An Ever-Fixed Mark

Let me not to the marriage of true minds

Admit impediments. Love is not love

Which alters when it alteration finds,

Or bends with the remover to remove:

O no! it is an ever-fixed mark

That looks on tempests and is never shaken;

It is the star to every wandering bark,

Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.

Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks

Within his bending sickle's compass come:

Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,

But bears it out even to the edge of doom.

If this be error and upon me proved,

I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

Isaiah 53

My Jesus…
He was naked, so I could be covered.
He was punished for sin, so I could be free from death.
He was weak, so I could be strong.
He was wounded, so I could be healed.
He was disfigured, so I could be beautiful.
He was despised and rejected, so I could be loved and accepted.
He was abandoned, so I could be comforted.
He became like me, so I could become like him.
He took on darkness, so I could walk in light.

Encounter in Haiku

Outside my window
In the deep quiet of night
The Lord calls my name

Eyes closed, I listen…
Telling of His love for me
In words so tender.

A song from my heart
Rises to His inclined ear.
He smiles, satisfied.

Taking the Sabbath Seriously

The Sabbath is the only one of the Ten Commandments we don’t take seriously. One of the reasons the Israelites went in to exile was because they didn’t honor the Sabbath. Of course, idol worship and turning their backs on God were two other reasons, but not honoring the Sabbath was another reason cited in the Bible.

The reasons for honoring the Sabbath are for our benefit. We need to rest. It's like rebooting a computer. We turn it off, clearing its memory queue, so it can reallocate resources. We also need to re-set and re-focus. We need to re-establish our priorities, goals and direction. God knows this - after all, He made us.

I need to change how I live in regard to the Sabbath - NOT because I’m legalistic about how I live as a Christ-follower, but because I can see that God’s provision (a day of rest) is good for me. He wants me to be healthy, happy and functioning well.