Give a Good Word for Christ is worthy copyright Doug Blair, Waterloo, ON, 2017
with good friend and fellow poet Anthony Gomez
Of Andrew's Spirit
We have found Him And know that He is truth Distilled and pure. A Certain Spring, 'Though damp and slush Delay the budding. A Prince with yarns Of fields and flowers And feathered trust. Unspoiled by gold Or other trappings Of convention. Unmoved by rank Or rule of present powers. But moved by Smallest cry of Pain or shame
Or lonely lot. A Man whose every Waking step displays Assurance, equity, Mercy, patience, hope Direct from Heaven. Whose gaze commands. The Promised One. Re-charging nightly On hills of prayer, (With His Father, So He says.) As we have slept. Brother, drop your net. Come meet this One. Come meet your future.
Thinkers' Thursday Nights We don't often get the answers The questions they come and go But in this small house of mutual respek The love and trust gotta grow An old con, he got it rolling Done his silent years in the pen The kitchen smelt good An from the dark 'hood Come broken up girls and men So tired of Death's gang-bangin' And turnin' the tricks Momma taught And hidin' one's heart an fearin' That inner hopes might be caught. But Socrates axed the questions Then sat back an watched the flow Of life with its cuts And bruises an such Brought out to the Light to know An black and brown Stopped to listen As each speaker got a turn An white an worn felt a kinship Forgiveness jes bein' learned. The answers they proved elusive
Ole Socrates sat and smile The comments felt good And in a changed 'hood Sweet blossoms Burst forth from bile. No church could've brought This blessing Seemed codes and clothes Blocked the way Here silent prayers raised An honest thoughts praised Agape love had its say. (inspired by the writings of Walter Mosley)
To Fish for Men
“Fishers of men� Was your promise That drew us from ships And from sea The gold of the oncoming morning The breeze o'er the Lake Fresh and free. And Brother had caught My attention 'Messiah had surely arrived' And what a friend Came to our table Before you I scarcely had lived. Before you I ranted And blustered
No man could un-nerve me I thought. But then came the Servant girl's question To ruin me Once you'd been caught How could I deny you Dear Master? How could I dismiss Precious grace? But mercy works marvels so sweetly A life saved by your smiling face.
Peter Went Out
“And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.� Read these seven words from Luke 22 and realize that they contain the kernel of sanctification.
Peter had had all of this exposure to the power and promise of Jesus but he was still tempted to warm himself in the early morning chill at the fires of the world. Jesus had prophesied his three-time denial and it was happening. Peter had felt that his loyalty to the Master was unshakable, even to the death. But here he was quaking and swearing before women and strangers that he did not even know the Galilean.
Believer, when Jesus gives you a candid look at the evil still within your own heart, pray that you will have the grace and the opportunity to do as Peter did. It will happen alone. It will be a Godly sort of repentance. It will be a milestone marking supernatural change.
And what is going on in that world which you are renouncing? It is still inclined to mock and to crucify Jesus and His “little ones”, and to consider it entertainment. It does this in the face of the following:
Luke 21: 25And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; 26Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken
Power In Peter's Estimation
They have lived ordeals Mostly in quiet corners Un-noticed Stumped by the harshness Of a world for winners Trim, muscular, popular Monstrously self-absorbed Winners. They have found rescue On knees of broken supplication Have heard words from the Risen One Have stood up again Assured of protection, counsel
From the Highest And a promised abode In righteousness and peace. They are no longer Terrified by public opinion Peculiar people Peter said Out on a limb Of adventure and loving it Persecuted because clean Begotten again through Words of power And not by any natural means They are called out of darkness Into marvelous light Peter said. Strangely transformed to A royal priesthood A holy nation. Yet now they go about The simple jobs and households Helping where prepared By unlikely instruments Kept by the power of God Unto salvation Ready to be revealed In the last time Wherein they rule and reign With every conceivable virtue For equity, harmony and joy. Christ their destination (Note: One of my favourite journeys passes right through Peter's First Epistle.)