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Holy
Holy
Holy
. . . Is the Lord of Hosts.
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The whole earth
. . . Is full of His Glory.
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I saw Jesus!
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Woe is me!
I am undone!
A person with unclean lips
Dwelling amidst unclean people!
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I saw Jesus!
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King
. . . Lord of Hosts!
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Is. 6:3 & 5
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NaPoWriMo Day 28
© 2013 by Jeanne E Webster. All rights reserved
“Non-believers …. like the thinnest of rafts, floating upon an ocean of infinite mystery; they hate to be asked to look over the edge. They are very busy decking out the raft with everything which can make it feel like a permanent home. They never really think they are on a raft and not a rock, until one day an illness or an accident or a war flicks them off into the ocean, where they never have learned to swim.”
~A. H. McNeile, 1923, Discipleship
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It’s Never too Late
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© 2013 Jeanne E Webster. All rights reserved
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Creeping across my mind some times
Are thoughts of days of yore
When youth and strength converged
Overshadowing wisdom’s bloom.
.
What gay presentations sought
What times of jubilee
“Think not of those looming omens
Dwell on the glad todays.”
.
Such wonders the world offered
Untold oohs and aahs
Bigger barns were assembled to hold
More bells and whistles in.
.
Ah, the years have passed
Youth and strength have gone
Wisdom has set such a stark table
As I dare to peer within.
.
Comforts lose to distresses
Independence is now the key
Keep one foot in front of the other
Tomorrow can take a death toll.
.
Learn a lesson from me
Trust in God for your security
Eternity is yours if you believe in Christ
Where tomorrow is forever tomorrows.
NaPoWriMo Day 14
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© 2013 Jeanne E Webster. All rights reserved
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You are my brother, sister, mother
No matter what the creed
My aunt, uncle, or my father
We started from one seed
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You’ll never walk alone, my friend
We’re all just family
Take my hand, my heart, my all
Love will show the way
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God commands us love him first
Then love our fellow man
He sent his Son to put down sin
And let his glory shine.
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May God bless your heart and soul
Accept his gift of love
Christ is the ransom for your sins
Believe, be born again!
Day 4 NaPoWriMo
…and then there was LIGHT
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© 2013 by Jeanne E Webster. All rights reserved
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Repeatedly it’s been said,
“It was the best and worst of times.”
Discordantly, wisdom and absurdity
sang redundant rhymes.
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A tale of two cities, a contrast stark,
between heaven and earth,
Perhaps one day may give way
to a cataclysmic rebirth.
.
It’s true today as it was back then
in those eighteen hundred years,
Light and Darkness administrate,
while Hope balances Fears.
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Technological sprawl litters homes
and clutters one’s workplace,
As ghastly suicides and boredom
slither at a haunting pace.
.
Paradoxically, religious avow their creeds,
yet God teeters on His throne.
Deviant sexuality lusts ecstatically,
while AIDS and STDs gnaw bones.
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Is human dignity recoverable,
and standards of right and wrong?
Have we forgotten who we are…
and to Whom we truly belong?
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Dogmatic agnosticism imprisons,
and spirit and mind decay;
Wandering tediously, life’s passage echoes,
“We’ve forgotten the way!”
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Long ago Truth was manifested,
bearing witness of a place to stand;
A mystery revealed, heaven reached down
a mighty helping hand.
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The true Light shone in the darkness,
and the darkness knew it not.
How great that light! How great the cost!
Christ’s death our souls has bought!
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
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O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Refrain
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
Who orderest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.
Refrain
O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory over the grave.
Refrain
O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Refrain
O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Refrain
O come, O come, great Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times once gave the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.
Refrain
O come, Thou Root of Jesse’s tree,
An ensign of Thy people be;
Before Thee rulers silent fall;
All peoples on Thy mercy call.
Refrain
O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.
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An advent prayer/song, yes; both to celebrate our Lord’s birth and, after prayerful thought, perhaps for the days at hand. O come our King of Peace! Amen
©Jeanne E Webster
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Mark 5:1-20
Crazed, self-mutilating, straying hopelessly among the hills and tombs of Gadarene, a demonized man rushed toward the only person in the world who could help him . . . Jesus.
As Jesus debarked from his ship, He admonished an unclean spirit to remove itself from the man and demanded to know its name.
“My name is Legion,” crackled the demonic spirit. “Don’t bother with us, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God; send us into that herd of swine.” Whoosh! From the body of the persecuted man into the swine herd the multitude of spirits bolted. Without warning they stampeded down the hillside and into the sea, where they soon drowned.
The swine herders, greatly disturbed at their sudden loss, streaked about the town and countryside, broadcasting the event to anyone who would listen. Later returning to the scene of the crime, who did they see? Clothed and in his right mind, the completely restored man sat there talking one-on-one with Jesus!
As Jesus re-boarded the ship, the man followed Him and asked to join his band of followers. Jesus rejected his request, telling him instead to go home and disclose this event with his friends. The man joyously departed and presented the compassion and greatness of the Lord throughout the entire region.
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Put Your Hand in the Hand
By GENE MAC LELLAN
♫ ♫ ♫
Put your hand
in the hand
of the Man Who stilled the water,
Put your hand
in the hand
of the Man Who calmed the sea.
Take a look at yourself, and you can look at others differently.
Put your hand
in the hand
of the Man from Galilee.
Trust in the Lord. He will disperse your demons, change your direction, and heal all your wounds. Amen!
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© Jeanne E Webster
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From a wee baby in Mary’s womb
To a Savior risen from the tomb–
He came… to save the lost.
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Gethsemane’s anguish pressed its clutch
His Father’s heart, He surely touched–
He paid… the ultimate cost.
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Nazareth bore a carpenter’s son
To a wooden cross, His onus done–
He redeemed… all our sins.
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Heavenly host descended below
He would be raised up, God’s will to show–
He is… our offering.
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Come, Emmanuel, this holy day
Bless our Nativity Feast we pray–
You command… that we must love.
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Little holy Child, Our King of Kings
Release Your true love, help us sing–
Oh, sing… in heaven above!
© Jeanne E Webster
Recently I heard someone describe many of our politicians as empty vessels, perhaps hinting at a dearth of ethics and/or morals in the political arena. The Apostle Paul wrote a letter to the Corinthian church regarding earthen vessels filled with the indwelling of God. (2 Cor. 4:1-18) What a contrast!
A return to the old covenant scripture reminds us that God dwelt in a tent among His people as evidence that He was with them. Today we know His presence within our hearts, placed there by that same Spirit of the living God as evidenced by the new covenant. Our power or strength had nothing to do with it. This treasure is none other than the gospel of Christ, the image of God. You want to know more of God, then look fully into Jesus’ face!
Why would God see fit to put into our feeble bodies such a great treasure? …So that the world may see Christ in us through the excellency of God’s power. Another fine contrast! He knows our frames, how weak we are, easily “troubled on every side yet not crushed, perplexed but not desperate, persecuted but not forsaken, cast down but not destroyed.” Yet we strive to live that the life of Jesus will be manifested in this mortal flesh. Though every day our physical bodies perish, every day we grow spiritually. We know and believe with certainty that God will raise us up in like manner as Christ.
Reflect upon the things that are not visible to the naked eye; the things we see are only temporal, while the invisible things are eternal. Shine forth into this world of darkness this light in earthen vessels, and may we clothe ourselves in thanksgiving for the great work God has done.
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“Spirit of God, descend upon my heart;
Wean it from earth, through all its pulses move;
Stoop to my weakness, mighty as Thou art,
And make me love Thee as I ought to love.
“Teach me to love Thee as Thine angels love
One holy passion filling all my frame
The baptism of the heaven-descended Dove,
My heart an altar and Thy love the flame.”
~George Croly
©Jeanne E Webster
Paul’s letter to the Galatians 6: 7-8:
“Be not deceived; God is not mocked. For whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap. For he that sows to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption. But he that sows to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.”
Listen! See!
I firmly believe we have way too much time on our hands. Our cups runneth over with cell phone conversations, texting, computer chatting and e-mail, blogs, television programs, video gaming, radio selections, movies, not to mention abuse of sex, drugs, tobacco, alcohol and food. Frankly, we are an overly-stimulated desensitized society.
We scurry here and there, text intermittingly, sate our e-mail fetishes, squirt off a blog or two, take in our “fav” TV shows, battle the hand-held game toy monsters, drool over revealing bodies smacked into our views, stimulate our sexual appetites, “suck-drag-snort-shoot-up” drugs, gurgle down the booze and feed our faces. No wonder we function poorly at work, lose contact with families, grow fatter, feel yucky and sleep badly, and slowly lose our sense of direction.
When we had a problem, our parents used to tell us, “Put on your thinking cap.” Are we thinking anymore? I think we misplaced those caps somewhere. Do we have a problem? Yes, many!
Help us, Lord! We’ve fallen physically and spiritually…and we can’t get up without your strength and guidance. Amen
©Jeanne E Webster
1 Peter 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who according to His abundant mercy, has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. (KJV)
2 Timothy 1:12 For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless, I am not ashamed. For I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day. (KJV)
How wonderful to realize that we don’t need to worry about being strong enough to keep our salvation! Peter and Paul write us that “we are kept by the power of God.”
Ladies, may we also be persuaded about this very same fact. Believing this we shall have the endurance to run the race set before us and to finish well.
Taste and see how good the Lord is! And, having tasted and seen, may His grace and mercy be strewn upon all those with whom we come in contact.
Shalom
