P.R.I.D.E. (Poem)

Our imagination matters to our world’s gods, who to us whisper. ¹

It attracts one or the other to us – now that's no secret.

Since it works like a magnet, for it here’s my tongue twister.

Perhaps we should start calling it imagi-magnet.

Consider this - God designed us all to think in pictures.

The Bible reveals we are that which, in our hearts, we think. ²

So…

Our heart sources the stuff that, in our minds, becomes fixtures.

Observing, our gods can tell when this stuff smells good… or stinks.

For example…

We may admire those so-called magnetic personalities,

Those with strong power or abilities to attract.

But looking down on those with social peculiarities,

We don’t know our imagination has been hijacked.

Surely, you have heard, ‘Pride goes before a fall.’  ³

If you have not heard, perhaps this you have witnessed:

Some prideful soul encountering his downfall,

Not knowing between him and God, he’s the weakest.

‘Prideful imaginations of our hearts’, a sin or a crime?

Other words for pride are boastful, glory or lacking humility.

God says only of this can we all be proud any ole time:

That we understand and know Him, and know His modus operandi. ⁴

To help ensure we humans really do get His message,

God tailor-designs falls for when in pride we become trapped.

But note this…

Falls are often preceded by a curious presage,

Rather than portending a fall, heightened rises are mapped!

Moreover, here’s an interesting parameter:

The greater the pride, the higher the preceding rise!

Check out stories of once prideful Bible characters. ⁵

Then check if current day stories, this point dramatize.

‘Insightful’, eh? Yep, that’s exactly what I also say!

Could this be God’s way to make sure the fall testifies,

To both you and me, so such a price, we won’t have to pay,

And help ensure by pride, our lives won’t be demonized??

Like a snake in tall grass, is pride’s glide… slithery.

Its preceding rises only belie its certain fall.

Mother of all sin, taproot of iniquity.

God resists the proud, but on the humble, His Grace will call. ⁶

As I reflect, here is a very interesting thought.

I’m wondering if this could help those now on the politricks stump?!

Lying, dumping… (Wonder if from The Bible are they taught?!)

Saying whatever, doing their level best each other to trump?!

If imagination as imagi-magnet is defined,

Then let’s view pride like a dragnet invisible.

Apart from Jeremiah verse 24 of chapter 9,

Know well that...
Pride Really Is Destructive Evil.

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¹ Jehovah God and satan

² See: Proverbs 23:7

³ 'Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty (prideful) spirit before a fall', ergo pride goes before a destructive fall.(Proverbs 16:18) The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate. (Proverbs 8:13) These six things the Lord hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look… (FIRST among all others!) (Proverbs 6:16-19) See also: Luke 1:51 and Matthew 23:12.

⁴ Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness (grace), judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the Lord. (Jeremiah 9:23-24)

⁵ Lucifer, Goliath, Nebuchadnezzar, Haman, David, Rehoboam to name a few.
⁶ See: James 4:6

Sin, Full Grown (Poem)

Here is a noteworthy point about this thing called sin.

Might it help to explain some binds you may be in?

God told Adam and Eve, ‘Of this tree don’t eat, lest you die’,

But the serpent said, ‘You’ll not surely die’. Ummm, did God lie?

So they ate, did not die, and likely thought, ‘All is good’,

‘Til God started calling for them in their garden hood.

They’d gone into hiding after making covering kits—

Leaf patches to hide themselves from Light, ‘cause they were naked.

With their coverings, they finally stood before The Lord,

Confessing their nakedness, and sin done in one accord.

Found out, their shame they could no longer hide.

In His Word they’d clearly failed to abide!

In punishments that followed, note, God only twice said, ‘I will...’ *

Like you, I thought all of the punishments were from Him….until.

I wondered…

Could the others simply be fruit from seed they’d planted,

A consequential mess to themselves, they had granted?

You see, their sin, your sin and also mine

Is not fruit, but it is of the seed kind.

Since no seed bears fruit right after it’s been planted,

We quickly think God’s Word must have been recanted. **

The consequences of sin start with slow growth of its eventual fruit.

First the flower or leaf, then the bud, then the fruit - some light, others acute!

Since the fruit of sin, when full grown, is various kinds of death,

These progressive stages slowly lead us down… sin’s payment path.

The first plane where some form of death occurs is spiritual.

Unseen by our carnal minds, we think this isn’t factual.

Spiritual reality discounted, this death festers,

Starting just like a tiny flame that’s dismissed, yet it flitters.

With more people, more ways and means to sin more efficiently,

Today’s sin seeds, just like weeds, seem to grow much more rapidly!

And when in our lives all of their fruit suddenly show up,

Shocked, we wonder, ‘How did all of this end up in my cup?!’

‘Hey, you will not surely die’, satan’s old refrain, ***

Echoes to us today; not one change in his game!

C’mon…

Let’s connect the dots from-seed-to-fruit of this known stinker!

Then we’ll stop swallowing this old lie… hook, line and sinker!

When sin is full grown, it produces death.

(James 1:15)

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*    They are:  (1) Put enmity between satan and the woman, and between satan’s seed (all anti-Christs) and the Seed (Jesus) of the woman; and (2) greatly multiply the woman’s sorrow and her conception; giving birth in pain and being ruled over by her husband.

**  Word that the wages of sin is death (of various forms).

*** Genesis 2:4

wOw! Earth, Filled (Poem, Part 1)

See the series here

Earth, filled with knowledge of God, knowledge of,

and with His glory!! ¹

Pray tell, what does all this mean, and when will THIS

be our story?

Is this another ‘incomprehensible allegory’,

Or a ‘future fact’, sent to us under God’s signatory?

Some believe The Gospel’s spread will be intensified,

And the number of Christian will, thus, increase worldwide.

And since we are ‘The Light of the world’,

Thus, God’s Glory to all will be unfurled.

Of God’s filling glory we learn in Ezekiel 10:4.

What knowledge of God does, 2 Peter 2:20 tells the core.

During His life on earth, Jesus walked as a man.

Stripped of His glory, still He came, with us to stand.

Forty days after He departed, He sent glory to us -

His Spirit, with power to free us from satan’s calculus.

Since then, His glory indeed has spread; it is no longer incipient.

But to fill the earth, this ‘reflected glory’ is clearly insufficient.

Recall…

Reflected light is weaker than direct light from the source.

Moreover, our flesh and our carnal minds blunt our light’s force.

Thus, our glory is both inadequate and much too weak

To fill all the earth, literally and sustainably.

So Christians can never break the ‘glory barrier’,

No matter the total number of us believers!

The fullness of Christ’s presence is our glory source.

Only it fulfills the three promises, of course!

Oh, but there’s hope...

Before He left, Christ said He’d return, no longer obscure;

Then, no longer stripped, but in the fullness of His grandeur.

Then, throughout the earth, full knowledge of Him shall be

- incontestable!

His glory - inescapable; knowledge thereof

- undeniable!

Just imagine...

Known, as widely as earth’s waters do now flow.

Known, as verdure covers where waters don’t go.

Earth, emptied of the meaningless spirit of ‘carnal mindlessness’,

Totally filled with the meaningful Spirit of ‘God mindfulness’.

In light of this, here’re two question that are most obvious:

- What’ll be the IMPACT of such knowledge so conspicuous?

- What will things look like when these promises are fulfilled?

Please share your thoughts. Here is my take.

I think you’ll be thrilled!

Glory may be a factor that will catalyze and sustain

The iron scepter rule throughout Christ’s Millennial Reign!

The ‘see it, believe it’ attitude of mortals, that time,

Will be matched with God’s AWESOME glory, totally sublime.

Consider this…

Revelation 4 pictures God’s throne encircled with a rainbow. ²

Return Christ said He would, and return indeed He will…

‘throne in tow!’

Hey…

Do you think He’d come to earth again,

and leave His rainbow behind?!

This He did once before, and this He’ll do…never again.

Rainbows are circles, though they appear as arcs.

We can’t see the part that the horizon blocks. ³

Since arcs can’t encircle, God’s throne must be in

an encompassing bow.

And since Christ sits on this throne, then on earth,

this throne shall glow.

Imagine…

Our tiny earth, far, far smaller than Heaven,

Home to God’s throne, so here’s what I imagine.

God’s encompassing rainbow will certainly the whole earth engulf.

Earth, filled with the glory and knowledge of Him

…shall be the result!!!

Earth's sky, now many shades of blue,

TRANSFORMED to an emerald green hue?!

Could this perhaps be that one, worldwide clue,

By which Christ's presence is known... through and through? ⁴

Friend…

If none of this excites you, check your ‘Christian credentials.’

Then ‘double-down and bone-up’ on your Bible essentials.

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¹ Three separate promises: Numbers 14:21 (the glory), Isaiah 11:9 (the knowledge), and Habakkuk 2:14 (knowledge of the glory of The Lord). This will occur when, onto Earth, Heaven might well be emptied, with ALL His angels, and ALL His saints.

See: Matthew 25:31, Mark 8:38, 2 Thessalonians 1:7, and Zechariah 14:5, 1 Thessalonians 3:13, and 2 Thessalonians 1:10.

² Emerald in color. (Revelation 4:3)

³ ‘The lower the sun, the higher the top of the rainbow’, so imagine how high and round God's rainbow will be with The Son literally on earth! See: "How to see a whole circle rainbow"

⁴ Consider this: If an angel has enough glory power to illuminate Earth (Luke 2:9), how would Earth be impacted by the full presence of the fully glorified Christ for 1,000 years?! (See: Ezekiel 43:1-2 and Revelation 18:1)

Faith, un-Fossilized (Poem)

There was a time in life when my faith became dormant.

With God’s Word, His ways and will, I was not ‘au courant’. *

After quite some time in this state, one day I realized, 

My faith, no longer dormant, had now become ‘fossilized’!

Powerless in facing mounting devilish attacks,

While wrestling with one, here comes another that ransacks!

Thought, ‘I can handle it all, and get out of this bind’. 

But...

Such thoughts were simply the products of my carnal mind!

Then one day, God’s Truth pierced the thick darkness, intense, like lasers.

It cracked open my faith’s fossilized crust, like Star Trek phasers!

His Word broke up the stubborn stoniness of my head and my heart, 

And made me realize, of Him I was STILL a critical part!

Feasting on God’s Word, what was once stony became tender again,

What had been closed, now was reopened, with a resounding, AMEN!

Spending time with Him, I began to hear His voice.

And there as I heard, I could not help but reJOYce! 

Then He said, ‘When you thought your faith had become a fossil,

It was you, as ALL My children do, as a prodigal.’

He said to me, ‘WRITE, share with others, and I will fill in the blanks!

‘And as you write, I will overflow your spirit and soul’s riverbanks!’

So write, I must, trusting His hand and eye will direct who shall read,

And that in their reading, by His Spirit, He’ll also meet their need.

So if any post or poem you are not inclined to read, no sweat.

Hope you see why, about ‘Likes’, ‘Dislikes’, replies or none, there’s no fret. 

So if you think you, too, may have ‘faith fossilized’,

My purpose is not to make you feel pressurized.

Count on this, at one time or in one manner or the other,

We ALL play the roles of the prodigal son...and his brother! **

If you truly belong to Him who loves,

He’ll draw you back ‘cause this is what He does.

Then He’ll use YOU as a prodigal, once victimized 

To help somebody else get their faith... un-fossilized.

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*  French word for current, aware, up to date
** Unfaithful to our Father

Coming Drone Views (Poem)

Imagine drone views of our world, after the tribulation,

‘Seals’ have been opened, ‘bowls’ now poured out,

and ‘trumpets’ have been blown.

People left on earth are now very rare;

Shocked over the extent of God’s warfare!

Searching for remnants of lives they enjoyed;

Man’s ‘needs meeting’ systems, now all destroyed.

Many are trying to commit suicide,

But God closes that door - ‘Suicide now denied!’ *

Partners in suffering, but not in any of man’s sins,

Are animals and the environment we now live in.

Grass and many trees burned, and waters turned to blood.

Yep, it’s awfully bad, but not like in the flood.

All these views from the drone to you are sent,

Caused by people who refused to repent!

So stubborn in their minds, they’re hardheaded!

So stony in their hearts, they’re hardhearted!

The goodness of God leads to repentance.**

Not so with this bunch of recalcitrants!

Figuratively, they spat in His face,

And shook their fists at His amazing Grace.

From all the disasters I’ve ever seen,

It is poor people who get wiped out - clean!

Might the rich people more than the poor survive

Tribulation’s punishments that will arrive?

Into such a world, Jesus Christ will return,

With His Church immortal, to help Him govern.

With a scepter of iron, now He will rule!

And to aid in His reign, we’ll use His tool!

Mortals in this ‘Day’, will live a long time,

After hundreds of years, still in their prime!

But still prone to sin, making our jobs tough!

So don’t think reigning with Christ, won’t be rough!

(Has reigning ever been easy?!)

Sins on earth will spiral, with no help from devils.

Hasn’t this been the path of all of us mortals?!

Devils locked away for a thousand years,

Then let out for a while, stoking man’s fears.

You see...

Humans living under a monarchy,

Will often culminate in anarchy!

The harder the rule, the more they repel,

Till one fatal day, they outright REBEL!

The seeds of iniquity, when they are sown,

Will always yield the fruit of a rebellion.

This happened in Heaven one day, we’re told,

When Lucifer’s pride made him very bold.

The same happened to Adam in a garden one day,

When he didn’t want to obey what God had to say.

Imagine that this very old refrain,

Will show up in Christ’s millennial reign!! ***

Back to all those drone views, like something out of hell.

T’is not hell that caused them. It’s from Heaven they fell!

‘What have these to do with me?’, you may ask,

While hiding behind your, nice Christian mask.

It’s time to ‘get really ready’, I say to you my Friend.

It’s time to ‘stay really ready’, we’re so close to the end.

I hope you’ll clearly hear the echoes of my refrain... ****

We’re on the threshold of Christ’s millennial reign!

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*   Revelation 9:6 In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them.

    Revelation 6:15-17 And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

**  Romans 2:4

*** It will indeed! Christ’s Millennial Reign will literally be ‘sandwiched’ between two of man’s greatest rebellions against God: Armageddon War at the end of the tribulation period will signal the start of Christ’s reign; and the 2nd Gog and Magog War at the end of the post-Millennial Reign age, i.e., the end of human history on this current version of Earth! See: Revelation 19:11-21 and Revelation 20:7-10. See also: Revelation - Future Attacks in Israel.

**** He who has ears to hear, let him hear! (Matthew 11:15, 13:19, 13:43; Mark 4:9, 4:23, 7:16; Luke 8:8) Do you get the impression Jesus was making an important point here?