9-8-15 Praise Your Name

O LORD, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.

Isaiah 25:1 KJV

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O Lord, you are my God, my sovereign King,

Not only by creation but of grace.

The covenants You’ve made my soul shall sing.

My God, the Love You are I still embrace.

I will exalt you, Lord, I’ll praise Your name.

You’re Holy and perfection without end.

The heavens and the earth will long acclaim

The glory of creation You still tend.

Such wonders have You done I cannot count;

From atoms to the stars and in between.

Your counsels of the ages give account

Of faithfulness and truth we all have seen.

I celebrate You, God, both night and day!

I celebrate with all I do and say!

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8-5-15 Two As One

⁶ But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.

⁷ For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife;

⁸ And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh.

⁹ What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

Mark 10:6-9 KJV

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A man should leave his parents for his wife

And she should cleave to him the same way, too.

Their marriage bond should last for all their life,

For they are one in essence, no more two.

God made both man and woman for this end,

To share a single love that’s greater still.

He fit them perfectly to then transcend

The normal bond of friendship and good will.

What God intended let no man pervert;

One woman and one man are meant to be,

And any other way would then subvert

The sovereign will of God, His set decree.

Then two as one becomes one with the Lord;

Beloved and beloved, one accord.

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sonnet #427

7-20-15 Born Again

Jesus answered and said unto him,

Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again,

he cannot see the kingdom of God.

John 3:3 KJV

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A birth into this world means tears and pain;

Your mother can’t forget nor you recall.

But when you come to Christ you’re born again,

A new creation free from Adam’s fall.

Now quickened by God’s Spirit through and through,

The blood of Christ has washed your sins away.

No longer bound by flesh you live anew,

A citizen of Heaven now to stay.

Admit that you’re a sinner, dead and lost,

That Jesus paid the price for all your sins.

Put all your trust in Him whate’er the cost

And you will be reborn – your life begins!

Drink deep the Word as milk, then eat as meat,

And watch the Grace of God make you complete.

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sonnet #411

7-5-15 Ministers of the Spirit

Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament;

not of the letter, but of the spirit:

for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

2 Corinthians 3:6 KJV

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The Holy Spirit breathes a life anew

When we with Jesus Christ are crucified.

A new creation rises into view,

Not bound by laws designed with sin implied.

The Lamb of God was slain to satisfy

The letter of the covenant of old.

Now death, the price of sin, will pass us by;

We’re covered by the blood and thus paroled.

The Spirit sparks a testament of love,

That turns us into ministers of grace.

Our stories, once of sin, now rise above

To share salvation with the human race.

The letter kills, but Spirit brings alive

A faith surpassing all the laws contrive.

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sonnet #406

3-14-15 A Better Man

You’ve joined this mighty chorus for one cause,

To worship God and praise His name on high,

With prayer and hymn and joyful loud applause

Until you cannot help but testify!

The Spirit of the Lord is present now,

A fire burning bright within your heart,

And now you stand with light upon your brow,

A new creation here to do your part!

Don’t hesitate to lift your voice and sing,

For you’ve been turned into a better man!

You’ll prophesy until the rafters ring,

A living testimony of God’s plan!

Now on your feet, the choir’s hands are raised!

We’ve come here to have Jesus’ name be praised!

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And the Spirit of the LORD will come upon thee,

and thou shalt prophesy with them,

and shalt be turned into another man.

1 Samuel 10:6 KJV

2-18-15 The Word

Before the world, our Savior was the Word;

Both God and with God, Logos was and is,

Who with His voice the new born heavens stirred,

And all creation rightfully is His.

We cannot scarce imagine this at all,

But God Himself came down and walked the earth,

To save us from the curse of Adam’s fall;

The Word as flesh was perfect from His birth.

How wonderful that God did love us SO

That He BE-came a man, this Word divine!

He sacrificed Himself so all would know

Just how to be the branch with He the vine.

Now, in the first beginning was the Word.

With God and God Himself, the Word is heard.

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In the beginning was the Word,

and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God.

John 1:1 KJV

2-10-15 Clearly

The wondrous power of our God is seen,

Invisible Himself beyond our ken,

But clearly known by nature’s noble scene

From supernova grand to simple wren.

But there are those who claim God can’t exist

Because He won’t provide a selfie shot,

Yet proof of Him is always in our midst;

It’s easier to say just what He’s not.

So when the Day of Judgment is at hand

And every knee shall bow before the Lord,

There will be no excuse that can withstand

The final resolution and reward.

You cannot see God sitting on His throne,

But all that He has made is clearly shown.

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For the invisible things of him

from the creation of the world are clearly seen,

being understood by the things that are made, 

even his eternal power and Godhead;

so that they are without excuse:

Romans 1:20 KJV

2-1-14 Children of God

Although we came from parents in the flesh

In truth we are creations, orphan-born;

As mortal beings, while we breathe we’re fresh

But then we die and turn to dust to mourn.

Yet Jesus came and set the record straight:

He took our sins and on the cross He died;

He died for you and me, both small and great

Returning three days later to abide.

If we have faith in Jesus Christ as King

Believing fast that He’s our Savior dear,

We are adopted by our God to sing

As children bound for Heaven now so near.

By faith in Jesus, God’s our Father now.

By faith we walk like Christ; He’ll show us how.

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For you are all the children of God

by faith in Jesus Christ.

Galatians 3:26 KJV

1-31-15 A heritage of the Lord

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

1-18-15 Freed From Sin

When you accepted Jesus as your Lord

The sinner that you were was crucified,

That in your death the sin that God abhorred

Was left upon the cross and there reside.

With Jesus you were taken from the cross,

Then raised with Him a new creation born;

The old man’s life is counted as a loss

With all the law fulfilled the veil is torn.

For now so dead from sin you are then free,

And dead in Christ His love removed the stone;

Now Jesus as your Lord and Savior be,

And stepping from the tomb you’re not alone.

As Jesus took to death all earthly sin,

So you that died with Him new life begin.

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For he that is dead is freed from sin.

Romans 6:7 KJV