LONELINESS

Loneliness met me this morning
Depression then knocked at the door
Pressures of life soon had bound me
Leaving me helpless once more.

Life has its fears and deep sorrow
No one escapes from its grip
Everyone carries some burden
Thinking they'll fall in a pit.

You're not alone in this battle
History reminds us each day
Trials and troubles surround us
Only what's left is to pray.

So in the face of each trial
Give God the burden you bear
He knows each rut in the pathway
Cast on the Lord all your care.
--B. Pent

JOY VS. HAPPINESS

JOY met HAPPINESS one day
Along the rock-strewn path of life
The answer they both sought to find
Was how to gain real peace of mind.

Each one was given time to choose
Through trials that would test their faith
The daily strength that JOY embraced
Was trusting God's unfailing grace!

But verdant fields drew HAPPINESS
Where earthly toys and pleasures lay
The search for gain and earthly store
Became the quest for wanting more.

 But time began to test the soul
And pressures forced the heart to choose   
Between a life of trust and faith
Or seek one's joy another place.

JOY early learned to trust God's Word
Whose promise He would always keep
If heaven's kingdom became first
He then would quench all earthly thirst!

By chance they met another day.
The searching heart of HAPPINESS
Expressed a need to find a way
To fill that void that leads astray.

God's simple plan was then revealed
For earthly things that weigh the soul.
JOY fills the vacuum of each heart
When Christ becomes the central part.
--B. Pent

HIDDEN GRIEF

How lonely the valley where sorrows reside

Where emptiness lingers with darkness inside

The light that once shone from the heaven's above

Is nothing but shadows once flowing with love.

Where is the joy that would brighten each day

Who is the thief that has painted life gray?

Silence and sadness have torn it apart           

No one can fathom the grief in my heart!

Distractions in time are so often a pain

Vacations and parties seem also in vain

The promise is given and vict'ry is won 

When faith reaches up to the God three in One.

Jesus has borne all our grief and its loss

There is no chasm His love cannot cross

Take up His yoke that is easy to bare

Resting in Him will remove all your care.

B. Pent

LOVE TOUCHED ME

Love touched my heart, it passed my way

I did not know just who it was.
I could not tell if it was real
Until I felt His touch.

Love warmed my heart, I felt its glow
The radiant rays began to flow.
It was no dream or fantasy
The day I felt His touch.

Love weaned my heart from earthly things
It bade me soar on eagle wings
It spoke my name I was set free
Because I felt His touch.

Love makes me grow, it is the seal
That binds the heart to heavenly joys
And bids me come in time of need
To feel His touch again.
--B. Pent

JEHOVAH'S HEBREW NAMES

Jehovah- M'Kaddesh: God is Holy (Leviticus 20:7-8)
In transcendent holiness He reigns alone
No man can stand before him in their sin
A payment must be made to enter in.

Jehovah-tsidkenu: God is Righteous (Jeremiah 23:5-6)
His righteousness reveals man's evil heart
And Hell the price that pride must always pay
If man rejects God's Son, there is no way.

Jehovah-jireh:  God will provide (Genesis 22:14)
A spotless lamb was slain and blood was shed
To picture Christ, our Lamb, a ransom made     
And those who call upon His name, sin's debt is paid.

Jehovah-rapha:  God our healer (Exodus 15:22-26)
For every thirsty soul or wounded heart
He gently calls to share His gift of life   
To comfort and sustain through earthly strife.

Jehovah-rohi:  My Shepherd (Psalm 23:1)
God loves and leads His blood-bought child each day
Where quiet streams and verdant pastures dot the way 
So through His Word and prayer we do not stray.

Jehovah-shalom: God of peace   (Judges 6:23-24)
Before His ascension Christ's promise was made
His Spirit would lead and His peace would remain
But those seeking pleasure are looking in vain.

Jehovah-nissi: God our Banner (Exodus 17:15)
The Armor is given for solders to fight 
No demon from hell can enslave us to sin
For victory is promised, through Christ we will win!

Jehovah-shammah: God is present  (Ezekiel 48:35)
God rules as Sovereign Lord upon His Throne
No matter where He leads, you're not alone
He's always there to guide His very own.
B. Pent

I DREAMT I MET JESUS

              (written at age 20)
I had a dream the other night
It was an awesome dreadful sight
I dreamt that I was standing there
With Christ my Savior in the air.

I looked at Him with glistening eyes
While waiting to receive a prize
For all the things I'd ever done
Since I, at last, had thought I'd won.

Oh yes, I too, had preached the Word
It was my calling from the Lord
I waved the banner of the cross
And tried to count all things but loss.

Then after telling all I'd done
I waited for His blest "Well Done!"
To see a smile from His face
Redeemed by His eternal grace!

"Speak now," My Lord, "I did my part
To do Your will with all my heart
I worked and labored every day
And tried my best to watch and pray!"

But then my Savior looked at me
With loving eyes so tenderly
As I fell down before His throne
As if just I were there alone!

A tear fell from His thorn-crown face
Revealing pride in my life's race
The lack of love for others shown
The souls I failed to lead toward Home.

I never learned the secret there
To fellowship with God in prayer
To let the Spirit's fullness dwell
With self control, abiding there.

The biggest downfall was that "I"
I never learned to yield and die
To my own selfish right of way
And let Him have His sovereign way.

He asked me for the precious "jewels"
That I had vowed to bring Him praise 
But only stubble, wood and hay
Was all I brought to Him that Day!

"Oh blessed Lord, what Have I done
The race on earth in vain I've run?"
And so I stood with uncrowned head
And not a word to me was said.

Like rivers from a mighty stream
My tears fell down before His throne
But tenderly He wiped them all
And since that day not one did fall.

And soon my troubled heart awoke
And on my knees to Him I spoke.
"Hence forth, I yield myself to Thee
To reign as Lord, complete in me!"

"Lord, help me walk from day to day
In such a self forgetful way
That folks around might ever see
Your beauty, Lord, revealed in me."

And then when life on earth is o'er
And I shall finally reach that Shore
I'll hear "Well Done" from Your dear face
Transformed by Your redeeming grace."
B. Pent

THE NEW YEAR:2017

The New Year stands before us

The signs speak loud and clear
The end-time is upon us
The choice you make is here.

The prophets tell of trouble
Of nations in distress
With war and famines growing
Of death and loneliness.

Ten nations, Daniel tells us
Will form a single head
And one will try to charm us
By rising from the dead.

The Beast will form a treaty
With Jews and Arabs, too
And all the world will wonder
"Can lasting peace be true?"

Then from the Temple throne
The anti-Christ will speak
As Armageddon forces
Around Jerusalem meet.

The sun will then grow dimmer
The moon will hide its face
As angels pour out judgment
Upon the human race.

A choice demands an answer
You cannot neutral be
It's either Christ or Satan
That marks your destiny.
--B. Pent