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.

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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)

1-4-16 Blessed is the Man

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

Psalm 1:1 KJV

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How blessed is the man that walks with God,

Who listens to His counsel night and day,

For those that don’t are living a facade,

Whose best advice no more than a cliché.

How blessed is the man that stands with Christ,

Who keeps the Lord’s commandments out of love,

For those that don’t the world has so enticed,

Whose fate is bound in darkness and thereof.

How blessed is the man that kneels in prayer,

Whose faith is in the Lord so full of grace,

For those that don’t are sitting in despair,

Whose scorn and hate are all they can embrace.

Keep focused on the Word in thought and deed.

He’ll guide you through this place of sin and need.

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REMEMBER: When you walk in the Light of Christ you will not stumble.

12-10-15 On Ignorance

¹³ Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. ¹⁴ And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

1 Timothy 1:13-14 KJV

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ON IGNORANCE

Your ignorance is no excuse to sin

But is instead the well from which sin springs.

Before you made the choice and let Christ in

You drank the darkness, thought it everything.

You fled from all conviction like a thief;

The gospel words you heard picked up the chase,

And though your ignorance fed unbelief

The love of God was patient with His grace.

No matter who you were or what you did,

When you came to the cross, surrendered all,

The mercy of the Lord your sins did rid;

Abundant faith and love in Him sprang tall.

Your neighbor might be ignorant in sin.

Go share the gospel now; let it begin.

11-26-15 Give Thanks

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 KJV

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There’s always something to be grateful for

No matter what the circumstances are.

A hooligan may muscle through your door;

It’s better than the scourge next door by far.

Give thanks for every breath that’s given you;

God’s grace alone is reason to rejoice.

A heart of gratitude brings you into

A place where you can better hear God’s voice.

If you believe that things can’t get much worse,

You’re looking at the darkness, not the light.

Thank God that you have eyes to read this verse.

If blind thank God someone this poem recites.

In everything give thanks; this is God’s will.

It draws you closer to the Savior still.

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.

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.

8-17-15 Justice

¹⁹ Fret not thyself because of evil men,

neither be thou envious at the wicked;

²⁰ For there shall be no reward to the evil man;

the candle of the wicked shall be put out.

Proverbs 24:19-20 KJV

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These days the wicked dance and strut around

As if they own the theater and the stage,

And evil men around the world are bound

To be so honored for their public rage.

Corruption is the norm; they shout amen

With flashy golden teeth and endless cash.

Fret not yourself because of evil men:

The day is coming soon their teeth shall gnash.

The wicked will not live to see the Son,

When angels fill the sky with righteous swords,

So don’t be envious of all this fun;

I tell you they will get their just rewards.

The candle of the wicked will be snuffed;

When darkness settles in they’ll be rebuffed.

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sonnet #439