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.

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.

~~~~~~~~~~~

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

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.

~~~~~~~~~~~

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.

11-3-15 Fight the Good Fight

Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

1 Timothy 6:12 KJV

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The moment you professed that Christ was Lord,

Professed your faith to God and man alike,

The Spirit came upon you like a sword

And Satan came against you stone and spike.

Do not forget the enemy’s intent

To twist the mind of man against the Word.

You are a soldier from the Savior sent

To do the will of God with faith secured.

You’ve victory in Jesus, called to fight,

Delivering the gospel to the lost,

And love the Lord and men with all your might,

And keep the faith whatever be the cost.

Now Fight! Through Grace eternal life is yours.

A solider gird in faith will long endure.

8-29-15 Treacherous Times

And then many will be offended,

and shall betray one another,

and shall hate one another.

Matthew 24:10 KJV

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These are the latter days which Christ foretold

When brethren are offended by the Word,

And even those who used to be quite bold

Will turn their backs on those the Gospel stirred.

Though many fall away these shall be worse,

Who once did follow Jesus in the day

But now will stumble back to point and curse

The Christians they once loved yet now betray.

Such hatred shall arise from those thought saved,

With vehemence they’ll trample on the flock.

The lies apostates spread are so depraved

To make the world lash out in fear and shock.

Hold fast in Christ; your faith will long endure.

When they knock down your door His love’s secure.

~~~~~~~~~~~

sonnet #451

7-26-15 Diligence

⁵ And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;

⁶ And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;

⁷ And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

⁸ For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁹ But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.

¹⁰ Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:

2 Peter 1:5-10 KJV

            ~~~~~~~~~~~

If you would come to know of Christ our King,

Then work with diligence these attributes:

Keep faith so strong it stands through anything,

And build your virtue as an absolute.

 

Increase in knowledge of the scriptured word,

Conduct with temperence your words and ways,

Be patient to endure all trials incurred,

And strive toward godliness without delays.

 

With kindness treat your brother as yourself,

And move with charity in all you do.

Without these things you’re blind upon a shelf,

Forgetting what Christ’s death has done for you.

 

            Give diligence to make your calling sure

            And you will never fall as immature.

            ~~~~~~~~~~~

 

sonnet #417

6-10-15 Cast Your Burden

Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee:

he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

Psalm 55:22 KJV

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Whatever you may have belongs to God,

And moreso if you gave your life to Christ,

Yet here you sit, this body roughly shod,

Bombarded by temptation’s daily tryst.

So cast your burden now unto the Lord.

Don’t let this moment pass with one concern.

He died on your behalf, His blood was poured,

So live with love for Him and all in turn.

Now, Jesus won’t endure your fall from grace,

He promised He would keep you safe from harm.

Let go of all the burdens you embrace

And fall into the Savior’s loving arms.

Release unto the Lord your laded pain;

He’ll lift you up, and you He shall sustain.

~~~~~~~~~~~

 

sonnet #385

6-5-15 Age With Grace

² That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate,

sound in faith, in charity, in patience.

³ The aged women likewise,

that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness,

not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things

Titus 2:2-3 KJV

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As much as you despise it you must age,

Until one day you feel the weight of years,

But with the wrinkles brings the knowing sage,

Experienced in laughter, calm and tears.

If you should ever act your age it’s now,

For younger eyes are looking up to you.

Let sober living shine upon your brow,

And all the words you say be sound and true.

You have a grave responsibility

To be the light of Christ in faith and love.

Endure the world each day more patiently,

And show us how to pray to God above.

To all the aged men and women saints,

Spend all your time in praise and not complaints.

~~~~~~~~~~~

 

sonnet #380

4-25-15 Location, Location

When drama comes and beats against your home

Does it destroy all of the work you’ve done?

Then your foundation’s built upon some loam

And soon before you know it you must run.

But if you build your home on Jesus Christ

It’s on the Rock of Ages and secure.

No storm can move you then, His word sufficed,

The tragedies of life won’t long endure.

Upon the rock of Jesus stake your claim;

No better place to stop and settle down.

The scriptures serve to be the strongest frame

And God’s Grace like a roof won’t let you drown.

For all the rest there’s one whom I refer:

He happens to be quite the carpenter.

~~~~~~~~~~~

⁴⁷ Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:

⁴⁸ He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.

⁴⁹ But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.

Luke 6: 47-49 KJV

sonnet #341