Preying for Peace

Preying for Peace


In my quest to reach that state of peace where I no longer run into my troubles,
I seek to go someplace where I am not present.
That has yet to happen because everywhere I go, there I am.
How then shall I find peace if it only exists where I am not?

Behold, the Lamb

Why, I asked Him, did You decide to be born?
Did You not know how horrible it would all be?

It had to be this way, He said, to make better for you the days ahead.
My love for you is so great, so much so that I went in your place.

But, I said, You did hurt much, didn't You?
For You walked among hypocrites and haters, whoremongers and scorners.
Still, You say You loved them.

You let them say mean things about You,
only to discover that none were true.
You let them spit in Your face and tear the hairs off Your chin.
They beat You with clubs as You hung on that cross.

Because, He reminded me, I had to display My love.

Nonetheless, my Lord, it was merciless of them.
Why would You let them hurt You so?

Dear friend, why do you ask of Me that which you already know?

You let them mock You. You let them cuss.
But oddly still they flocked You, as though it were a must.

You wiped the tears from their faces and drove all evil from their places.
You took away their hurts and fed them much.
And You slept on whatever Your head might touch.
For not even was there a bed to call Your own.

A Prince become Pauper you made of Yourself,
He which gave to the poor and invited along whomever else.
You let a traitor sit at Your table to sup, and still You called him "friend".
Tell me, Lord, what’s up?

I have to display My love for you.
Nothing else will erase the sins you do.

And then I sobbed as they hammered nails into Your palms.

I saw your tears.

And I plugged my ears against your cries.
Oh, I wished it were me who could’ve died.

I saw your tears.

Then why didn’t You stop them? You had the power.

I had to allow it, for it was My Hour.

But why? Was there no other way?

There was no other way. None other still to this day.

But it hurt to watch the life drip away from You as it seeped into the earth below.

My friend, I've already told you that it was necessary that I go.
I died so that you might live. I went to hell . . .

You went where? I said in awe. How horrible.

Horrible for Me but victorious for you.
For on that cross were placed upon Me all your disease, sins and iniquities.
And when I left this earth and My head was hung,
I took evil back to where it belonged.
For I Am the Final Sacrifice.

But, I said to Him, You're with me now. How is that possible, Dear One?

Because I arose on that Great Day.

Indeed, it is true all that You say.

Did you really think it possible for the God you know
to be overcome by His ruthless foe?

Capital M‑possible, I said to Him.

Then take My hand, He said to me, and walk with Me for eternity.
I'll never leave you alone, you know, as long as you do not let go.

And so I walk with Him, hand in Hand,
the nail-carved punctures being a constant reminder to my fingers.
Lest I forget His love for me,

Lest I forget . . .

Can I Hate Kobe Bryant and Still Go To Heaven?

I absolutely love the game of basketball. For me, the playoffs is the best time of the season. But as much as I love the sport, I cannot watch any game where the Lakers are involved because it’s hard to maintain my emotions. Their style of play borders on cheating, especially during this time of year. Simply put, the Lakers play dirty whenever they feel threatened and cannot rely on talent alone; more specifically, Kobe Bryant. They resort to cheap tactics that would not only injure a major opposing player, but provoke the opposing team into defending their teammate(s), thereby, more than likely, resulting in suspensions of major players.

When I learned that the Rockets, whom I love, were going to play the Lakers in the second round, I didn’t even bother to watch because I didn’t want to see any of the Rockets get unjustifiably hurt by a Laker. Imagine how ecstatic I was to learn the next day that the Rockets had won. Then immediately, I knew that in the second game, it meant that either Kobe or Lamar Odom was going to attempt to “hurt” someone on the Rockets. Surely enough, it was Derrick Fisher knocking out Luis Scola, and Kobe throwing an elbow at Ron Artest’s throat.

This is typical Lakers behavior, instigating and provoking fights to trigger ejections of major opposing players in order to secure a win. Notice, however, how careful the Lakers are about keeping their own primary players out of these incidents, thereby retaining their key players. This tactic has worked for them over the years. Do the research. It happens far too often to be coincidental anymore.

Although Kobe Bryant makes my skin crawl just by his very nature, I don’t really hate him. I just hate that he resorts to cheap shots, and being the leader of the Lakers, he influences them to do the same. He’s super-talented, so why does he feel a need to play dirty when he’s loosing?

If I could get a message to Kobe and other dirty players on the Lakers, (not to mention on the Spurs), I’d tell them to rely on your game only and leave the filth for the streets.