giving

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Others

The way we treat others
     will say quite a lot.
Not really about them,
     more about what we’ve got.
Do I have compassion
     and kindness for those.
That God puts around me,
     not just those I chose.
Do I tend to order
     and boss those around.
Who don’t benefit me,
     at least that I’ve found.

It would be quite funny,
     if it wasn’t so sad.
There have been leaders
     who have treated me bad.
But that’s not important
     in what I will do.
The much bigger issue
     is how I treat you.
Do I look beyond all
     the things people see.
And love you like Jesus
     has shown love to me.

It is so easy
     to love those like us.
And think that those different
     are not worth the fuss.
It can take much effort
     to see in the heart.
But we’ll never get there
     if we refuse to start.
It can be quite risky
     to let down our guard.
But Jesus did warn us
     to follow Him would be hard.

When we show great favor
     to those who repay.
We’ve not lived like Jesus,
     at least that’s what He’d say.
To give to the needy
     what they can’t return.
Is a lesson from Jesus
     that we all need to learn.
To lift up the weak
     and carry their load.
Is a way to serve others
     as we all walk this road.

So what will you do
     with the choices you make?
When you deal with people
     will you give, not just take?
Will you listen closely
     to all that you hear?
And pay close attention
     to what’s hidden by fear.
To treat people better
     than others might do.
To give them the treatment
     that you’d want for you.

When you stop and think
     of what Jesus taught.
To go and do likewise,
     then really you ought.
There’s no better time
     to begin in that way.
To do good to others
     by starting today.
And when I say “others”,
     I mean everyone.
To put into practice
     what we’ve learned from the Son.
©

God gave me this poem last night as I spent time with Him in prayer and listening. This time I jotted it down so I wouldn’t forget it when I finally made it to the computer. I pray that it encourages each of us to see others as God sees them.

In prayer,
Tom

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Stuck

I sit at my desk
     with a poem that is stuck.
It started to form,
     then it froze in the muck.
But that is okay,
     no reason to fret.
I keep listening to God,
     He’s not done with me yet.
The poems aren’t the real gift,
     this now I see.
God’s using them greatly
     as He calls to me.

God is the author
     who puts poems in my mind.
He calls me to Himself
     to see what I find.
This gift He has given,
     so what should I do.
I’ll collect them and type them
     and share them with you.
God likes to give good gifts,
     these poems I received.
If you had just told me,
     I may not have believed.

The real gift is greater
     and it’s not only mine.
To seek God’s face always
     is the gift that’s quite fine.
I pray that you seek Him
     and gaze on His face.
Enjoy the warmth always
     of His loving embrace.
And as you do listen
     on how you should live.
You’ll find that God loves you
     and to you He does give.

So when you consider
     the things that you’ve got.
Don’t think they’re your doing,
     of course, they are not.
So spend time with Jesus
     as you examine His gift.
Then look all around you
     to find someone to lift.
For the gifts God has given,
     quite out of the blue.
Are meant to serve others
     and not just for you.

That is my story
     as I sit here at home.
I need not be worried
     if my mind has no poem.
If my mind’s filled with Jesus,
     then that is the best.
If the poems do keep coming,
     I pray that you’re blest.
To share these poems with you,
     still seems kind of odd.
But when I am giving,
     I’m more like my God.
©

I had a poem start to form in my mind but when I went out to clear the driveway, it’s as if it just froze somewhere in there. When I came in and tried to “thaw if out”, I kept thinking about getting stuck. We don’t like getting stuck because it means, or at least feels like, we’re not going anywhere. God reminded me that even when I’m stuck He is there and He is more important than any gift or ability He has given. I pray that you actively seek God’s face during the times you feel stuck.

In prayer,
Tom

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Life’s Journey

We all have a choice
     each day that we live.
Are we about taking
     or all about give?
It has been said
     a long time ago.
Two paths through the woods,
     on which will you go?
Look back even further
     the story’s the same.
A wide path and narrow,
     which do you claim? 

A way that seems right
     in the mind of a man.
It leads to destruction
     if it isn’t God’s plan.
We like things our way,
     we think we’re so smart.
If it works for the world,
     how can we fall apart?
When we still struggle
     with what we can’t get.
It’s time to look upward
     before we forget. 

The path that’s less traveled
     in this life, you see.
Is the one that serves others
     instead of just me.
To start on that journey
     I give up my greed.
I look out for others
     to see what they need.
I look up to Jesus
     to start every day.
This journey goes forward
     when He leads the way. 

So as you consider
     the paths before you.
Which will you follow,
    what will you do?
Will you follow Jesus
     and the life that he led?
He cared for the people
     to the point that He bled.
So in this life’s journey
     your choice I do pray.
Is the one beside Jesus
     and that you’d never stray.

©

The poems just keep filling my head and if I don’t type them out my mind seems to clog up. I figure since I’m typing them, I may as well share them. I pray that they serve the purpose for which God is giving them to me.

In prayer,
Tom

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Christmas Reminder (Matthew 25)

Christmas is here,
     the day’s finally come.
When people will gather
     for good family fun.
As you come to dinner
     and pull up your seat,
There are people are out there
     who have nothing to eat.
You have two choices,
     what to do with that news.
Sharing with others
     is the one that I choose.

God tells us clearly 
     to help those in need.
But often I fail to
     because of my greed.
I need reminded
     to care for the weak.
To stand up and speak out
     for those who can’t speak.
It doesn’t take too long
     to notice out there,
Someone who’s hurting,
     then show them you care.

To visit the lonely
     and care for the sick,
Give food to the hungry,
     and the message might stick.
It’s all about doing
     what God said is best.
To hear Jesus tell you,
     “Enter into my rest!”
I pray that this Christmas
     you’ll clearly see,
Hope is for everyone,
     not just you and me!

I pray that you consider the words of Jesus in Matthew 25:31-46 this Christmas as you celebrate the birth of Jesus. His birth, death, burial, and resurrection was meant to be good news for all the people! What are you and I doing to make that good news known?

In prayer,
Tom

©

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Returning The Gift

I’ve been posting discussion questions from the Wednesday evening small group I am leading through the book of 1 Samuel at Deer Run.  I am going to begin writing a series of blog articles to correspond with each week’s discussion questions.  Some time back I wrote the first article, Caution: Objects In Life May Not Be What They Appear, dealing with lesson 1.

This blog post contains some thoughts connected with lesson 2.

It is easy to get surrounded by, and caught up in, the hustle and bustle of Christmas.  Christmas parties, events, concerts, and programs all clamour for our attention at a rate that often makes it hard to even catch our breath.  In the midst of all the busy-ness, many of us struggle to find just the right gift.  We want something full of meaning and value.   Something that will be cherished and held on to for years to come. 

Imagine receiving that perfect gift — the one you have been longing for your entire life.  Experience the joy, the satisfaction, the relief of having your long-standing request answered.   Okay?  Do you have it?  Now give it back!

I can hear you because the sound is an echo of me.  WHAT!?!?  Are you crazy?

That tends to be my reaction to the stuff of “value” that I receive, but what about the things of real value?  In the book of 1 Samuel, Hannah is childless and longs for a child.  We find her pouring out her heart to God asking for the one thing she wants most.  God hears, and answers, her prayer by giving her a son — Samuel.  But wait . . . part of her request was a promise to give this child back to God.  She seemed to know that this gift she was asking for would not be hers to keep.  Her willingness to not only make the promise, but to keep it and give Samuel to the service of the Lord was a blessing to the entire nation as Samuel would lead them in an extended time of peace.

So, what have you asked of God?  What have you received from God?  Are you grasping on to it, trying desperately to keep it to yourself?  Or are you returning it back to God for His use?  The Bible teaches that “every good and perfect gift comes from above”.  God is the provider of all good things.  His desire is for us to return them to Him and allow Him to use them in ways that far exceed what we could do with it on our own. 

One of the great gifts we have is our life.  God has given us life itself and He asks us to trust Him enough to give our life back to Him.  Jesus said, “whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.”  God can, and desires to, do great things in our life if we will surrender fully to Him.  The apostle Paul puts it this way, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20) 

God’s greatest gift to mankind was the sending of His son Jesus to be born, to live, to die, to rise again so that payment could be made for my sin.  It is my choice to return the gift of my life for Him to use according to His great design and plan.  How about you?