Sunday, February 26, 2017

2/26/17 Through 3/4/17

2/26/17 Through 3/4/17

Sunday
The love of money, golden chain
Denying what we hope to gain
Shiny glitter all aglow
Instead of friend has turned to foe

Has brought us nothing worth our while
But only kept our looks in style
Yes, looks provide a moment's thrill
But, yes, it's true, that looks can kill

Monday
In Jesus and the rich young man
We see how incompleteness can
Negate the offerings we make
Exposing true, revealing fake.

No use to boast with words we say
No use to come but half the way
If we're to answer to His call 
Just be prepared to give your all.

Tuesday
Never wonder, what of me
With all the gifts I've offered thee
You can't out-give the Giver's gift
So let the Lord, your spirits lift.

His word a promise to us all
Who answer to His loving call
In ways you may not now discern
Behold a hundredfold return

Tuesday PM
Lord, all I've given came from You
And all I have belongs to You
If I insist on holding back
It leads me on a fatal track

For You, in love, created me
And in Your love You made me free
And if I fail to give You all
How hard and sad that fatal fall

Wednesday
This day begins the trial long
To make me weak, yet make me strong
To help me see beyond what's here
To trust and learn to conquer fear

A time to slow the busy pace
And learn to yield to fruitful grace
Enduring that which may annoy
Denying pleasure, bound for joy.

Thursday
Deny yourself, pick up your cross
Then come and follow Me
What seems to be a total loss
Will really set you free

For all you are was made to be
A perfect gift of love
United for eternity
In wedded bliss above

Friday
Cry out loud and let them hear
Their wickedness is known quite clear
No answer to their prayer is sent
Unless they humbly now repent

Sackcloth and ashes don't you see
Is not the thing that pleases Me
But broken yoke and slaves set free
Will bring with Me, your unity.

Saturday
If you remove malicious speech
And guide the hungry ones you teach
Then light will rise in darkest night
And gloominess will take to flight

The ancient ruins then restored
A righteous crown your great reward
Your strength renewed to never fail
Whatever trial may assail

But if you choose to go your way
And don't revere My Sabbath day
Such blessings I will not bestow
And such delight you'll never know.

Sunday, February 19, 2017

2/19/17 Through 2/25/17

2/19/17 Through 2/25/17

Sunday
He offers grace to one and all
But only those who hear the call 
And answer with a willing, Yes
Will find true peace and happiness

For wisdom and the strength of men
Is nothing to our God, and when
We're foolish in the eyes of men
He blesses us with grace again

Perfection comes from knowing Him
And not from every fleeting whim
Responding in each time of grace
To humbly then, His will embrace

Monday
The heavens and the earth have shown
All wisdom comes from Him alone
And He, the secret, has revealed
To how, such power, we can wield

It's through much prayer and sacrifice
And not indulging appetites
That we cast out from deep within
The one that leads us into sin

Monday evening
Response to grace is quite the key
To holiness for folks like me
I recollect throughout the day
The times He spoke, and in what way
Then did that voice my flesh eschew
Or was that voice attended to?

I must admit that many times
I followed my old paradigms
But once or twice I find a case
Where I responded to His grace
And then in humble thanks I see
There still is hope for folks like me.

Tuesday
If you come forth intent to serve
You must come forth without reserve
Sincere of heart prepared for trial
Accepting all with patient smile

Turn not away or lest you fall
Abandoning your holy call
Be not enticed by evil lures
Then grace and mercy will be yours

Be not with pride your heart defiled
But trust Him like a little child
And know His lowly, not are cursed
But those now last, will then be first.

Wednesday
There is something here to last
Unbroken link to times now past
His vicar on the earth to lead
And shepherd souls of those in need

Without the certainty of truth
How could we teach the faith to youth?
No unity for which He prayed
Without a Pope, they all have strayed

Thursday
Presume upon His mercy not
But kindle here a fire hot
Do not delay conversion now
But answer Him to love somehow

Cut off the things that lead to sin
And let your life in Him begin
A better life is on the way
For those who see the light of day

Friday
Far more than friendship, bound in flesh
The man and woman made to mesh
Becoming one in mind and heart
That none on earth shall ever part

But this a dim reflection still
Of how to love on earth until
We cross into the land beyond
And understand the heavenly bond

Saturday
Let children come without reserve
Such open hearts, God's love deserve
To little ones He grants the keys
The kingdom is for such as these.


Sunday, February 12, 2017

2/12/17 Through 2/18/17

2/12/17 Through 2/18/17

Sunday
The Lord has said, that if I choose
The righteous way, I shall not lose
The life eternal, meant for me
And then great glories I shall see.

Monday
Where is your brother? His question to Cain
Just listen and know, that it's no use to feign
The blood of your brother cries out from the ground
You're sentenced to ever go wander around.

His question to us, in this modern time,
Is, Where are your children, those victims of crime?
The blood of those millions is crying so loud
For justice against the selfish and proud.

Yet even in spite of the millions we've killed
With love, and with mercy, the Lord's heart is filled
Not off to the wilderness wandering sent
But into His mercy, if just, we repent.

Tuesday
The yeast of those to guard against
Is that which leaves desire un-fenced
A yeast of egocentric fare
That puffs you up with none but air

Far better, I would have you know
To be a fresh, unleavened dough
One clean and undefiled, so...
You give His Word a chance to grow.

Wednesday
How long it takes for us to see
The man, and not some walking tree
We need His touch to clear the eyes
And see through every dim disguise.

Thursday
A fruitful life is His command
Subdue the beasts, and all the land
Multiply and fill the earth
Then learn to love for all you're worth

For by your love, the world will see
Reflections of divinity
And come to seek this God above
Whose word inspires great acts of love

But lest love seem a facile chore
Know that He asks for ever more
Beyond that first inviting call
He asks of you, your all in all!

Friday
Deny yourself, take up your cross
Repent, and follow Me
For he who seeks to save His life
Among the dead shall be.

What profit, then to gain the world
And have so many toys
But in the end discover that
What pride confuses, pride destroys

Saturday
The voice they heard, they recognized
No longer hidden or disguised
To do, not knowing what they should
When God's own Son, before them stood

Great men of faith, from long ago
Stood with Him too, that we would know
The dead shall rise and know to be
What only eyes of faith could see.

Sunday, February 5, 2017

2/5/17 Through 2/11/17

2/5/17 Through 2/11/17

Sunday
If you shelter one in need 
And if the hungry one you feed
Your light will break forth like the dawn
And God will heed when called upon

Not wisdom or sublimity
Persuasive words or clarity
Will bring the soul to know the One
Messiah and God's only Son

But lighted lamp and salty lives
Illuminate what earth deprives
Don't hide the light another time
But raise it high and let it shine

Monday
They that merely touch His cloak
Are healed and break that sinful yoke
That keeps us tied to earthly things
And have a glimpse, what love now brings

For Christ the same as yesterday
Creates anew for us each day
And though it seems as all is lost
His favor we cannot exhaust.

Tuesday
In the beginning it was not this way
For man saw his wife in the purest of ways
Both naked they looked with a heavenly gaze
And walked with the Lord in the cool of the day

Wednesday
Defiled by that from deep within
The source of all my greed and sin
Repentance now the only way
To cleanse this heart of living clay

How great the gift to cleanse the soul
Forgiving sins and making whole
When priests with absolution give
Repentant souls a chance to live.

Thursday
Naked yet and without shame
The man and wife, so pure became
Reflective of the Trinity
When they were joined in unity

But that great beauty flew away
When sin became their chosen way
No more he looked upon his bride
Except with greed and lust inside

But Christ has come as living bread
And on the cross, crushed Evil's head
That we could see again the sign
Of spousal love, and love divine

Friday
May my ears be opened Lord
To clearly hear Your daily word
And may I speak with clarity
Each day the Word You speak to me

Saturday
Cast out, the Tree of Life denied
The pangs of birth intensified
In toil now the earth will yield
For you must cultivate your field

But now upon the Tree of Life
The Son of God and Sacrifice
Upon the tree our Living Bread
The Bread of Life we now are fed




1/29/17 Through 2/4/17

1/29/17 Through 2/4/17

Sunday
Seek the Lord with all your heart
This wisdom I, to you, impart
For happiness is knowing One
Whose brightness far exceeds the sun

Monday
Lord cast the many demons out 
That keep us far from You
And show us clear the holy route
To do the things You do

Tuesday
Discard the burden, run the race
Stay focused on His love and grace
Endure with faith in One above
To meet each trial with steadfast love

Do not grow weary in the fight 
But draw upon His strength and might
For you have not been tested yet
Unto the point where blood is let

If you but merely touch His hem
You'll have the strength to deal with them
Just let your faith increase in size
And then, behold, the dead shall rise.

Wednesday
Oh Lord grant me Your discipline
For that's where love and trust begin
It's truly for Your yoke I long
Yet I am weak, but Thou art strong.

Thursday
Due sacrifice cannot be made
If we, the Lord, have not obeyed
For those that meet the Lord's desire
Have all passed through refiner's fire

The perfect sacrifice once made
By Christ, to have our sins allayed
Yet we are called to share His pain
And thus to win eternal gain

For who can strengthen men on earth
But He who took such humble birth
And shared our every pain for sure
And yet remained so clean and pure

Friday
How much am I like Herod then
Intrigued by holiness, but when
I'm called upon to do what's right
In weakness, all my strength takes flight

In unexpected ways I find
The call to once again be kind
But Oh so often I decline
And seek to keep what I call mine

Saturday
Come find a calm deserted place
To rest from cares and busy pace
To sit with Him and talk a while
That He may then your soul beguile