The promised Land

A meditation on the incident of God’s people crossing the river Jordan.

The Promised Land by B.Dodd

When it was time for Joshua

To possess the promised land

And take all the  people with him

God gave him this command.

‘Be strong and be courageous,

And In my law delight,

Meditate upon it

Both  in the day and night.’

It was God who’d chosen Moses

Forty long years before

From  Pharaoh’s power to  free His people

And be Egypt’s slaves no more!

Yet they moaned and groaned continually

‘ We hate it here, ‘ they’d say.

We’d be better off in Egypt

Let’s go back by the same way!’

But after forty years of wandering

In the lonely wilderness’

The Lord had not forgotten them

And loved them none the less!

So God chose a man named Joshua

To lead His people then,

And gave them precious promises

To obey Him once again!

 Joshua sent spies to  Canaan

To view the enemies that were there,

And God-fearing Rahab hid them

Took the men into her care.

Rahab! What?  a prostitute!

This surely couldn’t be?

Ah, but God in all His wisdom

Knew what the human eye can't see.

God took them to the Jordan,

Told the priests what they must do.

Put their feet into the water

Then lead the people through.

God stopped the river flowing,

To let the people cross,

And they made it over safely

Without trouble, without loss!

The promised land’s before us

We can enter and possess

For if we truly trust the Saviour

He has promised good success.

Not in health, wealth and prosperity

For whatever state we’re in

He will give us victory

Over fear and death and sin.

 And Yes, there’ll still be battles

To fight in days ahead

But with faith and eyes on Jesus

There is nothing we should dread !

Lord, I do not know which river

You want me to cross today.

But of this one thing, I am  certain

That you will guide me all  the way

You ask me just to follow

Simply trust you and obey

And not worry where you take me

But hold on to You and pray.

I Hate Saturdays ..based on encounter with down-and-out 2014

“ I hate Saturdays” based on an actual encounter 

 ‘I hate Saturdays, ‘ he suddenly said

‘Much rather be in bed !’

‘Why’s that?’ I asked with a quizzical look

As he stood there swaying, his hands shook.

He told me that he couldn’t bother.

He had no wife, no child, no brother.

Nothing to give and nothing to share

No house, no home, no place, nowhere.

His story he began to trace

Of hard times,  written on his face.

He told me that he’d got no money,

But drink in hand I thought ‘That’s funny!’

I thought, ‘I’ve heard this all before’

Yet this poor soul’s plight I couldn’t  ignore.

Unclean, unkempt__ with haggard face,

Unvalued part of the human race.

He told me that his name was Stan,

Had once been a bright young man,

Yet  Mr. Trouble and Mrs. Strife’

Had robbed him of a normal life.

In his eyes I saw no hope,

Plain to me, he couldn’t cope,

A heart so full of woe and sorrow,

For whom there was no bright tomorrow.

Before our  time came came to an end,

I told him that there was one friend ,

From whose love he could not stray

But by his side would ever stay.

I gave him   coins and said a prayer,

‘Dear Lord please show him that you’re there’

Others,  I know, have a similar story,

But hope this man I’ll meet in glory...