On The Contrary

"Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” - John 7:24 ESV


Contrary to popular belief
You can’t always trust your ocular perceptions…
That could lead you to deceit
And what you hear may be the latest edition
But you better employ your mind while you take in and listen
Senses with good intentions may be the standard
But without discernment, it’s just learning the problems without the answers
So don’t believe the hype behind all the woof tickets we buy
Like, “If she really had AIDS, she wouldn’t look that fly.”
Or “The only way outta the ‘hood is gettin' filthy rich…
And the only way to get rich is to sell a few bricks”
Don’t think that just because I’m not always tryin’ to smash chicks
Means that my libido is all jacked up or that I’m passive
Heterosexual homophobic nymphomania
Won’t make you more of a man, but will leave a legacy that’ll stain ya
So I speak softly and carry a big stick
But it’s not the stick that’ll hit you, but a book of sixty-six
And just because I speak softly
Don’t mean that you won’t get licked
By God’s grace, I’m Gracie amazin’
So my groundwork is sick
No, I don’t fight for a livin’, but I will fight the good fight
I’ve got a mouth for war – dying to live ‘til we receive the crown of life
To the contrary, popular opinion is highly overrated
And belief separate from the truth
Only leaves you hopeless and jaded…


"Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?" - 1 Corinthians 1:20 ESV



Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

Zeros & Ones: Holy Spirit (The Face of God)

In our latest study, we delve into the scriptures to answer the question: "Who is the Holy Spirit?". With the help of Dr. Sinclair Ferguson, this week's discussion looks at how the Spirit reveals the Face of God to believers. Topics include:

Work of the Spirit in unveiling the Face of God (in Christ)
Work of the Spirit in the revelation of God's attributes
Work of the Spirit in revealing the Truth of God's Word
Work of the Spirit in our pointing us to rest in Christ

And more...

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Marvel

I, alone…
I’m not enough to handle this on my own
My metropolis is in trouble
And all of the supermen are gone
Fade to black – everything is whack
And these dark nights keep risin’ –
These jokers say that I’m tokin’
To believe that there’s anyone who can stop it

No secret identity
Or hideout with slick amenities
Are needed to win this war
‘Cause we're battlin’ a different enemy –
Long ago defeated
Still severely pissed and heated
And he and his minions will stop at nothing
Until everyone else can feel it

So we need a hero
Who’s far beyond the discussions –
No hiding behind a mask
To deal with the repercussions
Not just an alien that got stuck
Not just some vigilante we trust
But someone who can justify the guilty
And at the same time dispense justice

From the punishment due
To wholeheartedly renewed –
Avenging us from the impenitent
And putting an end to the feud
With web-sight, he catches predators
His strength is so incredible
Takes the shame and turns it to gain
So it wouldn’t eventually fetter us

Even though death still remains
It’s now no longer in vain
And the suffering serves a purpose
Since he auto-tuned it with “T-Pain”
Does it all through a Ghost Protocol –
Impossible for evildoers to shake him
Marvel at this Man on a mission…
Who can stop him?! Any takers?

 Cf. Revelation 6:2, 19:11-21, 21:5, 22:12

Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Zeros & Ones: Gospel In Life [Week 8] - Eternity (The World That Is to Come)

We wrap up our study on "The Gospel in Life" with a discussion about eternity. We discuss how the hope that is to come in the New Jerusalem changes how we operate in this fallen world. When the veil of this present world is rolled back, we will then see fully the ever-existent glory and light of God. Also, how the future reality helps to give us hope and and against the trials of this world. Seeing that the now is only temporary and that every single day we are moving toward the everlasting peace and communion with God and our fellow man...Live with the end in mind.
"for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection." - (Luke 20:36 ESV)



Isaiah 60:1-22; Revelation 21:9-22





Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

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

Forecast

On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

(Mark 4:35-41 ESV)

 

Why are you downcast, oh my soul?

Because there’s a dark cloud rolling in

And it's about to get cold

No matter where I turn

Just more of the same thing

As I sing, "It is well..."

I'm distracted with the trouble

I know tomorrow will bring

 

You told us to count it all joy

When we encounter these trials

But every step I take

Feels like another hundred miles

I'm not praying for a miracle

I'm just waiting for relief

I know you'd never leave me or forsake me

Lord, help my unbelief

 

Remind me that the struggle

Is what you so graciously give

To conform me to your will

For the benefit of your glory

Grant me the wisdom to be still

And know that the same Spirit

That enabled the Savior

To take beatings, thorns and nails

Is the same that now abides within me

A peace which no circumstance can assail

 

So when life is crashing down around me

And the flood waters start to get higher 

Let my fears be diminished

In the truth that, "It is finished"

And the Accuser is a liar...

 

Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.

 (Psalm 43:5 ESV)

 

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

 

 

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

American Idle

“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

(Matthew 10:16 ESV)

And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.

(Luke 10:2 ESV)

If you listen long enough

The world can have you feelin’ a dum-dum –

Make you a sucker for the media

It’ll have you all messed up (and then some)

Nothin’ but talkin’ heads and rabbit holes

Like this is Easter Island

‘Cause we don’t use our heads for much

We just sit there in silence

Until a little birdie comes along

And re-tweets everything the serpent said:

“Just take a look @yourself in the mirror to find out about the truth instead.”

Satisfied to be a pseudo-intellectual

‘Til the end of time

‘Cause when I open up a book

All I see is my face written in every line

YouTube’s the good news

And I’m a feature presentation

Now the only thing I entertain

Is my own selfish inclinations

I’m in Depeche Mode –

My own personal Jesus

Minus the blemish

Keep the nails and thorns

So save the call for American Idol

There’s a new messiah…

A star is borntake a look the serpent said-dum -

“How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn!

How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low!

You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God

I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north;

I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’

But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit. Those who see you will stare at you and ponder over you:

‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms…”

(Isaiah 14:12-16 ESV)

For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies.

(2 Thessalonians 3:11 ESV)

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

Zeros & Ones: Gospel In Life [Week 7] - Justice (A people for others)

Many people get the Gospel wrong when they believe that their salvation is based on their repentance. Your repentance will never make up for your sins. In actuality, true repentance unto life is the acknowledgment of our utter guilt of sin and the justice that was served on Another in our stead...Repentance is the first fruit of good works.

(cf. Proverbs 28:5, 29:26; Isaiah 1:17; 2 Corinthians 5:21)

 

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Kill Him or Crown Him

“Jesus, who unties such apparent extremes of character into such an integrated and balanced whole, demands an extreme response from every one of us. He forces our hand at every turn in the story. This man who throws open the gates of his kingdom to everyone, then warns the most devout insiders that their standing in the kingdom is in jeopardy without fruitfulness, is forever closing down our options. This man who can be weakened by a touch in a crowd on his way to bring a little girl back from the dead is a man you dare not tear your eyes from. (And we haven’t even yet witnessed the true depths of his restraint or the heights of his power.)

He is both the rest and the storm, both the victim and the wielder of the flaming sword, and you must accept him or reject him on the basis of both. Either you’ll have to kill him, or you’ll have to crown him. The one thing you can’t do is just say, ‘What an interesting guy.’ Those teachers of the law who began plotting to kill Jesus at the end of this episode in the temple – they may have been dead wrong about him, but their reaction makes perfect sense.

Please don’t try to keep Jesus on the periphery of your life. He cannot remain there. Give yourself to him –center your entire life on him – and let his power reproduce his character in you.”

- Tim Keller

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Altered Beast

For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

- (Romans 8:13 ESV)

 

There’s a bad moon rising…

Satan’s enticing me –

Telling me to feel the fire in my lungs

Let go of my tongue

And shipwreck this relationship

Over which I’ve so graciously been given stewardship

Emotions are running high –

Strung so tight

That it’s like a thick cord

You could cut with a knife

So I fashion my words into a saber

And keep taking slice after slice

Until there is nothing left

But death…

 

Relationship thrown to the wayside

In a moment of rage

Setting the stage for a catastrophic crescendo –

A cacophony of swearing and not caring about the outcome

Don’t really care if the premise of the beef dumb

Because it doesn’t matter who’s right or left

The only thing that’s worth caring about

Is that I’ve won…HELL YES!

No. 1 with a bullet…

Let the world know that I’ve got a hair trigger

And that I ain’t afraid to pull it

Instead of going out like a sucker

I’ll show my teeth

And suck the life out of another

Dig in deep – getting all the flesh I need

But when the blood’s been drawn

And the bones picked dry

The only thing left to kill is me…

 

So I turn my aggressiveness inward

On the oppression that stifles my conscience

Go savage on my insecurities

And rest in the surety

Of the Almighty’s benevolent abundance

He is omnipotent –

So His grace is more than sufficient

To cover the inadequacy of my emotions

To deal with the feelings

That someone’s disrespecting me

 

I’m reminded that I’m a new creature –

An altered beast who desires to be meek

Overcome my desire to win

By changing my perception of defeat

So instead of assaulting a perceived adversary

I put salt in my speech

Walk in peace with grace and forgiveness

Speak softly and turn the other cheek

 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

- (2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV)

 

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

 

 

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Zeros & Ones: Gospel In Life [Week 5] - Witness (The Alternate City) - YouTube

This week, we continue our study series with a discussion building on community. We see how the "Ecclesia" (called out ones or church) are to serve as an alternative up and against the brokenness of the society at large in which we live. We discuss what it means to be a "city on a hill", and how that should effect the way in which we live and deal with each others as well as others. We also, venture into some sensitive subject areas in dealing with witnessing and how we should flesh it out with particular sub-cultures in our current society. How does it look to be new creations showing a new way of doing community? Tune it to find out...


Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

Zeros & Ones: Gospel In Life [Week 4] - Community (The True Means of Change) - YouTube

We continue our discussion on how the Gospel transforms our lives with a discussion on community. We look at how it is the means by which true change comes about, how we find our true identity in community, how accountability is used as a means for grace within community, and how we look to Christ as the measure for how we participate in our groups in order to avoid the pitfall of idolatry in community. Also, we have a conversation about how we can engage others - Bringing them to God by taking the community into the world and meeting them where they are...

Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

Nobody

"Nobody's perfect, but he's a decent guy and he works hard." 

- Brian Humke

What if nobody ever told you that the sky was blue?
Or what if nobody ever told you that there was nothing else to choose?
Would you still believe in things like fact, faith, and fiction?
Would you still hold on to hope of beauty in a world that’s broken, ugly, and addicted?
Nobody doing right
Nobody condemning wrong -
Everything is permissible
Because there’s really “Nobody home”
Nobody’s out there
We’re just out here all alone
On a big blue marble
Waiting for a meteor or a headstone…

What if nobody ever told you that a lie exists?
And everything you’ve ever heard about “the myth” was the myth
If ignorance is bliss
Then we should all be elated
Because as the information ages
The further we get from the pavement
Nobody debates it
Nobody wants to know
What lies just beyond the pale
Or exactly how far the mystery goes…

Nobody made you
Nobody made me
You’re nobody ‘til somebody kills you
Or loves you for no reason
Good deeds never go unpunished
Because justice is never what we’ve really wanted

So, I’m just a nobody
Trying to tell everybody
About somebody who runs this...

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
(Romans 1:19-20 ESV)

Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Zeros & Ones: Gospel in Life [Week 3] - Idolatry (The Sin Beneath the Sin)

This week, we discuss the issue of idolatry. We take an in-depth look at how idolatry is the driving factor behind all of our sins, and how understanding the gospel and seeing Christ as our ultimate prize and satisfaction shuts down the idol factory and brings our passions and pleasures under new management...

Also: We use the recent film, Prometheus, as a tie-in to our discussion.

Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

Zeros & Ones: Gospel in Life [Week 2] - The Heart (3 Ways to Live)

As we continue on with our discussion on the Gospel in life, we look at the deep implications of our justification in Christ and how this changes our hearts; moving us from works of self-righteousness to understanding our imputed righteousness in the person and work in Jesus. Comprehending the truth about the method of grace in salvation that justifies should lead to repentance and sanctification...Also, we discuss the difference between religion and the gospel.

"Once again, please excuse the sleeveless look...it's very hot down here in Texas." - Shon W.

Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

Zeros & Ones: The Gospel In Life [Week 1] - The City (The World That Is)

This week, we begin our new study by Tim Keller called, Gospel in Life - How Grace Changes Everything. In our first discussion we take an in-depth look at what it means to be a child of God in the city of man. After all we are to be in the world, but not of the world...so, what exactly should that look like? We also discuss God's purpose for the City and how we as followers of Christ can help to recover and restore that intent in the cities where we live through service. Many other interesting things are discussed as well, including a brief discussion on "How Should We Then...Drink?!".
Awesome and insightful time as always. Can't wait to see what happens in the weeks to come...



To read the article/essay that I made reference to writing, here is the link:

Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

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Brave New World

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

- (Colossians 3:2 ESV)


In the age of storage wars, cupcake shows

And movies about parking lots

Our longing for the ultimate entertainment experience

Has left us searching the bottom of the cereal box

For a prize that doesn’t seem exist…

So now, we’re being led to believe that the very notion

Of something other than our present reality is a myth

Score one for boredom in the win column

Because this Brave New World experiment

Has left us empty and solemn

With a penchant for comedy

And a love for treasure-seeking

Only to find that here, the moths and rust destroy it

So we inevitably end up with neither

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!”

- (Matthew 6:19-23 ESV)

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Zeros & Ones

Eventually, it all comes down to zeros and ones

Whether it’s the sum of your bank account

Or the last day to come

Credited with a federal deficit

From an act of confederate arrogance

Lord, grant leniency for our inconvenience

Because the ledger won’t ever find a balance

No power to the people –

Dying on empty bellies and wallets

But the no. 1 killer of the nations

Is that they perish for a lack of knowledge

Deprived and depraved

Because I don’t give a damn

About the rising poverty level

And the notion of goodness is a sham

The more zeros I need in my bank

To put one gallon in my tank

My daily bread goes missing

And so does my thanks

They say the love of money

Is the root of all kinds of evil

And these churches love stacking dough

To keep raising up steeples

Bake it but don’t break it

Pressed down and shaken, but not stirring

The collective conscience of the people

To feed the needy and to serve them

Salvation’s army shouldn’t ever come to harm me

Whatever happened to the Great Commission

Or showing faith, hope and charity?

Hilarious giving is no laughing matter

When you serve the Suffering Servant

It’s not an option – Follow after Him

To be born as an orphan

Doesn’t turn you into a bastard

To get the message crossed up

Leads to evangelical disaster

The first will be last

And the last will be first

The first death leaves you breathing

But the second lays down the worst

So stop selling headstones

And returning people to slavery

Strive to share the truth in love

With the utmost transparency

Christ bares the scars

As a reminder of the cost

So that we can openly display our weakness

To show the glory of the cross

A not-to-do list is always sealed with a hiss

And wreaks of self-righteous piety

That deserves to be dismissed

Spiritual amnesia

Leads to legalistic procedures

That spit in the face of grace

And gets it backwards for unbelievers

Because you can not have “gay sex”

And still be a wreck

You can not put lips to liquor

And still be a mess

Behavior modifications

Don’t necessarily mean you have the Savior

It just makes your public appearance acceptable

But leaves your private life unsavory

No, the task of salvation

Isn’t to make you a better person

Or for you to appear perfect and blameless

To a world that’s starving and hurting

We’re just the finger pointing at the moon

Which gives us light by reflecting the sun;

So in the end, it just goes back to the beginning

It all comes down to zeros and ones…

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East of Eden

"But let us now, as in bad plight, devise

What best may for the present serve to hide

The Parts of each from other, that seem most

To shame obnoxious, and unseemliest seen,

Some Trees whose broad smooth Leaves together sew'd,

And girded on our loins, may cover round

Those middle parts, that this newcomer, Shame,

There sit not, and reproach us as unclean".

So counsell'd hee, and both together went

Into the thickest Wood, there soon they chose

The Figtree....

John Milton, Paradise Lost (1667), Book IX, lines 1091-1101.

Unknown –

Living bad to the bone

Thinking like a three year old child

Even though my body’s fully grown

Traded the very best 

For an absolute mess

Now the stress is gonna to kill me

While I’m breaking a sweat

Wet from the waist down

Because I’ve pissed away my future

Wife was dead wrong 

And the serpent’s a bad tutor 

Passed over the fruit of the vine

For knowledge not mine

Only to whine about the outcome

Because I fell for the lie

 

Hook, line and sinker

This shattered image is tanking my demeanor

Until a Fisher of men stepped in

And played the role of Redeemer

My disease was my disease –

Couldn’t see the garden for the tree

So I went from naked and unashamed

To using the foliage to cover me

Until it begins to wither away

In the heat of the day

And the ground is spitting up seeds

Because it’s starting to betray me

Reminds me of where I come from

And where I’ll be going 

We’re all keepers of a dirty little secret

With nothing to show for it

 

No “S” on my chest or bulletproof vest

Is going to stop the fate of a defective heart

And a mind covered in darkness

Living east of Eden for committing high treason

Forgetting all the while 

That we never had a good enough reason

To leave it all to chance

And face the coin toss 

To see who’d get to be the boss

In the land of the lost

Found by the Good Shepherd 

Because he paid the cost

To bring us into the fold

Never again to be tossed

 

Laid it all on the table

No Cain because he’s able

He truly is his brother’s keeper

And his hand is stable

The one true Prodigal

Who makes life eternal possible

By justification through his blood

For completely unworthy hostiles

 (Genesis 3)

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

Zeros & Ones: The Prodigal God

In this study, we look at the parable known as the "Prodigal Son" (Luke 15:1-3; 11-32). With the help of Tim Keller, we get new perspective on the traditional belief and perception of this teaching of our Lord; discovering the two ways of "lostness", the need for divine initiative in salvation, Who the true Prodigal is in this parable, and Christ's role as the true elder brother (his righteousness v. our self-righteousness)...

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Zeros & Ones: Importance of the Resurrection (Week 4 Finale)

We finish up our excellent study on the implications of the resurrection of Christ with a lively in-depth discussion on how the eyewitness account of Thomas can be applied in our own lives and our evangelism, what the implications of the resurrection are in this life and how it gives us hope now in the face of death, and finally, how this changes us forever.

 

 

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Zeros and Ones: Importance of the Resurrection (Week 3)

We continue our study and discussion on the implications of the resurrection of Christ...
This week as we go further up and in, we cover the significance of the Last Supper leading up to the resurrection and the validity of the eyewitness accounts. Also, how the resurrection serves as hope for us in our current lives when faced with trials and suffering and how this translates into the hope that we articulate in our evangelism.

 

 

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Tired

I’m tired…

Tired of dealing with all of the stress and strife

That comes along with dealing with these daily vices

I’m tired…

Tired of trying to live up to the expectations

And looking at the disappointed faces

Knowing that they’re still waiting

I’m tired…

Tired of the lies that the media’s selling

Salvation at bargain basement prices

Will always end up failing

 

I’m tired of you…

I’m tired of me…

I’m tired of “we”…

And all the times that we fight

About how it’s not supposed to be

 

I’m tired …

Tired of delayed justice

In a world where evil appears to get a free pass

And makes everything disgusting

I’m tired…

Tired of all the raping and the killing

Character assassinations, manipulation and bad feelings

I’m tired…

Tired of pretending that everything’s so copasetic

When my inner state of love and trust

Is absolutely pathetic

 

I’m tired of being alone…

I’m tired of being a drone…

I’m tired of sending out a call for help

And having no one answer the phone

 

I’m tired…

Tired of the unwelcomed favors

Like doing the maximum amount of work

And only receiving minimum wages

I’m tired…

Tired of always having to turn the other cheek

While the rich build empires

On the backs of the lower class

And the mighty devour the weak

I’m tired…

Tired of this illusion of autonomy

That I’m free to do what I want

And that someone out there

Has something they owe me

 

I’m tired of being vexed…

I’m tired of being over-sexed…

I’m tired of always trying to get better

But never giving my best

 

I’m so tired of hearing the best news ever heard

And not remembering what was said

I’m so tired of having all of the information

At my fingertips

But never a damned thing in my head

 

I’m so tired of being tired of everything

And it’s starting to make me sick

There’s only one thing left to hope for…

Maranatha! Lord, come quick!!

 

 

 

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

- (Romans 8:18-30 ESV)

 

 

He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

- (Revelation 22:20 ESV)

 

 

 

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

 

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)