Cleansing The Temple

 

He called them out for corruption
In that once holy place.
Their avarice was palpable,
He condemned their disgrace.
 
He spoke hoping to turn them back
From the course that they chose,
But they would not heed the Lord’s words.
They had no time for those.
 
It wasn’t all the animals
That filled the place with sin,
As much as the pride and the greed
Of all those “holy men”.
 
He came to cleanse that holy place,
Make it holy once more,
But, even more, He came for us,
To cleanse and to restore.
 
Matthew 21:12-13
And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”

Once again, the sweet photo is a gift from AC, taken in Africa a few years back. 

Hosanna To The King - Palm Sunday 2026

 

Near fifteen hundred years before,
They knew this had been planned.
The Psalms and Prophets told them, but
They didn’t understand.
 
A man of sorrows, donkey colt,
The cornerstone disdained,
They had been warned, but over time
No clarity remained.
 
He didn’t fit the plans they’d laid
While ignoring God’s plan.
They had their own image of who
Should be the Son of Man.
 
By failing to understand Him,
They proved the Prophets right.
Upon a donkey colt He rode
To bring His Kingdom Light.
 
His people praised Him, Hosanna!
Oh, save us, Lord, they cried.
Well, that He did, just six days hence,
When on the cross He died.
 
He knew they’d not truly believe
Until He came again,
But they cried Hosanna to Him,
Their King, The Son of Man.
 
Psalm 118:22-25
The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Save us, we pray, O Lord! O Lord, we pray, give us success!

Stiving After Wind

 

Riding the wind, calling it life;
Watching it pass below.
What will you do when the wind stills,
Which way, then, will you go?
 
Too many have no course in life,
They shift with any breeze.
Giving each new passion control,
Living life as they please.
 
Until the day the winds whip up,
Or settle to dead calm,
Then they must face the consequence
Of pain without a balm.
 
At that point they find no refuge
Within the storms of life,
And end up huddled in despair
From self inflicted strife.
 
Step out of life lived for yourself
And into one of grace.
Ride not the winds of wild whimsy
Which often bring disgrace.
 
Choose for yourself a life in Him.
Thus, when you sail the sky,
You do so with His word as guide.
Beneath His watchful eye.
 
There is nothing beneath the sun
That He does not command.
Live close to Him, and through life’s storms,
Rest safely in His hand.
 
Ecclesiastes 2:11
Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.

My Rock, My Redemption

 

I’m glad it isn’t up to me
To win my redemption.
I set out with big plans each day,
Then fail to get them done.
 
I rise each dawn hoping to live
The day I walk His walk,
And quickly find I’ve failed even
To simply talk His talk.
 
I let my pride get in my way,
Or forget to give grace,
And suddenly I find I am
Back at my starting place.
 
It’s not in my works or my words
That my faith has to rest,
But in His, who bore all my sins.
By His grace, I am blessed.
 
He is the rock on which I stand,
And the song my soul sings.
The only hope of redemption
I have, is what He brings.
 
Thus, I will stand upon that Rock,
The cornerstone of grace,
And I will thank Him forever
For healing my disgrace.
 
Psalm 62:7
On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God.

Praise Him Continually

 

I will lift up my praise to Him
Within the new day’s light,
And I will praise Him as the dusk
Grows into the dark night.
 
He keeps His eye upon my path
And guides me on my way.
I’ll praise Him with a thankful heart
Each night and then each day.  
 
Let His praises be on my heart,
My mind, and on my tongue,
That this world will know of His grace
Through every song I’ve sung.
 
Psalm 34:1
I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Learning Not To Bite Back

 

You told us this life would be rough,
But following You through
Would help us deal with the hard parts.
My hope, Lord, rests in You.
 
You called us to love each other
As You have so loved us.
I suspect that also includes
Those who seem prone to fuss.
 
The world is full of cranky folk,
Insisting they are right.
It doesn’t matter if they are,
They’re looking for a fight.
 
I might have been that way myself,
One time, or maybe twice.
I’m grateful You reminded me
To settle down, be nice.
 
I’m still working on patience, Lord,
And learning to give grace,
Even to the most annoying
Of all the human race.
 
I’m not the worst, still not the best
At loving as You loved,
But I have learned not to bite back
When I am pushed or shoved.
 
Instead, I heed the instructions
You gave while You were here.
I pray for them, I give them grace,
Knowing You hold them dear.
 
I’m learning to see them as Yours,
Ignore their call to fight.
When I focus on loving them,
I’m less inclined to bite.
 
John 15:12
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

Don't See That Every Day

We pass beside the amazing
Without a second glance,
Because we see it every day…
The same old song and dance.
 
Yet, now and then, you see something
That takes your breath away.
You find yourself saying with awe,
“You don’t see that each day.”
 
Such was it when this shot came up
In old photos I took.
It was the sun shrouded in clouds…
Until I stopped to look.
 
I realized it was the sun
In clouds, behind a tree,
But I had not been looking up
When this shot came to be.
 
It was reflected in water,
The tree was a downed bough.
I saw it clearly, and yet not
As clear as I see now.
 
I recalled taking this photo
Because it was unique.
It wouldn’t say spectacular,
But beautiful and bleak.
 
Seeing it now, it is more so,
Because it reminds me
That so much we ignore in life
Is because we don’t see.
 
If I look up and see the sun
Shrouded in clouds of grey,
Then I shrug and just carry on.
I see that every day.
 
Yet when I see the sun in clouds,
But not where it should be,
Then suddenly I’m stricken by
Its perfect symmetry.
 
It may not make much sense to you,
But I’ll thank God tonight
That, what I could have walked right by,
Still gives me such delight.
 
Psalm 37:4
Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. 

The Light Is Returning

 

The darkness is never far off.
Like the tide comes and goes,
It, too, sweeps in upon the world.
The darkness ebbs and flows.
 
The darkness does not easily
Let go its hold on earth,
But slowly its power will wane
Under the light’s rebirth.
 
Now, many who’ve lived in the dark
And walked its broken trails,
Have seen the light begin to shine
On this world of travails.
 
They speak to those still in the dark
Of the light they have seen.
A promise of a world from which
The darkness is washed clean.
 
One day we’ll see the light return,
While darkness fades away.
Until that time, we wait in faith.
Our Light is on His way.
 
Isaiah 9:2
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.

The Viper And His Brood

 

The false prophets and false teachers
Still speak to us today.
They know the truth, but seek to lead
The unknowing astray.
 
He gave us all His instructions,
His law was sharp and clear.
Yet, the false prophets, vipers brood,
Whisper lies in our ear.
 
They smile and bid us trust their truth
And not what we have heard
Spoken by Christ, His apostles,
The truth that’s in God’s Word.
 
They seek to lead God’s children back
Into the sin He healed,
Knowing that, by the lies they preach,
The weak soul’s death is sealed.  
 
They stand upon a false pulpit
Speaking in silken tone
The lie that no obedience
Is needed to atone.  
 
No need to turn back from our sin,
To go and sin no more.
They say it knowing the dark fate
Such a life holds in store.

 

Christ bruised the serpents head upon
The cross at Calvary,
But there remains the viper’s brood
That’s hunting you and me.
 
Be careful then, do not let them
Take your soul by surprise.
Keep your soul fixed upon God’s Word
And not on satan’s lies.
 
1 John 4:1
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Even On Crazy Days, I Praise

 

I can’t recall what day it is,
Or what I planned to do.
This really was one of those days,
But this I know is true…
 
That I will rise up in each dawn
And sing my praise to You,
Then when the sun is going down
I’ll sing them all anew.
 
However wonky life can be,
I’ll make a point to raise
A song of praise and rejoicing
To You through all my days.
 
You stay close by me through it all,
And I’ve made it my choice
To praise Your name to all the earth.
I’ll sing out and rejoice.
 
Philippians 4:4
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.