Season 8 Episode 2, The Cross and The Armor
Poetry of Christian FaithSeptember 01, 2022x
2
45:3752.21 MB

Season 8 Episode 2, The Cross and The Armor

72,8-2, SHOW  NOTES & COPYRIGHTS  (Scheduled 9/1/2022)

Today we are going to talk about taking up our cross and following Jesus.  I was given a wooden cross that gave me the inspiration for today’s podcast.

We’ll start with three times in The Bible Jesus tells those He is with to do this.


Matthew 16:24-26 NKJV, Jesus is with His disciples after feeding the four thousand.

24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?


Mark 8:35 NKJV, Jesus and His disciples were at a house in Capernaum.

When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.


Luke 9:23 NKJV, Jesus is with His disciples after feeding the five thousand.

Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.


THE CROSS OF JESUS


How do we react to the cross?

Yes, there is death and loss.

And beyond in our strife

There is a promise – eternal life.


The Son of man, living as one of us.

The Son of God, the God/man Jesus

Showed the way

As He did pray

On that fateful night

When good an evil did fight.


His prayer:

“Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; 

nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”

(Luke 22:42, NKJV)


Dying for the sins of others,

His sisters and brothers,

He gave of Himself

For our Heavenly wealth.


No, not money or fame.

Nor words that do not rhyme.

It was for the forgiveness of our sin

So forever we might live with Him.


We must also commit to the cross.

Overcoming sin is not a loss.

No, we take up our cross for gain

Knowing God’s protection always remains.


Jesus said, “Take up you cross and follow me.”

On that fateful day, He took up His cross for all to see.


Taking up our cross we follow Jesus.

We die to self in absolute surrender.


We will lose the live we lived on this earth,

We will follow as Jesus walked

And greet others as He talked.

We will find our Heavenly worth.      (tcarter, 8/19/2022)


Discussion:

I would like to follow this with the Armor of God.  As we take up our cross and follow Jesus, I believe it helps to also put on the armor of god, so we are able to stand against the forces of evil.  I have no poem for this, I am just going to read the verses from the Bible.

Ephesians 6:10-20, NKJV, 10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the [a]wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of [b]the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— 19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.


Discussion:


I wanted to write a poem about the Armor of God.  This one took a few days to finish, but for me, it was worth the wait for the last stanza and a half.


WE WILL


We will fight

In the light

For what is right,

Forever long,

Always strong,

Singing His song.


With God’s might,

Never wrong,

With tomorrow

Always in sight

Without sorrow,

We will be

For all to see,

A reflection

Of His protection.


Truth and justice will prevail,

God’s power will never fail.


tcarter, 8/22,23/2022, 4:34pm



Discussion:



With Labor Day coming up next Monday, I was thinking while putting the Show Notes together that if we had time, we could end with a poem I wrote about Labor Day.



LABOR DAYS (Living In God’s Rhyme, pg. 166)


As followers of Christ we are his day laborers,

Laboring every day and through the night.

In first Corinthians we are told to

Always give ourselves to the Lord’s work

Because we know that our labor

In the Lord is never in vain.


The wages of our sin were ransomed

By a death on the cross so our loss

Would not be forever, that never

Would we be forsaken, forever.


The one who plants and the one who waters

have one purpose, and they will each be 

rewarded according to their own labor.

for we are co-workers in God’s service;

you are God’s field, God’s building.  1Cor, 3:8,9


We work, but our toil is not with the soil.

The seeds one plants are the seeds of God’s love.

The one who waters does so with the living water

Of a death, a resurrection, of forgiveness and love.


For we are God’s handiwork, 

created in Christ Jesus to do good works,

which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Eph, 2:10


By God’s grace we have been saved by faith

To perform the good works he has prepared for us.

We receive our reward through God’s Son, Jesus.

And as we have received we must help others believe.


We labor in love,

The love of God,

Our love for our neighbor,

The love for our Savior

So that others will see

What with God they can be.


Yes, at times a grueling task,

But God did not just ask,

No it is a command we must follow

Unless we think any of his words are hollow.


He prepared the works to be done

Knowing we have strength through his Son.

We must labor for God in this life we live.

Just consider the sacrifice for us he did give.


Labor Day, a holiday for man to celebrate the worker’s labor.

Let us make every day a holy day and celebrate,

Let us celebrate and not worry or contemplate,

But let us pray for all things as for God we do labor.


Reflection on Labor Days

Yes, I did labor on this poem.  And I was given a revelation.  I got out my Pocket Rhyming Dictionary so I could have more variety in my rhymes.  There is no section for the letter L and a few others.  I am satisfied with the rhymes God has.


Discussion:






AS WE CLOSE IN PRAYER, MAY WE CONTINUE IN PRAYER


Dear Heavenly Father we come to you in prayer as we end today’s podcast.  Dave and I thank You for Your leading us through the day and into tomorrow.  We pray that today has been pleasing to You and honors Your glory.


We pray for our listeners and viewers; for their needs, healing and the salvation of those who have not yet accepted the gift of Your grace by faith. 

 

We pray, Lord, for this world in which we live.  Father, as Christians lead us to proclaiming the gospel where ever we are.  May we do so in a loving  way.  Lead us to the truth of the days we are living in.  We pray for the nation of Ukraine and its people; its leaders, those who have fled the country to find safety, those who are still trying to leave the country and those who are staying to fight the invading army of their enemy.   May their faith and determination be an example to the entire world.


Dear Lord, prepare us and our listeners and viewers for the coming week.  We pray that it is You we live for and You who leads us.  As we walk with you  this week, may it be Your hand clasped around our hand so we may feel the grasp of Your love.


We pray in the name of Jesus, our Savior and Redeemer.

Amen


4/3/2022



                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  If you give

Him the times

As you live

His word rhymes

 

 

And don’t forget, “We are the Kings kids and you will never get rid of us for we are His with Jesus.”

 

 

Living In God’s Rhyme ©2018 by Tim Carter

God Still Rhymes ©2019 by Tim Carter

God’s Rhyme ©2019 by Tim Carter

https://www.captivate.fm/signup?ref=davecarter3

72,8-2, SHOW  NOTES & COPYRIGHTS  (Scheduled 9/1/2022)


Today we are going to talk about taking up our cross and following Jesus.  I was given a wooden cross that gave me the inspiration for today’s podcast.

We’ll start with three times in The Bible Jesus tells those He is with to do this.


Matthew 16:24-26 NKJV, Jesus is with His disciples after feeding the four thousand.

24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?


Mark 8:35 NKJV, Jesus and His disciples were at a house in Capernaum.

When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.


Luke 9:23 NKJV, Jesus is with His disciples after feeding the five thousand.

Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.


THE CROSS OF JESUS


How do we react to the cross?

Yes, there is death and loss.

And beyond in our strife

There is a promise – eternal life.


The Son of man, living as one of us.

The Son of God, the God/man Jesus

Showed the way

As He did pray

On that fateful night

When good an evil did fight.


His prayer:

“Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; 

nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”

(Luke 22:42, NKJV)


Dying for the sins of others,

His sisters and brothers,

He gave of Himself

For our Heavenly wealth.


No, not money or fame.

Nor words that do not rhyme.

It was for the forgiveness of our sin

So forever we might live with Him.


We must also commit to the cross.

Overcoming sin is not a loss.

No, we take up our cross for gain

Knowing God’s protection always remains.


Jesus said, “Take up you cross and follow me.”

On that fateful day, He took up His cross for all to see.


Taking up our cross we follow Jesus.

We die to self in absolute surrender.


We will lose the live we lived on this earth,

We will follow as Jesus walked

And greet others as He talked.

We will find our Heavenly worth.      (tcarter, 8/19/2022)


Discussion:

I would like to follow this with the Armor of God.  As we take up our cross and follow Jesus, I believe it helps to also put on the armor of god, so we are able to stand against the forces of evil.  I have no poem for this, I am just going to read the verses from the Bible.

Ephesians 6:10-20, NKJV, 10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the [a]wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of [b]the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— 19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.


Discussion:


I wanted to write a poem about the Armor of God.  This one took a few days to finish, but for me, it was worth the wait for the last stanza and a half.


WE WILL


We will fight

In the light

For what is right,

Forever long,

Always strong,

Singing His song.


With God’s might,

Never wrong,

With tomorrow

Always in sight

Without sorrow,

We will be

For all to see,

A reflection

Of His protection.


Truth and justice will prevail,

God’s power will never fail.


tcarter, 8/22,23/2022, 4:34pm



Discussion:



With Labor Day coming up next Monday, I was thinking while putting the Show Notes together that if we had time, we could end with a poem I wrote about Labor Day.



LABOR DAYS (Living In God’s Rhyme, pg. 166)


As followers of Christ we are his day laborers,

Laboring every day and through the night.

In first Corinthians we are told to

Always give ourselves to the Lord’s work

Because we know that our labor

In the Lord is never in vain.


The wages of our sin were ransomed

By a death on the cross so our loss

Would not be forever, that never

Would we be forsaken, forever.


The one who plants and the one who waters

have one purpose, and they will each be 

rewarded according to their own labor.

for we are co-workers in God’s service;

you are God’s field, God’s building.  1Cor, 3:8,9


We work, but our toil is not with the soil.

The seeds one plants are the seeds of God’s love.

The one who waters does so with the living water

Of a death, a resurrection, of forgiveness and love.


For we are God’s handiwork, 

created in Christ Jesus to do good works,

which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Eph, 2:10


By God’s grace we have been saved by faith

To perform the good works he has prepared for us.

We receive our reward through God’s Son, Jesus.

And as we have received we must help others believe.


We labor in love,

The love of God,

Our love for our neighbor,

The love for our Savior

So that others will see

What with God they can be.


Yes, at times a grueling task,

But God did not just ask,

No it is a command we must follow

Unless we think any of his words are hollow.


He prepared the works to be done

Knowing we have strength through his Son.

We must labor for God in this life we live.

Just consider the sacrifice for us he did give.


Labor Day, a holiday for man to celebrate the worker’s labor.

Let us make every day a holy day and celebrate,

Let us celebrate and not worry or contemplate,

But let us pray for all things as for God we do labor.


Reflection on Labor Days

Yes, I did labor on this poem.  And I was given a revelation.  I got out my Pocket Rhyming Dictionary so I could have more variety in my rhymes.  There is no section for the letter L and a few others.  I am satisfied with the rhymes God has.


Discussion:






AS WE CLOSE IN PRAYER, MAY WE CONTINUE IN PRAYER


Dear Heavenly Father we come to you in prayer as we end today’s podcast.  Dave and I thank You for Your leading us through the day and into tomorrow.  We pray that today has been pleasing to You...