Sight Blind, My God Forbid...

Sight-blind; a blight that handicaps faith like nothing else can

It robs us of peace as we face storms beyond our control

The Evidence of things unseen tests the mettle of man

What we behold with eyes is but the surface of The Whole

Sight-blind; gaze can deceive us if we let down our guard

Instant gratification does not yield humility

The substance of things hoped for can seem dubious and hard

But produces through testing, patience and maturity

Sight-blind; a deadly malady that robs us of love’s joy

Unstable as the wave upon the sea, tossed and wind-blown

For what we see can sometimes be the enemy’s decoy

And what seems like an obstacle might be a stepping stone

Sight-blind, My God, forbid that we rely on what is seen

But fix our eyes of faith upon the Your everlasting ‘yea’

You are I AM  in what remains, what is and what has been

Abraham, Isaac, Jacob’s God for Moses’ of today

© Janet Martin

Ex.3:5-7 Acts 7:20- Heb.11:23-

“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6Then He said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. 7The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the affliction of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their oppressors, and I am aware of their sufferings.…

 Faith, my Lord, to follow Thee

Faith to face the foe

Faith to trust implicitly

The grace whereby we go 

Lyric for By Faith

by Keith Getty

Keith and Kirsten's version here

By faith we see the hand of God
In the light of creation's grand design
In the lives of those who prove His faithfulness
Who walk by faith and not by sight

By faith our fathers roamed the earth
With the power of His promise in their hearts
Of a holy city built by God's own hand
A place where peace and justice reign

We will stand as children of the promise
We will fix our eyes on Him our soul's reward
Till the race is finished and the work is done
We'll walk by faith and not by sight

By faith the prophets saw a day
When the longed-for Messiah would appear
With the power to break the chains of sin and death
And rise triumphant from the grave

By faith the church was called to go
In the power of the Spirit to the lost
To deliver captives and to preach good news
In every corner of the earth

We will stand...

By faith this mountain shall be moved
And the power of the gospel shall prevail
For we know in Christ all things are possible
For all who call upon His name

We will stand...

One April Afternoon

'It's certainly nothing to write home about',

some would say of One Gray April Afternoon

Still, the sense of Something sparks a sacredness in tasks

like defrosting the freezer and counting what is left  

of last year's garden as we plan for planting and preserving...

...and baby herbs are transplanted to give them toddling-space

...and from old belongings new life by simple rearranging

(nothing like a photo to reveal balance/purge flaws😀)

It certainly would seem like nothing much to write about

but...

It falls before my wondering eyes as soft as stars of snow

Then melts before its touch is dry to days of long ago

And all that stays after it plays One April Afternoon

Are echoes of a melody that somehow lost its tune

It wades through worlds of still-furled gardens filled with will-be-flow’rs

A sparkle, nondescript in a quick scale of heady hours

And I have nothing left to show for its fine happiness

But a heart-cup that overflows with home-sweet thankfulness

It breeds a sense of Something no words can encapsulate

Like fires that leave nothing but cold ash on darkened grate

Yet in a corner of the grand scheme of time’s ardent stride

It snares a bit-‘o-ballad to keep somewhere deep inside

It plays a masterpiece like Fur Elise on keys of thought

It steals my breath, the way life's day-to-day can slip to naught

And all that stays after it plays One April Afternoon

Is the sense of promenade in an empty ballroom

© Janet Martin

p.s. I have not forgotten about what's-for-supper-Thursday posts

but sometimes I do forget in the moment, to take photos!
last night we had leftover beef-stew, dill pickles, crackers
and the last of a precious brick of cheese!
One ' hungry customer' remarked that they wonder if anyone else in the world
has beef-stew as often as we do!
Not that I'm complaining. It's really good!
 this person quickly added to save himself from
an invitation to cook! 😆

Interknit Duos...

 

Dawn sweeps the sands of Time

Beneath the starry deep

where duo of hope-love sublime

Extends God's faithful keep 

God is love and love is God, thus He instills in us His law

Birthing conflict; human-nature struggles because of sin’s flaw

Hope is love and love is hope; heaven's draw-bridge to sands of Time

Hope without God's love is hollow, like a bell without a chime

Joy and grief’s intrinsic marriage groans; love’s tears and laughter pour

While farewell, like a dark carriage parks its hearse outside each door

And we could not bear to suffer the appointments of this world

Without Hope and Love to buffer us against hurt’s shards unfurled

Without love and hope we wallow like a helpless, drowning man

Futile, all the fears we swallow without Faith’s faithful I AM

Hope secures love’s groaning lifeline while the storm with Sailor spars

Nay, God's love secures hope’s lifeline with a hand that bears love’s scars

© Janet Martin

Lyrics for
Jesus, Saviour, Pilot Me

Jesus, Saviour, pilot me
Over life's tempestuous sea;
Unknown waves before me roll,
Hiding rock and treach'rous shoal.
Chart and compass come from Thee.
Jesus, Saviour, pilot me.

 

 

As a mother stills her child,
Thou canst hush the ocean wild;
Boist'rous waves obey Thy will
When Thou sayest to them, "Be still!"
Wondrous Sovereign of the sea,
Jesus, Saviour, pilot me.

 

 

When at last I near the shore,
And the fearful breakers roar
'Twixt me and the peaceful rest,
Then, while leaning on Thy breast,
May I hear Thee say to me,
"Fear not, I will pilot thee."

Inexorable Equation

 This morning took a little extra push and shove to

rise and shine, live-laugh and love!

Chilled Beauty!

Heave-ho (I know, sometimes it's hard to get up and go)

But as we cling to a life-line of prayer

We can rest-assured in God's faithful care

Trouble lurks at every turn

Grace employs

Consequence is what we earn

After choice

Help is always close at hand

If we ask

God fits us through His command

For the task

He so rich in mercy heeds

Humble prayer

The supplier of our needs

As we share

Greed and love never agree

One usurps

Proving inexorably

Who we serve

© Janet Martin

This devotion ties in well with yesterday's poem...

Faith is not a Feeling

Faith Is not A Feeling

 This poem was inspired in part by our Sunday morning message from WBC

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

 let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.

 And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,  

 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. 

For the joy set before him he endured the cross, 

scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  

 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners,

so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Heb.12:1-3

What a welcome the morning sky unfurled to the waking world,

where we walk/live, not by sight but Faith!

Hard to feel the way we should if we are strangers to God’s word

Hard to keep the crucial lines of right and wrong from being blurred

Hard to make the better choice if the voice we heed is our own

Hard to sharpen ir’n with i’rn if feeling is faith’s whetting stone

Hard to feel ‘never alone’ without His promises to gird

Hard to keep the ship on course without the compass of His word

Hard to turn the other cheek when what we seek is what we see

Hard to find comfort or peace without Faith in God’s surety

Hard to find true happiness if we depend on how we feel

Hard to live with thankfulness if circumstance governs Hope’s wheel

Hard to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind

Hard to let faith take the lead if courage is feeling-defined

Faith is more than matter subject to a feeling’s moody swings

Faith, the Substance of our hope and evidence of Hidden Things

Faith, though mustard seed in size can move a mountain to the sea

Faith is not a feeling, but God’s influence in you and me

© Janet Martin