Cage-Rattling Joy...

John 16:33

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.”

1 Thess.4:13-18

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

concerning those who have fallen [a]asleep,

lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.

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

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

15 For 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 [c]asleep. 

16 For 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. 17 Then 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. 

18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.

***

Imagine if we could not comfort one another with God's words from scripture!

Surely, then life would be a hopelessly fearful undertaking,

each day's impending unknowns dark with dread and discouragement!

SO many tragedies could leave us disillusioned,

 our hearts irreparably broken,

Faith would be crushed with despair,

 but for the treasure of sure hope through the shed blood of Christ!

2 Cor.4:7-9 (read the whole tender chapter HERE)

Now we have this treasure in jars of clay 

to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us. 

8We are hard pressed on all sides, but not crushed;

 perplexed, but not in despair;

 9persecuted, but not forsaken; 

struck down, but not destroyed.

Where flowers bloom midst dire tides of doom and gloom forecasters spew

Where God's unfailing Word abides; each morning His mercy is new...

Before a fresh burst of unknowns rattles the cage of Time and Place

Where, praise the Lord, faith's stepping stones are set in sands of hope and grace

Where flowers bloom midst dire tides of doom and gloom forecasters spew

Where God's unfailing Word abides; each morning His mercy is new

Where justice will prevail some day so we do not need to despair

Where good or ill, come what yet may, God helps us through each creature-care

Where God, who cares for you and me is greater than faith's crooning foe 

A Very Present Help to we who need His truth and comfort so 

Where we would be deceived without His Word to guide, correct and cheer

And save us from pitfalls of doubt, pride, ignorance, folly and fear 

Where many who have ears are deaf it seems, to thund'ring wonder-storms 

And many who have eyes profess no knowledge of works God performs 

Where all will someday give account to He whose breath of life we draw 

While drinking from a glorious fount of favours that pray, authors awe 

...and courage, to fight the Good Fight, strong, pure and faithful to the end

Armed with the power of God's might and peace thought cannot comprehend

Where, praise the Lord, faith's steppingstones are set in sands of hope and grace

Where joy transcends bursts of unknowns rattling cages of Time and Place

Janet Martin

Where Could I Go-Emmylou Harris 

Our Sorrow Comes As No Surprise...

 

The benchmark of obedience reveals the hallmark of faith~

Prov.3:5-6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight.[a]

Today's post is inspired in part as I am reading the book of Job

and in part by a recent devotion...

Our sorrow comes as no surprise to He who works for our good

What appears is a brief disguise for purposes misunderstood

To trust the Lord with all our heart rather than lean on mortal ken

Requires yielding every part; heart, soul and mind to Him. Amen

God does not fret when faith is vexed with logic stripped of theory

Our well-laid plan is oft perplexed, if but to test humility

Woe’s merit oft veiled at first glance; the pain of loss oft misconstrued

As passion earns faith’s meeker stance and learns love’s deeper gratitude

This world is full of trouble sore; some barely touched, some crushed, it seems

Without fail, death levels the score of life’s temporal field of dreams

It cuts position down to size where no disguise can thwart its ways

And often takes us by surprise but not to God who numbers days

He has prepared a dwelling place for every person that repents

He cheers faith onward as we face the learning/leaning curves of Providence

He helps us as we suffer long, obeying without compromise 

‘When I am weak then am I strong' at last pride's broken spirit cries 

The thoroughfare for faith is forged from broken pieces held to God

When sight is no longer engorged with this world's promiscuous laud

But content with God's no or yes, faith does not fret with futile whys

But focuses on promises no circumstance takes by surprise 

© Janet Martin

Romans 5:1
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, 

we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Romans 8:37
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors

 through Him who loved us.

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

 Lyrics

By faith we see the hand of God

In the light of creation's grand design

In the lives of those who prove His faithfulness

Who walk by faith and not by sight

By faith our fathers roamed the earth

With the power of His promise in their hearts

Of a holy city built by God's own hand

A place where peace and justice reign

We will stand as children of the promise

We will fix our eyes on Him our soul's reward

'Til the race is finished and the work is done

We'll walk by faith and not by sight

By faith the prophets saw a day

When the longed-for Messiah would appear

With the pow'r to break the chains of sin and death

And rise triumphant from the grave

By faith the church was called to go

In the pow'r of the Spirit to the lost

To deliver captives and to preach good news

In every corner of the earth

We will stand as children of the promise

We will fix our eyes on Him our soul's reward

'Til the race is finished and the work is done

We'll walk by faith and not by sight

By faith this mountain shall be moved

And the power of the gospel shall prevail

For we know in Christ all things are possible

For all who call upon His name

We will stand as children of the promise

We will fix our eyes on Him our soul's reward

'Til the race is finished and the work is done

We'll walk by faith and not by sight

Oh, we will stand as children of the promise

We will fix our eyes on Him our soul's reward

'Til the race is finished and the work is done

We'll walk by faith and not by sight

We'll walk by faith and not by sight

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Keith Getty / Stuart Townend / Kristyn Getty

Sometimes, Only When We're Broken...

Until we come to God without any agenda but  'Thy will be done',

comfort cannot begin...

There is nothing like assembling at a graveside

to stir hearts to set priorities into proper perspective...

Much prayerful reflection and contemplation today,

following Cliff's funeral yesterday...

Cliff mentioned HERE

Sometimes sad failure tries to fool me into thinking all is lost

Sometimes love's sorrow comes to school me in lessons I do not want

Sometimes unknowns could make me tremble like a little leaf, wind-tossed

Because impending storms assemble; till I hear above fear's taunt

'Come'

Sometimes, when looking back at struggles, at 'faith's substance' scarred and bent  

Sometimes its weathered tears and troubles forge a gladder countenance 

Because the heart has grown more tender through love's groaning lessons lent

Wakening a once Thoughtless/thankless Spender to Mercy's extravagance 

'Come' 

Fresh courage commits to be braver in the aftermath of loss

Desire's goals seem to grow graver in the shadow of Time's lease 

And dread, that Noose to joy and laughter pales beneath love's suffered cross

 The gentle, scarred Hands of the Grafter, entitles His Masterpiece

'Come' 

Sometimes a tempest-ravaged garden seems a picture of despair 

Where painful pruning veils the guerdon; because such is faith's veneer 

Hark! a sweet, sweet word is spoken like an answer to all prayer

And sometimes, only when we're broken are we still enough to hear 

'Come'

Sometimes, then in the bowed beholding, at a graveside's solemn pose 

As we witness the final folding of dust-to-dust's snuffed façade 

Sometimes then, far from the mad hunger for plunder that death foregoes  

We can hear the silence thunder with the loving voice of God 

'Come' 

Janet Martin 💔🙏

Matt.11:28-29

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; 

for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

 

Matt.14:22-33

And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship,

 and to go before him unto the other side, 

while he sent the multitudes away.

  23And when he had sent the multitudes away, 

he went up into a mountain apart to pray: 

and when the evening was come, he was there alone.

  24But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: 

for the wind was contrary.

  25And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, 

walking on the sea.

  26And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea,

 they were troubled, saying,

 It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. 

27But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying,

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

28And Peter answered him and said,

 Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. 

29And he said, Come. 

And when Peter was come down out of the ship,

 he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. 

30But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid;

 and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. 

31And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him,

  O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

32And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. 

33Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, 

Of a truth thou art the Son of God.

Keep Your Eyes on Jesus

Come, Thou Fount of every Blessing

Come Unto Me

Come, Gracious Spirit

Come Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy

Come to Jesus

Restored...

Matt. 26:30

And when they had sung a hymn,

they went out to the Mount of Olives...

Ascend The Hill - Hallelujah! What A Savior (lyrics)

In the hour, the dark hour when our spirits groan with grief

When the power, the dark power of despair wars with belief

When the struggle, holy struggle strains faith to the uttermost

As life’s trouble, so much trouble tries the merit of its boast

Have you hasted, humbly hasted to the place where hope’s streams flow?

Have you tasted, sweetly tasted peace this world can never know?

Did you hold a little tighter to God’s Truth that cannot dim?

Did your heart grow strangely lighter as you sat and supped with Him?

Did the wonder of Hope’s Essence cheer you onward to faith’s goal?

Did the Thunder of Love’s Presence drive doubt’s shadows from your soul?

Did today’s Divine Director beckon you to hope’s birthplace?

Did faith’s Author and Perfecter bid you trace the scars of grace?

In the hour, the dark hour when the enemy is bold

Does the power, saving power of the cross increase its hold

Does the path you trod grow clearer, in the lamplight of God’s Word

Does love’s cross you bear grow dearer as faith’s fervor is restored

© Janet Martin

 

 

Of Painful Joy or Of Boundless Love

 

Ps. 23:4

Yea, though I walk through the valley

 of the shadow of death,

 I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;

 thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

1 Pet.1:6

In this you greatly rejoice, 

though now for a little while, 

if need be, you have been grieved by various trials,..

Whether on faith's mountaintop

or in the dark, lonely valley

the incomprehensible, steadfast love of God abides

to minister to body and soul's need 

Tell Me the Old, Old Story

This is a poem I am still in the process of learning...

through deep disappointments

and divine epiphanies 🙏

There is no limit to the love of God

Its height and depth thought cannot comprehend

Whether beneath the guerdon of its rod

Or in a garden where soft breezes wend

His love cannot be measured or contained

Nor with ingenious eloquence explained

The love of God is beyond reckoning

He knows the heart of man is vile indeed

The hub of prideful Fancy’s beckoning

Left unbroken, would choke faith’s mustard seed

So, lest we covet what we cannot keep

Faith’s Great Perfecter runs love’s plowshares deep

…with piercing love, He works for our good

Ah, pray for faith to see beyond the part

That is often sadly misunderstood

While He prepares the test-plots of the heart

Until faith’s finely-tilled furrows are sown

With seed that grows for His glory alone

We are the sheep of His pasture. He tends

The welfare of His flock with rod and staff

He rescues, rebukes, comforts and defends

No cost too great to work on our behalf

Because the love of the Good Shepherd knows

The dire danger of wolves in sheep’s clothes

The love of God produces painful joys

For He too faced the Tempter’s crafty charms

A shrewd maneuverer of deadly ploys

To blind us to love’s everlasting arms

To draw us from His word that girds and feeds

Thus, with both rod and staff, love intercedes

Then, for a season, if need be, love grieves

The proving of faith’s shield to quench sin’s darts

Until at last with patience, God achieves

His joy complete, only His love imparts

As the heart yields He overflows its sod

With bounty from the boundless love of God

© Janet Martin

As for This Fellow...

...as for this fellow, we know not from whence He is!

John 9:29

Amazing Grace

Do we listen when He asks us

To trust Him implicitly

On the roadway to Damascus

Have we been struck blind, to see? 

Have we committed to follow

Jesus; to 'fight the good fight'

Or do His precepts ring hollow

Because we still walk by sight 

Does 'the joy still set before us'

Satisfy our cup of grief

Does faith's Canaan-land implore us

To guard against unbelief

Has our stubborn will been broken 

As we looked on Calvary

Have we echoed Wonder spoken

'I was blind but now I see'

Have we fixed our eyes on Jesus

Has 'this fellow' been revealed;

He whose blood-bought pardon frees us

He, by whose wounds we are healed 

Is 'this fellow' our Saviour?

Has transformation begun?

Turning sight-governed behaviour 

Into faith's 'Thy will be done' 

Has Belief sight's barrier broken

By 'this fellow' humbly/wholly awed

Have our eyes of faith been opened  

To behold the Son of God

Dear, once-blind-but-now-I-see-man

Keep your courage undeterred

You will not fall prey to man's plan

Through the keeping of His Word 

Janet Martin 

 

John 9:25

He answered and said, “Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. 

One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.”

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

To Live a Hymn

Yesterday I attended the funeral

of my friend's father-in-law.

He was 65.

Then, I attended a visitation for another friend's son-in-law.

He was 34.

There my friend told me how my sister Lucy's picture hangs near her sewing machine

so she remembers to pray for me and Lucy's family.

(for irregular visitors here; my sister lost her life suddenly 

when she was hit while riding her bicycle last Sept.) 

Lucy was 55. 

When someone we love passes away it brings an end to

conversations, activities, dreams and plans once fondly shared.

But it flings wide the renewed invitation to dredge the deeps of

what truly matters, above all!

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

but the greatest of these is love.

 1 Cor.13:13

Faith in the finished work of the cross!

Hope through Jesus' resurrection!

so we may know God's love

that surpasses knowledge!

1 Cor.15:16-19

16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 

17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 

18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 

19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, 

we are of all people most to be pitied.

John 11:25-26

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.

 The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 

26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. 

Do you believe this?”

Do the above verses not ignite or rekindle a desire

to live the reflection of belief/faith?!

to live a hymn of hope?!

to live the light of love?!!

To live a hymn of love for Thee

O Lord, let this our motive be

To yield Want’s will to Thy command

To trust the leading of Thy Hand

And not with human wisdom try

Reason’s demand to satisfy

But without fail, to find enough

Where these abide;

 Faith, hope and love

To live a hymn to worship Thee

No matter what the cost may be

To know, no matter what our lot

Tis cradled in Divine Forethought

Where, once for all, Thy sacrifice

Suffered and covered pardon’s price

So, we would always find enough

Where these abide;

 Faith, hope and love

To live a hymn of humble awe

O Lord, to delight in Thy law

And then to fill Time's bar of days

With open-handed, thankful praise

Rather than loot of fleeting pelf

That cannot appease gods of Self

Lord, overflow hearts with enough

Where these abide;

Faith, hope and love 

To live a hymn of joy in Thee

With faith and hope's expectancy

Without a dearer purpose than

To love you first, then fellowman

To lay before Thy throne of grace

Each tear that treads the soul or face

Each prayer learning to find enough

Where You provide

 Faith, hope and love

© Janet Martin

Eph.3:14-21

14 For this reason I kneel before the Father,

 15 from whom every family[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name.

 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you

 with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 

17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. 

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 

18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people,

 to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 

19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—

that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,

 according to his power that is at work within us, 

21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, 

for ever and ever! 

Amen.

Read the full glorious chapter of 1 Cor.15 HERE

1 Cor.15:50-58

50 I declare to you, brothers and sisters, 

that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God,

 nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 

51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 

52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. 

For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, 

and we will be changed. 

53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, 

and the mortal with immortality.

 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, 

and the mortal with immortality,

 then the saying that is written will come true: 

“Death has been swallowed up in victory.”[h]

55 “Where, O death, is your victory?

Where, O death, is your sting?”[i]

56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 

57 But thanks be to God! 

He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. 

Let nothing move you.

 Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord,

 because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Below, the last paragraphs of yesterday's and today's devotions from

Streams in the Desert Vol.2

...and last but not least, my most listened to song of 2024...

I Set My Hope on Jesus

For The Sacred Sake of Souls...

Greed, coupled with unscrupulous savvy

 can accrue great worldly wealth,

but at what cost?!

Love, coupled with fear of God

will, through humble generosity

  accrue great heavenly treasure

of unfathomable gain!! 

Which 'wealth' do we pursue?

Who consumes our thought?

Who thrills our soul?

With the word TARIFF weighing on many minds

aren't you SO thankful for Who IS,

FOREVER FAITHFUL/TRUSTWORTHY and TRUE.

You Are Mine

No Friend Like Jesus

All That Thrills My Soul is Jesus

Lest care for temporary gain dictates what we pursue

Lest prayer is a pious refrain or Duty's daily due

Lord, lest we lose faith's fervent love and let it grow lukewarm

With minds set, not on things above, but on earth's fleeting charm 

Lord, for the sacred sake of souls, lest ease becomes a snare

Let trouble take its holy toll to waken us to prayer

Lest we grow blind and deaf and numb to Thy kind faithfulness

Lest heart and soul and mind become consumed with worldliness

Dear Lord, lest pride and greed take root and thus choke out Good Seed

Let trouble waken us to fruit, known by thought, word and deed

Let it expose selfish footholds that grieve You, Holy God  

Lord, for the sacred sake of souls, do not withhold love's rod

Lest our mouth Your praise extols with heart cold and afar

Lord, for the sacred sake of souls, remind us who You are

You are the hope of humankind, You died and rose again!!

All who call on your Name will find rest for their souls, amen 

And You alone know what it takes to make our love more true

You know, tis for Soul's Sacred Sake; trouble draws us to You

Janet Martin

  

Originally I was going to share 

only the last verse of the chapter below

but the whole chapter is so timely and comforting

I changed my mind 🙏💗

Ps.138 NKJV

The Lord’s Goodness to the Faithful

A Psalm of David.

 I will praise You with my whole heart;

Before the gods I will sing praises to You.

2 I will worship toward Your holy temple,

And praise Your name

For Your lovingkindness and Your truth;

For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.

3 In the day when I cried out, You answered me,

And made me bold with strength in my soul.

4 All the kings of the earth shall praise You, O Lord,

When they hear the words of Your mouth.

5 Yes, they shall sing of the ways of the Lord,

For great is the glory of the Lord.

6 Though the Lord is on high,

Yet He regards the lowly;

But the proud He knows from afar.

7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me;

You will stretch out Your hand

Against the wrath of my enemies,

And Your right hand will save me.

8 The Lord will [a]perfect that which concerns me;

Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever;

Do not forsake the works of Your hands.

White as Snow or Triumph's Reservoir

Genesis 15:1

...Fear not,  Abram, (Janet, and all who believe.)

I am Thy Shield and Thy exceeding great reward.

Prayer is the greatest power-source in the universe.

Why do we so often settle for something/someone less

than the Best?!! 

Through God's Word and humble prayer we, through Him,

become who He created us to be

We will never be all we or others wish us to be...

Until/unless we have been crucified with Christ and

'it is no longer I but Christ in me'

then we can be infinitely more

 than thought humanly possible,

not to please people,

but, by and to the honour and glory of God!

The 'more' Christ works in us

may never be applauded by the masses

or perhaps, often times, even noticed...

Such as

The private victory over temptation,

The bridled tongue, 

The second mile,

The altar of sacrifice,

The yielded will, (oft-repeated)

The peace that God alone grants

to all who fear Him and seek/strive 

to live in obedience to His commandments...

The sacred fulfillment of 'Love one another'

The joy, gloriously, mysteriously complete

though we sorrow/suffer,

The power to truly and completely forgive!

...but God knows

and keeps a precious record

of our earthly relationship with Him,

until, some day when we will see Him face to face;

Jesus Christ, our salvation, who through His shed blood,

though our sins were like scarlet

He washed us white as snow!

Isa.1:16-20

Wash and make yourselves clean.

Take your evil deeds out of my sight;

stop doing wrong.

17 Learn to do right; seek justice.

Defend the oppressed.[a]

Take up the cause of the fatherless;

plead the case of the widow.

18 “Come now, let us settle the matter,”

says the Lord.

“Though your sins are like scarlet,

they shall be as white as snow;

though they are red as crimson,

they shall be like wool.

19 If you are willing and obedient,

you will eat the good things of the land;

20 but if you resist and rebel,

you will be devoured by the sword.”

For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Read the whole dire chapter HERE

***

Imagine if snow was scarlet, like sin, instead of white, like redemption!!!

How glorious its whiteness suddenly seems! 🙏

When the groan of Intercession yields no dramatic reply

When our sorrowful confession does not move the earth and sky

When the evidence of Seeing challenges Faith's Things Hoped For

'Christ in us', instills faith's being with whispers to trust Him more

God, whose faithfulness and justice vexes logic's rationale  

Will fulfill his every promise; never slack or forgetful 

He beholds The Precious Many, ignorant of Calvary 

(It is not his will that any should perish eternally)

Love, beyond all comprehension bore death's cross in our stead 

God, rich in mercy's compassion, gave His Own to pay sin's debt

He is ever interceding, for all who call on the Lord

He, both shield and faith's exceeding, everlasting great reward, 

Love, beyond all comprehension holds eternity at bay

Love, whose scarlet intervention washes sin's cursed stains away

White as snow, Redemption's River courses, bridging death's dark rift 

Would that all would trust the Giver of Salvation's sacred gift

 

Then, though groans of Intercession yield no visible reply

When our sorrowful confession does not move the earth and sky

When the evidence of needing challenges Faith's Things Hoped For

'Christ in us', transforms faith's pleading into Triumph's Reservoir 

© Janet Martin 

Blessed be the Fountain of Blood (Lyrics Only)

Alan Jackson-Blessed Assurance (Lyrics)

When the Cares of Life/Love Encumber...

The word 'hope' unless it is anchored

firm and secure in God's promises

is nothing but a puff of air as it passes

through our lips...

My Anchor Holds

Isa.26:3-4

You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.
4Trust in the Lord forever,
For in Yah, the Lord,

 is [b]everlasting strength.

Isaiah 35:3
Strengthen the limp hands and steady the feeble knees!

Job 4:3-4
Surely you have instructed many, 

and have strengthened their feeble hands. 

 Your words have steadied those who stumbled; 

you have braced the knees that were buckling.

***

When the cares of life encumber

When we know not how to cope

He who keeps us does not slumber

But anoints each breath with hope

When a sense of Want oppresses

When faith's enemies accrue

He who satisfies and blesses 

Abides, trustworthy and true

When the brunt of circumstances

Comminutes faith's mustard seed

Our God, rich in mercy grants us

Grace, sufficient for the need

When the Red/Dread Sea rolls before us

And behind, evil hordes prey 

He whose gaze does not ignore us

Will not fail to make a way

When our prayer is but a stammer

  From lips, stripped of eloquence

God, our gracious Interpreter 

Hears the tear and understands 

When the cares of love encumber

When earth's best is bound to fail

He who never sleeps or slumbers

Anchors Hope within the gale

Janet Martin

Under His Wings

Ps. 121

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—

where does my help come from?

2 My help comes from the Lord,

the Maker of heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot slip—

he who watches over you will not slumber;

4 indeed, he who watches over Israel

will neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord watches over you—

the Lord is your shade at your right hand;

6 the sun will not harm you by day,

nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord will keep you from all harm—

he will watch over your life;

8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going

both now and forevermore.