I JUST CAN'T KEEP MY MOUTH SHUT

I JUST CAN'T KEEP MY MOUTH SHUT

(Psalm 71:15-18, Jeremiah 20:9, Job 32:17 - 33:3)

If I say I will not mention God,

Or speak anymore in His name,

When it comes to the love of my life,

My tongue I cannot tame.

For in my heart is a burning fire;

It is smoldering in my bones.

I am weary of holding it in;

The Spirit within me groans.

I too will have my say;

I will tell others why I live free.

For I am full of words,

And the Spirit within compels me.

Inside I’m like bottled-up wine,

Or new wineskins ready to burst.

I must speak and find relief,

From the words that are immersed.

I will show partiality to no one,

Nor will I flatter with ease,

For if I were skilled in flattery,

My Maker I would not please.

Now, listen to my words;

They’re on the tip of my tongue.

I’m about to open my mouth;

They are worthy to be sung.

My lips speak of what I know.

They come from an upright heart.

But the problem has always been,

I can’t shut up once I start.

Becky Wall

BEAUTY IS AS BEAUTY DOES

BEAUTY IS AS BEAUTY DOES

If beauty is your quest,

Or you want to change your look,

If you want the best of beauty tips,

Get them from the Good Book.

Your heart will make you lovely;

Kindness will shine from within.

You will act with grace and gentleness,

And wear a wholesome grin.

Beauty that is skin deep,

Will wash off or fade with age,

But beauty within is indelible;

Such beauty should be all the rage.

Christ can give any face a lift,

When the fruits of the Spirit are worn.

You will be truly transformed,

If the glory of God you’ll adorn.

Let Jesus light up your eyes;

You’ll be radiant--just you see.

His living water is the fountain of youth;

You will live for eternity

Becky Wall

NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT

NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT

(Matt. 6:25-34)

Don’t worry about life, said Jesus,

You shouldn’t have a care.

Don’t worry about what you’ll eat or drink,

Or even what you will wear.

Isn’t life more important than food,

And the body more important than clothes?

The birds of the air don’t sow or reap,

Yet what they need, the Father knows.

Are you not more valuable than they?

So why do you have such strife?

Who of you by worrying,

Can add a single hour to his life?

Why do you worry about clothes?

See how lilies grow without labor.

No one is dressed as fine as them —

Not even Solomon in all his splendor.

If that is how God clothes the grass of the field,

Here today and gone tomorrow,

Will he not much more clothe you,

You of little faith and much sorrow?

Do not worry saying, “What shall we eat?”

Or “What shall we drink or wear?”

For the pagans run after all these things,

God won’t leave you thirsty or bare.

But first seek his kingdom and righteousness,

Rest assured your needs are known.

Don’t worry about tomorrow,

Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Becky Wall

SONRISE

(Based on Matt. 27:45-28 & I Cor. 15:54)

SONRISE

Jesus had been crucified;

Darkness filled the earth.

Three days thence it trembled;

The earth was giving birth.

An angel rolled the stone away,

Sonlight filed the skies.

Propheces were now fulfilled;

Finally came Sonrise.

Death no longer masters us;

The victory has been won.

Mourning turned to morning,

With the rising of the Son.

--Becky Wall

GIDEON: FROM A ZERO TO A HERO

GIDEON: FROM A ZERO TO A HERO

(Judges 6 and 7)

God’s people turned away from Him;

They were known as the Israelites.

So God allowed them to be,

Oppressed by the Midianites.

The Israelites called to God for help,

While hiding in mountain caves.

The Midianites were stealing their goods,

And treated them worse than slaves.

So the Lord needed a leader,

Whose strength was not of might.

He would ask the man He chose,

To instigate a fight.

An angel spoke to Gideon,

While he was threshing wheat.

He called him a Mighty Warrior,

Tho’ unlikely as one could meet.

Gideon stuttered with fear and doubt,

He knew God needed a hero.

He first thought, “I’m not the man,

For I am but a zero."

“My clan is considered the least,

And I am the least of the least.

I am not the one to ask,

To slay the men from the east.”

The Lord said “I will be with you;

We will do it together.”

Gideon was so amazed,

One could knock him down with a feather.

So Gideon said, “OK, I’ll go,

Just tell me where and when.”

Then Gideon gathered an army,

Of thirty-two thousand men.

But that was way too many,

At least it was in God’s eyes,

For when God is with an army,

It’s not about the size.

The Lord instructed Gideon,

To narrow the army down.

Ten thousand men were brave enough,

The rest returned to town.

But there were still too many,

So God put them through a test.

Three hundred passed unwittingly,

The Lord sent home the rest.

Armed with trumpets and jars,

And torches hidden within,

They were prepared for battle —

Just Gideon and 300 men.

The enemies they would face,

Numbered like grains of sand,

But an army of one is enough,

If the battle is in God’s hand.

Gideon saw the opposing army,

And lost his confidence.

But he was soon to get it back,

Not by chance, but by Providence.

He overheard a dream being told,

While he spied on the enemy nation.

That Gideon would win the war,

Was the enemy’s interpretation.

So Gideon found his strength again,

And his army set forth at night.

With trumpets, jars and torches,

Locked and loaded, they were ready to fight.

They followed God’s instructions,

And in unison gave a shout.

When they broke the jars and blew their horns,

Pandemonium broke out.

The enemies slew each other that day,

God’s army took care of the rest.

The least of the least defeated,

The so-called best of the best.

God was given the glory,

Why they won, there was no doubt.

For they had won a major war,

With a horn, a jar, a torch, and a shout.

--Becky Wall

JOSHUA DEFEATS JERICHO

JOSHUA DEFEATS JERICHO

(Joshua 5 - 6:25)

When Joshua was near Jericho,

A city in the Promised Land,

He looked up and saw a man standing,

With a drawn sword in his hand.

Joshua went up to the man,

And asked on which side was he,

The man replied “Neither.”

He was Commander of God’s army.

Joshua fell on his face in reverence,

Expecting something profound.

The man said, “Take off your sandals,

For you’re standing on holy ground.

Through the man, the Lord said to Joshua,

“I’ve delivered Jericho to you.”

The war had not yet been fought,

But now the time was due.

The Jerichonians were afraid;

They wanted to be left be.

They had heard the amazing story,

Of the parting of the Red Sea.

The city was walled and tightly shut up;

No one went in or out.

An ill wind was blowing their way,

Of that fact, no one had a doubt.

The Lord’s instructions to Joshua,

As Jericho before them lay:

March around it one time for six days,

And seven on the seventh day.

Seven priests were to carry trumpets,

In front of the ark of the covenant.

On the seventh day they would blow their horns,

As they marched in a circular movement.

When the army heard a long trumpet blast,

That was their cue to shout.

The walls would come crashing down,

And they could move freely about.

The seventh day was an all-day event;

For Jericho was large.

The noise had to be deafening,

A wise plan from the One in charge.

The loud blast caused vibrations;

Cracks formed in each stone block.

One could blame the rolling stones,

On the priests playing hard rock.

Rahab and her family were spared,

They were taken outside of the city.

For she had helped the Israelites,

In return, they showed her pity.

The Lord God loves a challenge;

He can always beat the worst odds.

And because the Lord is jealous,

He takes issue with other gods.

Becky Wall

Key words: #unconventionaldefeat #ObediencetoGod #Rahab #sevens #musicalinstruments

#trumpets