Showing posts with label victory. Show all posts
Showing posts with label victory. Show all posts

Monday, April 10, 2023

A Hope-Hug



Heb.11:6
And without faith it is impossible to please God,
because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists
and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Earlier this week a commentator for The Masters remarked how
there are far more games being played than the one we see on the greens;
the games of the mind!
We can all relate to that comment, can't we?!
But above all that fuels the duels of the mind
there is faith, hope and love. (1 Cor.13:13)
These are no game!
These equip us for what waits after life's/faith's grueling duels are done!
Images like the ones below can't help but rouse a sort of reflection
and stir a sacred anticipation for That Day
when by the grace of God for His eternal glory, believers, faithful and true
 celebrate the Victory of all Victories!
When it will be our arms lifted in unceasing praise to the One who made triumph possible!




Dear Christian, are you discouraged, weary beyond words, with love's cares and prayers?
Press on. A Heavenly hug awaits!



Hope heals many a hurt
Hope drives us from despair
Hope endorses the holy work
Of meek and patient prayer
And does not make ashamed
All who through faith, trust Him
Who once upon a cross proclaimed
Hope that no woe/foe can dim

Though oft we groan with grief
Where hell’s painted façade
Promotes the plague of unbelief
And fearlessness of God
Still, mercy is renewed
Each morn, His truth remains
Where faith keeps hopelessness subdued
Through grace His love sustains

Whoever will may come
Trust in God and repent
Before the certain, sacred sum
Of numbered days is spent
Before it is too late
To prepare to meet God
Because Last Breath has sealed the gate
With judgment’s solemn rod

Without His gift of grace
Without redemption’s stream
How can we bear to think to face
He who died to redeem
And break the curse of sin
To save the deathless soul
To anchor hope beneath the skin
Of faith that makes us whole

© Janet Martin

 In Need 



Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.

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.

May your unfailing love be with us, Lord,
even as we put our hope in you.

But if we choose to reject and disregard Him,
what then?!!
If we choose through unrepentance, God's wrath?!!

A somber reflection from a devotion by Charles Spurgeon 





Tuesday, July 14, 2020

To Incognito Athletes...


 My cousin Wayne, (mentioned here) 46 years old and bed/chair ridden 
because of MS and the loss of part of a leg in a farm accident,
 is one of the most valiant 'athletes'
I have ever met!

Also, another one of my faithful readers
is suffering immensely because of a fall 6 weeks ago and now some added complications!
She was admitted to the hospital last night and is feel physically and emotionally at her limit!
Will you pray for Jan R., for healing, strength and encouragement?

Will you pray that they (and we) may be faithful
in the fight to the finish! 
Because no one can predict who will cross the finish line first!!!


Philippians 3:14
I press on toward the goal to win the prize 
of God's heavenly calling in Christ Jesus.


Failure and success are like competitors in a race
And it is hard to tell sometimes which side the favor lies
We tend to measure success by position or by pace
But the One at the finish line sees beneath its disguise

I’ve seen a shadow of a man put ‘better men’ to shame
Humility is something that collects no accolades
But rather gives full credit to a Greater Worthy Name
Knowing our time on earth is like a bloom that quickly fades

I’ve watched one bedridden yet beating ‘great athletes’ by smiles
Surrender is a hard fought thing until we fully yield
And it is not always the one who boasts the most in miles
But he who knows that soon the inner man will be revealed
 
Failure and success are not always what they may appear
The road we see runs through a veil that ends the wend of Time
Beyond the slope where hope vies with the sigh of now and here
To the Reward after the race and its arduous climb

Not all who run will win a Prize; then pray and pray and pray
Lest we become distracted by the way faith’s rivals run
And test the spirit lest by decoys we are drawn away
And miss the most beautiful prize of these two words ‘well done’

© Janet Martin

...and then today's devotion fit right in to the topic!! 







Friday, July 3, 2020

Victors, Even As We Fight

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, 
and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.
By this we know that we love the children of God, 
when we love God and obey his commandments.
For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. 
And his commandments are not burdensome.
For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. 
And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
Who is it that overcomes the world 
except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?




Not overcome by evil; no, but victors even as we fight
We battle a defeated foe if we are walking in the Light
Though Satan like a lion roams still seeking whom he may devour
Though he with desperation combs the world with his limited power
He knows the fullness of his woe and the hopelessness of his plight

And though the victory is won the fight is real; the fight is hard
And though the work of Christ is done, the soul must be on sober guard
To be love’s living sacrifice with kind regard to human race
To be willing to pay the price that comes with Mercy’s gift of grace
As on hope’s Steadfast Beacon we fix faith’s blurred reason, sorrow-scarred

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might
Put on the whole armour of God so you may withstand evil’s smite
For without Him defeat is sure; death and hell, its secured reward
Ah, who such anguish can endure and who such horror can afford
But we, according to His word, are victors even as we fight

© Janet Martin

Eph.6:10-18
 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  
 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.  
 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, 
but against the rulers, against the authorities, 
against the powers of this dark world 
and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  
 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, 
you may be able to stand your ground, 
and after you have done everything, to stand.  
 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, 
with the breastplate of righteousness in place,  
 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  
 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, 
with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  
 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, 
which is the word of God.
  And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. 
With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
 

Monday, August 19, 2019

Someday Around the Throne of God


At yesterday's worship-service 
as we sang I was struck with an awesome rush of joy
as I thought of Someday, when from the four corners of the earth
God's family will worship without being hounded/distracted
by darts and daggers of the enemy!




Someday around the Throne of God, what a day that will be
As from each tribe and nation salvation’s worshipers kneel
Unhindered then, by mortal need or darts of enemy
Someday around the throne of God what flawless praise will peal

The Over-comer of the world with proof unfurled, will reign
No fears, no tears, sickness or pain can ever enter where
We’ll be with He who saved us from the wrath to come, through Him
Someday around the throne of God, what fellowship we’ll share

Someday faith will be sight, and hope will cease and so will prayer
From the four corners of the earth His followers will rise
Those who were dead will shed the grave and meet Him in the air
Someday, around the throne of God, worship will laud the Prize

His hallelujah hymn will thunder like a rushing tide
Someday a celebration unlike any earth has known
Will fill eternity when the Groom comes to claim His bride
And She will never cease His praise someday around God’s throne

© Janet Martin

 Rev.19:6-9

Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude,
 like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:
“Hallelujah!
    For our Lord God Almighty reigns. 
 Let us rejoice and be glad
    and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
    and his bride has made herself ready. 
 Fine linen, bright and clean,
    was given her to wear.”
(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)
  Then the angel said to me, “Write this: 
Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” 
And he added, “These are the true words of God.”