Of Bard's Battlefield or Walking Battlefields

How swift the eye perceives 

The innocent façade

That veils the part/heart that hails or grieves

The holiness of God

The battlefield of Bard (humankind)

Is neither ink nor page 

Beneath form's peripheral guard 

What storms of worship/passion wage 

Be still, my soul, and know

That He alone is God

He heals the battle-wounds below

The innocent façade 

© Janet Martin

The battlefield of Bard

Is neither ink nor page...

I do constant battle with a dark voice telling me I should quit this blog.

This fierce force laughs, jeers, scoffs, scorns, accuses, belittles, stabs, shames, 

in great attempts to dissuade, discourage and despair!

(It's not always easy to put one's mind and heart on public display)

But that voice is no match 

for The Other Voice who, 

as I bow my head He hears my heart,

 He whispers sweet peace to me.

He orders the demons out!

He restores my soul!

Hallelujah

 💝🙏

Whatever our personal battlegrounds are,

may we heed the Still, Small Voice of our loving Creator

remembering we can do all things through He who gives us strength,

and who designed us each with our own unique abilities

gifts and responsibility to them/Him!

If we proceed, empowered by His grace and for His glory

 we succeed, not always perfectly, but never in vain!

Let's keep in mind we are all walking battlefields-soul-diers-warriors,

and thus be more gentle with each other !!

***

The cure for fear and despair is always

to take my eyes off myself

and fix them on God

And His great love's 'battle-scars'

when He broke the curse of sin

when He was pierced for our transgressions 

and crushed for our iniquities💓🙏

Isa.53:5 

***

Over 12 years ago my friend gave me the tidbit below

and since then, it has been taped where I generally write,

as her gentle reminder when I need it.

Thank-you Jane W.

1 Cor.10:31

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, 

do it all for the glory of God.

One voice tells me to quit 

A critic mercy-void

A brute who thrives on fear and doubt

Till courage is destroyed

But oh, the other Voice

 Is gentle as can be

A friend whose tender grace and joy 

Whispers sweet peace to me 

One voice is loud and crude

The other, still and small

One makes love feel misunderstood

The other, not at all 

One voice is like a sting

And fuels dark despair

The Other sets the heart to sing

And fills/stills the soul with prayer 

© Janet Martin

He Whispers Sweet Peace to Me

 

Of Flower-Power and End Results

2 Thess.3:5

Now may the Lord direct your hearts 

into the love of God 

and into the patience of Christ.

Sometimes, whether intentionally or not,

 in misfortune, some bring salt to rub in the shoulda-wish-I-woulda-wound.

Others, like my sweet sister, bring hugs and flowers.

Thank-you, Lucy💗

(to you, my gentle readers; never underestimate the power

of a hug and flowers)

Little do we know what circumstance awaits 

to test the readiness of love's reply

But this we do; Emmanuel (God with us) does not fail

 to help the fumbling likes of you and I 

Above an altar fixed beneath our hands and feet, 

God's mercy, new each morning fills the earth and skies 

The sacrifice we bring to Him (or not) 

will prove without a word of explanation,

 what we dearly prize/ where our treasure lies

Last week's 'tests' drew me to scriptures of encouragement to be faithful no matter what!,

This morning (because I am forgetful)  I returned to reread a few posts 

to re-remind me of God's promises!

 Wealth Beyond Measure

Run!

Life, ultimately, is a series of tests, isn't it?!

The true test, in all we dream and seek 

is whether its getting is for the pleasing and benefit of Self

or to bring honour and glory to God, the giver of each life!

Lord, purify my goals, delights and desires today

And waken a more fervent longing to trust You and obey

Lord, forge within my stubborn bent a meeker heart, I pray

 For Thou, Lord, art the Potter, oh, and I, Lord, am the clay

If in the end, it draws a soul to Thee

Lord, let me not despise Thy chastening

But echo these words ‘be it unto me’

Where the day of Thy grace is hastening

If in the end it bears eternal fruit

For Thy Kingdom, power and glory, Lord

And stays me from this world’s deadly pursuit

And saves me from a death none can afford

Then, without regret, worry or complaint

Forbid I cling to what cannot defend

But walk worthy of the call of the saint

If it draws a soul to Thee, in the end

So that Thy love would abound more and more

Confound the beast that does not boast of Thee

And reprimand the pride that you abhor

If in the end it yields humility

© Janet Martin

Glorious reminders in my morning reading today!

Because God Cares (For You and Me)

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. 

1 Pet.5:6-7

We do not put our trust in the Lord so we will be spared trouble in this broken world,

but rather so that that He can be our confidante and faithful helper and friend.

He does not help us so we can heap up earthly store and live in ease and comfort,

but so we may have comfort and hope that transcends this troubled Temporal;

for hope that is seen is not hope!

We put our trust in the Lord, and cast our cares on Him,

because He is our Saviour and portrayed at Calvary 

how far He would go to prove his love for all humanity.

Have Thine Own Way, Lord

  

It's easy to heap praise to God in a thriving garden 

bursting with goodness over goodness.

Praise was not my first thought, however, on Sunday,

when, during our family reunion our pickup truck was stolen out of our backyard!!

And though, in the grand scheme it is a small loss, it is very inconvenient! 

Unbeknownst to the thief, the theft includes an aluminum extension ladder,

our lawn trimmer, some golf clubs and shoes, stored in the back of the truck,

when we cleaned out our garage for the reunion

 because the forecast was cool, wet and windy!

There's nothing like trouble to test our attitude and gratitude!! 🙏

Because God cares for me and you

We know, whatever life betides

We have a Friend and Helper who

Hears every plea that faith confides

We have a loving Father, true

In spite of obstacles, we meet

An outstretched hand to guide us, through

His Word, a Lamp unto our feet

We have an everlasting hope

Fixed on unfailing promises

To comfort us so we can cope

And let His peace transcend distress

We have One who, for our good

Tries and refines humility

Lest we miss truths we never should

Because God cares for you and me

© Janet Martin

2 Thess. 2 was part of my reading this morning.

The chapter ends with these comforting words to the believer,

after speaking of the apostasy of the last days...

16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, 

and our God and Father, who has loved us 

and given us everlasting consolation 

and good hope by grace,

17 comfort your hearts and [i]establish you

 in every good word and work.

God Will Take Care of You

Run!

1 Cor.9:24

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, 

but one receives the prize? 

Run in such a way that you may obtain it.

Over and over, as we watch the athletes compete at the summer Olympics

we see it is not how they begin a race or competition but how they finish that counts!

So too it is with the most sacred and ultimate universal race,

but, should we not win, this is one heartbreaking loss

no one can afford, because there is no coming back

'next year'  or in four years to try again.

No, it is not how we burst out of the gates at the starting line 

but by the grace and fear of God, how we persevere

through the ups and downs of life, faithful to the end

the counts eternally!

For we have become partakers of Christ if we 

hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end 

Heb.3:14

...so that He may establish your hearts blameless 

in holiness before our God and Father

at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.

Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus 

that you should abound more and more,

 just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God;

  2for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus.

1 Thess.3:13. & 4:1

Let Us Run

Run! Fit for the calling, cutting worldly ties  

Training like an athlete fixed upon the prize

Run! with firm endurance, with no backward stares

Lest some former stumble distracts and despairs 

Run! lest in some moment, in the hardest part

We look back with longing of a wicked heart

Run! lest love of leisure, seeking to attract

Lures us from the treasure Heaven keeps intact

 

Run! with holy yearning, though no roars applaud

Trained to be discerning through the Word of God

Run! and feel the pleasure of the joy that waits

As the fervent faithful pass through Heaven's gates 

 © Janet Martin

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

A Small and Sacred Plea

The garden is singing God's praises bountifully

in wonderful harvest-hymns...

Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;

and his greatness is unsearchable.

Ps.145:3

There's a hint of things to come in this morning's

crisp hello!

Lord grant today

Thought, word and deed

Are lovely as can be

No need to blush

If I should turn

And find You next to me

Lord, bless this house

And fill it with

The beauty of love’s bloom

And help me live

As if you were

A guest in every room

© Janet Martin

Inspired in part by the paragraph below

from the book

The Building of Character by 

the Rev. J.R. Miller

Wealth Beyond Measure

2 Peter 1:3

His divine power has given us everything we need

for a godly life through our knowledge of him

who called us by his own glory and goodness.

The older I grow the more aware I grow, of my utter need,

hopeless but for God's sufficient grace

He died for all to be our Saviour.

He has and will continue to supply every need according

to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus!

Hallelujah, what a Saviour!

Sometimes it's easy to be distracted 

as we peer through the lens of circumstance!

Pray we anchor perspective in God's word.

But my God shall supply all your need 

according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Phil.4:19

Where My Saviour Leads

God gives us all we need to keep faith undeterred

Where it is up to us to heed or disregard His Word

His divine power grants and helps us, by His grace

To bear the trying circumstance that we are bound to face

God gives us all we need to live a godly life

To purify thought, word and deed in a world full of strife

To teach us how to love, through Jesus’ precedent

Rather than by the standard of Self’s very selfish bent

God paid salvation’s price and fits us faithfully

To be a living sacrifice with glad humility

To answer ‘here am I’, then, not let fear impede

But trust His goodness to supply exactly what we need

Pray, faith's knowledge of Him increases more and more

Till the allures of this world dim in Light of hope's anchor 

Secured at Calvary, redemption's mercies brim

To give us all we need to spend eternity with Him

© Janet Martin

 

Like Trees Along the Shore

The Lord is my Shepherd

I shall not want.

Ps.23:1

Joy, in its finest form

Pales in the light of Want

Contentment takes the heart by storm

And trumps the tempter’s taunt

Want’s vice is full of ways

To vex the virtuous prayer

Contentment fills the heart with praise

And joy beyond compare

Though life is full of grief

(love’s groaning intercourse)

Joy is its Comforter and Chief

As we trust in its Source

True joy is not the fruit

Of much accruing more

But grows, as love for God takes root

Like trees along the shore

© Janet Martin

Rom.15:13

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace 

as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope

by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Let Your Lower Lights Be Burning

Immortality in the Making

'Stop it!' I scolded myself, as I began again, 

to inwardly lament the haste of summer.

'Rather, focus on the vault where Time's timeless treasure accumulates

from the riches of Today's opportunities!!'

This is the day the Lord has made;

we will rejoice and be glad in it

Ps.118;24

Imagine if I/we truly, utterly lived/loved in light of the Giver/Maker each day!

As soon as something is given, it becomes a gift!

so then, each day is a gift;

a gift we shape into life's legacy!

How suddenly sacred today has become!

It's rainy.

A good day for errands and indoor chores!

The way we live/love in life will be the way we live/love in death

The character of you and me survives our final breath

The passion of pursuits when all is said and done, produce

The ration of the fruits that God will weigh without excuse

Lord, ere this day begins to drain into eternity

Remind us of what will remain beyond the part we see

How fleet the seat we fill on Time’s four-season-carousel

How surely each coveted thrill will fall prey to farewell

Like paintings in a gallery, love hangs its works of art

Like pieces of a legacy, like treasure of the heart

Lord, ere we wake beyond this world, impress on us today

The proof of love’s witness unfurled through whose law we obey

Where the heart is, there love’s collected treasure too will boast

(Either on earth or up above) of who we love the most

This is the day the Lord bestows, to live with gifted breath

That which transcends the curtain close, immortal then, in death

Lord, ere it is too late to live/love the way we wish we had

'This is the day that You have made to rejoice and be glad'

© Janet Martin

For where your treasure is, 

there your heart will be also.

Matt.6:21