“The Way of the World” (#42)

They chose to walk away from Me, and so they could not stay
In the Garden of Eden anymore-I had to send them away.
I had given them all that they had; yet they decided that all of it was not enough.
They chose to go where I told them not to, and so chose the life that was rough.
Without My provision, they had to work and sweat for something far less than what they had before.
They now had to suffer until they died, when in the Garden, they had had so much more.
Their children are born with the nature of their first parents, and choose the way they did to this day;
They turn away from Me and My eternal glory for things that quickly pass away.
But that road, at the end, is not temporary- it leads to eternal separation from Me.
But the death and resurrection of My Son made the only way to Me possible for all to take ably.
So, knowing that it is possible to know Me as Adam first did in the Garden,
Will you choose to follow Me, or will you turn away and to Me your heart harden?

“Being God’s Mouthpiece” (#41)

Why do I do what I do?
Why do I follow the command to obey and please you?
Is it because of the supernatural thrill the world does seek
Or is it something deeper-something unique?
I believe it’s because of the reason You made me-
To honor and glorify You-and also namely
To know You in a relationship where all that I do
Honors You alone, and leads others to You.
It is not an easy path-but then, nothing worthwhile is;
The coming of Jesus into me comes right away-but ‘tis
A life long journey, as one learns to live like Him.
To follow wherever He leads-sometimes risking life and limb
For the Gospel-other times simply resting and reading His word,
And then going and preaching to those who have never heard.
Eventually, all Christians-some sooner than others,
Will become in character like Christ, and live like brothers
In Him and to Him-not differing from Him,
For, without the light that He has, all is beyond dim.
As His followers, we must learn to grow in Him,
And open our minds and hearts to His voice;
And when He commands us to speak to others,
We know that but to obey, we have no choice.

I thought of the contrast of cultural expectations versus the challenge of following Jesus. Men are taught not to cry (observing it as a sign of weakness), and yet Christians strive to have a heart like God (which means our hearts should break for the same things that His does). I considered one of the most profound (and short) verses in the Bible – when Jesus wept for the death of Lazarus before raising him from the dead.

Learning to Cry like Jesus did

Lord, it seems so hard sometimes for me to just cry
And express my sorrow and shame visually and understand why.
When I weep, in a way, it seems to me a shame that I cannot contain my emotional side;
And yet, I think of the time when You wept when your friend Lazarus had died.
You, who on Earth were fully God and also fully man, created us from nothing, and
Because You came down and became human and lived life, You help us understand
How and why we feel as we do. When we weep with a broken heart,
You are there to comfort us, bind up our wounds, and give us a brand new start.
We are told by Isaiah that You comfort all who mourn, and that You are with us in all our troubles, by Paul.
Knowing this, I know it is no shame for me to weep, because You are with me in grief, and will help me through it all.
So I pray, Lord Jesus, that when tears are drawn to my eye,
I would remember Your comforting presence, and feel no shame when I cry.

Praising the Lord

When you choose to follow Jesus, it is a choice that will change your life
In ways you cannot imagine-through victory and strife,
In the midst of peace or trouble, through every joy or sorrow,
Praise the Lord with all the time you have-yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
Who you are and how you choose to live reflect who your master is in life.
If you follow Jesus, your life is a song of praise; He gives you strength to endure strife
And persecution. Through perseverance, we bring Him glory by the way we act and speak.
Even in situations when we feel overwhelmed, He gives us strength when we are weak.
But even if we are not in hardship, we should seek to serve Him still
By praying, reading and living His Word, every day of our lives until
He comes back for us and takes us home to be forever with Him,
And, for all eternity, worship Him before His throne with the elders and seraphim.

Loving God with my whole heart

Lord, I ask that You would forgive me, for against You have I committed a sin;
I have allowed distractions of this world over Your words to win.
All the possessions and desires of this day and age, which demand so much love and care
From me cannot begin to even imitate Your power and love, for You are truly beyond compare.
Your Word says that I should love You with all my heart, soul, body, and mind;
I should be willing, for You, to give up even the most precious gift from you; as Abraham did bind
Isaac to the altar according to Your command, so should I be willing to let go
The greatest blessing from Your mighty hand, if You say that I must do so.
You say in Your Word that we are Your friends if we will obey Your command.
I pray that I would always be bound to You in love and obey You, no matter what it may demand.

I was thinking of another worship song from my childhood days while writing this; it’s entitled “Light the fire again.”

Losing my Connection with God

What has happened to my heart, oh God? My heart feels empty, with nothing to fill
The void within-I feel as lifeless as a dead insect on the windowsill.
Not so long ago, I believed my faith was strong-that I was ready for whatever lay ahead.
But now, rather than moving closer to You, I have been drawn away instead.
I long to hear Your voice, oh Lord, it is water to my soul.
Without You, I am incomplete; Your love is what makes me whole.
So draw me back into Your presence that I may worship and fall down
At the feet of the King who took my place on the cross, wearing a thorny crown.
I am like a wayward sheep, Lord, turning to follow my own way.
Forgive me, Lord, and heal my heart, that in Your presence, I would forever desire to stay.

If I remember correctly, I wrote this during or after the National Day of Prayer. I volunteered as part of a group that was organized to have two people to be praying in APU’s prayer chapel for a set time; it was broken into segments so that there would be prayer the entire day.

“Praying for God to move in our hearts”

Lord, You alone have all power and authority;
There is nothing in the universe that You do not see.
You gave our nation everything, and watch over us every day
And yet, we have sinned greatly, and from You we have turned away.
We have tried to keep pretending we are Your people still;
“In God we trust” we say, but we have given man the right to kill
Innocent children who have had no chance at life.
Every connection with You is being slowly severed as with a knife.
I come before You now, O Lord, to prayerfully intercede
For this once glorious nation that is now so much in need
Of strong followers of Your Word. I pray that You would move
In the hearts of those You wish to call to go out and prove
That You indeed are still here, and You still care
About us-that when we are in pain, You will be there.
I thank You, Lord, for all You have done and have yet to do;
I pray, in Your Name, that all that is done in our lives would bring glory to You.

I experienced this most poignantly during my college years. I discovered firsthand that without regular fellowship, a Christian will inevitably tire and wither.

The Importance of Fellowship (#40)

Oh God, You know all things, there is nothing You do not know.
You created me-made my flesh and bone; please tell me-why do I feel so alone?
I try to follow You, but continually fail; it’s impossible to be a Christian solo.
I need You first in my life, but You also tell me that I need fellow believers to know.
There is great wisdom in fellowship-in sharing my burdens in life.
It also gives me a chance to recuperate from the world’s hectic lifestyle and strife.
Besides these reasons, it helps to build me up, and refresh my faith in the Lord.
“As iron sharpens iron” the Word describes it: a chance to sharpen my spiritual sword.
So guide my steps, O Lord Jesus Christ, to a group of Your followers true.
I pray that You would work through them upon my soul, and make me more like You.

“Have you really surrendered your all?” (#39)

When I first called you to follow me, I made clear to you, as it was to all,
That, to truly be a follower of Christ, you were to, as He did, surrender your all.
Your soul, your emotions, everything you owned, all you ever hoped and dreamed to be.
To follow My Son with all of your heart, you need to give it all to Me.
By itself, your heart is tainted with sin-an unclean heart is the greatest need
In a person’s life-if they want to follow Jesus, then their life first needs to be cleaned.
My Son provided the cure to all sin when He died and three days later rose again.
But your life will only be clean if you allow the Holy Spirit to cleanse it all-until then,
You have not given Me your all; you have not truly answered My eternal call.
Allow me to examine your heart, and see if inside there is sin.
Let me clean it out, and with My Holy Spirit, use eternal joy to fill the space within.

Psalm 139 and John 3:16 were inspiration for this poem; I also recall lyrics from a song my godsister, Kari Shipman, wrote that hold the same message.

“Do you know My love for you?” (#38)

The eternal God speaks in my heart and asks me, “Do you know how much love
That I have for you, My son?” in a voice powerful and yet soft as the call of a dove.
He says, “If I wrote a song to express it, it would be impossible to play for any human band.
It would go on forever-my thoughts about you are more numerous than the number of grains of sand.
I love you so much, that My Son was willing to die on the cross so that you could live; and here is why:
I chose you to be Mine before time began, and I wish for you to be Mine for all eternity.
But for that to be possible, you must decide which love is more important to you-for the world, or for Me.
If you love Me, you will obey My commands, and love Me enough to give up your life.
You can be a witness to the world, standing up for your faith, and trusting in Me when threatened with the blade of a knife.
In a healthy relationship, love should flow both ways-as between a father and his son.
I love you so much; will you love Me until all is said and done?”