Lord,
I hear children’s voices
piercing the morning silence
with shouts of glee.

Carefree and eager
they give no thought
to my troubles.

They need not
their father’s there.

And am I,
Your child,
less secure?

Then I too
will seize this day
with joyful abandon
flat out
carefree
safe in You,
Dad

O Lord,
what beauty, this snow
overnight transforming
ugly deadness
to sparkling brilliance
pure and clean

It’s like your grace
righteousness covering me
in a moment
declaring ugly deadness
pure as Jesus.

But the snow’s melting
too good to be true
deadness
there all the time
now emerges
worse than before
ugly mud.

My soul shivers
is your grace, too
only illusion
appearance of purity
inevitably melting
showing once more
uglier than before
wretched
sinful
mud?

This muddy morning
I rejoice
for under the snowy blanket
of Jesus’ righteousness
your Spirit strives
refining
renewing from inside out
transforming mud to gold
so even if this snow could melt
it would only reveal
a new creation
clean to the core
completed handiwork
of pervasive grace!  - Bert Hitchcock

Thanksgiving 1996
A Psalm For the Beginning of Worship

Lord, calm my babbling heart
lest your still small voice
be missed beneath the din of the trivial.

Lord fill my empty soul
lest the hunger within draw me away
to feed on the tainted delicacies of the world.

Lord, bridle my raging flesh
lest evil snare me by my own desires
and drag me away from you.

Lord awaken my slumbering spirit
lest I miss this day of your great triumph
in favor of the hollowness of comfort.

Lord instruct my ignorant thinking
lest I boast in the wisdom of this world
while suppressing the truth that begins with the fear of the LORD.

Cherry Cox

As I bit into my favorite apple the other day, it struck me that not long ago, I had never even heard of a Cherry Cox apple. I don’t recall ever seeing them in the store (though I don’t do the shopping). I’m quite sure I never ate one as a kid. But, quite by chance, when collecting scionwood to graft my apple trees – as many varieties as possible – I picked up one piece of Cherry Cox. Only later did I learn this to be a very old variety which is extremely popular in parts of Europe. Little did I know at the beginning, how much better that apple would be than all the rest. I think there’s a lesson for our faith here: What we have grown up believing is as common and certain to us as the apples we eat. So, as we assume we know what apples taste like, we assume we understand the Christian Faith – we may never give it another thought. But in reality, there are truths of the Faith, which we have never even tasted! Some of them have been well-known and loved for centuries in other parts of the church; they are just foreign to us. So, before you just dismiss some teaching because it’s not what you grew up thinking, remember the Cherry Cox!

Shoe-Leather

Trying to walk on roads covered with black-ice, I was reminded how important it is to have the proper footwear. Every step made me vulnerable to falling; every passing car called into question my ability to get out of the way. No wonder the Lord spoke His truth to us in terms of what’s on our feet: He told Moses, and later Joshua, to take off their shoes as they stood in His presence, making them humble and vulnerable before Him. But later, He told us to have our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel as we walk out into the world - sure-footed, ready to advance and to evade the attacks of the evil one.

The Lord’s instruction reflects how we live every day: In the warmth and safety of our homes, we kick off our shoes and shuffle about sock-footed. But before we go out the door, we put on dress shoes, running shoes, barn boots, athletic cleats, or steel-toes work boots – we go prepared for whatever hostile world our tender feet will encounter. So today, we gather before the Lord, as tender and vulnerable as a barefoot child. (Which, by the way, is why we need to be so careful in our dealing with one other: we are also vulnerable to one another, as we stand barefoot before the Lord.) But when we leave this place, God calls us to walk out into the world prepared for temptations’ slippery slopes and for the world’s jaded words and ideas which will cut our faith to ribbons – prepared by making his truth of the gospel, the shoe leather of our lives.

Surgery

These days we take surgery for granted. No matter what surgery we may be facing, it's easy to find someone who had that procedure and is pleased with the results. But if we ever really think about what surgeons do to us in these so-called "procedures", it's rather breath-taking. They cut, saw, remove pieces, bolt things together and finish by sewing or stapling us back together. It all sounds rather frightening! But we readily endure it, for the great benefits that are promised to follow.

So why is it that we resist the Lord, the Great Physician, when He tells us of His plans to change and renew us? Instead of cooperating, we often don't want him to touch any thing related to our precious self. We don't want to endure any pain, inconvenience, or even change of ways. The thought of a really different kind of life frightens us. So, we politely tell the Lord, "No thanks, I'll stay like I am." Or worse yet, we just ignore Him altogether.

Oh, if only we could see what He has in mind for us – the tremendous changes He would work in us – we would gladly endure anything to make it happen. But we can't see in advance. We just have to trust Him when He says, "I know the plans I have for you.... plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Tsunami

A few months ago, Toyota announced the name of its new sports car: the “Tsunami”. They said it would be, “the new wave of bold style.” What a catchy slogan. Then came December 26, 2004, and a real tsunami. In a few minutes the world learned there is nothing fun or attractive about a tsunami. Its awesome, unyielding power demands respect, even fear. Needless to say, Toyota renamed its new car.

But it makes one wonder if we don’t do the same thing with God. We throw in some god-talk when it will make us sound more sincere, or use his name as an expletive, when it will make us sound tough. We sprinkle him in lightly to season special occasions, or even invoke his name to market some of our personal projects. Like Toyota’s use of “tsunami” we assume a mention of the LORD might add a little pizzaz to life.

But God is not willing to be reduced to a catchy slogan. He refuses to be tamed and used to serve our purposes. “Should you not fear me?” declares the Lord. “Should you not tremble in my presence?”

A Psalm
When Spent From Preaching