14 Feb 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a beaten foe, a positive outlook, a power glitch, a seal, abides for ever, abundance, blip, brand new world, burns like a blazing fire, cannot be bought, cannot be dastroyed, cannot be extinguished, cannot quench love, coals, commercial set, compassionate heart, curse, day of Love, death, despised, dinosaur, dislike computers, easily shut down, evil desires, experienced, flames of fire, floods drown love, give all the substance for love, go home rejoicing, God is LOVE, Happy Valentine's Day, hold on tightly, horror of social media, human existence, increase their fortune, indestructible element, infiltrated, inhumane treatment, jealousy is cruel as the grave, love is strong as death, love not the world, LOVE Walk, loving-kindness, lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, many waters, morbid thoughts, negative word, outward appearance, prosper, provocateurs of evil, self-control, share with the less forunate, sins, success, talent, technological contraptions, the enemy, the grave, the love of the Father, the pride of life, the will of God, the world passeth away, Thursday Blessings, ungodly world, unquenchable nature of love, upon thine arm, upon thine heart, vehement flame
Song of Solomon 8:6. Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for LOVE is strong as death; jealousy is cruel (severe, hard) as the grave: the coals (flames) thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.
Happy Valentine’s Day my people! I guess this is what we call the Day of LOVE in our current ungodly world. And even though it’s mostly about outward appearances and another chance for the commercial set to increase their fortune, I guess we’ll have to take it, since we won’t get anything better.
And I don’t know why I read some of the news headlines before I began writing the Bit nuh, because they made me later than I already was, and are the farthest things from LOVE and consequently dampened my spirit! It’s just about greed and power hungry people seeking the aphrodisiac of power through any means, and immense inhumanity to man from his fellow man.
It’s surprising that with all the supposed wonderful improvements we’ve made, that the inhumane treatment we mete out to each other is still so widespread and gut wrenching! And the horror of social media has just made it easier to do it from afar, anonymously, and get away with it too.
But what does the ole fella know eh friends? Apparently not a whole lot. And they will quickly say that I’m from another time and place; a minted dinosaur in a brand new world! And they might just be right. But the fact of the matter is that I prefer my dinosaur status to that of this brand new, unfair and oh so unjust world. Enough of my morbid thoughts though on this Valentine’s Day. (smile) It’s a day to celebrate LOVE, so let’s see what the Good Book has to say about it nuh.
And in my searching, I was led to this most interesting, but li’l known passage of scripture, most appropriately from Cousin Sol’s Song of LOVE. ‘Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for LOVE is strong as death; jealousy is cruel (severe, hard) as the grave: the coals (flames) thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.
Many waters cannot quench LOVE, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance (wealth) of his house for LOVE, it would utterly be contemned (despised). (Song 8:6-7)
Ah friends, what powerful and heart-warming words on that most valuable, but most elusive attribute of our wonderful and ever-LOVING God! And the scholars offer this interesting explanation: ‘8:6-7. These verses are clearly the climax to the story. The maiden describes in the most vivid terms the unquenchable nature of true LOVE: it cannot be destroyed by death or the grave; it burns like a blazing fire that cannot be extinguished, and it cannot be bought.’
Wow! What an amazing thing is LOVE! It’s an unquenchable fire; an indestructible element, and most of all it has no price; it cannot be bought, it has to be experienced! So on this supposed day of LOVE my faithful brethren, please let’s remember those things and work seriously on our LOVE experience! (smile)
And to help us do just that, let’s review these memorable words of John in his first epistle. This verse sets the stage: ‘He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God IS LOVE.’ (1 John 4:8) That’s the first thing we have to know and believe friends if we want to be a part of God’s kingdom; that God IS LOVE!’ If we don’t wholeheartedly acknowledge that, then all bets are off, we can’t be a part of God’s realm.
But having faithfully acknowledged that, we then come to this next ever so important step in our LOVE walk. ‘LOVE not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man LOVE the world, the LOVE of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.’ (1 John 2:15-17)
Ah my people, to truly walk in step and in LOVE with God, we have to deny the evil desires and the sins that are so much a part of our human existence.
And you wonder why I dislike computers…I just turned aside to check the spelling of a word, and next thing a blip in the electricity occurred and the computer shut down. Then I had to reboot it twice to get it back up, losing more than ten minutes of time and also the two lines I had just written and not saved. Can’t even remember what it was now! Steups!
And that is what we are basing the entire future of our world on; technological contraptions that can be infiltrated and easily shut down by a simple power glitch. Chuh! That’s why I like being a dinosaur yes! (smile)
Yeh I remember now, I was writing about paying special attention to the provocateurs of evil who are always trying to turn us away from God. And yuh see that, the enemy didn’t like my warning, so he tried to expunge it by setting up the glitch. (smile) But li’l does he realize that he’s a beaten foe and the time of his eventual demise is near. So please let’s hold on dearly and tightly to the LOVE of God, which will NEVER be extinguished, destroyed or bought! Glory be!
Now let’s go home rejoicing in what we call our Thursday Blessings; the blessings our most magnanimous God has bestowed on us to use in His work down here on earth. All together now in strong faith and loud voice! ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
So with all of that LOVING-kindness poured out on us, let’s go out now and share it with the less fortunate, as Jesus so greatly desires of us. Much LOVE!
…only true LOVE…can save our dark, evil and dismal world…
13 Feb 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a beautiful word, a deliberate setting of our will, a fresh beginning, a miracle is performed, a new vitality, a spirit of unforgiveness, arrived spiritually, as we forgive our debtors, beyond our highest expectations, bowels of mercies, Christ forgave you, Christian virtues, common sense, concentrating on God, concentrating on hurts, creates, deficiencies, fallen short of God's glory, flaws, forbearance, forbearing, forgive us our debts, forgiveness, forgiving one another, glad to be alive, gospel truth, grin and bear it, halfway home, hands on the plough, heartfelt compassion, humbleness of mind, hypocritical hearts, Jesus Christ, kindness, long-suffering, looking forward, loud voice, LOVE, makes us free, meekness, negative emotions, no emotional high, no magic wand, not looking back, One Year Book of Bible promises, our soul is washed clean, paid in full, put on, quarrel, Ruth Harms Calkin, sense of purpose, sin debts, sincerity, sinned, tangled seaweed of resentment, the Colossians, the elect of god, the forgiven, the forgiver, the gift of forgiveness, the key to freedom, to a glorious future with Christ, trespasses, undergo transformations, unforgiveness, weaknesses, Wednesday Wail, wisdom, with God's help, wonder of wonders
Colossians 3:13. Forbearing (bearing with) one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
And the snow has stopped falling – at least for the time being! Who knows what’s next eh? But what to do, nothing but grin and bear it as best you can. It’s not like we don’t expect snow to fall in winter, but yet we complain so much when it does! (smile)
Anyway friends, we not going to talk anymore about the weather, I have to go out the street and do some stuff today, so we’ll just leave it all in the Master’s hands, to carry me and bring me back safely. I do hope though, that the fellow we’ve already paid to clean our driveway will come and do so before I’m ready to go out. End of complaining! (smile)
Now let’s move on to the topic for the day; a rather important one in the lives of ALL believers, and one which we don’t do as well as we should, we’re talking about ‘Forgiveness.’ And that’s the title of the reading from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin.
It says: ‘Forgiveness. What does it do for us? In an amazing way it creates a fresh beginning. It lifts us out of the tangled seaweed of resentment. A miracle is performed! It may not happen in a moment or a day. We may have to forgive at six o’clock on Monday and start over again at two o’clock on Tuesday.
There is no magic wand to simplify forgiveness. Forgiveness is a deliberate setting of our will, often with no emotional high whatsoever. But once having genuinely forgiven, our soul is washed clean. We walk in dignity again. We sense a new vitality. We’re no longer concentrating on hurts; we’re concentrating on God. If we would only forgive, our lives would undergo transformations beyond our highest expectations.
Above all, Jesus Christ would be exalted, for it is His forgiveness that makes the difference. Forgiveness is a beautiful word. It is God’s word passed to us to use freely, joyfully. When we ask for the gift of forgiveness, God always says yes. He gave His Son to make us free, and forgiveness is the key to freedom.’
And isn’t that the gospel truth friends; we can’t be free until we’ve been forgiven…and we have forgiven! That’s just the way the Lord set it up! And the most important thing we need to know, understand and get deep down in our spirits is that forgiveness is not merely for the forgiven, who oftimes don’t even know or care, but forgiveness most of all is for the forgiver! It’s for us above all else. Because it sets us free from resentment and all the other negative emotions that can occur through a spirit of unforgiveness.
Hear how Bruh Paul puts it to the Colossians nuh, when talking about the Christian virtues. ‘Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies (heartfelt compassion), kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering; Forbearing (bearing with) one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.’ (Col.3:12-13)
And the scholars have an interesting explanation of that last verse. ‘3:13. The fact of believers being urged to assume the virtues of verse 12 signifies that none has yet “arrived” spiritually. As the believer is developing these virtues, he must be forbearing and forgiving toward his fellow church member. For his Christian brother is also in the process of acquiring the virtues of verse 12 and therefore retains some flaws, deficiencies, and weaknesses. Hence the need of forbearance and forgiveness.’
That’s simple common sense friends, all of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory, therefore we need to be compassionate and forgiving of each other’s faults and weaknesses, just like Christ forgave us. And so many of us forget that oh so important fact; that Christ forgave us, that’s why our sin debts have been paid and we’re heaven bound.
But foolishly and selfishly and arrogantly we refuse to forgive others while we go with hypocritical hearts to God crying out for forgiveness for our own deficiencies. That’s so wrong my brethren. And Jesus made that quite clear early on in His ministry. Note in the prayer that He taught, which we call the Lord’s Prayer, the second to last line says: ‘And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.’ (Matt.6:12) And it means just that; as we forgive, so we will be forgiven!
And Jesus made it even clearer a couple of verses later: ‘For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.’ (Matt.6:14-15) It couldn’t be any clearer than that friends!
So let’s get some wisdom and common sense going in respect of forgiveness nuh, because we only hurt ourselves when we don’t forgive. No one says it’s always easy, but with God’s help we can ALWAYS accomplish it, no matter how long it takes!
Now let’s go home declaring (right ho) our Wednesday Wail, letting all and sundry know our position in Christ Jesus: With sincerity, in loud voice and strong sense of purpose: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday!
I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
And please believe it, that future will be even more glorious than we can ask or imagine! Much LOVE!
…forgiveness frees the forgiver…so that Christ can forgive them…
P.S. I just went upstairs to reheat my coffee, and looked outside…and wonder of wonders, the snow has begun falling again! So who knows what the day will bring eh? (smile) Much LOVE!
12 Feb 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a refuge from the storm, a sense of calm, a strength to the needy, At the cross, at their wit's end, because of trouble, brighten our latter years, brings them out of their distresses, calm, calm waters, Calvary, common sense, Controller, Creator, cry unto the Lord, do business, encouraging words, evil cohorts, exalt him, faith, fear, friend of Jesus, go down to the sea, great waters, he makes the storm a calm, his goodness, hurry, in ships, in the congregation, inhumane climate, Jesus, Lake Ontario, like a drunken man, LOVE, mount up to heaven, O ye of little faith, personal experience, Praise the Lord, prayed, raises the stormy wind, rebuked the winds, redeemed, reel to and fro, ruthless nations, sacrifice, Satan, see the works of the Lord, shake like an earthquake, share His love, share jesus' love, shivering of the timbers, stagger, storm, strong people, terror, the assembly of elders, the Good Book, the storm calmer, the time of storm, the waves are still, the winds and the sea obey him, their desired haven, their soul is melted, they are glad, they be quiet, this universe, to the children of men, to the depths, trust, Tuesday Mantra, unhealthy for old folks, what manner of man is this, wonderful works, wonders in the deep, worry
Psalm 107:29. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
‘When the storms of life rage all around me, I have no cause to fear, because I have Jesus, the storm-calmer walking beside me. And if He chooses not to calm the storms when I desire, He calms my fears, so that I can ride out the storms with a peaceful soul. Praise His Holy name!’
Yes friends, more stormy weather is forecasted for these parts today, but as we said above, that we believers can face any storm because we have the great storm-calmer Jesus Christ, living within us and working for us. So though we may be physically discombobulated, our souls stay calm and free, evermore praising His holy name.
But nonetheless my brethren, this weather see-saw is ridiculous yes. And not only in terms of the weather itself, but more so of my having to put up with all of it. Brother! I promised the Duchess that we’re not spending a whole winter up here again, because the weather is just too crazy, and being locked up inside for long periods of time is definitely unhealthy for us old folks. (smile)
And despite whatever ailments I have or doctor’s appointments, from next year we’ll spend some time out of this inhumane climate, getting the sea, salt, sand and sunshine we need to brighten our latter years. (smile) And since we’ve been talking about storms all morning, we might as well continue on the topic with some encouraging words from the Good Book.
Listen to these wonderful words from Psalm 107 – God’s wonderful works to the children of men. ‘They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; They see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep. For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.
They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit’s end (all their wisdom is swallowed up). Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.’ (Ps.107:23-30)
Yeh friends, that is exactly how it is! I can tell you from personal experience about riding those stormy waves in a li’l boat out on Lake Ontario many years aback. I can personally attest to the mounting up to heaven on the big waves, then being dashed down in to the deep. I always used to read about the trembling, the shivering of the timbers, well that day I discovered what it really meant.
When the boat dropped from the top of the high wave and landed splat on the bottom, you could feel everything just shake like an earthquake. And on board that day were drunken men, thankfully I wasn’t one of them, but they prayed, possibly like never before in their lives, and the Lord eventually brought us through to calm waters.
So I know what the psalmist is talking about, and so do many of you, that’s why I’m amazed that we don’t do as he recommends: ‘Oh that men would praise (give thanks to) the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.’ (Ps.107:31-32)
That is only common sense my people, if we agree that God is the Creator and Controller of this universe. But we look real foolish when we spout that info, then go against all that the Lord stands for! We ought to be praising and exalting Him, with all our hearts, minds, bodies and souls, because that is the major reason we were created in the first place! Not to doubt and ridicule and blaspheme His holy name!
Now listen to how Isaiah puts it in the song of praise by the redeemed. ‘Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee, the city of the terrible (ruthless) nations shall fear thee. For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.’ (Is.25:3-4)
Oh my people, we are the redeemed! That means we’re supposed to be strong and glorify the Lord who caused us to be redeemed through the sacrifice of His son Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary! So why aren’t we doing better eh? Why are we allowing Satan and his evil cohorts to take over and rule our souls eh, when Jesus paid such a high price for us?
And I guess the answer can only be found in the immortal words of Jesus, when the disciples in their fear and terror during a stormy ship crossing, awoke Jesus sleeping quietly in the back of the boat, ‘saying, Lord, save us, we perish. And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!’ (Matt.8:25-27)
And that after being with Jesus for so long and seeing all the miracles He performed! But we’re doing the same thing today, so we can’t really judge them. Anyway friends, for those of us who are trying to be faithful and true, let’s go home today declaring (phew! wrong again) our Tuesday Mantra, letting the whole wide world know who and whose we are.
In strong voice, with a strong sense of purpose: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
And the next step is to go out and share that trusting friendship and awesome LOVE with the folks who don’t know or have it. Much LOVE!
…in the time of storm…ONLY Jesus can bring a sense of calm…
11 Feb 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: always before me, antidote, aura of love, awesome love, confidence, Day of Pentecost, death, disobedient children, encouragement, enthusiasm, ever-faitful Deity, evil, faithfulness, foothold, friends, full of mouth, hardhearted, he is at my right hand, hell, holy spirit, hope, humble servants, I have set the Lord, I shall not be moved, immersing ourselves, in thy presence, invincible, is fullness of joy, Jerusalem, Jesus, joy, lies, LOVE, meditation, Monday blues, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, my flesh, my glory rejoiceth, my heart is glad, Peter, prayer, prophecy, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, sacrifice his son, Satan, satanic majesty, see corruption, shall rest in hope, speaking the word, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, stubborn, taunts, the cross at Calvary, the grave, the Lord's help, the path of life, the Word of god, thine Holy One, trust, truth, unconditional LOVE, ungodly world, wisdom, wrecking ball
Psalm 16:8. I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
Yeh mih breddren, I know Monday has rolled around again, and with it has come those dreaded Monday Blues; thoughts and worries and concerns released into our systems by our macabre enemy to steal our joy, our hope, our strength and our wonderful faith in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
He knows that if he can just instill some doubt and insecurity in our souls and spirits he will be able to get some sort of foothold in our lives.
However friends, we need to deny the devil that touch of victory, deny him any victory at all! And the only way we can do that is by immersing ourselves in the Word of the Lord, in prayer and meditation and speaking that Word out loud to rebuke his satanic majesty.
We all know that Satan is only full of mouth, and once we stand up to him, with Jesus by our side, he runs and hide, because he knows he can’t win any battles involving Jesus. In fact he’s already been defeated in the war over death, hell and the grave!
Wow! Our Lord and Saviour Jesus won it hands down when He rose majestic and victorious on Easter Sunday morn! Glory to the Father for His most wonderful and unconditional LOVE for us His stubborn, hardhearted and disobedient children, which caused Him to sacrifice His ONLY Son on our behalf!
Oh friends, our God is a great and ever-faithful Deity yes! And I say that as I chuckle here, because when I came to write, I had no idea of what I was going to write, not even how to open the Bit. But as you can see from the above stuff, with the Lord’s help and encouragement the words and ideas just flowed! (smile)
So how can I ever doubt Him eh? And I’m offering you the glorious opportunity to also have Him be a major part of your life, so that you too can personally experience, His awesome LOVE and faithfulness. And we’ll show you some of that faithfulness as we come to Him and ask Him to drive away those awful Monday Blues and enliven our souls and spirits once again.
So let’s declare (right ho) our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, the antidote, the wrecking ball for those tired and listless feelings with full sincerity and a true sense of purpose, because, without those two elements, it won’t work.
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!’
Oh yes my people, our God is good! And I know that you are feeling that rebirth, that refuelling of the Holy Spirit in your lives, because I too am feeling it in mine! Glory to God! So now we can truly get out into that evil world and fight a good fight in Jesus’ name, like we’ve been destined to do!
And I was also led to some most appropriate scripture to go along with all the other aspects of our Bit. Listen to these words, heart-stopping, sincere, and ever so wise words from Bruh David, as he seeks preservation and blessing from the God of his fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
‘I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest (dwell) in hope.
For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell (Sheol, the abode of the dead); neither wilt thou suffer (allow) thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.’ (Ps.16:8-11)
Oh friends, all of that is oh so true because Jesus came and did it all! He won the victory over hell, death and the grave, and showed the path of life, letting us know that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life, as well as the everlasting Light that engulfs God’s universe, and that ONLY through Him can we ever come to the Father. And when we partner with Him, there is everlasting joy and pleasure, earthly and heavenly, waiting for us.
Now what can be better than all that eh friends? Who else can provide all of that in ONE body eh? Only Jesus Christ! So there is much wisdom in coming to know and adore, admire and live for Him.
And besides, to prove that those words of Bruh David weren’t empty words, Peter preached them in his great sermon on the Day of Pentecost, (Acts 2:25-28) letting the people of Jerusalem and all its visitors know that Jesus Christ had indeed brought that prophecy to fruition by His selfless, once and for all sacrifice of Himself on the cross at Calvary.
So please friends, today, let’s take heart, courage and strength from the wondrous works of Jesus as He full well desires us to do. Much LOVE!
…to receive all that heaven offers…one must give all of oneself to Christ…
10 Feb 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a day of rest, all these things, cheating, crapaud smoke we pipe, crime, eager to provide them, for my sake, for tomorrow, give me the strength, God's provision, gratn our heart's desire, great is thy faithfulness, help me today, high priest, his compassions fail not, I'm only humanshow me the stairway, imploring our heavenly Father, inspiration, is the evil thereof, it's worse now than then, Jeremiah, Jesus, Lamentations, laze around, Lord and Saviour, manna, new every morning, one day at a time, pay serious attention, prayer, primary focus, priority, promise ourselves, raise our voices to heaven, seek ye first, Sermon on the Mount, shall be added to you, show me the way, spiritual, stealing, sufficient unto the day, sweet jesus, take no thought, teach me to take, thanksgiving, that I have to climb, the kingdom of God, the Lord's mercies, to change, to do what I have to do, tomorrow may never be mine, tomorrow shall take care of itself, trouble, violence, we're not consumed, words of wisdom, worry, yesterday's gone, you walked among men
Matthew 6:34. Take therefore no thought for the morrow (don’t worry about tomorrow): for the morrow shall take thought for (worry about) the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil (trouble) thereof.
Awright friends, it’s Sunday, that great first day of the week that we all know and LOVE! Some of us just like it because we can laze around in it, conveniently using the biblical contention that it’s supposed to be a day of rest. (smile) Meanwhile, to others, it is also a day to get together with fellow believers and celebrate God’s goodness, give Him praise and thanks and exalt His holy name in return for all that’s He done for us!
And that’s what I’d suggest we all do on this cold Sunday in February; hie thee hither to the Lord’s sanctuary and worship and sing praises to our omnipotent and magnanimous God, hear His awesome Word, and receive His healing power and confidence to face the upcoming week! Now that’s what a Sunday should be all about!
And as always, we open the proceedings with a song of praise and thanksgiving. Today’s song will be a popular gospel tune written I believe somewhere in the 1970’s by Marijohn Wilkins and Kris Kristofferson; a heartfelt plea to be granted mercy and grace, forgiveness and all that’s necessary to live a righteous life ‘One Day at a Time Sweet Jesus!’
So let’s raise the roof of the sanctuary- if there is one – (smile) as we raise our voices to heaven, humbly imploring our heavenly Father to grant our heart’s desire. As one body in Christ now: (Chorus: One day at a time, sweet Jesus That’s all I’m asking of You Just give me the strength to do every day What I have to do Yesterday’s gone, sweet Jesus And tomorrow may never be mine Lord, help me today Show me the way One day at a time)
I’m only human, I’m just a woman (man) Help me believe in what I could be And all that I am Show me the stairway That I have to climb Lord, for my sake, teach me to take One day at a time. (Chorus) Oh, do you remember When You walked among men Well, Jesus, You know If You’re looking below It’s worse now, than then, Cheating and stealing, violence and crime So for my sake, teach me to take One day at a time
(Chorus: One day at a time, sweet Jesus That’s all I’m asking of You Just give me the strength to do every day What I have to do Oh, yesterday’s gone, sweet Jesus And tomorrow may never be mine Lord, help me today Show me the way One day at a time Lord, help me today Show me the way One day at a time One day at a time.’
Yeh friends, fortunately or unfortunately, one day at a time is the only way we can live this earthly life and we do need God’s provision to do so successfully. And He is only too eager to provide them for us every day! Remember what Jeremiah says in his Lamentations? ‘It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.’ (Lam.3:22-23)
That’s a crucial bit of scripture friends, something we should all pay serious attention to, for just consider what our state would be if the Lord didn’t provide us with new mercies and compassion and LOVE each and every day nuh? Putting it simple and straightforward; crapaud smoke we pipe! That’s for sure!
But even more important than God’s mercies being available new every morning, is the inescapable fact that we have to do our part to get, to receive them. They just don’t fall in our laps like manna from heaven. Each day that we draw the breath of life, we need to be actively engaged in God’s work and try to live right, to let His will be our top priority.
And Jesus, who knows best, because that’s exactly what He did in His earthly life – draw inspiration and strength from the Father each and every day through prayer and thanksgiving – gives us this serious and wise advice during His famous Sermon on the Mount.
‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow (don’t worry about tomorrow): for the morrow shall take thought for (worry about) the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil (trouble) thereof.’ (Matt.6:33-34)
And if we’d only follow those words of wisdom from our High Priest, our Lord and Saviour, our lives would be so much better. It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t make some plans for the future, but today should bear most of our concentration, for we don’t know what will happen tomorrow, we might not even be around, and most likely it will have its own troubles.
I like how the scholars put it: ‘When our priority is spiritual, God will take care of the material, for where God guides, He provides. We need not even worry about tomorrow, for sufficient unto the day is the evil (trouble) thereof. This means that each day has its own troubles and challenges to be responsibly handled, without worrying about the hypothetical problems that could arise tomorrow.’
So friends, it’s not like we don’t know what we’re supposed to do, but we either don’t believe it, are afraid to do it, or our faith just isn’t strong enough. But whatever the reason why we aren’t making God and today our primary focuses, let’s promise ourselves to change it nuh.
Let’s go to the source of ALL help, our heavenly Father Himself and pour out our hearts, just like we did in the song above. Remember, He will NEVER turn away anyone who sincerely and humbly comes to Him for help! Much LOVE!
…Lord help me today…show me the way…one day at a time…only one day at a time…
09 Feb 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a grain of mustard seed, all things, Anselm, be thou removed, belief in christ, believe it before you see it, believe you can, believing, birds of the air, cast into the sea, castigated, circumstances, come to Jesus, corner stones, curse the fig tree, decisions, education, faith, fasting, fellowship, friends, glory hallelujah, grow strong in faith, halfway there, ignorance, in the branches, it shall be doen, Jesus' realm, Jesus' work, lodge, LOVE Revolution, nothing shall be impossible, opposition, Praise the Lord, prayer, product, say unto this mountain, seeing is believing, shenanigans, social media, stepping up to the plate, technological advancement, the disciples, the Father's business, the Word of god, turbulent times, two cents worth, whatsoever ye ask in prayer, ye shall receive
Matthew 21:22. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
Ah mih people, the sun is shining brightly outside, the gloominess has been lifted, but please be careful because the weather isn’t completely done with its frustrating shenanigans! (smile)
Yeh, yuh still hearing about the likelihood of getting all the different kinds of winter weather over the weekend, and the place is still white with ice and snow, and the wind is still blowing strong, but we not going to let it bother us. Like the workingman says in his song, we going to do our thing, regardless of what kind of weather shows up! Amen!
And since it’s Saturday, and we have good reasons to sleep in, (smile) let’s check out some of the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And this first quote is interesting: ‘I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions.’
Now I don’t know if that is completely true nuh, because oftimes our decisions are made because of the circumstances in which we find ourselves. So though the decisions may seal the deal, they can always be leveraged by the circumstances.
And the next one says: ‘The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.’ And believe me, a lot of people will try to stop you, possibly more than will allow you to do what you want to do, especially in these turbulent times of technological advances and the rise of social media, where every fool and his brother can introduce their two cents worth without revealing their identities.
But friends, all that foolishness should not stop us in stepping up to the plate and valiantly and powerfully doing what Jesus requires of us. Remember, He had plenty opposition too, but that never stopped Him from doing the Father’s business, and neither should we let whatever opposition comes against us stop us from doing His work.
Then there’s: ‘Education costs money. But then so does ignorance.’ Gospel truth that! (smile) But somehow or the other, I believe that in this day and age education is costing a whole lot more than ignorance.
You really don’t have to do much of anything to obtain ignorance nuh, just let the world go by without paying much attention to it, and you will end up ignorant, like so many of us unfortunately are today. We not even paying attention to the good free stuff like Jesus and His LOVE Revolution, so how can we be anything else but ignorant eh?
And then this last quote says: ‘Believe you can and you’re halfway there.’ I don’t know if you’ll be quite halfway there, but your strong belief in whatever you’re doing is certainly going to get you over the top. It’s like the Chinese Proverb advocates: ‘The longest journey begins with the first step.’
And most definitely, the first crucial step in any undertaking is to believe that you can do it, otherwise your odds of success will be greatly lowered. That’s just the way the Lord set up His universe. That’s why Jesus castigated the disciples with these words, when they queried why they could not heal a mentally ill young boy.
‘And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove (move); and nothing shall be impossible to you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.’ (Matt.17:20-21)
Yeh friends, we do indeed need even a small grain of belief before we can do anything successfully. Jesus even talked earlier about the parable of the mustard seed: ‘Which indeed is the least of (smallest of) all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among the herbs (greater than the other herbs), and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge (rest, sleep) in the branches thereof.’ (Matt.13:32)
So friends, you see that all things start with small beginnings, and that also applies to our faith, our belief in Christ Jesus; we start with a small grain of faith or belief, then as time goes on and we water and feed it with the right nutrients- i.e. the Word of God, prayer and fellowship- our faith will grow stronger and stronger, and just like the mustard tree, we will be able to help others come to Jesus and grow strong in faith too. Glory Hallelujah!
And likewise, when Jesus put a curse on the bare fig tree, and the disciples marvelled at how quickly it withered away: ‘Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.’ (Matt.21:21-22)
Yes my people, belief and believing are the corner stones to doing anything successfully in this world…and even more so in Jesus’ realm. So let’s wake up and smell the coffee nuh (smile) and start truly believing, because without true belief, we will never see Jesus! Much LOVE!
…the world says…seeing is believing…but Jesus says…believe it…then you will see it…
P.S. It nice and short and sweet today. (smile) Praise the Lord! Much LOVE!
08 Feb 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all for our benefit, bad weather, be wise, broad is the way, choose life, Christians, clear as noonday, confined, dead to Jesus, difficult the way, do as I please, drinking, eating, endeavours, energy, enthusiasm, eternal life, eternally separated, evil, fellowship, few find it, field of vision, Friday chant, full mih belly, fun, furthering your glorious kingdom, generous help, get a foothold, get sidetracked, gloomy winter's day, gospel truth, head and not the tail, his riches in glory, I am the way, in Jesus name, Jesus, karay mih body, leadeth to destruction, leadeth unto life, leggo beast, let it all hnag out, liable to get bite, live for the weekend, narrow, narrower boundaries, no one comes to the Father, on the outside looking in, one bad apple, overcomers, partying, relaxation, rest, restraint, slave driver, strait is the gate, strength, supply all my needs, sweet music, TGIF!, Thank God is Friday, that kinda behaviour, the Life, the Truth, the weekend, the workingman's song, this is the day the Lord has made, two options, ungodly world, we will rejoice and be glad in it, wide is the gate
Matthew 7:14. Because strait (how narrow) is the gate, and narrow (difficult, confined) is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
And then it was Friday…another gloomy winter’s day? Most likely! But who knows…and who cares eh? Not us believing Christians! We have Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour constantly looking over us, so we don’t let li’l things like the weather bother us, or keep us from doing His will! We get up and decide, whatever the weather or our circumstances: ‘This is the day the Lord has made, we WILL rejoice and be glad in it!’ Wow! What confidence we have in our Saviour!
And if that doesn’t do the trick, then we continue: ‘The Lord will provide all my needs through His riches in glory!’ And furthermore: ‘If God be for me, who can be against me eh?’ Not a single soul! And since we are overcomers, the head and not the tail, above and not beneath, through Christ who gives us the strength to do all that He calls us to do, then we can be steadfast and strong, and conclude that ‘As for me and my house, we WILL follow the Lord!’
Oh friends, if you all didn’t need that li’l pick me up this morning, good for you, but the ole fella certainly needed it! But with the Lord’s help, we back on track now…praise His holy name!
So let’s hear what the workingman has to say this gloomy Friday morning. And I just LOVE his undaunted enthusiasm! ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday…La la la la la la! It might be winter…and cold and miserable, but why should that make me miserable too eh? Especially when is Friday and the weekend upon me…when is my time to do as I please. I’d be real chupid to let a li’l bad weather stop me from enjoying the couple days off I have from the slave driver’s work yes!
So who want to let that bother them or stop them from eating and drinking and partying, that is their business, but it not going to stop me, because I just live for the weekend and the li’l chance to karay mih body to some sweet music, and full mih belly with good food and drink, especially in them kinda cold weather here! I need strength, energy and enthusiasm to handle them oui! So thank God for Fridays and the weekends and them yes!’
Yes mih people, the workingman is certainly off and running today. And I know that plenty of us supposed Christians think like him, and would like to behave leggo beast like him, but Jesus doesn’t like that kinda behaviour in His organization, so we cool it down, and instead chant we Friday Chant, a somewhat more controlled song, with narrower boundaries. So let’s chant up a storm now nuh!
As one chanter: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Ah mih breddren, a li’l restraint never hurt nobody yet nuh, but when you let it all hang out, yuh liable to get bite, as the long time calypso did say. (smile) And that’s all Jesus is trying to do yes with His narrow way; preventing us from getting bite! It’s all for our benefit, because yuh know how the enemy always lurking in the background ready to snap and bite at any chance we give him, so he could get a foothold in we souls and just spoil everything.
Remember, it does only take one bad apple to spoil the whole basket! And Jesus doesn’t want that to happen to us, that’s why He advocates the narrow, less travelled way. ‘Enter ye in at the strait (narrow) gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait (how narrow) is the gate, and narrow (difficult, confined) is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.’ (Matt.7:13-14)
And that’s the gospel truth friends! But we don’t even need Jesus us to tell us that, because logically speaking, the wider or broader your field of vision or your endeavours, the more problems you’re liable to have, just because so much more is involved.
But getting back to Jesus, who wants to suffer destruction by being eternally separated from Him eh? Nobody in their right minds! So if we’re wise and sensible, although I know common sense isn’t in vogue these days (smile) we will choose the strait and narrow way which is through Jesus as He so sweetly and graciously enlightens us: ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but my me.’ (John 14:6) End of story friends!
If you want to get to the Father, then you have to go through His Son Jesus! That’s all there is to it! It’s just like our earthly set up; to get to the boss, you have to go through His secretary. (smile) So just consider Jesus the Father’s Administrative Assistant, and if you don’t deal with Him, you won’t get a chance to deal with the Father! Clear as noonday my brethren!
So let’s take a few moments today and ponder which road we’re currently travelling on nuh, because it’s so easy to get sidetracked in this evil, ungodly world, that we need to constantly be on our p’s and q’s so we stay on the straight and narrow with Jesus. Much LOVE!
…only two options available…the strait and narrow with Jesus…and enjoy eternal life…or the broad and busy highway…and end up on the outside looking in…dead to Jesus…be wise…choose life…
07 Feb 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a positive outlook, a scheme, a single grateful thought, a spiritual exercise, ask amiss, be damned, benefits, boast of riches, Christian, consume it, costly, curse, desires, draw ourselves toward God, Elihu, esteem thy riches, fleshly lusts, friends, gain the whole world, German writer, Give God a ransom, give in exchange for his soul, gospel truth, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, hear his cry, heartfelt thank you, hope, hopelessness, in my heart, inclement weather, iniquity, Job, lose his soul, LOVE, motives of our hearts, move God into our lives, negative word, obedience, outward show, part of God's plan and purpose, pleasures, power of people, prayer, precious, prosper, purpose of prayer, receive not, redeem his brother, redemption, same khaki pants, self-control, self-discipline, share, succeed, the consequences, the forces of strength, the greatest power, the hope of the hypocrite, the hypocrite, the most perfect prayer, Thursday Blessings, to communicate with God, trust in wealth, upon your lusts, what is a man profited, wrath, ye ask
James 4:3. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts (pleasures).
Different day, friends, but the same khaki pants! Hn! Ah have to laugh yes, because it seems like more inclement weather is forecasted for today. Steups! Yuh just can’t win with this weather nuh! But you can’t let it keep you locked up indoors forever either. So if you have to go out, just go out and be damned the consequences!
Just take Jesus’ hand and let Him guide you! He’ll take you out and back safely; that’s His promise! But then again, if you don’t have to go, don’t just go for the sake of going! (smile)
And today we’re going to talk a li’l about the most powerful tool of communication in our world…it’s called prayer! We know of it, talk a lot about it, but for whatever reason, don’t use it sufficiently. And the first words on it come from the celebrated German writer, philosopher, dramatist and art critic Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729-1781), one of the bright lights of the German Enlightenment era.
And he said way back then: ‘A single grateful thought toward heaven is the most perfect prayer.’ And so it is my brethren. We don’t have to have long, gushing, ornate prayers to be praying right, but just a heartfelt thank you and request is sufficient. And not only that, it’s possibly more quickly answered than the long, overflowing, flowery words prayer.
The important thing though my Christian brethren is that we pray, and pray sincerely, whether they be long or short, they must be constant and sincere, because remember, God looks at state of our obedience and the motives of our hearts and not our outward show, before He replies to our prayers.
Now hear these awesome words from Gramps Schuller (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) on the subject of prayer, from His Hour of Power Devotional. He starts out by making this true and most incredible claim: ‘The greatest power in the world today is the power of people to communicate with Almighty God.
Prayer is not a scheme whereby we can move God into our lives, but rather a spiritual exercise through which we draw ourselves toward God until we are a part of His plan and His purpose. The purpose of prayer is not to give you what you want when you want it, but to make you the kind of person God wanted you to be when He put you on the planet earth.’
There you have it friends, the true purpose of prayer; to draw closer to God and to become what He wants us to be! Not to merely be asking Him for stuff that we desire, most of the time to be applied to our fleshly lusts and desires. Now it’s not wrong to ask for stuff that we need, and even our hearts desires, but they must fall under the will of God, be somewhere in His plan for our lives.
As James castigates us when he talks about worldliness and pride: ‘Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts (pleasures).’ And most of us can’t find fault with that statement, especially in today’s sinful and ungodly world!
But listen to Job’s discourse on the hypocrite’s hopelessness: ‘For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul? Will God hear his cry when trouble cometh upon him? Will he delight himself in the Almighty? Will he always call upon God?’ The most likely answer to all of that is a simple ‘NO!’
For as the psalmist declares (right ho) plain and straight: ‘If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.’ (Ps.66:18) And that’s the gospel truth; anytime the Lord discovers improper motives in our hearts, He won’t answer our prayers!
That brings us to these most important questions of Jesus: ‘For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?’ (Matt.17:26) And the answer to the first question is ‘ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!’
And the psalmist answers the second one this way: ‘They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him: (For the redemption of their soul is precious (costly), and it ceaseth for ever.’ (Ps.49:6-8) That ought to teach us friends to trust absolutely in God, and not in wealth!
And Job’s supposed friend, Elihu, adds his two cents worth, as he talks about the results of Job’s sins: ‘Because there is wrath, beware lest he take thee away with his stroke: then a great ransom cannot deliver thee. Will he esteem thy riches? No, not gold, nor all the forces of strength.’
Again we see my people, that nothing that the world possess is sufficient to ransom our immortal souls, only the word of God and belief in His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ can keep us from the hell fires of death and destruction!
Now, enough of all that negative talk (smile), let’s go home declaring (right ho) our Thursday Blessings that the Lord has so magnanimously poured down on us nuh, for being such good followers of His Son Jesus Christ! (smile)
All together now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
And He didn’t grant us all that because we were so sweet and obedient, but also to share it with others less fortunate. So let’s go out now and do just that nuh! Much LOVE!
…as Jesus shared the Father’s LOVE and benefits with us…so must we share His LOVE and benefits with others…
06 Feb 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fearful heart, Abba, adoption, afflictions of the gospel, afraid, afraid of life, be strong, benefits, Big Boss Man, Christian walk, Christians, comfort me, complaining, compromise ourselves, confront the heathen, damnation, deliverance, Egypt, Father, fear no evil, fear not little flock, fear ye not, freezing rain, glorious future with Jesus, Hades, halfway home, hands on the plough, heavenly rewards, hell fire, hold your peace, in jeopardy, Jesus compromised, lack of belief, living for Jesus, LOVE, make waves, middle of the workweek, Moses, no cause to fear, not looking back, of their own shadows, out of bondage, Pharaoh, power, power of our God, push come to shove, recompense, refresh our memories, rough going, satnd still, save you, snow, sons of God, spirit of bodage, spirit of fear, strong mind, the Good Book, The Israelites, The Lord is my shepherd, the Lord shall fight for you, the man, the One, the Red Sea, the salvation of the Lord, the valley of death, thy rod and staff, to give you the kingdom, total control, unworthy actions, vengeance, walk through, Wednesday Wail, your Father's good pleasure
Luke 12:32. Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
Well it’s the middle of the workweek and most of us are catching our second wind, but we have to be careful because we seem to be playing some sort of weather musical chairs. Remember just last week it was a winter storm, then rain and flood? Well this morning I came down and looked outside and it was white as snow! (smile) It didn’t seem like a whole lot, but if the place is covered all over, then there’s too much snow in my opinion…as though that counts.
But then I heard some noise like stones hitting the window panes, only to discover freezing rain was also in action! And that’s possibly the worst combination you can have. So for all of you who have to go out today, please, please be careful because the snow is going to hide the ice and falling is definitely not recommended for this time of year. (smile)
But what’s certainly recommended is walking closer with Jesus, walking in lockstep with Him! For as the Daily Bread Devotional quote so rightly tells us: ‘There is no need to fear where you are going, when Jesus is going with you!’ Oh Glory Be my people! And that’s the living truth! Once Jesus is alongside us there’s no cause to fear because He is the MAN! He is the ONE in total control of ALL that happens in heaven and down here on earth!
So why should we fear if we have the Big Boss Man walking alongside us eh; securely holding our hands and whispering sweet encouragement? No reason whatsoever! So why are so many of us supposed Christians still so afraid of even our own shadows eh? We’re afraid to go out and confront the heathen, the devil, and whoever comes against us. We don’t want to make waves because somebody might complain, so we either stay quiet or compromise ourselves with some unworthy actions.
Now just think of what would have happened to us, what our situation would currently be like if Jesus had been afraid to make waves and just compromised with the heathen? We’d all be still headed for Hades, for hell fire and damnation, instead of having heaven as a wonderful and viable option! So what we going to do today is just refresh our memories with some doh fear talk from the Good Book that we all know and LOVE to spout, but when push comes to shove, we fraid to put into action!
And we going to start right at the beginning, where the Israelites on their way out of bondage in Egypt came upon the impassable Red Sea with Pharaoh and his Egyptian army hot on their heels. ‘And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation (deliverance) of the Lord, which he will show to you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace (be quiet).’ (Ex.14:13-14)
And we all know what happened on that most momentous day; the Lord parted the Red Sea through Moses, and the people walked across on dry land, then He closed back up the Red Sea and drowned Pharaoh and his whole army. One would have thought that the Israelites would never have forgotten such a day. But unfortunately, as soon as they got over the other side and found a li’l rough going, they began to complain and carry on against Moses and God, and thus spent forty years wandering in the wilderness for their lack of belief and foolish complaining.
But don’t laugh nuh friends, because we’re doing the same thing today; full well knowing the power of our God, but still being afraid of life! But moving on: Here’s another verse we all know and spout, but don’t truly action. This is from Bruh David’s famous psalm -the Lord is my shepherd.’ Remember these words: ‘Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.’ (Ps.23:4)
Think on that friends…and at the same time on these other words of Bruh David: ‘The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?’ (Ps.27:1) Good question that my brethren!
And the Lord told Isaiah when He promised that Israel would be restored to Zion: ‘Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; he will come and save you.’ (Is.35:4) And we all know that He did just that!
And how many times did Jesus tell His disciples and those around Him to fear not eh? We’ll just mention this one when He was talking about man’s first priority should be seeking the kingdom of God. ‘Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.’ And if we don’t know that by now, then our Christian walk is really in jeopardy.
Then Bruh Paul had these words for 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.’ (Rom.8:14-15) So friends, if we are the children of God, then what do we have to fear eh? I’ll let you answer that. (smile)
And we’ll close with this last and oh so popular verse; words of Bruh Paul to Timothy. ‘For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of (share with me) the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God.’ (2 Tim.1:7-8) What more can I say eh friends? Bruh Paul said it all!
But we can definitely go home declaring (right ho) our Wednesday Wail with sincere hearts and minds, letting the world know our position in Christ! In strong voice now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday!
Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
And one of these days, when we’re all in heaven, I’ll remind us of how I kept saying that the future with Jesus would be even greater than we can ask or imagine, and you wouldn’t believe me! (smile) Much LOVE!
…doing anything right isn’t easy…but living for Jesus…oh my,my…it brings out of this world benefits…heavenly rewards…
05 Feb 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a friend of God, a man after His own heart, a sense of well being, above all the earth, above the heavens, Abraham Isacc and Jacob, act of obedience, action it, are passed, Be thou exalted, beloved of God, calamities, confidence, daily routine, David, deep distress, disappointments, disobedient, do our own thing, emergencies, emotional responses, empty, exalt, faithful brethren, flesh, for our benefit, friend of Jesus, God of his fathers, God will never turn us away, growth in faith, heart-rending prayers, his bread was buttered, lead us astray, let thy glory be, LOVE, LOVE Walk, morning woes, my heart, my soul trusts in theee, obeisance, on which side, own way, proclaim God's holy name, reproach, rote, Saul, save me, secret thoughts, send forth his mercy, shadow of thy wings, share His love, strength, stubborn, the elders in heaven, truth, Tuesday Mantra, undaunted faith, your home
Psalm 57:5. Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.
And so we’ve come to Tuesday… a somewhat damp and cloudy day in my part of the universe, but the sun’s looking to give it a good try though, and that’s all we can ask of it. (smile) And yes we late, because I got up late, then my computer rebelled and wanted to do its own thing, so I had to reboot it, then the garbage truck came much earlier than I expected, so I had to rush out there and put out my garbage, else it would stay there for another two weeks.
So those are my early morning woes! And for those of you who are interested, I am feeling better than I did yesterday… Glory to God! (smile) So let’s get with something that I believe will be very useful for us this warmer Tuesday morning with few traces of snow on the ground. It comes from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. And it’s titled most appropriately: ‘Be Thou Exalted.’
Please pray with me: “Be thou exalted, Lord In thine own strength: So will we sing And praise thy power.” Yes, Lord, Yes! David’s prayer is my prayer. Be exalted in my day-by-day agenda In my motives and dreams My priorities and goals. Even in my failures, Lord As You turn them into stepping stones Toward spiritual growth.
Be exalted in my worship and praise In my sobbing and singing. Be exalted in my secret thoughts My emotional responses. Be exalted in my daily routine The delays, the unexpected emergencies The disappointments that often come. Lord God, as You are exalted In heaven and on earth Be exalted in Your home – my heart.’
Oh my people, what wonderful words and sentiments! Especially when we remember that God made us essentially to exalt and proclaim His wonderful and holy name! And doing so should indeed be a part of every part of our existence, both here on earth and later on in heaven…in other words forever and ever!
Like the elders in heaven, we ought to be continuously praising and exalting our most wonderful God! And the only way we can continually praise and exalt our God, is when He indeed lives in that secret place He ordained for Himself and no one or nothing else, that special place deep down in our hearts; the very depths of our souls, where all our most sacred thoughts and feelings lie!
And the good thing about exalting God is that we do get such a wonderful sense of well being, of confidence and strength, of growth in our faith and our LOVE walk! It’s not just a rote and empty act of obeisance and/or obedience, but when we do it sincerely, it also lifts us up! So it’s also for our benefit my faithful brethren!
So why don’t we do it more often and more sincerely eh? Who knows? But it’s for sure that Bruh David never stopped acknowledging and exalting his God, even in times of deep distress – and so should we. Hear his prayer in our Bit: ‘Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.’
And yuh know what friends? He thought that it was so nice that he had to write it twice! (smile) He ends the psalm with that same line. ‘Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.’ (Ps.57:11) And he thought it nice enough to also write it in Psalm 108:5. (smile)
So if Bruh David, who was considered a friend of God and a man after His own heart could be so emphatic in his exaltation, why can’t we lesser mortals do the same eh? Because we’re just stubborn and own way and like to do our own thing, allow our flesh to lead us astray, even though we know better.
But the great thing about our God friends, is that He will NEVER turn us away when we sincerely come to Him, regardless of the time and our state. Who could have been more disobedient than Bruh David eh? But the Lord saw that his heart was basically right and thus listened to and answered his soulful, heart-rending prayers like this one at the beginning of Psalm 57:
‘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)
Yes my people, that’s the kind of undaunted faith that Bruh David had in the God of his fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! And He never disappointed him either! How do you think he was able to get away all those times that Saul tried to kill him eh? That’s why I keep reminding us that Bruh David knew on which side his bread was buttered, and if we’re wise, we too should be able to figure that out.
And if you can’t do that, I’ll let you into a li’l ‘secrat’ as my young daughter used to say…our bread is buttered on God’s side! Glory Hallelujah my people! Exalt His holy name!
Now let’s go home letting all and sundry know who and whose we are by declaring (chuh, wrong again) our Tuesday Mantra in strong voice and sincere sense of purpose: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
And having spoken it, let’s go out and action it nuh, like Jesus desires of us! Much LOVE!
…sincere and true exaltation of God…is necessary…both for God…and for us…
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