The Door is still open ...

Feelings

get in the way

of what God has said to us.

We ask for a sign,

we look for the open door,

and it is there,

ready for you to enter in

and explore and be

and do great things,

all for His sake.

But our feelings

about this or that,

whatever

we find

after we enter that door

God had readied for us,

stop us

from fulfilling

His plan for our life.

We see reasons

not to go on

we see our life lived

and then come up short,

all because

our plans

failed to come to fruition.

Our plans.

Our plans are only ours

in so far as they are in

God’s will.

Our plans may change.

We make choices.

What about God’s plan,

His will, His desire

for our life?

You heard the call.

Why do you

not hear it anymore?

Have you closed the door

He opened for you?
Have you decided

there is no reason

to go on?

Some doors God closes

because of

disobedience to Him.

But God

does not close every door.

A turn of events,

happenings

in our lives,

however humbling,

even disabling,

is not a closed door.

Perhaps our walk

has slowed.

Age or health,

even finances

may be deterrents.

But deterrents

are not

synonymous with a

closed door.

God did not say

life would be

all beautiful roses

for even roses have thorns.

You want to live

You want your life back

You don’t like the changes

appearing –

the good health has given way to poor  health

the great job has become no job

God desires us to walk with Him

all our days,

to not give in to feelings,

to not give up and close the door.

God has opened a door –

and you stepped inside.

The door

did not latch shut

and lock.

You are free.

Free --- to be,

to do, to fail,

to get up and go again,

free to live totally with Him.

Free to live a life 
centered on God.

Free too

to rely on outside influences,

free to allow conflicting

thoughts fester

and cause turmoil

and poor decisions.

Free to live a life 
centered on Self 
and feelings.

The door is open, still.

You stepped in.

What now?

© March 12, 2012

Jesus shows us the way

Jesus shows us the way

He is
the way
to salvation
He is
the solution
to Sin
He is
our redeemer
gifting us
with freedom
from our sins

He is
through His very life
He is
the illustration
of how we
are to live

He shows us the way

He is
all
about
being
obedient
to His Father
Being loyal
and trustworthy
faithful
and true
embracing righteousness
living responsibly

He is
the standard
our standard
He is
the Light
He is
Love

In Him
there is
no darkness
And we,
if we
claim fellowship
with Him,
if we
profess to abide
in Him,
we must not
walk in darkness.

In the darkness
sin awakens
and we stumble
and we do not practice
the Truth

Jesus is
the Truth.

Do you know
where you go
or
has an area
of darkness
overshadowed you
causing blindness

He is
the One who loves
the One who is love
the One to whom we love

He is
our guide
Do we pray for guidance?
He is
patient
Do we pray for patience?
He is
our encourager
Do we pray for encouragement?
He is
all powerful
Do we pray for strength to continue in the midst of struggle?
Do we pray for greater faith?
Do we pray for compassion?

Jesus shows us the way
It is up to us to go the way
Not just any ole way,
but His way

Are you committed?
Are you obedient?
In your life walk,
do you walk with Jesus
or apart from Him?

(c) March  10, 2012

God ~ Jesus

God can do it all
He created the heavens
He created the world
From dust He created man
and from man's rib He created woman

God does not change
He is not at your disposal
He does not move at your whim

God is Lord of all
He is love
He implanted the seed of life
in the woman destined to be
the mother of the Christ Child

God is that seed,
that baby,
the Son of God,
the Spirit within us

God is the I AM
He is everywhere,
wherever you are
and where you are not
In the silence before dawn
In the crackling thunder

God desires our faithfulness
He seeks a relationship
with each one

He has no favorites
We are all sinners
and He desires to set us all free
from the bondage of sin
that keeps us trapped
within our selves

God is one
All He does He does alone

And in that "oneness"
we are reminded --

There is only 1 Truth
There is only 1  Savior
There is only 1 basic problem with humanity -- Sin
There is only 1 solution for that problem

The Way, The Truth, The Life
is found in
Jesus!

"in Him we live and move and have our being" - Acts 17:28a NKJV

(c) March 8, 2012

Single-Minded Obedience: So simplistic yet so hard

To obey
To be obedient
To rely totally
always
only
on Christ
on His Word

Not on self
Not on peers
Not on feelings
Not on governments
peeling promises
resulting in half truths
and lies

But to cling
to all that the Lord is
to all the security He offers
no matter what the world
suggests

To remember
the dream
He gave you

To listen
to His still small voice
heard
during the nights you cannot sleep
or during an exam you struggle to comprehend
or even with another with whom personalities clash
Don't let barriers prevent you
from hearing
with your ears, your eyes, your heart

Jesus hears
He listens
He answers

Do you pour out your heart to Him
who does hear your agony and
frustration?

Do you wait for His reply?

Are you obedient in your response
when His answer
requires
a step of faith?

(c) May 27, 2011

I call

I call
You hear
I am Yours
yet disjointed
are my thoughts

Darkness all around me
But Lord
with You
there is Light

Loneliness comes upon me
even when surrounded
by many
But You remain
constant
You do not leave
my presence
and I am comforted

My body is weary
and restless,
movement escapes me
But You, O Lord
bring peace,
a calmness to my soul

Bitterness over turmoils
past and present
churns
But You
have enabled me
to endure
and be patient
as I go,
whatever the outcome

I do not understand
Your ways
But I know
Your Way
is the best way,
the only way,
the right way.

O Lord,
help me
to accept all
that comes
The good
with the bad

Help me O Lord
to live
fully live
to life
prolonged
to death
however soon

You will not give me
more than I can bear
for You are with me
You carry my burden
You enable me to endure
You bring me assurance
I can rest in You,
the shelter of Your wings.
I am free in You.

(c) February 29, 2012

Silence

Silent we
First Word
Last Word
Not mine
Not yours
But His

Waiting
Listening
Hearing
Speaking
Obedient to Him

Are we?

Silent to His Word?
Listening to His Word?
Hearing His Word?
Speaking His Word rightly?

(c)  February 27, 2012

A visit ...

We visit
We part
Steps retreat
The door closes
The silence
The longings begin

Replayed
over and over and over again
Why is it so
Why must it be
Is it useless, meaningless
Or is there some grand plan
to be gleaned
from everything
in a former day
that only our Father God
knows and in His wisdom,
leaves us to ponder,
however disturbing
that may be.

Remember ...
the past,
but not to dwell.
A visit.
Remember ...
you accepted.
Jesus died to bring you
new life
and you accepted ...
You accepted
His offering, His gift.
Accepted
the offering of a
new life, a better life.
Remember ...
yesterday,
many years ago,
last month,
the day before today,
but live ...
today,
this moment,
for it is enough.
Tomorrow ...
we plan, but
may it be with a
new hope,
not an old pain.

In looking back,
don't let that glimpse
be your destruction.

You gave your past life
to Jesus
Let Him build your life today
And live in a new life forevermore.

(c) February 20, 2012

In the mood?

We cannot be
in the
"right"
frame of mind,
"in the mood"
 before we have
an encounter
with God.

God
is all around us,
waiting for us
to join Him,
interact with Him,
but we cannot
wait
and wait
and wait
some more.

What do we wait for?
A better time?
There is
no better time
than now.
We wait and then
when our numbered days
are finished,
there is no time.

No time to wait,
no time to begin.
The right time,
the right mood
escapes us.
We are no more.

We need
to be
ready.
How to prepare
 It certainly
is not
by doing
all there is to do
whenever
we please
with no thought
of another.

We say
practice
makes perfect.
What kind
of perfect
do we
achieve.
Practice
makes things
come together,
jell.

Are you
"in the mood?
to practice?
Practice
living,
learning,
teaching,
hearing,
listening,
obeying.
Perhaps not.

Not inclined
to be
nor
inclined
to practice
to be.

But God
He is
still waiting
He waits
whether
we are
in the mood
or not.

He waits
for that
chance
encounter.
He waits
for you.

He waits with love.

(c) February 18, 2012

God frees us from our imprisonment

We are
all
imprisoned.
Perhaps
not
behind bars
within
small cubicles,
waiting ...
for release,
freedom.

But yet,
imprisoned
nonetheless.
Trapped.
Bodies
laden with
unending pain,
cancerous sores,
reminders
of
former days
broiled in sin
caring not for any
one
other.
Straddled between
what we wish
and
what is,
fearful
of
what happens
when we say no
to either side
and
fall;
over and over
we tumble
into an
unknown,
ever widening
hole.

Who will
catch us,
who will
be
our
protector?

We cry out,
but who
will hear
our
screams
of terror
in the
night
and
in the day,
hours unending?

God
will.
Our
comforter.
Our
counselor.
Our
protector.
Our
pillow of restful sleep.
Our
everything
every
time.

God.

Our release
from
agony
...
we can be
set free
like
a butterfly
from
its
cocoon.

Set free
to be.

God will.
God can.
He is
My rock
My hope
My redeemer

I am His.

(c) February 17, 2012

prayer ...

Prayer...
a flowing
of ourselves
to God
who knows
our
every
need.

(c) February 17, 2012

Only the best

I ask 

for guidance

I ask

for Him

to show me

a better way

I ask 

and He answers

Yet

the answer He gives

Is not

entrenched into my being

I do not hear the answer

I do not hear ... 

I ask

for guidance

and He provides

guidance.

He says,

“I wouldn’t if I were you.”

“Are you sure that is what you really want to do, my child?”

And where am I?

Why do I not hear?
Surely I am listening.

Is it because

Satan knows his part so well

knows how to dig deep

how to invade

into my

personal space

knows how to pursue

my desires and wants and wishes

how to snag me

so all thought of

pleasing My Lord

vanishes?

Oh!

woe is me.
The Lord is

not happy with me.

I  ask

He answers

He has answered before

Time and time again

I continue to ask

He still answers.

When will I hear?

When will the still small voice

Of my precious Lord

reach my inner being

and I will respond

in loving obedience?

He wants only

The best for me.

Do I?

(c) February 11, 2012

Complete ... separate

Is it like being dormant
and then awakened
refreshed
renewed

We are dust
the dust of the earth
from that
which the Lord God created
He created too
a human, a living being
a body and soul
together
and we are complete
and it is good
for God has
spoken so
in His Holy Word.

Sin had not
been born into
human hearts
until
that one moment
when
encounter
brought choices
and conscience,
and soul separated
from body

The remainder
of our days
we strive
to reunite
with
The One
who
gave us
Life
who
gave
His Life
who
gives us
New Life.

(c)January 28, 2012

"And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being." (Genesis 2:7 NKJV)

It's New!

It's New!
Brand new
Sparkling new
Shiny new

a new car
a new house
a new address
a new baby
a new friend
a new body
a new age
a new chapter
a new dream
a new plan
a new marriage
a new me
a new name
a new job
a new neighbor
a new pet
a new set of clothes
a new relationship
a new belief
a new faith
a new resolution
a new life
a new creation
a new song
a new story
a new hope
a new morning
a new day
a new decision
a new lifestyle

It's New!

Old, but new too
Used, but new

New is new
Is new always better
Is old not

Did you become new
as soon as
2012

Or ...

(c) January 2, 2012

"Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They (His mercies) are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness."  - Lamentions 3: 22-23

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." - II Corinthians 5:17

"If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. ... Therefore put to death fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, covetousness, which is idolatry. But now you must also put off anger, wrath, malice,blasphemy, filthy language. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge, according to the image of Him who created him. Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long suffering; bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complain against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts and be thankful." - Colossians 3:1-2, 5, 8-10, 12-15

A new beginning

a new year
a new beginning
perhaps

do you think
making a list
of better intentions
will pave the way
for a new you

do you think
it is all about you
and your wants
and your desires

It is not.

An illusion
a pretense
we spend
our everyday lives in
Day in -- day out
A better picture
A prettier picture
A plan to make all better,
more perfect

Nothing
Not up to us

Whatever we do
our hopes
falter, fade, die
and we start anew

But alone
by ourselves
we can do little

We have the past
but to move forward
to that new beginning
within yourself
and with your loved ones all
we must seek
a higher being

God
Only He
really and truly
can bring us
to a
new beginning

Only He
has the power

but we can pray
but in praying,
we must listen
we must hear
and listen
and follow.

Only God can bring us
to the new beginning
we seek

Only God
has all the answers

We have none

Our resolves
are meaningless
without Him
who gives our lives
meaning.

A new beginning
Where does yours begin?

(c) January 1, 2012

Day passes, year ends; 2011 ... 2012

Day is done
many
a full year
comes to a close

We remember
what has passed
and make no sense
of events
that have fallen
our way

Glad tidings
have come as well
Do they not
deserve more

And what of
Tomorrow
many there are
But
do not look back
in dismay
but forward
and upward
in hope and thanksgiving

Live these days
Live them well
Remember
to whom
they ultimately belong
and live them with Him,
The Lord Jesus.

(c) December 31, 2011 

"No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." - Luke 9:62

His Gift of Love

The gifts
under the tree
seem unnecessary

whether there is little
or much to give
and or receive
The gifts
are not important

If there is little,
we become desolate
If there is much,
we become proud and arrogant

We share and show
our love for another
but what have we to give
to Jesus?

Does He have need of material things --
toys or clothes or books
I think not.

It is love
and compassion
patience,
kindness,
comfort,
goodwill to another

He looks into our hearts
in the midst of wherever we are
He knows who we are
and what we are
He desires us to know Him.

There is no amount of good
we can ever do or achieve
to obtain the gift
of love
Jesus freely offers

We have only to accept
Accept, believe, obey, trust, love.

Love.
Trust.
Hold onto the promises.
Never forget,
Never let go.

Remember the baby
It is God
who chose to come
to earth
to be for me and you --
among us
to bring us new new life
to save us from our sins

Love Him
Trust Him
Never cease to remember
who He is,
the Mighty King
Jehovah Jirah,
Our All in All
Never lose sight of
His Glory,
of the Love
He has for you,
He has given us.

Do we owe Him any less?
Not as an obligation,
but of love.

Love and reverence,
Love and joy,
Love and trust.
He is worthy.
Trust Him.

There is nothing we can do
ourselves.
There is nothing we are
or can ever hope to be
without the Lord Jesus -
our lives are incomplete.
Without Him, we cannot
accomplish His purpose.

Remember
Always remember

It is His love for us
that is the true gift
of all
Our response
is our love for Him

Be it ever true,
full of faith
and hope,
but most especially,
full of love.

(c) December 21/22, 2011

Jesus is the Promised One

Real and certain
In days long past
it was a promise to come
In days future
it is a promise of His return
In days present
it is a promise fulfilled.
God's divine child
Our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ.
He is
... the promise of Light
... the promise of Gladness
... the promise of Liberty
... the promise of Peace
... the promise of Extraordinary King
... the promise of Everlasting Reign

(c) December 17, 2011

"For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulders. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6)

IF ... then I

"Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? 
He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart." - Psalm 15:1-2

If ...
you walk,
you obey,
then
I ...
I will be ALL that I AM
The Lord Your God

your Provider, your Shelter, your Overcomer, your Protector, your Friend, your Counselor, your Strength, your Teacher, your Friend and Confidante, your Deliverer, your Judge and King, your Compassion, your Comfort, your Door to New Life, your Hope, your Good Shepherd, your Peace, and more.

IF
you do not walk (with Me), and
do not obey (My commandments)
then
still
I ...
I will be ALL that I AM ...

Judgment
pronounced
The door to new life
closed.
The hope and peace you think you have
dashed in a second
Deep despair, overwhelming pain
as the fiery flames climb higher, surrounding you
penetrating your very being
This
your permanent home
as you face
Eternal Damnation

I AM the Lord God Almighty

(c) December 16, 2011 

Windows

Shadows peaking
Sunlight floods my soul
When I'm not looking
It's dark
Where do they go?
Death comes
stealing our dignity
Windows
Everywhere
I don't want to go
I don't want to stay
Life is easy compared to this
Life is full of moments
Death is full of pain.

Not always
But here, now
It is.
Windows
One way
I am the way
Jesus is the way
Windows
Reflections
Memories
Going away

(c) September 16, 1996

one week before my mother's death
(11:25 p.m. Sept. 23, 1996)

He came ... do you know Him?

He came.
God came.
He saw
all we are
and came.
It was promised,
foretold,
years and years
and years before.
a baby
would be born
lying in a manger;
son of Man
son of God
to search out the lost
to bring renewed hope
to save us from damnation
for eternal, everlasting, glorious
life.

He came.
God came.
Himself,
as a child, a babe,
in the midst of
sinfulness,
weakness,
wretchedness,
misery.
He came
and lived among us.

God
creator of all that is
and is to come
and has already been
He Is
The I AM

No one,
no, not one
is greater than He

He came.
God came
as Himself
as an infant
born of the Virgin Mary
Holy,
divine,
without blemish.

His name is Jesus Christ.

A miracle of life
and love
for all of humanity
proclaimed
anew
year after year after year
At Christmas.
When His followers --
those who believe in Him,
those who trust in Him,
those who obey His commandments,
those whose heart is focused on Him --
Celebrate
His birth.

Christmas is the season
we celebrate
the birth of our King
and give gifts
that bring glory to Him.

Christian is the name
His followers
came to be known by
(Acts 11:26)
Christianity
embodies Christ
as the God-head
and His followers
as the church

Jesus is not Santa Claus
Christianity is not Islam
Is not Buddhist
Is not Jehovah's Witness

Christianity is not living a "good life"
Is not "being good"
Is not a feeling
Is not "I hope so."

Christianity is knowing
It is true and factual,
It is based on faith alone
On The One and Only
Jesus Christ.

Do you know Jesus?
Are you one of His followers?
Do you admit you are a sinner?
Do you believe in Him as the Son of God?
Do you confess your faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?

(c) December 14, 2011