Monday Memories: Ready and Able

From John 15:4-5: “Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.”

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Sometimes in life, failure knocking

Darkest times, odds stacked against us

God always, ready and able

His greatness, witness Glory’s plus

 

Heaven’s Father never ceases

Life’s moments of weakness erased

God always, ready and able

Strengthened, with His sweetest foretaste

 

Abraham’s Sarah, doubts the Lord

Blessing comes with birth of a boy

God always, ready and able

His covenant, flowing with joy

 

Hebrew slaves hunger for freedom

Moses feels uncertain, with fear

God always, ready and able

Israel now freed, while He steers

 

Toiling and sweating in darkness

Accomplish little on our own

God always, ready and able

His hope and peace, faith’s firm backbone

 

Coming to the Lord, trusting Him

Follow His path, at life’s crossroads

God always, ready and able

Willing to lift burdensome loads

 

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From Matthew 11:28-30:  “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Originally published January, 2021.

Ralph Erskine Quote

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God’s justice indeed must be satisfied; and there is no way in the world to give satisfaction to God, but by believing in Christ.

From Acts 4:11-12:  “This Jesus is ‘the stone that was rejected by you, the builders; it has become the cornerstone.’  There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.”

Ralph Erskine (1685-1752) was a Scottish-born pastor and Christian writer.

Promised Grace

From Psalm 118:1:  “O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His steadfast love endures forever!”

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Christ shall endure forever

Witnessing His steadfast love

Forgiveness heals brokenness

Righteousness flows from above

 

Christ journeys to Calvary

Bringing man’s darkness with Him

Sin’s valley of death’s shadow

Light waiting at heaven’s rim

 

Christ becomes faith’s cornerstone

Yielding to Father’s design

Truth waiting at Roman cross

Sacred blood pays every fine

 

Christ foils enemy’s insults

Shedding eternity’s wrath

Love borne, no matter its cost

Promised grace reveals faith’s path

 

Christ builds heaven’s trusted bridge

Rising from now empty tomb

Passion’s flames light mercy’s quest

Brought forth into Father’s room

 

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From Psalm 118:19:  “Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord.”

Faith’s Cornerstone

From Isaiah 30:15:  “For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel:  In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.”

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Father looks upon His design

His perfection draws each detail

Filling darkness with trusted light

Faith now strengthens, no longer frail

 

Father molds mercy’s truth to shine

His promises to be fulfilled

Sending Shepherd, care for His flock

Faith’s cornerstone, set to rebuild

 

Father plans enemy’s demise

His victory shall bring glory

Witnessing Teacher’s lesson plans

Faith refreshed with every story

 

Father pulls strings of righteousness

His forgiving love offers hope

Wiping away sin’s endless debt

Faith grips Savior’s eternal rope

 

Father calls out from Calvary

His boldness breathes with quiet might

Offering life through Jesus Christ

Faith’s peace, rising on heaven’s flight

 

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From Isaiah 30:20-21:  “Though the Lord may give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide Himself any longer, but your eyes shall see your Teacher.  And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.'”

Vance Havner Quote

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If you are a Christian, you are not a citizen of this world trying to get to heaven; you are a citizen of heaven making your way through this world.

From Ephesians 2:18-20:  “For through Him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father.  So then, you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone.”

Vance Havner (1901-1986) was an American pastor and Christian author.  During his many years of service to the Lord, he preached throughout America.

Monday Memories: Christ Prevails

man holding sheep statuette

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From 1 Peter 2:24:  “He himself bore our sins in His body on the Cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed.”

Chosen and precious in God’s sight

To believers, Christ’s Spirit brings Salvation

Jesus Christ turns darkness into light

 

Our faith’s chosen and precious cornerstone

Christ comes forward to redeem us

We can live by His bread alone

 

Jesus becomes our Holy, High Priest

Believe and never put to shame

God’s own Son takes His seat

 

Nonbelievers reject God’s Holy, chosen one

Christ prevails to become our Rock

Salvation goes through God’s Holy Son

 

Christ suffers mightily for His flock

Yet, He never commits any sin

Following God’s steps around the clock

 

Christ never waivers, He follows through

Entrusting Himself to His Heavenly Father

Bearing our sins, Resurrection’s glorious view

 

Our lives feel threatened with gloom

Jesus never ceases caring for us

Standing by, Christ prevents our doom

 

Jesus at our side, always a friend

Loving us with passion and intensity

Our opportunity for Salvation, God sends

 

Christ, the Good Shepherd, beckons us

No longer gone astray and lost

Christ’s body and blood heal us

 

The old, rugged cross stands tall

Freeing us from our endless sins

Washing us white, Salvation calls all

 

Living in bondage, forever in sin

Emancipation by Christ, paying the ransom

Accepting Christ, brings all believers in

From Luke 24:6:  “Remember how He told you, while He was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.”

backlit cemetery christianity clouds

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Originally published September, 2019.

Monday Memories: Following His Voice

From 1 Peter 2:25:  “For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.

woman standing near sheep

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Like sheep, we wander astray

Turning away from our Lord

Feeling harassed and helpless

Sheep lost, by our own accord

 

God lays a new cornerstone

Our Good Shepherd, Holy Son

Calling us, hearing His voice

His work will never be done

 

Leading us, on this right path

Following His voice, love flows

With Him, we shall never want

Restoring souls, we all grow

 

Good Shepherd, loving His sheep

Bringing comfort, rod and staff

Green pastures, nourishing us

Still waters, on our behalf

 

Jesus, loving Good Shepherd

Unblemished, Lamb of God casts

Body and blood on that Cross

Risen Savior, His hope lasts

sky sunset person silhouette

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From Christian author, W. Phillip Keller:  “It takes some of us a lifetime to learn that Christ, our Good Shepherd, knows exactly what He is doing with us.”

Originally published May, 2020.

Heaven’s Enterprises

From 2 Peter 3:13:  “But, in accordance with His promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home.”

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Lifetime of building

Man’s labors seem so bold

Smallish enterprises

Growing fragile and old

 

Christ’s building schemes last

Any cost, He equips

Trusted enterprises

Growing discipleship

 

Eternity calls

Grace building rescue’s net

Savior’s enterprises

Liquidating sin’s debts

 

Christ, building for more

Faith’s stalwart cornerstone

Righteous enterprises

Shaping mankind’s backbone

 

Passionate spirit

Every consuming fire

Heaven’s enterprises

Built, never to expire

 

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This poem was influenced from these words of Scottish evangelist and Christian teacher, Oswald Chambers:  “Jesus takes us over for His enterprises, His building schemes entirely, and no soul has any right to claim where he shall be put.”

Ready and Able

From John 15:4-5: “Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.”

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

Sometimes in life, failure knocking

Darkest times, odds stacked against us

God always, ready and able

His greatness, witness Glory’s plus

 

Heaven’s Father never ceases

Life’s moments of weakness erased

God always, ready and able

Strengthened, with His sweetest foretaste

 

Abraham’s Sarah, doubts the Lord

Blessing comes with birth of a boy

God always, ready and able

His covenant, flowing with joy

 

Hebrew slaves hunger for freedom

Moses feels uncertain, with fear

God always, ready and able

Israel now freed, while He steers

 

Toiling and sweating in darkness

Accomplish little on our own

God always, ready and able

His hope and peace, faith’s firm backbone

 

Coming to the Lord, trusting Him

Follow His path, at life’s crossroads

God always, ready and able

Willing to lift burdensome loads

 

Photo by Ivan Samkov on Pexels.com

From Matthew 11:28-30:  “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Following His Voice

From 1 Peter 2:25:  “For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.

woman standing near sheep

Photo by Quang Nguyen Vinh on Pexels.com

Like sheep, we wander astray

Turning away from our Lord

Feeling harassed and helpless

Sheep lost, by our own accord

 

God lays a new cornerstone

Our Good Shepherd, Holy Son

Calling us, hearing His voice

His work will never be done

 

Leading us, on this right path

Following His voice, love flows

With Him, we shall never want

Restoring souls, we all grow

 

Good Shepherd, loving His sheep

Bringing comfort, rod and staff

Green pastures, nourishing us

Still waters, on our behalf

 

Jesus, loving Good Shepherd

Unblemished, Lamb of God casts

Body and blood on that Cross

Risen Savior, His hope lasts

sky sunset person silhouette

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

From Christian author, W. Phillip Keller:  “It takes some of us a lifetime to learn that Christ, our Good Shepherd, knows exactly what He is doing with us.”