Showing posts with label assurance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label assurance. Show all posts

Thursday, December 22, 2022

Miracle-worker


As I prayed about the various uncertainties that life runs rife with
no matter who or where we are, my prayer became a plea
for God to work a miracle of steadfast trust/faith in me.
Many today are hoping for a weather-miracle!!
This morning's weather headlines are no joke,
and we should pay attention!


God's Word is full of warnings too
and we should pay attention!
It is hard to hear Him, isn't it,
without the comfort and caution of His Word in our hearts
to guide, cheer and equip us for the fight of faith!
May the miracle of trust in God's unfailing promises
transform our outlook and attitude!


In all things giving thanks with awed sincerity
Where the framework of circumstance is but the part we see
Oh, pray that in the Must of dust-to-dust’s ado
That God would work a miracle of trust in me and you
With vision undeterred, not to be ruled by fear
But through the power of His Word, to feel God’s presence near
Then, with hope’s strength renewed, oh pray for the increase
Of miracles of gratitude to instill joy and peace

© Janet Martin

...while we do not look at the things which are seen,
 but at the things which are not seen. 
For the things which are seen are temporary, 
but the things which are not seen are eternal.






Thursday, February 18, 2021

Loving Proof

 

A new day is upon us; what waits, we do not know
Only the One who grants it can see where it will go
Then, with this sweet assurance that He will lead the way
We ought not to proceed, love, before we pause to pray

Joshua 1:9
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."

An Important Truth to learn and remember
whether we are very young or very old...



We don’t know what the day will bring 
Before its fling is through 
We don’t what we’ll lose or win 
But Lord, you do 

We don’t always love like we should 
Or use time’s gifted due 
To work toward the greater good 
But Lord, you do 

We don’t have what it takes to earn 
Eternal life, it’s true 
Or open Heaven’s gates in turn 
But Lord, you do 

© Janet Martin


Deut.6:5-8

 5Love the Lord your God with all your heart 
and with all your soul and with all your strength. 
6These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.
 7Impress them on your children. 
Talk about them when you sit at home 
and when you walk along the road, 
when you lie down and when you get up. 
8Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.
 9Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

Tuesday, February 16, 2021

What Wonder Fulfilled



Inspired in part by this morning's Ann Voskamp's FB daily devotionals,
after a night of finding MUCH to worry pray about!


1 Pet.5:7
...casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

Psalm 23:4
'Thou art with me'

Sometimes these verses above slip our mind
as we flounder in the gutter of
Worry/concern!

Today's prayer;
Dear Lord, Help us to cling to You
With faith's tenacity 
But if faith's grip should slip, to see
It is You holding we
Amen~





What joy to know, no matter what 
We are not all alone 
The One who made us never does 
Forsake His very own 
What comfort sweet to cast our care 
On Him, who sees and knows 
Then find the faith to leave it where 
No foe can interpose 

What peace to release to His keep 
The way that we must go 
Where, though the valley seems so deep 
What confidence to know 
That with us IS a Counselor, 
A Comforter and Friend 
One who equips His follower 
His edicts to defend 

What love, that He does not cast out 
We, prone to doubt and fear 
But hears us; we don’t need to shout 
He understands a tear 
What love that He should pay the price 
And that His law would be 
Mercy, rather than sacrifice 
To honour His decree 

© Janet Martin

Thursday, January 7, 2021

Something to Sing and Shout About!


Gold breaks the brooding mold
No dark can bar the Light!
No threat of man can overthrow
God's mercy or His might 



Dark dread mingles with undying hope these days, doesn't it!
Remind us, oh, Lord
1 John 4:4
Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: 
because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.





Arise, arise, arise
Seize hold of Mercy's prize
Nothing can sway
Hope's anchored Stay
Though oft the tempest tries

Again, again, again 
Ever since time began 
The wellspring of 
Eternal love 
Renews mercy to man 

From day to day to day 
It does not fade away 
But with each morn 
It is reborn 
To comfort mortal clay  

Beware, beware, beware 
Of doubt and pride's despair 
Lest the good fruit 
That would take root 
Is smothered by its tare 

Then pray and pray and pray 
Love’s perfect law obey 
Lest we forget 
The promised Yet 
That draws nearer each day 

Amen, amen, amen 
No mortal scheme can ban 
The wellspring of 
Eternal love 
That flows from God to man 

Then cheer and cheer and cheer
Stand guard with holy fear
As prophecy
Fulfills 'hear ye'
Redemption draweth near

Then shout and shout and shout
Something to sing about
Mercy renewed
Let gratitude
Extinguish seeds of doubt

© Janet Martin

Something to sing about forever and ever.
Truth is an anchor no tempest can sever!
Hallelujah!

To all (in Rome) who are loved by God and called to be his holy people:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 1:7

Saturday, October 24, 2020

Soul/Sole Security


Seems fall-lovers here in Ontario
continue to be thrilled to the max by 
an exceptionally colorful version of the season
in what has been an exceptionally trying year!
The picture below is from a photo-poem desk calendar 
I received out of the blue (no birthday or anything) the other year
from my sister; I keep re-enjoying it because there's always pages I've missed or forgotten!
(I think that's why each season never loses its splendor; the missing and forgetting😊)



No matter what season we are in
may it always be a season of prayer,
Because Time is a turbulent tide!
Sickness of body and soul 
and so much beyond our control
insist we choose either faith or fear
to be compass and guide...

Fear flings us into foaming deeps
without a hope or prayer
is the firm anchor that keeps
us from drowning in despair


We surf a sea of season-tides 
What hides in its momentous deep 
Could keep us from hope’s sheer delight 
And rob us of laughter and sleep 

We bobble between faith and fear 
Because there is no clear-cut course 
Carved through the waves that vault and veer 
And dash us with violent force 

No one can claim clear-sailing grants 
Or tame the turbulence of Test 
Where surf and turf of circumstance 
Is always volatile at best 

Nobody knows what lies ahead 
How then can we find joy and peace 
Fear fills our hearts with doubt and dread 
Where dark the doleful clouds increase 

Faith finds the anchor that abides 
In He who hears each humble prayer 
And cups the sea of season-tides 
And all its ‘surfers’ in His care 

Then since, beyond our control
The toll of time rolls like the sea
Surely the faith that makes us whole
Is our sole/soul security

 
© Janet Martin 

Matthew 8:26
"You of little faith," Jesus replied, "why are you so afraid?" 
Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, 
and it was perfectly calm.

There are SO many seasons in life not marked by a calendar!
For whatever season we are in here's hoping
we have a Friend to weather whatever the weather be...






Monday, October 19, 2020

Thy-Way or My-Way Highway





How easy it is fall from Sunday morning's pew-secure 'Thy-Way, Lord
to Monday morning's My-way Highway😐

and the past few devotions
...are part of the inspiration for this poem

Holy and wholly Thine 
Lord, teach us how to pray 
Thy kingdom come 
Thy will be done 
Thou Potter, I, the clay 

Except the kernel falls 
Into the ground and dies 
It cannot yield 
The goodly field 
That broken seed supplies 

The hardest death we die 
Is veiled in life's façade
As we resign 
The will of ‘mine’ 
To ‘Thine alone, Oh God’ 

Aha, tis not the gift 
That anchors and assures 
But mortal lives 
Through He who gives 
And only death/faith secures 

How easily we fall 
Not to the ground to die 
But to the taunts 
Of selfish wants 
And mistrust’s crafty lie 

Holy and wholly Thine 
No lesser pleas avail 
Thy kingdom come 
Thy will be done 
All else is but to fail 

© Janet Martin 

Thy kingdom come, 
Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Matt 6:10

Monday, September 7, 2020

Of Confidence and Trust Well-placed


Nothing quite compares to the pain of realizing 
the trust we put in someone is betrayed
and our confidence shaken/mistaken!
But that's the way we are
especially when driven by our mortal bent;
we disappoint each other!


For all that comes and goes where nothing stays the same for long
Where learning bends with heavy blows and Mercy lends a song
We find this romancing of dust a futile quest until
Our confidence and trust is yielded to the Giver’s will

The greatest loss that man endures is loss of faith in He
Who our deathless soul secures for all eternity
Where in the race of dreams we chase and wars of love and lust
We need someone in which to place our confidence and trust

We cannot lose when we choose to put utter faith in God
Though we cannot explain the ways and means of Mercy’s rod
He will not disappoint; but only if we fully place
Our trust and confidence into His law of love and grace

My, my man’s stubborn selfishness can wreak havoc with hearts
And wound the tender trust of others with pride’s verbal darts
How often we should look into the mirror of God’s word
He helps us see far clearer what our mortal bent has blurred

Then, by His all sufficient grace our weakness is made strong
In this old world where nothing stays the same for very long
He does not change; He will not fail, He knows we are but dust
And His love will never betray our confidence and trust

© Janet Martin 


Psalm 71:1
In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust: 
let me never be put to confusion.




Saturday, June 13, 2020

Source of Refreshment




Depth of being craves refreshment from a Source that hidden springs
Longs for more than wars that drain the bounce from feet that once wore wings
Seeks Something beyond the borders hinged to heav’ns from sea and sod
Depth of being craves refreshment that can only come from God

Hope hones something skin and bone is not equipped to satisfy
All we have and hold and touch will fade into the by and by
Like a bud that bursts with beauty ere the petal strews the dust
Hope hones something deeper than the skin and bone of wanderlust

Longing cannot find salvation in the promises of man
Shallow is the celebration limited to this world’s span
For the mortal is instilled with Hidden immortality
Longing is the hand that reaches for the hand that holds Hope’s Key

Depth of being craves refreshment from wells not hollowed from dust
Hope hones something that can only be attained through humble trust
Longing cannot find salvation in the props people applaud
Depth of being craves refreshment from the Fount of Faith in God

© Janet Martin

Psalm 36:8
They feast on the abundance of Your house, 
and You give them drink from Your river of delights.



Tuesday, May 26, 2020

Oh Lord, Our God




Oh, Source of hope divine
That bids heart’s storm be still
What blessed joy and peace is mine
When yielded to Thy will

Oh, kind and faithful Friend
The well-spring of Thy love
Has no beginning and no end
Immortal and enough

Oh, Name above all names
The Way, the Truth, the Life
Thy Word assures where reason blames
And longing wields its knife

Oh, Lord of Heav'n and earth
Creation's architect
Originator of all birth
To whom all is subject

Oh, bulwark for Belief
Compassion’s offering
You long to gather us beneath
The Shelter of your wing

Oh, fountain filled with grace
Thanksgiving overflows
For what You bore in our place
To save us from hell’s throes

Oh, steadfast strength and Stay
Oh, mentor for the soul
Instill in us today, I pray
The faith that makes us whole

Amen

© Janet Martin

 Eph.3:14-19
 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, 
to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
 May be able to comprehend with all saints 
what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, 
that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.