The Unknown

 

 

The unknown; an inevitable strait

All voyages pass through

There is no one who can escape

This ethereal avenue

We stand upon life’s open deck

And sail the roving sea

Only our Captain can predict

What the Unknown will be

Fear not the waves beneath the calm

Fear not the stormy gale

The Captain holds within His palm

The ocean and the sail

© Janet Martin

 

 http://www.esvbible.org/Psalm+139/

Our understanding at best, O God

Is inadequate and trite

On our own each breath a fraud

And every moment, night

Our perception without Your Spirit

Is blinded ignorance

And Death, O death, how I would fear it

But for deliverance

Your mercy, hope and love fulfills

Your changeless eye of grace

The tempter wears ten-thousand ills

Deceiving human race

Our understanding will ever be

Only what God imbues

Therefore but by His grace go we

On earth-bound avenues

Beyond these briefest stance of Time

Our eyes will see anew

As we behold Love, pure, sublime

Oh God, as we see you

© Janet Martin

Behold the Lamb of God

which takes away the sins of the world. John 1:29

"He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose" -- Jim Elliot

Royal Wedding

Behold: look yonder

See what breaks the ramparts of the sky

As golden thunder

Sends the stars in showers from on high

Behold; who comes

In royalty on heaven’s mercy seat

With angel legions at his side

Winged creatures at His feet

Behold; what sounds

What fills the air with roar of rushing water?

And who descends

With glory rare in search of Zion’s daughter?

Behold; behold

It is the Lord. Behold the Bridegroom comes

As hallelujah fills the air

His bride is coming home

Behold the Love

He sees her there in linens bright and clean

Behold the blood

That cleansed Her where vile sin-stains once had been

Behold the song

That rends the earth; behold the great I AM

‘Blessed are those invited to

The wedding of the Lamb’

© Janet Martin

Then a voice came from the throne, saying:
"Praise our God,
all you his servants,
you who fear him,
both great and small!"

6 Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:
"Hallelujah!
For our Lord God Almighty reigns.

7 Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.

8 Fine linen, bright and clean,
was given her to wear."
(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God's holy people.)

9 Then the angel said to me, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!" And he added, "These are the true words of God."

Rev. 19: 5-9

Four Easter Tankas

While I chose my pride He chose three nails and a cross A spear in his side While rivers of holy blood Poured in streams of redemption *** While I stood with them Scoffing to hide my just fear He gave perfect love As He bowed His thorn-crowned Head Declaring, ‘it is finished’ *** While I stood condemned Jesus signed my redemption With His sacred blood And now all who will believe May have everlasting life… *** (I was going to stop here, but how can I? One more tanka of humble grateful praise) Sing hallelujah Lift your voice in joyful praise Christ reigns forever This King calls us His children All we must do is believe ~Janet Martin~

Grand Privilege

It is no small thing
This privilege we are given
To approach the throne of grace
And God of earth and Heaven
To make our wants and wishes known
And claim His victory as our own

It is no mere thought
That we can freely call
Upon the Name of Christ the Lord
Creator of us all
That He who formed us from the dust
May be the One in whom we trust

When we beckon to Him
It is no casual place
That we approach with love and shame
To kneel in His embrace
But by His holy Blood-drops spilt
He vanquishes our debt of guilt

It is no small thing
This little word called prayer
As He makes intercession
For those groans we cannot air
And there He lavishes on us
The hope we find in Him, JESUS!

© Janet Martin


Pray without ceasing; 1 Thess. 5:17

Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Romans 8:26

God Forbid...

God forbid that I should worship
Temporal gods of clay and rust
Gathering in my groping visage
Treasure-chests of painted dust

God forbid that I should journey
From the cradle to the grave
Only then to find in horror
They are powerless to save

God forbid that I should hunger
In the wantonness of things
Choosing never to discover
Heaven’s sacred offerings

God forbid, as centuries trickle
Through the clouds above a stone
That I should thus remain forever
Bound by gods without a throne

© Janet Martin

Ark of Safety

Upon the shores of grace we stand
Where Time and Mercy plead
Before wrath’s flood will wash earth’s sand
Into eternity

The ark is built; the door ajar
And whosoever will
May come into its sure stronghold
Before Time’s clock stands still

As in the days of Noah; now
Because of unbelief
The Master waits; lengthens the hour
Before sin’s final grief

Today He pleads and suffers long
He beckons to each mortal
Eternity lays in His palm
Trembling on heaven’s portal

As in the days of Noah, He
Implores, yearns and beseeches
For this last Ark will not return
When He closes its reaches

Upon the shores of grace we kneel
Oh, how long will He tarry?
Before the door of Mercy seals
The seeker from its safety

© Janet Martin

This morning the little guy I babysit and I were looking at view-master reels. One reel was Noah’s Ark. One picture caught my breath…the last two animals…turtles,(cute:) were through the door and it was closing, never to open on this side of the flood.

Now we see another door, still open. When it will close, not even the angels know. Only the One True God…I AM knows the day and the hour...


Behold, now is “THE ACCEPTABLE TIME,” behold, now is “THE DAY OF SALVATION” 2 Cor.6:2

Miracles

He stirs the sod and wooden limb
With miracles uncommon
As nature, in grand diadem
Exalts the God of Heaven

The willing hands, the humble hearts
He fills with power glorious
And by the wisdom He imparts
They will return victorious

Within the acorn; oak trees wait
Within a drop; a fountain
Within a mustard seed of faith
The strength to move a mountain

Celestial ramparts shout His praise
And cause our minds to wonder
At mysteries beyond those gates
In portals over yonder

Janet Martin

Last night on the way home from my son's hockey game it struck me...
the days are getting longer once again...and Time is getting shorter.


For as the soil makes the sprout come up
and a garden causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness
and praise spring up before all nations. Isa. 61:11

We Are Beautiful

There is a wondrous beauty
Clothing us from deep within
Beneath the shallow proof of Time
Caressed upon our skin

The mirror does not show the man
Only our mortal face
It graciously conceals the span
Of our vast disgrace

Yet, God in tender love and grace
To all who trust His name
Clothes us with His pure righteousness
In garments without shame

The world may judge our clothes and frown
But they cannot behold
The beauty of a royal gown
Clothing a blood-bought soul

© Janet Martin

I read this verse this morning and rejoiced.


I delight greatly in the LORD;
my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

Isa. 61:10

Beyond this Battle

Hold our hands, we cannot see
Beyond the steps we take
God, be our steadfast surety
For You make no mistake
And oh, we are so prone to stray
As pastures beckon, come
Be our Captain through the fray
Guide this battalion home

The unknown is a gaping void
Of misery and fear
Hope would swiftly be destroyed
Without Your Presence near
But as we feel Your tender touch
Sustaining faithfully
We do not need to fear so much
The things we cannot see

The fight is not forever Lord
The hour is at hand
When we will leave our temporal swords
In plough-shares made of sand
Oh God, it seems we see You etched
Against the setting sun
Into the trenches, arms out-stretched,
We hear You calling come

…and so we press toward Your arms
The battle is not done
This world with all its empty charms
Is but the stepping-stone
A plot of dirt on which we stand
Reaching in humble trust
To hold Your gracious out-stretched hand
Your glory to our dust…

The victory banner waves on high
Beyond this tear-stained plight
Hold our hands and be our Guide
Within the thickest fight
Through enemy lines we will forge
The battle is not long
Hold our hands and lead us, Lord
Oh, keep your warriors strong


Janet Martin

I saw the movie War Horse last night.
The final scene touched me immensely...
A picture of weary, wounded warriors coming home.

This I Know...

I do not know
How it is that each rose unfolds
In pure and flawless splendor
Or how an infinity of planets
Exists beyond our visage
A glorious mystery, uncharted
I do not know
How it is that you are far from me
Yet ache in every heartbeat
Or how waters flow unceasingly
Yet its source is not depleted
I do not know what brings the robin
To its nest in the same tree
Or how a world beneath the ocean
Can exist in untainted beauty
I do not know
How many days remain to tread this sod
Or who will be the first to go
But one thing I do know…
I know whom I have believed
And am persuaded that he is able
To keep that which I’ve committed
Unto Him against that day. (2 Tim. 1:12)
I know He is the One True God

Janet~

The Lovely Flower

Kindness is a lovely flower
One cannot force its seed
But there is nothing like the power
Of kindness touching need

Kindness is a lovely bloom
It needs no pot or bowl
Its fragrance fills the dreary room
And cheers the down-cast soul

Kindness is a stunning rose
Of pure and humble beauty
Its root in selfless visage grows
And never out of duty

Kindness is a lovely flower
All can afford its splendor
In every season, every hour
Its bloom is fair and tender

Janet~

)Be kind to one another, tenderhearted,forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Ephes. 4:32