Saturday, January 28, 2012

Church Growth


CHURCH GROWTH

Dear Lord it’s time to open the doors
To those who will be led
By your spirit to come to our church.
They come hungry and need to be fed.
They’re searching for some answers
Not theatrics, glitz, and glam.
They need to know the answers
Of Your oh, so perfect plan.
For giving them foundation
On which they can firmly stand
And providing them with a Helper
Who’ll be there to hold their hand.
It’s clarity they’re seeking,
To what would be your will,
For their lives to give You glory
And in Your peace be still.
What they’re needing is a leader
Someone with a pastor’s heart.
Though they’re motives may be true
They simply don’t know how to start.
The process of renewing the flesh,
Setting their pride and ego aside,
The innocence of becoming humble,
And letting Your wisdom be their guide.
As a church we gladly welcome
Those that you will send,
And we will comfort and support them,
If they’re in need of a friend.
But it’s our pastor that they’re needing
To speak into their life,
To guide, correct, and encourage them
With their daily stress and strife.
And so we gladly share him
And pray for our sisters and brothers,
Knowing that next year,
It’ll be them encouraging others.


Friday, January 20, 2012

The Desires of my Heart

THE DESIRES OF MY HEART

I said to God, “Please show me the desires of my heart,”
He replied, “If you will look upward you’ll start
To envision the things outside of your mind…
The things in your dreams you’re hoping to find.”

I said, “I’d always thought I’d live on a beach!”
“My Child,” He said, “That’s never been out of My Reach…
But what I need is for you to be able to grasp
That there is nothing that you could ever ask
Of me that I wouldn’t gladly give
If you required it to live
A life that’s pure and full of hope
Now what can I do to help you cope?”

“Well, maybe a little more of that,
And maybe little less of fat ...and
A little more money can go pretty far,
And it’s almost time for a new car…
But Lord aren’t I sounding greedy,
And shouldn’t I be giving more to the needy?”

He said, “If that is what you feel that you need to do,
You see child, these desires are all up to you.
Whatever you can live without,
Then you will question and you will doubt
But whatever you seek with My Purpose in your eyes
You’ll find no need to rationalize.”

I said, “Okay Lord, so now I get
That all You need is for me to submit
To the desire that is already in my heart
Because that was my purpose from the start.”

Delight thyself also in the Lord, and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Psalm 36:4

Your desire shall be for your husband… Gen. 3:16

Perseverance

PERSEVERANCE

I asked God,
“What happened to that feeling of relief?
It seems that now I’m covered with a sense of dread and grief.”
He said, “If I’d told you that when we first met…
You’d have been much harder for Me to try to get,
But I knew that you could stand
Up to the devourer who walks about your land,
You just need a little pushing
To go ahead and get fully free
So if it’s pressure that you’re feeling
Well that is coming from Me.”

Witness the Blessings

WITNESS THE BLESSINGS

When you get to the point
Where you stop being greedy
Then you’ll reach the point
Where you stop being needy

It’s not mine
To begin with anyway
It’s all His
For me to manage day to day

So before you start talking
About how I give
You should take a good look
At how I live

And witness the blessings
That God has bestowed
On those who give willingly
And not as though they “owed.”

The Enemy


THE ENEMY

When my flesh is in a battle
And out of sync with my spirit
I search for your voice
But it’s so hard to hear it
One minute I’m sure
That I’m in Your Will
The next it’s my own
That I’m trying to fulfill.
TV preachers would say
I was “under attack”
To just send them money
And they’d have my back.
But each of us is tempted
When we are drawn away
By our own lust and desires
Isn’t that what You say?
So now that I know
Who the enemy will be
It will be much easier
Understanding that it’s me

The Work

THE WORK

You sent me here for a purpose
An assignment if You will
And I don’t plan on quitting
To let someone else fulfill
The calling that You gave
To me while I am able
For I want to be the one
Who’s seated at your table
And not left standing
On the outside looking in
My face all contorted
From a ‘teeth-clenched’ grin.
I know just because you’re chosen
That doesn’t mean you’ll last
The race that’s set before you
If you spiritually run out of gas
You have to continue to wash yourself
With the water of the Word
You’ve got to listen with your Spirit
To the messages you’ve heard
Your mind, everyday
You have to fight to renew
It takes a conscious effort
If you’re gonna see it through
See “once saved always saved”
The Bible can disprove.
So if that’s your theory
In this race
Then would you kindly
“MOVE!!!”

The Race


THE RACE

To drink of Your water
That I may replenish
My soul that grows weary
I find strength to finish
The race set before me
In spite of my past
Your grace is sufficient
For me to outlast
The trials and persecutions
I face on the road
I won’t grow tired
From too heavy a load
My eyes set on You,
I’ll finish my race
I dare not look left or right
Or I’ll lose my place!

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witness, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.
Hebrew 12:1 NKJV

Oh Lord, Humble Me

OH LORD, HUMBLE ME

Oh God, if I could just follow
The example that You set
Through Jesus on the Cross
And all my pride forget,
To be able to sit and listen
Not needing to be heard,
To take correction and suggestion
Without saying a word
To crucify my flesh
And walk within Your Spirit
To welcome Your reproofs
And be open enough to hear it
To let Your will not mine
Be governing in my life
To bury selfish ambitions
Which I know will create strife
God help me to accomplish
The task you sent me here to do
I take “myself” out of the picture
I hand the controls to You

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Self Control

SELF-CONTROL

Lord, someone said something

That hurt my feelings today,

I got “bent out of shape”

And wanted to say

“well what about this

And what about that,

And while we’re on the subject

And as a matter of fact…”

But I closed my eyes

And I lowered my head,

And I silently prayed for

Your mercy instead,

To bridle my tongue

And comfort my heart

And give me your wisdom

Before we would part.

So instead of being guilty,

Of the sin of offense,

And instead of being bothered

And feeling nervous and tense,

I listened with my heart,

And found they were right,

I could see how I was wrong,

And I thank you for your light

That shows me how to

Become humble like You

And examine myself,

And my mind renew.

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By Diana Marsh