Thomas Carlise's You Jonah

And Jonah stalked

to his shaded seat

and waited for God

to come around

to his way of thinking.

And God is still waiting for a host of Jonahs

in their comfortable houses

to come around

to his way of loving.

My Orders by Ethelwyn Wetherald

Just read Unfashoinable: Making a difference in the world by being different by Tullian Tchividjian and he quoted a poem, My Orders, by Ethelwyn Wetherald. (Side note: She is also a Canadian :) )

My Orders

MY orders are to fight;

Then if I bleed, or fail,

Or strongly win, what matters it?

God only doth prevail.

The servant craveth naught

Except to serve with might.

I was not told to win or lose,–

My orders are to fight.

It dawned on me I need to rethink what's consider as successful in doing the Lord's work. I always think about the result. Like double the size of the fellowship or have people that are seeking Christ...when it comes to it..those results have nothing to do with me.

The Lord never told me to make it happen. He makes it happen.

He just told me to obey and be obedient. To fight.

Even if the ship is sinking, to keep fighting.

Because that's the order I was given.

No why,

no when,

no how.

Just fight.

When the results is not what I expected, I feel discourage...

why?

I shouldn't be.

Not when the Lord is working and He is always in control. Just because it is not going my way, it doesn't mean our Lord is not working..(hmm..perhaps this is a hint of self pride that I am so 'valuable' for the Lord that He needs me to do His job.....)

In addressing to divisions among a church in the epistles, First Corinthians, Paul wrote:

I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor

(1 Corinthians 3:6-8)

...

Let The Lord does the heavy lifting.

I am just called to fight.

I am nothing.

It is the Lord that make things grow.

AMEN!!

Man enough

One of the most popular post in this blog is the Adrian Plass' poem. I was re-reading it today.

For the past few weeks...since November, my emotion had been up and down. I really wanted to follow Christ. Yet the passion is not there. What seemed to be easy task like sending out an email and administrative duties, now seemed to be huge and overbearing.

My last post was asking for God to change my heart. To rediscover the joy of following Him and forego all cost.

I am going to be heading up the Mercy Ministry in the English Congregation of my church. My pastor asked me to get two books and read them in order to prepare for this role. I wish I can say I am hungering to read them. I am not. I want to crave for it. But I am not.

One of the books is Ministries of Mercy The call of the Jericho Road. Tim Keller is revisiting the parable of the Good Samaritan. I reflected this parable before (here and here).

When I read the poem on Adrian Plass again...there are few verses that capture my attention:

Are you man enough to see the need, and man enough to go,
Man enough to care for those whom no one wants to know,
Man enough to say the thing that people hate to hear,
To battle through Gethsemane in loneliness and fear.
And listen! Are you man enough to stand it at the end,
The moment of betrayal by the kisses of a friend,
Are you man enough to hold your tongue, and man enough to cry?
When nails break your body-are you man enough to die?
Man enough to take the pain, and wear it like a crown,
Man enough to love the world and turn it upside down,
Are you man enough to follow me, I ask you once again?
I said, Oh Lord, I’m frightened, but I also said Amen.

Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen; Amen, Amen, Amen,
I said, Oh Lord, I’m frightened, but I also said, Amen.

So I am back there. Am I man enough to go? And care for those where no one wants to. And man enough to handle the pain?

On the road of Jericho. The lonely road of Jericho. All I see are men lying around beaten and barely breathing. I see families lost and struggle with poverty without hope. I see many of my brothers and sisters seem to impervious of the problem. It is as if no one understands. And all I see are my own hands full of complacency, a heart of a pharisee and not moving an inch to help.

So I will go..I am frightened and I feel lost. And I will go. There is no need to ask why. Because when the shepherd..the GOOD Shepherd calls...His sheep follow.

Discover

I've been cleaning my room since our house is getting renovated.

I was digging through some of the old stuff and found this poem. I purchased this poem from a friend in Feb 2009. He was hanging out in the cold street of Toronto when I met him. He took pictures with his digital camera, develop them and write a poem.

It is already a year since I know him. Time sure pass fast. If your heart is willing, please pray for him. As he is still in the streets and the winter weather can be brutal (-20*C!!).

Discover

Paths can be found through any season...seeing nothing makes it futile. Finding someting worth whie can make even the hardest journey: forgotten.

The day began unknown

But I found a light to show me the way

With it I was not worried

When the night came.

The day began cold.

(seeming walked in) I didn't know

of the way out was: "coming or going".

But I found a tunnel.

Through it: the light inside

guided me.

The day began with a beautiful sky

And I did not let it go

unthanked

And when the night came...

I slept.

(So), when the days were tiring,

I did not give up...

I found a place to rest.

Recklessness

What is, therefore, our task today?

Shall I answer: “Faith, hope, and love”?
That sounds beautiful.
But I would say - courage.
No, even that is not challenging enough to be the whole truth.

Our task today is recklessness.
For what we Christians lack is not psychology or literature… we lack a holy rage

The recklessness which comes from the knowledge of God and humanity.
The ability to rage when justice lies prostrate on the streets, and when the lie rages across the face of the earth … a holy anger about the things that are wrong in the world.
To rage against the ravaging of God’s earth, and the destruction of God’s world.
To rage when little children must die of hunger, when the tables of the rich are sagging with food.
To rage at the senseless killing of so many, and against the madness of militaries.
To rage at the lie that calls the treat of death and the strategy of destruction peace.

To rage against complacency.
To restlessly seek that recklessness that will challenge and seek to change human history until it conforms to the norms of the Kingdom of God.
And remember the signs of the Christian Church have been the Lion, the Lamb, the Dove, and the Fish … but never the chameleon.

A poem by Kaj Munk

Thanks Kaj for writing such a beautiful poem.

May your kingdom come, your will be be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Amen!

Adrian Plass Poem

If you are interested on learning more about Adrian Plass, please visit his site at www.adrianplass.com.

When I became a Christian I said, Lord, now fill me in,
Tell me what I’ll suffer in this world of shame and sin.
He said, your body may be killed, and left to rot and stink,
Do you still want to follow me?
I said Amen - I think.
I think Amen, Amen I think, I think I say Amen,
I’m not completely sure, can you just run through that again?
You say my body may be killed and left to rot and stink,
Well, yes, that sounds terrific, Lord, I say Amen - I think.

But, Lord, there must be other ways to follow you, I said,
I really would prefer to end up dying in my bed.
Well, yes, he said, you could put up with the sneers and scorn and spit,
Do you still want to follow me? I said Amen - a bit.
A bit Amen, Amen a bit, a bit I say Amen,
I’m not entirely sure, can we just run through that again?
You say I could put up with sneers and also scorn and spit,
Well, yes, I’ve made my mind up, and I say, Amen - a bit.

Well I sat back and thought a while, then tried a different ploy,
Now, Lord, I said, the Good book says that Christians live in joy.
That’s true he said, you need the joy to bear the pain and sorrow,
So do you want to follow me, I said, Amen - tomorrow.
Tomorrow, Lord, I’ll say it then, that’s when I’ll say Amen,
I need to get it clear, can I just run through that again?
You say that I will need to joy, to bear the pain and sorrow,
Well, yes, I think I’ve got it straight, I’ll say Amen - tomorrow.

He said, Look, I’m not asking you to spend an hour with me
A quick salvation sandwich and a cup of sanctity,
The cost is you, not half of you, but every single bit,
Now tell me, will you follow me? I said Amen - I quit.
I’m very sorry Lord I said, I’d like to follow you,
But I don’t think religion is a manly thing to do.
He said forget religion then, and think about my Son,
And tell me if you’re man enough to do what he has done.

Are you man enough to see the need, and man enough to go,
Man enough to care for those whom no one wants to know,
Man enough to say the thing that people hate to hear,
To battle through Gethsemane in loneliness and fear.
And listen! Are you man enough to stand it at the end,
The moment of betrayal by the kisses of a friend,
Are you man enough to hold your tongue, and man enough to cry?
When nails break your body-are you man enough to die?
Man enough to take the pain, and wear it like a crown,
Man enough to love the world and turn it upside down,
Are you man enough to follow me, I ask you once again?
I said, Oh Lord, I’m frightened, but I also said Amen.

Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen; Amen, Amen, Amen,
I said, Oh Lord, I’m frightened, but I also said, Amen.