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

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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

Weekly Photo Challenge: Twinkle ~ A Twinkling Star

Twinkle

A twinkling star
In prophetic alignment
Brought distant kings
On a royal assignment.

A swaddled babe
In the lowliest stable
Secured our hope,
Where before none was able.

A tainted world
In deception and blindness,
No more need be
For God’s Light dispelled darkness.

“The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.”
Isaiah 9:2

Twinkling Nativity

I received my faux candle as a gift last year and am now using it as a back drop for one of my Nativity sets.  Watching it twinkle and swirl is so soothing that it is easily one of my favorite Christmas decorations.

Sue Nash/2014

For similar posts, see Weekly Photo Challenge

From The Daily Post

Though Hand Join in Hand ~ Proverbs Post

“Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished; but the seed of the righteous shall be delivered.”
Prov. 11:21

****

Take my hand.
I will lead you into places
unknown.
Places deep,
Where I can teach you how to walk with Me on water.
To stand beside Me, as we walk on water.
Let Me take you to places that are beyond anything you can comprehend.
Grab a hold of My promises and don’t let go.

****

Souls

My heart hurts for the lost.

I want to see people healed.  I long for breakthroughs to problems, but more than anything I yearn for souls.

If only we could grab the hand of our lost loved ones and pull them into heaven with us.

We can’t.

But we can grasp the hand of Jesus in prayer, believing that He will grab a hold of their hand and pull them in.  That they will come to the saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

God is calling to us.  To trust deeper.  To hope higher.  To walk on water in our believing.

For me, it is believing that no matter the outlook or what the circumstances say ~

“the seed of the righteous SHALL be delivered!”

Will you join me in believing for the souls of our lost or wayward loved ones?  Christ loves them all.

To see similar posts, go to Proverbs Post

Written in Sand ~ God Erases Our Sins

I left this message at the beach ~ figured someone might need it

Written in sand
Our sins, such disgrace
Forgiven, our mistakes
God’s love does erase.

I have fond childhood memories of trips to the beach.  I don’t get to go very often anymore, but periodically just yearn to see the ocean.

I get to missing the taste of salty brine and the feel of sand between my toes.
Of relaxing to the gentle lapping of the waves, skirting back and forth on the shore.
Or building castles fortresses and writing heartfelt messages in the sand.

My memories of the beach linger.  Not long after formed, however, my seaside fortresses and writings in the sand all washed away.

Words written in sand, meant to last forevermore,
Erased quickly by the seashore.

The amazing thing about artistry in sand is that once eroded or washed away, the erasure is permanent.  There is no ability to precisely replicate what was before, whether castles or words.  Sand tablets have the ability to completely clean the slate.

Written in the Sand ~ Jesus

When He knelt before the woman caught in adultery, we don’t know what Jesus wrote in the sand that day.  Many speculate that while the religious leaders took turns hurling accusations of her guilt, Christ listed each of their faults in the sand.  Since there is no record in Scripture, nobody knows with certainty what He wrote. 

Jesus could have written about the sins of her accusers.
He could have documented the wrongdoing of the accused.

One thing is for sure, though, when the ordeal was over and the adulterous woman went on her way, she did so forgiven and cleansed to sin no more.  Had Christ listed her transgressions in sand during her trial, no trace of her wrongdoing remained when it concluded.  That is because when God forgives a repentant heart, He wipes the accusatory slate clean.

Covered completely by the blood of Christ, our sins lie forever forgotten at the bottom of the sea.  The tide of His merciful love erases the penalty of death written over our lives.  Our iniquities, washed away like messages in the sand.  No trace of former evidence remains.

“He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.”
Micah 7:19

Tiny Rosebud ~ Significant in God’s Eyes

Rosebud ~ was scarcely an inch in length

Tiny rosebud
Open up please
Share your fragrant beauty
With desperate souls in need

One need not measure a rose to discover its beauty.  An insignificant rosebud is as capable of producing loveliness and a pleasing aroma, as is a lofty hybrid.  All needed is for it to open up and share.   

Do you feel like all you have left is a tiny fragment of usefulness in God’s kingdom? 

It is enough. 

When given in sincerity, God accepts the fragments of our lives.

He uses leftover pieces.  Seemingly insignificant people.  Tiny rosebuds.

All God requires is that we open our hearts to receive Him and then surrender to share His love.  The offering is not measured by the size of the gift; rather, our willingness to obey and to share Christ with others. 

It doesn’t matter if you feel insignificant.  As you faithfully spread the aroma of Christ to those around you, His beauty is what comes forth and is pleasing to the Father.  

As His child, you are significant in God’s eyes.

I love that about God, don’t you?  How much we matter to Him.

“For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ”
2 Corinthians 2:15a

Solitary Snowdrop ~ God Understands Our Loneliness

Solitary Snowdrop

Solitary snowdrop bloom
Loneliness portrayed
Priceless pearl misunderstood

****

Loneliness is insidious.  It is a quiet heartache; a solitary wound.

Lonely people are not necessarily alone.  It can happen to anyone, even those in a relationship or surrounded by friends.  It can surface through rejection, misunderstanding or conflict, and can be either real or imagined.  No matter what, though, the pain of loneliness is very real.

In reality, none of us ever need feel alone, for Christ fully cares and understands.  Alone, He prayed at Gethsemane and trudged up Golgotha’s hill.  Despised and rejected, he endured the cross on His own.

When loneliness strikes, Jesus offers a companionship like no other.  His is not superficial or fleeting.  Although misunderstood by others, He knows and accepts us, regardless of the things for which they may shun.

Our quirks, our faults, our unique characteristics.

O course, our sins He must cleanse.  However, nothing about who we are deters Jesus from wanting us as friends.

After trusting in Him, we may have times where we feel lonely, but we are never alone from then on.  He is a friend who sticks closer than a brother, One who will never leave nor forsake.  We are His prized possession, His pearl of great price.

 “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee”
Hebrews 13:5

Do you feel lonely or rejected?  God really does care and understand.  You don’t have to be alone.  As simple as it may seem, just place your trust in Him.  Jesus wants to make YOU His friend. 

Words and photo by Sue Nash/© 2014

Weekly Photo Challenge: Reflections ~ Anchored Secure

Reflections ~ Anchored Secure

Is your boat safely harbored,
Readied for each stormy gale?
Are you anchored securely,
Lest there come some rough travail?

Have you found quiet refuge,
Unconcerned by wind or wave?
Are you tethered completely;
Your hope, confident and brave?

Fear, need not loose your moorings,
Or trials your peace assail.
For within the fiercest gust,
There is a Way to prevail.

Why guess how you’ll navigate;
On your own think what to do?
There’s an Anchor for the soul,
Who will never forsake you.

Let go of reservations,
Fix your trust on God above.
Set your compass on His truth;
Your reflections on His love.

****

“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.”
Hebrews 6:19a
NIV

For similar posts, see Weekly Photo Challenge

From The Daily Post

Photo and poem by Sue Nash/2014

 

Welcome Those with the Smell of the World

Snowy showcase

Where I live, the Bradford pear trees were spectacular this year.  Their coating of white clusters looked like clumps of snow that would easily turn the warming ground underneath into a frosty wonderland if given a good shake or two.

Bradford beauty

Their prolific flowers are beautiful, but they have a pervasive, putrid smell.  The odor is so offensive that it is one of the reasons I let others grow Bradfords.  I prefer enjoying them at a distance.

Beauty Lined

These photos are of the ones lining the parking lot of my church.  Although pretty during other seasons, when showcasing their floral display, they are particularly inviting.  Their snowy beauty welcomes, while the smell of the blooms, very easily overlooked.

When welcoming others to our places of worship, do we open our doors as equally to those with beautiful lives as we do those with the smell of the world on them?  Are we as loving to those we think have it together spiritually as with those who still have the stench of issues?

Not that we should ever neglect to have truth in love clearly spoken from our pulpits, in order that people leave closer to God than when they arrive.  But if we shun those lost and broken, distancing ourselves from them because they still resemble the world, we fail to love like Christ.

He loves everyone, regardless of the condition of the heart.  It is His job to change sin-stained lives.  Following the Lord’s example, our assignment is to love and welcome whosoever will.

Clustered Branches

The reality is that we all reek of sin and are in need of the cleansing blood of Jesus to cover us with His beauty.  A beauty that through forgiveness no longer has the putrid smell of the world; rather the fragrant aroma of Christ.

 “And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.”
Ephesians 5:2

© Sue Nash/ 2014

Give Me Jesus

Take your streets of gold;
Give me a place of no more pain.
Take your mansions
And all manner of heavenly gain.
Give me Jesus.

“And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.”
Revelation 21:5

Due to the neck issues, I am still having to avoid using my PC for posts, so excuse the basic format from my WP app.

I don’t know about you, but although I do long to see streets of gold in heaven, what will mean more to me is being in a place without suffering.

What will matter most, though, is spending eternity in the presence of Christ.

The photo above was an iPhone picture. Miss not sharing more of my Nikon photos! 😁