Common Wealth

Through the majestic arches of Westminster Abbey

rang words of everlasting truth and hope, not just for those attending Her Majesty,

the late Queen Elizabeth II's funeral but for everyone in all walks of life

Hallelujah! 

A few powerful pointers and reminders to take with us!

"The pattern for many leaders is to be exalted in life and forgotten after death.

The pattern for all who serve God, famous or obscure, respected or ignored,

Is that death is the door to glory…

…People of loving service are rare in any walk of life.

Leaders of loving service are still rarer.

But in all cases, those who serve will be loved and remembered while those who cling

To power and privileges are long forgotten.

Her late Majesty’s broadcast during covid lockdown ended with ‘we will meet again’!

Christian hope means certain expectation of something not yet seen.

Christ rose from the dead and offers life to all. Abundant life now and life with God in eternity....

...As the Christmas carol says, ‘where meek souls will receive Him still the dear Christ enters in.

We will all face the merciful judgement of God. 

We can all share the Queen’s hope which in life and death 

inspired her servant leadership. Service in life. Hope in death. 

All who follow the Queen’s example and inspiration of trust and faith in God

 can with her say, ‘we will meet again’."

Archbishop of Canterbury-The Most Reverend Justin Welby

His Closing Prayers

Heavenly father, kings of kings, Lord and Giver of life,

who, of Thy grace in creation didst form mankind in thine own image, 

and in Thy great love offerest us life eternal in Christ Jesus.

Claiming the promises of Thy most blessed Son,

we entrust the soul of our sister Elizabeth, here departed, to Thy merciful keeping

In sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life

when Christ shall be all in all, who died and rose again to save us,

and now liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit in glory forever.

Amen.

Go forth oh Christian soul in this world.

 In the name of God, the Father Almighty who created Thee.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Son of the living God who suffered for thee, 

In the name of the Holy Spirit who was poured out upon thee 

and anointed thee in communion with all the blessed saints 

and aided by the angels and archangels and all the armies of the heavenly hosts.,

May thy portion this day be in peace 

and thy dwelling in the heavenly Jerusalem.

Amen.

***

Life's charge of duty and demand

Bestows a grand decree

The onus of time's sifted sand

Accountability

The common wealth of shoes to fill

Anoints the common blessed

As we march to Dues beat and drill

Until eternal rest

We, subjects of the King of kings

Each have a sacred role

Until death's doleful belfry rings

With summons of the soul

Each morn time's runway is unfurled

A hallowed thing to see

Poured through the fanfare of this world

Into eternity

How solemn is the chartered span

Of moments in the sun

Where soon the numbered days of man

Are snuffed like stars at dawn

How holy is the beckoning

Until God's final call

How surely is the reckoning

That waits for one and all

How worth this while, the hurt and hope

Of serving faithfully

Because, beyond earth's grave-strewn slope

How sweet Heaven will be

 

© Janet Martin

The precious portion of Scripture below was also read...

For this corruptible must put on incorruption, 

and this mortal must put on immortality.

54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, 

and this mortal shall have put on immortality, 

then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, 

Death is swallowed up in victory.

55 O death, where is thy sting? 

O grave, where is thy victory?

56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, 

always abounding in the work of the Lord, 

forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

'Life goes on' I said to my sister yesterday

as we texted while watching the funeral

midst many interruptions...

for me-

entertaining a princess-loving princess

harvesting tomatoes

emptying mousetraps-ugh!!

...and all ultimately for the Lord!

The Lily Blooms Again

 

Inspired by the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II

A few precious passages, familiar to believers

warmed, comforted and exhorted we who remain...

Psalm 103:13-18

As a father has compassion on his children,

so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;

14 for he knows how we are formed,

he remembers that we are dust.

15 The life of mortals is like grass,

they flourish like a flower of the field;

16 the wind blows over it and it is gone,

and its place remembers it no more.

17 But from everlasting to everlasting

the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,

and his righteousness with their children’s children—

18 with those who keep his covenant

and remember to obey his precepts.

Rev. 21:1-4

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”[a] 

for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away,

 and there was no longer any sea. 

2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, 

prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

 “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. 

They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 

4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. 

There will be no more death’[b] 

or mourning or crying or pain, 

for the old order of things has passed away.”

So many moving images...

The Lily’s bloom is shed

Her crown of glory spent

The scepter falls, as silver thread

Of mortal breath is rent

The Lily’s splendor lies

In funereal repose

Her final flight escapes the eyes

Fixed on life’s curtain-close

The Lily’s beauty bows

Beneath the Hand of He

Whose law is love, whose kingdom flows

Throughout eternity

The Lily’s stem is shorn

Though petals deck the sod

Her darling, deathless Bud is borne

Back to the arms of God

So, though we mourn the loss

Of touch, of sight and sound

The Lily sheds the albatross

Of glory, sorrow-crowned

Where tears will never fall

Where flowers never fade

No roses strewn in farewell’s thrall

As dust to dust is laid

The Lily is not dead

But fairer now than then

In the presence of God instead

The Lily blooms again

© Janet Martin

In memory of Queen Elizabeth II, with love

September Bliss

 

Bliss, sweet bliss

A book and tea

With crickets and zinnias for company...

Bliss, sweet bliss

Nigh fair as June;

September Sunday afternoon

Bliss, sweet bliss

Time cannot touch

Life's simplest pleasures we love so much

Bliss, oh sweetest

Bliss of all

Summer's chair perched on the brink of fall

~Janet Martin~

above page from the book The Shape of a Year by Jean Hersey

The Masterpiece of Grace

I began writing this poem early this morning without any idea what today's message would be!

But the passage for the inspiration of this poem was part of this morning's message at WBC!

1 John 4: 11-12

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 

12No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, 

God remains in us, and His love is perfected in us.

I have been reading a lot in Ephesians and 1,2&3rd John recently!

So, the 'message' in the message reiterated a lot of what has been on my heart!

Thank-you God (and Gary)

Oh, The Everlasting Love of God

Oh! Pray that most stunningly profound moment takes place

when we are utterly awed by God's unfathomable grace

that His love bestows on all who call on Him,

in repentance and belief,

and then, our only possible reply can be

  the greatest of these: love! 

Amazing Grace/Anthem Lights

Love leaps with joy’s sweet poses and in sorrow weeps and mourns

It awes us with its roses, and it pricks us with its thorns

It uplifts hearts with gladness, and it weighs hearts down with care

The utmost happy sadness that mortal will ever bear

It soothes and stuns; it sears and cheers and wounds and heals, oh my

It binds and frees and finds its knees beneath its weighted sigh

It satisfies our deepest need but cannot succour Self

It is an enemy of greed and miser’s hoarded pelf

Daily it dies unnumbered deaths yet is life to the full

Of priceless worth and yet to keep it is impossible

For until it is given, none its merit can applaud

A mirror made in Heaven to reflect the proof/love of God

Love suffers long and it is kind no matter what the price

The crown jewel of blessing lined with constant sacrifice

The tally of its treasure reckoned in regions above

On ledgers beyond measure because who can fathom love?

Love yields, yet clings to what is right, often misunderstood

Love is a peacemaker that fights with all its might for good

Love lends a helping hand and walks a second mile or ten

Because love, the greatest command is God in us, amen

No flesh can force, form or plan love from matter, tangible 

The divine mesh of God in man is unfathomable

Where without love/God no one can set the building blocks in place

On The Cornerstone that begets The Masterpiece of Grace 

© Janet Martin

Until Then...

The last line in today’s Our Daily Bread devotion is this:

Until then, we live, work, pray, and wait in hope.”

The prettiest 'pretty'

the most marvelous 'marvel'

the most beautiful 'beauty',

or most delightful 'delight' 

...pales profoundly in comparison with what

awaits believers after this life...

***

For believers this world is the worst they will ever see.

For unbelievers this world is the best they will ever see

Source for quote unknown

***

Until we lay our bodies down, we live, love, work and pray

For divine words to teach us so we do not drift away

Until the crown of life is won, we humbly hope and plead

For God so rich in grace and mercy to supply our need

Until we join the chorus of love’s everlasting hymn

The joy still set before us will not let faith’s light grow dim

Until the ‘twinkling of an eye’ transforms our point of view

We yield the agony of ‘why’ to God, faithful and true

Until we witness face to face what Time was all about

Pray, we commit to run life’s race with endurance, not doubt

But until we are serious about knowing God's word

Our logic will be sensuous and fickle feeling-blurred

Until we repent and believe, hell waits in every breath

No gift of everlasting life to receive after death

Until we stand in awe beneath the cross of Calvary

And wonder at the One who died to set doomed sinners free  

Until His Lamp unto our feet and Light unto our path

Guides and directs, we are by nature still children of wrath

Until we ask, God will not give, or seek, we cannot find

Or knock, He will not open eyes to darkness of the mind

Until we confess our sin then by His counsel live

No earthly effort can begin what only God can give

But, when by His stripes we are healed and by grace we are saved

While what has not yet been revealed, on our hearts is engraved

...we have His Word; He will equip us to withstand the foe

His rod and staff will comfort us and never let us go

Until we will be like Him and see Him just as He is

We work, pray, wait in hope and lean upon His Promises

© Janet Martin

1 John 3:1-10 BSB

Behold what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God. 

And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. 

2Beloved, we are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. 

We know that when Christ appears, a we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is. 

3And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as Christ is pure.b

4Everyone who practices sin practices lawlessness as well. Indeed, sin is lawlessness.c

5But you know that Christ appeared to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin.

  6No one who remains in Him keeps on sinning.

 No one who continues to sin has seen Him or known Him.

7Little children,d let no one deceive you: 

The one who practices righteousness is righteous, 

just as Christ is righteous.e 

8The one who practices sin is of the devil,

 because the devil has been sinning from the very start. 

This is why the Son of God was revealed, to destroy the works of the devil.

9Anyone born of God refuses to practice sin, because God’s seed abides in him; 

he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.

  10By this the children of God are distinguished from the children of the devil: 

Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God,

nor is anyone who does not love his brother.

What a hymn this will be!

"We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty,

The One who is and who was [g]and who is to come,

Because You have taken Your great power and reigned.

18 The nations were angry, and Your [h]wrath has come,

And the time of the dead, that they should be judged,

And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints,

And those who fear Your name, small and great,

And should destroy those who destroy the earth.”

Rom.11:17-18

Still Learning...(or, Hard-fought Gratefulness)

Happy Half-way though September!

We easily see the halfway mark of a month...

not so with a life!

But one thing is certain for we plowing through forties, fifties and beyond,

barring the exception, we have well surpassed the halfway point of our lives!

Wow! How much I don't know that my younger self thought by now I would!!

'Live and learn' has become my middle-age mantra.

Still so much to learn!

I was going to post this poem this morning after the first stanza

then I felt a little niggle, like another stanza jiggling the door knob,

so I opened it...

The door turned out to be a floodgate...of things still being learned!😅

Still learning to give holy thanks, to think before I speak

To seek and prize the lowly ranks of ‘blessed are the meek’

To cling less fiercely to the string of Things and Plans unfurled

To make the shadow of God’s wings, my refuge in this world

To lay up treasure where no vice corrupts, mars or defiles

To weigh the payoff, not the price of walking ‘second miles’

To not rebel beneath the ‘nope’ of mercy’s faultless rod

But, to anchor my hope in steadfast promises from God

To keep the faith, not disillusioned by what blurs my view

As breath by breath, death closes in, till ‘still learning’ is through

To count my blessings, not life’s lack, to make the most of now

Before tomorrow’s looking back beholds its rendered How

To trust the Love that withholds wants and wishes for my good Best

To teach me how to better bow without proud, loud protest

To stun me with the goodness of His all-sufficient grace

As wonder over wonder floods the would-be commonplace

To satisfy my longing with the whisper of His Name

He helps me press toward the mark until faith’s prize I claim

…to cast before His throne, the honor of crown upon crowns

To hail our Heavenly Father faithful through life’s ups and downs

To yield, with all my heart, not just a small part, now and then

To know that He is able and changeless for aye, amen

To commit to His keeping all I do not understand

To fit my doubting fingers through the nail-holes in His Hand

To place my cares, prayer upon prayers into ‘Thy will be done’

To put on God’s whole armor to withstand the evil one

To ask Him to set a watch over the door of my lips

Because, oh Lord, how easily the unbridled tongue slips

Still learning how to listen, to be slow to anger, oh

Still learning to keep turning to the One who loves me so

Still learning to linger in Time’s showcase of majesty

Where fringes of God’s glory overflow sky, sod and sea

Where EL OLAM, Eternal God, thought cannot comprehend

The rock of my salvation and my nearest, dearest friend

Still learning to be awed by God’s resolute holiness

Still learning to be patient when His answer is not ‘yes’

Still learning to remember what I ought not to forget

Still learning how to follow the example Jesus set

And how to keep my balance on the beam of consequence

While I harvest the bitter fruit of disobedience

Still learning to esteem and redeem precious, numbered days

While learning to keep leaning on God’s very patient ways

Still learning to depend upon His Word that will not fail

(Sometimes I share a chuckle with the mirror’s telling tale)

Glad for a sense of humor while I weather what I must

Bearing in mind what will survive this grind of dust to dust

While learning through mistakes I wish I would know nothing of

The tender pangs and aches of highs and lows that come with love

And learning, while still learning not to miss the measure earned

Of triumph’s hard-fought gratefulness for truths and lessons learned

© Janet Martin

Psalm 36:7

How precious is Your loving devotion, O God, 

that the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings!

Psalm 40:11

O LORD, do not withhold Your mercy from me; 

Your loving devotion and faithfulness will always guard me.

Life's Most Treasured Collection

I started this poem when today was brand new,

then, along came life love and turned its gem into another almost-memory!

Today is all we have to make the most of what we hold

A cup refilled with give-and-take sparkling with moment-gold

Where it is up to us to choose how we will use its gift

Or who we strive to honor with the dues dawn sets adrift

Today unfurls fresh thralls to whys and wherefores that we chase

No charge too great or small to be accomplished by God’s grace

And for His glory; hallelujah! What an enterprise

To uncover the secret to where true happiness lies

Today soon gathers up its lease of opportunities

As twilight claims another masterpiece of memories

Where what may seem quite commonplace is part and parcel of

Life’s most treasured collection of todays turned into love

© Janet Martin   

Ecclesiastes 9:10

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might;

for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge,

nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.

 

 

 

Merciful Metamorphosis (or This Cross We Bear)

Without complete surrender we grapple

at times with the goodness of God's higher thoughts and ways!

Oh, may we pray to be like Abraham of old...

Romans 4:19-21,

"And being not weak in faith, he (Abraham) considered not his own body

 now dead when he was about a hundred years old, 

neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb. 

He staggered not at the promises of God; through unbelief;

 but was strong in faith, giving glory to God.

This cross we bear of constant care,

Of disciple-obedience

Of hurt and hope’s heart-hungry prayer

Of conscientious diligence

Of yielding Self’s determined will

And forsaking the world for Christ

To suffer for His sake until

Every idol is sacrificed…

…of walking as children of light

Living the way that Jesus did

(For we are precious in the sight

Of He from whom nothing is hid)

…of proving what is pleasing to

The One who gave His best for we

Cursed with the blight of Eden’s rue

Who benefit from Calvary

Our cross of care pales when compared

To the cross on Golgotha’s hill

Then pray no suffering is spared

Until love works its miracle

And He who sees the heart beholds

Refinement’s glory taking place

As beneath life’s cross God unfolds

Awestruck awareness of His grace

© Janet Martin

Eph.5:6-11

Let no one deceive you with empty words,

for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

7Therefore do not be partakers with them.

8For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.

Walk as children of light

9(for the fruit of the [b]Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth),

10finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.

11And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness,

but rather [c]expose them.

Beneath the Cross of Jesus...

Beneath the Cross (version 2)