See The Love Of God

Beauty on the outside
In the eyes of the world,
A perfect example
Devout and pure.

Doing enough to look good
But still falling short,
Your actions speak holiness
But listen to your heart.

Your outward man walks proudly
While your heart is hard as stone,
You're like a painted tomb
Still full of dead men's bones.

You live on your reputation
You rely on your good name,
You love all of the attention
You revel in the fame.

You think you're in control
Of everything you do,
You don't need any help
From the loving God that made you.

But He'll let you live your life
Until you reach the place,
That you realize you were wrong
And you cry, and seek His face.

Now He will get the glory
For the good things that you do,
And the world will see the Love of God
Every time they look at you.

The Fan

Whirling blades of steel
Pushing air
Here and there.

Always turning round
Fun to watch
Not to touch.

Taken for granted
Easy to find
In any size.

Hung from the ceiling
It looks very grand
For a lowly fan.

Mounted on a stand
You can have it
Where you want it.

The ordinary fan
What a story
It's very boring.

Call Me Christian

I am told by everyone I see today,
To carefully pick the words I say,
Don't say that Jesus is the only way,
You may not like the price you'll have to pay.

Our government, from the President down,
And wise men, wherever they may be found,
Want to find me guilty, without making a sound,
And if they had their way, I'd wear a thorny crown.

Tolerance and equality, are the songs the leaders sing,
I must agree with everyone, and believe in anything,
The words of love I speak to them, are like a scorpion's sting,
But they need to know the reason, for this hope to which I cling.

The time is quickly coming, and soon shall surely be,
When the One that I have longed for, will come to rescue me,
For by faith I have believed on Him who, as yet, I have not seen,
And expect to see my home in Heaven, He has built there just for me.

Oh come now unbelievers, to the cross of Calvary,
Where Christ will wash away your sins, His blood will set you free,
He'll give to you a robe of white, His face at last you'll see,
These treasures will be yours, my friends, if you will only now believe.

Our Modern Gospel (a sarcastic rant)

Jesus died to save me from financial ruin.
He wants me to have a nice car and a nice suit.
He gave up His life so my hair could be perfectly coiffed,
And my church could have 40,000 paying members.

Jesus hung on the cross so my kids would be pretty.
His desire is that they go to the best private schools.
He suffered in agony so I would never go hungry,
And that I would have everything I need to be comfortable.

Jesus shed His blood so I could sing cool songs on Sunday.
He loves for me to be well known in the right places.
He sits at the Father's right hand to hear what I have to say,
And make sure I get all that I asked for.

In Jesus Name, Amen.

Sarcasm and Truth

Perfect world, flawless world
Look at me, point out my imperfections
Day after day, without fail
I long to be pure and spotless
Somewhere, someday.

Wise, intelligent men
Help me, cure me of my misperceptions
Remind me how I lost my tail
I hope to be so sure and doubtless
Somewhere, someday.

Reverent society, tolerant all
Guide me, change my wrong direction
Tell me again "there is no hell"
I want to be found blameless
Somewhere, someday.

Cold, loveless hearts
Follow me, I'll show you my affection
I'll tell you all there is to tell
I want you to find true forgiveness
Right here, right now.

Suddenly Darkness

The darkness thick, no light could cut,
One foot in front of the other, but,
The ground itself seemed swallowed up,
Fear was starting to sink in.

Now, from somewhere, sounds arise,
Shouting, sobbing, pitiful cries,
As I struggle to see, I realize,
No light would ever be coming in.

Then suddenly aware of a horrible heat,
I could feel the flames burning my feet,
Then my thoughts started coming back to me,
I was dead, and in Hell for my sin.

I knew from stories there was a place far above,
That was so full of light, so full of love,
Now I wanted to go into that place I'd heard of,
But I was too late to enter in.

Identity

There is nothing inherently wrong with long hair on men, tattoos, or piercings. That is quite an opening line, considering I don't necessarily care for any of them. I try not to look down on anyone that has them, but I wouldn't recommend any of them either. I have many friends that I love dearly, that have tattoos and piercings. I had my own ears pierced three times, many years ago. The long hair on men I mentioned because I used to have shoulder length hair, with a small ponytail, before I got saved. It seemed to bother a lot of people, older people anyway.

The reason I bring all this up, is because I was talking to a friend of mine today that has hair almost all the way down his back. Every time I see him, I kid him about getting it cut. The truth is, I don't care how long his hair is. I'm concerned about the fact that he CAN'T get it cut. It's become who he is. He's afraid he won't really be himself if he cuts his hair. To me, that's a little scary. I've talked to men who wouldn't shave their beards off if their life depended on it. It had become such a part of their identity that they couldn't even THINK of parting with it. It's this kind of thinking that might keep us from being able to give up things we don't need, so we can further the ministry God has given us.

I fell into that trap years ago. I said I would NEVER shave my beard. Then, I suddenly felt very vain. Since then, I grow it, shave it off, whatever feels right at the time. It's the same with the hair on my head. I am determined not to let ANY part of me become my only identity. It's the same with tattoos, piercings, whatever. I am more than one part of me. God created me to be an example of Himself. No one part of me, whether in my body, or my life, is more important than God. My identity is in Jesus Christ. Not in me.