In Us and Through Us
by Michael Doyle

Prayerful in all that truly matters
Our God prepares us for when peace shatters
We know that God has intentional plans
As the world unfolds and God stymies even as He can

There on the inspired pages of the Holy Bible 
Rest the direct invitation to become a disciple
If we give up the world to follow the cross
This is the path of victory and not one of loss

Each step along the way, we study and learn
As His opportunities come to be discerned
The deepest keys can only be opened from inside
As He molds us to be better beyond our pride

By knowing the words spoken by the Savior
We know the expectations set for our good behavior
To learn and savor our daily bread of our daily ways
And pay the wages of sin from all over our other days

Even in the loneliest places of desolation
God provides us sufficient to the conditions
He found a way to feed the masses who followed him
In all encountered ways and places, even there and then

The presence of Jesus served up the daily bread
It was found in everything he did, and all He said
The leaders, in His days, were filled with jealous hate
But even in charge, they lacked the power to seal his fate

The same remains today as we walk with humility
Keeping commitments as we live and love as one community
Working together for God whom we serve to prevail
Knowing that God's omniscient ways will never fail

False leaders know how to forecast with some hesitation
But the signs of the time signal the true interpretation
We find, time and again, that even the reluctant are of use
Examples, like Jonah and Noah, are quite profuse

We find that sin will cost more than anyone ever wants to pay
As we know, it yet might take the sinners the opposite way
Still, significant miracles are most often found in disguise
This motif is common enough despite the color of our skies

We found with Jonah that trying to escape is a futile task
And that the best course is to, faithfully, do as God asks
In the deeper end, we know this means guarding our theology
Keeping our courses correct in worshipping God correctly

And to now allow the yeast to rise in its false doctrines
Teachers will accountable for this errant and mortal sin
Following the wrong paths of modernity, however convenient
Is a thing that Jesus would ever hold as less than deviant

Today, as yesterday, we are called to be the shepherds
Keeping the good words we have experienced and heard
We are called to be good stewards every single day
We do this by walking our faith in every single way

As fractured sinners desperately in need of grace
We must stand committed to serving in His embrace
Taking diligence and care of what we daily knead
This is true in what we say, and what we do and read

Eventually, every knee will bend and tongue confess
On the other side of eternity, the cross is the test
We must follow Jesus focused without any distraction
And never allow Satan to move us off our good traction

Distraction can lead us to our bleakest death
It's better that we keep tracked to our last breath
It comes down, individually, to what of Jesus we believe
Do we hold to what God commands, or the Devil who deceives?

(c) April 14, 2024    Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved