I did not know His love before,
The way I know it now.
I could not see my need for Him,
My pride would not allow.
I had it all, without a care,
The "self-sufficient" lie.
My path was smooth, my sea was still,
Not a cloud was in my sky.
I thought I knew His love for me,
I thought I'd seen His grace,
I thought I did not need to grow,
I thought I'd found my place.
But then the way grew rough and dark,
The storm clouds quickly rolled;
The waves began to rock my ship,
I found I had no hold.
The ship that I had built myself
Was made of foolish pride.
It fell apart and left me bare,
With nowhere else to hide
I had no strength or faith to face
The trials that lay ahead,
And so I simply spoke His name
And bowed my weary head.
His loving arms enveloped me,
And then He helped me stand.
He said, "You still must face this storm,
But I will hold your hand."
So through the dark and lonely night
He guided me through pain.
I could not see the light of day
Or when I'd smile again.
Yet through the pain and endless tears,
My faith began to grow.
I could not see it at the time,
But my light began to glow.
I saw God's love in a brand new light,
His grace and mercy, too.
For only when all self was gone
Could Jesus' love shine through.
Author Unknown
I had on new clothes,
New sneaks on my feet.
I was there for class on time,
Went to the back and took my seat.
Yeah, I'm moving up,
I'm already grown.
Soon I'll be graduating,
And out on my own.
I talked to some of my friends,
We were all having fun.
Said some things I shouldn't have said,
Did stuff I shouldn't have done.
I knew I was different.
I felt God touch my heart,
I knew I should set a standard,
But then I'd be set apart.
Walking to the bus,
I was not looking for strength.
I heard the car tires screeching,
But now it's too late.
I'm standing in this room,
And I can see the heavenly gate.
Oh no! I never prayed.
I thought I had time to get it straight.
An angel walked to me,
He had a book in his hand.
I knew it was the Book of Life,
When would this dream end?
I told him my name,
And he began to look.
Then he looked at me sadly and said,
Your name is not in this book.
Angel, this is a dream,
No, I can't be dead!
He closed the book and turned away,
He whispered - You cannot proceed ahead.
No...no this can't be real,
Angel, you can't turn me away.
Let me talk to God,
Maybe he'll let me stay.
He led me to the gate,
Jesus came to me.
He did not let me in but said,
Beloved what is your need?
Jesus, I cried, please,
Don't cast me away from you.
Tears ran down his face as he said,
You knew what you needed to do.
- Lord, please I'm young,
I never thought I would die.
I thought I'd have plenty of time,
Death caught me by surprise.
Lord, I went to church,
Please Jesus, I believe.
He said you would not accept me,
My love you would not receive.
Lord, there were too many hypocrites,
They weren't being true.
He took a step back and asked,
What does that have to do with you?
Lord, my family claimed to be saved,
They weren't real. You know.
He said, I died for you,
Now I have to go.
I fell to my knees crying to Him,
Lord, I planned to be real tomorrow.
I couldn't, make Him understand,
I had never -- felt such sorrow.
Then it hit me hard, I said,
Lord, where will I go?
He looked into my eyes and said,
My child you already know.
Please Jesus, I begged,
The place is so hot.
It seemed to trouble and grieve him,
He whispered, DEPART FROM ME, I KNOW YOU NOT.
Lord, you're supposed to be love,
How can you send me to damnation?
He replied, With your mouth you said you loved me,
But each day you rejected my salvation.
With that in an instant,
Day turned into night.
I never knew such torture could be,
Now too late, I know the Bible is right.
If I can tell you anything,
Hell has no age.
It is a place of torture,
Separated from God and full of rage.
You know, I thought it was funny -- a joke,
But this one thing is true.
If you never accept Jesus Christ,
HELL IS WAITING FOR YOU
Never mind the storm. When you're one with God, there is always a rainbow
waiting.
After living a "decent" life my
time on earth came to an end.
The first thing I remember is sitting on a bench in the waiting room of what I
thought to be a court
house. The doors opened and I was instructed to come in and have a seat by
the defense table. As I looked around I saw the "prosecutor," he
was a villainous looking gent who snarled as he stared at me. He
definitely was the most evil person I have ever seen.
I sat down and looked to my left and there
sat my lawyer, a kind and gentle looking man whose appearance seemed very
familiar to me.
The corner door flew open and there appeared the judge in full flowing
robes. He commanded an awesome presence as he moved across the room.
I couldn't take my eyes off of him as he took his seat behind the bench and he
said "Let us begin."
The prosecutor rose and said "My name is Satan, I am here to show you why
his man belongs in hell." He proceeded to tell of lies that I told,
things that I stole and times in the past when I cheated others. Satan told of
other horrible perversions that were once in my life and the more he spoke the
further down in my seat I sank. I was so embarrassed that I couldn't look
at anyone, even my own lawyer, as the Devil told of sins that even I had
completely forgotten about. As upset as I was at Satan for telling all
these things about me, I was equally upset at my representative who sat there
silently not offering any form of defense at all. I know I had been guilty
of those things, but I had done some good things in my life. Couldn't that
at least equal out part of the harm I've done?
Satan finished with a fury and said
"This man belongs in hell. He is guilty of all that I have charged and
there is not a person who can prove otherwise."
When it was his turn, my lawyer first asked if he might approach the
bench. The judge allowed this over the strong objection of Satan, and
beckoned him to come forward. As he got up and started walking I was able
to see him now in his full splendor and majesty.
Now I realized why he seemed so familiar,
this was Jesus representing me, my Lord and my Savior. He stopped at the
bench and softly said to the judge "Hi Dad" and then he turned to
address the court. "Satan was correct in saying that this man
had sinned, I won't deny any of these allegations. And yes, the wages of sins is
death, and this man deserves to be punished".
Jesus took a deep breath and turned to his
Father with out-stretched arms and proclaimed "However, I died on the cross
so that this person could have eternal life and he has accepted me as his
Savior, so he is mine." My Lord," he continued "His name is
written in the book of life and no one can snatch him from me. Satan still
does not understand yet, this man is not to be given justice but rather
mercy."
As Jesus sat down, he quietly paused, looked
at his Father and replied "There is nothing else that needs to be done,
I've done it all".
The Judge lifted his mighty hand and slammed the gavel down and the following
words bellowed from his lips -- "This man is free. Since the penalty for
him has already been paid in full, this case is dismissed."
As my Lord led me away I could hear Satan ranting and raving "I won't give
up, I'll win the next one." I asked Jesus as he gave me instructions
where to go next, "Have you ever lost a case?" Christ lovingly
smiled and said, "Everyone who has come to me and asked me to represent him
has received the same verdict you had...Paid in Full."
In this world of terrible hurt, pain, suffering, and extreme self-centered focus
to the exclusion of
everyone and everything else, there are times when logic, thought, discussion,
etc., can do nothing. It is in these times that I have learned that I only
have one place to turn to in order to ease the pain.
Father, I ask you to bless my friends reading
this right now! Lord, show us a new revelation of your love and power. Holy
Spirit, I ask You to minister to our spirit at this very moment. Where
there is pain, give them Your peace & mercy. Where there is
self-doubting, release a renewed confidence in Your ability to work through
them.
Where there is tiredness, or exhaustion, I
ask You to give us understanding, patience, & strength as we learn
submission to Your leading. Where there is spiritual stagnation, I
ask You to renew us by revealing Your nearness, and by drawing us into greater
intimacy with You. Where there is fear, reveal Your love, and release to
us Your courage.
Where there is a sin blocking us, reveal it,
and break its hold over our lives. Bless our finances, give us greater
vision, and raise up leaders, and friends to support, and encourage us.
Give each of us discernment to recognize the
demonic forces around us, and reveal to us the power we have in You to defeat
it, I ask You to do these Things in Jesus' name! AMEN.
Do not undermine your worth
by comparing yourself with others.
It is because we are different
that each of us is special.
Do not set your goals
by what other people deem important.
Only you know
what is best for you.
Do not take for granted
the things closest to your heart.
Cling to them as you would your life,
for without them,
life is meaningless.
Do not let your life
slip through your fingers
by living in the past
nor for the future.
By living your life one day at a time,
you live all the days of your life.
Do not give up
when you still have something to give.
Nothing is really over
until the moment you stop trying.
It is a fragile thread
that binds us to each other.
Do not be afraid to encounter risks.
It is by taking chances
that we learn how to be brave.
Do not shut love out of your life
by saying it is impossible to find.
The quickest way to receive love
is to give love;
The fastest way to lose love
is to hold it too tightly.
Do not dismiss your dreams.
To be without dreams
is to be without hope;
To be without hope
is to be without purpose.
Do not run through life
so fast that you forget
not only where you have been,
but also where you are going.
Life is not a race,
but a journey
to be savored
each step of the way.
[ Home ] [ Mike ] [ Lynn ] [ Chuck ] [ Photo Album ] [ Trip Diary ] [ Favorite Links ] [ Reflections ] [ Webrings ] [ Web Design ]
