Noah's Ark 4-19-12

It must have been a massive chore

to build an ark so large,

for such a man so elderly,

but man who would take charge.

It must have been a massive job

with those archaic tools,

(no power saws or cordless drills).

He seemed to break all rules.

It must have taken massive trust

to know what it was for -

to dedicate so many years -

to build so far offshore.

It must have taken massive faith

to face a sneering crowd.

To build the ark took many years

while they had laughed out loud.

It must have been a massive feat

corralling animals -

but two by two, they all had come

with elephants and bulls.

It must have been a massive herd -

it must have been a sight -

from large to small they gathered 'round

but all came out just right.

It must have been a massive rain

that flooded all the ground -

and Noah could not save the lost.

God shut the door. They drowned.

It must have been a massive storm -

for forty nights and days.

But when the storm clouds did disperse,

God blessed in loving ways...

And bursting forth in massive hues,

a vibrant bowing arc,

was God's fantastic rainbow

for Noah and his ark.

©2012 louis gander - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

http://www.ganderpoems.org/

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Genesis 7

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

The Flood

 ¹ Then the LORD said to Noah, “Enter the ark, you and all your household, for you alone I have seen to be righteous before Me in this time. ² You shall take with you of every clean animal by sevens, a male and his female; and of the animals that are not clean two, a male and his female; ³ also of the birds of the sky, by sevens, male and female, to keep offspring alive on the face of all the earth. ⁴For after seven more days, I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights; and I will blot out from the face of the land every living thing that I have made.” ⁵ Noah did according to all that the LORD had commanded him.

 ⁶ Now Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of water came upon the earth. ⁷ Then Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him entered the ark because of the water of the flood. ⁸ Of clean animals and animals that are not clean and birds and everything that creeps on the ground, ⁹ there went into the ark to Noah by twos, male and female, as God had commanded Noah.¹⁰ It came about after the seven days, that the water of the flood came upon the earth. ¹¹ In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the floodgates of the sky were opened.¹² The rain fell upon the earth for forty days and forty nights.

 ¹³ On the very same day Noah and Shem and Ham and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark, ¹⁴ they and every beast after its kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, all sorts of birds. ¹⁵ So they went into the ark to Noah, by twos of all flesh in which was the breath of life. ¹⁶ Those that entered, male and female of all flesh, entered as God had commanded him; and the LORD closed it behind him.

 ¹⁷ Then the flood came upon the earth for forty days, and the water increased and lifted up the ark, so that it rose above the earth. ¹⁸ The water prevailed and increased greatly upon the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water. ¹⁹ The water prevailed more and more upon the earth, so that all the high mountains everywhere under the heavens were covered. ²⁰ The water prevailed fifteen cubits higher, and the mountains were covered. ²¹ All flesh that moved on the earth perished, birds and cattle and beasts and every swarming thing that swarms upon the earth, and all mankind; ²² of all that was on the dry land, all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died. ²³ Thus He blotted out every living thing that was upon the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky, and they were blotted out from the earth; and only Noah was left, together with those that were with him in the ark. ²⁴ The water prevailed upon the earth one hundred and fifty days.

Nothing More To Fear 4-18-11

It's greener on the other side,

in wanting, we will go -

the other side of the mountain,

or over the great rainbow...

to eye-catching colored places,

to fun and friends galore -

to shopping malls and diners -

to parties, clubs and more.

We watch our favorite movies,

we know each actor's name -

we talk about our sports team -

we play our favorite game.

We pick and choose our pathways,

we hide in our own way -

we talk until life's over when

there's nothing else to say.

In nakedness, we stand alone,

in all our filth and pride -

with lack of faithfulness exposed,

there's no more place to hide.

God sits alone on His great throne

when over, are the games -

and fair and just the truth will be -

green pastures or the flames...

Be fruitful as you live your day.

Be faithful in your walk.

Be diligent in all you do.

Be humble in your talk.

As long as God still give us breath,

as long as we're sincere -

as long as we repent of all -

there's nothing more to fear.

©2011 louis gander ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

http://www.ganderpoems.org/ 

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Isaiah 35:4 (KJV)

Say to those with anxious heart, "Take courage, fear not Behold, your God will come with vengeance; The recompense of God will come, But He will save you."

Sufficient Grace 4-4-10

There's rumbling in the Heavens.
There's anger in the sky.
There's tears of wrath upon us.
yet we can't answer why.

There's something in the question,
as we stand drenching wet -
and wallow with the prideful,
as we don't get it yet.

The storms that hover 'round us -
which soak us to the bone,
are simply there to prod us -
to reach our Heaven's home.

The Bible, if we read it,
will lead us to the light -
will lead us to His promise -
and rainbow shining bright.

Full color in His radiance,
the glow about His face -
and if we fully do believe -
will find sufficient grace.

©2010 louis gander - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
http://www.ganderpoems.org/

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2 Corinthians 12:9 (NASB)

And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness."

Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses,

so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

A Blind Man 2-11-09

It's a privilege to see all the colors abound,
a rainbow of colors of things all around.
My empathy cries out for those who can't see,
and dreading the thought if it happened to me.

I'm thankful for God and His infinite love,
from flowers below and the rainbow above,
but this man was blind from birth until now,
before Jesus came and then healed him how?

He lived in full darkness. No light he had seen.
Can you just imagine location and scene?
Can you imagine the thought of it all?
Spitting in dust, making clay they recall.

And of all days on Sabbath - believe it or not,
the Pharasee's angry. They argued a lot.
They questioned the blind man and his parents too.
They heard all the facts but still hadn't a clue.

He told them the truth but they didn't believe.
They asked him again and then told him to leave.
Those who had eyes were so totally blind,
but Jesus took blindness, rekindled the mind.

It's a privilege to see all the colors abound,
the rainbow of colors of things all around.
My empathy cries out for those who aren't free,
so have faith in Jesus and make yourself see!!

©2009 louis gander ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
http://www.ganderpoems.org/

John 9 - Healing the Man Born Blind

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Talk Is Cheap 1-20-09

When words are empty, talk is cheap.
when words are parsed, talk is cheap.
when gossip travels like a missile, talk is cheap.
when the ends justify the means, talk is cheap.
when eyes expose an angered heart, talk is cheap.
when half-truths build as a skyscraper, talk is cheap.
when manure is spread upon the heap, talk is cheap.
when rationalizing trumps the rational, talk is cheap.
when an agenda overrides the purpose, talk is cheap.
when tongues repeat the hollow points, talk is cheap.
when innuendo paints the masterpiece, talk is cheap.
when the snake oil slips along the slime, talk is cheap.
when truth is obvious between the lines, talk is cheap.
when words invest for a return on flattery, talk is cheap.
when words are used for self preservation, talk is cheap.
when words are spit out with forked tongue, talk is cheap.
when words become more colorful than a rainbow, talk is cheap.
when words are tailored like a thousand dollar suit, talk is cheap.
when ten dollar words are used on a two-cent thought, talk is cheap.
and when money is the purpose behind the words, talk is worthless.

©2009 louis gander ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
http://www.ganderpoems.org

Psalm 78: (NASB)
35And they remembered that God was their rock,
And the Most High God their Redeemer.
36But they deceived Him with their mouth
And lied to Him with their tongue.
37For their heart was not steadfast toward Him,
Nor were they faithful in His covenant.

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Everything is Possible! 12-28-05

How can I define a tune, to all the deaf on earth?
Or find the nearest ocean, and walk its total girth?
Or explain a rainbow's color, to someone blind from birth?
Or begin to taste the smallest crumb of Gods tremendous worth?

Can I play ALL the instruments, and call myself a band?
Or count each and every grain, on a beach of endless sand?
Ah, paint a rainbow in the sky? I'll never understand,
But everything is possible, for a loving, nail-scarred hand.

God can shake the mountains, and throw them to the sea!
God can rule the wind to stop, or hurl it endlessly!
It's nothing for an awesome God, that used a simple tree,
And gave His Son - so we could live - with Him, eternally!

©2005 louis gander - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
http://www.ganderpoems.org/

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Matthew 19:26 (NASB)
26And looking at them Jesus said to them, "With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."