15 Nov 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a garment, a glorious future with Jesus, a powerful tool, a seriouswarning, abundance, accoutrements, anger, asaph, be not envious, betrayed, bitterness, blameless, Christiannegative, corrupt, desire to be with evil men, desires of our hearts, destruction, direct his way, do god's work, draw you away from God, envious of evil men, envy, eternity, evil men, evil way of living, expectations perish, faith, faithful, fatness, fear, fixed straight ahead, focus on fear, forgive, glory hallelujah, grace, halfway home, harbour hate, hate, heartache reign, hope, hopeless, humble child, ignored, in an excellent manner, June Hunte, life looks hopeless, live with your hope, LOVE, lust, mire of despair, mischief, move forward with faith, naughtiness, necklace, netherworld, not looking back, occult, on the upswing, oppression, peace, poignant, pray with your heart, pride, prosperity of the wicked, redundant, rejected, rejection, righteousness, scorned, securely on the plough, selling their souls, stumbled, the breath of life, the dark, transgressors, trouble, unproductive, upliftment, violence, Wednesday Wail, wisdom
Proverbs 24:1. Be not thou envious against (of) evil men, neither desire to be with them.
Well a fine Wednesday morning or afternoon to all you my faithful Scrip-Bit readers! Here is hoping that the Lord is blessing and keeping you safe and sound and giving you the necessary accoutrements to do His work in an excellent manner….
Oh that last statement is redundant, because the Lord ALWAYS gives us the wherewithal to do His work in an excellent manner. (smile)
Anyway, today I want to share an interesting poem titled ‘Rejection,’ written by a lady named June Hunte. And is it ever so poignant and applicable to all believers! Some of you might know it, but it’s one of those pieces that never get old or stale.
Please pray with me. ‘My Lord Jesus, I will live with your hope, even when life looks hopeless. I will not harbour hate, even when I’m ignored. I will live with your peace, even when I’m rejected. I will live with your LOVE, even when I’m scorned.
I will pray with your heart, even for those who hurt me. I will forgive with your grace, even when I’m betrayed. I won’t focus on fear, for I know You are faithful. I won’t let heartache reign, I will move forward with faith. I pray this as your humble child.’
Yes friends, that’s our Christian faith explained right there! But how many of us are living up to it eh? Definitely not as many as should! We allow the enemy to fill our spirits with too much negative and unproductive stuff when we don’t get the desires of our hearts. But that does no good my people. It only drags us even further down in to the mire of despair, bitterness, fear and hate, when what we desperately need is upliftment and strong faith.
That brings us to our Bit, which is also a serious drag on our faith. ‘Be not thou envious against (of) evil men, neither desire to be with them.’ Why? ‘For their heart studieth destruction (devises violence), and their lips talk of mischief (trouble) (Prov.24:2)
Oh my brethren, is that ever a serious warning from Cousin Sol! And it’s probably even more necessary in these ridiculously evil times than when he first wrote it. The times are so evil that people are selling their souls for next to nothing.
The dark, the occult, the netherworld are all on the upswing now, but the worse thing we can ever do is to be envious of evil men, and then allow that envy to lead us into their evil way of living. And believe you me, the evil in the world is a powerful tool that draws you away from God without you even really realizing it.
Even the psalmist Asaph almost fell for it, way back when. Hear him from Psalm 73 – The mystery of prosperous wickedness: ‘But as for me, my feet were almost gone (had almost stumbled); my steps had well-nigh slipped. For I was envious at the foolish (boastful) when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
For there are no bands (pangs or pain) in their death: but their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men. Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain (serves as a necklace); violence covers them as a garment.
Their eyes stand out with fatness (bulge with abundance): they have more than heart could wish. They are corrupt (scoff), and speak wickedly concerning oppression: they speak loftily (proudly). They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth.’ (Ps.73:2-9)
Ah friends, nothing has changed since the days of Asaph so long ago, except that the wicked has gotten even more wicked and more prosperous, and their lure even more desirous and deceitful. It’s not easy to see them prospering and turn away from their evil deeds, but as Christians we should, and can do it with the Lord’s help.
And remember what Cousin Sol says earlier on in Proverbs 11: ‘The righteousness of the perfect (blameless) shall direct his way (make his way smooth or straight): but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness. The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them: but transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness (lust).
When a wicked man dieth, his expectation shall perish: and the hope of unjust men perisheth. The righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked cometh in his stead (trouble comes to the wicked instead).’ (Prov.11:5-8)
Yuh see people, the wicked might have the upper hand in this world in regards to power and worldly wealth, but it will profit them nothing in the long run, because they, and all that they have will be destroyed, for there is nothing that the Lord God Almighty despises like evil and evil doers.
So let’s try and we wise nuh, and not be numbered amongst that lot. And we can begin by declaring our Wednesday Wail, which describes our position in the realm of God. ‘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!’
Now let’s stand steadfast and strong in that belief, for it’s wisdom at it’s zenith! Much LOVE!
…wickedness may prosper for a season…but righteousness will prosper for eternity…
08 Nov 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, a heavy old door, adopted children, ancient seals, apostate church, Behold, being born again, being saved, Christ's blessings, Christ-like image, church at Laodicea, come into him, constant repetition, dr robert h schuller, embrace Jesus, evil times, fallen world, fellowship, footsteps of Jesus, glad to be alive, glory hallelujah, God is good, he that hath an ear, hear my voice, hear something new, heavenly advocate, heavenly Father, Hour of Power Devotional, human animal, I stand at the door, improve our knowledge of Jesus, interact with Jesus, knock, learn to know God, let him hear, life's not fair, light at the end of the tunnel, listen, look forward to, LOVE, mid-point, money, my heart opening, not looking back, old chains break, on my throne, open the door, positive effect, pride in wealth, Redeemer, reigning with Christ, reject the advances, rejection of Jesus, relationship with Jesus, set down with my Father, sit with me, smart money on Jesus, spiritual conditions, spiritual. emotional walls, sup with him, support our families, talk, the breath of life, the Great tribulation, the joy of a soul, the Rapture, the weekend, to him who overcomes, transitional times, walking into my life, Wednesday, Wednesday Wail, wisdom, workweek
Revelation 3:20. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup (dine) with him, and he with me.
And then it was Wednesday, the mid-point of our workweek! Yeh friends, some light is showing up at the end of the tunnel. It’s interesting though, how we all look forward to the weekend so that we can get some time off work, but very few of us look forward to the workweek so that we can make some money to support our families and ourselves.
One would think that working would be the more important part of the equation, but apparently it’s not. I guess that’s just the nature of the human animal, especially in these turbulent and transitional times. (smile)
But here is something to help us from Gramps Schuller (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) from his Hour of Power Devotional. I’ve shared it before, but it’s one of those things that seem to need repeated sharing for us to get it indelibly written in our hearts, souls and minds. It’s called ‘Learn to Know God.’
Please pray with me. ‘Dear Jesus, I’ve got to know You better. Please help me! I can feel my spiritual and emotional walls crack. I can hear old chains break. I can feel my heart opening like a heavy old door whose ancient seals have just begun to break. I can sense the footsteps of Jesus walking into my life. I am beginning to experience the joy of a soul that is being saved, a life that is being born again. Thank You, Lord! Life’s not fair, but God is good. Amen!’
Ah mih people, I do hope that those words, especially the fact that life’s not fair, but God IS good, are having some positive effects on us this day, because we ALL need to improve our knowledge and experiences with Jesus, our Redeemer and heavenly Advocate. And we can only do some of that by constant repetition.
Oh, I know some of us want to hear something new everyday, but what’s the point when we haven’t learned what we heard the day before eh? Like everything else in this fallen world, we only learn stuff when we encounter it regularly, and that’s never more true that with our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
The more we interact with him, the more we come to learn about and LOVE Him. And that’s the only way we can ever be changed into His Christ-like image, which is the heartfelt desire and purpose of our heavenly Father for each of us, His adopted children.
Consequently the message of Jesus to the church at Laodicea through John’s revelation is extremely important for believers right down through the ages, especially for us in these grossly evil times. ‘Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup (dine) with him, and he with me.’
Yes friends, when Jesus knocks at the door of our hearts let’s be quick to answer, throw it wide open and embrace Him without any hesitation, for that’s wisdom of unmatched magnitude!
And please note I said, when He knocks, not if He knocks, for Jesus is continually knocking at the portals of our hearts, just dying to come in and have an intense and ever so satisfying relationship with us. We don’t know what we’re missing out on, when we reject the advances of Jesus.
Listen to what He says after our Bit. ‘To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in (on) my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in (on) his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.’ (Rev. 3:21-22)
Yuh hear that awesome promise my people? If we stand up strong with and for Jesus, we’ll have the everlasting privilege of sitting with Him on His heavenly throne, just like He sits with the Father now, after He overcame His earthly trials and tribulations.
And the scholars offer these explanations to those verses. ‘3:20-22. In light of the spiritual conditions of the Laodiceans described in verses 17-18, (pride in their wealth and rejection of Jesus) the invitation of verse 20 seems to be evangelistically addressed to individual members of an apostate church (religious abandonment), so they might receive Christ genuinely as Saviour and Lord (cf. John 1:12; 10:27).
To sup (dine) means to have fellowship (cf. Luke 22:30; John 14:23) and to enjoy Christ’s blessings. The promise to sit with Christ in His throne refers to reigning with Christ in His kingdom (cf. Matt.19:28; Rev. 20:4; 22:1). Verse 22 contains the last reference to the church before chapter 22, implying that the Rapture will occur before the events of chapters 4-19 and thus that the church will not be present on earth during the Great Tribulation.’
And all God’s people declared a loud and grateful shout of ‘Glory Hallelujah!’ And so we should, if we know we’re not going to be here on earth when the great upheaval comes.
Oh friends, I don’t know how else to put it so that we can be convinced of Jesus’ eventual victory nuh, but as they say, the smart money IS on Jesus!
And for those of us who sincerely believe, let’s go home declaring our Wednesday Wail with much gusto and enthusiasm. ‘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!’
Now let’s go out and share the good news with others. Much LOVE!
…two ears…and only one mouth…means we need to listen more than we talk…
01 Nov 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, abominable sins, above all that we ask, according to the power, Amen, be assured of, be glory in the church, being foolish, bow my knees, by Christ Jesus, by faith, character, cloudy days, comprehend, compromise, confusion, defer not to pay it, disappointment, divinely enabled, drives away the dark clouds, dwell in your hearts, earthly affairs, embrace of jesus, endearing hug, Enormous Rewards, evil, exceeding abundantly, fear, fixed securely on the plough, forgiveness, freedom, friendship, fulfillment, fully developed, glory hallelujah, grant you, grounded, guilt, holy spirit, I love you, in heaven and earth, in love, is able to do, joy, living for Christ, looking straight ahead, no pleasure in fools, not turning back, One Year Book of Bible promises, only begotten Son, passeth knowledge, penance, prayer for inner growth, promises, purpose, riches in glory, rooted, Ruth Harms Calkin, sacrificing Jesus, saints, satisfaction, shortchanging themselves, sordidness, strengthened with might, successfully live, sunny smile, thank God, the breath of life, the Christian life, the fullness of God, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the Holy One of Israel, the Love of Christ, the whole family, think, throughout all the ages, understand, ungodly world, unto him, virtues of God, vowest a vow, wake up each day, walking obediently with God, Wednesday Wail, worketh in us, world without end
Ephesians 3:20-21. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
Cloudy days are here again…But Jesus drives all those dark clouds away when He greets us with His bright and sunny smile, an endearing brotherly hug and a heartfelt ‘I LOVE You!’
Oh friends, there’s no better way to wake up each and every day than in the wonderful embrace of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Glory Hallelujah!
And all I can say to those who refuse to have that kind of awakening, is that they are being rather foolish and shortchanging themselves of a most wonderful experience. And in the long run, denying themselves of ‘Enormous Rewards,’ as this poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin tells us.
Please pray with me. ‘O dear God Thank You for teaching me The enormous rewards Of walking obediently with You: There is joy without guilt Freedom without fear Satisfaction without sordidness Purpose without confusion Friendship without compromise Forgiveness without penance Fulfillment without disappointment.’
Wow, mih people, Wow! Where else can we find such joy and satisfaction than in walking obediently with the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob eh? NOWHERE ELSE!
And all of that is only possible as Bruh Paul declares in our Bit: ‘Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.’
Yeh friends, it’s ONLY the Holy One of Israel who can do such things! And what Bruh Paul was praying there for, is the same thing that I am praying for us all; prayer for inner growth.
And hear how Bruh Paul puts it. ‘For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in LOVE, May be able to comprehend (understand) with all saints what is the breadth (width), and length, and depth, and height: And to know the LOVE of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.’ (Eph.3:14-19)
Ah mih breddren, what a bold and caring but entirely doable prayer, because our heavenly Father can do all he requests and even more!
Now here are some explanations from the scholars. ‘16-19. In these verses Paul makes three prayer requests for the addressees: (1) That they would be strengthened with might by his Spirit (v.16), that is, that they be divinely enabled to successfully live the Christian life.
(2) That the readers be able to comprehend…the LOVE of Christ, that is, to better understand the enormous LOVE Christ has for them. And (3) that they might be filled with all the fullness of God, that is, that the life, the character, and virtues of God Himself may be fully developed in them.’
Yes faithful friends, followers of Jesus have desperately needed those prayers all down through the ages, and so do we today. And we possibly need them more than some of the other saints because of the dreadfully evil and ungodly world in which we now live.
And just as the believers in earlier ages received the strength and understanding through Christ’s Spirit to handle their earthly affairs, likewise, if we stay faithful and obedient to God, we will be able to handle whatever comes against us, with the help of Holy Spirit that dwells within and walks besides us.
And all God’s people declared a loud, proud and grateful: ‘Thank You heavenly Father for sacrificing Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to pay for our abominable sins! We LOVE You, praise and adore Your glorious name, and promise to live for You all our lives! Amen! And again we say Amen!’
Now my fellow saints, remember what Cousin Sol says about promises, especially to God. ‘When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer (delay) not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.’ (Eccl.5:4)
So since we have vowed to live for Him all our lives, we had better begin doing so right now, so that He doesn’t consider us fools. (smile) And we’ll begin by declaring our Wednesday Wail, which explains our current standing in the obedience to God.
Now with strong voice and sincere heart, let’s joyfully tell the world: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday!
I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
And what a glorious future that will be be my fellow believers! Just keep that in mind as we continue our pilgrim’s journey, and it will certainly strengthen our resolve. Much LOVE!
…only in living for Christ…can mankind be assured of a glorious future…
27 Sep 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, a pilgrim, Advocate, all good things must end, blazed the trail, bloodshed, broken resolves, can't run nor hide from God, caught short, consistent, contradiction of sinners, control my impulses, covered, crucifixion, despising the shame, discouraged, emotions, endurance, endured the cross, excuses, failures, faint, finished the course, finisher, fix our eyes on Jesus, fixed on Jesus, flimsy excuses, foolish blunders, glad to be alive, glory hallelujah, halfway home, hide form the sky, hope, hostility, I need your help Lord, invincible power, joy, keep our gaze, late appointments, laziness, life's race, looking forward, looking unto Jesus, my hands on the plough, nefarious motives, never quit, not looking back, originator, pay our sin debt, penetrating gaze, perfector of our faith, polished excuses, Ruth Harms Calkin, sacrificial death, self-educated, set down, shame, steadfast, striving against sin, summer weather, the author, the breath of life, the finish line, the Grand Canyon, the Lord's scrutiny, the One Year Book of Bible Promises, the right hand of God, the supreme example of endurance, unreachable goals, valuable gems, wasted time, wearied, Wednesday Wail, wrong choices
Hebrews 12:2. Looking unto to (let us fix our eyes on) Jesus, the author (originator) and finisher (perfector) of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Well friends, as they say, all good things must end! And it looks like this delightful, unexpected party of summer weather is over as of today! Chuh! But we’ve certainly enjoyed it while it lasted.
As of tomorrow, we’re supposed to go to highs of around 19 Celsius, which is more like the normal temp for this time of year. So enjoy today’s twenty something high, cause it’s the last time we’ll see it for a long, long while. (smile)
And today, I have an interesting excerpt to share from our One Year Book of Bible Promises, with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. I can’t remember if I’ve ever shared it before, but it certainly applies to a lot of us believers. It’s simply titled ‘Excuses.’
Please read with me. ‘O God I’ve become a self-educated master Of a thousand polished excuses. Hoping to avoid your penetrating gaze I clutch them to me like valuable gems. When I think I have myself thoroughly covered I’m caught short with the realization That you can see right through me. My flimsy excuses are never really hidden.
I find an excuse for all my failures Wrong choices Late appointments Wasted time. I excuse my foolish blunders, my laziness My broken resolves, my unreachable goals. I need your help, Lord! To hide from You is as foolish As the Grand Canyon Attempting to hide from the sky.
O God, my only hope Lies in your invincible power To make me what I am not yet But what you know I can become. Strengthen my will, Lord. Make me firm, steadfast, consistent. Control my impulses, my emotions. May I keep pursuing and never quit.’
Ah mih people, I’m sure all of us, at some time or other have made various excuses to God why we didn’t or couldn’t do something He desired of us, but deep down we knew that those excuses were pretty flimsy and couldn’t hold up to the Lord’s scrutiny.
I don’t know why we insist on doing that foolishness nuh, when we very well know that the Lord can see right into our heart and detect the truth, including our nefarious motives. We all know that being a pilgrim here on earth is not easy, but we do have the wherewithal to handle whatever comes against us.
And if we truly feel unable or afraid to do something, it’s better to go to God with the truth, than with a flimsy, selfish excuse. Remember, we can’t ever run, nor hide from God! But some of us still insist on trying. (smile)
And the Bible verse for that poem, as well as today’s Bit, is one we all know. ‘Looking unto to (let us fix our eyes) on Jesus, the author (originator) and finisher (perfector) of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.’
Yeh friends, in rough and uncertain times we need to keep our gaze fixed completely on Jesus, seeing how He handled His hard times and trying to do likewise. Our Bit talks about the joy that was set before Jesus. Yuh think His physical ‘sufferation’ and unholy crucifixion were joyful?
Surely not! But the joy was the knowledge that His sacrificial death would set us free, pay our sin debt in full, and then elevate Him to the right hand of the Father, where He could still advocate on our behalf. That was the joy which Jesus beheld friends!
And the scholars tell us: ’12:2. Just as verse 1 establishes some qualities for the entrance into and the actual running of life’s race, so verse 2 directs one’s eyes to the finish line. Jesus is the author and finisher in that He has already blazed the trail and finished the course.’
Yes my fellow believers, Jesus has already done it all, we don’t need to carve out a new trail, just follow the one He has blazed.
And I like the two verses after our Bit. ‘For consider him that endured such contradiction (hostility) of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint (discouraged) in your minds (souls). Ye have not yet resisted unto blood (bloodshed), striving against sin.’ (Heb.12:3-4)
For sure friends, the majority of us have not, and will never come up against anything close to what Jesus endured on our behalf. So just remember when things get rough and tough, that Jesus is the supreme example of endurance, both physical and spiritual, andHe is the One we must always look to, as a mighty example, and for help in our own endurance.
Now let’s go home declaring our Wednesday Wail, which shows that we are truly on the right path, the straight and narrow one. In strong voice, with true sincerity: ‘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!’
How could it be anything other than that eh mih breddren? Much LOVE!
…what a glorious example we have in Jesus…in how to live a pilgrim’s life…
20 Sep 2017
by randyobrien50
in Inspirational Living
Tags: 2017, a beautiful experience, a fine day, a glorious future with Jesus, a grain of mustard seed, a milestone, a watershed year, blessed is the man, confess, David, delivered me, disastrous, Donald Trump, earthquake, faith, fear, fear not, fear the Lord, forgiving God, from all my fears, halfway home, he heard me, heavenly throne, hurricane, I sought the Lord, in control of the universe, Jose, kneel, lack, living for Jesus, looking straight ahead, Maria, merciful, Mexico City, miraculous things, na, natural disasters, not ashamed, nothing shall be impossible, O taste and see, omnipotent god, One Year Book of Bible promises, personal testimony, physically and emotionally spent, poor man, possible emergency, poverty, puzzling circumstance, Ruth Harms Calkin, saints, seek the Lord, serious messages, suffer want, testing, the angel of the Lord, the breath of life, the Lord hears the righteous, The Lord is good, time of fear, trial, troubles, trusts in God, unbelief, warms the cockles of my heart, wasted hours, Wednesday Wail
Psalm 34:4. I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
Welcome to Wednesday friends and neighbours! For some of us it’s going to be a fine day, for others it could be disastrous.
And just looking at the possibilities in our hemisphere; Jose is still moving up the North American east coast causing some damage, while Maria is tossing a hissy fit in the Caribbean, steadily moving in the direction of Puerto Rico and some of the smaller Caribbean Islands.
But to add to all of that, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake apparently has hit Mexico City with a significant loss of life and physical structures. When is it going to end eh friends? 2017 has definitely been a watershed year, a milestone in our society from the antics of Donald Trump to the natural disasters we’re experiencing.
But my faithful brethren, there’s no need to fear, for our omnipotent God is still on His heavenly throne and still in control of the universe He created. He’s just sending us some serious messages.
And to help us, this Wednesday morning, here is something from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calking that simply tells us: ‘Fear Not.’
Please pray with me. ‘Again and again, dear Lord I read Your words, “Fear Not.” Surely You would not say it so often If there were any reason to fear. Nor would You command it so explicitly If You could not keep me from fearing.
God, You have given me a Fear Not For every puzzling circumstance For every possible emergency For every trial and testing Real or imagined. Yet I confess wasted hours – Even days, dear Lord When fear clutches and clobbers me Until I am physically and emotionally spent.
Lord, when David cried to You, You delivered him from all his fears. On this gray-sky morning I kneel before You with David’s cry. O my Father, I cannot believe You would be less kind to me Than You were to David.’
And no my people, our most merciful and forgiving God would NEVER be less kind to you than He was to Bruh David, if you cry out to Him in your time of fear!
And our Bit for today, which comes from Psalm 34 – The Lord hears the righteous – the words of none other than Bruh David proves it in spades. Bruh David declares in no uncertain terms: ‘I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.’
Oh my people, I know that some of you will say that your faith is not as strong as Bruh David’s was, and that will surely be true, because not too many of us will have His strong faith, but remember what Jesus said to the disciples when they could not heal a demon infested child.
‘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 unto you.’ (Matt.17:20)
So friends, once you have true faith, all sorts of miraculous things are possible, with God’s help. Therefore, please don’t sell yourself short. And the Bible verses associated with the poem above, are the two verses after our Bit.
‘They looked unto him, and were lightened (radiant): and their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.’ (Ps.34:5-6)
Again my brethren, yuh see how our faces become radiant and we’re not ashamed when we look to the Lord for our daily needs? And when we cry out to him, even in our physical and spiritual poverty, He hears us and delivers us.
Hear Bruh David further: ‘The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
O fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want (lack) to them that fear him. The young lions do lack and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want (lack) any good thing.’ (Ps.34:7-10)
And all of that friends, is a personal testimony of Bruh David, when he narrowly escaped death at the hands of Saul, his archenemy. So it’s not mere talk, but true reality. That means we can rely on it without any fear.
And seeing that we have now eased ALL of our fears (smile), let’s go home loudly, proudly and sincerely declaring our Wednesday Wail, which tells of our profound faith and trust in Almighty God.
‘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!’
Now let’s put it all into action, so others can see it and come to Jesus. Much LOVE!…
living with…and for Jesus…is such a beautiful experience…it just warms the cockles of one’s heart…
13 Sep 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, a living sacrifice, a new name, abuse his holy name, amenities, atonement, Calvary, cleansing, earthly living, eternally separated, foolishness, gain access to God, gave up the ghost, grateful, halfway home, happiness, heavenly intercessor, high priest, holy space of God, hope, I am the way, ignorance, Jesus, joy, LOVE, make ends meet, meaning, no man comes to the Father, No one is guaranteed happiness, not looking back, on the outside looking in, panacea, physical things, put in the effort, remove God, rent in twain, sacrifice, Second Coming of Jesus, serving Jesus, sinful souls, space, the best life possible, the breath of life, the cross, the earth did quake, the Good Book, the high life, the Life, the rocks split, the sinless One, the Truth, time, truthful proclamation, unconditional LOVE, ungodly lifestyle, ungratefulness, veil of the temple, washing, Wednesday Wail
John 14:6. I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me.
Oh friends, it’s one of those days; the ole fella does not know what to say this Wednesday morning. Hn! Imagine that nuh! (smile)
I slept the night away and got up feeling worse than when I went to bed. Can you believe it? But that was just my ignorance, for I knew that if lay in bed too long my back would act up something terrible.
But I just refused to get out of the bed. If people could lie in bed for ten to twelve hours straight, why couldn’t I do it for a mere five or six eh? And now I’m paying the price. But that’s okay, because I have a rather appropriate quote for us from my ‘P.S. I LOVE YOU’ Poster.
It says: ‘No one is guaranteed happiness. Life just gives us time and space. It’s up to us to fill it with joy and meaning.’ End of story!
Yeh friends, it’s up to us to make our lives as joyful and meaningful as we can. Nobody else can do that for us. We have to put in the effort to make our lives whatever we want them to be. And believe me, that’s not always easy, since most of us want to live what is considered the high life, which is not easy to attain or maintain.
But I’ll let us into a li’l secret here (smile)… serving Jesus is the way to live the best life possible here on earth, and even into eternity. And if you doubt that, hear what He says in our Bit. ’I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me.’
What an awesome statement my brethren! But it’s true! NO ONE else has ever made, or been able to make such an enormous and truthful proclamation! Only through Jesus can we gain access to our heavenly Father.
Remember how it was before Jesus? There was a heavy veil that covered the holy space of God within the tabernacle and only the high priest could enter there once a year to make sacrifice and atonement for man.
But note when Jesus gave up the ghost on that cross at Calvary, the Good Book declares: ‘And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain (torn in two) from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent (split).’ (Matt.27:51)
Yes my people, the tearing down of that oppressive veil opened the way for each and every one to come to the Father through Jesus! Wow! How amazing and reassuring is that eh? From then on Jesus became our high priest and heavenly intercessor, giving us individual access to the Father.
And all of that was done out of the Father’s great and unconditional LOVE for us, His sinful and disobedient children. That’s why we should be eternally grateful to both the Father, who offered His only Son, Jesus, as a living sacrifice, and to Jesus who willingly paid the enormous price for the cleansing and washing of our abominably sinful souls.
Only Jesus, the sinless One, could have paid the exorbitant price the Father required to wash our sins away. And now we refuse to live for Him, abuse His holy name, doing our best to remove Him completely from our society. What ungratefulness my people, what ignorance and foolishness!
Please note what’s happening to our society as we try to remove God from it. Our lives are getting rougher and tougher despite all the supposed amenities we now have. Nobody is really happy, and we have to work harder and longer to just make ends meet.
It just goes to show that the physical things and the ungodly lifestyle that the world wants us to adopt are not the panacea for earthly living. JESUS IS! And until we get around to truly believing that and living it, our world won’t get any better. In fact we’ll just keep wallowing in the mire of sin and ungodliness and keep being unhappy and strife-filled.
Oh friends, I don’t know what else to say to make us believe that Jesus is the WAY nuh. I guess most of us won’t give Him a try until we hit rock bottom. But don’t worry, whenever and however we come to Him, He will always receive us with open, LOVING arms, for that’s how magnanimous He is.
But please don’t put it off until it’s too late. He is coming back a second time, in all His magnificence and splendour, and if you’re not a member of His flock then, you will be eternally separated from Him and the Father, and end up on the outside looking in. And I can guarantee that that won’t be a very good situation.
Now for those of us who sincerely believe, let’s declare our Wednesday Wail as we go joyfully marching home. (smile) ‘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, how great it is to live for Jesus! Much LOVE!
…hope has a new name…that name is JESUS…
30 Aug 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, a magnificent day, abundance, alive and kicking, almighty god, assurance, Beautiful Things Happen, bread was buttered, changing circumstances, Christian, common sense, day by day, dependent, did good, do for myself, down the pipeline from heaven, fighting for their very lives, filling our hearts, flowing like crazy, food, fulfilled, full of tears, give thanks, gladness, gladness in my heart, God is good, grace, graciousness, guidance, halfway home, hate evil, hidden treasures, holding back, Hurricane Harvey, I meet you, I'm not looking back, in prayer, in quietness and confidence, in the time of corn, inner wholeness, joy, keep on keeping on, lay me down in peace, light, living for the Lord, looking ahead, LOVE, Love the Lord, loving-kindness, makest me dwell in safety, man's nature, mature, mercies, my hands are on the plough, new blessings, not easily disturbed, One Year Book of Bible promises, really be true, Rejoice in the Lord, remember others, reservation, responsive, revelation. God's word, Ruth Harms Calkin, sacrifices, satisfied, seek the Lord, surrender our lives, thank God, the breath of life, the creation, the righteous, the sun and Son are shining, thou Lord, treasured, trust, trusting in Jesus christ, truth, Wednesday Wail, whispered secrets, wildfires, wisdom, witness
Psalm 4:7-8. Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn (grain) and their wine increased. I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.
Oh mih breddren, it’s Wednesday! Yay! I got it right! After last week’s mess up, I have to check each day before I write. (smile) And yuh know what people, it’s not only Wednesday, but it also looks like it’s going to be a magnificent Wednesday!
Why, you ask? Well check this out nuh: We are alive and kicking, and both the sun and the Son are shining as brilliantly as ever, and brand new blessings, things like mercies and grace are flowing like crazy down the pipeline from heaven for all those who choose to seek the Lord and His overwhelming LOVING-kindness!
Wow! Now if that doesn’t portend a magnificent day, then I don’t know what does. But friends, with all of that goodness flooding some of our lives, let’s remember others in prayer, who are suffering, fighting for their very lives as Hurricane Harvey passed through Texas and is now heading for Louisiana, though on a lesser scale.
Let’s also remember those people out in British Columbia and those in California who are fighting deadly wildfires, some of them for a couple of months now. Not all of us have it fairly easy, and the least we can do is offer up sincere prayers for their safety.
Now here is another wonderful something else. (smile) It’s an uplifting and reassuring poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings By Ruth Harms Calkin. I just could not pass up sharing it. It’s titled ‘Beautiful Things Happen.’
Please pray with me. ‘O God Such beautiful things happen When I meet You day by day In quietness and confidence. There is a deep inner wholeness And the assurance of Your guidance. I am not so easily disturbed By changing circumstances. I am less dependent on others And more dependent on You.
My eyes may be full of tears But my heart is full of joy. In discovering Your hidden treasures I learn how deeply I am treasured by You. When day by day I am responsive To your Whispered secrets You do more for me in one day Than I could do for myself in a lifetime.’
Glory Hallelujah mih people! That’s the life of a true practicing and mature Christian right there! That’s how our days usually unfold when we lay it all out before the Lord in the early morning hours.
There is untold joy in living for the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob even though our individual circumstances might be somewhat rough at any particular time!
But nonetheless as the Promise for that Poem, which is our Bit, declares: ‘Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn (grain) and their wine increased. I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.’
Yeh friends, words of indisputable truth from Bruh David! That is the kind of trust and assurance we have in Almighty God, when we sincerely surrender our lives to Him. And why shouldn’t we eh, when He is the Creator and Controller of the universe and all therein? That’s only the height of wisdom and common sense!
As I keep saying, Bruh David knew on which side his bread was buttered, that’s why he kept the God of his forefathers at the very front of his life, and if we are wise, we would also do the same thing.
And the author of Psalm 97 – The Lord is far above all gods – echoes the same sentiments. ‘Ye that LOVE the Lord, hate evil; he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.
Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart. Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance (for the memory) of his holiness (his holy name.)’ (Ps.97:10-12) Truer words were never spoken my fellow believers!
And yuh know what, one of our current problems is that though we say we believe in God, we don’t truly rejoice and be glad in Him like we ought to.
There’s always some kind of reservation, some holding back of something, we don’t give our all, possibly afraid or in some doubt that such an abundance of awesome joy and LOVE and graciousness could really be true.
But it truly is friends, and until we truly surrender our all and truly receive all that the Lord has to offer, we will never really be satisfied and fulfilled.
Now listen to this scripture from Bruh Paul to the people of Lystra, after he had healed a crippled man, and the people mistook him for a god and wanted to offer him sacrifices. In telling them about the One and Only True God, he ended thus: ‘Who in times past (past generations) suffered (allowed) all nations to walk in their own ways.
Nevertheless he 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 14:16-17) No lie that friends!
And the scholars offer this explanation. ‘14:17. Even though all men have not received the special revelation of God’s written word, all have received God’s general revelation which is witnessed through the creation and man’s own nature, making man without excuse if he rejects this (Rom.1:18-20: 2:14-15) Romans 1 states that the context of general revelation is that God is holy and all- powerful. Acts 14:17 further states that God is good.’
And that we cannot deny my believing brethren! So having all this joy, assurance and gladness in our hearts, let’s go home boldly and sincerely declaring our Wednesday Wail.
As one voice now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back.
I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
Keep on keeping on my people! Much LOVE!
…there’s nothing better…wiser…more joyful…or more fulfilling…than trusting in Jesus Christ…
24 Aug 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, according to your faith, advice, be it unto you, be of good cheer, be thankful, blessings, brain scan, calmed the sea, Christ's body, Christian walk, christianity, comfort zone, dem's the breaks, faith, faithful and true, forgiveness, Gentile, get out of the boat, God's hands in our lives, God's mysterious ways, halfway home, I have not found so great a faith, Jay Douglas, Jesus chastised the disciples, Jesus Christ, Jewish people, like sheep to the slaughter, looking straight ahead, make it a habit, Marcia Griffiths, not in Israel, not looking back, noticed the error, O ye of little faith, overcome the world, peace to our souls, Peter, power, rebuked the winds, rebuked the winds, Reggae music, Roman Centurion, speak the word, struck a chord, thank God, the breath of life, the easy way out, the sea of Galilee, tribulation, under authority, wisdom
Matthew 9:29b. According to your faith be it unto you.
Oh mih people, what’s going on with the ole fella’s brain eh? How come I had us declare Thursday’s Blessings on Wednesday eh? And there I was boldly declaring it along with you all. And it never even struck a chord…
Hn, hn! I guess that’s why I had to go into the city for a brain scan this morning. (smile) And by the way, that’s why the Bit is so late.
I went out partying yesterday evening down to the CNE to see local boy Jay Douglas and Jamaica’s first lady of song, Miss Marcia Griffiths, both of whom were excellent, unleashing sweet Reggae music on the Lakeshore.
With the confusion down there, soccer game over and the regular Exhibition crowd, I never got home till around midnight, then had to get up early to go and get my noggin checked out, so time and energy was at the very minimum.
And you know it wasn’t until around four in the afternoon yesterday that I realized my foopah (faux pas). But I have a great theory about it. The Lord in His usual mysterious and wondrous ways realized that some of us needed to declare our blessings, be thankful for them yesterday, rather than today, so that’s why He made me do it. Good try!
However, it would be very interesting to know how many of you realized that I had the wrong day? I’m sure many of us just went along with it like sheep to the slaughter and never even noticed the error. But all I can do is ask your forgiveness and say ‘dem’s the breaks.’ (smile)
And we’ll go now to our Bit, which we began using two days ago, but got sidetracked yesterday. They are the immortal words of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to two blind men who wanted Him to restore their sight. ‘According to your faith be it unto you.’
And those words still stand today as a testimony of our Christian walk on this earth. The stronger our faith becomes, the more we will see the movement of God’s hands in our lives.
Now in our last message on this Bit, we focused on Jesus’ example of great faith, constantly turning to the Father for wisdom and advice in His earthly sojourn. Today, I want to look at some examples of great faith on the part of humans in the Bible.
We’ll begin with the story of the roman Centurion who came to ask Jesus for healing on behalf of his sick servant, but when Jesus agreed to go to his house, the Centurion replied; “Lord, I’m not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant should be healed.
For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great a faith, no, not in Israel.’ (Matt.8:8-10)
Yes friends, the Centurion was a Gentile, who at that time had no place in Christ’s body, yet he recognized the power and authority which resided in Jesus, unlike His Jewish people.
On the other hand, Jesus chastised His disciples when they were crossing the sea of Galilee and a storm arose, and they woke Him up afraid for their lives, ‘saying, Lord, save us: we perish. And he saith unto them, why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?
Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!’ (Matt.8:25-27)
Ah friends, although the disciples had seen Jesus do other miracles, their faith was still rather small. That’s why sometimes we can’t get too annoyed with those today who find it difficult to believe in Jesus.
But you’ll never believe, never earn faith until you stand up and get out of the boat like Peter did to walk on the water with Jesus. And even though Jesus rebuked him when his faith failed him and he began to sink: ‘O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?’ (Matt.14:31) It still showed that he at least had the initial faith to try.
So many of us today don’t even have the beginnings of such faith, we refuse to step out of our comfort zone and take a chance. But friends, Christianity is not a comfort zone organization. Our leader Jesus Christ never took the easy way out, and He doesn’t want His followers to make that a habit either.
As He said to the disciples: ‘In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33)
Oh friends, if we are true believers in Christ and His work, then we ought to find assurance in those words and build our faith on them, and not be scared and anxious about what happens in the world.
Time and space have run out, so now I’ll confuffle the situation even further by having us declare our Wednesday Wail today. (smile) You know it doesn’t really matter on what day we declare what, as long as what we declare is faithful and true. So let’s blast off!
‘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!’
No friends, I’m not thoroughly crazy, just trying to be of good cheer. (smile) Much LOVE!
…in the most disastrous of times…faith can bring peace to our souls…
09 Aug 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fresh start, a glorious future with Jesus, a healthy fear, accoutrement, appreciating, bear many a burden, depart from evil, ephemeral, esteem God, evil times, flower-strewn pathways, foolish, fools despise wisdom, glorious day, glory to God, grace, grace for the trials, halfway home, hands on the plough, help from above, Jesus sacrificed His life for us, Job, joy without sorrow, light for the way, living for Jesus, living successful lives, looking straight ahead, LOVE, new mercies, not turning back, pateince, peace without pain, perseverance, rest amid labour, reverential awe of God, revering God, run our race, skies ever blue, smooth roads, strength for the day, submission to the Lord, sun without rain, swift easy travel, sympathy, the beginning of knowledge, the beginning of wisdom, the breath of life, the fear of the Lord, the finish line, the knowledge of the Holy One, the land of the living, the obits, the price, the promises of God, the value of wisdom, this is the day the Lord has made, trials, turning away from God, understanding, undying LOVE, unfailing sympathy, we will rejoice and be glad in it, Wednesday Wail, wine and roses, wisdom, written indelibly
Proverbs 9:10. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the Holy (Holy One) is understanding.
Another glorious day is in the offing friends! And to make matters even better, our names or pictures have not shown up in the obits today! Glory to God!
So let’s be thankful and enjoy the day, proudly declaring, as the psalmist did: ‘This is the day which the Lord has made, we WILL rejoice and be glad in it.’ (Ps.118:24)
For sure, because we would be foolish to do otherwise since Jesus sacrificed His sinless life so that we could live an abundant one.
Now here is a li’l something to remind us that though life is good, it’s not always wine and roses. (smile) I don’t remember where I got it from, but recently I found it amongst some papers on my desk.
I believe I shared it sometime back, but like so many of these things, they never get stale and are always good for retelling. And I seem to have given it the title of ‘The Promises and Non-Promises of God.’
Please read with me. ‘God hath not promised skies ever blue, flower-strewn pathways all our lives through; God hath not promised sun without rain, joy without sorrow, peace without pain.
God hath not promised smooth roads and wide, swift, easy travel, needing no guide; God hath not promised we shall not bear many a burden, many a care.
But God hath promised strength for the day, rest amid labour, light for the way; grace for the trials, help from above, unfailing sympathy, undying LOVE.’
And that’s more than enough for us friends! Our generous and gracious God gives us enough to live each day walking in His will! That’s all we need since we can only live one day at a time.
That’s why His mercies are new every morning. Every day He gives us a fresh start. So please let’s be wise, grab on to it and run our race with patience, perseverance and understanding, for that’s the only way we’ll ever make it successfully to the finish line.
And to ensure us of doing just that, we need the immortal words of our Bit written indelibly in our hearts, minds, souls and bodies. ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the Holy (Holy One) is understanding.’
Yeh friends, until we learn to acknowledge and rightly esteem the Lord God Jehovah our lives will not run smoothly. That’s because we won’t understand what life is all about. And as we said yesterday, wisdom is basically about living successful lives.
So it follows that if you don’t have wisdom, you can’t live successfully. But then, true wisdom comes only from appreciating, revering, and sincerely worshipping God. Which in turn means that we have to come to God in sincere faith before we can get that wisdom to live a successful life. Hope it makes sense. (smile)
Now let’s turn to a couple of scriptures which highlight the importance of that somewhat ephemeral but oh so necessary accoutrement, wisdom. Listen to that great man of God, Job, as he expounds on wisdom being the Gift of God.
‘But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? Man knoweth not the price thereof (the value); neither is it found in the land of the living.’ (Job 28:12-13)
Then he goes on to say that it cannot be found in the sea, nor can it be purchased for gold or other precious jewels. (vs.14-27) So where and how can wisdom be had then?
‘And unto man he (God) said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.’ (Job 28:28) What more can we say eh friends? If God says that’s how it is, then that’s exactly how it is!
Now hear Cousin Sol with another tot of wise warning. ‘The fear (reverential awe) of the Lord is the (principal) beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.’ (Prov.1:7)
And is that ever so true. So many of us are foolishly turning away from God in these evil times, so how shall we ever have widespread wisdom eh?
And the scholars explain that verse thus. ‘1:7. The fear of the Lord means submission to the Lord and His revelation. When one is afraid of something, he either runs from it or submits to it. The latter idea is in view here.
It is a healthy fear, like the fear of electricity or the fear of one’s parents, which causes one to act in an appropriate manner. The beginning does not mean that “the fear of the Lord” is left behind in the course of acquiring wisdom, but it is the controlling principle of wisdom.’
And so my fellow brethren in Christ, now that we’ve beefed up our understanding of true wisdom, let’s go home showing that we are indeed on the right track nuh by loudly, sincerely and truthfully declaring our Wednesday Wail.
All together 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 people, isn’t it just wonderful living with, for and through Jesus! Much LOVE!
…truly living for Jesus…shows that one has acquired true wisdom…
02 Aug 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, a reasonable time, adversity, and if ye seek him, anger, Asa, Azariah, before our very eyes, benjamin, bickering, calamities, choose the best, Christ's Church, christianity, commitment to excellence, communication with Almighty God, computers, contaminating our world, disasters, dr robert h schuller, enthusaism, excellence, extraordinary, failings, fat lot of good, fellow believers, forsake him, get into our souls, hate, he will be found of you, he will forsake you, heal the divisions, hear ye me, Hotmail, Hour of Power Devotional, injection of ramped up effort, Judah, lack lustre, lack of excellence, let not your hands be weak, LOVE Revolution, lukewarm, mediocre, mediocrity, more trouble than they're worth, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, obey God's will, only true and living God, peace, power base, quell the storms, resentment, return to our god, shrivelling up enthusiasm, solution for our problem, spiritual battle, strength in numbers, strife, taking a holiday, the breath of life, the enemy, the flow of divine enthusiasm, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the Good Book, the Lord is with you, the Old Testamnet, the price tag, the Spirit of God, the victory, turmoil, turn unto the Lord God of Israel, vexations, Wednesday Wail, while ye be with him, without any bite, words of wisdom
2 Chronicles 2:15. Hear ye me Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.
Ah friends, when it’s not one thing it’s another yes! Chuh! The enemy surely knows how to get into our souls. I’ve been down here now for about fifteen minutes trying to get into my E-mail account. It works well until it comes to opening the mailbox, then it stops with about 2% to go.
Everything else seems to be working perfectly, except for the Hotmail nonsense. I’ve refreshed it at least three times, but each time it simply stalls right before the end of the line. Steups! Computers eh! They are often more trouble than they’re worth, and generally cause problems when you need them the most…
Whoopee de! I just got a message about something going wrong which they can’t figure out as yet, so to try later. Fat lot of good it did me then to try and get up at a reasonable time to write the Bit.
But since I write the Bit in Word before transferring it to Hotmail, because of earlier problems with writing it in Hotmail, we can continue doing our thing while they try to figure out what’s wrong.
So, rather appropriately, we have a few words from Gramps Schuller (Dr.Robert H. Schuller) from his Hour of Power Devotional, on being an extraordinary person. Listen up: ‘The capacity to be extraordinary – a little more or a little better than the last time – is a quality that fosters and causes the flow of divine enthusiasm.
Choose the best: shun mediocrity. Mediocrity has a way of shrivelling up enthusiasm. But commitment to excellence taps an incredible source of energy. Elect the best, no matter what the price tag.’
True words of wisdom my brethren! If you are a follower of Jesus, then the best, excellence is what He expects of you. Just checked Hotmail…Wonder of wonders! It’s finally open! But we’ll continue here.
And I believe one of our major failings in Christianity today is our lack of excellence. We seem to be too afraid of what the world will say and or/do, and we also compromise too much, consequently our efforts on behalf of Christ are only lukewarm and mediocre.
But friends, in this spiritual battle in which we’re currently engaged, we can’t afford to be lack-lustre and without any real bite, because the enemy is coming at us full force. He is not taking a holiday or easing up in his efforts to subdue us. So why are we doing our best to give him the victory that Christ won for us through such painstaking effort eh?
I think our current Christian movement needs a serious injection of ramped up effort, which can only come through healthier and more plentiful communication with Almighty God. It brings to mind the warning of the prophet Azariah in the Old Testament.
The Good Book tells us: ‘And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah, the son of Oded. And he went out to meet (before) Asa, and said unto him. Hear ye me Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.’ (2 Chr.15:1-2)
My fellow believers, the battle is heating up right before our very eyes, please note all the disasters and calamities in our world, both manmade and natural; check out the widespread strife and anger, resentment and hate that’s contaminating our world.
Nations are fighting nations without any apparent hope for peace. Leaders are full of political rhetoric, busily trying to build their power base, but doing nothing to quell the storms. The only thing that can help us is a true return to God, for our world is just like Israel was in Azariah’s time.
Hear the Good Book tell it. ‘Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law. (2 Chr.15:3) That surely sounds like the current state of our world!
‘But when they in their trouble did turn unto the Lord God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them.’ (2 Chr.15:4) The exact solution for our problem my fellow believers!
‘And in those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in, but great vexations (turmoil) were upon all the inhabitants of the countries. And nation was destroyed of (by) nation, and city of city: for God did vex them with all adversity.’ (2 Chr.15:5-6)
What a mirror image of our present world my people! I don’t believe our world has ever seen a period of time where so much anger and strife and disasters have enveloped it all at once.
And the ONLY sensible solution is to repent and turn back to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the ONLY TRUE AND LIVING GOD who has the power to make our world better.
But friends, for that to happen, we believers must ramp up our efforts on Christ behalf, focus on excellence not compromise and mediocrity, so that we can get His LOVE Revolution hopping, with people coming to Him in droves, rather than moving away from Him.
We need to take the sincere warning of Azariah seriously. ‘Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak; for your work will be rewarded.’ (2 Chr.15:7)
I therefore implore us to come together in LOVE and peace, for there is strength in numbers. Let’s stop the silly and petty bickering and heal the divisions that are currently entrenched in Christ’s church, so that we can do His work and bring some peace and stability to our world, especially to our children.
And all God’s children declared a loud and sincere ‘Amen!’
And having decided to do all that, we can now go home declaring our Wednesday Wail without hypocrisy. ‘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 friends, those objectives will only be accomplished if we stand strong and steadfast in Christ, brimming over with enthusiasm and excellence. Much LOVE!
…true strength comes only from sincerely seeking God…then walking purposely in His will…
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