16 Sep 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a positive outlook on life, abundance, asaph, be not envious of the workers of iniquity, Be not thou envious of evil men, bless the Lord oh my soul, curse, cut down like the grass, divine protection, drew breath this morning, every knee must bow, every tongue confess, forget not all his benefits, Fret not thyself over evildoers, generously share our blessings, go a whoring from God, God is the strength of my heart, God's grace and mercy, good conversation, He is Lord to the glory of the Father, I saw the prosperity of the wicked, I was envious at the foolish, if ye love me keep my commandments, indisputable truth, it is good for me to draw near to God, Jesus, King of Kings, Lord and Saviour, my feet were almost gone, my steps had slipped, negative word, neither desire to be with them, no God like our God Jehovah, promise to give us a future and a hope, regained his equilibrium, self-control. self-discipline, so shall thou dwell in the land, talent, the children of God, the most wonderful gift ever, the name above every other name, Thursday Blessings, timely blessings, trust in the Lord and do good, verily thou shalt be fed, warm the cockles of Jesus' heart, wither as the green herb, won that victory hands down
Proverbs 24:1. Be not thou envious against (of) evil men, neither desire to be with them.
Oh friends, another beautiful morning in God’s great universe! Give Him much thanks for it nuh! Yes, if we drew breath this sunny morning, that means He still has a plan for us to live through this day, to experience His wonderful grace and mercy, good conversation and timely blessings! Wow! How can we not LOVE our marvellous God eh, with all that He does for us, with His faithful promise to give us a future and a hope, and fulfilling it by giving us the most wonderful gift ever…
His name is called Jesus, the Lord and Saviour of the world, the King of Kings and the name above every other name, to which every knee must bow and every tongue declare that He is Lord to the glory of the Father! Death could not keep Him in the grave, He won that victory hands down! And thus, He is the reason why our sins can be washed away, and our souls made clean and we have another opportunity to come before our heavenly Father in confidence and joy and be called children of God! Oh mercy, mercy me!
And that’s why we also declare in the utmost sincerity, that there’s NO God like our God Jehovah! And whether you believe it or not, that’s the indisputable truth! So we had all better come to acknowledge it asap, because our destiny depends on admitting and believing that unalterable truth, and by living our earthly lives in a manner that glorifies Jehovah God. For once we admit and believe that truth, our lives are no longer ours, but we then belong to Him, and must follow His divine will. And how do we do that you ask?
Well, here’s one wise and practical application as declared by the ever-wise Cousin Sol in the Book of Proverbs. He gives this marvelous advice at the beginning of chapter 24: ‘Be not thou envious against (of) evil men, neither desire to be with them. For their heart studieth destruction (devises violence), and their lips talk of mischief (trouble). (Prov. 24:1-2) Yes friends, when we surrender our lives to God, we cannot go against His will, and that means not getting involved in stuff like envy, violence, wickedness and evil doings.
And Cousin Sol’s father, Bruh David wrote a lot on that particular subject, including this marvellous advice from Psalm 37 – The true state of the wicked. Bruh David declared in the utmost sincerity and faith,: ‘Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good, so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed (feed on his faithfulness).’ (Ps. 37:1-3)
That’s the good news of the gospel my brethren: trust in God, stay away from evil and do good, and all will be well with you! Even the other great psalmist Asaph, recognized that amazing truth in his own life. And in that famous Psalm 73, re The mystery of prosperous wickedness – he humbly declares: ‘Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean (pure) heart. But as for me, my feet were almost gone (I had almost stumbled); my steps had well-nigh slipped: For I was envious at the foolish (boastful), when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.’ (Ps. 73:1-3)
Ah mih people, that is so easy to do when we see the obviously wicked and deceitful getting rich and powerful through their evil deeds and fraudulent schemes. I know it seems that the world thrives on evil, but that’s only on the surface. For when we get right down to the nitty gritty, evil is thrown aside by God, and righteousness conquers all! So even that great man of God, Asaph was intimidated by, and envious of the prosperity of the wicked, because he was human just like us. But though he almost stumbled spiritually and lost his faith, he didn’t quite go over the threshold to the side of evil.
Hear how he regained his equilibrium nuh, how he conquered that negative, ungodly attitude. He says: ‘Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end. Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction.’ (Ps. 73:16-17) Yes friends, ‘not until the psalmist entered God’s sanctuary and received a divine perspective on the wicked’s prosperity did he find his answer to the problem.’ And sometimes we also need to get closer to God to find solutions to our problems.
But it’s worthwhile noticing how Asaph closes out the psalm: ‘Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength (rock) of my heart, and my portion for ever. For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed them all that go a whoring from thee (who are unfaithful to thee). But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works.’ (Ps. 73:25-28)
Oh my fellow saints, those are indeed wise and marvellous words for all of us to live by! So please let’s faithfully embrace them nuh and draw close to God, for the closer we get to Him, the better it is for us. As Bruh David so wisely said: ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.’ (Ps. 103:2) And there is no better time than now to remember some of those many benefits of God, which we describe as our Thursday Blessings. So, in strong voice, with the utmost of faith and confidence let’s declare them nuh.
‘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 every day! Amen!’
And if we truly believe it, then we need to go out and generously share those wonderful blessings with others, just like the Lord did with us. That would surely warm the cockles of His hurting heart. And don’t think for one moment that Christ’s heart isn’t hurting because of the ungodly way His church and followers are behaving down here on earth. You’ll be oh so wrong! Much LOVE!
…Jesus said it loud and clear…if ye LOVE me…keep my commandments… (John 14:15)
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
15 Sep 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: endure unto the end, flowing through me, God doth talk to man and he liveth, God is a Spirit, God is a spiritual being- invisible -without a body, God is alive and kicking, God is immutable, God is self-existent, God is the God of the living, God is unending Life itself, God said let there be light, God spoke the world into existence, halfway home, hands on the plough, he delivereth and rescueth, he is the living God, heard his voice, I'm so glad to be alive, men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel, more glorious than we can ask or imagine, must worship him in spirit and truth, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, new mercies and compassions, not looking back, only desires the best for us, out of the midst of the fire, thank God the breath of life, the apple of His eye, the everlasting love of a father, the King eternal, the One True God, the only wise living God, they that worship Him, to a glorious future with Jesus, Wednesday Wail, yearn to know God better, you won't hear God unless you listen
John 4:24. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and truth.
Another day my people; another day of new mercies and compassions from Almighty God! Wow! What a marvellous God we serve and worship! No other supposed deity puts themselves out to give us new stuff every single day. But our great God Jehovah does! That’s because He LOVES us with the everlasting LOVE of a Father and only desires the best for us!
And that led to Him sending His sinless Son Jesus Christ to earth to die for the propitiation of our abominable sins. All other false gods expect mankind to sacrifice to and for them, but ONLY the One true God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was willing to sacrifice for mankind. And not just a simple unimportant sacrifice, but His most beloved, the apple of His eye, His one Son Jesus. And if that doesn’t tell us the depth of LOVE and compassion that the Lord holds for us, I don’t know what else will nuh.
The false gods, and the man-made idols that so many of us worship, don’t do a thing for us, and in fact they can’t do a bloody thing for us since they are all dead, inanimate and without life. So how can a dead object do anything for you eh? But the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is alive and kicking, that’s why He can make promises and keep them! So today we are just going to look at a few scriptures that describe our God as a living being. And the first scripture comes from Jesus Himself, when He told the Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob: ‘God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and truth.’ (Matt. 4:24)
Yes friends, our God exists, but not as a being with a body, but as a Spirit. And the scholars give us this explanation re, the Definition of God. ‘4:24. John gives us three descriptions of God. He is Spirit (John 4:24), LOVE (1 John 4:8), and Light (1 John 1:5). God is a spiritual being who is invisible and without a body; He is a divine person who reveals Himself in perfect intellect, emotion, and will: He is the source and personification of all material and spiritual life.
He is self-existent; He is eternal in relationship to time; He is unlimited in relationship to the immensity of space; He is immutable in His nature; He is the unity of all existence; and He is consistent in His being – that is, He corresponds in actual fact to His nature and attributes as they are revealed to us. (First Ref. Gen. 1:1; Primary Ref. John 4:24).’
So you see friends, the only thing our God lacks is a material body. But as a Spirit, it means He can be all places at the same time. And that’s one of the many reasons He’s so valuable to us; He can be with ALL of us ALL of the time. And if we turn to Genesis 1:3, we will find the first and biggest reason why we say that God is alive and kicking. The Good Book tells us: ‘And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.’ Now please tell me, how can a dead God speak eh. One must have life, that’s breath to speak. And it’s oh so worthwhile to know that God spoke everything in the world into existence, except man.
And if you still don’t believe that God is alive and speaks, then check out Deuteronomy 5, where Moses reminds the Israelites of how they heard God’s voice in the fire at Mt. Horeb on their journey through the wilderness, when He made the covenant with them and gave them the Ten Commandments. Moses recounts: ‘And ye said, Behold, the Lord our God hath showed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth (still lives).’ (Deut. 5:24)
So God doesn’t only talk to the universe, He also talks to man, whom He created to be in relationship with Him including to talk with Him. But like everything that concerns the ears, you won’t hear God, or anything or anyone else unless you LISTEN! That’s the crux of the matter…LISTENING! And unfortunately, that’s something we don’t do very well at in these modern times. We all desire to talk, to be heard, but we rebel when it comes to listening.
Just like the church leaders in Jesus’ time weren’t listening to Him when He quoted them the scriptures re marriages in heaven. ‘But as touching (concerning) the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living,’ (Matt. 22:31-32) Ah mih people, if our God is the God of the living then it means that He must also be alive! Glory be! Bless His holy name!
And though there are several other scriptures I would like to include, because of time and space this is the last one. And it’s a scripture that’s always fascinated me. They are the words of the pagan king of Babylon, Darius, after Daniel walked out of the lion’s den unscathed. He right royally declared: ‘I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men (must) tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and steadfast forever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end. He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power (paws) of the lions.’ (Dan. 6:26-27)
Now if an idol worshipper can make such a testimony to the power of Almighty God, a God who doesn’t change, why do we have such trouble acknowledging Him and His sovereignty eh? I don’t know, and I won’t venture to comment. (smile) But anyway, here is an interesting part of a commentary from the Christian Science Monitor website – It’s titled ‘A Christian Science perspective: What does it mean that God is a ‘living God’? By Liz Butterfield Wallingford.
She ends the article by saying: ‘To know God as a truly “living God” goes beyond simply acknowledging that He exists. He is unceasing, unending Life itself. His goodness can’t fade. Our receptivity to His infinite goodness, inherent in our very nature as the reflection of the living God, can’t be diminished. When we wholeheartedly yearn to know God better, to receive the forever-active Christ, to understand that God could never for a second stop expressing His LOVE and goodness in each of us – then we begin to see this spiritual fact increasingly evidenced in our everyday lives.’
And that’s totally true my brethren. The more we yearn for the living spirit-filled God and all that pertains to Him, the more we will see real evidence of Him in our everyday lives. So, for those of us who have that eternal yearning for Almighty God, let’s go home now declaring (awright!!!) our Wednesday Wail letting all and sundry know of the wonderful position we now enjoy in Christ Jesus.
As one strong voice: ‘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 yuh better believe friends, that if we endure unto the end, that future will be even more glorious than we can ask or imagine. So let’s hang in there nuh, and with Jesus’ awesome help live and LOVE for Him! Much LOVE!
…now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible…the only wise (living) God…be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen… (1 Tim. 1:17)
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
14 Sep 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a new commandment I give unto you, a personal relationship with Christ, anger, bitterness, by this shall all men know, Christ's body of followers, full of dead men's bones., full of hypocrisy and iniquity, given you an example, His rewards are outstanding, His yoke is easy to bear, hurry, I am the beloved of god, if ye have love one to another, in god's eyes, lack of togetherness, LOVE, love one another as I have loved you, negative emotion of hate, not what I do, not what people say about me, petty differences, sad state of affairs, share His love with the world, strife, that ye are my disciples, the best of all worlds, the goodness and mercy of Jesus, the love of God perfected, treasure Christ as Lord and Saviour, trust my friend Jesus, Tuesday Mantra, walk even as he walked, whited sepulchres, woe unto you Pharisees, worry
John 13:35. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have LOVE one to another.
So mih bredrin, a warm and wonderful Tuesday to all you who treasure Christ Jesus as Lord and Saviour! May His light and LOVE shine through us today, as we go about doing His awesome earthly work, encouraging others to come to Him and enjoy the amazing benefits of being in His blessed organization, His church, and also having a most splendiferous personal relationship with Him!
What could be better than that eh mih people; belonging to Christ’s body of followers, but also having a personal friendship with him? Absolutely nothing! Yes friends, in Jesus we have the best of ALL worlds! Never forget that! So let’s stop selling both Jesus and us short by thinking and consequently acting like He is not enough, for He surely is…and much more too!
Ah friends the ole fella’s just getting excited, as I usually do when I talk about the goodness and mercy of Jesus, because I’ve experienced so much of it during my long life, even when I didn’t know what it was. Yes, in hindsight, I can now see and realize that it was indeed the goodness and mercy of God that kept me going through some serious situations before I fully gave my life to Him.
And since I’ve done that…Brother! I’ve seen so much of His undeserved grace and mercy, that I can’t even count or remember half of them! That’s why I can confidently tell you that Jesus is an awesome friend and Saviour. His work is demanding, but His yoke is light and easy to bear, while His rewards are outstanding! Glory be my faithful brethren!
And all Jesus really desires of us is to show that most worthy and amazing attribute of LOVE in our everyday lives. When you break it down it looks like this: to LOVE the Father, LOVE Him, and LOVE ourselves and each other. Now that should not be as hard to do as we make it seem, since it’s basically showing kindness and goodness to those we meet. But unfortunately, it seems that the opposite and very negative emotion of hate, found in things like anger, bitterness, resentment, strife and unkindness, are much easier for us to propagate, since it’s that negative stuff that’s now holding our world hostage.
How sad it is my people, that goodness and mercy can’t seem to outweigh hate and its evil companions. And it’s only when we receive Jesus and hold on tightly to Him and what He stands for that we can ever hope to defeat the enemy and His wicked ways. That’s why Jesus said to the disciples: ‘A new commandment I give unto you, That ye LOVE one another; as I have LOVED you, that ye also LOVE one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have LOVE one to another.’ (John 13:34-35)
Yes, my fellow saints, that’s the big difference between the followers of Christ and the non-followers; the followers are supposed to have LOVE for each other in words and deeds, not just meaningless talk, nor as He blasted the Pharisees. ‘Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye are like unto whited sepulchres (whitewashed tombs), which indeed appear beautiful outside, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity (lawlessness).’ (Matt. 23:27-28)
And sadly, that’s how too many of us supposed believers and followers of Jesus behave nowadays. That’s basically why the unbelievers don’t pay more attention to us, because we don’t truly walk our talk, that LOVE for each other is most definitely not shown in our daily dealings. Just think about all the divisions in the church of Christ nuh, with umpteen religions, sects, denominations etc., which only breed petty differences, resentment, anger and the whole host of negative emotions amongst supposed Christians.
How can that sad state of affairs draw others to Jesus eh? The enemy is more together, more as one, than we believers are. No wonder they are in the ascendance right now, while we believers are running a far second place because of our many differences and lack of togetherness.
And in his own way, John repeated Jesus’ invocation to the disciples in his first epistle. ‘And hereby we do know that we know him (Jesus), if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the LOVE of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.’ (1 John 2:3-6)
Yes friends, as the scholars so rightly inform us: ‘The test of knowing God’s LOVE is keeping His Word… While no one can or need duplicate Jesus’ atoning (earthly) ministry, His disciples are called to imitate His devotion to God and compassion for others. See John 13:15; 1 Peter 2:21.’ Those are indisputable facts, but unfortunately, our devotion to God and compassion for others is sadly lacking in these terrible times. And I believe it’s my bounden duty to highlight those two passages the scholars referred to above there.
Listen to Jesus after He had washed the disciples’ feet. ‘If I then, your Lord and Master (Teacher), have washed your feet; ye ought also to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.’ (John 13:14-15) It couldn’t get any clearer than that friends! Jesus is the example we ought to follow. Granted, we can’t do all that He did, but we surely can have much more reverence and devotion to the Father and show more simple compassion for each other.
And Peter tells it to us thus: ‘For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow in his steps.’ (1 Pet. 2:21) Don’t know what else to say nuh. So, for those of us who sincerely try to follow in Jesus’ footsteps, let’s go home declaring (yeah!!!) our Tuesday Mantra, telling the whole world who and whose we are; to whom we truly belong.
Altogether now: ‘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, it’s our duty to go out into the world and share that amazing LOVE and friendship of Jesus with the many who don’t know it! Much LOVE!
…it’s time for Christians…to play a strong and true game of…follow the Leader…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
13 Sep 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a merciful forgiving gracious God, a more fruitful way to live is alongside others, a threefold cord is not quickly broken, bereave my soul of good, crosswalk.com website, divine help, faithfully promised to hear our prayers, for whom do I labour, forgive us and heal our land, good relationship with God and man, he hath not another to help him up, how can one be warm alone, humble servants, I saw vanity under the sun, if two lie together they have heat, it is a sore travail, it's all about unity, Jehovah Rapha, life's difficult pathway, LOVE, mass confusion, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, no man is an island, seriously disobeyed your word, sincere repentance, sincerely seek your face, strong faith in Christ, Tamara Chamberlain, the God who heals, the one will lift up his fellow, the truth is the truth, they have a good reward for their labour, turn from our evil ways, two are better than one, two heads are better than one, unity between man and man and God, walk in unity, we have all sinned, wise guidance and direction, woe to his that is alone when he falleth
Ecclesiastes 4:9. Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.
Come down Monday, come on down! Let us walk in unity along life’s convoluted and ofttimes difficult pathway. For only together can we be victorious. Alone we will most surely be defeated. That’s why the wise author of Ecclesiastes, who simply refers to himself as the Preacher, but whom most scholars believe is Cousin Sol, tells us about two being better than one, and three, an even stronger cord.
Listen to these words of everlasting wisdom. ‘Then I returned, and I saw vanity (futility) under the sun. There is one alone, and there is not a second (a companion); yea, he hath neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he. For whom do I labour, and bereave (deprive) my soul of good? This is also vanity (futility), yea, it is a sore travail (grievous toil).’ (Eccl. 4:7-8) And is that ever the gospel truth! It is a useless, futile task when you are labouring by yourself for only yourself!
However, the Preacher wisely continues: ‘Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow (companion): but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.’ (Eccl. 4:9-10) Now that’s not rocket science friends, but mere common sense; two people working and walking in harmony and unity are always better than one, because each can help the other when they fall, either literally or figuratively.
But when you’re on your lonesome, it’s often impossible to get up if you fall. Just goes to show that we all need help to live this simple, yet complicated life. As the wisdom of the world says; no man is an island, he can’t do it all himself. But the preacher is not done yet. (smile) He maintains his claim of togetherness being oh so important: ‘Again if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone?’ (Eccl. 4:11) Now that’s a very good question. And if anyone can answer it, please let me know. (smile)
Meanwhile, the Preacher is just warming up to his argument: ‘And if one prevail against him (though one may be overpowered by another), two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.’ (Eccl. 4:12). Mama Mia! What incredible words of wisdom! So life is not completely useless, futile or meaningless after all! That is, if you are in worthwhile company.
As the scholars explain: ‘4:7-12. The toil of the miser is futile, especially when he toils only for himself. On the other hand, two are better than one because they have a good return (vs. 9); they can help each other (vs. 10); they can provide mutual warmth (vs. 11); and they double their strength (or triple it, as in the case of three friends (vs. 12).’
Now, here are some interesting insights on the subject from commentator Tamara Chamberlain, found on the crosswalk.com website. She says: ‘One of the unique things about Ecclesiastes is that its wisdom is beneficial regardless of your belief in God. The wisdom shown in these four verses can be agreed with, even if you don’t consider yourself a follower of Jesus. There are many other non-Christian proverbs that support the wisdom stated in these verses. Proverbs like, “two heads are better than one” or “no man is an island.”
The writer of Ecclesiastes penned these truths thousands of years before the similar proverbs we commonly know today. It truly is amazing to see the way the truths revealed in Scripture are not only true because we find them in the Bible, but because the truth is the truth… The principle of two being better than one can be applied to any partnership or aspect of life. To be alone isn’t necessarily seen as negative, but when you add another person to your life the situation is usually better. One of the keywords in these verses is “better.” The writer is stating that a better way, a more fruitful way to live life is alongside other people…
The statement of two being better than one is true in many different life circumstances all across time… From the very beginning, God created us to be in relationship with others. Not only are we to live in relationship with other people but with God as well. The image is explained in Ecclesiastes 4:12) “A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” The three-strand cord is understood to be unity between yourself, God, and another person.’
Yes friends, it’s all about unity…with God and with each other! And that’s what our world, our church and our lives are sadly lacking in these turbulent and ever so dangerous times. And the only way to fix it is by sincerely attempting to grow that unity between you, me, and God again. And we can begin to close that needless and foolish rift, right now, by coming together and raising up our Monday Morning Battle Hymn to Almighty God, and acknowledging His sovereignty over the universe.
So as one sincere voice: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems.
Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems.
And Father, we pray that you will ease the pain of the many who are suffering from negative situations. Please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’
And as always, the answers to our prayers will be determined by the way we keep the promises we make to Almighty God! Much LOVE!
…it’s only in good relationship with God and man…can our earthly purpose be truly fulfilled…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
12 Sep 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a roof over our heads, about the tough rows I've hoed, be of good cheer, darken its doors, Drinking from my Saucer, eternal gratitude, food on our tables, he leadeth me beside still waters, he maketh me to lie down in green pastures, he restoreth my soul, help me not to grumble, I don't worry about that much, i have overcome the world, I shall not want, I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever, I will fear no evil, I'm already blessed enough, I'm happy anyhow, Javed, left emptyhanded, let not your heart be troubled, LOVE, my cup has overflowed, my cup runneth over, never give up, not as the world giveth, of the shadow of death, one one cocoa full basket, our bounden duty, peace I give to you, sacrificial praise, surely goodness and mercy, that makes me rich enough, the good shepherd, The Lord is my shepherd, though I walk through the valley, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me, to share with others, trials and tribulation, will follow me all the day so my life, worship the Lord
Psalm 23:1. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Sunday’s come again friends, meaning we should all be heading to our respective churches to worship the Lord on His day, that’s provided our churches are open for physical worship. And if not, then we must find some way to worship technologically…but worship we must today. End of story! (smile) My church is finally opening for physical worship today, but it’s left to be seen how many will actually darken its doors, with the pandemic still very active in our community. However, there will also be some online worship, so they will not be left emptyhanded. (smile)
Anyway, today’s song of praise is one titled ‘Drinking From My Saucer.’ And is it ever so appropriate for many of us who have clothing, a roof over our heads, food on our tables, and good friends and family to associate with, since a large portion of our world is sadly lacking in the necessities of life. So let’s sing the Javed version of the song, sing it soulfully, in all sincerity and truth. Let’s be really thankful for all we have, allow the Spirit of Christ to plumb the depths of our hearts and raise up our eternal gratitude, as we raise up our voices to heaven in sacrificial praise.
Altogether now, with true passion. ‘Intro: We Worship You Lord, we worship You with all of our hearts, souls, bodies and minds. (Verse) I’ve Never Made A Fortune, And It’s Probably Too Late Now, Oh but I Don’t Worry About That Much, Cause I’m Happy Anyhow. And As I Go Along Life’s Journey, I’m Reaping Better Than I Sow. I’m Drinking From My Saucer, Because My Cup Has Overflowed.
I haven’t Got A Lot Of Riches, And Sometimes The Going’s Rough, But I’ve Got a friend in Jesus, And That Makes Me Rich Enough. I Thank God For all His Blessings on me, And The Mercies He’s Bestowed. I’m Drinking From My Saucer Because My Cup Has Overflowed. I Remember Times When Things went Wrong, And my Faith Wore Somewhat Thin, But All At Once The Dark Clouds Broke, And the Sun Peeped Through Again…
(Here Javed has a Monologue. He says: ‘You know, right now you may be going through some rough times in your life, but I’m here to encourage you today, not to give up. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP! I pronounce a blessing upon your life, upon your family. You must prosper and be in good health in the name of Jesus. I believe it with all my heart.’
(Verse) So Lord, Help Me Not To Grumble and complain About The Tough Rows That I’ve Hoed. I’m Drinking From My Saucer Because My Cup Has Overflowed. And If God Gives Me Strength And Courage to go on living, When The Way Grows Steep And Rough I’ll Not Ask For Other Blessings Jesus, For I’m Already Blessed Enough,
And May I Never Be Too Busy, To Help Others Bear Their Loads, Then I’ll Keep Drinking From My Saucer Lord, Because My Cup Has Overflowed! Yes, I’ll keep drinking from my saucer Lord, Cause my cup has overflowed, Oh my cup has overflowed…. Yes My cup has overflowed…’
Ah friends, heaven was touched by our sincerity, because we know that many of us are drinking from our saucers because our cups are overflowing, but there are even more of our brethren out there who don’t even have a cup to drink from, much less an overflowing one. It is therefore our bounden duty to share some of our bounty with them, as generously as the Lord has shared with us.
And yes, I know that some of us might not have a whole lot, but it’s in our best interest, and that of our needy brothers and sisters to share what ever little we can. For as my Jamaican people wisely say: ‘one, one cocoa full basket.’ And that’s the gospel truth; every little bit helps!
Oh my people, life is never easy for any of us, because it comes with trials and tribulation; that’s just the nature of the beast. But if we sincerely believe in Jesus, then we will heed His awesome words of promise: ‘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 if those words did not quiet your anxious spirit, then listen to these others as promised by our Lord and Saviour. ‘These things I have 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) And He definitely has my fellow believers, by His amazing resurrection from the dead! So, in Him we can find peace, despite the problems we face in this evil and ungodly world.
And there’s no better way to end today, than with the second most marvellous prayer in the Good Book; these awesome words of Bruh David, that just capture the essence of all that Jesus stands for. So please pray with me: ‘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. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.’ (Ps. 23:1-6)
Oh friends, how can it ever get any better than that eh? NEVER! Even way back then, Bruh David had to admit that his cup was overflowing because he had surrendered His life to the God of his forefathers. Yes people, once you accept Jehovah God as your shepherd, you’ve placed your life in the hands of your Creator, the One who LOVES and looks after you like a shepherd treasures His sheep and only desires the best for them.
So, if you haven’t placed your life in Christ’s hands as yet, please do so today nuh, if you truly want to enjoy the bounty and kindness of The Good Shepherd! Much LOVE!
…to never lack…to enjoy green pastures and still waters…one must join the flock of the Good Shepherd…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
11 Sep 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a camel can't go through the eye of the needle, a rich man to enter heaven, according to His abundant mercy, acts of service, an inheritance incorruptible, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, But God commendeth his love toward us, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, change begins and ends in the mind, don't ever change your mind about believing in Jesus, faith in the One and Only God Jehovah, faith is believing in God and trusting His plan, great expectations of good things to come, hath begotten us again, have faith in God, it takes great faith to live for Jesus, kept by the power of God, lay your burdens down, let go of all worries and anxieties, life keeps moving on, live life to the full, LOVE, obedience to god, our friend Anselm, progress is impossible without change, rally to the cross of Jesus, receive christ as Lord and Saviour, reserved in heaven, shortchanging ourselves, sometimes it pays to have a little faith, stand strong and steadfast in your belief, that fadeth not away, the beautiful sunsets, the Lord was with Joseph, the unexpected storms, through faith unto salvation, time to curtail life, unto a lively hope, while we were yet sinners christ died for us, with God all things are possible, with men this is impossible, without any explicit reason, without Christ we're nothing, your life's a total waste
Mark 11:22. Have faith in God.
Then it was Saturday…and life keeps moving on regardless! Yes friends, despite what we say, do or think, life is moving on, and it will move on, because that’s what it was programmed to do by its omnipotent Creator. And until He decides that it’s time to curtail life, there’s nothing the creation can do to thwart it. So, having made that indisputable fact clear, (smile) let’s go out then and enjoy life nuh, live life to the full, live it abundantly, as Christ Jesus died to have us do. For there’s no sense in trying to change or disrupt stuff over which we have no power.
That means letting go of all our worries, anxieties and negative circumstances. We claim to have faith in the One and Only God Jehovah, and in His Son Jesus Christ, who can enable us to do anything, so please, let’s show more of that faith in our everyday lives nuh. Otherwise, we are making ourselves liars, for in these greatly troubled times, great faith in Almighty God is an absolute necessity. So, as life moves on, let’s move on too, and see what quotes our friend Anselm sent us this past week. Help me to wrap my head around them and make some sense of them. (smile)
And the first one says: ‘Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.’ I guess that’s basically true. You can’t make progress unless you change up stuff in your life, and it sounds logical that if you can’t change your mind you will never change anything, since change begins and ends in the mind. It’s the control centre of our life. But friends, a serious word of caution here, do all the changing you want, but please don’t ever change your mind about believing in Christ Jesus! For without Him, we are nothing!
And I guess our friend Anselm was on a faith kick this week, because all the other quotes deal with some aspect of faith. So hear this one: ‘Make a space in your life for the glorious things you deserve. Have faith.’ Now I don’t know how much we deserve, if anything, but the Good Lord does shower us with glorious stuff, and we do need faith to believe that He will continue doing so. Remember that several times Jesus chided those around Him for having little or no faith, and after cursing the fig tree that had leaves but no fruit, He told the disciples: ‘Have faith in God.’ (Mark 11:22)
But what exactly is faith eh? I found this simple but interesting definition on the pushpay.com/blog website by commentator Allison Sakounthong. She says that ‘Put simply, faith is believing in God and trusting in His plan, even when you don’t understand it and can’t see it. As it applies to our life, however, faith is about more than just a feeling, it’s about living it. We live our faith through obedience to God and acts of service.’ And I think that’s as simple as you can put it. It’s all about believing in God and living for Him, with great expectations of good things in our future.
That’s segues very nicely into this next quote. ‘Patience is not the ability to wait. Patience is to be calm no matter what happens, constantly take action to turn it to positive growth opportunities, and have faith to believe that it will all work out in the end while you are waiting.’ Now that’s all true, but again we have to transfer it to faith and belief in God, since there are a lot of things we cannot make happen on our own, but remember what Jesus said about the camel going through the eye of a needle, as opposed to a rich man entering the kingdom of God? ‘With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.’ (Matt. 19:26)
That’s what we need to believe, with absolutely no doubt whatsoever in our souls, and spirit! Otherwise we will always be lacking something, or even shortchanging ourselves, for it takes great faith to live sincerely for Jesus. Just check out the lives of the great saints before us, like Noah, Abraham, Moses, Job, and our three Bruhs, Joseph, David and Pablo. (smile) And I guess most of you didn’t know that Joseph was a Bruh eh, because I don’t talk about him much. But to be truthful, I believe he was an even bigger example of patience and perseverance than Job. Just look at all he went through as a teenager; from slavery, to prison, in complete innocence.
But you’ll notice that he never whined or complained about his unfair treatment, and that wherever he was, be it in Potiphar’s house, or in prison, the Good Book tells us that ‘the Lord was with Joseph…’ (Gen. 39:2, 22) Yes my people, Bruh Joseph had a dream of great things from God, but the way it actually played out in his life seemed very contrary to the promise. But he never gave up, he stuck it out without complaints, possibly sensing deep down that there was a good and godly reason for all his unwarranted hardship.
And that’s what faith in God means: to stand strong and steadfast in your belief, and keep being godly, although the reality of the situation doesn’t match up with your dream. For God doesn’t move us to high positions unless we go through the low ones faithfully. That brings us to this next quote. ‘Sometimes beautiful things come into our lives out of nowhere. We can’t always understand them, but we must trust in them. I know you want to question everything, but sometimes it pays to just have a little faith.’
Ah mih people, that’s the contrariness of our great God! Sorry, ‘contrariness’ is not the best word nuh, but I just couldn’t think of it at the time of writing. (smile) I basically mean that sometimes God allows us to go through hardship without any explicit reason, but then He also blesses us with beautiful things, also without any explicit reason. But if we truly know who He is, and how He operates, then those unexpected storms or beautiful sunsets won’t bother us, we’ll take them in stride, knowing that He has a good reason and purpose behind all He does, and as He has faithfully promised, eventually He will work it all out for our good.
Then there’s this last quote. ‘Believe in a LOVE that is being stored up for you like an inheritance, and have faith that in this LOVE there is a strength and a blessing so large that you can travel as far as you wish without having to step outside it.’ Oh my fellow saints, we know about that LOVE! We’re talking there about the greatest LOVE EVER! That of our wonderful God for us: The Good Book tells it plainly: ‘But God commendeth (showed) his (own) LOVE toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom. 5:8)
Now how can ever be a LOVE greater than a Father sending a Son to die for ungrateful, disloyal and disobedient people eh? No way! And though that LOVE is visible right now in our earthly lives, it’s also stored up in heaven for us, as Peter tells us. ‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively (living) hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.’ (1 Pet. 1:3-5)
Oh friends, there’s nothing else I can say nuh, except to rally us to the cross of Jesus, for that is where it all begins and ends! And if you don’t come to foot of that wooden cross at some stage of your earthly life, to lay your burdens down and receive Christ, as Lord and Saviour, then your life would have been a total waste! Much LOVE!
…if God could display so much LOVE…mankind ought to display much more faith…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
10 Sep 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a day to rejoice in the Lord, accept Christ as Lord and Saviour, be responsible and stay safe, because he is at my right hand, bring backsliders back to your fold, confusion and havoc of Covid 19, defeat the virus and the unrest, embrace your love and compassion, eternal death and damnation, every day with breath, Friday chant, from him that spoileth him, he hath delivered the soul of the poor, he shall stand at the right hand of the poor, I have set the Lord always before me, I shall not be moved, introduce a whole new flock, it shall rejoice in his salvation, life might be rough and tough, LOVE, my flesh shall rest in hope, my heart is glad, my soul shall be joyful in the Lord, no seeing without believing, omnipotent help, Praise ye the Lord, sing unto the Lord, stand strong and steadfast, suffer the Holy One to see corruption, the example your faithful believers set, the hand of evildoers, the poor and needy, this is the day the Lord has made, thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, through hell and high water, to save him from those that condemn his soul, trusting faith, we can do all things with Christ's help, we will rejoice and be glad in it, wise guidance
Jeremiah 20:13. Sing unto the Lord, praise ye the Lord: for he hath delivered the soul (life) of the poor from the hand of evildoers.
Oh friends, it’s such a beautiful day in God’s universe, and a Friday to boot, meaning that the work week is ending and the weekend is upon us! So let’s have a wonderful day nuh! Life might be somewhat rough and tough, but once we have Jesus planted deep in our hearts and souls, it’s still possible to enjoy ourselves in this evil world. Then let’s declare it nuh: ‘This is the day the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it!’ (Ps. 118:24) And let’s not forget either that through Christ we can do anything He desires of us, because He is the very one that strengthens us, that enables us to do His mighty work down here on earth! Glory be my people!
And that’s why, this morning, we are going to do as Jeremiah did when He was sincerely trying to do the Lord’s work, and his enemies were constantly causing him problems, but he placed both enemies and problems in the mighty hands of the Lord and confidently declared: ‘Sing unto the Lord, praise ye the Lord: for he hath delivered the soul (life) of the poor from the hand of evildoers.’ (Jer. 20:13) Now that’s exactly what the Lord does my brethren, when we place our trust and faith in Him. Yes, there’s no way He will turn away from us, when we call out to Him for help!
And if you don’t believe Jeremiah, then check out these faithful and trusting words of Bruh David from Psalm 109 – titled, ‘A prayer for punishment of the wicked.’ To end the psalm, he confidently cries out: ‘I will greatly praise the Lord with my mouth; yea, I will praise him among the multitude. For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those that condemn his soul.’ (Ps. 109:30-31) And Bruh David had enough dealings with the Lord to know what he was talking about.
That’s why he could also say in Psalm 35 – A prayer for recue from enemies. ‘And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord: for it shall rejoice in his salvation. All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like unto thee which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and needy from him that spoileth (plunders) him.’ (Ps. 35:9-10)
Oh my people, my people, it’s the Lord faithful promise that if we turn to Him in all sincerity and truth that He will never leave nor forsake us. But the only way we can ever find out if He’s faithful is by first putting our faith and trust, surrendering our lives to Him. There’s no seeing without believing in His economy, and we just have to go by the faithful testimony of those who have gone before us and discovered that the Lord is indeed faithful to keep ALL of His promises. We just have to go on faith friends.
And if we can’t find anything better, nothing else to help solve our problems, then it’s simple common sense to give Jesus a try. And I don’t think we can get a better testimony than from Bruh David, who in complete innocence went through hell and high water in the Lord’s service, and even with his own serious mistakes, still enjoyed a blessed life, because he never turned away from the God of his forefathers. And if yuh want to hear real heartfelt testimony, listen to how he ends Psalm 16, as he seeks preservation and blessing.
‘I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest (dwell securely) in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell (the abode of the dead): neither wilt thou suffer (allow) thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.’ (Ps. 16:8-11) Oh friends, you couldn’t get any more confident than that in the Lord’s faithfulness, but it’s all based on Christ Jesus blazing the trail for us.
As Bruh David confidently declared: ‘neither wilt thou suffer (allow) thine Holy One, (that’s Christ), to see corruption.’ Even way back then, though he didn’t see it in reality, in his prophetic nature, he believed in the promise of the Messiah, the coming of Christ to save all those who trusted and believed in Him. But now that we have seen it, the coming of Christ, what are we waiting for eh?
It just shows that God’s promises are faithful and true, and if you don’t take Him up on them, then eventually crapaud going to smoke yuh pipe, you will be eternally separated from Him, suffering eternal death and damnation. And it won’t be a nice time…so I beg us, plead with us, let’s accept Christ as Lord and Saviour nuh, because it’s the only real and true answer to all our problems and worries.
Therefore, let’s go to Him right now in prayer, doing as He advises, casting all our cares upon him, for He cares for us. So, in all sincerity, let’s raise up our Friday Chant to heaven nuh. ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and our many other problems are causing. We can’t seem to fix it on our own Lord, that means we desperately need your help.
Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets. So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible.
And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, and avoid any more serious setbacks. And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set.
Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And don’t forget that positive answers will only come, if we faithfully keep the promises that we make. Have a good day on such a beautiful day! Much LOVE!
…every day with breath in our souls…is a day to rejoice in the Lord…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
09 Sep 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a life free from the ravages of sin, a positive outlook on life, a surge of power, amongst the most scandalous organizations, blind to their sin, cleanseth us from all sin, courage, creativity, curse, do not do the truth, doings consistent with God's character, echoes through our work weary souls, ethical overtones, fellowship with him, forgiveness, free from the bondages of sin, God is light, good friends, great family, he that followeth me, I am the light of the world, in him is no darkness at all, Jesus' blood - antidote against sin, LOVE, make God a liar, negative word, resurrects our hope and faith, see a light at the end of the tunnel, self-control, shall have the light of life, shall not walk in darkness, share our blessings, sin- the cause of man's fall, supernatural wisdom, the blood of Jesus Christ, the servants of righteousness, the servants of sin, the upper echelons of Christ's church, Thursday Blessings, true freedom is freedom from sin, walk in darkness, we lie
John 8:12. I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
Then it was Thursday…and a surge of power echoes through our work weary souls, because tomorrow is Friday, and we can see the end of the work week in sight! Oh my people, have you ever noticed the dichotomy in our souls and spirits when we are tired, but can see a light at the end of the tunnel? That light, dim, though it may be, resurrects the hope and faith in our tired beings. And that’s exactly what Jesus Christ brings to the table when we sincerely accept Him as Lord and Saviour.
Yes friends, Jesus produces a divine light in our lives when we live for Him, a light that we look forward to, have hope and faith in. He said it Himself. ‘I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.’ (John 8:12)
Oh my brethren, what a wonderful promise! That means a life free from the ravages of sin and evil; one where we can breathe easy despite the most enormous problems surrounding us, because we depend on the One in whom there is no darkness, only light, Jesus Christ the bright Morning star. Hear how John further puts it in his first epistle nuh. He says very confidently: ‘This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.’ (1 John 1:5) Wow friends! What a magnificent word and teaching.
And the scholars explain that verse thus: ‘1:5. Again John implies his eyewitness status, having heard of him, that is, Jesus. John passes on to the church teaching he first received from Jesus. Light and darkness here have ethical overtones. John is saying that God is perfect and good; there is no sin nor evil in Him. This will have implications for followers of this God in the following verses.’ And indeed they do, as we listen to the verses that the scholars refer to. ‘If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not do (practice) the truth:’ (1 John 1:6)
And the scholars tell us that ‘1:6. Walk in darkness means walking in sin. John may have had in mind people who claimed to be enjoying a close relationship with God, but whose lives were clearly characterized by sin. Such a state of affairs, John says boldly, is impossible; such persons are lying.’
Now, if John though that such a situation was bad in his day…brother…he ought to experience them today, where numerous supposed Christians are undoubtedly living a life of sin, while pretending to be so holy and righteous. And unfortunately, we find a lot of that in the leadership and upper echelons of Christ’s church, where those who are supposed to be setting a good example are being outed almost every day in some sinful scandal or the other. Unfortunately, Christ’s church is amongst the most scandalous organizations on the earth!
However, as John continues: ‘But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his son cleanseth us from all sin.’ (1 John 1:7) Oh my fellow believers, how wonderful is that eh? When we walk in true light and fellowship, the blood of Christ cleanses us, washes away our sin. Listen to the scholars once more. ‘1:7. “God is light” (vs. 5). To walk in this light, which is to live free from bondage to sin (cf. Rom. 6:18), is to make true communion between believers possible. Jesus’ violent death on the cross, which is what blood signifies, is the initial antidote for and ultimate defense against sin’s presence and power.’
And what a powerful antidote the blood of Jesus truly is my brethren! If it can wash away sin and keep one free from the bondage of sin, then it must indeed be extremely powerful, possibly the most powerful antidote in God’s great universe, since sin is the most powerful and pervasive negative agent around. And being the good spoon feeder that I am, (smile) here is that verse the scholars mention above from Romans, with some context.
Bruh Paul wrote: ‘But God be thanked, that (though) ye were the servants (slaves) of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you (to which you were entrusted). Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.’ (Rom. 6:17-18) Yes friends, like the church at Rome, we heard the doctrine of the gospel of Christ preached and believed. It profoundly affected our lives, as doctrine is supposed to do. And that means we are not free to do whatever we want, but must follow the doctrine, doing stuff that is consistent with God’s character. ‘True freedom is freedom from sin.’
That’s why John persisted in telling us about sin, its reality and remedy. ‘If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (sin). If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.’ (1 John 1:8-9)
John could not have said it any clearer. And nothing has changed from his day. Just like there were some saying that they had no sin back then, we have plenty who are making the same claim today. But that’s a fool’s wisdom, since the Good Book clearly states: ‘For we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God.’ (Rom. 3:23) Sin is what caused, and still causes the ungodliness and depravity in the world. So, if we say that we don’t have sin, then we’re lying. And furthermore, we are also making God a liar, because He says that we have sin.
And Jesus taught us that if we owned up to our sin, we could be forgiven, ‘while those who were blind to their sin would be left mired in it (cf. John 9:41).’ And here is that verse, where Jesus said to the Pharisees in answer to the question ‘Are we blind also?’ ‘If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.’ (John 9:40-41) Count on Jesus to tie up the Pharisees with His divine logic! (smile)
So friends, let’s admit our sin nuh, and wisely turn to Christ for forgiveness, for He doesn’t only dole out forgiveness but also incredible blessings when we sincerely try to live for Him. Now, let’s declare just a handful of them (smile) from what we call our Thursday Blessings just to show how truly wonderful our heavenly Father and Saviour are.
As one strong and sincere 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 every day! Amen!’
Now let’s go out and share those blessings just as generously with others as Jesus shared them with us. That’s what He expects of us! Much LOVE!
…sin…the cause of man’s fall…forgiveness…the divine act that makes him rise again…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
08 Sep 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a no-brainer, a nuclear holocaust, according to his promise, after centuries of war greed and lust, after hatred hostility jealousy and abuse, any more pain, as a bride adorned for her husband, behold I make all things new, cast into the lake of fire, choice between heaven and hell, endure to the end, He is faithful that promised, heaven wins out every time, I saw a new heaven and a new earth, I'm so glad to be alive, incentive to live godly lives, indulgences shamelessly practiced, loneliness and despair, long-suffering to us-ward, look for new heavens and a new earth, LOVE, murder and martyrdom, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, negative happenings, neither sorrow, New Jerusalem, nor crying, not looking back at the past, not willing that any should perish, One Year Book of Bible promises, Only Goodness, our sinful behaviour, please hurry a little, Ruth Harms Calkin, salvation, showers of blessings, showers of flooding, that all should come to repentance, the breath of life, the day of the Lord, the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the former things are passed away, the heavens shall pass away, the holy city, the Lord is not slack concerning His promise, the tabernacle of god is with men, there shall be no more death, there was no more sea, these words are faithful and true, to a glorious future with Jesus, tragedy and catastrophe, wait on God's timing, Wednesday Wail, wherein dwelleth righteousness, whimpering cries from starving children, will come like a thief in the night
2 Peter 3:13. Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
Well, my area finally got our deluge of heavenly water yesterday evening right through till early this morning. Let’s hope that for most of us it was showers of blessings, rather than showers of flooding, which has recently been happening to so many communities around the world.
Ah friends, our world is currently beset by numerous problems, which we seem unable to rise above, but I do have some good news for us this Wednesday morning in early September. Obviously it’s based on the wondrous promises of our great God. Please read with me this eye-opening and heart assuring poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. This poem is aptly titled ‘Only Goodness.’
So let’s read: ‘What glorious words of wonder Come from the Apostle Peter. He wrote, “But we are looking forward To God’s promise of new heavens And a new earth afterwards Where there will be only goodness.” O dear God “Where there will be only goodness.” After centuries of war, greed, and lust After indulgences shamelessly practiced After hatred, hostility Jealousy and abuse. Murder and martyrdom Crime and cruelty Curses and rebellion. After whimpering cries from starving children After tragedy and catastrophe Loneliness and despair At last…at long last “There will be only goodness.” O dear Lord Your promise is Your guarantee But please hurry a little!’
Yes my people, after many ages of pain, anguish and all the negative happenings caused by our sinful behaviour, one day, the Lord has promised to eradicate it all, and replace it with pure goodness…yes, nothing else but goodness! The problem though is we have to wait on His timing, and waiting is not one of those things we do well in this modern have it when you desire it society. And yes, it is difficult to put up with all the negatives that still bombard us, even when we are doing the right thing, no wonder we want the Lord to hurry up and bring that time of ‘Only Goodness.’
Please note though folks, that every day we cry out to the Lord to heal us, heal our land, heal everything, but we persist in our sinful ways, in total abomination and disregard to the Lord’s desires. However, the Lord has faithfully promised to remove all the negatives from this world in His own time. And this passage of scripture from 2 Peter explains it as best as mortal man can.
He says: ‘The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.’ (2 Pet. 3:9) That’s certainly true, as the scholars explain: ‘3:9. God is not willing that any should perish clearly expresses desire for the salvation of all who will trust in Him. Salvation is equated here with repentance.’
And Peter continues: ‘But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation (conduct) and godliness. Looking for and hasting (hastening) unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.’ (2 Pet. 3:10-13)
Ah mih people, if we believe in the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, then do we with all faithfulness and hope look forward to His promises! Because he is faithful that promised! Now hear some explanations from the scholars. ‘3:10-13. The day of the Lord here refers to the return of Christ in judgement, not the Rapture, since this day results in final apocalyptic judgement. The heavens that shall pass away with a great noise are the atmospheric heavens. The elements shall melt with fervent heat certainly could refer to a nuclear holocaust. Thus, Peter urges his readers to look beyond this present world to the new heavens and a new earth characterized by righteousness.’
And we certainly should do that my brethren, because it’s what our ever-faithful God promised. Listen to John from the book of Revelation, as it was revealed to him. ‘And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful’ (Rev. 21:1-5)
What a wonderful time to look forward to my fellow saints! Wow! Just imagine it nuh; no more pain, sorrow, crying nor death, no more negative stuff, no more darkness nor night, but only day, and living in the very presence, the light of our great and wonderful God, being forever His people, and He our God! And though scholars seem to differ on whether the earth and heavens shall be completely destroyed and replaced by a completely new set, or they will just be refurbished, it really doesn’t matter nuh, because we will finally be with our God in paradise, for wherever He is, is paradise!
And all of that ought to give us great incentive to live godly and holy lives, so that we can be judged worthy to be amongst those living in the new heaven and the new earth, and not cast into the lake of fire, reserved for Satan and his followers. So friends, I’ve laid it our all there for us. It’s up to every individual now to decide where they want to spend eternity. There are only two options, we’ll call them heaven and hell for easy referral, and it all depends on us, on the earthly choices we make.
Now, for those of us who have decided to choose the straight and narrow path that leads through Jesus to our heavenly Father, let’s go home declaring (awright!) our Wednesday Wail, letting all and sundry know our wonderful position in Christ Jesus.
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!’
Remember though, that if we endure to the end, the future will be even more glorious than we can even ask or imagine! That’s how faithful and wonderful our God is to those who truly LOVE, reverence, and cling to Him in true faith! Much LOVE!
…the choice between heaven and hell…that’s a no brainer…for heaven wins out every time…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
07 Sep 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: acquire a true reverence and love for God, all that do wickedly, all the proud, and share His love with the world, ashes under the soles of thy feet, don't have to hurry, don't have to worry, fat like stall fed calves, God is a keeper of His promises, grow up as calves of the stall, I am the beloved of god, I am the Lord I change not, in god's eyes, in sincerity and truth, living an ever-increasing sinful lifestyle, lock stock and barrel, LOVE, not what I do, not what I have, not what people say about me, our chickens are now coming home to roost, our worst nightmare, separated from God, shall be stubble, shall leave them neither root nor branch, shall the Sun of righteousness arise, summer's done, that shall burn like and oven, the day cometh, the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, the one constant in our ever-changing lives, therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed, time to turn back to God, tread down the wicked, trust my friend Jesus, Tuesday Mantra, turn from our evil ways, unto you that fear my name, walk the earth in shame and disgrace, with healing in his wings, worship and reverence God
Malachi 3:6. For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
Well, the summer’s done now: school’s open once more, adults back to work, whatever can open is open. But unfortunately, many of our problems are still there; the virus and its ever-expanding family, the strife, the natural disasters and their consequent fall out…and all the other negative activity that’s choosing this particular time to come against us! And sadly, we don’t seem to be handling the situation properly, for there’s no unity, no agreement on how to go about solving our problems, thus our efforts are unsuccessful.
But friends, let’s be thankful for the one constant in our everchanging lives and world: that’s Jehovah God, our Creator and Provider! Let’s be thankful that He doesn’t change…and it’s not me who says so, but the Lord Himself. Yes, He declared it long ago, through the prophet Malachi. ‘For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.’ (Mal. 3:6) And it’s only through His awesome grace, mercy and great LOVE for us that we have not already been destroyed, since we have delighted in moving away from His ordinances and living an ever-increasing sinful and evil lifestyle.
And I believe that our chickens are now coming home to roost in these strange, unexpected and trying times. And if we ever hope to be rid of our many problems, or even lessen them significantly, then it’s absolutely time for us to turn back to the God of our forefathers, for He is the ONLY One who can help us solve them. The sad part is that many of us are very aware of that fact, but yet we hem and haw and find all sorts of excuses not to turn back to Almighty God, to worship and reverence Him in sincerity and truth.
I don’t know what we are afraid of. Are we putting the foolish and short-term pleasures of this wicked world above the eternal and everlasting benefits and security of our souls? It certainly seems so, since many of us, in this time of tribulation, are turning away from God, rather than turning towards Him, the God of our salvation. Now listen to some more interesting words from the prophet Malachi, re the coming day of the Lord, which the scholars tell us refers to the time of the Great Tribulation, ‘which is in view as the birth pangs for the millennial kingdom.’
Malachi declares: ‘For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.’ (Mal. 4:1) Now I think that says quite clearly that the proud and wicked will suffer irreparable harm when the Lord comes. But for some reason, many of us believe it when the Lord says that He will do good, but then erroneously think that because the Lord is good and LOVING and all that, He won’t really destroy the proud and the wicked.
Friends, that’s a rather foolish theory, because you’ve seen down through history how God has indeed destroyed the wicked. Just look at what He did to the Israelites, His chosen people, in the wilderness when they began complaining and behaving foolishly, hating the manna that they were being divinely given and wishing they back in bondage in Egypt. The Good Book says: ‘And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.’ (Num. 21:6)
Yes my people, whatever the Lord says He will do, He will do, be it good or bad in our eyes, for there is always good reason for His actions. He has been warning us since the beginning of the Good Book that the wicked will be destroyed and the faithful saved, but we obviously don’t take His warnings seriously otherwise our world would never be as sinful and evil as it currently is.
And we obviously have lost a lot of our brain power, or logical thinking as we have evolved down through the years, for the Israelites when they found themselves in hard times because of their sinful behaviour, quickly repented and returned to the God of their forefathers, like they did with that snake attack. They ran to Moses and repented and asked him to pray for them, and the Lord told Moses to make a brass serpent and hang it upon a pole, and whoever got bit by a snake could look upon the serpent and live.’ (Num. 21:7-9)
But we brainiacs of this modern world, think we invented ourselves and we don’t need God, thus we try to push Him out of our society. Well good luck with that! It won’t ever happen! Because the Lord won’t allow it to. Why can’t we learn from the fall of the very fool we follow in our wicked and sinful behaviour nuh? Lucifer the archangel had great hopes of becoming El Numero Uno and overthrowing Almighty God his Creator. So, he and some other foolish heavenly creations rebelled. And what happened to them? They were ungraciously kicked out of heaven to walk the earth in shame and disgrace and to eventually be destroyed.
But still, knowing the lying, deceitful and wicked nature of those rebellious creations, we listen to them and follow them, going against the dictates of our Creator. And yet, we don’t think that we will be eventually destroyed, just like them, if we don’t turn from our evil ways before the end of our mortal lives. Hn!
The problem here my people, is that we don’t know when our mortal lives will end. It can happen at any time, and very often the grim reaper gives us absolutely no warning. That makes it necessary for us to be always prepared. For if we die without accepting Jesus as our Lord and Saviour we will end up separated from God, our worst nightmare. Only thing is, it won’t be a nightmare then, but a stark and frightening reality!
However, if we wisely turn back to the Lord, listen to His promise through Malachi. ‘But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth and grow up as calves of the stall (grow up fat like stall fed calves). And ye shall tread down (trample) the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts.’ (Mal. 4:2-3)
And He did it friends, when He sent Jesus Christ (the Sun of righteousness, the Messiah) to earth to die in propitiation for our sins. So please believe that God is a keeper of His promises, be they in our favour or not, and let’s wise up and realize that the many problems we and our world face will not be solved or even lessened until we once again acquire a true reverence and LOVE for Almighty God!
Now, for those of us who have already done that, let’s go home declaring (yeahhh!!!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting the whole world know who and whose we are, who we belong to lock, stock and barrel. (smile) Altogether now: ‘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 made those significant statements, it now behooves us to go out and share that awesome friendship and LOVE of Jesus with others who don’t know Him. Much LOVE!
…these times are…the beginning of sorrows…(Matt. 24:8)
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
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