1-13-16 On Tilling

He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread: but he that followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough.

Proverbs 28:19 KJV

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If you would have success then go to school,

And plant the seeds of knowledge in your mind.

A fallow intellect becomes a fool,

Where weed and brier thinking is entwined.

If you would be in love then make a friend,

And cultivate affection and regard.

To blindly plow will meet with no good end;

Whatever grows most likely will be marred.

If you would know the Lord then practice prayer,

And water both your heart and soul with tears.

A parched relationship leads to despair;

You’ll just eat bitter fruit throughout the years.

The land that’s rightly tilled will yield good bread.

Don’t place the ass behind the plow instead.

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REMEMBER: Whatsoever a man sows, he shall also reap. (Galatians 6:7)

7-3-15 Secret Faults

Who can understand his errors?

Cleanse thou me from secret faults.

Psalm 19:12 KJV

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The times that we meander from the Lord

Cannot be counted with our mortal mind.

No matter how we keep our virtue stored

The thieves of sin get in and steal us blind.

Some vain and shameful thoughts just can’t be stopped,

And oh, the words we wish we could take back!

Tis easier to have the ocean mopped

Than to recall the times we’ve gone off track.

Dear God, forgive us of our many sins,

The endless march of wrongs we perpetrate.

Your Grace, sufficient done, our prayer begins

With faith upon the cross to set it straight.

We can’t remember all the sins we’ve done.

Please cleanse us of our faults, Lord, through the Son.

~~~~~~~~~~~

 

sonnet #404

5-29-15 Serve

And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant

Matthew 20:27 KJV

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If you would be a servant of the Lord,

Then be a servant now to all you meet,

But don’t serve others for some great reward;

Expecting something back just spells defeat.

The greatest of you thinks that they’re the least

And does not know that they are great at all.

You will not find them sitting at the feast;

You’ll find them washing dishes down the hall.

Give up your vain ambitions now, my friend,

For Hell would be the thing that you deserve.

There’s feet to be washed now until the end,

So roll your sleeves, get on your knees and serve.

The chief among you, let him give the most.

The more he gives the less he’s bound to boast.

~~~~~~~~~~~

 

sonnet #373

4-27-15 Greater Than Our Heart

Our conscience will remind us of our past,

To call us guilty o’er and o’er again.

It’s first to blame, but to forgive it’s last,

And quick to say repentance is in vain.

But if our heart condemns us, don’t despair:

God’s greater than our hearts and knows all things.

The final judgment happens over there,

And trumps the heart of paupers and of kings.

The conscience points to worthlessness and death,

The Holy Ghost will show us God forgives.

The sorrow of the world will steal our breath;

Conviction leads to Christ – with Him we live!

Thus Satan will accuse and say we’re wrong,

Yet Jesus says we’re His, where we belong.

~~~~~~~~~~~

For if our heart condemn us,

God is greater than our heart,

and knoweth all things.

1 John 3:20 KJV

Sonnet #343

1-17-15 On Tongue Watching

Instead of pointing at the more profane,

Police that brazen mouth that’s strapped to you.

If you can’t watch your tongue, your faith is vain,

And those who hear you speak will think so, too.

There’s nothing wrong with humor if it’s clean;

Before you tell a joke, share first with Christ.

If you can make Him laugh it’s not obscene,

But if the Spirit tugs, it should be iced.

Beware of what you say, you’re being watched;

You represent religion to the crowd.

A vulgar tongue leaves testimonies botched;

The message that you send is clear and loud.

Your tawdry speech can so deceive your heart.

It’s better to be silent than be tart.

~~~~~~~~~~~

If any man among you seem to be religious,

and bridleth not his tongue,

but deceiveth his own heart,

this man’s religion is vain.

James 1:26 KJV

1-13-15 God or Bust

Unless the Lord is present count it dead

Whatever that is built with human hands;

It may exist a thousand years ahead

But might as well be built with desert sand.

A city that’s forgotten God is doomed

Like Sodom and Gormorrah full of sin;

Then soon by wickedness it is consumed,

As dead inside as though it’s never been.

Invite the Lord to sanction all you do,

And let His Spirit guide your heart and mind;

The earthly things that honor God are true,

And all without His love will fall behind.

Let God build both your church and family,

And everywhere you go, there He will be.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Except the LORD build the house,

they labour in vain that build it:

except the LORD keep the city,

the watchman waketh but in vain.

Psalm 127:1 KJV

11-30-14 Thoughts of the Wise

You find them in the universities,

Or splashed upon the television screen;

They like to show you all their fine degrees

And always come across as so serene.

Some want you to believe that they are wise,

And you might think they have a smarter brain,

But God knows all their theories, flaws and lies;

If they believe they’re wise they’re truly vain.

Intelligentsia think they have smarts,

But they have only mastered arrogance.

The Lord sees through their minds into their hearts;

To Him their pride and egos are affronts.

The wise are only wise when they think not,

For wisdom comes from God – it can’t be taught.

~~~~~~~~~~~

The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise,

that they are vain.

1 Corinthians 3:20 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.

~~~~~~~~~~~

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

I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.

Isaiah 48:10 KJV

10-31-14 Not in Temples

You cannot place a label on the Lord

That puts Him in a box of any sort,

And those who try must surely be ignored;

A trillion billion words would come up short.

You cannot build a temple or a church,

Then tell the world He dwells within its walls.

A claim like that is vain and will besmirch;

You cannot bind Him to the greatest halls.

The Spirit of our God is everywhere;

He’s closer than your pulse, your breath, your mind.

Just open up your heart and go in prayer;

He’s waiting for you Here, a cinch to find.

God made the world and all the things therein;

The only place He isn’t is your sin.

~~~~~~~~~~~

God that made the world and all things therein,

seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth,

dwelleth not in temples made with hands

Acts 17:24 KJV

9-23-14 On Deception

Be wary of the man who says he knows

Another path to God without our Christ,

And sin is nothing more than bogus throes,

Religion just another phony heist.

Deceit is ev’rywhere by Satan’s hand

And spread by those believing all his lies;

Distracting God’s own children as is planned

With promises of Heaven in disguise.

Stay focused on the Saviour through your day;

With constant prayer seek strength and courage, too.

God’s judgment will cause all the frauds dismay

When they find out their certainty’s untrue.

Whatever lures you from the narrow path

Will soon incur the burden of God’s wrath.

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Let no man deceive you with vain words:

for because of these things cometh the wrath of God

upon the children of disobedience.

Ephesians 5:6 KJV