Tuesday, July 6, 2021

Our Greatest Achievement (pride-weak or humility strong)


A quote, retained from my growing up years;
Humility is a hard thing to achieve;
The moment we think we have it we've lost it! 😉


One of my dearest, humbling happiness-es is peering deep
into the delicate perfection of a flower ...



In today's world, happiness,
not holiness seems touted as
our greatest goal/achievement or 'right'!
Pride, not humility is hailed as 'hero'!

It is impossible to be proud and holy!
It is impossible to be proud and truly happy!

Below is Holy Scripture's 'tip' of this topic!

...but as He who called you is holy, 
you also be holy in all your conduct, 
 because it is written,
 “Be holy, for I am holy.”

A man's pride will bring him low, 
but a humble spirit will obtain honor.

James 4:6
But he gives us more grace.
That is why Scripture says
: “God opposes the proud 
but shows favor to the humble.”

Prov.6:16-19
These six things the Lord hates,
Yes, seven are an abomination to [a]Him:
A[b] proud look,
A lying tongue,
Hands that shed innocent blood,
A heart that devises wicked plans,
Feet that are swift in running to evil,
A false witness who speaks lies,
And one who sows discord among brethren.

(I've discovered when I do a Bible word search on 'happy'
most often it is translated into 'blessed')

Blessed is the man who has made the LORD his trust, 
who has not turned to the proud, 
nor to those who lapse into falsehood.


We, since Eden's calamity
Have struggled with temptation's bent
The Word, that WAS, IS and WILL BE
No mortal twist can circumvent

We are without excuse because
The Word that WAS, IS and WILL BE
Is steadfast in Love's changeless laws
No Author of confusion, He

Holiness is our highest Call
Not happiness, as some may claim
 Defiant pride precedes the fall
That leads to destruction and shame

The Word that WAS, IS and WILL BE
So many dare to disregard  
As if the cross of Calvary
Was but a charm or a postcard

The way to destruction is broad
Death's dark and downward jaunt seems bright
While the devil who detests God

The deceiver is sly and vile
No one is too precious to spare
His mission, seeking to beguile
Those not yet on hell's thoroughfare

God's truth and love will never shift
He is just, trustworthy and kind
When we receive salvation's gift
He opens eyes that once were blind

Then call on Him in humble awe
Before pride makes a mockery
Of He who IS Love's Perfect Law
The Word that WAS, IS and WILL BE

Seek holiness without reserve
The Word that WAS, IS and WILL BE
Waits to reward as we deserve;
Earned through pride or humility

Janet Martin

John 1:1-5
In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2He was in the beginning with God.
3All things were made through Him,
and without Him nothing was made that was made.
4In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
5And the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness did not [a]comprehend it.

Monday, July 5, 2021

Memory Apart



Our grand-children were delighted to see
some places where grandma spent many delightful girlhood hours,
like the creek...


Some things never change, like the thrill of stone-chucking
to see the splash...


or the euphoria of the sense of adventure
 (even if it was just running as fast as little legs can to
collect unique mud-chips from a dried up puddle
to toss in the water)💗


Now to w-a-a-a-y back when suddenly seemed just a sparkle or three apart!

When we take a photo
When we pen a rhyme
We are saving echoes
In the march of Time

When we dish out dinner
Do it thankfully
Time is growing thinner
With each memory

So much up on offer
To perplex and please
Treasures in a coffer
Full of memories

When we touch the tarmac
Of a newborn day
Live as if love is a
Memory away

Live with kind intention
Love with tender heart
Now to then is just a
Memory apart

© Janet Martin

Conquering Worry's 'What-if'


The dark of night is borne away
and swallowed in the light of day
The dark of life is like this too
If we trust God to see us through




Worry’s ‘what if’ robs us of peace
It crushes us with constant care
And fuels the futile increase
Of anxiety and despair

Worry’ s ’what if’, by God’s kind grace
Through faith’s unfeigned humility
Will help us find our rightful place
Leaning on God on bended knee

Worry’s ‘what if’ is mercy-blind
To He who knows and sees our need
Only a heart fully resigned
Can find the courage to proceed

Worry’s ‘what if’ is hard to bear
It robs us of strength for today
Until we place its burden where
God helps us to trust and obey

Worry’s ‘what if’ is like a noose
That snuffs life’s light with dread’s dark rope
Until we cut agendas loose
And humbly cling to Living Hope

© Janet Martin

And we know that in all things God works for the good 
of those who love him,
who[i] have been called according to his purpose.
Rom.8:28

This verse is not a blanket statement to all humanity; 
but it is a promise to all who love God
and are called according to his purpose!
Pray then, that we confess our sin/pride 
to He who is faithful and just
 to forgive our sins and cleanse us 
from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

Pray our whole Soul-goal is the first and greatest command
and the second like it...
“’Love the Lord your God 
with all your heart 
and with all your soul 
and with all your strength 
and with all your mind’ 
and,
 ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”








Sunday, July 4, 2021

As We Behold, Face to Face

 

For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face:
 now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
1 Cor.13:12


Now we see through faith’s glass darkly
But then, face to face, someday
When the murk of all things earthly
Is dissolved and washed away
Then there will be no more questions
As we, behold with rapt gaze
He who tested Best Intention
With Mercy’s mysterious ways

When this splash of dust is settled
And the ash of days wind-blown
We will no longer be nettled
By the whys of the unknown
Then there will be no more sorrow
As we behold, face to face
Without need to beg or borrow
He who saved us by His grace

He, by whom we are forgiven
Teaches us to trust His Word
While the way twixt earth and heaven
Is like a glass darkly blurred
But then, in death’s sacred barter
When we meet its awesome Yet
As we behold God, our Father
All our longings will be met

© Janet Martin

(and I shall see Him face to face)



Saturday, July 3, 2021

Consolation Canticle


This post is inspired be this dear old hymn;

We may come to Him just as we are!





When life doles out double trouble; when hearts break with bitter grief
Each day like an uphill struggle where disappointment seems chief
What sweet comfort to remember There is One who will defend
Then we weep with joyful wonder ‘What a friend, oh, what a friend’

When love feels too great a burden; thorns bereft of Beauty’s crown
When we groan beneath the hurtin’ and we want to lay it down
What sweet solace to remember There is One who will restore
As we lean on Him and murmur ‘What a Saviour I adore’

When the weight of what is waiting seeks to steal our present strength
When the process of the breaking strips away well-trained pretense
What sweet release to remember There is One who fully heeds
As we hope with humble hunger in He who supplies our needs’

When faith's altar is the rubble that remains of plans and dreams
What a friend we have in Jesus; no matter how all else seems
What sweet goodness to remember, there is One who will prevail
Then we walk, stronger than ever because Jesus will not fail

© Janet Martin

Matt.11:28-30
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, 
and I will give you rest. 
29Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, 
for I am [f]gentle and lowly in heart, 
and you will find rest for your souls. 
30For My yoke is easy 
and My burden is light.”
Jesus~





Friday, July 2, 2021

A Light-Matter (of Grave Import)

Below is a story of someone who came to
our very stomping grounds centuries ago to
light the world!
His commitment challenges us to a 
hold our own lights a little higher!!


From this Book-

Sometimes when those we dearly love devastate us with blatantly, 
unrepentant, sinful choices
it makes us examine how or if we have been lighting the world
or hiding it under a bushel of busyness, selfishness and distraction!

Go light your world
And fight love’s war
With kind humility
This is the day
Made by the Lord
Then lent to you and me

Go, light your world
With truth and grace
Of God’s unchanging Word
For who knows who
Is next to face
Death’s sickle undeterred

Pray for faith’s
Saving miracle
Where the drum-roll of doom
Is drowned out by
Hell’s carnival
While Judgment’s verdicts loom

A spark pierces
The deepest night
Then lift your Beacon high
For who knows who
Will see the light
That readies them to die
 
Go light your world
Proceed with prayer
And confidence in this;
No matter who, what,
When or where
God keeps his promises

© Janet Martin

Matt. 5:14-16
“You are the light of the world. 
A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 
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.





Thursday, July 1, 2021

Oh, True North, How Long Will You Be Strong and Free


I can't help but shed a tear as I listen to our glorious, national anthem...
The Canada this song was written for is still geographically accurate
but the people, oh, it's the people that make a country, 
not the dirt we stand on...

Another great rendition of our national anthem!




I love Canada, and thankfully, we still enjoy many freedoms
however, I cannot glaze with praise that which is not praise-worthy...

Oh, True North strong and free
I mourn for you today
Are stripping ‘free’ away

Our home and native land
Poised on a precipice
Is scorned, ignored, dismissed

Our national anthem
Tweaked to please man, not God
Our House of Commons, prayer-devoid
Our leadership, a fraud

Grand worship-cathedrals
Deserted now for dreams
That disregard man’s Source of Strength
That binds a country’s seams

Oh Canada, you are
Hearts that once glowed with pride
You are the land for which so many
Sons and daughters died

And now some dare to think
(Wise in their own conceit)
That History’s permanent ink
They somehow can delete

...where ignorance is god
And atheism lord
And debt, a noose of corruption
Nobody can afford

Oh, True North Strong and Free
I mourn for you today
Because your/our strength and freedoms
Are being stripped away

© Janet Martin

Truth (and history) are indestructible
no matter what man destroys!
March on, Christian soldier/soul-dier

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.


Psalm 60:2
You have shaken the land and torn it open. 
Heal its fractures, for it is quaking.

James 4:10
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.

Keep old books, find them, protect them
 because the info on the internet is censored and unreliable
at the discretion of darkened understanding!



Above all keep This Book front and foremost!


Our country is in the state we are in because this book of Everlasting Truth
God's Word, is no longer front and foremost in our homes!
Strong faith = strong families 
strong families= strong homes 
strong homes= strong country!

My heart bursts with concern for the country these  precious tots
are growing up in!!!







Star-Trek


The pulpit from which the sermons through
my childhood were preached is tattooed with echoes of this verse (among others)
2 Pet.1:10
Wherefore the rather, brethren, 
give diligence to make your calling and election sure:
as Ira Brubacher's passionate cautions reverberated through the building
(and which I thought, back then, were quite repetitive)
but now begin to understand his pleading 
often accentuated with a somber, softened 'ye-e-e-s! y-e-e-e-s!
Because no one can afford not to make their calling and election sure!
No one can afford eternity 
without hope, without light, without goodness, without God



Our journey through the stars to God
Is traveled on earth’s blip of sod
A myriad of highs and lows
Until the sacred curtain close
When beyond the shortfall of sight
The mystery of Soul takes flight
Whether a feather or a bird
The flight of Soul is undeterred
Untethered in that final breath
To the un-brevity of death
Whether we believe or deny
The Soul will prove God does not lie
Where time is but the toll we trod
On soul-journeys through stars to God

© Janet Martin