Changeless Chancellor...

Dawn broke gray today,

rather than the spectacular radiance we raved over, morning

after morning,

after morning,

this week!

Every good and perfect gift is from above, 

coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, 

who does not change like shifting shadows.

James 1:17

He does not change, like shadows shift

Who grants each good and perfect gift...

He does not change like shadows shift 

Who grants each good and perfect gift 

His grace sufficient day by day 

Whether windows frame gold or gray 

From founts that refine faith with test 

He counts us worthy of His best 

He does not change, while all else does 

HE IS, while This soon turns to Was 

Then pray that awe and love commence 

To adjure meek obedience 

Lest we confuse the order of 

Desire’s Want with Perfect Love 

He does not change; His Word transcends 

The leap of faith that time extends 

Where surely the Love we embrace 

Behooves recipients of grace 

To consider with reverence 

Our duty of obedience 

He does not change; where you and me 

Bear great response-ability 

As seasons pass and shadows shift 

But not the Giver of the gift 

Who charges mankind with the call 

To love Him, Lord God, most of all 

Forbid we settle for far less 

Citing reasons like ‘happiness’ 

Brushing off sin like flecks of dust 

Winking at God, worthy of trust 

Because He does not change or shift 

As love pours out gift upon gift 

© Janet Martin

For the obedient and faithful a great day is coming!

Today's Daily Bread Devotion Bible reading

Rev.19:1-9

After these things I [a]heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to [b]the Lord our God! 2 For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her.” 3 Again they said, “Alleluia! Her smoke rises up forever and ever!” 4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, “Amen! Alleluia!” 5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying, “Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both[c] small and great!”

6 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the[d] Lord God Omnipotent reigns! 7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” 8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

9 Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.”

Ravished, Raptured, Dazzled...

Another stunner!!

How much more wonder we are lavished with

than we ever deserve!

Thank-you, Lord!

After taking these photos I took the truck to the mechanic just up the road

and walked a long, loveliest way home!

Ravished and raptured by sun up and down 

Lavished with laughter at nature’s renown 

Wonderstruck by weightless shadows, blue-bent 

Dazzled by diamonds that don’t cost a cent 

Wooed by a woodland begging to be trekked 

Stunned by its branches and bloom-hulls, star-flecked 

Awed by God’s goodness that reckons no bounds 

Resolute mercy beckons and confounds 

Ravishing, rapturing, lavishing oh 

Dazzling and wooing and stunning us so 

© Janet Martin 

I had just returned home, brewed a fresh pot of coffee

when the door was flung open

and 'what to my wondering eyes should appear

but my darling daughter and two grandchildren dear!'

With camera still in hand I said wait and let me get a picture,

because, in spite of all the beauty I've seen so far today,

this tops it all!

Needless to say, my heart over-floweth with wonder and gratitude!

Psalm 24:1
The earth is the LORD's, and the fullness thereof, 

the world and all who dwell therein.

Each Divinely Different...

Psalm 113:3

From the rising of the sun to its going down 

The LORD’s name is to be praised.

Each divinely different; 

Heaven’s claim to fame 

Flows for all to witness 

He who stays the Same 

Spilling ether pigment 

To refreshed façade 

Filling frameless fathoms 

With Glimpses of God

Each divinely different

Time will never drain 

Master-pieced arrangements

Man cannot attain

Kindling adoration

With pure majesty

Author of creation

Awes humanity

© Janet Martin

I enjoy posting these for those who do not have access to

eastward horizons and sunrises.

Where we live we cannot see the western skyline so I am thankful to take full

advantage of the east!

Embrace Pure Joy

 James 1:2-4

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.

He Hideth My Soul 

Embrace pure joy 

Ahoy, ahoy 

God’s grace is not 

Some moot decoy 

But rends the dark 

As we embark 

And press toward 

Victory’s mark 

His hope, 

The anchor of the soul 

While waves of want 

And wonder roll 

Beneath the toll 

Of day-to-day 

That draws Time’s 

Fleeting charge away 

In little barges 

on a sea 

that pours into 

eternity 

© Janet Martin 

 

From Here to There

 

Embrace the chase; the grace, the grit 

The very human race of it. The highs and lows 

that ebb and flow across the shores 

of come and go and want and woe 

as love and loss compose the sacred 

albatross of care and prayer 

and cross to bear 

as we press on 

from here 

to There 

💗

© Janet Martin

1 Corinthians 9:24
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, 

but only one receives the prize? 

Run in such a way as to take the prize.

A Most Majestic Madrigal

It's very hard to choose only a few shots

from a sunrise that fills the skies with

the outer fringes of Heaven's Majesty!

This winter we have been treated again and again 

to second-to-none sunrises!

We, weighed with love and duty's call

Are not without reasons to sing

A most majestic madrigal

Is rising from time's hidden spring

 It hails to people far and wide

Age-old originality

Regales the town and countryside

Anointed with God's 'let there be'

We watch heaven's staircase unfurl

An all-encompassing 'hello'

Where Someone climbs its rungs of pearl

His golden train trails on the snow

 © Janet Martin 

Blessed Are We...When

Morning Prayer;

Dear Lord create in us

a holy, awesome dissatisfaction

when we settle for less

Anoint hope's howling hunger

with heaven's hidden attraction

through Your righteousness

Amen

Psalm 32:1

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, 

Whose sin is covered.

Jer.17:7

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, 

And whose hope is the LORD.

Psalm 112:1

Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, 

Who delights greatly in His commandments.

Psalm 1:1

Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, 

Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;

James 1:12

Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved,

 he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

Psalm 33:12

Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, 

The people He has chosen as His own inheritance.

Matt. 5:1-12

And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: 

and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:

2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,

3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, 

and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: 

for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

It's an eye-opener isn't it?!

The conditions hinged to God's promised blessings

so then,

Lord, when we pray for blessing

Make us humbly aware

Of sin that needs confessing

Thy blessing to prepare...

Three Barriers Between Us and God

The way of life is riddled with both triumph and defeat 

The hope to which we cling is like a lifeline, bittersweet 

Our darlings of desire and God’s will often conflict 

Because we want His blessing without what hinges to it 

The altar that pleases our Lord is not fashioned of stone 

But is the heart that offers up its cup of skin and bone 

In gratitude to He whose mercy paid sin’s awful debt 

And sacrificed His Son to be the scapegoat in our stead 

He suffered all we ever will, of poverty and pain 

But with his eyes fixed on the Prize He suffered, not in vain 

Because obedience beholds more than the sacrifice 

Love suffers long and it is kind and sees beyond the price 

Some blessings are not hard to see, they burst and beam and brim 

Some come, disguised as ‘why’ to test who will still honour Him 

Lord, remind us, when we ask for your Providence to bless 

That we have firstly sought Your kingdom and Your righteousness 

© Janet Martin 

He who did not spare His own Son, 

but delivered Him up for us all, 

how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

Romans 8:32

More Love To Thee-Fernando Ortega

Learning To Read God's Poetry

 Winter dusk warms the ink in frozen pens...

My dear, because we cannot live on poem-books alone 

We must learn how to siphon poetry from grin and groan 

And how to glean from fleeting hues of time’s momentous tide 

A ballad, born of blush and blues brushed on the countryside 

My dear, because the now to then of seasons slips and drips 

Like lyrics from a phantom pen or sighs from trembling lips 

We need to learn to recognize God’s lines of poetry 

They waft upon dusk-softened skies, they sail the snowy lea 

My dear, because, like love, life’s poetry oft masquerades 

In what seems very ordinary day-to-day parades 

We need to take a longer look at what ink-drops compose 

With gurgle of the brumal brook, winter’s skeletal rose 

My dear, because we cannot keep at bay the dying day 

Or other gently waning whispers tangled in the fray 

We need to learn to see more than time’s trouble and its bite 

And marvel at the poetry that only God can write 

© Janet Martin