Showing posts with label Jesus Christ. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jesus Christ. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 26, 2023

Christmas That Never Ends

Day-after-Christmas contemplation...

The hustle and bustle of Christmas busyness,
the rustle of wrapping paper,
the frenzy of last minute food and gift prep,
the shrieks of excitement and delight
will soon fade like fond footfalls of farewell,
we collect in heart-vaults.


...but the Spirit of Christmas,
because of God's everlasting goodness through the gift
of his Son, Jesus, is hopefully a daily joy, all year through!

Christmas Season, with all its fuss and bustle will soon fade
And disappear into the hush of Bygone’s promenade
But, Belief in the Reason for the season, anchors peace
His everlasting goodness gladdens hope with joy’s increase

Belief transforms the lens we look through to find happiness
It mends the holes in our souls with precious promises
And grounds faith in the merit of love, unfathomable
Where Father, Son and Spirit manifests Immanuel

Where redemption endorses profound possibility
The blood of Christ that cleanses and atones, sets sinners free
From the inherent curse; the first-fruit that first sin conceived
But God so rich in mercy washed away when we believed

This keeps the joy of Christmas alive in us all year long
His everlasting goodness kindles everlasting song
Because belief in the Reason for the Season transcends
The temporal; Jesus gives us Christmas that never ends

© Janet Martin

the morning after
a lot of laughter, food and joys aka noise😅💖!!!



John 10;10
I have come that they may have life, 
and that they may have it more abundantly.
Jesus~








Friday, December 22, 2023

Beholding Christmas (or Joy's Supremacy)


For unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given,
and the government will be upon His shoulders.
And He will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7Of the increase of His government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on the throne of David
and over his kingdom,
to establish and sustain it
with justice and righteousness
from that time and forevermore.

The zeal of the LORD of Hosts will accomplish this.

***

The more we try the less it seems we can comprehend
the vastness of God's everlasting love!

That's why there are SO many poems and hymns
composed, trying to put into words
what words can never fully express-
of worship enough to fill eternity!
Hallelujah!




Behold the love/Son of God
Born for sin’s sacrifice
To bear hatred’s most cruel rod
To pay salvation’s price

Behold Bethlehem’s Boy
Redemption’s humble King
Who knew good tidings of great joy
Would cost Him everything

Behold, the Prince of Peace
Behold the zeal of He
Whose grief accomplished the increase
Of His/joy's supremacy

Behold Humility
Child of Mary’s travail
I AM fulfilling prophecy
In minutest detail

Behold, hope’s Star unfurled
Kneel at the manger, then
Behold, the Saviour of the world
Behold Christmas. Amen

Behold, a child is born
Behold, a Son is giv'n
To pierce hell's darkness with a Thorn
That lights the Wick of Heav'n

© Janet Martin



Micah 5:4
And He shall stand and feed[a] His flock
In the strength of the Lord,
In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God;
And they shall abide,
For now He shall be great
To the ends of the earth;  

Monday, December 18, 2023

To Rich and Poor Alike

More money buys more things,
but never more hope, peace, joy, Jesus, or more Heaven-status!
The way to heaven is ever the same; a gift,
 for rich and poor alike
accessible through faith, 
by God's grace alone
through Himself,
His Son, Jesus!

Who is Jesus?
Below, the link to one of six messages on who Jesus is!


The message below begins with this statement;
'There was a time when Jesus was God but not man,
But there never was a time when He was man, but not God'

  

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.”


To rich and poor alike He comes
to grant to each the same
The hope that transcends time’s fleet sums;
Salvation through His Name


Where nothing but faith can esteem
the gift that makes us whole
No mortal merit can redeem
the price tag of the soul


No wealth can gain a greater grace,
nor lack a lesser part
Where man regards fine form and face
God looks upon the heart


And rich and poor alike receive
what only faith can win
To all who repent and believe,
the forgiveness of sin


© Janet Martin







Faith's Perfect Provision


In a week from today, (Christmas!)
Christians will be celebrating the birth of the Object of our faith;
our Lord Jesus Christ!

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.

Romans 5:1
"Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, 
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Hallelujah!!!

Yesterday morning a plea in the opening prayer at our church service
caught at my heart...'that You would find us faithful, Lord'!!
What is the use of anything else, if He does not find us faithful?!!

Matt.24:13
But he who endures to the end shall be saved.

Does this not bid us plead for Sunday morning's fire
to kindle Monday morning's desire?!!

Doesn't it bring fresh zeal/appeal to this old, cherished Christmas hymn??




So this morning, no matter what composes our fears, regrets and sorrows
we may rejoice and be glad in this day He has made...
for He who promised is faithful!!

Heb.10:19-23
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence 
to enter the Most Holy Placed by the blood of Jesus, 
20by the new and living way opened for us through the curtain of His body,e
21and since we have a great priest over the house of God,
  22let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith,
 having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience 
and our bodies washed with pure water.
23Let us hold resolutely to the hope we profess, 
for He who promised is faithful.

***

Enough to know, though sorrow scores the garment of the soul
And the enemy of faith roars, still, God is in control
The witness of each thought and intent of the heart, is kind
His everlasting love is not a figment of the mind

But is, in every circumstance, a Present Help indeed
To all who trust in Him, He grants exactly what we need
Then, where care’s billows ebb and flow, joy and peace still console
Because, it is enough to know that God is in control

Thus, all contenders for the faith have no cause for despair
God’s full armour will keep us safe to persevere through prayer
For He is in control no matter how the Whole may bend
The Shepherd of the Soul helps us be faithful to the end

© Janet Martin

 

Saturday, December 16, 2023

Marvelous Light


Isa.9:2
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;
 on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned...


I am 'labouring' through the last books in the Old Testament,
 groaning through the sobering passages of God's wrath and judgment 
for everyone who turns away from Him, because they do not fear Him,
 but worship others gods, and do not keep His commandments.

But oh, wonderful grace of Jesus, always with every judgment God reminds them
of his mercy and redemption for all who repent and come/return to Him!!






Rom.6:12-14
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its desires.
13Do not present the parts of your body to sin as instruments of wickedness,
but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life;
and present the parts of your body to Him as instruments of righteousness.
14For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.

Part of Zacharias's song in Luke 1:76-79

And you, child, will be called

a prophet of the Most High;

for you will go on before the Lord

to prepare the way for Him,

77to give to His people the knowledge of salvation

through the forgiveness of their sins,

78because of the tender mercy of our God,

by which the Dawnf will visit us from on high,

79to shine on those who live in darkness

and in the shadow of death,

to guide our feet

into the path of peace.”


The poem below is but a pale halo of awe, for words fail as we consider
the awesome love and mercy of God...


Into the darkness of the world that groans with scorn and spite
The splendor of hope is unfurled to pierce the dark with Light
To salvage us from death’s despair, from sin’s most cunning means
To draw us to repentant prayer where mercy intervenes

The Saviour of the world has come; Jesus, the Son of God
The Cornerstone of Christendom to bear death’s meanest rod
The Great I AM, the King of kings and Lord of lords became
The Lamb who takes away the sins of all who trust His Name

‘Ho, every son and daughter’ the Heavenly Father cries
Come, drink the Living Water from the well that never dries
Come and buy without money, eat to fulness without price
A land of milk and honey waits through mercy’s sacrifice

Into the darkness of the world in need of peace and joy
Behold, a great Light is unfurled, veiled as an infant boy
Who came to bring Justice to earth and hope to sorry strife
To pierce the fierce shadow of death with everlasting Life

…to guide our feet into the path of peace, away from sin
To satisfy God’s blameless wrath by bringing souls to Him
To soften stubborn hardness of cold hearts with mercy’s might
To call us out of darkness into His marvelous light

© Janet Martin


1 Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, 
a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, 
to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness 
into His marvelous light.


Isa.55:1-9
Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money;
 come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

2 Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? 
and your labour for that which satisfieth not? 
hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good,
 and let your soul delight itself in fatness.

3 Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live
; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.

4 Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people.

5 Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, 
and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the Lord thy God,
 and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee.

6 Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:

7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts:
 and let him return unto the Lord, 
and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, 
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Tuesday, December 5, 2023

Hope (From He Who transcends Time and Place)

"Have I not commanded you? 
Be strong and courageous.
 Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, 
for the Lord your God will be with you 
wherever you go" 
Joshua 1:9

But now, this is what the LORD says— 
he who created you, Jacob, 
he who formed you, Israel: 
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
 I have summoned you by name;
 you are mine.
Isa.43:1

So do not fear, for I am with you; 
do not be dismayed, for I am your God. 
I will strengthen you and help you; 
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isa.41:10

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: 
for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, 
which shall be to all people.
 Luke 2:10




From He who transcends time and place
To we in need of saving grace
Since that first angel-hymn unfurled
Hope penetrates a broken world

Ah! Lift your hearts in praise and prayer
We are not destined to despair
Nor doomed to suffer Satan’s scorn
The Savior of the world is born

Be not afraid, for unto us
A Deliv’rer still comes; Jesus
Then let us too make haste to see
First Bethlehem, then Calvary

Then, let us with hearts humbly awed
Bring gifts of thankfulness to God
For hope transcending time and place
From He who saves us by His grace

© Janet Martin


Deut.11:19
Teach them (God's Words/laws) to your children, 
speaking about them when you sit at home 
and when you walk along the road, 
when you lie down 
and when you get up... 







Monday, December 4, 2023

An Overwhelming Plea...


Without God's word to minister hope to the soul
Monday morning could feel like an
overwhelming weight-lifting exercise!

Thank-you God, for Your indwelling Spirit,
for the glorious riches in Christ Jesus
 to overwhelm our need!
 



I need You, Lord, Your whisper to bid worry’s tempest cease
To conquer overwhelming dread with overwhelming peace
To comfort overwhelming grief with overwhelming love
To help unbelief with belief this world knows nothing of

I need you, Lord, to quell the fear that seeks faith, to destroy
Love’s overwhelming sorrow cheer with overwhelming joy
And should Your higher ways impart a cross, pride to abase
Lord, overwhelm my wicked heart with overwhelming grace

I need your overwhelming hope to overwhelm despair
Your promises to help me cope through overwhelming prayer
Lest ignorance makes me uncouth and wise in my own eyes
I need Your overwhelming truth to expose Satan’s lies

I need Your Word to overwhelm word-storms of worldly vice
Your overwhelming strength to transform Self to sacrifice
Your overwhelming Light to pierce death-dark veneers of dust
And shatter overwhelming sight with overwhelming trust

I need you, Lord, to overwhelm my overwhelming need
To overwhelm my whelming cry with mercy’s tender creed/reed
Enfold trouble and strife beneath Your overwhelming Wing
And overwhelm me with Your life where death has lost its sting

Hallelujah,
Amen

© Janet Martin

Phil.4:19-20
And my God will supply all your needs
 according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
 20To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. 
Amen.

Thursday, November 30, 2023

Only The Best Will Do or Perfect Best

This is the time of year
we start wracking our brains for perfect gifts
because only the best will do when it comes to saying
'I love you'

When considering our efforts of finding 'the best'
doesn't it evoke a picture of God, 
before that first Christmas morn,
looking down on the world, 
His heart shattered with love as He wept,
for He knew 'only the Best will do!'
when it came to proving His love
 for me and for you!

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.”

I LOVE the lyrics to the song below



This is the time of year
Unlike the whole year through
When we choose gifts for loved ones dear
Only the best will do

In this season of love
Boxes and bags become
Vaults filled with motley treasures of
Socks, books, toys, candy, gum

Presents are squirreled away
In unsuspecting nooks
A kind of game that parents play
Lest Curious Youngster looks

Reason softens its stance
As love and prudence wrest
As budgets and hearts spar and dance
To find The Perfect Best

The Perfect Best is love
Therefore, love longs to show
The best it can, reflections of
First Christmas, long ago

When Heaven’s Perfect Best
God’s equal, put on man
Knowing the cost, did not contest
Salvation’s perfect plan

Because God loved us so
On that first Christmas morn
Into this sin-cursed world of woe
A Redeemer was born

For God looked from above
And He saw me and You
And said, as His heart broke with love
Only the Best will do

So, God gave us a King
A gift beyond all ken
His only Son, Jesus, to bring
Peace and goodwill to men

A gift that saves the soul
And flings ajar a Gate
That leads to faith’s ultimate goal
Where God and heaven wait

Then pray, this time of year
We rev’rently recall
The Reason for the season, dear
The gift that says it all

For things are only things
Love is the Perfect Best
The gift that only Jesus brings
Makes perfect, all the rest

© Janet Martin


John 3:16
For God so loved the world that
He gave us His only begotten son,
that whosoever believes in Him
should not perish but have everlasting life

Phil.2:5-8
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus:
6Who, existing in the form of God,
did not consider equality with God
something to be grasped,a
7but emptied Himself,
taking the form of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8And being found in appearance as a man,
He humbled Himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross.

Thursday, November 16, 2023

Till Life on Earth Is Through


Each new day overflows
With undefeated worth...


The gladness only God bestows
Undergoes grand rebirth



This time of year our hearts and minds start to turn Christmas-ward!
For the believer in Jesus, it is a glad celebration
 of the Living Hope, joy and peace we cherish every day!

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace
 as you trust in him, 
so that you may overflow with hope 
by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13




We walk by faith, not sight
The joy that we proclaim
By God’s grace, is the chief delight
Of all who love His name

We do not hope in vain
Our God, faithful and true
Abides with us midst fear and pain
Of this world’s fleeting rue

Each new day overflows
With undefeated worth
The gladness only God bestows
Undergoes grand rebirth

As we fix our gaze
While weathering the wearing ways
Of time that lies between

By faith, reply reveres
The call that we receive
As we treasure God's Word that cheers
All who trust and believe

…while keeping watch, we pray
That faith will remain true
Until the great and glorious day
When life on earth is through

© Janet Martin


Matthew 24:42
Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day on which your Lord will come.







Thursday, October 19, 2023

It's Not What But Who You Know...






Do you know He who delights us with awe, indescribable
Gold and crimson candelabras splashed on vistas, autumnal...


Heavens, wild with glints of glory where faith waits sight's recompense
Earth’s sin-ruined Eden roaring with Relentless Evidence...


This quote “It’s not what you know but who you know”
was mentioned the other day during my Old Stone Farm House visit;
in regard, to how good connections can be invaluable when undertaking a project!
It's so beneficial to know 'the right person who knows the right person for the job' etc.!

When Jesus came to this earth He was fully human and fully God
and no matter who we know, no matter how great and talented
and helpful, it never can compare to knowing He
 who gifts and grants our abilities and talents,
and who worked the greatest work of all; our soul-salvation!
Do you know Him; 
the Saviour of the soul,
the King of kings 
and Lord of Lords?
Do you long to know Him better?
I do, and we can, each time we open His Word
and ask the Holy Spirit to speak to us!

Eph.1:17-21
I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,
 the glorious Father, may give you (us) the Spirit[f] of wisdom and revelation,
 so that you (we) may know him better. 
18 I pray that the eyes of your (our) heart/s may be enlightened 
in order that you (we) may know the hope to which he has called you, (us)
the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people,
and his incomparably great power for us who believe. 
That power is the same as the mighty strength 
20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead 
and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 
21 far above all rule and authority, 
power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, 
not only in the present age but also in the one to come.



In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,
and we have seen his glory,
glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.



Do you know the One who orders earth’s four-season carousel
He who rends night’s starry heavens with daybreak, unstoppable
He who instills seed-sized kernels with bounty of harvest-hymn
He who created and knows us with a love that will not dim

Do you know He who delights us with awe, indescribable
Gold and crimson candelabras splashed on vistas, autumnal
Heavens, wild with glints of glory where faith waits sight's recompense
Earth’s sin-ruined Eden roaring with Relentless Evidence

Do you know He who so loved us that He bore the sinner’s rod
He who paid our debt with His blood; the begotten Son of God
He who shattered Satan’s scheming, bridging death and hell’s dark rift
The Light of the world who longs for all to receive His grace-gift

Do you know the One who grants us strength beyond all human scope
He who is to every mortal, unchanging, immortal hope
He whose mercy none can fathom, whose compassion none can drain
He whose loving kindness forgives, over and over again

Do You know Him; I AM, who is without beginning or end
Builder and Ruler of Zion desires to be our Friend
He who stuns the eye with seeing and the ear with nature’s lay
He who melts hard hearts, embittered by the troubles of the day

Do you know Him, love Him, trust Him, fear , revere, His Holy Word
To You long to know Him better with devotion undeterred
Do you fix your eyes on a prize beyond this brief, (grief) broken world
For someday on clouds of Heaven, all will see I AM unfurled

© Janet Martin

It was one of those so-beautiful-it-hurt sunrises ...






Wednesday, October 18, 2023

Praise Him Praise Hymn

 

Yesterday I enjoyed the sheer delight of being a guest 
at the beautiful home of someone who was a friend,
mainly online, as we connected through mutual loves and interests.
As she took myself and two more guests on a tour through her home, 
filled with so many loving and thoughtful touches that spoke 
so completely to my domestic, love-of-old-things soul...
I felt a little like I was in heaven-on-earth...so happy!

Photos used with permission




The loving hospitality of the hostess
And the face-to-face fellowship of friends was the crowning joy.

Now she is a friend, beyond a computer-screen connection💖
She blogs  here- at Homespun Musings
(Through her latest post  you too
can be a guest of sorts in her beautiful home!)

Yesterday's comfortable visit contrasts sharply with
the love spoken of in my Scripture reading today-Isa. 53;
the ending of that chapter steals my breath every time!!
(and makes me weep for joy to think through Christ alone
my hope, my home in heaven with Him has been secured!)

Yet it pleased the Lord to [q]bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
When You make His soul an offering for sin,
He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,
And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.
11 [r]He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.
By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,
And He shall divide the [s]spoil with the strong,
Because He poured out His soul unto death,
And He was numbered with the transgressors,
And He bore the sin of many,
And made intercession for the transgressors.

With whatever fills our day, hands, arms, let's praise Him!!
because someday, because of Calvary, all believers
will enjoy face to face fellowship with Him,

Praise He, whose relentless goodness is enough to satisfy
He whose tender, loving kindness never dwindles its supply
He whose judgments, just and righteous, ever point to Calvary
He whose agony delights us with the hope that sets us free

Praise the Author of salvation with a broom, a spade, a cart
Praise the Father of creation with a glad and humbled heart
Praise Him for His Word that never lies and never leads astray
He who moves faith’s prayers through frontlines that no enemy can stay

Praise The One who never gives us more than He can help us bear
He whose faithfulness delivers us from evil’s cunning snare
Praise Him with a limp, a stumble, with a flying leap of faith
With croak or voice of an angel, Praise the Lord with every breath

Praise Him in the thick of labor with motives of love alone
Love for God first, then our neighbor, love that makes Satan’s ranks groan
Praise He who, scorned and rejected by His own, disowned, despised
Bore death to be resurrected; for our peace He was chastised

Praise Him with devotion’s stutters; who can worship’s wonder spell?
He who draws us from sin’s gutters and saves us from death and hell
Never leaves us or forsakes us; He, well-versed with grief and loss
For His righteous pleasure breaks us in the shadow of the cross/into the shape of the cross

Breaks the pride that authors error, for the sake of faith’s increase
Takes the fear that authors terror that salvation turns to peace
Then wherever, with whatever tool of trade we wage and wield
Praise the Lord, now and forever, for by His stripes we are healed

© Janet Martin



Hitting-snooze-button accountability-I hit snooze, more than once!!😟


Saturday, June 10, 2023

Awesome, Awesome Anchor

Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope;
22 Because of the Lord’s great love 
we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24 I say to myself, 
“The Lord is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.”

With renewed joy our eyes feast on the skies where this morning
the smoke haze has dissipated and we can see clouds!



Oh, the things we take for granted!



Lord, pray we never breeze over Thy bounty of blessings
that anchor the soul!

It crowns the cross of creature care with vision’s from above
It transforms Sense of Duty with the beauty of true love
It fuels faith and kindles prayer and makes our joy complete
It keeps eyes fixed upon a prize beyond time’s one-way street

It fits us with the armor that equips us for the fight
Into the darkest hour gleams its everlasting Light
From fear it gathers courage as it draws us from despair
To comforts us and cheers us in our trek from here to There

It conquers greed and fulfills need and helps love suffer long
It leads in paths of righteousness and feeds souls with its song
It awes us as we realize the cost God sacrificed
To keep us in His perfect peace; it is our hope, through Christ

© Janet Martin

Heb.6:18-20
Thus by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, 
we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be strongly encouraged.
19We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. 
It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, 
20where Jesus our forerunner has entered on our behalf. 
He has become a high priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.

 1 Peter 1:3 ~ 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
 According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again 
to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

Why art thou cast down, O my soul? 
and why art thou disquieted within me?
 hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, 
who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in You.

Rest in God alone, O my soul, for my hope comes from Him.