8-20-15 Made for Man

²³ And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn.

²⁴ And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful?

²⁵ And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him?

²⁶ How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him?

²⁷ And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:

²⁸ Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

Mark 2:23-28 KJV

~~~~~~~~~~~

Christ said the Sabbath day was made for man,

Twas made for good and not to bring him bad:

His soul may benefit in worship span;

His body rest from labor and be glad.

His necessary acts should not be banned:

A sheep can sure be rescued from a ditch, ¹

And David’s hunger could not be pre-planned.²

The Sabbath’s made for man to so enrich.

Here Jesus was the Son of Man divine,³

The instituter of the Sabbath day.

He could have said “The Sabbath day is Mine,”

But taught them out of patient love the way.

Man wasn’t made to keep the Sabbath pure;

It’s made for man so he may rest assure.

~~~~~~~~~~~

sonnet #442

1Matthew 12:11

21 Samuel 21:3

3Daniel 7:13

1-31-15 A heritage of the Lord

A parent’s greatest joy should be their child,

A gift from God, creation at its best,

Especially an offspring good and mild

To leave all those who meet her surely blessed.

They love their child before she leaves the womb,

And magnifies it with each breath she takes;

So Jesus loves us ere we come in bloom,

And with the Spirit’s breath we came awake.

When we acknowledge Jesus as our Lord,

Then Heaven cheers our second day of birth;

The Savior’s bliss is this His own reward

To know a part of Him is on the Earth.

The heritage of Christ belongs to those

Who left the cross with Him, the ones He chose.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: 

and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

Psalm 127:3 KJV

1-24-15 Take Comfort

A friend of many years has passed away,

Their pain and sorrow will be borne no more,

Yet there goes half your night and half your day;

Anf half your broken heart is on the floor.

Take comfort in the Savior’s arms today

 And lean your tired head against His chest;

He holds you tight and wipes your tears away,

He whispers in your ear and gives you rest.

The world it seems no longer is attuned;

In fact it seems it’s crumbled all apart.

Take comfort in the Lord, He’ll bind your wound;

In time He’ll even heal your broken heart.

Your friend has left this place for glory’s light;

She’s taking comfort in Christ’s love tonight.

~~~~~~~~~~~

He healeth the broken in heart,

and bindeth up their wounds.

Psalm 147:3 KJV

10-27-14 Stand Fast

If you call Christ your Lord you now are free

Of all the damning nature of your sin;

His sacrifice gives you such liberty

A new life in the Spirit does begin.

With freedom you will surely draw such hate,

The world will want you back within its grip;

Stand fast with Christ, don’t take the devil’s bait,

The price of freedom sometimes means the whip.

The yoke of bondage once held you in chains,

But now you’re free beneath His cleansing blood;

Whatever happens now, the growth, the pains,

Are not worth falling back into the mud.

Not only is the Savior now your friend,

He’s just a prayer away and will defend.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Stand fast therefore in the liberty

wherewith Christ hath made us free,

and be not entangled again

with the yoke of bondage.

Galatians 5:1 KJV

10-3-14 Patiently Waiting for Christ

Oh Lord, direct our hearts into God’s love,

That perfect sanctuary full of light,

Where angels always worship from above

And fills our souls with gladness in His sight.

Now let us be submerged in holy praise

So that we might arrive into God’s heart.

We pray that we might linger all our days

While we await our Saviour to impart

His presence promised, then to be achieved

When those who died in Him begin to rise.

Count us, Oh Lord, among those who believed

And waited steadily with no disguise.

Please draw us into God’s pure heart where we

Anticipate Christ’s coming patiently.

 ~~~~~

And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God,

and into the patient waiting for Christ.

2 Thessalonians 3:5 KJV

9-21-14 Encourage One Another

Your earthly relatives by blood are joined,

With uncles, aunts and cousins on both sides.

You’ve also family not gene conjoined,

A spiritual connection that abides.

The saving blood of Jesus covers all

Who do believe He is the Son of God;

Now children of our Father God recall

Our brothers and our sisters Spirit awed.

Encourage one another piously

To cling unto the Saviour and His love,

For we are one with Jesus by decree,

And build each other up to God above.

With Grace in faith the Way back home is clear,

Revitalize your siblings far and near.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Therefore encourage one another

and build one another up

1 Thessalonians 5:11 ESV

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

9-12-14 My Cup Runneth Over

Now through the valley on to open plains

I follow in the shadow of my Lord.

Though evil wants to tie me up with chains

He makes a feast for me before the horde.

My faith consumes the sacred bread and wine,

While Satan stands defeated once again,

And grace anoints my head e’en while I dine;

No longer do I serve the likes of men.

My Saviour do I praise forever more!

This cup of joy will always overflow.

His Presence makes my blissful spirit soar,

And where He leads is where that I must go.

My enemies do watch and gnash their teeth;

My Shepherd’s love surrounds me like a wreath.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thou preparest a table before me

in the presence of mine enemies:

thou anointest my head with oil;

my cup runneth over.

Psalm 23:5 KJV

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

8-22-14 Brokenhearted

This world is filled with sorrow, death and pain,

And it will break your heart ten thousand times.

You suffer grief and tears fall down like rain;

Such agony and torments seem like crimes.

These are the times when Christ is close to you;

He bears such love to heal your broken heart.

He knows exactly what you’re going through;

Unlike the others He will not depart.

The mean and cruel can crush your spirit down;

You feel so poor and mean in your own eyes.

Reach out your weary arms, He’s all around.

The Saviour mends your soul and soothes your cries.

            You’re not alone, just feel His presence near;

            Lean into Jesus, He will calm your fear.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted

and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Psalm 34:18 NIV

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

8-9-14 In the Storm

The world is filled with evil ev’ry day,

And millions cry to Heaven for relief.

“Why don’t You stop this madness?” many pray;

The Christ they know would not allow such grief.

The opposition to His name is great

But this creates much opportunity

To let the Saviour in us actuate

Whatever Spirit bids us do and be.

Now listen, let the Father’s Will proclaim,

And know that Christ can still the tempest storm.

Have faith, my friend, and act upon His name;

The greater faith, the greater you conform.

The perfect plan of God’s a mystery

To all but those whose faith has set them free.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He said to them, “Why are you so afraid?

Have you still no faith?”

Mark 4:40 ESV

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

7-19-14 From Here to There

Awaken in the morning, plan your day,

For wise is he who plots his route in life.

You set your goals in righteousness this way

To live as Christ through harmony and strife.

But more important than the day’s design

Is trusting in the Lord to guide your course.

With constant prayer your heart and soul incline

To yield each step to Jesus as the source.

As travelers their destination set,

They move by faith along the chosen road.

Then ought you so rely and not forget

The Saviour is the Light this moment showed.

Depend upon the Lord each stride you take

And you will end each day for Heaven’s sake.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The heart of man plans his way,

but the Lord establishes his steps.

Proverbs 16:9

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~