Submission

Not My Will,

But Your Will now,

I do know why but I don’t see how

I can drink this cup and face this test

When my Spirit is troubled

And My Heart is stressed.

But at the Cross I leave My Will

And turn to You in Need until

You turn and walk away from Me,

I am forsaken!

You are hurting Me!

But Father, here I am,

Broken,

Waiting in the horrors unspoken,

Six hours will I take on board

What humanity could not afford.

I take their pride, their selfishness,

Their greed and their callousness,

Their evil thoughts and deeds so dark,

They blemish Me,

They pierce My heart.

I take their sickness, grief and loss,

I carry it upon this cross,

In agony I tell the Truth,

I did this all because of You.

Because, Dear Father, You asked of Me,

To love and set the captives free,

To give sight to the blind and open prison doors,

To love like You and care for the poor.

To use My flesh as Son of Man

And enter into Your Good Plan

To fellowship with all You made

And through My Blood remove the grave

Of darkness, separation, grief

I tore the veil and gave men speech –

To confess that I Am the Way, the Truth and Life

To know the Father

And have New Life

So I submit, Dear Father, now

And put My Hand to the Plow

Not looking back I now can see

Man’s hearts submit in Unity

So that they are in Me

And I am in You,

And all who see us will know the Truth,

That Love thrives when one can see

The Foot of the Cross,

Where sinners kneel.

Spent

When the day's not even over
And life's weight is pulling closer
To your breaking point,
That flaking point,
Where rest is not enough,
When the weeks are rolling by and passing
Before you're done with the asking
When is it time to stop, to rest, to breathe?
When it's raining and it won't let up
And the world is loud and you've had enough
And Groundhog Day is here again
And you throw your arms up
And say
I'm spent!

When you're here,
In this wear and tear,
In this dirty place
Where there isn't enough space,
In this camping ground
Where you feel like you've drowned,
Remember.
Christ is here.

When you're spent
He's just getting started
When you finally understand this you've departed
From that endless squeaking mouse wheel
Where your efforts aren't enough-

When you give up
He is Risen
When you forgive
You're forgiven.
When you're tired,
He's your Rock.
When time's not enough,
He's the Place where time forgot.

In your weakness
He is Greater,
In your doubts
He's your Creator,
Reigniting Hope and Faith,
Breathing Life into your wish for Grace.
When you're frightened
He's your Father,
When you're timid
He looks after
Every hiccup, every hangup,
Every tired old fear and failure.
He's the lifter of your head.
He's the Life and He's the bread
That will sustain and carry you...
He'll see you through.

So when you're spent,
He's Heaven-sent.
When you're weary,
He sees so clearly...
Even though it looks so bleak
And you feel so mild and meek,
His lens is other-worldly,
His view is what you should see:
He sees the love and plans He has for you;
He holds your hand,
He knows what to do.

Come to Me,
He calls,
So softly,
Come and find Me
In this moment.
Be still and know that I am God.

Nourish

Sit a while.
Wait and see.
I cry out,
Come to Me!
You are not made for busy.
You are not made for stress.
Come, My child,
And rest.
Rest.
Even when you are doing nothing
You are successful to Me.
Even when you fail,
I still watch and see
That you love Me,
You need Me,
And sometimes when you're lost
You forget to come to Me,
Then count the cost.
Lost hours of peace,
Of needed rest,
All you have to do is come to Me
And confess
Your need for Me,
Your longing,
To come Home and to exhale.
You can lie down in green meadows,
My Love for you will prevail.
My Love will be with you wherever you go,
But sometimes when you forget to slow
I seem distant to you,
Uncaring,
Aloof,
But busyness blinds you,
It gives you false proof
That I am absent,
            or lacking
In My care for you,
When the truth is,
I never leave you!
Nourish yourself,
Dear one,
Come to Me!
Do yourself a favour
And believe that I am freely
Able and willing to comfort and protect.
To strengthen you
And fortify you,
In My Love I will never forget
That you struggle,
You stumble,
But your heart is in the right place,
Oh, My dear child,
Seek My Face!
Your nourishment comes from My Hand.
Your strength is worked out in My Plans.
So refresh, restore, bring everything to Me,
And you'll see, when you come, dear one,
That I will set you free.

Come To Me/ Communion

Come to Me.
Without agenda.
Just surrender.
Come to Me.
Without ambition,
Without complaint,
Beyond all problems,
Come to Me.

Can you see that it's not about structure
Or what we can discover by listening to men?
Can you see that it's not about formality
But in reality
It's just you and Me?

Come.
Spotless bride.
Come.
Come and abide.
Come.
Sit and rest.
Come.
Take and be blessed.

Beyond complication,
Beyond borders,
Beyond the law.
I was broken for you,
So you could adore
New life in Me,
And I,
In you.
My blood shed for your life,
Your life bathed in Truth.
Come.
Commune with Me.
I am the delicacy of your heart.
I've set you apart
To proclaim the Good News,
March forward in strength,
Uncorruptable you
In exchange for My corrupted flesh,
I have made you blessed.
I have given you your assignment,
Paid for by My blood,
The Great Commission,
Designed from above,
So, come and be strengthened,
Come and abide.
Then go forth with My Love,
And in Me, you'll thrive.

In Pain

In pain You are sovereign still
Your watchful hand keeps me until
You know the battle is all but won
And seeking You in trials means seeking the Son
And seeking the Son
Results in strength and peace
In due time the pain will cease
Not God's fault but He has allowed
Us to lean on Him and not the why or the how
But to praise in all seasons,
Never to blame
When our righteous God is yesterday today and forever the same.
With every breath we praise Him without ceasing
And in our pain we never stop believing
That He is our Healer,
And our supreme health
In mind, body and spirit
He has given us His wealth
So we look to Him instead of our pain
And know that He's with us
In sunshine
And in rain.

Enough!

Enough.
Enough of dragging up the past.
Life's disasters,
Love's misguided mistakes.
I am your resting place.
Enough of the broken dreams,
Impatience busting at the seams
Because you believe
You've got to hurry up
And be better,
Stronger,
More holy,
More grounded
In what you think is 'right'.

You are my delight!
You make Me break out in song.
I've loved you so long!
Can you not see my heart for you?
I'm smiling.
I can see joy residing in those broken faces,
Those tear soaked faces,
I am smiling,
I am the bottler of your tears.
If you just cast your cares,
I'll catch them.
I'll catch you.

Jump,
I'm waiting,
I'll see you through.
I am streams in the desert,
I am your resting place.
Can you see My face now?
Can you feel My embrace?
I am the warm sun that greets you when you wake.
You are not a mistake.
You are cherished and alive.
Not a half life.
Not here just to survive.

In My Grace you have wandered nearer still
But then you ran and hid until,
Until,
Until what?
You felt you weren't good enough for Me?
I set you free!
Come and dance with Me.

I am waiting for that woman,
For that girl.
Come broken,
Come closer,
My love for you will unfurl.

It is not enough to think I'll wait forever,
Though I will.
It is not enough to run and hide
Until...
Until...

Come now, come closer,
Come and understand.
My will for you
Is loving you and your life is in My Hands.

I Am Redeemed

I am Redeemed.
Let no sin place its mark upon me,
I am free.
At liberty to speak about
The dark turned into light,
To shout about my freedom
And Christ's fight,
When once in death
I could not know another way,
He came to me
And loved me
And I stayed.
I am Redeemed,
Beyond my fears and shame,
He takes my doubt
And brings His healing rain,
I am spared from a fate
Worse than death -
To be separated from love - its length,
                                             its breadth?
Christ is love
And in love He took my place.
He took my mess
So I might seek His face.
When I believe in Him
He transforms my world
And as I hope in Him
His life for me unfurls.

I am Redeemed because I'm His
And He is mine.
I am Redeemed because I seek His love divine.
I am Redeemed because
He has called my name.
And as I follow Him I'll never be the same.