Perseverance Perspective...

First perseverance, 

then the prize!

Sometimes we forget 

and want the Prize now!

Lead Me to Calvary

James 1:2-8

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] 

whenever you face trials of many kinds, 

3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 

4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature 

and complete, not lacking anything.

 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God,

 who gives generously to all without finding fault, 

and it will be given to you.

 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, 

because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea,

 blown and tossed by the wind.

 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.

 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

The testing of our faith produces perseverance!

I used to subconsciously equate the word 'testing' with physical trials

such as sickness, death, natural disasters etc.

but in the phrase 'trials of many kinds' one I had not considered

until perhaps the past few years,

and one that has many once confessed believers denying their faith,

is the fact that because our minds cannot explain or reconcile

God's thoughts and ways and commands

 (whether in the Old Testament or

 in this age of love and holiness misunderstood)

disillusionment/confusion/anger forsakes faith

rather than letting the test produce perseverance.

Heb.6:11

And without faith it is impossible to please God, 

because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists

 and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

God doesn't meet us on our terms.

We meet Him on His, laid out ever-so-changelessly

and perfectly in His Word,

Let's pray for a more humble faith, 

Eph.1:15-20

For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus 

and your love for all God’s people, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, 

remembering you in my prayers.

 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, 

the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit[f] of wisdom and revelation,

 so that you may know him better. 

18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened 

in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, 

*the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 

19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. 

That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted

 when he raised Christ from the dead 

and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,

The first temptation and sin was a desire to be as wise as God!

That sin seems still to test the faith of many!

Lord, help us hate the sinfulness of sin (in so many subtle forms).

Lord, help us to look on You,  soberly and thankfully remembering

 what You suffered on our behalf to save us from sin's penalty!

Forgive us if we should forget!

Forgive us, Lord, when we forget

And wise in our own eyes debate

Thy love and righteousness and fret

At the prerequisites of faith;

'the substance of hope, unashamed

the evidence of Things Unseen'

Believing all You have proclaimed

And trusting You to intervene

Where often love misunderstood

Could kindle a fault-finding rue 

Remind us You work for the good

Of all who put their trust in You

Remind us of the patriarchs

Who died without having received

The Promise, yet with humble hearts

Being assured, they still believed

Forgive us Lord, when we neglect

To see the sinfulness of sin

And thus, unconsciously reject

Thy loving, still, small Voice within

Forgive us when we minimize

The bloodstained cross of Calvary

And far to often fail to prize

The price You paid to set us free 

Forgive us when we, with proud thought

Contest Your higher thoughts and ways

And dare to grumble at our lot

Rather than lifting hymns of praise

And should faith tremble in the gale

Of tests and troubles that must be

Remind us, this is but the veil

Faith's Last Gasp rends, then we will see

(*the riches of the glorious inheritance)

© Janet Martin

The Potter's Hand

Candlelight Contemplation...

 Matt.5:14-16

“You are the light of the world.

 A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 

15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, 

and it gives light to all who are in the house. 

 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works 

and glorify your Father in heaven.

Letting love's light shine is easier said than done, isn't it?!

For just perhaps, when we think we're not faring too badly

along comes a sudden human-nature storm/retaliation

to remind us how mean and feeble we can be without

The True Light to light our little 'candles'

John 1:1-5

In the beginning was the Word, 

and the Word was with God, 

the Word was God.

2He was with God in the beginning.

3Through Him all things were made, 

and without Him nothing was made that has been made.

4In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. 

5The Light shines in the darkness, 

and the darkness has not overcomea it.

Candlelight is such a gentle picture of love;

the way its glow warms and cheers the dark!

To keep a candle burning properly proper care must be given,

(such as trimming wicks etc.)

An example for us to examine our candle 

before we carry into Today!

To keep alive the light of love it must be fueled by the Source

We, on our own are not enough to fit love for its tender task

So, when we sense love’s flicker dwindle in the face of mean discourse

God will be faithful to rekindle love’s kind candle if we ask

Because we are so prone to bicker when we do not quite agree

The ready tongue is sometimes quicker than love’s reigned-in bark or bite

So, when the rumpus of a ruckus tries love’s sweeter sympathy

If we but ask Him, God will help us to steady love’s candlelight

Love is not rude-jealous or greedy, love is gentle-patient-kind

It is not loud, proud or self-seeking, love does not envy or boast

So then, to keep love’s candle burning and to be less self-inclined

Means a consistent, conscious turning to love’s Faithful Uttermost

© Janet Martin

Carry Your Candle

Sense of Sacredness aka Today!

If a family dinner get-together with my parents

and all ten of us kids and our spouses, all present,

and a slideshow of over 700 photos playing throughout the day

of us, our children and grandchildren, great-grandchildren

does not evoke a sense of sacredness to seemingly commonplace moments 

as they run through our fingers, I don't know what will!

That happened on Sunday.

This week, as ordinary as it appears, nothing is!

This morning as a new Today tumbled over earth's eastern edge,

not in any kind of colorful fanfare, but more like a wet, gray dog...

(or mourning doves)😂

I was again, struck by how this monotonous momentous collection of mornings

 eventually composes the song of Lifetime!

So I put a card in the mail for an old neighbor turning 90 this week,

I revived the fire, 

I continued working at organizing, cleaning and tidying the basement 

after stacking wood ..

...before two of my grandchildren came for a few hours...

(while big Brother gave the dentist a bit of a challenge. ahem😐.)

I washed the dishes after a lunch they half-ate

...all the while with a heaven-hinged sense of sacredness

in what at first glance definitely looks quite ordinary! 

It wafts from welkin wombs to where we live-laugh-love-weep-pray

To settle soft, where dusk entombs its season-sequenced play

It sparkles from a single source no needle can exact

An all-encompassing discourse that leaves no one intact

It tunes the timbre of a toll that rolls o’er land and sea

While drawing the cart of the soul back to eternity

Steeping the sacred commonplace with so much to hold dear

As paths no footsteps can retrace fall from the now and here

Like weightless notes from welkin wombs its moments waft and splay

To settle soft where dusk entombs the tempo of Today

Compelling us to take a closer look at what runs rife

Through fingers of composers of a song that we call Life

© Janet Martin

Ps.90:12

So teach us to number our days, 

That we may gain a heart of wisdom.

My family likes to sing whenever we have a chance!

To close out the singing part of Sunday we,

( as best as our memories could serve us)

sang the song below together and THAT was the

sentimental icing on the cake😭

We Have This Moment

 Here are part of the lyrics  by Bill and Gloria Gaither

I can't find a link with all the stanzas 

so not sure if a few were added later??

We have this moment to hold in our hands

And to touch as it slips through our fingers like sand

Yesterday's gone and tomorrow may never come

But we have this moment, today.

Hold tight to the sound of the music of living

Happy sounds from the laughter of children at play

Hold my hand as we walk through the sweet fragrant meadows

Making memories of what was today.

Tiny voice that I hear is my little girl calling

For daddy to hear just what she has to say

My little boy running there by the hillside

May never be quite like today.

Tender words gentle touch and a good cup of coffee

And someone who loves me and wants me to stay

Hold them dear while they’re near don’t wait for tomorrow

To look back and wish for today.

Yesterday's gone and tomorrow may never come

but we have this moment, today.

Oh! You were trying to see the recipe in the one photo above?!

This, (making it for supper but using ground beef!)

Mid-winter Memento

Inspired by today's true story...😊

 

I planned to tend to Task-demand

But then a sea of snowflakes fell

It drew me to the hill and dell

To revel in its wonderland

…where nature’s winter-wand unfurled

Masterpiece over masterpiece

Teasels with toques of frosted fleece

And whipped cream snow drifts, swirled and twirled

Each tree, a pencil sketch, I think

Stenciled and traced with white finesse

White whispers of white happiness

Rouse a reverent rush of ink

…as brook-nooks that no chill can snare

Compose somber half-ballads, oh

Its tempo, curtailed by the snow

Evokes a eulogy-like air

Where in the wood I stood, full-awed

Unfazed by Tasks I should attend

To marvel, where earth's pages bend

Beneath the poetry of God  

© Janet Martin

Maybe Their Ball of String Got Caught...

Are you having a reaching-for or reaching-out

a helping hand kind of day?!

My challenge in this poem was thoroughly tested as soon as it was written😅😂

Muffin-maker had a vegetable oil mess!

Be kind, where today’s grind unwinds the hours of its charge, but once

Where we are all still learning through the yearning drill of woes and wants

Where Circumstance is like a chance/dance God grants to test alacrity

Of love, with push and shove to prove devotion’s authenticity

Be patient; goodness, graciousness and compassion are always right

Be one less brute; wisdom’s recruits cannot yield ripe fruit overnight

Apples of gold and growing old are no laconic enterprise

The recompense for diligence not gained through negligent half-tries

Be gentle; Learning’s mental ball of string bounces across the floor

Unraveling as we give chase, tangling in stubborn knots galore

Testing grace in a thousand ways, while teaching us to take command

Of angry fists we raise, and instead to reach out/reach for a helping hand

So then, let’s try to be kind when we find fellowmen, not quite so

Maybe their ball of string got caught, and the taut knot will not let go

Maybe all they need is a tender word or deed to cheer their heart

Kindness unfurled can change the world; let’s try harder to do our part

© Janet Martin

This month the memory verse/s for my Sunday school class is

Gal. 5:22-23

But the fruit of the Spirit is 

love, joy, peace,

 patience, kindness, goodness, 

faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. 

Against such things there is no law.

We are never too old to consider what fruit our life is yielding!

Mess cleaned up! All is well.

 Frustration-frenzy crisis averted! 

I offered a rag instead of a lot of

unnecessary, aggravated 'counsel'.

 thanks in part to today's poem😄

What/Who We Need Most...(To Get From Here to There)

A stunning sunrise to kick off a new week to...who knows what?!!

For football fans, the countdown to who will make it to the 2024 super bowl is on!

Golfers have been delighting fans with some history-making highlights!

Yesterday an Amateur Nick Dunlap, won the American Express golf tournament!!

Did you happen to see any of winner, Steve Alkers amazing shots this past Friday and Saturday

at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship?!!!

Last week the winner of the Sony open was Grayson Murray!

He has been open about the demons he battles in his personal life, 

which affected and impeded his game! 

When asked what the difference is in his life now, he answered immediately that

his fiancée, but above that, Jesus Christ has made the difference!

For, no matter how sweet the kick, the toss, the shot, the triumph

it will never be enough to satisfy our need. Thrills soon fade...

1 John 2:15-16

Do not love the world or anything in the world.

 If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 

16For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, 

the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—

is not from the Father but from the world. 

17The world is passing away, along with its desires; 

but whoever does the will of God remains forever.

Matthew 16:26
What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? 

Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

***

We need more than this world’s finesse, to get from here to There

We need more than man’s promises, on which to cast our care

Where, though we need each other to cheer us along the way

To help us as we weather ups and downs from day to day

Our kindest word or dearest deed are inept on their own

To satisfy the need this world cannot fill or atone

We need Jesus, nobody else can save us from our sins

Or help us into heaven when eternity begins

Or hear our prayers or see into our heart of hearts to know

The truth without excuse, idols He longs to overthrow

The spirit, oh, so willing, and the flesh, weak as can be

Without His Spirit instilling, ‘not I, but Christ in me’

We need more than this world can boast of season-severed strings

No matter what success we toast, these are all fleeting things

The love of family and friends, as precious as they are

Will never be enough to rend and fling Heav’n’s gates ajar

We need Jesus; His Name is Wonderful, Mighty to save

He fits us for the flight that thunders through the lifeless grave

When all is said and done; the gap that gaped twixt here and There

Dissolved; when we have run the final lap of worldly care

We need more than this world can give; the whole world not enough

To take the place of ‘Look and live’; God’s gift of grace and love

Is Jesus; we all need Him; Savior, Shepherd, Father, Friend

For this world’s greatest favor is but vapor in the end

© Janet Martin

Lord, I Need You

I Need Thee Every Hour

For This Unprecedented Age...

For this unprecedented age of immorality; 

 of abortion, adultery, homosexuality, 

transgenderism, mass confusion, child neglect and abuse, 

agnosticism, atheism, theism and paganism 

on and on it goes; 

there is only one cure! 

Repentance and belief in the One True God! 

Then as belief yields fruits of repentance/obedience 

to Him through His Word, only then can any real cure begin!

In this age of unprecedented distraction

esp. through the buffet of options offered through modern technology,

God's still, small Voice can be drowned out

until it goes away...!!!🙏🙏

Without careful, prayerful awareness we are all at the risk

of drowning the quietness with just enough noise

to keep us from thinking too deeply/aka, hearing God speak!

(I use the phrase 'unprecedented' cautiously but also with awareness

to the reality that due to modern technology

 and approval by the powers that be, access to

certain atrocities has become medically promoted/commonplace

like never before!)

Thus, thanks in part to modern technology

we are living in an age of unprecedented opportunity and opposition!

The cure for the problem is what it has always been...

2 Chron.7:14

if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves

 and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways,

 then I will hear from heaven,

 and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

The page below read a few days ago,(from the book mentioned here and here)

first sparked this poem from a train of thought that has been

ongoing recently..

.(and this book was written in the '60's!!

The line that esp. hits home is this one;

'and they will be tomorrow's leaders')

And also in part by yesterday's devotion

from Pathways to His Presence by Charles Stanley

For this unprecedented age

Where, at epidemical rates

Mortal rejects its Creator

And fundaments of Truth, debates

Or altogether disregards

What once was reverenced, with awe

Choosing darkness, rather than light

Without godly order or law…

For this unprecedented age

Of lack of fear and faith in He

Who is the Saviour of the soul

The sole hope of humanity

Where churches, once ringing with praise

And sounds of glorious gospel truth

Have been abandoned for the gasp

Of worldly pleasure and pursuit

For this unprecedented age

Of pride going before the fall

As nations, founded on God’s Word

Promote abandoning it all

To be gods, wise in their own eyes

But are in fact, blind leading blind

Where deceit, like a gaping pit

Swallows the unbelieving mind

For this unprecedented age

Of impropriety endorsed

And applauded by worldly-wise

Without guilt and shame, or remorse

For this unprecedented age

Of wolves wearing sheep-like disguise

Soothing, smoothing the inner prick

With unbiblical, sweet, sweet lies

For this unprecedented age

Of unbelief, we pray and pray

We, who with faith and fear believe

In the approach of That Great Day

Oh Lord, we pray and pray that ‘they’

Would repent and believe in You

And that we who believe would be

A vessel that your Light shines through

© Janet Martin

2 Cor.4:1-6

Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, 

we do not lose heart. 

2 Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; 

we do not use deception,

 nor do we distort the word of God.

 On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly 

we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.

 3 And even if our gospel is veiled,

 it is veiled to those who are perishing.

 4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers,

 so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, 

who is the image of God. 

5 For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, 

and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 

6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”[a] 

made his light shine in our hearts

 to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory 

displayed in the face of Christ.

Trust and Obey

Of Learning Curves and Growing Pains

'Live and learn' has become 

an oft-repeated mantra in my life!

Fumbles and stumbles to teach me

what I thought I already knew/learned...

On the bright side, it keeps life from becoming predictable, doesn't it?!

And often reminds us of the loving-kindness and patience of God!

On the cusp of Dusk-dimmed vistas waits a whole new ‘live and learn’...

Due to the lack of sunshine in the past month in southern Ontario,

when it suddenly made a late-day appearance

I couldn't resist putting supper-prep on pause and dashing out to the fields

behind my neighbor's barn!

Sub-zero temps made recording challenging because I couldn't be without mittens

for more than 30 seconds! But the chill added to the exhilaration!!

Jer.10:6

No one is like you, Lord;

you are great,

and your name is mighty in power.

Then, just like that it's morning once more...

a gray one, dappled with colorful birds...(pics below)

Daylight drives afar the darkness of the heavens; mercy reigns

Once again, we face the grace of learning curves and growing pains

For Time never fully severs us from ties of ‘no return’

On the cusp of Dusk-dimmed vistas waits a whole new ‘live and learn’

Soft, dawn’s lofty lintels flower, filling bowers with Today

Pray God’s armor thwarts the charmer bent on luring us astray

Pray the fight twixt wrong and right draws us to He whose love/truth sustains

He who knows the highs and lows of learning curves and growing pains

No matter how high on ladders of success, Faith plants its prayer

Always still, another hill to climb, another hurt/cross to bear

Sudden swerve on Learning’s Curve, or fresh onslaught of Growing’s pain

And Day’s Light to pierce night’s Darkness and God’s mercy, new again

© Janet Martin

So, here's to a new day of living and learning 

to be kinder, humbler, holier, not on our own

but through Christ in us!

Ephesians 3:16
I ask that out of the riches of His glory 

He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being,

Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength

and as mentioned, bird pics!