Abiding
Embracing
Savior’s light
Holiness of righteousness
Enriched by Father’s Word
Truth
Promising
Transformed
By grace
Accepting disciplined steps
Honoring commitment to Christ
Faith
Reassuring
Enlightened
Through Jesus
Loving Him back
Daily praises of joy
Peace
From Ephesians 2:4-6: “But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which He loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”
Unconditional love
Grace descends from God’s heart
Connected to Him above
Man receives renewing start
Heavenly grace flows out
With Savior’s rising tide
Nourished with God’s love aglow
Righteous mercy always guides
By grace, man’s salvation
Hung on Calvary’s tree
Forgiveness loves each nation
Enemy’s darkness shall flee
Faith’s fabric now strengthened
Harvested grace unites
Redemption’s spirit deepens
Steadfast love remains in flight
Father’s grace positioned
Journey of peace begins
Mankind’s hope reconditioned
Christ’s love forever weighs in
From Hebrews 4:16: “Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
From Psalm 89:1-2: “I will sing of Your steadfast love, O Lord, forever; with my mouth I will proclaim Your faithfulness to all generations. I declare that Your steadfast love is established forever; Your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.”
Transformation of peace
Gathered in God’s hands
Fulfillment of His Word
Messiah comes to stand
Hearts filling with truth
Opened in God’s light
Hope stirring from darkness
Calvary’s welcome flight
Never forsaken
Loved through God’s caring
Steadfast grace now descends
Savior’s forthwith sharing
New covenant’s breath
Charged from God’s boldness
Praises full of wonder
Christ transforms sin’s coldness
Enemy trembles
Quashed by God’s own hand
Holiness lives throughout
Redemption comes as planned
From Psalm 89:5-6: “Let the heavens praise Your wonders, O Lord, Your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones. For who in the skies can be compared to the Lord? Who among the heavenly beings is like the Lord.”
From Romans 13:11-12: “Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.”
Turning away from temptation’s path
Following God’s Holy, righteous road
Transforming self into Christ’s image
Experiencing His love, bestowed
Breathing, yet lost in evil’s darkness
Hiding in shame, past sinful landscape
Reaching for Salvation’s lasting grace
Wearing armor of light, faith reshapes
Sharing His Father’s Word, Christ teaches
Loving one another, sharing peace
Witnessing His greatest commandment
Living with openness, life’s new lease
Leaving His advocate, Christ assures
Coming Holy Spirit, lifts each life
Overcoming sin’s flesh-filled desires
Growing in submission, without strife
Offering path to new life, Christ comes
Forsaking life’s bold truth, darkness flees
Walking in faith, stepping into light
Remaining steadfast, in what He sees
From the words of American pastor and Christian teacher, Charles Stanley: “When we rely on Him [God] instead of ourselves, He produces godly desires within us, empowers obedience, and transforms our character into Christ’s likeness.”
Originally published March, 2021.
Discovery
Waiting
Patience breathes
Unlocking God’s goodness
Prayer opens willing heart
Peace
Invitation
Trusting
Morning’s light
Nourishing with hope
Daily bread of grace
Love
Journey
Receiving
Word’s truth
Replenishing faith’s roots
Risen Christ welcomes all
Joy
God did not make us perfect Christians in one stroke. He calls us as we are, and only His grace makes us what we are not.
From 1 Corinthians 15:9-10: “For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I but the grace of God that is with me.
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.
From Psalm 48:12-14: “Walk about Zion; go all around it; count its towers; consider well its ramparts; go through its citadels, that you may tell the next generation that this is God, our God forever and ever. He will be our guide forever.”
During moments of darkness
Praying to Father above
Heaven’s light breaks through
Trust nourishes heart with His love
Accepting His divine grace
Following Father’s roadmap
Heaven’s light shall lead
Away from enemy’s sand trap
Escaping from parched landscape
Grasping Father’s steady hand
Heaven’s light beholds
Forever marked, steadfast faith stands
Pursuing His love-filled peace
Revealing Father’s new hope
Heaven’s light spreads out
Reinforced hold of mercy’s rope
Embracing eternal view
Delighting in Father’s ways
Heaven’s light holds firm
Destiny’s truth descends ablaze
From Isaiah 58:11: “The Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your needs in parched places and make your bones strong, and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water whose waters never fail.”
From John 1:16-17: “From His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
Best and worst of times
God’s grace always chimes
Loving and caring
Promises bearing
God remains at hand
Faith and hope shall stand
Seeking empty hearts
Molding time’s restart
Life’s melody plays
Offer Him our praise
God’s grace taking root
Peace filling love’s flute
Gloom and doom appear
Allow Him to steer
God’s love shows He cares
Guiding day’s affairs
Hope’s beacon awaits
In His hands, our fate
Witness as His child
Life no longer wild
Forgiveness and love
Shared from God above
God’s grace shapes life’s frame
Praise His Holy name
From Lamentations 3:22-23: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
This poem is inspired from some past entries in my “Take-Aways” journal. Each entry is based upon something read and studied in a morning devotional.
Originally published March, 2021.
Plant seeds of kindness.
From Luke 6:31: “Do to others as you would have them do to you.”
From Psalm 23:1-3: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside still waters; He restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for His name’s sake.”
Hearing Good Shepherd’s voice
Peace transforms valley’s lament
Flowing with living waters
Greenest pastures present
Forgiving our missteps
Sinless Christ rises above
Transplanting His righteousness
Reclaimed hearts filled with love
Comforting grace descends
Mercy raises goodness strong
Resurrecting faithfulness
Spirit uplifts with song
Leading generous hearts
Fellowship under Christ’s care
Seeking to follow His ways
Hope fills every prayer
Breaking bread together
Believers worship as one
Praising faith in Risen Christ
Darkness shall be undone
From Acts 2:46-47: “Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.”
