salvation

Your Gaze

/ The WheatandTares

Your gaze is hard to follow.

Your glare burns me from within.

Your intensity builds the fire into an inferno.

I cannot escape or refuse. I cannot run away or hide.

I shift in the uncomfortable silence,

Hoping you’ll say something to ease the pain.

You look me eye to eye, I glance away, not knowing what to say.

You begin to speak, and I cringe, terrified you’ll find me lacking and left wanting.

And suddenly, I hear Your voice gently call my name.

All fear is forgotten.

All doubt is erased.

As I lean into Your grace.

And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

John 6:40

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

1 John 3:1-3

Flame Walker, Fire Journey

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

There are moments in life when reality settles in. When the hard work of living pauses for just a moment, and you’re able to look back and recognize where you’ve been, what’s been accomplished, and where you’re going.

There comes a time when you realize some sacrifices were necessary to carry on; some were foolish, and still more were simply necessary for survival.

Then, there’s that season of recognition when the fear of the pain is passed, the apathy of the seared feelings has diminished, and all that is left is the confidence of your preservation.

When you’ve walked through the flames of life, innocence may be lost and intimidation may be vanquished, but the growth and strength that rises cannot be denied.

So, walk on, my friend. Walk on.

Be a flame walker. Take the fiery journey.

You can endure.

And then, go and rescue someone from that same inferno.

But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.

Jude 1:20-23

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.

Jude 1:24-25

Milk and Cookies, Coffee and Cake

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

No matter your persuasion, no matter your choice,

Get ready to celebrate. Get ready to share some joy.

Even in the hardest moments, even in the deepest grief,

Someone needs your smile. Someone longs for your love, even if it’s brief.

No matter your tradition, no matter your religion,

Get ready to shower love. Get ready to share some cheer.

Even in the hustle and bustle, even in the busiest season,

Someone desires your embrace. Someone yearns to hear the true reason.

So, pour a glass of milk and set out the cookies.

Brew up the cocoa and drain a hot cup of Joe.

Share the purpose of peace and show them how to cope.

Share the story of Christmas and show them The Hope.

Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Luke 2:10-11

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

Matthew 1:20-23

Twisted Heart

/ The WheatandTares

You say you love me, and my heart twists in a knot.

Butterflies fly and my head is light.

My mind wants to believe, but my heart has been deceived.

So, I pray your words are true while I doubt their veracity.

I find myself desperate for your affections, yet shielding my emotions.

I hear myself reply to your promises with longings of my own,

Yet, I don’t trust you to be faithful.

I don’t trust you to be true.

Why does my heart twist and turn and refuse to accept yours?

Why does my heart twist and turn your words to mean ill-will to mine?

Oh God, forgive my betrayal.

Please, forgive my unbelief.

You are my Creator, my Source, my eternal King.

You are the mender of my heart, untwist this vile thing.

Return me to my first love, and purify my soul to sing.

Penned – MG – 6/13/22

The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?

Jeremiah 17:9

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me hear joy and gladness, That the bones You have broken may rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.

Psalm 51:7-12

Blindsided

/ The WheatandTares / 7 Comments

You came out of nowhere.
Although, I knew you were always there.
You hit me without warning.
Although, I was expecting it everyday.

Blindsided

You flew in like a hurricane.
I saw all the warnings, but I kept on driving.
You landed like an earthquake.
I was wondering, waiting, but I rode on the train

Blindsided

You demanded as a tidal wave.
I resisted, yet you kept pushing and taking.
You dominated as a tsunami.
I revolted, yet you devoured and consumed.

Blindsided

You absorbed like a vacuum bomb.
I can’t breathe, and you come back for more
You depleted like a hand grenade.
I can’t feel, and you return to draw again.

Blindsided

You prance forward as a golden peacock.
I weep, yet not for me, for your hidden demise.
You shout as a heralded trumpeter.
I grieve, yet not for me, for your veiled destruction.

Blindsided

He will come out of nowhere.
Although, you’ve known He’s always there.
He will hit you without warning.
Although, you’ve been expecting Him everyday.

I find myself screaming across the chasm
You don’t have to live to die

Blindsided

Penned- MG -3/21/22

Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.

Revelation 3:3

Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.

Revelation 16:15

Reduced to a Box

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

His life was one of a restless heart

Never staying long to bury the roots

He’d come in with the wind and leave in a whim

Like a bull’s entrance into the gate

And a butterfly’s flight back out the door

His smile was one of mischief and charm

Never intending to leave a scar

He’d laugh easily and bring delight to the room

Like an otter’s dip for a swim

And a squirrel’s scurry through the forest limbs

Yet, his absence was one of deep canyons and chasms

Never able to bridge the loss of time and space

He’d search to find solace in the bottle once again

Like rabbit seeking shade in the shelter of the croc

And a cat finding the comfort of a strange prickly friend

His life was one of reconciled grace

Never destined beyond that one purpose

He’d discover that love and then enter in

Like a starfish tumbling inside the wave

And a bird of prey diving for its mark

His legacy is one of complicated honor

Never being understood or truly embraced

He’d not be reduced to a box full of memories

Like a bear hibernating behind the winter snow

And a turtle buried beneath the frostline mud

Penned – MG – 1/20/22

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:23

…but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

John 20:31

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

John 3:16

What is Your Prison?

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

Is it pain? That gut wrenching pain that keeps you up at night…

Is it anxiety? The anxious, breath stealing, clammy-palm, lightheaded kind that overwhelms in a nanosecond…

Is it fear? The kind that breaks you out in a cold sweat in the midnight hours, yet no one is there…

Maybe it’s ambition… the driven force that is like a wrecking ball on a chain…

Maybe it’s arrogance… that blinding air which suffocates the most innocent of life…

Maybe it’s vengeance… the fierce, unrelenting thirst for justice that can never be quenched…

Or could it be suspicion? The overwhelming doubt that holds onto the gate, never seeing the broken latch…

Could it possibly be oblivious joy? The happy go lucky laughter that overrides the wounds or visible scars…

Everyone has a prison that is waiting

It can be a prison of lost hope or broken dreams

It can be a prison of lost love or shattered trust

There are bars that threaten to invade and slam shut around your very soul.

But the doors can swing wide.

The prisoners can go free.

You just have to accept the key.

Penned – MG – 1/19/22

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,

Because the Lord has anointed Me

To preach good tidings to the poor;

He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to the captives,

And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,

And the day of vengeance of our God;

To comfort all who mourn,

To console those who mourn in Zion,

To give them beauty for ashes,

The oil of joy for mourning,

The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;

That they may be called trees of righteousness,

The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.

Isaiah 61:1-3

The Quest for Christmas

/ The WheatandTares

Sometimes, it’s almost mind-boggling to think how, throughout the year before, we long for Christmas to get here. We dream of it, talk about it, plan for it and prepare so many things to perfectly progress for the precise moment it will arrive, and then, the day itself seems to pass almost as quickly as it arrives.

Yet, for those of us who claim to be Christians, it does make me wonder, do we do the same for the coming of our eternal King?

For He IS coming, and we will be with Him for so much longer than Christmas Day will ever have been.

Are we getting ready?

And are we urging others to be ready?

Just as we’ve asked, “Do you have your tree up?” Maybe we should also ask, “ Do you have your heart ready?”

Maybe just as we’ve asked, “Do you have all your presents bought?” We should also ask, “Did you know, your soul has already been purchased with a price?”

Just as we inquire, “Are your family members coming?” Maybe we follow that with, “Are they headed toward heaven as well?”

Because if we are ready for all the Christmases we could ever live through, but we miss the one event that only happens once in a lifetime, we will regret it forever.

If we have all the presents in the world bought and perfectly wrapped, yet we miss the very present that has been provided to us for free, then in comparison, all the rest is just trash.

And if we enjoy company with our family and friends during the season, but we fail to show them the way to Christ, all those seasons will fade for the eternity in which we will miss them.

Let us not lose a moment.

Let us not miss an opportunity.

Let us never ignore the Hope.

Our time is too short, and their lives are too precious to lose…and so are ours.

Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.

James 4:14

Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.

2 Corinthians 5:20

Monday Musings

/ The WheatandTares / 7 Comments

I wonder how often this is true for us. In this “Me Society” where we live today, it seems so much is about being happy, being satisfied, being fulfilled, even at the cost of someone else’s happiness and satisfaction.

I wonder where we went wrong.

When did it get so important that you’re made happy that it doesn’t matter if, in the process, I am made desolate?

When did it get so determined that your satisfaction could be at the expense of my daily living?

When did it become ok to demand the freedom of one race, one party, one organization or one people group at the detriment of anyone else who might disagree?

Where did we go astray?

Maybe when we began believing the life of a tree was more important than a human.

Maybe when we began determining which life could live and which could die by our own hands.

Maybe when we began believing we could actually give life and take away life by our very own hands and believed we shouldn’t suffer any consequences for the decisions we made.

Evil is evil, and it has been the same since the beginning of time.

The difference today is too many have began calling evil goo and good evil.

And when these things become the norm, no one can escape the fall.

So, where will we go? What will we do? Who will we turn to?

We must go back to the beginning.

We must go back to the moment we went astray.

Return to that place in time and start anew. Repent. Make new choices. Make amends.

It is possible. But we have to see past ourselves to actually make a difference.

Monday Musings

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

How far will you go to reach the heavens?

How long will you walk the path to hell?

How wide do you stretch your lips to spread evil and deceit?

How deep will you swim to discover the depths of His love?

He is there when you search for Him.

He will find you in the midst of the darkness.

Simply open your eyes to see the light.

“O Lord, You have searched me and known me.
You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.
For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.
You have hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it. Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend into heaven, You arethere;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,” Even the night shall be light about me;
Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.”

Psalm 139:1-12