Each day, I’m deep in contemplation
What is this life, to be made of

I don’t know any answers
So, seek guidance from above

Reflect on this creation
And marvel at its trove

The universe and its formation
And how, it interwove

So I make, this simple dedication
Send it winging, on a dove

Accede not to temptation
Hope my soul is my salvation
And put my faith, in His pure love
BOEMS BY JA 554

Stars of the night sky
Sing to me your silent song
The music of soul

The sweetest rhythm
Of breeze at twilight night sky
Comfort of Spirit

How wonderful you are Lord
That you made the stars in the sky
Like a lamp to an endless path
Like a thousand daffodils in a field

How wonderful you are Lord
That you made the vast oceans
Deep within are billion mysteries
A thousand stories not yet told

How wonderful you are Lord
That you made human, man and woman
Was perfect and free of will
But was lost, as sin began,

How great you are Lord!
For love was demonstrated at the cross
Gave Your only Son to save me
By grace, through faith, in Christ alone

God is very generous
He gives to those who seek
He resists the proud & arrogant
And undergirds the meek
He puts to shame the strong of mind
Gives wisdom to the weak

God is very merciful
He helps the poor & lowly
But He is not like Santa Claus
He will give, but slowly
He will not prosper greediness
For God is pure & holy

God is very fair & just
He protects downtrodden
He will not help the vengeful man
Who wants to **** and plots them
He will repay the evil one
For wickedness he's brought them!

God is of a lowly heart
He came to earth a slave
To His Father's every wish
To be murdered by the knave
Innocent of everything
They put Him in the grave

God is Truth & Righteousness
He won't bend to our whim
He won't wink his eyes for wickedness
Or rubber-stamp our sin
He helps those who want to change
And give them strength to win

For God is strong and mighty
He's not for the high-born
Three lepers ran off multitudes
He defeats who He has sworn
He gave David polished stones
To slay the Philistine

God  is patiently in love
With those of slower pace
He lets them fall, then picks them up
He does not turn His face
Does not regard color or creed
Adores the human race
He suffered the crown of THORNS
He came to share His Grace

God is the total Ruler
The holy angels sing
Around His throne and scepter
On their glorious wings
He's due praise & honor

For HE is our KING!


SoulSurvivor
(C) 6/24/2016

submerge the surface of your soul around my ankles
gingerly then violently raging against the shore
sable night coastline
soaking into the vast stretch of finely crumbled sun stars
leaving your residue of pearled-breath on
the unspoken words of a hundred poets
mixing the briny depths into metaphors
the lock-lipped horizon
keeping secrets only He knows the answers to
obsoletes of one place
originals of the other

If I were blind, would I still notice
If I were blind, could I still see
The God of the universe all around me?
When I was blind, did I take a pause
To see the world with its beauty and flaws?
The beauty in the flaws, a divine duo despite its dysfunction
Both enhancing the other in the greatest of junctions.
There is light in this world, reflecting His image
Scattered throughout every city and village.
Joy dispersed, only a fraction refracted.
Hope eternal without it being retracted.
Despite the dark hidden in each heart
The light left its mark that could not depart;
Marks engraved that conquered the grave
Not to save face but provide saving grace
Not interested in the face of the earth
But wishing for us to have rebirth.
Upon the hill, the light could not be put out
Shining brightest in the shadows of doubt.
Because beyond the shadow of a doubt lies a flickering flame
Holding on for dear life, clinging to His name.
By this small light, we have gained a glimpse
Of the evidence of His fingerprints
Seeing, not the whole, but only a part
Is enough to plant seeds of faith in a heart.
But the condition of this world is not conducive to growth.
Lies are mixed with truth, and discernment is elusive to both.
Seeds need sunlight in order to flourish,
So lean towards the Son to be nourished.
His body the bread, His blood the wine:
The ultimate covenant to span all of time.
There's beauty in this marriage, light coming to dark,
Holiness and sin, the contrast is stark.
One magnifies the other when put side by side,
Which is exactly why Jesus died.
He saw what we can't: the condition of our heart.
And he did what we couldn't: gave us a restart.
White as snow from blood red
Void removed; life instead.
So, open your eyes, search the dark in the night
And open your heart to let there be light.

As the brook babbles sweetly o'er the hedges
there is but one voice I hear.
It hums and sings, calling out solely
     for His Treasure and Bride
He has scattered love notes all around
Placing them on stems and sticks
Leaving them in the sky's warmth
And in its cool kiss.
He knows His Treasure and Bride.
Nothing escapes His watchful sight:
No thought, no feeling, no prayer.
He calls his most beloved by these two names.
One incomplete without the other.

He declares its value before all other kings.
There are no stones or metals more precious,
Rubies are not as rich, sapphires are not as scarce
Gold holds no comparison in His eyes.
As the King of kings, He takes the choicest of all that is valued.
So He calls the one He loves His Treasure.
He boasts in His Treasure.
Pure unlike anything else.
The voice that gives the Treasure its worth also declares its authority.

Yes, a worthy treasure, but more so a lovely Bride.
His beloved owns both titles.
If left as just a treasure, then it would be like all others.
He says his Treasure is more than an object.
Not a trophy gained from His most difficult battle.
One does not die for an object or possession.
He makes His treasure His Bride.
Their lives into one, a full union.
Worth beyond all other treasures and love surpassing anything else.
His Bride and Treasure.
Both are needed to see the one He loves through His eyes.
If only Bride, there may be question
As to His delight or devotion.
Yes, He could lay down His life,
But oh where is the joy?

Bride and Treasure.
Intimacy and delight.
Sacrifice and zeal.
His words etched into time.
Never to be moved.
Never to be doubted.
His love will last all of His days.

As His whispers waft in the breeze
His Love hears and knows that He beckons.
Purely to be, to exist, to commune
And in every moment, He reminds
Of how He found His Treasure and sold all He had
     to make her His Bride.

A swish carpet of summer flowers sweeps across the plains.
Blossoms deck the mountains all around.
My skin is swathed in humid southern air
As aromas of fresh-cut grass and lavender
Lounge around the lazy gardens.
Flowers of every hue
Are guarded by sentinel trees.
Red, white, orange, purple, pink….
Every nuance of colour represented here.
Taste that grass, that floating pollen.
**** that nectar under summer skies.
A blackbird twitters,
Those bees they buzz.
All birds are singing
Heavenly chorus,
From God above.

Paul Butters