You think you have all the answers
And sometimes you probably do
You know all this information
And want us to know it too
Well, thank you for the info
And the time you took to share
But no one cares how much you know
‘Til they know how much you care

As your friend, I know you mean well
I like knowing how you feel
I love hearing your opinion
‘Cause I know it’s not a spiel
You’re sincere-I understand that
But, of arrogance-beware
No one cares how much you know
‘Til they know how much you care

Pride’s a big temptation
Believe me, I’m tempted too
It’s so easy to assume
That no one knows the things you do
So keep learning, I’ll keep listening
I’m just warning you-take care
‘Cause no one cares how much you know
‘Til they know how much you care

I smell the incense burning
See the shadow of the flames
Flickering on those ancient walls
Inscribed with ancient names

I see all those knees bending
Hear the murmurings of prayer
And the darkness that surrounds me
Is more than I can bear

I close my eyes to fight the smell
The sound, the sickening sight
Of the dead that do not realize
They’ve been robbed of all their life

They pray to gods that cannot hear
To wood and brass and gold
They live in a world of make-believe light
Believing the lies they’re told

How I wish the truth could reach them
Yet their hearts are closed too tight
Lord, I pray that you will hear them
As they cry into the night

They are empty and don’t know that
You can fill their souls with love
They are blinded and don’t know that
You give vision from above

And though they cry to gods that will
And cannot fix their plight
Lord, fill these broken, empty hearts
Hear their cries into the night

We’re off to battle.

We’ll bring no armor
No sword to defend
No shield to protect
No comrade on whom we can depend
No strategy-only utter neglect
Powerless.

We’re off to battle.

We’ll fight this war
Freedom masking slavery
Poverty masked with wealth
Cowardice masked with bravery
Sickness masked with health

We’ll fight this war
Confident-yet so naive
We’ll face this foe
With no reprieve
If ever should our trusty plan
Fail, and leave us
Powerless.

We’re off to battle.

Shall we leave our swords behind?
Forget the lives our shields protect?
Reject our comrades sure that time
Will prove how harmless our neglect?

We’re off to battle.

The war will be waged, the battle fought
Whether we march prepared or not
The enemy thrives on his complacent foes
And how he’ll attack, nobody knows

How, where, and when he’ll attack
Nobody knows but he
But, if he knows our weakness he
Can be assured of victory

We’re off to battle.

Every day we make a choice
To march determined or gently stroll
To cry out, “Surrender!” or with silenced voice
Wait for the fighting to take its toll

We’re off to battle.

Our choice does not decide the start
Of this great war for it has already begun
And every day we fight in a battle
Oftentimes, not even knowing who’s won

Our choice does not affect the pow’r
Of the enemy’s large, mighty forces but how
Those forces will stand up against our own
If we have the support of the King on his throne

Our choice cannot rewrite the damage that’s done
It can’t stop the battle already begun
But, the one thing our choice can accomplish, the ONE…
At the end it assures us THE WAR HAS BEEN WON!

So, now, we’re off to battle.

We’ll choose to prepare for the fight as we should
Bring our swords,our shields,our comrades and God’s will as the plan
That choice will determine our victory and…
No matter how mighty, that devil won’t stand!

Rejected
We walk away
With our heads hanging down
Hurt, disappointed, and ashamed

Rejected
We hide our faces
From the accepted and proud
Wondering who’s to blame

Rejected
We lose hope
Dreading the end coming
Yet trying to hasten it

Rejected
We think in slow
Motion-shocked by the shunning
That steady patience wasted

Rejected
We forget the rejected
The ones who came before
Traveled this hard path alone

Rejected
We forget the Rejected
That One who came before
To walk this hard world alone

Rejected
Yet we feel
Only a fraction of the pain
That the Savior had to feel

Rejected
We will heal
For the scarring only stained
The surface layer easiest to heal

But, the Rejected
He humbly bore
The full shame of every sin
That His creation could commit

And the Rejected
He suffered more
Than these wounds we hold within
He sunk down into the pit

He was rejected
We despised Him
His own nation-planned before creation
Hung Him on a cross-a cruel sign of shame

He is rejected
We despise Him
To this day His own creation
Is ashamed to claim His name

Do We Reject Him?: Devotional Thoughts

http://beyondthesewords.com/?page_id=274

You’ve heard the gospel message
More times than you can say
You sit and occupy yourself
With all you had planned today
You think that you have time
“There’s more important things tonight”

But, if there are people who haven’t heard it
You have no right to hear it twice

You have no right to hear again
About the Savior’s dying love
The sacrifice He made so you could
Have a home with Him above
You have no right to hear again
That your sins can be washed away
And that God’s own Son was sent to pay
A debt you couldn’t pay

There are people in this city
In this nation, on this earth
That never have been told
How much their souls are truly worth
They are hungry, they are poor
And their religions are just lies
Yet they continue on that downward path
And never realize
That Jesus Christ was sent from God
To die on Calvary’s tree
To bear the wrath of God
That should have fallen on you and me

No one’s ever told them
And they’ll die and land in hell
While you are told the story
That you yourself can tell

They have never heard it
So we’ll tell it over there
And maybe they will listen
Maybe they will care
That the Creator died to save them
For their sin to pay the price

If there are people who haven’t heard it
You have no right to hear it twice

As the rain falls on my window
I see a rainbow in my dreams
And the colors are the colors of my heart
Beating
While I frolic in the cloud fields
I’m on top of all the world
I see the colors, and the colors are the heart
Of what I’m feeling

I’m yellow with sunshine that’s shining on my face
I’m white with innocence and youthful grace
I’m blue with peace, green with life
And red with love that’s pulsing through my soul
My sweet euphoria, my rainbow

When I wake up from my dreaming
The rain drenches my face
And the colors aren’t my colors anymore
Dream over
As I think of all I’m missing
And I wallow in self-pity
All the colors, they have left me desperately
Searching for cover

I’m red with passion, calling out
Your name into the distance
I’m green with envy, angry you picked her
Instead of me
I’m black with hurt and disappointment
Why’s this happening
Where’s the rainbow?
I can’t dream
And where’s my rainbow…

A long-hidden jewel
In a leatherbound case
Enticing you, drawing you near
Deep in its pages
Adventure awaits
It’s calling you, “Come!” Don’t you hear?
Each volume a story
That needs to be told
And told in a truly new way
For though it’s been told
To the crowds many times
To you, it is born on this day
Each page is a window
Into worlds unknown
A step of faith toward the unseen
Each word a wheel turning
In one author’s mind
A picture of his living dream
Each letter a brushstroke
In an aged artist’s hand
A masterpiece dreading its end
For when the last page,
The last word, and the last
Letter is written-his pen
The instrument bringing
His vision to life
Is laid down and lifted no more
And the jewel of adventure’s
Locked safely away
‘Til one dreamer can open its door.

Soldiers going off to battle
Fighting wars with bravery
While we sit in comfort, knowing
That our freedom is not free

We pledge allegiance to the flag
That tells all we’ve received
Red stripes, the blood of countless soldiers
Proving freedom is not free

Let us not forget their service
Sacrifice to make us free
But, even more important let us
Not forget Mt. Calvary

Yes, the soldiers earn our trust
But, how much more should He?
The Son of God loved us enough
To give His life up willingly

And though the soldiers often give their
Lives just so we can be free
No soldier in the world has power
To guarantee our liberty

Yet Christ not only fought the battle
Dying, suffering agony
But rising from the grave He gave
The final shout of victory

Death has lost its sting, yet now
Through new eyes we may see
Jesus’ awful death reveals that
Truly-freedom is not free.

We think we are loving Him when we say the words
But it all becomes routine
We plan and we hustle to do things right
Trying to be like God’s serving machine

Glancing over the sunrise He’s given to enjoy
With no time in a day to spare
Taking for granted the stars in the sky
And the beautiful warm summer air

Running on the beach with our iPods plugged in
Whining when shells scratch our toes
Reading two chapters of Scripture each day
Just so that everyone knows

When was the last time we gazed on the cross
And worshipped in love at His throne
Or when was the last time we read Christ’s own words
And prayed that He’d make himself known?

We are His bride and we act like a stranger
Saying hello and soon waving goodbye
We have so much to do and no time for our Savior
In the new lives He gave us when He came to die

We cannot embrace Him if we try to replace Him
With rules and full schedules and expensive ties
And can we truly give Him our hearts
When we can’t even give Him a moment of our lives?

I know that it’s easy to say we have
Fallen behind and we must change our ways
And that it’s a lot harder to love with our hearts
When our minds go such different ways

But, isn’t it easy to spout off, “I love you”
Those three words so often said
Without even stopping to praise our Redeemer
For all He has done and the blood that He shed?

He gave up His own life that we might have life
And have it more abundantly
Not so that we could refasten the chains
From which we have been made free

Let us love Him the way He loves us
Passionately-and pray
That the boundless love He has for us
Would become more real each day.

Welcome to my nightmare
That lives on into the day
Welcome to my dungeon
Where all sunshine fades away
Come on in, step right up
Feel free to look around
But, don’t be surprised at what you see
Or at that constant humming sound

It’s just time sucking all the life out of me
It’s just pain, the haunting never ends
The dark, the noise, with one way out
One way doors so I can let you in
So go ahead, haunt me still
Taking everything you will
Not much here, that you’ll see
But you’re welcome to what left of me

Who’s this wanderer? Who’s the fool
That knocks at my cold door?
I wish I knew so I could show you
What I live here for
I fought the past, it won at last
And now I wait for the future to take me away

From the nightmare that lives on
From the dungeon to the dawn
From the sight and sound of all of my mistakes
Lead me out of endless night
From the dark into the light
Give me one more chance to break this vicious cycle

From time sucking all the life out of me
From pain, the haunting never ends
The dark, the noise, with one way out
One way doors so I can let you in
I’m sick of hearing these haunting voices
It’s time to take chances, make my choices
There’s nothing left to scream at me
I’m taking back what’s left of me.