Glory Trail

There runs nearby a well marked path
past forests, farms and home
and mostly when you're heading out
you'll travel it alone

It starts far East of where we live
heads North towards the U P
which leads it West a long ways on
as far as one can see

Old trails like this are precious hopes
maintained by kindred hearts
who see the world as it goes on
without fast stops and starts

Where one can hear the barking jay
wait for the silent butterfly
and smell the dampness of the wood
beneath the cloudy wind blown sky

A while back in our little town
during praise and worshiping
I started seeing angels tall
who'd sometimes join in and sing

This made me wonder many things
do angels travel light
upon firm roads that cross this land
or are those wings for flight

Or might they traverse glory trails
led on with urgent haste
to do the bidding of the One
full power or full grace

Will fragrant pines cause them to pause
and consider season's change
is there sweet time to climb the grade
and gaze upon the range

Or do they march with purpose
knowing more than we can guess
Or fly with frightful swords ablaze
two or four abreast

And as those angels sang with us
it stirred my anxious heart with hopes
that there would come dear victories
for lives bound up with ropes

Were we a route to somewhere else
just passing through this town
they used the nearby well marked path
then heard our praising sound

Or could this be a rally point
with plans of future battle
designed to bring down fortresses
and make dark towers rattle

That every unseen principality
and every unclean demon power
would be caste down by angel swords
and forced to hide and cower

Will then from here the armies march
Northwest and then Southeast
upon the well marked angel trails
as the Spirit is released

You've heard about the glory train
that runs upon bronze rails
where one can only ride by faith
up to where that entails

But now we'll know the glory trail
that's bound not up but wide
to bring a roaring cleansing fire
with angels by our side

To every place that hungers deep
for loosing ropes and chains
where souls cry out for mercies hope
where lives will lose their pain

Where men will speak with boldness
declaring Heaven's way
where women freely serve with men
to preach, prophesy and pray

I urge that you will get caught up
encountered by those flames
set free to hike the angel paths
equipped to boldly proclaim

That there is One who died for us
who will set our spirits free
who opens eyes so we can walk
new eyes so we can see

There runs nearby a well marked path
past forests, farms and home
and when you venture out on it
you'll never be alone

The Moth

We came to the path at the damp end of the road
those four cute grand kids and me
I asked which way would be best to go
toward mountain or the sea
one wanted South three wanted North
we went with the majority
and headed down a winding path
past fences, graves and trees

When boys are young they run ahead
though girls take an even pace
to show granddad their self control
although I'll call it grace
then holding hands at a busy road
this band scurried cross with haste
to our destination's nearby park
such fun we would embrace

Approaching nearer it got real loud
a crunching kind of sound
from men in buckets sawing limbs
which crashed then to the ground
they worked next to a play area
the one we had been bound
so safely from a distance watched
our group milling around

Heading back to climb the Southern hill
more adventures filling our day
before us flashed an open plain
broad green with white display
and kneeling down upon the grass
Sydney cupped her hands to say
let me show you my newly captured moth
which promptly flew away

The rain gives life to those ancient trees
it falls upon fences, grass and graves
there are many like me who have taken walks
from youth to middle days
and while no longer running ahead
with encouragement and praise
I watch the moth fly freely now
pretending I'm amazed

Wonderful God

Wonderful God

Since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made.

Romans 1:20


In a world of - a billion trillion

middle place, full of grace, so near the edge

of a tiny - swirl itself -  so big

we cannot - see around - feel the sound

each tiny corner . . .

Heard it said, He is dead, seeking no further

looking then - to the end - vastness of

infinitesimal . . .

wondering - where they surf

deep on the unknown rolling ridges

through time and space, what a pace, explorers

though we cannot yet follow

before . . .

beyond . . .

out to the barriers . . .

of dark and light - what is right - it matters

not if we're just blinded - invisible - divisible

yet filling each fundamental

quirky pore, wait there's more, tying it all together

someday, we'll say, casting our crowns before Him

Holy - Holy

Holy is the Lamb who sits upon

His throne - we're known

Wonderful God

Noah's Flood

Recently I viewed a discussion on the show Prophecy Watchers where host Gary Stearman talks to 2 men who traveled in 2013 to the mountains of Ararat looking for evidence of the remains of Noah's Ark. If interested check here . (Spoiler Alert: They are selling their DVD and book through the show and did not find the Ark but did find 60 feet below a glacier at 17,000 feet material that was organic).

I firmly believe in a real Adam and Eve and that there was a universal flood in which all mankind save 8 were destroyed. However I do not feel bound to recognize an unrealistic date purposed by many creationist who are locked into dating schemes based on the Masoretic text which places creation at 4004 BC and the Flood at about 2350 BC.

A few years ago I wrote a post giving my opinion/research on what should be the proper dating for when Adam lived and when the Flood happened. It was called Dating Da Delug  and is should be very helpful if you are at all interested in placing Biblical truth next to secular history and modern science.

There are two points I want to make here.

The first is that science and history do not trump scripture. As I've expressed before I am always amazed at how much we already have and are continuing to learn about this universe through the sciences. We just need to understand that in some areas scientists make assumptions based on a uniformist view point (everything goes on just as it always has).

The number one tactic of the enemy has always been to marginalize and make ineffective God's revelation and truth found in scripture. In this day and age it is critical that our youth gain a proper perspective about biblical interpretation so that they can trust that what God is saying through the Bible is true.

Since early on as a believer I've always taken a literal view of the biblical text in it's context and have been very comfortable that it really does all work with science and history. Sometimes you just need to dig a bit.

The second is that records of the oldest civilizations only go back 5000 years. Scientific dating methods such as carbon dating cannot really be calibrated more than 2000 years (and are probably mostly accurate no more than 4000 years) and they do not take into consideration pre-flood carbon inputs. A very good case can be made for a flood date of around 3300 BC which is what we get if we use dating from the Septuagint translation of the Old Testament. All of a sudden everything fits and makes sense.

Here are some thoughts for you.

The pre-flood world was much different than the one we live in today. The oceans were shallower, the mountains were lower and the cataclysms which produced the flood not only brought huge volumes of water from both above and below but also worked to reshape the continents. The early post flood world was wetter, the Northern regions were uninhabitable and there were logical routes for migrations of peoples and animals.

Mesopotamia was the first region settled, the tower of Babel was built and then mankind spread out further. I believe that all other species had programming in their DNA to allow for quite a bit of change within limits and as they migrated to other regions they adapted to their unique environments, giving us the huge variety of life that we see today as well as in the extinct species.

Once again I recommend you check out my post Dating Da Deluge .  Here are some additional notes adding to what I wrote there.

The Byzantium calendar, because the Eastern Church uses the Septuagint translation, places the birth of Adam at 5509 BC and the flood at about 3242 BC.

The question usually asked is, did the Septuagint translators add time or did the Masoretic translators subtract time? It is my belief that the Septuagint version, quoted by Jesus, the apostles and most early church fathers should have the more accurate dates.

Here is one reason suggested for doing so.

Chief Rabbi Akiva in the early 2nd century, believing an ancient prophecy that the Messiah would appear 5500 years after Adam, and calculating that date had arrived, declared that a man named Bar Kuchva was the Messiah. Bar Kuchva led a revolt against the Romans which was successful for 3 years before the Romans regrouped and crushed the entire people, dispersing the Jews throughout the world.

Not wanting a repeat of this fiasco Akiva and the leading rabbis changed the dates listed in scripture for when a patriarch begat the next patriarch. If scripture said for example that Sela lived 130 years and became the father of Eber the age was reduced by 100, saying instead that Sela lived 30 years and became the father of Eber. Indeed all the dates of when the patriarch became the father were reduced either by 100 years or by 50 years

When the Masoretic text was written many centuries later it incorporated the changes made by Rabbi Akiva and his rabbis.

Discernment

Discernment

The journey began some years ago
sweet dreaming on his bed
of dragons, treasurers, princesses
and lands to where they led
Each passing day he'd map it out
precious little at a time
but plans grew up and in and out
like poison ivy vine

Then one fine day they took control
how sad he never knew
that every thought was colored with
a mist portrayed as true
at first it seemed this gave him hope
great beauty far beyond
fine castles, knights and pageantry
just past the endless pond

But there are places not to go
cause they may drag you under
and you won't know how deep you've gone
beneath the trumpets thunder
this world is not as it appears
while wading in the shallows
those trees reflecting softly back
don't show the hangman's gallows

Upon the sea he placed his craft
of paper, wood and glue
and sailed it out away from shore
curious what it could do
so proud he was to see it float
until there came a wave
which overturned our voyager
not smart - but oh so brave