It's an interesting tug-of-war One in which we watch the score Why didn't the Archangel slay the Devil? Instead, God chose to keep things more level
The question isn't just one of simple theology But crucial in understanding God's divinity God's mercy stains St. Michael's holy sword For the price of free will that every soul affords
God cannot be God without this choice But to speak of the Devil in free voice This is the faith that doesn't require defense As it is genuine without an ounce of pretense
St. Michael drove Lucifer from Heaven to Hell On that fateful day when fallen angels fell Vanquished by Heaven's saintly archangels To the brimstone in which they now dwell
Yet, man's free will is destroying the cities Who, through free will, are caught up in atrocities As some of us wait on the coming of the Lord We await the promise of our heavenly award
Patiently we wait at the foot of God's kingdom We stand by our faith as our greatest wisdom Amazed as this fight among angels as it contends Until the end times come to bring this to its end
(c) August 16, 2023 Michael Doyle All Rights Reserved
The nearness of God depends on you The distance felt depends on what you do What you think and how you keep it real Everywhere is the presence of God, if you can feel
He is the God of goodness and mercy You can drink His living waters when you're thirsty Your personal God is one that you can trust It's best not optional, because you know that you must
It's a matter of developing awareness of is presence Through the fruits of the Holy Spirit and all its presents The Lord is our shepherd restoring our souls One that we should praise and extol
To fail to be aware of His kindness Is a matter of utmost spiritual blindness God is always with us in all that we do It's like that for all and not just a few
In whatever it is that God might ask His promise is to be with us in all our tasks Throughout the Bible, in page after page God is with us throughout every age
Even the Apostle Paul in fighting the good fight Walked every step within God's grace and light Forever, God is always one and the same Unchanging in every circumstance and frame
Our hearts are not to be troubled in our belief His presence is constant and our needs brief Christ left us in the care of the Holy Spirit His wisdom is always present if we will only hear it
In all the world, the Gospel must be preached So that all of God's children will be reached Throughout the world , there is a known impact The greatness of faith calls for all to react
The greater works are found in the cross Shared salvation is given so there'd be no loss The Jesus in me is the same Jesus in you Every word from the Trinity will always ring true
The spirit then is God's holy seal That serves us regardless of how we feel Continually in our thoughts every day Our good conscience keeps God present in every way
(c) August 16, 2023 Michael Doyle All Rights Reserved
“To grant that there is a supreme intelligence who rules the world and has established laws to regulate the actions of his creatures; and still to assert that man, in a state of nature, may be considered as perfectly free from all restraints of law and government, appears to a common understanding altogether irreconcilable. Good and wise men, in all ages, have embraced a very dissimilar theory. They have supposed that the deity, from the relations we stand in to himself and to each other, has constituted an eternal and immutable law, which is indispensably obligatory upon all mankind, prior to any human institution whatever. This is what is called the law of nature … Upon this law depend the natural rights of mankind … The Sacred Rights of Mankind are not to be rummaged for, among old parchments, or musty records. They are written, as with a sun beam, in the whole volume of human nature, by the Hand of the Divinity itself; and can never be erased or obscured by mortal power.” – Alexander Hamilton, in The Farmer Refuted (1775).
“Solitude, though it may be silent as light, is like light, the mightiest of agencies; for solitude is essential to man. All men come into this world alone; all leave it alone.” – Thomas De Quincey, writer (15 Aug 1785-1859)
On the morning of the interview It seems the world is thrown askew The keeper of the door is the one closing it And on most mornings, it's easy to be forgetting it
When a mouth runs, it seems to forget to close Saying too much as an open mouth often does And talking one's self out of what is needed When a job could be found if discretion is heeded
It's a coincidence of the present application When the spare time is spent mostly in aspiration Languages and lessons are often forgotten As the cracks of London themselves are caught in
The seemingly forgettable experiences of the mundane That seem more shabby, trite, and possibly inane But if you close your eyes tight a moment in pretend Sometimes, magically, it works out in the end
Bright and early, the future starts with the day And it is out the door, on the bus, and you're late anyway Dressed up in a new suit, hopeful, and off to a fresh start It's the kind of pace that is great for the frail heart
The company sets the tone of falsely worn formality While putting on the pretense of on big, happy family Knowing that your new boss wishes you had actually died That's the moment when you really wonder why you replied
Nothing less than excellence is or will be expected You have the boss's assurance that all else will be rejected Everything is set out as if with a sense of exactitude There will be no questions asked, tasks are given with gratitude
The boss's cruelty turns out to be his greatest specialty And you grimace at your fate knowing its inevitability While nervousness minds the thoughtlessness of the matter In all the small talk and mindless, endless chatter
There be dragons under the desks to give their surprise And they shuffle quietly disappearing before your eyes At least, that's how your day went as you tell it The first day at the new job and you'll never forget it
(c) August 15, 2023 Michael Doyle All Rights Reserved
“If your faith has not pulled you away from your political party in multiple ways, your politics might be shaping your faith more than your faith is shaping your politics.” -Erick Erickson
Continually and helpfully, we must set God's word before us studied, not just a peek Seeking to live as Jesus would teach Keeping the things above within our needed reach
Focused on what is truly our very best That we might pass God's needed test Seeing with God's eyes to walk life in the good Keeping of God's ways as best these are understood
In the Word of God, we can help put evil to death Given toward purity until our last drawn breath Until our tempting impulses are able to be put down And we as believers can wear victory's crown
Our minds are Satan's tumultuous battlefields For the good of our souls, we must not yield Satan's path is what we once lived and walked Pushed and pulled by pleasure chosen as the Devil talked
The Word of Christ dwells within each of us Compelled by truth but extremely flawed because While God leads us to do the things of light We seem to fumble at times and not always do right
We walk this best that we can, continuously growing As we keep pure within God's word, learning and knowing The living word of God flows ever outward As we keep our focus moving toward
What God would want His family to do As we decide to live for what is true The Devil's pleasures are only for a season To fall for these is only the self's treason
(c) August 14, 2023 Michael Doyle All Rights Reserved
Heading out of Australia to escape this Aussie winter. First stop Japan, then UK/Ireland and if work doesn't call me back, onto Chicago. I will make it up as I go along
