Monday Memories: Just in Case

From James 4:6:  “But He gives all the more grace; therefore it says, ‘God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.'”

Photo by mododeolhar on Pexels.com

Our Creator’s divine plan

Offers fullest, living grace

Giving patience, just in case

When running life’s anxious race

 

Our Lord shares forgiveness

Relationships need healing

Forgiving sin, just in case

When each day seems freewheeling

 

Heaven’s Father, sharing peace

Imperfect lives needing change

Trimming each branch, just in case

When roaming lost on God’s range

 

God shares His timely wisdom

From Heaven, He sees us fall

Touching our hand, just in case

When we need His hope-filled call

 

Photo by Dominika Roseclay on Pexels.com

From John 15:1-2:  “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower.  He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit.  Every branch that bears fruit He prunes to make it bear more fruit.”

Originally published January, 2021.

John Owen Quote

Photo by Maruxa Lomoljo Koren on Pexels.com

Fill your affections with the cross of Christ that there may be no room for sin.

From Matthew 13:41-43:  “The Son of Man will send His angels, and they will collect out of His kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

John Owen (1616-1683) was an English Puritan church leader and theologian.

Monday Memories: Without Faith

From Hebrews 11:6:  “And without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would approach Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him.”

Photo by Jens Johnsson on Pexels.com

Living without faith

Never pleasing to God

Scripture grows musty

Seeing life as a fraud

 

Lacking true knowledge

Missing God’s living Word

Whole heart feels empty

Running with the wrong herd

 

Callous attitude

Faith absent, lonesome walk

Mind unbelieving

AWOL from Shepherd’s flock

 

Holy Trinity

Faith’s long forgotten light

Father, Son, Spirit

Blessed angels take flight

 

Photo by Darrell Fraser on Pexels.com

From Proverbs 3:5:  “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight.”

Originally published December, 2020.

As Father Planned

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

Photo by Maruxa Lomoljo Koren on Pexels.com

Worldly treasures

Sparkle every hour

Each temptation

Promises to empower

 

Never enough

Looking beyond God

Contentment sought

Destiny’s promises flawed

 

Hearing God’s Word

Faith’s truth becomes known

Sin’s journey fades

Dark promises stand alone

 

Honesty breathes

Eternity stands

Spirit leads on

Promised grace, as Father planned

 

Walking with Christ

Following hope’s light

Leaving darkness

Promising love, always bright

 

Photo by Johannes Plenio on Pexels.com

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.”

Fire Always Bright

Photo by mas_hha on Pexels.com

Darkness masks life’s landscape

Hiding sin’s heartless shame

Trying to flee past hurts

Shadows always aflame

 

Trials sometimes arise

Shrouding foundation’s cracks

Concealing hell’s façade

Tomorrow painted black

 

Misery breathes as one

Filling with cold despair

Seeing nothing beyond

Jesus descends with care

 

Dependence upon grace

Acknowledging past sins

Kneeling at Calvary

Forgiveness calling in

 

Redemption comes through Christ

Extending mercy’s light

Transforming soul’s battles

Spirit’s fire always bright

 

Photo by Marek Piwnicki on Pexels.com

Monday Memories: From Death to Life

From Isaiah 64:6: “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.”

Photo by Kaique Rocha on Pexels.com

Coming into this harsh world

Born spiritually dead

Ruled by darkest deceptions

Sinful nature fills life’s thread

 

Do we deserve God’s goodness?

Facing our Holy Lord’s wrath

Separated by our sins

Satan lights a wayward path

 

Our lives resemble darkness

Righteous acts, thin and meager

Offering nothing of value

Father’s true love, remains eager

 

Calling upon the Lord’s name

Deliver us from our sins

God, the Potter, molding us

Transforming the clay, He wins

 

Once living under the flesh

Filled with darkest death and sin

By Holy Grace, saved through faith

Walking with Christ, life’s linchpin

 

Placing virgin faith in Christ

In spirit, alive through Him

Body and blood, Cross vanquished

Sins pardoned, new life in Him

 

Photo by Rodolfo Clix on Pexels.com

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.”

Originally published November, 2020.

Joy’s Heavenly Place

From Philippians 3:14:  “I press on toward the goal, toward the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Photo by Maruxa Lomoljo Koren on Pexels.com

Journey through darkness

Consumed by fire of sin

Filled with desires of flesh

Bound for hell’s tailspin

 

Enemy’s false words

Promises unfulfilled

Confidence now waning

Whisper of hope killed

 

Shepherd’s gate opens

Calvary’s light beholds

Kneel now, accept His grace

Heaven’s path unfolds

 

Flesh left in darkness

Repentance of past ways

Leaving sin’s wilderness

Faith in Christ each day

 

Lord’s grace accepted

Covered with Father’s love

Savoring hope’s reward

Glory from above

 

Holding fast in trust

Faithful, transforming pace

Redemption forever

Joy’s heavenly place

 

Courtesy of Pinterest.

From Philippians 3:20:  “But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Charles Stanley Quote

Photo by Adrien Olichon on Pexels.com

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.

Monday Memories: Finding New Life

From 2 Corinthians 11:13-14:  “For such boasters are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.  And no wonder!  Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.”

Photo by Nouman Raees on Pexels.com

Facing life’s harshest trials

Walking uphill in shadows

Keeping on the proper trail

Coveting greener meadows

 

Suffering darkest ordeals

Praying for divine advice

Listening for God’s response

Willing to pay any price

 

Hiding off the path, waiting

Offering cunning, false hope

Sliding into Satan’s net

Reaching up for rescue’s rope

 

Clutching God’s forgiving hand

Leaving the enemy’s grip

Finding new life with the Lord

Walking in His fellowship

 

Photo by Christiane on Pexels.com

From Romans 6:22-23:  “But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification.  The end is eternal life.  For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Originally published September, 2020.

Monday Memories: Abandon Your Ways

From John 3:5:  “Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.”

Photo by lalesh aldarwish on Pexels.com

Living a dark life of sin

Failing to follow God’s Word

Walking as slaves in the flesh

“Abandon your ways” . . . unheard

 

Falling, ignoring our Lord

Leaving Him for empty thoughts

Taking our path, darkness prowls

Sinful hunger calls the shots

 

Consumed by life in the flesh

There awaits a better way

God never abandons us

Offering His Grace each day

 

God gives Himself entirely

Spirit marches to our hearts

Delivers His greatest gift

God’s Son offers a fresh start

 

Christ becomes our foundation

Jesus walking where we walk

Exchanging His life for us

Shepherd gathering His flock

 

Photo by Jess Vide on Pexels.com

From John 3:16-17:  “For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life.  Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.”

Originally published September, 2020.