Perfection

A gong resounds
A cymbal clangs
My head is spinning
And eventually it hangs

For all around me is decaying
The proof of human glory
And I cry out in fear
At the loss of our story

I collapse to the floor
A tear falling down my cheek
As I cry kneeling there
A voice behind me speaks so meek

"Look up," He says
As He wipes away a tear
"Imperfection has passed away
And perfection is here."

And as I follow His advice
My breath leaves my chest
For what was old is now new
And He overshadows all the rest.

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If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

King's Ball

My heart is pounding, racing

As I see the envelope fall

For inside contains an invitation

To the King's annual ball

I have been invited

To participate this year

And so I start my preparations

For this day of good cheer

But as the weeks progress

I find myself more and more

Working myself way too hard

And finally falling on the floor

"Slow down," they say

"Everything will work out."

But my heart is still pounding

And within me illness begins to sprout

And so on the big day

When I was to have my fun

I lay sick in my bed

With a fever of one hundred and one.

But then in came the King

Sad that I had missed His day

And He brought with him His Healer

Who took my fever away

"I have taken care of everything"

The words echoed in my head

And I knew I had been a fool

To end up sick in bed

But His presence brought me peace

And His company brought me joy

Then together we entered His Kingdom

Into His riches to enjoy

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So this takes a little explaining. I wrote this on the night before Impact application deadline and all of the craziness involved with that. For some reason, the Devil has hit me so hard today with a sense of anxiety and stress. I wrote this to remind myself of the consequences of stressing out. But then the last three stanzas flowed out onto my screen and I realized that God is in control of everything. It was very therapeutic. So read and enjoy. I am sure that I am not the only one with these feelings.

Fire Fall Down

Joel 2:29b

"In those days, I will pour out my Spirit."

The cracks on the ground cut my feet

As I shuffle through this desert so dry.

My body aches from hunger and thirst

I know that now is my time to die

I've given up when around me comes

A wind I can hear and see

I cringe as I think of the hot winds

That have tormented me endlessly

But when the wind does not stop

I allow myself to realize

That this wind is cool and wet

So I begin to open my eyes

On the horizon I see them,

The most glorious sight of my life,

Clouds, dark and grey, are forming

Bringing an end to all my strife

And as the rain begins to fall

It is not the water drops I know

Instead upon me falls tongues of fire

But to my touch they feel cold as snow

I soak in the refreshing coolness

Falling from the clouds so high

And in relief my body begins to shake

As tears flow and I begin to cry

Then as I cry, inside me rises

Something I cannot hold in

And so from within I let loose

A song through my endless grin

"Praise be to Him," I sing,

"Who pours His Spirit on the land

That I might find my strength in Him

So I may find the strength to stand."