Christian Living

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All scriptures throughout this piece are taken from the New International Version.

Luke 18:9-14 (The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector) To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable:

"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'

"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'

"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

As you read the following poem/lullaby, please keep these things in mind:

Whenever you see something in bold type, it is a mother's words. Whenever you see something in underlined type, it is a son's words. Whenever you see SOMETHING IN ALL CAPS, IT IS A "PHARISEE'S"/RELIGION'S WORDS. Whenever you see something in italics, it is The Heavenly Father's/Love's words.

THE MONSTER'S LULLABY

What happened to you, my little son,
To make you do the things you've done?
Could my love not keep you through the pain?
Could my song not quiet the nightmare train?

Mamma, Mamma, it's cold outside.
But you can't wrap me up in a lullaby.
Your song can't stop the inner riot,
Nor make the nightmare train run quiet.

NO ONE LIKE YOU WILL EVER ENTER IN. (Gal. 5:19-21)
LET ME TELL YOU ALL ABOUT YOUR SIN.
I COULD NEVER BE SO SINFUL, LIKE YOU.
I'D NEVER DO THE THINGS YOU DO.

Hush little baby, don't you cry;
Father's gonna sing you a lullaby.
I was looking on when the fists came down.
I saw you there -- a heap on the ground.

My darling boy with dancing eyes,
Why must you wear a monster's disguise?
Be strong and overcome, my son.
Be good despite what the monster's done.

If the earth was flat, I'd catch a ride
On waves that would take me over the side.
But it's round, Mamma, and just as unfair
As the God they tell me was always there.

YOU'RE AN OFFENSE TO ME, SINFUL MAN.
TODAY, FOR GOD, I'M TAKING A STAND.
REPENT, YOU SINNER OF YOUR SINFUL WAY.
IF YOU KEEP SINNING, YOU'RE GOING TO PAY.

Hush little baby, let Me wipe your tears.
Receive My peace. Let it calm your fears.
I saw them when they tore your skin
And created the beast you carry within.

You're the only son I've ever had.
My baby boy, it hurts me so bad
To see you dying even as you wake.
Son, try to be good, for Mamma's sake.

Mamma, Mamma, please don't you cry.
I can't sleep through the monster's lullaby.
It's the trigger screaming that won't let me rest.
I still see the blood as it pours from his chest.

BY THE SWORD YOU LIVE. BY THE SWORD YOU'LL DIE.
YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW AND DESERVE TO CRY.
THE SOUND OF THE BLASTS THAT HAUNT YOUR DREAMS
ARE YOUR JUST REWARD, SO TO ME IT SEEMS.

Hush little baby, there's nothing you've done
That wasn't nailed to the cross and upon My Son.
He was thinking of you when they pierced His side.
Let me wash you clean in His crimson tide.

Sweet little boy that I've held so tight,
If I hold you close, will you sleep tonight?
What can I do, Son? What can I say
To drive the monsters far, far away?

Mamma, Mamma, they condemn me, it's true,
For all the things I've kept hidden from you.
I was robbed of innocence and shamed
And the God they serve, He let me be maimed.

SO YOU GO OUT AND DO WHAT WAS DONE TO YOU?
FORGIVE AND BE FORGIVEN. COME SIT ON MY PEW.
LET ME TELL YOU JUST HOW BADLY YOU SIN.
LET ME DELIVER YOU, SINNER, OF YOUR DEMONS WITHIN.

Hush little baby. Don't you cry.
Father's gonna sing you a lullaby.
I knew you even in your mother's womb.
And you'll see me, Son, beyond the tomb.

Don't look on me, Father. I'm a sinful man.
I fear Thy rod and I fear Thy hand,
Though gentle Thy touch and loving Thy ways.
I shall serve Thee, my Father, the rest of my days.

FALLEN ROCK (Acrostic)

Is it just me, or did you

Hear it too, the sound of
A fallen rock?
Victory looks down at my
Empty, though open palm and weeps.

See my knees as they bleed buckets.
I’ve fallen
Numerous times, countless times,
Needless times,
Ever falling on the very stones I’ve
Dropped.

And yet,
Now, I see and
Declare to you the truth,

For the glory of God
And the sake of our souls,
Let whosoever shall hear
Listen:

Search yourselves.
Have you love for the sinner?
Or would you condemn him to death?
Remember that judgment begins at
The house of God.

Luke 20:17-18 Jesus looked directly at them and asked, "Then what is the meaning of that which is written: " 'The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone? Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed."

Matthew 23:13 Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.

Mark 2:15-17 While Jesus was having dinner at Levi's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him.

When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the "sinners" and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: "Why does he eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"

On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

Luke 13:14-17 Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, "There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath."

The Lord answered him, "You hypocrites! Doesn't each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?"

When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.
© 2005 Joyce Pool

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