Saturday, August 30, 2008

Verse 4

Something God gave earlier tonight- to say the least it shook me.

Generation with new hope,
Go to war with truth in hand.
By the King who's called your name,
You are/Set them free from sin and shame!

(To) Shout to the North and the South!
(And) Sing to the East and the West!
(That) Jesus is Savior of all,
(He's) Lord of Heaven and Earth!

The Lowdown

The proportion of lies to Truth in the world: ∞/1, haha.

However, there is no amount of lies that can in their number or combined strength overpower the Truth and there is no amount of darkness that can snuff out the tiniest speck of light! This is not new, in fact, it’s becoming somewhat of an anthem in my life. What God showed me today is this- that though there is an infinite amount of lies possible for us to fall into, there are (in my understanding at this time) three roots that all of those lies come out of. Three things the devil lies about most often and that all other lies come out of:

1. Who he (the devil) is.
2. Who God is.
3. Who we (humanity) are.

Each of these lies are a direct attack on identity and compromise the way the other two parties are seen/understood. If Satan can deceive us to the point that we do not know who he is, that is, accept his masquerade as an angel of light or a being capable of speaking truth- then we do not know who we are warring against. Here are some truths about Satan:

1. He is NOT omniscient.
2. He is NOT omnipresent.
3. He is NOT omnipotent.
4. His authority is limited to the subjection of will, therefore his most effective weapon is deceit.
5. He has no glory outside being a creature (a glory he has rejected).

These lies that he attempts to make us believe are the lies that give him what he wants most- the place/glory of God. They are not true, the devil does not know all things, cannot be in all places, and does not possess unlimited authority. I think you can see how believing these lies would increase his bondage on our lives. I think you can see how accepting his false identity would be giving him much more credit than he deserves!

If Satan can deceive us to the point that we do not know who God is, that is, mask the identiy of God from our understanding/relationship, then we are at a loss of where truth comes from/what light is in any way. Many people do not want anything to do with God and are choosing not to pursue Him because they have an false understanding of what they would find in Him. GOD IS NOT A LEMON. GOD IS GOOD. HE IS ALL GOOD. There is nothing about Him that we should not want to pursue with everything we have and there is nothing about who He is that will drive us away from Him as see know Him in Truth. Some truths about God:

1. GOD is good.
2. GOD is light and there is no darkness in Him- pure.
3. GOD is just.
4. GOD is love.
5. GOD is perfect/lacks nothing.
6. GOD is necessary (He is not dependent on anything, but all things depend on Him).
7. GOD is True.

The lies that Satan comes against us with often are those that will confuse God’s identity with the his. If you hear someone say, “I can’t follow God because He is a harsh taskmaster who has no grace,” or “God seems to be all about death and killing those that don’t agree with Him,” then you’re hearing a description about the devil masquerading as God. The truth is, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy…” (John 10:10). This is to me the very definition of blasphemy- when something that is not God is given His title and rejected on that basis alone. That is the work of the devil. How will you recognize lies about God if you don’t know Him? Get to know Him! Also within this issue is the one regarding the truth found in scripture. For as God has chosen to reveal Himself through word, if the devil can taint/distort the word itself as a source of truth, he can control the Truth you receive from It. Yes? So also in this question of God's identity is that referring to what role/authority does the Word of God have in your life? Is it authoritative and absolute, something that you must conform to instead of it conforming to anything else? I believe that if you can't trust scripture as holy/pure then your understanding of God cannot be accurate. What do you think? Can scripture be relative? Do we have a right to pick/choose what applies to us and what does not? Is the Bible literature that can be analyzed and broken down scientifically, or is it alive and spiritual in nature?

Finally, if Satan can deceive us to the point that we do not understand who we are, he can remove the very thought/drive to find God. I think that as the devil comes against us as humans, his lies will often focus on distorting our value- whether increasing or decreasing it. If he can decrease us, we fall into despair and depression; if he can increase us, we fall into pride and arrogance (that is, the belief that we can oppose God with success, an attitude that reflects his nature, not ours). Some truths about us:

1. We are created in God’s image (that is, as a reflection of who He is and possessing innate characteristics from Him) and given life by His will, and this cannot be denied or reversed.
2. We are created to be with Him/live in His holy presence.
3. We are created to declare His glory through obedience/love for Him.

There are no “accidents” when it comes to people. All have value and all reflect Him. In life that image that we bear can either be sharpened in chasing down the perfect representation of Himself, Jesus Christ, or distorted by chasing anything else. We are clearly created to need purpose, but that purpose is not a mystery- it is evident. It is evident and it is GOOD, for our purpose is found in Him. However, we cannot accept lies about ourselves and still see God as He is. There is only one way to find out who we truly are- and that is by getting to Know Him. We are copies, unique, yet still reproductions. If you want to know yourself- know your Maker as if you want to better appreciate a Rembrandt copy, look at the original!

I believe we are often closer to God than we realize, for He has given us passions that reflect His own. I recently was able to encourage a friend, simply by discovering that a passion of His was justice- “Congratulations!” I said, “Justice is a passion of God’s as well, in pursuing justice you are near God’s heart.” Do we realize this about ourselves? That the passions and desires He gives us are reflections of Him and meant to draw us closer to Him? We should, in recognizing this we will know better how to defeat lies in our and our friends lives and we will know better how to encourage in truth.

What do you think? What passions has God instilled in your life- those things that calls you nearer to Himself? What are your friends? Do they realize those things are God's DNA in them? Calling them to Him? Do they see Him as He is or through a tainted filter?

Saturday, August 23, 2008

August 23: I Dare You

Dear you,

I love you. I don’t think you realize it because when we do get a chance to talk you don’t recognize the language… you want to talk about things that don’t matter anymore, about who I used to me, about where we used to live, about those experiences and how grand they were- you want to live in the past and I can’t help but live for right now with hope of a grander tomorrow. Do you see it? Those things we did, those accomplishments we had- how successful we were at being somebodys- they don’t matter at all. How I wish you quit living for mirages, quit chasing shadows as if you’ll catch something incredible. There is nothing more real than truth, than looking around in the midst of daylight. You are so trapped… you have so many questions… I’ve heard them, indeed, I’ve asked them. Have you found the answers? Has Lucky satisfied you with some bullsquat story about how you can’t know for sure? As if he knows anything at all! Did you tell him our plans? If you did or did not, he knows them- that’s why he’s holding on to you so tightly, he knows you are his last chance. His days are numbered. Tell him that, please. Tell him we’re on our way! I DARE YOU! I DARE YOU TO TELL HIM STRAIGHT TO HIS FACE!

And I dare you to ask him if he loves you.

I dare you. I dare you right now, ask him if he loves you! Ask him if he can actually protect you! Ask him if he knows the meaning of love! Ask him if he could possibly know what it means to suffer for the sake of someone else! Ask him if he knows the feeling of giving someone a choice, of not forcing or coercing or manipulating! Ask him if he could bear to let you choose! Ask him if he has ever felt passion for anything other than himself! ASK HIM WHERE HIS GLORY WENT! Ask him if he can see purity! ASK HIM WHAT PURITY IS! Ask him if he can show grace! Ask him to let you go! Ask him then to release your chains! Ask him if he knows freedom! Ask if you are free! ASK IF HE WOULD DIE FOR YOU! ASK IF HE WOULD SACRIFICE FOR YOU! Ask him then to take your pain- not HIDE IT under something else, not numb it with some drug or some new fad or some new shirt or a new toy, but TAKE IT AWAY AND DESTROY IT! ASK HIM IF HE LOVES YOU!!!! I DARE YOU!! Ask him if he knows the meaning of PATIENCE- the idea of long suffering.

Ask him… and know that whatever comes from his swolen lips IS a LIE. When has he EVER told the truth? He NEVER did when I was around- I know he NEVER has. He can’t. He doesn’t know how. All he knows is his desire, his pride, his fall, his former self, and his future!! Ask him what he sees! I’ll tell you- all he sees when he looks in a mirror is who he can’t stand to be (a creation, something less glorious than intended, something less true than originally) and all he sees when he looks at you is who you are made in the image of! So he distorts/contorts you into a reflection of him, instead of a refection of your CREATOR Who looked on you and said, “It is good,” when you were naked, bald, bleeding, slimy, and barely alive. He said in that moment, “They are good and they are mine!” Why do you think Lucky makes you dissatisfied with yourself? Because he can’t stand the sight of you! He can’t stand the idea of your reflection becoming clearer and more like the Original. He hates your image because he hates who made you. I dare you to ask him if he loves you without all the stuff. I dare you to ask if he knows what love is.

I love you and right now I’m ticked off. There is truth here. There is real TRUTH, no deception, no lies, no figuring out what is best- Jesus IS. There is freedom here- REAL freedom, the kind that can’t be taken away. There are answers and you can SEE them. It’s yours, but you’ve got to make the choice to leave Lucky behind; he can’t come. Everything he’s given you must stay. All you bring is what you were born with. No bargaining, give up what you feel is worth protecting (it’s not), and accept what cannot be taken away- that which only become more real and true and joyous every single moment.

Remember to ask him the questions… don’t accept some kind of flippant shrug or side-step distraction, don’t let him buy you off with some new toy or temporary desire. ASK. I know what he’ll say already, but perhaps you’ve never thought to ask him why you’re even there. Go ahead, he has nothing to hide, right? Ask. I dare you. I love you more than I can say right now. I love you more than I thought, really… a lot more than I thought. And the kicker is that Jesus loves you so much more than that… He’s put in my heart this passion to see you free and with Him, to see your eyes light up when you understand who you were born to be. He’s put it there and daily He adds to it. You are there and I am here. I want you to be here. So I pray. I will still pray. And one by one, as you come… I’ll rejoice. Someday we’ll rejoice together… till then, know that we press on. All of us, as our love for HIM drives us to love you, we press on. We can’t be stopped because He can’t be stopped. He has chosen us and is calling you. Let’s go.

Love,
Me

Thursday, August 21, 2008

A Generation's Path

So my discipler, Twan, has recently discovered this band called "Wild Sweet Orange," and even though I'm typically not a fan of indie/new era rock they've certainly captured my ear. The questions asked in each song remind me of the ones coming from the mouths of each of my friends and thus and macrocosmically my whole generation. As I listen to them, I hear nothing more than the demand for hope and answers... to see for real what they've been told to believe, and I think this video illustrates that very well.



Any more it seems like my generation believes that they are on their own in regards to learning what it means to follow Christ. I say that because the generation before us has simply NOT done so. The telltale attributes of the world were present in many of my generations homes as we grew up (divorce rates, obsession with possession, abuse both of substance and of relationships), from this I see a belief forming that expects, "Walk out your faith yourself, kid, don't expect me to hold your hand and show you how." Is this true? Do any of you see that in our culture or in our churches? Do we expect the next generation to teach themselves to fly and thus force them to jump off cliffs in an attempt to reach the sky? Do we allow the enemy to laugh and point at the "baby Christian who can't fly?" Do we allow the enemy to trick our newborns into believing they're not flightworthy creatures- as if they're something created to stay on the ground (as he has been cursed to!). We shouldn't, this is the very reason discipleship is so valuable and necessary. When transformation happens in your life, it is necessary to take and see transformation occur in others' lives. My generation, those who haven't grown up in the church anyway, is about to give up. They've searched for God in everything and found out everything He's not. The last words of this song reveal this:
"If you want me,

Please come and find me.


Cause I'll be running,


You know I'll be running."

We are coming! The army that God is raising will not be one that allows cliff-jumping as an option in learning to fly. They will walk with each one, seeing the Holy Spirit develop their wings and showing them the next step, teaching and training in righteousness so that there is no room for laughter from the enemy.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

RE: Tasks

Learning can be a hard and exhausting thing to do… not because God makes it difficult, but because fighting against the lesson is just so tiring… He isn’t about to give up, I can’t go any further until this is done, so we either sit and wait in my stubborness or we move… (God is real good as staring contests, I don’t encourage them at all). It’s so strange to me… obedience is so “basic,” yet is continuously the hardest part about following. Belief=action, right? Obedience=love… these are the basic foundations of following, yet they are the most daily and still the hardest. I found myself unwilling to obey in an area I perceive as “small,” as if there is a hierarchy of tasks in God’s eyes. Disobedience is disobedience, period. To paraphrase the book of James, “You break one (command), you break them all.” I’d have no problem walking up to a stranger and praying with them, asking a friend to have a seat, or calling my brother out on disobeying his parents… these come naturally in a prophetic sense. “What was Jonah’s problem?” I wonder, “I don’t think I’d have such an issue with proclaiming repentance to Nineveh.” I didn’t have a problem when God said, “Go,” or when He said, “Stay,” at different times in the past. What instead was my heart unwilling to do? Make a phone call. Yes, make a lousy phone call. Why? Because I didn’t know why I needed to, as if God was obligated to tell me why He was making me do something. Indeed, the “littlest” thing, yet disobedience is disobedience and I found myself miserable for not doing it.

There is no hierarchy of tasks; nothing that is okay to be stubborn about. There is no such thing as a “request” from God as if it’s an option- you either do it or you sin. How many times we see such simple commands as optional- that somehow not doing them will be okay with Him. That’s false. You’d think that after walking into terrifying situations of obedience and watching God do ridiculous things such commands as making a phone call would be easy, but God knows our weaknesses and it’s not because He wants to toy with us that He touches them, but because He wants to see that area of life strengthened to His glory. He’s doing something. I don’t know what it is. I may someday find out. What I know is obedience=love… disobedience=sin… still and always.

Time to go.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Re: Identity

“The trouble with living sacrifices is that we tend to crawl off the altar.”
-Many friends


How often in my life have I done so… too many times to count. More so than this, how many times have I, having crawled off said altar, asked God to replace the flesh He’d just consumed? I look back and even look on, knowing that taking a step of submission to His will and declaring myself dead in my flesh and alive only to Him as He has so called and delivered me means having no rights at all. I look back on so many times when I put myself on that altar and asked God to do with me whatever He wanted, how often I was offended at what He chose to remove first, saying “No, God, not that! That is pleasing to You! I know that can stay…” As if I can tell God what pleases Him and what does not. That isn’t laying down any rights or expectations though… How many times have I checked the wound of what He’d just burned off and felt the sting and the pain of something long gone and asked Him to replace it with something similar! At those times I recognized those things as a part of me- yet now I know that was a lie. Those things were never a part of who I am, they were additions… mutations… even tumors, yet now as I see them through His eyes I see they were indeed chains. Chains I had so willingly grafted into my skin and let become a part of me, foreign though they were, I’d let them have control over different areas of a life intended for God’s use and purposes. Those are the first areas God moved and cleansed with fire and somehow I felt it necessary to ask Him to replace them? Then, when He wouldn’t- how often did I take it upon myself to find something to fill in that new gap? Somehow I felt incomplete without those things- I believed I needed them to be me- that was a lie. As God removes those additions/chains, we’re taken aback and shocked at our newfound mobility, the enemy tries to make us think such freedom is unholy and outside of God’s will when in fact it is captivity through such deception, the truest work of the devil, that is unholy! How the devil does work- such lies… such mockery of what God intended, and so often with our permission.

God is truth. In Him there is no falsehood. He does not deceive and He does not make mistakes. By in His infinite love He has placed within our capacity the ability to make for ourselves an identity or give up all rights and let Him make us what He wants and wills- the right to choose, the ability of free will. To choose the former means we rule our own lives- become “self-made” men and women. We take pride in who we’ve made ourselves to be and look back on our lives thinking, “I’ve done alright for myself.” That former option takes all in stride and adjusts as needed… the charisma and power, the beauty and success, the failure and the punishment- all are seen as part of the game of life; their identity is no surprise to them because it is they who formed it. However, to choose the latter means to lay down all expectations and desires, to forfeit all rights and options. They place themselves by faith in the hand of God declaring His will sovereign in their life and His ways pure and just. They don’t get a say in the design scheme or the logistical anythings regarding what that will look like- we merely know the model, Jesus Christ. When you turn your life over to God, you ought to know instantly what He is going to fashion you after- His Son. He is going to transform you from a son or daughter of Adam into a son or daughter of God. His glory is declared as we submit to being conformed to the image of perfect holiness, righteousness, blamelessness and purity. If you don’t like who Jesus was or what He did- you aren’t going to be a big fan of God’s will for you life. But as I’m discovering more and more by His grace, as I am amazed more and more by who my God is and who my Savior is- I can’t help but desire with everything in me to be more like Him, the hard part is that desiring to be more like Him means giving up more of who I think I should be.

I think I should be accepted- yet Jesus was rejected. I think I should be funny and easy to get a long with- yet Jesus often offended people at the core of who they were. I think I should be tolerant or someone won’t think I love them- yet Jesus’ love called us to a higher standard of living and demanded we let go of what was not declaring His glory. So many of the things I think I should be I find appealing to the world- yet the world HATED Jesus and killed Him. In the last two months I feel like I've lost more friends than made them... it seems like my life is becoming smaller instead of larger. Does that reflect the life of Jesus? I guess now I'm back to that altar… I can’t ask Him to replace anything He’s taken away… I know He’s forging someone I never knew was there and that I will be overjoyed at what He has done, yet I know that to look like Him and chase His presence is to become marked for suffering and pain and heartache and burdens and tears and storms and grief and distance and loneliness and death- can I turn away as He has already endured all such things before me? No. He is the pioneer of our faith, the One who for the sake of His glory and the Father’s will ought of His perfect love endured all things. Can I expect to be exempt from His experiences? No, the only expectation I have is that He will continue to be faithful and He will fulfill His promises for HE IS GOOD. I think more fire needs to fall- it’s probably going to hurt a lot for my flesh, yet for this spirit, as I see more and more of who HE is… the truest idea of who I am in Him is finally coming through. Praise God.

Friday, August 8, 2008

Thursday, August 7, 2008

August 7- You must come out soon!

Dear you,

That shirt does not become you. Who told you that it did? They lied. Don’t you see it’s covered in stains and all dirty? I know you think it’s the newest trend- can’t you see you’re filthy? What happened? There is something so much better! Honestly, I’ve been trying to tell you, why don’t you believe me? You can let go of him. You can leave and never return, not for any reason. You can walk away.

I know he has you convinced that he’ll have a hold on you forever- but can’t you see that that’s not possible? He holds you with chains and accusations, both of which Jesus can destroy once and for all… He won’t just hold the chains high so you can walk around with semi-freedoml he destroyed them! Lucky won’t own you anymore! Why do you still believe him as if he can tell the truth anyway? He can’t. It’s against his nature and the very way he works. He can’t tell the truth- it’s impossible. So why are you still listening to what he has to say?

That shirt is ugly, those chains have been destroyed and yet you believe they’re still there. Why? Don’t you see that nothing can hold what is not there? Jesus died and rose again- follow Him into that death and be raised up free from the curses of the enemy! Don’t you see that what does not exist cannot touch you unless you believe it can, and even then what touches you is not reality, but a mirage… it is so hard to watch you live this way. It’s so hard to see you live in a lie. It’s so hard to watch you run away from shadows and cling to mirages… how have you become so convinced if not because you’ve shut the light out? When you’ve closed all the windows- shadows are everywhere. Let the light in and the truth will destroy the shadows, you will see what really is there and what is not. I promise you- but you must step into the light.

I promised you that we’re coming, but honestly, we can’t come any further than the door you’ve locked us out by. We’ll scream forever and ever through this door if you’ll let us. We’ll pound and bang and yell and plead for you to come out- but you must open the door. Please, please, please do. Don’t wait any longer, don’t let him hurt you anymore. Don’t be afraid anymore. Don’t live like this anymore. You don’t have to. I know you’re afraid that if you come out then you’ll be killed for what you’ve done and how you’ve lived- that’s a lie too! We love you and Jesus already died in your place; you have no reason to fear. He loves that much- but even He can’t come in after you, He already did that once and He sabotaged those chains you’re holding on to so that they’d break as soon as you tell them to in His name. He’s right here with us calling you out. He screams louder than we do most times. He’s ready to embrace you, but you must come out. You must let the truth set you free. You must let HIM set you free.

I have no choice but to share this with you. I don't want to scare you, I just want you to know how dire this is getting. Jesus said that He came to destroy the works of his enemy, the devil. The house you live in is a work of the devil. It is a trap and prison keeping you in bondage by lies and deceit. He built it around your life and you let him. We all did, we all had prisons to escape. The point is that You must get out of there! Jesus' glory is about to set it on fire and you need to come out NOW, don't waste any time- don't let lucky convince you it won't happen. I see the torches on their way. Don't let lucky lie to you and tell you it won't burn- it's made of wood and thorns for crying out loud! It'll all burn down and I can't bear the thought of you being trapped inside by your own will! COME OUT PLEASE!


Love,

Me

Quick Thought

God 'aced' me with this yesterday- I'll pass it on.

It is extremely difficult to have an understanding of or an expectation for the HOLY when you've filled your life with common things.

-Ezekiel 44, 2 Timothy 2:14-26, and 1 Corinthians 3

Dang.

Thoughts Regarding Glory

The glory of God cannot be added to or taken away from. The light is constant, burning all that is not holy, neither corruptible nor incomplete. It can either be recognized or ignored (though even ignorance is a recognition), though only ignored for a time and then it cannot be escaped; it is the same as ever- for our Lord is perfect from age to age. We cannot give Him glory or take glory from Him- it is our duty and purpose to declare it!

So know comes the question if God’s glory can be denied? NO- not by any creature, for even in the creature’s existence is there found the mystery of origin, and within mystery there is awe for the sake of the unknown. Can who is known declare the unknown/unknowable invalid? OF COURSE NOT! In the recognition of the unknown is found the wonder at depth and the fear of the what is not understood- in mysterious awe and curious fear is then the glory recognized. However, it has still ALWAYS been there, neither being taken away from nor added to, simply being only worshipped by those in hope of glory themselves or feared by the those seeking the glory of a different weight. Feared because the glory of God consumes all that is not of Him. Still, that fear declares HIS GLORY.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Learning

I recently had several conversations with friends regarding passions. We like to think of our passions as things that God has blessed us with a desire to pursue, that I agree with. Sometimes it's difficult to distinguish the difference between the passions of our flesh and the passions of HIS heart- but that is not the object of this note. I think the real question about passions is regarding the action we take in pursuit. It seems to me that the word, “passion” has become very split in its meanings. The world describes passion as one thing, God as another. I think a base understanding comes down to the notion of desire and what it is that we feel we cannot live without. That thing that spurs us or calls us forward. These we regard as passions. I believe the distinction is here- a worldy passion (verb) often times, at least in my life, is recognized in one’s recklessness in the pursuit of the desired- those possessing a passion of the world do anything to obtain the object of their affectation and desire. Recklessness often leads to rebellion or hastiness, impatience even- no duh, haha. This is not of God! A passion of God is recognized, at least in scripture, in one’s patient endurance on allowing God’s timing to bring about the desired (as long as the desire is of Him, if it is not then you’ll find yourself in rebellion anyway!)- that passion is marked with an understanding that suffering will ensue if this thing is to be pursued. Jesus illustrated that passion many times through His life. The time that comes to mind is as He said, “Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem... how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings…(Luke 13:34)” Suffering produces patience. Patience is rooted in a word meaning, “longsuffering” the opposite of the worldly passion and a definition of love (1 Corinthians 13). Indeed, a passionate love is one that suffers for the desired.


On a personal note... I have a few desires in my life. The one I hope to be the most obvious is the desire for the presence of my Lord- seeing His fullness and glory! The ones He has placed on my heart is the desire to see my generation raised up in freedom and in power to storm the gates of hell and advance the Kingdom of God with force while setting other captives free in Truth, that they may make disciples that make disciples that make disciples, etc. Another is to remain unmentioned, yet I know it is of Him. Indeed as I look at these desires and how they begun passions in my life- I know I have not begun to suffer enough to rejoice with the blessing of their arrival. On one hand the revelation of this truth frustrates me at being so impatient so often, on the other hand it drives me forward to chase my Lord even more! Lord God, teach me suffering! Teach me patience and endurance and a love that demands I wait and suffer more for the fulfillment of what You have placed on my heart to seek. My generation calls out and wanders endlessly… they roam in hopelessness and curiosity… begging for redemption and to see the fullness of Your glory. Have Your way in my life and teach me to love with a suffering passion as You suffered to see us, Your people, brought into Your presence as well.

Monday, August 4, 2008

Warrior's Psalm

I scream, but no breath escapes my lips,
No noise shatters this silence,
No truth penetrates the darkness.

I lift my hands in battle, but no weapon is found,
No sword to cut my enemies down,
No shield to defend me from their onslaught.

My mouth is open wide- my heart cries out for war!
No soldiers run to aid this cause,
No archers rain down wrath today.

My heart is frail within my chest, yet warring on,
No strength to go with but Yours alone,
No hope for victory but in Your right arm.

I scream, but no sound falls from my lungs,
No words that any dare to hear,
No revelation brings any new fear.

I whisper, but no one wonders what was spoken,
No curiosity calls to the knowledgeable,
No mystery excites the learned men.

Oh God, You have given me a spirit for war,
No glory declared but Yours alone,
No captive remaining when all is done.

Oh God, in You is found all power and strength,
No name above Your glorious Son’s,
No war You have not already won.

I scream, to God on high Who hears this cry,
No word desired but Your, “Well done,”
No action considered but to press on.