Although Peter did Intend...

This is what I wrote after reading, "To See the End", which I greatly enjoyed, by Jocelyn:

1.  Although Peter did intend, / To go in and see the end;
And got trapped, and - Christ - denied, / While his Master went and died;

2. And the tears did, his eyes, sting, / "The end" was a be-gin-ning.

3. For, a seed, into the ground,/ As poor weeping Peter found;
Has to fall and die - or own,/ That it will remain alone.

4. Jesus, to the cross, submitted,/ And the yoke, though painful, fitted;
Peter swung his sword and fought,/ For him, the yoked fitted not.

5. In his shattered stream of tears,/ After "putting in three years";
He was finally "dy-ing",/ So that he could, fruit, forth, bring.

6. On the day of Pentecost,/ He had, self-reliance, lost;
And this was on full display,/ And the Pharisees did say;

7. "Jesus, with, have these men been,/ And this can be plainly seen;
For they are, as he was, bold,"/ As he, them, the gospel, told.

8. See, though, Peter, this, not, sees,/ Jesus will give him the keys;
And will not, in any wise,/ Change his mind - though he denies.

9. And, though Satan will, him, sift,/ The calling of God, and gift;
Still, without repentance, are,/ As God's ways, above us, far.

a. Therefore, if, with Peter, we,/ Coming, are, the end to see;
Let us find com-fort and grace,/ From this man, who ran his race;
Even after falling down,/ And got him, of life, the crown.

b. And, if what we had in mind,/ Is not what, in life, we find;
Let us to God's will, submit,/ Which, indeed, smarteth a bit;

c. For the Father of Lights will,/ Our emp-ty a-ching hearts fill;
With a lavish, rich, supply,/ Of his goodness from on high;

d. Evermore, at his right hand,/ Pleased as ever, we shall stand!;)

Prosperity

I have been making a point of saying the above word (i.e. "Prosperity") as loudly as possible, whenever I recite Psalm 35 (which I endeavor to do every day). I believe that this is part of seeing prosperity come to pass. Like this: "...Let them shout for joy and be glad that favour my righteous cause, yea, let them say continually, Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the PROSPERITY of his servant. And my mouth shall speak of thy righteousness and thy praise all the day long." (Verses 37 and 38). Hey! Would ye like to join me? Please feel free to do so. Just say, as loudly as ye can, "Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the PROSPERITY of his servant." If ye will help me see it become a reality, then I pray that God would make sure that ye are abundantly recompensed. I do happen to believe the spoken word is incredibly powerful, and invite you to try believing it too! God bless you!

(By the way, I just took the bus to Saskatoon from Winnipeg just under a week ago).

Also by the way, I am waiting on God for the RIGHT kind of prosperity - not, for example, the "prosperity of the wicked", which I read of in Psalm LXXIII. Then again, Proverbs does say, "the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just". I "just" want to BE "the just" - and not the jolly sinner (though I suppose a sinner is really not all that "jolly", when all it said and done)! I want LEGITIMATE prosperity. The kind where I did not have to take advantage of somebody else to get it. I just had to wait on the LORD, and he saved me, as I read in Proverbs XXIIII (but wait on the LORD and he shall save thee).

"Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death." Psalm XLIIII.19

What a testimony it is to God's sustaining grace when we persevere under trial and temptation. Job was about as prime an example of this as one might find in the Scriptures. Then again, of course, there was the Son of God who, as usual, really showed us how it was done - and did it on our behalf. Are we, by any chance, being tried and tested. Are we sore broken in the place of dragons, and covered with the shadow of death? If so, let us take heart! We are not the first ones! We will also not be the last ones.

Just like we can look back on David, Job, and Jesus Christ who remained faithful in the furnace of affliction, maybe we can serve as an inspiration to saints that come after us, and find themselves tried as we are. Let us hold fast our profession of faith, no matter what, and enjoy the eternal rewards!

Cousin Carol

My cousin, Carol Doerksen, passed away yesterday. God willing, we will travel to Laronge for the funeral on the seventh day of this week (i.e. "Saturday").

Back from Saskatoon

I just got back from Saskatoon, where I attended my final grandparent's funeral (my father's mother).

Sincerely,

Daniel

Come Home

This was the title of today's reading in "Hope for Each Day", by Billy Graham. He cited:

Phl 3:20

For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:

I found it very timely, because my grandmother passed away last weekend.

Still alive, by the grace of God!

I am working for H&R Block as a Tax Associate. God willing, I will be preaching at the Chinese United Church on the 29th of this month. Life hurts, but I am not complaining. As a matter of fact, I give thanks! "I will sing praise unto my God while I have any being..." (Psalm 146, I think).

Daniel