Sacred Life: A Chapbook of Christian Poems, Page 2

  *Jehovah Jireh is a name of God derived from the translation of "The Lord will provide" (Genesis 22:14).

  The Villain

  When I kissed those lips,

  It was the same lips

  that had never been nursed

  by a mother's breast.

  When I kissed your cheek,

  It was the same cheek

  that had one day been slapped

  by your mom in a fitful rage.

  When I signed on the line,

  I should have read the fine print,

  that most days you would

  inwardly cringe from me,

  as you once cringed from her,

  and you would live in fear

  you would be abandoned

  because she had forsaken you.

  I only ask that you give me

  a clean slate—a fresh start,

  I ask you to see me for me

  instead of making me

  into shadow puppets

  of your villainous mother.

  Dain

  His skin looked paperwhite

  I asked him his name

  He said “Dain Blythe—

  But you can call me Dain.”

  He dressed like a butler

  but I could tell he was a master

  of phantoms and demons,

  I sailed straight for disaster.

  I asked him a question

  “Are you flesh and bone?”

  He picked up a blade

  and sharpened it on whetstone.

  I turned to flee

  And felt him chasing me

  Then I called out “Jesus Christ!”

  He dropped his knife,

  I said it again,

  He vanished from sight.

  "Whenever the impure spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, 'You are the Son of God.'” —Mark 3:11

  Potential

  I look at you and admire

  the great stuff you could do

  if only you'd aspire.

 

  If you had more confidence,

  you could be more prominent;

  If you had less reluctance,

  you'd have more abundance;

  If you had more hope

  and found better ways to cope.

 

  I wish you could see you

  the way that I do

  Then God would give wings

  to all the things you dream.

 

  "....Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.' " —Mathew 17:20

  Good Friday

  My heart keeps repeating,

  When I close my eyes,

  I keep on seeing,

  A man of sorrows,

  Broken and bleeding.

  I offer an embrace,

  To lend some comfort,

  As He hangs in disgrace,

  And He looks up at me,

  With blood on His face.

  Can my faith really reach,

  Through time to soothe Him,

  As He hangs by a thief,

  Though He is blameless,

  And acquainted with grief.

  "He was despised and rejected by mankind; a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem." —Isaiah 53:3

  Rage

  Your anger runs off the tracks,

  Like a speeding freight train,

  Scything creatures and kids,

  Seething like toxic rain.

  It’s electrified,

  Completely out of control,

  Unjustified,

  No one even tries to slow.

  Next time you get angry with me,

  Count backwards from three,

  Cause I’m no longer standing by ,

  Waiting for sparks to fly.

  Taste some of God’s fruit,

  He can easily subdue,

  All that hatred inside,

  If only you ask Him to.

  "Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered…" —Proverbs 22:24

  “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry…" —Ephesians 4:26

  Other Version of You

  There was someone who looked a lot like you…

  sitting right next to me in the church pew….

  same hair, same face, same clothes….

  except he raised his hand…

  when the pastor invited us into Christ’s kingdom.

  And you’d never do that…

  cause you are always in bed past noon on Sundays…

  sleeping off the drunkenness from the night before…

  and Christ is the last thing on your mind.

  A month passed since I last saw that version of you…

  then I saw him again next to me in the church pew…

  with a genuine grin that testifies of the Lord…

  and a sparkle that speaks of the Holy Spirit.

  And I wish it really was you…

  That you were healthy and happy…

  Instead your body is wasting away from your vices….

  And my heart is on the floor.

  “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” -Ezekiel 36:26

  The Great Coach

  God saw me miss when I tried to kick the ball;

  He saw me shoot and miss the net;

  He saw me panting and out of breath;

  Much to my surprise, after it all,

  He hugged me and beamed

  You made the team! 1

  He said He is such a great coach

  He can do much more with little

  than others can do with the most2

  He would train me and never give up

  And stick with me when times got tough.3

  The future, He already saw

  And He says our team wins

  Now people watch in awe

  When on my finger, the ball spins

  Thanks to His coaching technique,

  Which is the love about which I speak.4

  1 "But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong." —1Corinthians 1:27

  2 "…where sin increased, grace increased all the more…" —Romans 5:20

  3 "…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." — Philippians 1:6

  4 "The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing." — Zephaniah 3:17

  Beseech His Grace

  The nations who pine after riches

  are stricken with destitution;

  Countries who lost their hope

  have children in prostitution;

  Nations with proud heritages

  are taunted by afflictions;

  Those who proclaim they are free

  are tethered by addictions.

  Who among men will plead their case?

  Let those who call on God beseech His grace.

  You were a red balloon

  floating up to the sky,

  I was a paperweight,

  who never said goodbye.

  Balloons and Paperweights

  I admired the way

  you never looked back,

  You admired how steadily

  I stood on that stack.

  I guess that’s why

  God caused us to meet,

  so we could see each

  one of us is truly unique.

  Psalm 139:14 “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know t
hat full well.”

  Blood Stains

  Sometimes they ask me why

  I must stand and testify

  No one understands

  Crimson blood stains my hands.

  Christ hung on the cross in shame

  Now His name is above all names

  That’s why I traveled to distant lands

  Crimson blood stains my hands.

  Give me courage by Your Spirit

  So I speak and do not fear it

  Until Your kingdom expands

  Crimson blood stains my hands.

  "….On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. And the gospel must first be preached to all nations.” -Mark 13:9-10

  The Heart's Condition

  High school sweetheart, how hard I fell for you—

  thanks to the red long stem roses you sent,

  and promises of forever to be true,

  I surrendered my heart—one hundred percent,

  How hard it was to hear you found someone new,

  And the breakup stirred an inner torment,

  Men and women so often tear apart,

  but the pain is worse on an unguarded heart.

  "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." —Proverbs 4:23

  Torn

  The woman who madly loves her spouse is torn by betrayal,

  The newlywed couple who found true love is torn by death.

  In the end, they find the only rock is our Savior Jesus.

  "We love because he first loved us." -1John 4:19

  Come Near

  Lord, You said You would never leave

  or forsake Your beloved any day

  so Your promise leads me to believe

  I am the one who has gone astray.

  How did I cause You to sorrow and grieve?

  In what way did I knowingly disobey?

  There is nothing I can conceive

  That should cause my soul to betray.

  For You are living water to my soul,

  Help me to press onward to the goal.

  "I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." -Philippians 3:14

  The Truth

  You seem so intrigued and impressed,

  but the truth is I am just a mess,

  I spend half the day in my pajamas,

  looking like a dope who hit rock bottom,

  Trying to shake off feeling groggy,

  always holding a cup of coffee,

  Searching for my free-wheeling soul,

  Looking everywhere-high and low,

  Whew! Jesus had my soul all along,

  That’s good—cause that’s right where it belongs.

  "Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me, for in you I take refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed." —Psalm 57:1

  Poets

  Where do poets go

  to get their inspiration?

  Their souls fly high and low

  reaching blindly in the air

  for coarse emotions floating there.

  Poets capture the feeling

  the reader’s been concealing,

  shelters them like wild savages,

  tailors them into fitting words,

  instead of untidy blurbs.

  Show kindness to your poet,

  for serving your feelings like a feast

  and presenting them all tasty and neat,

  but even if you don’t want to

  the poet is glad to serve you.

  "After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him." —John 13:5

  "It"

  I really loved “it,”

  Friends told me to slow down,

  but why would I quit?

  I was fascinated—saturated by “it,”

  “It” was my little trick

  …just my personality,

  My own teeny slip,

  “It” helped me cope

  with all the wrong that’d been done me

  To me, it was not that bad—

  actually kinda funny.

  But then I died and when I did

  I added up all the time I wasted on “it,”

  Nine years of my life gone!

  If only I’d faced it—restrained…

  …how many people I would have helped!

  …all the success I could have gained!

  Like the rich man that Lazarus knew,

  I wanted to send this message

  from the other side to warn all of you.

  "For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh." —Galatians 5:17

  Resurrection

  I studied your Word with care,

  and you wrote my name up there.

  I knelt before You in love,

  and You lifted me up like a dove.

  I gave this short life that belonged to me,

  and You gave me a perfect eternity.

  You rose from your tomb,

  So we could forever bloom.

  "Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die...." — John 11:25-26

  Way of Evil

  It soars like an enemy fighter

  shooting down any good God did through me,

  It feeds, nurtures, and empowers

  mankind’s mortal enemy.

  It is the stench of vomit on a beautiful girl,

  "The prescription is humiliation"

  It is the screech of tires before a crash,

  "My escape route is to praise Him"

  It is the taste of curdled milk in a dark roast blend

  "God’s Word is my medication"

  It is seeing an old friend on heroin,

  "Prayer, take me to a holy destination."

  It’s a bullet wound to my cranium,

  It is the reason that I lied

  It’s a disease that strikes children

  Read the coroner’s report:

  The cause of death was pride.

  “To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.” —Proverbs 8:13

  Love

  I love a good beat,

  By far the best sound around

  is your soft heartbeat,

  My own chaos would begin

  if that rhythm ever stopped.

  "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." —1Corinthians 13:13

  God's Word

  I read Isaiah yesterday,

  and I read it again today.

  Except yesterday it told me something

  Today something else

  Every day Your words are new.

  Somehow they are living

  Delivering messages to me from You.

  "For the word of God is alive and active…." -Hebrews 4:12

  Decision

  Jesus, some want to delay,

  their decision to follow You,

  What more can I tell them?

  You must be born again.

  Has no one invited you?

  Come, my friend,

  And see what treasures await

  When you give your life to Him.

  "The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!' And let the one who hears say, "Come!" Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life." — Revelation 22:17

  Note to Readers

  If you enjoyed this poems collection, you might also like Creator: A Christian Poetry Collection and Worthy: A Chapbook of Christian Poems. If you have never made the decision to begin a Christian, you can start right now with a simple prayer like this: "God, I know I have sinned. I believe Your Son Jesus died on the cross to pay for my sin
s and rose to live forever. Thank You for the gracious gift of salvation. I look forward to the day I will live in heaven. In Jesus' Name, Amen." Congratulations! I hope you grow closer to God by reading the Bible, praying daily, and attending church. Reading Christian books is another great way to stay focused on God. Visit www.drawneartochrist.com to access more free or inexpensive Christian literature. Whether you have been a Christian a long time or only a few moments, I pray you receive God's perfect will for your life. Thanks for reading!

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