One Like You

Like a vortex it draws you in.
But like a snowfall’s hush,
It passes you by.
Lingering in the shadows it waits.
Your desires urge you to leave your luminous home.
Again, like a snare it grapples you.
And again, like a hunter approaching its prey,
You don’t notice.

Are you drowning?
Have you come up to breathe?
Or are you trying to suffocate yourself?
Enticing it may be,
But fatal it will be.
Like a mind game that looks simple,
But like deceit that will overcome you.
A battle that you should walk away the victor,
Yet a war you are forfeiting.
An enemy you hate,
And an enemy you adore.

Careful to draw the sword,
For your opponent is drawing it too.
If you can’t fight this alone,
To whom will you go?
One who has fought this battle?
One who has overcome?
Yes, and one like you.

“For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted” (Hebrews 2:18).

Love you all!
Daniel =)

Good People?

There’s always something on my mind, but I only write down what I’m thinking a small percentage of the time. For humanity’s sake that is probably a good thing. Tonight is one of those nights, duh. The thing that has been swimming in the deep end of my brain is an issue of humility. It really bothers me for some reason whenever someone says, “But I’m a good person..” They’re usually indicating that they don’t deserve a certain pain they are experiencing and that it’s happening because of their moral character. I am really good at doing this and I just wanted to throw that out there. In fact, it makes me sick when I catch myself saying that. The reason it makes me sick is that I have no business saying that I am a good person. To me, it feels like I’m telling myself, God, or someone else that I’m better than other people and that I’m so good, that I should be excused from the suffering they endure.

This all reminds me of John 9 when the disciples are gathered around Jesus approaching a man who was born blind and they say, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind” (John 9:2)? They aren’t complaining about a situation they are in, but they mistakenly look down upon someone else. They give an assumption that sin caused this man to be born blind. However, that’s not the case at all because Jesus says immediately after their statement, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him” (John 9:3). Don’t you feel like the disciples must have caught onto something there? Like maybe, “We’re not so high and mighty after all?”

The death on the cross (that was followed by Jesus’ resurrection) granted us salvation and it also killed the “good works” mentality. Being a good person will not get you into heaven. Truth is, I am one hundred percent fine with that idea. You know why? I’m not a good person. I’m a thief, armed with a dagger. I’m a Pharisee pointing the blame. I am a great sinner. So, here it is: Following Jesus comes with a price (Luke 14:25-33). Jesus says we will have to endure struggles (John 16:33). We will mess up. It is not about what you or I deserve. Death is honestly what we deserve. If you feel that this is unfair, I would beg to differ because I don’t think it’s fair that a Father had to give His only Son to die on a cross for people that hated Him. Think about it..

Love you all!
Daniel =)

At Sea

Home, I’m on my way.
I set sail, I drifted away.
I had dreams of new places and new faces.
A sailor of the high seas I wanted to become,
But tribulation had just begun.
I am not cut out for this alone.
I fear I am drowning in solitude,
This journey is something I wish to exclude.

However, here I am.
The seas, they curse, they yell.
My ship is an ember escaping a fire.
My ship is losing flame.
I am not lost, but disheartened.
My journey is to reach you
And I will not be overcome by doubt.
For a sailor told me before I left,
“Yet now I urge you to take heart,
for there will be no loss of life among you,
but only of the ship.”
My ship is only a vessel.
If I must swim,
Then with the sea I shall wrestle.

When words do not suffice,
I remember a sacrifice.
When shadows threaten to consume,
Light dances above,
Daring it to resume.
Ships may be tossed and crushed,
But shores always beckon seafarers home..

Pi(squared)=Apoptart

Quite frankly I don’t have a lot to say tonight, and I don’t have anything new or groundbreaking to share. I do want you to know this: The God I’ve come to adore has made some pretty significant statements and there are some profound things said about Him in His Word. He says that He will never abandon us. “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9). The Lord looks on the heart and not the outward appearance (1 Samuel 16:7). He is the source of all of our comfort ( 2 Corinthians 1:3-7). The Father not only cares for us, but He will take our anxieties (1 Peter 5:7). God’s grace is not only sufficient for us, but His power is also perfected in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). We cannot be separated from His love (Romans 8:37-39)!! Because Jesus suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted (Hebrews 2:18). God is love (1 John 4:7,8). Jesus has overcome the world and we can take peace and refuge in that (John 16:33). Our God is Father and we are His adopted children (Romans 8:15).

I wrote this as a reminder to myself and to anyone who reads this that we need to think about the vast amount of good things we have going for us as followers of Christ. In knowing this, we should then feel led to remind others, or show them for the first time, that our God reigns and good things flow from Him. We are not here to fix people ourselves, but to show them that Jesus has overcome the world and that He brings salvation to us (now and in the sense of eternity).

Love you all!
Daniel =)