Lost Sheep

"The Lord is my Shepherd..."

Those words echo in the soul of every Christian.

There at too many times when I feel

Like a sheep that has wandered astray:

Alone,

Lost,

Afraid.

Let me be a sheep in God's fold:

Warm,

Secure,

Surrounded by others.

If that cannot be,

Then let me remember

The parable of the lost sheep:

That the Shepherd will leave the ninety and nine

To look for the lost one.

Look for me, O Lord.

The Gladness of the Moment

"This is the day the Lord hath made.

Let us be glad and rejoice in it."

I quote these words as I rise each morning.

But can I follow this biblical command?

Sometimes I find it difficult to be glad,

Sometimes I find it impossible to rejoice.

Was it difficult for Jesus

When He stood on the hill over Jerusalem

And contemplated the tragedies to come?

"Jesus wept," the Bible says.

Did God weep that day for Jerusalem

Or for all humanity?

Where was gladness that day?

I know the answer to that question:

With Jesus as He entered that great city,

And palm fronds fell at His feet.

Let me feel the gladness of the moment,

Even if I know the sorrow of tomorrow.

Loving Others

Some days I find it difficult to follow God's Commandment

To love others as we love ourselves.

When I am not lovable, how do I then love others?

Perhaps a start is the simple courtesy of Colossians:

"Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt,

That ye may know how ye ought to answer every man."

I shall strive to be courteous to everyone I meet today,

So that I can truly say

Thy will be done.

God's Portrait

How do I picture God?

As the great figure in the Sistine Chapel?

As Father?

As Mother?

We personify our Creator to make him more reachable,

But when we do, we lose the sense of God's power and glory.

Jesus is the only personification of God that I can understand.

For a portrait of the Creator, I must turn to the words of John:

"God is light and in him is no darkness at all."

God is light...

Lord, let me embrace the Light.

Holy Spirit

My thoughts turn to the Holy Spirit,

The Comforter Jesus promised.

Does that Holy Spirit dwell in me?

The Bible tells me it must be so.

Let me feel the Spirit

And know that God's promise is fulfilled.

What is that Spirit,

But the Love between the Creator and the Son.

Let me bask in the Love of God

And be filled with the Holy Spirit.