The throne

Revelation 3:21

To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

When we think of God above on his throne 

It’s easy to think about us down here below

And the space between that keeps us apart

But that is a wrong place for your thoughts to start

So, let’s unpack this one thought in rhyme

So that we may better understand it in time.

Our union with God was meant to be

As in the garden till split by the tree

They had much in common as you already know

As they walked through the garden in love, to and fro

Man in God’s image and His Likeness was

Completed in Eve as they shared this love

They shared in his image and His likeness too

Just as the prophets as me and as you

And this was the challenge that we are rent by our choice

That caused us to depart from hearing God’s voice

For when we pursue the things that are outside of his hands

It leads us away in to foreign lands

As in those times, we cannot return

The way that we came, from what we have learned. 

And far from man's mind were thought of God's throne

How we'd return and be again home.

But this is not a journey that man can complete

Without God descending for man to him meet

And this is not something that God can restore

Unless man hears him as he did before

And this is not something could be done by any

But needed one person to take the lead for the many

And this one person needed to be mother of all

To accept the way back after the fall

In hearing the angel, she meekly obliged

To know God in a way so we can in kind

She made a way for God to be known

In accepting him, becoming His throne

What does this mean if ever you knew?

That God desires the same for you

For Theotokos was God's bearer and mother

Enabling us to change from one thing to another

From bearing a shame that made us want to hide

To bearing his name with a new life

We are Theophorous as we bear him too

And bearing him means sharing him too

We are to carry him where ever we go

Until the day that when we return home. 

When we return as victor and heirs

Overcoming the world and all of it’s cares

And this return to how we should be

Is walking with Christ who hung on the tree

Who knocks loudly with the sounds of each nail

To wake us from sleep whenever we fail

Who calls us by name that we may come

And attend the banquet of the Risen Son

Whose victory over death did become ours

So, we may too rely on God's power

And all of this so we may return home

And be seated with him upon his throne. 

For this is the promise to hearers of his

that upon their victory they be granted this

To sit in heaven with God on his throne

As he sat with you, when you felt alone. 

So now you can see through being his throne

That you carry him where ever you roam. 

And now in this season where God became man

We see laid out his divine plan

The Lord God who was seated above

Came down from heaven because of his love

Yeah, The Lord God of heaven arose from his throne

And came down to earth that he may bring us home.

In his image

We are all in his image,
What a wondrous thing
That we have this in common
With the King of kings. 

Am I really in the image
Of God on His throne,
The Creator of all things
Seen and unknown?

And who can imagine?
The reaction of those there
Who saw the Lord of lords
Ascend through the air? 

Can I be in His image
This Lord of all might
Who overcame gravity
And ascended in plain sight? 

And I think of the Lord
Who ate and lived among men
After the resurrection
That they might know Him again

For this Lord of all might
Escaped from the tomb
For all those in death
So Life may resume. 

And He was laid still

While wrapped in fine linen

As He carried the burden of all sin

From the beginning

The burden of the sins

Of all mankind

He took upon Him, 

As He hung in the sky.  

And all those who saw Him 

As He hung in that state 

Were troubled within

As they thought of His fate

They couldn't understand

What put the Lord there

And how He went willingly 

While they called out in prayer

Jesus why must you suffer

This way on the tree

And bear this great burden

For someone like me

And done so willingly 

And done by His choice

Without defending himself 

As one without voice

He did not correct Pilate 

Or the many before him 

To whom this cross wasn't clear

Despite His forewarning

For this was His mission
The He might find a way
To remit all of our sins
On this single day

And this was His teaching
To all women and men
To do all things in Love
But we couldn't comprehend

They saw miracles and signs
As we do in our lives
And we thank Him for gifts
But dont seem to realize

The mission of the cross
Was a mission of Love
For all to see and join in
With the Lord God above

For when He raised Lazarus
And the many before
And when He commanded the sea
In the midst of the storm

And when He fed the people
Who heard the voice of the Lord
And the deaf, blind and lame
Whose bodies restored

And all those who were ill
And the many he healed
And in the demon possessed
One thing was revealed

This was His love
For all of mankind
A love so immense
He joined it in time

And this is the moment
That His love was shown
For in becoming man
God became known

So this is a wonder
In this Image now seen
That we have a model
Of how we might be

The Lord of Creation
Became man Himself
That we in return
Might become something else

The Holy of Holies
Was born in the night
In the dark in a manger
That we might see His light 

The Light of the World
That conquered the night
Came forth from the Virgin
In the shepherds sight

And in her arms she held Him
Who made all in the world known
And despite His might
His Love only shown.

The Love of God
As sent down to all man
That we might know Him
As our Father again

This Love from on High
A model for all
That we might love others
The great and small

For this is how He
Said we'd be known
When our love to one another
Is outwardly shown

I call you to awaken
His image within you
And love your neighbor
As we were commanded to

And love the Lord
Lord of Heaven and earth
For this God of Love
Showed us love in His birth

Yes, Love the Lord
For He loved us first
And dwell in His love
Be in it immersed

We are all in His image,
What a wondrous thing
That we have this in common
With the King of kings.

(c) Justin Gerges 2019

3 wise men

Do you think for a moment
They had in their mind
They would meet the king of kings
Following the stars in the sky.

Do you think for a moment
They knew what they would see
A child born in a manger
And who he would be?

Do you think for a moment
They knew that their gifts
Would be remembered in song
For their significance.

Can you imagine the minute
On the very day
They had seen the star
And said, let's be on our way

For how does anyone
Prepare to meet the Lord
Who by being born
Humanity restored.

And how does anyone
Return on his way
Knowing the world
Will never be the same.

This glorious message
Was shown in the sky
To these worshipers of light
Who worshiped in truth in the night. 

Around this redeeming fire
That doesnt consume
But rather creates,
And was carried in her womb

The womb of his creation
The womb of his choice
The womb of the virgin
So that the heavens may rejoice.

Glory to God in the highest
And peace be upon the earth
The angels sang from the heavens
About this kings humble birth

And the stars also sang
And the planets did too
And the sun sang it's part
As did the moon. 

And all the rest of creation,
Before their keen ears and eyes.
And it's for this reason
That we call them wise.

For they are a beacon
Of who we should be
Seekers of Christ
In all his majesty.

When they knew of his coming
They said let's make haste
And packed their caravans
To seek out the place

The place where the star leads
Which was to them, unknown
And by this star's light,
Their faith is shown.

For how many of us
Are willing in the night
To rise from our beds
And seek the true light

And how many of us
Are looking to the skies
Sending up prayers
And awaiting replies

And how many of us
Can discern in these days
The ways of the Lord
From our own simple ways

And this is one reason
We remember these kings
They put seeking the Lord
Before all other things

And this is the reason
That we call them wise
For they sought to meet him
And behold him with eyes

For at that moment
When they saw the Lord
They knew man's image
Was being restored.

So let us think for a moment
And put in our mind
That we should seek Him each day
And also each night

And put Christ before us
That we see him with our eyes
And bring ourselves as gifts
That we might be called wise.

She remembers

She remembers the last time
She fell in love
She dust herself off
And then got back up

She remembers the last time
She changed her name
And swore never to be
Called babe again

She remembers the last time
She lost her way
And she promised her comfort
Together they'd stay

But she can't remember the last time
She thought of another
That wasn't herself
Neither sister nor brother

She can't remember the last time
She gave up control
When her outward demeanor
Was not distant and cold

Yet she thinks of that one time
When all fell into place
When her mind and her heart
Each other would race

And of that one time
The strength of her hands
When they held onto
Those of her man's

She thought of her own strength
And when it'd return
And if she'd ever
Apply what she's learned

She spent all her time thinking
About that one future day
When she would meet another
And the words he should say

She did all her thinking
From the comfort of home
Never once seeing
It's this reason she's alone

I waited

I waited on the wind
That it may send a word
And carry your voice
Which seldom is heard 

I waited on the sun
That it may find a way
To align our paths
If for only a day 

I waited on the rain
That it may nourish
And give rise to
A time where we'd flourish 

I waited on the night
That it may provide rest
To the myriad of thoughts
That do patience test

I waited and waited
For that one sacred time
Only to find waiting
Left me behind.

If I knew how

If I knew how to ask the ocean
For a drop of a single wave
I'd never thirst again
And if I could ask the stars
For the light for a single day
My days would never end

If I could form the words
And their sounds reach the mark
I'd be compelled to speak
And if they might happen to be heard
For me just this once
I'd surely reach my peak

   If I could change the world
   Then your world would change too
   So if I'd change the world,
   I'd change you
   So if my words of change
   Could ever find their mark
   Then I'd be sitting here,
   all alone, lost in the dark

If I could stop the hands of time
That make time tick away
I'd live right here forever
And if I could never blink
You'd never slip away
And you'd leave me never

And if I could see your dreams
Clearer than my own
I'd make them all come true
And if I could know your heart
And speak to it every poem
Then it would come along with you

   If I could do all I say
   And give you everything
   it would be all your dreams
   I'd be taking

   So if I changed the world
   Then your world would change too
   And if I'd change the world
   I'd change you

   And if my words of change
   Could ever find their mark
   Then I'd be sitting here
   All alone, lost in the dark

An archers end

As an archer that prepares himself,
I've filed my quiver to its limit.
I've placed in it every arrow in sight
So that this contest, I may win it. 

Now I never launched an arrow
That I felt wouldn't hit it's mark
So I oft find myself staring at the target
Well after the sunset, in the dark

I still have all of my arrows
Like a man ready for war
But I'm not sure if they'll reach their target
Because they never have before

I thought that keeping them in my hand
They would be more likely to take flight
But it only changed them from being behind me
To being located in my sight

 

I want not to let them fly
As they cannot be easily replaced
For if they hit but bring not the end
Then the wounded target would have to be chased. 

I would be left then to run in the dark
With these arrows filling my hand
And me grasping in this dark reality
And reaching as ever I can. 

And if I ever encountered a beast
Whose form was more sturdy than my own
It would certainly use its teeth
To rip my flesh right of the bone. 

So I stand here and I consider
Returning the arrows to their place
And why I entered  this contest
And all the time that I did waste

But I would like to draw a single arrow
And send it to its home
That I may return a victor
And stand then not alone.