Rhymes for the Climb, Volume I

by Stewart, Stan

• ISBN13: 9781483593142
• ISBN10: 1483593142
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2017-04-21
• Publisher: Bookbaby

Summary

One of my main goals for publishing this book was to encourage all the members of the body of Christ to restore personal relationship with God as paramount in their lives from which all the others should proceed. So I put together a collection of poems that addresses a variety of circumstances that we, as Christians, encounter in our every day lives, then tried to bring God's perspective to them. I selected poems that have been born out of lessons that I have learned and wisdom that I have gained through the years. They cover a wide range of situations, many of which are not often addressed by the organized church. Hopefully, they are poems that will inspire love for God and our fellowman, faith and trust in God, and spiritual growth. I’ve learned that many people who profess to be followers of Christ rarely spend much time, effort or money seeking His purpose for their lives or His wisdom from above to apply to their everyday lives. In the last couple of decades, it seems that relationships with the pastor, priest, and congregation, plus corporate worship and fellowship have superseded personal relationship, communion and fellowship with God, along with daily accountability to Him in their personal lives. So now instead of asking the Lord if they are pleasing in His sight and pursuing His purpose for their lives, as they should since Jesus Christ died to be our only intercessor, they are more inclined to look to their spiritual leaders and members of the congregation for confirmation and direction. This is not to say that those things do not have their place, or I would not have published this collection of poems. But I continue to focus on directing others to genuinely connect to God, the Father, through faith in His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. So this book is simply my way of helping some get there. And I work just as hard to assure that I do not create or encourage a dependency upon myself because Christ must increase and I must decrease .

Author Biography

For as long as I can remember I have been a writer. Not because I get paid for it or recognized for it, but simply because I write. I write because it is a huge part of who God made me to be. It brings me enjoyment and fulfillment, and it is one of my favorite and most efficient ways to express myself. It has helped me come to know and understand God, myself and others on a deeper level. And I have written about the things I have experienced, observed, felt and thought ever since I was a child. Although I have enjoyed both reading and writing most of my life, the majority of my writing during my youth was cathartic, but not exclusively. I loved philology and I read the dictionary regularly. At that time nothing thrilled me more than finding the perfect word that expressed precisely what several words could not express as well, especially when writing poetry. And I often wrote with the intended messages somewhat cloaked to cause the reader to put forth some effort to receive them. Then one day the Lord clearly told me to keep my poems simple because many people struggle with understanding poetry period, and the messages and spiritual principles contained in mine were difficult enough for some to grasp without having to refer to a dictionary while reading every other verse. So reluctantly I gave up that pleasurable part of my writing so that it could become more purposeful as God intended. In the mid 1990s, my wife, Ursula, and I began a Christian ministry called The Voice of Two Ministries in which we endeavored to apply God's Word to real life. Our presentations featured various combinations of visuals, videos, humor and music plus original songs, dramas and literature. In the mid-2000s we ceased from those efforts but still wanted to offer some materials born out of that ministry to others. This book is a result of that outreach effort. As far as myself, I am simply just another lowly 'fisherman' who has spent time with Jesus and wants to go out and excitedly tell others, "We have found the Messiah!" For finding Christ was always the objective before His followers were ever called Christians at Antioch. There are many religions, but Christ did not come to establish another religion. He came to restore mankind's broken relationship with God. And there are many faiths but, as Jesus once asked, "When the Son of man returns shall He find faith upon the Earth?" To me that means the faith that He established. I want to help everyone I can to enjoy this relationship and embrace this faith. And that is the most important thing to know about this author.