7/12/20 Through 7/18/20

7/12/20 Through 7/18/20

Sunday

Two kinds of soil rich and deep

But only one yields grain to reap.

The soil overgrown with thorns

No grain for seed or bread adorns.

The land be cleared and stone removed

With every "yes" the ground improved.

Allow the rain to soften clods,

No more let riches be our gods.

With fertile soil, rich and clear,

The Sower's seed accepted here.

Now bearing fruit in ways untold

At thirty, sixty, hundredfold.

Monday

Divide me, Lord, from that which stains.

Make mine a soul where patience reigns.

Remove from me the offering

That humbled soul. to You, I'd bring.

My ways of pride and arrogance

Can warrant not, Your simple glance,

But low and humble worship true,

Will gain a quick reply from You.

Tuesday

A curiosity that's piqued,

A rusty hinge that always squeaked,

That beckoned, come and search the Word

Find here, what many others heard.

I speak to those that listen well,

I send My Spirit there to dwell.

Within the heart that turns from sin,

I make My home and enter in.

Fear not, the cost would be too great

Don't waste this time, or hesitate,

But seize the grace that's offered you,

And find the promised life anew.

Wednesday 

Oh Lord, how blinding is our pride,

A child lost without a guide.

A wand'ring sheep that's unaware

Of all the dangers lurking there.

The ear refuses what is heard

All discipline is thought absurd.

The ax instructing Him who wields,

The weak now mocking Him who shields.

And there amid the boisterous throng,

The humble shouted down as wrong.

But no amount of noise and fight,

Can change the wrong to something right.

And He, in love, that formed the clay

Whose voice will frighten wolves away

Will not forget His chosen few

And grant to them a life anew.

But those persisting in their pride,

Will never see the other side

Where discipline and love will reign,

Eternal Chaos, their domain.

Thursday

In You, I find my every rhyme,

From start to finish every time.

The word You bring in varied ways

To be the dewfall of my days.

The morning freshness here descends,

I vow again to make amends.

To listen well and then obey,

And follow every word You say.

But time and time again I fall

And still each morn again You call.

I start anew again today

And follow in Your humble way.

For all that I can ever do

Is use the grace that comes from You,

And trust Your way surpasses mine,

For Yours is love, and love Divine.

Friday

Great mercy is what I desire

A love aflame with holy fire.

A heart to see beyond the law,

And to a deeper meaning draw.

I care about Your every need,

And with the finest wheat, I feed.

The sabbath rest, a gift to man,

And not some trap within a plan.

Saturday

Oh Lord, we need You in our day.

Don't let the wicked have their way.

The ones who think they make the law,

At all Your pillars, slash, and gnaw.

Abandon not this land You blessed

May all its wrong be now redressed.

Grant courage to Your remnant here,

To speak Your word both loud and clear.

7/5/20 Through7/11/20

7/5/20 Through7/11/20

Sunday

Meekness is great strength controlled,

Restrained by love, by love consoled.

If yoked to Him, the burden's light

His meekness then becomes our might.

He wishes to reveal to all

The wonder of His loving call,

But only humble hear Him say,

"Come walk with Me, I am the Way."

Monday

They come to Him with certainty

To simply touch the hem.

Each confident He'll hear their plea,

And answer both of them.

So too, each day, should Him we seek

To heal and set us free.

When sky is dark and future bleak

His love, the cure for thee.

Tuesday

So many things that draw away

And offer pleasures for a day,

That titillate the senses here,

But to the Lord will not draw near.

The peace that comes from discipline

Will calm the savage beast within.

Will settle wild and raging seas,

And make the storm a gentle breeze.

Think not the word of God a ruse,

But make His way, the way you choose.

For who but He that forms the clay

Knows better how to smooth our way?

To bring His peace amid the storm,

To teach the soul, and heart to warm,

To give the strength to persevere,

And weary pilgrim mind to cheer?

Wednesday

To the sheep that lost their way

Bring about the light of day.

Call the ones that stray afar,

Let them know just who they are.

Nature darkened by their sin,

Snuffing out the light within.

Still, the soul can be restored,

Turning from, the sin abhorred.

Seek the meek and humble route,

Cast the pride and envy out.

Welcome in the love Divine,

Make the way of love be thine.

Thursday

How great the gift of mercy is!

To be forgiven, known as His.

The weak and helpless wretch I am,

Yet loved by God, the great I AM.

No sin can keep me far away

If I, but humbled, stop and pray

To ask for mercy once again,

And see my sins forgiven then.

So too must I not take offense,

But spread His mercy there, and whence

I do, I find, a lasting peace,

A harmony to never cease.

Friday

Only One has power to save.

Only One to free the slave.

Only One to prosper man.

No other god of pagans can.

Saturday

What ere You say, my Lord, I'll do

If You but keep me close to You.

This weak unworthy servant pleas

That You, my God, I'd somehow please.

So many times each day I fall,

But still, I try to hear Your call.

To make my will, with Your's align,

And drink that bitter cup of Thine.

Great fear disturbs my peace of mind,

That in some trial I would find

My faith mere words, and fail to raise

My voice in humble songs of praise,

That I would hear that final day,

"I never knew you, go away."

Then all my hope would be devoid,

And all my dreams be thus destroyed.

Have mercy, mercy, mercy, Lord!

Oh, spare me of my just reward!

Let me be a slave for Thee,

So far above a king for me.

6/28/20 Through 7/4/20

6/28/20 Through 7/4/20

Sunday

Above all things, our love must be

For One we cannot touch or see.

For One who speaks in varied ways,

And grants His grace through all our days.

The world, with all its faithful turns,

And sun that ever faithful burns,

The seasons as they come and go,

All give us reasons, Him to know.

The Son was sent so long ago

To show us how to love and grow.

Then too, the Holy Spirit sent,

And sinful man called to repent.

The gift of faith was meant to be

The eyes through which our God we see.

The simple bread and wine we share

His presence with us, here declare.

Monday

Two pillars of the Church today

Are honored in this special way,

For stalwart faith to spread the news

To gentile pagans, and to Jews.

Each in their separate way proclaimed

The love of Christ, for which they're famed.

Each by the sacred bread was fed.

Each to a martyr's death was led.

In logic, one would think their Way

Would fall apart upon such day,

As pillars, two, are taken down,

But by their death, attain their crown.

No way to stop this wave of love

Began by One from up above,

Who came to call the sinner home

And offer man the true shalom.

Tuesday

The Word each morn, by me is read,

By finest wheat, each morn I'm fed.

Pure graces offered every day,

But many squandered on the way.

Oh Lord, be patient yet with me,

My helplessness, make plain to see.

That I might draw upon Your grace

In every time, at every place.

With courage to say, yes to You

Forsaking what, in sin, I do.

That I would just, in peace, obey

And follow in my Savior's way.

Wednesday

Seek the good that you may live

And keep the off'rings that you give.

No help is found in sacrifice,

And wisdom offers this advice:

To love the good and evil hate,

Let justice tend the entry gate.

No pleasure found in empty feasts

Where men behave like ugly beasts.

I listen not to noisy songs

That fill the void where love belongs.

The melodies musicians play

Persuade me not, to hear you pray.

But when the gift, is self, complete,

And Evil's dealt, a sound defeat,

Then Justice floods like surging sea,

And man becomes what meant to be.

Thursday

Correction is a goodly pain

That helps, to our redemption gain.

But we must hear with humble ears

Forsaking sin we've known for years.

So easily we insulate

And try, our sins, to vindicate.

But when correction comes we see

The one in sin, is truly me.

.Then we must choose to Thee obey,

Or stay along our sinful way.

To grace accept and be set free,

Or turn a prideful back to Thee.

Oh, help me choose the humble way,

Confess my sin, and learn to pray

As one whom Your forgiveness needs,

And simply tender mercies pleads.

Friday

Lord help the unbelieving heart,

To him, the grace of faith impart.

Restore the sight to blinded eyes,

Let him believe before he dies.

Let on earth, Your Kingdom come.

Let on earth, Your will be done.

Take away the shades of doubt,

Cast the lying demons out.

Come and be our Lord and God,

Let the faithless mind be awed.

Let Your wounds be wounds that heal,

Call the hungry to Your meal.

Bless the ones that do not see,

Give them faith, and trust in Thee.

Have them share the Word abroad,

That Jesus Christ, is Lord and God!

Saturday

New wine and skin together grow,

And there within the people know,

To keep the gift that's fresh renewed,

The skin must stretch, the wise conclude.

Unshrunken cloth will pull away

If we decide to not obey.

And all received be squandered then,

If we return to sin again.

New skins for wine that's fresh and new

Aware of grace when offered you.

A willing heart to Thee obey

Accepts each grace along the way.

No wine or skin be lost on me.

I pray, oh Lord, to be set free.

The narrow path of love to take

And to the endless light awake!

6/21/20 Through 6/27/20

6/21/20 Through 6/27/20

Sunday

Each day He bids us, "Have no fear,

Despite the consequence severe."

Though hoards be overwhelming you,

In trial, does great strength accrue.

Approval of the masses deigns

To make us strive for earthly gains,

To make us listen to their shout,

And cast the loving whisper out.

What Calvary has shown so plain,

Is earth has naught for man to gain.

True life is in the Father's will,

Including when there's blood to spill.

For resurrection comes to all

And when it does, He'll then recall

Who followed Him and suffered well,

And those who chose the path to hell.

Monday

Not just the speck, but too the beam,

Remove them both for Love's esteem.

See how far, in sin, we've strayed

And how that sin, on life, has weighed.

A damper to restrict the flame

This attitude of slur, and blame.

So take some time to see anew,

The one annoying, much like you.

Tuesday

The narrow gate my destiny.

Come take my hand and walk with me.

The way be narrow, steep and long,

But there the place where I belong.

Inviting, broad, and clear the way

For those refusing to obey,

But in the end, destruction find

For those with none, but self in mind.

The Golden Rule will guide the feet

For those upon their way to greet

Their Maker, Lord, and Sovereign King,

Of whom the choirs of angels sing.

Wednesday

Each one a task, from birth, assigned.

A task within His plan entwined.

Some obscure and hard to find.

Some more clear and well-defined.

But in each one, His holy will,

A way to challenge, and to thrill.

A new adventure every day,

When we but follow in His way.

And with each day that passes by

To love Him more, must surely try.

With Him increasing day by day,

And me decreasing on the way.

Thursday

Thy will be done, the special key

For simple folk like you and me.

Not miracles and prophecy,

But have I done, that asked of me?

Obedience will trump the rest

When standing for our final test.

He cares not, for our resume,

But cares, how well did we obey.

Friday

Each sin to further exile leads,

And jaws of deadly trap it feeds. 

The walls of safety crumble down,

Where evil, in the heart, is found.

The desert dry and parched becomes

The home of sinful, exiled ones.

And there the miseries extend

As long as sinners, sin defend.

But if the sinner turns away,

And in humility, would pray,

The Lord will heal, and bind the wound.

And make his heart, to love, attuned.

His will is always, reconcile,

If we but stop, and think awhile.

And mercy always floods the soul

That humbly asks, to be made whole.

Saturday

The little ones, they suffer so,

But eyes are turned so we don't know.

The ones that should protect and serve

Are lazy, or just lost their nerve.

The victim in so many crimes

Is overlooked, so many times.

The bigger, stronger, get their way,

But little ones are left to pay.

Dismembered like a piece of meat,

The tiny hands, and precious feet

Will never find their way on earth,

Denied the chance to come to birth.

The pawns of parents in divorce

Their care, the judgment of the courts.

Security destroyed for these

As mom and dad do as they please.

Pornography another way

The weaker one is left to pay.

Abused and treated as some toy

The evil ones can just destroy.

The only One to set them free

Says, "Let the children come to Me."

And He bestows His gift of grace

With tender touch, and warm embrace.

So fear not, even in such times

Our God will one day, right the crimes.

And those who suffered so will see

Their loving God eternally.