If there were one great message I could deliver to those who struggle with not having an abundance of this world’s goods, it would be this simple yet profound promise for happiness: Great wealth is not related to money! In a word, the secret is contentment.
From Proverbs 16:8: “Better is a little with righteousness than large income with injustice.”
From Matthew 5:1: “When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up the mountain, and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. And He began to speak and taught them.”
Father’s Word becomes flesh
Now living among man
Gentleness of potter’s hands
Fulfilling promised plan
Truth found in Savior’s voice
Faithfulness, heaven bound
United as one Body
Traversing common ground
Touched by Messiah’s grace
Forgiveness now descends
Chains of sin breaking away
Finding hope, darkness ends
Christ’s lesson plans share love
Hillside offers classroom
“Sermon on the Mount” teaches
Sowing faith, seeds shall bloom
Rock of Ages, Jesus Christ
His peace shall never end
Always with man in spirit
Blessing each knee to bend
From Matthew 28:20: “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many”
When the tempest rages, in the Rock of Ages I will safely hide. Though the earth be shaking, and all hearts be quaking, Christ is at my side.
From Psalm 61:1-3: “Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. From the end of the earth I call to You, when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, for You are my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy.”
Johann Franck (1618-1677) was a German public official and lawyer. However, he was best remembered as a poet and writer of hymns.
Cherish
Father’s love
Another heart transformed
Journey into new life
Opportunity
Trust
Father’s love
Transformed in spirit
Scaling every high mountain
Courage
Embrace
Father’s love
Grace opens eyes
Darkness transformed into light
Faith
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.
Answered prayer is the interchange of love between the Father and His child.
From 2 Chronicles 7:12-15: “Then the Lord appeared to Solomon in the night and said to him, ‘I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain or command the locust to devour the land or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name humble themselves, pray, seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place.'”
Andrew Murray (1828-1917) was a South African Christian pastor, writer, and teacher. He believed that Christians should always place a great emphasis on maintaining a rich, personal devotional life.
From Hebrews 10:22: “Let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”
Accepting Christ as Savior
Truth filling with His light
His blood pays for each sin
Mercy enriched, forthright
Witnessing wholeness of faith
Christ’s righteousness, must trust
Prayer’s voice guides changes
Victory over evil’s lust
Experiencing healing
Now taking deeper breaths
Christ offers lasting hope
Triumph rising from death
Encouraging each other
Horizon’s promised fate
From Gospel’s saving grace
Forgiveness offers clean slate
Walking in Christ’s light each day
No longer lost, but found
Peace breathes with every step
Faith forever heaven bound
From Hebrews 10:38-39: “but my righteous one will live by faith. My soul takes no pleasure in anyone who shrinks back. But we are not among those who shrink back and so are lost but among those who have faith and so preserve our souls.”
God will use failure in your life to break down that strong desire in your heart to see your name in lights. And when He finally breaks you of that lust for recognition, He may place you before the lights like you’ve never imagined. But then it won’t matter. You won’t care if you’re prime time of small time, center stage or backstage, leading the charge or packing the baggage. You’re just part of the king’s army.
From Galatians 5:26: “Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another.”
Most precious union
Trusted journey of marriage—
Love expressed each day
Treasured daily gift
Twin hearts always together—
Love’s refreshing breath
Couple sharing joy
Transforming experience—
Harmony’s grace sings
The love of husband and wife is the force that welds society together.
From Matthew 19:4-6: “He answered, ‘Have you not read that the one who made them at the beginning made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
John Chrysostom served the early Christian church during the late 4th century and early 5th century in Constantinople where he preached and was a prolific writer.
This poem is written as a traditional Sonnet, but it can certainly be read as a prayer. God’s peace!
Lives pretending to follow a Holy God
Being of the flesh, greater than the spirit
Living as infants in our Lord Jesus Christ
Thirsty for our Father’s love, we shall fear it
Life filled with jealousy and quarrelsome times
Behaving outside of our Father’s design
Belonging to the Left, beholding the Right
Only walking with Jesus, should lives align
Sowing life’s seeds for a bountiful harvest
Thirsty for true living water and care
This world’s Master Builder brings His hope-filled Grace
Humbling kneeling at the Cross, hear our prayers
Only through our Lord Jesus, rests our foundation
Unifying voices throughout this nation
From 1 Corinthians 3:21-23: “So let no one boast about human leaders. For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all belong to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.”
Originally published August, 2020.
Big Sky Buckeye 