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.

2-2-16 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.

1-26-16 Because

Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger?

Ruth 2:10 KJV

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Who am I, Lord, that You bestow such grace?

I’m just a lowly sinner bound for hell.

There’s no redeeming value, not a trace.

I’m here within the dust where Adam fell.

How can You love me, God, in all my shame?

I am not worthy of Your love at all.

You gave Your only Son, who then became

The ransom for my sins both great and small.

Your Holy Word tells me You love me so;

You showed Your love for me on Calvary.

You made me for a reason, this I know,

To be Your child to love as You love me.

O Abba! You are all I ever need,

And by Your grace, O Father, I’ve been freed!

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Remember: God IS love.

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.

1-13-16 On Tilling

He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread: but he that followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough.

Proverbs 28:19 KJV

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If you would have success then go to school,

And plant the seeds of knowledge in your mind.

A fallow intellect becomes a fool,

Where weed and brier thinking is entwined.

If you would be in love then make a friend,

And cultivate affection and regard.

To blindly plow will meet with no good end;

Whatever grows most likely will be marred.

If you would know the Lord then practice prayer,

And water both your heart and soul with tears.

A parched relationship leads to despair;

You’ll just eat bitter fruit throughout the years.

The land that’s rightly tilled will yield good bread.

Don’t place the ass behind the plow instead.

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REMEMBER: Whatsoever a man sows, he shall also reap. (Galatians 6:7)

1-12-16 Speaking Of

Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.

Colossians 4:6 KJV

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May every word proceeding from your lips

Be spoken as if Christ is next to you.

Beware of foolish talk and vulgar rips

Or doublespeak that might be misconstrued.

Instead let grace be voiced to every man,

With all sincerity and prudent truth,

And let it be as savory as you can

Without an angry edge or as uncouth.

When you let Spirit tell you what to say,

The mind of Christ with love will manifest,

So learn to be in tune the prayerful way,

And both you and the hearer will be blessed.

As salt brings taste be tasteful in your speech.

The Savior’s words are well within your reach.

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REMEMBER: When you are in accord with Jesus, He will speak through you.

12-29-15 Knowing

All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.

Matthew 11:27 KJV

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The fullness of the Father’s in the Son;

The power and the glory, love and grace.

All things that are delivered of the One

Belong to both eternal in each case.

The mind can’t comprehend or hope to know

The language of the heart that’s spirit born.

You must go to the cross, you must let go,

You must be broken, beaten, crushed and torn.

When you make Christ your Lord you’re dead to sin;

Until that time the door to Heaven’s sealed.

Give all you are to Jesus to begin

To understand this mystery revealed.

To know your Father you must know His Son;

To know the Son you both must be as one.

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REMEMBER: Surrender your will, relinquish your heart, yield yourself to Christ right now.

11-30-15 Love

These things I command you, that ye love one another.

John 15:17 KJV

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LOVE

No simpler command there is than love,

Yet look at all the hate we’ve had since then,

As if we don’t know what He’s speaking of

Or it’s impossible, beyond our ken.

Just for today I beg you take this test

That all you meet is Jesus in disguise.

No matter what they do, how they’re expressed

They really are the Savior synthesized.

You must love everyone, not just pretend;

This is the reason why you still are here.

The Lord put you together for this end:

So you can share His love, each one endear.

It doesn’t matter if they love you back.

Your job is just to love without feedback.

11-28-15 Taste

Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

Matthew 7:20 KJV

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TASTE

It isn’t always easy judging fruit.

Sometimes you have to take a bite to see.

The tree it came from may have good repute,

But in the end it’s taste, don’t you agree?

A man who beats his wife may go to church

And act as pious as the Son of Man.

If you’re attune to Spirit in your search

You’ll see he’s filthy as a garbage can.

The Holy Ghost will lead you to the truth,

Will pull away the curtain of a lie.

Not everybody evil acts uncouth.

Some heavenly discretion trumps the sly.

Most times a rotten fruit’s as plain as day,

But some will fool; let Spirit lead the way.