Ascendent Lord Almighty

Ascendent Lord almighty,
Now raptured in the sky,
We do not follow lightly,
But are prepared to die,
As witnesses turned martyrs,
To farthest ends of earth,
Your promise to our fathers,
In Christ a finished work.
Come strip away our passion,
For all these lesser things.
Our hearts and minds refashion,
In passion for our King.
Baptize us with Your Spirit,
Your holy Word impart,
Open our ears to hear it,
And sanctify our hearts.
Let us now view You rightly,
And see our sinful state,
Ascendent Lord almighty,
We on Your pleasure wait.

Pain (Luke 23:44-49)

What has the Father done,
In punishing His son?
What wrath has He imposed,
To treat Him as His foe?
To such a torture sent,
His body bruised and bent,
In naked shame displayed,
To suffocate in pain,
While dogs and vultures swarm,
To desecrate His form.
Is this the price of sin?
The Son of God condemned.
You secret-keepers see,
The cost then to redeem.
Behold your Savior’s pain,
Why shrink, then, from His name?
Will you not yet confess,
This King of Righteousness,
Before the courts of man?
Or else would you be damned?
What mercy God has shown,
Redeeming us – His foes.
The risen Christ revealed,
His horrid wounds now sealed.
We’re summoned to His throne,
He calls us all His own!

“Today in Paradise” (Luke 23:43)

Today slips through our grasp,
How many do we have?
A sense of our mortality,
Would drive us on in urgency.

We number all our days,
And wisdom comes to stay,
How soon will come our final breath?
Who knows the hour of their death?

With death the litmus test,
To hell or heaven pressed,
And in that moment transferred then,
To life, or torture for their sin.

And the most gruesome death,
Forgotten by what’s next,
Cast off in fullest ecstasy,
Or swallowed up in agony.

Yet words will not suffice,
For those in paradise.
A thief returns to Eden’s arms,
The real of every shadowed charm.

Our mask of sin dissolved,
Our understanding solved,
All left to us is the new man,
That God has molded with his hands.

This garden He has grown,
Before His awesome throne,
Was cultivated for our sakes,
For love and grace He now creates.

The joy the Father gives,
Eternal we shall live,
The center of our joy we spy:
Or risen Lord, our Savior, Christ!