“For Your Glory Alone” (#20)

People are fascinated when they see what I do,
But I pray I’ll remember all glory belongs alone to You.
After all, You created all that we see;
You created all humanity-You knew everyone and me
Before creation even began-Your Word tells this to be true;
You know everything-You know me through and through.
Therefore, since Your creation am I,
I should set my thoughts upon You on high.
You gave me everything that I say and can do,
So I should do my utmost to live and praise You.
None of my acts-not even the least
Should I look on with selfish pride-for just a little yeast
Works through the whole loaf-it will touch my whole life.
And unless I give it over to You, it will only cause me strife
And so, Jesus Christ, this is my prayer: that I would give
You the credit You deserve as my Lord-and forgive
Me if I ever give in to the temptation to boast
Of anything that belongs to You-that You would be the most
Important person in my life on this Earth
And that to You I would give all glory, power, and authority
Until You bring me to my heavenly berth.

“What You’re teaching me” (#19)

Sometimes, to people it may seem that we know all there is to know;
However, do we really have that knowledge? The answer is simply no.
“Boy, you must know everything!” People sometimes say.
When they do, in my mind, I remember to turn such pride away.
For I am not the all-knowing being-that even I can see;
the one who deserves that praise is You-the one teaching me.
You tell me what I should do every day of my life.
Without You, Christianity would be impossible, full of error, sin, and strife.
All that I know, You’ve given to me, through Your Word and the people at school;
So that, using the gift for Your glory alone, I might be a useful and productive tool.
So let me remain humble in Your sight, O God, and may all my knowledge be used to give You laud.

“The Prodigal’s Father” (#18)

Every day, he stood with a sad look in his eyes
As he remembered his younger son, who had come to despise
The blessings of home, and gone far away,
He had been gone for many a day.
The older son took no interest in finding and bringing him back
To their father; if there was anything he did, it was to tack
Away from him-why follow him into that place of sin?
He knew better than to let it suck him in.
Why follow the lost brother? He would only cause harm
To his elder-it was safer right there on the farm.
But when the younger son came back, the father was filled with joy;
He prepared a feast to celebrate the return of his boy.
The older son grumbled “I never went astray,
But Father never treated me this way.”
Then the father said “Son, all I have is your part,
But you never asked what the desire was in my heart.
If you really wanted to please me so,
I would have asked you to go
And seek your lost brother-for whom I also dearly care;
I know everything about him-down to the last hair.
I love you both, neither one of you is best;
I’m just glad to have him back-I feel wonderfully blest.”

“A day with God” (#17)

I was walking with the Lord one day;
He was telling me the words to say
To those whom I love the most-
“Hear me, my son, do not boast
of your accomplishments, whatever they are;
For if you do, you commit the same sin as the Morning Star.
Also, when you’re with a girl, be careful and do not lust;
The end result is adultery-you see, even just
A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.
Therefore, guess: is sin acceptable to me? No.
But when you fall into the trap, humble yourself and cry unto me;
I am not a distant Father-I hear your plea.
When the world seems to surround you on all sides, do not be afraid;
My peace can protect your soul from any spiritual raid
From Satan. Trust in Me, and do not doubt-
Satan has already taken his fatal clout.
When sin stains you like scarlet red,
Remember that tears for you I shed.
Do not grieve My heart-but fill it with joy
When you bring my light into the heart of another girl or boy.
So go, spread the words I have said, my son;
Start with your family-then go to everyone.

“True Leadership” (#16)

Just what is it that makes a leader of men?
Is it statistics-one man out of ten?
Or, perhaps, is it something of God,
And His plan for the whole pod
Of humanity? I believe the latter is true;
God can make a leader out of me and you
If we will open our hearts to Him and His will;
We cannot be His people and still
Hold on to ourselves. If we believe and commit
Our lives to serving Him, we will emit
The light of Jesus to a world deep in need
Of guides to the path of life. So let us feed
Their hearts, and tell them of the Bread of Life,
Who showed the example of a leader-enduring strife
Without even a word in defense-He gave away nothing but love;
Who else could have done this? Only someone with a relationship above.
So I implore you, my friend, that in all you do:
Look at Jesus and all that He says is true,
And apply His teaching to your every-day walk on this Earth
Until the day you arrive at your heavenly berth
So that when the story of your life before God is told,
It would not be made of hay and stubble-but of pure gold.

This poem is practically concurrent with the first one; I wrote them during an outdoor session of Freshman Writing Seminar, fall of 2005. It was a powerful experience that I will never forget.

Ah, how weak is the strength of those
Who choose to walk the righteous path;
When they stumble, often they become discouraged
Or at their own mistakes filled with wrath.
Yet, there is a source of strength
Upon which they can totally rely;
The Lord gives His followers strength to endure pain,
And courage enough to die.
It is sad that so many today do not
Go to the Lord for their daily bread.
They turn from He who can supply for every need,
And prepare them for trials ahead.
So many starve and burn out in faith,
because they do not ask to be fed
By the Heavenly Father-and unless they realize
Their condition, they will eternally remain spiritually dead.
But those in the Lord, as Isaiah said,
Renew their strength every day.
He provides for our needs and guides our steps,
Walking with us every step of the Way.
So remain in Him, children of God,
And He will remain in you.
When we are weak, He is strong;
So let Him be your strength in all that you do.

While not as prolific as in high school, I wrote poetry in college as well. In a way, this was my first foray into a more mature stage of writing.

“Cut Off from the Touch of God”
Oh, how great is my misery, trying to scratch
A living out of the cursed sod,
When before I was living in the fulfilling,
Loving presence of the Almighty God.
With Him, I had complete fellowship-
We were together in all things.
But I chose to walk away and follow my own way-
And I found out what suffering it brings.
The worst of it was that I was cut off from God,
And so were all my children.
Even though God made a way for them to come back to Him,
Today, they still choose to follow the ways of men.
Because of my choice-and theirs-whole nations today
Are filled with people cut off from their Heavenly Father
Who longs to be with them wherever they go,
Because He loves them like no other.
But He will not force them to come-
He wants them to be with Him because they wish to be.
So many today need the Lord in their lives,
But they are blind to this, because they don’t take Him seriously.
So listen to His voice, children of God,
And follow every one of His commands.
Love Him and others more than yourself,
And make disciples of God in all lands.

A photo posted on Facebook reminded me of this poem; we are all familiar with the admonition to use time wisely, and this poem puts it in context with our Christian mission.

“Ticking Time, Losing Life” (#15)
Every day, we are called to do Your work,
To bring life to a world of death and quirk.
And yet, we put You off with the same old line-
“Later, God-when I have more time.”
And yet time is ticking away, the remainder of our lives;
Man is losing life, no matter how he strives
To save it. We need to put our focus back on God
To whom belongs all praise and laud.
For the words He spoke in Matthew 10:39 are true:
If a man seeks to save his life, that life he will lose.
But, if we live our lives for the Lord,
Then we begin the life-long journey toward
True life-both here and spiritually;
In the short time here, we should be
Living for our Lord, every moment of the day,
For only God knows how long we will stay
On this planet-we should live every day
As if it were our last. Then, when Death comes to take us away
From this world, we may be ready to meet the Lord that day.
So live your lives in faith, dear children, and be ready to leave
This planet, and from your hearts cleave
The love of the world, and focus your mind on the task before you-and be not left behind.

“Honoring my parents”

Lord, I know You set my parents over me
And gave them their special authority
As my teachers and examples in my daily walk;
You use them to show me how to move and talk.
Many things through which I have already gone
They have passed through in the years long
Preceding my birth-they know the struggle I face,
And You have commanded me to honor them in this place.
I should give them the same respect that I would give You,
Because they care for and love me, too.
So give me the strength to obey in all things,
Trusting that no matter what life flings
In my path, causing me to stumble,
You and they will always help me get out of the jumble
And mess I might make-You can straighten me out
Using my parents as your tools-I don’t doubt
That, if and when I become a father too,
I will pray that I will act just like You.
This is because You, above everyone else qualified,
Showed Your love for this child when You died.
And as a father, I should be willing and prepared
To sacrifice my own life to save the children for whom I care.

Sorry for the unannounced hiatus; this past month has been a busy one. Some big events have come or are approaching, and I needed to devote my attention to them. But now, like MacArthur, I have returned 🙂

In a very real sense, this poem is a prayer. I wrote this during a time when I was very much struggling in my personal life. I was uncertain of how to avoid sinful thoughts in my own mind, so I called out to GOD. I compared myself to a sheep constantly wandering away from the safe presence of the shepherd, never seeming to learn, asking GOD to empower me to live righteously in the victorious life He has called me to live.

“From sheep to Shepherd” (#13)
Lord, you know my flesh and the way
It continually tempts me to run astray.
It’s tempting, Lord-too well I know it-
To satisfy my desires of the moment.
And every time, You patiently
Seek and search after to find me
To bring me back to the place of Your love,
And I know I should seek my reward from above;
Yet I continually fall into the same old trap,
With seemingly no more urging from Satan than a tap
On the door of my heart-so this do I plead:
That You would give me Your armor, and the ability to lead
Others to You, away from the lust
Of this life, which we should by no means trust
To bring us true peace-for that comes from You;
Your Word and the past show this to be true.
So lead on, my Good Shepherd, to everlasting rest,
And the path that for me is best.
I pray that I would daily read Your word-not leaving it on the shelf,
And that you would guide me away from sin and my dangerous self.