Grace

Tenacious Love

/ The Pastor

Holy Father, good and gracious.
Your love for me is tenacious.
Unyielding and true, it holds me.
Holy Father, how can this be?

Sinner i am, i know it’s true.
Corrupted i am, through and through.
Death i deserve, there is no doubt.
For sin’s within me, all about.

Ashamed i am, oh God help me.
My sin, oh God, i want to flee.
Draw me closer to Your great love.
Draw my eyes to Your throne above.

Jesus my Lord, Your Son does reign.
Oh God my heart, from sin constrain.
God i want to glorify you.
And give You worship that you’re due.

Holy Father, good and gracious.
Your love for me is tenacious.
For You are Love, first and always.
Into Your love God, i will gaze.

My Reason to Rhyme

/ The Pastor

You have probably noticed that I like writing poetry. I’m nothing special and definitely not the best thing since sliced bread, but I like trying to write it. Sometimes my poems are pretty strict in structure and beats per line. Sometimes I mix things up. Sometimes I write poetry that seems to break all the conventional rules. But no matter the poem, I have found a peace in writing them. As the following poem says, in my writing I am forced to think deeply about words I choose and in doing so I am thinking more deeply about my relationship with God through Jesus Christ. And so there you have it – my reason to rhyme…

Morning has broken, this day is new.
And my coffee is ready to brew.
Jesus my Lord, to him i will pray.
Doing no other to start my day.

It’s Your grace i think on and review.
Yet i’m writing a poem about You.
It seems i’m lost and going astray.
But in this style Your love i convey.

For as i write i think on You more.
And that is great for You i adore.
I’ll keep on going with You my God,
What i’m doing is not a facade.

And so i sit with coffee in hand,
thinking on You as my love is fanned.
I think about each and every rhyme.
knowing it’s never a waste of time .

To God be the glory. Amen 🙂

Invited

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

Today is the Parable of the Great Banquet; Jesus inviting the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame to the table. He invites sinners – you. And so I am excited, once again, to proclaim this Good News this morning – from Luke 14:1-14. The following is the Holy Communion liturgy I wrote with the Gospel text on my heart…

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It is indeed right and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks and praise to you, oh God – Father, Lord and King. For You have invited and exalted us to the Banquet of the Wedding of the Lamb to his bride, the Church. Though we are sinful, lost and disobedient, You bring us in and make us whole and holy. You make us new through Your Son, Jesus. You give us a place of honor through no effort or merit of our own. You give us Life and hope in a world that would have us fend for ourselves; fighting our way to the top. You have turned things around and thus we can rejoice with You and dine at a Banquet that has no end. And so, with the Church on earth and the hosts of heaven, we join in singing Your unending praise…

Carrots

/ The Pastor

I am tired of the world’s empty promises,
for it cares nothing for me.
It promises satisfaction.
It promises fulfillment.
It dangles its promises before me as a carrot before a horse,
and I can never quite obtain it,
always falling short –
lacking,
hungry,
unfulfilled.
But You have promised me Your heart, oh God.
No empty promise.
No dangling carrot,
rather You lovingly feed me the carrot and I am filled.
Now it’s You I long for,
but You long for me more.
I desire You,
but You desire me more.
I strive to know You,
but You know me –
more.
And yet, You still feed me carrots?
No strings attached?
No empty promises?
I am fulfilled.
Oh God, please feed me more
carrots.

Amazing Forgiveness

/ The Pastor

God’s forgiveness of our sins is amazing when you consider what we deserve. We deserve death and condemnation, but through faith in Christ there is forgiveness. Wow! But to go about one’s life, refusing to forgive others means you really don’t understand God’s forgiveness of your own sins. That’s why clear, consistent and frequent Gospel proclamations are so necessary, lest we forget what God has really done through Jesus Christ. With that, I present the following poem. Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us…

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The command is given
The sign is clear
Do not do this
and do not go amiss.

But yet I disobey
I just ignore
I disregard
the command I discard.

And now I deserve wrath
from God my Lord
I’ve disobeyed
For it’s God I’ve betrayed.

Punishment is certain
for my trespass
I deserve it
for that I must admit.

Oh God, please forgive me
in Jesus name
for my trespass
would Your wrath please surpass.

Your grace is amazing
Your love complete
my soul You’ve spared
even though I have erred.

So now may I forgive
and show much grace
as You have done
to show how You have won.

Oh God You’re amazing
Me a sinner
Jesus my King
Oh God, what a nice ring.

Don’t Deceive Yourself

/ The Pastor

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:8‭-‬9 ESV

Image result for Something broken

One of the things that I am trying to teach my children is to be honest when they do something wrong. Too often, when confronted with their sin, my children are adamant in their denial. I didn’t do it. Even though it is obvious that they are guilty. I reassure them that I am not mad but rather I just want them to be honest. I reaffirm my love for them and say that there is nothing they can do that will change that. I remind them that I will always forgive them even though there may be consequences. But for a child, the fear of punishment is strong and thus their adamant denials and failed attempts to cover up their own sins.

But isn’t this a commentary for the Christian?

There may be sins in your life that you are afraid to admit. There may be sins that you are afraid to even voice in your own head when praying to God. You may bury the sin deep in your memory, hoping that time will heal and the wrong will be mended. Or…you may even deny that a sin is a sin, attempt to justify the sin or try to divert God’s attention to “worse sinners”. But daddy he broke your ________.

The fact of the matter is that we can not hide our sins, we can not deny our nature, and we can not divert God’s attention. God knows our sin, but God is a God is grace. His love is not diminished because of your sin. God is faithful and just to forgive your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. If Jesus is your Lord and Savior, don’t be afraid of your sin, but confess your sin and know the forgiveness of your loving heavenly Father. Don’t deny who you are and don’t deny who God is. You are a sinner, but God is a God of grace. Let Him heal you and love on you.

Amen.

One Thing

/ The Pastor

[Inspired by Luke 10:38-42]

One thing and one thing only,
that is all that’s required,
for with Jesus the Savior,
You will never be lonely.

You don’t need to add to this.
No works, no deeds, no actions.
Jesus is all that you need,
To enjoy eternal bliss.

For God’s grace is sufficient.
There’s nothing else that’s needed.
Attempts to self-justify,
will always be deficient.

So focus your attention,
and away from your attempts.
Jesus has finished the work,
to release all your tension.

Praise Befitting

/ The Pastor

Praise the Lord ! Praise the Lord , O my soul! I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
[Psalms 146:1‭-‬2 ESV]

Praise is befitting You for You are glorious.
Your beauty is beyond words,
for when I gaze at Your creation I stand in silent awe.
And that is just the tip of the iceberg,
for to see Your full glory and beauty would short-circuit my brain;
not to mention that as a sinner I can’t see You face to face and live.
Your beauty is beyond words,
and,
Your holiness is perfect.
And thus as a sin-stained creature I am nothing in Your sight.
But You, Oh Lord my God, are full of
Mercy
Grace
Compassion
Forgiveness
Yes, praise is befitting You for You do not give to me as I deserve.
But You gave me Jesus.
Oh wow, You gave me Jesus.
Your beauty is beyond words.
Your holiness is perfect.
and Your love is amazing.
Yes, Lord, Your love; for You are love.
Ohhhh,
I am at a lose for words as I meditate on You.
May even my groanings and sighings be praise befitting You.
Praise to You, oh Lord!
Praise to You!

Morning Glee

/ The Pastor

In the morning I do wake
In this day that You did make
Joyful for the life I live
Joyful for the Life You give

For my sin You did convict
In my sin we have conflict
But Jesus died and rose for me
Therefore I will live with glee

To Confess

/ The Pastor

Father God, my sins to you I must confess
For my life here and now is a total mess
Created in beauty but still I transgress
Holiness I seek yet I seem to regress
Your holy judgment of death I acquiesce
But Jesus Christ is my Lord, that I profess
And so, in his name, I ask that you may bless
For Jesus is risen, that I will express