Poetry

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The Remnants of all that Remains

I’ve gone too far and waited too long
Now I am lost like a bird without a song
Despair and depression have taken its hold
Guilt and shame now floods my soul
All that is left for the world to see, are the
remnants of the former me.
So much pain has clouded my vision
I have forgotten my goals and terminated my mission
All that is left for the world to see, is a
Shadow of what used to be.
When dawns breaks and casts away the fears
I am left to wash away the tracks of my tears
All that is left for the world to see, is a
wealth of sinful pleasures eating away at me.
Many hateful words have been written and spoken
But only the prayers sent up to heaven will cause
this stronghold to be broken.
All that remains for God to see is this sinners’ cry
and her repentant moan.
All that is left for the world cannot be seen but heard;
it is the voice of an angel surrounding God’s throne.


When I wrote these words I had one particular person in mind. I cried when I wrote the final verse because it sounded like a prophetic forecast of this person’s impending death. I attempted to rewrite the last verse, but God wouldn’t allow me to change it. In life we have to face the truth of the consequences of our actions. We will reap what we sow; it is God’s cycle of life. If we repent of our sins we can be forgiven, but the actions made outside of God’s purpose for our life will catch up to us or it will fall on the generation of our children and their children. Read the Old Testament of the Bible and you will witness this very thing happening over and over again. If you know someone who is struggling in a life of sin, do all you can to be a good witness before them. You can’t change their behavior; it is up to them to want to be changed by God. Pray for God to send them a spirit of repentance and allow His will to be done in their life. We should show love to the person even though we separate ourselves from their sinful lifestyle. This means we love the person but not the sin. Remember the sin is the action not the person, place or thing. 1John 5:16 says, “If you see a Christian brother or sister sinning in a way that does not lead to death, you should pray, and God will give that person life. But there is a sin that leads to death, and I am not saying you should pray for those who commit it.” When we pray for people given over into a sinful lifestyle it is because we are commanded to love the brethren, but all too often prayer is the last thing we do. A person who is content to live outside the purpose of God for their life will eventually take on a hardness of heart which cannot be reached by the words or acts of our witness. God will bless the prayers made from a sincere heart, but He also looks upon the heart of the backslider. A given amount of time is allowed for God’s grace to cover the willfully disobedient heart. We can reject God’s call of repentance for only so long; once the boundary God has set has expired no amount of prayer will help. The sinner has willfully denied the call of God to repent and be converted, rejecting the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and their choice of action will guarantee them physical death. This is a hard concept to except, because we humans like to picture God as a soft hearted, all loving, and forgiving Spirit.


To those who are stuck in this thought I recommend you review the Old Testament and witness the destruction God brought on nations who refuse to follow God’s commands. Read about how even God’s chosen servants suffered lost because of their sinful acts. Jonah, David, Solomon, Jacob, and Moses are just a few examples but there are many more throughout the whole bible. You might be surprised by the names in the last statement because you remember the good things about them and their faithfulness to serve God, but study their actions in their lack of total faith in God and the consequences which followed their actions. Next, go to the New Testament and read what God has to say in I Corinthians 11:27-30 &32. Just so we don’t get it twisted; a backslider might turn their back on God in willful sin and after time it can lead to spiritual death then physical death. This is not a punishment from God, the judgment will comes later; this is only the harvest of what our actions have sown. The soul of the believer will still go to heaven, because our salvation is not taken away if we were indeed saved. The choices of the backslider led to their own death, so therefore, they are called home in time to keep them from causing other souls to fall in a fate worse then death; this is an eternity of damnation and separation from God.

My prayers are for the person for whom I wrote this poetic verse to and to any reader who may unfortunately find themselves is this cycle of unrighteous living. God is calling you to repentance and urging you to be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect His will really is. (Romans 12:2)

Listed are three key elements to keep in mind in order to be converted.
1. The Crises: This is where the conversion takes place out of a realization we can’t change on our own. We must reach out for the only help that is able to save us from ourselves and we do this with a broken and contrite spirit. The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and rescues such as have a contrite spirit. The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. ( Psalms 34: 18 & 51: 17)



2. The Process: This is how we walk out this conversion on a daily bases. God has called us out of sin into a life of holiness; this is a process of sanctification. I Thessalonians 4:1-7 should be reviewed to get a better understanding of all that is involved in this process. Some other Scriptures to review are I Corinthians 6:15-20& Hebrews 12:11; Philippians 1:6; St. John 17:17. God has called us into a life of holiness. Holiness is important to yield the fruit of righteousness so we can represent the image of Christ in the earth. Holiness is not the method to get to heaven it is the process of proof we are on our way. Now we must abound in truth, which is the truth of God’s word. We must learn the truth, believe the truth, and exercise the truth by applying it to our life through faith. Sin is the willful refusal to live by the truth of God’s word.

3. The Reward: If we are to redeem the time God has given us on this earth to serve according to His purpose for our life then, we can look forward to receiving a reward when we go to heaven.
Matthew 5:12 says; Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so
persecuted the prophets which were before you. Luke 6:23 says; Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: We need to position ourselves to maximize this hour of witness by working in service for the kingdom of heaven. We are saved to serve, we serve because we love Christ, and because He loved us, He died on a cross in order that we might be saved so that we might serve Him. Through our service we lead others to be saved and the cycle continues till we take our last breath and then, after the judgment, we receive our reward. Now read St. John 17:13-36 to see how great Christ’s love for us, He has already prayed for us.

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