The Narrow Road: Poems along the Way

By Rev. Joe Roberts

The Narrow Road: Poems along the Way.

The Narrow Road is a collection of spiritual poems that chronicles Rev. Roberts' personal journey in search of, finding and walk with Jesus Christ. It is the author's hope that others will see their own walk among these words and that these poetical pieces might inspire, encourage, and aid in their own journey. The author also hopes that for those seeking meaning in their lives will ask the question, "Who is this Jesus and what can he do for me?"

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Oct 19, 2022
• ISBN: 9798886165937

Book preview

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The Narrow Road

Poems along the Way

Rev. Joe Roberts

ISBN 979-8-88616-592-0 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88685-928-7(hardcover)

ISBN 979-8-88616-593-7(digital)

Copyright © 2022 by Rev. Joe Roberts

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Introduction

Lost

Agape Marriage

Mental Thorns

A Soldier Still

The Bully

The Lunch That Never Was

Good Grief

Prayer Walk

Jesus My Aloha

Not God-Forsaken

Ground Zero

God's Emancipation Proclamation

Walking the Talk

Solitude

Peace

Justification

Almost Home

His Scars Never Fade

Desert Cathedral

The Garden

My Little Grass Chapel

Signposts

Under the Sign of Christ

Knowing Christ

The Purest of Prayers

Journey's End

The Patience of Job

Following Christ

Martyr's Hill

The Sermon

Living Water

Communion

Worship

The Banana Slug

Never Alone

A Perfect Father

Metamorphosis

Such a Chain of Witnesses

I Have a Friend

The Leper

Morning Prayer

Guilt

Forgiveness

A Sixty-Second Sermon

My Long Goodbye

A Personal Psalm

Jerusalem

Jesus Is

Confession

Humility

Family Gatherings

Suffering

A Piece of Creation

Persecution

The Narrow Road

Three Haiku and a Senryu

Among the Ruins of Corinth

The Living Sermon

The Patriarch Grove

Three Haiku and a Senryu

A Proper Prayer Heart

What It Means to Love

Definition of Faithfulness

Hafu

Nothing New under the Sun

Across the Midnight Sea

The Good Shepherd

Flotsam and Jetsam

I Was There

When All Is Said and Done

Lost and Found

About the Author

To

Revs. James and George Toda, my mentors and shepherds.

But small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

—Matthew 7:14

Introduction

I have been around for seventy-six years. I've seen a lot of life and experienced the sweet and the sour, the good and the bad, failure and success, disappointment and fulfillment. That is everyone's story as we travel the roads of human existence.

I am not a theologian or a Rhodes scholar. I'm just a follower of Jesus Christ who was blessed enough to become a minister and pastor of a small congregation in Fremont, California, for twenty-two years. They were wonderful years with joy and with some pain. Both joyful and painful experiences were beneficial, and I cherish them all.

I realized after retiring how imperfect a pastor I had been because being human I was always imperfect no matter what my endeavor. It is everyone's lot in life. We all fall short;