Tag Archives: Jeanne Webster

Christian Growth, GUEST AUTHOR, Poems

Pricks & Pride

GUEST WRITER: JEANNE E. WEBSTER

 

A thorn in the flesh is healthier

Than a clot of pride in the heart.

A thorn will prick your attention;

Pride vainly numbs your smarts.

~

A thorn seeks immediate care

To purge the prick of its pain.

Pride probes for its pacifier,

Suavely sucking its own gain.

~

How quickly we yank the thorn;

It is most troublesome at best.

We leave fleshly plump Pride

Feathering and fluffing its nest.

~

Thorns set off many red flags,

Panic buttons and alarms;

Pride smugly veils its soul

Concealing its ways of harm.

~

Give me a thorn any old day,

Within my flesh or without;

I’ll rid it of its harmful deed

And quickly give it a shout!

~

But Pride: O me, O my, I cry!

Is a need I must have for sure.

Please spare me just a little bit.

How else will I ever endure?
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Bible Studies, Devotionals, GUEST AUTHOR

Dear Nicodemus

GUEST WRITER: JEANNE WEBSTER

Dear Nicodemus
©2010 Jeanne E. Webster

Nicodemus, teacher
Order of the Pharisees
Sanhedrin member
Rabbi (master of Israel)

Dear Nicodemus:

This letter is sent to confirm our conversation last night regarding eternal life. You questioned my statement that a person cannot enter heaven without being born again. You wanted evidence that a person can be born again after he’s grown. As a Pharisee, a rabbi and teacher, you don’t comprehend this?

I explained to you that one must be born of the Spirit, not a rebirth from the womb. Being born of the flesh is a physical birth; being born of the Spirit is a spiritual birth. There is a touch from God framing the spiritual birth which is granted to anyone who believes in the Son of man. He descended from heaven and will return to heaven, evidence for the passage of regeneration for everyone who believes in Him.

You have heard me preach of earthly things yet you don’t believe them. How will you have faith in what I tell you of heavenly things? Moses lifted up the brass serpent that represented the sins of Israel; everyone who looked on it was healed. So will the Son of man be lifted up for everyone to see and believe in, and they shall have eternal life. God loved everyone so much that He put upon the Son of Man the sins of the world. He was lifted up on Calvary for all to see and believe. Those who have faith in Him will not perish but have everlasting life in heaven.

You see, Nicodemus, God didn’t send his Son into the world to condemn everyone but to save them. They condemn themselves if they do not believe in the name of the only Son of God. In all reality, this is the truth: light has come into the world to save the souls of everyone. But people love the darkness, as it covers the evil deeds they don’t want discovered. Those that live good lives are drawn to the light because their deeds will be shown to be of God.

The wind blows where it wishes, Nicodemus. Even though you can’t tell where the sound comes from, listen to it, as it is from the Spirit. Believe in it and be born again, this time of the Spirit, and you will have eternal life.

Love,
Jesus

(Paraphrased from John 3:1-21)

 

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Christian Growth, Devotionals, GUEST AUTHOR

Psalm 32 Forgiveness

GUEST AUTHOR: JEANNE WEBSTER

 

Psalm 32 Forgiveness
© 2010 Jeanne E. Webster

Forgiveness for our sins brings us exuberant joy and overwhelming peace,
For God knows the spirit of an honest person and inters our sins forever.
When we keep sins hidden within us, they roar and groan to get out in the open.
The breath of God weighs mightily upon us and our spirits whither.
I confessed to Him my hidden sins and He forgave me.
Pray as quickly as possible after you have sinned, as the longer sin hides, the harder and more heinous it becomes.
You are my shelter and preservation from trouble. I hear your songs of sweet deliverance.
You will teach me how I should live and search the best path for my spirit.
Don’t be dumb as the horse and mule. They need to be led by bridle and bit to keep from stepping on you.
The wicked will reap sorrows but those who trust in the Lord shall be wrapped in His blanket of mercy.
Rejoice and be happy, you lover of God. Shout for joy all you who have an honorable heart.
 
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