Drawn in by the fine clothes, and the nice names,
Sweet sounding voices and the filled-frames.
Such is so smooth, and seems pleasing to the eyes,
Pulled in by the promise that if I had this I'd be satisfied.
But I don't feel satisfied and I'm told the same,
That if I follow that path, in the end I'll be slain.
I don't want to die, but I surely want life,
Find me that water, that will fill this well tonight.
From my heart the well-spring, what's contained
Is as only as good as the measure of fresh rain.
Or the water that comes from below that flows from beneath,
That saturates my soul and fills and my sieve.
Persevere and don't give in,
Remain in the boat when floating in waters of temptation.
Lies will call out, but don't heed the siren's voice.
Trust in the Lord, He's the only trustworthy choice.
Remain steadfast, and fast from doing evil,
Keep close the promise that He will,
Redeem you, when you will face death,
That the judgment you deserved, was born on His breast.
That He, the Righteous God, withstood God's full wrath for you and no less,
That He opened up Himself for you to enjoy and be blessed.
To know God, and live, to obtain His favor, full,
Wisdom to live and die by, to live again forevermore.

just practicing

Filling up on deeds iniquitous, not innocence, now we're in a bind, the kind you can witness,
Survival of the fittest, and twisted, no mercy for the devilish, no rest for the wicked,
Keep those deeds coming, keep running for cover, this is the day made for you to discover,
That the world was and will never be easy, cliches that are cheesy just made you believe me,
Before you couldn't even see me, because you were blind, see, I freed you from the darkness,
Mark this, that no one enters without a name on the list, not even the star-dressed,
For sure not the lawless, only the flawless, formerly the former, but no longer a goner,
Made into a treasure to treasure the true treasure, measure by measure to praise for gracious pleasure,
And then there's the hook, that you were hooked, a crook on death row,
And yet for your sorry soul he took the full blow.
Opened up His full treasury and sent His greatest prize, Whom you despised,
The only Son begotten, the apple of His Father's eyes,
Sent to show perfection, and then put death to death, by being put to death,
For His Father's honor and respect.
Not to gain from you, who were created by his very breath,
You have nothing good to offer Him that wasn't already secured in His death.
You couldn't do good if not attached to Him, just a limb, without a vine, bears no fruit,
Those kind are cast into the fire having no good root.


................................

1 month

It's been almost a month since my last post.

I'm now learning guitar.

Vengeance is mine. I will repay.

First man is innocent, second man guilty,
The first man is clean and the second man, filthy,
Mercy is given by the original, the sequel isn't equal,
He's fit for the prison cell, distilled evil.
But the second man is free, while the first serves sentence,
Living like hell, while the first contemplates vengeance,
But freedom doesn't come without pain,
Freedom doesn't come without the loss of great gain,
So the mind is strained as the first determines his game
To right all the wrongs that to him first came,
For he threw away faith during the thirteen ages,
Lived by the craving to give another man his wages.
Then the days arrived where it seemed as though his dreams would thrive,
And he reveled in the moments of his plan contrived.
It worked with precision, his complex vision,
To decimate the fool's gold, and fulfill his life's mission,
But in whose hands should be such a decision:
To make a man meet death in an eternal collision?
See, God would give him justice if he would listen with a heart's circumcision,
But the first took matters to himself,
And in the end, it seems he gained, but there was much wasted wealth.
And much wasted health, taking men's lives without fear,

You should never forget, son, that God is always near.
And even if you think you walk right,
Know this, even angels are not fit for His sight,
So if you claim to be walking in the light,
Be sure you do, and leave it to God to send back the night.

Given our church is learning about this topic, here's another source to check out

Daily

Wakeup to the ringer on my phone, alarming me,
Notifying my mind that it's time to abandon sleep.
For the day has come again, and the Lord has sustained His kin,
Keeping breath in my lungs so that I can wake again.
Rather than sleeping in, I hope to extend my reach within,
The riches of the Word, that is this seeker's friend,
Because without my Guide, I've got no chance in this race to win,
And so I beat my body to keep in shape for Him,
For He purchased me at the market from that slaver-Sin.
And so I'm a temple for His Spirit to reside in,
The Holy God and His Kingdom's coming to abide in,
He's the only One I can ever take any pride in,
It's just not enough to admire Him,
You've got to repent and seek His forgiveness for the death that you've died in,
Believe Him, for there's no other way around it, there's no hiding,
You can't walk around the Way, there's no climbing.
It's either death or life, I suggest you dive in
To the fountain of God's grace, and experience His salvation,
He offers complete safety and provision as He did in the beginning,
He's never changed, and He's forever been forgiving
To those who repent and trust in Him for living,
He'll give Himself fully, the pinnacle of God's gifting.

Blessed are the poor in spirit,
Blessed are the meek,
Blessed are the mourners and those who desperately seek
Blessed are the merciful
Blessed are the pure in heart,
Blessed are the peacemakers and those who suffer for God.

Bless the Lord O my soul.
Bless His name all that is within me,
Bless the Lord for He's so wonderful,
He placed His life upon a tree for mankind and His Father's glory.

A snare stronger than seven cords...

Re-posted here from my Facebook Notes

[Background: Samson is under a Nazirite vow, and he has been his entire life...his proposed wife was not of the Israelite people, but was a woman of a foreign nation and foreign god...and she was given to another man....and she and her family were killed by their own people to mitigate Samson's wrath against their wronging him (giving her to another man)...Samson has killed many of the foreign god followers, and they are out to get him, because his strength has shamed them and their god....the Lord God has been with Samson, despite his moral failings, preserving Israel through Samson's judgeship for twenty years.]

Judges 16

v1-2...Samson went to Gaza, and there he saw a prostitute, and he went in to her. The Gazites were told, “Samson has come here.” And they surrounded the place and set an ambush for him all night at the gate of the city. They kept quiet all night, saying, “Let us wait till the light of the morning; then we will kill him.”

[He escapes capture and death with a great display of strength shaming the Gazites by destroying their city gate...perhaps a symbol of a city's refuge)

v4-5...After this he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, “Seduce him, and see where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to humble him.

[he lies]
v8...she bound him...

[he lies]
v12...So Delilah took new ropes and bound him...

[he lies]
v14...So while he slept, Delilah took the seven locks of his head and wove them into the web....


v16-17...And when she pressed him hard with her words day after day, and urged him, his soul was vexed to death. And he told her all his heart...


v19....She made him sleep on her knees. And she called a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him.


v20..... And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him.



Do you really think Samson was oblivious to the fact that he was shaved...he was probably near 40 years old and had been judging Israel for 20 years....and had never had his hair touched with a razor before that moment in time...his outward, visible sign of obedience which he had never failed to maintain was despised in a moment because of a quarrelsome woman vexing his heart...not even a wife...an adulteress


"He did not know that the Lord had left him."


The words of an Israelite king, many years later, warned against this powerful temptation and deceit to forsake God (perhaps reflecting on the account of Samson's tragic tale)...a snare he too would find overpowering.


"All at once he follows her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a stag is caught fast till an arrow pierces its liver; as a bird rushes into a snare; he does not know that it will cost him his life. And now, O sons, listen to me, and be attentive to the words of my mouth. Let not your heart turn aside to her ways; do not stray into her paths, for many a victim has she laid low, and all her slain are a mighty throng. Her house is the way to Sheol, going down to the chambers of death." (Proverbs 7:22-27)



Additional note:

Remember, the Lord God is slow to anger, but that does not mean he is not just. Do not think that because the Lord has longsuffered with you until now that He should and will until tomorrow. Put away idolatry and all wrongdoing. Lean on His wisdom and guidance and your paths will be made straight. It would be wrong to suggest that you trust and obey out of fear, because fear is for the unbelieving. The believing ought to follow out of love, and perfect love casts out all fear. Those who love Him obey His commands. Just remember, He disciplines those He loves, and He disciplined Samson. We know Samson returned to a life of faith because the author of Hebrews recounts Samson's returning to saving-faith by God's good work of permitting his humiliation for a time. And, for your edification and the Lord's glory this was all in accordance with God's will and purposes. But know that God's desired will is for you to trust and obey His commands. Now consider God's final work in Samson's life and the author's final word on Samson:


v30..."So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed during his life."


The result was Samson struck a greater blow to the Lord's enemies by his death than he had by his life....do you see the prophetic nature of Samson's life here?

The Lord Jesus struck the death blow to the most powerful enemies, sin and death, disarming and humiliating the devil and his angels by His death and resurrection.

Rejoice.