God

To Worship and to Fight

/ joethewaller / 2 Comments

I feel temptation’s throes around me now.
My heart is being beaten by the brute.
This flesh would see me finished with my vow.
Cry vengeance, God, and cut it at the root.
Too long have I now struggled just to breathe.
Too long have I imagined life is jest.
The holy Sword of God I must unsheathe,
And drive the blade into my very chest.
Cut out the heart of stone, O Lord of hosts,
And bring the dead to life by sacrifice,
For Christ has come to walk among the ghosts.
He paid with his own blood the ransom price.
O resurrected Warrior of light,
Raise me now up to worship and to fight.

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A Prayer to Hear

/ joethewaller / Leave a comment

I serve a God who speaks-
Who speaks for me to hear.
And though his Word means life and love,
I rarely lend my ear.

Yet still he calls me as his own.
He grants me access ‘fore his throne.
Such love and grace to sinners shown!
Oh help me, Lord, to listen.

The world in wailing wreaks-
Wreaks havoc with its cries.
Though tinged with tones of great delight,
They only offer lies.

For underneath the white-washed skin
The dying soul cries out in sin,
And wonders, could it live again?
Oh help me, Lord, to listen.

I, therefore, need to pray-
To pray to hear his voice,
The whisper in the wilderness,
To make the holy choice.

For Christ has died in my own place
And given me a son’s embrace.
Oh let me look upon his face!
And help me, Lord, to listen!

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The Megaphone

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O Pain, the voice that must be heard,
The sound that will not be ignored-
It calls for us to further gird
Our souls with clothing of the Lord.
For we cannot afford to live
Assuming life is only ease.
The sandy ground beneath must give
If we would God’s salvation seize.
And as the dark illusion falls
And we see our mortality,
We find our rest in Kingly halls
With Life for all eternity.

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Purpose in Pain

/ joethewaller / 2 Comments

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“Come, let us return to the LORD; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him. Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.”
Hosea 6:1-3

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Assurance

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What God has spoken then
Seems lost before the now,
The call to enter in
Eclipsed before the how.
The weight of life doth wear
Upon the focused brow,
But God knows ev’ry care.
He ever keeps his vow.

So trust we now our King
And hope in his command
And with the angels sing,
For he has made us stand.
We do not face his wrath-
Eternal reprimand-
For we now walk his path,
The purpose he hath planned.

Though circumstances prod,
Fulfilment we shall see,
In spite of shield or sword
Or strong desire to flee.
Thus says the Lord our God,
And thus it comes to be.
The promise of the Lord-
Reliability.

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New Year

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The days increase that make up time behind,
And days unknown to us now lie before
Our feet, whose steps we never can rewind,
But must advance through this now open door.
The times around us change with each new day
Regardless of our feelings for the change.
Unsteady is the ground we wish would stay;
Our lives seem always set to rearrange.
But steady and unshakeable is truth,
And most dependable is God above.
For all the elderly and all the youth,
The constant in the universe is Love.
So hope as this new year begins to dawn,
And trust the Lord whose reign goes ever on.

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Amazing Grace

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I love Christmas. I love the chilly weather outside, the lights strung throughout the trees in the park, and the sounds of Christmas music everywhere. I love the warm feeling that accompanies giving gifts to loved ones, and I even love facing the crowds to get those last minute gifts. Christmas, for these reasons and more, is arguably my favorite time of the year. Continue reading →

Truth and Heresy

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There never was a “then” when Christ was not,
Only begotten God of God on high.
The Gospel story ever was the plot:
The spotless Lamb for spotted sheep to die.
By nature, men do sin and stand in need
And lack the merit morally required.
And thus, the holy call, “Take up and read,”
Can offer life so lovingly acquired.
The Word was written that we might not sin,
That living branches might bear fruit for life.
Yet when we falter, there is hope again
As Christ called Peter thrice from Peter’s strife.
We read and write for right theology,
That saints would not be swayed by heresy.

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