Fruit-Evaluation...

How often love relinquishes what we dearly love 

for Who we dearly love~

***

To love something is never Reason enough unless

it is because we love someone

***

2 Tim.3:1-5

But know this, that in the last days [a]perilous times will come: 

2 For men will be lovers of themselves, 

lovers of money, 

boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents,

 unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, [b]unforgiving, 

slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good,

 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, 

lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 

5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. 

And from such people turn away!

***

We all know it is foolish to wait till autumn to contemplate

what will be the harvest!

Harvest depends on what we sow during planting season!

Today in the Season of life it is still planting season,

even in November.

Fruit is no liar;

we reap what we sow.

We are wise to pause time and again, and evaluate

humbly and honestly the health and hardiness

of the fruit on the tree...

Matt.3:10

The ax is already at the root of the trees, 

and every tree that does not produce good fruit 

will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

On today's to-do/planting-harvest list; can pumpkins...

Roast beets for supper 'salad'...

(Below, last week's first time recipe-try and new fall favourite!)

Myriad medleys of  moments served up inspiration for today's poem...

Upon a scale we oft forget, the fruit of love is weighed

Each new day, rife with gleaming 'yet' grants opportunity 

To manifest love's evidence, as word and deed are laid

Before the One whose ordinance lays the ax to the tree   

 

Upon a scale we cannot see, we heap the fruit of love

While God's goodness streams fresh and free, like rainfall and sunshine

His mercy hails and we reply; as what we prize we prove

By who we serve; vain to deny the fruit upon the vine   

Great peace have they who love God's law, yea, nothing will offend

Then pray for more genuine awe as we approach The Scale

For love is not a liar as it fills limbs that will bend

With fruit of heart's desire and the proof that will not fail 

Upon a scale none can revoke love's sacred fruits accrue 

The deed we did, the word we spoke, the Thought, secretly sown 

Then pray we pay more earnest heed as we embark anew

To till the ground and plant the seed that by its fruit is known

Upon a scale held in hands scarred by love, nailed to a cross 

We heap our answer; no holds barred, holy, holy, the fruit 

Because it tells the tender truth; futile, all verbal gloss 

The fruit of love, the sacred proof that silences dispute  

Gal.5:19-26

The acts of the flesh are obvious: 

sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;

 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy,

 fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; 

drunkenness, orgies, and the like. 

I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this

 will not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance,

 kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 

23 gentleness and self-control. 

Against such things there is no law. 

24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh 

with its passions and desires. 

25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 

 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Gal.6:7-10

Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked. 

Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return.

  8The one who sows to please his flesh, 

from the flesh will reap destruction;

 but the one who sows to please the Spirit, 

from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

9Let us not grow weary in well-doing, 

for in due time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

  10Therefore, as we have opportunity, 

let us do good to everyone, 

and especially to the family of faith.

 

Gladness Beyond Comprehension

Happy November 2nd from a

misty, gold-leaf-drippy, frost-filigree morning in Ontario!

My oh my!! What an awesome loving Creator we have!

Below, a few frames of the first day of November's farewell...

and, my, oh my, how our loving, awesome Creator hates sin.

But my, how He loves us, sinners,

born with the curse of sin,

since Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden.

But, He so loved us that

 He gave His only begotten Son

so whoever believes in Him will not perish

but have everlasting life 

John 3:16

God hates sin, but His love forgives every

sin we repent of and confess.

If we confess our sins, 

He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins

 and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9

He loved us so much that

God made him who had no sin 

to be sin for us, 

so that in him we might become 

the righteousness of God. 

2 Cor.5:21

God loves us so much He knew that He alone 

was the only perfect, eternal sin offering, 

so He offered, not some noble substitute, but Himself/His son

 to pay the grueling price of pardon

because without the shedding of blood

there is no remission;

In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood,

 and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

Heb.9:22

So God shed His blood and gave his life

 on a cruel cross for all to see

Therefore I (God) will allot Him a portion with the great, 

and He will divide the spoils with the strong,

 because He has poured out His life unto death, 

and He was numbered with the transgressors. 

Yet He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.

Isa.53:12

and to this very day, for all eternity

God's faithfulness repeats

 “I have loved you with an everlasting love; 

I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.

Jer.31:3

God's sacrifice would have been impossible

unless He truly loved us!

Is it not then in turn the same for us?

It is impossible for us to truly follow/serve Him/sacrifice Self

until we truly love Him?

Let's ask God to help us remember

never to hate Him because of

how 'sinners' may hurt or disappoint us because

we are all sinners

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Rom.3:23

 God loves us so much He gave us His Word

so we may know Him and love Him all the more...

In the beginning was the Word,

and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God.

John 1:1

The more we seek Him the more we find Him

“Ask and it will be given to you; 

seek and you will find; 

knock and the door will be opened to you.

Matt.7:7

***

Hark, what hails time's spark of trouble?

What gladdens guerdons of grief?

What makes most precious, life's bubble 

Bobbing like a wafting leaf ?

What compels hope for tomorrow?

What can no rival destroy?

Even in the thick of sorrow

What anoints the tear with joy?

What anchors the transient staircase

That body, heart and soul brave?

What satisfies Yearning's embrace?

What transcends the lifeless grave?

What, 'midst mayhem, grants peace, glorious?

What sweetens the bitter rod ?  

This; the unfailing, victorious

Everlasting love of God

© Janet Martin

Emotions seem to run especially high 

during impending elections, don't they?!!

Pray we remember what/Who matters most

and Whose loving and perfect purposes none can thwart

Deut.4:7

For what nation is great enough to have a god as near to them 

as the LORD our God is to us whenever we call on Him?

  8And what nation is great enough to have 

righteous statutes and ordinances like this entire law

 I set before you today?

The Everlasting Love of God (Lyric Video) - Matt Boswell & Matt Papa

Grief-frames

Happy 82nd Birthday, dear Mom born Nov.1, 1942

(photo credit on this post goes to my sister Marlene)

Yesterday, at my mother's annual birthday tea-party

the presence of each other seemed more treasured,

 our love more tender than ever before,

in the light of grief...

My mom asked if she could host it

(for the first time ever) in what has been a tradition

for SO many years!

If Lucy were here I could count on her to remember

when it started, who hosted it

and maybe even what she was wearing and

if/who she was pregnant with...

😅😂💖

She had an incredible memory!! 

Because mom hosted it, Dad could enjoy the celebration too 💝

(although we have another one on Sunday that includes our men as well)

Grief ebbs, then rushes in like a billow, invisible

It rolls through heart and soul with staggering intensity

It strips us of all pretense; Love's most severe crucible

As God, who IS love, tries the Part that He alone can see

Grief sends us on a journey we would never choose to take

Around and 'round a gaping void, veiled by façades, skin-thin

It winds heartstrings through phantom frames where echoes tug and ache

Woven from moments not unlike the moments we are in

Grief moans like autumn's lonely wind through woodlands, leaf-bereft

It sobs, like summer, silenced by its sum of Season-sand

From detonated dreamlands, it examines what is left

Sifting through drifts of rubble diamond-dust, where once Love laughed and planned

Grief teaches us to live with an 'if the Lord wills' regard

To love as if Today could be the last for you or me  

It stirs holier handling of dawn's invitation card

Because Today does not come with a Morrow-guarantee  

Grief metes Love's Must; relentless thrust of waves, dash-crash-recede 

Then, with renewed velocity, returns with wrenching pains 

To wander rooms, once full of Innocence we did not heed

Where now his/her essence of presence, like a shadow remains

Grief takes us to the arms of friends and family so dear

And it is no coincidence, it drives us to our knees

To draw us to The Sacred Solace of God's list'ning ear 

*And glimpses to the Inner Room of Heaven's Mysteries/Sympathies

Janet 💔🙏

The verses below comfort me constantly,

as I lift my wordless groans to God's intercession

Rom.8:26-27

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. 

We do not know what we ought to pray for, 

but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 

 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, 

because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people 

in accordance with the will of God.

Below, yesterday's timely and profound devotion

from the book Streams in the Desert, Vol.1

(* this devotion articulates splendidly, the last line in today's poem)

While I was working on this post

a friend sent me these words...

She is mourning the loss of a friend who passed away this week.

"God is so gracious and so tender,

 even though we might never get the ‘why’ on this side of heaven."

Thank-you, Joanne!

(Her friend was released from a brave battle with ALS)

And last but not least...

My mom with her salt and pepper shaker collection

200+ pairs!

Yesterday she invited each of us to choose a pair,

before she gives her grandchildren the opportunity to do the same

I chose these Siamese cats.

They have lived in my mother's china hutch since

before I was born.

From her friend Mary (Mrs. Abner Martin)

My two 'little sisters' enjoying their choices!

Lucy was the middle sister...

Marvelous Beyond Our Wisest, Wildest Ken

October's days this year are a bit of a fog-draped blur...

Below a glimpse of marvels gleaned like jewels of joy, midst grief.

 Ps.118:4&21-24&28-29

Let those who fear the LORD say,

“His loving devotion endures forever.”

I will give You thanks, for You have answered me,

and You have become my salvation.

22The stone the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone.d

23This is from the LORD,

and it is marvelous in our eyes.e

24This is the day that the LORD has made;

we will rejoice and be glad in it...

You are my God, and I will give You thanks.

You are my God, and I will exalt You.

Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;

His loving devotion endures forever.

(read the whole glorious chapter of Ps.118 HERE)

'This day is from the Lord' and it is marvelously blessed

With the Light of His Word to help us navigate its lease 

Because God's goodness, (Heaven-bent) determines what is best

Oft, earthly gaze misunderstands hues in Love's Masterpiece 

'This day is from the Lord' and it is a marvelous gift

Faith's confidence restored as we believe and stagger not 

The Cornerstone that anchors hope, no circumstance can shift 

God's promises secure the rope that strains 'neath creature-thought 

'This day is from the Lord' and it is marvelous indeed

Grace-ordained race of wait-and-run, while pressing t'ward the Prize  

Where Holy Ground of Harvest frets with freshly fallen seed

And trouble's panting dust begets 'the spark that upward flies'

  

'This day is from the Lord' and it is marvelous, Amen 

 Its evidence none can afford; This, God's mercy's renewed

He works through suffering, for good, beyond our wisest/wildest ken

Then, pray we reply as we should, with humble gratitude 

© Janet Martin

Rom.8:18

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing

 with the glory that will be revealed in us.

2 Corinthians 4:17
For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us 

an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.

1 Peter 4:13
But rejoice that you share in the sufferings of Christ, 

so that you may be overjoyed at the revelation of His glory.

 

Hope's Sublimity or Recognizing The Comforter

A friend sent me these verses last night to encourage me

and help me guard against despair...

2 Cor.4:8-9 NIV

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; 

perplexed, but not in despair; 

 persecuted, but not abandoned; 

struck down, but not destroyed...

Thank-you Lord!

Thank-you, as you rend night's curtain

 Whatever today commands

Your hope lets Faith know for certain

That we are in perfect Hands 

A prayer to begin a new week...

While I am learning how to love You, Lord, the way I ought

How to be a reflection  of the love that Your love taught

How not to think more highly of Self than I should, instead

To live with more awareness of the life-blood that You shed

Then, to be much more thankful for the hope Your pardon sealed

While I am learning hope's bedrock; by your wounds I am healed 

Have mercy, Lord, while I am learning hope's sublimity; 

If you kept record of my sin, how hopeless hope would be...

© Janet Martin

Hope is grief's Healer

In Christ's wounds whereby we are healed, 

Hope is manifested.

Here we find the tangibility of these truths

Ps.147:3

He heals the brokenhearted 

and binds up their wounds.

Ps.34:18

The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, 

And saves such as have a contrite spirit.

Isa.53:5

But he was pierced for our transgressions,

 he was crushed for our iniquities;

 the punishment that brought us peace was on him, 

and by his wounds we are healed.

Before Jesus was crucified, resurrected and ascended He promised this;

Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit-John 14:15-18

(Joel 2:28-32; John 16:5-16; Acts 2:1-13; Acts 10:44-48; Acts 19:1-7)

15If ye love me, keep my commandments.

16And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter,

that he may abide with you for ever;

17Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive,

because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him:

but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

18I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you...

You Are Mine- David Haas 

Sorrow-School

Today I spent an afternoon with two of Lucy's friends,

(one I knew by name only, the same way she knew me,)

and we shared our love for Lucy midst laughter and tears.

This week my heart was torn every which way but loose...

so many beautiful people from near and far

touched my life with visits, texts, messages, flowers,

phone calls, cards, songs, treats, meals, hugs and prayers

The beautiful outpouring of sympathy and comfort

brings to sorrow, joy 💔🙏

Meanwhile, I am struck anew by the circle of life...

While we mourn, babies are born.

Let's take none of it for granted!

I shared this song awhile ago but it deserves a re-listen...

Cycle of Life Amos Raber (featuring Conrad Fisher)

We cannot brush grief’s ache away like a stray lock of hair

No words exist that can allay the angst that love must bear

But as we mourn we learn of joys through loss alone unfurled

How Sorrow raises Comforters from all across the world

How, hope is like an angel that we glimpse in friendships sweet

How love, though bruised and battered does not succumb to defeat

How life is worth the living, even with love’s scars we earn

How in the taking God is always giving in return

How, if He asked, we would refuse what Reason holds at bay

While lessons we would never choose steal our breath away

With love, unhindered by façades we too often employ   

As students in the School of Sorrow are surprised by joy

© Janet Martin

Here are a few songs that cheered me on this week,

shared by thoughtful friends 

Made For More Josh Baldwin  (feat. Jenn Johnson)

Abide With Me -Audrey Assad 

Courage's Crux

Sometimes in the morning I feel a bit like a turtle, 

as I emerge from my 'shell' of cozy covers

to hit snooze, then retreat back beneath blanket-oblivion,

 until finally Truth, in this case, aka Morning, 

prods me into motion and I trundle to the kitchen

 to 'pour myself a cup of ambition'...🎜🎝

...because no matter how I ignore, deny or pretend,

Truth abides. 

It is unaffected by Denial's mayhem of confusion

pride's boldness/boastfulness of rebellion

doubt's folly of rejection, 

and Disregard's lack of reverent fear

Truth is a solid foundation 

in the shifting tide of seasons, opinions and generations.

It anchors wisdom's disciplines

It corrects erring thought.

It exposes deception

It is the Belt that secures

the breastplate of righteousness

Eph.6:14

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist,

with the breastplate of righteousness in place,

John 17:17

Sanctify them by[d] the truth; your word is truth.

John 8:32

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

John 1:14

The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. 

We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son

 from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:17

For the law was given through Moses;

 grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

So, all this to say

Rise and shine!!

 because...

It is not for nothing, no!

By God's grace and truth we go

Faith is not some futile fling

Nor we, puppets on a string

God, who is First in command

Guides us by His nail-scarred Hand

His Word girds both aged and youth

 With trustworthy, timeless Truth

Truth, to fit us for the strife

Through the highs and lows of life

Foolish to doubt or dispute

What God said IS Absolute

No matter what waits to be

Truth is faith's divine decree

Steadfast in Want's constant flux

Is the kind Creator's crux 

Able to withstand the tow

Stable in time's ebb and flow

Stronger than opposing tides

The Word-rooted Truth abides

It is not for nothing then

Courage is renewed, amen

Fit to fight faith's cunning foe 

By God's grace and truth we go

© Janet Martin