A Poem: The Savior Revealed

The Savior Revealed

The Father Veiled His Son from view

God drew a plan on what to do

The Son and He saw humanity’s curse

Mankind’s sin would only grow worse

A bloodline from Adam and Eve had been decreed

From Adam to Abraham came the Seed

A nation born from slavery’s hate

Israel would grow and exist as a gate

God the Son would open the door assigned

In Mary’s womb God and man aligned

The One Who omnipotent, with worlds at His command

Would be veiled in weakness, with soft infant hands

Omniscience whose knowledge knew no bounds

Would be veiled in frailty uttering cooing sounds

The One who Omnipresent in time and space

Would limit Himself to human space

Though veiled in flesh His deity remained

A cross was his destiny, with blood to be stained

Revealed he was, died he did

The guilt of sin, its penalty rid

He rose and ascended, his body changed

                 The Revealed Savior accomplished what was arranged

A wonderful poem on how the Word of God is God's Anvil

Here is a wonderful poem someone gave me the other week. May you, dear reader, find it to be a blessing as you begin your new week:

"Last Eve I passed beside a blacksmith's door
And heard the anvil ring the vesper chime
Then looking in I saw upon the floor
Old hammers worn with beating years of time"

'How many anvils have you had,' said I
'To wear and batter all these hammers so?'
'Just one', said he, and then with twinkling eye,
'The anvil wears the hammers out, you know.'

"And so, thought I, the anvil of God's Word.
For ages skeptic blows have beat upon;
Yet, though the noise of falling blows was heard,
The anvil is unharmed - the hammers are gone."

Guest Blogger Debi Smith: A Poem Entitled "But Then God..."

Galatians 1:15 "But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased."

Today I wanted to share with readers a poem my wife recently composed following one of our evening church services. Below, in her own words, is a description of the poem. I believe readers will find great encouragement in it as I have. The poem's title: "But Then God...". 

Guest Blogger Debi Smith: In her own words...
"Tonight at church a verse in Galatians touched me. Galatians 1:15 comes about after Paul explains his sordid past, but then God in His grace used him. I came home and wrote this poem based on this verse and as a testimony to what God has done in me over the last 40 years."

"But then God …"

By Debi Smith

Once I was lost in the dark, floundering aimlessly on my own,

BUT THEN GOD lit a light and He led me to His throne.

Once I was nothing more than a corpse filled with decay

BUT THEN GOD gave me life and showed me His way.

I once lived as an orphan, not knowing how to give or receive love

BUT THEN GOD taught me the difference between conditional and that from above.

I still fail Him and wonder how He could love me,

BUT THEN GOD whispers my name and I fall to my knees.

I lose track of my words and say things I regret

BUT THEN GOD forgives and pushes “reset”.

I worry at night about situations I can’t control

BUT THEN GOD soothes then reminds me worry takes a toll.

One day I will close my eyes and I will breathe my last breath,

BUT THEN GOD will take my hand and lead me where there is no more death.

No matter what I do, what I say, or how I feel…
No matter the circumstances in which I must deal…
No matter the failures and mistakes that I make …
No matter what this world throws and the toll that it takes …
If we serve Him in love no matter the places we trod

He’ll end every sentence of our life with the assurance of BUT THEN GOD

Poem - My Daddy's Bible

Psalm 118:8 "It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man."

It is hard to believe that it has been almost a month since my dad's passing. In writing these posts on the subject of Biblical authority, I got to thinking about my dad's Bible. When I was at his funeral, I got the chance to hold his Bible and look through the numerous verse references he jotted down in the front flyleaf. The presiding pastor used those verses as the basis for his funeral message and as a result I was comforted. The above opening text of today's post features one of my dad's favorite scriptures. He would quote Psalm 118:8 all the time and I would come to discover that this verses is the middle verse in our English Bibles. Today's poem is dedicated to my dad and tells a little bit of the comfort I found listening to the message spoken from those verse references written by my dad in his Bible. May the reader find encouragement, hope or perhaps use the poem to comfort someone else. To God be the glory!

My Daddy's Bible

On my lap the Bible laid

Final respects to my daddy paid

I opened the book, to behold the sight

Like gems in the sun glistening bright

Verses wrote, tucked in every space

Each one written and having a place

The day a family member left the home

Four years to college and world to roam

He wrote down a verse, to watch and pray

To see his child finish their way

There was another, celebrating love

Memories to cherish, gifts from above

The preacher unfolded the truth of those words

Like a string of pearls his message was heard

God gained a tenor; a son is now home

No longer on this globe to ever roam

Yet here is his Bible, proof of a man

Who by faith on God's Word surely did stand

Dad is in glory, faith made sight

In that land of never night

My daddy's Bible, my mind's eye behold

A precious book, more valuable than gold

A poem: We need the Bible

2 Timothy 3:15-16 "and that from childhood you have knownthe sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness."

We need the Bible

a poem

When I behold a Bible, aged and worn

With pages folded, marked and torn

I know the person that has read it much

With His Savior he keeps in touch

The binding may be loose, and edges frayed

The pages yellowed with colors that fade

Yet I know that faith has been bound

The vision of Christ is clear and sound

As the pages turned and underlines made

The reader found comfort, light and aid

Some may scoff at the frailty of the book

Its cover is cracked and not pretty to look

Yet God's Word is precious and never grows old

Its contents are power, more precious than gold

To read the Bible is to have it read you

It penetrates the soul with light that is true

I hear the words preached, and my heart melts away

The Spirit has won and gotten His way

The words of that book can overcome strife

The words are power, comfort and life

We need the Bible, for in it we see

Jesus who came for you and me

Valley of Vision

Psalm 23:4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

Today's post features a prayer from the book entitled "Valley of Vision". Back in the mid-seventies a man by the name of Arthur Bennett put together a collection of Puritan prayers prayed in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries that has become a devotional classic. Bennett's book was entitled "Valley of Vision" due to the title of the opening prayer. I felt today that this would be a great way to start off the week and offer it to you for your meditation and edification.

"Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly, Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision, where I live in the depths but see Thee in the heights; hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold Thy glory. 

Let me learn by paradox that the way down is the way up, that to be low is to be high, that the broken heart is the healed heart, that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit, that the repenting soul is the victorious soul, that to have nothing is to possess all, that to bear the cross is to wear the crown, that to give is to receive, that the valley is the place of vision. 

Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells, and the deeper the wells the brighter Thy stars shine; let me find Thy light in my darkness, Thy life in my death, Thy joy in my sorrow, Thy grace in my sin, Thy riches in my poverty, Thy glory in my valley."

A Poem - The Coming Kingdom

A Poem - The Coming Kingdom

2,000 years has come and gone, and we lift our heads on high

Awaiting the Savior to return, our redemption draweth nigh

When He comes, this age will end, the church will defy the ground

A raptured resurrected church, with glory rushing around

Earth's final gasp will usher forth with the coming evil realm

The final rebellion, predicted to be set with satan at the helm

The church meanwhile in glorious bliss will stand to give account

The failures of life will burn away and Christ's work will amount

She will be prepared as a glorious bride to wed her loving Lord

For Christ will had gathered His chosen ones to be in one accord

Then comes wrath, the cosmos shakes, the earth a darkened mass

Quaking, shaking, fearsome sounds, Christ is coming fast

Hording armies will raise their swords to fight the Eternal King

With one swipe of His terrible sword their sudden defeat will ring

The Kingdom Age, a millennium long, Christ will reign supreme

With Satan bound and Israel restored the Kingdom will certainly gleam

The Kingdom will close, Satan released for a final attempt to rebel

To lead a final war against the King, with nations 

choosing hell

The Final Judgment commences, unbelievers raised to

contempt

Sadness swells, tears are wiped from saints who are exempt

Heaven and earth will be made anew, Christ and His church shall be

The glorious saints, in resurrected form will praise Him eternally

Entertaining Angels Unaware - A Poem

Hebrews 13:2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.

Entertaining Angels Unaware - A poem

A time may come when you least expect


When the natural and supernatural intersect


God has a way of testing your heart


To see if you're ready for his will to start


A word will come from scripture in disguise


The messenger will appear normal to your eyes


Take heed and listen and follow through


God sends angels to strengthen you


The season may be dry and hope fading fast


The heart of faith asks: will you continue to last?


No comfort is found from the words of friends


The tunnel of your midnight knows no end


Or maybe your season is full to the brim


You've not paused long enough to listen for Him


Monotony and routine are sapping up strength


You must keep going and strive the extra length


Your life has become lifeless and full of  demands


The hourglass of time is emptying the sands


Suddenly a stranger is brought your way


Your mind says to go but your heart says to stay


God's still voice through scripture is prompting you


Listen and wait for the message made just for you


Be mindful of His word and ever be in prayer


So you can show God's love to angels unaware

A Poem - Jesus Christ God and Man

Philippians 2:8-11 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Today's post is a poem based off of Philippians 2:8-11.  The point of the poem is to honor Jesus Christ as He has always existed as God with the Father and the Spirit, and how He humbled Himself by the virgin conception/birth to live as a human being.  

Jesus Christ - God and man

In Eternity He shared glory and Deity

With the Father and Spirit in One Trinity

He chose with the Father to become a man

The Spirit would aid in executing the plan

Mary the virgin was the vessel to be

Wherein the miracle of Deity united with humanity

As God the galaxies were held by His Might

As babe His hands clung to his mother tight

As God he formed the first man by His hand

As man his hands were to be pierced per the Father's plan

As God He made galaxies, planets and life

As man he was laid in a manger in the midst of strife

As God He knew all that ever would be

He limited Himself to become sinless humanity

He was the source of salvation as the Redeeming God

As Man He died to pay with innocent blood

As God He had no beginning nor ending of life

As perfect man He resurrected to provide eternal life

He with Father and Spirit, One Perfect Deity 

As man He ascended in glorified humanity

By grace through faith sinners see Him as God

United to humanity, by faith in His blood

When He returns, he will still be God and sinless man

The King of Kings, Jesus Christ, Fully God and Perfect Man

A Minister's Bible - Anonymous Prayer

2 Timothy 2:15 "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth."

The book "Valley of Vision" is a collection of prayers and reflections on scripture that I have found to be of great blessing to my soul over the years.  In today's post I want to share with you a prayer entitled "A Minister's Bible".  Many of the prayers in "Valley of Vision" were anonymous, reflecting the humility and deep spiritual relationship the authors had with Jesus.  May this piece be of blessing to you this Lord's day.

A Minister's Bible - Anonymous prayer

From the Book: "The Valley of Vision"

O God of a Truth

I thank thee for the holy Scriptures

their precepts, promises, directions, light

In them may I learn more of Christ,

be enabled to retain His truth

and have the grace to follow it.

Help me to lift up the gates of my soul that He may come in

and show me Himself when I search the Scriptures

For I have no lines to fathom its depths,

no wings to soar to its heights.

By His aid may I be enabled to explore all its truths,

love them with all my heart,

embrace them with all my power,

engraft them into my life.

Bless to my soul as grains of truth garnered from thy Word;

may they take deep root,

be refreshed by heavenly dew,

be ripened by heavenly rays

be harvested to my joy and thy praise.

Help me to gain profit by what I read,

as treasure beyond all treasure,

a fountain which can replenish my dry heart,

its waters flowing through me as a perennial river

on-drawn by the Holy Spirit.

Enable me to distill from its pages faithful prayer

that grasps the arm of thy omnipotence,

achieves wonders, obtains blessings,

and draws down streams of mercy.

From it show me how my words have often been unfaithful to thee,

injurious to my fellow-men, empty of grace, full of folly

dishonoring to my calling.

Then write thy own words upon my heart and inscribe them on my lips;

So shall all glory be to thee in my reading of thy Word!

A Poem for the Christian Pilgrim

1 Peter 2:11-12 "Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; ¹² Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation." (KJV)

 

A POEM FOR THE CHRISTIAN PILGRIM
The past for the Christian is no more in the cross
What once was gain is now counted as loss
God's hour glass was flipped when I was born anew
By His grace faith came and I believed Him true
Life started afresh, only to look ahead
The old me is gone, past and dead
In Christ what was future is present for me
I look for His coming in this fleeting history
Salvation secure and faith fighting sin
Characterizes the person who has been born again
Some day my breath will leave and I will end the fight
What is unseen right now will soon be made sight
With Him Ill be, awaiting trumpet sound
When He will raise my body transformed out of the ground
Until then be faithful, the Christian is never alone
For the Spirit dwells therein and Christ is on the throne

A Poem: A Praying Mother

Proverbs 1:8 "Hear, my son, your father's instruction And do not forsake your mother's teaching"

In ancient Israel the mother was often connected to instructing the young children in the ways of the Lord.  In fact the Jews believed that the Torah (the law of God) was transferred through the mother's milk in a young infant's life.  This Jewish background may explain partially why the Apostle Peter, under divine inspiration, wrote in 1 Peter 2:2 "like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation". By the time a young child reached twelve years of age, they would had memorized the entire contents of the first five books of the Old Testament (called Torah or later on Pentateuch). 

The twelfth to thirteenth year of life marked in Jewish culture the end of childhood, with boys going through a rite of passage called "bar mitzpah" (sons of the covenant), marking them as legal adults.  Children in Biblical times owned much to their mothers, since the mother spent the most time, instructing them in the things of God.  The Apostle Paul reminds young Pastor Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:5 "I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well." (ESV)  

There is much written in God's Word about the place and importance of Godly mothers.  One of those was a lady named Hannah.  Her story is found in 1 Samuel 1-3.  For the remainder of today's post I offer up a little poem based off of God's word in those chapters simply entitled: "A Praying Mother". 

                                                          A Praying Mother

                                            A Poem based off 1 Samuel 1-3

When hope was dim and faith was low

 

A mother prayed long ago

While others scoffed at her seeming loss

A mother prayed despite the cost

While darkness squeezed its icy grip

A mother’s faith refused to slip

When others forgot her deepening plight

God remembered her prayerful fight

A boy she bore, a prophet to be

A mother’s tears were turned to glee

She told the Lord that the boy was His

A mother gave him with a kiss

She thanked the Lord for what He had done

A mother saw hope in the giving of a son

A mother’s tears as telescopes could see

By the Son would come faith’s victory

Poem: From Age to Age

Poem: From Age to Age

The Trinity existed before the time He invented

He alone was not alone, and in Himself was contented

The Father thought of ages to come and the Son in turn agreed

The Spirit worked forth life, hovering over what had been decreed

The Beginning age was creation when existence suddenly became

God began history's march with His glory being the aim

The first couple were created and then rebelled, choosing a tree over Him

The curse pronounced, death set in with the future looking

grim

God granted coats to cover nakedness caused by sin and shame

Thus began the second age: The Old Covenant age by name

The Patriarchs and Prophets foresaw the promised hope to be

By faith they believed the promise from God who reigns eternally

Silence passed from Malachi to Matthew with hope fading fast

Would the promise made by God ever come to pass?

Then in time The Champion was conceived in a virgin to

bless

Born in a stable, veiled in fraility, this God in human flesh

He lived, He taught to His cross, was raised and then ascended

In His Name the Spirit came, from the Father the Dove descended

The Old Covenant, former age closed, the work forever done

The church was born, hope rekindled, the present age begun

2,000 years has come and gone, and we lift our eyes on high

Awaiting the Savior to return, our redemption draweth nigh

When He comes, this age will end, the church will defy the ground

To Him resurrected saints will be gathered, with glory rushing around

Then comes wrath, the cosmos shakes, the earth a darkened mass

Quaking, shaking, fearsome sounds, Christ is coming fast

Hording armies will raise their swords to fight the Eternal King

With one swipe of His terrible sword their defeat in history will ring

The Kingdom Age, a millennium long, Christ will reign alone

He'll judge the nations, reign with peace, with majesty on His throne

As that fourth age ends and the sun is setting, the enemy will be let

loose

To lead a final war against the King, with the nations 

in his noose

The Final Judgment will then commence, unbelievers raised to

contempt

Sadness will swell, tears wiped from those who by

faith are exempt

Heaven and earth will be made anew, Christ and His church shall be

The glorious saints, in resurrected form will praise Him eternally