17 Sep 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Advocate, belief, believed, Bruh Paul prophet Joel, compatible truths, contradictory., courage, deliverance, disciples, divine sovereignty, drama, embodiment of the Word, Emmanuel, encouraging scripture, eternal life, fallen world, focusing on Jesus, furthering of the gospel, glad tidings, good news of Jesus' gospel, good things, heard, high priest, holy spirit, how beautiful are the feet, indwell all believers, Jerusalem, Jesus Christ, knowledge, live our lives in faith, Love our God, make disciples of all nations, mount Zion, Nobody comes to the Father but through Jesus, our Lord and Saviour, paradoxical, Pentecost day, Peter, poignant, powerful, preacher, prince of peace, principles, radio, Redeemer, responsibility, salvation, salvation is of the Lord, shall be saved, Spread God's Word, standing strong in faith, technological age, television, the gospel of peace, the Great Commission, the Life, the one and only superstar, the Truth, the Way, those who preach, truth, universal proclamation of the gospel, whoever shall call upon the Lord, wireless communication
Romans 10:13. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Halfway home Friends, yes we halfway home this Wednesday morning! So please, just hang in there by standing strong in faith and steadfastly focusing on our Lord and Saviour, the Prince of Peace, our Emmanuel, our Advocate, our High Priest and Great Redeemer!
And we all know that to be Jesus Christ – the ONE and ONLY SUPERSTAR in this great universe; the ONE who looks after all our needs!
So let’s take courage and continue to sincerely LOVE our God; faithfully LIVE our lives as He desires, and SPREAD His true and holy Word, so that others can hear it and also come to salvation and eternal life.
And my brethren, just in case you’ve forgotten, or are simply taking it for granted, please remember that Jesus is the magnificent embodiment of the Word, the Way, the Truth and the Life! NOBODY comes to the Father but THROUGH HIM!
Now having set the stage, let’s get on with the drama, (smile) our Bit: ‘For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
Ah Friends, what a very poignant, powerful and encouraging scripture!
There, Bruh Paul is quoting the prophet Joel, just as Peter does in his most moving sermon on the day of Pentecost, (Acts 2:21) when the Holy Spirit came to earth to indwell ALL believers from that time henceforth.
Joel says it thus: ‘And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered (saved): for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance (salvation), as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call. (Joel 2:32)
Now here’s a note the scholars’ have posted, re our Bit. ’10:13. Whosoever: As chapter 9 stressed divine sovereignty in salvation, this passage stresses the human responsibility. Scripture does not view these two principles as paradoxical or contradictory, but as mutually compatible truths.’
And why should they be incompatible eh, since salvation is of, or comes from the Lord, while accessing it is a human responsibility?
Anyway my fellow believers, though it’s all well and good to have people call upon God’s name and be saved, there are also a few equally important questions, as Bruh Paul so rightly points out: ‘How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?
And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!’ (Rom.10:14-15)
My sentiments exactly! (smile) Yes Friends, people can only call on the name of the Lord to save them after they have heard the good news of Jesus’ gospel preached. And that entails a preacher explaining it to them, which therefore means that we need preachers to go out to those who have not heard the Word and deliver it to them.
For remember, that is the Great Commission that Jesus gave to the disciples, and consequently us, before He left this earth and ascended back to heaven.
‘Go ye therefore, and teach (make disciples of) all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt.28:19-20)
So my brethren, it’s our bounden duty to teach those around us the Word, and send out others to all nations to broadcast the good news of Jesus, because that’s the only way they will ever hear it, and thus have the most wonderful option of salvation and eternal life.
Fortunately for us, in this technological age, it doesn’t depend entirely on sending out preachers, but we can transmit the Word all over the world by means of radio, television, and all the new-fangled do-dads of wireless communication. The world has never been ripe like it is right now for us to get the Word out my people.
And we’ll close with some important info from the scholars re verses 14-15 above. ‘10:14-15. In presenting the universal proclamation of the gospel, Paul presents the reasons why a universal proclamation is necessary: First, because the call must be preceded by faith; second, because faith must be preceded by hearing.
This shows that knowledge is essential to belief. Faith must have a valid content; third, because hearing requires a preacher; fourth because preaching requires being sent. The One who sends is God. Salvation is completely from God.’
Words of indisputable truth my people! So today let’s contemplate what part each of us has to play in the furthering of the gospel, whether it be close to home or far away, whether it be through personal appearances or by technological means.
But remember, we are all supposed to be, and even more importantly, act as disciples of Christ, which means being involved in spreading the good news of Jesus, wherever, and to whomever we have the opportunity.
So let’s get with it nuh, for Jesus is depending on us to spread His Word, so that not even ONE soul will be lost, and that ALL will come to salvation and eternal life. Much LOVE!
…in this fallen world…there’s no greater…or more important news that needs to be universally proclaimed…than the gospel of Jesus Christ…
16 Sep 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all praise and thanks to God, allergies, awesome, better late than never, blessings, boggles my imagination, born again, born of water and the Spirit, brought men to christ, Bruh Paul's conversion, by faith in christ Jesus, Calvary, children of God, christ jesus, church at Corinth, comforting, compliance with God's word, condemn the sinner, conversion, covenant, curse of the law, Damascus, declared righteous, divinely intended purpose, endowed us with physical life, enter into the kingdom of god, eternal life, ever so faithful and kind, ever-Loving, evil, externalism, faith, Galatians, generous, glorious, Glory Halleujah, God's Spirit, good, good measure, gung ho, healing, helping, holy, holy spirit, internalism, jehovah god, Jesus Christ, just, justified, keeping our focus on God, Law of Moses, learning, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, magnanimous, manifestations, medication, mercies, minister of the New Testament, miracles, Mosaic covenant, Nicodemus, our sufficency is of God, precious blood of Jesus christ, reconciled, redeemed, righteousness., runny nose, schoolmaster, sleep inducing, spiritual blessings, Stephen, sufficient of ourselves, teaching, that which is born of the flesh, that which is born of the spirit, the flesh profits nothing, the Holy Spirit, the letter kills, the spirit gives life, Triune God, true believer, truth, ultimate wisdom, understanding of the scripture, wisdom, words of jesus, worker bee
John 6:63. It is the spirit that quickneth (gives life); the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
Aye Friends, the ole fella’s in a bit of a rough shape this Tuesday morning. Last night my allergies, or the cold, or some similar malady had me sneezing and sniffling with a runny nose thrown in for good measure. (smile)
So I took some relief medication, which though it eased up the nasal situation, it was also sleep inducing, which therefore made it somewhat difficult to get up at an early hour. But as they say, better late than never! (smile)
And the ole fella’s up now, gung ho and ready to go; not a hundred percent fit, but feeling much better than when I went to bed last night, or rather early this morning. (smile) All praise and thanks to our ever-Loving, healing and comforting God!
Ah my people, when I consider all the blessings and mercies that our magnanimous and generous God daily bestows on us, it just boggles my imagination and fills my heart, body, soul and mind with the urge to greatly praise Him! He is ever so faithful and kind…
But I don’t really need to tell you all that eh, because if you’re a true believer, you will already have discovered that by the way He operates in your own life.
And all God’s children gave out a loud and grateful: ‘Glory Hallelujah! All thanks and praise be to Jehovah God, who has redeemed us from sin, and reconciled us to Himself, through the precious blood of His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, that was shed on Calvary’s hill for our benefit!’
And isn’t that a most glorious and awesome truth my brethren? It surely is!
Now let’s have a look at some more wise and truthful words, words of Jesus, in our Bit. ‘It is the spirit that quickeneth (gives life); the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.’
And we saw yesterday where it was God’s Spirit that actually endowed us with physical life. (Gen.2:7) And that Bruh Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus, as well as Stephen’s wisdom and miracles were figurative manifestations of the way the Holy Spirit works in our lives.
I guess we can compare the Holy Spirit to the worker bee in a hive; He is the one who carries out the actual work or deeds in our Triune God.
Hear how Bruh Paul puts it to the church at Corinth: ‘Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; Who also hath made us able (sufficient as) ministers of the new testament (covenant)’ not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.’ (2 Cor.3:5-6)
Words of absolute truth my brethren!
And the scholars explain that last verse thus: ‘3:6. The new testament (lit. New Covenant) is both new in time (not being inaugurated until Christ – Matt.26:28; Luke 22:7-23; 1 Cor.11:25; Heb.8:8) and new in quality (providing better spiritual blessings than did the old Mosaic covenant).
Letter, but of the spirit: This expression corresponds to the thought of verse 3 contrasting “ink” with the “Spirit.” The contrast is between the externalism inherent in the Old Covenant and the internalism inherent in the New Covenant.
The letter killeth: Since certain Jews in the assembly at Corinth were concerned with Paul’s defection from Moses’ law, Paul here explains his position. The best the law could do was condemn the sinner.
It is not here implied that the law of Moses was evil. On the contrary, it is holy, just, and good (Rom.7:12). This can be asserted because it brought men to the end of themselves to Christ (Gal.3:24).’
Oh my people, I sincerely hope that gives us a better understanding of the scripture, because that’s what we’re all about with the Bit; learning, teaching, helping to understand God’s Word and keeping our focus on Him.
And please check out the scriptures mentioned in the scholars’ explanation, because they offer a wealth of information. I just did, and consequently was inspired to quote the last scripture reference, that from Galatians.
‘Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified (declared righteous) by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a school-master (tutor), For ye are all the children (sons) of God by faith in Christ Jesus.’ (Gal.3:24-26)
Yes Friends, as the scholars say: ‘3:25. After one’s conversion to Christ, he is no longer under the curse of the law, as it has fulfilled its divinely intended purpose.’ That is, bringing us to the point where we become children of God, through faith in Jesus Christ.
Oh, I know I digressed there for a moment, but I just thought it necessary to interject those verses so that we could come to a better understanding of Bruh Paul’s words. And we’ll close with some more awesome words from Jesus, re the second part of our Bit: ‘the flesh profiteth nothing.’
Listen to Him expound to Nicodemus: ‘Verily, verily I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
The wind bloweth where it listeth (wishes); and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.’ (John 3:5-8)
More truth of the awesome, indisputable variety my people!
Now let’s take a few moments to ponder all that we have spoken about today, then try, with the help of God obviously, to make our lives better and brighter by bringing them into compliance with God’s Word and the wonderful plan He has for each human life He has created. That is the ultimate wisdom of the universe! Much LOVE!
…oh what a magnificent blessing it is…to have the Holy Spirit of God dwell within us…to have Him continually lead and guide us in righteousness…to have Him strengthen us with true faith and trust in Almighty God…then finally bring us to eternal life with our wonderful Lord and Saviour…Jesus Christ…
15 Sep 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a living soul, adrenalin, aura of love, awesome power of the Holy Spirit, breathed into his nostrils, Bruh Paul, children of God, complaing, confidence, conspiracy, do the work of Jesus, eternal life, fear, feeling vulnerable, fellowship, further God's glorious kingdom, Glory Halleujah, God formed man of dust, god moves in mysterious ways, hard for thee to kick against the pricks, heirs of God, holy spirit, humble servants, invincible, Jesus Christ, lead and guide, lord god almighty, LOVE, miserable, Monday Morniing Battle Hymn, quaking in our boots, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, Saul, shackles of the flesh, sons of God, spirit of adoption, spirit of bondage, spiritual armour, spirituality, steadfast faith, sure conquerors, the apostle Stephen, the breath of life, the Creation Story, the flesh profits nothing, the highest calling, the spirit gives life, uncertainty, ungodly world, wonders and miracles
John 6:63. It is the spirit that quickneth (gives life); the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
Awright Friends, it’s mighty Monday! The day that constantly has us quaking in our boots, feeling vulnerable, miserable, whiny, complaining and disgusted with the working life. But you know what? We have a power that’s mightier, much much mightier than Monday; the power of the Holy Spirit that indwells each of us. ‘Glory Hallelujah!’ And when we allow that Holy Spirit to lead and guide us, we can overcome anything that comes against us.
As Bruh Paul says so eloquently to the church at Rome: ‘For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the Sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are children of God: and if children, the heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified together.’ (Rom.8:14-17)
So my fellow believers, let’s throw off the shackles of the flesh that only bring fear and uncertainty, and instead, as children and heirs of God, allow the Spirit of God to rule in us this chilly mid-September morn. And if we had planned properly yesterday, that wouldn’t be too hard to do today. (smile) But since so many of us did not do so, to help us get up to speed this morning, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with much gusto, in total harmony.
All together now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
That was beautiful Friends! So beautiful that it brought tears of joy to Jesus’ eyes. Wow!
Now let’s keep the adrenalin from the power of the Holy Spirit going full blast, and get ourselves out into the work-day world and diligently do the work that Jesus has assigned us to do. For as Jesus says in our Bit: ‘It is the spirit that quickeneth (gives life); the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.’
Yes my brethren, it is the Spirit of God that promotes life, both literally and figuratively. And we have the best literal example in the Creation Story, where the Good Book declares: ‘And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.’ (Gen.2:7)
Oh what a mighty force is the Spirit of our God my people! For it is by His Spirit that we were first imbued with physical life. That brings us to a couple of figurative examples of the Spirit’s power. In Acts, when the apostle Stephen was doing all sorts of wonders and miracles, the Jews couldn’t keep up with him. ‘And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake.’ (Acts 6:10)
So they did the age old thing; set up a conspiracy against him with false witnesses and eventually had him stoned to death, with the consent of Bruh Paul, who was then known and feared as Saul, the destroyer and persecutor of Christians.
And how wonderful and marvellous is our God, whose sense of humour and drama are unmatchable, for it is the same Holy Spirit that worked on Saul to turn him from a destroyer of Christians to the greatest evangelist of all time. Hn! How ironic eh.
We all know the story of how on his way to Damascus to seek out and persecute more Christians, “suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: and he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou Lord?
And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks (goads). And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.’ (Acts 9:3-6)
And Bruh Paul got up from the ground blind, and had to be led to Damascus by his men. ‘And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.’ (Acts 6:9)
Yes Friends, our God does move in mysterious ways through the power of His Holy Spirit, His works to perform!
And remember that same Spirit that was in Bruh Paul is also in us. And we know what wonderful and powerful work the Spirit led him to do. So in like manner, let’s allow the Holy Spirit of God that dwells within us to lead and guide us to do great works in Jesus’ name today nuh, for that is the highest calling to which we can attain. Much LOVE!
…we never know to what heights we may attain…when God’s Spirit is leading the way…
14 Sep 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Aaronic benediction, almighty god, blessings, cause his face to shine on us, christ jesus, Christ's spirit, come together as one body in Jesus, comfort, created the universe and all therein, deliver me, evil, faith, favour, fellowship, first day of the week, focus on Almighty God, forgiveness, gladness, glorify, God be merciful unto us, healing, joy, Lord and Saviour, lord of hosts, loving god, magnify, mercies, omnipotent, oppression of man, prayer for restoration, prayer of thy servant, psalm 119, psalm 67, psalm 80, rejuvenated, rested, restore us O god, rivers of water, Sabbath, save me, sincerity and truth, sing God's praises, strife-filled world, Sunday, teach me thy statutes, thanks and gratitude, thanksgiving, the Lord bless thee, the Lord's Day, the Most High God jehovah, trust, ungodly, we shall be saved, wisdom, words to live by, worship God
Psalm 67:1. God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah.
Well Friends, it’s the Lord’s Day, the Sabbath! The day on which He rested and rejuvenated Himself after creating the universe and all therein. Now it’s time for us to do the same. So let’s get ourselves to the Lord’s sanctuary today and fellowship with other believers; sing His praises, worship Him in sincerity and truth, giving Him the thanks and gratitude He so richly deserves.
Let there be joy and gladness in our hearts as we come together as one body in Christ Jesus, to glorify and magnify the Most High God Jehovah and receive His blessings, mercies, forgiveness, comfort, healing and strength to carry on in faith in this ungodly, strife-filled and evil world!
And as we celebrate this first day of the week with our focus on Almighty God, remember that the other days of the week will fall into easy lock-step with it, and enable us to have a better week than we would have had without that rejuvenation of Christ’s Spirit within us. The first day sets the tone for those that follow.
That brings us to our Bit: ‘God be merciful unto us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah.’
Now yesterday we looked at what Psalm 67, the national psalm of thanksgiving itself said, today we’ll look at some other scriptures that invoke the same kind of blessed attitude.
And we’ll begin with the heartfelt words of Bruh David from Psalm 31, superscripted – In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust. ‘But I trusted in thee, O Lord: I said, Thou art my God. My times are in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me. Make thy face to shine upon thy servant: save me for thy mercies’ sake.’ (Ps. 31:14-16)
Words of true faith my people! Then in Psalm 80, a prayer for restoration, the psalmist Asaph feels so strongly about his belief that he repeats it three times in the psalm. ‘Turn us again (restore us), O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.’ (Ps.80:3, 7, 19)
And that is exactly what happens when our omnipotent and LOVING God causes His face to shine upon us my brethren…we are saved! No ifs, ands, or buts about it!
And from that great expose on God’s word, Psalm 119, comes these words: ‘Deliver (direct) me from the oppression of man: so will I keep thy precepts. Make thy face to shine upon thy servant; and teach me thy statutes. Rivers of waters run down mine yes, because they (men) keep not thy law.’ (Ps.119:134-136)
Ah mih people, more entreaty for the Lord of hosts to shine His wonderful countenance upon His humble servants! That means there must be something sacred and powerful when the Lord shines His face upon His human creation. For even that mighty man of God, Daniel, invoked that in his prayer when he prayed for his people Israel, during the time of their captivity in Babylon.
‘Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause (be gracious) thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary (temple) that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake.’ (Dan.9:17) Words to live by my fellow believers, words to certainly live by!
And here is where it all began, from the Aaronic benediction; that decreed by the Lord Himself, way back when the Israelites were making their way through the wilderness from slavery in Egypt to prosperity in the Promised Land.
‘And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them, The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: The Lord make his face to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee (look on you with favour), and give thee peace. And they shall put (invoke) my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them.’ (Num.6:22-27)
There we have it my people; the Lord’s blessing upon His people Israel, and subsequently, with the coming of Jesus, for all those who believe in Him and honour Him as their Lord and Saviour.
There’s not much more to be said nuh Friends, except to advise us to go out and fellowship with other believers, get encouraged, rejuvenated and have the Lord’s countenance, His favour shine on us. That’s wisdom of the highest order! Much LOVE!
…to be blessed…to have the Lord’s radiance shine on us…oh what a privilege…oh what a joy…
P.S. No complaints today Friends, because it short and sweet! (smile) Much LOVE!
13 Sep 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all the earth shall fear God, almighty god, always on the go, anger, anxiety, at the beck and call, ball is in our court, bless us, blessings, busy with work, Calvary, confidence, down time, dress, education, Elohim, evil, faithful, feeding frenzy, frustration, generous father, glorify the mediocre, God be merciful unto us, godly attention, gratefulness, greedy business people, harbinger, heavenly wisdom, high standards, in the swing of things, Jesus Christ, judge the people righteously, Labour Day, let the nations be glad, let the people praise thee, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, loving, low standards, may God cause his face to shine on us, modern conveniences, money, morals, no separation between work home and play, obdeience, old rugged cross, only one superstar, our imagination playing tricks on us, patient, pedestals, perception, reconciled to God, resentment, rudeness, salvation, saving health, seamless continuum, Selah, selfishness, sincerity, sing for joy, sit and relax, social happenings, societies flourish, spare time, technological innovations, technology monster, tension, thanskgiving, trust, truth, ungodly world, wisdom, wonderful opportunity, work ethic, worry, Yahweh
Psalm 67:1. God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah.
Aye Friends, do you realize that we’re already in the middle of September…and it was just last week we celebrated Labour Day? (smile) Ah brother! The days they surely seem to be passing rather quickly. I don’t know if time is actually speeding up, or it’s simply our perception that it’s going by faster; just our imagination playing tricks on us. (smile)
If I were to guess though, I’d say that it’s our imagination playing tricks on us. Our days have become so busy with work and looking after home and family and the myriad of things those tasks entail, including the presence of worry and anxiety, that the time just speeds away on us before we even realize what’s really happening.
Even a generation ago, our lives weren’t so busy. What’s happened eh? Unlike what we were led to expect and believe, in spite of all the technological innovations and modern conveniences, we seem to have lees spare time, less down time where we can just sit and relax. It seems like we’re always on the go.
Now there’s no separation between work, home and play, they all seem to have morphed into one seamless continuum. With our wonderful technological devices we now work everywhere; at home, at work and at play. We’re now constantly at the beck and call of the technology monster and its feeding frenzy. If we’re not constantly in touch with the social happenings then we feel lost and behind the times, not in the swing of things.
And sadly, that feeling is perpetrated by the greedy business people who are just out to grab whatever they can from us, without caring even one iota about our situations. It’s all about the money. That’s a big part of the reason for the unnecessary tension, frustration, resentment, anger, selfishness and rudeness in our current society.
Our standards, including morals, work ethic, dress, education and otherwise have fallen so low, that now we glorify as superior, of superstar status, what was once considered mediocre, and even of no account. And yet we expect to flourish.
How foolish of us Friends, for societies only flourish when truly high standards are the norm, not the exception. As standards fall, so do the societies themselves. And if you don’t believe me, just check out man’s history that’s littered with so many examples.
And before we go any further my people, let me remind us that there’s ONLY ONE SUPERSTAR in this evil, ungodly world – that’s our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! And don’t you forget it! Stop buying into the nonsense that the world is selling us; putting people on pedestals who can’t even run their lives properly.
Anyway, that’s enough pontification from me for today. (smile) Let’s see what our Bit has to say: ‘God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah.’
And yuh better believe my brethren that we desperately need such godly attention today, right now, if we’re ever going to turn this wicked and ungodly society around. As the psalmist so wisely and truthfully continues: ‘That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health (salvation) among all nations.’ (Ps.67:2)
But for that to happen, the psalmist tells us: ‘Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah.
Let all the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. Then shall the earth yield her increase (give her produce); and God, even our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.’ (Ps.67:3-7)
Yes Friends, without God’s blessings, we’re doomed, and we won’t get God’s blessings unless and until we praise and worship Him in faithful obedience and trust.
And according to the scholars: ‘Psalm 67. This national psalm of thanksgiving expresses the gratefulness of the people to their God and their confidence in His continued blessings. The point of the psalm seems to be that God’s blessing on Israel is only a harbinger of divine blessings for the entire world.
This universal outlook is revealed not only by the explicit statement of the final verse, but by the exclusive preference of the general word for God, Elohim, to the complete exclusion of the personal name of Israel’s God, Yahweh.’
So you can see Friends, from early on, God planned to have the entire world, His entire creation, bowing at His feet, praising and worshipping Him, while He showers them with untold blessings and mercies. Unfortunately though, that plan has gone somewhat awry, because of our rebellious and disobedient nature.
But He’s such a LOVING, generous and patient Father, that He gave us a second chance by sending Jesus to die on the old rugged cross at Calvary, so that we could be reconciled to Him. What a marvellous Deity!
That means the ball is now in our court, my people. It’s now up to us to embrace the lifeline that He’s thrown out to us through His son Jesus. Please, let’s show heavenly wisdom and grab hold of the wonderful opportunity that has been presented to us.
And now, may the Lord bless and keep us and cause His face to shine upon us as we praise and worship Him in all truth and sincerity. Much LOVE!
…as the praise and worship of Almighty God increases…so will the blessings and mercies that are showered down upon earth…
12 Sep 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fool's wisdom, a future and a hope, accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour, advice, all the right places, anxiety, ask and it shall be given to you, ask for help, ask god for help, believers, blessings, bread, calamity, come up over our problems, confidence, deflate like a balloon, evil, faith, faithfully, fellowship, fervent prayer, fish, frenzy, frequent prayer, fret, Friday chant, friends, fun, furthering God's glorious kingdom, generous help, Glory Halleujah, God's plan for our lives, hello there mih lovelies, hope, hot air, if any of you lack wisdom, in Jesus' name, indisputable truth, Jesus, knock and it shall be opened, LOVE, nature of the human animal, no excuse for failure, not an easy task, peace, perseverance, political outlook, poor economic situation, prayer, pressure, problems, promise of Almighty God, refreshed in soul body and mind, rejuvenate ourselves, relaxation, renewed, sanctified, search for me with all your heart, seek and you shall find, serpent, serve and worship God sincerely, spiritual success, standing steadfast and strong for Jesus, stone, strain, stress, stressful and anxious society, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, Thank God the weekend is here, thanks for getting me through another week of work, the Lord of the universe, the weekend, things of the world, thoughts of peace, troubled times, trust, truth, wisdom, without reproach, worry, zenith
James 1:5. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not (without reproach); and it shall be given him.
Well hello there mih lovelies! The day we’ve all been waiting for has finally arrived… it’s Friday!
And I hear all sorts of ‘Glory Hallelujahs; TGIF! Thank God is Friday! Don’t know what I’d do if I had to work another day nuh! Thank God the weekend is finally here and I can get some rest!’
Ah Friends, it’s certainly amusing, and somewhat instructive, how we suddenly deflate like a balloon come Friday. All the hot air, stress, strain and anxiety seem to just suddenly dwindle at the thought of a couple days off.
But I guess that’s the nature of the human animal in conjunction with the stressful and anxious society in which we now live. Confidence also seems to be at an all time low, with people worried about jobs, families and their livelihoods in general, due to the poor economic and political outlook today.
But my people please remember that as believers, we’ve been sanctified, made a people apart, where we don’t have to fret and worry because Jesus, the Lord of the universe is looking out for us. So let’s show our great faith and trust in Him by standing steadfast and strong nuh, despite the frenzy that’s surrounding us.
And to help us do that, let’s chant our Friday Chant with feeling, so that we’ll be enabled to come up over our problems this weekend. All together now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Yeh mih breddren, in these crazy and troubled times we need to rejuvenate ourselves frequently so that we can handle the enormous pressure that is coming at us each and every day.
It’s definitely not an easy task, but as I said above, as believers, we have Jesus, the Lord of the universe leading and guiding our every step, and when problems arise we ought to have the confidence to go to him in prayer and ask for help.
As our Bit rightly and wisely tells us: ‘If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not (without reproach); and it shall be given him.’
That’s indisputable truth, my Friends! That’s the beauty of being seriously involved with Jesus, making Him your Lord and Saviour, of surrendering your very life to Him and letting Him put in place the wonderful plan He has for your life.
Remember what He says, the promise He makes in Jeremiah: ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you an expected end (a future and a hope). (Jer.29:11)
Yes my people, our wonderful God only has wonderful thoughts and plans towards us! Why else would He shower us with new mercies and blessings everyday eh? But having said that, it is now our responsibility to live up to our promise, to serve and worship Him faithfully, so that we can acquire all that He has in store for us.
Our Bit instructs us to ask of God, who gives generously to all without reproach. And that’s wonderful advice my Friends. Jesus also instructed us to do the same thing when He lived here on earth with us.
‘Ask and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?’ (Matt.7:7-11)
Oh mih people, mih people, how can we refute or ignore such wisdom eh? We’d be very foolish to do so! Unfortunately however, a lot of us still do that foolishness, lured by the glimmer and glamour of the things of the world. But as we keep saying my brethren, that’s a fool’s wisdom!
Now check out this info from the scholars: ‘7:7-10. The three imperatives ask, seek, and knock are in the present tense of the original language, suggesting both perseverance and frequent prayer.
Fervent and continual prayer is to be made on behalf of those for whom we are concerned. God promises to answer all genuine prayer (v.8). Everything we need for spiritual success has been promised to us. God leaves us no excuse for failure.’
What more can I say eh Friends? Not a whole lot, because we have already been given everything we need to succeed in this world, we just have reach out with faith and prayer and take hold of it.
And we’ll close with this poignant promise of Almighty God, through Jeremiah, on the topic of coming to Him in sincere prayer. ‘Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.’ (Jer.29:12-13)
Oh Friends, it doesn’t get any better than that! So today, let’s take that promise of our most faithful God to heart and diligently seek Him, truly search for Him with all our hearts, so that we may be comforted, consoled, lead and guided successfully in all our endeavours. Now that’s indeed wisdom at its zenith! Much LOVE!
…the only way to truly find God…is to keep looking for Him…in all the right places…
11 Sep 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a double-minded man is unstable, accept what I cannot change, almighty god, anchor, ask in faith, beacon on a hill, blanket promise of wisdom, blessings, christianity, colourless, communication with our heavenly Father, courage, courage to change what I can, Cousin Sol, dark and dreary world, diecern between good and bad, evil powers, fallen world, focus, forgetting who brought us to the party, forgiving, friends, generous, gleaned, God gives to all men liberally, God's will, humble confidence, if any of you lack wisdom, in death, insects singing their praise, jehovah god, jump on the bandwagon, late night commune, let him ask of god, life's trials, lik a wave of the sea driven with the wind, live our faith, LOVE, Love our God, lust for things of the world, magnanimous god, majesty, modus operandi, Mother Nature, never-ending love, not doubting, operate successfully, peace, power, sacred, senseless killing, serenity, serve and worship, smile, spread His Word, standards, stick-to-itiveness, stipulations, taking shelter from the stormy weather, the Serenity Prayer, the wisdom to know the difference, the Word of god, tossed and turned, trust in God, understanding heart, vacillating, values, waste precious time, weak, wealth, wisdom, wishy-washy, without reproach, World Trade Centre
James 1:5. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not (without reproach); and it shall be given him.
Aye Friends, I don’t know if this early going to bed thing is going to work nuh. Chuh! I tried going to bed even earlier last night, but all to no avail. I just tossed and turned, kept waking up every hour or so, and still got up late …tired too, because it’s only in the late hours of the morning that I fell into a half decent sleep pattern.
So don’t say I didn’t try. (smile) At least when I go to bed late, I get a solid few hours of sleep, and not the tossing and turning kind I got last night.
And my people you’ll be proud of the ole fella and happy to know that yesterday, at long last, I paid my mother Molly her yearly visit at her last resting place here on earth. The duchess and I braved the cloudy skies and travelled to the northeastern part of the Greater Toronto Area to where she’s buried.
It was also a good excuse to get out of the house since they were doing some belated maintenance work on the water mains in my area, and thus there was no water between 9 a.m and 5 p.m.
We had a good, though short visit, about half an hour, because of the overcast skies. She obviously forgave her wonderful son for not coming to visit her before. But what else did you expect eh? (smile) In death she was just as generous and forgiving as in life.
Luckily the weather held until we got back home. But around 5 o’clock the rain began, then the wind started huffing and puffing too. And they both carried on all night long. The rain seems to have eased off now, but the wind is still out there harassing the poor trees.
Consequently, in my late night commune on my porch, it definitely wasn’t a calm and peaceful Mother Nature. You couldn’t even hear the insects singing their praise, if they were even singing, and not taking shelter from the stormy weather. But we communed anyway. (smile)
In light of all that, I decided that we needed to remember and recite the Serenity Prayer. So please pray with me. ‘Oh gracious God, please grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the Courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Amen.’
Yes Friends, in these very trying, confusing and evil times, it is of the utmost importance to have the wisdom to know good from bad, as well as what you can change and what you cannot change, because a lot of us waste precious time trying to change stuff and people that we simply cannot change.
That wisdom will certainly enhance our choices and improve our lifestyle. But the only place that kind of wisdom is available is from Almighty God. For as James so wisely says in our Bit: ‘If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not (without reproach); and it shall be given him.’
Yes my people, true wisdom is only obtained through communication with our heavenly Father!
The scholars though point out: ‘1:5. This verse is not a blanket promise of wisdom for any situation. In the context of life’s trials, it probably speaks of a believer being granted (1) wisdom as to the reason for his trials and (2) wisdom to endure them.’
In any case, whenever, and for whatever reason we need true wisdom, it can ONLY be obtained from Almighty God!
However, there are some stipulations for obtaining it, as James continues: ‘But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering (not doubting). For he that wavereth (doubts) is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.’ (James 1:6-8)
Now that is where our faith truly comes in my brethren! We need to have a strong, secure and constant faith and trust in God, not a wish-washy, sometimes on, sometimes off kind of faith, like so many of us have today. One minute we’re driven by lust for the things of the world, then we turn to God, then we turn back to the things of the world, and keep on vacillating without any real or strong anchor.
That is not the kind of faith that God answers my Friends! But that, unfortunately, is the state of our world today! We don’t stick with anything for long. As soon as some new fad or toy comes along, we jump on the bandwagon, quickly forgetting what and who had brought us to the party.
And sadly my brethren, that’s a big part of the reason why Christianity is so weak and colourless today; we’ve lost our focus and stick-to-itiveness qualities. Nothing is sacred anymore, not even Jehovah God. But my fellow believers, we cannot operate successfully in an already fallen world without proper standards and values, those gleaned from the Word of God.
Now let’s look at our Bit. The first part says: ‘If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God…’
And we have the perfect example of that in Cousin Sol’s response to God’s offer of what he desired. ‘Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?’ (1 Kin.3:9)
Yes Friends, Cousin Sol realized that he needed lots of wisdom to rule such a populous and stubborn, stiff-necked people as Israel. And God was so pleased with his request, that He gave him the wisdom that he’d asked for, as well as wealth and power and majesty like no man before or after him!
Wow! That’s the magnanimous kind of God we serve and worship my people! When we come to him in humble confidence, He will grant our wishes, in His own time and manner, provided that they fall into line with His overall plan for our lives. For remember that it is His WILL that must be done, both in heaven and on earth!
And we’ll close today with that very important thought uppermost in our minds, for the rest of stuff I wanted to say will definitely make the Bit too long. (smile)
So my people, let’s go forth today with the blessings of God surrounding us, His wisdom and peace permeating our hearts, minds, souls and bodies, and His wonderful, never-ending LOVE shining through us like a beacon on a hill, lighting up our dark and dreary world, as He so eagerly desires. Much LOVE!
…let’s truly LOVE our God…sincerely LIVE our Faith…and diligently SPREAD His Word…
P.S. Oh Friends, in our prayers today, let’s remember those who were sacrificed for us in the horrible attack on the World Trade Centre on this day, thirteen years ago. Unfortunately, indiscriminate and senseless killing has now become the modus operandi of the evil powers on the earth. Oh, when will it all end eh? Much LOVE!
10 Sep 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fool's wisdom, a royal dwelling, Abednego, almighty god, Babylon, baying at the moon, beautiful, by the might of my power, communing with God, compromising, conscience, Daniel, deviate, egotism, egotistical ways, emptying your soul, fall and winter mode, fate was sealed in heaven, fiery furnace, foolishly basking, for the honour of my majesty, God abases those that walk in pride, God does as He wills, God's dominion is from generation to generation, God's kingdom is everlasting, God's mighty and marvellous works, God's ways are justice, God's works are truth, harmonic sounds of nature, heathen, heathen king, history of Israel, How great are God's signs, I blessed the most High, interpretation of dreams, intriguing, jehovah god, king nebuchadnezzar, lifted up mine eyes to heaven, LOVE, majesty, mental illness, Meshach, Mother Nature, Nebuchadnezzar, none can restrain God's hand, normal lifestyle, Old Testament, pay close attention to god's reasoning, pay enough attention, peace be multiplied unto you, praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, priased and honoured him that lives for ever, pride, quiet time, reason returned unto me, receptive God, relaxation, ruler of heaven and earth, selfish, sense of peace, shadrach, signs and wonders, singing God's praises, slinky cat, steals the Lord's thunder, sumptuous palace, super full moon, testimony, the army of heaven, the High God, the most High rules in the kingdom of men, warning, wisdom
Daniel 4:30. The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for for the house of the kingdom (a royal dwelling) by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?
Aye Friends, did you see the big, super full moon last night? It was just so big and beautiful! Like two normal full moons, placed one on top of the other, with the bottom one ensconced about a third of the way into the one on top. It’s the second consecutive month I’ve seen it, but I have no idea of its significance, if any. It surely looks beautiful and intriguing though! (smile)
And talking about intriguing, last night I made sure that I went to bed at an earlier than usual hour, so that I could also get up earlier. Why? Because though I claim to be on a summer hiatus and am not killing myself, or compromising my normal lifestyle to get the Bit our early, my conscience bothers me when it’s late.
Just imagine that eh! Oh, I’m so sweet and conscientious! (smile) But it’s just true. I like it to be available when my readers get up, though realistically, that’s not always possible. Not to worry though, because I still got in all my required activities last night, I just began earlier than usual. (smile)
That included my quiet time out on my porch, quietly communing with Mother Nature and our Creator in the peaceful hours of the night, where it’s just the insects singing their praises to Almighty God, with a slight breeze gently rustling the leaves of the tree, which unfortunately in my area are beginning to go into their fall and winter mode.
Oh I also saw my nocturnal friend last night; a long, slim and slinky black, brown and white cat. He usually slinks silently by along the walkway at the bottom of the porch steps without paying me any notice sitting at the top.
And it’s always amusing to see it take the same route all the time; around to the right side of a big tree in the yard, across the sidewalk to the right side of the stop sign, then diagonally over to the far side of the junction where the two streets meet. And it comes back exactly the same way, doesn’t deviate at all.
Last night though, possibly because I was standing up baying at the big, beautiful full moon when it finally broke through the cloud cover, it didn’t come by the walkway, just stood up in the road and looked curiously at me for a few moments, before quietly heading off down the other side of the street.
And yuh telling me that quiet time out on my porch with Mother Nature and our wonderful Creator isn’t beneficial!
Oh Friends, you all must try it sometime, especially those of you who have constant warm weather all year round. It just brings a quiet sense of peace and relaxation as you sit and listen to the harmonic sounds of nature, while emptying your soul of any problems that are currently bothering you to a closely listening and very receptive God.
It doesn’t get any better than that Friends! And having testified more than I intended to, (smile) let’s see what space and time we can find for our Bit: ‘The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom (a royal dwelling) by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?’
Now yesterday, we saw that though Daniel warned king Nebuchadnezzar about the sickness he’d face if he continued in his prideful and egotistic way, Neb still carried on in the same vein. And a year later, while walking through his sumptuous palace, before those words could even come out of his mouth, his fate was sealed in heaven.
Now my people, what I want us to pay close attention to is God’s reasoning behind Neb’s fate. It’s quoted several times: ‘until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.’ (Dan.4:32b)
Oh my brethren, that is something that mankind today, foolishly basking in their selfish and egotistical ways also need to learn. Jehovah God is, was, and will always be the ruler of heaven and earth, and He gives whatever He desires, to whom ever He desires! He gives, and He takes away!
And if you read the Old Testament, you’ll see that God had Nebuchadnezzar, a heathen king, playing a major role in the history of Israel. And the sad part is that Neb had oodles of opportunity to see God’s mighty and marvellous works through Daniel’s correct interpretation of his dreams and also the faith of his three buddies, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace incident.
But like so many of us today, he just didn’t pay enough attention to God’s movement in his life. However, like many of us, at the end of the day, he was singing God’s praise. Let’s hear some of his testimony.
Before telling the story of his vision of the tree, he proudly proclaims: ‘Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you. I thought it good to show the signs and wonders that the high God hath wrought toward me.
How great are his signs! And how mighty are his wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation.’ (Dan.4:1-3)
What a moving testimony from a heathen king Friends! But it gets better. After his mental illness he staunchly declares: ‘And at the end of the days (time) I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes to heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation:
And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed (considered) as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay (restrain) his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?
At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honour and brightness (splendour) returned unto me; and my counsellors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in (restored to) my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me.
Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgement (justice); and those that walk in pride he is able to abase (humble).’ (Dan.4:34-37)
Ah Friends, if a heathen king could declare such a moving testimony, it behooves us to pay close attention to the pride and egotism in our own behaviour, because it’s a fool’s wisdom to think that we can do much without God’s help!
And if it’s one thing the Lord won’t stand for, as we saw in the passage from Isaiah yesterday (Is.42:8), is us, or anybody else stealing His glory. And if we foolishly try to do it, then we will pay a hefty price like Nebuchadnezzar did.
So let’s take king Neb’s words to heart and behave in a suitable manner nuh, so that the Lord can raise us up, instead of abasing and humbling us. That’s wisdom of the highest order! Much LOVE!
…who shall steal the Lord’s thunder and get away with it eh…NOBODY…
09 Sep 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a halfway moment, a haughty spirit before a fall, Babylon, blessings, boantrophy, break off thy sins, breath of life, by the might of my power, change our minds, Creator, Daniel, decision making, decree of the most High, dream interpretation, dreams, drive thee from men, earthly days, eat grass as oxen, evil pride, exile, for the honour of my majesty, god moves in mysterious ways, graven images, hair was grown like eagles' feathers, hands of Almighty God, humiliating experience, I am the Lord, iniquities, Israelites, king nebuchadnezzar, Lord God Jehovah, LOVE, master of the magicians, mental illness, mistakes, mortal man, my glory will I not give to another, nails like birds' claws, Nebuchadnezzar, neither my praise to graven images, omnipotent god, Pearl S. Buck, possible outcomes, power of God, praise, pride, pride goes before destruction, provider, ramifications, righteousness., rough and tumble world, showing mercy to the poor, Spirit of the Holy God, split second moment, stump of the tree, the kingdom has been taken from thee, the most High rules in the kingdom of men, thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, tranquility, visions, warnings, wet thee with the dew of heaven, wisdom, zoantrophy
Daniel 4:30. The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for for the house of the kingdom (a royal dwelling) by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?
Oh Friends, it doesn’t seem as though my late night endeavours are blending well with my early morning rising to write the Bit nuh. What a momentous discovery! (smile) But it’s all good. Sometimes some things just have to be done late at night. Let’s just hope that they are the exception rather than the rule.
I’m still enjoying my semi-summer weather though, which usually ends up with an early morning spell on my front porch, communing with the peaceful moments of nature and my wonderful Creator. So it’s not all fun and frolic. (smile)
Now here’s an interesting quote from Pearl S. Buck (1892-1973) American writer and novelist. ‘Every great mistake has a halfway moment, a split second when it can be recalled and perhaps remedied.’
And that’s quite true. Decision making is often a process, rather than just a split second moment, and just before pulling the trigger there’s usually a point where we can change our minds. The problem though is that once we make up our minds on something, it’s often difficult to change them, despite warnings of the dangers ahead.
That means we need to take our time, try and not rush the decision making process without properly considering the ramifications of all the possible outcomes. That brings us to our Bit, a perfect example of what we’re talking about.
‘The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of my kingdom (a royal dwelling) by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?’
And we all know the story of Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king who besieged Israel and carried the Israelites into exile in Babylon. This particular episode deals with his dream about a huge, powerful, stately and useful tree. (Dan.4:10-16) His astrologers, magicians and soothsayers though couldn’t interpret the dream, so he called in Daniel to do it.
And it’s interesting to see how king Neb perceives Daniel, from prior experience with his dream interpretation. (Dan.2) ‘But at last Daniel came before me, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods (Spirit of the Holy God):
And before him I told the dream saying, O Belteshazzar, master (chief) of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods (Spirit of the Holy God) is in thee, and no secret troubleth thee, tell (explain to) me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and the interpretation thereof.’ (Dan.4:8-9)
However, after being told the dream, Daniel was troubled by the interpretation he received from God. The king saw this and said to him, ‘Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof, trouble thee. Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, (if only) the dream be to (concerned) them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to (concerned) thine enemies.’ (Dan.4:19)
Then Daniel goes on to tell the king that the dream heralded his sickness, mental illness. (Dan. 4:20-23) The essence of the vision was thus: ‘This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the most High, which is come upon my lord the king:
That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times (years) shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.
And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure (assured) unto thee, after that thou shalt have known (come to know) that the heavens (heaven, God) do rule.’ (Dan.4:24-26)
Now to most of us, hopefully such an interpretation would have made us think twice about our current lifestyle. And Daniel even warns king Neb about it. ‘Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness (by being righteous), and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening (prolonging) of thy tranquility.’ (Dan.4:27)
But Neb fails to take Daniel’s advice, and a year later, while walking in his sumptuous palace, he foolishly declares the words of our Bit.
And the Good Book tells us: ‘While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed (has been taken) from thee.
And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times (years) shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.
The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws.” (Dan.4:31-33)
Ah mih people, yuh see how our omnipotent God does move in mysterious ways, His power and glory to protect!
Neb unwisely felt that his glory was all his doing. But the Lord God Jehovah showed him differently. The same thing happens to us daily Friends; we mistake the power and blessings of Almighty God for our power. But as Cousin Sol so wisely informs us: ‘Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall (stumbling). (Prov.16:18)
So please, let’s pay careful attention to the lustful and evil pride that tends to rise up in us when we are on top of the world and wisely realize that it’s not our power and might that got us there, but that of our Creator and Provider. For remember what He so vividly states in Isaiah 42: ‘I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.’ (Is.42:8) Nuff said!
And we’ll close with some significant information from the scholars re Neb’s illness.’4:33. Two important questions arise form this incident: (1) Could it happen to a man? and (2) Could it have happened to Nebuchadnezzar? The answer to both questions is Yes. There is a mental illness known as zoantrophy in which a man thinks and acts like an animal. It is also called boantrophy, more specifically when a man thinks of himself as an ox.
In answer to the second question, this illness is not mentioned in Nebuchadnezzar’s annals, but one would not expect such a humiliating experience to be chronicled. On the other hand, his long reign of 43 years (605-562 B.C.) is more than long enough to include the lengthy sickness.’
So my brethren, let’s take all of this to heart as we make our journey through this rough and tumble world, always remembering where the real power of the universe lies…in the hands of Almighty God! Now that is truly heavenly wisdom! Much LOVE!
…wherefore does mortal man think he’s so powerful…when he does not even have power over the breath of his life or length of his earthly days…
08 Sep 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a quick pick me up, alive and kicking, aura of love, Bruh Paul, Christian life, comfortable living, complaning, computers, detrimental behaviour, diligence, evil, family, fervent in spirit, glorious kingdom, grounded in God, heritage, holy spirit, homelessness, humble servants, jehovah god, Jesus, Jesus Christ, laziness, lest thou come to poverty, LOVE, love not sleep, loves pleasure, luxurious living, meet the enemy in battle, moaning and groaning, Monday Morniing Battle Hymn, no weapon formed against you shall prosper, Oh Lord God Almighty, open thine eyes, physical movement, Proverbs, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, righteousness., salvation, sedentary lifestyle, seek ye first the kingdom of God, servants of the lord, serving the Lord, short term remedy, sit down never says get up, slothful, spiritual armour, spirituality, spiritually dead, steadfast faith, TGIM! Thank God it's Monday!, thou shalt be satisfied with bread, Timothy, trust in God, ungodly world, wealth, widow, wisdom, worship
Proverbs 20:13. LOVE not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread.
Oh Friends, it’s Monday, that wonderful first day of the work week! And some industrious, well prepared believers began singing: ‘It’s Monday, it’s Monday; time to go to work and make some money, spread some good cheer around and show them Jesus! TGIM! Thank God it’s Monday… and I’m alive and kicking!’
Yes Friends, those individuals were obviously well prepared to meet the coming work week, because their Sunday revolved mainly around God, family, rest and worship. Their spiritual selves have been made ready to deal with whatever comes against them in the next few days.
It’s not they won’t have problems, but since they grounded themselves in God on the first day, that grounding will enable them to rise up over those problems with assurance that Jehovah God is working with them.
Therefore: ‘No weapon that is formed against them shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against them in judgement they shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of (from) me, saith the Lord.’ (Is.54:17)
Unfortunately though my brethren, many of us did not take the time to prepare ourselves positively yesterday, so today we’re a mess; tired, moaning and groaning and complaining about having to go to work. However, there is a short tem remedy, a quick pick me up for that – our Monday Morning Battle Hymn.
So let’s get into it with all the gusto we can muster. As one earthly and harmonious choir now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein!
We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Ah mih people, that sounded somewhat hoarse and scratchy, (smile) but nonetheless it served its purpose, jump starting our engines, and getting our adrenalin flowing. So now let’s make the most of it and get a godly move on nuh.
That brings us to our Bit, a rather appropriate one for what we’ve talked about so far. ‘LOVE not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread.’
Truer words have seldom been spoken my fellow believers! Or as the old people would say; ‘sit down never says get up.’ If we are lazy and not industrious, like to lie around and not work, then we shall indeed come to poverty; that could be financially or in our relationships, even our health and our basic attitude towards life.
And it certainly does not reflect a godly or righteous lifestyle! Remember Jesus is all about doing constructive and productive stuff, and His followers ought to be of the same ilk.
This modern day society though, with its wealth and comfortable living, with appliances and gadgets to do many things that humans had to do by hand until recently, certainly lends itself to a more lazy and sluggish lifestyle.
Just think about the proliferation of computers and other communication toys, where we spend more time sitting on our fannies playing with them than physically moving around, like we did before their introduction. That lack of physical movement has obviously contributed to our sedentary lifestyle and thus to the epidemic of obesity that’s currently plaguing our Western world.
What did Bruh Paul tell the church at Rome on the subject? ‘Be kindly affectioned (affectionate) one to another with brotherly LOVE; in honour preferring (giving preference to) one another; Not slothful in business (lacking diligence); fervent in spirit; serving the Lord.’ (Rom.12:10-11)
Yes my people, believers ought to be diligent in all walks of life!
Meanwhile Cousin Sol reiterates our Bit in a slightly different form in the following chapter of Proverbs. ‘He that LOVETH pleasure, shall be a poor man: he that LOVETH wine and oil shall not be rich.’ (Prov.21:17)
It’s hard to argue with those statements my Friends, as we see them lived and acted out in reality and truth in our society all the time. If we concentrate on laziness, pleasure and generally unproductive behaviour, eventually we’ll be brought to nought. And believe me, that’s not a very nice or pleasant situation to find oneself in, since it can lead to things like homelessness and other detrimental behaviour.
And we’ll end with this tidbit from Bruh Paul to Timothy re widows. ‘Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate (left alone), trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day. But she that liveth in pleasure (indulgence) is dead while she liveth.’ (1 Tim.5:5-6)
And the scholars explain those verses thus: ‘5:5. A widow deserving of church aid is desolate (has no family to care for her); trusteth in God (lives the Christian life faithfully); continueth in supplications (constantly prays for her support and for the church’s ministry).
5:6. This may be paraphrased, “But the widow who indulges in luxurious living, though physically alive, is spiritually dead.”
Yuh see Friends, the very real danger of living a lazy, riotous, pleasure-filled, unproductive life will eventually bring us to our knees, with the very real possibility of killing us, both literally and figuratively.
That’s not the lifestyle ordained by Jesus for His followers, so please let’s smarten up nuh, let’s get serious about living a true and faithful life for, and in Jesus, because that’s the highest standard of wisdom there is. Much LOVE!
…seek ye first …the kingdom of God and His righteousness…
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