Poetry
Oh my brethren, let us pray
For the homeless widowed woman
Living on the streets today
Hoping just to find a meal
Oh my brethren, we must pray
For the lonely single mother
Living in despair and pain
Wondering if there’s something better
Oh my brethren, we must pray
For those bound by vile addictions
Trapped in a life that’s dark and vain
Damaged by the life they’ve chosen
Oh my brethren, we must pray
For the lost, who soon approach
The throne of God on judgment day
Unprepared, they’re doomed to hell
Oh my brethren, we must pray
For our own cold, calloused hearts
That see such things and walk away
Grieving Jesus by our hardness
Oh my brethren, we must pray
With tears and groanings, let us come
And seek the Lord without delay
With humbled hearts now drawing near
Oh my brethren, we must pray
Oh please Father, help us pray
His Bigger Plan
Little one don’t be afraid
For no temptation comes
But what has passed through My hand first
Sifted through My love
I seek not to destroy you
Nor to make you strong
But to teach you how to lean on Me
Is why this trial’s prolonged
If I had rescued you at once
When your first cries began
You may have been happier
But Mine’s a bigger plan
It’s required that you be broken
For My glory to shine through
And isn’t this what you’ve cried out
For Me to do for you?
Rest in My hand, my little one
Trust me to do this task
Conforming you into my image
Just like you have asked
And the little one responds:
Who am I to struggle
Against my Lord and King?
I’ve trusted my soul to You
I trust You in this thing
And though I beg You stay Your hand
Hear not my feeble cries
For I’ll never know the glory
Until I first have died
So let the flesh then gasp and wail
And take its final breath
As glorious resurrection follows
Hard upon this death
Unto us
Unto us a Child is born
Unto us a Son is given
In order to redeem our souls
The Father sent the Jewel of heaven
The birth we celebrate this day
Was planned before the world began
But it announced the grand unfolding
Of our God’s eternal plan
Angelic praise burst through the skies
Proclaiming the birth of this Child
The One whose purpose was His death
That God and man be reconciled
Let earth and heaven now proclaim
With voices raised in wondrous praise
That Jesus, now the risen Saviour
Forever lives, forever reigns
Repentance
Now I lay me down to die
At Your altar, here I cry
As Your holy word is spoken
All undone, my heart is broken
Sensing now Your holy gaze
Searching all my thoughts and ways
Unable to give my defense
As You expose each vile offense
Painfully, now it is clear
The sins that I once held so dear
Each one a thorn that pierced Your brow
How hideous they appear now
And crushed beneath the guilt, I hear
A sound so sweetly in my ear
“There is One who yet abides
Christ, Who for your sins has died”
Looking up, through tears I see
The Saviour, on the cross for me
Bowing then with all contrition
Bringing to Him my petition
“Though my heart is black with sin
I hear I may be born again
If I repent and then confess
I may receive Your righteousness
With all my heart I long for this
I pray I might receive this gift.”
Heaven hears, new life begins
Completely new and clean within
Another heart now set ablaze
Another voice to sing His praise
Hearts transformed and lives made new
A work that only Christ can do
And so the kingdom does advance
One by one, with repentance
No Light – No Hope
In darkened lands, where no light dwells
Where no voice yet the gospel tells
A people lost and with no hope
No light, so they in darkness grope
My heart so long in ignorance
Or should we call it avoidance?
So easy, life, when all concerns
On that for which my own heart yearns
But God says “Daughter, you must see
The multitudes that know not me
And if your heart breaks not at this
Then has your faith not gone amiss?”
So now a heart that sees, that knows
Is this not the heart that goes?
Or do I stay and yet deny
That I have ever heard the cry
Of people lost and with no hope
No light, so they in darkness grope
It is no sacrifice
This is the path – I lay it all down
This is the way – I take up my cross
Following You Jesus
Leaving all else
It is no sacrifice
Greater love has no one than this
Laying his life down for a Friend
Receive from me
This greater love
It is no sacrifice
All worldly possessions I have gained
Few though they may be
Valueless now
I leave them behind
It is no sacrifice
Turning away from worldly pleasures
The amusements I once pursued
Vain and worthless
I forsake them all
It is no sacrifice
The life of absolute surrender
It is my chosen pathway now
Yearning to remain
Yielded and broken
It is no sacrifice
Are you ready to give up self to death
I hear the Savior say to me
I lay my life down
Upon the altar
This is my offering
It is no sacrifice
I Need Truth
I need truth to flood my soul
Exposing all deceit and lies
All falseness and hypocrisy
The subtle untruths I have prized
Though it leave me bleeding
As the truth begins to pierce my heart
Help me Lord to love this truth
That purifies the hidden parts
Silence me should I protest
And justify my falsity
Bring to light and then to death
All deceit You find in me
Bind me with Your cords of love
As You wield Your Holy Sword
And cut away all pretense in me
By the Spirit and the Word
”Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” John 17:17
A Cry for His Presence
Reaching heavenward
With sighs and tears
Longing for a glimpse of Your glory
I have read the stories
And I have desired
To live it
An outpouring of Your presence
Though it leave me in the dust
Face down and trembling
Over the sinfulness of such a frail creature as myself
Before a holy, holy, holy God
Turn Your face toward me, oh God
And look upon Your daughter
See the yearning in my heart
To know You
Oh that You would rend the heavens
And pour out Your glory
My heart aches, it breaks with longing
As I eagerly await the day
Whether in life or death
The day I will see Your glory
When I will know
Even as I am known
How long, Oh Lord?
How long?
Overwhelmed
Overwhelmed with desperation
All my longing is for Thee
Jesus look upon this heart
And make Your presence real to me
I have no other I can go to
But there’s no other that I need
So when my heart feels so alone
Teach me to only look to Thee
Brothers, sisters You have given
Your blessed body on this earth
But more so than the church of Jesus
I need the Jesus of the church
If I can’t find You in the Word
When prayer and worship seem so dry
And my hearts breaks with longing for You
Will You come and dry my eyes
The ground is watered with my tears
Each one proclaims my love for You
But though I weep my life away
It shall not hinder my pursuit
A raging fire has been ignited
A passion somewhere deep within
I have begun a quest to find You
And reclaim first love again
And so this burning drives me onward
To know You in a deeper way
To have my life transformed into
A place Your glory is displayed
He is my Delight 