Wake Up!!

Wake up! Wake up now!
Feel the Lord's gentle shaking?
It is time to be watching,
It is time to be waking!

The church opens her eyes
And stifles a yawn,
"Hmmm, I thought I felt something..."
And she then slumbers on.

The shaking grows urgent:
"Wake up, it is late!
Blow the trumpet in Zion,
Warn the lost of their fate!"
...Oh, the watchmen are sleeping;
They'll be caught by surprise.
If only they'd wakened
And opened their eyes!

lori fiechter
7-8-97

Water Problems

I will drink from my own broken cistern,
Though its waters seem muddy to me.
But tell me more of this new "living water";
I cannot believe it is free!

With hard work I have dug my own cistern;
Though broken, yet it is my own.
...I hear a rebuke, firm, yet plaintive,
"have ye not heard? have ye not known?

Look unto me and be ye saved;
I am God and there is none else.
Ho, everyone that is thirsty,

Come take of my water yourself."
But I won't accept gifts--
and I'm nobody's slave!
I can wash my own rags if I try.
...How sad and how foolish to quaff filthy water
And ignore the sweet fountain nearby!

lori fiechter
7-7-97

The Potter's Pots

The Potter sat down at His wheel
And formed some comely pots.
So tenderly He fashioned them
And placed each in its spot.

The Potter left the room to watch
And this is what He saw:
The first pot woke and then
It spoke in reverential awe:

"So perfectly I have been formed;
The Potter fashioned me!
He designed me for a special work,"
the pot spoke lovingly.

But another pot, more brash and proud,
Could not conceal a sneer:
"What Potter?" it scoffed,
and mocked the first,
"I see no Potter here!
Show me this 'Potter', little jar--
All I can see is...us!
I say--we formed ourselves--
that's it!
By chance, we sprang from dust.
I won't obey your Potter's rules--
I own myself, not He!"

..Oh, foolish, blinded, haughty pot--
If you could only see
What all the Potter had planned for you!
--But you would not believe!

lori fiechter
7-8-97

Oil Crisis

Now is the time to stock up;
The oil's in full supply.
"But", you shrug,
"there's no hurry,
Something else has caught my eye."
"The day is here and it is light;
My lamp is just not needed."

And so the warning is ignored;
The message is unheeded.
But, look! the sun is setting
And darkness fills the land;
That oil now seems precious
And you've not enough on hand!

"Go and buy", your sisters say,
"We'll be inside the gate."
But when you finally come and knock
You know--it is too late.
"Please let me in!"
you beg and plead,
"This fate is not my choice!"
And then the saddest words ring out:
"I do not know your voice."

...Inside,
the guests are feasting;
Outside,
it's cold and dark.

A different cataclysm looms
And you have missed the Ark!

lori fiechter
7-8-97

ill-clad, on Enemy turf!

Have the soldiers grown careless?
That would seem to be right,
For their armor is tarnished;
They're not ready to fight!

The belt of truth is tossed aside
In the closet of deceit.
The breastplate turned up missing too;
The armor is incomplete!

The sandals must be in that heap
That is just inside the door;
The shield of faith?
It's in the shed--
Rusting in a drawer.

The soldiers have their helmets--
sort of..
(In truth, they are not sure)
The swords are dull--
both edges--
They've not been sharpened in the Word.

As far as prayers, they're rather sparse
And full of trite cliches.
"But not to worry," one replies,
"The battle is far away!"

Oh, Lord, please open up their eyes;
This war is real and fierce!
Although the enemy is unseen,
His darts are made to pierce.

Pick up that armor--all of it!
Then polish it and wear it!
Take courage! Stand!
You can fight and win--
By His Spirit,
not your merit!

lori fiechter
7-8-97

this really happened; a parable from our
flower garden.....

Escape from the jaws of the Dragon

She pushed open the jaws--
They swallowed her up;
The nectar was plenteous and sweet.
But when she would fly out,

She found she was trapped!
--One stamen had entangled her feet.
Now helpless and hidden from
All those outside,
She languished and waited to die.

But then a strong hand broke
the snapdragon's jaw--
She escaped!
She was free!
She could fly!

...Are you in the grip of the Enemy's jaws,
Feeling helpless, like that little bee?
You need a strong hand, a Deliverer;
Just ask Him and He'll set you free!

lori fiechter
7-10-97

The Bridge-Builder

A chasm was rent
On that bleak day in Eden:
A great gulf formed
Between God and man.

As millennia have passed,
Man has built many bridges
But all failed
Attempting that span.

A promise was given,
A child would be born;
A Reconciler to remove
Sin and guilt.

He provided The Way;
His own body He gave;
And the cross is the
Bridge that He built!

lori fiechter
7-12-97

From Bozrah

Wool and scarlet;
Milk and wine;
Garments sin-stained,
Black with grime.
Armies march
in linen bright:
Washed in Blood,
Made snowy white.
See their Captain,
King, and Lord
Brandishing His
Mighty sword!
Once he suffered,
Pressed as wine
He has come to
Rule this time!
He marches forth
And who can stand?
The cup of wrath
Is in His hand.
The day of vengeance
Is proclaimed
From Bozrah to
Megiddo's plain.

lori fiechter
7-14-97

Dying--Once, Twice, Never

Some of us will
never die:
Cocoon-less,
Instant butterflies!
But there are some
Who will die twice:
Those who've
rejected Christ.
Those who die once
Are merely sleeping;
Don't mourn them
With excessive weeping;
Their spirits are in
Heaven's bliss,
Their bodies--
In a chrysalis;
Just resting, waiting
For that day...
We'll all be changed
And snatched away!

lori fiechter
7-26-97

Long-lasting Ripples

Small stones can make large ripples
In a still and glassy pond;
And small decisions have effects
That spread and linger on.

Each day, a choice--
Take care to pray!
Choose faith, not feelings--
Walk in His way.

Choose wisely while you
Still have breath;
Those ripples last
Long after death.

lori fiechter
8-7-97