Against the Goads

Photo from http://www.thehollandbureau.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/illus090.bmp

For a soundtrack to this poem, click here.

“The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails—given by one shepherd.” – Ecclesiastes 12:11

Against the Goads

(Acts 26:14)

Stepping out of God’s will

Face down on the weathered wide road

Kicking against the goad

Why do you kick against the prick?

Half hearted; lukewarm

Spew you out of my mouth;

you make me sick!

Narrow is the way,

that leads to life.

Your rebellion is your strife.

Direction from you!

Your will be done!

You’re The Way!

Day, by day, by day . . .

©2011, Robbie Pruitt

http://robbiepruitt.blogspot.com/

Revelation 3:15-22

“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”” - Revelation 3:15-22 (New International Version, ©2011)

Gog of Magog

Photo from QuickeningSpirit.com

(Ezekiel 39:1-16)

Enemies knocked like boxer,

spun and turned around,

by force of blow.

And we are led on,

like friend not foe.

Enemies

fallen down on mountaintops,

and on open fields.

Devoured are defenses and shields.

Lightening breaking your sword

Then you will know;

I am the Lord.

I am Holy

and you will know my name!

Those who profane and oppose

will hang their heads in shame.

This is what I have spoken.

The time is coming

when rebellion will be broken.

Then all will know;

I Am the Lord God!

When nothing is spared,

not even the rod.

Set fires and burn:

offensive and defensive weapons,

shields, bucklers, bows, arrows,

javelins and spears.

Burn! Burn!

Set fires for seven years!

Burn! Burn!

the war torn rebels

the plunderers and pillagers

Turn! Turn!

for the battle is won.

It is finished! Done!

Won’t you discern?

Take off your blinders and learn!

The funeral pyres are made.

The burial grounds are staid.

War is burnt up forevermore!

And enemies, to rest, are laid.

In the Valley of Hamonah, Hamon Gog,

under the shade,

in the cleansed land,

by God’s own people’s hand.

©2011, Robbie Pruitt

http://robbiepruitt.blogspot.com/

Revelation 20:7-10

“When the thousand years come to an end, Satan will be let out of his prison. He will go out to deceive the nations—called Gog and Magog—in every corner of the earth. He will gather them together for battle—a mighty army, as numberless as sand along the seashore. And I saw them as they went up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded God’s people and the beloved city. But fire from heaven came down on the attacking armies and consumed them. Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

Tyndale House Publishers: Holy Bible : New Living Translation. 2nd ed. Wheaton, Ill. : Tyndale House Publishers, 2004, S. Re 20:7-10

Turn and Live

Photo by jetsandzeppelins, “The world is spinning!”

Turn and Live

(Ezekiel 18: 19-32)

The sinner shall surely die

Righteousness upon you

Wickedness upon you

Turn! Turn!

Turn from the lies!

Keep God’s commands

And learn

Forgiven

Evil remembered no more

Settled

No keeping of the score

Turned, turned, and turned

Live to the pleasure of God

Discern . . .

Righteousness remembered

Unfaithfulness and sin . . .

Burns like embers

Turn! Turn!

Repent and turn!

From all our sin

And the fire that burns

© 2010, Robbie Pruitt

http://www.robbiepruitt.com/

Ezekiel 18: 30-32

“Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways,” says the Lord GOD. “Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,” says the Lord GOD. “Therefore turn and live!”

Club Kid, Dancer

Photo: Rave Generation 09, By James at Uni

I was at a night club watching a student’s band play about a year ago. While I was there I was fixated on a young man who was dancing wildly in the center of the dance floor. He danced like he was the only person in the room. I began to think about worship and something in me told me that’s what I was watching, a unique worship. What unfolded before me was pure rhythm and joy demonstrated in reckless abandon and freedom. I want to worship God like that . . .

“ . . . Then David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was wearing a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet. Now as the ark of the LORD came into the City of David, Michal, Saul’s daughter, looked through a window and saw King David leaping and whirling before the LORD . . .” —2 Samuel 6:14-16

“Worship also means to "express in some appropriate manner" what you feel....” —A.W. Tozer

Club Kid, Dancer

Watch as the club kid

shuffles his feet

to the bass drum

and the hard hitting beat.

Shuffle. Shuffle!

Dance! Dance!

Club kid in his

Trance. Trance!

Leather stitched

and undersized vest,

tight jeans and worn out shoes.

He’s at his best;

gliding across the dance floor,

clapping hands and waving.

Do you want more?

Shuffle! Shuffle!

Your feet! Your feet!

to the new rocking beat

the friction of the shoes

the flow and the groove

The Heat! The Heat!

Dance! Dance!

And Repeat! Repeat!

© 2010, Robbie Pruitt

“And I will be even more undignified than this . . .”

—King David, 2 Samuel 6:22

He Withdrew His Hand

Photo by heathbrandon, Heath Brandon

He Withdrew His Hand

(Ezekiel 20:18-24)

Sabbath

Rest

And Release

Idols must cease

He is the Lord

Our God

We Rebelled

Wilderness wandering

And the Shepherd’s rod

© 2010, Robbie Pruitt

Ezekiel 20:18-24

“But I said to their children in the wilderness, ‘Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers, nor observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols. I am the Lord your God: Walk in My statutes, keep My judgments, and do them; hallow My Sabbaths, and they will be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God.’ “Notwithstanding, the children rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes, and were not careful to observe My judgments, ‘which, if a man does, he shall live by them’; but they profaned My Sabbaths. Then I said I would pour out My fury on them and fulfill My anger against them in the wilderness. Nevertheless I withdrew My hand and acted for My name’s sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the Gentiles, in whose sight I had brought them out. Also I raised My hand in an oath to those in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the Gentiles and disperse them throughout the countries, because they had not executed My judgments, but had despised My statutes, profaned My Sabbaths, and their eyes were fixed on their fathers’ idols.”

The New King James Version. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1982, S. Eze 20:18-24

The Close of Winter

Winter, Photo by Irene Pruitt

Already anticipating the close of winter . . .

It is cold outside . . . frigid. Already there has been snow, frozen hose pipes in the yard, frost on the windshield, visible breaths, reddened ears and noses, hot chocolate, a slower pace, a warmer blanket, a chill up the spine, a shiver in the night. . . Winter has begun to set down upon us in its fullness, and already we begin to look with anticipation for its close.

“Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter.” –Psalm 74:17

The Close of Winter

with each day the sun creeps

to a higher noon pose

the long shadows recede

winter comes to a close

© 2010 Irene and Robbie Pruitt

Song of Solomon 2:10-13

“Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.”

Hands to the Plow

Photo By twoblueday gerry

When I was a kid, my Grandfather used to take me out to the country where he owns three acres of land. Pop planted a garden there almost every year. He used a motorized tiller to break up the ground to make it easier to plant the seed. I would watch him wrestle the steel beast and plow perfectly straight rows. Pop would place a focal point at the end of each row and would set his gaze on that focal point to make the rows straight. As I watched him, I remember thinking that one day I would be a strong man who would know how to plow a straight row with a tiller. I also remember when that day came. Pop taught me how to plow. He handed me the tiller and pointed out ahead to the goal. The steel beast shook me and I wrestled with it toward the row’s end. At one point, I looked back and the tiller turned and bucked and I had to wrestle it back to its place, making a crooked row and a mess out of the garden. Eventually, through the years, practice made perfect and the rows became straight and perfect.

Granddad also taught me who Jesus is. I saw Jesus in Pop way before I ever understood a single sermon this Baptist preacher ever preached. Pop lives a life committed to following the Lord. I have learned what it means to follow Jesus through watching Pop keep his eyes on Him. As it turns out, living for Christ and plowing have a lot in common. As Jesus says, “No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God (Luke 9:62).” When Pop put his hand to the plow, he never looked back. With Jesus as his focus, Pop’s rows have been straight through the field of life and he has shown many The Way.

Perfect Rows

(Luke 9:62)

Grandpa taught me

How to plow

In straight rows

Machine in hand

Eyes in front of me

Tilling the land

Perfectly plowed rows

Where my gaze is set,

My body goes

Eternity displays its fertile fields

And all that eternity knows

From heel dented mounds

And the sprinkling of seed

Spring forth growth and abundance

Of every plant, from every breed

No more lacking, no more need

Walking the straight rows

Hands running through the green

Into eternity as eternity is seen

My eyes set out before me

My hand to the plow

Never looking back

Gazing at Jesus now

Straight perfect rows

Into eternity

The way my Grandfather chose

My gaze toward my savior

Just like he taught me

To look to the cross and to eternity

© 2010, Robbie Pruitt

http://www.robbiepruitt.com/

“And Jesus said unto him, ‘No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.’” –Luke 9:62

Rubble

Photo above courtesy of Ron Holt, 2010

As of October 2010, 2% of the rubble has been removed from Haiti after the January 2010 earthquake that crumbled that country. Observing the effects of this reality, the current state of Haiti, can make one feel helplessness and despair. Looking out over the vast devastation, the conditions of poverty, and the destruction is profound, sobering, and leveling. There is so much need and brokenness.

When my wife Irene and I were in Haiti recently, I wanted to fix the things that I saw. I am “a fixer” by nature. As I looked out over the landscape, the sinking feeling in my gut was a feeling of helplessness and despair. “There is just no fixing this.” I thought to myself. Just as I was thinking this, I felt as if God were speaking to me, “That’s right, you cannot fix this. You cannot even fix yourself. I can fix this. I will fix this. You cannot, but I can. You are not their saviour, you can’t be. You cannot even save yourself, because you are in the same condition, but I can. I can renew and restore Haiti and I can renew and restore you too!” This was a moving and powerful word from the Lord for me.

We live in a fallen and sin riddled world that is filled with destruction and disrepair. We live in a world that is in a constant state of decay. Our world is groaning (Romans 8:22).

The following poem, “Rubble,” compares the human heart condition, the result of sin’s rampant rule, with Haiti’s brokenness and destruction, do to the fallen world we live in and the magnitude of sin’s consequences throughout history.

It is God that pardons, saves, restores, renews, and rescues. God is at work in His creation despite of sin and evil in the world, and it is God who will make all things new, including Haiti, and including the Haiti like destruction and devastation that is in me and you.

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” –Jeremiah 17:9

Photo above courtesy of Ron Holt, 2010

Rubble
(Jeremiah 17:9)

I got rubble . . .

I got rubble

Down inside of me

Fists full of rubble

Heart full of rubble

Broken heart and trouble

I got torn canvas

Tarp shredded

And days dreaded

I got stench filled polluted air

Charcoal fire burning

And no loving care . . .

Shame and a blank stare

I got worn out clothes

Nowhere to go

Where my next meal comes from

. . . I don’t know

I got dusty shoes

No good news

So far faded to black

Can’t see the blues

I got crowded streets

Shredded sheets

And no one to meet

I got polluted water in my veins

Spotted and soiled and stains

I got carcasses and death and remains

Viruses of all strains

I got a Haiti as my heart

Because I played my part

I am sin’s destruction and death

Gasping for life and breath

I am shattered destruction

Condemned collapsed building

Nothing to offer and nothing to bring

Soiled and dirty, never clean

I am ruins and decay

Broken and in disarray

Dashed hopes and dismay

I am hurricane torn

Weathered and worn

I am exploited lands

And caught with red hands

I am earth quake rattled

Crushed and tattered

Crying out . . . smattered

I am rubble

I am rubble in streets

Crashes nearly avoided

And skipped heart beats

Aftershocks and broken infrastructure

Spilled out in rupture

I am muddied murky waters

And close dilapidated quarters

I am refuse and abuse

Left out alone and cut loose

I am resource depleted

Promises never delivered . . . defeated

Broken glass on the shore

Never having enough

And always wanting more

I am helpless and despair

No health care

I am a world apart unnoticed

Out of sight, out of mind, unaware

On my own, I am unfed, full of dread,

And left for dead

I am Haiti

There is no life independently

No life on my own you see

I am wearing down and washing into eternity

Erosion . . . corrosion . . . implosion . . .

I got rubble

I got rubble breaking down to ashes and dust

Dust storms and winds gust

I got Haiti blowing through me

My destruction before me

Endlessly . . . effortlessly . . .

Carelessly . . . recklessly . . .

© 2010, Robbie Pruitt

Psalm 107:18-22

“They draw near unto the gates of death. Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses. He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions. Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.”

Revelation 21:5-7

“And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.”

The Sitting Saints

Photo: The Sitting Saints, © 2010, Irene Pruitt

The old Haitian man outside of St. Michael’s Church in Jacmel Haiti during the celebration of The Feast of St. Michael the Archangel

The old man sat weeping as the church service progressed. He sat outside the wall by the gate so that he could hear and see what was taking place inside. His shoes and clothes were soiled and torn. His soul, like the soles of his shoes and his clothes, was tattered and worn. He wept and cried out. He prayed, sobbed, and petitioned the Lord with many a shout; from fists in the air and humbled despair, through life’s weather and wear, as the crowds looked on and looked away, as if they did not care. At communion, the back rows and the periphery were overlooked, just as the old man was overlooked in life, and as he was overlooked at the peace; his tears his only release. And when the recessional took place, the priests and the saints walked on disappearing without a trace, missing Jesus in the old man’s face.

The Sitting Saints

(Deuteronomy 33:3)

The saints are sitting

Spotless

Unscathed and clean

Weeping

Broken

Unspoken

The true saint wails

Words fall . . .

They fall short

They fail

Nothing to say of comfort

Nothing of the sort

When the priests do not notice

After the church bell rings

Cries muffled

As the saintly choir sings

An offering of prayer

Is what one brings

The laying on of hands

A simple touch

And the giving of the peace

Tears! Tears!

Release!

© 2010, Robbie Pruitt

Deuteronomy 33:1-4

“Now this is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death. And he said: “The Lord came from Sinai, and dawned on them from Seir; He shone forth from Mount Paran, and He came with ten thousands of saints; From His right hand came a fiery law for them. Yes, He loves the people; All His saints are in Your hand; They sit down at Your feet; Everyone receives Your words. Moses commanded a law for us, a heritage of the congregation of Jacob.” (Deuteronomy 33:1-4)

The New King James Version. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1982, S. Dt 33:1-4

Blessed Mountain: The Lord Is For You

Photo from: http://www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/religion/arc/neapolis/mountGerizim.htm

(Ezekiel 36: 1-15)

Prophesy to the mountains

Move them with The Word

Speak and watch them move

Hear the Word of God

Listen mountains! Listen!

The Lord is jealous

For you

God is zealous

The Lord is for you

To till you. . . to sow you. . .

To rebuild your ruins

Fill your cities

To restore you

Then all will know

Here and abroad

He is the Lord

Our God!

“I am for you.” –God, Ezekiel 36:9

© 2010, Robbie Pruitt

http://www.robbiepruitt.com/

Ezekiel 36:6-11

“Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to the mountains, the hills, the rivers, and the valleys, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I have spoken in My jealousy and My fury, because you have borne the shame of the nations.” Therefore thus says the Lord God: “I have raised My hand in an oath that surely the nations that are around you shall bear their own shame. But you, O mountains of Israel, you shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to My people Israel, for they are about to come. For indeed I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown. I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, all of it; and the cities shall be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt. I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bear young; I will make you inhabited as in former times, and do better for you than at your beginnings. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.”

Works Cited

The New King James Version. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1982, S. Ezekiel 36:6-11

Old Mountain: New Mountain

Photo From: http://larryavisbrown.homestead.com/files/OT_history/unit2/Unit2b_conquest.htm

(Ezekiel 6)

Hear high places
Godless races
Mountains are brought low
to abolish your idols;
lesser gods for show
Canaanite altars
falsehood on hilltops and lies
your god falters
scattered bones
across your wasted lands
desolate
scattered pagan hands
of slain man
and incense stench,
children’s corpses,
and heart wrench
broken, cut down, and abolished;
works downtrod
All will know
The Lord is God

© 2010, Robbie Pruitt
http://www.robbiepruitt.com/

Ezekiel 6: 6-7

‎

"In all your dwelling places the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate, so that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, your idols may be broken and made to cease, your incense altars may be cut down, and your works may be abolished. The slain shall fall in your midst, and you shall know that I am the Lord."

Works Cited

http://www.bible-history.com/resource/ff_baal.htm. Accessed August 9, 2010.

http://www.elinoreart.com/82420/Ex. Accessed August 8, 2010.

http://larryavisbrown.homestead.com/files/OT_history/unit2/Unit2b_conquest.htm. Accessed August 8, 2010

The New King James Version. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1982, S. Eze 6:6-7

Anointed

http://www.shema-yisrael.org/alabaster.jpg

Anointed

(Luke 7:36-50)

broken

poured out

canceled debts

empty handed

without

tears

wetted feet

gone

are secret sins

discreet

matted hair

perfume scented air

loved much

forgiven and known

grace shown

we are His own

anointed

© 2010, Robbie Pruitt

“Two men were in debt to a banker. One owed five hundred silver pieces, the other fifty. Neither of them could pay up, and so the banker canceled both debts. Which of the two would be more grateful?” . . . “I suppose the one who was forgiven the most.” – Luke 7:41-43

For a Bible Study on Luke 7:36-50, click here.

Bibliography

Peterson, Eugene H.: The Message : The Bible in Contemporary Language. Colorado Springs, Colo. : NavPress, 2002, S. Luke 7:36-50

Name

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:JHS-IHS-Monogram-Name-Jesus.svg

I want

to make

a name

for myself

to proclaim

there

is

life

beyond

my

sell by date

my

shelf life

my

stale state

What’s in a name?

Is it not more than our selves proclaim?

© 2010 Robbie Pruitt

http://www.robbiepruitt.com/

Philippians 2:5-11, NKJV

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

The New King James Version. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1982, S. Php 2:5-11

Prayer

“Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known,
and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our
hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may
perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name;
through Christ our Lord. Amen. (BC, P. 355)”

The Book of Common Prayer.

© 1979 http://www.bcponline.org/