Showing posts with label COVID-19. Show all posts
Showing posts with label COVID-19. Show all posts

Saturday, May 8, 2021

You Are Able, Lord

 Inspired by This Heart-wrenching Plea...

Pray With Us. The Covid-Crisis in India


A prayer for them and us!

You are able, Lord
Bid our pleas avail
In the fervent prayer out-poured
Even when words fail

You behold the heart
And Undying Soul
While we witness but in part
You regard the whole

Lord, is that a tear
Gleaming on thy cheek
We who have ears let us hear
The message You speak

Forbid, on deaf lobes
Falls the mourner’s cry
While we gather up our robes
And quickly hasten by

We are family
Brothers, sisters, oh
Our Father Heavenly
Loves His children so

Lord, open our eyes
Help us feel today
Tugs upon familial ties
That move us to pray

Lest we stand aloof
Touch us with Your Sword
Let us be the living proof
Of Your love outpoured

You are able, Lord
By Your Mercy’s Pow’r
Let compassion breathe Your Word
Into suffering’s hour

Let us strive to be
Vessels in Your Hand
Poured in earnest charity
On a thirsting land

You are able, Lord
With or without man
Still, your will is faith restored
To fulfill Your plan

Thus, bid us to live
In obedience
As a humble servant give
Utter diligence

Lest, oh, awful thought
When we meet Death’s Yet
Our house of all we sought

You are able, Lord
Pray your church will prove
By the power through Your Word
To be stirred to love

Lest on some willow tree
Tormented by captivity
As we remember Zion

Amen
  
© Janet Martin




James 5
(I went to this chapter to share verse 16
but the whole chapter seems timely and fitting)


Rich Oppressors Will Be Judged

Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! 
2 Your riches [a]are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. 
3 Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you 
and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days. 
4 Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of [b]Sabaoth. 
5 You have lived on the earth in pleasure and [c]luxury; 
you have [d]fattened your hearts [e]as in a day of slaughter. 
6 You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you.

Be Patient and Persevering

7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. 
See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, 
waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. 
8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord [f]is at hand.

9 Do not [g]grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be [h]condemned. 
Behold, the Judge is standing at the door! 
10 My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, 
as an example of suffering and patience. 
11 Indeed we count them blessed who endure. 
You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—
that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.
But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath.
 But let your “Yes” be “Yes,” and your “No,” “No,” lest you fall into [i]judgment.

Meeting Specific Needs

13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. 
14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 
15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. 
And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 
16 [j]Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed.
 The effective, [k]fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. 
17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; 
and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. 
18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.

Bring Back the Erring One

19 Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back,
 20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way 
will save [l]a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.

Saturday, April 17, 2021

Waiting For Covid-19 to Pass

 PAD Challenge day 17For today's prompt, write a waiting poem.

Every so often I crank up this song by Johnny Cash

These Things Shall Pass

 


Because of soaring numbers in new Covid-19 cases
Ontario tightens restrictions even harder for 6 weeks!
This prompt Waiting, feels like the first thing we talk about 
even before the weather these days!
(and we're Canadian!) 
We feel like we have been waiting for things to
return to 'normal' for more than a year, and now this;
Seemingly worse, not better in spite of vaccines?!!
It's discouraging!
So, the word 'wait' can be a millstone around the neck
 or a steppingstone beneath our feet/knees.
It's up to us.

(My heart esp. goes out to small businesses!
Hang in there as you weather open to curbside-takeout-closed..)

Within the walls of circumstance, we wait; the gate is barred
To Freedom’s Ballroom; numbers soar while hope hits new lows hard
But, let’s not forget what we have though we feel far apart
We have each other and God’s Word to cheer the faint of heart

Wisdom chisels its masterpieces not on Easy Street
Our faith is not refined until its mettle feels the heat
Then, though fear grips us by the throat as we wait anxiously
We have each other and God’s Word; how thankful we should be

Technology for all its faults helps us to keep in touch
While we wait for Restriction to release its strangling clutch
Let’s take a deep breath, keep the faith though hope is battle-scarred
And be so grateful that we have each other and God’s Word

Selfishness is a monster; it wreaks havoc in the world
It desecrates the banner of morn’s fresh mercy unfurled
So, let’s love one another while we wait, though walls apart
We have God’s Word in which to trust so we do not lose heart

© Janet Martin

1 Peter 4:7-10
The end of all things is near. 
Therefore be clear-minded and sober, so that you can pray.
  Above all, love one another deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins
.Show hospitality to one another without complaining.
As good stewards of the manifold grace of God,
each of you should use whatever gift he has received to serve one another.

These verses really hit home right now.
even now we can show hospitality by dropping
a meal to a needy family, by sending words of cheer via text, emails,
cards, phone calls, yes, even when it feels

This week my I received a package from a friend in another country!
The surprise of its sweet love brought much needed joy
to a hard week! 
Thank-you Sasha for the gift from



Friday, April 16, 2021

City-life Longing...



PAD Challenge day 16; For today's prompt, write a city poem.



My lockdown-weary city-daughter moved home to the country at Christmas.

At the beginning of March 2020 we enjoyed a visit to the city never 
dreaming what lay in store!


She longs for the city
Halls, noisy and gritty
For feet tapping tempo to time’s tick and tock
For crowded street vendors
And loud, eager spenders
For ‘too many people’ on every sidewalk

For ‘get-ready’ bustle
For workaday hustle
For buses and trolleys with no standing room
For coffee-shop chitchat
For faces to look at
For store-window gardens in prosperous bloom

Dinner-reservations
What-to-wear frustrations
She longs for the city far from childhood’s house
Where she lives in waiting
For numbers abating
With her loving mother, a country mouse

She longs for the city
Before the sad pity
Of covid left ‘city-life’ dead in its tracks
She strolls rural borders
While work-from-home orders
Compel her to take a deep breath and relax

She longs for the morning
When Public Health warnings
Have faded into words like 'remember when'
When full business hours
Will blossom like flowers
And she can move back to the city again

© Janet Martin




Thursday, April 8, 2021

Longing For What Seems Lost (a Covid-Weary Canadian's Nostalgic Lament)


I had no idea just how precious the ordinary was
before everything changed!








How beautiful the cleated feet of players, baseball-proud
How wonderful are words like, ‘could I have a refill, please?’
How lovely to be buffeted by elbows in a crowd
Ah, what a neon masterpiece, flashing ‘no vacancies’

How perfect is the planter, pruner, picker’s glistening brow
How handsome are the calloused, blistered hands of honest toil
How holy is the ground we trample and the heads we bow
As mourners merge around a grave where death collects its spoil

How utterly breath-taking is a church-house with packed pews
How hearty the handshaking, back-slaps, hug-comradery
How sacred is the gathering where worship pours its dues
How gorgeous is a dinner table set for company

How priceless is the freedom to come and go as we please
How pretty are your eyes, nose, mouth, wrinkles and double-chin
How nice, the music some call noise, that comes with families
Because we’re running late and someone’s patience has grown thin

Oh, lucky you in the parade behind stop-go school bus
(It never crossed our minds, how precious was the commonplace)
To think that in those dear old days we used to fume and fuss
Before we grew accustomed to people with half-a-face

How precious are the plans for proms, performances, menus
A wedding guest list open for 'all welcome to attend'
A kitchen full of giggling girls, reasons to buy new shoes
A dinner-reservation for a birthday for a friend

No deafening applause now, for goals scored in overtime
How hesitant the glance across the six-foot ‘safety-zone’
How stiff the shoppers move to keep their steps between the line
How foreign feels the world where fear has made its presence known

How beautiful, the bustle of a busy workaday
How wonderful are words that come from smiles seen and not guessed
How lovely to be to planning a much-needed getaway
How good to be reminded to count the ways we are blessed

© Janet Martin

Tuesday, January 5, 2021

A Word of Caution and Encouragement

 There Is Rest By and By



"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! 
You give a tenth of your spices--mint, dill and cumin. 
But you have neglected the more important matters of the law--
justice, mercy and faithfulness. 
You should have practiced the latter, 
without neglecting the former.
Matt.23:23

The effects of Covid-19 to the body of Christ 
has been a sobering eye-opener😢💔
Oh, let's not get caught in neglecting
the more important matters of the Law!

Our young pastor on Sunday morning (min.5-7) ;click Sunday Service Jan.3,2021,
cautioned us with a kind reminder; 
that at the heart of all our differing and varying opinions
 (obvious by all the denominations of Christian faith)
 at the heart of the true believer in each individual
 is an honest desire to follow Jesus.

Then, at this time of deep conflicting opinion this is SO vital to remember.
Let's be peace-keepers!
Let's fold pointing fingers into humble, earnest prayer for love and wisdom.

(these woes below came about as I looked in the mirror... of His Word. Ouch)

Woe to we, who will dare to stab a brother in the back 
And prove without a doubt that it is true love that we lack 

Woe to we called to be bearers of one another’s care 
But publicize opinion rather than resort to prayer 

Woe to we who speak ‘piece of minds’ without all facts in place 
Proving once more that everybody’s greatest need is grace 

Woe to we, human-nature bent, where verbal push and shove 
Will justify excuses with the opposite of love 

Woe to we who are quick to speculative prejudice 
Thus, making a mockery of said-robes of righteousness 

But God bless we who strive to be with kind humility 
Examples of the greatest love for all the world to see 

So, when love’s perfect work is wrought, a few will yet remain 
To prove the message that Christ taught was not offered/authored in vain 

© Janet Martin 


John 4:23
Yet a time is coming and has now come 
when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, 
for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.

Gal.6:2
Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Today's Daily Bread Devotion contains a kind reminder
of the sweetening work of  Time/Experience in the
life of a believer and fruits of the Spirit.


Thursday, December 24, 2020

Unmodified Worldwide Christmas

Merry Christmas to you from the Martin-house!

Photo credit: Brittany Ruppert


This past year ‘modified’ 
Is a word we all learned 
As plans and events, the world wide 
Were nixed and overturned 

And while patience was tried 
Amidst both smile and frown 
We simply found that ‘modified’ 
Often meant Slowing. Down 

We learned to cherish more 
The freedoms of this land 
And be a lot more thankful for 
A hug or shake of hand 

So, this Christmas, in spite 
Of all we do without 
Nothing can modify the night 
Christmas is all about 

Hope is not modified; 
In form of Baby Boy 
The Saviour of the whole world wide 
Brings everlasting joy 

Then, fill heaven and earth 
With praises far and wide 
God, who ordained our Saviour’s birth 
Is never modified 

For unto us that day 
Was born in Bethlehem 
A Saviour to bring peace, alway 
And goodwill unto men 

© Janet Martin 

Luke 2: 10-11 

Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, 
I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 
For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.




Monday, August 31, 2020

Life's Great Masterpiece...

By The Rivers of Babylon


Psalm 137:1-3
By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion.
2There on the willowsa
we hung our harps,
3for there our captors requested a song;
our tormentors demanded songs of joy:
 
Sometimes when I see the sparse masked attenders at church
(due to covid restrictions)
and as we meet masked shoppers and we hear of old people
literally dying of loneliness I pine deeply for a pre-Covid world and
I wonder if this is a teeniest glimpse what the Israelites felt like as they
hung their harps/instruments of praise on the willows
by the river of Babylon
and wept for the old days/Zion...

Let's not hang up the instrument He has given us to play
but no matter what play to praise Him!!

What has the master lent to thee thy calling to fulfill
In life’s great orchestra, what instrument did He instill
What gift, what tool, what trade did He entrust to His increase
Where we all have a part to play in Life’s Great Masterpiece

No matter where we stand or sit or lie, the Lord is near
He keeps careful account with watchful eye and listening ear
Then oh, take heart; He makes us able to master the skill
It takes to learn to play our part according to His will

Sometimes our fingers get so sore and oh, we get so tired
Sometimes the ‘music’ feels like war, its order undesired
Sometimes the composition seems to make no sense at all
And then sometimes we try to rearrange His sacred call

Forgive us when the Melody is nothing like You planned
Because we shift our focus from the Baton in command
Where no one is too high or low to love our fellowman
And heed its call whereby we go in Life’s Great Masterplan

We ought not hang our harps upon a willow tree and weep
And pine for days gone by; we have an awesome charge to keep
Then pray we do not wish for someone else’s tool or quest
But humbly seek His purpose and honour Him with our best

What has He lent to you and me, to serve with perfect joy
No instrument is insignificant in His employ
Then oh, take heart and do not long for exchange or release
For we all play an awesome part in Life’s Great Masterpiece

…where God hears every lisp and lilt, each minor syllable
In life’s great orchestra no player is invisible
Then oh take heart; let’s play our part without reserve because
Soon our tools will fade into faith’s thundering applause

© Janet Martin

Can't find your instrument?
Get on thy knees...
 
The devotions of the past 3 days convicted/encouraged me to give Him my all
 no matter what!!









Saturday, July 11, 2020

Symptoms of Something Amiss


 The doctor tells us to know our physical bodies,
to be tuned keenly to them so we are aware when something seems off.
Good advice but it got me to thinking we should also be tuned keenly
to the 'spiritual body' aka Undying Soul so we are aware when something seems a little off.

The land in lack of rain is not asymptomatic.
 (a word that's been used a lot recently due to COVID-19)
...and we welcome, like little else, the refreshment of much needed rain!
Symptoms of spiritual drought are just as visible
 though discussed much less than weather!
(BTW, this poem is a self-evaluation exam, not a pointing-fingers-at-you poem
but praying the Holy Spirit will convict all of us of present symptoms
and perhaps our need for spiritual refreshment?!)

Can we truly say with David in Psalm 63:1?

You, God, are my God,
    earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
    my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
    where there is no water.

Symptoms suggest illness
Help pinpoint the source
Symptoms are the telltale signs
Of something off course

Physical or spiritual
Symptoms usually are
The inklings that implicate
Something not on par

Good to be tuned keenly
To body and soul
Diagnose the point before
It consumes the whole

Fear and faith, keen rivals
Cannot coexist
Symptoms tend to escalate
If left unaddressed 

Good to be tuned closely
To the inner core
Recognizing symptoms
We should not ignore
 
© Janet Martin

The church in this COVID-19 season,
is before the firing squad of differing opinion
like we have never experienced.
Maybe time for each of us to do a serious
spiritual check-up? 
How humble and obedient are we willing to be?