Tis The Season

After the laughter and excitement of today's merry troops vacated the kitchen

I did too, to feel the powder-blue twilight tucking in the edges of the earth...

Tis the season of powder-blue twilight

Lowered like soft flannel over earth’s sills

Tis the season of pink-ribboned skylines

Tossing mauve ambience over stark hills

Tis the season of powder-blue twilight

Lowered like soft flannel over earth’s sills

Tis the season of pink-ribboned skylines

Tossing mauve ambience over stark hills

Tis the season of ‘fresh from the oven’

For cookie lovin’ kids like you and me

Tis the season of joy mixed with grievin’

For faces missin’ where they used to be

Tis the season of easin’ our hurry

For the fine reason of tasting today

Tis the season of fluffy, white flurry

Decking vast vistas once somber and gray

Tis the season of love turned to givin’

As thoughts turn Bethlehem-ward once again

As we reflect on a babe sent from Heaven

To be the Savior of the world. Amen

Tis the season when we start to ponder

What really matters in Bygone’s increase

Tis the season of pure, childlike wonder

As we consider hope, love, joy and peace

Tis the season of evergreen spires

Holly and mistletoe, silver and gold

Of motley, merry, bundled angel choirs

Singing the carols that never grow old

Tis the season of green and red buttons

On sugar snowmen and gingerbread duds

This the season of turkey and stuffin’

Poppin’ our buttons with gravy and spuds

Tis the season of laughter’s sweet gladness

Where sadness makes Christmas cheer sacred, oh

Tis the season of merchandise madness

Turned into gifts that say ‘I love you so’

Tis the season of tender surrender

As the last month of another year pours

Through toasts and tributes and winter’s first splendor

Powder-blue twilights on flannel white shores

© Janet Martin

Post-Christmas Day/Weekend Exaltation

 

Exodus 15:11

Who among the gods is like You, O LORD? 

Who is like You--majestic in holiness, 

revered with praises, performing wonders?

Phil.2:9-11

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place

and gave him the name that is above every name,

 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

The excerpt below was the reflection/invitation

in Our Daily Bread's Christmas Day devotion;

Reflect & Pray

What would life and history be like had Jesus never been born?

What prayer or poem can you offer God to thank Him?

Jesus, thank You for making Yourself nothing so I could be forgiven.

After the laughter and excitement of gifts given and received, 

(both of the kiddos responses to the gifts

brought laughter till we cried)

of dinners and treat-trays...

 tasted...

...and dismantled

...of visitors and vacations disappeared into the dark

Joy Abides!

Luke 2:10-11

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: 

for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, 

which shall be to all people. 

For unto you is born this day in the city of David 

a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Now trails upon the dark of dawn and thresholds of unknown

God’s grace and truth that leads us on from stone to stepping stone

Where fear could flaunt a cheerless taunt and dread could birth despair

But for man’s faithful confidante that hears faith’s humble prayer

The grace of God once gave to earth His only precious Son

Where the glad tidings of His birth can never be undone

Through century-to-century hope’s cornerstone abides

Salvation, wrought at Calvary, the gift God’s grace provides

Oh, praise He who fulfilled love’s plan, Heaven’s humility

Clothed in appearance as a man, yet Supreme Deity

He bore the gore of sin and shame, death on a cross, then God

Gave Him the Name above all names of Jesus Christ the Lord

…where, someday every knee will bow and every tongue confess

That Jesus Christ is Lord, the glory of God’s righteousness

Where glad tidings of greatest joy, in spite of sorrow, lives

Because the Son of God destroyed death because He forgives

Now trails upon the dark of dawn fresh opportunity

To worship He who gave his Son to set sin’s debtors free

Not to follow after the things this world exalts and hails

But to honour the King of kings and love that never fails

© Janet Martin

Happy Everlasting Exaltation!

Rejoice!

Wishing one and all a 

joyous Christmas celebration!

3.You have multiplied the nation

And [a]increased its joy;

They rejoice before You

According to the joy of harvest,

As men rejoice when they divide the spoil...

6.For unto us a Child is born,

Unto us a Son is given;

And the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called

Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

7.Of the increase of His government and peace

There will be no end,

Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,

To order it and establish it with judgment and justice

From that time forward, even forever.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

Isa.9:3,6-7

Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.

Psalm 2:11

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, 

and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 

Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven;

for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.

Matt.5:11-12

(This was going to be my post yesterday but due to Christmas Eve,

Christmas dinner and Sunday dinner food-prep

(with some very eager helpers/taste-testers)

...it simply didn't happen

Isn't it Wonderful?!

When it comes to the Real Gift of Christmas

no one needs to wonder, is there anything for me?

For God so loved the world

He gave his only begotten son 

that whosoever believes in him will not perish but

have everlasting life!

John 3:16

Rejoice, again I say rejoice; God works for our good

He who commissioned His own Son to do what none else could

Receive with joy the simple truth that first to Shepherds came

The joy of all mankind begins and ends in Jesus’ name

Not in the merits of this world will Mortal find true joy

But in The Word as hearts receive Bethlehem’s baby boy

In simple faith, in simply Christ, who beckons simply, come

Ah here, when we believe joy finds an everlasting home

© Janet Martin

Oh, that we older and perhaps more jaded

can once again glimpse the joy of a child's delight

sparked by something as simple as

a smiley-faced snowflake!

Joy Born at Bethlehem - Charles Spurgeon Sermon

Love Possible

Somehow, as I grow older the messages etched and penned

onto and into lovely Christmas cards grows dearer.

 

Human nature tries to be wise in its own eyes; beware

It is a masterpiece of lies that leads us to despair

Without the love and grace of God we cannot be made new

The creature by one’s self cannot the creature's curse undo

Though in his very nature God, Jesus did not esteem

His reputation above what the love of God did deem

But with will meek and lowly He the love of God did prove

And calls us to be holy imitators of His love

How harsh and hard and hopeless is the heart devoid of God

Where judgement is spite’s solace and intellect, darkness-flawed

How sweet the song that fills the tongue, no longer vengeance-cursed

Love possible for everyone because God loved us first

Aha, we altogether need God’s Christmas gift of grace

The affection Mercy decreed is for all human race

Forgiveness from the debt of sin, to all who will believe

And transformation from within only love can achieve

Human nature by one’s own self cannot be overcome

Only the love of God can help after we yield, undone

Above all else then pray that He would give us eyes to see

The price love was willing to pay to set doomed sinners free

Ah, what an everlasting love song fills the heart with praise

For He who forsook heaven’s throne earth’s wretched race to save

Jesus, Jesus, oh may we never cease to bring Him laud

His blood signed the sinner’s release, sealed by the love of God

© Janet Martin

Eph.5:1-2

Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.

 2And 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.

Oh Come Let Us Adore Him

 

Perfect Grief and Joy

This world is full of the sorrow of

Christmases without loved ones...

My son-in-law and his family are mourning the

sudden loss Grandmother/mother

the victim in this head-on collision on Thursday evening.

My prayer is that the love and comfort of God

will be their strength and peace in the days ahead.

(will you pray too?)

and for my son-in-law as he travels home for four days to be with his family? 

I'm running a bit behind on my Luke reading's reflections

Such a treasure trove of Scriptural wealth

makes it difficult to choose just one or two gems to share...

this post is inspired in part by Luke 17, 

in part by our music and message this morning

(click link then click Sunday Service Dec.19)

and in part by this week's advent theme of love

We sang this breathtaking song this morning

(a new one for me!)

Chris Tomlin - Emmanuel (Hallowed Manger Ground) [Lyric Video]

“Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. 

Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, 

‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? 

8 Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready 

and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’?

 9 Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? 

10 So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say,

 ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”

Luke 17:7-10

 

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.

 Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 

8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 

9 This is how God showed his love among us: 

He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 

10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us 

and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 

11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 

12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, 

God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

1 John 4:7-12

Unto earth’s span of toil and test

Where trouble takes its toll

God gave to man His utter best

The Saviour of the soul

This little mist of time and place

Soon vanishes away

God’s gift of salvation and grace

Succeeds faith’s cup of clay

Imagine if time’s trifling toast

Was all that we could win

But love robbed the grave of its boast

And broke the curse of sin

The love of God did not withhold

His Son from suffering

But saw the joy that would unfold

As Death loses its sting

Life’s bitter brunt of grief and loss

Is but triumph’s prelude

Servanthood’s blood and tearstained cross

Unworthy gratitude

To He who came, by Heaven sent

Counsellor, Father, Friend

The Prince of Peace whose government

Will increase without end

Who, in his very nature God

Did not refuse the call

Humility and love unflawed

Obeyed. Death, once for all

From heaven’s throne the Savior stepped

Bethlehem’s Baby Boy

While surely heaven’s angels wept

With perfect grief and joy

© Janet Martin

Joy to the World (Christmas is Far More Than Just a Happy Holiday)

How shallow a happy holiday is compared to the Christmas Celebration

of God's gift to humanity when the fullness of time had come!

This post is inspired in part by Luke 15...

Gal.3:4-5

But when the fullness of the time had come, 

God sent forth His Son, born[a] of a woman, born under the law, 

5 to redeem those who were under the law, 

that we might receive the adoption as sons.

Hallelujah!

This week's advent theme is Joy...

Joy can seem a hard-fought battle when we focus on what we see without

The world groans with oppression,

with havoc and loss through natural disasters,

with sickness and sorrow,

but, Jesus is still the true light,

Still joy unspeakable

because He is the living hope for humankind...

Though you have not seen him, you love him;

and even though you do not see him now,

you believe in him and are filled

with an inexpressible and glorious joy,

1 Pet.1:8

Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee-Chris Tomlin

Joy Has Dawned

Castles built on the sand cannot withstand life’s stormy cares

Thus, nations disregarding God, (fools, unfaith-flawed) will fall

The One who came to save us and to make us sons and heirs

Is still the Rock of Ages and the Godhead over all

He is not mocked; He who suffered and died to set us free

(Though some may scoff and buffer fear and doubt with foolish pride)

He, to his own a stranger on the earth, left majesty

Laid in a lowly manger at his birth, then crucified

All hail the True Light of the world has come, the Son of God

 Pierces the dark. A star unfurled in sympathy and grace

When all creation groaned beneath oppression's brutal rod

Jesus obeyed His Father and atoned the human race 

He fulfilled mercy’s masterplan, afflicted and despised

King of kings, rejected by man and acquainted with grief

Like a lamb to the slaughter led, eyes esteemed Him chastised

Not knowing yet that His blood shed hope’s bedrock of belief

Then let’s make Christmas more than just a Happy Holiday

Let’s worship and adore the Reason for this season’s joy

Jesus, is mankind’s Saviour still, hope’s confidence and stay

No death-fated dominion will with hate God’s love destroy

Like a banner, let’s lift the name of Jesus above all

And praise Him for the love that came to seek and save the lost

Though He could see the awful price and sorrow of God's call

He saw beyond the sacrifice and deemed us worth the cost

He welcomes home each prodigal and meets us with arms wide

He works in us the miracle of righteousness and peace

By gift of grace the soul is saved and sinner justified

Praise Jesus for the cross He braved, with songs that never cease

© Janet Martin

 'leap for joy, for great is the reward in Heaven'.

Luke 6:23

After hearing that the remaining missionaries that were taken hostage in Haiti exactly two months ago were released today I wept for joy! Pure joy! Praise the Lord!

Because Love Came Down

When Love Came Down to Earth

And they were all amazed at the greatness of God.

Luke 9:43

This post inspired in part by Luke 9

and this message by Charles Spurgeon

The Secret of Loving God

(a few excerpts from this message)

"Faith is an act, partly of the intellect, and partly of the affections.

And we must therefore have both head and heart renewed by the spirit of God

Or we shall not have true faith.

…it is no mere child’s play. No matter to be settled off hand without thought or consideration.

Search yourself and see whether the spirit of God has produced in you

the true knowledge, 

the true faith 

and the true love 

or otherwise whatever you may think you possess 

of these things is not of God.

We love Him because he first loved us.

1 John 4:19

Oh, if you really believe that Jesus loves you 

sit down and turn this over in your mind...

Jesus loves me.

Jesus chose me.

Jesus redeemed me.

Jesus called me.

Jesus has pardoned me.

Jesus has taken me into union with Himself.

Jesus has made me to be a part of The Bride, the Lamb’s wife. 

I shall be one with Him forever!"

When love came down, yon starry height

Was rent with angel host

The darkened world was bathed in Light

And hymns of Heaven’s Boast

When love came down from God to man

In form of helpless babe

The offspring of Love’s Master Plan

Was in a manger laid

When love came down from glory’s Best

To suffer evil’s worst

No one could confound love by test

Because He loved us first

When love came down no man could claim

Worth justifiable

To deserve Jesus Christ who came

One sacrifice for all

When love came down mankind beheld

Love’s/God’s Holy Mystery

The seed that in Virgin’s womb swelled

Infant, Infinity

When love came down, man could not know

How Satan’s scheme was wrecked

Hate tried but could not overthrow

The Cause that births effect

When love came down to you and me

Ah, who with logic whole

Could reject He who came to be

The Savior of the soul

When love came down to sinners vile

Their affection to woo

It made the hosts of Heaven smile

May it make us smile too

...and let the heart of worship brim

And sing, ‘Jesus, Jesus’

And shout for joy this; 'we love Him

Because He first loved us'

From well-springs inexhaustible 

Love's living waters laud

To fulfill the impossible

The love of man for God

With joy unspeakable and sure

God's sorrow forged a crown

The prize of faith and hope secure

Because His love came down

© Janet Martin

another small excerpt from the above message...

Our love is a simplicity founded upon a Mystery…

We love. That is simple enough.

Because He first loved us.

Ah, there is the great mystery which none of us can fully understand.

Come, One and All and Gather Round

This post is inspired in part by Luke 2

 Light of the Stable-Selah

Oh, Little Town of Bethlehem -Jeremy Camp

  

Make Room

If covid has proven anything it's that we all need

the glad tidings of great joy/grace through Jesus!

We have been challenged and most of us likely disappointed

at times at responses and attitudes of our fellow-travelers

(in this journey of life) 

during the ongoing ripple-effects of this pandemic,

making the account of Jesus birth and childhood in Luke 2 

especially meaningful and vital this year!

Luke 2:10-11

And the angel said unto them, 

Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, 

which shall be to all people

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David 

a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

1 John 3:10

For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, 

that He might destroy the works of the devil.

Come, one and all and gather round

Love’s wonder to behold

Glad tidings of great joy abound

For people young and old

For Jesus, though the King of kings

Did not despise God’s call

Or flee Calvary's sufferings

To be Saviour of all

Come one and all and gather round

The manger where He lay

Jesus, not royal robed and crowned

But on a bed of hay

Come bow your head and shed a tear

Of both sorrow and joy

Behold Majesty’s meek veneer

In Mary’s Baby Boy

Come, one and all and gather near

Lest morrow is too late

The message of God’s love is clear

Destiny more than fate

For whoever believes in Him

Eternal life will gain

Death’s verdict without God is grim

And life, hopeless and vain

Come, one and all and gather round

To celebrate with joy

The hope for man, none can confound

And nothing can destroy

Come one and all, hail and adore

The Gift angels applaud

For this is more than ancient lore

This is the love/Son of God

© Janet Martin

Joy to the World- John Berry

This morning's Daily Bread Devotion

 includes this precious passage of scripture from

1 John 2:28-3:10

The Children of God

28 And now, little children, abide in Him, 

that [a]when He appears, we may have confidence 

and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. 

29 If you know that He is righteous, 

you know that everyone who practices righteousness 

is born of Him.

The Command to Love

3 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us,

 that we should be called children of [b]God! 

Therefore the world does not know [c]us, 

because it did not know Him. 

2 Beloved, now we are children of God; 

and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, 

but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, 

for we shall see Him as He is. 

3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

Sin and the Child of God

4 Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, 

and sin is lawlessness. 

5 And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, 

and in Him there is no sin. 

6 Whoever abides in Him does not sin. 

Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.

7 Little children, let no one deceive you. 

He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 

8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. 

For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, 

that He might destroy the works of the devil. 

9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, 

for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, 

because he has been born of God.

The Imperative of Love

10 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: 

Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, 

nor is he who does not love his brother.

Advent Aria (for modern-day 'Marys')

 Inspired in part by Luke 1 

John 1:6-9

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 

7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, 

that all through him might believe. 

8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 

9 That[b] was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.

Beautiful Star of Bethlehem

Love is the Light that pierces the darkness

Crowning our cares with courage, not despair

Love is God’s presence in us, lest harshness

Of this old world would be too hard to bear

Mercy extends Hope’s pure consolation

Not in some Thing that at death’s door will dim

Through generation unto generation

Love is the Light that draws people to Him

Joy to the world, magnify mercy’s author

Bethlehem cradled God’s humanity

For Jew and Gentile, love sent a Saviour

Let the world cry then ‘be it unto me’

Let us like Mary, with utter surrender

Trust in He who we know will never fail

Love is mankind’s death-defying Defender

Love is the Light that rent the temple’s veil

Love fills the womb of Time with God's kindness

Love conceives and gives birth to daily grace

Love is the healer of faith's would-be blindness

Love is the seeking soul's sweet resting place

Blessed is He, the Lord God of Israel

Love is the hand that sacrifice will scar

Love is the gift of good news to all people

Love is the Light of the Bright Morning Star

Love is the keeper of Hope’s expectation

Someday all people will look up and see

Glory’s appearing, the God of salvation

Ending the advent of all prophecy

Fulfillment finished at His second coming

As Heaven descends to earth’s broken world

Where Love still waits for lost people still roaming

Love is the Light of the gospel unfurled

© Janet Martin

Celebration and Contemplation Christmas Poem

Merry White Christmas!!

(getting up early to put on a turkey meant a few hours of quiet reflection)

Sometimes I look at my children and think,

'do you have any idea how MUCH I love you?!!'

Sometimes I wonder if that's what God thinks 

when He looks at His children/us!

'do you have any idea how MUCH I love you?!!'

He certainly did all He could to prove it, didn't He?!!

Now it's up to us how we choose to reply

Fernando Ortega- Joy to the World

Lo, unto us is born the Victor of the grave

Hail, on this blessed morn the One who is mighty to save 

Behold, the hope of man through love that does not fail 

But broke the bond that Eve began, so death cannot prevail 

Sing, for a King IS come, not on royal display 

But lying in a trough among the beasts, upon the hay 

Oh come, and come with haste like the shepherds of old 

Follow the Star unto the place where Humble Faith beholds 

The gift, from God to man, that Bethlehem received 

To set in motion Mercy’s plan that Calvary achieved 

Where crowned with cruel thorns and stripped of dignity 

Beaten amidst hurrahs and scorn then nailed upon a tree 

His suffering, horrible, and as his life-blood flowed 

He paid in full, once and for all the awful debt we owed 

But death could not contain Jesus, the son of God 

A rock could not constrain the Rock of Ages to the sod 

Then sing with renewed joy, the victor of the grave 

Sing, for no power can destroy the One, mighty to save 

Forbid, forbid we hear of what God gave for us 

Then turn a cold and careless ear rejecting Him, Jesus 

Forbid we turn away, choosing His wrath instead 

Of love, who that first Christmas Day knew all that lay ahead 

Lo, unto us is born the Victor of the grave 

Hail, on this blessed morn the One who is mighty to save 

© Janet Martin 

As I listened to the glorious passage below, last night

I was utterly smitten with sorrow for the joy that is rejected by so many.

Rejection is different than being ignored or forgotten.

Rejection is deliberate!

Yet SO many choose to reject the Saviour of the soul,

choose to reject the One a heavenly host of angels heralded,

choose to reject the One who, with limbs nailed to a cross

wept It, (redemption's work) is finished and died for us

so when we die we may live!

Choose to reject Jesus for whatever pleases them instead!

My prayer this morning is that we read this passage in Luke 2

and a new Light dawns in all of us to draw us to Him

in holy adoration!

Luke 2:1-20 NKJV

Christ Born of Mary

2 And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. 3 So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.

4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed [a]wife, who was with child. 6 So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a [b]manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Glory in the Highest

8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And [c]behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a [d]manger.”

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

14 “Glory to God in the highest,

And on earth peace, goodwill[e] toward men!”

15 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. 17 Now when they had seen Him, they made [f]widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. 18 And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them. 

Oh, Little Town of Bethlehem- Jim Reeves

Is There Room In Our Hearts For Jesus

Unmodified Worldwide Christmas

Merry Christmas to you from the Martin-house!

Photo credit: Brittany Ruppert

This past year ‘modified’ 

Is a word we all learned 

As plans and events, the world wide 

Were nixed and overturned 

And while patience was tried 

Amidst both smile and frown 

We simply found that ‘modified’ 

Often meant Slowing. Down 

We learned to cherish more 

The freedoms of this land 

And be a lot more thankful for 

A hug or shake of hand 

So, this Christmas, in spite 

Of all we do without 

Nothing can modify the night 

Christmas is all about 

Hope is not modified; 

In form of Baby Boy 

The Saviour of the whole world wide 

Brings everlasting joy 

Then, fill heaven and earth 

With praises far and wide 

God, who ordained our Saviour’s birth 

Is never modified 

For unto us that day 

Was born in Bethlehem 

A Saviour to bring peace, alway 

And goodwill unto men 

© Janet Martin 

Luke 2: 10-11 

Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, 

I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 

For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

In Spite of Bitter-Sweeter or While We Ate Eggs

A few conversations with sisters/friends had me contemplating how much

bitter-sweeter this Christmas seems without the joy of family and friend get-togethers;

how photos in the mail are bittersweet; how keeping the enthusiasm

in much modified plans is bittersweet!

Then, nothing like children to shift our focus...

Why are you listening to this song? asked little Girl 

through mouth full of scrambled egg.

Um, because it talks about Immanuel, I answered...

(I love the words to the song below)

From The Squalor of a Borrowed Stable

 

Matt.1:23

"The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, 

and they will call him Immanuel" (which means "God with us").

...so, while we ate eggs we talked about God; 

God With Us, Immanuel

no matter what, or where or when we are never alone!

God is with us all the time so we don't need to be scared or too sad.

How often as I try to teach children my words preach to me...

Bitter-sweeter ring the anthems of the worship we employ 

Gratitude and longing duel in Hope’s bitter-sweeter joy 

As wonder and hunger mingle in a bitter-sweeter trust 

Where an ocean of emotion rolls through mankind’s Soul-full dust 

From the heart of Love Unfailing to this groaning, broken world 

Hope Immortal keeps its promise in each breath-banner unfurled 

Through the Christ-child, born of Mary, in a stable so forlorn 

Came man’s Scapegoat, our pardon, on that first glad Christmas morn 

Bitter-sweeter bow the branches laden with fresh fallen snow 

Mirroring the heart that gazes on a scene of long ago 

Where still faithful through the ages gleams the Star that cannot dim 

As from bitter-sweeter places we still come to worship Him 

Come, and raise a hymn of gladness to He who came to atone 

Praise Immanuel, God With Us, we are never all alone 

Praise the One whose name is Jesus, come to save people from sin 

So the bitter blight of Eden, by God’s mercy will not win 

Hallelujah, hallelujah, bitter-sweeter flows our hymn 

As we gaze upon the Christ-child who would be torn limb from limb 

Where love, faithful to his Father did not scorn salvation’s plan 

But obeyed salvation’s Author; Son of God born son of man 

Hallelujah, hallelujah, praise He who has overcome 

Greater is the One within us than this world’s most mighty sum 

He, who came to earth to save us with love none can comprehend 

Will not leave us or forsake us but is our most faithful Friend 

© Janet Martin 

Matt 1:21

She will give birth to a son, 

and you are to give him the name Jesus, 

because he will save his people from their sins."

Hallelujah! what a Savior!