29 Aug 2026
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a gift, a horse of a different colour, a personal and intimate relationship with Jesus, another beautiful summer's day, boggles my imagination, caught up in religion, ceremonially unclean, christianity, condoned the circumvention of God's word, contemplate who we liste to, deceitful and fraudulent times, dedicated to the temple, devoted to God, don't want to hear sound doctrine, eating with unwashed hands, enjoy them while they last, except they wash their hands oft, except they wash they eat not, faith, false prophets, full well, God's word is more important than man's traditions, handed down tradition, have greater control over their congregations, he shall be free, hear what they want not what they need, holding the tradition of the elders, holy spirit, honour thy mother and father, I marvel to think, I may know you all the more, I praise you for your unceasing nearness, I want to be with you now, ignoring Jewish tradition, in a special way, in all sincerity and truth, in vain do they worship me, increase my awareness of you today, intimacy with our heavenly Father, it is corban, itching ears, Jesus Christ, laying aside the commandments of God, lazy-day Saturday, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, let him be put to death, let him die the death, lines up with the word of God, LOVE, making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, man-made religion, mercy, none of Christ's, ponder what we believe, quiet my soul, relax my muscles, religious leaders, rules that don't line up with God's word, salvation, slow my thoughts, soaking up the sun's warming rays, substituting modern religious custom for divinely revealed truth, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men, thank you for this tenderness, that ye may keep your own traditon, the BIBLE, the human misuse of God's word, the washing of cups, their heart is far from me, this people honoureth me with their lips, tradition brought Jewish religious practices into conflict with God's word, truth, unwritten traditions regarded as equal in authority to the Old Testament, well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, what they teach, whoso curseth mother or father, wisdom, ye hold the tradition of men, ye reject the commandments of God, ye suffer him no more to do for his mother or father, you can't be contained, your love both surrounds and fills me, your peace and love are present
Today’s Scrip-Bit 29 August 2026 Mark 7:9.
Mark 7:9. And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandments of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.
Boy, oh boy, our lazy-day Saturday is another beautiful summer’s day! For the past five days I’ve awakened to such loverly weather, that it boggles my imagination. And it would be ever so easy to get accustomed to that loverly kind of weather! But let’s not, for come next week when September arrives, it might just be a horse of a different colour. (smile) Anyway, it’s a day for just sitting outside on the deck or porch and just soaking up the sun’s warming rays, for in another little while the warmth of those rays will disappear completely until some time next year, when the winter season subsides. So enjoy them while they last.
But before the laziness sets in, let’s offer up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, in all sincerity and truth. As one strong voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’
And as we all know, there’s nothing better than seeking greater intimacy with our heavenly Father, for His ultimate desire and purpose for creating us was to form a deep, personal and intimate relationship with each of His children. Remember He sent Jesus to establish personal relationships, through the indwelling Holy Spirit, not man-made religion.
It’s like Mark says of the Jewish tradition. ‘For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft (in a special way), eat not, holding the tradition of the elders. And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. and may other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots (pitchers), brasen vessels, and of tables (couches).’ (Mark 7:3-5) Thus, this conversation with Jesus, when the scribes and Pharisees asked Him about his disciples eating bread with unwashed hands.
‘He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias (Isaiah) prophesied of you hypocrites (pretenders), as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit (nevertheless) in vain do they worship me, teaching for (as) doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandments of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots (pitchers) and cups: and many other such like things ye do. And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandments of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.
For Moses said, Honour thy father and mother, and Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death (be put to death): But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban (dedicated to the temple), that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mighest be profited by me; he shall be free. And ye suffer (allow) him no more to do ought (anything) for his father or his mother; Making the word of God of none (no) effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered (handed down): and many such like things ye do.’ (Mark 7:6-13)
Yes friends, as the scholars explain: ‘Certain unwritten traditions had come to be regarded as equal in authority to the Old Testament itself. And the concern was not with the dirty hands, but with how Jesus’ disciples were ignoring Jewish tradition and thereby becoming ceremonially unclean. Jesus is saying that years of tradition had brought some Jewish religious practices into conflict with the far older commands of the Old Testament.
Too many were substituting modern religious custom for divinely revealed truth. Thus, Jews could evade responsibility to parents by declaring their substance Corban, “devoted to God.” Religious leaders evidently condoned this clear circumvention of both the letter and the intent of the Old Testament. Jesus’ quarrel was not with God’s word, but with human misuse of it.’
And unfortunately, two thousand years later, we have come to the same impasse, where many are abusing and misusing God’s word in the New Testament, just like the Pharisees did the Old Testament. We have inserted all kinds of religious behaviour and traditions into our supposed worship of Almighty God, that go against His word. That means too many of us are caught up in religion, rather than a personal relationship with Christ, as He desires. And don’t be fooled, for the religious leaders of today are not against putting certain rules, regulations and traditions that don’t line up with God’s word into their teachings, so that they may have greater control over their congregation.
It’s also like Bruh Paul told Timothy that a time would come when people won’t want to hear sound doctrine, but have ‘itching ears’ where they want to hear what they like and not what they need, (2 Tim. 4:3) and there are many preachers and teachers who are open to such misuse and abuse of God’s word. That’s why it’s so important in these deceitful and fraudulent times for each believer to become better acquainted with God’s Word for themselves, and don’t just rely on what some supposed pastor or teacher says. Whatever they tell you must line up with the scriptures, and if they don’t then they are false prophets and none of Christ’s as John says in his epistle. (1 John 4:1)
And this last lazy-day Saturday in August is as good a day as any for us to spend some time contemplating who we listen to, what they teach, what we believe, and if it lines up with the Word of God. Much LOVE!
…God’s Word is more important than man’s traditions…and must always take first place…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
08 Sep 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a better tomorrow, a gift, a li'l bit of Jesus, affliction, all one body, an obstacle, an opportunity to grow, Anselm, aspires to inspire, assurance, barriers, be of good cheer, be thankful, broken down the middle wall, caring, change, circumstances, Colossians, compassionate, conquer, control our attitudes, crowning grace, deceitful, Ephesians, feel sorry for yourself, flee seven ways, free from fear, from glory to glory, Gentiles, glory to God, have faith, have peace, holy spirit, human understanding, in Jesus name, in the world, insincere, Jews, keep your hearts and minds, leaving happier, live godly in Christ, living for Jesus, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, not stuck where you are, one church, overcome the world, peace, persecution, persevere, perspective, put on charity, shalom, sincere, spoken unto you, spread LOVE, suffer persecution, Thank You Lord, the bond of perfectness, the evil world, the Lord delivered me, the peace of God, these things, things will look different, tranquility, transform, tribulation, true, truth, unpalatable situations, walking with Christ, worry, you choose, youlook at things
John 16:33. 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.
‘Shalom friends, Shalom! Peace! Everlasting Peace! May the peace of God, that peace that passes all human understanding, which is instilled in us by the Holy Spirit, be unto you and yours this somewhat cloudy Saturday morning!’
And all God’s people said a loud and grateful, ‘Thank You Lord!’ For there is nothing that’s so badly needed right now in our world, than peace, the peace of Almighty God! And though it’s cloudy, the sun is valiantly pushing through, just like our efforts in Jesus Christ to transform this evil world, to have His LOVE Revolution conquer it! Have faith my brethren. If we persevere in Jesus’ name, it will happen.
Now let’s look at some of our friend Anselm’s quotes for this week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And the first one says: ‘Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at will change.’ Now that’s simply logical. If you look at things differently, then in the majority of cases, they will appear differently to you. I guess it’s all about our perspective.
And the second one tells us: ‘You are not stuck where you are unless you decide to be.’ And isn’t that the glorious truth! My people, wherever we are, is where we have decided to be, at least for the time being, otherwise we’d be somewhere else.
That’s unless we’re living for Jesus, and He has us in a particular position or situation right now that we don’t like, and as far as we’re concerned, He is moving us too slowly from glory to glory. But even then, we can always change it. It might not work out for the best under your terms, but it’s always changeable.
Now this quote is simple but ever so important in a believer’s life. ‘Spread LOVE wherever you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.’ Yeh friends, that’s what Jesus has called us to do, ‘SPREAD LOVE!’
His kind of LOVE; the kind that’s sincere and true and really caring and compassionate, not the empty, insincere, deceitful words that the world utters. That means whoever we interact with, we must leave them with a li’l bit of Jesus, so that their souls and spirits can be lifted through His awesome power.
That leads us to this last quote: ‘With everything that has happened to you, you can either feel sorry for yourself or treat what has happened as a gift. Everything is either an opportunity to grow or an obstacle to keep you from growing. You get to choose.’ That’s also very true my people! We might not be able to always control our situations, but we always have the power to control our attitudes towards them.
What did Jesus say about such situations? ‘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)
Wow! What assurance friends! Our Lord and Saviour has already overcome the world, so we should not allow our circumstances to drag us down and keep us down for too long. Through His Holy Spirit that dwells within us, we can have peace in even the most unpleasant and unpalatable situations.
Bruh Paul told Timothy in no uncertain terms: ‘Persecutions. Afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured; but out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.’ (2 Tim.3:11-12)
And that’s indisputable truth! Once we stand up and proclaim the name of Jesus, the enemy WILL come against us. But as the Good Book says, he will come against us one way, but flee seven ways! Glory to God!
Now let’s end up with some significant scriptures on peace. Hear Bruh Paul to the Ephesians, re Christ: ‘For he (he himself) is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition (division) between us.’ (Eph.2:13) Yeh people, by His death and resurrection Christ has broken down all barriers between Jews and Gentiles. We are all one body, one church under His name now.
Meanwhile to the Colossians, Bruh Paul advised: ‘ And above all these things put on charity (LOVE), which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.’ (Col.3:14-15) Oh friends, LOVE is the crowning grace of a believer, and right behind it is peace!
And to the Philippians, Bruh Paul wrote: ‘Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep (guard, sustain) your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’ (Phil.4:6-7)
Now isn’t that wonderful! Though we don’t understand God’s peace, we certainly have it available to us. So let’s use it nuh mih breddren, for it’s wisdom personified. Much LOVE!
…walking with Christ…brings tranquility of mind…frees us from fear and worry…
15 Mar 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a gift, a present, Abraham Isaac and Jacob, abundance, bring His church to fruition, compassionate heart, courage, curse, died for us, don't walk a good walk, enter the kingdom of heaven, evil associates, evil world, exalt, exceed the righteousness, except your righteousness, faithfully, genuine Christian character, goodness, grow Jesus' church, He deserves our all, hypocrites, I say unto you, inner attitude, interceding for us, Jesus gave His all, Jesus Spirit lives in our souls, Jews, loving kindness, necessity of righteousness, need the warning, negative word, of the scribes and Pharisees, one more day, outward show, penny-pinch, play the scrooge, practical application, Praise the Lord, prosper, put his whole heart and soul, rose from the dead, sacrificed His sinless life, salvation, self-righteousness, spiritual living, succeed, talent, talk a good talk, the gospel in action, the heart God desired, the law, the living truth, the LOVE of Jesus, the One and Only, the present, Thursday Blessings, tomorrow, true living God, unbelievers, undeserving children of men, what a bam bam, work tirelessly, ye shall by no means, yesterday
Matthew 5:20. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case (by no means) enter the kingdom of heaven.
One more day friends! Yes one more day; that’s what we’ve been given, and that’s why it’s called a present, a gift, as well as the present, because it’s all we have to work with.
Yesterday has gone by for ever, and tomorrow has not come as yet, if it ever will. Therefore, we need to do all that we can in this present day to exalt the ONE and ONLY, True, Living God; He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, as best we can.
And all God’s children said a loud, proud and grateful, ‘Praise the Lord! Thank Him for all His goodness and LOVING-kindness to the undeserving children of men. Amen!
And as the li’l thought from the Daily Bread Devotional tells us: ‘Jesus gave His ALL; He deserves our ALL.’ I couldn’t have put it any better my brethren. Jesus did not penny-pinch and play the scrooge when He sacrificed His sinless life for us. He gave it everything He had, put His whole heart and soul into what He was doing for us.
Now, after He died for us, then rose from the grave, from the dead, so that we too can rise eventually, given us salvation, and is interceding for us at the Father’s right hand in heaven, while His Spirit lives in our souls, leading and guiding us in all truth, don’t you think the least we can do in return is to work tirelessly and faithfully to bring His wonderful church to fruition?
Wow! What a mouthful my people! (smile) But it is the living truth. We’re definitely not doing as much as we ought to grow Jesus’ church. And WE ALL KNOW IT! We’re still letting the evil world and it’s evil associates control too much of our time and our actions. We talk a good talk, but don’t walk a good walk.
That’s why the unbeliever looks at us askance, with a knowing smirk on their faces. They know that many of us are just a bunch of ole hypocrites, like the scribes and Pharisees of bygone days. That’s why Jesus declares so definitely in our Bit: ‘For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case (by no means) enter the kingdom of heaven.’
What a bam bam my people! Imagine that nuh; the most righteous, or supposedly righteous people of Jesus time could not get into heaven. And I know that we’ve used this scripture as our Bit fairly recently, but the Lord just put it on my heart to do it again today, possibly because He knows that we need the warning badly. So don’t get vex with the messenger. (smile)
Now listen to the scholar’s explanation, once again. ‘5:20. Because of the necessity of righteousness as a requirement to enter heaven, Jesus then declares that except their righteousness should exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees they could not enter heaven.
The significance of this is seen in the fact that the Jews of Jesus’ day considered these people to be the most religious in all Israel. However, their religion was largely an outward show of self-righteousness. In communicating the depth of His message, Jesus used a series of contrasts between the outward behaviour demanded by the law and the inner attitude of the heart desired by God.
Here we discover the practical application of genuine Christian character to true spiritual living. Here we see the gospel in action.
Law Spirit
No murder No anger
No adultery No lust
No divorce Commitment
No oath-taking Speak the truth
No retaliation Forgiveness
Hatred for your enemy LOVE for your enemy
(tradition allowed it) (commanded)
And there you have it friends! As Christians we need to come up higher in the spiritual realm than in the law of the world, if we are to be sincere believers. And I’m pleading with us today to stop giving Christ a bad name with our hypocritical behaviour. If we can’t live up to what He expects of us, then let’s stop talking the high talk we talk, and walk whatever low walk we can. Let’s not talk more than we can do.
Now let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings, blessings that the Lord has specially prepared for us who sincerely try to do His will. As one 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!’
Oh friends, doesn’t it make you feel bad when you enjoy all those heavenly blessings and don’t at least try to reciprocate as best we can? It ought to. Much LOVE!
…righteousness is simply…the LOVE of Jesus…in action
23 May 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a child of God, a decision, a dream, a gift, be strong and of a good courage, be thou dismayed, Canadian, choose courage, Christian brethren, courage, do what we have to do, dr robert h schuller, end of life, end times, eternal life, fear, fear not, followers of Christ, freedom, friend of Jesus, glory, glory to God, God is a refuge for us, greater than he that's in the world, He that is in us, Hour of Power Devotional, Jesus Christ, kill the body, LOVE, mortal bodies, of whom shall I be afraid, our Lord and Saviour, pour out your heart, power to cast into hell, presence of a calling, pulls you beyond yourself, put it into action, salvation, Selah, share His love, the absence of fear, the beloeved of god, the Lord is my light and salvation, the Lord is the strength of my life, traffic, trust Jesus, Tuesday Mantra, walking in fear, wherewithal, whom shall I fear
Psalm 27:1. 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?
Well my Canadian friends, I hope the getting up and going back to work this Tuesday morning wasn’t too onerous, after a long weekend of celebrating Queen Victoria’s long reign over the British Empire! (smile)
Oh I know it was hard for me to get up, and many of you had to get up long before I did and make your way through the mean traffic. But that’s why we’re so proudly Canadian; we have the courage, the wherewithal to do what we have to do! Glory to God!
Now, rather appropriately, here is a li’l something on ‘Courage,’ from Gramps Schuller’s (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) Hour of Power Devotional, where he emphatically states:
‘The truth is that courage isn’t a gift. Courage is a decision! Courage is not the absence of fear. It is the presence of a calling – a dream that pulls you beyond yourself. Hence it is something you can never lose. It is always something that you can choose. So choose it today!’
Yes my brethren, I’m pleading with us to CHOOSE courage over fear today, because it’s ever so necessary in our faith walk with Christ, especially in these fearful end times.
Walking in fear is not acceptable in a child of God, for Christ died that we might have freedom, freedom from fear and all its associates. And to have freedom, one must have the courage to trust Jesus, as well as to handle whatever you need to handle.
That’s why Bruh David was able to so boldly proclaim in our Bit: ‘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?’
And the resounding answer from a follower of Christ, is simply: ‘ABSOLUTELY NOBODY!’ Yes friends, we ought not to be afraid of anybody or anything in this world.
Listen to Jesus on whom to fear. ‘And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.’ (Luke 12:4-5)
Oh my Christian brethren, those are words straight from the mouth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and as His followers, we ought to listen attentively to what he says and put it into action!
And here are two simple explanations from the scholars on those verses. ’12:4. The body’s death is not the end of a person’s life’ ’12:5. God is the One with this power (James 4:12).’
Yeh precious people, the death of our mortal bodies doesn’t mean the end of life, rather, it is the beginning of eternal life with Jesus! Glory to God!
And ONLY God has the power to cast any of us into hell with the evil one. So once you’re living under His mighty umbrella, there’s nothing to fear.
And hear how Moses put it to the Israelites many, many moons ago. ‘Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.’ (Deut.31:6) Words of absolute truth my brethren!
And furthermore, listen to how often God warned Joshua about not being fearful when He anointed him leader of the Israelites after Moses’ death. ‘There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
Be strong and of a good courage… Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do all the law which Moses my servant commanded thee… Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.’ (Josh.1:5, 6,7,9)
Yeh friends, within four verses, God warned Joshua three times to be strong and courageous and not be afraid. The same advice goes out to us today my people, so let’s take it to heart nuh, since it’s only the courage and strength we get from God that will see us successfully through this earthly life.
Now hear Bruh David wrap it up, from Psalm 62: ‘In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.’ (Ps.62:7-8)
Yes, let’s ponder that for a moment nuh, before we move on to declare our Tuesday Mantra, boldly proclaiming to the world, whom and whose we are.
In strong voice now: ‘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 if we sincerely believe all of that deep down in our hearts, then let’s go out and put it all into action nuh, as our Leader, Jesus desires of us. Much LOVE!
…the fear of man…can never outweigh the courage of God…for Him that is in us…is greater than he that is in the world…
14 Dec 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a gift, a glorious day to be alive, a glorious future with Jesus, action, alive and fruitful, associated with Jesus, brings forth much fruit, buried, Christmas, conquer sin, controlling everything for our good, crucified, dead, father in heaven, glorified, glory hallelujah, God's great earth, gospel truth, halfway home, happy life, he that abides in me, hope, I am the vine, I in him, I'm not looking back, if any man thirst, ingredients, intimate relationship, Jesus Christ, know, let him come to me and drink, LOVE, made alive, miserable, mortal bodies, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, my hands are on the plough, obey, our Lord and Saviour, out of his belly, pruning, quickened, raised, reckon, rivers of living water, someone to love, something to do, something to hope for, the breath of life, the christian experience, them's the breaks, this is the day the Lord has made, Titan, Tom Bodett, unhappy, watering, waters our hearts, we will be glad and rejoice in it, Wednesday Wail, without me ye can do nothing, ye are the branches, yield
John 15:5. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
Ah friends, it’s been one of those pretty late nights or early mornings, so the ole fella is a bit behind in his activities. (smile) Anyway, it’s a glorious day to be alive on God’s great earth.
We don’t know exactly what will happen to us, how our day will go, but we do know that our wonderful Father in heaven is controlling everything for our good. Therefore we can confidently proclaim like the psalmist: ‘This is the day the Lord has made, we WILL rejoice and be glad in it.’ (Ps.118:24)
Yeh mih people, what’s the use of having a day given to you as a gift and not enjoy it eh? None whatsoever! But please remember too that the Lord expects good stuff from us in return, so let’s do our best to please Him.
And I got a bookmark from the Prostate Cancer Society yesterday with this interesting quote from Tom Bodett (1955), American author, voice actor and radio host. It says: ‘They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: someone to LOVE, something to do, and something to hope for.’
Well I don’t know if those three things will necessarily keep us happy, but I do know that without them, we’ll be very miserable and unhappy. (smile)
Yeh friends, LOVE, Action and Hope are all very necessary ingredients of a successful and happy earthly life. But sadly, a lot of people lack them all.
And the only place you’ll truly find them in all their glorious splendour is in an intimate relationship with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the Son of God who came to earth, was born in this Christmas season, so that we could understand more about our Creator and heavenly Father.
Now let’s declare our Wednesday Wail, which helps us keep our eyes on Jesus, who gives us the LOVE, Action and Hope we so fervently desire.
Altogether now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday!
I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
Ah mih breddren, isn’t it just great to be associated with Jesus and all the wonderful things He has in store for us!
And what could be more invigorating and pleasing than the awesome breath of life that He has breathed into our mortal bodies eh? Nothing really! For without it, we’re nothing; nothing but a dead set of bones and flesh.
And yuh know, even with the breath of life in us, if we don’t have Jesus too, then we’re still nothing, because as He says in our Bit:‘I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.’
And that’s the gospel truth my fellow believers! In the relationship between man and God, Jesus is indeed like the vine, and we are the branches, offshoots of that vine. Just like in real vines, the branches can’t produce anything unless they are attached to the vine, likewise, we can’t do anything without being attached to Jesus.
And to make it even more lifelike, the Father tends the branches, like a real gardener, pruning and watering and doing whatever is necessary to keep the branches alive and fruitful.
Now here is an interesting explanation from the scholars re our Union with Christ. ’15:5. The uniqueness of the Christian experience results from the union of Christ and the believer. This is expressed in scripture as Christ being in the believer and the believer in Christ.
Ten times Paul uses the Greek preposition ‘sun’ (“together”) to describe this relationship. Believers were crucified (Gal.2:20), dead (Col.2:20), buried (Rom.6:4), quickened or made alive (Eph 2:1-5; Col.2:13), raised (Col.3:1; Eph.2:6), and glorified (Rom.8:17) together with Christ.
Illustration: Jesus used the image of the vine and its branches to describe His union with the believer. Application: On the basis of the union, the apostle Paul showed how the successful Christian life can be opened with four key words in Romans 6: know (v.6), reckon (v.11), yield (v.13), and obey (v.17).
The Christian can conquer sin because Christ lives in him. (Gal.2:20). (First Ref. John 7:37-38; Primary Ref. John 15:1-5; cf.1 John 5:13).’
Ah friends, I do hope those explanations helped us to better understand our relationship with Christ. And what would be a good exercise would be to check out all those scriptures. I just did that, and they are very interesting and useful.
And we’ll end with one of those inspirational scriptures. ‘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)
Oh precious people, what a Titan, what a gigantic figure is our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Please, let’s show wisdom and common sense by staying attached to Him. Much LOVE!
…oh what beautiful fruit we bear…when Jesus waters our hearts…
P.S. It’s somewhat late, but it wasn’t all my fault (smile) for while writing, I also had to get up and attend to a couple of technicians who came to do some work on my new furnace. Ah Lord eh! That wasn’t connected properly in the first place. But them’s the breaks. Have a blessed day my people! Much LOVE!
15 Oct 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a brand new day, a faithful saying, a gift, an extra one, Anselm's Quote, apply our hearts unto wisdom, aspires to inspire, be honour, braata, broughta, can, cannot, challenge yourself, Christ came to save sinners, comfort zone, conversion, Damascus, DETERMINATION, determine your life's direction, enabled me, encourages others, eternal life, favour, glory, he counted me faithful, I thank Christ Jesus, immortal, invisible, lagniappe, laughter, lay not this sin, long-suffering, LOVE, mercy, Moses, new opportunities, one day closer to heaven, one day older, patience, Paul, putting me into ministry, satisfaction, Saul, Stephen, teach us to number our days, thankfulness, the best free medicine, the King eternal, the nth degree, the only wise God, Timothy, undeserved favour, waste time, wisdom
1 Timothy 1:12. And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into ministry.
Awright friends, it’s another brand new day! That means that we are one day older and one day closer to heaven! (smile) Therefore we can’t afford to waste any of the finite and limited time God has given us on this earth.
What did Moses say in psalm 91 – From everlasting to everlasting thou art God – the only one he wrote, and therefore the oldest in the Psalter? ‘So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom (gain a heart of wisdom). (Ps.91:12) We don’t know how long we have left, so we’d be wise to make the best use of it.
And on that note, since it’s Saturday, let’s check out some quotes from our friend Anselm, who always aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And today we have a lagniappe, a broughta or braata; an extra one, a gift, used by vendors to encourage customers to return.
The first is T&T slang, although according to Dictionary.com, it’s used in Southern Louisiana and South East Texas, I guess it comes from French Creole. And the second is a Jamaican term. That means we have three instead of two.
The first one says: ‘The difference between can and cannot are only three letters. Three letters that determine your life’s direction.’ And that surely makes sense. ‘Can’ will take you in one direction, while ‘cannot’ will take you in a completely different one. The choice is up to you.
The second quote from Anselm declares: ‘Challenge yourself! Look for new opportunities, step outside of your “comfort” zone and find new things to do. Do something special, just for you, something you’ve always wanted to do. Meet new people, learn what you need to know… be optimistic!’ That also is good advice, especially in these trying times.
And the last one says: ‘You’ve got to get up every morning with determination if you’re going to go to bed with satisfaction.’ And ain’t that gospel truth my people! Even if laziness is your goal, you have to get up determined to be lazy, if you want to go to bed satisfied with your lazy day. (smile) That’s why laughter is the best free medicine available.
But now it’s time to get serious, as we turn to our Bit. ‘And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into ministry.’ Yes friends, those are Bruh Paul’s words of thankfulness for mercy as he wrote to his protégé Timothy. And that’s indisputable truth, for without Christ’s enablement, Bruh Paul would not have been able to fulfill his apostolic duties.
He then continues to explain why. ‘Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious (violent): but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and LOVE which is in Christ Jesus.’ (1Tim.1:13-14)
The scholars explain that last verse thus: ‘1:14. Grace…was exceeding abundant (or, “grace…was more abundant”). Christ’s undeserved favour far outweighed Paul’s previous sinful life. With faith and LOVE: God’s grace brought about faith in Paul, in contrast to his former “unbelief” and it also produced LOVE in him, in contrast to his previous blasphemy, persecution and violence to the church (v.13). Which refers to faith: Paul’s faith or trust is in Christ Jesus.’
Ah mih people, we all know Bruh Paul’s reputation as a terrorizer of the brethren, then known as Saul, before he was called by Christ on the road to Damascus, even as he was on a mission to capture believers and take them back to Jerusalem for punishment. (Acts 9)
And many of us in reading the Good Book might have missed Bruh Paul’s part in the stoning, the martyrdom of Stephen. The brother was giving his testimony ‘Behold, I see the heavens opened; and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. Then they (the masses) cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord.
And cast him out of the city, and stoned him, and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen, (as he was) calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus receive my spirit. And he kneeled down and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.’ (Acts 8:56-60)
No friends, Bruh Paul was not a very nice man in his younger days. That’s why he could continue to Timothy with all sincerity. ‘This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.’ (1 Tim.1:15)
He believes that he is the number one sinner, the worst one of the lot. ‘Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all long-suffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.’ (1 Tim.1:16)
Now that’s a very interesting statement, and here is the scholars’ explanation. ‘1:16. We could read the verse thus: “But I obtained mercy for this reason: that in my case as the worst (sinner) Christ Jesus might demonstrate the fullest of patience; as an example for those about to believe on him for eternal life.” Paul’s conversion encourages other sinners; since Christ has already saved the worst sinner, He can save those less sinful.’
And that’s no lie friends! Christ Jesus can save the worst of us if we come to Him in true repentance!
And we’ll end with these beautiful words of praise and thanksgiving of Bruh Paul. ‘Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever.’ (1 Tim.1:17)
That’s one thing about Bruh Paul; he never shies away from giving all the glory to God. May we also do likewise my precious people, for that is wisdom to the nth degree! Much LOVE!
…to our wonderful God…all praise, honour and glory be given…for that is His rightful desert…
20 May 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a decision, a dream, a gift, a proud look, a sound mind, a tad on the chilly side, abomination to God, absence of fear, absolute truth, alive and kicking, all is right in God's world, all my fears are gone, arrogance, assurance, be filled with courage, be fruitful and multiply, bear our burdens, bet your bottom dollar, beyond yourself, Bless His Holy Name, Bruh Paul, calm, chutzpah, common sense, communing with nature, courage, Courage is not the absence of fear, deliverance, disastrous state of our world, do god's work, do it afraid, encouraging words, entrance to the Lord's presence, evil world, fear mongering, fears, forgive their sin, friends, going going gone, Gramps Schuller, halfway point of the week, haughty eyes, he shall lift you up, heal their land, Hour of Power Devotional, humble yourselves, humility, in the sight of the Lord, Jerusalem, Judah, king of Egypt, let us rejoice and be glad in it, life, LOVE, my people which are called by my name, mysterious, no looking or turning back, peace, perverse mouth, power, Praise the Lord, pray, presence of a calling, pride, prosperity, Rehoboam, Scrip-Bit land, seek my face, servants, shall humble themselves, Shemaiah, spirit of courage, straight ahead to the finish line, Thank You Lord, the core of my invisible soul, the evil way, the Holy Spirit, the Lord is righteous, the presence of God, the spirit of fear, the sun is shining, them's the breaks, then will I hear from heaven, this is the day the Lord has made, tranquil, turmoil, turn from their wicked ways, turning away from God, what a relief, wisdom, wonderful Wednesday morning, working peace, wrath, ye have forsaken me, zenith
2 Chronicles 7:14. If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn away from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Well a wonderful Wednesday morning to you readers out there in Scrip-Bit Land! It’s a tad on the chilly side today, as it was yesterday. Ah Lord eh! What is the weather coming to eh? We had a beautiful Victoria Day weekend, then yesterday it suddenly turned cold and windy.
As one Friend told me yesterday evening, ‘you were boasting in the Bit about sitting on your porch last night communing with nature. Let me see if you will do it tonight too.’ (smile)
And Friends, sad to say I didn’t. It was just too so and so cold. But them’s the breaks! And furthermore, the sun is shining, we are alive and kicking and all is right in God’s world! Bless His Holy Name. That’s why we can say, as the psalmist did eons ago: ‘This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.’ (Ps.118:24)
We might as well my brethren, because the only other alternative is to be sad and miserable, and God gave us the day to be fruitful and multiply, both in terms of children and in His work here on earth. Anyway, we’ve reached the halfway point of the workweek – rather quickly and easily I must say – (smile) so there’s no turning or looking back now, just straight ahead to the finish line.
And to help us do that, here’s something from Gramps Schuller (Robert H. Schuller) from his Hour of Power Devotional, on the subject of courage, which we can never get enough of. He claims that courage isn’t a gift, but a decision. And ‘Courage is not the absence of fear, it is the presence of a calling – a dream that pulls you beyond yourself. Hence it is something you can never lose. It is always something that you can choose. So, choose it today!’
And then, in a little poem, he declares: ‘I have it! My fears are going, going, gone! I feel a mysterious, calm, quiet, tranquil assurance rising deep within my being. This remarkable spirit of courage is overpowering me. It is the very presence of God working peace at the core of my invisible soul. Thank You Lord. All my fears are gone. What a relief! Amen.’
Yes my people, courage, like all other good things, comes from Almighty God! It is He who gives us the wherewithal to bear our burdens with chutzpah, and not give up to the fear the enemy tries to instill in us. So please, today, let’s be filled with courage, as we endeavour to do God’s work and be fruitful.
And we will need plenty of courage if we are to fulfill the words of our Bit, especially with the power of the unbeliever in today’s world, and his determined purpose to remove all aspects of God from our society. ‘If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn away from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.’
Ah mih breddren, what a most worthy promise! One that should allay all our fears. But even if we’re still fearful, we can do like Sister Joyce (Joyce Meyer) likes to say: ‘Do it afraid.’ We just can’t afford to let fear hold us back in these very difficult and trying times.
And we can punctuate that with these encouraging and uplifting 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.’ (2 Tim.1:7) And that’s the absolute truth Friends, so please let’s not give into the fear mongering of this evil world, for the power that’s within us, the Holy Spirit, is greater than that which is in the world.
And all of God’s people gave out a loud shout of, ‘Praise the Lord! Amen.’
Now let’s turn to some scripture that pertains to the first of the four things in our Bit, that we need to do to turn back to God, so that He can heal us and our land. That’s ‘humble themselves.’
Oh Friends, one of the things our God thoroughly dislikes is pride. As Cousin Sol says in Proverbs 8: ‘The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the forward (perverse) mouth do I hate.’ (Prov.8:13) And in Proverbs 1.17, he mentions ‘a proud look (haughty eyes)’ as one of the seven things that are an abomination to our God.
So Friends, it’s obvious that we can’t come before our heavenly father in pride and arrogance, for He will just ignore us, possibly just have us thrown out from His presence. (smile) Now hear how He rewards humility.
Way back when, in the days of the apostasy of Rehoboam, king of Judah, Shishak, the king of Egypt, came to fight against Jerusalem with a mighty army. And he captured several cities of Judah before he came to Jerusalem.
‘Then came Shemaiah the prophet to Rehoboam, and to the princes of Judah, that were gathered together at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said unto them, Thus saith the Lord, Ye have forsaken me, and therefore I also left you in the hand of Shishak. Whereupon the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, The Lord is righteous.
And when the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them, but will grant them some deliverance; and my wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. Nevertheless, they shall be his servants; that they may know my service (distinguish my service from) the service of the kingdoms of the countries.’ (2 Chr.12:5-8)
Yuh see Friends, even though God provided them with some relief for their humility, they still had to pay a price for their earlier pride and arrogance. And I wonder why our world is in so much turmoil eh? Could it be partly because of our pride and arrogance and turning away from the ways of God?
You can bet your bottom dollar that our intransigence plays a big part in the disastrous state of our world my people!
And we shall close with one of the most notable scriptures on the subject. This from James: ‘Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.’ (James 4:10)
Oh my people, my people, there is no better advice to be had than that! So please, let’s just grab it and run with it nuh, so that our world, our children, will stand a much better chance of life and prosperity than we now do. That’s wisdom and common sense at the zenith! Much LOVE!
…humility…it is the first…and most important requirement…for gaining entrance to the Lord’s presence…
SCRIP-BITS 