Showing posts with label sin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sin. Show all posts

Monday, November 6, 2023

Getting to the Root of the Problem...

 PAD Challenge day 3: For today’s prompt, write a problem poem. 

Below an excerpt from Peter Marshall's sermon-
Keeper of the Springs
(and this was in the 1940's!!)



One cannot fix a problem until one pinpoints the source
But one ought to note symptoms that should trouble you and I
For epidemic-proportion-populace on a course
Of Ignorance to Truth, where empty churches testify
A somber lack of reverence and interest and care
For the Great Certainty for which we all ought to prepare

...and so tis no small wonder that things go from bad to worse
 In laws of twisted logic of confusion gone berserk
Where right is wrong and wrong is right and God, a name they curse
And well-intended master-plans of Fix-it just don't work
In a world doomed to madness as they seek but cannot find
Hope's everlasting gladness that yields joy and peace of mind 

When truth is seen as lies and lies are heralded as truth
It is because the Word of God is trodden underfoot
Then darkened understanding errs and bears pitiful proof;
Denial of the problem that yields problematic fruit
And gross incomprehension of the sad state we are in;
Because they/we do not recognize the root problem of sin 

The problem is not war or poverty, but hate and greed
A proud and unrepentant heart, thinking, utterly flawed
A negligent apathy to sin's subtle, deadly seed
In seeking first this world rather than the kingdom of God
Where empty churches gape and children/people traipse toward a Goal
Ignorant of Love's problem-solving Saviour of the Soul 

Sad problem this; too many homes where God's Word has no place
And homes where the Bible is but a book upon a shelf
Ignoring that apart from God, there is no saving grace
Apart from the Vine the branch is a Dead Thing by itself
Revealing that the culprit in this problem's quandary
Until we surrender to God, is always you and me 

© Janet Martin

Rom.1:16-17
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, 
because it is the power of God 
that brings salvation to everyone who believes: 
first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. 
17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—
a righteousness that is by faith from first to last,[e
just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”[f]

So many do not know
or believe or care
about the day of redemption 
and reckoning drawing near...

Malachi 4:1-3
The Day of the LORD

1“For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, 
when all the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble;
 the day is coming when I will set them ablaze,”
 says the LORD of Hosts.
 “Not a root or branch will be left to them.”

2“But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness 
will rise with healing in its wings,a 
and you will go out and leap like calves from the stall.
  3Then you will trample the wicked, f
or they will be ashes under the soles of your feet 
on the day I am preparing,” 
says the LORD of Hosts.




Wednesday, June 28, 2023

The Depth of Man's Depravity (when fear of God has died)


There are no words for the depth
of aghast horror, pity, and sorrow we feel over
exploitation and applause of gross evil!


Jeremiah 17:9
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. 
Who can understand it?

For this people's heart has grown callous;
they hardly hear with their ears, 
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts,
and turn,
and I would heal them.'

Rom.1:24-25
Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts
 to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.
 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, 
and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—
who is forever praised. 
Amen.

Psalm 19:9
The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever;
the judgments of the LORD are true, being altogether righteous.

For His judgments are true and just.
He has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality.
He has avenged the blood of His servants that was poured out by her hand."





The depth of man’s depravity when fear of God has died
When Self becomes the deity worshipped and gratified
When Ignorance is mired in the sludge of disregard
For God, the righteous Judge; when sin becomes master and lord
How piteous and dire are the depths of man’s demise
When lust feasts on desire and yet nothing satisfies

How holy is the God of love, of salvation and grace
His workmanship, without words, proves what infidels debase
The fear of God is pure, altogether righteous and true
His judgements will endure; nothing can His purpose undo
Incomprehensible the thoughts and ways of God’s control
All who believe adore and praise the Saviour of the soul

How ruthless the depravity of darkness of the mind
How heinous, the grim gravity of hellbent humankind
That we all are until by faith the soul’s curse is undone
Belief receives God’s gift of grace through Jesus Christ, His Son
Who died Once and For all sinners, to crush the serpent’s head
So all who, through faith, call on Him are saved from death’s/hell’s dark dread

The depth of man’s depravity when fear of God departs
Exposes vile desperately deceitful, wicked hearts
When Indolence and Indulgence applauds the profligate
And fruits of disobedience proudly proliferate
Then, from we who by God’s grace have been saved, rises a cry

© Janet Martin

Rom.11:33
Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
 How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!


Tuesday, January 31, 2023

Brutal Truth

 

Lest we become complacent...
This poem was inspired again in part
 by an excerpt from the story of George Mueller...






Proverbs 28:13-17 KJV
He that covereth his sins shall not prosper:
 But whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

Oh, the gravity of its depravity
The enormity of its deformity
The awfulness of its unlawfulness
As it dominates within
The subtleness of its brutal-ness
The evilness of vain promises
Of lies disguised, idolized and prized
This is the truth about sin

The pelf of stubborn selfishness
The stealth of Satan’s deadly steps
The guile of a vile, downward spiral
A wolf dressed in sheep skin
Danger and dire consequence
The liar daring providence
Unholy, rebellious ignorance
Mocker, smooth talker; sin

Hunger and thirst hopelessly cursed
Excuses soothed, me-first immersed
Self-righteous drivel at its worst
Pride’s beguiled, unbridled din
Deception’s uncontested will
Desire never quite fulfilled
Defilement, sensuous and skilled
Beware, oh, beware of sin

Unrepentance unrecognized
Hell’s curb appeal hailed, unapprised
Blind leading blind, applause-imbibed
Deaf to the toll within
Brutal refutal of wisdom astute
Pitiful, poisonous, ravenous root
Half-obedience-corrupted fruit
Horrible horror of sin

© Janet Martin

Romans 5:12-20

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned— 13(For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. 15But the free gift is not like the [e]offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. 16And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many [f]offenses resulted in justification. 17For if by the one man’s [g]offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)

18Therefore, as through [h]one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one[i] Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. 19For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.

20Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, 21so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Monday, December 5, 2022

Awed Awareness


Today's post Inspired in part by Gen.19


And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand,
 and upon the hand of his wife, 
and upon the hand of his two daughters; 
the Lord being merciful unto him...
Luke 19:16

Lest sluggishly we loiter
Lest apathy besot
Lest we grow numb and thus become

Lest we seek sorry solace
Lest terribly we fail to see
The state that we are in

Lest resolution flounders
Lest influence cajoles
The Still Small Voice that affects choice
That affects deathless souls

Lest we no longer shudder
At evil’s evilness
Or recognize the tempter’s lies
Disguised as ‘happiness’

Lord, wake in us awareness
Of Sodom’s fate, to flee
Lest, like Lot’s wife we mourn that life
And look back longingly

Seize us with holy horror
Of sin’s sad judgment day
Lord, chasten us and hasten us
To repent and obey

Lest the nonsense of notions
And opinions, absurd
With worldly vice, lulls us with ‘nice’
Lord, keep us in Your word

Lord, like Lot when he lingered
Be merciful, I pray
Let your command, like a firm hand
Seize us from Sodom’s sway

Lord, where there is a carcass
The vultures congregate
Lord, wake in us awed awareness 
Before it is too late 


© Janet Martin

Luke 17:20-37

The Coming of the Kingdom

20When asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God will not come with observable signs. 21Nor will people say, ‘Look, here it is,’ or ‘There it is.’ For you see, the kingdom of God is in your midst.d

22Then He said to the disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. 23People will tell you, ‘Look, there He is!’ or ‘Look, here He is!’ Do not go out or chase after them. 24For just as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other, so will be the Son of Man in His day. 25But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.

26Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man: 27People were eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.

28It was the same in the days of Lot: People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. 29But on the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.

30It will be just like that on the day the Son of Man is revealed. 31On that day, let no one on the housetop come down to retrieve his possessions. Likewise, let no one in the field return for anything he has left behind. 32Remember Lot’s wife! 33Whoever tries to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it. 34I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed: One will be taken and the other left. 35Two women will be grinding grain together: One will be taken and the other left.”e

37“Where, Lord?” they asked.

Jesus answered, “Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.”


Wednesday, May 4, 2022

Of Side and Ripple Effects (of sin)

Mark 14:38
Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.
The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Phil.2:12-13
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed,
not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence,
work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;
13for it is God who works in you
both to will and to do for His good pleasure./purpose





Sometimes I am stunned breathless
at the awesome responsibility 
resting on the shoulders of we who are
training the next generation...
As a parent, grandparent, 
as a child caregiver,
or teacher,
or Sunday School teacher.
Youngsters so beautiful,
 so precious,
 so smart, 
and so innocent
are trusting us!
May God give us grace and truth!

This past Sunday our lesson was about Samson, teaching us that
Samson is just one of many people in
the Bible who failed to obey God perfectly.
 But God still uses sinners in His plan
 to share His love with the world. 
Jesus forgives our sin. 
We can be part of God’s story to share the good
news of Jesus with others.
As we chatted about the story I told them I am glad when I sin
God forgives me and can still use me for his purpose and glory...
Before I had quite completed the sentence one little girl gasped
in horror, 'What?! she said, 'you are glad when you sin?!!"
So, I made sure they all heard the rest of the sentence.
Imagine the confusion if a class of little girls when asked what they learned
would report that the teacher said she is glad when she sins...lol!
So to clarify...I am sad when I sin but it really got me to thinking about whether
I am sad enough and quite as on guard as I should be.
Am I a teacher of truth or half-truths?

Sometimes I am agonizingly awed
by the craftiness of sin.

Always, always I need God's love/Word to show me the way.
Always, always I need his grace to forgive me and whisper 
"ups-a-daisy, dear. Try, try again,

This poem is a bit of battleground thought-blood...

The side and the ripple effects of disregarded sin
Seeps like a deadly venom, vile, and veiled by guile’s smooth skin
For, though we repent and receive redemption’s gift of grace
We do not instantly achieve the triumph of life’s race
But only then begin the fight that Satan delights in
To blemish the believer’s light with cunning ploys of sin

Alliances of evil would be too awful to bear
Temptation’s vexing vices oft would drive us to despair
Without the faithfulness of God whose armor will not fail
If we cling to His staff and rod, His pleasure/purpose will prevail
Then praise Him for the battle lest we slip to apathy
And wink because we think we have conquered the enemy

If we confess our sin, God, rich in mercy will forgive
The fight that we are in continues as long as we live
The master of deception clothes dark evil in pure white
The father of lies plays the charmer while his army lurks
To find chinks in faith’s armor and further destruction’s works

Diligence and enticement spar on battlegrounds within
Because God’s precious people are prized prey for schemes of sin
We ought to give most earnest heed to warnings we have heard
And with hunger for righteousness feed on God’s Holy Word
Because side and ripple effects of pride and selfishness
Can set a snare that twists the truth into ungodliness

Sometimes the stumbling blocks of sin may seem harmless and small
Until life’s testing storms begin, how mighty then, the fall
Where sin’s side and ripple effects employ a subtle tone
To soothe away the sacred void of The Chief Cornerstone
Until the side and ripple effects of sin cuts the cord
To holiest awareness of reckoning and reward

© Janet Martin

Songs like this cheer me on...
I hope they do you as well!







Friday, March 11, 2022

Post-Eden Post-Calvary Pre-Eternity

Inspired in part by a world washed white with snow...

after yesterday's sunshine, blue skies and robin songs!



But mostly inspired by today's devotion...

Above devotion from the book
Morning by Morning Daily Devotional Readings by Charles Spurgeon

Gen3:1
Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field 
which the LORD God had made. 
And he said unto the woman, 
Yea, hath God said, 
Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

Sin wields its will with wily art
To ease us into apathy
Unless we stand on solemn guard
We cannot fight the enemy
Or recognize ravenous wolves
Clothed cunningly in sheep’s disguise
Or war against the hiss that pulls
Its crafty wool over our eyes

Sin wants perpetrators to wink
At what should cause us agony
Deception hoists its sparkling drink
Without a care for Calvary
It soothes the sacred prick of guilt
And woos the conscience with excuse
It drowns the groans where Pardon spilt
With pleasure’s lure and laughter’s ruse

Sin is the foe, though hard to tell
It masquerades as friend to all
Sin decorates the road to hell
With what keeps us comfortable
No caution signs to notify
The crowd that throngs the downward slope
Ah, who will save them from the lie
That scorns the cross and Living Hope

Sin blinds half-seekers to the truth
The Tempter, a most subtil beast
Preys on the innocence of youth
It bribes desire with a feast
Without the whole armor of God
Not one would stand a fighting chance
Fooled by hell’s beguiling façade
And frauds that foster ignorance

Sin, surely sin has cursed us all
Its fruit, so pleasing to the eye
We ate and partook of the Fall
That caused the Son of God to die
But Death could not contain I Am
The victory it could not win
Sin could not taint the sinless Lamb
He rose triumphant over sin

Sin wields its weapons, but take heart
The blood of Christ cleanses its stain
And we can thwart its evil dart
If we on solemn guard remain
After we repent and believe
The Holy Spirit we receive
Will aid if we for aid implore

© Janet Martin

Matthew 10:16
Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves;
 therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

2 Corinthians 11:3
I am afraid, however, that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, 
your minds may be led astray from your simple and pure devotion to Christ.





Friday, February 11, 2022

How Lovely Is This Day of Grace


My prayer is that this poem wakens me/us to want God more!
(and a side note; So thankful for this first morning in a few weeks 
that I feel like happy-dancing
rather than pulling the covers over my head and saying
 'Day! Go away!')

It's a blustery beginning to a hungry-bird Friday!
(refilling these feeders every day right now!)


Yes. Bigger ones would be nice but have you seen the price on large bird feeders?!
We will make do with these till they break then see what we can find.

Seems we are in a season where tears and prayers mingle constantly for
so many struggling and suffering!
How lovely is this day of grace!
Lord, establish our focus not on what we see 
but on You, Who we know is faithful
far beyond our comprehension
Oh, hear our prayer and convict us of our sins!
'Forgive our debts as we forgive our debtors'

How crucial is the call to be careful, steadfast, sincere
How subtle is the slippery slope that camouflages truth
How sacred is the sparkle composing the soul’s veneer
How soft the soil of innocence and fleeting green of youth

How steadfast wanes the breadth between birth and death’s on and on
How unknown the longevity that numbered days afford
How utter is the verdict when the final breath is drawn
How dire is the destiny of salvation ignored

How certain are the promises kept by the Word of God
How stable is hope’s anchor though we are tossed by life’s gales
How hard the hardships of this world without faith’s staff and rod
How wonderful to know God’s love never falters or fails

How beautiful the feet of they who preach God’s gospel, peace
How temporal the clay that molds the jars that hold our tears
How everlasting is the One whose mercies never cease
How comforting to know that when we cry to Him, He hears

How near and dear the day is drawing when all will behold
God, Alpha and Omega, who Is, Was and Is To Come
How crucial are the moments that so steadily unfold
Until no earthly tie remains, only life’s sacred sum

How quickly then before death’s summons we ought to reply
How awful to repent too late when mercy’s gate is barred
How lovely is this day of grace God gives to you and I
How patient are His hands outstretched, how perfect, oh, how scarred

© Janet Martin


Rev.1:1-7

This is the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him
 to show His servants what must soona come to pass. 
He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John,
  2who testifies to everything he saw. 
This is the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
3Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy,
 and blessed are those who hear and obey 
what is written in it, because the time is near.
(John Greets the Seven Churches)
4John,
To the seven churches in the province of Asia:b
Grace and peace to you from Him who is and was and is to come, 
and from the seven Spiritsc before His throne,
  5and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, 
the firstborn from the dead, 
and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood,
  6who has made us to be a kingdom, 
priests to His God and Father—
to Him be the glory and power forever and ever! 
Amen.
7Behold, He is coming with the clouds, 
and every eye will see Him—
even those who pierced Him. 
And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. 
So shall it be!
 Amen.
8“I am the Alpha and the Omega,d” says the Lord God, 
who is 
and was 
and is to come—
the Almighty.



Monday, June 28, 2021

Heart-sick

From The Dying Thief- Charles H. Spurgeon
The fact is, there is nothing so good but men can pervert it into evil, if they have evil hearts: 
the justice of God is made a motive for despair, and his mercy an argument for sin. 
Wicked men will drown themselves in the rivers of truth as readily as in the pools of error. 
He that has a mind to destroy himself can choke his soul with the Bread of life, 
or dash himself in pieces against the Rock of ages. 
There is no doctrine of the grace of God so gracious 
that graceless men may not turn it into licentiousness.




Sometimes the heart gets sick
The evils of this world
Can cruelly cut us to the quick
So shamelessly unfurled

Debauchery and greed
Pay no heed to the cost
But dark and dangerously feed
On lost leading the lost

The troubles that we face
Would crush and overthrow
But for the fountain of God’s grace
That washes white as snow

Beware of the soul’s foe
The craft of finite pow’r
Who seeks while roaming to and fro
All who he can devour

Dear soul, be on thy guard
Take up thy Spirit-sword
Lest, by a lie you should discard
The armour of the Lord

Lest, by sin’s sleight of hand
We lose sight of the Prize
Without God’s armour, who can stand
Against satan’s disguise

Sometimes, the heart is sick
Of evil’s hellish sway
Oh God, when life cuts to the quick
Hear the tears that we pray

...and let Belief's increase
Be more than idle talk
Lest faith is shattered piece by piece
Against the Solid Rock

© Janet Martin

Psalm 62:1-2

Truly my soul finds rest in God;
    my salvation comes from him.

Truly he is my rock and my salvation;

    he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

Friday, February 1, 2019

Hell's Kitchen




Let’s make temptation
Feel like the right thing
Feather its outcome
With ribbons and string

Let’s make Sin’s poison
Look and taste rather nice
Let’s sweeten death’s symptoms
With sugar and spice

Let’s make the cost of love
Seem much too large
Let’s offer lots of stuff
At no extra charge

Let’s keep the sheep-ple
Distracted until
They find out too late
The full price of the thrill


© Janet Martin