2-10-16 Be Like Jesus

Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;

Colossians 3:12 KJV

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Now, having taken off the old man’s guise,

Put on the mind of Christ who died for you,

Whom now you are elect of God likewise,

Both holy and beloved and tried and true.

With deep compassion free from all deceit

To sympathize with those who are distressed,

Let kindness, grace and love be so complete

You weep with them who weep, sincere expressed.

Have humbleness of mind in thought and deed,

Be gentle with all men and always meek;

Submissive to the Spirit so proceed,

And dwell in patience; suffer long the weak.

Christ took the weight of sin from off your soul.

Now be just like the One who made you whole.

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REMEMBER: Christ lives in you now. Let Him live through you.

11-6-15 All is Vanity

Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.

Ecclesiastes 12:8 KJV

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Don’t get caught up in all this world displays;

You’ll soon forget the reason you are here.

Most everyone you know is in a daze

Believing these illusions are sincere.

The moment you are born the show begins,

And all the lights and sounds will mesmerize;

You’re told the more you have the more you win,

And told the more you know will make you wise.

It’s vanity; all this is meaningless,

For Jesus is the only thing that counts.

He’ll guide your way around this awful mess;

There’s nothing in this world He can’t surmount.

This place is not your home – you’re heaven bound!

Now spread the gospel – help the lost be found!

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.

6-16-17 Rend Your Heart

¹² Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:

¹³ And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.

Joel 2:12-13 KJV

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It matters not at all how bad you are,

How much a mess your life has turned into;

Your sinful life may seem the worse by far,

But God can still forgive, repent anew.

Turn even to the Lord with all your heart,

And turn away for good your evil ways.

If you’re not penitent don’t even start;

Remorse should be authentic, not a phrase.

Then fast and weep and mourn if you’re sincere;

You should not show it to the world at all.

Repentance rends the heart with woe and fear;

You don’t deserve forgiveness from your fall.

But God is merciful and gracious, too;

If you’re contrite the Lord will pardon you.

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sonnet #391

1-26-15 A Friend’s Reproof

You are my friend, and friend you’ll always be

If I say something wrong and you speak up,

For such rebuke from you is wine to me:

First tart then sweet to drink your chiding cup.

I may not like your criticism now

But you speak from a heart of love and care.

Much more from you than others I’d allow;

Their motives may not be sincere and fair.

An enemy may flatter with his tongue

But stab you in the back first chance he gets.

A kiss from Judas, then the armed crowd sprung;

He was no friend of Jesus when they met.

Your admonition, friend, is better than

The stench from some perfume some foe would fan.

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Faithful are the wounds of a friend;

but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

Proverbs 27:6 KJV

12-31-14 You’ll Surely Know

To know beyond a doubt if you love God,

Observe your life and see the fruit you bear.

If you shun His commandments you’re a fraud;

How can you claim to love if you don’t care?

God’s moral laws are still in place today,

And done sincere in faith, His light shines through.

Look to the edicts Jesus did convey,

Your neighbor should you love, your brother, too.

You must love God with everything you’ve got,

And if you do believe Christ died for you,

Submit your life to Him as Spirit wrought;

A new man will emerge: you’ll know it’s true.

You’ll know that you know Him without a doubt

If you keep His commandments all throughout.

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And hereby we do know that we know him,

if we keep his commandments

1 John 2:3 KJV

12-20-14 Cleave to That Which is Good

Adhere to all that’s good and wise and true

And you will walk alone more times than not.

Do not let others tell you what to do

If it runs counter to the things Christ taught.

In all the waking moments of your day

Be grateful with a heart that’s full of love.

Conduct yourself upright in work or play

And be sincere to man and God above.

Avoid all things that compromise the Word

For they will lead you off the narrow way.

When evil tempts you still be undeterred;

With Jesus on your side you won’t dismay.

Stay full of love, let Jesus be your guide.

Trust Him alone, He’s always by your side.

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Let love be without dissimulation (Deceit).

Abhor that which is evil;

cleave to that which is good.

Romans 12:9 KJV

11-20-14 Spiritual Milk

Just as a newborn babe needs milk to live,

Desire the word of God to feed your soul;

Without it’s nourishment you fail to give

The sustenance you need to make you whole.

Essential truths within the gospel form

A base to grasp much deeper certainties;

The language fundamentals soon transform

What once was gibberish to spoken ease.

How can you understand God’s awsome grace

Unless you know what Jesus did for you?

How can you hope to win the final race

Unless you train your muscles to push through?

Your spirit cries in hunger for the Word;

The Savior’s gentle teachings are preferred.

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As newborn babes,

desire the sincere milk of the word,

that ye may grow thereby:

1 Peter 2:2

10-6-14 As a Little Child

A child accepts a gift with fervent glee

And lays aside all pride and prejudice.

Those newly dead to sin and so set free

Receives the gospel with unfettered bliss.

The intellect sometimes can know a truth,

But can’t compare to soul accepting Christ.

This kind of joy reflects the golden youth

Who drink salvation’s milk as life sufficed.

God’s kingdom truly is the greatest gift

To those sincere at heart who love the Lord;

No longer lost in sin and set adrift,

The infant child of God gets his reward.

Stretch out your arms, embrace the bold good news;

Redemption’s in your reach, it’s yours to choose.

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Verily I say unto you,

Whosoever shall not receive

the kingdom of God as a little child,

he shall not enter therein.

Mark 10:15 KJV