Obedience or Not

Obedience or not.

These are the only two options we've got

The consequence of Choice's sum

affects generations to come...

Eph.1:3

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 

who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, ...

It is not long until Innocence suffers the consequence

of what we do and teach...

God, help us!!

Ah yes! You have!

We have your eternal and abiding Word...

Psalm 119:89-96

Forever, O Lord,

Your word [a]is settled in heaven.

90 Your faithfulness endures to all generations; (can I hear a hallelujah!!)

You established the earth, and it [b]abides.

91 They continue this day according to Your ordinances,

For all are Your servants.

92 Unless Your law had been my delight,

I would then have perished in my affliction.

93 I will never forget Your precepts,

For by them You have given me life.

94 I am Yours, save me;

For I have sought Your precepts.

95 The wicked wait for me to destroy me,

But I will [c]consider Your testimonies.

96 I have seen the consummation of all perfection,

But Your commandment is exceedingly broad.

God's love is unconditional but His blessing is not

His blessing is reserved for they who fear and obey God

God sees the heart; futile to dress excuse in noble thread

And boldly break His 'thou shalt not' with proud and unbowed head

The consequence of disobedience without remorse 

And repentance, affects an unfathomable divorce

For God, righteous, gracious and kind is holy, true and just

He never winks at rebels or turns a blind eye to lust 

If we confess our sins, God, rich in mercy will forgive

For He is just and faithful, but not mocked; then how we live

Becomes the proof of who we serve, by what we say and do

We choose One Master; it is impossible to serve two 

God's love is unconditional and steadfast to the end

He will not always tarry, then be wary, fellow-friend

Though, oh, so many fall away, though the wicked increase

They who obey, He blesses with His righteousness and peace

God, help us pay more earnest heed to that which we have heard

So that we do not drift, anchored in Thy eternal word

Help us to trust in You and in the Way that You direct

Rather than lofty logic of unguarded intellect

Janet Martin~

2 Tim.4:1-5

I charge you [a]therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, 

who will judge the living and the dead [b]at His appearing and His kingdom: 

2Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. 

Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 

3For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, 

but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, 

they will heap up for themselves teachers; 

4and they will turn their ears away from the truth,

 and be turned aside to fables.

  5But you be watchful in all things, 

endure afflictions, 

do the work of an evangelist, 

fulfill your ministry.

Romans 2:13

for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, 

but the doers of the Law will be justified.

James 4:4-10

You adulteresses!b Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God?

 Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world renders himselfc an enemy of God.

  5Or do you think the Scripture says without reason 

that the Spiritd He caused to dwell in us yearns with envy?

  6But He gives us more grace. This is why it says:

“God opposes the proud,

but gives grace to the humble.”e

7Submit yourselves, then, to God. 

Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

8Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. 

Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 

9Grieve, mourn, and weep. 

Turn your laughter to mourning, and your joy to gloom.

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

Today Page

 

oh look! Breakfast visitors!

Our lives are like a book

Each day a page we fill

With choice and consequence. Ah, look

Where morning’s mercies spill

Not willing that we turn

To where we were before

Love splays beneath the ways we learn

A pristine page once more

Duty and beauty brim

Ah look; the earth is green

Spring hoists a hallelujah hymn

Where Barren World had been

How much God’s grace allots

To be so thankful for

His goodness overflows with what

Has never been before

…yet age to age proclaims

The faithfulness of He

Who lowers death’s verge to life’s frames

Hinged to eternity

Where the ink we employ

Is poured from virgin grails

God beckons us to sing for joy

For His kindness prevails

Oh pray, as we advance

In years, life’s lessons earn

More than a weathered countenance

But wisdom’s rich return

Run through with thankfulness

For each new Today Page

From God’s enduring faithfulness

From age to age to age

© Janet Martin

Psalm 95:1-7

Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD;

let us shout to the Rock of our salvation!

2Let us enter His presence with thanksgiving;

let us make a joyful noise to Him in song.

3For the LORD is a great God,

a great King above all gods.

4In His hand are the depths of the earth,

and the mountain peaks belong to Him.

5The sea is His, for He made it,

and His hands formed the dry land.

6O come, let us worship and bow down;

let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.

7For He is our God,

and we are the people of His pasture,

the sheep under His care.

Song-sparrows are singing their little birdie-hearts out

this morning, but I couldn't get a long clip

because of a steady stream of noisy traffic...

Tangible Reminders (of Who God Is)

Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior,

who daily bears our burdens.

Psalm 68:19

Sometimes when we pass through seasons of (prayer)-discouragement,

God convicts and comforts us 

with tangible reminders of who He is; 

Faithful 

As surely as nature displays his faithfulness

in every season,

so too is His perfect timing in our lives!

These two poems by Edgar A. Guest remind us to take a breath

...and Behold!

The birthplace of today runs rife

(In spite of weight of care)

With much to make this little life

A lovely thing to bear

Beauty’s showcase is marvelous

Winter-spring-summer-fall

Makes it impossible to miss

The One who wills it all

The budded branch bursts into song

The tresses of its hymn

A shelter for the feathered throng

The nests in lofty limb

A masterpiece of petals spills

From frilly lily-loom

River-ribbons wind between hills

At night star-gardens bloom

…and as the afternoon unwinds

To twilight’s vestibules

The Artist of dusk’s murals finds

Constant originals

Beneath a canopy of sky

Oft aweing mortal gaze

We go; God sees the low and high

Of every trail we blaze

…and beckons us to trust the love

That moves His mighty Hand

In ways that grants grand glimpses of

Who none can understand

© Janet Martin

…and as the afternoon unwinds

To twilight’s vestibules

The Artist of dusk’s murals finds

Constant originals...

The budded branch bursts into song...

The tresses of its hymn

A shelter for the feathered throng

The nests in lofty limb...

1 John 5:14

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: 

that if we ask anything according to his will, 

he hears us.

Celestial Reveille

Some mornings I feel drawn from my bed as if by a celestial reveille! 

Today flickers upon a wick where dawn flings shutters wide

Live/love well before its candlestick is snuffed by eventide

Today is another shivery offering!

I think everyone is winter-coat weary!

Even the daffodils look a little forlorn,

slumped against the morning chill

The maple-blossoms seem to cringe as the bud breaks and 

nudges them from its nest...

But, before today is brushed from Time's slate

we have an opportunity to make the best and most of it!

Thank-you, Lord!

Ah, who knows what today will bring

Before it folds its gilded wing

Over a world surrendering

To the tug of dusk’s evening star

Where now dawn’s coffers overflow

With fresh offers of joy and woe

And God’s kind grace, whereby we go

No matter where or who we are

Beneath the diligence of clocks

Time’s tutelage of ticks and tocks

Startles its students with hard knocks

Offset by spring's welcome delights  

While the grave gapes, we brave the day

Rife with life’s constant come-what-may

Where rivers run and children play

And buds burst with gold, pinks and whites 

Ah, who knows, as dawn’s tent is pitched

What will be tested, torn or stitched

Will hearts be broken or bewitched

Before dusk tucks to history

The echo of a pirouette

We have not touched or tasted yet

But soon will be forever set

In Bygone’s soldered gallery

Then dream and dance and work and play

And make the most of moment-fray

And don’t you dare forget to pray

And laugh and learn and love and sing

In spite of brutal fist-a-cuffs

Come, brave this newborn day because

Dusk is the douter that soon snuffs

Lifetimes beneath its gilded wing

Don't miss the music as it spills

From vaults unveiling vales and hills

A pilgrimage through daffodils

And mercy's myriad

Where we do not embark alone

Into the darkness of  Unknown

But by God's kindness we are shown

The way to rejoice and be glad

© Janet Martin

somehow painting and poetry don't mix the best...

This morning was a see-saw of  poem, patching holes, sanding,

pegging a bit more poem, priming patches,

and morning poem has turned to noon poem!

Isa.26:2-4

Open the gates,

That the righteous nation 

which [a]keeps the truth may enter in.

3 You will keep him in perfect peace,

Whose mind is stayed on You,

Because he trusts in You.

4 Trust in the Lord forever,

For in Yah, the Lord, is [b]everlasting strength.

Make Today a Celebration #2

 The previous poem sparked the same theme from another angle...

Our son turns 25 today sparking a bit of nostalgia

as well as rekindling fresh awareness for today's countless 

reasons to celebrate.

Like a bit of Pooh and Eeyore...

Like a raindrop spangled puddle...

Like a splash of violet stars...

Like the cackle of a grackle...

Make today a celebration

Count or write them in a book

Masterpieces of creation

That sometimes, we overlook

Like a smile, or isle of nature

That kindles the poet’s yen/pen

Like the rolling green of pasture

Stayed by shores, cerulean

Like a tot, a pup, a flower

Like an ocean in a shell

Or the beauty of an hour

Without duty to compel

Like the brook-bank for a pillow

Like blossom-embellished breeze

Or wind-song that turns the willow

Into cello-symphonies

Like a morning warm and yellow

Or an afternoon blue-gray

Like the eager little fellow

That no mother’s hand can stay

Like the echo of spent reason

Arousing a rampant ache

For the font of present season

Melding to what moments make

From daybreak so swiftly woven

Into twilight’s hushed caress

Stirring us to note life’s common

Ground run rife with loveliness

Like the cackle of a grackle

Or the singing of a lark

Or bite of juicy, red apple

Or a color-dappled park

Where a future generation

Riding childhood’s carousel

On steads of imagination

Soon will bear youth’s fond farewell

While we gaze with tear-dimmed hunger

At time’s ever-changeless way

Where no one is growing younger

On its run of day-to-day

While a momentous occasion

Invites us to sing and dance

In a conscious celebration

For each day and what it grants

Like a bit o’ Pooh or Eeyore

To make us chuckle out loud

Like a stroll along the seashore

Far, far from the madding crowd

Like a big ole brown pet bunny

Like a fresh-steeped cuppa tea

Like fresh bread drizzled with honey

Like phrases like you-and-me

Like the utter-ness of knowing

We have more than we deserve

In the soft spring zephyr flowing

Through pink orchard’s petal-verve

Like a wicker basket laden

With tastiest of munch-fare

And the delight of a maiden

Waiting to sample her share

Of a slice of almost heaven

On a quilt, worn picnic thin

Where mean foibles are forgiven

As the sun kisses our skin

And we feel life’s comforts, simple

Like a friendly, firm handshake

Like a baby’s darling dimple

Like a slice of birthday cake

Like a raindrop spangled puddle

Like a splash of violet stars

Like a sentimental muddle

Of  Love’s heartstring-tug-of-wars

Like a lilt where Lyric dangles

Bursting with unplumbed surprise

While the balladeer untangles

Tendrils of ink-cloven sighs

Like a stunning revelation

Or sudden epiphany

Make today a celebration

Of gratitude-poetry

© Janet Martin

"What?!!" gasped Dolly one to Dolly two

"What do you mean, you don't want a tweat/treat?!!"

(this I overheard while trying to sneak a pic) 😂💖

Make Today a Celebration

Inspired in part by King Solomon's Prayer of Dedication in 1 Kings 8:22-61

below, a small excerpt (click link above for full chapter)

1 Kings 8:56-61

“Praise be to the Lord, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised.

 Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses. 

57 May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; 

may he never leave us nor forsake us. 

58 May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in obedience to him 

and keep the commands, decrees and laws he gave our ancestors. 

59 And may these words of mine, which I have prayed before the Lord,

 be near to the Lord our God day and night, 

that he may uphold the cause of his servant 

and the cause of his people Israel according to each day’s need,

 60 so that all the peoples of the earth may know 

that the Lord is God and that there is no other. 

61 And may your hearts be fully committed to the Lord our God, 

to live by his decrees and obey his commands, as at this time.”

It was also inspired in part by Isa.26

simply entitled a Song of Praise

May today, for each of us be a reverent hymn of praise

to He who is the same God today as in the days of old

and will ever be!

Father, We Praise Thee

Make today a celebration

Pour from forms of mortal dust

Reverence and adoration

For God, holy, true and just

He, whose glory beyond telling

Transcends heaven's highest parts

Yet He comes and makes His dwelling

In temples of human hearts

Praise Him where ten thousand reasons

Barely skims His majesty

He who twirls time’s reel of seasons

Lowered twixt eternity

Praise Him for His mighty power

Staying judgment’s righteous wrath

Until the appointed hour

When not one will scorn nor laugh

Make today a dedication

Of Self, humbly sacrificed

For there is no condemnation

For all they/we who are in Christ

Who do not walk in ways worldly

But according to God’s word

Strive to be a servant, wholly

With devotion undeterred

Make today a celebration

Ringing with authentic praise

To the Author of creation

For the wonder of His ways

He, who rich in mercy hears us

As we cast on Him our cares

He whose love unfailing cheers us

Though life’s pilgrimage of prayers

He whose judgements will not falter

By Him everything was made

He who witnesses the altar

Where worship's off'ring is laid 

Raise unrivaled adoration

Let praise, like an ocean roll

In a hymn of celebration

To the Saviour of the Soul

© Janet Martin

To the only wise God our Saviour, 

be glory and majesty, 

dominion and power, 

both now and ever. 

Amen.

Jude 1:25

The Best News the World's Ever Heard

 

This poem was inspired in part by this message

and in part by a broken heart for those

who don't know or simply don't care about

The Best News the World's Ever Heard

"Isn't this the best news the world's ever heard?!!"

Alistair Begg from the message/link below

Dealing with difficult people-Alistair Begg

Here is the best news that the world’s ever heard

Sealed in sacred script of God’s eternal word

In Him is the life, and that life is the Light

That shines in the darkness to give faith insight

To guide and direct, to rebuke and advise

To keen our conscience, lest sin blinds our eyes

To reprove excuses for commands we shirk

To train and equip us for every good work

To walk in a manner worthy of the call

From He who shed his own lifeblood once for all

So, all who believe in Him will never die

Saved from the curse wrought through the serpent’s first lie

Here is the best news that this world’s ever heard

Hope anchored in truth of God’s eternal word

His counsel to help us to trust and obey

To guard us from pitfalls on charming display

Because the law of the Lord is love’s delight

Awe’s sweet meditation by day and by night

To quicken the prayer for bold scorners that laugh

In the face of He who will sift them like chaff

When the day of grace that runs wild through each breath

Is severed as life’s silver cord yields to death

And it is to late to be suddenly stirred

By salvation’s best news this world’s ever heard

© Janet Martin

Psalm 1 KJV

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,

 nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; 

and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, 

that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither;

 and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,

 nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

6 For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: 

but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Such is Perhaps

I've come to the conclusion that love and life

are a fine mingling of disappointment and delight!

Torrential down-pours to and from Pennsylvania

 hampered/dampened what would have been even more spectacular views,

on our weekend getaway to attend our nephew's wedding!

Dodging the timing of the wipers to capture the *perfect shot became a bit of a game...

*(I quickly gave up on 'perfect' and simply hoped for a few unblurry shots)😅

But Saturday was less wet than forecasted 

so we didn't get drenched in the morning while doing touristy things

 nor in the afternoon did guests get drenched. 

The wedding was beautiful!

This beautiful couple have already been through some deeply refining disappointments

requiring dream-rearranging...(shot blurred for privacy sake)

Weather-disappointments are a part of life and overall

rather small on the scale of disappointments!

And God's handiwork is stunning, even in the rain!

(both literally and metaphorically)

Sometimes dreams don't turn out how we imagine/anticipate!

But if we place our dreams into God's hands

 perhaps, no, surely He will use the disappointment

to deepen our awareness and appreciation for

the myriad of mercies we are showered with daily! 

Dreamworlds collapse; Such is ‘perhaps’

…perhaps life’s bitter-sweetest means

Of teaching us to hope and trust

In more than destiny of dreams

Perhaps to help us hone the heart

To kinder, meeker give-and-take

Because we know the stinging smart

That ‘perhaps’ can leave in its wake

...to make us more aware of how

We wield the onus of replies

Where perhaps ‘perhaps’ is the ‘wow’

Still wearing broken-dream disguise

...while we weather warpaths of wish

Vexed by detours, potholes, barred gates

Perhaps we should remember this;

 Perhaps something far better waits

© Janet Martin

Life's disappointments develop and test

the mettle of our character.

Everyone is hunky-dory when life goes the way we like, right?

When it doesn't...ah! what then?!

1 Thess.5:18

...in everything give thanks; 

for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

A lot of our deepest disappointments are only fully witnessed

by He who truly loves and cares!

Thank-you, faithful Heavenly Father🙏

He Whispers To Me