The Eagle

The eagle was growing old

eyes dim, the world seemed grey

despite the sunshine, she was cold

she sadly longed for yesterday

"Its time!", spoke the voice on high

"Trust Me.  I will purge and redeem."

She glided to earth, too weary to fly,

Landing on a rock near a stream

Furiously, she began her painful task

plucking her feathers---every last one!

Bathed, she rested on the rock at last,

vunerable and helpless under the bright sun

Many days and nights she had to endure

She heard, "Peace be still, My daughter."

She drank of the stream, sparkling pure

Jesus is the rock, the Son and the living water

At long last came the happy day

God said, "Well done, My child,

Spread your wings and fly away

You are finished with your trial."

The eagle soars in joy and health

clothed in beauty and God's glory

Jesus Christ is her newfound wealth

Her's is slso mine and your story.

When we surrender to Jesus, the Son

He will our tired spirits make strong

We will, in Him, new creatures become

Walking a new walk and singing a new song.

    

     I wrote this in 2006 for my friend, Connie.  She had just lost her only son,  Mark, to lung cancer.  Her grief was total and overwhelming.   I was useless to help her as I saw her spiraling down into deep depression.  I wrote this, hoping to encourage her, not knowing that she, too, would be leaving this world  in a few short days..  I know that I shall see her again in heaven where we will soar as the eagles in the glorious holy light of our Father's love.   Connie, I miss you--- be seeing you soon!

I LOVE OLD

I never thought I'd say

I'd be happy to grow grey

Nor thought I'd ever find

Such joy in my steady decline

There's contentment for me

In every sunset that I see

The fast passing of my years

Seems calming to my old fears

Every day of life now brings

Sounds of fluttering angel wings

Waiting to take me home someday

I can hardly wait to fly away

Aches, pains and eyes grown dim

Matter not because I know Him

He's my savior and best friend

I'll never be alone again

So what if I grow feeble and frail

So what if I flounder and fail

Jesus has His hand in mine

He makes my old heart shine.

more thoughts-------

When I was a little kid

full of energy---full of life

overzealous in all that I did

oblivious to evil and strife

I thought the world my private place

tomorrow seemed so far away

a philosopher with a smudged up face

I made the most of every day

When the hurts and wounds came

they sometimes left a scar

they never left me the same

but another step into far

Far away into the mists of tomorrow

I was riding on time's rail

often crossing the land of sorrow

I learned what it was to fail

But failure really isn't so bad

if you use it to learn and grow

losing the hang-ups you once had

collecting wisdom as you go

Old age isn't something to dread

if while your old body is acting up

you feed your spirit God's daily bread

and keep Jesus' new wine in your cup

I love growing old, yes I do

I'm homesick for heaven

How about you?

NO EXCUSE, SIR!

In the Army

before the man

we stand

We best remember

don't forget

don't stammer

don't whine

Simply shout it out

NO EXCUSE, SIR!

no matter

the crime

when it gets to

the nitty-gritty

the thing to shout is

NO EXCUSE, SIR!

grit your teeth

expect the worst

you're gonna sweat

die of thirst

Ain't no use

to complain

just take the blame

no getting out of it

NO EXCUSE, SIR!

In the end

before God we stand

we are guilty

of all kinds of sin

can't explain or lie

no use to try

don't whine and cry

simply say

NO EXCUSE, SIR!

But there is a Man

Who took our blame

what's His Name?

Jesus Christ!

by His blood

we are redeemed

when we believe

when we receive

His grace so grand

don't fear to say

JESUS CHRIST

IS

MY EXCUSE TODAY!

The Great God Entertainment

I copied and pasted this from "The Five Doves" site.


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The Great God Entertainment
By A. W. Tozer


A German philosopher many years ago said something to the effect that the more a man has in his own heart the less he will require from the outside; excessive need for support from without is proof of the bankruptcy of the inner man.

If this is true (and I believe it is) then the present inordinate attachment to every form of entertainment is evidence that the inner life of modern man is in serious decline. The average man has no central core of moral assurance, no spring within his own breast, no inner strength to place him above the need for repeated psychological shots to give him the courage to go on living. He has become a parasite on the world, drawing his life from his environment, unable to live a day apart from the stimulation which society affords him.

Schleiermacher held that the feeling of dependence lies at the root of all religious worship, and that however high the spiritual life might rise it must always begin with a deep sense of a great need which only God could satisfy. If this sense of need and a feeling of dependence are at the root of natural religion it is not hard to see why the great god Entertainment is so ardently worshiped by so many. For there are millions who cannot live without amusement; life without some form of entertainment for them is simply intolerable; they look forward to the blessed relief afforded by professional entertainers and other forms of psychological narcotics as a dope addict looks to his daily shot of heroin. Without them they could not summon courage to face existence.

No one with common human feeling will object to the simple pleasures of life, nor to such harmless forms of entertainment as may help to relax the nerves and refresh the mind exhausted by toil. Such things if used with discretion may be a blessing along the way. That is one thing. The all-out devotion to entertainment as a major activity for which and by which men live is definitely something else again.

The abuse of a harmless thing is the essence of sin. The growth of the amusement phase of human life to such fantastic proportions is a portent, a threat to the souls of modern men. It has been built into a multimillion dollar racket with greater power over human minds and human character than any other educational influence on earth. And the ominous thing is that its power is almost exclusively evil, rotting the inner life, crowding out the long eternal thoughts which would fill the souls of men if they were but worthy to entertain them. And the whole thing has grown into a veritable religion which holds its devotees with a strange fascination, and a religion, incidentally, against which it is now dangerous to speak.

For centuries the Church stood solidly against every form of worldly entertainment, recognizing it for what it was a device for wasting time, a refuge from the disturbing voice of conscience, a scheme to divert attention from moral accountability. For this she got herself abused roundly by the sons of this world. But of late she has become tired of the abuse and has given over the struggle. She appears to have decided that if she cannot conquer the great god Entertainment she may as well join forces with him and make what use she can of his powers. So today we have the astonishing spectacle of millions of dollars being poured into the unholy job of providing earthly entertainment for the so-called sons of heaven. Religious entertainment is in many places rapidly crowding out the serious things of God. Many churches these days have become little more than poor theatres where fifth-rate "producers" peddle their shoddy wares with the full approval of evangelical leaders who can even quote a holy text in defense of their delinquency. And hardly a man dares raise his voice against it.

The great god Entertainment amuses his devotees mainly by telling them stories. The love of stories, which is a characteristic of childhood, has taken fast hold of the minds of the retarded saints of our day, so much so that not a few persons manage to make a comfortable living by spinning yarns and serving them up in various disguises to church people. What is natural and beautiful in a child may be shocking when it persists into adulthood, and more so when it appears in the sanctuary and seeks to pass for true religion.

Is it not a strange thing and a wonder that, with the shadow of atomic destruction hanging over the world and with the coming of Christ drawing near, the professed followers of the Lord should be giving themselves up to religious amusements? That in an hour when mature saints are so desperately needed, vast numbers of believers should revert to spiritual childhood and clamor for religious toys?

"Remember, O Lord, what is come upon us: consider, and behold our reproach. . . . The crown is fallen from our head: woe unto us, that we have sinnedl For this our heart is faint, for these things our eyes are dim."
AMEN. AMEN.

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A Prophetic Dream?

Was it only a bad dream?

shadows in a restless sleep?

the deep sorrow of the scene

caused my heart to weep

people from far-flung places

were visibly confused and fearful

they all had such sad faces,

and not a few were tearful

Standing afar to escape torment and pain,

beating their chests, loudly crying,

 mourning  the death of a lady of shame

who left many lovers in her hour of dying.

Death came suddenly in an hour's time

she was destroyed by an infernal blast

leaving desolation and ashes behind,

witnesses lamenting, "Alas, alas!"

I heard many voices moan and whine

"She was our best customer, to her we sold

our goods, produce, drugs and wine

now who will buy and pay in gold?

It's said she was great, a Godly nation

once she was generous, just and right

but greed and immorality reached saturation

she became dull of hearing, dim of sight

Having ears she would hear truth no more

Having eyes, she was blinded by greed

Polluting all that entered her door

crafting and selling her evil seed

Little by little and by bits and pieces

she became a whore unashamed

sitting upon a throne of stock increases

shunning God for worldly gain

Who was this lady who is now but dust?

T'was America, once mighty and grand to see

whose motto humbly stated, "In God we trust."

Oh, dearest God----how can this be?

I woke groaning----so real it seemed

Will it be truth in time ahead

Was it prophecy that I dreamed?

America, will you soon be dead?

Are we now at our judgment hour?

Maybe---but its not too late to pray

Asking God to pour out a shower

of His mercy and grace upon us today!

Edited from when I wrote this a few years ago.  How much closer are we to judgement today?   When we read God's word, we see that God did not spare even His own nation, Israel, when it became full of idolatry and wickedness.  How dare we ask God to bless America in this time in our history when we are comparable to Israel at her worst?   We need an awakening to God's Holiness and our vileness to the point of repentance on a national scale.  Father, have mercy and pour out Your Spirit upon us to WAKE UP AMERICA!  amen