Poems

An Interrupted Walk

Was walking with
\tmy Lord one day,
so sweet the walk
\tif I might say.

My eyes caught two
\tthat struggled some,
and I asked for them
\tthat help would come.

A word He gave
\tI knew was good,
so I shared and hoped
\tthey understood.

Perhaps the word
\twould help them see
how sweet their walk \t
\tcould also be.

So far it seems
\tthey struggle still;
not sure it’s helped
\tor if it will.

And now I find
\tI’m in between,
and wonder much
\twhat does it mean.

Was I right the word
\twith them to share?
Was I right to act –
\tdo more than care?

Was the word You gave
\tfor me alone;
to strengthen me
\tas we walked along?

Right or wrong
\tI cannot say;
all that’s sure
\tis I should pray.

Help them Lord
\tas they’re Your own,
to hear the truth
\tthat has been sewn.

Satan’s role
\twith lies to steal,
the truth – our life
\twhich kills the deal.

He prompts a thought
\tand begins to talk;
his sights are set –
\t‘An Interrupted Walk’.

MJ

In God's plan and purpose; there are no
interuptions, just opportunities to speak
His truth in love and share the gospel of
His grace.

A Cry for His Presence

Reaching heavenward
With sighs and tears
Longing for a glimpse of Your glory

I have read the stories
And I have desired
To live it

An outpouring of Your presence
Though it leave me in the dust
Face down and trembling
Over the sinfulness of such a frail creature as myself
Before a holy, holy, holy God

Turn Your face toward me, oh God
And look upon Your daughter
See the yearning in my heart
To know You

Oh that You would rend the heavens
And pour out Your glory
My heart aches, it breaks with longing
As I eagerly await the day

Whether in life or death
The day I will see Your glory
When I will know
Even as I am known

How long, Oh Lord?
How long?

What Greater Love

What greater love was ever shown
\tthan the love was shown for me;
while yet in sin and dead to Him
\tHe chose to set me free.

He saw in me my helpless state –
\thad compassion for my need;
His love would take Him to the cross
\tand on it He would bleed.

He gave His life that I might live –
\tHe set His own aside;
for all the love He had for me,
\tHe suffered, bled and died.

He saw the good through all the bad;
\tHis love has pulled it through.
He could have justly walked away
\tand said, ‘I’m done with you’.

What greater love so undeserved,
\tyet freely He did give;
help me Lord as You have done
\tthat I might also live.

Help me choose to see the good
\tas You have done with me,
and then to love and not let go
\tuntil that good I see.

MJ

Ephesians 3:17b-19 ‘And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.’

A freind of mine just sent me this poem by Corie ten Boom. Thought I'd share it.

My life is but a weaving between my God and me,
I do not choose the colours, He works so steadily.
Oft'times He weaves in sorrow, and I in foolish pride,
Forget He sees the upper, and I the underside.

Not till the loom is silent, and the shuttles cease to fly,
Will God unroll the canvas, and explain the reason why.
The dark threads are as needful in the Weaver's skillful hand
As the threads of gold and silver in the pattern He has planned.

Corrie ten Boom

O Lord,

I give you my heart,
I give you my soul,
Wherever I travel,
Wherever I go.

In darkness or light,
In pleasure of pain,
That Thou would be with me,
For no other gain.

Thy sweetness surrounds me,
Thy touch is delight,
Never to falter,
Forever upright.

I praise Thee with anthems,
Of sweet saving grace,
My heart is uplifted,
While others debase.

O come my Lord Jesus,
Thy people to free,
Please mold me and make me,
An image of Thee.

I bless Thee my Saviour,
My hearts pure delight,
O wrap me for ever,
In Thy beauteous light.

The heavens surround me,
With narry a care,
For Thou art our keeper,
Our burdens to bear.

My precious Lord Jesus,
Light of my life,
Unbounded treasure,
God's own Pure Light.

02-14-09

The Well

I once threw stones at the well of life;
\tI was blind and could not see.
And then the well made sense one day;
\tI wondered, ‘could it be’?

So I dropped the stones and drew in close;
\ttossed coins and wished to find,
this life it spoke and offered to all,
\tI wished to make it mine.

But a fight broke out and a battle raged
\tto keep me from this well;
it appeared my choice had raised the brow
\tof all the force of hell.

‘Stand at the wall and toss your coins,
\tbut that’s as far as you will get.
We’ll wrap you up a million ways,
\tno further will we let.’

Years have passed and I must confess
\tthat what they said, they did;
they let me stand by the well of life
\tbut its life they somehow hid.

But now I know and clearly see,
\tthe life I now have found;
I was finally thirsty enough to come
\tand would not turn around.

It is for all who will come,
if you’re thirsty come and drink;
if you’re not, there’ll be other things,
in them is life you’ll think.

You’ll stand at the well and toss your coins
\tand wish for abundant life;
as years fly by, you’ll wish away
\twhile caught up in the strife.

Come to the well and do not leave
\tuntil you have been filled;
careful the voice you listen to,
\tlest years go by until.

MJ

Two spirits beat within my chest.
One is foul, one is blest.
One I love, one I hate.
The one I feed will dominate.

Unknown

The Grace that Could be Ours

He offers grace
\tagain and again.
But we’re busy with things;
\tgood things our sin.

He longs to walk
\tand talk each day,
but we cling to things
\tand forfeit His grace.

So again and again
\tHe offers it free,
knowing one day
\twe’ll surely see.

The things we cling
\tare worthless to save,
yet still we cling
\ttill facing our grave.

Oh the grace that we all miss
\tby waiting until our end.
We cling to things instead of Him
\tand miss what could have been.

MJ

For the homeless widowed woman
Living on the streets today
Hoping just to find a meal
Oh my brethren, we must pray

For the lonely single mother
Living in despair and pain
Wondering if there’s something better
Oh my brethren, we must pray

For those bound by vile addictions
Trapped in a life that’s dark and vain
Damaged by the life they’ve chosen
Oh my brethren, we must pray

For the lost, who soon approach
The throne of God on judgment day
Unprepared, they’re doomed to hell
Oh my brethren, we must pray

For our own cold, calloused hearts
That see such things and walk away
Grieving Jesus by our hardness
Oh my brethren, we must pray

With tears and groanings, let us come
And seek the Lord without delay
With humbled hearts now drawing near
Oh my brethren, we must pray

Oh please Father, help us pray

Do I Hear the Banquet Call

I wonder is the banquet set;
\tis the time now full at hand?
Is He sending now His servants
\tto call throughout the land?

His call goes out for all to come,
\tthough many will not hear;
with good excuse they’ll miss it all,
\twill later shed a tear.

The stops are pulled, no holds are barred,
\tthe call rings louder still;
‘We still have room’ the servant says,
\t‘I want My banquet filled’.

Oh hear the call that rings today,
\tfor it may not ring again.
Don’t walk away when He calls for you
\tand miss what could have been.
\t

MJ

Let Us Be Made Anew

Light of men, shine on us
in the darkness of our day;
when much is done to bury You,
let Your light, light our way.

Forgive us Lord, our light so dim
that others cannot see;
the doors have opened unrestrained
and darkness been set free.

Shine Your light for all to see,
though most won’t understand;
empower those who do oh Lord
with might from Your good hand.

Give us strength and stir us Lord
to find our way in You;
that we would then become Your light…
let us be made anew.

MJ

Lord Jesus,
keep me near the cross;
the place where
Your amazing grace
finds me,
the place where
Your wonderous love
reaches me;
the place where
Your tender mercies
cleanse me.

Lord Jesus,
keep me near the cross;
Remind me, Lord;
how much it cost
one soul to save.
Remind me, Lord;
of Your glorious triumph
over sin and the grave.
Remind me, Lord;
to count all things loss
but knowing my Savior
and the way of the cross!!

Thank you Lord,

That I know the truth, I do not fall into the errors of the watered down prosperity gospel.

Thank you, Lord, that I read all the good old time classics and not the contemporary writers.

Thank you Lord, that I can discern the errors of modern false teaching.

Thank you Lord for all the old time hymnal, rather than the soft rock choruses.

Thank you Lord for all my concordances and commentaries, helping me to defend my faith.

Thank you, Lord for my knowledge about church history and theology.

Thank you Lord for my sophisticated vocabulary.

Thank you, Lord, that I am not like the man in the back.

* * * * * * * *

In the back pew he sat, battered and bruised, in dirty clothes, lamenting:

I have given my money to the prosperity preachers,

The flock were I belonged was scattered by wolves.

I could not wait for the kingdom to come and squandered all my wealth in hope of my best life now.

I thought my Christian experience was all real, I could have my best life now and heaven, too.

It burst like a bubble, huu-huu.

I have read all the self-help books to no avail.

I fell down under the blessing prayers of the celebrity preachers.

I awoke from the stupor of Babylon’s maddening wine.

I got sick of its riches, it wares, its fake glamour.

The make up of the whore has come off.

I craved choice morsels of fine food, the most delicious and trendy from the acclaimed chefs of contemporary preaching; but I ended up eating pods among squealing pigs.

I thought I was advancing in my faith because of all the things Lord blessed us with.

I danced around the golden calf, in merry companionship that proved to be a fool’s paradise.

Now I am naked and wretched and poor.

I can barely see clearly, I need some ointment for my eyes.

I deserve all this, make me one of the hired servants, so that I at least get some food of the word, shelter in saintly fellowship and a cover for my shameful nakedness.

Will they welcome me back? Will I make it through the gates of Zion? I will try the Dung gate, surely no angry watchman will repel me there.

Oh Lord,
Make them see the truth
- the doctrinal views I hold
May others see Your wisdom
- displayed in my speech
May they end their strife
- and accept my last word
Wilt thou that they grow up to the measure of Christ
- by following my example
Let him repent and turn to Christ
- so that he not longer enjoys what I am not supposed to enjoy
Change my wife to become more loving
- rather than changing me
Turn me into a better person
- who feels better about himself
Make me humble
- but do not humble me in front of others
Send out your workers into the harvest
- someone other than me
Thank you for my brother
- I am sure you set him straight
Help me to give more for your work
- by increasing my income
Give us unity among ourselves
- and let them see my point
Help them in their distress
- surely I can’t help anyway
Have your way
- as I have mine
Oh Lord save me
– from myself!

F. M. Lehman:

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.
O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure
The saints’ and angels’ song.

There are times when we pray for one thing
or another as we name them one-by-one;
But as true believers we're taught by GOD
to also pray "Your will be done."
Yet, in the process of so many words lifted,
those four are most powerful indeed;
For those four words will direct our hearts
to the One who supplies all our need.
While GOD in His glory knows the whole story
and welcomes our heartfelt expressions;
He lets us ask from our human perspective,
While His sovereignty teaches us lessons.
And if we truly pray for His will to be done;
we can digest when the answer is "No,"
For GOD shuts the doors, but we later see reason
as we trust HIM and spiritually grow.
Sometimes in prayer, we ask GOD for one thing,
and watch Him moving to grant us a "Yes"
Roadblocks are lifted... and doors open to show us
that it's GOD and only GOD who can bless.
"THY WILL BE DONE" brings us into submission
to a GOD who is all-knowing and wise;
Asking for what's best through His perfect wisdom,
and for the future He sees with His eyes.

SHEILA GOSNEY

I stood among my valleys of the south,
And saw a flame of fire, even as a
Wheel Of fire surrounding all the heavens: it went
From west to east against the current of
Creation, and devour'd all things in its loud
Fury & thundering course round heaven & earth.
By it the Sun was roll'd into an orb:
By it the Moon faded into a globe,
Travelling thro the night; for from its dire
And restless fury Man himself shrunk up
Into a little root a fathom long.
And I asked a Watcher & a Holy-One
Its Name? he answered: It is the Wheel of Religion.
I wept & said: Is this the law of Jesus,
This terrible devouring sword turning every way?
He answer'd : Jesus died because he strove
Against the current of this Wheel: its
Name Is Caiaphas, the dark Preacher of Death,
Of sin, of sorrow, & of punishment:
Opposing Nature! It is Natural Religion.
But Jesus is the bright Preacher of Life,
Creating Nature from this fiery Law,
By self-denial & forgiveness of Sin.
Go therefore, cast out devils in Christ's name,
Heal thou the sick of spiritual disease,
Pity the evil, for thou art not sent
To smite with terror & with punishments
Those that are sick, like to the Pharisees,
Crucifying, & encompassing sea & land
For proselytes to tyranny & wrath.
But to the Publicans & Harlots go!
Teach them True Happiness, but let no curse
Go forth out of thy mouth to blight their peace.
For Hell is open'd to Heaven: thine eyes beheld
The dungeons burst & the Prisoners set free.

From "Jerusalem" by William Blake