heart

Order My Heart

The world says I should listen
but I know you’ve an opinion
God, would you order my heart?

I need to hear what you say first.
My heart can be so wayward.
Examine each and every part.

I wake up to pursue your way
But the world and my ego often stand in the way.

I’m following you and asking you to mold my heart.
I’m such stubborn clay,
Father shape me, shape me.
Make my heart beat in time with your Holy Spirit now
I’m reaching out my arms.
Father hold me, hold me.

I’m hard of hearing
So come to my aid.
Help me sense your voice
today and all my days

I’m following you and asking you to mold my heart.
I’m such stubborn clay,
Father shape me, shape me.
Make my heart beat in time with your Holy Spirit now.
I’m reaching out my arms.
Father hold me, hold me.
Father hold me, hold me.

©Joel Tipple
#5/16

The World On Your Shoulders

You’ve got a little more of the world on your shoulders

today than you did yesterday.

And even though you know it’s the best you can do

sometimes you find it hard to pray.

You could close your eyes to the war outside;

it’s often so far from your door,

but the news leaks in or blows through with the wind,

so you can’t look away anymore.

Now it’s there on your shoulders.

Heavy where the light should be.

Challenging your tranquility

with its relentless gravity.

It’s hard to face the world with a smile

when you’ve got the world on your shoulders.

It’s hard to walk that extra mile

with your feet stuck in the sand.

Turn to the one who can help you

with that weight on your shoulders

when it’s hard to breathe

or understand.

You’re running out of joy

and out of touch with the father.

On your own the journey’s all uphill,

and farther.

Seek the power of the Holy Spirit

for all the pain you feel around you,

every sickness, every fight,

every child caught in-between.

Stand in the gap for those left undefended,

all those chased by the cold and biting wind.

Advocate before God for the powerless,

who only know defeat.

Know your burden as well

for those who think they have it made,

whose castles have yet to be plundered

by circumstance or age.

Our faith is often misplaced

in the temporal, tomorrow’s dust.

What today is bright and gleaming

will be another day’s rust.

There’s no insurance sold by man

that can buy us away from death.

Only one, Jesus Christ, already paid our debt.

Take Jesus to the world, as you’re awakened by your burden.

Purpose to share, as God opens doors.

To a hope starved world, bring salvation’s message;

that’s what the weight is for.

When the fog and darkness gather, be the beacon that lights the way

for those adrift, astray or aimless

through the rocks to a welcoming shore.

Neither run from your burden

with its overwhelming weight

or allow its avalanche

to chase your heart till it breaks.

Take all to God

who knows every heart.

Take your instructions from the maker

who has prepared your part.

©Joel Tipple
#7/15

A Better Broken

I once made a foolish mistake that caused me to ruin my car. I made a sudden u-turn just before an on-ramp and the car in back of me didn’t have enough time or room to avoid plowing into my side. Thank God, no one was hurt, but my car was totaled, broken beyond the reasonable cost of repair.

Have you ever felt like that? Irreparably broken? Was it due to one major event that turned your life upside down? Or was it a long list of trauma, some bigger, some smaller, just piling up one on top of the other until you were simply so weighed down you felt unable to move?

Many of us at some time in our lives feel broken… maybe so badly we couldn’t believe anyone would want to invest in us, love us, value us. We buy into the lies the world tells us about who we are and what we should or should not expect to be possible in our lives. Before the hands of time have barely moved, we assume they’ve passed us by.

While where we find ourselves in life is certainly a combination of circumstances within and outside of our control, it’s never too late to turn our lives over to God. Beginning with recognizing our need for salvation and inability to save ourselves, we begin a new life. As God searches out and heals those broken areas of our life we discover our need to be… broken.

Although we can claim salvation the moment we recognize our need and ask for it, becoming a follower of Jesus is a daily journey. Every day we seek God. Every day we look for ways to find God’s will for our lives and do what He asks. But even when we know in our hearts our decision making ability is at best a distant second to God’s, out of habit and our still active sinful nature we keep trying to impose our own will. At its core, being broken and contrite before God is realizing and acting on the knowledge that God is God and we are not. For most of us being broken means the constant need to consciously surrender our will to Him. Not the broken we were when we came to God,
a better broken.

You took me in when I’d thrown myself out.
Words weren’t enough to save me.
Psychology and self help couldn’t breach
the walls I built to hide me.

Then God, you pushed through all my barriers,
and my fear of being exposed
fell away before your love and mercy.
Before your light my shadows fled.
Now I’m not afraid to be the me you made.

No longer broken,
but seeking a better broken.
Lord please exchange my will for yours.
You’ve kept all your promises,
though I often faltered.
Your guiding hand helped me through the door.

A better broken, Lord.
Lord, a better broken.
A better broken, Lord.
Lord, a better broken.

When I built my life with pride,
a stubborn stance on feet of clay,
from such a lofty height
came my greater fall.

But when I’m broken,
that’s when God can reach me.
When I’m broken,
my noise just fades away,
like fog dried by the sun,
then swept into the sea.

Struggles take on new meaning
when I’m broken.
Hurdles only mean I’m closer still
to the destination you saved for me,
toward your will
and design.

No longer bitter,
better broken.
Reconciled
by the words you’ve spoken.
A better broken, Lord,
a better broken.
A better broken, Lord,
a better broken.

©Joel Tipple
#1/15

My Attention

God
help me clear the clutter
reduce the noise
of my life
narrow my focus to what’s essential
first of all
your voice

tune my awareness
of your spirit
as I go about my day
slow down the moments
so I pay attention
lest I miss
what you say

you gave all
for my sake
called me home
set me apart
since you’ve made it new
I look to you
the architect of my heart.

©Joel Tipple
#37/14

Somewhere A Prayer

Somewhere a saint is praying.
Somewhere hope is held out to the night.
Somewhere a restless soul is stirring,
gearing up for a spiritual fight.

Somewhere a child is kneeling,
A little one’s prayers have wings to fly.
Forbid not the children, Jesus said,
for of such is the kingdom.
Uninhibited,
their pleas to God,
no limit to their sky.

Somewhere a prayer of thanks goes up.
Somewhere a fearful parent cries out.
Somewhere a soldier’s spouse prays alone.
Somewhere a family prays as a loved one breathes their last,
while next door joyful prayers greet a newborn.
Prayers go out to save a marriage, a home, even a life.

Someone questions and prays for an answer.
Someone prays in the sand, drawing like a dancer.
Someone prays with groanings,
unable to find the words.
Some pray with desperation, not knowing where to turn.

Somewhere someone’s interceding,
standing for those who can’t.
Some pray sacrificially
putting themselves in the gap .

Somewhere a saint is praying
Somewhere hope is held out to the night.
Somewhere a restless soul is stirring,
gearing up for a spiritual fight.

© Joel Tipple #35/14

Blessed Are

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blessed are
the poor in spirit
theirs is the kingdom of heaven
God holds those humble in the palm of his hand
where to their hearts he tends

blessed are
those who mourn
held in our arms and in our hearts
God’s tender love is expressed for such
who suffer the bitter part

blessed are
the gentle
who cover faults with grace
not thwarted by the harsh and arrogant
they serve with a loving face

blessed are
those with a righteous hunger and thirst
God will move all obstacles
in their path
for they desire to seek him first

blessed are
the merciful
who will receive mercy in kind
the evidence of this quality of God
brings the Son of God to mind

blessed are
the pure in heart
whose eyes focus on the king
they remain cleansed and sanctified
despite Satan’s schemes

blessed are
the peacemakers
reconciliation is how they serve
true disciples of Jesus they bring harmony
his witness on this earth

blessed are
the persecuted
indeed for righteousness’ sake
their unwavering stand separates them
standing not as the world’s claim

blessed are you
sold to the truth
rejected by the world
reviled and abused
blessed are you
of a disciple’s life
who fear not disdain
or the crowd’s angry lies
blessed are you
for Satan’s not concerned
by the lukewarm and uncertain
whose hearts do not burn
rejoice and be glad
sold out for Christ
if the road was easy
there would be no price
but if the grade is steep
and the wind’s in your face
take those for signs
you’re running the right race

(Based on Matthew 5:1-12 The Sermon on the Mount; The Beatitudes)

© Joel Tipple
#30/14

The Gospel

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let me feel the gospel
Lord
anyone could say the words
so don’t let them pass right through me
hardly pausing on their way
let them change me
rearrange me
I’m willing to learn
God, you hear what my heart has to say.

let me carry the gospel
Father
its bright colors spilling forth
with grace to balance justice
east west south and north

friends we’ve become
your gospel and me
it’s the truth that shines
from the eyes of the knower
but it’s not only a companion
that wants to hang around
it would much rather be with
those who are sowers

gospel moves through music
through songs that inspire
through words lifting hearts
and taking us higher
like a good rain
washes the world clean
the gospel takes the scales from our eyes
while the riches of God it leaves

to everyone
around the world
to every land
and every flag unfurled
till the people all know
that Jesus died but now lives
we’ll share the precious gospel
just like our savior did

© Joel Tipple
#29/14

The Words of Jesus

Life beyond this life.
Hope beyond this hope.
The sustenance of my every day,
the words that Jesus wrote.

He wrote His words upon my heart,
every word He said.
They’re with me in the morning, when I rise,
and at night when I fall to bed.

For the words that Jesus wrote,
their refrain and their release,
though every Bible in every hand may close,
they never…
never
will cease.

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.”
Matthew 24:25

© Joel Tipple
#2/14