IN THIS HIS LOVE

In this His love for us
How can one live in such majesty
How can one receive such grace
How can one give to others
Of this His love for us
I look at my hands
I see my sin and shame
I look at the cross
I see His love and mercy
Oh how can this be
His love for you
His love for me
There are times all I can feel
Is the shame clinging to me
Like a second skin
Then there He is
In His love for me
Reminding me of
The truth that He has redeemed me
That He has cleansed me
That He knows me
In this His love for me
In this His love of me
How can one live in such majesty
How can one receive such grace
How can one give to others
Of this His love for us
For He first loved me
For He sent His only Son to die
For He justified me
For In Christ Jesus He reconciled me to Himself
That I might show His love
That I might give freely of
The very love He has for us
Of the very love He has for me

Angel Barreto

THE GIFT-A GIFT

He gave to me
With no expectations
With no strings attached
With no ulterior motive
With no works on my behalf
A gift
The gift
Of light
Of mercy
Of love
Of truth
The gift
A gift
Of healing
Of purpose
Of joy
Of peace
He gave
He was
He became
He is
He will always be
The gift
He gave to me
Of Himslef
In humility
In humbleness
In obedience
In love
As an example
As a way
As a life
As a light
The gift
A gift
Of life
To be reconciled
To be new
To be His
To live a life abundantly
He gave the gift
A gift of Himself

Angel Barreto

FORGOTTEN NOT

Have I forgotten how to sing
In my heart
From my spirit
Have I gotten to be like a mule
Led by bit and bridle
Have I lost sight of Your love
Your unfailing love
That surrounds Your children
Have I forgotten how to trust
In Your love
In Your ways
In Your truth
I have kept silent
In my sin
In my self
In my pride
I am wasting away
In my bones
In my groaning
In my spirit
Cry out my heart
Shout out my spirit
For my silence has cut me off
All my strength evaported
Have I forgotten the discipline
Of the Lord
Of the Father
For those He calls His very own
Have I forgotten just who You are
Sing you His righteous
Confess you His children
Cry out you His beloved ones
Forget not your King
Forget not your Father
Forget not your Savior

Even in my place of exile
By my hands
By my sin
In my silence
I can not forget You Lord
I can not lose sight of You
Of who You are
Of who I am in You
Of who You are in me
For there You are
For there You are
Forgotten not is Your salvation
Forgotten not is Your mercy
Forgotten not is Your holiness
Teach me to remember who You are Lord
Let my heart sing with gladness
Let my spirit praise in joy
For You are the only one
That rescues my soul
Let me not forget You
Let me not be silent
Let me not ignore You
Humble my heart and mind
Have I forgotten the land of Egypt
Have I forgotten the lies
Do I not wear the scars of redemption
From a land of sin
O to have Your name on my lips
O to know Your name in my spirit
O to have Your love in my soul
Yes how can one forget

Angel Barreto

A PRICE TO BE

What price paid for freedom
What price paid in love
What price paid for pirity of heart
Oh Lord a price You paid
For we Your people to be
To be healthy
To be whole
To be broken
To be restored
To be renewed
To be loved
To be one with You
To be one with one
What price paid for beauty
What price paid for joy
What price paid for life
Oh Holy Spirit a price You paid
To be true
To be light
To be salt
To be new
To be all that one could be
To be Yours
What price paid for holiness
What price paid to be clean
What price paid to be reconciled
Oh Father a price You paid with Your Son
To be poor yet rich
To be foolish yet wise
To be apart yet a body
To be held
To be known as only one can be
To be forever with You Lord
What price paid glory
What price paid for truth
What price paid for all
Oh Lord Jesus a price You were for all

Angel Barreto

YOU LIVING IN ME

If I only get today

I can praise You Lord
When the day is done and gone
No matter what shape I am left in
I can praise You my King
No matter how small a light I shine
You are seen
You are seen
To think I get this opportunity
To be the salt of the earth
And a light in this dark world
You living in me
Not something I would have ever believed
Much less lived
Yeah much less thought a possiblity
But here You are
Calling me from the darkness
To be Your light
To be Your light
Let me not cloud up the reflection
By running after the worthless things
Turn my eyes from myself to You
Turn my vision from me
To everyone You want me to touch
Put me where You want Your presence to go
Lead me Holy Spirit
To where I am afriad to go
You living in me
Not something that is easy
Ain’t no crutch of faith here
Just one child in Your strength
Let me be that light You called me to be
Let me be Your flavor for all to taste
You living in me

Angel Barreto

PEACE

Troubled mind
Troubled heart
Hurt and anger
Fear and pride
Fruit that linger
If not picked
Fruit that rots
If not dealt with

Peace where is peace
In the shadow of God’s wings
Contentment where is contentment
In the provision of my King

Words they fly
Words they cut
Tongues let loose
Tongues of defense
To tear down
To build up
To take control
To stop cold

Joy where is found joy
In the strength of knowing the Lord
Treasure where is the treasure
In the wisdom and truth of God’s word

Troubled spirit
Troubled home
Eggshells and landmines
Grudges and unforgiveness
Strongholds of heartache
If not dealt with

The peace of the Lord
The contentment of His Spirit
Deep and lasting
For any trial or storm
Come you His children
Sit and learn of His goodness
Come all you His children
Come and be healed

Angel Barreto

THIS CHANGE

I just want to cry
When I think about the time I have wasted
No not about the time before I knew you Lord
But the times since I have gotten to know You
My Lord and King
And I wish I could start over
But to no avail
I can’t change those times
I walked in my own time
I walked in my own time
If not for Your love and mercy
If not for Your grace and compassion
Who could stand themselves for very long
If not for the work of Thy hands
If not for the work of Thy hands
I pray for change
Yet the I should know betters
Try to get the best of me
This flesh fights to bring me
In line with its steps
Yet I desire to follow the lead of the Holy Spirit
And I fight
And I whine
And I desire to walk in the light of Your truth
Even when I am most like my flesh
I can’t help but cry out for You
I can’t help but cry out to You
If not for You
Then what would I be
What would I be
And this change has been more than I dreamed of
And this grace is more than I hoped for
For I had no hope
For I had no life
For I had no promise I was without God in this world
And this change is more than I could have ever of hoped for


Angel Barreto

ALL THAT YOU ARE

I will bow
I will sing
I will stand firm in this race
For You are God
There is no other
There is none like You
You are Lord
You are Creator
You are the Lamb
Slain that man can be reconciled
I will cry out in my distress
I will cry out in joy and thanksgiving
For You are the source of my stregth
I will bow
I will sing
I will stand firm in this race
For You alone are God
Where else could I turn and live
Where else could I turn
Not to man
Not to woman
Not to the world in its corruption
Not to self in its deceitfulness
I will sing of You my Lord
I will tell of You my Savior
I will speak of Your redemption
I will forgive as You have forgiven me
I will stand firm in Your strength
Let these lips never be ashamed of Your name
Let this heart never turn from Your love
Let me never forget You O Lord
Let me never forget all that You are
To this man
All that You are
To this man

Angel Barreto

PRAYING FOR CHANGE

The polar opposites
Extreme to each other
Yet bound by the Creator
By His will
By His love
A sovereign God and His people
The Holy and the sinful
The Spirit and the flesh
Round and round
In and out
Back and forth it goes
The cycle of living and dying
Nothing changes
Yet the appearance is changed
By the perception of the heart
Heaven and earth
The Creator and the created
A separating in need of a bridge
A coming together of all that is and will be
Jesus died that we may live
The paradox of faith
The paradox of God
To hear of Him
To know Him
To experience Him
Believing in what is unseen yet sure
Trusting when all seems hopeless
Yet hope lives in the despair
To be a willing participant in His plan
The privilege of seeing His hand at work
The wonder of prayer
To find Him
To be found by us
To be known and sought
A mystery yes
But oh the wonder of Him
In our seeking
We will be changed


Angel Barreto