God So Loved the World

48, 5-8, SHOW NOTES & COPYRIGHTS, (Scheduled 3/18/2022)

Today’s poems are all from Living in God’s Rhyme. They can be found starting on page 21 and going through page 30.

I thought it best to read the reflection for the first poem before reading the poem. It might help us through the reading, discussion and as I read it, understanding what was going through my mind as I was writing.

Reflection on Thoughts from the Index Card Box

Sometimes I have a good day at work. Today was one of those because I had an idea for today's write. A few years ago I started to write down notes on index cards of Bible verses or thoughts I had while reading. They have sat for a few years not collecting dust because they have been stored in a box. I have found that things stored in my brain get lost. So this idea came to me (you figure out from where) to put a few of the notes into one poem. This is the result of safe storage and God's answer to prayer.

TOUGHTS FROM THE INDEX CARD BOX

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock.

If anyone hears my voice and opens the door

I will come out and eat with that person,

and they with me.” Rev 4:19 (NIV)

Jesus, he is here,

Here, there and everywhere.

We do not always see him

Because we have shut the door.

So he knocks and calls our name

So we may hear his voice and open the door.

He seeks us out

As in our lives we move about,

Here, there,

There and everywhere.

It is the door to our heart

That he wants to enter through

So we may have a new start

To the lives we are living through.

We will sit at his table

And be more than able

To do more than before

We opened the door.

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law

by becoming a curse for us. Gal 3:13 (NIV)

His creation falling, sinning

Against God and his Law,

Commandments we would not keep.

Only occasionally forgiveness did we seek.

But God so loved us,

So wanted us to be with him,

That he sent his Son Jesus,

To be sacrificed for our sin.

Accepting and believing

In the final atonement,

His sacrifice on the cross

Redeems us from our loss.

God cursed himself

Through his Godly Son,

A curse we deserved

But now “it is done.”

“For my Father’s will is that everyone that

looks to the Son and believes in him shall

have eternal life, and I will raise them up

on the last day.” John 6:40 (NIV)

Raised up on the last day,

For what more could we pray.

But for now on this earth we stay

Merely earthen vessels of clay.

But through God’s grace

And our undying faith

These earthen vessels of clay

Will be made anew one day.

We have been made righteous in his sight,

Redeemed in his eyes,

Our sins forgiven,

And through our love for him

We will live in his glory.

Starting with the Christmas story

We are now with God made right.

“If anyone hears my words but does not keep them,

I do not judge that person. For I did not come to

judge the world, but to save the world.

There is a judge for the one that rejects me and does not

accept my words; the very words that I have spoken

will condemn them at the last day.” John 12: 47-48

Do we worry when we’re in no hurry?

As we live our lives do we give

Even a thought to what we ought

To be praying instead of saying?

He’s knocking at the door,

Open it before it is too late.

There is so very much more

If you consider your fate.

And we who will not be rejected

Must spread the word

So that those living dejected

Will hear God’s saving Word.

“To the person who is victorious I will give them

the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I

was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.”

Rev: 3:21

Discussion:

MY HIGH TIDE

My life is

like the ocean,

With highs and lows

And an ever ebbing flow

From your love into the deep.

You, Lord, are my high tide,

Covering my fears, the tears I cry

As I face each and every day

Knowing it is you I must obey.

Unable to count the grains of sand

In this life I live.

It is with your love I can stand

By the love you give.

Your love covers my transgression,

And the world’s aggression,

That as it seeks me out

It no longer has clout.

For me there is no longer any harm.

I am embraced by your loving arms.

Living in your grace

I can finish the race.

Yes, at low tide living in this world

Where thoughts and deeds are just swirled,

Swirled around with too much sound,

Now in your high tide your peace I have found.

Discussion:

Reflection on Nothing Greater

My wife and I went to a double belated birthday get together and 4th of July party. The couple are a good Christian living couple. It is obvious that God has worked in their lives and in their business. It is always encouraging to hear people talk about God’s timing in their lives, how the answer to prayer sometimes comes at unexpected times and unexpected ways. The following idea unexpectedly came to mind on the drive home.

This poem took longer to write than I thought it would. I had the idea that our love is not as great as God’s love. How can it be? We are not perfect on this earth. I knew part way through writing that I was trying to write the poem I wanted. I wanted to go deeper into the difference of our love and God’s love. I was getting stuck in the middle of sentences and stanzas and rhymes. When I gave in and followed the words He wanted me to write, it was quickly finished. His love is patient!

Thank you Lord.

NOTHING GREATER

Jesus loves me this I know,

As children we all have heard,

Because the Bible tells me so.

These words we did sing

As church bells did ring.

We also know that we are told

To live our lives in a way that is bold.

As the children of God in Heaven above

We are to share with others his love.

To share we must accept what he is giving

And show his love in the way we are living.

We must not just love him, but love him enough

To share his love even when the times are tough.

And they will be.

Will we?

When we decide,

Will there be pride?

Is it our love

Or the love of God?

Our love for God should show his holiness,

And never be a reflection of our loneliness.

A love that is true,

Though with many shaded hues

Should always be a reflection

Of God and his perfection.

As we share his love are we perfection?

Salvation has made us righteous in his sight,

So as we meet him in eternity we are a reflection

Of who he is, of his love, of his power and his might.

But on this earth as we proclaim his word

To those who are lost and have not heard,

The love we give to others that shows our care,

It is the love of God that he has for us that we share.

Yes, we love our sisters and brothers,

Love them more than enough to share,

To share his love for us with others

That broken as we are he will always care.

This love we share

Must come from God.

For our love alone,

The love of man,

Never will have the power

Of the Almighty

God who loves.

His love is perfect,

It is righteous,

It is forgiveness,

His love is Holy.

Our love will reflect the love of God.

And though we are a reflection of him,

In our humanness we live in sin,

Sin that his Son has overcome.

We are not God,

We never will be.

But as his children

We have been reborn,

And now can show the way

To the one and only truth

And through his love eternal life.

Discussion:

The next poem is something is something I have written about a few times. It is my reminder to remember it is God I want with me through my day.

MONDAY MORNING THE NIGHT BEFORE

There is nothing to say

Nothing new in any way

Except the thunder I hear

Slowly as it moves near

There is one difference I have noticed

Since putting letters together that form the words

Well now two

I have misplaced the punctuation

And one line is too long

But through it all,

On this day I still hear

His voice, his call.

He is still, as always, here.

Always and forever

Includes tomorrow,

Knowing the he will never

Leave me in my sorrow.

Another day to be in his presence

Another hour to be thankful

That through his grace my penance,

He has taken from me, it is paid in full.

So, I will awake in the morning,

To the rising Son.

There will be no mourning,

The battle he has won.

The only fear I will know

Is the awesome reverence

That by his holiness I must show

To God for taking my repentance.

Monday morning’s prayer is

That all my desires

Are that I live wanting what is his,

His love for me is all I desire.

Discussion:

PRAYER FOR UKRAINE AND THIS WORLD

Dear Heavenly Father,

We find that every day

We must kneel and pray.

And in this season

We daily find

More of a reason

We must not be blind.

We pray for peace

As the world does shout,

Now led by one

Who is not God’s Son.

The battle has begun,

The battle hymns sung.

Lines have been erased

And sovereignty defaced.

Lord, we pray for Ukraine.

We pray, remove their pain,

Rebuke the lies

Falling from the skies.

Lord, We pray that Your word

Is spoken and heard

Beyond this day

Oh Lord, lead me as I pray.

We pray, Lord, God, Father in Heaven.

We pray . . .

. . . . . . . . . . .

Lead us Lord

Beyond the horde.

Lord, bless Ukraine, its people, leaders and warriors. May their example in their faith of their sovereignty be an example to the world. And may the faith of Christians in prayer lift them up to overcome.

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