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!

10-7-15 Rejoice!

Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.

Psalm 32:11 KJV

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When you lay down and take your final breath,

You’ll wake up with a shout of victory.

The righteous found in Christ shall see no death,

For with His sacrifice they were set free.

The resurrected Christ will be the one

To greet you when you close your mortal eyes.

For those who did believe God’s chosen Son,

Eternal life shall be their golden prize.

Don’t be afraid, my friend, instead rejoice!

Your days of tears and pain will soon be through!

The upright are the ones who made the choice

To put their faith in Jesus and pursue.

Be glad for there is victory in Christ!

He lives in you! His precious love sufficed!

8-1-15 The Root of All Evil

For the love of money is the root of all evil:

which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith,

and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

1 Timothy 6:10 KJV

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The love of wealth begins with just a kiss,

A secret rendezvous, a warm desire.

The more you have the more you want for bliss;

The more you want the more that you require.

You think of all the things that it can bring,

How easy life would be if you were rich.

You need it more than God, this precious thing;

The love of money turns your life to kitsch.

Idolatry begat all evilness:

Desire of the fruit to have it all.

As long as this is what you must possess,

You are a slave to sin and sure to fall.

If you love God as much as you need air,

Then money’s not an issue nor a snare.

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sonnet #423

6-19-15 Hope

But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren,

concerning them which are asleep,

that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

1 Thessalonians 4:13 KJV

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The marrow of your soul is thick with grief,

And sorrow’s made a home within your heart.

It feels as if the Lord’s become a thief

For making someone precious to depart.

This is the time to mourn, you’ve lost a friend;

The world seems so much colder than before.

Remember, though,that this is not the end;

Death’s just like walking through an open door.

Your faith confounds the others with no hope;

You know that life exists beyond the grave.

The Holy Ghost is here to help you cope;

Because of Jesus, you are not grief’s slave.

Your heart is heavy now, as it should be,

The day is coming, though, your friend you’ll see.

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sonnet #393

6-11-15 For Unto Us

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6 KJV

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Isaiah spoke of Christ ere He was born,

Assured by prophecy it comes to pass,

Both fully man and God, His message sworn;

A Prince above all Kings, no one surpass.

Both earth and heaven Jesus comes to rule,

The governance of both His shoulders bear;

So Wonderful indeed, most precious jewel,

In glory and in beauty none compare.

The Counselor advising sinners come,

The everlasting Father to the saved;

The Prince of Peace indeed to all, not some,

The Alpha and Omega, Love engraved.

Our Savior and our Lord, our all in all

Is Jesus Christ, the name the saints do call.

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sonnet #386

5-22-15 Hand in Hand

⁴ I thank my God, making mention of thee always in my prayers,

⁵ Hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints

Philemon 1:4-5 KJV

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When Christ said love your neighbor as yourself

And then to love each other as He them,

This truth He spoke should not be on a shelf,

But shown to all the world a precious gem.

Faith knows that all is well, as Christ is true,

And faith with love go surely hand in hand;

Confess your faith and give your love anew;

You can’t have one without the other fanned.

If you believe in love, you’re halfway there;

Now love what you believe to mark the way.

Put all your faith in Jesus; don’t despair,

For His great love for you is here to stay.

Both faith and love are gifts of God’s good grace;

When used together then you’ll win the race.

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sonnet #367

5-14-15 Precious Indeed

⁶ For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

⁷ But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

2 Corinthians 4:6-7 KJV

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How precious is the Word from God to man!

The light that shines from darkness dwells within,

Infused by Christ, the Holy Ghost did fan

Until it raised the dead once lost by sin.

So like a pearl within an oyster shell,

Or diamonds held inside a leather pouch,

This treasure in our earthen vessels dwell,

Too dear for any man to claim and vouch.

We all are blind from birth without the light,

But then the love of Jesus brushes by,

And if we do believe He gives us sight,

His light now in our hearts to then apply.

This light of knowledge cannot be undone:

The glory of the Father’s in the Son

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sonnet #360

5-10-15 The Glory of God

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do,

do all to the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 10:31 KJV

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God’s glory is the end of all His deeds;

The fact that you are here is proof of that.

You count on Him for all your wants and needs,

He always knows exactly where you’re at.

Acknowledge God in everything you do,

For by His Grace and Mercy you are here.

When Jesus walked the earth He always knew

God’s glory was the goal to persevere.

You glorify our God in Jesus’ name,

When you do anything with Him in mind.

Your love in deed and word gives God acclaim,

And when you share the gospel love’s refined.

Give glory to the Lord with every prayer;

Give glory when you breathe His precious air.

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sonnet #356

4-30-15 Our Advocate

Have faith in Jesus and His precious blood,

For He that died for you is still at work;

He knows that you while here walk through the mud

And can’t avoid all sin when in this murk.

So justified by Christ’s own righteousness,

The Spirit will convict you of your sin;

Then go to God in prayer your sin confess,

And Christ, the Perfect One, will step right in.

He bore the sins of you and everyone,

And took them to the cross for all our sake.

We have an advocate with God: the Son;

The feast in Heaven we can then partake.

When you give Christ your heart He’ll vouch for you;

His word’s as good as gold, He’s tried and true.

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¹ My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

² And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

1 John 2:1-2 KJV

 

sonnet #346

2-15-15 On Seeing the Unseen

The universe we see with mortal eyes

Will not endure the patient tick of time.

The sun and stars are physical and dies;

An end will come to that which once was prime.

But we are not concerned with passing things;

The eyes we use were given us through Grace.

Our vision’s fixed instead on what faith brings;

Invisible to all in time and space.

Sublime and precious are the things we see

With hearts attuned to love straight from its source.

We know the empty tomb that set us free

Is more than just your average tour de force.

The Spirit shows eternity to those

Who died with Christ and from the cross arose.

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We look not at the things which are seen,

but at the things which are not seen:

for the things which are seen are temporal;

but the things which are not seen are eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:18 KJV