10/14/18 Through 10/20/18

10/14/18 Through 10/20/18

Sunday

Wisdom far exceeds them all.

So answer to her ringing call.

Riches seem as worthless sand, 

But poverty, with her, is grand.

The one thing that we all must know,

Is love will make the spirit grow.

Nothing can, with it, compare,

No gold or gem is quite so fair.

Monday

The signs are here yet we ignore

The call to worship and adore.

We rather seek to feed desire,

Than lasting food, our souls acquire.

We hold so tightly to our sin.

That prison, with us chained within.

The only way to free the soul

Is turn from sin to be made whole.

Tuesday

The fire of love was shown to her,

A cleansing fire meant to stir

The heart toward love and not to law

For purest love is what she saw.

The inside must be cleansed of sin,

For purest love to enter in.

The outside just an empty sign,

With inside cleansed, prepare to dine.

Wednesday

So crucified the flesh may be,

We fast and pray and offer Thee,

The works and troubles of the day

That sanctified may be our way

No Pharisee or teacher be

Whose showy works say, "Look at Me".

But one who parts the heavy load

And shares the fruits, on him bestowed.

Thursday

Can I but be Your laborer,

And in the minds of others stir,

A ray of light to show the way,

And rescue those who from You stray?

A healing balm to cure the sick.

A lamp with oil moistened wick,

A salt to spark a thirst in men

To listen and obey again.

The fields are ripe, and grain is full.

Give words that on the heartstrings pull.

Then gather in the harvest prize

Before it withers, fades, and dies.

Friday

All secrets will be known one day.

Thing whispered, they will loudly say.

What once in darkness was concealed,

In light, that day, will be revealed.

The secrets will each one be known.

The truth, to all, will then be shown.

Fear not the ones with evil goal,

They have no power o're the soul

Saturday

It's all about the dignity

Of little ones we cannot see.

May Christ enlighten hearts to know,

And wisdom, on our world, bestow.

Show in truth, where glory lies

And through His power, exercise

A resurrection of the mind

That all, the Son, as King, may find.

10/7/18 Through 10/13/18

10/7/18 Through 10/13/18

Sunday

By Him, the man and wife were made

To join in love, and never fade.

A life of giving all we own.

A life where seeds of love are sown.

A fruitful bond with two made one,

For more than just the sake of fun.

To mirror in affinity,

The love among the Trinity.

Monday

What must I do to be saved?

What obstacle still must be braved?

Just point me the way, and I'll do what You say.

Your word on my hand is engraved.

To love him's a pretty good start.

But only a half, or a part.

For if love isn't shown, to the brother that's known,

We haven't got much of a heart.

So listen and learn very well

From each of the stories I tell.

For on the way through, there's a message for you,

If on it, a while, you dwell.

Tuesday

Oh how busy I have been,

So much in love with selfish sin.

In search of glory from the crowd

Enamored by the haughty proud.

Too busy for a little time

To listen close and hear the rhyme.

To let his peace come flooding in,

And fill the emptiness within.

The better part, to sit with Him,

And quietly, His love, take in.

That changed forever, I may be,

And finer ways, may clearly see.

Wednesday

Submitting to authority

Not always fun for folks like me.

I like it when the rules are mine,

Far more than when the rules are Thine.

I oft forget Commandment One,

And think somehow I am the one,

To judge what's good or bad for me

Instead of turning all toward Thee.

I have no right to make the rule.

I am but just Your simple tool, 

And I have not the right to speak

As one contemptible and weak.

In wisdom You have set the stage,

Appointing prophet, seer, and sage.

Not perfect, anyone in power,

But chosen for this special hour.

Trust is what You ask of me

When darkness makes it hard to see.

Your ways so far above my own,

You're always right, as time has shown.

Thursday

Persistently, I seek Your word

Above the other voices heard.

To keep the gifts You gave me fanned,

And lead me to the promised land.

Friday

Sin be conquered and be gone

Let us not, be near it drawn.

Sweep the house and make it clean,

Feast not on its ill cuisine.

Let it never find a home

Let it round the world roam.

Be not the one to feed upon it,

Like the dog, who licks the vomit.

Worse the state for one like this

Caught within the deep abyss

Freed but then returned to sin

Stronger now, its grasp on him.

My God, my God, Your strength I need,

When I attempt, Your voice to heed.

Without Your help along the way,

I cannot help, but often stray.

Be there and guide me in Your path

Save me from that awful wrath

Be the strength for weakened knees

Help this feeble sinner... Please!

Saturday

Blest the one who hears the word

And follows very well.

The holy one whose will is stirred

Will with, the Father dwell.

You too can be a blessed one

In intimate embrace,

If you would listen to the Son,

And answer to His grace.

9/30/18 Through 10/6/18

9/30/18 Through 10/6/18

Sunday

Lord, so often I look and see

With eyes of foolosh jealousy,

And fail to see that all I am 

Is just another sinful man.

Cut off the parts that weigh me down

May they be with, a millstone, drowned.

I hope to find my life in You 

So sanctify the things I do.

Monday

Naked I came, and naked I go.

Nothing is mine, as far as I know.

All that I have was given by You

Praise to the One whom praises are due!

Tuesday

Angel of God my guardian dear

Daily my prayer and thanksgiving you hear.

Lifted to God with incense smoke

Each prayer of the heart the faithful spoke.

There at my side in the morning light.

There to watch over throughout every night.

There at my call when fear overflows,

There as my guide, the next step to expose.

Wednesday

This dollar bill a paltry thing

Yet to its draw, we firmly cling.

Decisions made by what things cost,

No thought at all for what is lost.

The dollar cannot satisfy,

When even found in great supply.

this fact well-known, but still we yearn

A little larger pay to earn.

Then when invited, "Follow Me"

Beyond the fog we cannot see.

The dollars seem to high a cost,

The worthless saved, salvation, lost!

Thursday

A Frenchman wise and clever said,

"Our church should not be left for dead."

Quite true, her beauty fades with sin

But change must come from deep within.

The only way to rid the vice,

Is suffer well and pay the price.

Replacing sin with virtues rare

As found in Francis and in Clare.

This poverty, the artist's way,

To battle vices of the day,

And find the spring of purity,

Forgiveness in humility.

Sufficient are the critics now,

But what we need are more somehow,

Of artists who will ply their hand

In answer to the great command.

Friday

I wish to be a martyr

That never skips a meal

I think my way much smarter,

to common sense appeal.

I wish to build the brawn,

But never lift a weight,

To rise before the dawn,

But sleep to half past eight.

I wish to sleep around

But be as pure as snow.

In luxury be drowned,

Yet poverty to know.

You call my way absurd,

No way for it to be,

So you must not have heard

Of such topology.

Am I so odd to want as much

You say can never be?

Just look around and count the schmucks

Who play the lottery!

Saturday

In emptiness You voice is heard,

You will in suffering.

In quiet there the soul is stirred

To let the Lord be King.

9/23/18 Through 9/29/18

9/23/18 Through 9/29/18

Sunday

No room to boast of what I own

For if at last, the truth be known,

All that I have was given me

That I might live eternally.

And look beyond my selfish greed

To see the One I truly need

Possessions cannot ever give

The things I need to truly live

The childlike will find in Thee

The answer to their every plea,

and humble ones will come to know

The greater gift that You bestow.

Monday

Set your light upon the stand

And listen for His each command.

Be docile and compliant when

He asks of you to give again.

For what you have was given for

Both blessing you, and many more.

Your light was meant to fill the room,

Dispelling darkness, grief, and gloom.

Tuesday

A brother may I be to you 

Who from the noisy crowd withdrew,

To better hear what You would say,

And follow on that trusted way.

Expecting inspirations large,

But finding smaller things my charge,

And nonethelsss I must obey,

To find, for me, the perfect way.

His word will come proportioned to

My willingness to hear, and do.

Each time I spurn a little chance,

I say, I wish not to advance.

But if I quickly answer yes,

It leads me to a sure success.

A triumph over selfish whim,

And one step closer now to Him.

Wednesday

The less I possess, the more I receive.

Abundance is mine because I believe,

To Him all belongs, and none of it mine,

Yet all that I need is granted in time.

His love ever present to those in need,

And daily, with bread, The Father will feed.

Truth the companion of those with the Word.

Speech with authority now has been heard.

Demons will flee at the sound of His name

Sight for the blind, and feet for the lame.

Making the journey without sack or stick,

Proclaiming the Kingdom, and healing the sick.

Nothing is mine, but all that I need

He grants everyday just as He decreed.

In weakness, His power is shown everyday.

He cares for the humble, who follow His way.

Thursday

The world turns another day

And caught within the endless fray,

Are those whose lives have gone astray,

Who never stop to think or pray.

So futile can it all appear

If they will never stop to hear,

His call to listen and draw near,

His call to cast away all fear.

Each revolution serves to guide

His purpose, ever amplified.

That none but Him could e're provide

Such peace and love exemplified.

So let no turn be passed away

Without some good along the way.

Make love the goal in all you say,

And find the beauty in each day.

Friday

In darkness in the still of morn

A thirst for something more is born.

In quiet there His whisper heard,

Before the first awakened bird.

A longing for His word to lead,

A longing for a daily seed.

To plant within this heart of mine,

And move a bit more close to Thine.

Saturday

An angel is a messenger

Whose duty is to come and stir

The hearts of men to see the way,

And Word of God, to us, relay.

Each one of us, to others be

At times, the one to help them see.

So, in some way, an angel too

If we but listen well to You.

My goal, oh Lord, is but to be

An instrument of love for Thee.

To help my brother understand

The grandeur of what You have planned.

So help me in my weakest hour

To speak with Love's most awesome power.

That I might be, for others then,

An angel to my fellow men.

9/16/18 Through 9/22/18

9/16/18 Through 9/22/18

Sunday

The question still remains today

Just who you say I am.

You know what other people say,

But this is your exam.

The question comes to each of us

At some point in our lives.

No time for us to then discuss,

When Judgement Day arrives.

So ask yourself this day and know,

Do you believe at all?

If so, arise and off do go,

In answer to His call.

And know the cross awaits as well

For all who call Him Lord.

To sin and selfishness the knell,

With ample grace outpoured.

Monday

Oh Lord I am not worthy now

That You should come to me somehow,

And grace me with another gift,

To once again my spirit lift.

But everyday in quiet morn,

Your word to me, again is borne

To shine a ray of light within

And help me turn away from sin.

Tuesday

Each need He meets at proper time,

A wedding with abundant wine.

A raging sea rebuked and calm,

The comfort of a fitting psalm.

A mother given back her son.

Ten lepers cured, but grateful, one.

On just five loaves are many fed,

You come to us in daily bread.

I worry and I wonder when,

That Christ will come and act again,

As faithful only He can be,

To show how much He cares for me.

Wednesday

In so great a need for love

We cry to You, oh Lord above,

Our world is set in evil ways

So hard to find a man that prays.

Love's perverted in our time

So hard to break this paradigm.

The fraud of pleasure, lust, and greed

Far easier to fill and feed.

But emptiness is where it leads,

And more of nothingness it breeds.

For emptiness cannot fulfill

The void within our own free will.

When finally they understand,

If not too late, for what He planned

They see they sought created things

Instead of what true love soon brings.

It's not so hard if just we seek

To immitate the poor and meek,

And see created evidence

As just a sign of Providence

The creature's not the end you see,

Far greater, its creator be.

For Love is that which gave us all 

And love is our much higher call.

Thursday

Have I used Your grace to me

In ways to set my brother free,

Or have I been a useless slave

Who squandered all the Master gave?

Your grace is offered everyday

But oft I pass it by and say,

I'm busy now, I haven't time

To stop and talk, or give a dime.

I'm on my way with goals intent.

Don't speak to me of being sent.

Like the song, I want to say,

Look at this life I did my way!

But now I see that worthless end.

Just folly that, on I, depend

For all that matters when I die,

Is how I loved the Lord on high.

So grant Your grace again and see,

A trusted servant, I will be.

Repentant for my many sins,

Who knows at death, new life begins.

Friday

Two words are all it took to bring

The tax collector to the King.

The man despised by leaders there,

who left his post within the square.

In Him he saw the truth revealed.

To him his righteousness appealed.

At once his gold appeared as tin,

The moment that he answered Him.

That "Follow Me" resounds today,

To each of us along the way,

But oh, if we could only see,

What holds us back is trumpery.

Saturday

What we see is just a seed,

But given soil as it needs,

To deeply root and firmly hold

Far greater then, will we behold.

If watered well and given light,

The seed will grow to greater height.

Producing fruit to feed the soul,

To satisfy and bless the whole.

Far beyond that little seed,

The plant will grow to fill our need

If it will die to be reborn,

then rise again, by God, transformed!