2-8-16 Strengthen and Protect

But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.

2 Thessalonians 3:3 NAS

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The Lord is faithful when no others are,

And what He says He’ll do you know He will.

The covenants He forms outlasts the stars;

The promises He makes He shall fulfill.

No matter where you go there Jesus is:

Ten thousand suns within the darkest night.

No need to fear at all, for you are His;

He’ll strengthen you from all of Satan’s might.

The Savior is your armor and your shield,

Protecting you completely with His love.

The evil one can’t help but bow and yield,

For your security’s from up above.

The devil has no power over you,

For Christ is both your rock and shelter, too.

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REMEMBER: You can trust the Trustworthy One.

11-5-15 Tonight

And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.

Luke 6:12 KJV

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Tonight you must stay up all night in prayer,

For if you put it off you never will.

I promise you, beloved, if you dare,

A different soul will feel the morning chill.

When you’re alone with God don’t fall asleep.

He’s waited all your life for this one night.

If you’re sincere then be prepared to weep;

You’ll see how rare the times you’ve got it right.

Pray for your friends, your foes, your family,

And take your time, you can’t get too involved.

Christ prayed for you, that you might one day see;

He interceded that you’ll be absolved.

Stay up tonight and pray; it’s worth the time.

The Holy Ghost will show God’s love sublime.

10-21-15 Partiality

¹ My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.

² For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;

³ And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:

⁴ Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?

James 2:1-4 KJV

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In church we always want to look our best;

We’ve got our Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes,

But there’s a fellow that’s so poorly dressed

His only suit’s so worn his elbows shows.

I promise you someone in church will gasp,

Will roll their eyes, then whisper to a friend.

Don’t be the one to shun the poor man’s grasp;

Please don’t compare him to the latest trend.

The Savior doesn’t see a rag from gloss;

A tattered shirt’s the same as Vera Wang.

It all is level at the bloody cross;

He only wore our sins when He did hang.

A judging heart is evil at its best;

See all alike and you’ll be surely blessed.

6-10-15 Cast Your Burden

Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee:

he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

Psalm 55:22 KJV

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Whatever you may have belongs to God,

And moreso if you gave your life to Christ,

Yet here you sit, this body roughly shod,

Bombarded by temptation’s daily tryst.

So cast your burden now unto the Lord.

Don’t let this moment pass with one concern.

He died on your behalf, His blood was poured,

So live with love for Him and all in turn.

Now, Jesus won’t endure your fall from grace,

He promised He would keep you safe from harm.

Let go of all the burdens you embrace

And fall into the Savior’s loving arms.

Release unto the Lord your laded pain;

He’ll lift you up, and you He shall sustain.

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sonnet #385

4-22-15 Press Toward the Mark

If you believe the promises of God,

And of His only Son who spoke for Him,

By Grace will we be saved though we are flawed,

The blood of Christ alone atones the grim.

Then those of us whom Jesus Christ has called

Know well the crown of glory that awaits,

And all the things of earth no more than galled,

We keep our sight on Him and His estate.

Then let us hold the faith and move ahead,

To imitate the Savior’s life and love,

Remembering His blood for us was shed,

And all that we have now comes from above.

Press toward the mark: with Christ eternal life,

And be not so deterred through pain and strife.

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¹⁴ I press toward the mark for the prize

of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

¹⁵ Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded:

and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded,

God shall reveal even this unto you.

¹⁶ Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained,

let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.

Philippians 3:14-16 KJV

sonnet #338

3-28-15 Give Account

The final Judgment Day will come too soon

To those who did not think that it will be,

When every knee shall bow and tongue shall croon

With praises to the Lord for all to see.

Then we shall give account to Christ the judge,

Our secrets all laid bare before the Word,

The lustful thought, the hatred and the grudge,

The curse, the promise broken will be heard.

We’ll also be reminded of the good,

The helping hand, the love, the warm embrace,

The friends we led to Jesus when we could,

The times we were forgiving, full of grace.

We all will give account on Judgment Day.

It’s not too late: get right with Christ today!

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So then every one of us

shall give account of himself to God.

Romans 14:12 KJV

1-28-15 Celebration!

When you are freed by Jesus from all sin

And come down off the cross a new born man,

The joy that floods your heart will then begin

Like Jews from Babylon that homeward ran.

The chains of slavery are now removed;

You climb from darkness to a warming light.

The promise of salvation has been proved

For now you’re led with peace and fresh delight.

It seems the very hills sing out in glee,

And all the birds praise Jesus with one voice:

“Another soul is saved! Now glory be!”

The Holy Spirit swells and we rejoice.

That rustling sound you hear is clapping trees;

The news of your redemption’s on the breeze!

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For ye shall go out with joy,

and be led forth with peace:

the mountains and the hills shall break forth

before you into singing,

and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Isaiah 55:12 KJV

101514 Not Worthy

Imagine that the first day of the year

Is filled with nothing but calamity,

But all the days that follow full of cheer;

To count the year a blessing you’d agree.

No matter how you suffer in this life,

If you’re a child of God it’s worth the grief.

It seems to last forever, but this strife

Compared to life eternal ’tis but brief.

And those unsaved that call this living hell,

If they think this is bad they’ve just to wait.

Anticipating joy, the saved know well

The promise God has made the next estate.

This life is full of pain, there is no doubt;

The bliss that lies ahead will make you shout.

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For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy 

to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Romans 8:18 KJV

8-17-14 Faithful is He

There is none faithful more than God above;

The promises He makes He always keeps.

If you believe in Jesus Christ with love,

Eternal life is yours with joy so deep.

Your sins are washed away, He guarantees,

When you surrender all to Christ the King.

By answering His call forever seize

A sanctified reward so anchoring.

Be still, hear God so softly call your name,

And with a grain of faith pursue that voice.

Your life from then will never be the same;

God’s faithfulness is reason to rejoice!

            His Holy Spirit leads you to the Son,

            And cleansed with Christ’s pure blood salvation’s won.

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Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.

1 Thessalonians 5:24 KJV

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