God’s Rhyme, back of the book
Life is a continuous poem. Through the good times, the bad times, and the times in between, life is poetry. Although it may not always rhyme, our emotions, our thoughts, our wandering, our searching, and especially the answers are the poetry of our lives. God’s Rhyme is the poetry on one man’s life from the joy of salvation, through the joys and sorrow of everyday life, to the search for a deeper relationship with his God. For those who have found salvation through Jesus, you may find your life in these poems. As Christians, we are not perfect, but we have God’s promise of eternal salvation. Maybe you have wandered from the path God has set before you. Maybe you need to know that you are not alone. God’s Rhyme will let you know that you are not alone. Maybe you are looking for answers about the life of a Christian. You have seen us in the workplace and so many other places and wonder what we have or wonder why we why we aren’t better people. Your answer may be on the pages of God’s Rhyme. Wherever you are in your life, know that God loves you.
THE GATHERING LAMB
“We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us
has turned to our own way; and the Lord has
laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:6, NIV
The Lamb of God, with God before time,
perfect, as is God, in every way,
before the words were written in lines
Jesus, the unblemished Lamb was there.
Jesus and God, with the Holy Spirit,
indivisible, the Trinity;
so the Lamb of God is also God,
who saves our souls for eternity.
We, living on this earth, a herd of sheep,
we wander, are lost not knowing the cost,
not knowing, we cause a pain so deep
that God sent Jesus to find and save us.
An earthly shepherd has a special one,
one of the herd that seeks the wandering,
those sheep that are lost, that have gone astray,
returning them home before the day is done.
Our Heavenly Master has sent His Son
to find the lost and to gather the strays,
to bring us home before the end of days.
The Lamb of God, a never ending search.
Before we knew Him
He knew who we were,
He knew our thoughts,
He knew our prayers.
And He knew of our rebellion,
Before, He has always known.
Yet He loves us still
and He always will.
He sent His Son
to be the one
that would seek us out
even as we doubt.
He sent His Son to gather us in,
the unblemished Lamb, the Sacrifice,
to pay the price, to die for our sins
so that with God we are finally put right!
Reflection: The result of Bible study on Tuesday mornings. The Lamb who gathers us in, who died for our sins.
© 2019, God’s Rhyme, Tim Carter
(We were reading The Shepherd Trilogy by Phillip Keller.)
God Still Rhymes, back of the book
Life is a continuous poem. As the poems continue so does the journey. One day the journey lead him to a fork in the road; one sign pointing to “The World” and the other sign to “The Way, The Truth and The Life.” He is still on the road he took leading to “The Way, The Truth and the Life.” However, a strange thing happened on this journey. The road he took lead him through the world. But he was not afraid. Having seen the world through his eyes he was now seeing it through the eyes of God. Having seen today, he could see tomorrow. Oh sure, he stumbled, he fell, but there was always a hand reaching out to pick him up and brush him off. There was always a smile that told him he was loved. These pages are the poems of his journey, one that continues still. Maybe it’s yours.
WINDOWS TO GOD
An ancient cathedral,
an old country church,
filled with worshipers
praying, singing, hearing
as his word is heard
as sun shining through
windows of stained glass.
The history of our faith,
of a journey through the ages,
reflecting sorrows and joys
ever present for us to see.
As it may seem
the lighted beam
seen through the glass
as time does pass
the hands of man
reflects his plan.
Then at church today,
walking through the door,
no windows reflecting
a journey that has passed,
now in muted hues
photographs black and white,
joy without sorrow,
husband, wife, a child,
give hope for tomorrow.
The journey unfinished,
they are looking forward.
We see the Son shine
through many smiles.
Now we can see
what we can be,
the simplicity
for you and me,
life he did save,
the gift he gave.
Whether by the sun shining through multicolored stained glass
or the Son shining through a photograph of white and black,
both are windows through which we can see the work of his hand.
Reflection on Windows to God
The church I attend was having its 18th anniversary. The only windows are in the entrance atrium and the classrooms. To celebrate this occasion pictures of some of the members were taken and enlarged. These were put up on the walls around the church. They reminded me of the stained glass windows in the churches I had grown up in.
© 2019, God Still Rhymes, Tim Carter
Living In God’s Rhyme, back of the book
Life is a continuous poem. The third chapter of the journey continues with the poetry one man’s life. The good days and the bad days have been written about in his first two books. As he continues on his journey with God his desire to know God in a deeper way continues. Inspired by Bible passages from Revelation, the Gospel of John, 1 Peter, Galatians, Matthew’s Gospel, 1 and 2 Timothy, Ephesians, Jeremiah, Micah, 2 Corinthians, Matthew, Hebrews, Philippians, Psalms, and everyday life, the trust in his faith in God allows the poetry to become a searching of his soul. Poems about his life that he never though he could write, much less talk about, have now been written. They are now an open book for all to read. This is a journey that others have followed as it was written and at times have seen themselves in the poetry. The poems are about despair and what God repaired; they are about the joy of understanding God’s written word; they are about the hope we all can have through God’s Son Jesus; they are about our yesterdays, our todays and tomorrows living as children of God; they are poems of praise to God for his blessings. His hope is that the reader finds hope in the poetry of his daily life.
THE LAMB OF GOD
Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah,
the root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open
the scroll and its seven seals.”
Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain,
standing at the center of the throne . . .
Revelation 5:5-6
As I sat reading of John’s vision
I felt as if I never fully understood
That for eternity God’s decision
Remains forever for my good.
Yes, I have read of the cruelty
Of his beating on the way to the cross,
Of the agony of his death,
The death of God’s son.
The death of my condemnation.
I know that by God’s grace
I will be with him forever.
I know I will see his face
And feel his loving embrace.
But reading the words of what John saw,
Though they shouldn’t, they rub my wounds raw:
A Lamb, looking as if it had been slain,
Knowing it is from my pain.
The resurrected Jesus in human form
Appeared as if he had been reborn,
Perfect in every way.
And with us he will stay.
Though forgiven, the wounds I caused
Are still there, showing his care.
May I never forget his love for me,
The suffering,
So that with him I will forever be.
Reflection on The Lamb of God
In God’s Rhyme I wrote a poem called “Love” about the pain and suffering Jesus experienced on the way to and on the cross. (Read “The Case for Christ” by Lee Stroebel) When I read the line in Revelation it inspired this poem, I was struck by the Lamb looking like it had been slain. I know that my sins have been forgiven. I know that my sins and my straying cause God pain, but I never really thought about how deeply that must affect God. And then it is ever harder to grasp how much he loves me if the scars are still visible.
PODCAST 9, poem copyrights
This is the poem that inspired the Lamb of God
LOVE
I can’t help but cry,
No matter how I try
As I wonder why
He was the one to die.
To endure the pain
That he may reign,
His love to give
That I might live.
At the cross
My life’s loss
Now forever lost
As he paid the cost.
There is a song about being
Before God in Heaven,
“I Can Only Imagine.”
Well, his sacrifice
For the sin of my life,
That I can never imagine.
The praying in the garden,
The emotional turmoil
The fears of man.
Then as the Son of God
Praying to the Father,
“Not my will, but yours.”
Man and Deity,
Knowing the end
He endured
The brutality of a Roman flogging,
The braided whip laced with metal balls,
Tearing through the skin
From shoulders to legs,
Exposing muscle, sinew and veins,
The human blood loss
On the way to the cross.
Weakened beyond thought and words,
Falling, as we should too.
A man named Simon
Took up Jesus’ cross.
Nails driven through His wrists and feet,
With excruciating pain nerves were severed,
Severed that I might be delivered
From the pain that is rightly mine.
Each and every intake of breath
An agonizing feat
To be repeated over and again
As he did exhale.
His human heart thirsting for blood,
Blood that was no longer there
Having been left on the trail,
Causing the heart of this man to fail.
The heart of God stopped
Because of me.
A sacrifice
That I might be forgiven
For the life I have been living.
His last words,
“Forgive them, Father”.
Because He loves me.
Reflection on Love
My daughter Emily showed me a book she was reading the last time I was at her house. The book is “The Case for Christ” by Lee Strobel. She had me read the chapter on the crucifixion. That chapter had a profound effect on how I viewed the crucifixion. I knew then that I wanted to write a poem about this. She has since lent me the book to read. So far I have reread the same chapter. I prayed before beginning to write that God would give me the words. He gave me the words and something else I have never experienced while writing – tears.
My apologies and thanks to Mr. Strobel for using his visions.
©2019, God Still Rhymes, Tim Carter
We are the King’s kids
& you’ll never get rid of us
For we are His with Jesus.
PODCAST 9, poem copyrights
End with, from God’s Rhyme
We are the King’s kids
& you’ll never get rid of us
For we are His with Jesus.
©2019, God’s Rhyme, Tim Carter
The Good Shepard Trilogy by Phillip Teller
The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel
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