My King, My Lover, My Friend: A Book of Poetry and Autobiographical Commentary

By P. J. Guidera

The mysteries of the Lords ways are often higher than we could ever hope to go. But He is not a God Who cannot be known, Who cannot be understood, or Who hides Himself from His beloved creations. He is a God Who reveals Himself in both subtle and obvious ways and Who desires for His people to recognize the Voice and the Fingerprints of the One Whom they serve. This short collection of poems, essays, commentaries, and prayers aims to help those seeking the Face of their Father to see Him just a bit more clearly and to know and understand their God in a manner that delights His Spirit. Deeply personal and drawn from the authors own journals, life experiences, and meditations, this book hopes to further reveal a not-so-hidden God to a world and to a people in desperate need of the truth and love of their Savior.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Aug 14, 2015
• ISBN: 9781512705942

P. J. Guidera

P. J. Guidera dedicated his life to Christ when he was 13 years old. He has since committed himself to the study of Scripture and to the advancement of the truth and love of God in his own heart and mind, as well as the hearts and minds of those around him. He is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy Class of 2010 and served as a logistics officer in the United States Marine Corps from 2010-2015. In his free time, he enjoys the exhilaration of dropping into 6-foot surf, the auditory pleasure of high quality stereo systems, and riding his motorcycle a bit faster than he probably ought to. He desires daily to walk deeper into the Presence of the God Who loves him and to adequately prepare himself to one day receive a woman as his own beloved.

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Introduction

There is tremendous power in words. They can either build or destroy, either give life or take it away. Jesus said, The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.¹ And James tells us in chapter 3, verses 1-12 of his epistle that we can control our whole body if we can control the words we speak. These, and many other examples throughout the Bible, display the power of words whether they come from the Mouth of God or from human mouths. And so, it is critical that we learn to use this power with discipline and self-control in a manner honoring to the One who created all things by His Word. In regards to this book specifically, it is my hope that the words I present will be powerful and will greatly impact your perspective on life and on the God we Christians claim to serve. I hope the words I have chosen will be bring clarity and understanding when God and His ways seem confusing and beyond comprehension. And I hope by reading these words your love and appreciation for Our Author are strengthened, but, more importantly, that your appreciation for how much He loves you is deepened.

I remember when the idea for this book came to me. It was about two and a half years ago, late summer/early fall of 2012, right around the same time I began doing one-on-one discipleship with a great man of The Faith, Brock Fallon. By that time, my journaling and my poetry writing had gotten pretty serious and had become a consistent part of my relationship with The King as I work[ed] out [my] salvation in fear and trembling.² However, up to that point, I had never even considered actually sitting down, typing everything out, and seeking a publisher for my work. But when the LORD hits you with an idea, it’s pretty unmistakable. The vision of what this book should be was so clear and so vivid in my mind even down to the style, the content, and the cover design, including the color scheme for the entirety of the book. To me, undeniable. I must write this book, I thought to myself.

However, as I now sit down and actually begin to write this book, I can’t help but be somewhat amused or even incredulous. I never thought of myself as someone capable of writing a book. I remember I always used to say, I could never write a book. I simply do not have enough to say about any one subject to ever have the amount of material you would need to write one. Well, surprise! I guess I do, in fact, have enough to say because here I am writing this. Or perhaps I should say the LORD has given me enough to say about Him, because I truly believe that this book is His idea, not mine.

It does seem rather fitting though. God enjoys using people in the exact ways they think they are most deficient. And those who know me well know that Jesus and the things of God are the only topics I ever really have much to say about. Thank you to all of my friends and family who confirmed this vision for me by encouraging me to continue writing and by asking me if I would ever try to publish anything. Your fellowship and godly examples are forever impressed onto my heart, mind, and soul. And a special thank you to all the members of the Body of Christ in Okinawa, Japan, with whom I had the honor and privilege of fellowshipping. A significant portion of the content of this book was inspired by or written during my two years of service there.

On the topic of content, before you, the reader, dive into the real meat and potatoes of this book, I would like to explain from where all these writings came. Every bit of this book can be found somewhere in my journals.³ What you are about to read is my heart, mind, and soul poured out onto paper, with nothing less than glorifying and loving My Savior as the aim. The various pieces contained herein are a mixture of poems, commentaries, essays, and prayers, with poems and their associated background commentaries making up the majority.

I started journaling while attending the Naval Academy. And the only reason why I started writing poetry was because I felt inspired by a young Chinese woman I had met during one of my summers abroad in Tianjin, China. (

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28325.png Translation: If by chance you read this book, you know who you are. I hope someday you will understand how much the Most High God loves you.) In fact, I had written several poems in Mandarin on behalf of this young lady long before I ever started writing anything in English to honor The King. It is interesting how He cultivates the gifts He has given each of us and what he uses to draw our attention to them. In this case, He knew I would pay attention to this young woman, and He knew that the feelings I felt toward her would inspire me for the first time to write my thoughts down in the form of poetry. Excepting the many things I learned about God, myself, the Chinese culture, and relationships, nothing ever came of the intimate friendship this young lady and I shared. But I believe the LORD got everything that He desired for me out of this experience. For it was this relationship that began to engage the gift of words with which I believe He has blessed me.

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