Because Satan is a Charmer (we need God's Armour)

The reason deceit is so cunning/detrimental is because

it comes in a way that seems right to us, 

but leads to death-

Prov.14:12

There is a way that seems right to a man,

but its end is the way of death.

Because, without knowledge of the Truth

we are prone to believe logic's lie...

Matt.22:9

Jesus answered and said unto them, 

Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, 

nor the power of God.

The knowledge of the power of God 

is the true believer's comfort and peace in these troubled times!

Hallelujah! but...

this is not a sit-back-and-do-nothing-warfare,

it's a watching-God-work as 'we do all we can to stand' warfare...

(see Eph. 6:10-20 below)

Because the wars of faith are fought on battlegrounds within

The Armor of the Lord is for the man beneath our skin

To guard the heart and mind against the liar’s insurgence

Whose mission is to blind us to sin’s dire consequence

Therefore we need God’s armor in a land where evil smiles

So that we may be able to withstand the devil’s wiles

Because rulers of darkness, disguised as angels of light

Are both cunning and heartless, we must be equipped to fight

Without the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness

We are like open prey to he who breeds ungodliness

Therefore, we need God’s armor to protect thought’s open street

Where Satan is a charmer and a master of deceit

Pity all whose feet are not shod with the gospel of peace

Who have no shield of faith in God to quench bold wickedness

No helmet of salvation to enrich hope undeterred

And no sword of the spirit which is God’s eternal Word

Oh, pity all who live without God’s armor to secure

Defenseless against darts of doubt, or glamour’s lethal lure

Today, before we take another step, oh pray we pause

And do a thorough armor-check with prayerful care because

We wrestle not with flesh and blood, but evil’s ruthless brood

Who are the enemy of God, truthless, devoid of good

But, with the name of Jesus and the power of His might

God’s grace equips and frees us from the fear of death/man, to fight

© Janet Martin

Take the Name of Jesus with You

 

Eph.6:10-20

The Whole Armor of God

10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 

11 Put on the whole armor of God, 

that you may be able to stand against the [b]wiles of the devil. 

12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, 

but against principalities, against powers, 

against the rulers of [c]the darkness of this age, 

against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 

13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, 

that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, 

and having done all, to stand.

14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth,

 having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 

15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

 16 above all, taking the shield of faith 

with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 

17 And take the helmet of salvation, 

and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;

 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, 

being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— 

19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, 

that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 

20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; 

that in it I may speak boldly, 

as I ought to speak.

All Aboard (on our way to meeting the Lord)

Happy Birthday, Jim!

A glimpse at his view this morning!

(from New Jersey and New York)

I wonder how many miles Jim has traveled in 37 years of truck-driving!

Today Jim has reached the milestone of 59 years of life!

What a blessing, not to be taken for granted!

 

Whether viewed over the hood of a truck or otherwise,

the scenery of our lives is as varied and diverse as the journeys,

Some reject the Conductor, others revere and love Him, but

all will appear before Him when we come to the end of life's journey,

where one of two eternities awaits;

 forever with Him or forever separated.

With Him= forever joy, life and light/Day.

Without Him = forever anguish, death and darkness.

Mark 16:16

Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, 

but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

***

All aboard, cries the Conductor as the new-born baby cries

As the first breath births life’s journey of the Soul that never dies

From He, who our days has written before one has come to be

From God, the Giver and Taker of fleeting mortality

Courses the measure of moments, tick by tock its torrent flows

Forcing the child soon to grapple with the thorns beneath the rose

All aboard, cries the Conductor at the portal of sunrise

Rife with life’s inevitable ups and downs of lows and highs

Subtle carousel of seasons spins, and spills what soon is spent

My, how sacred is our answer to He who life’s lease has lent

Where love is His utter reason, while faith musters flying leaps

No passenger is forgotten in the promises He keeps

All aboard, cries the Conductor. Only He/God can see the whole

How near is the final station/Destination where dust is brushed from the Soul

Thus, we at the faithful mercy of God’s goodness, truth and grace

Ought to ponder oft the moment when we meet Him face to face

Careful in how we maneuver every hill and hairpin curve

For this is how we will prove who we believe and who we serve

All aboard, cries the Conductor, as onto dawn’s car we climb

Where today some will be ushered from This Thoroughfare of Time

Thus, we should regard with honor every opportunity

To be loving to each other, fellow travelers are we

Until one by one each swaying, Soul-hinged pendulum is stilled

As each day of grace, prewritten has been offered and fulfilled

Hark, across Time's landscape tolls the holy call of, 'all aboard!'

On this very sacred passage, on our way to meet the Lord

© Janet Martin

Psalm 139:14-16

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.

15My frame was not hidden from you

when I was made in the secret place,

when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.

16Your eyes saw my unformed body;

all the days ordained for me were written in your book

before one of them came to be.

Sometimes when Jim calls me

he is parked at a railway waiting for the train to pass...

Life Railway to Heaven

over the years there's been a lot of this...

(exchanging empty thermos and lunch-bag for full)

For Every (one-time gift) of Today

Rom.11:36

For of Him 

and through Him 

and to Him 

are all things, 

to whom be glory forever.

 Amen.

For every afternoon not yet framed in fond remembrance

For every day of June still like a pearl in welkin shells

For every wave not yet undone by shoreline’s supine stance

For every grave still waiting for what every breath soft-fells

For every sweet delight and bitter bite from life’s buffet

Not sampled yet; we rise to greet the surprise of Today

For every good and perfect gift from mercy’s treasured trove

For every echo not yet drifting in past’s pastel clime

For every memento first refined by faith, hope and love

For every moment-morsel not yet run through hands of time

From He who gives all that we take, from He who takes away

We trust His grace and thank Him for the blessing of today

For from and to and for Him are all things; to Him all praise

For every lesson not yet taught or learned by young or old

For every green of innocence still unseared by want’s ways

For every earnest shepherd of lambs, eternity-souled

For every hymn unraveled by the willow-limbs that sway

For every sacred beauty-onus-impact of today

For this we touch toes down once more on the tarmac of morn

For every hour still unwed to flickers, farewell-kissed

For every daisy still unchained, for ballads not yet born

For every flower-lyric , orange, yellow, amethyst

For thoughts, pure, honest, noble, true and lovely, Lord, we pray

That we would honor You with each one-time gift of today

© Janet Martin

Finally, brothers and sisters, 

whatever is true,

 whatever is noble, 

whatever is right, 

whatever is pure, 

whatever is lovely, 

whatever is admirable—

if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—

think about such things. 

Phil.4:8

Dear May, a Farewell Love-letter

 Happy last Day of May!

Dear May, somehow you always exceed eager expectation

As you begin to nurture nature’s treed rejuvenation

As gardens start to thrill our gaze with petal-punctuation

And overhead a minstrel plays leaf-lays in celebration

Dear May, you always rouse anew, rekindled planting pleasure

As you run wooing whispers through buds bursting with bloom treasure

As you, beneath young and old feet, unfurl your finest measure

Where beauty and duty compete with lures of toil and leisure

Dear May, the way you always spill with April’s remnant showers

Makes worth the while it takes until you reward faith with flowers

Tulip chalices, bleeding hearts, allium, lilac-bowers

Always, your floral drumroll kickstarts summer’s fleeting hours

Dear May, your dust is sacred, stirred by farmer’s urgent labor

Your prudent lease sublimely blurred by your lime-coloured saber

Waving a welkin wand that welcomes home the long-lost neighbor

As nests are built and filled with featherdown and fledgling caper

Dear May, it always feels as if you leave us way too soon-oh

Medley of march-and-meander through days, dandeli’n-strewn-oh

We could not bear the fare-thee-well of your sweet afternoon-oh

But for the tolling of a bell that always brings us June-oh

© Janet Martin

Perfect Fit...

When the backdrop of day is green

Because the bud has borne its sheen...

And when the crown of it is blue...

And when the dawn of it is new

And when its gown is lilac-starred

And its breeze like soft seas unbarred...

And when its flowers smile and nod

And when its Gardener is God...

Is it not enough just to fit

Into a teeny bit of it...

When the backdrop of day is green

Because the bud has borne its sheen

And when the crown of it is blue

And when the dawn of it is new

And when its gown is lilac-starred

And its breeze like soft seas unbarred

And when its flowers smile and nod

And when its Gardener is God

Is it not enough just to fit

Into a teeny bit of it...

And make the most of it because

Soon it will be the Day That Was

© Janet Martin

1 Chron. 29:11

Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, 

The power and the glory, 

The victory and the majesty; 

For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; 

Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, 

And You are exalted as head over all.

A Let-list

(playing in the old bathtub waiting to be hauled away...)

The older I get, the more I cherish moments of laughter...

...welcome relief to the toll love's constant care/prayer can take,

as the wellspring of laughter is not drained,

but sustained by 'the joy still set before us'!

Below, Baby Brother looks longingly as if wishing he could participate

in more than simply being a spectator...

(but that would mean leaving mommy, something he is not fond of😅💖)

Let the music of sweet laughter kindly comfort creature care

In the lessons love must suffer, let not hope yield to despair

Through the thick and thin of learning (something we never outgrow)

Let us never cease from turning to the One who loves us so

No matter what pains and grieves us, as life’s troubles train and fret

God is good; He never leaves us in the rubble of regret

Or to the brutal archrival of He whom deserves all laud

Let us never cease to marvel at the wondrous works of God

Let His unfailing love cheer us as we learn to trust His lead

Oh, what peace to know He hears us when for steadfast faith we plead

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus; His Word our joy sustains

Rather than what never pleases or eases Want’s hunger pains

Let us look with humble fervor to the needs of fellowmen

Let us live to serve our Saviour with all that He grants. Amen

Let us run with firm endurance the race that is set before

Until faith’s blessed assurance turns to sight forevermore

© Janet Martin

Let Us Run...Alex McQueen

Heb.12:1-3

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,

 let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us,

 and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

  2looking unto Jesus, the [a]author and [b]finisher of our faith, 

who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, 

despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

3For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, 

lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.

What a Friend We  Have in Jesus

Sabbath Song

 

I was glad when they said unto me, 

Let us go into the house of the Lord.

Psalm 122:1

Is He Worthy?

Praise God for goodness granting, nay, commanding Sabbath rest

Praise Him for the implanting and expounding of His Word

He beckons us to gather, there to be divinely blessed

And keep the hope within us anchored to truth undeterred

As we worship together, our Father, Saviour, Friend

And exhort one another to be faithful to the end

Praise God for invitations to come to His house to pray

To join the celebration that will fill eternity

To share in the communion of all who await The Day

Of glorious reunion when face to face we shall see

God who so loved the world He gave His Son to pay sin’s debt

And save us from death’s hopeless grave; oh come, lest we forget

Lest we forget God’s faithfulness, love’s favors and mercies

Lest we fall prey to hatefulness so prevalent and bold

Lest lie by lie and vice by vice we drift from his decrees

Lest we forget His sacrifice and our love grows cold

Lest we, no longer glad to go to the house of the Lord

Miss the precious implanting and expounding of His Word

© Janet Martin

A Mercy-kindled Beckoning

As we approach the throne of  grace may we be reminded to

not grow weary in our prayers for what seems impossible 

(so much sin, sickness and sorrow!) because

... "with God nothing will be impossible.” Luke 1:37

The God that created the world,

The God that parted the Red Sea,

that snowed manna in the wilderness,

that tumbled the walls of Jericho

That closed the mouths of lions,

That walked in the fiery furnace

that walked on the water,

that provided a Spotless Lamb once for all sinners

oh, and as written here in

 John 21:25

Jesus did many other things as well. 

If every one of them were written down, 

I suppose that even the whole world 

would not have room for the books

 that would be written.!

Yes! This God is with us!

He fuels our sometimes-wavering

 faith with unwavering faithfulness!

The great Designer and Creator of heaven and earth is with us!

It trembles in each breath, each smile

It fuels poems, still unpenned

It lures us like a country mile

To see what lies beyond the bend

It helps us greet the day at hand

And God’s replenished grace, with zeal

To return to duty’s demand

And what today waits to reveal

Though veiled, it draws us to pursue

Proposals with hope’s precious urge

Like arms outstretched in welcome to

All who approach its holy verge

That always authors reckoning

From what no one can fully see

Of mercy-kindled beckoning

God-granted Possibility

© Janet Martin

Possibility is a bud,

burgeoning with bloom!