Poems By- Bishop Stanley E Downes
Bishop Stanley E Downes, the former Chief Acharya of Sat Tal Christian Ashram gets inspiration from God to write poems. Please use them in your day to day activities, with due credit to the author.Tune: AZMON: CM 8686 “O for a thousand tongues to sing”.
Jesus is Lord, My Lord, My God;This Hymn was composed on 10th June 2000 at Sat Tam Christian Ashram (during 70th Anniversary).The Witness of the Crocus* Blossom “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.” – John 3:5
No other Lord I own;
To Him I yield heart, mind and strength,
I do not walk alone.
Jesus is Lord. By Faith in Him
I live in storm or strife;
On dusty plain or mountain path:
The way, the Truth, the Life.
Jesus is Lord. He is my Hope.
Thy kingdom come, I pray:
Through mist and darkening clouds I see
God’s light breaks through always.
Jesus is Lord. His Love Supreme
Surpasses all I know,
And blinds me to my Father God,
To neighbour here below.
Jesus is Lord. Beneath His Cross
I lay each burden down,
To bear His Cross from day to day,
Till I receive His Crown.
- AMEN -
Showers of blessings descending in spate
During last night and in the night before;
Sat Tal Valley, lake, hills small and great
Had waited for heaven to open and pour
Out the rain. Lighting! It was dark and late.
Thunder! Of a sudden from His full store
God watered this earth. He did not wait
Till day-break to wash the forest – and more
To fill the lake. He does not cease to care and to create
As in the beginning. At dawn all nature wore
A new-life look. Then opening the gate
Of dark clouds, sunlight flooded hills and lake shore,
Giving light and heat and the life to celebrate
God’s loving will for all creation; even for
Crocuses in bud that spring up straight
Thro’ the greening grass on the valley floor
Opening shyly, blushing pink, they emulate
Lilies of the field, of which Jesus spoke before.
God clothes the crocus too, of low estate,
To me they say: “St let your faith endure,
God scare for crocus and for you does not abate.
Seek first His Kingdom all else is sue.”
Lord, wash me clean for in my heart of late,
Selfish stain and sinful dirt which I abhor
Have married and soiled the soul you did create.
Like the crocus Lord, infuse new life once more.
Within me let Your Spirit germinate
The seeds that do fulfill Your Will and the Law.
To bloom and bear fruit too I must co-operate,
So like the crocus, Lord I open wide my door.
Come Holy Spirit to regenerate
Within. Christ has redeemed me from the law
Of death and sin. Soon the crocus dies – its fate
Is in God’s natural order and no more.
Not mine that destiny. God did create
Man in His image. Truly I deplore
God’s image cracked and broke in me. Await
No more, Dear Lord; initiate, restore
Your Christly likeness in my mortal state-
God’s Glory now, fulfilled in Heaven evermore.
Written during the Pentecost of 2004 (29-31 May) at Sat Tal Christian AshramOverflow
A Tide of evil flows against the good
In all the world; it sweeps o’er everyone.
Om Calvary the Saviour shed His blood;
Christ paid the price and He has overcome.
Because Christ is risen, Faith will endure
Despite disaster, death and deceit.
In Christ our Hope is fulfilling and for sure,
Firmly grounded, overflowing and complete.
To the prodigal son who was lost and is found
Dirty, hungry, naked and forlorn,
God’s Love overflowed, raised him from the ground
Cleansed, fed, dressed with ring and gown to be worn.
My cup overflows with God’s Loving Kindness;
Heart, mind and soul overflow with His praise.
His Grace without measure in all of its fullness
Upholds as I walk, not mine, but His ways.
Lord, may your Love not end only in me,
To be a self-centered fruitless morass;
Let it grow, overflow, for others to see
And be served by that Love as I pass.
