The Dynamic of Service

An except from The Dynamic of Service by A. Paget Wilkes

The first need of Japan is for the preaching of a real salvation able to reach the lowest and vilest of men. It seems to be taken for granted that we can never expect anyone to be saved in a heathen land prior to a considerable period of instruction in the principles of Christianity. This appears both reasonable and ordinary common sense, and yet one feels instinctively that there must be a way for a helpless drunkard, a derelict on his way to commit suicide, a criminal condemned to death, and such other, to receive enough instruction in the elements of the Gospel to allow them entering into the experience of salvation immediately and without delay. ~circa 1920

French Missionaries

I recently received a newsletter from missionary friends of mine who are in France. This is an excerpt that i thought was very honest and encouraging.

It would be fantastic...and false, to be telling you every time I let you know what's going on, of how exciting life is here in France. Life, as a Christian, wherever you live, is hard. There are certainly the times of joy and excitement, the times when our eyes are wide with wonder at what the Lord is doing, but there are also the daily valleys, in which we find that what we are really made of. Will we continue to follow after Him with zeal when he has said to 'follow me' into the recesses of darkness, through the forests of loneliness and drudgery? Will I walk a holy life of peace and joy for Him, when relationships become unbearable and in constant conflict, when living circumstances become daily uncertain, when I miss my home, family, and friends so terribly... when He is all that I have will I still sing His praises?

What is exciting is that Christ is a sure steadfast anchor of hope, that He (unlike all persons and places around us) does not change, that He is faithful.

Much has happened over the last months, and I think I have found that nothing at all happens without prayer, nothing at all. Sadly, we spend so much more time investing in every other thing other than our time with the Lord and prayer. Do we really meet the people where they are at or are we simply telling them where they should be? Do we really take the gospel to them, or in the provision of certain programs require that they come to us?

The Words Squeezed from a Shattered Heart

(The first attempt of a hardcore lyric, produced on a winter night, some time ago)

How many times have you done this to me now?
You break my heart and expect me to come crying to you.
You stand there:
Cold.
Frozen to the bone.
Black hearted.

I confessed my sin to you, the horrible crime I committed.
I laid my heart out for you to see.

You say, "how could you do this to me?
How could you hurt me like this?"

I made an attempt to reach for you, but you slit my hand into pieces;
You stabbed me in the heart.
And you don't even realize how deep you are staring into yourself.

All the while I am:
Waiting.
Bleeding.
Dieing.


Now I am being poured into by Another.
Slowly.
Healing.
Healing what you tore apart.
Soon I will be fixed.
I can feel the blade you inserted, slowly removed.

Don't let your bitterness consume you.
Surrender.
Collapse.
It will hurt at first;
Give in.

All all the while I will be here;
Waiting.
Forgiveness in my hands.

De Anima

A thought occurred to me today in my Greek philosophy class about the change in the meaning of the word animal. Anima is Greek [Latin, actually] for soul. Thus anything that has a soul is an animal; living, breathing. When the ancients called beasts animals, they were in a sense raising them up; making them just below man, superior over plants and the non-living. However, when the modern man calls humans animals he intends to lower man to the same level of beasts; usually one with no morality and only superior by sheer cunning and brute force.

The State of Man

In the 20th century:

"A sentence will suffice for modern man: he fornicated and read the papers...." ~Albert Camus The Fall 1956.


In the 21st century:

"A sentence will suffice for modern man: he just fornicated..." ~Justin Ranger in ingenio meo 2007.

A Fifteen Minuet Poem Conceived at Midnight.

She Likes Him,
While He likes Her.
She thinks of No-One, save for Herself.

She grows with Envy.
He grows with Rage.
She with Narcissism, into the Grave.

Now that He comes,
What will He think?
All three consumed with Passion,
But with Hearts that are Weak.

If they had Loved
Him on the Throne,
They would not have bothered,
But their desires disown.

A Hardcore Song Masquerading as a Lyrical Ballad

While in Europe Daniel and I decided to spend six days in Germany. We departed on a Sunday afternoon with hopes to span the southern region of the country and return to Brussels in time to meet his dearest. We planned to stop in Trier, Heidelberg, Rothenberg, Munchen, Dachau, and Wurzburg. We were only able to stay in each town for about a day; which was not enough time to see all that we desired. However, while we were in Heidelberg we saw that which the city boasted most about and then left promptly, leaving no reason to return.

The Rape of Hiedelburg

You, O city, long for the affection of travelers from afar,
Tantalizing them with your beauty.
You spread rumors and tales,
Hoping to make a fortune from their treasures.

These tales I have heard from across the sea.
Tales of Castles, Bridges, Forests, and Churches.
Tales of your purity and simplicity.

Your Beauty has enticed me long enough.
And now...
I've come.

Your finally mine.
There is no waiting, no hesitation;

I know exactly what I want.

Slowely,
Surely,
Systematically,
I reach my hand into your heart.
I feel its warmth.
Its beating.
And in a few short hours I'm done.


I've Come.

I've Seen.

I've Conquered.


Your Beauty...
is nothing to me any more.

I've taken what I want, my pleasures are fulfilled.
I wish that i could say that I'll be back again...

But I wont.