Steeple - Deborah Steinmair

I have this poem in a poetry collection by Deborah Steinmair and it speaks to me every time.

STEEPLE

Your church is as old as time

Lonely as the centuries

It lifts my soul to the sky

I lower my eyes

Your church is convenient

Prayer is no longer needed

Mother Mary prays to sweet Jesus for you

And the priest blesses your bread and meat

So you don't even need to say grace at the table

Your church is very fair

You don't even need to go there

All they ask is a monthly down payment on eternal salvation

Your church is high and pretty

And visible on the outside where it counts

Where people can see

The Bible says the real thing is inside

The real thing is hidden in the heart

Where the God who is no longer dead alone sees

The real thing is loving Jesus

Not the picture of a suffering saviour

But close like the breath of a friend

The real thing is a soft heart in your breast

The real thing knows no form or status

No ritual or ancient elegance

The real thing sat down, ate and drank wine

At the table of thieves and freaks and the poor

The real thing is Jesus alive

They would not recognise Him at the church door

Your mountain

We all have mountains in our lives...and yet Jesus said:

Mark 11:22-24
Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God.
I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen.
But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart.
I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours.

Today I read about the awesome anger and/or Presence of the Lord.
In His presence even a mountain can melt like candle wax.
Maybe even...your mountain.

Amos 9:5
The Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
touches the land and it melts,

Micah 1:4
The mountains melt beneath his feet
and flow into the valleys like wax in a fire,
like water pouring down a hill.

Isaiah 64:1-2
Oh, that you would burst from the heavens and come down!
How the mountains would quake in your presence!
As fire causes wood to burn and water to boil,
your coming would make the nations tremble.
Then your enemies would learn the reason for your fame!

Psalm 97:2-5
Dark clouds surround him.
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
Fire spreads ahead of him and burns up all his foes.
His lightning flashes out across the world.
The earth sees and trembles.
The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth.

Nahum 1:5-6
In his presence the mountains quake,
and the hills melt away;
the earth trembles,
and its people are destroyed.
Who can stand before his fierce anger?
Who can survive his burning fury?
His rage blazes forth like fire,
and the mountains crumble to dust in his presence.

*New Living Translation (NLT)