²¹ And another of his disciples said unto him,

Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.

²² But Jesus said unto him, Follow me;

and let the dead bury their dead.

Matthew 8:21-22 KJV

~~~~~~~~~~~

When Jesus calls you come and follow Him

And He has set about you plans and goals,

Don’t step aside – don’t drop your voice mid hymn,

To do the work that’s meant for other souls.

You may think it important that you go,

And there are times appropriate for this,

But when Christ marks a path to undergo,

To look behind while plowing is to miss.

When Jesus lived He had no time to wait;

Disciples fell away and ne’er came back.

I pray when you’re with Him you keep His gait,

And let somebody else take up the slack.

The presence of the Master trumps the dead;

Let others do…

Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD:

we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD.

Psalm 118:26 KJV

~~~~~~~~~~~

Had Jesus lived and taught when David ruled,

The King would bless Him from the temple grounds.

But Christ came when the Priests their hearts were cooled,

And all He heard from them were angry sounds.

But we disciples of the risen Lord

Sing out “Hosanna!” with a single voice.

We worship Jesus whom we’ve long adored;

With blessings loud and strong we do rejoice!

In adoration from a faith full house,

Accept the Savior’s presence in your life.

The temple of your heart and mind espouse

The High Priest Christ whose perfect love is rife.

O blessed be the One who conquered death!

We live for Him and praise Him with each breath!

~~~~~~~~~~~

sonnet #388

Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Exodus 20:3 KJV

~~~~~~~~~~~

We like to think we keep the ten commands

That God gave Moses on Mount Sinai,

But we can’t even keep the one that stands

As first among them all, and some don’t try.

We push Jehovah back to make more room

For all the other gods we worship now,

Like money, food, the TV we consume,

And everything we claim to disavow.

Whatever stands between the Lord and you,

Whatever steals attention from His face,

Is just like cheating on a spouse that’s true,

And then to have the gall to seek His grace!

The way to keep the Lord your number one

Is follow in the footsteps of His Son.

~~~~~~~~~~~

sonnet #387

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6 KJV

~~~~~~~~~~~

Isaiah spoke of Christ ere He was born,

Assured by prophecy it comes to pass,

Both fully man and God, His message sworn;

A Prince above all Kings, no one surpass.

Both earth and heaven Jesus comes to rule,

The governance of both His shoulders bear;

So Wonderful indeed, most precious jewel,

In glory and in beauty none compare.

The Counselor advising sinners come,

The everlasting Father to the saved;

The Prince of Peace indeed to all, not some,

The Alpha and Omega, Love engraved.

Our Savior and our Lord, our all in all

Is Jesus Christ, the name the saints do call.

~~~~~~~~~~~

sonnet #386

Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee:

he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

Psalm 55:22 KJV

~~~~~~~~~~~

Whatever you may have belongs to God,

And moreso if you gave your life to Christ,

Yet here you sit, this body roughly shod,

Bombarded by temptation’s daily tryst.

So cast your burden now unto the Lord.

Don’t let this moment pass with one concern.

He died on your behalf, His blood was poured,

So live with love for Him and all in turn.

Now, Jesus won’t endure your fall from grace,

He promised He would keep you safe from harm.

Let go of all the burdens you embrace

And fall into the Savior’s loving arms.

Release unto the Lord your laded pain;

He’ll lift you up, and you He shall sustain.

~~~~~~~~~~~

sonnet #385

See that none render evil for evil unto any man;

but ever follow that which is good,

both among yourselves, and to all men.

1 Thessalonians 5:15 KJV

~~~~~~~~~~~

You child of God, who’s more like Jesus now

Than yesterday, for He now lives in you,

Are so compelled by Grace to not allow

An evil for an evil to accrue.

Observe the Golden Rule more now than then,

For in you dwells the Spirit of the Lord,

And teach this way of life to those who ken;

No good can come when sword begats a sword.

So choose to always serve that which is good

Among your fellow saints and to all men.

If you can do it, anybody could;

The greatest good’s the gospel shared again.

Now promulgate the good, on love rely;

If you don’t feed what’s evil it will die.

~~~~~~~~~~~

sonnet #384

For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face:

now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

1 Corinthians 13:12 KJV

~~~~~~~~~~~

The evening crowd is gone, and streets are dark

And in our joyful state we roam the night.

Ahead the temple of the Lord we mark

And soon peer in it’s windows with our sight.

We think the glass is dark, but it’s our eyes;

We think we know it all, but it’s in part.

Yet O the wonders seen when we grow wise!

Yet O the things we’ll know when heaven smart!

We journey far to see a lion close;

The final twenty yards will make us sweat.

The glass is dark until the light draws close;

You know in part until the Savior’s met.

When we’ve the mind of Christ through Love and Grace

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

Isaiah 48:22 KJV

~~~~~~~~~~~

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.

~~~~~~~~~~~

sonnet #381

² That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate,

sound in faith, in charity, in patience.

³ The aged women likewise,

that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness,

not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things

Titus 2:2-3 KJV

~~~~~~~~~~~

As much as you despise it you must age,

Until one day you feel the weight of years,

But with the wrinkles brings the knowing sage,

Experienced in laughter, calm and tears.

If you should ever act your age it’s now,

For younger eyes are looking up to you.

Let sober living shine upon your brow,

And all the words you say be sound and true.

You have a grave responsibility

To be the light of Christ in faith and love.

Endure the world each day more patiently,

And show us how to pray to God above.

To all the aged men and women saints,

Spend all…

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish,

neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all;

and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.

John 10:27-29 KJV

            ~~~~~~~~~~~

You heard the gospel, how He died for you,

And something stirred within your barren heart;

You recognized His voice and then you knew

You had to follow Him or fall apart.

He knows you, child, He calls you to His side,

And no one can remove you from His hand.

Eternally in Jesus you abide

A gift of Grace no evil can withstand.

Our Father, who gave you to Christ our Lord,

Is mightier than all and loves you so;

Secure within His grasp you’re safely stored,

Assuredly protected to and fro.

No matter…