Reminders That Bear Repeating

Dawn's glory bathes the tarmac of time's temporary place

Kind of like a reflection of our God's goodness and grace

Though shadows hide the face of He from whom new mercies brim

Faith sets its feet on what must be and fixes eyes on Him

Today's sort of poem is often written as  a reminder to myself

as much as anyone, to not get consumed by what I/we see

but what I/we know!

So there is nothing that has not been said or written before

in today's rhyme but only truth that bears repeating 

so we do not get side-tracked in our faith-journey... 

In this old world of woes we bear

Abides God’s everlasting care

No fear or threat can overthrow

The One whose grace whereby we go

Though hills and valleys mar the view

Goodness and mercy follow through

No matter where our path may lead

His faithfulness will intercede

Do not despair, come what yet may

God’s ear is just a prayer away

There is no groan He cannot hear

He understands the wordless tear

Life leads into the great unknown

But we do not go there alone

Through high and low of hill and vale

The hand of God will never fail

Hope tames the tempests of dismay

It flickers on wicks of decay

It pierces trouble's dark façade

And beams with the Presence of God

Our strength is not in what we see

Our freedom mandated by He

Who has gone to prepare a home

For all who seek City To Come

Then bend the knee and bow the head

And bring before the Lord each dread

In this old world of woes we bear 

Abides God's everlasting care

© Janet Martin

Lean on His Arms

Isa.52:8-10

Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices;
    together they shout for joy.
When the Lord returns to Zion,
    they will see it with their own eyes.
9 Burst into songs of joy together,
    you ruins of Jerusalem,
for the Lord has comforted his people,
    he has redeemed Jerusalem.
10 The Lord will lay bare his holy arm
    in the sight of all the nations,
and all the ends of the earth will see
    the salvation of our God.

When People Fight...

Today's Daily Bread scripture reading

evoked tears, of both sorrow and joy!

Sorrow, because we seem to be a world at war with each other;

Family against family

brother against brother in the church.

citizens against the government

country against country,

Joy, because of the everlasting richness, rightness

and faithfulness of God and His Word!

The end is near.

Hallelujah!

Today's Scripture reading;

1 Pet.4:7-11

The end of all things is near. 

Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray.

 8 Above all, love each other deeply, 

because love covers over a multitude of sins.

 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 

10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others,

 as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 

11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. 

If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, 

so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. 

To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. 

Amen.

All Hail The Power of Jesus' Name

When people fight, we lose sight of the bigger picture, oh

The power and the glory of the One who loves us so

He came to die so you and I, when we have run life’s race

Are saved from death and hell because He saved us by His grace

When people fight, we lose sight of our universal need

Repentance and deliverance from sin’s inherent seed

Through Jesus Christ, sin’s sacrifice, once and for all became

Salvation that cannot be found in any other Name

When people fight, we lose sight of the love that Jesus taught

In anger’s spew we forget to take captive every thought

Or seek a city yet to come, from Calvary unfurled

And therefore, we do not wage war with weapons of this world

When people fight we lose sight of Redemption’s crimson tide

The Lamb we led, with thorn-crowned head that we all crucified

Cried out,’ Father, forgive them for they know not what they do’

Oh God, forgive us when we miss the big picture of You

Forbid we meet you Jesus, with Your blood still on our Hands

Because we didn't repent and obey love's Great Commands

Forbid we, without thought of how we ought to love and live

Reject You, Son of God who came to redeem and forgive   

© Janet Martin

How true, oh, how true we are seeing Jesus' warning: Matt. 10:34-39

Christ Brings Division

34“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. 

I did not come to bring peace but a sword. 

35For I have come to ‘set[j] a man against his father

, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; 

36and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ 

37He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. 

And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 

38And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.

  39He who finds his life will lose it, 

and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.

morning by morning above the chaos

the heavens declare the glory of God

and the skies proclaim the work of His hands!

Ps.19:1

Role Call or Perfectly Placed

Above all, our role in love is to trust and obey!

Trust and Obey Vagle Bros.

No confession of loving laud

However great or grand

Absolves obedience to God

The two go hand in hand

No matter who we are, my love

However great or small

No one is super-star enough

To disregard love’s call

True love is not proven in speech

But with meek reverence

Love is the action that will teach

Humble obedience

The role we all are called into

Begins at Calvary

Where love bears witness to One who

Taught through humility

Do not let love despair, dear one

His commands are not hard

When we keep our eyes fixed on

Love’s Leading Hands, nail-scarred

When we receive God's gift of grace

When hearts meeken in awe

How sacred is our perfect place

As love fulfills God’s law

© Janet Martin

Food for Thought;

In today's churches

Are there too many silent men because

there are too many speaking women

or

are there too many speaking women because

there are too many silent men?

Did feminism progress in the church because

good women stepped in where good men did not

or did good men step aside/get 'nudged' aside

 in the order of their God-ordained rank

when women whose intentions were for good

stepped out of their God-ordained order?

1 Cor.11

1 Cor.14:26-39

1 Tim.2

Male or female, we have equal value in the eyes of God

 but we have very sacred and differing roles!

Titus 2:1-8

You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine.

 2 Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect,

 self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.

3 Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live,

 not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good.

 4 Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, 

5 to be self-controlled and pure,

 to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, 

so that no one will malign the word of God.

6 Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. 

7 In everything set them an example by doing what is good.

 In your teaching show integrity, seriousness 

8 and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, 

so that those who oppose you may be ashamed 

because they have nothing bad to say about us.

Romans 8:7

Because the carnal mind is enmity against God;

 for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.

John 14:23-24

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.

 He who does not love Me does not keep My words; 

and the word which you hear is not Mine 

but the Father's who sent Me.

Advent Awareness

Phil Wickham - Away In A Manger (Forever Amen) (Official Music Video)

Be always on the watch,

and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen,

and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”

Luke 21:36

The Sands of Time Are Sinking...

 

Be always on thy watch and live as if today

Could be the chariot that draws thy deathless soul away

Then arm thyself with truth and seek God’s kingdom first

We all will face the Judgement booth, forever blessed or cursed

With bowed head and bent knee, thy damning sin confess

No one is righteous without He who is our Righteousness

Then as He hears our cries His sacrifice prevails

And his atonement justifies the faith that saves the soul

Time’s somber pendulum is swinging to and fro

And counting down what will become That Day and Hour, oh

Then always watch and pray; Time’s terminating wink

May draw this day of grace away without time left to think

Be always on thy guard, like a watchman alert

Though life/love is hard do not be disillusioned by the hurt

But bow before the manger, bloodstained cross, the empty grave

And think on He a stranger to His own, who came to save

© Janet Martin

God presented Him as the atoning sacrifice through faith in His blood, 

in order to demonstrate His righteousness, 

because in His forbearance He had passed over the sins committed beforehand.

 26He did this to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time,

so as to be just and to justify the one who has faith in Jesus. 

27Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. 

On what principle? On that of works? 

No, but on that of faith.…

Rom.3:25-27

Above The Call of Duty...

Today's visitation is the fourth one I am attending this month

some of the deceased young, some old.

...reminding us that we are all mortal

and Death is no respecter of age!

However, though Death is sometimes called The Grim Reaper

our prospects for eternity are not grim unless we have

rejected He who hung upon the tree to set us free

from the curse that damns the immortal soul...

The soul transcends dust and ash,

and whether we gaze at a body in a coffin

or a photo on a table the Immortal Soul

is the unthwartable, invisible imprint

of our Creator in us!

Our message this past Sunday

challenged all of us, if true believers 

to share the gospel, the Good News of Salvation,

our Living Hope, at every opportunity!

1 Pet.1:3

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! 

In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope

 through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing,

but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

1 Cor.1:18

Rescue The Perishing

 

It Was Finished upon That Cross- CityAlight

 

My Worth Is Not In What I Own

Above the call of duty that demands our diligence

Beneath the ever-ebbing surge of season’s recompense

No matter what exacts the task whereby toil takes its toll

Above the call of duty is the Call that saves the soul

Like flesh-and-blood-tsunamis generations rise and fall

God, who is man’s Creator knows the hearts of one and all

And loves us so He gave His Son to pay sin’s awful price

The Author of Salvation provided the sacrifice

…so that we need not perish; there is power in the blood

Where I AM’s flawless crucible poured out redemption’s flood

Where pray, the faith that makes us whole ignites the Living Word

So we proclaim the living hope of Jesus Christ our Lord

His righteousness within us is the power of the cross

For there is no one righteous without Him; all gain is loss

Where some still count as foolishness, the message we applaud

But to those who are being saved it is the pow’r of God

Above the call of occupation’s menial decree

Beneath the ever-waning gap before eternity

The faith that saves the soul and sets us free becomes the cord

That binds us to the urgent call of Jesus Christ, our Lord

© Janet Martin

Hallelujah, What a Promise

Inspired by my sister-in-law's mom's funeral message and prayers

of hope, comfort and exhortation...

The minister who opened the funeral service stated

'If it were not for people dying a minister’s words would be vanity.'

Hallelujah, what a Saviour!

What a privilege and wonder to we who, partakers of

God’s compassion, grace and comfort cannot drain His wells of love

What a hope we have through Jesus; debt no ram could reimburse

Paid upon the cross that frees us from mortal’s inherent curse

Hark! an open invitation, calls to all ‘come unto me’

Beckons to each tribe and nation with salvation’s guarantee

What a blessing to be bidden to draw from Mercy’s wellspring

Though His reasoning is hidden, God is good in everything

Hallelujah, what a Savior, man’s preaching is not in vain

Resurrection’s glorious favour turns death into life again

By one sin we all were blighted; by one death we are set free

By grace we are all invited to a Banquet yet to be

What a joy in spite sorrow, what a peace instills the gale

Yesterday, today, tomorrow, Jesus Christ will never fail

What a journey dust-to-dust is, paved with prayers and washed with tears

What a life of learning trust is, before Jesus reappears

Hallelujah, what a Promise keeps us pressing to the Prize

What a little vapour time is before death opens our eyes

© Janet Martin

Lam.3:24

“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“Therefore I hope in Him!”

Transformation Process Blessing

Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Romans 12:2

'Although this transformation process is ongoing,

often has more stops and starts than a train ride,

the process helps us understand what God wants for our lives.'

Excerpt from today's Daily Bead Devotion; Joyful Learning

The above excerpt made me kinda laugh and cry inwardly, a bit

cause it sure is a jolting stop-and-go journey isn't it?!!

With lots of  ups-a-daisies after stumbles/falls

 to accomplish the transformation, but...

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering,

for He who promised is faithful.

Heb.10:23

So to/through the God who cracks the morning sun like a fresh egg...

..into a sky-wide frying pan,

to/through He who knows us inside and out,

and loves us all the more because of it

on we go...

Dear Lord,

With love learned patiently

With grace and gratitude

With kindness and humility

May our minds be renewed

With diligence and joy

With peace and faithfulness

With hope, for nothing can destroy

Your Truth and promises

Through You, Creator of

The heavens and the earth

Through you, who taught us how to love

And offers us rebirth

…as we are washed within

By the blood of Your Son

Then You, if we confess our sin

Forgives them, every one

Through You, faithful and just

With joyful gratitude

As You turn doubt and fear to trust

May our minds be renewed

Amen

© Janet Martin

Most of us bear

some sort of Unspoken Broken

but

"We can still rise in the face of hopelessness —

because we are still held in the arms of God."

From When You Want a Different Timeline&

The Story Is Hard

by Ann Voskamp

Beautiful Renewal

We couldn't see what was on the other side of this bridge!!

Turns out it was a soccer and baseball field😐

We couldn't see what was on the other side of yesterday's election!

Turns out, more of the same!😐

We cannot see what waits on the other side of Time/life!

How that turns out depends on Who we choose to serve/obey here!

Man is NOT our hope! Hallelujah.

We do not need to become bitter or live in fear or defeat!

For what is seen is temporal but what is unseen is eternal!

So once more, the verse I shared the other day;

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.

2 Cor. 4:16-18

From here to there sight cannot tell

What waits to fill the gap between

But because This is temporal

We fix our eyes on the Unseen

Lord, help us choose to be thankful

For Who we know will never fail

Where what is seen is temporal

And what is not, You will unveil

Therefore, then we do not lose heart

Though outwardly we waste away

The confidence that You impart

Renews our spirits day by day

© Janet Martin

Here we are, diverse cultures fixed, as believers in Christ, on the Solid Rock!

On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand

Whom Shall I Fear-David Wesley

God Will Take Care of You

Beautiful Life Because...

Yet Not I, But Christ in Me

 

By the grace of God I am what I am, 

and his grace toward me was not in vain. 

On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, 

though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.

 (1 Corinthians 15:10) ESV

Farther Along-Brad Paisley

Last night I felt weary to the bone and kind of discouraged

When I called Jim he wondered what's up?

When I filled him in on some of life's/love's concerns he said

'so that's why you sound disheartened!

The word stuck. Disheartened.

So much need, needing weary willing workers to say 'yes!'

This morning's Daily Bread Devotion scripture

also spoke to the disheartened!

Disappointment, discouragement 

and grave concern for the future are nothing new!

Our God, the same yesterday, today and forever declares still,

'This people I have formed for Myself;

They shall declare My praise.'

Isa.43:21

Ah, pray above all else, we are part of This/His people.

May we trust him for strength and wisdom

 to be diligent and true!

2 Cor.4:16-18

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.

Because Time is not on our side

But its kind Giver IS,

Because, though trust is often tried

God keeps his promises

Because His mercy is renewed

In spite of mortal ways

We have, with unplumbed gratitude

Cause to declare His praise

 Because His goodness will not fail

In spite of all that does

Because His justice will prevail

Above all other gods

Because He WAS, IS and WILL BE

No matter what some claim

We, with joyful fidelity

Honor and praise His name

Because we know that we are known

By the fruits that we bear

Because God is not mocked, we groan

But not in vain despair

Because He hears the prayers that lace

Word's inefficiency

  His gentle voice replies, My grace

Is sufficient for thee

Because He rewards those who seek

And serve Him, heart and soul

Because He strengthens us when weak

With faith that makes us whole

Because of this Hope will not dim

 As love trusts and obeys

 Because, He knows who follows Him

By who declares His praise

Janet Martin

Good and Gracious King-City Alight

The Doxology by Anthem Lights and Selah

On Persuasion Rekindled

Therefore, by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God,

 that is, the fruit of our lips, [b]giving thanks to His name.

 But do not forget to do good and to share, 

for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

Heb.13:15-16

Persuasion rekindles routines where morning melts the dark

Hope holds the Hand of the Unseen as mercy meets its mark

Where faith and trust hold sway or doubt and disbelief confuse

Where choice spreads out a vast buffet and consequence ensues

Soon we vacate this fading habitat of skin and bone

This day the Lord has made like a most sacred stepping stone

Where each breath bears us nearer to the Saviour of the soul

Where faith makes ever dearer the approaching of the goal

We ought to give more earnest heed to that which we have heard

And seek to live in word and deed according to God’s Word

Lest we let slip the fellowship that keeps our judgment sound

For no other love can equip us for faith’s battleground

Be careful then, to make the most of opportunity

For who knows when the ending of this glove we host will be

And we go on to meet He who has numbered all our days

Then pray our legacy will be a sacrifice of praise

We yield to who we worship with humility or pride

Pray we revere the courtship twixt the Bridegroom and the Bride

And yield not to temptation for its glazed trenches are cursed

But rekindle persuasion from the Fount that quenches thirst

And live as if today could be the last drop in life's fount

When time yields to eternity and we will give account

Yield to God's gentle whisper, oh pray, do not disregard

Love's pleading, lest the pasture of our hearts grows cold and hard

© Janet Martin

There Is a Fountain Filled With Blood

In our community a 23 year old man 

who became a husband last summer

and was looking forward to becoming a dad in November

passed away unexpectedly in his sleep a few nights ago!

We never know when our final numbered day will be!

May we live as if we could be next!

Expressions of compassion can be made here

GoFundMe

 

 

It Takes Time (to make a flower)

Yesterday's Daily Bread Devotion included this needful reminder;

Even though trusting Jesus as Savior makes us a new creation,

there’s still some ongoing work the Spirit needs to do.

And it takes time and work 

for Him to accomplish “true righteousness and holiness”

(Ephesians 4:24).

True righteousness and holiness=true beauty!

Do you ever weary of the work and waiting

for the needful hidden heart-art 

before the flower flourishes?

I needed to dust the dahlias.

Something is eating out the bud before it blooms!

The pest-control-pruning-process is vital 

to producing a healthy plume

(earwigs love a good dahlia-feast)

The tendrils of this flower vine needed constant intervention

until they learned to climb

Oh, it takes time to become who, in Christ, we ought to be

The road is riddled with potholes, to true humility

The stumble and the faceplant, though unpleasant helps God turn

A stubborn heart into submission; it takes time to learn

We cannot rush the Hand that wove us in our mother’s womb

Just as it takes time for a bud to break to bare its bloom

So too, it takes time to become the masterpiece of He

Who understands that we are dust and loves us patiently

It takes time to eradicate the nature of the beast

We tend to do the things we hate the most, rather than least

And were it not for God’s compassion for humanity

And His boundless redemption how desolate we would be

If our hope in Christ were for this life alone, alas

How pitiful and futile then would be man’s days like grass

But because Christ has risen from the dead, we too shall rise

Thus, we revere the time it takes to prepare for the Prize

…for it takes time to learn to love, to let Beauty unfold

To purify the motive of, and crucify the old

So when we feel discouraged by hope’s hurdles and mistakes

Remember, this is just the heart-art/heart-part before the bud breaks

© Janet Martin

Psalm 103:13-18

As a father pities his children,

So the Lord pities those who fear Him.

14For He [a]knows our frame;

He remembers that we are dust.

15As for man, his days are like grass;

As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.

16For the wind passes over it, and it is [b]gone,

And its place remembers it no more.

17But the mercy of the Lord

 is from everlasting to everlasting

On those who fear Him,

And His righteousness to children’s children,

18To such as keep His covenant,

And to those who remember His commandments to do them.

Celebration of Gratitude...

 

With everything going on 

sometimes gratitude is not foremost in my attitude

until I renew the spirit of my mind

and dwell on God's amazing faithfulness and grace!

This morning I didn't feel like writing, but as I prayed and pondered

 and as I began to pour my heart to page lo, and behold,

 the more I dwelt on 'more than meets the eye', 

the more 'what I felt' tenderly transformed 

discouragement into gratitude!

Thank-you Lord

Life’s weight of work, woe and worry 

would weary without reprieve

If we had nothing trustworthy

greater than what we achieve

The heart is a wicked master, 

without God’s Word to direct

We are destined for disaster 

if we trust man’s intellect

Pray for all who worship boldly 

the created, but not God

He who is both love and Holy, 

Creator of sky-sea-sod

Subject to no one, above all, 

Has Supreme Authority

Mighty, merciful and faithful, 

truth and righteousness is He

Life’s weight of work, woe and worry 

would fuel a cheerless toll

If hope held no greater glory 

than the cold grave as its goal

Death and hell, are not annulled 

by apathy and unbelief

Life and heaven will be fulfilled 

when at last faith finds relief

Oh, the trophies of transgression 

would torment me till I die

But for cleansing through confession 

and Salvation's kind reply

Oh, the chaos that so grieves us 

where the fruit of sin runs wild

Would destroy joy; but praise Jesus, 

for the debt He reconciled 

In the thick of sickness, sorrow, 

fear and heart-break, hate and spite

We can face today, tomorrow,

 armed with God’s mercy and Light

When redemption’s transformation 

leaves our heart and mind renewed

Life becomes a celebration 

of love’s reverent gratitude

© Janet Martin

Eph 4:20-24 BSB

But this is not the way you came to know Christ. 

Surely you heard of Him and were taught in Him—

in keeping with the truth that is in Jesus— 

to put off your former way of life, your old self, 

which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 

to be renewed in the spirit of your minds; 

and to put on the new self, created to be like God

 in true righteousness and holiness.

Sing to Me of Heaven

Exactly Where We Are

Heb.12:1-2

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,

 let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us,

 and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

  2looking unto Jesus, the [a]author and [b]finisher of our faith, 

who 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.

I was convicted by the testimony from a suffering Christian in Afghanistan

who has committed to stay, even if granted the opportunity to leave,

 lest a soul could potentially be witnessed to

that might be lost eternally because they have not yet come to saving faith!

Oh, that we would all have such a commitment of faithfulness to our calling 

and such love for fellowman, exactly where we are!

Yet not I, but Christ in Me City Alight

Lord, be in us a Light so we may be a shining star

Help us be faithful in the fight exactly where we are

So many ways to spend our days and entertain a thought

Lord, keen in us conviction’s blaze to love the things we ought

…to be compassionate and kind; not bent on selfish quest

But ever keeping first in mind our mission and its test

We are all called to fight the fight until Death’s lowered bar

Then help us be a faithful Light exactly where we are

For we are encompassed by a great cloud of witnesses

Lord, help us throw off all that hinders and entangles us

Instill in us pure purpose as we seek to fix our eyes

On the joy set before us, ever pressing to its Prize

Time, like a spark that upward flies soon disappears from sight

Lord, help us be prudent and wise as we redeem its flight 

Then, fitted by Your Word let us not dread love's battle-scar

But help us to be faithful Lord, exactly where we are

© Janet Martin

We Are More Than People...

My sister's family went from the house of mourning on Thursday

 to the house of joy on Friday,

My brother-in-law, Father of the bride, 

brother of the man laid to rest the day before

and minister in the Waterloo Markham Mennonite church

opened the wedding service with this verse,

'This is the day the Lord has made.

We will rejoice and be glad in it!'

Psalm 118;24

My niece's wedding yesterday was beautiful.

The bittersweet blend of joy and sorrow

touched the ceremony, rich with profound exhortation from God's Word

reminding us of His order in both marriage and life.

My Uncle, during the ceremony, recounted a day when he went to the clinic

to find out if the cancer-treatments he received helped .

When the Doctor said, 'you are a new man. your cancer is gone!'

his emotional response was 'you have been a vessel in the hands of the Lord. God is good'

Then he went on to say he couldn't help but wonder if his response would have been the

same with a different result. The point he wanted to emphasize is that God is good all the time

in sickness and in health, in joy or grief 

and to remind the young bride and groom (and all of us)

to try to remember this truth, no matter what life brings!

The words 'you have been a vessel in the hands of the Lord' struck a chord!

How often we buzz and bumble through our days

forgetting we are vessels in the hands of the Lord!

When Ananias was called to go and baptize Saul he was confused,

because Saul had persecuted Christians!

 The Lord reminded him in Acts 9:15-16

“Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name 

before Gentiles, kings, and the children[c] of Israel. 

For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.”

Paul, not long after encouraged and exhorted 

believers in the church of Corinth with this reminder;

2 Cor.4:7-11

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, 

to show that the surpassing power 

belongs to God and not to us. 

 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; 

perplexed, but not driven to despair; 

 persecuted, but not forsaken; 

struck down, but not destroyed; 

 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, 

so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 

 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, 

 that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

Lots to ponder as we return to what could seem quite commonplace

if we lose sight of who/what we are!

We are more than jars filled with beans and pickles, 

hallelujah! 😊

We are more than people born to life’s demands

We are vessels cradled in God’s faithful hands

Belief and repentance call us to obey

Where more than allegiance fills these jars of clay

An unfailing treasure; God’s surpassing pow’r

Cascades without measure through man’s fading flow’r

Through Soul’s transient trestles, pours faith’s glorious laud

To we, chosen vessels in the hands of God

Then what holy, true love instills commonplace

As we bear the call of sinners saved by grace

Praise the name of Jesus; by his darkest hour

We are vessels filled with God’s surpassing pow’r

Mercy’s priceless measure meets us where we are

To pour His good treasure into faith’s clay jar

© Janet Martin