12/9/18 Through 12/15/18

12/9/18 Through 12/15/18

Sunday

Mountains shaved and valleys filled

Ancient prophecies fulfilled.

Height and depth are made to meet

Sinners now their Savior greet.

Repentance is the word today

From all our sins, must turn away,

And know we've found in Him the one

The persevering precious Son.

Monday

The chains of sin will paralyze

And hide salvation from our eyes.

Then all we see is desert waste,

And find quite soon despair embraced.

But One who made the desert bloom

Prepares for us a special room

If we, in haste, confess our sin,

And then a life of faith begin.

Tuesday

Lord, ninety nine have gone astray

And only one remains.

It seems a hopeless cause to pray

Where pride and boasting reigns.

But you have said to cry aloud

From every mountain height

That all the lost may be allowed

To turn towards future bright.

We chase the flow'r that quickly fades,

And shun the lasting word.

Foolishness, in man pervades

For only few have heard.

The voice among the wilderness

Or cry in desert land,

And thought it more than silliness,

That God is near at hand.

Wednesday

Humility surpasses pride

And mercy comes in flowing tide.

The fragrance and the song portend

That love will bring the evil's end.

Thursday

In my desert, plant Your trees

See that dreary darkness flees.

Make this dry deserted place

A source of love and purest grace.

Fasting, prayer, and giving alms,

All are precious healing balms.

Make me one detached from sin,

One of steadfast love within.

Friday

Many know that God exists,

Yet still their obstinence persists.

They wish to craft the rules to say

What e're their fancy be that day.

Saturday

The great are those that hear the call,

And then decide to give their all.

Refusing comforts of the day

To stay the course upon His way.

Not haughty towards the least of men,

But loving every one of them,

And helping others see the path

To righteousness instead of wrath.

12/2/18 Through 12/8/18

12/2/18 Through 12/8/18

Sunday

The dry and barren land will bear

Great fruit in days to come.

The parched and desert land is where 

The seed of life is from.

Our sin has made this land a waste

Where nothing can survive,

But Christ shall come that day with haste,

And show that He's alive.

The grass shall grow, the steppe shall burst

To verdant pasture where, 

Clean water flows to quench our thirst,

No longer land is bare.

Forever seated on the throne

Of David is our King.

The One, the source of life alone,

To whom our homage bring.

Monday

Imagine how the world would be

If all would live in harmony

If peace would reign in every heart

And none, from love, would e're depart.

Each soul infused with grace divine,

And firmly rooted in the Vine.

Prosperity in every home,

And everywhere His word made known.

Tuesday

When peace and harmony shall reign

The bear and lion be made tame.

The child and the cobra play

Together on that coming day.

The eyes are blest of those that see

The truth contained in mystery.

For prophets saw in dimmest light 

What's there before us in plain sight.

So now we see and understand

The wonder of what God has planned.

And though it still be far away,

Can taste the sweetness of that day.

We hasten when that day will come

If we will follow with the Son,

And love until the bitter end

To then, in glory, rise again.

Wednesday

All who come shall see,

And all who come shall hear.

The captives all set free,

And lost are all drawn near.

We see Him on the mount,

And flock to where He goes,

A teeming endless fount,

From Him, of mercy, flows.

Thursday

Foundations must be solid rock,

And we must sure obey

In order to withstand the shock,

And stand that fateful day.

All other walls will crumble down

And fall amidst the dust.

The only way to wear the crown,

Is follow as you must.

So listen well and then obey,

And follow close His word.

Be careful what you do and say,

And act on what you've heard.

Friday

Brighten eyes and open ears.

Dispel the darkness and the fears.

Grant us understanding when

Our minds are but of mortal men.

Let us see Your ways above,

And marvel at Your depth of love.

Let us hear the sound quite clear

When ere You call us to draw near.

Grant that we might taste and know

The Eucharist, the place to go,

To find what ere on earth we need,

And water well His precious seed.

Saturday

The sin that opened eyes to see

Our nakedness and fraility,

Has blinded us to better things

With pride and selfishness that clings.

But as a woman first was fell,

Another woman broke the spell.

In all humility she prayed,

Let it be done, as You have bade.

Obedience her only goal 

In answer to the Father's knoll.

A path to freedom only known

To those docility has shown.

11/25/18 Through 12/1/18

11/25/18 Through 12/1/18

Sunday

Blessings come from Christ the King

The one to whom our praises sing

No earthly ruler can compare

To Him on whom we cast our care.

Alone, he cares for every man 

Within His holy, righteous plan.

He suffered for each wayward soul

That each would one day be made whole.

So do your best, but have no fear

The Lord is always dwelling near.

And though the sky be darkened now,

Love will triumph o're somehow.

Monday

I want to sing the newest song.

I want to praise and join along,

But I can't sing with ransomed ones,

It's only those unblemished sons.

Where can I go.What can I do,

To rest at last with those, and You?

I must be cleansed and purged of sin,

In hope that I may enter in.

Please take away what binds my soul.

In poverty, You make me whole.

Then teach me how to sing along

With that eternal, heav'nly song.

Tuesday

Beware at any day,

If the sickle comes your way

For we know not time or place,

But our need for saving grace.

Can we boast with clarity 

Of our love and charity,

Or must we sink inside,

For our avarice, and pride?

Our work is seen quite clear

When the fateful day draws near,

So begin at once to show

That you know the way to go.

Wednesday

The problems here begin with me.

Although I'm blind, want them to see.

There may be right upon my side,

But I must use it as my guide.

Not pick and choose the piece I like,

Or inconvenient parts, just strike.

If we're to reach a brighter day,

We all must listen and obey.

Thursday

Every end begins anew

And draws us closer yet to You.

Trust and follow where He leads

His precious flock He tends and feeds.

Stand erect that final day,

Your vindication's on the way.

Mercy for the humble names,

For pride and lust, eternal flames.

Friday

No suffering was too high priced

For Andrew leading souls to Christ

For he embraced with joy the cross,

And other gains he found as loss.

The first evangelist that led

A boy with loaves and fish that fed

Five thousand on the grassy shore,

But one who searched for still yet more.

He brought so many souls to know

The joy of Christ and letting go

Of nets that bind and thus restrict

Disciples that the Lord has picked.

Saturday

To stand before the Son af Man

No crass and sinful mortal can.

It's only in humility

That strength is granted there for thee.

The proud have not the eyes to see

Nor haughty ones the might to be

How blessed a servant is for He

Who claims the final victory.

11/18/18 Through 11/24/18

11/18/18 Through 11/24/18

Sunday

Lord, how to stand that final day

When earth and heavens pass away?

So many things on earth revered,

Such base attachment then is feared.

Will I but have the fortitude

To change my selfish attitude,

And sacrifice each worthless thing

To greet my Lord, and Savior, King?

Monday

I want to see with clarity

And have conviction deep in me

To break the chains and turn away

From all that leads my soul astray.

To many things, attached I've grown,

But each of them has always shown,

This longing can't be satisfied

Except by him they crucified.

Tuesday

Blind unto my nakedness,

I ask You Lord, to see.

In shame, I daily must confess,

I fell away from Thee.

Come and dine with me today,

Remind me of the time,

I climbed to see You on the way

And You forgave my crime.

Give me the courage and the grace

To trust You once again.

Let me look upon Your face,

Becoming strengthened then.

Wednesday

Lord, how you work, I do not know.

We only get, when we let go.

And when we put to work the gift

We often see the spirits lift.

The treasure You have given me

Must not be saved, but given free

To those in need I'm called to serve

For what is saved is not deserved.

Thursday

Let my eyes become a fountain

When I look upon the mountain

And regret each passing day

That Your people fail to pray.

For the greatest gift bestowed

In a stream of love that flowed

From a heart of perfect love

One the same with God above.

Came to you in humble way

To expose the light of day,

But you rejected Him as loss,

And placed your King upon the cross.

How I long for thunder's roll

When He opens up the scroll

And reveals to every man

Stunning wonders of His plan.

But too late it then will be

For the ones who fail to see.

So please listen now and hear,

So that day you have no fear.

Friday

Have I hungered for Your scroll,

Let it change, and make me whole;

Found in there a taste so sweet,

Contentment sitting at Your feet?

Have I hung on what You say,

Cleansed my heart and changed my way;

Have I found the precious prize, 

Or just another cheap disguise?

Is Your word to me, a treasure,

Gold and silver cannot measure;

Have I yearned for your command,

To rule my heart, and all the land?

In Your ways do I rejoice,

Follow You in every choice;

Find Your law as my delight,

Great counsel in the darkest night?

At first there's sweetness in the scroll,

The words that make the sinner whole.

But when digested, bitterness,

For all the sins I must confess.

A thrashing there by whip and cord,

From justly angered God and Lord. 

A driving out in utter shame,

Of all the things, in me, profane.

Saturday

It's all about the after-life

The things we do today.

For then there is no man and wife

In that eternal day.

Our world here reflects but such

a dim and cloudy view.

But if we have the Spirit's touch,

We know what Moses knew.

He's Lord of living, not the dead.

We're only passing through.

But here on earth the Lamb has fed

His flesh to make us new.

And though we die and all appears

Our hope was but in vain,

All the snears will turn to cheers

The day we rise again!