MY MINISTRY MOTTO

Forget the things that are behind;
forget injuries, slights, unkind words.
Be too big to be hurt; too great to be unkind;
too busy to quarrel; too wise to engage in unseemly gossip;
too strong to permit little annoyances
to turn you from life's main course;
too clean to stain your character
with any kind of impurity.

This the secret of the holy
Not our holiness, but HIM
Jesus! empty us and fill us
With your fullness to the brim.

MY QUIET TIME

I'm overwhelmed this quiet time
I find it hard to comprehend
That He Who formed the universe
Should stoop to be my Special Friend.

The angels round His throne may sing
Proclaiming glory to the King
But when redemption's work was done
He claimed me as His special son.

The measure of His love proclaims
The door of Grace is open wide
All those who come in Jesus' name
Are subjects of His special Bride.

But why should He have chosen me
A hopeless slave of sin and shame
I cannot understand such grace
But praise His great and awesome name.

So while I'm sitting here alone
Before the presence of His throne
I bow in worship and in praise
Both now and through eternal days.
--B. Pent

FEELING LONELY!

I feel alone today
I knew you could not stay
I saw you walk away
You said, "I have to go!"

I wander in the dark
Each day we are apart
And leave my lonely heart
You say, "I will return?"

But time has had its chance
As chimes begin to dance
I dream as in a trance
You're coming back to me.

But morning shines its light
So radiant and bright
I know it is not right
You stay away so long!

But I will wait for you
And if the promise true
Should spark our love anew
My hopes will be fulfilled.

Until that day appears
I will await with cheers
Then all my dreams and fears
Will fade in your embrace.
--B. Pent

IN HIS PRESENCE

As I knelt before His presence
With my garments wrapped in shame
I could not look up to heaven
For I knew I was to blame.

Then the Lamb of God incarnate
Stood in robes of spotless white
As His holy justice vanquished
All pretence before His sight.

Then His words of love came flowing
From above the Mercy Seat
Where the nail prints of His justice
Offered grace for my defeat.

Tears of anguish broke upon me
Waves of guilt exposed my soul
As repentance ceased my wanderings
I became as white as snow.

Shouts of praise began to fill me
Freedom's song began to flow
As the honor and the Glory
Came to Christ Who loved me so.
--B. Pent

GOD IS ENOUGH

There is a vacuum deep inside
We try to fill with earthly store
But emptiness is all we find
It always craves a little more.

Life has its lure in innocence
It's bright appeal you can't ignore
But try to grasp its lasting worth
And soon you crave a little more.

How subtle is this vain pursuit
When one walks through its door
Like trying to catch a gleam of light
It fades away and is no more.

But when God's love comes in to stay
His fullness to restore
He drives all emptiness away
And gives to us far more.
--B. Pent

IS AMERICA SITTING ON THE TITANIC?

"Mordecai Ham used to say that the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 was God's object lesson to America, but we never learned it. Many ships have gone down, but that this 'unsinkable' masterpiece of ship building should go down on its first trip and that simply by encountering a massive hunk of ice, still seems uncanny - not just an accident -- but an event accompanied by strange and sinister circumstances that allow no explanation. We are living in an hour when we seem to be on a toboggan slide out of control, worshipers of ourselves in the putridity of this age of humanism. 'Judgment day' and 'the end of the world', have disappeared from our vocabulary. The remedies for the world's troubles proposed by experts are pitiful. Recently, I heard the observation that the remedies offered for our malignancy are about as sensible as changing chairs on the deck of the sinking Titanic. One day each man has to face death whether he likes it or not. The Scriptures envision judgment day and heaven and hell. We have a date with destiny and an appointment with the Almighty. Every person has such an hour in God's Book whether he has noted it or not. We could be nearing that time, and only faith in the Christ who believed it and taught it can save us. Any effort to arrange for eternal life otherwise is like changing deck chairs on a sinking Titanic." --Vance Havner