Little Deeds Of Kindness

Little Deeds Of Kindness

By George Thurlow

 

Little deeds of kindness,

Lending a helping hand,

Acts done with caring

Towards our fellow man.

 

Like aiding a neighbor

Without thought of reward.

Doing good deeds in secret

In service to the Lord.

 

A little bit of sacrifice,

Going the extra mile,

Words of encouragement

Or just a friendly smile.

 

We must acts as beacons

Not under a bushel hide,

For we are reflections

Of Whom we have inside.

 

Yes, little deeds of kindness

Show to Whom we do belong,

And may encourage others
With Jesus come along.

Matthew 5:14-16.
¹⁴ Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
¹⁵ Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
¹⁶ Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.






Seed Faith

 

 

Seed Faith

By George Thurlow

 

Today I planted a tiny seed

Expecting it to sprout.

I carefully covered it with rich dark soil;

The seed would grow no doubt.

 

Every day I checked that spot

In hope that I would see,

A green shoot poking through the earth

Peering back up at me.

 

The days passed on and no growth was seen;

My hope began to fade.

Did I not plant a fertile seed?

Something's wrong I'm afraid.

 

Then clouds of doubt began to sprout

For a shoot there was no trace.

But underground it all was well

For a miracle was taking place.

 

But in my haste and impatience

I began poking all around;

Looking for some evidence

Of growth there underground.

 

Then I disturbed the fragile roots

And the new life in the soil.

All because of unbelief

A miracle I had foiled.

 

Then Jesus gave me insight

How this is like my faith:

That often when I'm praying

I grow impatient in the wait.

 

When all along the answer

Was about to come breaking through.

If only I had persisted,

Remained steadfast and true.

 

For faith is not based on evidence

Of those things that I can see,

But it holds on to the promises

That Christ has promised me.

 

For faith is much like sowing

And God's Word is the seed.

 You can be sure to reap a harvest

God is so faithful indeed.

Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.



 

 



Giants and Grasshoppers

Giants and Grasshoppers

By George Thurlow

 

 

The Bible tells us of 12 men

Sent out to act as spies;

To investigate the Promise Land

And what lay over the other side.

 

 When they had returned to camp

Ten had tales of woe:

Evil reports, unbelief

And talk of giant foes.

 

But two of a different spirit

Had faith and trust in God.

"Let us go and possess it"

"God has promised us Canaan's sod".

 

Ten lacked spiritual vision

And were men of little faith.

They perceived themselves as grasshoppers;

Believed the odds were just too great.

 

Their lack of faith displeased the Lord

With their murmurings and complaints.

They were sent back to the wilderness

For a forty year long wait.

 

There's a lesson here that we must learn,

To trust in God's own might:

Not looking at the circumstance,

But to walk by faith not sight.

 

When God declares a promise

We can rely on what was heard.

For God is not a liar

Trustworthy is His Word.

 

Look at life through eyes of faith

Grasshoppers never be.

Conquer every giant

And possess all God's given thee.


Numbers 13:30-33

³⁰ And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.
³¹ But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.
³² And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature.
³³ And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.

 

 

 

 

 

 



Sermon In A Winter Harbor

 

 

 

Sermon In A Winter Harbor

By George Thurlow

 

I watched a harbor ice cake

Drifting down river with the tide;

Slowly inching towards the shore

Without progress though it tried.

 

For every time it neared the shore

A wave would wash it back:

 At the mercy of the current strong

For its own power it did lack.

 

It's goal was to reach the pleasant beach

But the tide was too strong for it.

It had no way to direct itself

And reach the sandy spit.

 

Then the waters suddenly rippled

As a breeze began to blow.

The boats in the harbor swung about

With their bows now facing out.

 

Soon the drifting ice cake

Was driven by greater force

And sailed along without effort

Coming to rest upon the shore.

 

How similar in our lives,

 Good intentions there may be,

 Without the power of the Holy Ghost

We're only drifting in the sea.

 

The current of this earthly life

Would try to drag us out to sea,

Were it not for the Spirit's power

Available to you and me.

 

We can reach our destination

And accomplish mighty goals;

As we yield to the Holy Spirit

And give Him complete control.

 

 This poem was inspired as I was sitting in my van having fellowship with the Lord at the mouth of the Saco River at Camp Ellis one February morn. As I watched the diving ducks and floating ice cakes, the struggle of this one particular ice cake caught my attention. The Lord spoke to me through this scene.

 

 

 

 

 

 



An Ocean Of Tears

 

 

An Ocean Of Tears

By George Thurlow

 

 

Today while walking on the beach

My heavenly Father shared with me,

The burden He has within His heart

And the grief we rarely see.

 

He allowed me just a little taste

Of the pain He feels within;

The longing He has inside His heart

To set men free from sin.

 

My eyes were fixed on the ocean waves

While sitting on the shore,

When sadness overwhelmed me

And the tears began to pour.

 

He told me that the oceans

Were all the tears He's ever shed,

For every soul that refused His Son

And went their own way instead.

 

How He longs together us under His wing;

He loves each and everyone.

Through the precious Blood of Christ

He invites us all to come.

 

He watches for His prodigal sons

To come walking through the gate.

His eyes are ever gazing

With arms open He sits and waits.

 

And every time one turns away

He sheds another tear.

His pain is never ceasing

As they turn away and sneer.

 

This made me forget my loneliness

Knowing what God goes through:

 For even my heavenly Father

Feels pain and rejection too.



 Isaiah 53:3-5

³ He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
⁴ Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
⁵ But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

 

 Luke 15:18-24
¹⁸ I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,
¹⁹ And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.
²⁰ And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
²¹ And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.
²² But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put [it] on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on [his] feet:
²³ And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill [it]; and let us eat, and be merry:
²⁴ For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

Flourishing In The Fire

 

 

 

 

Flourishing In The Fire  By George Thurlow In the fury of the devil's rage As the flames leap higher and higher, Saints abound with joyous sound And flourish in the fire. As evil pervades and our rights do fade In attempt to snuff out faith, The Spirit flows and the Wind does blow And we're blessed with greater Grace. As the days grow dark, and the time runs short And we near the final hour, In the midst of heat...no defeat Through the Holy Ghost and power. Though the ungodly reign, who hate the name Of our Savior Jesus Christ, We're not ashamed, and will proclaim Salvation, healing, life! Daniel 3: 16-18 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.  But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. Daniel 3:24-27 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellers, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire. And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counsellers, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.



Temperance Prayer

 

 

Temperance Prayer

By George Thurlow

 

 

Lord, thank you for this self control;

So far I'm doing well.

No sinful bite has passed these lips

I am so pleased to tell.

 

No devil dog or twinkie,

Nor sugar ladened pop,

Nacho chips or pretzels;

Yes, no forbidden slop.

 

This time I'm going to do it.

So far I am ahead.

I know I'll be sucessful

Even after I get out of bed.


1 Corinthians 10:31
"Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."

Sermon At The Seashore

 

Sermon At The Seashore
By George Thurlow 

Today I took a walk with Christ
Along the sandy shore,
Talking as we strolled along
Above the ocean's roar.

Revelation came to me
As He began to teach,
Through objects at the waters edge
In a sermon on the beach.

Soon I spied a storm tossed stone
Polished from the water churning.
The rough edges were all worn away
To a smooth texture it was turning.

My son this stone is just like you;
Your rough edges are wearing away.
Through the trials and tests of life
You will be smooth one day. *1

As further down the strand we strolled
My smile turned upside down
Thinking of His faithfulness
And of the times I let Him down.

But Jesus knew my every thought
And said now look at this,
Pointing to the ocean waves
His sea of forgetfulness!  *2

Tears began to fill my eyes
As I felt His wondrous love.
His warmth radiated through me
Just like the morning sun.

Then I noticed a button
Half buried in the sand.
I knew another lesson
Was lying close at hand.

Jesus said, "Now think my son".
"What's this button all about?"
I pondered for a moment
Till I figured it out.

A button is a fastener
And that's what I need to do.
Stay fastened to my Savior
The one steadfast and true.

I had such a glorious morning
Great fellowship with my Lord.
The seaside delivered a sermon
Without speaking a single word.


        *1.   2 Corinthians 3:18
"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."
 
*2.     Micah 7:19
¹⁹ He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

This poem was written about a fellowship walk I had with the Lord on Old Orchard Beach early one Sunday morning prior to going church.
           

 

 

 



Rainbow Rebellion

Rainbow Rebellion By George Thurlow God gave man the rainbow For a covenant and a sign, A reminder of His promise And His mercy for all times. And in the sky He hung it, This masterpiece of His; But the devil, the destroyer Has made it all perverse. It's now become a banner, A symbol of sin and shame, An abomination and open mockery Of God's Holy name. It's an emblem of rebellion, The celebration of a sin... Serving the same purpose As thumbing a nose at Him. Still a symbol of God's mercy Even for the sodomite. God welcomes any sinner Who wants his heart made right. Even in open defiance, In darkness and disgrace, God extends His hand of mercy Offering love and grace. To the forgiven, a sign of blessing, But for those who stay perverse, Personal choice, non-repentance Brings on judgment and a curse. Genesis 9:11-17 11 And I will establish my covenant with you, neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. 12 And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: 13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. 14 And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: 15 And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. 17 And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.

 

 



Fit For A King

 

 

 

Fit For A King

By George Thurlow

 

The day is fast approaching;

I can feel it in the air.

The Spirit is calling us everyone

To get our lives prepared.

 

We need to clean up our temples

So the Holy Ghost can flow,

And to air out the mustiness

As on the day the east wind blows.

 

Open up the doors and windows

So the Spirit can sweep our souls.

Allow in fresh air and Son shine

Let Him have supreme control.

 

It is time to do fall cleaning

For the hour it is late.

Get rid of spots and wrinkles

There is no time to waste.

 

Humble ourselves on bended knees;

That's how our lives are scrubbed:

Putting in some effort,

Elbow grease and rub.

 

Let us throw out the worldliness,

The garbage and the trash.

Let us be like polished mirrors

Not streaked murky glass.

 

Lord give us the white glove test

And seek out all hidden dust.

For the day is fast approaching

And to be ready is a must.

 

Prepare our hearts fit for a King

So we won't be ashamed.

On the day He comes to takes us

We can shout and praise His name!

 Ephesians 5:27

 That he might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.