07 Jun 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a firm footing, a new beginning, a new day, a witness, afflicted, age of the Gentiles, betray one another, birth pangs, concern, conviction, deceive, diligence, disposition of our souls, diverse places, drenched in darkness, earthly journey, earthquakes, endure to the end, false prophets, false teachers, famines, for my name's sake, friend of Jesus, Gentile nations, hate one another, hated of all nations, hurry, impersonators, in all the world, iniquity, Jesus answered, Jews, kill you, kingdom against kingdom, lawlessness, lead me, LOVE, maintain my rights, messiahs, missionary expansion, my friend Jesus, nation shall rise against nation, no man deceive you, offended, omnipotent, on the outside looking in, our way, peace, pestilences, preached, Psalm 43, rooted in Jesus, rumours of wars, Ruth Harms Calkin, satisfaction, saved, selfish to a fault, sense of purpose, share His love, stand above my foes, staying true to God's word, sunshiny morning, take heed, Take Over, teach me, testament, the beginning of sorrows, the beloved of God, the church age, the end come, the end is not yet, the end times, the gospel of the kingdom, the land of uprightness, The Lord is for me, the Lord's mysterious hand, the love of many, the One Year Book of Bible Promises, the rush hour, thou art my God, thunderstorm, thy spirit is good, thy will, tribulation, trust, Tuesday Mantra, understanding God, utter confusion, warning, wars, washed clean, wax cold, what a good God we serve and worship, with the Lord's help, worry
Matthew 24:4. And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
Oh friends, it’s a bright and sunshiny morning in my neighbourhood, everything having been washed nice and clean by the wicked thunderstorm we experienced last evening.
Now if my plans had worked out, I would have been out on the road in the heart of the rush hour and the storm, but due to the Lord’s mysterious hand working on my behalf, my plan fell through and I remained safely ensconced at home for it all. Thank you Lord!
One friend later told me she had been caught in the storm on the highway, and it wasn’t a very nice experience, but also with the Lord’s help she managed to get through it safely. What a good God we serve and worship my people!
Anyway, today’s a new day, and a new beginning, so let’s get some new info into us by means of a poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin, this one simply titled ‘Take Over.’
And it says: ‘At first, Lord, I asked You To take sides with me. With David the Psalmist I circled and underlined “The Lord is for me… Maintain my rights, O Lord…” “Let me stand above my foes…” But with all my pleading I lay drenched in darkness Until in utter confusion I cried “Don’t take sides, Lord Just take over.” And suddenly it was morning.’
Yeh friends, that’s how we usually are, selfish to a fault, wanting it all our way. But we’ll never get satisfaction until we leave it ALL to our wonderful, omnipotent and understanding God!
And the Bible Promise for that comes from Psalm 143, wise words of Bruh David: ‘Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness (on a firm footing).’(Ps.143:10)
Ah mih breddren, that’s exactly how and where we need to walk if we’re to be successful in this our earthly journey. Now let’s declare our Tuesday Mantra with a true sense of purpose and strong conviction.
As one voice now: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen.’
Oh isn’t that just a great testament my people! We are the beloved of God, and the friend of Jesus! Nothing can be better than that eh!
That brings us to the serious warning of Jesus in our Bit. ‘And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.’
Now that my fellow believers is a warning that we ought to heed with all diligence and concern, for it holds the very disposition of our souls in the end times. If we allow false teachers and messiahs to deceive us, then we’ll most certainly end up on the outside looking in, not a very nice place to be.
That’s why Jesus specifically warned His disciples, and consequently all those who came after, about the great importance of staying true to His Word and not following any of the many impersonators that would come after Him.
Listen to His description of how it will all pan out. ‘And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in diverse (various) places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.’ (Matt.24:6-8)
Oh my brethren, there’s no doubt that we are currently in the end times, ‘the beginning of sorrows,’ for all that Jesus spoke about is currently happening around the world.
And He continues: ‘Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted (tribulation), and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
And many false prophets shall arise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity (lawlessness) shall abound, the LOVE of many shall wax (grow) cold.
But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And the gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all of the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.’ (Matt.24:9-14)
Oh friends, we’re not quite there yet, but we’re well on our way!
Now here are some explanations from the scholars. ‘24:5-14. Wars and rumours of wars refers to peace being taken from the earth and the constant wars that have continually marked the “age of the Gentiles.” Famines and pestilences: These events mark only the beginning of sorrows (Gr. odin), “birth pangs.”
This is followed by martyrdom and the rise of false prophets and the abounding of iniquity. The “gospel of the kingdom” refers to the missionary expansion of the church in all the world. The gospel shall be preached in all the world (Gr. oikoumene), the inhabited world, and unto all nations (Gr. ethnos), “Gentile nations,” as contrasted with the Jews. Then shall the end come would then refer to the end of the church age.’
Oh friends, we even teaching Greek in the Bit. (smile) But on a serious note, there’s no doubt that we’re moving, and moving fast too, towards the end of the church age, when the world will be plunged into even more iniquity and disaster than we already are seeing.
Now can you imagine that? I don’t even want to imagine it, much less experience it, that’s why I’m doing my level best to stay rooted in Jesus, and you would be wise to do the same too. Much LOVE!
…to be saved…one must endure to the end…
30 Apr 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a new day, Abraham, almighty god, an answer for prayer, anger, awesome truth, Babylon, basic principles, be grateful, be thankful for what you have, beautiful memories, blossoming, brought forth fruit, captives, dream, enjoy your coffee, Ernesto Cortazar, fertile soil, for I know that my redeemer lives, glory to God, greed, hate, he shall stand at the last day, hope, innocent blood, Jesus, laugh, live every moment, LOVE, make the most of this day, mornings, negative things, Old Testament, parable of the sower, plant your own garden, poison our souls, prayers of the saints, Redeemer, redemption, refuel your soul, reign on earth, relax, relief, resentment, sacrificial lamb, sinless, strength, stress, take a deep breath, testimony, the blood of Jesus, the heathen, the Holy Spirit, the Lamb and the Lion, the Lord of hosts, the seven seals, the Word of god, they sung a new song, truth, turning away from God, vision of John, wake up with a smile, who hath ears to hear, yearning of thy heart, You Tube, zeal
Job 19:25. For I know that my Redeemer (lit. Kinsman) liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter (last) day upon the earth.
Aye mih fellow believers, friends and neighbours, it’s Saturday; a brand new day! And in celebration of that I thought I would share that wonderful poem with the beautiful pictures by Ernesto Cortazar on YouTube, which I sent to you all by e-mail earlier on in the week.
I don’t know how many of you opened it, but if you didn’t, you surely missed a great treat. But as the D.J. man says: ‘If it’s nice, yuh got to play it twice!’ So here is the poem, aptly titled ‘A NEW DAY,’ without the pictures. Please, read, enjoy and put into practice.
‘Everything may not be good, but there’s something good everyday. Mornings are the most beautiful time of the day. So wake up with a smile on your face and make the most of this morning. Be grateful for the new day. Take a deep breath and relax. Enjoy your coffee.
A new day is a chance to refuel your soul. It’s really nice to wake up in the morning realizing that God has given you another day to live. May God give us relief for every stress, a sweet song for every sigh, an answer for every prayer, and peace for every troubled moment. A blessed day everyone!
Don’t wait for someone to bring you flowers. Plant your own garden and decorate your own soul. Every day may not be good, but there’s something good in every day. When God gives you a new beginning, it starts with an ending. Be thankful for closed doors. They often guide us to the right one.
Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. Don’t start your day with broken pieces of yesterday. Today is a new day, a day to start afresh. Every day starts with some expectation, but every day ends with some experience. Hope your day begins with LOVE and ends with beautiful memories.
Every day is another chance to change your life. Make the most of this day! Laugh, LOVE, Dream… Live every moment! Every morning starts a new page in your story. Make it a great one today!’
Oh how beautiful and true that is my brethren! If we would only put those basic principles into action in our lives, what a beautiful life and world we’d have! But unfortunately, we allow negative things; weeds like hate, greed, anger, resentment, etc. etc. to come into our souls and poison and kill the beautiful and positive things that Almighty God has planted there for our enjoyment.
Chuh! What a waste! Remember Jesus’ parable about the sower who sowed his seed on several different types of ground? Well we are like those seeds which fell on bad ground, for our souls aren’t blossoming as they should. Instead we should be good and fertile soil like Jesus described. ‘But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixty fold, some thirty fold. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.’ (Mat.13:8-9)
Yes friends, with the Word of God and His Holy Spirit indwelling us, we ought to be such rich and fertile ground, bearing so much fruit, that the heathen should be opening his eyes and staring at us in wonder, trying to figure out why we’re so fruitful and wanting to be fruitful like us.
In theory, that’s how it’s supposed to work, but it obviously doesn’t. We aren’t producing sufficient good fruit; our life examples are not good enough, that’s why so many people are turning away from God. But that’s another story for another day. (smile)
Let’s turn to our Bit: ‘For I know that my Redeemer (lit. Kinsman) liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter (last) day upon the earth.’
Oh my people, what a powerful testimony of awesome truth! Job was indeed fertile ground, for despite his disastrous circumstances, he never doubted or cursed God. Just wish that most of us could be so faithful and trusting! (smile)
And we’ll continue with some scripture that talks about the Redeemer in the Old Testament. Hear Isaiah, re the Lord’s favour shown to Israel after they had rebelled.
‘Look down from the heavens and behold from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory: where is thy zeal and thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels (yearning of thy heart) and of thy mercies toward me? are they restrained? Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O Lord, art our father, our redeemer, thy name is from everlasting.’ (Is.63:15-16)
Ah friends, yuh see how we quick to acknowledge God after we rebel and He sets us adrift to do our own thing and life gets hard with us. Hn!
Now listen to Jeremiah, from his prophecy concerning Babylon. ‘Thus saith the Lord of hosts; The children of Israel and the children of Judah were oppressed together: and all that took them captives held them fast; they refused to let them go. Their Redeemer is strong; the Lord of hosts is his name; he shall thoroughly plead their cause (case), that he may give rest to the land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.’ (Jer.50:33-34)
Yes my fellow believers, the Lord has always been the Redeemer of His people, even when they rebelled against Him and He allowed them to be taken captive and endure much ‘sufferation.’
And it wouldn’t be right to end without this wonderful vision of John re the Lion and the Lamb. ‘And he (the sacrificial Lamb – Jesus) came and took the book (scroll) out of the right hand of him that sat on the throne. And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials (bowls) full of odours (incense), which are the prayers of the saints.
And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book (scroll), and to open the seals thereof: for thou was slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred (tribe), and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.’ (Rev.5:7-10)
Now isn’t that wonderful my people? It surely is! Our Lord and Saviour paid the price for our sins, redeemed us, that’s why He is worthy to break the seven seals and be worshipped and glorified. Please, let’s contemplate how that action has affected our lives today, and then give the rightful glory to God. Much LOVE!
…true redemption could have come from only one source…the shedding of sinless, innocent blood…the blood of Jesus…
23 Apr 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a new day, Advocate, all glory to Jesus' name, blessings, blessings to impart, calm my troubled heart, Calvary's cross, Christian faith, comfort, conclusion, discretion, Easter Season, encourage and strengthen our faith, every secret thing, evil, faith, favour, fear, fear God, forgiveness, foundation tools, get understanding, get wisdom, giant of a man, God shall judge every work, God's arsenal of tools, God's favour, good, grace, importance of wisdom and understanding, in time of need, instruction of wisdom, inwardly digest, Jesus Christ, Jesus is alive, Jesus' shed blood, keep God's commandments, LOVE, mark, my heavenly Friend, my hungry soul to feed, my King, my priest, my prophet, My Redeemer lives, my soul's complaint, new mercies, our Lord and Saviour, power of wisdom, read, Redeemer, resurrection, reverential awe, silence all my fears, stay close, stray from the straight and narrow path, sweet joy, the busyness of life, the Preacher, the ways of the world, the whole duty of man, triumphant from the grave, truth, understanding is better than silver, ungodly world, uplifting words, walk in obedience to God's Word, wipe away my tears, wisdom, wisdom is better than gold, wondrous presence, words of solid advice
Proverbs 16:16: How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver.
Oh Friends, it’s Wednesday; a new day! I certainly hope you’re all looking forward to the new blessings, mercies, grace and forgiveness that our wonderful God has planned for us today!
And all God’s people declared a loud and lusty: ‘But of course! Everyday we look forward to our God’s new favour, as we try to walk in obedience to His Word!’
Oh what a great following we are my Friends. (smile) But by the same token, sometimes we get carried away by the ways of the world and stray from the straight and narrow path that’s connected to Jesus.
And as the Easter season begins to fade, many of us tend to either forget about what it means, or simply lessen its importance as the busyness of life gets in the way. That’s why this morning I was led to remind us that Jesus is wonderfully still alive, and also of what He’s done, currently doing and promises to do in the future in the lives of all His followers.
So here are the words of one of our favourite Resurrection Hymns, My Redeemer Lives. Let’s read or sing them aloud, so that they can take firm and solid root in our hearts, souls, minds and bodies, thus continually reminding us of the wonderful Lord and Saviour we have in Jesus Christ.
A Saviour so in LOVE with us, that He paid for our detestable sins with His shed blood on Calvary’s cross, and is still out there working, pleading and advocating on our behalf. Wow! What a giant of a man and God!
Now let’s sing, or read out loud, these beautiful, uplifting words; words to encourage and strengthen our faith. In perfect harmony now Friends.
‘I know that my Redeemer lives; What comfort this sweet sentence gives! He lives, He lives, who once was dead; He lives, my ever living Head. He lives to bless me with His LOVE, He lives to plead for me above. He lives my hungry soul to feed, He lives to help in time of need.
He lives triumphant from the grave, He lives eternally to save, He lives all glorious in the sky, He lives exalted there on high. He lives to grant me rich supply, He lives to guide me with His eye, He lives to comfort me when faint, He lives to hear my soul’s complaint. He lives to silence all my fears, He lives to wipe away my tears
He lives to calm my troubled heart, He lives all blessings to impart. He lives, my kind, wise, heavenly Friend, He lives and LOVES me to the end; He lives, and while He lives, I’ll sing; He lives, my Prophet, Priest, and King. He lives and grants me daily breath; He lives, and I shall conquer death:
He lives my mansion to prepare; He lives to bring me safely there. He lives, all glory to His Name! He lives, my Jesus, still the same. Oh, the sweet joy this sentence gives, I know that my Redeemer lives!’
Ah mih people, how wonderful is our Jesus! And I surely hope that that gave us all a mighty lift, as we focused on Jesus and His unparalleled actions on our behalf.
And wonder of wonders, it all flows so smoothly into the wise advice of our Bit: ‘How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!’
And my brethren, by now, there should be no doubt in any of our minds as to the absolute truth, the indisputable veracity, (smile) and the ultimate wisdom of those words!
Now hear another of Cousin Sol’s proverbs on the subject: ‘The fear (reverential awe) of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility.’ (Prov.15:33) More words of solid advice and truth my people!
And Friends, don’t for one moment believe that Cousin Sol is the only one who sings the praises of God’s wisdom. Listen to Jeremiah, as he too extols the power of wisdom in God’s arsenal of tools.
‘He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.’ (Jer.10:12)
And mih people, Jerry thought that that was so nice, he wrote it twice. (smile) Chapter 51:15. In fact, Chapter 10:12-16, is exactly the same as Chapter 51:15-20. Please check it out.
And we’ll end this series of messages on the humongous importance of wisdom and understanding in a believer’s life, with these pertinent words from the Preacher.
‘Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.’ (Eccl.12:13-14)
Oh my people, what a fitting end to this message. It’s all there in black and white (sorry – blue and white) for us to see, read, mark and inwardly digest!
Let’s not be like the foolish men of this evil, ungodly world and refrain from accepting and inculcating the foundation tools from which our Christian faith springs. Much LOVE!
…oh wisdom…oh understanding…please fill my heart today with your wondrous presence…so that I may stay always close to my Redeemer…my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ…
06 Apr 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a new day, an abomination to the Lord, ask in prayer, awesome Creator, believer's life, believing, communicating with God, creative expression, definition of prayer, diligently follow, distress, don't be afraid to pray, don't ever doubt, don't hesitate to call on God, enriched lives, faithfully, fig tree, forgiveness, give ear to my words, God has heard me, God is ready willing and able, God's delight, God's promises, God-given wisdom, gospel truth, grateful children, groaning, Hartley Coolidge, have mercy upon me, hear my prayer, heartfelt thanks and praise, heartfelt words, heavenly truth, I will direct my prayer, I will look up, if you have faith, in Jesus' name, in the morning, jehovah god, Jesus Christ, joy, life's forces, Lord and Saviour, Lord God of heaven, LOVE, loving kindness, man of God, meditation, mercy, my god, my King, omni-present, omnipotent, omniscient, peace, personal satisfaction, plead, praise and bless, praise and thanks, pray, pray with hope, prayer, prayer of the upright, prayer of trust, recociliation, reconciled to God, righteousness., sacrifice, sacrifice of the wicked, simple, sincere prayers, sinful nature, sinless life, spiritual needs, straightforward, testimony to god's faithfulness, to pray is right, voice of my cry, voice of my prayer, words of truth, you shall receive
Psalm 66:19. But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
Oh Friends, it’s a new day! Wow! One filled with joy and LOVE, peace, mercy, forgiveness, grace and all the other wonderful things that our omnipotent, omniscient and omni-present God is famous for! So let’s give Him some warm, heartfelt thanks and praise this Sunday morning nuh, both here and in His sanctuary.
Please pray with me: ‘Lord God of heaven and earth, this Sunday morning Your grateful children praise and bless You for allowing us to see another fabulous day filled with Your LOVING-kindness!
We give you plenty, plenty thanks for it all… especially for Jesus Christ, our BELOVED Lord and Saviour, who sacrificed His sinless life so that we could be reconciled to You! Please accept this, our sacrifice of praise and thanks!
You know deep down that we LOVE You, it’s just that sometimes our sinful nature gets in the way. Please help us to overcome it, so that we can walk in perfect righteousness with You. This we pray, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.’
Yeh mih people, prayer is certainly a wonderful thing!
Consequently, let me remind us of this quote by Hartley Coolidge, which I think I’ve shared before, but is important enough for us to hear again, since most things don’t filter into our souls until we hear them over and over again.
And Hartley says: ‘Be not afraid to pray, to pray is right. Pray, if thou canst with hope, but even pray.’
And that my fellow believers we all know is heavenly truth, but unfortunately, too often we neglect to put it into action and thus prevent ourselves from communicating more fully with Almighty God.
Now here is a definition of prayer, taken from the One More Day Devotional. ‘Prayer is a creative expression of my spiritual needs. It offers me a deep sense of personal satisfaction and continually reminds me of all life’s forces.’
Now that’s how prayer should affect us, my brethren – fulfilling our spiritual needs and bringing us even closer to our awesome Creator!
And all of that build up finally brings us to our Bit: ‘But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.’
Ah mih people, prayer is so important in a believer’s life that every great man of God has enshrined it their lives!
So let’s look at some scripture from some of these godly men that highlight prayer. And with my known bias towards Bruh David (smile) we’ll begin with some of his heartfelt words.
In Psalm 4; an evening prayer of trust in God, he soulfully implores his Maker: ‘Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged (relieved) me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me (be gracious unto me), and hear my prayer.’ (Ps.4:1)
Then in Psalm 5; a prayer for protection, he sincerely pleads: ‘Give ear to my words, O Lord; consider my meditation (groaning). Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray. My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.’ (Ps.5:1-3)
Oh Friends, you can’t get any clearer or plead more sincerely than that!
Meanwhile Cousin Sol in his God-given wisdom, solidly maintains: ‘The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.’ (Prov.15:3)
And that’s gospel truth my brethren! Our wonderful God takes great delight in hearing the prayers of His servants! Please never forget that! Whatever the problem, Jehovah God is always there ready, willing and able to respond to our sincere prayers and answer them.
That’s one of His many promises, and we know that He keeps them all faithfully. So don’t ever doubt, or hesitate to call on Him, because that’s what He is there for, and it’s also what He greatly desires of us.
And we’ll end, as we like to do, whenever possible, with the best advice from our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. He spoke these faithful words after withering up the unfruitful fig tree.
‘And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away! Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain; Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.’ (Matt.21:20-22)
Awright mih breddren, awright! Words of truth from our Saviour Himself!
And as always, they are simple and straightforward, so there’s nothing left for me to say, but to plead with us to accept them and diligently follow them, so that our lives will be even more enriched with God’s LOVING-kindness! Much LOVE!
…believe…and ask IN PRAYER…and you shall receive…
P.S. Sorry for the Bit being late Friends, but I’ve been trying to stave off a cold for the last few days, but it stubbornly refused to be staved off (smile) It hit me like a ton of bricks yesterday and reduced my efficiency. But as you can see, though it might make the Bit late, it certainly won’t stop it! And that’s much more a testimony to our heavenly Father’s faithfulness than to my doggedness! Much LOVE!
16 Mar 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a new day, absolute truth, adoration, almighty god, Barak, be humble before God, blessedness, Bruh David, catastrophe, catastrophic situation, celebration of the Sabbath, cock of the walk, common denominator, comprehend, control our destiny, Deborah, devoid of God's presence, different, elucidation, encouraging words, exalt the Lord's name, extolled, faithfulness, fear of God, fellowship, forgiveness, God's intentions, God's miraculous help, God's purposes, God's Sovereignty, God's thoughts are not ours, God's ways are higher than ours, God's Word, habits, heavenly guidance, human failings, indisputable truth, insecurities, Israel, Jesus Christ, judge of Israel, length of days, loving kindness, mercy, Moses, new song in my mouth, omniscience, parable of the rich fool, petty things, Pharaoh, pleasureable life, praise, praise unto God, preserve me from trouble, pride, prophetess, psalm 40, rituals, rulers of all we survey, salvation, sameness, self-confidence, self-importance, Sermon on the Mount, sing praise to the Lord God of Israel, song, songs of deliverance, Spirit Being, successful life, Supreme Being, thanksgiving, The Lord is my strength, the Red Sea, the Sabbath Day, trust in the Lord, worship
Psalm 40:3. 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.
Ah mih people, a new day has dawned over half the world, with different kinds of weather in different places; places that are populated with different kinds of flora and fauna, different kinds of people espousing different habits and rituals; but amazingly, all falling under one common denominator, the Creator of it all, Almighty God!
Wow! What a giant of a Being our God has to be to create all those differences, as well as all the sameness that we possess and enjoy!
No wonder He can rightfully proclaim through His spokesperson Isaiah: ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.’ (Is.55:8)
And there is certainly no disputing those words of absolute truth my brethren because we simply cannot comprehend all there is to comprehend about our Creator.
As the scholars note on those verses above: ‘ 55:8-13. God’s sovereignty and omniscience are extolled by the statement that His thoughts (i.e. purposes or intentions) and ways (derakim, or “directions”) are higher than ours.
While God may certainly be known by men, He is still incomprehensible in the totality of His person and purposes. Therefore He reveals Himself to men by His word, which shall not return to Him void (in vain). The Word of God, therefore, accomplishes His purpose in announcing salvation to all mankind.’
And that’s why, with our small brains, we tend to gravitate to small, petty things; things that we can see and which can fit into our relatively small comprehension space. (smile) But however we cut it Friends, undoubtedly there is a Spirit Being afloat in the universe out there that is immensely and immeasurably greater than us!
And until mankind comes to truly recognize and believe the fact that we are not the real rulers of our lives, nor are we controllers of the happenings in the universe, and stop thinking so highly, god-like, of ourselves, but instead be humble before the great Spirit of God, we will forever be plagued with all kinds of insecurities and human failings, ranging from total insecurity and lack of self-confidence to overblown pride and self-importance.
Now if that isn’t a Bruh Paulian sentence, I don’t know what is! (smile)
Yes Friends, until we come to truly realize that we’re not ‘cock of the walk,’ rulers of all we survey, then we’ll never be truly happy or contented. And how can we be rulers of all we survey, when we don’t control our destiny and our lives; meaning the things we try to accomplish, the length of our earthly days and our general well-being.
And Jesus pointed out that lack of control so admirably when talking about oaths in the Sermon on the Mount. ‘Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.’ (Matt.5:36)
We also see our inability to control our length of days, when Jesus spoke the parable of the rich fool, who had so much he decided to pull down the old barns and build new, bigger ones to store his goods and lead a leisurely, pleasurable life.
‘But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?’ (Luke 12:20) More words of indisputable truth my brethren!
And I guess it must be in one of those moments of elucidation, of really understanding his total inability to live a successful life devoid of God’s presence, heavenly guidance and LOVING -kindness that Bruh David must have penned Psalm 40 and the encouraging words of our Bit. ‘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.’
Oh Friends, likewise, it’s only when we realize our inability to successfully exist down here on this wicked earth without God that we also can attain to a greater understanding of ourselves, our universe and our Most High Creator!
Now that awakening would most certainly cause us to sing songs, both old and new, to the Supreme Being, for that’s how truly understanding His Supremacy works.
Earlier on in Psalm 32, the blessedness of forgiveness, Bruh David also wrote: ‘Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about (surround me) with songs of deliverance. Selah. (Ps.32:7)
For sure my people, when we’re facing some catastrophic situation, songs of deliverance from earlier times ought to flow steadily from our lips. And when the Lord delivers us from the catastrophe, new songs of deliverance are always born from the grace, the mercy, forgiveness and LOVING-kindness showered down upon us!
And today we’re going to look at two of those songs of deliverance born of God’s bountiful mercy and faithfulness to Israel. The first one is the Song of Moses, which celebrates Israel’s deliverance from slavery in Egypt and their successful escape across the Red Sea from Pharaoh’s army.
‘Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and song (possibly defence), and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him a habitation (praise Him); my father’s God, and I will exalt his name.’ (Ex.15:1-2)
Powerful words of praise, thanks and acknowledgement my people! And you can read the rest of it for yourselves from Exodus 15:3-21.
And the second song of deliverance comes from Deborah and Barak. Deborah was a prophetess, the judge Israel at the time, and Barak, the army general when they defeated the much larger and better equipped Canaanite invaders – with God’s miraculous help of course.
‘Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day, saying, Praise ye the Lord for the avenging of Israel (when leaders lead in Israel), when the people willingly offered themselves (volunteered). Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes; I, even I, will sing unto the Lord; I will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel.’ (Judg.5:1-3)
Yes Friends, it’s that kind of song that ought to come out of our mouths when the Lord God Jehovah blesses us!
And you can read the remainder of Deborah and Barak’s song in Judges 5: 4-31. It’s much longer than Moses, but just as beautiful!
Well mih people, that’s it for today. The Bit’s longer than I intended and somewhat late – but what else is new eh? (smile) I surely hope though that we all learned something, if not from my ramblings, (smile) then surely from the scriptures we’ve highlighted.
And since today’s the celebration of the Sabbath for many of us, what better way is there to proclaim it than in fellowship with other believers, in full-throated song eh? NONE! Much LOVE!
…in the greater scheme of things…it doesn’t really matter whether we sing old or new songs nuh…just as long as we sing songs of…praise, worship, adoration, LOVE and thanksgiving to our wonderful God and Creator…and plenty songs too…
10 Jun 2012
by randyobrien50
in Inspirational Living
Tags: a new day, dimensions of God, distinctive peculiarities, diversity, God is LOVE, God's craftmanship, jehovah god, LOVE, manterial vs spiritual life, only begotten Son, substance or essence of God, thanks and praise
1 John 4:8. He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God is LOVE.
Oh Friends, please rise and greet another new and glorious day! There’s never been one quite like it before, and there’ll never be another quite like it again! That just shows the power, the skill and the craftsmanship of our mighty and wonderful God Jehovah. And the same way He crafts days that seem alike, but yet are different, in that same manner He crafts humans that may look alike, but each and every one has his or her own distinctive peculiarities; like how no two fingerprints are the same. What does that say about our God, besides His ingenuity eh? It says that He also likes diversity. That’s why there are so many different looking, speaking and thinking humans in the world. The same goes for the flora and fauna He created. But Friends, there’s one thing that’s inherent in all of God’s creations; that’s LOVE! His LOVE for all that He created, though not necessarily the other way around. However, to know God, we must know LOVE. As our Bit so rightly declares: ‘He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God is LOVE.’ And that’s the awesome truth my Friends! And how has that great LOVE of God been most amazingly and brilliantly shown? ‘In this was manifested the LOVE of God towards us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.’ (1 John 4:9) Yes my people, God proved His great LOVE for us by sending His sinless Son, Jesus to die, so that we might live! Wow! What a magnificent and caring Deity! And all God’s people gave Him a shout of thanks and praise for that marvellous gift of grace! But folks, the great thing about our God is that He’s not only a God of LOVE; a one dimension God, but also exhibits several other wonderful characteristics, included in which are holiness and justice, which need to be understood in relation to all the others. Now hear a scholarly explanation: ‘The nature of God is His “essence” or His “substance.” God’s nature includes all that He is that makes Him uniquely God. Any complete definition of God’s nature should include the following seven aspects: Spirit, person, life, self-existence, unchangeableness, infinitude, and unity. (See John 4:24 for a definition of God.) Without these things, God would not be God. Illustration: Because God is so difficult to comprehend, Jesus became a man revealing the essence of the Father and proclaiming truth concerning God. (John 1:14,18) As we read the gospel accounts of the ministry of Christ, it becomes easier for us to understand what God is like. Application: The first commandment of the law requires that we LOVE and worship God as He truly is, implying we should study the nature of God. (Ex.20:3; Matt.22:37-38) (First Reference, Gen.1:2; Primary Reference, 1 John 4:8; cf. John 4:24) And since I know that some of us are too lazy to look up the scripture references, I’ll spoil us (smile) by quoting a couple of them. Genesis 1:2 says: ‘And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon (was hovering over) the face of the waters.’ We already have 1 John 4:8, which is our Bit. And in John 4:24, Jesus tells us some important things about God: ‘God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.’ Oh Friends, I didn’t plan on including this next scholarly explanation, but it sort of explains some of the attributes they talk about above. ‘John gives three descriptions of God. He is Spirit (John 4:24), LOVE (1 John 4:8), and Light (1 John 1:5). God is a spiritual being who is invisible and without a body; He is a divine person who reveals Himself in perfect intellect, emotion and will; He is the source and personification of all material and spiritual life; He is self-existent; He is eternal in relationship to time; He is unlimited in relationship to the immensity of space; He is immutable (unchanging) in His nature; He is the unity of all existence; and He is consistent in His being – that is, He corresponds in actual fact to His nature and attributes as they are revealed to us.’ But Friends, here is an important distinction I want us to understand re LOVE and God. In the verse before our Bit, John declares: ‘Beloved, let us LOVE one another: for LOVE is of God; and every one that LOVETH is born of God, and knoweth God.’ (1 John 4:7) However mih breddren, not everybody that LOVES is naturally of God, or even knows Him. The scholars explain it better than I can. ‘John returns to the theme of mutual LOVE. Perhaps the false teaching he felt compelled to combat had contributed to suspicion and contention in the fellowship. In context, John is not saying that everyone who LOVES is somehow a Christian, whether they trust in Christ or not. He makes it clear elsewhere that true knowledge of God entails right belief about Christ, as well as right response to God, including LOVE of others. Mere human LOVE apart from Christ’s redeeming presence and motivation falls short of LOVE in its fullest dimension as a human response to God’s perfect and infinite compassion. (cf. 1 Cor.13)’ That’s the LOVE Chapter people! So Friends, unless our LOVE is seated, is deeply rooted in the person of Jesus Christ, it falls short of the LOVE that God engenders. Thus it is certainly good to LOVE others without reference to God, but LOVE only reaches its highest point, its pinnacle, its true focus when Christ is involved. And hopefully, with all that scholarly knowledge under our belts, our passion and understanding is lifted, and we now can do a better job of bringing others to Christ, as we have been commissioned to do. Much LOVE!…to LOVE is good…but it’s not truly wonderful or true…unless it includes God…
09 Jun 2012
by randyobrien50
in Inspirational Living
Tags: a new day, attain heaven's bliss, burning passion for Jesus, death and damnation, gift of God, God's grace, not works, propitiation for our sins, saved through faith, unconditional LOVE, wages of sin
1 John 4:10. Herein is LOVE, not that we LOVED God, but that he LOVED us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Oh Friends, here it comes; one more morning, one more day, one more ray of brilliant sunshine, to chase the darkness of night away! It’s so refreshing and revitalizing to see a new day dawn. Something about a new day just naturally causes a conscious stream of hope and great expectations to rise in our souls, bringing the thought and belief that something good is going to happen to us that very day. Wow! Looking at the sun come up over the horizon seems to reawaken the Spirit of Jesus in our hearts and minds, giving us the strength, faith and energy to face the new day. For we know that with Jesus on our side, we can face anything that comes our way; we can do all things through Him, who strengthens us. (Phil.4:13) And furthermore, God’s goodness to us, unworthy as we are, is surely a good reason to be excited and appreciative of a new day, for He clearly went out of His way to make sure we had a chance to bypass the ‘sufferation’ for our just desserts: death for our disobedience. ‘For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through (in) Jesus Christ our Lord.’ (Rom.6:23) And the scholars explain: ‘Wages: Emphasizes what we deserve. Gift of God: Emphasizes God’s unmerited favour.’ And why did He provide eternal life for us, even though we didn’t deserve it? Because He LOVED us! As the song says, it was LOVE that caused our first heartbeat. And as our Bit so succinctly explains: ‘Herein is LOVE, not that we LOVED God, but that he LOVED us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.’ Yes Friends, the Lord did it all because of LOVE; the greatest emotion there is and the most significant trait of His amazing and wonderful personality! I only wish there was so much more of it present in our troubled, strife filled world. And God’s LOVE is so great, that the scholars declare; ‘No human LOVE is the standard for understanding God’s great compassion, but God’s own action on man’s behalf.’ God’s LOVE, like all His other attributes, are so much greater than ours, that we can’t even begin to comprehend it. It was such an intense LOVE that He made Jesus pay for our sins. Listen to John earlier on: ‘My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate (intercessor) with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.’ (1 John 2:1-2) And that’s the gospel truth Friends! The sins of whoever believes in Jesus have been paid for! And all God’s people shouted: ‘Thank You Lord for Jesus! We praise and worship Your Holy Name!’ Now hear the scholars, re the process of propitiation. ‘Propitiation is here an atoning sacrifice. Jesus bore in His body the punishment due us for our sin; in so doing He propitiated God, satisfied God’s just demand that sin be punished. Thus Jesus is both the advocate for sinners (v.1) and the sacrifice for their sins.’ Surprisingly though, there are too many fools and unwise men on this earth, who though they know of and about Jesus, still refuse to take Him seriously, still refuse to believe, to put their hope, faith and trust in Him. How sad mih people. They don’t know what they’re missing. Unfortunately they don’t realize the seriousness of the situation; that it’s their eternal destiny they’re playing with. They obviously don’t believe that there’s nothing they can do to gain heaven’s shores, unless it’s through Christ. Listen to Bruh Paul postulate on the subject to the Ephesians: ‘For by grace are ye (you have been) saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship (creation), created in Christ Jesus unto (for) good works, which God hath before ordained (prepared) that we should walk in them.’ (Eph.2:8-10) And here’s the scholars explanation: ‘The grace of God is the expression of His goodness toward the undeserving. Grace means unmerited favour, and can be expressed by the acrostic “God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.” This grace is the basis of our salvation (1.7; 2:8) Illustration: In salvation, men who deserve hell obtain heaven. This cannot be explained apart from God’s grace. Every conversion in Scripture is an example of God’s grace. When Paul (Saul) met the Lord on the Damascus Road, Paul was a persecutor of the church. Yet God made him one of the church’s chief preachers. Application: We need to remember that we are saved, given the Holy Spirit, and allowed to serve God – by His grace. (Gen.6:8; Eph.2:8) Yes Friends, only through the saving grace that flows from a belief in Jesus can we ever attain heaven’s bliss, for He is indeed as He declares: ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.’ (John 14:6) Oh my people, it is therefore expedient, rather imperative, that mankind believes in Christ if they want to dwell in heaven, and escape the death and damnation that characterizes Hades. And it’s our responsibility, our duty to spread that fact around the globe, because Jesus doesn’t even want to lose one human to Lucifer’s evil claws. So please, let’s get out there and tell them with a burning passion, let’s convince them to see the bright light shining in the darkness that’s Jesus, their only hope for deliverance. Much LOVE!…a world full of darkness and evil…can only be saved by believing in Jesus…the eternal day star of heaven…
30 May 2012
by randyobrien50
in Inspirational Living
Tags: a new day, alive and kicking, close relationship, holy spirit, humility, Pentecost, pour out my Spirit, preparedness to do God's will, rebirth, reconciliation, restoration, start with prayer
Acts 1:5. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
Oh Friends, it’s a new day and we’re still alive and kicking! Wow! Praise the Lord! Now here’s an interesting prayer to start our days, taken from Dr. Robert H Schuller’s Daily Devotional, attributed to Norman Grub (1895-1993) an American missionary, statesman, writer and theological teacher. It says: ‘Good morning Christ. I LOVE You! What are you up to today? I want to be part of it! Thank You God. Amen!’ Isn’t that nice Friends; simple and straightforward? For sure! I believe that’s the kind of prayer the Lord truly appreciates, because though it’s so short and simple, it still fulfills all the necessities. It glorifies Him with LOVE; is humble, yet confident, and displays a whole lot of enthusiasm and preparedness to do whatever Jesus desires. Oh my people, are we displaying those properties in our prayers to our ever-LOVING God? I sure hope so. Now let’s continue looking at the wonderful workings of the Holy Spirit, beginning with the heart warming promise of Jesus in our Bit: ‘For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.’ And even more compelling and heart warming was the fulfillment of that promise on the Day of Pentecost! Now today, I want to share two Old Testament examples of the Spirit being used on particular individuals, and also a couple more instances where the Lord promised it. And the first of those instances of the Holy Spirit on man that we want to share comes from the very important prophet Isaiah. In Chapter 61, where he’s bringing good tidings of salvation to Zion, he confidently declares: ‘The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek (poor); he hath sent me to bind up (heal) the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.’ (Is.61:1) And the Spirit of God obviously had to be on him, especially in those olden times, for him to do such mighty deeds! Now hear Ezekiel after the Lord commissioned him to be a prophet: ‘So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat (anger) of my spirit; but the hand of the Lord was strong upon me.’ (Ezek. 3:14) But nuh must Friends! The Lord’s hand is strong upon all whom His Spirit indwells! Ezekiel, like Jeremiah, had a hard time accepting God’s commission, but as always, the Lord’s will prevailed. Please my people, when the Lord comes a calling on us to perform some particular work in His Holy Name, please, let’s not fight it, for we will only cause ourselves unnecessary trouble, grief and heartache, since the Lord will eventually prevail. And I can testify to that from personal experience, for when He approached me about writing the Bit, like Sara, I laughed. But here I am some six years later, writing it with pleasure. Yes Friends, when the Lord says jump, it’s best to ask right away, how high Lord? That’s because the longer you delay and complain, the higher you’ll eventually have to jump. Now here are two more instances from the Old Testament where the Lord promised to send His Spirit upon His people. Yesterday we heard from Joel (Joel 2:28-29) today, let’s listen first to Isaiah declare that the Spirit of God would be in Israel: ‘Thus saith the Lord that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen. For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring: And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses.’ (Is.44:2-4) Then Ezekiel proudly proclaims in his promise of restoration and renewal of Israel: ‘And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you (them); and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh: That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances (judgements), and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.’ (Ezek.11:19-20) Ah Friends, yuh see how our wise and mighty God works! Each prophet that arose in Israel, though they brought some sad tidings, they always brought that faithful and everlasting promise of rebirth, of restoration, reconciliation and salvation from the God of their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And note too, how it all dovetailed smoothly and was fulfilled by the coming of Jesus. That was God’s plan from day one! So in light of all those promises and their fulfillment in the earthly pilgrimage and person of Jesus, how can we ever doubt the authenticity and truth of the Good Book eh? Oh Friends, I’ll leave us to ponder that today, and also strongly advise us to get in touch, in close relationship with the Holy Spirit of Christ which indwells us, for He’s there to lead and guide us. However, since He’s not the pushy, aggressive type, if we don’t consciously seek Him out and ask for His wise and godly advice, then follow it, we’ll surely get lost on the highway to hell, taunted by, and falling for Lucifer’s evil wiles and lies. And we definitely don’t want that to happen! So please cozy up to the Holy Spirit today. It’s wisdom at it’s finest. Much LOVE! …we cannot stay on the straight and narrow path…without the Holy Spirit’s help… P.S. The Bit was late, partially because my young daughter called me on the phone this morning and had me gabbing instead of writing. (smile)
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