POEM "NO CHARGE"

      As I sat reading my Bible this morning, a thought came to my mind of a poem I had written about 20 years ago. Even though I was a born again Christian, since I was 15 years old, I hadn't been growing in the Lord. I was going to church and even singing with a quartet. We were doing a radio broadcast every Sunday at 1:00 with prayer requests for every need. Yet I was at a stand still in growing in the word. I wasn't reading my bible everyday. I used every excuse in the world about reading. Not enough time, I had to work, I was taking care of grandchildren, even my house burnt. All of these things were of the devil trying to draw me away from God. And then my supervisor at work came at me and told me that I could not keep my Bible at work, I had to take it home. I refused this, I told him that on my break time, I could read anything. Then I told him if I had to take my Bible home, he had better get rid of all his fishing magazines. It is a wonder that he didn't fire me on the spot. Yet I kept my job and one day as I sat reading on my lunch break, these words came to me.

                                          "NO CHARGE"

Long ago on a hill called Calvary
three men were nailed to a tree.
Now two of these men were guilty of sin,
but the other was pure as could be.
Oh why did He go through that painful death
for a sinner as vile as me?
He was God's dearest lamb, yet He shed His blood,
so that you and I could go free.

As the blood flowed down the hill that day,
He prayed, Oh Father forgive.
I can never repay all the love that He had
when He died just so I could live.
If I stumble and fall on the paths of life
His strong hands pick me up again.
For the Son of God showed mercy on me
and now He's my dearest friend.

So what do I owe for your crown of thorns
and the mocking of You every day?
What do I owe for Your nail-scared hands
that carry me all the way?
What do I owe for Your precious blood
that was shed on that cruel tree?
From His home in the sky, my Jesus replies
"NO CHARGE, no charge for thee."

      I knew that God gave me these words for a reason, I just didn't know when to use them. I found an inspirational magazine that published some poems for free so I sent it to them and it was read by a few people in the south. Yet I didn't get the response that I thought it deserved. So I quit writing for a while. Then one day a cousin of mine told me that I needed to write down all the family stories that I remembered so others could read them. I found out that you can write a blog on the Internet so I begin to put some legs on all my thoughts and words. I recently got an e-mail form a distant cousin who enjoyed all my stories. It lifted me in my spirits and the Lord let me know quickly. You do not charge for the things I give you. They are free. So many people want to put a monetary value on anything they do. God's love is free. And so is mine. Therefore I will continue to write for the pleasure it gives me and hope somewhere along the way that you get a blessing. And remember, it is from God, not me. He just gives me the words and I write them down.