Tag Archives: God

COME YE

7 Oct

—

And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.   1 Corinthians 12:28 (KJV)

—

Sun glistens through the flowing golden honey,

Slowly – deliberately – gracefully,

It edges downward toward the earth.

The secret of the hive is revealed,

The source of perfect sweetness at the hand of God.

—

There it glistens – calling to a tender heart,

“taste and see” – “taste and see”

“the incomparable savor of God.

Come ye born to Apostle.

Come ye born to Teach.

—

Reach forth ye Shepherds and collect enough to satisfy your flock.

Help him to carry – those called as Servants.

Come ye – those called to pray the gift of Healing into this treasure.

—

Multiply the pots – those called to Miracles.

Prepare the way – those called to chart the Path.

Speak the Word of deliverance – in the tongues of angels,

That no soul will go untouched.

Raise up your voice in harmonious worship,

Preparing the Heavenlies.

—

Let the song of the Lord flow forth,

Golden – Sweet – Pure

As God’s rich nectar.

—

Fear not the gifts God has birthed inside you.

Fear not the power of the Anointing as it flows through you.

Be not concerned at the doubting words of man,

they understand not.

—

Speak the Word with a tongue touched with honey,

Pure – untainted – deliberate.

Be the untouched – untouchable Gospel,

To The WORLD.

Amen!

—

Written 6-16-07

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WHICH WAY

6 Oct

“. . . and God said . . . “ Genesis


My compass spins – 

 North, South, West, East,

 Back and forth,

 Forward and Back.


 I turn this way and that,

 Trying to find True North.

 Which way Lord?


I step left – 

 The road falls away.

I step right – 

 The wall is so high.

Which way Lord,

 I’m so tired?


My compass spins – 

 The world spins around me.

 Echoes of light shoot past,

 Echoes of the past speed through my mind.

 Which way Lord?


God, I’m so weary – 

 I can’t hear Your voice.

 I’m bombarded with the noise of daily life.

 How do I know which voice is you?

 I’m spinning,

 I’m spinning.


A gentle hand stops my feet,

 Sweet music fills my ears,

 The voice of God shouts forth,

 Through the words of the prophet.

 Be still, Be still, Be still.


There is THE voice – 

 Still and small,

 “Face your compass toward me,” it says.

 “Face your compass toward me.”


“Tell my children I wait for them – 

 To plant their feet, 

 To plant My Word.

 Tell my Children.”


True North!!

 

 

Written 2-8-2007

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Troubled Water

23 Sep

(4) For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. (7) The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.   John 5:4&7

I can feel it -

 the shaking,

 the stirring,

 inside.


The angels 

 have troubled the water,

 deep within me.


Who will help me,

 draw close to the pool,

 where pure love,

 can heal?


Where the Glory of God,

 lights the dark recesses

 of doubt.


If I move quickly,

 toward the call of God,

 the desperate corners,

 I find to hide in,

 will be purged and cleansed,

 and my Spirit,

 will be set free,

 to soar above the circumstances,

 my soul calls hopeless.


Who will take the chance,

 of entering into my world,

 and carry me down,

 to the healing pool,

 where Spirit and soul,

 come together?


Who will lay their life open,

 to care - to hurt - to lift?


Could it be you?

 

Written 1-20-99

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WHOSE FLOWER?

23 Sep

“. . . Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:”   Matthew 6:28

I’m God’s favorite; I just know it.

There it was, a beautiful purple Aster, growing all alone in a dry, brown field. Drought had hit Northern Arizona and the normally green fields and trees were brown and brittle. Yet there it was.

Its green leaves were brilliant against the brown. The purple flower faced diligently toward the sun, soaking in the warmth. I knew as I enjoyed its delicate beauty that God had sent it – just for me.

We had just moved to a small town, far from our church family of 10 years. I felt small in a large empty land; alone. All my years of ministry seemed to be sitting on a shelf and I was seeking God to know why He had planted us here and what He wanted us to do next.

There was His answer – in a barren field. Bloom where you’re planted. Become a flower in the desert with your eyes only on the Son. There I can use you to touch My hurting children.

Thank you Father, for never forgetting who we are. Thank you Father that you love your children so very much. Thank you Father for gifts, physical and spiritual – just when we need them. Thank you Father for planting me where You need me most. Let me always remain your humble servant.

My, My. Whose flower will I be?

Written 11/25/2002

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SPIRIT OF MAN

22 Sep

“The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly.”  Proverbs 20:27


Lord, can you see

the death within 

the fallen man?



Has the light,

You've placed,

inside his soul,

dimmed from the absence,

of the anointing oil?



Does his inward parts,

grow dark and empty,

from the absence of you?



Where did the oil go?

Did it slowly burn away,

when used on goodly projects,

void of Godly seed?



Did it burn rapidly away,

on endless nights,

of busy details,

none birthed for the kingdom,

only for the furtherance,

of man?



Did the glow leave,

so slowly,

that no one noticed,

the warmth in the depths of the eyes,

was replaced by cold,

hallow, loneliness?



Once cold, 

did the soul embrace the emptiness,

and call it home;

explaining the way back,

is too difficult?



Is there yet a hope, 

a small smoldering bud,

that a new flame,

could grow,

even brighter,

than the first?



Replenish the oil,

in this vessel, Lord,

that when the nights grow so weary,

I will draw closer to the flame,

and into Your light.



Let there be such an abundance,

that the light within me,

will show into the eyes,

of one so cold.



Let the oil flow,

so heavily,

from my anointing,

that it will flow from my prayers,

through the depths of Jesus,

and into another's life.



Let me always be a light,

to lift the darkness,

in another's soul.

 

Written 7-28-99

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TINY FLAME

22 Sep

No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light.   Luke 11:33

Being burdened down by the flu on New Year’s Eve 1999 kept me home from the outstanding event our church had been preparing for the previous 4 months. I sent up my prayers for my church family and the events they had worked so hard on – then I lay back down and prayed for relief from the symptoms I’d been fighting the previous 2 ½ days.

The year 2000 was about to become a reality, 2000 years since the death of our precious savior – 2000 years of salvation by faith, by grace, by the blood of Christ. 2000 years.

We’ve come from traveling by foot, to traveling by jet plane. From writing on the bark of a tree with the juice of berries, to computers and the internet. From never traveling farther than 30 miles from where we were born, to the moon, mars and beyond.

We come from a way of life where our entire days were surrounded by the teaching of the ways of the Biblical Fathers, to the days where people walked with Christ – God made flesh, to the time where it is difficult to work 10 minutes of prayer into our busy daily schedules. We have advanced our civilization in the last 100 years at a pace that has outreached any imagination the early pioneers could have had. We have created, and created, and created at such a rapid pace that we have left ourselves little time to remember, let alone thank, the creator of all.

I prepared my candle and matches, just in case the Y2K “doomsayers” were correct and I needed to travel from one end of the house to the other in total darkness. I lit the candle and realized how I’ve always been drawn to the tiny flame. It has always intrigued me how lighting a candle during the day gives off so little light, but at night, when all other light has been extinguished, that one tiny flame can light an enormous room.

Drawing close to the flame you can feel the warmth that it emits. A warmth far beyond its tiny reach. This light and warmth draws me together with those who have shared this very moment for hundreds and thousands of years. Long before the birth of Christ. Before Moses and the burning bush; that burned and yet wasn’t consumed. Long before Pharaoh and Noah.

A light and a warmth that comforted Adam and Eve, expelled from Paradise, sent into a land of unknown sounds, shadows and total darkness – caused from being apart from God. I envision their being drawn to the flame, like the many times they drew near to God’s glory; warm and comforting.

Like that tiny flame, I wonder what part I play in the spiritual darkness that has spread across the world. Can the small flame that burns inside me, lit by the Holy Spirit and fed by the anointing, create enough light to show others the way to Christ? Can that flame generate enough warmth to draw the confused to a place of comfort and understanding?

Lord, I pray that as long as I remain on this earth, that I will always share the light that’s within me. Help me to feed the hungry and comfort the comfortless. Let me always remember that the reason I have been placed upon this earth is to praise and give all glory to You!

Written 12/31/99 – and yet it still applies today!

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WHAT EVIL THIS?

15 Sep

” . . . Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.”     Revelation 12:12 (KJV)

Did you ever notice how an act of kindness is noticed, smiled upon, and quickly dismissed as we walk into the familiarity of our daily lives? The news programs rarely give more than a 60 second blurb on the event, and it never receives a second glance. Yet, when evil visits, it permeates our body and soul, rendering us shattered and helpless.

As I left work yesterday I chose to drive through Arizona State University on my way to my room. I do this now and again because I enjoy the old buildings along University Drive, and seeing the new buildings that pop up between. As usual, the road was under construction (for years it seems) and I was able to spend a goodly time contemplating the events of the week. Only the day before was the Virginia Tech massacre where 33 precious lives were lost to a student gunman.

Before I even reached the campus heavy dark smoke began billowing up – 3 fire trucks, with sirens blaring, were trying to maneuver between the creeping traffic – all headed toward campus. Along the sidewalk students laughed, teased and walked toward their dorms – dressed in various expressions of who they wanted us to believe they were – dodging the occasional skateboard Romeo. I wondered if that was what it was like just before the gunfire started in Virginia.

The fire ended up being about a block north of campus; couldn’t tell if it was a building or a car – but wondered what went through the minds of the firemen when the alarm went off for an emergency near the university.

The people in the cars near by seemed more frustrated at the delays than contemplative or concerned. Was Virginia too far away for them to feel the pain of mourning students and family? Aren’t they aware that evil passes from the soul of one man to yet another without hindrance of time or distance? My God, please forgive us.

Overhead I saw a passenger plane preparing to descend and I remembered the days when the airport was closed and no planes were allowed in the air because of the evil that descended on New York. The pain of that evil rose up and met the pain of the evil from Virginia; the pain grew as the sirens whaled, searching for the nearby fire – red and blue lights flashing.

In a week the news stations will drop the story of Virginia Tech and will go on to the local stories of death and torture. Affected families will search for comfort and answers – some will blame God for man’s free will choice. Some will pray. I believe that is where I will be.

God, please let us never forget that the only way to dispel evil is to fill man with your precious Spirit. Bring us the opportunity to love on your unloved, that they might find You – before evil plants his feet in the soul of the shattered.

 

Written 4-18-07

 

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STEPPING FORWARD

14 Sep

The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee; they were afraid: the depths also were troubled. The clouds poured out water: the skies sent out a sound: thine arrows also went abroad. The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven: the lightnings lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook. Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known. Thou leddest thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.    

Psalm 77:16-20 (KJV)

 

I stand in the path of troubled waters,

urged by a deep stirring in my soul.

My promise awaits me on the other side,

distant, dangerous, seemingly unattainable.

 

The waters are rising and churning,

lapping the ground at my feet,

teasing, testing, tantalizing.

 

Dare I step into troubled water,

tempting Satan, testing God?

Is the vision but a dream

or God’s perfect will?

 

There is no Moses to lead me in,

no Aaron to encourage me forth.

The angels hide, wait, watch.

Dare I take a chance

and step into the churning depths?

 

Do I trust God to part the sea,

dry the ground my feet must travel upon,

and hide my footsteps beneath the returning waters?

Or do I remain in my sheltered life,

no risks taken, nothing lost, nothing gained.

 

Do I reach out to the will of God,

the high calling I have been predestined to take,

or rest behind,

allowing another to receive the rich blessing

and sense of victory.

 

The sea of troubled water is frightening,

yet enchanting.

There is so much to gain,

so little to lose.

The waters surge and ebb,

surge and ebb.

Call me forward, Father,

as I strive to please you.

 

I close my eyes to self,

to doubt, to acceptable mediocrity.

One step at a time I move forward,

one step at a time.

 

As the waters part and rise up around me

I see the truth of my adversary,

like a motion picture through a looking glass,

larger than life, magnified,

yet fragile and easily destroyed.

Why did I fear?

 

Will those troubles disappear?

No!

They will always rest in the troubled waters.

It is my choice to view them,

or place my eyes on God,

and take a step forward,

knowing that each step will part the waters

and find solid ground.

 

Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep;

that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over? 

Isaiah 51:10  (KJV)

 

 

Written 9-11-00

 

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In His Love

14 Sep

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions–it is by grace you have been saved. Ephesians 2:4-5 (NIV)

My birth father was a very “unkind” person. Children weren’t to be seen or heard. The least infraction or word spoken out of order resulted in a backhand to the face and a tumble across the floor. It was just the way thing were in my home in the 50’s.

A memory came back to me of an event that impacted my life in a difficult way. I was 8 at the time, my brother was 6, and my sister was close to 3. My sister had been given a medium size baby doll. One day my dad decided to rip the head off of that doll and turn it inside out. To a child a doll can be very real and I remember the horror I felt when he ripped the head off, and the intensified feeling when he turned it inside out; the eyes bulging out and showing the hair stitched to the scalp.

He found great pleasure in the fact that it frightened my brother and me. He put the head on a stick, thrusting it at us, and screaming something as we ran around the outside of the house, trying to get away. He found where we were hiding and repeated his thrusting, time after time after time. My brother and I screaming with fear. When he grew tired of chasing us he mounted the head on the fence post of our front yard gate. We were too afraid to go past the head to go through the front door and into the house. It remained there for weeks. I never wanted a doll after that. I could not get the pictures of that event out of my mind.

It took a long time for me to completely believe in and trust God. I didn’t find relationship with Jesus until I was 38 years old, and I didn’t completely believe that the promises of God were for someone like me – a nobody – a loser – an unwanted person.

I struggled with who I was and how an almighty God could love me when I never had felt the love of an adult. How could I believe the words in the New Testament when I had never had a practical application to compare it to.

I continued to battle with myself about God and who I was until the night I received the Baptism of the Holy Ghost. I had prayed at the altar every Sunday night for almost 2 years for the Baptism. The long period of prayer seemed to mock my low self-esteem. One day a woman gave her testimony in service. She said that she had tried and tried to receive the Baptism without success, and kept repeating that she wasn’t worthy enough to receive the Baptism. Then she heard the voice of God tell her that no one is worthy to receive it; it’s a free gift from the love of God. When she heard those words she relaxed, praised, and received. The next week I received the Baptism and with it came warmth and peace and an incredible feeling of being wholly loved by someone that would never let me go.

When a person steps out of abusive relationships they find it so difficult to trust God. They want so strongly to believe in His promises, yet they are terrified that once again they will be betrayed. It takes special people to help them step past that fear and understand the love and peace found in God.

Lord, help me to be a catalyst to the wounded, to help them to believe in who You are. Help me to help them believe in pure love, pure faith and in themselves – the person You see, and not the reflection of the past they see in the mirror. Let me be your hands and feet to the world. Let me be Your testimony.

 

Written  5/11/12

 

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God’s Perfect Gift

10 Sep

 

I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.  Song of Solomon 2:1 KJV

 

You came up,

 out of the desert,

 as a pure white rose,

 born in a wilderness,

 breathtakingly fragrant.


You stood for all that was true,

 in a land without water,

 in a world wroth with sin,

 forged in pain.


People searched you out,

 grasping at your petals,

 a sweet scent to hold on to,

 until only the stem remained,

 circled about with thorns.


When it seemed to all,

 that nothing was left,

 You bloomed again,

 as the Phoenix bird,

 rising from the ashes,

 lifted high above the crowd,

 on an unfinished wooden cross.


In your final flower,

 the new petals fell,

 each bearing the name,

 of sin and pain,

 all that was removed,

 from our condemned lives.


The petals falling,

 willingly given,

 to redeem the lost,

 every provision considered,

 every provision met.


First fell shame,

 for not recognizing,

 who You were,

 then guilt,

 for the pain You endured.


There was sickness,

 depression, fear,

 sins of the past,

 broken in travel,

 to the generations,

 of the future.


On and on they fell,

 one by one,

 stripping away hopelessness,

 giving new life,

 in the sight of eternity.


As the last petal fell,

 Your Father, our Father,

 gasped,

 shaking the earth with His pain,

 dimming the light from the sky.


There You hung,

 looking no more,

 than a dry broken twig,

 soon to be buried,

 in the bowels of the earth.


Yet, inside that twig,

 lay a seed,

 a new life,

 taking root in the earth,

 preparing to grow,

 preparing to bloom,

 as Aaron’s rod,

 a sign to the nations,

 of God’s perfect love,

 in the gift of,

the Rose.

 

Written 11-14-98

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