THE BACK SEAT

You must be early to get the back seat
To beat off competition
Where one can hide from pulpit view
And scan the congregation

To be the last you must be first
Or make a reservation
It matters not that you can't see
Or hear the preacher's sermon

Today I came especially prompt
To be one of these mortals
But not a rear seat space remained
Within the building's portals

I'd like to ask them when they came
My guess is Saturday night
But when the Benediction ends
They're up and out of sight

FEELINGS

So how would you have felt
If a man , old enough to know better
Began to build a boat while warning
That it would get wetter and wetter
When it took a forest of wood
Made up of Gopher trees
Enough to fill a furniture store
Or make several small libraries
When he called again and again
For everyone to change their ways
Or preach about a coming flood
On the sunniest of days
But on and on he persevered
Undaunted by the task begun
And never stopping to consider
That the nearest sea was miles from home
When he gathered up his family
And every animal he could find
And shut the door behind them all
Everyone laughed until they cried
Because soon a tiny drop descended
From a small cloud in the sky
To dampen a small piece of Gopher wood
And the spirits of those outside
Who couldn't quite believe their eyes
That what he said had come to pass
And when that tiny drop became a shower
Their hearts were sinking fast
In a flood of selfish hopefulness
That it would never be too late
To take the moral higher ground
And so escape their fate
So how would you have felt
To view a rainbow for the first time
To see an olive leaf again
And the top of a mountain high
Me , I felt so sorry for those outside
And glad that I'd escaped
To be the first to see the sun again
Yes , being a giraffe is great

SUNDAY

Sunday was a special day
In our house
Roast beef , gravy and veg
After Sunday church
Then a quiet afternoon stroll
Down a country road
Or a comfy little snooze
Listening to Tennessee Ford
A quiet fireside family tea
In the background , Songs of Praise
Soon uncles , aunts and cousins came
And for supper always stayed

Sunday's still a special day
In our home
Bombarded by this crazy age
We hold on
To values taught and handed down
From a parent's knee
Not just about right and wrong
But the way Sunday should be

Sunday's not a special day
In some lives
The church and God are far away
In past times
The trouble is we're easily swayed
To join the crowd
Who think its just another day
Not His now

Sunday's still a special day
In His eyes
He rested when He made the world
And so should I
Not just for doing as I please
But taking time
To think of what He means to me
The True Vine

AFTER

After the flood
The Rainbow
After the fleece
The dew
After the whale
Forgiveness
After the famine
Food
After Goliath
Victory
After the lions
Prayer
After the greatest testing
We know He was always there

MY FRIEND

My friend is a Christian
Though you wouldn't know
From some company he keeps
Or from his favourite jokes

My friend is a Christian
But he isn't quite sure
Just how it all happened
Its a bit of a blur

My friend is a Christian
But I don't quite see
The difference it makes
To his daily routine

My friend is a Christian
In all the right places
But when he's not there
He wears different faces

My friend is a Christian
It seems a good life
He loves God on Sunday
And does what he likes

My friend is a Christian
Of that I am sure
He's learnt Bible verses
And makes lengthy prayers

My friend is a Christian
His Bible is huge
He's there every Sunday
At church in a suit

My friend is a Christian
To doubt is unfair
You see he's the pastor
Of my local church

HARD OR EASY?

It's easy to point a finger
At those who can't control
Their urge to feed a habit
That doesn't fit our mould
It's easy to see the bad side
The pain which others feel
When obsession crosses boundaries
Causing hurts which never heal
It's easy to set the limits
Of what should and shouldn't be
And to cast a scornful glance at those
Who , unlike us , aren't free
It's easy to find an answer
When we are not involved
To patronise and criticise
What someone else must solve
But it's hard to be a listener
And not always give advice
Just to be a ready shoulder
On which to have a cry
And it's hard to go on loving
When love is not returned
When all the efforts that you make
To help , are simply spurned
It's never hard nor easy
To help a shattered life
So ask the Lord for wisdom
And take Him as your guide

HUMILITY

Hidden by a new found confidence
An inflated self belief
Trampled under a rising ego
It lies buried beneath
Covered by the clothes of class consciousness
Designer labels aspire
Imprisoned by diamonds and pearls
Bought out by the wealth we acquire
Believing the things others tell us
Reality fades far behind
The truth is now less important
Than having a self centred mind
It's easy to be absent minded
To forget where we left it alone
Our best friends won't even tell us
We're too proud to admit that we're wrong
It's hard to admit we're not humble
It's hard to be humble too
To live the life of a servant
Breaks all the modern day rules
It needs divine intervention
To strip us down to the core
To take away all of the padding
And return us to what we once were