Poetry With A Mission



...a thought provoking poetical exercise.

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding” (Prov 3:5, KJV).

“These Jews were more receptive than those in Thessalonica, for they welcomed the message very eagerly and examined the scriptures every day to see whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11).

“But test everything; hold fast what is good” (1 Thess 5:21, ESV).

“But whoever keeps His word, in him truly the love of God is perfected” (1 John 2:5, ESV).

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom…” (Col 3:16).

“Am I now seeking human approval, or God’s approval? Or am I trying to please people? If I were pleasing people, I would not be a servant of God” (Gal 1:10).

“All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that every one who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work [as Christ’s followers we can not afford to be over sensitive or resistant to things we need to see, know, and act upon. Nor can we afford to be biased, closed-minded or comfortable]” (2 Tim 3:16,17).

“ ‘Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment’ ” (John 7:24, ESV).

“For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths” (2 Tim 4:3,4).

“About this we have much to say that is hard to explain, since you have become dull in understanding. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic elements of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food; for everyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is unskilled in the word of righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, for those whose faculties have been trained by practice to distinguish good from evil” (Heb 5:11-14).

“Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve Him in sincerity and in truth” (Joshua 24:14, KJV).

“And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved” (1 Tim 2:10, KJV).

“Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart” (1 Peter 1:22).

Rejecting Or Accepting?

Do you clearly hear the voice of God when He is speaking,
Do you have an open mind, but truth are always seeking?
And do you humbly give time to others who oppose you,
So that what you’re upholding can be confirmed or proved untrue?

When confronted with a view that by other's is spoken,
Is your mind disturbed by it, are things within awoken?
Do you ask God to confirm whether it's what you should believe,
Always willing to accept if He clearly says, "Receive?"

Or are you found resisting if it isn’t your desire
(At that point) to take the heat of our Lord’s refining fire?
Will you change your mind later, or might that change come too late,
And what might be the price you'd pay should you procrastinate?

So, once our Saviour via another person has appealed
With those words you need to hear that His will might be revealed,
Do your actions show in due course the true state of your heart,
As even further from what’s right you are seen to depart?

Or does it have you changing to more fully fit God’s Word?
Your actions thus the fruit of what the Lord desired heard.
Or do you become more watchful, no longer just content
To remain where you once were instead of where our Lord meant?

Perhaps almost persuaded, but something's holding you back;
Could it be the devil, or is commitment what you lack?
Perhaps a lack of study, or some bias that you hold, 
Others who have changed your mind via wrong things that they have told.

Could it be the pull of peers, or your background at the heart?
Could it be you're avoiding what might pull your view apart? 
Have you held your view so long that you feel it must be true,
Or put your trust in numbers when that’s not the thing to do? 

Do you confuse the message with the one God might have sent,
Thinking that what you know of them, probably means it's bent?
But given earthly vessels are the best that God can use,
Why would you imagine that He has better ones to choose?

God often has a way of choosing those that we would not,
And if left up to our judgment, He might reject the lot.
What if God chose to use you, and you too, weren’t well received.
Would you think His choice was still wrong, because you weren’t believed?

If what we hold is truly right, we don’t have need of fear,
But sadly, when a challenge comes, many uptight appear.
 Do you react the same with God when He approaches you?
'Cause how you treat those He sends is a very important clue.

By Lance Landall


This poem was upgraded on 26 November 2022.