Salvation's Vocation

1 John 4:11-12

Dear friends, since God so loved us, 

we also ought to love one another.

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

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

Love turns religion into relation!

If That Isn't Love ~ Elvis Presley ~ lyric video

God proved His love for us through Jesus.

Jesus proved His love through utter surrender to God's will/love.

Likewise, as we utterly surrender, we do so

 not with base and groundless ignorance

but with unwavering faith in the perfect will of God.

He gave

 His all

Once and 

for all

Death's power to erase

And all who repent and believe

Receive love's gift of grace

The cross

 He bore

forevermore

No other 

can annul

The sinner's 

debt, Lest 

we forget

He died to

pay in full 

1 Cor.15:54-58

When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable

 and the mortal with immortality,

 then the saying that is written will come to pass:

 “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

55“Where, O Death, is your victory?

Where, O Death, is your sting?”

56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 

57But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory 

through our Lord Jesus Christ!

58Therefore, my beloved brothers,

 be steadfast and immovable. 

Always excel in the work of the Lord, 

because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

The Son

of God

shed His 

own blood

To pay sin's penalty

Bought with such price, His sacrifice

Should transform you and me

So that

we give

the life 

we live

humble 

and earn-

est heed

Wit love's

reply to

testify

that Christ

is LORD

indeed! 

1 Peter 1:18-19
For you know that it was not with perishable things

 such as silver or gold that you were redeemed 

from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers, 

 but with the precious blood of Christ, 

a lamb without blemish or spot.

Romans 12:1
Therefore I urge you, brothers, 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.

Ephesians 1:7
In Him we have redemption through His blood, 

the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace

Beneath the Cross...

Matt.1:21

And she will bring forth a Son, 

and you shall call His name JESUS, 

for He will save His people from their sins.”

Jesus, Joy of the Highest Heaven lyric video

O Sacred Head Now Wounded - Fernando Ortega

John 1:29

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said,

 “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

Behold the Lamb of God

Nailed to a cross so mean

Be still, and gaze upon the blood

That washes sinners clean

Ah, can you see Him now

Raised up for all to see

His bleeding side, hands, feet and brow

Behold His agony

Pierced with thorns, nails and sword

Blood-thirsty, the mob screams

Not knowing, as they strike the Lord

Redemption’s fountain streams

Not comprehending love

Nor the power of He

Whose death would conquer death and prove

The truth of prophecy

Behold the sinless Lamb

Paying the sinner’s price

He knew no sin and yet became

Sin’s final sacrifice

Behold Him hanging there

Suff’ring salvation’s fee

Hark! Can you hear His dying prayer

'Forgive them' was His plea

Hatred meets love unflawed

Where holy horrors meld

Hell's showdown with the Son of God

No drop of blood withheld

Where death and Life compete

And death appeared to win

Come, kiss His side, his hands, his feet

And be cleansed from your sin

Come, bow beneath God’s Son

And feel His blood drops flow

Beneath the cross red rivers run

To wash us white as snow

Then repeat, humbly awed

The Name above all names

Jesus, Jesus, the Son of God

Who saves us from our sins

Janet Martin

Bill & Gloria Gaither - Nothing But the Blood [Live] ft. Buddy Greene

Come, Holy Spirit, Intercede

Heartbreak; It's all around us!

The world groans!

God's Spirit if we ask/trust Him

will intercede with unshakeable hope

Hope; it's above us, beneath us and hems us in on every side

It lifts us up on eagle wings.

It is no magic cure for life's ills and aches

but it is strength, joy and peace in the thick of them!

It is love's/God's gift to us when we put our trust in Him.

Isa.40:31 NIV

but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.

Remember your word to your servant,

for you have given me hope.

  Psalm 119:49

Come, Gracious Spirit

Come Holy Spirit, intercede

Anoint my fumbling quest

And through redemption's favours plead

On my behalf, Thy best/the rest

Come, Holy Spirit, stir my soul

To hope in Thee alone

As I relinquish full control 

With this; Thy will be done

Once I, a woman at the well

Would vainly draw and draw

But could not satisfy or quell

My thirst with loot or law 

Until, my Lord, You bid me come

To trust and taste and see

The Living Water flowing from

The fount of Calvary 

The Fount that drew Thee from Thy throne

Hope's groaning breach to span

To be the Lamb that would atone

 And save the soul of man 

To rend the temple's veil and then

To overthrow the grave

You crushed the serpent's head. Amen

With love, mighty to save

Come, Holy Spirit, intercede

With discipline divine

Till Gethsemane-like groans concede

 Not my will, Lord, but Thine

Come, Holy Spirit, intercede

Until 'then, face to face'

I hear Thy final verdict plead 

Salvation's gift of grace

And then forevermore to lift

My voice, with ceaseless breath

To praise the Giver of love's gift

That saved my soul from death

Janet Martin

John 11:25-26

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.

 He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.

 26And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. 

Do you believe this?”

There Is A Fountain Filled With Blood

Lead Me To Calvary with Lyrics (Hymn) - Don Moen

Better Hope

Tomorrow's Sunday School lesson is about the wise men

who traveled a lo-o-o-ng way to find Jesus, 

and did not stop seeking till they found Him and worshipped Him

Today's poem is inspired in part by pondering this account

and partly by today's devotion from Heb.7 

esp. v.18,19

18 For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment

because of its weakness and unprofitableness,

19 for the law made nothing [e]perfect;

on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, 

through which we draw near to God.

&25

25 Therefore He is also able to save [h]to the uttermost 

those who come to God through Him, 

since He always lives to make intercession for them.

Thank-you Jesus, for the Better Hope

which crowns common task/toil with holy purpose!

May we all seek to be 'wise men' seeking to

find and follow Jesus!

The 'Christmas' Story brings us to the 'Easter' story;

God's timeless and season-less love story!!!

We The Kingdom - Light of the World (Sing Hallelujah) [Lyric Video]

He saves them to the uttermost who come to Him in truth

And through the Better Hope He wrought love needs no further proof

His consolation is a refuge to which all may flee

Therein the soul is anchored through the truth/hope that sets us free

Praise Jesus for the Better Hope that faith’s persuasion brings

And worship He who gave Himself to bring us better things

Through the gift of salvation, each who repents and believes

Inherits the fulfillment of the promise faith receives

Thus we, heirs of the full assurance of His promises

Are shod with the gospel of peace and called to holiness

To endure patiently the service of Self sacrificed

Not slothful but prepared to suffer for the sake of Christ

Praise Jesus for the Better Hope this world can never boast

His cross-shaped promise crowns all He saves to the uttermost

And fills us with His purpose until we are called away

He bids us not grow weary in well-doing till that day

If it were not for Better Hope how mean would seem earth’s strife

If not for God’s goodness and mercy each day of our life

We surely would fall prey to he who seeks to compromise

Faith, with appealing subtlety of worship-stealing lies

God, make us like the wise men from the east who traveled far

To find the Child and did not cease from following the Star

The Star that did not disappoint or lead astray, or dim

The Star that shines with Better Hope for all who hope in Him

Janet Martin

A Long Joy-Song or Before The World Began

John 17:1-5

“Father, the hour has come. 

Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 

2 For you granted him authority over all people 

that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 

3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, 

the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 

4 I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 

5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory 

I had with you before the world began...

***

Someday we will enter eternity,

where there will be no time constraints on our joy song!

where poetry won't be criticized for being 'too wordy' or long,

and where no words will be needed

to worship our Saviour!

Hallelujah!

ready? Set...Go!!

The past weekend had many 'glad' moments

but all pale in comparison to the reason for the Easter-season!

This was the Easter sunrise!

(I would have loved to do this post on Easter morning but

dinner-prep and early church service kept me hopping!)

He makes me glad; no eloquence of loving speech can tell

Salvation’s joy, blood-bought; enough to cheer my soul full-well

Wonder confounds thought’s finite scope; awe utters ‘what is man

That Triune God would anchor Hope before the world began?’

He makes me glad; praise He from whom redemption’s wellsprings roar

When I confess my sin, mercy remembers it no more

Though I have played the harlot and Judas, He loved me so

Though my sins were as scarlet; He has washed me white as snow

He makes me glad; I shall not want because at Calvary

He bore the cross, its gore and taunt and sword, to set me free

Obedient to death, to prove the power of His Name

He rose again; He overthrew death and hell’s hopeless claim

He makes me glad; joy bids me sing in awed humility

O death, where is thy sting, O grave, where is thy victory

Thanks be to God who gives us victory through Jesus Christ

Who saw beyond the agony of his Son, sacrificed

He makes me glad; God knew His will would prosper in His hand

And only Jesus could fulfill salvation’s grim demand

He saw the Light of life proclaimed through horrors humbly braved

The power of the only name whereby man can be saved

The Name above all names, the King of kings and Lord of lords

Jesus! Sin’s outpoured offering God’s gift of grace affords

He makes me glad; though oft we grieve this world’s darkness-filled boast

For all who repent and believe receive the Holy Ghost

He makes me glad for what eye has not glimpsed nor ear yet heard

Nor entered into human hearts the things God has prepared

For all who love Him, truly love with heart, soul, strength and mind

Whose affections are set above this world’s vain glory-grind

He makes me glad; though all else fails God is not overthrown

He is not mocked, His truth prevails; by fruit the tree is known

And though many are sick and weak, by His goodness unstirred

He looks with favour on the meek who tremble at His word

He makes me glad; though oft I rue the tempter’s cunning vice

Accomplishing mad blindness to salvation’s purchase price

Not of silver or gold but blood; the precious blood of He

Who satisfied the wrath of God through love’s divine decree

He makes me glad, though often love makes me too sad to laugh

He understands the tear-filled trove I lift on their behalf

So many Gospel-unshod feet, no faith to make them whole

Fearless, though unprepared to meet the Saviour of their soul

He makes me glad; goodness and mercy follow me always

His comfort strengthens tenderly and fills my heart with praise

For He has made me glad; my prayer, my joy cries ‘what is man

Oh God, You knew the cross was there before the world began’

© Janet Martin

Eph.1:3-6

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 

who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms. 

4For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world

 to be holy and blameless in His presence. 

In love 5He predestined us for adoption as His sons through Jesus Christ,

 according to the good pleasure of His will, 

to the praise of His glorious grace,

 which He has freely given us in the Beloved One.

1 Pet.1:18-19

For you know that it was not with perishable things 

such as silver or gold that you were redeemed 

from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors,

 but with the precious blood of Christ,

 a lamb without blemish or defect.

Jesus Paid It All 

To Count All Things But Loss...

 From the book- Streams in the Desert compiled by Mrs. Chas. E. Cowman

1 John 4:9-10

This is how God’s love was revealed among us: 

God sent His one and only Son into the world,

 so that we might live through Him.

And love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us

 and sent His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Phil.3:8

Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence

of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord,

for whom I have suffered the loss of all things,

and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ...

Read the whole glorious chapter HERE

Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross

To count all things but loss for Thee

Lord, let this faith's great honour/sole object be

For the excellent knowledge of

Jesus, my Saviour whom I love

To truly count all things but loss

As I behold the bloodstained cross

That held Thy love that never fails

Thy Hands divine, pierced through with nails

Thy body broken, Thy blood shed

My sin upon Thy sinless Head/Stead

As, on the cross of Calvary

You counted all things loss for me

You did not shirk death’s dreadful toll

To be the Saviour of my soul

Thy Father’s will, though Thou didst plea

Did not spare Thee from Calvary

Ah Lord, forbid I prize some claim

Above the glory of Thy Name

Forbid I look upon the cross

Yet cannot count all things but loss

Lest my boast, like a hollow gong

Resounds, Lord, let this be love’s song

To count all things but loss for Thee

Who counted Thy life loss for me

Lord,  all who repent and believe

Will everlasting life receive

And gain, for all eternity

The loss You bore at Calvary 

Then, fix faith's altar at the cross

Lest I forget to count but loss

All that impedes the knowledge of

Thy grace and everlasting love

© Janet Martin

I love the simplicity of this version of

When I Survey The Wondrous Cross - Fernando Ortega

Lyrics- Isaac Watts

1 When I survey the wondrous cross

on which the Prince of glory died,

my richest gain I count but loss,

and pour contempt on all my pride.

2 Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast

save in the death of Christ, my God!

All the vain things that charm me most,

I sacrifice them through his blood.

3 See, from his head, his hands, his feet,

sorrow and love flow mingled down.

Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,

or thorns compose so rich a crown?

4 Were the whole realm of nature mine,

that were a present far too small.

Love so amazing, so divine,

demands my soul, my life, my all.

Unfailing Love (Worship Hymn)

Happy Easter!

Christ Arose

His Love Cannot Fail

The Scarlet Purple Robe

The joy of God and man has been fulfilled; praise He

Who satisfied salvation's plan and won the victory

Death and hell overthrown; no power could prevail

To thwart the will of He whose love and mercy cannot fail

Come, join the worship hymn that nevermore will cease

Hail He who clothes all who believe in righteousness and peace

The hope of man abides; Christ's sorrow, not in vain

He who bore our suffering; He who took up our pain

He who was pierced and crushed for our iniquity

Through his wounds we are healed; Praise He who sets death's captives free

Though hatred sought to scorn His glory with a cross

His glory increased all the more beneath love's albatross 

The love of God transcends the schemes of Satan's vice

He gave His Son to be sin's everlasting sacrifice 

Ah, what more do we need than love, mighty to save

Than He who broke the curse of Adam's seed and robbed the grave

Come, join the worship hymn lest the stones start to sing

Exalt the Name of Jesus Christ, our Saviour, Lord and King 

Janet Martin

Rom.8:31-39

God’s Everlasting Love

31 What then shall we say to these things? 

If God is for us, who can be against us? 

32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, 

how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

 33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.

 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, 

who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? 

Shall tribulation, 

or distress, 

or persecution, 

or famine, 

or nakedness, 

or peril, 

or sword? 

36 As it is written:

“For Your sake we are killed all day long;

We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”

37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life,

 nor angels nor principalities nor powers, 

nor things present nor things to come, 

39 nor height nor depth, 

nor any other created thing, 

shall be able to separate us from the love of God 

which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Veiled Glory

Judge not, by outer countenance the merit of the goal...

The above picture from

The Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes was my first introduction

as a child, to the sorrowful images of the Greatest Love Story!

John 12:27-28

Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say?

 ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? 

No, it is for this purpose that I have come to this hour.

  Father, glorify Your name!”

Then a voice came from heaven:

 “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”

Glorify Thy Name

Judge not, by outer countenance the merit of the goal

One facet of a circumstance does not reveal the whole

The Saviour of the soul could see beyond salvation’s price

Beyond the awful cost as He became sin’s sacrifice

While gaping throngs reviled and railed and jeered what appeared loss

The darkness of the hour veiled the glory of the cross

Love’s agony of grief and pain in mingled passion poured

Redemption’s unrelenting gain and glory of the Lord

Fret not the trouble that this world can never overcome

But look to where God’s love unfurled the hope of Christendom

Beyond the gory cross, the empty grave, beyond death’s toll

The glory of the resurrected Saviour of the soul

© Janet Martin

John 12:44-50

Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only,

 but in the one who sent me. 

45 The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me.

 46 I have come into the world as a light,

 so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.

47 “If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, 

I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. 

48 There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; 

the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day.

 49 For I did not speak on my own, 

but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken.

 50 I know that his command leads to eternal life.

 So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”

A Hallelujah Poem

I couldn't quite collect my thoughts this morning to complete this post

but celebrating a risen Redeemer is right on time any time of day or night

Hallelujah!

Today, Easter, is a day of great joy for those of the household of faith

yet, also a day of great sorrow as we mourn for those who reject Him...

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, 

the evidence of things not seen.

Heb.11:1

Because He Lives

Christ Arose

 

Have you ever tried to visualize that morning long ago?

The women first, then the disciples, coming to Jesus' tomb while it was still dark!!

to find the stone rolled away!!

 and their Beloved Teacher/Friend/Lord gone!

John 20:1-10

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark,

 Mary Magdalene went to the tomb 

and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 

2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple,

 the one Jesus loved, and said,

 “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, 

and we don’t know where they have put him!”

3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 

4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.

 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in.

 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. 

He saw the strips of linen lying there,

 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. 

The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen.

 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first,

 also went inside. He saw and believed. 

9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 

10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.

Luke 24:1-8

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning,

 the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 

2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb,

 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes 

that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.

 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, 

but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?

 6 He is not here; he has risen! 

Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 

7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, 

be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” 

8 Then they remembered his words.

While some still doubt, some still believe

(Some scorn what some revere)

But someday every eye will see

The One that faith holds dear

No trumpet blast that morn to wake

The world to death’s defeat

But in the hush before daybreak

Faith beheld and believed

Where death and hell were overthrown

Where love and life prevailed

Where angels rolled away the stone

And schemes of darkness failed

Where Jesus’ body had been laid

Where guards stood watch in vain

Where Mary looked and wept, dismayed

At what was not yet plain

…. There, sorrow’s sobs turned into joy

Jesus, mighty to save

(The One that death could not destroy)

Had risen from the grave

The power and the glory of

Mankind’s Saviour and Friend

Covered sin's hopeless debt with love

(Conquered hate's vilest deed with love)

No thought can comprehend

Once and for all our sins He bore

Pray what more do we need

Than to praise Him forevermore

For He is Lord indeed

© Janet Martin

Does It Not (Bid Thought to Marvel)

 Alas, and Did My Saviour Bleed?

 

Grace and peace to you from God our Father 

and the Lord Jesus Christ,

 4 who gave himself for our sins 

to rescue us from the present evil age, 

according to the will of our God and Father, 

5 to whom be glory for ever and ever. 

Amen. 

Gal.1:3-5

Does it not bid thought to marvel

He who knew no sin became

Sin's sacrifice for all people

To redeem us through His Name

Does it not stir adoration 

For He whose blood was out-poured

Once for all, the soul's salvation

Wrought, through Jesus Christ the Lord

Does it not stun contemplation

That the Son of God should be

Humbled to death's meanest station

On a cross for all to see

Crushed beneath the weight He carries

Sinless, bearing all our sins

For we, beneficiaries

Of His holy sufferings 

Does it not undo vainglory

To view hate's presumptuousness

While love, clothed in bloodshed, gory

Wove faith's robes of righteousness

Does it not renew surrender

Does it not steal our breath

To behold the soul's Defender 

Obedient unto death

Look, where love's manifestation

Suffered voluntarily  

Does it not stir adoration

From the likes of you and me

Jesus Christ gave Himself for us

Bearing Pardon's Albatross 

So that we we may be victorious

Through the power of the cross

Does it not bid thought to marvel

At the hope the cross affords

Through sin's sacrifice so royal-

King of Kings and Lord of lords

   © Janet Martin

Nothing But the Blood of Jesus

Wonderful Merciful Saviour

How Precious Is The Fountain

Easter is not a season we celebrate

but love's reason to rejoice and celebrate every day eternally🎝🎜🙌

The Precious Blood

 1 Pet. 1:18-21

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold 

that you were redeemed from the empty way of life 

handed down to you from your ancestors,

    but with the precious blood of Christ,

 a lamb without blemish or defect. 

   He was chosen before the creation of the world, 

but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 

   Through him you believe in God, 

who raised him from the dead and glorified him, 

and so your faith and hope are in God.

My Worth is not in What I Own

How precious is the fountain filled with everlasting life

The lifeblood of our Saviour spilled where pardon still runs rife

Where not just once but constantly awe draws us to the place

That sets the sorry sinner free with love’s redeeming grace

To gaze upon Mangled Perfection with beholden breath

And praise God for the resurrection that overcame death

How precious is the fountain, not of water but of blood

Where we are drawn so often just to marvel at its flood

And wash in torrents that atone, where joy and sorrow meld

In worship, as we weep and groan through trials not withheld

Where we are more than conquerors, through He who loves us so

The anchor of hope not authored by what we see, but know

How precious is the fountain that streams from Calvary’s cross

Where faith can remove mountains if we count all but Christ loss

'Dear Lord have mercy, I believe, now help mine unbelief

Make the reward faith will receive, desire’s earnest chief'

As we press on victor'ous, through the precious blood of Christ

May the joy set before us make sweet every sacrifice

© Janet Martin

The Morning (that changed everything) Has Broken

Happy, Glorious Easter to one and all!

He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.

Come and see the place where he lay.

Matt.28:6

The morning that changed night to day has broken; praise His Name

Come, see! the grave where Jesus lay has been robbed of its claim

The wrath of God is satisfied; salvation’s plan fulfilled

And many will be justified through the blood God's Son spilled

The morning that turns tears of grief to leaps of joy prevails

Arise; let doubt turn to belief where God’s word never fails

Where from the darkness of the grave a new Light is unfurled

For He who is mighty to save has overcome the world

The morning that secures hope’s faith has broken; lift your head

This is the day we celebrate Christ risen from the dead

Death cannot dominate what Jesus’ Resurrection won

The verdict of the sinner’s fate rewritten by God’s Son

The morning that changed everything has broken; shout and sing

The cross of sorrow’s suffering leads to the risen King

Jesus, the one we crucified will pardon and forgive

For as in Adam we all died, in Christ we all will live

The morning of God’s glory has broken; let worship pour

Love’s everlasting story reigns through Christ forevermore

Grace suffered once for all; redemption’s darkest hour borne

Calvary’s gall has broken into Resurrection’s Morn

© Janet Martin

1 Cor.15:19-22

If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.

But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have [b]fallen asleep. 21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive

So When Death's Solemn Shadows Fall

PAD challenge day 14: For today's prompt, write a scary poem.

Heb.10:26-31

The Just Live by Faith...

26For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth,

 there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,

  27but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, 

and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.

  28Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law 

dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 

29Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy 

who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, 

counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, 

and insulted the Spirit of grace? 

30For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” [g]says the Lord.

 And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” 

31It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Psalm 16:11

You will show me the path of life; 

In Your presence is fullness of joy; 

At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Jesus Paid It All/Old Rugged Cross Medley by Anthem Lights

How holy swells the wellspring where Time’s finite fathoms toll

Each breath subtly unraveling the mantle ‘round the soul

How fragile is the fleeting glove of man’s mortality

Where He who wove us with His love instilled eternity

…so when this little life is through, if we believe in Him

Death will be but the doorway to the place where pleasures brim

As all our tears are wiped away forevermore by He

Who stepped from Heaven’s throne to pay sin’s debt in agony

So when Death’s solemn shadows fall no terror fills its wave

Unless, still we refuse to call on He, mighty to save

Unless because of unbelief, pride scorned the blood grace spilled

And wakes to the eternal grief of rejection fulfilled

To all He pleads, come unto Me, sin's sentence to atone  

Salvation for humanity is found in Christ alone

Where, Holy God's mercy unfolds another day of grace 

Until faith's fulfillment beholds the glory of His face 

How holy swells the spring where Love's infinite fathoms roll 

Each breath softly unraveling the glove that veils the goal  

Pray, when Death's solemn shadows fall beneath the Reaper's knife

Tis but the the Saviour's tender call to everlasting life

© Janet Martin

Isa.53:4-5

Surely He has borne our [g]griefs
And carried our [h]sorrows;
Yet we [i]esteemed Him stricken,
[j]Smitten by God, and afflicted.
5But He was wounded[k] for our transgressions,
He was [l]bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes[m] we are healed.