39, 4-9, SHOW NOTES & COPYRIGHTS (Scheduled 1/14/2022)
Today we are going to read poems that I believe are about the Christian’s life today and tomorrow. The first three are from God Still Rhymes)
AFTER READING HABAKKUK (God Still Rhymes, pg. 90)
God will punish those who oppose him,
Those who worship false idols as gods,
Gods of wood, silver and gold,
Those who oppress his holy people.
But at the same time the people of God
Will also suffer at the hands of their oppressors,
Those who do not believe that he is
The God of Heaven above, the earth
And the universe around us,
The God who breathed life into the first man Adam.
It is by his breath we find our strength
Through his Holy Spirit.
Because we live among unbelievers
We will suffer their hate for us
And their hate for God Almighty.
Through this suffering we pray
And through our prayer we come closer to God.
He hears our petitions, our fears.
He knows our weaknesses.
Becoming closer to God, by seeking him out,
We know his will for us and can stand firm
In strength, his love for us.
Knowing that in the end
When the battle no longer rages
We will be with him for eternity,
Not in the burning flames of Hell.
Though living in an adulterous world,
A world that forsakes the one
Whose image we were made in,
We do not reflect the failings of man.
We will grow in strength,
We will grow in faith,
We will grow in love.
We will not be the destruction of this world.
We will live to see the face of God
And forever be with him
Because he is our God,
The one and only God of the universe.
You may fight God, you may run from God,
But that path will lead you astray,
Lead you to where you may forever stay.
While there is time seek God, his ways are true.
Reflection on After Reading Habakkuk
Over a week or so I read the book of Habakkuk in the Old Testament. I wanted to reread the Minor Prophets since I knew so little about them. After my first reread I knew that I wanted to write about this book. It seemed like something that continuously happened throughout history. God’s chosen people defeated and suffering at the hands of worshipers of pagan idols. And there is Habakkuk asking God why evil prospered. Then God’s explanation and Habakkuk’s final prayer. Today we need to pray for God’s strength as we face a world that wants to marginalize Christians and God. Though it may seem that evil prospers, our prosperity for eternity has been secured by our faith in Jesus, his death on the cross as payment for our sins, all by the grace of God.
This may not be very poetic. After my second reading of Habakkuk, I tried to get up from my desk, but couldn’t. I knew why. So I wrote down the words that were given to me. That was all that mattered. Yes, I have tried to put the words into poetic form.
On an earlier podcast I read a prayer I was asked to submit for consideration of reading at church that came as a result of reading the Book of Habakkuk. I’d like to read it again.
MY PRAYER
Dear Father in Heaven. We come to You today in prayer praising You for Your just ways, your timing in the events of this world, your love for those who believe in Your Son, Jesus. Your word in the Old Testament and the New Testament proclaim the ways of the world of yesterday and today. We thank you for your word of warning. And with that warning we pray that our faith in You is strengthened as the world around us, nations and peoples, celebrate evil and heap hatred on your chosen ones. Lord, we pray that as you have told us what to expect, that we will be in prayer for our fellow Christians around the world that are suffering persecution that may very well lead to death. And we pray that we are not led astray by false prophets and false teachers who’s intent is to lead us away from the truth of You, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Lord, lift us up above the horde and fill us with Your love, Your truth, Your protection so we will not be defeated in spirit. We pray that today, tomorrow, all Christians do not live in fear, but in the hope we have been given in the resurrection. We know that You are the Creator of the universe and all that is good, and that Jesus in King of kings. Fill us with your Holy Spirit as we live in the hope You have given us. We pray in the name of our Savior, Your Son, Jesus. Amen.
Discussion:
BORN THEN SCORNED (pg. 85)
Into this life you were born
So that you might be scorned.
Never seeing your worth
While on this earth,
Though seeing the torn veil,
Not knowing that you would prevail.
(John 11:45)
Jesus threatens the comfort of our lives
Just as he threatened the Pharisee’s lies.
For that he would die.
Did they, do we know why?
The Messiah, the Son of God,
For that and all he said
They wanted him dead.
The world hasn’t changed.
He who controls rules.
The law, did it have the clues?
Not for the ruling few
Who believed they knew.
But what did they know?
What seeds did they sow?
Leading the lost sheep astray,
Did they ever ask or pray?
Today,
What do we say?
Do we ever pray
That we not be
Led astray,
But find
The Way
The Truth,
And the Life?
Please pray that your life can be more than you see at the beginning of the day.
Pray that your life may be changed, priorities rearranged,
That all you say, that all you do, is not for you alone
But for others through him that does atone.
May God’s grace shine upon your face.
May the gift of salvation be your restoration.
May you be joyful in the Lord,
Believing through faith
That Christ alone is the Lord of your life.
Discussion:
SHELTER FROM THE STORM (pg, 83)
Who will give us shelter
as we suffer and swelter
from the impeding heat
of the city street?
Who will in our lives so torn
shelter us from the storm,
from the pouring rains,
from the winds of pain?
Some do not like
to consider God’s wrath
as out they strike
along their earthly path.
His word
on our path,
where it leads
do we heed,
heed his word,
have we heard?
Do we care
as we stare
never knowing
what we are sowing?
Do we live among the herd,
do we ignore his word
looking for treasure
and earthly pleasure?
There are so many
who refuse to hear,
to look in the mirror.
Joy there isn’t any.
They do not know
the seeds they sow
will always grow
death in the weeds.
There are oncoming storm clouds
as the world shouts
not knowing the pain
of the oncoming rain,
Not knowing the wrath
because of their path,
not knowing,
having never heard.
Jesus has calmed the stormy seas,
has rescued those in fear and need.
And through his sacrifice for our sin
he calmed God’s wrath for those who believe.
Discussion:
The last poem is my hope for myself and all Christians as we live in this changing world.
DO NOT LET ME SIT ( Living In God’s Rhyme, pg. 147)
I sit with pen in hand because it is too hard to stand.
I sit in the chair looking up in the air.
I think that I know, but is it really so?
And I realize that for thoughts to materialize
Praying to you is what I must do.
Lord, I love you, I really do.
I do not wish, but hope instead
That I can pray and clear my head
So that today all I desire is you.
I am what I am, I do not like to hear,
For that to be true, I must abandon you.
I am what I am, that I greatly fear,
If that is so, then I have not been made anew.
My prayer, Lord, is that I let you be
Who you are, so that what you see in me
Is more that I am alone, but all that I am with you.
It is only by your grace that with me you are not through.
And as I place my trust in you I see each line is longer
As my faith, my love, my hope in you, Lord, gets stronger.
Lord, with you I know there is no danger
That one day we may become strangers.
Lord,
Help me to pray every day,
To read your word and know what I have heard.
Help me to spread your good news to more than a few,
To more than those sitting in the pew not knowing what to do.
Lead me to those, the ones you chose
To hear of you and all that you have done.
May every day be the beginning
Of showing others that winning
In life need not be full of stress,
Not when you, Lord, are here to bless.
Thank you, Lord, that these words
That rhyme have a reason.
That the thoughts that are written
Will always be in season.
For it is with you, Father, that our lives are full,
That when we care, it is you that we share.
Discussion:
Closing Prayer
If you give
Him the times
As you live
His word rhymes
And don’t forget, “We are the Kings kids and you will never get rid of us for we are His with Jesus.”
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"If you give Him the times As you live His word rhymes "
"We are the King’s kids and you’ll never get rid of us because we are His with Jesus."
Living In God’s Rhyme ©2018 by Tim Carter
God Still Rhymes ©2019 by Tim Carter