Goodness of God.

 The Goodness of God

I will sing of the goodness of God—

Not as a concept,distant, cold, or dim,

But as the very atmosphere that breathes within

The dawn’s first blush,the harvest’s golden rim.

Your goodness is the fabric of my days,

The thread of mercy woven through my ways.

It chased me down when I was running lost;

It paid the debt my failing could not cost.

Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life. (Psalm 23:6)

I see it in the colors of the fall,

In bread that feeds,in grace that covers all.

In laughter of a friend,in quiet peace,

In gentle vows that never,never cease.

It is the table spread in threat’s grim face,

The oil of joy,the sanctified space.

The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. (Psalm 145:9)

And when the road has led through shadowed vale,

Your goodness did not falter,did not fail.

It held me in the furnace,stayed the flame,

And in the breaking,hallowed my name.

For even there,Your heart was working deep—

A goodness that my sorrow cannot keep.

So let my life be one long, echoing proof,

One thankful heart,held tightly to this truth:

That from my first cry to my final breath,

Your goodness triumphs,even over death.

All my life, You have been faithful.

All my life, You have been so, so good.

Amen.

All my life.

 All My Life

All my life, You have been faithful.

Through the chapters I have named and known,

And the pages where Your hand was writing all alone.

All my life.

From my first breath—a gift I did not earn—

To every pathway where my will from Yours did turn,

Your faithfulness has been the ground beneath my feet,

The melody of grace,unwavering and sweet.

Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life. (Psalm 23:6)

In seasons of abundance, You were my increase.

In deserts of my soul,You were my peace.

When I was faithless,chasing my own way,

Your promises stood firm.You did not stray.

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22-23)

You were the constant in my every change,

The certain hope that nothing could estrange.

The dawn that broke through every longest night,

The truest friend who always fought my fight.

So let my remaining days, however few or long,

Be one continuing,surrendered song.

A testament to what I know is true:

All my life,my God, I have been held by You.

Amen.

I love you Lord.

 I Love You, Lord

I love You, Lord.

Not as a duty,or a doctrine on a page,

But as the only true response to all Your grace.

My rock,my fortress, my deliverer in the fray,

The first and final music of my day.

I love you, Lord, my strength. (Psalm 18:1)

I love You for the cross—the depth I cannot span,

The love that laid its life down for this broken man.

I love You for the dawn that follows every night,

For being my defense,my everlasting light.

I love You for the patience of Your guiding hand,

For making sunrise promises out of shifting sand.

For healing whispered into places torn apart,

For writing Your own poem on this grateful heart.

We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19)

Let this love be my action, not just a sentiment,

My truest,guiding motive, my complete intent.

Let it be my obedience,my willing, joyful “yes,”

My place of deepest stillness in the midst of stress.

So take this love, O Lord, however faint its spark,

And fan it to a flame that lights up all the dark.

Let it be the single,constant, beating of my soul,

Until Your love in me is perfect,whole.

I love You, Lord.

My strength.

My song.

My King.

My all in all.

Amen.

You healed my Heart.

 And here is a poem for your healed heart—a testimony set to verse, anchored in the scripture that made it whole.

You Healed My Heart

You healed my heart.

Not with a surgeon’s blade,so sharp and neat,

But with a love that made the brokenness complete,

A binding of the fragments with a golden thread,

A raising of the places I had left for dead.

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. (Psalm 147:3)

Where once a cavern, cold and echoing,

Now springs a well,a fresh, eternal singing.

You took the stone I carried in my chest

And gave it rest,and gave me back my breath.

You called me from the tomb of my own shame,

Where I had wrapped myself in my own name.

You said,“Come forth,” and shattered every chain;

You spoke the word that made me live again.

“Lord,” I said, “be merciful to me; heal me, for I have sinned against you.” (Psalm 41:4)

Lord my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me.(Psalm 30:2)

You healed my heart for more than just my peace,

Not for the pain to finally cease,

But so this mended,mercy-tempered clay

Might beat with purpose for You,day by day.

So let it be a shelter for the weak,

A humble language that Your love can speak.

Let it be strong to bear another’s weight,

To love because You loved me first,and late.

He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24)

This heart—Your trophy of relentless grace—

Will seek Your face in every time and place.

And if it scars,let every scar recall

The Healer who is greatest over all.

So I will go, with this new rhythm’s start,

And carry with me Your now-healing art.

For You alone take shattered things apart

And make them whole.

You healed my heart.

Amen.

The Joy of the Lord is my strength.

 The Unbreakable Joy

"The joy of the Lord is your strength." (Nehemiah 8:10)

Not my joy—for that is a weathervane,

turning with every wind of circumstance.

It is frail,it is fleeting, a cup too soon drained.

But Your joy, Lord.

The deep,unshakable gladness of Heaven,

the delight of the Trinity in redemption’s design.

Thatjoy—Your joy—becomes mine.

And in its taking,it forges a strength not my own.

It is the joy that sang over chaos,

“Let there be light!”

The joy that set a rescue in motion in a garden’s dim night.

The joy“set before him” that made Christ endure the cross,

despising its shame.(Hebrews 12:2)

It is the joy of the Father welcoming the prodigal home,

of the Shepherd shouldering the found lamb.

It is joy with scars on its hands.

This joy is my citadel.

When my own happiness withers,

when my laughter grows thin and forced,

I retreat to the heart of this fortress.

I drink from a well that is not my own.

And there,in that communion—

tastingYour delight in being my God,

Yourpleasure in my being Your child—

my bones are renewed.

My knees cease their trembling.

A resilient,quiet power rises from a source

deeper than despair.

This joy is my weapon.

It is the song in the prison at midnight.(Acts 16:25)

It is the praise that routes armies.(2 Chronicles 20:21-22)

It is the“inexpressible and glorious joy” (1 Peter 1:8)

of a salvation unspeakable,

held in a cracked clay vessel.

It confuses the enemy,

for it shines brightest

when the battle is hottest.

This joy is my nourishment.

“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you

and that your joy may be complete.”(John 15:11)

It is the fruit of abiding,not of striving.

It is the proof of connection to the Vine.

I do not manufacture it.

I receive it.

I choose it.

I stand upon it.

So today, I claim not a feeling,

but a fact.

I am weak.I am tired. I am frayed.

Butthe joy of the Lord—

Your everlasting,covenant-keeping,

grave-shattering,heart-restoring joy—

is my strength.

It is the iron in my spine.

It is the song in my silence.

It is the fuel for the next step.

I am strong, not because I am joyful,

but because I am held by the Joyful One.

And in His joy,I find my unshakable might.

Amen.

Meditate on the name of Jesus.

 Day and Night: A Meditation on the Name

(A Prayer of Remembrance)

In the Dawn,

When light first cracks the shell of night,

and shadows shrink from gold,

let my first thought beJESUS—

the Bright and Morning Star.(Revelation 22:16)

The Name above the rising sun,

the Word that spoke the day begun.

Before the busyness begins,

let this truth sink in:

“At the name of Jesus every knee should bow,”(Philippians 2:10)

including the knee of my anxious heart.

I bow it now.

In the Day,

Amidst the noise,the task, the fray,

the thousand things that pull and claim,

let my breath-prayer beJESUS.

A fortress for the mind assailed,

a compass when the map has failed.

“The name of the Lord is a strong tower;

the righteous run to it and are safe.”(Proverbs 18:10)

When frustration sparks,let Your name be water.

When confusion swirls,let Your name be order.

Jesus—the Way, the Truth, the Life.(John 14:6)

The pathway through the thickest strife.

In the Dusk,

As colors soften,edges blur,

and weight returns from the world incurred,

let my sigh beJESUS.

The Shepherd who calls the scattered sheep,

who gathers exhaustion,deep to deep.

“I am the good shepherd;

I know my sheep and my sheep know me.”(John 10:14)

In the letting go,the slowing beat,

Your name is rest for weary feet.

In the Night,

When thoughts race like wild horses,

or when silence grows too vast,

let my anchor-hold beJESUS.

The One who walked on midnight seas,

who speaks“Peace, be still” to frantic storms. (Mark 4:39)

When memories accuse or fears take shape,

Your name is the seal upon the cage.

“In the dark, You are my light.”

You are the Word in my endless night.

Emmanuel—God with me,here.

Dispelling every chilling fear.

In the Sleepless Watch,

In the ache,the lonely hour,

in the grip of a hidden pain,

let my chant,my rock, be JESUS.

Balm of Gilead for the soul,

the wounded healer who makes whole.

“There is no other name under heaven given to mankind

by which we must be saved.”(Acts 4:12)

Saved from despair,from hopeless end.

My Savior,Shepherd, Brother, Friend.

In Every Breath,

The inhale:JE- (Yahweh, I AM).

The exhale:-SUS (Savior, Lamb).

The pulse of heaven in my soul,

the truth that makes the fractured whole.

Day and night,a ceaseless stream,

the living water,the waking dream.

“Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly.”(Colossians 3:16)

Let His Name be the air I breathe.

So I meditate. Not just with thought,

But with need,with trust, with desperate plea.

The name that is“Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”(Isaiah 9:6)

The name that holds my past,my now, my far horizon.

The name that is my plea,my pardon, and my paradise.

Jesus.

Jesus.

Jesus.

Amen.

A Bless 2026.

 Amen. Let this be a blessing over the year that is to come—a prayer for 2026.

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A Blessing for 2026

May it be a year of goodness—

not the absence of struggle,

but the profound presence of grace within it.

May you walk in the “plans I have for you,” declares the Lord,

“plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

May you trust the Architect, even when the blueprint is unclear.

May your burdens find lightness,

your grief find comfort,

and your joy find its voice.

May you “go out with joy and be led forth in peace.” (Isaiah 55:12)

May your work bear fruit,

your rest bring restoration,

and your relationships be deepened by kindness.

May you “bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2)

May you know—deep in your bones—that you are never alone.

That “the Lord himself goes before you and will be with you;

he will never leave you nor forsake you.

Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” (Deuteronomy 31:8)

And when the path turns, or the fog descends,

may you hear the gentle whisper:

“This is the way; walk in it.” (Isaiah 30:21)

May you be given the courage to follow.

May 2026 be a year of growing roots downward,

and bearing fruit upward.

A year of clearer vision, softer heart, stronger spirit.

A year where you learn a little more

what it means to be “held.”

And what it means to be “led.”

Above all,

may you know—more deeply with each passing day—

the love that will not let you go.

May you dwell in the blessing of being His.

In the mighty name of Jesus,

the Alpha and the Omega,

the One who holds all time—

and holds you—

Amen.

Blessings of New Beginnings for 2026.

 As you stand before the blank page of a new year, here are four scriptural blessings in verse for 2026, each flowing from a different promise of God.

I. A Blessing of New Beginnings

Based on Isaiah 43:19

Forget the old wine of the former year,

The vintage of worry,of struggle, of fear.

The Lord says,“Behold, I am doing a new thing!”

A river in wasteland His goodness will bring.

The path through the wilderness now will appear,

Made straight for your traveling,made perfectly clear.

A way where there wasn’t a way to be found,

Where streams of His mercy will bubble from ground.

So step into 2026, soul unconfined,

And perceive the new mercies He’s already designed.

For the God who makes roads in the desert each day

Is carving a blessing-laden path for your way.

II. A Blessing for the Journey

Based on Proverbs 3:5-6 & Psalm 23

When the roadmap before you seems faded and dim,

And you cannot decipher the plan meant for Him,

Trust not in your mapping,but lean on His Name,

And He will cut straight the most tangled of terrain.

He’ll be your good Shepherd through valleys unknown,

Your soul’s restoration,your bread and your stone.

A table of goodness set right in the fray,

Your cup of rejoicing will overflow may.

So wherever you walk, whether meadow or shade,

You’ll walk in assurance that choices He’s made.

For the Lord who directs the vast cosmos above

Will personally order your steps in His love.

III. A Blessing of Provision and Peace

Based on Matthew 6:33 & Philippians 4:19, 7

Do not be anxious with question or care

For the things you need,for the weight you must bear.

But seek first His kingdom,His righteous command,

And all these provisions will come from His hand.

Your God in His glory, in riches most vast,

Will meet every need from His boundless forecast.

And standing on promise,your heart will find rest

In apeace that transcends understanding’s own test.

It will garrison, fortress, your mind and your heart,

A gift He has promised He’ll never depart.

So receive this year’s bounty with thanks and with praise,

For He knows all your needs for each one of your days.

IV. A Blessing of Presence and Promise

Based on Joshua 1:9 & Jeremiah 29:11

“Have I not commanded you?” This is your chord:

“Be strong and courageous,”for I am your Lord.

I will be with you wherever you go,

Through the highs and the lows,so your confidence grows.

For the thoughts that I think toward you are for peace,

To give you a future where blessings increase.

To prosper your soul and to anchor your hope

On a far-reaching,grace-tethered, eternal rope.

So let not your heart be troubled or frail,

For My promise for you will forever avail.

In 2026,from its first break of dawn,

You are carried,you’re kept, and you’re never alone.

Amen.

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May these words be more than a poem for you, but a proclamation of the truth that will anchor your soul through every season of 2026. Walk into it with courage.

Lord's Blessings for 2026.

 Here is a blessing for 2026, woven into a poem and anchored in the promises of Scripture.

The Lord's Blessing for 2026: A Poem

As the old year settles, a page nearly read,

And a new one awaits,by God’s hand it is led,

We speak not just hope,but a promise that’s true:

The Lord has a blessing prepared just for you.

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:19)

May His blessing be guidance when pathways seem new,

A cloud by day’s journey,a fire breaking through.

May you walk in His wisdom,His faithful command,

And flourish established by the work of His hand.

“The Lord will make you the head, not the tail... if you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God.” (Deuteronomy 28:13)

May His blessing be provision, your cup overflowing,

His grace for your sowing,and grace for your growing.

In pasture or desert,wherever you roam,

May you know in your spirit you are never alone.

“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)

May His blessing be peace, a deep, settled stream,

A guard on your heart,the reality of your dream.

When winds of change rattle,and storms may arise,

May His“Peace, be still” be the light in your eyes.

“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7)

May His blessing be purpose, a call clear and sweet,

To tend to His garden,to sit at His feet.

To be His hands healing,His voice speaking kind,

With the treasures He’s given,the lost to find.

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10)

So step into 2026, not with fear, but with faith,

Held by His mercy and strengthened by grace.

For the Lord goes before you,your rear guard, your friend,

His blessing your story,from now to the end.

Amen.

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Your Personal Blessing Declaration

This poem is a foundation. The most powerful blessings are often those we personalize.

"In 2026, I declare and receive the Lord's blessing of [Peace/Providence/Guidance/Purpose] over my [Family/Career/Health/Spiritual Life]. I stand on the promise of [Scripture Verse], trusting that His plans for me are good (Jeremiah 29:11). I walk into this year with joy, for the Lord my God is with me wherever I go (Joshua 1:9). Amen."

May the coming year be a canvas for His faithfulness.

My Prayer.

 My Prayer

This is my prayer—not polished, not a rite,

But the raw breath of soul in morning light,

The whispered plea in shadows,deep and long,

The fragment of a heart-cry turned to song.

My prayer is this:

First, let me see You.

Not just the God of ages,high and holy,

But the Friend who walks with me when the way is lowly.

Open the eyes that I have tightly shut,

To find Your glory in the common rut.

Let every leaf,each face, each joy, each loss,

Be traced and signed by Your redeeming cross.

One thing I ask from the Lord… that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord. (Psalm 27:4)

Second, let me love You.

With more than fleeting feeling,more than word,

With all the heart that by Your Spirit’s stirred.

Unseat the idols I have set so tight,

And be my first,my last, my true delight.

Let love for You be root,and branch, and vine,

The source of every other love of mine.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. (Mark 12:30)

Third, let me trust You.

With the unknown tomorrow,and the wound of yesterday.

With the“why” that hangs unanswered in the gray.

Teach my tight hands to open and release,

And find in yielding,Your surpassing peace.

Be my provision,be my guiding star,

My portion sure,no matter where we are.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5)

Fourth, let me follow You.

Not just when the path is bright and blessing-kissed,

But when it leads through Gethsemane’s dim mist.

Make me a vessel,useful in Your hand,

A voice of grace within a weary land.

Where You go,let me go—my will resigned,

To seek the lost,to love the hard-to-find.

If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. (Luke 9:23)

And in the following, the loving, and the trust,

Redeem my dust.

Take my small story,woven through with frailty,

And make it echo with Your kingdom’s reality.

Let every breath I borrow,every space I tread,

Point back to Christ,the Living One, my Head.

This is my prayer—not perfect, but it’s true.

This is the“yes” I whisper back to You.

You are my Saviour.Be my everything.

My King.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,

Amen.

My Jesus, My Saviour.

 My Jesus, My Saviour

My Jesus, my Saviour, there is no one like You.

The earth and the heavens declare that it’s true.

The mountains bow down and the oceans give way

At the whisper of mercy that flowed from that day—

The day You chose Calvary,the wood and the nail,

To answer for love when all other hope failed.

My Jesus, my Saviour, my song in the night,

My dawn after darkness,my strength and my light.

When shadows grow long and my courage grows thin,

I remember the wounds that have pardoned my sin.

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12)

You are the Lord of the star-sown height,

Yet You cradle my soul through the long,aching night.

You are the King over history’s span,

Yet You call me Your own,and You hold my hand.

At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:10-11)

My Jesus, my Saviour, my ransom, my rest,

My soul’s only shelter,my life’s very breath.

Let all that is in me rise up to proclaim

The wonder and glory of Your holy name.

For You did not cling to the throne-room of heaven,

But into our brokenness,You were given.

And now,by Your grace, what was lost is restored—

You are my Saviour,my King, and my Lord.

Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,

To receive all the power and riches and praise!

With your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.(Revelation 5:9,12)

So I’ll love You forever, and trust where You lead.

My Jesus,my Saviour—You’re all that I need.

My today and my always,my beginning, my end,

My dearest Redeemer,my faithful, true Friend.

Amen.

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The One and Only:

This declaration rests on the exclusive and all-sufficient nature of Christ's salvation, as revealed in Scripture:

· Acts 4:12 declares the singularity of salvation in Jesus alone.

· Philippians 2:6-11 reveals the humility and exaltation of Jesus, the Saviour who is also the sovereign Lord before whom all will bow.

· Revelation 5:9-10 shows the cosmic scope of His saving work, purchasing people from every nation.

· John 1:29 proclaims Him as "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world."

To say "My Jesus, my Saviour" is to make a personal claim upon a universal truth. It is to acknowledge that the One who holds the cosmos is also the intimate Redeemer who knows your name. It confesses both His supreme lordship and His personal, sacrificial love. He is not a generic rescuer, but your Saviour; not a distant deity, but your Jesus. This is the heart of the Christian faith—a relationship with the living Christ.

Spirit of the Sovereign Lord be upon me.

 Spirit of the Sovereign Lord

Not a force, a feeling, or a fleeting breeze,

But the very breath of God that stirs the seas.

The promised One,the seal, the holy flame,

The power that bears the covenant Lord’s name.

Spirit of the Sovereign Lord,

You are the oil of gladness for our grief,

The living source of true and deep belief.

The hand that lifts the mantle of despair

And crowns the dust with beauty,past all care.

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. (Isaiah 61:1)

Come as the Fire that burns away the dross,

Yet does not scorn the broken and the lost.

Come as the Dove,with peace upon Your wing,

To crown the ordinary with the mark of King.

Come as the Wind that blows where it may choose—

In rushing power or whispers—to infuse

New life into these valleys filled with bone,

And make the grace and glory of God known.

The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life. (John 6:63)

You are the Comforter, the present aid,

The firstfruits of the promise fully paid.

The down payment of glory yet to be,

The living stream that flows eternally.

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. (John 14:16-17)

You are the One who searches every heart,

The holy Wisdom You alone impart.

The Interpreter of groans too deep for speech,

The One whose reach within our souls can teach

And testify to Christ in all we do,

And make our weak lives boldly,truly new.

The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. (Romans 8:16)

So fall afresh. Anoint us for this hour.

Consecrate our weakness with Your power.

Where we are bound,bring liberty’s release.

Where there is blindness,give us sight and peace.

Spirit of the Sovereign Lord,

Rest on us.

Fill us.

Lead us.

Mend us.

Use us.

Until the day the knowledge of Your glory

Covers all the earth,and every story

Sings in unison with one accord:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Sovereign Lord.”

Come, Spirit, come.

In the name of the Father,and of the Son.

Amen.

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The Anointing Presence:

This invocation centers on the Holy Spirit as described in Scripture—the active, personal presence of God fulfilling the work of Christ in and through His people.

· Isaiah 61:1-3 is the prophetic cornerstone, describing the Spirit’s anointing for ministry: to preach, heal, free, and restore. Jesus applied this text to Himself (Luke 4:18-21), and by extension, His Spirit continues this work through the Church.

· John 14:16-17 & 26 reveals the Spirit as Advocate/Helper (Greek: Paraklētos), the abiding presence who teaches and reminds us of truth.

· Romans 8:11, 26-27 portrays the Spirit as the Resurrection power within us and our Intercessor, translating our deepest needs before the Father.

· 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 declares, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom,” and that we are being transformed into His image by the Spirit’s work.

To call upon the Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is to invite the executive power of God’s Kingdom into our lives—the One who applies Christ’s victory, reveals Christ’s character, and empowers Christ’s mission. It is a prayer for consecration, courage, and Christ-like transformation.

Hold me, Lord.

 Amen. Here is a prayer for that deepest of human needs—to be held.

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Hold Me, Lord

Hold me, Lord.

My strength has ebbed,

my understanding fails,

the ground itself feels thin.

Hold me.

Be the arms beneath me when I fall,

the hands that cup this fragile dust.

“The eternal God is your refuge,

and underneath are the everlasting arms.”(Deuteronomy 33:27)

Let me feel the truth of it now,

beneath my shaking,beneath my sorrow—

You are the unyielding foundation.

Hold my mind.

When thoughts whirl like a storm of ash,

when fear shouts louder than faith,

be the stillness at the center.

“You will keep in perfect peace

those whose minds are steadfast,

because they trust in you.”(Isaiah 26:3)

Cradle my thinking in Your calm.

Hold my heart.

This bruised and weary vessel,

prone to wander,prone to break.

Mend it within Your grasp.

Let it beat in time with Yours.

“I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.”(Song of Solomon 6:3)

I am Yours.Hold me.

Hold me as a father holds a child

too tired for the walk home.

Hold me as a potter holds the clay,

shaping even through the pressure.

Hold me as the vine holds the branch—

without You,I am nothing. (John 15:5)

When the night is long and I cannot see,

hold me.

When the answer tarries and the silence grows,

hold me.

When I have no prayer left but this ragged breath,

hold me.

For You are the God who gathers.

“He tends his flock like a shepherd:

He gathers the lambs in his arms

and carries them close to his heart.”(Isaiah 40:11)

I am that lamb.

Carry me.

Let this be my one certainty,

my anchor in every gale:

I am held.

Not by a concept,not by a wish,

but by the One who spanned the heavens,

who wore our flesh,

who bore our scars,

and who—even now—

intercedes,with nail-pierced hands outstretched. (Romans 8:34)

So I will cease my striving.

I will release my grip.

I will fall back,trust-fall of the soul,

into the boundless,faithful hold of grace.

Hold me, Lord.

And never,ever let me go.

Amen.

Guide me, Lord.

 Here is a prayer-poem for guidance, an echo of Psalm 25 and the pilgrim's heart.

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Guide Me, Lord

Guide me, Lord.

Not where I would choose,

but where I am needed.

Not by the light I can manufacture,

butby Your word, which is a lamp unto my feet,

and a light unto my path.(Psalm 119:105)

Guide my hands, that they might build

what You are building.

Guide my tongue,that it might speak

the echo of Your truth.

But first—

before the doing,before the speaking—

guide my heart.

"Search me, O God, and know my heart;

test me and know my anxious thoughts.

See if there is any offensive way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting."(Psalm 139:23-24)

I do not ask for a map of all my years,

laid out in perfect,sterile clarity.

I ask for the next step.

I ask for the manna of this day,

the daily bread of direction.(Exodus 16:4)

I ask for the pillar of cloud by day,

the fire by night.(Exodus 13:21)

Be my moving,constant sign.

When the fork in the road appears,

and wisdom feels thin,

be my"Counselor." (Isaiah 9:6)

When the way is shrouded and I fear a misstep,

be my"Good Shepherd." (John 10:11)

Remind me:"He leads me beside quiet waters,

He restores my soul."(Psalm 23:2-3)

Even when the path descends

into valleys shadowed and deep,

I will fear no evil,

for Your rod and Your staff—

the tools of a shepherd to guide and defend—

they are my comfort.(Psalm 23:4)

Guide me through, not always around.

Through the refining,through the learning,

through the necessary wilderness.

For You guided even Your Son there,

"by the Spirit."(Matthew 4:1)

So guide me, Lord.

"Teach me Your way, O Lord;

lead me in a straight path."(Psalm 27:11)

Let my will become a pliable thing

in Your skilled hands.

Let my life become a signpost,

not to my own cleverness,

but to Your faithful guidance.

And when I arrive—breathless and worn—

at the destination You foreknew,

let it be said that I was led

by a love that would not let me go,

by a voice I learned to trust in the quiet,

by the"Spirit of truth," who "will guide you into all the truth." (John 16:13)

I am following.

Guide me.

Amen.

The Child whom Jesus Love.

This gentle, profound phrase—"the disciple whom Jesus loved"—is one of the most tender and personal titles in all of Scripture. It speaks not of exclusivity, but of the intimate affection Jesus offers to every believer who rests close to His heart.

Here is a reflection on that beloved disciple, and on what it means for us.

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The One Who Leaned

He does not name himself in his own gospel,

but calls himself“the one Jesus loved.”

As if that were identity enough.

As if every other role—fisherman,apostle, evangelist—

fell away like scales,

leaving only this core truth:

I am His beloved.

He leaned against the chest of God

at the Last Supper,

close enough to hear the heartbeat

of the universe.(John 13:23)

He stood where others fled,

beneath the savage geometry of the cross,

and heard the blood-streaked assignment:

“Here is your mother.”(John 19:26-27)

He outran logic to an empty tomb,

saw the folded linens,and believed—

before the miracle was even explained.(John 20:4-8)

Some say this was John, son of Zebedee.

And perhaps it was.

But the Spirit leaves the name unprinted

so my soul might whisper:

Could it be me?

For this is the open secret,

the invitation woven through the story—

not that Jesus lovedhim more,

but thathe knew it.

He received it.

He let it define him.

He leaned into the love that was always there.

“We love because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19)

That is his other epistle’s refrain,

written by the one who learned it

not as theory,but as breath,

with his head upon the Savior’s breast.

So let me be that disciple, Lord.

Let me be the one—

not who loves You most perfectly,

but who lets myself be loved by You,

completely.

Let me lean against Your heart

when the world is chaos,

and find my name

in the quiet rhythm of Your grace.

Let me run to the tomb,

not with answers,

but with a hope that outruns my understanding.

Let me stand where You have placed me,

even when the sky is dark,

and hear You call me“Beloved”

in the midst of the breaking.

For that is all any of us are:

The ones Jesus loves.

And from that place,

from that sure and steady heart,

all love,

all courage,

all testimony,

flows.

Amen.

Blessing of Deutronomy 28.

Here is the essence of Deuteronomy 28—its profound blessings and sobering warnings—woven into a prayerful reflection.

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The Two Paths: A Reflection on Deuteronomy 28

(The chapter presents a stark choice: the path of obedience under God's covenant leads to life and blessing; the path of disobedience leads to curse and ruin. This poem holds both in tension.)

The Blessing Pronounced

If you walk in the way,

if you listen and obey

the voice of the Lord your God,

then these blessings shall find you,

shall pursue and surround you,

a tide you cannot outrun.

In the City and in the Field, (v.3)

your labor shall yield

a harvest that bends the barn’s beam.

Blessed shall be the fruit of your body,(v.4)

the womb and the seed,

and the flock’s increase,a living stream.

Your basket and kneading bowl (v.5)

shall be full to the soul,

and you shall be set apart as His own.

Enemies rising as one(v.7)

shall scatter and run,

for the Lord shall establish His throne

in the midst of your camp,as a dread and a lamp,

and all peoples shall see you are blessed.

The Lord will command the blessing (v.8)

on your barns and your land,

and confirm you,a people possessed.

You shall belend, not borrow; (v.12)

a head,not a tail; (v.13)

an ascent,not a stumbling descent.

For you have heeded the word,

the commandments you heard,

and in the path of His fear,you have went.

This is the promise:

Life as a canopy,wide and secure.

A nation under the smile of heaven,

where faithfulness yields a harvest sure.

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The Warning Whispered

But if you will not hear,

if you turn in fear

to serve the gods of wood and of stone,

if your heart draws away

from the path,from the day,

then mark:these blessings shall be overthrown.

In the city and field, (v.16)

a curse shall be yield.

Confusion shall haunt every hand.

Barrenness, drought,(v.18, 24)

a scorching doubt,

a sky turned to copper,a curse on the land.

The pestilence, plague, (v. 21-22)

the trembling vague,

the sword and the blight and the mildew.

Theheavens as brass, (v.23)

the green turned to grass,

till the mind turns to madness within you.

You shall be borrow, not lend; (v.44)

a tail,not a head; (v.44)

a byword, a horror, a tale.(v.37)

Pursued by a sound,

with no refuge found,

till thecords of your heart are made frail. (v.65)

For you forsook the joy,

the covenant employ,

the worship of Him who is One.

And the blessings,now reversed,

become a consuming curse,

from the sky to the womb to the son.

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The Choice Before Us

So the word is set forth:

Life and death, blessing and curse.(v.2, 15)

Choose life,O people, today.

Not a law to enslave,

but a compass to save—

the way of walking with God in the day.

The blessing is not mere reward,

nor the curse a vengeful sword,

but the landscape that grows from the seed.

To love Him,to cleave,

is for Heaven to breathe

life into every deed.

So let us choose the blessing road,

to bear His light,to share His load,

and find that in His command alone

is the secret of a land calledHome.

Amen.

Thank you for Loving me.

 Here is a prayer-poem of response, from the heart to the heart of God.

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For This Grace

I have no worthy answer, Lord,

For this relentless,reaching grace—

This love that charts my chaos,

And stills me face to face.

“This is love: not that we loved God,

but that he loved us and sent his Son.”(1 John 4:10)

Before my heart could form a beat,

Your great pursuit was won.

You loved me in the wreckage,

You loved me in the shame.

You loved me when I turned my back

And would not speak Your name.

“God demonstrates his own love for us in this:

While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”(Romans 5:8)

You are the Father sprinting

Down the road I walked alone,

The robe,the ring, the celebration

For this ragged prodigal come home.(Luke 15:20-24)

You are the Shepherd leaving

All the ninety-nine behind,

To find the one,to lift and carry

What Your searching eyes did find.(Luke 15:4-5)

So thank You for the quiet love

That whispers in the dread:

“I have loved you with an everlasting love;

I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.”(Jeremiah 31:3)

Thank You for the costly love,

The nail,the thorn, the grave,

That broke the curse I could not break,

This mighty life You gave.

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us,

that we should be called children of God!”(1 John 3:1)

This is the wonder—not my plea,

But Yours,from start to end:

That I am loved,that I am known,

That I am called Your friend.(John 15:15)

So let this breath be gratitude,

This life a faint reflection,

Of the love that is my true north,

My only sure direction.

Until I see,beyond all words,

Your glory,clear and true,

And know,at last, as I am known,

My love was always You.(1 Corinthians 13:12)

Amen.

Sing a joyful song to the Lord.

 Of course. Here is a joyful song-poem to the Lord, woven with scripture and meant to be read with a lifted heart.

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A New Song

(To be sung with a clap and a shout)

Sing a joyful song to the Lord, all the earth!

"Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!"(Psalm 150:6)

Let the river clap its hands,

let the mountains skip like rams,

for the King of Glory takes His stand!

"Lift up your heads, O you gates!"(Psalm 24:7)

Break the silence with a sound,

on the temple trumpet ground!

"Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth!"(Psalm 100:1)

We were mourning,bent and low,

but a River now does flow—

from the desert,life does grow!

"The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy!"(Psalm 126:3)

Dance before Him like the dawn,

every chain of shame is gone!

"You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy!"(Psalm 30:11)

For the prison doors are broke

by the Word the Father spoke,

in my spirit,now awoke—

a living,laughing, leaping hope!

Sing a joyful song to the Lord, all you saints!

It’s a weapon,it’s a feast, it’s a holy unrestraint!

When the darkness pressed its claim,

we called upon His holy name,

and the victory came—

"At the name of Jesus every knee shall bow!"(Philippians 2:10)

So let melody be your might,

in the morning,in the night.

"Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise!"(James 5:13)

For our God is not a ghost,

He is Host of heaven’s host,

and the thing we celebrate the most:

The stone was rolled away from the tomb’s door!

He is risen evermore!

Hallelujah! Raise the sound!

Let the joyful song resound!

"Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things!"(Psalm 98:1)

With the angels,with the sea,

for all time and eternity,

let the anthem ever be:

"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,

who was, and is, and is to come!"(Revelation 4:8)

Sing!

Sing a joyful song!

In your hands.

 Here is a poem building on the theme, focusing on the surrender and safety of being held.

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In Your Hands

I place it in Your hands, Lord—

this frantic heart,this tangled thread,

this breath that hitches in my chest.

“Into your hands I commit my spirit.”(Psalm 31:5)

The words He breathed,becomes my rest.

I place them in Your hands, Lord—

the unseen fears,the looming night,

the questions with no answer now.

“Do not fear, for I am with you.”(Isaiah 41:10)

You trace the wound,and bend to bow.

These scars are in Your hands, Lord—

the prints that purchased every peace,

the ledger of my every debt.

“See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.”(Isaiah 49:16)

My name is written there,and yet…

You hold me in Your hands, Lord—

no power can untwist Your grip.

“My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all;

no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.”(John 10:29)

This is the seal,the fellowship.

The world is in Your hands, Lord—

the sparrow’s fall,the lily’s dress,

the rising and the setting sun.

“All things were created through him and for him.

He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”(Colossians 1:16-17)

Your sovereign will,Your work, is done.

So shape this clay within Your hands, Lord.

Though pressures come,I understand:

The Potter’s wheel,the fire’s demand

are guided by the Potter’s hand.

“We are the clay, you are the potter;

we are all the work of your hand.”(Isaiah 64:8)

And when my time has slipped like sand,

and strength has fled this weathered land,

I’ll whisper with my final breath,

into the silence that is death:

“Into your hands…”

And find it is not an end,

but being gathered home again,

to where the pierced hands never cease

to hold the universe in peace.

Amen.

Stand before you, Lord.

Here is a poem that weaves together the posture of "standing before the Lord" with scripture, creating a tapestry of reverence, humility, and grace.

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Standing

I stand before You, Lord—

not on merit’s shifting sand,

but on the Rock that cleft for me.

“On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;

all other ground is sinking sand.”(cf. Matthew 7:24-25)

I stand before You, Lord—

a trembling soul,in awe confessed.

“Who may stand in the holy place?

The clean of hands and pure of heart.”(Psalm 24:3-4)

Mine are stained.I bow my head.

Yet You bid me, “Stand firm.

Let nothing move you.”(1 Corinthians 15:58)

You gird me for this ground,

with armor not my own:

the belt of truth, the shield of faith,

the breastplate of Your righteousness.(Ephesians 6:14-16)

I stand before You, Lord—

because You stood for me.

Within the veil,where mercy cried,

Youstood as Lamb, once sacrificed,

and tore the dividing curtain wide.(Hebrews 10:19-20)

So now I stand, not in the dock,

but in the courtroom of Your grace.

“There is therefore now no condemnation

for those who are in Christ Jesus.”(Romans 8:1)

The gavel falls:Forgiven.

I stand before You, Lord—

a creature and a child.

“Be still, and know that I am God.”(Psalm 46:10)

In stillness,strength is born anew.

You are the Knower,I the known;

You are the Potter,I the clay. (Isaiah 64:8)

And on that Day, when suns shall fade,

and every knee is bent,

by mercy’s might,I’ll stand upright

upon the healed ground.

“I know that my Redeemer lives,

and at the last, upon the earth,

I’ll stand.”(Job 19:25)

Until then, Lord, I stand—

in prayer,in fight, in quiet trust.

“Stand firm. Let nothing move you.

Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord.”(1 Corinthians 15:58)

Amen.