Saved by Grace

by Mark Greenelsh ©2025
Refraining from evil and doing good works cannot save you. Only by relying on what Jesus has done for you can you saved from your sin and accepted by God. (Inspired by Luke 18:9-14, Ephesians 2:8-10).

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(Verse 1)
He stands tall in the public square,
His record clean, his prayers are long,
“Thank God I’m not like other men,”
His heart convinced he’s done no wrong.

(Verse 2)
She counts her deeds on faithful hands,
“I’ve never stolen, never lied,”
Her charity fills social feeds,
Behind her smile, lurks misplaced pride.

(Verse 3)
But in the shadows, head bowed low,
A broken man with remorseful heart,
“Have mercy, Lord, I am a sinner,”
No list of merits to impart.

(Verse 4)
His tears fall heavy on the floor,
No righteous works to claim as shield,
Just empty hands and honest plea,
A wounded soul that seeks to heal.

(Chorus)
Not by our deeds, but by God’s grace,
Not by our strength, but by his love,
The proud stand tall, but fall alone.
The contrite kneel and are lifted up.

(Verse 5)
Two souls before the same great throne,
Two paths to try and be received.
One builds in vain a ladder of works,
One humbly pleads for God’s mercy.

(Bridge)
We cannot earn what love has bought,
Our righteousness like filthy rags.
The cross stands tall where pride must die,
And mercy fills what merit lacks.
When we surrender all our ways,
And trust in what the Savior’s done,
The Father calls us now his own,
Adopted through his perfect Son.

(Chorus)
Not by our deeds, but by God’s grace,
Not by our strength, but by his love,
The proud stand tall, but fall alone.
The contrite kneel and are lifted up.

Oceans Dance

by Mark Greenelsh ©2025
God is wonderful beyond words and worthy of all praise.

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(Verse 1)
Regal mountains bow at his name.
Stars shine to show his fame.
Ocean waves dance at his call.
God’s beauty seen by all.

(Verse 2)
His realm extends past galaxies
Yet he hears each whispered plea.
He seeks the ones who’ve gone astray
Heals broken hearts each day.

(Chorus)
Draw close to God and know his grace.
Joy fills each moment in his embrace.
What he has done, what he will do
His wonders old and blessings new.

(Verse 3)
Morning sunshine, evening rain
Daily bread, triumph through pain.
Every blessing flows from above
Perfect gifts from boundless love.

(Verse 4)
Kings and kingdoms rise and fall.
God will judge the wicked, one and all.
But those who kneel before his throne
He forgives and adopts as his own.

(Bridge)
Listen and hear, look and see
Marvel at God almighty.
He delivers through darkest night
Ever faithful to make things right.

(Chorus)
Draw close to God and know his grace.
Joy fills each moment in his embrace.
What he has done, what he will do
His wonders old and blessings new.

(Outro)
From sparrow’s hymn to sunset’s flame
All creation declares his name.
He’s worthy of our highest praise
Let’s bring him glory all our days.

Spinning

by Mark Greenelsh ©2025
A teenage girl is unsure what to do when she realizes she has strong feelings for a guy who up to now has just been a long-standing friend.

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(Verse 1)
Time together used to be easy
Before my heart learned your gravity.
Now I’m caught in your orbit, spinning
Hoping for the dawn of something more.

(Verse 2)
I invent ways to bump into you
Between classes or at the mall.
Your smile makes my heart skip a beat
You’ve grown handsome and tall.

(Chorus)
I’m dying to confess these feelings
But do you see me this way, too?
What if my heart ruins everything?
Your friendship is too dear to lose.

(Verse 3)
Your goofy jokes seem funnier
I enjoy hearing about your day.
When girls talk to you, I feel a sting.
How strange that I react this way?

(Verse 4)
Our selfies fill up my phone now.
I scroll through them late at night
Dreaming of holding your hand
Wondering if it would feel right.

(Chorus)
I’m dying to confess these feelings
But do you see me this way, too?
What if my heart ruins everything?
Your friendship is too dear to lose.

(Bridge)
I’m stuck at this crossroads
Afraid to take a leap.
Should I risk our friendship
For a love that might not be?

(Verse 5)
In my mind, we’re already dating
Sharing milkshakes, watching the stars.
But reality is not so steady,
I’m still admiring from afar.

(Chorus)
I’m dying to confess these feelings
But do you see me this way, too?
What if my heart ruins everything?
Your friendship is too dear to lose.

Echo His Melody

by Mark Greenelsh ©2025
We don’t create from scratch, instead we modify, adapt, and extend what God has blessed us with. May we look to God and use our creativity for good.

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(Verse 1)
Before time’s dawn, almighty God spoke.
Stars blazed and planets spun their dance.
From dust he shaped our mortal frame
His breath, our soul’s inheritance.

(Verse 2)
Mirror of his creative heart
We bear his image, bright and true
To tend this garden, multiply
With hands that shape and minds that brew.

(Chorus)
From God’s wellspring of all wonder
Flows the gift to shape and form.
May our works reflect his glory
And in love, his world transform.

(Verse 3)
Not from void do we add to life
But employ with gifts already given.
Clay and color, sound and space
Notes borrowed from heaven’s rhythm.

(Verse 4)
What we build stands on foundations
Laid by God’s almighty hand.
Every poem, song, or structure
Born of what he first designed.

(Bridge)
We cannot craft another’s heart
But shine his light upon their way.
May our words water, our hands tend
To help them grow, trust, and obey.

(Verse 5)
With the Composer of the cosmos
Loving Savior of our lives
May we, by faith, humbly echo
His melody to join him and thrive.

(Chorus)
From God’s wellspring of all wonder
Flows the gift to shape and form.
May our works reflect his glory
And in love, his world transform.

Blind Spot

by Mark Greenelsh ©2025
By faith in God avoid the ruinous tendency to believe what’s convenient, attractive, or compelling rather than the truth.

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(Verse 1)
We build our castles in the sand
On what we wish to be
Dismissing truth that doesn’t fit
The world we want to see.

(Verse 2)
Those learned men in ancient days
With scrolls and reverent prayer
Missed God when he stood in their midst
Though seeking him with care.

(Verse 3)
Their righteous deeds like tarnished coins
Could never pay the debt
While Jesus offered grace divine
A gift they would reject.

(Verse 4)
Their blindness cast a shadow long
On all who followed their wake.
All stubborn hearts become a wall
That blocks God’s saving grace.

(Bridge)
The siren song of pleasant words
That soothe but never save
Will draw us toward the rocky shore
Where shipwrecked faith remains.
God’s Word stands firm against the tide
Of what we wish to hear.
True freedom waits in surrendered hearts
When truth we hold most dear.

(Verse 5)
We stand today on shifting ground
Prone to holding a debased view.
Yet God has laid a foundation
To provide the best life for you.

(Chorus)
Search for the blind spot in your view
That hides what’s real and true.
Let heaven’s light break through the dark
And guide what you pursue.
Then help the wandering find their way
Beyond the veil of pride
Where truth and grace illuminate
The path too long denied.

Wondrous Ways

by Mark Greenelsh ©2025
Like he did for Elijah, a widow, and ancient Israel, God provides for those who trust and obey him. Yet, incredibly as he does so, he accomplishes other divine purposes like judgment and redemption which we may not realize at the time. (Refer to 1 Kings 17-18).

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(Verse 1)
When drought and famine plagued the land,
God fed Elijah by sending ravens.
When a poor widow gave her last meal
God awarded her a better deal.

(Verse 2)
This widow’s jar did not drain,
Her flour didn’t cease til it rained.
When her son died, Elijah prayed,
God brought the boy to life again.

(Chorus)
Though his ways may seem unclear,
God’s faithful hand is always near.
He provides for those who trust,
For he’s loving, wise, and just.

(Verse 3)
On Mount Carmel false gods failed,
Through fire God’s power was revealed.
For he reigns over all supreme,
With him your best is yet to be.

(Verse 4)
Though judgment came for Israel’s sin,
God’s plan for them was still to redeem.
God meets many needs as he provides.
His purposes extend deep and wide.

(Bridge)
God’s individual care and provision,
Serve his greater, eternal mission.
He saves and judges in perfect time,
While accomplishing his will divine.

(Verse 5)
In unexpected, wondrous ways,
God’s steadfast love and grace displays.
He works through trials, loss, and dearth,
To care for those who obey on earth.

(Chorus)
Though his ways may seem unclear,
God’s faithful hand is always near.
He provides for those who trust,
For he’s loving, wise, and just.

Only What Lasts

by Mark Greenelsh ©2025
Invest in what helps you and others draw closer to God in loving, everlasting relationship. Nothing else truly matters.

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(Verse 1)
This world spreads treasures like autumn leaves,
But gold turns dust when morning comes.
Your presence is the breath I breathe,
Lord, you’re the only lasting One.

(Verse 2)
I long to walk these garden paths
Where Adam heard your voice so clear,
To talk with you as evening laughs
And feel your heartbeat ever dear.

(Chorus)
Help me invest my thoughts and days
In what draws hearts close to you.
Guide every word and all my ways,
For true life is knowing you.

(Verse 3)
Good Shepherd, lead me to the stream
Where quiet waters heal my soul,
Through meadows green where angels sing
And you alone can make me whole.

(Verse 4)
Teach me to loose these heavy chains
Of things that rust and fade away,
To chase what echoes through remains
When earth gives birth to endless day.

(Bridge)
Each moment spent beside your throne
Makes me wiser, strong, and true.
Shape my heart to be your own,
Fill me with your love anew.

(Verse 5)
Speak through me what’s true and greater
To mend the broken, reach the lost,
Through every storm refine my nature
To shine for you, despite the cost.

(Chorus)
Help me invest my thoughts and days
In what draws hearts close to you.
Guide every word and all my ways,
For true life is knowing you.

Against the Current

by Mark Greenelsh ©2025
Speaking the truth in love may be difficult, but it is worth it, because through it God saves people and sets them free.

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(Verse 1)
In this age of endless choice,
Each carves their own false path,
But God’s unwavering voice
Calls us back from certain wrath.

(Verse 2)
Against the current we must swim,
Resisting culture’s siren call,
To shine a light in darkness dim
And be salt preserving all.

(Chorus)
So humbly live God’s love displayed,
Remembering grace that made you whole,
That others too may find God’s way
For he alone can make them whole.

(Verse 3)
Draw close to God, heed his Word,
Embrace the truth that sets us free,
Then speak with courage, be not deterred,
This is how we help others see.

(Verse 4)
Expect the world to mock and scorn,
For they rejected Christ before,
But through our witness, souls are born
To life abundant evermore.

(Bridge)
Silence conveys a lack of love,
For truth withheld denies their need,
Without God’s light for how to live,
The lost have no hope to succeed.

(Verse 5)
Rely on God to guide your way,
For only he can change a heart,
Your humble witness plants the seed,
He makes it grow and bear good fruit.

(Chorus)
So humbly live God’s love displayed,
Remembering grace that made you whole,
That others too may find God’s way
For he alone can make them whole.

Rise Above Fear

by Mark Greenelsh ©2025
Rise above fear by faith in God because he loves you, provides for you, and protects you. Nothing can harm you as you walk with God.

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(Verse 1)
Shadows of past mistakes darken our days.
Present worries like chains bind our hearts.
Future’s mist shrouds the uncertain path.
In this broken world, fear tears us apart.

(Verse 2)
Hands we trusted let go when we fall.
Our own strength crumbles under life’s weight.
Walking paths of our choosing, not God’s
Reaps destruction as our only fate.

(Verse 3)
But a light breaks through darkness so deep
Jesus reaches where no one can go.
Death and fear lose their grip on our souls.
In those who trust, new life he bestows.

(Chorus)
When storm clouds gather and winds assail.
Lift your eyes to Jesus who won’t fail.
Rise above fear on faith’s steady wings
Safe in his arms where your spirit sings.

(Verse 4)
Like rain on parched ground, his love pours down
His shield before you, his peace within.
More than sufficient, in all things he gives.
Where grace abounds, new journeys begin.

(Bridge)
Outside his will lies a wasteland bare
Nothing to want, many things to fear.
But in his purpose, sheltered and held
Nothing can harm you for God is near.

(Verse 5)
His divine power grants all that you need.
Life and godliness flow from his hand.
Every blessing comes from heaven’s store.
Hope in him alone, and learn to stand.

(Chorus)
When storm clouds gather and winds assail.
Lift your eyes to Jesus who won’t fail.
Rise above fear on faith’s steady wings
Safe in his arms where your spirit sings.
Where your spirit sings.

When Shadows Fall

by Mark Greenelsh ©2025
Respond to those who are suffering by drawing close to God and by prayerfully supporting them with faith, hope, and love.

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(Verse 1)
In a world of storms and shattering skies,
Where choices break and innocents weep,
Pain carves its path through all our lives,
And suffering plants its roots so deep.
Draw near to God when darkness swells,
Let his whispers calm the raging sea.
In broken places, his presence dwells,
His hands restore what cannot be.

(Verse 2)
Reach out with love to those who mourn,
Share their tears, their burden bear.
When hearts are crushed and hope is torn,
Show them they’re not alone in despair.
Offer bread to hungry hands,
Shelter to those lost in rain.
Be Christ’s body where sorrow stands,
A living bridge across the pain.

(Verse 3)
Hold fast to faith when reasons fail,
When “why” remains without reply.
God works beyond the shadowed veil,
Though hidden from our questioning eye.
From broken soil, new life appears,
From darkest night, stars burn bright.
God transforms ashes of our tears
To beauty wrapped in morning light.

(Bridge)
Hope rises like the coming dawn,
A promise etched in heaven’s plan.
One day all grief will be withdrawn,
All tears wiped by God’s gentle hand.
Until that day, his grace sustains,
His strength perfected in our need.
His power prevails over pain,
To save, transform, and set free.

(Chorus)
When disaster strikes like lightning,
And suffering tightens like a vice,
Find peace in God’s arms that hold you.
Love and trust him through the night.
Then rise up with hands extended,
With his comfort overflowed.
Be the vessel of his mercy
To others burdened on life’s road.