2-2-16 The Way of Hate

But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.

1 John 2:11 KJV

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The man who hates is dwelling in the dark;

The light of Christ is nowhere to be found.

He stumbles, trips and falls far off the mark,

For blindness steals his vision all around.

Both love and hate can’t share the selfsame space;

The heart of man is not designed that way.

Antipathy just shows a lack of grace,

And without grace the heart will fade away.

Call on the Lord the instant hate arrives;

He’ll lead you to forgive as He forgives.

It won’t be easy but you will survive,

And you will walk the path of light and live.

A hater does not know the way he goes.

A blind man in the dark has no repose.

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REMEMBER: Hate drags you down. Love lifts you up.

8-27-15 An Exhortation

Now we exhort you, brethren,

warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded,

support the weak, be patient toward all men.

1 Thessalonians 5:14 KJV

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We have our own responsibilities,

And that includes a call to help the poor:

The poor in heart, in mind, in strength are these

That need some extra care we can’t ignore.

Admonish those that step across the line:

The busybody, troublemaking sort.

Teach discipline and selfless service fine;

These diamonds in the rough, do not sell short.

Uplift the ones who struggle with the cross:

The simple and the slow to understand.

The weak need love who cannot bear a loss;

Please help them with their faith and to withstand.

Have patience with the souls who trip and fall;

Be one to help them up. See Christ in all.

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sonnet #449

5-24-15 Forgive – and Forget

Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another,

if any man have a quarrel against any:

even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

Colossians 3:13 KJV

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When Jesus taught to pray He said this, too:

“O God, forgive me as I do forgive.”

As simple as it is it’s hard to do;

When someone does us wrong, we must relive.

You can forgive but you just can’t forget;

If that’s the way you want it, let it be.

You want your brother to forget your debt,

But if he owes you more, he’s never free.

As Christ atoned for you on Calvary,

He will not bring it back whene’er you sin.

Forgive and so forget and you’ll be free;

Do not expect the same and you will win.

            If you can so forget the food you ate,

            Don’t let wrongs eat you up, give Christ the plate.

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sonnet #369

12-28-14 Give

If all we had to do was give in alms,

How easy it would be to give at all,

We could go down the line of upturned palms

Then spend the day just hanging at the mall.

But each of us are different in our heart;

We don’t all have the means in wealth to give,

So let us do our best and do our part

To help each other up so we can live.

If you give ten percent of what you earn

Unto the Lord, you’ve made your tithe today,

But kindling starts the fire – to make it burn

Use everything you’ve got without delay.

Considering what Jesus sacrificed,

We should give all we have: our all, like Christ.

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Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, 

so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity:

for God loveth a cheerful giver.

2 Corinthians 9:7 KJV