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WE WOULD DRAW NEARER TO THEE

4/29/2022

    WE WOULD DRAW NEARER TO THEE

  In our running and rushing around
Amid all dissonant distracting sound
    Amid all the worldly quicksand ground
Constantly tempting and dragging us down
We would draw nearer to thee, O Lord
We would draw nearer to thee

All our youth appears misused and spent
We wonder where all the good times went
As the winter of our life approaches fast
Our seconds and minutes don't seem to last
We would draw nearer to thee, O Lord
We would draw nearer to thee

In the days that lie ahead let us be bold
May we be shepherds to the sheep of thy fold
Keep us and mold us as we grow old
Let us see visions more precious than gold
We would draw nearer to thee, O Lord
We would draw nearer to thee
(First published in June 2012)

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THE CRITICAL HOUR

4/29/2022

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THE CRITICAL HOUR

"One of the illusions of life," wrote
Emerson, "is that the present hour
is not the critical decisive hour."

Every person's destiny is forged and
tempered...in the crucible of the present
hour.

In the next sixty minutes, opportunities
will arise...

For kind words. What will we say?
For elevated thoughts. On what shall
we ponder?
For decisive actions. What consequences
do we envision?

Spend wisely, thy witness, oh man,
for thy eternity unfolds itself...
one hour at a time.
(First published on May 27, 2014)

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HE IS ABLE

4/29/2022

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HE IS ABLE

  "If a care is too small to be turned into a prayer,"
writes Corrie ten Boom, "It is too small to be made into
a burden."

When shall we who profess a dynamic Christian life
ever stop brooding and worrying over the day to day
   problems that are continuously sent into our lives?

When shall we learn that our most gigantic,
serious problems as well as our smallest, bothersome
irritations are known by God.

And, large or small...He is able to handle them all.

Resist evil with good...Turn you burdens into prayers...
Release your faith in the Lord...And He shall lift you up.

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WINTER GIVES WAY 613 4.19.2022

4/19/2022

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   WINTER GIVES WAY 613

As winter begrudgingly gives way
To spring, we watch with silent awe
As the petals from our tulip tree
Across our lawn doth gently blow
Witnesses of fair days and warmer nights
So nearly come within our grasp
  The blossoms of a thousand limbs
Bespeak of a beauty rare
It comes upon us, everyone
This season of the year, and asks
Us, with simple faith, to offer
Trust and love to the father of us all

So season gives way to season
As upward the steps of time
We climb, making room for others
Persuading, perhaps aright at times
In the verdant meadows of our mind,
There's a fine season up ahead

(First published on April 29, 1979
with revisions posted on April 18, 2020.)

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PALM SUNDAY (1978)

4/6/2022

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PALM SUNDAY (1978)

                                   We lay our palms down, dear Lord
                                   We cast them in your way
                                   We shout hosannas loud, dear Lord
                                   Don't you love our grand display?

What, dear Lord, desert you?
                                   Never, never, nay
                                   Just listen how we praise you
                                   Just listen how we pray

                                   We shall deny you, dear Lord?
                                   Before the cock crows thrice?
                                   But, that's already been done once, Lord
                                   And it wasn't very nice

                                   Don't you want our palms, dear Lord?
                                   We thought you'd be impressed
                                   Are all our words vain repetitions
                                   And all our gestures merely jest?

                                   You mean there's still a cross to bear
                                   There's still a bitter cup?
                                   And we must join you at Calvary
                                   If we're to sit with you and sup

                                   Then let us go with thee, dear Lord
                                   With courage and stout heart
                                   And see the Cross as not the end
                                   But simply as a start
                                   Of something good

(First published on March 19, 1978)

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EASTER 1978 4.4.2022 WE STOOD NEARBY

4/4/2022

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   EASTER 1978 WE STOOD NEARBY

We stood nearby the cross that day
And could hardly take it in
To a rough hewn tree
Our shepherd had been nailed
They had crucified our friend

We took him down and laid him in
A dark and borrowed tomb
We prepared his body for the grave
Amid encircling the encircling gloom

We ashamedly hid our face
As we left that awful place
And quietly staggered home

That night, we had no sleep
But still the morning came
We slowly travelled back
Toward that sullen tomb
That magnified and signified
Our everlasting gloom

As we approached the cave that day
We could hardly believe our eyes
An enormous boulder had been rolled away
And an angel bid us stay

Why look ye for the living among the dead
Came his message soft and clear
Jesus, God's son, has risen and is gone
You'll no longer find him here

Two thousand years have come and gone
Since that first sun crowned morn
But the Easter message has not changed
Nor has it lost its thrill
For Jesus is alive and well
And that old tomb is empty still

(First Published on March 26, 1978,
with revisions made on April 5, 2022.)

WE WOULD DRAW NEARER TO THEE

THE CRITICAL HOUR

HE IS ABLE

WINTER GIVES WAY 613 4.19.2022

PALM SUNDAY (1978)

EASTER 1978 4.4.2022 WE STOOD NEARBY

AN OVERCOMER

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WE WOULD DRAW NEARER TO THEE

THE CRITICAL HOUR

HE IS ABLE

​WINTER GIVES WAY 613 4.19.2022

PALM SUNDAY (1978)

EASTER 1978 4.4.2022 WE STOOD NEARBY

AN OVERCOMER

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WINTER GIVES WAY 613 4.19.2022

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