The Fruit of 'Ought' or With Harvest-hope in Mind

These flowers are still available from  Countryview Greenhouse

near the 'Alma' end of Well. Cty. RD 8,

in case your looking to tuck a bit of colour into a corner or border!

(bedding plants are 1/2 price!!)

***

Heb. 2:1

Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed 

to the things which we have heard,

lest at any time we should let them slip.

Luke 18:1

And he spake a parable unto them to this end,

that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

Rom.8:26

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.

We do not know what we ought to pray for,

but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.

1 John 3:16

This is how we know what love is:

Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.

And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.

1 John 4:11

Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

James 4:17

If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do

and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.

Every farmer or gardener knows which seeds ought to be planted

 for a specific fruit to harvest...

Only if we sow as we ought

and tend as we ought

 can we hope as we ought.

Due to ample rain

gardens and fields in our part of Ontario

are beginning to burgeon with

fruit of harvest-hope!

and flowers!!

Sometimes we cannot reap because we do not sow to God

The yield of fruit for which we weep, we seek from fallow sod

The answered prayer for which we plead, cannot bear what we ask

Because we have not sown its seed or tended to its task 

Sometimes the good we ought to do we do not, but ignore

Obedience, and cater to a roaming lion's roar

Rather than giving earnest heed to the things we have heard

And confessing a thought or deed contrary to God's Word

When we approach the throne of grace, where faith finds hope and cheer

Until we see Him face to face; pray first for ears to hear

The still small Voice of He who does not err in His reply

Or bless unconfessed sin, because He so loves you and I 

Sometimes we know the Very Thing we ought to repent of;

The barrier to which we cling with stubborn, selfish love

Because we lack humility, or sorrow for our part

That drew Jesus to Calvary and broke His Father's heart  

Sometimes the 'fruit' for which I plead can never be, until

I recognize, then sow the seed of love's surrendered will

And toil, and till and tend faith's field with humble diligence

Until God's grants the promised yield of love's obedience 

Praise God from whom goodness and love flow without flaw or fail   

Praise Him that He is mindful of man's trouble and travail

Praise He who is faithful and true, compassionate and kind

He helps us sow as we ought to, with harvest-hope in mind

Janet Martin 

Today's poem was kindled/convicted largely by today's devotion...

The Consequence of Spring

On Friday we had our annual potato-planting with our grandchildren💚

My, the years do fly...

 2024

2025

2026

(This year youngest grandson gave up in disgust,

being literally left in the dust 😂💖)

Whether planting Soul-sod or Earth-sod

Spring is a brief and precious time of very sacred toil...

Spring is a brief and precious Time of very sacred toil

As we redeem its hasting chime with seeds set into soil

How swift sweet planting season skims to Bygone’s soldered keep

And once-upon-barren-plot brims with fruit, ready to reap

Spring is life’s bright and beautiful fresh opportunity

To seize the day with dutiful delight’s humility

And ask He who instills the seed with awesome opulence

To help us plant with earnest heed and careful diligence

Spring is life’s hopeful time of year; as to the broken sod

We scatter seeds and feel so near to the heartbeat of God

As the substance of fruit hoped for and harvest still unseen

Soon bares/bears Evidence by the score, where barren plots had been

…for we reap what we sow; the loom of Spring is brief indeed

The Substance of The Hoped For Bloom begins with planted seed

Its beauty (or the lack thereof) unveils the Consequence

Of Spring, and faith’s consciousness of Harvest and Providence

Janet Martin

2 Cor.9:6

Remember this: 

Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly,

and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

Gal.6:7-10

Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked.

Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return.

8The one who sows to please his flesh, 

from the flesh will reap destruction;

but the one who sows to please the Spirit, 

from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

9Let us not grow weary in well-doing,

for in due time we will reap a harvest

 if we do not give up.

10Therefore, as we have opportunity, 

let us do good to everyone, 

and especially to the family of faith.

Holiness of Today or Sacredness of Seeds

Pondering planting is an annual almost-spring activity.

We never plant without hope for a good harvest

of fruit and flowers!

This line of thinking woke today's poem

as I pondered the sacredness of seeds!

(those we plant and those we don't)

We cannot reap what we do not sow

just as surely as we will reap what we sow!

Each day is like a fallow field

Soon strewn with seeds of word and deed

Consider then, some morrow's yield

When harvest will expose the seed

Each morning grants a fresh re-start

For sacred seeds waiting to spill

The Giver of  Today imparts

All that we need to trust/do His will 

He grants the soundness of His Word

To equip us with truth and love

For the harvest is undeterred

In the fruit seeds are bound to prove

...where trodden fields we leave behind

May seem to weave a transient path

But we should ever keep in mind

The future of their aftermath

(For stumbling blocks and stepping stones

Are scattered in word and deed's toll

 Where carriages of skin and bones

Traverse their wake, bearing the soul)

The seeds that fill the heart and mind

Are bound to spill in word and deed

Of truth that frees or lies that blind/bind

God, help us pay more earnest heed

...to the holiness of Today

And seed-responsibility

Where the harvest of do-and-say

Is up to likes of you and me

Today awaits our words and deeds 

God, help us as we sow, to keep

Close watch on sacredness of seeds 

We and/or our children will reap 

Janet Martin

Luke 8:4-8 & 11-15

The Parable of the Sower

4And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable: 5“A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. 7And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. 8But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded [e]a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

The Parable of the Sower Explained

11“Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. 13But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of [g]temptation fall away. 14Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. 15But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.[h]

Simply, A Vessel

It seems the older we grow, the faster time flies!

How are we over halfway through October already?!

How are we nearing the end of another harvest season

that it seems we just planted not so very long ago?!

Gal.6:7

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; 

for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.

There is no getting around it;

whether we plant conscientiously,

carelessly, or with carefully-crafted cunning,

cover/bury deeply the seed/deeds we strew/do

we reap what we sow! 

We have all at one time or another sown seeds we later regretted,

and we would surely lose heart as we reflect on those seeds

 but for this:

2 Cor.7:10

For godly sorrow produces repentance 

leading to salvation, not to be regretted;

 but the sorrow of the world produces death.

In the spring I planted a perennial mum from my mom's perennial garden.

Its flourishing autumn beauty is such a pleasure to behold!

When good seeds are planted then good fruit and flowers follow!

Sometimes what we plant in the spring of our lives doesn't bloom until the autumn...

Oh, pray it is more than wild oats we've sown!

***

We are, in a sense all vessels through which seeds pour...

2 Tim2: 20-21

But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, 

but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. 

 Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, 

he will be a vessel for honor,

 [h]sanctified and useful for the Master, 

prepared for every good work. 

Yesterday I harvested the last of my garden produce...

Not all harvests are as quickly cultivated and collected 

as that of the garden variety! but, 

Gal.6:9

Let us not grow weary while doing good, 

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

God does not require a crowd to fulfill Purpose true 

But simply a vessel, unproud, willing to be poured through

Each legacy of faith begins with self-surrendered 'yes' 

As we repent of our sins and and turn from worldliness/carelessness

To walk by faith or run its race with endurance does not

Depend upon athletic pace or skill, but trust in God  

To trust God is to trust his Word; to trust is to obey

To keep His precepts, undeterred by all who turn away

How sweet to hone hope's happiness, not in fleeting delights

But in God's steadfast promises where faith fixes its sights 

How holy is time's ebb and flow unfolding Now to Then

How surely we reap what we sow; God is not mocked. Amen 

...nor does He require a crowd, His purpose to fulfill 

But simply a vessel, endowed with faith's surrendered will   

Janet Martin

'Very much of our future life will depend upon our earliest days',

said preacher Charles Spurgeon on January 15, 1893,

then quoted Mr. Ruskins, not quite verbatim,

' people often say we excuse the thoughtlessness of youth,

but he says no, it never ought to be excused.

I'd far rather hear of thoughtless old age when a man has done his work,

but what excuse can be found for a thoughtless youth?

The time for thought is at the beginning of life

and there is no period which so much demands

or so much necessitates thoughtfulness as our early days...

I would that all young men would think so.

They say that they must sow their wild oats.

No! No, my dear young friend.

 Think before you sow such seed as that,

 what the reaping will be.

See if there is not better corn to be found 

than wild oats and sow that,

then think how you will sow it 

and when you will sow it

for if you do not think about the sowing,

what will the harvest be? '

Of Records Still in the Writing or Harvests Still in the Planting

Harvest: the fruition of seeds planted!

We cannot reap what we did not plant

both literally and spiritually!

Yesterday's harvest included onions!

Gal.6:7-8

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; 

for whatever a man sows,

 that he will also reap. 

8 For he who sows to his flesh 

will of the flesh reap corruption, 

but he who sows to the Spirit 

will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.

Below excerpt by J.R.Miller

I cannot bear your weight of care

Nor you, mine; we must each

Shoulder lessons in trust and prayer

That God alone can teach

Our sacred share in live-and-learn

Holds more than meets the eye

 The rich reward of faith's return

Not now, but by and by

You cannot love on my behalf

Nor I on yours; no one

Can weep my tears or taste my laugh

-ter for a fight, well-won/task well done

When life is through then I will stand

To answer for the seeds

  Not strewn by someone else's hand

But for my words and deeds

I will not give account for you

Nor you for me; each one

When this God-granted life is through

Will answer God alone

No one to point a finger at

 When each life is laid bare

As God opens the record that

Reaches from here to there

Janet Martin

Ps.86:5, 9&11

For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive,

And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.

Among the gods there is none like You, O Lord;

Nor are there any works like Your works.

All nations whom You have made

Shall come and worship before You, O Lord,

And shall glorify Your name.

For You are great, and do wondrous things;

You alone are God.

Teach me Your way, O Lord;

I will walk in Your truth;

[c]Unite my heart to fear Your name.

Because in a Sense It Is Always Planting Season...

Like buds, morning breaks

hours unfold 

bearing noon-blooms

that fade and fall,

like so many flower-petals

to strew the dust of dusk

The petals of days to weeks to months to years

scatter seasons of life in their wake...

We are here for such a small 'season'

in light of eternity;

an eternity that begins

in the moment awaiting every single one of us,

when we close our eyes,

never to open them again on earth!

No matter what season we are in

we are students in its 'classroom'

with still so much to learn...

1 Tim.6:11-12

But you, O man of God, flee from these things (the love of money)

 and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, 

love, perseverance, and gentleness.

 12Fight the good fight of the faith. 

Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called 

when you made the good confession before many witnesses.

spring, summer, autumn, winter twirls

a kind of carousel

that often startles boys and girls

with hello's swift farewell

as childhood drifts from carefree streams

as adolescence sails

into a world of hopes and dreams

where Reality hails

with that which life is bound to bring

as the years come and go

a very sacred harvesting

for we reap what we sow

where autumns and winters accrue

bearing the telling yield

of seeds we strewed while dashing through

springtime and summer's field 

Janet Martin

Though we cannot turn back the clock

and undo what is done

or un-plant what is planted

this is a new day the Lord has made!

We can rejoice and be glad in it

and ask Him to help us to be mindful of the seeds we strew today,

for, in a sense it is always planting season

and no one lives to see the full extent of the harvest

for better or worse.

Oh, pray we plant for the better today!

Seeds of righteousness, godliness, faith, 

love, perseverance, and gentleness.

A lot of thought goes into spring planting because

every gardener and farmer knows

we cannot reap what we do not sow!

Last week the first teeny-weeny start on this year's garden-planting!

No! this is not all my garden!!

Beyond the grass strip is the farmer's field!

He has lent me a corner of his field so I am able 

to have a larger garden than I could otherwise enjoy!

Before The Tree and the Fruit... (or, It May Seem Small in the Planting)

One choice may seem so small, for good or bad,

but small things amassed become something much bigger;

grains of sand make a shore,

drops of water an ocean,

moments, a lifetime.

Choice, repeated becomes a habit!

Our 'habits' become our lives...

Day by day,

verse by verse, 

chapter by chapter 

we read through the Bible

and are spoken to and taught by God, 

or not!

Prayer by prayer 

we learn to worship Him 

and trust Him a little more, 

or not...

What are we going to do Today, 

with our pocket full of moment-seeds

dropping from the Hand of goodness and mercy

to the soil of the soul?

(Where, even in reaping, we are planting!)

I'm about to head out to plant some marigold among the tomatoes,

in hopes of deterring tomato worms!

1 Cor. 1:4-9

I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God

 which was given to you by Christ Jesus, 

5 that you were enriched in everything by Him 

in all [a]utterance and all knowledge, 

6 even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed [b]in you, 

7 so that you come short in no gift, 

eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, 

8 who will also confirm you to the end, 

that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

9 God is faithful, by whom you were called 

into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Isn't verse 9 an awesome verse to begin a new week on?

To remind us to make the most of every opportunity?!

It may seem minute, the measure of a moment, thought or seed

But the value of life’s treasure is measured by word and deed

Where Choice bears a holy onus in each little ‘yes’ or ‘no’

Where no one can trick the promise that we will reap what we sow

It may seem inconsequential; as, partakers of God’s grace

We, oft thoughtlessly unthankful, give the Giver second place

Not with preconceived intention but, as bridles are cut loose

Without forceful intervention interfering with excuse

It may seem so small, where choices gape with opportunity

Be careful, for Reply voices far more than first glance may see

And no matter how we defend lack of honor with excuse

The fruit of seed cannot pretend; what we plant, seed will produce

It may seem so very common; left foot, right foot, slumber, wake

Sometimes we forget that Someone grants each gifted breath we take

Sometimes, then we are not prayerful, humble and obedient

Sometimes then, we are not careful with the seeds God’s goodness lent

It may not seem very dire, crucial or imperative

What or who attunes desire, what we choose to keep or give

Who we worship in the granting of love and longing’s pursuit

It may seem small in the planting, before the tree and the fruit

© Janet Martin

Day by Day

Something About Planting Season

The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof.

Ps.24:1

What are you singing, asked my husband on Saturday

as he heard me humming while I worked in the flower garden...

I thought for a moment and realized I was singing this stanza

(to no fixed tune😅🎵)

which often comes to mind while I putter in the garden,

The kiss of the sun for pardon,

The song of the birds for mirth,--

One is nearer God's heart in a garden

Than anywhere else on earth...

(full poem below post)

Something about planting season overflows the heart with cheer...

When the plow breaks dormant fallow and dust’s pungent incense spills...

Something about green-spun bowers bursts the heart with happiness...

Gardens, showcasing spring flowers, fuels worship’s epic ‘yes’

Something about lilac fragrance, enchanting warm winds of change

Makes us feel like God is granting good, old days naught can estrange...

Something about planting season overflows the heart with cheer

Hope rekindles wearied/worried reason with fresh starts, year after year

As the age-old call of duty/beauty hails from barren sweeps/deeps of sod

Toil is charged with awe for beauty/duty, cradled in the hand of God

When the plow breaks dormant fallow and dust’s pungent incense spills

When the bough brandishes halos of blossom and leafy thrills

When, once more faith is the substance of seeds scattered to the earth

Joy, akin to Eve of Christmas awes us with wonders of birth

Something about green-spun bowers bursts the heart with happiness

Gardens, showcasing spring flowers, fuels worship’s epic ‘yes’

Something about fresh-turned furrows fills us with humble content

Planting season helps heal sorrows that we cannot circumvent

Something about heavens laughing in blue hues beyond our ken

Feels like angels autographing May afternoon with God’s pen

Something about lilac fragrance, enchanting warm winds of change

Makes us feel like God is granting good, old days naught can estrange

Makes us feel like God is giving earth glimpses of Heaven-ness 

Makes us believe man is living in love’s lap of faithfulness 

Makes us want to thirst and hunger for favors His love deploys/employs

Makes us suddenly feel younger in a world of simpler joys

Something about planting season overflows the heart with mirth

Something in the air is teasing graves with melodies of birth

Something about spring's apparel puts a smile upon the face

Pink and yellow, green and purple masterpieces of God's grace

*Something about, when yon cloud tips like a big, watering can

Makes us marvel, like the Psalmist and echo awe's, 'what is man?'

Something about labor halted, grants us opportunity

To be sure God is exalted above likes of you and me 

Something about planting season sings of God’s mercies renewed

Earth is gaping with remission, kindling hymns of gratitude

Seed is throbbing with provision; miracles infuse the sod

Something about planting season draws us to the heart of God

© Janet Martin  

Something about, when yon cloud tips like a big, watering can

Makes us marvel, like the Psalmist and echo awe's, 'what is man?'

* I thought the poem was complete then a good, old thunderstorm rolled through

inspiring one more, the second last stanza. 

(my apologies to those who prefer a quick read)😅💓

..and below is the poem mentioned at the beginning of this post: 

God's Garden

THE Lord God planted a garden

In the first white days of the world,

And He set there an angel warden

In a garment of light enfurled.

So near to the peace of Heaven,

That the hawk might nest with the wren,

For there in the cool of the even

God walked with the first of men.

And I dream that these garden-closes

With their shade and their sun-flecked sod

And their lilies and bowers of roses,

Were laid by the hand of God.

The kiss of the sun for pardon,

The song of the birds for mirth,--

One is nearer God's heart in a garden

Than anywhere else on earth.

For He broke it for us in a garden

Under the olive-trees

Where the angel of strength was the warden

And the soul of the world found ease.

Dorothy Frances Gurney