12-1-15 The Haves and Have-Nots

For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath.

Mark 4:25 KJV

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THE HAVES AND HAVE–NOTS

The light of Christ distinctly shines from you,

And as He grows within it will shine more.

The means of grace and knowledge blessed to few

In time shall be much richer than before.

And O! the love that burns within your soul

Increases til that’s all you will become,

But those that lack the fire true and whole

Will smolder, growing colder, then succumb.

Like Judas they may seem at first one saved,

Yet one day be revealed for their facade.

They’re kind upon the surface, well behaved,

But with no real salvation just a fraud.

To those that have is given more and more;

To those that don’t there’s no accounting for.

8-24-15 Bringing Sight

And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee.

Luke 18:42 KJV

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The blind are all around you, look and see.

They stumble through their life within the dark,

But tell them this, they bellow “Let me be!”

They take offense at every kind remark.

The light of Jesus lives within you now,

So take the bushel off and let it shine!

It radiates to those who will allow

The gospel to be shared, the truth divine.

Someone will stumble forward reaching out

With faith that Christ alone can give them sight.

The quick’ning of the Spirit makes them shout

As they are saved and finally see the light.

The blind are all around you, but be brave

And let your light so shine; its love will save.

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sonnet #446

7-6-15 On Obedience

⁵¹ And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest’s, and smote off his ear.

⁵² Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.

⁵³ Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?

Matthew 26:51-53 KJV

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The sacrificial Lamb, obedient,

Stood ready to be given up for you,

Could call for legioned angels to be sent

To save Him from the death that would ensue.

But no, this was not time to wield a sword;

The days of ‘eye for eye’ had passed away.

Christ came to yield His life, our sovereign Lord;

The pure unspotted Lamb would have His day.

The sins of all the world would soon be borne

Upon the shoulders of the Lamb of God,

Then beaten, bloody, His whole body torn

Was bound for victory with love to laud.

The sword was put away as so much dross

And in its stead was glory on the cross.

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sonnet #407

6-15-15 Heart to Heart

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me;

for I am meek and lowly in heart:

and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

Matthew 11:29 KJV

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To be like Christ take on His yoke and start,

Align yourself to Him in work and word,

Then as you learn the Savior’s perfect heart,

You’ll find that Jesus kept his wants deferred.

So meek and lowly, Christ was set apart,

Obeying what our Father bade Him do,

For He and God were one in mind and heart

With such agape love and selfless view.

To be like Jesus you must e’er impart

To understand that He is in control.

He bought you with His blood, now heart to heart,

And you shall yet find rest unto your soul.

To learn of Jesus you must soon take part,

To give and share with others heart to heart.

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sonnet #390

6-6-15 No Peace

There is no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked.

Isaiah 48:22 KJV

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Today the wicked roam the earth with glee

Without a sense of consequence or care.

They take what isn’t theirs and say it’s free;

Depravity and death stink up the air.

Don’t think that they are getting by with this,

Although it seems that now it is the case.

A reckoning will come that they can’t miss;

The wicked won’t have peace – no, not a trace.

The evil that men do will haunt their souls

If they don’t turn to Jesus and confess.

When death arrives they’ll see then He controls

And it will be too late: there’s no redress.

Eternity’s forever without peace.

Serenity in Christ will never cease.

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sonnet #381

4-16-15 Give and Take

What do you own that God has not conferred?

The same is yours to take with you at death.

The wealth you gained, the debt you once incurred

Mean nothing when you’ve drawn your final breath.

For naked did you come; the same to go,

And all you wear between the two is thread.

The only covering that’s worth to show

Came from the Son of God, the blood He shed.

The Lord does give; He also takes away,

But once you are His child it’s understood.

The Earth and all that’s in it will decay,

But your eternal Home is here for good.

Now let us praise the holy name of God,

And all that He has given us be awed!

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Naked came I out of my mother’s womb,

and naked shall I return thither:

the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away;

blessed be the name of the LORD.

Job 1:21 KJV

3-21-15 Thou Shalt Not Steal

Do not take anything that is not yours

Against another’s will by fraud or force.

If there was no more theft in all the stores

The price of everything would fall, of course.

Just know that when you tell someone a lie

You’re robbing them quite plainly of the truth,

And when you break a vow then trust will die;

You cannot get it back just like lost youth.

The things you do in secret will be shown,

So don’t think that you’re clever, smooth and deft.

Some day you will face Jesus on the throne,

And there will be exposed your every theft.

If you would be forgiven then repent;

Restore all that you took with ill intent.

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Thou shalt not steal.

Exodus 20:15 KJV

Temper, Temper

If you can’t curb your temper or your tongue

How can you be entrusted with the Word?

The devil will provoke you with his dung

Until you lose control with anger stirred.

You can’t control what others say and do,

And none can make you feel a certain way.

With prayer and discipline you can get to

Restraint in what you do and what you say.

Increase your love for God until it glows,

Til humbleness replaces selfish ways.

The spirit of the Lord both thrives and grows

Within an attitude of faith and praise.

Compassion cools the fire before it burns,

And patience settles in when temper turns.

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He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty;

and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.

Proverbs 16:32 KJV

11-16-14 For Richer or Poorer

Before complaining of your lot in life,

Consider this and take it to your heart:

The Lord knows all about your pain and strife;

He authors your estate from stop to start.

You may think you know better where to live

Upon the ladder of success and health,

But chances are you’d take more than you give

And spend all of your time with fame and wealth.

Just ask old Lot who gave him all he had

Both on his worst day and upon his best,

And he will look to heaven sad or glad

Then tell you that the Lord gave and supressed.

Before you gloat, before you bitch and moan,

Regardless of your lot, it’s all on loan.

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The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich:

he bringeth low, and lifteth up.

1 Samuel 2:7 KJV