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We ought to make more progress, however little, every day, and show some increase of fervor. We ought to act as if we were at war–as, indeed, we are–and never relax until we have won the victory.
From Matthew 7:13-14: “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
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God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.
From John 15:9: “As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved you; abide in My love.”
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To a formless world, shrouded in whole darkness
God brought forth light to remove the harshness
To a dark, foreboding room with no shape
Candles illuminate our morning landscape
From a barren, lifeless pine or Douglas fir tree
Christmas brings lights, and makes us feel free
To a cold, hostile land without any light at night
Early man learns of fire, to warm and offer sight
To a student, who feels frustrated in a lesson so dark
A teacher brings patience, and a smile offers a spark
To a darkened, isolated highway on a night with no moon
Bright headlights point us safely towards home very soon
To a world seeking guidance and a fresh start
Lady Liberty’s welcoming torch, sets her apart
To a frightened child, waking up in darkness of the night
Parents bringing a beam of light, to take away his fright
To a middle-aged adult, stricken with eyesight very poor
A doctor’s skill removes a cataract, so she can see more
To an empty and humbling manger, in a crowded stable
A bright star over Bethlehem, showing what is now able
To heal the broken, lost life of a desperate man
God offering a sustaining and hope-filling plan
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Under heaven’s lock and key, we are protected by the most efficient security system available: the power of God.
From Psalm 147:3: “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”
From American theologian, Fulton J. Sheen: “God does not love us because we are valuable. We are valuable because God loves us.”
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God’s eternal love seeks
Intimate relationships
No longer standing back
Feeling love as He speaks
Our Lord loves each of us
Stepping forward with faith
Accepting His sincere truth
Our God, never to mistrust
When darker times arrive
Opening hearts to our Lord
Never to feel forsaken
Trusting, abiding, alive
Our Father always cares
Hearing faithful prayers
Watching trusting steps
Feeling moments of despair
Flowing from Heaven above
To a stable’s manger
Witnessing from a cruel Cross
God’s Grace delivers His love
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From John 15:8-9: “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become My disciples. As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved you; abide in My love.
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The conversion of a soul is the miracle of a moment, but the manufacture of a saint is the task of a lifetime.
From 2 Corinthians 5:17: “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!”
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It is only because of problems that we grow mentally and spiritually.
From James 1:2-4: “My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.”
From Isaiah 12:2: “Surely God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid, for the Lord God is my strength and my might; He has become my salvation.”
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To a world filling with harsh darkness
Our Heavenly Father wakens trust
God’s love conquers, crushing this starkness
Sending our Redeemer, always just
Jesus, the Messiah, walks the land
His Spirit deepens our mind and soul
We experience God, close at hand
Blood shed on a Cross, paying our toll
With every footprint Jesus makes
Walking forward, His bright light beckons
We follow with faith, make no mistake
Through our adversity, faith checks in
Enemy lurks, bringing temptation
Walking with Jesus, freed like a bird
In alignment with Him . . . Salvation!
Faithful “doers” of God’s Holy Word
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From Psalm 3:3-4: “But you, O Lord are a shield around me, my glory, and the one who lifts up my head. I cry aloud to the Lord, and He answers me from His Holy hill.”
I took a recent neighborhood walk, and the surroundings were definitely not the norm. Quiet streets and hardly anyone outside on a gloomy, spring afternoon. I crossed a busy road, without the usual volume of traffic. The entire experience brought many thoughts to mind, some of which found their way into this poem.
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Morning rush traffic, missing in action
Downtown streets resemble empty ghost towns
All of this, most unusual for many
Life experiencing major breakdowns
Atmosphere of dark, winter gloom arrives
Quiet neighborhood lanes, filled with stillness
Sheltered-in-place covers the entire land
Fear and panic, with visions of illness
Households, overflowing with family
Quite unique for a midweek afternoon
Only essential employees at work
Life differs from a “Charlie Brown” cartoon
Spring’s portraits and sounds, arriving on schedule
Trees bud out, grass turning green, robins sing
God’s creation reminds us, He is near
His steadfast, faithful hope shall always ring
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From Lamentations 3:21-23: “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”
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Am I as spontaneously kind to God as I used to be, or am I only expecting God to be kind to me? Am I full of the little things that cheer His heart over me, or am I whimpering because things are going hardly with me? There is no joy in the soul that has forgotten what God prizes.
If, as I recall what God remembers about me, I find He is not what He used to be to me, let it produce shame and humiliation, because that shame will bring the godly sorrow that works repentance.
Taken from the text found in Oswald Chambers’ MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST: “Recall What God Remembers.”
From Jeremiah 2:1-2: “The Word of the Lord came to me, saying: ‘Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the Lord: I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed me in the wilderness, in a land now sown.
