2-19-16 Like Night and Day

³ O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. ⁴ Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. ⁵ For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

Psalm 30:3-5 KJV

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Depression drags your soul into the grave

And whispers that this pit is all there is;

Here hope is gone, here darkness does enslave,

Here death does pierce your heart and claims as his.

It seems as if the Lord has turned away,

As if His anger’s robbed your faith and dream.

But turn around, my friend, please don’t dismay.

He’s never left your side; you’re still a team.

Reach out to Jesus! Life is in His hand;

His love is like the morning over night.

He holds you in His arms, the dark is banned.

God’s grace shines all the time; the future’s bright.

When darkest night of soul weighs down on you,

The dawn is certain: Christ will see you through.

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REMEMBER: It is always the darkest before the dawn.

1-2-15 Arise, O Lord!

Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up thine hand: forget not the humble.

Psalm 10:12 KJV

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Arise, O Lord! Lift up Your hand today;

Rain down upon our enemies Your wrath.

The humble all around the world do pray;

Saints persecuted, killed on every path.

Arise, O Lord! The humble cry Your name;

The followers of Satan run amok.

The leaders of the world are put to shame,

While Christians everywhere die in the muck.

Arise, O Lord! Bring death to all our foes;

They murder us with raw impunity.

The armies of the world will not oppose;

O hear our cries, O Lord! Please hear this plea!

You are the Mighty God! None dare resist.

Lift up Your hand for us; our prayers persist!

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REMEMBER: Pray unceasingly for our brothers and sisters who are being persecuted around the world.

12-21-15 Serve the Lord with Gladness

Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.

Psalm 100:2 KJV

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Let’s serve the Lord with gladness, joy and cheer!

Let’s worship Him with singing full and strong!

Now come before His presence, gather near,

And praise our God with labor and with song!

Assemble all you saints and harmonize

By lifting up your voice in gratitude,

For by His loving grace our souls arise

To worship Christ our Lord with certitude!

Let’s praise the Lord, for He has shown His love!

Upon the cross He sacrificed His life

So those of us with faith could soar above,

To serve Him here and in the afterlife!

Let’s magnify the Lord and share the Word!

Let Jesus work through us now undeterred!

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REMEMBER: When you serve the Lord with joy in your heart and a song on your lips, the unsaved will be more receptive to His light in you.

10-29-15 Awake!

Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.

Ephesians 5:14 KJV

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The unregenerate cannot arise

Without the blood of Jesus on their soul,

So more than dead they head to their demise

Unless they’re sought and Christ they choose in whole.

Yet saints may be asleep among the dead

Who’ve wandered from the light with constant sin,

So blow the trumpet loud beside their bed, ¹

Remind them who they are and where they’ve been.

Awake, you sons and daughters of our God!

Stand up and Christ will surely give you light!

He’s coming soon, my friend, so don’t you nod,

Get oil for your lamp ² and keep it bright! ³

Awake from all the dead, you sleepyhead!

There’s no more time to doze, He’s just ahead!

1Joel 2:1

2Matthew 25:1-13

3Matthew 5:16

9-12-15 Bad Company

Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.

1 Corinthians 15:33 KJV

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Beware the gathering of those unsaved

Who use their tongues to denigrate the saints,

And on the surface seem so well behaved

Until you hear them speak without restraint.

If you are not too careful you will slide

Into the way of wicked thought and speech.

Before you know it Christ have you denied,

And you’ll no longer practice what you preach.

If you must be in such bad company,

Remember Jesus lives and grows in you.

Put all your faith in Him and you will see

No matter what they say He’ll see you through.

Good character’s corrupted by such talk.

The Savior’s here to help you walk the walk.

8-4-15 Gone

¹ To the chief Musician upon Sheminith, A Psalm of David.

Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth;

for the faithful fail from among the children of men.

2 They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: 

with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.

Psalm 12:1-2 KJV

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The days of righteous men are all but gone,

For evil spreads the earth just like a plague.

It’s not that saints are hiding and withdrawn,

There’s just so few they seem both hushed and vague.

The faithful few are buried by the mob:

The carnel, unregenerate and vile,

Who smile at you in passing at your job,

Then stab you in the back with that same smile.

These are the days the wicked strut about;

They’re killing unborn babies just to sell.

They stand upon a rainbow box and shout,

And roam the streets like racist mobs from hell.

O Help us, Lord! The faithful fall away!

There’s very little hope for us today!

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sonnet #426

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

6-9-15 Good

See that none render evil for evil unto any man;

but ever follow that which is good,

both among yourselves, and to all men.

1 Thessalonians 5:15 KJV

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You child of God, who’s more like Jesus now

Than yesterday, for He now lives in you,

Are so compelled by Grace to not allow

An evil for an evil to accrue.

Observe the Golden Rule more now than then,

For in you dwells the Spirit of the Lord,

And teach this way of life to those who ken;

No good can come when sword begats a sword.

So choose to always serve that which is good

Among your fellow saints and to all men.

If you can do it, anybody could;

The greatest good’s the gospel shared again.

Now promulgate the good, on love rely;

If you don’t feed what’s evil it will die.

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sonnet #384

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

3-8-15 Waxing Cold

The latter days of woe are on us now,

While sins of every kind so more abound.

The saints themselves are furrowing their brow,

For righteousness is nowhere to be found.

Because despair can burrow in your heart

To whisper in your ear that all is lost,

You will be tempted to let love depart,

But soon thereafter shroud yourself in frost.

Do not forget the stone was rolled away,

To show the tomb was bare where Jesus lay.

He conquered death and hell upon that day

And lives forever more, so don’t dismay.

When all seems lost and ice begins to form,

Remember Christ is with you through the storm.

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And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

Matthew 24:12 KJV