WHAT DO YOU THINK OF JESUS?

What do YOU think of Jesus?
Was He a man or is He God?
That question’s as important now
As when this earth He trod.

What do YOU think of Jesus?
It’s an answer YOU must provide,
For it will resolve for eternity
Where YOUR SOUL will abide.

What do YOU think of Jesus?
Is He YOUR Lord and King?
Or is He but a word that taints your lips
As you curse some earthly thing?

What do YOU think of Jesus?
Will you claim Him as Saviour and Friend?
Will you trust Him as Lord and Master
‘Ere your earthly life shall end?

What do YOU think of Jesus?
It’s a question YOU CANNOT IGNORE,
For no response is admission of guilt,
And torment for evermore.

Yes, what DO YOU think of Jesus?
Somehow YOU must reply
To this greatest of all questions
Before YOUR TIME comes to die.

What DO YOU think of Jesus?
Claim Him and all will be well -
But should you choose to reject Him
YOU condemn YOURSELF to HELL!

a. franklin staples
1987

Copyright © 1987 By Allison F. Staples

From “Suffering Servant” To
“King of Kings”


“Are you a king, as some have said?”
The Roman procurator asked,
As Jesus stood before him
For his sentence to be passed.

But Jesus only answered him,
“For THIS cause I came
Into the world,” - that is, to die
On a Roman cross of shame.

For Jesus knew that His hour had come,
The time for Him to die,
The time to pay the price of sin
Demanded by God most high.

No kingly crown adorned His head
As Pilate judgment passed;
Instead there was a crown of thorns
And blood drops flowing fast.

As a suffering servant He had come
Into this world of strife
To pay the awful price of sin
With His own precious life.

And so He did, when on the cross
He suffered, bled and died,
That I might have Eternal Life,
Who should be crucified.

No, not as a king did He come to earth
As God in human form
To be born as a babe in a manger
On that long ago blessed morn,

But as THE KING He will return,
For He’s coming back to earth
To reign for a thousand glorious years
On the planet of His birth.

As “King of kings and Lord of lords”
He will return again,
And every knee on earth shall bow
At JESUS’ precious Name.

a. franklin staples      

December 17, 1988

Copyright© 1988 by Allison F. Staples

HEAVEN IS A REAL PLACE

Heaven is a real place,
Not an ethereal somewhere out there,
And one day, perhaps soon, I shall look on the face
Of King Jesus, in that city so fair.

Heaven is a real place, my friend,
Just as real as all that we see,
With its walls of jasper and its gates of pearl,
And its River of Life flowing free.

Heaven, my friend, is a real place
Where the streets are paved with pure gold;
Where the Lamb is the Light and there is no night
For those who have entered God’s fold.

Heaven is a real place, my friend,
Where joys indescribable await
For all who will accept Christ Jesus as Lord
And will enter in by the gate.

Heaven, my friend, is a real place
Where friends and loved ones we’ll know;
Those who’ve gone on before to be with the Lord,
Clad in garments whiter than snow.

Heaven is a real place, my friend,
The eternal place of God’s Throne
Where Jesus now sits at the Father’s right hand
And intercedes for each of His own.

Yes, Heaven. My friend, is a real place,
And its glories one day I’ll see,
For my Jesus has gone to prepare a home over there
And He’s building a mansion for me.

a. franklin staples

July 2, 1990

Copyright © 1990 by Allison F. Staples

FATHER, I THANK THEE FOR THY GRACE

Father, I thank Thee for Thy grace;
That Jesus died to take my place;
That from my deep sin I've been set free;
For all that Thou hast done for me.

Lord, I pray that, by Thy Spirit
(Not by my own, for it has no merit),
I may be cleansed of evil thoughts,
Of thinking thoughts that I ought not,
Of doing things I should not do. —
Lord, cleanse Thou me, yea, through and through.

Help me, dear Lord, to be gentle and kind,
To operate with Jesus' mind;
Not to speak so curt and short,
Not to be often "out-of-sorts".

Take from me that critical spirit
That judges others by earthly merit;
Help me be gracious in my walk,
In the way I think and act and talk.

Help me to do all these things, dear Lord,
Not for merit or reward,
But from my love, dear Lord, for Thee
And Jesus Christ who died for me.

a. franklin staples

January 24, 1994


Copyright © 1994 by Allison .F. Staples

GOD IS A GOD OF JUSTICE

God is a God of justice;
God is a holy God.
We are an unholy people
With hearts that are sinful and flawed.

God is a god of judgment; —
Great and fierce is His wrath.
We are deserving of vengeance; —
We have strayed very far from His path.

But thank God, He's a God of mercy,
A God of such marvellous grace
That He provided for our justification,
Sent Jesus to die in our place.

Yes, God is a God of justice,
And justice is what we deserve,
But by His wonderful grace we've been pardoned!
What a merciful God that we serve.

a. franklin staples


January 23, 1994


Copyright © 1994 by Allison F.Staples

The Great Works Of God

All of the "great" things accomplished by men
Won't count for much when all's said and done.
They will pale into sublime insignificance
When compared to the works of the great Three in One.
The "great" works of men will be valued at nothing,
Those "masterpieces" of architecture, music and art,
When measured against what our God has created,
The "creations" of men play a very small part.
Yes, all the "great" things that have been
accomplished by men,
Are just the poor fruits of weak human endeavour; —
They won't stand comparison to the great works of God,
For the great works of God are forever.

a. franklin staples
January 21, 1994

Copyright © 1994 by Allison F. Staples

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR JESUS TODAY?

What have you done for Jesus today?
Have you thought what He's done for you?
Do you lift Him up by the things you say,
Use His example in all that you do?

What have you done for Jesus today?
Has His name crossed your mind at all?
Have you taken a moment to think and to pray?
In His name on God have you called?

What have you done for Jesus today
As you've gone about this day's tasks?
All of your trials at His feet have you laid?
His guidance in all have you asked?

What have you done for Jesus today?
He paid the price for your sin.
He paid a debt that you never could pay
That the crown of life you might win.

What have you done for Jesus today?
To Him have you given your best?
Has the work you have done shown another the Way?
By your care has another been blessed?

a. franklin staples

November 5, 1993

Copyright © 1993 by A. Franklin Staples

INDELIBLY WRITTEN IN BLOOD

In the blood of my Saviour
My name's written down
In the Lamb's Book of Life, praise God!
It's not written in pencil;
It can't be erased; —
'Tis indelibly written in blood.

'Tis indelibly written in blood,
Yes, indelibly written in blood;
On record forever, it cannot be erased
For 'tis indelibly written in blood.

Some think it's in pencil,
Still others, in ink,
But both those ideas are flawed,
For the record is permanent
For those who are saved; —
'Tis indelibly written in blood.

In the blood of the Saviour,
God's own precious Lamb,
Lord of lords, King of kings, Son of God,
The names of all saints are forever recorded; —
They are indelibly written in blood.

They are  indelibly written in blood,
Yes, they're indelibly written in blood; —
The names of all saints are forever recorded; —
They are  indelibly written in blood.

December 24, 1993


Copyright © 1993 by A. Franklin Staples

NO SIN IS TOO GREAT FOR GOD TO
FORGIVE!

No sin is too great for God to forgive!
Nay, none is too wicked or too base
But what God, in His mercy, will wipe clean away,
Forgive and forget and erase.

No sin is too great for God to forgive
If the sinner will repent and give in,
Let the pure blood of Jesus, shed for his sake,
Wash away all of his sin.

No sin is too great for God to forgive!
The way home is open to all
Who will turn from their wickedness and be born again —
Who on Jesus the Saviour will call.

No sin is too great for God to forgive,
No sin that is, except one:
The sin of rejecting the Way, Truth, and Life —
The sin of rejecting God's Son!

a. franklin staples

October 9, 1993

Copyright © 1993 by A. Franklin Staples

UNITY

To maintain unity, that's the thing
As we serve Jesus Christ, our Lord and King;
To be one in heart and soul and mind;
To put our differences behind
In all we do and think and say;
'Tis for that unity we pray.

To be united in our common cause
Is essential, friend, to the church because
Without it Christ is not what we preach
And souls for Him we cannot reach.
That is our purpose, let us not forget,
That the premises of His commission be met —

That we should preach, baptize and teach,
That souls for Him we may truly reach;
That is our cause — we have no other —
It's that which is paramount, my brother,
Not buildings, large, small, fancy, plain,
But in Christ alone is our great gain!

In His great Name we must go forth
To south and east and west and north,
To preach the Word of God to men
That we might win some of them.
Christ is the One on whom we call
For 'tis He who died for one and all.

a. franklin staples

July 4, 1993

Copyright © 1993 by A. Franklin Staples

THEREWITH TO BE CONTENT

"Therewith to be content,"
 No matter what my state;
 Not to be anxious about tomorrow
 But to live each day by faith;

 To have "the peace that passes all understanding"
 That only comes from God —
 That is the way I want to live
 As on life's way I trod.

"Therewith to be content,"
 With that, not less nor more,
 Which the great loving God shall give to me
 From His abundant store.

a. franklin staples

June 27, 1993

Copyright © 1993 by A. Franklin Staples

NO WONDER

In these days of rampant moral degradation,
When right and wrong depend on the situation,
And there's chaos and confusion in education
And a plethora of other problems in every nation;
When those who are fools are thought to be wise,
And society's disintegrating before our eyes;
When truth is elusive, clouded by lies;
When deaf ears are turned to misery's cries;
When wise men's voices are either hushed or stilled
And millions of babies are being killed,
Their innocent blood so callously spilled
While Satan's armies are groomed and drilled;
When no one seems to know which way to turn;
When those with intelligence don't want to learn
Because failure is no longer a cause for concern;
When the men from the women it's hard to discern;
When so many are burned out from coping with stress;
When being mediocre outranks being the best;
When so many are living without God to bless,
It's really no wonder that the world's such a mess.

a. franklin staples

June 15-27, 1993

Copyright © 1993 by A. Franklin Staples

...WE HAVE A BUILDING OF GOD, AN HOUSE NOT MADE WITH HANDS, ETERNAL IN THE HEAVENS. ( 2 CORINTHIANS 5:1b)

ONE THAT IS NOT MADE WITH HANDS...

I look not to a building of human design,
One made from an architect's plan,
But a building eternal in heaven is mine,
One that is not made with hands.

I am not all bound up in a structure of wood
Or one made of glass, metal or stone,
But there's a building of God for those washed in the Blood,
Built by the Lord for His own.

I'm not really concerned about a building down here
For such structures must all pass away,
And all of their glory will fade, disappear;
Not one thing about them will stay.

It's the building eternal in heaven, dear friend,
That this pilgrim is longing to see;
The one that's forever, in a world without end —
Ah! That is the building for me.

a. franklin staples

June 20-21, 1993

THE WORD OF THE LORD IS SUFFICIENT

The Word of the Lord is sufficient;—
There's no need to add or delete;
Yes, the Word of the Lord is sufficient —
In Itself, it is perfect, complete.

The Word of the Lord is sufficient
To take care of that which we need
If we will but search through its precepts
And give what is written there heed.

The Word of the Lord is sufficient
As a Guide to living and life; —
There is no other instruction to follow.
God's Word alone leads aright.

The Word of the Lord is sufficient
As a guide from the cradle to grave
For it tells of Jesus the Saviour
Who came both to seek and to save.

The Word of the Lord is sufficient.
It tells of the Christ of the cross
Who paid sin's price with His own blood
To redeem mankind who was lost.

Yes, the Word of the Lord is sufficient!
God is its Author, that's sure.
It is not temporal, but eternal —
'Twill forever and ever endure.

a. franklin staples



January 22, 1994

Copyright © 1994 by A. Franklin Staples

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

"Under Construction," the highway sign said.
'Tis a sign, I admit, that fills me with dread —
The roadway ahead's likely rocky and rough
And driving that way will no doubt be tough.

"Under Construction": there's no other way,
To make the road better, so come whatever may
We'll drive through the potholes and suffer the dust.
Until it's completed, endure it we must.

"Under Construction" is this Temple called man
Who has stepped out with Jesus to follow God's
plan;
'Twill not be completed 'til this life's race is run; —
We're just "under construction" here "under the sun".

"Under Construction", as yet incomplete,
Still prone to sin and distress and defeat;
But when ever we stumble, God's hand reaches down
To steady our walk and point the Way to the Crown.

"Under Construction", with all that entails;
Though we often falter, Our God never fails.
He'll mould us and make us, as a potter the clay,
For we're going through Jesus, the Life, Truth, and Way.

a. franklin staples


August 15-28, 1993 - January 21, 1994


Copyright © 1994 by A. Franklin Staples

He Giveth Me Songs In the Night

Blessed be the Lord God, my Maker
Who giveth me songs in the night;
Jehovah— the Almighty — Creator,
The Giver and Sustainer of life.

Oftimes as I lay awake in my bed,
God giveth me songs in the night,
And sometimes the urge to record them
Won’t wait until morning light.

I cannot say that He speaks to me
In words that I can hear,
But in the darkness of night’s quiet solitude,
Of His presence I’m very aware.

When my heart is attuned to His voice,
And I’m walking by faith, not by sight,
The Lord comes softly into my room
And He giveth me songs in the night.

a. franklin staples
December 15, 1998

© 1998 by A. Franklin Staples

But none saith, Where is God my maker, who giveth songs in the night;    (Job 35:10 KJV)

The Artistic Touch

Brushes and pencils and pens and ink,
Canvas and paper and such
Are the tools of the artist, his "stock-in-trade",
Along with the artistic touch.

To be an artist is to view the world
In a way that few others do;
Artists see things that others miss,
And bring them into view.

An artist's touch is not in the hand
But is rather found in the mind,
For an artist can draw with mouth, hand or foot,
And can "see" with eyes that are blind.

An artist can hear sounds that are not yet made,
Play music that has never been heard,
And convey to others what he or she wants to "say"
Without ever speaking a word.

An artist can take us back in time
And show us things long past,
Or interpret the present, the world of our day,
Pose questions that beg to be asked.

An artist can bring stories in books to life,
Cause things unseen to be seen,
Create creatures and visions of fantastic things
On paper or canvas or screen.

An artist can show us what the camera cannot,
For a camera must needs have been there
To record the event or the scene at the time,
And it has no insights to share.

a. franklin staples

Autumn, 1993-June 20, 1994
Copyright © 1994 by a. franklin staples

GOD HAS AT LEAST ONE MORE THAN WE'LL FIND!

When we look at the night sky and marvel thereat,
View the glory and the brightness of the stars,
We look back to a time that has long since gone past
Though it seems we don't see very far.

'Tis not to the end but to the beginning we look,
For all that we see is before;
We see all the stars as they were long ago:
They may not even be there any more!

The farther man penetrates the vastness of space,
The farther he looks back in time,
And the more that he ponders the mysteries there,
The more he's faced with the sublime.

The dimensions of the universe are more than we know,
Far more than length, width, height and time;
And whatever the dimensions we may find it to have,
God has at least one more than we'll find!


a. franklin staples

July 7, 1996

Copyright © 1996 by A. Franklin Staples


TOO WEAK AND TOO SMALL

Our concept of God is too weak and too small.
Why, many don't believe there's a God at all,
And those who do, it's sad to say,
Would rather follow their own than walk in His Way!

He's our Master, our Saviour, our Redeemer and Friend,
Yet He's Almighty God before whom every knee must bend.
His thoughts are not our thoughts and ours are not His,
For 'tis He that has made us and all that there is.

Too high are His thoughts for our feeble minds;
Our thoughts are earthy while His are sublime.
He's the Creator of everything — earth, stars, sky and sea —
But He died on a cross to redeem you and me.

a. franklin staples



Copyright © 1996 by A. Franklin Staples

Are You Caught in the Current of Time?

The first two lines of this poem came to me "out of the blue" in the wee hours of this morning.


Are you caught in the current of time,
Just being swept along by its tide?
Is your life without reason or rhyme?
Do you just feel empty inside?
Time's river is no gentle stream,
Although it may sometimes seem so,
But so often we're willing, it seems,
To just go along with the flow.
When its ripples turn into wild torrents
As it careens its wild course to the sea,
Then we frantically search for deliverance
Where the water's serene and at peace.
But even when the water seems tranquil,
As peaceful and serene as can be,
It still flows steadily onward
Until it merges with eternity's sea.
Our frail bark is in need of a Captain
Who knows every channel and shoal,
Who can guide us safely through danger
And bring blessed peace to the soul.
The Captain that we each need is Jesus,
He who died on the cross for man's sin,
For He's traveled time's river before us
And knows it from beginning to end.

a. franklin staples

May 21, 1996

Copyright © 1996 by A. Franklin Staples