05 Jul 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a means of restoring faith in you, anixety, asleep on a pillow, Bible, break every fetter, but of power love and a sound mind, catastrophe, Christian living, confusion, crying out for help, divine aid, don't you even yet have confidence in me, Even God doesn't care, even the wind and the sea obey him, Even This, failure, faith, faith is from God, fear, fear is from the enemy, For God hath not given us a spirit of fear, Friday chant, god, God's love never changes, God's presence never leaves us, how is it that ye have no faith, introduce a new flock of believers, Jesus, Jesus Christ, LOVE, Master carest not thou that we perish, obscured your sense of God's presence, omnipotent help, One Year Book of Bible promises, our sinful world, pages of tear-stained script, pay the price for our folly, peace be still, rebuked the wind, return backsliders to your fold, Ruth Harms Calkin, send faith to answer it, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, that habit that chains you, the error of their ways, the fear that paralyzes you, the frightened disciples, the loss that numbs you, trusting faith, unexpected storms, ungodly times, wake up and smell the coffee, when fear knocks, why are ye so fearful, wisdom, wise guidance
Mark 4:40. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?
And at last it was Friday. But after last weekend’s partying and this week’s tough sledding at work, some of us didn’t have the energy to shout: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ but merely mouthed it. (smile) Yes friends, that’s what happens when we get greedy and overdo it; we pay the price for our folly later on. And sometimes it’s a high price too, one we can barely afford. So let’s allow wisdom to prevail this weekend and concentrate on getting some rest nuh. End of Sermon. (smile)
Now, today, we’re going to look at something from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin; a reading that’s oh so appropriate for these catastrophic times in which we live. It’s simply titled, ‘Even This.’ Please read with me: ‘It was a long letter – pages of tear-stained script. “Even God doesn’t care…” she wrote. Perhaps you haven’t put it in a letter, but has some overwhelming failure or fear obscured your sense of God’s presence? That was the catastrophe of the frightened disciples. The wind was boisterous, they had lost control… and Jesus went on sleeping. We quickly identify with the shouting: “Don’t you even care if we go under?” We’ve all shouted it, at least in attitude.
Jesus quieted the sea that night, but his piercing question hits the target of our hearts: ‘Don’t you even yet have confidence in me?” The awe filled disciples said among themselves, “Even the winds and seas obey him.” “How wonderful,” we say. Then suddenly, often without warning, the winds of adversity beat against our personal lives, and we cry “Lord, don’t you even care?” Again he asks, “Don’t you even yet have confidence in me? That habit that chains you. That fear that paralyzes you. That loss than numbs you… even this – all of this you may fling upon me!” But it means more than half-heartedly singing, “He will break every fetter.” It means surrendering to him completely. He knows your every need – even this.’
Ah friends, how very descriptive that is of us! We talk the talk, but can’t walk the walk. We claim such strong belief and understanding, but when the forces of adversity lash us, we cry out panic stricken, wondering, where is God, and if He doesn’t LOVE and care for us anymore. But God’s LOVE NEVER changes… and His presence NEVER strays from us. It’s our weak faith and/or unbelief that drives us crazy. If we were truly surrendered to Him, then we would know that He’s always there with us, LOVING us, like no other.
We behave like the disciples on the boat. Yes, the winds and the waves were threatening to swamp the boat, but they had been with Jesus for some time and had seen all the miracles He did, yet, they were scared out of their wits. It’s the very same way with us. We’ve seen Jesus do wonderful things in our lives, but when the next problem arises, we still become overly scared. It’s okay to be afraid when the disaster strikes unexpectedly, but soon thereafter that fear ought to be reduced to concern, because we know that the Lord is on our side and is looking out for us.
Oh my people, it’s all a matter of faith and sincere belief, of truly surrendering our souls, hearts, minds and bodies to Christ. Let’s keep remembering these memorable 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 (disciplined) mind.’ (1 Tim. 1:7) And that’s the bottom line on which we should always be operating, the basic foundation of our earthly walk. For fear is from the enemy; it’s one of his most useful tools. However faith is from God, and it will overcome fear any ole day. No wonder the saying: ‘When fear knocks, send faith to answer it.’
And the Bible Promise for today’s story comes from the gospel of Mark, and is a very useful one to refresh our memories. (smile) Jesus and His disciples were crossing over the Sea of Galilee along with other small boats. ‘And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full (filling with water). And he (Jesus) was in the hinder part (stern) of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master (Teacher), carest thou not that we perish?
And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? And they (the disciples) feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this (who can this be), that even the wind and the sea obey him?’ (Mark 4:37-41)
And that friends is the same Jesus to whom we’ve supposedly surrendered our lives, the One who can do any and everything, who controls the universe, and is in our corner, and who we know much more about than the disciples did back then. So why is He still asking us even today, ‘how is it that ye have no faith?’ And that’s a question we should certainly ponder, because we will each have to answer it for ourselves. But it’s certainly not one that Christ ought to be asking after all this time.
Anyway, let’s go to the throne of grace through our Friday Chant, asking for divine aid to help us with our many problems. Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly.
And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And for divine aid to be forthcoming, our behaviour has to improve, we must become better examples of true Christian living. Much LOVE!
…we can’t say we have faith…when fear so easily overtakes us…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
05 Jan 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a means of restoring faith in you, above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, according to the riches of his glory, be filled with all the fullness of God, being rooted and grounded in Love, burn the candle at both ends, Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, comprehend with all the saints, crying out for help, develop the character of God, exceeding abundantly, faith, Friday chant, holy spirit, I bow my knees, improve our Christ-like behaviour, in whom the whole family is named, Jesus Christ, LOVE, my tribulations for you, prayer from true faith is always effective, simmering unrest, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the wise guidance, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit, to know the Love of Christ, trusting faith, unexpected storms, unto Him be glory in the church, unto him that is able to do, wake up and smell the coffee, which passeth knowledge, wisdom, world without end, ye faint not
Ephesians 3:16b. to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
Ah friends, I guess we ought to be thankful for the one day of sunshine we got yesterday, because today we’re back to the cloudy weather situation. And as we all offer up the mantra of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ many of us are glad for the short work week and thus the quick arrival of the weekend, not so much as it allows us time to party, but more so to rest from all the partying of the last couple of weeks. (smile)
Yes, when we desire a weekend to truly rest, you must know that things are bad with us. But, unfortunately, that’s how it works. you can’t expect to burn the candle at both ends and it not take its toll eventually. Now, it’s time for us to settle down and sincerely and seriously do the work that Jesus desires of us. And there’s a lot of work to be done if we expect to make any significant changes in this evil and ungodly world.
And the first thing we need is prayer to strengthen and encourage us. And one of the most appropriate prayers in the Bible is that of Bruh Paul on behalf of the Ephesians, when he didn’t want his suffering to cause them to lose faith, but rather increase it. Thus he writes: ‘Wherefore I desire (ask) that ye faint not (not lose heart) at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.’ (Eph. 3:13) There he’s saying that the Lord will use his tribulations in the ministry to spiritually uplift and benefit the Ephesians. That upliftment will then cause them to praise and glory and honour the Lord.
Then Bruh Paul continues: ‘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 the 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)
Wow mih bredrin! What a powerful and most appropriate prayer! And you’ll notice that most of the times Bruh Paul prayed for others, it wasn’t so much for healing, prosperity or such things, but most often that they would be granted wisdom that would increase their spiritual maturity. He was always about believers spiritual growth, which was, and still is, one of the most important aspects of our Christian faith, for if we don’t grow, then we remain stagnant and can’t do the job that Jesus desires of us. That’s why he prayed there that the Lord, Father of Christ, from whom our Christian name and faith is derived, would strengthen them ‘with might by his Spirit in the inner man.’
And according to the scholars: ‘In these verses (16-19), Paul makes three prayer requests for the Ephesians. (1) That they would be strengthened with might by his Spirit (vs.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, character, and virtues of God Himself may be fully developed in them.’
Now that’s what we call ‘top-of-the-line prayer.’ (smile) It could not get any better than that! Not that other more simple or less specific payers are not good or powerful in their own way too, but that we’re simply not accustomed to such hifalutin stuff in our everyday prayer life. (smile) Then Bruh Paul ends with this reassurance. ‘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.’ (Eph. 3:20-21)
That’s Bruh Paul praying to a God who can do all that he asked for in vs. 16-19. Yes sir, because our omnipotent, omniscient and omni-present God can do ANYTHING, especially anything that we lesser and finite human beings can ask or think! And that my fellow saints is our faithful prayer for all of us in this new year of 2024; that we will all be filled, be strengthened in our inner being by the prevailing presence of the Holy Spirit, which will then enable us to go out and do good work for Christ.
Now, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, asking for divine help in these uncertain and troubled times. Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly.
And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And now friends, for heaven to even consider our requests, we need to improve our Christ-like behaviour, and begin being truly faithful believers! Much LOVE!
…prayer that comes from true faith…is always effective…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
27 Oct 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a disgruntled populace, a means of restoring faith in you, all men shall know ye are my disciples, and now abideth faith hope love, as unto the Lord and not unto men, being obedient to God's will, do it with all thy might, don't like our jobs, embrace your love and compassion, for ye serve the Lord Jesus Christ, Friday chant, going the extra mile, he that doeth wrong, if ye have love one to another, if you love me keep my commandments, Jesus Christ, LOVE, love covers a multitude of sins, Love makes the world go round, of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of inheritance, omnipotent help, only for the money, return backsliders to your fold, shall receive for the wrong that he hath done, simmering unrest, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the error of their ways, the example we faithful believers set, the greatest of these is charity (love), the Ten Commandments, there is no respect of persons, there is no work device knowledge nor wisdom in the grave, trusting faith, turning the other cheek, ungodly times, whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, whatsoever ye do do it heartily, wisdom, wise guidance, work by rote
Colossians 3:23. And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
So it’s Friday, and the universal shout of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ has gone up all around the world! What a world! When all we seem to live for is Friday and the upcoming weekend. It’s all about getting away from the boring, same old, same old jobs that we do during the week, a lot of them by rote, that’s automatically, without having to think about what we’re doing. And, unfortunately, not a great percentage of us like our jobs, we just put up with them because they earn us the money to keep our lives going.
What a sad thing it is when so many of us spend a lifetime doing jobs that we don’t like and are just looking forward to retirement and the time when we no longer have to do those mundane and boring jobs. It doesn’t say a whole lot for our society, when so many of our populace are disgruntled and dissatisfied. But thankfully, today we will learn how to avoid that self-defeating attitude of despising our jobs.
First up, these wise words of Bruh Paul in his letter to the Colossians. ‘And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Jesus Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.’ (Col. 3:23-25)
And all that means is that believers, regardless of our station in life – be it the lowliest worker or highest paid leader – ought to do the best work they can despite their circumstances, to work as though they were working directly for God and not for men. And that’s a fact too, because in the long run, it’s the Lord who will richly reward them for their good work, while repaying, without partiality, the wrong doers with judgement for their evil deeds.
And just in case you don’t believe Bruh Paul, then listen as Cousin Sol puts in in his perspective, writing as the Preacher in Ecclesiastes. He writes: ‘Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.’ (Eccl. 9:10) And isn’t that the awesome truth! It certainly is. That means whatever we do on earth is our portion to do, since there’s no working in the grave. Thus, we ought to do to the best of our ability and as though we’re doing it unto our Creator, Almighty God!
And above all, remember these key words of Jesus to the disciples: ‘If you LOVE me, keep my commandments.’ (John 14:15). Now that also pertains to us in this age. And what does He mean by that? He means that we should not only keep the basic Ten commandments, but also the moral commandments that He gave us. Like LOVING one another, going the extra mile, turning the other cheek, doing unto others as we desire them to do unto us, being excellent and diligent in our work, not being too judgemental or critical of others, especially when we’re guilty of the same things.
It’s those sorts of things that Jesus was more concerned about, things that were not written down as Old Testament law, but as His New Testament directives. It’s well documented about not killing and stealing nor committing adultery, but not His ways and the ways He wants us to follow. And besides, they were and still are in direct opposition to those of the world. And as He said earlier on: ‘By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have LOVE one to another.’ (John 13:35)
Yes my fellow believers, ALL that Jesus teaches can be confirmed in one small but ever so powerful word: LOVE! If we go about showing the LOVE of Jesus, doing the same basic things He did, to the best of our human capabilities, then we’re keeping His commandment. For remember Bruh Paul’s treatise on LOVE in what we term the LOVE chapter; that’s 1 Corinthians 13:, where he enlightens us on all the wonderful things that constitute LOVE. Things like long-suffering, kindness, not given to boasting or arrogance, doesn’t behave rudely or selfishly, doesn’t think nor rejoice in evil, but rejoices in truth, etc. etc.
Then he ends with this perfect gem: ‘And now abideth faith, hope, charity (LOVE), these three, but the greatest of these is charity (LOVE).’ (1 Cor. 13:13) Oh my people, LOVE is indeed God’s greatest attribute, and He expects His followers to walk in the footsteps of His Son Jesus Christ, whom He gave to be crucified for our sins because He LOVED us. It’s as simple as that my brethren. The Lord doesn’t expect anything from us that He won’t do or hasn’t done himself.
And as we go out today, let’s remember these most poignant and true words of Peter. ‘And above all things, have fervent charity (LOVE) among yourselves: for charity (LOVE) shall cover the multitude of sins.’ (1 Pet. 4:8) And isn’t that the gospel truth! The LOVE of God towards us made Him send Jesus to die and cover our sins, and the LOVE we show to others, also covers both their sins and ours. So in one word, it’s all about LOVE! And having come to that awesome conclusion (smile) let’s now go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, seeking the deep and sincere LOVE that we need to restore some sense of balance to our angry and terribly unbalanced world.
As one voice: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times.
We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And the only way to receive divine help is by turning away from our evil deeds and being obedient to God’s will. So let’s do that now nuh, if we truly desire to hear a positive word from heaven. Much LOVE!
… LOVE makes the world go round…both literally and figuratively…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
25 Aug 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a means of restoring faith in you, a new flock of believers, as the day follows the night, backsliders, commit thy way unto the Lord, compassion of Jesus, delight thyself also in the Lord, error of their ways, evil and ungodly times, fret not thyself because of evildoers, Friday chant, give thee the desires of thine heaert, God is good to Israel, God's promised never to leave nor forsake us, he shall bring it to pass, I saw the prosperity of the wicked, I was envious of the foolish, increase in riches, Jeusus is faithful, LOVE, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity, omnipotent help, prosperity of the wicked, simmering unrest, sin is enticing, stand strong and steadfast, sunshine lollipops and roses, test his own personal relationship with God, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the repercussions of sin, the righteous are chastened, the ungodly who prosper, the weekend, their eyes stand out with fatness, thou shalt be fed, trust in the Lord and do good, trusting faith, violence covereth them as a garment, wise guidance
Psalm 73:3. For I was envious at the foolish (boastful), when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
And after a wet and foggy night, Friday has turned out somewhat sunny, but the cloud cover is still there threatening the blue skies that are peaking out. (smile) But that hasn’t stopped us from zestfully proclaiming: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and the weekend is here at last!’ And believe me, as August is winding down, there won’t be many more warm and pleasant weekends, as the cold weather begins to take over. But we know that we can handle whatever comes against us, because we have Jesus on our side, and He’s promised never to leave nor forsake us. (Heb. 13:5) Give Him some thanks and praise my brethren, for He is as faithful as the day follows the night.
Ah friends, as I was perusing the Good Library, looking for something to write on, I came upon Psalm 73, a psalm of Asaph, titled ‘Prosperity of the Wicked.’ It’s one I know, but haven’t read for some time, and it suddenly struck me as being very appropriate for these evil and ungodly times. For it points out how easy it is to lose our faith and fall into evil doings, when we see the wicked prosper in spite of their ungodliness. Now, the scholars have some wonderful explanations on it, so I’ve decided to follow their lead.
They say: ‘This psalm is another dealing with the problem of the prosperity of the wicked. Unlike Psalm 37, however, it does not emphasize the brevity of that prosperity.’ And Psalm 37 is Bruh David’s famous psalm that says: ‘Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.’ (Ps. 37:1-2) However, the author of Psalm 73, Asaph, ‘observes that sometimes the bounty achieved by the wicked does in fact last throughout life (v.4)’ And we have all seen the wicked prosper throughout their entire lives.
But Asaph ‘emphasizes every believer’s need to test his own personal relationship with God. That alone provides the ultimate satisfaction available to the believer who witnesses the affluence of the wicked. The psalm contains two key parts, first the psalmist describes the problem of the wicked’s prosperity (vs. 1-16). Not only is it an objective fact (vs. 4-12), but it almost caused him to stumble spiritually and lose his faith (vs. 1-3, 13-16) So now that we have some idea of what the psalm is all about, let’s read it together.
‘Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean (pure) heart. But as for me, my feet were almost gone (I 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, 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 covereth them as a garment.
Their eyes stand out with fatness (bulge with abundance): they have more than their 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. Therefore his people return hither: and waters of a full cup are wrung out to (drained by) them. And they say, How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the most High? Behold, these are the ungodly who prosper (who are always at ease) in the world; they increase in riches.’ (Ps. 73:1-12)
Oh my people, haven’t we all seen what Asaph is speaking about in these evil and wicked times, when the rich seek even more than they can ever use, but their greed is so rampant that they are willing to oppress and even kill the poor to satisfy their greedy and lustful desires. And despite their greed, evil deeds and ungodliness, they prosper in this evil and ungodly world. Meanwhile, the righteous are chastened, as Asaph writes.
‘Verily I have cleansed my heart (kept my heart pure) in vain, and washed my hands in innocency (innocence). For all the day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning. If I say, I will speak thus: behold I should offend against (would have been untrue to) the generation of thy children. When I thought to know (understand) this, it was too painful for me (troublesome in my eyes); Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.’ (Ps. 73: 13-17)
Yes my brethren, in spite of Asaph’s righteousness, it was not until he went into the Lord’s sanctuary that he truly understood what was happening! And it can indeed be incomprehensible to many of us who try to live godly, and yet see the wicked prosper in their evil deeds and schemes. But we have to hold on to our faith, and believe as Bruh David says that eventually they will be destroyed. Unfortunately, it might not be in our lifetime, or even theirs, but the Lord has promised to destroy the wicked, and we all know that He’s faithful to keep His promises.
In the meantime, if we want to stand strong and not fall for, or stumble into the prosperity of the wicked, we also have to take these words of Bruh David very seriously, where he says in Psalm 37: ‘Trust in the Lord and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed (feed on his faithfulness). Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgement (justice) as the noonday.’ (Ps. 37:4-6)
And I know that’s all easy to say, but doing it under the shadow of the wicked’s prosperity takes a lot of effort, sacrifice and faithfulness in God. But that’s what we signed up for when we received Jesus as Lord and Saviour. He will make a way, where there seems to be no way, and He will supply all of our needs, and no weapon formed against us will ever prosper, but at the same time we must realize it won’t all be sunshine, lollipops and roses, for no life is ever like that, not even the prosperous wicked.
And if God spares life, we’ll continue with Psalm 73 tomorrow. Now, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, seeking help to handle all the evil and ungodliness that’s coming against us. As one voice: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help.
Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you.
Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
Now, it’s up to us to keep our promises, and do our part, so that heaven can do its part! Much LOVE!
…sin is indeed enticing…but are the sure and serious repercussions of sin…truly worth it…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
28 Jul 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a means of restoring faith in you, all the work of thine hand, anxiety and confusion, as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, bacterial infestation, divine help, divine wisdom, eat and be satisfied, Friday chant, gather the gleanings, God is the champion of the underdog, God loves the poor, he that hath pity on the poor lendeth unto the Lord, heat wave, how dwelleth the love of God in him, introduce a new flock of believers, Jesus' warriors, LOVE, man's inhumanity to man exceeds his love for them, return backsliders to your fold, show them the error of their ways, shutteth up his bowels of compassion, simmering unrest, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, that the Lord thy God may bless thee, the cry of the poor, the Good Library, those things which are needful to the body, thou shalt love the stranger as thyself, unexpected storm, wake up and and smell the coffee, what doth it profit, whoso stoppeth his ears, wise guidance, ye have done it unto me, ye were strangers in Egypt
Proverbs 21:13. Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.
And like this Friday is going to be another day of cloud and heat! So brace yourselves for the heat wave after you’ve joyfully declared (yesss!) ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday, and the weekend is here at last!’ I guess though that many of us won’t care, because we’ll either be ensconced and relaxed in our air-conditioned places or enjoying some outdoor activity where the heat doesn’t bother us. The beaches will probably be packed too, those that aren’t closed because of bacterial infestation.
But nonetheless, we will get through the day and enjoy doing so, because that’s what our Lord and Saviour Jesus expects of us. Remember, Jesus’ warriors can handle anything that comes against them, because He strengthens us, gives us the wherewithal to overcome whatever threatens our safety.
And I’m chuckling here, for as usual, on opening the Good Library my eyes were drawn to a very applicable passage for these turbulent times. It opened unto the Book of Proverbs and my eyes were irresistibly drawn to this verse of Cousin Sol’s divine wisdom. ‘Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.’ (Prov. 21:13)
And is that ever the indisputable truth, for the many who are currently blocking their ears from the cries of the poor will indeed suffer God’s wrath in their own time! That’s because God LOVES the poor and downtrodden, He’s the champion of the underdog, and desires that we help them to the best of our ability. And besides, there’s enough wealth and food in this prosperous world so that there needs not be any truly poor on the face of God’s great earth!
However, the inequity in the distribution of that wealth and food causes many millions to live and die in extreme poverty. Why is it that when man has become so enlightened in all his ways, that he is still greedy and selfish eh? That his inhumanity to his fellow man still exceeds his LOVE for them? Chuh! I guess only the Lord alone knows yes! And despite all God’s warnings throughout the Good Book about the ill treatment of the poor and lowly, that ungodly, unsavoury behaviour still persists, and in some places is even getting worse.
From the very beginning God warns in Leviticus: ‘And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex (mistreat) him. But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you (a native), and thou shalt LOVE him as thyself; for ye were strangers in Egypt: I am the Lord.’ (Lev. 19:33-34) The Lord reminds them of their stranger status in Egypt when Jacob and his family first went down there in the famine that drove them from their home in Canaan.
Then He again proclaims in Leviticus: ‘And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings (leftovers) of thy harvest. And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the Lord.’ (Lev. 19:9-10)
And in Deuteronomy He takes it one step further. ‘At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up (store it) within thy gates. And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.’ (Deut. 14:28-29)
There it is friends, your work will be blessed if you have compassion on the poor and needy. And Cousin Sol in his amazing wisdom further tells us in Proverbs 19: ‘He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.’ (Prov. 19:17)
Jesus however puts it in much more blatant and in your face terms when in His talk about separating the sheep from the goats, (Matt. 25) He solemnly declared (awright!!!) ‘And the king shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.’ (Matt. 25:40) That’s how much the Lord cares about the poor and downtrodden my fellow believers.
And John in his first epistle states it very clearly. ‘But whoso hath this world’s goods, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion) heart from him, how dwelleth the LOVE of God in him?’ (1 John 3:17) The answer is it simply does not!
It’s like James says when he talks about faith without works. ‘If a brother or sister is naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body, what doth it profit?’ (James 2:15-19) Absolutely nothing! It will only call down the Lord’s anger and destruction on your head!
Oh my fellow saints, our world in sad turmoil, and it’s only through divine help can we ever make any positive changes, so please, through our Friday Chant, let’s go the throne of grace right now and seek such help. As one voice! ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help.
Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle this unexpected storm properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you.
Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
Now, before any help from heaven is forthcoming, it’s obvious we first have to make some godly changes! Much LOVE!
…where there is need…believers ought to help as best they can…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
21 Jul 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a means of restoring faith in you, blessed is the man that maketh the Lord his trust, but look not unto the Holy One of Israel, climate change, deceit, divine help, embrace your love and compassion, fraud, Friday chant, God never breaks promises, happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, he hath put a new song in my mouth, he that helpeth shall fall, in man there is no help, inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, it is better to trust in the Lord, like the heath in the deset, LOVE, nor such as turn aside to lies, omnipotent help, Praise ye the Lord, promises, respecteth not the proud, set my feet upon a rock, shall not see when good cometh, stand strong and steadfast, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, that go down to Egypt for help, the Egyptians are men not god, the simmering unrest, their horses flesh not spirit, to put confidence in man, to put confidence in princes, to serve selfish and evil purposes, trusting faith, unexpected storm, wake up and smell the coffee, whose hope is in the Lord his God, wise guidance, woe to them
Psalm 40:4. Blessed is the man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
Then it was Friday, with all its fanfare: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday, and the weekend’s here!’ And though Friday opened a tad on the cool side, it promises great things, like sunshine and blue skies. But beware, the promises of the weather these days are not very trustworthy, what with all the instability and unpredictability that’s showing up in the disaster we term climate change. (smile)
Promises on the whole in our unfaithful and distrustful society are no longer worth the paper they‘re written on or the wind on which they’re spoken, because most of them are made to serve selfish and evil purposes. They’re not like the promises of Almighty God who faithfully makes them and never breaks them.
But sadly, even in these trying times, when many things are not what they seem, we still appear to accept the promises of man more than those of God. Even when the biggest human activity today is fraud and deceit, where scams are prevalent in almost everything, where you’re afraid to pick up your phone because the person on the other side is most likely trying to defraud you out of your life savings or some such ungodly act, we still tend to trust humans more than God.
And then, when we suffer the irreversible damage, we whine and complain about people not being honest and not keeping promises etc. etc. But haven’t we read the Bible, which warns us so often about trusting man and his offspring. Haven’t we read since Moses was a boy, (smile) what Psalm 118 so directly says: ‘It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.’ (Ps. 118:8-9)
Yes friends, man’s trust can, and will waver, be he an important personage or lowly nobody, simply because he is man; a frail, feeble sinful, greedy and imperfect creation. However, God’s trust will never waver because He is the exact opposite of mankind; strong, holy and perfect! And the Good Library repeats it over and over. So, if you don’t believe me, then let’s look at some of those scriptures which deal directly with the wisdom of trusting God and not man.
Listen to Bruh David as he writes in Psalm 40 – Praise for God’s Deliverance. ‘I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings (steps). And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord. Blessed is the man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.’ (Ps. 40:1-4)
There we have it friends, simple and straightforward. You trust in the Lord and He will see you through, because He has the awesome power to do it, whereas mankind doesn’t! Now hear how Isaiah puts it. ‘Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help, and stay (rely) on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the Lord… Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit. When the Lord shall stretch out his hand, both he that helpeth shall fall, and he that is holpen (helped) shall fall (perish) together.’ (Is. 31:1, 3)
That was the Lord’s rebuke to Israel for going down to Egypt for help to fight their enemies without first consulting Him. Then Jeremiah calls it this way. ‘Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man (man’s strength), and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. For he shall be like the heath (a shrub) in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.’ (Jer. 17:5-6)
Ah mih people, yuh see how the Lord is mightily displeased when we don’t come to Him first in all our endeavours, when we don’t show Him the amazing trust that He deserves! And these words of psalm 146, serve as a fitting end to our scriptures for today.
‘Praise ye the Lord (shout Hallelujah), Praise ye the Lord, O my soul. While I live I will praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being. Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man (a human being), in whom there is no help (salvation). His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish. Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God: Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever.’ (Ps. 146:1-6)
Now there’s a perfect picture of the wise man! Please my fellow saints, it’s of the utmost importance, especially in these untrustworthy times, that we don’t put our trust in evil and fragile man, but in the Lord God Almighty who created us and always has our best interests at heart. So, let’s go to the throne of grace now, and through our Friday Chant, ask for divine help to solve our many problems.
Altogether now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the confusion and anxiety caused by the pandemic and our many other serious problems. We can’t fix them on our own Lord, so we desperately need your help.
Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, without further serious setbacks. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe.
And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to return backsliders to your fold, show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic, the bubbling discontent and dissatisfaction in our land, as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And as always, the best way to get divine help is by changing our ways and becoming obedient to God’s will. Much LOVE!
…trust should only be placed in the trustworthy…that’s God and not man…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
14 Jul 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious life everlasting with Jesus, a means of restoring faith in you, an incorrect vision of life, and he said unto me write, and lo I am with you always, behold I make all things new, even to the end of the world, Friday chant, I saw a new heaven and a new earth, if any man will come after me, introduce a new flock of believers, Jesus is the way the truth and the life, let him deny himself, living in a fairy tale world, LOVE, no crying, no more death, no sorrow, omnipotent help, plagued by doubts and anxieties, put your trust in God, return backsliders to your fold, show them the error of their ways, simmering unrest, sufferation, take up his cross daily and follow me, the ends of living for Jesus justify the means, the former things are passed away, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the Holy Spirit, the pit of hellfire and damnation, the truth shall make you free, these words are true and faithful, unexpected storm, wake up and and smell the coffee, wise guidance, ye shall know the truth
Revelation 21:5b. And he (Jesus) said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
Well, another Friday has rolled around, and all the shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ have been rolled out! But the world still spins on its axis every 24 hours, and regardless of how it might seem with all the confusion and controversy currently existing, the Lord is still in control of the universe that He created from nothing, so long ago! Now that’s the reality of the situation, and until you recognize and acknowledge that, you will have a warped and incorrect of vision of life. And all God’s people said a loud and proud ‘Amen!’ (smile)
But it’s the truth friends, until we recognize and acknowledge Almighty God as Creator and Controller of our universe, we’ll be living in a fairy tale world, and not a particularly nice one at that. You’ll be forever plagued by doubts and anxieties, because you’ll never be sure of what’s happening around you, and what to believe, what’s the truth of the situation, and thus you’ll be easily led astray, down the wide and destructive path promoted by the enemy.
But when you believe, put your trust in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, surrender your soul to His Son Jesus Christ, who came down from heaven and sacrificed His sinless life to save yours from being drafted into the pit of hellfire and damnation, then your senses will be quietened, whatever circumstances that surround you won’t bother you as much, because then you will have the faithful promise of Jesus, through the Holy Spirit that indwells you, to help you handle them.
Wow! Yes friends, then you’ll know the truth, because Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no man comes unto the Father, than by and through Him! (John 14:6) And once you know that truth my fellow believers, that enormous truth will set you free from all the nonsense that’s happening in our world. For as Jesus also faithfully promised: ‘If ye continue (abide) in my word, then ye are my disciples indeed: And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’ (John 8:31-32)
But there’s the crux of the matter: to know the truth we have to abide, live by His word, be His true and sincere disciples. And that’s not always easy to do, for here’s what Jesus had to say about becoming His disciple. ‘If any man will come after (follow) me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.’ (Luke 9:23) Now that’s obviously a tough row to hoe, because it can be filled with sacrifices, while denying oneself and giving up control of your life to the desires and demands of Christ’s plan.
And though it’s not easy, it is the most beneficial and rewarding way to live this earthly life. Jesus won’t ever leave you alone, He faithfully promised that when he said to the disciples: ‘and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt. 28:20b) That means He’ll look after you through His Holy Spirit that indwells you as a Comforter, Guide and Leader. And furthermore, He won’t ask you to do anything without giving you the grace, the mercy, strength, whatever you need to do it. He’ll never allow you to suffer more than you can bear, but will always find a way for you to escape the situation, or handle it with His mighty help!
And above all, if you endure to the end with Christ, being a sincere disciple, abiding in Him, while He abides in you, then you can look forward to a glorious life everlasting with Him, in whatever wonderful place He decides to spend it, instead of being shunted off to the depths of hell with Satan and his evil cronies. And believe me, eternal life with our Triune God will be marvellous. Let’s take a peek at the basics.
John the Revelator writes: ‘And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he (Jesus) said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.’ (Rev. 21:1-5)
Wow mih bredrin! What a beautiful end to this miserable, hard-scrabble life that so many of us go through! But it will all be worth it in the end if we endure with Jesus! Can you imagine a world with no more, pain, crying, suffering and death! Mama Mia! That alone makes it worthwhile, not to mention living in the eternal presence of our God.
Just think about the amount of pain, tears and ‘sufferation’ that’s currently enveloping our world nuh…and it tears apart your heart for most of it is unnecessary, and it’s simply man’s inhumanity to man, making countless millions mourn in an earthly hell. But when you live for Jesus, though you might need to undergo some suffering for His sake, the end rewards will indeed justify the pain of this earthly life. So, let’s be wise and live sincerely for Jesus now, so that we can bask in the sunshine of His marvellous glow later on.
And to help us do that, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, seeking divine help to handle our current earthly problems. Altogether now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the confusion and anxiety caused by the pandemic and our many other serious problems. We can’t fix them on our own Lord, so we desperately need your help.
Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, without further serious setbacks. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe.
And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to return backsliders to your fold, show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic, the bubbling discontent and dissatisfaction in our land, as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And if we truly desire to receive positive help from heaven, then we must first improve our disobedient, ungodly ways. It’s as simple as that! Much LOVE!
…the ends of living for Jesus…certainly justify the means…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
07 Jul 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a means of restoring faith in you, anxiety, be in a constant state of readiness, be not conformed to this world, be transformed by the renewing of your mind, bring Christ and His good news to the world, confusion, evil predominates, Friday chant, he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever, if any man love the world, introduce a new flock of believers, like a thief in the night, LOVE, love not the world, neither that things that are in the world, omnipotent help, our sinful world, rapture of the church, return backsliders to your fold, show them the error of their ways, simmering unrest, the duty of the Christian, the Lord is longsuffering to us-ward, the love of the Father is not in him, the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, the perfect will of God, the pride of life, the world passeth away, wake up and smell the coffee, we can do all things though Christ who strengthens us
1 John 2:15a. LOVE not the world, neither the things that are in the world.
Finally it’s Friday, and as always, the shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ resonate around the world, possibly with a more grateful heart but less energy in North America after all the exuberant birthday celebrations of the last week. (smile) But now that the celebrations are over, it’s time to move on, move on seriously with wisdom and common sense, and return our world to a state of goodness and godliness without which we’ll just keep slithering down into the bowels of hell, for the evil that’s encumbering the world carries a heavy weight, and with each day that evil predominates, the weight increases.
And simple logic decrees that our world cannot withstand the ever-increasing weight of sin and evil forever. Now, we all know that it’s the duty of the Christian believer to bring Christ and His good news to the world, which unfortunately, we are not doing at a meaningful rate, thus evil and all its negative associates have become ever so prevalent.
But that negative and unalluring situation can certainly be forestalled, stopped in its deadly tracks, and our world turned around if we decide to get up and do the job we were placed in this time to do; that is be the salt of the earth and light of the world and show the unbelievers the immense value of knowing Christ and living exclusively for Him.
Now, yesterday we looked at some scriptures that offer encouragement and show us how to reverse the unwanted situation in which we find ourselves. Today, I want us to look at a few more scriptures that can also help in that monumental but oh so possible with Christ task. Remember, the first lesson we must learn and sincerely believe is that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us! (Phil 4:13) That is the foundation of the whole process. If we don’t sincerely believe that, then we’re wasting our time trying to make a difference.
Then the next thing is a scripture we shared yesterday, where Bruh Paul warned the Romans. ‘Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.’ (Rom. 12:2) Oh friends, that’s another very important step we need to take in this turnaround situation. We need to stop thinking and acting like the world does, and behave like Christ wants us to.
Let’s also remember that time is of the utmost importance, for we don’t know when Christ is going to return, but whenever He does, we need to be ready, to have as many people as possible ready and waiting for His return, and right now that number is way too small. The Lord has waited, is still waiting for that number to increase, but His patience won’t last forever.
As Peter says: ‘The Lord is not slack concerning his promises, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief (robber) in the night, in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up,’ (2 Pet. 3:9-10)
That’s at the final judgement friends, not at the rapture of the church. However, we notice a couple things there; first that the Lord doesn’t want any of His creation to perish, thus He’s given them the choice of salvation, of trusting in Him, but we’ve got to get the word to them so they can receive it. Secondly, He’s holding back the day of reckoning so that as many people as possible can be saved, but one day Jesus will return for the rapture of the church, and one day He will return for the eventual judging of the world.
However, both those climactic events will take place without warning, like a thief in the night, therefore we need to be in a constant state of readiness for whenever it happens. And that’s something we need to make the unbelievers very aware of, time is oh so important, that there can be no hemming and hawing and long moments of thinking about being saved. But enough wandering, (smile) let’s get back to scriptures that will enable us to renew our minds, throw off the old man, our old conduct, and put on the new man, created in righteousness and true holiness (Eph. 4:22-24)
John, in his first epistle, puts it thus. ‘LOVE not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man LOVE the world, the LOVE of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh (physical desires), and the lust of the eyes (personal desires), and the pride of life (self-interest), is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.’ (1 John 2:15-17)
Now that’s something we need to pay much more attention to; the world and all therein, all the glitzy, glamourous things that are now holding our rapt attention pass away; but the things of Christ, and those who live for Him, don’t. They last forever. Now do we want to be amongst the things that pass away, or amongst those that live forever? That’s the question we all must answer on an individual basis, and let’s hope and pray that many, most of us will decide to live forever and then get out there into the fields that are white with a great harvest of unbelievers and begin harvesting them, as the Lord of the harvest, Jesus Christ has decreed we do!
Now let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, and lay our anxieties before our most merciful and gracious Creator. Altogether now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the confusion and anxiety caused by the pandemic and our many other serious problems. We can’t fix them on our own Lord, so we desperately need your help.
Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, without further serious setbacks. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe.
And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to return backsliders to your fold, show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic, the bubbling discontent and dissatisfaction in our land, as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
The next move is now in our court; do the things that will cause God to answer our prayers in a positive manner. Much LOVE!
…good will always overcome evil…but it must first be set in motion…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
23 Jun 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a feeling of love and compassion, a means of restoring faith in you, a mn lay down his life for his friends, abide in my word, be responsible and stay safe, belly and backbone, divine help, ever complaining beings, Friday chant, greater love hath no man than this, I will make you fishers of men, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, omnipotent help, perceive we the love of God, personal passionate devotion to Christ, soft and mamby pamby, surrender and dependence on Christ, take up his cross daily and follow me, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the bane of our existence, the bubbling discontent and dissatisfaction, the simmering unrest, the truth shall make you free, wake up and smell the coffee, whiny, ye love one another as I have loved you, ye shall know the truth
Luke 9:23. If any man will come after me (desires to follow me), let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
And our beloved day of Friday has been greeted all over the globe with glorious shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ But I’m wondering, are we truly thankful to Almighty God for the day, or are we just mouthing something that shows up the selfish lusts of our flesh. I tend to believe it’s the latter, since we are only enamoured of Friday because it means that our work week is almost over. We obviously don’t say ‘Thank God it’s Monday!’ because Monday is the beginning of the bane of our existence; work. (smile)
Ah friends, because of all the amenities that our advanced society has provided us, we have lost the wonderful elements of belly and backbone that our forefathers had so much of, and needed it to survive each and every day of their lives. Nowadays we’ve become so soft and mamby pamby that we complain about every little difficulty that comes our way. Life has become too easy for us, and that ease has made us frail, fragile, whiny and ever complaining. beings. We give up on a problem way too easily. Remember the parable Jesus spoke unto His listeners, that men ought always to pray and not to faint or lose heart. (Luke 18:1)
But who’s listening to Jesus these days eh? Not too many of us, because His way entails walking on the straight and narrow path, but we, with our sinful flesh, like the broad and winding road that leads to destruction. No wonder so many of us shy away from being true disciples of Christ in these supposed modern times, we just can’t handle the level of difficulty, and self-sacrifice it might entail. For as Jesus said: ‘If any man will come after me (desires to follow me), let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.’ (Luke 9:23)
And in real life, those few words say quite a lot my people! It’s a big undertaking and we should not determine to follow it until and unless we see exactly what it entails. And as one commentator says: ‘To be a disciple of Jesus, He advises us to sit down and calculate the cost to see if we want to truly follow him. Jesus cannot simply be our Savior. He must also be the Lord of our lives. We must devote ourselves to him fully.’ And isn’t that the gospel truth.
So, the initial stage is to weigh the pros and cons of following Jesus and see if we have the necessary parts to do so. As Jesus says: ‘For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?’ (Luke 14:28) Therefore, we must first do our due diligence. Then, after weighing all the pros and cons, we must make a sure decision to follow Christ. And the first thing that entails is denying oneself. We have to stop focusing on ourselves and focus on God and what He desires of us.
For ‘Focusing on the self is the opposite of focusing on God. Anyone completely absorbed in self-ignores God, ends up thinking more about self than God. That person ignores who God is and what he is doing.’ And Bruh Paul tells us in Romans: ‘For they that are after the flesh do mind (set their minds on) the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then, they that are in the flesh cannot please God.’ (Rom. 8:5-8)
That means if we keep on being selfish and think about the things of the flesh that our carnal mind obviously likes, we cannot serve Christ. And so doing, we die daily to ourselves. Which, as John wrote in his first epistle involves having the LOVE of Christ in us. ‘Hereby perceive we the LOVE of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world’s good (goods), and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion (heart) from him, how dwelleth the LOVE of God in him?’ (1 John 3:16-17)
So we need to show the LOVE of Christ by daily sacrificing where necessary, offering ourselves on our own cross, like Jesus did, for ‘the cross is an agent of death.’ Then it’s absolutely necessary that we follow Jesus, which means let him direct our lives, show us where He wants us to go and what He needs us to do on His behalf. What did He say when He called the first disciples: ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ (Matt. 4:19) That means to do as He says and as He does, to follow in His footsteps.
As this commentary tells us: ‘Discipleship is a personal, passionate devotion to a person, not to principles or doctrines or cause. It’s a devotion to Christ first, then devotion to His teaching because of an existing personal passionate devotion to the person of Christ. Surrender and dependence on Christ.’ Yes, it’s all about Christ my people! That’s why Jesus said to those who believed in Him. ‘If you continue (abide) in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed. And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’ (John 8:31-32)
It’s only when we truly abide in, live by His word are we truly His disciples. As He said again: ‘This is my commandment, That ye LOVE one another, as I have LOVED you. Greater LOVE, hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatever I command you.’ (John15:12-14) That means simply doing whatever He commands us to do, which encompasses an overwhelming devotion to Him that shows up in these statements.
‘If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren (brothers), and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.’ (Luke 14:26-27) Now obviously that doesn’t mean truly hating our family and ourselves, but simply willing to forsake them for His cause. No, following Christ is not easy, but as I keep saying, if you’re sincere, He will help you through the difficult times, and your life will be mucho interesting and adventurous, and worth every bit of the sacrifice.
And I Hope that gives us a li’l background on what true discipleship in Christ’s ministry entails.(smile) Now let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, seeking divine help to handle our many earthly problems. As one voice: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the confusion and anxiety caused by the pandemic and our many other serious problems. We can’t fix them on our own Lord, so we desperately need your help.
Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, without further serious setbacks. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe.
And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to return backsliders to your fold, show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic, the bubbling discontent and dissatisfaction in our land, as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And if we expect to receive divine help, then we’ve got to clean up our act, starting…RIGHT NOW! Much LOVE!
…to be a true disciple of Jesus…takes a lot of belly and backbone…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
09 Jun 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a means of restoring faith in you, a strong and vibrant soicety, a well behaved Christian gentleman, almost instant communication, be responsible and stay safe, connected by technology, desperately need God's help, for my strength is made perfect in weakness, forest fires, Friday chant, get up and get going, glory in my infirmities, he said unto me, heavenly blessings, introduce a new flock of believers, it takes two to tango, listened quietly, LOVE, my grace is sufficient for thee, obedience to god's word, one hand to wash the other, polluted air, remove a thorn in the flesh, return backsliders to your fold, show them the error of their ways, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, thank God for some rain at last, this too will pass, wake up and smell the coffee, when I am weak then I am strong
2 Corinthians 12:9a. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength (power) is made perfect in weaknesses.
And then it was Friday, with the attendant shouting of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ But in my area the thanking of God was not only because it was Friday and the end of the work week, we had a much more important shout of ‘Thank God for some rain at last!’
Yes friends, some time in the morning hours I heard some most welcome raindrops beating against my window pane, and although I had to drive through the drizzle to get to the doctor later on, I was happy to do so, for our land needed some heavenly blessing in the worst way. Let’s hope that some of that heavenly blessing also fell on the areas with forest fires, so that they can be put out more quickly and stop spreading the polluted air like they are currently doing. And all of God’s people said a loud and grateful, ‘Amen!’
And as per my ongoing illness, the doctor and I did not see eye to eye on the remedies for it, but you would have been proud of me, I was a well behaved Christian gentleman and just listened quietly to what he had to say, and will try to take his advice, although I don’t believe it will solve my current problems, and simply continue doing my own thing.
I’m sure of this one thing though, these problems too will pass, for with the Lord guiding me, I will not be sick forever, and even with the illness, I know that the Lord’s grace will help me to get through whatever I need to do. For as Bruh Paul says after he asked the Lord to remove a thorn in his flesh three times. ‘And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength (power) is made perfect in weaknesses.’ (2 Cor. 12:9a)
And believe me, several times I have recently experienced that power in my weakness. I guess it must have been exhibited before, but it’s only lately that I’ve noticed it. (smile) Although I don’t know if I’m quite ready to say like Bruh Paul did: ‘Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities (weaknesses), that the power of Christ may rest upon me.’ (2 Cor. 12:9b) I doubt that if I will glory in them, but when they do show up, I’ll definitely turn to the Lord for His strengthening power.
And I certainly haven’t reached this level as yet, where Burh Paul declares (yesss!!!): ‘Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.’ (2 Cor. 12:10) Now, I might suffer the bad stuff for Christ’s sake, and be strong in doing so, but I don’t know if I’ll take pleasure in it. (smile)
Bruh Paul’s zeal is just too much for me. He was an exception to the rule. And I don’t think that the Lord expects us all to have that level of zeal, but I’m sure that we can all come up higher that we’re currently doing. If we just look around us, I’m sure we’ll see the lack of direction, the loneliness, the searching, the emptiness that so many of our fellow men are currently feeling and experiencing.
Although we are seem so connected by technology, in actual fact we are very disconnected from each other. Just look on any gathering of individuals and you’ll see most, if not all of them on their cellphones, doing whatever, while their friends and families around them are doing the same thing. So, there’s no communication whatsoever with those directly next to them. And sadly, that’s what’s happening all around the world, despite the many almost instant methods of communication, we’re turning away from each other.
And when you include the consequences of the Covid 19 pandemic, it just makes matters even worse. And if we ever hope to survive as a strong and vibrant society, we have to get back to the basics of true communication, caring and sharing from deep in our hearts, not the surface stuff that’s going on now. And again, only the LOVE of Christ can bring us back to that place of trust, compassion and kindness that we once had. Thus, it is very necessary, of the utmost importance, for we believers to stir up ourselves, each other and those whom we know are needy in some area.
We are Christ’s ambassadors, His earthly agents, His hands and feet down here, and He’s expecting us to do much better than we’re currently doing. When He comes back, He expects to find plenty of strong faith on the earth, and that will only happen if we get up and get going. So please, for Christ’s sake, for the LOVE and gratitude we claim to feel towards Him, let’s make the effort to get up and get going nuh. Besides, that’s our bounden duty as believers.
Now, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, asking for the help we need to handle our problems and thus make this world a better place for Christ. Altogether now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the confusion and anxiety caused by the pandemic and our many other serious problems. We can’t fix them on our own Lord, so we desperately need your help.
Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, without further serious setbacks. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe.
And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to return backsliders to your fold, show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic, the bubbling discontent and dissatisfaction in our land, as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And it’s obvious that if we expect to receive positive answers to our petitions, then we also need to make positive changes in our lives. Much LOVE!
…it takes two to tango…one hand to wash the other…that means….help from God comes with obedience to His will and word…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
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