Keep On!

Yesterday I attended the funeral of Wayne.

Friends and family received words of comfort and encouragement

as we reflected on a man, not perfect, but committed humbly

to honor God, though his lot in life was not what anyone would choose,

he desired above all to;

'fight a good fight, to run the course and to keep the faith, 

The service opened with the reminder that Wayne has done what still awaits all of us! 

He has met his Maker, but His Maker was/is also his Savior. 

We were challenged that the same may be true of us;

that when we meet God we will meet Him not only as our Maker 

but, as our Savior too!

The second speaker reminded family and friends 

that our God is a God of promises; 

He promises peace, 

He promises rest 

and He promises never to leave or forsake us. 

Sweet words of comfort esp. for Wayne's wife, children, Dad, siblings, etc.

...so, reflecting on a funeral at Christmas is not morbid

but in reality, is what the joy of Christmas is; Jesus, the hope of mankind

come to earth to be our Saviour

not for this brief life only, but to all who believe,

 forever and ever! Amen!

This reality makes our Christmas reflections more precious than ever!!

And rekindles faith's fervor to keep on till we too can say,

'I have fought the good fight, 

I have finished the race,

 I have kept the faith. 

8Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, 

which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day,

 and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

2 Tim.4:7-8

Keep on, we, not yet victorious

Upon Jesus fix faith’s eyes

For the joy still set before us

Keep on pressing to the prize

Keep on praying to keep seeking

God’s kingdom and righteousness

Keep on trusting, wholly leaning

Of His steadfast promises

Keep on looking to the Saviour

To imbue our walk and talk

To correct rebel behaviour

Lest we leave a stumbling block

Keep on casting cares on Jesus

Praise Him with each thought and breath

Until His last mercy frees us

From these bodies doomed to death

Keep on hoping, keep on loving

Every sin, humbly confess

Until the day of faith’s proving

Wins a crown of righteousness

Keep on with fixed dedication

To fight dark forces of sin

Until faith’s last invitation

Hears these blessed words ‘enter in’

© Janet Martin

Hope's Stomping Grounds

Today's post is as bittersweet as they come...

My cousin Wayne, 

most recently mentioned in this post

is free from suffering at last!

Gathered to God on Monday, Dec.18

Ps.116:15

Precious in the sight of the LORD Is the death of His saints.

Recently I received the book below,

*Reflections of Jesus,

a gift from the author, as a way of saying thank-you!

(I am delighted to have the poem Bethlehem Star included in it)

When I received the news that Wayne passed away I picked up this book

and looked and looked at the painting on the cover

weeping sad-glad tears as I pictured him like this,

 Safe in the arms of Jesus.

His hurting is over!

Please pray for healing for the family 

as they mourn the loss of husband and father,

son, brother, etc.

as they bear both deep grief and deep relief!

'our loss is his gain' said a family member last night at the visitation.

 'a great wait/weight lifted at last' murmured his sorrow-worn wife

We mourn, but not as sorrow grieves, without hope, by God’s grace

The rending tear that death achieves and mortal eyes surmise

Does not reveal the Whole; the Unseen of faith’s resting place

As Sight, with no dark glass between beholds The Promised Prize

As God, gathers a suffering Soul into eternity

Healed from the hurts that take their toll on this side of death’s door

Freed from the weight of waiting for the Final Victory

Beyond futile debating of life’s why-when-and-wherefore

How precious in the sight of God is the death of His saints

For eye has not seen nor ear heard the things he has prepared

For those who love Him; thus, no bitter barter tunes or taints

The tears that flow, because through Christ the Soul from hell is spared

The interim that Time employs until this life is through

And loss no longer vexes joys with Heaven’s sweetest gains

Is but Hope’s Stomping Grounds, a tie that Heaven will undo

When in the twinkling of an eye, death rends life’s binding chains

Then, comfort one another with the hope in Christ alone

God hears our prayers and mothers our sorrow-broken hearts

He tromps Hope's Stomping Grounds with us, (not one step on our own) 

Until the hope found/bound in Jesus, faith's finished fabric parts  

© Janet Martin

May we all make our calling sure while time is still on our side!

May the reason for the Christmas Season become profoundly dearer

as we believe, and receive the inheritance 

only the Saviour of the Soul will/can give;

Living Hope

Rom.15:13

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing,

that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

1 Thess.4:13-18

But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren,

concerning those who have fallen [b]asleep,

lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.

14For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again,

even so God will bring with Him those who [c]sleep in Jesus.

15For this we say to you by the word of the Lord,

that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord

 will by no means precede those who are [d]asleep.

16For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout,

with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God.

And the dead in Christ will rise first.

17Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up

together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

18Therefore comfort one another with these words.

*if you would like to order the book

Reflections of Jesus

click here- Jim Horsley Fine Art

More Than Enough For Me...

Jesus, Lover of My Soul

(beautiful scripture at the end of the above video)

This morning's poem is inspired in part after visiting my cousin yesterday,

in a long-term care facility. He has been afflicted for many years with MS.

 His family bears a very hard cross!

Please, if you remember, keep them in your prayers...

More info here...

We cannot comprehend God's higher ways but 

plead for an unshakeable knowledge of his perfect love

for all of us!

***

Give me knowledge of Jesus Christ that naught can shake or move

Of He who humbly sacrificed Himself, His love to prove

Fill me with wonder every day, that He who made all things

Surrendered to death’s crude display and cruelest sufferings

To bring salvation once for all to all who call his name

And to redeem us from the Fall that brought Adam to shame

He gave us access to His promises, to satisfy

Hunger and thirst with righteousness only He can supply

Then, may the joy and peace He gives thus transcend everything

With the knowledge that Jesus lives and death has lost its sting

And nothing in this sin-cursed place can ever dearer be

Than the knowledge that by His grace Jesus has ransomed me

Then give me no knowledge but this; He loves me without end

No matter what may be amiss, He is a faithful Friend

On Him I lean, to Him I cry, He, trustworthy and true

Tries my reason with His reply, yet what more can I do

But yield my mortal will to He who paid sin’s penalty

This knowledge of His love will be more than enough for me

© Janet Martin

Isa.55:6-9

6Seek the LORD while He may be found;

call on Him while He is near.

7Let the wicked man forsake his own way

and the unrighteous man his own thoughts;

let him return to the LORD,

that He may have compassion,

and to our God,

for He will freely pardon.

8“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways My ways,”

declares the LORD.

9“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so My ways are higher than your ways

and My thoughts than your thoughts...

Rock of Ages...

Where Multitudes Still Follow (and many turn away)

Matt.4:16-17&25

The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,

And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death

Light has dawned.”

   From that time Jesus began to preach and to say,

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven [c]is at hand.”

Great multitudes followed Him—

It's been a gloomy stretch of weather here...

The billows of snow from a little over week ago reduced

in short order to puddles!

We long for the great light of the sun after a long stretch of none,

yet, this but a mild comparison to the light of the world that has already come

and eternally pierced the darkness of sin and death!

Are you living in the joyful light/awareness of God's great love for you?

***

Multitudes followed Him where a Great Light had dawned

In the manger at Bethlehem, 

then Egypt and beyond

The One, prophets foretold of glory’s suffering

Had stepped to redemption’s threshold, 

the hope of man to bring

…calling all to ‘repent, for God’s kingdom is near’

Goodness and mercy’s covenant 

would pour in gory tear

Where faithful unto death the Lamb of God became

For the believer’s dying breath, 

life only death can claim

…and Jesus is the Name whereby mankind is saved

No minor prophet, He who came 

to conquer death’s dark grave

With a great light unfurled throughout eternity

Jesus, the Savior of the world 

can set death’s captive free

The light that cannot dim still gleams unto this day

Where multitudes still follow Him 

and many turn away

But those who trust behold what bold doubters ignore

Of signs that prophets long foretold 

when time will be no more

When the clouds will be seared, and every eye shall see

And look upon the One they pierced

 with their iniquity

And the whole world will wail at the sight of I AM

His power and glory unveiled 

as all ‘behold The Lamb’

But lo, all who repent and died to self are saved

Their names are written on the hands 

that Calvary engraved

But oh, all who refused 

love’s grace and truth to claim

Are released, by their choosing to 

Hellfire's unquenched flame 

© Janet Martin

I kept veering from the last line,

inadvertently trying to 'soften' it

but why?!!

life/death is a Heaven or hell matter!

there is no in between!

P.S. it feels fantastic to be upright without a spinning head after a day in bed with the flu.

My heart and prayers have been rekindled for those who spend day after day in bed!

My sister-in-law (Karen) is in the hospital since last Thursday 

suffering from a twisted bowel. Please join me in praying for her healing and

her and her family's encouragement!

My cousin who is an invalid due to MS, 

and his family appreciated your continued prayers as well!

He Will hold Me Fast

Here-Hope, Joy and Peace

This morning I received a card and letter from my cousin's family,

(Wayne and Sherri) who have been going through a deep and ongoing 

valley of trial for many years. (Wayne has MS, diagnosed after an accident

leading to the loss of his leg in 2012)

He is a dad of four children.

 He is now 49 years old.

The letter is a profound picture of refined faith and constant surrender

as they adapt to life with their dearly beloved

husband and dad in a long-term care facility,

and the heart-wrenching hurdles of love!!

Sherri closes the letter with words that bravely allow us

 a glimpse into a world of broken dreams

held fast by resolution for continued trust...

Below's excerpt shared with permission from Sherri💝🙏

As I pondered the words we use so freely, especially at Christmas;

words like hope, joy and peace I was impacted by how, without the weathered landscape of 

hardship those words would hold no special meaning.

How life's disappointments, sorrows and storms make sacred and dear

these precious words possible by the grace of God; Hope, joy and peace!

Wayne and Sherri's family has taken up permanent residence in my prayers for 

strength for their days and a sense of Immanuel in their lives!

...as this poem was penned  I couldn't help but cry as she shared 

a peek into their world with these words...

'I tell you these things not to gain attention or pity for myself,

but to give you a glimpse into our everyday life'.

She also shared utter gratefulness for God's faithful provision

through His followers and so many people who help!!

How hopeless our 'everyday life' would often be

without the comfort and counsel of God's word

and the company and friendships of his family here on earth!

***

Here oft joy bears bitter splendor ‘neath the weight of sorrow’s cross

Here oft hope groans with surrender on the testing grounds of loss

Here oft perfect peace is baffled by the brokenness we see

In the valley of the shadow of death’s sacred certainty

Here the devil would defeat us as we press toward The Prize

But for God’s Word; here He meets us to attend to longing’s cries

Here He reaches through the darkness with an Everlasting Light

Softens the heart’s would-be hardness with fresh courage for the fight

Here the fainting soul is strengthened as we feast on Living Bread

Here His outstretched arm is lengthened as His precious child is fed

Here His awesome power surges, chides man’s motives, prone to pride

Promise after promise purges pleas where need and want confide

Here He shows us how to follow when the way we cannot see

How to nestle in the hollow of hands scarred at Calvary

Here He lifts us from the mire of fear, dread, doubt and despair

Here He purifies desires that would hinder our prayer

Here the hope of nations rallies soldiers of the cross of Christ 

Here He guides us through the valleys where idols are sacrificed 

Here, while the world frowns and borrows trouble with unceasing noise

Here His whisper crowns our sorrows with hope's everlasting joys    

Here faith’s flick’ring candle steadies, here spent spirits are renewed

Here life’s gracious Giver readies us with awe-struck gratitude

Where joy, hope and peace must weather what yet waits, Trust humbly hails

God’s goodness; His mercy tethers us to love that never fails

© Janet Martin

...with a mighty hand and outstretched arm; 

His love endures forever.

Psalm 136:12

As we are drawn to the wonder of manger 

may we simultaneously be drawn to the triumph at the cross!

Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross

Near to the Heart of God