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.

While We Wait...Quietly

God's Waiting Room is a Garden...

From Eden to Gethsemane/Calvary mankind awaited The Messiah (Saviour)

In Eden, perfection marred by sin. Sin, the author of death, trouble and sorrow.

In Gethsemane, utter surrender to the Father's will.

The Father's Will? 

Salvation/Redemption

Today's devotion struck a deep chord in my soul.

Our church family, while still mourning the loss of of our pastor this past winter

are seeking and waiting on the Lord to prepare and provide another.

The tension between seeking and waiting is not a light matter!

Prayers are deeply appreciated on the behalf of our church staff and leaders,

whose 'violin/cello strings' are being sorely stretched!

Waiting introduces suitors 

That test soldiers of the cross

While goodness and mercy tutors

Faith's students with seeming loss  

Waiting without being anxious

Is not for the faint of heart

Beneath God's perfecting purpose

Oft our own ways groan and smart 

To wait quietly, while hoping

Jars with natural desire

To trust without interloping 

 Tries the wise, as if by fire

God's Waiting Room is a garden

Eden and Gethsemane

First the curse and then the pardon

Waiting unveils Calvary 

Then be of good courage, fellow-

Partaker of suffering 

While we wait God's tunes faith's cello

And repairs each broken string

While we wait, hark! God is speaking

To the likes of me and you

While we wait He too is seeking

Worshippers whose love is true 

Janet Martin

Here I Am To Worship | Maranatha! Music (Lyric Video)

Faith-Booster

In need of a faith-boost?

Today's devotion is a beautiful reminder

of truths that abide, regardless of what may seem!

By Faith" from Praise and Harmony's Resurrecting God CD

Only a Holy God -Praise and Harmony

We walk by faith and not by sight

No need to know or fret or fear

As step by step we trust the Light

Of God's Word to direct and cheer

Faith walks by the way of the cross

For sinless Christ bore mankind's sin

And suffered Mercy's Albatross

This is no minor, trifling thing

Faith walks in the power of prayer

How limited is mortal might

How finite is the thoroughfare

That winds through highs and lows of sight

Our God forgives when we confess

Faith believes and walks in His grace

As far as east is from the west

His love/blood removes transgression's trace

Ah, what more do we need than this;

To have a God who intercedes

Though much may be sadly amiss

We walk by faith because God leads

Among all gods, none are like Thee

Thy words and works beyond compare

Transcending the small part we see  

We walk by faith; faith walks by prayer

Unite our hearts to fear Thy name

Lord, let Thy law be awe's delight 

Until, returned from whence we came

Help us to walk by faith, not sight

Armed with the Spirit's sword, Thy Word

Faith's shield to quench enemy darts

We step into the fray, oh Lord

Open the eyes of our hearts

Janet Martin

Sharing this chapter as well so it may minister to your soul

as it did to mine this morning. 

Ps 86

Bow down Your ear, O Lord, hear me;

For I am poor and needy.

2 Preserve my [a]life, for I am holy;

You are my God;

Save Your servant who trusts in You!

3 Be merciful to me, O Lord,

For I cry to You all day long.

4 [b]Rejoice the soul of Your servant,

For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

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

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

6 Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;

And attend to the voice of my supplications.

7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon You,

For You will answer me.

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

Nor are there any works like Your works.

9 All nations whom You have made

Shall come and worship before You, O Lord,

And shall glorify Your name.

10 For You are great, and do wondrous things;

You alone are God.

11 Teach me Your way, O Lord;

I will walk in Your truth;

[c]Unite my heart to fear Your name.

12 I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart,

And I will glorify Your name forevermore.

13 For great is Your mercy toward me,

And You have delivered my soul from the depths of [d]Sheol.

14 O God, the proud have risen against me,

And a mob of violent men have sought my life,

And have not set You before them.

15 But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious,

Longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth.

16 Oh, turn to me, and have mercy on me!

Give Your strength to Your servant,

And save the son of Your maidservant.

17 Show me a sign for good,

That those who hate me may see it and be ashamed,

Because You, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

A World of Summer Wonder Waits...

Ps.24:1 

The earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness, 

The world and those who dwell therein.

Dawn bursts through gates of summer day, and what does its first light unveil?

A fresh and burgeoning buffet of summer-beauty, fleet and frail...

A world of summer-wonder waits to woo replies of awed applause

Before its blitz of blooms abates, let's feast our eyes on God because

The earth and its fulness thereof belongs to Him, yet He delights

In overflowing founts of love to thrill us with scents, sounds and sights

Dawn bursts through gates of summer day, and what does its first light unveil?

A fresh and burgeoning buffet of summer-beauty, fleet and frail

Beckoning us to slow our stride while hastening from here to there

To open eyes, ears and hearts wide to handiwork beyond compare   

...because the world of summer soon slips from earth's sill of dust and dew

Its blue and yellow afternoon fades and loses its petals too

So, as dawn flings ajar yon gates, let's walk slow enough to be awed 

Where summer's world of wonder waits for us to feast our eyes on God

Janet Martin 

Reason to Rejoice in Truth

Every single person in the world,

no matter how 'together' they may seem,

has struggles, fears, disappointments and sorrows!

The verse below is as true now as the day

it was God-breathed to humankind! 

Ps.146:5

Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
    whose hope is in the Lord their God.

Phil Wickham - Living Hope (Lyrics)

Praise God; the power of the cross, no foe can overthrow

Nor ever annul Redemption’s inestimable worth

No matter what the argument, tis by God’s grace we go

His breath of life fills our lungs, His glory fills the earth

Praise God; though generations come and go, His Word abides

Faith’s Lighthouse and hope’s anchor in a world of pagan noise

What confidence and peace as Want its agony confides

His Word ministers to our souls and kindles countless joys

Praise God; His goodness and mercy, no tragedy can quell

Though the father of lies tries any guise to guard sin’s wage

Faith fixes eyes beyond Time and sight’s fleeting citadel

To a Prize where God’s love will reign from age to age to age

So, praise Him now with every breath He grants, and do not faint

For His sufficient grace sustains a tow’r of strength within

Then, whatever today demands, proceed without complaint

Servants of righteousness and truth rather than slaves to sin

Praise God, the power of the cross cannot be overthrown

His promises cannot be broken or His purpose swayed

He reaches down and sets in place each grace-laid Steppingstone

So, rejoice in the Lord for this new day that He has made

Janet Martin

Dawn's/Worship's Alabaster Flask, Refilled!!

See what great love the Father has lavished on us...1 John 3:1

Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not.
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness. Lam.3:22-23

Today, Lord let me recognize the alabaster flask I hold

Lowered from extravagant skies of purple mist and blushing gold

Wherein like precious ointment of great value, moments will reveal

The nature of my deepest love by at whose feet I come to kneel

And at what cost I prove the part that words alone do not disclose;

The sacred throne-room of the heart, and whose reign my devotion shows 

Lord, pray Thee when today is spent; the alabaster flask of dawn

Broken, and its utter content of priceless love lavished upon

The feet of my Lord/lord  You will say with kind and tender sympathy

'she has done all she could today to show her heart of love to me'

Or else, as too oft the case, Lord (and here ashamed, I bow my head)

Forgive me, where I dumbly poured love's perfume on myself instead 

Today, Lord, grant me eyes to see Dawn's Alabaster Flask refilled

With mercy for humanity, before Worship's Spikenard is spilled 

And lavished on the head and feet of that which I most dearly love 

Where rationale of talk is cheap, as I my lord/lord and Master/master prove

By how the moments of today are perceived, measured and outpoured

Either to howls/jowls of dust and clay or with grateful praise to Thee, Lord 

What love you lavish on us Lord; whether we love you in return

Or turn our backs upon your Word, grace shatters dusk's dust and ash Urn

And brushes eternity's brink with virgin hues beyond compare

The perfume of mercy runs pink-blue-gold through daybreak's supine air

Lord, before we start today's tasks and face the foes that vex faith's guard

Tune us to alabaster flasks where worship waits to spill its Nard 

Janet Martin  

Great Is Thy Faithfulness with Lyrics | Lydia Walker

Mark 14:1-9

Now the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were only two days away,

 and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were scheming to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. 

2 “But not during the festival,” they said, “or the people may riot.”

3 While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, 

a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard.

 She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.

4 Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, 

“Why this waste of perfume? 

5 It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages[a] 

and the money given to the poor.”

 And they rebuked her harshly.

6 “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? 

She has done a beautiful thing to me. 

7 The poor you will always have with you,[b] 

and you can help them any time you want. 

But you will not always have me. 

8 She did what she could. 

She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. 

9 Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, 

what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

In the Quietude of Awe...

Just as the body needs nourishment to thrive...

so too, the soul!

Ps.34:8

Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good;

Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!

Matt. 5:6

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

For they shall be filled.

Ps.31:19

How great is Your goodness,

Which You have stored up for those who fear You,

Which You have wrought for those who take refuge in You,

Before the sons of men!

Psalm 119:103

How sweet are Your words to my taste—

sweeter than honey in my mouth!

Jeremiah 15:16

Your words were found, and I ate them.

Your words became my joy and my heart’s delight.

For I bear Your name, O LORD God of Hosts.

Ps.46:10

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth.”

Isaiah 30:15

For the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, has said:

 “By repentance and rest you would be saved; 

your strength would lie in quiet confidence—

but you were not willing.”

***

We have within, a sacred rill from which our spirits draw

But it runs dry lest we are still for God to will and do

His good pleasure of restoring our souls to holy awe

So we can face life's roaring tolls, refreshed by heaven's dew

Be still where living bread is found and living water flows  

Take off your shoes where holy ground of earth and heaven meet 

Like Elijah, drink from the brook the Word of God bestows

In life's wildernesses, ah look! Here manna, honeysweet 

What profit this; to gain the world at the cost of the soul 

To haste and miss the Fount unfurled, where healing tides are spilled 

To discover the pure delight of faith cheered and made whole

As we hunger and thirst for righteousness, then and there filled 

Be still and know that He is God; then let His love renew

Our strength so we can run and not weary; walk and not faint

For unless we are still, how can God fill the rill with Dew

That nourishes the soul of man and empowers the saint 

On storm-tossed sweeps, dew cannot fall, but oh, when we are still

So still, we do not even call on Him with creature-cry

Then, in the quietude of awe showers of grace refill

The rill within, so we can draw and not find it run dry 

Janet Martin

Be Still, My Soul-Libera Boy's Choir

With Heart Laid Bare

What grand irony that, in spite of, and in the plight of unutterable grief

in a world filled with hurt and brokenness,

we have free access to inexpressible peace and joy.

What sweet consolation; the sufferer of 'the Easter Story' 

is our Saviour and the Sustainer of faith's hope of glory.

Small wonder as we come to Him that sometimes we are speechless!

The world groans with the need of Jesus!

Jesus, sinless Lamb of God,

who suffered in our stead to break the curse of death,

that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life!

Nothing and no one in all time in all the world

 can make or keep such a loving promise,

It Was For Me {with lyrics}

The highest thoughts I think or pray at best are still so small

And oft I know not what to say as on my knees I fall

With heart laid bare before the One who knows and loves me best

Whose grief is greater than my own, whose joy transcends the test

Whose promises do not betray, whose purposes prevail

Whose grace, sufficient for the day will not falter or fail

Who does not leave me comfortless but does not turn blind eyes

To loves and habits ruinous or lesser gods I prize

Who knows the flesh is full of wants and wills that disobey

Prone to indulge the voice that taunts with ‘did God really say?’

He loves me still with thoughts and ways no mortal comprehends

And understands my stuttered phrase and makes perfect amends

With heart laid bare, Lord, well You know how wretched I would be

But for redemption You bestow, purchased at Calvary

But for fellowship you restore through faith that made me whole

With heart laid bare, I bow before the Saviour of my soul 

Janet Martin

Eph.3:20

Now to Him who is able 

to do exceedingly abundantly

 above all that we ask or think,

 according to the power that works in us,

 21to Him be glory in the church 

by Christ Jesus to all generations, 

forever and ever. 

Amen.

Lord, shield us from the perils of self-pity and doubt

lest they foster bitter despair.

Instead, as we follow your footsteps that lead to Calvary

may the incomparable love that purchased hope's incomparable gift

transform our perspective and humble our plea.

Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross

1 Pet.1:8-9

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, 

9now that you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Come, Holy Spirit, Intercede

Heartbreak; It's all around us!

The world groans!

God's Spirit if we ask/trust Him

will intercede with unshakeable hope

Hope; it's above us, beneath us and hems us in on every side

It lifts us up on eagle wings.

It is no magic cure for life's ills and aches

but it is strength, joy and peace in the thick of them!

It is love's/God's gift to us when we put our trust in Him.

Isa.40:31 NIV

but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.

Remember your word to your servant,

for you have given me hope.

  Psalm 119:49

Come, Gracious Spirit

Come Holy Spirit, intercede

Anoint my fumbling quest

And through redemption's favours plead

On my behalf, Thy best/the rest

Come, Holy Spirit, stir my soul

To hope in Thee alone

As I relinquish full control 

With this; Thy will be done

Once I, a woman at the well

Would vainly draw and draw

But could not satisfy or quell

My thirst with loot or law 

Until, my Lord, You bid me come

To trust and taste and see

The Living Water flowing from

The fount of Calvary 

The Fount that drew Thee from Thy throne

Hope's groaning breach to span

To be the Lamb that would atone

 And save the soul of man 

To rend the temple's veil and then

To overthrow the grave

You crushed the serpent's head. Amen

With love, mighty to save

Come, Holy Spirit, intercede

With discipline divine

Till Gethsemane-like groans concede

 Not my will, Lord, but Thine

Come, Holy Spirit, intercede

Until 'then, face to face'

I hear Thy final verdict plead 

Salvation's gift of grace

And then forevermore to lift

My voice, with ceaseless breath

To praise the Giver of love's gift

That saved my soul from death

Janet Martin

John 11:25-26

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.

 He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.

 26And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. 

Do you believe this?”

There Is A Fountain Filled With Blood

Lead Me To Calvary with Lyrics (Hymn) - Don Moen

Love's Favour or Sunrise Symphony

Watching the morning break was like having a front row seat at a

Second-to-none free-for-all Symphony 

This was a performance like never before

and never will be again, as is each daybreak!

Ps.139:17-18

How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!

How great is the sum of them!

If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;

When I awake, I am still with You.

Blush-brushed beauty, ushers duty to Time's kindly-kindled Wick

Heaven trembles with ensembles, soon cut to progression's Quick

Mercy quivers, love delivers That which only God supplies

Age-old token crowns the broken with glimpses of paradise

Crowns the rubble of Time’s trouble with covenantal embrace

Seals the treasure of His pleasure with His signature of grace

Like a chorus, gold and glorious from a welkin wellspring borne

While the Teacher cheers the creature with love’s favour of fresh morn

The Creator awes spectators like no other god can do

Peals of wonder humbly thunder in the likes of me and you

Janet Martin

Holy, Holy, Holy