Thoughts of a Graylad

Martial Arts and Christianity:

2011-11-16T09:59:00.000-08:00

A thesis by Stuart James Takahashi Gray

Sunday, December 07, 2008

Martial arts; just the mention of those two words conjures up visions of Shaolin monks as they fly through the air, displaying aerial prowess that only the Shaolin monks of northern China can do. We recall David Carradine as he embodies that one career-defining role that he took on; that of Kwai Chang Caine, from the TV series "Kung Fu" back in 1972. We were glued to the TV set as we eagerly awaited the time when with lightening speed he would eventually “snatch the pebble” from Master Kan’s hand who was played by the talented Philip Ahn. For over 40 years, Martial Arts and the legendary late Bruce Lee were inseparable, along with others such as Chuck Norris, Jackie Chan, and more recently, Jet Li and Steven Segal. So how can we reconcile the Martial Arts and Christianity?

At Karate for Christ, we have been able to maintain the purpose for which the Martial Arts was created for, while removing those elements such as Eastern practices and mythology, that made the Martial Arts an affront to the Holiness of God. We have removed ALL form of idolatry and replaced them with a Christian worldview. We have in effect disarmed those things that would have otherwise made the practice of the Martial Arts sinful. However, there are many well-meaning Christians that consider the practice of the Martial Arts in contradiction to Christianity.

The problem with modern Christendom is that they have become alienated from their beginnings. After the fall of man, sin entered into the world and the human race as a whole became corrupted. This required God to do something radical. Since everyone “did what was right in his own eyes”; what was right became a matter of personal subjection. The temporary “cure” for this was that God gave us His LAW. Man was now required to adhere to The LAW as received and taught by Moses as it had been revealed to him by the very finger of God upon Mount Sinai. Failure to comply with The LAW at least required a blood sacrifices and at most, the death of the disobedient. As harsh as this seemed, the purpose of The LAW was for the preservation of life through the removal of anything, which could lead to the demise of both the nation of Israel, as well as the individuals that made up this said nation. This included both spiritual life as well as physical life. I will get back to this shortly, but first I must return to its present day application.

“You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.'But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.”” (Matthew 5:38-40). This passage is probably the most frequently used passage in the Bible that those who oppose the learning of the Martial arts by Christian will use. They throw it out there as if playing their “trump card” while all along, taking the passage completely out of context and out of application. Allow me to continue. Since God had in the past , not only permitted the punishment and death of individuals that willfully ignored some of his laws, He also demanded it. Do we worship a schizophrenic God? By all means NO! The only explanation is on a figurative interpretation that relies on historical and other factors. At the time of Jesus, striking someone deemed to be of a lower class with the back of the hand was used to assert authority and dominance. If the persecuted person "turned the other cheek," the discipliner was faced with a dilemma. The left hand was used for unclean purposes, so a back-hand strike on the opposite cheek would not be performed. The other alternative would be a slap with the open hand as a challenge or to punch the person, but this was seen as a statement of equality. Thus, by turning the other cheek the persecuted was in effect demanding equality. By handing over one's cloak in addition to one's tunic, the debtor has essentially given the shirt off their back, a situation directly forbidden by The Law as stated in Deuteronomy 24: 10-13 Therefore, What Jesus was doing was reinforcing The Law, that preserved life, with all its power and authority as well as all of its legal requirements. Thus “an eye for an eye" and a “life for a life” not only became the measure, it also became the rule! No more than an “eye for an eye” could be demanded, while “a life for a life” was certainly not out of the question. Equivalence and equal exchange was the message in The Law while the preservation of life was its goal!

Now, returning to The LAW. It is The Law that was to be the foundation for the New Covenant and not the other way around. Jesus did not come to destroy The LAW, but to complete it. What was permitted through The LAW is still permitted today, provided it does not conflict with our civil laws that we have to live by today at this time; an example of this prohibition being that of plural marriages. However, our current civil laws grant us the right to protect ourselves, our lives and the lives of others provided that we do not go beyond what is reasonable or equivalent, the very thing that has been granted to us by God through The LAW. His LAW was for the preservation of life as are our current civil laws. Since The LAW was given for the preservation of life, to not do so, in my opinion, is to commit the sin of omission. If one has the ability through the practice of the Martial Arts, to preserve his own life or the life of another through the removal of a threat and does not, then that individual is guilty of the sin of omission. That person has failed to do the very thing for which The LAW was given.

King David whom probably knew God better than most men proclaimed in Psalm 144 “Praise be to the LORD my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle”. It was later reiterated by his son Solomon in Ecclesiastes 3 “a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace”. If God is God and does not change, then who has given us the right to change Him? Either He is God, consistent and fully trustworthy or He is a fraud.

In closing, I would like to now point out that practicing some form of Martial Arts is as amoral as bowling. It all boils down to individual intent and worldview. Some people should definitely not practice the Martial Arts. However, the execution of Martial Arts as a means of preserving life is as I have clearly show, acceptable by God and may even be seen as an act of worship where it is done with an obedient and thankful heart. I would like to challenge those people who would disagree with me, to go to God in prayer and ask Him, as I have done, putting aside all previous prejudices, doctrines and dogmas, and consider what I have here in said. Perhaps you may find that you yourself are called to the Martial Arts as I was. Thank you for your consideration.

In Christ,

Stuart James Takahahshi Gray.

Puritan Fellowship: Paul Washer-To Hell With Your Best Life Now! & The...

2011-10-12T13:23:00.000-07:00

Puritan Fellowship: Paul Washer-To Hell With Your Best Life Now! & The...: Paul Washer Delivers A Strong Rebuke to the False Prophets Joel Olsteen, Rick Warren and others of the Self-Esteem gospel. (7 min) The fu...

JESUS DIED SO THAT I CAN GET STUFF!!?? REALLY!!??

2011-10-05T09:26:00.000-07:00

¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. John 10:10

This seems to be the new “Church” mantra of today. I hear this at almost every one of the “mega-church” services on TV. Personally, I think its blasphemy. Though the well meaning Pastor might believe this, he or she fails in one thing. They fail to exegete the passage of scripture correctly. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exegesis) This then lends its self to rending the passage out of its intended context, causing it to be nothing more than a fortune in a fortune cookie. The above verse I’ve heard and often, has been used to preach that “God wants’ you to pray to Him for wealth, health, and happiness”. Sounds nice right? WRONG! This is not the abundant life that God has in store for you when Jesus said those words. Not cars, homes, more money, MORE STUFF! NO. The abundant life that Jesus is talking about is kingdom things: More charity of, more love of, more of the beauty of, more of the grace of, more of the knowledge of CHRIST!

¹⁰ that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Philippians 3:10-11

We are called to know JESUS CHRIST in ALL of our circumstances! NOT A JAGUAR XKE!

The apostle Paul had an abundant life as he shows us here: ²³Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. ²⁴Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. ²⁵Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; ²⁶on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; ²⁷ in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food,^[^a^] in cold and exposure. ²⁸And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. 2 Corinthians 11:23-28 Back to the first verse. WHO IS THE THIEF?!

RUN from those prosperity teachers because they steal your TRUE joy! JESUS CHRIST IS the way, the truth and the life! Will we prosper?....YES! But that kind of prosperity can only be found IN THE LIFE OF JESUS CHRIST! Anything else is counterfeit!

And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me. Mark 10:21

AMEN!

Good bye 2009

2009-12-29T07:54:00.000-08:00

Well 2009 was quite a year.

Although it was a year of many set backs and disappointments, we all got through relatively unscathed.

Friends were lost, and found, and tested to be true.

The economy is looking to promise a better 2010.

I got through with the help of anti-depressants and a whole lot of prayer!

The weather has been weirder than weird though!

I could care less if it ever snowed again.

At least you don't have to shovel rain!

I don't know.....how was your year, gentle reader?

Deceit of a friend

2009-09-13T09:41:00.000-07:00

Oh you who I called friend,
Offered me your right hand of friendship,
Only to slay me with the left hand of deceit.

Trust I did offer to you,
Only to receive ridicule and shame,
To my darkened tomb within I now retreat!

The songs of a brother you did sing well,
And how a was so seduced,
By the lullabies of stinking acrid lies.

Never even wary
Never even expecting you,
To cheaply tarnish all those binding ties!

Casting off this bloody illusion,
Ridding me of your comely guise,
To trample down again this hollow ploy.

From shame you come,
To shame you will surely go,
Although the once felt love is not to enjoy.

I now retreat and go beyond the gates from which I did come,
To your shame you have added to these darkened sullen halls.

And as I go and you will see my shadow no more,
For into the blackness I return to rest from all my falls!

Graylad
09/13/09

Pastor Jon. W. Matutis Berlin, Germany; A prophetic message

2009-06-04T15:03:00.000-07:00

PROPHETIC MESSAGE

The Lord gave me a very important vision. I must inform you of them. Perhaps it is important for you and helpful.

Pastor Joh.W.Matutis, (Berlin / Germany)
www.nnk-berlin.de
(English menu)

While praying this morning, God gave me a vision. He showed me a great, world-wide "mobilization."

I saw myself strolling along a beach. Suddenly, there sounded a loud boom, which became stronger and more massive. It was not the noise of the sea or of the wind. It was completely still outside.

The sea water was as smooth as glass. The deep booming sound which was like the sound of the mountains about to cave in, a banging sound which I had up till now never heard in my whole life, came from the other side of the ocean, from far away. It became so strong and mighty, that the earth began to quake and shake. It sounded like the blasting of a deep bass trumpet. I had never heard this sort and depth of bass sound before now. The whole air vibrated. I holed myself up in the dunes of the embankment, face down, and waited to see what would come out of this natural spectacle.
When the booming refused to stop, and instead became stronger, I saw myself begin to pray in the vision, and to speak with my God. Then I heard a voice saying, "My child, fear not. That is
my mobilization call, a signal from the other world. I am calling my people out from all peoples. I myself am shaking the earth and the sea. The sinners and godless will pass away for fear and the fearful expectation of the things which are to come. Understand, my child, that all these have been initiated by the financial crises. That was just the beginning of ruin. The foundation of today's society will be so shaken that the people will lose all that they have acquired, and saved up till now.
Every infrastructure and welfare will collapse with time. Life will be very difficult for very many people. The general security will get out of control and there will be a proliferation of crime such that life on earth will be massively threatened. But you, who fear my name will I save from ruin.. I am holding my arm of protection over you."

Although not even a silent wind blew, and not even a small wave was seen on the sea, the booming was so mighty, that my heart threatened to stop beating. Then I thought to myself, "I will now also die". And then the Lord said to me, "My child, do not fear. You are to live and continue to declare my works. Arise, go home and tell your loved ones. Let them know that the coming of my son is very close at hand, at the doorstep. I am setting everything in motion in order to take my people home, and I am now stripping them of everything that is holding them back, or blocking them."

As I stood up to obey God's voice, starting to make my way home-wards, I saw very many people, lying in the dunes. They had come out from their houses, racing towards the sea to see and experience this extraordinary natural spectacle. They lay on their faces as if paralysed, exactly as I had lain a few minutes before now. As I passed by them on my way home, despite the continuous distant booming sound, these people called to me saying "you are crazy; you cannot make it home in this situation. It is too dangerous".

They then buried their heads even further in the dunes, because they feared what would happen next. They no longer wanted to hear or know of anything.

And then said the Lord to me: "For you, my children, who fear my name, this is the day of my "mobilization". For you, my "sun of salvation" arises, with which I gather my true children, and bring them together. Go, my son, and tell this everyone you can reach".

Then I asked the Lord, "What shall I tell them?" "Tell my children, they are no longer to occupy themselves with perishable things, but rather, much more with the immortal, the eternal things.
They are to seek me and study my word. They should forgive one another, so long as there is still time, and make peace with one another.

They should stop being envious of , and pointing fingers at one another. They should neither accuse nor suspect one another. Everyone should do what he is supposed to, and can do. Tell them to free themselves of every unnecessary thing, and to stop fighting spasmodically (intermittently) for their rights. From now on, I will ensure your rights, and provide for justice for you .. Great changes are about to occur all over the world, in every area of life. Adjust yourselves therefore and be prepared. Nothing is going to be as it has been before now..."

The further I moved from the beach, the less of the booming sound I heard, even though I was of the opinion that the sound had become stronger and even more massive. I felt as if I had been secured in a glass case.

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "I will bring my children into safety in my own way. You will see everything I will do in the world, which will experience all the plagues of Egypt, before I withdraw my children unto myself, before Pharaoh releases you forever. My people hold together! Stay with one another, encourage one another. Soon, you would have made it!"

That was the last thing I took with me from this vision. As I thought about all that I had seen, and what I should do with it, the Lord spoke to me saying, "Spread this revelation I have given you this morning about my "mobilization" overall further to my children, and encourage them to do likewise, for I am at the door (I am coming soon). And tell them, especially my people, that they should be serious about their relationship with me (God), before it is too late...."

Do help me spread this message overall. Send it to your friends and acquaintances. Spread it your churches and house fellowships.

Translate it into other languages.

Maranatha! Our Lord comes.

Pastor Joh Matutis
Sent: Wednesday, March 18, 2009 2:29:00 PM

I SEE MY KING

2009-01-01T08:14:00.000-08:00

Hideous shapes all residing within,
as all of us hide in the caves that we're in.
Apostacy reeks through the cracks in the wall
as we stay in our shelters escaping the fall.
And the agents of evil who all took the mark,
away in the distance I hear the dogs bark.

The blackness of night has revealed our light,
but the light was rejected and put out of sight.
And the servants of evil just shaddow and sound,
will bring death to us all if by them we are found.
So yet we will stand and yet still we will tell.
of the place they are going the place known as Hell.

And just when all seems like it's going to end,
We all call out to Him and in Him we depend.
So by His strong arm do his martyrs still stand,
all of one purpose all at His command.
Calls were just sounded and dogs were let slip,
my brothers have fallen and I have just tripped.

A pressure was felt against my head fair,
it felt warm to the touch as I started to stare.
Now as darkness sarrounds me and blackness takes hold,
but out in the distance a think I see gold.
And the sound oh the sound of the angels I hear,
happyness joy has replaced all of the fear.

And now as a loosen my hold to this form,
the coldness of death is replaced by a warmth.
As I feel myself slipping away from this place,
I hear cheers in Heaven that I've won the race.
I wish I had time to tell of all of the things,
the trumpets, the angels....oh ..my Lord.........
I see my......
KING!
~ Graylad ~

February 12 2002

Blackness is an acquired taste

2008-12-25T21:14:00.000-08:00

Blackness is an acquired taste,
But not for mortals, gentle mortals so.

This mortal coil does not keep,
our nature so in check.

Let us not deny any thing in haste,
keeping the shadows of our minds low.

As if to cover us in this dark and deep,
the cool night winds on our necks

To where hence we go forth,
from where hence we from came.

As the wind that was and is,
We do blow and move within this mystery.

A bite as by a wind from the north,
a single candle, flickering candle flame snuffed out.

And in us unlife did rise,
that unlife that will reject all blame,
and has un-slipped from its mortal coil so.

~Graylad~

2003, 01, 11

Jesus of the Scars

2008-12-18T15:22:00.000-08:00

by Edward Shillito

If we have never sought, we seek Thee now; Thine eyes burn through the dark, our only stars;We must have sight of thorn-pricks on Thy brow, We must have Thee, O Jesus of the Scars. The heavens frighten us; they are too calm; In all the universe we have no place. Our wounds are hurting us; where is the balm?Lord Jesus, by Thy Scars, we claim Thy grace. If, when the doors are shut, Thou drawest near,Only reveal those hands, that side of Thine; We know to-day what wounds are, have no fear, Show us Thy Scars, we know the countersign. The other gods were strong; but Thou wast weak;They rode, but Thou didst stumble to a throne;But to our wounds only God's wounds can speak, And not a god has wounds, but Thou alone.

AS I LAY DYING

2008-12-17T14:48:00.000-08:00

As I lay dying day by day,
Upon my bed, I sit and think,
About my life and what it’s been,
And as I do I start to sink.

As I lay drowning in despair,
A place you were so very near,
And as I think upon my life,
I realize that it’s full of fear.

And then I remember thee Oh Lord,
And how you suffered, suffered so,
Your head, the crown imbedded there,
And see just where the nails go.

And then I raise my head and cry,
But why, not me, I’m not worth that,
For it is then that I do reach,
Toward the Just from where I sat.

My finger yes! Were in your side,
My hands I run upon those holes ,
I look and see the hammer there,
Within my hand, and curse my soul .

But you reached down and held my head,
To lift me up from out the pit,
And tell me that for this you die ,
To make one such as I soul-fit.

As I lay dying day by day,
Upon my bed, I sit and think,
About my life and what it’s been,
And as I do I start to sink.

And as I think I hear the sound,
Have hammered nails to a cross,
I see the shadow of a man,
That came so I won’t suffer loss.

As I lay drowning in despair,
A place you were so very near,
And as I think upon my life,
You tell me that my life is dear.

And then I remember thee Oh Lord,
And how you suffered, suffered so,
But now it’s done and your not there,
In fact, to you I’ll surely go.

And then I knew that all along,
As I lay dying on my bed,
That it was you there with me then,
And you’ll come get me when I’m dead.

(Inspired by "La noche oscura del alma", (The Dark Night Of The Soul) that was writen by the Roman Catholic mystic, Saint John of the Cross)

Graylad

12/17/08

The Gothic Parody

2008-12-10T09:43:00.000-08:00

I have embraced all that once I feared, a foreboding blackened world as this
To learn the comfort in knowing that within me, there is darkness.

However this, not all darkness is of the evil one, and in it, I found bliss
To know that as I am, that God did call me to behold His brightness.

I can fully embrace the facets of my humanity as they all cry out toward the door
That this dark and melancholy spirit has found that it is just that, it is poor.

How happy am I that within this hall of night, I have seen the bondage of death
Surrender all it had against my dieing body, and soon to be vanishing breath.

For in the black of night I have found, that I am indeed that, black and dark
But He is not, for in Him there is no darkness, just the bright, to contrast with my stark.

Humanity as it stands, is dark, illuminated only by Heaven’s open gate
And just as I have found, those whom enter in, it’s His will, and not by fate.

For night pre-existed before the dawns first look, before it’s Word was said
And in this void of night was God, from whence He brought the light, and the stars were lead.

God is in the blackest night, and in the darkest Blood stained heart.
Those creatures so despised by ‘them’, to Him He sees that they have known their part.

They do embrace their death as well, as the death of the One Whom He sent
They see they are misshapen and, all they are broken, bent.

And so this is the reason why, perhaps they know all too well, just who and what they are
And this is what speaks forth, and what you see, ones who are dead to self, who realise just
What we are.

~Graylad~

10-08-93

War

2008-12-06T10:48:00.000-08:00

War is a mistress, whom demands a heavy price
To love her, is to deny the rationale of sanity

And her song will drive a mortal mad
Devotion to her will never satisfy her lusts for other men’s blood

To marry her, is to make her a widow
Her offspring share in the madness of her insanity

For she has many, many children But alas, she has no heir

~Graylad~
Dec, 06, 08

My Paradox

2008-12-04T17:32:00.001-08:00

I am the violent waves sent forth from the untameable Ocean
And the soft beach that receives them in all its tranquility.

I am the ice storm and the cold frozen wind that is cruel and uncaring
But I am the oasis within the searing dessert heat that is healing to the touch.

I am the indifferent darkness within the blackness of the silent night
And also the song upon the breeze that takes you to the next morning.

I am the bars on the windows of my soul keeping all who wish to pass through out
Yet I am the open door that is open to all who wish to enter in and sup with me.

I am the blade that will find its way deep within the back of an enemy
Though I am the gauze that will be used to cover all of his wounds.

I am the dark places that terrify your soul that harbours all that you fear
And I am the light sent to light your way to you to keep you unafraid.

I am the thorns that grow and choke out all the fruit within your life
Yet it is I that tends the vineyards of your very being so that you have plenty

I am the loneliness that haunts you like a ghost in the attic of your mind
But it is I that goes with you wherever you need me to be.

I am nothing I am every man
I am all things I am no man
I am me I am you
I am you I am me
I am no man I am all things
I am every man. I am nothing
This is my paradox
I am me

~Gralad~
Oct 13 82

I danced upon a crystal floor

2008-12-04T17:17:00.000-08:00

I danced upon a crystal floor no one within my sight,
I sang out to an empty sky and kissed upon the night.

Within my walls of ebony that encompassed me abound
And not a living soul was ever heard or seen around.

I did a pallid dance upon the graves of mighty men
And then I sat upon their tombs as one who practiced Zen.

Twisted faces stared at me from dead and rotted trees
The earthen scented sounds were now a-flight upon the breeze

An eerie calm possessed me as I danced with all the dead
And as I did I found a crow had lit upon my head.

He reached down then and told me as he whispered in my ear
That this was all a tepid dream to embrace all I fear.

A Gothic child within white lace was not for me to be
The blackness tucked within my soul must now depart from me.

I asked that he think not go but stay with me a while
He told me that he would not stay but take that which was vile.

The misty air around my head was thick and moist with dew
I worked it to a frenzy as the late of hour grew.

A myriad of souls had come to join in to the dance
The shapes of the departed could be seen but with a glance.

A haunting melody was heard as music filled the air
I saw the wolf a-dancing with the carcass of a hare.

Without a word the bird was gone and with him went the night
But for a moment there I sat not knowing what was right.

Then all at once the music stopped as night turned into dawn

And as the light now fills the sky

I’ve turned into a swan.

~Graylad~

Jan, 12, 1980

Dessert Wind

2008-12-03T13:23:00.000-08:00

The mid-day Sun a hazing blur, as Dessert winds begin to stir
The hot bright light of reflecting sand, upon the dunes of a baking land
But yet there was a single throng, that echoed like a siren’s song
Unable to see just where I’ve been, can’t tell of everything I’ve seen
That sound I hear I know so well, and yet to place it I can’t tell
My Dessert mistress whom I love, to comfort me from round above
And as I wander to and fro, around the shifting sand I go
Just up ahead I can't escape, The dancer with the veiled shape
She sauntered from behind the wind, and mouthed the words "I had not sinned"
And as she crept right up to me, I felt that I just had to flee
Moving her head and narrow hips, thrust up her chin parted her lips
To kiss upon this mouth so strained, the ground was dry it had not rained
I noticed that the land was bare, not a living green thing anywhere
This was barren just like sin, I saw my foot prints where I'd been
And as I looked upon her face, I saw my end right through her lace
My GOD will I sin against thee, for a moment's pleasure would it be
And all at once the music ceased, I'd slew the brutal savage beast
And as I awoke within my bed, the dream still trailing from my head
But as I looked down at my feet, a saw the sand upon the sheet

~Graylad~

February 9, 2002

Within The Chambers Of My Mind

2008-11-30T13:50:00.000-08:00

There is an echo from within the chambers of my mind
From a day out of the past, a soothing song so kind
A place that I used to dwell but seldom see or go
A roomful of idealistic visions that once helped me grow
But over time as I did run this race that we call life
And moved through time and space with children and a wife
I closed this sentimental door and locked the music in
Walked away went down the hall forgetting where I’d been
Detached from whom I had once been forgetting who I was
I took up someone else’s views ideals ideas and cause
I left my sense of identity within that room that day
And all my self-identity I left to go away
But as the years went sailing by my memories erased
I heard something familiar that couldn’t quite be placed
I journeyed down the corridors within my dusty mind
And heard a sound out of my past a soothing song of kind
Awakened sleeping memories a long familiar friend
I found the door so old and worn a place to come and mend
I knew this place from were I came this knotted bolted door
Around my neck I felt a key and recalled what it was for

I took the key from ‘round my neck and shoved it in the lock
But as I turned the squeaky latch my hand began to rock
Instantly my mind was filled with old familiar thoughts
I knew this place and saw my self the good as well as not
I went inside this room of mine a place to be with me
And as I walked up to the wall that I could plainly see
Upon there was a mirror that I peered into that day
I saw an old familiar friend who now was old and grey
So then I took a look around behold what did I see
Myself a younger form I had but just how could that be?
So then the younger me spun ‘round and motioned to me now
How is it that I’d grown so old this I just can’t allow
I said I didn’t know and that it happened over time
And then I answered to my self to “stay and hear my rhyme”
I stayed what seemed a thousand years reliving with my “twin”
But then it was my time to leave to go back where I’d been
And as I walked around the room the mirror I did see
But what I saw it startled me
A younger form of me.

~Graylad~

Today

Wait For The Day

2008-11-30T13:00:00.000-08:00

One day I did dream of a most beauteous sight
The golden glory of the morning first cascading light
Which sent myriads of auburn-red through such softness of hair
That as the gentle summer breeze and complimented skin so fair
And eyes greener than the deepest lakes or bays
But as I reached out I could hear her say
“Do not try so hard my love, but wait for the day”

As her voice grew dim I opened my eyes
And just then the sun, it began to rise
But as I looked over the sun-covered ground
My summer girl was no where to be found
My body now filled with such emptiness, pain
I stared out at the blue out my bedroom in vain
But as I did stare, I heard a voice say
“Do not fear my love, but wait for the day”

~Graylad~
1980

The Gothic Parody

2008-11-29T13:04:00.000-08:00

10-08-93

Within This Cleft

2008-11-29T11:36:00.000-08:00

Where once a playful youth so living
did mock at coming years
And self was all consuming
but not having many fears

But as the ages came and left
their callusing effect
Like razors in an icy cleft
ploughed furrows so erect

The winds of time did scorch my soul
with things cruel and appalling
To sculpt the shaft which I took hold
The scepter of heavenly calling

In front the Red sea now confines
and beckons a mocking sneer
With Pharaoh's army close behind
the sun begins to sear

And as I throw my memories back
upon those years so fair
memories of a youthful knack
and things I'd done on dare

By Heaven's command I set my face
to avoid the Devil's fee
I've sold my past to purchase faith
and walked toward the sea

And now I stand on tested ground
departing from this shore
then all at once there is the sound
of a rushing water's snore

And as I walk the waves collide
retreating as I go
and pilling up on either side
it knows I am it's foe

So here I walk within this cleft
hemmed in with in the sea
wrapped tight within GOD's decrees
that is GOD's grace protecting me

Dedicated to El Shadai
without whom I can do
nothing
~Graylad~
February 14 2002

My heart is a-beat with drums of ten thousand generations

2008-11-28T14:24:00.000-08:00

My heart is a-beat with drums of ten thousand generations
Grey steam pours from the dilation of nostril led fury
The skin that covers my sinews, sensing every disturbing fray
A head whirling, whirling with the smokes of thought and tumult
Eyes wide attuned to the ever changing balance of the tides
Poised as one who has stood here a thousand years
A gargoyle of torment to all who look upon me.
Cabled muscles braced for an active attitude of war
Legs rooted to the ground as an oak's last day
The air is unusually still, as if in expectant lust
Caught in the heels of Armageddon’s call
Light as gossamer are my breaths, straining for a confirming sound
Silence, as fragile as gossamer wings
Whose life is drained by the day, and then no more
The omen of Death is as thick as the approaching storm
As black as the night is long
And then the tides of war come in, the dogs unslipped
And I too, am gone.

~Graylad~

10-2-83

The noble Savage (A prelude to suicide.)

2008-11-27T21:57:00.000-08:00

Subject to world’s cruel devices,
Trying to survive mankind’s vices.

And all the things that I loved most,
Left me but a dream,
a phantasm ghost.

The pain and suffering did I befriend,
With make-believe happiness, time to pretend.

OH! MY LORD HELP ME FIND THY PEACE!
Or else to exist,
this noble savage shall cease.

Guide this aching gallion, through the isle of despair,
May the sunshine promise down upon this head so fair.

Let not this withered spirit fall, my bridge is far too narrow.
Shoot my hopes back to the seas of turmoil, hate, and sorrow.

This noble savage has a dream, for which there is no fear,
Yet, he has so very far to go when the edge is so very near.

~Graylad~
January ‘89

Call Of The Highlands

2008-11-27T21:39:00.000-08:00

Always a place in the hearts of her men,
She calls them from the hills, from the high, and the glen.
Her call is so sweet, like the rock and the brine,
And one of these days, I’ll return to what’s mine.

An echo, some haunting illusive bright dream,
A whisper so quiet, felt more so than seen.
She plays on our minds, her children we be,
Her voice is the wind, is the land is the sea.

Her power she sends us wherever we are,
True to her cause, be we near, be us far.
Ever so strong does she warm my heart so,
‘tis time that I listen but know I can’t go.

But she beckons me now as she calls me by name,
I pull from her spell but I’m now almost lame.
My brain now a fog and my spirit a – stray,
I’m lost to her magical mystical spray.

And now I can see her although still a haze,
She captured my heart and my soul in one blaze.
Musical myriads of history and pride,
Tell me I’m home in Scotland, and I realize……..
I’ve died.

~Graylad~
‘86

The Man with us

2008-11-27T21:21:00.000-08:00

The pounding of the hammers rang
Upon a steely sharpened point,

While darkened shadows danced and sang
Seething loathsome pain in joint.

As crimson – painted sunlit joists
Of wood of rod of rope and rail,

A mast upon a clear sky hoist
But the man became it’s sail.

Upon His face so sweet and gold
From whence history had begun,

Compassion filled in eyes untold
Whose countenance once as the sun.

But now a face so raked with pain
Chest heaving for one more breath,

But this was not to go so in vain
For His body was baring my death.

The desert sky engulphed in black
So thick it hung as a death – like fog,

The Man with open scar- striped back
Was pressed against the stale log.

Such precious breath escaped that day
As if never to return,

And in the earth as if to stay
As this was no time to discern.

But after that day, the day after again
A damsel was out for a meet,

The cavern lay bare of death and men,
Nor corps was there to greet.

And this my friend lay in my hope
For when I’m under sod,

Behold the Man in Glorious robe
For the Man with us is GOD.

~Graylad~
July, 25, 1993

Do you suppose the Angels do cry?

2008-11-27T08:26:00.001-08:00

Do you suppose the Angels do cry?
To once have gazed upon the face of grace
But thrust out cold, to grace the presents of the cold night
I do suppose a countenance so fair to smile upon the Saints of God
To then deceive with a tongue that rings of such sweet word of promise
Alas! And woe is unto them that they did fall from such a height!

Do you suppose the Angels do cry?
Colourless tears to dawn upon such beautiful cheeks as they
Banishment, to the bowels of the Heavens, and to bask in them no more!

Do you suppose the Angels do cry?
To such a false comfort were the daughters of men
To be in the image of God, oh how the spirits do travail!
Again I ask,
Do you suppose the Angels do cry?

~Graylad~
2003-10-30

One Day, A Dream

2008-11-26T10:45:00.000-08:00

One day I did lie down beneath the trees, a canopy of deep luscious green
And as I did, my thought ascended to the tops, to the top of all that could be seen.
The brilliant orb, that is the sun, kissed the sky with a radiant perception
And as I began to dream, I felt the soft grass beneath all of my conception.

A myriad of colour and hue filled the recesses of all my human thought
I revelled in thoughts of life and all that is good, the things that could not be bought.
The air, so pure, the scented breeze had a melodious odour that sang to my gazes
To all my senses, a tranquil abundance of liturgical chants and phrases.

I was completely immobilized by the calm that had aneistatized all that I set free
The state of blissfulness took on a haunting physicality in order that it simply be.
There was a melody, a melody so familiar that I almost knew the tune
The tune of a day now long pressed into the antiquities of time and ruin.

Oh sweet day that play upon the thoughts of angelic perceptive cues
But sit so lightly upon every man and all his trivialities as well as lofty ques.
The very tips of the wings of Angels, brushing lightly upon the head
Of a sorrowful state of man, that at once had thought that he was good as dead.

At this I will confess, confess that I would not be moved from within my dream
To surrender to the notion that all this, a dream, and not reality as it would seem.
But then a sound that to me would seem out of state and place
The sound of retched howls that remind me of this fallen race.
The race of man, a destroying mass of plague and unforgiving ghouls
A murder of crows, a coagulating mass of industrial mages and fools.
Then all at once the melody of grace began to switch its tempo and change
The impressions of Angelic frivolity trailed off, the loftiness now out of range.

Then with opened eyes, I beheld the stones that lined the existence of all
Asleep within the world of man, a post cognisance of life after his fall
And as I hunched off from the step and leapt across the tracks of steel
I looked up to the stony lofts of all that’s really real.

The towering sentinels that man had now erected, a testimonial to himself, a god
Of concrete grabbing upward to pull its captives down to its stony sod.
And as the gentle rain fell so subtle upon the blackened asphalt below
I knew that it would not be long, before, to my dream world I would have to go.

~Graylad~
02-02-03

Pallid Ambient

2008-11-25T09:21:00.000-08:00

What it is to be one with the air, comforting velvet blackness.
Cast down upon such a clear night as this.

To hear such sweet cooing of nocturnal creatures.
Does to one such as I, an ambient form.

And there before the silhouette of Harlequins.
A theatre of shadows cascaded upon the ground.

The evening tide of ‘necromorphs’ has now come in to view.
They meander through the streets, their laughter trailing off.
And melding in with all the other sounds of an unlit day.

The hanging mist is sweet with the sent of October’s fallen leaves.
And a myriad of nighttimes flora, the hint of nightshade perhaps?
The Nightingale welcomes in the slumber less abounding of less than a multitude.

So mysterious are the ways of these children of the night.
Within this dispensation of the day, there is a beauty.
The kind that the eye of man has not yet known.
A different kind of living done within these blackish walls.

A startling form of beauty that these people here portrait.
White faces and black lined lips, blackened by the realization of their own self worth.
Draped in black by the scornful shadows that society has cast down upon them.

Yet with such a rare beauty, a smile or a laugh.
Behind the veils of shadows, vitality so sweet.

As sweet as the night its self, the night.

That is the oldest of God’s creation of them all.

~Graylad~
10 - 09 - 03

The cry of a gothic soul

2008-11-24T09:51:00.000-08:00

Help me o God for I sink so fast
My breath a flame and my parts engorged
My head a pound with everything dark
With a sinister stare

Im living in this shadow I have cast
A castle of death that I have forged
I meld within its walls so stark
A dank and dusty lair

I fear that I am loosing all to blackness
Seduced by the cool sweet call of the night
That preverbal place were all is hidden
Were all I can do is groan

I look up to the heights, to the brightness
From where I once basked in His light
And as the Seraphim was cast forbidden
From this place is where I moan

What escape do I have when I reach out?
Yes I do volunteer to go and be seduced
My blood has begun to coagulate
My lust is now the rule

I willingly gouge my eyes and shout
That my vision be thus reduced
Yet I do not bleed nor feel that adequate
To recognise this ghoul

How is it that within us all a gothic child dose live?
To bang upon the forbidden gates
That once had locked it in
That dark creature that abides within this cave

I hear its growls and feel its desires to once again give
Credence to its evil deadly fate
That had once been banished as sin
Dictated by its surrounding as to how it will behave

To throw of the shackles of all restraint and feed
To feed upon the innocents of others
To embrace all forms of pleasure and pain
And fully exploit all of its owners lusts

And so I do all I can to deprive it of all its needs
Keeping it from its ungodly father
The soul I leased from God I now stand in the rain
In Him now can I only cast all my trust

~The Graylad~
2003-09-23

Thoughts of a Graylad

Martial Arts and Christianity:

Puritan Fellowship: Paul Washer-To Hell With Your Best Life Now! & The...

JESUS DIED SO THAT I CAN GET STUFF!!?? REALLY!!??

10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. John 10:10

Good bye 2009

Deceit of a friend

Pastor Jon. W. Matutis Berlin, Germany; A prophetic message

I SEE MY KING

Blackness is an acquired taste

Jesus of the Scars

AS I LAY DYING

The Gothic Parody

War

My Paradox

I danced upon a crystal floor

Dessert Wind

Within The Chambers Of My Mind

Wait For The Day

The Gothic Parody

Within This Cleft

My heart is a-beat with drums of ten thousand generations

The noble Savage (A prelude to suicide.)

Call Of The Highlands

The Man with us

Do you suppose the Angels do cry?

One Day, A Dream

Pallid Ambient

The cry of a gothic soul

¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. John 10:10