1/12/20 Through 1/18/20

1/12/20 Through 1/18/20

Sunday

Baptized and claimed for God alone

A furrow where the seed is sown.

A gift beyond the mind of man

To enter in the Father's plan.

The waters wash away the sin

And let a life of love begin.

Repentance leads to life anew

Forever drawing close to You.

The oil an aromatic seal,

Not only sign, but truly real,

To claim us as the Savior's bride,

And grant us victory over pride.

Monday

Barren long, but fruitful be

The one who puts their trust in Thee.

For those who trust in all He said

Will always have their daily bread.

Not always what we have in mind,

Sometimes a very different kind,

But always what is good you see,

Some gift for all eternity.

Tuesday

This is how things came about,

A prophet pure, and clean, devout

A ready will to stop and pray,

To listen well and then obey.

Great discipline from time of birth

One trained to shun the things of earth,

But also trained to listen well,

And of the Father's glory tell.

In silence comes the Father's word

In quiet are instructions heard.

In stillness watch the waters flow,

His voice you then will come to know.

Wednesday

Are you truly listening?

What does this time of silence bring?

A full communion with the King,

Or just another song to sing?

This time I need to just survive

To hear Your voice and then derive

The path to walk throughout the day

And find Your peace along the way.

Thursday

So why is our defeat allowed?

To punish sin, or humble proud?

To teach you all to listen well,

And let My word within you dwell.

Not service of the lips alone,

But in the heart, My word made known.

So all could see and thus declare,

"He listens to the humble's prayer!"

Friday

No earthly king could ever bring

Prosperity to reign

No sovereign here could thus endear,

But rule with ball and chain.

The sovereign Lord of love outpoured,

The Mercy Seat alone

Forgives the sin, and welcomes in

With kindness freely shown.

Saturday

Unworthy everyone that's called.

The prophet and the king recalled.

Wealthy leaders, humble poor,

The likes of you and me, for sure.

Tax collectors, pharisees,

The prostitutes, and such as these.

The bishops, pope, and every priest,

All the greatest and the least.

Yet those who trust and follow well,

He chooses to within them dwell.

To lead through every darkened way,

And be their strength for everyday.

1/5/20 Through 1/11/20

1/5/20 Through 1/11/20

Sunday

Men of wisdom, men of old

Bringing gifts of myrrh and gold,

Frankincense and praise to Thee,

Spark such wondrous love in me.

Help me see the signs and know

Clearly how my steps should go.

Let me offer all to Thee,

And may my gifts, accepted be.

Monday

The Kingdom of heaven is near

The time for repentance is here.

A great light has shown, and Christ is made known,

Cast out is the darkness and fear.

True poverty children is this

To recognize Him and not miss

There is nothing we own, if the truth be made known,

All comes from the One we dismiss.

Tuesday

Within our grasp yet far away

The grace sufficient for each day

The food to feed the masses there

In Catholic churches everywhere.

Yet only few will come and dine

Partaking of the bread and wine

That blessed, became the flesh and blood

To bring about the graces flood.

Yet even many gathered there

In spite of what, in truth, they share

Will fail to recognize in bread

The Word by which they're truly fed.

Receive no more with doubt in mind,

This food is far a different kind.

A food to join with Love Divine

And welcome in this heart of mine.

Wednesday

He sent them all along their way

Then took some time alone to pray

To clearly hear the Father speak,

Then on to save the frail and weak.

His time alone to pray would be

His strength throughout His ministry,

To mold unto the Father's will,

And for our sins, His blood to spill.

We too must listen everyday

To hear and know the proper way.

For flesh, with pleasure, oft deceives,

But one who listens well receives.

A daily fiat paves the way

For God to brighten everyday.

To cure the leper, heal the lame

And magnify His Holy Name.

Thursday

If you hate the one you see

How can you say that you love me?

For there before you I abide,

No matter what the flesh may hide.

Friday

That you may know, I write these things

That tell of what the Savior brings.

A cleansing mercy everywhere

Repentant sinners will but dare

Confess their wrong, and seek to change

And love, for selfishness, exchange.

What mercy is extended there,

What healing of our every care.

The leper cleansed and overjoyed

When Mercy grants to fill the void

With love and kindness undeserved

And dignity, at last, preserved.

Saturday

If we ask within His will 

The Lord is faithful ever still

To hear and grant our every need

And in the process, faith to feed.

But He must increase everyday

And I must learn the humble way.

For but a messenger am I

To point the way and testify.

12/29/19 Through 1/4/20

12/29/19 Through 1/4/20

Sunday

Each member's obligation known

To make the family fully grown.

To strengthen bonds of love within

And claim the victory over sin.

The father's job to sacrifice

His leadership, should love entice.

His steadfast love must anchor these

When storms are spread across the seas.

And mother's love should ready be

To warm the chill or bandage knee.

Submitting to the Father's plan,

In service to their holy clan.

The children too, a part must play

As they, their parents, well obey.

And reconcile when bonds are frayed

To fix what damage sin has made.

This holy clan can take a stand

To thwart the evil sin has planned,

And make this world a loving place,

But we must answer to His grace.

Monday

A life of fasting and of prayer

Was Anna's gift in temple there.

A life expectant, filled with joy,

When gazing on that little boy.

We too can find that holy gift

If daily we would search and sift

For how He speaks to us today

And follow in that very way.

We'll meet Him unexpectedly

At work or home, or on the knee.

And quietly He'll show the way

For us to follow and obey.

The many stops along the way

May seem to take us far astray,

But if we follow where He leads

Our every need He fills and feeds.

Tuesday

Light true Light illumine here

The want of dark, and gloom of fear.

The emptiness of those pursuits

Which lead to factions and disputes.

Light the path and show the way

Find the lost, return the stray.

For only in Your light we see

The answer to our humble plea.

Wednesday

Ironic how the Queen of Peace

Should have to run and flee police.

Not for some wrong or evil crime

But just to save the Son divine.

The Son who came to speak the word

Before, that only prophets heard.

But now great kindness here would come

The word of God's most holy Son.

The word of peace and epic calm

The blessing and the healing balm.

But word dividing, word of heat,

To separate the chaff from wheat.

Thursday

What does Messiah truly mean?

Has man before Him ever seen,

A leader anything like He

Who died upon Mount Calvary?

Though many good have passed this way

They are in fact, but jars of clay,

That carry what of Him they hold

The One far greater than the gold.

Mistake me not for one like He.

For I am but a servant, see.

Unworthy to His sandal loose,

Or any good, of mine produce.

A voice that cries, "Prepare the way."

Repent, and learn to daily pray.

Then listen well, and well obey

His word to guide throughout the day.

Friday

In His wondrous Holy Name

Jesus Christ, our King became,

Model, guide, and source of love,

Drawing to the One above.

Revealing what the prophets knew

The depth of love, of God, for you.

The breath of God to fill the sail

And lift the hearts of weak and frail.

That precious name, so good to me,

Has warmed my heart and set me free.,

To love in ways beyond my will,

And chase away the cold and chill.

Saturday

Destroy the Devil's works this year,

And closer to the Lord draw near.

Come and see just where He stays

Then follow Him throughout your days.

Be not ashamed to call Him Lord.

Let pride be hushed, and grace outpoured.

Be witness for the wisdom found

When daily, Christ as king is crowned.

12/22/19 Through 12/28/19

12/22/19 Through 12/28/19

Sunday

Lord change my plans to match Your way

Let not my thoughts get in the way

I see too often only flesh

And need Your Spirit to refresh.

Give me the ears that Joseph had

And let my life, in faith, be clad,

That I may hearken to Your voice,

And make obedience my choice.

Monday

The herald of our Savior King

To throngs of ready souls will bring

The news to turn, and then repent,

To hear the word and then be sent.

To sacrifice in pleasing ways

As once was done in olden days.

To give to God with motives pure

And blessings for beyond secure.

To turn the children back to Him,

Away from darkness, drear, and sin,

And to the fire that purifies

The gold and silver of our lives.

Tuesday

The greatest prophecy to man

Revealed the Savior's mighty plan

To conquer evil's long, dark reign,

And bring about true love's domain.

A kingdom everlasting where

True love and peace are present there.

Where strength and courage dare to love

And fleeting pleasures, rise above.

That King will come in humble form

In manger laid on Christmas morn.

With ox and ass amid the chill,

To those that will receive Him still.

Wednesday

Life so precious squandered where

Our selfishness will breed despair.

So great the gift of Christ the King

To stoop as man and knowledge bring.

Of how they walked in cool of day

With God beside them on the way.

And how it was before the fall,

When they would hear the Master's call.

Oh bring this Christmas day to man

The wonder of the Master's plan,

That peace and love would rule the earth

Once Christ the King had come to birth.

But more than just a babe at rest,

This babe would grow and face the test,

Of what it means to truly love

When nailed upon the cross above.

So savor well this blessed day,

And how He came this humble way.

For this is Love before our eyes

Who humbles self and freely dies.

Thursday

Stephen first among the flock

To follow in His way

The first to show his strength of stock

In hopes of brighter day.

Give us the courage in our time

To do as well today.

To face in love the evil crime,

And show the lost the way.

Friday

St. John, you recognized the love

That comes from God, and God above.

You found in love your daily rest

And laid your head upon His breast.

To just be close, your daily goal.

To let His heart, your heart console.

To give direction to your day

And follow in the Master's way.

Saturday

Each babe a sign of purity,

A wondrous gift of poetry.

Knit well within the mother's womb,

A flower now in perfect bloom.

A miracle is every one

Each daughter, precious, and each son.

The handiwork of God most high,

A gift to bless its parents by.

Protect these holy innocents.

With all you have, spare no expense.

Each one a magnum opus fine,

A masterpiece of God Divine.

Thanksgiving Blessing

Thanksgiving Blessing

Thanksgiving we pause to reflect for awhile

To see through the fog and see past the trial.

We look beyond troubles that daily we face,

And look to the source of all glory and grace.

Incredible blessings before me this day.

The woman I love in the deepest of ways.

The offspring she bore through her labor and pain.

And offspring of them, exponentially gain.

The family I’ve known throughout all these years,

Supporting each other through trial and tears.

The gift of this family by blood or in-lawed

The greatest of gifts from my King and my God.

One more blessing we ask on this food that we share

Prepared with much love, and the greatest of care.

May all hearts be prepared for the feast up above

Grateful for all, but especially love.

12/15/19 Through 12/21/19

12/15/19 Through 12/21/19

Sunday

The desert exult and steppe shall bloom

Prepare the way and make some room.

The Savior of the world will come,

But we must recognize the Son.

When deaf can hear and blind can see

Much nearer One has drawn to thee.

The lame that walk and lepers clean,

Can testify, Messiah seen.

So trouble not when trials faced

Your mourning heart shall be replaced

With joy, and recompense that's due,

With songs of praise from ones like you.

Monday

By what authority are done

These mighty works, oh teaching One?

The scheme devised is thwarted when

He asks one simple thing of them.

To hear the lonely cry of John 

And know that nearer draws the dawn.

The day of vindication when

We recognize the great Amen.

But blinded by their sinful pride

They follow not, this holy guide.

Rejecting truth, they live the lie,

But truth will live, and pride will die.

Tuesday

The line come down to Jesus' day

Meanders wide along the way,

With murderers and prostitutes

Among His famous family roots.

The line shows well His human side

With saint and sinner well supplied.

A way to show He came for all,

To rectify the sinner's fall.

Wednesday

The dream of Joseph long ago

Was proof enough for him to know

That God had kept his young betrothed

In purity and graces clothed.

No spot or wrinkle on her soul

No part that's not in God's control.

A virgin docile, true, and wise

Redemption, on her, "Yes" relies.

Thursday

You are my strength from mother's womb

To make what's barren in me bloom.

To take away my guilt and shame

And let me bear the Savior's name.

In silence where You speak to me

What's foggy once, I clearly see.

And there Your grace I somehow find

To make my will with Yours inclined.

Friday

What does it mean to say yes to God, 

And risk being known as a fool or a fraud?

How can I be as the one Full of Grace,

And carry His light into every dark place?

Three simple letters, one powerful word,

But paused were the heavens until it was heard.

Most powerful word from a virgin so pure,

That forever in time, will that moment endure.

Give me grace to behold in my own little way

The wonders of God, when in trust, I will say,

Be it done unto me in accord with Your will.

And the love of the Lord, in my heart now instill.

Saturday

With joy and jubilance we greet

On every mountain, lovely feet

Proclaiming news of happiness

To all the poor, and in distress.

A year of favor from the Lord

The Spirit now on man outpoured.

Though Winter's long it now has passed,

The flowers bloom, in green at last.

A maiden bearing Christ the King

To all the earth salvation bring.

One filled with grace to care for Him

Who came to save us from our sin.

12/8/19 Through 12/14/19

12/8/19 Through 12/14/19

Sunday

When calf and lion share a bed,

When child can pet the adder's head,

The Sun of Justice then shall rise,

And put an end to hateful lies.

He'll clear the threshing floor of waste

And then the humble wheat shall taste

The joy of being gathered in

To life eternally with Him.

Monday

Spotless virgin, willing heart,

Never from my soul depart.

Graces gain to win the fight,

Stay my soul through darkest night.

Make of me a servant true

To answer yes, to God, like you.

To let Him have His way with me,

That His glory, I may see.

Help me ponder well His word

And understand all that I've heard

Then humbly pass it on to all 

That none may turn away and fall.

Tuesday

Grass will wither and flower fall.

A time of judgement comes for all.

The rugged path will be made smooth

Wounds of slavery He will soothe.

A voice cries out, Prepare the way!

For coming soon, our final day.

Be ready when the Lord appears.

For just, He wipes away the tears.

The humble stray, He carries back.

Repentant souls will never lack.

Don't miss the call that fateful day,

But be the found and joyful stray.

Wednesday

Come you weak and weary ones,

From Me the living water runs.

All burdens I've borne patiently

Redeeming all who follow Me.

For meek and humble, though I be

Your rest is found in only Me.

My easy yoke and burden light

Will bring you joy and shear delight.

Thursday

The woman clothed in glory now

That bore the Son of God somehow,

Has brought from brink of hell this land

And blessed our every grain of sand.

Your aid we need here once again

To change the hearts of sinful men.

To turn them to the one true God

And show their sordid ways as flawed.

You changed the hearts of millions then,

I pray you do so once again.

And make our land a holy place

With love and peace on every face.

Friday

If you would only listen well

To all the laws and ways I tell,

Prosperity would be for you

A river flowing deep and true.

The horse and rider lost at sea.

No force on earth compares to Me.

So follow in the ways I lead,

And watch Me meet your every need.

Saturday

Elijah, man of God alone, 

The desert as your humble home.

The word of God your day's command

You did what only He had planned.

You words a furnace flaming hot

Commanded skies to water not

And fire from the heavens brought

To show that Baal, a God, was not.

And when your time on earth was spent

A chariot of flame was sent

To carry you to heaven's door

To meet true love whom you adore.

12/1/19 Through 12/7/19

12/1/19 Through 12/7/19

Sunday

Eating and drinking as nothing is wrong

Lost are the foolish and pitiful throng.

Here while there's time to repent and obey

They ignore when He calls, and just go on their way.

With signs all around of His glory and grace

They act as if they had created this place.

If they had control over seasons and times,

And if they would be judge of the sins and the crimes.

How foolish to live full of pride in this way

While the evil one lurks for these souls as his prey.

It's simple and easy to just turn around,

And then in an instant, the lost will be found.

His mercy an ocean of self-giving love,

His Father enthroned in the heavens above.

He waits with great patience for man to amend,

But the fact is quite clear, there is coming an end!

Monday

If You would only say the word

A sacrifice will be preferred

Above indulgence once again

And discipline would teach me then.

But this burden now is mine

To appetites and will refine,

To choose the better o're the good

And act the way I know I should.

But I am weak and Thou art strong

I need Your grace to carry on

Without You I go wandering

And find I have no offering.

Tuesday

The childlike I wish to be

That hidden things I'd clearly see

For You, oh Lord did firmly hide

Your gifts from those with sinful pride.

I pray Your mercy on my soul

And beg that You would make it full

That humble I would learn to be

And hidden things I'd clearly see.

Wednesday

This rich and juicy, tasty food

Unseen in spite of what they viewed.

The crippled blind and mute were seen

Restored, and even lepers clean.

But, somehow we miss the boat

And turn from what the prophets wrote

And fail to recognize in bread

The rich and juicy food we're fed.

Thursday

The sands of pride and idleness

Support this house of man.

The walls of our self-righteousness

Collapse amid His plan.

The simple way to build a place

Both strong and flood secure

Is act upon His daily grace

To live both right and pure.

To hear, but never yet to mend

The breach within the soul

Is like a house, by flood condemned,

Upon a sandy shoal.

Friday

I do believe the cure will come

When focused on the Lord.

Not just a simple passing crumb,

But grace in mass out-poured.

The kind to make the desert green

And water arid lands.

The kind to make the leper clean,

And stretch out withered hands.

The Maker wishes all to be

Conformed within His will.

Each one a sign of unity,

And faithful to Him still.

Saturday

The bread I need is given me

Each still and quiet morn,

And if I eat and drink I see

New life in me is born.

I pray He guides my steps each day

And waters well the seed.

That I may learn to love and pray

And find there all I need.

11/24/19 Through 11/30/19

11/24/19 Through 11/30/19

Sunday

King of kings and Lord of lords

Christ, to all, His love affords

Our entry to the heav'nly realm

Where love and peace will overwhelm.

What privilege to be serving One

Who sacrificed His only Son

The One who gave His life for all,

The sinner great, and sinner small.

Monday

To give You all, means everything

To trust when seems disaster brings,

But You receive the widow's mite,

And to the sacred feast invite.

Let me not be trusting of

The temporal things I tend to love,

But place my hope and trust in Thee

Who cares for simple ones like me.

Tuesday

When only one could hear Your word

And all the other minds were blurred

One stood apart, with wisdom blessed,

And boldly now the king addressed.

He showed that man can hear You speak,

If we would take the time to seek,

And listen with intent to learn

Instead of truth and wisdom spurn.

Be not perplexed by what you see

But take the time to come to Me,

And I will show you everything

Then peace and knowledge, to you bring.

Wednesday

The writing on the wall reveals

What lightnings flash and thunder peals

How wanting are the ways of man

Refusing to accept His plan.

Self-giving love, His ordered plan

To fill the life of every man

Not selfishness or lust and greed

But love and trust for all in need.

Thursday

Give glory and eternal praise

In thanks to God, the anthem raise

His gifts abound in every sphere

Our way of knowing God is near.

His blessings now deserve our praise

So we must act in proper ways

To share these gifts with those in need

That soul and body, we may feed.

Give glory and eternal praise

That God in all His varied ways

Would show His love for sinful man

And execute so grand a plan.

Friday

How beastly those who turn from You

Preposterous, the things they do.

No future in the ways of man.

No winner in their sordid plan.

No peace can come from violence

Their wicked ways can make no sense

For greed and lust, breed greed and lust,

No room allowed for holy trust.

But on the clouds, the Son of Man

And thus the final scene began.

Enthroned on high the mighty King,

Where throngs of saints and angels sing.

All tongues proclaim Him as their Lord

Who conquers now, the beastly hoard,

And everlasting peace shall reign

Where He is King, the Lamb once slain.

Saturday

The call will come amid the day

In such an ordinary way

As not to shock, or raise a brow,

But strike a longing, deep somehow.

A ring of truth, a ray of light,

A sound of hope in darkest night.

It comes in many varied ways

And takes its root in one who prays

Lord may I hear and answer well

Then gladly, many others tell

Of You who died, but rose again

To save the lives of sinful men.

11/17/19 Through 11/23/19

11/17/19 Through 11/23/19

Sunday

Perseverance paves the way

For our survival on that day

To trust amid the face of death

Until we draw our final breath.

Without preparing, you will speak

And Spirit then will strengthen weak.

With words of wisdom off the tongue

That speak to old, and speak to young.

Monday

Have we freely blindness chosen,

In our pride and gall been frozen,

Turning from His healing rays,

To follow our own selfish ways?

His law the only source of life

Our strength and courage in the strife

That everyday the faithful see,

As they, determined, follow Thee.

For one day in the Master's court

Would thousands elsewhere ever thwart.

And just one ray of endless light

Will give us courage in the fight.

Tuesday

How far your mercy reaches Lord!

To wicked who by men abhorred,

To all the lost, no matter where

Who wish eternal life to share.

Give me a judgment right and clear

To listen when You speak to hear

The way to go that I should take

And not Your holy will forsake.

Let me not my ear incline

To evil tempting me to dine

But choose to suffer yet obey

And never go, my heart astray.

Wednesday

The gifts we have so many known

Have come from God and God alone.

The Giver is so good to me,

Yet often I have failed to see.

Each coin He gives must give return

And each ungrateful servant learn

To use what He has given well,

And others, of His glory tell.

Thursday

Don't fail to recognize the Lord

Such blindness one cannot afford.

If only all could see what's true,

They'd give to Him, the praises due.

So blinded now and self-absorbed

The Prince of Peace is not adored.

But soon the pride will be destroyed,

With nothing left to fill the void.

Yet if you now, would humble be

And open wide your eyes to see,

You'd find what truly makes for peace

And never let your praises cease.

Friday

Lord, hanging on Your every word

And knowing truth has just been heard,

I ask You in, to cleanse my heart

And offer You my every part.

Saturday

Without a doubt, the day will come

Not just devout, nor just for some,

But all will rise that final day

To hear the Master finally say...

Well done good servant, come and rest,

Your love has passed the final test.

You met me in the poor and weak,

And showed the way to those who seek.

But woe to those who hear that day,

I never knew you, go away.

Eternity, to spend it there

In suffering and great despair!

11/10/19 Through 11/16/19

11/10/19 Through 11/16/19

Sunday

Encouragement from daily prayer

Will come to those in trial where

The wicked reign, with wrong as right,

And think, by force, they win the fight.

How short the sight of evil men,

Who cannot see around the bend.

They see no more than that in hand,

And miss the glory God has planned.

Monday

But seven times forgiving Lord

Seems more than I can well afford.

Until I see the myriad

Of sins forgiven, that I've had.

Tuesday

Chastised a little, greatly blessed

Though many sins have been confessed

As gold is proven in the fire,

So humble find their true desire.

To know the Master, Judge, and King,

And make to Him, an offering

Of all we have is only just,

What's rightly due to One we trust.

No more than what the servant owes

To One who loves, and freely chose

To come as God, with man to dwell,

And of our loving Father tell.

Wednesday

Your words, oh Lord, I long to hear.

To know that peace and love is near.

To gain the wisdom that I need

to naked clothe, and hungry feed.

My thanks I offer You this day

For every gift that comes my way.

For all that ails and humbles me

Is that which opens eyes to see.

Your gifts will come in varied ways

That startle, and in grace, amaze.

But each will call us closer to

A sharing in the cross with You.

A gift beyond the mortal mind

To join in suffering and find

A joy that we would never know

Without the pain to stretch and grow.

Thursday

Refulgence of eternal light

Dispelling darkness of the night

Grace on grace to man out poured

Spotless mirror of the Lord.

Wisdom gentle, and unique

Subtle, pure, and strength of meek.

Firm, secure, and tranquil she,

Who reaches all things mightily.

From end to end she governs well,

To restlessness, and ferment quell.

For none God loves apart from she

The brightest star of purity.

Friday

How is it learned cannot see,

Or in their study find the key?

They peer in wonder at the world

Yet never call its Maker Lord.

They never look beyond the thing,

To see its Maker as the King.

Inflated by a haughty mind,

The Maker they can never find.

That day will be a great surprise

When finally opened, be their eyes.

But when the angels, sickles wield,

The wicked's fate will then be sealed.

Saturday

Praying always clears the mind

To help the wayward sinner find

The peace they've sought so many ways

But has eluded all their days.

Somehow, in prayer, they find a way

To make it through each trying day

To gather strength, and pain endure,

In hope and love, to thus mature.

11/3/19 Through 11/9/19

11/3/19 Through 11/9/19

Sunday

Your mercy, Lord, my great desire

To walk amid Your cleansing fire

To be a soul as white as snow

And joy of righteous ones to know.

You call me closer every day

To turn from sin and learn to pray

To be the man I'm meant to be,

To climb the tree and clearly see.

Monday

No expectation of return

But only true and just concern

For fellow man in need of care

That you can find most anywhere.

Those inconvenient, nagging few

Who on the corners look at you

And hold their signs expressing need

Whom you pass by increasing speed.

Those of whom the Gospel speaks

Are those for whom the Shepherd seeks

And those for whom He bids us love

To find reward in heav'n above.

Tuesday

Lord, clear my mind and let me see

You call for me to dine with Thee

To share this food of angel's bread

To come to Thee and well be fed.

Excuses come in many forms,

But none that calm the wind and storms.

The only way to truly see

Is if we come and sup with Thee.

Wednesday

The answer to Your every word,

The act within that's ever stirred,

Is learn to love and give away

The many things that cause to stray.

Be not attached to creatures here,

But love and trust and never fear.

For He who made your very soul

Knows how to heal and make you whole.

Thursday

His mercy without ever end

To saint or sinner He will send.

If we but ask we will receive

And in the heart, new life conceive.

The Shepherd cares for every sheep

And wants to all, in safety keep.

But in our foolishness we'll stray,

And beg for mercy on that day.

That day when every knee must bow

And every single voice avow,

That Christ has won the victory,

And truth has set the captive free.

Friday

To me the unbeliever bring

And let me of my Savior sing

That deep within the soul would spark

The light of faith to chase the dark.

So when I'm called to give accounts

Of what I've had in great amounts

I'd show a profit for the King

And not the shame of idling.

Saturday

With whip of cords He drove them out

Amid the crowd and protest shout.

Don't make this house a den of thieves,

But one of faith where man believes.

And let the waters flow from here

Refreshing trees throughout the year

The fruit of which will feed the poor,

And leaves, the sickly one will cure

10/27/19 Through 11/2/19

10/27/19 Through 11/2/19

Sunday

The lowly cry will pierce the clouds

But not the shout of boastful crowds

For well He hears the humble say

Have mercy, Lord, on me this day.

Monday

A place within the structure there

This stone of mine was made to bear.

Supported well  on every side

Supporting those on either side.

If I'm to take my proper place,

I must respond well to His grace.

Listening at every turn,

Obeying well to grow and learn.

Mine may not be ever known,

But in the end we'll all be shown

How crucial every living stone

To make the word of God well known.

Tuesday

The hope I have is not in vain

For just beyond this earthly pain

Awaits what mind has not conceived

Nor wealthy mortal yet received.

The mustard seed that here we know

If nurtured well, in faith will grow.

And when the eye does finally see

Becomes a large and spreading tree.

Wednesday

Accept His will in every way,

Be it your guide throughout the day.

When turning left or turning right

Through brightest day or darkest night.

Attempt to find the narrow gate

Be not left standing in debate

Of how you earned a rightful place,

Instead of one who trusted grace.

The frightful words, "I know you not!"

Most scary in this Book, I've thought.

Lord let me not be one of those.

Instead, be one in grace You chose.

Thursday

A love with such intensity

So plain if we just choose to see.

But self-absorbed and steeped in sin

No room for love of Christ within.

He thirsts for every living soul

That they be listed on the scroll.

And longs to gather all within

To safety as His blessed kin.

Friday

To be like Him, what does it mean,

Except to live as rarely seen,

To face each day with end in mind,

In hope that peace and joy we find?

Not seeking money, pow'r or fame,

Not recognition, or acclaim,

But humble servanthood of He

Who on the cross once died for me.

This day we honor those who stayed

Close by the cross and often prayed.

Who made their lives a sacrifice,

And always offered good advice.

They made the way for others plain

And rarely ever would complain

But shouldered every burden well

And thus of joy and peace would tell.

Saturday

Oh holy fire that purifies

The man of faith, in love, who dies.

How great this gift the Father gives

To cleanse the soul that dies, yet lives.

This place where fire releases sin

Refining those who enter in

What joy we'll know amidst the pain

When in our sight is heaven's gain.

I long to shed what sin has grown

And all the selfishness I've known

To see with stunning clarity

The face of God, my Deity!