Showing posts with label rainbow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rainbow. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 23, 2022

Signs of the Times (or signs of September)

Turning a blind eye to signs does not alter the truth!

Gen.9:13-17
And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me 
and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come:  
I have set my rainbow in the clouds, 
and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.  
Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 
I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. 
Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.  
Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it 
and remember the everlasting covenant between God 
and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”
So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant I have established 
between me and all life on the earth.”


2 Tim.3:1-5
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.  
People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, 
disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,  without love, 
unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good,
  treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 
 having a form of godliness but denying its power. 
Have nothing to do with such people.


When we see signs it alerts us to whatever the sign is drawing our attention to!
From streets to businesses to for sale signs to events etc.
From flashy billboards to modest handmade creations!
But one thing is imperative for a 'successful' sign. 
It must be easy to read!


Daybreak's sign is always easy to see...the fading dark!

...and for better or worse signs of summer fading are becoming more evident

Signs of September start to unsettle August’s veneer
An air of fond farewell drapes summer’s beaming belvedere
In hues of misty mint and blues begins the tug of war
That draws us to conclusions we can no longer ignore

Signs of August’s slipping foothold bids us to slow our feet
And linger in the plum and gold aura of Bittersweet
Awareness of what all too swift and surely will become
An echo-dazzled wonderland of summer’s soldered sum

While gardens groan with goodness, while man and earth sheds fair youth
Where ignorance and purposed blindness cannot alter truth
Where all around us signs of seasons spin and sweep and surge
A vexing kind of vortex as the past and future merge

Signs of September sparkle in the eye of Father Time
It kindles as it swindles, a nostalgic pantomime
Of June, July and August’s darling days that soon depart
Like a harvest of diamonds tucked somewhere deep in the heart

© Janet Martin

The signs of the times are blaring!
Are we paying attention?

Matthew 24 teaches us the signs to watch for as the day of
the return of Christ draws near

Matthew 24:9-13
Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, 
and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 
 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other,
 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 
 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 
 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 
 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world
 as a testimony to all nations, 
and then the end will come.



Johnny Cash
 


 

Matt.24:42-44
Watch therefore, for you do not know what [g]hour your Lord is coming. 
 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what [h]hour the thief would come,
 he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 
 Therefore you also be ready, 
for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.










Friday, June 4, 2021

Above, Beneath and All Around



No matter how perverse or adverse man is,
God is faithful and always keeps His promises.




A rainbow is a symbol of the covenant of God's faithfulness,
given first to Noah and his family after the flood

Genesis 9: 12-17

And God said: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, 
and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:
  I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. 
It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; 
and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; 
the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 
The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant 
between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” 
And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant 
which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”



Above, beneath and all around the loathsome deeds of greed and lust
The earth and its fulness abounds to clothe with life, death’s cape of dust
In stark contrast to the disgrace where human race is vile and brute
God’s faithfulness prevails to trace the bud with bloom, the seed with fruit

He makes the rain to fall on all, whether we worship Him or not
The sun to rise and fill the world with light, not one corner forgot
He replenishes mercy before dawn breaks and awakens, we
Who are utterly dependent on the One who gives and takes justly

We, on our own would come to ruin; all that we have, God’s goodness grants
He threads the shuttle of the loom that bursts with life; man, beast and plants
Ability and genius (lest any boast) are by Him willed
We, lavished with love’s uttermost; mortal with immortal instilled

He cares for us, whether we praise Him or live deaf and blind to He
Who numbers our days and knows exactly when their end will be
Above, beneath and all around the fountains of creation bless
Where goodness and mercy abound because God keeps His promises

© Janet Martin

Gen.8:22

"As long as the earth endures, 
seedtime and harvest, 
cold and heat, 
summer and winter, 
day and night 
will never cease."

In stark contrast to the disgrace where human race is vile and brute
God’s faithfulness prevails to trace the bud with bloom, the seed with fruit






1 Peter 5:6-7
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, 
that He may exalt you in due time, 
7casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.