God loves you!
You’re a Child of God,
so take after your Heavenly Father.
Live in love
as Christ loved us
and gave His life for us,
sacrificially –
the purest possible incense
offered up to God.
Let your words rise
like perfume in the air
with no mention of
sexual exploits or gluttonous goals
or any inappropriate behavior!
You’re Beloved of God,
so it’s just not right to tell
dirty stories or talk trash!
Instead, use your words to lift
your thanks, thanks,
thanks, and more thanks
up to God.
Think about it, and you’ll know
that no one who lives to satiate
the world’s insatiable appetite
for sex and money
will find anything remotely like that
to inherit in the Kingdom of God
Christ gives.
Oh, please! Don’t let anyone fool you
with empty words or an empty life.
Such sins arouse only
the anger of God, Who gets irked
every time His kids don’t even try to obey
the loving way He gives us to live.
And, oh, please! Don’t partner up
with people who hide from God.
Maybe you once wanted
to sneak around in the dark, too,
but now the Lord has lit you,
live as children sparked with light!
Light causes goodness to grow –
and truth too, which always gains
God’s approval.
So think about things that please the Lord,
and shun useless works
that lurk in worthless places.
Expose shameful secrets for what they are
for light makes it easy to see and assess
the true nature of love and anything.
As the saying goes:
“Wake up, Sleepy-head!
Arise from the dead,
and Christ will shine
with you.”
© 2013, Mary Sayler, prayer-a-phrase, Ephesians 5:1-14
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