Judging

Vonnie wrote this poem on her way home from church this last Sunday morning...


Judging shrivels not only others but it destroys you.
You are hoping it will make you feel superior too!
It will have the opposite effect for it triples inferiority.
Proof that you are not making Christ your priority.

If Christ lives in you He will guide you how to deal
With all of the things in your life that make you feel
You have to pull down others to make you feel good

You need to ask Him to seal up your ears and eyes
To the faults of others that are sometimes just lies.
The plank you have is bigger than the mote you see
In your brother’s eye, so pray about it and let it be

Something you can ask the Lord to change in you,
A far better attitude towards brothers than you do.
If you go through life with your magnifying glass
Searching for faults, you will find them en masse.

But I guarantee that more miserable you will be
Miserable and lonely without friends don’t you see.
God’s focus is about all the good that you do.
Happier you will be if you just worry about you!

Trust

TRUST
One of life's great blessings is to have someone that you can trust.
Completely! With everything!
Between you and the one you trust there has to be total openness,
Completely! Confidence always!
The one you trust will never fail you or leave you no matter what.
Completely! Forever there!
God is someone like that, someone you can trust with all things
Completely! Without fail!
He has given you His word that He will never forget you or fail you
Completely! His word is true!

He will never grow weary of listening to you; He will never leave you.
Completely! Always listening!
When your trials increase He will stand by your side and be your fortress.
Completely! Your Guard!
God wants to be your Friend; He wants you to trust him with everything.
Completely! His hand in yours!


The Bible says:
"Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me."
Psalm 5015
"When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, In God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?"
Psalm 56:3,4
"The Lord is my light and my salvation - Whom shall I fear?"
Psalm 27:1"The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, A stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name will trust in you. For YOU, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you."
Psalm 9:9,10

The Bible

Look at that big black book lying dormant on the shelf!
The corners are wrinkled, the leather dusty and cracked.

Grab hold! You will find in its depth endless knowledge.
Everything that has ever been known and that yet to be.

Questions you desire answered are written on its pages.
Wisdom and advice are there for each new coming day.

Help for all of your daily needs, hope to fill your heart.
Love that teaches selfless giving, counsel to find your way.

Dig deep within, and you find love, beauty and holiness
That lie betwixt pages of war, bloodshed and even death.

All the educations of this world cannot begin to match
The tomes that are hidden within the depths of this book.

No novel can surpass the excitement lying within its pages.
In them you will find the road to peace and happiness.

Commandments meant to guide and not just restrict us.
Christ’s healing stores are better than any fictitious book.

His Spirit has survived through the ages, unfailing, true.
The greatest commandment to love one another changes us.

This book will transcend any literature you have ever read.
Do not abandon this life altering book on the shelf forever,

Better its pages bent, its text well marked, thoughts used.
For in this book lies food and life for your body and spirit.

It has been called the greatest love story that was ever told.
And deep within its pages lies your passport to eternal life!

Ascension - a poem for the Day of Ascension

They saw you, Father, and they believed!
Excitement!
Their Saviour lived again, they were not deceived.
Belief!
They remembered, ancient prophesy had come to pass
Opened Minds!
They were the witnesses to the miracle of rebirth.
Breathless!
He was going to send them what His Father promised.
Curiosity!
They were to stay in the city until they had been clothed on high
Obedience!
He told them to follow Him to Bethany, a little ways away.
Follow!
He lifted up His hands to them and He blessed them.
Bless Me!
They saw Him leaving them, and taken up into Heaven
Bereft!
Close your eyes, Imagine, Worship, and Believe!　

This Empty Vessel

You say in your word we need to be emptied of self
In order to be filled with you.
Self left long ago, and so I now pray that my eyes
See from your point of view.
I long for your perception to have pre-eminence
Over my own thought life.
And the one thing that I truly desire is to cease
This self-created life of strife.
And close my ears to that which walks by me
As enticing worldly ways.
If I don’t hear sins feet I will not be enticed
By what the Devil says.
Satan’s wiles have deceived and fooled me
For far too many times.
And if your Spirit directs me I’ll be able to
Watch ahead for the signs.
"Stop" and "Go" are not just rules to read
And then to just drive by,
They are guidelines for life your word calls me
To go ahead and try.
The more I die to self and learn to live for you
The more that I can be
Walking in the Spirit, and can feel that
You can truly set me free.
If I but surrender control of my eyes and my
Ears and my tongue,
The more I trust and know that your Spirit
Keeps my heart true and strong.
A well that is empty and dry is no help to me and
Will not quench my thirst..
But this empty vessel here is a result of truly
Putting my Savior first.

Worry

Christians, do you ever feel cast down by some consuming worry?
Knowing how you should respond, guilt causes you to feel sorry.
But your burdens are so heavy, your heart is weighed down low.
God’s word is so very clear, and such scripture you already know.

And the consuming guilt chases you around in a wheel of despair.
"You should take the burdens to the Lord and leave them there."
You are not the only Christians that are feeling despair this way.
God does not judge, dole out a punishment and cause you to pay

Some "Worry" infraction He has seen and meted out upon you.
Our worry is compounded in this life of "Far too much to do".
Remember that trouble is not just a case of "If" but of "When".
You cannot wipe your trouble out with the quick stroke of a pen.

God did not promise us an anxiety-free gradient road in life.
If Satan is the author of fear, is his hand involved in this too?
This overwhelming struggle that at times wants to consume you?

That is why we have each other, to call upon and ask to pray.
It is what unites us together in such a spectacular, healing way.
When I determine to pray for you,, the more God constrains me to.
"Worry Schoolrooms" are perpetual, and He bids me to ask you
To please pray for me, my brother, and I’ll reciprocate for you.

You need a praying friend, and then a message you must send.
For who can we call upon? And upon whom can we depend?
Christians who experience worry, are warriors who will stand.
And help you win this "worry battle", stand and hold your hand!

Faith

Faith is not merely praying
Upon our knees at night.
Faith is not merely straying
Through darkness to the light.

Faith is not merely waiting
For glory to may be.
Faith is not merely hating
The sinful ecstasy.

Faith is the brave endeavor.
The splendid enterprise.
The strength to serve, whatever
Condition may arise.