While We Wait...Quietly

God's Waiting Room is a Garden...

From Eden to Gethsemane/Calvary mankind awaited The Messiah (Saviour)

In Eden, perfection marred by sin. Sin, the author of death, trouble and sorrow.

In Gethsemane, utter surrender to the Father's will.

The Father's Will? 

Salvation/Redemption

Today's devotion struck a deep chord in my soul.

Our church family, while still mourning the loss of of our pastor this past winter

are seeking and waiting on the Lord to prepare and provide another.

The tension between seeking and waiting is not a light matter!

Prayers are deeply appreciated on the behalf of our church staff and leaders,

whose 'violin/cello strings' are being sorely stretched!

Waiting introduces suitors 

That test soldiers of the cross

While goodness and mercy tutors

Faith's students with seeming loss  

Waiting without being anxious

Is not for the faint of heart

Beneath God's perfecting purpose

Oft our own ways groan and smart 

To wait quietly, while hoping

Jars with natural desire

To trust without interloping 

 Tries the wise, as if by fire

God's Waiting Room is a garden

Eden and Gethsemane

First the curse and then the pardon

Waiting unveils Calvary 

Then be of good courage, fellow-

Partaker of suffering 

While we wait God's tunes faith's cello

And repairs each broken string

While we wait, hark! God is speaking

To the likes of me and you

While we wait He too is seeking

Worshippers whose love is true 

Janet Martin

Here I Am To Worship | Maranatha! Music (Lyric Video)

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! 

Comfort Beyond Comprehension...

We live in a stunningly beautiful, badly broken world!!

Jim and I enjoyed a little getaway to the rolling hills of Holmes County, Ohio

from Friday to Sunday.

My cup of awe overflowed as I marveled at bucolic views

 of majestic hills, winding roads and Amish farms

and homes tucked in every curve, crook and cranny! 

On Friday and Saturday the community bustled with industry,

buggies and E-bikes...

 but on Sunday all was quiet,

as man and beast (and E-bikes!!) rested!

Then we returned home to the news of a horrific tragedy in our community

that claimed the lives of  five children/siblings

and there are no words to try reconcile such shock and grief!

But there are prayers and just as Jesus promised

before He went to the cross so it is.

'I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you.'

The way to His comfort is found in the gospel of

John chapters 14, 15, and 16 as He prepares and comforts His disciples

just before He who knew no sin was crucified for all of humanity's sins.

In the garden of Eden, sin broke the state of perfection in this world 

and as long as there is sin;

 disobedience to God, there will be trouble and sorrow...

and always God who forgives, strengthens, comforts and helps us

if we confess our sin and trust in Him!

We are so small but God is so Big.

Rom. 11:33

O, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! 

How unsearchable are His judgments, and untraceable His ways!

Isa.55:9

“As the heavens are higher than the earth, 

so are my ways higher than your ways 

and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Ps.103:11

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, 

so great is His loving devotion for those who fear Him.

What this day holds we cannot know

Time's bloom unfolds wonder and woe

Where hope and heartbreak intertwine

As dreams and plans their schemes resign

To He whose steadfast faithfulness

Will never leave us comfortless 

What waits to be of smiles and tears

Of tested faith and holy fears

Of battles fought or triumphs won

Before this fleeting Day is done

Only God knows; His thoughts and ways

Confound the small frames we appraise

What consolation this; to know

When sorrow strikes its sacred blow

We find within our brokenness

'He does not leave us comfortless

With nail-scarred hands He draws us near

And counts and cups each falling tear

Someday, we all will take our turn

To exit this world's live-and-learn

Time is eternity's façade  

And all who put their hope in God

Are comforted, in spite of grief

As we await Promised Relief 

...as beauty and brokenness meet

In awe and horror, bittersweet

As faith alone encounters He

Whose comfort transcends tragedy

A Mystery that He unveils

To all who trust when all else fails

Janet Martin

John 14:23

 Jesus answered and said to him,

 “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word;

 and My Father will love him, 

and We will come to him and make Our home with him.

Dawn's/Worship's Alabaster Flask, Refilled!!

See what great love the Father has lavished on us...1 John 3:1

Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not.
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness. Lam.3:22-23

Today, Lord let me recognize the alabaster flask I hold

Lowered from extravagant skies of purple mist and blushing gold

Wherein like precious ointment of great value, moments will reveal

The nature of my deepest love by at whose feet I come to kneel

And at what cost I prove the part that words alone do not disclose;

The sacred throne-room of the heart, and whose reign my devotion shows 

Lord, pray Thee when today is spent; the alabaster flask of dawn

Broken, and its utter content of priceless love lavished upon

The feet of my Lord/lord  You will say with kind and tender sympathy

'she has done all she could today to show her heart of love to me'

Or else, as too oft the case, Lord (and here ashamed, I bow my head)

Forgive me, where I dumbly poured love's perfume on myself instead 

Today, Lord, grant me eyes to see Dawn's Alabaster Flask refilled

With mercy for humanity, before Worship's Spikenard is spilled 

And lavished on the head and feet of that which I most dearly love 

Where rationale of talk is cheap, as I my lord/lord and Master/master prove

By how the moments of today are perceived, measured and outpoured

Either to howls/jowls of dust and clay or with grateful praise to Thee, Lord 

What love you lavish on us Lord; whether we love you in return

Or turn our backs upon your Word, grace shatters dusk's dust and ash Urn

And brushes eternity's brink with virgin hues beyond compare

The perfume of mercy runs pink-blue-gold through daybreak's supine air

Lord, before we start today's tasks and face the foes that vex faith's guard

Tune us to alabaster flasks where worship waits to spill its Nard 

Janet Martin  

Great Is Thy Faithfulness with Lyrics | Lydia Walker

Mark 14:1-9

Now the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were only two days away,

 and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were scheming to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. 

2 “But not during the festival,” they said, “or the people may riot.”

3 While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, 

a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard.

 She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.

4 Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, 

“Why this waste of perfume? 

5 It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages[a] 

and the money given to the poor.”

 And they rebuked her harshly.

6 “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? 

She has done a beautiful thing to me. 

7 The poor you will always have with you,[b] 

and you can help them any time you want. 

But you will not always have me. 

8 She did what she could. 

She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. 

9 Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, 

what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

When in the Throes of Trouble's Woes

First the snow startled me,

 then it enchanted me...

before it melted in the kiss of the sun!

Life is like weather...

unpredictable and ever-changing!

Sometimes favourable and at other times not what we would choose!

Weather and circumstance are often beyond our control

but we are always in control of our response!

Whether the weather be fine,
Or whether the weather be not,
Whether the weather be cold,
Or whether the weather be hot,
We'll weather the weather
Whatever the weather,
Whether we like it or not!

Today's devotion (shared below) is a timely reminder 

that hope is not fixed on something superficial

but on Someone eternal and omnipotently able!

Rom.4:18 NIV

Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed 

and so became the father of many nations, 

just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”

As much as we recognize it is not in the good weather/times, but in trying circumstances

 we prove the authenticity of Hope (esp. when it is against all hope)

as faith matures we realize we will not stand firm in trying times 

if faith is not 'proven steadfast'  in 'sunny' weather; weather in which

we may be tempted to lay our armour aside and let down our guard!!

***

When in harsh throes we face faith's foes with deliberate diligence

When we can see the enemy we wield faith's weapons of defense

When rivals rage then faith engages the whole armour of the Lord

His pow'r and might fits us to fight with shield of faith and Spirit's sword

To guard and gird us with God's Word; without which we are doomed to fail

For we know not, then, how we ought to pray in shadows of death's vale

But when the hour is like a bow'r of blossoms and the sun is warm

When breezes dance, then guarded stance is apt to grow lax in its form

And treasure worldly pleasure more than seeking the kingdom of God

When storms subside, beware of pride and feet that are not gospel-shod

For sin sets snares in hasty prayers and beds of roses, fit for kings 

Where faith would not enter our thought if we could see and know all things 

Trust in the Lord; His faithful Word, no matter what befalls, abides 

When in the throes of trouble's woes, remember this; His love provides

All that we need; He does not lead us into battle, unequipped 

His pow'r and might will help us fight when Self is of its tactics stripped 

Yielding control by faith made whole as we relinquish all but He

Whose High Command will help us stand, no matter what the charge may be 

Janet Martin

After we put on the armour detailed in 

Eph.6, verse 18 sums up our Christian combat in this;

...praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, 

being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— 

 

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.

In The Matter of Believing (a Battle Cry)

Mark 9:24

Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears,

 “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”

Help My Unbelief (Demo Version) – Lyric Video | For the Kingdom

It is not hard to believe in things we see with our eyes

and understand with our thoughts,

but oh, when we cannot begin to fathom the 'why'

of a certain trial/tragedy, oh how then we must choose faith

and echo that age-old plea 

 “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”

Lord, in the matter of believing, help me battle unbelief

Pray, let faith’s lifetime-in-achieving cheer love’s groans of bitter grief

And in the matter of perfecting that which Sight cannot defend

Lord, bid me covet Thy directing to be faithful to the end

Lord, in the matter of surrender, when love is a Wrecking Ball

Crashing through hope-and-dreamland’s splendour for the sake of Higher Call

O, pray as You bear tender vigil over Thy flock day and night

That you behold a humbler people walking by faith and not sight

Lord, in the matter of protection, let faith’s shield be free of chinks

Gleaming with the holy reflection of Your truth; not what man thinks

For, in the matter of Arrival to, nay through the earthly grave

Pray we prepare for Soul survival by Thy grace, mighty to save

Lord, in the matter of Forever, impress on me Time’s brief sway

For soon death’s sleight of hand will sever the silver cord of Today

And the soul’s world-weary achieving to fight faith’s good fight will end

Thus, in the matter of believing, help mine unbelief. Amen.

Janet Martin

Here's My Heart by David Crowder with lyrics

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

The Key to the Kingdom-Faithfulness

Mark 13:13
You will be hated by everyone because of My name, 

but the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.

Luke 21:19
By your patient endurance you will gain your souls.

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.

Jesus... for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, 

despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

On the cross death/defeat appeared the Victor, but not so!

So let us also endure faith's crosses...

fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.

let us throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, 

and let us run with endurance the race set out for us. 

Heb.12:1-2

“This job has been given to me to do. 

Therefore, it is a gift. 

Therefore, it is a privilege. 

Therefore, it is an offering I may make to God. 

Therefore, it is to be done gladly, 

if it is done for Him. 

Here, not somewhere else, 

I may learn God’s way. 

In this job, 

not in some other,

 God looks for faithfulness.”

- Elisabeth Elliot

What sacred service and holy,

suddenly housework/homemaking becomes

To learn the faithfulness of God

Through cleaning up toys and toast crumbs

(or laundry or cooking or cleaning😅🙏)

Because I am in close contact with a number of young mothers

I am reminded of the days/season that 

sometimes felt overwhelming with 'small' demands

and feelings of little accomplished.

Faithfulness in life's seemingly small things is

faithfulness in its big things!

Dear young parent, dear old saint, 

Galatians 6:9

And let us not grow weary while doing good, 

for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

Each task performed to the glory of God

transforms mundane chores to majestic opportunities of faithfulness! 

1 Corinthians 6:20

For you were bought at a price; 

therefore glorify God in your body 

and in your spirit, which are God's.

Oh Lord, when I cry 'I am finished'

You reply 'I AM faithful'

Faithfulness takes a lifetime to achieve!

There is only one way to achieve it;

Press on!

Faithfulness is no once and done flying-leap victory  

It attracts little attention; its garb, humility 

No grandstands filled with lively din to energize and cheer 

And urge faith's athlete onward in the race/grace of now-and-here 

Faithfulness is no grandiose triumph, hailed with high-fives 

The approach to its curtain-close a grueling enterprise

Accomplished slowly, breath by breath, with love's sincerity 

And only the mercy of death achieves its victory

Faithfulness needs no scribe to pen its authenticity 

Love, first for God then fellowmen proves faith's integrity   

Faithfulness needs no loud applause, no trophy-bedecked hall 

Faithfulness presses on because of God's high, holy call 

Faithfulness is the diligence of duty, honour-shod

A servant-postured reliance on promises of God 

A fervent heart-desire, when the race of life is run

To bow before its Giver and to hear Him say 'well done'

Janet Martin

John 16:33 NIV

“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.”

2 Cor.4:16-18 NIV

16 Therefore we do not lose heart. 

Though outwardly we are wasting away, 

yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 

17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us 

an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 

18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen,

 but on what is unseen, 

since what is seen is temporary, 

but what is unseen is eternal.

The Afters - Well Done (Lyric Video)