Bob In Wonderland

Twiddle Dumb and Twiddle Dee
came looking for my vote
and so they held a nice party
was one of special note
the queens were there in red and black
attended by their cards
although they seemed a little slack
some fell across the yards
the rabbit brought his large time piece
it said three quarters pass
he stayed too long and had to cease
left us in just a flash
the hatter showed he was quite mad
by giggling at the scene
then poured some tea which made him sad
and not a bit serene
to comfort him a mosey squeaked
and ran up to his ear
but knocked his cup which promptly leaked
and filled that place with fear
humpty dumpty tottered fast
the crash was quick and deep
we scattered but I was the last
tonight there'd be no sleep
I said goodbye to Twiddle Dee
or was it Twiddle Dumb
I get confused which one they be
or if I will succumb

Bread And Fish

Bread And Fish

Sometimes we hear but have not heard
see but are blind to what we've seen
tasted and ate but are still hungry

There are those that ask for a sign then eat their fill
a little bread, a little fish, more left over
still waiting for what has just happened

Was the smell warm and fresh
the texture rough or crunchy
the meat slightly salty

Did they notice how He did it
where each loaf came from
how long it took to break or cut

When the day ended
the baskets gathered
given to the dispersed crowds
the boat pushed our from shore

There were men who worried
after seeing Him feed the 5000
and then just today another 4000
from several loaves and a few tiny fish
that they only brought with them on that boat
a single loaf of bread

And when they cried - we have no bread
did He shake His head and bite His lip

He wondered if their hearts were hardened
how they could not remember
why they did not understand
the twelve baskets of left overs
and today's seven more

Their boat came to shore
and He healed a blind man
at first everything was hazy
so He prayed again and all was clear

Oh may our hearts be soft
and our memories stay fresh
may we hear and understand
see clearly and give Him praise
taste and know that He has compassion on us.

The Fool Says In His Heart

Once again they talk about going to Mars
maybe even having some folks settle down there.
And Mars might be nice I guess
but you ain't ever going outside to breath the air
or tend your garden - or watch the seasons change.

The poles are 240 below
the equator in summer is plus 68 (dipping to minus 100 at night)
there are no lakes or streams or puddles to splash in.
So, if you must brave the elements
why not colonize Antarctica - it would save us bundles.

Ah, but Mars might have water
and from that water microbes
and from those microbes bigger obes
just like what happened on Earth
or so they say.

There is a dirty little secret your teacher forgot to tell you
because really, they knew you would never think it through.
Life did not begin by a lucky combination of elements
in the vast oceans of Earth or Mars
on one fine day, long, long ago.

Even the smallest dot in the biggest ocean
on the grandest stage in the heart of the universe
in order to live and to love and to carry on
to reserve it's spot in the miraculous galley
must have a fine tuned script to sing it's song.

That first dot needed bits and bits
millions and millions of organized bits
layer upon layer of glorious bits
each part necessary to support the other
there must be some reason for sister and brother.

That's not religion, that's science.
You cannot get life from doing the right chemistry
we've tried, we've failed, we've given up trying.
We've never observed spontaneous life in nature
we've looked, we've waited - but there's always Mars.

internal bleeding

There is, way up there
beyond the hazy blue mountains
and pass the peaks of desperation
deep in a hidden wooded valley
lying next to an ice cold stream
whose pebbles are still sharp
on this cold October morning
a large saber toothed cat
forgotten by time
but caught in a moment of contemplation

He looks at himself in the backwater of a bend
then closes his eyes tight to make sense of his fear

It has been days since the fall
branches breaking, needles flying
intense pain in the gut
he dragged himself to this very spot
and waited
now he was finally hungry
but when dinner came scooting by
his body wouldn't respond

The young teacher spread out fresh papers
for her second grade class and asked them
to dream of wild animals and funny trees

what is that she asked one girl

a cat with big curved teeth was the serious response

waiting for the pumpkins to fall

The sight of raining pumpkins made her laugh
and grateful
that the orange and yellow, falling from the trees outside
would not end her life that day

it was the cat that gave her pause

He had been a man she had always admired
and she trusted him with an open heart
but one day he grew fangs and flew away

The pebbles in the ice cold stream
are still sharp on this cold October morning
but there is One who knows your pain
who waits patiently for you

Letter To The Post Christian

Many commentators have called today's America a post Christian society. Belief in the inspiration of sacred scripture has greatly declined, more and more young men and women are leaving the churches they grew up in because they do not find church or religion relevant to their lives and values and the values of those who still go to church are becoming more and more like the world's.

Pastor Andy Stanley recently wrote that the main thing that drives today's generation is the pursuit of happiness and "when faith is viewed as an impediment to happiness - goodbye faith".

In the same article he also wrote that this group also comes into the room with a full slate (i.e. they have a fully developed world view that coincides with most of what modern culture currently believes). In response to that we have to simplify everything in order to give them a reason to accept the inspiration of scripture as a basis for establishing truth.

In other words, it is not enough simply to quote scripture to establish a basis for what God's will is on a subject because today's culture has already discounted scripture (and in fact it is becoming more and more hostile to it). This generation has been exposed to Christianity and has rejected it as not being relevant for their world.  Our response then needs to be to meet the millennial where they are and to begin laying a foundation, building upon it step by step, that allows the Holy Spirit to bring in light and truth.

Dear Post Christian,

Would it make any difference if I told you that when I prayed for you the other day it was in tears? I was having a nice talk with God and your name came up and as I started asking for walls to be torn down so the Holy Spirit could move in your heart and mind I started choking up.

Do I love you? Of course I do, but nowhere as much as I know He does. And you see that is really the whole deal, isn't it?  I get to talk with my Father in heaven. I get to worship Him with abandon. I experience what has been called "the peace that passes understanding".  And it hurts me to know that there is so much more to life that is real and sure and lasting and that you have no idea what you were really made for.

He wants to love on you, to see you grow and mature, to kiss you on your cheek and send you out and to wait for you to return, running back with arms wide open.

He wants you to know where you are in this vast universe, to know what your purpose is here, to help you with every part of your journey.

Dear friend, there are ropes that bind and chains that wrap around and vines that choke out and flesh that hardens. But these do not come from the Father. There are things done in the darkness but one day everything will be brought out into the light. He is light and in Him darkness flees.

I end with an account that was written by Matthew only 20 to 30 years after it happened. Matthew was a disciple and apostle of Jesus who was also an eye witness to the risen Christ.

Now after the Sabbath as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave. And behold a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it . . . The guards shook for hear of him and became like dead men.

The angel said to the women; "Do not be afraid, for I know you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here for He has risen, just as He had said. Come see the place where He had been lying. Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him. Behold, I have told you."

And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to His disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him. 

There came a day for me when this became much more than a story. After being an atheist for years the Spirit of God brought me to my knees and the risen Jesus entered my life. That moment began a journey with it's ups and downs, but I never walked it alone.

On Getting Out Of A Cozy Bed On A Crisp Autumn Morning

(1) In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 

(2) The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.

(3) Then God said, "Let there be light" and there was light.

(4) God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness.

(5) God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

(14) Then God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and them be for seasons and for days and years; 

(15) and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth:, and it was so. 

(16) God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also. 


On Getting Out Of A Cozy Bed Early On A Crisp Autumn Morning

Did the heavens and the earth
moan and say
it's too early to rise
on that very first day
oh no - they said - rejoice
and praise the one
who rolls back the chaos
revealing the sun


There are some who may have a theological disagreement with this little poem of mine (they say the sun was created out of nothing on day 4, I say the sun was created out of nothing in verse one and that what we read in verse 16 may refer to a different type of action). Admittedly I hold to a minority position in a camp which is more and more a minority camp. That is, we believe that the scriptures are inspired by the Holy Spirit and that they are to be seen literal except when the context suggests otherwise.

I veer somewhat from traditional literal understandings of the creation account in Genesis by favoring what has been called the gap theory, first suggested in the Schofield Reference Bible. Since there is a straw man argument set up against the gap theory (i.e. it is only necessary for people like scientist Hugh Ross who don't want 7 literal 24 hours days of creation out of nothing 6000 years ago and instead promote 7 ages of millions of years each) let me tell you what I believe makes sense.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth - out of nothing. We do not know when that was or how long that took. Maybe it happened only thousands of years ago, maybe it happened billions of years ago. The bible doesn't say and we are making certain assumptions which may or may not be true to date back to Adam, then minus 7 days and then to verse one.

There are certain other things that the bible doesn't tell us. We are not told when angels were created, when the evil one rebelled, and when or how evil spirits came to be. And yet the evil one was there in the garden of Eden to tempt Adam and Eve. If the 28th chapter of Ezekiel is referring to him when it talks about the king of Tyre, who was in the garden of Eden, covered in precious stones, who had far flung trade and was called "the anointed cherub who covers", who became corrupted and sinned because of pride for his beauty and wisdom, who was cast off of the mountain of God before men, then there must be more to the story and a time frame to put it in.

I believe the phrasing in Genesis when it says and evening came and morning came, one day is there to indicate a 24 hour period. Therefore I do not believe that Genesis describes seven stages of millions of years each. However I do not see any solid scriptural or linguistic necessity (after reading many commentaries) for Genesis verse 1 to have to be a continuous part of what happens in the description of day one.

It seems logical that verse one can include not only the creation out of nothing of the universe but also a broad framework for a per Adamic world (the Hebrew words in scripture do not allow for Adam to have evolved from something else). If this is true then it is also logical to speculate that there was a world of angels and other creatures that perished when or sometime after the evil one rebelled and that that world was judged and cast into chaos. The six days of creation (and the seventh when God rested) would then be process of God restoring what had been judged and creating man in day six to rule over and take care of that new creation.