Hope pt2

Posted on June 4, 2013 by Ben

Listen friend, that Hope we mentioned when you questioned me
That place you ventured to and walked a bit before things tensioned
It’s still there, still here, still given by God and still shared
By so many who listened and doubted but stilled dared
To go there, to trust Him, even when life seemed bare

Please, let me give you some truth to lift your heart
That hope, that life you want; it’s there, set apart – for you
So take it, you’re smart – use your mind, choose God; get a head start – This is
Not some abstract art but real life, ready for you to play your part

It’s never gonna be easy; not every move; that’s a cliché but it’s true
How could it be simple to change the likes of me and you
Into different people; the same but new; altered from the past we knew
We’re so dark; this break-through into light is hard but essential too

Believe me: that hope is always there; always present and only scarce
Because we find it hard to share control and bear our souls
To God, Who only wants to end this farce and save us while we dig this hole
You just have to let go; easier said than done, right – or not; just enrol

It’s true: many people will have a share in different parts of your life – they’re broken too
Don’t let that kill you; we have to learn to deal with the wear and tear that we all cause
It’s undue but we all do it; forgive and forget that stuff; even when the pain accrues
This may sound unfair but do your best to move on; that’s how we make it through

This is key: remember you can’t always control the way you feel
So take care, while driving this new life; keep your hands on the wheel
Hold on; don’t despair at your emotions – they come and go with every meal
Just keep trusting and feeding your hope with what is Real – you know the deal

Before I depart, let’s answer that question: is there hope you can touch and see
Yes: It’s written on the lives of hundreds of millions of people like me
And you – endless crowds of transformed men and women, who shout
Because, somehow, they struggled through and fought their doubt

Some-way God got through to them and changed their drought
Into a new life with him; if you don’t believe me ask them, they’re everywhere; just don’t flout
This eternal future that could be yours; I promise you this, don’t bail out
If you continue; if you go all-out; if you seek Him you WILL find out

Hope – Interlude

Posted on June 3, 2013 by Ben

What is hope; is it good or is it neutral
Or even sometimes bad or if not, perhaps misguided
But how could there be false hope; why would we create that

Can it be any positive idea
Or does it need to be based in hard fact
Or is it just some kind of medical condition;
The opposite of depression

Is it whatever happens to work for you
If you can manage to find anything that works
Or is there really some way of life that is good
And a means to get there; even if we only have some vague sense of it
Some semi-subconscious inkling of what a perfect life could be
Would that create hope; something that drives us to push on
Something that makes us want to get things sorted
Even if just for ourselves; even if we are selfish about it

We certainly have some desire to change our circumstances
A want that is based in a belief that a ‘better’ life
Could be just around the corner; but which corner
I know too many people who have fought their way
Around one just to find nothing there – or worse

Is there any evidence; is there real hope out there
Hope you can talk too and touch
Hope that has been converted into living currency
Into changed lives; into futures found and made

Do you know…… and, tell me:

Where is your hope placed
In yourself, your mind, your strength
Your wealth, your family, your friends
Some idea that you think you have
Don’t you wish that it wasn’t quite that individual;
A little less ‘dog eat dog’

Or, have you got it all sorted
Do you know exactly what you’re doing

Are you man enough to ask questions
And prepared to listen to some truth

Hope pt1

Posted on June 2, 2013 by Ben

Where’s my tow-rope on this uphill slope
Day to day I lope around; try to cope
But life is there, just waiting to slit my hope
So I continue to grope around in the dark and mope
Around cos again my hope fell to the ground: eloped
With everything else good that I tried to control
Too often this life seems hope-less; You secure a guy-rope
To give your scope foundation but it’s cut by rogues
I thought there was hope but the strobe
That flashes so fast: this world; this globe
It confused my mind and stole my hearts desire
So I ask you, friend: can you define
Where’s this hope that you said was mine

Fessing Up

Posted on June 1, 2013 by Ben

This is one of the hardest things to do but it yields amazing, purifying, sin shattering, peace bringing results.

Those things that are weighing you down. The things that make you think that your situation is worse than everyone else’s; God knows and He wants you to get them off your chest. He also insists that we help each other through this; we are all in the same boat, remember.

James said this:

“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.”
James5:16 (NIV)

We all have issues. We need to talk to, forgive, help and pray for each other.

And John said this:

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
1John1:9 (NIV)

God is not the issue, it’s us. He has forgiven us; Let’s get it off our chests – then the purification process will be able to take real effect.

Lets just go through a couple more aspects of this:

We are all guilty. We must understand that about each other. We must not judge one another or gossip or laugh at each others issues. We all need help but we have a habit of looking down on others and over-reacting to their situation just so that we can feel better about ourselves. Let’s make sure that we don’t act inappropriately towards each others failings; you know what I mean:

We can’t except sin but we are all living with it. We seem to have created an environment where we are scared of each other and live in fear of what everyone thinks about us. This is a terrible place to be; all fearing what everyone else will say; but who has the right to say anything – only Jesus and He says ‘FORGIVE’.

Let’s do away with all the rubbish. We must have a relationship where we can come together, talk about our problems and the sin that we want to leave behind. Let’s create a place where we are not afraid of each other and let’s get the devil out in the open and put an end to him – with simple Love. Let’s get that beast off our chests. That is the most important point here: it is in this kind of behviour that we give a home to the enemy and allow him to keep on destroying us.

So what do we do about it? Let’s pray together and for each other; it’s what we been told to do and it works.

Avoiding God

Posted on May 30, 2013 by Ben

Why do we hide from Him
In hours spent
Not even thinking
About what we are doing

Why do we avoid Him
By hiding in Facebook
Or losing ourselves in Twitter
We love to be immersed in nonsense

Why do we stand Him up
To spend time with Hollywood
Giving our hours to those
Who love to do the things He hates

Why do we listen
To the voices of people
Singing about all kinds of sin
When there’s a Perfect voice that wants to talk

Why do we choose to be busy
With things that can wait
When we could spend time
With the Creator of the Universe

Why do we prefer anything
To the silent thought
Which is an amazing place
Where He loves to meet us

Why don’t we take our fear and doubt
Our worries about what other people think
Put them in a big old bag
And chuck them in the bin

Why don’t you go and spend some time with God
And, after that, you can do the other stuff
He doesn’t want to take your life
He just wants to be in it
And help you to move in the right direction