Marcia's Poem of the Week

  Marcia's Poem of the Week 10-6-2023:  The text of Matthew 22:34-40 (NLT): 34. But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again.  35. One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” 37. Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40. The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” LOVING EACH OTHER Loving the Lord is deeply-rooted, In every chamber of our mind, Where good-thoughts are created, Producing good-deeds of every kind. And when good-thoughts first start, The good-deeds begin to flow. It's more about what's in our heart, Then about what we have to know. Loving...

  Marcia's Poem of the Week 10-13-2023 “THE WORD”  I Thessalonians 2: 9-13 NLT 9. Don’t you remember, dear brothers and sisters, how hard we worked among you? Night and day we toiled to earn a living so that we would not be a burden to any of you as we preached God’s Good News to you. 10. You yourselves are our witnesses—and so is God—that we were devout and honest and faultless toward all of you believers. 11. And you know that we treated each of you as a father treats his own children. 12. We pleaded with you, encouraged you, and urged you to live your lives in a way that God would consider worthy. For he called you to share in his Kingdom and glory. 13.  Therefore, we never stop thanking God that when you received his message from us, you didn’t think of our words as mere human ideas. You accepted what we said as the very word of God—which, of course, it is. And this word continues to work in you who believe. “THE WORD” There is a code of behavior, Made by the Lor...

  Marcia's Poem of the Week 9-30-2023 “OBEDIENCE”  Jonah 4:1-11 NLT: 1. This change of plans greatly upset Jonah, and he became very angry. 2. So he complained to the Lord about it: “Didn’t I say before I left home that you would do this, Lord? That is why I ran away to Tarshish! I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people. 3. Just kill me now, Lord! I’d rather be dead than alive if what I predicted will not happen.” 4. The Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry about this?” 5. Then Jonah went out to the east side of the city and made a shelter to sit under as he waited to see what would happen to the city. 6. And the Lord God arranged for a leafy plant to grow there, and soon it spread its broad leaves over Jonah’s head, shading him from the sun. This eased his discomfort, and Jonah was very grateful for the plant. 7. But God also arranged for a worm! The next...

  Marcia's Poem of the Week 9.23. 2023 “ANOTHER CHANCE”  Jonah 3: 1-10 NLT 3 Then the Lord spoke to Jonah a second time: 2 “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh, and deliver the message I have given you.” 3 This time Jonah obeyed the Lord’s command and went to Nineveh, a city so large that it took three days to see it all. 4 On the day Jonah entered the city, he shouted to the crowds: “Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed!” 5 The people of Nineveh believed God’s message, and from the greatest to the least, they declared a fast and put on burlap to show their sorrow. 6 When the king of Nineveh heard what Jonah was saying, he stepped down from his throne and took off his royal robes. He dressed himself in burlap and sat on a heap of ashes. 7 Then the king and his nobles sent this decree throughout the city: “No one, not even the animals from your herds and flocks, may eat or drink anything at all. 8 People and animals alike must wear garments of mourning, and ever...

  Marcia's Poem of the Week 9-15-2023 ANCHOR OF MY SOUL  Jonah 2: 1-4 and 6 b-10 Jonah’s Prayer. Our pastor's messages have been helpful. Delving into this one about hope was especially interesting to me. I realize that hope prompts every move in my life. At times when I feel down, or feel dread, or worry about sickness or just facing old age and my declining body, as well as the crazy world we live in, I wonder about the future; and then this four letter word comes to my rescue. HOPE is knowing that my God is a  "Good God." And as the title says He is the Anchor of my Soul. Scripture reading taken from: Jonah 2: 1-4 and 6 b-10 Jonah’s Prayer “2 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from inside the fish. 2 He said, “I cried out to the Lord in my great trouble, and he answered me. I called to you from the land of the dead,  and Lord, you heard me! 3 You threw me into the ocean depths, and I sank down to the heart of the sea.The mighty waters engulfed me; I was burie...

  Marcia's Poem of the Week. “A CALL TO DISCIPLESHIP”   John 17:6-10 NLT 6 “I have revealed you to the ones you gave me from this world. They were always yours. You gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything I have is a gift from you, 8 for I have passed on to them the message you gave me. They accepted it and know that I came from you, and they believe you sent me. 9 “My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you. 10 All who are mine belong to you, and you have given them to me, so they bring me glory. 11 Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name; now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are. A CALL TO DISCIPLESHIP God planned a Nineveh trip, But Jonah decided to rebel, And climbed on a sailing ship, To go as far as he could sail. Jonah was unwilling to...

  Marcia's Poem of the Week “UNDIVIDED DEVOTION"  Scripture NLT: 1 Corinthians 7:32-35: “I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs—how he can please the Lord. But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife— and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband. I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.” Ezekiel 11: 19-20 19 And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them. I will take away their stony, stubborn heart and give them a tender, responsive heart, 20 so they will obey my decrees and regulations. Then they will truly be my people, and I will be their God. “U...

  Marcia's Poem of the week for August 25, 2025  Ephesians 5: 25-27 NLT Verses: 25 For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her 26 to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. 27 He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. HUSBAND A husband is to love his wife in the Lord, And is called to be humble, wise and fair. Not tossed to and fro-but to trust in the Word, And not to be blown about here or there. Christian life is what husbands and wives share, As they become more faithful to Christ each day. They learn trust and are strong warriors in prayer, As they hold each other up in a Christ-like way. And as they join in with Christ’s living body, They complete the work from wherever they are, This movement in holiness will show the mighty, And is accomplished tenderly from the h...

  Marcia's Poem of the Week, 8.18.2023  “In The Beginning”   Genesis 2:18-25 NLT:  18. “Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.” 19 So the Lord God formed from the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would call them, and the man chose a name for each one. 20 He gave names to all the livestock, all the birds of the sky, and all the wild animals. But still there was no helper just right for him. 21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God took out one of the man’s ribs and closed up the opening.  22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man. 23 “At last!” the man exclaimed. “This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken from ‘man.’” 24 This explains why a man leaves his father and mother...

  Marcia's Poem of the Week taken from 1 Corinthians 13 NLT  “Love Is the Greatest"  4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. 8 Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! 9 Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! 10 But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless. 11 When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. 12 Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with per...

  Marcia's Poem of the Week  “Jesus Anointed by a Sinful Woman”   Luke 7:36-50 NLT - 36 One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to have dinner with him, so Jesus went to his home and sat down to eat. 37 When a certain immoral woman from that city heard he was eating there, she brought a beautiful alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume. 38 Then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them. 39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner!” 44 Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn’t offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but from the time I first came i...

  Marcia's Poem of the Week 7 21 23 “ON THE RIGHT PATH”  Psalm 25 4-12 4. Show me the right path , O Lord;  point out the road for me to follow. 5 Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you. 6 Remember, O Lord, your compassion and unfailing love,which you have shown from long ages past. 7 Do not remember the rebellious sins of my youth. Remember me in the light of your unfailing love, for you are merciful, O Lord. 8 The Lord is good and does what is right; he shows the proper path to those who go astray. 9 He leads the humble in doing right, teaching them his way. 10 The Lord leads with unfailing love and faithfulness to all who keep his covenant and obey his demands. 11 For the honor of your name, O Lord, forgive my many, many sins. 12 Who are those who fear the Lord? He will show them the path they should choose. “ON THE RIGHT PATH” Should you wonder where you are, You need only look to your past, You'll...

  Marcia's Poem of the week 7-13-2023 “The First Disciples”  Luke 5:1-11 5 One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God. 2 He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. 3 Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there. 4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.”5 “Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” 6 And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! 7 A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking. 8 When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knee...

 Marcia's Poem of the Week  7.7.2023 “UP A TREE” Luke 19:1-10 19 Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. 2 There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich. 3 He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way. 5 When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name.  “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.” 6 Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. 7 But the people were displeased. “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,” they grumbled. 8 Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!” 9 Jesus responded, “Salvation...

Marcia's Poem of the Week 6-30-2023 “EYES OF FAITH”  Mark 10:46-52 46 Then they reached Jericho, and as Jesus and his disciples left town, a large crowd followed him. A blind beggar named Bartimaeus (son of Timaeus) was sitting beside the road. 47 When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus of Nazareth was nearby, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”48 “Be quiet!” many of the people yelled at him. But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 When Jesus heard him, he stopped and said, “Tell him to come here.” So they called the blind man. “Cheer up,” they said. “Come on, he’s calling you!” 50 Bartimaeus threw aside his coat, jumped up, and came to Jesus. 51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked. “My Rabbi,” the blind man said, “I want to see!” 52 And Jesus said to him, “Go, for your faith has healed you.” Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus down the road. “I WANT TO SEE” I have seen sick people heal, And have seen babies...

  Marcia's poem of the week “MIRACLES”  John 6: 1-14 After this, Jesus crossed over to the far side of the Sea of Galilee, also known as the Sea of Tiberias. 2 A huge crowd kept following him wherever he went, because they saw his miraculous signs as he healed the sick. 3 Then Jesus climbed a hill and sat down with his disciples around him. 4 (It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration.) 5 Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” 6 He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do. 7 Philip replied, “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them!” 8 Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. 9 “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?” 10 “Tell everyone to sit down,” Jesus said. So they all sat down on the grassy slopes. (The men alone numbered about 5,00...

  Marcia's Poem of the week,  6 16 2023 “OPENED DOOR”   Matthew 10: 1-4 Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles 1. Jesus called his twelve disciples together and gave them authority to cast out evil spirits and to heal every kind of disease and illness. 2. Here are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (also called Peter), then Andrew (Peter’s brother), James (son of Zebedee), John (James’s brother), 3. Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew (the tax collector), James (son of Alphaeus), Thaddaeus, 4. Simon (the zealot), Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him). God "had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles" (Acts 14:27). The Lord opened a door to “preach Christ's gospel” (2 Cor 2:12). OPENED DOOR Christ's authority is an opened door, And it is up to you to step through. As soon as your foot hits the floor, His power and presence comes through. He brings the promise of resurrection, With the surety of eternal life. He guides you in the right dire...

  Marcia's Poem of the Week 6/9/2023 “DO GOOD”  I Peter 2: 18-25: 18 You who are slaves must submit to your masters with all respect. Do what they tell you—not only if they are kind and reasonable, but even if they are cruel. 19 For God is pleased when, conscious of his will, you patiently endure unjust treatment. 20 Of course, you get no credit for being patient if you are beaten for doing wrong. But if you suffer for doing good and endure it patiently, God is pleased with you. 21 For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. 22 He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone. 23 He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly. 24 He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed. 25 Once you were...

 “SET APART”   1 Peter 2:11-18 NLT Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world. For the Lord’s sake, submit to all human authority—whether the king as head of state, or the officials he has appointed. For the king has sent them to punish those who do wrong and to honor those who do right. It is God’s will that your honorable lives should silence those ignorant people who make foolish accusations against you. For you are free, yet you are God’s slaves, so don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil. Respect everyone, and love the family of believers. Fear God, and respect the king. You who are slaves must submit to your masters with all respect. Do what they tell you—not only if...

  Marcia's Poem of the Week 5/26/2023 “THE LORD'S WORD”  The power of the Lord's word convicts of sin, teaches truth and leads to righteousness.   I Peter 2: 1-10 NLT 1. So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. 2. Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, 3. now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness. 4. You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor. 5. And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. 6. As the Scriptures say,“I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem, chosen for great honor, and anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” 7. Yes, yo...