Blessings for Obedience

No carvings of statues nor idols of stone;
I am the Lord God to be bowed to alone.
Remember my Sabbaths, they can't be ignored;
revere where I'm worshiped for I am your Lord.​

If you will obey my decrees and commands,
then I will send seasonal rains through your lands.
The crops from the ground will produce such a yield,
and trees will bear riches of fruit in your field.

Your threshing will last till your grapes have been grown,
your grape harvest lasting till grain has been sown.
And you will eat all of the bread you can stand,
while living both safe and secure in your land.

I'll give the land peace so you'll lie down at night
and sleep without trouble and worry or fright.
The dangerous beasts -- I'll remove them for you;
​your land will not witness the sword passing through.

Your enemies will be exhaustively chased,
and they will be felled by the sword and laid waste.
Five chasing a hundred, a hundred pursue
ten thousand -- your enemies slain before you.

My favor on you will make you multiply,
confirming my compact between you and I.
You still will be eating from last harvest's store,
which you'll need to clear out to make room for more.

Among you my dwelling place I will erect,
and you, in my soul, will I never reject.
And I'll walk among you -- be your God, divine;
and you as a people will ever be mine.

I am the Lord God, who from Egypt has saved
and freed you from those who would keep you enslaved.
I've broken the bars of the yoke that you wore
and freed you to walk with head high evermore.

 

The Values We Hold

Sex appeal, money, power and gold
The only things valued, or so we've been told
By members of parliament, peasants and lords,
By businessmen, beggars and marauding hoards.

So much for ideals of commitment and friends
And the folks who would willingly go to the ends
Of the planet to aid other people they know
And on whom they had chosen their word to bestow.

Everything's changed proclaim pundits and scribes
We've unwisely appointed as leaders and guides;
From foundational truths we were taught long ago
To our basic ideals we're now taught to forgo.

From unchallenged truths we had always embraced
We have come to adopt a form sorely debased.
We have strayed from original precepts we've held;
Our claim to the high road's no longer upheld.

As a people we wander, we aimlessly drift
Direction less, lost in a sea now bereft
Of the clear moral compass we formally used;
And longitude, latitude now seem confused.

From where does our moral ineptitude come?
Is it Hollywood, Broadway, the standards of some
Governmental committees whose members decreed
That our outdated rules we no longer must heed?

And what can our future conceivably hold
As summarily we discard all we have sold
Of our most basic mores, our firm moral base,
And our hope in retaining our undeserved grace?

Poor fools who cry out in a bleak wilderness
To oblivious morons who couldn't care less
Like the prophets before them and those who come late
Those who dare to speak out now will all share their fate.

So what can be done now to deal with this tale
Of ephemeral loyalties, values for sale
And the narcissists caught in their self centered greed
While oblivious to any precepts or creed?

No matter what others decide or decree
I can and I must make decisions for me.
I'll try to choose wisely, ignoring the cost
And I'll not be a part of the multitudes lost!

 

The Man in the middle

One on the right
One on the left
The One in the middle
Will take His last breath

Accusations will fly
From one to the other
While the One in the middle
Listens as He suffers

Hours of bickering
Who was the worst
While the One in the middle
Was taking their curse

He's done nothing wrong
Said the one on the right
While the One in the middle
Shined like a light

The other one cursed
And mocked without care
While the One in the middle
Felt his despair

He turned to the other
With love in His eyes
And said today you will be with Me
In paradise

One of the thieves
Made the right choice
Then the One in the middle
Lifted his voice

The people around us
Listened and heard
The One in the middle
Say His last word

It is finished
It is done
The price has been payed
Forever has been won

Right there beneath Him
I finally see
The Man in the middle
He did this for me️

 

On the Sea of Bended Knee

Father, I can hardly wait,
until I see the sea
of every single knee
bowing down to Thee.

The vision is so clear,
as each soul accounts
if, to You they were . . .
rebellious or devout.

Father, I can hear it now,
the hum of every tongue
singing You're the only God
there is no other one.

The sound is so sobering,
as each soul proclaims
what they did or didn’t do
to bring glory to Your name.

Father, I can hardly wait,
for the day when I will see
every soul praising You . . .
on the sea of bended knee!

Romans 14:11-12

"For it is written, As I live,
saith the Lord,
every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall confess to God.

So then every one of us shall
give account of himself to God."

King James Version
Public Domain

 

Morning Devotion

Creator of the morning light,
My joy by day, my peace at night,
My everlasting hope and friend,
Your loving kindness has no end.

Creator of the morning light,
the earth and all the stars of night,
To you, so perfect in you're ways,
I pledge my heart and give you praise.

Creator of the morning light,
You're my desire, my soul's delight.
My Lord, my God, my only King,
My worship to your throne I bring.