Welcome

Lord bring me closer
Closer to that Eternal Love
Which abounds in fulness
Lord, please, if you would

So I beckon thee of refreshment,
I plea
From down in the darkness,
Onto bended knee

For acknowledgement of love
Is always relief
Refresh this servant Lord,
Of his grief.

And so I'll continue to love
Only you
And to keep you Commands
Like you want me to

For Love in me
Is to keep all the while
Its the utmost commitment,
In that extra mile.

Jesus Christ, the Lord of lives
Gave up his reign and chose to die
In place of all who would come to him
And acknowledge the fact that they had sin
And so we celebrate this Easter time
Acknowledging the Love that was so Divine
We worship the King who died on a tree
So that we as a people might be set free
And God made man a likeness of his own
The Lord knew this as his whole body groaned
Love immeasurable, we cannot conceive
To pontificate, understand or even perceive
It was Love that held him high up there
Not the nails or the jeers, it was a Love that cared
A Love so immeasurable, it stands the test of time
This Love held him there, this man with no crime
And all about him the people rejoiced
Killing our Lord with laughter in their voice
Together as one, they cheered with delight
Knowing in their hearts, that their Law was right
Stripped of his clothes and naked in their sight
So that we might be clothed in raiment of white
And the Lord hung there, on that guilty cross of shame
Bleeding and dying, a man with no blame
He was made to look, like a fool on a hill
And he hung there and he bled there loving us still
And Heaven denied him and Earth denied him too
In spiritual darkness was this man for you
And Jesus cried out for his Father whom he loved
The farthest corner of heaven, that's where his Father stood
The pain he went through was nothing compared
To the abandonment he felt from his Father he shared
Forsaken from God and darkness in the land
Spiritual destitution, was all he had at hand
He bore the whole of Hell, on his shoulders for all the Earth
And he suffered and he loved to give us second Birth
He hung his head and cried out in vain
What an act of Love for the sake of our name
And three days later the Lord rose up again
With no pain and no suffering and no shame
He's victorious over Death, which can't keep him down
Victorious over sins and triumphant is the sound
And we rejoice in it in the Grace that we've found
The fantastic part is Jesus, and he is still around
And so the Blood it runs so thick and free
Just as his Love does for you and for me.

For those of you in the know, this was written after reading Pilgrims Progress.

This is the story of Giant Despair,
Someone in your life, you've to be very aware,
If he catches you sleeping, in the job you're doing,
He will drag you back, and put you to ruin,
You have to brave the storm and not to sleep,
Or Giant Despair, will upon you creep,
And take you back to his Giant lair,
When trouble will come, and you'll be deeply scared,
This happened to the pilgrims in this tale,
Who slept through the storm, the wind and the hail,
Only to find themselves sleeping the day,
Woken up, dragged off, and have nothing to say,
And down in the dungeon where the rats smelled fear,
Were Christian and Hopeful, who had both shed a tear,
Knowing inside of the foolish thing they'd done,
Of sleeping the night and into the morning sun,
And the Giant unbolted the great iron door,
Presumably he had done so many times before,
With a club in his hands he beat them hard,
He left them battered, and slammed the door, real hard,
Left with their sorrow, and left with their pain,
They weren't going to make this foolish mistake again,
They should have fought onwards through the wind and the rain,
But all they could think about, was the Giant who brought them pain,
Next day the Giant walked in with amazement in his eye,
He had beaten them enough and expected them both to die,
He told them, they were never, no never going to escape,
If they tried indeed, both the pilgrims he would break,
If they did not wish to die, as they hadn't had no food,
He offered them poison, that they should wisely use,
Then Christian begged and pleaded with this Giant,
That he would have mercy, and asked him, to relent,
And the Giant was mad, and could have beaten them up,
But in the bright summer weather, he found his strength was spent,
The Giant then left, and they both began to brood,
What shall we do, we are going to die, for lack of food,
If the Giant is ill, maybe, just maybe, he won't lock the door,
The King may show us a way of escape, let us wait a little more,
That evening the Giant thundered down once again,
Only to find them not dead,,, only in a lot of pain,
Despair was very angry, and had some terrible words to say,
And as Christian looked and heard, poor Christian fainted away,
In the morning the Giant dragged them both to the open yard,
There was bones of pilgrims, from places near and far,
It surely was indeed, the most dreadful sight they'd seen,
He was going to kill them said the Giant with an enormous beam,
Then he beat them, he beat them black and blue,
And the poor pilgrims did not know what they were going to do,
Now Christian,,, had the Key of Promise, about himself,
Which he had forgotten about, such as his despair, of spiritual health,
They both began to pray, their prayer to the King,
They prayed to him earnestly, of Despairs downfall He would bring,
And the King heard of his little pilgrims plight,
And then sent out an angel, to see them, clothed in raiment bright,
The angel then whispered words into Christians ear,
Although Christian did not see him, Christian did hear,
And he remembered that Discretion, had given him a key,
And that it would open every lock, and undoubtedly set them free,
The Giant upon hearing their escape, pounded upon the stair,
But the Giant fell heavily to the ground, within the Giants lair,
The Giant lay upon the ground as they managed to get free,
And they ran across the meadows, for their king they were going to see,
This is a chapter, in a Christians walk in time,
Making us aware, as we fight the front line,
There are pitfalls abundant, in our journey to the King,
Be aware at all times, for in his name we should cling.

A friend of pleasure that I count but gain
A soul of leisure that yields no pain
A fragment of time I haven't shared in vain
A friend that I've loved still the same
A counsellor of woe out of a troublesome mind
A caresser of feelings that is soothing and kind
A friend in a billion I think you'll find
That eases all worries time after time
A solitary place where I can go to be free
With me with my friend on bended knee
A fashionable place where I go to be free
Where I sit with my friend, and he hears me
A safer place I have not found
With my head buried close to the ground
A silent whisper can still the sound
Where still and quietness is heard all around
A quiet disregard of the world and its ways
A fortunate time in these last final days
My friend will help me keep the world all away
So my friend will keep by me, and together we'll stay
And in my quietness I see his face on that hill
The face of my Lord loving me still
Knowing the pain, that he paid in full my bill
And knowing inside it was my Fathers will
So captivated and fooled by the world and its wrong
Thinking and believing it was where I belonged
Until I heard of the Lord of him dying on that tree
A sacrifice of Sovereignty, and He did it all for me
He called me to him as he did love me so
He called and he called me and did not let me go
And now the blood has covered, the seeds the world has sown
And the knowledge of his Love, has indeed, been made known
Oh sure, a selfish life indeed was led
The harsh words I had spoken, and the things that I had said
A cold and weary heart was ruled by my head
And the sins of my life indeed, I had surely fed
So cold and weary and sick and sore
My heart wasn't filled and wanted all the more
Blinded by my sin, scrambling on the floor
Until I heard a knocking and scrambled to find the door
And that is when I saw the light as I asked him to come in
The Lord of Heaven and of Earth had covered all my sin
And I saw him in his fullness with Glory all around
And stood still for one moment and hardly made a sound
And so when I speak with my heart open wide
I see my friend there and in him I confide
He'll always be there and in my heart He'll abide
Of course I'll always know, that for me, he chose and died
And I know he became alive, as He lives within my heart
And I know He'll never leave me, or decide to depart
His Love is engraved deep within inside my heart
And now I know I have to stop, so that Jesus can make a start.

My lord is saviour and King of all Kings
He's my friend and protector and helps me bear all things
He's the King of Creation, the King from the start
He's the Alpha and Omega, He's the King of my heart
He's my Friend and redeemer, a love to behold
He warmed up my heart, that which was cold
He's loyal and honest, Himself can't deny
He's the peace in my heart, a love you can't buy
He stands by his word right from the start
Not like we people who deny things in part
And yet we deny that, and sweep it all up
We say it's not true, and it sounds made up
You cannot get away from the fact that remains
Where did we come from, who, is to blame
There has to be something more than we have
There's got to be more than having a laugh
How do we know what is wrong and what's right
What seperates the darkness from the sunlight
God gave us these things right from his heart
He gave us his Son so we could make a new start
And the Lord brought a smell of heaven
To this world full of fume
And he gave to us His blessed Peace
And yet we say there is no room
And he gave us all a place to live and all Creation too
And he smiles upon us day to day as He reaches out to you
And all the winds the sun and the rain
All sing in harmony as they sing out his name
They sing of Gods goodness to all of Gods glory
To his signature in the Heavens of an untold story
And the wind whispers his name as it blows through theair
And the sun warms up your day getting rid of despair
And then the rain comes, and washes away your thirst
And the cycle starts again,when the clouds heal their burst
And all around you, you see of God's Love
Given to you in fullness from his love up above
Like a painter he paints, all the days that go by
And he loves you and He sees you with his all seeing eye
And so, the Lord gave you a smell of heaven
To savour every day
And the Lord wants you to respond to him
In a most positive way.

Its not that long
Your hands caressed mine
Your words of true love
Wrapped my heart in its vine
Your beauty enveloped me
Body and soul
As the vine of your love
Found its way to my soul
In the earlier days
Of your loves first touch
Grew the vine within
And I loved you much
Your eyes, your voice,
Your soul, your mind
Up through the crevices
Your love would wind
Filling the cracks
And the chips of my past
Holding to my heart
So sure and fast
You made me aware
Of your love for me
And in your loving arms
I wanted to be
My rose, my tulip
My loving vine
My heart embraced
In your love devine
I love you so much
My darling wife
I will gladly love you
Through all of my life
You are my meet
My end
My darling friend
My comfort, joy
My ear to lend
My tulip, rose
My loving flower
To you my all
My trust empower.
So until our end
Or our Lords return
Only for you love
Will my love still burn.

I sit down and close my eyes
And my thoughts just drift away
Drifting across the stars and Galaxies
Thoughts of yesterday
I think of how it was that I
Could behave in such a way
Reacting on emmotions tide
From what the people say
I bow my head in despair of this
I am ashamed to say
Yesterday was not a breeze
That gently blew away
I learned of Maturity
From the wise man in the street
Then I did not show it,
Am I too slow to teach
I am placed within an environment
With foes on every side
And I begin to let myself down again
As my mouth opens wide
I bow my head in despair of this
Of the yesterday that was
A prayerless morning had come and gone
That is why because
And I scream in indignation
In my fight against the foe
And my chip atop my shoulder
Will not seem to go
I sit alone in silence
With the quiet all around
Soon will come the morning
When darkness runs aground
My head is bowed in despair of this
Will Christ help me, turn away from this
And so it is with relief I say
That I have wrestled long and hard
And my pain is put at ease now
With my wrestling with the Lord
And I do not want to waste this day
And shame my Lord again
I have put my finest armour on
I am now ready for the same

Are you searching for that certain something
That will make your life complete
Or are you trying to find the Answer
To make your dreams seem sweet

Are you searching for a reason
That makes the day fly by
Summer Winter, Spring and Autumn
Go through your fleeting sigh

Maybe the World will have the Answer
To the Questions that you find
Swooping and diving in every direction
Questions of every kind

The World will try and numb you
Into forgetting they're even there
Come and join the fun and frolics,
Here at Vanity fair

You'll be greeted by new horizons
And goals atop a hill
You'll search for new and wanted goods,
To give a moments thrill

This fair will hold up treasures
Like never seen before
This Fair will tell you what you need,
It's what you're looking for

And the Fair will hold up countless things
To capture you're attention
You will happily go along with it
Too many times to mention

And as you stop and look around
You'll see the hearts of men
Relishing themselves in evil deeds
Over and Over again

You will know that in your own heart
That this is all too wrong
Trapped within this Fair of sorts
You see you're weak, it's strong

And so you take your stride so easy
In this modern Day to day
But my friend it soon will stop and cease
And the rest be taken away

Now, we all have been given
The greatest gift of all
To every man woman and child,
To all, both young and all

This Gift my friend is Jesus
He died to save our plight
He set us free from darkness
And gave us all new light

So, let this Gift of life,
Change you from within
And once you see his glory
You will realise where you've been

Vanity Fair has kept you
From the Glory that you'll find
And all your questions will be answered,
And released from your mind

This world it seems, has kept you
From knowing the risen Lord
And kept you far away from Him
So all the more ignored

This Lord He came and died
And hung upon a tree
To shine the light of life
For all, for you and me

He defeated Death and Conquered it
To save us from our Sin
He'll cover yours as well my friend
Just ask Him to come in,

It is this Sin that's dangerous
As we flirt around with it
We may never know the Love of God
If we never once submit

And it seems to hold us back
From these choices that we make
Are you for the Lord or not,
My friend your Soul's at stake

I can hear my final calling
To my final resting place
The years of torture will be over
With this life no more to waste

I branded myself a "Hypocrite"
As myself I looked upon,
The lies and all the deceit,
My Lord,,,,, the devil has won

But I know that I am saved,
And set free from my plight,
But after all the years of torture,
I have given up the fight

I need to count my blessings
And sort them one by one
And when the counting's over
The counting will be done

Both my eyes have clouded vision,
As I fake my Love for God
My heart is clouding over,
And all I see is fog

I appear in Church quite frequently,
To search for what I've lost
To climb that hill backwards,
At such an incredible cost

But until I stop the world,
And playing with earthly things
I will always be discontented,
Until he is,,,
My Everything.

From the beginning of time when the world was made
When man had grown selfish, and the pleasures he craved,
Our King in the Heavens, and His one and only Son,
Saw the plight of mans sin, and knew what had to be done.
From the beginning of time, the path was prepared,
For a King to be born with no Sin to bare,
The King of course was the Lord Jesus Christ,
To be born of a Virgin, and save man from his plight.
So God from the Heavens, looked down to earth,
And saw the virgin Mary, a woman of worth,
He sent the Angel Gabriel, to a town in Galilee,
To bring God's news to Mary, the favored one he'd see.
Mary was greatly troubled, and wondered of the greeting,
A great and substantial shock, of an Angel she was meeting,
The Angel then gave news to her, of the coming of a Son,
Mary did not understand this news, as no wrong had she done.
The Angel then explained to her, of the power of the LORD,
That nothing is impossible, there was nothing untoward,
Mary buckled,,,, As she realized, and truly understood,
She answered to the Angel, as only a servant could.
Mary told the Angel, "May it be, as you have said,"
Once these words were spoken, the angel then left,
Mary had been blessed, as she had truly believed,
Soon to give birth to a Son, Jesus the Nazarene.
The bringer of hope and the bringer of peace,
The settler of all worries, and misery to cease,
This is the beginning of a story of Love,
Of GOD sending Jesus, being sent from above!!
So Jesus was born, in a soft manger bed,
Just as the Old Testament prophets, had said,
Away in the fields keeping watch on their sheep,
Shepherds by night, trying their best not to sleep,
Suddenly an Angel appeared, and Glory shone around them,
And gave them news of a King, who waited in Bethlehem,
After this the Angel left, as they talked with each other,
They then went to Bethlehem, for their King to discover.
They found the Man-child, just as been told,
Wrapped up warm in clothes, to keep out the cold,
The shepherds then went out, and spread the whole word,
And all the people were amazed, of what they had heard.
This has been the story of the birth of our Lord,
Someone who is to be cherished, Loved and adored,
So whilst Christ, our Lord, was walking on this earth,
He touched many hearts, to give them second birth.
There are many, many, mighty acts of love, He has done,
And many, many, peoples hearts, He's so rightly won.
And now He's up in Heaven, the life we still yet breathe,
Is given us to glorify, and worship endlessly.

Working away on a bare factory floor
No real friends had I got no future in store
Nobody liked me, I can't blame them you see
I was selfish and immature, I cared only for me
I could win fights with words, no problem at all
Finding peoples weak point, that was my goal
I got my kicks from all this, why, I haven't a clue
I think I wanted to be hated between me and you
I would hold my head high when people looked on,
Defiant and cocky, I knew I had won
I didn't need friends, I was a loner till the end
And to be alone in my life, I was willing to spend
But I swore I would change my outlook on life
As it wasn't worth all this trouble and strife
But I couldn't, I was stuck in a rut, and I couldn't get out
Alone in my world I wondered about life and whats it about
I knew a guy at work, he was a Christian of the deepest intent
He was morally upright and he said what he meant
I'd see him taunted of his conviction on the shop floor
He'd smile and walk courteously out of the door
Unlike me, I would have gone for the kill
I had trouble in keeping my stubborn toungue still
I built up my courage and walked over to him
I didn't know at the time I was convicted of sin
I asked him this, is life mapped out
And if its so, please tell, whats it all about
He looked at me curiously we hadn't spoken for ages
"Yes in a way", he said, "Look at these pages"
The pages belonged to the book of the LORD,
He explained what they meant, and, he meant every word
He showed me Romans 8 verse 28
And I couldn't get enough, we talked until late,
The next day I walked in, with questions in my mind
What about "Adam and Eve, the Dinosaurs, the fall of mankind"
He answered every question, I never questioned the Book,
I took it as the word of God, and worth a second look
He asked, what was stopping me from being born again,
I hadn't got a clue, but I couldn't answer then,
I rummaged round my head, for something to conflict
You worh, get married, grow old and die,,, thats it!
The Bible added a new dimension though, a light I hadn't seen
I walked through endless pages, places I hadn't been
He said, "God loves you, and wants you to follow him"
And automatically, life didn't seem to be quite so dim,
So on that night in 84, I gave my life to God,
I realised where I was before him, I realised where I stood
I was a Sinner to the utmost degree
Thats why Christ had to die on that bloodstained tree
The next day, I told my new Brother at what I had done,
Well pleased He was, then taught what was to come,
Subject to ridicule and the expense of their jeers,
Hold these problems up to Christ, and he will definitely hear.
I didn't gain any friends as I had really wanted
I was jeered, laughed at, pushed and taunted,
I had a new "Adversary" to deal with I hadn't counted on
But the problems I had I held up to Gods Son,
And if I hold fast to the cross and give Jesus my all
I'm less likely to sway and less likely to fall
As a Christian goes, I've fallen quite a lot
But what picks me up is the love that I've got
I still haven't many friends, just me and my dog
The friendship, the love of "JESUS CHRIST", and the whole family of God

Within a year of being saved by Jesus, I found that I could write poetry, but didn’t have the foresight to use my gift until many years later to Glorify God. It took a brief spell in hospital to realise the potential I had within me. God had allowed me to get to the point where I could do nothing else but write, and because I had lived alone the majority of my life with no-one to talk to, emotionally I was a wreck. I thank God that my Salvation doesn’t rely on how I feel. So, I started to write poetry, I poured out all the emotions I had onto paper, making them rhyme, subconsciously trying to harmonise my life and get it into some sort of order.

The first poem I actually used to Glorify God was my Testimony, I remember reading it out in Church, where some members of the Gospel Group ‘Revelation’ asked me to read it out in the prisons where they played. So, it went on from there, I wrote and wrote and wrote. I finally knew my calling.

So over the years, there is now quite a collection, most of which I use regularly in the open-air services.

Some of them have never been read out, in fact most of them haven’t. Most of them are quite personal, and I realise now that they must be shown. A few of them are biblically centred, maybe one or two of them aren’t, but I feel they should be shown nevertheless.

As you read through them, you will find that most of them are abrupt in their flow pattern, this is deliberate, as it helped me to pause when I needed to and emphasise when it needed it. After all, most of them were read out at some point.

This collection was put together with difficulty, but these are the best or the most meaningful to me. Each personal poem represents just where I was with God in my walk with him.

As I look over them, I know, that the path that I have walked up to now has been a Glorious one, if it hadn’t been, despite my failings, I would not be writing this.

Over the years, God has blessed me many, many times through my writings. More often than not when I was proving a new poem, it would choke me up realising just what I had written. The creation of something so beautiful as a poem was such a blessing to me.

It is now, I have to hand this book over to you, my dear reader, I trust that you will be inspired, enriched and blessed reading through these.

May God touch your heart as you read.