"Lambs of Lazarus...Come Hither!"
or
("Now We Hear the Soft Commandment")
"Jesus came to give light, as a gift, not force light on us. A gift must
appeal to freedom. It must be freely accepted as well as freely given, thus
there must be the freedom to refuse it."--Peter Kreeft
*******
"To the faithful you show yourself
faithful,
To the blameless you show yourself
blameless,
To the pure you show yourself pure,
but to the crooked you show
yourself shrewd.
You save the humble,
but your eyes are on the haughty
to bring them low.
You are my lamp, O LORD;
the LORD turns my darkness into
light.....
It is God who arms me with
strength
and makes my way perfect.
He makes my feet like the feet of a
deer;
he enables me to stand on the
heights.
(2 Samuel 22: 26...34)
"Lambs of Lazarus...Come Hither!"
or
("Now We Hear the Soft Commandment")
In this Vale where man is treading,
Through the shadow and the cloud....
Sin Beguiling then condemning,
Hiding Truth
In Devil Shrouds.
Though the Light's forever shining,
Cloud and mountain dim the day;
Like lost sheep mankind meanders,
In this wilderness of gray.
Sin has blinded Sons of Adam;
Cloud of Death hangs over all.
Dark deception robs his vision
East of Eden since The Fall.
Don't hide from this Good Shepherd...
Don't resist God's Helping Hand*.
Don't turn back into the Darkness!
Please, ....Come see!
The Promised Land!
In The Valley of the Shadow
Sin's delusion mars the soul...
Sightless sheep dwell in denial;
Blemished....born outside
The Fold.
"We're not lost!" they tell each other....
"There's no Shepherd up above!"
"Murky gray's our perfect cover....
And this Dark?......It's what we love!"
"We feel safe here in The Shadow!"...
It envelops like the womb.
Wool pulled over eyes of Reason....
Stillborn bleating from the tomb.
So, man lingers ever longer
In Death's Valley:
Mother Earth;
Still The Father offers Blessing:
"Seek the Truth and Second Birth!"
******
There's a Voice!....
(Be still!... Be quiet!)
Did you hear that Gentle Word?
Like a breeze that whispers past us...
Calling out this flock....
interred.
"Lambs of Lazarus!....Come hither!
Leave this East of Eden Grave!"
Listen closely! ...It's The Shepherd
Who has come to Call....
And Save.
*********
Lord, remind us Death was vanquished
By the Father's Risen Son...
And by Him the fog was lifted...
Bright Eternal Kingdom's come!
Yes!...The Son dwelt here among us,
Veiled, Incarnate,
For a time...
Mercy!..... God's True Revelation...
Sacrificed for mankind's crime.
******
Give us Grace to hear The Calling.
Give us hearts to heed The Word.
Give us eyes to see the Son Shine
Clearing up what once was blurred.
We can sense Light in this Fog Bank
But we struggle still to see;
His Shekinah Glory beckons
From God's Throne....
Eternity!
Then a wind from somewhere rises...
Then a break...
And Light sublime.
Breath of Life...an Invitation!
From beyond
This Place and Time.
In this Valley of the Shadow
Lit by Grace
and so improved;
There is Hope and Joy astounding...
When the cloud and mountain moves!
Shepherd, guide us through The Valley,
Toward the Sanctifying Height,
Where we see the Panorama
Of God's Glory...
And His Might!
Lord, You brought us to This Clearing,
Meadow green and bright new day...
Now we hear the Soft Commandment:
"Follow Me!...I AM The Way..."
Give us rest in this High Pasture...
Touch us, please...
Restore the soul!
Then, Lord, take us even higher,
Where the streets are paved with gold.
Lord, with You we fear no evil....
You have set the prisoners free!
And your rod and staff do comfort;
We were blind,
But now we see!
"The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not
be in want.
He makes me lie down in green
pastures,
he leads me beside still waters,
he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of
righteousness
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of
death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup oveflows.
Surely goodness and love will
follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the
LORD
forever.
(Psalm 23)
*****
"This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men
loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who
does evil hates the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed." --(John
3: 19,20)
******************
"If you do not obey the light, it will turn into darkness." --Oswald
Chambers
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