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Category: POEMS
Time and Space
Not everyone can relate to old age, but we all understand the limitations of this life. Now looking back from the other side of seventy-five I see things differently than before. This side is becoming brighter; God is becoming more real; and life is more than I ever thought it could be. What difference does time make? ~ None unless you know that God is in it.
Time is not what we make it. It all began with God, the Father, as creator. It all belongs to Him. Each lifespan is time that He gives individually for His purpose and plan. In a short time His work in me will be completed. He will move me up to His glory. Another will fill the space that I filled here on earth. Now, He is still teaching me who He is and showing me what He is doing, in my own life and the lives of others.
The Spaces We Fill
Time is spent in the spaces we fill. If we are where God wants us to be we receive the blessings of His promises while we are here. Being basically sequestered now in the home with Jerry is proving to be the space and the blessing that the Lord planned for us in our marriage. My years of time spent away from the home looking for fulfillment were years that the Lord could not bless as He might have. The world beacons us. Satan deceives us within our culture to keep us in the dark, from the knowledge and blessing of fellowship and communion with our God. We as wives are tempted and drawn to what we see out there; and miss what He has for us in the home as the help-mate for our husbands.
Years ago I could only see the madness and the sadness of this world. Now I am experiencing the Lord’s gladness in the middle of it all. Jerry and I are no longer able to travel long distances. We venture out to shop one or two days a week; but the highlight of our week is the Lord’s Day, for church and a day of public and private worship that is different from the other days. More and more this is becoming our prelude and practice for that eternal worship that the Lord has promised. During the week we are in His word and in prayer, interceding and in touch by email and phone to those in need of the Lord’s presence, power, mercy and grace. This time with Him is glorious as we wait for His call to “come up higher.”
(The following is an excerpt from A Month to Live ~ A Father’s Last Words)
“At 5:30, Daddy was looking at the large clock on the wall facing his bed. At 6:00 he looked again.
I asked him why he was looking at the clock.
He said, “To see how much time is left.”
He did not look at the clock again.
How can I forget those words? Never before has time meant to me what it does now. Daddy realized in the last days of his life how important time is. His prompting will be a legacy to me; and an ever-present part of my living. I believe, as Daddy learned, that God gives everyone the right amount of time for each life. The person who waits until he is dying to learn how to live is wasting precious God-given life. Resisting the power of God’s Spirit to make us what He wants us to be is only a prelude to dying.
It is in the last stages that we would give up everything to go back and do it all differently.
Andrew Murray, in “Waiting on God,” writes, “The one object for which God gives life to man is that in them He might prove and show forth His wisdom, power, and goodness.” This little book came to me too late to share with Daddy. He would have benefited from it if he could have read it before having several strokes. (Maybe he did understand when he needed to. He tried reading it, but gave no indication that he could share what he had read.)”
“The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.
And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place.” Acts 17:24-26
Turnstiles
What good are Birthdays now and then,
Except to think what might have been;
Unless we know of Whom we’re born;
Who brings New Life, each day, each morn.
Whose Eyes, to See; Whose Ears, to Hear;
Whose Mind, to Understand
How we, so small, so lost in time
Are part of His great Plan;
Whose Hand directs and Opens doors;
Whose feet have walked the earthly moors,
To lead us where we could not go;
To unveil Truth we did not know;
To bring us through each day, each year
Until we’re brought so very near
To face the last Turnstile ~ The Cross;
To Enter, leaving all the dross;
To Turn and See how self lived life
With those from whom we sought advice ~
And Standing behind, One who’d wait and stay
Very Close every step of the Way.
Running beside us in The Race
Toward The Father’s Resting Place
Where now we’ve Come, and with a New Start
Each day, all of Life ~ in the Center of God’s Heart.
(For son, Andy’s 34th birthday ~ April 25, 1996)
Image Source: Turnstile
Old ~ But New-born
I’m old, and this body is worn.
My flesh and my heart have been torn.
Time takes its toll,
And makes me old;
But, praise God, in Christ I’m new-born.
His Spirit transcends all the age,
He has written on every page~
“My Love divine
Has made you mine,
Afflictions and trials assuage.”
This life will not fail in the test;
Years prove to us the Father’s best.
Christ is the root;
Seasons of fruit~
His glory, His Life, joy, and rest.
For Linda, Mary and me; and all the older ones in Christ.
Fran
(From Growing Up and Growing Old, Gracefully)
Related articles
- Born of God’s Word (agoldentreasury.com)
- Angels from the Realms of Glory (godsgracegodsglory.wordpress.com)
Angels from the Realms of Glory
Where are God’s angels today?
“Angels from the realms of glory,
Wing your flight o’er all the earth;
Ye, who sang creation’s story,
Now proclaim Messiah’s birth.”
The angels that were present at the creation, have been present throughout all of history, waiting the time when God’s word would be fulfilled in the incarnation of His Son, Jesus.
Without doing a whole series on angels, we want to look at one segment of the record of angels from God’s word, to compare the angel’s announcement of Mary’s conception, to Jesus’ proclamation of our new birth.
The Angels Proclamation:
“And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” Luke 1:35
Jesus’ Proclamation:
“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God…except a man is born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit…The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” John 3:3,5-6
The same Holy Ghost (Sprit) that came upon Mary is the same Spirit that comes upon us to reveal Jesus Christ in us. The power of the Highest that overshadowed Mary is the same power that overshadows His people today; by which we conceive in our hearts the image and Spirit of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
He told His disciples that He would not leave them helpless, but would come to them, by His Spirit. When Jesus comes He does not just come unto us, but into us, by His Spirit.
Mary could not conceive a child of her own. It was God’s gift to her and to us.
We cannot conceive a child on our own. Whether flesh or Spirit, it is God’s gift to us.
We cannot will this gift to ourselves. We cannot birth Christ in our own hearts.
We cannot decide to believe in Christ. Only He can send His Spirit to be born in us.
Was Mary’s conception a phenomenon? So is our faith in Jesus Christ.
Was the birth of Jesus Christ through a virgin a supernatural event? So is our new birth.
Apart from Jesus Christ, we can do nothing. As He continually sends His Spirit to do His work in and through us we can do all things that He wills for us, no less and no more ~ all miraculously!
“CHRIST IN YOU, THE HOPE OF GLORY”
Colossians 1:27
What are the angels doing, now that Christ has accomplished His work on earth and “It is finished?” They are still winging their flight o’er all the earth; and in heaven rejoicing over every sinner that repents! 
The work of the Spirit of Christ keeps the angels singing. “Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?” Hebrews 1:14
Angels We Have Heard on High
Sweetly singing o’er the plains
And the mountains in reply
Echoing their joyous strains.
Gloria, in excelsis Deo!
Glory to God in the Highest!
“All creation, join in praising God, the Father, Spirit, Son,
Evermore your voices raising to the eternal Three in One.”
This Old House of Prayer
Father, Son and Holy Spirit
In the morning hours, visit ~
Wake me with a gentle breeze,
Or however you may please.
Search my heart and know my thoughts;
Reveal to me what is of naught.
Remove that which you see as strange;
And by your own design, arrange ~
A place where you may sit and rest;
Where you may draw me to your breast.
Come and find a special place
Where You may dispense Your grace.
Stay ~ and at the noonday meal
Make me know You linger still.
Teach me of Your Holy Word ~
Of Your strength to undergird.
In my heart and in my mind
Write and hide that I may find.
All day long ~ into the twilight hour
Work in me indwelling power.
That I listen and hear your thoughts~
That I may love you as I ought.
Knowing that we both are blessed.
~ When You are Host, and I am guest.
(I wrote this poem after “meditating on my bed” in the early morning hours. It was a blessing, as I have been concerned about my loss of memory recently; coupled with the study that our church is doing in Thomas Watson’s book The Great Gain of Godliness, Chapter 8 – The Godly Should Meditate on God’s Name. We are challenged to consider what and how often our thoughts are on God. My prayers are that whatever I forget, that I will never forget Him.)
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Grace and Grace Alone
Grace, and grace alone, could save a wretch like me.
I could not die for my own sins. Christ had to die for me.
A thousand deaths would not atone for my eternity;
Christ’s blood, and His alone, bought my sanctity.
His light, and His alone, shined deep within my soul.
The darkness of my heart was readily exposed.
His Word, and His alone, could speak new life in me.
My sin is great, but greater still, His grace has set me free.
His love, and His alone, drew me to His Son;
In covenant with Him, to be His very own.
In goodness, and in His alone, He brought me to repent,
To turn, to trust, to follow Jesus, whom He had sent.
His power, and His alone, gives life beyond my dreams;
Life in Christ, the life of grace, according to His means.
His glory, and His alone, suffices as an end.
His purpose in heaven and on earth, for Him; for me. Amen.
(This poem is the result of waking this morning around 5:00, hearing the steady refreshing rain that has been needful for so long. The next thing that came to mind was God’s grace, and after a few minutes I got up and began to write. Following are the Biblical references that apply. I pray that those who read may use one or both to discover and refresh your heart in the truth of God’s grace and His glory.)
Grace ~ Ephesians 2:7-9; 4:7; 2:1-4 2 Timothy 2:5-6; 1 Peter 1:18-20
Christ’s Blood ~ 2 Timothy 2:5-6; 1 Peter 1:18-20
His Light ~ 2 Corinthians 4:-6-7; Genesis 6:5
His Word ~1 Peter 1:3, 23-25; James 1:18; Romans 5:20-21
His Love ~ 1 John 4: 9-10; 1 John:1-3; John :44-45; Ephesians 1:4-5
His Goodness ~ Romans 2: 4; Psalms 107:8; John 17:3
His Power ~ Ephesians 3:19; Romans 8:1-4
His Glory ~ Psalm 73:24; Romans 11:36; 2 Cor. 3:18;Colossians 3:1-4
Related article:
- Grace Crowned with Glory (agoldentreasury.com)
How Could They? (An ode to the Reformation)
How could they give all? How could they lay it down?
Was it for crimes that they had done ~~~ or was it for a crown?
How could they die, so firm and sure ~~~ without a shade of doubt?
Was it for show or spectacle? Was their faith that stout?
How could they stand ~~~ enduring flame? How could they face the sword?
Were they unfeeling, so reserved? Were they not from this world?
If we but seek to truly know ~~~ If we can see and hear
The Savior, as He died for us ~~~Is there anything we cannot bear?
(In praise to God, our Father; and in memory of those who died that we might have the Word of God, His truth, and the great salvation given through Jesus Christ, our Lord.)
A Child’s Plea for God
Give me not a god,
a god that I control.
Don’t give me a god
that I can mold.
I need GOD, the REAL GOD,
who knows more than I know.
Give me GOD, THE LIVING GOD,
who’s free to come and go.
GOD, Himself, who created Life,
and all living things—
GOD, who lives, and to my life
His own LIFE He brings.
I want GOD, the HOLY GOD,
who has a master plan.
GOD, the GOD who acts in grace,
though I can’t understand.
Where is GOD, the GOD OF TRUTH,
who tells it like it is;
Though painful it may seem to me,
shapes my heart like His?
I see GOD, the MIGHTY GOD,
when I look at the cross,
Who gave His life that I might live,
removing all the dross.
This GOD, THE GOD I’m looking for,
is greater than the world;
is greater than the world;
Able to do anything,
simply by His Word.
I will wait for GOD, THE LOVING GOD,
the GOD of POWER, still,
Who can, in JESUS, fill my heart,
and conform me to HIS will.
(Written for our oldest grandchild for her fourth birthday. She turns nineteen tomorrow.)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ANSLEY!
SEASONS of GRACE
“To every thing …….. a season.”
“A time to be born” ……… A time to know.
“A time to die”…….. And then to grow.
To sense the touch of the Gardener’s hand.
With His strength and love ……. to stand,
And feel the rain upon our face;
To live in the sunshine of His Grace.
Ecclesiastes 3:2; Luke 9:24 F.R. 1995