The Deeper Life


Into the depths of Christ I plunge

  What else is there but to be purged of sin

    Those faults that hinder His life in me

      Must all be surrendered to His life within


To much of me to little of Him

  So into the depths of His Spirit I’ll swim

    Deeper than I’ve ever been

      For the shallows purge not carnality


I need to find that part I miss

  The promise of complete fullness

    Laying aside every remnant of pride

      To find that place in Him to abide


Although In Him I have found true rest

  Power over sin and His love and grace

    Yet more of Him and less of me

      Is still ahead, so I’ll press on


Until the day He calls me home

  There’s more to gain in His highest call

    Than is offered by this world’s store

      With all its fortune, with all its fame


Onward I press, no turning back

  Lot’s wife’s pillar of salt I taste

    To remind me of what’s in store

      For those who doubt and turn back for more


Of the old life’s pleasures

  Rather than the cross’ shame

    The broad road’s lined with

      Quick and easy pleasure to numb sin’s shame


Once I walked down that that easy way

  My friends so many it was easy to say

    Yes to pleasure and no to the cross

      So many on the broad road to share in one’s loss


The loss of things eternally blessed

  In heaven protected from the moth and the rust

    That corrupts all of this word’s gain

      Every day is for earning in the heavenly place


Raise up, oh you sons of God

  Who are double minded in thought

    And loose more day by day

      Of the glorious riches in Christ to be gained


When dying with Him

  To a selfish life full of shame

    And finding true value in His cross

      Where to live is Christ and to die is gain!

When in a rut

When in a rut of waiting for requests now overdue

Dig deep within your eternal soul for patience yet to grow

There you will find a hidden well, a spring from God’s own throne

Whose width and depth and wealthy store never can be known!


Let  peace flow out like a mighty stream, her bounty ever renewed

Let no stone be thrown to stop her spring, no foreigner drink her dew

Bless her fount of eternal bliss, bless her waters pure

Come drink of her all lovers pure with clean hearts freely forever more.

Pressing On


I'm pressing on to higher ground

  Leaving behind the broad, easy way

No time to waste on this world's cares

  Too much labor in the vineyard of the Lord



With joy we bear His precious seed

  Bag full of truth the words full of grace

The time it takes to finish the task

  One life lived for Jesus nothing more or less



Press on pilgrim soldier the end draws near

  Your time is not wasted when living for Him

He waits for the Day for You to appear

  Before Him at His throne to receive your reward



Press on fellow traveler who carries the cross

  Don't look back at this world corrupting in sin

Look straight before at His highest call

  One day you will finish and your rest there awaits!

Harvest Time


The vine was rooted deep in Christ

  Drank of living waters from His throne

    Its branches long, going over its wall

It covered the whole earth, its vintage from Him!


Its fruit made glad the humble of the land

  Its wine brought joy and gladness to all

    It crept along at a steady pace and reached beyond

To the ends of the earth, to four the corners of the same


It grew beside the great Olive tree

  Her branches grafted in from the wild gentile one

    Her olives abundant grew on her brows

And once harvest time finished were crushed into oil


Both grew together to fill the whole land

  To prepare the way for the King over all

    His coming was timed by the clock in Himself

Hastened by the growth of the two spreading out


At the time He ordained by His clock deep within

  His sickle was drawn out by His holy hand

    Placed to the earth no part did He spare

But harvested all, each to the place He prepared!


Behold, behold the time is at hand

  Though He tarry for the time His Father ordained

    He patiently waits His word must be shared

But He comes now with thunder and lightings abound


The earth is ripe the harvest at hand

  No tarrying once His clock starts to chime

    But woe to the wicked who cursed His Name

The time of His vengeance has come to this earth!

Even Though

Though the day be hot and the road so hard
    Though blistering sun’s rays plummet to the earth below
With the mountains trembling under the weight of this globe’s woe
    Fret not, oh Christian, for your Savior's coming draws neigh!

Though economies crumble under their heavy debt burden
    Though the jobs be few and only for the privileged of class
Though the music sounds gruesome, weird tunes of the day
    With farmers not planting because the rain is so scarce!

Though travel is diminished for the costs are sky high
    With the beaches empty and sun bathers so few
Older cars now the norm, with factories inventories high
    No one has the money even for the rock bottom prices!

Though production has waned even in China and Japan
    In the US street people outnumber home owners by far
With Internet access at an all time low
    And all the Face Book profiles only misery and woe!

Though we think it could never be so bad
    Yet the book of Revelations spells out the details
With men like outrages, heads buried in the sand
    The heat of His coming like the sun but hotter ten times!

With multitudes rejoicing while the earth howls in birth pains
    The long waited return of the Master’s at hand
And the myriad of Saints clothed in glistening white robes from above
    With trumpets proclaiming the soon arriving King!