James Cuénod's Newsletter 2009-11-09

James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To those
interested who are dispersed abroad: Greetings. Grace to you and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

First of all, a joyous Christmas to you if you happen who read this today
(the 25th for me). My prayer for you is that this day would be a reminder
of how despite our position of enmity with our Creator, he did not wait
for us to draw near to Him but He clothed Himself in frail humanity. While
we were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world, God sent forth
His Son, born of a woman, under the law to redeem those who were under the
law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. Praise God for His
gracious kindness towards us in sending His Son to redeem us!

Since I began writing newsletter's 11 months ago on February 2nd, I have
written 21, making this my 22nd newsletter. My apologies for the length of
time I have taken to write this, I didn't have my mailing list and the
webmail site I have been using has only just come back online. Thank you
for your prayers and support throughout the year, I know that I would not
be where I am but by the grace of God.

This holiday I have been relaxing. I have been reading through a few books
(my mind is not really focusing on any particular one) but what I've
particularly enjoyed is setting up a new website for reformed Christians
to get in contact with one another, have discussions and write blogs. The
address is http://www.rekindle.co.za if you want to have a look at it.

I suppose that a common question would be as to what subjects I've
particularly enjoyed this year. Early Church History was really cool (and
reformation history is still to come in 2010), I especially enjoyed our
exposure to original texts such as the Didache and writings by Origen,
Augustine and Justin Martyr etc. Greek was also really awesome because of
its usefulness to me now (since we have finished our text book all we will
really do from here is translate and learn in that way). Ethics has been
very interesting and has given me a lot of food for thought and Psalms was
fascinating (we learned about things like Hebrew parallelism which was
incredibly interesting).

I will be returning to GWC sometime around the 17th (I haven't got a
ticket yet) and can look forward to language week to start off the term. I
have already begun to learn some Hebrew but I don't think I'll go very far
past the alphabet before I go down. As mentioned, I will also be having
Reformation Church History sometime during the year as well as Mission and
Culture, Ancient Cultures and possibly Ethics 2 but I'm not sure what else.

I have appreciated your emails and prayer throughout the year, God's
richest blessings to you and your family.

In Christ,
James Cuénod

--
James, a bondslave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.
http://www.rekindle.co.za
http://bondslaveofchrist.blogspot.com
http://imagesoftheinvisible.blogspot.com

James Cuénod's Newsletter 2009-11-09

James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To those
interested who are dispersed abroad: Greetings. Grace to you and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thank you all for your prayers, I managed to get in all my assignments and
even my readings - just... The week that I sent my newsletter was indeed
crazy and the last week of term, although without assignments was still
busy because of readings.

I have now started exams, I write Monday, Wednesday and Friday for the
next two weeks. Today I wrote Greek, still to come is Ethics, New
Testament, Hard Questions, Doctrine of Revelation and Early Church
History. But I imagine that you are more interested to know how the Greek
went. I don't really like to say that any exam went well before I get my
mark back but I had no problem in any of the grammar questions.
Translation is quite tricky and I know I made some mistakes but I think I
did fine.

There's really not much to say since all that's been happening is work.
The week after the exams are finished we will be doing various college
things like a social, graduation, clean up etc. so some of us are planning
a bit of stuff for the social but it's all kind of up in the air right
now.

So all that I can ask for is that you pray for me as I write my exams;
that I would remember everything I've learnt (and even the stuff I haven't
learnt) and that I would understand the questions asked and answer them
clearly. Of course, please also pray that my relationship with God would
get hotter not colder through my studies.

In Christ,
James Cuénod

--
James, a bondslave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ

James Cuénod's Newsletter 2009-10-27

James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To those
interested who are dispersed abroad: Greetings. Grace to you and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

It seems as though every time that I sit down to write one of these I have
to think harder to remember when last I sent one. I am sorry that I have
become less regular but I hope that you will understand that as the
pressure increases and the workload steps up my Newsletters get eaten by
the dog.

I realised this last weekend that I only have five weeks left until I
return to Joburg. This may seem like a lot to you but it dawned on me that
the coming two weeks will be term time, the following two will be exams
and the final week will be just packing up and graduation. I think that
this time is going to fly by really quickly.

This is probably going to be one of the more hectic weeks (although half
the hecticness is already over). I wrote a literacy test on Monday for NWU
(North West University) which they kind of sprung on us at the last
minute. It was supposed to be a 3 hour test but I finished in less than 45
minutes which was quite a pleasant relief. Today I wrote a New Testament
Introduction test and it went better than expected and I thank God that I
recalled a few things from class which I hadn't even studied (including
stuff from a class in which I was sick). This Friday I have an Early
Church History assignment due and I will have to do my last preaching
practical on Leviticus 1-7 (I've already done Ephesians 2:1-10 and Mark
10:17-31 both of which went well).

Anyway, despite the work for this week, tonight I will be attending the
first of GWC's soon to be "Annual Lectures" which will be on John Calvin
by JB Krohn, a guy who lectured here last year (and was very popular). I'm
quite looking forward to it, I'm just wondering how to get through my
reading lists, preparation for my sermon and my Early Church History
assignment.

I've kind of skipped over a lot of stuff that happened a few weeks ago
though, I had a nuisance of a migraine a while ago at the end of the day
(and so largely missed one of the NT Intro lectures - although I managed
to recall something out of it...) and I was quite out of things for that
week. Since then a table tennis tournament has been started in which we
participate during tea times. I entered with a friend in first year and we
went off and got matching shirts at pep that say "Valiant Knights of
Honour" and we choreographed a Greek version of the haka to intimidate our
opponents. (This began when we all thought that the end of term was far
off and so life was still easy, little did we know...)

I think as far as prayer requests go, please would you pray that my focus
would be on God and not academics as the heat is turned up. It's easy to
be "too busy" to read your Bible at times like these. Please also pray
that I would get through my reading list and comprehend what I'm reading
in time to be ready for exams (as well as having time to study for exams).

Thank you once again for your support and prayers. I don't really know how
to express my gratitude but please know that I am truly grateful.

In Christ,
James Cuénod

--
James, a bondslave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ

James Cuénod's Newsletter 2009-10-07

James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To those
interested who are dispersed abroad: Greetings. Grace to you and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I struggled for a few moments to work out when last I actually sent a
newsletter out. It was only when I checked my sent mail that I realised
that it was about 2 weeks ago. Since then a lot certainly has happened.

On the more objectively significant side of those things, GWC recently
received accreditation to issue their own BTh Degree. Right now they issue
a degree through North West University but the necessary loops have been
jumped through and the government is now allowing GWC to issue its own
degree. Unfortunately I will be the in the last group to receive the North
West one and a GWC Licentiate. Nevertheless, this is exciting news for the
college.

I have been kept quite busy with assignments. Ethics, for example,
required that I write a letter to the editor of the Cape Times on an
ethical issue. Doctrine of Revelation required a 1500 word essay on
Inerrancy and Greek, well, Greek always has something to keep you from
boredom.

The thing that is blotting out my memory of the majority of that time
though is the recent church camp that I went on last weekend. It was not
much like Honeyridge Church camps in that
1. It wasn't at the YFC campsite (a Honeyridge necessity)
2. It had about 50 in attendance (I didn't realise camps were financially
possible with those numbers)
3. The focus was not on sessions with a speaker.
Even so, it was a lovely camp and a good experience. I got to know a lot
more people and what's more, it was at Rocklands (a campsite that is
definitely on par with YFC). I had the oppurtunity to present a sermon to
teenagers (my first full length sermon ever). It went quite well despite
the slight anomalies such as; my all female audience, the small size, the
late notice of the talk and the assignments that were due up to the day I
was to present it. I think it went quite well, whether anyone else agrees
is another story but it was quite cool to do it and I'm looking forward to
the next time I get to preach (although at least a month of notice will be
preferable in future). The theme of the camp was family and so I decided
to talk about the doctrine of adoption and God as our Father for which I
used Romans 8:12-17. The rest of the camp was mostly game/activity centric
but more than half of the time was free and even the activities very were
optional.

So I made it back and I'm immersed in college again. The pressure is going
to build up to around the 20th of October when there'll be a culmination
of assignments and tests due and ultimately the start of the mental
breakdown of any sane individuals who may have dared to sign up for this
course.

Please pray that I would be diligent in my work, not only for assignments
but also (and especially) required reading (since it's quite easy to fall
behind on). More importantly, that I would have a strong devotional and
prayer life (which is not very strong at the moment). A number of my peers
are feeling quenched by college and sapped of the joy of being a Christian
because of the academia so please pray that we would be renewed with a
love for the God behind the stuff that we're studying.

Thank you all for your faithful prayers and support.
In Christ,
James Cuénod

--
James, a bondslave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ

James Cuénod's Newsletter 2009-09-21

James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To those
interested who are dispersed abroad: Greetings. Grace to you and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Almost a month has elapsed since my last update which was on the 28th of
August (about a week before the end of the term). I managed to get
everything done that needed to be done and headed off on Saturday morning
for a welcome break and the end of the third term. So, I now have only one
term remaining and I'm looking forward to finishing my first year.

I had a fair bit of work to do in the holidays but during the first week I
didn't get much done. I had the oppurtunity to attend Synod (which is the
ministry worker's conference for the CESA (Church of England South Africa)
- and GWC is a CESA college) and, therefore, to hear Michael Lawrence do a
few talks on Penal Substitution; a doctrine which has been called "cosmic
child abuse" in our day but even "butcher-shop theology" in the days of
the reformation. It was really exciting to be reminded of the magnitude of
God's grace during those talks.

Other than that, my holidays were not too eventful other than doing my
assignments. I can see that even though I'm not going uphill with Greek
anymore, I'm still going to have to pedal quite a bit to keep moving but
at least we'll be reading the New Testament within the next two weeks
(because we're essentially done with the text book). I can also see that
this term promises a lot of work with no end of assignments and readings.

On the bright side, I was greeted by a pleasant day in Cape Town with
sunshine and everything (which is a rarity) and I hope that it will be
indicative of the months to come (although based on the cloud that I saw
rolling in today, I'm not holding out too much hope).

Based on the last paragraph I suppose that I've exhausted all the relevant
news that comes to mind considering that my comments have degenerated to
the weather. Nevertheless, I'm writing this paragraph so I assume that
there's something I'm forgetting that I'm hoping will come to me. Either
that, or I've been taken over by alien robots that are controlling my
brain and forcing me to write an entire paragraph that contains no
information whatsoever - not a good start to the term, let's hope that
they relinquish control soon!

Please thank God that I had a good and restful holiday (er. I mean "study
break") and pray that He would help me to focus on the work so as to be
well prepared for exams at the end of the term and learn a lot from the
assignments that I will be doing.

In Christ,
James Cuénod

--
James, a bondslave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ

James Cuénod's Newsletter 2009-08-28

James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To those
interested who are dispersed abroad: Greetings. Grace to you and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

What I've discovered is that somehow, regardless of how busy I may be, I
make the time to do other weird things. I was nominated to be the res
representative but I didn't win. The SRC (Student Representative Council)
elections were held this afternoon and at their announcement (about two
weeks ago) one of my classmates (who also stays in res) said that he's
going to campaign to be in it. Seeing the potential for fun, I joined him
in the cause. We made fourteen different posters with the slogan "A
Passion For" and then a subject (for example, "A Passion For Truth" or, "A
Passsion For Knowledge") which we stuck up all over the place. This then
incited a smear campaign by some other first years (who weren't running
but just wanted to join the fun). They created some posters with negative
"A Passion For" slogans which we responded to by putting positive twists
on them. The opposition also made a short video putting the face of our
candidate on the villains from various TV series and movies (it was played
yesterday for the first time). So, we were up until after 1:00 this
morning creating a counter to it. Our video made use of speeches by Martin
Luther King, Winston Churchill, John F. Kennedy and Nelson Mandela; so the
script was formulated using the speeches and we narrated it with a bunch
of friends and then overlayed it with images of the person who was being
impersonated. It was great fun and it must have worked because our
candidate is in the SRC!

A number of assignments have been due for this past week and still more
are due in the coming week so the pressure is not easing off. We have only
one week remaining in the term and it still seems like such a long way
off. Thankfully, Greek has relaxed a bit since we have basically finished
the book and our lecturer knows how much work we have. Next term we will
begin translating First John and Mark.

I've recently been thinking about which church to go to next year since I
have been asked to stay on at Mountainview Baptist. They do need the help
there and so I am weighing up my options, please pray that I would make
the right decision. It has been great to help out there over the past
couple of terms and I'm quite enjoying working with them on Fridays in the
youth groups.

Since I still have a lot to do before term end, please pray that I would
be able to focus my energy where it needs to be focussed and that I would
get enough rest. Please also keep my assigned church for next year in your
prayers and pray that my spiritual walk would take priority through the
intensity of work. Thanks for the prayers and emails!

In Christ,
James Cuénod

--
James, a bondslave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ

James Cuénod's Newsletter 2009-08-15

James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To those
interested who are dispersed abroad: Greetings. Grace to you and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

It feels like time is speeding up quite considerably. I've really been
busy in this past week and it doesn't look like it's going to get lighter
for a while. Hopefully this weekend will allow me to catch up. I've
written a NT Introduction test and a Greek test both of which I did
reasonably well in for which I praise God. I'm really enjoying Early
Church History which means that I have to discipline myself into not doing
it because I will gladly sit doing ECH to the exclusion of other work
while telling myself "I'm doing college stuff so it's fine...". Greek is
going well and we're almost finished with the text book (we'll probably be
done by the end of the term and next term we'll begin translating 1st John
and bits of Mark).

Last night I went to the youth at Mountainview Baptist. I did the Bible
story for the junior youth which went well although the kids seemed a bit
restless. The senior youth, as always, I thoroughly enjoyed. I can't
remember whether I've mentioned it or not but the guy who runs it is a
lecturer at BI so it is really good and what's more, we're going through
Romans! He asked me to lead it next week and it's basically a Bible study
(with about 20-30mins of game time before the study) and so I get to lead
on (what I believe was) Martin Lloyd-Jones' favourite passage; Romans
3:21-26! Oh yeah!

Please pray that the study goes well and that I can get through all my
work and the readings. Also, more importantly, please pray that my quiet
times do not take a knock because of the workload.

In Christ,
James Cuénod

--
James, a bondslave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ

James Cuénod's Newsletter 2009-08-01

James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To those
interested who are dispersed abroad: Greetings. Grace to you and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I know that I have already expressed it but workload is quite insane -
I've been spending 80% of my time after lectures reading and that's just
to keep up. I'm not quite sure where my time for assignments is going to
come from because the other 20% of the time I'm at youth or Bible Study or
a security talk or something.

Speaking of the security talk, you probably wont have any idea what I'm
talking about so let me explain. Muizenberg is certainly the most
exhilarating place I ever recall staying in. If I ever feel the need for
an adrenaline high, I just walk outside and down the road past the
druglords and various other types of criminals outside. It's great fun to
have to withdraw money down the road and attempt to appear inconspicuous
as you walk back. Nevertheless, the Muizenberg Improvement Society (I
think I left out a letter but it's not too relevant) has been working on
various things like neighbourhood watch etc. so this past week I was doing
the sound recording for a safety and security meeting where I heard
discussions about getting radios and all sorts of exciting things for
Muizenberg.

Anyway, I need to get back to work but I'll leave you with the lyrics to a
song I've recently been listening to by Sovereign Grace Music on their
album "Songs for a Cross Centered Life" (I love those guys). It's called
"The Look" and was inspired by a song that John Newton wrote:

I saw one hanging on a tree
In agony and blood
Who fixed His loving eyes on me
As near His cross I stood
And never till my dying breath
Will I forget that look
It seemed to charge me with His death
Though not a word He spoke

My conscience felt and owned the guilt
And plunged me in despair
I saw my sins His blood had spilt
And helped to nail Him there
But with a second look He said
"I freely all forgive
This blood is for your ransom paid
I died that you might live"

CHORUS
Forever etched upon my mind
Is the look of Him who died
The Lamb I crucified
And now my life will sing the praise
Of pure atoning grace
That looked on me and gladly took my place

Thus while His death my sin displays
For all the world to view
Such is the mystery of grace
It seals my pardon too
With pleasing grief and mournful joy
My spirit now is filled
That I should such a life destroy
Yet live by Him I killed

Ja, wow ...
Please pray that I would be able to work effectively and that my ability
to read improves so as to reduce the effort involved in reading for me.
Thank you all for you support. As always, it is greatly appreciated.

In Christ,
James Cuénod

--
James, a bondslave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ

James Cuénod's Newsletter 2009-07-20

James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To those
interested who are dispersed abroad: Greetings. Grace to you and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Wow, five weeks goes pretty quickly... You may have thought "finally, I've
stopped receiving that irregular Capetonian spam!" Sorry - you were wrong.
The holidays have come to an end and I'm alarmingly back in the swing of
things here. You may recall that I left at the end of last term on the day
I wrote my final exam. The next weekend I (along with my family) went to
Zimbabwe (Bulawayo) to take up food aid for people up there. I must say,
it was quite eye opening and seemed worse off than Harare (which is where
my dad and I went sometime around September last year). So for the first
two weeks of my holiday I pretty much did my own thing, met up with
friends and did some website stuff but mostly relaxed.

The third week was when the work began; ministry week. I met up with our
contact during the second week of holidays so that I could get a feel of
what was expected of us etc. and then joined up with my team on Sunday
morning. It was quite an experience; I feel like I've learned a lot, it's
easy to pick holes in things and be critical but I think that I can take a
lot away from the week because I saw things done in a different way and so
I was able to evaluate methods that I am familiar with more objectively.
The week was spent doing a holiday club and on the Sundays on either side
of it we (Mareka, Badi and I) helped at Sunday school. Badi also lead the
young adult's Bible study. It was quite draining and I think that it
prepared me well to have a low tolerance for nonsense during the
Honeyridge holiday club (which may or may not have been a good thing - now
I realise why they put me on data capture...).

So I then had a week to recuperate and start on some GWC work before the
Honeyridge holiday club. I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed helping at
the Honeyridge holiday club (except for the early mornings). The theme was
Joseph's journey to greatness and I think that an excellent job was done
on it (glory to God).

Which brings me back behind the library computer here... I anticipate an
intense term with the lecturer renowned for giving us the most work taking
us for three large subjects. Nevertheless, I'm sure I'll survive, albeit a
busy sort of survive but a survive nonetheless. Subjects this term have
changed rather dramatically with a few semester courses coming to an end.
Public Speaking has been replaced by Commmunication, OT Introduction has
been replaced by NT Introduction and we now have Psalms, Doctrine of
Revelation, Ethics 1, Early Church History, Exodus and something else
though I forget what. We have yet to receive results from last term but
we're going to be busy enough to forget about it pretty quickly.

As far as prayer requests go; please pray that I am disciplined in my work
and that my goal would not be knowledge but a relationship with God.
Thanks for your support everyone.

In Christ,
James Cuénod

--
James, a bondslave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ

Bibleworks 8 would be nice

It has been a while since I wrote, the holidays have been good and I will write a newsletter soon however, I just discovered that Bibleworks 8 is being given away by a site which I think has a pretty awesome url http://cal.vini.st/.

For anyone who doesn't know Bibleworks is incredibly powerful Bible software that allows one to perform complex searches on Biblical texts (you can find out about it here). It is probably the best software for original language studies (and it's recommended by James White - of aomin.org - what more could you ask for?).

So anyway, this website "http://cal.vini.st/" is giving away a two copies of the latest version of Bibleworks and the competition closes on the 12th of July.  All I had to do to enter was answer a question and to get a double entry I could write a blog post and link to their website. I'm sure you've realised by now that that's what I'm doing... I would encourage you to enter but that would decrease my chances of winning so I'm wary of doing so. However, in the unlikely event that you feel compelled to enter the competition in order to give the prize to a poor student whose blog you may or may not read. Well then, by all means enter!!!

If you want more details or would like to enter (and as a requirement for this post), here is the url for the page: http://cal.vini.st/2009/06/cal-vini-st-first-anniversary-giveaway/

James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To those
interested who are dispersed abroad: Greetings. Grace to you and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Greetings everyone, things here are still hectic; on Monday I will be
starting with my exams (so please keep me in your prayers for that). There
have been some developments with regards to the subjects I've been taking
that aren't part of the first year course. In the past, people have done
this and it hasn't been a problem: Nevertheless, David (the other first
year who is doing philosophy) and I went to the office to make sure that
everything is fine and sorted. It was then that we were informed that
because I'm doing the full 3 year degree, I cannot receive credits for
philosophy or evangelism (it's got to do with changes in structure and
requirements of courses). So, having done all the work for both courses,
all that I will miss of philosophy is the exam but I will be repeating
both coarses in my second (for evangelism) and third (for philosphy)
years. I'm a bit dissappointed that they didn't tell us a little earlier
(philosophy particularly increased my workload considerably) but I still
see value in the time that I spent in both courses so I don't mind.

This past Wednesday, the college had its annual booksale. A pile of second
hand books are sold on behalf of other people or donated to the college to
be sold to students for good prices. There were also specials on various
new books. I think I got a few really good deals, I got a few commentaries
and a number of Bibles (the Bibles that I got came to R10 so it was
definitely worth it - including an Annotated Dake Reference Bible, an RSV
and at least 5 others). First years go in together with second years after
the third years and faculty have had 20 minutes. So hopefully, in my third
year I'll get some really good stuff (and considering this year's stock, I
have high hopes).

Last night I went to youth again (at Mountainview Baptist Church). I did
the games with the junior youth which will soon become AWANA and I joined
in the senior youth (which is mostly a Bible study; I really enjoy it).

My exam timetable is now:
Monday 08th: Mark's Gospel
Friday 12th: Old Testament Introduction
Monday 15th: Worldviews
(I think I may have erroneously told you that I was writing Hard Questions
instead of Worldviews last time.) So my exam timetable is reasonably light
- OT Introduction is the one that we are most concerned about but I've got
some time to over it. Hopefully I will be returning on the 15th after my
worldviews exam.

Thank you for your prayers everyone. Please pray that coming into the last
stretch of the semester that I will be able to focus on my studies but,
more importantly, not lose sight of their goal.

In Christ,
James Cuénod

--
James, a bondslave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ

James Cuénod's Newsletter 2009-05-22

James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To those
interested who are dispersed abroad: Greetings. Grace to you and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Hello all, time is really flying down here as exams encroach. I am happily
settling into my assigned church (Mountainview Baptist) and have joined a
Bible study. I am also helping out with the youth on Friday nights and,
obviously, attending the both (if possible) the morning and evening
services. So I really appreciate your prayers.

Greek has slowed down slightly and I feel like I've caught up although I'm
still working on understanding how the language works (but I don't suppose
I'll stop doing that anytime soon). Our exam timetable is out and so I'm
preparing to write exams on OT Introduction, Mark's Gospel, Hard Questions
and Philosophy. I fear that next term is going to be much busier than this
term.

Ministry week is also coming up. In case you don't know, ministry week is
a week in which all the students from GWC go to churches throughout
Southern Africa (some are going to Sudan and Namibia) to do ministry
there. The idea is that the hosting church does whatever they like with us
for that week. So, I'll be going to Bryanston methodist church and my
group will be doing a holiday club there.

Please pray once again that I would work hard for this term end so that I
would get my assignments in and that I would study effectively for the
exams. Also, pray that my group is prepared well for ministry week. Thank
you all for your support.

In Christ,
James Cuénod

--
James, a bondslave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ

James Cuénod's Newsletter 2009-05-13

James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To those
interested who are dispersed abroad: Greetings. Grace to you and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

It seems like I haven't sent out a newsletter for quite some time now. The
workload has picked up significantly, however, it is still doable. We've
all certainly settled back into the swing of things here. However, that's
not to say we aren't doing the usual college life stuff (or at least, what
I'm lead to believe is "college life stuff"). You may have known about
Moustache March when a number of the guys in who stay with me in res
(including myself) grew moustaches (and if you didn't before you do now).
Well, we are now well into Mohawk May and so most of us are clean shaven
again and, together with a few more recruits, we now have mohawks (I also
thought it was a type of Indian; turns out it's a hairstyle too).

Thank you for your prayers, I now have an assigned church; Mountainview
Baptist Church. I am grateful to have a base now more than anything else
and I think that there is a lot of potential for me to serve. The pastor,
Kevin Daines, seems to be quite keen to have me there as well which is
good. I will probably be helping them as they set up the AWANA programme
for their youth on Friday nights and I will probably also be joining them
for Bible Study on Wednesday evenings.

Lectures are going well. I was thinking the other day about the various
courses that we are doing and I realised that I don't actually dread doing
any of them. It is very amusing to see the completely different views that
we get presented during Old Testament Introduction and Biblical Theology;
it's gotten to a point where the lecturers will literally tell us the
opposite of what we have been taught in the other class. In Learning
Development (the bane of our existences) we are doing logic which is a
pleasant relief from the misery we've endured learning to quote sources
and write paragraphs.

I am really appreciating your prayers. Please pray that my walk with God
would strengthen and that my focus here would not be academic but that my
academics would be merely a side-effect.

In Christ,
James Cuénod

--
James, a bondslave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ

James Cuénod's Newsletter 2009-04-29

James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To those
interested who are dispersed abroad: Greetings. Grace to you and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Well, this term certainly hasn't started slowly despite the myth about
public holidays (last Wednesday we had lectures before lunch and were off
only after lunch to vote). I've handed in a small Worldviews assignment, a
Philosophy essay and done a Philosophy test, in addition I wrote my Greek
1A exam. That was just today...

Greek 1A was tougher than I anticipated but I anticipated something much
simpler than was really fair to expect. I did last year's past paper (the
rewrite) and I finished it in about 10 minutes (we have an allotted time
of 2 hours). It went reasonably well though.

This past Sunday I was able to go and hear John Blanchard preach at Tokai
Community Church in the evening, his topic was "Does God Believe in
Atheists?". It was much better than his talk that I went to in Joburg
entitled "Where Do We Go From Here?". I still would like to hear the one
that he presented at Honeyridge though so I plan on downloading the mp3s.

It seems, having spoken to Mark Dickson, that my ministry placement is in
sight so keep that in your prayers but hopefully it will be set by the end
of next week.

I can't remember whether or not I mentioned my plans last time to join the
Evangelism class... That plan has come through so I am now doing it on
Thursday afternoons.

The public holidays have been a nice relief from the amount of work we
were suddenly given at the beginning of this term and I've managed to get
some extra reading done. I read "God's Smuggler" last week (about Brother
Andrew; a missionary who smuggled Bibles into closed, communist countries
like China, Bulgaria, East Berlin etc.), it is well worth the read. Work
is picking up though so my plans for "Tortured For Christ" are falling by
the wayside a bit.

That's about all I can think of right now. Thanks, once again, for all
your support. Please pray that my ministry placement is really sorted out
in the next week and that I use my time this term wisely and well. Also,
that I keep in focus the point and purpose of my studies here.

Thank you all.

In Christ,
James Cuénod

--
James, a bondslave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ

James Cuénod's Newsletter 2009-04-21

James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To those
interested who are dispersed abroad: Greetings. Grace to you and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Firstly, I would like to give my sincere apologies for the time interval
since my last correspondence. I have just returned to GWC to kick off the
second term. I'll quickly catch you up on some interesting stuff that
happened towards the end of last term first though: I had the opportunity
to hear Daniel Dennet (I'm not certain of the spelling), a very prominent
atheist who specialises in the philosophy of the mind, speak at UCT on the
topic "What can we teach our children". We got quite busy at the end of
the first term, writing our final test in Ephesians as well as handing in
various assignments (hence the lack of newsletters at the end of the first
term).

Upon consideration of writing a newsletter when I got home to Joburg, I
realised that my contact list is all sitting here at GWC (hence the lack
of newsletters during the last two weeks). Nevertheless, the holiday was
quite relaxing. During the first week I didn't do much GWC work but I
helped out with stuff for www.neverthirstagain.co.za (the h2o website)
(Although I'm given to understand that there are still some problems that
need to be ironed out). I also had the chance to speak to various people
about recent events at the church which was helpful.

During the second week of my "study break", I focused more on GWC stuff
and completed some work that needed to be done for when I got back.
However, it was still a restful time and I managed to relax and have a
break from the work. I also got to see a number of friends from church but
also a couple from school which was a lot of fun.

I write the final test for Greek 1A next week Wednesday and so that is my
main focus right now but I also have a few other assignments to do. Today
we had a discussion after lectures on who to vote for tomorrow which I
thought was done really well. Well, in that there was no specific party
that was pushed but rather, the way to think about who to vote for was
thrashed out.

You can pray that I get back into the swing of things quickly and that I
work to the best of my ability but that my focus is not on results but my
walk with God. Thank you for your prayers it is always a comfort to know
that there are people supporting you.

In Christ,
James Cuénod

--
James, a bondslave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ

James Cuénod's Newsletter 2009-03-21

James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To those
interested who are dispersed abroad: Greetings. Grace to you and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I now have only two weeks to go until the end of the term. My workload is
heavy but doable. I have a few assignments left and still a fair amount of
reading to do but that's about it.

I think I've probably mentioned the fact that for the last three days of
term we will be doing a course on African Traditional Religions (instead
of the normal academic program) which means that I have some more reading
to do (but not much) and another assignment.

Recently there have been discussions here about ministry week: A week,
normally towards the end of the second term (1st semester), when we will
be going to various churches around the country and doing whatever they
have planned for us to do. I have been assigned Bryanston Methodist Church
so it seems I'll never get away from all these crazy foreign theologies
:).

I would ask that you pray that I finish strong and can focus on my
studies. More than that though, you can pray for my home church which is
going through a rough time right now.

Thank you for your support and prayers; particularly now, I truly
appreciate them - keep up the good work!

In Christ,
James Cuénod

--
James, a bondslave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ

James Cuénod's Newsletter 2009-03-14

James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To those
interested who are dispersed abroad: Greetings. Grace to you and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

My last newsletter seems to have been so recent that I really can't think
of much news. I attended MCC again last Sunday; the service was good, our
principal preached from Hebrews. I must say, I really enjoy good ol'
exposition - verse by verse - which doesn't seem too common here. Tomorrow
I'll hopefully be going to Tokai (I say hopefully because quite often it
seems that these things are only definitely going to happen once they
actually materialise and you're on the way there).

I've had some time to relax in this past week and last night I went to one
of the college couple's res house for supper with a couple of other res
students. The workload is still quite heavy but I think I've got a
reasonable routine down now (at least I should hope I do after over month
here).

A lot of the guys at res (myself included) are now looking forward to
going home this April now that we are past the halfway mark. That's not to
say I'm no longer enjoying college; I'm still learning a lot and I'm
really loving it.

As far as prayer requests go: I just want to settle into a church here now
so that I can get involved so please would you pray that I am assigned a
church during the coming week (I plan to try to get the ball rolling a bit
- it seems that a number of the students who are not already involved in
churches down here - because they live here - knew churches in the area
and had contact with them; the apprenticeship thing in CESA seems to
assist in that area). Other than that though, just that my spiritual life
would grow at least as fast as my knowledge does.

Thank you, once again, for your support!

In Christ,
James Cuénod

--
James, a bondslave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ

James Cuénod's Newsletter 2009-03-06

James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To those
interested who are dispersed abroad: Greetings. Grace to you and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Before writing this newsletter, I checked the last one (because it has
been two weeks since I sent it) and discovered that it was after my first
full week of lectures. I must say, work has picked up significantly but I
am thoroughly enjoying it.

Last week I had the oppurtunity to go to the South African National
Gallery to see the William Kentridge display called "I am not me, the
horse is not mine". It was typical modern art: Very abstract! I returned
to the exhibition last Saturday to have a second look at it and I do
believe that Kentridge is saying something - though it would be very easy
to dismiss it saying, "Look where post-modernism gets you". Since I've
mentioned it, while I was at the gallery on Saturday I also stopped in at
the "Wildlife Photographer of the Year" display which is at basically the
same place and was absolutely amazing. It was, in fact, the wildlife
photography that was the highlight of my visit.

Two Sundays ago, I visited St. Peters in the morning again which was again
good. That evening I went to St. Pauls which is essentially a church plant
of the morning service at St. Pauls but for students. The vibe there seems
great and the group seems nice (all but a few are students), they have a
Bible study on Wednesday nights and it is almost the size of the evening
service. The only problem is that it is about a 30-40 minute drive to get
there. Last Sunday I went to MCC in the morning again (the church that
uses GWC facilities) and then I went to The Message, a church next door to
the UCT campus, in the evening. The Message was quite a lot like St. Pauls
and I enjoyed the atmosphere and the preaching. Transport there is a
slight problem though so I don't want to be placed there.

Assignments mounted up during the week before last, most of them being due
this past week which is probably why I didn't get to sending out a
newsletter last week. I don't feel overloaded but I feel enough pressure
to keep myself focussed.

This coming Tuesday is the "Matriculation Dinner" which is a formal dinner
where they officially welcome the first year students. During the last 3
days of term (1-3 April), we will not be having normal lectures; we will
be doing a course on African Traditional Religions which promises to be
very interesting.

I think that everyone is settling into routine here. The most recent break
from it was that a new guy, Chaka (I can't remember his surname), has just
arrived from Zimbabwe. He had problems getting a visa and has only just
managed to get here so he has some catching up to do but he knows some of
the guys here already (who are also from Zimbabwe) and I'm sure he'll do
fine.

This may seem to get old but I really do appreciate your prayers. The only
prayer requests that I have are: One; that I discerningly learn as much as
I possibly can and in so doing take maximum advantage of my time here and
two; that my spiritual growth exceeds my intellectual growth while (and
that does not only apply to my time here).

In Christ,
James Cuénod

--
James, a bondslave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ

James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To those
interested who are dispersed abroad: Greetings. Grace to you and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

As my first week of lectures has come to an end, I can see that I will be
getting very busy as the term wears on. For this reason I am planning on
working well ahead, particularly with regards to the required readings but
also with regards to the assignments that I am able to do in advance.
Having said that, I am confident that I will not be overwhelmed if I work
hard and effectively. Ironically then, I suppose, I joined the philosophy
class (which happens on Wednesday afternoon where I have a free spot on my
timetable). I really enjoyed my first lecture and some of the students
recommended that, if I can, I finish the course this year and thus, not
have to worry about it later. I won't let it get in the way of my primary
studies but I have started the required reading and have found it
fascinating (Sophie's World for anyone interested). I also have the
opportunity to do sign language which shouldn't require an incredible time
commitment (and, more importantly, one that I can afford) so I plan to do
that too.

As you read this, you may think that I am, at least mildly, insane. Well;
as it happens, I am already aware of that. I figure that since I came here
to learn, I should probably do some learning. Furthermore, while I'm in
first year I will have the most time for this sort of thing so I'll take
advantage of it (a sentiment that I feel may not be shared by some of my
peers). Having said that, I don't think that I'll take on anything more,
especially right now.

Our timetable here is one week long (with 10 subjects for first years) so
I have now had at least one lecture in each subject. I think that my
favourite subjects will be Hard Questions, essentially an introduction to
theology (as well as related topics such as the defence thereof etc.), and
NT Greek, which I am still really enjoying.

The majority of my "free" time is spent reading; most recently I have been
reading "The Message of Ephesians" by John Stott, an article out of
"Church, Worship and the Local Congregation" by D.B. Knox, "Sophie's
World" by Jostein Gaarder as well as numerous smaller articles that have
just been printed up for us by authors like J.I. Packer and chapters out
of books like "Encountering the Old Testament".

In short, and I suppose this phrase is getting old but nevertheless holds
true, I'm still loving it here. It is nice to be settling into routine now
you can pray that I keep on top of my work and maintain a sharp mind
during all the lectures.

Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or
think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in
the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

James Cuénod

--
James, a bondslave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ

Greetings in the name of Christ,

Let me begin again by thanking you all for your prayers. I praise God that
there are people such as yourselves who He has placed in my life for
encouragement and prayer and I pray that I would not "be wise in my own
eyes" but that I would "Fear the Lord and turn away from evil".

Lectures have finally commenced, however slowly. I began on Thursday with
Hard Questions (a theology course) and Church Life (a short course
regarding church life). This was followed, on Friday, by more Greek,
Public Speaking (our preaching course) and Learning Development (a course
on how to study/learn). Today I the only new course was Biblical Theology
(which is a course designed to help us to interpret the Bible in light of
the rest of Scripture). It is good to be getting into the swing of things
and I foresee a lot of work in the future (we did not have all our
allotted subjects on Thursday or Friday for various reasons).
Nevertheless, I am grateful to be here and I am still thoroughly enjoying
it.

As I mentioned last time, I went on camp on Monday morning which gave us,
the students, a chance to get to know one another better and there was
some preaching. The structure was a lot like the Honeyridge Church Camp
with specific sessions but plenty of time to relax (although it was
primarily to get to know one another so there were fewer sessions). On
Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning, the second and third years had
gone back to college and started lectures. We began the Learning
Development course (which is required by the government but does seem
useful) discussing note taking.

On Sunday the 8th I went to two new churches. I went to Tokai in the
morning which is a CESA church. It was very interesting; the worship was
probably the best of all the churches that I have been to, however, the
sermon was topical (though I am told that this is rare), the topic was sex
and they had an infant baptism. Strangely, I think it is probably one of
my better options at this stage. In the evening I went to Mountainview
Baptist; the teaching was pretty good, unfortunately they were a bit too
Charismatic (in the theological sense of the word) for my liking.

Yesterday I finally attended the college's church, MCC (Muizenberg
Community Chapel). It was okay but I disagreed with the interpretative
method used on the parable that was presented (Luke 20). Also, because it
is the college's chapel, the speaker is always different; I would prefer
to be under one good pastor.

I also had my second Hebrew lecture yesterday. I can't remember whether or
not I mentioned this; a lecturer from BI (the Bible Institute, a Bible
college in Kalk Bay) offered Hebrew lessons to the students here. We will
be doing Hebrew in second year (we will kick off second year with Hebrew
Week) so no one was really interested because either they were overwhelmed
with all the new Greek or they were already doing Hebrew. Being marginally
odd, however, I decided to investigate. It is only an hour and a half on
Sunday and a tiny bit of time during the week for homework and I think
that it'll be of great benefit to me next year. So, I am now familiar with
the Hebrew alphabet as well as the vowels and dipthongs.

I am truly looking forward to the coming term and, more particularly the
coming week when I finally have a full week of lectures. Please remember
me in your prayers and praise God for the opportunity of being here that
He has afforded me.

Flourishing in the gospel,
James Cuénod

--
James, a bondslave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ

James Cuénod's Newsletter 2009-02-06

Hello again everyone,

My first full week at GWC has just drawn to a close. We had a college
braai to celebrate the end of "Greek Week" which was great fun (the Greek
Week - not the braai; I'm pretty much neutral towards the braai). I can
now translate delightfully large amounts of Greek (we did 5 chapters of
Duff's NT Greek textbook in the 7 days of Greek Week).

I haven't spent much time on anything else really because we've been
getting a lot of vocabulary to do every day and on days when there is not
as much vocabulary to do, we're learning strange grammar. I wouldn't say
that I have it all figured out; with what we have done so far I understand
it but need to practice it quite a bit.

My Greek lecturer, Jonathan More, seems brilliant; he arbitrarily sprouts
French or Latin (and of course he knows Greek and Hebrew) during class and
today he wrote a play on words on the board in Italian saying, "I think
that's how it goes, my Italian isn't that good…" – mine isn't either.

I may be able to do Hebrew in the coming months with a lecturer for BI
(the Bible Institute; a nearby Bible College that used to be closely
related to GWC). He was at the college a few days ago and said that he
would be giving free extra lessons. Of course, next year the language
school will be "Hebrew Week" but I may as well get a head start if
possible.

I don't have any plans for this coming weekend except that I want/need to
explore the churches and find a good one. On Monday I will be going on the
"Commencement Camp" which is a time to get to know other students
(regardless of what year they are in) and then Wednesday I will return
with the other first years after a day of something that only first years
do (other people return on the Tuesday evening). Next week Thursday then
is my first day of lectures and next on week Friday I will have my first
non-Greek-Week Greek lesson which means that there is a full week until my
next Greek lesson so I hope I retain all that has been taught over the
past few days.

If it seems like all I talk about is Greek it's probably because I do.
We've been finishing between 14:45 and 16:00 every day (except today) and
starting at 9:00 but have had a lot of homework so although our lecturer
told us that because Ancient Greek is not spoken anymore they do not use
the immersion technique, I certainly feel immersed.

I hope there aren't any spelling or grammar mistakes here, I don't have
time to proof read the mail because the library is now closing. My
profound apologies if there are any.

Once again, I appreciate the prayers and support. If there's anything that
I would like prayer for right now, it's that I find a good church to join
down here. Other than that, I am still loving it here and I praise and
thank God for this opportunity.

James Cuénod

--
James, a bondslave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ

Newsletter 2009-01-30

Hello brothers and sisters in Christ,

Thank you very much for your prayers and support. I have truly appreciated the knowledge that there are people praying for me "back home". Almost a week has elapsed since my arrival on Monday morning. Arriving a day early allowed me to settle in before having to worry about registration and lectures. In case anyone is not aware of my location; I am at the George Whitefield College (hereafter referred to as GWC) which is in Muizenberg, Cape Town. My room is one of the larger rooms as I think it should normally support two students, however, I am on my own here. It is very comfortable and much larger than my room at home (with the added advantage
that I do not have all the muck that I have accumulated in my room at home in my room here). My room overlooks a lovely slate roof and is conveniently tucked behind some high buildings (more specifically; the college and another res house) so as to prevent me from being distracted by anything annoying, such as the sea or birds (although the sky is unfortunately visible if I move close to the windows). I get three meals per day and we alternate washing up the dishes (Fridays and Sundays are
the best because the supper is packed and thus there are no supper dishes).

On Tuesday we began the registration process, receiving a number of forms, and getting a tour of the surrounding area and the campus. Only the first years were there which allowed us to get to know one another a bit (though there are still people whose names elude me). The library is delightfully big and I foresee myself spending a great deal of time there.

Lectures began on Wednesday morning after the veterans (anyone who isn't here for the first time) had registered which took an hour. Immediately before lectures, though, was chapel. Because it is language school (which ends at the end of this coming week) we have chapel every day. The preacher for this period (since it will normally be a student as far as I know) has been Gavin Millard, a local CESA (Church of England SA) pastor. He has been expositing Jeremiah and I have thoroughly enjoyed it.

It is now, as I have said, language school. I, therefore, have been learning Greek, a class taken by Johnathan More. I can see that it is a subject that will stretch me but as of now, I have been loving it. At the time of writing I can construct simple sentences and have a small, but rapidly expanding, vocabulary. The pace that we have been going is fast and I think that the slower people may struggle because of that but I am trying to read a day ahead in the text book so that the lectures are not
completely foreign and I am also trying to keep at least a chapter ahead in vocabulary; the killer of many a procrastinating Greek student.

The interaction that I have had with the other students, specifically those in res, has been marvellous. We have already had discussions about various issues (such as spiritual gifts and the doctrines of grace). There are many Baptists studying here including the SRC (student representative council) member in charge of my res. There are students here from Sudan, Tanzania, Ghana, Zimbabwe (and possible more) and a few from South Africa; probably only by a slight majority, most are from Cape Town. Tomorrow I will be taking a hike up the mountain that is usefully positioned behind
the college. I am told that it takes approximately three hours to get to the top.

I am still unsure which church will become my spiritual home here but I have about two Sundays in which to figure that out (I wrote this on Friday afternoon, since then I have been to St. Peters which was good but I am not sure whether I will make it will be the church I fellowship at). Most of the lecturers seem excellent, a few seem slightly eccentric but I'm looking forward to all my classes (I am particularly delighted that Greek is coming on so fast though). Many of the first years will be doing their BTh (as opposed to just a one year certificate in Theology) which
means that we will go all the way through together which should be good.

I am truly grateful, once again, for the prayers and support from you all and I look forward to what the coming year brings.

In Christ,
James Cuénod


--
James, a bondslave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ

A Brief Biographical Note

I assume that if you, the reader, exist; then you must have some interest in my person. Therefore I thought it apt to make this first post a biographical note. I should, however, warn you that my language is cumbersome and only the likes of John Owen could hope to match such clumsy, awkward language (though do not think that this clumsiness is an indication of quality-of-content; I assure you that it has no bearing on said attribute whatsoever). Therefore, I greatly appreciate the fact that you would take the trouble to read anything "penned" by the author.

I suppose that there is only one thing that is of any real consequence regarding any individual who has, does, or will ever live and that is: Does that person know the special, saving grace of God. It is upon this point in my life that I shall elaborate.

I was certainly blessed to have grown up in a Christian family and to have, I am told, professed faith at about the age of three. Looking back I think it is unlikely that I was saved at that age simply because I doubt that I could have understood what it meant (though, with man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible). I was baptised at the age of eleven and I believe that I was indeed saved when I was baptised (in other words - at the time of my baptism I was saved; not that my baptism saved me). Satan, however, tormented my over many issues in Christianity. For example I wondered about God demanding all glory for Himself, sinfully pondering that it may be egotistical or further, I, like Jonah, would think that there are places and things hidden from the sight of God. Looking back though, I see the thread of God's sovereign grace in my life as I hid His word in my heart at Awana (a youth group I attended from grade 2 till grade 5), a growing hunger for Him during a "dry" period which parched me to the point that upon reaching the oasis I would drink it dry. The introduction of "Kent Hovind" and soon after "The Way of The Master" in grade 9 and following, in my opinion, constitute this oasis. This led to hearing Paul Washer (originally on Way of The Master Radio) and being deeply challenged regarding not merely my way of life but the end that I am living towards. It was probably a sermon by Paul Washer that had the single greatest influence over my decision to study a Bachelor of Theology after Matric. I am now, by the grace of God, no longer a stranger to the doctrines of grace, apologetics (formerly traditional though of late, presuppositional) as well as countless other sciences that center on God.

I often thought how unfortunate it was that my testimony did not contain some sort of great recovery from worldly wretchedness of drugs and gangs. I should now affirm to those who hold this view of their own testimony that indeed, my testimony does contain such a miraculous recovery! I was as sinful as they come; self-righteous, proud and arrogant, idolatrous and every other sin you can name in thought if not in deed and in omission if not commission. Even now, though I am assured of my salvation, I cannot but wince at the thought of the sin that still lingers. Indeed I can say with Paul Washer; "I was such a wretch you would not have wanted to run me down with your car." Though my vileness was not outward but inward. It is with great ecstasy then, that I can declare "I am saved". It is infinitely difficult to convey with mere diction the glorious holiness of God and the contemptuous sin and miserable nature of man. We were not neutral to God; we were His enemies (Psalm 5:5 and Romans 5:8-10). Certainly, I deserved punishment for my infinite offense against my Lord but not only this, I loved to transgress His law and scorned His grace and gospel. Yet, He saw fit to save me.

Many hymns express my feelings but this one springs to mind as I write:

And can it be that I should gain
An interest in the Savior's blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

Refrain
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

'Tis mystery all: th'Immortal dies:
Who can explore His strange design?
In vain the firstborn seraph tries
To sound the depths of love divine.
'Tis mercy all! Let earth adore,
Let angel minds inquire no more.

Refrain

He left His Father's throne above
So free, so infinite His grace
Emptied Himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam's helpless race:
'Tis mercy all, immense and free,
For O my God, it found out me!

Refrain

Still the small inward voice I hear,
That whispers all my sins forgiven;
Still the atoning blood is near,
That quenched the wrath of hostile Heaven.
I feel the life His wounds impart;
I feel the Savior in my heart.

Refrain

No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine;
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach th'eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.

Refrain

(should you wish to listen to this hymn, it can be freely downloaded from songsandhymns.org)

So, what more can I say; the question of the one thing of consequence in my life has been answered - what could possibly matter enough to be given even a sentence on this post?

So I close, "Soli Deo Gloria".
Please do not neglect to keep me in your prayers.