought to exist:

“Don’t be scared, homies…

They’re comin’ to get me

But I’m takin’ all the heat

Because that’s why the Father has sent me

Dying for the lost

So that they could be found

So that the end of your life won’t be the end

But a crown of life eternal

Given because you’ve be down since the beginning

And you’ll carry on ‘til the finish

Because my Father gives you permission

And don’t begin to think you chose this life for a second

I chose you first so now we’re forever connected

Blessed be the one who hears the words that I speak

And doesn’t shrink away from danger in the face of the Beast

Because the Devil is a lion

He desires to eat you

He can feast all he wants

But He can never defeat you.”

So whatever happens below

Just remember He’s above it

So when you see the storms coming

Don’t worry…

Just love it

It was death by love

Love in humiliation

Stepped out of eternity

To become the promised seed of the nations

Subjecting Himself to the same perils and temptations as “we”

Because He cares for little men in really tall trees

And for prostitutes on the track who believe the lie that they’re stuck

And for the addicts who think they’ve had and they’re about to give up

Listen to what comes after…

He is still speaking

So put one ear to the floor and the other to the rafters

Feel the earth move and know for certain

If He ceased to speak, it won’t happen

In His hands, it is stable

No one can ever knock Him off course

Even when the kingdom of Heaven suffers violence

 And the violent take it by force

Solus Christus,

Shon

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