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Friday, May 31, 2024

To Find Fullness of Life/Love or Faith's Resolution (By the Grace of God)

This poem is a tall 'order'/prayer
but with God, nothing is impossible!
 By His 'grace upon grace' I/we go,
pray, for His glory alone!



Earth and sky shout His evidence!
Oh, what a crying shame
If I should place faith's confidence
In any other Name






From His fullness we have all received grace upon grace.

This poem is written in first person 
because it immediately became more convicting
than the less direct 'we' and 'our' approach! 
No side-stepping the 'issue' today! πŸ˜…πŸ™

Some goals to strive toward...

To find fullness of life/love that only self-forgetting yields
To bear the yoke of prayerful hope in harvest-heavy fields
To be humbly encouraged by faith’s cloud of witnesses
To not lose heart; enough to be heirs of God’s promises

To take my cross and follow Him with heart, soul, strength and mind
To fix my eyes on Jesus who is trustworthy and kind
To make my great ambition more than this world can afford
To hold no longing dearer than to gain Heaven’s reward

To recognize ‘the whole duty of man’ and to reply
With unwavering confidence and courage, ‘Here am I’
To value, more than anything the wisdom from God’s Word
To teach, rebuke, correct and train, equip and undergird

To transform heart’s desires as the Lord is my delight
To commit to nothing but what is worthy and upright
To find in every common place, rare jewels for joy’s crown
To fret not, though the wicked prosper, God will cut them down

To stay my mind on He who will keep it in perfect peace
To be still and know He is God who giveth the increase
And though I do not understand His higher thoughts and ways
To be forever thankful He is worthy of all praise

And if I stumble, if I fall, where sight and faith compete
To take the Hand grace offers and to get back on my feet
To count for joy, the trial whereby faith must be refined
To make the love I boast more patient, pure, gentle and kind

To be an honored vessel wherein God has placed His light
To endure hardness as a soldier fitted for the fight
To find fullness of life/love by pouring out my love/life for He
Who poured Love's lifeblood on the cross to save a wretch like me

© Janet Martin

Ps.37
Do not fret because of those who are evil
or be envious of those who do wrong;
2 for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away.

3 Trust in the Lord and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
your vindication like the noonday sun.

7 Be still before the Lord
and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.

8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret—it leads only to evil.
9 For those who are evil will be destroyed,
but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.

10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look for them, they will not be found.
11 But the meek will inherit the land
and enjoy peace and prosperity.

12 The wicked plot against the righteous
and gnash their teeth at them;
13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
for he knows their day is coming.

14 The wicked draw the sword
and bend the bow
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those whose ways are upright.
15 But their swords will pierce their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.

16 Better the little that the righteous have
than the wealth of many wicked;
17 for the power of the wicked will be broken,
but the Lord upholds the righteous.

18 The blameless spend their days under the Lord’s care,
and their inheritance will endure forever.
19 In times of disaster they will not wither;
in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.

20 But the wicked will perish:
Though the Lord’s enemies are like the flowers of the field,
they will be consumed, they will go up in smoke.

21 The wicked borrow and do not repay,
but the righteous give generously;
22 those the Lord blesses will inherit the land,
but those he curses will be destroyed.

23 The Lord makes firm the steps
of the one who delights in him;
24 though he may stumble, he will not fall,
for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

25 I was young and now I am old,
yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
or their children begging bread.
26 They are always generous and lend freely;
their children will be a blessing.[b]

27 Turn from evil and do good;
then you will dwell in the land forever.
28 For the Lord loves the just
and will not forsake his faithful ones.

Wrongdoers will be completely destroyed[c];
the offspring of the wicked will perish.
29 The righteous will inherit the land
and dwell in it forever.

30 The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom,
and their tongues speak what is just.
31 The law of their God is in their hearts;
their feet do not slip.

32 The wicked lie in wait for the righteous,
intent on putting them to death;
33 but the Lord will not leave them in the power of the wicked
or let them be condemned when brought to trial.

34 Hope in the Lord
and keep his way.
He will exalt you to inherit the land;
when the wicked are destroyed, you will see it.

35 I have seen a wicked and ruthless man
flourishing like a luxuriant native tree,
36 but he soon passed away and was no more;
though I looked for him, he could not be found.

37 Consider the blameless, observe the upright;
a future awaits those who seek peace.[d]
38 But all sinners will be destroyed;
there will be no future[e] for the wicked.

39 The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord;
he is their stronghold in time of trouble.
40 The Lord helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him

Thursday, May 30, 2024

All We Have...(Comes From God)

Am I truly willing to love (aka give)
with all I have?
This, the challenge/conviction from this morning's reading...
A few excerpts below

This morning is gleaming and shiny as a new silver or gold coin
begging to be spent/invested!


So many avenues, snares and benefits for both money and time
where every day is an investment for eternity!




Ps.16:11 
You will show me the path of life;
 In Your presence is fullness of joy; 
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Heb.4:13 KJV
Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight:
 but all things are naked and opened 
unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
NIV
Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. 
Everything is uncovered and laid bare 
before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

The Creator of life is the Supreme and Sovereign Giver 
(and withholder) of all we have or want!

Rom.8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good 
of those who love him, 
who have been called according to his purpose.


Nothing is hidden from the One with Whom we have to do
No thought or motive's intention escapes His thorough view 
Not one measure that we possess , not one means we applaud
Is secured by our own success; All we have comes from God

No one is exempt from the tender love that wrought God's grace
God gave Himself and did not send another in His place
To bear surrender's uttermost; death on a cross, so grim
To leave no room for mortal boast; All we have comes from Him

No part of God's authority is for a select few
Forbid we have no fear of He with Whom we have to do
But, weigh all that transcends the grave with holy diligence
Because all that we have is by the Giver's providence 

Pray, we wholly rely on He who supplies our need
Pray we despise the enemy that thrives on fear and greed
For all we have is given, not to claim as our own
 Else earth's foretaste of Heaven would not make the Giver known  
 
Oh God, deliver us from evil that subtly takes root 
The love of money; a devil that blights both tree and fruit
Oh God, the Giver of our days, with Whom we have to do
Instill in us love's hymn of praise; all we have comes from You

So then, with all we have from You, pray, with all that we have
Of might and means, we purpose to invest beyond the grave 
Aware that life composes what death cannot circumvent 
When the Giver discloses what we did with what He lent 

© Janet Martin

A few more excerpts from the ending of the book
George Muller of Bristol...
to both cheer and challenge all who seek to live
to give without counting the cost!

 
 

Wednesday, May 29, 2024

By Love Constrained/Compelled

Wishing you countless opportunity today, to
be constrained/compelled by love 
through Christ to love one another!




By love constrained; oh, what a way to live
To give the best we have for He who gave
Then overthrew the power of the grave

By love constrained; oh, what a way to find
Wisdom and knowledge, divinely designed
Through unsearchable paths man cannot trace

By love constrained; oh, what a way to see
The beauty of the glory of the Lord
When patience, kindness and humility
Revere the recompense of the reward

By love constrained; oh, what a way to lay
Up treasure where no worldliness defiles
Where thief can not break in nor rust decay
The righteousness redemption reconciles

By love constrained; oh, what a way to walk
Love's 'second miles' none but love's Author knows
The Treasurer of life's most priceless stock
No Wall Street-Dow Jones-Nasdaq record shows 

By love constrained; oh, what a way to die
Daily to self-pleasing futility
In order so that we may glorify

© Janet Martin


2 Cor.5:14-21
For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that One died for all, 
therefore all died.
  15And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, 
but for Him who died for them and was raised again.

16So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh. 
Although we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.
  17Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.
 The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!

18All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ 
and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:
  19that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, 
not counting men’s trespasses against them. 
And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

20Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, 
as though God were making His appeal through us. 
We implore you on behalf of Christ: 
Be reconciled to God. 
21God made Him who knew no sin to be sinb on our behalf, 
so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.




Tuesday, May 28, 2024

Happiness Masterpiece

Today's post is inspired in part by Rom. 8 and 
 in part by the final chapters of George Mueller of Bristol
(what a testimony his life was/is to the faithfulness of God)




Sometimes we, in our human natured bent want the result/reward
without paying the price of the prize!
we want a fit physique without the workout and exercise.
We want the blessing of obedience without the obedience
The answer to prayer without the praying/waiting/trusting
We want wisdom without the learning/earning
We want harvest without the planting-pruning-growing...

We live in a society where we have easy access to SO much,
to provide instant gratification!
We no longer need to wait and hope we hear our favorite song
we can binge-listen-watch-read-eat-drink, you name it!
It's really quite alarming!
And instead of satisfying the 'beast'
it seems to have the opposite effect! 


For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; 
but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit…

Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: 
thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.




Sometimes we, in our human bent forget the whole duty of man
Sometimes we become discontent when circumstance provokes the plan
Oh Lord, our gracious God, You care, when faith is overcome with sight 
When we are tempted to despair, Lord, pierce the darkness with your Light 

Sometimes we do not find because we do not seek humility  
Because we do not wholly yield to He who WAS, IS, and WILL BE
The lowliness and holiness of Jesus Christ, is plain to see
Upon a cross He sacrificed Himself to set doomed sinners free 

Sometimes when we don't understand, response does not befit the saint
Instead of keeping love's/God's command we wallow in thankless complaint 
Oh Lord, our gracious God, forgive our often very erring ways
When evidence by how we live does not reflect believer's praise 

Sometimes we, in our human bent fall prey to carnal attitude
Instead of worship we lament; grumbling replaces gratitude
Oh Lord, our gracious God, you see our hearts and love us, nonetheless 
Each morning You hold out the key to true and perfect happiness

The spirit is willing; the flesh is prone to want and reason blurred
Instead of earnest prayer we mesh with logic not found in Your Word
Oh Lord, our gracious God increase sorrow until Your joy complete
Makes happiness a masterpiece of Marys washing/kissing Jesus' feet 

© Janet Martin

Luke 7:36-50

A Sinful Woman Forgiven

36 Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him.
 And He went to the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat. 
37 And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, 
when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, 
brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, 
38 and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; 
and she began to wash His feet with her tears, 
and wiped them with the hair of her head; 
and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. 
39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, 
he spoke to himself, saying, “This Man, if He were a prophet, 
would know who and what manner of woman this is
 who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.”

40 And Jesus answered and said to him,
 “Simon, I have something to say to you.”
So he said, “Teacher, say it.”

41 “There was a certain creditor who had two debtors.
 One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.
 42 And when they had nothing with which to repay,
 he freely forgave them both. 
Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?”

43 Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.”

And He said to him, “You have rightly judged.” 
44 Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman?
 I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet,
 but she has washed My feet with her tears 
and wiped them with the hair of her head. 
45 You gave Me no kiss, but this woman 
has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. 
46 You did not anoint My head with oil, 
but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil.
 47 Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. 
But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”

48 Then He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

49 And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves,
 “Who is this who even forgives sins?”

50 Then He said to the woman,
 “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

Monday, May 27, 2024

The Poorest of the Poor or Beggars by Choice


It's one thing to read the beginning of Romans 12,
but quite another to live it! Don't you agree? 

Therefore I urge you, brothers, (meaning every believer)
 on account of God’s mercy,
 to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, 
which is your spiritual service of worship.
 2Do not be conformed to this world, 
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
 Then you will be able to test and approve 
what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
3For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: 
Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, 
but think of yourself with sober judgment,
 according to the measure of faith God has given you...

Oh, so many perfectly, good reasons can tempt us to

If we could see for a moment what lies beyond the bit we see...


...not one of us would hesitate to prepare today for eternity; 
one glimpse (of either Heaven or hell)
would be enough to convince us completely!

The Gate of Final Breath (unlike the gates in the picture below) 
leaves no loop holes or gaps through which one might escape/return


 
To ignore or decline or disregard God’s still small voice
Turns us, often quite unawares, into beggars by choice
The poorest of the poor; no joy, hope or peace for the soul
No Father to reply when we cry ‘help my unbelief
No gladness (other than what favor’s circumstance bestowed)
No joy still set before us when we shed mortality
No doubtless proclamation of ‘Greater is He in me

© Janet Martin

sometimes we refer to beauty here as 'glimpses of paradise' ...





...but God tells us differently: 
1 Cor.2:9
But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, 
Nor have entered into the heart of man 
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

Wishing you blessed encouragement at the beginning of a new week
on account of God's mercies,..
a life holy and pleasing to God

A few more Sunday evening drive show/car-stoppers!!

The air was dense with purple fragrance! 





Sunday, May 26, 2024

Sometimes You Say I've Changed...


Jim and I are approaching our birthdays-season,
kindling tender reflection.
Jim is entering a new decade on SaturdayπŸ’“πŸ™

Once upon a time our parents were parents of little children,
then, they became parents of adult children,
Then they became parents of adult children with little children
Now they are parents of adult children with adult children 
who are raising the next generation of little children...
and so it goes.
Nothing and no one stays the same for long!
Best to embrace the place/grace we are in,
for where one season is,
another is waiting to be
as long as life remains!

I am completely content in the season I am in,
not because everything is perfect but because
there are enough joys to balance the heartaches.
Thank-you, Lord!

Spending time with our children
and grandchildren is one of 
life's blessed joys, in the season Jim and I are in.

I love how helping to plant potatoes made Grand-kiddos
 feel happy, important and valued...
(the 'taking turns' rule kept it lively, 
with always someone trying to sneak in two 'turns' in a row πŸ˜‚)
We had eight rows planted in next to no time at all!
Good times πŸ’–



And great opportunity to live out this passage:
 Deut. 6:5-9
And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart
 and with all your soul and with all your strength.
6These words I am commanding you today are to be upon your hearts.
  7And you shall teach them diligently to your children (or grandchildren)
and speak of them when you sit at home 
and when you walk along the road, (or work in the garden)
when you lie down and when you get up. 
8Tie them as reminders on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.
  9Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.

***

I love how the soft soil beneath their bare feet made them giddy with delight



I love how they still all love gramma's lap πŸ’ 




I love when they can have some one on one grandpa time
 (while gramma cleans up supper dishes)


I love having  special reasons to bake...

 

Sometimes you say I’ve changed, and in a sense, I guess it’s true
Time changes things and I suppose it changes people too
Because perspective, with experience is apt to shift
The older that we grow the more we see life as a gift

The older that we grow the more we care about today
Because we’ve come to know how swift each day-gift slips away
To the permanent residence where centuries amass
Where everything that comes along is just as bound to pass

Where circumstance has always dealt both life’s better and worst
Where stepping stones to wisdom often felt like failure first
Where what we learned has earned a gentler, beholden regard
Because the way to learning it, was often slow and hard

Honing what we admire and desire and respect
And opening our eyes to joys we no longer neglect
As we begin to see without a shadow of a doubt
The certainties that younger people seldom think about

Where threescore year and ten or four was for far older crones
Before we looked time in the mirror and felt it in our bones
Admitting with aha, that time’s dexterous sleight of hand
Is more adept than any trick vain mortal can command

Sometimes you say I’ve changed; far sadder to remain untaught
After a lifetime leased to learn to love the way we ought
After day after day of grace, by mercy’s Hand arranged
Forbid the best that we can boast is that we never changed

© Janet Martin

Ps.90:12
Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Friday, May 24, 2024

How Oft-Soft a Sense of Joy-filled Grief...

...or, is it grief-filled joy?? 


(below, a week ago)



"If the tulips never died
the season for irises and peonies,
columbine and corn flowers,
 would never be born"
was my consolation during
 this morning's flower-garden stroll...










How oft/soft the haste of moments stirs
A bittersweet-ness as it blurs
The very present with the past
Ephemeral, yet iron-cast

How oft a long-awaited day
Of balmy breeze and sunbeam-play
Unfolds its bloom upon a stem
That cannot keep its diadem

…where soon echoes and petals meld
To grace the place where death is held
While overhead life thunders by
Beneath a rising, falling sky

How oft delight is caught off-guard
Where children dash across the yard
Heedless of currents that commence
To bear them from sweet innocence

…where soon they humble love's reply
With gaze that meets gaze, eye to eye
And we begin to revere more
The Hand that draws ajar dawn’s door

And we begin to slow our pace
To drain each precious drop of grace
From breakers as they heave and swell 
To wash dusk's shorelines with farewell

How oft we run with outstretched arms
But cannot hold for long, life’s charms
As love, ever a student, gapes
With groping awe, at spent landscapes

How oft we, like our silenced kin
When in the prime of groan and grin
Begin to sense a glove-like sky  
Taming/claiming an ocean of reply 

How oft then, time's momentum wakes
A bittersweet climax that breaks
Like foaming tides across a shore
Where lust for love and life implore

© Janet Martin




Eccles.3: 1-2
To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven:
 A time [a]to be born,
And a time to die;
A time to plant,
And a time to pluck what is planted;...