New poem: It begins with me

As part of our afternoon together as wider leaders, we talked honestly about how we want more people to come to us, learn who Jesus is and join our church family.

Sharing Jesus with our friends can often seem daunting, scary and like we're not up to the task. The truth is, this makes it all abhout us. WE provide the words, WE drum up the confidence, WE have the answers. The truth is, we don't. We have Jesus. He has the answers to the questions our friends have. Sharing Jesus with our friends doesn't begin with me, it begins with Him. As our Father, this is what he'd say:

It begins with me

It begins with me,
Your father, lover, redeemer, friend,
It begins with hope
It begins in dust
It begins with time-worn knees
And upturned hands
It begins with humble hearts
And hungry hearts
It begins with honesty
About your sin and shame
About my forgiveness and love
About the penance you owed
About the cost I paid
So you could call me father
And I call you my child
It begins with knowing me
It begins with spending time with me
Talking to me, chatting to me,
Yelling at me, crying with me
For I weep with you
And laugh with you
I hear each whispered word
your unspoken, burning desires
Are known to me
So share them
I know the things that trouble you
So bring them to me
I know the worries that plague you
So lay them at my feet
I know that you are weak
Will you let me give you strength?
The life I have given you
And continue to give to you
Is to bring you alive!
It is not a dreary list of things to do
And rules to keep you back
But a living relationship
With your one, true father
One who listens to each word
One who understands your hurts
One who experienced your pain
One who loves for you
More than your mind and heart can comprehend
It begins with you and me
So come
Come to me
My sweet and lovely child
My special and well loved one
Come with all your heart has in it
With all that fills your mind
And know me
Know your father and know joy
Deep, all encompassing satisfaction
As you remember His grace is sufficient for you
So come,
Knowing he is enough for you
Know me

And make me known.

TheWeeScottie

New poem: Walk with me

A new poem which came out of an afternoon our church's wider leaders spent together looking forward to the next year and where we'd like to be as a church. I was remremindour lives are paths we walk. God asks us to walk with him.

Walk with me

Come, fall in step
Slip your hand into mine
Let me show you new ways
Don't worry where you're going
I know the way
The countryside is new to you
But it's familiar to me
It'll be bumpy at times
So hold on tight
I won't let go
You'll get worried if you step off the path
But I'll be here if you do
Waiting for you to come back to me
I'll never get tired
So you can lean on me
When you struggle walking,
I'll carry you
When you feel like running,
I'll run with you
When you stumble and fall,
I'll clean your cuts and grazes,
I'll bandage you up and help you continue
It's not an easy path
But it's direct
Straight to the finish line
And my backpack is light
You don't need to carry that baggage you used to
So join me on the path,
Take my hand
And find out where I want to take you.

TheWeeScottie