Showing posts with label freedom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label freedom. Show all posts

Saturday, November 11, 2023

Freedom's Price is Steep


If only we only took time
to humbly and kindly love
If only we lived as if we believed
That what God/love gives is enough

***

Until we change our ways to God's ways, 
war will not change its ways

***

I have shared these excerpts from Peter Marshall's Sermon
The American Dream, a few times before
But truth is timeless!


The phrase below could just as well be read 'we in Canada' 😥🙏



Freedom’s price is steep where after-effects run deep; their loss, our gain
Freedom is never free, but a hard-fought and blood-wrought cross of pain
Love, the greatest command never fails; but kingdoms rise and fall
When leaders turn away and disobey God who is Lord of all

The Author and Authority of love is long-suff’ring and kind
Without Him we are a pathetic case of blind leading the blind

Until we love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind
Freedom will fail. Travail of war will scream, blood red, dread’s streams unwind
God’s light shines on great darkness; a darkness that does not comprehend
The love of He who sets us free; whose death purchased life without end

If only we would take to heart the wage of disobedience
And would fear God, and love His Word, not treat Him with indifference
For ‘unto us a child was born, One whose kingdom will never cease
His Name, Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Prince of Peace

Freedom’s price is steep where after-effects run deep; His loss, our gain
Freedom is never free; His cost, a love-wrought, blood-bought cross of pain
Love, the greatest command never fails; great nations rise and fall
And will until all fear and believe in He who is Lord of all

© Janet Martin

Isa. 9:6
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: 
and the government shall be upon his shoulder: 
and his name shall be called Wonderful, 
Counsellor, 
The mighty God, 
The everlasting Father, 
The Prince of Peace.

More timeless truth from Jeremiah 






Who is wise and understanding among you?
 Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom.
  14But if you have bitter envy and [h]self-seeking in your hearts, 
do not boast and lie against the truth. 
15This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic.
  16For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. 
17But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, 
gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, 
without partiality and without hypocrisy. 
18Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace 
by those who make peace. 
James 3:13-18









Friday, February 25, 2022

Divine Dynamics

Produce fruit, then, in keeping with repentance. 

Psalm 100:4-5
Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise;
give thanks to Him and bless His name.





Wide, the world abounds with wonders
Generations rise and fall
Truth abides amidst pride’s blunders
The Lord God is over all

Broad, the aftermath of action
Where ripple-effect of deed
Affects future generations
With benevolence or greed

Deep, the roots of humble penance
Ground the soundness of the tree
As fruits worthy of repentance
Prove faith’s authenticity

Loud, the cries where evil rages
Desperation pleads for peace
Look, a Book of holy pages
Tells the Way to true release

Firm, faith’s rock-solid foundation
Anchors hope’s oft storm-tossed sails
God, the author of salvation
Never falters, never fails

Hallelujah, God is greater
His freedom no chain can bind
Nothing can thwart the Creator
Nor the plan that He designed

Vainly evil plots its vengeance
For nothing can overthrow
With battalion or belligerence
He from Whom all blessings flow

Hateful, the retaliations
Of those who despise His call
Faithful to all generations
The Lord God is over all

© Janet Martin


Tuesday, December 21, 2021

Hymn of Joy (Inspired in part by Haitian Hostage release)

Just as the morning sun dissolves night's darkness with light
So Jesus, God's Son,(The True Light) dissolves death's darkness with life


this poem is inspired in part by Luke 18, 19& 20,
by Christmas as we dwell on God's gift to humanity,
by this week's advent theme, God's love,
and by listening to the account from Christian Aid
about the missionaries released after being held captive for 2 months!
(see link below)
The word 'freedom' for them, must surely have a sweeter and deeper joy than ever before!

When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives,
 the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God 
in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
38 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”[b]
“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”
40 “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
Luke 19:37-40
In captivity the missionaries sang, Just like Paul and Silas long ago
(pray their captors too will ask like that jailer did, what must I do to be saved?)

As we begin hearing details about the missionaries who were held captive
in Haiti, we cannot help but we awed by God's faithfulness
and weep for the sheer joy of the hope we have in Him!
May we continue to pray for them as they deal with the aftermath of it all!

Into the darkness of the age what joy True Light yet gives
God’s Word abides to show The Way; man’s steadfast hope yet lives
So then with confidence and peace through what we see, or not
We pray God may our faith increase for battles not yet fought
For heart-of-heart humility to obey and to trust
To eclipse the futility of worldly pride and lust
For we seek a city to come (Oh Lord, may it be so)
The perfection of Christendom beyond this world of woe
Beyond the darkness of the age, where, praise God, hope yet lives
To show the way, from page to page by the Light God’s Word gives

Then praise the one true God and keep the stones from crying out
‘He is not dead nor doth he sleep’ oh, may we never doubt
But undeterred press on to Sweet Redemption’s Aftermath
His Word a Lamp unto our feet, a light unto our path
He keeps in perfect peace the mind stayed steadfastly on He
Who is compassionate and kind and forgives you and me
Not repaying accordingly to what our sins deserve
He paid guilt’s debt at Calvary, in love without reserve
His gift of grace for everyone; what joy His True Light gives
God so loved us He gave his Son to save us; hope yet lives

Delight in the law of the Lord and he will give to thee
The full desires of thy heart, from worldly want set free
And as we gaze on He who bought our freedom with His blood
May we be awed anew by the redeeming love of God
And then, not grow disheartened but be filled with gratitude
And worship He who pardoned us, with hearts and minds renewed
To sing with joy and rejoice and again I say rejoice
Do not be silent, boys and girls but give your worship voice
The Beacon of God’s Word still gleams; what joy His True Light gives
Into the darkness of the world it streams and hope yet lives

© Janet Martin

Every so often I share this beautiful hymn because I love Jesus!

 


Thursday, July 1, 2021

Oh, True North, How Long Will You Be Strong and Free


I can't help but shed a tear as I listen to our glorious, national anthem...
The Canada this song was written for is still geographically accurate
but the people, oh, it's the people that make a country, 
not the dirt we stand on...

Another great rendition of our national anthem!




I love Canada, and thankfully, we still enjoy many freedoms
however, I cannot glaze with praise that which is not praise-worthy...

Oh, True North strong and free
I mourn for you today
Are stripping ‘free’ away

Our home and native land
Poised on a precipice
Is scorned, ignored, dismissed

Our national anthem
Tweaked to please man, not God
Our House of Commons, prayer-devoid
Our leadership, a fraud

Grand worship-cathedrals
Deserted now for dreams
That disregard man’s Source of Strength
That binds a country’s seams

Oh Canada, you are
Hearts that once glowed with pride
You are the land for which so many
Sons and daughters died

And now some dare to think
(Wise in their own conceit)
That History’s permanent ink
They somehow can delete

...where ignorance is god
And atheism lord
And debt, a noose of corruption
Nobody can afford

Oh, True North Strong and Free
I mourn for you today
Because your/our strength and freedoms
Are being stripped away

© Janet Martin

Truth (and history) are indestructible
no matter what man destroys!
March on, Christian soldier/soul-dier

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.


Psalm 60:2
You have shaken the land and torn it open. 
Heal its fractures, for it is quaking.

James 4:10
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.

Keep old books, find them, protect them
 because the info on the internet is censored and unreliable
at the discretion of darkened understanding!



Above all keep This Book front and foremost!


Our country is in the state we are in because this book of Everlasting Truth
God's Word, is no longer front and foremost in our homes!
Strong faith = strong families 
strong families= strong homes 
strong homes= strong country!

My heart bursts with concern for the country these  precious tots
are growing up in!!!







Thursday, December 10, 2020

Sons and Heirs (How can it be?)

Glorious truth (for we who believe) to ponder!

Gal.4:4-7
But when the set time had fully come, 
God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
  to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.[b
 Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, 
the Spirit who calls out, “Abba,[c] Father.” 
 So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; 
and since you are his child, 
God has made you also an heir.




Then, when we were still dead in sin 
As lost, as lost can be 
The Son of God came down to man 
To die for you and me 

To die, and thereby conquer death 
Oh, sacred mystery 
To make we, lowly sons of earth 
Part of God’s family 

To do through love what law could not 
To set sin’s captive free 
No longer slaves, but sons of God 
Then heirs of Royalty 

As sons of God, we, sons of men 
Dare not Freedom forsake 
Lest we become enslaved again 
By chains He came to break 

© Janet Martin 

Galatians 5:1
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. 
Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves 
be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Monday, November 2, 2020

A Very Relevant Reminder


The eyes of the world are on the United States of America
and the impending election.
The eyes of God are over the world.
He is sovereign!

I will praise the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save.
Psalm 146:2-3

I shared this message before the last election.
I know it's a bit long for a blog-post but
it's a sermon that seems to grow ever more, not less relevant!
Canadians are deeply concerned and connected to what happens 
'south of the border'!









the above is a sermon preached by Peter Marshall  
whose later career included;
In 1937 Marshall became pastor of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC
In 1946 he was appointed as US Senate Chaplain, 
serving from January 4, 1947 until his sudden death of a heart attack 
just over two years later, at age 46.
Click on the images to enlarge.

 It seems this message preached shortly after 
World War II is even more relevant now than then!
and not only for Americans.
This applies to all of us who value freedom!

The eyes of God are over all
The creature plots or prays
And often gets enamored by
The lie of captured gaze

Freedom's price tag is bathed in blood
The truth that sets us free
Is greater than the belly of
Fleeting mortality 

I lay a precious stone
A tested cornerstone for faith
To ever rely on

If we reject the Cornerstone
We spurn He who sustains
Lord, open up blind eyes to Truth
While mercy yet remains

The eyes of You are over all
You are Sovereign and just
Dear Lord, You see beneath flesh-shawl
Whether 'In God We Trust'
 
And as we see the Evidence
Of infidels increase
Enlarge through faith the confidence
That fills us with Your peace

© Janet Martin 

Wednesday, July 1, 2020

A Canada Day Thank-you Hymn


 



For freedom to get on our knees ten times a day if we so please
For blankets spread with unrushed ease beneath a canopy of trees
For picnic baskets unpacked by three-year-old happiness run wild
For fearless laughter sparkling skyward between mother and her child

For living without giving second thought to constant hunger pangs
A world outside each window, beckoning, without barbed wire fangs
For leisure hours among flowers that no gardener can tame
For the innocence of wonder no matter our age or name

For the beauty of life’s Duties in the trench of home, sweet home
For words like ‘we’ and ‘together’ to weather whatever may come
For family vacations whether one week or an afternoon
For special celebrations or the ordinary, gone too soon

For liquid diamonds splayed against backdrops of blue, after the splash
For bills to pay and chores to do and God, where hope and heartache clash
For more than we deserve, without reserve, goodness out-poured
For freedom to linger over a cup of tea, we thank Thee, Lord

For neighbours who are friends and ‘love thy neighbours’ flawless law
For New-day’s faithful second chance that mercy grants to humbled awe
For we-who-once-were-younger feeling comfortable in older skin
For breezes that lilt across leaves like bow over a violin

For masterpiece montages played on earth’s eastward and westward edge
Oh Lord, my God, when we see these we vow to keep faith’s earnest pledge
If these are but the outer fringes of what none have seen or heard
For welkin-inkwells, grass-blade quills, where poetry spills undeterred

For Favor bending over backwards to save us from ourselves
For rain-bejeweled woodlands hosting mushroom-sized fairies and elves  
For we who are our own worst enemy and yet our most devoted friend
For bygones we would change except for what they taught us in the end

For the fine art of love in spite of highest highs and lowest lows
For the divine partaking of heart-breaking thorn and healing rose
For quaking grit and shaking ‘sit’ as teenagers learn how to drive
For this and so much more, dear Lord we are thankful to be alive

For time that takes its tender toll but always only day by day
For morning-tides that roll the crumpled charge of yesterday away
For plain cocoons that hold and unfold butterflies and petal-wings
For this and so much more dear Lord, the dazzled poet sings and sings

© Janet Martin





Oh Canada, Glorious and Free (oh North America!!)

 below, yesterday's tot-craft!

Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain. 
Unless the LORD watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.
Psalm 127:1

 Sharing the prayer at the close of Peter Marshall's sermon, The American Dream
(click link for the whole sermon)
Have you read it lately?
 It's truths apply to Canadians just as profoundly!
a few more excerpts (and this was preached in the1930's or 40's!!)





Ah liberty is never free; lest we forget midst common plan
To treasure with humility its prize, to serve our fellowman
And never take our eyes of He who keeps our true North strong and free
Where man’s downfall will ever be contempt for God’s supremacy

...for power-hungry greed destroys and pride always precedes the fall
And ignorance is greatest where God’s Word is treasured least of all
And then the blind, wise in their own eyes think they see and dare to lead
The flock over a precipice then bind their wounds with chains of need

...for freedom cannot long survive where godless logic takes the wheel
Ah, liberty is never freedom to forget its bloody seal
Or founding fathers full of faith; hope’s symbol raised on foreign sod
To proclaim peace and give first place to the authority of God

To pray for peace is ludicrous if we abandon its True Source
Hope without God is foolishness; a ship blown off its charted course
As wolves dressed in sheep’s clothing mingle with the loud, gullible crowd
And gloat at the prattling, pathetic prey of the godless and proud

Oh Canada, glorious and free; but oh, how certain seems thy fall
In vain we’ll stand on guard for thee if we forsake the Lord of all
Oh, Canada, the beautifully blessed because God’s grace is great
Our home and native land, oh Lord, waken before it is too late

Oh, Canada home of fine churches empty, because man neglects
The One who gave purpose to hard-working dreamers and architects
Oh Canada, glorious and free but doom looms large; thy lovely land
Of rocky heights and grassy sweeps slipping into heathen quicksand

Ah, liberty is never free; its privileges lent, not owned
Oh God, its loss is gathering momentum with each ‘prophet stoned
And unless we repent oh Lord, our true North strong and free will fall
Oh Canada, before it is too late, pray for a miracle

© Janet Martin