Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Allegiance To The Lamb

GOD’S LOVE 

IS

A

 HEART BIG!



AND SO



I pledge allegiance to the Lamb
But there is more to it!  - I must be able to stand!
Words without action are words on the wind
There’s a lot of noise but no substance within!

Lord, grant me a little courage
Help me to stand firm
Stiffen my spine and
Lord, help me not to turn!

I love my King Jesus
But, oh how I am weak
Without His arm around me
I can barely speak!

Oh, comfort me Holy Spirit!
Dear Angel, hold me up!
Steady my gaze, firm my courage - be my fillip
Oh, help me, Lord, not to give in nor give up!

Bring, Holy Spirit, to my remembering
The words of His Comfort, the covering of the Lamb
Whose blood had been shed on dark Calvary
Righteous blood for the guilty, guiltless blood to save me!

Hope, faith, courage, Christ’s payment for me
Love, life, witness, I remember Calvary!
He bore my cross, He carried my shame
Help me, dear Lord, to let it not all be in vain!

I bow my head in worship!
I lift my voice in praise!
I put my shoulder to the plow
And count it all great gain!

Yesterday they came for me
Last evening was the trial, and
They gave me until 6:00 a.m.
To utter strong words of denial!

At 6:05 the man declared in dread earnest
That people like me  deserved to die, even in a furnace
For failing with this new world’s tenets to comply, and urged
Yes, Urged me to come along swiftly, as it was time for goodbye!

I know that I will live again though I die today for
I made no rash decision!
I pledged allegiance to The Lamb
For He made all provision, and leads me!

 


Psalm 5:8(KJV)
8 Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.




Saturday, December 13, 2014

Prayer: Father, Help Me!


Draw Me Nearer / I Need Thee


Father, please help me!

Help me to not denigrate Your holiness as I elevate my humanity to be like Christ, under the agency of Your Holy Spirit, for You are God.

Father, help me to express godly sorrow and show true repentance when the Holy Spirit convinces and convicts me of sin and error.

Help me to be constant in my acceptance that You are true in Your Word when You say that You have cast my confessed sins into the sea of Your forgetfulness, and help not to allow Satan to make me trot out confessed sin, wearing it as a hair-shirt and indulging in self-flagellation and thereby displaying my total lack of faith in Your faithfulness.

Father, you have forgiven my sins time and again, and I am asking You to help me to forgive those who seemingly relish their sin against me as they gleefully pay me the lip service that is their repentance, and help me to measure their repentance by Your yardstick, and not my own, for my hands are not clean nor is my heart pure, and I am truly fearful of what I would do without Your help and leading.

Father, it is really very hard to be kind to the unkind, to love the unlovely in spirit, to not denigrate the disparaging, and to be a blessing to the hateful so I am asking you, Lord, to help me look beyond their faults to find their need, and to be willing to provide that needed and necessary assistance as Your Holy Spirit leads.

Help me to stop being judgmental.

Help me to stop procrastinating with the tasks You have laid before me.

Help to stop speaking with a forked tongue.

Help to not be arrogant in my conviction of my rightness but at all times to display a Christ-like spirit in my interactions.

Help me to display humble boldness in my defense of  truth, for truth does not require color, nor spin, nor explanation by a sharp and arrogant tongue.

 Help me, Father, to find it in my heart to feel pity for those who do not care to pity themselves nor their circumstance nor situation, and to remember that, were it not for my acceptance of Your free grace I, too, would be in their condition.

Help me to show Your love by my willingness to do for my fellow pilgrims on the journey that is this life.

Help me also, Father, to stop acting as though I can save the world, or anyone, and help me to give all my burdens to You, for You are able to save, to help, and to heal.

Father, help me to be like the Apostle Paul to, in all things, and at all times, hungry or full, in want or in abundance, give thanks.

And, Father, help me to so live my life, that Your name may always be glorified.

I ask these mercies in the name of Prince Immanuel, and thank You for hearing and answering my prayers.

I love You, Lord.

AMEN



Friday, December 12, 2014

Remember the Sabbath, and be Happy and Blessed!



 HAPPY SABBATH!!




Temple Made of Time


SABBATH


S ix days are made for our work
A nd the Seventh is for our refreshing.
B ountiful blessings are reserved for those who
B elieve and choose to remember to set
A side this blessed time to
T abernacle with the King, the
H oly One – our Creator, Redeemer, Provider and Sustainer.

Isaiah 58:13-14 (KJV)

13 If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.



 TO SABBATH



MEANS


TO





 AND

TO REST

AND

TO REMEMBER

OUR CREATOR GOD!



The Seal of God is found in the Sabbath Commandment i.e., the Fourth Commandment of the Decalogue



Wednesday, December 10, 2014

HOME - An Acrostic




Going Home!




HOME – An Acrostic


H eaven at any cost is to be preferred

O ver hell for free! We choose to share in the Son of

M an's sacrifice for in it we lose earthly gain to gain

E ternity with Him!



The Day Love and Life Met



If That Isn't Love



The Day Love and Life Met

D'Andrea's Story


For as long as D'Andrea could remember, she had always wanted to meet Emmanuel a/k/a Mr. Right. Her Mr. Right! And the day that she finally did meet him, she truly understood what all the girls at the mission meant when they talked about meeting “the one!”
He was not classically handsome. In truth, he wasn't much to look at!
He was tall – but not imposing.
He was dark, and light, and fair, and comfortable-looking.
He wasn't so important that she couldn't get close to, or reach for, him.
He wasn't so cold and formal and judgmental and imposing and intimidating that she would want to pass him by with nary a second look.
He was, well, like Bear Mom's porridge. He was just right! Kinda.
He didn't have a house, or any visible means of transportation.
He had an entourage, and a lot of groupies, and hangers-on but what made him worth knowing was the fact that the two most important big-wigs in the country hated him!
Family by marriage, rich, and politically connected, An Nas and Cai A. Phas, hated anyone who was more popular than themselves, and who – they believed – took glory away from their house, and their productions.
Truth be told, it was being bandied about that those two were plotting to have Emmanuel killed!
Emmanuel didn't even have a job though, it was said, he was a master craftsman having trained and worked under the eminent Davidite artisan Joseph Carpenter, and it was a fact that all he seemed to do was walk up and down the countryside, and the seaside, talking to the locals as though he was canvassing for elective office.
Some of the people who had met him personally had reported that he had some unknown power controlling him for he was able to dismiss their impossibilities as if they never were!
The day that D'Andrea met Emmanuel was the day that D'Andrea finally found her home, her heart, her love and her true life.
D'Andrea's recent life was one fraught with frustration, frugality, feeble-mindedness, filth and fomentation.
In short, her life was not a life or, at least, not a life worth living.
Disappointment, drudgery, deprivation, disavowal and disturbance were her realities.
What was to become of her?
Then, she heard the noise, and she knew! This was going to be her day!
Come hell, or high water, D'Andrea determined, then and there, that she was going to meet her Emmanuel!
Yes! He has her Emmanuel and she was going to claim him for her own!
And, then, there he was! Right in front of her face!
Oh, his eyes! Such beautiful eyes!
There was a banked fire burning in those eyes that bid one to come and rest for a while, and forever.
And, that voice! How it undulated as it flowed and covered one in the wet and wonderful warmth as of a soothing bath!
Emmanuel's words as sound on silent wind caress D'Andrea's soul, and there is ecstasy.
Finally. Finally!!
No more lies!
No more half-truths!
No more dissembling!
Here is her heart! He took it!
Here is past life. He cleansed it!
Here is love made true. She accepted it!
Emmanuel loves D'Andrea loves Emmanuel, and it is righteous.
D'Andrea's life has met her love, and she is ... home!


Monday, December 8, 2014

Recall of the Fall + Repentance; and some Musical Refreshment





Recall of The Fall
+
Repentance


I recently sat and did recall
All the things that I've done as a result of the fall
I've lied and cheated, stolen and compromised
Walked in my own way, and often reviled!
I've ignored wise counsel and
Crucified Christ time and again!
I've raised up myself higher than my Creator
And oft' ended up less than I was created!
There's been fornication, adultery, gambling,
Warmongering, hating and despising
Grasping and backbiting!
I've realized that one wrong to do was as good as any other!
No skin off my back
For they were all as light as the proverbial feather!
But then one dry day, reality set in
And nary a dry spot was found under my wet chin!
The conscience that I had long successfully ignored
Soon cast me, without preamble, upon the hard floor
Where revulsion and remonstrance vied
For prominence e'en pre-eminence
Oh, how I blubbered!
How sorrowfully I cried!
Alas, this poor soul
A lot like Cain and Esau
Cried out – not in repentance – but because
I – guilty – was brought to great shame!
Now, I must eat crow!
A dish most unpleasant, or so I've been told
But eat it without seasoning I must
Not even a drop to be left in the bowl!
It was then that I heard Old Ishbel's choice words –
"If you are truly sorry, repent!
If not, don't relent, for
To do otherwise
Is to minimize
Who you've offended, and yourself!"

It was then that I chose to get rid of all the hems and haws,
And get down to the real business of asking the Lord
For the character of gold in the fire of life tried
Righteous clothing made of linen clean and white, and
the anointing of the Salve
To heal my world-scarred eyes.

He said to me:

Come as you are!
Repent, and be renewed!”

And

Walk thou in the straight and narrow for
The Spirit will help you!”

So, hear me, I tell you:

Don't believe your own publicity!”
Acknowledge your Savior
And He will direct you!”

I endeavored from that day
That for me there would be
No more broad nor illicit high way!

I am trusting The Promising
I am basking in The Comforting
I am treasuring The Holy Word, and
From here on in, you see
Straight will be The Pathway to

Blessing for Me!



Create In Me a Clean Heart

Psalm 51

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bath-sheba.

Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving-kindness:
according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
Wash me throughly from mine iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.
For I acknowledge my transgressions:
and my sin is ever before me.
Against thee, thee only, have I sinned,
and done this evil in thy sight:
that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest,
and be clear when thou judgest.
Behold, I was shapen in iniquity;
and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts:
and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean:
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Make me to hear joy and gladness;
that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
Hide thy face from my sins,
and blot out all mine iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God;
and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from thy presence;
and take not thy holy spirit from me.
12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation;
and uphold me with thy free spirit.
13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways;
and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
14 Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation:
and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.
15 O Lord, open thou my lips;
and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.
16 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it:
thou delightest not in burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit:
a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

Day By Day


Saturday, December 6, 2014

Prayer: Spare Me!



Prayer: Spare me!


FATHER, spare me from the curse of riches
for I fear that in my ease and abundance 
I will see no need for You.
Instead, Father, I pray that you will grant just enough
so that I will never forget from where my help comes.
Spare me, Lord, from an abundance of self-confidence,
for I fear that in my reliance on self,
You will become redundant
and serve no useful purpose in my life.
What ever pinnacle I, with Your blessing, may reach,
spare me, Father, from the rabid desire for the world's applause
for I fear that I may become so enamored of that dainty
that I will think myself a god to whom adulation is due,
and think myself ascended to be on equal with my Lord.
Spare me from that deadly sin called greed,
and teach me instead to be contented with what I have
so that I may eat grass and be ever so satisfied
because Your blessed hand has provided.
Father, help me to be happy for my neighbor when
good fortune smiles upon her, and help me to not covet
her possessions for myself because
I know, in my heart, that in due season
You will bless me also.
Help me to patiently wait upon You
for I know that You are able.
I love You.
AMEN



DECLARATION OF DEPENDENCE:




Friday, December 5, 2014

Sabbath Rest




HAPPY

SABBATH!!


SABBATH REST


We are:


S incerely seeking Christ's righteousness as we serve the
A lmighty God of all grace who restores and
B ountifully blesses His children, and
B estows
A ll great and marvellous things upon
T he faithful ones who
H ope and abide in His love!! We
R est our bodies from all our labors and

E levate our spirits to the Throne of Grace as
S weet peace descends to calm our souls as we
T ransform from rushing to refreshing.





   

Thursday, December 4, 2014

The Real BEAUTY – An Acrostic





The Real BEAUTY – An Acrostic


B ecause I believe in the Lord, I shall be saved as I

E arly seek my Savior.

A nd even if worms destroy this body, I shall see God for

U nder His wings I safely abide as He daily

T eaches me His ways, and helps me never to


Y ield to temptation!



BEAUTY - An Acrostic



BEAUTY – An Acrostic


B eauty is as beauty does

E ver for roses – even for doves

A lways helpful, keenly alive

U nlikely ungracious, is never snide

T ruly thankful, spiritual, kind


Y es, precious, happy, peaceful, sublime!







Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Oh, Death, Be Not Proud



Sincere condolences 

to the FENTY Family

on the death of their beloved 

Alfred

11/24/47 - 12/03/2014


Oh, Death, Be Not proud!



Oh, Death, be not proud!
You can't hold him forever!
The Lord Jesus Christ, He paid Alfred's sinner's price
And the day is coming soon, when his captivity is over
That Jesus Christ, himself, shall grandly shout:
Alfred, my child! AWAKE!


Oh, at that time, with a glad shout of victory
With body glorious, Alfred will immortal rise
With the Saints of God, and Christ
And with every Angel
In a cloudy train
They'll journey through the sky!


Alfred shall at the Pearly Gates
Receive his badge of honor
White stone, new name
Golden harp and yes, a crown
A victor's palm
A grand welcome home from his Jesus
All mortal combat ended
No tears, no sorrow, never again to say goodbye!


Our tears will fall
Right now, but just for a little season
We won't mourn o'er-long as those heathen do
Alfred died in the Lord
Yes, it was in Jesus' peace and safety
For there was no conflict between
His Master and himself!


We will comfort ourselves
With the peace that Jesus gives us
Knowing we'll meet e'er long
Never again to say goodbye! **

Rest easy, Dear One, until the resurrection!




1 Thessalonians 4: 13-17 KJV

13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning


them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which



have no hope




14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them


also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.




15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which


are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent


them which are asleep.




16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout,


with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God:


and the dead in Christ shall rise first:



17 then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together


with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we


ever be with the Lord.




18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.










Prayer To Be Kept From The Sin of Presumption

Heavenly Father, have mercy on me, a sinner.
Father, I come before You, and beseech You to keep me from 
committing the sin of presumption.
Help me, Father, to always remember that there is not anything that I can do, 
that I can do without You. Help me, also, to always keep before me 
that it is because of You, that I have my being; that I am a child, 
a sheep in Your pasture, and that I am to go, and be, 
and do what You require of me. 
Help me to daily seek Your will for my day and my way, and that I will, with
a humble and contrite heart, commit my stubborn will to Your leading. 
Help me, also, to remember that though it seems to this finite mind that You are silent, 
that You always answer the prayers of the faithful, 
whether that answer is yes, no, wait, or Your Grace is sufficient for what 
ever state, or estate, in which I may find myself. Father, help me to stand firm in the
faith of Jesus for, at times, the sufficiency of Your Grace 
feels an awful lot like welcome to the pain. 
Help me to understand, and accept, that 
Your way is not mine, neither are Your thoughts mine,
and please give me the grace 
that I desperately need to be steadfast and true to You
in the midst of my storms. And, Father, for those days 
when I do get ahead of myself, whether in anxiety, fear or distress,
or sheer willfulness, I pray for Your mercy, and forgiveness, 
and plead to be strengthened along the treacherous pathway that is this life. 
Through it all, Father, I offer You my prayers, my praise, and my worship, 
in the blessed name of Jesus Christ, the King, and ask in faith that
You will bless me, Lord, 
so that I may bless another out of Your bounteous hand of provision.
I love You, Lord, and I thank You for hearing and answering my prayer.
AMEN.




A Joyful Hallelujah
(Lynn R. - this is for you!) We sang this in CAMVOL nearly 40 years ago!

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

TRUTH - An Acrostic



TRUTH – An Acrostic


T ruth is of God! It is

R eal and uncolored; is

U nchanging, and everlasting;

T raversing time and space; has a

H eavenly hope, is built on love, and always heals!





TRUTH

BELONGS 

TO

GOD!!



Monday, December 1, 2014

We are FREE - An Acrostic



We Are FREE – An Acrostic







We are



F aithful to Jesus Christ



R edeemed by His blood



E ver blessed in His Grace, and




E nfolded in His Love!