Background and Inspiration

From the late seventies until 1996, while I was involved in Bible teaching and building for the church and church school, the Lord was putting poetry in my mind, often nearly a complete poem in rhyme and verse and almost always exhortative in nature—that is, dealing with the Christian view as opposed to worlds and considering how we should live as Christians.

I would write the words on pages of a tablet as the thoughts manifested and perhaps share them with the pastor or friends as the occasion arrived. Later—sometimes years later—I would read or hear a Bible passage that seemed to fit the poetic thought that was given, and I would write and index it with the poem. The author's notes following the Bible verses were generated from the thought that the poem seemed to invoke.

After I procured a computer, the task of organization was completed and produced this final anthology, with the exception of the last poem, which was written after seeing the movie The Passion of Christ.