Favored, Tested, Rewarded (Poem, Part 2)

Early Fruits

See the series here

Joseph, a fruitful bough by a well...

(Genesis 49:22)

Early fruits from some plants and trees should not be harvested,

Some plants/trees require a lengthy establishment time.

Rather, blooms or early fruits from them should be discarded,

For these, only harvest when the plant has reached its prime.

Does discarding early fruits seem like a waste?

To allow these plants to maximize growth, vegetative,

Reaping their harvests should not be done in haste.

This helps to ensure their long and fruitful life, productive. ¹

Two astounding dreams were early fruits in Joseph’s life,

His parents and brothers bowing before him.

Between his brothers and him, these dreams deepened the strife,

Triggered when Dad favored Joseph over them.

At Joseph’s dreams, his brothers threw hateful darts,

Then tossed his dreams like early fruits
from some plants and trees.

But Dad pondered and kept the matter in his heart,

While 11 brothers allowed hate their hearts to seize. ²

About other early fruits in Joseph’s life we are told.

As a slave responsible for things grand and miniscule,

He adeptly managed his slave master’s entire household!

Then as a prisoner, he restructured all prison rules! ³

Such great early fruits, yet not quite ready for prime time,

Hatefully discarded by brothers and master alike,

When reports from or about him were caustic, like lime!

Incredible fruitfulness discarded, made worse with strife!

Like me, to important insights are you perceptive?

Can you see how Joseph’s life in yours is reflective?

To early fruits in your life, were others dismissive,

Not worth consideration? Relations divisive?

Though by some, our early fruits aren’t championed,

Whether in apathy, spite or jealousy,

It’s not them, but we who get to determine,

The enduring impacts, qualitatively.

It’s our responsive attitude to rejection,

And our ‘bounce-back-ability’ that really matters.

If we go through, and not get stuck in affliction,

Then our fruits discarded will serve …as fertilizers!

By rejecting invitations to strife and bitterness,

And though the reality of his first two dreams was delayed,

Joseph had positioned himself for greater fruitfulness.

Voila!

His interpretations of four later dreams were …well displayed!

‘For who has despised the day of small beginnings?’,

The Lord once asked of a prophet of old. ⁴

Remember, your days of mature, great harvestings,

Came from plain seeds that most would not extol.

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¹ Harvest Waiting Periods for Vegetables and Fruits

² See: Genesis 37

³ See: Genesis 39

⁴ See: Zechariah 4:10

Who is Mightier? (Poem)

Of course, angels do exist, both the holy and un-,

And both groups serve as their captain’s messenger.

Here is a question worth pondering that just might stun:

Between an angel and you, who is mightier?

The captain of holy angels is Jesus, Savior.

He’s the chief subject in the Bible and its gospels.

satan, captain of devils, once known as lucifer,

Became and remains captain of un-holy angels. ¹

There is no doubt, angels and devils are mighty!

With powers that overwhelm our wildest imagination,

Expressed spiritually and physically.

But compared to us, their powers warrant investigation.

Since there is only one source that is exhaustive,

On powers to angels-versus-us, distributive,

Then about what it has to say, let’s be pensive.

The Bible is that only source, authoritative!

Angels, created to serve God and humans elect,

We, who to His plan of salvation, would subscribe,

Who in Jesus Christ are saved from lives that were sin-wrecked,

And to whom righteousness in Christ would be ascribed. ²

But all devil angels use their powers to deceive,

To swell the number of humans to join their ranks,

To be company in God’s judgments devils received, ³

But their powers are like bullets …that are blanks!

Imagine such powerful beings, eternal,

Who, both in Heaven and Earth, details of life observe,

Equipped to twist and bend many laws physical,

But who, by The Lord, are limited to …trick-or-serve.

Mankind, apex of God’s earthly creations,

Is ranked just below God, not angels as thought! ⁴

In every facet of life’s known dimensions,

Rank indicates power and might, we are taught!

Paul, the Apostle, after a tour of Heaven,

Wrote that saints will judge angels. That time is coming!

Whether this applies to all, or just those darkened,

Is not clear, but the inference is mind-boggling! ⁵

Yep, angels may be so much mightier than us!

But they are limited to serve or to trick us!

In God’s hierarchy, they are ranked below us!

And in coming days, they/some will be judged by us!

So, within God’s construct of life’s design,

You both out-rank and thus have more power than they.

Let this insight change your life’s paradigm,

By letting it change your thoughts and the words you say.

Here’s why…

Angels who serve you only hearken to God’s Word,

Whether in faith it is He or we who speak it. ⁶

Devils who trick you must hearken to your own words.

To us the choice is …to be wise or a dimwit! ⁷

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¹ See: Isaiah 14:12-15, the sin and fall of lucifer, former musical angel of light

² See: Hebrews 1:7, which interprets and clarifies the grammatical object of Psalm 104:4

³ The devil, who deceived [tricked] them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone [to] be tormented day and night forever and ever.  And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:10, 15) [This is a vision Jesus gave to His apostle/disciple, John, of a distant future event.]

⁴ See: Psalm 8:5 (Amplified and Young’s Literal translations). Then ponder why so many other versions of the Bible got this particular verse so horribly WRONG!

⁵ See: 1 Corinthians 6:3

⁶ See: Psalm 103:20. See also: Working With Angels (Series)

⁷ See: Ephesians 5:15. ‘Those who are [spiritually] wise will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead many to righteousness, [will shine] like the stars forever and ever. Many will be purged, purified [made righteous] and refined, but the wicked will behave wickedly. None of the wicked shall understand, but those who are [spiritually] wise (i.e., not dimwits) will understand.’ (Daniel 12:3,10)  
Question: Do you understand?

Let Another Take His Place (Poem)

‘Let another take his place and office!’

So cried many right wing Christians in years past,

Reflecting their strong pro-Bible bias.

Then they got their wish, and left us all …aghast. ¹

‘Let’s replace it with another theory!’,

Evolutionists the world over demanded,

As they pushed to revise creation’s story.

Thus God and His Bible version …were deported.

‘In public schools, there is no place for prayer!’

So demanded parents and school administrators,

Who pushed to make public space secular.

Now some schools/homes are like …‘terrorist incubators’.

‘In our money system, there’s no place for gold!’

Thus, we’re free to print money that says, ‘In God we trust,’

And in racking up debt, we have become very bold,

Because in truth, it’s for money that we …really lust. ²

‘Let another way replace nature’s gender assignments!’

Demands from those with alternate proclivities,

Led science to alter nature’s sexual confinements.

Thus we now have ‘he’, ‘she’ and …’other’ demographics.

‘Let our old immigration system be upended!’

Thus immigrants are banned, blocked, divided and deported,

Though as a nation of immigrants, we were blended,

And many would-have-been citizens have been …aborted. ³

‘Now, let another replace the man called Jesus!

To an all-loving God, there must be more than just One Way!’

Such are our demands to escape God’s narrowness.

Thus, the climax of our pattern. We’ve become …devils prey.

Out with the old, and in with the new,

Casting off restraints ’cause we lack righteous vision. ⁴

With this life pattern, we continue:

To things from God, we’ve responded with …derision. ⁵

May He grant to us spiritual introspection,

To open our eyes to see and detest whom we’ve become.

Friend, may you join me in this sincere invocation,

To return us to a national life that is …wholesome.

Father God,

Please deliver us from

complacent replacements.

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¹ In the U.S., since 2009, Psalm 109:8, “May his days be few; may another take his place of leadership”, has been used by a number of fundamentalist preachers who use it as an imprecatory (curse invoking) prayer, primarily against President Obama as ‘a Biblical prayer for our president!’ In 2017, bumper stickers could be seen asking people to pray for President Trump with the same attribution. (Psalm 109, Wikipedia) See also Peter’s prayer re. Judas in Acts 1:20.

² See: Why Did the U.S. Abandon the Gold Standard?

³ See: Babes and Those of Theirs (Poem)

⁴ Where there is no revelation [spiritual vision], people cast off restraints; but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction. (Proverbs 29:18)

⁵ Derision: contemptuous ridicule or mockery
Complacent: pleased, especially with oneself or one’s merits, advantages, situation, etc., often without awareness of some potential danger or defect

Feeling the Tug? (Poem)

Experienced anglers have well harnessed,

Their skillset of line control when fishing.

They focus on managing line slackness,

To catch the trophy fish they are wishing. ¹

Each fish type requires different tactics.

Whether to use a line that’s slack or taut,

Is all in knowing ‘fish diagnostics’.

This results are in bait lost, or fish caught!

Friends, in this example, do you perceive,

Any spiritual wisdom that speaks,

Concerning us who in Jesus believe,

Yet from whose hearts, trusting faith in Him …leaks?

Perhaps all of us believers in Christ.

Either have been, now are, or will be prodigals,

Unfaithful to Him at some point in life.

On us all, unfaithfulness wraps its tentacles.

…But God! His faithfulness to us is so enduring.

To ‘His own’, His faithfulness is always abounding,

Even when our trust weakens, and to Him we don’t cling.

Yet wisdom from fish anglers to me is expounding!

While some fish nibble, or grab, then drop the bait,

Angler’s first desire is that they be hooked!

Yet hooking fish doesn’t mean they’ll be on your plate.

Angler’s last desire is that they be cooked!

Ok! Believers are neither fish nor anglers.

But Jesus did hint we’d be ‘fishers of men’. ²

If in the future we will be ‘like angels’, ³

Then right now, consider us as ‘like fish’. Amen?

'Fish-like' who'll become 'like angles'? Say what??

We well know the real Fisher of men is The Lord God,

Who, by Grace, drew us out of our sin rut.

But there’s something about Him, as Angler, we don’t laud.

As anglers manage line slackness to catch fish to take home,

Through skillfulness and patience, they’ll know,

‘That fish will be mine!’

The Lord knows when to ‘cut some slack’, or give us

‘rope to roam’. ⁴

As a wise angler, He also knows when to…

cut the line! ⁵

Though in weakness of our faith, we all will roam,

The Lord knows who has nibbled, grabbed,

then dropped His love.

To His own, He’s faithful to draw us back home.

But if you really aren’t His, you won’t feel His tug.

Are you really His?

Can you feel His tug …or not?

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¹ Anglers use specific equipment and skillful techniques to catch large, trophy-sized fish, including harnessing the touchy skillset of line control. Some just fish for sport rather than a meal.
² See: Matthew 4:19 and Mark 1:17

³ See: Matthew 22:30 and Mark 12:25

⁴ To ‘cut someone some slack’ means to loosen a tight restriction, giving someone a less harsh punishment for a crime, or even allowing someone some leeway in following the rules. (Writing Explained). It’s Grace.

⁵ Fishermen cut or break the line when the sinker/bait/lure are irretrievably lost, for a myriad of reasons, thus losing their investments of time, resources  and hope. Often, the hook remains in the jaw of the fish that got away!

Favored, Tested, Rewarded (Poem, Part 1)

Lessons Learned 

See the series here

Joseph, a fruitful bough by a well...

(Genesis 49:22)

‘A fruitful bough, growing by a well.’ ¹

An incredible story to tell.

The life of Joseph, to us all so awe inspiring:

Grace that to him under pressure was transpiring.

A true story to us from the ages,

Whose plot still unfolds on our life’s stages.

Whether to God you may be friend or foe,

From this life, some things you will learn and know!

Just as coins have a two-sided display,

Lessons from Joseph two sides still convey.

Lessons learned reflect well as …lives atoned.

Lessons denied are simply …those postponed!

Joseph, tried and steeled in life’s furnace of affliction,

Then molded in what we’d call a life of abandon.

Though destined for leadership as ‘deputy king’,

He endured that which only tough grooming would bring.

So let’s ponder what he needed to learn,

Then see what in your life, you may discern,

From a lad without schooling or pedigree,

Who in God’s purview, was ‘wilderness worthy’. ²

To be groomed for kingship, he would need time to learn:

The Egyptian’s language, and their culture discern,

To eat and survive on their different diet,

In their lives to blend, yet his culture not forfeit.

He had to learn grace and growth under great pressure,

Humility as God made all his work prosper,

Obedience, first as a slave, then a prisoner,

And the skills of a manager and supervisor.

Add learning to manage resources with integrity,

And how to exercise, yet submit to authority,

To retain Godly character in morality,

And to experience awful pangs of poverty.

He had to learn to shun spirits of unforgiveness,

Of retaliation/vengeance and deep bitterness,

Of boastfulness and pride, as he was thrice promoted,

And without hope in a strange land, to stay devoted.

Hold on! There are lessons he yet had to learn,

Those most crucial in his wilderness sojourn:

To retain and grow fearful respect of God, awesome,

And in all of life, to perceive His Hand. That’s wisdom!

He had to learn to not forfeit his two early dreams,

His interest in perceiving from them insightful streams,

Then, in strong faith, to speak what he perceived,

Whether or not listeners who heard believed.

While we can withstand the wilderness for short seasons,

What to do when days become weeks, months, years …unbroken?

Continual pressures may well have a focus that’s double:

Pressing out the un-useful, making room for the re-source-full. ³

Imagine if Joseph hadn’t passed one of his chain-linked tests! ⁴

In no annals of history would his sad story rest.

Thank The Lord this was not the case.

Now his story can’t be erased!

Heads up! Much of life is our wilderness equivalent,

If/as we live by Grace in God’s Kingdom enlightenment.

So on Joseph’s life and lessons, let’s freshly meditate,

And perceive what in our lives we need to recalibrate.

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¹ See: Genesis 49:22

² Those whom God uses mightily typically have some kind of wilderness experience(s), whether literally or figuratively, dedicated time and space away from worldly cultural influences, to be purged, renewed, strategically re-directed, and empowered.

³ Fresh re-supplying of any/all requisite inner resources, often for God’s continued and/or higher use(s).

⁴ In fashioning and/or allowing tests, God is highly strategic. (See: Jeremiah 17:10)

Un-Doomed (Poem)

Guilty! Our damning verdict from God’s Courtroom.
Death!! His sentence given to us, natural.
Death!!! The extension of His sentence, eternal.
Hopeless!!!! Our condition under our sinful plume!

Yet in this, our hopeless state, His Mercy bloomed.
While we would still have to face death, naturally,
He made a way for us to live, eternally.
By death, we would not be forever consumed!

On His Son, Jesus, God’s focus then zoomed.
By our sin, He would be bound!
By His death, we would be free!
Across all of Heaven, this plan mushroomed!!

In His Son, God would send a model by Whom,
We would have an example in our life to follow,
And to know in resurrection, from death He would lead.
Thus, we could see after death, life would resume.

For His coming Son, Earth had to be groomed:
A man, family, nation, then two couples selected,
While on Earth, Genesis 3:15 was so neglected.
...All details in order, even His tomb.

Finally, God’s seed, planted in Mary’s womb,
Grew into the cute, Christmas Babe,
Then into the crucified Man.
On Him, the focus of angels and devils zoomed.

Finally, Christ’s dead body was entombed.

His astonishing miracles had come to an end.

Or as He had promised, was this simply a fresh start?

‘It’s the end!’, devils and doubters assumed!

Ahhh, but three days later…
An angel rolled the stone away from that tomb,
Not so Jesus, resurrected, could get out,
But so His faithful followers could get in,
And know that by death, He was not consumed.

He would meet them after a trip to God’s Throne Room,
Where He offered His blood, spiritually,
Then back to Earth to meet them, physically.
Through a closed door, He walked into their hiding room.

Most were in faith, but one was in doubt and gloom.
‘Thomas, see the wounds in My Hands. Don’t doubt!

Put your hand in My pierced side. Just believe!’
Ahhh. Feel the peace as, in Thomas, faith resumed.

Through them, the Good News to the world would resume:

Mankind’s debt for sin that each of us owed,
By Christ’s sacrifice for us, had been paid.
So now, our eternal lives could be un-doomed.

Friend,

The reason He arose from death and left His tomb,

Is so that, to us, a choice would be given.

Choose Jesus as your Christ, the best choice taken.

As you read, Heaven’s focus is now on you zoomed.

All of mankind would have been forever doomed,
Had Jesus not died for the sins of the world.
But the world comprises people just like you.

Un-break His Heart. Ensure your life is un-doomed.