But for Jesus

Today's poem was inspired by

 our communion service yesterday morning,

and the reminder to Remember

 with more than our minds, but with our hearts,

the reason we 'eat the bread and drink the cup'.

.

1 Cor.11:23-26

... the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread;

and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said,

“Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you;

 do this in remembrance of Me.”

In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying,

“This cup is the new covenant in My blood.

This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup,

you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.

Alas! and Did My Saviour Bleed?

How oft the ruins left by stubborn pride could haunt my heart

With gaping wounds that could not heal, but ever sting and smart

The rubble of regret's lament could cause me to despair

Where oft my wayward bent would lead me to temptation's snare

And I would fall prey to a loss of hope, hounding and grim

But for Jesus, mighty to save all who believe in Him

How oft the prospects of Perhaps, where wars and woes increase

Could cause my courage to collapse and rob Reason of peace

Where lust of flesh, lust of the eye and pride of life would gloss

Affection's eager gaze, but for the power of the cross

But for Jesus who in my stead, though sinless, paid sin's price

His death wrought my redemption through His Supreme sacrifice

How oft deep disappointment rocks vessels of skin and bone

But, praise Jesus, for nothing can shift faith's Chief Cornerstone

The author and perfecter of faith, faithful, kind and true

Abides where without Him I could not know what I should do

And I would be a desperado, disillusion-cursed

But for Jesus, who helps me love because He loved me first

But for Jesus who helps me trust in spite of what I see

He fills oft vexed perception with visions of Calvary

Where love's cry pierced dark silence with anguished 'Father, forgive

Through His shed blood I am redeemed; through His scorned tomb I live

Because He conquered death and hell, because He rose again

In Jesus' name faith, hope and love endure always, amen

But for Jesus, the Name above all names, I could not bear

Or dare to approach His glorious throne of grace in prayer

Then pour my heart and soul to He who hears and understands

And knows exactly what I need of rest and reprimands

Of reminders to remember His sacrifice and why

I eat the bread and drink the cup and find they satisfy

But for Jesus, the whole world gained could not comfort my soul

But for Jesus, all purpose would lack an eternal goal

But for Jesus, I know this world would sweep me off my feet

With promises of happiness its best can never meet

But for Jesus, whose joy complete keeps me from looking back

Enough, His love to compensate for all I seem to lack

How oft hope would be overshadowed, but for Jesus, oh

How oft my faith is prone to yield to Sight's compelling show

But for Jesus, who bids me turn and look at Calvary

Till all that I can think is this; thank-you for loving/saving me

Thank-you for being faithful, for salvation's gift of grace

For joy unspeakable that nothing visual can replace

Then, when I look at Calvary and ponder in my heart

The price you paid to ransom me, may Remembrance impart

A transformation of my wants/life as I remember you

As with my thoughts I trace the agony I put you through

I cannot help but weep for joy and gratitude once more

But for Jesus, I could not bear to face death's Lion Roar  

Janet Martin

Casting Crowns - Glorious Day Lyrics

A Thanksgiving-living Lay

Each autumn in the heart, a lay of gratitude is stirred...

For the kind generosity of mercy’s countless ways

For goodness we can taste and see and hear, hold and let go...

Heavens and earth spill a buffet of beauty, undeterred...

Each autumn in the heart, a lay of gratitude is stirred

Heavens and earth spill a buffet of beauty, undeterred

By oft thoughtless regard for He who deserves ceaseless praise

For the kind generosity of mercy’s countless ways

For goodness we can taste and see and hear, hold and let go

For blessings poured abundantly that we will never know

For all that makes us laugh and sing and dance and pray and weep

Because true love is bound to bring sorrows that run soul-deep

To teach far-too-forgetful, far-too-hurried/worried you and I

To be more humbly grateful in our manner of reply

To the Giver of ev’ry day whose lavish grace and love

Sustains a bountiful array, far over-and-above

What we can think to ask; exceeding our wildest ken

With Benefit that He may mask in seeming loss/suffering; Amen

As seasons ebb and overflow our hearts with thankfulness

As autumn casts its golden glow through woodland’s auburn tress

As we with wonderment behold the heavens’ welkin span

And echo, like David of old, dumbfounded ‘what is man'

That you are mindful of us still, and crown us with the spoil

Of the Creator’s perfect will, to worship while we toil

And care for the work of your hands; the flocks, the herds, the beasts

The offspring of Thy first commands of ‘let-there-be’ laid feasts

Of the birds of the air, of all that swims, flies, leaps and grows

To kindle in our prayer a madrigal of gaping prose

An uncurbed surge of utter bliss no words can quite construe

For the God who made/gave all of this is mankind’s Saviour too

He bore our debt of sin and shame; He died and rose again

Lord, how majestic is Your name in Heav’n and earth. Amen

Then, as we bow before You, Lord on this Thanksgiving Day

As our gladness is outpoured in grateful lay, we pray

That this is not a one-day hymn we piously extend

But a long, ceaseless song we sing forever without end

A humble, holy, heartfelt cry of gratitude unfurled

To honour and to glorify the Saviour of the world

Who, without partiality, will pardon me and you

Then surely thanksgiving must be repentance, meek and true

For who besides God can forgive, and break the curse sin wrought

And who but God can help us live and love the way we ought

And who but God grants treasures that surpass Time's finite wink

And promises us pleasures beyond what mortal can think 

And who but God has loved like this; He forgives us and then

Showers us, undeserved, with His kind faithfulness. Amen

Janet Martin

My grandchildren invited me to come with them on their hike today.

It was my pleasure and honour!

Happy, Happy Thanks-living!! 

Rom.11:33-36

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom

 and knowledge of God!

How unsearchable his judgments,

and his paths beyond tracing out!

 “Who has known the mind of the Lord?

Or who has been his counselor?”

“Who has ever given to God,

that God should repay them?”

For from him 

and through him 

and for him 

are all things.

To him be the glory forever!

 Amen.

CityAlight - Only A Holy God

Without a Sound, Yet Thundering

On Tuesday morning we were treated to a spectacular Production of

The Heavens Declare the Glory of God

Pink wonder thunders without sound

We gaze from plots of holy ground

Beholding the heavens afire

With praise from an infinite choir

Leaving the small spectator awed

Beneath shouts of glory to God

Without a sound, yet thundering

Through mortal's finite wondering

As the heavens declare the birth

Of a new day to all the earth 

Janet Martin

Ps.19:1-4

The heavens declare the glory of God;

And the firmament[a] shows [b]His handiwork.

 Day unto day utters speech,

And night unto night reveals knowledge.

 There is no speech nor language

Where their voice is not heard.

 Their [c]line has gone out through all the earth,

And their words to the end of the world.

Holy, Holy, Holy

Take Time to Taste a Poem, Dear

Happy Last Day of September!!

What is different about today's post??

No tomatoes!! 

As thankful as I am, I am SO ready to stop seeing red at every turn! 😍

Take time to taste a poem, love

And note the ink of ages spilled

On pages beneath and above

To leave the hearts of readers thrilled

Take time to discover and learn

The poetry where God abounds

In majesty at every turn

Of season, reason, sights and sounds

Take time to marvel at His pen

From whence a wealth of wonder pours

In lyrics of yes and amen

From heaven and earth's troubadours 

Before today's fleet Poems fade

Like flower-font, sunrise and set

Before its rose regale is frayed

And laid in frames we soon forget

Come! taste joy's jocund melody

Let's let paeans drip from our chins

In raw, unabashed ecstasy

As awe rekindles speechless grins

Take time to taste a poem, dear

And let the juice of it run wild

Before its ballads disappear

Into thin air like Yester's child 

Janet Martin

Psalm 149:1
Hallelujah! Sing to the LORD a new song—

His praise in the assembly of the godly.

Ephesians 5:19
Speak to one another with psalms, 

hymns, and spiritual songs. 

Sing and make music in your hearts to the Lord,

Colossians 3:16
Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you as you teach

 and admonish one another with all wisdom, 

and as you sing psalms, hymns, 

and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

Blessed

Last night I said to Jim I feel a bit like a marathon runner must feel

 on the home stretch, and is suddenly filled with a fresh burst of speed!

(See HERE for more pics of tomato-thon

 and these were the final round of picking after many, 

many previous baskets full)

I couldn't finish yesterday as I originally hoped,

 no matter how fast I chopped, mashed and jarred 😅

This time of year hearts overflow with thankfulness for abundant yield

from gardens and fields...

and for beauty of earth and sky

Dusk...

Dawn...

Psalm 145:3

Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised;

 His greatness is unsearchable.

Job 37:5

God thunders wondrously with His voice;

 He does great things we cannot comprehend.

For more than momentary cheer of circumstantial happiness

For more than things we see and hear that this world honors as success

For more than confidence and show of wealth's material increase

Praise God from whom all blessings flow; whose promises bring joy and peace

For more than rich yields from the earth or health and strength whereby we toil

For more than ephemeral mirth of merchandise and carnal spoil

For more than friends and family, who we are humbly thankful for

Praise God for blessings that we see and those we seek beyond Time's score  

Praise God for His word to protect from fool-ungrounded fantasies

Praise God for His word to direct with more than mortal vagaries  

He gives us all we need to know to trust faith's steadfast Cornerstone 

Praise God from whom all blessings flow like rivers coursing from His throne

....in magnificent magnitude; where wonderment and worship meld

In oft unconscious gratitude for countless favours, not withheld 

Whose everlasting love bestows goodness and mercy beyond ken

Praise God from whom all blessing flows and bears witness of Him. Amen  

Janet Martin

Isaiah 40:28
Do you not know?

 Have you not heard? 

The LORD is the everlasting God, 

the Creator of the ends of the earth.

 He will not grow tired or weary;

 His understanding is beyond searching out.

Every once in a while I love to crank up this version of

Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow 

A Bitty Worship Ditty

Tennessee Ernie Ford - What A Friend We Have In Jesus

 

We adore You

Faithful Father

Full Forgiver,

Saviour, Friend

Awesome Author

of Salvation

Love, no thought

can comprehend

Giver, Taker

Hallelujah,

Holy, humble

Perfect Will

Though we stumble,

Kind Creator

Faithful Father

Loves us still

Janet Martin

Close to Thee (Thou My Everlasting Portion)

Wooed By Proof (of Mercy's Bide)

Today marks the sober anniversary of the great tragedy, often referred to as 9/11.

If we truly remember, Lord, 

help us to be a vital part of Your goodness and love in this world,

to shine your Light rather than join the noise and darkness of hate!

Ps.139:5

You hem me in behind and before,

and you lay your hand upon me.

Day breaks; a gold, incoming tide, rolling across the countryside...

Day breaks; a gold, incoming tide, rolling across the countryside

Each dell and vale, an earthen bowl brimming and dimming night’s charcoal

Tableau; beauty’s banner unfurled, washes across a waking world

Bedazzling lawned and meadowed bars with wave on wave of silver stars

Rousing us from slumber’s repose to wade through streams where mercy flows

Unhindered and unruffled by mortal’s often-thankless reply

But on the threshold of Today/new-day, behooves us now, to pause and pray

Awed by God’s faithful custody of galaxies and you and me

This is the day the Lord has made, not to be anxious and afraid

But with confidence in His will, proceed, His purpose to fulfill

Rather than adding to the noise that lack of loving Him employs

Then, wooed by proof of Mercy’s Bide, sense Him in dawn’s incoming tide

...where so much more than we can see instills morn's regularity

God walks upon dawn's teeming tide, goodness and mercy, bona fide

Then let unbelief's lion's roar; He hems us in, behind, before

And lays his Invisible Hand upon all who trust His command

Janet Martin

Ps.118:1&8, 15-17, 21-24

(Read the whole awesome chapter HERE)

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!

For His mercy endures forever....

It is better to trust in the Lord

Than to put confidence in man.

The voice of rejoicing and salvation

Is in the tents of the righteous;

The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.

The right hand of the Lord is exalted;

The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.

I shall not die, but live,

And declare the works of the Lord.

I will praise You,

For You have answered me,

And have become my salvation.

 The stone which the builders rejected

Has become the chief cornerstone.

 [c]This was the Lord’s doing;

It is marvelous in our eyes.

 This is the day the Lord has made;

We will rejoice and be glad in it.

Ps.56:3-4

When I am afraid,

I put my trust in You.

In God, whose word I praise—

in God I trust.

I will not be afraid.

What can man do to me?

Thank God, Because His Mercy Is Renewed (every morning)

Lam.3:21-23&25

Yet this I call to mind

and therefore I have hope:

Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,

Because His compassions fail not.

They are new every morning;

Great is Your faithfulness...

The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,

to the one who seeks him;

Imagine if, for one morning 

God did not renew His mercy and compassion,

and man was left to fend for himself!

All would fail, for all we have is from God;

all light, all love and all life

come from and belong to Him!

Rom.11:36

For of Him and through Him

 and to Him are all things,

to whom be glory forever. 

Amen.

Behold! Morning is breaking; mercy is renewed again

Thank God for all He orchestrates beyond our wildest ken...

What holy reason to proceed, anoints each step toward

What waits to be, (ultimately the glory/return of the Lord)

Behold! Morning is breaking; mercy is renewed again

Thank God for all He orchestrates beyond our wildest ken

What wealth at our disposal waits, beneath visual façade

We are so prone to trusting what we see, rather than God

Where to the eye, it may appear we are sky-worlds apart

Thank God for all He does to draw us nearer to His heart

In spite of all the times we do the Thing we should not do

Our Father in Heaven loves His children through and through

And delights to surprise us with gifts of goodness and grace

Thank God for all He gives to grant us glimpses of His face

When we repent, and put our hope and trust in Him, what peace

In a world where trouble abounds and wars and cares increase

His faithfulness sustains our faith no matter how we feel

Thank God for all He holds and nothing in this world can steal

Human nature oft overlooks and undermines The Best

Forgetting to do our part then leave to God the rest

But look! Morning is breaking; mercy is renewed again

Thank God for all that He forgives and then forgets. Amen

What holy reason to proceed, anoints each step today

What love at our disposal cheers us onward, come what may

What purpose and what power spurs and stirs our gratitude

Thank God for all He does because His mercy is renewed

Janet Martin

Great is Thy Faithfulness

Heaven's Grand Event

Ps.5:3

In the morning, O LORD, You hear my voice;

at daybreak I lay my plea before You

and wait in expectation.

Darkness dwindles; daybreak kindles toil and trouble’s transient wick

Silence thunders with fresh wonders waiting to cut to the quick

Season-beauty graces duty with God’s grandeur to behold

Skyline blushes; mercy rushes like a river, rose and gold

Worship savours unearned favours from a fount where blessings pour

Hope and heartache humbly partake of love’s Bread of Life once more

Unplumbed essence of God’s Presence cheers us through days good or bad

Overflowing The Unknowing with enough to make us glad

Glad to labour, love our neighbour, with a heart of gratitude

For God’s tender, steadfast splendour; Goodness and Mercy renewed

Gone forever, yester’s-nevermore of moments spilled and spent

Darkness dwindles, daybreak kindles Today; Heaven’s Grand Event

What an offer! From yon coffer run riches none can descry

Today given, down from Heaven where God waits for our reply 

Janet Martin

Ps.118:24

This is the day the Lord has made;
We will rejoice and be glad in it.