new creation – Page 22 – words from wick

Lamentations 3:55-66

Posted on April 4, 2020 by Wick

Just in case we might forget
Or think our suffering unique
God has included in His Word
More than just a peek

A look into the sufferings
His people have endured
And all the times He’s come back
And helped them feel assured

Not that He would swoop in
And end their situation
(Although sometimes that’s what He did
For both individuals and nations.)

But there are many other times
The words that we now read
Were written by those for whom it seems
God didn’t intercede

It’s good for us to remember
God’s faithfulness remains
Even if the road we’re on
Doesn’t seem to change

God reveals in Jesus
A reality yet unseen
The place that helps us understand
What our reality means.

A more foundational dimension
Where God exists complete
Where Jesus is Lord over all things
And there’s no enemy to defeat.

The crazy thing about it as
We wait for such a reality to come near
The good news proclaimed by Jesus
Is that it is already here!

Will we help reveal it
Or will we get distracted?
That’s why each Sunday we remember
The resurrection He enacted

Posted on April 3, 2020 by Wick

To be so deeply loving Christ
He’s unsure which to choose
To die and be with Christ himself
Or stay alive so Christ may use

Paul wrestles briefly with this choice
(But for the readers’ sake-
As he himself is facing death
And knows their hearts would break.)

He wants every word to encourage
Whether he’s with them or apart
That they would live in ways that proclaim
And reveal their Saviors heart.

He knows that they are suffering
The same struggle that he had
And doesn’t sugar-coat the truth
Or tell them “it’s not so bad.”

He acknowledges what they endure
While drawing close together
That as they live by one spirit
No opponent can ever sever

Where God has brought salvation
By the gracious Love of Christ,
No enemy can stand against
Or charge a greater price

So stand firm, church, and know that Paul
Will do the same however he can,
And he will share in your gospel boasting
When he joins you again.

Posted on April 1, 2020 by Wick

There are some leaders
Who only want the good news.
As if their prophets had
The ability to choose.

King Zedekiah was
A very powerful man.
But he led God’s people
So far from God’s plan.

He sacrificed children
Upon altars of lies,
And God would use Babylon
To help them realize.

But God would regather
His people one day.
After an exile
They’d return to stay.

When they do return
They would be single minded,
Their hearts to Gods’
They will have binded.

God makes a covenant
To never stop doing good,
When their hearts and minds
Turn to Him as they should.

They will be firmly planted
In the land of what’s New,
Trusting in God
To guide all that they do.

(So if we’re not living
In unending good,
There’s a chance idols
Have more room than they should.)