Iraqi Pics

Go to John Upperman's blog to see some pictures of Iraqis you won't see on the news or in the papers:

http://uppermansblog.blogspot.com/

Comunidad

Last night at Comunidad ("Comunidad de las Naciones," or "Community of Nations," our latino church plant) there was a dinner and awards for the ESL graduates and the church. We had a terrific time of fellowship over burgers with all the works (grilled outside) and desserts. In our service we inaugurated our new congas and I was tapped to play them. I got rhythm, but not technique; my hands were red and sore half way through the first song. Come back, Micah, we need you!!!

The brand name on the congas was "Caliente;" very latino. Then some astute person noticed they were made in Thailand!

Some new folks came, drawn in by the ESL class.

We sang "I'm Trading My Sorrows;" the ESL staff sang in Spanish and the latinos sang it in English - at the same time!

It's a thrill to watch this little church grow, to see men and women becoming grounded in the Spirit and the Word, to see fellowship bonds forming and people finding something of real value. The latinos have all the same problems we do plus more, and they work more days and more hours. They have a refreshing honesty and down-to-earth manner about them and it's a pleasure to be among them. Even though I'm fluent in Spanish, I had many cultural stereotypes and I've watched them all get shattered as I've come to know these people.

If you're able to visit at 6:30 on Sunday evening or 7:30 on Wednesday evening, please drop by; there will be someone to translate.

The Burning Bush

How many bushes had Moses seen
On the back of the desert where he had been
For forty years? But then there'appeared
A bush that burned, and Moses feared.

This bush the BRANCH, that Moses saw
That fateful day; he stood in awe
And turned aside to behold the tree-
To listen, to look, to hear, to see.

For forty years he'd worked and toiled
In the dirt and dust and the sun that boiled.
Then in an instant God's hour had come;
Moses became God's chosen one.

Do you feel in a wilderness,
Forgotten by God and in distress,
Your vision gone, your dreams and plans
Scattered like the shifting sands?

You're not forgotten - God sees you there;
He's put you just exactly where
He can work your soul like clay.
He has a time - there'll come a day,

But of a sudden, and not far hence,
You'll hear His voice and turn to whence
Spake clear that voice, and see Him there
And He'll tell you what, how, when, and where.

Serve Him in the wilderness
In every trial, in every test;
And when comes heaven's chosen hour
He'll send you forth in faith and power.

You'll be tempered by the fire,
Gone the anger, gone the ire;
A gentle spirit, a heavenly frame,
And you'll go forth in Jesus' name.

One Thing

"Salvation is free - everything else costs" (Wade Taylor). Let us have a single eye unto the Lord, that the price may seem as nothing for the inestimable prize which is set before us.

"In the year that King Uzziah died
'Twas then I saw the Lord."
In Isaiah's time of loss
'Twas then he heard His word.

And thus it is that sorrow brings
The thing that seemed most lost,
And thus we reign through suffering
When we have paid the cost.

"I count all things as loss," said Paul
"That I may know this Christ."
The things that once were gain to him
He lost for risen life.

The goodly merchant seeking pearls
Sold all he had for one.
Oh, woulds't thou have a precious pearl?
Sell all for Christ, the Son.

For one thing only matters most,
One thing worth all the rest -
To know Him as we're known by Him -
This is the highest and best.

"One thing have I desired of God,
That one thing I pursue,
To behold the beauty of the Lord,"
Said David; what say you?

He is the treasure in the field,
He is the treasure rare,
For which we sell all that we have
And find that He is there.

Lift Up Your Heads, O Ye Gates.

"If so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." (Rom. 8:17)

"And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl." (Rev. 21: 21)

"Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in." (Psalm 24:7)

I have long felt that we are the city of God, and the gates are for His entrance into that city. It is through suffering that we come into His purposes and reign together with Him. As the pearl is wrought from distressing circumstances, even so our suffering yields glory. This poem brings it all together.

The pearl - a treasure of great price;
But wrapped within it's hidden life
Is a tale that sorrow brings -
A treasure wrought through suffering.

In the darkened ocean deeps
The oyster there its vigil keeps,
Content until a grain of sand
Lodges in its chambers and

Beomes an irritating source
Of trouble and vexation sore,
Of bother and distress and pain
'Til it must alleviate the strain.

It then surrounds the grain of sand
With the white pearl substance and
Brings from pain a comfort there,
Creating thus a treasure rare.

And we, the children of the Lord,
Fnd that trouble oft' affords
A time to call upon His name
When in distress we are, or pain.

And glory, thus, from suffering,
Becomes our rallying cry and theme.
Our comfort is His Presence fair,
And, oh, 'tis pleasant to be there.

And thus the gates of pearl are made;
Oh, ye gates, lift up your heads!
The King of Glory shall come in,
And thus through suff'ring we shall reign.

God, You're Good

My daughter wrote this - it's worth sharing.

God you're good.
If you give me what I deserve, you're good,
If you withold it from me and instead, bless me with grace, you're good.
If you provide for me, and give me peace, you're good,
If you take it all away and leave me frustrated and humiliated, you're good, you're still good.
If you bless me with sleep and health, you're good,
If you sit with me through waking hours and sickness, you're good, you're still good.
If I see your promise in this lifetime, you're good,
If it greets me at heaven's gates and not a minute sooner, you're good, you're still good.
I trust your nature, your name, your promise,and your will,
Because you're good, you're still good

Press In

The story of the woman with the issue of blood can be found in Luke 8:43. I once had the privilege of hearing C.M. Ward, the great Pentecostal preacher, preach on this story. He surmised that the woman, who could not press through the crowd in her weakened condition, must have then crawled through the crowd on her hands and knees; why else would she have touched the hem of His garment, except she were down that low? I incorporated that thought in this poem.

She said in her heart "Oh, if only
I could touch just the hem of His robe,
I'd be well, I'd be whole, and completely
Would stop all the blood that has flowed."

She'd spent all her money on doctors;
No better was she, but indeed,
She was worse for they never could help her;
And so she continued to bleed.

Then one day she heard Jesus was passing
And went out to where He would be.
But she found that the great throng was pressing
The Master; she hardly could see

The One who she knew that could heal her,
The One whose sweet touch she so craved.
The crowd was all thronging about Him,
And she knew that if He were to save

On that day that she'd have to be bolder
Than ever before she had been;
And so, in her weakened condition
She took hold and began to press in.

She struggled past women and children
And folks who were stronger than she,
Past seekers and beggars lepers,
And then she fell down to her knees

And struggled past people who kicked her
And spat on her as she crawled by;
She had to, just had to, see Jesus,
To see Him or else she would die.

At last she finally had reached Him
And stretched forth her hand to His robe,
Immediately sensing His virtue
And receiving His power as it flowed.

"Who touched me?" cried Jesus, "'tis someone
With faith and with such a great need;"
"Everyone," said His disciples,
"Everyone's near You, indeed."

"Woman," He said as He saw her,
"Such faith has gained your reward."
That day she knew that she always
Would remember His kind, gracious words.

And oh, let us press into Jesus,
Past all that would hinder and hold,
Past religion and habit and custom,
And tradition and doctrine so cold;

'Til we touch Him! Oh, let us touch Jesus,
For we'll find in Him all that we need;
He only, He ever, can help us,
And we'll find that His grace will exceed

All of our prior expectations
And all that we've ever been told.
Just one touch will change us forever -
Let us press in and be bold.

The Good Shepherd

Perhaps some day we'll know how very much He loves us. Maybe this little poem will help in that realization.

I am the lost, lonely, poor little lamb
Jesus came looking to save;
So far away had I wandered that day,
I am sure I'd be now in my grave

If the Shepherd had not left the others alone
To come and to look for me there.
So frightened was I, I could do naught but cry,
And he heard my sad cry as a prayer.

Oh, why had I wandered so far away?
Why had I gone on my own?
The grass looked so green and the meadow so fair,
But I ended up there so alone.

A delight to the eye were the things I had seen,
They were such an attraction to me;
They called out to me and they beckoned me on
And I blindly went where they did lead.

But the beautiful sights that seemed such a delight
Turned to thorns and to thistles so sharp;
Then the rain and the cold and the fog took a hold
And imprisoned me there in the dark.

My flesh had been torn by the briars and thorns,
I was lonely and hungry and cold;
I wanted no more than be found and returned
To where I had strayed from the fold.

O'er the wind as it howled came a sound to my ears
I'll remember for eternity;
Through the rain that was falling my shepherd was calling
My name, he was searching for me.

"Here am I, here am I," was my faint, feeble cry,
"Over here in the thicket so sharp;
Here I am, here I am, your lost, little lamb -"
He was coming to me in the dark.

Then at last I was found as o'er the rough ground
He came up the mountain so steep.
I looked and I saw with wonder and awe
The wounds in his hands and his feet.

Then I saw in the rain all the blood and the pain,
All the anguish he suffered for me;
For me who was lost he had paid such a cost
For my freedom and my liberty.

I scarcely could stand so he reached out his hands
And lifted me up to him there.
Wrapped in his embrace, I looked on his face,
And saw there not raindrops, but tears.

"I have found you at last, through the storm and the blast,
I have looked for you both low and high.
Come, let's go home, my dear, precious one,
And we'll never more part, you and I."

Then he carried me along on his shoulders so strong
And he sang me a song on the way -
"Thou art mine, I am thine, and in me you'll find
All you'll need for now and always."

Oh, he loves me, I know, but how is it so,
That one so unworthy as I
Could merit like this the joy and the bliss
Of being thus with him so nigh?

Why should he care to look for me there
In the terrible place I had strayed?
To leave all behind and seek me to find?
Why pay the great price that he paid?

Oh, 'tis love I've heard of, that comes from above,
That sent him out looking for me;
'Twas love on a cross that paid all my loss
And set me eternally free.

Now the Shepherd and I dwell together for 'aye,
I'll nevermore, ne'er go astray.
I am His, He is mine, forever entwined,
Together for now and always.

The Passion

As I began this poem, it became clear that the Lord wanted something with the intensity of the movie "The Passion." Although lacking the visual element, words evoke images, so it is all there. Take time with this, and let it seep into your spirit - take time to hear the sounds and see His Passion.

The angels must have cried out when they looked upon the scene,
To see the One they loved so much so beaten and demeaned.
The banisters of Glory could not hold them all
As they struggled there to watch Him as He’d stumble and He’d fall.

They’d seen Him mocked and beaten with the scourge and with the lash,
The crown of thorns put on Him by the men so rude and rash.
They’d seen Him torn and battered, they’d seen the crimson flood,
White bone exposed to daylight in a scarlet sea of blood.

They’d seen Him fall and stagger as He struggled there alone,
They’d seen the skin and sinew as they ripped it from the bone.
They’d heard the raging crowd as they cried out “Crucify!”
And they watched their darling Jesus as they led Him forth to die.

Now He stumbles and He staggers walking up the stony path,
He’s mocked and jeered and spat on by the people in their wrath.
(Not so very long ago He in the manger lay,
But now that’s all forgotten on this, His dying day.)

Oh, my! He falls and stumbles! Th’excruciating pain
Has bested Him, He can’t go on, He falls and falls again.
The lash snakes out and gouges Him along His quivering back,
He cries out but remains where He has fallen in His track.

Simon now is carrying the cross on up the hill;
And Jesus follows after, but He sways and stumbles still.
He staggers and He stumbles, He stumbles and He sways;
He leaves a trail of blood in the dust along the way.

And now up on the mountain top they lay Him on the wood,
Stretch forth His hands, impale them there, the epitome of good.
They nail His feet, then lift Him high, then they let Him drop;
His body quakes and trembles as He feels the jarring shock.

He hangs ‘twixt heaven and earth there, bleeding out His last;
The angels watch Him suffer and all heaven is aghast.
Their tears fall down like raindrops just to watch Him suffer so,
To see Him in such pain, to see His blood so freely flow.

A raging thirst inflicts Him, and He cannot draw a breath,
All His bones are out of joint as He fast approaches death.
The angels gasp to hear the Savior cry out from the tree -
“Oh, my God, oh why, my God, hast Thou forsaken me.”

The earth begins to tremble and the thunder rumbles loud,
The sun goes dark, the sky turns black, an enveloping, funereal shroud.
The Son cries “It is finished!” and then gives up the Ghost;
The angels weep to see the death of Him they loved the most.

With a sword they pierce His side, and blood and water flowed;
The soldier with the sword said “Surely, this must be the Son of God.”
His friends aghast, to see the last, of all their hope and trust;
The angels cast their downward glance at the death of all that’s just.

They took His body down and laid Him in a borrowed tomb;
They rolled a stone before the door to keep Him in the gloom.
The angels hide their faces underneath their folded wings;
Their sad grief knows no limits at the sorrow that it brings.

Three days, and then one morn an angel rolled the stone away;
The disciples came and looked and saw He was not where He lay.
For love is stronger far than death, and death its limits knows;
The Christ that suffered so for us is the Christ that for us rose.

Oh, friends, we know the story, how the Savior suffered thus,
He took the weight of all our sin and bore it there for us.
Are we as moved as angels as we contemplate this scene?
Or do we pass by glibly, and thus God’s grace demean?

Oh, let His Passion move us, let it be our rallying cry;
He suffered for He loved us, and that enough to die.
Let this be our passion – the Grace of God so free,
And let us in this love find all our life and liberty.

Exodus

The God of all power, the God of all might,
Dwelt with His people by day and by night.
Not with th'Egyptians or Syrians dwelt He,
But out in the desert, where no one could see.

A cloud of smoke was He in the day,
A pillar of fire by night in the way.
Frail people and small, this people of God,
But, oh, He was with them, on plain, common sod.

He'd freed them from Egypt, from slavery's grasp,
And brought them all out to freedom at last.
Ten plagues He had wrought, then saved by the blood,
Then on dry land through the Red Sea's strong flood.

Then on Mount Sinai He gave them the law;
The mount shook and trembled, the people in awe.
All along He provided, with rivers from rock,
Manna from heaven; He cared for His flock.

For forty long years He led them across
Sinai's vast desert; not once were they lost,
For 'twas all by His leading, all by His hand,
The wilderness wanderings across the vast land.

Then on to Canaan, He'd promised it so,
With milk and with honey the Promised Land flowed.
And each had a portion in the land that He gave,
Not one was lost, all His people were saved.

And we who have trusted in Jesus, our God,
Have been saved from our sin and been washed in the blood.
Perhaps we have wandered, and not known the way,
But Jesus was leading by night and by day.

He's fed us and kept us, we never have lacked,
And though we have wondered, we've never turned back.
For who would not follow a King such as this,
One who Has never once led us amiss?

And, oh, He is with us as He was in those days,
The fire is His acts, the smoke is His ways.
The light of His Spirit illumines our hearts
And we'll follow that light as we have from the start.

Come weather that's fair, or foul it may be,
We'll follow Him still for we care only that He
Is our constant companion, our guide and our friend,
And we'll walk with Him closely, on to the end.

The Lord's Prayer

"Our Father," 'tis a wond'rous thing
That we would call You such a name;
Father God, Life-Giver, Thou,
Strangers once, we're children now.

"Who art in heaven," so far, yet near,
You dwell among your people here.
Oh, rend the veil that we might see
How very near we are to Thee.

"Hallowed be Thy Name;" we'll praise
Your wond'rous name for all our days.
At your feet we lowly bow
And give you all our worship now.

"Thy Kingdom come," for this we cry,
To see your Kingdom reign draw nigh.
Our one and only Monarch, Thou,
Take up Thy crown and scepter now.

"Thy will be done," we cry, not ours,
As we approach the final hours.
Bring your Kindgom reign to birth
And redeem this fallen earth.

"On earth as heaven," you have planned,
Not in some far-off, distant land;
But here and now, and now and here,
This earth be in Thy Kingdom's sphere.

"Give us this day our daily bread,"
Daily would we thus be fed;
Thy flesh our bread, our drink Thy blood,
Thyself our necessary food.

"Forgive our debts," the things we've done
That caused the death of Christ, the Son.
Mercy sweet flows from the cross,
Forgiveness springs from Jesus' loss.

"As we forgive," Lord, may it be
That we in this might be like Thee,
That we may freely all forgive
And learn that thus we truly live.

"Into temptation lead us not,"
It leads us to sin's fires so hot.
We are weak and vile and small,
Keep us from temptation's thrall.

"From evil, Lord, deliver us,"
Keep us ever near the Cross -
Our place of safety, fount of grace,
Our shelter strong, our hiding place.

"Thine the Kingdom," Thou the King,
Thine the crown, throne, sceptre, ring;
Thine the power by Royal design,
Thine the power, the weakness mine.

I would not pray by rote alone,
But come humbly to Thy throne,
Cast all my crowns down at Your feet,
Know You in communion sweet.

My Poetry

I haven't written poetry for years. At one time there was a steady flow, but it stopped. But recently it has begun again. I have no explanation for this - it's just the creative work of God. I like to say that I don't write the poems, I just write them down. I have a place in my heart where the words come.

I am writing a new poem almost every day. This is the cruze of oil that never fails. This is the manna that's new every morning. This is daily bread.

These poems are life to me - I pray that they're life to you as well.

One question that always arises is "Why don't you sell these?" I did try at one time to market my songs; believe me, you have to know somebody or be more persistent than I am to make a go of it. This is my alabaster box - I'd just rather break the box and pour the ointment forth on our wonderful Jesus than to try to sell them.

Please check back every now and then. Although I can't guarantee that this will continue like Old Faithful and erupt every so often, I have found that God is faithful. I can't even begin to write a poem until I have posted the last one. I'd like to have one or two in reserve, but He won't let me. I just trust that He will continue to bless me with this unfolding of His word and His plan and that you will continue to be blessed. Please share the poems as you wish - I think God has His own distribution channel.

Thank you for reading.


Nick

You Shall Live

I hung on the cross next to Jesus,
On the cross next to His on the hill;
I was paying for crimes I committed,
For things I had done of free will.

I deserved what I got so completely,
I was guilty just as they said.
So they beat me and whipped me and hung me
On the cross there to hang until dead.

Oh, the pain was so great, I remember;
I knew then that all hope was gone.
My body was racked with the torture,
The day seemed an eternity long,

When there to my left I saw Jesus
Upon an old cross just like mine.
But I knew that He had done nothing,
I knew that He was Divine.

But why was He bleeding and suff'ring
Like me, just a liar and thief;
Why was He hanging and dying
On a cross; why take on this grief?

In a flash, then, I knew in an instant
When I heard Him pray "Father, forgive,"
That He came down to earth for this moment -
To die so that others might live.

The sinless One, Jesus, was dying
On a cross next to mine on the hill;
He'd taken the sin and the sorrow
Of the whole human race as God's will.

Such love, oh, I never had known it,
Such love as was shown by Him there;
All my grief and my sorrow forgotten,
As I managed to cry out my prayer -

"Lord Jesus, Lord Jesus, remember
When into your Kingdom you come,
Remember this thief and this sinner,
Remember this Adam's lost son."

Then the words that He spoke I shall never
Forget, when He answered my prayer -
"Today, friend, today you'll be with me.
In Paradise - you shall be there."

There is pardon for all who will cry out
To Jesus, who's taken our place;
He's there! He's so close, right next to you,
Just turn now and look on His face.

You'll see there such grace and such mercy,
As only a Savior could give;
Cry out to Him just like I did -
You shall live, you'll not die, you shall live!

Adam, Where Are You?

Oh Adam, my Adam, oh where have you gone?
Why have you stayed away for so long?
I've come to the garden in the cool of the day
For fellowship sweet that we've shared in the way.

I made you this garden with all its good things,
And the great Tree of Life to give your heart wings.
Another tree, too, in the midst did I place,
And gave you the choice of that tree to taste,

The Tree of the Knowledge of Evil and Good.
I fear you've partaken, I feared that you would;
You were created from dust of the ground,
And some of the earth realm within you is found.

Has the serpent beguiled you to eat of that tree?
Have you listened to him instead of to me?
Did he take what I said and twist it around
And thus give to sin a beautiful sound?

What's that? You're naked? Who told you you were?
Eve spoke to the serpent and you've listened to her?
I fear I must send you out from the midst,
To suffer and toil and labor like this.

But I'll make a way for you to return
To me in the garden, to the God that you've spurned.
I'll take on your sin, I'll take it as mine;
On a hill on a cross on Calv'ry you'll find

That the God of all love has taken your place,
My Son will have taken your sin and disgrace
And nailed it all there to the cross on the hill
And paid all the cost, if only you will

Come to me there, for I'll make a way
To restore you to Eden and win back the day.
His name is Jesus, and in Him you'll be
All that I ever had destined for thee.

In my death you'll die and in my life you'll live
And receive all I ever have wanted to give.
'Twill no longer be you, created from earth,
But all in the Son, of infinite worth.

Oh Adam, my Adam, find life in the Son,
For in Him both you and I can be one.
Forever my Son shall be the new way
And we'll walk in the garden in the cool of the day.

Behold, I Do A New Thing

"Oh, God, what shall I do?"
Cried Moses to the Lord;
"There's water on three sides,
To the the rear th'Egyptian horde."

"They followed us from Egypt
To the Red Sea shore;
They'll surely overtake us
And we shall be no more."

Then the pillar of the cloud
Went from before their face
And stood behind the Israelites,
God's protecting grace.

Light it was to them
But darkness to the foe;
All night it blocked their path,
They could not onward go.

A strong east wind did blow
When Moses stretched his hand,
And the Israelites went across
The sea upon dry land!

The enemy followed hard
Upon the Israelites' heels,
But then the Lord looked out
And removed their chariot wheels!

The Red Sea closed upon them,
And drowned them one and all;
God saved His chosen people
From th'Egyptian thrall.

Much later on we read
Of the disciples in the boat
Out on the stormy sea;
They had lost all hope.

Then Jesus came to them,
Walking on the waves;
When things were at their worst,
Jesus came to save.

Sometimes God parts the waters,
Sometimes He walks on them;
Mysterious are His ways
To the seeking hearts of men.

Look not for God to do
What He has done before;
He's always on the move,
Something new He has in store.

So when the water's high
And the clouds have all turned gray,
Ask not what He shall do -
He'll do it His own way.

Yours but to trust in Him
All for you to do;
He'll move heav'n and earth
And bring you safely through.

Lazarus

“Lazarus, our brother, has taken sick,
The one you love so very much,”
Said Mary and Martha. “Please come quick,
And heal him with your loving touch.”

"This sickness is not unto death,
But for my glory," spake the Son.
(The things that seem to us the worst
Bring greater vict'ries to be won.)

Jesus did not hurry there,
But, because He loved them so,
(O, the mysterious ways of God)
Stayed where He was; He did not go.

The one beloved had passed away
(Jesus said he was asleep).
At last He went; they met Him there,
With sorrow now so very deep.

"If you'd been sooner, he'd not have died,"
Both wept sorrowfully to the Lord.
But Jesus did not once despair,
Remaining faithful to His word.

"I am the Resurrection and the Life;
Your brother shall arise again.
Believe in me and you shall see
Things not seen before by men."

Then they took Him to the place
Where His stricken friend was kept.
He saw their sorrow, deeply moved;
'Tis recorded that He wept.

("Jesus wept," O wond'rous thought,
That He sees the plight of men;
That He sees and cares so much
For us who had offended Him.)

"Remove the stone," He told them then.
"But Lord, he has been dead so long."
"Only believe and thou shalt see
An end to death, and sin and wrong."

Then in a voice the dead could hear
He cried out "Lazarus, come forth!"
And Lazarus stepped forth from the grave,
And proved the Great Redeemer's worth.

Wrapped hand and foot and head with cloths,
He could not walk nor could he see.
Then rang Jesus' voice again -
"Unloose this man, and set him free."

His voice has pierced the stifling dark
Of the tomb that sealed me in,
Spoke His life into my death,
Raised me up to live again.

Like Lazarus I have come forth,
Released from death's cold, icy grasp,
Called to walk in risen life
And free to be with Christ at last.

And if He seems to have delayed
In things that I've asked Him to do,
It is because He is the King
And knoweth just what He shall do.

His timing's best, much better far,
Than all my little plans and schemes;
He has for me a risen life
Far beyond my fondest dreams.

The Return

I saw you from the doorway –
I’d been watching there for you,
Hoping you’d return
As wand’rers sometimes do.

You’d wandered such a long way,
So very far from home,
A stranger in a strange land,
Lost and all alone.

A far country took you from me.
When famine came in time,
All spent, poor as could be,
You fell to feeding swine.

Swine’s husks you fain would eat
But deep within said “No;
In father's house is meat;
To father’s house I’ll go.”

"The servants there fare better;
Perhaps I can be one.
I'll take a lower place,
Unworthy as a son."

And then one day I saw you,
Far, far down the path.
I leaped and I ran to you;
I had no thought of wrath.

I threw my arms around you,
So glad that you’d come home.
Hot tears ran down my cheeks,
My precious, long-lost son.

You said “I’ll be a servant.”
I said “You are a son.”
A robe, a ring, and new shoes,
For life, from death, was won.

Oh, reader, have you wandered?
Are you close as you should be?
The Father waits and watches
To catch a glimpse of thee.

Take one step! He sees you!
He’s coming, drawing nigh.
He’ll wrap His arms around you,
You shall live, you shall not die.

The robe is His salvation,
The ring, authority,
The shoes, a walk in God –
He giveth all to thee.

Psalm 8

David saw the Kingdom in his day, a people that would rule and reign over the earthly realm with heavenly authority - not to make fish and fowl go here and go there, but to vanquish sin in all its aspects, to conquer self, turn the world upside down.

David, as you sat out on the hill,
Beneath the stars so quiet and still,
Contemplated God's great will,

You saw the heavens so great and vast,
Our life a vapor soon to pass,
But grasped the plan of God at last

Of a people who would rule and reign,
Have dominion in His name,
Leave this sad world not the same.

Fully rescued from the fall,
They'd have dominion over all -
Fish, and fowl, and beasts that crawl.

Fish that swim in oceans deep
Are passions strong that try to keep
Us locked up in sin's depths so steep.

Fowls that fly across the sky
Are thoughts that crowd our minds and try
To make us our great God deny.

Sheep and oxen, beasts of the field,
Are our emotions which can yield
A heart against the Spirit sealed.

Those that live for Christ alone
Will receive from Him a stone
Of white, a name but to them known.

They shall prove Messiah's worth,
Bring His Kingdom reign to birth,
As in heaven, so on earth.

Miracle At Zarephath

The story of the widow woman at Zarephath can be found in 1 Kings 17. Zarephath means "workshop for refining metals."

The widow woman of Zarephath
Was preparing for her death;
A scant supply was all she had,
And then things went to worse from bad.

She and her son would eat their last
And then their lives would soon be past.
Then on that day the prophet came
And things would never be the same.

The prophet asked her for a drink
And just as she was on the brink
Of fetching that, the prophet said
"Oh, and please bring me some bread."

"I've only for my son and me;
Why can't you just let us be?"
But God had come with His demands
Which can't be met by human hands.

And just when things were at their worst
The prophet told her "Feed me first."
For he had heard a word from God
And even though it seemed now odd,

And told her if she'd meet his need,
She would never lack indeed.
She did just that and found it true -
God met his needs and her needs, too.

God has a bountiful supply -
The well is deep, it won't run dry.
So if you hunger, if you thirst,
Don't look to self - put Jesus first.

If your soul is on the brink
Give Him to eat, give Him to drink.
In serving Christ you're sure to find
Enough for thee and all mankind.

Then Came Jesus

The wind was so high and it made a sad cry
On the lake on that cold, fateful night.
The waves were so tall and our boat was so small;
So frightened were we in our plight.

'Twas all shrouded in mist, we'd not seen it like this,
In the years that we'd worked under sail.
As the storm reached it's peak the wind made a shriek
As a demon would make when it wailed.

It seemed like our boat no longer would float
And we'd plunge to the depths in the storm.
The night seemed so long and all hope was gone;
We were ragged and wet and forlorn.

And then there appeared, and by all greatly feared,
A man, one who walked on the deep;
There was nowhere to hide, "'tis a spirit," we cried,
It seemed like a dream from our sleep.

His robe was so white, it shone through the night;
"'Tis I," he said, "Don't be afraid."
In single accord we all knew 'twas the Lord,
And our fear, like the night, soon did fade.

On the sea He was borne, in the height of the storm,
He walked out to us on the waves;
When our frail boat was tossed and when all hope was lost
Then came Jesus, so mighty to save.

And Peter, brash lad, (such bravado he had),
Said "Lord, it it be really Thou,
Bid me come unto Thee; I'll walk on the sea,"
And Jesus said "Come to me now."

Oh, how I wish I had courage like this;
I, too, wished to run to my Lord.
Peter put his heart to it, he really did do it;
We gasped as he stepped overboard.

And he walked on the sea! (How I wish it were me!)
He walked toward the Lord on the waves!
Then he started to sink and slip into the drink
When the Lord stretched His hand forth to save.

And, friend, what of thee, art thou out on the sea
In a raging, tempestous storm?
Look for Jesus to come when the storm's work is done,
Look for Jesus and look for the morn.

He's coming just now - look over the bow,
He's walking to thee on the waves;
He's coming to thee and soon thou shalt see
That Jesus is mighty to save.