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December 4–10 ❘ Revelation

Poem and discussion centering on the vision that John recorded in the book of Revelation as recorded in Revelation 1: 10–15; 10:8–11.

Revelation

God usually whispers—
skillful Author, shaper
of story, He foreshadows,
never gives away.

But in this vision, He roars
abrupt as lightning,
intense as liquid metal
or melted glass, tremendous
as thundering waterfall.

He fills me with a message
bitter as unmet expectation,
sweet as sure promise:
I am coming!

The kingdom of heaven
presses forward,
leans into my words,
ready for the seal
to snap.

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November 27–December 3 ❘ Life Eternal

Poem and discussion centering on some of the symbols John used to teach about Jesus Christ’s nature as recorded in Reference 1 John 5.

Life Eternal

is this:
to be
God-born

by water
for birth, washing,
death

by blood
for family, sin,
sacrifice

by Spirit
for truth, light,
cleansing fire

to all agree in one
by plan, by execution,
by Word

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November 20–26 ❘ Refining

Poem and discussion centering on Peter’s counsel to beware false prophets and teachers as recorded in 2 Peter 2:17.

Refining

In the last days,
you will find wells without water,
but not empty—

they bubble over oily darkness,
fuel for all-consuming,
inward fires.

Don’t fill your lamps from them.
Don’t touch match
to that slick of pollution.

Let Christ burn you clean.
He will take you from ashes,
pure and ready to pour.

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November 13–19 ❘ If Any of You Lack Wisdom

Poem and discussion centering on the famous scripture that prompted Joseph Smith to pray as recorded in James 1:5.

If Any of You Lack Wisdom

I wrote to my people
a few words of counsel

and though I always felt
the weight of God’s call

I didn’t know how one sentence
could strike rough stone

and ignite purifying fire
across time and space

to cleanse a foreign world
I never imagined—

truth is worth telling
even if only one person hears

even if you’re only talking
to yourself

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November 6–12 ❘ Author and Finisher

Poem and discussion centering on Paul’s description of Jesus as the author and finisher of our faith as recorded in Hebrews 12:2.

Author and Finisher

He doesn’t stop us
from wielding words like swords
or cudgels in His name
after the manner of our language.
We quote scripture, spare not
the rod, reason that we need
land blows only once
and they will learn,

but we never learn.
Fallen, broken, stunned by grief,
we stammer toward God

who wraps wounds in Word,
daubs written ointment deep
in weeping sores, massages
life back into bruises
with balm of His cadence.
In His lines laid down
like red ribbons, we read
and are healed.

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October 30–November 5 ❘ Strangers

Poem and discussion centering on Paul’s counsel to show hospitality to all strangers as recorded in Hebrews 13:2.

Strangers

If Abraham and Sarah
washed and fed
promised and laughed at

If Gideon
threshed and lamented
reminisced and pled with

If Jesus
healed and taught
fretted and bled for

Why not me?
The world is full of heavenly guests,
every one a child of God

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October 23–29 ❘ Onesimus

Poem and discussion centering on the story of Onesimus as recorded in Philemon 1:10–19.

Onesimus

I don’t owe you anything beyond
what siblings owe each other,

so I return to you,
free, unashamed.

Christ has paid our debts
and secured us as equals,

children in an eternal family
full of quirks and griefs,

but also of love, faith,
and powerful good sense.

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October 16–22 ❘ Children of Light

Poem and discussion centering on Paul’s counsel to the church in Thessalonica to watch for the signs of Christ’s return as recorded in 1 Thessalonians 5:1–6.

Children of Light

Routine is good for children:
feasts to keep,
seasons to celebrate,
signs to seek.
They eat, drink, rejoice
at all the proper times
and sleep securely.

But we are grown.
We struggle to prove all things,
to tell between boundaries
of letter and Spirit.

We remember anxious,
determined Peter in the garden,
unable to watch for a single hour—

we toss and turn in our beds,
restless as we wait
for a Thief in the night.

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October 9–15 ❘ New Creature

Poem and discussion centering on Paul’s teaching that we can be made new by Christ as recorded in Philippians 3:8 and 2 Corinthians 5:17.

New Creature

It isn’t much,
these slivers chiseled
from my soul,

small offering of self
like sand or chaff,
worthless except in loss.

Chip by chip,
what I release
reforms me

into something new
not made with hands
but by God

and by letting go
of stone that encases
His masterwork within.

I am raw,
rough-hewn,
but becoming.

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October 2–8 ❘ Good

Poem and discussion centering on John’s view that the reason we love God is because He first loved us as recorded in 1 John 4:19.

Good

It was good of you to see me in my box
and not pull me out,
but instead climb inside to admire
dovetail joints and woodgrain waves,
to sit on worn cushions where I think
and ask questions, guessing at answers.

It was good of you to coax me to stand,
to steady me as I peered over the edge
at green plains rippling like water
and flat mountains at the horizon
like torn blue paper,
promising I would visit one day.

It was good of you to boost as I climbed over,
to hold as I slid down,
to not sigh as I hugged the wall,
standing still for so long.
You walked with me in halting circuits,
always returning home.

It was good of you to love me first
so I would know how to love others
in all their comfortable boxes.

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September 25–October 1 ❘ In Tension

Poem and discussion centering on my thoughts on how Christ frees us from a yoke of bondage based on Galatians 5:1.

In Tension

Like Frost’s silken tent
I balance on a pinnacle,
held upright by cords
of love and law
that both bind and support.

Like paper kite,
I fly when tethered,
fall when cut loose.

Like one who meets God
by road or in grove,
I am freed but not free,
yoked by choice and necessity,

for after seeing the light,
who am I to withstand it?

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September 18–24 ❘ Disguised

Poem and discussion centering on Paul’s warning against people who disguise their evil intentions as recorded in 2 Corinthians 11:13–14.

Disguised

Satan masquerades in robes of light,
pretends to be all things to all men,
by turns playful, slight, canonical, scholarly—

he knows what people want
and when.

He aims to rip your sails
with twisted winds of doctrine,
capsize your heart on tides of whim.

Smiling, he turns your chin away
from plain-faced, sharp-tongued
mortal angels around you,

but when you hear them plead from shore,
turn back. Catch their rough hands
as they reach imperfectly
through storm to rescue.

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September 11–17 ❘ Godly Sorrow

Poem and discussion centering on Paul’s discussion about how godly sorrow leads to repentance as recorded in 2 Corinthians 7:9–10.

Godly Sorrow

I have a pocket in my heart
where I tuck sorrow,
worthless tin treasure
too weighty to discard.

I try to shift,
to turn toward mercy,
but rough-cut edges
sting and slash me through.

I need someone to sit with me
and count the debt,
to pocket it within
His own great heart.

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September 4–10 ❘ Celestial

Poem and discussion centering on a reference the Apostle Paul made to celestial bodies as recorded in 1 Corinthians 15:40.

Celestial

The sun rises quietly,
filters through green leaves,
feeds and refreshes
with tenderness.

At noon,
it beats down past bearing,
burns and purges,
sweats clean.

At dusk,
it sets in blood,
releases us for now
to rest.

At midnight,
it reflects on us as we sleep,
sends bright dreams
of rising again.

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August 28–September 3 ❘ Saints

Poem and discussion centering on Paul’s “body of Christ” metaphor as recorded in 1 Corinthians 12:12.

Saints

I cannot escape this body
of Christ and all its earthy,
imperfect parts:

arthritic hands slow to grasp,
unshod feet unwilling to move,
spindly limbs too weak to lift,
eternally underfed stomach,
cloudy eyes always squinting
and considering.

What would I be on my own?
Kneecap, single follicle,
unattached tip of little finger.

Together we can inch forward,
reach out again and again,
touch just the hem of His robe
to be healed.

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August 21–27 ❘ Epistles

Poem and discussion centering on the epistles of Paul as collected in the New Testament.

Epistles

My son returns soon
from his mission to a foreign land,
now more home to him than home.
I compiled all his email in a memory book,
every word an oracle to interpret—
Is he happy? Is he whole?
Does he suffer, strive,
soar?

Early Christians collected
missionary letters to treasure.
These made slow journey
over miles and millennia
to new nests of fledgling faithful,
until today, when most other words flit
from mind to screen with little thought
and less love.

I read Paul's ancient words
and too late worry—
Who mends his clothes?
What does he eat?
Does someone watch at night
to guide him from knees to bed
before putting out the lamp?

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August 14–20 ❘ Priscilla, a Tentmaker

Poem and discussion centering on early church member and friend of Paul named Priscilla.

Priscilla, a Tentmaker

Tents are not silk dresses.
They need straight stitches, yes,
but not so much embroidery.

Gauge the fabric’s bones,
determine where to push needle
through thick weave with calloused thumb
to join and reinforce canvas panels.
Consider the needs
of those who will live within,
what must come readily to hand
when it’s too dark to see. 
Imagine yourself
as one who dwells in tents,
stranger to permanence,
ever yearning for home.

It’s not fancywork,
but it’s a good job for those with time
and a desire to build.

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August 7–13 ❘ Grace

Poem and discussion centering on my thoughts about the expansiveness of grace as treated in Romans 3:23–24.

Grace

like water

river that cuts
through sediment and stone

spring that feeds
green trees in desert

tears that wash
souls from stain and suffering

ocean that spreads
and fills and fills
and fills forever

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July 31–August 6 ❘ Shipwreck

Poem and discussion centering on some of Paul’s experiences during his lifelong mission to the gentile nations.

Shipwreck

Sometimes it’s more than a storm,
it’s a shipwreck.
It’s two weeks of starvation 
and near drowning before rescue,
then as you feed a new-kindled fire,
a viper sinks needle teeth 
into the heel of your hand.

Maybe after this, Caesar
lets you live two uncertain years
before taking your head.

But God is not angry with you. 
Remember when you fought Him,
He turned you from the brink,

and if after all this time
you think you can’t trustyourself,
remember friends on the road
who didn’t hear the voice,
but saw the light from heaven
shining all around.

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July 24–30 ❘ To the Unknown God

Poem and discussion centering on Paul’s speech on Mars Hill as recorded in Acts 17:16–34.

To the Unknown God

I grope but cannot find you
in dwellings made by hands

or minds that reimagine you
as silver-smithed creation
or image that must conform
to be believed.

Paul saw your fiery face,
heard your earth-shaking reprimand,
suffered and witnessed
all his life for you.

I only ask for quiet voice,
kindled heart,
grace doled out day by day,
if you will only

declare yourself to me,
for I also am your offspring.

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