Offering
Wisdom’s enlightenment
God with us
Guiding toward tomorrow’s light
Hope
Pausing
Prayerful moment
Talking with God
Minutes filling with hope
Moving
Lost
Descending darkness
Hope calling out
Returning to Good Shepherd
Found
Cloudless, morning sky lifting up her shade
Brilliant, yet subtle light cascading down
Generations of peace-filled accolades
Navigating each successful splashdown
Gentle breeze descends with expectant glance
Endlessly sharing her breath every hour
Invitations accepted for each dance
Feeling softness caressing each flower
Moisture gathers along distant skyline
Whisper of rain’s scent filling every space
Better than sweetest aroma of wine
Offering something precious to embrace
Lowering her shade at sunset each night
Dreaming of sunrise’s wakening light
This poem has been crafted as a traditional sonnet with 14 verses, each containing 10 syllables. An intricate rhyming scheme is followed in each stanza with every other verse.
From Luke 24:6-7: “Remember how He told you, while He was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to the hands of sinners and be crucified and on the third day rise again.”
Enemy’s motives
Darkness full of fraud
Life spiraling down
Behind his facade
Trapped, with no escape
Caught in evil’s net
Each wave crashing down
Sinking deeper yet
Flowing river’s faith
Never left alone
Christ walks on water
Freed from this millstone
Hearing trumpet sound
Redemption’s surge swells
Blessed assurance
Now soul shall be well
Blood pays any cost
Sins nailed to this tree
Witness empty tomb
Rising, Light now free!
The hymn “When Peace, Like a River” inspired the writing of this poem. The lyrics were written by Horatio Gates Spafford in 1873. The song is sometimes titled from a line in the popular refrain, “It Is Well With My Soul.”
Enduring
Endless storms
Light’s navigation calms
Returning to tranquil waters
Faith
Surrounding
Darkness overcome
Light’s merciful hand
Leading to higher ground
Hope
Sustaining
Light answers
Prayer fills heart
Continued devotion to Jesus
Grace
With each new dawn there is delivered to your door a fresh, new package called “today.” All the grace we need will be supplied by Him as we live out that day.
From Psalm 9:10: “And those who know Your name put their trust in You, for You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.”
We have to take the first step as though there were no God. It is no use to wait for God to help us, He will not; but immediately we arise we find He is there.
From Isaiah 60:1: “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.”
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.
Life’s faithful river
Always flowing free
Spirit awakened
Jesus walks with thee
Light covers darkness
Faithful source of hope
Spirit awakened
Jesus tames each slope
Quiet place welcomes
Prayers nurture peace
Spirit awakened
Jesus holds life’s lease
Resurrection breathes
Eternity’s grace
Spirit awakened
Jesus leaves His trace
Destiny fulfilled
Journey now complete
Spirit awakened
Jesus offers seat
I do not care how dark the night; I believe in the coming of the morning.
From Luke 1:78-79: “Because of the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to shine upon those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
Joseph Charles Price (1854-1893) was the founder of Livingstone College in Salisbury, North Carolina. He was a gifted orator as well as a leader in the African-American community in the southern United States. He also served many congregations as pastor.
Beholding
God’s Kingdom
Built upon righteousness
Come, receive His peace
Light
Grace
Unselfishly given
Justified by faith
Always surrounded with Light
Jesus
Personal
Lenten journey
Walking alongside Jesus
Darkness replaced with Light
Repentance
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.
From Matthew 5:13-14: “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything but is thrown out and trampled under foot. You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid.”
Life’s human experience
Never-ending shortcomings
Darkness follows every step
Hearing its constant drumming
God’s Word shatters evil’s myth
Called to His righteous standing
Light shines with divine goodness
Offering safest landing
God’s eternal promises
Resurrection defines hope
Faith growing, following Christ
Scaling each slippery slope
God’s faithfulness never tires
Jesus fulfilling His law
Holy Spirit reaches out
Teaching, transforming life’s flaws
Kingdom of Heaven beckons
Earthly journey will be hard
Grace leading, trusting each day
Laying bricks toward God’s courtyard
From Matthew 5:19: “Therefore, whoever break one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
Big Sky Buckeye 