12-21-15 Serve the Lord with Gladness

Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.

Psalm 100:2 KJV

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Let’s serve the Lord with gladness, joy and cheer!

Let’s worship Him with singing full and strong!

Now come before His presence, gather near,

And praise our God with labor and with song!

Assemble all you saints and harmonize

By lifting up your voice in gratitude,

For by His loving grace our souls arise

To worship Christ our Lord with certitude!

Let’s praise the Lord, for He has shown His love!

Upon the cross He sacrificed His life

So those of us with faith could soar above,

To serve Him here and in the afterlife!

Let’s magnify the Lord and share the Word!

Let Jesus work through us now undeterred!

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REMEMBER: When you serve the Lord with joy in your heart and a song on your lips, the unsaved will be more receptive to His light in you.

11-23-15 The Mind of Christ

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus

Philippians 2:5 KJV

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Now, may you always have the mind of Christ,

Who showed us how to live in love’s embrace;

That love be willing to be sacrificed,

And then no matter what be full of grace.

He was the perfect pattern, free from sin,

A humble servant with a heart to give,

Obedient to God through thick and thin,

And even unto death chose to forgive.

The mind of Christ is constantly in prayer,

Submitting to the will of Abba God,

Unbroken intercession to repair

The brokenness of man which sin has flawed.

Think only of those things that love sufficed;

Yes, may you always have the mind of Christ.

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.

9-23-15 Side by Side

The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

Isaiah 11:6 KJV

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When Eve and Adam lived in Eden land,

There were no predators, no blood was spilled.

The glory of the Lord was full and grand,

And everything that lived was love fulfilled.

Then sin arrived, corrupting all it touched

And flesh once sacred now became just meat.

The earth was soaked in blood and death was clutched,

And man became the worst to kill and eat.

The Son of God was born to bring God’s love;

His miracles wrought Eden bit by bit,

And when the Lord returns from up above

The Garden fills the world and sin will quit.

The lion and the lamb lay side by side,

And childlike love will be the earth’s new guide.

9-10-15 The Stain Remover

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

Isaiah 1:18 KJV

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Don’t be afraid, do not fall in despair;

You realize the hopeless state you’re in.

Death calls for you – it’s more than you can bear.

You can’t escape the stain of all your sin.

Just take the hand of Jesus, make Him yours.

He’ll wash your sins from scarlet red to white.

Although the stain has sunk into your pores

He’ll take the brand of Satan from your sight.

The Son of God loved you so very much

He took all of your sins upon the cross.

Accept Him as your Savior, feel His touch;

Believe He died for you and bore your loss.

Although your sins are crimson red and full,

The blood of Christ will make them white as wool.

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8-23-15 On Sowing

For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption;

but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

Galatians 6:8 KJV

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They say that what you eat is what you are;

If that’s the case the world is full of waste.

The things that we consume won’t get us far:

The flesh is born to die, a fleeting taste.

Wherever you invest your consciousness,

Will soon become a new reality.

Then set your heart on Spirit to access

A truth that leads to immortality.

The Spirit that you sow should be of love;

For God so loved the world He gave His Son,

And from that fruit abides new life above.

The seeds you plant from this won’t be undone.

The way of flesh leads certainly to death.

The way of Spirit brings eternal breath.

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sonnet #445

5-30-15 Withhold Not Good

Withhold not good from them to whom it is due,

when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.

Proverbs 3:27 KJV

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When payday comes around then pay your bills,

For this due to them you contract with.

When there are those in need don’t buy the frills;

Remember your poor past and give forthwith.

The Lord is full of grace beyond your ken;

The fact that you are here is proof indeed.

Extend that goodness out and now to men,

And when the Spirit tells you, then proceed.

Serve ministries and those who preach the Word;

It helps them bring the lost into the fold.

The means are in your hands, don’t be deferred;

Tomorrow is not yours to put on hold.

Withhold not good from them to whom it’s due;

Just think of all the good God’s given you.

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sonnet #374

5-20-15 Glory

² Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.

³ And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.

Isaiah 6:2-3 KJV

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Imagine standing fore the throne of God,

With seraphims above it shouting praise.

Our best envisionings would still be flawed;

The mind cannot conceive the slightest gaze.

But here we are surrounded by our things,

While just outside the door the world is wide.

So full of God’s great glory nature sings,

And every grain of earth He did provide.

In Eden and again when all’s complete,

The Earth in all her splendor will be known,

Yet even now her beauty’s so replete

God’s glory can be found in leaf and stone.

Right now we can’t see God upon His throne,

But take a walk outdoors, His glory’s shown.

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sonnet #365

3-12-15 Raise in Praise

Let’s raise our voice in praise of God above

With mighty congregations full of joy!

As we give thanks our hearts are full of love

For all the awesome works our Lord employ!

O God, You implement Your perfect plan,

Your Holy voice creating everything

To manifest redeeming sinful man

Through Jesus Christ our Savior, Lord and King!

Your Grace is such that we do not deserve;

O God, how marvelous are all Your ways!

With all our hearts and minds we gladly serve

And offer our whole lives in humble praise!

Let’s sing and shout devotion to our God!

Let’s raise the roof of worship and applaud!

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I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart;

I will show forth all thy marvelous works.

Psalm 9:1 KJV

1-13-15 God or Bust

Unless the Lord is present count it dead

Whatever that is built with human hands;

It may exist a thousand years ahead

But might as well be built with desert sand.

A city that’s forgotten God is doomed

Like Sodom and Gormorrah full of sin;

Then soon by wickedness it is consumed,

As dead inside as though it’s never been.

Invite the Lord to sanction all you do,

And let His Spirit guide your heart and mind;

The earthly things that honor God are true,

And all without His love will fall behind.

Let God build both your church and family,

And everywhere you go, there He will be.

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Except the LORD build the house,

they labour in vain that build it:

except the LORD keep the city,

the watchman waketh but in vain.

Psalm 127:1 KJV