Apocalyptic Hope
Lori pg 1 ...... Lori pg 2
Poems
of Hope and Ecouragement
From the collection of
Poems
by Lori Fiechter
"Glow in
the Dark Christians"
http://www.onlyinternet.net/lori/
http://www.parlorcity.com/lori
lori1960@onlyinternet.net
" I believe
with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah,
and though He tarry, nevertheless do I believe."
Maimonides
Theme: OUR
BLESSED HOPE
"and the glorious appearing of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ"-- Titus 2:13
A Song of Cold Rain
(Hosea 6:3, Habakkuk 2:3)
A song of cold rain
Instead of bright sunshine,
Deliverance comes in a manner
unsought.
For the vision is fading
and the coals have gone cold
And there comes yet more
waiting,
More patience of thought.
But Lord, when You come
All our tears are forgotten,
And all the discomforts
of hopes that went dry.
When You come, like the rain,
Long-awaited and longed-for
We will lift up our faces and
cry,
We will shout in surprise at that sky!
Lord, You had never forgotten
us!
You bent down and listened,
We looked up and sighed.
And now, You say " Come! "
and
no tether can hold us--
We fling every bauble aside;
We cast every earth-weight aside
and we rise.
lori fiechter
3-19-05
If I am wearied by
footmen,
by the minor setbacks and
small trials,
how can I contend with
horses?
If I can't see past the pebble,
where is the vision to cross
the mountain?
What do I lack? What
do I need?
courage?
perseverance?
faith? discipline
and conditioning?
"Run the race
with patience."
How? How can I?
My heart quails at the very sight of the racetrack.
Look.
Look up ahead.
No, not just at the finish line.
Look
at the Runner on the throne,
The winner of the
crown,
by way of the Cross.
Take
courage from His encouragement,
Strength
by His power,
And run your own race.
lori fiechter
2-24-05
http://www.onlyinternet.net/lori/
We Walk in Hope
We don't know how long the
road is;
We just walk it to the end.
We keep on walking expectantly, heads up, walking in hope.
We do not sit down in protest because our feet are sore;
We do not get sidetracked by
better-traveled roads;
We do not look back.
We are on the right road
and so we walk it
with joyful anticipation
and quiet confidence
and stedfast assurance.
We walk this road in hope,
And we will walk it to the end.
lori fiechter
4-30-04
I Corinthians 13:12; Romans
8:24,25; Hebrews 6:18,19;
Psalm 42:8; Hebrews 12:2; I Thessalonians 4
This Side of the Grave
On this side of the
grave
the mirror is dark;
We don't see You plainly.
On this side of the grave,
We are walking by faith;
as You teach us to trust You.
Yes, our vision is
dim
On this side of the grave;
as we walk by the light
that you give us each hour.
With our nearsighted eyes,
we have but veiled glimpses
of Your majesty, glory, and power.
On this side
of the grave,
We are walking by faith,
We can't see You, Lord.
On this side of the grave
We are living in hope,
For we love You, and we praise You
from this side of the grave.
Still we
wait for the time
and we cling to the hope
that anchors us steadfast,
that carries us on:
When we lift up our eyes,
and the veil of the skies is rent open
And we thrill to the shout,
to the voice that calls out,
Come on home now!
And HIs Face
will erase
all the deafness and blindness and doubt
that plagued us
from this side of the grave.
lori fiechter
2-14-05
short
version : This Side of the Grave
On this side of
the grave
the mirror is dark;
There is only enough light
and grace
for the hour.
From this side of the
grave,
we have but
veiled glimpses, O Lord,
of Your majesty, glory, and
power.
But we
wait for the time
and we
cling to the hope
that
anchors us steadfast;
We
sing in the dark!
From this side of the grave
We offer our praises to You.
We lift up our eyes
and we look to You,
and we look for You
as we wait
from this side of the grave.
lori fiechter
2-14-05
This
Corruptible
( I Corinthians 15 )
This corruptible waits,
anticipates,
Waits for the trumpet
that changes everything.
This weary heart listens
and allows itself to dream
the "what if's".
What if today
the gears will mesh,
the clock strikes midnight,
the time is fulfulled?
One nod of Father to Son,
A shout to raise the dead
and snatch the living--
all those who answered His first call
now answer His second.
Vile bodies changed to glorious ones and
weakness transformed to power.
And so,
This corruptible waits.
This burdened tabernacle groans,
longing for home.
This mortal cries,
Come, Lord Jesus!
But if You do not come today,
We will not stop looking for You.
lori fiechter
5-1-04
(
One
of our favorites, J & A )
To
Step from Earth
This musical, melodic ache,
gazing at bright clouds
and wanting the sky to
rend itself into a road for Him.
How will it be to
step from earth to sky to heaven,
To feel that clean energy
that transforms my every cell?
To bid goodbye to clouded vision
and myriad cares
and most of all--
goodbye to every vestige of sin?
And then,
Hello to Heaven,
Hello to Him.
Oh, the fearful joy
of meeting my Redeemer,
to be recognized by Him
and purified by Him
and welcomed by Him.
Ah, Lord,
I will never be truly ready;
but I will always be willing.
lori fiechter
5-1-04
" I know that my
Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon
the earth:
and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh
shall I see God ! "
Job 19: 25, 26
HOPE TO
COPE
for all situations
A Soul is not a Cell
A soul must have windows
with a view beyond its walls
no matter how dark and dusty the room,
no matter how all pervading the gloom,
the windows should be kept clean;
scrupulously sparkling
or the soul will die of
doubt, despair, and despondency.
At least, there must be a tiny circle
of light and hope,
a circle rubbed clean and spotless
so that the soul can see beyond--
beyond the present situation,
beyond self.
Lori fiechter,
10-15-98
( II Corinthians 4:16-18 )
Heaven grows
brighter;
Earth’s shadows retreat.
And nothing seems lovelier
than the things I can’t see.
But I am not dreaming of
streets of pure gold;
Nor longing for a country
where I’ll never grow old.
I’m not tasting clear waters
or skipping through space.
To me, heaven is more than a place;
it’s a face.
Without Jesus,
heaven is no more than a beautiful shell;
lovely, but empty;
It wouldn’t fulfill.
Heaven is wherever
my Savior will be;
Without Him,
there can be
no heaven for me.
Lori
Fiechter
October 7, 2000
"Whom have I in
heaven , but Thee ?" --Psalm73:25
Like
the Phoenix
(Isaiah 61:3)
Out of something
ugly,
Out of something dull and plain;
Out of thorns and jagged wounds
and unrelenting rains;
Out of scars and blemishes,
Out of wrinkles, out of stains;
There can come a lasting beauty,
A diadem of beauty,
a richer, deeper beauty
out of ashes,
out of pain.
Lori Fiechter
May 17, 2000
Don’t open it,
that door boldly marked "Fear"
Don’t listen at the keyhole.
Don’t look inside;
it’s full of crazy mirrors,
reflecting and magnifying
things that are not
even there.
Turn your back on fear
and open that other door,
that little door,
weathered, yet sturdy,
the one marked
Faith.
Lori
Fiechter
11-17-01
(Hebrews 12:1, Jude 24)
Storms don’t last forever;
They only seem that way.
They capture our emotions
and drag them off to dizzying heights,
threatening to cast us down.
We’re sure we cannot survive;
We can’t think past the moment;
the only thing that we can do is to hold on.
Hold on. Hold on, just a little bit longer;
you cannot see the cloud of witnesses that are
cheering for you;
You cannot see the end from where you are,
the sun that will break through the clouds,
the end could be so close.
Hold on. He will not let you fall;
Keep holding on.
Lori Fiechter
May 12, 2002
This verse from
Psalm 36:9 intrigues me. “in thy light shall we see
light.”
Not, “in thy light we shall see”, but “we shall
see light”. What can that mean?
Face to
the Sun
Eyes closed,
Face turned toward the sun,
toward the warmth,
Beams shine through the window,
past the screens,
to my face.
Eyes opened,
face toward the Son,
toward the Light.
Grace shines through the window,
past the screens,
to my soul, wrapping my soul in warmth.
Then Truth shines--
It is a bright light, a strong light,
A piercing light, a blinding light,
and yet, by Him, I see.
Lori fiechter
December 5, 2002
To paraphrase C.S. Lewis (Screwtape
Letters ), often we give up just when relief is at the door.
If we had just held on a little longer...
Pick up your cross again
and walk a little farther,
just a little while longer,
just another mile or so.
It is heavy, but He bore it;
Don't despair, and don't abhor it.
grab it firmly,
(watch those splinters)
Pick it up and carry on:
Just a little while longer
Just another mile or so
Lori Fiechter
Oct. 2, 2002
No simple sprint; no
easy stroll;
This race has an eternal goal.
The call goes forth, "Be true, Be true;
And keep the finish line in view!"
No turning back, the
race is on;
It is a full-fledged marathon.
My muscles ache, my legs are sore;
I feel that I can run no more!
And then, I look
ahead and see
SomeOne is waiting there for me:
A Face, encouraging and kind
Awaits me at the finish line.
I will not quit; I
will not stray:
I long to see that Face some day!
I long to hear those words, "Well done!"
And so, I run
and run
and run.
Lori
Fiechter
3-9-97
"Know ye not that
they which run in a race run all, but one receives the prize?
So run, that you may obtain [ the Prize ] . 1 Corinthians 9: 24
" Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so
easily beset us,
and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.
" Hebrews 12:1
I've found that when I am
in the middle of a trial, illness, or difficulty--that is when it
is the most difficult to read and pray; to remember all of God's
promises; even just to trust and hope. Sometimes the only thing I
can tell myself is
"Hold on. It will get better--it always does."
"...for he hath said, I will never
leave thee; nor forsake thee." (Hebrews
13:5)
Jesus Christ is our Hope--it is to Him that we
"have fled for refuge to layhold upon the hope set
before us:
which hope we have as an anchor of the soul..." (Hebrews
6:18,19)
May you be anchored in His hope today!
The hardest
thing to grasp and hold
is Hope--
When all seems bleak and cold;
To fight that cloud of dark despair--
That fog that fills and fouls the air.
Though hope seems thin--
Too thin to feel--
Hold on! It will prove
Strong as steel.
The blackest clouds cannot remain
And Time can heal the sharpest pain.
When your mind is dull and vision dim,
Dig in your heels and cling to Him!
The clouds will lift;
The sun will shine;
You will live to fight another time;
And stronger grown....for now you've learned:
He does not fail!
And Hope stands firm.
lori
fiechter
10-17-97
Beyond
This Thread of Life
(I
Corinthians 15:54)
In cycles, seasons
merge as one;
They die continually
and yet forever live.
But my life is a line,
a thread;
There is an end,
a break definitive.
There is a river dark,
A chasm wide;
But look beyond and
glimpse eternal day--
for Home awaits me
on the other side!
lori fiechter,
10-12-98
You Left for us
a Path
We were not deposited
in a trackless wasteland,
left on the shifting desert sands
to find our way.
We were not left in the dark
and trail-less forest without a compass
to stumble along through
brush and bramble.
You left for us a path.
It is not always an easy path;
It is not always the way
we would choose to go.
It is, at times, a path
bewildering, confusing.
But always it can be a
path of inward peace.
It is not an endless circle
(though at times we seem
to be treading the same territory)
There is an end.
And You stand there, Lord, at the end of the path,
Patiently waiting to welcome us home!
Lori fiechter,
10-16-98
But I will Hope
Continually...
(Psalms 71:14)
If there were no hope,
There would be no disappointment
But I'd rather have them both
Than to have no hope at all.
The pessimistic cynic is never
disappointed
for his hope is set at zero
(set so low, it cannot fall.)
But I'd rather keep on hoping;
see in faith the distant goal;
For hope will scrub away my lethargy,
Hope puts helium in my soul.
Lori fiechter,
10-2-98
In spring, Hope's
banner is crisp and new;
the colors bright and vibrant.
In summer, the unrelenting sun has faded the
colors, and Hope hangs more limply.
In autumn, the lashing winds and rain
have frayed the banner's edges.
In winter, the tired banner is stiff and cold and
shrouded in a layer of snow.
Hope seems dead.
We dig a grave and bury it.
But wait--for something stirs beneath the soil!
Hope was not dead but merely dormant.
And winter's end brings the Eternal spring...
lori fiechter,
9-18-98
....
but just think,
of stepping on shore and finding it heaven,
of touching a hand and finding it God's.
of breathing new air and finding it celestial,
of waking up in Glory and finding it Home.
Anonymous quote
Psalms of Hope
-- Psalm 42 and Psalm 43
Salvation www.cybertime.net/~ajgood/sal.htm
Bible www.blueletterbible.org
top anchor graphic :
www.imscraphappy.com/
diecuts/anchor.jpg