God came in love, not hate

Christ did not come
to destroy life

God did not send
His Son to live among us
to promote evil and hatred

Christ did come to destroy sin

God did send His Son
to live among us
to become the means
through which the living being
can and would be saved
from eternal condemnation
to eternal life

Christ came in love.

We, as His followers

align ourselves with Him

We receive instructions
for daily living
through His word.

We strive to live and walk
in love toward all, as Christ

We do not promote sin

Since God’s Holy Word says
the unrighteous will not inherit
the Kingdom of God,
we , His followers
strive to show another the error
of pursuing that which comes against
your body.

Not because of hate.
But out of love.

Love for every one
Hate for the sin

Hate for the action taken

The act,  The sin

 of 

pride

of self-centeredness

of malice

of extortion

of idolatry

of drunkenness

of envy

of lustful pleasure

of adultery

of homosexuality

of temptation
of jealousy
of impure thoughts
of hostility
of continuous outbursts of anger
of participation in demonic activities
are but a few.

Following the desires of your sinful nature
is a guarantee you will not inherit the
Kingdom of God.

However,

If
we have turned away from these things
and turned to God
If
we have been called to live in freedom -
freedom to serve one another in love
If

we live according to our new life in Him
to The Holy Spirit’s leading
in every part of our lives

  

we will produce
love
joy
peace
patience
kindness
goodness
faithfulness
gentleness
self-control.

Only one wrong,
one unrighteous person
is enough to infect
all the others
and come against
one who stands with Christ

If we, who abide in Christ,
 stand together united,
perhaps it will be evident
and you will see
God’s plan for you
in how we live and walk.

© August  23 / 25, 2012

Poetry Book printed

Front and back cover of
"The Still Small Voice of God"

"The Still Small Voice of God," a book of devotional poetry by Cathy Orrick Luders has been printed and is ready for purchase. Cost is $6.00 plus an additional $2.29 if you would like it shipped.

Please send name, address, number of books you'd like to purchase and total cost to Window To Christian Ministries, 1453 Golfview Dr. NE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52402.

If you live in the Cedar Rapids area and would like to pick up your book (s) or have them delivered, please email me at windowtochristianministries@gmail.com
 
Thank you.

Anxious to please

We are anxious – not for perceptions
 of having to do this or that
but for want, desire
Free to be open to the needs
of our every neighbor
Free to see beyond ourselves
Free to see beyond
shades of gray
and into the light
where Christ,
in whom we seek completeness,
dwells.

We seek, yet we refuse
Christ is The One
yet we fail to recognize Him
we fail to recognize
needs all around us
we fail to recognize,
fail to comprehend,
fail to understand

He is the one who gives us
strength and endurance
to go on
He is the one who embraces
us, calms our inner fears,
is loving and merciful,
filled with compassion
in our distress

He is the one who protects us,
guides us, instructs us
as we travel the roads of life,
endless steps that often
seem to go nowhere.
He is the one who judges
and punishes us
to return us to Him
when we have sinned,
when we have come against

Him, who knows far better
than us what  we ourselves need.

He is The One.

To Him we owe our love
and obedience and trust
Not because we have to,
but because we want to,
we desire to
We are anxious to please Him.
We belong to Him.

He is My Savior
I am His child.

© August 22, 2012   

Be awake, alive ... or be dead

Being awake, alive,

Living

Seeing ,  Watching
Hearing,  Listening
Loving His world
yet compassionate
of those suffering
the spoken and
unspoken
petitions made

Not living in a world
of illusions
that all is fine
all will be better
when…
if …

It is
God’s world
inhabited by
sinners
lost … on a widely-traveled road to nowhere specific
and
found … on a narrow path to grace

Awake
not as from a restful sleep
or on one of constant turning
but as being
fully aware
of whose world it is
who lives in the world
what evolves in the world

Awake
to the inner calling
of God
upon us
searching
beseeching  us to answer
yay
or
nay

Come or don’t come
But I AM
My preference
My Child
is for you to come
Come and rest
Come and be refreshed,
renewed
Come and see
all I have
blessings untold
Or
be damned

Don’t come

Follow the paths you are currently on
Ignore the signs
Receive blow upon blow
The judgment will be delivered
and your demise
will not be upon Me.

Be awake
Be alive
Be living

or
Be dead

Give God the glory!

© August 16, 2012

It doesn't depend on me, except

It doesn’t depend on me
except to do the will
of my Father
to be obedient
to His command
to trust in His
very word
His every promise
to believe He is
who He says
by what He has done
and what He is doing
and what He will continue to do

It doesn’t depend on me
beyond this –
for it depends on another
The Lord Himself

It is He
who will fire us up
to extend a welcoming
hand or embrace

He will enable us
to be as Him,
showing us the way
when He lived among us
when He became one of us.

To be as Him,
but not Him

He is The One
There is One Truth -- He is The Son of God
There is One Savior -- Jesus is The Only Way
to salvation, to eternal life

There is One Basic Reason – Sin,
and that makes us guilty of judgment
There is One Solution – To die,
but Jesus took our place

He went to the cross,
He gave His life for ours

He loved us and loves us still so much
He died for us

He is The One
It does depend.

But I owe Him
my obedience
my trust
my faith
my life
my love

© August 15, 2012

I remember the eyes

I remember the eyes

So piercing

So quiet

So painful

So tired

So hopeful
So filled with love

I  remember how little of his life I really knew
But his eyes said all I needed to know

For this time
and this place

I remember the eyes

His eyes

No longer present,
but gone

We no longer see
the piercing look
the quietness
the pain and tiredness
But it is there

He is not here
but the eyes
they remain

Forever etched in our memory

© August 13, 2012 

Do you know ... all human life is valued

All human life is valued
and is valuable

The problem lies
with those
who determine
value belongs
only to a select few
Value is in the mind
and you think of reasons
-- made without reason --
to end a life
perhaps an unwanted pregnancy
or incurable disease
a mental illness
the destitute and lonely
the color of our skin
religious affiliations
our beliefs
the very old
You determine
who should live
and who should die
who is valuable
who is useless

Who are you?
You have determined
you are of value
because of who
you think you are
who you believe
you are
and you stand tall and proud
with bias and demeaning words
to another
you are the ruler

Are you?

You are not
any more
or any less
than another

You are valued
but not because of what you do
or what you can do
But because of
God.

All human life is valued
has value
God created
He continues to create
and in His time
life ends

God sustains
He gives us food to eat
water to drink
vehicles to travel about
lodging to keep us warm and dry
and in His time
all is removed

God redeems
He sent His Son
to live among us
to show us the way
to eternal life
His Son - Jesus Christ
sent to die
in our place
in your place
for our sins
because of love

Yes, you are highly valued
you were created
in His image
all were created
in God's image
and in His time,
the opportunity
to turn your live
around and over to Him
is gone.

Do you know
you are a sinner ... that you have messed up?

(Romans 3:23 NLT -- "For all have sinned; all fall short of God's glorious standard.")

Do you know
as a result of your sinning ways, you deserve to be punished?

(Romans 6:23 -- "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.")

Do you know
sin not only results in physical death, but also eternal separation from God?

Do you know
The Good News ... that God sent Jesus to pay the penalty for our sins?

(Romans 5:8 -- "When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.")

Do you know
you can receive the gift of eternal life? Believe in Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. Turn from your sinning ways and Trust in Jesus.

(Romans 10: 9-10, 13 -- "For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. For anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.")

Do you know
the gift is free

The road traveled requires trust, faith, belief.

All human life is valued

(c) August 12-13, 2012

You Are The Mighty One

You are the mighty One
We think we are
We think we know
what is best
for us and for all

But you do know
You see all there is to see
and beyond,
within our hearts
to the very core

We know nothing
in comparison to You
who IS

Even those who believe
in You
falter
at the gate

We search
but our fear of the unknown
of what might happen
overwhelms us so
and we struggle
to remember Your promises
we struggle
to keep You at the center
of our being

We see the pain
given and received
We see others
being swallowed up
in misery
The tears come
only You may see them
Silent tears
flow
and our "little" world
collapses

Our hope is less
Our doubt is more
We cry out in despair
We don't like where we are
nor where another is
We want out
We want to be whole again
We want

What do you want Lord
What are your desires Lord
Have we sunken so low
that You do not care?

No!

You have always cared
You are the almighty
You are The One
whose love brought us to You.
Your son
My Lord
My Savior
Jesus Christ
He came to live among us
to teach us
to show us the way
to abide with Him
to bring us hope
to enable our faith and trust in Him
so we can withstand all that comes our way
to believe in His promises
to shower us with blessings
to remind us of His love
to renew us again and again
to love and be loved
to give and give again
to forgive
and yet again,
to stay rooted in Your word,
to study and meditate
and to pray.

(c) August 10, 2012