Marching Orders and a Good Friday Eve Meditation

Over these past years of doing childcare I think most of the youngsters learn that Janet can be ‘nice’ and silly, turning into a cow, dog, pirate, pioneer, waitress or whatever else the day calls for ,

but that same Janet can also be Sergeant Janet and when she gets that certain look

and gives marching orders, well, you

Just.

 Better.

 March!

Sometimes this reminds me a little of God and us... We want God to be ‘nice’ and He is!

He loves us so much He sent His Son to die for us to break sin’s curse, death;

and to all who believe in Him He grants everlasting life.

But as much as God loves us He hates sin; the thing that separates us from Him!

He never, ever hates the sinner but always the sin!

So, just as we give our children ‘marching orders’ for their good and benefit,

He gives marching orders/laws for our good!
(but He is no Sergeant. He commands but does not demand. He never forces our obedience or love)

Why are we reluctant to yield to One who loves us so?

We live in a broken world. But we have a Healer!
 If we believe in the faithful, loving, holy, kind, merciful, righteous, redemptive God,
the Father of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ

who was obedient to death, even death on a cross!

By His stripes we are healed!

Below is the story I read to the kiddos today...
it evoked earnest 3 yr. old declarations of love for Jesus
From The Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes...

By His stripes we are healed

Love bore atonement’s rod

Faultless Obedience appealed

On our behalf to God

There is no other name

Whereby man can be saved

Jesus, Jesus, absolves death’s claim

On mortal souls engraved

He bore our wretched shame

As on a cross He hung

Stripped of all but the bloody raim-

-ent from love’s gashes wrung

Obedient, Love came

To fulfill Mercy’s plan

Jesus, Jesus the only name

That offers hope to man

That hope, eternal life 
No fear in death for we
Who, when we leave this world of strife
Know just where we will be

© Janet Martin

 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
    and by his wounds we are healed.
Isa.53:5

Have you believed in Him.

Have you confessed that you are sinner to he who is faithful and just to forgive our sins

and cleanse us from all unrighteousness?

If you have then Hallelujah,

If you have not, it’s not too late to call on Him and be saved from His righteous wrath to come!

Have you walked through the Easter Story absorbing the sorrow, the blows, the loneliness, the pain

And then the triumph?!

He didn’t just die!

He rose from the grave and just as He rose from the grave so also will all who believe!

Tear-worthy

 My sister Marlene and I were talking about how hard it is to read Easter-themed pieces without tears!

(and that makes it hard to volunteer to read at an Easter Service:)

But, we concluded, they are worthy tears...

Jesus shed tears for us.

Oh, pray we shed tears for Him!

(a few more favorite Easter Songs)

Tears...

Stirred by the wounds You wore, my Lord and bore on my behalf

Because I was part of the crowd; Loud, proud, I jeered-leered-laughed

While You in gruesome horror hung in grueling agony

‘Til the last breath of life was wrung from You, my Lord, for me

You groaned beneath the thorny crown pressed hard upon Your head

Where death’s deliverance poured down until the ground was red

…and though I’ve wept, “Lord, I belief, now help my unbelief”

And though I love you, oh my Lord, of sinners I am chief

…for oft-times I’m still such a jerk and blind, as blind can be

More dedicated to my work and play, my Lord, than Thee

And then I weep, Jesus, I weep ; You knew the full extent

Of promises I would not keep, still, to the cross You went

And staggered up the skull-strewn slope beneath the awful weight

Not of the wooden cross-hewn Hope, but of ignorant hate

“Forgive them for they do not know” oh Lord, my Lord, You cried

As we slammed nails into your hands and spears into your side

And though wrongly accused, My Lord you answered not a word

But naked, torn and bruised You bore the sins of the whole world

...stirred by the scars You wear my Lord, because of Calvary

Where now Heaven is my reward through what You did for me

...so then I weep; without You I’m unworthy to the core

..But, because of You someday I will live forevermore

© Janet Martin

Love Offering, From He Who Owed Us Nothing

 

I know I've posted these songs before, but with Easter coming

the messages in the lyrics ring nearer and dearer than ever

as I reflect on God's glorious gift of grace 

for all mankind forever, to sorry sinners that stand condemned

but for the redemption that poured from Calvary's cross 

once for all in forgiveness of sins to all who believe!

(all that wonder in one run-on sentence!!:-)

Is there any message 

dearer 

than the one from 

Calvary? 

Jesus took the place of 

sinners; 

gave His life for you

 and me

With the pardon His blood 

purchased, 

we who stand condemned 

may call

On He who loves and 

forgives us 

and gave His life once, 

for all...

Granting for our guilt

salvation; 

absolution from sin's 

curse

With His death he 

overpowered 

Death's dominion 

over us  

Sealed the gates of hell with 

Heaven

Tore the veil twixt God

and man

Took our justified

chastisement 

to fulfill salvation's

plan

He who owed us nothing

offered

To suffer in our

place

Love looked far beyond the 

moment 

And sealed Destiny with

grace

Free, but for one 

stipulation

Only those who ask

receive

Only those receive

salvation

who first repent and

believe

Janet Martin

Sometimes one simply has to marvel again and again

at how the love of God grants to sinful, sordid, shameful, selfish

human race-

Grace

(Inspired in part by today's message)

Today's message is part one of two entitled

One Man's Choice

If you are filled with what's and whys as to what in the world life is all about

feel free to listen to the previous messages in the link to the Romans series we are in

and stay tuned as we continue through to the end of the book!

Link to the first chapter of the Book of Romans here

Until The Resurrection...

(This song below is written from the perspective of the disciple Peter)

I wrote the poem below trying to imagine what it would have been like
as one of the Marys or one of the disciples...

They did not see it then…With hearts all sorrow-torn

They turned back to their homes again their precious Lord to mourn

And wonder at His words they did not understand

The King of kings and Lord of lords slain beneath evil’s hand

And how they must have cried as sight tested Belief

Their precious Jesus, crucified as if He were a thief

And then the tomb was sealed and roman guards stood watch

The object of their hope repealed in death upon a cross

The horror of the day replaying o’er and o’er

With broken hearts they turn away; their Master is no more

The Way, the Truth, The Life, A corpse behind a stone

No Overcomer of the World or army overthrown

Only the echo of His cry upon the hill

"Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" ...then everything was still

How could He be a king?! No one could comprehend

The wonder they were witnessing as life came to an end

…and no one knew it then; what price had just been paid

Redemption for all sins of men on sinless Jesus laid

Nor how death became Life and broke its curs-ed power

How the Light of the World beamed brightest in His darkest hour

The peoples of the world seemed to have fought and won

With swords and insults boldly hurled at Jesus Christ, God’sSon

“Come down, come down” with jeers they spat upon His face

And laughed at He who commandeers the galaxies in space

(…no seed can save itself and still bud into tree

A soldier cannot save himself yet set his country free

Thus the Good Shepherd then If He would save his sheep

Knew love’s intense ultimatum; His life He could not keep)

“He said, I come to seek and save those who are lost

Though Lord, He came, humble and meek, knowing the price it cost

He came to give His life as ransom for mankind

Stepped from His throne to earthy strife; He left Heaven behind

But death could not prevail; No stone could seal the tomb

Of He who rent the temple’s veil and quelled the sinner’s doom

Love cannot be contained; on that bless-ed third Day

Victory could not be restrained but had its glorious say

'He is not here; He is ris’n', Are any words more dear?

Could any toll the bells of Heaven with greater joy or cheer?

Or dry the mourner’s tear or stop the scorner’s sneer

Or fill the heart of man with hope; than He is risen; He is not here?!

Once for all He died: the cross of shame Love braved

Jesus, the only name whereby the soul of man is saved

Then praise the King of Kings for joy His grace imparts

For our Redeemer lives on high and in believer’s hearts

So, when we weep our ‘why’ at heartache that must be

Or trouble raises its war-cry or grief its agony

Remember Sin’s Debt borne; and look to That Last Day

For on that Resurrection morn He’ll wipe all tears away

© Janet Martin

This is a universal joy, hope and peace, not to all, but to all who
' believe him and accept him'
 John 1:12-13

This poem is an accumulation of pondering the Easter Story and the book of Romans.
We are going through the book of Romans in our worship services for the next while.
This link will take you to the messages we have heard so far from Romans ch.1 to ch.5:1-11


Today's reading:
 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we^[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we^[b] boast in the hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only so, but we^[c] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
⁶ You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: 
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
⁹ Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! ¹⁰ For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! ¹¹ Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Emmanuel... God with us! (Relation, not Religion!)

Yesterday, all day it niggled at me...how to  encapsulate the Awesomeness 

that salvation is so much more than a ticket to Heaven or exemption from hell! 

(I felt like yesterday's post may have left that impression)

We don't just believe/receive and then we're left to fend for ourselves until we die and go to Heaven. Last night I listened to the sermon I missed (click link) the day before while teaching Sunday School. 

He spoke on exactly,  exactly what I was trying to piece together in my thoughts/prayers.
Salvation is Emmanuel! 

God with us! 

God the Father sent Jesus His Son so when we believe we receive a Comforter, the Holy Spirit; 

Peace, a Wonderful Counselor,  a Friend, a Father, a comforter, 

a sustain-er, healer, hope, guidance,Unwavering absolution(even when we doubt) 

Emmanuel! God with us here on earth! 

The part that makes it Relation, not religion! 

Hallelujah!

Salvation is so much more than just a Heaven-pass!

 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isa.9:6

If you want to speak in person to the speaker of this message click this link for contact info...

   

God sent His son into the World to bring hope, light and peace

Mankind, born into sin composes Mercy’s diocese

And since the day of Adam’s fall in Eden love decreed

The need for one Pure Sacrifice to save this sin-cursed breed

…to void the law for blood of rams and bulls and goats to spill

Unable to accomplish what Jesus came to fulfill

The King of kings and Lord of lords, a Lamb for you and me

Bore first a manger then a cross to fulfill prophecy

…and as He wept ‘Father, forgive, they know not what they do’

Then died, through Death came Everlasting Life for me and you

And hope for all; The Fall no longer dooms mankind because

God sent His Son, named Jesus, Immanuel, God with us

No grave could hold, no stone could barricade Emmanuel

The risen Lord abides and guides and whispers ‘it is well’

Though ages roll the God of ageless soul is undeterred

And all who seek will find Him, just as promised in His Word

© Janet Martin