Courtesy: my friend Lisa
He looked out over the water
having no fear, he obeyed
with each step, a hardened path
but looking down, it then gave way
And the rooster crowed.
A basin filled with water
a servant with gentle hands
he told his Lord not to wash him
not knowing what God had planned
And the rooster crowed.
Promising more than he knew
that he’d never leave His side
but the word would be fulfilled
three times his Lord he denied
And the rooster crowed.
I sing in my heart praises
and say I’ll love Him always
but I deny the love He gave
when each day I disobey
And the rooster crowes.
Grace was extended to Peter
three times his love he professed
Jesus does the same for me
and offers me forgiveness
I have learned a lot through studying Peter in recent years. The way Jesus calls ordinary people to do extraordinary things for the Kingdom reminds me that I can be used for Him, in spite of myself. Peter was loud, opinionated, spoke out of turn, and acted without thinking. He was an uneducated fishermen, called to become a fisher of men. He was a best friend of Jesus, yet he denied knowing him.
It comforts my soul to know that the man given the responsibility of founding the early church was just as much a mess as I am. I frequently take my eyes off of Christ and sink into depression. I speak and act without considering the glory of Christ. I say I love the Lord yet most days my heart is focused elsewhere.
Yet Jesus is ever gracious and merciful. As with Peter, he extends his hand and pulls me out of the water before I sink. He forgives me when I don’t do all things for his glory. And though I have many idols in my heart, he kindly reveals them to me and helps me weed them out.
It’s because of grace that Christ called Peter to become his disciple. And it’s because of grace that I am called to be his child.
“May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it. ” 1 Thessalonians 5:23,24
Linking up today with:
It has always been right here
from the first life-giving song
through every conflict and tear
and in the Bride’s joyful throng
It’s the common scarlet thread
woven throughout history
taken for granted and cheapened
even denied easily
In the intricate jay’s nest
and vibrant hued flower
in each sunrise and sunset
and in the rain that showers
It’s in my very life’s breath
and in each day that I rise
in the walls that surround me
and in all my family ties
It has brought me to your throne
cleansed and changed my sinful heart
freed me of my heavy chains
and given me a fresh start
Even in the digging thorns
and in all the sleepless nights
through the deep pain and losses
it shines forth a beacon’s light
Showing me my aching need
what’s real, beautiful and true
painful, yet always joyful
Only…
because of the love of You
Linking up with:
To the One who feeds my soul—
I visit your table set for a feast
joyfully carrying my own offering
We sup together; I eat and drink of the vine
I leave full, the seams now breaking
I soak up the fullness and think of it all that day
Not long later, the memory starts to fade
Busy with my to do’s, jobs, and chores
the feeling of fulness is now long gone
Instead there’s a daily gnawing feeling
deep inside my soul
I try to fill the taste with busyness
but something’s not quite right
I begin to feel empty, discontented, and despair
then something triggers a memory (was it You?)
I smell a fragrance of another’s offering
I hear of another’s eucharisteo meal
It is then I recall the last time we dined
when I gave my thanks and feasted on your word
My deep hunger draws me back to the table
and with the first taste, I instantly see
all I had missed since I had gone
how much time I had wasted and how starved I’d become
Now I know this eucharisteo is a daily offering
given each time together we dine
when I eat of your word and you fill me
when I share the thanks I have to give
and you share from your feast of love–
until I am satisfied
Until we meet again tomorrow?
source The Miraculous Draught of Fishes
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the stories of our lives. We’re still in the midst of our own individual stories and don’t understand how the struggles, trials, and sorrows of life fit into the bigger picture. Tapestries were once used quite frequently to tell a story in an artistic and visual way. When you look at the reverse side of a tapestry, all you see is chaotic, twisted strands of string. It’s hard to imagine it could be anything beautiful. In this life, we’re looking at the reverse side of the tapestry that tells our story. One day, we’ll see the top side and marvel at the beauty of the story told there.
With those thoughts, I wrote this poem:
Twirling spools of colored thread
being woven on a loom
together, the warp and the weft
combine and dance to a tune
Seemingly a mass of strands
the colors twisted and frayed
without sense or purpose
no use for its being made
The same is true of my life
all confusion, pain and tears
with frayed strands of chaos
and meaning that is unclear
But there’s a greater story
created by the Weaver’s hand
where threads weave a grand picture
each one He purposely planned
When this tapestry is finished
I’ll see the final masterpiece
what had once seemed so ugly
now fills my heart with joy and peace
On Walk with Him Wednesdays, we’re looking at what it means to live the resurrection. In thinking about what the resurrection means, what new life in Christ brings, I started thinking about the work He does to bring me to Himself. The way He brought me back from the dead in giving me salvation. While I have new life in Christ, there is still the tension of the “already not yet.” Though I am a new creation, I still have the problem of sin until I get to heaven so as Paul says, “the good I want to do I don’t do and I do the things I don’t want to do.” It’s all these thoughts that brought about this poem:
The darkness enveloped them
the pain and grief intense
minds all awhirl and confused
this ending made no sense
But then came the light of dawn
and with it life once again
when death had reversed itself
and with it arose hope of man
My soul lie dead and buried
never having seen the light
sin’s stench overwhelming
a heart as dark as midnight
Then He breathed in me new life
prying open my dead cold heart
joy like blood pumped through my soul
brought back to life with a new start
These new eyes now see the truth
ears that finally hear his word
lips that speak of the True Love
feet that follow and move forward
Some days the grave calls back to me
causing me to stumble into sin
He picks me up and heals my wounds
with grace He leads the way to heaven
“In a way I wish I could take to heaven my old, tattered Everest and Jennings wheelchair. I would point to the empty seat and say, “Lord, for decades I was paralyzed in this chair. But it showed me how paralyzed You must have felt to be nailed to Your Cross. My limitations taught me something about the limitations You endured when You laid aside your robes of state and put on the indignity of human flesh.” At that point, with my strong and glorified body, I might sit in it, rub the armrests with my hands, look up at Jesus, and add, “The weaker I felt in this chair, the harder I leaned on You. And the harder I leaned, the more I discovered how strong You are. Thank you, Jesus for learning obedience in your suffering…You gave me grace to learn obedience in mine.”
Joni Earekson Tada
When I feel sorrow and loss
I remember Jesus wept too
When I feel discouraged and tempted to give up
I remember he said, “Not my will, but your’s be done.”
When I am anxious or worried
I remember that he dresses the lillies
When I am fearful and afraid
I remember he calmed the storm
When I feel all alone
I remember he was deserted too
When I am lost and confused
I remember he finds the lost sheep
When I feel powerless over circumstances
I remember he is soveriegn and all powerful
When I am burdened by the weight of my sins
I know he bore them all on the cross when he died
I read your word and am overcome
my mind cannot fathom all that you are
so vast, you cannot be contained
yet you lower yourself to speak our words
That you reveal yourself in our language humbles me
Numerous names describe you
each name a wonder in itself
describing all that you are and do
giving a glimpse of your beauty and power
Yeshua–you are a God who saves
Jehovah Jireh–you are a God who provides
El Roi–you are a God who sees
Jehovah Shalom–you are a God of peace
You are I AM
Compared to your holiness, we cannot stand
for the ground is holy and we are not
any goodness is filth in your eyes
we stand before you dirty and unclean
Yet you are Yeshua and you save us
descending into human flesh
you lived among the filth and stench of our lives
love and grace embodied in the Word
My mind cannot grasp it
that you would come here to die
a love so perfect and immeasurable
the great “I am” become sacrifice for me
Feeling so unworthy and overwhelmed
I bow down in gratefulness
your graces are beyond number
I’ll count them the rest of my days
“The life of true holiness is rooted in the soil of awe and adoration. It does not grow elsewhere.” John Piper
Before the very first sunrise
and before that lifegiving song
Long before the first flower bloomed
at just the sound of your voice
You wrote the Story of Love
A story about a people
whom you would call your own
Beautiful was their beginning
cut short by just one lie
Then in the story, you penned a promise
The promise felt long in coming
and life was wearisome and sad
Full of battles, sin and pain
Betrayal was frequent and contrition too rare
But your prose continued and the promise remained
He came silently as a whisper
when you slipped in that page
No one expected a poor baby
or the way he came on the scene
The promise came in the form of the Word.
Into the pages of time you came
a part written just for you
Entering this story of sorrow and death
a mission we could not comprehend
Your Word came to show us the way to the beginning
The tragedy was the story’s climax
and really what it was all about
one of love, grace and forgiveness
an author and creator become servant
The Word’s written had become the Truth
Though you left the pages behind
your spirit lingers still
Leading and guiding your people
those ones you loved even before time began
Though the story seems long in the telling, it has only just begun
For one day your Word will return to the story
with you list of characters you’ve called
Leaving this chapter behind us
we’ll enter the one that never ends
Sometimes I feel so close and connected to God and then other days I’m so busy and frantic he’s far from my mind. But those are the days I need him most! I often relate to David’s words “as the deer panteth for the water, so my soul longeth after thee.” I’ve been thinking a lot about how to fulfill that thirst.
My soul is such is awe of You
Some days You’re all that’s on my mind
Each moment filled with all that’s true
I glimpse the beginning design
To be connected to Your vine
And filled with love until I drown
So at peace though it rain or shine
Hoping the light will not die down
Days go by, caught up in my life
I let my plans get in the way
I’m worried, stressed and filled with strife
Never once do I pause to pray
I begin to feel a strong thirst
Nothing quenches my appetitie
In the chaos I’m so immersed
The darkness as thick as midnight
Your Spirit speaks Your word to me
And calls me back to Your throne
I taste the truth and start to see
I cannot survive on my own
Your’s is the very air I breathe
Only Your light outshines the sun
You’re the only truth to believe
With a Love that can’t be outdone
Keep me always close by your side
Draw me through prayer and the word
Help me never to run or to hide
As Love’s current pulls me forward
