Because The Heart Is Prone To Fear...

The heart is prone to fear

The eye to what it sees

Without God’s Word to commandeer

How gullible are these

The ear is how we hear

With voice we speak and sing

Without God’s Word to enrich cheer

How hollow noises ring

From minds, thought is unfurled

The hand follows, with deed

Without God’s Word, to gain the world

Still cannot sustain need

Bodies are born to die

Dust-to-dust, the Soul’s gown

Without God’s Word, hope is a lie

And knowledge but a clown

The Soul, God-breathed, endures

Beyond mortality

Faith in God and His word secures

Its holy destiny/victory

Headlines spew hateful wrath

And forecasts, dark and grim

God’s Word is a Light to our path

No woe/foe its glow can dim

Better to trust the Lord

In all we do not know

Because the power of His Word

No force can overthrow

The heart is prone to fear

Fear blinds us to the hills

Where God draws flaming chariots near

With peace His Word instills

The heart is quick to yield

To fear and dread and doubt

God's Word is both a sword and shield

None can survive without

© Janet Martin

Eph.6:13-17 BSB

13Therefore take up the full armor of God,

 so that when the day of evil comes, 

you will be able to stand your ground, 

and having done everything, to stand.

  14Stand firm then, 

with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, 

with the breastplate of righteousness arrayed, 

15and with your feet fitted 

with the readiness of the gospel of peace.

  16In addition to all this, 

take up the shield of faith, 

with which you can extinguish all

 the flaming arrows of the evil one. 

17And take the helmet of salvation 

and the sword of the Spirit, 

which is the word of God.

Blessed Assurance

My Anchor Holds

Stayed on Thee

Isa.26:3

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace,

whose mind is stayed on thee:

because he trusteth in thee

'Now what? Now how?',

my heart seemed to cry this morning

as I thought of Les and his family,

 post-wedding-prep flurry and distraction

Pre-everything that yet remains to be...

(for all of us)

'Now What? Now how?!' I cried

for everyone suffering ongoing sorrow

...and the verse above ministered to my cry

and comforted me 

May it comfort you too.

My Faith Looks Up To Thee 

‘Mind stayed on Thee’ what confidence hope’s careworn courage finds

What peace anoints grief’s wounds, that God, so rich in mercy binds

What comfort cheers life’s ups and downs, where this world’s troubles groan

What joy (in spite of Sorrow) crowns the gape of the Unknown

‘Mind stayed on Thee’ Thy word is truth; faith’s footing held secure

Trustworthy for both aged and youth, armour for rich and poor

Though generations rise and fall like waves upon a sea

Thy Word abides through all of time and all eternity

‘Mind stayed on Thee’ no substitute can console or appease

No mortal merit can compute what God alone decrees

Ah, Heaven’s earthly ordinance nothing can overthrow

Able, in every circumstance to conquer every foe

‘Mind stayed on Thee’, hope’s sure anchor where tempests roar and toss

How trustworthy is He who bore the horror of the cross

Who knew no sin but became sin, each sinner to atone

Savior and Redeemer, amen. Death and hell overthrown

‘Mind stayed on Thee’, no sweeter solace can our spirits find

No purer peace, God’s purpose is compassionate and kind

Though oft misunderstood, until with humble mind renewed

We yield and trust Love’s perfect will with awestruck gratitude

© Janet Martin

And I will pray the Father, 

and he shall give you another Comforter, 

that he may abide with you for ever;

John 14:16

I have told you these things,

 so that in me you may have peace.

 In this world you will have trouble.

 But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Jesus~

John 16:33

.

Yea, Though I Walk Through the Valley...A Prayer

 

I received the postcard below in the mail last week,

Painted by my friend 

this was yesterday's devotion...

Every day I am comforted by visits, messages, phone calls, 

scripture, cards, meals, food-gifts, flowers, songs and prayers

Thank-you all so very much!

As, through each kindness I learn

God's faithfulness at every turn

On Sunday, as I gazed at this view at my friend's home...

...I felt the presence of this verse...

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: 

he leadeth me beside the still waters.

Ps.23:2

Dear Lord, supply my need today

To trust Your will, Your Word, Your Way

To love Your law then, to obey

In Jesus precious Name, I pray

Your rod and staff, they comfort Me

Your armour thwarts the enemy

Though dark the passage through death’s vale

The Light of Your Word will not fail

Dear Lord, in Thee I put my trust

Until my frame returns to dust

Help me to be faithful and true

Until my soul returns to You

I love you Lord, let nothing mar

My confidence in who You are

Through every gasp of grief and pain

Your perfect purpose will sustain

Your goodness and mercy abide

Save me from doubt's rebellious pride

Your thoughts reach far beyond my ken

In Jesus' name I pray, Amen

© Janet Martin

Psalm 23:1
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Philippians 4:19
And my God will supply all your needs

 according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

Sharing the link to  two stunning

and new for me songs sent to me this morning...

What a Broken Heart Can Do-Brian Free & Assurance 

Cares Chorus-Kelly Willard 

I can almost here Lucy exclaiming over the songs!!

Faith's Final Resting Place

Precious in the sight of the LORD

 Is the death of His saints.

Ps.116:15

This poem was inspired by a message from a friend,

on the morning of Lucy's funeral

This friend has suffered/suffers the grief of losing a sister as well as her husband.

“Watching a dear sister being laid in her final resting place

 is exceedingly painful', she said,  'but God is there”

Through our 'growing up years', our wise dad would remind us to live

in the good times in a way to prepare us for the bad times.

Learn scripture in the good times

to cling to in the bad times.

Love your Lord in the good times,

fellowship with Him

so He is no stranger in the bad times ..

The song below became very precious to me in the spring

 after the sudden death of a neighbour and friend,

also due to a tragic accident.

I have listened to it countless times and cherish the lyrics so much! 

(copy of lyrics at the end of this post!)

I Set My Hope on Jesus

Faith’s final resting place, no sweeter grief to brave

Than the death of a saint whose soul returns to God who gave

Where we who still hold fast still wonder at the scene

That greets faith’s gaze at last without a dark glass in between

Where worship’s hallelujah flows unmarred by care

Of toil and trouble’s mortal woes, we who remain yet bear

Faith’s final resting place, no richer recompense

As man’s salvation, by God’s grace gains faith’s inheritance

Bought with the blood of Christ, the promise we received

From the Lamb of God sacrificed, the hour we believed

And then, what comfort sweet, attends the grieving soul

In death the price of death’s defeat reveals faith’s Sacred Whole

Faith’s final resting place lies not beneath cold sod

But in love's beautiful embrace and faithfulness of God

For, precious in His sight is the death of a saint

Therefore though we mourn we will fight the Good Fight and not faint

As we hope in the Lord; His Word sustains the flight

Until the final resting place as faith is turned to sight

Janet Martin

2 Tim.4:7

I have fought the good fight,

 I have finished the race,

 I have kept the faith.

Lyrics

When this life of trials test my faith

I set my hope on Jesus

When the questions come and doubts remain

I set my hope on Jesus

For the deepest wounds that time won't heal

There's a joy that runs still deeper

There's a truth that's more than all I feel

I set my hope on Jesus

I set my hope on Jesus

My rock, my only trust

Who set His heart upon me first

I set my hope on Jesus

Though I falter in this war with sin

I set my hope on Jesus

When I fail the fight and sink within

I set my hope on Jesus

Though the shame would drown me in its sea

And I dread the waves of justice

I will cast my life on Calvary

I set my hope on Jesus

I set my hope on Jesus

My rock, my only trust

Who set His heart upon me first

I set my hope on Jesus

Though the world called me to leave my Lord

I set my hope on Jesus

Though it offer all its vain rewards

I set my hope on Jesus

Though this heart of mine is prone to stray

Give me grace enough to finish

'Til I worship on that final day

I set my hope on Jesus

I set my hope on Jesus

My rock, my only trust

Who set His heart upon me first

I set my hope on Jesus

I set my hope on Jesus

My rock, my only trust

Who set His heart upon me first

I set my hope on Jesus

I set my hope on Jesus

Songwriters: Matt Boswell / Matt Papa / Keith Getty

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

2 Cor.4:18

...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.

O, come All Ye Faithful-Don Williams

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.

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~

You Never Let Go

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

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.

Greater Is He-Sixteen Cities

Arise, My Soul, Arise

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

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

Faith (even mustard-seed in size) 

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...

What a Friend We Have in Jesus

Thy-Way or My-Way Highway

It's All About Him-Alan Jackson

How easy it is fall from Sunday morning's pew-secure 'Thy-Way, Lord

to Monday morning's My-way Highway😐

Yesterday's message 

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

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.

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.