Showing posts with label believing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label believing. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 20, 2024

An Evolving Evaluation (of Evidence)



Today's poem began with a 'blush hush/rush' soon filled with workday noise!
 Happy workday, everyone! 
(and my heart/prayers go out to all who wish they could work and can't)
I hope today's poem grants a splash of joy and good cheer!




This poem kind of evolved with the dissolving of daybreak...
from texts from Young Mother...

...from rumble of industry

 

from not knowing where to begin
to count the ways of Evidence of Him...


all on a backdrop of Mercy's evidence renewed...


Dawn’s blush hush/rush fills with workday noise
Nature’s showcase unveils fresh joys
That none can claim with boastful pride
Where colors of the countryside
Like ever-changing works of art
Amaze the mind and thrill the heart
Evoking a hymn, like a prayer
In praise to One beyond compare
Whose ways we cannot comprehend
Whose faithfulness will never end
Whose Word is trustworthy and true
Whose promises naught can undo

Where, as dawn slips on workday hues/shoes
As industry resumes its dues
And motherhood its sacred charge
As dawn unmoors its teeming barge
How humbly wonderful to know
Whose goodness none can overthrow
Whose hope is sure, whose hand will guide
From break of day to eventide
Where nature’s showcase spills God’s heart
In unparalleled works of art
Where earth and sky declare His name
Inviting/compelling us to do the same

A wealth of wonder waits. Ahoy
Nature’s showcase erupts with joy
We hardly know where to begin
To count the frames, we see God in
Creation’s cradles stream and brim
With countless evidence of Him
Making more pitiful the clod
Who clings to denials of God
Making meeker all who believe
Because of the grace we receive
Making gladder the humbler prayer
To He who knows each creature care

© Janet Martin

Romans 1:20
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—
his eternal power and divine nature—
have been clearly seen, 
being understood from what has been made, 
so that people are without excuse.

Whose hope is sure, whose hand will guide
From break of day to eventide...







Saturday, January 20, 2024

For This Unprecedented Age...

For this unprecedented age of immorality; 
 of abortion, adultery, homosexuality, 
transgenderism, mass confusion, child neglect and abuse, 
agnosticism, atheism, theism and paganism 
on and on it goes; 
there is only one cure! 
Repentance and belief in the One True God! 

Then as belief yields fruits of repentance/obedience 
to Him through His Word, only then can any real cure begin!
In this age of unprecedented distraction
esp. through the buffet of options offered through modern technology,
God's still, small Voice can be drowned out
until it goes away...!!!๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ™
Without careful, prayerful awareness we are all at the risk
of drowning the quietness with just enough noise
to keep us from thinking too deeply/aka, hearing God speak!

(I use the phrase 'unprecedented' cautiously but also with awareness
to the reality that due to modern technology
 and approval by the powers that be, access to
certain atrocities has become medically promoted/commonplace
like never before!)

Thus, thanks in part to modern technology
we are living in an age of unprecedented opportunity and opposition!

The cure for the problem is what it has always been...
2 Chron.7:14
if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves
 and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways,
 then I will hear from heaven,
 and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

The page below read a few days ago,(from the book mentioned here and here)
first sparked this poem from a train of thought that has been
ongoing recently..
.(and this book was written in the '60's!!
The line that esp. hits home is this one;
'and they will be tomorrow's leaders')


And also in part by yesterday's devotion
from Pathways to His Presence by Charles Stanley



For this unprecedented age
Where, at epidemical rates
Mortal rejects its Creator
And fundaments of Truth, debates
Or altogether disregards
What once was reverenced, with awe
Choosing darkness, rather than light
Without godly order or law…

For this unprecedented age
Of lack of fear and faith in He
Who is the Saviour of the soul
The sole hope of humanity
Where churches, once ringing with praise
And sounds of glorious gospel truth
Have been abandoned for the gasp
Of worldly pleasure and pursuit

For this unprecedented age
Of pride going before the fall
As nations, founded on God’s Word
Promote abandoning it all
To be gods, wise in their own eyes
But are in fact, blind leading blind
Where deceit, like a gaping pit
Swallows the unbelieving mind

For this unprecedented age
Of impropriety endorsed
And applauded by worldly-wise
Without guilt and shame, or remorse
For this unprecedented age
Of wolves wearing sheep-like disguise
Soothing, smoothing the inner prick
With unbiblical, sweet, sweet lies

For this unprecedented age
Of unbelief, we pray and pray
We, who with faith and fear believe
In the approach of That Great Day
Oh Lord, we pray and pray that ‘they’
Would repent and believe in You
And that we who believe would be
A vessel that your Light shines through

© Janet Martin

Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, 
we do not lose heart. 
2 Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; 
we do not use deception,
 nor do we distort the word of God.
 On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly 
we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.
 3 And even if our gospel is veiled,
 it is veiled to those who are perishing.
 4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers,
 so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, 
who is the image of God. 
5 For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, 
and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 
6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”[a
made his light shine in our hearts
 to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory 
displayed in the face of Christ.





Tuesday, December 26, 2023

Christmas That Never Ends

Day-after-Christmas contemplation...

The hustle and bustle of Christmas busyness,
the rustle of wrapping paper,
the frenzy of last minute food and gift prep,
the shrieks of excitement and delight
will soon fade like fond footfalls of farewell,
we collect in heart-vaults.


...but the Spirit of Christmas,
because of God's everlasting goodness through the gift
of his Son, Jesus, is hopefully a daily joy, all year through!

Christmas Season, with all its fuss and bustle will soon fade
And disappear into the hush of Bygone’s promenade
But, Belief in the Reason for the season, anchors peace
His everlasting goodness gladdens hope with joy’s increase

Belief transforms the lens we look through to find happiness
It mends the holes in our souls with precious promises
And grounds faith in the merit of love, unfathomable
Where Father, Son and Spirit manifests Immanuel

Where redemption endorses profound possibility
The blood of Christ that cleanses and atones, sets sinners free
From the inherent curse; the first-fruit that first sin conceived
But God so rich in mercy washed away when we believed

This keeps the joy of Christmas alive in us all year long
His everlasting goodness kindles everlasting song
Because belief in the Reason for the Season transcends
The temporal; Jesus gives us Christmas that never ends

© Janet Martin

the morning after
a lot of laughter, food and joys aka noise๐Ÿ˜…๐Ÿ’–!!!



John 10;10
I have come that they may have life, 
and that they may have it more abundantly.
Jesus~








Sunday, January 22, 2023

As We Face What Waits To Be...

 

After two funerals, one on Friday and one yesterday
it is impossible not to be impacted by the brevity and sacredness of life on earth.
For, even though both funerals were for elderly women who had outlived
the moment life ceases to be all that matters is how we prepared for eternity!
Here we all still are, where God tips the scales of mercy in our favour,
where the invitation to 'come' resounds, 
and where redemption for sin still flows full and free!

Heb.9:27-28
Just as man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment, 
28so also Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many;
 and He will appear a second time, 
not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await Him.

Are you among those 'who eagerly await Him 
because of His gift of salvation'?!





Daybreak tips God’s scales of mercy in our favour; faith ahoy
With the promise of his Presence we proceed with hope and joy
Armed with the awesome awareness of the power of His Word
Gladness rekindles commitment to our calling undeterred

Because no matter what happens as we face what waits to be
Nothing in the world can sever us from God and love's decree
As Time’s thread runs through His fingers and our numbered days decrease
May Hope’s finished work through Jesus fill our hearts with joy and peace

We who believe in Him receive so much to be thankful for
As the Hour is approaching that nobody should ignore
When the joy still set before us is unveiled and we shall see
He who tips morn’s scales of mercy and beckons ‘come unto Me’

Death demands life’s full attention ere it cuts time’s sacred cord
And it ushers us to reckon with the love we most adored
Pray before the hour ceases when repentance comes too late
We have put our trust in Jesus, who will greet us at death’s gate

Then, when like a little vapor time’s brief sojourn disappears
We who have believed will enter in to ‘no more pain or tears’
But for all who disregarded He whose love tips mercy’s scales
There remains the endless horror of rejection’s endless wails

© Janet Martin









Thursday, June 23, 2022

To Know Makes All the Difference (for the Unknown)

Who knows what Come-what-may waits to unfold today...
(well!! one unknown unfolded already;
 An unexpected day off due to two sick tots)

Here are a few fond frames of yesterday




Side note on photo below: while we 'swang' we sang every song we could think of...
including what might be the longest version of Old MacDonald's Farm ever known ๐Ÿ˜‚




The Knowing keeps dark deeps of Come-What-May in tender check
Morning unmoors the bark of Day with renewed call and beck
Where none can see what waits to be, but He who spreads the skies
Where no sudden calamity His will can compromise
(or, where no sudden calamities can take Him by surprise)

His promises are like a bulwark where dread’s fathoms roll
To know God keeps his every Word comforts the fainting soul



© Janet Martin

Romans 15:13
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, 
that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.





  

Monday, June 20, 2022

Anguish...

Dear Believer, does your heart too, break for the lost and the cost of unbelief?
Do you weep for those who sleep in the darkness of sin?
Do you mourn for those not yet born again?
Do you pray
And pray
And pray?!




  


What script of desolation spills like ink-demonic seas
When naught but human logic fills thought’s godless theories
What darkness over darkness rolls without the light of Truth
How doleful daybreak's bower tolls, how hopeless is youth’s youth
Without the faith that rends the veil
And trusts the love that cannot fail

What fathoms of futility soon lie in wanton waste
What claim to shame’s depravity tunes knowledge, mortal-based
What agonizing anguish rings beyond time’s transient bar
When fullness of rejection flings the gates of hell ajar
When, without faith that makes us whole
Denial faces Deathless Soul

What weight of sorrow sears the prayer that reaches Mercy’s ears
As groan on groan beyond compare beseeches, tears on tears
Because the love and truth of God, by some, is thought a sham
No reverence, no fear, no laud for salvation’s I AM
Where without He who justifies
Hell claims the soul that never dies

What Gethsemane-like appeal should bleed from prayer on prayer
What throes of love should bid us kneel, love’s pleading cross to bear
For what good is the best laid plan unfurled if its sad goal
Is but the wink-span of the world in exchange for the soul
Where nothing, when Last Breath is spent
Can comfort Unbelief’s Lament

© Janet Martin

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life.
Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies.

Prov.14:26-27

He who fears the LORD is secure in confidence,
and his children shall have a place of refuge.

The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life,
turning a man from the snares of death.

Wednesday, December 29, 2021

Today's Prayer


“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ 
will enter the kingdom of heaven, 
but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Jesus~
Matt.7:21

Almost Persuaded-Josh Turner
Four years ago I shared the song below on this post:
as we mourned the loss of a young man in our community


God loves us all, so poor, needy and broken without Him,
He is mankind's Healer, Deliverer and Savior!
He is love

For all who have not heard or trusted God, so good and kind
I pray today unveils the way that only faith can find
Not everyone who says ‘Lord, Lord, heaven’s passport will win
But only those who do the will of God will enter in

For all who have not yet bowed heads to repent and believe
I pray today the Truth will reveal doubt's lies that deceive
That eyes once blind will see and hearts once hard will yield to He
Who is not mocked; but is the Saviour of humanity

For all who have not understood the gravity of life
I pray today they find the peace that surpasses all strife
Before it is too late, I pray they roam earth’s futile sod
Until they turn from self and sin to want the love of God

© Janet Martin

Today's Bible Love Note:

2 Pet.3:3
Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come,
 scoffing and following their own evil desires.

John 12:48
There is a judge for the one who rejects Me and does not receive My words:
 The word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.

1 Timothy 4:1
Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith 
to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons,

2 Timothy 3:2
For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money,
 boastful, arrogant, abusive, 
disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,

Jude 1:16
These men are discontented grumblers, 
following after their own lusts; their mouths spew arrogance;
 they flatter others for their own advantage.

Monday, December 13, 2021

Priceless Provision...

Visiting the dentist that I have had a long-standing 
Or rephrase, a long tipped almost upside-down relationship with
is NOT the way I would choose to start the week 
but I am very thankful for him nonetheless๐Ÿ˜…๐Ÿ˜‚
This morning I couldn't help but laugh out loud when he asked me
if I'm feeling numb yet? Oxy moron?
Visiting the dentist always allows lots of time to reflect!

The eastward edge of earth and sky gives birth to break of day...
(to we who remain)
We know it will be so for nothing can dawn’s courser’s sway

How beautiful the funeral service message of comfort was yesterday
to the family and friends of my Uncle Ernie Frey
In closing the minister reiterated the wonderful comfort in the knowledge
 that though we mourn it is not without hope
because God did provide a way that defeated death
and leads to life eternal.
Oh, what a blessed hope and joy for all who believe!
So, though this year for many, Christmas is marked with sorrow
for those who believe it remains a season of everlasting joy as well!
The Child in the manger 
became man's redemption on the cross at Calvary!
Now, that's a Tree worth revering,
a joy worth shouting!
From it hung the Light of the World
in time's darkest hour!
Hallelujah, what a Saviour!

The quote below is from a book of Peter Marshall messages...


The eastward edge of earth and sky gives birth to break of day
We know it will be so for nothing can dawn’s courser’s sway
Just as we know the west will showcase sunset’s artistry
Faith fixes eyes upon a prize it knows but cannot see

This is the day the Lord has made with hope and grace renewed
Time’s march, far more than stiff-starched moment-soldiers, season-hued
It is a footpath to an aftermath by breath concealed
And only when life ceases, then the rest will be revealed

God does not leave grief comfortless when death collects its due
If we believe then we receive Hope’s anchor, firm and true
Though storms may toss with loss, the power of the cross abides
Faith dearly clings through sufferings to the hope God provides

The Faithful One who gave His Son to pay the sinner’s debt
Will never fail though dark the vale of sorrows that beset
God, through His Son, knew love had won, though it appeared He died
The triumph of faith, hope and love was on death’s other side

© Janet Martin

Luke 12:31-32
But seek [f]the kingdom of God, 
and all these things shall be added to you.
 “Do not fear, little flock, 
for it is your Father’s good pleasure
 to give you the kingdom. 





Saturday, December 4, 2021

Where Still The Call To All Remains...

 Inspired in part by Luke 3

Unto Us-Living Stones Quartet




In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea
2and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”
Matt.3:1

And all people will see God’s salvation.
Luke 3:6

Truth’s Voice cries in the wilderness ‘prepare’ for He who will return
The advent of His holiness trembles in hearts that wait and yearn
Where still the call to all remains, ‘repent, ‘be baptized’, ‘come, adore’
Before the Lord winnows the grains from chaff on Judgment’s threshing floor

Faith bows before Him in reply, whose feet we are not fit to kiss
Whose appearing will fill the sky; no foretold oracle amiss
Whose example still fills the Word, whose Truth will never shift or sway
Whose Spirit abides, undeterred to all who trust Him and obey

The advent of the Lord’s return burns in hearts fixed beyond time’s strife
While Mercy pleads where unfaith spurns the Only Way, the Truth, The Life
As believers become the voice that cries in holy urgency
Because belief becomes the choice that becomes soul’s eternity

Hark! Where the angels praised his birth, they will fill up the sky again
As the Lord of Heaven and earth returns forevermore to reign
Where the God of Deliverance tarries because so many doubt
And do not grasp the recompense of what God's gift is all about

Truth’s Voice cries in the wilderness ‘prepare’ for He who will return
The advent of His holiness trembles in hearts that wait and yearn
Where still the call to all remains, ‘repent, ‘be baptized’, ‘come, adore’
Before the Lord winnows the grains from chaff on Judgment’s threshing floor

© Janet Martin



Someone posted the suggestion on Facebook to read a chapter of Luke every day till Christmas Eve to read the whole book of Luke and his account of the whole life of Jesus!
So, before I go to bed I will try to read a chapter of Luke until Christmas.
I might not have a poem for every chapter but wow!
so much wonder in the Word to kindle inspiration, rejoicing and Hope!

Tuesday, October 26, 2021

Above The Call of Duty...


Today's visitation is the fourth one I am attending this month
some of the deceased young, some old.
...reminding us that we are all mortal
and Death is no respecter of age!
However, though Death is sometimes called The Grim Reaper
our prospects for eternity are not grim unless we have
rejected He who hung upon the tree to set us free
from the curse that damns the immortal soul...
The soul transcends dust and ash,
and whether we gaze at a body in a coffin
or a photo on a table the Immortal Soul
is the unthwartable, invisible imprint
of our Creator in us!

Our message this past Sunday
challenged all of us, if true believers 
to share the gospel, the Good News of Salvation,
our Living Hope, at every opportunity!

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! 
In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope
 through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing,
but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.



 


 




Above the call of duty that demands our diligence
Beneath the ever-ebbing surge of season’s recompense
No matter what exacts the task whereby toil takes its toll
Above the call of duty is the Call that saves the soul

Like flesh-and-blood-tsunamis generations rise and fall
God, who is man’s Creator knows the hearts of one and all
And loves us so He gave His Son to pay sin’s awful price
The Author of Salvation provided the sacrifice

…so that we need not perish; there is power in the blood
Where I AM’s flawless crucible poured out redemption’s flood
Where pray, the faith that makes us whole ignites the Living Word
So we proclaim the living hope of Jesus Christ our Lord

His righteousness within us is the power of the cross
For there is no one righteous without Him; all gain is loss
Where some still count as foolishness, the message we applaud
But to those who are being saved it is the pow’r of God

Above the call of occupation’s menial decree
Beneath the ever-waning gap before eternity
The faith that saves the soul and sets us free becomes the cord
That binds us to the urgent call of Jesus Christ, our Lord

© Janet Martin

Tuesday, September 7, 2021

Joy Complete


So many potential titles for this poem;
So Much More Hope
Ultimate Relief
Prelude to the Prize
 Miracle-Pinnacle (Faith that makes us whole)
Complete In Him


Yesterday Victoria and I squealed with giddy delight,
in the culled, mulled colours 
and brisk breezes of September



This morning is no exception;
Apple-pear-cider crisp and tart


So much to love in the middle of life's muddle...
this morning's muddle in Canada includes back-to-school
meaning SO much emotion for first-time scholars and parents of those and,
first-time high-schooler, post-secondary education students etc.

So much out of our control means we need 
Someone to anchor us SO MUCH!


Col.2:8-10
Beware lest anyone [e]cheat you 
through philosophy and empty deceit, 
according to the tradition of men, 
according to the basic principles of the world, 
and not according to Christ. 
 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead [f]bodily;
  and you are complete in Him, 
who is the head of all [g]principality and power.

So much to try our good intent
So much to lose and win
Desire and discouragement
Battle beneath our skin
So much to disappoint and tempt
So much to pick and choose
So much to do, where consequence
Soon keeps its promised dues

So much to vex the ardor of
The dreamer and the dream
So much to test the heart of love
Where idol-temples gleam
So much to taunt, where want runs rife
But boast cannot fulfill
So much to make the most of life
So much to steal its thrill

So much we touch then strew behind
So much hunger and thirst
So much for ties of death to bind
So much, both blessed and cursed
Where best and worst are woven through
Vestures of faith and fear
Where so much that we say and do
Can’t keep a conscience clear

So much to turn to prayerful trust
To repent and confess
So much more God, merciful, just
Father of forgiveness
So much more love where grace achieves
The convict’s full release
So much more hope as faith receives
So much more joy and peace

So much more hope; ah, this alone
Can make our joy complete
So much uncertain and unknown
Yet, so much comfort sweet
Where only genuine belief
Overcomes doubt and dread
Then we find ultimate relief
As we trust God instead

Complete in Him; ah, pray that we
Find this world's paradise
Complete in Him; ah, may this be
Our prelude to The Prize
Complete in Him; longing fulfilled
As much as possible
Complete in Him; fear's storm is stilled
By the Invisible 

© Janet Martin

  

Wednesday, June 30, 2021

The Bedrock of Belief, Or Not



2 Tim.1:12
For this reason I also suffer these things; 
nevertheless I am not ashamed,
 for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able 
to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.

Matt.7:21 NIV
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

Heb.3:18-19
And to whom did He swear that they would never enter His rest?
Was it not to those who disobeyed?

Whoever believes in Him is not condemned,
but whoever does not believe has already been condemned,
because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.

Romans 12:3
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: 
Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, 
but rather think of yourself with sober judgment,
 in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.



Matt 7:7
Ask and it will be given to you;
seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.



The bedrock of Belief, or not
Is the chief Cornerstone of thought
Belief is more than a mere nod
To accede existence of God
Where voice of choice cannot long hide
God either adored or denied

The bedrock of belief or not
Is confirmed by response to Ought
Rebellion or obedience
Prove who we serve and reverence
Either the Name above all names
Or Shame’s shameless and brazen claims

The bedrock of belief or not
Is more than a set of truths taught
These truths become love’s vow fulfilled
Proven by where and how we build
With treasure here or gathered up
Where moth and rust cannot corrupt

The bedrock of belief or not
Is either shifting sand or Rock
Graver than anything can be
For it impacts eternity
And is sacred above all else
For soul outlives this Splash of Self

We ought to give most earnest heed
To I AM’s righteousness decreed
Before Reckoning and Reward
When all confess that He is Lord
As we receive what we begot
On Bedrock of Belief, or not

© Janet Martin


So this is what the Lord GOD says:
 "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, 
a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation;
 the one who believes will never be shaken.

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved;
 but he that believeth not shall be damned.

He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life:
 and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; 
but the wrath of God abideth on him.