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A Beautiful Spring Day
The long
Cold winter
Is finally over
The sky
Is ocean blue
It’s very sunny
And comfortably warm
A cool breeze
Blows across
My face
I feel rejuvenated
And thankful to God
For His
Many blessings
Bees buzz around
On trees I spot
Tiny green buds
It’s a time
For renewal
Soon it will be
Easter
We shall celebrate
Christ’s death for us
And His glorious
Resurrectionby Zachary Uram
(C) 2026 -
The Final Crusade
I fought in lands
Near and far
My body has
Many a scarI wielded
My sharp blade
Against many foes
Their lives did fadeI led an army
Of one million men
We were determined
To defeat every SaracenWe rode our steeds
For many days
The sun blazed
Its raysI also carried
A long spear
I used it on the enemy
To cause them to fearI yelled, “Deus Vult.”
And charged ahead
I saw many
Saracens deadNations Islam had conquered
Were now set free
The Middle East
Returned to Christianityby Zachary Uram
(C) 2026 -
The End Times Briefly Considered
The last trumpet
Shall sound you see
Christ will return
In the sky imminentlyThe rapture of the Church
Is our blessed hope
We have no need
For a cardinal or popeThe dead in Christ
Shall be the first to rise
Billions of them
Shall fill the skiesThis marks the end
Of the dispensation of grace
Humanity shall suffer
In this new Kingdom phaseWe shall go to Heaven
For the Lamb’s Marriage Supper
On earth, for seven years
God’s wrath shall thunderNext, Christ will return
With the Church dressed in white
Out of His mouth shall come a sword
Satan and the wicked, He shall smiteChrist shall reign in a new Temple
In Jerusalem precisely
For a thousand years
Then comes the new realityA New Heaven and a New Earth
God shall create
We’ll spend eternity with Christ
There will be no sin or hateby Zachary Uram
(C) 2026 -
Feeling Down
Another dreary winter day
I don’t have much to sayThe weather is abysmal
I feel rather dismalThere has been no sun all day
Spring must get here without delayVi and I have been down in the dumps
Major depression isn’t for chumpsWe get seasonal affective disorder
Every winter, it seems we get it soonerThe lack of sunlight is most vexing
I hope that the sun will soon be shiningWe would love to dance, laugh, and play
It can be, with God’s help, just as I sayby Zachary Uram
(C) 2026 -
God With Us
Immanuel
God with us
Christ
The Second Person
Of the Trinity
Condescended
To incarnate
As a human being
He has two natures
Fully God
And fully man
He was tempted
But Christ
Did not sin
He came to earth
As an infant
On a cold
December morning
To the Virgin Mary
His mother
At Calvary
He died for
Our sins
The two
Greatest events
In all
Of history
Was the birth
And resurrection
Of Christ
A perfect
Penal
Sbstitutionary
Atonement
We received
Christ’s perfect
Righteousness
And our sins
Were imputed to Him
This is not
A case of nominalism
Through justification
And sanctification
We are changed
Ontologically
We become holy
And live by
The Spirit
Jesus is the living
Word of God
What He speaks
Becomes reality
Scripture proclaims
That we are
New creations
In Christby Zachary Uram
(C) 2026 -
My Life With Mental Illness
I’m feeling blue
Activity I eschewMy depression is so bad
It makes me madI lay in bed all day
It fills me with dismayI can’t even concentrate
There’s not much I can tolerateThe voices in my head
Fill me with dreadI hope to be well
Mentally I fellIn this deep malaise
My mind is in a dazeI have vivid hallucinations
It’s my mind’s faulty machinationsSometimes I’m delusional
My mental states are quite unusualMy anxiety can be very high
I don’t know whyby Zachary Uram
(C) 2026 -
The Pure Gospel
Because of Christ’s sacrifice
The Elect no longer fear their graves
It is Christ alone
Who savesSin has lost
It’s dominion
Once and for all
For those graced with redemptionAt Calvary, Christ died
For our manifold sins
In Him we have the victory
It’s mankind who winsChrist was spotless
In Him was no sin at all
The Elect will be regenerated
Through the effectual callOn the cross at Calvary
Christ suffered immense pain
He bore every sin of mankind
His hardship was our gainThrough Christ’s precious blood
We are no longer totally depraved
We receive His perfect righteousness
And we are totally savedThe natural man must be born again
He must repent sincerely
And believe the Gospel of Christ
He alone makes atonement you seeby Zachary Uram
(C) 2026 -
John MacArthur Asserts that Mental Illnesses Do Not Exist: A Response
Listening, reading, and watching sermons on John MacArthur’s website, Grace to You, as well as teaching from R.C. Sproul’s Ligonier website, were instrumental in my becoming Reformed!
MacArthur and Sproul have both passed away. Sadly, I must speak out against willful ignorance on the part of MacArthur. In a few months before his death, he taught that all mental illnesses were “not real”. His reasoning was that since they aren’t specifically mentioned in Scripture, they are not real illnesses affecting the human body. This is a very unbiblical and dangerous position to take. I think of the teenage girl struggling with major depression and having thoughts of suicide. If she were in MacArthur’s church, she would be told her issues were merely sins that she needed to confess, and through the act of the will, she could, in effect, wish away her symptoms. I could not sit in MacArthur’s church and be silent as he dismisses my severe mental illnesses and insists they are not real. Thanks to this type of retrograde thinking, the stigma surrounding mental health is further reinforced.
MacArthur’s thinking on this topic is more in line with a Medieval mileu than our modern knowledge regarding mental illnesses.
Mental illness is a disease of the body. Would someone like MacArthur claim that diabetes didn’t exist, and that all people with this illness should throw away their insulin and seek a theological solution to their problem? We are to put on the mind of Christ, that is an ongoing process and transformation. We still sin and need sincere repentance. However, I must reject the affirmation that ongoing sin causes our mental health issues. Some issues that affect the mind, such as mild anxiety and episodic depression, can benefit from prayer, devotional reading, Bible study, and talking with a pastor or elders.
In my case, I am fighting schizophrenia, major depression, a severe anxiety disorder, and PTSD.
These are real mental illnesses. Approaches such as nouthetic counseling can have limited success, but in many cases, such as mine, they are not sufficient to deal with the myriad issues raised by severe mental illnesses. This type of counseling affirms that all mental maladies can be cured through Bible study, prayer, and talking with a pastor or elder. Modern science indicates that problems with neurotransmitters in the brain account for severe mental illnesses. I believe that framing the issue between secular treatment and biblical treatment is a false dichotomy.
We have greatly advanced in our understanding of mental illnesses since Scripture was written. Scripture, I believe, is sufficient for addressing sin. However, it is a false presupposition to say that every mental illness, no matter how severe, can be solved with biblical counseling.
Without my psychiatric medication, I wouldn’t be able to function and would be locked up in a mental institution.
MacArthur never said that cancer is not real, and that we can address symptoms purely through biblical knowledge. Yet when it comes to a physical disease of the brain, He asserts that this disease doesn’t exist.
This topic will sadly tarnish MacArthur’s legacy.
You can read more about this controversy here.
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Malaise Days
I’m in a deep malaise
It’s gone on for daysI wish to be free
From this mental miseryI have no motivation
It’s a sad situationI have no energy at all
It’s because of the FallI want to run and play
Instead, I’m full of dismayI shed many a tear
My mind is in a state of fearIt’s difficult to concentrate
Even though my mind is first-rateI have thoughts that race
My mind can’t keep paceI will not despair
I know that Jesus does careSoon, my depression will be no more
I will have happiness galoreby Zachary Uram
(C) 2026 -
Thank You, Daddy
Today I listened to “Thank You” by singer Ray Boltz.
I was crying like a baby. Especially because it
reminded me of how I came to be a believer in Christ.It was Christmas night at midnight. My sisters and I
sat at the dining room table with Daddy.
We had a birthday cake for Jesus.
We each ate a piece. And sang “Happy Birthday.”Earlier that week, Daddy shared the Gospel with me.
I had heard it before. But this time was different,
I felt the full weight of my sins; I felt wretched.
I repented of all my sins. And believed the Gospel.
I was so happy and content. I knew my salvation was
secure in Christ. I was 7 years old.At Calvary, Jesus paid the price for all my sins.
He declared, “It is finished!” Every sin I would ever
commit was instantly forgiven. That Christmas
I was born again. One of God’s children.Thank you, Daddy, for teaching me about Jesus
and sharing the Gospel. I know you are experiencing
joy and happiness that transcends our understanding.
You are now worshipping our Lord face to face.