Make disciples by...

Go (into all the world)… make disciples (of all the nations, not just  the people of God)… (teaching them to obey every bit of what the Christ of God has commanded us to do, baptizing them into the very nature of God), & knowing (in practice) that I am with you in it.*

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Oh help us God, please by your spirit here

to hear (as Jesus said we'd need to do)

your word to us of processes that clear-

ly grow your life on Earth to reflect you,

and your creative love that will not leave

your children "from above" to just be “dead”,

unconscious of your care & hope to cleave

through dire times to all that you have said...

about a time when we could walk again

along with you, in evenings and nights,

& days of work, you'd still be like a hen

for all your chicks to run to in their frights...

and terrors that can overtake at times

of ignorance, and darkness to our eyes,

when we can’t see, yet can imagine lines

or outlines of a bougie man who sighs.

We trust your spirit to give us not just

the words to say to do the job he gave

us to do here on Earth, to feed from bust

as midwife then advises to behave

in training and in helping babes to thrive,

by backing up their parents in their job,

and sometimes just to help them to survive

by feeding milk, or help their spoonfulls lob

into their mouths, or clean their hygiene up,

or help them to join play-groups that are on.

And sometimes just the friendship that erupts

as we all mind the business of God’s Son.

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 *  ‘Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: “God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.”’ (Matt 28:18-20)

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An old new story

An old new story

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I heard an old, old story; how a saviour came from glory,

he shed his blood on Calvary to save a wretch like me.

I heard about his groaning, & his precious blood’s  atoning,

& I repented of my sin°, and won the victory!

I heard an old, old narr-a-tive how a small child come from God to give..

and as he grew (& showed us) UP, he put his hands out too,

(not to collect loose coins, but) to give a hand to those who’d live.

He drew my loyalty right out, and gave me some - to do!

Oh victory in Jesus, my saviour for ever.

He sought me, & bought me with his redeeming blood!

He loved me ere I knew him, & all my love is due him.

He plunged me to the victory beneath the cleansing flood.

I heard an old, old story ‘bout a victor come to glory:

he gave his life, to God, and then to all humanity!

I heard about his waking, & the peaceful rest, he taking

from God’s own hand, you understand, he could pass on to me!

I heard about his healing, of his cleansing power revealing,

how he made the lame to walk again, and he caused the blind to see,

And then I cried: “Dear Jesus, come & heal my broken spirit.”

and somehow Jesus came and brought to me the victory.

Oh victory in Jesus, my saviour for ever.

He sought me, & bought me with his redeeming blood!

He loved me ere I knew him, & all my love is due him.

He plunged me to the victory beneath the cleansing flood.

I heard a brand new story ‘bout a victory with glory

from above, the pow'r of love brings a new world into view.

He got his “crown” and “royal robe”, his “stallion colt” (a donkey) rode..

he “cleaned his house up”, and then strode

his “throne” to go up to..

And like a mother giving birth, it’s only after-ward there’s mirth;

and he wood-labour-er, builder, would build a new  “tree-home”+.

A tree of life that conquers death, full-fills ol’ life with ev’ry breath,

and brings the victory as saith God’s prophets as they’d roam*.

Oh victory in Jesus, my saviour for ever.

He sought me, & bought me with his redeeming blood!

He loved me ere I knew him, & all my love is due him.

He plunged me to the victory beneath the cleansing flood.

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Bibliography & Footnotes

• I have said this to you so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution, but take courage: I have conquered the world!” (‭John 16:33‬)

• Little children, you are from God and have conquered them, for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. (‭1 John 4:4 NRSVUE‬)

• For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, 4for whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith. 5Who is it who conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? (1 John 5:3-5 NRSVUE‬)

• Faithful (Heb ch 10:32-end of ch 11) “My soul has no pleasure in him if he shrinks back.., but in your case we are hopeful of better things… like …”

• “To the victorious I will give…” (numerous time with in The Apocalypse)

~ "story" as part of an announcement/ story duo, as  love & faithfulness go together..  this gospel  announcement of a Ruler’s news to all the nations (that is firstly told, by being announced and then to those brought in it is storied so as to be "seen" in the mind's eye, and lived before them in the life of the announcers, before finally the announcement is fulfilled e.g. “He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.” (‭Psalms 98:3 NIVUK‬)

° “repented of my sin” is a technical term made up of two parts: the verb “repent” which means “overturn” or “go back on” & is often used of unlikely subjects [God, and the capital city (Ninevah) of the completely heathen nation of Assyria]; and “sin” which means simply a “missing of the most desirable outcome” together they have been used in a subcultural context that has often gained a set of nuances that (to those not properly studied or recalling their studies) communicates a very different thing (sometimes at odds with, & occasionally contrary to its intended meaning in its context of origin) akin to “feels bad about having done bad things, and is likely to be weighed down by them”, not quite “victorious over weak and stifling mindsets”. To my present understanding It might better be understood as “give up all my short-sighted agendas”, and it is itself commonly the first part of a duo, the second part of which is something about being “fauthful to God’s rule by his chosen method(s)”, which I might presently express as “give your allegiance to God, and his “unlikely” methods of ruling”.

+  A tree-house, a garden based high-up house, a floating city, the designer/ architect of which is God, the builder of which is the one who said “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise up a new one”, & “I will build my .. eklesia” which his apostles (Ambassadors) equated with a temple/ house/ home built of “living stones”, both individually & corporately (his/ our bodies, & his/ our body).

*  Abel (herding sheep, so not so static as Cain with his gardens); Abraham (the “wandering Aramean”); Amos, a tender of sycamore figs from another nation; Auld men & women of God (sometimes quite incapacitated, kept past their prime, or just speaking from a position of weakness, their only authority being reality and the fitment of their words to it) speaking (in)to another era/ age (e.g. Isaac re. his sons & grandsons; Jacob re. his sons & their offspring; Samuel re Saul & David coming into their reigns; Ahijah (1 Kings 14:1-18 NIVUK‬); Deborah; Huldah)

You Tube link to “Victory in Jesus”, Written by Eugene Monroe Bartlett

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Easter Sun day

Easter Sun Day / Way…

(spoken, recorded version 2, version 3)

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The modeled trust and love of Good Friday,

was vindicated, shown to be "spot on",

when not just one good person, but a spray

of folk who had known love, saw him quite strong,

not mangled and emaciated, and 

bedraggled, close to death himself, from loss,

with more than normal ways to move, at hand -

from one they saw, last week, die on a cross.

Still confident and sure of himself, yet

aware of 

• all their insecurities,

• their needs to learn (and then to not forget),

• their fears, 

• that could lock-up, & almost seize,

• or goad them to determined dogg-ed things

as blood avengers have sometimes been known 

to do unto those who they saw (in rings) 

as perpetrating an'mals round a bone.

• their needs for food, and space, and journey too,

to let them process things, and start off fresh,

• & finally a job, good work to do

to start a brand new culture off, enmeshed

with this ol' world, but starting a new day

of loyal love, embodying on Earth,

& in the heavens. 

We'd all like to say, 

as messengers of his cartell; "New birth",

or maybe "New creation" has arrived!

He's speaking it at first through this message

he's given us to spread (while we survive),

with his own spirit's help, his wind's  "breath" age:

He is the one who started off the end

of all the stories good, that ever were.

He said the time is come, it's up, my friend;

fulfilled, enacted, to this pointy blurr.

The danger, problem, complicating thing,

the threat to goodness ever winning out,

is soon to be revealed, and then its sting

will do its worst, and that will be allowed.

The very time when everything  seems lost,

when God himself seems absent from the scene,

will be when he is closest; swords are crossed

or maybe worlds in tandem for a season.

And if we want his leadership, well  now

is just the time to wake up to yourself,

and let the spirit in this man somehow

join in your life, and give you his good health,

in time, with tasks the doctor gives to do.

For that's the thing, he wants us to join in,

& let this new creation start in you

(& me, it's us) together. We're his bling!

So, firstly all agendas that you had

(for moving things ahead, or fixing up) -

Let go of them! Look up. He's your new Dad!

And trust him with your life. Drink from his cup!

His rising up, from death, & from this Earth

to heaven, to be made the human one

in charge of ev'rything that has real worth

is proof that he himself's our Way, our Sun!

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LOVE..

 ..your  work !

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Well, oh my GOD, I love what you have done,

& how you've done it too. You've done it well!

For you to notice then, in turn your son

& how well he expressed and did your will…

is yet more reason for me to want to

become like you, who notices the man-

ner in which things are done, and also who

is right to do them, ev'ry way they can.

I love your multi-valent metaphors,

with all your Dad-jokes, poetry of sorts,

and riddles, games, of course you're not a bore,

since you're creative-ity well affords

attention to de-tails as well as heads

(and tales come in, and get a place as well).

I love your choice of head who once was dead,

so he can head up this journey from hell-

-ish living, to the heavenly kind that

we humans were conceived of (in your love),

to do, embody on Earth, that seems flat,

but isn't, as who's informed from above

to function as a citizen of Heav-

-en (heav-y concepts here must be worked out)

to lighten up the mixture (as does leav-

-en in a batch of dough). We caught that shout!

Whereby he shouted food and drink around.

And shouted out a pithy message too,

as herald of the Emperor, who found

some rulers whom he'd like to rule here through.

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