BLOGGER’S BEDTIME PRAYER
Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my blogs to keep…
If I die after I awake
I pray that one more poem I make
(and blog!)
–Jonathan Caswell
BLOGGER’S BEDTIME PRAYER
2 Replies
Tag Archives: faith
TWO ROADS..BOTH TAKEN
TWO ROADS…BOTH TAKEN
Two roads diverging,
Each going one way…
In life we don’t find these roads one time,
But each and every day.
–
I found a woman who looked so fine
I had to conquer her…
She was willing to give some ground
And the rest became a blur.
–
Engaged to be married,
With a full-time job needed on plate…
Relationship roots, or lack of, bore fruit
About which he could not debate.
–
She found one four months later,
While he took four years to unwind…
She happily married while she parried
The loser, who wished he were blind.
–
Another intersection presented
A way to get out of his funk…
He gradually found a way to come ’round,
Had to move, so he packed up his trunk.
–
Finding spiritual friends in the mountains,
Christians maturing like wine…
Healing proceeded however was needed
As Jesus gave him His time.
–
In a year or two, drawn into ministry,
Eventually convinced of the need…
To stop his striving and carnal conniving
To be from his burden set free.
–
And then when least expected,
An answer came out of the blue…
In indirect answer of a plea for support
He found a pen pal, too!
–
For she had just (he learned afterwards)
Submitted to Christ her fate….
What grew from that initial exchange,
Is, after twenty-five years, still great!!!
–Jonathan Caswell
BY FAITH
BY FAITH
“Walk in the Light while you have it,”
So Jesus Christ says to us all…
Unless by My word your mind is insured
You surely will lose it all.
–
In John, Chapter twelve
And verse thirty-five….
Our Lord reminds us
To stay alive
By reading and praying,
Considering every day
That He is our Savior
And He is the One way.
–
People–historians and
Those who would try
To explain away
With hue and with cry
What hasn’t made sense to the wags
Of the world,
With banners of logic
And men’s pride unfurled…
Continue to claim that
It doesn’t make sense
For God to speak
When He is so immense,
Through this little book
With its quirks and changed lines…
You guys must be crazy
Saying it’s for all time!
–
Sometime or other we all must stand,
And like the Apostles decide Whose command
Is more important…
Whether logic or faith,
To follow God as we choose
Or what others think safe;
I choose to believe the Bible is God’s…
I know that’s illogical
Given the odds of man’s argument
And historical “fact” determined
By people who later redact
What was said before, never iron-clad,
That very thing makes
Human logic bad.
–
What I am saying…is we have Light
In human terms, but it still is right,
What I don’t understand God
Will teach me some day,
It could be tomorrow
Or while I pray…
Obviously our vision of God over time
Changes among us by reason or rhyme,
Yet He never changes
But gradually reveals
The Full measure of
How His love our heart seals.
–
These sixty-six books…
In some places seventy-three…
Reveal what we can handle
Of Divinity,
As active, engaging,
Holy but with love…
Describing relations
With the Most High above.
–
In Scripture, the folks
Who truly received
Chose by faith to stand
And in God believe…
Their hearts confirmed
Holiness and Love,
Walking in the Light
‘Til welcomed above.
–Jonathan Caswell
Hebrews 11:6…says that without faith it is impossible to please God, for one must believe that God is, exists, and will reward those who seek Him (said in the poet’s own words).
AN ACROSTIC FOR MY LOVE
AN ACROSTIC FOR MY LOVE:
(DIANA M. CASWELL)
D…Determined for holy deeds
I…Inspired by God’s word
A…Anchored by her faith in Jesus
N…Not frequently deterred
A…Always hopes for the future
M…Married a godly man…
C…Constantly prays for others
A…Answers Christ’s command
S…Suffers what she must
W…Waits for Jesus’ return
E…Elicits other’s blessing
L…Loves connecting with people
L…Longs to go back home (she’s a mountain girl)
My wife longs to visit her family
In the Adirondacks at least once a year…
And longs to go Home with Jesus,
Where she’ll finally know no fear!!!
—Her husband, Jonathan Caswell
SAUL-PAUL AND CHRIST JESUS
SAUL-PAUL AND CHRIST-JESUS
(Can be sung to tune of “Pop-Eye the Sailor Man”…or not! Numbered footnotes at the end.)
Why do Christian scholars split
Pauline teaching from the Gospel bit…
Without his preferences
We’d have few references
To prophesies Paul back-lit.
–
If our critics can split Paul from Christ,
God’s loving nature turns to ice…
Leaving only the Law
With a fatal flaw,
Gentiles can’t get in at any price!
–
Our critics would force us off faith
Onto works salvation no one makes…
Ignoring Abraham
Who believed “I AM”
And was credited righteous and safe. (1.)
–
Not even those under laws Mosaic
Totally keep what they treat as prosaic…(2.,3.)
Whether Muslims or Jews
Or Liberals on the news,
Some snicker when the faithful betray it.
—Jonathan Caswell
(1.)…Book of Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:3
(2.)…Matthew 15:2-8
(3.)…”Prosaic”…meaning commonplace or ordinary, nothing really special.
CHRISTMAS EVE WORKING
CHRISTMAS EVE—WORKING!
Christmas Eve, what a Thought
At work sitting at my desk here…
Not the only one
At this time of year
Who has some hidden blessings,
That seem hidden so well
That watching The Lifetime Channel
Actually gives me a thrill :)!
–
Looking skyward from our post
Mackerel clouds I see,
Fanned into darkness
From a horizon cloud-free…
In the growing darkness
Thin light fades to blue,
A night of anticipation
When the God-Child comes to you!
–
Back inside, work partners
Discuss passages from Acts,*
Jesus’ resurrection
And logic that impacts…
Wonder at the mystery
Of not enough details,
One finds belief difficult
But in the other, Love prevails.
–
Please pray for his friend at work
Whose logic is the test,
Belief is not enough for him—
He must explain the rest…
Sometimes he just pokes in fun
But his questions never end,
It would be nice to be blessed twice
For him to find faith, as a friend.
–
Christmas Eve and working
As is most-half the world,
The ones not deep in slumber
‘Til the sun and sky unfurl…
One of them won’t celebrate,
The other will at home
But both of them seek answers
From The Bible–Holy Tome!
–Jonathan Caswell
*NOTE*: The Book of The Acts of the Apostles, is in the New Testament of the Holy Bible–coming right after the four Gospel books.
By the Mighty Mumford 