my saviour

March 26, 2017 by Rick Stassi you

Mary Cassatt

i think about childlike things
carefree optimism for what life brings

i wish i really believed those thoughts
instead of falling freely to worldy plots

it takes abandon to break this mold
and carry on in truth so bold

temporal life is right on track
to bring all to dust in loving lack

try as I may i shall not cede
to chaff of wheat and bitter mead

lo this travail in temporal way
shall ever succeed in moral decay

but hearken i shall to sweetened light
as Jesus my Saviour is in my sight

times with you

March 11, 2017 by Rick Stassi you

Vincent Van Gogh

The year settling upon forlorn eyes
the aged furrows in weathered brow
O tarnished heart the wind thus spies
gathering toil now.

A smile can quench sheltered loss
a lasting breeze in summer heat
Or a velvet shimmer in autumn moss
Pray lovely thoughts shall meet.

Lying about in passing days
hand in mine reclusive souls
and harried urge to abate old ways
are met in empathetic lulls

Vision comes in deeper thought
or alights on morning dew
and grace covers the time we’ve wrought
and sheds joy upon times with you.

bluer skies

March 9, 2017 by Rick Stassi you

Manet

Panning west with
eyes of rust
seeking closure in
crimson trust
rest awaits in
hallowed clouds
as God Himself
harvests fields plowed
the west is where
life must end
and rotation controls
all light to send
and when at last
I close my eyes
God awakens me
in bluer skies.

advocation in love

March 4, 2017 by Rick Stassi you

Renoir

Does a Christian need to advocate homosexuality? Or, does he love, without condition, all people without regard to their personal afflictions, tendencies, or disposition? I yearn to reconcile this dilema in my path to heaven. Personal and cultural centric rationale and reason does not allow escape from diligent seeking answers through God. Is Christianity and homosexuality mutually exclusive? How can we love without appearing judgmental or exclusive? Professing a sincere acceptance, love, and tolerance of all people doesn’t seem so sincere when adhering to the absolute truth of Scripture. The Bible defines sin and the inheritance of heaven. It defines God’s children while calling the very same to love and not judge. There is pain in division but empathy and compassion bridge divisive gaps. I write this as a continuing search for personal and spiritual reconciliation.

Those who claim we all are God’s children are mistaken unless they are speaking of believers. All man is of God, but man is fallen. By grace we choose the way to atonement by believing Jesus is the Son of God and our Savior. He is God.
By definition:

“For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” Gal 3:26.

Justifying homosexuality by declaring all people as children of God is a theological debate. It is not mine to judge or even to understand, reconcile, or accept anything of the world. I must, however, love. For without love, I am not adhering to the words of Jesus. The Bible outlines sin. However, the interpretation of Scripture can lead or it can mislead. It is in God’s word along with the Spirit’s leading, that Scripture will awaken our understanding. It is in a continual deeper reverence for God where our wisdom grows. Sin and Christ-centered belief are mutually exclusive and even those who are afflicted with any Biblically outlined sin, have every right to be unconditionally loved because of God’s grace.

It is forthright to seek God first, follow Jesus, listen to the Spirit who is within.

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness;” Matt 6:33.

Seeking God’s nature is first – human nature, whether cultural, societal, personal, or behavioral, are second.

Therefore, judge not another for any reason and avoid the constructs of a Postmodern culture which will misconstrue, contort, and justify accepted absolutes to fit cultural direction. There is God, His grace through Jesus Christ, and the will to seek Him. In this very action, we are promised to be children of God and to enjoy spiritual guidance through the Spirit, and indeed have an advocate to God through Jesus.