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.

1-5-16 Time to Confess

³² Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. ³³ But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

Matthew 10:32-33 KJV

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As much as you confess you should believe

That Jesus is your Lord and Savior, too,

For words themselves are easy to achieve,

But let your being shout your love anew.

Your silence is denial as profuse

As claiming Jesus was then just a man.

Lip service is itself a lame excuse;

Now be a true believer, not a fan.

A Christian is in truth a ‘Little Christ,’

A living, breathing representative.

You should be one with He who sacrificed;

He took on all your sins so you may live.

Confess to all He’s Christ, He’ll confess you.

Deny Him and He will deny you, too.

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REMEMBER: Ask Jesus to give you courage, strength and boldness. He certainly will.

12-22-15 SO

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 3:16 KJV

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For God SO loved the world He gave His Son;

His One begotten Son the world He gave,

That whosoever shall believe the One

Shall never perish, never know the grave.

Christ took all of your sins onto the cross;

He gave His life for you and willingly.

Because He loved you SO He suffered loss,

But it was worth it all to set you free.

An everlasting life belongs to those

Who put their faith in God’s begotten Son,

Enduring death and in three days arose;

For God loved you SO much this all was done.

Claim Jesus as your Savior and believe

God sacrificed His Son for your reprieve.

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REMEMBER: Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13)

11-23-15 The Mind of Christ

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus

Philippians 2:5 KJV

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Now, may you always have the mind of Christ,

Who showed us how to live in love’s embrace;

That love be willing to be sacrificed,

And then no matter what be full of grace.

He was the perfect pattern, free from sin,

A humble servant with a heart to give,

Obedient to God through thick and thin,

And even unto death chose to forgive.

The mind of Christ is constantly in prayer,

Submitting to the will of Abba God,

Unbroken intercession to repair

The brokenness of man which sin has flawed.

Think only of those things that love sufficed;

Yes, may you always have the mind of Christ.

7-29-15 On Persecution

¹¹ Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

¹² Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

Matthew 5:11-12 KJV

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These days when you say Jesus best beware,

The chance is good you’ll meet a wall of hate.

Consider yourself blessed when they just stare,

For there are places killing us is great.

Just tell them Christ arose alive from death

And you’ll be shouted down and shown the door.

In some parts of the world give Christ your breath

And they will roll your head along the floor.

Rejoice when you are persecuted here,

For so the prophets suffered this and worse.

Count it a blessing when your pain’s severe,

For your reward in heaven’s worth their curse.

When persecution comes be glad in Christ

He’ll be there with you when you’re sacrificed.

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sonnet #420

7-28-14 Every Good and Perfect Gift

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,

and cometh down from the Father of lights,

with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

James 1:17 KJV

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If you should start to doubt God’s love for you,

Consider all the gifts He showers down,

A Father giving freely kind and true,

His blessings good and perfect so abound.

God sacrificed His Son so you may live,

And now Christ lives in you so bold and pure.

If you repent your sins He will forgive,

God wants you to come Home, of this be sure.

This light that’s in you, God’s the Father of,

The essence of the Word that’s always been,

Unchanging and eternal source of love,

The DNA of Spirit makes you kin.

God’s gifts, too many for this pen to trace

Are found upon the cross and in His Grace.

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sonnet #419

5-17-15 Grace and Truth

For the law was given by Moses, 

but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

John 1:17 KJV

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The Lord gave Moses laws defining sin,

And spelled the things that man should never do,

But laws don’t teach forgiveness there within,

And do not mention grace the whole way through.

So once a year a lamb was sacrificed

To pay for all the sins men did accrue,

Then came along our Savior Jesus Christ,

To be the truth and give God’s grace to you.

He taught the way of love to all who’d hear,

And lived the fullness of God’s righteousness.

He gave His life, a sacrifice so dear,

And through this perfect Grace God’s love confess.

The substance of the shadows of the law

Lived as the Lamb of God without a flaw.

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sonnet #363

4-4-15 Song of Expectation

Come join me in this song that has no end,

And we will praise the Lord forever more!

He’s our salvation, whom we can depend;

Our Savior Jesus, He’s worth living for!

Now, see this bloody pool on Calvary?

He died here on the cross just yesterday.

He sacrificed His life for you and me

Our sins He took upon Himself to pay!

Observe that giant stone before the tomb?

That’s where our Savior’s body then was laid.

Tomorrow that will be an empty room

For He will conquer death’s thin masquerade!

We sing, for Jesus Christ will soon be here!

Our resurrected Lord whom we revere!

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Behold, God is my salvation;

I will trust, and not be afraid:

for the LORD is my strength and my song;

he also is become my salvation.

Isaiah 12:2 KJV

2-18-15 The Word

Before the world, our Savior was the Word;

Both God and with God, Logos was and is,

Who with His voice the new born heavens stirred,

And all creation rightfully is His.

We cannot scarce imagine this at all,

But God Himself came down and walked the earth,

To save us from the curse of Adam’s fall;

The Word as flesh was perfect from His birth.

How wonderful that God did love us SO

That He BE-came a man, this Word divine!

He sacrificed Himself so all would know

Just how to be the branch with He the vine.

Now, in the first beginning was the Word.

With God and God Himself, the Word is heard.

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In the beginning was the Word,

and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God.

John 1:1 KJV

12-28-14 Give

If all we had to do was give in alms,

How easy it would be to give at all,

We could go down the line of upturned palms

Then spend the day just hanging at the mall.

But each of us are different in our heart;

We don’t all have the means in wealth to give,

So let us do our best and do our part

To help each other up so we can live.

If you give ten percent of what you earn

Unto the Lord, you’ve made your tithe today,

But kindling starts the fire – to make it burn

Use everything you’ve got without delay.

Considering what Jesus sacrificed,

We should give all we have: our all, like Christ.

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Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, 

so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity:

for God loveth a cheerful giver.

2 Corinthians 9:7 KJV