2-23-16 On Faith

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Hebrews 11:1 KJV

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You go to bed assured that you will wake;

A pregnant woman knows her child will come;

You drool just thinking of that chocolate cake;

Guitarists play the song before they strum.

Now, faith is not believing it will be,

It’s knowing that it is before it is.

I do not have to touch, don’t have to see

To know that Jesus lives; my heart is His.

It was by faith Christ calmed the tempest sea,

By faith He made the blind man see anew.

Within the grace of God you’ll find the key:

You live by faith in everything you do.

In faith you have the truth to set you free.

The tiny seed contains the mighty tree.

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REMEMBER: Faith is not belief without proof, but trust without reservation. (D. Elton Trueblood)

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.

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REMEMBER: It is always the darkest before the dawn.

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.

2-11-16 Coming to Know Christ

But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

2 Peter 3:18 KJV

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If you would be like Jesus know Him well

Through study of the scriptures every day,

And feel His spirit with you as you dwell

Upon the word of God and as you pray.

But words are merely symbols on a page

Until they come alive within the heart.

God’s gifts of grace release them from their cage:

With faith and hope and love does grace impart.

The knowledge of our Lord and Savior grows

As all these gifts of grace mature and thrive.

You come to be more like Christ and it shows;

The things you say and do proves He’s alive.

In knowledge and in grace your soul implores,

To Jesus be the glory evermore!

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REMEMBER: Commit yourself to studying the scriptures daily if you desire to know Christ.

2-10-16 Be Like Jesus

Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;

Colossians 3:12 KJV

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Now, having taken off the old man’s guise,

Put on the mind of Christ who died for you,

Whom now you are elect of God likewise,

Both holy and beloved and tried and true.

With deep compassion free from all deceit

To sympathize with those who are distressed,

Let kindness, grace and love be so complete

You weep with them who weep, sincere expressed.

Have humbleness of mind in thought and deed,

Be gentle with all men and always meek;

Submissive to the Spirit so proceed,

And dwell in patience; suffer long the weak.

Christ took the weight of sin from off your soul.

Now be just like the One who made you whole.

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REMEMBER: Christ lives in you now. Let Him live through you.

2-4-16 Laying Our Foundation

²⁴ Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: ²⁵ And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

Matthew 7:24-25 KJV

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We all are building our eternal home,

And as you know location’s everything.

The world and all that’s in it is as loam,

And heaven is the rock of Christ our king.

The carpenter from Nazareth knows best

Where we should lay our home’s foundation base.

With His instructions we’ll be double blessed:

We’ll be entrenched between His love and grace.

When troubles come upon us like a storm,

And rain and flood and winds do beat and knock,

We’ll be inside with Jesus safe and warm,

For nothing can prevail against this Rock.

The rock of our salvation is in Christ.

Let’s build our home on Him and be sufficed.

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REMEMBER: The foundation of your heavenly home is built by doing His commandments.

2-3-16 Reflections

A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.

Proverbs 15:13 KJV

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A joyful heart will make a joyful face,

The countenance is etched where there’s a smile,

And such a glow invites a warm embrace.

To be midst such a soul makes life worthwhile.

But too much sorrow draws such diff’rent lines

Creating there a mask that’s thin and drawn,

And soon the body shows unhealthy signs

To shorten life with nothing to hang on.

Reflect upon the love God has for you,

And know that by His grace you’ve been set free.

The comfort of the Savior sees you through

The darkest night the soul will ever see.

Love makes the homely beautiful and bright.

With gratitude you’ll shine both day and night.

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REMEMBER: The face reflects the spirit that dwells within.

2-2-16 The Way of Hate

But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.

1 John 2:11 KJV

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The man who hates is dwelling in the dark;

The light of Christ is nowhere to be found.

He stumbles, trips and falls far off the mark,

For blindness steals his vision all around.

Both love and hate can’t share the selfsame space;

The heart of man is not designed that way.

Antipathy just shows a lack of grace,

And without grace the heart will fade away.

Call on the Lord the instant hate arrives;

He’ll lead you to forgive as He forgives.

It won’t be easy but you will survive,

And you will walk the path of light and live.

A hater does not know the way he goes.

A blind man in the dark has no repose.

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REMEMBER: Hate drags you down. Love lifts you up.

2-1-16 Of Light and Love

He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.

1 John 2:10 KJV

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If you abide in light you know the source;

That light did not originate in you.

That under God’s good grace there is, of course,

The love of Christ that wants to pass it through.

Since Jesus is the light of all the world, (John 8:12)

If you believe in Him, you are that light as well. (Matthew 5:14)

The lifting wings of love cannot stay furled

If you within the arms of Jesus dwell.

So, naturally, your light’s revealed as love,

And love will radiate to all you know,

And even strangers feel the light you’re of

And be attracted to its giving glow.

With light like this there is no stumbling.

There’s so much love around it’s humbling.

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REMEMBER: Christ helps you see every step of your journey.

1-29-16 Sufficient

⁸ For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. ⁹ And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

2 Corinthians 12:8-9 KJV

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Infirmities and troubles will abound,

Of this the mortal man can be assured,

And though we beg the Lord we not be bound,

Sometimes these weaknesses must be endured.

The grace of God is all you ever need,

For here sufficient lies love’s very root:

Christ sacrificed His perfect life and freed

You from both death and hell without dispute.

His strength’s made perfect in your weakness now,

For how could you survive without His grace?

Through these infirmities the Lord shows how

He manifests the wealth of His embrace.

So glory in your frailty and your faults.

The pow’r of Christ’s made known through life’s assaults.

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Remember: God’s awesome grace is enough so that you may depend on Him completely.