I cannot live in frozen fear
And yet, I often do
Fear of what you think of me
And what I think of you
I need the Savior’s loving grace
His wisdom, bright and true
His love for sinners and for saints
His love for me and you
That He would give my being
A voice to speak His love
His wisdom, truth, and mercy free
His view from heaven above
I must believe God’s faithful love,
Else madness will my soul o’ertake.
If on myself I fix my eyes,
Despair will be my sorry fate.
I must believe, though I could choose
An easier path; with tide to swim,
To let opinion rule my life
And let the light within me dim.
I must believe the words God speaks,
When worldly cares do contradict.
As storm does rage; no shelter found —
But in God’s boat, all grace begins.
I must believe, and then one day
A shining light will lead my soul.
No longer strife and stress to sway,
My life at last found healed and whole.
Every burden
Borne with grace
Advances all
The human race
Every cheek,
To other turned
Absorbs their violence —
Hate is spurned
Every insult
Not rebuked,
Will throw your enemies
For a loop
To not strike back,
Withhold revenge,
Shows strength and power
In the end
You don’t need that gun,
That automatic rifle,
To show that you have needs —
The hate that anger breeds.
To show that no one cares;
At least that’s what you feel.
You don’t need that rotten drug
To make you feel good and snug —
An empty self you’re trying to hug.
You don’t need that candy,
Or doughnuts by the dozen,
Or calories galore —
You need something more.
You don’t need that woman or man
To satisfy your lust —
You need to learn to trust
That God will meet your every need —
Love you without condition.
False self you must uncover,
And then you will discover
Hope and truth and grace
Through friends in the human race.
You need a sense of belonging;
For that you have been longing.
Let Jesus fill your heart —
Then begins your beginning.
I am prejudiced — but, hopefully, each day I get less and less so. I attend regular meetings of Prejudiced People Anonymous (well, at least in my mind).
It started early in life. It was in the air, in my culture, all around me. “That group …, ” “Those people …,” “That church …,” people around me would say.
But, as I grew older, I realized that prejudice was wrong. Sadly, the damage was already done. I fought against the ideas in my head, but they still came. I felt helpless, knowing that my attitude was wrong.
It didn’t help when some people would confirm my prejudices. Yes, some people who were “different” did bad things to me. But others were good and kind.
Over the years, it helped to learn about other cultures and religions, their background, and what they have suffered. The more I had contact with people who were “different,” the less prejudiced I became.
One of my turning points happened like this: I had been attending night classes at a state university. I was walking on campus to my car, when a woman of an ethnic group that I felt most afraid of (or most angry at?) was coming from the other direction. She said hello and was very friendly and had kind words. Suddenly it hit me that I did not deserve her kindness, after the bad thoughts I’d had against her particular group. It was a grace received, again — undeserved. I realized that it wasn’t the person’s group that mattered, it was who they were individually that mattered.
There is hope for sinners, even for people like me! God can change our hearts! If you are prejudiced, pray for God to show you the beauty of each person.
If you can’t live by the ocean,
Bring the ocean to you;
Let gentle waves wash over you.
Let Jesus’ grace
Take cares away.
Rejoice, rejoice!
All things must pass.
No cares nor troubles
Forever last.
All broken dreams will mend
And then —
Forever with Him, with no end.
All time will bend
Towards light and love.
We must endure
And find a cure
For dark despair —
Love —
If you dare.
Easy to say,
But live it out?
“Impossible”,
I want to shout.
But with His grace,
We’ll run the race.
[ The point being … we’re all capable of evil, and of good (with God’s grace).]
Have you ever been the bad guy –
A miserable place to be?
The Prodigal’s older brother,
The blinded Pharisee?
The hypocrite, the legalist,
The demonstrator with tight-clenched fist?
The Nazi soldier, the Khmer Rouge –
They make you quake within your shoes.
The foreigner, the substance dealer,
The liars, and the false faith healers.
The person of another faith,
The race that seems your hate to bait.
The gossip, and unfaithful wife,
The married couple locked in strife.
The person who distracts, annoys;
Manipulates with sneaky ploys.
And when I am the bad guy,
I pray, you’ll pray for me.
And when you are the bad guy,
I’ll do the same for thee.
[“When he got up from prayer, he came to the disciples and found
them sleeping because of grief, and he said to them, “Why are you
sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not come into the time of trial.”
(Luke 22:45-46)]
As darkness falls,
Do we sleep from grief,
Or weariness –
Discouragement deep?
Or cynicism,
Or harsh derision,
Or is our sleep
Another kind?
Brought on by drugs,
Or too much wine?
From entertainment,
TV time?
Or trying to end
Our emptiness
With false romance
Or casual sex?
No matter why
We’re sleeping now,
Must ask for grace
To wake somehow –
To take up cross,
Accept all loss
Of worldly glory –
Must tell the story
Of Jesus’ love,
His always-love.
Let grace come in,
Fill souls within.
Our peace receive,
And let grief sleep.
