31 Oct 2026
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a reciprocal love relationship, a sincere heart, ascend up into heaven, beholding the evil and the good, cling tenaciously to God, communion with our heavenly Father, deepen my breath, done like dinner, dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even the night shall be light about me, even there shall thy hand lead me, faith, form henceforth thou shalt have wars, go and pray unto me, God is always on guard, God is the most powerful person in the universe, God keeps close tabs on His universe, God wants to be in everything we do, God will work everything out eventually for our good, God's ways and thoughts are higher than ours, Hanani, he sees all his goings, hearken unto you, his eyes are upon the ways of man, holy spirit, I marvel to think you can't be contained, I may know you all the more, I praise you for your unceasing nearness, I want to be with you now, in all sincerity and truth, in the behalf of, increase my awareness of you today, it wise to be in tight with God, Jesus Christ, King Asa of Judah, know God so much more, lazy-day Saturday, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, LOVE, love the Lord thy God with all thy heart soul and mind, make my bed in hell, mercy, mouthing insincere prayers, need to get closer to God, never too late to turn to God, no darkness nor shadow of death where the workers of iniquity may hide, nothing you can do that God doesn't know about, nowhere to hide from the Lord, only seeking God in times of trouble, properly handle, quiet my soul, regular communication with God, relax my muscles, salvation, search for me with all your heart, seek me and find me, slow my thoughts, surely the darkness will cover me, take the wings of the morning, thank you for this tenderness, the breath of life is still flowing through one's body, the darkness and the light are both alike to thee, the darkness hideth not from thee, the eyes of the Lord are in every place, the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, the greatest commandment, the last day of October, the many situations coming against us, the night shineth as the day, the way the cookie crumbles, them whose heart is perfect toward him, then shall ye call upon me, these trying and troubled times, thou hast done foolishly, through strong faith trust God to do what's best, thy right hand shall hold me, to shew himself strong, truth, use every day to the fullest, we've strayed far from God but He's remained faithful, whither shall I flee from thy presence, whither shall I go from thy spirit, wisdom, your love both surrounds and fills me, your peace and love are present
Today’s Scrip-Bit 31 October 2026 2 Chronicles 16:9a.
2 Chronicles 16:9a. For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.
Well what do you know? It’s another sunshiny autumn day on this lazy-day Saturday, the last day of October. Yes, October’s done like dinner! Can you imagine it? We not too long ago celebrated our Thanksgiving weekend, and by the time you turn around the month’s done. But that’s the way the cookie crumbles these days my brethren, you just have to ensure that you use every day to the fullest, beginning each with sincere communion with our heavenly Father. So let’s do that right now nuh, by offering up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, in all sincerity and truth.
As one strong voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’
And in these trying and troubled times, do we ever need to get closer to God and know Him so much more, that we can properly handle the many situations that are coming against us. Remember God desires to be in everything that pertains to us, and since He’s the most powerful person in the universe, it only makes sense to be in tight with Him. But unfortunately that doesn’t come about by simply mouthing insincere prayers and only coming to Him when you’re in trouble. No! It takes sincerity and right motives, plus a regular communication with God for Him to be sensitive to our prayers.
And some of you might be tired hearing this particular scripture, but it’s the basis of our sincere communion with Almighty God. He firmly states through the prophet Jeremiah: ‘Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto (listen to) you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye search for me with all your heart.’ (Jer. 29:12-13) That says it quite clearly my people; we have to seek God, and do so with a sincere heart, else we won’t find Him.
It’s like when the arrogant Pharisee lawyer, asked Jesus which was the greatest commandment. He replied without hesitation: ‘Thou shalt LOVE the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.’ (Matt. 22:37-38) Yes friends, LOVING our God with all that we have is the first requirement of Christianity! And remember that’s one of the reasons why the Lord created us human beings in the first place; so that He could have a reciprocal LOVE relationship with us. But sadly, we have strayed far from Him, while He has remained faithful.
However, it’s never too late to turn back to Him, for once His breath of life is still flowing through our bodies, He will hear our sincere cry and come to us, for although we are far from Him, He’s always near to us, looking out for us, even though we don’t pay Him any attention. As Cousin Sol so wisely states in Proverbs: ‘The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.’ (Prov. 15:3) Of course! Whatever is done in God’s universe, be it good or bad, He sees it and takes note of it for further use.
Meanwhile in Job, his friend Elihu asserts: ‘For his (God’s) eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings. There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.’ (Job 34:21-22) And if you still don’t believe that Lord is everywhere and sees everything, then listen as the seer Hanani, informs King Asa of Judah of his mistake by getting in league with Syria to help him fight against the northern kingdom of Israel. ‘For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him (at peace with, or loyal to Him). Herein thou hast done foolishly; therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.’ (2 Chr. 16:9)
Hopefully those scriptures will convince us that God is always on guard, looking to see what’s happening in His universe. And nobody says it as good as Bruh David in Psalm 139. ‘Whither shall (can) I go from thy spirit? or whither shall (can) I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee (it is not dark to thee); but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.’ (Ps. 139:7-12)
In other words, there’s nowhere we can go to hide from the Lord, or nothing we can do that He doesn’t know about, because He keeps close tabs on His universe. Therefore, the wise thing for us to do is seek Him sincerely with all of our hearts, souls, bodies and minds, and then cling tenaciously to Him, after we’ve made contact, (smile) for He’s the ruler of the universe, and as He directs, so everything goes. Remember too, that his ways and thoughts are much higher than ours, (Is, 55:9) So there will be lots of stuff happening in and around, and with us, that we won’t understand, but through strong faith we will trust Him to do what’s best for us and work everything out eventually for our good. (Rom. 8:28)
And on this beautiful lazy-day autumn Saturday, it will do us good to spend some time pondering our association with Almighty God, and considering how we can get closer to Him, for there’s always room to do that! Much LOVE!
…you might run from God…but you certainly can’t hide from him…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
07 Jun 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a godly promise, a growing relationship with God, a lover of intimacy, a sincere heart, a spiritual man, as a dream, Bishop Riscylla Shaw, brought into desolation, Christian Residence Schools, deepen my breath, destroyed those who are unfaithful to you, destruction of the wicked, envious of the wicked's prosperity, essential to keeping our faith strong, face doubts and fears, faith, find the answer to the problem, God doesn't make idle promises, God is the strength of my heart, guide me with counsel, he won't ever defeat us, holy spirit, I am continually with thee, I have put my trust in the Lord, I marvel to think, I may declare all thy works, I may know you all the more, I praise you for your unceasing nearness, I was as a beast before thee, increase my awareness of you today, Indigenous people, it is good for me to draw near to God, Jesus Christ, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, Lord I want to be with you now, lost his faith, LOVE, mercy, Metis heritage, my flesh and my heart faileth, my flesh and my heart fails, my heart was grieved, my portion for ever, Pentecost Prayer Breakfast, pierced in my mind, pricked in my reins, put on the armour of god, quiet my soul, receive me to glory, received a divine perspective, relax my muscles, reprehensible act of colonialism, salvation, sentiments, slow my thoughts, so foolish was I, stand firm for God, stripped of their culture, stumbled spiritually, Suffragan Bishop of Toronto, thank you for this tenderness, the destiny of the wicked, the enemy can take his best shot, the enemy shoots his fiery darts at us, the spiritually mature, then I understood their end, there is none upon earth I desire beside thee, they that are far from thee shall perish, thou didst set them in slippery places, thou hast held me by thy right hand, truth, Truth and Reconciliation, until I went into the sanctuary of God, utterly consumed with terrors, walk in god's will, warnings of smoke from wildfires, whom have I in heaven but thee, wisdom, with God's protection, write deeply in our hearts souls bodies and minds, you are here with me, you can't be contained, your love both surrounds and fills me, your peace and love are present
Psalm 73:26. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength (rock) of my heart, and my portion for ever.
It’s a hot and hazy lazy-day Saturday friends, like it was yesterday, with more warnings of smoke from the wildfires. Thankfully, though I saw the haziness of the smoke in the area, I could not smell it because my allergies were acting up, just as they are today. But that did not stop us from going to the annual Pentecost Prayer Breakfast at my church this morning, where everyone had a good time…as always, (smile) led by our indomitable, courageous and joyful pastor Fr. Jeff Brown. And that’s why we’re somewhat late with the Bit.
We also had an interesting and informative Guest Peaker, Bishop Riscylla Shaw, the Suffragan Bishop of Toronto, giving us some insights into her Indigenous (Metis) Heritage and her work with the Truth and Reconciliation Committee. Unfortunately, that Committee was brought about by another disgusting and reprehensible act of the Colonial Era, the Christian Residence Schools, where the Indigenous people were stripped of their language, culture, history and self-confidence so that they could become good Christian children.
Oh, the abominable things we’ve done, supposedly in the name of the Lord! But slowly, things are changing, and though it may take a long time to come to rights, we have to keep working and praying to finally see that day, although most of us currently alive, probably will not see it. In the meantime, let’s offer up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, with heartfelt sincerity.
As one voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’
And as we full well know; intimacy is one thing the Lord will not, in fact, cannot refuse, if we come to Him with a sincere heart, because that’s who He is: a LOVER of intimacy, and one of His purposes for creating us. And speaking of intimacy, there’s no better revelation of that fact than in the psalmist Asaph’s situation, as he states in Psalm 73, the first part of which we looked at yesterday. He was jealous and envious of the wicked and their seeming prosperity here on earth, while the righteous were suffering, and he almost stumbled spiritually and lost his faith…’Until I went into the sanctuary of God: then I understood their end.’ (Ps. 73:17)
As the scholars explain: ‘Not until the psalmist entered God’s sanctuary and received a divine perspective on the wicked’s prosperity did he find his answer to the problem.’ Yes, then and only then did he truly realize how our God looks at wickedness, as he says: ‘Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction. How they are brought into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors. As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image.’ (Ps. 73:18-20)
And that’s for certain sure! The Lord has made many promises to destroy the wicked and their seed when He is good and ready. And since we know He doesn’t make idle promises, that destruction of the wicked is definitely in the cards. However, as we said yesterday, for those of us who are having problems envying the wicked and their earthly prosperity, it might also be a good thing for us to go into the house of the Lord and try to find greater intimacy and understanding with Him.
For as Asaph further confesses: ‘Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins (pierced in my mind). So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee. Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden (held) me by thy right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.’ (Ps. 73: 22-24) Now those are also faithful promises made by our God to the righteous, so if we walk in His will, then we can be assured that He will keep them.
And I like how he concludes the psalm. ‘Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength (rock) of my heart, and my portion for ever. For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee (those who are unfaithful to thee). But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works.’ (Ps. 73:25-28) Now my fellow believers, those are words and sentiments that we should all have and write deeply in our hearts, souls, bodies and minds, for they are essential in keeping our faith strong and growing.
And we’ll close with this overall explanation of the psalm from the scholars. ‘He saw (Asaph) the destiny of the wicked (vs. 17-20); therefore, he repented of his foolishness (vs. 21-22) and found his happiness solely in a warm and growing relationship with God (vs. 23-28). The point of the psalm is driven home even more dramatically when remembering that Asaph, the author, was a spiritual man who grew up with deeply religious training. (1 Chr. 15:16-19; 16:4-7; 2 Chr. 5:12; 29:30).’Those are references to where Asaph is mentioned in the Bible as an important musician and seer under Bruh David and other kings.
Now, Asaph’s problem just goes to show that even the spiritually mature amongst us can face doubts and fears when the enemy shoots his fiery darts at us. So, it is incumbent on us to always put on the armour of God for protection, and when we do…then we stand…stand firm for God! Much LOVE!
…the enemy can take his best shot…but with God’s protection…he won’t ever defeat us…that’s a godly promise…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
06 Nov 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a faithful keeper, a refuge, a sincere heart, a soul that's been saved, a willing mind, adversity, ancient seals, beloved of God, born again, calamity, came to their senses, cast thee off for ever, cry out for help, disobedience, dr robert h schuller, experience the joy, fell my heart opening, forsake him, friend of Jesus, God is good, great man of faith, greatest commandment, hear old chains break, His promise, Hour of Power Devotional, hurry, I've awakened, in god's eyes, in time of need, Jeremiah, know thou the God, know thy name, learn to know God, life's not fair, like a heavy door, listen to you, LOVE, Love the Lord thy God, love thy neithbour, Moses, narcissistic nihilistic, not what I do, obits, Pharisee, Praise the Lord, pray unto me, put their trust in thee, respond positively, seek the Lord, seeking their maker, sense the footsteps of jesus, serve him, share His love, sinful times, Solomon, spiritual and emotional walls crack, stronghold, sun-filled day, the children of men, the Lord searches all hearts, the oppressed, thou shalt find him, trials, tribulations, Tuesday Mantra, understands all the imaginations, undeserved goodness, ungodly, walking into my life, welcomed them back, with a perfect heart, with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with opened arms, worry
Deuteronomy 4:29. But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
Oh brother! What is it eh? I’ve been back from sunny Jamaica for a week now and so far I’ve only awakened to one bright and sun-filled day! I believe that was Sunday. Man o man! That sure doesn’t do wonders for the spirit nuh. But nonetheless, I am thankful that I can say that I’ve awakened…Glory be!
Every time I read the obits and don’t see my name, I send up a grateful, ‘Thank You Lord!’ Oh, I know that one day I will read it there, but just not yet.’ (smile)
And to help us on this cold, dark, wet and cloudy day, I’ve been led to share this poem from Gramps Schuller’s (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) Hour of Power Devotional, titled, ‘Learn to Know God.’ So let’s do just that nuh.
Please pray with me: ‘Dear Jesus, I’ve got to get to know You better. Please help me! I can feel my spiritual and emotional walls crack. I can hear old chains break. I can feel my heart opening like a heavy door whose ancient seals have just begun to break. I can sense the footsteps of Jesus walking into my life. I am beginning to experience the joy of a soul that is being saved, a life that is being born again. Thank You Lord! Life’s not fair, but God is good. Amen.’
And that’s the gospel truth: ‘Life’s not fair, but God IS good!’ Ah friends, whenever we come to God, sincerely cry out to Him for help in time of need, we can be sure that He will hear our plea and respond positively to it! That’s’ His promise, and He’s a faithful keeper of ALL His promises! But we first have to seek Him, to get to know Him.
And every great man of faith has made that admonishment, as we will see as we go through the Good Book. We’ll begin with out Bit; Moses’ wise and true advice to the Israelites: ‘But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.’
Yes friends, whenever we seek the Lord with a sincere heart, we shall find Him. It doesn’t matter what we were doing before. And we have perfect examples of that in the many times the Israelites turned from God and suffered, but when they came to their senses and returned to Him, He welcomed them back with opened arms.
Likewise, in these evil and sinful times, if we turn back to God, seek Him with all our hearts, minds, bodies and souls, He will hear us and relieve the trials and tribulations, which we are suffering from disobedience to His holy will. And doh fool yuh fat nuh, we are undergoing adversity and calamity because of our sinful, ungodly way of life. But enough of my preaching, (smile) let’s see what some other great men of faith said on the subject.
Hear Bruh David now, as he admonishes Cousin Sol on the matter. ‘And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart, and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.’ (1 Chr.28:9) And that my brethren holds good for all of us, be we prince or pauper!
And on an even more important note, how many of us parents admonish our children with that information eh? Too few! Otherwise we would not have raised such an ungodly, narcissistic and nihilistic (rejection of beliefs in religion and morals) generation. Our parents taught us about seeking God, possibly more than we liked, but our generation have certainly not taught this current one enough about seeking their Maker.
Come the judgement day, we will have a lot to answer for in that regard. But moving right along, listen to Bruh David again, this time from Psalm 9. ‘The Lord also will be a refuge (stronghold) for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.’ (Ps.9:9-10)
And all God’s people broke out in a loud and grateful cheer: ‘Praise the Lord for His undeserved goodness to the children of men!’ Yes my brethren, we all know that the Lord NEVER turns His back on any one who comes to Him with a sincere and humble heart!
Now hear that lamenting prophet, Jeremiah. (smile) ‘Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto (listen to) you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.’ (Jer.29:12-13) It couldn’t get any more forthright than that!
Now listen to the Master tell it like it truly ought to be. This is His response to a foolish Pharisee lawyer trying to provoke Him, by asking which is the greatest commandment? ‘Jesus saw through the ruse and simply quoted the Old Testament words to him, (Deut.6:5) which as a leader of the people, he ought to have known. ‘Thou shalt LOVE the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.’ (Matt.22:37-38)
And as a (langniappe, or brawta) a little extra thrown in for good measure, Jesus then informed him. ‘And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’ (Matt.22:39-40) And that was only a reiteration of Leviticus 19:18, which the Pharisee lawyer also would have known.
But friends, just like how they were not living those two great commandments back in the times of Jesus, likewise we are not living them in these end times. That’s why our world is such an evil mess. And it’s only if we believers improve our LOVING, both for God and man, will it ever improve. It’s as simple as that.
Now let’s go home declaring our Tuesday Mantra, letting the world know who and whose we are. In strong voice and sincere hearts now: ‘In God’s eyes, 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!’
Our next move then is to go out and share that LOVE! Much LOVE!
…only as you seek the Lord…and with a sincere heart too…will you find Him…
29 Jun 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a normal way of life, a sincere heart, all men forsook me, alone, always with you, anger, at the forefront of our minds, be glory for ever, bitter, burned to the ground, Canada Day, celebrations, constant bombardment, David encouraged himself, delivered, disheartening, Drunk or sober mind yuh business, encourage us, every evil work, face calamities, fellowship, feud, Friday chant, fun, furthering God's kingdom, Gentiles, getting even, God's awesome love, God's promise, Granny's advice, grief, heavenly kingdom, holy spirit, if you live by the gun, in fine fashion, in Jesus name, in the Lord his God, long weekend, LOVE, Maryland, mayhem, negative state of affairs, no man stood with me, numerous shootings, out of the mouth of the lion, preserve me, rampaged through a newspaper, refreshed, renewed, rest-relaxation, selfish, separation, serving Jehovah, Spread God's Word, strengthened me, TGIF!, Thank God is Friday, the Father, the Lord stood with me, the normal pressures of life, the preaching, the SON, Togetherness, turbulent world, ungodly things, we live in a fine country, wherever you go, wild wild west, you'll die by the gun, you're never alone, Ziklag
1 Samuel 30:6b. …but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.
Well who would have thought it eh? That in these supposedly modern times the days of the Wild Wild West would reappear again, when killing each other was a more or less normal way of life.
But it has resurfaced with numerous shootings all over, especially in the U.S. including the latest in Maryland where a man rampaged through a newspaper yesterday with a shotgun, killing five journalists. Apparently he had a feud with the newspaper, sued them in court and lost, so that was his way of getting even.
Ah Lord eh! When are we going to learn eh, that if you live by the gun, you’ll most likely die by the gun? And unfortunately guns are proliferating all over the world now! No wonder there’s so much killing and mayhem.
But as Christians we cannot afford to allow this negative state of affairs to bring us down. In fact we should be trying even harder to spread the word of God and His awesome LOVE, which mitigates such situations, bringing more togetherness, rather than the current separation we’re seeing in our turbulent world.
And to bolster that fact, let’s remember that it’s Friday, a long weekend in Canada, where we celebrate Canada’s birthday on Monday, so celebrations are in the air everywhere, including the freed workingman’s song. ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday yes! I don’t know if I could have made it another day nuh! And thank God especially that this is the Canada Day long weekend!
Mama Yo! Even though ah tired, I’m going to be celebrating we country birthday in fine fashion! How could I not eh, when I live in such a fine country! And who don’t like we celebrations…. yuh know where they could go eh…straight to where Lucifer and his boys live yes! Thank God for Fridays and weekends, especially the long ones and them!’
Yes friends, this is the Canada Day long weekend and obviously the celebrations will be plentiful, uproarious and somewhat overboard, but please let’s remember Granny’s words of wisdom as we celebrate: ‘Sonny boy, please, ah beg you, drunk or sober, please mind yuh business.’
And all we believers will do well to adhere to that bit of wise advice this long weekend. For, unlike the workingman, we can’t afford to let the enemy get even one toehold in our business. So let’s chant our Friday Chant and remind ourselves of our responsibilities this weekend.
Altogether now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Yes precious people, serving Jehovah, improving His kingdom must always be at the forefront of our minds, though not in a severe and overly religious way. And I know that that is not always easy to do, what with the normal pressures of life and the constant bombardment of ungodly things and situations that the world enjoys firing at us. And it gets even more disheartening when we are alone to face the calamities coming against us.
As Bruh Paul told Timothy: ‘At my first answer (defense) no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. Notwithstanding, the Lord stood with me and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.’ (2 Tim.4:16-18)
Ah mih breddren, we need to remember that we’re never alone, for even when no one is with us, God is always there. That brings us to another solitary situation, when Bruh David was living in Philistia, running from his enemies, and returned to his town of Ziklag and found it burned to the ground by the Amalekites, and all the women and children taken away captive, including his wives and children.
But the Good Book says: ‘And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people were grieved (bitter), every man for his sons and daughters:’ (1 Sam.30a) Yuh see how we can be selfish and peeved when we’re suffering, and want to do others harm, even when they are suffering like us.
Bruh David’s men apparently couldn’t care less that he had also lost his wives, his sons and daughters. They just wanted someone to blame, to take out their anger and grief on, and he was the most appropriate one at the time. They forgot all the times that they had endangered their lives for him, and how he had treated them well. But yuh know what friends, the Good Book continues: ‘…but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.’
Yeh mih people, when there’s no one around to encourage us, we have to find the necessary strength and energy to encourage ourselves in our God, who is always there for us. It’s not easy, but we know that when we call on Him with a sincere heart, He will answer and come to our rescue. That’s His promise, and He ALWAYS keeps them.
So right now, if you’re in a situation somewhat like Bruh David’s, I encourage you to call out to your heavenly Father, and receive His divine encouragement, which no human’s can even approximate! Much LOVE!
…you’re NEVER alone…for the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit are ALWAYS with you…wherever you go…
01 Apr 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a sincere heart, All Fool's Day, allwviate our problems, April Fool's day, as you think so you become, be wise, confidence, cut down on TV, deceit, evil spell, failures, find me, holy vessels of God, how to motivate yourself, humility, joyful, learn from failures, live your own life, make believe, negative thoughts, negative threads of thought, power of Christ's gospel, productive, real life, reality shows, relationship with god, remember your successes successes, rich people, scriptural advice, seek me, set your heart and soul, sincerity, soaps, strife, the ark of the covenant, the battle is in the mind, the name of the Lord, think positively, turn away your captivity, turning to god, wisdom, with all your heart
Jeremiah 29:13. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall seek me with all your heart.
And would you believe friends, that that rain I spoke about yesterday morning, fell all day, until early this morning. Good thing it didn’t come down in torrents, but mostly drizzles, otherwise there would have been much flooding. Thank the Lord for that!
And though today is All Fool’s or April Fools Day, we won’t play any tricks or tell any falsehoods. (smile) But since it’s also Saturday, we’ll get right to some of our friend Anselm’s quotes this week, as he aspires to inspire us to have a better tomorrow. And this week he was still talking about ‘How to Motivate Yourself.’
And our first quote declares: ‘Take The Positivity Challenge! Learn to think more positively most of the time. Learn to let to go of negative threads of thought before they have a chance to take hold of you. You might not be able to be positive all the time no matter what happens. But I think most of us can improve on our positive thinking and the results it can lead us to. Perhaps more than you realize right now.’
No doubt about that my people! Too many of us nowadays focus on the negative rather than the positive. And even though you can’t be positive all the time, as Anselm states, the more positive you are, the more productive and joyful you’ll be. When the enemy comes at you with all the negative thoughts, just run him out. For remember the battle is fought in the mind, and as you think, so you become.
The second quote advises us to ‘Remember your successes. And let them flow through your mind instead of your failures. Write down your successes. Consider using a journal of some kind since it’s easy to forget your successes.’
Now that just segues well with the scriptural advice that when God seems to be not answering your heartfelt pleas, to remember all the earlier times He did, and the good things He provided. It’s always better to remember successes, though you must also endeavour to learn from failures. The important thing is not to dwell too much on the latter.
And this last quote is my favourite of the week. ‘Cut down on TV. Do you watch it too much? Watch less of what they are doing in TV-land and do more of what you want to do in life.’
Oh friends, there are too many of us who don’t know that what’s shown on T.V is a lot of make believe! Very little of what’s shown there is actually true. And we waste too much time watching the stuff, either foolishly believing it, or using it as an excuse or way to run from real life.
And believe you me, if you are a fan of things like the foolish soaps and reality shows, that only feature rich people in strife and deceit all the time, then you will eventually gravitate to that kind of thinking and it will have a negative effect on your own life. So please choose carefully what you watch on the tube, because there is much more nonsense there than sense. Leave the TV alone, and go live your own life! (smile)
And the best way to do that my people, is by seeking out our heavenly Father and letting Him lead and guide our lives, for He will never lead us astray. He will help us to do all the things we’ve just spoken about above. But we need to genuinely go looking for Him. As our Bit declares: ‘And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall seek me with all your heart.’
Yes friends, if we seek the Lord, we will find Him, but the most important, the truly operative words in that sentence are ‘with all your heart.’ You can’t just go seeking Him in a selfish manner, to simply accommodate your selfish wants and demands. You have to go with a genuine, humble heart, sincerely wanting to be in a right relationship with Him.
And Jeremiah continues after our Bit. ‘And I will be found of you, saith the Lord: and I will turn away (bring you back from) your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the Lord; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.’ (Jer.29:14)
And none of that has changed my brethren! We might not be talking about actual captivity now, but metaphorical captivity by the enemy. When the enemy has our thoughts and actions under his evil, negative spell, the ONLY WAY to escape is by turning to God and seeking Him with a sincere heart.
Listen to Bruh David’s command to Cousin Sol when he turned over the building of the Lord’s temple to him. ‘Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God; arise therefore, and build ye the sanctuary of the Lord God, to bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built to the name of the Lord.’ (1 Chr.22:19)
Now that was wise and godly advice on Bruh David’s part, for if Cousin Sol wasn’t in wonderful relationship with the Lord, the temple would either not have been built, or would not have been so magnificent. It’s the close relationship with the Lord that gave Cousin Sol the wherewithal, both of materials and wisdom to put up such a beautiful sanctuary to Him.
Likewise my people, it’s our close relationship with the Lord that both inspires us, and helps us to do His work in an excellent manner. So whatever is troubling us today, please let’s be wise and seek our heavenly Father in humility and sincerity nuh, but also with a confidence that He will hear us and help to alleviate our problems. That’s the wisdom and power of Christ’s gospel! Much LOVE!
…sincerely and diligently seek…and you shall find…
21 Oct 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a present help in trouble, a shield around me, a sincere heart, all or nothing at all, all them that love him, an integral part, balance, bet yuh bottom dollar, Bless His Holy Name, burn out, Creator, despair, direction, disgrace, fellowship, Friday chant, from one extreme, fulfill the desire, fun, furthering God's kingdom, generous help, give God the glory, glory hallelujah, God is our refuge and strength, help, illness, in black and white, in Jesus' name, in truth, Israel, judgements, live it up, LOVE, Moses, never to leave nor forsake us, no help in God, obedience, praise God, problems, provider, refreshed, refuge, relaxation, renewed, rest, righteous, Selah, shame, statutes, strength, stress, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the affairs of men, the Lord sustained me, the right mix, the weekend, the workweek, trouble
Psalm 46:1. God is our refuge and strength, a very present (an abundantly available) help in trouble.
So how do we begin this morning eh friends? I don’t have a clue as to how to engage your attention on this cloudy Friday morning in the fall of 2016, except to say: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and the workweek is almost done! The weekend is here…
Give God the glory for that, because if the slave master had his way, we’d work seven days a week. Steups! The greedy fool! But thanks be to God for the weekend where we can do as we please… And am I going to live it up? You could bet yuh bottom dollar on that! Just watch me!’
Ah mih people, just like us eh? We go from one extreme to the other, from working too hard to partying too hard. But that only causes undue stress, burn out and eventually illness. What we need is some kind of balance in our lives, and our Friday Chant gives us direction on that.
So let’s chant it nuh. ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Yes friends, rest, relaxation, fellowship and play are all necessary for us to live full and godly lives, but we need to mix them in the right proportion, don’t over do any of them. And if we find it difficult to get the right mix, the right balance, there is always our great God to turn to for advice and help.
What does our Bit say: ‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present (an abundantly available) help in trouble.’ And that’s the living truth in a nutshell!
Our Creator and Provider is always there for us. In times of trouble we only need to call upon Him with a sincere heart and He will guide us to victory. Remember, He promises never to leave nor forsake us, and He stands by His promises.
And my brethren, we all have problems that we can’t solve, or handle, so there is no shame or disgrace in turning to the Lord for help. In fact, that’s what He wants us to do; come to Him for every purpose in life, be they big or small. The Lord wants to be an integral part of our lives, involved in EVERYTHING that we do.
But foolishly, we only want to allow Him to become involved in certain things, the others we want to deal with ourselves. Unfortunately though precious people, the Lord doesn’t work like that. He wants to be involved in ALL or NOTHING AT ALL!
So please, let’s check our lives and see if there are any areas that we are keeping God out of nuh, and then wisely invite Him to be a part of those areas. Yuh know that might be a part of our problem, why our lives aren’t going right at the moment; God isn’t totally involved in them.
Now let’s check out some scripture which reinforces our Bit. Hear Moses as he exhorts Israel to obedience. ‘For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh (a God so near) unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call him for?
And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgements so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?’ (Deut.4:7-8)
And the answer to both questions friends is NONE! Truly, there is no other God who is so involved, who takes such great interest in the affairs of men! And that’s the way it ought to be. We don’t need a God who is far off, unconcerned about our trials and tribulations, but one who is around when we need help.
Listen to Bruh David from Psalm 3 – A prayer of confidence in God – as he cries out in despair. ‘Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah. But thou, O Lord, art a shield for (around) me; my glory, and the lifter up of (the one who lifts up) mine head.
I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill (mountain). Selah. I laid down and slept; I awaked: for the Lord sustained me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about.’ (Ps.3:2-6)
Oh what a glorious God we serve my people! That’s the kind of confidence He instills in us when we walk obedient to His will! So I really can’t understand why we refuse to walk steadfastly with Him. There is so much to be derived from a genuine walk with Christ, that it would take me a whole day to list them. (smile)
Now let’s go home with these wonderful words of Bruh David echoing in our minds, souls, bodies and hearts. From Psalm 145 – the Lord is gracious – he faithfully proclaims. ‘The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy (gracious) in all his works. The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.
He will fulfill the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them. The Lord preserveth all them that LOVE him: but all the wicked will he destroy. My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.’ (Ps.145:17-21)
Wow! Oh my fellow believers right there we have the gospel truth in black and white! Please, please, I implore us, let’s take it heart nuh, so that our lives can be fulfilled! Let’s continually praise our wonderful God and bless His holy name at all times, for that is wisdom at its highest level! Much LOVE!
…praise Him, praise Him…Glory Hallelujah…He is LOVE…He is LOVE…
