Give him the glory

Poem number two from our weekend away.  This one came out of worship when we sang 'To God be the glory'.  It made me think, 'what is God's glory?' Then, it reminded me it's who he is.  To give God the glory, is to recognise who he is and what he's done.  So, First, we need to know what he's done for us before we can give him the glory.

Give him the glory

Give him the glory
through Jesus the son
but what is his glory
but the things he has done?
Remember the truths
that you know to be true
Who our glorious Lord is
What he's done for you
Give him the glory
for he has done much
Stepped into your fight
Taken every punch
Raise a shout now out loud
For the enemy would still your voice
With lies about our father's truths
To praise him is your choice
So, lift up your voice
though weak and burdened, come,
assured, you stand before his mighty throne
Your claim, my friends
is not your perfect life
for the father looks at Christ in you
and says, "My precious child, my own."
So, give him the glory
through Jesus the son
Let your praise come from knowing
That you, through Christ, are his beloved one.

TheWeeScottie

Feed your faith (with what he's done for you)

Here's the first of the 3 poems that came out of our recent weekend away at Heatree up in Dartmoor.  This poem came out of our first session together with John Groves and picks up the coldness of the barn and the coldness of our hearts when it comes to faith.

Feed your faith (with what he's done for you)

Today, you came into this coldish barn
Clad tight in jumpers, coats and scarves
Our faith, for some is like our toes, quite cold
And some of us come here only by half
But you, though cold in heart have come to him
In faith, you came for you know he provides
Like sunshine in a darkened place, he shines
With warmth to melt that stone heart deep inside
So, into waters warm and deep dive in
His love awaits the coldest, broken heart
Come, sweet, dear-loved child, come near
For he has loved you from the very start
In faith, we come today, to learn more of our Lord
to enjoy time together, friendships old and new
So, come and look upon your risen king
who, by his blood is making all things new - even you!
Feed your faith with truths about our God
that whispered lies would simply not hold sway
for he alone is out most glorious joy
He is the brightness in our day
So, stand under the waterfall of love,
torrential love that he would pour on you
Arms wide, receive all who he is once more
and feed your faith with what he's done for you

TheWeeScottie

New poem: You are beautiful to me

You are beautiful to me

When you look in the mirror, what do you see?
Are your face and your body what you want them to be?
Regardless of how the world says you look
You are beautiful to me.

Your past holds dark secrets you dare not share,
Things that you've done and had done to you.
But this is not who you are, my child
You are beautiful to me.

Your disease has stolen the strength you had,
Reduced you at times to a worn out husk,
But in my eyes that's not who you are
You are beautiful to me.

There are things which have happened which changed who you are,
Some things poisoning you deep inside.
But despite how this darkness is gripping your heart
You are beautiful to me.

Your beauty's not measured by the shape of your form
Nor the dark things that altered your life
Because I am your father, I see who you are,
And you are beautiful to me.

So, when looks are the thing that fills your mind
Or what's happening dominates your thoughts
Know beyond doubt that you are my child
And you are most beautiful to me.

Beneath the veneer

New Poem: Beneath the veneer

Beneath the veneer
I see the cracks
Long, deep gouges reaching deep
Great, dark ravines
Slicing through
The fair-set surface others see
Beneath the veneer
I choose to look
The surface not enough for me
I want to know the truthful face
Beneath the soft veneer
Beneath the jagged cracks
Is delicate beauty
Cautious love
And tender hope
I shall give my love
My time
My patience and care
To mend their cracks
I choose to know them,
Each wartorn crack
And weathered cut
With love I'll fill them
So scars still show
They'll always show
But bound by love
Those wounds will ache no more

Thanks to Donald Daly for his original blog post which inspired the poem. I'll post the link when I find it!

A call to worship (Remind us)

A call to worship to say together as a group, church or on your own.

We come here cold
Lord, remind us of your love
Remind us who you are
Because we forget
Remind us of your grace
Because we don't deserve it
Remind us that we are yours
Because we often don't believe it
We come here hungry, Lord,
We want to know more about you
Tell us freshly who you are
That you are our God
And us, your children,
Fully loved,
Fully welcomed,
Fully yours
Because of what Jesus has done for us
Come, Lord,
Remind and teach us more
Of who you are
And change us
In your power
And in our weakness
To become more like you