A Word About Words

05 Feb 2025 Leave a comment

Words are my toys,
Words are my tools,
Useful for wisemen,
Misused by fools.
I’ve said it before, 
I’ll say it again,
Whether by tongue,
Or whether by pen,
Words can disable,
The strongest of men.
Yet, also they heal,
Bring kindness and peace,
Oh Lord, let me love all,
With words,
Straight from Thee.

I’m always amazed at God’s perfect use of words and how their meanings can be changed through human attempts at translation, interpretation, and paraphrasing. One verse that comes to mind is Isaiah 9:6 in the King James Version : 
6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Jesus, the Messiah in this verse, is prophesied to “be called” five different names.  The first name is “Wonderful”, where Wonderful, appears as an abstract noun.
In more recent translations such as the New International Version, it looks this way:
6 For to us a child is born,
    to us, a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
    And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
In the latter translation, “Wonderful” is an adjective modifying “Counselor”, attributing Jesus with only four names. Because of the placement of one small comma, the meaning of the verse is quite different.
I happen to like the King James Version the most. To me, Jesus IS Wonderful in name and in truth!
He is the embodiment of wonder and, in Him, I am completely filled with wonder!
What do you think, dear Reader?

 

 

Image by Gloryteller

Good Friday – The Expense of Safety

04 Apr 2015 2 Comments

by Gloryteller in Allegory, Christ, Christian Poetry, Christian Writing, Easter, Evangelism, God's Gifts, God's Glory, God's Grace, God's Love, Good News, Gospel, Hope, Inspirational Writing, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Life, Love, Metaphor, Personal Testimony, Redemption, Salvation, Thankfulness and Gratitude Tags: , , , , , , ,

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A Good Friday Story –
The Expense of Safety

The ferry to safety was ready to depart.
Special admission only.
One stringent ticket stand
With a long line.
I had not the standing,
Nor the price of admission.
I stood forlorn in fear that
I would be tortured and killed.
Then a Man stepped up.
He gave me His ticket with a smile.
And just in time!
He paid my price!
I stood astonished,
Forgetting even to thank Him,
As they cruelly restrained Him,
Beat Him down,
Dragged Him away
To what fate I couldn’t know,
Didn’t want to guess. . .
In horror, I watched
As I walked backward
And stepped onto the departing boat.
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

The Psalm That Is Music To My Soul

02 Nov 2014 4 Comments

*  *  *  *
*  *  *
*  *
!

Hallelujah!!!
   Have I found my defining verses?
 My life statement?
My heart’s fondest song? 
There are so many to choose from, but I think this one was chosen for me.
May I quote it for you?  
OK, I will.

Psalm 57:7-11  :

“My heart is steadfast, O God,
my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and make music.
Awake, my soul !
Awake, harp and lyre !
I will awaken the dawn.
I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
I will sing of You among the people.
For great is Your love reaching to the heavens;
Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
Let Your glory be over all the earth.”

Ohhh, 
I pause,
breathless in absolute wonder of it . . .

Do you have a Bible verse, or set of verses that define your life,
or are your heart’s fondest song? 
Please share them with all of us. 
  We will be blessed to hear them!
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

 

Image by Gloryteller

Cold Without You – Song of Despair

18 Jan 2014 Leave a comment


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
* * * * *
* * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
φ

Cold Without You

( Vaerse 1 )

What cold, hard stone where I lie,
What bitter womb is this ice,
Bears me down into despair,
The colder that you’re not here,
Don’t seem to be anywhere,
So . . lonely . . . cold.

( Chaurus )

Oh! Have I been a hope-struck fool,
To wait for you,
To make me whole,
Be everything,
To warm my soul,
Thaw my heart –
Make it sing?

2.

How hard the isolation,
I always thought that you’d come,
To take me into the sun,
Before my time is undone,
I can’t endure alone,
So . . broken . . . cold.

( Chaurus 2 )

Here I lay naked on this stone,
My tired bones,
Count all the loss,
Dark, empty cold,
Where have I gone?
What have I done?
Why won’t you come?

3.

Oh! Once I thought I had you.
Soul’s Joy! Just knew I had you,
Was close, but not the real you . . .
Left with nothing all too soon,
How I suffer without you.
So . . shattered . . . cold.

(Chaurus 3 )

I dream it’s warmer where you are,
Won’t you come take me there,
The real you,
The depth of you,
The joy of you,
The weight of you,
I’m . . fading . . . ( soon . . . . ).

4.

Where is the place that you are,
How sad I dream it’s not far,
I sometimes feel you are near,
Cry out, but you never hear,
I’m entrapped in frozen tears,
So . . stranded . . . cold.

( Chaurus 4 )

The warm, rich tapestry of you,
From Elven loom,
My grasp eludes,
Cold, mocking moon,
His chill exudes,
What aching doom,
Rescue . . me . . . soon . . . .

5.

How numbing is this north wind,
How cutting through my pale skin,
How sharp, it pierces my heart,
This winter gnaws me apart,
Once was light, all is now dark,
So dim . . .
So . . . cold . . .

( Chaurus )

Oh! Have I been a hope-struck fool,
To wait for you ,
To make me whole,
Be everything,
To warm my soul,
Thaw my heart –
Make it sing?

6.

Oh! Solitary misery,
This hungry wind devours me,
Your loss and lack I mourn,
All else I could have borne,
How thin my fabric has worn,
So . . deathly . . . cold

( Chaurus )

The warm, rich tapestry of you,
From Elven loom,
My grasp eludes,
Cold, mocking moon,
His chill exudes,
What aching doom,
Rescue . .
me . . .
soon . . . .

*
*
*

© Len Snider, Gloryteller.com, 1-18-2014
All Rights Reserved

*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*,
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
**
**

Image by Gloryteller

What Does Your Heart Treasure? What Does It Hold?

18 Jan 2014 2 Comments

*
* * * * *
*
*
*
*

There is a chamber in every heart which is filled to overflowing with sorrow.
There is a larger chamber in every heart made to hold joy, but, unfortunately,
that vessel is oft-neglected, little used, only partially filled,
or sorrowfully empty.

* 

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

Image by Gloryteller

Evil Tries, Good God Triumphs

20 May 2013 1 Comment

~ ~ ~

Nowhere, Nothing, No-One, Never —

Of Trial and Triumph

~ ~ ~

There is nowhere
Evil can go
that Good can’t reach.

There is nothing
Evil can touch
that Good can’t redeem.

There is no-one
Evil can take
that Good can’t release.

There is not one life
Evil can chain
that Good has not the key.

~ ~ ~

~  ~  ~  ~

Image by Gloryteller

The Expense of Safety

29 Mar 2013 1 Comment

A Good Friday Offering

The sole ferry to safety was ready to depart.
Special admission only.
One solitary ticket stand.
Last chance.
I had not the standing,
Nor the price of admission.
I stood forlorn in fear,
I would certainly be tortured and killed.
Then a Man stepped up.
Radiating such undisguised love,
Unveiled compassion.
He gave me His own precious ticket with a smile.
No hesitation.
He paid my price.
Dooming Himself.
Bewildered, I caught hold of it.
I stood astonished,
Forgetting even to thank Him in my haste,
As they cruelly beat Him down,
Dragged Him away,
To what fate I couldn’t know,
Didn’t want to guess.
My fate . . .
In horror, I watched
As I walked backward
And, not nearly grateful enough,
Stepped onto the boat.

*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

Image by Gloryteller

Beyond My Understanding

02 Mar 2013 5 Comments

 Beyond My Understanding

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.    Proverbs 3:5

Way beyond my understanding.
All I know is
It was a miracle that remains
And the miracle was a gift
Delivered to crumbling doorstep
Outside my sagging door locked tight
Nailed shut,
Yet breached,
It sat inside on rotting floor
Shining to be opened.
To be believed past unbelief
By miracle, not my doing.

Gift

It is salvation wrapped in grace undeserved.
The gift of faith to see hope once unseen.
A new heart unchained
Full with compassion
And repentance like a changing wind.
Heart to feel abundant love long unfelt
And mirror eyes to see myself as I am seen
Then others too, the same.
And mercy, charity, a call to pray,
A heart to sing, a heart to praise,
Hands to raise, a Book to read
All unwrapped and taken out,

When gift, upon gift, inside gift, unveiled
Then took away all fears and doubts
Healed my aching soul complete
And full and whole, then more, and more
A heart to tell of gifts and Glory,
Of His Great Love,

Holding out poor offerings,
And gratitude, a heart of thanks, 
I thank you JESUS, thank you LORD!
That You should care for me.
To rebuild my house,
To give me gifts,
To give me Yourself.

Oh, Miracles beyond my dull understanding,
Though nothing is beyond Yours,
I can but sit in rejoicing gratitude.
And no better gift
Nor more precious treasure
Could forever enter
Through my splintered door.

Image by Gloryteller

I Will

19 Oct 2011 Leave a comment

Only look my way                                   

And I will love you

Like a whisper is to the shout

Of how Christ always has.

Only reach for me

And I will hold you close

Like a candle is to the furnace

Long kept aflame for you.

Only say the word

And I will lift your name to Heaven

Like one precious note is to His great symphony,

And these just a little like He will

When you say “YES”.

Image by Gloryteller

I Write, Therefore I Am

24 Aug 2011 6 Comments

To write what You reveal, dear Sir

Ere long I quit this place

Your plain, Your deep, bright, words to share

As long I walk this space

In stories ripe with metaphor

In poems filled with grace

My joy will be in hearts to stir

Until I see Your face

Image by Gloryteller

Remember The Son’s Screen

27 Jun 2011 4 Comments

Seek, my friend, the Son of Man.

Screen the sun, or roast like ham.

The Son can heal and save you if you ask.

The sun can peel and kill you if you bask.

Life or death upon demand.

Choose life and seek the Son of Man.

 

By C. Rantley  (My first attempt at a pome.  Hope y’all like it.  Sincerely, Cousin Chaff)

 

*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

*
*
*
*

Image by Gloryteller

Upstream Run

12 May 2011 4 Comments

by Gloryteller in Bible, Christian Fiction, Christian Music, Christian Poetry, Christianity, Evangelism, Faith, Fantasy fiction, God, God's Glory, Inspirational Music, Inspirational Writing Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

This brite post is a tribute to a good man, Les Wenger.  As husband, father, uncle, and friend, Les will be sorely missed.  The story “Upstream Run” was conceived to honor his memory.  Thanks to his family: Mary G., Diane, Andrea, Gerald, and Peter for their indispensable parts in the creation of this post.  Please go here to view Andrea and Peter’s  beautiful tribute.  Then click here to read my story, “Upstream Run” written to honor Les, and to glorify God.  Most of all, thank You my awesome Lord God for giving me so much.

Les Wenger

Things Beyond My Understanding

14 Apr 2011 2 Comments

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.    Proverbs 3:5

Way beyond my understanding.

All i know is

It was a miracle

And the miracle was a gift.

Delivered to crumbling doorstep

Outside my sagging door locked tight

Nailed shut.

Yet breached,

It sat inside on rotting floor

Shining to be opened.

To be believed past unbelief

By miracle, not my work.

Gift

It is salvation wrapped in grace undeserved.

The gift of faith to see hope once unseen.

A new heart unchained

Full with compassion

And repentance like a switching wind.

Heart to feel abundant love long unfelt

And eyes to see as i am seen

Then others too, the same.

And mercy, charity, a call to pray

A heart to sing, a heart to worship,

Hands to raise.

All unwrapped and taken out,

When gift, upon gift, inside gift, given

Then took away all fears and doubts

Healed my aching soul complete

And full and whole and more and more

A heart to tell of  gifts and Glory

Of  His Great Love,

And gratitude, a heart of thanks,

I thank you JESUS, thank you LORD!

That You should care for me,

To give me gifts,

Rebuild my house,

To give Yourself.

Miracles beyond my full understanding.

But nothing is beyond Yours!

Image by Gloryteller

The Psalm That Is Music To My Soul

31 Mar 2011 Leave a comment

*  *  *  *
*  *  *
*  *
!

Hallelujah!!!
   Have I found some of my defining verses?
 My life statement?
My heart’s fondest song? 
There are so many to choose from,
but I think this one was chosen for me.
May I quote it for you?  
OK, I will.

Psalm 57:7-11  :

“My heart is steadfast, O God,
my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and make music.
Awake, my soul !
Awake, harp and lyre !
I will awaken the dawn.
I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
I will sing of You among the people.
For great is Your love reaching to the heavens;
Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
Let Your glory be over all the earth.”

Ohhh, 
I pause,
breathless in absolute wonder of it . . .

Do you have a Bible verse, or set of verses that help to define your life,
or are your heart’s fondest song? 
Please share them with all of us. 
  We will be blessed to hear them!
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

 

Image by Gloryteller

A Step of Faith

12 Mar 2011 Leave a comment

Not long before I took my first step of real faith, my Lord sent me a messenger who graciously gave me this quotation:

“Nothing before, nothing behind; the steps of faith fall on the seeming void and find the rock beneath.”

John Greenleaf  Whittier

 

The ideas I found in that sentence so resonated in me that it was instrumental in my taking the first steps of faith.

I can only hope that this message will have that same effect on any special someone who may be staring into the void.

*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

Image by Gloryteller

Sing Glory! Glory to God in the Highest!

08 Mar 2011 1 Comment

There aren’t many who can write and sing of God’s glory with more heart than Keith and Kristyn Getty.  Many thanks to you both, and thank you to Bob Marshall, for uploading this beautiful video.   Hallelujah!

*

*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

Image by Gloryteller

In Desperation, I Prayed (Poem)

25 Feb 2011 Leave a comment

Todays foray into the world of  rhyme:

“In desperate prayer for someone else,

I brought the Lord unto myself.”

I so hope that i authored this and didn’t unwittingly and unintentionally steal it.  Sometimes one incorporates, subconsciously, obscure words one has seen, into one’s own thought processes.  Has anyone out there heard or seen it before?  I’m pretty sure it came from me because i worked on it!  If i didn’t originate it, maybe God wanted me to bring it back because it is an important concept.     I can’t find it after much searching on the Net.   I intend to post more on this subject, but for now, ponder the deep truth embedded in those two simple lines. Read more, here.

Image by Gloryteller

About The Music Links Below

I don't own, and have no claim on, these music videos. The following are simply links inside my website pointing back to the original locations of the videos. The names of the creators of these videos are cited wherever possible, and only "embedding-enabled" selections are used.

The Basic Christian Library

"Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis. This is fundamentally what Christianity is all about.

"The Case for Christ" by Lee Strobel. Another converted atheist presents His compelling case for believing in Jesus.

"Left To Tell" by Imaculee Ilibagiza. This profound work is her own extraordinary story of endurance, discovery of the Holy Spirit, grace, healing, and an astonishingly compelling account of the necessity for forgiveness.

Compelling Christian Fiction Reads

"The Circle" 4-book series by Ted Dekker.
A man is the bridge between two very different worlds. Sound familiar? Can he save both? This T.D. work is brilliant in my book.

"This Present Darkness" and "Piercing the Darkness" by Frank E. Peretti. Tales of spiritual warfare from a unique perspective. Stirred a small controversy, but sold millions. What are we Christians afraid of? Hey, it's fiction!

Copyright Licensing

Creative Commons License
gloryteller.wordpress.com, and all proprietary work found here, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

 Subscribe in a reader

Write Me Here:

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 482 other subscribers

My Signature Story

"I AM NOT MY OWN" is the piece that inspired the building of this site. It is the story that this site, as well as my life, is centered around. This letter to you is the one i would most like for you to read out of all the ones you will find here, because it describes how profoundly the works of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit can change one human life.

For Your Reading Enjoyment, This Is Like A Park, Use It, Enjoy It, and Leave Everything Where You Found It.

The content here's not to be used,

But to only be read and perused.

If you copy it off,

My lawyer's not soft,

And your fortune is mine - you got sued!

Gloryteller :-)