1-19-16 One Eighty

¹⁶ But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments, ¹⁷ And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.

Nehemiah 9:16-17 KJV

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You’ve sinned though saved and now are on your knees

Afraid salvation’s lost, God’s turned His back.

Conviction weighs up your chest to squeeze;

You think your white as snow has changed to black.

Repent! One Eighty what you’ve done right now,

Confess to God your sin with sorrowed heart.

He WILL forgive! God’s mercy will endow.

He loves you SO; you’ll never be apart.

Did He not send His own begotten Son

To pay for every sin on your behalf?

Renounce with all you are for what you’ve done

And know God’s written that sin’s epitaph.

He loves you more than you can ever know.

You are His child! Repent and let it go.

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REMEMBER: Look at all God’s chosen people did after He brought them out of bondage in Egypt. He did not forsake them. He likewise will never, ever forsake you.

1-5-16 Time to Confess

³² Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. ³³ But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

Matthew 10:32-33 KJV

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As much as you confess you should believe

That Jesus is your Lord and Savior, too,

For words themselves are easy to achieve,

But let your being shout your love anew.

Your silence is denial as profuse

As claiming Jesus was then just a man.

Lip service is itself a lame excuse;

Now be a true believer, not a fan.

A Christian is in truth a ‘Little Christ,’

A living, breathing representative.

You should be one with He who sacrificed;

He took on all your sins so you may live.

Confess to all He’s Christ, He’ll confess you.

Deny Him and He will deny you, too.

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REMEMBER: Ask Jesus to give you courage, strength and boldness. He certainly will.

8-6-15 Whosoever

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Romans 10:13 KJV

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If you would die today where would you go?

Would you be ready on that final day?

If you are sure it’s heaven you must know

That Jesus Christ can be the only way.[i]

So no man comes to God except through Christ;[ii]

You really must believe that this is true.[iii]

He died for all your sins and this sufficed;[iv]

Confess them now and He will forgive you.[v]

Then call upon His name and you’ll be saved;[vi]

It is a gift from God, His mighty Grace.[vii]

The Holy Spirit then becomes engraved,[viii]

To guide you to the truth you can embrace.[ix]

When you are saved you will be heaven bound;[x]

You once were lost but now you have been found.[xi]

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[i] John 14:6

[ii] John 14:6

[iii] Acts 16:31

[iv] 1 Peter 2:24

[v] 1 John 1:9

[vi] Joel 2:32

[vii] Ephesians 2:8

[viii] John 14:15-17

[ix] John 16:13

[x] John 3:16

[xi] Luke 19:10

 

 

Sonnet #428

6-6-15 No Peace

There is no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked.

Isaiah 48:22 KJV

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Today the wicked roam the earth with glee

Without a sense of consequence or care.

They take what isn’t theirs and say it’s free;

Depravity and death stink up the air.

Don’t think that they are getting by with this,

Although it seems that now it is the case.

A reckoning will come that they can’t miss;

The wicked won’t have peace – no, not a trace.

The evil that men do will haunt their souls

If they don’t turn to Jesus and confess.

When death arrives they’ll see then He controls

And it will be too late: there’s no redress.

Eternity’s forever without peace.

Serenity in Christ will never cease.

~~~~~~~~~~~

 

sonnet #381

5-22-15 Hand in Hand

⁴ I thank my God, making mention of thee always in my prayers,

⁵ Hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints

Philemon 1:4-5 KJV

            ~~~~~~~~~~~

When Christ said love your neighbor as yourself

And then to love each other as He them,

This truth He spoke should not be on a shelf,

But shown to all the world a precious gem.

Faith knows that all is well, as Christ is true,

And faith with love go surely hand in hand;

Confess your faith and give your love anew;

You can’t have one without the other fanned.

If you believe in love, you’re halfway there;

Now love what you believe to mark the way.

Put all your faith in Jesus; don’t despair,

For His great love for you is here to stay.

Both faith and love are gifts of God’s good grace;

When used together then you’ll win the race.

~~~~~~~~~~~

sonnet #367

5-17-15 Grace and Truth

For the law was given by Moses, 

but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

John 1:17 KJV

            ~~~~~~~~~~~

The Lord gave Moses laws defining sin,

And spelled the things that man should never do,

But laws don’t teach forgiveness there within,

And do not mention grace the whole way through.

So once a year a lamb was sacrificed

To pay for all the sins men did accrue,

Then came along our Savior Jesus Christ,

To be the truth and give God’s grace to you.

He taught the way of love to all who’d hear,

And lived the fullness of God’s righteousness.

He gave His life, a sacrifice so dear,

And through this perfect Grace God’s love confess.

The substance of the shadows of the law

Lived as the Lamb of God without a flaw.

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sonnet #363

4-30-15 Our Advocate

Have faith in Jesus and His precious blood,

For He that died for you is still at work;

He knows that you while here walk through the mud

And can’t avoid all sin when in this murk.

So justified by Christ’s own righteousness,

The Spirit will convict you of your sin;

Then go to God in prayer your sin confess,

And Christ, the Perfect One, will step right in.

He bore the sins of you and everyone,

And took them to the cross for all our sake.

We have an advocate with God: the Son;

The feast in Heaven we can then partake.

When you give Christ your heart He’ll vouch for you;

His word’s as good as gold, He’s tried and true.

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¹ My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

² And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

1 John 2:1-2 KJV

 

sonnet #346

4-3-15 It’s Now or Never

The battle lines are drawn, the challenge made

That who is not with Christ is now His foe.

All those who hate the Word will taste His blade;

The blood of evil will begin to flow.

The Shepherd that is Good now gathers near

The sheep that hear His voice and heed His call,

But wolves still scour the Earth fomenting fear,

To scatter with their lies the ones who stall.

There is so little time to save the rest:

Your friends and family and strangers, too.

More knees should bend and sinners be confessed;

Today might be the day it all comes true.

The Shepherd calls your name across the field.

Please harken to His voice and gently yield.

~~~~~~~~~~~

He that is not with me is against me;

and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.

Matthew 12:30 KJV

12-29-14 With Just a Touch

If you believe that Jesus is your Lord,

Don’t hesitate to call upon His name.

You must let go your will, you must be floored;

Believe with all your heart He’ll cure your shame.

Be like the leper, fall upon your face:

The door to Heaven’s shaped like one in prayer.

You must surrender everything to grace;

Put all your faith in Christ, your soul laid bare.

Confess your sins to God; He will forgive.

God’s mercy heals contrite and broken hearts.

You must prepare to die before you live;

 When Jesus touches you, your sins depart.

O Lord, if it’s Your will, then make us clean.

Our sins keep us from You, please intervene!

~~~~~~~~~~~

¹² And it came to pass, when he was in a certain city,

behold a man full of leprosy:

who seeing Jesus fell on his face, and besought him,

saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

¹³ And he put forth his hand, and touched him, saying,

I will: be thou clean.

And immediately the leprosy departed from him.

Luke 5:12-13 KJV

12-21-14 You Know Me

You see into the shadows of my soul.

You know me better than I know myself.

You stretch me out and read me like a scroll.

You’ve found the secrets on my secret shelf.

To think of all you’ve seen me say and do,

Makes me ashamed in my unworthiness.

I can’t get small enough to hide from You.

O Lord, accuse me now and I’ll confess!

Yet even though You know me through and through,

You love me still regardless of my sin.

You sent Your Son to save the world, it’s true,

And saved a wretch like me in my chagrin.

Unworthy though I am You love me so,

You must see something in me I don’t know.

~~~~~~~~~~~

O LORD, thou hast searched me,

and known me.

Psalm 139:1 KJV