217 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
217 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
JOURNEY THROUGH THE HEART
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Though dark and gloomy my story may be,
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but so very vital to you and to me.
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The subject is Sin and all it can do,
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so pay close attention, for many it slew.
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For us it began in a Garden so fair,
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who`d ever think that Sin would hide there?
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The Serpent did slither on this Hallowed Ground,
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a victim was surely there to be found.
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So unsuspecting as Sin did draw near...
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Eve was there waiting; Sin`s target - her ear!
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"What did God tell thee ?" Sin did inquire.
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"Of this we may NOT eat...", Sin roared, "He`s a Liar !"
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She saw it was lovely so with Adam she shared
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Sin crouched in the darkness...his victims were snared !
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So delightful a setting this Garden Divine,
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where not only man, but Sin did first dine.
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Sin`s fruit, Oh so sweet, he ate to his fill,
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'twas not only Adam, but Mankind his kill.
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Since then Sin's been feasting, the world is his table,
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now WE are his fruit, to escape we're unable.
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Just how can we KNOW that WE'VE been his fare?
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we must look WITHIN and we'll find him there.
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He`s clever, that Serpent, doesn't want us to know...
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that OUR HEART`S been his CASTLE..., that he's been our foe
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Look close and be honest, he may be disguised...
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for all that you'll find there, you might be surprised.
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As we stand and we wonder, with entrance so wide
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DARE WE JOURNEY FORTH, to see what's inside?
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The outline looms heavy, we shiver with fright,
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we think to ourselves..."such an ominous sight."
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The gate, it is lowered, we see as we cross,
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this castle's not gleaming, `tis all filled with dross!
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Each step at a snail's pace, we come to the arch,
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the darkness surrounds us... more slowly we march.
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So dingy, so murky and blacker than night,
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can't see very clearly...we must have a light.
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But what can we use and where can we find,
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a reliable torch, that won't leave us blind?
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Yea, a light we must have, but also a Guide,
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to comprehend fully what in there does abide.
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As we stand here helpless, our vision still blurred,
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Behold, a White Charger...with God's Holy Word!
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His two-edged sword for us leads the way,
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what once had been darkness, is now bright as day!
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We creep down the hallway...seems so full of gloom,
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we reach the first chamber... we enter the room...
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With floors oh so dusty and webs all about,
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"Who doth reside here?", we say with a shout.
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We wait for an answer...there comes no reply...
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this room seems unlived in...we all wonder "why".
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We leave for the hallway..."no cause for alarm...
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a room that's this empty can do us no harm."
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Our trek we continue, we try every door,
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they seem never ending and still there's yet more.
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All chambers were bare, though covered with grime,
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no lodgers had been there for quite a long time.
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Single file we went onward, the path was so winding,
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but nary a boarder was there for the finding.
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Through doorways and hallways, 'twas truly a puzzle,
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this vacant old wasteland, our minds did bemuzzle.
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The coldness and dampness, to our bones it was felt,
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by now we decided that herein no one dwelt.
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As the exit drew near, we stepped up our pace,
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we just couldn't wait to leave such a place.
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We crossed o'er the mote, the gate, it rose slowly,
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we said to each other, "how impure...how unholy!"
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Out of that dungeon we now could think clearly,
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I pondered the place that I once thought of dearly.
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When I thought on my heart, 'twas visions of gold,
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but now that I've seen it, 'tis crusty with mold.
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Our Guide was still leading...He looked like a King...
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when we suddenly realized that He spoke not a thing!
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"We searched Lord and searched, but couldn't uncover,
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a trace of the evil, 'twas told we'd discover."
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Then abruptly He turned, and for us He unraveled,
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the truths of that mansion, and the trail that we travelled.
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This thought, as He spoke, I could not dismiss,
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that "never before had a man spake like this".
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His Words seemed to echo to the castle and back,
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of their power and persuasion there was surely no lack.
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He said at the outset, "Take care HOW you hear..."
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as back through the castle, our minds He did steer.
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"The things that doth dwell here, a man, doth defile..."
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I knew from that moment, my HEART was on TRIAL !
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"The rooms were not empty, just UNOCCUPIED,"
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I clung to His Words, as I sat mystified.
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"The heart is deceitful above all that you know,
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to trust what abides here shall bring misery and woe."
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My thoughts were discerned, for I wanted to ask,
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the NAMES of the tenants... this riddle unmask.
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But before I could speak, He began to disclose,
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that question I pondered...just WHO were my foes?
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"UNCLEANNESS, IDOLATRY, ENVY, and MALICE,"
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these were the Demons who lived in the palace!
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"GREEDINESS, JEALOUSY, ANGER, and SCORN,"
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He said they had been there ever since I was born.
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"CHEATING, and LYING, TALEBEARING, and STRIFE,"
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His Words thrust in deeply... they cut like a knife.
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"FIGHTINGS, BACKBITINGS," He went on to explore...
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"these are the things," said He, "I deplore."
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"These works of the flesh shall surely be known..."
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the ground shook around us at the sound of His tone!
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As to WHERE were these villians, my mind was perplexed,
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He answered precisely, for He knew what was next.
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"All shall be manifest, this treachery and sin..."
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but "WHERE COULD THEY BE?", I thought deep within.
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"OUT OF THE HEART proceeds evil things..."
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His Words came like rapiers, such grimness it brings.
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I froze as He told us that THEY'D GONE TO LABOR...
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to wreak havoc for ME, upon friend and neighbor!
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By this I was smitten, seemed to know all along...
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of the misery I'd caused...all the pain... all the wrong.
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We now knew the reason for the filth and the slime...
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with evils THIS BUSY, to return was no time.
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They were constantly working, from our hearts did they vent,
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we each knew too dearly, to whom they were sent.
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These workers were tireless, to rest was no need,
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they were sent with no mercy, this horrible breed.
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The past flashed before me, such pictures they brought,
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of so many people with whom I had fought.
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My head and my shoulders sank deep with despair,
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for all I had injured and treated unfair.
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In the midst of my groaning, our Lord did insist,
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that we look back behind us...to the FLAG that we missed.
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Waving on high above that dark manor,
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the word that was there, inscribed on the banner...
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Raging and flapping like the Fires of Hell,
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the name of the LANDLORD for us it did tell!
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Shattered and broken I lift up mine eyes...
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the word "S E L F" was upon it, and HOW PROUDLY IT FLIES!
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The silence was deafening, inside was this growing...
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that over MY heart, this flag was STILL BLOWING!
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With unquenchable thirst and Sin as my drink...
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in the Abyssal of Self, I continued to sink.
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My mouth hung wide open, my eyes closed with shame,
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a war raged within...no peace could I claim.
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Heart's song like a death march, it pounded much faster...
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each beat brought me nearer, to certain disaster!
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My foes marched before me, like SINS ON PARADE...
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and I was there General! What a fool have I played!
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That my heart was their FORTRESS, Oh I can't bear this load...
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the feelings inside me, like bombs they explode!
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With my mind as there battlefield and my soul as the spoil,
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my heart and God's Word continued to toil.
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Sin gave in not so easy...it gathered it's forces,
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I viewed in amazement, at all it's resources.
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REASON and LOGIC, EXCUSES and LIES,
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so unwilling Sin was to relinguish it's Prize.
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"I'm not so bad, I'd done some good deeds,"
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I soon was aware, 'twas LOGIC that pleads.
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EXCUSES came next, then LIES and then REASON...
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but all was revealed, to my heart this was TREASON!
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Not a thing my heart offered, before HIM could stand,
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it's foundation, you see, was built upon sand.
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His search light for me, had so clearly revealed,
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all of this wickedness, my heart had concealed.
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My defense was so useless, these sins I COMMITTED !
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But now came the truth of the things I OMITTED!
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"LONGSUFFERING, MEEKNESS, GOODNESS and JOY,"
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a heart without these, Sin would surely destroy.
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"SELF-CONTROL, FIDELITY, SHARING and PEACE,"
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without these within, Sin would always increase.
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"COMPASSION, HUMBLENESS, CHARITY, LOVE,
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every good gift comes down from above."
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But the worst of my crimes, those sins of omission,
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was...NO TIME FOR GOD, to Him - no submission!
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A moment perhaps, just one here or there,
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but to FIND WHAT HE WANTED...'twas no time to spare.
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Oh, I'd gone to church, I'd been there each Sunday...
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but I'd rather not say what I did on each Monday!
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I took time to pray...seems I wanted so much,
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so to Him I would turn...did I USE Him such???
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My Bible was there but it stayed on the shelf,
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too busy, I guess, in pursuits for MYSELF.
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His Name, I remember, was oft used in vain,
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my speech, to be honest, was mostly profane.
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I sat and reflected, overcome with such shame,
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MYSELF I had lived for...NO TIME FOR HIS NAME!
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His salvation for me, well, it held no appeal.
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This whole business of "God", it seemed so unreal!
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Death was far off, I could deal with that later...
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must live for the NOW, to MYSELF I must cater.
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All of these thoughts were just the conclusion,
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of a spirit so dead...of a heart of delusion.
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Deaf to His Word and Blind to His Scripture,
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my soul in a casket...what a horrible picture!
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That I counld do nothing, 'twas made very clear...
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my heart was depraved, it's state too severe.
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Within ME was NO CURE, I was TOTALLY LOST!
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For my God was no time, now I must pay the cost.
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Heart's Trial was fast closing...my soul seemed to wilt...
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the verdict was coming...'twas sure of my guilt!
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The offense of my life would demand the worst sentence,
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but with words sweet as honey...He spoke of REPENTANCE!
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I sat there astounded, not a thing did I merit...
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And yet His Kingdom was offered for me to inherit!
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His Arm rose up slowly, He beckoned me COME...
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A NEW HEART He'd give me...His plea left me numb.
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What could I do, with such a Grand Offer?
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Would YOU follow Him...or go on as a scoffer?
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The end of my story has NOT YET BEEN REACHED...
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but I leave it for now, and to YOU I beseech,
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Gird up your loins and draw nigh the Gate...
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take Heart's Journey yourself...before it's TOO LATE!
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RLW
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.W#04? |