Poetry Corner
Mother Nature
Our world is on hold
Mother Nature carries on
Never frail, never old
Birds still fly
They have no ties
Flying in our silent skies
Woodlands are still, so still
No tramping feet
Now only where the insects meet
Sun shines through dappled trees
Listen, floating leaves
Murmur through a whispering breeze
Written by Debbie Bick
Lord, Forgive Me
“Do not grieve the Holy Spirit”
(John 16)
Lord, forgive me.
I get so caught up in my own things,
All the displeasures that life brings.
So spoilt – What I want, what I feel.
I,I,I. always I! It’s unreal.
Then I see a smile on a girl’s face
As she runs through a shanty slum,
Her happy presence, her joyful grace
When I expected to see her glum,
Or miserable about life’s unfairness
Like me. I feel a disgrace.
I see my own poverty,
My ungrateful miserableness.
How much a smile can teach!
How my selfishness
Must grieve you.
Holy Spirit, forgive me.
Help me to learn,
Help me to return thanks
For all the goodness you bestow
With a smile.
Give Us New Life
“The Holy Spirit gives us new life” (Tit 3:5)
When Winter mist hangs still,
And frost invites a chill,
When days are short and dark,
And trees stand grey and stark;
When life’s depressed and dull,
And spirits seem to lull.
This time, this time of waiting,
Time between despair and hope,
This in-between time of expectation,
Time of learning to cope, waiting
For mist to rise from troubled hearts,
Frost to clear from numbed minds;
This precious time before
The Spirit comes.
Then suddenly, yet gently,
Like sunlight peering through
The greyness of our life,
You are there, You,
O Holy Spirit.
IF
We are moved by the Spirit,
We are children of God;
And if we are children of God,
We are heirs also;
And if we are heirs also
We will share his sufferings here;
And if we will share his sufferings here
We will share his glory hereafter;
And if we share his glory hereafter
We are given his Spirit now;
And if we are given his Spirit now
It is as the firth fruits
of the harvest to come.
(Cf Rom 8:)
Bathe Me In Your
Spirit’s Glow
Lord, if I were to think myself a flower
I wouldn’t be anything special,
Not an Orchid or anything exotic,
Nor a rose, or anything so delightful.
In fact, thinking about it
I wouldn’t be good enough
To be a flower at all
-More like a dandelion.
More a nuisance that anything else.
Something taken for granted.
Yet in your design, Lord,
When your sunlight bathes the grass
Even the common dandelion
Can look resplendent,
Enrobed more wondrously
Than royalty who live in a palace.
Lord, bathe me in your Spirit,
That I, however unworthy I am ,
However unimportant I feel,
May look something in your sight.
“We are called by god to be holy – since God gives his Holy Spirit” ( 1 Thess 4:7-8)
Live In Me
“If only God’s Spirit dwells within you…” (Rom 8:9)
I thank you, Spirit of God,
For wanting to dwell in my heart.
I sometimes feel that my dwelling place
Is too wretched for you, too poor;
That I don’t deserve to have you,
The Lord and Giver of Life itself,
Making your home in me.
Lord, I am not worthy!
Then, I remember that you love us all.
Good and bad, rich and poor,
That there is no-one in the world anywhere
With whom you would not wish to share your love.
Come, Holy Spirit, be my guest,
Live here, in me.
Loving Spirit,
Dwell Within My Heart
Lord, how deep, how wonderful
This mystery of your love for me.
It begins as a stirring of love
Deep within your heart,
This movement of your Spirit
Going forth everywhere
To fill the whole of your creation
Your love is the greatest grace
Beyond all that you have made,
So how is it that of any space
Where your love seeks to rest,
A love that nothing can confine,
It seeks to find a place
Deep within a heart like mine?
How terrible then
When I do not welcome your love,
Or worse ignore it,
Or worse still reject it.
Loving Spirit,
Dwell within my heart.
Amen
“God has given us his Spirit to dwell in our hearts” (2 Cor 1:22)
For Others
“By the Spirit’s power may you overflow with hope” (Rom 15:13)
For you who are dear to me,
For you who are fear to me;
For you who turn towards me
For you who turn from me,
For you who are a help to me
For you who are a hindrance to me
I wish you all well, so I ask:
The power of the Spirit to strengthen you,
The love of the Spirit to inflame you;
The joy of the Spirit to fill you;
The peace of the Spirit to refresh you;
The light of the Spirit to guide you;
The wisdom of the Spirit to counsel you. Amen
Guard The Entrance
To My Heart
“Your body, you must know, is the shrine of the
Holy Spirit, who dwells within you.” (1 Cor 6:19)
Spirit of God, you dwell within me,
You are more precious than any earthly monarch
Residing in splendour in a palace,
Yet you live in me in deepest humility.
Guard me, Lord
Guard the entrance to my heart;
Let no unworthy desires enter in.
Keep watch at the door of my mind;
Let no unworthy thoughts pass through.
May this dwelling place
Be worthy of you, most Holy Spirit,
So that I may rejoice in your presence,
And glory in the comfort of your peace.
Amen
Holy Spirit, Stir Me, Bend Me
Lord, thank you for those moments
When I feel your presence around me.
Sometimes you’re like a gentle breath
Lightly touching me,
Visiting me with your peace.
Sometimes you’re like a light breeze,
That rustles Summer leaves,
Refreshing coolness in the heat;
Sometimes you’re like a wind,
So strong I stir like grass,
Bending to the force of your love.
I thank you, Lord,
For these precious moments,
So undeserved by me.
I ask you, Lord,
Stir me like Summer grass,
Bend me like river reeds,
To the inspirations of your will.
Amen
“The wind blows wherever it pleases;
you hear its sound, but you cannot tell
whence it came or where it goes.
So it is with all those born of the Spirit”
(John 3:8)
As Snow blankets earth,
Blanket me in your love, Lord.
As snow hides everything,
Hide my faults away.
As snow rests light and delicate,
Rest gently on me, Holy Spirit.
As snow falls fresh,
Fall anew on me, Holy Spirit.
As snow settles
On even the humblest
Piece of grass,
Settle on me, Holy Spirit,
Small and insignificant
Though I seem.
Under the mantle of your goodness
Enfold me in you stillness,
Wrap me in your peace,
Show me your love.
Then I shall be ready
For a new Spring,
A new beginning,
A fresh start.
Amen
“We serve God in a new way,
the way of the Spirit.” (Rom 7:6)
Lord, I Need Your Spirit
“The Spirit of Jesus Christ is given for support” (1 Phil 1:19)
I sometimes sit and wonder about life,
Its ups and downs, its strifes and strains,
And what the future contains.
I feel so vulnerable, while others seem so strong.
I have so little, while others have so much;
I feel as if I know nothing about life,
Whereas others seem to know everything.
Life can be hard, and if I think about it a lot
I can become discouraged, frown,
And feel lonely and down.
Then I think of you, Lord Jesus,
And your Spirit you sent to help me.
You are so good to think of me like that.
If you only gave your Spirit to millionaires,
Or kings and queens, or film stars,
I could understand. But me!
I’ve got nothing to boast about,
It’s amazing that you care about poor old me.
But yes, Lord, I need your Spirit.
I need your help in life, your love and care.
Please send me your Spirit always,
But especially when I’m down.
May I Glory In You,
Not In Myself
“If you have any fellowship with the Spirit, do nothing out of
Vain conceit, but with humility” (Phil 2:1,3)
Self-confidence is a wonderful thing,
But sometimes it goes beyond that,
When I seem proud, so conceited,
Thinking I am better than others,
Looking down my nose at people.
Yet even when I’m dressed to kill,
And have a real bob on myself, a chill
Towards others, even then I’m not really happy.
There’s a sourness to it all, a painful
Falseness, a putting on a show.
That’s when I realise, how much I really need you.
When I realise that is far, far better
To be humble before you, Lord,
Than to be proud before thew world.
Open my heart heart to the Spirit, Lord,
So that I can rejoice in your glory.
Rather than glory in myself.
Your Spirit dwells in hearts that are humble.
Make my heart humble, Lord,
That I may always rejoce in your presence within.
Amen.