1-12-16 Speaking Of

Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.

Colossians 4:6 KJV

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May every word proceeding from your lips

Be spoken as if Christ is next to you.

Beware of foolish talk and vulgar rips

Or doublespeak that might be misconstrued.

Instead let grace be voiced to every man,

With all sincerity and prudent truth,

And let it be as savory as you can

Without an angry edge or as uncouth.

When you let Spirit tell you what to say,

The mind of Christ with love will manifest,

So learn to be in tune the prayerful way,

And both you and the hearer will be blessed.

As salt brings taste be tasteful in your speech.

The Savior’s words are well within your reach.

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REMEMBER: When you are in accord with Jesus, He will speak through you.

12-3-15 Not Like This Man

⁴⁵ Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees; and they said unto them, Why have ye not brought him? ⁴⁶ The officers answered, Never man spake like this man.

John 7:45-46 KJV

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NOT LIKE THIS MAN

The guards who went to capture Christ that day

Would never be prepared for what they heard.

The things they heard that Jesus came to say

Compelled their hearts and minds to both be stirred.

Not any of the prophets spoke this way

With such authority and truth were graced.

Twas as if God Himself each word did weigh.

The very air itself His words embraced!

Not one of all the guards their charge obey,

For Jesus had not reached His fullness yet.

Perhaps their feet and hands did then betray;

Perhaps they drank from thirst and mercy met.

No man had ever spoken like this Man.

Thank God we have His words and know His plan!

11-23-15 On Spiritual Maturity

I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.

John 16:12 KJV

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When you were born you could not handle meat:

You had no teeth to chew, your stomach frail.

You had to start with milk, so warm and sweet,

And then work up to solid food in scale.

Don’t take up calculus if you can’t count,

Don’t write a book if you can’t spot a noun.

The heavy doctrine truths aren’t tantamount

To learning how your sins can drag you down.

If Jesus told you things you could not bear

Your soul would be too feeble to digest.

The Holy Ghost guides teachers to prepare

The food of Spirit that you can ingest.

Don’t be afraid to ask, but don’t forget,

The Savior may tell you “Not now; not yet.”

11-20-15 From the Womb

I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother’s belly.

Psalm 22:10 KJV

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God’s known you since before your mortal birth,

When you were being knitted in her womb. ^{(Psalm 139:13)}

In all the universe He sets your worth,

And watches over you from crib to tomb.

He’s been your God since you were just a dream;

He called you to be His before day one.

Predestined to be one whom Christ redeem,

And given full free will from do til done.

So now you are His child forever more,

Becoming more like Christ each passing day.

He has such wondrous things for you in store

And loves you more than words could ever say.

The God that formed the world formed you as well.

You always have been His; in God you dwell.

10-10-15 Bittersweet

⁸ But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

⁹ Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.

¹⁰ Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.

¹¹ Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?

James 3:8-11 KJV

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It’s easier for man to tame a rock

Than teach his tongue to stop its reckless ways.

A stone can learn to sit and stay and balk,

But not the tongue; it runs for days and days.

How many times have words jumped from your mouth

That you regret the instant it is done?

A friendly conversation’s headed south

With just an unplanned phrase or bawdy pun.

If you can hesitate to choose your words,

The tongue might find some worse to say instead.

Best cut it out and feed it to the birds

Or keep a clean, blank slate within your head.

The mind of Christ is possible to gain:

It takes complete surrender to attain.

10-3-15 Walk the Walk

And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

Luke 6:46 KJV

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Are you a follower by word or deed?

It matters when you reach the other side.

Most anyone can memorize a creed;

The words take on new meaning when applied.

What good are all the scriptures if ignored?

I tell you there are some who ‘know’ the word,

But when it comes to Jesus as their Lord,

They don’t know how to act and not be heard.

If you believe in Jesus, walk the walk;

A fruit is known by taste and not just form.

A plastic bird is nothing more than schlock;

An eagle rides the clouds above a storm.

He won’t know who you are when you cry ‘Lord’

If you don’t do His will. You’ll be ignored.

9-8-15 Praise Your Name

O LORD, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.

Isaiah 25:1 KJV

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O Lord, you are my God, my sovereign King,

Not only by creation but of grace.

The covenants You’ve made my soul shall sing.

My God, the Love You are I still embrace.

I will exalt you, Lord, I’ll praise Your name.

You’re Holy and perfection without end.

The heavens and the earth will long acclaim

The glory of creation You still tend.

Such wonders have You done I cannot count;

From atoms to the stars and in between.

Your counsels of the ages give account

Of faithfulness and truth we all have seen.

I celebrate You, God, both night and day!

I celebrate with all I do and say!

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8-25-15 Out of the Mouth

Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man;

but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.

Matthew 15:11 KJV

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Bad food and drink can make a person ill,

But he’s the only one confined to bed.

It’s what comes from the mouth more loathsome still

That will defile a man the most instead.

‘Tis sin that lays in wait within the heart

And moves on through the mind and then the lips

That truly stains the soul and tears apart;

Each word that’s laced with evil sin equips.

It takes a heart made fresh to stop the flood

Of all the wickedness men say and do.

The only way is through Christ’s cleansing blood

To purify the soul with life anew.

A man defiled will speak such wicked things.

The cure for this disease is Christ the King.

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sonnet #447

6-5-15 Age With Grace

² That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate,

sound in faith, in charity, in patience.

³ The aged women likewise,

that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness,

not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things

Titus 2:2-3 KJV

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As much as you despise it you must age,

Until one day you feel the weight of years,

But with the wrinkles brings the knowing sage,

Experienced in laughter, calm and tears.

If you should ever act your age it’s now,

For younger eyes are looking up to you.

Let sober living shine upon your brow,

And all the words you say be sound and true.

You have a grave responsibility

To be the light of Christ in faith and love.

Endure the world each day more patiently,

And show us how to pray to God above.

To all the aged men and women saints,

Spend all your time in praise and not complaints.

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sonnet #380

4-6-15 Submit

The forty years of wandering were through,

And Canaan lay beyond the Jordan’s banks;

The tribes want Joshua to lead them to

The land that they were promised with much thanks.

We spent our life just wandering in sin

Until we found salvation on the cross;

Will we’ve surrendered all to Jesus when

The moment comes when we must go across?

Submit all that you are now every day

And let Christ tell you what to say and do.

The moment that you cross could be today,

So act as if it is; To God be true.

Tell Jesus where He sends you, you will go,

And all that He commands do even so.

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And they answered Joshua, saying,

All that thou commandest us we will do,

and whithersoever thou sendest us, we will go.

Joshua 1:16 KJV