And herein do I exercise myself,

to have always a conscience

void of offence toward God,

and toward men.

Acts 24:16 KJV

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The key to healthy living in the flesh

Includes avoiding sickness at all cost,

But if it does arise attack it fresh

Lest sickness turn to death then all is lost.

The Holy Spirit guides us on to God,

Convicting us if we should start to sin,

And when we sin, repent from what is flawed

Lest sin evolve and apathy begin.

Repent! Assault offence at every turn.

Admit it right away to God and man.

The fire of your repentance makes you burn;

You won’t touch it again, not if you can.

Stay honest with the Lord: repent and pray,

To keep your conscience clear from day to day.

~~~~~~~~~~~

sonnet #433

³¹ And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:

³² But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

Luke 22:31-32 KJV

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The enemy of God wants you to fail;

He wants to drag you ‘cross the threshing floor.

He wants you to deny the Lord and wail,

To lose your faith and bother him no more.

If you’re a child of God you’re valuable,

For you can share the gospel of the Lord.

If Satan makes you unapproachable,

You’re one more Christian that can be ignored.

But Jesus wants your faith to grow and thrive,

So you can thwart the Devil in his plan.

Your strength will help Christ bring more souls alive,

Help lift your brethren from the sifting pan.

Christ prays for you this moment out of love,

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ:

for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth;

to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

Romans 1:16 KJV

~~~~~~~~~~~

Too many times we’ve put our tongue in check,

But only when we’re sharing The good news.

We stumble in our thoughts, our mind’s a wreck,

Afraid that we’d offend some lady’s views.

Don’t be ashamed to talk about the Lord,

He saved your life; without Him you’d be dead.

If you’re attacked, assailed, or just ignored,

They must be told there’s glory just ahead.

You are a rebel in a hostile land.

The battle’s being fought most everywhere.

You sabotage the Devil’s grand command

Each time you share the gospel anywhere.

Salvation comes to all who do believe

That Jesus is their Savior, ne’er to leave.

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sonnet #431

³² And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils.

³³ And all the city was gathered together at the door.

³⁴ And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him.

Mark 1:32-34 KJV

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Before the serpent dared deceived poor Eve

The Garden was a paradise on Earth.

There was no sickness and no cause to grieve;

No sin existed, no defect or dearth.

But after Adam fell and sin moved in,

Disease and devils grew across the land.

Then Jesus came and let His work begin,

Rebuking and undoing Satan’s plan.

Christ showed us all with action what to do,

Now that we are ambassadors of His:

Reclaim the Garden, in His name renew,

Beginning in ourselves…

Jesus saith unto him,Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

John 20:29 KJV

~~~~~~~~~~~

When Thomas needed proof that Jesus rose,

It did not mean he loved the Savior less.

His faith, though slow, with all its highs and lows

Arrived when he saw Christ to then assess.

Christ could have scolded Thomas mightily,

But in His love He showed His hands and side.

Yet blessed are they, He said, who could not see

But still believed He lived after He died.

If you have faith that Jesus conquered death

And lives within you now in truth and love,

You should not fear your final mortal breath,

For life will then begin for you above.

So blessed are those not seeing still believe;

Through grace by faith ’tis heaven they’ll achieve.

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sonnet #429

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Romans 10:13 KJV

~~~~~~~~~~~

If you would die today where would you go?

Would you be ready on that final day?

If you are sure it’s heaven you must know

That Jesus Christ can be the only way.[i]

So no man comes to God except through Christ;[ii]

You really must believe that this is true.[iii]

He died for all your sins and this sufficed;[iv]

Confess them now and He will forgive you.[v]

Then call upon His name and you’ll be saved;[vi]

It is a gift from God, His mighty Grace.[vii]

The Holy Spirit then becomes engraved,[viii]

To guide you to the truth you can embrace.[ix]

When you are saved you will be heaven bound;[x]

You once were lost but now you have been found.[xi]

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[i]

⁶ But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.

⁷ For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife;

⁸ And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh.

⁹ What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

Mark 10:6-9 KJV

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A man should leave his parents for his wife

And she should cleave to him the same way, too.

Their marriage bond should last for all their life,

For they are one in essence, no more two.

God made both man and woman for this end,

To share a single love that’s greater still.

He fit them perfectly to then transcend

The normal bond of friendship and good will.

What God intended let no man pervert;

One woman and one man are meant to be,

¹ To the chief Musician upon Sheminith, A Psalm of David.

Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth;

for the faithful fail from among the children of men.

2 They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: 

with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.

Psalm 12:1-2 KJV

~~~~~~~~~~~

The days of righteous men are all but gone,

For evil spreads the earth just like a plague.

It’s not that saints are hiding and withdrawn,

There’s just so few they seem both hushed and vague.

The faithful few are buried by the mob:

The carnel, unregenerate and vile,

Who smile at you in passing at your job,

Then stab you in the back with that same smile.

These are the days the wicked strut about;

They’re killing unborn babies just to sell.

They stand upon a rainbow box and shout,

And roam the streets like racist mobs from…

¹ A Psalm of David:

LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle?

who shall dwell in thy holy hill?

² He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness,

and speaketh the truth in his heart.

Psalm 15:1-2 KJV

~~~~~~~~~~~

When God came down to earth as Christ the man,

He showed you just how righteousness should be.

He walked uprightly, taught the Father’s plan

And spoke the truth, that it can set you free.

Though all these works are possible to do,

You must with faith believe in Jesus Christ,

That there upon the cross He died for you,

 Your sins He took and then was sacrificed.

Repent, and give Him all your heart and soul,

And claim Him as your Savior, King and Lord.

The Holy Ghost will lead you toward the goal:

Eternal life in Heaven there restored.

The righteousness you work through Christ fulfilled.

Through Him is victory…

Heaven and earth shall pass away:

but my words shall not pass away.

Mark 13:31 KJV

~~~~~~~~~~~

A day will come in which the blazing sun

Will cease to parch the lips and burn the skin,

And on the earth calamities are done:

No hurricanes, tornados found therein.

The heaven and the earth shall pass away,

And all the things that sin has surely wrought,

But one thing will remain and not give way:

The Word of God eternal ne’er forgot.

The words of Jesus lived before the stars,

And they shall live in New Jerusalem.

There will be no more pain and no more scars,

And no more need to make it ‘us’ and ‘them.’

His words forever stamped upon our hearts

For we’re His words in action to impart.

~~~~~~~~~~~

sonnet #424