1-22-16 Consider All God’s Done For You

Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you.

1 Samuel 12:24 KJV

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Consider all that God has done for you!

With His eternal grace you’re given breath;

The joy of love that comes to you anew.

He gave His Son so you through Him’s no death.

So serve the Lord in truth with all your heart!

Submit your will to Him new every day;

Be humble in your duties from the start.

Remember He is all you need today.

With great affection only fear the Lord!

Now love Him as a child will love her Dad;

Simplistic awe and worship in accord,

In reverential yearning pure and glad.

Consider all God’s done with gratitude.

Give everything you do this attitude.

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REMEMBER: He is all you need today.

1-21-16 No Expiration Date

Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

John 6:27 KJV

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A man must quickly eat the meat he buys

Or else it rots and does nobody good,

And he must live his life until he dies

And then his body’s done the best it could.

Don’t spend your days obsessing on the flesh;

It won’t endure beyond its meted time.

Work toward that meat that always will stay fresh

With everlasting life that’s so sublime.

What must you do to earn eternal food?

Believe in He whom God the Father sealed.

Let Jesus be the one your faith’s pursued.

Be hungry for the Word of Life revealed.

Seek first the sustenance that fills the soul;

The more that you consume the more you’re whole.

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REMEMBER: Be as hungry for the Word as one who hasn’t eaten in three days.

1-19-16 One Eighty

¹⁶ But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments, ¹⁷ And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.

Nehemiah 9:16-17 KJV

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You’ve sinned though saved and now are on your knees

Afraid salvation’s lost, God’s turned His back.

Conviction weighs up your chest to squeeze;

You think your white as snow has changed to black.

Repent! One Eighty what you’ve done right now,

Confess to God your sin with sorrowed heart.

He WILL forgive! God’s mercy will endow.

He loves you SO; you’ll never be apart.

Did He not send His own begotten Son

To pay for every sin on your behalf?

Renounce with all you are for what you’ve done

And know God’s written that sin’s epitaph.

He loves you more than you can ever know.

You are His child! Repent and let it go.

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REMEMBER: Look at all God’s chosen people did after He brought them out of bondage in Egypt. He did not forsake them. He likewise will never, ever forsake you.

12-22-15 SO

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 3:16 KJV

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For God SO loved the world He gave His Son;

His One begotten Son the world He gave,

That whosoever shall believe the One

Shall never perish, never know the grave.

Christ took all of your sins onto the cross;

He gave His life for you and willingly.

Because He loved you SO He suffered loss,

But it was worth it all to set you free.

An everlasting life belongs to those

Who put their faith in God’s begotten Son,

Enduring death and in three days arose;

For God loved you SO much this all was done.

Claim Jesus as your Savior and believe

God sacrificed His Son for your reprieve.

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REMEMBER: Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13)

12-4-15 Fount of Your Ways

For the work of a man shall he render unto him, and cause every man to find according to his ways.

Job 34:11 KJV

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FOUNT OF YOUR WAYS

If you are turning daily toward the One,

Your mind and words and hands reflect His love.

There is no question what His grace has done;

There is no doubt at all what you’re part of.

Good deeds themselves does not a good man make;

God knows the kind of water that you drink.

You may in all your works sure take the cake

But if you guzzle sin you still will sink.

Through grace you’re born in Christ, by faith you live;

Your acts, though meager, show a water pure,

And from this living fountainhead you give, ^{(John 7:38)}

And it will multiply and long endure.

God will not judge a man by works alone. ^{(Ephesians 2:9)}

The source of nourishment will soon be known.

11-27-15 Return Unto Your Rest

Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee.

Psalm 116:7 KJV

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When all the work and play of day is done,

The dishes washed, the children laid in bed,

Reflect upon the struggles and the fun,

The things you didn’t do or done instead,

Return unto your rest, my weary soul:

The Lord has dealt so bountifully with you.

His grace has carried you from role to role,

His love a shining light the whole day through.

Despite your tribulation He’s been here

Within the very center of your heart.

You’ll never be alone, no need to fear;

Relax, my soul: the Savior won’t depart.

Tomorrow comes too soon; for now just rest.

The stars are bright tonight and you are blessed.

11-20-15 From the Womb

I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother’s belly.

Psalm 22:10 KJV

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God’s known you since before your mortal birth,

When you were being knitted in her womb. ^{(Psalm 139:13)}

In all the universe He sets your worth,

And watches over you from crib to tomb.

He’s been your God since you were just a dream;

He called you to be His before day one.

Predestined to be one whom Christ redeem,

And given full free will from do til done.

So now you are His child forever more,

Becoming more like Christ each passing day.

He has such wondrous things for you in store

And loves you more than words could ever say.

The God that formed the world formed you as well.

You always have been His; in God you dwell.

10-10-15 Bittersweet

⁸ But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

⁹ Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.

¹⁰ Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.

¹¹ Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?

James 3:8-11 KJV

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It’s easier for man to tame a rock

Than teach his tongue to stop its reckless ways.

A stone can learn to sit and stay and balk,

But not the tongue; it runs for days and days.

How many times have words jumped from your mouth

That you regret the instant it is done?

A friendly conversation’s headed south

With just an unplanned phrase or bawdy pun.

If you can hesitate to choose your words,

The tongue might find some worse to say instead.

Best cut it out and feed it to the birds

Or keep a clean, blank slate within your head.

The mind of Christ is possible to gain:

It takes complete surrender to attain.

9-30-15 What He Has Done

Sing unto the LORD; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth.

Isaiah 12:5 KJV

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Behold the many things the Lord has done:

He made the universe and all within;

He came to earth the essence of the Son;

He’s offered us salvation from our sin;

He had the prophets write His holy word;

He gave us with His love such blessed grace;

He promised us He’d come back undeterred;

He’s gifted us the Spirit to embrace;

He loves us more than we will ever know;

He formed us in His image from the start;

He carries us with Him and won’t let go;

He’s conquered death and hell; He’s done His part.

The things the Lord has done are excellent!

The earth and all that’s in it give assent!

8-2-15 Pass Away

Heaven and earth shall pass away:

but my words shall not pass away.

Mark 13:31 KJV

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A day will come in which the blazing sun

Will cease to parch the lips and burn the skin,

And on the earth calamities are done:

No hurricanes, tornados found therein.

The heaven and the earth shall pass away,

And all the things that sin has surely wrought,

But one thing will remain and not give way:

The Word of God eternal ne’er forgot.

The words of Jesus lived before the stars,

And they shall live in New Jerusalem.

There will be no more pain and no more scars,

And no more need to make it ‘us’ and ‘them.’

His words forever stamped upon our hearts

For we’re His words in action to impart.

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sonnet #424