We Are New

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We are drawn to the cross, Lord,
where instead of a bitter ending
a joyous new beginning burst forth for all humanity.
Because of your astounding love we are new.

We are new and becoming new,
though by rights we should not be.
The sin that was our inheritance
you purchased on Calvary.
We are new and becoming new.
You reached down with your nail scarred hand.
You saw the lost children we were,
then gave us vision for who we could be.

The future we embrace now,
for this course we race now
we do not run alone.
You carry us when our strength leaves
and eternal life is our guarantee
for your power rolled away the stone.

We are new and becoming new,
for your sacrifice tore the veil.
Because we are adopted sons and daughters
death cannot prevail.
Life is new.

The world now can’t claim us as its own.
We have eternity written in our hearts
and a place before your throne.
We are new.

Earthquakes and tidal waves,
fires and ferocious storms,
poverty and sickness,
cannot prevail against your love.
No matter what the scales read before
your love is more.
Because you died
and rose again
we are new,
and becoming new.

© Joel Tipple
#20/14

Creature of Hope

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You were drowning in despair,
just waiting for the end.
Then you came up for air.
A message from a friend
spelled new beginning for you.

Now you’re a new creature,
a creature of hope,
a child of Jesus,
giving out warm
as the world grows colder.
You can’t contain it.
Why would you want to?
And so, you’re growing bolder.

This is victory,
now you can see
beyond you.
Your eyes open wide,
seeing possibilities
you never saw before.
God is alive in you.

Feed the flame, feed the flame.
Call out His name,
creature of hope.
Feed the flame, feed the flame.
Call out the name of Jesus,
creature of hope.

Let the world know
for them the stone was rolled,
creatures of hope.
For those who were healed,
to those the truth revealed
share the message
of death, resurrection, and new life…
Creatures of hope, creatures of hope.

© Joel Tipple
#19/14

Center Stage

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“Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. God this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:5-11

In our time there seems to be an epidemic of actors jostling for their spot on center stage. There are so many ways to promote oneself, be it Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or even blogs like this. While each of these have their place, they contribute to a message that no matter what your personal talents or leanings may be, in order to be successful in life you must promote yourself without ceasing. Widen your platform. Make some noise. The message society seems to be pushing has led to a widening sense of entitlement. “We” is often sacrificed at the altar of “me.” As in most things a sense of balance is called for. Promote yourself and your work? Yes, but even more, we are called to be servants, as Jesus was.

There are invisible
ties of love
linking those
who give all
for the sake of others,
who find
fulfillment
in a supporting role.
Never lonely
when they find themselves
standing at center stage,
gently pushed there
by those they pushed,
enveloped by gratitude’s glow.

© Joel Tipple
#18/14

Ode to Wormwood (Inspired by The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis)

Your job is not difficult,
junior worker for the dark.
Your task in the main
is to hinder your subject’s work
for the enemy.
It’s no secret
the war is lost
but we have many battles
which we may yet win,
so do your best for the company.

You’ve reported
he is passionate.
Well, that is fine,
passions can be redirected.
His enthusiasm for
memorizing scripture,
sharing his faith,
or uplifting others of the opposition
can be channeled toward innocuous pursuits
the moment they are detected.

You say he persists in meeting with his ilk,
sometimes more than twice a week.
This simply indicates you’re lazy.
How hard is it to suggest alternatives to him?
There are dozens of human sports being played on Sunday.
You can encourage him to stay up too late on Saturday.
If you fail to keep him from raining on your weekend,
talk him into believing that’s holiness enough for one week,
or your scorecard may be grim.

Finally, beginning agent,
among your allies,
in addition to the usual vices
are those modern conveniences
such as the internet.
Oh sure, it’s a portal to all
sorts of invaluable sin,
but the not so obvious boon to our business
is its ability to keep him harmlessly busy.
Keep those hours high,
and you may make senior grade demon yet.

© Joel Tipple
#17/14

Junk Drawers for Jesus

If all God did was clean
then leave us
like a sanitary room
if all we became as followers
was clutter-less
and germ-free too…

If all we became was
silent
obedient
never questioning?
static statues
what good would that do?

Like the junk drawers we all have
full of we don’t know what to do
disorganized and hidden
from view
mystery boxes
we have been bought with a great price
to be renewed.

Do we dare believe
in redemption?
Can God through even us
bring light to the world?
So different
yet so the same
struggling against our sinful will.

As new creatures
redeemed and repurposed
God sorts through all we have and are
when all we felt was lost.
As this miracle transforms us
each the same and yet unique
our rough edges and hidden aspects
are made new by the King.

© Joel Tipple
#16/14

You are Not Enough

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you are not enough
you are not all you need
designed by God, we are meant to be
dependent upon Him
part of community

on belay, with God as our anchor
to arrest our fall
we invite our peril
when we separate
independent of all

we are conquered
when divided
we may withdraw on a whim
but Jesus calls us back and back
home to be with Him

© Joel Tipple
#15/14

No Prisoners

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“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” Luke 4:18-19 ESV

Love, as God’s gift to us,
is not merely decoration,
and not in league with money,
cares nothing for our station.

Love whispers confidently.
It has no need to be loud.
It radiates confidence
without the bluster of the proud.

When it enters a room
it becomes the natural center.
It is attractive without insisting,
force not being its nature.

Love is always active,
dispersing darkness with its light.
It’s the warmth of a healing fire
when we’re surrounded by the night.

Love mostly eludes definition
giving without being owned.
The food of all good growing,
the harvest of all good grown.

But love defined itself best
as the Son of God on Calvary’s tree,
when instead of taking prisoners
love set the captives free.

© Joel Tipple
#13/14

Net Worth?

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What part does social media play in your life?
Hey there, look at me!
In this world likes are the coin of the realm,
but is that any way to be?

What’s real? Do you have to remind yourself?
What’s real to you? Actual relationships, or your 2,053 “friends?”
What’s real? Is life really about your digital platform?
Don’t lose track of what’s genuine and what’s pretend.
What’s real?

Are your words on the net a means or an end?
Do you consider what it means to be a friend?
Are you content with superficial content?
It’s all worth considering before you hit send.

© Joel Tipple
#12/14

Person in the Pew

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Dear person in the pew in front of me,
I’ve got a problem with my vision,
not because you’re six-foot-three.
It’s not anything about you, person in the pew,
it’s what’s inside of me. Don’t move.

I need to be
centered in God,
right in line.
Fed by love that’s grown on the vine.
Feeding other believers as they feed me
and seeing what God sees.
I’ve got to move.

I can’t sit around and wait until I’m more spiritual,
or whatever it is that I think I’m not.
Newton’s first law of motion’s
conflict with my emotions
has to stop.
It’s gotta stop.

Centered in God,
right in line.
Fed by love that’s grown on the vine.
Feeding other believers as they feed me
and starting to see what God sees.
I have to move.

That habit of independence,
that lie I believed,
that a lone ranger Christian
is just as or more free
restricted my use in the body of Christ
and hobbled what God could do with me.
Then I moved.

Centered in God,
right in line.
Fed by love that’s grown on the vine.
Feeding other believers as they feed me
and starting to see what God sees.
On the move.

Meeting face to face in a small group
and not treating church like entertainment I subscribe to.
Instead of holding up point scores for sermons every Sunday,
I’m now a functioning part of the body.
Hey brother in the front pew,
turn around.
I’m glad to know you.

© Joel Tipple
#11/14