Oh Cross Of Christ

 Oh Cross Of Christ                                    

Oh Tree of Life, from Seedling to Throne,

           to Feel what you Felt,

to Know, what you have Known!

You held Him in your Arms,

to the Envy of his Mother,

as there he Hung, Alone to Suffer.

He was Crushed for us,

made to Drink the Cup,

his Dignity Taken, you bore him up.

Despised, Forgotten, Forsaken was he,

you Raised him High,

for all Time to See.

What Purpose, what Destiny, to Be that Altar Wood,

to have Offered the Sacrificial Lamb,

on that Hill where you Stood.

What was it like, his Wounds pressed upon your grain,

to be Soaked in his Saving Blood,

to Share his Salvific Pain?

As you carried his Body, so Heavy with Sin,

did you feel the Burden,

of my Guilt within?

Oh Cross of Christ, friend to Sorrow, familiar with Strife,

his Companion into Death,

                    Companion me now, into Life.

Prayer After Christmas

Prayer After Christmas

   

Jesus, my Incarnate Lord, in your senseless Mercy, make your home within the walls of my sin.  Bring your Presence into my Selfishness, my Arrogance, my Unforgiveness, my Fear, my Unbelief.

          Expose my sins, my needs, to your Saving Love.  Wake me from my slumber.  Fan the embers of my cold heart.  Give me a hunger for you who sustains me.  Deliver me from the cravings of Death.  May I thirst only for your Will to be done in my life.  

          Come, oh Emmanuel, my Deliverer.  Enter into the darkness of my life.  Come, my Savior, into the depths of my wretchedness.  May your Light and your Love drive me to true conversion.  Transform my soul, my heart and life into an abode pleasing to your Holy Spirit.

May it not be I who lives, but you who lives within me.  May my life glorify you, my Creator.  May my praise be worthy to join with the Shepherds and Angels.  Make me faithful.  Make me pure.  Make me true.  Make me like you.

Jesus, my Eternal Light,

Come, into the Darkness of my Night.

Lo, the Wretchedness of my Sin

Is but the Cry of Emptiness within.

Come, My Savior, deliver me.

          Only in You will I be Free.

The Woman Of Ill Repute

The Woman Of Ill Repute (Luke 7:36)

   

Simon, a devout Pharisee, invited Jesus to dinner, only to have it crashed by a woman with a bad reputation.  She enters, throws herself to the feet of Jesus, sobbing uncontrollably, bathing His dirty feet with her tears, and drying them with her hair.  Then, while covering them with kisses, she anoints them with perfume.  

Incredulously, Jesus is not looking at the woman.  His attention is on the hidden thoughts of Simon, who is in far greater need of a doctor.  For the woman, as Jesus soon points out, was demonstrating profuse love, springing from a grateful heart emboldened by faith, by a certainty, that her many sins would be forgiven at the feet of Jesus.  

         

          And so Jesus, not taking His eyes off Simon, gently exposes Simon’s shallow love.  As love is the fruit of faith, Jesus reveals Simon’s Achilles heel -that he does not believe in the Mercy Of God.  Fearing an Unforgiving God, Simon is blinded to his own sinfulness; he can only see the sins of others.

Undeterred by blindness, Jesus releases Simon into the freedom of Truth -that only those who have been forgiven much can love much.

Later, Jesus sets another Simon free.  Again, with his Heart Piercing questions, he asks, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these others? ...Do you love me? ...Do you love me?”  Simon Peter, looking into the Face of Love, did not just see the eyes of Jesus.  Like a rushing train disappearing into a tunnel, he was drawn into the Eternal Presence, the very Heart Of Mercy.  There, his cry was absorbed into Unity, as he professed, “Yes Lord, you know that I love you!”

Peter proclaimed with absolute certainty, with a redeemed faith, that He loved his Master more than the others, because he, who three times denied his Savior and Friend, had been forgiven most.

  

        Lost In His Wounds

Oh, my contrite Soul,

How is it I am free to bring my Sins to our Savior?

What grace Abounds!

What power the Cross!

Come, let us find Release!

         Let us Run into his Outstretched Arms.

                  Let us Fragrant him with our Tears and Kisses,

                         For my many Sins are Lost in His Wounds!

Breath Of God

Breath of God

 

Breathe on me, O Breath of God, Abba Father.

Fill me with your Life Anew.

I am but a Borrowed Breath,

A Thought you Hold,

A Drop of Dew.

 

Breathe on me, O Breath of God, Sweet Jesus.

Fill me with your Love, as Driven,

That Your Cross, I may Embrace,

With eyes Unblinded

To Beauty Given.

 

Breathe on me, O Breath of God, Holy Spirit.

Fill me with your Blazing Fire.

Purify my Dreams, O Lord,

That I may Hunger

But your Desire.

 

Breathe on me, O Breath of God, Triune One.

Fill me with your Praise till Bursting.

My Sins, my Fears

-Your Heart Consuming;

Lost in Mercy,

To You I Run.

Remind Me Lord

Remind Me Lord

"Let the dawn bring proof of your love, for one who relies on you; let it show the right road to one who lifts up his soul to you." Psalm 143:8

Oh Lord, your Morning Light makes things so clear.

This morning prayer cleanses my mind.

The breaking of your Word dispels all fear.

How I want to praise You in everything I do.

I know the day will grow cluttered and my mind weary,

So I call to you now my Beloved Holy Spirit,

When I begin to wander, to forget your Promise.

Bring me back to this Morning Wellspring.

Remind me Lord of your Morning Light.

 

Hunger And Thirst

Hunger And Thirst

Father, You desire me for You alone.

Every desire of mine that leads me away from You is evil. 

Do not allow my eyes to wander from Your Gaze.

May I prize You above all distractions. 

Purify my soul. 

Make me Hungry for your Bread of Life,

Thirsty for your Saving Cup,

and Desperate for the Breath of your Spirit.

This is my Prayer, oh Lord.

Holy Spirit, make this my Life.