Faith’s Clean Heart

From Psalm 51:1-2:  “Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your steadfast love; according to Your abundant mercy, blot out my transgressions.  Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.”

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Heart feeling empty of faith

Crushing embers of hope

Wilderness of transgressions

Walking next slippery slope

 

Born into journey of sin

Following darkest road

Thorns of guilt penetrate soul

Stumbling under burden’s load

 

Year after year, without joy

Lowering head in shame

Chained to enemy’s false words

Searching emptiness in flames

 

Light shines upon Calvary

Breathing with Savior’s grace

Forgiven steps fill with hope

Ending sin’s unfruitful race

 

Deliverance filled with truth

Witnessing faith’s clean heart

Every sunrise guarantees

Elevating life’s fresh start

 

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From Psalm 51:10-12:  “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.  Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your holy spirit from me.  Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.”

Charles Stanley Quote

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Unseen by human eyes, a great exchange took place as Jesus hung on the cross.  He took all our sin upon Him and bore the wrath of every single one . . . past, present, and future.

From Romans 8:38-39:  “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Charles Stanley (1932-2023) was an American pastor and Christian writer.  He was dedicated to leading a teaching ministry.

Faith’s Testament (Elfchen Series #247)

Precious Steps

Witnessing

Savior’s light

Tomorrow will wait

Worry less, pray more

Today

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Treasured Place

Receiving

Savior’s peace

Burdens take rest

Healing waters of grace

Hope

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Promises Realized

Fulfilling

Savior’s love

Forgiveness erases darkness

Walking mercy’s Emmaus Road

Redemption

Courtesy of Pinterest.

This series of poems (written in the German-inspired style of Elfchen or Elevenie) shares a total of eleven words in each poem, with a sequence by line of one, two, three, four, and one words.

Oswald Chambers Quote

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Our Lord received Himself in the fire of sorrow, He was saved not from the hour, but out of the hour.

From John 12:27-28:  “Now My soul is troubled.  And what should I say:  ‘Father, save Me from this hour’?  No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour.  Father, glorify Your name.   Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.'”

Oswald Chambers (1874-1917) was a Scottish evangelist and Christian teacher.  Following his death from an illness while in Egypt during World War I, his wife took on the task of transcribing the detailed notes she had written from his lectures and sermons.  Gertrude Hobbs Chambers’ efforts resulted in the publication in 1924 of MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST.  I frequently read from this devotional, and it has greatly deepened my faith and understanding of God’s Word.

Courage Found

From Isaiah 43:19:  “I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth; do you not perceive it?  I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”

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Be prepared to be surprised

Promises shall be fulfilled

God honors His divine Word

From wilderness, truth rebuilds

 

Faith’s path to mighty waters

Savior’s life rising from death

Light’s mercy conquers darkness

Resurrection’s living breath

 

Deliverance from sin’s death

Salvation wipes away tears

Harvest of grace bearing joy

Witness Jesus, He appears

 

Flesh left at Calvary’s cross

Righteousness offers new road

Christ buys freedom with His blood

Gather love from seeds He sowed

 

Courage found in Savior’s steps

Invitation to see ahead

Holy Spirit left to guide

Nourished with God’s daily bread

 

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From Psalm 126:5-6:  “May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy.  Those who go out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, carrying their sheaves.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer Quote

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If Jesus returns tomorrow, then tomorrow I’ll rest from my labor.  But today I have work to do.  I must continue the struggle until it’s finished.

From Galatians 6:9:  “So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up.”

German-born Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) was a Lutheran pastor, theologian, and anti-Nazi dissident.  Many of his writings express the role of Christianity in mankind’s daily lives.  He paid the ultimate price for his activism against the Nazi regime during World War II.

Darkness Flees

From Psalm 23:4:  Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

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Always near

God’s mighty hand

From heavenly high

His creation, as planned

 

Mercy’s light

Shares daily bread

God’s comforting peace

Anchored at faith’s beachhead

 

Gospel’s breath

Fills from His Word

God delivers hope

Future no longer blurred

 

Harmony

Blessed with God’s love

Grace feeds man’s spirit

Established from above

 

Righteous road

God walks with thee

Promises fulfilled

Enemy’s darkness flees

 

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From Genesis 28:15:  “Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

Charles Finney Quote

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Nothing tends more to cement the hearts of Christians than praying together.

From Matthew 20:18:  “For where two or three are gathered in My name, I am there among them.”

Charles Finney (1792-1875) was an American pastor and Christian evangelist.  In the years before America’s Civil War, he was an outspoken opponent of slavery.

Faith’s Precious Template (Elfchen Series #246)

Preparations

 Sowing

Spirit’s seeds

Planting righteous grain

Fields of eternal life

Harvesting

Connections

Praying

Daily consistency

Faithful relationship deepens

Buoyed by Father’s love

Maturing  

Interactions

Sharing

Christ’s grace

Spirit of gentleness

Placing light upon others

Witnessing

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Martin Luther Quote

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Even if I know that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.

From Hebrews 10:23:  “Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful.”