8/12/18 Through 8/18/18

8/12/18 Through 8/18/18

Sunday

How clearly spoken was the word

But malice made it never heard.

The Spirit grieved by such a thought

That we reject what we've been taught.

The brand of Him who loves us so

Concealed by sin to never show,

But it remains a lasting sign,

The choice of Hell is clearly thine.

It needn't be if you repent,

For to the sinner Christ was sent,

To break the chains of sin that bind,

And every searching sinner find.

Receive His Spirit once again

And be a living sign for men

That love can soften hardened hearts,

And grace to all our God imparts.

Monday

So much to learn so far to go

So hard for me, to great things know.

A simple mind of little brain

Much easier, a dog to train.

So far away or high above,

The way of God, the way of love.

The hidden message hard to see

For any simpleton like me,

But always patient, always kind,

The Master, who all things designed.

No matter how complex it be,

The Master helps the simple see.

Tuesday

Kolbe in the prison cell

Enduring more than words can tell

Sustained by love beyond belief

Though captors offered no releif.

He ate the scroll God wrote for him.

In misery he raised a hymn,

And conquered in humility,

The darkness of futility.

Wednesday

Perfected virgin ever-pure

Who carried Christ in womb secure,

Who nursed and nurtured infant Son,

Who pondered all that God had done.

How glorious your fiat heard

When angel spoke that noble word,

And God on earth within became

Your joy and everlasting fame.

The greatness of the Lord proclaimed.

Emmanuel the child named.

Forever blest this lowly one,

The mother of His only Son.

Thursday

Lord I forgive as best I can

But in the end, I'm only man

I hold no grudge on other men

But may not deal with them again.

I pray what's lacking You supply,

And truly bless the other guy.

For only those who follow You 

Will come to know a love so true.

And even those that hurt me so

I pray, dear Lord, would come to know

Contentment of a different kind

When you, as Lord, they come to find.

Friday

The marriage bed where two are one

Is where new threads of life are spun

Their love as total, rich, and pure

Will, for ages, on endure

A covenant as God designed

The two become one heart and mind.

No shade of selfishness or lust.

A bond of pure self-giving trust.

Saturday

Let the children come to me

For such as these have eyes to see.

Their simple love so fair and sweet

Their ready hugs a welcome treat.

No complicated ways of men

Who hear, but listen not, and then

Instead of answering the call

Give in to sin again, and fall.

The children see and understand

It's best to do as God had planned.

So, willingly they follow me,

For humble find, what proud can't see.

8/5/18 Through 8/11/18

8/5/18 Through 8/11/18

Sunday

In truth You are my daily food

Eternal bread with life imbued

No creature here can satisfy

Or lesser food this truth belie.

There's only one that fills the soul

That nourishes and makes us whole.

That falls each morning from on high,

A fresh, abundant, new supply.

Monday

With shades removed and blinding light

Amazed at glory shining bright

A trembling fear comes over me

As sinful eyes, such glory see.

A shadow hovers over me

From shining mist above the tree

And then the Father's voice is heard

"This is My Son. Obey His word"

Tuesday

Bruised the reed yet broken not

My love for you is not forgot.

Though sinking in the tempest waves,

Reach out to Me, the hand that saves.

Wednesday

Cast out in darkness by our sin

So far away, no light gets in.

Yet even there He calls by name, 

Forgotten faith, then sparks a flame.

A little faith can do so much

When aided by the Master's touch.

A mountain moved, a demon gone,

A soul returned, where it belongs.

Just let the ray of brightness in

Cast off that wicked chain of sin.

Renewed in love forever be.

And let the Shepherd, shepherd thee.

Thursday

Peter first, his faith declaring

Then God's plan, his flesh desparing.

Blessed by God, to him revealing

Christ, Messiah, man of healing.

Given all the Kingdom keys

But then the flesh tries to appease.

For yet, did not, then understand,

The sacrifice, that God had planned.

The flesh rebuked for love to reign

All sins forgiven through His pain

Called to be the one who leads,

The shepherd, for the sheep, who bleeds.

Friday

Great blessing in the quiet time

To ponder things of love sublime.

Things that teach a lesson clear.

Things the soul has need to hear.

Soil is broken for the seed.

Broken seed to fill our need.

Rain supplied by broken sky.

All for life, they first must die.

Crop that gives a handsome yield.

Harvest from a giving field.

Broken to become the bread,

Of life, on which we all are fed.

The process is the same for all

Who hear and answer to the call.

Unless you fall to earth and die,

You cannot with, the word, comply.

No fruit will bear from seed preserved

No recompense for that deserved.

For only as a broken seed,

Is Christ revealed, our only need.

Saturday

Grant to each a vision clear,

How they should reach the far and near.

Grant each the faith to mountains move,

Your majesty, to clearly prove.

A tiny seed is all it takes,

And then Your excellence awakes,

To squarely show in plainest view,

The splendor of Almighty You.

7/29/18 Through 8/4/18

7/29/18 Through 8/4/18

Sunday

A little in the hands of God

Will go a long long way.

Give all and then His works applaud,

When they are on display.

He wants but all we have to give

No matter just how small.

If we, on Him, depend to live

We have to give our all.

But then we see how every time

We give it all away,

It acts for Him as just a prime

To fill the jars of clay.

Monday

Within the tiny mustard seed

Is found the shelter that we need

If it be given room to grow

The Lord of Lords we'll come to know

In parables we come to see

Things hidden throughout history

And find a tiny glimpse above

Into the land of endless love.

Tuesday

In the fields are weeds and wheat

But only one gives food to eat

Each with a purpose there to spread

The one alive, the other dead.

One grabbing life to selfish ends,

One whose life, on God, depends,

One that follows ill pursuits,

One that bears abundant fruits.

Be not like weed, but follow wheat,

Give of yourself that all may eat.

Be not a barren worthless weed,

But be the loving fruitful seed.

Wednesday

One thing is worth all that I own,

One name above all names is known.

The one whose breath gives life to me.

The One whose love has set me free.

Thursday

Behold the Potter at the wheel

And wonder how the clay must feel.

Beaten, pounded, pulled, and drawn

Till every lump of stiffness gone.

A painful process for the clay,

But oh, how wonderful that day,

When shaped by hands that love the clay

We learn to love the Savior's way!

Friday

A prophesy, God's word for now

That penetrates the heart somehow

And reaches to the depths within

Revealing just how much we sin.

How can He use such worthless tools

To reach the hearts and minds of fools?

Yet somehow with success He does,

Just see that every prophet was,

An ordinary man like me,

That God withdrew the shroud to see.

Who loved enough to sacrifice,

And speak against our world of vice.

Saturday

The wicked seek to kill the good

Who follow God the way they should.

Enraged by righteousness proclaimed,

That shows their acts, perverted, shamed.

But still pursue His path for you

In all you say and all you do.

For not by power or by might

But by the Spirit win the fight.

And win the hardened stony hearts

For Him alone whose love imparts

A mercy and a welcome home

For all, to Him, returning home.

7/22/18 Through 7/28/18

7/22/18 Through 7/28/18

Sunday

The Shepherd raised for wand'ring sheep

Their safety and their guard to keep

To lead them to the valley green

Where their true love, at last, is seen.

Take pity on the scattered brood

And give them everlasting food

That in Your valley they may find

Enduring love, and peace of mind.

Monday

Once again we're called to love,

To listen and obey

To listen to the prophets of

What God Himself would say.

No sacrifice or offering

Can call His favor down

But doing right and humbling

Is where He may be found

No sign but Jonah shall they see

When Judgment Day arrives

The Ninevites will judges be,

That day when all arise.

For at the Word they changed their way,

Repenting one and all

Returning to the light of day

When e're they heard the call.

Tuesday

One meal each day is all I need

One meal of love, on which I feed

Your presence in the bread and wine,

This satisfying food of mine.

But, oh so many fail to see

The truth within this mystery

The love and mercy shown to man

When we but walk within His plan.

Wednesday

We hold within these earthen jars

The treasure of His many scars

That far surpassing those that hold,

All men may know the precious gold.

Too many decorate the pot

To look like treasure, when it's not

The treasure in this earthly thing

Is love in patient suffering.

Thursday

The parable we understand

In many varied ways

Through story as the Savior planned

He clears the milky haze.

It finds in each a special key

Unlocking deep within

The need to love, and clearly see

How often that we sin.

The Chaff and Wheat, or Wasteful Son

Illumine to the eye

The awful things that we have done,

How we deserve to die.

But also how his mercy flows

And patience stays his hand

Till every sinner surely knows

They've heard His clear command.

Grant me the gift of speaking well

And offering to all

A message that the stories tell

By answering His call.

Friday

What kind of ground do I provide?

In me, how is the word applied?

Do I receive it as I should,

With all its power understood?

Or does it sprout at once in me,

But wither like some rootless tree?

And is it choked by thorns of greed

Exaggerating what I need?

Perhaps some day I'll till the ground

And then, a fertile place be found,

Within this poor and destitute

Where seeds of love can bear their fruit.

A fool, to be so cavalier

To think that day not drawing near.

When told, "Produce the Master's due"

And I have none to show to You.

So till my heart and break the clods

Of selfishness and other gods.

Create a soil rich and bold

That bears for You a hundredfold.

Saturday

In every garden sown good seed

And given water that they need,

The tender shoots of grain will rise

To yield a fruitful harvest prize.

But there, as well, is sown the weed

To try and overtake good seed

So higher must the grain now rise

To find the light from sunny skies.

For weeds attempt to block the rays,

Concerned with none but selfish ways,

And bear no fruit like useful grain,

But full of only showy feign.

At harvest time the sickle wields

Them both within the full-grown fields.

Weeds are bundled there and burned,

But sweet rewards the wheat has earned.