10 Apr 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adrenaline, aura of love, be not proud, catastrophe, confidence, enthusiasm, eternal life, evil, faith, fellowship, friends, give ear, glory hallelujah, gospel truth, hear ye, holy spirit, Holy Week, humble yourselves, invincible, Jesus Christ, joy, Judah, lies, LOVE, loving-kindness, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, our hearts are right, Palm Sunday, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, salvation, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, the flesh is weak, the Lord has spoken, trust, truth, ungodly world, wisdom
Jeremiah 13:15. Hear ye, and give ear, be not proud: for the Lord hath spoken.
Ah mih people, I do hope we had a good Palm Sunday, and did not overdo it with too much rejoicing, (smile) for today is Monday and also the beginning of Holy Week. That means we need to get up and go out strong to work as well as be ready to go prayerfully into Holy Week and all the wonderful aspects of our faith that happen at the end of it.
And the Lord knows that although our flesh is weak, our hearts are in the right place. So let’s get a move on by singing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn which hopefully will get our engines started and our adrenaline richly flowing.
All together now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Now that wasn’t a bad rendition at all my people, but certainly not good enough to make all heaven stand up and rejoice. So now that we have the adrenaline flowing, let’s go out into the evil world and do our ambassadorial duties much better than our singing nuh. (smile).
That brings us to our Bit. ‘Hear ye, and give ear, be not proud: for the Lord hath spoken.’ Yeh friends, it’s ever so important for us to hear and pay serious attention when the Lord speaks.
And what did He say: ‘Give glory to the Lord your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness.’ (Jer.13:16)
Oh my brethren, are we giving God the glory He so richly and rightfully deserves? I don’t think so nuh, because our world has become so evil and ungodly that a whole generation doesn’t even know Him. Such was the state of Judah in Jeremiah’s time. And the Lord used parable- like lessons through Jeremiah to teach them of their backsliding and the possible consequences if it continued.
Listen to what comes next: ‘But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the Lord’s flock is carried away captive. Say unto the king and to the queen (mother), Humble yourselves, sit down: for your principalities shall come down (collapse), even the crown of your glory.’ (Jer.13:17-18)
Yes precious people, we need to step back and take a serious look at our society, what is currently happening and what can possibly happen because of our ungodliness and prideful walk.
Hear the scholars. ’13:15-17. A third illustration (parable-like lesson) concerns a weary traveller in danger of being overtaken by the falling darkness of night. Such was Judah. It must renounce all pride and give God His rightful glory before the final darkness of national catastrophe engulfs it.’
Oh friends, I couldn’t put it any better nuh. The darkness of night has overtaken our world so horribly, that darkness is all some of us know. Light, the bright burning flame of Jesus many of us have never encountered. Fortunately though, we believers, like Jeremiah, have been given the task of bringing Jesus’ light to this darkened world.
We are the ambassadors, the modern- day equivalent of the disciples that Jesus instructed: ‘Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt.28:19-20)
Now that is our task for today my fellow believers. So let’s get out there with diligence, hard work and excellence, perseverance and LOVING-kindness and do what we’ve been commanded to do nuh, like faithful and obedient ambassadors. Otherwise, our ungodly and wicked world is very liable to collapse around us in God’s wrath. And we wouldn’t want that now would we? Much LOVE!
…in a world full of darkness…only God’s people can bring light to it…
09 Apr 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a colt, a sacred purpose, Bethany, bethpage, Christian faith, common use, company of angels, David's royal son, Galilee, honour, Hosanna, hymns of praise, Jerusalem, Jesus, joy, king of Israel, King of Kings, lowly, meek, mortal men, Mount of Olives, multitude, Palm Sunday, prayers, prediction, Redeemer, rejection, rejoicing, sacrifice of praise, sitting on an ass, splendour, spread their garments, the daughter of Zion, the foal of an ass, the king cometh, the king is coming, the lips of children, the Lord's name, the prophet of Nazareth, the Septuagint
Matthew 21:5. Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek (lowly), and sitting upon an ass (donkey), and a colt the foal of an ass.
HAPPY PALM SUNDAY!
Well friends, it’s another Sunday morning in the life; an important one too – Palm Sunday – when our Lord and Saviour Jesus triumphantly entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey two thousand years ago. And oh, how the enormous crowd shouted with joy, throwing their clothes and palm branches in the dusty streets of Jerusalem for the King of Kings to ride upon!
And on this special day, we’ll open with a song of rejoicing and honour that was written in 820, especially for this occasion. So now, with much enthusiasm, joy and faithfulness, let’s offer up to heaven, a sacrifice of praise with our lips, as we declare the wonderful words of the hymn, ‘All Glory, Laud and Honour.’
‘(Refrain: All glory, laud and honor, To Thee, Redeemer, King, To Whom the lips of children Made sweet hosannas ring.) Thou art the King of Israel, Thou David’s royal Son, Who in the Lord’s Name comest, The King and Blessèd One. (Refrain) The company of angels Are praising Thee on High, And mortal men and all things Created make reply. (Refrain)
The people of the Hebrews With palms before Thee went; Our prayer and praise and anthems Before Thee we present. (Refrain) To Thee, before Thy passion, They sang their hymns of praise; To Thee, now high exalted, Our melody we raise. (Refrain) Thou didst accept their praises; Accept the prayers we bring, Who in all good delightest, Thou good and gracious King. (Refrain)’
Oh my fellow believers, how wonderful is that song of praise on this Palm Sunday morning eh! When we recall all the important and joyful stuff that went on that day it just lifts our hearts and spirits with emotions of heavenly wonder! (smile) Palm Sunday was one of the foundational stones in our Christian faith; it lifted our faith to a higher level.
And since we just praised the day in song, let’s hear what the Good Book says about it now. ‘And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethpage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he (Jesus) sendeth forth two of his disciples. And saith unto them, Go your way into the village over against (opposite) you, and as soon as ye be entered into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon never man sat; loose (untie) him and bring him. And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye that the Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him hither.’ (Mark 11:1-4) Bethany,
Yes friends, Jesus had the whole show set up beforehand! Now there is a discrepancy between Mark and Matthew’s version, in that Matthew speaks about a colt and a mature donkey, while Mark only talks about the colt. And I’ve used Mark’s version because of some important words of Jesus found there; ‘whereon man never sat.’
And the scholars tell us those words indicated that ‘An animal devoted to a sacred purpose must not have been put to common use. (Num. 19:2, Deut. 21:3) So for it to be worthy of Jesus, it must never have been ridden before.
And the Good Book tells us why Jesus set up that scene. ‘All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek (lowly), and sitting upon an ass (donkey), and a colt the foal of an ass.’ (Matt.21:4-5)
Now the scholars inform us that our Bit ‘is a combination of Isaiah 62:11 and Zechariah 9:9, taken substantially from the Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament.’
And we’ll go back to Mark for the next piece of the story, as Matthew doesn’t go into it in as much detail. ‘And they (the disciples) went their way, and found the colt tied by the door without (outside) in a place where two ways met (on the street); and they loose (untied) him. And certain of them that stood there said unto them, What do ye, loosing the colt? And they said unto them even as Jesus had commanded: and they let them go.’ (Mark11:4-6)
Now back to Matthew. (smile) ‘And (they) brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him (Jesus) thereon. And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strewed (spread) them in the way (road).
And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.’ (Matt.21:7-11)
Ah friends, I do hope I did not confuse you with moving from text to the next, but I just wanted to give us the entire story. And I know you all are smart enough to pick sense from nonsense anyway. (smile)
Now here is some more relevant info from the scholars. On the subject of Palm Sunday itself, they declare: ‘This event is traditionally known as the triumphal entry, when Jesus officially offers Himself to the nation of Israel as her long-awaited Messiah. However, in many ways, it was far from a triumph, for the day ended in Jesus’ public prediction of His rejection by His own people.
The crowd’s cry of ‘Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord,’ echoes words from 2 Sam.14:4 and Psalm 118:25-26. Riding on the colt of an ass marked the official entry of Israel’s kings. Thus Jesus arrives in the full declaration of His kingship.’
How very fitting my people! So let’s go out and celebrate and rejoice today nuh, reliving the joy, the splendour and magnitude of that august day so long ago. Much LOVE!
…the king is coming…the king is coming…
08 Apr 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a choice, a noble life, adhere to God's law, adversity, an adventurous life, Anselm's quotes, attitudes, blessed individuals, complaining, cringing, desired heaven, distresses, do business, dwarfs the problem, essential nature of our lives, flipping channels on the remote, for his goodness, go down to the sea, gospel truth, habit, happy, He maketh the storm to calm, hidden opportunity, inebriated, into the sauce, Jesus as our captain, Lake Ontario, loving kindness, massive waves, men would praise the Lord, miserable, mount up to heaven, mutiny, opportunities for us to grow, our christian walk, pain, personal testimony, prayer, problems, remain calm in any storm, Rochester, run errands, Saturday, shivering of the timbers, sipping something cold and frosty, situations, sleeping in, snoozing on the couch, standing strong, tailor-make, the Edmund Fitzgerald, the grace of God, the stormy wind, the waves thereof are still, the works of the Lord, to the depths
Psalm 107:29. He maketh the storm to calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
Well friends, it’s Saturday and there’s work to be done around the house, errands to run and shut in people to visit. Wow! For some of us it doesn’t seem like a day off at all, and we’re tempted to go to our place of employment, where we don’t work half as hard. (smile)
But for some blessed individuals, it’s a much easier go; just sleeping in late, snoozing on the couch, idly flipping the channels on the remote, watching golf and baseball, hockey and basketball, while sipping something cold and frothy and drowsily but sincerely saying, ‘Praise the Lord!’
Yes mih people, some do have it easier than others. But since it’s Saturday, we also have to check out some of our friend Anselm’s quotes for this week. And he does have some excellent ones this week.
Listen to this first one. ‘Each problem has hidden in it an opportunity so powerful that it literally dwarfs the problem. The greatest success stories were created by people who recognized a problem and turned it into an opportunity.’ And that’s gospel truth my brethren! Problems are in fact opportunities for us to grow. Note that it’s only when we face adversity that we mature, especially in our Christian walk.
And this next quote follows on naturally. ‘We can’t escape pain; we can’t escape the essential nature of our lives. But we do have a choice. We can give in and relent, or we can fight, persevere, and create a life worth living, a noble life. Pain is a fact; our evaluation of it is a choice.’ There again friends, we can’t escape pain or problems, but we can choose how to handle them; either by cringing and complaining, or by standing strong and using the adversity to our benefit.
And this one also segues nicely to the one before. ‘You cannot tailor-make the situations in life but you can tailor-make the attitudes to fit those situations.’ It’s all about attitudes my people; our attitudes to our problems can either make or break us. And this last quote just wraps it up nicely. ‘Being miserable is a habit; being happy is a habit; and the choice is yours.’
Oh is that ever so true my fellow believers! The choice is all ours. That means if we want to have a fairly happy and peaceful life we must choose attitudes that relate to happiness and peace. Remember with Jesus as our captain, we can remain calm in any storm.
Now listen to the psalmist as he tells his story. ‘They that go down to the sea in ships; that do business in great waters; These see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep. For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.
They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit’s end. Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm to calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then they are glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.’ (Ps.107:23-30)
Ah friends that reminds me of a personal testimony to that situation. One day, some thirty something years ago, I ended up on a boat with some friends and coworkers who were headed for Rochester on the American side of Lake Ontario. To cut a long story short, going across the day was sunny and beautiful and we finally got to the American side, but up to now we haven’t reached Rochester. (smile)
Through the obvious presence of the brown girl in the bottle and several strong imbibers, arguments broke out about continuing down the American coast to Rochester or returning to Toronto. The captain and owner of the boat eventually decided to come back to Toronto. This was about four o’clock in the afternoon.
But lo and behold, on our way back a serious storm rose up against us and we could barely make any headway against it. And yuh better believe that prayer, for the first time in many a day, was forthcoming from several of the inebriated imbibers. It’s a good thing I wasn’t into the sauce that day, so I was able to help the skipper, while the others were rolling around, hanging on, giving drunken orders and praying.
Now that day I learned a couple of lessons. The first one is that Lake Ontario can be very dangerous. I would be passing along the shore and see it kicking up and steups at it, saying it was nothing like the ocean I was accustomed to, and wondering how big ships like the Edmund Fitzgerald could sink and get lost in it.
But friends, that night I learned otherwise. For when the boat, I guess it was around fifteen feet long, mounted up the massive waves, I saw the good Lord in his heaven. (smile) And when it hit back down to the depths, between those waves, I felt the shivering of timbers! And that was the second lesson I learned; the actual feeling of shivering timbers. Before that night I had only read it from books.
And believe me there was even mutiny amongst the group. For when we finally reached land on the Ontario side, somewhere around Cobourg, still many miles from our starting point, we had to stop for gas. At that point, some of the more inebriated ones wanted to use their money to take a taxi home, instead of chip in for the gas.
But eventually cooler heads prevailed and we all came back together, arriving at our starting point around three o’clock in the morning, having left their around ten a.m. the previous day. And believe me, that was only a synopsis of the whole story. Like my family didn’t know where I was, hadn’t seen or heard from me for at least 20 hours, and the captain’s wife had the coast guard out looking for us.
Can’t say I haven’t led an adventurous life – but with the grace of God always surrounding me! That’s why I can totally agree with the psalmist when he declares: ‘Oh that men would praise (give thanks to) the Lord for his goodness (LOVING-kindness), to the children of men!’ (Ps.107:31) Much LOVE my brethren!
…without God…where would men be eh…so let’s give Him lots of thanks and praise nuh…and faithfully adhere to His law…
07 Apr 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a hot iron, abstain from meat, antidote, apostasy, blasphemed, blasphemy, branded, conscience, depart from the faith, doctrines of devils, eccentricities, evil spoken of, false teaching, fellowship, first world countries, follow their pernicious ways, forbidding to marry, Friday chant, fun, furthering your glorious kingdom, generous help, hypocrisy, hypocrites, in Jesus' name, latter times, licentiousness, lies, moral life, paltry pay, party, partying, Paul, poverty, prayer, predictions, profession of faith, refreshed, rejection of Christianity, relaxation, renewed, rest, robbery, sanctified by God, scarred, seared, seducing spirits, sense of purpose, sincerity, slave wages, snow, standard of living, sufferation, sweatshop work, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, thanksgiving, the spirit, the Truth, the way of truth, the weekend, the wind wailing, the Word of god, Timothy, week of work, wet and windy, white with snow, wonders of nature, working one job, workingman's enthusiasm
2 Peter 2:2. And many shall follow their pernicious (destructive) ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of (blasphemed).
Oh friends, we constantly talk about the many wonders of nature, but oftimes forget its eccentricities! And I have a perfect example of that.
Yesterday the rain fell around here all day, and not mere drizzles, but strong, steady showers. I even got caught in it going to and from the heart clinic in afternoon. It just went on and on, with the wind wailing and howling like crazy.
Now at minutes to three this morning, on my way to bed, I opened my front door and looked out to view the situation. It was extremely wet and incredibly windy! However, at minutes after eight, when I finally got up and looked outside…lo and behold, it was white with snow!
Mama Mia! I know I heard something on the T.V about wet snow in the evening, but apparently nothing happened until the early morning hours, and this was a little more than the wet kind. (smile)
But yuh know what? It didn’t kill the workingman’s enthusiasm for the upcoming weekend…not at all! He was still out there in the cold, enthusiastically declaring: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and the weekend is here! At long last, our little break from sweatshop work and paltry pay!
A man can’t even afford to really party on the slave wages we make…Steups! But we’ll certainly do our best! And we going to have a rollicking good time in spite of it! Thank God for Fridays and weekends yes!’
Ah mih people, paltry pay is certainly a major factor in our world’s abject poverty today. Even in the supposed first world countries, it’s difficult to have a decent standard of living just working one job, so can you imagine what’s happening in the third and fourth class countries? Hn! Absolute robbery and immense ‘sufferation!’
And the last thing we need is a whole lot of partying and licentiousness. Our focus should be instead on action like what our Friday Chant advises. So let’s chant it out nuh in true sincerity and a strong sense of purpose.
‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Yeh friends, unless we renew and refresh ourselves over the weekend, we’ll be no good for the new week of work. That brings us to our Bit. ‘And many shall follow their pernicious (destructive) ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of (blasphemed).’
Now all of us have encountered some of that false teaching and blasphemy at some stage of our lives, and I reiterate, the only way to counter it is by knowing the Word of God. And you can’t know the Word of God unless you are constantly and faithfully and deeply immersed in it.
Over the last couple of days, we saw what Peter had to say about the false teachers and prophets. Today we’ll get some insight into Bruh Paul’s predictions of apostasy, in his first letter to Timothy.
‘Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing (deceiving) spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron.
Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats (food), which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: For it is sanctified (consecrated) by the word of God and prayer.’ (1 Tim.4:1-5)
Yuh see friends, Bruh Paul also knew how evil we’d become in the last days. Now here are some explanations from the scholars.
‘4:1. Expressly means clearly. To depart means to apostatize. Apostasy is the deliberate and permanent rejection of Christianity after previous profession of faith in it. Doctrines of devils, that is doctrines taught by demons.’
‘4:2. Speaking lies in hypocrisy (or, “by the hypocrisy of liars”): The demons of verse 1 expound their doctrines, not directly, but indirectly through such human ministers. These are further described as having their conscience seared with a hot iron, that is branded (scarred) in their conscience.
Permanently defaced, the moral life of these hypocrites is scarred by sin as they carry around the awareness of their guilt, yet continue preaching to others.’
‘4:3. Two examples of demonic doctrines are cited here: (1) prohibition against marriage, and (2) abstaining from certain foods.’
‘4:4. Every creature of God is good (or, “Everything created by God is good”). This substantiates the remark in verse 3 that God created foods to be eaten, not abstained from.’
‘4:5. By divine statements (by the word of God) declaring all foods fit for man, and by the believer’s giving of thanks before meals (by…prayer), food is sanctified. This means food is set apart (reserved) for consumption by Christians.’
So friends, let’s remember today that there are numerous false teachers and doctrines in our world, trying to take us away from following the true Christ, and we need to be very diligent and careful in what and whom we listen to, else we can be very easily led astray. Much LOVE!
…the only antidote for false doctrine and teaching…thorough knowledge of God’s Word…
06 Apr 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a positive outlook, bet your bottom dollar, blasphemed, boundaries, chains of darkness, conduct of the wicked, confines, courage, covetousness, creativity, curse, deceitful words, denial of Jesus, destruction, destructive ways, distinguish sense from nonsense, divine protection, Eureka moment, evil spoken of, false prophets, false teachers, false teachings, feel good message, filthy conversation, follow pernicious ways, in god's own time, in the name of Jesus, inability to schedule, judgement, lies, light the candle at both ends, Lot, negative aspects, negative word, Noah, physical situation, playing both sides against the middle, prevarication, profound realization, prosper, recipe for disaster, retribution, self-contraol, self-discipline, Sodom and Gomorrah, study the Good Book, suffering, supernatural strength, temptations, the angesls that sinned, the flood, the source of my problems, the straight and narrow path, the unjust, the way of truth, the Word of god, the world of the ungodly, Thursday Blessings, universal judgement, unlawful deeds, with God's help
2 Peter 2:2. And many shall follow their pernicious (destructive) ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of (blasphemed).
Aye friends, a short while ago, as I wearily arose from my comfortable bed at a late hour, I think I finally came to my Eureka moment! Hn, hn!
Yes my brethren, on this rainy Thursday morning in the spring of 2017, I’ve finally come to the realization that the source of most of problems is simply me. What a profound realization! (smile)
It’s all wrapped up in my inability to schedule my life within the confines and boundaries of my new physical situation. But the problem there is that I don’t seem to think that I have new boundaries to adhere to. And therein lies the rub.
So I continue trying to play both sides against the middle, trying to light both ends of the candle at the same time. And as most of us know, that is a certain recipe for eventual disaster.
But yuh know what? With the help of the Good Lord I’m going to fix it, because I certainly don’t want it end up disastrously. Just watch me!
And with that promise, let’s go straight to our Bit. ‘And many shall follow their pernicious (destructive) ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of (blasphemed).’
Yes friends, that’s a rather important topic that we cannot simply shrug aside, because it is happening all around us. The false teachers and prophets are roping in people by the dozen with their false teachings.
In a lot of cases it’s simply a ‘feel good’ message, that doesn’t have any suffering or negative aspects. In other respects it’s a thorough denial of Jesus and all that He stands for. But whatever lie or prevarication the enemy throws at us my fellow believers, we must be able to distinguish sense from nonsense.
And we can only do that when we know what the Word of the Lord says. Thus I again implore us to study the Good Book, so that we can have the facts at our fingertips when the enemy brings his foolishness, his blasphemous teaching to us.
Yesterday we stopped at verse 3 in Peter’s sermon, where he mentioned the covetousness of the preachers, their deceitful words, and eventual destruction. Now let’s continue as he recounts God’s earlier retribution to the ungodly.
‘For if God spared not the angels that sinned, (Lucifer and his foolish cronies) but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgement; and spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eight person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing the flood upon the world of the ungodly;
And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow (to destruction), making them an example unto those that after (afterward) should live ungodly; And delivered just Lot, vexed with (oppressed by) the filthy conversation (conduct) of the wicked:
(For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed (tormented) his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgement to be punished.’ (2 Pet.2:4-9)
Yeh friends, a lot of us seem to take God’s promise of judgement and destruction to the ungodly as mere stuff to frighten us into obedience, but believe me it is serious stuff.
Please remember that our God doesn’t make idle promises.
If He says He’ll do something, then you can bet your bottom dollar that He will. It just might not be when we expect it. And we have evidence that He destroyed the world in Noah’s day, and Sodom and Gomorrah in Lot’s time. So it is not mere fiction that He will destroy the ungodly.
And believe me our world is in such an abject state of ungodliness that I won’t be surprised if the Lord chose to destroy it sometime soon. We’re living in worse times and situations than Sodom and Gomorrah, so what’s to stop Him eh?
Anyway, listen to the scholars on those verses above. ‘2:3-9. Future universal judgement of this world is illustrated by the reference to the flood (Gr. kataklusmon, “cataclysm”) of Noah’s day which came upon the old world, that is the antediluvian world.
The universal extent of the Flood is assumed by the author as an illustration of coming universal judgement at the end of this age. The deliverance of Lot from Sodom and Gomorrah is used to illustrate the fact that God will deliver His own from the coming universal judgement.’
Ah friends, the days are becoming more evil, but please don’t forget that evil and the ungodly will be severely punished in God’s own time, so it’s ever so necessary for us to stay on the straight and narrow path. Now let’s declare our Thursday Blessings which help us to stay on that tried and true path.
With sure conviction now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Now let’s go out and put those blessings into action nuh, for they are of no use until they are invoked over someone or something. Much LOVE!
…God’s promises will ALL be upheld…in His time…
05 Apr 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a great God, alternative facts, atonement, blasphemed, Christ crucified, Christians, communication, con men, covetousness, deceived by their own teaching, deceptive words, denying the Lord, destruction, destructive ways, evil spoken of, exploit you, false doctrine, false prophets, false teachers, glory hallelujah, glory to God, gospel truth, guilty of blasphemy, halfway home, heresies, hot flashes, judgement, lying, medical appointment, morning noon and night, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, my hands are on the plough, not turning back, pernicious, Praise the Lord, quality of life, study the word, talk a good talk, the breath of life, the Good Book, the way of truth, the Word of god, to a glorious future with Jesus, Toronto, traffic problems, unorthodox teachings, Wednesday Wail, without rhyme or reason
2 Peter 2:2. And many shall follow their pernicious (destructive) ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of (blasphemed).
Ah mih people, once more I have to go into the great city of Toronto for a medical appointment. That’s why you’re getting this so early. (smile) Ah Lord eh!
The basic problem though with these Toronto appointments is that when they are too early, you experience traffic problems going in, and have to leave home earlier than really necessary. And when they are too late, you experience traffic problems coming out.
But it’s all for my benefit, so I can’t really complain, especially about this particular one, which hopefully will deal with the hot flashes I’ve been having for a couple of years now. Glory to God!
Oh mih breddren, the ole fella will be ever so grateful if those come from where I don’t know, without rhyme or reason, morning noon and night hot flashes can be put to rest!
And please don’t tell me nonsense about women have hot flashes all the time, as one female doctor told me. That might be true, but the reasons behind theirs and mine most likely differ. As far as I was concerned, she took my problem too casually and wasn’t about to do anything about it, so I just stopped going to her.
And strangely enough, it’s another female endocrinologist that I’m seeing now, but she seems to have much more respect for my quality of life and is seriously trying to improve it. Praise the Lord! But enough about me, let’s turn to the word.
And before we get to our Bit, it will be rather informative to study the verse before it, as Peter pontificates on false prophets and teachers.
‘But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily (secretly) shall bring in damnable (destructive) heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.’ (2 Pet.2:1)
And yuh know what friends? That untenable and unfortunate situation still exists today! There are lots of false prophets and teachers amongst us, teaching all sorts of false doctrine, setting themselves up for destruction.
Then comes our Bit. ‘And many shall follow their pernicious (destructive) ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of (blasphemed).’
Now sadly too, those words are still true. Too many of us are being taken in by these false teachers and are thus being guilty of blasphemy. It’s not a joke friends, but a real serious matter, for our eternal lives depend on whom we follow, what we learn and what we believe.
So the next verse is also very important. ‘And through covetousness shall they with feigned (deceptive) words make merchandise of (exploit) you: whose judgement now of a long time lingereth not (has not been idle) and their damnation (destruction) slumbereth not.’ (2 Pet.2:3)
Oh my people, we are indeed seeing all of that stuff happening today, possibly even more than in Peter’s time, because our world is so much larger and communication is so much easier and more widespread.
But listen to the scholars take on those verses. ‘2:1-3. The opposite of true revelation is the message of false prophets and false teachers who deceive God’s flock and bring in damnable heresies. These heresies (unorthodox teachings) include an open denial of Christ Himself.
Denying the Lord that bought them indicates that Christ’s atonement potentially extends to all men, including these false teachers who reject Him. Therefore, they will experience destruction because they themselves will be deceived by their own teaching and continue to reject the way of truth.’
What a bam-bam friends! Being destroyed by your own teaching! But it’s happening all around us; people are teaching all sorts of stuff and they don’t seem to match, so something must be wrong somewhere.
I’m therefore pleading with us my brethren, to please be very, very careful whom you listen to and follow, for there are a lot of smart con men around, who talk a very good talk. But basically, if they don’t teach Christ crucified (1 Cor.1:23) and their words don’t line up with those of the Good Book, then don’t listen to or follow them.
And that is also why it’s so imperative that we read and study the word for ourselves. If we know the word, then no false preacher or teacher can easily fool us. But so many supposed Christians don’t truly know the word of God, that the smooth talking false teachers and prophets are easily fooling them. Ah Lord eh!
When the most powerful man in the world is constantly lying and calling them ‘alternative facts,’ what else can you expect from the lower echelons eh? But as strong and true believers, who know the word, we will not fall for those lies of the evil led blasphemers. And instead, we’ll go home now confidently proclaiming our Wednesday Wail.
In full voice and strong sense of purpose now, let’s wail! ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday!
I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
Yes friends, our God is a great God, and we are truly looking forward to a great future with Him. Praise His Holy Name! Much LOVE!
…our best days are still out ahead of us…with Jesus in heaven…and that’s the gospel truth…
04 Apr 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: action, afraid, all things work together for good, beloved of God, beneficial, benefit the earth, called according to His purpose, Christian walk, confident, devour, enemies, failures, faith, fight the giants, foes, frined of jesus, frowns, god, God is my strength and power, God makes my way perfect, God-given, harmless way, hockey game, indisputable, investment of energy, lure, mercy, misery, my heart shall not fear, my salvation, natural, of the utmost importance, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., overcome the world, Philistine, priorities, psalm 27, put out power, quench, sense of purpose, share His love, sincerity, smiles, Song of Deliverance, song of thanksgiving, strength, take stock, the joy of life, the light of Israel, the Lord is my light, the most powerful Being, the winter days, then that love god, tribulation, truth, Tuesday Mantra, victories, war, wasting resources, whom shall I fear
2 Samuel 22:33. God is my strength and power; and he maketh my way perfect.
Oh friends, blame it all on the game; the lure of the good ole hockey game! (smile) I began watching it late and just had to watch the whole thing. And then my beautiful body called for some decent sleep. So I couldn’t win any which way I turned. (smile)
And it looks like this rainy Tuesday morning is going to be a smiley type of morning, but nothing’s wrong with that, for smiles are way more useful and beneficial than frowns
Anyway, today I want to share one of the many famous quotes of Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (1841-1935), an American judge and member of the Supreme Court. This one wisely declares: ‘The joy of life is to put out one’s power in some natural and useful or harmless way. There is no other, and the real misery is not to do this.’
Oh my people, are we doing this; putting out our power in a natural and useful or harmless way? I surely do hope so, otherwise we’re just wasting the resources that God, our Creator, gave to us to benefit the earth in some form and fashion.
I know we all have problems, be they physical, emotional or financial, but it is of the utmost importance that we learn how to use our resources, our energy in the most productive ways. We absolutely need to get our priorities straight so that we can live a good life with proper investment of whatever energy we have.
Wasting our precious, God-given energy on unproductive stuff is the worst mistake we can make, especially when we are in the winter days of our lives, and energy is not as plentiful as it used to be. (smile)
So let’s take stock of our lives today nuh, and see if and where we’re wasting our valuable energy, and ask the Lord to help us improve in that area. And that’s where our Bit comes in. ‘God is my strength and power; and he maketh my way perfect.’
Indisputable, gospel truth that, my brethren! And Bruh David knew it, that’s why he based his life on the strength and power of God. And so should we too my people…if we are wise.
The words of our Bit come from Bruh David’s Song of Deliverance after a battle where he was less than his usual powerful self, unable to put away a Philistine giant, and Abishai, one of his men had to do the dirty work for him.
And the end of the verse says: ‘Then the men of David sware unto him, saying, Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle, that thou quench not the light of Israel.’ (2. Sam.22:17)
Now isn’t that touching! Bruh David’s men realized that he had reached the end of his battle days and wanted no physical harm to come to their beloved king.
Oh friends, hopefully when we reach that stage of our own lives, there’ll be someone to fight the giants for us and keep us safe from harm.
Now the scholars tell us that Psalm 18 is almost identical, in fact an edited version of the psalm from which our Bit is taken. They call it ‘a royal song of thanksgiving that rehearses God’s deliverance of David from all his enemies.’
And that’s no lie, for Bruh David went through a whole lot of unfair and troubling events, and it’s only because of the Lord’s great mercy and immense strength that he made it through.
So when he declares in the opening verses of Psalm 27: ‘The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?
When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up (devour) my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.’ (Ps.27:1-3)
Oh precious people of God, that is how we feel when we walk seriously and consistently with God! We don’t fear what man can do to us, because we know that our God is the most powerful Being in the entire universe!
But to come to that point, it is necessary for us to go through the many failures as well as victories that are a part of this life. What did Jesus say? ‘In this world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33b)
And Bruh David understood that principle; through the power and strength of God, everything would eventually be made right. As Bruh Paul told the Romans: ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are called according to his purpose.’ (Rom.8:28)
And that’s a pertinent verse we all know, but don’t place sufficient faith in it, and thus are not as confident as we should be in our Christian walk.
Anyway friends, as of today all that is going to change, we are going to sincerely believe and walk confidently in the Lord’s strength and power. And we will begin doing so by declaring our Tuesday Mantra with sincerity and a true sense of purpose.
All together now: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
And if we truly believe those words we just spoke, then let’s go out and put them into action as Jesus desires! Much LOVE!
…faith is not true faith…until it’s been put into action…
03 Apr 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a heartbeat, adversity, antidote, aura of love, battlefield, Beelzebub, believers, Boaz, choirmaster, Christ's Church, complaining, confidence, enthusiasm, eternal life, evil, faithfulness, fight the good fight, friends, Gentile, glorious kingdom, hate day, holy spirit, humble servants, invincible, Israelites, Jesse, Jesus Christ, Jew, jobs, joy, licentious weekend, lies, LOVE, Moab, Monday, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, Naomi, Obed, Orpah, prince of darkness, prince of peace, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, Ruth, salvation, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, trust, truth, ungodly world, union of Jew and Gentile, wisdom
Joshua 24:15(a). …choose you this day whom ye will serve…
Oh friends, it’s Monday, our favourite hate day! (smile) And we only hate it because it means we have to get up and go out and labour, after spending a soft, cushy, licentious weekend. But them’s the breaks my people. You either go and work or be homeless and starve.
And yuh better believe you’re darm lucky and blessed if you have a job, because there are millions of people out there who don’t have one and will gladly take yours in a heartbeat. So let’s start living right over the weekend nuh, so that on Monday we don’t have the set of steupsing and complaining we currently have.
In any case, let’s take the antidote for that there illness right now; the glorious singing of our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. In full voice and perfect harmony, let’s belt it out: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Not bad friends, not bad, but not good enough to get a big rise out of our choirmaster Jesus. Anyway, with that adrenaline antidote taking effect, as it courses through our bodies, raising both our physical and spiritual capacity, let’s get a move on, for Jesus is waiting for us out on the battlefield, so we can fight the good fight with Him. Time to move out mih people!
That brings us to our Bit: ‘…choose you this day whom ye will serve…’
Yes friends, we can either serve the prince of this evil world, Beelzebub, or the Prince of Peace, of Light and Eternal Life, Jesus Christ. The decision is totally yours. But let me give you a li’l bit of wise advice. It will be better for you, if you serve Jesus Christ, for He is the mighty conqueror of hell, death and the grave, Beelzebub’s territory! That’s why Beelzebub now has no power over true believers, unless we fall for his lies and deceits.
Now we all know the numerous times the Israelites turned away from God and suffered adversity, then caught themselves, repented and were welcomed back into the fold of God. Anybody with a bit of common sense can do that, but let’s check out an individual circumstance, where the reward of a Gentile for choosing the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was immeasurable.
We’re talking about the story of Ruth, the Moabitess, who immigrated to Bethlehem with her mother-in-law Naomi from her own land of Moab, after her husband, brother and father in-law had died, leaving three widows behind. Now Naomi, having heard that the ‘Lord had visited (attended to) his people in giving them bread,’ (Ruth 1:6) she decided to return to her people in Bethlehem, where it might be possible for a Jewish widow to scrape together a half-decent living.
So she kissed and blessed her two daughters’ –in- law and told them to go back to their own people. But they wept and refused. However, eventually the one named Orpah did leave Naomi, ‘but Ruth clave (clung) unto her. (Ruth 1:7-15)
‘And Ruth said, Entreat me not (urge me not) to leave thee, or return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part thee and me.’ (Ruth 1:16-17)
And the scholars tell us thus: ‘1:16-17. Ruth’s faith and faithfulness are in evidence throughout the book, as expressed here in her commitment to Naomi’s God as her own. Ruth’s own concern for Naomi is bound by a strong oath made before the Lord Himself.’
And how did the Lord repay Ruth’s faithfulness? By causing her to marry the richest man in the city and having a baby boy whom Naomi the grandmother nursed. ‘And the women her neighbours gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David.’ (Ruth 4:17)
Ah friends, you never know what our great and wonderful God will do nuh! For from that union of Jew, Boaz, and Gentile, Ruth, came Bruh David and later his descendant Jesus! So one more mysterious but wise working of our great God!
And as the scholars declare: ‘from the union of Jew and Gentile would ultimately come the Saviour of all men. (Acts 4:12). The marriage of Boaz and Ruth may thus serve as a picture of Christ and His church through whom all believers become one (Eph.2:11-22).’
No better way to end today my brethren! Much LOVE!
…as for me and mine…we WILL serve the Lord…
02 Apr 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Amorites, carnal, choose you this day, comeuppance, damnation, dear Lord, destruction, Egypt, el numero uno, end of the rainbow, eternal life, eternal separation, exalt Him in song, eye candy, falter, fear the Lord, fellowship, guide me, hitched to Jesus, I am weak, intercessor, Jesus, Jesus defeated him, Jesus' Second Coming, Just a closer walk, keep me from all wrong, King of Kings, let it be, light, Lord of Lords, LOVE, Lucifer, lustful, Mighty Counsellor, mighty god, my burden, my feeble life, my plea, none but thee, our Lord and Saviour, overthrow Jehovah, possessions, pot of gold, praise, praise his holy name, prince of darkness, prince of peace, second in command, serve him, shares, sincere feeling, sincerity, sing, snares, Sunday, the other side of the flood, thou art strong, thy kingdom shore, time, top dog, truth, walk close to thee, walking to and fro the earth, wealth, who cares, whom you will serve, wisdom, world of toil, worship
Joshua 24:15(a). …choose you this day whom ye will serve…
Awright friends, it’s that great day, Sunday, when we get together to fellowship, praise, sing, worship and hear the awesome words of our most wonderful and Mighty God! Glory to Him in the highest! Praise His Holy Name! Let the people exalt Him in song!
And that’s exactly what we’ll do now; exalt and glorify our heavenly Father by offering up sacrificial praise from our lips by singing the old, but ever so encouraging and assuring hymn, ‘Just a Closer Walk with Thee.’
So with great gusto, and sincere feeling, let’s sing: ‘I am weak, but Thou art strong; Jesus, keep me from all wrong; I’ll be satisfied as long As I walk, let me walk close to Thee. (Refrain: Just a closer walk with Thee, Grant it, Jesus, is my plea, Daily walking close to Thee, Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.)
Through this world of toil and snares, If I falter, Lord, who cares? Who with me my burden shares? None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee. (Refrain) When my feeble life is o’er, Time for me will be no more; Guide me gently, safely o’er To Thy kingdom shore, to Thy shore. (Refrain: Just a closer walk with Thee, Grant it, Jesus, is my plea, Daily walking close to Thee, Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.)’
Oh my fellow believers, there’s nothing greater in this world, this earthly journey, than a close walk with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Prince of Peace, Wonderful Counsellor, Faithful Intercessor, etc. etc.! Yes friends, there are many more authoritative names we can mention, but we’ll let those few suffice for now.
But the long and short of the story is that Christ is the most powerful Being in the universe, and as such, it only makes sense to attach our frail human cart to His powerful spiritual horse. (smile) And it’s very disappointing that so many of us are refusing to do it, because that’s a fool’s wisdom.
And we have no better example than that of Lucifer, who was like second in command, but through greed and innate stupidity was not satisfied. He wanted to be the top dog, El Numero Uno, and thus tried to overthrow the Most High God Jehovah. Obviously he was unsuccessful, for how can you defeat the Creator of the universe eh? And now he’s set to walking to and fro the earth, until the Lord’s ready to deal with him.
Technically speaking, he is the prince of darkness, trying to get God’s people to turn away from Him. But he has no real power, for Jesus has defeated him, left, right and centre! He can only operate on the strength of lies, deceit and subtle trickery. Consequently, he tries to capture us through worldly and fleshly things, what they call eye candy, things that have no lasting value, but do appeal to our lustful and carnal side.
Sadly though, a lot of us are choosing to go over to Lucifer’s side, enamoured by the promise of earth’s wealth and pretty possessions. But what’s going to happen when we give up the ghost eh? Will we be carrying any of that with us? No! Not one iota!
And if your cart isn’t hitched to Jesus’ horse, what’s going to happen to you then eh? Nothing but eternal separation from the One who died to save you, who paid your sin debt in full! Eternal darkness with Lucifer will be your comeuppance, instead of eternal life, light and LOVE with Jesus.
That’s why Joshua in his farewell address asked the Israelites our Bit: ‘…choose you this day whom ye will serve…’
After reminding them of all the wonderful things the Lord had done for them, he admonished them. ‘Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood (Euphrates river), and in Egypt; and serve the Lord.
And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.’ (Josh.24:14-15)
Yes my brethren, it’s a decision, a conscious and serious one that all of us have to make at some time or another, and the sooner the better! Why? Because there are two important time related points that can cause eternal separation from Jesus; His Second Coming, without you accepting Him as your Lord and Saviour, and your dying without doing the same.
Now if any of those things happen without you walking sincerely with Jesus, then there are no other options, but eternal separation. And the truth of the matter is that either of those two things can happen at ANY time without ANY notice! That’s why it’s of the utmost importance that you make a decision RIGHT NOW, so that you won’t get left in the lurch when the end time comes.
Please don’t do like so many have done, put it off until it’s too late. The wisdom of God dictates that we act on the matter ASAP…and that means RIGHT NOW! Please don’t put your eternal life with Jesus in jeopardy through the lies and deceits of Lucifer, who has nothing good whatsoever to offer you, but is just looking for company in his eternal damnation and destruction. Much LOVE!
…Only in Jesus…will you find light, life, LOVE and the pot of gold…at the end of the rainbow…
01 Apr 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a sincere heart, All Fool's Day, allwviate our problems, April Fool's day, as you think so you become, be wise, confidence, cut down on TV, deceit, evil spell, failures, find me, holy vessels of God, how to motivate yourself, humility, joyful, learn from failures, live your own life, make believe, negative thoughts, negative threads of thought, power of Christ's gospel, productive, real life, reality shows, relationship with god, remember your successes successes, rich people, scriptural advice, seek me, set your heart and soul, sincerity, soaps, strife, the ark of the covenant, the battle is in the mind, the name of the Lord, think positively, turn away your captivity, turning to god, wisdom, with all your heart
Jeremiah 29:13. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall seek me with all your heart.
And would you believe friends, that that rain I spoke about yesterday morning, fell all day, until early this morning. Good thing it didn’t come down in torrents, but mostly drizzles, otherwise there would have been much flooding. Thank the Lord for that!
And though today is All Fool’s or April Fools Day, we won’t play any tricks or tell any falsehoods. (smile) But since it’s also Saturday, we’ll get right to some of our friend Anselm’s quotes this week, as he aspires to inspire us to have a better tomorrow. And this week he was still talking about ‘How to Motivate Yourself.’
And our first quote declares: ‘Take The Positivity Challenge! Learn to think more positively most of the time. Learn to let to go of negative threads of thought before they have a chance to take hold of you. You might not be able to be positive all the time no matter what happens. But I think most of us can improve on our positive thinking and the results it can lead us to. Perhaps more than you realize right now.’
No doubt about that my people! Too many of us nowadays focus on the negative rather than the positive. And even though you can’t be positive all the time, as Anselm states, the more positive you are, the more productive and joyful you’ll be. When the enemy comes at you with all the negative thoughts, just run him out. For remember the battle is fought in the mind, and as you think, so you become.
The second quote advises us to ‘Remember your successes. And let them flow through your mind instead of your failures. Write down your successes. Consider using a journal of some kind since it’s easy to forget your successes.’
Now that just segues well with the scriptural advice that when God seems to be not answering your heartfelt pleas, to remember all the earlier times He did, and the good things He provided. It’s always better to remember successes, though you must also endeavour to learn from failures. The important thing is not to dwell too much on the latter.
And this last quote is my favourite of the week. ‘Cut down on TV. Do you watch it too much? Watch less of what they are doing in TV-land and do more of what you want to do in life.’
Oh friends, there are too many of us who don’t know that what’s shown on T.V is a lot of make believe! Very little of what’s shown there is actually true. And we waste too much time watching the stuff, either foolishly believing it, or using it as an excuse or way to run from real life.
And believe you me, if you are a fan of things like the foolish soaps and reality shows, that only feature rich people in strife and deceit all the time, then you will eventually gravitate to that kind of thinking and it will have a negative effect on your own life. So please choose carefully what you watch on the tube, because there is much more nonsense there than sense. Leave the TV alone, and go live your own life! (smile)
And the best way to do that my people, is by seeking out our heavenly Father and letting Him lead and guide our lives, for He will never lead us astray. He will help us to do all the things we’ve just spoken about above. But we need to genuinely go looking for Him. As our Bit declares: ‘And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall seek me with all your heart.’
Yes friends, if we seek the Lord, we will find Him, but the most important, the truly operative words in that sentence are ‘with all your heart.’ You can’t just go seeking Him in a selfish manner, to simply accommodate your selfish wants and demands. You have to go with a genuine, humble heart, sincerely wanting to be in a right relationship with Him.
And Jeremiah continues after our Bit. ‘And I will be found of you, saith the Lord: and I will turn away (bring you back from) your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the Lord; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.’ (Jer.29:14)
And none of that has changed my brethren! We might not be talking about actual captivity now, but metaphorical captivity by the enemy. When the enemy has our thoughts and actions under his evil, negative spell, the ONLY WAY to escape is by turning to God and seeking Him with a sincere heart.
Listen to Bruh David’s command to Cousin Sol when he turned over the building of the Lord’s temple to him. ‘Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God; arise therefore, and build ye the sanctuary of the Lord God, to bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built to the name of the Lord.’ (1 Chr.22:19)
Now that was wise and godly advice on Bruh David’s part, for if Cousin Sol wasn’t in wonderful relationship with the Lord, the temple would either not have been built, or would not have been so magnificent. It’s the close relationship with the Lord that gave Cousin Sol the wherewithal, both of materials and wisdom to put up such a beautiful sanctuary to Him.
Likewise my people, it’s our close relationship with the Lord that both inspires us, and helps us to do His work in an excellent manner. So whatever is troubling us today, please let’s be wise and seek our heavenly Father in humility and sincerity nuh, but also with a confidence that He will hear us and help to alleviate our problems. That’s the wisdom and power of Christ’s gospel! Much LOVE!
…sincerely and diligently seek…and you shall find…
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