Morning Prayer

Open my mind, Lord
To feel every moment
Wide as an ocean
Let my visage be
Not in the seeing
But simply the knowing
That life is a footprint
In eternity


Open my eyes, Lord
And help me to feel it
A whisper of heaven
In every breath
Open my eyes, Lord
In moments reveal it
Without Your great mercy
My life would be death

Open my heart, Lord
Oh, let my vision
Not be deceived
By the world around me
Open my heart, Lord
Someday in your Kingdom
You will unveil
What these eyes cannot see

Janet Martin

Gratitude

Against the blue and frosted slope
I see a silent throng
Like flowers that have shed their coat
Or minstrels with no song
A thickened sort of quiet lies
Against this rugged cusp
Where winds, like stiff-starched orderlies
Have stripped sweet summer’s lust
And up into the vaulted sky
I hear the murmur of good-bye

Against the ruby thread of dawn
I see a silhouette
A lonesome sort of picture drawn
In frames of sorrow, yet
A battle-song of beauty moans
From thorns without their bloom
In dark and muted undertones
It warms earth’s stricken tomb
As petal-tear of flow’r and leaf
Imbrues the sphere with nature’s grief

Against the tumult of the heart
A tender peace resides
For just as seasons of the earth
God’s faithfulness abides
When life is rich with vibrant bloom
Or stripped of comforts dear
He whispers in the aching gloom
To tell us He is near
And over autumn’s garb subdued
We breathe a prayer of gratitude

Janet Martin

Whispers of Him

A spangle of daisies
On springs meadow-land
A breeze, slow and lazy
Across the white sand
A breath-taking canvas
As daylight grows dim
Yet, still mankind glimpses
But whispers of Him

The glory of nature
Contained in a seed
The strength of man’s stature
Dependent on bread
As rain from the heavens
Turns bare fallow green
Mankind is given
Soft whispers of Him

Infinite resplendence
Extended in space
Nothing but Providence
To keep it in place
And on the blue circle
A wee baby’s birth
Whispers of an angel
Descending to earth

Hurricane lashing
On vulnerable shores
As dark seas come crashing
Through earth’s fragile doors
Rainbows of promise
A tiny bird sings
And yet mankind glimpses
But whispers of Him

The ring of a hammer
The flash of a sword
The insolent clamor
For the death of our Lord
The cry of redemption
As His breath grows dim
And still mankind glimpses
But whispers of Him

Janet Martin


And these are but the outer fringe of his works;
how faint the whisper we hear of him! Job 26:14

Guiltless

Guiltless before a Holy God I stand
Though man may judge by what the eye can see
I reach to touch the nail-scars in His hand
And praise the One who died to set me free

No sacrifice, no mortal gift of dross
Had power to redeem my debt of pride
But as the blood of Jesus stained the cross
The perfect will of God was satisfied

Before a throne of mercy now I bow
Unworthy, yet He loves me still the same
The evil curse of death is vanquished now
To all who call on Jesus sacred name

Have I, a man yet anything to boast?
Nay, I say nay, only one boast have I
Tis in the name of He who loves us so
That He should make Himself the Lamb to die

Guilty I fell before the law, condemned
Guiltless, because of Jesus Christ, I’ll rise
For He has conquered death for every man
His blood cleanses, redeems and justifies


Janet Martin


Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Isa. 53:10

…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,[i] through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. 28 For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, 30 since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. 31 Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law. Romans 3:23-31

Child, Let Me

Lord, I’d be lost if I didn’t have you
So many times I’m unsure what to do
Worry and fear turn to anxiety
The You breathe through my tears, ‘Child, let Me’

Lord, far too often I try very hard
To do as I ought to until I’m so tired
The fruit of my failure is easy to see
Then I hear You whisper ‘Child, let Me’

Tempted and tried, oh, my God I confess
The road is so wide to this world’s success
I reach for you’re Hand, the way I cannot see
You understand as you repeat, ‘Child, let Me’

Lord, far too often I try on my own
Stumbling and fumbling, I weep and I groan
Help me to trust You enough to ‘just be’
As your mercy and love murmur ‘Child, let Me’

Janet Martin

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Matt.11:28-30

Fruit

Man plants the seed
Into the sod
Creature of need
Dependent on God

Man works the sod
Diligent, astute
But only our God
Gives the increase of fruit

Man plants the seeds
The Word of truth
Man prays and pleads
But God gives the fruit

Janet Martin


“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5

The Heavens Declare...

The heavens declare your eternal glory
Infinite wonder and power and love
Symbol of mercy in every morning
As the deep awning of night you remove
Grand is the sky of a moon-caressed midnight
Grander the glory of dawn’s ruby sun
Vision of rapture, the cover of twilight
Foretaste of beauty surrounding Your throne

Who can foretell the vast shades of your choosing?
Who can declare how night’s glory will rise?
Who can define the palette you are using
Or brush out the gray of November’s low skies?
There is no artist, oh God, you have gifted
That outshines the grandeur or work of Your Eye
When the dark curtain of night has been lifted
Who can arrange one square inch of the sky?

The sun, moon and stars in celestial clockwork
Cannot be altered by one mortal hand
Who, as we gaze at the canvas above us
Doth the intent of the Lord understand?
Infinite mystery, unfathomed wonder
Floor of the vault where His holy feet tread
Mouth spewing lightning and violent thunder
Sea of serenity when its wrath has been shed

Beneath it we marvel, beneath it we tremble
Beneath it we gaze at the eye of the One
Who spoke into Being all things universal
His glory exceeds the moon, stars and the sun
The heavens declare and no man can deny it
Lord, there is none who escapes Your vast Eye
The heavens declare and all man will believe it
When You re-appear on the clouds of the sky


Janet Martin~

“Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. Matthew 24:30



But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. 2 Peter 3:10


The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Psalms 19:1


“Dominion and awe belong to God;
he establishes order in the heights of heaven. Job 25:2


He spreads out the northern skies over empty space;
he suspends the earth over nothing.
He wraps up the waters in his clouds,
yet the clouds do not burst under their weight.
He covers the face of the full moon,
spreading his clouds over it.
He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters
for a boundary between light and darkness.
The pillars of the heavens quake,
aghast at his rebuke.
By his power he churned up the sea;
by his wisdom he cut Rahab to pieces.
By his breath the skies became fair;
his hand pierced the gliding serpent.
And these are but the outer fringe of his works;
how faint the whisper we hear of him!
Who then can understand the thunder of his power?” Job 26:7-14

For Those Who Pray...

http://ponderingprinciples.com/2011/10/difficult-journey/

This poem was inspired by above post...



There is no wall that a prayer cannot scale
No hill it cannot rise above
No plea too unworthy; no whisper too frail
For the God of compassion and love
No beggar too poor, no scholar too wise
No wealth that can ever exceed
The mercy descending, as we lift our cries
To One who beholds every need

In poverty, sickness, in sorrow or pain
In hopelessness or despair
In all of life’s troubles we do not understand
We may touch God in a prayer
When words are too hard and the misery too deep
His pure, gracious love intercedes
He hears the groan of our hearts as we weep
And ministers to our deepest needs

He hears our praise and our creature complaints
He sees every tear that we shed
When spirit is willing, but our body faints
He carries us through vales of dread
Far, far away across oceans and plains
In jungle or dungeon or tent
Prayer reaches out as it heals or sustains
The one for whom it is sent

In every nation, in every tongue
He hears and He understands
No mortal too old or ever too young
To put their trust into His hands
For those who pray, though we don’t understand
As we place in His keeping, our care
What comfort to feel the touch of His hand
As we reach out to Him in a prayer

Janet Martin


In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

28 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. Romans 8:26-28

Second Chances

You held it to me in the gentlest of ways

I blushed in embarrassment beneath your kind gaze

As You pulled back the wraps of pink and pale blue

And whispered, ‘My dear, I have something for you’


It was so beautiful, perfect, unmarred

I looked at my old one, so battered and scarred

But You did not remind me of my tangled mess

As you gazed at me in profound tenderness


‘Don’t look at the old one’, I felt His embrace

As He brushed the tears of regret from my face

‘I love You, I am with you, I’ll show you the way’

And He placed into my arms a brand new day

Janet~


I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. Ps. 32:8

It IS...

It Is…

The universe above the sky
The world beneath the sea
He spoke into existence
By these words, ‘let there be’
He moved upon the waters
And He drove the dark away
‘Let there be light’ and there it was
The first Night and the Day
And He said ‘it is good’

He gathered up the waters
And moved them to the sea
He spoke and land was formed whereon
Grew flower, fruit and tree
And in the vaulted heavens
He placed signs of days and years
Forming infinite mysteries
In the sun and moon and stars
And He said, ‘it is good’

The waters teemed with creatures
Fowl flew above the earth
In manifold abundance
He witnessed nature’s birth
The livestock for the pasture
The lion for the wild
The father for the mother
The mother for the child
And he said, ‘it is good’

God looked upon creation
Great many years had passed
Sin ruled in every nation
As man toiled ‘neath its curse
A toil of endless sacrifice
So great the debt of man
But they could never pay sin’s price
With blood of goat or ram

…and God took His beloved
His one and only Son
Who looked up to His Father
And cried, ‘Thy will be done’
As man tore at His glory
And spat upon His face
They jeered and cursed and smote the One
Who saves us by His grace

Upon a cross at Calvary
A King clothed as a man
Took on Himself all guilt of sin
Though HE, a spotless Lamb
Then, as the mountains trembled
And stars fell from the sky
He sealed the sinner’s pardon
As the guilty hear Him cry
‘It is finished. It is finished’.

Janet Martin

Genesis 1
The Beginning
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

6 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.

9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.
11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.

14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.

20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” 23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.

24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

27 So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.

28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.





When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:30