20 Feb 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: above freezing, Acts, Antioch, apostles, availed themselves, Barnabas, bear it alone, blessed day, Bruh Paul, busy lives, Christ's contention, cold temps, come to seek and save, come unto me, conformity, consider, David, descendants, disciples, disobeying warnings, earthly duty, easy yoke, exalted with His right hand, faith, fellow believers, first time in ages, flooding, forgiveness of sins, fraught with danger, gentle, give you rest, glory hallelujah, God of our fathers, God's help, God's promise, good news, great burden, great invitation, grin and bear it, hanged ona tree, heavy laden, heavy rains, high priest, Holy Ghost, humble, incarcerated, invitation, Israel, Jesse, Jesus Christ, Jesus is here to help, Jewish Council, judges, kings, Kish, labour, learn from me, lifted off your shoulders, light burden, live our faith, lost, LOVE, Love God, man after mine own heart, meditate, melting snow, obedience, obey god rather than men, ponder, preaching Christ crucified, precipitation, Prince and Saviour, raised up Jesus, repentance, rest for your souls, Saul, seed, set free, short reprieve, snowstorms, Son of man, Spread God's Word, testimony, Thank the Lord, the Good Book, trust, truth, truthful words, unpredictable weather, walking and talking with Jesus, warned, winter, wisdom, without fear, witnesses, world of darkness, yoke
Luke 19:10. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
Oh Friends, at long last it seems we’ll be getting a short reprieve from the bitterly cold day time temperatures we’ve been having. Thank the Lord! Our temps are supposed to rise above the freezing mark, be on the plus side for the first time in what seems like ages.
But even that good news of a few days of warmer, no less cold temps, is fraught with danger, as there are warnings of heavy rainfall in the offing, and combined with melting snow, flooding is a serious possibility. Ah Lord eh! It seems that our weather no longer goes about its business smoothly and with some conformity to what we expect, but is just jumping here there and everywhere, as it pleases.
Just look at the recent terrible and highly abnormal snowstorms in the U.S, and the disastrous flooding over the pond in Britain, where some places have been under water since early December. Mama Mia! And we’ve already had our big ice storms and heavy snowfall, so all in all it has been a winter of much precipitation, and there’s still a few weeks of it left to endure.
And if, as it’s widely believed, that our actions are mostly to blame for the greatly fluctuating and unpredictable weather patterns, then all we can do right now is grin and bear it.
But I also have some great news my people; we don’t have to bear it alone, for Jesus is here to help us do so! In the first place, as He says in our Bit: ‘For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.’ And we were definitely lost in a world of darkness before His coming.
But even after saving us there, He still holds out to us the Great Invitation: ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of (from) me; for I am meek and lowly in heart (gentle and humble): and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matt.11:28-30)
What truthful and highly appreciative words my brethren! And for all those who have not yet availed themselves of that wonderful invitation, I’d strongly advise that you do so as soon as possible, in fact right now, for when you do, you will truly feel as though a great burden has been lifted off your shoulders.
Anyway, let’s turn to the remainder of scriptures which supports Christ’s contention that He came to earth to save us, so that we can finish that topic today. And the first passage comes from Acts, where the apostles are again before the high priest and Jewish Council, for deliberately disobeying the warnings to stop preaching Christ crucified. This, after they had already been incarcerated, warned and set free.
‘Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are his witnesses of those things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.’ (Acts 5:29-32)
Oh Friends, that’s the testimony of Jesus’ disciples! It must have taken a lot of guts to get up before the Jewish rulers and speak so disdainfully of them, but they could not have denied the things they saw and experienced in the company of Jesus. And on their truth, we can base our faith without fear, and with awesome trust.
Now hear Bruh Paul, later on when Barnabas and himself were at Antioch. He’s talking about how Israel moved from being ruled by judges to kings. ‘And afterward they (the Israelites) desired a king: and God gave unto them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of (for) forty years.
And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill all my will. Of this man’s seed (descendants) hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus.’ (Acts 13:21-23)
Oh my fellow believers, there can be no doubt re that line of reasoning, for it’s all recorded right there in the Good Book!
And we’ll end there for today, since inclusion of the other scriptures will definitely make the Bit too long, and I do have a sincere appreciation for your busy lives. (smile)
But please, let’s ponder, consider and meditate upon all that we’ve said today, then with God’s help, let’s try to bring our lives into obedience with His will, for that’s wisdom at its zenith. Much LOVE!
…what’s our earthly duty…to LOVE Our God…LIVE Our Faith…and SPREAD His Holy Word…
P.S. On editing the Bit, I found it much shorter than I originally thought. Glory Hallelujah! (smile) Much LOVE my fellow believers in Christ! And please have a blessed day, walking and talking with our Saviour!
19 Feb 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a Saviour is born, abode in heaven, all right physically, angels, apostles, be foolish, believe not, chief cornerstone, Christ the Lord, Christmas, crummy earth, darkness, depend on, derail, develop a good attitude, disobedient creation, eternal death, eternity, ever-loving Lord and Saviour, every aspect of life, exaggeration, exile, exile in Babylon, faith and trust, faithful God, far-sighted, fear not, fellow believers, fulfill our god-given tasks, giving us the tools to do the job, God's promises, good frame of mind, good tidings, great joy, guiding light, heart-warming, high priest, humanitarian purpose, Jerusalem, Jesus Christ, Jewish people, judge not, judge the world, kernel of an idea, kin to lying, latter years, light of the world, like a million dollars, lost, LOVE, love and revere God, mankind, Maytones, merciful, mighty god, modus operandi, mountain goat, navel string is buried, never giving us more than we can bear, never leave or forsake us, no easy task, no stone left unturned, one way, ought to grow, Passover, Peter, physical aspects of the body, physical capabilities, please the Father, positive effect, preaching Christ crucified, promote His Holy Church, read God's word, relationship with heaven, repatriation, responsible, righteousness., rough around the edges, rough row to hoe, sacrifice, salvation, serious effort, shepherds, sinless soul, smile, son of god, stand steadfast and strong, straight from the heart, surrender your will, testimonial, Thanks be to God, the city of David, the Lord's planted us, the mind, tired, to be obedient, to seek and to save, to work in sync., Tobago, under the weather, undergo some sacrifice, ungrateful pagans, unsaved, walk in obedience, wayward, whole spectrum, wonder of wonders, words of truth, work diligently, work out all things for our good, Zion Land
Luke 19:10. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
Oh Friends, oh Friends, last night I went to bed feeling somewhat tired and under the weather, but wonder of wonders, I got up this morning feeling like a million dollars! Wow! All thanks be to our great and wonderful God!
Well… let’s not exaggerate nuh, for exaggeration is kin to lying… Let’s say like three quarter million. (smile) But the important thing is that I’m up at a decent hour, in a good frame of mind, and feeling all right physically, though obviously not as good as I felt back in Tobago.
Oh mih breddren, what amazed me most in Tobago was how physically strong and fit I felt after about the first week, as compared to how I feel up here in the cold north country. The sea, the sand, salt, sex and rum does have a most positive effect on the physical aspects of the body, (smile)and we all know that once the body is feeling fine, the mind will operate on a higher level, since they’ve been programmed to work in sync.
To tell how physically strong the ole fella felt, I took my cane with me, because sometimes I need it going up steep inclines, but from the day I put it up against the dressing table in the bedroom, I never touched it until the day I was ready to come home, for I was walking up steps, hills and other steep inclines like a mountain goat. Now now, we’re only talking about the goat’s physical capabilities, not his other characteristics. (smile)
But then again, it’s important for us to realize that wherever the Lord’s currently planted us, that’s where we ought to grow. And though my dreams are focused on spending my latter years in Tobago, where my navel string is buried, I am also determined to do my best up here as an exile in the cold.
The Lord promised the Jewish people that after a sojourn of exile in Babylon, He would return them to Jerusalem, and He did. Now I’m believing for the same thing; after forty something years of exile in the new age Babylon, I’m hoping, praying and believing for repatriation to Tobago. Oh Friends, please pray that the Lord will be merciful unto the ole fella and grant him that wish.
Anyhow, for all you beautiful people who are feeling a little, or even plenty rough around the edges this morning, please take heart, if I can develop a good attitude and stand steadfast and strong with our Creator, then so can you. But you have to make a serious effort to be obedient, to be willing to undergo some sacrifice.
We all talk about becoming like Jesus, but yuh think Jesus had it easy? No way Jose! Yuh think He wanted to leave His comfortable abode in heaven and come down to this crummy earth and sacrifice His sinless soul for a bunch of ungrateful pagans? I very much doubt it.
But the Father asked Him to, because He was the ONLY HOPE, His wayward and disobedient creation called mankind had. And if there was one thing Jesus desired more than anything else was to please the Father!
And Friends, that too should be our guiding light, today and everyday, right down through eternity! Our heavenly Father’s wishes and will must be the all-consuming, engine-driving modus operandi of our lives. And if it isn’t, then something’s wrong somewhere, and it will consequently derail the good and wonderful relationship with heaven that we ought to have.
Now my fellow believers, don’t get me wrong, what I’m advocating is no easy task, rather, it’s a rather difficult row to hoe. But if we depend on, put our faith and trust in God’s promises of never giving us more than we can bear or handle; always giving us the tools to do whatever He’s called us to do; to work out all things for our eventual good; and never to leave or forsake us, then we WILL be able to fulfill our God-given tasks.
And please notice that those promises cover the whole spectrum, every aspect of life, so there’s no stone left unturned, or area left unaccounted for. That’s how responsible and far-sighted is our God!
Oh Friends, I’m chuckling here because I came downstairs to my study just now, not knowing what I’d write about, when suddenly the opening kernel of an idea struck me, and I simply picked up pen and paper and began writing, and the words and ideas just kept flowing!
Mama Mia! So how could I not sincerely LOVE and revere our wonderful and faithful God with all my heart, mind, body and soul eh? Please believe me when I say that He is indeed a mighty and faithful God!
But you’ll never find that out for yourself until you make a serious effort to get to know Him, surrender your will to His, read His Word, then try to walk in obedience to it. You most likely will have to sacrifice something(s), but you’ll eventually notice that what you’ve gained, is much more important than what you’ve sacrificed.
But enough rambling and ‘preambling’, I hadn’t planned on writing a testimonial, but apparently the Lord desired one. And who am I to say Him nay eh?
Now let’s check out our most informative and heart-warming Bit. ‘For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.’ And unfortunately my fellow believers, too many of us are still lost and unsaved.
But as we’ve been doing, let’s turn to some scriptures which truthfully declare and support the purpose of our Bit. And the first one comes from Luke’s gospel, where the angels are talking to the shepherds in the fields, while they watch their flocks by night.
‘And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.’ (Luke 2:10-11) And that’s the basis for our great celebration of Christmas, just passed.
The next scripture comes from Acts, where the apostles are up before the high priest and Jewish council, when they refused to stop preaching Christ crucified.
In one of his powerful moments, Peter declares to the council: ‘This is the stone which was set at nought of (rejected by) you builders, which is become the head of the corner (chief cornerstone). Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.’ (Acts 4:10-11)
Yes my brethren, THERE IS NO OTHER WAY FOR A MAN TO BE SAVED BUT THROUGH JESUS CHRIST! And I had to put that in big, bold letters so that it would resonate and permeate right to the very depths of our being and make us understand what’s truly at stake in this life.
And we’ll end, as I always like to when possible, with some words from Jesus, further acknowledging His earthly purpose. These words come from a session in Jerusalem where some Greeks who had come up for the Passover requested to see Jesus.
Listen to our wonderful Leader once again proclaim His most humanitarian purpose. ‘And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me. I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.’ (John 12:45-47)
Oh my people, what faithful words of truth and action! Because He did show us the LIGHT, and saved us from eternal death by dying in our stead. Please note though, that the first time Jesus came, it was to SAVE the world, the next time He comes though will be to JUDGE it!
So today, let’s not be foolish and dispute His testimony, but understand, be wise and accept Him as our true, ever-LOVING Lord and Saviour… the wonderful Son of God, who sacrificed it all for us!
Let’s be thankful and grateful and work diligently to promote His Holy Church here on earth, as He desires of us. Much LOVE!
…as the Maytones sing in their song…there’s only one way to Zion land…only one way…there’s only one way to righteousness…only one way…and that’s through Jesus Christ…
P.S. Oh Friends, I know the Bit’s somewhat long, and a tad late, but it’s what I’ve been guided to write today. Besides it comes straight from the heart, and I rather like it. (smile) Hope you do too. Much LOVE!
18 Feb 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: accepting Jesus, aggressive, almighty god, angel of the Lord, appeased the evils, awesome truth, bad beginnings, baptizing, bring forth a son, call his name Jesus, cramp, drama, early morning horrors, earthly actions, elixir of sleep, eternal life, eternal separation, eternity, evil one, fool's wisdom, foolish spirit, foundational concept of the gospel, free and easy salvation, free gift, from their sins, full bladder, glory hallelujah, God's will, God's Word, good endings, gospel of Matthew, gospel truth, grace of God, heart-warming, heaven, hogwash, holy spirit, ignorance, indisputable, Jehovah Saves, Jesus Christ, Jesus' purpose for coming to earth, John the Baptist, Joseph, lead and guide, Lord and Saviour, lost, Loving Father, Lucifer, mention of Jesus' name, miserable, New Testament, penny section, refuse to accept, refuse to be saved, rejecting Jesus, repenting of sins, rest, River Jordan, salvation, save, save his people, saving grace, saviour, scriptures, settle in our souls, sinful condition, sinful destination, sleep, Son, spoil our day, take away the sin of the world, that which is lost, the Lamb of God, to save sinners, to seek and to save, to work with God, tossed and turned, unwise moves, war-like, wisdom, wisdom of the ages, wise and good Spirit
Luke 19:10. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
Oh Friends, I greet you all this snowy morning with the piece of wisdom that ignorance is a helluva thing yes! (smile) And that’s no lie, it’s the gospel truth!
Now hear the reasons for my assertion. Sometime after two o’clock this morning, I was summarily awakened by a cramp in my left thigh. Thankfully, it wasn’t as bad as some I have, but as I swung my legs off the bed to attend to the cramp, I also realized that my bladder was full. So I got up and hobbled to the bathroom.
Don’t laugh, because that was a good hobble, some day’s I can’t even hobble, I’m more like the hunchback of Notre Dame. Unfortunately though, by the time I had appeased the evils in my body, I found that the sleep had left my eyes.
Now this is where the ignorance comes in. In spite of being wide awake, I insisted that it was too early for me to get up, so I went back to bed, where I tossed and turned, devoid of the elixir of sleep, foolishly telling myself that though I couldn’t sleep, I was getting valuable rest.
Steups! What hogwash! And the sad part is that when I did get up, it was much later than I had planned. Chuh! And that’s why the Bit is somewhat late.
Ah Friends, the evil one will do those sorts of things to us, or rather will lead us to make those sort of unwise moves, so he can spoil our day. But with the grace of God, I’m choosing to believe the cliché that bad beginnings make for good endings. Glory Hallelujah!
Glory Hallelujah indeed! If I had listened to the wise and good Spirit instead of the foolish, evil one, I wouldn’t have put myself through those early morning horrors.
But thankfully our wonderful and LOVING Father in heaven saw how lost and miserable we were in our sinful condition and sent His beautiful Son, Jesus Christ to save us, both from ourselves and the ole crook Lucifer.
As Jesus so assuredly says in our Bit: ‘For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.’
And yuh better believe my people, that there are many of us, in fact, way too many of us who are still lost, and worse yet, refuse to be saved, even though Jesus went out of His way and provided free and easy salvation, through simply repenting of our sins and accepting Him as our Lord and Saviour.
Hn! But I’m not here to preach… Chuh! It’s amazing how that word preach likes to flow from my pen, although I insist that I’m not a preacher. (smile) Anyway, I’m not here to talk or teach about that this morning. Yeh, I’m more of a talker and teacher than preacher. Shut up my children! No noise from the penny section! (smile)
What we’ll continue doing today, in this last message on the topic of Christ coming to save us, is look at scriptures which proclaim and/or attest to that fact.
Oh my brethren, I need to retract one thing in that statement. This doesn’t seem to be the last message on Jesus’ purpose for coming to earth! Why? Because I was just checking to ensure that I had exhausted my supply of scriptures on the subject, when the Holy Spirit led me to a whole bunch more.
Yuh see Friends, when you’re sincerely trying to work with the Lord, He does lead and guide you to His Will and to His Word. Sorry for those of you who like to move on to a new Bit every day. But sometimes we need to hear certain things in the Word, again and again, for them to truly settle in our souls.
And we’ll begin our scriptures today with a most important verse from the gospel of Matthew, where the angel of the Lord appears to Joseph and tells him about the serious piece of drama that was about to be enacted in His life, and consequently the world.
‘And she shall bring forth a son, (referring to Mary, his betrothed) and thou shalt call his name JESUS (Saviour): for he shall save his people from their sins.’ (Matt.1:21)
Oh my fellow believers, nothing could be clearer and more explicit than that! Jesus was coming to earth as a SAVIOUR!
And the scholars explain that verse thus: ‘1:21, 22. Call his name JESUS: The name of the child Jesus (Heb. Yehoshua) means “Jehovah Saves.” This points to the very purpose of Christ’s coming into the world – to save sinners.
Placed early in the New Testament, this statement becomes the foundational concept of the gospel. Jesus, by His very name and nature, is the Saviour.’
Yes Friends, even Jesus’ name conveys the message of saving and salvation! So why are so many humans still so reluctant to receive and accept His saving grace eh? Even to the point of getting aggressive and war-like when they hear His name mentioned! Who knows? I guess we all have our various reasons for rejecting Christ’s free gift of salvation and eternal life.
But Friends, I’m here to tell us that whatever reason you choose for rejecting Jesus, it’s a fool’s wisdom, for ONLY Jesus, the Son of God, begotten before every and anything else in this world, can save us from our sinful destination of eternal separation from Almighty God! And that’s definitely not going to be a nice place to spend eternity!
And we’ll close with this magnificent scripture from the John the Baptist, where he was baptizing the repentant at the river Jordan. ‘The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.’ (John 1:29)
That my people, is the indisputable, most awesome and heart-warming truth! Please accept it as such, and gear all your earthly actions towards it, for in it lies the wisdom of all the ages. Much LOVE!
…just sit and contemplate for a moment…where you’ll end up if you reject Jesus…certainly no place like heaven…
17 Feb 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abundant life, aura of love, awesome, blessed, blessings, bombarded, brave, brilliant strategist, Bruh Paul, buffeted, Chirst's army, christ jesus, Christ's Church, compassionate, confidence, courageous, cross at Calvary, earthly purpose, enthusiasm, faithful saying, Family day, follow the leader, forgiving, frame of mind, God's mercies, gracious, holy spirit, humble servants, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, keeping lives and families together, Leader Jesus, life everlasting, long-suffering, lost in sin, LOVE to hate, merciful, mighty force, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, not afraid, Oh Lord God Almighty, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, one true God, personal relationship with Jesus, Pharisees, renewed vitality and enthusiasm, right mood, right perspective, road to Damascus, salvation, saw the light, sins, slave for Massa, soldiers, Son of man, soulful choir, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, sure conquerors, surrender our all to you, thankfulness, the enemy's wiles and lies, to save the lost, to seek, ungodly world, useful purpose, wicked taunts, wisdom, worst sinner, zeal, zealous for Christ
Luke 19:10. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
Oh Friends, it’s Monday – the day we all seem to LOVE to hate, but which we truly LOVE deep down inside! And I hear a lot of venom coming forth per that statement. (smile)
I guess we have a LOVE hate relationship with Mondays because on one hand, it means our free time is over, we have to get up and go out and labour. On the other hand though, it opens up interesting and unknown doors for us in the outside world. It offers us new and untold opportunities, gives us a different perspective on life, compared to if we just stayed cloistered up at home.
Anyway Friends, Monday is like every other day the Lord has made, so if we’re smart, we’ll also be glad and enjoy it like we do the weekends. And luckily for some of us in good, ole Canada, we don’t have to go to work today because it’s a holiday! Bless the Lord, O my soul! In Ontario it’s called Family Day, ostensibly a day to spend with family. In other provinces it’s know by other names.
However, many of us around the world aren’t so blessed, we have to go out and slave for Massa. So let’s join with those unlucky ones and sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn to help us all get in the right mood and frame of mind. As one, vibrant, sweet sounding, soulful choir now, let’s sing.
‘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!’
Hopefully that put some pep in your step, got the adrenalin running. Please remember that we are all soldiers in Christ’s army, and for armies to win battles, their soldiers must be brave, courageous, positive and truly desirous of following their leader… And oh mih breddren, mih breddren, we have the BEST Leader in all the world!
He’s not only a brilliant strategist, but is also beautiful, LOVING, compassionate, thoughtful, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, merciful, forgiving, gracious and upstanding: He’s a God-man called Jesus Christ!
Wow! And He’s so wonderful, so selfless and giving, that two thousand years ago He left His comfortable abode in heaven and came to earth in human form so that we could have a better and more abundant life. Now which other supposed deity has even considered such a wonderful deed, much less to put it into practical operation eh?
None whatsoever! Because they are all false, dead gods. For there is ONLY ONE TRUE GOD; He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the ONLY ONE who is alive and kicking, the ONE who sent His ONLY Son, Jesus Christ to earth to be sacrificed on the cross at Calvary to pay for our sins. As Jesus so simply and straightforwardly puts it in our Bit: ‘For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.’
And all God’s people loudly and joyously declared: ‘Thank You Jesus, for saving us when we were lost in sin!’
Oh Friends, what an amazing and mighty force is our Leader Jesus! But you’ll never know that from His simplicity and humility. And it’s not until you develop a true and fast personal relationship with Him, that you’ll realize how truly awesome He is.
Now the last couple of days we’ve been looking at scriptures where He describes His earthly purpose, or where others commented on it. Today we’ll continue doing the same, but for brevity’s sake (smile) we’ll only look at Bruh Paul’s words to his young protégé Timothy, re his thankfulness for God’s many mercies.
‘This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am the chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all long-suffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.’ (1 Tim.1:16-17)
Yes my fellow believers, Bruh Paul considered himself the worst sinner in the world because of how he had tried to destroy Christ’s church in his more youthful days. But after Christ waylaid him on the road to Damascus, he saw the light, both literally and figuratively.
Through Christ’s mercy he was saved, to be used as an example to other sinners. If he had saved the worst one, then it would not be a problem to save the less sinful ones. And in all fairness, once Bruh Paul turned his life around, he used the same zeal in building Christ’s church as he had hitherto used to destroy it.
Oh Friends, are we being more zealous for Christ since we’ve been saved? I surely hope so. Anyway, that’s enough for us to ponder on today. I know you are all very busy people, so I don’t want to take up too much of your valuable time talking about God. I hope you detect the note of sarcasm there. (smile)
So until tomorrow, God in favour, please walk safely with Him, and let His Holy Spirit guide and keep you in all that you do. For that’s wisdom of the highest order. Much LOVE!
…unfortunately…those who don’t think they need saving…are the ones who need it the most…like the Pharisees…
16 Feb 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: avowed purpose, awe, Bible, business dealings, central theme, Christendom, Christian programmes, come to destroy, compassionate, defiling, dwell richly in our souls, exalt, faith, faith comes by hearing, fellowship, fire and brimstone, glorify, glory hallelujah, go in faith, go in love, god will go with you, God will guide you, God's children, good morning, grace, grateful, great importance, healthy, hear the Word, Jerusalem, Jesus, kernel statement, like persuasion, little ones, lost, lost sheep, LOVE, meditate on, never be afraid, one lost sinner, parting blessing, peace, perish, Pharisees, physician, ponder, power of God unto salvation, praise, presence, publican, reach out to others, rebuked, rejoices, repentance, reverence, righteous, sacrifice of praise, salvation, Samaria, Samaritans, save, save sinners, scribes, searching, searching Herdsman, self-righteous, shepherd context, show you believe, sick, sinners, steadfast, strong, Sunday, tax collector, teach, testify, thanksgiving, the Lord's Day, the Lord's goodness, the Son of man, the will of the Father, the Word of god, to seek, true, undeserving sinners, where two or three are gathered, worship, write indelibly in our hearts
Luke 19:10. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
Well a good Sunday morning to all you Friends and fellow believers out there in Christendom! It is the Lord’s Day, so please let’s treat it as such; with reverence and awe, with praise and thanksgiving, with worship and fellowship.
Let’s get out and fellowship with those of like persuasion… and even with those of a different persuasion, for once Jesus is the focus of our attention, we simply cannot go wrong. Remember He specifically said that wherever two or three are gathered in His Name, that He would certainly grace us with His wonderful presence. (Matt.18:20)
And if by chance, or design, you can’t get out to fellowship with other believers and hear the Word, then turn on your television set and tune in to one of the many Christian programmes where the Word is boldly preached and listen to it attentively. Because to know the Word, you must hear it, and how can you hear it without a preacher? (Rom.10:14-15) For as Bruh Paul proudly proclaims: ‘So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.’ (Rom.10:17)
And just supposing you don’t have a T.V… Well then get out your Bible and read it aloud to yourself, for there’s plenty of power in the spoken Word. Note that God SPOKE the world and all therein into existence. It wasn’t any abracadabra, simi-dimi stuff. The important thing though my brethren, is that the Word of God comes into contact with your very soul, on this, His day.
That brings us to our Bit: ‘For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.’
And all God’s children gave out a loud and joyous shout of “Glory Hallelujah! All praise to the Lord for His goodness to us undeserving sinners.’ And well we should all be grateful and offer the sacrifice of praise my brethren, for without Jesus coming to search for and save us, we’d still be lost.
And I like how the scholars explain it. ’19:10. The words, seek, save, and lost all appear elsewhere in Scripture in a shepherd context. This verse may be taken as a kernel statement of the central theme of Luke. Jesus is the compassionate, searching Herdsman who seeks to save those who can by no means save themselves.’
We surely can’t my brethren! Now today I want to share some scriptures where Jesus states His avowed purpose in coming to earth. And He does it several times, in several different ways.
Let’s begin with when He talks about lost sheep. ‘For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.’ (Matt.18:11) Then He goes on to explain about a shepherd having an hundred sheep, but one gets lost and he leaves the ninety-nine and goes searching long and hard for the ONE LOST SHEEP, and rejoices greatly when he finds it. (Matt.18:12-13) ‘Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.’ (Matt.18:14)
Oh Friends, yuh see the great importance the Lord attaches to even ONE LOST SINNER! Consequently, if there had only been one single sinner in the entire world, the Father would still have sent Jesus to save him.
Now let’s turn to a time after Jesus had eaten with a publican (tax collector) called Levi. (Luke 5:27-29) The scribes and Pharisees are questioning Jesus as to: ‘Why do ye eat and drink with publicans (tax collectors) and sinners? (Luke 5:30) That’s because the Pharisees thought it was beneath them, defiling to have business dealings with tax collectors like Levi, much less to eat with them.
‘And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole (healthy) need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.’ (Luke 5:31-32)
As the scholars explain: ‘5:32. Jesus is of course not dealing with the question of whether there are in fact righteous people who need no repentance. By ‘righteous’ He refers to the Pharisees, who thought they were righteous, and thus felt they had no need to repent. They were truly self-righteous.’
In any case, if you came to save sinners, then you obviously need to hang out with them, otherwise how would you teach and testify and bring them to repentance eh?
And we’ll close with this instance where Jesus is headed for Jerusalem, but while passing through Samaria is rejected by the people there. At this perceived slight, James and John want to call down fire and brimstone on the heads of the Samaritans. (Luke 9:51-54)
‘But he (Jesus) turned and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.’ (Luke 9:55-56)
Ah mih breddren, that’s enough stuff for us to ponder today, to meditate on and write indelibly in our hearts. Please, let’s allow the Word of God to dwell richly in our souls, for ‘it is the power of God unto salvation.’ (Rom.1:16)
And here’s a parting blessing I got from my church in Tobago. ‘Go now in Peace – Never be Afraid. God will go with you each hour of every day. Go now in faith steadfast and strong and true. Know He will guide you in all you do. Go now in LOVE, and show you believe. Reach out to others, so all the world can see. God will be there watching from above. Go now in Peace, in Faith and in LOVE.’ Much LOVE, my fellow believers!
…once you know Jesus…you can’t help but LOVE and glorify and exalt Him…
15 Feb 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: blessed, blessings, cesspool of evil, christianity, compassion, compassionate heart, confession, eternal life, faith, faithful, fellow believers, folly, glory hallelujah, God's great earth, gratitude, guilty of wrongdoing, harmonious relationship, Jesus Christ, lord jesus christ, lost, LOVE, loving, repentance, repentant, revere, salvation, Saturday, seek and save, sin, sinners, son of Abraham, thanks and praise, the Lamb that was slain, trust, ungodliness, ungodly world, win win, wisdom, Zaccheus
Luke 19:10. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
And then it was Saturday! Yes Friends, another blessed day on God’s great earth, another day of blessed pilgrimage, of doing His great work! Wow! We truly are blessed my people! Please give our God much thanks and praise for helping and encouraging us in whatever plan He has drawn up for our earthly lives.
And remember to thank Him too for promising never to leave or forsake us. That’s a major building block of our faith, something that keeps us steadfastly anchored in our Christian beliefs.
And never forget that He is ALWAYS FAITHFUL, thus we also need to be faithful, if we’re to live and work with Him in a harmonious, win-win relationship. Ah mih people, there’s so much we have to thank our wonderful God for, that I could go on and on forever. (smile)
But the most important things we can ever thank Him for are the gifts of salvation and eternal life!
We all know the story of Zaccheus, the corrupt tax collector climbing a tree to see Jesus because of his challenged stature, (smile) but Jesus calling him down and going to his house for lunch, at which all the supposed righteous turned up their noses, since it was considered beneath their dignity to eat with such gross sinners. (Luke 19:1-7)
But my fellow believers, please note the repentant effect Jesus had on Zaccheus. ‘And Zaccheus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.’ (Luke 19:8)
The scholars explain that verse thus: ’19:8. Zaccheus’s confession reveals a penitent heart. If does not suggest doubt that he is guilty of wrong doing; the only question is to what extent. Leviticus 6:1-5 stipulated that gained money had to be returned, plus one-fifth. A fourfold return was legislated where livestock were concerned. (Ex.22:1; 2 Sam.12:6).’
Now hear Jesus’ answer to Zaccheus’s repentance. ‘This day is salvation come to this house, forasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.’
Yes Friends, as Jesus declares in our Bit, He came to seek and save those which were lost, and Zaccheus being one of the lost, was sought out by Jesus and saved after he repented of his wrongdoing.
How valuable and caring is that eh? Very! So valuable that we couldn’t put a price on it, since we were all so lost in a wilderness of sin, drowning in a cesspool of evil and ungodliness, and if something wasn’t done to help us, then we’d all end up in some undesirable place, separated from our Maker for eternity.
And that was just too much for the LOVING and compassionate heart of our Maker to bear. So through that great LOVE for His creation, He eventually sent His Only Son to find and save us.
Ah my fellow believers, what a remarkable time that was! Jesus describes it this way: ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.’ (John 3:16-17)
Oh Friends, those are two of the most beautiful and heart-warming scriptures in the Good Book, for they are truly touching in their magnanimity, as well as their LOVE and compassion!
Just imagine what would happen to us, where we’d be, if the heart of our God wasn’t so LOVING and compassionate nuh. As the old people would say – crapaud smoke we pipe. And that’s the undeniable truth, for there would have been hell to pay, quite literally come judgement day, for the majority of mankind.
That’s why I don’t understand, can’t comprehend why so many people who hear about Jesus, simply refuse to accept Him, to come to Him and make Him their Lord and Saviour. Bruh Paul says it best when he talks about the results of justification in his writing to the church at Rome.
‘But God commendeth (demonstrates) his LOVE toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now (having been) justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being (having been) reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement (reconciliation).’ (Rom.5:8-11)
Oh Friends, what selflessness on Jesus’ part, for while we were yet sinners, He died for us! And all God’s people declared a mighty shout of ‘Glory Hallelujah! Blessed is the Lamb that was slain for us!’
And Jesus also declared these faithful and true words. ‘Greater LOVE hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.’ (John 15:13-14)
And that my fellow believers was not just idle talk, but He also walked His talk, by sacrificing His life on the cross at Calvary so our sin debt could be paid in full. So how then can we reject Him eh? It certainly boggles my mortal imagination.
But then again, I guess that’s why our Creator gave us the power to make choices. However, just like our first father Adam, made a poor choice by eating the forbidden fruit, likewise many of his descendants are making the same foolhardy mistake, being disobedient to God’s will, not accepting His wonderful, free offer of salvation and eternal life that He set up so we could be reconciled to Him, become His children, and dwell with Him in heaven forever.
Oh Friends, it is the height of stupidity, the grossest folly, the total absence of wisdom and common sense to reject Jesus, the Son of the Living God, who sacrificed His sinless life to pay for our abominable sins.
And all who reject Him, do so at their eternal peril. Please don’t be numbered amongst that lot. Much LOVE!
…to truly know and revere Jesus…is to have a heart full of LOVE and gratitude…
14 Feb 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a great day, angry, arduous labour, badly needed, best intentions, bless, body, bounden duty, celebrate Love, Christian, condemnation, day of Love, dissolute, emotionally, exercise judgement, fellow believers, fellowship, forgiving, Friday, Friday chant, fun, furthering God's glorious kingdom, generous help, genuine caring, godly act, godly wisdom, gracious, greedy, Happy Valentine's Day, help, help each other, hope, human vocabulary, in short supply, individuals, inner motives, it takes two to tango, jesus name, judge not, judgement of God, just, keep our promise, life's dark winding and lonely road, littered with, Lord God Jehovah, loving, mentally, merciful, mercy, mind, needy, no man is an island, one hand can't wash itself, oppressed, physically, prejudicial information, prosper, reach out and touch, relaxation, renewed and refreshed, replenish strength, resentful, respite, rest, right perspective, riotous living, self-supporting, selfish, shall cry himself, shall not be heard, showing some kind of Love, soul, sovereign God, standard of judgement, stop his ears, succeed, Thank God is Friday, the cry of the poor, the law and the prophets, the poor, the rich and famous, the sick, the suffering, tit for tat, True LOVE, two hands to clap, unfortunate, ungodly world, universal principle, Valentine's day, valuable weekend, week of work, workers, worthwhile followers
Proverbs 21:13. Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.
HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!
Oh Friends, it’s Friday, it’s Friday! Thank God it’s Friday! And the lucky workers around the world, though not always with the best intentions, are thanking God that it’s Friday, and they’re going to have a brief respite from their arduous labours.
Now that is all well and good, but what we do with the brief respite from work is also important. We cannot just waste it on riotous and dissolute living, but need to use it to replenish our strength; mentally, physically and emotionally.
So let’s chant our Friday Chant, which gives us the right perspective on how to use our oh so valuable weekend. All together now, in full voice: ‘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.’
Now that’s a much better and wiser way to use our days off! And on another important note Friends, today is not only Friday, but also VALENTINE’S DAY; a day on which we celebrate LOVE!
And though it’s been highly commercialized, like almost every other important day, and is more or less viewed as a day for romantic LOVE, it’s still a day when we reach out and touch others.
And any day we do that is indeed a great day! For reaching out and touching others, showing some kind of LOVE is so badly needed and in such short supply in our greedy, angry, resentful and ungodly world!
And it really doesn’t matter all that much what kind of LOVE we touch others with nuh, once it’s TRUE LOVE, it goes a long way towards bringing peace, justice and equal rights to our unjust, war-like and oppressive times.
So today my brethren, when we think of LOVE and giving, let’s not only remember those nearest and dearest to us, with flowers, chocolates and whatever else the commerce peddlers throw at us, but more importantly, let’s stop for a moment and consider our Bit.
‘Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.’
Oh Friends, that is just another angle of the universal principle on which our just, merciful, gracious, forgiving, LOVING and sovereign God built His universe; whatever you sow, the same shall you reap. That means, generally speaking, whatever we do, will be done back to us.
So if the poor cries out to us for help and mercy, and we ignore them, at some future date, when we too cry out for help and mercy, we will not be heard, but also ignored. It’s a simple principle – tit for tat.
And our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ made it quite clear to us when He declared: ‘Judge (condemn) not, that ye be not judged (condemned). For with what judgement (condemnation) ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete (use), it shall be measured to you again.’ (Matt.7:1-2)
And as the scholars explain: ‘7:1-4. Judge not refers to an unfavourable and condemnatory judgement. This does not mean that a Christian should never exercise judgement of any kind under any circumstances. The point being made here is that we are not to judge the inner motives of another.
We are not to render a verdict based on prejudicial information. Nor are we to use ourselves as the standard of judgement for with what…ye mete (measure) you shall be judged. That ye be not judged refers to the ultimate judgement of God rather than our own judgement.’
Oh mih breddren, what’s so hard to understand about all that eh? Nothing at all! It’s like we say: it takes two to tango; two hands to clap; one hand can’t wash itself.
Yes my fellow believers, one of the most important words in our human vocabulary, regardless of the language, is ‘help.’ And one of the most important phrases is ‘help each other,’ for without somebody’s help, NONE of us can ever hope to prosper and succeed. That’s why the phrase ‘no man is an island,’ has also been coined.
The Lord God Jehovah didn’t make this world merely as a bunch of selfish, self-supporting individuals, but as a group of people who are supposed to work together, to help each other along life’s dark, winding and lonely road.
Unfortunately though my fellow believers, our world is littered with the poor, needy and oppressed, and it’s our bounden duty to help them however and whenever we can.
Remember it was the poor, the needy, the lost, the sick, the suffering and the oppressed that Jesus came to save, and it was those types that He hung out with, much more than the rich and famous. And if we’re to be His true and worthwhile followers, we need to do the same things He did.
So today, on Valentine’s Day, this Day of LOVE, I’m asking us all to remember those who are not as fortunate as us. Pray for them, as well as try to help at least ONE unfortunate person. Bless them with something, or in some way that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ can interpret as genuine caring and LOVE.
Remember the rich and powerful don’t give two expletives deleted about the poor and downtrodden, so it’s up to us believers to help them out of their misery.
Please, let’s make a serious, sincere and generous effort to help someone today. That’s not only godly wisdom, as well as our bounden duty, but also a godly act, which we’ve all committed and promised to make our life’s work.
So please, let’s start keeping our promise nuh, for it’s not wise or healthy to make promises and then not keep them. Much LOVE!
…therefore all things…whatsoever ye would that men should do to you…do ye even so to them…for this is the law and the prophets… (Matt.7:12)
13 Feb 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: above the earth, above the heavens, afflictions, all-knowing God, awake early, awake my glory, believers ought to operate, bemoaning his unfortunate fate, blessed be God, Bruh David, Bruh Paul, comfort others, comforted of God, Comforter, comforts us in tribulation, concentrating on troubles, Creator, digged a pit, disease, do it twice, dreaming, epitome of a true believer, essence of the situation, ever-LOVING God, evil, exaltation, exaltation of god, exalted, faith, focus thoughts and energy on god, Galilee, Gentiles, glory, god of all comfort, God's greatest invention, great unto the heavens, Guide, Healer, healing, healing power of christ, hell and high water, human mind, innocent of any wrongdoing, Israel's king, keep our attention and focus on God, LOVE, magnificence of the mind, mercy, my heart is fixed on god, my soul is bowed down, negative circumstances, O God, omnipotent, omniscient, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, prepared a net for me, promotion, provider, Saul, see and do life like God desires, Selah, serious turmoil, sickness, sincere faith, sing and give praise, sitting at the right hand of the Father, so nice, steadfast, teaching, testing, the business of healing, the Corinthians, the Father of mercies, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, time of need, trust, truth, ungodly earth, wisdom, workings of the mind
Psalm 57:5. Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.
Oh Friends, the human mind is a most wonderful bit of machinery yes! Possibly our God’s greatest invention, for so far man can replicate most of what happens in the human body, but he’s still completely baffled by the exquisite and exotic workings of the mind.
And I bring this up because during the night I got up a couple of times, looked at the clock and decided it was too early to get up, so I rolled over and went back to sleep. However, at some stage after the last roll over, I discovered that I had gotten up and was putting on my day clothes.
Then something struck me as being not right. I realized that I was really dreaming about getting up and putting on my clothes. Hn, Hn! But yuh know what’s so significant about that dream?
I was dreaming about putting on the very same clothes that I had actually put out to put on whenever I got up. Now does that tell us something about the magnificence of the mind or what!
The same way Friends, when we keep our attention and focus on God, we see and do life the way He desires. Like Bruh David holed up in the cave, hiding from Saul, instead of bemoaning his unfortunate fate, for he was innocent of any wrongdoing against Saul, he instead declares our Bit. ‘Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.’
And that’s how ALL believers ought to operate, my people!
Now yesterday we ended by saying that our God was and is the greatest Comforter and Healer in the universe. Today, I want to share a couple scriptures to drive home those most important points. Listen to Bruh Paul as he talks to the Corinthians re his personal afflictions.
‘Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble (tribulation), by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.’ (2 Cor.1:3-4)
Yes my brethren, our great and wonderful God comforts us in our time of need, so that we can also comfort others in need of comforting. (smile) And re the healing power of Christ, hear what Matthew says about our Lord and Saviour when He walked this evil, ungodly earth.
‘And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of (every) sickness and all manner of (every) disease among the people.’ (Matt.4:23)
Yes Friends and neighbours, Jesus went about healing all sorts of diseases and sickness when He walked this earth. And the beauty of it all is, now that He’s sitting at the right hand of the Father in heaven, entreating on our behalf, He’s still in the business of healing; healing souls, bodies and minds!
So whenever we’re in need of comfort and healing, the first place to turn to is heaven and Jesus, like Bruh David did in that solitary cave in the wilderness. Remember too, that though Bruh David was anointed to be Israel’s next king at a young age, he went through a lot of hell and high water, plenty testing, before it became a reality.
The Lord tested him in many ways before He actually promoted him. And this is one of those times. Listen to his beautiful words of trust, faith and exaltation though his life was in serious turmoil.
After declaring our Bit, he continues: ‘They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down: they have digged a pit before me, into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves. Selah. My heart is fixed (steadfast), O God, my heart is fixed (steadfast): I will sing and give praise.
Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery (lute) and harp: I myself will awake early (awaken the dawn). I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee among the nations (Gentiles). For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds. Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let thy glory be above all the earth.’ (Ps.57:6-11)
Oh my fellow believers, that’s how ALL believers should feel, believe, talk and act! For those words portray the epitome of a true believer.
So today, if we’re being plagued, being beset by troubles that we can’t quite get a handle on, please release them all to our omnipotent, wonderful and ever-LOVING God! Let Him deal with them, for He’s promised to do just that if we come to Him in sincere faith.
The essence of the situation is therefore, instead of concentrating on our troubles, our negative circumstances, let’s do like Bruh David did in his time of need; let’s focus our thoughts and energy instead on our omnipotent, omniscient, all-knowing God; our Creator, Comforter, Guide, Healer and Provider.
That’s wisdom at its highest level, at its very zenith. Much LOVE!
…Bruh David found his exaltation of God so nice…that he had to say it twice… (vs.5,11) (smile)
12 Feb 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: above the heavens, acknowledgement of God's power, appreciate God's awesome power, arch-enemy, arrows, assistance, awesome wisdom, base purposes, be above all the earth, bewtween a rock and a hard place, biography of souls, Bruh David, calamities, cherish, cold weather, Comforter, confidence in God, contemplation, cry unto god, danger, Daniel in the lion's den, David Thomas, daytime temps, difficulties, exalted, feel the pain, forgive, furnace of blazing fire, glory, god, God's goodness and mercy, good things, gospel truth, hard times, Healer, hear my plea Lord, heartfelt words, hiding in a cave, hounds me, human frailties, inopportune times, Jesus, living example, maturity, merciful, mercy, nature of the beast, need a break, our end all and be all, personal well-being, prayer for deliverance, precipitation, predicament, promotion, propitiation for our sins, Psalm 57, radiant pages, refuge, remembering God's goodness, reprieve, reproach, sacrifice, Saul, save me, selfishly using God, shadow of thy wings, shallow, sharp sword, snaps at, snowfall, spears, strengthen our faith, suffer, the sons of men, tongue, trials, tribulations, trust, truth, unselfish and noble actions, wilderness, with Jesus' help
Psalm 57:5. Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.
And the extremely cold weather rolls on my Friends! Thankfully though, without any further precipitation, for there’s nowhere left to pile it. It’s already piled high everywhere since the last snowfall.
But these constant daytime temps of minus double digits are a bit much. We can understand it at nights, but for heaven’s sake, in the daytime we need a break Lord! Hopefully the Lord will hear my plea and answer with some reprieve from this unusually cold weather.
Anyway Friends, I got up sort of early this morning, but just could not get out of bed, so the Bit will be a tad late, not as late as yesterday though. (smile) You all have to feel the ole fella’s pain and give him a bligh, a break.
As this quote, attributed to one of our many David Thomas’ so eloquently states: ‘Unselfish and noble actions are the most radiant pages in the biography of souls.’
Oh yes my people, that is the gospel truth! It’s exactly what Jesus did when He unselfishly and very nobly gave His sinless life as a sacrifice, as propitiation for our disgusting sins. And that’s exactly how He wants all His followers to behave; noble and unselfish.
It’s not always easy to do, but with Jesus’ help we can certainly do more than we’re currently doing. And here’s and easy one to begin your day right; forgive the ole fella for his human frailties. (smile)
However, we also have a wonderful Bit – sorry, all of them are wonderful! ‘Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.’
Oh my brethren, those heartfelt words come from Bruh David’s Michtam (Contemplation) while hiding in a cave in the wilderness from his arch-enemy Saul. And I guess he had lots of time for contemplation.
Psalm 57 is a prayer for deliverance. And please note my fellow believers, as always, Bruh David begins his prayers with acknowledgement of God’s power, His goodness and mercy and his own trust and confidence in the Almighty.
‘Be merciful unto me O God, be merciful unto me; for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast (passed by). I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me. He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up (snaps at or hounds me). Selah. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth.’ (Ps.57:1-3)
Oh my people, is that the way we begin our prayers, by acknowledging the power and majesty of our heavenly Father, by remembering the good things He’s done for us in the past and letting them strengthen our faith and trust that He will continue to look after us in the future?
Well if we don’t, then we ought to. That shows God that we are truly trusting, we’re not shallow and only interested in our personal well-being, we know and appreciate His awesome power and capabilities.
And just as a living example, how would you feel if one of your children, or anybody you cherish continually came asking for help without some admission of your previous assistance and goodness to them eh?
Would you be pleased if they just jumped right in and said they wanted this and needed that? I doubt it. The same way our heavenly Father needs to see that we’re not just selfishly using him for our base purposes.
And although Bruh David is in serious danger, it’s only after he acknowledges the God of his forefathers, that he states his predicament in the verse before our Bit: ‘My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.’ (Ps.57:4)
Then he proclaims our Bit: ‘Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.’
Yuh see Friends, even though Bruh David’s life is on the line, he’s between a rock and a hard place, he still trusts and exalts the name of the God of his fathers.
Chuh! I was just further delayed for almost ten minutes by my security company wanting to update some stuff, then needing to shut down and restart the computer so that the updates could take effect. These things always seem to happen at such inopportune times, but that’s the nature of the beast.
Anyhow, like we trust our security companies to get it right with our computers, do we trust and exalt our great God when difficulties and hard times come against us, like Bruh David did?
We ought to, because He’s the ONLY ONE who can truly bring us out of our troubles, unscathed, the way we like to come out of them, like He did Daniel in the lion’s den, (Dan.6:14-28) and his buddies in the furnace of blazing fire. (Dan.3:8-30)
But we must remember that that’s not always possible, for some of these trials and tribulations are tests to see if we can hold up under the strain of life, if our maturity is such that we’re ready for another level of promotion.
But if we are bruised and battered, please remember that our God is also the greatest Comforter and Healer there is, ever was, and ever will be. And He WILL NEVER leave us to suffer unnecessarily.
And with those words of awesome wisdom, (smile) we’ll end today’s message. Much LOVE!
…the God of heaven and earth…our Creator and Provider…is our end all and be all…we need no one else but Him…
11 Feb 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a bite to eat, abhor justice, abuse, abuse God's generous gifts, all is well, ashamed, astonished, bare hills, beauty, bloodshed, bribe, brought to justice, cause people to err, cleanliness, confounded, cover their lips, darkness, decent night's sleep, divine for money, diviners, efficiently designed, embarrassed, essence, euphoric, finely tuned machine, full of garbage, full of power, God's creation, God's people, God's unchanging nature and law, God's Word, God's wrath, grin and bear it, hot ginger tea, humankind, iniquity, Israel, Jacob, Jerusalem, judge for reward, judgement, just a matter of time, justice, Leaders, lean upon the Lord, like going to church, magical, magnificent, majesty, nature, negative and sinful acts and emotions, new snowfall, no answer from god, no divination, no harm can come upon us, no vision, one of those days, oppression, outdoors, peace, people are destroyed, perfect truth, pervert equity, presence of god, priests, prophet Micah, prophets, re-acclimatize to the cold, refreshing, respectful, ruins, rulers, searching and hushing experience, seers, shame, Skip Whitcomb, smile, something beautiful to admire, special attraction, sublime, take heart, teach for hire, temple, Thanks be to God, the great mystery lies, the human body, the spirit of the Lord, transgression, ugly, unchalleneged, war, wickedness, with the Lord's help, Zion
Isaiah 9:16. For the leaders of this people cause them to err, and they that are led of them are destroyed.
Ah mih people, at last the ole fella’s beginning to feel somewhat human again. (smile) I finally had a decent night’s rest. Thanks be to God! Oh, I was up early, but decided to go back to sleep, if I could. And you better believe I fell back to sleep with no problem whatsoever.
Ah Lord eh! I never expected it to be so hard to re-acclimatize to the cold, but that just shows what a finely tuned machine the human body is. Oh, and I haven’t felt so cold in a long, long time. Steups! But what to do eh? Just grin and bear it, and believe that with the Lord’s help you will make it through!
So what’s on today’s agenda eh? Oh I just discovered this interesting quote on a piece of paper here. I don’t remember where I got it from, or if I’ve ever shared it before, but if so, it’s definitely worth sharing again.
It’s attributed to the American artist, Skip Whitcomb. And it says: ‘Outdoors is where the great mystery lies, so going into nature should be a searching and hushing experience, like going to church.’
Oh Friends, that’s perfect truth! For God’s creation is so magical, magnificent and efficiently designed that when we venture into nature, we ought to be quietly astonished and respectful to the wonders we find there! And we’re not only referring to lush greenery and colourful flowers, but also to the desert areas, the watery spots and even the snow covered fields.
That’s because each type of territory has its own special attraction, as well as the essence and presence of God, so that wherever we are on God’s great earth, we will find something beautiful to admire and contemplate, and most importantly, feel His sublime but refreshing presence.
That’s why there’s such cleanliness, beauty and majesty in a new snowfall, as you look at it through a window, behind warm walls. (smile) And even when you go tramping through it, it feels somewhat euphoric. Hn, Hn! Don’t think I’m going to feel euphoric today though. (smile)
But then, once man has ventured into any natural areas, it becomes ugly and full of garbage, since we seem to always abuse God’s generous gifts.
Oh Friends, sorry for that short interruption, about ten minutes, I heard the garbage truck in the area and had to run to put out mine. Well not really run, since that word no longer seems to be applicable to my actions. (smile) Then I had to make a cup of hot ginger tea, which I’m now sipping as we speak, to replace the warmth I lost in the cold outside.
But getting back to our abuse of God’s generous gifts, it not only happens in nature, but even more so in humankind, as our Bit so rightly declares. ‘For the leaders of this people cause them to err, and they that are led of them are destroyed.’
Oh my brethren, unfortunately, it also seems that wherever man and man congregate, abuse, oppression and all the other negative and sinful acts and emotions always abound!
But in this last message on this topic, I want us to pay particular attention to what God declared through the prophet Micah, because in God’s unchanging nature and law, it still stands, still holds true for our generation and all those to come. Here Micah talks about the judgement on the prophets.
‘Thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that make my people err, that bite with their teeth and cry, Peace (when there is a bite to eat, they cry, all is well); and he that putteth not (nothing) into their mouths, they even prepare war against him.
Therefore night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision (be without vision); and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine (be without divination); and the sun shall go down over (on) the prophets, and the day shall be dark over (for) them.
Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded (embarrassed): yea, they shall all cover their lips (mouths); for there is no answer of (from) God.’ (Mic.3:5-7)
Oh my fellow believers, that’s some of the kind of stuff that lies in wait for the leaders, false prophets and teachers who abuse and oppress God’s people!
And hear this explanation from the scholars. ‘3:5-8. Cover their lips: They will be put to shame and will show this shame openly by covering their lips, which was an oriental gesture to indicate shame and mourning.’
But that’s not all mih people. Micah continues: ‘But truly I am full of power by the spirit of the Lord, and of judgement (justice), and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin. Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the houses of Jacob, and princes (rulers) of the house of Israel, that abhor judgement (justice), and pervert all equity.
They build up Zion with blood (bloodshed), and Jerusalem with iniquity. The heads thereof judge for reward (a bribe), and the priests thereof teach for hire (pay), and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the Lord, and say (saying), Is not the Lord among us? none evil (no harm) can come upon us.
Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps (heaps of ruins), and the mountain of the house (temple) as the high places (bare hills) of the forest.’ (Mic.3:8-12)
Oh my fellow believers, please rest assured that our God will not allow these evil leaders, prophets and priests who are currently abusing their power, to continue unchallenged in their evil ways, but they will eventually feel His wrath and be brought to justice.
So if you’re being abuse, oppressed or hurt in some form and fashion by the works and decrees of our evil leaders, please take heart, our God is still on His throne, still in control of His universe, and in His time, He will punish and destroy the evil doers. Much LOVE!
…believers are guaranteed…through God’s Word…that the wicked will pay for their wickedness…it’s just a matter of time…
P.S. Please excuse the Bit’s lateness, for as the song says, it’s just one of those days, just one of those days. (smile) Much LOVE!
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