Many moments
across a lifetime
we will be probed
by the God of our becoming,
“Who do you say that I am?”
Do not cheat—
give someone else’s answer.
Choose honest words…
the ensuing conversation leads to
living water.
Keep answering…
the concentric rings of your
determining
will become a
sturdy trunk.
jfig 2025
for context, John 4:7-42 and the blunt vulnerability of Habakkuk
If one would climb the heights…
I. Oh to dwell
Between a Rock and a Redeemer
To find oneself secure
Against life's storms.
To live
Within reach...
Of One powerful to rescue;
Mercy in his grasp.
This then, is salvation; not merely from, but into...
II. If you would climb the heights
First bend low; not before men
But before the One who will stack
Your vertebrae for strength.
Curve upon curve
Inclining toward the One
Who both gives and sustains
Life.
This then is living...inclined toward all of life's source
jfig 1/2025 a meditation on Isaiah 40; Psalm 19
III. To the shape-shifters, and the adrenalin junkies, the ones who will not be bound by life's conformities...this is the edge of Infinity, the door of all that breathes Eternal. This is Yahweh - too holy for our understanding; too gracious for our remorse. j
Prayer of return: leaning My soul might faint (faint it does) but still must get up and feed babies... mine, and perhaps some others as well. Even midst the valley of tears babes hunger— they are multiplying cells so fast I am just beginning to see that you have not equipped me to keep up But to lean— lean heavily, in fact on the God of infinite supply. jfig winter 21/22
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
the words of Jesus from Matthew 5:3.
And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide,” as it is said to this day, ‘On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.’ Genesis 22:13,14
The year 2022 is full of things that need fixing and rescuing. But there is One who came to be our rescue. Prophets foretold it. Simeon saw it. Dare we believe it? Believe that He came not only to ‘rescue’ us from sin as individuals, but to invite us into the abundance of God’s goodness. Into belonging. Into H-O-P-E written overtop the anxieties that grab me when I read the news.
Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
This post is dedicated to my friends at https://thedihedral.com/ who are a consistent source of encouragement to me.
Thank you for the feast- invitation to go deep into the roots of Yahweh. All the way into the recesses of why... Both a question, and a fledgling nudge to climb into the expansive limbs of Who You are. But I hear your heartbeat echo when I am down here midst the roots. Thank You for the feast journey compost turned, and turned again to rich, brown worm earth. Dust and living water. Thank You jfig 1/2022
A bit about prayers of return: My soul friend asked me, “Where are you returning from?” Good question. Places of doubt, skewed theology, giant looming questions. Places like dinosaur exhibits – things that look like they shouldn’t be real but are. On my worst days – willful disobedience. Busyness – days when it is sheer delight to step into the safe Presence of Yahweh and remember, this is home. Always, the welcome is the same. This is home.
Psalms 27, 32 and 84 talk about making God one’s refuge, a home with Him. You can access those readings easily here:
“Psalm 27 (NIV) – Of David. The LORD is.” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 23 Jan, 2022. https://www.blueletterbible.org/niv/psa/27/1/s_505001.
And finally, John 14: 23 “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” This, friend, is an epic journey…
Scripture quoted is from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Let down. Covid, and cancellations, and a Savior has come into the world. But…has anything really changed after all? Winter storms, and wintrier loss and unexpected winds of change altering one’s landscape – for better?
“Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation…” Luke 2:29,30*
Read Luke 2:22-35 “Luke 2 (NLT) – Then it was time for.” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 6 Jan, 2022. https://www.blueletterbible.org/nlt/luk/2/22-35/s_975022.
Let Down Yes, Simeon's answer is, yes. All of eternity is altered by this child's first breath. The next breath...peace is yours. Like Mary's milk let down to nurture the Christ child (let down poignantly a slight bit painful...tiny bit sweet), we must lay down singular expectation to nurture His Presence in the world. The One who will not let us down. He is here breathing hope and human dust into everyday miracles. Every day. Where shall we find Him? Simeon... welcomed him from the arms of a stranger (young girl at that) from persistent whispers of Spirit Holy winds, amid the long-sounding echoes of his own cautious journey. Look—look for Him Listen... Nurture His Presence He is here. jfig 1/2022
Simeon practiced expectation. He tended the fire of belief by expecting God to be and do as He had said. For one who would follow Jesus, this practice is critical as breathing. Not because Simeon could see the circumstances of rescue, but because he could now embrace the Christ Child. For one who would follow Jesus, this letting-go of other notions, in order to fully gather in the wonder of the Infant King, is life-altering. Simeon allowed the Advent of the Messiah to frame his outlook toward what came next, as one of peace.
Holy God, I’d like to be like Simeon, embracing your Presence in a way that alters my own expectations; that allows you to fill me with wonder at who you are. Would you settle me into your peace, in such a way that I not only welcome what comes next, but my renewed expectations inform others that YOU ARE HERE. Help me to tend the fire of belief in a way that brightens the darkness of circumstance and softens the faces of those with whom I conflict. Peace. May I be one who can confidently say, I have seen your rescue. Every day. Amen
*Luke 2:29,30 The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Have you noticed? All the main characters in the Nativity story were simply tending to their ordinary lives, when suddenly… They step into their roles from the horizontal plane of everyday life. Spotlights find them in the mundane, sometimes painful, laborious and anticipatory; all of them waiting. With all of Israel they wait for Messiah, but each waits also in the angst of their individual postures in the world: Mary, for a wedding. Joseph, for his bride. Zechariah, for his appointment. Not unlike any of us.
In observing these characters through scripture, there are comments that pop; aspects of character that slip into Luke’s narrative. Perhaps it is these traits that allow each to respond a certain way in the critical moment? It is this question, that captures my attention.
Read Luke 1: 1-45 “Luke 1 (ESV) – Inasmuch as many have undertaken.” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 10 Dec, 2021. https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv/luk/1/1/s_974001.
Have you noticed? Waiting is not passive— but tends the fire of belief. Sometimes, it consumes an inordinate amount of energy, either anticipatory or fearful. Year 2021, waiting in the slow line raises questions: Text, text, text…what matters? Tap, tap, tap…what am I worth? Diverse others behind and before me… What is her reality? His need? What…do I really believe about what is right and good? What do I really believe, period?
Year 2021—waiting. Have you noticed? Some of us are not adept. Others, far too much so—practiced?
from Luke 1:3b,4 “I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.”
What do I really believe? This is a good question. Personally, if I am not careful to continue laying the fuel of hope, based on God’s undeniable faithfulness to me; the flame of my belief flickers, distorting what I see in the midnight sky. Fires(yours, too?) smolder lower and lower, hungry for oxygen. This waiting is one story of Advent.
Waiting Waiting is not passive... but tends the fire of belief. Subconscious yearnings curl skyward for fiery coal held in God's hand alone to touch one's lips feet, fingers: propel these bones that carry any purpose at all into the kingdom of light. Carry me... Burst my heart, God upon the dream of your making. My fingers pick at the timeworn threads of dreams my way— like lint upon a tattered garment. Your hand massages the oft-furled script, patient as my feet find the rocky path. The path... straight by definition, far from so, in experience. Come, come to the manger come with me— to see the why and the wherefore; all the reason belief has form. jfig 2021
Reflection Questions: For what are you waiting? What fuel lies banked in your heart? What will you do, as God breathes his living presence into the everyday drama of your life this Advent season?
THANK YOU for joining me. As we continue, I hope we will ponder together, pray together, worship and rejoice together. In his goodness, j
rejoicing day 3 i come to you rejoicing, Lord having breathed the delight of your goodness falls like rain sometimes near oft on some distant plain cataracted eyes must peer through cloud, smoke, beyond the staggering lightning of loss to confirm that you are here. i come to you rejoicing, Lord having breathed the delight of your goodness where i have been? I lay it down— unlikely gift, this surrender, to take up the dance of rejoicing. Your Goodness— one dwelling where greed is not a shame. jfig 8/2021 Scriptural context: Psalm 84 - the courts of the Lord. I've been hanging out here for months: "How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord." <a href="http://"Psalm 84 (ESV) - To the choirmaster: according to." Blue Letter Bible. Web. 1 Aug, 2021. http://"Psalm 84 (ESV) - To the choirmaster: according to." Blue Letter Bible. Web. 1 Aug, 2021. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv/psa/84/1/s_562001>. Capitalization is intentional to reflect something of one's journey toward confidence, it's resolution, and where it ultimately lies.
'Rejoice' by Monica Stewart is one of my favorite paintings. Due to copyright - I can only nudge/NUDGE you to visit her gallery to see her full rendition. Rejoice! | (monicastewart.com) Finally, I should note that the broad expanse of my life has been filled with blessing - thanks be to God.
Permit me, Lord Permit me to love you, Lord in spite of weary, bedraggled form—my own. Permit me to love you, Lord in ways that stretch the narrow, fearful hardenings in my heart. Stenosis of dismay temporarily halts my pursuit of holiness. Help me to run—swift pursuit; your open arms stretched wide between twin pillars of Christ's Kingdom, righteousness and justice never failing. May incense arise, my known 'poor spirit,' bent now to pour oil and light the flame. Reverence and need entwine, curl heavenward their soot a cure for my unknowing. I exalt your holy name, my Lord and my Redeemer. Amen and amen.
“Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3
“Matthew 5 (ESV) – Blessed are the poor in.” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 9 Jan, 2021. https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv/mat/5/3/s_934003.
What if the dawn is grey holding on to dying threads of darkness? Alabaster beckons... but first, we must know how to hold its worth. Clouds transpose; lifting and boiling not violently - they are pale but changing nevertheless some with great rapidity. If we humans then, are momentary one dare not miss the momentous occasion to observe the sacred: translucent wisps in eternity. Stand - still and reverent to acknowledge what God has done. "God, you say. Where is He?" He holds the clouds sometimes covering what we cannot bear (were never meant) to see. "Peel back," He roars Can you not fathom the righteous bedrock of my creation? A gentle tutor: "Beauty is kindred to peace... My hope, will not disappoint... Think on it." Aaah, and much of the time, my friend hope is pale, pale grey It's time-hammered pewter a translucent pane mercury glass between God and man. jfig 11/2020
This poem is dedicated to my cherished friend Donna, a gift-bearer of HOPE.
For more in-depth reflection, this poem draws from the following passages: Job 38-42; Philippians 4:8-9; Isaiah 5:12; and if you are feeling brave, Romans 5:5 and preceding.
Prevailing Winds
Did the rocks cry out in wonder
their message echo long, e’en as the boat
slipped off from shore, further and farther from view?
Did the village stare, astonished
at what had gone before, in them
all the frameworks shifted
of marketplace routine
in the wake of broad reach—individual and corporate
toward one man?
We will never be the same.
According to Easton’s
( Illustrated Bible Dictionary)
of Gennesaret
there is no longer a trace.
Yet we will be… never the same.
What remains?
This prevailing wind
shifts us in new direction
toward an everlasting shore.
Amen
jfig 5/2020
Set as we are midst the felt impacts of Covid 19, there are attributes of the Christ-following church that show up on radar—prevailing winds in the midst of global anxiety. To name a few:
refuge(s) of help, hope
generosity
deepening of connection through the navigation of challenging conversations
worship
creativity
Dear Reading Friend,
During the course of this journey, there were times when, caught up in the fine details, I needed to ‘zoom out’ to revisit the big picture of Jesus healing the sick. The best tool for that reverse zoom was not a camera, but worship. Three songs became an integral part of my Gennesaret journey. There were others as well, but these stood the test of time, and informed my close-up of Jesus. Jesus the Healer, The God Who Blesses, and Jesus the One Worthy. Although I do not think mine is the only perspective—as if I have figured out the ages-old questions of healing—I hope these songs bless your understanding of Him as well. You may, and likely will, see something different. I have picked up my flag and am following midst a great sea of followers, to see where Jesus takes us next.
“As It is (In Heaven)” by Hillsong Worship
The UK Churches version of “The Blessing” written by Kari Jobe and Cody Carnes. You can find it on Youtube.
“Is He Worthy?” by Andrew Peterson
This spring, I was the length of the pruning shears away from hacking this plant down. I thought it was dead! One of the gripping aspects of the Gennesaret story is that it describes the townspeople, leaders and villagers alike, recognizing Jesus and bringing all their sick to Him. This includes those one might think beyond repair. And Jesus? He is able to look beyond our brokenness and scars to find the created core – God’s image – still there, waiting for his resurrecting touch. It is in this seeing reach, us toward him, and He toward us, that life prevails—Hallelujah!
May this total engagement with what Jesus is about to do, grip us, the church of today.
Jesus, we come, fresh from worship, our faces shining and turned up, like these blossoms. Jesus, we come, not knowing the outcomes of our stories. We are reliant upon you: your merciful goodness, the triune power of resurrection, your healing touch—to heal us so that we might appear, like the citizens of Gennesaret, in the pages of eternity. Catch us up, we pray, into your fierce and determined embrace. You, who have not let go of the creation story, and are still restoring the garden. May we hold on tight, to you, Our Lord. Forever and ever. Amen
Thank you again. j
Roasted Words 