2-19-16 Like Night and Day

³ O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. ⁴ Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. ⁵ For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

Psalm 30:3-5 KJV

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Depression drags your soul into the grave

And whispers that this pit is all there is;

Here hope is gone, here darkness does enslave,

Here death does pierce your heart and claims as his.

It seems as if the Lord has turned away,

As if His anger’s robbed your faith and dream.

But turn around, my friend, please don’t dismay.

He’s never left your side; you’re still a team.

Reach out to Jesus! Life is in His hand;

His love is like the morning over night.

He holds you in His arms, the dark is banned.

God’s grace shines all the time; the future’s bright.

When darkest night of soul weighs down on you,

The dawn is certain: Christ will see you through.

~~~~~~~~~~~

REMEMBER: It is always the darkest before the dawn.

2-2-16 The Way of Hate

But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.

1 John 2:11 KJV

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The man who hates is dwelling in the dark;

The light of Christ is nowhere to be found.

He stumbles, trips and falls far off the mark,

For blindness steals his vision all around.

Both love and hate can’t share the selfsame space;

The heart of man is not designed that way.

Antipathy just shows a lack of grace,

And without grace the heart will fade away.

Call on the Lord the instant hate arrives;

He’ll lead you to forgive as He forgives.

It won’t be easy but you will survive,

And you will walk the path of light and live.

A hater does not know the way he goes.

A blind man in the dark has no repose.

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REMEMBER: Hate drags you down. Love lifts you up.

1-27-16 From Dark to Light

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

Isaiah 9:2 KJV

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Isaiah heard the Lord and prophesied

That Christ would come and dwell in Galilee,

But in a larger sense is magnified

To show when Jesus dwells in you and me.

Before He is our Savior all is dark

And we march in despair to ashy death.

When we go to the cross the Spirit’s spark

Enlightens and begins eternal breath.

The light of Christ ignites within our soul

The moment we accept Him as our Lord,

And all our brokenness is then made whole,

In victory His love is our reward.

We once who walked in darkness shine His light,

For Jesus lives within us warm and bright.

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REMEMBER: Jesus is the Light of the world. Whoever follows Him shall not live in darkness, but will have the light of life. (John 8:12)

11-11-15 A Child of Light

For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:

Ephesians 5:8 KJV

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A CHILD OF LIGHT

There was a time when you were lost and blind,

Not only dark, but darkness, void of light.

You may have been so brilliant and refined,

But in the spirit you were starless night.

Then Jesus knocked upon your darkened door;

You answered, and the Light came rushing in.

The Holy Spirit knocked you to the floor;

The blood of Jesus covered all your sin.

Since then the light of Christ does shine from you,

And now you are a child of light itself.

No darkness left within; those days are through.

No longer blind, you’re seeing God Himself.

You are a child of light, now walk that way.

Let Christ illuminate your life today.

Call Now

And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Acts 2:21 KJV

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It’s not too late to call upon the Lord,

Though you’re not promised you’ll be here tonight.

Your body’s death is coming; you’ll be floored,

And then it’s just too late to get it right.

The final days are here as you well know:

The Spirit of the Lord on flesh is poured,¹

Now prophesies and visions really flow,

And old men dream of things that once were stored.

Such wonders in the heavens oft explored,²

And signs upon the earth with blood and fire;

The sun grows dark, the blood moon’s not ignored,³

The Lord will soon return, His own acquire.

If you don’t know the Savior, Now’s the time!

Tomorrow might not come, but Now is prime!

1Acts 2:17

2Acts 2:19

3Acts 2:20

10-02-15 These Stumbling Times

¹⁰ He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.

¹¹ But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.

1 John 2:10-11 KJV

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There is no question these are darker times

Than all the days this world has ever known.

The moral structure failed, there are more crimes,

The stench of sin makes all the earth to groan.

There’s so much hate we see it in the air;

The people that you pass won’t look at you.

Sweet life has lost it’s value; most don’t care,

As if we’ve all gone blind and can’t see through.

The only hope we have is Jesus Christ;

He lights the way with nothing less than love,

And here the grace of God is so sufficed;

Believe in Him and see the way above.

It’s not so hard to love our brother when

We have the perfect light of Christ within.

9-29-15 Lighten Up!

³⁴ The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.

³⁵ Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness.

³⁶ If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light.

Luke 11:34-36 KJV

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Your body would be lost without your eyes;

They take in light to get you to and fro.

Take in the light of Christ and darkness dies;

You’ll see the Savior everywhere you go.

Make Jesus your Redeemer and His blood

Like light eradicates your shadowed sins.

His love is an illuminated flood

To guide you on this new life that begins.

Be sure your eyes are single on the Lord

For if you look away you’ll surely stray.

If lost don’t fear, you’re both of one accord;

Just call on Jesus, He’ll turn night to day.

God gave you eyes so you can see His Son;

You’ll see His love is brighter than the sun.

9-16-15 On Parables

I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old

Psalm 78:2 KJV

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When Jesus spoke in parables He tried

To teach the ways of God in simple terms.

The truth laid bare was too much to abide;

They would not understand much less affirm.

If people of the dark not knowing light

Were told about the sun’s life giving rays,

They’d scratch their heads at words like ‘day’ and ‘bright’

But comprehend a story’s paraphrase.

The deeper truths can’t rest within the mind;

It cannot grasp in whole the Trinity.

The Holy Ghost reveals such things in kind;

It speaks straight to the heart to help us see.

Go out and share the gospel to the world.

A flag is understood when it’s unfurled.

8-24-15 Bringing Sight

And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee.

Luke 18:42 KJV

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The blind are all around you, look and see.

They stumble through their life within the dark,

But tell them this, they bellow “Let me be!”

They take offense at every kind remark.

The light of Jesus lives within you now,

So take the bushel off and let it shine!

It radiates to those who will allow

The gospel to be shared, the truth divine.

Someone will stumble forward reaching out

With faith that Christ alone can give them sight.

The quick’ning of the Spirit makes them shout

As they are saved and finally see the light.

The blind are all around you, but be brave

And let your light so shine; its love will save.

~~~~~~~~~~~

sonnet #446

7-22-15 With All Your Life

This is my commandment,

That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

John 15:12 KJV

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The world is filled with malice, hate and scorn,

And every day is darker than the last,

But don’t despair, it is not time to mourn,

Just love your fellow man despite his caste.

The Savior loves you more than you can know,

He died for all your sins upon the cross.

If you love one another you will grow

To better understand His pain and loss.

If you show love to everyone you meet,

And give without a thought of some return,

The love of Christ in you is more complete,

And love begets more love with less concern.

This is the Lord’s command, that you should love

With all your life, as Jesus has above.

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sonnet #413