A Hand Along the Journey: Poems for the King from One Pilgrim to Another

     In 1974, educator Erno Rubik came up with a hands-on way to teach architecture students about three dimensional spaces. Although this Hungarian professor could not have guessed it at the time, his “Magic Cube” would become one of the world’s most popular toys. Forty-nine years later, millions of Rubik’s Cubes are still sold annually (https://rubiks.com/en-US/), and I would venture to say that most of us have tried to solve the colorful block puzzle at one time or another. I would also hazard a guess that most of us have never successfully completed the challenge, though I have known some children who have tried such tactics as removing and reapplying stickers on different squares, or even taking the block apart completely in an attempt to restructure it “correctly.”      Life can be like a Rubik’s Cube, can’t it? We see hints of how to get everything lined up the way we want it to be, but sometimes, no matter how hard we work, things just don’t make se...

  Revelation 3:1-6   Reputation, honor, a name of prestige – Desirable gems that dazzle and tease; The church at Sardis laid claim to these, But inside were empty, defiled, deceased.   Oh, Savior, revive us again! Cleanse us from all hidden sin! Make us watchful and strengthened; What really counts is the Father’s opinion.   How does it happen, this internal decay? Surely the battle’s not lost in a day, But rather in tiny steps leading astray That over time make hollow words that we say.   Oh, Savior, revive us again! Cleanse us from all hidden sin! Make us watchful and strengthened; What really counts is the Father’s opinion.   Now Sardis the city had known a similar fate: Built on a mountain, impregnable, great – “We don’t need a guard!” they’d swallowed pride’s bait – But Persians surprised them with fatal checkmate.*   Oh, Savior, revive us again! Cleanse us from all hidden sin! Make us watchful and strengthened; What really counts is the Father’s ...