Your Kingdom Résumé (Poem)

--Get a good education, find a good job and a career

--Marry a compatible life mate, then start a family

--Learn to save and invest prudently, prepare for times austere

--Then build up impressive accomplishments, professionally

As an adult, is this the familiar track you followed?

If so, then my Friends, welcome to where …it’s crowded!

If you were diligent, blessings upon you were bestowed.

And if you are like most, in pride you were shrouded.

If as a child, seeds of Christian faith in you were planted,

And if some of them took root, and began to sprout,

Then along the way, either signs of fruits likely budded,

Or in your life, secularism gained more clout.

While reviewing all your life’s impressive accomplishments,

You pause at length, time to reflect.

Pregnant reflections are the best blessing in retirement,

Often denied in lives shipwrecked. ¹

As you review your life and peruse your résumé,

Then swell in satisfaction of key accomplishments,

Reflect on when to The Lord your life is reconveyed.

And in an obituary, your life is …condensed.

Standing before Him, it’s not your résumé, professional,

That in His court will be admissible.

He will call for, and review your résumé, spiritual.

Think: Are your résumés, comparable?

Professional résumés build-up companies and careers.

Spiritual résumés build-up His Kingdom on the Earth.

One starts with your education completed and contact peers,

The other starts with your re-birth experience, of great worth. ²

So take time to ponder, ‘How to Jesus, Who is The Lord,

Will my eternal résumé that matters to Him appear?’ ³

Will it be a blank page, zip, nada in Heaven’s record??

Or full of post-rebirth fruits that make Him smile from ear-to-ear??

Deeds on your Kingdom résumé are not from what you do.

They are simply what, by your faith, God’s Spirit did through you. 

I wish my friends and frienemies whom I now know, and knew,

An enjoyable spiritual résumé review!

Your reading this poem in ‘my Jesus dossier’,

Means on your eternal résumé, there’s time for more work.

If you have yet to start, then by all means, start today! ²

Resist, please don’t allow devils this message to besmirch.

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¹ See: On ‘Retirity’ and ‘Eterniment’ (poem)

² See: Prayer of Salvation (Poem) and Found: Route 7-7-7. Luke 9:60, Romans 6:11-13, Hebrews 6:1, 9:1, and especially Revelation 3:1 all indicate nothing is likely recorded or accrues on our spiritual résumé until we are (a) born again, by which we become ‘spiritually alive’ to God’, and (b) begin the process of renewing our soul (mind, will, emotions, intellect, imagination) to His Kingdom principles revealed in The Bible, The Word of God. Jesus emphatically said: ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water (amniotic fluid; physical birth) and the Spirit, he cannot enter The Kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of The Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, You must be born again.’ (John 3:5-7) See: What Does John 3:5 Mean? Also listen to: Must Be, Gotta Be

³ Jesus is also God, One with Father God Who has delegated and given all things to Him alone. Take time to ponder the powerful insights in Is Jesus God? (Series). Jesus pre-incarnate told Job, ‘All things under Heaven are Mine.’ (Job 41:11) He also affirms this in Exodus 34:19, Leviticus 25:23, Psalms 50:10-11, Ezekiel 18:4, John 15:16 and 17:10, and Hebrews 1 - seven times, widely regarded as the ‘perfect’ number, or number of completion. Argue this point if you will, but the Biblical and historical evidence ...is overwhelming.

You're Seriously Deceived If... (Poem, Part 2)

(See the series here)

Please read this as a letter from The Lord Jesus to you,

A passionate message from His heart, you to Him to woo.

My prayer is that you will seriously take it to heart,

And let today be the day His New Life in you will start.

~o~

Dear _______,

(mentally insert your name)

I was born so you could be born again. 

I died a cruel death so you could ‘live’ again.

I now live to test and see what you will do,

With the Love I vividly displayed for you.

Will you open your heart and life to My Holy Word,

By Which I can open your eyes to things that are blurred?

Will you receive My Spirit to guide you through life’s walk,

And teach you to avoid devils who your pathways stalk?

Or will my sacrifice and Love you totally spurn,

And allow your desire for sinfulness to burn,

Increasingly driving us further away from each other,

Until to Me your life is a stench, a very foul odor? 

To My questions, I already know the answers, but you don’t,

But don’t ask Me to reveal them all to you, because I won’t.

To you I give freedom to explore, and then make your choice,

And in this freedom and your choice, to live life and rejoice.

To you and all, I’ve determined a day to reveal your score,

On all of my heart-mind tests, with rewards or penalties galore.

Though your answers to my questions I will not unseal,

My rewards and penalties I’ve already revealed.

I hope to you and others these will be,

Adequate incentives to follow Me,

To learn of, and live in my Love for you, so strong,

And to resist temptations that make lives go wrong.

I encourage you to look around and carefully observe,

And ponder the so-called gods many folks across the world serve.

Whether visible or not, I call them all idols.

They can’t hear or answer prayers, or offer counsels.

Yet these idols are a major stumbling block,

To their believers on whose heart door I knock.

When with idols they’re bonding, they’ll be seriously deceived,

Until the end, when before Me standing, Truth they will perceive.

So again, to you, I offer the gift of freedom to choose,

And urge you to seek to know My Truth by which you cannot lose.

Choose right, and in the end, we’ll meet on happy terms.

With no concerns for My eternal fire …that’ll burn.

Signed: Jesus Christ

(His Bible messages summarized & paraphrased)

PS.

My Name is Jesus. My titles are Christ, Lord and Almighty.

I’m the visible image of Father God, Who is Spirit.

So-called gods of any other name is devil’s trickery.

The day will soon come when all the world will know I am …LEGIT.

You’re Seriously Deceived If… (Poem, Part 1)

(See the series here) 

Heaven experienced a major rebellion, 

And as a result, lost a third of The Lord’s angels. 

It clearly does not need or want another one!

So about ‘angel-like’ recruits, He’s being careful. ¹

 

In exactly which ways, and to what extent, we do not know,

How His saints one day will and will not like angels become. 

But to ensure none will reflect rebellious traits of His foe, 

In designing heart-mind tests, He’s taking great precautions. ²

 

So f-a-r from Heaven, life on Earth is His testing ground.

Here, to us He allots adequate time,

To encounter, then navigate His tests that surround,

Most when, as adults, we are at our prime.

 

In wisdom, He designed, then created us in His image.

As tripartite beings, we’re spirit, soul and body,

But with a major catch regarding our …‘trinity marriage’:

Only our spirit and soul last for eternity! 

³

 

Our body is a mere draft copy,

Of another one He has for us in reserve.

And just like His, it is not earthly,

But for eternity, it is designed to serve.

 

But of our next body that will be eternal,

(Get this…) He has two versions from which He will choose,

To be our …‘spirit-soul forever apparel’.

He gives us opportunity His choice to skew! ⁴

Imagine that!

He promises in several Bible places,

His choice will reflect our spirit-mind test results,

To ensure not another revolt surfaces,

And that to His Throne, there’ll be no future insults. 

 

Our spirit and soul twins are avant-garde, (cutting edge)

And created forever to be inseparable.

If in life, they show Him little regard,

Tell me why, in His Kingdom, should they be admissible?!

 

As your twins are today, is how they’ll be forever,

That is unless you give your spirit to Him as Savior,

And then commit to renewing your soul’s character.

That starts a new life chapter, passing His tests with fervor!

 

But if you don’t, then with a stern face and His heart full of love,

Please here His strong, clear message after lucifer’s attempted coup:

‘If what I say, you do your best to ignore or get rid of,

You’re seriously deceived thinking I’d spend forever with you!’

 

‘Whom do you and your life say I, Jesus, am?’

That is His most important test we all must pass,

Fail this one, you will fail …His final exam!

Soooooo…

Failures or passes, in life, which will you amass?

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¹ See: Lost Angels Not for Like-Angels
² See: Children in the Rapture (Poem)

³

 Adam and Eve were created as glorified (illuminescent), immortal beings. Their glory light was suddenly extinguished when they sinned, and they immediately became mortal, bodily-speaking, capable of dying. However, their twin spirit and soul remained immortal. Hence, all their offspring (us!) are born in this exact, same state.

 I regard the soul as comprising our min, will, emotions, intellect and emotions. The Bible reveals it is not the same as our spirit, though the spirit may have mirroring aspects/functions. See: Hebrews 4:12. See also: A Tale of Two Saviors
⁴ The differences are simple, yet stark. One version is lucent, luminous, glowing like the stars forever. See: Daniel 12:2-3 and Matthew 13:43. The other version is just an un-lit body, like a proverbial star that’s lost its light. Into one or the other of these body-versions, our fully-functioning spirit and soul will be eternally assigned. According to The Bible, you’re seriously deceived if you think otherwise.

Don’t Be Left Behind (Poem)

Friends,

Maybe you saw or heard of the movie, Left Behind.

Well that is just one scenario among many,

About the pending tribulation in The Bible outlined,

In which folks are being or will be left behind, plenty!

Don’t be left behind…

And miss God’s great blessings for your life.

Blessings are assigned,

When it is in Him that you delight.

 

Don’t be left behind…

And not accept His payment for your sin,

Forgiveness designed.

If you don’t, rest assured, all devils grin.

 

Don’t be left behind…

On His cloud-ride to Glory in His first resurrection. ¹

If His offer you decline,

In the grave you will stay till the final resurrection. ²

Don’t be left behind…

And miss your starring role in Jesus Christ’s Millennial Reign.

Please keep this in mind:

In the final resurrection, for judgment you’ll be arraigned.

But you will be left behind… 

When by devilish lies you are so easily deceived.

For eternal peace of mind,

Be all God designed you to be when His Son you receive.

For these reasons I have outlined,

And many more that here I can’t share,

I urge you, don’t be left behind.

Friends, free yourself from devilish snares.

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^{1 See: For You, Which Resurrection (Poem)
2} Please read: Revelation 20:11-15

Children in the Rapture? (Poem)

See Children in the Rapture or Apocalypse series here

Jesus loves me, this I know, for The Bible tells me so.

Little ones to Him belong. We are weak but He is strong. ¹

Ahhhh…

Jesus and children. In your mind, what images does this bring?

Passionate, heart-warming moments? Deaths of Egyptian first-borns?

‘Let the little ones come to Me’? Or babes from mothers’ wombs torn? 

As a child, with others, the above song I would often sing.

But as an adult who’s well-versed in The Bible’s messages,

I know Jesus sponsored each of the above scenarios,

In them all He was present, in person or incognito.

What’s left in or cut out of your …Jesus-children montages? ²

To Jonah, He cited the children among His reasons,

To have Mercy on that ole wicked city of Nineveh.

But in a corrupt church, killing kids was on His agenda! ³

So what about children in the pending tribulation??

In the 3rd-age rapture of saints, both living and dead,

Without regard for their parents’ spirituality,

Might children, under His ‘age of accountability’,

Also be caught-up on the cloud, and to Heaven, be sped?? ⁴

Only Heaven knows the answer to this question, so piercing.

Perhaps the book in Heaven called, The Scripture of Truth,

Answers questions about all …unaccountable youth,

Whose parents, in tribulation plagues, at Christ will be seething. ⁵

But about His answer, He’s given us a really BIG clue! 

This is what He says, ‘I am The Lord Who searches minds and hearts,

To give to each one according to what’s in …these hidden parts.’ ⁶

What parents say and do, impact what children’s 

…hearts and minds brew!!!

So parents, at His Word, I pray you will take earnest heed,

And to what takes root in your inner parts, be attentive.

May you let that become a significant incentive,

In case one day, a cloud-ride to Glory, …your kids may need.

Because this issue has quite a long-term implication,

Lend me your imagination for a bit while longer,

To envision three more points about which we might ponder:

--To what growth stage might children rise in their incarnation??

--What might eternity be like for all of those children,

Who, upon disembarking the cloud-ride to Glory,

Learn their parents won’t share their eternity story,

Having thought The Lord’s heart-mind tests were

…too great a burden??

--Reversing this picture: How might it be for raptured parents,

To learn their ‘very good [adult] children’

failed The Lord’s heart-mind tests,

Though, for these children, parents prayed so much,

and gave their best,

But as devils’ agents they lived, and applied their life talents??

To these potent questions, I have no Bible clues,

It does give us, however, one clear repercussion:

For the dreadful, blockbuster, final resurrection,

Most folks must wait, having fallen for …satan’s ruse. ⁷

Are you aware the Bible predicts several more raptures, not just one?

See: Bible Raptures (Q&A)

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¹ A well-known children’s Christian song written by Anna Bartlett Warner

² It is safe to presume some of the first born children who were killed in the final plague on Egypt were mere children. For other examples of The Lord’s protective vs. non-protective regard for children, see: Exodus 11 and 12, Isaiah 13:16 and 47:9, Daniel 6:24, Ezekiel 6:5 and 9:6, Jonah 4:11, Matthew 19:14, Mark 10:14, and Luke 18:16. Please see: Truths, Though Inconvenient (Poem)

³ See: Revelation 2:4, The Lord’s post-resurrection letter to the corrupt church at Thyatira. See also: Laodicean Lackadaisicalness - Part 1 to understand the broader context of this letter. Might it also apply to some Christians today, as His letter to the church at Laodicea appears to apply? (See: Revelation 3:14-22 and Christianesque (Poem))

⁴ The age of accountability is believed to be the age at which a child is spiritually accountable to understand good from evil, and therefore be responsible for his/her words and actions. This clearly is child-specific. See: What is the age of accountability? Can you imagine children of non-Christian parents being caught-up in the rapture with tested, tried and proven saints of God?? I can, thanks to The AMAZING Grace of our Lord! See: An Unpredicted Tribulation Age Precursor (Poem). 

⁵ See: Heaven's Animating Holy Scripts (Poem)

⁶ See: Psalm 7:9, Jeremiah 17:10 and Revelation 2:23, Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:30 and Luke 10:27. In consistency with The Lord’s guideline to let every significant point be confirmed by two or three witnesses, it is interesting to note the first three references confirm His heart and mind testing policy; and the last three references confirm how we can …pass his tests!

⁷ See: Salvation in The Millennium (Series). It seems plausible that people born during The Millennial Reign might not die until they are tempted by satan after The Millennial Reign. This raises the prospects of (a) very lengthy life spans, per Isaiah 65:20, plus (b) the possibility that some will embrace salvation at that time, as inferred in Revelation 20:12 &15. If so, then not all who are featured in the final resurrection (pre-White Throne Judgment) will necessarily be sinners, doomed for hell. Some saints will be there, too! Otherwise, why would The Lord consult His Book of [Eternal] Life, per Revelation 20:12? Worth pondering? Indeed!!!

Christmas, Un-Copyrighted (Poem)

Think of all the songs, movies and plays about Christmas,

Each one copyright protected to ensure from them,

Only the owners make money.

After all, like other things, Christmas is big business,

With nothing concerning a babe born in Bethlehem,

And angels singing blissfully.

Reflecting on this, I recalled the strong copyright protection,

Jesus put on His final ‘predictive production’,

When He pulled back curtains of the spiritual realm,

To His beloved Apostle John, in The Book of Revelation.

This is His stern warning that all future religions,

With different end-time predictions, He will condemn!

‘So what about Christmas?,’ I wondered

Might there be a copyright on that holy scene?

After all, Christmas is the single most defining moment,

In history that’s ever occurred.

Promised long ago in Genesis 3:15,

That’s when The Lord, Earth’s Creator, became …an Earth resident! ¹

Of violating and defaming His Christmas story, true,

I don’t know any promised or inferred penalties.

It’s curious that this appears to be the case.

Why so? Because that robs Him of all the glory He is due.

Could in self-less-ness, one of His stellar qualities,

He has allowed folks the choice His birth to deface??

And not only His birth, but His life, death and resurrection??

If so, that would mean all aspects of His earthly life,

Were in submission to God as a sacrifice for us.

He didn’t defend Himself during His trial and crucifixion.

Ponder for a moment the breadth of His sacrifice,

Ways He still allows us aspects of His life to corrupt.

Today His birth and death are:

______

\/

__||__

Satirized

Often ostracized

Banalized and trivialized

Politicized and popularized

Jargonized and bastardized

Idealized, even mythologized

Plasticized and accessorized

Westernized, even winterized!

Sensationalized and socialized

Commercialized and monetized

De-spiritualized and fictionalized

Totally re-conceptualized and secularized

Out-sized, over-advertised and glamorized

Negatively philosophized and hypothesized

Predictably formularized, fragmentized and routinized

||

||

O

Most copyrights are express, while others are equivalents,

Both with penalties for proven violations.

There’s an express copyright on The Lord’s end-time predictions, ²

And equivalent copyrights pronounced in promised judgments,

For example, those on promise land divisions,

His people groups, and blasphemy against His Spirit’s actions. ³

Unto us at Christmas He, our Savior, was born,

For inconceivable acts of self-less-ness,

To sketch, then colorize The Father’s great Love, un-merited.

And show us how to respond when by folks we’re scorned.

In this era of deep, senseless self-ish-ness,

May Christmas remind us of Heaven’s …Love, un-copyrighted.

Use/abuse His un-copyrighted Christmas at your will.

Abuse His ‘express and equivalent copyrights’ ...at your peril.

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¹ All modern calendars, with BC, BCE, AD and CE references, inescapably reflect Jesus Christ. Colossians 1:16, Hebrews 2:10 and Proverbs 16:4 confirm all things were created by and for Jesus Christ. See also: Is Jesus God (Series)

² In Revelation 22, Jesus concluded His appearance to John, the Disciple, with a clear, effective ‘copyright’ on things revealed (in what would become The Book of Revelation), with a stern, clear warning to anyone who would dare modify His and Heaven’s final, authoritative revelation of Him, His deity, and His closing chapter plans for humanity. Carefully consider what this means for all subsequent religions that posit significantly different end-time predictions. See: Is Jesus God? (Part 5)

³ See: Joel 3:2 (re. dividing His land), and Matthew 12:31-32 (blasphemy against The Holy Spirit). The Lord’s two people groups are the Jews (His physical kinsmen) and The Church of born-again, Spirit-filled believers (His spiritual kinsmen). Christmas is about opening the latter group, to the former group, and also …to you!

Global Vaccination Campaigns (Poem)

The Fear of God!

 

The Covid-19 pandemic has ‘thrown the world for a loop,’ ¹

And exposed serious sectoral vulnerabilities.

Wrestling with many ‘decision incompatibilities’,

Some nation leaders have been exposed as …complete nincompoops!

 

National challenges relate to what to prioritize,

Between public health and economic prosperity.

And as variants multiply and spread pervasively,

Who to favor between groups acting in great perversity.

 

Add planning vaccination and public protection campaigns,

Dealing with hospital personnel and supplies shortages,

As morticians struggle with increasing numbers of corpses,

All while juggling those mounting legal and political games.

 

Global challenges relate to foreign travel bans,

Dealing with climate change and economic migrants,

Negotiating vaccination campaign requirements,

Viral testing supplies and many more demands.

 

Mis-management across various levels of government, 

Is compounded by cross-border mis-management.

Global strategic accords add bewilderment,

When years on, there is little-to-no progress or achievement.

 

If mutations mushroom, and the pandemic fails to subside,

And to accords, governments backslide,

Then I, for one, would not be surprised,

At calls for a global pandemic management enterprise.

Here’s why…

A very troublesome aspect of pandemic management,

Is coming to grips with the obvious need,

To vaccinate the world, and how to proceed,

And who to pay for and implement this massive requirement!

 

Never in human history has there been such a dire need,

But I highly suspect this will not be the last.

This I conclude when reading The Bible’s forecast,

Of more such events because to repentance, Grace did not lead. ²

 

Moreover, The Bible predicts the accension to power,

Of a cunning global leader who in folks instills,

Increasing confidence in his problem-solving skills,

His power will then increase as he becomes more popular. ³

 

I have long wondered what in the world might ever trigger,

National governments to give up more and more power??

My guest was the aftermath of the predicted rapture,

When the world struggles with The Lord’s tribulation’s terrors.

 

While Paul says the rapture will be a sudden event,

It could be preceded with some ‘tribulation precursors’.

Who knows whether the pandemic may be one of such factors,

In Grace, sent to prepare the world …that would not repent. ⁴

 

But there’s good news on the global vaccination front,

The Millennial Reign of Christ after the tribulation,

Will be like a global ‘spiritual inoculation’. ⁵

Every sin and unrighteous act …He will affront.

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¹ To cause (someone) to be very amazed, confused, or shocked

² See: Revelation 9:20-21 and 16:9-11

³ See: Daniel 9:27, 11:31, 12:11 and Revelation 13

⁴ See: 1 Corinthians 15:50-57

⁵ With the fear of God

Intercessory Repentance?! (Poem)

See the Prayer and Praying Series here

Hey intercessors…

Intercessory prayers are clearly good works,

That express unselfish love, care and concern.

For them, Heaven’s benefits most certainly accrue,

To them for whom prayer is intended, and also …to you.

 

But could one aspect of this kind of prayer hurt,

If its implications we fail  to discern?

It’s about something Jesus encouraged us to do.

So Friends, I sincerely hope my point you will not misconstrue.

 

To lead folks to repentance, The Lord’s Grace intends. ¹

And for sinners, His Grace likely postpones His judgment.

But for many, if not the majority of folks,

Grace may be mis-read as a...

‘Continue what you’re doing’ license. ²

 

Lacking incentives to change, folks may then defend,

And in their sinful ways, become even more blatant.

If this cycle repeats, more sinfulness it provokes,

And toward righteousness, they develop …a seared conscience. ³

 

With this backdrop, ponder this from The Lord’s Prayer:

‘And Father, forgive us our sins…’,

Then ponder the pleas in Daniel’s prayer so fervent. ⁴

Both comprise what I call, ‘intercessory repentance’.

 

If the plural pronouns in both of these prayers,

Include folks who seek sinful ends,

Then forgiveness granted may prompt more sin recurrence.

So, should we pray in this manner for those with no penance??

 

Daniel’s prayer may cover the entire surviving remnant,

Of Babylon’s three invasions of Judah,

Both the righteous and those who to sinfulness are prone. ⁵

This is why my point is relevant in our world day.

 

To pray for my nation, America, I am diligent,

But not with a ‘Forgive us all’ agenda.

That The Lord has shed His Grace on her, it is well known.

If more Grace means more sin, that’s one prayer I just can’t pray!!!

  

Rather, I ask The Lord to give us hearts and minds to repent,

To endow us all with an awesome fear of God,

Then Grace sufficient to accomplish His will in and through us,

And timely Judgments when Grace fails to achieve all His ends.

 

Grace, then Judgments for Righteousness

when to sin we don’t relent,

This is His declared strategy. Don’t think it’s odd.

When to repentance, Grace doesn’t lead us,

Judgments make us conscious.

Not smart enough to get that? Don’t be shocked

…at what He sends. ⁶

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¹ See: Romans 2:4. This intent is expressed and echoed in so many ways throughout both The Bible, and also human history.

² Have you noticed our natural proclivity is to abuse Grace, whether extended from The Lord or other people? Apart from the born-again experience, there is a direct relationship between Grace and un-righteousness: the more Grace we receive, more unrighteousness we practice.

³ See: 1 Timothy 4:1-2. Seared consciences are in abundant supply the world over.

⁴ See: Daniel 9, especially the closing part. This prayer notwithstanding, The Lord had already determined, and informed several prophets that He would eventually pardon the gross sins of both nations of Israel and Judah, and would regather and rejoin them as one over-flowing nation prior to His Millennial Reign. Zechariah 10:10 accentuates the over-flowing aspect of their return.

⁵ In Ezekiel 9 and elsewhere, The Lord promised to slaughter the worst offenders in the two tribes of Judah (long after Israel had been judged and punished). So it is reasonable to assume many who survived King Nebuchadnezzar’s three attacks on Judah and Jerusalem (judgment remnants) were not righteous like Daniel and his three friends.

⁶ See: Transformational Terror Tactics (Poem) and What’s Really Going On (…Inside). The fear of God refers to our highest understanding, respect, reverence for Him, His desires for us, and His heart that is grieved when we fail to honor Him Who loves us deeply and incessantly.