The Fruit of 'Ought' or With Harvest-hope in Mind

These flowers are still available from  Countryview Greenhouse

near the 'Alma' end of Well. Cty. RD 8,

in case your looking to tuck a bit of colour into a corner or border!

(bedding plants are 1/2 price!!)

***

Heb. 2:1

Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed 

to the things which we have heard,

lest at any time we should let them slip.

Luke 18:1

And he spake a parable unto them to this end,

that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

Rom.8:26

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.

We do not know what we ought to pray for,

but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.

1 John 3:16

This is how we know what love is:

Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.

And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.

1 John 4:11

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

James 4:17

If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do

and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.

Every farmer or gardener knows which seeds ought to be planted

 for a specific fruit to harvest...

Only if we sow as we ought

and tend as we ought

 can we hope as we ought.

Due to ample rain

gardens and fields in our part of Ontario

are beginning to burgeon with

fruit of harvest-hope!

and flowers!!

Sometimes we cannot reap because we do not sow to God

The yield of fruit for which we weep, we seek from fallow sod

The answered prayer for which we plead, cannot bear what we ask

Because we have not sown its seed or tended to its task 

Sometimes the good we ought to do we do not, but ignore

Obedience, and cater to a roaming lion's roar

Rather than giving earnest heed to the things we have heard

And confessing a thought or deed contrary to God's Word

When we approach the throne of grace, where faith finds hope and cheer

Until we see Him face to face; pray first for ears to hear

The still small Voice of He who does not err in His reply

Or bless unconfessed sin, because He so loves you and I 

Sometimes we know the Very Thing we ought to repent of;

The barrier to which we cling with stubborn, selfish love

Because we lack humility, or sorrow for our part

That drew Jesus to Calvary and broke His Father's heart  

Sometimes the 'fruit' for which I plead can never be, until

I recognize, then sow the seed of love's surrendered will

And toil, and till and tend faith's field with humble diligence

Until God's grants the promised yield of love's obedience 

Praise God from whom goodness and love flow without flaw or fail   

Praise Him that He is mindful of man's trouble and travail

Praise He who is faithful and true, compassionate and kind

He helps us sow as we ought to, with harvest-hope in mind

Janet Martin 

Today's poem was kindled/convicted largely by today's devotion...

Masterpiece of Memories

Time's moment-ous Tempo 

is composing a Masterpiece;

the piece we call Memories, 

The Piece returned to the Master when 

our gift called life is through.

This Piece is precious because

it is the part for which we give account!

Each day's  'Memories' are piece of a priceless Masterpiece...

This poem 'happened' in part as I stood on my tippy-toes the other night

to hug 'my little boys', from bygone days;

 the older brothers just turned 20 & 17!

And 'little' brother is graduating from Grade 8!! 

Time composes a kind of hymn

With moments, as they glance and glim

Like notes in an arpeggio

Of highest high and lowest low

And as life's lyrics lilt and weep

As season-measures soar and sweep 

They draw from intangible keys

A Masterpiece called Memories

Time gathers in its rushing streams

The ebb and flowing throb of dreams

Where hope's immortal blossom spars

With petal-snow and falling stars

To spark a sentimental show

Of holding close and letting go

A ballad of spent harmonies;

This Masterpiece of Memories

Behold the beauty of today

Hark! where nuances wait to play

Ah, feel the reel as rhythms roll 

From touch and taste to heart and soul

A holy toll that tunes a hymn

As laughter and tears glance and glim

As burden and blessing increase

Mortal's Memory-Masterpiece

Life is a gift; each melody

Part of a Greater Harmony

Of precision and dissonance

Of decision and recompense

Of petals settled where they fall

Of 'nothing new' Original

And ungraspable as a breeze

Life's Masterpiece of Memories

Before today melts in the breach

Of moments slipping beyond reach

Before its melodies are set

In Bygone's changeless pirouette 

Let's do our kind and humble part

To make Today a Work of Art

Before God wills Time's Tempo stilled

Of life's memories, Master-willed

Janet Martin

Ps.92:12

So teach us to number our days,
That we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Call of Beauty

In answering love's call of 'duty'

we are given opportunity to

to turn it into a call of beauty!

Serving one another in love;

is there anything on earth more beautiful than this?!

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, 

I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.

 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, 

and understand all mysteries and all knowledge,

 and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains,

 but have not love, I am nothing.

 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor,

 and though I give my body [a]to be burned, 

but have not love, it profits me nothing.

 1 Cor.13:1-3

Jesus came, not to be served, but to serve

and give his life as a ransom for many! (Matt.20:28)

We have a perfect example of love from Him.

What a privilege, each new day

to heed life's call of Beauty!

Eccles.12:13

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:

Fear God, and keep his commandments:

for this is the whole duty of man.

John 13:34-35

A new commandment I give you: Love one another. 

As I have loved you, so you also must love one another. 

35By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, 

if you love one another.”

Today's call of beauty will be spring cleaning with my sisters

at our mom and dad's house 💕🙏

I'm on for bringing the salad for lunch 😋

Each new day bears upon its pier of grace and love and light

Fresh opportunity to cheer each other on life's way

To be the hands and feet of He who taught us what is right

And bids the likes of you and me to trust Him and obey 

Each new day spreads a welkin wing of Refuge overhead

And ushers to love's suffering, God's kind mercy renewed

The riches of His promises will minister to dread

Arousing hymns of happiness in hearts of gratitude 

Each new day sweet and kindly grants Duty's/Beauty's replenished call

A shiny, like-a-new-bike-chance to try and try again

To serve God in all that we do, however great or small

To labour with love, meek and true and glad honour. Amen 

Each new day, like a trumpet hails; pray, how will we reply

To God, whose favor never fails as faith its need confides

Whose might equips us for the task; tis up to you and I 

To look to Him and humbly ask; He faithfully provides

Love's call of beauty sometimes appears common and mundane

Because it looks like duty lacking luster or appeal

But love turns duty's plain disguise to living's greatest gain

Transforming what would otherwise depend on how we feel 

Janet Martin

Seems we go from dusk to dawn in a wink....

The One Thing No One Else Can Do

Without trouble, honestly, how much would we think to pray?!!

In our human nature/weakness we forget, 

or judge wrongly, the purpose of 'trouble'.

When we see someone suffer we want to ease 

their suffering and even remove it if possible!

 so we try to help each other the best we can.

 But if we were able to remove the trial then

 we/they would never discover the wonders of God's private ministry and fellowship

 to our souls as we learn the humility of deeper trust and looser grips...

I cannot live your life or learn your lessons,

nor you mine!

But oh joy, we can cheer each other on

and not learn alone!

Romans 15:1
We who are strong ought to bear with the shortcomings of the weak

 and not to please ourselves.

1 Thessalonians 5:14
And we urge you, brothers, to admonish the unruly, 

encourage the fainthearted, 

help the weak, and be patient with everyone.

Galatians 6:2
Carry one another’s burdens,

 and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Did you Think to Pray?

Though side by side we walk life’s road and share love’s creature cares

Through helping hands or words to goad the faith that authors prayers

Though we may commune, heart to heart and weep with holy plea

Nobody else can do the part that God assigned to me

Only my ears can hear His voice, only my heart reply

I am the owner of my choice; the merchant of my sigh

No matter what the cause may be that kindles praise or rue

You cannot pray my prayers for me nor I your prayers for you

I account for the words I say and you account for yours

Only my feet can walk the way that God alone secures

I, but a speck amidst the roar pressed to eternity

Yet, no one else can answer for the life God granted me

I am the trav’ler of the route God’s perfect purpose drew

I am the reaper of the fruit I glean from seeds I strew

I weather, come whatever may, the passage to the goal

And I alone choose ‘yay’ or ‘nay’ to He who saves the soul

Though side by side we walk life’s road of common day-to-day

And do our best to humbly goad and cheer us on our way

Though we may shoulder trouble’s strife and mingle mortal pleas

We, by God’s grace each live the life that He alone decrees

Janet Martin

Balancing Life's Ledger

"The man who would truly know God must give time to Him."

- A.W. Tozer

Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass 

under trees on a summer's day,

listening to the murmur of the water,

or watching the clouds float across the sky,

is by no means a waste of time.”

― John Lubbock, The Use Of Life

Right now 'us daughters' are helping mom sort through Things,

as they prepare to downsize in the next year.

Recently mom showed me an old ledger 

where every dollar spent was recorded and accounted for.

I couldn't help but wonder what another Ledger looks like

that God will open and show me every moment spent,

recorded and accounted/accountable for!

Oh! God help me be mindful of

the gravity and goodness in the Gift of a new day!

Forgive my fumbles and failures and let 

your sufficient grace be my hope and delight,

(for) with you there is forgiveness, 

 so that we can, with reverence, serve you. Ps.130:4

Ps.51:10-12 KJV

Create in me a clean heart, O God; 

and renew a right spirit within me.

 Cast me not away from thy presence;

 and take not thy holy spirit from me.

 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; 

and uphold me with thy free spirit.

Lord, I don't want to emulate

The pace that seems to dominate

The human race with breathless chase

That falls prey to dusk's dust and dew

But still, while morn-to-evening tolls

I want to strive to lovely goals

And recognize the holy prize

That gleams where morning hails anew

I want to work with willing hands

Not shirking what duty demands

Yet not dictate so strict a gait

I cannot pause to stand and stare

Aware of Whose Evidence brims

In awesome, unparalleled hymns

In every hue-commanding view 

That every new season lays bare    

How sorry, never to afford

An hour to spend with You, Lord

In Your Good Book or by a brook

Or on a hill, where zephyrs loll 

Else, in my trek from dawn till dark

Prosperity misses its mark

As I pay heed, with frugal creed 

To the body, but not the soul 

I want to take stock of the clock

That gives and takes with tick by tock

Aware of He who holds Time's key

Before eternity; to ken

With open eyes and arms and heart

The beauty of each day's fresh start

To weigh, then choose, then kindly use

This gift the Lord has made. Amen

Janet Martin

Ps.118: 19-21, 24-29

Open to me the gates of righteousness;

I will go through them,

And I will praise the Lord.

 This is the gate of the Lord,

Through which the righteous shall enter.

 I will praise You,

For You have answered me,

And have become my salvation.

This is the day the Lord has made;

We will rejoice and be glad in it.

Save now, I pray, O Lord;

O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity.

 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

We have blessed you from the house of the Lord.

 God is the Lord,

And He has given us light;

Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.

 You are my God, and I will praise You;

You are my God, I will exalt You.

 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!

For His mercy endures forever.

Life Matters, A Life that Matters or Life-matters

As we contemplate the culmination of 

what may seem commonplace at first glance...

...may the light of eternity waken us to the sacred matter

of what matters most, and how ultimately 

nothing is commonplace, when

lived with love for the glory of God!

A Life That Matters ; (click link)

isn't that what we all desire?!

To matter; To be needed and loved!

And what irony; the desire to be needed and loved, to matter,

is met as we meet another's need with love.

The link above helped inspire today's poem, as well as

an excerpt from an update letter from one of our missionaries

 who led a team of students on a short-term ministering-trip.

One of the students, after thanking those who prayed for him/them

shared that he is so excited to see where the Lord will lead him

' Even though I am no longer in (said country),

I still plan to be a disciple of God

and hope to help share the good news

with as many people in my life as I can."

What a beautiful reminder about what truly matters, 

as we desire to live a life that matters,

and ultimately to exalt as Paul did!

  2 Tim.4:7

Life is lent; its gifted measure

More than sums/crumbs of birthday cake 

 Time is a temporal treasure

With eternity at stake 

Today's gifted moment-matter

Matters more than we can see

As the seeds of reply scatter

Settling in eternity 

In the grave matter of living

No one can afford to hate/wait

Today is ripe for love's giving

Tomorrow may be too late

Come, let's make the most of moments

And the matter they compose

Before death's impending summons

Ushers in life's curtain-close 

Let's run life's race with endurance

Honouring what matters most

Let's rely on the assurance

Of worth only faith can boast

What lies behind none can alter

But do not despair, my friend

Mercy's fountain does not falter  

Today we can change the end

Every life matters; its treasure

More than fool's gold or bold jest

Pray the merit of its measure

Makes its matter worth our best 

Because after this life's fleetness

After earth's mortal sojourn

We will meet with the completeness 

Of eternity's return 

Pray, we put our faith in Jesus

For this matters most of all

Because only Jesus frees us

From the curse of mankind's fall

Thank God for salvation's story

Thank Him for love's shameless boast 

Through His power, for His glory

He grants us what matters most 

Janet Martin

Rom.14:7-13

 (read the whole glorious chapter HERE)

7For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. 

8For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. 

Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. 

9For to this end Christ died [b]and rose and lived again, 

that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. 

10But why do you judge your brother?

 Or why do you show contempt for your brother? 

For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of [c]Christ.

  11For it is written:

“As I live, says the Lord,

Every knee shall bow to Me,

And every tongue shall confess to God.”

12So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. 

13Therefore let us not judge one another [d]anymore, 

but rather resolve this, 

not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.

Come To Jesus Chris Rice Lyrics

If We Make Christ our Master

For me, one of the takeaway applications of yesterday morning's message

Behold the Man is this:

Choose your master/Master or your master will choose you!

The speaker also reminded /encouraged us with this;

If we make Christ our Master and mission

day by day, the end will take care of itself;

We will be able to be faithful to the end

and echo the words of Paul in

2 Tim.4:7

" I have fought the good fight,

I have finished the race,

I have kept the faith."

So thank You Lord, for a new morning filled with new mercies!

Lam.3:22-23

Lord, because no one can serve two masters (Matt.6:24)
 help us choose You!

I Have Decided to Follow Jesus - Lydia Walker | Lyric Video |

If we make Christ our Master we will fix our eyes on Him

Not mine, but Thine the Kingdom, power and glory. Amen

If we make Christ our Master He will passion's zeal persuade

To seek His kingdom first and not vain treasures that will fade

If we make Christ our Master then, we will hallow His name

And reverence and fear the One who bore our sin and shame

If we make Christ our Master we will trust Him and obey

Knowing sorry disaster waits where Self demands its say

If we make Christ our Master we will be misunderstood

As we reject this world's appeal for Heaven's Greater Good

If we make Christ our Master worship commands a great price

Each day will be an altar, Self will be the sacrifice 

It we make Christ our Master; He, The Way, the Truth, the Life

Will lead in paths of righteousness and fit us for its strife 

If we make Christ our Master, Holy power will prevail

His armour equips us to withstand evils that assail

If we make Christ our Master we will never walk alone

His rod and staff will comfort all who make His will their own

If we make Christ our Master life will be no Easy Street

And mean will seem the Potter's Wheel as faith and sight compete

If we make Christ our Master, then, whatever may befall

When we behold Him we will know the fight was worth it all 

If we make Christ our Master, focus/motive will be realigned 

And as it is He help us love Him heart, soul, strength and mind

If we make Christ our Master, then the Best is yet to come

Death's solemn due, the doorway to Eternity with Him

The lordship of Me-Myself-I, mines deeps of futile yen

If we make Christ our Master He will satisfy. Amen 

Janet Martin

Josh Turner - I Serve A Savior (Official Audio)

JIM REEVES HAVE THINE OWN WAY LORD with LYRICS 

Holiness of Today or Sacredness of Seeds

Pondering planting is an annual almost-spring activity.

We never plant without hope for a good harvest

of fruit and flowers!

This line of thinking woke today's poem

as I pondered the sacredness of seeds!

(those we plant and those we don't)

We cannot reap what we do not sow

just as surely as we will reap what we sow!

Each day is like a fallow field

Soon strewn with seeds of word and deed

Consider then, some morrow's yield

When harvest will expose the seed

Each morning grants a fresh re-start

For sacred seeds waiting to spill

The Giver of  Today imparts

All that we need to trust/do His will 

He grants the soundness of His Word

To equip us with truth and love

For the harvest is undeterred

In the fruit seeds are bound to prove

...where trodden fields we leave behind

May seem to weave a transient path

But we should ever keep in mind

The future of their aftermath

(For stumbling blocks and stepping stones

Are scattered in word and deed's toll

 Where carriages of skin and bones

Traverse their wake, bearing the soul)

The seeds that fill the heart and mind

Are bound to spill in word and deed

Of truth that frees or lies that blind/bind

God, help us pay more earnest heed

...to the holiness of Today

And seed-responsibility

Where the harvest of do-and-say

Is up to likes of you and me

Today awaits our words and deeds 

God, help us as we sow, to keep

Close watch on sacredness of seeds 

We and/or our children will reap 

Janet Martin

Luke 8:4-8 & 11-15

The Parable of the Sower

4And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable: 5“A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. 7And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. 8But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded [e]a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

The Parable of the Sower Explained

11“Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. 13But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of [g]temptation fall away. 14Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. 15But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.[h]

Worthy (Wealth Evaluation)

We live in an age not so very much different as ages past...

of good intention juxtaposed with temptation

and 'being wise in our own eyes' 

and not always trembling at the consequence of disobedience/rebellion,

and its ripple effect...

In 1 Samuel 15

God rejected Saul as king after Saul rejected/disobeyed

the word of the LORD, though Saul repented,

the consequence of his disobedience could not be reversed!

1 Sam.15:20-23

And Saul said to Samuel, “But I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, 

and gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me, 

and brought back Agag king of Amalek; 

I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 

21 But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, 

the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed,

to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”

22 So Samuel said:

“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,

As in obeying the voice of the Lord?

Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,

And to heed than the fat of rams.

23 For rebellion is as the sin of [d]witchcraft,

And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.

Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,

He also has rejected you from being king.”

Who do we listen to as we make countless choices every day?

Whose authority do we reflect/reject 

as we prove who we belong to; God or self?

Do we consider our choice worth the cost?!!

Andrew Peterson - Is He Worthy?

All who belong to the Father

Belong to the King of kings

Heirs and joint heirs of love’s Author

And the shares this Sonship brings

He is our regal provision/position

He is the Way, Truth and Life

Anchoring hope where derision

And opposition runs rife

His wealth defends faith's discourses

Inheritance beyond ken

Wellspring of unplumbed resources

Bids us draw and drink. Amen

What unfathomable stature

Instills mortal dust to dust

Partakers of divine nature

Escapees of evil's lust

Lord, lest leprosy of spirit

Some sinful longing sustains

Pray Lord, search the heart and try it

Lest a wicked way remains

God is love; love never forces

Anybody to believe

But the riches He endorses

Each yielded heart will receive

Satisfying the soul's hunger

With love's infinite supply 

Pity all who drift and wander

Disillusioned by the eye 

Unaffected by the Saviour

Unwilling to 'taste and see'

   Choosing death's selfish/sinful behaviour

Rather than bowing the knee

Worship is the revelation/elevation

Of who we most love and crave

Either the God of salvation

Or gods, powerless to save

Do we rejoice to assemble

With fellow-heirs, undeterred

By this world's off'rings, to tremble

At the power of God's Word

Are we part of faith's profession/procession

 Washed in the blood Jesus spilled

 Do we treasure faith's possession

Of God's promises fulfilled

 

Janet Martin

Rom.8:17

and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, 

if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

1 Pet.4:12-13

Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you,

 as though some strange thing happened to you;

  13but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings,

 that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.

2 Pet.1:10-11

Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, 

for if you do these things you will never stumble;

 11for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly

 into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.