Written on the Palms of His Hands – Christian Poetry

Hello blogging friends.  Just wanted you to know that I’m still around, but have been busy fighting a ferocious health battle. One that I would prefer soon end.  Wish I could promise to jump back into posting and interacting, but sadly I rarely go near computers.  It aggravates my symptoms too much. Please know this: despite the struggle, I have never quit trusting God’s faithfulness and goodness. The reason for our suffering is often beyond our comprehension.  Our job is simply to trust Him more.  An admonition of which the Lord daily reminds me.

This is a poem I wrote in 2013, but I felt it needed an update.  I pray that it brings blessings and encouragement to others struggling.  I miss you all very much!

Much love in Christ……Sue

Written on the Palms of His Hands

Written on His palms:
The most perfect place to be.
Safe, secure from harm,
Since He’s watching over me.

Carried in His arms:
Just exactly what I need.
Resting in His might,
As upon His strength I glean.

Kneeling at His feet;
Casting all my heavy care.
Knowing all along
That my burdens He will bear.

Standing on His word
And believing unashamed.
Confident to wait,
Hoping in His faithful name.

Close, right by His side,
‘Cause I know He’ll never leave.
Trusting in His grace;
To His love, I’ll ever cleave.

Written on His palms;
Never ever will we part.
Scripted in His hands
And engraved upon His heart.

Sue Nash/2017
(edited from original 2013)

 

Lasting Help Comes From God

Ominous cloud formation last Fall, 2014

True help cannot come from our own strength.  It does not come through devices of our making, nor originate from ideas of our initiation.  It comes from a power source not our own.

Real and lasting help in a battle comes only from God.

This is especially true, when the storms we face are dark and ominous.  Onslaughts brought on by unseen dominions and principalities, at work against us because we belong to Christ.

Hallelujah, our God is greater! 

He is a very present help for any need.  His is the kind of help that is more than a mere temporary fix, because the Lord’s help goes beyond our finite understanding of what is really needed or wrong.  He understands the battle for what it is.  He sees to the root source: the real enemy we face.

Are you up against an overwhelming situation?  Is the battle raging?

*Admit that you need God’s help.
*Cry out to the Lord and then trust in the power of His name.

Through God alone, we shall prevail, beloved.  He will not fail us, but will deliver in our time of need.

Then Asa called to the LORD his God and said, “LORD, there is no one besides You to help in the battle between the powerful and those who have no strength; so help us, O LORD our God, for we trust in You, and in Your name have come against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God; let not man prevail against You.
2 Chronicles‬ ‭14‬:‭11 NASB

Broken Vessels Still Matter to God

Broken Pottery Matters

Do you feel broken?  

If so, you are not alone.  It is something many of us experience.  Whether physical or emotional, life has a way of beating us down and breaking us apart. 

Ongoing physical struggles, from a rapidly deteriorating spine, have on many occasions left me feeling useless in God’s kingdom.  While the list of what I can do continues to shrink, pain does its part to try to rob any remaining interest.

If I let it, brokenness convinces me that my life no longer matters.  Until God reminds me that my disabilities do not define His ability.

We are but jars of clay.  However, when filled with the Holy Spirit upon salvation, we instantly become vessels capable of emitting the glorious aroma of Christ.  Perhaps even more so, when broken.

If the fragrance on the inside of an exquisite perfume bottle is never shared, the outward composition matters little.  When opened, though, the scent gradually enhances the nearby surroundings. 

And if a perfume bottle ever breaks, the aroma literally takes over.

Broken Vessels, Letting Christ Take Over

Christ longs to do just that ~ to take over.  He will even use brokenness to bring it about.  So that His aroma will be what others sense in our lives, and His strength getting us through what they see.

Are you a broken vessel?  Has life as you once knew it gone awry?  Have things you love seemingly been ripped apart?

If you answered yes to any, let me assure you that God accepts you, broken pieces and all.  You still matter to Him. 

Despite the circumstances, allow Jesus to release His fragrance through you.  Rather than questioning why things happened or waste time longing for things to go back to the way they were, yield all the broken fragments into His care.

Should you keep believing for a miracle?  Absolutely, but in the meantime, stop fretting about what He has allowed in your life.  It’s for a reason.  His reasons.

Just let the brokenness to do its work.  Of softening your heart to others and getting rid of things displeasing to Him.  Of trusting Him more and simply doing what you can.

Remember, what we may view as broken, God sees as limitless.

As unique opportunities to be more dependent upon Him, to where every breath has time to offer praise and every moment space for Him to breathe instead.

Though never enjoyable and often contrary to what we want, brokenness that is surrendered to God can render His presence in us unfettered.  Something very much worthwhile and needful in our world.  His glorious aroma, spilling forth from broken vessels. 

Vessels that matter to Him eternally.

“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.”
2 Corinthians 4:7

The Way of Calvary ~ Christian Poetry

Deceitful the way
They captured You:
By a friend betrayed,
Bound and taken away.

Fearful the way
They deserted You:
As accusers tread,
All Your followers fled.

Shameful the way
They taunted You:
All their jeering heard,
Yet You spoke not a word.

Painful the way
They tortured You:
While Your flesh was torn,
Soldiers mocked to scorn.

Awful the way
They crucified You:
Hammered nails were heard,
On a cross undeserved.

Boastful the way
They buried You:
Guarded day and night,
With the tomb sealed tight.

Joyful the way
They discovered You:
“He is risen,” confessed;
By hundreds, witnessed.

Tearful the way
They gazed up at You:
Into clouds, did ascend,
But You’ll come back again.

Wonderful the way
We’re saved by You:
From our sins, set free,
Because of Calvary.

****

Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. (‭Isaiah‬ ‭53‬:‭4-5‬ NASB)

Sue Nash/2015
Photo is of the cross at our church

For similar posts, see Easter

At Calvary ~ Golden Oldie Hymn

With Easter approaching, my thoughts always shift to the cross and to what Christ accomplished at Calvary.  Join with me in remembering this lovely old hymn,

At Calvary
by William Newell.
1895

Sung by Lynda Randle

At Calvary

Years I spent in vanity and pride,
Caring not my Lord was crucified,
Knowing not it was for me He died
On Calvary.
Refrain:
Mercy there was great, and grace was free;
Pardon there was multiplied to me;
There my burdened soul found liberty
At Calvary.
By God’s Word at last my sin I learned;
Then I trembled at the law I’d spurned,
Till my guilty soul imploring turned
To Calvary.
Now I’ve giv’n to Jesus everything,
Now I gladly own Him as my King,
Now my raptured soul can only sing
Of Calvary!
Oh, the love that drew salvation’s plan!
Oh, the grace that brought it down to man!
Oh, the mighty gulf that God did span
At Calvary!

Thank you, Jesus, for Calvary!

With God All Things Are Possible

Never give up believing, because with God all things are possible!

HCliffCraig.com

With God All Things are Possible

What are you asking God for?

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When No One Else Will ~ Love the Prodigals

 

 

Photo credit Wikimedia ~ Johnny Durnan

**I have no idea how this happened, but this poem reverted back to a draft instead of published.  Sorry for the re-post!  But maybe there was someone else who needed it, right?

When No One Else Will

Love the prodigals
Out seeking life’s thrills;
Love the lost cases
When no one else will.

Love the undeserving
Whose lives are dark-filled;
Love the wanderers
Where no one else will.

Love the unworthy,
Those trapped in sin still;
Love the unlovely
How no one else will.

****

Who among us was not a prodigal, at some point?  God desires for His lost sheep to come back into the fold.  What part in that process is He calling you to today?

None are deserving, but all are still loved by the Shepherd of our souls.

****

 “What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? “If it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray.”
Matthew 18:12, 13

God Values the One ~ Each Offering Multiplies

Multiplies

God notices the small
And hears their cries.
He values every one;
By them resides.
He takes each offering
And multiplies.

Do you ever feel like your efforts for God go unnoticed?  Do you sometimes long for a wider realm of influence for your messages?

In our age of self-preoccupation, it is difficult to stay satisfied with pleasing Christ alone, and all too easy to get caught up in the trap of craving affirmation from others. 

Desiring multiple likes,
Wanting more feedback,
Obsessing over selfies,
Longing for massive followers.

As ambassadors for Christ, we may even conclude that success means reaching the masses.  After all, does not the great commission instruct us to do just that?  To go into all the world and preach the gospel?  It would almost seem like God wants each of His followers to pursue a global audience.

But we are not all gifted to reach large numbers with the good news about Christ.  The Billy Grahams of this world are unique.  God knows who can handle notoriety without succumbing to the temptations popularity affords.  He recognizes that very few of us would stay humble. 

One of our biggest errors, though, is to dismiss the importance to God of the one.  He loves the world, and it is a world made up of individuals.  People like you and me. 

 God loves the one

Christ left the ninety-nine to search for the one lost sheep.  He met with one woman by the well.  He called every disciple, one at a time.  God sent His One and only Son to save mankind.  He would have done it to save a single one.

Since God values every person, we should not feel slighted when our influence is small.  And if our focus is on pleasing the One who really matters most, we will never be dissatisfied with reaching just one, even if nobody else notices.

God takes each offering and multiplies

What will be amazing is when we get to heaven and God reveals the full impact our lives had on others. He will show us how the simple offerings we gave multiplied.  We will find out that the things we thought did not matter were actually huge, when viewed from eternity.

Until then, we must take our eyes and emotions off reaching the masses.  Instead, we need to focus on Jesus and serve obediently, even if our offering seems way too small.

God values us, each and every one.  No matter the offering, He blesses and multiplies.

****

“Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness,”
2 Corinthians 9:10

Waiting For Eternity ~ Christian Poetry

Ticking Time

Waiting For Eternity

I’ve a ticking anticipation
Waiting for eternity;
A longing for heaven,
With all of its fresh discoveries.

Yet, waiting births frustration,
Tainting the here and now,
Clouding present joys,
Forgetting current blessings somehow.

Like the blessings of a beating heart,
And the wonders of creation,
Or God’s unending love
And His remarkable salvation.

I’ve still a ticking anticipation.
Awaiting eternity;
Dreaming of what will be,
While cherishing moments now given me.

****

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ. ”
Titus 2:13

****

This is the second time I have used this photo of a Railroad Engineer’s watch, one that originally belonged to my husband’s grandfather.  If you would like to see that post, from a couple of years ago, see Tick Tock.  It’s a poem about not putting off a readiness for the rapture.

Sue Nash/2015

Weekly Photo Challenge: Serenity ~ God’s Perfect Peace

Serenity at Sea ~ Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

True serenity is not happenstance, as if found in some random place or elusive state of mind; rather, it is constant, emanating from an abiding landscape within, of a soul kept in perfect peace through Christ.
Sue Nash

****

Last Fall, Jim and I were in Cabo San Lucas for his son’s destination wedding.  The tranquil setting above was lovely, especially at dusk.  This photo is one of my favorites and almost makes me want to take up sailing.

We both needed a break from all the medical drama last year.  Thankfully, God protected and enabled both of us to attend, and we had an enjoyable time.  We could not have done so, without His help.

Christ alone calms the storms we face and brings us an inner peace and serenity that nothing else can.

“You keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on You,
because he trusts in You.”
Isaiah 26:3 ESV

“By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.”
1 John‬ ‭4‬:‭13-15‬ NASB

Close up at dusk

For similar posts of mine, see Weekly Photo Challenge, or go to The Daily Post.