Mercies
Surrounding thee
Light sustains faith
Beholding Father’s wondrous deeds
Fulfilled
Hunger
Empties spirit
Harvesting Father’s Word
From His eternal bounty
Nourished
Feeling
Alone, forsaken
Father’s mission complete
Bringing every lamb back
Loved
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.
God’s desire is that we grow in faith as we walk with Him. Faith is not merely a one-time event through which we were saved; rather, it’s a continuous way of life from the point of salvation forward.
From 2 Thessalonians 1:3-4: “We must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. Therefore we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith during all your persecutions and the afflictions that you are enduring.”
From Matthew 6:25: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?”
Sinking in despair
Worries adding up
Christ calls us forward
Grace shall be enough
Fearing tomorrow
Worries might return
Christ speaking with truth
Hold His righteous hand
Searching for freedom
Worries seek backdoor
Christ shall strengthen faith
Hope waits to mature
Praying each morning
Worries bundled up
Christ bearing them all
Darkness transformed now
Finding blessed love
Worries now swept free
Christ’s mercy takes flight
Rising to God’s way
From Matthew 6:33-34: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”
Because the Christian has the Lord Himself dwelling within, the potential for inner strength is unlimited. Only the indwelling, empowering Christ can give someone that much confidence.
From Psalm 107:9: “For He satisfies the thirsty, and the hungry He fills with good things.”
From John 10:9-10: “I am the gate. Whoever enters by Me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy, I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
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Triumphantly
Jesus enters a joyous city
Jerusalem sings
Praising His name . . . Hosanna!
Witnessing
Emotional betrayal
Denying Christ
Then a rooster crows
Watching
Stunning procession fills the streets
Mocking with scorn
Would-be king, carrying our Cross
Hopes
Dashed by cruel Roman justice
Absent of sin
Son of Man, never to walk free
Numbness
With tears, seeing and hearing
Experiencing anguish
Horror at a blood-stained Cross
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Silence
Covering the land, Father weeps
Messiah suffers
Many rejecting our Holy God
Hearing
Good News on Easter morning
Our Savior
Defeating sin and death
Empty
Dark tomb proclaims God’s plan
Jesus Christ
Risen! Reigning forevermore
Connecting
Dots between manger and Cross
Our Father
Love for us never wanes
Lingering
In the shadow of a criminal’s cross
Singing Alleluia!
To lasting, true meaning of the Cross
Glory
Residing forever in the Cross
Good Shepherd
Caring for His precious flock
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From Ephesians 2:8-10: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is a gift of God–not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what He has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.”
Originally published April, 2020.
Jesus is saying that the great care of the life is to put the relationship to God first, and everything else second.
From Matthew 6:33: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
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.
Sharing
Spirit’s light
Motivating one another
Love-filled grace working
Encouragement
Trusting
Father’s Word
Depths of understanding
Lighting faith’s bold path
Righteousness
Accepting
Resurrection’s light
Witnessed at Calvary
Jesus paid our debts
Love
Every man’s life is a plan of God.
From Psalm 32:8: “I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.”
Horace Bushnell (1802-1876) was an American pastor and Christian theologian.
From Psalm 17:5: “My steps have held fast to Your paths; my feet have not slipped.”
Day after day
Another journey waits
Absorbing Savior’s Word
Keeping our righteous path straight
Day after day
Enemy surrounds thee
Witnessing Savior’s love
Grasping His truth, always free
Day after day
Darkness shames life of sin
Rising, Savior confronts
Locking faith’s righteous linchpin
Day after day
Blindness in faith creeps in
Praying for Savior’s grace
Casting His light from within
Day after day
Hope finds security
Blessing from Savior’s heart
Bestowing His purity
From Matthew 5:8: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”
How wonderful that God personally cares about those things that worry us and prey upon our thoughts. Not a single nagging, aching, worrisome, stomach-tensing, blood-pressure-raising thought escapes His notice.
From 1 Peter 5:6-7: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”
Big Sky Buckeye 