6-24-15 First to Last

Bart Walker Bringing Up the Rear

So the last shall be first, and the first last:

for many be called, but few chosen.

Matthew 20:16 KJV

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The souls who are forgotten by the crowd:

The meek, the low, the bullied and the plain,

Are lost among the ego-driven proud

And last to find a post they can attain.

The Lord will not ignore the seventh son,

The shepherd boy who one day would be king.

The manger-born became the perfect One

To save a sinful world who hopeless cling.

We all are called to come unto the cross,

Invited to the wedding feast by Christ;

The proud will all be counted as a loss,

The chosen ones are those who’ve paid the price.

Down here we choose the leader of the pack;

If you would follow Christ, then serve in back.

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sonnet #397

5-21-15 Every Eye Shall See

2nd coming

Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

Revelation 1:7 KJV

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Then like a thief at night will Jesus come,

Surprising all but those who are prepared,

And all with eyes to see will then become

To know that He is here, His presence bared.

The dead in Christ shall rise from in the ground;

The righteous all will know and so rejoice.

The terror of His enemies abound,

And they will wail and weep as if one voice.

He’ll come to judge the quick and judge the dead,

Including those who harmed the ones He chose.

His presence in the clouds will make some dread:

The final days are coming to a close.

Oh, how magnificent that day will be!

The Savior will return for all to see!

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sonnet #366

1-31-15 A heritage of the Lord

Lilly Harding, my beautiful grandchild

A parent’s greatest joy should be their child,

A gift from God, creation at its best,

Especially an offspring good and mild

To leave all those who meet her surely blessed.

They love their child before she leaves the womb,

And magnifies it with each breath she takes;

So Jesus loves us ere we come in bloom,

And with the Spirit’s breath we came awake.

When we acknowledge Jesus as our Lord,

Then Heaven cheers our second day of birth;

The Savior’s bliss is this His own reward

To know a part of Him is on the Earth.

The heritage of Christ belongs to those

Who left the cross with Him, the ones He chose.

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Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: 

and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

Psalm 127:3 KJV

1-23-15 On Righteousness

hunger-and-thirst-for-righteousness

You haven’t wanted righteousness enough

Until you thirst and hunger nigh to death,

Your limbs grown weak, your voice turned lean and rough

And righteousness as precious as your breath.

You argue that the times won’t stand for that;

You’d lose your job and end up on the street.

The cost of righteousness won’t leave you fat;

You won’t know hunger when you always eat.

This world’s a desert void of drink or food,

But there’s a well to slake the weary soul.

You cannot take a sip till you’re subdued

And righteousness becomes your only goal.

For few are chosen although many called;

To gain true righteousness one must have crawled.

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Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst

after righteousness:

for they shall be filled.

Matthew 5:6 KJV

12-19-14 Chosen

god-chose-you

When you were still a slave and doomed to death,

The Savior bought you with His very life.

He chose you for His own, your pulse and breath,

Ordained to follow Him through sweat and strife.

When you were Spirit-filled and born anew,

He showed you how to love and live and pray,

Then sent you out to search the whole world through

To find the lost before they slip away.

The souls that come to Him must be matured

To carry on the work He’ll have them do.

Whatever you’re in need of rest assured,

Just ask the Father, He will see you through.

Christ chose you, He ordained you, You are His,

A slave to Jesus now, and all He is.  

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Ye have not chosen me,

but I have chosen you,

and ordained you,

that ye should go and bring forth fruit,

and that your fruit should remain:

that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name,

he may give it you.

John 15:16 KJV

11-11-14 Forged

forged

Your life is full of hardship,tears and pain;

You feel as if you’ve poverty of soul.

It seems your every effort’s been in vain,

And you are nothing more than lump of coal.

A diamond starts as coal that’s under stress,

Amid great heat and pressure over time,

And you are far more precious in egress,

Refined by life’s hot furnace whence you climb.

Who wants a soup with vegetables too coarse?

You’ll want them cooked until they taste just right.

Affliction turns the raw to the main course,

Delicious morsel of the truth and light.

God needs a mighty sword annealed and keen,

One forged from hard affliction rough and mean.

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Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver;

I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.

Isaiah 48:10 KJV