jesus – The Bakery

True Unity: a poem

That we might be One

A prayer in poetry for the followers of Jesus; His Body on earth - His Church 

Lord Jesus, in a world that’s dark, we need Your perfect Light
Great challenges we face today - such enemies we fight 
We need to see the truth, dear Lord, for Truth is who You are
Our King of Kings and Lord of Lords, eternal Morning Star 

This world is dead without You, Lord, for Life is who You are
The people need to see You here; not distant or afar 
So, Jesus, will You come to us? - though we are many parts
And, by Your Spirit, make us One; uniting different hearts 

We want our hearts to beat as One, in rhythm with Your own 
To live the way that speaks of You, our King now on His Throne
For once You walked upon this earth; and You became our guide 
The Way is who You are, dear Lord, You called us to Your side 

Jesus, You taught us how to live; You died to make us whole 
It cost You everything You had: Your Body, Spirit, Soul 
Jesus - our Way, our Truth, our Life - we want to love You, too
To be Your Body here on earth - to be as One in You

For You have prayed for us, dear Lord, that we would all be One 
One in the Kingdom of our God; in Father, Spirit, Son 
For we reveal Your Body now, while here on earth we dwell 
And, with One voice, we want to speak the Truth You want to tell 

This world is waiting for Your Truth, it needs to know Your Love 
The Love that brought our God to earth from His own realm above
For, as we live in Oneness, Lord, this world will know Your story 
We shall display the Truth of You, and show God’s Heart of Glory!  

Doxology 

All glory to the Father, all glory to the Son 
All glory to the Spirit, while endless ages run 
For God is Love and He is One: in Holiness and Glory 
And we exalt His Majesty; the Author of Life’s story

Key Scriptures:
‭‭
Lord Jesus, in a world that’s dark, we need Your perfect Light
Great challenges we face today - such enemies we fight
Isaiah 59:9 & 11-15 

“So justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We look for light, but all is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows.”
‭‭We look for justice, but find none; for deliverance, but it is far away. 
For our offences are many in your sight, and our sins testify against us. Our offences are ever with us, and we acknowledge our iniquities: rebellion and treachery against the Lord, turning our backs on our God, inciting revolt and oppression, uttering lies our hearts have conceived. 
So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter. Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey…..


For You have prayed for us, dear Lord: John 17:20-23 

My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one – I in them and you in me – so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”
https://bible.com/bible/113/jhn.17.22-23.NIVUK

A Short Reflection

The Source of Unity

What good news it is that Jesus makes us His own brothers and sisters, when we are born again by His own Spirit!

We also become part of His own Body here on earth, because He is now seated in Heavenly places with His Father. There is One Body of Christ with many different parts across all the nations of this world.

This poem does not detract from that good news. It reflects the deep desire which Jesus expressed in His prayer, that His followers on earth- those who live and believe in Him – will be one with the same Unity that exists between Himself and His Father.

Jesus wants us to be seen to be one so that the world will believe in the one true God. That’s the enduring theme of His prayer before He died on the Cross.

Oneness is a compelling quality, when different people believe in – and so are united by – the very same thing. This has spiritual power.

Darkness and Light

I was led to the verses in Isaiah – the Old Testament prophet – because they speak of the darkness in our world today.

We live in very dark times on earth. Truth now is often relative and not absolute at all. Justice is skewed and not impartial. Righteousness is a concept that is not even understood.

Unlike those mentioned by Isaiah, who were conscious of their offences against God, many people today have no concept of sinning and turning their backs on Him. We are fighting spiritual enemies, empowered by people who do not know or worship the One true God.

Many people in this world exist without believing in the God of Love. Sadly, they have become His enemies and reject His ways.

But we have His Light and Jesus wants them to see it. To see Him – the Way, the Truth and the Life – reflected in us.

Kate Stanway: November 11th 2025

Rest

This morning we are in our caravan on a very quiet site in Somerset, with a little river running by a meadow.

Unusually, the English summer weather has been very dry and hot, so the surrounding pastures are a brownish yellow – not green at all.

Early this morning grey, low cloud covers the landscape; although it is still warm.

Even the land feels stressed right now. Certainly there is great anxiety and stress in the world. The news is unremittingly gloomy and depressing and there are wars and rumours of wars all the time. Truth, goodness and righteousness are in very short supply.

Many people are looking for rest. Primarily, I believe, rest for their souls. Only God can supply that.

So, as I, Kate, reflected this morning, a poem emerged. It’s a bit rough and ready but it is really a prayer. Here it is.

Rest 

In a world on high alert, the news so full of stress
We need a place of resting; a place of knowing less
A place of restoration, where souls and bodies heal 
A time for really letting go of all the things we feel

Surrender isn’t easy, when going through the mill
The psalmist spoke of pastures green and waters that are still 
But there we need a laying down, releasing anxious thoughts
A time for giving up the fight of all the “shoulds” and “oughts”

We need a time with Jesus, sweet Shepherd of our soul 
To pour out our anxieties, so He can make us whole 
Stretch out Your Hand, Lord Jesus, and touch our deepest need
We want to be with You alone and follow where You lead

Come, precious Holy Spirit; refresh our inmost parts
Please overwhelm our thinking and calm our racing hearts 
Indwell our fleshly beings; transform us and renew
And clear our mental focus, till we see only You 

So, Lord, these verses are a prayer; appealing for Your rest
Please minister Your love to us; we’re asking to be blessed
Today, beloved Jesus, stretch out Your healing hand 
And by Your precious Spirit, bring rest into our land

“Our hearts are restless, until they rest in You”. St Augustine of Hippo

“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.”
Psalms 23:1-3 NIVUK

PS. Roger and I now have another blogsite, too. It’s called Hope and Glory. See www.kingdomheritageproductions.com

Thank You!

First an apology. I think that my last post was a bit discouraging and that’s not the purpose of this blog. My intention is to encourage. Thank you all for your love and prayers for me.

And, a special thank you to Angela in California, who picked up my personal mood in my last post and sent me a card, across all the miles between us, with a wonderful verse.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭15‬:‭13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Overflowing Hope

I wanted to share that verse with all of us and to pray it for each person who reads this blog.

At a time when the world is in turmoil, and there are wars and rumours of wars, we need the strength and power of that deep relationship with God, the Father, through Jesus and Holy Spirit. I’m asking the Lord to fill me and refill me with His Living Water so that I can be a source of His life and love to those whose lives I touch.

Here’s my prayer today.

Lord, we thank You for the power of Your Holy Spirit, giving us supernatural connection to the Source of all true hope, joy and peace. You are our Source. You cause Living Water to flow in and through us. Refresh us all with Your Spirit of hope, joy and peace and also with love and life in all its fullness. We want to overflow with Your hope and Your life in us so that others may know that You, Jesus, are the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except by You.

This day we offer You all our worship and ask You to lift us up on eagles’ wings to soar in the power of Your Spirit!

In the Mighty Name of Jesus!

Inspiration & Revelation

Grace and Truth

God’s Word is full of grace and truth. It’s full of inspiration and revelation.

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no-one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2‬:‭8‬-‭10‬ ‭NIVUK‬‬

While away recently in Madeira, Roger and I sensed that, in our 20th year of marriage, we were being led to use our individual gifts together again. Primarily we want to be encouragers to God’s family.

Rog loves to communicate visually and bring information and revelation to serve as a catalyst for prayer and action.

I love writing and I started this blog a few years ago to bring words of inspiration to life in poems and reflections. See: www.poems-and-reflections.com

This is a new season on the earth and there are lots of challenges. Following Jesus, we’re all here to extend the Kingdom of God to individuals and nations using the gifts He has given us.

Inspiration and revelation in Madeira

I’m sharing below a link to two short pieces of video from Roger, filmed in Madeira a week ago.

To set it in context, if you haven’t been following this blog, we unexpectedly found ourselves at a small hotel called Churchill Bay in Camara de Lobos, a fishing village, where 75 years ago, in January 1950, Churchill went to paint the local scenes as part of his personal rest time after the stresses and strains of the Second World War. Interestingly, Churchill is now in the news again! Did we start something….?

Just click on this link for Roger’s short video at the bronze statue of Churchill:

https://vimeo.com/1061262961

And this link for a slightly longer piece by the fishing boats..

https://vimeo.com/1061209845

(PS if you get rather strange closed captions – these are automatically generated and not by us. You can switch them off!)

And here’s my contribution today, by way of a short poem.

Inspiration & Revelation 

You and I - created - to bring God's revelation
To those that we encounter; community and nation
His words of inspiration; His words of life and peace
To bring His living Presence; His grace and truth release
 
He is the true Revealer, inspiring minds and hearts
He is the One we worship, His Spirit now imparts
To those who will receive Him, the wonders of His love
The treasures of His Kingdom, imparted from above.

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
‭‭John‬ ‭1‬:‭14‬ ‭NIVUK‬‬

Ladies’ Garden Party at Grace Church, Fredericksburg VA – April 2024

A special thanks to the Ladies at Grace Church – and especially to organisers Michelle and Letha – for preparing a wonderful Garden Party on 27th April 2024.
I was privileged to be part of it.
When Miriam and Doris and I arrived to help with some preparation on the morning, we were the first to arrive and the Worship Center was in darkness. It was a “let there be Light!” moment as Miriam found the light switch.
What we then saw was really beautiful!
As Miriam drove me home later she said, why don’t you write a poem?!
I hesitated ……but then said I would certainly think about it. Writing poems to order can be hard!
But this Sunday afternoon 28th I’ve had a go. Here’s the finished poem. Once again a huge thank you to those who put in such hard work and creativity to make the Ladies’ Garden Party a day to remember!

Garden Party – Grace Church – A Poem

We gathered in the morning, when it was cool and grey
But as we looked into the dark, we saw a bright array
For through an arch of flowers - as we switched on the light Appeared an indoor garden - unfolding to our sight

The hall inside had been transformed, into a special place 
Small trees stood high above us, and flowers filled the space 
And on the white clothed tables, more floral notes were seen 
Such beautiful arrangements, in colours white and green

We went into the kitchens, and started to prepare
The banquet of delicious food, that later we would share 
It was a place of busyness, but with such happy chatter 
The sounds of preparation - the clinking and the clatter!

And then the giant plates of food, the salads and the sweets 
The endless trays of tasty things, that we had come to eat! Arranged upon ceramic leaves - an elephantine ear
Created for this garden feast - through its preceding year

Then - at the very centre, of this delicious mountain
The sound of trickling water, from a stupendous fountain 
With flowers all around it, and flowers at its base
We feasted on God’s goodness, and celebrated Grace

And later we remembered, the gardens in God’s Word
The places where our God was seen, the places He was heard
In Eden’s pristine beauty, where in the cool of night
His Presence walked with man and wife, in undiminished Light

Jesus prayed in a garden, the night before He died
Then by His tomb, dear Mary saw - a “gardener”- and cried 
And we await a garden, with everlasting Light
Beside a crystal river, where there is no more night

And in that final garden, where Eden is restored
God’s people will behold His face, as their eternal Lord 
Beside a crystal river, His Tree of Life will grow
Its fruit and leaves will evermore, bring His own healing flow

So thank you for the garden, where we could celebrate 
And thank you for the beauty, that those on earth create 
High praises to our Father, His Spirit and His Son
We shall forever thank Him, our Mighty Three in One!

Elephant ear platter – hand made with love!

God’s Heart

Alignment

During the last month I have been consciously aligned with Israel. The Jewish New Year began on 15th September 2023…the year 5784 in Israel’s chronology. Why I have sensed this increased identification with her High and Holy days I am not sure. Except that it may be the Spirit of God, Israel’s Jehovah, who has drawn me. I was born in 1948; the same year that modern Israel was born. When I was truly born again in Jesus in 1990, I was immediately spiritually aware of the importance of Israel and her spiritual significance in the earth today.

Two Poems: Yom Kippur & The Heart of God

YOm kippur

I was in Kefalonia, Greece on Yom Kippur. This most Holy day for the Jewish people is the Day of Atonement. This year it was from sundown on 24th September to sundown on the 25th.

Atonement is about Israel’s collective awareness of sin; sin against their Most Holy God. All have sinned and fallen short of God’s holiness. The day called Yom Kippur is about repentance – personally and as a nation -and remembering the atoning sacrifices that used to be made by the priests for those sins; cleansing away the stains of sin for the year ahead.

The poem I wrote on Yom Kippur was my thankful response for the once and for all sacrifice of Jesus, the Messiah of Israel, who has not yet been recognised as such by most Jews alive today.

Jesus is my Saviour; the One who has rescued and redeemed me from sin and death and brought me into God’s Kingdom of eternal life, through His personal sacrifice of Himself on the cross some 2000 years ago. He is my Messiah by inheritance. Though I am not of the Jewish line, yet He has grafted me in to the rootstock of God’s people Israel, by His own blood sacrifice. This is my poem:

Thank You, Lord: On Yom Kippur 

You are worthy of all honour, glory and worship. 
You created all things. 
You sustain all things. 
You are the Lord of Love and Life. 

Glory is Your hallmark, Glory is Your Name 
There’s no honour great enough, for You are not the same 
You’re greater than creation, You’re Holy and You’re Other 
And yet You breathed Your life in us; gave Jesus as our brother 

To us who now believe in Him, Your pure and perfect Son 
You give Your Spirit freely, and in Him make us one 
One with your own perfection, one with Your glory here 
We give You all our worship; You call us to draw near 

If we were not in Jesus, we dare not seek Your Face 
For Holy is Your Countenance and we approach by grace 
The grace of His atonement, Your pure and perfect Lamb 
That sacrifice in blood was made by Him who is I AM 

And now on this most Holy Day, as we remember sin 
We grieve that we have been the ones who brought the darkness in 
So, as we thank You, Holy God, for brilliance of Light 
We worship You as David did - and dance with all our might! 

Originally written on Yom Kippur 24/5 September 2023

The Heart of God

After the Day of Atonement there follows, a few days later, the seven days of Sukkot – the Feast of Tabernacles – a time of rejoicing for the Jewish people. And, at the end of that week, a further two days holiday of rest and happiness. God’s Word – in the law given to Moses -is also celebrated.

It was at this latter time that the horror attack was perpetrated against the Jewish people in their homeland. Terrible reports of unspeakable atrocities; the worst since the Holocaust. Israel is in shock. The world is challenged. Christians and Jews, who pray to the same God, are crying out for justice, help, mercy. The whole earth is shaken. War is declared. Innocent people – children and babies included – are dead, injured and suffering.

We are all still in shock. Today, as I was joining with other Christians throughout the world, asking the Holy Spirit of God how to pray, I started to write a poem. I’ve finished a few verses. This is my way of trying to understand how to align with Jesus, in God’s own heart, to pray for God’s people Israel and, indeed, for the world in which I live.

The Heart of God

Your heart is not divided, Your heart is always One
You love this world we live in - as Father, Spirit, Son -
You hate the sin we perpetrate; the sin that stains this earth
You give us everything You are; that we might have new birth

And in the bloody conflict, when hatred fills man’s heart
Jesus we look upon Your cross - salvation You impart 
Your blood atones for everything and shows the power of love
The perfect love of sacrifice; our Father’s heart above

And so today we seek Your heart, to show us how to pray 
We ask for revelation - Your wisdom for this day 
Speak Light into great darkness; bind evil, horror, fear 
We ask for hearts of righteousness, to loose Your Kingdom here

Streams

We are blessed to have a home which backs on to a small river – in fact two small rivers; one called the River Clun and the other, the Unk!

We are also blessed that we are situated significantly higher than both those streams of water, with a very large flood plain beyond them to mop up the overflows that happen after prolonged rain, usually in the winter.

This is the River Unk at the bottom of our river bank.

Psalm 1

When we bought our home, some 14 years ago, we had to follow the leading of the Spirit to make sure it was the new place that the Lord wanted to plant us in. I distinctly remember a number of ‘words’ given and fleeces laid down to confirm that this was His place for us! One of those confirmations was Psalm 1, which the Lord brought to our attention through a song based on that psalm, written by Ian White. Here’s a link:

Jesus in the Psalms

Actually, if you’re listening to and watching the You Tube video of Psalm 1 by Ian White, you will get links to more tracks on his album. I love his Psalm settings.

I was further blessed this morning with another video on Psalm 1 which popped up as I was looking at YouVersion – The Bible App. This is by a ministry called Spoken Gospel:

Resting in Jesus – the Stream of Life

I was so excited by the conclusions drawn in that second video. Draw His living water into the root systems of your life. We can all be planted by the water of Life if we focus on deepening our relationship with Jesus.

Not striving, though – ‘rest humbly in Jesus and you will live! ‘