The gift

The gift
given
Jesus
He who died
in your place
took upon Himself
your sins, everyone

What have you done?
Is it all in vain?
Does the gift you received
remain unopened?
Is it likened to an empty box
with colorful paper
and a pretty bow
decorating a corner of your home
as if to say
“See what I have.”

What is it you have?
Have you opened the gift?
Have you shared its contents?

Or does the gift
just sit upon a shelf
gathering dust
with each passing day

Does the gift of Jesus
given and received
warm your heart
fill you with love
and compassion
and obedience

or does your heart
grow cold and numb
filling you with the ways of the world

Do you reflect God’s love
or Satan’s hate
in your life?

(c) February 8, 2016

II Corinthians 5:20-21, 6:1 – “Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us; we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain.”

II Corinthians 13:5-8 – “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? – unless indeed you are disqualified. But I trust that you will know that you are not disqualified. Now I pray to God that you do no evil, not that we should appear approved, but that you should do what is honorable, though we may seem disqualified. For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.”

Galatians 5:25 – “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”

I John 2:15-16 – “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – is not of the Father but is of the world.”

Read also Romans 1:17-32 and Galatians 5:16-26

Come

Come
enter into My Presence
wherever you are

Seek
find my goodness, my love, my guiding light

Stay
attentive to My every instruction
and the life you desire
with fullness of joy 
will be yours.

(c) Cathy Orrick Luders

February 7, 2016

Come - Seek - Stay

Come 
Seek
Stay 

My Presence
beckons
My Peace 
awaits
My Rest 
restores 

(c) Cathy Orrick Luders

February 6, 2016

Peace

The sunlight of His Presence
floods my soul
Gladness comes to my heart
as the brightness of
His everlasting love
settles over me, within me
My eyes twinkle
My whole face shines
as joy surfaces
Songs of praise come to my lips
My head bows in prayerful worship
Peace.

(c) January 29, 2016

It is what it is

I write 

The words
come
to mind
My pen
moves rapidly
or
with slow deliberation
across the page

I write
The words
come
to me
through the Spirit
of the Holy One
Jesus
My Savior
My Guiding Light

I write
The words
come
It is poetry
flowing
from the heart
feel the rhythm
His Spirit
embracing you

I write
The words
come
bringing
renewed hope
and joy
and strength
into weary lives

I write
The words
God gives me

It is poetry
as are many
of the psalms
penned by
King David
in The Holy Bible
Words
expressing
sorrow
love
forgiveness
encouragement
thanksgiving.

It is
as it is

Poetry
from the heart
be it
in any form …
rhythm
parallelism
symbolism
rhyme
free verse
and more.

 I write
 The words

 The Lord
said to me
to write
He would direct
He would set the tone

 And it is so.

(c) Cathy Orrick Luders

January 18, 2016

The Cradle and The Cross

 by A.S. Reitz

(published in The Speaker's Treasury of 400 Quotable Poems
compiled by Croft M. Pentz, (c) 1963)

When Bethlehem's manger first cradled the King,

And angels glad news to the shepherds did bring,
The blackness of midnight beamed like the sun,
As God gave to mankind His wonderful One. 

But when on the cross, as a sinner, Christ died,
With nail-pierced hands, and with spear-riven side,
The brightness of noonday was turned into night,
And men smote their breasts at the sorrowful sight. 

Yet Bethlehem's cradle and Calvary's hill
were all in the plan of God's infinite will.
The cross and the manger were made for this King
And heaven forever His praises wll sing. 

Today, Christ the light of the world will come in
And cleanse any heart from its midnight of sin.
His presence will banish the darkness of night,
And brighten the soul with His heavenly light.

All hail then to Jesus, our Lord evermore,
As men of all nations the Saviour adore.
To Bethlehem's Infant, to Calvary's King,
Our deepest devotion and homage we bring.

The Way that is His

(Based on readings in Isaiah 50:4-11 and Romans 1:18-22)

The Lord gives
instructions
to live
in the Light
of His Love

Do we hear
and comprehend
Do we speak
with the tongues
of angels
Are we awakened
morning by morning
aware of
His glorious Light
Are we obedient
to His teachings

or
are we rebellious
straying
down alleyways
filled with darkness
our words and actions
portraying anger,
hatred, impatience,
frustration, defiance …
that bring
shame
and remorse
and pain
to ourselves
and those around us?
Are we tormented
with thoughts
striking us down

or
do we trust
in the Lord
to bring us through
every trial

The Lord gives
comfort
to rest in Him
upon His lap,
at His feet
Are we refreshed,
encouraged
by His Life

or
do we grow old
and stale
with no life-giving fruit
of kindness, gentleness,
patience, goodness…
to pass on?

 The Lord gives
so we may know
how to talk and speak
hear and comprehend

 He shows The Way
into the Light
of His everlasting  Love

The way is open
We know the way
but
do we follow the way
Have we entered
into All of Him
or are we still standing
on the outskirts
doing life our own way

We make excuses
for why we do
what we do
but there is no excuse

We know the way of God
yet
we do not glorify Him
we are not thankful
for His provisions
we are not obedient
to His teachings

For all the wisdom
we think we possess
it is our foolish behavior
that shows better
what we deem important. 

(c) December 16-19, 2015

Your wants ... His wants

You wanted to know God
Do you?

You wanted to come to church
Do you?

You wanted to tell others
Do you?

He wants / desires a relationship with you
He wants worship and praise
He wants thankfulness
He wants His Holy Book opened
and His Word read and studied
He wants to give you joy and peace
He wants what is best for you
He wants to teach you life’s lessons
He wants your obedience

He loves you
He wants your love

He wants you
Do you want Him

Do you really want to know
                                       to come
                                       to tell

Or
do excuses become your answer
every time?

 (c) December 1, 2015

I cannot fix it

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye." ~ Psalm 32:8

"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in Him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothng. ~ John 15:5

"And we know that all things work together  for good to those who love God, to thouse who are the called according to His purpose." ~ Romans 8:28

I cannot fix things
I want to
I have tried to
I have made every attempt
to bring opposing views together
to help see the right and wrong
Sometimes I succeed
Most times I fail
I cannot fix people
I cannot fix events
I can only fix me
and that I must say
is a work in progress

It is only when
I seek the Lord’s help
His response to my distress
I want to solve problems
I want kindness and gentleness,
patience, love,
for everybody
Yet I cannot fix
what is not mine to fix

I can pray
I can come before my God
and make petitions
I can consider,
“What would Jesus do?”
at every questioning point
I can ask the Lord for guidance,
for myself, for another,
but no,
I cannot fix what is not my responsibility

My responsibility is to stay focused on Jesus,
to rely on Him
for my everything

My personal connected relationship
with Jesus is what counts above all
When I abide in Him and He abides in me
all things will work together for good.

 (c) November 30, 2015

A Bouquet of Thankful Blessings

God showers His children
with an abundance
of blessings

Throughout our days
we receive,
gathering
a beautiful
bouquet

of His Love
given on the Cross
at Calvary

of His Presence
always with us
in front
behind
beside us, hand in hand

of His Peace
guarding our hearts
calming our fears

of His Patience
to persevere
to keep on keeping on
to not give up
to not worry and fret

of His Strength
to carry us, weak and weary,
through every struggle
to give us encouragement
to defeat our foe

of His Wisdom
to teach us right from wrong,
good and evil,
obedience and trust
understanding

of His Forgiveness
when we sin

of His Guiding Light
by the Holy Spirit
who abides in our hearts
guiding our steps
so we do not falter

of His Gift
Eternal Salvation becomes ours
when through faith we accept the death, burial and resurrection
of The Lord Jesus Christ
and proclaim Him as our personal Lord and Savior.

All this
and more, much more
blessings we receive
Is it honor
and praise
and glory
we give with respect
this Thanksgiving Day
and every day

Are we filled with overflowing joy
to be in the presence of the Almighty God
Singing songs of worship
Surrounded by His love
joined in sweet fellowship.  

(c) November 23-24, 2015

I AM the LORD your God

He, The Lord,
says to me -

My life
within you
changes you

like a baby growing
in your womb

yet I AM not.

like a disease spreading throughout
your body

Yet I AM not.

like a negative thought taking control
of your mind

yet I AM not.

It is Me - Jesus Christ
I AM He
who cleanses you
makes you new,
whole and complete,
radiant as pure light
filling you with the glory
of My love

My life
within you
changes you

I AM the LORD your God
and no foreign god shall be among you
No foreign god shall be worshipped
(Psalm 81:9-10)

like Allah
whose teachings are handed down
from the prophet Muhammad
who is a false god
whose Muslim followers bow to and profess is My Father

I AM not.

 like Buddha
a statue of stone

I AM not.

like the stars
the planets
water or fire
animals
nature

I AM not.

I AM the LORD your God
I AM Creator of the Universe.

“In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things were made through Him,

And without Him nothing was made that was made.
In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
And the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness did not comprehend it.”
(John 1:1-5)

I AM the LORD your God
I AM Jesus Christ,
the Son of God
I AM God the Father
I AM the Holy Spirit

When you abide in ME
and I abide in you
My life
within you
is changed.

(c) November 14-15-16, 2015

The Door

You want the door to open
You stand in front of it
tugging, turning the knob
but it does not budge
You think the door is the key
to any and every happiness
Life would be better on the other side
if only we could get there.

But it is not the door
Every door we enter
or attempt to
will only get us so far
The greatness we look to achieve
becomes meaningless
Our desires do not bring us
fulfillment
We go  in and out
over and over again.

No, the door does not hold the answer.

The One who stands at the door -
of your heart - He is the key.

He holds the answer to your every quest.

You seek,
but are uncertain what it is you look for
You find,
yet you are lost
You follow,
but the way is confusing

If you seek the Lord -
the Lord Jesus Christ -
The One
who stands at your heart’s door
and waits
for you to invite Him in
That One
you proclaim you do not need,
do not want, have no use for,

Him -  Jesus Christ
If you seek Him,
you will find Him.

“If you seek Jesus, the Lord your God,
with all your heart and all your soul,
you will find Him.” (Deuteronomy 4:29)

 And when you have found Him,
you will have the key
to eternal life
to blessings
to peace
to strength
to love
to so much and more.

If you are connected
you will want to follow
If your communication
is two-way between yourself
and The Lord
for every thing
every time
every situation
be it good or bad
happy or sad
healthy or ill
frustrating or peaceful

If you tear down the barriers
If you don’t build walls
If you stay connected,
focused on and trusting in the Lord
Jesus Christ,
He will open the door for you.
He will show you the way
You won’t be lost
or confused
You won’t travel the wrong path
when you travel with Jesus.

“I  am the way, the truth, and the life.”  (John 14:6)

“With God, all things are possible.”  (Matthew 19:26)

 Without God, without Jesus,
you will not find the Way
you will not know the Truth
you will not live a meaningful Life.

(c) November 5, 2015

IF

If you have accepted
Jesus Christ
as your personal
Lord and Savior
You are
a Believer

If you are a Believer
and have died to sin
and rose to new life
You are
a Follower
of Christ

If you are a Follower
of His Way
His Truth
His Life
You are
An Obedient Servant

If you are Obedient
to His commandments
to love God and your neighbor
You are
Blessed
A Child of the King

But….

If you do not follow
are not obedient
Do not believe
or seek His Way,
His Truth
His Life
for yourself

Have you really accepted
the Lord Christ Jesus
as your Lord
your Savior

Is it all a pretense
Where are you
What do you have to show for yourself
What are you doing for the one
who matters most
the one who died for you

Do you have a heart of stone
or a heart of love

(c) November 2, 2015

Do you?

Do you hear
Are you quiet and still
or always in turmoil

Are you thankful
for His blessings
or is good news
an accomplishment of your own

Do you seek His guidance
listening carefully
following His principles
or is your way the only way

Do you look for the best
or expect the worst
and respond to your expectations

Do you teach your children
about God’s love
and grace and mercy
and forgiveness
or do they learn
your authority rules higher
than God

Do you hear His whisper
Are you listening to His voice
Are you obedient to His instructions
Do you follow His way
or do you stop up your ears
look to the world
follow the drumbeat of your own desires

Lost ….
Found…
a wayward child

(c) October 30, 2015

Like the leaves of Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter, He Is

Come
To Me
Come
into My Presence
Sit
awhile
Rest
Think only of Me

The leaves
like you
robed in splendor
My glory

In the Spring
budding
like newborn babes in Christ

In the Summer
green
and growing strong
in the knowledge,
heart and mind
of
My Son

In the Fall

arrayed in golds and reds
burnt orange
like mature believers
guiding others
to My Peace
My Protection
My Everlasting Love

In the Winter

a present
wrapping the whole earth
as a cover
to be covered
from the bitter cold
with  pure white snow,
like Jesus, My Son,
who, without blemish,
knew no sin,
came
covering the whole earth
with His love
offering Himself in the place
of every human being
a Perfect Gift
Eternal Salvation

Come
To Me
Come into
My Presence
Sit awhile
and rest
Think only of Me.

(c) October 27/29, 2015 

Gathering Together

Some go
Some stay
Some
claim busyness
Some
say it is futile, boring, tiring,
unnecessary

It is not for us
individually
to make determinations
reasoning to ourselves
For God has commanded
We unite

Do you not remember
what God’s holy word says --
“Do not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another.” (Hebrews 10:25)

To gather together
To Commune with our maker
To Worship with our Lord and Savior
To Glorify God our Father in heaven
To Come into the Presence of the Most Holy One
and give Him our undivided attention

Come, He tells us
into My Presence
enter into fellowship sweet
with fellow believers
be open
share the joy and love
He bestows upon us

Whether you go
Whether you stay
Where two or more are gathered
in His name, there He will be
among you
but not to do what pleases you
but to come into His Presence
to study and discuss His word
to give thanksgiving and praises
to proclaim
to worship
to glorify
The Living God.

(c) October 19, 2015

Where is your focus?

“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you, Because he trusts in You.” ~ Isaiah 26:3

Focus
Set your mind on things above
and the Lord Jesus
and all that is in the world - where you live –
will be revealed to you

Each step taken in trust
will guide you
steadfast and sure

Obstacles
that may block your route
such as large boulders of hatred
and wrath and murder
and small stones of complaining
and arguing and irritation
and tiny pebbles of pettiness
get you off course


 But for every situation that comes up,
no matter how miniscule or gigantic the stone,
IF you seek the advice of your heavenly Father
and abide by His command
every perceived roadblock
will vanish

 We see the world,
aware of what comes and goes
We cannot see God, but our awareness
of Him is far greater
than the world
when our attention is centered on Him.

(c) October 18, 2015

 

Does His Light shine in and through you?

Does the Light fade, grow dim
Does the darkness
reach past our bodies cold
and intrude upon our minds
into every corner
Does what we believe we have
no longer exist
Have we allowed our thoughts
of despair and sorrow,
of pain and anger,
of irritation and frustration
to become our reality
Do we listen to the worldview
of right and wrong
and abide accordingly
Have we missed The Truth
and The Way
Do we fail to follow
The Life that is His?

Is the Light in our hearts hidden
or does it shine before all

How can the Light of Jesus
shine in us
If His goodness
is not ours
If His Truth
we do not believe
If His Way
we do not proclaim
If His Life
we do not practice

His Light overcame
the darkness of Sin

With His Light in us,
His Strength upon us
and our Focus on Him,
we too can overcome
the darkness
that seeks to destroy.

(c) October 6-8, 2015

"You are the light of the world ... let your lights so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." ~ Matthew 5:14, 16

"He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotton Son of God and this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God." ~ John 3: 18-21

"I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." ~ John 8:12

I do ...

A special day
shared
begun

I will
I do
on this day
forward
to love
and
to honor
in sickness
and
in health
till
death
do
us
part

Together
two souls
united
as one

Golden rays
of Light
as God encircles us
with His love

And then
the rains
come
clouds of doubt
silence
before the storm
erupts
thunder
booms
Lightening
sharp
across the night sky

Where have you gone
God asks
Here I AM
with you

You had but to call
to whisper My name
to reach for My hand
through every storm
every silence
every heartache

I AM with you

Why do you fear
You are not alone
I see your pain
I hear your agony
I love you still

I know the wait is long
I know your every desire,
and what you need, as well
I know your struggles

Lean on Me
Look toward Me
Listen to Me
Love Me

The answer you seek
will come
It will be as
you desire
I will show you the way
Do not look to another
for affirmation
only onto Me
Follow after Me

The road followed in days past
saturated in mud
Seek Me
in the midst
of the
downpour
and the calm

I AM
a special day
shared
begun

I will
I do

Will you be
and do
and go
and stay
Will you
be united with Me
surrounded by My undying love for you?

(c) September 29, 2015

Come. Hear. Respond.

"The Lord God has given me the tongue of the learned,  that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary.  He awakens me morning by morning.  He awakens my ear to hear as the learned.  The Lord God has opened my ear;  and I was not rebellious,  nor did I turn away." ~ Isaiah 50:4-5

Come
Awaken
Hear

Respond
to
His
voice
Learn
Understand
His
wisdom

Stay
near
Rebel
not

Come
morning
and
evening
throughout

The
spirit
beckons

Come
to
Him
ready
willing
Sit
at
the
feet
of
Jesus
Commune
with
Him
in
the
stillness.

(c) September 26, 2015