Treasures in Jars of Clay

Did you ever know I cannot pull myself up
If I ever plop down on my side ?
I’ve overmuch of this wooly ‘white’ stuff
Couldn’t budge, however hard I tried.
Did you ever know I could be easy prey
And would panic if suddenly spooked?
How often I tend to roam and stray
From the brood, if I’m overlooked!

‘Timid ‘ indeed is my middle name
Ever caught a bark or a roar from me?
My wool may beat the lion’s mane
But that’s all there is to see.
Did you know there’s no east or west
Neither north or south for me?
I waddle after the leader with zest
To the edge of a cliff, though it be.

Did you know that I guzzle from a dirty puddle
Though fresh water is a few feet away?
Oh boy,  do I stink! a terrible stink!
Like the shower of a ‘skunk’y spray.
I’ve been known for occasional kicks,
Or a rare friendly nibble or a nip
Can’t heal any wounds with the best of my licks
The shepherd’s salve does the trick.

Do you notice how much you resemble me ?
 Yes, a sheep and make no mistake!
Among plenty of names in the Bible we see
The Lord does this comparison make.
Yet, do you perceive how priceless I am
To the shepherd to whom I belong?
No wonder then, even as a little lamb
I’ve always been treasured lifelong.

arjohn ©treasuresinjarsofclay.com

For you were like sheep going astray 1Peter 2:25

It’s just the ‘edges of His ways’
That we ever catch a glimpse ;
The marvel of His full doings
We could not stand to gaze.

Be it manna in the wilderness
Or water squirting from a rock,
It was just the ‘edges of His ways’
When Balaam’s donkey began to talk.

A pillar of fire for light by night
A pillar of cloud to guide the days
Wondrous would be this singular sight,
Yet, they’re just the “edges of His ways”

On fields of harvest bounty glisten
Tints of gold from a setting sun
It’s just the ‘edges of His ways’
His whisper that the day is done.

It’s just the ‘edges of His ways’
When there’s healing on it’s way;
When a pressing need is quickly met
Under a crushing blow, you don’t sway.

It’s just the ‘edges of His ways’
That we ever catch a glimpse
The marvel of His full doings
We could not stand to gaze.

arjohn ©treasuresinjarsofclay.com

 Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways, And how small a whisper we hear of Him! But the thunder of His power who can understand?
Job 26:14

The call has come to many a saint
And they’ve quietly slipped away,
To meet the Savior in glory land
While we’re left behind to stay.
Home and hearth may turn empty
And our paths by sorrow, lined
The question, prime, to you and me:
Is “why are we left behind?”

James lived short, slayed early on
Though John served to a great old age;
While Peter and Paul labored for long,
 Stephen succumbed to enemy rage.

The question looms before you and me:
” Why are we left behind?”
When viewed in light of eternity
Do we hold His purpose in mind?

To swiftly bear the Gospel news
To all, who, for truth inquire,
Strive to be His hands and feet
And pull many out of hellfire.
To sing again, that all may hear
His praise where voice is stilled,
To divide the Word with earnest prayer
Until hungry hearts are filled.
To carry our cross, to bear His name
 Be our portion, reproach or shame
To be the fuel that feeds the flame
 For His glory, our solitary aim.

arjohn ©treasuresinjarsofclay.com

O! for faith that would take the knife
To slay an only son
In unquestioning obedience
To his God, the Faithful One.
Faith that offers up the best
In trust, and on His promise, rests.
In withholding not his only son
Abraham, he passed the test.

arjohn ©treasuresinjarsofclay.com

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac
Hebrews 11:17

Well, I’m not as spry as I let on
Years have passed n those days are gone.
Though, just yesterday, they seem to be
When my lil boys were all around me.

Beaming smiles and toothless grins,
Tears trickling o’er bruised shins,
Sounds of glee o’er a wobbly race car
Toppling towers of wooden blocks afar;
Ooh’s and aah’s o’er birthday bakes
Sticky thank you’s for chocolate cakes,
And endless lessons on how to share
How to love and give and gently care.

Countless hours with dog eared books
No pat answer, burning question brooks
Why red is red, why blue is blue
Why unjust people don’t get their due.
Wrestling matches, cartwheels gone wrong
Stitches and broken bones made strong;
Tween n teen years have come and gone
Just memories now;  they’ll stick for long.

Thank you, Lord, for the years flown fast
For sleepless nights and all that’s past;
For bended knees by each bedside
When stories made them all wide-eyed.
For ease of pain during hospital stays
Your tender care on heartbreak days,
For countless mercies, big and small
For showers of blessings I recall.

Tucked away, they often flash by
Memories of all those years gone by
Yes, like yesterday, they seem to be
When my lil boys were all around me!

(reflections on Mother’s Day)

arjohn
©treasuresinjarsofclay.com

(through the eyes of a cherry tree)

One late spring frost; that’s all it takes.
Nipped all my cherry buds ‘bout to bloom;
Life fades out, no beauty wakes,
More or less like an empty flume.
What a spread had I in the year gone past,
Snow white petals with a tinge of pink.
Pretty blossoms filled my branches fast
Thus, to a watching world, I would prink.

One late spring frost! Alas! that’s all it takes.
My buds all brown have fallen down!
No fruit I bear and my heart it breaks
Will next spring, me with blossoms, crown?

arjohn
©treasuresinjarsofclay.com

A visage, marred more than any man
An uncomely form, the Father’s plan
Rejected, deserted and  despised
For the price of peace was He chastised.
Man of sorrows, acquainted with grief
For sinner man, of whom I am chief.
Suffering servant! in worship we bow
Praise and honor, forever and now.

He hid not his face from spit and shame
He held not his back from being maimed
He flinched not before contempt and scorn
Travailing until the Church was born.
Man of sorrows, acquainted with grief
For sinner man, of whom I am chief.
Suffering servant! in worship we bow
Praise and honor, forever and now.

Wounded  and stricken by God, for man
Son of God, all eternity span
In offering for sin, poured out His soul
Unto death, to make sinner man whole.
Man of Sorrows, acquainted with grief
For sinner man, of whom I am chief.
Suffering servant! in worship we bow
Praise and honor, for ever and now.

Exalted, extolled, He reigns on high
As Man of sorrows, He draws us nigh
Suffering servant, in worship we bow
Praise and honor, for ever and now.

arjohn
©treasuresinjarsofclay.com

Isaiah 53

It’s no chance –  these dire straits!
In love, He does what He does, always
What holy pursuit, with ne’er a pause
He perfects the saint while seeking the lost.

Refine Your Body, purge the dross  
Revive our love, whatever the cost
Stir our hearts, let coldness flee
From worldly ties, Lord, set us free.
That wealth nor fame may cloud our eyes
Nor love of ease, our hearts entice;  
May cares of life not snuff out zeal
For sinners lost, your mind reveal.

Open our eyes that we may see
Your world from heaven’s perspective
The teeming throngs bereft of hope
Ever seeking  just for ways to cope.
From our stupor, Lord, help us rise
Thrust us forth and set us ablaze
That the Gospel light dispel the dark
Till end to end, it has made its mark.

arjohn
©treasuresinjarsofclay.com

If not for the crucible
Would the silver shine?
If the furnace were not hot enough
How could the gold refine?
No more, no less, the Refiner knows
How hot should be the blaze,
That draws out all the dross and dregs
To mirror His clear image!

arjohn
©treasuresinjarsofclay.com

He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver (Malachi 3:3)

Let God be God in all that’s plain
And in all He cares to not explain,
He’s who the Word claims Him to be
When His ways do not make sense to me.

Let God be God when seasons turn;
To a tranquil sea, tempests return
As He sleeps in peace at the stern,
This storm-tossed boat won’t overturn.

Let God be God if no answers come
To heartfelt prayers, no clear outcome;
He is still the One who delights to hear
 Aching hearts lifted in earnest prayer.

Let God be God, in grief and loss
When, hard it seems, to bear my cross;
His Word is sealed, every promise true
” I am He who will sustain you “

Let God be God, when I walk alone,
None with me in paths unknown;
He’s there beside, His Word does prove
He holds my hand and sees me through.

 arjohn
©treasuresinjarsofclay.com