Faith-Booster

In need of a faith-boost?

Today's devotion is a beautiful reminder

of truths that abide, regardless of what may seem!

By Faith" from Praise and Harmony's Resurrecting God CD

Only a Holy God -Praise and Harmony

We walk by faith and not by sight

No need to know or fret or fear

As step by step we trust the Light

Of God's Word to direct and cheer

Faith walks by the way of the cross

For sinless Christ bore mankind's sin

And suffered Mercy's Albatross

This is no minor, trifling thing

Faith walks in the power of prayer

How limited is mortal might

How finite is the thoroughfare

That winds through highs and lows of sight

Our God forgives when we confess

Faith believes and walks in His grace

As far as east is from the west

His love/blood removes transgression's trace

Ah, what more do we need than this;

To have a God who intercedes

Though much may be sadly amiss

We walk by faith because God leads

Among all gods, none are like Thee

Thy words and works beyond compare

Transcending the small part we see  

We walk by faith; faith walks by prayer

Unite our hearts to fear Thy name

Lord, let Thy law be awe's delight 

Until, returned from whence we came

Help us to walk by faith, not sight

Armed with the Spirit's sword, Thy Word

Faith's shield to quench enemy darts

We step into the fray, oh Lord

Open the eyes of our hearts

Janet Martin

Sharing this chapter as well so it may minister to your soul

as it did to mine this morning. 

Ps 86

Bow down Your ear, O Lord, hear me;

For I am poor and needy.

2 Preserve my [a]life, for I am holy;

You are my God;

Save Your servant who trusts in You!

3 Be merciful to me, O Lord,

For I cry to You all day long.

4 [b]Rejoice the soul of Your servant,

For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

5 For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive,

And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.

6 Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;

And attend to the voice of my supplications.

7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon You,

For You will answer me.

8 Among the gods there is none like You, O Lord;

Nor are there any works like Your works.

9 All nations whom You have made

Shall come and worship before You, O Lord,

And shall glorify Your name.

10 For You are great, and do wondrous things;

You alone are God.

11 Teach me Your way, O Lord;

I will walk in Your truth;

[c]Unite my heart to fear Your name.

12 I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart,

And I will glorify Your name forevermore.

13 For great is Your mercy toward me,

And You have delivered my soul from the depths of [d]Sheol.

14 O God, the proud have risen against me,

And a mob of violent men have sought my life,

And have not set You before them.

15 But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious,

Longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth.

16 Oh, turn to me, and have mercy on me!

Give Your strength to Your servant,

And save the son of Your maidservant.

17 Show me a sign for good,

That those who hate me may see it and be ashamed,

Because You, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

Forward and Up...or, Till Face-to-Face, Faith Sees!

John 8:36

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

A new week, a new day, not to travel backwards but forward and up...

by the grace of God!

Forward and up, Lord, help us look

Not back, disheartened by regret

When we faith’s fealty forsook

By foolish desire beset

When, disregarding Thy commands

To love Thee first, then fellowman

We sought the strength of our own hands

Rather than Thy purpose and plan

Forward and up, Lord, help us press

As we, Calvary’s quest recall

The purchase-price of forgiveness;

You gave Your life to ransom all

You give Your everlasting Word

To be an undefeated Light

In a world where logic is blurred

By sensuality and sight

Forward and up, Lord, help us face

Today, unhampered by regret

But humbled by Thy gift of grace

Salvation from sin’s binding debt

And truth no liar can annul

Where love and mercy intercede

Forgiveness, not in part, but full

‘Whom Thou sets free is free indeed’

Forward and up, Lord, help us look

With hope and joy unspeakable

Because at Calvary you took

Our place, and paid sin’s debt in full

This is no fickle faith we boast

No fleeting Prize we press toward

Or defend to the uttermost

Forward and up to Thee, oh Lord

Forward and up, without eyes glued

To that which has been done away 

Forward and up; mercy-renewed

Anoints each virgin break of day

Forward and up with awestruck praise  

For love beyond our wildest ken 

Forward and up, with steadfast gaze 

Till face-to-face faith sees! 

Amen. 

Janet Martin

Psalm 16:8

I have set the LORD always before me. 

Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Psalm 119:37

Turn my eyes away from worthless things;

 revive me with Your word.

2 Corinthians 4:18

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.

 For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Matthew 6:22-23

The eye is the lamp of the body.

 If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 

 But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. 

If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

Faith's Battle Hymn

Whatever the struggle, fear, trouble, pain or loss

These sorrows pale in comparison to Calvary's cross

Whatever we suffer, oh pray, we see its worth unfurled;

A deeper dependence/reliance on God than this old, helpless world 

James 1:2-8

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 

3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces [a]patience. 

4 But let patience have its perfect work, 

that you may be [b]perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, 

who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, 

for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 

7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;

 8 he is a double-minded man,

 unstable in all his ways.

My faith looks up to Thee

Our tears are not in vain

The wordless prayers we groan

Are steppingstones of grief and pain

That lead us to Thy throne

Our valleys dark with dread

The ways we cannot see

Are avenues where faith is led

To wholly trust in Thee

The storm that tosses trees

The battles, fierce and long

The mountain we must climb; through these

The sufferer grows strong

Through these, by Thy kind love

We find, to faith’s surprise

The riches of a treasure trove

Thy grace alone supplies

Then, though faith cannot see

And though it never can

It rests its head upon Thy knee

And trusts Thy perfect/purposed plan

And as faith waits on Thee

It does not fret and pine

But suffers its Gethsemane

With ‘not my will but thine’

Sin sires this world’s woe

Greater Lord, is Thy might

Equipping faith to face its foe

With strength gained in the fight

Then, though we suffer long

Lord, save us by Thy grace

And for Thy glory keep faith strong

Till sight unveils Thy face

Let no shadow of doubt

Fall between faith and Sight

If fear sends demons, cast them out

And flood faith's path with Light 

Janet Martin

Whether in the precious prime of youth,

or aging,

or aged, 

or full of life,

or on our deathbed

only faith in the Giver of Life

can save us,

can strengthen us

 for this life's battles

and hurdles.

Only by faithful faith

are we fitted for Heaven! 

Care-cure

Matt.11:28-30

Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

29Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me,

for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

30For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” ~Jesus

1 Pet.5:6-7

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God,

 that He may exalt you in due time, 

7casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

Matt.6:34

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, 

for tomorrow will worry about its own things. 

Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. ~Jesus

Today's devotion was a timely command and reminder for me!

Maybe it will be for you as well...

Whether personally, 

or in our immediate families, 

or extended family,

or friend-'family' or church-family, 

or community-'family'

there are immense cares and needs, aren't there?!

There is a cure for care

In a world trouble-torn

There is a steadfast solace where

Courage can be reborn

There is a cure for care

(for care is bound to be)

And we all need a refuge where

Fear and dread’s shadows flee

When disappointments sting

When pain and loss oppress

When body and soul suffering

Afflict hope’s happiness

There is a cure for care

Where faith and mercy meet

God bids us come to Him in prayer

And lay them at his feet

His feet, scarred with prints of

The cross of Calvary

He beckons with unfailing/undying love

‘Come, cast your cares on Me

My all-sufficient grace

Will prove faithful and true

Through every creature-care you face

Because I care for you

Pour out your humble plea

Each burden that you bear

Until, with joy you taste and see

There is a cure for care

Janet Martin

Oh Lord, how we need Your guidance,

Your provision and Your perfect will to work in us;

in every resisting, erring, selfish, doubtful, impatient part

work your wonder in our hearts!

Near to the Heart of God

JIM REEVES HAVE THINE OWN WAY LORD 

As We, Want's Cases Plead

Lord, where we err

 in our thinking, 

teaching, serving, 

seeking, worshipping, 

reveal it unto us!

Lord, wherever

 and in whatever circumstance

 we find ourselves today, 

you care for us!

Lord, a deeper fear 

and thus love for thee, 

work in us

Thou, Holiest of holies 

and Best of the best

***

Romans 8:17
And if we are children, then we are heirs: 

heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ—

if indeed we suffer with Him, 

so that we may also be glorified with Him.

Philippians 1:29
For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ 

not only to believe in Him,

 but also to suffer for Him,

James 1:2-3
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, 

when you encounter trials of many kinds, 

because you know that the testing of your faith

 develops perseverance.

Acts 5:41

So they departed from the presence of the council, 

rejoicing that they were counted worthy

 to suffer shame for His name.

A bud is but the waiting room

of the unfolded Flower...

A prayer is like a bud; it's bloom 

awaits its perfect hour

Last week my neighbor-tots eagerly bent over buds

While I reminded them; 'no picking!'

Yesterday they 'visited' me while I was working.

suddenly shrieks of delight were heard!

The buds had turned into flowers!

Oft we want answered prayer

Without full-yielded hearts

In our logic, oft we err

Where trust its test imparts

Oft we want finest fruits

Without Love's pruning rod

 To tear away at sinful roots/shoots

That choke the Word of God 

Oft we defend the cure

Without probing the cause

Until motive is wholly pure

Without self-serving flaws/clause

Oft we want faith's reward

Without faith's suffering

As witnesses for Christ, out-poured

Like a drink-offering 

Lord, show us where we err

As we, Want's cases plead

Teach us to trust as you prepare

Faith's fallow ground, for seed  

Janet Martin

Philippians 2:17
But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering

 on the sacrifice and service of your faith, 

I am glad and rejoice with all of you.

Of Seeming and Certain

First an update on the prayer requests HERE

Dad is being released from the hospital today!

and the family that moved to their new home

 made it safely to their destination yesterday evening!

Thank-you for your prayers!

Yesterday our youngest grandson turned four!

A little over a month ago our granddaughter turned 7!

in Jan. our oldest grandson turned 9!! Wh-a-at?!

Our children/grandchildren cannot begin to grasp how much they are loved;

by God, their parents and grandparents!

Just as we, all God's children cannot grasp how much we are loved by Him!

As my utmost prayer for my children continues, that they would choose God; 

to love, trust and obey Him, to treasure His Word and his people,

so too is my prayer for my grandchildren! 

I pray that in the twists and turns of life's pathway, 

in the fumbles and stumbles of learning, 

in the crushing blows that fell pride 

and in the disappointment of Things,

they discover over and over again, 

just like (hopefully) us oldies, Rom.11:33

'the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!

How unsearchable are His judgments, and untraceable His ways!'

3 John 4

 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children (and grandchildren)

are walking in the truth.

We need not fear; God sends the test, our allegiance to try

His is the hand that tips the nest and teaches faith to fly

His seeming cruelty is love; He takes to give again

His purpose works in us to prove His faithfulness. Amen

We need not doubt the baffling blade that breaks desolate land

When disappointment's shares invade, behold, there is God's Hand

He ploughs to plant an Eden-clime in plots of pain and grief  

To loosen grips on Things of Time that are, at best but brief 

We need not dread the Hand that tries the ties of mortal whim 

To see if perchance we may prize this old world more than Him

God's seeming cruelty is love; His higher thoughts and ways

If we believe, will prove enough to burst our hearts with praise 

We need not know the holy why of Time-framed seeming loss

The cocoon veils a butterfly! before the crown, the cross! 

Before the flower garden, oh, the breaking of the sod

The surrender of letting go, to know that He is God

To lean on Him in grateful prayer, to worship truthfully 

*Praise rends the chains of dark despair and sets our spirits free

To trust in God, heart, soul and mind, when we don't understand

He tips the nest so that we find the cradle of His Hand

God's seeming cruelty is love; look at the cross and see

Beyond the 'seeming hour of defeat', the victory 

Beyond the fallen tear, bowed head, when death the champion seems

Behold, where once the seed seemed dead, a glorious harvest gleams

Janet Martin

Oh, how painful God's ploughshares in our 'hard acres of the heart'!

Oh, how worth the harvest to let Him sow His seeds! 

But oh, how lifelong is our learning to let go;

and how lifelong is our wonder/worship when we do! 

To Mothers...(and Fathers and Sons and Daughters...)

Written for my mom for Mother's Day/Days!

(she is modeling such kind, patient and loving care to our dad

as he suffers some health challenges. She is teaching

her aging family what marriage vows look like faithful to the end,

with humility and gentleness, by the grace of God)

Thank-you for your continued prayers.

I've shared this song many times over the years

because I love it and it often ministers to my soul!

Keep your Eyes on Jesus - Louvin Brothers

When life's outlook could overwhelm

Love, and distract us from its Source

Remember who stands at Hope's helm;

The up-look keeps our bark on course

When duty's kind demands amass

Till the outlook our joy could dim

Think on the love none can surpass;

The up-look keeps our gaze on Him

When the outlook feels fraught with care

As tolls on hands and hearts increase

Remember He who hears our prayer

The up-look keeps our perfect peace

Janet Martin

Isa.26:3

You will keep him in perfect peace, 

Whose mind is stayed on You,

Because he trusts in You

Matt.14:27

But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying,

 Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.

A Hymn/Psalm/Poem of Consolation and Two Prayer Requests

Life; a thoroughfare of hurdles!

Where does our help come from?!!

Ps.121:1-2

I will lift up my eyes to the hills—
From whence comes my help?
My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.

  Jer.17:5-8

This is what the Lord says:

“Cursed is the one who trusts in man,

who draws strength from mere flesh

and whose heart turns away from the Lord.

 That person will be like a bush in the wastelands;

they will not see prosperity when it comes.

They will dwell in the parched places of the desert,

in a salt land where no one lives.

 “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,

whose confidence is in him.

 They will be like a tree planted by the water

that sends out its roots by the stream.

It does not fear when heat comes;

its leaves are always green.

It has no worries in a year of drought

and never fails to bear fruit.”

Please, if you read this pray for my parents;

Dad in hospital with UTI and quite restless and confused.

Pray he may have a calmer day today!

And pray for my mother to be strengthened physically,

mentally and spiritually during this strain.

Please also pray for my friends packing up today,

to move to another province;

 one of their children is sick today!

Please pray for speedy recovery and strength for everyone

as they pack everything that can possibly fit into a U-Haul.

Please pray as well, for safe travels tomorrow,

that God would go (tangibly) before them and

And part modern day Red Seas! 

***

Below is one of the hymns we (dad, mom and me) sang last night

in dad's hospital room. 

Singing calmed him when nothing else seemed to work.

What a Friend We Have in Jesus

Let faith in God my fortress be

Invisible security

No height or depth of wealth transcends

 Goodness and mercy's dividends 

No summit of success compares

To hope in He who hears our prayers

No confidence comforts the soul

Save in the faith that makes us whole

No satisfying substitute

Can nourish like the Spirit's fruit

No other ear can hear hearts plead

And minister to urgent need 

No voice but his can part the sea

Of man's impossibility 

No thoughts and ways can comprehend

The blessings He delights to send 

No earthly joy can strengthen, save

The one who commands wind and wave 

Whose whisper calms the storm-tossed heart

With peace only He can impart 

Able to do exceedingly 

More than we can fathom or see

No cross can crush nor shadow dim

As we believe and trust in Him

Janet Martin 

For the family moving I am praying miracle over miracle

showered on them today and in the days ahead! 💓🙏

Harbinger to the Feast

Ps.139:23-24

Search me, O God, and know my heart;

Try me, and know my anxieties;

And see if there is any wicked way in me,

And lead me in the way everlasting.

Since 2019 our church family has suffered many

sudden losses and very deep grief and comfort,.

The above verses have become my heart's cry

as I call on the name of God,

as we learn to wait on the Lord

without answers to His thoughts and ways...

as we truly, humbly learn the prayer of Jesus in Gethsemane;

Luke 22:42

yet not my will, but yours be done.”

But in our suffering God has never failed!

Ps.68:19

Blessed be the Lord,

Who daily loads us with benefits,

The God of our salvation! Selah

Matt.6:26

Look at the birds of the air; 

they do not sow or reap or store away in barns,

 and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. 

Are you not much more valuable than they?

Luke 21:28

 Now when these things begin to happen,

look up and lift up your heads, 

because your redemption draws near.”

Lift up your head;

Do not despair

The fruit beyond the famine waits

God grants the bread

Of answered prayer

To we who hold out hallowed plates

Until the hour

is fulfilled

And Christ alone is our plea

Until His power

Has instilled

Worship’s unmarred humility

And dashed to naught

Want’s willful pride

That hinders the blessing withheld

Until each thought

Is self-denied

And every erring appeal felled...

Hark! Catch the hum

Of rumbling trains

Heaped with the fruit of yielded will  

No lin’gring crumb

Of Self remains

To stay the feast God joys to spill 

Janet Martin

Proverbs 17:3
A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold, 

but the LORD is the tester of hearts.

Temporal Trinity-Faith, Hope and Love

1 Cor.13:13

And now abide faith, hope, love, these three;

but the greatest of these is love.

This was first one four-stanza poem...

Before it caught fire, and became three poems in one

Just as the light of morning breaks the dark of night, so too

By faith and hope in Him, God wakes a love we never knew...

By Faith in God we are made whole and fitted for its test

By Hope, God anchors our souls where warring winds molest

By faith, the part we cannot see defends the part we do

By hope, secured at Calvary, we know love, kind and true

By faith we trust in Jesus' name; by faith our fear is awed

Because hope brings us, not to shame but to the love of God

...and as His love is shed abroad in our hearts, we find

The joy of faith and hope in God brings peace to soul and mind

*** 

By faith our hope was justified the hour we believed

And rejoiced in Christ crucified for the grace we received 

...because the love of God did not reject atonement's price

He gave Himself; redemption wrought through I AM's sacrifice  

Just as the light of morning breaks the dark of night, so too

By faith and hope in Him, God wakes a love we never knew

His love empowers and sustains the faith and hope we boast

In Christ alone whose love remains true to the uttermost

***

Faith is the substance of Hope's Roar; of Evidence unseen

Until Love swings ajar a Door with no dark glass between 

Then, face to face we will behold Him; glorious Three-in-One  

Faith and hope will melt like a mold of mist kissed by the Son 

The peace that guarded heart and minds with Love's surpassing pow'r

Will rend the mortal bud that binds the petals of the flow'r

Where love will forever endure, and praise will ever be

Worship's fragrance, perfect and pure throughout eternity

Janet Martin

Rom.5:1-5

Therefore, having been justified by faith,

 [a]we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand,

 and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, 

knowing that tribulation produces [b]perseverance; 

4 and perseverance, [c]character; and character, hope. 

5 Now hope does not disappoint, 

because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts

 by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

"By Faith" from Praise and Harmony's Resurrecting God

Equipped to Endure...

It is wise and good as we wake, to yield to God our everything 

Then to put on His armour before we face what today will bring...

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.

He restores my soul;

He leads me in paths of righteousness for His Name's sake

Ps.23:1-3

I sense a collective groan from spring-hungry Ontarians this morning...

(unless you're a maple syrup producer!)

We are SO ready for green pastures!

so THIS is what was in yesterday's captivating clouds!

...and golden-dusk shadow-play

and green pastures and still waters!

It is not for the faint of heart to climb time’s winding flight of air

Not knowing what may try the part that smarts with holy groans of prayer

There is no certainty but this; the loving faithfulness of He

Whose promises span the abyss twixt Today and eternity

It is not for the faint of faith to brave daybreak’s virgin release

Not knowing what may try the grace whereby we find true joy and peace

But this we know; God keeps His word with love beyond perception’s ken

His Sovereignty is undeterred and works for our good. Amen

It is not for logic to judge God by façades of creature care

While the deceiver tries to budge hope’s anchor with doubt and despair

God’s Word abides; Truth does not shift like rolling waves or shadowed glade

Arise; embrace the gleaming gift of this new day the Lord has made

Arise and know it is for us He keeps His covenant of old

No need to fear or fret and fuss for He is in perfect control

His suit of armour is enough to equip us to stand and fight

For this we know; faith, hope and love pierce death’s darkness with life and light

It is not for the faint of heart to wonder where today's 'stair' leads

What peace to know God will impart the means to know faith's dues and needs 

Lord, give us ears to hear need's cries and eyes to see beyond Self's world 

Then find, to faith's humble surprise unspeakable treasure/wonder unfurled 

Janet Martin

Someday, by the grace of God we will look and marvel...

so THIS is what those clouds held/veiled! 

It's Not An Easy Road

“The Lord Is My Shepherd” | Sermon by Charles Spurgeon | Psalm 23:1

A sermon rich with reminders and challenges;

One quote esp. caught my ear since we are praying, trusting 

and waiting on the Master to provide a fulltime teaching pastor

 for our church/flock at WBC.

'When we look to the pastor but not to the Master,

the Master says, 'They are looking to the wrong person

so they shall get nothing.' But, when we look to the Master

He often supplies our needs through the pastor."

Better Hope

Tomorrow's Sunday School lesson is about the wise men

who traveled a lo-o-o-ng way to find Jesus, 

and did not stop seeking till they found Him and worshipped Him

Today's poem is inspired in part by pondering this account

and partly by today's devotion from Heb.7 

esp. v.18,19

18 For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment

because of its weakness and unprofitableness,

19 for the law made nothing [e]perfect;

on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, 

through which we draw near to God.

&25

25 Therefore He is also able to save [h]to the uttermost 

those who come to God through Him, 

since He always lives to make intercession for them.

Thank-you Jesus, for the Better Hope

which crowns common task/toil with holy purpose!

May we all seek to be 'wise men' seeking to

find and follow Jesus!

The 'Christmas' Story brings us to the 'Easter' story;

God's timeless and season-less love story!!!

We The Kingdom - Light of the World (Sing Hallelujah) [Lyric Video]

He saves them to the uttermost who come to Him in truth

And through the Better Hope He wrought love needs no further proof

His consolation is a refuge to which all may flee

Therein the soul is anchored through the truth/hope that sets us free

Praise Jesus for the Better Hope that faith’s persuasion brings

And worship He who gave Himself to bring us better things

Through the gift of salvation, each who repents and believes

Inherits the fulfillment of the promise faith receives

Thus we, heirs of the full assurance of His promises

Are shod with the gospel of peace and called to holiness

To endure patiently the service of Self sacrificed

Not slothful but prepared to suffer for the sake of Christ

Praise Jesus for the Better Hope this world can never boast

His cross-shaped promise crowns all He saves to the uttermost

And fills us with His purpose until we are called away

He bids us not grow weary in well-doing till that day

If it were not for Better Hope how mean would seem earth’s strife

If not for God’s goodness and mercy each day of our life

We surely would fall prey to he who seeks to compromise

Faith, with appealing subtlety of worship-stealing lies

God, make us like the wise men from the east who traveled far

To find the Child and did not cease from following the Star

The Star that did not disappoint or lead astray, or dim

The Star that shines with Better Hope for all who hope in Him

Janet Martin