Grace

by

I Was There

I sit here tonight
     and pray as I should.
As I do reflect
     on this day we call “Good”.
I try to imagine,
     if I had been there.
Would I have noticed,
     would I even care? 

People are dying
     out there on the hill.
That’s just what happens
     to that kind of swill.
The crowd’s cheering loudly,
     is that my voice too?
I want no part of this,
     this king that’s a Jew. 

Why do the shouts seem
     so loud in my ear?
What did I do that
     has brought me so near?
It seems I am stuck here,
     suspended in air.
I wish that the truth was,
     this punishment’s not fair. 

But as I consider
     the things I’ve done wrong.
It starts to sink in,
     this is where I belong.
I lived like I wanted,
     life was all about me.
It was my sinful choices
     that put me here on this tree. 

There are two men with me,
     quite different are they.
As I listen closely,
     I hear one of them pray.
“Father, forgive them”
     were the words that I heard.
From where I am hanging,
     that sure sounds absurd. 

The other man’s yelling,
     and mocking the first.
As the man they call Jesus
     cries out, “I do thirst!”
The insults continue,
     but I’ve had my fill.
I say, “We deserve this
     for what we thought was a thrill.” 

We got what was coming
     from the choices we made.
But that’s not the case
     with Him, I’m afraid.
There’s no fault within Him,
     He’s innocent for sure.
Yet He still hangs there
     and I watch Him endure. 

I realize this moment
     requires my all.
So I turn to the Christ
     and on His name I call.
Jesus, remember me
     when you reach your kingdom.
He says I’ll be with Him,
     then He says “It is done!” 

It was quite a journey,
     I’ve not left my chair.
But I look at my life
     and I’m sure I was there.
My sin hung there with Him,
     it was nailed to that tree.
I must make a choice,
     which thief there was me? 

The one I have chosen,
     I pray you do too.
Is to cry out to Jesus,
     let me be with you!
So my life did not end
     as it looked like it would.
It is only beginning
     on this Friday called “Good”!

 © 2014 by Tom Lemler

We had a great Good Friday service and I was spending time in my office praying afterward as I waited for the building to clear so I could get it ready for Sunday.  As I did so, God put this poem in my mind so I typed it out to share with you.  I pray that it helps you to examine the events of Good Friday from a fresh perspective.  I pray that you choose to cry out to Jesus to remember you!  I pray that this poem brings glory to God and accomplishes His purposes for it.

In prayer,
Tom

 

by

Work In Progress

The poems keep on coming,
      that God gives to me.
Their purpose is shrouded
      in some mystery.
As I consider,
      the things God has done.
It seems they have reason,
      that’s more than just fun.
This gift that He gave me,
      He calls me to share.
So you can glimpse Jesus
      and know of His care.

It happened so quickly,
      it caught me off guard.
If I tried to write these,
      it would be quite hard.
It may not be writing,
      but collecting I do.
The poems that God gives me,
      I do share with you.
The stories within them,
      I hope you do see.
Are stories of Jesus,
      how He’s worked in me.

There are still times that
      I sit on the fence.
So God’s working in me
      is still present tense.
I was asked a question,
      I had no answer for.
So I sought God fully
      and He gave me more.
It is in times of quiet
      and seeking God’s face.
He makes Himself known
      and gives me this grace.

He does remind me,
      it says in His Word.
That people won’t know Him,
      unless they have heard.
And people won’t hear Him,
      unless I will go.
And tell of His goodness,
      I already know.
To put His great message,
      in words such as these.
So someone might read them,
      and God seek to please.

And while it’s amazing,
      the response that has come.
I pray that He’ll use,
      these words to reach some.
To encourage someone,
      or brighten a day.
Perhaps show a person
      that God knows the way.
To challenge a reader,
      to look deep within.
And get rid of all things
      that could lead to sin.

To help people realize
      there’s a God that does care.
No matter where you’re at,
      up close or out there.
I’ve been to those places,
      at times in my life.
He’s been in my good times,
      and walked me through strife.
Whatever you have done,
      He calls out to you.
Come walk beside me,
      I’ll make all things new.
©

I was spending time with God this afternoon resting my mind, spirit, and body when a bunch of rhyming thoughts filled my mind.  As I tried to sort it all out, this was the result.  I pray that it gives you a glimpse of God’s work in me and that it encourages you to allow God to work in you, even in unexpected ways.

In prayer,
Tom

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Rest

We work hard, we play hard;
     but what about rest.
God says we need it
     to be at our best.
Our life gets so busy
     at work and at play.
Our rest gets put off
     for at least one more day.
So many people
     work just to survive.
We don’t get the rest
     that would help us to thrive.

Go here and do this, 
     and what about that?
If you think you are done;
     well, here’s one more hat.
Some tasks are given,
     we think there’s no choice.
Others we call for
     in the loudest of voice.
We need this, we want that;
     we can’t fall behind.
To have all that we want
     takes the top of our mind.

If I don’t keep going,
     refusing to stop.
Then somebody else
     will climb to the top.
And as I am climbing,
     and taking each rod.
The ladder of this world
     takes me further from God.
The king of the mountain,
     the top of the hill.
Is not that important
     when God says, “Be still.”

Strength for the weary
     and hope for the tired.
Seems so out of reach,
     when you fear you’ll be fired.
So onward we press
     and give it our all.
We will never give up
     ‘til we can’t help but fall.
So many people
     who fall flat on their face.
Need a good chance to rest
     and experience grace.

So when you are tired,
     it seems with no end.
Examine your schedule,
     rest may be your friend.
And as you rest fully,
     as God said you should.
Look for the weary
     and do them some good.
Help carry their burden
     and show them the need.
God’s command to get rest,
     they really should heed.
©

It has been what some would call a “lazy day”, but I prefer to think of it as a “restful day”. As I was resting, falling in and out of sleep, God put this poem in my mind. I am thankful for a work environment that tries to protect my need for rest by valuing the work that I do. I pray that this poem encourages you to rest and to do what you can to help others to rest.

In prayer,
Tom

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Everyone

I am part of a group
     to which I belong.
It is not for those others,
     for their lives are lived wrong.
I do take for granted
     all the good things I’ve got.
Don’t ask me to share them,
     of course I will not!
It is easy to think
     I deserve all these things.
Don’t blame me for their lack,
     they just got what life brings.

The good news of Jesus
     is for people like me.
To spread it much further,
     that just shouldn’t be.
I hope that you’re thinking
     as you’re reading this poem.
The lights may be on
     but there’s nobody home.
The truth is much different
     than these lines that I wrote.
Like it or not,
     we are in the same boat.

As you consider
     the way it might seem.
When put down on paper,
     this view is extreme.
But when you look deeper
     at the things that you do.
Could this type of thinking
     exist in you too?
If you think that can’t happen,
     then you’ll need to meet.
A good man named Peter
     and an animal filled sheet.

Peter was godly,
     he did what was right.
But there were some people
     that he kept out of sight.
They’re just not like us,
     I’m not being mean.
But we are God’s chosen
     and they are unclean.
So God spoke to Peter
     when he went to pray.
They’re all my creation,
     they’re clean if I say.

Peter did realize
     the message God sent.
When the “unclean” did call him
     he got up and he went.
To a man named Cornelius,
     he brought the good news.
To all who would seek Him,
     God gladly would choose.
The lesson forgotten
     again and again.
We all need God’s mercy
     when it comes to our sin.

Before you quit reading,
     dismissing all of this.
The message is for you,
     no one does it miss.
There’s only one reason
     you have a great hope.
It’s not that you’re so good,
     to that, God says nope.
Unmerited favor,
     this thing we call grace.
Yes, it is for you,
     and the whole human race.

So do you remember
     how this poem began?
To make you think, “crazy”,
     was part of the plan.
Sometimes our actions
     need to be put in print.
To see them more clearly,
     or at least get a hint.
So when you see others
     you think don’t belong.
Remember God’s mercy
     and admit you are wrong.
©

As I was spending time with God praying and going through Acts 11 for a sermon I plan to share tomorrow, this poem appeared in my mind. I pray that God uses it as He chooses and that each of us would notice the people that we have a tendency to ignore and that we would choose to find ways to share Jesus with them instead.

In Prayer,
Tom

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The Art Of Re-GIFTing — Part 1: Grace

This post is the first of a series I had written on another blog of mine a couple of years ago.  I will periodically be posting those writings here on this blog.

I had the opportunity to preach at the Deer Run Church of Christ on the last Sunday morning of 2008.  My message was entitled, “The Art of Re-Gifting” and looked at the example of Jesus found in John 4:4-42.  In most of my preaching I like to wrap my sermon points around a word that gives people a “handle” to carry the sermon home and remember what God is calling them to do.  In this sermon, I looked at four points from the account of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well.  These points hung on the word GIFT.  It was all about the gift of Jesus that causes Paul to exclaim, “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!”  Jesus gives us an example of how we can take the gift He has given us and “re-gift” it to others.  This article will look at the first point: re-gifting Jesus style requires grace!

John’s telling of this encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman opens with a comment on the nature of Jesus that is often overlooked and not considered — Jesus was tired!  I can picture Jesus finally arriving here at Jacob’s well, relieved that He can finally be left alone to get some rest.  John lets us know that the disciples had gone into town to buy food and Jesus chose to be alone, or was left alone, to unwind from the journey He had taken.  I can picture it because I have been there — tired from travel, tired from the pressures of the day, tired of people, just wanting to be left alone to rest, relax, and think.  Are you there with me yet?  Are you comfortable?  Are you in that “relaxing zone”?  If so, then perhaps you can imagine the arrival of a stranger to your place of isolation and rest.

What is your reaction?  What is my reaction?  Perhaps, “Go away!”; or “Leave me alone!”; or, “Can’t you see I’m tired?”; or perhaps our initial response would be the same as Jesus, “Will you give me a drink?”  In His tiredness, Jesus initiates a conversation.  Maybe this was simply a reaction to meet His own need for a drink.  We would be okay with that.  Simply fulfilling a need doesn’t have to interrupt the rest we so desperately want — it may even improve it!  But Jesus doesn’t leave it at meeting His needs.  As a matter of fact, it soon becomes quite apparent that this was never really about the needs of Jesus.  Instead, Jesus extends grace by stepping out of His tiredness to interact with an individual that needed to know Him.

But the grace of re-gifting goes even deeper.  This wasn’t just anyone that Jesus was interrupting His rest for.  This was a Samaritan and a woman.  This offering of grace even catches the woman by surprise that this Jewish man would be talking to her.  The idea of a Jewish man to be talking to a woman in public was unthinkable.  And to talk to a Samaritan, asking her to help you, was simply unheard of.  Yet here is Jesus, about to embark on a conversation designed to reveal to this woman the priceless gift that stands before her.

I know, you are thinking, “So what?  Doesn’t apply to me!  I don’t mind talking to women and I have nothing against Samaritans.”  But it does apply, doesn’t it?  You and I know people that we do our best to avoid.  People of different cultures, nationalities, lifestyles, or whatever it may be — we choose not to associate with them.  We excuse it.  We rationalize it.  We even attempt to justify it.  But in the end, we must come face to face with the grace shown by Jesus and ask ourselves, “How are we doing at extending grace — undeserved favor — to all those we encounter?”  You see, that is the first step in re-gifting Jesus style.  We must recognize that the gift we have received from God is so undeserved that we are willing to extend grace to all people we encounter.

I pray that the encounters that you and I have with people will be filled with grace.  May we learn from Jesus how to re-gift what God has given us.

Up next:  The Art Of Re-GIFTing — Part 2:  Inventory