Showing posts with label reward. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reward. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 30, 2024

Of Payoffs In Waiting (or Something About a Gaping Grave)


Yesterday my dad's oldest brother (and Wayne's father) was laid to rest.
He is an uncle fondly remembered by his nieces and nephews
 for his good-natured, uncomplaining and optimistic outlook
 though his life had many hardships!
We cousins are in a stage where funerals have become our meeting place
and with these gatherings comes the solemn reminder
our childhood playmates are not children anymore,
all of us under the influence of Time's unflinching touch 
and we are reminded of this truth;
that death can come to the young
but it will come to the old
and the realization is dawning that our generation
 is on the heels of the one we are, 
one by one, laying to rest!
A ripe old age turns to mist
 in death's twinkling of an eye!
So then, as we turn again 
to shoulder our yokes of scarred delight
pray we do not lose sight 
of the only payoff that counts
when, for all 'momentary mountains/afflictions, 
the eternal payoff is unveiled!

Therefore we do not lose heart.
 Though our outer self is wasting away, 
yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.
 17For our light and momentary affliction is producing 
for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.
 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. 
For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Just beyond what we can see ...

(No matter how bitter/sweet)
lies Payoff's Eternity...

Below, a bit of 'sweet'.
This dog can be sassy and silly one minute
and sound asleep at my feet the next!!😂




Though the payoff of push and shove
Through ups and downs of life and love
May appear, to the sphere of sight
Like a showcase of scarred delight
While grappling with the yoke of truth
By fresh parades of fading youth

And though the payoff may seem small
For prayers that rise and tears that fall
Where today holds no guarantees
That Circumstance will aim to please
The Hierarchy of Hope and Dream
We nurture with fondest esteem

…and though the payoff drags its feet
Where hold and letting go compete
Something about a gaping grave
When mourners meet, its scene to brave
Reminds us with sobriety
Of a payoff we cannot see

The payoff for man’s hope and hurt
Is not a fresh-turned mound of dirt
Is not a final farewell tear
Is not the boon of now and here
Oh no! Death is the turn of key
Where push and shove/life and love’s payoff will be

So then, before it is too late
Pray we would reevaluate
The quests and payments we applaud
And rest our confidence in God
Who will, for all eternity
Unveil what the payoff will be

© Janet Martin

We sang two of my favourite hymns yesterday









Friday, September 16, 2022

Until Then...



The last line in today’s Our Daily Bread devotion is this:
Until then, we live, work, pray, and wait in hope.”

The prettiest 'pretty'

the most marvelous 'marvel'




the most beautiful 'beauty',


or most delightful 'delight' 

...pales profoundly in comparison with what
awaits believers after this life...

***

For believers this world is the worst they will ever see.
For unbelievers this world is the best they will ever see
Source for quote unknown
***

For divine words to teach us so we do not drift away

Until the crown of life is won, we humbly hope and plead

The joy still set before us will not let faith’s light grow dim


Until we witness face to face what Time was all about
Pray, we commit to run life’s race with endurance, not doubt

But until we are serious about knowing God's word

Until we repent and believe, hell waits in every breath


1 John 3:1-10 BSB
Behold what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God. 
And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. 
2Beloved, we are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. 
We know that when Christ appears, a we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is. 
3And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as Christ is pure.b

4Everyone who practices sin practices lawlessness as well. Indeed, sin is lawlessness.c
5But you know that Christ appeared to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin.
  6No one who remains in Him keeps on sinning.
 No one who continues to sin has seen Him or known Him.

7Little children,d let no one deceive you: 
The one who practices righteousness is righteous, 
just as Christ is righteous.e 
8The one who practices sin is of the devil,
 because the devil has been sinning from the very start. 
This is why the Son of God was revealed, to destroy the works of the devil.

9Anyone born of God refuses to practice sin, because God’s seed abides in him; 
he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.
  10By this the children of God are distinguished from the children of the devil: 
Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God,
nor is anyone who does not love his brother.

What a hymn this will be!

"We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty,
The One who is and who was [g]and who is to come,
Because You have taken Your great power and reigned.
18 The nations were angry, and Your [h]wrath has come,
And the time of the dead, that they should be judged,
And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints,
And those who fear Your name, small and great,
And should destroy those who destroy the earth.”
Rom.11:17-18

Friday, May 6, 2022

Of Ephemeral and Eternal...

This passage is part of what inspired today's poem...
as well as praying for those who are enduring terrible suffering
whether close to home or across the ocean... 
It the same God to whom all the heavens and earth belong
 who 'sets His affections' on us...


Deut.10:12-21 BSB

And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you
 but to fear the LORD your God
 by walking in all His ways, to love Him,
 to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,
  13and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD
 that I am giving you this day for your own good?

14Behold, to the LORD your God belong the heavens,
 even the highest heavens,
 and the earth and everything in it.
  15Yet the LORD has set His affection on your fathers and loved them. 
And He has chosen you, their descendants after them,
 above all the peoples, even to this day.

16Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and stiffen your necks no more.
  17For the LORD your God is God of gods 
and Lord of lords, 
the great, mighty, and awesome God, 
showing no partiality and accepting no bribe.
  18He executes justice for the fatherless and widow, 
and He loves the foreigner, giving him food and clothing.
  19So you also must love the foreigner, 
since you yourselves were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

20You are to fear the LORD your God and serve Him. 
Hold fast to Him and take your oaths in His name.
  21He is your praise and He is your God, 
who has done for you these great and awesome wonders 
that your eyes have seen.

Here's to a weekend of counting God's
'great and awesome wonders'!

Time’s carousel of seasons twirls until our final breath...

Finally, spring is untwirling daffodils!




Sometimes life’s clime of dust-to-dust loses its luster, oh,
Where we wage wars of love and lust on shores of want and woe
Where rivalry of faith and fear tests how we heed life’s call
‘To love, serve, honor and revere our Lord God above all’

Time’s carousel of seasons twirls until our final breath
When everlasting due unfurls a world immune to death
Where no one can undo the gates that no appeal can budge
Where endless joy or sorrow waits where God alone is Judge

The threshing floor where grain from chaff has not been winnowed yet
Drenched with redemption’s autograph and blossom pirouette
Is mortal’s pilgrimage of dust, though lusterless sometimes
Its suffering is but the must that every Soul-dier climbs

…to the unveiling of the recompense of The Reward
Where we will reap the consequence eternally outpoured
Where the Staircase of Now and Here resonates with the call
‘To love, serve, honor and revere our Lord God above all’

Earth thunders as the great and awesome wonders of God brim
No other power can create but what belongs to Him
Where our eyes have seen the hemline of His majesty
As lusterless landscapes turn green where winter used to be 

© Janet Martin



Friday, March 18, 2022

Love's Sweet Assurance



I enjoy watching golf, partly because it's so easy
to get emotionally connected to the highs and lows
of those little white balls and the drivers behind them...
I also find so many metaphors for life in the game
with its challenging courses, 
the exhilaration of an eagle, 
and the frustration of the bogie

What a competition it was last week
 for all who participated in the Players Championship 
finally completed on Monday!

And of course, tears at both ends of the emotional spectrum;
Anhirban Lahiri's tears of disappointment in loss...

and Cameron Smith's tears of joy in victory!


(Big hug from mom)


Cameron Smith, when interviewed, told reporters that the
joy of the win is secondary to the joy of being able to see
his mom and sister face to face for the first time in two years
due to covid restrictions.(he now lives in Florida)

 (smiles and tears from girlfriend, sister and mother)

His mother and sister flew in from Australia a few hours earlier
to share what turned out to be a celebration with the Champion!
Isn't it wonderful to have love's sweet assurance no matter 
what the results of a day's effort brings?
Love shares in both highs and lows of life💓💔

Here's to all our personal 'Sawgrass 17th holes

We are all in a Challenge with very grave stakes...
Imagine if we put the time and passion/effort into training like top athletes do!
And for the victor, oh the joy of that face to face meeting at last!

This life of highs and lows composes opportunity
To help us stop to smell the roses midst adversity
To let our words and meditation honor He who grants
His gift of grace, salvation, to the sinner who repents

This life of hope and heartache is a course of down-and-up
One copes with loss and heartbreak while one hoists the winner’s cup
But all of us are equal in the eyes of He who holds
Soul’s very sacred sequel to Time’s very temp’ral molds

This life of want and wonder thunders with faith’s wait-and-see
Time’s little haunt of hunger harbours immortality
Where the gift of salvation is no temporary prize
But seals our vindication through Lamb’s blood that justifies

This life of Good misunderstood and dreams never come true
Could drive us to despair and would faith’s quest for Best undo
Without love's sweet assurance proclaimed by Jesus, our Lord
All who run with endurance will receive Endless Reward

© Janet Martin

Heb.12:1-3
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, 
let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. 
And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,
 2fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. 
For the joy set before him he endured the cross, 
scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, 
so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.






Sunday, January 9, 2022

Hope; Worth the Wait



For the creation was subjected to futility, not by its own will,
but because of the One who subjected it, in hope
that h the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay 
and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

Rom.8:24-25
For in this hope we were saved.
But hope that is seen is no hope at all.
Who hopes for what they already have?
25But if we hope for what we do not yet have,
we wait for it patiently.

I just had a text from someone saying they are looking forward to dinner
and I said I hope its worth the wait.😅


Hope, living hope, is worth the wait for its reward!
Hallelujah!
Oh, how wearying and discouraging life's cares would be
without hope for what is as yet, unseen!


Hope delights love’s wearied caring
Hope excites us with God’s Word
Hope ignites within our bearing
The light of faith undeterred

Hope replenishes pure purpose
Fixes our eyes on He
Who suffered hope's gruesome purchase-
Price He paid at Calvary

Hope defeats dread’s unseen vial
Hope repeats God’s promises
Hope sweetens the bitter trial
Hope beats odds of 'lucky guess'

Hope is patient in the waiting
Of a prize death will fulfill
Above doubt’s noisy debating
Hope abides, peaceful and still

Hope consoles despair with courage
Lifts our why-bent sighs to He
Who crowns faith’s cross with advantage
Of the grave’s sure victory

Hope is worth time's troubled tolling 
Hope is worth its priceless weight/wait
Hope is but faith's prayer-tide rolling
Like an ocean through death's gate  

© Janet Martin

so that, having been justified by His grace, 
we would become heirs with the hope of eternal life.

Now faith is the assurance of what we hope for 
and the certainty of what we do not see.


Tuesday, April 27, 2021

Onus of Belief (and unbelief)

 PAD Challenge 27:


For this Two-for-Tuesday prompt:
Write a believe poem and/or...
Write a don't believe poem.



 


Some are afraid to Believe
For the onus it will bring
Because belief is grounded in
The soil of reckoning
And reckoning becomes
When this mist-kiss is through
The price of Belief’s soldered sums
Not in the what, but Who

Still, some avoid Belief
As if this will annul
The Soul that cannot die
And reply's inevitable
They scorn love’s Beckoning
Disregard the reward
But oh, unbelief's reckoning
Ought not to be ignored

© Janet Martin

John 3:16-21

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,
 that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 
 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, 
but to save the world through him. 
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, 
but whoever does not believe stands condemned already 
because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 
 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, 
but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 
 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light 
for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 
 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, 
so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done 
has been done in the sight of God.


Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved,
but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

that if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord,"
and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead,
you will be saved







Sunday, November 29, 2020

Down the Road, So Thankful Then...



Inspired by my friend's comment about the effort it takes to get a family photo done!
She said' Surely we'll be thankful to have them, down the road!'
Her words impacted me with the thought of how often struggle and effort is
for something 'down the road we will be thankful for'!



For all the times we didn’t take the easy way, for where it led 
And suffered loss for Jesus’ sake to look after the poor instead 
And did not follow after what indulges pleasure’s endless thirst 
Because it did not imitate the example that Christ set first 

For all the ways we failed, yet did not fall prey to the doubter’s lies 
But confessed our sin and then once more pursued the Runner’s Prize 
And threw off all that hindered us; the sin that easily besets 
Fixing our eyes on faith’s Author and Perfecter, and not regrets 

For all the times ‘Thy will be done’ required surrender’s hard parts 
And sacrifices no one knew but He who knows our heart of hearts 
Way down the road (or near at hand, ah, who can tell) when we look back 
So thankful then, for all the times He kept us through the foe’s attack 

So thankful then for hope that did not make ashamed the love whereby 
God poured his Holy Spirit into us in trustworthy supply 
So thankful then to hear Him say ‘well done’ as humbly, joyfully 
We worship evermore the One who said, I draw all men to Me 

© Janet Martin 

(this next little poem also inspired by another friend's remark a few days ago
about trusting the Author and Perfecter of our faith...
and I realized often
The author is easy to accept/trust, but oh, 
the Perfecter; we cannot begin to fathom His ways!

The Author of our faith we gladly acknowledge is God 
But the Perfecter, this is where He tests the faith we laud 
The Author we embrace and hail the grace whereby we go 
The Perfecter; His ways we do not understand or know 

The Author gave His Son to save us from just judgment’s wrath 
The Perfecter (or finisher) tries words with Real Life’s path 
Where both blessing and hardship play a very vital part 
In proving through response who is the Lord God of the heart 

© Janet Martin 

Does our faith dare to utter the prayer of Habakkuk in Habakkuk 3

v.2  Lord, I have heard of your fame; 
 I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord.
Repeat them in our day,
in our time make them known;
in wrath remember mercy...

v 16 I heard and my heart pounded, 
my lips quivered at the sound; 
decay crept into my bones, 
and my legs trembled. 
Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity 
to come on the nation invading us. 
17 Though the fig tree does not bud 
and there are no grapes on the vines, 
though the olive crop fails 
and the fields produce no food, 
though there are no sheep in the pen 
and no cattle in the stalls, 
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord, 
I will be joyful in God my Savior. 

19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength; 
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, 
he enables me to tread on the heights. 








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!!