The Overwhelming Importance of Christians Giving Much Deserved Thanks and Praise to Almighty God Each and Every Day!

10 Oct 2026 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Today’s Scrip-Bit   10 October 2026   Psalm 96:1.

Psalm 96:1.        ‘O sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord, all the earth.

And then it was our lazy-day Saturday! Awright! Another bright and sunshiny autumn day, though a little cooler than the previous ones and with less wind. And I certainly enjoyed some lazy time in my bed, that’s why we’re only getting a midday start. Now, since everyone will be busy preparing for the Thanksgiving celebrations, let’s offer up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer right away.

So in all sincerity and truth: ‘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 happens every time, when the Lord checks our hearts and finds them sincere and true, He soon directs the Holy Spirit to fill us with His awesome peace and calm; a state of mind and being that our finite minds cannot comprehend. That’s because the Lord takes pleasure in our coming to Him for greater intimacy. It just warms the cockles of His heart when we come reaching out to Him to offer our LOVE and appreciation for His grace, His mercy and undeserved goodness.

It restores His faith that creating mankind was a worthy venture, unlike in Noah’s time when things were so evil, that ‘it repented the Lord (or He was sorry) that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.’ (Gen. 6:6) So He destroyed the earth only leaving Noah and his family. Unfortunately though the earth is again approaching that stage of uncontrolled and appalling evil, where the Lord might just have to consider wiping the slate clean again. Please note though, the next time it won’t be with water, but something much more destructive and painful like fire.

But let’s not think on such a dire subject today, because hopefully we’ll be able to turn things around, and besides this is our Thanksgiving weekend when we ought to be offering up thanks and praise to our wonderful God for all His wonderful blessings to us in this amazing land of Canada. So, in accordance with that oh so true sentiment, let’s acknowledge the Greatness of the Lord, as Psalm 96 encourages us to do.

Please pray with me: ‘O sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord, all the earth. Sing unto the Lord, bless his name; shew forth his salvation (proclaim the good news of his salvation) from day to day. Declare his glory among the heathen (Gentile nations), his wonders among all people. For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the Lord made the heavens. Honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. Give (ascribe) unto the Lord, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength.

Give (ascribe) unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts. O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear (tremble) before him, all the earth. Say among the heathen (gentiles) that the Lord reigneth: the world also shall be (is firmly) established that it shall not be moved (shaken): he shall judge the people righteously. Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof (all that is in it). Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall the trees of the world rejoice before the Lord: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.’ (Ps. 96:1-13)

Yes, my fellow believers, that’s the kind of honour, glory, praise and worship we ought to give to our great God who created the universe and all therein and still reigns supreme over it. Especially on this Thanksgiving weekend, our praises and thanks ought to be rising continually to high heaven; so much so that the Lord doesn’t have a chance to hear them all, much less digest them all. (smile) Now that would certainly be plenty praise and thanks if the Lord in His infinite wisdom and understanding couldn’t hear and digest it all. But that’s exactly the way we ought to be praising Him and giving Him thanks each and every day, not only at times like an official Thanksgiving day.

Each day we open our eyes from sleep, a great shower of praise and thanks ought to be raised to high heaven, because many around the world did not have the blessing of opening their eyes. And all during the day we ought to be thanking God and praising him for the little miracles and wonders He continually does in our lives, although we hardly notice some of them. But if we’ll keep track of all that happens as our day progresses, we will certainly see several times where the hand of the Lord has intervened on our behalf, and for those times we ought to be eternally grateful and tell Him so.

It’s a sad commentary on our current society that we only tend to acknowledge the big happenings and fail to, or refuse to acknowledge the small ones, where oftentimes the small ones are so much more fulfilling. And today, let’s pledge to begin looking for all the little things that the Lord does in our daily lives, and appreciate them more than we ever did before. So please have a happy lazy-day Thanksgiving Saturday, and remember to give our great God oodles of thanks and praise during the celebrations, for that’s our bounden duty! Much LOVE!

…God delights in His people’s sacrifices of praise…the fruit of their lips giving thanks to his name… (Heb. 13:15)

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien    

Today’s Scrip-Bit   6 October 2022 Luke 1:37.

06 Oct 2022 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Luke 1:37.       For with God nothing shall be impossible.

And though it’s a somewhat wet and cloudy looking Thursday morning in my neck of the woods, the temperature is supposed to be pretty good, at least in the high teens, if not better. And once it’s fairly warm, everything is right with the world! Hn! I wish I could say that in all truth and seriousness, but the opposite seems to be the prevailing truth right now; NOTHING seems right in our world! It’s bad enough with the many natural disasters that are occurring all over the world at the same time. And unfortunately, in the presence of plenty in our world,, so many have so little, and are suffering so badly for want of the basic things of life. Then, the magnitude of anger, hate, resentment, greed and selfishness that’s currently flooding our world is unbelievable. 

Chuh! The Lord must be sitting on His throne in the high heavens shaking His head in sadness and wonder at the low level to which His most precious and marvellous creation has fallen, despite the abundance of wealth, knowledge, understanding and LOVE that’s supposed to be prevalent on the earth. But it seems that greed, selfishness and lust for power are in the ascendance, for the level of help from those that have, to those that don’t have, is woefully poor. And besides, there are so many pockets of strife and outright war in our world that offering help is the furthest thing from many of our minds. Instead, self-preservation is our uppermost concern. Survival of the fittest seems to be the motto once again. 

And that’s what we are up against my Christian brethren. And yes, it does seem like an impossible task from a natural human standpoint, but please remember that we serve the great God who created the universe and all therein, and that nothing is impossible to Him, therefore nothing is also impossible to us, if we follow His will with the high level of faith we ought to embrace. Remember what the angel Gabriel told Mary, the mother of Jesus, when he came to give her the good news that she’d been chosen to bear God’s Son, and that her cousin Elizabeth, who had hitherto been barren was pregnant with John the Baptist. It was a simple, but powerful and true statement: ‘For with God nothing shall be impossible.’ (Luke 1:37) 

And the birth of Jesus bore witness to that fact, since He was born of a woman who had had no sexual relations with a man. Meanwhile, Jesus Himself proclaimed that same fact after telling the disciples that it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. (Matt. 19:24) And when they became so amazed at His statement, He enlightened them thus: ‘With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.’ (Matt. 19:26) 

Now, my fellow saints, that’s a statement we have to sincerely believe, a state of mind we must necessarily have, if we ever hope to make any positive changes in our own lives, in the lives of those around us, and the world in general. For believe me, no other group in this world is going to try to improve the sad negative situation that currently exists but we staunch and sincere believers in Christ Jesus. Why? Because that’s what our Lord and Saviour expects of us; that’s why He came to earth, why He suffered and died for our salvation, so that the earth could be a better place under His sovereignty and guidance. Therefore, it’s our bounden duty, our rightful cause to do whatever we can to make a positive difference in this negative, crumbling, disaster and greed filled world in which we live. 

And I guess the best scripture to highlight that situation and purpose is what Jesus preached on LOVE for enemies in the Sermon on the Mount. He began: ‘Ye have heard that it hath been said , an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil (an evil person): but whosoever shall smite (slaps) thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at law, and take away thy coat (tunic), let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain (two). Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not away. 

Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, LOVE your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully (spitefully) use you. That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye LOVE them which LOVE you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans (tax collectors) the same? And if ye salute (greet) your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans (tax collectors) so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.’ (Matt. 5:38-48) 

Now my people, that is indeed a tough row to hoe, but if we are to be true disciples of Christ, we must put out the effort to do it. Oh, how I wish we had the time and space for the many explanations that the scholars offer on all of that monumental scripture, because doing that stuff is certainly hard, especially when it flies in the face of all the world’s teaching. But we need to remember that Jesus’ teaching is NOT like the world’s. It is of a much higher class, a class that calls for LOVE and not hate or enmity. 

And this explanation from the scholars should clear up some of the confusion. ‘5.43-44. The law of LOVE, sometimes called “the law of Christ,” summarizes the ethical principle of the Sermon on the Mount. “LOVE thy neighbour” summarizes the entire second table of the law (cf. Lev. 19:18-34) . But the unscriptural addition “hate thine enemy” was a popular concept in Jesus’ day. The admonition LOVE your enemies is one of the greatest statements Jesus ever made. 

The LOVE enjoined in this passage is LOVE that originates from God Himself. Man is not commanded to attempt to LOVE his enemy on the basis of mere human affection, but rather on the basis of a LOVE that comes from God. The quality of LOVE commanded here is expressed by giving. Bless them that curse you; do good to them that hate you; and pray for them that persecute you. LOVING an enemy involves doing good toward that enemy in order to win him over to Christ.’ 

Yes, friends, following those precepts set by Christ are indeed difficult, but as always, He never gives us a task to perform without giving us the tools with which to perform them. And for all of that tough LOVING He expects of us there, He’s given us the tools we call our Thursday Blessings. But they need to be activated by declaring (yeah!!!) them out loud. So, let’s do that right now nuh. As one strong and sincere voice:  ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! 

I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’ 

And having activated those amazing tools, let’s go out and put them to good use now nuh…LOVING and helping those we come into contact with, like Jesus did, and as He so deeply desires of us! Much LOVE!

…only the LOVE of Christ…as performed by His followers…can turn this evil world around… 

P.S. Yes, it’s long, but sound! (smile) Much LOVE! 

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8​       

Today’s Scrip-Bit 29 June 2019 Ephesians 4:26-27.

29 Jun 2019 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Ephesians 4:26-27.    Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place (an opportunity) to the devil.
 

Brother does it ever look glorious outside! Thank the Lord! And a li’l rain fell yesterday afternoon and in the middle of the night, but that was just to wash away the dirt and grime and cool the temperature down. So we open with a bright clean new day, with Jesus as the one constant in our lives, the ONLY One we need, leading and guiding us in His work! 

And I know that many of us won’t see the bright new day until it gets old because we’re sleeping in on this wonderful Canada Day weekend Saturday morning. But that’s okay, you’re allowed! (smile) Anyway, since it’s Saturday, let’s turn to the quotes that our friend Anselm sent us this week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And like this week he was all caught up in the throes of happiness, (smile) because all the quotes deal with some aspect of happiness. 

And the first thing we need to realize is that ‘Happiness is a state of mind. It’s just according to the way you look at things.’ Now there’s much truth to that because our life is basically built on our attitude towards it. Some of us can go through certain circumstances and be happy, while others go through the same things and be miserable as hell. That’s why as Christians, we’re taught that the joy of the Lord is our strength. (Neh.8:10) 

With that joy constantly running through us, it gives us a steady kind of happiness, regardless of our circumstances, because our mind is stayed on the Lord. As Isaiah says: ‘Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on (sustained by) thee: because he trusteth in thee.’ (Is.26:3) And that’s why the enemy always tries to steal our joy, get us away from concentrating on the Lord, because he knows that’s the source of our strength. 

Now hear these next two quotes, because they run together: ‘The thing everyone should realize is that the key to happiness is being happy by yourself and for yourself.’ And ‘Happiness depends upon us.’ They simply mean that we are responsible for our own happiness. We ought not to allow others to control our happiness by their selfish machinations. 

The sad truth is that no one can make us happy unless we want to be happy, and the opposite is also true; no one can make us unhappy unless we allow them to do so. Therefore, let’s remember that when we say so and so made us happy or unhappy, we’re allowing them to control our situations, and that is definitely not the best thing for our psyche, for our well-being. 

That brings us to this quote. ‘Every day is a new day, and you’ll never be able to find happiness if you don’t move on.’ Yes friends, we have to come to each day with the attitude that we will be happy, come what may; forget the problems of the past day and move on to the golden opportunities being provided by the new one. But unfortunately, too many of us drag the past with us to the present and thus spoil the future. 

And thus we come to the last quote that so wisely informs us: ‘For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.’ Now isn’t that the gospel truth! (smile) It sounds simplistic, and it might very well be, but it is a fact of life. For however long we’re angry, we lose that much time which could have been spent in happiness. And I don’t know about you, but I like to spend as li’l time as possible being angry, and as much as possible being happy. 

But we all are different, and some souls just seem to thrive on anger, not realizing that it’s killing them both literally and figuratively. That’s because anger, like stress, manifests itself in so many different ways; emotionally, mentally and physically, and are often all tied together, indistinguishable each from the other, but all doing evil and dirty work in our lives. 

In any case, being constantly angry, or for long periods of time is not a good Christian characteristic, that’s why Bruh Paul gave this warning to the Ephesians. ‘Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place (an opportunity) to the devil.’ 

Yeh friends, it’s okay to get angry every so often, but it should only be for a brief period, but definitely don’t take it to bed with you, because you’ll just sleep angrily, if you sleep at all, and wake up angry too, thus allowing the devil to steal your joy for much too long. Getting angry doesn’t mean you’re automatically being sinful, but the longer you hold that anger, the more liable you are to give the enemy the opportunity to creep into your soul. 

And it’s interesting some of the things Cousin Sol had to say about wrath and anger. For example: ‘A man of great wrath shall suffer punishment: for if thou deliver him, yet thou must do it again.’ (Prov.19:19) And how true that is! You always have to deliver the angry man from some problem he’s caused by his anger. 

And: ‘A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool’s wrath is heavier than them both. Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous (a torrent); but who is able to stand before envy (jealousy)?’ (Prov.27:3-4) Wow! Does Cousin Sol ever lay it on thick, but true! 

And because of all that intrinsic evil in those negative emotions, we need to hear and accept Bruh Paul’s warning. ‘And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.’ (Eph.4:30-32) 

Oh my people, that’s my solemn prayer for us this Saturday morning. So on this Canada day weekend, as we celebrate the birth of our nation, let’s do it with those sentiments front and centre in our minds and lives nuh. It is the definite desire of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Much LOVE!

…let’s replace anger with LOVE…and evil with good…