1-21-16 No Expiration Date

Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

John 6:27 KJV

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A man must quickly eat the meat he buys

Or else it rots and does nobody good,

And he must live his life until he dies

And then his body’s done the best it could.

Don’t spend your days obsessing on the flesh;

It won’t endure beyond its meted time.

Work toward that meat that always will stay fresh

With everlasting life that’s so sublime.

What must you do to earn eternal food?

Believe in He whom God the Father sealed.

Let Jesus be the one your faith’s pursued.

Be hungry for the Word of Life revealed.

Seek first the sustenance that fills the soul;

The more that you consume the more you’re whole.

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REMEMBER: Be as hungry for the Word as one who hasn’t eaten in three days.

12-17-15 Gifts of the Magi

And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshiped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

Matthew 2:11 KJV

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GIFTS OF THE MAGI

The Magi came by following a star

To pay their homage to the King of Kings,

For it was worth their traveling so far

To meet the Lord of Lords and what He brings.

They opened up their treasures and withdrew

Some frankincense and myrrh and precious gold,

These gifts they gave to baby Jesus true

As symbols of the mission He’d uphold.

The gold paid homage to His royalty;

The frankincense for His divinity;

The myrrh to signify humanity:

A King, a God, a sacrifice was He.

The Son of God was born so He could die,

Atonement for our sins to sanctify

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REMEMBER: The best gift you can give Jesus is complete surrender of your body, mind and soul to Him. Do this constantly.

12-16-15 Born of a Virgin

Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Isaiah 7:14 KJV

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BORN OF A VIRGIN

Conception is a miracle from God

No matter what the circumstance may be.

A virgin birth, though, that is something odd;

It’s physically impossible, you see.

But nothing is impossible to God,

Who made the universe in just one week.

A child born of a virgin’s not a fraud

If God Himself’s the Father; that’s mystique.

The virgin Mary bore the Son of God;

His name is Jesus, and much more indeed.

The Savior of mankind we all should laud:

Immanuel means “God with us,” take heed!

Christ was both fully man and fully God.

Whatever name you call Him, thus be awed.

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REMEMBER: All life is precious. Imagine how precious Jesus was to the Father, yet He loved you so much He gave His own begotten Son as a sacrifice for your sins.

10-8-15 Name Above All

² For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

³ He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

⁴ Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

⁵ But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

Isaiah 53:2-5 KJV

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No good can come from Nazareth, they said,

The lowly son of Joseph, carpenter.

He had no place to lay his weary head,

A man of sorrows, none we would prefer.

Despised and unesteemed, our grief he bore;

We hid our face from him and still we do.

He took the wrath of God as none before,

Was wounded for our sins, his blood soaked through.

Afflicted, bruised and beaten, he was hung

Upon a rugged cross between two thieves.

He died there with our names upon his tongue

And lives within all those who still believes.

His name will resonate forever more;

If you but think of Him, your heart will soar.

9-23-15 Side by Side

The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

Isaiah 11:6 KJV

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When Eve and Adam lived in Eden land,

There were no predators, no blood was spilled.

The glory of the Lord was full and grand,

And everything that lived was love fulfilled.

Then sin arrived, corrupting all it touched

And flesh once sacred now became just meat.

The earth was soaked in blood and death was clutched,

And man became the worst to kill and eat.

The Son of God was born to bring God’s love;

His miracles wrought Eden bit by bit,

And when the Lord returns from up above

The Garden fills the world and sin will quit.

The lion and the lamb lay side by side,

And childlike love will be the earth’s new guide.

9-14-15 A House Not Made With Hands

For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

2 Corinthians 5:1 KJV

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The end of life is not the end of life

For those whose faith is in the Son of God.

This earthly body’s filled with pain and strife

To crumble one day like a poor facade.

But we will not despair when that day comes;

You’ll see us smile upon our final breath.

The moment we’re evicted from the slums

We move into a mansion void of death.

In this eternal home not made with hands,

We’ll tarry in the presence of the Lord.

The family of the Spirit understands

This glorious domain’s our first reward.

Don’t grieve when we escape this earthen shell.

Our new estate’s in heaven – there we dwell.

9-13-15 At Hand

¹⁴ Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,

¹⁵ And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

Mark 1:14-15 KJV

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The time was right, the prophesies fulfilled

To usher in the living God on earth,

And there was God Himself midst crowds that milled,

The perfect Son of Man of virgin birth.

He said with joy “I’ve got good news for you!

A liberation from Mosaic law!

Here’s peace and pardon and salvation, too!

Eternal life by grace, with love and awe!”

“Repent!” He said, “Your sins will I forgive!

Here’s all you have to do: Believe in Me!

I AM the Way, the Truth, My Life I give!

The realm of God’s at hand to set you free!”

If Jesus told you this, would you believe?

He sent me here to ask you to receive.

9-10-15 The Stain Remover

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

Isaiah 1:18 KJV

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Don’t be afraid, do not fall in despair;

You realize the hopeless state you’re in.

Death calls for you – it’s more than you can bear.

You can’t escape the stain of all your sin.

Just take the hand of Jesus, make Him yours.

He’ll wash your sins from scarlet red to white.

Although the stain has sunk into your pores

He’ll take the brand of Satan from your sight.

The Son of God loved you so very much

He took all of your sins upon the cross.

Accept Him as your Savior, feel His touch;

Believe He died for you and bore your loss.

Although your sins are crimson red and full,

The blood of Christ will make them white as wool.

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8-30-15 Have Faith in Him

And he said unto her,

Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole;

go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.

Mark 5:34 KJV

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It isn’t faith alone that saves the sick,

For if it were we’d all be sound in health.

The gospel of success is just a trick

To take up all your time and all your wealth.

There are no magic words to make you whole;

The name it and then claim it crowd are wrong.

It’s Jesus Christ Himself that cures the soul;

The Son of God alone can make you strong.

There is no guarantee that you’ll be cured;

The grace of God sometimes is all you need. ¹

Put all your faith in Christ and rest assured

You’ll be at peace and whole with Him indeed.

Reach out in fervent faith that Christ is real.

Believe that He alone can save and heal.

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1 – 2 Corinthians 12:9 KJV

7-8-15 Sword of the Spirit

⁵ Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,

⁶ And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

⁷ Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

Matthew 4:5-7 KJV

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When Satan brought the Lord to temple’s top

Where all Jerusalem could see the sight,

He tempted Him to try a belly flop

To prove that angels save Him from that height.

The Devil hoped that Jesus would be proud

To show the world He was the Son of God,

But Lucifer was wrong, Christ won’t be bowed,

And tempting God just would not be allowed.

If Satan could attempt this on the Lord,

You know full good and well that he’d tempt you,

But as a child of God you’ve Spirit’s sword,

The Word that, just like Jesus, you turn to.

You shan’t be tempted when you use the Word,

And lean upon the Savior undeterred.

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sonnet #409