Instructions: By Faith: Prayers and Poetry

Instructions

            No wonder children become confused

            when encouraged to be amused by

            comics and cartoons and yet

            admonished to remember

            it’s only pretend.

           

            Stories, movies, theater all

            make believe.

           

            Next we wonder why as they grow

            scoff at faith stories, analyze each

             by cynicism. Can maybe see only

            momentary fragments, glimpses

            of gift, question eternity.

           

            Resurrection life beyond comprehension,

            promises blemished by facts.

            Need to capture creation’s beauty,           

            with fresh imagination.  Life anew

            fresh from decay, seasons change,

            discover  soul heritage  in

            breathless histories.

           

            Imagination and reality build bridges,

           

            connect the impossible.

Psalm 104:23, “Man goes forth to his work, And to his labor until evening.”

Reflection: Legacy: By Faith: Prayers and Poetry

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Reflection Questions

1. How has faith been passed down through generations in your family? Or perhaps how has it not?

2. Have you considered writing down your own story of faith? What kind of movie genre would fit your experience?

3. There is a time in every child’s life when they need to understand the difference between lies and truth. Do you think we so overemphasis reality though that we can also remove wonder, imagination, and belief in an impossible faith?

Share: What legacy of faith do you most want to be remembered for? Why?

Legacy: By Faith: Prayers and Poetry

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Hebrews 11:22, “By faith, Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions about his burial.”

Legacy

Were some listeners tempted to scoff at an old man’s imagination? Think of it as pure fantasy. Or did some remember the stories of Joseph’s dreams when young, or his prophecies when in jail, and wonder. What parts of those old stories were totally real and what parts were around the campfire embellishment to entertain children?

Joseph’s actions at his death re-emphasized the truths he sustained throughout his life. He held onto his youth-filled visions God had given him. He endured betrayal, slavery, and jail and saw it as God turning to good what men had intended for evil.

Then, despite experiencing the opposite in success and power, Joseph never forgot where his true inheritance lay. He saw himself as God’s servant and as one of His children.

Joy for what has been given, and anticipation for what is yet to come.

Joseph left his people an Old Testament version of an upcoming attraction—not to be missed. Joseph recognized and witnessed that his death was not an end, but only a piece in progress, and he pointed to God’s story as the lifeline. In God’s story absolute impossibles are real.

Lord, please do not let despair or acclaim pull us from Your purposes in our heart motives, or our action directions. Help us to “keep our eyes fixed on you” and remain as firmly grounded in faith as Joseph, regardless of circumstances.

Your thoughts,

Faith Seeds: Prayers and Poetry

Reflection Questions

1.     How has faith been passed down through generations in your family? Or perhaps how has it not?

2.     Have you considered writing down your own story of faith? What kind of movie genre would fit your experience?

3.     There is a time in every child’s life when they need to understand the difference between lies and truth. Do you think we so overemphasis reality though that we can also remove wonder, imagination, and belief in an impossible faith?

4.     Share: What legacy of faith do you most want to be remembered for? Why?

Kingdom Manna

Tasks

1 Corinthians 15:50, “What I am saying brothers and sisters, is this: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.”

Land is prized in many cultures. It is regarded as heritage, whether public as to a tribe, or inheritance, as personal to a family. Wars may decimate it and nature may savage it but it remains a concrete signpost. A place of ownership. A place of legacy.

God offers His inheritance to His children. A kingdom. A land of promise. A place of peace. His legacy. Bought with a price. Paid with His blood.

Love passed down from heaven to each believer. Love and kindness and mercy and salvation. Imperishables. Not easy to see and measure but real. An inheritance that lasts beyond cobwebs and rust and decay.

Gracious Lord, remind me to seek Your ways. To work for Your legacy. To pursue a heritage that will not fade away. That can be shared throughout Your created world. An inheritance unmarred by injustice or inequality. A land for all who choose Your heritage.

Psalm of Worship: Psalm 37:34

Wait for the Lord, and keep to his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land;

you will look on the destruction of the wicked.