Freedom.

Romans 6:22-23

But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Psalm 32: my poem 'Holding on to pride'

Holding on to pride

Each part of my whole bleeds. My silence eats fully at my bones.
I shipwreck hope by stalling to confess. Guilt brutally destroys what I had left.
Alone I stand against a thousand ravenous warriors. My own escape evades me.

Ps 32:5
Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord." And you forgave the guilt of my sin.

Psalm 27: My poem 'whom shan't I fear'

Psalm 27

'Whom shan't I fear?'

Seeds of lies exist scattered within my being.
They plead: "Feed us your trust, make us grow".
I listen and thickened shoots of fear erupt.
Cultivated within, the fruit bloomed is rancid.

Roots bind me afraid to lose, my toils rot:
I strive to protect what I cannot keep;
I wrestle to trust anyone because they all stumble and fall;
I desire satisfaction in the good which is never soul quenching.

I will fear all with no confidence. I must rescue myself.
Though I tell myself I gain, inwardly I starve.
My futility fused efforts will always perish.
How can I win against the final enemy of death?

Psalm 27:1
The LORD is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid?

Psalm 23: My poem 'The Resolve'

Psalm 23

'The Resolve'

Complete the contused & strong the weak;
The ruined, the strewn, the lost He will seek.

Sheep before shepherd brings hope to the lost,
Fetching the flailed, lavished with cost.

Binding the injured, ward away a beast,
Paying with His life so the many could feast.

To dine as a guest served with esteem,
Finery festoons where my cup will teem.

Feeding fully on fruit of Your declare,
Tasting truth freely bound in Your care.

Where is deaths valley? Enemies dissolve,
Thank you, O Lord, for Your restoring resolve.


Romans 8:38-39
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Psalm 18: My poem 'This Place'

'This Place'

In this place I am crumpled by my fear.
Let me run. Let me escape. Let me go.
But I am in me - where is there but here?
I cant run, I cant escape, I cant go.

But Lord, you can turn my darkness to light.
I can run, I can escape, I can go.
For in me you have chosen to take delight.
I will run, I will escape, I will go.

Psalm 18:19
He brought me out into a spacious place;
He rescued me because He delighted in me.

Psalm 16: my poem 'Secure and striving'

As I mentioned in my last blog post, this is poetic reflection #2 reading through some psalms. Enjoy!


'Secure and striving'

Target engaged, finger ready,
Bullets loaded, footwork steady.
A sea of deserves & past self reason,
To right the wrongs: to redeem my season.

But i resist. This battle is won -
Victory thick, it has been done.
What will i gain through enemies affliction?
Thank you Lord for this piercing conviction.

Real war is to resist claiming false treasure -
To willfullly clutch Your eternal measure.
Your word declares me secure - never taken,
You are with me forever, I will not be shaken.

Psalm 16:9
Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.

Psalms 3 & 4: my poem 'The song of sleepless nights'

Today I've started reading through some of the psalms slowly during my structured bible reading time. I'm using a Good Book guide edited by Tim Chester called 'Soul Songs: exploring love, temptation, guilt and fear from the Psalms'. I thought in an effort to sink in the things I'm learning & being reminded of, I'd write a poem for each set of psalms... putting my creative energies to use & trying something a bit different!

Today's reflection was on psalm 3 & 4, here is my poem - I guess it's kinda an opposite psalm...


'The song of sleepless nights'

Standing in solitude - vulnerable, broken.
I embed last threads of hope into my fateless energy.
But I don't need your help.

I wrote my own answers to life.
Revelling in my glory encased in this stone fortress.
Why would I need your help?

I traded sleep & rest with fear & anger.
I asked for the threats to choke & the anxiety to suffocate.
I didn't want your help.

My heart & answers are empty now,
A thousand unrested silences haunt me.
Why didn't I take your help?

Psalm 3:4
To the Lord I cry aloud, and he answers me from His holy hill.

Psalm 4:8
I will lie down & sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.