The Gospel of John is my favorite New Testament book, so a few years ago, I wrote a series of poems taken from each of its twenty-one chapters. I thought that for today’s Cup of Grace post, I’d revisit three of those. You can guess which chapters I picked to highlight based on the title of this post, and I pray that a line or two will be a blessing to you as you read. As always, His Word is relevant to all the ins and outs of daily living!
He Above
Me
John 3:30 – “He must
increase, but I must decrease.”
When circumstances turn my attitude sour,
I
increase.
When I respond with His gracious power,
He
increases.
When I think only of what I feel or want,
I
increase.
When I put others’ needs at the forefront,
He
increases.
When I sulk inside and those thoughts hold sway,
I
increase.
When I praise His goodness anyway,
He
increases.
When all I see is what is wrong,
I
increase.
When I count my blessings all day long,
He
increases.
When I resign to temptation’s pull,
I
increase.
When I by faith choose to follow His rule,
He
increases.
When fear, frustration, or anger loom
large,
I increase.
When Jesus in all His glory takes charge,
He increases.
And those decisions never cease:
Will
I increase?
Will
He increase?
John
7 - If Any Man Thirst
John 7:37-38 – On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
The Feast of Tabernacles drew to a close;
The last great day of celebration arose.
The priest with water came near to the altar,
And joy overflowed in song and in laughter.
Then Jesus stood and shouted to all
A wonderful, beautiful invitation call:
If any man thirst, let him come unto Me!
Living water will flow so abundantly!
If any man, any man, any man thirst,
Let him come to the One Who’s preeminently first!
Nothing else satisfies mankind’s deepest longings
These all fall far short: fame, pleasure, belongings.
I wish I had been at the temple that day,
To hear those great words that Jesus did say!
I’d have fought through the crowd to fall at His feet,
To answer, “I’m here; please make me complete.”
But yet, just as glorious as that day long ago,
Is this truth: Jesus’ offer still each day echoes.
As I rise in the morning, He bids me to come
To fellowship with Him, find in Him the sum
Of all today’s questions, tasks, and each need.
His Spirit speaks to me as His Word I read.
I come and I come; He never runs dry,
And I know I shall see Him in Heaven on high.
From His throne above flows the water of life
It flows to my soul and conquers sin’s strife.
He knows me and loves me and ever will be
With me and in me for eternity.
I worship You, Savior; I bow at Your feet,
To cling to You, Giver of Mercy so sweet.
Your comfort’s so full it’s a longing, my Lord,
To know You and love You and walk with You more.
If any man, any man, any man thirst,
Let him come to the One Who’s preeminently first!
Hear now Jesus’ words that He shouted to all,
His wonderful, beautiful invitation call!
John
11 - If Walls Could Talk
“…See how He loved him.”
(John 11:36)
If
walls could talk in Lazarus’ home
(In
the time when Israel was ruled by Rome),
They’d
tell of a family who welcomed the Christ,
When
to be His friend carried a price.
If
walls could talk, they’d tell of good times
When
the Teacher taught of things sublime.
Lazarus,
Martha, and Mary knew that this Guest
Deemed
for them most important at His feet to find rest.
If
walls could talk, they’d tell of a sick man
Desperately
cared for, yet claimed by death’s hand.
They’d
tell of great grief for a brother beloved,
And
tears without number by sisters devoted.
If
walls could talk, they’d tell of sad questions
That
screamed in the minds of those disillusioned
“Why
didn’t God answer our prayers?
Why
didn’t Jesus come if He cares?”
If
walls could talk, they’d echo the sounds
Of
feet that went running over outside grounds.
And
who were those footfalls making their way towards?
The
One Who could handle those questions and more.
If
walls could talk…; well, at this point I’d say,
Those
house walls would give center stage to walls gray.
For
the gray rock walls of Lazarus’ tomb
Heard
the words of the Master break through their gloom!
If those
walls could talk, they’d to us describe
How
they couldn’t hold one who’d been made alive,
And
the joy and the smiles that shone from each face
As family
united in love’s embrace.
If your
walls could talk, what would they say?
What
stories recount from your life today?
Perhaps
there’d be tales of “unanswered” prayers,
That
you later discovered God had been at work there.
If my
walls could talk, I hope they could tell
Of a
Christian who trusts that her Father works well.
Jesus
cries when I cry, though He sees joy ahead.
His
ways are the best; by His love I’m led.
No comments:
Post a Comment