Finding The Secret

More Than Conquerors
June 2005

The temptation is strong to cease from pressing on and to follow our own paths. Sometimes that path is directly away from God, and sometimes it’s nowhere in particular. We’ve just lost focus.
It’s times like these that God may lead us to a place where we have nowhere else to turn to. We may have to reach a point where there’s no going back, right, left, or even forward before we realize that God alone is the Supreme Guide down the paths of life. We can rejoice when we realize this, for deliverance from our mistakes will come if we will turn our plight over to Him.
—Samuel Popiel

From the Abyss

Wrapped in shadows, sunk in darkness.
Crackling whispers breathe such heat.
If it is that dark has corners,
There I crept to take a seat.

Lonely, sweating, trembling, kneeling:
Here am I most agonized.
Overwhelmed, my mind is reeling—
Sorrow streaming from my eyes

Silent, still while all is burning,
Like the flame inside my heart.
Blackness dances— twisting, turning
Still, I crouch and will not start.

How did I so soon get swallowed?
I could not but wonder this.
How is it the path I followed
Led me into nothingness?

Lost! I’m lost, consumed, and fearful.
In despair I hug the ground
In my wand’ring I was cheerful.
Now to naught I turn around.

Farther off I hear such noises—
Wild, tortured, desperate pleas
Carried on such hateful voices.
These I think will never cease.

By the heat, my face is hardened
Stiffened firm a long time past.
Quietly I bear this burden,
For my mouth has been shut fast.

What was that? A spark in darkness?
Nay, a glow at which I glance.
I cannot endure this starkness.
See, it's made a clear advance.

White this light! So pure its brightness—
Cleanly piercing me right through
Fled are doubts at this uprightness,
Though, as always, I can't move.

Purity so overwhelming
Carries me upon it’s wake.
So controlling, so compelling,
Yet it’s gentle for my sake.

Life into my soul returning
Overwhelms, as it revives.
Passionate, internal burning
Stirs my every nerve to life.

How could this most glorious rapture
Ever have been made my fate?
I find mercy in this capture.
I know why I had to wait...

Never searching, never finding;
All my aimlessness was spent
Terror fell on me, so binding;
Weighed me down until my bent.

Helplessness was my salvation.
Mercy, stirred to life by plight,
Rose to meet my situation,
Flooding out my dark with light.

—Samuel Popiel

What the Lord Saith

Trust my father, saith the eldest-born;
I did trust him ere the earth began;
Not to know him is to be forlorn;
Not to love him is—not to be man.

He that knows him loves him altogether;
With my father I am so content
That through all this dreary human weather
I am working, waiting, confident.

He is with me; I am not alone;
Life is bliss, because I am his child;
Down in Hades will I lay the stone
Whence shall rise to heaven his city piled.

Hearken, brothers, pray you, to my story!
Hear me, sister; hearken, child, to me:
Our one Father is a perfect glory;
He is light, and there is none but he.

Come then with me; I will lead the way;
All of you, sore-hearted, heavy-shod,
Come to father, your and mine, I pray;
Little ones, I pray you, come to God!

—George MacDonald

Give up?
Psalm 13

The days are rough, the nights are long
I wonder, Lord, where things went wrong?
Temptation looms ’round every corner
throw in the towel? I’m on the border!

If I should leave my Savior’s side
would it become a less bumpy ride?
Could I rely on humanness or worldly ploys untold
could I really ever be so ugly or so very bold?

To shove my Savior by the side
and search for other means
to comfort, soothe and warm my heart
something on which to lean?

But no, a fool I’d surely be
if I went down that road
the road of self destruction
the road where none should go.

My Savior has me in his arms
and holds me there real tight
why in the world would I leave
a position so good and right.

So when my head says give up, give in
I only need to feel
my Savior’s love within my heart
to know that HE is real!!

—Greta Cole
© 2005 Greta Cole. Used with permission.

The Power of Nature

“Because I am the favoured one” he said
“Get me the girl I want to wed”
He could glory in his mighty fame,
As he had such exalted name
Protected by the secret power..
He’d make the wicked people cower

No-one could ever make HIM shiver,
His oppressed people, he would deliver,
For with the strength, entangled in his hair..
He strangled a great lion and a bear,
Trapping three hundred foxes in their lair,
He tied them, torching the enemy crop bare
But to annihilate that pagan foe,
To the Philistine camp, he’d bravely go

There was so much going for him then,
The most dynamic of all men
He was THE ANNOINTED one!
To get God’s appointed work all done
“With God’s approval” he loudly said
“I have a rosy future just ahead.”

With his heart in a passionate whirl...
He went off to visit his pretty girl,
BUT his parents went down, upon their knees
When he’d cockily go.... off on his sprees...
For Delilah was her name...
And scheming plans were her game

But... I will always have God’s stamp
Even with a foot in either camp,
I find fulfillment in my goal,
I have myself in CONTROL
I can... play ....with ‘association’
Without paying any toll.
I want to do it ‘My Way’
Just the same as I do every day,
I never suffer any loss.....
By being MY OWN BOSS,
However wide my character may range,
I don’t detect any change!

I can take any woman, on a ride
I won’t have trouble with my pride....
I’m the respectable guy!
I DON”T........steal or cheat or lie!
I am..... so successful.....
As I have an intelligent mind!
God is my lucky charm
I won’t come to any harm.
I can manipulate as I please....
I can cope with any tease.......
BUT..... Delilah was her NAME
And seduction was her game

She held him in her arms......
Enticed him with her charms.
Purred the sweetest lure.......
But her motive was not pure,
for Delilah was her name
And TRIUMPH was her game

The enemy struck the major vein,
And DESTROYED this man’s great name.
It was such a tragic shame,
That his desires, he could not tame,
By succumbing to lustful pleasure,
He lost his mighty name
to Delilah, the very same
and power was her gain

So he became a casualty,
Wounded by evil ferocity,
In life’s battlefield strewn with men
Who’ve been seduced into satan’s pen.
Overpowered, when the lion roared,
He lost the protection of the Lord.
It brought elation to the enemy,
As he fell victim to their strategy,
He became weak , as any man,
When he should have wisely RAN....
from Delilah was her name
And EVIL was her game

Now with his strength all taken
Blind and totally forsaken,
Left only with tragic memory
Of being in the height of glory,
What........is there left for him
With his life destroyed by sin

Rejected by man and “down and out”
A discarded rag, just thrown about,
Getting it ‘right’ we so easily miss,
As we ALL stand on a shaky precipice,
We all have such habits that bind
And tempers that can spoil the shine!
Shame is it’s ugly name...
And failure is the blame

BUT from the ruin of tragic residue,
New life can yet be born anew,
For though passion leads a merry dance.
God can give a second chance.
There will be lots of damage,
But He’ll give the strength to manage!
God says trust Me and you will see
That failure is NEVER FINAL with Me,
When to HIM we finally turn....
It is SO miraculous to learn....
That God forgives, setting our heart free,
And we are accepted in His love............. for eternity

Soft Whispers from
Derry’s Heart Poems © 2005
heartwhispers@iinet.net.au
Used with permission

Abide, Absorb, Apply

With eyes closed
And bowed head,
We bathe our morning
In God’s word.

Like our pre-dawn shower,
His word cleanses our body,
And mind, and soul.
He's all that matters as we grow old.

We must absorb,
Take in His Holy Pages;
Consume, swallow-up
Till only Him, our heart rages.

We must abide,
Obey, and endure His love;
Accept, and remain, and
Dwell in all He's made of.

We must apply,
Petition, and employ His law;
Utilize daily, administer lovingly,
And put into operation so we won't fall.

For in so doing,
Starting our day out with Him,
We see His compassions are many,
And our future is not dim.

Solid Rock
On Christ, the solid Rock I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
—Edward Mote

I’ve got nothing here to stand on—
But the murky depths of sea,
Foolishness has led my feet
To the fish for company—

No, it wasn’t foolishness,
Though some label it as so,
It’s the call of faith in action,
That declares the way I go—

It is faith I’m standing on,
Faith directs the paths I walk—
Though the sea is all that holds me,
I am standing on the Rock!

—Benjamin Graber

The Right Way

Are you standing at life’s crossroads,
Cumbered by a heavy load?
Do you struggle ’neath
Your burdens, as you pray?

There are many paths to choose.
But, we must seek the right road.
The narrow path of Jesus
Is the only true and living way.

There is a broad road
Which may look appealing.
There are many who
Are traveling on this path.

They do not realize the destination
Satan is concealing.
Souls must come to Jesus.
Only He can take away sin and wrath.

The way of the cross
Always leads home,
Through there be many trials
And storms all along the way.

We have One who walks beside us,
Who never leaves us alone.
When you hold on to the Savior,
You will never go astray.

Jo Ann Kelly © 2005
Used with permission
http://www.my.homewithgod.com/jpinspirations/

Mastered

I cannot subdue a burning passion,
or trample underfoot a single lust,
I have no power within myself,
Even if I know I must.

If I could master my body’s temple,
how proud of that I’d be,
If I could open heaven’s window,
then people would worship holy me.

To establish my own righteousness before God,
means I could set the standard,
I would be my own authority,
my every whim be pandered.

Yet we know this is impossible,
when we face reality,
Our own heart is full of variance,
of selfish vanity.

If our wisdom could rule the world,
to fix humanity,
We’d be unable to change the hearts,
the source of depravity.

It’s God who holds the power,
all miracles in His Hand,
He is the One who makes us righteous,
holiness is in the Son of Man.

No effort can liberate our mortality,
no behavior can set us free,
In Him we are kept pure,
I cannot fix up me.

There is no lust He cannot slay,
no temper He can’t subdue,
No passion He cannot overcome,
He alone, can make me new.

Soft Whispers from
Derry’s Heart Poems © 2005
heartwhispers@iinet.net.au
Used with permission

Ambassadors for Christ

When we accept
Him into our hearts,
The old creature goes away,
And a new one starts.

To us all things are new
Bypassing things we used to do.

The harvest is so much,
As laborers not always in touch.
And when our labor is not in vain,
He enfolds us, we’re never the same.

We become unique people
Towering high like a church steeple.

Then we inherit a Master, a new life
Known as the bridegroom, we are His wife.

And this Shepherd, we are His sheep
Desires us, always, Him to keep
His ways, His goals, and His prod
Walk with Him daily as Ambassadors for God.

The Edge of Mystery

On the edge of mystery
I must walk by faith alone—
For I have no map or guide,
Only light the stars have shone—

Here, the edge of mystery,
Clouds of darkness bar the way,
But the fog is filled with joy,
If God’s voice I will obey—

On the edge of mystery
I am finding great rewards,
Come and walk in faith, my friend,
Here the blessings best are stored.

—Benjamin Graber

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or
nakedness or danger or sword?… No, in all these things
we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”
—Romans 8:35, 37

If you have any comments or questions, or if you have a poem to share, please send an e-mail to bgraber@neo.rr.com

Visit our web page at http://home.neo.rr.com/thegraberclan/Fts/morethanconquerors.htm to read past issues of “More Than Conquerors”.

Back