WATCH ME GET WICKED LIKE A HAND GRENADE!!!

I was recently going through my journals, as I do once and a while, and I came upon a poem I wrote. I wrote it while reading Nikki Cruz' book, Run Baby Run, an autobiography of Cruz' days as a gang member in New York and his journey to know Jesus as his Saviour. Nikki Cruz was the first "disciple" off the street that David Wilkerson "recruited." For those of you who need a reminder, David Wilkerson is the author of the renowned book, The Cross and The Switchblade, as well as the founder of Teen Challenge Ministries (I proudly say that my family was a part of that ministry for 9 Years!!), now a world-wide ministry to rehabilitate alcohol and drug addicts. In my poem, I make reference to bullets. Nikki's gang experiences led me to a metaphorical revelation about bullets. Whether literal or not, bullets can hurt and even kill. For me, bullets represent the words, the actions, and the circumstances in our lives in which we can hurt others with or make light of them for good. As Christians we have an exceptional power through the Holy Spirit to be "The Ammunition For The Future."

BULLETS, BULLETS
IN THE SKY.
BULLETS, BULLETS
AIMING HIGH.
DOWN BELOW
THE DARK POWDER
LIES.
KILLING THE SHADOWS,
NO ONE C R I E S.
UNDER THE NIGHT,
ONLY OUR SOULS
KNOW WHAT IS
WRONG.

BULLETS, BULLETS
LIKE STREAMS OF
DEATH.
BULLETS, BULLETS
ONE LAST BREATH.
IN THE LOT
RED CLEAN UP LOOMS.
CHEERING HAS FADED
ALL ARE MAROONED.

FUTURE TELLS US
TIMES ARE
BLEAK,
BUT WHO'S
FACE DO WE SEEK?

BULLETS, BULLETS
FATAL B L O W.
BULLETS, BULLETS
IT'S TIME TO SHOW.
UP ABOVE,
THE STREET LIGHT SHINES
CROWDING OUR SINS,
BLEMISHES IT B L I N D S.
UNDER THE DAY
WE CANNOT HIDE.
OUR CONSCIENCE NUDGES
HARD IN THE SIDE.

BULLETS, BULLETS
WHAT WE DO?
BULLETS, BULLETS
HOW, WHERE & WHO?
RUNNNING FORWARD,
R U N SIDE-BY-SIDE
TAKE THE BULLET,
HOP ON A RIDE.
UNDER THE S C O P E,
AIM NIGHT OR DAY
IN THE SHADOWS
I CANNOT STAY.

WATCH-A GUNNA DO
WHEN WE FREAKS ARE KILLIN'?
WHEN WE NOT CHILLIN'?
THE MOST HIGH GAVE US
AMMUNITION FOR POWER &
DRIVE.
INSTEAD WE BOMBING,
SHOOTING SOULS &
K-NIVIN'.

BULLETS, BULLETS
CAN BLEED EVEN US.
IT'S TIME TO DO RIGHT,
IN GOD WE TRUST.
THE CROSS IS OLD
BUT THE NAILS HAVE NOT
RUST.
MATURING WISDOM
WE SHOULD FROM IT HAR-VEST
AGAIN I SAY,
IN GOD WE TRU-UST.

BULLETS, BULLETS
NONE ARE DYING.
BULLETS, BULLETS
GOD'S MIGHT IS FLYING.
ON DISPLAY BRIGHTLY,
FOR ALL TO SEE.
SAVING MILLIONS,
STARTING BY ONE, TWO & THREE
WE, OBLIVIOUS TO
THE STARES.
WE, THE AMMUNITION
OF THE RARE-IST.

~Natalie M. Steele
~May 10, 2005

Note: All blogs written by Natalie M. Steele are protected.

7 Processes to Measure Your Spiritual Vitals

At times we need a reminder of where we are at with God and to check our spiritual vitals. "KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! IS ANY ONE LIVING INSIDE THERE?" My Pastor recently preached a sermon with 7 processes to measure spiritual vitals, along with some key questions to ask oneself. That being said, I'd like to share them with you.

Warning: One graphic example may make some people squirm.

1. Movement - an energy within that signals the process is moving. A driving force that is contagious among the masses that produces transition and change. Are you really moving or have you convinced yourself that you are moving?
   
   
2. Respiration- Just like a plant in osmosis, God is breathing out upon us so that we can receive his life that makes us go into full bloom.
   
   APART FROM CHRIST THERE IS NO LIFE!
   Am I trusting God with every department of my life?
   
   ** Are you holding your breath?**
   ~ When you go from service to service are you holding your breath, then letting it go when you can't hold it any longer?
   ~Christianity is more than diving in to each event and holding your breath.
   
   
3. Sensitivity- Are we sensing what is happening around us? Are we aware of the spiritual climate among Christians and non-Christians alike? Have we become hardened towards those we need to be sensitive to?
   
   
4. Growth- Sometimes slow, sometimes fast, but it always needs a seed sown to start the process of movement.
   
   **Are you personally growing?**
   ~Are you just surviving from one sermon to another, from one church event to another, and living on other's teaching?
   ~OR are you searching for your own teaching with Christ?
   
   **What will you sacrifice?** No Extra sandals or garments, no place to lay your head!!
   ~ When will you be willing to make your life right with God so that he can put you in His perfect place?
   
   
5. Reproduction- Living out what God has breathed in and upon us. Are you living out what God has called you to do? Are you breathing out the breath of God upon others around you?
   
   **Are you reproducing?**
   ~ Is there at least one person believing in Jesus because of your life's example?
   ~ Is there at least one person around you emulating your life?
   
   
6. Excrement- In our lives we sometimes build up with mucky sin. If it is not released, it becomes toxic. One can die if their bowels become hardened and cannot be released. Jesus knew when to "move on" before the situation got toxic. We need to allow God to do what is beneficial; trust Him to know when there is a situation that we need to let go of.
   
   "THE BOWELS OF CHRIST"
   EVERYTHING IS MOVING WITHIN
   
   **Are you REALLY living?
   
   
7. Nutrition- Jesus is the only Bread of Life. We cannot survive long without the proper nutrition to nourish our bodies. The same is with our spiritual bodies. Our human bodies will pass away, but our spiritual bodies live on.

Note: All published blogs by Natalie M. Steele are protected.