Should the veil of death lay as a shroud upon your soul,
should your sins bring an end to the life that God's bestowed,
should the lying vanities you've pursued leave you empty inside -
Remember when you're done
oh prodigal son
to make this your heart's cry -

"Create in me a clean heart
oh my God of brand new starts,
and renew a right spirit within me.
You are my soul's destiny, my key,
my deliverance from all that's unclean".

"Do not cast me away
from your presence, Lord,
I beg you this day,
I beseech you, I pray,
may I remain in your house, forevermore".

"Take not your Holy Spirit from me,
without whom I will perish for all eternity.
I need you now more than desparately.
Can you salvage the wreck of my soul
I've destroyed so foolishly?
I am without hope if you do not rescue me.......

Lust is an unfaithful mistress,
an unfulfilled promise,
a betrayer's kisses.

Lust will drive you to
always seek someone new.
Lust can never satisfy
the craving for flesh or
the wandering eye.
Lust will consume you.

Lust's embrace
leaves a bitter taste.
At the first so sweet,
at the last- an empty plate,
a total waste.

Do not respond when she flirts with you.
You'll only be sealing your Eternal doom.
Ignore her. Rebuke her hard if you must,
only do not allow your heart to lust.....

He bled for the one he wed.
He only spoke what his Father said.
He was completely Holy Spirit led.
He is our savior - risen from the dead.
And if his righteousness we do not cherish,
we will all without a doubt               perish.
Of his love we're not worthy.
It's far greater than any love thats earthly.
If we do not recieve him humbly,
we'll one day abandon this mortal shell
and be sentemced to an eternity in hell.
Don't gamble with your soul.
Choose to let him make you whole.
Join the Holy Spirit's mighty flow,
that the world's destruction you may not know....

Some wear their authority like a suit of armor used to protect them from all criticism.
Godly authority is not to be worn this way. Those in authority (truthfully, we all have authority in the Body of Christ), should welcome all criticism. Some will be wrong but some will be right but given in the wrong spirit. Some will be right and also given correctly. We must trust the Holy Spirit to distinguish between the two. Authority is really a robe - a robe of righteousness that only the humble may wear.

The Better Miracle

"Its just as wrong for the Christians to devour the lions as it is for the lions to eat the Christians"

"When they (the lions) attack you with their mouths (tongues), when they rise up against you in judgment with their false accusations - the better miracle is to trust God to shut their mouths, not deliver you from amongst them".


"The better miracle is to always see the other soul won to Christ"


Deliverance should only be desired when it produces a witness that will transform our enemies into true saints of God. Indeed, we often must willingly sacrafice ourselves for the good of others, in particular, our enemies, like lambs to the slaughter, that our enemies, having consumed us, will have righteousness enter in, that God, the God of Righteousness, may impact them from the inside, having gained entrance through a witness of true faith and trust in the Father. Paul could have been delivered but instead was stoned twice, a double portion for Stephen's stoning. I am sure Paul willingly accepted this and counted it a joy and a blessing to suffer for Christ's sake.

Had Jesus sought deliverance instead of sacrafice, we would all perish without hope, yet His example is ours to embrace too.

And just how do we shut the lion's mouths? Through the godly witness we provide when they attack us. By living so righteously that they become ashamed to speak evil of us. Responding to their taunts and lies by turning the other cheek - this is the thousand deaths we die daily. If we allow ourselves to die daily then the big sacrafice won't be so hard having been preceded by the many small ones.  In this way, death loosens it's grip on us, day by day, till it no longer over us holds sway.

Sacrafice is a life-style choice, chosen or rejected daily - like "what will I wear today?" or "How will I dress my heart today?" With humility and self-sacrafice or with haughtiness and self-exaltation?

"I die daily" is the declaration of a broken heart fully succumbed to Christ and it must "die daily" because of it's constant readiness/willingness to abandon Christ and follow it's carnal desires. Our souls will either daily die to our flesh's lusts and desires or to Christ and his will for us, to his righteousness,.

Because of our frailties, no choice is permanent but must be daily affirmed and obeyed - whether righteousness or rebellion - each choice can be changed each day. This provides hope for the rebellious son and a warning for the faithful son who chooses to remain in his Father's house daily.

 

I spoke with a man who said he was a Christian
but though he spoke he did not listen.
All he said repeatedly
was what his Pastor thought, doctrinally.
I longed to hear him say "I think this" or "I think that"
but all I got was "My Pastor says..." ,  like a broken eight track.

Pastors - do not raise them to be perfect reflections of you,
duplicating all you say and do.
Rather, teach them to
think for themselves,
to arrive at their own conclusions,
to not buy all you sell....
but create their own fusion
of doctrine and thought,
of belief and faith
so they'll arrive at maturity
and their lives won't be a waste
because they never developed
their own God-given ministries....
Teach them to be who God has called them to be,
then release them to fulfill their God-ordained destiny...


Pastors: Always remember, you are there to serve them, not the other way around...you are to have a Father's heart...your desire is to see them mature to the point where they don't need you anymore...

I took money from an ATM machine today
I felt giddy as I did it
eyeing this thing that would
spit out money right at me because
I, because I told it to
It didn't resist
this agreeable machine
It didn't question why
like my wife
It just said "OK, how much? Do you want?"
Oh the choices!
I wish life was like an ATM machine
All the money I want
whenever I want it
for whatever
Wishes instantly coming true
but then
would the pleasure be so great
if I didn't have to wait?

That spark of beauty
glimpsed from the train
as I whisked by
that bush
shaped into circles
planted by that house
reveals a kind soul
a kindred spirit
one who appreciates beauty
found in an unlikely place
Each day my commute
takes me by
quickly             yet
that momentary glance
makes me long to live
in that house by the bush
so lovingly molded
in that quiet, restful place
where wise ones plant grace
and contemplate
the thoughts that grow
along with the bush
the thoughts watered by the curiosity
of young souls in old bodies....