From A Greater Hand Than Mine by Russell D. Holder - HTML preview

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Chapter 5... Lifted Hands, To Raise Us Up

"What I can't do He can"

Dear friend, I can help you,

I can tell you of Lord Jesus,

I can tell you of love so living

and the feelings that He gives us,

but I'll tell you what I can't do

is to help you through the gate,

for the Lord wants you to help yourself,

trust Him before it's to late,

you see, you must believe in Him...

would that I could do it for you,

you must let Him in your heart

and then you'll live to be true.

Dear friend, I can help you,

I can lead you right to Jesus,

who can clear up your confusion

and in time you will not fuss,

but for now... just come to know

that Jesus you shall come to claim,

and do it willingly form the heart

so you can be a child who knows His name.

"No short servings"

You can't take a piece

of a halo

and glorify it...

you must take it all,

which in the end... with

all to see,

will give the Lord the glory.

"The past went before"

Light breaks, bends and travels

around, over and through

the things that this life establishes

to be found as true,

but the truth is found in the light

and not the things now dear,

and to see the difference between the

two is when eyes can see quite clear.

It's just like the light in and of

us, as people, and our life,

some light... some dark, the steps

we take and to each of us our strife,

but could we discover a pivot-point

we might find easy a brighter way,

what path will show us all the things

to help us through our day.

"The past went before" cont.

The truth of God, the light eternal,

the Son of God, the gift of light,

the difference is between our wants and

needs and His, the power and the might,

therein draws the need to see that

a shadow is what man does cast,

away form God the shadow leads, but

before Him, unseen, it will always be last.

"Age old wisdom"

Knowledge, acquired by experience or by

institutions of learning, cannot compare with

the teachings of the spirit, taught

by God our father. Only through Jesus

can there ever be hope: growth form drift–

wood, wholeness for shavings, resurrection

for residuals, breath form ashes and life

form dust. The time for studies is given

freely, for utilization and for growth,

but it it's shunned... it will be taken back,

by the one who gave it so freely.

"Looking kind men"

Kind men, of many faces,

tend to dig

their own understanding

in the hills

of intellect,

some times in

their enthusiasm

digging to hard

and to fast,

often not looking up

to realize

they're in a pit,

a pit of their own

Understanding,

whose sides allow

no growth, only descent.

Strive to yield to

a higher perception...

tree of bindings,

old ways and problems.

It's better to

dig a little

and retain something

than to dig a lot

and remember nothing.

"True shade"

You can walk for miles,

in any direction, on

this desert of a

world we're on before

someone will provide

penance of a parasol–

the shade of friendship.

"for all craving water"

In the eyes of Christ

wells kindness for all mankind,

His tears

shed for one and all,

His joy

is felt when another returns,

His sadness

when one chooses to live alone,

His light

is shared by all seeking truth,

His love

etched in our hearts,

His life

a controversy throughout time...

for the reluctant few,

those whom remain thirsty.

"Buds of truth"

May awareness blossom

and strength increase,

in the Master's task

let me not decrease,

through continual growth

may I continue to share,

as for the world

let me not have a care,

open up my heart, Lord,

to all I may feel,

that way I'll know what's

false and what's real,

may peace of mind

come with the spirit,

forever to remain

my being so near it,

so pop on the overalls

and tend to your garden,

making sure that never

your heart will it harden.

"Use (not abuse) your judgement"

Judge someone on the

good they have inside,

not to the point of saying there's

a little bad and step aside,

for what tastes bad to you

may taste right for another,

understanding is the key

to realize our Brother,

and when you go and offer

your neighbor out your hand,

extend it out of sincerity

and not to place a brand,

so offer all your help,

don't let your eyes go blind,

utilize the past so

the future will be kind.

"Everyone needs to be... "

My young friends (known and unknown)

don't get caught in the web of ritualism,

you see... even Israel felt the snare,

the trap and the prison of the prism,

all people must come forth to see,

though rituals look like growth is there,

the sad truth remains so plain to see...

that rites without love leads nowhere,

love fulfills and sustains all of us

and thus completes the laws of God;

which is the reality for men to learn,

that rites and rituals can lead men to sod,

people must come to understand love

and to love others more than self,

showing everyone a shining example

form which to base their life for wealth,

love is the only wealth of this world,

as you'll always find more once it's given,

and the truth of love is the ability to see

and feel that everyone needs to be forgiven,

our Lord God has died for our sins

and we should come to know His way,

for only with His love can we stand

to obey His will and help find those who stray.

"Past reflections, present memories"

Look... look and look deep

Into the pool of the past,

the reflections you'll see

may set you aghast,

you may find yourself

seeking to lose todays pain,

and the prophet said, "let

it go or know no gain,"

you may find a reflection

of others looking at you,

and come to see that they

will watch all you do,

you may find, with heart,

the time to feel your own care,

the bottom line is you

must make the time to share,

you may find over your shoulder

a chip to large to toss,

but should you choose to face

it you'll then again be boss,

you may find something that

you thought would feel great,

but look again before

you see that it's to late,

will you come to the pool

and gaze at the surface alone,

or look deeply to see life's mysteries

and declare "men brothers" as shown.

"Children always"

Don't let this mortal

flesh get in the way

of your spiritual awareness,

awareness so necessary

to flourishing faith.

When the flesh starts

to say we are more

than mere children,

no matter our age,

look at it this way...

in the eyes of our Creator:

who has been here, is here

and always will be here,

can we be any less than

spiritual children always?

"Lift up. not put down"

we should learn to never

put another down,

only to raise up our own

beliefs or crown,

for the Lord has said to

"love your brother,”

how can we treat a man

as any other,

for when we've done this

it leads to shame,

and then the Lord shows us

it's not a game,

so we should never drink

of a bitter cup,

and we should try to lift

one another up,

to see that we all deserve

God's loving grace,

to hold His hand will lead

to see His face.

"All to see a rainbow"

I was sitting in a field, daydreaming,

with my back to a sturdy old tree...

when I saw a rainbow settle down over

the field. The rainbow whispered to me,

Saying, "look at my many different

colors- all are seen with their own

separate beauty and are quite unique."

I thought and concluded... the blessing

was the common bond the colors all shared...

UNITY.

"The truth be known"

No thought, no action, no deed

goes unseen,

there are no corners

big enough to hide in,

there are no hedges

large enough to obscure us.

Every-little-thought has

it's ripple and is known.

Every action is not just

felt on the wind of a

breaking tongue.

Every deed will be tallied

for its nature and measured

for its content.

Before we speak,

"The truth be known" cont.

let us shake the begrudging

thoughts of man tree

form our clothes, in

exchange for the flowing

robes of Jesus Christ,

wrapped around the truth.

"More than is fold"

We should not build upon our

own thoughts and precepts,

in order that our Lord's will

be done and fulfilled,

for it is only by grace that

there has been made a place,

and it's the Lord's thoughts we

should yield to as so willed,

so in the course of our day...

may we find time to say

that our Lord is first on our

hearts, to Him goes the glory,

for should we find ourselves

thinking that we deserve praise,

we will find that there is much

more than is fold to the story.

"So shines a sibling"

New moon peeking-ly

astride the windows edge,

above the hedge,

stares back a tear of

light to pierce a night

of heaven's glow,

airs edge nestled among

the stars for our

womb of a world,

moonlit pacifier on through

and past times twilight,

a gleaming reminder

to our window of sunlight

stretching over the horizon,

lunar brother subsides

into ebbing skies as older

brother steps up the attention.

it's when only the moon sheds

a tear until tomorrow.

"Looking to"

Don't let your situations of life

prevent you looking to the gates

of heaven...

don't let your inability to cope

drop your hope, on the run... bread

without leaven,

stop and take the time to realize

God is always there... to give us

the things we need,

what stops us form receiving His

blessings He has in store for us

is our greed,

souls that are greedy are not with the

spirit of love... and alas, will not

make it through the gate...

so change... let the spirit till you

with love, to replace that which is

evil and full of hate.

"Choice has been given to you"

when strength cries there is no disguise

to the pain endured or that yet to come,

it's when the path before us is seen

as the road to victory... we must succumb,

no matter what physically befalls us or

the torment of knowing this is true,

"Choice has been given to you" cont.

we shall know not the easy path, unless

turned away... but we must see it through,

you see... our weakness is found it we

give in to our tear... with life so near,

it is the only life we have here... the

now is precious... but see this thing clear,

this life is the temporal, the temporary,

and not the eternal, for all eternity...

of the two, which has more importance?

True devotion should yield to your serenity!

"The three sides of both issues"

Love was the grand beginning of

everything we know to be... that matters,

to complete love... along came faith

and hope, completing the triangle...

love was the base, being the greatest.

from love... the exact opposite was

evol, and evol evolved into evil,

after knowing evil worked best when

affecting a person... an "I" was needed

to then effectively begin to spread.

Once evil began to spread... it formed

a triangle too... power and prestige

then rested on evil, power was the

glitzy side to enamor and catch the eye,

importance to ego... triangle complete.

"Come forth form the tent of intent"

from within the tent

of the "owner of old camels,"

a path is provided for faithful

to follow... beholding to the light,

darkness is found away form this

enlightenment, instruction is no

good unless it will be followed...

short sighted it an altruism is

amiss, like any other religion–

coming form men is where the

interpretational difference can

be hardest to bare... even catholicism

failed to see the horrors it committed

during "the inquisition," the pointedness

overlooked to demand conformity...

when your eyes get accustomed to the

darkness... any light you see, however dim,

will seem brighter than what you had...

and will still make you squint

in the natural light of the sun...

the difference between man made or

God made... the altruistic truth, God gives

man the choice- where man forces his God

on those not the same... however dark or light.

"In the time of God's choosing"

Dispensational theology... means

different things to different people,

Moslem dispensation... apportioned time

to the faithful for an expected end,

Catholicism... authority held by the church

and information disseminated to the fold,

the comparison here is to see one held

where as the other is meant to send...

I feel a different dispensation to this

practical theology is coming in our time,

one where God will be the one in charge...

and He comes to exact on us His will,

there will be no more doubt as to who's

desires mankind will fancy any more...

man, as creation, will be forced to concede

to God's hand and not man's biased thrill.

"Life You'd share"

You would have been born a bantling,

by all known standards used in the world,

but you were claimed by a man named

Joseph, and yet... had an angel for a herald,

You were raised up by a humble carpenter

whose hands were used to things so rough,

to sand and smooth the wood so hewn

that bore a product... practical and tough,

into this apprenticeship You were handed

by Your Holy father... God Most High,

to learn men one-on-one and hand-

to-hand... how we struggle before we die,

0' bantling, sweet bantling,

precious bantling dear and sweet,

to this world You have come...

sharing salvation form Your feet.

From these humble beginnings as a

man, You strove toward the temple wise,

You faced the wisest and confounded them

with Your wisdom, You hid behind no disguise,

You then provided us with miracles, plain

for everyone present to openly see...

You made the deaf to hear, the blind to

see and the dead to rise and let them be,

"Life You'd share" cont.

the hardest task Your Holy father gave

You was the cross, this You chose to bear,

form there You conquered death and made

a pact... an everlasting life You'd share,

0' bantling, sweet bantling,

precious bantling dear and sweet,

to this world You have come...

sharing salvation form Your feet.

"Created He man"

To be graced by humility... goes the

humble, being contrite by soul at night,

this is the kind of thing that will bring

you to the presence of God... His sight,

mankind would be forever lost in a sea

of selfishness... to have to suffer so...

without God we have no chance to change,

to exist, to learn, to thrive... or even grow,

that would be absolute hell to some of

us... unless you like living at the asylum,

to then render forth a whole new type

of man... a new species, genus... or phylum,

but God created He man... in just the

way He ordained and wanted man to be,

gave He man a brain to use... and eyes...

that man would take time to stop and see.

"Even when we think we're right... we could be wrong"

There is a funny thing about knowledge

and the things we can learn, you see...

there will always be something more

to learn... should be our responsibility,

it we don't strive to learn... we lose

capacity to inspire us in our life,

to find nothing ahead of our lives...

nothing but solid set-backs to our strife,

it we learn and then stop trying... there

might be a supplement to what we're taught,

and then we'd miss out on its windfall

of information... cause to be distraught,

and the last view... the one where we

keep learning as we finish out our days...

to desire to always keep things fresh

and new... an embellishment to our ways,

this is but an ego tiller to those that would

teach us the thoughts of men... form before...

but that, in turn... can lead to perpetuating

man's failures over and again... so sore,

everyone striving to show their brilliance...

of what they learned... of what they know...

and it will all look like rags to burn, as

trash... in God's eyes His teaching we must show.

"Spoken to mean more than is heard"

What power to invoke the use

of the words, "I love you,"

to embrace the concept and

go beyond the words... to live,

in living the words is the

truest treasure to be found,

where found is the depth of

love... whereby we give,

in giving we then practice

the very truth of love itself,

the lesson Jesus taught us

is still the same... even today,

this is the living word He left

us... that we might come to find,

where living the word is the

truth of love... not just to say.

"And I stood"

As I found the strength, I stood,

and it really didn't come form outside...

I found it came form the inside–

form a calm place of need I found,

and it really didn't come form outside...

it had nothing to do with company,

form a calm place of need I found,

but the need could not be denied,

it had nothing to do with company,

a compulsion uplifted my soul,

but the need could not be denied,

my feet moved as it by reflex,

a compulsion uplifted my soul,

I bowed, knelt and accepted Him–

my feet moved as it by reflex,

my soul renewed, brimming over, full...

I bowed, knelt and accepted Him-

I found it came form the inside,

my soul renewed, brimming over, full...

as I found the strength, I stood.

( this style of poem is called a "pantoum")

"As I stood"

As I found the strength, I stood,

and it really didn't come form outside...

I found it came form the inside–

form a calm place of need I found,

it had nothing to do with company,

but the need could not be denied,

a compulsion uplifted my soul,

my feet moved as it by reflex,

I bowed, knelt and accepted Him,

my soul renewed, brimming over, full...

to feel complete, not empty... still,

in a world that drives us forward,

in my life I've faced many trials,

and in each and every time called,

when I felt I could take no more...

as I felt the strength, I stood.

"Lest we forget the cost"

As auburn gilds the edge of night,

such natural splendor of the sight,

appeased release of day's clear light–

to yield to hues of red...

to twain the heights tinged red of eve,

clouds forgive light and bow to relieve,

a spectral feast released... for faith to receive, t

he day is nearly dead...

bounteous sweet scarlet billows free,

an antithesis detained amenity,

passing guard rendering serenity

where night by day is led...

it's only a sunset, some would say...

and it happens each and every day,

to cherish love, I kneel and pray,

symbolic... why Christ was bled.