2-18-16 Worth the Wait

⁷ Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. ⁸ Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.

James 5:7-8 KJV

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This food you eat some farmer took the time

To grow the crop from seed to harvest day.

He must have patience for the rainy clime

Like grace upon the thirsty soul convey.

The best things are worth all the waiting for:

A baby takes nine months to come to term.

When mother holds the child she bore before,

The time it took for this she will affirm.

Be patient for the day when Christ returns.

Establish now your heart to persevere,

And love no matter what be your concern,

For when that day arrives will all be clear.

The coming of the Lord is drawing nigh.

The harvest soon will come to glorify.

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REMEMBER: Jesus might come today. Be diligent!

2-13-16 Just Let It Go

And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.

1 Peter 4:8 KJV

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Your brothers and your sisters found in Christ,

No matter race or place or sect or creed,

Deserve a higher love more than sufficed,

For you are one in spirit guaranteed.

Forgive immediate their sins invoked,

Let nothing get between your heart and theirs,

Don’t rake up things that God has long revoked,

Don’t gossip of their personal affairs.

We know that Christ alone can cover sins;

His blood and righteousness makes pure as snow,

And where your patience ends His just begins;

Let tolerance and love among you grow.

Love one another as the Lord loves you;

Let go transgressions – don’t let them accrue.

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REMEMBER: Have a forgiving love especially to your brothers and sisters in 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.

1-15-16 The Tick Behind the Talk

For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.

Proverbs 23:7 KJV

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A man will make a statement through his tongue,

But what he thinks may be another thing.

Beware the motives that his lie has sprung,

Lest somewhere down the road you’ll feel its sting.

When Jesus walked the earth he always knew

The real intent within each person’s heart.

Discretion comes from knowing what is true,

And truth’s the Word of God that won’t depart.

The more you pray the more God’s wisdom will be known,

For half of prayer is listening patiently,

And through the mind of Christ you will be shown

The mainspring of a man; yea, more than he.

When you’re connected to the Word of God,

You will not be distracted by a fraud.

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REMEMBER: We do not merely contend with the lies of men – we fight against the Father of lies, Satan.

12-9-15 The Perfect Bond

And above all these things put on charity (love), which is the bond of perfectness.

Colossians 3:14 KJV

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THE PERFECT BOND

Of all the aspects of a Christian heart,

Of mercy, kindness, humbleness of mind,

Of meekness, patience, tolerance impart,

Forgiving one another so refined,

Above them all is charity and love;

Without it all the others are a show.

Agape’s like the stitching in a glove,

The letters in these words you’ve come to know.

Love is the perfect bond of unity,

The source of all that’s beautiful and true.

The way to run a just community

Begins with selfless love from me and you.

The fountainhead of love is God Himself.

His Spirit lies in Christ and in yourself.

11-4-15 Peace

Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all.

2 Thessalonians 3:16 KJV

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PEACE

The Prince of peace exists within your heart,

Harmonious with all the things on earth

And heaven, where His vibrant love impart

a constant, living stream of grace and worth.

You are a child of God, and more than this,

Evolving and becoming one with Christ,

A reconciled light of love and bliss,

An image of the pearl that’s greatly priced.

By every means does Jesus give you peace

And none can take away this gift divine.

Your faith becomes a knowing that won’t cease,

A tranquil quietude of love so fine.

The peace that Christ provides does liberate;

Serenity and patience still and great.

8-14-15 All for One

⁴ Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.

⁵ And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.

⁶ And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.

1 Corinthians 12:4-6 KJV

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A breeze wafts through a window open wide;

The curtain shudders, papers flutter, too;

A candle light makes shadows dance and glide,

And all these things a single breeze can do.

The Spirit moves ten million souls and more

As preachers, teachers, missionaries, clerks,

To prophesy, to write, to mind the store;

We serve a single Master in our work.

Discretion, grace and patience all are gifts

Bestowed by just a single, holy God;

The Father’s love that heals, reveals, uplifts

Can resurrect the dead and leave us awed.

Such wondrous grace upholds the universe

And shows in all we do as we traverse.

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sonnet #436

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

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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.

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sonnet #417

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.

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sonnet #380

Temper, Temper

If you can’t curb your temper or your tongue

How can you be entrusted with the Word?

The devil will provoke you with his dung

Until you lose control with anger stirred.

You can’t control what others say and do,

And none can make you feel a certain way.

With prayer and discipline you can get to

Restraint in what you do and what you say.

Increase your love for God until it glows,

Til humbleness replaces selfish ways.

The spirit of the Lord both thrives and grows

Within an attitude of faith and praise.

Compassion cools the fire before it burns,

And patience settles in when temper turns.

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He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty;

and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.

Proverbs 16:32 KJV