NO WONDER

In these days of rampant moral degradation,
When right and wrong depend on the situation,
And there's chaos and confusion in education
And a plethora of other problems in every nation;
When those who are fools are thought to be wise,
And society's disintegrating before our eyes;
When truth is elusive, clouded by lies;
When deaf ears are turned to misery's cries;
When wise men's voices are either hushed or stilled
And millions of babies are being killed,
Their innocent blood so callously spilled
While Satan's armies are groomed and drilled;
When no one seems to know which way to turn;
When those with intelligence don't want to learn
Because failure is no longer a cause for concern;
When the men from the women it's hard to discern;
When so many are burned out from coping with stress;
When being mediocre outranks being the best;
When so many are living without God to bless,
It's really no wonder that the world's such a mess.

a. franklin staples

June 15-27, 1993

Copyright © 1993 by A. Franklin Staples

...WE HAVE A BUILDING OF GOD, AN HOUSE NOT MADE WITH HANDS, ETERNAL IN THE HEAVENS. ( 2 CORINTHIANS 5:1b)

ONE THAT IS NOT MADE WITH HANDS...

I look not to a building of human design,
One made from an architect's plan,
But a building eternal in heaven is mine,
One that is not made with hands.

I am not all bound up in a structure of wood
Or one made of glass, metal or stone,
But there's a building of God for those washed in the Blood,
Built by the Lord for His own.

I'm not really concerned about a building down here
For such structures must all pass away,
And all of their glory will fade, disappear;
Not one thing about them will stay.

It's the building eternal in heaven, dear friend,
That this pilgrim is longing to see;
The one that's forever, in a world without end —
Ah! That is the building for me.

a. franklin staples

June 20-21, 1993

THE WORD OF THE LORD IS SUFFICIENT

The Word of the Lord is sufficient;—
There's no need to add or delete;
Yes, the Word of the Lord is sufficient —
In Itself, it is perfect, complete.

The Word of the Lord is sufficient
To take care of that which we need
If we will but search through its precepts
And give what is written there heed.

The Word of the Lord is sufficient
As a Guide to living and life; —
There is no other instruction to follow.
God's Word alone leads aright.

The Word of the Lord is sufficient
As a guide from the cradle to grave
For it tells of Jesus the Saviour
Who came both to seek and to save.

The Word of the Lord is sufficient.
It tells of the Christ of the cross
Who paid sin's price with His own blood
To redeem mankind who was lost.

Yes, the Word of the Lord is sufficient!
God is its Author, that's sure.
It is not temporal, but eternal —
'Twill forever and ever endure.

a. franklin staples



January 22, 1994

Copyright © 1994 by A. Franklin Staples

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

"Under Construction," the highway sign said.
'Tis a sign, I admit, that fills me with dread —
The roadway ahead's likely rocky and rough
And driving that way will no doubt be tough.

"Under Construction": there's no other way,
To make the road better, so come whatever may
We'll drive through the potholes and suffer the dust.
Until it's completed, endure it we must.

"Under Construction" is this Temple called man
Who has stepped out with Jesus to follow God's
plan;
'Twill not be completed 'til this life's race is run; —
We're just "under construction" here "under the sun".

"Under Construction", as yet incomplete,
Still prone to sin and distress and defeat;
But when ever we stumble, God's hand reaches down
To steady our walk and point the Way to the Crown.

"Under Construction", with all that entails;
Though we often falter, Our God never fails.
He'll mould us and make us, as a potter the clay,
For we're going through Jesus, the Life, Truth, and Way.

a. franklin staples


August 15-28, 1993 - January 21, 1994


Copyright © 1994 by A. Franklin Staples

He Giveth Me Songs In the Night

Blessed be the Lord God, my Maker
Who giveth me songs in the night;
Jehovah— the Almighty — Creator,
The Giver and Sustainer of life.

Oftimes as I lay awake in my bed,
God giveth me songs in the night,
And sometimes the urge to record them
Won’t wait until morning light.

I cannot say that He speaks to me
In words that I can hear,
But in the darkness of night’s quiet solitude,
Of His presence I’m very aware.

When my heart is attuned to His voice,
And I’m walking by faith, not by sight,
The Lord comes softly into my room
And He giveth me songs in the night.

a. franklin staples
December 15, 1998

© 1998 by A. Franklin Staples

But none saith, Where is God my maker, who giveth songs in the night;    (Job 35:10 KJV)

The Artistic Touch

Brushes and pencils and pens and ink,
Canvas and paper and such
Are the tools of the artist, his "stock-in-trade",
Along with the artistic touch.

To be an artist is to view the world
In a way that few others do;
Artists see things that others miss,
And bring them into view.

An artist's touch is not in the hand
But is rather found in the mind,
For an artist can draw with mouth, hand or foot,
And can "see" with eyes that are blind.

An artist can hear sounds that are not yet made,
Play music that has never been heard,
And convey to others what he or she wants to "say"
Without ever speaking a word.

An artist can take us back in time
And show us things long past,
Or interpret the present, the world of our day,
Pose questions that beg to be asked.

An artist can bring stories in books to life,
Cause things unseen to be seen,
Create creatures and visions of fantastic things
On paper or canvas or screen.

An artist can show us what the camera cannot,
For a camera must needs have been there
To record the event or the scene at the time,
And it has no insights to share.

a. franklin staples

Autumn, 1993-June 20, 1994
Copyright © 1994 by a. franklin staples

GOD HAS AT LEAST ONE MORE THAN WE'LL FIND!

When we look at the night sky and marvel thereat,
View the glory and the brightness of the stars,
We look back to a time that has long since gone past
Though it seems we don't see very far.

'Tis not to the end but to the beginning we look,
For all that we see is before;
We see all the stars as they were long ago:
They may not even be there any more!

The farther man penetrates the vastness of space,
The farther he looks back in time,
And the more that he ponders the mysteries there,
The more he's faced with the sublime.

The dimensions of the universe are more than we know,
Far more than length, width, height and time;
And whatever the dimensions we may find it to have,
God has at least one more than we'll find!


a. franklin staples

July 7, 1996

Copyright © 1996 by A. Franklin Staples


TOO WEAK AND TOO SMALL

Our concept of God is too weak and too small.
Why, many don't believe there's a God at all,
And those who do, it's sad to say,
Would rather follow their own than walk in His Way!

He's our Master, our Saviour, our Redeemer and Friend,
Yet He's Almighty God before whom every knee must bend.
His thoughts are not our thoughts and ours are not His,
For 'tis He that has made us and all that there is.

Too high are His thoughts for our feeble minds;
Our thoughts are earthy while His are sublime.
He's the Creator of everything — earth, stars, sky and sea —
But He died on a cross to redeem you and me.

a. franklin staples



Copyright © 1996 by A. Franklin Staples

Are You Caught in the Current of Time?

The first two lines of this poem came to me "out of the blue" in the wee hours of this morning.


Are you caught in the current of time,
Just being swept along by its tide?
Is your life without reason or rhyme?
Do you just feel empty inside?
Time's river is no gentle stream,
Although it may sometimes seem so,
But so often we're willing, it seems,
To just go along with the flow.
When its ripples turn into wild torrents
As it careens its wild course to the sea,
Then we frantically search for deliverance
Where the water's serene and at peace.
But even when the water seems tranquil,
As peaceful and serene as can be,
It still flows steadily onward
Until it merges with eternity's sea.
Our frail bark is in need of a Captain
Who knows every channel and shoal,
Who can guide us safely through danger
And bring blessed peace to the soul.
The Captain that we each need is Jesus,
He who died on the cross for man's sin,
For He's traveled time's river before us
And knows it from beginning to end.

a. franklin staples

May 21, 1996

Copyright © 1996 by A. Franklin Staples

Nothing of Hell Doth Satan Know...

In his mainly very informative and useful book, The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis, in a number of places, has senior devil Screwtape refer to Satan as "our Father".  That is an error.  Satan is many things, including the "prince of the power of the air", the "adversary", "that old dragon", the "ruler of this present world", and so on, but the only thing that he is described as being the father of in God's Word is lies!


Nothing of hell doth Satan know
Save what is written, my friend.
He only knows what God has revealed
Of his fate at the time of the end.
Yes, Satan still roams the face of this earth
As a lion in search of a prey,
But his time's getting short, his actions more desperate,
As the seconds keep ticking away.
Though he has great power to deceive and disrupt,
Omnipotent he's certainly not,
For he's only a creature, once the most beautiful,
And God gave him the power he's got.
He's not omnipresent, as some people believe —
He can't be, all the time, everywhere;
Though perhaps he can travel with a speed close to light,
He can't bear to stand in its glare.
Only God knows all from beginning to end;
Only God is everywhere all the time.
Satan, the creature, is a wandering spirit;
To what's yet to come he is blind.
He studies the scriptures, knows them full well,
And his demons study them, too,
Fearing and trembling at what they read there
As they wonder what God's going to do.
Satan's not master of that place that's called hell;
That's just another one of his lies:
Hell's something he fears above everything else
For it signals his certain demise.
Hell doesn't exist yet but it's being prepared;
No demons dance there with glee;
It's a place that they fear above everything else,
A torment from which they would flee,
But flee it they can't, as they fully well know,
For they've taken the time to look
At their Judgment that's written and the Sentence pronounced
On the pages of God's wonderful Book.

a. franklin staples


Copyright © 1996 by A. Franklin Staples

Walk Ye In the Old Paths

Thus saith the LORD, stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. [Jeremiah 6:16a]


Walk ye in the old paths, the paths of long ago.
The path that's straight and narrow is the way we ought to go.
The Lord Himself has said it, that we should walk therein,
For those that stray far from it walk in the way of sin.
The Guide that we must follow is the steadfast Word of God,
For it leads us safely onward if upon that Way we trod.
Don't follow every shepherd that would have you follow on;
Take care that your Good Shepherd is Jesus Christ, God's Son.
He only is the Master, who died for one and all,
And rose again to save us, if upon His name we call.
By grace He gives salvation when hell's what we deserve;
He is the God who made us and Him only we must serve.


a. franklin staples


Copyright © 1996 by A. Franklin Staples



Put the “Busy Work” Away!

We get too involved in "busy work".
Let's put the "busy work" away.
Take time to read God's Holy Word,
To meditate and pray.

Some people turn to "busy work"
To take their mind off things.
Let's get our minds off "busy work",
Start serving the King of kings.

If you really want some "busy work"
That's really worth the time,
Start serving Christ with all your soul
And all your heart and mind.


a. franklin staples


Copyright © 1996 by A. Franklin Staples

In This Quiet Place of Prayer

Lord, I need this time alone with Thee
In this quiet place of prayer,
Though, Lord, I know that where e'er I be,
Thou wilt be with me there.

I come to Thy throne of grace, dear God,
To thank Thee for Thy Son
Who died for me upon the cross.
Praise God!  The vict'ry's won!

I need not worry, Lord, nor fret,
For my salvation is assured
Through Him who shed His blood for me,
Jesus Christ, my blessed Lord.

Dear God, I thank Thee for my wife
Who has walked close by my side,
And for the past blessed sixty plus years
That she has been my bride.

I thank Thee, Lord, for life and breath
And food, and clothes to wear;
And thanks to Thee, dear heavenly Father,
For Thy great love and care.

I thank Thee for the children
By whom our home's been blessed,
And for Thy patience with me, Lord,
For so oft I've failed the test.

When my faith is weak, and I've stumbled, Lord,
And stepped outside Thy will,
Yet Thy strong arm hath lifted me
And Thy hand hath held me still.

Forgive me, Lord, for those times I've slipped
And failed to look to Thee,
But tried to get through by myself.
Thanks, Lord, for helping me.

And now, dear Lord, I pray for those
Whose names I've written down,
For friends and family, neighbours, too;
For lost souls all around.

May I truly be a witness, Lord,
For Jesus in this place;
To tell how He died and rose again,
And of Thy saving grace.

So, Lord, I need this time with Thee
In this quiet place of prayer,
For here I can talk with Thee alone
And cares and blessings share.

a. franklin staples

Originally written in 1996. Updated 2017
Copyright © 2017 by A. Franklin Staples

Sin's Much More Than Garbage!

Sin's much more than garbage,
For garbage is but waste.
Sin keeps the soul apart from God
And closes Heaven's gates.

Yes, Sin's much more than garbage!
It is cancer of the soul,
And unless it's taken from us,
We cannot be well and whole.

We, of ourselves, are helpless;
There's nothing we can take
To take away sin's cancer
Nor restitution make.

Sin's much more than garbage!
It cannot be thrown away.
Only God could pay the debt of sin
And take its curse away.

A garbage collector we do not seek
When it's a doctor we must have.
Only God's Son, the Great Physician,
Can cure all our sin and shame.


a. franklin staples

March 10, 1996

Copyright © 1996 by A. Franklin Staples


Oh, My Lord!  What a Crutch!

The worldly philosophers, in ignorant bliss,
Sneer that Christ is a crutch.
What they don't know is that He certainly is.
But oh, my Lord!  What a Crutch!

Without Him not one of us could even take a step.
He gives us life by His touch.
He holds us up through each step, then the next.
Oh, my Lord!  What a Crutch!

When I, in my weakness, can't make it alone,
'Tis He who holdeth me up.
His power sustains me; I'd be lost on my own.
Oh, my Lord!  What a Crutch!

Jesus is the One on whom I can lean.
Oh, my Lord!  What a Crutch!
He went to the cross my soul to redeem.
He loves you and me that much.


a. franklin staples

March 10-12, 1996

Copyright © 1996 by A. Franklin Staples

Too Often, We Take For Granted

Too often, it seems, we take for granted
The great things that the Lord God has done,
How He's blessed and He's guided us, chastised and chided us,
How He's saved us from sin through His Son;
How He gave of Himself on Calvary's cross,
Shed His own blood that we might become
Part of His family, joint heirs with Jesus,
And what wretched lives He's saved us from.
We're not grateful enough for the way God has led;
We don't sorrow enough over sin;
We don't shed enough tears of joy and of gratitude
For the great love that God has for all men.
We're so stiff and so proper, with our "stiff upper lip",
That we can't say "Hallelujah" or sing
The praises of Jesus, our Lord and our Saviour,
The great Lamb of God, and our King.



a. franklin staples
February 22, 1996

Copyright © 1996 by A. Franklin Staples




What If God's Trumpet Should Sound Today?

As I looked out my window at noon today
At the cloudy brightness of the eastern sky,
This thought crossed my mind as I looked that way:
What if God's trumpet should sound today?

What if the Archangel's voice should be heard today,
And the Lord Himself be in those clouds,
Coming at last, as the Scriptures say —
Yes, what if God's trumpet should sound today?

What if God's trumpet should sound today
And the Lord Jesus should come for His bride?
Would you be among the saints He will catch away?
What if God's trumpet should sound today?

For it will surely sound, yes, one of these days,
And the Lord Himself shall descend from above
With a mighty shout, as the trumpet plays.
What if God's trumpet should sound today?


a. franklin staples
March 5, 1996


Copyright © 1996 by A. Franklin Staples