A river flows

A  river flows
eastward
as a trickle it begins
and we
see ourselves
stepping in, stepping out
taking care of things
we do not see a problem
We do and go and carry on

A river flows
eastward
more than a trickle
It’s depth to our knees, our waist
harder to navigate
yet we trudge on
toiling day in, day out
struggling
worrying

A river flows
eastward
the current is rough, deep
We cannot cross
There is no way
We are stuck where we are
or we drown

A river flows
eastward
God shows us the way
If we ask, seek
we will find
God sees all
we do
all we undergo
the steps we take
beginning to end

The Garden of Eden
eastward planted
God-created
as He did Adam
… and Eve
instructions given
to obey

A river flows
eastward
a trickle
of disobedience, sin

grows
becomes a way of life
We will do it our way

Caught in a net
no way to escape

A river flows
eastward
Yet God remains
His anchor holds steady

He is the calm
we seek
within ourselves
and through the circumstances
we are dealt

He is.

(c) July 27, 2013

I AM

I AM
your inheritance
I AM
your possession
God has given us Himself
No need of any other
He Is.

(c) July 26, 2013 

Forgiveness must be more

Forgiveness
must be more

more than
not thinking any bad thoughts
toward another

more than
attempting to make things right
only to be slapped down

more than
avoiding a person because of unpleasantries voiced
by them toward you

Forgiveness
must be more

like love perhaps

God’s Love

What is God’s Love?

Is it quiet, silent, unassuming?
Is it always patient, always kind, always humble
It is never jealous, never selfish
Never rude, never provoked, never angered?
Is it always enduring, always hopeful
Eternal?
Does it build up another, encourage
come along side, stand beside, walk with you
share your burdens

Is this God’s Love
Is this friendship
Is this forgiveness

Or  is it much more?

(c) July 25, 2013

It's all about love -- the love of God

True friendship
is all about love –

The Love of God
shown to all of mankind
when He sent His only
begotten Son to earth
to become the sin offering
for every single human life
on this planet.

Jesus, the Son of God,
knew no sin
yet He became sin
for us – me and you
He went to the cross
and died for us –

that was His mission,
His goal, His purpose
to give us new life
a new purpose
a new reality
not of our own making.

True friendship
is all about love --
The love of God

Jesus tells us, shows us
to be fishers of men (and women)
not to catch and release
not to catch and let die
but to catch and change

Change for a better life
a Christ-filled life

To be as Christ
we need to devote our lives
to Him, with Him
we need to do as He

It is more, much more

that reading, studying, listening, meditating
His Word
It is experiencing all He is
with Him within us.

(c) July 24, 2013

I AM the Lord

"Thus says the Lord God: Are you he of whom I have spoken in former days by My servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied for years in those days that I would bring you against them?" ~ Ezekiel 38:17

"I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name's sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went." ~ Ezekiel 36:22

Are you he?
He who was prophesied about
in years gone by
who will come against

Are you he?

But you
do not come
do not go
without My say

It is
My Word
My judgment
My cause

You may be he
but
without Me
you are nothing
you will stay nothing

All that is done
yesterday
today
and yes even tomorrow
is for My sake
not yours

My sake
My Holy Name
Me
I AM the Lord
and I have spoken

And ALL
will know
I AM.

(c) July 12, 2013

God's reality or ours?

God’s reality is for all
Ours is for but a few
We tend to exclude groups
forgetting 
Christ is knocking
at the door of every heart

We are all sinners

The difference --
Some have been set free
and made righteous
through the shed blood
of God’s Holy Son,
Jesus Christ
Others remain chained
ignorant and rebellious
of what they could have,
could be

God’s reality desires all
to come to Him
be bound in Him
be One with Him

God’s reality is true and right

Are you –
the one set free --
are you bound to Him
or do you remain stuck
in your own world
like those
who have yet to remove the lock?

 (c) July 6, 2013

Tell me Lord what I must do

Tell me Lord
what I must do

I read
and study
Your Holy Book
future foretold
by prophets
who put their trust
in You,
and delivered too
from the vengeance
of their enemies

I am so small
I am yes,  Your child
but I am far away
from performances bold

I went
I returned
You orchestrated it

Show me Lord
what I must do
what is best
better
optimum

Show me Lord
frustration
showing itself,
sitting endlessly ... working
the pain escalates
Uncomfortableness
climbs
with every continuing hour

I want to stop
Do you …
want me to stop

Show me Lord
what I must do
to work
A day’s work is never done
yet it is
for that day
God gives no more
than we can handle

He knows above and beyond
what we know or understand

Help me Lord
to handle
today’s work,
to accomplish
all that is necessary
Help me rest
and not fall behind
Help me overcome
and be calm
Help me.
Show me.
Point the way.

Tell me Lord
what I must do
Help me to hear
Your voice
Help me to listen
Help me to obey.

You are true and faithful.
Help me Lord
to be likewise,
to follow Your guidance

Show me the way.
Today.
This day.
Every day
and any day.

I beseech You Lord
Tell me what I must do.

(c) July 5, 2013

Our end is near

“Our end was near; Our days were over, for our end had come. The punishment of your iniquity is accomplished. … He will no longer send you into captivity. He will punish your iniquity. … He will uncover your sins!” – Lamentations 4:18, 22

Jerusalem
The City of God
died --
The end was near
and then,
over and done

Its deadness
preempted
by years
and more years
of prophecies
foretold
but ignored
disregarded

God’s chosen
would not turn away
from the evil lurking
within themselves
and surrounding them
Rebellion was preferred

God’s chosen
would not turn back
to the Lord
Would not stop
and examine
their wayward ways
Would not cry out
to their Father God
lifting hands and hearts
seeking forgiveness

Jerusalem
The City of God
dead
sins  her demise
God prevails;
punishment accomplished

The Gentile Nations
God’s people
found too among
yet not all pursuers
of love and justice,
the Lord’s way

The end
was near
is near again
The end
of days
lives lived
over
once, twice
and again
The end
theirs – gone
ours
yours
It is coming

Will you reconsider
re-examine
your ways
and turn back
to the Lord?

Will you stop
search your heart
Will you seek
the Lord’s pardon
to set you free
to remove the choking chains

or will you continue
as you are
waiting for His punishment
justified punishment

to come? 

It will be accomplished!

(c) July 4, 2013 

to sit and be still

Woe is me
I do not sit
and be silent
though God may say “Be Still!”

I am distraught
My anxieties
frustrate me so
and I resort in anger
to yelling matches
that only serve
to grieve Him
who leads me
and me
who yearns to follow

He does lead me
but the path
is not always
clear and smooth
So many obstacles
block the way

Sometimes it is
God Himself
who makes me travel
the ever-increasing
corridors of darkness
and then
in my fear
I forget
my hope is still in Him.

God tells me
do not fear
yet I falter

He says
continue to seek
to search
to examine
to wait
to listen
to turn back to Him
to remember

“The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly …. He will show compassion … they are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, says my soul, therefore I hope in Him.”

Lamentations 3:25-26, 32, 23-24

(c) July 3, 2013