2/25/24 Through 3/2/24

 2/25/24 Through 3/2/24

Sunday

The call of Abraham has come

The call to sacrifice his son

In faith he trusts what God has said

Believing He could raise the dead.

His son he burdened with the wood

Though urged to falter, he withstood

And placed him on the altar there.

His only son He did not spare.

On Tabor's height Apostles saw

What lies beyond the deathly pall,

The glory that awaits the just

Who give to God their total trust.

We see His glory every day

If we just look beyond the fray

And see the brightness of the cloud

Within the remnants of the shroud.

We too must shoulder well the wood

Denying self as Jesus would

And so to glory thus obtain

Without a wrinkle, spot, or stain.

Monday

What matters most is how it ends

On this the fate of all depends

The good or bad be washed away

By how we end that final day

The preparation matters too

For this is what will strengthen you

That final hour this life is done

And when eternity's begun

The measure we have measured out

He'll use to bring reward about

How well we listen and obey

Determines what's our final pay

Tuesday

How easy subtle pride takes hold!

That serpent from the Garden old.

His quiet, stealthy, winding way

Entangles those who go astray

How easy tempting pride can be

The most attractive thing for me.

So, like the Pharisee, I fall

And miss the Lord's repentance call.

We criticize with ease today

Their vast and formulaic way

Of laws to make them pure and clean

And so, the humble one demean.

But still this day we do the same

We look for honor, wealth, and fame

And fail to see the filth inside

Created by our evil pride.

Lord, purify and cleanse my heart

Remove the rotten, prideful part

And humble me that I might be

An offering of love to Thee.

Wednesday

My Lord, I fail to get it still. 

I read quite plain Your holy will,

But listen not to what You say

And go about my merry way.

Your prophecies of passiontide

I hear but gently push aside

To seek a pleasure here and now

And raise my status here somehow.

Thought of suffering bereaved me

And my ignorance aggrieved Thee

Hearing that You came for service

Makes a selfish one quite nervous.

When at last I understand Thee

Please don't harshly reprimand me,

Grace me with the will to love Thee

Putting nothing else above Thee.

Thursday

Acursed be the man that strays from the Lord

Whose strength is in flesh, or the pow'r of the sword

A barren bush in a lava waste

A haughty one that's now disgraced.

True wealth is in humility

But often men will fail to see

They grasp for that which fades away

To find, in time, their wealth decay.

They turn away their greedy eyes

From all the poor and wretched cries

To dine in luxury and waste

And never give the poor a taste.

The day of reckoning will come

A day for all, not just for some

A day when wrong shall be set right

And all our deeds are seen in light.

Friday

In ways mysterious and deep

The will of God will always keep

The chosen ones alive and well

And plans of wicked men repel.

But often we don't see the plan

When looking with the eyes of man.

It's only when we turn around

In retrospect, the plan is found.

Our God is faithful, true, and good.

Obey Him always as we should

And then we'll see with clearer eyes

How safe He leads us to the prize.

Saturday

Lord, mercy is Your greatest gift

One offered often, offered swift.

You let us languish, not for long,

But swiftly wash away our wrong.

Though consequences of our sin

Remain a scar that's deep within,

They also serve to help us see

How great Your love for man can be.

From depths of all perversion led

To pasture green, and fully fed.

From slave of swine and one ignored,

To precious son and one restored.