The lovers of your law.
Have great peace.
And we wonder, do we follow that law.
Fully or perhaps at our own slow pace.

But if we did really follow your law.
What great peace would we have.
And we know in our hearts what is that law.
We know that for everything it is a soothing salve.

But things get in the way.
Our ego , what we want , our pride.
So, of course, we lose our way.
We falter and we slide.

But we keep going.
And keep hoping.

……

Lovers of your law
Have we all know that great peace
So why not follow

…..

See See Psalm 119

Remember, St Paul writes, my Gospel, for which I am suffering.
But the word of God, he says, is not bound.
Suffering but still believing.
Reaching out for what is sound.

I endure everything, he insists, for the sake of the elect.
That they also may obtain salvation.
The elect but not the select.
But still capable of jubilation.

If, he ends, we have died with him,
The statement is trustworthy.
We shall live with him.
We will endure, we are worthy.

We will not deny him,
We will reign with him

….

We will reign with him
And we will not deny him
That is our future

….

See 2 Timothy 2

He is not God of the dead.
But of the living.
We will rise from the dead.
We will go on living.

Ours is a religion of hope.
And of joy.
Somehow we will cope.
We will know eternal joy.

We will rise.
To new life.
Even if it will be another form of us that will arise.
To enjoy everlasting life.

Of course now we just live here.
After death we will live everywhere.

…….

We will find new life
And we will never despair
It is our crusade

…..,

See Mark 12: 18-27

Render to Ceaser, the thing that are Ceasor’s
And to God the things that are God’s.
And what we ask are Ceasor’s.
And what are God’s.

We render to Government what are Government’s
And to God the things that are God’s
But do we get a fair return from Government’s.
I think we get a fair return from God’s

From God we get joy.
And contentment.
More joy.
And more contentment.

And what do we get from Givernment.
Just ever more Government.

…..

Render to Ceasor’s
All the things that are Ceasor’s
And to God his things

……

See Mark 12: 13-17

A man planted a vineyard.
And leased it to tenants.
God has planted us in our own vineyard.
We are his disloyal tenants.

We care so much for material things
But they give us no happiness.
What is money , possessions, power but passing things.
Only the divine gives happiness.

So I sat alone in the empty church.
A great silent heavy emptiness descended.
There was nothing but a wooden cross in that church.
But peaceful joy ascended.

Five hundred witnesses testified to Christ resurrected.
But a moment’s joy can see faith resurrected.

…..

We can read the books
We can listen to sermons
But then joy just comes

……

See Mark 12: 1-12

For God so loved the World.
That he sent his only son.
That whoever believes in him anywhere in the World.
Should not perish but have eternal life with the son.

God can be in three but be one.
Just as water , steam and ice are one.
The two can love the one.
And the one can love the other one.

All three can love the World and each other.
For what is the Trinity but love.
For us all and each other.
It is all about love.

We may not fully understand the Trinity.
But we can believe in the Trinity.

…..

Ice steam water, one
All H2O but they’re one
Thus the Trinity.

….

See John 3: 16-18

Keep yourself in the love of God.
Waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ.
That leads to eternal life with God.
And Jesus Christ.

I dreamt that all I wanted.
Was just a lemon.
And it was given, unmerited.
I felt such joy at my lemon.

Perhaps because every morning.
I give my wife some lemon juice,
Such a small gesture every morning.
But something little to rejoice.

We can be happy with very small things.
If true love makes those things.

…..

What makes happiness
Just the very smallest things
Given in true love

……

See Jude 17: 29-25

The end of all things is at hand.
Therefore be self controlled and sober minded.
Our life runs out in shifting sand.
Whether bloody minded or kind hearted.

I dreamt, drowning, I was trying to clamber onto a boat.
And the only crew, I found there, on the deck, was a corpse.
What a shock, how could I keep afloat.
And was this, I seeing, my own corpse.

Why do we obsess about our death.
Yes the body will decay and die.
But our consciousness, our soul will not know death.
This is the joyful truth and no legend or lie.

So we will surely  live.
And spiritually thrive.

….

Why do we worry
The body dies the soul lives
That’s all that matter

….

See 1Peter 4 : 7-13

Behold I have come Lord.
To do your will.
If only we could do your will Lord
And always keep in mind your will.

Jesus cried out , my soul is very sorrowful,
Even to death.
He was prepared to pay the price to the full.
Even to death.

Our life is so easy.
We make so little an effort.
But still prayer is not so easy,
It’s all such an effort.

But we keep trying
And seeking.

…..

Jesus gave his all
We merely make a pretence.
So is it enough

……

See Psalm 40 , Philippians 2: 8-9 and Mathew 26: 36-42

Peter said , see we have left everything.
And followed you.
I wonder if we will ever say , I have left everything.
And followed you

But let us not be over serious.
And laugh like St Philip Neri.
We need not be over anxious.
Or our faith too unbending,fiery.

We are Christians, we can be joyous.
If still seeking.
Nothing ultimately will destroy us.
Even as we are always seeking.

One day we will have everything.
Because our body will be nothing.

……

Be not serious
For Christians have much joy
And s great future

..  …

See Mark 10: 31-38

Jesus said to his mother.
Woman , behold your son.
Then he said to his disciple , behold your mother.
And the disciple took her into his own home as a son.

Is there anything more loving.
Than this little scene at the crucifixion.
Jesus in agony remembering.
A final  family rendition.

Jesus knowing that all as finished.
Said , I thirst.
We too must know that this life will soon be finished.
And we should ask , for what do I truly thirst.

It must be for eternal life.
Not this passing life.

….

At the very last
Will we think of our mother
Or just of ourselves

….

See John 19 : 25-34

There came from heaven a mighty rushing wind.
And tongues as of fire rested on each.
And us , we ask but do we find.
But we continue to search.

I was dreaming.
And I saw a ray of light coming from the saint.
I felt it awakening.
Real , however celestial, faint.

We need to concentrate.
Welcome a saint into our mind.
Accept our faith in fate.
And then we will find.

But the light was definitely there.
Something precious and rare.

….

The light seemed to come
Like a sword from my own saint
We just have to look

…

See Acts 2: 1-11

This is the disciple who is bearing witness.
And we know that his testimony is true.
Now we must bear witness.
For what we read, we hope, is true.

I find these last lines of John moving.
We are at the end of his gospel.
Now we can stop for a moment reading.
And ponder the eternal entirety of the Gospel

What poetry
Sublime .
Into faith an entry.
For all time.

John writes for the ages.
And we are the ages.

……

John ends his gospel
We are left profoundly moved
Now it’s up to us

……

See John John 21: 20-25

He said to him.
Simon Peter do you love me.
Do we really love him.
He asks us also , do you love me.

He said to him.
A second time , do you love me.
For the second time , do we really love him,
He asks us again, do you love me.

He said to him.
A third time, do you love me.
For the third time, do we really love him.
He asks us again, do you love me.

Are we also grieved because we are asked again.
But because of our doubts , we will be asked again and again.

……

We are asked three times
Jesus asks do you love me
What is our answer

……

See John 21: 15-19

Take courage.
Because you have testified about me In Jerusalem.
So you must also testify in Rome after a voyage.
The Lord stood by him.

St Paul’s journey is coming to an end.
Soon he will make the final sacrifice.
As we approach our own end.
What will be our own personal sacrifice.

Will we start to lose our mind
Will it be cancer or our heart.
But we should not mind.
As long as faith rules our heart.

But does it.
What really is it.

……

Of St Paul’s journeys
They are coming to the end
And so too are ours

……

See Acts 23: 6-11

They are not of this world.
Sanctify them in the truth.
I am not of this world.
Your word is truth.

These last words of Jesus.
Overwhelm us with their power.
They speak directly to us.
A thought for every waking hour.

We know.
We too are not of this world.
We can never be too low.
Because soon we leave this world.

We listen to these words.
We are immersed in these words.

…..

They’re not of this world.
And we are not of this world
We go the same way

……

See John 17: 11-19

Paul said, I am going to Jerusalem.
Not knowing what will happen to me there.
One day we will go to our own Jerusalem.
And we will not know how death awaits us there.

He said that the Holy Spirit testifies.
That in every city afflictions await me.
Faced with persecution and lies.
In him courage can we see.

He prayed that only I might finish my course.
That  I received from Jesus.
And we pray that we are on course.
To meet the eternal Jesus.

Of course we cannot be certain.
As we peer through the final curtain.

……

And what will happen
In our own Jerusalem
We just cannot know

..   ….

See Acts 20: 17- 22

In the world you will have tribulation.
But take heart , I have overcome the world.
You read these words and you seem to detect perfection.
The heart is no longer unbelieving and cold.

Jesus said, Do you now believe.
The hour is coming.
I ask myself , do I now believe.
Is this belief and hope awakening.

In that moment my doubts were dispelled.
As he used the word overcome.
Doubt and questioning furled.
And, praise God, joy will come.

These moments come and go.
But with them we never can be low.

…..

In tribulation
We remember these his words
He will overcome

……

See John 16: 29-33

Jesus lifted up his eyes to heaven.
And said Father the hour has come.
At last we see his own prayer to heaven, driven.
In its beauty and intensity, awesome.

And this , he said, is eternal life.
That they know you , the only true God.
Now we ourselves seek this life .
We ask only to know God.

And in heaven we will not know him as in a book.
We will know him truly ourselves.
We will see,  hear and profoundly look.
We at last will be truly ourselves.

We will be part of the everlasting prayer.
Now we too must send up our own prayer.

…..

We pray to heaven
As Jesus  prayed to heaven
And have our reward

.. …

See John 17: 1-11

Whatever you ask of the father in my name.
He will give to you.
We ask the same.
For me and you.

Ask and you will receive.
That your joy might be full.
Such joy we cannot conceive.
Our cup will be full.

We only have to ask.
It is so easy.
Really our only task.
Simple, no need to feel ineasy.

But do we do it.
Or just avoid it.

……

Whatever we ask
Father gives in his son’s name
But then do we ask

…..

See John 16: 24-28

You have sorrow now
But your hearts will rejoice.
We may feel low.
But joy will find its voice.

He told us.
I will see you again.
Yes , the message is for us.
And it will remove every sorrowful stain.

He reminds us that when the woman has delivered.
She no longer remembers the anguish.
Hope and joy, we have received.
Resurrection will remove all anguish.

What else matters.
As joy scatters.

…

We have sorrow now
But then our hearts will rejoice
We just need belief

…..

See Hohn 16: 20-23

They worshipped him.
But some doubted.
Yes we too worship him.
But we too have doubted.

But Jesus told them, I am with you always.
To the end of the age.
So we pray he will be with us always.
To the end of our own age.

We have not seen him.
Or seen him ascend.
But we have faith in him.
That one day we might ascend.

He is with us always
In all ways.

…..

Yes we worship him
But yes we too have doubted
But we persevere

…..

See Matthew 28: 16-20

When they heard of the resurrection of the dead.
Some mocked.
Do we see, we also ask, the dead.
Have we also questioned , even mocked.

So Paul went out from their midst.
But some men joined him and believed.
Do we see the dead in our midst.
Have we doubted or have we believed.

Last night I dreamt I saw my father.
He was absolutely here, as if alive.
Every detail clearer.
But perhaps he is alive.

He may not be here.
But he is, I pray, there.

…..

Dreamt I saw father
As if he was here, alive.
But he is alive

…..

See Acts 17

And when they had inflicted many blows upon them.
They threw them into prison.
They showed no mercy to them.
But the disciples would soon find themselves out of prison.

The foundations of the prison were shaken.
And immediately all the doors were opened.
Their freedom and hope could awaken.
Their fetters were opened.

Their jailer found faith.
And was baptised.
Will we find true faith.
And be truly baptised.

St Paul found he could free his shackles.
And we too can free our mental shackles.

..  ….

The prison opened
For their faith had set them free
We can do the same

……

See Acts 16: 22-44