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!

9/9/18 through 9/15/18

9/9/18 through 9/15/18

Sunday

The burning sand becomes a pool

The thirsty ground a spring

The word of God a precious jewel

To barren lands we bring.

My brothers and my sisters know,

The learned ones ignored.

His graces to the lowly flow,

To deaf and mute outpoured.

The poor He chose confounding wise

Good News to those who hear.

The humble given such a prize,

To God Himself endeared.

Monday

What part of me is leavened still? 

In what way must I train my will,

To be a new unleavened bread,

One freed from sin, no longer dead?

What part of me is withered by

My sin of failing to comply

With what I know as good and true,

Each word of life that comes from You?

Make strong the knees that wobble so.

Repair the feet that wayward go.

Stretch out my hand and straighten spine,

Reform this broken will of mine.

Oh give to me true Sabbath rest

And make of me, a cripple blest.

Who now can function as he should

By following the true and good.

Tuesday

He spent the night alone in prayer

And then returned to people where

He chose from many, twelve to be,

The first within the Holy See.

These twelve He taught at greater length,

In clearer ways to gird their strength.

But still within the twelve was found

A traitor that was lurking 'round.

Be not dismayed that still there be,

But sinners in the Holy See.

For Christ will write with crooked lines

Just as His promised word defines.

Wednesday

What's in a name, this holy name,

Of Mary, Queen of Peace,

The fairest one of great acclaim,

Creator's masterpiece?

The purity of love sublime,

Unselfish to the last.

One untouched by sinful grime,

Who did as she was asked.

No hint of once recoiling from

The duties given her.

But always "yes" to then become

The sweetest smelling myrrh.

A "yes" at every turn or twist

That life would bring her way.

A trust that every trial kissed,

With "Be it as You say".

Thursday

Now give to those who can't return

To then a valued lesson learn.

What good is it to give to they

Who pay you back another day?

The sinners do as well you see

So there's no merit there for thee.

But when you give without return,

The greatest blessings, then you earn.

Friday

This cursed sign of guilt and shame

For sinners everywhere became

A blessed sign of victory,

Won by Christ upon the tree.

The Lord most high became a man

To show that common sinners can

Control the passions of the flesh

And with His will, our lives enmesh.

No longer slaves of sordid whim

If we but focus eyes on Him.

The One who from the heavens came

To shoulder all our sins and blame.

He set aside His kingly state

To set His wayward people straight.

And show that in humility,

Is awesome credibility.

No other love like this e're known,

As that upon the cross was shown.

Lift high the cross though shamed I be,

The sign of Love's great victory!

Saturday

The sorrows of that Mother blest

Swords that pierced the Virgin's breast,

Gave to us a love divine

From the spotless soul of thine.

Mother by His cradle knelt

None such sorrows ever felt.

Nursed Him in her quiet ease,

Lifeless Son across her knees.

Bearing every single pain,

For her Son's eternal gain.

Faithful to the last somehow,

Becomes for all, our mother now.

9/2/18 Through 9/8/18

9/2/18 Through 9/8/18

Sunday

The heart must be like water 

In the hand of Him above.

A lump of clay the Potter

Will form in ways of love.

To pass as one with knowledge,

With wisdom from on high

We follow and acknowledge

The laws that we live by.

Monday

The Lord of Lords has come to save

Yet many still prefer the grave.

They quickly turn from love to hate

Although it's Him they long await.

Those too familiar cannot see

That more than carpenter was He,

And though He grew from in their town

This was the man of great renown

Let me not so foolish be

That Him beside, I fail to see.

But look beyond the thin disguise,

To Christ in all, then recognize.

Tuesday

Light of lights within the skies,

Font where all true wisdom lies,

Illuminate the depths within,

Cast out the tendancy to sin.

With great authority You speak.

Once strong, the demon, now so weak.

He flees upon a single word,

When such a mighty voice is heard.  

Wednesday

To every town the word must go,

That every race and people know.

The Christ has come to set them free,

To show His love, and savior be.

To feed with milk the little child,

And cleanse the soul, by sin defiled.

The law of love, to man reveal,

and to a softened heart appeal.

To touch the sick and make them well,

To stories of the Father tell,

To show in every time and place,

Abundance of the Father's grace.

Thursday

Depart from me a sinful man.

For only God, such wonders can,

Call forth by word of His command

To do the work that He has planned.

You show me in so many ways

That You are worthy of all praise.

And yet I often turn away,

And fail to make the time to pray.

I rise each morn this time of day,

That I, might in, the quiet pray.

But still I find so often there

An empty plate and cupboard bare.

But rather than dispelling hope,

For inspiration there, I grope.

Then unexpectedly I find,

So many fish, with nets entwined.

Friday

Though unaware of sinful chains,

Let Christ be judge of what remains.

For though my conscience now be free,

The One who judges is not me.

He knows the heart more than I do,

Each motive in my pot of stew.

So there He passes judgement true,

And gives the righteous ones their due.

But also there He shines the light

Dispelling shadows of the night,

To show how far I still must go,

If I desire Him to know.

Saturday

Beauty far beyond the mind

Winsomeness of sweetest kind,

Purest flesh to ever be,

Mother of both Christ, and me.

8/26/18 Through 9/1/18

8/26/18 Through 9/1/18

Sunday

Decide this day to whom to go,

And whom you will call Lord.

For every man should clearly know

The One to be adored.

Just look and see that only One 

Has cared for all His own.

His works to never be outdone,

None like Him ever known.

He gave His body and His blood

As food and drink for all.

His love a raging torrent flood

In answer to our call.

Unwilling those who walk away,

To trust Him at His word.

To them, become the lump of clay,

And follow what they heard.

With Christ as husband, Church as bride

Submissive to His will, 

The marriage bond exemplifies

When man and wife fulfill.

Monday

I pray that faith would overflow

And many more would come to know

The wonders of our mighty Lord

Who, on the cross, His love outpoured.

How fitting all should model Him

And love escape our stingy brim

To flourish in our suffering

And bring to all this mighty King.

Tuesday

Help me to see the camel plain

And worry less of gnats to strain

Initially to cleanse inside,

And then perhaps, to be a guide.

Wednesday

For this is why the Christian's here 

To blaze the way to new frontier.

To follow in the Master's will,

And patiently be loving still.

To leave behind the prideful self,

And place all comforts on the shelf

Embracing all that He allows

When using us as trusty plows.

Thursday

I have within, a nagging fear

That when, for me, the time draws near,

I turn, attempting flesh to spare,

And find myself in deep despair.

So blest I've been, but weak, I am.

Much favored, but a sinful man.

Unable to, by strength assured,

Console myself, as one matured.

I only pray that You will be

The strength in my futility,

And take me home that final day,

No more to ever sin or stray.

Friday

The wisdom of the Holy ones

Is something that the world shuns,

And fails to fill an extra flask

In preparation for the task.

The virtues that the humble seek,

Unwanted by the Jew or Greek.

A stumbling block of foolishness

To those in rank self-righteousness.

But when that fateful day arrives,

With none to show, but sinful lives,

It's then too late to figure out,

You should have gone a different route.

Saturday

The quiet of the morning dew

Can cause a soul to think of You

For as a new day wakes to dawn

The thoughts of our Creator spawn.

The River Starts Here

The River Starts Here
2018 PCW Banquet

Each river starts with just a drop

Of rain from in the sky.

Then by and by another drop

Starts falling quite nearby.

The thirsty earth consumes it quick,

A parched and barren land.

This dry and dusty lifeless wick,

Is not what God had planned.

But as the droplets coalesce,

And more begin to fall,

The hardened earth will acquiesce,

And yield unto the squall.

Then soon begins a steady rain,

And runlets start to form.

Each one a vibrant vital vein,

Now flowing from the storm.

They gather in the valley known,

For every sordid sin.

And there begin to moisten bone,

And start a change within.

Each valley with its stream of life,

Contributes to the flow.

Each good and holy man and wife,

Who offer up their dough.

With torrents now the surging tide,

Will flood the barren land.

And wash away the sins that hide,

The garden God had planned.

It takes a mighty river strong,

For evil we must stop.

A river wide, and clean, and long,

Which starts with just a drop.

8/19/18 Through 8/25/18

8/19/18 Through 8/25/18

Sunday

So that the simple ones can see

And like the children, come to Me,

I give My flesh that they become

With Me, and all, a body one.

To quench desire for unity

Who eats My flesh, transformed will be.

The simpleton will understand,

The love behind His each command.

And evermore the thirst shall grow

To more and more, the Father know

For in that most intense desire,

The Spirit comes with holy fire.

Monday

Just how stoic would I be

If all misfortune came to me?

Would I be like the rich young man,

Or would I search for God's new plan?

Have all possessions weighed me down

To where His will cannot be found?

Or am I nimble, swift, and free

To listen up and follow Thee?

Somewhere between the two I fall 

As one who listens for Your call,

But one who wants your grand design

To fit within this plan of mine.

There's many in this class like me

Who say they want to know they're free,

But fail to ever take the leap,

And firmly our possessions keep.

Oh Lord it all belongs to You,

And I accept what e're You do,

To bring me to the resting place

Where I may know Your sweet embrace.

Tuesday

To here renounce the things I own

Would show, at last, a seed was sown

In fertile ground within my breast

And true humility expressed.

But is that what I'm called to do?

Is that why I'm so blessed by You?

Maybe not to all deny,

But certainly to simplify.

A fast would help to thus endear

The word I wish to clearly hear.

For in denial self-imposed

I often find You're will exposed.

Wednesday

Woe to the shepherd who cares not for sheep

Whose dark little secrets can no longer keep.

the damage far-reaching, beyond tender soul,

This filthy injustice now staining the whole.

How long before all see the need to repent?

What fruits before God, could they ever present?

This body is hurting, the body's not well,

Till the last of her secrets she quickly expel

Thursday

Are you that guy who's unprepared,

Who lives in selfishness ensnared?

Who wants to join the banquet call,

But cannot from his sin withdraw?

This is truth that you must know.

For sin must dwell in lands below.

The wedding feast is meant for those,

Who, in the blood, have washed their clothes.

Friday

What would Jesus say of me

If me, it was, beneath the tree?

Would I be happy what He knew,

Or quite ashamed that He saw through?

Into the self no other knows,

Instead of what the outside shows?

Into the place where I know well

Without His grace, I'm bound for Hell!

Saturday

A servant I would gladly be

If such an honor came to me

To serve the One enthroned on high

And with His every wish comply

But He has called me to perceive

It's when we give that we receive

And love will serve the least of all

In answer to the Master's call.

8/12/18 Through 8/18/18

8/12/18 Through 8/18/18

Sunday

How clearly spoken was the word

But malice made it never heard.

The Spirit grieved by such a thought

That we reject what we've been taught.

The brand of Him who loves us so

Concealed by sin to never show,

But it remains a lasting sign,

The choice of Hell is clearly thine.

It needn't be if you repent,

For to the sinner Christ was sent,

To break the chains of sin that bind,

And every searching sinner find.

Receive His Spirit once again

And be a living sign for men

That love can soften hardened hearts,

And grace to all our God imparts.

Monday

So much to learn so far to go

So hard for me, to great things know.

A simple mind of little brain

Much easier, a dog to train.

So far away or high above,

The way of God, the way of love.

The hidden message hard to see

For any simpleton like me,

But always patient, always kind,

The Master, who all things designed.

No matter how complex it be,

The Master helps the simple see.

Tuesday

Kolbe in the prison cell

Enduring more than words can tell

Sustained by love beyond belief

Though captors offered no releif.

He ate the scroll God wrote for him.

In misery he raised a hymn,

And conquered in humility,

The darkness of futility.

Wednesday

Perfected virgin ever-pure

Who carried Christ in womb secure,

Who nursed and nurtured infant Son,

Who pondered all that God had done.

How glorious your fiat heard

When angel spoke that noble word,

And God on earth within became

Your joy and everlasting fame.

The greatness of the Lord proclaimed.

Emmanuel the child named.

Forever blest this lowly one,

The mother of His only Son.

Thursday

Lord I forgive as best I can

But in the end, I'm only man

I hold no grudge on other men

But may not deal with them again.

I pray what's lacking You supply,

And truly bless the other guy.

For only those who follow You 

Will come to know a love so true.

And even those that hurt me so

I pray, dear Lord, would come to know

Contentment of a different kind

When you, as Lord, they come to find.

Friday

The marriage bed where two are one

Is where new threads of life are spun

Their love as total, rich, and pure

Will, for ages, on endure

A covenant as God designed

The two become one heart and mind.

No shade of selfishness or lust.

A bond of pure self-giving trust.

Saturday

Let the children come to me

For such as these have eyes to see.

Their simple love so fair and sweet

Their ready hugs a welcome treat.

No complicated ways of men

Who hear, but listen not, and then

Instead of answering the call

Give in to sin again, and fall.

The children see and understand

It's best to do as God had planned.

So, willingly they follow me,

For humble find, what proud can't see.

8/5/18 Through 8/11/18

8/5/18 Through 8/11/18

Sunday

In truth You are my daily food

Eternal bread with life imbued

No creature here can satisfy

Or lesser food this truth belie.

There's only one that fills the soul

That nourishes and makes us whole.

That falls each morning from on high,

A fresh, abundant, new supply.

Monday

With shades removed and blinding light

Amazed at glory shining bright

A trembling fear comes over me

As sinful eyes, such glory see.

A shadow hovers over me

From shining mist above the tree

And then the Father's voice is heard

"This is My Son. Obey His word"

Tuesday

Bruised the reed yet broken not

My love for you is not forgot.

Though sinking in the tempest waves,

Reach out to Me, the hand that saves.

Wednesday

Cast out in darkness by our sin

So far away, no light gets in.

Yet even there He calls by name, 

Forgotten faith, then sparks a flame.

A little faith can do so much

When aided by the Master's touch.

A mountain moved, a demon gone,

A soul returned, where it belongs.

Just let the ray of brightness in

Cast off that wicked chain of sin.

Renewed in love forever be.

And let the Shepherd, shepherd thee.

Thursday

Peter first, his faith declaring

Then God's plan, his flesh desparing.

Blessed by God, to him revealing

Christ, Messiah, man of healing.

Given all the Kingdom keys

But then the flesh tries to appease.

For yet, did not, then understand,

The sacrifice, that God had planned.

The flesh rebuked for love to reign

All sins forgiven through His pain

Called to be the one who leads,

The shepherd, for the sheep, who bleeds.

Friday

Great blessing in the quiet time

To ponder things of love sublime.

Things that teach a lesson clear.

Things the soul has need to hear.

Soil is broken for the seed.

Broken seed to fill our need.

Rain supplied by broken sky.

All for life, they first must die.

Crop that gives a handsome yield.

Harvest from a giving field.

Broken to become the bread,

Of life, on which we all are fed.

The process is the same for all

Who hear and answer to the call.

Unless you fall to earth and die,

You cannot with, the word, comply.

No fruit will bear from seed preserved

No recompense for that deserved.

For only as a broken seed,

Is Christ revealed, our only need.

Saturday

Grant to each a vision clear,

How they should reach the far and near.

Grant each the faith to mountains move,

Your majesty, to clearly prove.

A tiny seed is all it takes,

And then Your excellence awakes,

To squarely show in plainest view,

The splendor of Almighty You.

7/29/18 Through 8/4/18

7/29/18 Through 8/4/18

Sunday

A little in the hands of God

Will go a long long way.

Give all and then His works applaud,

When they are on display.

He wants but all we have to give

No matter just how small.

If we, on Him, depend to live

We have to give our all.

But then we see how every time

We give it all away,

It acts for Him as just a prime

To fill the jars of clay.

Monday

Within the tiny mustard seed

Is found the shelter that we need

If it be given room to grow

The Lord of Lords we'll come to know

In parables we come to see

Things hidden throughout history

And find a tiny glimpse above

Into the land of endless love.

Tuesday

In the fields are weeds and wheat

But only one gives food to eat

Each with a purpose there to spread

The one alive, the other dead.

One grabbing life to selfish ends,

One whose life, on God, depends,

One that follows ill pursuits,

One that bears abundant fruits.

Be not like weed, but follow wheat,

Give of yourself that all may eat.

Be not a barren worthless weed,

But be the loving fruitful seed.

Wednesday

One thing is worth all that I own,

One name above all names is known.

The one whose breath gives life to me.

The One whose love has set me free.

Thursday

Behold the Potter at the wheel

And wonder how the clay must feel.

Beaten, pounded, pulled, and drawn

Till every lump of stiffness gone.

A painful process for the clay,

But oh, how wonderful that day,

When shaped by hands that love the clay

We learn to love the Savior's way!

Friday

A prophesy, God's word for now

That penetrates the heart somehow

And reaches to the depths within

Revealing just how much we sin.

How can He use such worthless tools

To reach the hearts and minds of fools?

Yet somehow with success He does,

Just see that every prophet was,

An ordinary man like me,

That God withdrew the shroud to see.

Who loved enough to sacrifice,

And speak against our world of vice.

Saturday

The wicked seek to kill the good

Who follow God the way they should.

Enraged by righteousness proclaimed,

That shows their acts, perverted, shamed.

But still pursue His path for you

In all you say and all you do.

For not by power or by might

But by the Spirit win the fight.

And win the hardened stony hearts

For Him alone whose love imparts

A mercy and a welcome home

For all, to Him, returning home.

7/22/18 Through 7/28/18

7/22/18 Through 7/28/18

Sunday

The Shepherd raised for wand'ring sheep

Their safety and their guard to keep

To lead them to the valley green

Where their true love, at last, is seen.

Take pity on the scattered brood

And give them everlasting food

That in Your valley they may find

Enduring love, and peace of mind.

Monday

Once again we're called to love,

To listen and obey

To listen to the prophets of

What God Himself would say.

No sacrifice or offering

Can call His favor down

But doing right and humbling

Is where He may be found

No sign but Jonah shall they see

When Judgment Day arrives

The Ninevites will judges be,

That day when all arise.

For at the Word they changed their way,

Repenting one and all

Returning to the light of day

When e're they heard the call.

Tuesday

One meal each day is all I need

One meal of love, on which I feed

Your presence in the bread and wine,

This satisfying food of mine.

But, oh so many fail to see

The truth within this mystery

The love and mercy shown to man

When we but walk within His plan.

Wednesday

We hold within these earthen jars

The treasure of His many scars

That far surpassing those that hold,

All men may know the precious gold.

Too many decorate the pot

To look like treasure, when it's not

The treasure in this earthly thing

Is love in patient suffering.

Thursday

The parable we understand

In many varied ways

Through story as the Savior planned

He clears the milky haze.

It finds in each a special key

Unlocking deep within

The need to love, and clearly see

How often that we sin.

The Chaff and Wheat, or Wasteful Son

Illumine to the eye

The awful things that we have done,

How we deserve to die.

But also how his mercy flows

And patience stays his hand

Till every sinner surely knows

They've heard His clear command.

Grant me the gift of speaking well

And offering to all

A message that the stories tell

By answering His call.

Friday

What kind of ground do I provide?

In me, how is the word applied?

Do I receive it as I should,

With all its power understood?

Or does it sprout at once in me,

But wither like some rootless tree?

And is it choked by thorns of greed

Exaggerating what I need?

Perhaps some day I'll till the ground

And then, a fertile place be found,

Within this poor and destitute

Where seeds of love can bear their fruit.

A fool, to be so cavalier

To think that day not drawing near.

When told, "Produce the Master's due"

And I have none to show to You.

So till my heart and break the clods

Of selfishness and other gods.

Create a soil rich and bold

That bears for You a hundredfold.

Saturday

In every garden sown good seed

And given water that they need,

The tender shoots of grain will rise

To yield a fruitful harvest prize.

But there, as well, is sown the weed

To try and overtake good seed

So higher must the grain now rise

To find the light from sunny skies.

For weeds attempt to block the rays,

Concerned with none but selfish ways,

And bear no fruit like useful grain,

But full of only showy feign.

At harvest time the sickle wields

Them both within the full-grown fields.

Weeds are bundled there and burned,

But sweet rewards the wheat has earned.