A Simple Procedure, A Needless Worry

 

Tomorrow may be a rough day,
But nothing I can’t face
If I do so within Your strength
And through Your loving grace.
 
A little thing compared to all
That others have walked through,
And even I have faced worse things.
Still, I’m glad I have You.
 
You are the calm within my storm,
The laughter, midst my fear.
When I am anxious, I recall
That You are ever near.
 
Tonight I’ll sleep, then rise at dawn
To prepare for the day.
Before I leave, I’ll take a breath
And a moment to pray.
 
Then I will step out in the faith
That Your peace will abide
And all my worries mean nothing,
For You are by my side.
 
Psalm 46:1
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
 
Romans 8:18
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

Hard Truths, Still True

 

That time will come without warning,
But come it shall one day,
And it won’t be some random date.
He’s planned it out this way.
 
If you are out there in your sin,
Then in sin you will stay.
Yet, by His grace and through His blood,
There is another way.
 
He’s calling to you, will you stop,
Listen, and turn around?
Don’t stand there thinking you have time.
You’re in the lost, unfound.
 
I know that it’s been said before,
But I’ll say it again,
The time is running out to get
Your ducks in a row, Man!
 
Your name will be called at His throne
And, by His grace alone,
You can be counted with His sheep.
Give Him your heart of stone
 
And He will heal it, make it whole,
Declare your sins as paid.
Tetelestai, the debt is cleared
And in His tomb it’s laid.
 
The time is running out, oh Man,
To get your ducks in line.
Give your heart to the Redeemer
Before You face the fine.
 
Matthew 24:36
 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.”
 
Ezekiel 36:26
And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

My Heart Trusts In You

 

I’d stressed about it through the day,
How things could all go wrong.
I heard You tell me to trust You,
To let my faith grow strong.
 
At some point I chastised myself,
And vowed to trust in You.
I knew, however bad it got,
That You would see me through.
 
Maybe that should have been the clue
I was still holding on
To all my worst imaginings.
You can’t fear what is gone.
 
I said, “Forgive me”, tried again
To let go and have faith
That my worries would prove to be
No more than a mere wraith.
 
I walked in and walked out in joy
For everything went right.
I thanked You for being my peace,
My strength, and my delight.
 
When all was said and done I sang
In praise and gratitude
That You love me and taught me to
Make faith my attitude.
 
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
 
Psalm 112:7
He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.

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.

The Birds Of The Air

 

My heart has rested heavily
Within me as of late.
Too many questions on my mind,
Worries running in spate.
 
There is no cause for such as these,
It’s just me being me,
But now and then I can’t help feel
Something bad’s bound to be.
 
Why do I let my mind drift thus,
Let false worries pile up,
When You have blessed me with Your grace,
An overflowing cup.
 
Birds of the air, don’t share my fears,
They live within Your plan.
They hunt and let Your plan unfold.
They’re more faithful than man.
 
I know I’ve faced some troubled times,
But You have brought me through.
Why do I cling to false worries
When I should cling to You.
 
Lord, help me be like those wild birds
Doing what I’m to do,
While letting go of doubts and fears
Because I trust in You.
 
Matthew 6:26
Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
 
Psalm 147:9 & 11
He gives to the beasts their food, and to the young ravens that cry…
the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.

This amazing photo is a blessing from LLT. Wow! 

Turn Back From Pride

 

Oh, you who live with prideful hearts,
Disdaining one and all,
Be cautious that self-righteousness
Does not cause your downfall.
 
Yours isn’t the voice in command,
Despite what you hold true,
And many on whom you look down
See false pretense in you.
 
Turn back from your self-worship, child,
And turn instead to Him
Whose hand has formed what you deem yours,
Even to heaven’s rim.
 
Be careful that your pride does not
Lead you too far astray.
For there will be a reckoning
To which we’re called one day.  
 
Don’t let a prideful heart destroy
All that His grace provides,
But live in humble gratitude
That His grace still abides.
 
The choice is yours, by His decree,
But please remember this,
There’s only one Lord over all.
Your pride you must dismiss.
 
Obadiah 3-4
The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rock, in your lofty dwelling, who say in your heart, “Who will bring me down to the ground?” Though you soar aloft like the eagle, though your nest is set among the stars, from there I will bring you down, declares the Lord.
 
Proverbs 16:18
Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

Give Comfort In Times Of Grief

 

We each have carried the burden
Of grief too great to bear,
And yet we’ve had to find the strength
To live with our despair.
 
Because we understand such grief,
You’d think we’d know the way
To comfort someone who now fights
To keep such grief at bay.
 
Alas, that is not how grief works.
For each, the pain’s our own.
Try though we might we cannot heal
The pains we haven’t known.
 
I cannot heal their broken heart
Or mend the hole it leaves,
Nor can I take away the fears
And pain of one who grieves.
 
I cannot bid them walk my path,
For their healing’s not mine.
What I can do is give their grief
To the healer Divine.
 
For He can heal the broken heart
And make it whole again.
That’s comfort beyond the power
Of any mortal man.
 
I know because He has healed me
From more than one heartbreak,
And I know He will heal them, too.
His comfort’s theirs to take.
 
The greatest comfort I can share
Is God’s love and His grace,
And simply staying close until
God’s healing can take place.
 
2 Corinthians 1:4
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.
 
Psalm 34:18
The Lord is near to the broken-hearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

Get Thee Behind Me

 

Satan’s calling to the world
And many hear his voice.
Thinking they will hold great power,
They make an evil choice
 
I see him upon the pulpit,
He’s smiling as he lies,
Twisting the truths that God gave us,
Working your soul’s demise.
 
I see his demons bow in the streets,
Demanding you do, too,
That their demonic overlord
Might take your soul from you.
 
I seem them screeching, condemning
All that God’s declared good,
Destroying what they do not own
Because they think they should.

 
Serving the darkness in the world,
Turning away the Light,
Will not lead them to earthly wealth,
But to eternal night.
 
So many voices crying out
In pursuit of his plan
Shall find that serving satan’s will
Does not end well for man.
 
For, if you serve him here on earth,
You’ll serve him, too, in hell.
That service is void of all hope.
Turn back, don’t heed his spell.
 
Put him behind you, walk away,
Take hold of God’s promise.
His is the Word, the Light we seek,
All satan’s calls, dismiss.
 
Matthew 4:9-10
And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”
Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”

The End Of The Pier

 

For most of us, the end will come
Outside what we can see,
But, for a few, the end’s in view,
As clear as it can be.
 
Whether by illness or design,
We see the end draw nigh,
And that can lead most to despair,
No matter how we try.
 
The storms of life can rise quickly
And fill our hearts with fear,
We see them rise up, sweep across
The far end of life’s pier.
 
I understand the fear some know
At the end of this road,
We count all we’d chose to re-do,
How we could shift the load.
 
We fall upon our knees in grief,
Regrets for what’s undone,
And wish we could have one more chance,
Once more around the sun.
 
Yet, those of us, who know Jesus
And recall Peter’s fate,
Understand, when we start to sink,
His mercy won’t be late.
 
When Peter first started to sink,
Jesus took hold of him
And lifted him back to His side,
Though Peter’s faith was dim.
 
I may not know just how it’s done,
But I harbor no doubt
That, when I step off of life’s pier,
Jesus will pull me out.
 
I’m in no rush to reach pier’s end,
My life’s full to the brim,
But, when I hear Him bid me come…
I’m running right to Him.
 
Matthew 14:29-31
He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

You Do Not Forsake Me

 

The path before me lay obscured
By all the sins I’ve known.
There were so many, vast, varied,
All the bad seeds I’d sown.
 
I had become blind to the way
That would lead me back home.
I was without the hope of peace,
Condemned ever to roam.
 
I called out to You in despair,
Oh Lord, please lead me back
From this dark trail I’ve walked too long.
Get me back on Your track.
 
There in the dark, a soft light shown,
The path began to clear.
Though I could see just the next step,
I felt Your peace draw near.
 
I took that step, holding to faith
That You’d show me one more.
Each step marked my path back to You,
To redeem and restore.   
 
Though I’d let myself go astray,
You did not forsake me.
When I turned back, You heard my cry.
You love me patiently.
 
Isaiah 42:16
And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them.

Broken, Now Restored

 

When I was broken, heart and soul,
You restored me to grace.
You healed the broken pieces and
A new me took their place.
 
You lifted me back to my feet,
And held me to Your side.
The scars that had once marred my soul,
Removed and cast aside.
 
To all the world, I looked the same,
The outer me unchanged,
But in Your sight I am made new.
The old me is estranged.
 
You gave me back the joy I’d lost
When You restored my soul.
Please help to hold faithfully
To You who made me whole.  
 
Psalm 51:12
Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.

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.

Sailing In Faith, Not Fear

Life’s a breeze, I have heard it said,
Just hoist anchor, set sail.
The problem happens when that breeze
Becomes an outright gale.
 
When life’s a breeze sailing is smooth,
But, when the wind turns rough
And the keel tilts into the waves,
A blithe heart’s not enough.
 
That’s why I lift a praise of thanks
As each tempest moves through,
For I have seen Him calm the waves
For me a time or two.
 
I’ve heard Him tell me, “Peace! Be still”
And felt my fear abate.
Thus, when the horizon grows dark,
I don’t just sit and wait.
 
I call out to Him, lift my praise
Of thanks knowing He’ll hear
That my trust still rests in His grace.
I sail in faith, not fear.
 
Mark 4:39-40
And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”

I Shall Not Dread

 

The fears that used to weigh me down,
No longer trouble me,
For my hopes rest upon Your grace,
As it is meant to be.
 
That doesn’t mean they don’t pop up
To haunt me now and then.
Yet, when they do, I pass to You,
That which is beyond men.
 
I work hard to do all I can,
But I no longer fear
That which I can’t see or predict.
For, Lord, I know You’re near.
 
I don’t go out seeking trouble,
But, when it seeks me out,
I do my best, give You the rest,
And trust You without doubt.
 
Deuteronomy 7:21
You shall not be in dread of them, for the Lord your God is in your midst, a great and awesome God.

For Those I Pray

 

Oh Lord, today I pray for those
Who have not found Your light.
Though they are trapped in the darkness
They’re not out of Your sight.
 
I pray for those who can’t concede
They are astray in sin.
Please give them the wisdom they need
To turn to You again.
 
I pray for those who still believe
That they are in control
Of all they’ve done and what will be.
Please heal each prideful soul.
 
I pray for those who can’t let go
Of the bad seeds they’ve sown,
The sins of yesterdays long past,
The shames that they have known.
 
Please help them to reach out to You
And find they have a place
Within the healing of the cross
And Your unending grace.
 
So many failures I have known,
Many scars my soul bears,
But You have always heard my cries.
Tonight, I give You theirs.
 
Proverbs 15:29
The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.

Nor Anything In Creation

 

No matter how far or how fast
The world lures us away,
We’ll never outrun His mercies,
Nor get so far astray
That He can’t find us when we’re lost,
Then lead us home to stay.
 
I’ve stared in awe at heaven’s lights
Spread out across the skies.
I watched a mountain exploding
Before my very eyes.
 
I’ve stood within the forest’s depth
And heard the wind’s soft sighs.
None of these places are too far
For Him to hear my cries.
 
Heaven and earth were formed by Him,
Where do you think I’d go
That He would not see every step.
There’s no place that I know.
 
That doesn’t mean I’ve not been lost,
Running off now and then,
But when I cried out to my Lord
He led me home again.
 
This world has many traps and snares,
But I have Heaven’s Son,
And He won’t let this world destroy
The good work He’s begun.
 
No matter how far off His path
I find that I might stray,
I’ll never be so lost that He
Won’t hear me when I pray
And come to find me, by His grace,
Then lead me home to stay.
 
Romans 8:38-39
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Remembering No More

 

I laid my sins before the Lord,
They numbered beyond count,
And He poured out His grace on me
Like a swift flowing fount.
 
I see them still, when I look back,
Then shudder at the shame
That I could have lived such a life,
And still, His mercy, claim.
 
How could it be that one so pure
Would not just cast away
A world of sinners, scarred by shame,
Who chose to go astray.
 
Yet, since I turned back, called His name,
Declared Him to be Lord,
I’ve watched those scars heal, one by one.
His mercy’s my reward.
 
I cannot wait to see the day
When all my scars have healed,
All sin behind me, and His Light
Is completely revealed.
 
Until then I’ll count my blessings
Praising Him, Heaven’s King,
For His forgiveness of my sins,
And not remembering.
 
Hebrews 10:16-17
“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,” then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”

Comfort In Affliction

 

Just be still and hear His voice,
He’s speaking straight to you.
He knows the weight you’re carrying
And all that you’ve been through.
 
He’s knows the number of the stars,
And also of your tears.
He’s waiting for you to be still
So He can calm your fears.
 
As long as you run frantically
You cannot hear His voice.
Be still and know that He is God.
In Him you can rejoice.
 
Let His voice bring comfort to you,
His love, the tempests calm.
For His mercy heals every wound,
His peace, the perfect balm.  
 
Stop chasing after everything,
Sit down and just be still.
He is the Lord who loves you, child.
Always has, always will.  
 
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, 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.

Your Love Is Greater

 

My heart grows heavy, now and then,
When I look at the world.
The anger and the violence,
Both stones and slanders hurled.
 
Our lives grow darker every day,
And our thoughts more unkind.
That light that’s at the tunnel’s end,
Is difficult to find.
 
Yet, when I fear all hope is gone,
I feel Your perfect grace
Fill up the darkness with Your light
‘Til hope reclaims its place.
 
The hope born of a faith filled heart
Returns to me once more.
There is no joy this world may take
That Your love can’t restore.
 
Your love is greater than my fear,
That faith will heal my pain.
With Your love as my guiding Light,
Faith, hope and joy remain.
 
1 Corinthians 13:13
So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Life's Maelstroms

 

When we stand in the maelstrom
We often curse and cry.
Instead of asking for Your help
We blame You and ask why.  
 
When times are good we sail on by,
Thinking we’re in control.
It’s almost as if we can’t see
The picture, clear and whole.
 
It may be that times of distress
Are meant to teach us to
Stop thinking about “poor old me”
And turn our thoughts to You.
 
Acknowledge we aren’t in control
Of most that this life brings,
That we need You to guide us through
This life’s arrows and slings.
 
If we reach out to You in faith
Instead of rage or pride,
We find that we can withstand life
With You there by our side.
 
The tempest eases, the path clears,
And we find our way through.
Maybe the storms are meant to teach
Us how much we need You.
 
To show us that we’re not the one
Who’s in control each day,
But, He who is, stands close enough
To help us find the way.
 
There will be maelstroms, now and then,
That pop up in this life,
But You will always be the peace
We need to brave such strife.
 
Numbers 6:24-26
The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.