Category Archives: Poetry

Whatever it Takes

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If my life be long or end tomorrow;
My days filled with joy or marked by sorrow;
If I gain many things or lose them all in a day;
Know all truth or be confounded along the way;
If I know restful peace or spend my nights wrestling;
My body strong and well or beset with suffering;
If I pray for more and it seems I receive less;
Enduring with strength or succumbing to weakness;
If I weep for joy or my tears are pain;
My heart always full or emptied again and again;
With this same heart I will pray —
whether it holds or it breaks —
Lord, to be with you, “whatever it takes”.

For Simon

Ebenezer

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My soul is lifted up to you,
Raised heavenward
In awe of the mystery,
That from your glorious
Throne you have been
My Rock of Help so far.

You are the One
Who gives and takes away,
Who breathes life and
Returns us to the dust,
Who gave up your life to death
So through death, I might still live.

As I raise my Ebenezer,
You never said life would be
Easier,
Yet upon this rock of help
I will build my life and faith,
For you will forever be
My Rock and my Helper.

The simple way, the simple truth, the simple life

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I am the way.
My way is simple,
Not complicated.
Many walk the road
Of rules and regulations,
Rites and responsibilities,
But all you need to walk
My way is love.
If you love me with
All of your heart,
All of your mind,
All of your strength;
If you love all those
You meet along the way
With that same love,
You will always know
The way, and that
I am the way.

I am the truth.
My truth is simple,
Not complicated.
Many seek truth
In reason and reflection,
Reading and research,
But all you need to know
My truth is love.
If you love me with
All of your heart,
All of your mind,
All of your strength;
If you love all those
Who seek after truth
With that same love,
You will always know
The truth, and that
I am the truth.

I am the life.
My life is simple,
Not complicated.
Many live a life
Built on sand and uncertainty,
Unsure of who they are, or should be,
But all you need to live
My life is love.
If you love me with
All of your heart,
All of your mind,
All of your strength;
If you love all those
To whom God gave life
With that same love,
You will always know
The life, and that
I am the life.

One last time

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Your heart was full
Of deep, flowing love as
You gathered your friends;
The upper room warm with light and
A lamb readied for hopeful remembrance.
How you had longed to share
This meal with them
One last time.

How much did you love them?
More than words could contain,
So you stripped yourself
Of everything – fully laid bare –
To become the lowest
Servant of all, washing their feet
And teaching them a new way;
One last time.

As you tore the bread, your heart
Was being torn, not under the weight
Of love, but rent by one who had
Sold his priceless piece of your heart
For the allure of thirty pieces of silver.
Yet you dipped your bread in the same
Bowl and offered it to your friend
One last time.

In the garden, you asked your friends
To watch and pray, yet belly full and
Heavy with wine, the balmy night
Wrapped around them like a blanket,
Lulling them to sleep. In your anguish –
The intensity forcing out beads of blood –
You knew they could not stay with you
One last time.

They tore your beard; they spat on you;
They tried you and lied about you;
They mocked you and flogged you;
And then they crucified you.
As you drew your last breath,
Entrusting your spirit to the Father,
You allowed death to have its say
One last time.

Reflection for Good Friday, 2nd April 2021

Do not cling

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Do not cling to the structures
Of your life, built up through
Experiences, now past, for they
Will not withstand being shaken.

Do not cling to your patterns
And habits that coddle you like
A blanket, yet lull you into sleep,
For you will not easily awaken.

Do not cling to tomorrow, or what
It might bring, for there is only the
Present and the One who is always
Present, for this is life lived in fulness.

Do not cling to those around you
Who take the place of God as
Your stabilising anchor, for you will
Not sail free when the Wind comes.

Do not cling to (your image of) God
Or who you think Him to be, for He
Reveals Himself as he would be known;
Glorious; Limitless; making all things new.

Do not cling to the earth below, when
You are seated, now, in heaven with Christ;
Ascend, therefore, and behold Him glorified,
And know who you are as you worship I AM.

Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
John 20:17

Power

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Power, true power,
Knows the love of One
Who truly frees, to
Live, die, and live again.
Power, true power,
Does not hold on to
Things that are decaying,
Or hopes that are fading,
Or a life that is dying. No.
Power, true power,
Embraces death
In a defiant grip;
Not letting go until
Death itself has been
Subdued and overcome by
Power, true power.
And then a life beyond
And a life which was, before,
Flows in (to the place
Where death once stood),
And is gathered up and
Lifted high – a trophy prize –
To One whose love freed to
Live, die and live again, in
Power, true power.

“The Father has an intense love for me because I freely give my own life—to raise it up again. I surrender my own life, and no one has the power to take my life from me. I have the authority to lay it down and the power to take it back again. This is the destiny my Father has set before me.”

John 10:17–18 (TPT)

A Sabbath Season

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We had so much leisure,
But never enough rest.

We had so much wealth,
But valued all the wrong things.

We were prosperous in many ways,
But in many more we were unfruitful.

We had the best healthcare in history,
But we still made ourselves sick.

We had the best survival rates for infants,
But we prevented many from being born.

We built our cities greater than cathedrals,
But we let our society go to ruin.

We could predict the weather like never before,
But we still built our houses on the sand.

We developed crops that could withstand devastation,
But we overworked and poisoned the soil.

We produced enough food to feed the world twice over,
But many still went hungry.

We had the world as our oyster,
But we missed the pearl of great price.

We forgot the Sabbath, and did not keep it holy,
But God did not forget, and now is his season of rest.

Come to me

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Come to me in your busyness.
Come to me in your weariness.
Come to me in your heaviness.
Come to me in your loneliness.
Come to me in your emptiness.
Come to me in your sadness.
Come to me in your sorrowfulness.
Come to me in your illness.
Come to me in your sickness.
Come to me in your uselessness.
Come to me in your hopelessness.
Come to me in your desperateness.
Come to me in your darkness.

Come to me in your usefulness.
Come to me in your happiness.
Come to me in your joyfulness.
Come to me in your hopefulness.
Come to me in your lightness.
Come to me in your quietness.
Come to me in your stillness.

Jesus says,
“Come to me in your all-ness.
And I will give you my sabbath rest.”

(For a time of isolation and sudden change)

Who wears the crown?

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When the virus stalks in our midst,
And spreads its woe unseen,
Who wears the crown?

When fear crowds in,
And all must isolate,
Who wears the crown?

When jobs and money are no longer secure,
And provision is scarce,
Who wears the crown?

When those nearest to us are vulnerable,
And safety means distancing ourselves,
Who wears the crown?

When our leaders admit their limits,
And their strategies rely on hope,
Who wears the crown?

When we can only see an unfamiliar future,
And we are shaken into sudden change,
Who wears the crown?

He is near to the lonely and broken-hearted,
And with all His heart consoles the afflicted,
For Jesus wears the crown.

He is our provision and provider,
And by His Word we live, breath and have our being,
For Jesus wears the crown.

He is not caught off guard,
And all things work together for our good,
For Jesus wears the crown.

He knit us together in our mother’s womb,
And every day of our lives are known to Him,
For Jesus wears the crown.

He may not be seen in the ways we expect,
And yet his presence is found in those He loves,
For Jesus wears the crown.

His love drives out all fear,
And death is swallowed up in His death,
For Jesus wears the crown.

A response to corona – the ‘crown’ – virus.

Wings extended

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Her unassuming way
Was no indicator of the
Strength within; a heart
As tender as a dove and
Strong as steel.
It didn’t matter how unclean
You were, how insecure,
How needy or how far you’d
Fallen,
With a simple, unconscious gesture,
She would extend her wings,
Exposing the softest down,
And shelter you in warm comfort
Beneath her protective pinions.
Her open heart was
Her mother’s touch, and
No matter whose child you
Were, she could, and would
Be your mother too.

For Sheila