A "good" person - is it you?

What is a “good” person?

Is it
you
who goes to a place of worship weekly or daily?

Is it
you
who gives hundreds or thousands of dollars
to your place of worship for whatever is needed?

Is it
you
who takes of your surplus and gives to those in need?

Is it
you
who speaks kind words to your neighbor?

Is it
you
who invites others to your home to share a meal?

Is it … you?

Not one, no, not one
is good,
except  The One Most High,
God

And all that is done
is only really
and emphatically
true IF
it is
through Him
who enables us
to do good

Without Jesus
our works are vain
We are vain
Our reward
lies only with ourselves
and what we can accomplish
in the here and now

Not for eternity
Not with Him

The Lord looks down
from heaven
to see within
the hearts
of men and women and children too
Do we understand
Do we seek God
or have we turned away
from Him
who is The Giver of Life
Our Refuge
Our Strength
Our Salvation

Keep the Commandments
Keep them all
Be obedient.

If we belong to Jesus –

If we have accepted Jesus Christ
as our personal Lord and Savior ,
The One who came to save us all
from our sins, from eternal damnation, a forever hell,
through death on the cross,
burial
and after three days,
resurrection  –  IF,
then obedience to His command
will come
and that will be “good.”

(c) June 28, 2012

"And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these." - Mark 12:30-31

The call

The call

extended

The answer

given

Obediently

I go

from a life

past lived

to one anew

Learning,

growing,

fellowship

sweet

Faith blossoms

with Him

as my Lord

and me

as His child

(c) May 24, 2011 

Room for Jesus

There was no room

No place

Not for His mother Mary

Nor His stepdad Joseph

Not for Himself

The Christ Child

Infant Holy

There was no room

No place

Foxes had holes

Birds had nests

But for the Son of Man

There was no place

to dwell and rest

He had the whole world

and has it still

For He, God Almighty

formed it from nothing

Our Creator is He

But there is no room

No place

The Call extended

to you and you and you

to become like Christ

There is no room

No place

No home on earth

to call his own

We, His followers

To Go Forth

to be His witnesses

to everyone

and everywhere --

within our community

our city or state

or another more distant

with cultures beyond our own

To Seek

the poor,

the sorrowful,

the weak,

the hungry,

the thirsty,

the lame,

the blind,

the disillusioned and misguided

to show all

the way

to Him, Our Eternal Savior.

There is no room

There is no place

Except within our hearts

It is our choice

to invite Him, The Holy Spirit,

into our hearts

a place to abide

to dwell and rest

a place to call home

a place of life

There was no room

There was no place

But there can be ...

When you accept God's call

When you give your heart to Him

Won't you give Him room

a place

to be Lord of your life?

(c) June 13, 2011

Who in the world ...?

The world changed

when

Adam and Eve

no longer

followed God

when

Adam and Eve

listened

to the voice of a serpent

when

Adam and Eve

reasoned

God did not know All

when

Adam and Eve

sinned.

As the world changed

the people

followed

their own desires and interests

the people

listened

to their peers

the people

reasoned

they could find a way out of the chaos

the people's

choice

was to sin.

The world changes still

good and bad

ugly and sweet

poor and rich

life and death

Who owns the world

Who causes its problems

Who will destroy it

Who?!

Who are you

You, who live in the world

Are you of the world

Do you too follow

the voice

of error

Or have you

heard

the still small voice

of God

amid your pain

and sorrow

Have you turned away

from the world

and what it represents

Have you turned to

the One Way

the Only Way

to

redemption

salvation

completeness

Have you turned to

God

through His Son,

Jesus Christ?

(c) June 29, 2011

Jesus Is The Way

It is not the Christian religion we follow,

but Jesus Christ Himself.

It is not the way to God

but the way of God

that is our salvation.

It is called Grace

It is called Love

and it brings Hope.

(c) July 28, 2011

Sinners we are, but forgiven

Sinners
we are
you and you
described
as "others"
unbelievers
and me too
once
upon a time

But, alas,
The Lord God Above
found me
and
in His finding,
showed me
His forgiveness
I accepted
His death
His burial
His resurrection
I accepted
His offering
of a new
and better
life.

And I,
still a sinner,
because different
became His
A child of the King
A new creation

Sinner still,
but no longer bound
Set free

I became a Christian
a follower
of the Living Lord
My Savior
My Redeemer

No longer
was I
one of the "others"
I was
I am
a believer
in and of
Christ Jesus.
I strive to trust
in His promises
be obedient
to His commands
to rest
in Him.

(c) March 25, 2012

He came ... do you know Him?

He came.
God came.
He saw
all we are
and came.
It was promised,
foretold,
years and years
and years before.
a baby
would be born
lying in a manger;
son of Man
son of God
to search out the lost
to bring renewed hope
to save us from damnation
for eternal, everlasting, glorious
life.

He came.
God came.
Himself,
as a child, a babe,
in the midst of
sinfulness,
weakness,
wretchedness,
misery.
He came
and lived among us.

God
creator of all that is
and is to come
and has already been
He Is
The I AM

No one,
no, not one
is greater than He

He came.
God came
as Himself
as an infant
born of the Virgin Mary
Holy,
divine,
without blemish.

His name is Jesus Christ.

A miracle of life
and love
for all of humanity
proclaimed
anew
year after year after year
At Christmas.
When His followers --
those who believe in Him,
those who trust in Him,
those who obey His commandments,
those whose heart is focused on Him --
Celebrate
His birth.

Christmas is the season
we celebrate
the birth of our King
and give gifts
that bring glory to Him.

Christian is the name
His followers
came to be known by
(Acts 11:26)
Christianity
embodies Christ
as the God-head
and His followers
as the church

Jesus is not Santa Claus
Christianity is not Islam
Is not Buddhist
Is not Jehovah's Witness

Christianity is not living a "good life"
Is not "being good"
Is not a feeling
Is not "I hope so."

Christianity is knowing
It is true and factual,
It is based on faith alone
On The One and Only
Jesus Christ.

Do you know Jesus?
Are you one of His followers?
Do you admit you are a sinner?
Do you believe in Him as the Son of God?
Do you confess your faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?

(c) December 14, 2011

Only One

Between The Beginning
and The End,
The Alpha and The Omega,
there are many roads
to travel
but
Only One True Path
to follow
to set us free
from sin
to make us whole
and complete.

The path
that leads
to our salvation,
Jesus Christ,
The Son of God
Our Savior
Our Redeemer
Our Lord
and Master
and King
to our eternal home
in the heavens most high.

Only One Path
Only One Life --
We are many
but He,
The Lord,
is One
and
it is His Life
with whom
we pattern our life.

Only One Savior
Jesus!

The God of the universe
created you,
formed you
from dust,
loved you
unto death

and He -- as flesh --
Jesus,
The begotten Son of God,
came
into the world of mankind
to show ...
"whoever believes in Him 
should not perish 
but have 
everlasting life.
For God the Father 
did not send His Son 
into the world to condemn
the world, 
but
that the world 
through Him 
might be saved." 
(John 3:16-17)

Only One
Path
One Life
One Problem -- SIN
One Solution
One Truth
One Savior

(c) December 1, 2011