The Most Important Things in Life...

Heb.10:35-36 (BSB)

So do not throw away your confidence; it holds a great reward.

 36You need to persevere, so that after you have done the will of God, 

you will receive what He has promised.

Doesn't each part/phrase of the above verses

give great truths and conditions to ponder and prize

as we persevere?!!

This hawk has made life a misery for the little birds this winter,

but it is hungry too,

and only doing what it must to survive

though it is heartbreaking to watch!

It is heartbreaking to watch suffering and feel helpless to alleviate it

because we cannot (thank God!) do what only He can

through the Comforter/Helper He has given, to all who believe

and receive the Holy Spirit.

John 14:15-18

If you love Me, [d]keep My commandments.

 16And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another [e]Helper,

 that He may abide with you forever— 

17the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive,

 because it neither sees Him nor knows Him;

 but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 

18I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.

The most important things in life 

Are ministered where no one sees

But He who runs the heavens rife

With ineffable majesties

The Maker, Ruler, Keeper of

Heaven and earth is good and kind

His patient, everlasting love

Enough, if Want is thus inclined 

...to seek life's most important things

From God's momentous smorgasbord

Of invisible offerings

Veiling recompense of reward

We choose either seen or Unseen

Faith boasts in what it cannot see

In spite of the dark glass between

Man's questions and God's clarity 

As sure as the spark upward flies

We are born to sorrow and pain

Where what we understand God tries

With reasons no one can explain

God cares for creatures great and small

Such knowledge is too wonderful

Behold, a sparrow cannot fall

Outside love's kind peripheral 

While goodness and mercy run rife

-est through broken hearts and dreams, for

The most important things in life

Teach us to trust and love God more

So, as we hope, pray, dream and plan

Lord, help us learn through what life brings

To love You first, then fellowman;

These are life's most important things

Janet Martin

Only Trust Him

The Ways We Want

Faith can sit down before mysteries and say 'The Lord is good'.

(From the book Consolation by Mrs. Chas. E. Cowman)

'Our grief can never be greater than God's.'

(from my oldest sister who called this morning)

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, 

a worker who does not need to be ashamed, 

rightly dividing the word of truth.

2 Tim.2:15

Have Thine Own Way, Lord

Right now I believe many in our church family feel

utterly heartbroken, leaving nothing remaining but 

to entrust our broken pieces to the Hands of the Potter/Healer!

Oh Lord, your ways are not our ways...

Then search and know our hearts;

Try and know our anxieties;

 And see if there is any wicked way in us,

And lead us in the way everlasting.

(Ps.139:23-24)

The ways that we would orchestrate through fancy's earth-dimmed lures

Would oft serve to alleviate what faith alone endures 

Because we cannot comprehend God's thoughts, misunderstood 

Or how He guards Want's ways that wend in conflict to our good  

For though our spirit boasts of noble mind, the flesh is weak 

We are not nat'rally inclined to want what we should seek

 Or to be boldly unashamed to take God at His Word

The ways we want would rush untamed to ruin undeterred 

 God, rich in love and mercy, ordains ways beyond our ken

He guides us through Time's sin-cursed vein to victory. Amen

Our grief is His; where sorrows fret He sorrows all the more

Sometimes we are prone to forget where earth-dimmed views implore  

...then, because what we suffer God has suffered too, He grants

His Comforter; a buffer against darts of Circumstance

We need you, Lord, to intercede, in ways where we would roam

Without Your rod and staff to lead us safely Home, sweet Home

Janet Martin

But for a Moment This

Faith; the contentment/confidence of hope without proof.

Of questions without answers.

Amy Lambert - I Cannot Find The Way Alone

 

2 Cor.4: 16-18

Therefore we do not lose heart. 

Even though our outward man is perishing, 

yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.

  17For our light affliction, which is but for a moment,

 is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,

  18while 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.

But for a moment this;

The troubles of this world

The sorrow of so much amiss

Of tears, like seas unfurled

Where some treat sin's discourse 

As if a trivial thing

Living without fear or remorse

That repentance would bring

Where disobedience

To God's holy commands 

Runs bold while mercy's providence

Replenishes the lands

 

And His unfailing love

(though oftentimes mistook)

Restores the soul; a picture of

Elijah at the brook 

While waves of sorrow roll

As graves collect our dust

But for a moment this, my soul

Faith's thoroughfare of trust

Enough to cry, 'Behold

A cloud, but hand-span wide!'

Assured, as in the days of old

Thou, Lord God, wilt provide

Janet Martin

The Lord your God is with you,

 the Mighty Warrior who saves.

 Zephaniah 3:17

Be Still My Soul - Eclipse 6

To Put Our Trust In Thee, Oh God...

Deut.29:29

“The secret things belong to the LORD our God, 

but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, 

that we may do all the words of this law.

So much in life we will never understand!

Our church family is mourning the loss of our pastor

who passed away suddenly yesterday afternoon!

Please keep his family and our church family in your prayers 💔🙏

Our hearts are broken, so broken...

Phil.4:19

But my God shall supply all your need 

according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

A timely devotion from Springs in the Valley...

Psalm 78

The first stanza of the poem below poured through me

as I was (reluctantly) waking up this morning...

Thank-you God!

To put our trust in Thee, oh God

Is to release the ‘why’

For human acumen cannot

Thy thoughts and ways descry

To put our hope in Thee, oh Lord

Is never in sad vain

Because the beacon of Thy Word

Will never shift or wane

To put our faith in Thee alone

No matter what life brings

Is to entrust each gale and groan

To mercy’s hidden things

To trust and hope, by faith in Thee

Oh God, is to release

All we can never know or see

Into Thy perfect peace

Until the glad and glorious day

When Soul sheds dust-to-dust

And time like mist shall melt away

In Thee we put our trust

Janet Martin

Psalm 143:8
Let me hear Your loving devotion in the morning, 

for I have put my trust in You. 

Teach me the way I should walk, for to You I lift up my soul.

Psalm 62:8
Trust in Him at all times, O people; 

pour out your hearts before Him. 

God is our refuge. 

Selah

Psalm 130:5
I wait for the LORD; my soul does wait, 

and in His word I put my hope.

Lord From Sorrows Deep I Call (Psalm 42) 

With Lyrics By Matt Boswell and Matt Papa

Ps.42 Hope in God

My Anchor Holds

Faith Dare/Prayer

It's another snowy, blowy day in Ontario!

At 5:30 a.m. we had to call my brother

to blow some mammoth snow drifts before Jim could leave.

By the time he was gone I was wide awake,

granting a cozy morning (for me😅) opportunity

to read, pray and meditate deeply on eternity-impacting truths.

This poem was written with utter joy and utter sorrow;

utter joy for all who by faith live an authentic,

humble testimony of love and obedience to God

(our topic at small group last night)

(and remembering we are all broken and all fall 

and there is forgiveness for all true repentance)

...and also utter sorrow for all who have 

not by faith received the gift of Salvation that

 God is waiting/willing to give to all who call on Him in truth.

We can do nothing other than by faith believe

in the finished work of the cross,

to receive God's gift of grace;

A gift, that when received,

will change everything we do!

Without faith it is impossible to please God. Heb.11:6

and faith without works is dead. James 2:17

We are saved by grace, not works Eph.2:8-9

for good works He prepared in advance for us to do. Eph.2:10

***

 

The gift of God no works can earn; by His grace we are saved

Through faith, (so none can boast) but turn from sin to Christ alone

He paid salvation's gruesome price upon the cross He braved

And by sin's final sacrifice laid faith's Chief Cornerstone  

By faith, we repent and receive salvation's gift of love

By faith we accept and believe the power of the cross

By faith we press toward a Goal this world knows nothing of

And by this faith that makes us whole we count all things but loss 

Faith, the substance of things hoped for, no eloquence can tell

As, by God's grace Forevermore holds unrivaled appeal

Because of His redeeming love that saves the soul from hell

 Faith's joy transcends the fickle glove of what we think-see-feel

Faith is the shield able to quench the darts of evil foes

Faith fits us for the fight; it's benchmark 'I surrender all'

Faith is full confidence in He whose Word/Will none overthrows

Faith, the fruit of humility picks us up when we fall 

The Author and Perfecter of our faith, endured the worst

To prove the extent of His love, He paid sin's penalty

Now faith and love are possible because He loved us first

And gave Himself to free mortal from death's captivity

 

Someday mortal will don the robe of Immortality

The righteous will shine as the sun as faith is turned to sight

All who deny God's gift of grace purchased at Calvary

Will waken on that day to face rejection's wailing plight 

Once we were all doomed to God's wrath through Adam and Eve's Fall 

Before we chose the holy path that only faith can claim  

Through that which only God can give; His blood-bought acquittal 

Then, by faith's diligence to live to glorify His Name

Rejection's recompense, oh, who is bold enough to dare

To wait until it is too late to call, then vainly grieve 

Oh! hearken to His Voice, his love and grace beyond compare

And by faith, make the sacred choice to repent and believe 

 Janet Martin

John 3:14-17

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, 

even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 

 that whoever believes in Him should [c]not perish but have eternal life. 

 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, 

that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 

 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, 

but that the world through Him might be saved.

Rescue the Perishing

Modern-day Miracle

It doesn’t all get fixed and made right until the very end.

 Until then? It is hard, and He is with us.

Dorcas Smucker~ Presence and Presents~

Author of Notes From The Sparrow's Nest

Below Devotion from Pathways to His Presence 

by Charles Stanley

SO many people I love are being tried by hard circumstances, 

common to this broken, sin-cursed world,

but difficult as ever!

The Miracle-worker of old is the Miracle-worker of today!!

Oh pray that we call on Him until we hear Him say

'Son/daughter, Thy faith has made thee whole.

Go in peace...' Mark 5:34

It is not often up to us

To pick and choose the hues of life

The path of day-to-day runs thus;

Through golds and grays of joy and strife

The unpredictability

Of what we can see, but in part

Invites us universally 

To trust in God with all our heart

For circumstances rise and fall

Poverty and prosperity

Both contend with the beck and call

Of love's accountability 

We pick and choose hues of reply;

Whether we will acknowledge He

In all our ways, who knows the 'why'

That He withholds from you and me 

Today's Altar of Sacrifice

Invites us to believe in God

Who paid pardon's ultimate price

And sheds His saving love abroad

...where, though it is not up to us

To choose the ups and downs that spill

The path of joy and peace is thus;

To hope in God and trust His will

Because until we shed the part

That cradles the immortal soul

To trust the Lord with all our heart

Will prove the faith that makes us whole 

What age-old joy, to go in peace

Because 'Thy faith has made thee whole'

What modern-day miracle, this;

To rest in God's perfect control

Lord, bid obedience begin

With godly fear, humble and true

The miracle You work within

Starts with my/our faith and trust in You

Janet Martin

For each of life's let-downs there is  a 'look up'!

Rom.5:1-5

Therefore being justified by faith, 

we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

 2By whom also we have access by faith

 into this grace wherein we stand, 

and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

 3And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: 

knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

 4And patience, experience; and experience, hope:

 5And hope maketh not ashamed; 

because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts 

by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

Jeremiah 17:7-8
But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, 

whose confidence is in Him. 

 He is like a tree planted by the waters 

that sends out its roots toward the stream. 

It does not fear when the heat comes, 

and its leaves are always green. 

It does not worry in a year of drought,

 nor does it cease to produce fruit.

Prov.3:5-10

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

And lean not on your own understanding;

6In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He shall [b]direct your paths.

7Do not be wise in your own eyes;

Fear the Lord and depart from evil.

8It will be health to your [c]flesh,

And strength[d] to your bones.

9Honor the Lord with your possessions,

And with the firstfruits of all your increase;

10So your barns will be filled with plenty,

And your vats will overflow with new wine.

I know I've shared this hymn many times,

partly because it is a fav. 

I love the picture the words paint,

resting in the cleft of the Rock!

Sweetly Resting (In the Rifted Rock)

To Be or Not To Be...Content

The Unknown groans with highs and lows...

it is up to each one of us to choose 

whether we will be content in whatever state we are!

Phil.4:11

Not that I speak in regard to need, 

for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content:

Revelation 2:10

Do not fear what you are about to suffer...

Be faithful even unto death, 

and I will give you the crown of life.

The birds can be so happy one minute then...

...along comes this troublesome trial to a bird's life!

and all is a flurry of feathers as they flee to the safety of bushes

When trouble comes we can choose to be a frantic flurry of feathers

or Be still and know that He (God) is (still) God.

 Ps.46:10

To be or not to be, (regardless of lessons God grants)

Content to house the trinity of faith and hope and love

To not be tossed about by winds of change and circumstance

That foster fear and doubt; not peace this world knows nothing of

To be or not to be, (in spite of fresh, popular trends)

Convinced of what is right because God really did so say

Not being double-minded, to please beloved peers and friends

But by God’s commands guided to humbly trust and obey

To be or not to be (because faith’s prize comes with a price)

Wary of logic that seems wise but its way leads to death

To trust the Lord with all our heart, not Reason’s ready vice

To do our willing part to serve Him with each gifted breath

To be or not to be (no matter what the cost demands)

Content, for God grants liberally according to His will

To prove faith, whether built on solid rock or sinking sands

To believe He who pardons guilt and bids the storm be still

To be or not to be (whatever tests both smile and frown)

Content, without controversy, because God’s Word is true

To all who love His appearing He has reserved a crown

To let this be faith’s cheering quest is the best we can do

The Unknown groans with highs and lows and everyone must choose

Either the comfort God bestows, or this world's cheerless chase

Thus, till this little life is spent we accept or refuse

To be, or not to be content in the peace of God's grace

Janet Martin

I'd rather have Jesus by Jim Reeves with Lyrics

Rejoice!

Heb.11:1

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for,

the evidence of things not seen.

Away In A Manger

Good Christian Men, Rejoice

Chris Tomlin - O Come, O Come Emmanuel (Lyric Video)

Though sorrow still abounds, God gives us reason to rejoice

Though tragedy confounds and explanation has no voice

Rejoice! And let love’s gladness spill into a hymn of praise

Faith’s Author and perfecter will not fail us, all our days

Though darkened and hardened hearts grope and misled hordes pursue

Rejoice! for Jesus, mankind’s Hope is trustworthy and true

The love that drew salvation’s plan conquered death’s darkest hour

The Name that rescues souls of man will never lose its pow’r

Though death appears the victor of the spoils of life, rejoice!

The grave is not the picture that gives courage to faith’s voice

But the good tidings of great joy, of peace on earth, goodwill

Because Bethlehem’s Baby Boy is mankind’s Savior still

So then rejoice! And glorify the Name above all names

Jesus came to save you and I from death and hell’s dread claims

Come and kneel at the manger where the King of kings was laid

Rejoice! He is no stranger for by Him we all were made

Rejoice! This is no Season-song but wonder’s lifelong hymn

The Gift that keeps faith’s courage strong, the Light no night can dim

No circumstantial evidence can thwart the power of

Jesus, who seals the recompense of faith and hope and love

Janet Martin

O How I Love Jesus | Lydia Walker ft. Doug Ott 

Joy to the World John Berry

Wonder-witnesses

Last night I got home after Jim (husband) was sleeping and he got up early to leave

so I got up as well to see him off.

then I was wide awake so I settled down for some 'quiet-time'

(such as praying for my sister-in-law Karen who is having 

a hip-replacement surgery today!! prayers valued)

but, my quiet-time was soon interrupted by a rather

suspicious rustling, so I set the mouse traps I have been saving for Jim to set,

...then returned to reading and writing (a few minutes ago I heard a 'snap!')

The background music and backdrop of poetry is often anything but poetic!!

This poem was inspired in part by a conversation this morning

 (while we waited for the coffee to brew) about

how it's harder to get the Christmas 'feeling' as we get older...

Also in part by my devotion passage from Isa.43.

As I read through the chapter I was suddenly so thankful

for the Christmas 'knowing' which is better forever

than just a 'feeling'.

We, by faith are witnesses of Hope's reason!

We are witnesses of wonder!

Isa.43:10-11

“You are My witnesses,” says the Lord,

“And My servant whom I have chosen,

That you may know and believe Me,

And understand that I am He.

Before Me there was no God formed,

Nor shall there be after Me.

11 I, even I, am the Lord,

And besides Me there is no savior.

We are witnesses of wonder...

He whose Word will never dim

Causes earth and sky to thunder

With the evidence of Him...

(upstairs window with a screen was my only option

to capture December dusk yesterday)

a wonder-evoking beauty in spite of being blocked by buildings

We are witnesses of wonder

He whose Word will never dim

Causes earth and sky to thunder

With the evidence of Him

Causes creation to capture

Eyes and ears with sight and sound

Overflowing hearts with rapture

As both great and small confound

We are witnesses of glory

So we may know and believe

In He who fulfilled love's story

Hope, joy and peace to achieve

He whose servant-like behaviour

Purchased pardon for sin's debt

Hallelujah, what a Saviour

Dying in the sinner's stead

We are witnesses of promise

Only faith can apprehend

As we fix our eyes on Jesus

And hope's assurance defend

As we trust the One and Only

Author and Perfecter of

Faith; as His truth cheers the lonely

With His everlasting love

We are witnesses of wonder

Where good tidings of great joy

Break the bars of hell asunder

Through Bethlehem's Baby Boy

Glory to God in the highest

Glory to the King of kings

Glory to His love unbiased

And the hope that Jesus brings

He, wounded for our transgression,

Bruised for our iniquities

Through Calvary's intercession

Fulfilled ancient prophecies

We, witnesses of salvation

We, who by His stripes are healed

Sing with joyful exaltation

For the Lord's pleasure revealed 

We are witnesses of 'Knowing'

What the angels sang about

Of the love of God bestowing

Light to pierce shadows of doubt

Of the Word that makes His dwelling

In the likes of you and me

Witnesses of Christ's compelling

Love for all humanity

Janet Martin

Mary's Boy Child- Jim Reeves

Jesus, Joy of the Highest Heaven (A Children's Carol) - Keith & Kristyn Getty

To Be Obedient and True...

My oldest grandson is having a life-lesson

in what it means to give his fears to God

and trust Him when he is afraid!

After a tragic accident the other week claimed the life of both parents

of a family they were/are quite closely connected with

he expressed his fears this morning, as he and his siblings are preparing

to spend the day at our house to give our daughter and husband a day to themselves

to be refreshed a bit during this season of grief...

'but what if you get in a car crash?'

They explained to him they will do their part to drive carefully

and then we need to trust in God and not live in fear.

To trust God is faith's first step of obedience,

as we trust Him for our salvation!

Through faith's reverence for God's Word/promises

His love for us grows our love for Him! 

My prayer is for my grandson to begin discovering

God's joy and peace in his childhood, 

as he learns to trust because none of us can see

what lies ahead!

To be obedient and true to God whose commands never shift

Would be impossible to do without love for His glorious gift

Through Jesus Christ, who sacrificed His life to break the curse of sin

And, all who repent and believe, receive His divine pow'r within

To be obedient and true wreaks havoc with our stubborn/fearful will

Until we yield without holds to He who alone can joy fulfill

Then as we walk by faith not sight, trusting, knowing God will provide

His law will be our chief delight and Self more readily denied 

To be obedient and true to God's commands is to secure

The riches of His promises through tests faith is bound to endure

Because we, without tragedy and loss would not find wealth untold; 

The proven character of faith, more precious by far, than much gold

To be obedient and true, to seek God and His Kingdom first

Would seem a thankless thing to do while idolizing/idealizing goals, sin-cursed

But, when we repent and believe, we receive faith's glorious goal

That none but God's grace can achieve or grant; salvation for the soul 

We all like sheep have gone astray and turned from our Shepherd, the Lord

Who died upon a cross to pay a debt that no one could/can afford

Like a Lamb led to slaughter He bore the chastisement we deserve 

Oh, pray faith's eloquence will be obedience without reserve 

Janet Martin

Philippians 2:8

And being found in appearance as a man,

 He humbled Himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross.

Hebrews 12:2

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith,

 who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, 

scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Isaiah 53:11

After the anguish of His soul, 

He will see the light of life and be satisfied. 

By His knowledge My righteous Servant will justify many, 

and He will bear their iniquities.

Eph.2:1-10

And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,

  2in which you used to walk when you conformed to the ways of this world and

 of the ruler of the power of the air, 

the spirit who is now at work in the sons of disobedience.

  3All of us also lived among them at one time, 

fulfilling the cravings of our flesh and indulging its desires and thoughts. 

Like the rest, we were by nature children of wrath.

4But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 

5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses.

 It is by grace you have been saved! 

6And God raised us up with Christ 

and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,

  7in order that in the coming ages 

He might display the surpassing riches of His grace, 

demonstrated by His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

8For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, 

and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God,

9not by works, so that no one can boast. 

10For we are God’s workmanship,

 created in Christ Jesus to do good works,

 which God prepared in advance as our way of life.

This Life Is Not Carefree

1 Pet.5:6-9 NIV

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, 

that he may lift you up in due time. 

7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

8 Be alert and of sober mind. 

Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion

 looking for someone to devour. 

9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, 

because you know that the family of believers

 throughout the world

 is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

Any good we receive,

Any good we give

Is possible only

because of God's faithful goodness first!

Ps. 119:67-72

Before I was afflicted I went astray,

But now I keep Your word.

You are good, and do good;

Teach me Your statutes.

The proud have forged[k] a lie against me,

But I will keep Your precepts with my whole heart.

Their heart is [l]as fat as grease,

But I delight in Your law.

It is good for me that I have been afflicted,

That I may learn Your statutes.

The law of Your mouth is better to me

Than thousands of coins of gold and silver.

Between what was, and waits

Today unfolds faith’s due

Where joys and sorrows rush dawn's gates

Where trial’s tests pursue...

This life is not carefree

Beneath Refinement’s rod

Happiness grants no guarantee

Unless/until we trust in/yield to God

Between what was, and waits

Today unfolds faith’s due

Where joys and sorrows rush dawn's gates

Where trial’s tests pursue

God, in each hour of need

Attends humility

He grants us power to proceed

Where life is not carefree

So then, press on, assured

For we are not alone

As we face cares not yet endured

And battles not yet won

If God is on our side

Defeat will not prevail

For He is near; his truths abide

His purpose will not fail

His loving kindness hears

Devotion’s agony

Beneath refinement’s rod appears

An angel of mercy

…and faith is overjoyed

What God deigns, we will do

As we, cast down but not destroyed

Faith and courage renew

For life is not carefree

Where sin’s consequence pains

God’s love, proven at Calvary

Still faithfully sustains

Author of earth and Heaven

Love oft must suffer loss

With every care, Thy grace is given

To help us bear its cross

We thank Thee, faithful Lord/God above

For Thou art good always

Though life is not carefree, Thy Word/Thy love

Anoints our souls/goals with praise

Janet Martin

Be Thou My Vision — Kings Return | A cappella Hymn