Devotions to Our God in the Manger: Mysterious Pious

Posted on December 14, 2013 by Tom Bolton

A D V E N T  2 0 1 3:    D E V O T I O N S   T O   O U R   G O D   I N   T H E   M A N G E R

Week 2                                                                  Mystery in Our Midst

LongestNightPhoto1

             The Mysterious Pious

Your sins are forgiven, and
You hold back, and
you claim magnified piety, and
you claim Jesus as your own.
And amidst the proof you heap visible,
the invisible proof is larger.
My faith in that not seen is largest,
and I question myself at this manger.
Do I build myself up,
and try to impress?
Am I authentic? Am I only pious?
Am I whom you would have me be?
Today I will not try to look good.
May I instead be righteous.
At the manger I claim the way.

(c) Tom Bolton, 10 December 2013, alone

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Devotions to Our God in the Manger: Love Mystery

Posted on December 12, 2013 by Tom Bolton

A D V E N T 2 0 1 3:     D E V O T I O N S   T O   O U R    G O D    I N   T H E   M A N G E R

Week 2                                                          Mystery in Our Midst

Dusk

Dusk (Photo credit: ehpien)

      Love Mystery

I love that I am loved,
and I love that I know others pray for me each day.
I love that there are others held deep in my heart,
and that they hold me deep too.
All that is Christmas true originates in heaven;
it binds us together in spite of ourselves.
There are great mysteries in space,
and deep in atoms, and deep in our brains,
but the greatest mystery is our neighbor,
the greatest mystery is love,
the greatest mystery is our nearest guest.
Mysterious friends come together and love,
blessed by the love of one in a manger.
The mystery of our love is majestic and great.
Our hearts are filled with the mystery.
Alone we come out, and
grasp love, shared.
In solemn community, we love too.
We are amazed, and we are lost,
and then we too love.
There is deep mystery in the word!
There is fresh mystery in love.
In mystery, we join together at this manger.

(c) Tom Bolton, 10 December, 2013, below City Hall

A hidden audio link.  <———

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Devotions to Our God in the Manger: Respected Mystery

Posted on December 10, 2013 by Tom Bolton

A D V E N T 2 0 1 3:   D E V O T I O N S   T O   O U R   G O D   I N   T H E   M A N G E R

Week 2                                                    Mystery in Our Midst

"Christ in the Manger" - NARA - 558929

“Christ in the Manger” – NARA – 558929 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Respected Mystery

We seek the joy, and to know Christ,
to know Christ within us,
to know Christ in incomprehensible ways,
to know ourselves in new ways,
to know each other in better ways.
Unite us in love Lord:
encourage us each.
We dig through magnificent treasure,
new wisdom and courage,
and we are blessed in ways just discovered.
We are quiet today,
in search of mystery and treasured Christ-life.
We find mystery in this brave new world
just as our ancestors found mystery.
Joy in the Word.
Joy to the World.
Joy in the new Hope of Christ!
There is new mystery in lives today,
upon this Advent journey.

(c) Tom Bolton, 10 December 2014, Bayview

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Devotions to Our God in the Manager: Quiet Certainty

Posted on December 7, 2013 by Tom Bolton

English: Protestant Church of Dietrich Bonhoef...

English: Protestant Church of Dietrich Bonhoeffer in Stuttgart-Fasanenhof Deutsch: Evang. Dietrich-Bonhoeffer-Kirche Stuttgart-Fasanenhof (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A D V E N T   2 0 1 3:   D E V O T I O N S   T O   O U R    G O D   I N   T H E   M A N G E R

Jesus

Week 1                            Stay Awake

For a child has been born for us,
    a son given to us;
authority rests upon his shoulders;
    and he is named
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
His authority shall grow continually,
    and there shall be endless peace
for the throne of David and his kingdom.
    He will establish and uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
    from this time onward and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

–Isaiah 9:6-7

Quiet Certainty

I would see it with such certainty,
and I yearn to see the mystery,
present each day in my life.
When there is endless peace, I will rejoice
in that place,
and I find it in my spirit,
deep within me,
certainty.
And I hear the words, past and future,
“and suddenly,” and
“a child has been born for us,”
and Joy fills the air around me,
and salvation is around me.
Joy in the Word!
Joy to the World!
His authority is around us.

“Not everyone can wait: neither the sated nor the satisfied nor those without respect can wait. The only ones who can wait are people who carry restlessness around with them.”
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, God Is in the Manger: Reflections on Advent and Christmas

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Devotions to Our God in the Manger: I will come in

Posted on December 6, 2013 by Tom Bolton

A D V E N T   2 0 1 3:   D E V O T I O N S   T O   O U R    G O D   I N   T H E   M A N G E R

Jesus

Week 1                            Stay Awake

Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me.
Revelation 3:19-21

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Thankful

Posted on December 6, 2013 by Tom Bolton

Great inspiration!

Bill Sweeney's avatarUnshakable Hope

When I was diagnosed with ALS in 1996, at the age of 36, the Neurologist’s prognosis was that I probably would not live to see my 40th birthday. Our girls were only seven and four years old at that time.

I naturally thought of everything I would miss; like high school and college graduations, interrogating their dates, giving them away on their wedding day and the birth of my grandchildren.

I am so thankful that the Neurologist’s prediction was wrong:

I’ve lived to see both of our daughters graduate from high school and college.

Lauren and Leah

leah graduation

I gave Lauren away on her wedding day two years ago.

And last week I became a Grandfather!

Because heaven is our ultimate future and Christ is our hope, the following verse is true for all Christians – even those of us that are facing difficult trials and those who’ve gone on to…

View original post 37 more words

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Devotions to Our God in the Manger: Hard Waiting

Posted on December 5, 2013 by Tom Bolton

A D V E N T   2 0 1 3:   D E V O T I O N S   T O   O U R    G O D   I N   T H E   M A N G E R

Jesus

Week 1                            Stay Awake

Hard Waiting

I want to crack open the best fruit today,
but the new shoot on which it will perch has just started up.
As before, I am seeking wisdom, knowledge;
as a boy, I seek a mighty counselor,
Abba, strong and sure.
Impatiently, I wait.
I see the green fruit, ripe and luscious,
and I am almost deceived,
disappointed, alone.
I do not do well to do without,
but I know to wait now.
My questions are deep, barely-formed,
and I am anxious anew.
I seek new rooms, new places,
new relationship,
and I wait.
Anxiously, I seek to crack open new fruit.
My Christmas stocking is there, still empty.

Fruit Platter

Fruit Platter (Photo credit: Matthew Kenwrick)

(c) Tom Bolton, 2 December 2013, Downtown

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