09 Feb 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: active will, all things work together for good, bad things happen to good people, called according to His purpose, celebrat His day, comfort, consolation, courage, curse God and die, faith shall be sight, going to the cross, heartbreak, Horatio Spafford, inclement weather, integrity, it is well with my soul, Job, lean on his promise, like a river, moving of his Holy Spirit, never leave nor forsake you, not receive evil, not to question, peace, permissive will, receive good at God's hand, Satan should buffet, sea billows, sinful ingrates, sorrows, Sunday morning, the consuming fires of hell, the Lord shall descend, the Lord's sanctuary, the trump shall resound, to them that love God, total trust in God, tragedy, trust, trust and obey, whatever my lot
Romans 8:28. And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Come Sunday morning, me and my friends are heading for the Lord’s sanctuary, to celebrate His day, to give Him thanks and praise, to call to Him for help, and receive said help through the hearing of His Word, the supernatural moving of His Holy Spirit and encouragement from our fellow believers! That’s what me and my friends are going to do this Sunday morning – or evening – come hell or high water!
Oh my people, a li’l cold or inclement weather shouldn’t stop us from getting out to the celebrations at some time of the day. Just think what our lives would be like if Jesus didn’t feel like coming to earth and going to the cross nuh? Remember the Father didn’t force Him, but He agreed to do it after He pointed out that Jesus was the only choice the bunch of sinful ingrates He created had of bypassing the consuming fires of hell. So having to make a bit of a sacrifice to go out one day a week and praise and give Him the glory He so assuredly deserves, should not be a big thing.
Anyway, as always, we’ll begin the proceedings with some worship. And today’s hymn is an old one we all know and LOVE. It’s titled, ‘It is Well with my Soul.’ It highlights the incredible story of faith of one Horatio Spafford (1828-1888), who at the height of success and prosperity, like Job, suffered much tragedy. A prominent and prosperous Christian Chicago lawyer, he first suffered the loss of his son, then the Great Chicago Fire destroyed his real estate investments, then in 1873, he sent his wife and four daughters on a boat trip to Europe.
However, a few days later, he received a telegram from his wife that said: ‘Saved alone…’ The boat had been shipwrecked and all four daughters lost. And ostensibly this oldie but goldie was created a short time later when Spafford on his way to meet his wife, was passing over the area where his daughters lost their lives. Now having heard that background, let’s open our hearts and voices to high heaven in a soulful and harmonious rendition of this testament to faith, and the resilience that can be found in Christ when it’s called for.
As one now: ‘When peace like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say It is well, it is well, with my soul (Chorus: It is well (it is well) With my soul (with my soul) It is well, it is well with my soul.) Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, Let this blest assurance control, That Christ has regarded my helpless estate, And hath shed His own blood for my soul. (Chorus) My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought My sin, not in part but the whole, Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more, Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, o my soul (Chorus)
For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live: If Jordan above me shall roll, No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul. (Chorus) But, Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait, The sky, not the grave, is our goal; Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord! Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul! (Chorus) And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight, The clouds be rolled back as a scroll; The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend, Even so, it is well with my soul. It is well (it is well) With my soul (with my soul) It is well, it is well with my soul.’
Oh my people, what strong, incredible faith, what inordinate trust what herculean courage was called for to pen those awesome, but oh so true words! I doubt many believers (steups!) would have been able to do it, because not many of us have those magnanimous parts. Many of us would have been cursing God, even turned away from Him. But Mr. Spafford, in his tragic circumstance probably remembered Job’s story, possibly even read it, and like Job, concluded that ranting and raving against God would not help the situation.
He obviously rejected Job’s wife’s advice in favour of Job’s wisdom: ‘Then said his (Job’s) wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God and die. But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive (accept) good at the hand of God, and shall nor receive (accept) evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.’ (Job 2:9-10) Friends, that’s one of the most interesting and enlightening conversations in the Good Book.
And the scholars explain it thus: ‘2:9-10. Job’s wife suggested that Job do what Satan had predicted: curse God. After all she had been through, it was no wonder she was ready to give up all hope. But Job recognized that both good and evil come from God’s hand, though one by His active will and the other by His permissive will. God can permit evil things to happen for good ends (cf. Gen. 50:19-20; Bruh Joseph’s story). In all this did not Job sin is proof enough that Satan was wrong and was sorely defeated. Satan does not appear again in the book.’
And I guess Horatio Spafford also proved Satan wrong, because instead of cursing God, he wrote a touching testimonial to His awesome comfort and consolation in times of heartbreak and severe tragedy. And the only thing we can really do in those cases, unless we want to drive ourselves crazy, is hang on to this awesome scripture verse of hope: ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.’ No other scripture can give us a supposedly comforting reason for why bad things happen to good people, and vice versa.
Friends, we just have to put our total trust in Almighty God and remember what He’s done for us in the past, and lean on His promise that He will never leave or forsake us. Remember His thoughts and ways are higher than ours, and He knows the end from the beginning, so we just have to surrender our all to Him, regardless of the circumstances. That’s what true faith is all about! Much LOVE!
…ours is not to question…just to trust and obey…
08 Feb 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a guidebook, a touchy subject, aspires to inspire, be not afraid, be strong, Book of the Law, daily traffic problems, day and night, depart out of thy mouth, do all that's written therein, for a better tomorrow, goes with you everywhere, gospel truth, have good success, hypocrites, infallibility, lasting success, leadership, life is really simple, make thy way prosperous, meditate therein, mental incompetence, of a good courage, our friend Anselm, social stigma, sunny Saturday morning, the Lord your God, the Lord's plan, the word of the Lord, to successful earthly living, unfriendly attitudes, we make it complicated, what other people think, what we are, winter
Joshua 1:8. This book of the law shall not depart out of (be constantly in) your mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for them thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
Welcome to a bright and sunny Saturday morning friends! It’s somewhat on the chilly side though, and the banks are full of snow. But that’s to be expected since it’s winter in the northern climes. And I guess a lot of us are sleeping in this morning after a tiring week of labour…and some of us might say not of labour but of navigating the daily traffic problems, especially with the snowfall we’ve had this past week.
Yes, there are just too many cars on the roads especially during the morning and afternoon commutes. But you wouldn’t like to see the amount of cars that are parked in the train station lots; several thousands. When I travel on the train and see them sitting in the parking lots, I can just imagine the chaos and traffic problems we’d have if they all hit the road morning and evening too.
Phew! But today is Saturday, we don’t have to contend with work and traffic, so instead, let’s focus on the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this past week nuh, as he sincerely aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And I like this first one: ‘Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.’ And is that ever so true! Possibly because of our high level of intelligence, we seem to think that unless something is complicated it’s no good. Thus we introduce stuff into stuff that’s not necessary.
Think about all the rules and regulations we have in life…I’m sure we could do without half of them if we were only better neighbours and friends, and could be depended upon to do the right thing at least 8 out of 10 times. But because we aren’t, provision has to be made for our ‘unneighbourly’ and unfriendly attitudes. (smile) So for each rule we introduce, there must be several provisos to explain and counteract it. Steups!
This next quote is also of mucho importance: ‘What we really are matters more than what other people think of us.’ Now that’s gospel truth! But sadly too many of us don’t understand or believe it, and thus allow what others think of us to control and ofttimes spoil our lives. We give it names like social pressure or social stigma, doing what the supposedly higher ups, or our social betters want or expect us to do. Chuh!
Oh friends, please have faith in yourselves and your God! He made you to be who you are, in His image, with His plan for your life, not for another human’s! And the usual corollary to situations like those is that the ones who are so critical of others, are worse than those they criticize, do worse than them in the same circumstances. In other words they are just a bunch of blooming hypocrites!
Thank the Lord I learned that at a tender age from watching people criticize my mother, then discovering they were a whole lot worse than her! Friends, please don’t live your lives because of what others say or do. The Lord has a plan for you, find out what it is, and then live accordingly.
Then there’s this interesting quote: ‘The topic of leadership is a touchy one. A lot of leaders fail because they don’t have the bravery to touch that nerve or strike that chord. Throughout my years, I haven’t had that fear.’ Good for our friend Anselm if he’s referring to himself! (smile) But that’s basically true because leaders are the ones who take us usually where we’ve never gone before, and to do that they must have a special something, call it bravery, common sense, wisdom, a dream, a vision, or all of them.
Now it could even include stupidity or mental incompetence, which means leading their followers astray. Think about all the sects that have populated our world because of such leaders. But what makes a leader -good or bad – is that belief in themselves, that feeling of infallibility, which causes others to even give their lives in their service. And this next quote doesn’t only pertain to leaders but to all of us. ‘If you’re afraid to fail, then you’re probably going to fail.’
Yes my people, the active ingredient in our mind and spirit is the one we usually bring forth. So if fear is the dominant attitude, then most likely we will bring forth failure. That’s not to say that we won’t or can’t fail if we think success. The difference though is the amount of energy and faith we put into our projects when we think positively and of success, as compared to the negative side of failure.
And this last quote says it all: ‘Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.’ Glory be mih people! You won’t ever be successful unless you make the necessary preparations for it! That’s because success doesn’t come without certain preparations, like thinking positively about it and putting in the necessary hard work it calls for. And I guess the best advice I can give on the subject is found in the words of the Lord God Himself to his servant Joshua when He appointed him leader of the Israelites.
‘This book of the law shall not depart out of (be constantly in) your mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for them thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.’
Oh my fellow believers it couldn’t get any more straightforward and plain than that! Meditating on the Lord’s Word and following it, is what brings true, real and lasting success. Supposed success gained by any other method is ephemeral and not lasting. And our God is such a wonderful Leader and encourager, I just LOVE His next words to Joshua. ‘Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest.’ (Josh.1:9)
Yes friends, those same words of the Lord echo down to us today as we face the difficulties and calamities of this troubled world. That was the third time in four verses that He was reminding Joshua to be strong and courageous because his omnipotent, merciful, LOVING and gracious God would go with him wherever he went. Let’s accept that most encouraging and reassuring message to day like Joshua did back then nuh my brethren, and go out and do the work the Lord’s prescribed for us, the same way Joshua went forward with bravery and courage and did his duty. Much LOVE!
…the Word of the Lord…it’s the guidebook to….successful earthly living…
07 Feb 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a family to mind, as a father, basic things, bills to pay, capitalist society, chouncy pay, concrete jungle, destitute, destroy our witness, disobedience, fear him, fellowship, for the present, Friday chant, furthering your glorious kingdom, God's discipline, greedy slave master, happy is the man, hard work, he binds up, he corrects, he maketh sore, his hands make whole, homeless, joyous, keep the commandments, later than you sow, love for Christ, more than you sow, never leave nor forsake us, ordinary workingman, peaceable fruit of righteousness, praise and bless you, raising the prices, reap what you sow, refreshed in body and soul, relaxation, rest, robber barons, slow down, TGIF!, Thank God is Friday, Thank You Lord, the son in whom he delights, the white stuff, treating us well, walk in his ways, whom the Lord corrects, whom the loves
Proverbs 3:12. For whom the Lord LOVETH he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.
Ah mih people, I know you’ll be proud to hear that the ole fella made that adventurous trip into the concrete jungle yesterday afternoon, although by then the roads were clean, wet but clean. The only place I encountered snow was in my own lane and driveway. (smile) I was a little miffed though, because thinking that the traffic and road conditions would be bad, I took an early bus, but neither was bad. So I got to my appointment half an hour early, then had to wait a further hour before they dealt with me.
I left home around 1 pm, and did not get back until after six! No wonder going into the city is undesirable, because it eats up most of your day, and by the time you get home, you’re tired and miserable and don’t want to do anything constructive. And though we got another bout of the white stuff last night, I really don’t care because I’m not going out there today! (smile)
Ah friends, who says life isn’t nice eh! We might have all sorts of troubles and problems, but let’s consider them surmountable with our Lord’s help nuh, and remember that many others around the world have it much worse than us. And all God’s people said a loud and grateful: ‘Thank You Lord! We praise and bless your holy name for treating us as well as you do! Amen!’
And since it’s Friday, the ordinary workingman is waiting patiently and quietly in the wings to sing his weekend song. So let’s bring him on stage nuh. And as he enters, he enthusiastically belts out: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday yes! I don’t know what I’d do if I had to work another day nuh! Ah really work hard this week, for the same chouncy pay, and it doh look like the ole body could handle that much hard work again nuh.
Hn, hn! Like we getting old…and the body telling us to slow down. But it don’t realize we can’t really slow down when we have a family to mind and bills to pay in this ever increasing expensive society. Now I understand why it could have so many homeless and destitute people in the world. We get paid a pittance of our real worth, and the greedy slave master always trying to cut back or take back something we work so hard for.
And then they keep raising the prices on the basic things like food, clothing and shelter, so people must fall behind even though they working a lot. Steups! This capitalist society eh! Is just a setta robber barons yes! But let them know one thing for me: they never going to take away my weekend, my two days of freedom! I’ll fight to the death to preserve that! Thank God for Fridays and weekends oui!’
Yuh see friends, even the ordinary working man has stuff that he will fight to the death for, much less we blessed believers in Jesus Christ, for whom God provides all our needs! Shouldn’t there be stuff that we are also prepared to die for? Of course! But the problem is that most of us supposed Christians are a wimpy, shallow and frightened lot. We’ve gotten so accustomed to the good life, that we turn the slightest disappointment into a major happening. Anyway, we won’t get into that now nuh, (smile) let’s get to our weekend song, our Friday Chant, which is so different to the workingman’s offering.
All together now, in strong voice with sincere hearts: ‘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!’
Ah friends, believers (steups!) do have to be more cognizant of their circumstances and surroundings so that we don’t allow the evil one unfettered access to our lives and souls, because all he wants to do is destroy our witness and LOVE for Christ! But I’m sure we won’t give him that opportunity! Now today I want to continue with some wise words of Cousin Sol that I never finished yesterday. And they are some hard words, but truly worthwhile to hear and remember. ‘My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord, neither be weary of (detest) his correction. For whom the Lord LOVETH he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.’ (Prov.3:11-12)
Yes precious people, those are such great words! We correct our children because we LOVE them, likewise the Lord corrects us because He LOVES us! That’s nothing new, cause it was said way back in Deuteronomy by Moses, on the Lord’s behalf. ‘Thou shalt also consider (know) in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee. Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God. To walk in his ways , and to fear him.’ (Deut. 8:5-6)
Oh it’s so simple friends: we punish our children when they disobey us, the Lord punishes us when we disobey him. But for whatever reason we think that’s wrong, because we have free will and ought to do as we like. But please note friends, that free will doesn’t give us the right to sin without punishment, because sin will ALWAYS be punished by the Lord since it’s diabolical and against His very nature! Hear these wise words of Job on the subject. ‘Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not the chastening of the Almighty: For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole.’ (Job 5:17-18)
Yes my people, our God might punish us for disobedience, but He’ll never leave us to suffer unnecessarily, He will heal whatever wounds He causes. That’s the beauty of our God! Although He punishes, He never leaves nor forsakes the punished! How great is the God we worship eh? Mucho great!
That’s why the author of Hebrews could wrap up his dissertation on God’s discipline thus: ‘Now no chastening (discipline) for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised (trained) thereby.’ (Heb.12:11) And that’s a fact my brethren; discipline never seems good to us in the present moment, but afterwards, if we’re wise, we’ll surely see its benefits.
So today, let’s take a moment to contemplate our individual lives nuh, and see where the Lord might have disciplined us for disobedience, and how it affected our lives thereafter. That will help us to understand and appreciate the Lord’s doings. (smile) Much LOVE!
…you’ll reap what you sow…more than you sow…and later than you sow… (Uncle Charles – Charles Stanley)
06 Feb 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, cat-scan, curse, dominion over the earth, extremely dangerous, faith, favour, fulfillment, generously share, give, hoarded, in our own strength, in the name of Jesus, it will be given unto you, lean not, LOVE, make a wise decision, man's scheming and planning, negative word, Pituitary gland, prosperity, rob the Lord, stewards, success, technologically intelligent, the Lord is sovereign, the Lord loves a cheerful giver, the morning commute, Thursday Blessings, trust in the Lord, truth, unto thine own understanding, wisdom, with all thine heart
Proverbs 3:5. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Oh friends, the weather forecasters got it right this time! It’s out there, in decent enough proportions; white and cold and beautiful, but extremely dangerous! (smile) We talking about a snow storm that hit the area last night and has most likely made and is still making a mess of the morning commute. But what to do eh? It’s all a part of the life scene in the northern climes, so we just have to grin and bear it and ask the Lord to help us get through it safely.
And would you believe this is the day that I have to go into the city for a cat-scan on my head? Steups! I haven’t quite made up my mind if I’m going, but it’s not until late afternoon, so we still have time to make a decision. Cancelling it though could mean another couple of months to get another appointment. And it’s all for my benefit, to make sure the tumour they removed from my pituitary gland almost two years ago is not growing back. But not to fear, the Lord will help me to make a wise decision. (smile)
And talking about wise decisions, this most appropriate scripture just came to me: ‘Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.’ Oh my people, wiser words were never spoken! It ought to be a no-brainer to trust securely in the One who made the universe and all therein, but unfortunately it isn’t! Mankind feels because his Maker gave him dominion over the earth and all within it, that his own wisdom is sufficient to handle all his affairs. Heifer dust!
And as he’s grown more prosperous and technologically intelligent, so has his foolish pride in his own superiority increased. But what he’s foolishly not realized is that although the Lord gave him free will, He stills holds the reins, though somewhat loosely, and still controls the bit in his mouth. (smile) And Cousin Sol reminds us of that in two verses of Proverbs: ‘The preparations (plans) of the heart in (belong to) man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord.’ (Prov.16:1) And the scholars explain that thus: ‘16:1. The Lord is sovereign, even over a man’s thoughts and words.’
And later in the same chapter, Cousin Sol tells us: ‘A man’s heart deviseth (plans) his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.’ (Prov.16:9) And the scholars explain: ‘16:9. The Lord is sovereign over man’s scheming and planning.’ So yuh see friends, our God whom we consider omnipotent and can do anything, is in reality the ruler of our thoughts, words, schemes and plans. He just allows us to make them, but He does the final directing. And until we wake up and realize that awesome truth, and stop trying to make decisions in our own strength, we will never really enjoy all that the Lord has prepared and planned for mankind. End of story!
And the next few verses after our Bit are probably some of the most important and wisest in the Good Book, meaning that if we follow them sincerely, we will never go too wrong, or fall off the straight and narrow path. Listen to these amazing words of truth and wisdom nuh from the writings of Cousin Sol. ‘In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct (make smooth or straight) thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear (reverence) the Lord, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel (body), and marrow (strength) to thy bones.’ (Prov.5:6-8)
Oh mih people, yuh see the awesome benefits to our health and strength from listening to the Lord, from asking for His direction and guidance! And then there are these two amazing verses that deal with our prosperity: ‘Honour the Lord with thy substance (possessions), and with the first fruits of all thine increase. So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses (vats) shall burst out with new wine.’ (Prov.3:9-10) Mamacita!
Friends, it’s all laid out right there for us in black and white: Give to the Lord of the first fruits of your bounty, and He will enlarge you! But for some foolish reason(s) we refuse to give to the Lord what is actually His. Yes, ALL that’s in the heaven and earth and sea belongs to Him! We are only stewards of His business. That’s what we forget, or don’t know. And how often do the scriptures recommend that we give eh? Very often!
The Lord even complained that the Israelites robbed Him by not giving their tithes like they should, and that led to a lot of their ‘sufferation.’ However if they did, He would open the windows of heaven and pour down a blessing that they wouldn’t have room for. (Mal.3:8-10) And friends the same direction applies to us nowadays. But like the foolish and greedy Israelites, we too refuse to give to God what’s His rightful due.
And precious people, all He asks for is ten percent of what we make so that He can have provision in His house for those who do His work and those who come to them for help and succour. And so many of us wonder why our earthly means are so measly…because we don’t give enough and give generously from the heart. Remember the Good Book says the Lord LOVES a cheerful giver! (2 Cor. 9:7)
And sadly, that’s one of the important factors in churches going belly up these days; many of the congregants are not giving sufficient funds to keep the churches running. They all want to come to church and see everything looking good and hear an uplifting sermon from the pastor, but they don’t think that pastor needs to be paid a living wage, just like them, and the church has bills just like their houses.
Ah friends, enough for today! (smile) Let’s go home now declaring (yeah!) our Thursday Blessings, blessings that the Lord has provided for those of us who are seriously interested in doing His work. Remember, He doesn’t give us work to do without the tools to do them.
Altogether now, in strong voice with sincere hearts: ‘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!’
And as always, the corollary to that, is for us to go out and generously share those blessings with others, just as the Lord has generously shared them with us. They are definitely not to be hoarded! Much LOVE!
…true wisdom comes from the Lord…give…and it will be given unto you…
05 Feb 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a blessing, also to be feared, ambassadors, among the heathen, assurance, band our jaw and belly, beautiful replicas of Christ, breath of life, challenging workweek, compassion, covenant, encouraging, exhorts, fear him, fickle nature, forgiveness, frail, get a pass mark, glad to be alive, glory and honour, grace, great is the Lord, greatly to be praised, halfway home, hard slugging, held in reverential awe, holy spirit, Holy Trinity, idols, in beauty and holiness, in his place, in his presence, inherent problem, justification, looking forward, LOVE, magnificent and magnanimous God, marvellous works, mercy, not looking back, plenty eyes water, privilege, remember God's deeds, salvation, sanctification, sincere hearts, strength, strength and gladness, the Master Plan, the reigneth, to a glorious future with Jesus, tremble, Triune Godhead, truth, tumbling tumbleweed, Wednesday Wail, worship the Lord, worthless things
1 Chronicles 16:25. For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be feared (held in reverential awe) above all gods.
And by now, on this bright and sunshiny, but somewhat chilly Wednesday winter’s morn, most of us will have gotten accustomed to the tumbling tumbleweed motion of our lives as we go through the challenging workweek. (smile) Ah, but friends, we believers don’t need to worry about that tumbleweed motion of our lives because our most remarkable Maker has it purposefully planned, right down to the last teardrop, the last breath! And nothing is going to interfere with His plans to work everything out for our good as He grows our faith and matures us into beautiful replicas of His wonderful Son, Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour! Yes, that’s the Master Plan!
Wow! What a blessing and privilege it is to be a replica of Christ! The inherent problem in accomplishing that though, is that such a feat requires a lot of hard slugging, it certainly doesn’t come easy, and we often have to band our jaw and belly, sacrifice a whole lot, cry plenty eyes water just to get a pass mark in the class. (smile) But the wonderful thing about our amazing, magnificent and magnanimous God is that He never asks us to do anything and not give us the tools to do it.
Thus, in our desire to become like Christ, He gives us His grace, His mercy, LOVE, compassion, forgiveness, strength, assurance, justification, sanctification, confidence, and whatever else we might happen to need to do His will! And He does it all through the power of His Holy Spirit, the third member of our Holy Trinity, our Triune Godhead. Oh my people, we certainly couldn’t ask for anything more! However, sad as it is, we ofttimes ask for more; because we’re too lazy, too afraid, or some such human frailty. In other words, we want God to not only give us the tools to do the job, but also to do it for us.
But friends, He’s not going to. We have a covenant, a partnership with Him, whereby He does His part and we do ours. End of story! He will certainly help us accomplish our part, but definitely not do it for us. So let’s not hold out any hope in that regard nuh. We’ve got to stand up on our own two feet sometime or the other, whatever it takes! We’re Christ’s ambassadors down here on earth, His hands, feet, eyes and ears, and He’s depending on us to get His work done, to spread the good news of His gospel all over the world.
Please note the marvellous words of Bruh David in the psalm he gave to Asaph, the cymbals man and band leader, as they celebrated the bringing of the Ark of the covenant to Jerusalem: ‘Sing unto the Lord, all the earth; show forth from day to day his salvation. Declare his glory among the heathen; his marvellous works among all nations. For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be feared (held in reverential awe) above all gods. For all the gods of the people are idols (worthless things): but the Lord made the heavens. Glory and honour are in his presence; strength and gladness are in his place.’ (1 Chr.16:23-27)
Oh my people, what awesome truth are contained in those words! And until we fully grasp the truth contained therein, we will not fully realize the awesome position we hold in Christ’s company! Now the bringing of the Ark to Jerusalem was a really big do; a most noteworthy event in the annals of the Jewish people, and Bruh David went out all, both in his activities – dancing and playing before the Lord in the company of his subjects, as well as writing some amazing praise music that a whole big band of established musicians played along with him.
Can you imagine the scene? It must have been like Carnival Tuesday in T&T; the sun shining hot and bright, the big fancy costumes, the bright dazzling displays of colour, the music jamming loud, and people jumping to high heaven! Mama Yo! Who say they didn’t know how to party in them days eh! (smile)
Now hear some more awesome truth from Bruh David on the occasion nuh: ‘Give unto the Lord , ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. Fear (tremble) before him, all the earth: the world also shall be stable, that it be not moved. Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice: and let men say among the nations, The Lord reigneth.’ (1 Chr.16:28-31).
Oh my people, my people, that is exactly what we ought to be saying in these perilous and troubled times! Unless we believers acknowledge the sovereignty of our omnipotent, merciful and gracious God, and behave like it too, how are the unbelievers going to know about Him and the wonderful life that awaits them with Him eh? They won’t. That’s why it’s ever so important that we sing the praises of the Lord and show His true colours to the unbeliever.
Now here is some interesting info from the scholars on the psalm. ‘16:7. This psalm (with slight variations) is woven into several of the psalms in the Hebrew Psalter (cf. vs. 8-22 with Ps.105:1-15; vs. 23-33 with Ps.96; vs. 34-36 with Ps.106:1, 47-48). It is learned here that those later liturgical adaptations originated with David. The psalm was especially suited for this auspicious occasion.
This particular psalm exhorts the people to praise Israel’s wonder-working God (vs. 8-11), and encourages its hearers to remember God’s deeds (vs. 12-14), and His unfailing covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (vs. 15-22). David then directs all nations to join Israel in its praise of the holy God to whom all the universe is subservient (vs. 23-33), and closes this song with a section of thanks, petition, and praise (vs.34-36).’
Let’s do the same nuh: ‘O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever. And say ye, Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather us together, and deliver us from the heathen, that we may give thanks to thy holy name, and glory (triumph) in thy praise. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel for ever and ever. And all the people said, Amen, and praised the Lord.’ (1 Chr. 16:34-36) Oh my fellow believers, that’s how it ought to be, every day of our lives! And yes, we’re only humans with a frail and fickle nature, but that’s no excuse for not praising and worshipping and thanking our great God!
And now, for those of us who sincerely try, let’s go home declaring (chuh!) our Wednesday Wail, letting the world know our true position in Christ. As one body, in strong voice with sincere hearts. ‘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 will that future ever be glorious…more than we can ever ask or imagine! Much LOVE!
…O…give thanks unto the Lord…for He is good…for His mercy endureth for ever…
P.S. Yes, it’s a tad long…but it’s ever so nice and encouraging…and I enjoyed writing it! (smile) Hope you enjoy reading it… Much LOVE!
04 Feb 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: carry them in his bosom, darkness, everlasting peace, for His name's sake, gather the lambs with his arm, Gentiles, gently lead those with young, glad to be alive, have it more abundantly, he shall feed his flock, hurry, I am the good shepherd, I am your God, I shall not want, joy, judge between cattle and cattle, lie down in green pastures, like a shepherd, no more a prey, no more pain, One Year Book of Bible Pthe Lord God will comeromises, optimism of Christ, paths of righteousness, selflessly, share His love, sheep of His pasture, sinless life, soul's soaring, surrender, the beleoved of God, the flock of my pasture, the Good Book, the light of Jesus, The Lord is my shepherd, the thief comes to steal, the valley of the shadow of death, they might have life, to high heaven, trust, trust my friend Jesus, Tuesday Mantra, with a strong hand, worry
Isaiah 40:11. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.
Come Tuesday…I’m glad to be alive! Come Tuesday…my soul’s soaring to high heaven, because the Lord has kept His promise to get me through Monday all in one piece! Wow friends! I hope we’re all in the same boat…the one with Jesus being the guide, captain and pilot! For it’s only that boat, the one with that commander, that will get us safely through the storms of this earthly life to the other side, where there is no more pain and suffering, no darkness, just joy and everlasting peace in the light of Jesus!
And in keeping with that theme of trust and surrender to Jesus, here is this simple but most appropriate prayer from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. It’s titled ‘Heartstrings.’ Please pray with me: ‘Lord, with no sense of direction I’m forever losing my way. Please tie a string From Your heart to mine So that even in the darkness I’ll feel the tug of Your heart And find my way home.’ Oh my people, that’s so simple, but ever so touching in its directness and simplicity.
What better way to stay attached to our Maker than with the awesome connection of a heart string. That way, we can never lose our focus, it will be ever stayed on Him, as it ought to. And that’s exactly what’s promised in Isaiah: comfort, through trust in the Lord. Listen to these most comforting words. ‘Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand (in strength), and his arm shall rule for him: behold his reward is with him, and his work (wage) before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.’ (Is.40:10-11)
How can you ever beat such a promise eh precious people of God? You simply can’t! And our Bit is the Bible Promise for our poem today; the awesome promise of Almighty God to feed and gently care for all those who wisely come to Him for help, who desire to be in His fold and allow Him to lead and guide them like a kind and caring shepherd does his sheep. And there are so many references to God being our shepherd in the Good Book that we can’t cover them all, so we’ll just highlight a few; the first from the prophet Ezekiel.
‘Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle (sheep) and cattle (sheep). And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it.’ (Ezek. 34:22-24). What a mighty promise friends! And according to the scholars the reference to Bruh David there is in regards to his role during the Millennium reign of Christ. He will be appointed a shepherd of Christ’s flock.
Now we’ll turn to the words of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, awesome words that we all claim to know, but as always, don’t fully put into practice, otherwise our lives wouldn’t be in such an ungodly mess. (smile) Hear the Master: ‘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. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.’ (John 10:10-11) And isn’t that exactly what He did on the cross at Calvary…give His sinless life so selflessly for us, the hoped-for sheep of His pasture?
That’s the amazing positivity and optimism of Christ; that before He was even sure of a flock, He died to preserve them! Wow! No one else would ever dream of doing that…except our Saviour! And as He continues later on: ‘I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also must I bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold (flock), and one shepherd.’ (John 10:14-16)
Oh friends, the other flock Jesus was referring to there was us, the non-Jews, the Gentiles, whom He greatly desired to also include in His one worldwide flock at a slightly later date, through Bruh Paul. So this morning, whatever the circumstances in which we find ourselves, let’s make sure that we know, and are hearing the voice of our Good Shepherd nuh, as He walks and talks and guides us safely and LOVINGLY through our day.
As Bruh David so famously described it: ‘The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me…’ (Ps. 23:1-4) Yes friends, those are gospel truths, if we believe in Jesus Christ!
So for those of us who sincerely belief, let’s go home now telling the world in no uncertain voice, who and whose we are as set out in our Tuesday Mantra. In strong voice with sincere hearts: ‘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!’
So let’s go out now and do just that nuh; share the LOVE and friendship of Jesus with those unfortunate ones who don’t know Him! Much LOVE!
…and ye my flock…the flock of my pasture…are men…and I am your God…saith the Lord God…(Ezek. 34:31)
03 Feb 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: 8 hour day, a bad rap, a buckler, according to his riches in glory, Adam blamed Eve, aura of love, cast the blame elsewhere, confidence, courage, enthusiasm, Eve blamed the serpent, faith, faithfulness, fight a good fight, further your glorious kingdom, gentleness, God ahll supply all your need, God girdeth me with strength, God's largesse, God's way is perfect, gospel truth, grouchy people, hids' feet, high places, how good you are to me, human trait, in Jesus' name, jobs, lies, LOVE, maketh my way perfect, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, precious people, renewed vitality, rewarding, serve a useful purpose, shield, shiled of salvation, sleepy-eyed, spiritual armour, teacheth my hands to war, the word of the Lord is tried, through Christ Jesus, unfair, wicked taunts, wiles, work out all things for our good, working for Jesus
Psalm 18:32. It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.
Monday, oh Monday, how good you are to me! I truly do LOVE you! You cause me to get up early in the morning…while it’s still dark…and I haven’t had enough sleep…to fumble around and struggle to get dressed and go out in the freezing cold, to a freezing car, and then inch my way on a blocked up highway, full of sleepy-eyed and grouchy people just like me.
And after it takes me an hour to make a normal fifteen minute drive, I get to the concrete jungle and search for another fifteen minutes to get a parking spot, that costs an arm and a leg, I finally get to my desk and plop myself down in the chair more tired than ever, but now expected to put in a full and productive 8 hour day, doing stuff that doesn’t turn my crank! And this is only the first of five consecutive days of this nonsense! (smile)
Ah friends, we give Mondays such a bad rap eh, when the problem lies with us; we don’t prepare ourselves properly for what we know is going to happen on most Mondays of our working life! But it’s a long time human trait; cast the blame everywhere else than where it rightfully belongs, on us. Check out our forefathers, Adam and Eve after they had eaten the forbidden fruit. Eve blamed the serpent, and Adam blamed Eve. (Gen.3:12-13)
So now that we’ve eased our conscience by blaming Monday for our woes, (smile) let’s get serious and go to the ONLY One who can really help us at this stage of the game nuh, our heavenly Father. And to make it easy, we’ve developed this ‘antidotal’ prayer we call our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, that automatically fills in all the blank spaces, but does not get us an answer unless we go about it the right way; that’s humbly, confidently and sincerely to the throne of grace.
So as one humble, confident and sincere voice now, let’s lift up our petition to heaven: ‘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 yes, that incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit is now moving in all of us who prayed that prayer sincerely and humbly! That’s how quickly our God can move when it’s necessary! He knows that we have to go out and do Jesus’ work at a certain time, with not much to spare, so right away He acts on our request, raising our spirits, strengthening our belly and backbone, thus giving us the courage and confidence we need to go out and fight a good fight in His Son’s name.
No wonder Bruh David could proclaim with such certainty in Psalm 18 – Thanksgiving for deliverance, when the Lord delivered him from the hands of all his enemies. ‘As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the Lord is tried (proven): he is a buckler (shield) to all those that trust in him. For who is God save (except) the Lord? Or who is a rock save our God? It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.’ (Ps.18:30-32)
And that is the indisputable, gospel truth friends! Our God, the most potent Being in the universe, is the One who looks after all our needs on this troubled earth, just like Bruh Paul declared (yeah!) it to the Philippians. ‘But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.’ (Phil.4:19)
And when Bruh David wrote that psalm, his needs were mainly those of a warrior, thus he declared (steups!): ‘He maketh my feet like hinds’ (deer) feet, and setteth me upon my high places. He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken (a bow of bronze can be broken) by mine arms. Thou hast also given me the shield of salvation: and thy right hand hath holden (held) me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great.’ (Ps.18:33-35)
Ah precious people of Christ, wherever we are, at whatever stage of life we’ve reached, the Lord God Almighty, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will supply whatever we need to be victorious! It’s imperative that we believe it and act like we believe it too, through the auspices of our wonderful faith! Otherwise our faith is useless. Remember faith involves believing for something like we’ve already seen it and received it, when, in reality it hasn’t yet happened, but we know for sure that through God’s largesse and faithfulness it will happen in His time!
So this Monday morning, although things might be a tad on the rough side, let’s believe that the situation will change because our wonderful and ever-faithful God has promised that it will! He will work all things out for our good! (Rom.8:28) Now that should be more than enough to raise our desire to get out into our distressed world and do our best for Jesus! Much LOVE!
…working for Jesus can be difficult…but it’s ALWAYS rewarding…
02 Feb 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a man lay down his life, aroma, can ever pluck me, character traits, come unto me, Comforter, confidence, dance before the Lord, depths of peace, for his friends, from his hand, give you rest, greater love, hath no man than this, heavy laden, heights of love, in the love of Christ I stand, in the power of Christ, joy, life death resurrection of Christ, my burden is light, my light, my song, my strength, my yoke is eays, no power of hell, no scheme of man, passes all human understanding, peace, praise, righteousness., sacrificial praise, sing, sinless life, soulful harmony, stands in victory, sweet-smelling savour, the great invitation, the Lord's sanctuary, the Prince of Peace, this gift of love, time for church, timeless theme, uplifting word, worship with our fellow believers, ye are my friends, ye do whatsoever I command you
John 15:13. Greater LOVE hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Sunday morning…time for church! Don’t let the inclement weather we have going in the G.T.A, or for that matter, good weather wherever you are, keep you away from darkening the doors of the Lord’s sanctuary this morning. (smile) Yes, good weather ofttimes can deceive us into not going to worship with our fellow believers, makes us feel we’d be better off doing something supposedly more enjoyable.
But pray tell me people, what can be more enjoyable than meeting with a number of people who share our beliefs, who encourage us, then join with us to sing, praise, and dance before the Lord our God, to hear His magnificent and uplifting Word, and consequently leave His sanctuary refreshed, renewed, and full of the joy, peace and confidence that only He can give! Nothing friends…Nothing! So let’s get the show on the road nuh, beginning as usual with the singing and praising and dancing.
And today’s song of praise is a fairly new Christian song that’s become quite popular over the years. It’s aptly titled: ‘In Christ Alone.’ The website Godtube tells us that the song was written in 2002, by Christian songwriters Stuart Townend and Keith Getty. According to Townend “The song came about in an unusual way. Keith and I met in the autumn of 2000 at a worship event, and we resolved to try to work together on some songs.
A few weeks later Keith sent some melody ideas, and the first one on the CD was a magnificent, haunting melody that I LOVED, and immediately started writing down some lyrical ideas on what I felt should be a timeless theme commensurate with the melody. So the theme of the life, death, resurrection of Christ, and the implications of that for us just began to tumble out, and when we got together later on to fine tune it, we felt we had encapsulated what we wanted to say.”
And did they ever encapsulate a whole lot of stuff about Jesus! So let’s sing it now like we really mean it nuh, letting heaven know that we’re truly grateful for our wonderful Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Let our voices convey the sacrificial praise our hearts feel, in sweet, soulful harmony.
‘In Christ alone my hope is found; He is my light, my strength, my song; This cornerstone, this solid ground, Firm through the fiercest drought and storm. What heights of LOVE, what depths of peace, When fears are stilled, when strivings cease! My comforter, my all in all— Here in the LOVE of Christ I stand. In Christ alone, Who took on flesh, Fullness of God in helpless babe! This gift of LOVE and righteousness, Scorned by the ones He came to save. Till on that cross as Jesus died, The wrath of God was satisfied; For ev’ry sin on Him was laid—
Here in the death of Christ I live. There in the ground His body lay, Light of the world by darkness slain; Then bursting forth in glorious day, Up from the grave He rose again! And as He stands in victory, Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me; For I am His and He is mine— Bought with the precious blood of Christ. No guilt in life, no fear in death— This is the pow’r of Christ in me; From life’s first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny. No pow’r of hell, no scheme of man, Can ever pluck me from His hand; Till He returns or calls me home— Here in the pow’r of Christ I’ll stand…Till He returns or calls me home— Here in the pow’r of Christ I’ll stand… Here in the pow’r of Christ I’ll stand….’
And that’s for certain sure friends! In the amazing and awesome power of Christ we must ALL stand, because there has never been, and will never be another as magnificent and magnanimous as Him! As I keep saying He is indeed our EVERYTHING! Our hope, our light, our strength, our song, the cornerstone on which our faith is built, the ONE who walks beside and guides us through the worst times of drought and storm…
And don’t talk about LOVE…His is the greatest. As He said so simply and sincerely: ‘Greater LOVE hath no man that this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.’ (John 15:13-14) And then He went out and laid down His sinless life, sacrificed it ever so selflessly for us, with the expectancy and anticipation that we would be His friends and do what He commanded us. Yes my fellow believers (steups!), Jesus didn’t just talk the talk, He walked the walk…on our behalf. He died that we could be alive and be reconciled to the Father; took our sins and gave us His righteousness…and so much more.
That’s why when Bruh Paul talks to us about the ways of the believer (steups!), we ought to listen and obey. ‘Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; and walk in LOVE, as Christ also hath LOVED us, and hath given himself for us as an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor (aroma).’ (Eph. 5:1-2) That’s exactly what He did my people, and as followers of His, He expects us to be obedient to His commands, do our best to adopt His character traits, because you know the Father’s ultimate plan is to have us all become like His Only Son…well as close as our human flesh and nature will allow. (smile)
And we don’t even have time and space to touch on all the topics the songwriters touch on in our song. So we’ll just look at these last two; peace and comfort. Oh my my, Jesus is the Master of Peace: the peace that passes all human understanding! Here Him to the disciples nuh: ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’ (John 14:27)
And Bruh Paul describes Him thus: ‘For he (himself) is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition (division) between us;’ (Eph.2:14) No doubt about that! He mashed up the old order and destroyed the enmity between Jews and Gentiles and made them to exist in One body, His church.
And when yuh talking about comfort friends, there’s no better place to find it than in Jesus! Here these extraordinary words from His Great Invitation. ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest…For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matt.11:28, 30) No one else can make that promise and keep it! That’s why I keep saying that Jesus is the ANSWER, for He has everything that you will ever need, both for this life and the hereafter! Please be wise and lean confidently, faithfully and reassuringly on Him! He won’t let you down! Much LOVE!
…The Prince of Peace…of Comfort…and of LOVE…Jesus Christ…
01 Feb 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a great calm, acquire the parts to stand strong, aspires to inspire, bounden duty, Christian, come up higher, complaining, cultures, epitome of wisdom, failure, Friend Anselm, furthest from their minds, god, homelessness, indisputable fact, Jesus is the answer, leap year, naivety, no giving up, O ye of little faith, obey Jesus, owed and easy life, poverty, rebuked the winds, Saturday, save us, sickness, sincere effort, smidgen of hope, so much information, societies, Thank You Lord, the men marvelled, the winds and the sea obey him, this fallen world, through Jesus, we perish, what manner of man is this, whining
Matthew 8:27. But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!’
And on this first day of February, in the leap year of 2020, some snow did fall in my area, not a whole lot, but enough that we can say snow fell. (smile) Yeh, it looks bad if you’re in winter and there’s not even a touch of the white stuff on the ground. Hn, hn! And I didn’t even know that this was going to be a leap year until recently when I checked out the February calendar and saw 29 days. I had to look again to make sure that I was seeing right.
Times surely have changed yes! Once upon a time a leap year was a big thing, all sorts of stuff was supposed to happen in one, you’d hear that news all over the place. But now, no one seems to pay much attention to it; nobody’s even mentioned it to me in passing. Don’t even know if the young people nowadays know what’s a leap year, or how it comes about. We have so much bloody information now that it’s hard to choose what to read or listen to, and more importantly, what to believe (yeah!).
But anyhow it’s Saturday, so let’s take a look at some of the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this past week in his sincere effort of aspiring to inspire us. And this first quote is ever so appropriate because it’s exactly what Anselm is trying to do with us. ‘The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great in whatever they want to do.’ Yeh friends, the Christian’s bounden duty is to try and lift up, encourage, and inspire those around us to come up higher in anything they choose to do.
Remember the motto of Jesus’ people is ‘diligence and excellence.’ We have to work sincerely at stuff, and do it in an excellent manner, not wishy-washy, like is so common nowadays. Our jobs and lives might be difficult, even unfair, but Jesus still desires a solid and sincere effort from us. For in His dominion, ‘Failure is impossible.’ And that’s an indisputable fact. Jesus doesn’t hold with failure at all. There’s absolutely no giving up in His kingdom!
As Cousin Sol says in Proverbs: ‘For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief (stumble into calamity).’ (Prov.24:16) And according to the scholars: ‘24:16. The righteous man always recovers, but the wicked man faces permanent destruction.’ Yes friends, if you check out Jesus’ dictionary you won’t find the words ‘failure’ or ‘give up’ in it. Because He’s the Master of Everything; the possible as well as the impossible!
And if you are a part of His dominion then you need to think like Him and behave like Him, and remember that through Him we can do ALL things, because He strengthens us! Then there’s this next quote; a dandy: ‘A good thing to remember is somebody’s got it a lot worse than you do.’ And is that ever gospel truth my people! We might think we have it rough, but believe me, a lot of other people are usually having it rougher, much rougher than us.
I remember complaining to my mother when things were rough with us, and she’d tell me, yes, times were tough, but they were a lot of people even worse off than us. In my youthful naivety I couldn’t believe that was possible, but as I went around the neighbourhood with a greater awareness, I was surprised to see many families living worse off than we were. And now, when you think of the rampant poverty, homelessness and sickness in our Western Society, we complain about how bad it is, but just check out the numerous societies and cultures on the other side of the globe who have it much worse than us, and tell me in which one you’d rather be.
At least in ours there seems to be some smidgen of hope for better times and conditions, but in many of those others there’s not even a smidgen of hope for anything better. Many were born into abject poverty, sickness and homelessness and will live and die the same way. So when you think you’re having such a bad day, and times are so rough, just think about those other more unfortunate people, and gratefully say, ‘Thank You Lord!’
And this last quote succinctly informs us: ‘Anyone can take the wheel of the ship in calm water but it’s not so easy when it’s not calm water. You can’t just enjoy the good times, you have to be resilient in the tough times.’ And that word ‘resilient’ seems to have faded from our vocabulary and lifestyle in these modern days, for the words backbone and belly which make us resilient are non-existent.
There’s never been as much complaining and whining in our world as there is now, even in the midst of great prosperity! Partly because we have allowed the young generation to grow up in an easy and non-sacrificial manner, no chores before or after school, always getting what they want, so now when real life hits them, they can’t cope with it. They think they are owed an easy life, have an inalienable right to it, because we the parents didn’t raise them right, and God is usually the furthest thing from their minds.
But friends, it’s only in and through Jesus that we can acquire the parts to stand strong when life comes against us. And one of the best examples of that occurs when Jesus and the disciples were crossing the Sea of Galilee and a violent storm arose. The Good Book tells it thus: ‘And behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he (Jesus) was asleep. And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish.
And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!’ (Matt. 8:24-27)
Friends, Jesus is the man who made the winds and the seas, that’s why they obey Him! He is also the man who made us in His own image, that’s why we ought also to obey Him! Despite the free will He gave us, it behooves us, it’s the epitome of wisdom to believe and obey Him, because He is the ONLY one who can right the ship, or better yet calm the storms, the raging seas and gusting winds that inevitably confound our lives in this fallen world! Much LOVE!
…I’ll say it again…Jesus is the answer…to EVERYTHING…
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