1-18-16 Known by His Fruit

Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.

Matthew 12:33 KJV

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To know a man just watch his words and deeds,

For he can’t hide the nature of his heart.

An evil sort’s revealed by his misdeeds;

A poisoned well its harm will sure impart.

A fruit will show what kind of tree it’s from;

You cannot harvest olives from the ground.

Guitarists bare their talent when they thrum,

And you can tell a good one from his sound.

True Christians will exhibit Christ within;

The body of their works His presence shows.

They cannot be successful in their sin;

The essence of His truth and love still flows.

The blind can tell a fruit by taste and feel.

See Jesus with His works in you reveal.

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REMEMBER: Jesus lives within you. Get out of the way so He can live through you.

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.

11-28-15 Taste

Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

Matthew 7:20 KJV

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TASTE

It isn’t always easy judging fruit.

Sometimes you have to take a bite to see.

The tree it came from may have good repute,

But in the end it’s taste, don’t you agree?

A man who beats his wife may go to church

And act as pious as the Son of Man.

If you’re attune to Spirit in your search

You’ll see he’s filthy as a garbage can.

The Holy Ghost will lead you to the truth,

Will pull away the curtain of a lie.

Not everybody evil acts uncouth.

Some heavenly discretion trumps the sly.

Most times a rotten fruit’s as plain as day,

But some will fool; let Spirit lead the way.

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.

8-23-15 On Sowing

For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption;

but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

Galatians 6:8 KJV

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They say that what you eat is what you are;

If that’s the case the world is full of waste.

The things that we consume won’t get us far:

The flesh is born to die, a fleeting taste.

Wherever you invest your consciousness,

Will soon become a new reality.

Then set your heart on Spirit to access

A truth that leads to immortality.

The Spirit that you sow should be of love;

For God so loved the world He gave His Son,

And from that fruit abides new life above.

The seeds you plant from this won’t be undone.

The way of flesh leads certainly to death.

The way of Spirit brings eternal breath.

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sonnet #445

4-15-15 Abstain

Once newly into Christ you don’t belong,

For Christ is into you: Home isn’t here,

And where you go the light will shine so strong

A pilgrim’s path shall form to drive sin clear.

Abstain from fleshy lusts, which fight the soul,

For they can drive a wedge ‘tween God and you;

They turn your vision from its Holy goal

And cause a stumbled fall to tarry, too.

The worldly world of lust is sensual,

Tempts sight and touch and sound and taste and smell.

It bids you come and join the festival,

Then pins you to the wall of death and hell.

Abstain from lust, my sister newly saved

You have a choice: be free or be enslaved.

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Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims,

abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;

1 Peter 2:11 KJV

4-3-15 It’s Now or Never

The battle lines are drawn, the challenge made

That who is not with Christ is now His foe.

All those who hate the Word will taste His blade;

The blood of evil will begin to flow.

The Shepherd that is Good now gathers near

The sheep that hear His voice and heed His call,

But wolves still scour the Earth fomenting fear,

To scatter with their lies the ones who stall.

There is so little time to save the rest:

Your friends and family and strangers, too.

More knees should bend and sinners be confessed;

Today might be the day it all comes true.

The Shepherd calls your name across the field.

Please harken to His voice and gently yield.

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He that is not with me is against me;

and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.

Matthew 12:30 KJV

11-11-14 Forged

Your life is full of hardship,tears and pain;

You feel as if you’ve poverty of soul.

It seems your every effort’s been in vain,

And you are nothing more than lump of coal.

A diamond starts as coal that’s under stress,

Amid great heat and pressure over time,

And you are far more precious in egress,

Refined by life’s hot furnace whence you climb.

Who wants a soup with vegetables too coarse?

You’ll want them cooked until they taste just right.

Affliction turns the raw to the main course,

Delicious morsel of the truth and light.

God needs a mighty sword annealed and keen,

One forged from hard affliction rough and mean.

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Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver;

I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.

Isaiah 48:10 KJV