For His Enduring Mercy...

A Hallelujah Hymn

even if it is the last day of August which makes me kind of sad...

David's hymn of praise for God's enduring mercy in Psalms 136, 

written long before Calvary,

inspired today's hymn, 

written long after Calvary, 

worshiping He whose mercy is everlasting...

Psalm 136:1

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.

a few on-the-ground-glimpses of His mercy

before heading back to the garden to harvest

 more mercy-tokens🙏💓

Zinnia-forest...

Caterpillar-study...

Pick of the petal-crop

Wrapping piggy in pastry blankie...m-m-m!

Oh! The excitement when there's a mousie in Janet's housie!!!

I will leave the ending of the tale to your apt imaginations

but it involved a trap😂

To count Thy mercies, Lord, is more than ink can summarize

You woo the light of morn to chase night’s shadows from yon skies

With love that never fails you keep Your promises intact

Happy is the heart that avails itself of this kind fact

Whose will it is, that none should perish, but all would be saved

Forevermore to cherish love’s gift, for the cost you braved

At Calvary, upon a cross, once for all you became

Sin’s final sacrifice, for all who call upon Your name

Mercy for blind accusers, for hearts, hard with unbelief

Mercy for the abusers of love’s brutal, blood-drenched grief

Mercy that spills in flowers to anoint the earth that groans

With the dust that devours the spent hull of skin and bones

But not the Soul; the deathless Soul, whose bearing You decree

And garner, at death’s darksome toll, its holy Entity

Where mercy cannot break its Vow; God is not mocked but keeps

His Word; fulfilling judgment now as Choice its harvest reaps

Beyond the visage of all who approach the solemn goal

That each breath draws us nearer to; the Saviour of the Soul

Whose everlasting mercy pours with comfort and appeal

Whose everlasting love implores with agonizing zeal

Whose will it is that none should die, doomed to the wage of sin

Because He gave Himself to buy the gift of Life, to win

The war, not fought with flesh and blood, but with heart, soul and mind

To love the Lord our God, and leave all other gods behind

Where Mercy meets us where we are with love, not blow for blow

He does not curse, or nurse the scar where once we struck Him, no

But bends to bind hate’s gaping wounds with redemption unmarred/unbarred

He draws us to His bosom with Hands, gentle though nail-scarred

With everlasting mercy, God unfurls before our gaze

A virgin opportunity to honor Him with praise

For His enduring mercy in spite of oft thankless stance

For His enduring mercy that His faithful favor grants

© Janet Martin

Ps,136:26

Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven!
For His mercy endures forever.

What Good Is All We Say and Do...

Ps.141:2-4

Let my prayer be set before You as incense,

The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

3Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth;

Keep watch over the door of my lips.

4Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, ...

Ps.19:14

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

Be acceptable in Your sight,

O Lord, my [h]strength and my Redeemer.

Isa.26:3-4

You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.
4Trust in the Lord forever,
For in Yah, the Lord, is [b]everlasting strength.

Today's hope-plan-dream includes making salsa!

among other things!

What good is all we say and do, each hope-plan-dream we bide

Where ebb and flow of morning gold turns blue at eventide

Where the suspense of what yet waits is never fully met

Where mercy plunders welkin gates, where man, prone to forget

...who orders our steps, embarks toward what none can see

An invisible Void that marks time’s swift finality

And puts an end to what now wends deftly from here to Where

None can return from, to amend the said-and-done with care

Behooving us to consider the climax of life’s jot

And ask the question that should stir a very serious thought…

What good is all we say and do and love and learn, oh pray

Without devout devotion to He who grants each new day

(The clout of Life’s Momentous Lease authors a Dividend

That once begun will never cease and none can comprehend)

Surely, we ought to pay more earnest heed to what we hear

And measure every word and deed with chaste and holy fear

For we will all appear before the judgement seat of Christ

To give account for what we revered, loved and sacrificed

Behold, the faithful saying of truth that will never dim;

The good in all we say and do, is possible through Him

© Janet Martin

Are we not all inclined to cry with Paul?!...

1 Tim.1:14-16

And the grace of our Lord overflowed to me,

along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

15This is a trustworthy saying, worthy of full acceptance:

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst.

16But for this very reason I was shown mercy,

so that in me, the worst of sinners,

Christ Jesus might display His perfect patience

as an example to those who would believe in Him for eternal life.…

It Gets Me Every Time

 

Although officially it is still summer, 

the end of August often has an 'End of Summer' feel!

This is the time of year when neither days or nights are quite long enough!

As Granddaughter helped me in the kitchen a few days ago

I had a profound sense of 'olden' days renewed; 

she is such a mix of all three of our daughters!

The way that seasons sweep across the countryside with ease

A burst of song released to steep and toss the tress of trees

A lovely leaf and flower happiness enhancing earth

Until life’s brief encounter yields to death, conceived at birth

It gets me every time; each sweet and fleeting season-span

Portraying in its lilt and chime the numbered days of man

The way the bud-loom brims, dazzles and dims; show-stoppers bow

Beneath weaning rhythms and winds that always stun, somehow

Though green of youth has always yielded to the woo of years

(The weathered stance of truth unshaken by century-peers)

It gets me every time; the way moment-silk spins and weaves

Bygone’s gossamer clime with all love celebrates and grieves

The way what may seem small becomes the measure of a life

The way the writing on the wall is always running rife

Where endings and beginnings meld one season to the next

A treasure briefly held then felled; love, gladly, sadly vexed

It gets me every time; the way footfalls compose a song

The tempo of its pantomime, so-long, so-long, so-long

© Janet Martin

Eccles.12:1

Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth,

 Before the difficult days come, 

And the years draw near when you say,

 “I have no pleasure in them”:

From The First Moment of Waking...

A phrase from the last paragraph of yesterday's devotion seemed to

say, 'pick me, pick me!!' for today's poem...so I did💖

...and because I SO identify with the battle addressed, 

I am sharing the whole devotion

so you may also be encouraged and edified

From My Utmost For His Highest by Oswald Chambers

From the first moment of waking

Till the light of day grows dim

May our ‘lifetime in the making’

Be a living worship hymn

As life’s lyrics fill time’s pages

Binding sacred numbered days

May the Author of the ages

Be the purpose of our praise

In the highs and lows of learning

(Something we never outgrow)

May the increase of our yearning

Be for God who loves us so

Then, as we embrace the beauty

Of mercy’s enduring ways

May the common calls of Duty

Compose hymns of thankful praise

From the first moment of waking

Until daylight disappears

May the music we are making

Bring sweet pleasure to God’s ears

From the first moment of waking

May we join the melody

Of a love-song in the making

That will fill eternity

© Janet Martin

Today's devotion continues the sacred topic of prayer...

From the rising of the sun to its going down

 The LORD’s name is to be praised.

Ps.113:3

From The Rising of the Sun...

August Celebration

It was a brooding, gray backdrop kind of day...

Where yon billow broods and breaks,

Where the shower spills its lakes...

Where the flower-bower-toast

Thrills us to the uttermost

Where the planted furrow brims

With fruition’s harvest hymns...

(Farmer-patience is tried this year due to much rain!

The neighbor's were able to salvage the last of the straw just before today's soaker!!)

Where dust, threshed from wheat and rye

Wafts between the earth and sky...

Where cricket-minstrels repeat

Repertoires of tweet-tweet-tweet... 

Where garden has Cook beguiled

With dinner-buffets, run wild...

Last night's supper bottom right corner...grilled zucchini-rounds

topped with browned ground beef-green pepper-red onion medley

Where yon billow broods and breaks,

Where the shower spills its lakes

Where the flower-bower's toast

Thrills us to the uttermost

Where the planted furrow brims

With fruition’s harvest hymns

Where the hand of God anoints

Earth in exclamation points

Where wonder and worship meet

In climaxes, simple-sweet

Where delight and sadness spar

Where hello and farewell are

Where we revel in the bliss

Of the afternoon that is

While the gate to twilight’s star

Waits to swing softly ajar

Where dust, threshed from wheat and rye

Wafts between the earth and sky

Where cricket-minstrels repeat

Repertoires of tweet-tweet-tweet

Where garden has Cook beguiled

With dinner-buffets, run wild

Where bravado cannot stay

What no wish can keep at bay

Where hollyhock bistros buzz

With busy bee biz, because

Where each honeyed moment drips

A sparkle of August slips

From lips, fingertips, and sighs

Where before our very eyes

Heaven lends to earth a hint

Of what waits beyond Time’s stint

Where we cannot comprehend

Awesome August without end

Where goldenrod wicks are lit

Just for the sheer joy of it

Where, beyond four-seasoned tide

Rolls a summer countryside

Where death never enters thought

Mum blooms with forget-me-not

© Janet Martin

Tonight's supper...

Green Bean Casserole

2 of my bean jars didn't seal from canning this year

and because I prefer canned beans for this dish, it was the perfect side!

Comfort food on a very fallish feeling evening!

(I also use milk rather than sour cream)

Zucchini Casserole

I added a bit of ham to make it a one-dish meal

(for a 9X13 pan I used 2 more eggs and added a generous tbsp. of melted butter to the olive oil)

another recent meal fav using Swiss chard

Feta was a splurge extra 😊😋

Faithfulness's Fitness/Litmus Test (or All For Christ)

Today's song and poem, a very personal challenge!!

Ps.130:1-4

Out of the depths

I cry to You, O LORD!

2O Lord, hear my voice;

let Your ears be attentive to my plea for mercy.

3If You, O LORD, kept track of iniquities,

then who, O Lord, could stand?

4But with You there is forgiveness,

so that You may be feared.

I Surrender All

 

Invitation Medley-Anthem Lights

Oh, am I ready to be hated as I take a steadfast stand

When sinfulness is celebrated without fear for God’s command

Am I equipped with the Full Armor, (that without, none can endure)

Where an unscrupulous charmer tosses many a lovely lure

Am I prepared to be reviled, rejected, ridiculed, loathed, jeered

When discernment is unbeguiled, because God’s precepts are revered

Am I willing to be accused falsely, yet answer not a word

While I am spit upon, abused, will love suffer long, for my Lord

Am I careful to leave unspoken trendy, empty sentiment

And where my will is still unbroken, am I willing to be bent?

Am I devoted to God's calling for His glory, by His grace

Ready to face the Enthralling Exodus from Fleeting Chase 

Am I committed to take up the cross of Christ with heart and limb

Ready, no matter what the cost, self-sacrificed, to follow Him

Am I hungry for His kind favor rather than the world’s applause

And vigilant of my behaviour in accordance with His laws/cause

Am I longing to be to be like Him, challenged and misunderstood

Knowing, for all who truly love Him, God works out all things for good

Oh, am I ready to portray Him, with faith all but Jesus-blind

To humbly love and obey Him with all heart, soul, strength and mind

© Janet Martin

1 Cor.1:18

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing,

but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Eph.5:1-17

Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.

 2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, 

an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

3 But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, 

let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; 

4 neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, 

which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. 

5 For [a]this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man,

 who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things

 the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 

7 Therefore do not be partakers with them.

Walk in Light

8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. 

Walk as children of light 

9 (for the fruit of the [b]Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), 

10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.

 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness,

 but rather [c]expose them. 

12 For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. 

13 But all things that are [d]exposed are made manifest by the light,

 for whatever makes manifest is light. 14 Therefore He says:

“Awake, you who sleep,

Arise from the dead,

And Christ will give you light.”

Walk in Wisdom

15 See then that you walk [e]circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 

16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is...

Let no One Deceive You...Part 1

 

Part 2

Sweet Recompense

Eph.2:14

For He Himself is our peace...

(Today's poem was inspired by the first line 

in today's Daily Bread Devotion scripture reading)

...and then, the outer fringes of His glory

filled the heavens where 'evidence of things unseen'

grants glimpses of Him!

Jesus is our peace; hell’s gates cannot prevail

Against the Cornerstone that keeps faith anchored in the gale

When we have known the truth, the truth will set us free

No longer owned by sin’s uncouth, lawless captivity

Faith’s crux of things hoped for; of evidence unseen

Anchors the Soul; the Goal more precious than what lies between

The delight of the Lord, no mortal can impart

From the wealth of His Word, He gives desires of the heart

His promises endure, nothing can take the place

Of joy complete; through the assurance of amazing grace

Peace; what sweet recompense when faith has made us whole 

Hell's gates cannot prevail against the Savior of the soul

© Janet Martin

Why, oh, why is it so easy to slip into the snare

of wanting what we see rather than what we know

(if the truth has set us free)

Oh!! Pray it has!

And if it has

oh, pray for all who still do not know the truth!

John 8:32

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Living Hope

Jesus, What a Friend for Sinners

Song by Matthew Smith

Jesus! what a Friend for sinners!

Jesus! Lover of my soul;

Friends may fail me, foes assail me,

He, my Savior, makes me whole.

Hallelujah! what a Savior!

Hallelujah! what a Friend!

Saving, helping, keeping, loving,

He is with me to the end.

Jesus! what a Strength in weakness!

Let me hide myself in Him.

Tempted, tried, and often failing,

He, my Strength, my victory wins.

Hallelujah! what a Savior!

Hallelujah! what a Friend!

Saving, helping, keeping, loving,

He is with me to the end.

Jesus! what a Help in sorrow!

While the billows over me roll,

Even when my heart is breaking,

He, my Comfort, helps my soul.

Hallelujah! what a Savior!

Hallelujah! what a Friend!

Saving, helping, keeping, loving,

He is with me to the end.

Jesus! I do now receive Him,

More than all in Him I find.

He has granted me forgiveness,

I am His, and He is mine.

Hallelujah! what a Savior!

Hallelujah! what a Friend!

Saving, helping, keeping, loving,

He is with me to the end

Hallelujah! what a Savior!

Hallelujah! what a Friend!

Saving, helping, keeping, loving,

He is with me to the end.

The Serious Business of Fruit

A fruit grower works hard to produce good fruit.

They consider the climate, the soil, the fertilizer and pruning, etc.!

We enjoy the fruit of their labour. 

Yum!!

(right now it's peaches!)

We can talk all we like, but talk is not fruit!

and unless it jibes with our walk, it's a lot of wind!

Jer.17:10

“I the Lord search the heart
    and examine the mind,
to reward each person according to their conduct,
    according to what their deeds deserve.”

How we live is serious business

The tree is known by its fruit

Talk is but wind tossing branches

‘Walk’ inaugurates the root

With what ‘talk ‘cannot refute

Who we love most is no secret

The voice of choice, loud and clear

The fruit of the tree will prove it

…who we most love and revere

Love is serious business, dear

Wisdom and folly bear witness

As harvest yields what was sown

Life and love are serious business

Because when the tree is grown

By the fruit the tree is known

"Let's address the heart of matters

And cut to the final goal

 Before time's hour-glass shatters

Before the tree bares the Soul

Where the fruit will tell the whole" 

© Janet Martin

Luke 6:43-45

A Tree and Its Fruit

(Matthew 7:15–23; Matthew 12:33–37)

43No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44For each tree is known by its own fruit. Indeed, figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor grapes from brambles. 45The good man brings good things out of the good treasure of his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil treasure of his heart. For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.

Preserving fruit from the garden grants lots of listening-opportunity, 

to be challenged and encouraged in our own fruit-bearing...

below are a few favorites from the past week!

Obedience: Evidence of a Strong Foundation (Part 1 of 2) - 08/07/23

Obedience: Evidence of a Strong Foundation (Part 2 of 2) - 08/08/23

 

one excerpt-

The church does not baptize on the assurance of faith; 

it baptizes on the profession of faith!

1 John 1:5-7

This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, 

that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.

  6If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, 

we lie and do not practice the truth. 

7But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, 

we have fellowship with one another, 

and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

Amazing Grace

The longing of the human heart is actually, 

ultimately a longing to know God

and be known by God, and

the solid joys and the lasting treasures

are only found in God

and only found in God's revelation of Himself in Jesus!

and only enjoyed by those who are prepared to say

'nothing in my hand I bring,

Simply to the cross I cling'

- excerpt from the ending of the above message

Especially Summer's Morning

I began this poem yesterday morning, a masterpiece of gold and jade.

Among other colors!

This morning's mercy-masterpiece is autumnal in its air...gusty, rainy and quite cool!

'beauty blooms midst brokenness...'

The roma tomatoes have been devastated by blight. I am so sad!

...and these are but tomatoes! 

Imagine how God's heart breaks as He looks

upon a heart, blighted with sin He longs to forgive,

 in a sinner He longs to redeem,

with a life He longs to transform!

 

While this morning feels fall-ish it is still August so let's celebrate its loveliness!!

Or, even better, the Giver of its loveliness!

Soft ushered through untrodden deeps, fresh from God’s faithful care

Daylight dissolves the dark and sweeps night’s shadows from the air

To beckon us to the threshold where summer morning streams

Like a gold welcome mat unrolled beneath our hopes and dreams

Wildflowers, tossed like colored stars bedazzle summer’s world

God’s smile unstoppers welkin jars, His paintbrush dipped, then twirled

Unfurling masterpieces where we’ve made an awful mess

His goodness never ceases; beauty blooms midst brokenness

His majesty adorning everything that He has made

Especially summer’s morning; like glimpses of Eden played

Like glints of paradise, to rouse a hymn of gratitude

To He who fills the earth and skies with kind mercy renewed

Then come, let us adore Him; He whose glory fills our gaze

Behold, who can ignore Him while creation shouts His praise

Behooving us to do the same where summer morning spills

Like a love song, from He whose Name, sweet joy and peace instills

© Janet Martin

Ps.100

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.

2 Worship the Lord with gladness;

come before him with joyful songs.

3 Know that the Lord is God.

It is he who made us, and we are his[a];

we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving

and his courts with praise;

give thanks to him and praise his name.

5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;

his faithfulness continues through all generations.