Showing posts with label obedience. Show all posts
Showing posts with label obedience. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 5, 2024

Never Too Young (or old) To Learn

Sweetheart helping/learning to make butter tarts!




I generally am treated to 100% sweetness by this little gal
but 'rumor' has it there's another side that sometimes isn't quite so!😂😅🙏


Sometimes, when 'training up' children, an extra-firm hand is required;
A hand that let's them know that no tantrum will change the expectation for obedience!
It is vital that a child learns as early as able, 
to recognize and respect/obey authority!




Sometimes, we as God's children need that firm Hand too.
How easily we (like children) are prone to ignore 
and disrespect/disobey His Supreme Authority!
We, like little children, can be as sweet as pie (or butter tarts) when all goes well!
But what about those other times, when wills clash?!

Romans 6:16
Do you not know that when you offer yourselves as obedient slaves, 
you are slaves to the one you obey, 
whether you are slaves to sin leading to death, 
or to obedience leading to righteousness?



The quest to please ourselves, it seems, comes very naturally
Rousing a wrestling match between Self and authority
We are not born to want to yield to edicts not our own
The master of our lives revealed by what our deeds make known

The quest to please ourselves is something that is never taught
Human nature is always king over empires of thought
The living proof of love’s touchstone demonstrates without fail
Who resides on the heart’s veiled throne; choice, its own tattle-tale

The quest to please ourselves is not uncommon or bizarre
Until we yield our will to God, love is a tug-of-war
Until we love Him first, we will not find true joy because
The quest to please ourselves is cursed with the worst part of us (sin)

We all have faced the giant in the valley of love tried
We all have been defiant, self-reliant, blind with pride
But, pray, we all have borne the blow that brought us to our knees
And slew the masquerading foe, impossible to please

And pray our quests have been condensed till only One prevails
Treasured with humble confidence/reverence in God who never fails
And pray that when we are beguiled to prize some lesser goal
He reminds us, we are His child; the Saviour of the Soul

© Janet Martin


Eph.3:20-21
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly 
above all that we ask or think,
 according to the power that works in us, 
 to Him be glory in the church 
by Christ Jesus to all generations,
 forever and ever. 
Amen.

so, here's to that universal classroom of
'never too old to learn' or to forgive, or repent,
and confess our sins and try-try-again!

Below, an inspiring excerpt from the life story of
George Mueller of Bristow...



Friday, December 8, 2023

Forbid Folly To Interject

Daniel 9:4-5&8-9

4And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made confession, and said,
 “O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy 
with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, 
5 we have sinned and committed iniquity, 
we have done wickedly and rebelled, 
even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. ...

8 “O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes, 
and our fathers, because we have sinned against You.
 9 To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, 
though we have rebelled against Him...

2 Cor.7:10
For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation,
not to be regretted;
but the sorrow of the world produces death.

***
Why, oh why does human nature so easily forget
to trust our trustworthy Heavenly Father?!
Why are we so prone to want so much less
than He is waiting to lavish us with?!
Why are we so easily blinded by circumstance
rather than enlightened by His promises?!
Oh Lord, grant us godly sorrow that leads to repentance!
again and again!

***
I am reading through the book of Daniel and am always moved by the account
of Daniel after the decree that none should pray to anyone but
King Darius and anyone who does will be put to death...
Dan.6:10
Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home.
 And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, 
he knelt down on his knees three times that day, 
and prayed and gave thanks before his God,
 as was his custom since early days...

Oh, that we may dare to be a Daniel too;
to be un-swayed in our devotion to God
no matter what or who attempts some sad
folly to interject and redirect our worship !

Today's post is also influenced by yesterday's devotion
from My Utmost for His Highest...

Forbid folly to interject and redirect my gaze from He
Whose goodness grants deliverance from hell’s hopeless eternity

Whose grace (a gift) bridges the rift that gaped with sin’s unholy strife
Whose mercy gave His Son to brave the death that wrought eternal life

Whose blood redeems and washes clean each one who repents and believes
Whose joy complete, so rich and sweet, only godly sorrow achieves

Whose righteousness, when we confess turns scarlet sins to snowy white
Whose love anoints all He appoints with His divine power and might

Whose law is peace, though wars increase, whose Light no darkest dark can dim
Forbid folly to interject and redirect my gaze from Him

But, let me seek with motive meek, a heart like Daniel, bold and true
Then, humbly bring, my God and King, faithful and thankful praise to You

© Janet Martin




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, October 27, 2023

Bat Not Thine Eye Lash at Thy Guilt...or, Earnest Plea


Reading through the books of Isaiah and Jeremiah kindles
much sober reflection and speechless awe
for the sure judgment and the abounding love and mercy of God



Brush not at sin, like lint on sleeves
To save everyone who believes

Rush not, bold-faced, into the day
Without reckoning He who grants
The morn its light; bow down and pray

Mock not, nor take in vain the Name
Above all names; but chastely fear
The One, whereby prophets proclaim

Let not imagination rule
In rebel disobedience
Approach today with reverence

Lest, poorly and blindly content
With pomp and show of Noble Thought
Thy deathless soul reaps hell’s lament/torment

Thy futile prayers when troubles groan
Fall on thy knees, repent, revere
The God of gods and God alone

For love, devoted to obey
He whose decrees are undeterred

Bat not thy eye at the grave rift
Each soul must ford ‘neath death’s cold knife

© Janet Martin




1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins 
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Wednesday, August 23, 2023

Faithfulness's Fitness/Litmus Test (or All For Christ)


Today's song and poem, a very personal challenge!!

Ps.130:1-4
Out of the depths
I cry to You, O LORD!
2O Lord, hear my voice;
let Your ears be attentive to my plea for mercy.
3If You, O LORD, kept track of iniquities,
then who, O Lord, could stand?
4But with You there is forgiveness,
so that You may be feared.


 





Am I equipped with the Full Armor, (that without, none can endure)
Where an unscrupulous charmer tosses many a lovely lure

Am I willing to be accused falsely, yet answer not a word


Ready, no matter what the cost, self-sacrificed, to follow Him

Knowing, for all who truly love Him, God works out all things for good
Oh, am I ready to portray Him, with faith all but Jesus-blind

© Janet Martin

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.


Eph.5:1-17
Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.
 2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, 
an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

3 But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, 
let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; 
4 neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, 
which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. 
5 For [a]this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man,
 who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things
 the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 
7 Therefore do not be partakers with them.
Walk in Light

8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. 
Walk as children of light 
9 (for the fruit of the [b]Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), 
10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.
 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness,
 but rather [c]expose them. 
12 For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. 
13 But all things that are [d]exposed are made manifest by the light,
 for whatever makes manifest is light. 14 Therefore He says:

“Awake, you who sleep,
Arise from the dead,
And Christ will give you light.”
Walk in Wisdom

15 See then that you walk [e]circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 
16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is...


 




Thursday, August 3, 2023

Not Here or There or That or This






Sometimes I spend a lot of misdirected
though well-intended energy on trying to
find God's purpose for me
when, as today's devotion reminded me,
all He wants is my surrendered willingness.



This was such a comfort to me as I try to decide 
whether to get back into childcare again or not!
I am having such a hard time trying to figure out what is best...
but whether I do or do not, has nothing to do with his purpose for me,
  if the object of my devotion each day is Him!
If my attitude is 
'Behold the handmaid of the Lord;
 be it unto me according to thy word'
Luke 1:38
(Is that verse not a challenge easier said/read than done?!!)

 Not the choice but the motive behind the choice
 reveals the voice I am listening to!
A sobering scale on which to weigh/pray each decision and desire,
because financial security and creature comforts
 are not God's purpose, 
(though, oh, how human nature wishes it would be!!)
but rather treasure of eternal value...unglamorous in the gaining!

John 3:17
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, 
but to save the world through Him.

John 6:28-29
Then they inquired, "What must we do to perform the works of God?"
Jesus replied, "The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent."

2 Pet.3:9
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness.
 Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish,
 but everyone to come to repentance.

***

Not whether we go here or there or work at this or that
The purpose of God’s call will follow where we hang our hat
His focus not the title of the duty or the task
But of a heart surrendered to whatever He will ask

Not in lofty ambition or pursuit of noble quest
But in humble contrition to obey without protest
The medium of labor but the scaffolding whereby
The love for God and neighbor stirs/spurs the tenure of reply

The purpose of God is not there or here or that or this
His purpose always begins where the mark is hard to miss
Right here and now, with you and me, however vague or dim
His purpose is fulfilled as we relinquish all for Him

© Janet Martin

The Rich Young Man- Matt.19:16-28

16Just then a man came up to Jesus and inquired,
 “Teacher, what good thing must I do to obtain eternal life?”
17“Why do you ask Me about what is good?”e Jesus replied.
 “There is only One who is good. 
If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”
18“Which ones?” the man asked.
Jesus answered, “ ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, 
do not steal, do not bear false witness, 
19honor your father and mother, 
and love your neighbor as yourself.’f
20“All these I have kept,” said the young man. “What do I still lack?”
21Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven. 
Then come, follow Me.”
22When the young man heard this, he went away in sorrow, 
because he had great wealth.
23Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I tell you,
it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
  24Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle
 than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
25When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, 
“Who then can be saved?”
26Jesus looked at them and said, 
“With man this is impossible, 
but with God all things are possible.”
27“Look,” Peter replied, “we have left everything to follow You. 
What then will there be for us?”
28Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, in the renewal of all things,
g when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, 
you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones,
 judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 
29And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife
h or children or fields for the sake of My name 
will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.
  30But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.




Wednesday, July 12, 2023

Not Simply to the Call Be True...



Wow! The devotions from the past few days
(from My Utmost For His Highest by Oswald Chambers)
are challenging mental/spiritual comfort-zones!








Not to the call be true but faithful to the One who calls
Who tries the crux of motive to expose prideful pitfalls
And test our allegiance to the Master in Command
Repentance and obedience must needs go hand in hand

The Giver and the Taker of love’s sacred charge abides
Where fear’s dark breakers roll His holy Sovereignty presides
How wily is the Tempter, but he never overtakes
A very present Helper who never leaves or forsakes

The happiness we hunger for cannot be found until
We humbly and wholly adore He who bids us be still
And know that He is God; He who is ruler over all
Is He who calls; to Him be true, not simply to the call

© Janet Martin

Ps.46

God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.[c]

4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

7 The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

8 Come and see what the Lord has done,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease
to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields[d] with fire.
10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”

11 The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Monday, July 10, 2023

I Am a Master of Excuse

This excerpt from the message below moved me to tears...
Oh! that this would be my true ambition.

Christian contentment
is the direct fruit
of having no higher ambition
than to belong to the Lord
and to be entirely
at His disposal.

Alistair Begg


  


I am a master of excuse and pious coquetry
I fit finely inside replies of I and my and me
I am far, far too readily induced to compensate
For second miles I’d rather not suffer; the cost too great
I rise to meet the day and pray, then forget easily
That I can do all I can do through Christ who strengthens me

For when I repent and believe I am ‘mine own’ no more
But ought to be devoted to the Saviour I adore
And ought to be, with every gifted breath and day, content
Because by grace I have been saved; the temple veil is rent
And I, invited to boldly approach the throne of grace
Will receive grace and mercy to supply each need I face

I am a wretch; yet Christ loves with an everlasting love
By His divine power He fits me for Heaven above
Therefore I have no boast but this; the blood of Jesus Christ
Who broke the curse of sin and death through Himself, sacrificed
For I, a master of excuse, who forgets easily
That I can do all I can do through Christ who strengthens me

© Janet Martin

Gal.2:20
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, 
but Christ lives in me. 
The life I now live in the body, 
I live by faith in the Son of God, 
who loved me and gave himself for me.

Phil.4:13
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Rom.7:24-25
O wretched man that I am! 
Who will deliver me from this body of death? 
 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!








Wednesday, June 14, 2023

(The only) Harvest Worth Gathering

Disclaimer; 
(Today is one of those
'much-easier-writ-than-run/said-than-done' posts)

The older I get the more evident this age-old Bible truth becomes;
Faith's foolproof  evidence is obedience💗
Obedience opens the doors to the extra-ordinary life
every believer may experience.

God's invitation to 'come' is extended to everyone!
All are created by Him, 
and dearly loved by Him:
 nobody is a nobody
and His word is for everybody!!)
Hallelujah!

1 Sam.15:22
So Samuel said: 
“Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, 
As in obeying the voice of the LORD? 
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, 
And to heed 
than the fat of rams.

Today's post was inspired in part by a few recent devotions in
My Utmost For His Highest by Oswald Chambers 




Oho, what want and woe we sow when we usurp God’s Word with vice
And disregard and oft forego the waiting that His way requires
But oh, what hope and joy and peace rains on altars of sacrifice
As we, with yielded will release the impetus of vain desires

How fraudulent, faith’s holy fight if we reserve the right to ‘I’
How fickle, the compass of sight and logic’s crafty rigmarole
The words we say do not portray the ‘yay’ of love’s utter reply
To trust in God and to obey is the love-language of the soul

For all the change that spills its art through progression’s scarred institute
The proneness of the human heart, no ‘enlightenment’ reinvents
The Tempter’s ‘did God really say’ when eying the forbidden fruit
Still presses us to disobey, blinding us to its consequence

Oh, what sad harvest we commence when we cultivate pious talk
Justifying glossed ignorance, without surrender to God’s way
Oh God, convict us of our sin, lest we become a stumbling block
Oh, work Your miracle within, and make us eager to obey

God’s everlasting Word is true; a light that never beams awry
A Beacon to guide pilgrims through a world that aggrandizes sin
Oho, what blessing we forego when Self is too stubborn to die
Only obedience can sow a harvest worth gathering in

© Janet Martin


 

Jer.17:5-10
This is what the Lord says:
“Cursed is the one who trusts in man,
who draws strength from mere flesh
and whose heart turns away from the Lord.
6 That person will be like a bush in the wastelands;
they will not see prosperity when it comes.
They will dwell in the parched places of the desert,
in a salt land where no one lives.

7 “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
whose confidence is in him.
8 They will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.”

9 The heart is deceitful above all things
and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?

10 “I the Lord search the heart
and examine the mind,
to reward each person according to their conduct,
according to what their deeds deserve.”





Friday, May 5, 2023

Obedience or Not

Obedience or not.
These are the only two options we've got
The consequence of Choice's sum
affects generations to come...

Eph.1:3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, ...



It is not long until Innocence suffers the consequence
of what we do and teach...
God, help us!!
Ah yes! You have!
We have your eternal and abiding Word...

Psalm 119:89-96
Forever, O Lord,
Your word [a]is settled in heaven.
90 Your faithfulness endures to all generations; (can I hear a hallelujah!!)
You established the earth, and it [b]abides.
91 They continue this day according to Your ordinances,
For all are Your servants.
92 Unless Your law had been my delight,
I would then have perished in my affliction.
93 I will never forget Your precepts,
For by them You have given me life.
94 I am Yours, save me;
For I have sought Your precepts.
95 The wicked wait for me to destroy me,
But I will [c]consider Your testimonies.
96 I have seen the consummation of all perfection,
But Your commandment is exceedingly broad.


God's love is unconditional but His blessing is not
His blessing is reserved for they who fear and obey God
God sees the heart; futile to dress excuse in noble thread
And boldly break His 'thou shalt not' with proud and unbowed head

The consequence of disobedience without remorse 
And repentance, affects an unfathomable divorce
For God, righteous, gracious and kind is holy, true and just
He never winks at rebels or turns a blind eye to lust 

If we confess our sins, God, rich in mercy will forgive
For He is just and faithful, but not mocked; then how we live
Becomes the proof of who we serve, by what we say and do
We choose One Master; it is impossible to serve two 

God's love is unconditional and steadfast to the end
He will not always tarry, then be wary, fellow-friend
Though, oh, so many fall away, though the wicked increase
They who obey, He blesses with His righteousness and peace

God, help us pay more earnest heed to that which we have heard
So that we do not drift, anchored in Thy eternal word
Help us to trust in You and in the Way that You direct
Rather than lofty logic of unguarded intellect



Janet Martin~

2 Tim.4:1-5
I charge you [a]therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, 
who will judge the living and the dead [b]at His appearing and His kingdom: 
2Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. 
Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 
3For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, 
but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, 
they will heap up for themselves teachers; 
4and they will turn their ears away from the truth,
 and be turned aside to fables.
  5But you be watchful in all things, 
endure afflictions, 
do the work of an evangelist, 
fulfill your ministry.

Romans 2:13
for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, 
but the doers of the Law will be justified.

James 4:4-10
You adulteresses!b Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God?
 Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world renders himselfc an enemy of God.
  5Or do you think the Scripture says without reason 
that the Spiritd He caused to dwell in us yearns with envy?
  6But He gives us more grace. This is why it says:
“God opposes the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.”e
7Submit yourselves, then, to God. 
8Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. 
9Grieve, mourn, and weep. 
10Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.