Month: December 2018

You offer us forgiveness

Ruth Kirk

 

Lord,

You offer us forgiveness,
And healing,
Blessing, too —

If only we will hear your voice,  
And turn our hearts
To you. 

You offer us redemption,
Bought with your flesh
And blood —

If only we will seek your face, 
And turn to you 
With love. 

 

References

He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases (Psalm 103:2-4; NLT).

God, our God, blesses us (Psalm 67:6; NIV).

If only you would listen to his voice today! (Psalm 95:7; NLT).

Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near (Matthew 4:17: NLT).

With his own blood […] he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever (Hebrews 9:12; NLT).

Seek his face always (1 Chronicles 16:11; NIV).

You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind (Luke 10:27; NLT).

I’m insignificant

Ruth Kirk

 

I know I’m insignificant
But I’m still part of you,

From long before you formed me 
In the womb;

In birth, in life, in death, Lord, 
Then far beyond the tomb –

I’m part of you forever,
And amen!

 

References

I am nothing but dust and ashes (Genesis 18:27; NIV).

Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them (1 John 4:16; NIV).

Whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit (1 Corinthians 6:17; NIV).

I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb (Jeremiah 1:5; NLT). 

The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7; NIV).

Nothing can ever separate us from God’s love (Romans 8:38; NLT).

What is my flesh?

Ruth Kirk

 

What is my flesh,
If not your Spirit’s temple? 

What is my mind, 
If not your Son’s mind, too?

What is my heart
If not his Mother’s home, Lord? 

What is my soul,
If not a part of you?

 

References

Don’t you realise that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit? (1 Corinthians 6:19; NLT).

We have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16; NLT).

He said to this disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from then on this disciple took her into his home (John 19:27; NLT). 

There is a spirit within people, the breath of the Almighty within them (Job 32:8; NLT).

You love me

Ruth Kirk

 

Father,
You love me,
So nothing else matters –

Not even trials
Or fears. 

Jesus,
You love me,
So nothing else matters –

Not even sorrow
Or tears.

Mary, 
You love me,
So nothing else matters –

Not even sickness
Or stress. 

Spirit,
You love me,
So nothing else matters –

Not even life, Lord, 
Or death.

 

References

He loves us with unfailing love (Psalm 117:2; NLT).

We belong to you

Ruth Kirk

 

Thank you, Lord,
That we belong to you;

We are your people –
Family, and friends; 

Disciples, servants,
Followers, and slaves,

Your sons and daughters, Lord, 
Until life’s end. 

 

References

Whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord (Romans 14:8; NIV).

I will be their God, and they shall be my people (2 Corinthians 6:16; NLT).

Jesus replied […], “Anyone who does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother” (Mark 3:33-5; NLT).

Our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God (Romans 5:11; NLT).

Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples (John 13:35; NLT).

I am the Lord’s servant (Luke 1:38; NLT).

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me (Matthew 16:24; NLT).

Whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else (Mark 10:44; NLT).

I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty (2 Corinthians 6:18; NLT).

To all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God (John 1:12; NIV).

You offer us creation

Ruth Kirk

 

You offer us creation,
And you offer us your earth;

You offer us your advent,
And you offer us your birth.

You offer us forgiveness,
And you offer us your love;

You offer us your body,
And you offer us your blood. 

You offer us salvation,
And eternal life with you —

But we can spurn them all, Lord,  
For you offer freedom, too! 

 

References

The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it (Genesis 2:14; NLT). 

The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel [God with us] (Isaiah 7:15; NIV). 

I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins (Matthew 9:6; NLT).

Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life (John 6:54; NIV).

God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:9; NIV).

The Lord must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion (Isaiah 30:18; NLT).

My only strength

Ruth Kirk

   

Lord, 

You are 
My only strength –

I have none
Of my own.

I love you, Lord, 
With all my mind –

May my thoughts
Be your home. 

I love you, Lord,
With all my heart –

Your temple 
Here on earth.

I love you, Lord,
With all my soul –

The stable 
Of your birth. 

 

References

My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9; NLT).

Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them” (John 14:23; NLT).

You are the temple of the living God (2 Corinthians 6:16; NLT).

While they were there, the time came for her to be delivered. And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling-cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn (Luke 2:6-7; RSV).