Sometimes, doing right, doing good, brings disaster and mayhem.

I know this beca

use I have always struggled with the attacks,slander and just plain old things g
oing wrong that seem to happen while serving the Lord. I find it funny that when
we try to be good fathers, our children do something that really angers us to n
o end. When God is working on our stewardship with His money, that’s when the flat
-screen TV’s go on sale. You just start to get your life back together with the L
ord, then, bang, the furnace goes out in the dead of winter; or, crunch, your tr
ansmission falls out of the bottom of your car; or , ouch, you just get laid off
from work. Why do these things keep coming? Aren’t we serving a powerful God? Doe
sn’t He love me and want good things for my life? YES, He does! But, you know what
He wants us all to have just a little more than anything else: Faith and deeds.
In James 2:26 it says: “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without
deeds is dead”. Ooo, that sounds important. Is God saying that it is not enough
for us just to say that we have faith? Yep, He sure is. Now, as a living and bre
athing person, I don’t want anything dead attached to me. So, spiritually I should
have the same attitude.I mean why build a beautiful palace on a crumbling found
ation? It just doesn’t work. I challenge all of us to walk the kind of walk that g
ives everything of ourselves. My old pastor used to say “Give til it hurts”. I have
never known anyone who gave unselfishly who wasn’t blessed of the Lord. “God loves
a cheerful giver”. Also, when you are taking your “spiritual temperature” or taking st
ock of your walk with Jesus, if the whole world seems to be coming against you,
then you know you are serving the Lord and on the right path. Persecution is go
ing to come; especially to Christians. People who sin hate the name of Jesus. It
happened to the apostles; it will happen to you as well to some degree. Heck, i
n Acts 5:40-41, the Sanhedrin had the apostles whipped just for speaking in the
name of Jesus. But, instead of hanging their heads low, the apostles ran out of
there rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering in the name of
Jesus. Wow, what an attitude to have. I am not sure I could do that but I sure
aspire to. My hope is that this quick poem speaks to you and the Lord uses it
to either boost up your faith and deeds or, shows you an area to work on; just l
ike He is showing me this week.
Enjoy the poem and let it speak to you
The Great Plains Poet

Pens Dipped In The Ink Of My Own Blood

a poem by Chris T.

When the cruel pens have been dipped in the ink well of my own blood
And all the false witnesses have been brought forth.
That’s when the smile grows ever brighter
The eyes become a light by which men seek.

If the world’s wise men have gathered together to sign my death warrant
And a large hooded man cloaked in worldly wisdom walks down my hall.
That’s when I begin to count the golden bricks in heaven.
For I am a stranger in this world who can’t wait to come home.
Worldly possessions that I have worked for so hard
Begin to all breakdown one by one
And last years fashion has to last at least two more years
That’s when I know I am cloaked in His righteousness.
When the steps I take are met by all means of resistance
And my feet are swollen and weary
That’s when the blisters become calloused
For each obstacle tells another story about you.
If those I have fed with my own hand start to gnaw on my fingers
And the anger directed at me comes from my servant’s heart
Then I know the path I am on has the Lord’s direction
It breathes new life into a collapsed lung and makes the air a sweet perfume.
When Ramen noodles look like a Thanksgiving cornucopia
And knock-off macaroni and cheese are now my main diet
Then I will kneel down before God Most High and give thanks
While taking my last two cans of beans to the food bank
Oh Lord, let them come, those trials, those tribulations
For they don’t know you and your mighty ways
Oh Lord, please forgive my assailants
For they steal, lie, cheat and pillage out of a need to know you.