Eve of His Birth

Why does my flesh
Want to hold onto things
That are of death and destruction

Its like a mirage
Trying to grasp
But it continues to escape

I see its vibrancy
It calls to my heart
But it is an illusion
To my soul

Desires of the flesh
Distractions of this world
Things to have
Tasks to do

Painting pictures
Of beauty
Answering desires
Of happiness

But never delivering
Satisfaction Complete

I know this is true
So why do I chase you?
Desires of the flesh

When my heart callouses
Only then

Do I loosen my grip

Stop
To
Inspect

Who is my sufficiency in?

Me or Jesus Christ?

My days have been planned
Since the beginning of time
All to grow me more like Christ

He has my best in mind
He reveals my heart
In time I adjust

Allowing His Sovereignty
Over me
Without friction

Changing direction

Looking to please Him
Not me

Looking to Him
For my sufficiency

He is my all in all
Sustainer
Comforter
Deliverer

The One who loves
My soul
Just as I am
Deficient in many ways
But Him

Adjusting my heart
On the eve of His birth
Rejoicing
Praising Him on High
Grateful for renewal

For I would have no Life
Without Him in me

Invigorating

My heart so excited
To engage in life
Invigorating
With a crispness
Of fall mornings
Bringing others
Closer to Christ
The air fresh and clean
A relief to summer heat
My focus though
Is my relationship with Christ
I can manipulate a plan
To chase my desires
Making demands
Leading expectations
Getting caught in snares
Where unmet goals thrive
Bringing back heat and  humidity
Disheartening
He has a better plan
Wait for Him
Allow Him to provide all He has for me
Through the closeness to Him
His plan flourishes
Growing from the depths of relationship with Him
My focus Him
Depending on Christ
Provider in my life
Invigorating
With a crispness
Of fall mornings
My Lord
Jesus Christ

Heartaches

Lord my heart aches
For those whose hearts
Do not know You
Lacking Your Presence
Completing the emptiness inside
Where only You can satisfy
Granting the mystery of Your Joy
My heart’s desire
To call others
Closer to see You
Having faith beyond me
Focused on Your Goodness and Mercy
Oh the joys of that transformation
Depending on You
Self reliance blown away
Freedom it brings
Peace unknown
Unveiling a new day
My heart aches
For those unknown
By the Greater One
The Lord Jesus Christ

Rise Of Emotion

As I started my day
I felt this rise of emotion
A sadness
That brought tears to my eyes
I stopped to reflect
To see the meaning
Was it sin
Relationships
Or situations?
I could not find the root
But felt I was grieving
Maybe for the ways
I separate myself from Him
Following my desires
Not His
My heart so apt to fill itself
Blindly going down dark allies
Maybe from being in this world
Yearning for eternity
Longing to disrobe of this unrighteousness
To stand in His Presence at last
Praising His Name
Maybe from the hardness of life
Aching for relief
My heart desiring
Christ for everyone
To experience Him
Instead of focusing
On selfishness
I left my grief at His feet
I chose to focus on Him
Joining Him in Joy of Life
Feeling freedom
Not bondage to sin
He has met me where I am
He has come along beside
He has lifted my heart
His Presence so evident
Thanking Him for my life
So changed from days of yesterday
Filled with Joy and Peace
Grateful for His Life
Given freely for me
All to experience
His Love for me
My Lord
Jesus Christ

Renewed Heart

Something I have discovered recently
The focus in life is to be
On the goodness of those around us
For years I focused
On the frailty of those close to me
That focus caused
Criticalness in me
That came out in anger
And sharp in tongue
Misery at its best
Now I have a renewed heart
Given by the Spirit
I see how I need to be more focused
On the attributes of others that resemble Christ
Encouraging the goodness to come out
My focus on God
And how He sacrificed for me
Taking insults and persecution
Underservedly
Oh how grateful I am
For life now
Is filled with Joy and tenderness of heart
Sacrificing  for Him
So grateful for the ways of Jesus Christ
Praising His Name
To those who do not know Him
My Lord and Savior of my life
Jesus Christ

Life and death

Jesus came to willingly sacrifice
To overcome death and its destruction
To give us Hope in this life
That the way we are
In this fallen world
The things that we do
That cause shame and guilt
Those things that hurt others
While we protect our heart
Does not define
Who we are in Christ
Who God created us to be
We lay our shame at His feet
Choosing to focus on life not death
Giving to others
Instead of focusing on our self
We confess
We ask for forgiveness
We repent of our ways
By changing our direction
We can choose Life
Over death
By choosing to Believe in Jesus Christ
That He cleanses us from our shame and sin
So we can have a relationship with Him
And Live free
Without anguish of our shame
He loves us unconditionally
Giving us abundant Grace
That transforms our heart
Being loved that much
That we do not have to be perfect
His love is greater than that
Thanking God for His Sacrifice
His one Son
Jesus Christ
Giving us Joy in this Life
The freedom He brings
Not chained to shame and sin
Honor and Glory
To our Lord Jesus Christ

Master of Our Heart

He calls Himself to us each day
As we look at our circumstances
We can choose to search deeper for Him
Or stay away
He alone chooses how to respond
To leave us where we are
Causing introspection
Or carry us to a different place
Giving us exhilaration
He is Master of our heart
If we allow Him
When we do
He transports our hearts
To places that don’t make sense
How we feel joy in dire circumstances
It is the Mystery of God
What He does
To enjoy Him fully
We release our desires to Him
Only wanting a deeper relationship with Him
Focusing on knowing Him better
By reading His Word
Spending time talking with Him
Sharing our heart
Exposing who we are
Things He already knows
Oh the Glory that dwells in you
When you spend time with Him
Beaming with His Light
Joy and Peace in this life
Focusing on Him and His Delight
His Majesty at the Father’s right hand
Our Lord
Jesus Christ

Desires that Rapture

Trying to unravel
The traps of my mind
The selfish desires within
Desires that rapture my heart
To a place of death and destruction
Giving life to bitterness
And sin
Trying to shed these
From my skin
Letting go of protection
Fighting for me
Coming to the Throne of Grace
Humbly at His feet
Changing my viewpoint
Releasing my care to Him
The One who has Sovereignty
His ways are Mysterious
That is why I need Faith
To walk in His ways
Allowing Him to be in control
Changing my outlook on life
Going with His flow
That calls to Eternity
Unraveling the thoughts in my mind
My desires now about Him
The One important in life
The Wonderful Counselor
Giving Honor and Glory to
Jesus Christ

Circumstances of Life

Circumstances of life
Can be hard
They are planned by God
They have purpose and meaning
Intended by Him
To mold me to His Image
The image of Jesus Christ
I am not a victim of every whim of life
Events that seem like chaos
That throw me in a tizzy
Circumstances are allowed
To bring about faith
And spititual growth
Thinking of people beyond myself
Knowing that He is in control
Touching my heart so
Gives me peace
Because He loves me so
Focusing my thoughts on Him
To release me from
My minds spiraling thoughts
God has a plan
And it is in His Word
Giving me comfort and Truth
Amen

Heart of Hearts

We know what is in our
Heart of hearts
Something so impure
We cover it up
Creating distance from Him
That is why we need Jesus Christ
His sacrifice paid for our impurity
Thanking God for His sacrifice
So I can be cleansed by Him
A pure heart He brings
Restoring relationship with Him
In His Word
Uncovering that protection
Transparency is what is needed
To be close to Him
Admitting my faults
To myself
And Him
Looking with clarity
Thanking God for
His Love and Grace