LIfe's Restless Sea

                

LIFE’S RESTLESS SEA

Though tossed upon Life’s restless sea,

The dark waves rising high,

Still, I know my Anchor holds,

Safe midst the storm am I.

My vessel is so weak and frail,

How can it such withstand?

It cannot fail, I have God’s Word,

My life’s voyage He has planned.

Once anchored to the Rock secure,

The cruel sea can’t prevail.

Waves may rage, and gales may blow,

But all to no avail.

God calms the storms within my heart,

Though they may rage without:

Safe shall I soon reach heaven’s shore,

Of that there is no doubt.

Shirley Hirst

   “Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure 

     and which entereth into that within the veil “ 

 Hebrews 6:19

Sunbeams

KEEP SHINING!

Spread shining beams of sunshine around you day by day;

Cheer and comfort others as you go on your way.

But where shall I find sunshine, my path’s oft’ drenched with rain?

Keep your eyes upon the Lord, and He shall thee sustain.

Christ is this world’s bright shining light, the soul’s eternal Sun,

Whose warm life-giving beams shine out blessing everyone.

Shine on me, in me, through me Lord, by Thy Spirit’s power;

By grace may I shine on for Thee until the final hour,

When work at last is finished, and I shall gathered be,

My life, my joy, my shining Son, safe home to dwell with Thee.

Shirley Hirst

“... we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord;

and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake.

For God who commanded the fight to shine

out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to

the light of the knowledge of the glory of God

in the face of Jesus Christ.

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels,

that the excellency of the power may be

of God, and not of us. " 2 Corint 4:5-7

“let your light so shine before men. that they may see good

works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

Matthew 5: 16

MAKE ME LIKE A SUNBEAM!

"I would be as a bright shining sunbeam always

A channel of blessing throughout my days.

To bear other's burdens, help lighten their load

As we travel together on life's weary road.

Reflecting Thy kindness, Thy love and care,

A glimpse of Thy beauty, so lovely and fair.

Patient in trial, giving thanks Lord to The

Even when people deal harshly with me.

Gentle and thoughtful, helpful and sweet

Making a difference to those whom I meet

On earth, there is endless distress and decay,

With sin and rebellion, men seek their own way.

Such sadness and sorrow, dark is the night,

Make thine own children a true burning light.

May I play my part Lord, to bring hope and cheer

Tell of Thy salvation to all far and near.

Work in me I pray Thee, to will and to do

More like unto Jesus, pure, holy and true.

Only through Thy blessed grace from on high

Shall I show Thy likeness, Thy Name glorify

Thou art my true joy, my Star and my Sun

Shine through me dear Saviour until life is done.

Then with Thy ransomed ones happy I'll be

Shining forth in Thy kingdom eternally"

Shirley Hirst

"Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun

to the kingdom of their father"  Matthew 13:43 

Stars

“He made the stars also, and God set them in the firmament 

of the heaven to give light upon the earth”

Genesis 1:17

“upholding all things by the word of His power”

Hebrews 1:15

STARS

A man and his son one starry night

together beheld the heavens bright.

“How do the stars stay in the sky,

Shining way up there on high?”

The father asked his little lad and

Thoughtfully the boy said “Dad,

God it is who holds them all,

So to the earth they cannot fall”

We may observe a lesson here,

For do we not so often fear

When trials and testing sore we face

That we may not stay in out place,

But may worry, fret and moan,

Perhaps in pain and all alone

Thus in our weakness fail and fall,

We are so helpless after all!

Shall God who holds the stars in place,

Not hold us also by His grace?

He’ll never cease for us to care,

Not send us what we cannot bear.

Trusting Him we shall not fall,

But shine in triumph through it all.

As those bright stars, upheld secure,

Safe in His care for evermore!

Shirley Hirst

“I will strengthen thee: yea I will help thee;

yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness”

Isaiah 41:10

“...kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation”

1 Peter 1:5

The Craftsman's Skill

"Now no chastisement for the present seemeth to be

joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth

the peaceable fruits of righteousness unto them which

are exercised thereby."   Hebrews 12:11

THE CRAFTSMAN

One fine summer morning I happened to stop,

And gaze at the goods in a glass worker's shop,

The place was so small, but what an array

Of beautiful objects were there on display!

Pretty glass flowers, red, yellow and blue

In delicate vauses, and sailing ships too.

Many glass animals, both large and small,

It took me a long time to look at them all.

Here were such treasures not only displayed,

But I could watch them being skillfully made!

By a bright open window a table was set

A craftsman there seated near to a gas jet.

The glass rod he close out was held in its flame

Where glowing and molten it quickly became;

Then swiftly he shaped it, and twisted it till

It took on a form in accord with his will.

Back then in the fire, and there to remain

Until pliable, so he could shape it again.

Thus I watched with wonder, what could it be?

The object's design was unknown to me!

All was revealed as the work did progress,

Much patience and labour led to success,

A beautiful harp, complete to the last string,

       On the top perched a tiny bird, ready to sing!

    Practice and effort such work doth require,

    No wonder the glass must be oft in the fire!

    Much later I thought, "Here a lesson is shown

     For thus God in mercy deals with His own.

    In the heat of affliction He's working you see

     To produce His own image in you and in me

    So when our way seems to twist and to turn,

  In very sore trials, we seem often to 'burn'

Never longer than needed will He leave us there,

We can be sure we are safe in His care!

    Let's think of this picture, praise God and say

  "By grace, I'll be perfect like Him one day."

Shirley Hirst

“I will cry unto God most high unto God that performeth

I things for me."  Psalm 57:2

"The Lord will affect that which concerneth me"  Psalm 138.8

"for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus

unto good works"   Ephesians 2:10

"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, 

and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, 

when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is" 

1 John 3:2-3 

It has been very difficult to find a suitable illustration for this poem written 

after a visit to the Cheddar Gorge glass worker's shop the delicate

 glass items were amazing, and the glass worker's hands were so large,

 his skill was breathtaking!

Only Once!

ONLY ONCE

I shall pass through this world but once.

Any good, therefore, that I can do,

Or any kindness I can show,

Any witness that I can give,

By God’s grace, and for His glory

let me do it now.

Let me not defer it or neglect it,

For I shall not pass this way again.

The original item was written by

Stephen Grellet (28 October 1772 – 16 November 1855)

who was a prominent French-American Quaker missionary.

I have altered it, as it isn’t copyrighted, removed a few words and added

“By God’s grace, and for His glory” because

that’s our Christian motivation for service! 

 Shirley Hirst

Autumn Glory

 

                    AUTUMN GLORY

Springtime means new life and wonder

Bursting forth with beauty rare,

Summer blooms with vibrant colours,

Flowers surround us everywhere!

Autumn though has special glory,

Radiance that is all its own

Such a pleasant glowing sweetness,

Other seasons have not known.

Autumn brings a transformation -

Foliage tints of varied hue,

Warmest colours softly blending,

Ripened fruits, nuts, berries too.

Now resplendent, trees and hedgerows

Blaze with orange, red and gold,

Like the sunset at day's ending,

Most delightful to behold.

In the "autumn" of my lifetime

May it thus be with me so,

Heart aglow with warmth and beauty,

Fruitful as I old age know.

Shirley Hirst

" Thou shalt Guide me with thy counsel, and afterward 

 receive me to glory" Psalm 72:94

The Old Bible

The grass withereth, the flower fadeth:

 but the word of our God shall stand for ever" 

Isa 40:8

THE OLD BIBLE

In the year 1698 this Bible was new,

And ready a work for its Author to do.

Now outdated and quaint, print so very smell,

One wonders how anyone managed to read it at all!

But look at its pages, all battered and worn,

It was surely well used, some even torn!

Perhaps it was passed on from father to son, or

Mother to daughter, blessing each one, who

Seeking the truth, with desire turned its pages,

Its glorious truth undimmed through the ages.

In days gone by, were books rare indeed,

Few had a Bible to meet their heart’s need.

Large Bibles were in some Churches chained,

By those who could use them was blessing obtained.

To study God’s Word, there they had to stand,

How they must have longed to hold in their hand

The Scriptures of truth,in their own home to read,

As we do today, a true blessing indeed!

Are our Bibles well worn, used every day,

Or left on the shelf, perhaps stored away?

Still, there are many who a Bible can’t buy,

There are none for sale, or the price is too high.

Maybe there are none in a language they know,

Thus still on in darkness they sadly must go.

Let’s do what we can, so those in other lands

May also Have God’s Holy Word in their hands.

Language does change, Bibles old laid aside,

But the Scriptures unchanging shall ever abide,

Sinners to save, Christ’s sheep to sustain

Until that great day when He comes again.

"The grass withereth, the flower fadeth:  but the word of our  

God shall stand for ever" Isaiah 40:8 

The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times, Thou shalt keep them LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this from this generation forever”  Psalm 12: 6 -7

The Story behind the poem…

Years ago Shirley Hirst Submitted a request to a little Christian magazine for Bibles to be sent overseas, one day she arrived home and found a carrier bag full of Bibles on the doorstep, and to her utter astonishment found among them small very old Bible, pictured above and dated 1698, the Authorized King James Version was only translated in 1611. What to do with this little treasure? Well it found at last a good home along with this poem in the CHRISTIAN HERITAGE CENTRE

"Christianity has been present in Britain since the end of the First Century and has been the most formative influence for good in our national life.

"The Christian Heritage Centre is situated in the landmark Providence Chapel in Rowley Regis, near Birmingham. It has been set up to demonstrate the massive impact that Christianity has had on the life of our country. Through a series of almost 50 illustrated and written panels, along with a large collection of fascinating artifacts and objects, the story of Christianity in Britain is told" 

                      What a great example this is of a well-used Bible! 

                 LISTEN TO THE BIBLE READ BY ALEXANDER SCOURBY