Oh, To Know

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, 

but the Spirit who is from God,

 that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.
1 Cor.2:12

 

Oh, to know we are forgiven

Fills faith’s flight with wondrous worth

Tunes heart chords with hymns of heaven

Midst the pangs and twangs of earth

Oh, to know no one is ever

All alone through God alone

Comforts us with kind endeavor

Not to fear time’s vast Unknown

Oh, to know that we are able

Not through might of mortal form

But hope’s anchor keeps us stable

Through the night of trial’s storm

Oh, to know love’s purposed blindness

How, no matter what we boast

Nothing takes the place of kindness

Proving who we love the most

Oh to know soul’s condemnation

Cannot keep its curse of woe

As the promise of salvation

Frees the convict on death-row

Oh, to know in spite of stumbles

By the grace of God we press

My, but how this favour humbles

Grumbles turned to thankfulness

© Janet Martin

Inevitable, The Fall

These days when we stand for

What we believe unflinchingly

We are opinionated if

Popular opinion does not agree

And if we do not like the lawless nature

Of mankind

These days we are hateful and

A bigot with a narrow mind

These days to stand strong in the ways

That our forefathers blazed

Is to be out of touch

With reality and I’m amazed

At what many, many will

Flatter and applaud

Not knowing what they do not know

They laugh in the face of God

These days political correctness

Takes the place of morality

Where virtue once was honoured

 It has almost ceased to

Though sadly many do not know

The truth of Truth at all

Where blind lead blind, foundation removed

Inevitable, the fall

© Janet Martin

 "The lies of the progressive left and the hyper-liberal media are 

what is a serious threat to the future of our nation. 

The Bible tells us, “The Lord detests lying lips…” (Proverbs 12:22)."

Franklin Graham 

 Jesus replied, "You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.
Matt.22:29

As We Trust And Obey...

Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority,
because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account.
Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden,
for that would be of no benefit to you.

Heb.13:17

This verse was mentioned as we prayed for our church leaders in Sunday School and I thought 

about how leaders watch over/parent their church family in a way like moms and dads watch and pray and are vigilant about their son's and daughter's health...physical, emotional and spiritual!

My nephew was baptized on Sunday. 
We rejoice on such occasions and thank God!

But we also know the master of temptation is still on the prowl
 seeking those he may devour and the real fight has just begun!
May we all be faithfully prayerful for each other
that we may be godly in an ungodly world! 

I wrote the first two stanzas of the poem below before the kiddos arrived,

Sometimes its hard to pick up on the same train of thought 6 hours
and a morning of work and play between ...

...as I try to re-collect my thoughts while they nap😊

 Lord willing it is still close to what it started out to be...

Now on the verge of day a splurge of gold and blush emerge

To rush the height of heavens through and brush the night away

The mercies we depend upon renew love’s tender urge

No matter what today may hold to trust God, and obey

For we are in a fight against dark princes of the air

Soul-thirsty demons wait to take captive mind, heart and hand

Ah, without God to help us who the enemy could bear

And without His full armour who can evil’s war withstand

“Come all you who are heavy-laden. I will give you rest”

Compassion’s invitation is extended to us all

And if our God is for us we can overcome the test

Fear will not have dominion no matter what may befall

…where on the verge of dawn a splurge of color melts the dark

To rush the heights of heaven through and usher in new day

The mercies we depend upon renewed as we embark

To run the race, armed with God’s grace as we trust and obey

© Janet Martin

...and on this note I better skedaddle!

We are having a 'last summer-like day on this first day of October so I better

make good use of it and dig out the rest of those spuds!

I hope your are having a special Happy October 1st!

The Devil is a Sportsman...

The devil loves a challenge; yes, and decorates the sin

Where with his lariat of lust might draw his victims in

Or with the boast of busyness or with the idle mind

For lust of eye and flesh, or pride of life can deftly bind

The best of good intentions to the worst outcome of all

Too wrapped in Self-attention to surrender to God’s call

The devil sets a snare where weakness eyes temptation’s tray

And all who dare to live without God’s armor will fall prey

There is no halfway in between; no one can serve two Gods

And evidence is always seen where Choice outweighs facades

Then pray that the confession of our faith will shed the old

As the new man seeks treasure greater than silver and gold

The devil knows that pleasure for the moment will appease

The guilt, and gloats as longing yields to evil’s expertise

Where what seemed good at first did not supply true happiness

Hunger and thirst is cursed until it craves God's Righteousness

Then as we trust Him and obey His power is unfurled

Greater is He within us than He that is in the world

© Janet Martin

The Hope of Generations Still To Come...

"They knew he was at his happiest when he talked about money" said someone I spoke to last week-end of a man who had passed on before either of us were born.

(this comment sort of jolted me into wondering what I will be remembered for as 'my happiest')

The above comment and this post by Cyndy

and this headline all culminated to inspire this morning's poem!

No matter who was or what will be God IS!

May we keep handing down the faith of our fathers,

the only Living Hope for days to come!

Oh, plus, I wanted to write about picnics on this wild blustery morning...

hope of simple joys to come!

The day will come where nothing tells of places that we filled

Or faces that we kissed or hands we held; our whispers stilled

The earth and its fullness thereof, others will taste and touch

In gardens, picnics in the park, in supper soup and such

As they, quite unaware that you and I loved these things too

Will laugh and fret and fuss and do the things that people do

…and it may seem as if we never talked or walked or felt

Our dreams like sums of dust or snowflake-stars that fall then melt

And, though the ebb and flow of dawn to dusk still sweeps the earth

And though the tide of seasons rolls and tolls with death and birth

And though we might believe that 'we who were' are long forgot

A bit of us lives on through what we learned then in turn, taught

The hope of generations still to come depends on us

To tell them there is more to life than its brief fret and fuss

To never leave unspoken the Greatest Story of love

Instilling sacred purpose in life’s common push and shove

Where pray, the best of us remains in strains of purest chime

God’s Truth, fool-proof, to offer hope until the end of Time

© Janet Martin

1 Peter 1:3-9

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! 

By His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope 

through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, 

reserved in heaven for you,who through faith 

are protected by God’s power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief 

in various trials, so that the authenticity of your faith—more precious than gold, 

which perishes even though refined by fire—

may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and though you do not see Him now, 

 you believe in Him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy,

now that you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.