8-15-15 It’s Time to Make a Choice

Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.

Joshua 24:14 KJV

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There comes a time when you must make a choice

To put away your worship of the world,

And like a young lad’s ever-changing voice

Becomes in speech mature, a man unfurled.

The gods this world promotes are full of need

And calls to you a thousand different ways,

Imploring you to buy their shiny bead,

But once you do you find it’s made of clay.

There is no better time to choose the Lord;

The hourglass is running out of sand.

The Spirit’s nudging you to leave the horde

And give your life to Jesus; take His hand.

Let go the worldly gods that stole your youth

To serve the Lord sincerely and in truth.

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sonnet #437

6-14-15 On Priorities

²¹ And another of his disciples said unto him,

Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.

²² But Jesus said unto him, Follow me;

and let the dead bury their dead.

Matthew 8:21-22 KJV

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When Jesus calls you come and follow Him

And He has set about you plans and goals,

Don’t step aside – don’t drop your voice mid hymn,

To do the work that’s meant for other souls.

You may think it important that you go,

And there are times appropriate for this,

But when Christ marks a path to undergo,

To look behind while plowing is to miss.

When Jesus lived He had no time to wait;

Disciples fell away and ne’er came back.

I pray when you’re with Him you keep His gait,

And let somebody else take up the slack.

The presence of the Master trumps the dead;

Let others do the burying instead.

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sonnet #389

6-7-15 SHOUT!

⁴⁷ And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.

⁴⁸ And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.

⁴⁹ And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they called the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee.

⁵⁰ And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus.

⁵¹ And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight.

⁵² And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.

Mark 10:47-52 KJV

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The Son of David passes by you now,

And though you cannot see you know it’s Him.

The crowd’s as thick as nature can allow.

Would you still call His name, though chance is slim?

You know that you’re not worthy of His time,

And even if you yelled He’d never hear.

So here you sit amid your sin and slime;

Would you still shout His name and persevere?

Then SHOUT and beg for mercy! SHOUT His name!

You may not ever get another try!

Ignore the crowd’s rebuke and SHOUT the same!

If Christ is all you need He’ll hear your cry.

He calls – you throw your cloak of sin away;

Put all your faith in Christ – you’ll see today.

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sonnet #382

6-4-15 You’re in Good Hands

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish,

neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all;

and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.

John 10:27-29 KJV

            ~~~~~~~~~~~

You heard the gospel, how He died for you,

And something stirred within your barren heart;

You recognized His voice and then you knew

You had to follow Him or fall apart.

He knows you, child, He calls you to His side,

And no one can remove you from His hand.

Eternally in Jesus you abide

A gift of Grace no evil can withstand.

Our Father, who gave you to Christ our Lord,

Is mightier than all and loves you so;

Secure within His grasp you’re safely stored,

Assuredly protected to and fro.

No matter what you go through while you’re here,

Remember in Their hands you’ve naught to fear.

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sonnet #379

5-28-15 On Wrath

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear,

slow to speak, slow to wrath:

For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

James 1:19-20 KJV

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An angry man is blind to love and light.

And deaf to every whisper Spirit makes.

How can he serve his brothers day and night

When all that he provides are bellyaches?

If you have anger that you can’t control,

Ask Jesus to remove it by its roots.

The weeds of wrath will choke the tender soul,

But Christ can pluck them out to bear good fruits.

Be swift to hear the Spirit when He calls,

And do not speak until He gives you words.

The man who’s led by Jesus never falls.

Obey the wind to fly among the birds.

The love of God will burn away your wrath.

His righteousness will keep you on the path.

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sonnet #372

4-20-15 God is Light

Here is, my brother, wisdom bold and true:

That God the Father of us all is light.

There is no darkness in Him, through and through;

He is both true and holy in His might.

The gloom of sin can’t hide from Him at all;

He sees within our hearts, there’s no disguise.

His light is life to all things great and small;

Illuminating both the earth and skies.

God turned the lowly shepherd boy to king;

He walked the earth as Jesus, two as one.

He makes the dead to live and angels sing;

He calls the second coming of His Son.

Our God’s the light of Grace and Mercy, too;

He is the light of love, and He loves you.

~~~~~~~~~~~

This then is the message which we have heard of him,

and declare unto you,

that God is light,

and in him is no darkness at all.

1 John 1:5 KJV

4-2-15 THE Voice

Though God calls out your name both night and day

You almost always never hear His voice,

And  though you ask your friends “What did you say?”

That haunting sound persists and lessens choice.

It’s easier to guess when does God not

Reach out to you with love and call your name;

A million times a second you are sought

To stand and in the Savior’s name acclaim

That Jesus is the Truth, the Life, the Way,

And if you listen, Spirit’s voice is clear

That through the cross you’ll never go astray,

So when God calls your name say “Speak, I hear.”

Then when you come to know God’s gentle call

You never will forget His voice at all.

~~~~~~~~~~~

And the LORD came, and stood,

and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel.

Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.

1 Samuel 3:10 KJV