21 Mar 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a righteous man, appointed unto men, Beelzebub, believe in Jesus, blaspheme His holy name, broken right now, bruised and battered, Christ died for the ungodly, Christ died for us, crapaud smoke yuh pipe, cried out in anguish, curse, embodiment of evil, eternal hell fire and damnation, eternal life, eternal souls, fallen angel, favour, filled with, finite minds, for a good man, forsake his only son, free offer of grace, God commendeth his love, God so loved the world, good health, grace, guidebook, hanging helplessly, have everlasting life, he gave his only begotten son, heartbreaking deed, in the name of Jesus, LOVE, Lucifer, My God my God, my soul is still, negative word, once to die, our earthly lives, peaceful, positive outlook on life, prosper, salvation, satanic majesty, self-control, self-discipline, share the blessings, should not perish, sinful creation, sinful exploits, sins, some would dare to die, spins on only one thing, succeed, the BIBLE, the Good Book, the heart of God, the heart of his universe, the wonderful love of God, then the judgement, Thursday Blessings, ultimate destination, unconditional LOVE, ungrateful sinners, while we were yet sinners, whosoever believeth on Jesus, why hast thou forsaken me, without strength, wooden cross
Romans 5:8. But God commendeth his (demonstrates his own) LOVE towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Ah mih people, the ole fella doesn’t have a jump out at you, in your face intro for this morning! (smile) Neither does he have anything explosive to talk about today. His soul is still and peaceful, filled with the wonderful LOVE of God! So I guess that’s what we’ll talk about then…the wonderful LOVE OF GOD! (smile)
And I guess there’s nothing better to talk about in these evil and trying times than God’s amazing, awesome and unconditional LOVE for His sinful creation. Sorry Lord, you did not create anything sinful, you created mankind very holy like yourself, it’s just that the creation turned sinful when it came into contact with Beelzebub, so we can’t blame you for that.
But you were so enamoured of that creation that even though it turned against you, you couldn’t leave it to die and suffer eternal hellfire and damnation on account of it’s unholy and sinful exploits. Bless Your holy name our heavenly Father! But what’s truly amazing and incomprehensible about God’s LOVE, are the unbelievable facts noted in these immortal words of Bruh Paul to the church at Rome.
‘For when we were yet without strength, in due time (at the right time) Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure (perhaps) for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his (demonstrates his own) LOVE towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom.5:6-8)
How can you beat that show of LOVE eh friends? NO WAY! Can you imagine the size God’s heart had to be to be able to do that overreaching deed? To put the sins of the whole world on the shoulders of His wonderful Son; to commit such a heartbreaking deed to forsake His only Son!
Can you imagine the state of the Father’s heart when His Son, hanging helplessly from that wooden cross, all bruised and battered, cried out in anguish: ‘My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?’ (Matt.27:46b) It’s the only time that Jesus ever really cried out to the Father in true despair, because it’s the ONLY time that the Father had ever turned away from Him!
My fellow believers, I don’t think our puny and finite minds can really comprehend it nuh! That’s why we don’t appreciate and don’t pay as much attention to it like we should. It must be a godlike thing to sacrifice one’s sinless Son to pay for the debts of ungrateful sinners! But He did it!
And wonder of wonders too many of His creation are not thankful or grateful for it, because they blaspheme His holy name and totally reject His salvation through His free offer of grace. And the sad part is that all it takes to receive eternal life is to believe in and on His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!
And Jesus proclaimed this fact so strenuously Himself: ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ (John 3:16) But unfortunately, a large portion of God’s creation prefers to believe on the fallen angel Lucifer; his satanic majesty, the embodiment of all evil and sin!
How sad my brethren! We take the Lord’s words for a joke when He says that those who believe on His Son will have everlasting life, while those who reject Him will be cast out into hell fire and eternal damnation! It’s amazing how foolish we can be, believing the parts of the Good Book that serve our purposes and not believing the rest!
Friends, I’m here to tell you that the Good Book is ALL TRUTH! So you either believe ALL of it, or NONE of it! You can’t be like so many of us, just sitting on the fence hoping that our number will play sometime and we can fall either which way the wind blows. Friends, our number’s been played already!
Two thousand years ago Jesus died to pay for our sins! Nothing else is needed! And furthermore, the Lord wrote the Bible for us, as a guidebook for our earthly lives, not for His benefit. He knows it all already! So those of us who choose to ignore Him, His Word, His Son and His Holy Spirit are playing a real dangerous game with the ultimate destination of their eternal souls.
For as the Good Book so rightly proclaims: ‘And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement.’ (Heb.9:27) Yes friends, mankind dies once, please note that, ONLY ONCE, and after that he will be judged by God Almighty! And even more importantly, if you don’t make your peace here on earth before you die with Jesus, then all bets are off, unfortunately crapaud smoke yuh pipe, then it’s TOO LATE!
So please, please, I implore us to be wise and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour RIGHT NOW nuh, because you never know when you’ll be called home, it can happen at anytime. And even if you don’t want to believe, then be wise and hedge your bets nuh; accept Him just in case it’s all true. And if it happens that it isn’t, then you haven’t lost anything.
However, if it all turns out to be true, then you’d have won and be on the inside looking in! Glory to God!
Now for those of us who truly believe, let’s go home declaring (steups – wrong again- going to have to stop using it yes (smile)) our Thursday Blessings, wonderful benefits that our great, merciful, forgiving, generous and ever-LOVING God has magnanimously bestowed on us.
In strong voice and full belief 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 don’t forget that those wonderful blessings weren’t given to us to hoard, but to share with the less fortunate of this sorry world, so please let’s go out and do the now nuh! Much LOVE!
…the heart of God…and thus the heart of His universe…spins on one and only ONE thing…LOVE…
20 Mar 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a better person, a glorious future with Jesus, a house built on sand, a house built on the rock that's jesus, a mother hen, a thousand days, abandoned, airtight plan, always comfort us, Beauty for Ashes, begun a good work, being confident, believe, Christian's eternal security, completes what He begins, conversion, covenant, crushing, divinely continued, every hidden crevice, faithfully promised, God's nature, Gods thoughts and ways are higher than ours, grace, grin and bear it, halfway home, hammering, hands on the plough, hold steadfast, holy spirit, how long will it last, hurry a little, joy for mourning, keep us safe, last forever, life's storms, like one day, looking forward to, lurking enemy, make me something, make something out of nothing, man's demarcation of time, Martin Luther King, Mother Nature, never leavenor forsake us, not turning back, of this very thing, on the ball, partners, Philippians, physically, protects her chicks, reduce me to nothing, reshape and remake me, spiritually, spring, Spring Equinox, the Boss, the breath of life, the Renovator, under his mighty wings, unrealized, until the day of Christ Jesus, walk obediently to god's will, Wednesday Wail, What is your schedule God, will perform it, work of grace, work out all things for good
Philippians 1:6. Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform (complete) it until the day of Jesus Christ.
‘It’s spring! It’s spring! Springtime is here! Thank God it’s spring!’ Hn, hn, hn! Yeh friends, the Spring Equinox has finally reached the North Country, but please don’t be deceived by the ebullient nature of that statement because that’s just man’s calendar. Mother Nature however, doesn’t hold to man’s demarcation of time, she does her own thing, so the temps will not always be above freezing, and some of that white stuff is possible in the next month or so.
And having set the record straight on that topic, let’s move on to this interesting poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin, titled ‘What is Your Schedule, God?’ The first time I read it, I had to laugh because it applies so appropriately to my present position and no doubt to some of you readers also.
So please pray with me: ‘Lord Many years ago Martin Luther King said “It is God’s nature To make something out of nothing. That is why God cannot make anything Out of him who is not yet nothing.” In ways I had never anticipated, Lord Slowly but persistently You continue Your hammering and crushing In every hidden crevice of my life.
You seem determined To reduce me to nothing In order to make something. I wonder… What is Your schedule, God? As You creatively continue To reshape and remake me How long will it last? Lord, could You hurry a little’
My sentiments exactly my people! It’s taking a rather long time for Him to complete His renovations in me! Oh I know that I will be a much better person, both physically and spiritually when He’s done, but did I need so much work, that it’s taking so long? (smile) I guess He seems to think so. And He’s the Boss, the Renovator, so there’s not much I can do but grin and bear it, knowing that He’s faithfully promised that He eventually will work out all things for our good.
Even the bad stuff, He’ll make eventually work in our favour. And there’s also this other important and incomparable promise found in the Bible verse for today’s poem, which is also our Bit for today. In the immortal words of Bruh Paul to the Philippians: ‘Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform (complete) it until the day of Jesus Christ.’
Ah mih people, our God is not a wishy-washy deity, who just does things vikey-vie, but an outstanding and upstanding Father figure who has an airtight plan and completes what He begins! That means that though I’ve been going through some rough times as He renovates me, and it seems to be taking a rather long time, I can yet be assured that he will finish those renovations in His own timing.
We all know that His timing and ours very seldom coincide; (smile) we want it done now for now, but He’s in no rush whatsoever. That’s why He gives us His powerful grace to bear up under such tough and unwanted conditions.
Now hear what the scholars say about our Bit. ‘1:6. Will perform it is said “will finish it.” Paul is convinced that the work of grace that God began in the Philippians at conversion will be divinely continued until the day of Jesus Christ. That is, the Lord will keep working in these believers until Jesus returns to earth, at which point He will finish His work, bringing it to completion. This speaks of the Christian’s eternal security. For God had a purpose in view when He began His saving work in the Philippians, and that purpose will neither be abandoned nor unrealized.’
Give our great God some thanks and praise my brethren, because He also has a purpose in saving us, and that purpose will neither be ‘abandoned nor unrealized!’ Wow! You can bet your bottom dollar on that! The Lord will continue working in and on each of us until Jesus comes back to claim His birthright! Isn’t that good news? Yes, it sure is wonderful news, to know that our heavenly Father is on the ball, even though we may not like what His work entails in our earthly days.
But we’ve just got to hang on to those promises of His, the many promises found in His awesome Word, like those above and like He’ll never leave nor forsake us, will always comfort us, give us beauty for ashes, joy for mourning, keep us safe under His mighty wings from the always lurking enemy and life’s inevitable storms, just like a mother hen protects her chicks! And the list goes on and on my faithful followers of Christ!
Remember, we are partners in this life with our Maker; that means He has a part to do, and we also have our part to do. And as Sister Joyce (Joyce Meyer) likes to say: ‘God will not do our part, and we can’t do His part, though we often try to!’ And that’s gospel truth friends! So our part of the covenant is to hold on tightly to the promises of the Almighty, and walk obediently to His will, regardless of the circumstances, and just let Him get on with His renovation and renewal of our lives.
Remember His thoughts and ways are higher than ours and a thousand days in His sight is like one in ours, so we will very seldom see eye to eye. (smile) But all will turn out well if we just believe and hold steadfast to His Word! It’s not always easy to do, but He’s also given us the grace and the help of His Holy Spirit do it. So let’s stop complaining and just get with the programme nuh! Jesus didn’t have it easy, so why should we have it so eh? No reason whatsoever!
So let’s smarten up, and with the Lord’s strength and joy in our hearts, let’s go home declaring (steups – wrong again) our Wednesday Wail, telling the whole world our wonderful and enviable position in the Lord Jesus Christ, our most wonderful Leader and Saviour!
Altogether now: ‘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!’
And please remember, that future will be even more glorious than we can think or imagine! Way to go mih people! Much LOVE!
…a house built on sand will not stand…but one built on the rock that’s Jesus…will surely last forever…
P.S. Yuh see what happens when you all get the ole fella excited…he just keeps on writing…(smile) Much LOVE!
19 Mar 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: added unto you, all these things, backbone, belly, beloved of God, destroy, doth corrupt, eternal damnation, fall evil angel, free will, friend of Jesus, future destination, genius mentality, God will provide all our needs, have it more abundantly, have life, headed for hell, heavenly places, I am come, in communion with Jesus, in god's eyes, in the land of the living, kill, lay not up, live for eternity, live for Jesus, lustful things, moth, needy, poor, righteousness, rust, Satan, see the goodness of God, seek ye first, sense of purpose, share His love, sinful nature, steal, the kingdom of God, there will your heart be, thieves, things of the world, through His riches in glory, treasures in heaven, treasures on earth, trust, Tuesday Mantra, what I do, what I have, where your treasure is, worldly treasures
Matthew 6:19. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt (ruin), and where thieves break through and steal:
Ah friends, what a shock it is to the system when one gets up and sees your whole area clothed in white! Hn! Especially after the warm weather of the past week has conditioned one’s mind – falsely it would seem – to believe that all that white stuff business was a thing of the past and the distant future of next winter! But obviously that’s not so!
And though it’s not a great amount of snow, no amount of snow at all is welcome! (smile) But since we’re such sturdy people, especially we believers, with plenty backbone and belly, we’ll just grin and move along as normal, what with the Lord providing ALL our needs through His riches in glory, through Jesus Christ our wonderful Lord and Saviour!
And all God’s children loudly, proudly and gratefully declared (right ho): ‘All praise to the name of Jesus, the innocent Lamb of God who was slaughtered to pay for our abominable sins! Bless His holy name and worship sincerely at His cross!’
Oh my people, what would we have done without Jesus eh? I shudder at the very thought of not having all the wonderful stuff He has made available to us, and greatly desire to be able to make others understand what it all means; how if they don’t have Him in their lives, they’re totally lost, headed for hell and eternal damnation with the fallen evil angel Satan, and what that would mean for their eternal livelihood.
But since the Lord in His eternal wisdom gave us free will, free will to choose whatever kind of life we want to live, it is an uphill battle to convince others to accept Jesus and leave the flashy, but empty and hell bent things of the world alone.
Oh, it’s not that Jesus doesn’t want us to have nice things and to be prosperous, otherwise He wouldn’t have made this telling statement: ‘The thief cometh not but for (except) to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.’ (John 10:10)
Yes friends, Jesus died so that we could have life, a full and prosperous one, wisely living it in full communion with Him. Otherwise, what would be the purpose of His dying eh? The problem though, is that with our natural sinful nature, we tend to gravitate to the sinful, lustful things and treasures of the world.
But hear how Jesus classified that stuff nuh: ‘Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt (ruin), and where thieves break through and steal:’
Ah mih people, truer and more sensible words were never spoken! And it doesn’t take a genius mentality to see that. All the things of the earth that we treasure at some stage either rot or can be destroyed, or stolen, and to make matters worse, when we die we can’t carry any of them with us. So why spend our earthly lives foolishly trying to amass treasures of the world eh?
Instead, as Jesus so wisely proclaims: ‘But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:’ (Matt.6:20) Glory be my people! The treasures we need to accumulate are the ones that will not rot or be destroyed by insects or stolen…and the only treasures of that kind are found in heavenly places!
That means to be wise, we have to concentrate on accumulating the heavenly kind of treasure, for as Jesus also mentioned: ‘For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.’ Matt.6:21) And that’s the gospel truth my fellow believers! If we are concentrating on earthly treasures, then our hearts will be here on earth with them, but if heaven is our future destination, then out thoughts and efforts will be aligned with heavenly things.
And it’s not like when we live for Jesus that we become poor and needy, but on the other hand all our needs are fulfilled. Listen to Jesus again: ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt.6:33)
Oh my people, our wise and wonderful God knows that we need food, clothes, money and houses to live and He has faithfully promised that if we live for Him, keep Him first place in our lives, that all those things will be provided for us. As Bruh David so rightly says in Psalm 27 – The Lord is my light and my salvation. ‘I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.’ (Ps.27:13)
Yeh friends, what’s the purpose of believing in the Lord if you don’t expect to see the things He’s promised eh? None whatsoever! And if you still don’t believe that you can get all things through Christ, then please remember who is still regarded as the richest and wisest man who ever lived… Cousin Sol!
And why and how? Because he believed sincerely in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and asked for wisdom to rule his people, not wealth and long life, but our God is so wonderful and so magnanimous, that He also gave him those things in abundance, just like how Jesus died so that we can have life in abundance.
Wow! I just hope all this makes a difference to somebody today! (smile) But for those of us who already sincerely believe, let’s go home declaring (right ho) our Tuesday Mantra, letting the whole world know who and whose we are! In strong voice and deep sense of purpose:
‘In God’s eyes, 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!’
Now let’s go out and share it all with those who don’t believe for that’s what Jesus desires of us! Much LOVE!
…when you live for Jesus…you live for eternity in heaven with Him…
18 Mar 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: able to comfort, adoration, adversity, afraid of a mortal man, antidotes, aura of love, be cheerful, blessed be God, by the comfort, characterized by mercy, Christianity 101, comforted, comforted in Jerusalem, comforts us in tribulation, confidence, defeated hell death and the grave, deliver us, deliverance, enthusiasm, evil world, exotic locale, friends, from glory to glory, from God the Father, gave himself for our sins, grace be to you, heartfelt prayers, holy spirit, hope, humble servants, humility, invincible, joy, lies, LOVE, made as grass, March break, mercy, miracle powers, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, our Lord Jesus Christ, overcome the world, peace, praise, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, reverential homage, righteousness., salvation, shaking it rough, sincerity, sonship, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, the Father of mercies, the God of All Comfort, the Son of man, them which are in trouble, trust, ungodly world, we are comforted ourselves by God, wisdom, woeful times, Zion's future
2 Corinthians 1:4. Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble (tribulation), by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
Oh my friends and Scrip-Bit family members, in the immortal and reassuring words of Bruh Paul to the Galatians, I greet you similarly this Monday morning: ‘Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ. Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world (age), according to the will of God, and our Father: To whom be glory for ever and ever.’ (Gal.1:3-5)
Ah mih people, he say’s so much in just one mouthful. But we need to remember those very basic but oh so fundamental facts of our faith if we are to grow strong and mature in it from glory to glory. But I know that some of us are shaking it somewhat rough this morning, especially those who have just come back from a March Break vacation in some warm, exotic locale and now have to immediately go back to work in the cold weather. But that’s life!
Remember that Jesus said we’d surely face adversity in this world, but we ought to be cheerful about it, because He had already overcome the world. (John 16:33) Yes, He has indeed defeated hell, death and grave, but it’s not always easy to just grin and bear our adversity, that’s why we have antidotes for times like this one, it’s called our Monday Morning Battle Hymn! And for it to help us we have to declare (right ho) it together in all sincerity and humility.
So let’s send our heartfelt prayers up to heaven nuh, as one strong, unified and harmonious voice. ‘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!’
And we know our prayer was heard and answered by our wonderful heavenly Father because we can already feel our spirits lifting and the adrenaline beginning to flow through our mortal bodies as his Holy Spirit works its miracle powers in our souls! Praise His holy and faithful name my people!
That brings us to some more of Bruh Paul’s memorable words, this time to the Corinthians: ‘Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort. Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble (tribulation), by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.’ (2 Cor.1:3-4)
Mama Yo! What a wonderful God we serve and worship my brethren! And the scholars offer this explanation. ‘1:3-4. Blessed (Gr. eulogetos –well spoken of) is used in the New Testament of God (e.g. Eph.1:3). It is a term of adoration and praise. The Father of mercies: The mercies in view here include everything here from deliverance from the world, sin, and Satan, to participation in sonship, light and life. But the force is even more than this. The stress is that the Father is characterized by mercy (cf. Ps. 86:5; Dan.9:9; Mic.7:18).’
Yes friends, those mercies of the Father run the whole gamut of our human and spiritual existence in both the now and the hereafter! That’s what makes Him such a wonderful Deity; He has provided for us in all situations! We don’t have to worry about a thing; just believe sincerely in His Son and be obedient to His will! And I strongly advise you all to take a moment and look up those scriptures suggested by the scholars. I just did, and they are indeed beautiful and useful ones.
But my favourite of those two verses is our Bit. Bruh Paul says that our God is also the God of all comfort, and I like how He uses that attribute; to comfort us, so that we can also comfort others who are facing adversity. Chuh! What a wonderful plan! Only our God could think up something like that! (smile)
And the prophet Isaiah says it thus of our God when proclaiming that the faithful will be comforted. ‘I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a (mortal) man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass.’ (Is.51:12) And again, when talking about Zion’s future hope, Isaiah reminds us that God will not forsake us, but ‘As one when his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem.’ (Is.66:13)
Ah my fellow believers in Jesus Christ, there’s not much more for me to say because the scripture says it all! So let’s be wise and faithful and look to God for mercy and comfort nuh, so that we can share them with others, as He so desperately desires of us in these sad and woeful times. That’s Christianity 101! (smile)Much LOVE!
…from our heavenly Father comes…all that we have…and all that we are…so to whom then should we pay reverential homage…
17 Mar 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: ., above every name, an army's rising up, as many as received Him, break every chain, bring forth a son, call his name Jesus, day of rest, fellowship, freely given, from the bodage of sin, gave he the power, Gentile, get on the good foot, given among men, given him a name, God highly exalted him, gospel song, heaven's gates swing wide, held spellbound, I am the way the truth and the life, Jesus Culture Lyrics, Jew, Lent, no man comes to the Father but by me, none other name under heaven', our Jesus, our redemption, power in the name of Jesus, Sabbath, salvation, save his people, saviour, set us free, such a price, sufficient sacrifice, Sunday, Tasha Cobbs, the Mighty Conqueror, through the name of Jesus, to become sons of God, we must be saved, Will Reagan, wonder-working power
Philippians 2:9. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name.
Sunday, O Sunday! Wherefore art thou O Sunday! Thou art the Sabbath: the day of rest, the day of fellowship, praise and thanksgiving, of souls being refuelled with LOVE, confidence and assurance in the promises of the One True God, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! What a blessed day you are Sunday, O Sunday! (smile)
And since we’ve said all that friends, we’ve got to make it come true by going to the Lord’s sanctuary to renew our vows of faith and trust and receive His blessing so that we can keep that faith and trust alive and well for at least another week, before returning to His sanctuary for refuelling. Ah friends, it sure is a steady cycle, but we need it, if we are to keep our faith in Jehovah God strong.
But enough talk! Right now I want to sing! And today’s song is a thrilling anthem to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! We sung it before on the Bit, but it just rose up in me this week, calling out to be sung once again! (smile) It’s a gospel song written by one Will Reagan, and I listened to two powerful, moving versions on You Tube; one by Tasha Cobbs and another by Jesus Culture Lyrics. It’s titled ‘There is Power in the Name of Jesus,’ or ‘Break Every Chain.’
I’ve taken the liberty to add a couple of extra lines from each version, as well as a li’l touch of my own. I’m sure the original songwriter will also be overjoyed to hear our version this morning. So without further ado, let’s tell the unbelieving world the way it is, as we raise our voices in sweet harmonious gospel song.
‘O There is power in the name of Jesus There is power in the name of Jesus There is power in the name of Jesus To break every chain, break every chain, break every chain To break every chain, break every chain, break every chain (Repeat) There’s an army rising up There’s an army rising up There’s an army rising up To break every chain, break every chain, break every chain To break every chain, break every chain, break every chain.
All sufficient sacrifice, freely given, such a price. On our redemption Heaven’s gates swing wide, That’s why we believe that There is power in the name of Jesus There is power in the name of Jesus There is power in the name of Jesus To break every chain, break every chain, break every chain To break every chain, break every chain, break every chain. We believe that there is power, power, wonder-working power in the name of Jesus.
And that’s why There’s an army rising up There’s an army rising up There’s an army rising up To break every chain, break every chain, break every chain To break every chain, break every chain, break every chain! Oh He’s our Jesus, Jesus – the Mighty Conqueror! That’s why we hear the chains falling, the chains are falling!
Shout it out! I hear the chains falling I hear the chains falling! I feel the freedom, freedom from the bondage of sin! Yes! He has set us free, because there is power in the name of Jesus, power in the name of Jesus, power to break every chain, break every chain, break every chain…’
Mama Mia! What wonderful singing my faithful brethren! All Heaven was held spellbound by it! A big, proud grin split the Father’s face, as He nodded in approval, raised His closed right fist and said a hearty ‘Yeah!’ Meanwhile, Jesus sat quietly nearby and smiled His shy, boyish smile at the enormous amount of praise we were lavishing on Him. But that shouldn’t surprise us, because He’s always shied away from taking any praise for Himself, diverting it all to the Father.
And that’s exactly why the Father, in exceedingly great appreciation for His selfless sacrifice and obedience here on earth did what He did: ‘Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name. That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of (those) things in heaven, and (those) things in earth, and (those) things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ (Eph.2:9-11)
Oh friends, how could that kind of exaltation not add tremendous power to the name of Jesus eh…to be able to break chains, set us free from the bondage of sin and save our lost souls! And today all I want to do is look at a couple of scriptures which also lift up the name of Jesus. But before we do that listen to this story about me and that song.
Early one Sunday morning last year, I was on my way home from having an MRI of some part of my body, don’t remember which one, I’ve had so many done over the last few years, but the Tasha Cobbs version was playing on the Gospel Music Machine Radio Show broadcasting from the University of Toronto Radio Station. There was little traffic on the three-lane road, but I got in the right lane, who knows why, but me and Tasha were singing up a storm as we went along.
All of a sudden I heard a loud bang and the car veered off to the left! And was I ever surprised at those unexpected actions. On checking, I discovered that the right lane I was driving in, ended at the traffic light I’d just gone through, and I’d rammed the right wheel of the car against the curb, as there were now only two lanes. Thankfully there was no damage to the car or myself. But that just goes to show the power of Jesus’ name; it can get you so carried away, that you lose your mental perspective! (smile)
Now let’s check out some scriptures like I promised. Hear the angel of the Lord to Joseph on the birth of Jesus. ‘And she (Mary) shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus (Saviour): for he shall save his people from their sins.’ (Matt.1:21) And John says: ‘But as many as received him (Jesus), to them gave he power (the right) to become the sons (children) of God, even to them that believe on his name.’ (John 1:12)
Yes friends, yuh see the kind of power in Jesus’ name! Believe on it and you become the child of God! Wow! Why then are so many people refusing to believe in Him eh? And we’ll give the last word to Peter when he appeared before the high priest. Filled with the Holy Ghost, he proudly proclaimed: ‘Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.’ (Acts 4:12) That says it all my people!
As the scholars explain: ‘4:12. The name of Jesus Christ is the centre of contention (vs.7, 10, 12) and ever will be. Salvation for Jew and Gentile alike is exclusively through the name of Jesus Christ (cf. John 14:6).’ And that’s all there is to the argument! So let’s be wise and get on the good foot with Jesus nuh! (smile) It’s the only option that makes any sense! Much LOVE!
…I am the Way…the Truth…and the Life…no man comes to the Father…but by ME… (John 14:6)
P.S. Yes, it li’l bit long and late, but fellowshipping after church kept me back, and shortening it would have lost the special flavour. And if yuh can’t spend a li’l extra time on Jesus’ Word on a Sabbath Sunday…in Lent to boot, then why bother to spend any at all eh? (smile ) Much LOVE!
16 Mar 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a better tomorrow, a crown of righteousness, a year from now, all them, Anselm, aspires to inspire, at that day, begins with the first step, bricks, Chinese Proverb, come back to haunt you, criticism, critics, cross at Calvary, dilemma, don't give up, don't stop trying, ever present partner, failure, faith, finished my course, for all eternity, forever and ever, fought a good fight, frailties, friend, gems of wisdom, henceforth, holy spirit, human, if you don't have a ticket, is at hand, Jesus, keep on keeping on, kept the faith, laid up for me, last testament, lay a firm foundation, light at the end of the tunnel, light of heaven, LOVE, most important race, naysayers, no giving up, putting off, race, ready to be offered, righteousness, save our sinful souls, shall give me, strong building blocks, success, that love his appearing, the bright light of Jesus, the longest journey, the Lord, the race of life, the righteous judge, the souls of believers, the time of my departure, Timothy, trust, unforeseen mishaps, weaknesses, wise person, words of wisdom, you don't have a chance
2 Timothy 4:8. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that LOVE his appearing.
And then it was Saturday, and the sun seems to be fighting a losing battle against the dark clouds in my neighbourhood. But thankfully, the souls of believers in Jesus Christ never have to go through that dilemma because the bright light of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is ALWAYS shining brightly in our souls!
And all God’s children gave a loud and grateful shout of: ‘Praise the Lord! Bless His Holy Name! Give Him unending thanks for sending Jesus to save and rescue us!’
Yeh friends, what a blessed day that was when Jesus came to earth to save the lost and free those caught up in the bondage of sin! That’s why I can’t understand why so many of us still reject Him. But to each his own, we’ll have to bear the consequences of whatever decision we make, whether it’s the wise one to accept Jesus, or the foolish one to reject Him!
But since it’s Saturday and we have several quotes from our friend Anselm, who sincerely aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow, let’s check them out nuh. And the first one says: ‘A year from now you will wish you had started today.’ And that’s certainly true!
Any project you keep putting off, will come back to haunt you. You’ll find that time has gotten away from you and nothing’s been done on the project. It’s like the Chinese Proverb says: ‘The longest journey always begins with the first step.’ So it’s advisable to take that first step as soon as possible and don’t keep putting it off.
And the second quote advises: ‘Lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at you.’ That certainly has some wisdom in it. Not all our critics or naysayers are wrong yuh know. Sometimes they do have valid points of criticism, and the wise person listens to those criticisms, evaluates them, and then uses whatever is pertinent to their particular situation.
Granted, a lot of us just criticize for the sake of criticizing, and there’s no real value to what we say, but in many instances, there are some gems of wisdom which we can use as strong building blocks. So never just write off criticism as useless.
Now hear this next quote: ‘I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.’ Words of wisdom friends! We’re not superhuman, only human, and thus are subject to frailties and weaknesses, which mean we will occasionally fail at stuff we do.
However, failure is not really failure until we stop trying! That’s the difference between success and failure; the act of not giving up! Look at our oh so technological society, how do you think we got to where we are? It’s because many inventors and investors did not give up when they originally failed. They tried and tried again until they succeeded!
And that’s exactly what Jesus desires and expects of his followers: NO GIVING UP! Those words are not in His vocabulary at all, and should not be in ours either! So please, let’s keep on keeping on nuh, because we have ALLthe parts to do so. Jesus gave them to us when He died on the cross at Calvary to save our sinful souls and then sent His Holy Spirit to dwell within us for all time! Wow! What an awesome Lord and Saviour we have!
And in this last quote we’re called on to prove the greatness of Jesus in our lives. It says: ‘If you run, you stand a chance of losing, but if you don’t run, you’ve already lost.’ More truth from our friend Anselm! It’s like they say: ‘If you don’t have a ticket, you don’t stand a chance of winning!’
So if you want to win at anything, you’ve got to get into the race and run it. You might lose, but if you’re not in it, you certainly won’t win. Non-runners can’t win a race in which they don’t run. It’s as simple as that! (smile) And my fellow believers, the most important race we’ll ever have to run is the race of life that’s set before each and everyone of us, in bright and glowing colour, Technicolor, if you will (smile) because we are followers of Jesus!
Yes my fellow believers, there’s a light that shines so brilliantly in our lives that at times it tends to blind us, especially when we escape from any dark times in which we find ourselves. It’s like the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel, but in our case it’s a true and sure light, that of heaven with Jesus at the end of our earthly lives…and not just for a short time, but for all eternity! And that means forever…and ever…and ever…until forever…whenever that might be! (smile)
But seriously though friends, listen to these immortal words of Bruh Paul, his last testament to Timothy and you’ll see exactly what I’m talking about. ‘For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure (death) is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course (race), I have kept the faith:
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that LOVE his appearing.’ (2 Tim.4:6-8)
That’s the light at the end of the tunnel friends: a crown of righteousness from our heavenly Father, when we run our earthly race with steadfast faith and trust, and finish it with a fighting spirit, no matter how tired, bedraggled and abused our physical bodies might be!
Ah friends, let me end by reminding us that the race of life is the greatest and most important race we’ll ever run, and the only way to win it is by running it with Jesus as your ever-present partner! That’s it in a nutshell! So please, let’s make the necessary arrangements to run our race of life with Jesus as our partner…RIGHT NOW!
Why? Because we know not when our race will end; it could be shortly, or a long time from now, but wisdom dictates that we do it as soon as possibly, preferably RIGHT NOW, to avoid any unforeseen mishaps! Much LOVE!
…no Jesus in your race of life…means no winner’s crown of righteousness…at the end of your race…
15 Mar 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adorns, before all the nations, believers, billow around us, borders, bride, bridegroom, causes things to spring forth, clarion call, courageous, deer's feet, eternity, family relationships, fasting, fellowship, free time and family, Friday chant, friends, fun, furthering your glorious kingdom, garments of salvation, generous help, get a foothold, good tidings of salvation, greatly rejoice in the Lord, greedy, habakkuk, health, hungry, I will joy, I will rejoice in the Lord, in Jesus name, Jesus in them with us, Lenten season, like hinds feet, living truth, look to Jesus, LOVE, lurking enemy, made it through, make my feet, meditating, my soul shall be joyful, on our p's and q's, overtime, praise, praying, relaxation, rest, righteousness, robe of righteousness, run down the dollars and cents, run the race, salve driver, satisfying, siren's song, sleep, spiritual journey, spiritual upliftment, steadfast, stick together, stop points, storms of life, sweet, TGIF!, Thank God it's Friday, the detriment of our families, the earth brings forth bud, the garden, The God of my salvation, the Lord God is my strength, value money, walk upon mine high places, we will win, week of work, weekends, wiser intellect, workingman's song
Habakkuk 3:18. Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
Oh friends, let me apologize right at the beginning for the late start to the Bit, but I went to bed late last night and then the early morning sleep was so sweet and satisfying that I just could not resist the tempting offer of it’s siren’s call: ‘Sleep one more round…just sleep one more round…before you get up!’
Yeh friends, the ole fella was a sucker for that appealing temptation! (smile) But remember he’s only human and can’t be expected to resist everything that comes against him. And I know that you’ll understand and forgive me, because you are also subject to just such temptations. Praise the Lord! (smile)
But it’s Friday and the workingman is there chomping at the bit to declare (phew…wrong again) his clarion call, so let’s hear him nuh. ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and the weekend’s looming large on the horizon! The March Break also finish, and everybody who went away packing up now to come back home to school and work!
Steups! Don’t know why they make such a big to do over it nuh, because is just one lousy week, and as soon as yuh get where yuh going, yuh have to pack up and come back again! But it wasn’t a bad week here, the temp wasn’t that cold and I went out a few times with the children, so that kept them happy.
But the backbreaking work still continuing…the slave driver not letting up at all, especially since business picking up now. Brother! He just hungry and greedy and dying to get as much work done as possible! He even offering overtime on the weekends…
But that is his problem yes! I work hard enough during the week, the weekend is for me to party and spend li’l time with mih family. If the slave driver value money over his free time and family, then later for him yes! I’m going to thank God for Fridays and weekends oui!’
And isn’t that the living truth my people; many of us value money over spending time with our families and resting ourselves. But that’s not always wise because it breaks down everything; your family relationships as well as your own health.
So please, let’s not run down the dollars and cents, as so many of us are still doing, to the detriment of our families and ourselves. If the ordinary workingman can see and understand that principle, why can’t we believers, supposedly of wiser intellect see it too eh?
But anyway let’s chant our reply to the workingman’s song, which wasn’t as far out on the limb today as it usually is. Our Friday Chant is still more conservative and sensible and in line with Jesus’ desires. So all together now: ‘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!’
Yes friends, we need to remember that we have certain borders and stop points that we ought not to go over unless we want the ever lurking enemy to get a foothold in our business and mess it up even more than it’s already messed up. (smile) We need to be always on our ‘p’s and q’s, because he is always on his.
And he’s no more voracious than in this Lenten season when he knows that we’re all seeking spiritual upliftment with fasting and praying and meditating a bigger slice of our lives than normal. There’ nothing he would like better than to get us off course on our spiritual journey. That’s why my fellow believers we have to do like the prophet Habakkuk says in his song. Even though times are very rough and trying: ‘Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.’
Wow friends! A few simple but powerful words can make a lot of difference to our spiritual selves! And why was Habakkuk intent on being so joyful even though his situation might be less than satisfactory?
Because: ‘The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds (deer’s) feet, and will make me to walk upon mine high places.’ (Hab.3:19) And yes friends, that’s as good a reason as any, and better than many, to put one’s everlasting and sincere trust in the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel!
Hear how Isaiah puts it when he declares (wrong again – going to have to stop using it) his good tidings of salvation to Zion. ‘I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with jewels.
For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.’ (Is.61:10-11)
And friends, if you are indeed a true believer in Christ, you won’t need any other promise than that to convince you to stick with Jesus ALL THE WAY TO ETERNITY! No other supposed deity can even dream of making such a promise, much less of keeping it like Jesus will!
So let’s be courageous and steadfast and run the race that God has planned for us nuh. If we stick together and look to Him, we WILL WIN in the end! Much LOVE!
…though the storms of life billow around us…we’re sure of one thing…that Jesus is right in the middle of them with us…Praise His Holy Name…
14 Mar 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a positive outlook on life, abundant life, accept Jesus, achieving success, be of good cheer, believeth on him that sent me, condemn the world, condemnation, curse, equality, evil, evil cronies, fighting us tooth and nail, grees, guide us safely, hath everlasting life, he that heareth my word, horrors of sin, I can do all things, i have overcome the world, I say unto you, idle promises, if God be for us, inspirational author, Jesus Christ, Jesus is the only way, judgement, just as you are, justice, life after death, LOVE, lust for power, negative word, no man comes to the Father, nobody, Orison Swett Marden, our Lord and Saviour, passed from death to life, positive philosophy, prosper, rain, reign forever, reject Jesus, Satan, save the world, sees success, selfishness, share the blessings, success, Success magazine, the heavenly Triune, the hopeful man, the Life, the Truth, the Way, this is the day the Lord has made, through Christ who strengthens me, Thursday's Blessings, tribulation in the world, trying times, two options, ungodly world, verily, warm the cockles of Jesus' heart, we will be glad and rejoice in it, where others see failure, who can be against us, ye might have peace
John 5:24. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation (judgement); but is passed from death into life.
It’s a grey, cloudy looking kind of day in my neighbourhood, with the promise of unwanted precipitation, though thankfully the precipitation will most likely be rain and not snow since the temperature is above freezing. Not much, but enough to bring rain and not the white stuff.
However, despite all of those physical, negative possibilities, the saints of Jesus are nonetheless declaring (steups! wrong again) that ‘This is the day the Lord has made, we WILL rejoice and be glad in it!’ And moreover, ‘The Lord will provide all our needs through His riches in glory in Christ Jesus!’
And they boost their spirits even more with words like ‘I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me! And as for me and my house, we WILL follow the Lord, make no mistake about it!’ That means, ‘If God be for me who can be against me eh? NOBODY!’ Yeh friends, that’s one of the remarkable things of being a follower of Jesus Christ; we can boost our spirits with spoken words, promises that He’s declared over our lives! No other faith can do that!
And that brings us to these inspirational words attributed to Orison Swett Marden (1848-1924), ‘an American inspirational author who wrote about achieving success in life and founded Success Magazine in 1897.’ Marden claims: ‘The hopeful man sees success where others see failure, sunshine where others see shadows and storm.’
He’s talking about us there friends, believers in the positive philosophy and promises of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! All thanks and praise be to our Lord and Saviour for the wonderful and abundant life that He died to give us! We now need to hold on to His promises, and His hand tightly and let Him guide us safely and positively through these trying times in this evil and ungodly world! That’s the only way we will ever be successful my people!
Jesus warned early on: ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation (judgement); but is passed from death into life.’ Yes friends, Jesus is the ONLY WAY to achieve life after death! When we believe in Him and the Father who sent Him then our bodies will die, but our spirits wont. They shall reign forever with the heavenly Triune!
And Jesus confirms it all by saying: ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me.’ (John 14:6) And we know He does not lie! So it only makes mucho sense to hitch our carts to His superior horse! And if you want even more encouragement, then check out these fabulous, though hard to put into action words of Jesus. ‘These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33)
Aren’t those wonderful words friends…and words of truth too? They certainly are! Jesus did His part, but now we have to do ours, by using our faith in Him to stand strong and steadfast when Satan and his evil cronies are fighting us tooth and nail for world control. We are the only ones who are fighting on the basis of LOVE, justice and equality, the rest are all infused with greed, lust for power and selfishness!
And from where do we get that fighting spirit for the good things? From possibly the most important words in the Good Book; Jesus’ immortal declaration: ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.’ (John 3:16-17)
There you have it in black and white my fellow believers; Jesus’ purpose for coming to earth…to save us, from ourselves and from the horrors of sin! So the ongoing logic and reasoning are very simple: If you want to be saved and live an everlasting life, then you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. If you don’t want to live and see life eternal, but prefer to be on the outside looking in with the evil one, then you simply continue in your evil ways and don’t accept Jesus.
Those are the only two options we have my brethren! And believe me, the last option might look good and pleasurable in the here and now, but in the hereafter it will be terrible! The Lord promised it, and we know He doesn’t make idle promises! So please, I implore us to take the first option; wisdom dictates it. It might be somewhat difficult now, but the rewards you’ll reap later will be oh so worth that difficulty!
Now for those of us who truly believe, let’s go home declaring (wrong again) our Thursday Blessings, which the Lord have poured down on us in His awesome generosity. All together now, in sincere and strong voice: ‘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!’
Yuh see what happens when you live for Jesus! But a word of caution here; those blessings are not for us to hoard but to share with the less fortunate in our unjust society. So let’s go out and do just that nuh, and thus warm the cockles of Jesus’ heart! Much LOVE!
…Jesus is the ONLY ONE…who will take you just as you are…and make you what He wants you to be…
13 Mar 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: as every man had need, believing us easy, by what you can obey, Christian, come and follow me, communal living, cuts right to the quick, equalization, fight one more round, getting is dependent on giving, give to the poor, had all things common, halfway home, hands securely on the plouch, have eternal life, if thou wilt be perfect, inward nature, Jesus said to him, John Hagee, keep the commandments, looking forward, Love thy neighbour as thyself, loved his possessions, materialistic situations, measured not by what you believe, medical appointments, Moses, Mt. Sinai, none good but one, not looking back, obeying, outward duties, parted them to all men, poverty, prosperity, purpose of the church, rich young ruler, self-righteousness, sell all that thou hast, shall I do, sinful hearts, sold their possessions, spiritual strength, thank God, the body of Jesus, the breath of life, the Good Book, the seriousness, the Ten Commandments, to a glorious future with Christ, treasure in heaven, true discipleship, Wednesday Wail, welath, what good thing
Matthew 19:21. Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be (want to be) perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
What did the man say? ‘Fight one more round…just one more round…before giving up!’ Ah friends, that’s exactly what the ole fella’s doing; fighting one more round, as in going into the big city of T.O. for another medical appointment, and that’s also why he’s up so early writing the Bit! Aren’t you proud of him? I know you are! (smile)
Yeh, it’s a pain in the rear end to be always going into the city for these medical appointments, but the long and short of the story is that they are for my benefit, not the doctors. So if I don’t go, who’s going to suffer eh? They might not even make less money since there are oodles of people lining up to see them.
And today, in this season of Lent, where we all aspire to get more spiritual, (smile) we’ll look at an interesting situation in Jesus’ time that still holds good even today, and possibly more so than ever. It all begins with this quote from Uncle John (John Hagee), which says: ‘Your spiritual strength is measured not by what you can believe, but in what you can obey.’ Living truth that my people! Believing is easy, but obeying cuts right to the quick of our sinful hearts and desires!
And we have a great example of that in the rich young ruler who came to Jesus asking about eternal life. The Good Book reports it thus: ‘And behold, one came and said unto him (Jesus), Good Master (Teacher), what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
And he (Jesus) said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt (want to) enter into life, keep the commandments. He (the man) saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: And thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself.’ (Matt.19:16-19)
Now that’s standard fare for us all, the basic dictates of the Ten Commandments that the Lord gave to Moses on Mt. Sinai, for the Israelites and all those who believed in Him to follow. And the Good Book continues: ‘The young man saith unto him (Jesus), All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be (want to be) perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.’ (Matt.19:20-22)
Ah friends, yuh see what we talking about? Spiritual strength is so much more than just believing! That young rich ruler believed, but he just couldn’t obey. Selling his many possessions and then giving away the resultant funds to the poor was just too much for him to handle. And so it is for many of us in today’s very materialistic society. We believers who are supposed to be in the world but not of the world, are too often caught up in those same very materialistic situations like that young man of old.
And the scholars offer this insightful explanation. ‘19:18-22. This list of commands in verse 18 centres on outward duties, rather than inward nature, which was the young man’s real problem. He protests that he had kept these outward demands. His luxurious wealth and self-righteousness had blinded him to his real weakness. To expose this, Jesus orders, go and sell all your possessions and give to the poor…and come…follow me (v.21).
This he would not do and went away sorrowful. Jesus thus shows him that he had not kept the commandments at all. He LOVED himself more than he LOVED his neighbour (the poor), and he LOVED his possessions more than he LOVED God (“me”). This passage teaches the seriousness of true discipleship, but it in no way teaches the average man that he must sell his possessions in order to be a Christian.’
No friends, the average Joe does not have to give away all his stuff, but I’m sure that we’d all agree that there is certainly too much poverty in our society, when overall there is immense prosperity. This therefore means that too few have too much, and too many have too little. Consequently there needs to be a touch of equalization, where some of us who have a lot, give to those who don’t have much.
And that was the original purpose of the church; to help those in need, as we see from Acts 2:44-45. ‘And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted (distributed) them to all men, as every man had need.’
Yes friends, I know the church was much smaller then and they could do that kind of communal living, but it doesn’t take away from the fact that the church today, meaning all of us believers, is definitely not as sympathetic and giving to the needy as Jesus would like us to be, because we are too attached to our earthly possessions.
Remember we are the hands and feet, the body of Jesus down here on earth, and whatever we do will reflect on Him. So for Jesus’ sake, my fellow believers, please, I implore us, let’s try and do better nuh. In this way, the world will have a much more accepting disposition to our Lord and Saviour and thus less souls will be lost to the enemy.
Now let’s go home wailing our Wednesday Wail, telling all and sundry our sure-fire position in Christ. As one strong voice now: ‘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!’
Now that’s a future that none of us should want to miss! Much LOVE!
…getting is very dependent on giving…you’ll get…as you give…
12 Mar 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a hard night, a wobnderful God, aches and pains, all will be well, awesome privilege, Babylon, beloved of God, consuming sorrow, deal treacherously, don't you even care, doubt, drive me away, ever-faithful God, fears, fiery furnace, forgive quickly, forgiveness, fragmented heart, friend of Jesus, furnace of affliction, God does not change, grace, heavenly help, hesitancies, holding sway, hurry, I lift up my soul, I trust in thee, infirmities, Lead me in thy truth, let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies, loneliness, LOVE, loving Jesus, mercy, Meshach Abednego, miracle working business, Nebuchadnezzar, O my God, peevish rebellion, planning in love, Prince Buster, promised it, rail against you, refine me, responsibility to pray for others, right there by our sides, scream, sexual activity, shadrach, share His love, Show me thy ways, silent darkness, smell of smoke, teach me thy paths, tender mercies, thanks and praise, the same today, the undeserving children of men, triumph over me, Trust me, Tuesday Mantra, understand my frailties, unto thee O Lord, wait in faith, we serve and worship, without cause, work in me silently, worry
Psalm 25:1-2. Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me.
Ah friends, in the words of that old, venerable Jamaican singer, Prince Buster: ‘I had a rough night! It was a hard night…! ‘ And for those of you old enough to remember the song I’m talking about, NO! I’m not talking about sexual activity, like the Prince was doing way back then!
Sorry to disappoint you! (smile) I’m simply talking about the aches and pains holding sway over the ole fella’s ole bod in his attempt to get some much needed rest last night.
Brother! I could not find a comfortable spot to rest for any length of time. It seems like somewhere hurt in every position I tried. So obviously this morning I’m dragging around like a real old man. (smile)
But I’m not worried friends, and neither should those of you have the same, or any infirmities at all assailing your bodies. And why is that you ask? Because of this unassailable promise from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin.
It says in no uncertain terms: ‘All Will Be Well!’ Glory be! So please pray with me: ‘O Lord God In the midst of consuming sorrow When despair and loneliness hedge me in You understand my frailties – My hesitancies, my fears. As I scamper from doubt to doubt You forgive so quickly my outbursts.
Never do you drive me away When I rail against You In peevish rebellion. When I scream “Don’t You even care?” You quiet my fragmented heart. You work in me silently Always planning in LOVE. You refine me in the white flamed Furnace of affliction. In the silent darkness You whisper: Trust me – all will be well.’
And so it shall be my fellow believers, because our ever-faithful God has promised it! Give Him a whole heap of thanks and praise for His abundant grace, mercy, LOVE and forgiveness to the children of undeserving men! Wow! What a wonderful God we serve and worship!
Yes, I know He refines us in ‘the fires of affliction,’ but He doesn’t let us go through them alone. He’s always there right by our sides, just like He was with the three Jewish boys, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego when the mighty king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar threw them in the fiery furnace, heated seven time hotter than usual, and they came out without a hair singed, not even the smell of smoke permeated their protected bodies. Glory to God!
And that’s exactly how our wonderful God will be with any and all of us who humbly and sincerely call on Him for heavenly help! Isn’t that just glorious to behold? It certainly is! And the Bible Promise for that awesome prayer above is also our Bit for today, and it comes from a man who had a very intimate relationship with God, and experienced His many blessings, as well as the fires of affliction, but he stood tall throughout them all!
Yes, we talking bout Bruh David here friends – the man after God’s own heart! Listen to how he puts it in Psalm 25 – A prayer for guidance and protection: ‘Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me.’
And yuh know what my people? The Lord never allowed his enemies to triumph over him! Yes, occasionally they might have had a slight edge, they might have won a battle here and there, but ultimately they did not win the war! And that’s exactly how our God will react to all and any of us who come to Him in true sincerity.
As He proclaimed long ago: He does not change! He is the same yesterday, today and forever! So whatever He did for somebody long ago, He will still do for us today! Yes, He is still in the helping and miracle working business! Praise His holy name!
And the good thing about Bruh David is that he didn’t just pray for himself. Hear how he continues after our Bit: ‘Yea, let not none that wait (in faith) on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress (deal treacherously) without cause.’ (Ps.25:3) Ah friends, that’s one of the great aspects of our faith, our ability and responsibility to pray for others, especially other believers.
And we just can’t stop there – Bruh David didn’t. (smile) He continued by beseeching his God: ‘Show me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day. Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies, and thy LOVING-kindness; for they have been ever of old. Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions, according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness sake, O Lord. Good and upright is the Lord: therefore will he teach sinners in the way.’ (Ps.25:4-8)
Oh my people, yuh think any God with a truly LOVING nature would refute such a sincere and heartfelt plea? NEVER! Despite his human shortcomings, and like us, he had plenty, Bruh David never wavered, in his faith, never gave up on the God of his forefathers. And neither should we! That’s why God called Bruh David a man after his own heart! He simply had a heart for God…and so should we in these trying times!
Awright, enough preaching…(smile) Let’s go home declaring (right ho) our Tuesday Mantra, letting the world know in no uncertain terms, who and whose we are. Altogether now, in strong voice with a sincere and real sense of purpose: ‘In God’s eyes, 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 having declared that (right again), let’s go out and put it into practice, as Jesus verily desires of us! Much LOVE!
…LOVING Jesus…and working for Him…it’s such an awesome privilege…I wouldn’t trade it…for anything else in this whole wide world…
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