8-12-15 Grace Through Faith

For by grace are ye saved through faith;

and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God

Ephesians 2:8 KJV

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You don’t deserve a single dot of grace,

For Hell is what you’ve earned for all your sin.

The best five minutes of your life’s disgrace;

The best of all the world would not begin.

Fall on your face and know you’re hopeless mud;

Repent and beg forgiveness for it all,

Believe that Jesus shed His precious blood

To pay for all your sins both great and small.

With all your heart accept Him as your Lord,

Then feel the Holy Spirit enter you!

God’s grace, and faith, His gifts you can’t afford,

And with Christ’s blood you’re covered through and through.

You’re saved by grace through faith and nothing more,

With Jesus as your Savior guarantor.

~~~~~~~~~~~

sonnet #434

6-16-17 Rend Your Heart

¹² Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:

¹³ And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.

Joel 2:12-13 KJV

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It matters not at all how bad you are,

How much a mess your life has turned into;

Your sinful life may seem the worse by far,

But God can still forgive, repent anew.

Turn even to the Lord with all your heart,

And turn away for good your evil ways.

If you’re not penitent don’t even start;

Remorse should be authentic, not a phrase.

Then fast and weep and mourn if you’re sincere;

You should not show it to the world at all.

Repentance rends the heart with woe and fear;

You don’t deserve forgiveness from your fall.

But God is merciful and gracious, too;

If you’re contrite the Lord will pardon you.

~~~~~~~~~~~

 

sonnet #391

5-29-15 Serve

And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant

Matthew 20:27 KJV

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If you would be a servant of the Lord,

Then be a servant now to all you meet,

But don’t serve others for some great reward;

Expecting something back just spells defeat.

The greatest of you thinks that they’re the least

And does not know that they are great at all.

You will not find them sitting at the feast;

You’ll find them washing dishes down the hall.

Give up your vain ambitions now, my friend,

For Hell would be the thing that you deserve.

There’s feet to be washed now until the end,

So roll your sleeves, get on your knees and serve.

The chief among you, let him give the most.

The more he gives the less he’s bound to boast.

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sonnet #373

12-26-14 Be First to Love

If God did love us so He sent His Son

To be a sacrifice for all our sins,

Then we should love each other barring none,

And those who understand it best begins,

For we should not just sit around and wait

Until the other fellow loves us first,

For that is just as bad as open hate.

All those who wait to drink will die of thirst.

God loves us so despite our wicked way;

Lord knows that we deserve eternal hell.

Begin to love your enemy today

If you should ever hope to Heaven dwell.

My friends, love one another without pause

By loving one another without cause.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Beloved, if God so loved us,

we ought also to love one another.

1 John 4:11 KJV

11-26-14 A Matter of Life or Death

You’re born to die; that’s just the innate way,

For you can’t help but sin; it’s everywhere,

And for the sin you work death is your pay

It’s just what you deserve to your despair.

God loves us, so He offered you the means

To live and conquer death beyond the grave;

Sin is disease but He has the vaccines:

His grace through Christ’s blood sacrifice to save.

So Jesus took upon Himself your sins

Then died to take the wages meant for you,

But then He rose again and thus begins,

If you believe in Him you’ll live anew.

This really is a choice of life or death:

Please choose in faith His gift and Spirit’s breath.

~~~~~~~~~~~

For the wages of sin is death;

but the gift of God is eternal life

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 6:23 KJV