Love On Trial

Take up your cross,

Walk in My ways
Give me your will and surrender.
Are you reluctant to do what I say?
You told Me you love Me, remember?

Forsake sinful pleasures,
Abandon the dross
And do not ignore when I call.
If you hold back because you’d face loss,
Then you really don’t love Me at all.

-- Charity, girl, age 18

Scriptural Basis:

""If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” (Joh 14:15)

“Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. "He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me.” (Joh 14:23-24)

“And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it.” (2Jn 1:6)

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.

Author's note:  The poems in this blog were written by my children, ages seven through fourteen. The "Why This Blog" post explains how the Lord inspired these poems in answer to a prayer during illness. I also recommend visiting my children's blog, A Brush with Life, where you will also find beautiful art they have drawn for the glory of God. You can access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."  The "All Hail" painting © 2012 is by Danny Hahlbohm, all rights reserved by the artist.  Now I'd like to ask a very important question.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

From Him, Through Him, To Him

Everything that we enjoy
From God’s good hand have come.
He bestows and we receive,
Just as would a son.

It’s simply just because He chose
To open wide His hand
That we find ourselves so privileged.
It’s not because of man.

Frail as we are, we cannot claim
That “Since I toil with sweat and pain
This is how I’ve been sustained.”
No, God has brought us through.

For by the Lord, we are supplied
Through treasure stores of grace
And to this same good giving Father,
Return his gifts with praise.

-- Charity V. Lacroix, age 18

Scriptural Basis: "For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.” (Rom 11:36)

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotation taken from the NASB.

Author's note:  The poems in this blog were written by my children, ages eleven through eighteen. The "Why This Blog" post explains how the Lord inspired these poems in answer to a prayer during illness. Poems on this site may be copied and used for non-commercial purposes, as long as proper credit and backlink to this blog is given.  No commercial use allowed without express permission from author.  I also recommend visiting my children's blog, A Brush with Life, where you will also find beautiful art they have drawn for the glory of God. You can access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master." Now I'd like to ask a very important question.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________ 

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Fruit in Every Season

When Jesus comes looking for fruit on our tree,
Regardless of the season that it may be,
May He find our branches with something to offer --
Something delightful to Him and the Father.

Love is the first fruit the Lord wants to find.
Is this at the root of our acts toward mankind?
And do we obey Him because “it’s required”?
Or does love compel us to seek what’s desired?

Joy follows second as fruit for the Groom.
It’s a choice that we make in defiance of gloom.
When clouds overshadow to darken our days,
He still wants to find us exuding joy’s rays.

What about peace, the anchor in shaking,
When all is tumultuous, unstable, and quaking?
At all times we ought to have peace in our soul,
Especially when things get out of control

Then there is patience. When we are short-tempered,
We fail in this fruit and haven’t remembered
That frustration and anger do not bring about
The righteousness of God in any amount.

Kindness is something the poor and the weak,
With gazes imploring do hope for and seek.
There may be some sacrifice made on our part,
But really, God’s looking for a cheerful heart.

The sweet fruit of goodness is equally needed
It truly affects the way others are treated.
All that comes forth from our lives as our deeds
Reveals what we’ve laid up within as the seeds.

Now let not the Lord find us failing the test
Whenever He checks for the fruit faithfulness.
Will we keep all our promises, stand by our word?
Pressing ahead, though it’s hard to endure?

The Gardener expects just as much to discover
The fruit gentleness as He would any other.
Look through His eyes at the simple and slow.
Then will compassion from Him through us flow.

Last but not least, do we bear self-control?
We can’t leave it out, for it makes our tree whole.
Our wills must be fully submitted to Christ
For if they take charge, we will pay a great price.

-- Charity Lacroix, age 18, August, 2016

Related Scriptures:
“…so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God…” (Col 1:10)

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." (Gal 5:22-23)

"Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. He said to it, 'May no one ever eat fruit from you again!' And His disciples were listening." (Mar 11:13-14)

"Seeing a lone fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it except leaves only; and He said to it, 'No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you.' And at once the fig tree withered." (Mat 21:19)

"Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." (Rev 22:1-2)

"By the river on its bank, on one side and on the other, will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither and their fruit will not fail. They will bear every month because their water flows from the sanctuary, and their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing." (Eze 47:12)

"I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit." (Joh 15:1-2)

"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned." (Joh 15:4-6)

Related articles:
Fruit in Every Season (article)
Gifts and Fruit of the Spirit: What's the Difference?
Bearing Fruit in Every Good Work
Multiplication

More children's poems:
Perfect for the King
Overflowing Blessings
Use Your Talents
The Sheep and the Goats
Reward for the Overcomer
Vessel for the Master
Connected to the Vine
Make Your Bride Ready

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.

Author's note:  The poems in this blog were written by my children, ages seven through fourteen. The "Why This Blog" post explains how the Lord inspired these poems in answer to a prayer during illness. Poems on this site may be copied and used for non-commercial purposes, as long as proper credit and backlink to this blog is given.  No commercial use allowed without express permission from author.  I also recommend visiting my children's blog, A Brush with Life, where you will also find beautiful art they have drawn for the glory of God. You can access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master." Now I'd like to ask a very important question.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.