Dissention…Reporting for Duty

Here I am boss

Reporting for duty

Have I got a good report for you

The assignment you gave

I executed with ease

As I got those tongues wagging

That place which seeks to be a beacon on a hill

Reflecting the Light of the world

Instead grew a little dimmer today

I started with those who are idle

Who have the time to talk

In no time at all…the seed of gossip blossomed

The trick is

When they are talking about others

They don’t have time to read the word of God

When they are negative and brooding

Completely lacking the joy of the Lord

They are not taking every thought captive

When they spend time

Debating about which songs should be sung

They don’t have the time to worship their Lord

When they set aside the diligent study of the Bible

How can they hold it up

To examine themselves in light of God’s word

When the rest on their laurels

Feel comfortable in their accomplishments

They won’t desire a fresh work of God in their life

When they fail to trust and respect

The leaders whom God raised up

A negative critical spirit takes its place

When they attempt to love on their own power

They will be unable to bear all things, nor hope and believe

Their love will never endure on its own

Some I will lure into exhaustion

Through pressing needs, good works and few helping hands

It’s there I will stir up resentment

May they bow their knee to their Lord

But never their will

There they can rest in a false sense of piety

Oh hater of their soul

The fruits of our labor

Are plentiful and abundant

May they never see it

Or recognize the handwriting of our work

It’s there we can turn them against one another

Render ineffective their witness

When they are focused on one another

They won’t remember to take the gospel to the lost and dying world

by Susan Bunts

September 23, 2008

Invisible

I am the nameless, faceless one

You seek to avoid

You see me coming down the street

And look down or walk the other way

Sometimes I mutter to myself

For there is no one else to listen or who cares

When I stand behind you in the checkout line

You hold your breath

It’s been…I don’t know how long

Since I’ve had a warm shower or put on clean clothes

Of course I know I stink

Thankfully after a while I became immune to the smell

Shame should be my name

Would it be better if I had never been born

My family doesn’t even know

If I’m dead or alive

There’s no means to contact me

No phone to pick up or place to drop by

Would they even recognize me

If they passed me on the street

Society thought they did good

In giving me the right to choose

Take my medication

Or be locked up for my own good

Do tell…how can someone not in their right mind

Make a rational decision

Even though you pass me by

With nary a look or a smile sent my way

No matter how hard you try to pretend I’m not…

I am here

By Susan Bunts

September 17, 2008

For a Season

Oh Lord, in these days
The place where we meet
Has been denied me for a season


My soul longs for
Cries out
For our time to connect


You have answered my prayers
Given me my heart’s desire
In ways that are more than I can ask or imagine


Yet that place where we meet
Where my mind processes all that is going on
Has been held at bay


It’s been replaced
By busyness and plans
That will soon come to fruition


But it’s in writing
That I reflect
So clearly see Your presence in my life


It’s when my fingers strike the keyboard
That I work through the emotions
Through the grid of Your Word and the Holy Spirit’s leading


As much as I love my betrothed
Look forward with eager anticipation to that day when we become one
My heart cries out and I long for You, Oh God


May I never say
My name is Ichabod
That the glory of the Lord has departed from my life


May I be mindful
Of Your presence in my life
Your leading, Your guidance, Your tender correction


There are not enough sermons
Nor Bible studies attended
That can take the place of time spend with You


Oh God…carry me through this season
Restore unto me the time and place
And let us meet once again…daily commune


Until then God
Carry me, enable me, strengthen me…bring me through
To that private place where we meet again, one day face to face



Susan Bunts
September 16, 2008

Victory

Tonight, the Lord enabled me

To snatch victory from the jaws of the enemy

When I heard the word…a smile crossed my lips

“Yes Lord…forgive”

The battle began early

I felt pummeled…assaulted on every side

Relentless…unending

Subtle…but it was an effective attack

Who would recognize it

Trace it back…to the enemy

Who would recognize the handwriting

Scripted by the hater of my soul

It felt like a war

The enemy was on every front

It left me wounded and numb

Spent…barely able to lift my head

Then the "piece of resistance"

Words wielded…left me battered and bloody

Oh Lord…just get me through this day

Help me to not respond in kind

Understanding their true nature

Brought no comfort

Knowledge that they are but a puppet of the enemy

Was not a healing balm to my soul

But in the quiet…at the end of the day

I came to the end of my reserves

It was there that the Holy Spirit reminded me

Of my “new nature” in Christ

He’s the One

When He whispered the word, “Forgive”…peace filled my soul

He’s the One who will enable me to return the arena

Enter where the prowling lions seek to devour me

Yet I fear not…for He is the One

Who will shut tight the jaws that would otherwise crush me

Tonight…the Holy Spirit within

Enabled me to forgive

In doing so He snatched victory

From the deadly jaws of Satan

A powerful and effective foe to a created one

But a defeated foe to the Kind of kings and Lord of lords

By Susan Bunts

September 9, 2008