Bend Not Towards Conformity #devotion #poetry

small seed in the spring

it is watered and nurtured

to allow it to grow

you break through the soil

broad leaf and thick stalk

face turns skyward

you radiate and glow

stand tall above the rest

because you refused to be told to stop

reached toward the warmth

never listening to defeat

you are a child of the sun

 

Conformity and Tozer http://www.cmalliance.org/devotions/tozer?id=1272

 

1Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. 3For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.… Romans 12:2

 

“If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” (John 15:19)

Unbalanced #devotion #poetry

 

I stand alone

tilting in the wind

needing no one

balance only sand

*

I stand alone

cold feathers is my plight

I fall like a stone

rejected in my flight

*

no longer alone

warmer with you there

you calm my inner groan

life together gladly bear

 

 

 

No need to stand off balance and alone.The Bible encourages  companions who stand firm and keep us from being foolish.

“He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will suffer harm.”

~Proverbs 13:20

“A man of too many friends comes to ruin,
But there is a ^[friend who sticks closer than a brother.”

~Proverbs 18:24

 

“Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone?”

~Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

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Joy’s Smile #orphans #uganda #sundaydevotion

Goodness in those eyes

kindness in his smile

 little fingers wrap in mine

 never want to let go

God is the maker

children such a gift

may actions always match

the love I feel inside

 

I am always disturbed when I hear of children who are cast-offs. Our world has grown careless with its real treasures. We would never throw away gold, but these little ones are much more precious than any gem.

I am grateful that there are those in the world who have hearts willing to pour their love into a heart and rekindle precious smiles.

“He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them.

And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

 And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.'”

~Matthew 18:2-6

 

Mirror Image #art #sundaydevotion #poetry

Percieved image

momentary

seems so real

blurred

can’t see clearly

thought can delude

images

take new form

mirror taken away

I see truth

sunlight bright

freed to be

Me

The search to “find oneself” is an ongoing quest. Looking in the mirror doesn’t always help.

Maybe because it’s a distorted image of who we really are.

Don’t cease the search, but remember the Master knows  (and sees) the real you.

The unveiling will occur one day and we will behold not only self but Truth with no obstructions.

 

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

John 8:32

“Now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.”

1 Corinthians 13:12

One Step Toward Eternity #poetry #devotion

a portal of tomorrow

I see horizon’s line

an outline of such beauty

 hope’s dreams are there defined

I want to rush forward

 am petrified by my past

What if I’m unwelcome?

my failures permanent cast

In Heaven there’s a future

I can never “measure up”

the price paid by another

he drank of sin’s dark cup

I must move alongside

eyes closed like a child

 Eternity reaches for me

I get closer all the while

rushing forward, stumbling

I gulp the joyful air

open arms for my Savior

hold fast I’m almost there

 

Door to Heaven by Clare

 

We all wonder what our tomorrow’s will be. We also can fear that we won’t meet up to the expectations of Heaven. Faith is closing our eyes  and trusting that our feet will meet solid ground with each new step. Easy? No! Possible? YES!!!

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”

Hebrews 11:1

“Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.”

Ecclesiastes 3:11

“For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”

1 Corinthians 13:12

No Burden – Kindness #poetry

 

A hand offered in silence

a smile to soothe the days

eyes light hope’s tomorrows

cast warm summer rays

you choose to accept another

 to greet with friendly smile

burdens often we carry

lighter for two over miles

lean forward into fellowship

melt frost on coldest days

sun breaks the mourning

for God’s gift you can never pay

I am daily graced by the kindness of others. The gesture need not be a grand one but just in a simple act, a smile, a word kindly spoken.  The difference can have a profound effect on a person’s day. Try it!

“Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart.:

~Proverbs 3:3

“Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”

~Ephesians 4:32

I Choose Life #sundaydevotion #poetry

a fork in the road

threw indecision my way

left or right

a price to pay

one path almost spoke

come here and walk

you’ll never regret

the pleasures Ive wrought

the other was narrow

with pebbles and leaves

golden light flickered

warming the trees

I reached out my gaze

took my first step

years that was now

many pilgrims Ive met

heaven’s gate is beyond

to a world free of strife

I owe it all to that path

it gave me new life

The “gate” in the Bible is mentioned like the fork in the road. There is a broad gate to destruction people are distracted by  stuff, pleasure, and gain but the end result is eternal pain.  There are trials, stumbling, disappointment when you walk through narrow gate but at the end is rejoicing where Jesus awaits.

“Make every effort to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able. After the master of the house gets up and shuts the door, you will stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’

But he will reply, ‘I do not know where you are from.’

Luke 13:24 & 25

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Matthew 17: 13 & 14

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

John 14:6

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Sea Breeze #haiku #devotion

Breathe fresh air

sun rises on warm spring day

refreshed in hope

What a Child Sees #poetry #devotion

I looked in a child’s eyes today

what I saw took my breath away

fantasy worlds the size of a dime

held in a hand that measured time

a smile that spread the horizon and more

sweet filled goodness a spirit that soared

I looked in the heart of a child today

nothing too precious at his feet to lay

Yesterday we had a yard sale and one of the family’s that came by had a boy 6 and a girl 8. The little boy had big round glasses that made his eyes looked like globes full of wonder. The Lord saw children as precious with an ability to see Heaven. I’ve often why we need to see Heaven and God as children maybe it is because children are guileless. They would see Heaven for its beauty rather than for what “they can get” from God. I never want to stop marveling at  a golden sunsets, giggle when I see squirrels chase each other up and down oak trees, or tease the waves with my toes.

“At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked,”Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And He said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Matthew 18:2 & 3

“Therefor, whoever takes the lowliest position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

Matthew 18:4

“Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

Luke 18:17

Orphans #devotion #poetry

You left alone at birth

or some other season

how does a life make sense

find a perceptible reason?

Deserted at 8 or 9

making grown- up plans

 learning to coordinate

little arms and hands

Dear child there is One

who sees you very clear

never letting go of you

He holds you ever dear

the further others are away

the closer is the One

cry to the stars and sky

He will always come

Each tear your sorrow shed

is sweetly kept and  saved

through life’s hardest ship

in celestial love you’re bathed

 

Some know the barren loneliness of the land  Forsaken. It is never a place you would choose to go. But many are dwell here all the same.

There is one place where you will see God’s wrath—>  that is in the mistreatment of orphans.

If you have been left adrift in life’s storm, call out to the Master- He answers your cry. He will be there in the land of the forsaken.

 

John 14:18

“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

Isaiah 1:17

“Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.”

Psalm 27:10

“For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in.”

 

Those of you who know me know that I have this expanse in my heart for children who are orphaned, abandoned, abused. I lived in the land of Forsaken as a child and I am grateful.  I’ve been grateful to share (my lap or hand) with so many timid, hurting children. As the scrawny little hand reaches out she can  see “It” in my eyes and can trust the love that God has sent.