Where is God

95, 10-5, SHOW NOTES & COPYRIGHTS, (Scheduled 3/16/23)

Last week I asked for prayers that God would answer a question: Should I read poems I have written and posted on Facebook about the times we are living in. My concern was the political content of some of the poems. And again, I am stating that it is not the politics of today I want to discuss, rather it is the fight of good and evil that overrides all things.

About 3 hours after finishing recording last week’s podcast I went to the computer, got on line and checked our bank statement. Then a thought came to me while looking at the 3 books on the desk next to a pile of podcast files. I wondered to myself, are the poems in here and is this what God has led me to. I picked up Living in God’s Rhyme and was led to 3 poems.

I love the answers to prayers.

The first poem is found on page 114.

IS THIS THE HUMAN CONDITION

(This is not a question)

Where is God when we need him?

Why has this happened again,

Over and over again?

We were told you were a good God,

A loving God who cares for his people.

Where are you in our times of need!

Before our time of need

We should take time to read

Of the history of his chosen ones,

His beloved daughters and sons.

In their times of greed

They did not see the need

To honor his glory and heed

His word, words that feed.

It is there for us today.

Did we not know so we cannot say?

Did we not know as we walked away

That you despised our way?

Did we not hear that Jesus came

Not just for the Jew, but also the Gentile?

He came so that with God we could reconcile

So as Jew and Gentile we are all the same.

If we love God and his Son,

No matter what we have done,

His love for us never is never ending.

Our lives forever he will be mending,

If we love him we must follow

With words and prayers not hollow,

We must be true to him who loves us,

Loves us so much he sacrificed Jesus.

There is a reason us rhymes with Jesus.

But we never learned the lesson,

Maybe because we never read

Of God’s anger over the adultery

Of his chosen ones with idols

And false gods, the gods of others

That do no good, but only harm.

Gods of wood and gold, some were so bold

To worship nothing instead of everything,

All that their God had for them.

So where is God today as children are slaughtered,

As lives are abandoned and hope forgotten?

He is everywhere, where are we?

Reflection on Is This The Human Condition

I think that I mentioned before that I had no idea what direction the book I am writing here would lead me. Although I talk of reading God’s word and receiving the words of the poems from God, I am probably the last person, if I were on the outside looking in, that I would think could have that relationship. It has grown since I started writing this book. But the poems continue to surprise and amaze me. I was reading Hosea before writing and I just stopped and wondered at the times God’s chosen people walked away from Him and then when trouble came, well you know what we all do at those times. Today we are in the same place. I had no idea I would what I would write other than the title

Discussion:

The next poem is found on page 159

MEANINGLESS WORDS

First came the revulsion,

Followed by the revolution

That was followed by the revolt

That struck like a lightning bolt.

These are but words written on a page,

Knowing that I am certainly no sage.

Who could ever imagine the rage

That is not a performance on a stage?

Just words, what do they mean?

Is it more or less than they seem?

Or maybe it is just a movie scene

Or a restless night time dream.

Did anyone read as if they cared

As meaningless words were shared?

Is there something not written,

Words that need to be spoken?

They live with revolution

As so many live to revolt

Against God’s judgement,

Expecting a deferment.

The lightning bolt will appear in the skies

As those who have lived to deny

Will suddenly have a need to rely

On their creator to hear their cries.

We who have believed will be relieved

Because we received and were not deceived.

There is good and evil, the fruit of the tree.

But the Lord fed our hunger and set us free.

As the world rebelled

Nations were felled,

After which His word prevailed

Until again false words were regaled.

We who believe in Jesus, God’s Son,

At the end our lives will not have to run

From the lives we lived and what we have done,

We will be saved, our redemption has been won.

As others fight against what is right,

They are blind to the light, blind without sight,

They may live, but what they give

Is a meaningless word, because they have not heard.

Too busy in their confusion

Of living for the revolution

They do not hear

That God is near.

As we approach the end

We do not life insurance,

We need life assurance,

The salvation that God sends!

Reflection on Meaningless Words

This poem started after an afternoon of going over words that rhyme in my head. I had written a poem in the morning and found that joy and satisfaction of writing again. The first three stanzas came to me as I was watching TV. I had to get paper and a pencil so I would not forget the words. I wrote of this problem in a book years ago, the title of which explains everything, I Can’t Remember the Things I Forgot. It was short with a lot of blank pages. Ok, back to the poem. After making a grilled cheese sandwich I asked for guidance and the words to make sense of my thoughts. This is it, a collaboration between God and me. But somehow I am sure He was there at the beginning and the whole poem.

Discussion:

The last poem is found on page 177.

WORDS THAT ARE SHARED

Don’t worry, there is no forecast for a snow flurry

And the judge and the jury are no longer in a hurry

To hear another story with details so gory

Yes, I am sorry to have found sentences

For my crime, inserting words that rhyme

Sometimes when exercising the mind

In sorting and cleaning one does find

Thoughts that become words to write

Words in lines that together just might

Be more than one may dare to dream

Words that make the reader want to scream

Either scream with joy or anger

Voices that make the sounds

That express without words

Emotions they have found

From the words of one’s thoughts

That others should at all times read

What do you think, what do I think

Do you drink from the glass that I drink

Do your beliefs give you relief

Do my beliefs bring you grief

Or maybe it is the other way

That I grieve at what you say

But we must talk as together we walk

In the life we live, in the love we give

To disagree we must understand

The reasons for another’s stand

Just as when we present our side

We must do so not to divide

Respect one another

Our sister and brother

Whether right or wrong

So we may sing a song

Of peace and brotherhood

Of showing each other the good

Pray that we not lead others astray

Pray that there is truth in all we say

Pray that we will find the way

Pray that together we will stay

Pray that the love of God will engulf us all

Pray that this happens before we fall

Before we fall from grace!

Discussion:

As we come to the end of today’s podcast, let us pray.

Dear Heavenly Father we come to you in prayer as we end today’s podcast. Dave and I thank You for leading us through the day and into tomorrow. We thank You for all you have led us to and through.

We pray for our listeners and viewers; for their needs, healing and the salvation of those who have not yet accepted the gift of Your grace by faith.

We pray, Lord, for this world in which we live. Father, as Christians lead us to proclaiming the gospel where ever we are. May we do so in a loving way. Lead us to the truth of the days we are living in.

Dear Lord, prepare us and our listeners and viewers for the coming week. We pray that it is You we live for and You who leads us. As we walk with you this week, may it be Your hand clasped around our hand so we may feel the grasp of Your love.

And this week may we remember the words from 2 Corinthians, 12:9;

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you,

my power is perfect in weakness.”

At the beginning and at the end

And every moment in between,

May our strength be for His strength

So His perfection may be seen.

(from God Still Rhymes, Concluding Prayer)

We pray in the name of Jesus, our Savior and Redeemer.

Amen (2/26/23)

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