A Place of Peace

There is a Welsh word  'Heddfan', pronounced 'hethvan' which means 'a place of peace'. When we lived in West Wales I always wanted to call our bungalow Heddfan but never did.  Yesterday I noticed on my desk in my workroom a piece of paper with this word on it that I must have written years ago, and as I have been trying to sort out all the paperwork in my room I must have left it there.  Also on my desk, on the other side of my computer, was a stack of leaflets that I put together with scripture and poetry I had written that I used to hand out in the streets of Wales near where we lived for about thirty years with my friend.

One caught my eye which I feel I would like to share in this post.

On the front of this leaflet were the words:-

                                     There's nothing 

                            you can do

                                  to make God

                              bless you

                                        It's already

                                         been done

 For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life

John ch.3 v.16.

                 

 These are the words and my poem that I put inside the leaflet:-                                                                              

 He is the image of the invisible God, the first born of all creation, for in Him all things were created, in Heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities, or authorities - all things were created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church, He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be pre-eminent. For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in Heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross.                     Colossions ch.1 vs.15-20    

  Love lies bleeding     

Love lies bleeding on a hill alone and far away

for the blood of Christ shed on that cross

is still poured out today

To God there is no passing time, only a way to be

this the reason Jesus came - to save both you and me

And if you say 'We're not in chains, why need we be set free?'

just look around this present world and tell me what you see

Do you see greed enticing man to murder, rob and cheat

while anger, lust and envy are roaming every street

and where a soul lies crying, alone and in despair  

do you turn away while saying 'Doesn't anybody care?'

Strong chains of sin and selfishness are now binding all mankind

and only God's great sacrifice can bring you peace of mind

Yes love lies bleeding on a hill, yet not so far away

for the love of Jesus....... flowing still

is just a prayer away      

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, they are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as an expiation by His blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins, it was to prove at the present time that He Himself is righteous and that He justifies him who has faith in Jesus.

Romans ch. 3 vs. 21-26

There is no greater peace that we could have than being in Jesus our Lord.

                                          

Contentment

I would love to have a garden                             
near mountain and river and field
where in Summer I’d sit and ponder in peace
on the beauty of nature revealed
I would love to watch in the Autumn
as the farmer is harvesting hay
and see mountains all covered in snow and mist
in the Winter when skies are grey
I would love to hear little lambs bleating
to their mothers when Spring comes around
and see poppies bright red in the meadow
and corn flowers covering the ground

But as I watch all the birds in the bay tree  

as they chatter and squabble and sing
and I sit in the shade of my cherry tree
I know I have the next best thing
For as I look at the beauty of one small part    
of creation entrusted to me
I marvel again at the fact that Your hand
has fashioned each thing that I see
Like the garden spider who spins her web
hung low as she hides from her prey
while the butterfly fluttering high in the tree
lives to see yet another day

Although we may find a great contentment in what we have in our physical lives, there is no greater contentment than that which is found in our spiritual lives when we are born again of God's Spirit in Jesus.
So as I journey along in God's Spirit I say this prayer to Him:-

Lord never let me turn aside
from Your reproof because of pride
that mercy and humility
may be the power that reigns in me
Lord when I have to make a stand
when truth and lies go hand in hand
and righteousness must be my choice
bring me to speak with mighty voice

Lord never let me turn and run
when man's injustice has been done
show me the way to conquer fear
as You say 'Be still, your Lord is near'
Lord let Your wisdom overrule
the wisdom of this foolish fool
that I might some day be made whole
in body, Spirit, mind and soul

Lord let Your Spirit take firm grip
upon my actions when I slip
Bless me with guidance from Your throne
that I might call what's Yours my own
....A counsellor proved sure and true
A comforter sent forth from You.


Father Your beauty's all over the earth
if we take time to look around
but contentment discovered within our new birth
is the place where true peace can be found


In order to die to our fleshly, sinful self  we have to continue to grow in the Lord, and put the old man to death. This can be quite hard as our carnal mind is totally different to the mind of Christ.  I say this prayer to the Lord, asking for His guidance to overrule the guidance of my carnal mind.


Lord when I’m being taunted and mocked for loving You
Cause me to remember that You were taunted too
When I’m being laughed at for calling on Your name
Let me see You standing there and taking all that shame
And if I’m being tempted to draw back into sin
Tell me ‘Turn away child, don’t let the devil win’
Lord sometimes it’s difficult to die to sinful man
When the Spirit says ‘You can’t’ and the flesh says ‘Yes you can’
I’m so afraid I’ll fail You, the old man can be strong
Sometimes it’s hard to tell Lord what’s right and what is wrong
The old man says ‘Retaliate!’ To every harsh word said
The new says ‘You’ve been born again, the old man is now dead’
So Lord teach me to listen, when I hear You speak
Create in me a spirit that is lowly and meek
Take away the old man of anger, greed and lust
Form a new creation inside this outer crust
Help me to forgive them , when the world abuses me
Teach me how to show Your love, that I know can set them free
Lord help me go all the way to that rugged cross
Show me that to lose this life is gain and not a loss
And then just like the chrysalis that hangs upon it’s thread
I’ll become a butterfly - and You’ll have raised the dead