Exodus 20:1-17; Psalm 19:8-11; Matthew 13:18-23

sower
of seed
you seek
the fertile heart
open
to your word
where love
can take root
and bear fruit
not snatched away
in lack
of understanding
fallen away
amidst trial
or choked away
in the thorns
of the worlds’s anxiety
but pruned
and tended
with a love
not our own

Do you have an open heart?

Exodus 19:1-2, 9-11,16-20; Daniel 3:52-56; Matthew 13:10-17

blessed
are your eyes
because
they see
and your ears
because
they hear
many prophets
and righteous people
longed
to see
what you see
but did not
see it
and
hear
what you hear
but did not
hear it

What do you see? What do your hear?

Exodus 16:1-15; Psalm 78:18-28; John 20:1-2, 11-18

no longer
in flesh
do we hold him
but in
Spirit
alive
in our being
knowing
His Presence
in the bread
we receive
and give
day by day
never abandoned
we have
all we need
and give thanks

Do you have all you need?

Exodus 14:5-18; Exodus 15: 1-6; Matthew 12;38-42

faith
needs
no sign
no assurance
and can
be given
none
because
it knows
that which
has been
from
the beginning
that
which has
no end…
God’s love
for us

Does your faith ask for signs?

Jeremiah 23:1-6; Psalm 23:1-6; Ephesians 2:13-18; John 6:1-5

lost
we are as sheep
without a shepherd
seen
by one
who knows
and understands
our blinded ways
his voice calls
through the maze
of our deceptions
to follow
and learn
to speak
of ways
known and born
in Truth
breaking down
the barriers
that keep us
from peace
we walk
through this dark valley
and fear no evil
with courage to live
in oneness
in love
and in peace

Do you have the courage to live in peace?

Exodus 12:37-42; Psalm 138: 28-34,10-12,13-15; Matthew 12:14-2

reconciled
to His love
through
mercy
we are
drawn
in and through
all
that would harm us
to the place
where
we know
who we are
people
of God
and Goodness
the work
of His hands

Do you know who you are?

Exodus 3:1-12; Psalm 103:1-7; Matthew 11:25-27

with
child-like
wonder
and awe
we see you
as your light
reveals
God’s splendor
to us
hidden
in every
being
and leaf
and grain
of sand
shimmering
with a love
we cannot
refuse
to accept
or give

Do you see with child-like wonder?

Exodus 1:8-22; Psalm 124: 1-8; Matthew 10:34-11:1

you come
with
a sword
sharpened
on Truth
and cut
through
with surgical
precision
to a heart
that understands
a piercing
love
that places
no other
above
the source
of its heartbeat
and breath
and carries
all suffering
back
as a gift
a cross
to bear

Does your heart understand a piercing love?

Amos 7:12-15; Psalm 85:9-10,11-12,13-14; Ephesians 1:3-14; Mark 6:7-13

you
send us
two by two
as witness
to your
glory
and grace
your peace
and kindness
and the justice
of your love
one in mind
and Spirit
we live
no longer
in sin
suffering
and death
but in
redemption’s
story
of heaven’s
eternal grace

How are you a witness to God’s glory?