Jesus will Hold you Fast and Carry you When you Cannot Walk, Written by my Husband

 

Jesus will Hold you Fast and Carry you When you Cannot Walk, Written by my Husband (Mel)

The Lord gave me a dream of his love, care, and devotion for his children. I dreamed, that when I was a young man, the Lord found me lying in a ditch all wounded and dying. The angels picked me up and carried me and nursed me back to health spiritually. The Lord spoke to me while I was awake and said, "I will hold you fast." 

We live in an imperfect world and struggle with a fallen nature; however, God has brought us hope and redemption through the cross of Christ and help through his Holy Spirit. If after we are truly saved by his grace, we stray from him down a path of false doctrine or sin, he will come after us, as well as fight for us. Jesus will leave the 99 sheep to go after and rescue the one that is lost. The Lord chastens the son he receives and brings the rod of correction to the ones he loves. The Lord will hold you tight in his hand and will do anything to bring you back to him! The Lord loves us too much to let us remain backslidden from him. However, if you refuse to allow his Holy Spirit to correct you and choose to continue living in darkness, you may fall from grace and be blotted out of the Book of Life. A dead, or lukewarm church, will be vomited out of God's mouth (Revelation 3). Christ compares an unrepentant backslider to a dog that returns to his vomit, or a sow who after being washed clean returns to the mire (mud). 

(2 Peter 2:20-22) For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

Salvation begins with repentance of sins. Repentance is a change of mind and heart in regard to the old sinful lifestyle, as well as a desire to become a new creation in Christ Jesus. To be truly saved, you must hunger and thirst for righteousness, and turn away from the old rebellious life you once knew.  When you repent and put your faith in the finished work of Christ upon the cross you are saved from perdition and have been given eternal life. We are justified by faith and saved by grace (unmerited favor). Christ will wash you clean and remove all of your sins and grant you a clean slate. Because of Christ's atonement made upon the cross you walk perfectly before him as long as you remain in the light. God gives us grace to grow in him. We come to him as babes on milk and learn to walk by taking baby steps. Through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, we are transformed from the inside out. 

Grace is for those who walk by faith in the light and not for those who love darkness and are apathetic toward righteousness. Cheap grace or greasy grace is a term to describe the junk food gospel being taught in many churches today. The unconditional eternal security doctrine teaches that a saved believer cannot lose their salvation. This doctrine is contrary to scripture and leads many people to Hell. Hebrews 10:38-39 states that a believer can drawback unto perdition (Hell) if they do not remain in the faith. There are Christians who have lost their faith and died as atheists, Buddhists, agnostics etc. these will not enter the Kingdom of God.

We must deny ourselves daily, take up our cross and follow after Christ. If we love him, we will obey him. Christ taught us how we should conduct ourselves in this world. The sermon on the mount, also known as the beatitudes, are instructions that we should all live by.

Christ taught us the parable of the prodigal son in (Luke 15: 11-32). The son was tired of his rebellious life for he squandered his inheritance with riotous living. He returned home and his father ran to him, held him, and kissed him, put a robe on him, and a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. They killed the fatted calf for his son and the father said, "For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost and is found.

(Luke 15:11-32) Then He said: "A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.' So he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. 

But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants." ' 

And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his servants, 'Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' And they began to be merry.

Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, 'Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.' But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. So he answered and said to his father, 'Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.' And he said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.' "

Where will you build your house?

 

Where will you build your house?

My husband and I moved to the Pacific Northwest in April 2019; we live thirty minutes from the ocean.  We like to get in the water up to our knees and let the waves crash into us as the water gets higher and higher.  When one stands in the stand, you feel yourself sinking, and need to continually shift position to keep from losing balance.  It was that experience that inspired this blog.         

Matthew 7:24-29 (posted at the end) paints a picture of two different types of houses during a storm.  It is clear Jesus was speaking of our spiritual lives.  No one is exempt from the storms of life.  We will all face hardships.  It is during those life-changing moments when it matters most where you have chosen to build your house.  Faith in Jesus Christ, the rock, is a wonderful start.  If you are angry with God and refuse to cling to Him in your time of need, you are on shifting sand and are sure to wash away with the debris brought by the storm.  

I want to take this theme a step farther from the lessons we were taught in Sunday School. (Remember the song, "The rains came down, and the floods came up," and doing the hand motions up and down?) For starters, many only call on Jesus and claim Him as their rock when the storms come.  We need to go beyond the hard days and focus on every day! As I mentioned above, I felt the need to move and shift while standing in the waves to keep from falling.  The waves of my analogy now represent temptation. Standing in shifting sand will not do you any good, you will still keep sinking as long as you stay put.  You need to get out of the sand (move away from your sinful lifestyle) and get to Jesus the Rock!   

The last time my hubby and I waded in the waves, another angle of this theme occurred to me.  I can stand on all the rocks I want, but if I'm in the middle of the ocean when the waves hit, I will still be knocked over.  You cannot simply stand on the rock; you must abide in the house on the rock.  Does that make sense?  In other words, you must remain grafted together with Jesus, you cannot make it on your own. 

The best way we can remain in that safe house on the rock is by having a firm, solid faith and a sound doctrine.  Just as we can choose to walk out the door of any house, we can choose to walk away from Jesus.  If you do not pay your mortgage payment or rent, you could end up homeless.  You need to keep living a clean life and ask for victory over habitual sins to keep abiding in Jesus.  Do not walk away from the house on the rock and go to the house on the sand by believing you are eternally secure. That doctrine will wash you away with the incoming tide.    

The book of Jude, written by one of Jesus' brothers, warns us that the grace message will be skewed and misrepresented, verses 3-4 say, "Dear friends, I’ve dropped everything to write you about this life of salvation that we have in common. I have to write insisting—begging!—that you fight with everything you have in you for this faith entrusted to us as a gift to guard and cherish. What has happened is that some people have infiltrated our ranks (our Scriptures warned us this would happen), who beneath their pious skin are shameless scoundrels. Their design is to replace the sheer grace of our God with sheer license—which means doing away with Jesus Christ, our one and only Master." (the Message version) Sadly, this is too true.  People have exchanged the Truth of God's grace when we repent (the rock), for a lie that says grace is an excuse to sin without repenting (the sinking sand).  This false teaching gives people "sheer license" to do whatever they want and never worry about the consequences.  (Romans 6:1-2- What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?) 

(Revelation 20:12) And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. 

Yes, the love and grace of Jesus and salvation are absolutely free gifts that we do not have to earn to receive, we just need to ask for them.  Jesus will never stop loving us (Romans 8:39).  However, we can lose our salvation when we treat it carelessly.   We must work out our salvation with fear and trembling as it states in Philippians 2:12!  We must stand on the rock of Truth to keep from toppling over when the waves hit.  

Think of it this way: When you have a job, do you just stay home, or do you go to work to earn a paycheck?  Have you ever called your boss and said, "I really don't feel like working, can you do all my work for me and still give me a paycheck?"  Of course not, you would be fired! Then why would you believe Jesus' righteousness alone is enough to join Him in Paradise? Do you really think Jesus will do all the work for you and still let you into His Kingdom? Even parents give their children jobs to do in order to earn an allowance.   Your job is to read your Bible, spend time in prayer and praise, and follow the laws of Jesus by doing your very best to keep habitual sins at bay.  Don't be lazy or rebellious but truly try to conquer and eliminate the sins you know God hates.  The Holy Spirit will enable you to get victory over sin!   

In Matthew 16:18, Jesus tells Simon that his new name will be Peter, because Peter means "rock." He says Peter is a rock because "the gates of Hades shall not prevail against" the church Peter is destined to establish. When Jesus is our rock, and we do our best to walk down paths of righteousness, we in turn become rocks for others.  We need to encourage others to live holy lives and not shy away from the popular beliefs of the world.  Sadly, the majority of Christians are falling away as predicted in 2 Timothy.  Many now support the homosexual lifestyles, abortion, have no problem going into a bar, taking drugs, support witchcraft, and the list goes on and on. Do not be surprised when friends and family members become angry with you for speaking the Truth.  You may even lose those relationships. However, now is not the time to be shy; we must stay strong and be a rock and encourage others to not only build their lives on Jesus, but to stay in that house!

(2 Timothy 4:2-4) Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. 

(Matthew 10:33) But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven. 

(Matthew 7:24-29) “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.  But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. 

No Cure? Why Write a Poem? & Things I Will Never Know (Poems)

No Cure? Why Write a Poem? & Things I Will Never Know (Poems)

To some, poetry may not seem like a particularly profound or spiritual thing to share.  However, like the book of Psalms, I see poetry as a way to praise the Lord as well as being spiritually and emotionally healing.  

I am not a very good poet, but I recently felt the need to write these three poems. I do not believe that God gives me ideas for poems to keep to myself, so even if I only help one person, I pray my words will inspire, uplift, and encourage others.  

I plan to someday illustrate more of my poems and someday create a book of poems combined with short writings that I may or may not try to get published.  

I have included links to my other poems at the end of this writing.

Note: This poem is based off a real experience of feeling devastated after my doctor told me the pain and weakness in my body will never improve and will probably only get worse.  He was very blunt in telling me treatments would not help and the best I could hope for was to try to manage my symptoms as best as possible.  You can see my reaction by reading the poem.  

What is also true is that I had requested my Echo speaker to play music by The Gaither Vocal Band right before the doctor had called me.  I had walked out of the room to take the call (I often request phone appointments to receive medical results, so I don't have to waste gas going back to the doctor's office), and when I went back into the bedroom, the music was still playing.   It had already been a physically difficult day, and now my head was reeling after the conversation.  I was trying to simply change my sheets, but my body was rebelling, so I literally laid on the floor crying as pain was making it difficult to move.  The songs sung by one of my favorite bands truly washed over me in such a wave of God's comfort and love that by the fourth or fifth song, I was feeling emotionally, mentally, and spiritually strong in the power of Jesus!  

Yes, the Word of God should be our number one source of Biblical encouragement, but God also truly uses Godly men and women to write, sing, and play instruments that can minister to a hurting soul.  I am very grateful for such writers and musicians!

(1 John 1:3) Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.

No Cure? (2025)

Perhaps not the worst words one can hear,

But certainly ones that elicit fear,

“There is no cure for you,

Treatments won’t help much,

And you will only get worse.”

Panic. 

Hopelessness. 

Self-pity.

Tears.  

As I lay on the floor,

In too much pain to move,

And too distressed to breathe,

My heart cries for a song,

More than my broken body needs,

My soul craves healing.

I let the music play,

Surrounded by songs I love,

Resounding in a not-so-random order,

As if God planned this play list just for me,

To remind me of all that Jesus is.

Pain taker.

Mountain mover.

Path straightener.

Joy giver.

The songs continue to bless me,

To strengthen me,

To remember that some mountains are necessary,

And that God is always with me;

May I never forget I am a child of the King!

No cure for this mortal body,

But Jesus is the remedy for my immortal soul,

His blood has healed my sin-sick spirit,

His medicine I want to take daily,

To stay clean, joyful, and whole.

Peaceful.

Forgiven.

Loved.

Royalty.

His love has cured my despair,

His mercy has inspired my actions,

I desire only to live for Him,

And though I may be crooked in body,

I can forever soar in my soul!

(Psalm 45:1 AMP) My heart overflows with a good theme; I address my psalm to the King. My tongue is like the pen of a skillful writer.

Why write a poem? (2025)

Certain things are too difficult to pen,

So why write a poem?

Why open a wound I try so hard to keep sealed?

Because scotch tape does not cure a broken heart;

After a while it loosens

And the pain seeps back out.

So why write a poem?

Will it create a permanent healing?
Will it change the past?
Can it bring back those lost,

Or fill an empty womb?

No, poetry is not a cure,

It is a process to increase my faith,

Writing words I cannot say aloud

Is a way to express,

A way to cry,

A way to scream

Without uttering a sound.

It is a way to say to God,

“I don’t understand,

But I love You anyway.”

He knows what my heart says 

In between the beats,

So why write a poem?

Because God wants to hear me,

Even when I cannot fully verbalize my heart,

He knows the way I process emotion,

He knows paper and ink are the path to closure,

He knows how to heal what I cannot.

Therefore I will praise,

I will trust,

I will tell God I love Him,

I will see beyond this life,

I will find joy and peace,

And I will write a poem.

This last poem is so very personal I almost didn't share it. The pain of never having children is something I have struggled with and know many of you can relate. I very clearly felt God tell me about a year ago that I needed to grieve this loss if I was ever to heal from it. Since God is never wrong, I knew He was right, but I wasn't really sure how or if I wanted to deal with this grief. Finally, a few months ago, I wrote this poem. If you struggle with this same pain, know you are not alone. I understand and God will hold you when you cry.

(Psalm 56:8) Thou tellest my misery: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?

Things I Will Never Know (2025)

I will never know

The joy of a positive pregnancy test,

Never experience morning sickness,

Never thrill at a baby’s kick inside my belly;

WIll not keep track of the weeks and months

Until my baby is born.

I will never know

What is is like to feel that newborn in my arms,

And weep with joy as I become a mother

What it is like to see a tiny face

That is a beautiful blend of my husband and me,

To see dimples so like his father’s,

Or eyes just like mine;

To call him the name lovingly chosen.

I will never know 

What is is like to hold that little boy in my lap,

Reading him bedtime stories,

Praying with him and teaching him 

All about God’s love;

Will not hear him call me Mommy,

Or Mel called Daddy.

I will never know

How it feels to watch him grow,

To hear him giggle in delight,

As we take silly family selfies;

Will never see my child snuggle with a fluffy pet,

Or watch him grow up so fast I want time to slow down;

Will never see him delight in the love of God,

As he becomes more like Jesus every day.

No, this barren body will never carry a baby,

These empty arms will never snuggle with my child.

Yet I will always know

What it feels like to bask in the love of God,

To have my Heavenly Father hold me close,

To not know why He chose this path for me,

But to know Jesus calls me His own,

To feel His nail-scarred hands wipe away my tears,

To know He fills my empty heart,

And to know that His love will always be enough for me.

Links:

Poetry, Part 1: https://thankful-julie.blogspot.com/2021/08/julies-poetry-part-1-1991-1994.html

Part 2: https://thankful-julie.blogspot.com/2021/08/julies-poetry-part-2-1997-2003.html

Part 3: https://thankful-julie.blogspot.com/2021/08/julies-poetry-part-3-2005-2017.html

Daddy's Girls & Hallelujah (Poems): https://thankful-julie.blogspot.com/2026/04/daddys-girls-hallelujah-poems.html