Whatever is Pure, Inspiring Christian Poetry, Devotionals and Testimonies May 2009

Recently, I was blessed by an influx of young poets and writers who graciously submitted their work to the "Whatever is Pure" ezine. I am impressed by the passion, depth and faith expressed in the following and I hope that you will be as inspired as I was as I put this issue together.

After a bit of research, I discovered that several of these budding poets and writers attend "The Potter's School" and I would like to extend my thanks to their instructors at Potter's School for pointing their students in my direction. To protect all these young writers from spam, I won't be including their personal email addresses. However, I would respectfully direct you to their school if you need any further information. Please note each article listed below is copyrighted to each individual author.

*As this is an annual special edition, Submissions are closed for class assigned submission requests. Submissions based on online or physical classroom assignments will NOT be accepted until March 15 - April 25, 2010. Any such classroom assignment submissions sent in before or after this time frame will not be accepted. However, I gratefully accept most devotionals, testimonies or poetry that are not part of a classroom requirement project, regardless of age or gender at any time throughout the year.

A lifetime of Dreams

When I was a small child, my Father told me I could do anything.
I believed I could dance to the stars,
Eat cheese with the man on the moon,
And be the President of the United States.
I dreamed of my prince and how I would save him.
My dreams were as big as the Milky Way.
Growing up made me realize, dreams change,
Life throws some unexpected kinks at our plans.
Though I haven't had any Moon cheese, some of my dreams have come true.
As long as I live I will never stop dreaming;
The dreams of my past and the dreams of my Future.
All I need to remember is God gave me my dreams,
The ability to dream,
And the determination to reach them.

© 2009 Jade Daniel

Pray that we will never part,
and you’ll always stay close to my heart.
In the hard days,
I will be your way through life’s maze.

Never could I see my life without you,
you make it exciting and new,
even when I’m stressed.
I’m so blessed!

His love is never-ending, rife
His sacrifice gave us a chance at afterlife
Love He did not just decree,
He lived it out in actions for all to see.

He gave his life,
He paid the price,
What a sacrifice for you and me
It just goes to show, our freedom wasn't free.
Unending Love

I should've been the one to die
Over and over, I ask myself why
Though I live in sin continually
Because of His deed, I now can live free.

I should've paid; it just wasn't His price
On that cross, alone did He die
He performed that selfless deed
And took our sin away so willingly.

Adrenaline rushing as I prepare for the game,
Practice shots and passes to players by name,
Group stretching like rubber to loosen tight muscles,
Coaches final words before faceoff are to "hustle!"

The faceoff happens and with lightning speed the players skate,
Checking, hitting, shooting all with strength and weight,
Some tense and careless plays are made by nervous guys,
Timeouts happen, strategies are planned, with players now wise.

First goal is scored - the energy is flowing, now we fly,
Diving, swarming toward the net we score with one try,
The other team won't quit, they score, we fight to reign,
Time runs out, we score at last, the work was not in vain.

Matt writes: "I am a 17 year old Christian hockey player and I strive to be a witness for Jesus Christ in my athletic activities. Many hockey players do not have a personal relationship with Jesus and they need to be around players who set a good example and represent the hope of Christ. My poem reflects my deep love for hockey."

Peace, thou art perfectly pleasant to me,
And thou I will pursue throughout the day.
Deliverer from fear; thou art the way,
For thou are like a perfect dove I see,
Which descends mostly periodically.
"All men desire Peace" most sometimes say,
And thou will not lead them astray.
Thou makest our minds think beautifully.
Thou art precious, but absent from man’s fall,
Because thou are held in the Savior’s hand,
Who dwells in a far but beautiful land.
This, Adam and Eve never knew or saw,
That Peace would separate most of all;
Come, Oh Peace! Always on thee I shall stand.

A few summers ago, I was asked to play the piano for the main worship team at my church for all four services. Rehearsals were lots of fun, but the idea of playing in front of huge crowds was frightening. Only a few times before had I performed in front of large crowds. I conquered my fear by striving to hear God's voice however I could to learn the true meaning of worship. It had been quite a long weekend.

By listening to my worship pastor, I learned what it really means to praise Jesus. All through Saturday evening's services, my fingers shook with nervousness and my mind wandered; too preoccupied with making sure that I sounded fine and played the piano well to pay attention to what I was supposed to be listening for. Then on Sunday morning, during the worship pastor's prayer, though it sounded like the pastor's voice, I heard God speaking to me as loud as if he stood in the room. He taught me through the pastor's words that I was not making beautiful music for myself or the audience, putting on a concert to show everyone my musical talents, or just singing and playing for the fun of it. Everything is for Him. John 4:23,24 says "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." True worship means giving all your love and attention to God no matter what the people around you think or do. My understanding for worship has changed forever because I listened to the words of another person.

Listening hard for God showed me what worship really is. Worship is not showing off your musical skills or jumping up and down to a beat. It is not worrying about what the person next to you thinks. Praising God is meaning what you sing and giving Him all your heart. So I am not afraid to raise my hands up anymore too. And now I have come one little step closer to Jesus.

Download a totally FREE MP3 by Andy Rogers, an annointed worship leader and songwriter in Ireland. I hope you'll be blessed by Andy's incredible generosity in making this song available with no cost or obligation -- find out more by clicking on the video.

"It's crucifixion for you two."
The words ring in my ears
My friend rebelled against the news;
I tried to quell our fears.

A splintered cross thrust on my back,
Foul insults from a crowd,
The pain received from the whip's crack
All added to my shroud.

We reached a rocky hill - "the Skull"
They threw me in the dust.
Three stabbing nails, my quota full
Of pain: bear it, I must.

The Nazarene hung in between,
Silent, mournful, and grave.
The crowd hurled jeers at him, obscene
and so we did the same.

But then despite the pain endured
The Nazarene offered
A plea to God for us impure
Wretches, though him we spurned.

T'was in that moment that I saw
The truth about this man.
He was the living Son of God
now dying by cruel hands.

Just then I heard my fellow thief
Mocking the Nazarene.
Ashamed as well as filled with grief
I ordered him to cease.

I turned towards the Man and cried
"Remember me I pray!"
And smiling faintly he replied,
"You'll be with Me this day."

Then strength and peace washed over me,
The pain began to cease.
Strong arms lifted up my body
With the greatest of ease.

Love is kind,
Love is sweet,
It is what makes us complete.
Over looking ones fault, loves acts blind.

Sometimes love seems hard to find.
It may be a difficult feat.
Rejection may make you want to retreat,
Although true love is one of a kind.

Love it worth the wait.
With love at your side, the outside world becomes blurry,
So do not waste your thought in worry,
Because at the appointed time, you will find your true soul mate.

Race, race, race!
Yells the Shrikes of the Mace.
And while all spar under unseen claws,
"Ha, ha" they laugh, "you are in my paws."

Great, Great, Great!
Struts the lesser, not-straight.
Feeling good, proud pawns do,
Ha! I was an underling- now I say boo!

Escape, Escape, Escape!
All Souls beg 'round the Cape.
But there is No escape You Dog,
There is the Devil and there is God.

The waves always flew on.
And now I understand;

My life is like the waves.
It simply cannot stop.

My Plea

MK* born and raised
I live that God be praised
Lord work through me
This is my plea

That I be your servant
And always be obedient
Let me be a grain that dies
For others the truth to realize

Lord make me a sacrifice
To live is Christ to die is gain
Giving my life as the price
My old nature for you be slain

Daniel is 15 years old and is living in Kyrgyzstan as his parents serve in full time ministry within that nation.

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