Oh Jesus, My Heart Knows

Oh Jesus, my heart knows what is right,

Just and fair, yet my body fails to carry it out.

Oh Jesus, I do not want to do anything

To offend your spirit or upset you,

Yet from time to time I slip back into old habits.

I have no excuse,

For even the most devout will fall.

Oh Jesus, help me to live the Christian life,

Help me to take up my cross daily,

That I may follow you
with sincerity, devotion, and love.

Amen

Meditating on the Life of Jesus

What does the word vain repetition mean?

Vain means empty.

So vain prayers are empty prayers.

But there is nothing empty

About meditating on the life of Jesus

And Mary, his holy mother.

Meditating on the life of Jesus

Makes you a better Christian.

It helps you obtain peace

In your heart and soul.

And when you meditate

On the life of Jesus and Mary,

You understand God in a deeper way.

And that understanding helps you grow

In your walk with God.

Amen

Christ, The Way Home Forever

Oh God, true Father, you are.

Source of true goodness, center of our lives.

Let devotion to you be our steady home,

And let your love teach us the way.

By grace, lead us into peace,

That following the way, we may reach heaven.

Christ is indeed the way,

And shows the way home forever.

God is love;

For Christ came to earth to die for our sins,

And to show the way to heaven.

Help us rely on his hand to lead us there,

For Christ is loving, kind, and gentle.

Oh Jesus, Savior and true teacher,

Truth incarnate, guide us today.

Teach us to understand and live your words:

Love, joy, kindness, and daily compassion.

Amen 

A Broken and Contrite Heart

May we have the name Christian never in vain,

May we never take the Lord’s name in vain,

For he is our creator and our father,

Fullest kindness, mercy, and compassion.

A God who gives for love,

Knowing, leading, loving all deeply

Who desire it,

So all who want may become devoted

To Jesus Christ our savior.

Contrition is not optional,

And yes, this is biblical,

For the Bible says

A broken and contrite heart

The Lord will not despise.

So let contrition take over your heart,

So that you may repent

And come with clean heart

And clean hands before the Lord,

Your maker, your judge, your creator.

Let your heart be pure

By way of contrition,

Surrender,

And joy.

Amen

Measured by the Intentions of One's Heart

Privilege should be based on what you earn,

Not your lifestyle, whether good or bad.

Not just one day,

Not just one minute,

Because one day and one minute might be very bad.

Conduct overall is what matters,

What your heart is inclined towards.

If your heart is inclined towards evil,

Why should you have privilege?

If your heart is inclined towards good,

Then you should have privilege.

Not based on what you look like,

But the good of a person,

From day to day.

If people knew privilege was based on character,

We would be better.

We would have a society

Built on the intentions of your heart,

And your overall conduct.

Yes, we are all going to slip up,

But not on moment by moment

On the person’s overall conduct in society.

Not writing these words because I like to say them,

But because the first step is not the last.

We need to work for a society

Where all people have equal rights,

Where none are treated better for appearances,

And we are trained to look deeper.

If we get too entitled,

We can become a monster ourselves,

And the monster we try to get out of other people

Can rise in us, too. 

Amen

Straight A's for the Soul

Not only on Sunday, but every day,

Aim for Christ consciousness in every way.

Like a student seeks a straight A record,

Put truth into practice in deed and word.

At work or play, at school or home,

In little things let His grace be shown.

Always being honest, though hard to do,

Not as a burden, but a path for you.

To make better decisions and reach His grace,.

Amen

When We Slip, Bring Us Back

Oh Jesus, we who have turned our hearts toward You,

Keep us from slipping back into our old ways.

Teach us to notice when we begin to drift,

And bring us quickly home again.

Christ our Savior, You know our hearts,

You see what is true, and You see what is weak.

Let our way be the way of Christ our King,

For we cannot live this life without Your daily help.

When we backslide, keep us from excuses and hiding.

Teach us to return as David returned,

With humility, with responsibility,

With a sweet and honest contrition.

Lord, You have the medicine to heal our sin,

And to restore our loving devotion to You.

Renew us by Your mercy and grace.

Amen

Repair The World

Dear Jesus,

You made this world in perfection,

By love and joy.

Sin has messed it up,

And what is broken needs repair.

Repair the world by kindness,

By respect,

By true and everlasting compassion.

Work through all who call themselves Christians

To repair the world

In faith, hope, and love.

Make us pure and true

By acts of kindness and compassion.

Repair the world little by little.

Let every act of kindness repair the world each day.

When we act in your way, Jesus,

We fix what is broken.

Make us pure, true, and kind in every way.

Teach all people to become more like Christ,

True, compassionate, gentle, humble, and kind.

Amen

A Prayer To Repair The World

The world as we see it is messy,

And many in it think it is clean,

But when you see the problem,

Both spiritual and physical all around you,

You realize what is true.

The world, though created by the love of the Father,

And the wisdom of Jesus,

Is truly special

Yet we messed it up through our sin.

Let us repair the world through good deeds,

Let us be true to Christ,

Let us repair the world by choosing life,

By choosing love, light, and everlasting compassion,

By choosing what is true, and pure.

So that Christ may work through us,

His chosen people to repair the world,

Not with violence, though,

Because violence does not repair it,

It makes it worse.

Amen

The First Gate: True Contrition

Lord Jesus,

Without true contrition,

We cannot walk with you.

Whether we think ourselves strong,

Or whether we know we are weak,

We cannot pass the first gate

Without repentance.

Give us hearts that want to change.

Give us the desire to be made new.

Teach us to see the truth:

That only you can change the heart.

And while we still have time,

However much time remains,

Help us to take the next step,

One step at a time,

One gate at a time.

Make us willing to make things right.

Make us ready to restore what we can.

Make us eager for restitution,

Not to earn your love,

But because we have received it.

Lead us through every gate,

Until our lives reflect your life,

And our hearts rest in your heart.

In your mercy,

And by your grace,

Amen

Jesus, True Son And Teacher

God our Father is true,

The only one we should trust.

Let Jesus, His true Son, be our teacher.

Take the Word, Jesus, into our hearts,

For our hearts are the temple

Of the living God.

True and pure,

Wise and holy is our God.

His name is compassion,

His word is truth,

His light forever.

So choose light and love

While you still can,

For we do not know tomorrow

Or what tomorrow will bring.

Choose with all your heart

The path of love and light,

That our hearts may be joined to Christ,

His teachings, and God our Father.

Let our hearts be true and pure,

Full of kindness and compassion.

Without devotion,

Without kindness, compassion,

The path to heaven is not available.

Amen.

Draw from the Spring of Life

The Samaritan woman said,
“You have no bucket; the well is deep.”

How shall we draw living water?

Jesus is the well.

From Him flow rivers of living water.

As no one lives without water,

Our bucket is meditation on God’s word;

We cannot live without His teaching

Without drawing from his word

Our rope tied to the bucket is sincerity and devotion.

So we lower our prayer

And draw from Jesus; the Spring of Life.

Amen

There Is No Way Without Jesus

Oh Jesus, Your name is compassion,

Forever and unending.

You forgive,

And You give wisdom

To all who seek You

With honest hearts. 

First we seek God’s wisdom

With honesty of heart and mind.

For how can trust be given

Unless our hearts are open? 

You are the Father

Of love,

Of life,

Of light.

And in Christ

Your will is made known. 

There is no way to Heaven

Except through Jesus

Through His teaching,

His love,

His peace,

His joy,

And His mercy. 

Amen. 

Love God First

The only true hope of salvation is this:

To try to live God’s will,

The best you can,

With God’s help. 

For you need His help daily

To listen,

To follow,

To live. 

For His will is love: 

Love God first,

First and above all,

And love all people second. 

Listen to the Gospel.

Listen to the teaching of Jesus.

God will not break your free will;

He cannot go against it. 

So if you desire salvation,

Live the Gospel as best you can,

With God’s help.

Amen

Soft or Tough, As Needed

Oh sweet Jesus,

Bind our hearts together

In truth, and love, and virtue.

Grant that we remain pure,

Ever mindful in how we think,

How we speak,

What we do.

Hold us deep within your heart,

Pure compassion

Full of mercy,

Full of truth.

Let your grace
Teach us to love god,

And teach our hands

To do good for others.

Your love is everlasting,

True and pure compassion

The way of Jesus

Compassionate to all He met,

On the road,

By the well,

Within the temple.

Sometimes gentle,

Sometimes strong,

Soft or tough

As needed

Both in body and soul. 

Amen.

Mary the Lamp, Jesus the Oil

We know that Jesus is God

True, pure, humble, and full of mercy.

Mercy rests on His right hand, justice on His left.

But because He is God incarnate, Mary is the Mother of God.

So we must be true to Jesus, our Teacher and Savior.

We must also be true to Mary, who faithfully leads us to Him.

For Mary is the lamp and Jesus the oil

Pure oil of the living God, lighting the hearts of the faithful.

Hearts bearing love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
Goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self‑control.

For against these things there is no law.

Be true to Jesus; bear the Spirit’s fruit.

Live the Christian life with the help of God and the love of Mary,

For her heart is true and her love is pure.

Amen