17 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a godly manner, a positive idea, begun a good work, being confident, blessed Trinity, casting down, character, cherubim, Christian brethren, common sense, conduct, conform, desire, discernment, distort the message, early in the morning, earth, eternal security, eye made blind by sin, fellowship, financial support, forgiveness, fruit, glassy sea, glorify our heavenly Father, glorifying God, God in three persons, God is faithful, God's will, golden crowns, grace, guidance, holy holy holy, imprisonment, in the mind of a believer, joy, judgement, knowledge, LOVE, making request, mature, may abound, measuring up, merciful, mercy, mighty, moral life, My walk, of this very thing, our song shall rise to thee, perfect in power, Philippi, Philippians, powerful force, praise, prayer, purity, purpose, reinforcement, remembrance, righteous fruit, righteousness, robert h schuller, run, saving work, sea, seraphim, sky, spiritual strength, spreading the good news, standards, static, Sunday, thank God, thanksgiving, the darkness, the day of Jesus Christ, the finish line, the gospel, the Holy Spirit, the Lord's tutelage, the Sabbath of the Lord, the saints adore thee, thy works shall praise thy name, truth, walking in God's will, will perfor it, wisdom, worship, worthwhile things
Philippians 1:6. Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform (complete) it until the day of Jesus Christ.
Ah friends, it’s the best day of the week – Sunday –the Sabbath of the Lord! That means it’s time for worship and praise and thanksgiving and fellowship, so that we can glorify our heavenly Father together and receive His endless LOVE, grace, mercy and forgiveness in a renewal of our spiritual strength and well-being! Wow!
And what better way to begin our day than with a song of praise. So please sing with me, this old but highly treasured hymn, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy.’ Let’s raise the roof with our sincere and heartfelt praise, so that heaven stands up and takes notice.
‘Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee; holy, holy, holy! merciful and mighty, God in three persons, blessed Trinity! Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore thee, casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea; cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee, who wert and art and evermore shalt be.
Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide thee, though the eye made blind by sin thy glory may not see, only thou art holy; there is none beside thee, perfect in power, in love, and purity. Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! All thy works shall praise thy name, in earth and sky and sea; holy, holy, holy! merciful and mighty, God in three persons, blessed Trinity!’
Yes my brethren, a most appropriate way to get us clearly tuned into our God, with no static buzzing around to distort the message, ready to hear His word and consequently have His Holy Spirit move in a godly manner within us.
And from Gramps Schuller’s (Robert H. Schuller) Hour of Power Devotional comes this prayer titled ‘MY WALK.’ I might have shared it before, but what’s to stop us from sharing it again eh? (smile)
Please pray with me. ‘O God, I’m inspired, for you have just impressed this truth into my mind. The most powerful force in the world is a positive idea in the mind of a believer who is walking in your will! I now reach forth my life and say, “God, put my life into the centre of your will.” Amen.’
Now I do hope we all mean that friends, because there’s really nothing as powerful as a positive idea in the mind of an obedient follower of Christ! And if we’re truly sincere, God will put just such an idea into our minds and cause us to successfully run with it, right to the finish line.
Now most likely whatever God puts in our minds to do won’t be easy, but we know that He will ALWAYS assist us in any task we undertake on His behalf!
No wonder Bruh Paul could write to the Philippians: ‘I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy. For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now. Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform (complete) it until the day of Jesus Christ.’ (Phil.1:3-6)
Yes my fellow believers, Bruh Paul is letting the Philippians know that he continually thanks God for their help in spreading the good news of Christ, even from the very first day that they heard it, right up until the time of his writing. He was also grateful for their prayers and financial support. The church at Philippi was a strong one early on in its formation. Thus Bruh Paul could write the words of our Bit, confident that they would grow and mature under the Lord’s tutelage and guidance.
And the scholars offer these explanations. ‘1:6. Will perform it is said “will finish it.” Paul is convinced that the work of grace that God began in the Philippians at conversion will be divinely continued until the day of Jesus Christ. That is, the Lord will keep working in these believers until Jesus returns to earth, at which point He will finish His work, bringing it to completion.
This speaks of the Christian’s eternal security. For God had a purpose in view when He began His saving work in the Philippians, and that purpose will neither be abandoned nor unrealized.’
Now friends, doesn’t that just give us encouragement and reassurance, since it’s the same programme the Lord has in mind for each believer. His avowed desire and purpose is to conform us as closely as possible to His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and once He’s begun that process, He won’t stop until He takes us home or Christ returns to earth, whichever comes first.
Please remember my Christian brethren that God is ever-faithful, and once He takes you under His comforting wings, He’ll never let anything untoward happen to you. In other words, we are secure in His everlasting LOVE, care and concern.
And Bruh Paul ends this section with more reinforcement. ‘And this I pray, that your LOVE may abound yet more and more in knowledge and judgement (discernment): That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ. Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.’ (Phil.1:9-11)
Oh my people, the same expectations have been set in place for us in these modern times. Nothing has really changed. God’s plan is still the same for all of us.
And the scholars explain. 1:10. Things that are excellent means “things that really matter.” This refers to important issues. As the Philippians’ LOVE increases in knowledge and discernment (v.9), they will be able to accurately distinguish the vital and worthwhile things in life from those that are not.
Contextually, the readers’ LOVE for Paul vexes them as they are anxious over his imprisonment. He wants them to perceive his imprisonment as being among “those things that really matter” because of the good that God will bring out of it. The purpose for such discrimination is that ye may be sincere (or, morally pure) and without offense till the day of Christ.’
And re ‘1:11. This verse could be translated, “Filled with the fruit that is righteousness, which comes through Jesus Christ for the purpose of glorifying and praising God.” The believer who is pure and without offense before God (v.10) has divinely developed in him a practical “righteousness” or daily moral life that measures up to God’s standards in character and conduct. The ultimate purpose for this “righteousness” is to glorify God.’
Ah friends, that says it all. So let’s ponder what we’ve said today and see if we’re measuring up to God’s standards, then sincerely ask Him to help us do better. That’s both common sense and eternal wisdom! Much LOVE!
…without exception…believers are expected to bear righteous fruit…for the purpose of glorifying Almighty God…
16 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a gift of God, a great day to be alive, a job, a modicum of circumspection, a roof over our heads, a stranger, abode, abundance, accumulation of wealth, affliction, all that glitters is not gold, Anselm, beautiful things, better car, bigger, bitch, brevity of life, children, christianity, cleaning, clothes, common among men, complain, corrupt, deceased, desperate, dishonesty, do better in school, do your best, enjoyment, eternal life, evil, evil disease, flimsy, food, foolishness, for the wind, foundation, futility, good, gospel truth, grocery shopping, grumbling, heritage, higher ground, his portion, hit the nail on the head, honesty, honour, in heaven, in the Mirror, insubstantial, integrity, Jesus Christ, keeping up with the Joneses, laboured, lacks nothing, laundry, litigation, living like cat and dog, loving kindness, lustful, mercy, miserable, misfortune, money, naked, partake, power to eat, prettier, Prince, privileged circumstances, promises, prosperity, proud, reap the rewards, reputation, rewards, riches, run down riches, sacrificed, salvation, Saturday, Selah, shameful, sinful nature, sinless life, smarter, sour, sullies the name, sure bet, the Be All, the End all, the Preacher, travail, trickery, under the sun, unfortunate, ungodly behaviour, vanity, virtues, virtuous living, wealth, wealthy prime, wisdom
Ecclesiastes 6:1. There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men.
Oh friends and fellow believers, today is a great day to be alive! And why is that you ask? Because today is not like any other day. It’s filled with wonderful promises and beautiful things to look forward to, like no work, since it’s Saturday…
And I hear some of you ‘steupsing’ and grumbling in the background, for although there is no outside work to go to, there is a lot of stuff to be done around the house; stuff to clean up from the past week and more to get ready for next week.
But that doesn’t mean we have to be sour and miserable. Just being alive is a great joy in itself, especially in our privileged circumstances.
I wonder how we’d react if we didn’t have any money, a roof over our heads, food on our table, a job to go to and no decent clothes to wear? And believe me, there a great many people in our universe, and right in our own backyards too, who are undergoing such desperate and unfortunate circumstances.
So please don’t bitch and complain because you have some cleaning and laundry and grocery shopping to do. Just stop for a moment and consider what your life would have been like if the good Lord in His mercy and LOVING-kindness had not smiled down on you with abundance and prosperity eh. Selah.
Now give Him some thanks and praise for your well-being and promise not to complain again – well at least not for today. (smile)
And here are a couple of quotes from our friend Anselm, who always aspires to inspire us. They hit the nail on the head re the worldly lifestyle that’s so prevalent today. The first quote is called ‘In The Mirror.’ And it tells us that: ‘Someone will always be prettier. Someone will always be smarter. Someone’s house will be bigger. Someone will drive a better car. Someone’s children will do better in school.’
And the sad part is that we know all of that, we know it’s gospel truth, but yet we still allow the flimsy, insubstantial and ungodly behaviour of the world to corrupt our hearts, souls, bodies and minds with its proud and lustful foolishness – the keeping up with Joneses nonsense!
And hear the other hit the nail right on the head, rather appropriate quote from our friend Anselm. ‘Cherish…the virtues you possess. At the end of the day, there will always be trickery and dishonesty. But if you are standing on higher ground, and you believe in honesty and integrity, and all that is good, trying at all times to do your best and nothing less, you will surely reap the rewards of virtuous living.’
Oh my people that is Christianity 101! We ought to know that backwards and forwards! That’s why Jesus left His comfortable abode in heaven and came down here to earth and sacrificed His sinless life for us – so that we could be empowered to lead virtuous lives and reap its wonderful rewards – salvation and eternal life!
But because of our inherent sinful nature, and the bright beckoning lights of the world, we continue to allow its worthless things and ways to hold too much sway over us. Please remember that all that glitters is not gold, especially in this fraudulent and deceptive world!
That brings us to our Bit. ‘There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men.’ More truth friends on the vanity of riches, this time from Cousin Sol, in his capacity as the Preacher!
And he continues in the next verse. ‘A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour, so that he wanteth (lacks) nothing for his soul (himself) of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity (futility), and it is an evil disease (affliction).’ (Eccl.6:2)
Yes friends, you can be rich as Cousin Sol himself and not be able to enjoy those riches. As the scholars declare: ‘6:1-2. Prosperity is not necessarily good. Accumulation of wealth does not always result in the use of it.’
And just look at how many wealthy people have departed this life without being able to enjoy their wealth nuh, while others, even strangers, who hadn’t laboured for it joyfully partake of it. Not only that, but the sad and sorrowful litigation that takes place when a wealthy person dies is so shameful, that it just sullies the name and reputation of the deceased.
And look no further than the recent death of Prince in his wealthy prime, who left no will, and now so many people are coming out of the woodwork claiming to be entitled to some of the spoil. In the long run, perfect strangers, the lawyers might just end up getting the most of it.
It’s a good thing that I don’t have anything for anybody to fight over – at least not yet, but it is possible, since my best days are still ahead of me. (smile) And as I’ve always told my children, the day I see them living like cat and dog, I’m going to come back and haunt them.
Now listen to the Preacher again. ‘There is a sore (severe) evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners to their hurt. But those riches perish by evil travail (misfortune): and he that begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand.
As he came forth of his mother’s womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand. And this also is a sore (severe) evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind?
All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness. Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely (fitting) for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun (in which he toils) all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion (heritage).’ (Eccl.5:13-18)
And the scholars tell us this re those verses. ‘5:13-17. Wealth is easily lost and is therefore an unsure foundation for life.’ ‘5:18-20. Enjoyment is a gift of God, and man should be motivated by the brevity of his own life to experience it.’
Ah friends, Cousin Sol was the richest man in the world, and if he could declare that riches wasn’t the end all and be all, then who are we to say him nay eh? So please, let’s not run down riches, but if it does come, let’s enjoy it, though with a modicum of circumspection, for that’s wisdom at its heavenly best! Much LOVE!
…the only sure bet in this world is…JESUS CHRIST…
15 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: A to Zee, all things, balance, begrudge, boomerang, building, comes back to you, common sense, cruel, demanding world, destruction, do unto men what you want them to do to you, do unto others, epitome, evil lifestyles, for dear life, Friday chant, friends, fun, generous help, glorious kingdom, God's plan for man, God's Word, greed, harmony, heartless massa, hell on earth, higher than the animals, holding hands, in a line, in Jesus' name, injunction, Jesus Christ, life experience, lower than the angels, Moses, negative emotions, no more work, P.S. I Love You, perpetrate, pilgrimage, pleasure, power, reaping, relaxation, rest, rocket science, rumours of war, self-aggrandizement, selfishness, single file, slaving, sowing, spiritual matters, standing in a circle, stressful, strife, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the golden rule, the law, the lust of the flesh, the prophets, the Ten Commandments, the weekend, topsy turvy world, under the gun, ungodly, unity, vicious cycle, want, wars, wisdom, you reap what you sow
Matthew 7:12. 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.
And then it was Friday…
No wonder the workers united to sing this song of emancipation: ‘TGIF! Thank God it is Friday! No more work, no more slaving for a cruel, heartless massa! The weekend is upon us and we will enjoy all the pleasures it offers – from A to Zee! Thank God for Fridays and the weekends yes!’
Ah friends, you really can’t begrudge people some pleasure when they’ve been under the gun all week, just working and doing little else in this supposedly modern but very stressful and demanding world.
However, we can’t afford to only seek the lust of the flesh in the next two days either; spiritual matters must also be of great concern, otherwise we’ll lose the something in our souls that makes us higher than the animals and just a little lower than the angels.
Now let’s chant our Friday Chant which gives us a better perspective on the matter. As one now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Now that is a much better way to handle the couple days off we have over the weekend; it keeps our soul and spirit in balance, which is something we desperately need to survive and be successful in our current topsy-turvy world.
And here’s an interesting quote from my ‘P.S. I LOVE YOU’ Poster. I don’t know if I’ve shared it before, but if I haven’t, I ought to have, and if I’ve shared it before, then it’s nice enough for us to do it twice. (smile)
And it says: ‘The people on our planet are not standing in a line single file. Look closely. Everyone is really standing in a circle, holding hands. Whatever you give to the person standing next to you, it eventually comes back to you.’
And isn’t that the awesome truth friends? It certainly is! It’s basically God’s plan for man; whatever you sow, you shall reap. Life is like a boomerang; whatever you throw out to it, it will eventually come right back to you.
So if you throw out bad, that’s what you’ll eventually receive, the same thing goes for good. The trouble is that we don’t think sufficiently along those lines, so we sow whatever our flesh wants, then when we get back something negative in return we wonder why.
But life is not rocket science my people, it’s a simple do unto others as you’d want them doing unto you. And Jesus’ words on that subject is our Bit for today. ‘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.’
Yes my people, that’s what we call the ‘Golden Rule!’ And it’s really the only sensible way to live, if what we said above, about sowing and reaping, is true.
And the scholars explain it thus: ‘Hence, rather than judging others, we are to treat them as we would like to be treated. Therefore all things…do ye even so to them, is the biblical injunction often called the “Golden Rule.” This is the law and the prophets indicates that the statement made here by Jesus is not intended to be novel, but rather a summarization of the second table of the law.’
Yes friends, it’s not new, it’s just what has been required of us ever since Moses got those Ten Commandments. (smile) Unfortunately though, not enough of us are following it in these crucial and critical times, thus the ungodly and evil lifestyles we’re seeing so prevalent over God’s great world.
But it shouldn’t be like that. If we’d use our common sense and life experience we’d realize it. However we tend to live by the lusts of the flesh and the emotions of greed, selfishness etc. which only tear us down. There’s no building of harmony and unity in those negative emotions my people, just breaking down and destroying.
And that’s exactly what’s happening in our world. I don’t know if we’ve ever gone through a more destructive period in a supposed time of peace. Steups!
Everyday we’re becoming better at destruction, for a lot of our manufacturing consists of finding and building better ways to destroy. It’s taken us sometimes hundreds of years to build the great monuments of our world, but we destroy them in mere seconds!
Hn! And not only that, no longer do we have to be up close to destroy, we can stay thousands of miles away and perpetrate hell on earth to our enemies. And then we wonder why our world is going to hell in a bucket!
Look at all the wars and rumours of wars that are currently causing such woeful strife in our world. Friends, it doesn’t take a fool to realize that if we keep destroying, instead of building, we’ll soon have nothing left to destroy.
Our leaders seem to be more inept and inefficient than ever, corruption has never been so pervasive, far-reaching and blatant. It just seems that all they are interested in is self-aggrandizement and holding on to immense power for dear life.
But what they don’t seem to understand is that the more you have, the more you control, the more you have to lose and the more carefully you have to guard it all, which only leads to more problems, in all areas of life.
Please friends, let’s not be caught up in that vicious cycle of want, of greed and selfishness that is so easy to climb on to, but ever so difficult to get off. Let’s use common sense and God’s Word to direct our earthly pilgrimage nuh. It’s the epitome of wisdom! Much LOVE!
…the Golden Rule…do unto others…as you want them to do unto you…is still the most sensible and godly way to live in this mish-mash world…
14 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a bruised and broken world, a compassionate heart, a fruitful vine, a positive outlook, a strong will, abundance, believes on me, blessed, blessed the Egyptian's house, broken, capacity, Christians, clarion call, clear direction, come unto me and drink, count our blessings, courage, creativity, curse, divine protection, encourages us, exhilarating refreshment, expectant faith, faith, faithfulness, family, favour, fears the Lord, Fill Me, for Joseph's sake, frineds, fulfillment, glory to God, grace, happy, health, hungry hope, in the city, in the field, in the name of Jesus, Joseph, lifts our spirits, lightning, my heart longs for you, neck of the woods, negative circumstance, negative word, not sufficient, obedience, obedient to God's Word, olive plants, out of his belly, overflow, overflowing, overseer, Potiphar, promotion, prosper, prosperous man, rain, release, relief, rewards of faithfulness, Rivers, rivers of living water, Ruth Harms Calkin, self-control, self-discipline, succeed, success, supernatural strength, supernatural wisdom, talent, the fruit of thy labour, the Lord was with Joseph, the One Day Book of Bible Promises, the straight and narrow path, thirst, thunder, thunderstorm, Thursday Blessings, walk in his ways, well with thee
Deuteronomy 28:3. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.
Oh friends, it seems like it’s going to be a wet day in my neck of the woods. At least that’s how it’s begun. We had a wicked thunderstorm this morning around one o’clock. Brother! The thunder and lightning and the lashing rain were certainly out for a good run. (smile)
I was sitting down in the family room watching the tube at the time and all I could see were the bright flashes of lightning behind the blinds, as the thunder rolled and the rain beat down.
But it’s a good thing that we Christians are associated with the ONE who has control of the weather, Almighty God. He blesses us, so we don’t have to worry about it affecting us, unless we unwisely do something to cause a negative circumstance.
Oh, and by the way, did we count our many blessings as we awoke this morning, to remind us of what blessed lives we live? I certainly hope so, because that lifts our spirits, encourages us to stay on the straight and narrow path that leads to the Father by way of Jesus!
Anyway, here is a poem from our One Day Book of Bible verses with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. It’s titled ‘Rivers and Rivers.’
And it says: ‘O my Father My heart longs for you! Fill me to capacity with your spirit…No, Father, I’m sorry – That’s not sufficient. Fill me to overflowing with your Spirit And then increase my capacity That there might still be more overflow.
Out of my life May there flow rivers And rivers Of Living Water Bringing relief, release And exhilarating refreshment To a bruised and broken world Where thirst can never be quenched Apart from you.’
What a noble prayer my people! Do we ever pray along those lines, asking to be vessels of Living Water to a broken world? It would definitely be a nice gesture.
And the scripture passage on which that poem is based is Christ’s clarion call: ‘In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly (heart) shall flow rivers of living water.’ (John 7:37-38)
And that’s where we’re supposed to be at my brethren; the stage of belief where rivers of the living water is jut pouring out of us on to the broken and needy around us. So let’s ponder some on that today nuh, see how we’re doing along those lines and with God’s help try and improve it. End of sermon! (smile)
Now let’s do something else that ought also to raise our spirits and encourage us to keep on keeping on with Christ. Today’s Thursday – as least I believe so – (smile) that means we need to declare our Thursday Blessing over our lives.
So with expectant belief and hungry hope let’s declare them in strong 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!’
Ah friends, please remember that a blessing is not a blessing until it has been vocalized over someone, and we must also bless our friends and families and those around us, so that their spirits can be lifted and encouraged.
And our rather appropriate Bit just strengthens our argument. ‘Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.’
Yes friends, if we are obedient to God’s Word, then the blessings of obedience will flow down on us, run us down and overtake us! Glory to God! But we have to first get the ball rolling for that to happen.
Now let’s look at a couple of scriptures that enhance our position. And the first one deals with Bruh Joseph when he was sold into slavery and bought by the Egyptian army officer Potiphar.
The Good Book tells us: ‘And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous (successful) man: and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all he did to prosper in his hand. And Joseph found grace (favour) in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put in his hand.
And it came to pass from the time that he made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.’ (Gen.39:2-5)
Yes my fellow believers, the Lord blessed Joseph wherever he went, into what ever negative situation he found himself, because he never complained, just tried his best to be obedient to God’s word. Now can that be said of us? It would certainly help us all.
And we’ll conclude with these words from Psalm 128 – The rewards of faithfulness. ‘Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord; that walketh in his ways. For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands (fruit of thy labour): happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.
Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of (in the heart of) thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table. Behold that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord.’ (Ps.128:1-4)
Friends, I can’t say it any better than that. I can only encourage us to do as it says, if we want to be blessed. Much LOVE!
…obedience brings blessings…it’s as simple as that…
13 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a brand new day, a glorious future, a load of care, alive and kicking, all is lost, angels, believers in Jesus Christ, blessed shalt thou be, blessings, burdened, cattle, Charels Stanley, comfort, commandments, consequences, count your blessings, day and night, discouraged, enthusiasm, every doubt will fly, every sphere of life, everyday actions, eyes fixed straight ahead, focusing, fractious, glad to be alive, glory, glory hallelujah, glory to God, God is over all, God's will, great or small, halfway home, hands on the plough, hearken to God's voice, heavenly Father, help, home on high, honour, in the city, in the field, insignificant thnings, journey's end, joyful time, keep singing, kine, life's billows, LOVE, LOVE of God, loving kindness, magnanimous, magnificent, mea culpa, miracles, miserable, money cannot buy, name them one by one, new mercies, not turning back, obedient, obey God, offspring, overtake thee, praise, praise and worship, reward in heaven, see what God has done, Selah, sense of purpose, set thee on high, sincere, stipulated condition, take for granted, tempest tossed, thankful, the breath of God, the breath of life, the conflict, the cross, the fruit of thy body, truth, watches over us, Wednesday Wail, wisdom, zenith
Deuteronomy 28:3. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.
Welcome to another brand new day with brand new mercies and LOVING-kindness my fellow believers in Jesus Christ!
Now I’ve been guided to open today’s proceedings with this li’l ditty that we all know and LOVE, but don’t, or very seldom practice. Otherwise we wouldn’t be so fractious and miserable, and there’d be much more of the LOVE of God in us, shown through our everyday actions.
So let’s all sing now in joyful but serious and sincere enthusiasm, truth and belief, ‘Count Your Blessings.’ And let each of us count the blessings in our own lives as we sing, so that it will be more real to each of us.
‘When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed, When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost, Count your many blessings, name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord has done. Refrain: Count your blessings, name them one by one, Count your blessings, see what God has done! Count your blessings, name them one by one, Count your many blessings, see what God has done.
Are you ever burdened with a load of care? Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear? Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly, And you will keep singing as the days go by. Refrain: Count your blessings…
When you look at others with their lands and gold, Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold; Count your many blessings—money cannot buy Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high. Refrain: Count your blessings…
So, amid the conflict whether great or small, Do not be discouraged, God is over all; Count your many blessings, angels will attend, Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end. Refrain: Count your blessings, name them one by one. Count your many blessings, And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.’
Yes friends, if we have counted our many blessings as we sang that wonderful hymn of praise and worship, I am sure that we all have been surprised and amazed at all the wonderful things our magnificent and magnanimous God has done in our lives.
The problem though is many of those things might be small and somewhat insignificant, so we just roll along taking them for granted. But just stop for a moment and consider what our lives would be like if all those blessings we’ve named were absent from our lives eh. Selah!
Yes my brethren, our lives would be nowhere near as happy and comfortable as they now are. So the lesson is to never take those small, insignificant things for granted, because that’s where God works most of His miracles in our lives.
And all God’s children loudly and gratefully declare: ‘All praise, honour and glory be to our heavenly Father, who watches over us day and night. Guides and protects us, And never lets us out of His sight!’
Ah mih people, I can’t help but be amazed at the greatness and wonder of the awesome God we serve! Now, since it’s Wednesday, let’s declare our Wednesday Wail with enthusiasm, truth and a strong sense of purpose.
Wailing: ‘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!’
Oh my fellow faithful believers, this world might not be the greatest, but every morning we awake, we should be exceedingly thankful for that breath of God that’s still flowing through our bodies, because it means we’re alive and kicking and have so much to look forward to as we make our pilgrim’s journey with the Lord on our side.
We just have to put our hands strong and steadfast to the plough and keep looking ahead to the promise of a great and glorious future with Jesus! Believe me friends, it will be such a joyful time! Glory Hallelujah!
That brings us to our Bit; such a glorious promise! ‘Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.’
Yes my precious people of God, like the scholars inform us: ’28:3-6. These verses contain six blessings that extend to every sphere of life.’
Now let’s check out the other five. ‘Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body (offspring), and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine (cattle), and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store (kneading bowl). Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.’ (Deut.28:4-6)
Now what could be better than that eh mih breddren? Nothing really! But unfortunately there’s a stipulated condition of God’s before all of that can happen.
Listen up: ‘And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.’ (Deut.28:1-2)
Yes Friends, for the blessings to flow, we need to be obedient to God’s will and purpose! But the beautiful part is that when we’re obedient, the blessings shall overtake us! We don’t have to go chasing them, they will chase us, and eventually overtake us! Glory to God my people!
So please, let’s be wise today, be obedient and sincere, and dwell on God’s word, so that the promised blessings can run us down and overtake us. Now that is indeed wisdom at its zenith! Much LOVE!
…as Uncle Charles (Charles Stanley) so rightly says…the best way to live this life…is to simply obey God…and leave all the consequences to Him…
P.S. Sincere mea culpas. The computer and I were both slow this morning. (smile) Much LOVE!
12 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: 24 karat, Abraham Isaac and Jacob, anointest my head with oil, Bless His Holy Name, blessings, comfort me, confidence, died and gone to heaven, earthly pathway, encouragement, fear no evil, follow me, for His name's sake, gives food to all flesh, glory, glory to God, golden day, goodness, grace, green pastures, heaven, his mercy endureth for ever, honour, hurry, I AM, I shall not want, in due season, in the presence of mine enemies, Jesus Christ, leads and guides, LOVE, man goes to work, meat from God, mercy, mercy. all the days of my life, my cup runneth over, my friend Jesus, nature, omnipotent god, our Lord and Saviour, paths of righteousness, praise, preparest a table, preservation of nature, redeemed, rescued, restoreth my soul, riches, share His love, song of praise and worship, still waters, swell in the house of the Lord, thankfulness, thanks, the beloved of God, the eyes of all, the glory of God, the God of heaven, the Holy Spirit, The Lord is my shepherd, the Lord of hosts, the valley of the shadow of death, thou givest them their food, thy rod, thy staff, trust, truth, Tuesday Mantra, wait upon thee, wisdom, words of truth, worry, worship the Lord, young lions
Psalm 145:15. The eyes of all wait upon thee (look expectantly to you); and thou givest them their meat (food) in due season.
Aye mih people, welcome to another 24 karat golden day…!
And all God’s people gloriously proclaimed: ‘Glory to God! Bless His Holy Name! And also bless the wonderful name of His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! And last but not least, bless the name of the Holy Spirit who leads and guides us safely along life’s rough earthly pathway!’
Yes friends, how good and how right it is for us to give praise and thanks and glory and honour to our awesome God!
So let’s continue in that vein nuh and give more thanks and praise in grateful song by singing this immortal psalm of Bruh David – The Lord is my Shepherd.
Please sing with me: ‘The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me besides the still waters: He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me (always); thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever…and ever. Amen!’
Wow mih breddren! What an awesome and harmonious song of praise and worship, of confidence and encouragement! The heavens surely stood up and took notice!
Now let’s reinforce all of that by enthusiastically and sincerely declaring our Tuesday Mantra. ‘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!’
Mama mia! It couldn’t get much better than that my fellow believers! Being God’s beloved and Jesus’ friend…which no one can take away for us…Hn! It’s so encouraging and reassuring, like…like we’ve died and gone to heaven! (smile)
Sorry though, we’re still here on earth. But that’s no problem because down here our wonderful God also looks after us with compassion and LOVING-kindness. Just listen to our Bit. ‘The eyes of all wait upon thee (look expectantly to you); and thou givest them their meat (food) in due season.’
Wow! What a merciful, magnificent and magnanimous Deity we serve! Shout His name out people: ‘The Lord God Jehovah; He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! The great I AM, Our Creator, our Healer, Our Provider, our Comforter…!’
We could go on forever and ever calling out the great names of our omnipotent God! Let’s shift though to checking out some scripture that lends credence to our Bit. Listen to these words of truth from Psalm 136 – Praise for the Lord’s past and present blessings.
The psalmist declares of our God: ‘Who remembered us in our low estate (lowly state): for his mercy endureth for ever. And hath redeemed (rescued) us from our enemies: for his mercy endureth for ever. Who giveth food to all flesh: for his mercy endureth for ever. O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth for ever.’ (Ps.136: 23-26)
And so should we my people, because God’s undeserving grace and mercy are always available to us if we sincerely, and humbly, ask for them. Now hear these awesome words from Psalm 104 – God’s preservation of nature.
‘The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God. The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down in their dens. Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening. O Lord, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches (possessions).
So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable (teeming things), both small and great beasts (living creatures). There go the ships: there is that leviathan (a large sea creature of unknown identity), whom thou hast made (formed) to play therein.
These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat (food) in due season. That (what) thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good. Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.
Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth. The glory of God shall endure for ever: the Lord shall rejoice in his works.’ (Ps.104: 21-31)
Oh friends, what illuminating words! I never intended to quote that much of the psalm, but it just seemed like such a natural progression, showing us how all the things and creatures of the earth, even man, depended on their Maker, the Lord of Hosts.
And we’ll end with a telling verse from Bruh Paul, when the people at Lystra wanted to worship and offer sacrifices to him and Barnabas after they healed a crippled man.
‘Nevertheless he (God) left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.’ (Acts 14:17)
Yes friends, it is our most merciful God who gives us all that we have! Please let’s never forget that, and consequently behave as we ought to; with thankfulness and praise and worship of His glorious Deity! For that is indeed wisdom of the ages! Much LOVE!
…O worship the Lord in truth…all you His creation…
11 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fool's wisdom, aura of love, beast of the field, bright and bubbly, bright and early, chirpy, complaining, confidence, conquerors, Creator of the universe, disobedient, do unto Jesus, earthly life, endureth through all generations, enthusiasm. joy, everlasting kingdom, evil, faith, fellowship, fools, friends, give drink, glorious kingdom, goodness, groaning, holy spirit, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, kudos, lethargic, lies, LOVE, love that day, loving kindness, make his face shine, makes glad, meat in due season, meet the enemy, method to my madness, miserable complaining, moaning, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, Moses, oil, open thine hand, peace, prosperity, quench their thirst, reap corn, rebellious, reconciliation, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, repentance, rest, salvation, satisfies the desires, sour, sow peas, springs, steadfast faith, surrender, tailspin, taunts, TGIM! Thank God it's Monday!, the eyes of all, the heart of man, the Promised Land, tired, truth, ungodly world, ungrateful, valleys, victory, wait upon thee, wake up and smell the coffee, weary souls, week of work, weekend, wiles, wine and roses, wisdom
Psalm 145:15. The eyes of all wait upon thee (look expectantly to you); and thou givest them their meat (food) in due season.
‘Monday, Monday! Oh how I just LOVE that day! Monday, Monday! Don’t you ever go away! TGIM! Thank God it’s Monday!’
Yes friends, there is method to my madness. (smile) I’m figuring that if we hear that often enough, Monday’s might just grow on us like Friday did. So in future, when Mondays roll around, as indeed they will, we won’t’ be so sour and miserable and complaining, but greet it with great enthusiasm and a sincere joy to get out there and do whatever we have to do unto Jesus, and not unto man!
Ah mih people, the ole fella has to keep on trying to get us out bright and early and chirpy and chippy, so we can truly enjoy this earthly life, while diligently working on Jesus’ behalf.
Now I know some of you are tired and lethargic, moaning and groaning and complaining about my li’l chat because you did not do as you should have over the weekend. But not to worry, we have something that will brighten your spirit and raise your adrenalin level so that you can go out bright and bubbly, expecting victory. It’s called our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. Let’s sing it as thought we truly mean it nuh.
As one harmonious choir now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Good going friends, good going! Our choirmaster Jesus was pleased! Yuh see what happens when you put your all into something! So now with our motors up and running, let’s go out into the crazy, wicked world and do whatever Jesus has called us to do nuh.
That brings us to our Bit which verily supports all of our contentions above. (smile) But before we get to it, let’s check out the two verses before it.
‘Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. The Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down. The eyes of all wait upon thee (look expectantly to you); and thou givest them their meat (food) in due season. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfies the desire of every living thing.’ (Psalm 145:13-16)
Yes my brethren, Bruh David said it, so there must be a whole lot of truth to it! He extols the Lord’s graciousness in this most excellent psalm of praise! And if you don’t believe that, then listen to this from Psalm 104 – God’s preservation of nature.
The psalmist unequivocally declares: ‘He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills. They give drink to every beast of the field: the wild asses (donkeys) quench their thirst. By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches.
He watereth the hills from his (upper) chambers: the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works, He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb (vegetation) for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth; and wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man’s heart. ‘ (Ps.104: 10-15)
Oh my brethren, with all of that – and there’s much more if you want to read all of Psalm 104 – how can we ever doubt the goodness, the LOVING-kindness, the wisdom of our wonderful God eh? Only a fool would dare to do that!
Unfortunately though, currently there are way too many fools in the Lord’s great universe. We’re trying our very best to take him out of our society, which is a fool’s wisdom, and then when our world goes into a serious tailspin, with disasters, wars and all kinds of negative happenings across the globe, we sit back and foolishly wonder why.
Steups! Oh friends, if we insist on removing the Creator of the universe and all therein from His universe, which is really impossible, what do we expect eh? Do we expect to get wine and roses and song and heartwarming kudos for removing Him from our society?
Not on your life! We’ll get what we justly deserve, what He’s promised from day one to those who are disobedient to His Word and Will; negative happenings! Yuh see what He did to the rebellious, ungrateful Jews in the wilderness; earthquakes, snakebites and wandering around for forty years, till all of those who had come out of Egypt had died.
Not even Moses made it over to the Promised Land because he angered the Lord. So friends how can we expect anything else but negative consequences for our foolish rebellion eh? We might get away with it for a while, but eventually it’s all going to catch up to us. Remember our God is patient and longsuffering, but He’s not a patsy, a walkover.
Please, let’s wake up and smell the coffee nuh, and realize the error of our ways and wisely return to His fold through repentance and reconciliation based on Jesus’ work at the cross. For that is indeed wisdom of the highest order! Much LOVE!
…you can’t sow peas…and expect to reap corn…likewise you can’t be blatantly disobedient…and expect to receive prosperity…
10 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abuse, action, ask in prayer, ask of God, at the last day, attitude that makes sense, barren, be thou removed, being obedient to His word, belief, believe only, believing in jesus, Bethany, carry the day, cast into the sea, caterwauling, celebrate, circumstances, cleanse our sinful souls, complain, complaints, crucified, cry, dead, died to save us all, doubt not, eternal life, faith, fear not, fig tree, followers of Christ, forgiveness, gifts, God's plan for us, grace, hang nail, hung and suffered there, Jairus, Jerusalem, Jesus Christ, Jesus is the ONLY ONE, joyful, Lazarus, let us rejoice and be glad in it, live, LOVE, love Him too, LOVE in action, loved, Martha, mercy, method to God's madness, our Lord and Saviour, pain, pains he had to bear, pampered people, pay the price of sin, planet earth God's marvellous creation, praise, reconcile us to the Father, redeeming blood, sacrifice, salvation, selflessly, she shall be made whole, sinless, suffering, synagogue ruler, talk a good talk, thanks, the beginning of time, the glory of God, the resurrection, There is a green hill far away, this is the day the Lord has made, trials, tribulations, trust, truth, try his works to do., unlock the gate of heav'n, walk, withered away
Luke 8:50. But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.
Ah friends, once more we have been blessed with another wonderful day on God’s marvellous creation called planet earth! And believe me, there’s method to God’s madness for allowing us to see another day. It means we still have things to do in the great plan that He’s mapped out for us since the beginning of time.
So let’s be joyful and declare as the psalmist did: ‘This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.’ (Ps.118:24) Yes my fellow believers, under the circumstances, it’s the only attitude that makes sense.
And furthermore, since the psalmist wrote those words, we have even more reason to celebrate because our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ died to cleanse our sinful souls, reconcile us to the Father and offer us the magnificent gifts of salvation and eternal life by simply believing in Him and being obedient to His Word! Wow! What a Saviour!
And this summer Sunday morning I’d like us to sing an old hymn, a favourite of mine in my youth, which tells of Jesus’ great sacrifice on our behalf. It’s called, ‘There is a green hill far away.’
Please sing loudly and lustily with me. ‘There is a green hill far away, Without a city wall, Where the dear Lord was crucified, Who died to save us all. We may not know, we cannot tell, What pains he had to bear, But we believe it was for us He hung and suffered there.
There was no other good enough To pay the price of sin. He only could unlock the gate Of heav’n and let us in. Oh, dearly, dearly has he LOVED! And we must LOVE him too, And trust in his redeeming blood, And try his works to do.’
Oh precious people, it is so good to offer up praise and thanks to our God after what He’s done for us. Just look at it nuh; Jesus was the ONLY one who could unlock heaven’s’ gate so that we might enter because He was sinless! And he did it so selflessly, enduring the horrendous pain without any complaints!
Meanwhile, we soft, pampered people today, cry and complain so much if we have even a li’l hang nail. (smile) I don’t think many, if any of us, could have borne even one tenth of Jesus’ suffering without going crazy from the abuse and the pain.
However, thankfully, we’re not called on to do that, but we are called on to bear some trials and tribulations in this earthly life, which we should try to do without too much caterwauling and complaining. And the formula for doing that is given at the end of the hymn above. ‘LOVE Jesus, trust in His redeeming blood and diligently try to do His work.’
It’s all right there in a nutshell friends, just waiting for us to put it into action. And that’s exactly where we as supposed followers of Christ fall down. We talk a good talk, but can’t match it with our walk. And that’s not right, because the only way others will want to come to Jesus is by seeing His grace and truth, mercy, forgiveness and LOVE in action in our lives.
And it’s high time we start doing better, if we want to carry the day for Jesus. But we need to first believe that it’s possible and then that we have the necessary parts to do it.
Listen to Jesus’ admonition to Jairus the synagogue ruler when he heard that his daughter had died. ‘But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.’
Yes friends, the starting point for everything is BELIEF! If you don’t believe, generally speaking, it won’t happen. Now let’s look at a couple of other instances where Jesus invoked belief.
Let’s begin with His early morning journey from Bethany to Jerusalem. He was hungry and approached a fig tree expecting to find figs because it was fig season. However the tree was barren of all fruit. Jesus then declared to the fig tree: ‘Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.’ (Matt.21:19)
Obviously the disciples were amazed at the fig tree’s sudden demise. ‘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)
And friends, please note that the important word in that last sentence is ‘BELIEVING!’ If you don’t believe, all your prayers are useless.
Now let’s turn to our final example, that time when Jesus heard that His friend Lazarus was deathly ill, but He stayed where He was for another two days before returning to Bethany. By then Lazarus had died and his sister Martha met Jesus on the way and criticized Him.
‘Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead (may die), yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.’ (John 11:21-27)
Ah friends, Martha surely believed, but she did not understand Jesus’ intention to raise her brother in the current time. Thus when they took Him to Lazarus’ tomb and He ordered them to roll away the stone from the mouth, ‘Martha saith unto him, Lord by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. Jesus saith unto her, said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? (John 11:39-40)
And we all know that after Jesus spoke to His Father, for the people’s sake, He ordered Lazarus to come out and he came out, alive and well and many of those who saw Jesus’ work, believed.
I ask us now friends, do we believe that strongly so that we can see the glory of God? For all of our sakes, I sincerely hope so. Much LOVE!
…without belief…not much is possible…
09 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a grain of mustard seed, Anselm, be not afraid, be of good comfort, become more, belief, believe only, believing in God, bless, build our faith, captured by the enemy, Creator, daily challenges, do more, don't stop believing, dream, dwell in heaven, empowerment, encourage each other, epileptic, faith, faithful, fasting, fear not, focus, forgiveness, fuel, fuel that will keep us going, further the gospel of Christ, glory, go in peace, good, good news, grace, grief, Hades, healed, holy spirit, honour, impossible, in Jesus' name, inspire others, issue of blood, Jairus, lack of belief, Leaders, learn more, lost, LOVE, Lucifer, mercy, nothing shall be impossible, obedient, on the spur of the moment, only begotten Son, others, ourselves, praise, prayer, provider, rebuked the devil, relevant elements of our faith, remove, revere, ruler, sacrifice, saved, she shall be made whole, synagogue, thanks, thy faith hath made thee whole, to rest on God, touch His garments, truth, unbelief, worthless sinners
Luke 8:50. But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.
‘Oh Lord we give you praise and thanks, honour and glory, because through your LOVE, your grace and mercy, you sacrificed your only begotten Son, so that we worthless sinners could be saved, every single one. Thank you Lord for your forgiveness.
From the very bottom of our hearts, we sincerely thank you for Jesus, our Lord and Saviour, and we bless and revere your holy name. We promise to be always faithful and obedient to your word, so that one day we can dwell securely and joyfully with you in heaven. In Jesus name we pray. Amen!’
Oh friends that’s just a li’l ditty I concocted on the spur of the moment to begin our daily meditations. It’s not spectacular, but it does contain all the important and relevant elements of our faith and hopefully it will bring our focus to rest on Almighty God, our Creator and Provider as we try to build our faith, encourage each other and further the good news, the wonderful gospel of Christ.
And to help us do that, check out these two quotes from our friend Anselm, who always aspires to inspire us. And the first quote provocatively proclaims: ‘DON’T stop believing… Every day we get up, we will have something to deal with. But we must not let these things stop us from believing in God, ourselves and others. Our belief (or faith) in good is the fuel that will keep us going. In spite of the daily challenges, there is still so much good to believe in, to experience and to tell.’
And isn’t that the indisputable truth my people? It certainly is! A couple things we believers cannot stop doing is believing in good, in God, and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, for if we do, we’ll be completely lost and most likely captured by the evil enemy Lucifer and end up in Hades with him. And believe me, that won’t be a very pleasant situation.
And the second quote says: ‘If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.’ Those are more words of truth my brethren!
Now technically speaking we all can’t lead, since leading inherently supposes followers, but all Christians ought to have some leadership tendencies in them. As Anselm says, we ought to have actions that inspire others to dream, to learn, to stand strong and faithful, to rise up to the level God has planned for them. That’s what our faith is all about!
And to back up our contentions, let’s turn to our rather appropriate Bit. ‘But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.’
That’s what Jesus said to Jairus, a ruler in the synagogue, whose daughter He was on the way to heal, but then Jairus’ servants brought news of her death and the father slumped in grief. Yes friends, two simple but powerful and overwhelming statements: ‘be not afraid, only believe.’ That’s how Mark records it. (Mark 6:36)
And they are not very easy to do when negative circumstances come against us, like in Jairus’ position, but we need to just keep on believing my people, for its ‘a mark of our Christian maturity when we can do it successfully. Remember the words ‘give up,’ do not exist in our vocabulary.
And note too, that while Jesus was on His way to Jairus’ house, a woman with an issue of blood for twelve years, made her way through the enormous crowd believing that if she could just touch His garments she would be healed. And she was too. So much so that Jesus looked around and declared: ‘Who touched me?’
The disciples were amazed that within the throng of people Jesus would ask such a question. ‘And Jesus said, somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue (power) is gone out of me.’ (Luke 8:46)
Finally the woman came to Jesus and acknowledged that she was the one who had purposely touched Him and was immediately healed. ‘And he said unto her, Daughter be of good comfort (cheer): thy faith hath made the whole (well) go in peace.’ (Luke 8:48)
And the scholars offer this explanation. ‘8:48. The woman likely had superstitious notions about how she had been healed, but Jesus clarifies what took place.’ It was all because of her strong belief, her unshakeable faith! So friends, a lot of what happens to us also depends on our faith and the strength of our belief in Jesus Christ.
Now let’s look at another scenario where Jesus again invokes the power of belief. This time a father brought his epileptic son to the disciples, but they were unable to heal him.
‘Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless (unbelieving) and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer (bear with) you? bring him hither. And Jesus rebuked the devil (demon); and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.
Then came the disciples to Jesus apart (privately), and said, Why could we not cast him out? 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:17:17-21)
So friends, although Jesus rebuked His disciples for their lack of belief, of not strong enough faith, He eventually acknowledges that prayer and fasting are important elements in faith works.
And we’ll end with a quick explanation from the scholars. ‘17:15-23. As a grain of mustard seed: This seemingly impossible obstacle or difficulty stands in the way. Since Christ alone is the glorified Saviour, the disciples’ ability to work depends totally upon His empowerment.’
That means we also need His empowerment my believing brethren; the only difference is that we now have His Holy Spirit dwelling with us and back then they had Jesus in person. Ah mih people, yuh see the power that is possible when we believe. We shouldn’t have to be told to believe, but some of us still need it. So please believe! (smile) Much LOVE!
…only believe…only believe…all things are possible…if you’ll only believe…
08 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a family to feed, adventurous, awe-inspiring, backbone, be of good cheer, believe also in me, belly, bring all things, Christian, come again, economy falters, effort, ever-LOVING God, evil ungodly days, faith, faith in action, faithful believers, fellowship, Friday chant, fun, furthering your glorious kingdom, generous help, get by, getting me through another week, hard times, i have overcome the world, I leave with you, if it were not so, in Jesus' name, In my Father's house, in my name, Jesus Christ, lead and guide, let not your heart be troubled, many mansions, merciful, middle ground, moderation, monetary incentive, mortgage to pay, my peace I give unto you, negative emotions, not as the world giveth, Oral Roberts, party, peace, permeate our souls, perspective, preaching, prepare a place for you, promise, prosper, purpose of faith, raise the level of our faith, receive you unto myself, refreshed, relaxation, renewed, resentment, rest, satisfying, sinful world, soul body mind, sow, stand strong against the enemy, staring you in the face, steadfast, stress, stressful, stressful week, take up the slack, teach you all things, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, thanks, the Blessing of the Holy spirit, the bottom line, the christian motto, the Comforter, the Holy Ghost, the pull of partying, the weekend, there ye may be also, think on them, to your remebrance, tribulation, trust, trust in jesus, truth, unchristian behaviour, unemployment, weekend activities, where I am, wicked ways, wisdom, ye believe in God
John 14:1. Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
And then it was Friday! And obviously there is joy in the work place at the upcoming weekend; the couple of days off from work.
And all around the workers are joyfully declaring: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and slave work done! It done like dinner! The weekend party starting from this evening and going straight through! The weekend is the greatest time! Thank You Lord for Fridays and weekends!’
Ah mih people, it’s understandable how the workers long for the weekend after a stressful week of work, but that doesn’t mean we have to go to the other extreme, where we party the whole weekend away. There needs to be some moderation, some middle ground in our weekend activities. So let’s chant our Friday Chant which gives us a much better perspective on the situation.
Chanting: ‘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.’
Yes friends, that’s a much better, much more reliable and sensible way to use those two precious days off. But I guess I will have to be preaching that until I die, (smile) because the pull of the partying is getting stronger and stronger as the days get more stressful.
And believe me, they are getting more difficult as the economy continues to falter and people lose their jobs, all to the glory of the bottom line, and the remaining ones are expected to take up the slack for no monetary incentive. That type of situation will obviously cause resentment and stress!
But friends, as faithful believers in Jesus Christ, we must not allow those two negative emotions to permeate our souls and drag us down to unchristian behaviour. Now that’s not easy to do when unemployment and other hard times are staring you in the face.
You’ve got a family to feed and clothe, a mortgage to pay, car payments to make, and all the other numerous things we need to do to just get by in this society. Note, we not even talking about prospering, but merely getting by. So you can imagine the effort and faith it takes for one to prosper as a Christian in these evil and ungodly days.
That’s why our Bit today is so important in a believer’s life. ‘Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.’
Oh my people, these days we badly need to raise the level of our faith, our trust in Jesus, so that we can stand strong against the enemy and his wicked ways. But we also need to see that faith in action.
As Oral Roberts is reputed to have said: ‘I don’t care how much faith you have, I care about how much faith you release.’
And friends, that’s the basic purpose of faith: having it doesn’t mean much unless you release it. Faith in action is the Christian motto. So if the world is stressing you out today, please take hope and raise the level of your faith by seriously trusting in the words of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Hear how He continues after our Bit. ‘In my Father’s house are many mansions (dwellings): if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.’ (John 14:2-3)
Oh what a wonderful promise my brethren! Our Leader has gone to prepare a place for us in heaven, then come back and take us to live with Him! Hn! It’s promises like these my faithful believers that we need to sow deep down in our souls and think on them when times and things come against us.
Now listen to what Jesus says later on in that same chapter, as He promises the blessing of the Holy Spirit. ‘But the Comforter (Helper), which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye LOVED me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.’ (John 14:26-28)
Oh my brethren, I know all of that is easier said than done, how difficult it is to raise up the necessary faith when the evil world is banging on your door. But that’s what we need to do, and besides, we also have the wherewithal to do it.
Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would remind the apostles of all that He spoke to them about, and it’s also the same way He operates in our lives, leading and guiding us in wisdom and truth. It is therefore very essential that we pay special attention to what the Holy Spirit says to us.
Nothing’s easy in this life friends, but we already have all that we need to conquer it planted deep down in our souls, we just need to ask the Lord to raise up whatever we need to overcome our negative circumstances. And you know our merciful and ever-LOVING God will answer our prayers if we come to Him in humility and sincerity.
Now let’s close with another faithful and awe-inspiring promise of our Lord and Saviour. ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33)
Please believe Jesus’ promises my people, because that’s what gives us the belly and backbone to stand strong and steadfast against the enemy in this wicked and sinful world! Much LOVE!
…living for, and following Jesus is not easy…but it sure is satisfying and adventurous…
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