I wrote this today from my meditations on the Lord and my great desire to stay in that quiet place with Him. This is where eternal life is, no matter what storms we find ourselves in.
You are my resting place And deep within these realms of grace You are so very near You perfect love casts out all fear
And deep within this very veil Where there's no fear and no travail I'll throw the lines and I'll set sail Into the depths of your heart
You are my resting place I find in you a warm embrace Your peace alone is my one desire That stands with me in the midst of the fire
So when thunder crashes in angry skies I'll pay no heed nor lift my eyes To you alone I'll cast my gaze Beyond the storm and above the waves
You are my resting place It's there I look upon your face You're my anchor Lord, within the veil Your perfect love it never fails
So when lightening fractures the skies above The heavens shall open and rain down with love And I'll be soaked in your heavenly dew As your hand takes hold and carries me through
So Lord you are my resting place And I'm awash in a sea of grace And when the storm is gone and there is no trace I'll sail on, into the depths of your heart.
His name is like honey on my lips, His presence , the source of my life and my joy and my peace. Where could I go but to the Lord? He is the light of my life, the breath in my lungs, the very reason that I exist. His majesty and His glory tower over me.His love, as vast as the endless sea. His faithfulness as endless as eternity. In Him I have been gloriously set free. Oh for a thousand years to sing of the reason for my joy. It is complete in Jesus. Teach me Father how to glorify that name which is above all names. The name given, that name honored, that name high and lifted up, that name which fills the temple, which fills all of heavens chambers. It fills the nigh skies and the vast seas, it fills my endless soul and brings me to my knees. Jesus, Jesus, walk with me and by the power of your Holy Spirit let all the world see that when they see you, they have seen the Father and the glory and the majesty.
In every storm, the saint has an anchor and His name is Jesus. We are out there in the roiling seas and He is the forerunner. He goes before us into the harbor and draws us in. In ancient times when the sea was too stormy to enter the harbor and giant waves would crash against the harbor walls and the ships would drag their anchors and be in danger of overturning and being swamped, they would lower a skiff, a forerunner. The anchor would be placed on the small boat and the boat would make its way into the harbor and the anchor would be dropped in calmer waters ,then the boat would be pulled into the harbor.
Jesus is our forerunner, Jesus is our anchor and He has went before us and prepared a place for us. A place of peace and stillness, His very presence speaks to the storms, be still! When you flee to Jesus He shall be our Rock, our strong high tower. Come to Me, He says, and I will give your weary souls rest. God and His Word are immutable, that is to say unchanging over time, any time, eternity even. God is unchanging and the Words that He speaks are unchanging. He never lies and this immutability, the Word says, is so that we “might have strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.” There it is, its right there, take a hold of it, grab onto to it, never let it go, let it take you into the still calm harbor of His presence so that you might survive the storm. Take hold of this brothers and sisters, and you shall not drown.
I wrote this poem yesterday after the report that the cancer in my colon was gone. It reflects upon the storm my family and I have navigated in the last several months with a diagnosis of stage 4 cancer. It was not my first storm and I am sure it will not be my last but the one ever present help has been Jesus. I have lived as a Christian long enough to know that Jesus is the anchor of my soul. I still have a pet scan next week to determine if the cancer is still in the rest of my body, but the same God who rules and reigns this week, shall be ruling and reigning next week and I will be careful to give Him all the honor and all the praise. Peace, in the midst of the storm, is among the most valuable treasures from the vaults of heaven. If you are in the midst of a storm today, come to Jesus and He will give you peace and rest for your weary soul.
The strength that takes me through.
The anchor of my soul When I was on my knees Is the harbor of my life Amidst the stormy seas
You are my strong high-tower You're the one I run into When I'm weak you are the power The strength that takes me through
The waters shall not overwhelm The fires shall not consume When Christ my Lord is at the helm When His presence fills the room
You were there from the very start You are there when I'm all alone You dwell in the very depths of my heart You are there upon your throne
So I'll praise you lord forevermore You're my life, my breath, my all When you knock I'll open up the door I will answer when I hear you call.
I awoke this morning (05/17/2024) from a dream about exalting the name of Jesus and I had this line in my spirit “perfect in all your broken pieces,” which prompted the writing of this poem………….
Made perfect in Christ
Perfect in all your broken pieces Perfect in the Blood of Christ alone His perfect love it never ceases As He draws you before His triumphant throne
Jesus, Jesus how I love you so I know you'll never let me go Beneath thy wing I ever stand Safe and secure in the palm of your hand
I'm healed by the Blood that never ceases I'm healed as I wade amidst it's flow And my cry to the heavens surely reaches It cleanses me whiter than the purest snow
I'm perfected by Christ my one Redeemer The one who died for you and for me I'm healed and made whole as I go ever deeper Deeper in Him shall set me free
His perfect love cries out in the darkness It cries out to you right where you are Conquering all sin and death and sadness He is so near who once was so far.
By embracing the possibility of death, this has released within me an abundance of life. Life and that more abundantly flows from the one who dies to himself. We know this. We learn this from the Scriptures. We are schooled by the Holy Spirit to take up our cross and die daily. In the midst of death to self, comes pouring forth life in Christ. There is an ocean that lies within us and in order for it to well up inside of us and come rushing forth like a mighty tsunami, there has to be an earthquake. There has to be a mighty shaking that sweeps away everything that is is not firmly rooted on the solid foundation of Christ my King.What an honor for me to be shaken in such a way that demonstrates to the world the immovable force that lies within me. Christ and Him crucified. The Holy Spirit and the baptism of fire. My Father in heaven who sits upon the throne.
Death may come barreling towards us like a freight train sometimes, but life in Christ falls upon us like a ateroid. Events of such magnitude threatens everything that we know and is the catalyst to change everything we have ever known. For out of death to this world springs forth life. Out of the gross darkness of our circumstances God commands light to shine forth in all its celestial glory. Not just any light, rather light that emenates from the fires of heaven. The same fires that a coal was taken from and touched the lips of Isaiah. In this light everything is on the line. Death where is your sting in the light of Christ my King? Oh grave where is your victory in the glory of His majesty? There is a love vast as the ocean and it dwells inside of me, there is victory over all my flesh for my Lord has set me free. There is a peace that surpasses understanding when to this world we surely die, one day at a time, anxious for nothing, tis our eternal hearts cry.
Forgiveness is a river that flows from a mountain of grace and runs into and ocean of love. And mercy falls like rain, again and again, and soaks us to the bone as it continually falls from up above.It falls, it falls into the deepest part of me and transforms me again and again until Christ is all you see. In the Kingdom of God there are times and seasons and they ebb and flow. And we are called to fall into their rhythms so that we take root and grow. Growing beside the river, the evergreens take their place, fed from the waters of life with the Son upon their face.
In season and out of season we are ever ready and I’ll shall walk in the way He leads, for He has ever led me. He leads me through the mountain passes and down into the valley, and we ford the raging spring time river. This river that flows from the mountain high, it continually flows forever. So there are times and seasons and mountains and valleys. There are times to live and there are times to die. I often look and wonder why. Yet only for a moment for then I lift my eyes to the one from whom all seasons flow. I shut my eyes and now I know the way that I must go.
Heavenly seeds are sown in the shadows of winter Where the only light to be found is but a flicker Yet come the spring, that which fell and died Rises with the summer sun and is glorified
Tribulation may be the soil beneath our feet Yet the glory is the blossom and the fruit And storms and trials may be our lot But Christ Himself is our very root
We can glory in the cross and in the shame And we can do it all for the sake of His name Yet the seed that falls and dies in the ground Shall rise again in glory, and in Him shall be found
So cry aloud with all your might beneath the soil For neither principality nor power can despoil The coming glory of the day that follows night And the saint who praises God with all their might!
If I could capture the light from a million sunbeams And grasp every falling star from the sky And be filled with the light of a thousand suns Then I'll be ready when the time comes
When the time comes to walk into your glory Where the brightest sun simply hides its face in shame And the universe itself bows down in humble adoration And we leave behind the very edges of our imagination
A place where the ocean is rendered to but a single tear And all the heavens above cry out in resounding glory And a million upon ten million incorruptible saints Sway in the wind of the Spirit and know there are no restraints
No eye has seen nor has any ear ever heard Nor has it entered into the hearts of those who love Him Of the glory and the majesty of this heavenly place Where we gaze upon His throne and look into His face.
I wrote this song a few years back for my wife. I wrote it in a melancholy mood as poets often do. It was entitled “If I ever have to leave you.” I had no idea when I wrote it that just a few short years later I would face this cancer so the song took on a new meaning.Mary Greig, my dear sister in the Lord came up with the melody and sings it beautifully. Thanks also to Mark Dunsmore who produced it and can be heard on it as well.
The grace that I've found is not exhausted It rises still like the incoming tide And my heart is flooded to overflowing From the fountain that comes from deep inside
There is a fountain in the depths of me The Father, the Son and the Spirit three Who came to forever set me free All glory to my King.
Our fountain-head of blessing here is grace And is our strength, and strength alone to run the race For on no other hand I can rely but the hand that stretches down from up on high
I fall into His arms that are surely everlasting And to never leave this place is all I'm ever asking Even the sparrow and the swallow are found within this place My prayer is that I am found in your glorious warm embrace.
Your presence fills me with great joy And turns every shadow into light Great consolation is mine Which feeds the deepest part of me, and sustains me though the night.
Oh blessed joy is mine divine The eternal longing of my aching heart For the day when the morning star rises And then, forever, we shall never be apart
To look into the depths of who You are Even for a moment, gives life unto my weary soul The one who took the many broken pieces Before the throne and the Father made me whole
I will awaken the dawn with the praises of my King You will hear, from the ends of the earth, heavenly choirs sing Look through the door of your heart that He has knocked upon And hear the angels singing their golden heavenly song
Then shall heaven and earth be one together And we shall abide before His throne forever I in him and He in we Cast upon an eternal holy sea.
Trouble came knocking at my door And a voice inside said don't let it in I opened it And it knocked me to the floor I got backup on my feet And it knocked me down once more
Chorus Jesus pick me up so I can stand again Jesus pick me up, I so dearly need you friend You are my Lord of Lords and King of Kings The man of many sorrows If you do not pick me up today Then there will be no tomorrows
I came to a bridge over troubled waters But the bridge was swept away I went down into the waters And in the darkness I heard Him say I will be with you as you pass on through And suddenly the waters withdrew
Then I came upon a mountain high To scale it I would surely die I asked the Lord to remove this thing So that I could rejoice and praise my King No My son, ask of me to give you power To climb every mountain and to scale every tower
Bridge
I'll be with you as you pass on through I'll be with you in all that you do.
Trouble came knocking at my door And a voice inside said don't let it in I opened it And it knocked me to the floor I got backup on my feet And it knocked me down once more
Chorus Jesus pick me up so I can stand again Jesus pick me up, I so dearly need you friend You are my Lord of Lords and King of Kings The man of many sorrows If you do not pick me up today Then there will be no tomorrows
I came to a bridge over troubled waters But the bridge was swept away I went down into the waters And in the darkness I heard Him say I will be with you as you pass on through And suddenly the waters withdrew
Then I came upon a mountain high To scale it I would surely die I asked the Lord to remove this thing So that I could rejoice and praise my King No My son, ask of me to give you power To climb every mountain and to scale every tower
Bridge
I'll be with you as you pass on through I'll be with you in all that you do.
When the stroke goes down to the soul And the billows they begin to roll When the lightening fractures the sky above Shall we be found to be anchored in His glorious love?
When the ship is swamped and going under And the rain so loud and the clashing thunder Cause you to cry out and look up towards heaven Shall we stand upon God and not be so driven?
Surely goodness and mercy despite our afflictions Will follow us forever without contradiction And a table before us, a feast for a King Will cause our troubled hearts to sing
Of His majesty and glory and joy without measure As we gaze upon His righteousness, His heavenly treasure He maketh me lie down in pastures so green And beside the still waters eternally serene.
I wrote this poem yesterday while I was having chemo. It was a long day but I very much sensed the presence of the Lord, in divine appointments and also a message from a dear friend who had just recorded the message in the middle of their prayer meeting in Estonia. He prayed for me and then his dear wife prayed for me and I could hear the other saints praying in the background. I was quite overcome to think how honored and how privileged I was. I was humbled, shed a few tears, then wrote this poem. You will notice that I use the word infused a couple of time 🙂
When hope gives way to presence.
When the desire comes, it's a tree of life to me. And the tree nourishes the parts you cannot see Hope deferred causes my aching heart to long And in the longing creates in me a song.
Sing my heart, sing of all His glory Create in me the desire to tell Your story. To scale the highest mountain, just to shout your name Consumed by your majesty, ignited by your flame.
Come to me, draw me to your throne To that place I know that I am truly known And the tree of life infuses me with peace And your glory, from the depths of me, released.
Beyond the falling leaf there lies the pastures green And a heavenly river infused by glorious streams. Beyond the troubled waters you have surely come to me And you take my spirit over, to that place beyond the sea.
Sorrow leaves it's mark upon the soul As the Lord shapes us and takes back what the enemy stole With an iron pen and lead in the rock, it is written The genuine work of God, His composition
He has written His word upon the heart that He has given And with many a blow, sin from our soul is driven Shall we not welcome the rod that can never miss? And with a warm embrace, direct it with a kiss
We can count the cost, then embrace the cross or lay it down and suffer the loss Remember each one is crafted by His hand And are designed so that no man can still stand It's by His Blood and sorrow they were crafted And they seal the wounds whereby we are grafted.
It seems to me that an old soldier’s life would be marked by the battles in which he fought. He could look back and remember the wars in which he participated. He would remember certain foxholes. He would remember the comradery with his fellow soldiers. He would certainly remember the ones he fought back to back with. In many ways he would acknowledge that he had been shaped by each battle. Little by little, precept upon precept, he would become the soldier he is. And even when his wars are all fought, he will always be a soldier. I know that the battles I have fought have shaped me. The seasons that I have walked through have molded me. I remember well the foxholes I have been in at particular times with saints, brothers and sisters, that I have loved as David loved Jonathon.
The seasons of loss, the seasons of victories, the seasons of crying out to God. There are secret times when I have despaired. Times when only the Lord would see the tears upon my pillow, many a sleepless night I have walked where it was just me, all alone, with my Lord. Yet I can say that while all of those battles and seasons have shaped and molded me, none of them has identified me. I am not the guy from the broken childhood, not the guy who lost a son, not the guy who has a special need son. Not the guy whose son went to prison, not the guy who fought for his grandson. And now, not the guy who has cancer. My sole identity is the Lord Jesus Christ and Him crucified. No neighbor or friend would know my background, unless at certain times I could share small portions of my life to comfort them with the very same comfort I have known. Each poem I write I write is either from the battle-field or from the memories of a battle fought. They are forged in the fires of battle or spring to life from from heaven’s throne-room. I wrote this one yesterday. A soldiers poem from a present battle.
THE THORN THAT PIERCES
Shall I shrink back from the crown of thorns Shall I fall away when I’m battered and torn Shall I not rise though broken and wasted And declare heavenly treasures that I have tasted.
This earth is neither my portion nor my rest And these thorns are but my heavenly test Pierced and broken but never defeated I look to heaven where soon I’ll be seated
I cast my eyes upon dark Calvary’s hill And from the valley floor seek to go higher still Closer and closer and closer to thee Where chains are broken and from fetters set free
The night is far spent and the day is at hand And with Your help alone I will surely stand The storm may rise and the waves grow higher Yet to be where you are is my one desire
Nearness to God is the source of it all Whether we walk or run, or stumble and fall Through the storms, through the rain, the day or the night He is there upon the waters, what a glorious sight.
A Call To The Remnant 