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Please Accept This Lamb
“Please accept this lamb,”
The Hebrew father said.
Then gave it to the priest,
His hand placed on its head.
“A pure and spotless lamb,”
The temple priest replied.
Then quickly took the knife
And cut its throat. It died.
How horrible our sins must seem
Before a holy...
Tissot Comes Alive
So little time,
So much to paint
Of lasting worth.
The years mis-spent.
The social rave.
The treats of earth.
Those cities gay
Where I would play
With earl and wench.
My shame today.
Take them away.
Their swirl, their stench!
For I have found
Much richer ground
From...
Jairus, Running, Hoping
Our little girl was almost gone.
The fever gripped her like a vise.
The eyes attending elsewhere, wan,
The fragile hands as cold as ice.
And I as useless as a child.
Her mother stroking soft the brow.
And something hidden, wanton, wild
Was pressing, choking...
Ecce Homo
As God's timetable for redemption came to the point of crisis in Passion Week, it was as if the people were constrained to speak truthful words on the plight of Jesus of Nazareth.
The High Priest was threatened by news of the raising of Lazarus from the dead. He suggested to...
Woman, Behold Thy Son
Nov10 by justhappeneduponthis
My Jesus tortured! Why?
Oh that a sword should pierce my heart
And rip it from my breast!
My son brought here to die!
A Roman gibbet follows hard
The trial and false arrest.
So few would mourn and cry,
That mercy, boundless reaching...
Holy Scripture:
John 20:30-31 (31) And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; (31) but these are written that you may believe that Jesus (human title) is the Christ (prophesized Messiah of the OT), the Son of God...
STEP ONE
We admitted we were powerless that our lives had become unmanageable.
Psalm 6:2-4 (N.I.V.)
Be merciful to me Lord for I am faint; O Lord, heal me for my bones are in agony. My soul is in anguish. How long O Lord, how long? Turn, O Lord, and deliver me, save me because of your...
STEP TWO
Came to believe that a power greater then ourselves could restore us to sanity.
James 1:16-18 (N.I.V.)
Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect
gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose...
STEP THREE
Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood him.
Romans 3:21-24 (N.I.V.)
But now righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.
This righteousness from God comes through faith in...
STEP FOUR
Made a fearless and moral inventory of ourselves.
Proverbs 14:14-17 (N.I.V.)
(V.14) The faithless will be fully repaid for their ways, and the good man rewarded for his.
(V.15) A simple man believes anything, but a prudent man gives thought to his steps.
(V.16) A wise man fears...
STEP FIVE
Admitted to God to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
Psalm 51:3-4 (N.I.V.)
For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when...
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Asparagus
Aug6 by justhappeneduponthis
Every time she ate asparagus
I knew it.
The place seethed.
Every time a bad dream
Rocked her night.
I kicked just a little.
She wasn’t alone, ya know.
Every time she sang to me
I pressed closer
To the wall to enjoy.
She would...
The Rich Man’s Death
Jun2 by justhappeneduponthis
I could have blessed the beggar
Found daily near my door
And never missed the outlay
With always plenty more.
And brought him to my wardrobe
And dressed him in last year’s.
And filled his aching belly
And washed away his tears.
But...
Not Nearly,Yet
Sep27 by justhappeneduponthis
Job and his Friends by Tissot
You have not suffered as did the righteous patriarch Job. Not nearly, yet.
In the stroke of a day sickness, impoverishment, homelessness, childlessness, oppressive self-doubt. But God was prepared to put His...
Ostrich
Aug18 by justhappeneduponthis
The Kalahari sands
Your playground.
Horse and rider
No match for you
At full tilt.
Mid-day heat
But small inconvenience;
The secret moistures
You have found,
And cooling strength
Under expansive
Night skies.
Bushmen lie in wait,
But sound ears
And...
Truth Despised
Aug25 by justhappeneduponthis
This “born again”
A phrase of men
That sits not well with me.
And all the blood
A cleansing flood
That flows from Calvary?
Must each address
His sinful mess
As if to start anew?
Will not the priest
And Easter’s feast
Suffice to see us through...
Final Rakings
Nov18 by justhappeneduponthis
Bagged at the curbside
And down from the trees
Loosened by rainfall
And autumn’s crisp breeze
Colours that childhood
Had kicked cross the lawn
Piled into play-house.
Those simple years gone.
Skeletal branches
Bemoaning their pride
Summertime...
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The Note
Jul1 by justhappeneduponthis
Frank had not had many days like this. Just six months into his new responsibilities at the firm, the announcement had hit like a thunder clap. Regional Branch Office closing after the amalgamation. Talk of redundancy and...
Darkness Comes
Still comes the darkness
To the saint who yearns for God.
To the one who walks in all he knows,
Some times alone are trod.
Still comes the darkness,
When he must leave earthly kin,
When he must through pangs of conscience come
Apart from all known sin.
Still comes...
It Takes More Than I've Got
That's what many say when presented with the prospect of living for Christ. Too much change. Too frightening. Too much invested in the old ways. Too many friends in the balance. Too...too...too much not my cup of tea.
Well, that may be the time to stop...