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.
Deep calls unto deep At the noise of your waterfalls And in the daytime Your loving-kindness calls And when the nighttime comes Your song shall be with me And even in the darkness, I shall see.
To the Lord my Rock I run beneath thy wings And in the night watches I listen to the angels sing When darkness is all around Send out Your light to me Shackles are broken, and I am free
A very present help Though the mighty waters roar And mountains they fall down Yet your Spirit helps restore My troubled heart in times of need Within my chest it surely leaps As the deep within my soul calls out to Deep.
This a a poem I just wrote based on a word the Lord gave me last week due to my current circumstances (cancer)
And in the silence there is peace It dwells above the noise and din And faith from heaven is released And fills completely from within
Beggings and pleadings are not heard By our own hand we are not kept afloat Yet Christ Himself in the midst of it all Keeps the storm at bay, asleep in the boat
I shall lie down, at peace in the silence When all around, the storm rages still Safe and secure in the depths of His glory In perfect peace at the center of His will.
I sleep in the midst of the lion's den They are held at bay by His heavenly hand His perfect love casts out all fear And in peace or storm I shall surely stand
I breathe in deeply the air of heaven It fills me and fills me with His perfect love A shaft of light shatters the darkness It leads me and guides me to my home high above.
The Lord is the strength of my life He is the ground upon which I stand And though war has risen and come after me I'm confident in the God who has set me free!
And in the secret place of His tabernacle He's set me high upon the Rock And His pavilion is a home and shelter to me I am confident in the God whom I can see.
This one thing is the desire of my longing heart That I may dwell in His house forever And behold His beauty and His marvelous grace And forever and continually seek His face
I would have lost heart, but for this one thing His beauty and the glory of His might And when everything's gone and I'm all alone I shall seek His face before His throne
Wait on the Lord when it all goes wrong When the world and it's ways presses in When the night has come and there's no way ahead Wait upon the Lord and bow your head
Fall to your knees and lift up your hands Cry out to the one from above And without any notice, quite suddenly You shall drenched by His marvelous love.
My hope is in the Lord my God, who dwells within my heart
The one who came and died for me, His glory to impart
The Christ who raised me from the dead
To live forevermore
The one whose broken ever chain and opened every door.
He's the Lord who whispers in my ear, He listens to my cries
The one who never ever sleeps, the one who surely died
He died for you and He died for me
He surely rose again
Removing every doubt and fear, removing every stain
He's my sunrise in the morning, the light for every day
To chase away the darkness and in my heart He stays
And there He always shall remain
Until my day is done
He gives me strength to carry on, the victory it is won.
He's the sunset of my life, He is with me to the end
He heals the very depths of me, the broken He shall mend
He lifts me with the rising tide
To stand on higher ground
He's with me through the waters, in Him I shall be found.
Hear my cry in the day of trouble
Lest I fall in the night, lest I stumble
Lord send me help from heaven above
And wrap me and hold me in thy glorious love
Strengthen me Lord, is my hearts desire
That I might be strong as I walk through the fire
Lift up my head, keep me from the flood
Let me stand in thy might, covered by your Blood
And in your name we shall raise up our banner
Of righteousness and holiness, your very own standard
That the world might see your strength and your power
In the darkest of nights, in an ungodly hour
And we shall remember the name of the Lord
For in our hands there's a two edged sword
It's the Word of God,our strength in the night
That enables us to go on, to stand and to fight
Some men trust in chariots and horses
Yet the children of God trust in heavenly forces
It's not by our strength nor even our might
But by the Spirit of God who prevails through the night
So save us Oh Lord and answer our call
Lift us Oh Lord when we stumble and fall
Onwards and upwards to thy heavenly gates
Where your glory and splendor forever awaits
Oh the beauty of His manifested presence
It is all the world to me
Not to be held captive by this life
but rather unrestrained by it, and set free
My eyes have seen the King
And they now belong to Him
My heart within me burns
Brighter than a thousand suns
The celestial road opens up before me
And down this road we walk as one
And this is the path I want to be found on
Until my time on earth is done
My heart beats to the rhythm of His
And everything falls into place
I see Him high and lifted up
The beauty of His holiness, the splendor of His grace
Draw me nearer blessed Lord
that I might mortify
That I might cast upon thy cross
what thou has crucified
And in the dying comes the rising
As I lift my hands on high
And your Spirit falls upon me Lord
That I might testify.
I am undone in the presence of thy throne
Your glory has stripped me all away
All that is left is what you've redeemed
And through me your impenetrable light has streamed
Draw me closer, closer, closer every day
Every week, every month, the passing years
Closer with my heart and with my life
With my thoughts and with my prayers and with my tears.
Your very presence opens up the sky above
And your glory cascades down in torrential love
The heavens are split asunder and reverberate with thunder
And our hearts are full and spill over with magnificent wonder.
Oh that the whole world would shake at your presence
And be overwhelmed and consumed by Your very essence
That dead bones would rise up and life would spring anew
The glory of the risen King would surely come into view.
We have fallen in the valley, where is our desperation?
Every tribe and every tongue and every far off nation
Needs to hear the cries of Gods anointed ones
From His Royal priesthood, His daughters and His sons
Fill us with this breath of life that comes from heaven above
Fill us once again oh Lord with your glory and your love
Take us to that holy place that's high upon the mountain
Where blessings fall like drenching rains from your unending fountain.
He whispers and it is heard above the raging storm He sees you shivering in the cold, but His love shall keep you warm When you are shaken by this life He ever stands immovable When you are persecuted for His sake He is with you in the crucible
In your afflictions, He is afflicted and He knows your pain He alone can take the blows and wipe away the stains He is the repairer of the breach and restorer of your heart He comes to you when everything is falling apart
Stand and see the redemption of your Lord As He comes again and in His hand a flaming sword The grapes of wrath are crushed in the wine-press of His justice He is our great Immanuel, He is truly God amongst us.
So Lord our God we come to where you are To a high and lifted rugged cross, our bright and morning star On bended knee we cry to You and suddenly You are near Your perfect love surrounds us and it casts our every fear.
He has bound up the brokenhearted
and set the captives free.
He came from the glories of heaven
to proclaim sweet liberty.
He opened up the prisons
and anointed His very own
He opened up a door that would
lead to His very throne
He has anointed us to preach
to the poor and to the wretched,
The forgotten and the broken
the despised and the rejected
He sees all of our afflictions
And every heart that's crushed
He rends the heavens and comes down
And every voice is hushed
And trembling hands are raised
In the presence of our King
And all of heaven praises
As the choirs of angels sing
And from this place of majesty
My heart is flooded deep
Overflowing with His glory
All I can do is weep.
And the tears they fall like rain
Watering crops of His salvation
And raises up His very own
In every generation.
He picks us up, He wipes our tears
His perfect love casts out all fears
He strengthens us when we are weak
He gives us hope when all seems bleak
He leads the way when I am lost,
He lifts my eyes up to the cross
He fills my heart when I'm depleted,
He gives me vision to see Him seated.
High above and on His throne
He tells me that I'm not alone
So take me to Your highest mountains
And fill me from inexhaustible fountains
Every mountain high and every wide river
Every sin and temptation, from them deliver
Draw me into your presence sublime
Don't move the mountain, give me strength to climb
Thus says the Lord, will you dwell with me?
In a place, in a moment, in a time that's always free
Who will ascend the hill of the Lord?
Who will stand in this holy place?
Those with clean hands and a pure heart
Shall gaze upon My face.
It is my joy to dwell with the
broken and contrite
Who have walked the darkest valleys
and have travailed all through the night
who have endured till the sun rises once again
who have suffered and who have overcome the pain.
And in this place I revive my very own
who have humbly fallen before me
who have come before my throne
Who have walked with me through fire and flood
Who loved not their own lives, who are covered by my Blood
Who knew in the depths of their heart they were never alone.
Who is this King of glory, mighty in battle?
Who bids us come into His glorious tabernacle
A place of quiet wonder, a place of majesty
A place where all the world ceases to be
A place that is vast beyond compare and deeper than the sea
A place, a place, where I am surely free
A place where He dwells with the contrite and the humble
A place where nothing ever causes us to stumble
And in the glory I am whole before His nail pierced feet
Before His throne, before His glory, weeping at His mercy seat.
Can you imagine the weight of all the sorrows
From our yesterdays and all our tomorrows
All the stripes that belonged to all of us
Would be laid upon Jesus as He bore our curse
The wounds that tore His Body apart
Belonged to us, right from the start
His humiliation as He hung naked upon the tree
Was ours, it belonged to you and to me
And the nails that pierced His holy hands
Surely belonged to us, as justice would demand
A crown of thorns battered into His head
Pierced the glory and was taken in our stead
A spear in His side and nails in His feet
Brought victory in Jesus as opposed to defeat
The victory was His and He gave it to us
When glory came down from up above.
Morning by morning He shall awaken you
And be the stillness of your soul throughout the day
He shall touch every part of your longing heart
And the shield of your faith shall quench every fiery dart
He is in every tear that falls
And in the billowing waves He hears your calls
Deep cries out to deep at the roar of Your waterfalls
And Your waves crash over me
I am consumed by the mercies of the Lord forever
It lifts me up and carries me away
Higher, deeper ever closer unto thee
This journey possible for thou has set me free
You are my quiet peace as the sun rises in the morning
You are my calm assurance at the end of every day
You are my one delight in a world that's ever changing
And at the center of my heart Your glory is ever blazing.
In everything You are my laughter in the rain
And in troubled times my endurance through the pain
Because of You I shall never be the same
My heart cries out thee.
In the silence and in the ever increasing noise
I shall steal away into the secret place of my heart
Where I can hear Your still and beautiful small voice
And in all of this You give me the strength to rejoice
You rise up in my heart like the sun above the mountains
And fill the valley of my life with waters from Your fountains
Let my heart longeth after thee in this dry and dusty land
For even in this gross dark world I can still see You hand.
Cry out you heavens and sing O mountains
For the Lord sustains you from inexhaustible fountains
He comforts His people and has mercy on the afflicted
He is never wrong and never contradicted
High above the trees in desolate heights
He warms us with His fire in the blackest of nights
And in the darkest depths of the valley below
He leads us and guides us in the ways we should go
In winters discontent when the days are dreary
He elevates His own and gives strength to the weary
Hope when no hope and joy everlasting
Clarity to confusion and deep understanding
We may well have troubles on every side
Yet are not cast down but we surely abide
In His glory, in His mercy in His very palm
The Lord our God the spotless Lamb.
There is no other Rock I know, not one
Sing oh heavens until His is work on earth is done
Break forth in rapturous praise you mountains set on high
For your peaks cry out His splendor, and His glory fills the sky
The Lord is our Redeemer and He formed us from the womb
He died upon a bloody cross and walked out from the tomb
He stretches out the heavens then He'll roll them into scrolls
This Son of God, what Majesty, this Savior of our souls.
His blessing shall pour forth like a mighty waterfall
Hands shall stretch to heaven as they hear the Masters call
We shall spring up like willows among the watercourses
We shall mount up and go forth on heavens mighty horses
Our spirits shall fly like the summer larks in the hues of the setting sun
Our hearts shall soar like the eagles when the day of the Lord has begun
He shall pour water on the thirsty and floods upon dry ground
He shall pour forth His Spirit and in His Spirit we shall be found.
You shall rise up with the wings of an eagle
And meet Him in the air
You shall shout with a voice of triumph
A shout that is beyond compare.
Jericho shook and the seas fled away
When all of God's people assembled
As the Lord our God came down from on high
And the inhabitants of the earth all trembled
Fear not says the Lord our God Almighty
For I am surely at the door
Wait upon Me, be still do not faint
In my presence there is so much more
I give strength to the weak and to the humble
I lift up the hands that hang low
I light up the way lest you fall and stumble
I am the way you should go.
Walk through fires, you shall not be consumed
And the rivers shall not take you down
On islands of despair you shall not be marooned
And no man shall take your crown
Stand in the depths of Christ alone
Stand strong and do not falter
Come now and worship before His throne
Rejoice before His altar.
All flesh is grass and its beauty
Is like the flowers of the field
We are here today and still we sow
Yet tomorrow what shall we yield?
The world and all who dwell therein
Shall surely fade away
Yet those who stand in Christ alone
Close to the cross they always stay
And though all things shall fade away
His Word shall remain forever
And we who remain and are yet alive
Are taken by the crimson river
This river that flows from Calvary
Is an inexhaustible fountain
It carries us across the sea
And summits every mountain
To the lofty heights of heavens glory
His people shall surely ascend
And there in the sky they shall meet their Lord
Their King, their Master, their friend
And there He dwells with the truly contrite
With the lowly, the humble, the broken
Who stood beneath that Bloody cross
And who stood upon every Word spoken
They shall run and run and not grow weary
They shall walk and shall not faint
They shall rise up with the wings of an eagle
And there shall worship without restraint.
In every stage of our lives there are seasons
And almost always we never know the reasons
We live, we love, we cherish, we lose
And the sudden losses leaves us with very little clues
We look to the sky and we wonder why
One of our loved ones they had to die
Yet for the most part there is no rhyme nor reason
There is just the changing of the season
In the hand of the Lord there lies it all
The creation of man and then the fall
Sin and rebellion and death floods in
And Eden vanishes and loss begins
There is a time to laugh and then to cry
A time to live and then to die
A time to gain and a time of loss
A time to refine away the dross
We are called to walk through fire and flood
And sometimes called to shed our blood
We are also called to laugh and sing
And fall to our knees before our King
No matter the loss there is always a reason
For the fire , the flood and the painful season
For the joy, for the laughter for the passion and pain
Know this dear saint, nothing is in vain
A Call To The Remnant 