Awed Awareness

Today's post Inspired in part by And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the Lord being merciful unto him...Luke 19:16 Lest sluggishly we loiterLest apathy besotLest we grow numb and thus become Lest we seek sorry solaceLest terribly we fail to seeThe state that we are in Lest resolution floundersLest influence cajolesThe Still Small VoiceThat affects deathless souls Lest we no longer shudderAt evil’s evilnessOr recognize the tempter’s liesDisguised as ‘happiness’ Lord, wake in us awarenessOf Sodom’s fate, to fleeLest, like Lot’s wife we mourn that lifeAnd look back longingly Seize us with holy horrorOf sin’s sad judgment dayLord, chasten us and hasten usTo repent and obey Lest the nonsense of notionsAnd opinions, absurdWith worldly vice, lulls us with ‘nice’Lord, keep us in Your word Lord, like Lot when he lingeredBe merciful, I prayLet your command, like a firm handSeize us from Sodom’s sway Lord, where there is a carcassThe vultures congregateLord, wake in us awed awareness Before it is too late © Janet Martin Luke 17:20-37 The Coming of the Kingdom() When asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God will not come with observable signs. Nor will people say, ‘Look, here it is,’ or ‘There it is.’ For you see, the kingdom of God is in your midst.” Then He said to the disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. People will tell you, ‘Look, there He is!’ or ‘Look, here He is!’ Do not go out or chase after them. For just as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other, so will be the Son of Man in His day. But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man: People were eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. It was the same in the days of Lot: People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But on the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just like that on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, let no one on the housetop come down to retrieve his possessions. Likewise, let no one in the field return for anything he has left behind. Remember Lot’s wife! Whoever tries to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it. I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed: One will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding grain together: One will be taken and the other left.” “Where, Lord?” they asked. Jesus answered, “Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.”