Affliction And Joy

 

The struggles we faced yesterday
Were just as He had planned,
That we may help those who now face
What we can understand.
 
We may not know it at the time,
But, looking back, we’ll see
That, if we’d not learned that lesson,
How helpless we’d now be.
 
That hard earned wisdom, we apply
To aid our fellow man
By helping to ease their struggle
In ways we know we can.
 
Sometimes we need to just step back,
Stop complaining, and sing
In thanks for struggles we have faced,
The help we now can bring!
 
James 1:2-3
Count it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
 
2 Corinthians 1:3-4
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

A Memory And A Smile

A few years back a friend dared me
To write a praise for her
Using an accidental shot
She took. I did concur.
 
The accidental photo popped
Up in my memories,
And I’m feeling nostalgic now.
I ask for patience, please.
 
I’m re-posting the praise I wrote
Because it made me smile
And because I still miss my friend.
Which I’ll do for a while.
 
So here it is, that praise from old.
Two things that still hold true,
We miss you here, we’ll see you soon.
To C, this one’s for you!

 

The world’s gone topsy turvy, Lord.
What once was up is down,
And I would try to smile on through
But, like this, it’s a frown.
 
I don’t know what to make of this,
The world’s all wrong somehow.
I’d love for You to set it straight….
And, by the way, right now.
 
I guess I’ll have to be patient.
That’s harder than you’d think,
And if I rise to carry on
While upside down, I’ll sink.
 
Oh yes, the world’s topsy turvy,
It’s all gone to my head.
And I could give up without shame,
But I’ll trust You, instead! 

Revelation 21:4
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

We love you, my friend! 

Talents From The Master

 

We each have our place in His plan,
Though often hard to see,
And He’s equipped us for that role,
All He needs us to be.
 
We’ve each been given our talents
To use and serve his plan.
Some are easy to recognize,
While some mystify man.
 
Yet He can use each one of us
To reach out to the lost,
He magnifies what we can do
To mitigate man’s cost.
 
Not you, nor I, can do alone
What we have been called to,
But by His strength, within His plan,
There’s little we can’t do.
 
He gave to us without complaint
The grace we need to live
With Him, once more, throughout all time.
Now it’s our turn to give.
 
I know I’ll never do enough
To earn the grace You freely gave,
But I pray You will use me, Lord,
To help those you still need to save.
 
Matthew 25:22-23
And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’

I Run Back To You

 

It’s easy to be distracted
Along the path each day.
More than once I have found myself
Unfocussed and astray.
 
In that moment, I hear Your word
Replaying in my head
And I turn back along the path
To follow You instead.
 
I know what lies ahead of me
If I don’t walk with You,
And there’s nowhere I want to be
If You are not there, too.
 
So, when I find I’m off the path
To which You have called me,
Then I will turn around and run
And go where I should be!
 
Psalm 119:59-60
When I think on my ways, I turn my feet to your testimonies; I hasten and do not delay to keep your commandments.

I Hear You and I Praise You

 

I can hear You calling to me
In the roar of the seas,
And I can hear Your whispered voice
On breezes through the trees.
 
There’s no place in all creation
That I don’t hear Your voice,
So everywhere that I go
I’ll praise You and rejoice!!  
 
From mountain peaks my voice shall sing,
From the vast plains, I’ll praise
The Lord who speaks to me each day
And leads me in His ways!
 
Job 12:7-8
“But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you; or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you.
 
Psalm 96:11-12
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy

And Rest A While

It’s time for me to just be still,
To rest within Your peace,
And bid the chaos of this world
To hush! It’s time to cease.
 
I need to go off by myself
To somewhere I can hear
The quiet whispers of Your voice,
To feel You drawing near.
 
I’m always grateful for the chance
To do Your perfect will,
But I am also grateful for
Time with You, to be still.
 
Oh Lord, I seek Your peace tonight,
Tomorrow I will rise
And work once more with a glad heart.
Tonight, my spirit sighs.
 
Mark 6:31
And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.
 
Matthew 11:29
Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 

Even In Little Ways, Help Others

 

They came to help a friend in need,
And, though they are quite small,
They managed to clean off his bugs.
They ate them, one and all.
 
Or maybe I should say that He
Offered food to strangers
Who seemed to be hungry, in need
Of food without dangers.
 
Whichever way you look at it,
They took the law to heart
As each one helped his neighbor out
By doing their own part.
 
I may have extrapolated
A bit too much today,
But nonetheless the point remains
Help others on your way.
 
It doesn’t have to be big gifts,
Small blessings can help, too.
Just offer others the same grace
With which God has blessed you.  
 
1 Peter 4:9-10
Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace
 
Luke 6:31
And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.

Look closely at the photo and you will see several small birds called oxpeckers. They are a huge blessing to giraffes... or so I've been told. 

The Weight Of All Sin

 

I carry my sins through each day,
And they can grow heavy.
I can’t fathom bearing the weight
Of all earth’s sins on me.
 
Beneath the weight of that old cross,
Christ bore for all mankind
The weight of each sin we commit
In body, heart, or mind.
 
It wasn’t just the weight of wood
That forced Him to His knee,
It was the weight of all those sins
He bore to Calvary.
 
I’ve felt it time and time again,
The shame of what I’ve done.
Each time I sin, I add more weight
To that borne by The Son.
 
We can’t take back the weight He bore
For sins of yesterday,
But we can try to add less weight
By sinning less today.
 
John 19:16-17
So he delivered him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha.
 
1 Peter 2:24
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

The Words Of The Lord

 

In all the long years of my life
I’ve watched things come and go,
They’re here one day and gone the next,
The same old ebb and flow.
 
The fashion trends, the politics,
The music we enjoy,
Those things we praise today will soon
Be those things we destroy.
 
The Lord is not like fickle man,
Who blows with each new wind.
For He who calls the wind to heel,
Is the same to the end.
 
His wisdom does not fade with time,
As blossoms in the spring,
And His words will stand forever
With all the hope they bring.
 
Don’t fix your eyes on things as frail
As blossoms that will fall,
But look to the unchanging Lord
Whose word speaks truth to all.
 
Isaiah 40:8
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.
 
Matthew 24:35
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

Out Of The Shadow Of Darkness

 
You have brought me through that valley
Out of darkness, sin, despair,
Into the Light of Your glory
For Your mercy’s ever there.
 
There is no path I can travel
That is not within Your sight.
There’s no place so lost in darkness
Where I cannot find Your light.
 
There is no fear I must face that
Stands defiant of Your might
If I rise up for the battle
In the armor of Your light.
 
Dark or light, the path before me
Leads me back into Your grace,
Where, rejoicing in Your glory,
I will rest in Your embrace.
 
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.
 
Psalm 23:4
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.