Author: parasbovolos

When we try to complete a picture

We will need a hint or two,

And when we unscramble many words

We require certain clues.

Although the words are before our eyes

We simply cannot see,

Because unless there’s a revelation

We’re blindfolded as can be.

We take the hint when we discern

What the motive really is,

As we read between the lines indeed

So the truth we will not miss.

There’s wisdom in the many hints

Particularly pertaining to the Lord,

Because eternal life and our redemption

Is found inside His word.

Jesus spoke in parables

And the hint was always there;

It’s unfortunate they couldn’t see or hear

Since they really did not care.

Likewise, when Christians share the gospel

Their intentions are pure and true,

Because they sincerely point to the important fact;

Salvation for me and you.

We take the hint through body language

Whether one is interested or not,

In what we say or in what we convey

And thus we know just when to stop.

But the hints are always seeds

And when they take root in the heart,

They flourish through God’s grace

Where there’s growth with a new start.

Let’s take the hint and thus be saved

That Jesus died and rose for us,

To redeem our soul and be reconciled

To God the Father through the cross.

(C) P.B 2022

“For God is not the author of confusion but of peace…”. 1 Corinthians 14:33

“That Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.”  1 Corinthians 15:3-4

“Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.”  Matthew 13:13

“And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: ‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown dull.  Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.’”  Matthew 13:14-15

“But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”  Matthew 13:16-17

“But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”  Matthew 13:23

When we try to run from God

We are actually deceiving ourselves,

Because there’s nowhere in the world we can hide

Since His omnipresence dwells.

When we ignore that nagging sensation;

The one deep in our soul,

We will keep ourselves fully occupied

And perhaps never reach any meaningful goals.

When we ignore our calling;

True rest and peace won’t dwell,

Because we’re deliberately avoiding the inevitable

And heartache this will spell.

It’s our stubbornness and our resistance

That become our stumbling blocks,

But God is knocking on the door of our heart

For true freedom to unlock.

Although He is in total control

He’s a gentleman through and through,

And will never force anyone to come

To eternal life and be renewed.

When we quit the fight

And we surrender unto Him,

We discover true life with joy and peace;

With satisfaction from within.

And then the real fight will occur;

The battle for our soul,

Since our spiritual enemy is furious indeed

Having lost his firm stronghold.

But God will help us to overcome

Since He’s faithful and loyal too,

And when we solely trust in His salvation

He will protect us with His truth.

The battle is won through humility

Covered with love and gentleness,

And with a repentant and a contrite heart

And where God’s Spirit manifests.

Jesus didn’t resist the cross

Because He knew His mission well,

As He humbly carried that wretched cross

To save our souls from hell.

(C) P.B. 2022

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”  Matthew 7:7

“He who finds his life will lose it, but he who loses his life for My sake will find it.”  Matthew 10:39

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”  1 Peter 5:8

“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”  1 Timothy 6:12

“Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.”  Ephesians 6:14-16

“He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”  1 John 5:12

“God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.  Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.”  1 Peter 5:5-6

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart – these O God, You will not despise.”  Psalm 51:17

“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit’; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow.”  James 4:13-14

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”  Revelation 3:20

“He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.”  Revelation 3:6

“Repent, and let every one of you be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the Holy Spirit.”  Acts 2:38

When the truth is being concealed

We are merely buying time,

Because it will always eventually resurrect

As it bursts forth when it will shine.

The truth is a well-nourished spring;

It’s a seed that cannot be buried,

Because it always needs to present itself

Since in integrity it’s carried.

The truth will always rise

Because no darkness will oppress,

The fruitful nature of all things true

Since it cannot be suppressed.

If we try to cover any lie

Then more lies will be required,

To justify the initial one

And in the meantime create fires.

The truth will always resurrect

Because its nature is filled with light;

It breaks strongholds and exposes the dark

And will always make things right.

The truth is in God’s forgiveness

Since His promises are true,

And if we confess our transgressions

He will make all things new.

The truth can never fall or collapse

Because its foundation is sure and steady,

Placed in the right hand of the Father

Where all truth cannot be buried.

What is truth? Asked Pilate

As the Truth stood before him,

But found no fault in the Anointed One

With no blame to underpin.

Jesus Christ is the epitome

Of purity and every truth,

And although He died and He was buried 

His resurrection is living proof.

The grave could not contain our Christ

Because death had no grip on Him,

Since the truth will always resurrect

To overcome and win.

Hallelujah to the Risen King;

Victorious in every way,

Where all His suffering was never in vain

Securing our eternal days.

(C) P.B. 2022

“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  John 8:32

“Pilate said to Him, ‘What is truth?’ And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, ‘I find no fault in Him at all.’”  John 18:38

“You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.  He is risen!  He is not here.  See the place where they laid Him.”  Mark 16:6

“He is not here; for He is risen, as He said.”  Matthew 28:6

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  1 John 1:9

“I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.”  John 14:6

THE CRUCIFIED CHRIST Our Jesus our sweet Savior How Your body bore the pain, To satisfy God’s wrath So man’s sin cannot remain. The crown of thorns it pierced Your precious holy head, To eradicate our evil thoughts And the unfitly words we’ve said. The nails driven in Your hands This symbolised so much, It crucified the things we do Of unclean things we touch. Your feet they felt the sting As the nails were driven in, To remove ungodly pleasures Where our feet walk towards sin. And the soldiers gave You vinegar To quench Your very thirst; To heal our wicked tongues And all the bitter of outbursts. The soldiers pierced Your side Perhaps close to Your heart, To spear our desires Which keep God and us apart. And Your blood had to be shed To wash away transgressions; To heal our broken souls And to wipe all our pretensions. And You rose after three days As Your mission was complete, You made our bodies whole So we do not taste defeat. Your resurrection speaks aloud As we rise to life anew, And dead to sin once and for all To give glory back to You. (C) P.B. 2011 “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him and with His stripes we are healed.” Isaian 53:5 “Christ is hated because sin is loved.” Matthew Henry

Our teddy bears in our childhood

Provided comfort and cuddles too,

And although they could not see or hear

We believed the bond was true.

Our real-life teddies are our dogs

And are inspiring as can be,

Because the life that is instilled in them

Reveals God’s glory that we see.

They are loving and compassionate

Without conditions and are true,

They warn us and protect us

And would lay their life down for us too.

They are gentle and are fluffy

And their sweetness it remains,

They are tender and so cuddly;

A dear blessing every day.

They are loyal and understanding

And when we cry from the heart,

They feel our pain and lick our tears;

They’re a remarkable work of art.

It’s the life inside that is from God

That makes them beautiful,

And our childhood teddies can never compare

To our dogs, so adorable.

They are authentic and so pure

And most look like teddy bears,

But they’re genuine, so clever and wise;

They’re the wheat among the tares.

When we’re dead in sin and trespasses

And where God’s Holy Spirit does not dwell,

We’re like our childhood teddies

Merely made so they can sell.

Because society’s ways are conditional

Filled with labels and much stuff,

Where the outside looks so lovely

But where we never have enough.

Jesus died and rose again

So we can be reconciled,

To the Father as we’re new creations

Where His Spirit will abide.

God’s glory is pure and beautiful

And His creation is so fine,

And when new life is breathed within

It is splendid and divine.

(C) P.B. 2022

“Having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because ‘All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass.  The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the word of the Lord endures forever.’”  1 Peter 1:23-24

“You number my wanderings; put my tears into Your bottle; are they not in Your book? When I cry out to You…”. Psalm 56:8

“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”  John 15:13

“And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins.”  Ephesians 2:1

“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).  Ephesians 2:4-5

“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,”  Ephesians 1:7-8

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”  Galatians 5:22

“To God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever.  Amen.”  Romans 16:27

Oh butterfly how sweet and tender

Is your precious little frame,

So delicate and so petite

Where your beauty does remain.

From a caterpillar you became

A wonder and a delight,

From the dark enclosure of your chrysalis

You are precious in our sight.

But the struggle it was real

As the exodus occurred,

And needed to remain untampered

When the butterfly was birthed.

Likewise when God convicts us

The struggle is very real,

But prepares us unto repentance

So to His beauty we will yield.

Oh butterfly your specks of color

Are beautiful and perfect too,

You simply are a masterpiece

And so gracious in all you do.

Your life span is so very short

But indeed a reminder too,

That our new birth is imperative

When God makes all things new.

From the depths of darkness you were born

But you flourish in all your ways,

And your beauty is a constant reminder

Of the sweetness in every day.

Oh butterfly how remarkable;

You encourage us so well,

Since your gentleness and purity

God’s goodness it does spell.

Your liberty is evident

And you’re free in every way,

Oh butterfly you’re so inspiring

As you bring color to our days.

We thank you for your life

And although you may feel insignificant,

Your presence it speaks volumes

Since you’re truly heaven sent.

(C) P.B. 2022

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”  2 Corinthians 5:17

“Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”  2 Corinthians 3:17

“Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.”  Psalm 29:2

What will it profit if we gained

Every aspect on this earth,

But neglected the most important fact –

Our spiritual rebirth?

What will it profit if we gained

All the respect in all we did,

Unless we gave all the glory to God

And sincerely did thank Him?

What will it profit if we became

The most notable in our field,

But where arrogance became our necklace

And to God we did not yield?

What will it profit if we were wealthy

And rich in every way,

But didn’t realise we were poor and naked

Where deception did remain?

It will not profit us at all

Whether we drove a fancy car,

Because unless Jesus was in our driver’s seat

We couldn’t travel far.

And it certainly will not profit us

If our mansions were idolised,

Because it’s the humble and the poor in spirit

That’s precious in God’s eyes.

There’s nothing wrong with having all the above

But unless God is our first love,

Our priorities and our focus

Will not be on Him above.

It will not profit us in the end

Because all that we did achieve,

Will turn to rubble and be burnt

Unless in Christ we did believe.

True dividends are found in Jesus;

There simply is no other way,

Because it was He that died for us and rose;

A fact that will remain.

(C) P.B. 2022

“For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?  For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.”  Matthew 16:26-27

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  Matthew 6:19-21

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve God and mammon.”  Matthew 6:24

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.’”  John 14:6

“Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’”  John 3:3

“Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”  Acts 4:12

“Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’ – and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked…”  Revelation 3:17

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart – These, O God, You will not despise.”  Psalm 51:17

How can it possibly be

That the seeing eye can see,

Or the heart that beats two billion times

Is found in you and me?

How can it possibly be

That the hair follicles so fine,

Create like a foliage as an ornament;

Could it be absolutely divine?

How can it possibly be

That our exquisite frame as well,

Is made from a tiny sperm and egg

Yet brilliance it will spell?

How can it possibly be

That the brain inside our head,

Can calculate, think and to create

With the ideas it is fed?

It really is a miracle

And when the eyes of our heart will see,

It points to a marvellous Creator

Who made us all exquisitely.

He deposited so much of Him

Since in His image we are made,

And in His likeness He created us

But where no two will be the same.

He instilled feelings and emotions

So we can love from the heart,

To make wise decisions and to serve as well

From where His grace shall not depart.

A brilliant heart and soul

Is responsible indeed,

Since His touch is purely magnificent

Where masterpieces we do see.

We will never understand

From the beginning to the end,

Of how this phenomenon

Could possibly be sent.

But through faith we can see

To perceive and understand,

That all creation is from the Holy One

And constructed by His hand.

We are a walking miracle

And let nobody rob your soul,

Because it is Jesus Christ who died for us

To make us spiritually whole.

And the greatest miracle of all

Is when Jesus rose from the dead,

As His mission was accomplished

On the cross in which He bled.

(C) P.B. 2022

“Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come…” Ecclesiastes 12:1

“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die…”  Ecclesiastes 3:1-2

“He has made everything beautiful in its time.  Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no-one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.”  Ecclesiastes 3:11

“For you formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb.  I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made, marvellous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.”  Psalm 139:13-14

“Have you not known?  Have you not heard?  The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary.  His understanding is unsearchable.”  Isaiah 40:28

“Then He said to them, ‘Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations…”. Luke 24:46-47

“As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love…this is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”  John 15:9-12

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”  Revelation 22:13

There will be a banquet;

The wedding feast of the Lord,

A reconciliation

As promised in His word.

And many will be invited

But they will refuse to attend,

Because other matters will grip the heart

Where distractions will be sent.

And there will be excuses

One upon the other,

Whether it’s property issues or marital requirements

Or commitments to be covered.

But the anger of the master

Will become aroused indeed,

Because the many invited to the great banquet

Refused to partake or to take heed.

So, the poor, the lame and crippled

Will be invited ultimately,

Whilst those who refused shall never taste

His banquet in eternity.

It’s those with a contrite heart

That realise their need for a Savior,

By accepting His sacrifice on their behalf

For salvation, and not their behaviour.

Our thoughts can be crippled

By fear and anxiety,

But Jesus says to those who labor

And are heavy laden ‘Come to Me’.

And without Christ we are poor

In the spiritual realm so true,

But God’s calling desires to make us rich

When we’re totally renewed.

This parable is a sober warning

That when idolatry grips the soul,

We neglect our greatest calling

To eternal life behold!

As we repent sincerely from the heart

For our indifference as well,

May the Lord grant us mercy

And rescue us from hell.

(C) P.B. 2022

“Then He said to him, ‘A certain man gave a great supper and invited many…but they all with one accord began to make excuses.  The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it.  I ask you to have me excused.’  And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them.  I ask you to have me excused.”  Still another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’”  Luke 14:16-20

“Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.”  Luke 14:21

“For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.”  Luke 14:24

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”  Matthew 11:28

How beautiful from the core

As it extends far and wide;

The scent of a rose so wonderful

With a beauty it cannot hide.

Birthed from the soil below;

How could this possibly be?

Wrapped in manure at its inception

Becoming a wonder to smell and see.

The scent of a rose is a miracle

Along with its floral head,

That creates a beauty that surpasses all

In its precious garden bed.

The scent of a rose is a testament

That a creator does exist,

And that from the depths of darkness in the soil of the heart

God’s hand is in our midst.

From ashes to beauty it’s a reminder

That nothing is impossible with the Lord,

And that many treasures will burst forth

As His sovereignty unfolds.

The scent of a rose is beautiful;

One of the sweetest we can smell,

As we reflect on God’s goodness and His kindness

And on His miracles as well.

But every rose has its thorn;

It’s a reminder to take care,

To admire but not to ever abuse

Since there’s a mission that it shares.

Our Jesus wore the crown of thorns

But His beauty He did reveal,

And the sweetest aroma of His sacrifice

When our eternal life He sealed.

He rose again and defeated the grave

Along with every darkness and sin;

Our Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior

Who saves our soul within.

(C) P.B. 2022

“Then God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth’, and it was so.”  Genesis 1:11

“He has made everything beautiful in its time.  Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.”  Ecclesiastes 3:11

“To give them beauty for ashes…the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”  Isaiah 61:3

“When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand.  And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’”  Matthew 27:29

“That Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.”  1 Corinthians 15:3-4

“O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth!”  Psalm 8:9