2-16-16 Give and Take

Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.

Luke 8:18 KJV

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This is a warning to you lukewarm soul

Who merely ponders Jesus on a whim:

You say you are a Christian, play the role.

You think you’ll skate on in; your chance is grim.

If you will truly give your life to Christ

And use with grace the gifts He gives to you,

The salt you are will then be double spiced;

The love you have, much more will you accrue.

If you believe that you have got it made,

Your show of knowledge now will disappear.

What little faith you claim will soon be swayed;

Your mediocre worship won’t cohere.

Be careful how you hear: from heart or head.

The one will find the Lord, the other’s dead.

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REMEMBER: You cannot fake your way into the kingdom of heaven. If you don’t think you’re saved, you’re likely not. Go to the cross right now. You’ll gain a lot.

1-14-16 Faith in Action

¹⁴ What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? ¹⁵ If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, ¹⁶ And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?

James 2:14-16 KJV

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A couple poor as dirt with hungry child:

The husband says, “I’ve faith we’ll get some food.”

The wife replied, “O fool! You’ve got me riled!

Go get a job! We can’t eat attitude!”

Professing faith is easy; say the word,

But if your faith is real then it will show.

A kindness given first was faith that stirred.

When grace meets gratitude you can’t lie low.

When Jesus said “Your faith has made you whole,”

He knew that she believed that by her touch.

If she had not had faith both heart and soul,

She wouldn’t have reached out His cloak to clutch. (Matthew 9:20-22)

Declaring faith won’t keep you warm and filled.

Put action to those words and be fulfilled.

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REMEMBER: For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. (James 2:26)

12-29-15 Knowing

All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.

Matthew 11:27 KJV

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The fullness of the Father’s in the Son;

The power and the glory, love and grace.

All things that are delivered of the One

Belong to both eternal in each case.

The mind can’t comprehend or hope to know

The language of the heart that’s spirit born.

You must go to the cross, you must let go,

You must be broken, beaten, crushed and torn.

When you make Christ your Lord you’re dead to sin;

Until that time the door to Heaven’s sealed.

Give all you are to Jesus to begin

To understand this mystery revealed.

To know your Father you must know His Son;

To know the Son you both must be as one.

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REMEMBER: Surrender your will, relinquish your heart, yield yourself to Christ right now.

11-2-15 The Spirit of the Lord

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound

Isaiah 61:1 KJV

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The Spirit of the Lord is with you now,

The same upon Isaiah and in Christ;

When you called Jesus Savior to avow

The Holy Ghost became within you spliced.

The Comforter that Jesus spoke about,

The power that brought Him back from the dead

Can work through you, of that there is no doubt,

To preach the gospel to the meek ahead.

The Holy Ghost can bind a broken heart,

Bring liberty to captives bound in sin.

Obedience to Jesus sets apart,

And love will let the miracles begin.

Be clear, it isn’t you that does these things;

The Spirit of the Lord the Savior brings.

10-29-15 Awake!

Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.

Ephesians 5:14 KJV

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The unregenerate cannot arise

Without the blood of Jesus on their soul,

So more than dead they head to their demise

Unless they’re sought and Christ they choose in whole.

Yet saints may be asleep among the dead

Who’ve wandered from the light with constant sin,

So blow the trumpet loud beside their bed, ¹

Remind them who they are and where they’ve been.

Awake, you sons and daughters of our God!

Stand up and Christ will surely give you light!

He’s coming soon, my friend, so don’t you nod,

Get oil for your lamp ² and keep it bright! ³

Awake from all the dead, you sleepyhead!

There’s no more time to doze, He’s just ahead!

1Joel 2:1

2Matthew 25:1-13

3Matthew 5:16

10-12-15 Follow Me

And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.

Matthew 9:9 KJV

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If you were at your your job and hard at work,

And suddenly a stranger came to you,

And said ‘Come follow me,’ would you then shirk

The things that someone’s paying you to do?

Would you demand an explanation now,

For no one really does this kind of thing?

If you knew it was Jesus you’d know how

To quit your job and follow Christ the King.

But Matthew did not have that knowledge yet.

He did just what the Master told him to.

Don’t be so dead you take it as a threat.

Let Spirit guide your heart; He’s always true.

Be ever watchful; you’ll see Christ today.

Where there is love, He’s never far away.

9-25-15 The Perfect Example

²¹ For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:

²² Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:

²³ Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:

²⁴ Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

²⁵ For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

1 Peter 2:21-25 KJV

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There is no greater love than Christ has shown,

The perfect model for a perfect life,

Who chose to leave His bright celestial throne

To come and save His sheep through pain and strife.

He had no sin Himself but came for ours,

Enduring all the wrath of God and man,

Who could have freed Himself with awesome powers

But chose to bring salvation as His plan,

And all the torment that our Lord endured,

Reviled, threatened, beaten, crucified,

He did for you so you could be secured.

He loved you so He suffered, bled and died.

O friend, I know He thought of you that day

As He was hanging on the cross that way!

9-22-15 On Addiction

¹⁴ But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

¹⁵ Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

James 1:14-15 KJV

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We’ve all been tempted; still we’re tempted now

For Satan pays attention to our lusts.

Then when we fall and break most every vow,

His demons ride our shame, feed our disgust.

Then like a horror movie sin’s revived

As if it will not die by force or will,

Until your prayers seem wooden and contrived,

And then when you give up death has its fill.

Cry out unto the Lord though you feel dead,

And pray until your tears have soaked the ground.

He leads you to the help you need ahead;

Just trust in Jesus – grace much more abounds.

It seems like all is lost; don’t be deceived.

Salvation comes to those who first believed.

8-22-15 Come See

⁵ And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye:

for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.

⁶ He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

Matthew 28:5-6 KJV

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Imagine Mary’s fright that Sunday morn

When she arrived to see the Master’s tomb.

She thought that she would visit there and mourn;

Instead she was to see an empty room.

The guards lay as if dead upon the ground,

And there an angel sat upon the stone,

As bright as lightning, patient and profound

To say that Christ is risen, come be shown.

To know that He has risen from the dead!

He took with Him the bulk of all our sins,

And rose just three days later like He said,

And if we just believe new life begins!

Come see the empty tomb where Jesus lay.

He conquered death and hell upon that day!

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sonnet #444

8-16-15 Let the Dead Bury the Dead

²¹ And another of his disciples said unto him,

Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.

²² But Jesus said unto him, Follow me;

and let the dead bury their dead.

Matthew 8:21-22 KJV

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When Jesus once to His disciple said

While thick within the Savior’s ministry,

“This way, and let the dead bury their dead,”

He wasn’t speaking disrespectfully.

When Jesus says “Come, follow Me,” you should,

For after all that’s what it’s all about.

A lion-caught gazelle can do no good

Requesting time to seek his family out.

The unregenerate are dead within;

There’s plenty of that kind to go around.

As God, the Savior knew His friend had kin,

Enough to put his father in the ground.

When Spirit tells you “Here,” don’t whine and curse;

Choose then the Living Christ and not a hearse.

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Sonnet #438