wake up, wake up oh my soul!

the radio of the world plays a little tune ---
submerging the airwaves
saturating the hearts of mankind.
over and over the melodies form the message,
"peace, peace. safety, safety..."
it's a lullaby... tinkering and waltzing straight into the
souls of men.
like sirens the song demands a response to all the hearers.
"sleep away the day," they say, "in the luxurious rooms...
in the comfortable homes of leisure and lethargy."

men and women everywhere, drunken by the theme of
the temporal.
this is all we have. this is what it's all about. the here and now.
the now and here.
the "do, ray, me" of humanity carving out a home in this world
the song comes riding in on the darkness that blinds the eyes of men

the banner flying high, swaying to the winds of deception, reads
"we have lost sight of the age to come."

today is the day to rest, they say.
instant gratification.
godless banquets fulfilling their hunger.
comfort! comfort! comfort is what they reach for.

... and the song continues on.



but there are the few.
the odd.
the ones raging against the flood of apathy.
making war on passivity.
the marked. the friends of God caught up in the mourning for the bridegroom.
the heirs of the promise - voluntary embracing continuous hunger.

those who have tuned into the hidden song of the unseen.
trumpeting from the river of Fire within -
backed by the choruses of the angels
composed by the Coming King.

these are the ones LIVING IN THE TENSION
found cloaked in urgency.

you can find them caught in the in-between...
these ones never sleep.
nor do they fall into slumber.

they leave no room for comfort.
they have joined with the Son of Man, having no place to lay their heads.
they have thrown to the fire temporal comfort which so quickly distracts
for they LIVE FROM THE INSIDE. MARCH TOWARDS THE INVISIBLE.

the only comfort to be had for this company of Lovers is
the Eternal Comforter dwelling within...
which offers the greatest consolation of the PROMISE.
for they are children of Abraham. waiting for the inheritance which
will never fade.

they are looked upon by the peoples living in their self-made kingdoms
built with paper and wood.
they are scoffed at by the "kings" of this age - who are blinded by the worth of true gold.
that which will stand on the Day of Reckoning.

for these ones are strangers.
sojourners. pilgrims.
if you listen you can hear them roaring the song of heaven,
"This is not our home! We are of another world! And we will not rest
until we reach this place!"

they exist, at the present, between two ages.
they look around and see all that is so quickly fading,
and they peer ahead to the heavenly country -
a land governed by Perfection
filled with Endless Love.

they grieve. they groan. they refuse to settle until
all the wrong things are made right.
and the King returns to His land.
and His voice can be heard by every ear
and He rules from a throne seated in Jerusalem
and His leadership of all things begins.


Only then will they lay down to peace
only then will they sleep to the sounds of safety.

this is a people sick with love -
and the culmination of their desperation results in the song
that raises to heaven,
"The Spirit and the Bride say COME."



those that ache and groan for His kingdom to come on earth
have conformed to the culture of eternity and there will be at home.

they watch.
they pray.
while all are found resting in their beds... sleeping the day away,
they can be found sitting at the window peering into the sky:
oil stored up for their lamps to last the night...

and as they look beyond the window -
and as they set their hearts on things above...
their hearts cry,

"We were made for God.
and when Love Himself comes to earth -
we will be in agreement, full agreement,
with His love and all it requires.
We will hate wickedness as He does.
and we will be found ready.
we will be found pure.
we will be found spotless.
we will be found longing -
and on that day -
our thirst will be satisfied.
and we will be travelers who have finally found their home."




they are the Awake found waiting...

waiting...

waiting...


"....we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body...
but if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance." - Romans 8:23-25