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 first born from the dead, that in everything He might be pre-eminent. For in Him all the fulness 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 foreward 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 righteousness and that He justifies him who has faith in Jesus.
Romans ch.3 vs.21-26
Tuesday, 5 July 2011
Have you heard
Sometimes it is as if I am swimming in deep water, exhausted, whilst my Father is rowing a boat alongside me saying ' Get into the boat child, let me take you to your destination.'
Have you heard
Have you heard about God's Son
who gave His life for everyone
who suffered there at Calvary
that you and I might be set free
Belief in Him will bring release
from all that robs you of your peace
So just reach out and take His hand
Don't build your house upon the sand
The door will open if you knock
then you can build upon the ROCK
Have you heard
Have you heard about God's Son
who gave His life for everyone
who suffered there at Calvary
that you and I might be set free
Belief in Him will bring release
from all that robs you of your peace
So just reach out and take His hand
Don't build your house upon the sand
The door will open if you knock
then you can build upon the ROCK
Tuesday, 3 May 2011
On Hallowed Wing
On Sunday, the preacher in the church that I attend spoke on Isaiah ch.40, verse 31, 'But they that wait uponj the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles.....' I thought about a song I had written some time ago, and which I also put onto a little card, leaving out the chorus. It is called
On Hallowed Wing.
When eagles fly on hallowed wing to far and distant lands
They are not guided by man's voice, not lifted by man's hands
They let no deluge hamper them, not fear the driving snow
For all that would but trouble them are in the clouds below
So when you do your Father's work, if child of God you be
Look to the eagle lifted high by God's grace, given free
Then you will also face life's trials, and surely come to know
That strength will come from God above, and fear stay far below
This is a verse that caused me to write a song that echos the Biblical fact that if we put our trust in Jesus Christ, then His victory is our victory in every situation. ' I will love Thee O Lord my strength' Psalm ch.18 v.1
On Hallowed Wing.
When eagles fly on hallowed wing to far and distant lands
They are not guided by man's voice, not lifted by man's hands
They let no deluge hamper them, not fear the driving snow
For all that would but trouble them are in the clouds below
So when you do your Father's work, if child of God you be
Look to the eagle lifted high by God's grace, given free
Then you will also face life's trials, and surely come to know
That strength will come from God above, and fear stay far below
This is a verse that caused me to write a song that echos the Biblical fact that if we put our trust in Jesus Christ, then His victory is our victory in every situation. ' I will love Thee O Lord my strength' Psalm ch.18 v.1
Tuesday, 12 April 2011
Genesis
The Earth lay in darkness
cold as a tomb
there was no warmth or light
It lay without life
like a barren womb
of a woman alone in the night
.... It waited for Jesus
'The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now He commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has fixed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom He has appointed, and of this He has given assurance to all men by raising Him from the dead.'
Acts ch.17 vs. 30,31
Once again the Earth waits
as in days of old
Again there is darkness
again it is cold
But now there's a moon
to reflect the sun
to announce the return
of God's Holy One
to tell of salvation
from sin and death
by receiving God's Spirit
...... His life-giving breath
'' For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, 'I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the uttermost parts of the Earth.'
Acts ch.13, v.47
cold as a tomb
there was no warmth or light
It lay without life
like a barren womb
of a woman alone in the night
.... It waited for Jesus
'The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now He commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has fixed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom He has appointed, and of this He has given assurance to all men by raising Him from the dead.'
Acts ch.17 vs. 30,31
Once again the Earth waits
as in days of old
Again there is darkness
again it is cold
But now there's a moon
to reflect the sun
to announce the return
of God's Holy One
to tell of salvation
from sin and death
by receiving God's Spirit
...... His life-giving breath
'' For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, 'I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the uttermost parts of the Earth.'
Acts ch.13, v.47
How can I keep silent
A kaleidoscope has always been something that has fascinated me since I was a small child. It is an optical instrument which has a tube containing two reflecting surfaces inclined to each other at a suitable angle. These two surfaces are able to exhibit, by reflection, the most incredibly beautiful colours and symmetrical forms from just ordinary pieces of coloured glass. I am reminded by it of the plan of salvation that was brought about when God said in Genesis ch.1 v.26 'Let us make man in our image.' God and His Son Jesus Christ can make a beautiful new creation out of sinful man.Tuesday, 29 March 2011
Days in My Life
Some time ago I put together a booklet called ' Days in My Life '. It contains actual occurrrences in my life through which I have experienced the teachings of God, and some of the poetry that I have written as a result of those experiences. One of these articles I called ' The Space '.
The Space
I had been to a prayer meeting at a local church fellowship, where much of the theme had been about patience. I came out of the meeting with most of these thoughts fresh in my mind. My friend and myself decided to go to the supermarket, and on the way we met a man that used to live near me. ' Hello ', I said, and was about to say ' I was only talking about you the other day' when I remembered that the ' talking about you the other day ' was a neighbour of this man telling me that the man and his wife had parted. I did not want to embarrass him so I said nothing. We had a very pleasant conversation and I went off feeling quite pleased with myself at being so tactful.
After visiting the supermarket I dropped my friend off at her house and proceeded to go home when I suddenly remembered that I did not have any bread in the house. I wanted the bread from the bakers in the middle of town but did not want to pay sixty pence car park fee, so I thought that I would park at the edge of town in a street that had free parking for an hour, which was a rarity as most streets had double yellow lines. I decided that the walk back to the bakers was better than paying the sixty pence car park fee, which was nearly the price of the loaf.
When I arrived at this particular street there was just one space left empty. I was about to pull into it when I noticed a lady who was just driving out of a pub car park into the street, which was a dead end, in order to come out onto the main road. 'Oh ' I thought, ' I'll let her out and then pull into the space. ' I then also noticed a car that had been turning at the top of the street. This disturbed my peace a little as I thought he might be going into what had already in my mind become ' my space '. Then guilt crept in and I thought ' Well he was in the street before me, and if he was going to go into the space then he would be entitled to it.' Then the thought crossed my mind that he had already passed the space, being at the top end of the street, so maybe he was the previous occupier of the space, and was just turning around to come out onto the main road, after which I could drive into ' my space ' as it was now firmly established in my mind.
Smiling faces and courtesy were all around, with the lady waiting to come out of the pub car park into the side street, with the man who had by now turned at the top of the street and was facing me preparing to come out of the street, and with myself waiting to go into the space after they had both come out.
Suddenly the happy picture became distorted. There was a large car pulling into the street alongside me.
' Can't he see me waiting to go in and these two waiting to come out' I thought. 'Beep ', I gave him a gentle attention catcher, pointing to the situation inside the street, and waited for a response. the only response was his slowly moving into the street. ' He's trying to get into my space!' My peace had disappeared and anger was shoving its way in. ' Beep - beep!' Now much louder attention catchers, and twice as many. He turned to me with a look that said ' I'm half in now, I might as well go '. Feeling a threat in the fact that he might have to pull into the space to get out of the way of the other two cars, and that there was nothing I could do about it, suspicion and frustration joined anger in the void left by vacating peace. He drove past the space however, and tucked himself into a turning area at the top of the street.
I felt a twing of guilt at thinking that the man was out to steal my space. He might not even have noticed me waiting at the entrance of the street. He might have thought I was a parked car. After all, I had left the centre of the road free to allow the two cars to come out. I began to feel ashamed. Suddenly, another car entered the street from the main road, this time with a woman driving it. I beeped the horn and pointed out the situation once more, but she proceeded to try to enter the street. Now guilt and shame were the first to leave, and frustration and anger ballooned to such a size that there was no room for anything else. I pulled out into the middle of the road to prevent this new ' space stealer ' from entering the street and immediately tried to get into the space, which was in front of the car I had been waiting behind.
Afraid that this new driver might drive into the space instead of me, I did not pull forward enough to allow myself to be able to reverse close enough to the curb so that the lady in the car park could get past me. After several futile attempts, with an audience of the man waiting at the top of the street, the lady waiting in the car park, the man tucked in the turning area, and the lady waiting behind me, the lady in the pub car park motioned to me that if I moved forward past the car park entrance, then she would be able to get out and I would be able to park my car in the space. Shame returned as anger and frustration diminished in size. Suspicion edged its way in as a reminder that maybe the lady behind me would move into the space as I pulled forward, but I realized I had no alternative. I pulled forward and the lady came out of the car park and drove out of the street. There was no sign of the potential space stealer, and I reversed slowly into the space. By now there was not room in my mind for anything except shame and humiliation. Frustration and anger, along with ridiculous suspicion, had been pushed out by these far more powerful spirits. I lowered my head as the man who had tucked himself in the turning area pulled into the pub car park, probably where he'd always intended to go.
Where was my Christianity? If the Lord had appeared at that very moment and asked the righteous to step forward, probably everyone in the street including those in the pub would have been more entitled to respond to His call than I would have been. Righteousness is born in thought, wickedness takes residence through action.
Jesus says ' I desire mercy, and not sacrifice '. Mercy overlooks injury to self, sacrifice is something given in order to gain something else. True discipleship will incur loss to self before any gain is achieved.
Not wanting to embarrass my ex neighbour, and wanting to park in the right place were right things to do, but these acts had become smug self righteousness in the light of my latest actions. I should have been more concerned about the space that housed the spirits than the space that housed my car.
I sadly went for my loaf of bread and thought about the spiritual bread the Lord had already offered me in the prayer meeting, the words on patience.
Lord help me to listen when I hear You speak
Create in me a spirit that is lowly and meek
That I should be a ' doer ' Father of Your precious word
And not just walk away forgetting all that I have heard
When I arrived at this particular street there was just one space left empty. I was about to pull into it when I noticed a lady who was just driving out of a pub car park into the street, which was a dead end, in order to come out onto the main road. 'Oh ' I thought, ' I'll let her out and then pull into the space. ' I then also noticed a car that had been turning at the top of the street. This disturbed my peace a little as I thought he might be going into what had already in my mind become ' my space '. Then guilt crept in and I thought ' Well he was in the street before me, and if he was going to go into the space then he would be entitled to it.' Then the thought crossed my mind that he had already passed the space, being at the top end of the street, so maybe he was the previous occupier of the space, and was just turning around to come out onto the main road, after which I could drive into ' my space ' as it was now firmly established in my mind.
Smiling faces and courtesy were all around, with the lady waiting to come out of the pub car park into the side street, with the man who had by now turned at the top of the street and was facing me preparing to come out of the street, and with myself waiting to go into the space after they had both come out.
Suddenly the happy picture became distorted. There was a large car pulling into the street alongside me.
' Can't he see me waiting to go in and these two waiting to come out' I thought. 'Beep ', I gave him a gentle attention catcher, pointing to the situation inside the street, and waited for a response. the only response was his slowly moving into the street. ' He's trying to get into my space!' My peace had disappeared and anger was shoving its way in. ' Beep - beep!' Now much louder attention catchers, and twice as many. He turned to me with a look that said ' I'm half in now, I might as well go '. Feeling a threat in the fact that he might have to pull into the space to get out of the way of the other two cars, and that there was nothing I could do about it, suspicion and frustration joined anger in the void left by vacating peace. He drove past the space however, and tucked himself into a turning area at the top of the street.
I felt a twing of guilt at thinking that the man was out to steal my space. He might not even have noticed me waiting at the entrance of the street. He might have thought I was a parked car. After all, I had left the centre of the road free to allow the two cars to come out. I began to feel ashamed. Suddenly, another car entered the street from the main road, this time with a woman driving it. I beeped the horn and pointed out the situation once more, but she proceeded to try to enter the street. Now guilt and shame were the first to leave, and frustration and anger ballooned to such a size that there was no room for anything else. I pulled out into the middle of the road to prevent this new ' space stealer ' from entering the street and immediately tried to get into the space, which was in front of the car I had been waiting behind.
Afraid that this new driver might drive into the space instead of me, I did not pull forward enough to allow myself to be able to reverse close enough to the curb so that the lady in the car park could get past me. After several futile attempts, with an audience of the man waiting at the top of the street, the lady waiting in the car park, the man tucked in the turning area, and the lady waiting behind me, the lady in the pub car park motioned to me that if I moved forward past the car park entrance, then she would be able to get out and I would be able to park my car in the space. Shame returned as anger and frustration diminished in size. Suspicion edged its way in as a reminder that maybe the lady behind me would move into the space as I pulled forward, but I realized I had no alternative. I pulled forward and the lady came out of the car park and drove out of the street. There was no sign of the potential space stealer, and I reversed slowly into the space. By now there was not room in my mind for anything except shame and humiliation. Frustration and anger, along with ridiculous suspicion, had been pushed out by these far more powerful spirits. I lowered my head as the man who had tucked himself in the turning area pulled into the pub car park, probably where he'd always intended to go.
Where was my Christianity? If the Lord had appeared at that very moment and asked the righteous to step forward, probably everyone in the street including those in the pub would have been more entitled to respond to His call than I would have been. Righteousness is born in thought, wickedness takes residence through action.
Jesus says ' I desire mercy, and not sacrifice '. Mercy overlooks injury to self, sacrifice is something given in order to gain something else. True discipleship will incur loss to self before any gain is achieved.
Not wanting to embarrass my ex neighbour, and wanting to park in the right place were right things to do, but these acts had become smug self righteousness in the light of my latest actions. I should have been more concerned about the space that housed the spirits than the space that housed my car.
I sadly went for my loaf of bread and thought about the spiritual bread the Lord had already offered me in the prayer meeting, the words on patience.
Lord help me to listen when I hear You speak
Create in me a spirit that is lowly and meek
That I should be a ' doer ' Father of Your precious word
And not just walk away forgetting all that I have heard
Wednesday, 16 March 2011
Go into the highways and the byways
When I first felt that the Lord was telling my friend and myself to go into the streets to evangelize, poems started forming in my mind that I felt could be put together in leaflets to hand out to people, some of which spoke of my own life. Since doing this we have always had a good reception, we simply ask the people if they would like some Christian poetry. Some take it, some refuse, and we have had some very interesting conversations with variouos people. One such leaflet was created when a picture of a person in a rowing boat lifting another person out of the water into the boat came into my mind and the words
' Sometimes it is as if I am swimming in deep water, exhausted, whilst my Father is rowing a boat alongside me saying, ' Get into the boat child, let me take you to your destination'. I placed them on the front of the leaflet with a poem and the scripture 'Come to me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.' I then put the poem, 'The sinner's prayer' inside
The Sinner's Prayer
You didn't come for the righteous - for the sheep as white as snow
The ones that are whole and healthy, who know which way to go
No Lord You came for the sinner - the sheep that went astray
You came to guide him back to God along the narrow way
Lord here stands a sinner, a lonely child of the night
I walk the paths of darkness where there is no guiding light
My feet are bruised and bleeding as I stumble down life's track
The brambles cut across my flesh, there's no coat upon my back
My hands are torn and calloused as they push aside each thorn
My clothes give no protection - they are tattered and worn
I'm lost in my inheritance of pain and misery
Lord I call upon Your name - Jesus .... Save me!
The Lord's Answer
' I hear you child ' says Jesus - 'Your cry in in my ears
My heart is burning with your pain, my face wet with your tears
These feet have felt your bruises - my hands were torn for you
Those thorns were laid upon my head, my stripes were for you too
Yes child I hear you calling from your dark and miry grave
'Twas this very reason that God sent me to save
So lift your eyes my lost one, don't look at earthly things
Look to the Son of Righteousness - there's healing in my wings
Don't bear your heavy burdens and remain among the dead
I came two thousand years ago and bore them in your stead
Just look towards your Saviour, I'll be your guiding light
Cast your cares upon your Lord - Your God for you will fight
And I'll give you a garment, a new coat for your back
You'll wear my robe of righteousness to save you from attack
' For I am come not to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance. ' Matthew ch.9 v.13
' Sometimes it is as if I am swimming in deep water, exhausted, whilst my Father is rowing a boat alongside me saying, ' Get into the boat child, let me take you to your destination'. I placed them on the front of the leaflet with a poem and the scripture 'Come to me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.' I then put the poem, 'The sinner's prayer' inside
The Sinner's Prayer
You didn't come for the righteous - for the sheep as white as snow
The ones that are whole and healthy, who know which way to go
No Lord You came for the sinner - the sheep that went astray
You came to guide him back to God along the narrow way
Lord here stands a sinner, a lonely child of the night
I walk the paths of darkness where there is no guiding light
My feet are bruised and bleeding as I stumble down life's track
The brambles cut across my flesh, there's no coat upon my back
My hands are torn and calloused as they push aside each thorn
My clothes give no protection - they are tattered and worn
I'm lost in my inheritance of pain and misery
Lord I call upon Your name - Jesus .... Save me!
The Lord's Answer
' I hear you child ' says Jesus - 'Your cry in in my ears
My heart is burning with your pain, my face wet with your tears
These feet have felt your bruises - my hands were torn for you
Those thorns were laid upon my head, my stripes were for you too
Yes child I hear you calling from your dark and miry grave
'Twas this very reason that God sent me to save
So lift your eyes my lost one, don't look at earthly things
Look to the Son of Righteousness - there's healing in my wings
Don't bear your heavy burdens and remain among the dead
I came two thousand years ago and bore them in your stead
Just look towards your Saviour, I'll be your guiding light
Cast your cares upon your Lord - Your God for you will fight
And I'll give you a garment, a new coat for your back
You'll wear my robe of righteousness to save you from attack
' For I am come not to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance. ' Matthew ch.9 v.13
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