Three Nails

As our Lord was led
To Calvary's Hill
To what would soon
Be hallowed ground

Up in Heaven
It seemed
That time stood still
As the angels
Gathered around

As the scene
Continued to unfold
Though they could not
Understand it

They knew
That this had been foretold
This was the way
That God had planned it

It would take three nails on Calvary
On that fateful day
Three nails on Calvary
To wash our sins away

But those angels who stood watching,
Weeping, fighting back the rage
God kept them from leaping
Kept them from that center stage

'Cause this was planned from the beginning
This was how it had to end
To remove that curse from sinning
So man could be born again

It would take three nails on Calvary
On that fateful day
Three nails on Calvary
To rip that veil away

One nail was of mercy
One nail was of grace
One nail for the Gift of God
Who died there in your place

But those angels who stood watching,
Weeping, fighting back the rage
God kept them from leaping
Kept them from that center stage

'Cause this was planned from the beginning
This was how it had to end
To remove that curse from sinning
So man could be born again

It would take three nails on Calvary
On that fateful day
Three nails on Calvary
'Cause there was hell to pay

One nail for the body
One nail for the soul
One nail for the spirit
Satan tried to control

One nail was for the man you were
One for who you now can be
That third nail put to death the curse
That third nail set you free

Yes it took three nails on Calvary
On that fateful day
Three nails on Calvary
To wash our sins away

Three nails on Calvary
To rip the veil away
Three nails on Calvary
'Cause there was hell to pay


Now you hold those nails my friend
And I pray you understand
That you would have a choice to make
Was a part of that plan

And those angels who stood watching
Now wonder what you'll do
Once again they're watching
Only this time watching you

With those three nails from Calvary
Will they wash your sins away
Those three nails from Calvary
Will they rip the veil away

Those three nails from Calvary
Yes they're in your hands today
They're in your hands today
They're in your hands today

Words and music: Gary Field; Annotation: Matthew Swinford
www.betweenthebars.org/blogs/1398

Guide my hand

by Gary Field

Though my 3 fingers hold the pen,
I pray God that you guide my hand-
To help me touch the hearts of men,
That they may come to understand.

Your boundless mercy and amazing grace
That they may know your peace-
And in you find a resting place
Where fruitless worries would all cease.

Help me find a way to impart,
The joy I've found as I've kneeled-
And your word, hidden in my heart,
May through my writing be revealed.

Not my words, Father God, but yours,
May be planted and then take root-
And that your spirit opens doors,
So those words may then bear fruit.

I pray you use me as you will,
And that your perfect will be done-
That your Holy Spirit may instill,
The means to glorify your Son.

I've poured your word into my spirit,
And meditated upon each line-
That I may both fear and revere it,
As a spiritual gold mine.

It's riches, which are beyond compare,
Must be declared to this generation-
So I pray God that I may share,
The great hope of my salvation.

Your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ,
The only hope for a sin sick soul-
For which he gladly sacrificed,
His love- so that we may be made whole.

I'll hold the men, God guide my hand,
That your truth may flow freely-
According to your perfect plan,
I pray God, that you may use me.

Amen

Gary Field
www.betweenthebars.org/blogs/1398

Signs of the Times

  
This poem effectively captures the spirit of the age.

Signs of the Times

 Each time we turn on the evening news,
Our stress levels can begin to rise-
As images of a world gone mad, abuse
Our sensibilities, and assault our eyes.

And yet, as in the days of Noah,
People just running to and from-
As punch drunk as Rocky Balbao,
Trying to shake off another blow.

If the "Signs of the Times" wore neon lights,
Perhaps then they would get our attention-
Or revelation reduced to sound bites,
Labeled "Time for an intervention."

Well we've got wars and rumors of wars,
And those earthquakes in divers places-
The devil roars while the world ignores,
The "Signs of the Times" flashed in our faces.

Yet some "Gospel of Prosperity"
Is what seems to be filling the pews-
And so many of us just refuse to see
That "Revelations" on the evening news.

Can we be so blind that we cannot see,
The handwriting is there on the wall-
And what's unfolding is prophecy,
"Let those who stand take heed lest they fall."

Well there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth,
On a day when it's least expected-
For those who chose the path of disbelief,
By whom the Word of Truth was rejected.

Now I know I'd be much more popular
If I wrote things people wanted to hear-
Or if I chose to hold a seminar,
With words catered to the itching ear.

But it's not me that's being rejected,
It's all plainly written there in the book-
The word of God is being neglected,
Perhaps it's time we all took another look.


Below is the poet's blog address if you wish to read more writing by him.

Gary Field MO53398 Okeechobee C.I Okeechobee, Fl. 37972.
www.betweenthebars.org/blogs/1398.

Christmas is not cute

The Birth of Jesus Christ is presented by our pop culture as something that is cute. It has become like a cult of cuteness. But as authors Viola and Sweet have said so eloquently in their book, Jesus Manifesto, the story of Jesus' birth, death and resurrection doesn't compute with cute. They go on:

• The Annunciation, when the angel Gabriel appeared to the virgin Mary to tell her she was pregnant, wasn't cute.
• Admitting to Joseph that she was pregnant wasn't cute. [In a shame- based culture as the 1st Century Jewish culture was, she risked being shunned or even being killed-Ed].
• The Magnificat wasn't cute (Lk 1:46-55).
• The little town of Bethlehem wasn't cute.
• The killing of the innocents wasn't cute.
• Jesus' genealogy wasn't cute (His lineage includes a rape victim, an adulteress, and a prostitute)~Jesus Manifesto:Restoring the Supremacy and Sovereignty of Jesus Christ, p75.

Please watch this favorite video of mine: O Little Town of Bethlehem, which presents Christmas in all of its rawness, without the tinsel, glitz and candy sweetness.

Making our own prisons

Recently, I did some ticketing door-to-door for a company in a suburb near to where I live. It was an interesting experience. Many homes were so secured with their sliding gates, bars on windows, grilled flyscreens and locked front doors that they were like little prisons.
I knocked on one door and then heard the rattle of keys, and then more rattling. I then heard a voice from inside: "Hang on mate, I can't open the door, I'll have to open the garage". I waited at the garage door and slowly the door automatically lifted up. I felt like Ali Baba entering the den of thieves. The only thing missing was the "open sesame" password.
What sort of society have we become where some are so security conscious that they can't even open their own front doors? A lot of this obsession with security is fear driven. The cost of such security is often a high rate of loneliness and depression.
We also make our own prisons through our addictions, whether they be drugs, money, sex, pornography, power or material things.

The good news is that Jesus came to free us from our prisons, not the prisons we make out of bricks and mortar, but our imprisoned spirits. The verse from the famous hymn by Charles Wesley "And can it be" describes Jesus' work so well:

Long my imprisoned spirit lay
fast bound in sin and nature's night:
thine eye diffused a quickening ray;
I woke-the dungeon flamed with light.
My chains fell off, my heart was free;
I rose, went forth, and followed thee.

Maria Von Trapp

I remember going to the cinema to see The Sound of Music as an eight year old boy. Like many others, I was entranced by the many memorable songs such as 'My Favorite Things,' and 'Edelweiss'. I was thrilled by the breathtaking Austrian mountain scenery. I found out the other day in The End of an Era that ended long ago: Maria Von Trapp that the last of the Von Trapp Family Singers, the last of the children—the real ones—died in February. She was 99 years old. 

I also learnt that in reality, little Maria was part of a group of Christian singers known as the Trapp Family Singers. This Christian aspect is unfortunately not emphasized in the movie. The musical was never meant to be a documentary of the Von Trapp family.

 Maria Augusta Trapp, the governess in the movie who became Maria's stepmother, wrote a book about the singing group in 1949 called 'The Story of the Trapp Family Singers'. The book describes her marriage to the Captain, Georg Von Trapp, in these terms “I greeted it with a heart full of happiness and readiness to serve God where He needed me most—wholeheartedly and cheerfully.” She was evidently a devoted Christian mother.

If you want to find out the real story of the Trapp Family Singers and not the Hollywood version check out the Trapp Family website. You can even holiday at the Trapp Family Lodge!

The Real Von Trapp Family

Thoughts on a drawing by a prisoner

Recently, I went to the opening of the Art from the Inside art exhibition at a Correctional Centre not far from where I live and was impressed by the quality of some the art on display. The theme of the exhibition was 'Searching for the Light' and there were a number of paintings on the theme of light and darkness. But I was struck especially by a coloured pencil drawing by an inmate from Long Bay of the scene of the taking down of Jesus' body from the cross. It showed Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, Mary the mother of Jesus and another woman. (I don't know for sure who the other woman is. From John 19:25-26 it could be either Mary's sister or Mary the wife of Clopas or even Mary Magdalena).

Touched by Silence

His caption matches the scene very well: 'His silence is not only Death, it is our Hope and Salvation. Great silence touches my heart.' In his drawing, he also captured the sense of haste in the activity. The Sabbath was fast approaching. Jesus' body had to be quickly taken down for burial. 

I hope this drawing touches your heart as well.