The moon shone in a soft glow of silver light as he made his way to the seashore. His little foot caught on a root making him stumble but he knew better than to cry out. The blood trickling down his knee made no impression on his childish face. He had a mission.
Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. (James 4:14) Daniel chapter 10.
"Every year, every citizen of Smyrna had to burn incense to Caesar. There was as great altar there – Caesar’s altar – and you had to go every year and burn incents to Caesar, and receive then a certificate that you had done that. Without a certificate, you would be persecuted because you were violating the highest law in Smyrna. To be without a certificate, as must have been the case for Christians who would not say Caesar is Lord, but only Jesus is Lord, was to risk discovery and death." Though this poem isn't about the Revelation church of Smyrna, this excerpt from John MacArthur serves as a reference point for this poem.
To quote the cardboard signs: "The end is near!" But this is not a warning or for hope or for fear. To quote the popular worldly proverb: "It is what it is."
Have you ever felt fake? Have you consistently felt like your profession of faith was not genuine? Have you ever examined yourself to see if you're in the faith? Should you maybe consider doing that?
The moon gleamed down on the dusty road As he rode down to the glade And at his side though his cloak did hide There hung a shining blad
"It's not the parts of the Bible that I don't understand that bother me, it's the parts I do understand." -Mark Twain. "I wasted time, and now time doth waste me." - Shakespeare. "I do not believe in a fate that will fall on us no matter what we do; I do believe in a fate that will fall on us if we do nothing." - Ronald Reagan. All examples of chiasmus.
Why do YOU celebrate Christmas? Everyone knows that the materialism and marketing is vain and shallow, so how can someone powerless like you and me truly begin to enjoy "the reason for the season?"
