hope

God’s Voice

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from the moment I awaken
and begin to chart my day
before I query God:
what’s shakin’?
fore I get me underway
I got to hear your voice

not mine
not mine
be my leader
it’s my choice
your voice
God
not mine

The proper application
of your word
is impossible
the idea
absurd
unless
I listen

I can
always
choose
to go another way
it’s so easy
that way
the path is broad
and wide
and it’s all
downhill

(if you get my drift)

you can shut God out
you can fill your mind
with white noise
and your solutions
you can spend your energy
on toys
and never mind
restitution
but don’t settle

seek His kingdom first
seek His kingdom first
you don’t have the right idea but He does
seek His kingdom first
seek His kingdom first
He will take up as much room as you give Him
seek His kingdom first
seek His kingdom first
seek His kingdom first

“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Matthew 6:34

Calling Out

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You can call out to the universe,
light a random spiritual flame,
converse with some spirits
you may or may not name.
You can link with a dead disembodied
owner of a shady past.
Those identities you’ll never know,
and fake relationships won’t last.

The One who stood
and stands
beside you,
and your sorrow sees,
left no question of His sacrifice,
or authority.

You may seek,
but when you’re finished seeking,
weary at the end of the day,
look up from the feet of Jesus,
the one who is “the way.”

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life;
no one comes to the Father but through Me. John 14:6

Strength

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The often unrecognized truth of strength
is that we’ve never owned it.
The God of all that is and will be
designed us to be one with Him.
If we seek strength apart from our Lord
we dwell on a weak foundation. A durable
heart and home have Him as King within.

1 Chronicles 16:11 Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!

My Mind

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help me mind my mind oh Lord
where it’s going
where it’s been
when it’s settled on
higher things
or heavy burdened
with sin
when it’s lifted up with worship
to amazing grace
in league with a heavenly choir
setting the sanctuary ablaze
let me not on a rare day
meet Your Spirit there
but rather often seek to commune with You Lord
in the midst of Your angels fair

This Race, this War.

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Do you not know that those who run in a race all run,
but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way
that you may win.
1 Corinthians 9:24

I’ve run too far with you Lord,
to risk looking back now.
I’ve trusted you more than my feelings.
These hands hold tightly to your word
for within is the essence of healing.

Each day I expect a battle Lord;
some days I’m a victor, others, bloody and sore.
I’m confident of this always,
as I step out my door,
fights will come and go always,
You Lord, and Your’s have already won the war.

Destiny Please Part 2

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Destiny please,
what you see, is just the beginning.
Now that I can see
the purpose in the pain
and I’m not foolin’ around anymore.

Destiny please,
The seed that God planted
and nurtured with the sun and the rain
is bursting forth and spreading its wings.
Soaring to
where the air is thin
and it’s terribly hard to breathe.

Little do you know,
but great you should expect
from the One
Who invented miracles.

Destiny please,
When the rain’s falling,
and tragedy’s calling
out its siren song,
help me remain steady,
as a tide pool’s eddy,
content in the knowledge
with God I’ll carry on.

Fully aware of the past,
not forgetting, but moving on,
rejoicing in His healing power,
leaning on His Word
hour by hour.

Destiny please,
complete in release,
He is worthy
to be praised and
all creation sings its song.
Despite what goes wrong.
I’ll continue…
in faith.

The Inside

You’ve hit the gym.
You’re counting all the calories
that you consume.
You’ve got a walk-in closet
to get lost in, it’s bigger than most ordinary folk’s
bedrooms.
But at the end of the day
even though it all looks fine,
the only thing that could use work
is what’s not showing, it’s on the inside.
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They told you just work hard
and things will be fine.
But though you’ve made it
you’re not making it… You don’t know why.
Your friends are telling you to chill
but if you stopped paying their bills,
would they know your name?
All you know for sure… Something’s gotta change.
Give yourself to Jesus.
It’s in His Word.
Trying to avoid God is worse than absurd.
He’s always been around you, and He’s now knocking on your door.
Give it all to God and run
to a relationship, not religion.
For the first time in your life
it’ll all make sense, not just for the future
but in the present tense.
Give it all, give it all.
Give it all to Jesus.

How will they hear?

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But how can people call for help if they don’t know who to trust? And how can they know who to trust if they haven’t heard of the One who can be trusted? And how can they hear if nobody tells them? And how is anyone going to tell them, unless someone is sent to do it? That’s why Scripture exclaims,
A sight to take your breath away!
Grand processions of people
telling all the good things of God!
But not everybody is ready for this, ready to see and hear and act. Isaiah asked what we all ask at one time or another: “Does anyone care, God? Is anyone listening and believing a word of it?” The point is: Before you trust, you have to listen. But unless Christ’s Word is preached, there’s nothing to listen to.
Romans 10:14-17 The Message

“Your actions speak so loudly, I can not hear what you are saying.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

I need to hear of God.
I may not know I do.
I may not know His word contains the key
to a relationship I was made for before the world was.
My intellect, my will, my judgment, will be present.
But salvation speaks like a laser to the heart, to the soul.
I do not know yet the unvarnished truth of the gospel, how it will reveal something
so natural I’ll wonder why it took so long to become a reality in my life.
And why would He choose a human being to reveal this truth?
Why not send an angel, or a blinding light?
God could do that.
God chose you,
and others…
people.
For some reason, God is really about relationships.
Don’t think I need someone perfect to tell me about Jesus.
What I really need,
even though I may not know it yet,
is for someone to be authentic, warts and all.
Be real to me.
Care.
I’ll recognize that.

Thank You

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Just before or after last Christmas I decided to be more consistent with my writing by resurrecting a WordPress blog that had been dormant for quite some time. I had recently received a lot of encouragement and it gave me the incentive to write more poetry. While putting together the new blog I noticed a challenge put out by WordPress to post every day for 2013. I decided to give it a try and let everyone who read my blog know by putting the badge on my cover page. Today will be my 137th post. Accounting for a few days that I’ve posted more than once, that means I’ve posted over 130 days in a row. I’m looking forward to doing the whole 365.

There have been a lot of great things to come out of writing and publishing every day. For one, it has forced me to investigate different kinds of writing. I’ve explored poetry, song writing, devotionals, and humor. Along the way, I’ve gotten to know fellow bloggers who also believe strongly in writing, especially writing that moves them. I’ve had days when I thought I had written something relevant, only to get little in the way of results. But then I’ve had other days when I wasn’t all that thrilled with what I had put out, only to get lots of positive comments. It continues to be a fantastic learning experience and I just want to sincerely thank everyone who has read, commented, and shown me how fun and rewarding blogging can be. God continues to bless it. It’s my prayer that He is honored by what I write.