Archive for the ‘ Poetry ’ Category

Weekend Words & Sunday Stanzas – 09/21/2014

Do not hold back, and find some wisdom at Proverbial Thought!

Have you ever gotten a taste of God’s love and grace?

How do you know?

It is a little different than a complete life change.

A great indication is if you experience something like Jeremiah:

If I say, “I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,” there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot.
Jeremiah 20:9, ESV

If you can even do this in the same kind of context of Jeremiah, in which he was tired of telling the people that God was bringing destruction, you know you have tasted His Truth. Even when life is difficult, you have to say things that are not pleasant, you have to lead by example even when it is hard, you cannot help but share God’s word and His greatness.

 

waiting to burst out of me

how can i hold it in

i cannot

it must flow forth from me

if i cannot sing

i shout

if i cannot shout

i jump

if i cannot jump

i dance

if i cannot dance

i get out

i go out and tell others

i tell them of You

of Joy

of Your Grace

of Your Love

Weekend Words & Sunday Stanzas – 09/14/2014

Impact your life with some wisdom and head over to Proverbial Thought!

Jesus would often go to a lonely place to pray. (Luke 5:16)

We are told to pray without ceasing. (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

What does that look like?

A constant conversation. A conversation between you and God.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prayer is not just going to

a lonely place.

It is a moment by moment

conversation,

Seeking to get to see God

face to Face

To impact your life to impact

a generation.

Weekend Words & Sunday Stanzas – 09/07/2014

Open your mind to wisdom, and find some at Proverbial Thought!

The poem today is based on a couple passages of Scripture, Joel 2:12-13 and Acts 4:24-30:

“Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
    “return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
    and rend your hearts and not your garments.”
Return to the Lord your God,
    for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
    and he relents over disaster.
Joel 2:12-13, ESV

 

And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit,

“‘Why did the Gentiles rage,
    and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
    and the rulers were gathered together,
    against the Lord and against his Anointed’—

for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants[f] to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
Acts 4:24-30

Therefore, this poem is a prayer for God to help us learn to rend our hearts and to heal our land.

 

rending

You tell us to rend our hearts

but how can we not with

injustice and pain rampant

are we sure this is not the pit

redeem this land from itself

heal these people so sick

reveal Your heart to all

about what rending is

giving over ourselves to You

and experiencing this

is breaking our spirits

to show others Jesus

Weekend Words & Sunday Stanzas – 08/31/2014

You need wisdom. Find a taste over at Proverbial Thought!

The message is simple: God is all we need. Everyone. And to make sure we found and filled that need, He came to us.

What did He have to say?

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17, ESV)

“Come to me, all who burden and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

people need

 

do not be deceived

by what people need

whether a cup of coffee

or that bag of weed

or maybe to see

that we will speak

with people in need

or the guy on wall street

God is able to free

through a simple creed

“Repent. Come to Me.

Let me be what you need!”

Weekend Words & Sunday Stanzas – 08/24/2014

Look past the surface level of worldly wisdom. Find some true wisdom through the thoughts at Proverbial Thought!

You may remember this past week when I shared “Some Final Thoughts About Momma Klem” some of the passages that my mom and I have tried to live by:

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.
1 Samuel 16:7, ESV

Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.
James 4:11, ESV

Some of the best people in the world, by our standards, may in truth be the worst of humanity, by God’s standards.

Some of the seeming hard-as-nails people may in truth be those with a heart of gold.

In the deepest meaning of truth, only those who know Christ truly have a good heart, for He indwells us, and His grace and love shine through us.

by the surface

going through life judging
by what is on the surface
leads to misjudgments
and can be dangerous
the sweet and innocent
may be scandalous
the nasty looking biker
could be all gentleness
the humanitarian
may be murderous
the homeless guy
may not be homeless
discerning by the surface
is bad for all of us

Weekend Words & Sunday Stanzas – 08/17/2014

Help wisdom remain strong in you and go to Proverbial Thought!

For too long there has been a common theme in all of Christendom. I liken to World War II in this way:

Winning converts to Christ without discipleship is like the Allies taking Normandy Beach and declaring the war won.

What we have effectively done is convince thousands, millions, or even billions over the decades and centuries that they are saved from their sins only to let them continue living in their sin and ignorance.

Have we given these people false hope?

Do you have false hope?

“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first.”
Luke 11:24-26, ESV

Church, let us not only win over but raise up new Christians in the power and knowledge of Christ!

Christian, commit your whole life, every little part, every big thing, your sins and your joys to Christ!

 

letting them back in

we cast out our demons
and invite Christ in
our lives become clean
and He reigns supreme

but why do we do it
why bring back the spirits
why give up on Christ
and re ruin our lives

why do we let them in
to fall back into sin
we can see through the lies
yet they multiply

letting them back in
undoing what Christ began
why do we let them in
Christ

my Lord

start again

Weekend Words & Sunday Stanzas – 08/10/2014

Find the light of wisdom and get a head start over at Proverbial Thought!

My family is currently going through one of the more difficult times a family can face.

In this time, my mom said that if there was one thing she wanted in this life it was that Jesus would be seen through her.

Even Jesus spoke to this being true in our lives:

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Matthew 5:14-16, ESV

Let us remember that others giving glory to God ultimately means that they come to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, the Savior of their souls, and the lover of their lives. And, as Jesus also said, they will know these things “if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). When we come together as one in Christ, His light shines brightly through us!

 

 

 

 

bonfire

we all try to be candles
in our darkened world
but as barely a spark
what are we good for
if we can come together
and our lights shine brighter
more of the world will light up
we will look more like a bonfire
our light will shine bright
more like a city on a hill
illuminating more than
alone we ever will
let us come together
and let the fire roar
saving the sick and homeless
the worried and the poor

Weekend Words & Sunday Stanzas – 08/03/2014

Be at the forefront of wisdom by gaining some at Proverbial Thought!

How important is Christ in your life?

Would you rather ride in the back of the bus with all of your friends where the Bus Driver will not overhear your conversations or see what you are doing?

Or would you rather run to His sports car and cry out “SHOTGUN!” to be the person sitting in the front seat next to Him?

It may seem like a simple analogy, but seriously think about it.

Many of us probably are thinking, “Of course I want to be in the sports car!” The only issue is that most of us remain in our thinking as junior high students sitting in the back of the school bus. We long for the days of high school (or Secondary school) when we are old enough to drive or at least own a sports car. Some of us assume we can just go take the car, but in reality we have no idea how to operate it. Some of us remain convinced there is no way the owner of a sports car would have anything to do with us, so we never try for our shot at riding shotgun.

The amazing thing about the gospel of Jesus Christ is that He has made the offer to every single person to come along on the ride of a lifetime (and beyond). We are all poor junior high students riding the public school bus wishing for better things, and Jesus is just waiting for us to run over calling “SHOTGUN!”

They other amazing thing is that we can all ride shotgun … everyday. If we just trust in Him.

 

i call SHOTGUN                            

 

when it comes to life

i want to call shotgun

i want to be right up front

while moving for the Son

when it comes to riding shotgun

with the Lord Jesus Christ

any person can call it

                                      in fact

it should be called in every life

Weekend Words & Sunday Stanzas – 07/27/2014

Stop questioning wisdom and find some at Proverbial Thought!

I recently heard a quote that “You know you are preaching grace right if people think they have license to sin.” (See Romans 6)

The thing is, I think most people either take this idea to heart or completely forget about God’s grace.

In either sense, they forget what God has said, and then they question what God has really said. In one direction it is sinful, and in the other direction it is misleading.

We must remember that He has said, “Go and sin no more.” (such as in John 8:11)

We must also remember that He has said, “You are forgiven.” (such as in Matthew 9:2; Mark 2:5; Luke 5:20, 7:48; and 1 John 2:12)

Also, it seems that it does not matter who you are, but a message similar to the poem today can hit you in the face, knock you down, and help you appreciate God and His grace in a new way.

That is the power of His grace!

 
___   ________   ___
Who are you to question Me?
You came before Me stricken,
I tell you you are healed,
Yet you go right back to your sin.
Still, I have said you are free.
You come back to be forgiven.
JUST STOP! Listen, please.
When you go that way again,
Turn to me, and you will see
You were forgiven for ever when
I sent my Son to that tree!
Stop sinning, my loved children.
You were made whole … complete,
When you said “I repent. Amen.”
Who are you to question Me?
Remember, I have called you friend!

 

Weekend Words & Sunday Stanzas – 07/20/2014

Find joy in wisdom over at Proverbial Thought!

In the summer of 2007, I noticed a word in Proverbs 14:33 for the first time, even though by that point I had read through the book of Proverbs at least four times:

Wisdom reposes in the heart of the discerning and even among fools she lets herself be known.” (NIV)

It was an amazing time in my life. I learned a new word, and it totally rocked my world!

Repose means “to rest” or “to recline”, so “Wisdom rests or reclines in the heart of the discerning …”

Later, I read 2 Corinthians 5:14, “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.

Now you have the inspiration for the poem today:

                    _____________
for the joy that besets my soul
not just on my heart to repose
do i find i am being compelled
the love of Christ to share with all
my soul is blessed by God above
with His mercy and grace and love
to the world i shout to come in
and find the joy found only in Him