Pass Over Me (A Poem)

Pass over me, the wretchedness of me, the stinch of death that is yet in me
My door's stain with a crimson red remembrance is slowly fading though still covered
Has my mind forgotten my purification, the laver which graced me with a tender flow
No angels stir in the physical bath can bring purity
only when bethesdas source is the living water of the Savior's touch

Pass over me, the neglegence of me, the pestilence that is me
The desire for fruit exists in theory, the seeds have been planted, cultivated, watered
My eyes however raise and see my plowing, my plowing in Sodom, my watering in Gomorrah
Have I gone this far for Yah to cause me to die
Shall I not return to Egypt where the shakels were sore yet mine?

Pass over me, the white washed tomb, the desire for deaths heart that still looms
Seeking the pen and paper of those in a grave
finding life in the ink of a diatrade that's man made
Reinventing the Gospels as my spell, the good news I'm out of hell
this must mean what I am is special
He must have especially needed me, my will and power,
now that He has me His kingdom will do well

Oh that travesty of my hell, pass over this pride that leaks from my root
that rests beneath the threatening axe
The poet had it right and I admit, I walk through the den of the wicked and I still blend in
I know my words are not worthy of the lips of another mans quoting
If they are dripping with gall and vinegar of my desire to be noticed

Pass over this foolishness in me, this quarrelsome tongue
whose sword it'd rather unsheath
This youthful lust of a knight who wars in the darkness of night,
this battle I fight is a war of sin
I care not for I love not, though pursued by His love first, lust within is still birthed
Raising my child of intellectual gluttony,
feeding the sword that speaks to glory in often me

Pass over me, oh Angel of light that redeems what's shed in the shine
of Your all consuming eyes
Seeing my woeful deeds and hearing my pleas for pardon from the divine,
may fruit of faith still be growing authored by the lifegiving vine
A faith exemplified by my fathers bearing witness to a redemptive testament
of a gracious and binding blood covenant
May the Passover Lamb pass over my deeds here exposed in prose
grant me redemption based upon His scandalous hesed love

The Lamb's Kingdom of the Not Yet

On the 10th day of Nisan, the Sunday before our Messiah's death, Christ entered Jerusalem through the East gate from Bethany. He was seated humbly on a donkey, not a white horse adorned with glory but a King adorned with humility. This is presented in the gospels normally under the heading of the "triumphal entry" for throughout Church history this is widely accepted as the moment where Christ offered Himself as the King prophesied in the Law, Psalms and Prophets. This king that the government would rest on His shoulders and would set the captives free. They were looking for a military warrior with a sword to release them from the oppression they had been enduring for centuries, which is now the oppression under the hand of the Romans. The disciples followed their Rabbi's instructions in finding the colt that he prophesied would be tied up, and in respect they placed their cloaks on the unridden colt and placed their Rabbi on it and led him towards Jerusalem. The Jews residing in the city recognized the gesture that was occuring and welcomed him as though He were a conquerer or prince by placing their cloaks on the dirt road and welcoming him with palm branches as a sign of royal triumphal entry of a prince or king after a war while reciting a section of the Hallel in Psalm 118, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" Save us, Son of David, Save us! That was the cry of the people, however this request of saving was a seeking of a political savior to save them from their circumstances of oppresion, and not a spiritual Savior. This unfortunately is the normal request of humanity, a saving from circumstantial issues or a societal oppression, hardly was the request for a spiritual cleansing and saving from their wretched stone heart that their prophet Jeremiah declared was their true oppression.  This is ultimately what Christ was offering. His kingdom is not of this world.

In regards to the Passover, which is the series that I have sought to write on, this is the beginning of His fulfillment of this festival. By tradition and law, the Jewish people were to find their unblemished lamb which they would bring into their household for the 4 days prior to the Passover, for the purpose of inspection and befriending so that their would be an ultimate cost to the sacrifice. At this point in the history of the Messiah He was accepted by the people as their lamb which was to then be inspected for the next few days and befriended by many. Israel should have known the exact moment in time that the Messiah, the anointed one, would enter. In Daniel 9:25-26 it says that the coming Messiah would arrive and be rejected, this exact time could have been determined by those that knew the Law and the prophets. (Harold Hohner has done the math and history and has proven that the exact timing if studied shows the exact date that the Messiah would come, that date is the day of the triumphal entry). However, as mentioned, this Messiah is not the king Israel desired for He was not there to redeem them from the Romans, but to redeem them from the Law. Just as Israel at the beginning of their Monarchy did not want the Kingdom that Yahweh was offering but their heart rushed towards the immediate remedy of an earthly king to "be like the other nations. This King however came humbly as a Lamb yet a King; rejected as the chief cornerstone which is now the foundational stone by which our salvation was secured.

Often times we think we need a physical or societel redemption and healing, but yet our true state that is need of redemption is our stone cold souls. I just went through cancer and surgery to remove/redeem my body from a cancerous tumor, but unless that cancerous tumor of my uncircumcised heart is removed, no surgery or healing would be of eternal benefit to me. I sat a few nights ago for a few minutes watching a show on TV on world revival and their whole intent was for a momentary superficial revival through circumstance and sought to send the glory of God through the TV screen to bring forth a change in a persons external enviroment. How glory focused we are that we desire freedom from heartache, pain, and poverty rather than the raw sustanance that brings life to our malnourished and parched heart. More often than not we seek the physical while Christ is presenting the spiritual. As the apostle Paul said, because he counted all else as loss, he was able to endure all things with contentment. Only because He valued the spiritual presence of the Messiah rather than the adornment of the glory of Rome as His treasure. Your heart seeks what you truly worship. What is the object of your worship?

The Messiah has presented Himself as the King eternal, riding humbly on a donkey, hardly the procession of external royalty and prestige, for His kingship and royalty is not of this world but in His eternal abode. We are not here as His ambassador to flash our royal robes and prestige around as a symbol of our greatness and riches, but we are to clothe ourselves in humility and gentleness, presenting our Savior as King, clothed in splendor and majesty for all to see in glory. The self proclaimed kings of our generation place themselves on their own throne of stardom, but our king was placed on His throne through suffering and humility amongst His people.

I lift up my eyes, where does my help come from, my help comes from the Lord ... the maker of heaven and earth. He is my exalted King who arrived in a lowly state and ascended in a glorious array. The first fruits of what was to come for all those who are found burried in his death, and soon to be risen to His life. This is the promise we have been given through the Cross and given a hint of through the deposit of the Holy Spirit. Our lowly King humbled Himself and the Father exalted Him above all and His enemies soon as footstool under His feet. This King offers you and I His kingdom now ... though in it's glory not yet