This devotional of poetic mediations grew out of forty-five years of expository preaching and self-reflection. The author''s intermittent attempts at poetry reveal both his best and worst parts. These poems reflect experience as a follower of Jesus, an inward battle with sin, shame, sadness, defeats; yet, always the word of God leads to the gospel of Jesus Christ and his victory, his forgiveness, his power, his love, and his hope. Never without the realization of sinfulness and the sufficiency of the work of Jesus Christ, many live daily on a continuum between these two poles of striving by faith to rest in Christ and agonizing over the heart''s inclination to wander. By God''s grace and through his Spirit, that movement may be more toward victory than defeat.
