The Holy Spirit searches Earth to find
A man of humble heart and open mind.
He shows to man the works that God has done:
Land and seas, plants and beasts, Man, moon and sun.
Through times and seasons miracles abound,
With laws and constants ruling as a crown.
The man commends the wonderful design:
“Oh my!
It’s so refined!
It’s quite sublime!
I’m so impressed; it captivates my mind!”
But then he worships forces it enshrines.
But why?
The Spirit tells him how the earth was made,
But such a thought makes fleshly man afraid:
“For if the earth was made by word of God,
His might alone beleaves me shocked and awed;
But if He also judges right from wrong,
I tremble at the thought of things I’ve done.”
The man, depressed, rolls up his flannel sleeves,
With furrowed brow collapses to his knees.
The Holy Ghost corrects him with these words:
“Your fear betrays the things that you have learned.
Creation shows Almighty God is kind;
He’s not the type to trouble open minds.
If God shall judge the many wrongs you did,
Then He shall help you overcome those sins.”
The man pops up and whirls himself around,
To test the Spirit’s words as rightly sound:
“If God created worlds, including me,
And all His mighty deeds work perfectly,
Then God would surely prove the narrow way,
To bring me back from wandering astray.”
The Spirit moves to warm his humble heart,
His grace confirming man’s auspicious start;
And then He whispers gently in man’s ears:
“You need to find the only God who cares.”
The man, despairing, bristles at the thought:
“I can’t find Him by which the earth was wrought!”
The Spirit clears man’s eyes to see beyond,
To see that men are spirits just like God;
And into them God’s image He infused:
A conscience put in men to know the truth;
So hearken to the Spirit’s every word,
For men of faith in God live unperturbed.
His eyes refocus, visions do subside,
Yet still bedazzled and provoked inside,
The man remains alone on his front lawn,
To clear his mind before proceeding on.
A woman runs across the empty street:
“Do you need help? You’re stumbling, I see.”
She stuns the man, who has no words to say.
The woman, worried, chooses to delay;
And with a power utters words to weigh:
“In Jesus’ name, for this man, I do pray.”
She checks his eyes and briskly walks away.
The man unsure of what to make of that,
He contemplates the words she spoke thereat.
The name she uttered resonates inside:
“Who is this man named Jesus she ascribed?”
To find out whom, he went and bought this book:
THE SON OF MAN WHO DIED BETWEEN TWO CROOKS
This man named Jesus Scriptures call the Word,
Who came to Earth proclaiming truth unheard.
His father was a carpenter by trade;
His virgin mother, grace of God displayed.
He made the dumb to speak, the blind to see,
The lame to walk, and made the demons flee.
But wicked leaders hated His good works,
For He expressed a love that they forsook.
They organized to put His life to death,
Was beat within an inch of His last breath.
They crowned his battered head with wreath of thorns,
A gruesome symbol tell why He was born.
They nailed Him to the cross, betrayed and bruised,
And hung this sign to post prophetic news:
JESUS OF NAZARETH KING OF THE JEWS
The sky turned dark upon the winds of woe;
And then He died, His head bowed slowly low.
The earth shook buildings, spooking all around.
The temple veil was rent from top to ground.
And then the graves of saints begat the dead,
Who woke from sleep and walked around instead.
They wrapped His body, laid it in a tomb,
Put forth a stone to block the hallowed room,
Stood up a watch to keep the site secure
From those who’d steal the body they interred.
But on day three the stone just rolled away;
The frightened guards dispersed in disarray.
This Jesus rose no longer lifeless dead:
Foretold in Scriptures just like He had said,
Appeared to men to demonstrate it so,
Rose up to Heaven, making us a home.
Those left behind were never quite the same,
Wise unto Christ, to men no longer sane.
Creator God, the infinite I AM,
Took sinful flesh to dwell as one of men;
He never sinned, though oft His flesh did tempt:
His love too strong to damn those in contempt.
Who is this Jesus many call the Christ?
He is the Lord, Creator God, divine.
“My unbelief offends God’s holy name;
My hubris puts His name to open shame.
My life be damned, if I the Lord forsake;
To taste His wrath, I surely shall partake.
My heart repents the blaphemy I’ve done;
My pride lays bare beside the Holy One.”
“I’ve hated, lusted, taken good from all;
My selfish actions doom a tragic fall.
Too many sins and victims to surmount,
No act of mine can clear my debt account.
My sins demand my death, a just dessert;
My heart regrets the countless souls I’ve hurt.”
“My sins have victimized both God and Man;
Each holds my debt and life in their own hands.
Without forgiveness, both from each of them,
My life shall end in death as one condemned.”
But every sin offends the rest of men;
So every man must pardon every sin,
But none can pardon what they do not know,
And many in the know just simply won’t.
But it’s much worse than many presuppose;
The answer’s not resolved as they propose:
For God cannot just pardon sins of them,
Who made their sin against their fellow men;
For that would violate the rights of him,
Who suffered from the pardoned sinner’s sin.
And that’s why Jesus entered into time,
His sacrificial death redeemed all lives;
So Jesus Christ has paid the ransom debt,
For sins against all men died in their stead;
But as the Lord, He conquered sting of death
And came to life, One risen from the dead.
The Lord, indeed, can pardon many sins,
But only sins committed after Him;
The Lord of lords and Maker of all things
Has promised He shall pardon false beliefs,
But only if repenting blasphemy
And faithfully renouncing unbelief.
“And that’s why I believe in Jesus Christ;
It’s Him I trust to resurrect my life;
He’s Maker of the heaven and the earth;
He saves me from all sins that I am worth;
The Ghost of God convinced my mind to see
That faith in Jesus’ works shall set me free.”
“My Lord Redeemer hear these words I pray:
Be Lord to me and wash my sins away;
I trust Thy works and magnify Thy name;
I’m born again; my demons have been slain.”
The Christ has risen: come to Him today.
Your lonely life shall never be the same.
IN THE WORD
Natagan
