Some say that gods once walked the earth,
And spirits dwelt in trees;
I dream of branches bending low
To touch the earth and thus bestow
Their dryadic wisdom on the feet of gods who, on their knees,
Bent low to other gods they thought
Stalked in the heavens:
     Never wondering anew
     If everything they thought were true.

And yet, how easy to depend
On spirits in the breeze;
I see them blowing clouds in shapes
That only gods could form, escapes
To heavenly bowers with the wings of angels, through the trees
Still swooping low to dryads' haunts,
Penned, unforgiven:
     Divine in form but not in fate
     Entombed within their vaults they wait.

The vanity of all is this:
They also died with ease.
I know their memory remains
In dusty books which sing refrains
To forgotten footfalls on the earth when night did seize
The day; and whispers hid their want,
Long unremembered:
     Severed from the past they held
     They have no home now in this world.

But one God lives: Before the world
Began, He was and is;
I touch Him every day in prayer,
And share with Him each needy care;
His listening Spirit, in the hearts of all who long to please
Him only, answers when besought,
Giving forth rivers:
     Living springs of life and sight
     Through Jesus Christ, the Lord and Light.

When shall their eyes be opened, O Lord,
When shall their heart be pierced?
Their sightless searches down dead-end roads,
Roads that end in brick walls...
And the wall still stands in Your City.

A Star shall come out of Jacob;
Are they searching still?
The Star of David hangs from their necks,
But in their hearts its meaning is lost;
A piece of brass, a pretty jewel,
Its glow is accepted in place of that One
Whose coming was longed for too long
And then forgotten.

Do they wonder yet?
On Pesach, when the cup is filled,
Does anyone really wonder yet
When Messiah will come?

A Star shall come out of Jacob.
How can I tell them He came?
And I saw Him.
That star that shone on Bethlehem,
The wise men knew its name.

A Star shall come out of Jacob,
The Light of the world;
How long will they walk in darkness instead?
The veil that darkens their eyes and hearts,
How shall they rip it apart?

Only you, Lord, can restore their sight;
The Light burns brighter than any star,
Yet only You can show them that this Star
Is not made of brass,
But is living.

O Lord, please hear my prayer,
My heart burns night and day for my people...
For Israel,
Your chosen ones.
They have a zeal for You, O Lord,
Please give them the knowledge they need
To see your Light.

A Star shall come out of Jacob,
But Jacob shall fall at His feet;
Someday we will look on You,
And our hearts will be pierced;
And your chosen ones will see their Star,
Their Light,

The long night will be over.
O Y'shua, come soon,
That my people may see your face
And know your Name
And rejoice that the Star out of Jacob has come.

O Lord, even so,
Come quickly.

Amen.

I never knew that I believed in heaven
Until the syllables of marching rain
Came flaming from the sun, when I was lost, at suppertime
And broke the plates we ate on with their boots.

And then I heard the hoot of many owls
Proclaiming to the world the time had come;
And coming at me, all with saintly singing on their tongues,
They called -- but I was cowering near the sink.

I hid behind the board where food was hid
And watched them laughing in their many suns,
Remaking all my worn-out worldly works (handmade and mine)
Into a vast display of wanderings

Which wrapped themselves about me like a robe
Of finest tapestry and, gleaming gold,
Foretold the fate awaiting all mankind in times to come,
My own -- a micro image of the whole.

The vision which unfolded there that day,
Before my unopened eyes, held tight my fate;
And lately I recall that grand display when nightly dreams
Beam forth more brightly than the sun at dawn.

I know that all those saintly, singing forms
That dance within my mind when I let go
Are only cold reflections of a truth unknown to most,
Whose glow is brighter far than eye can see;

A golden glow of truth unmarred by flaws
Which mortal men in their unknowing way
Have formed in everything that they have touched; yet still a glow
That shines with truth's untarnished clarity.

And all that needs be said about this Truth
Is that whatever thought the mind can think
Is held within its core; and at the edge and all about
Its outer, boundless, far extremities

Are visions of unbounded ecstasy;
Though in my waking life its glow is dulled,
Yet always will I know within my heart, half-consciously,
That God's unfettered love is all about

And free to everyone; all I need do
Is open up the door a tiny crack
And let His presence permeate my core
And let His glow inside my very soul.

The love of God has saved me from myself;
When all the world was at my feet
And all that I desired within my grasp,
I met the Lord.

I never longed for anything or called upon a faceless god --
I always thought that I had found it all;
My life had no holes longing to be filled --
I was not weak,
I had no fears,
No hates, no guilts, no hidden sins.

But then my Lord changed all of that.
He couldn't have me going on,
Not knowing what a life I led;

He told me clearly, You have sinned.

(I knew I had, but, after all, I tried...)

Trying doesn't count, He said,
It doesn't win the race for you when you are so unskilled;
But trying helps --
It calls Me to your side;
It lets my Spirit work at you, until you see your state --
And that reveals your true intent.

My true intent?

Trying to please whom, He said...Yourself?

Well, I suppose my trying to be good
Could just have been for me, to make me
Even more content
With my self worth;

The test, He said, is who you want to please.
If truly it is not yourself, then take My Word --
And do it on My terms.

And so I took Him on His terms,
I took my Savior's love --
He offered it so freely, I gave in.

I said, I see my sin;
I see that trying to be better
Doesn't make it disappear,
It only makes my Ego grow.
So if your blood was shed to cleanse my sin,
Then let it --
I will take it now
And bathe in it
And be set free.

And so my Lord has saved me with His love,
That I may live my life for Him;
And when I sin He cleanses me anew
And keeps me clean to live for Him
And die for Him
And tell each day the beauty of His love.

Thank you, Y'shua, Lord.