16 May 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a modicum of circumspection, a sound mind, abolished death, adoption, afflictions, all in vain, another week of work, anxiety, ashamed, awesome value, blood of jesus, bondage of sin, bring you to your knees, celebration, christ jesus, Christian joy, christianity, concern, confronting it head on, courage, died for me at Calvary, distill our fear, eager beavers, encouraging words, eternal life, exasperation, fear, fellowship, freedom, Friday chant, fun, furthering God's glorious kingdom, gentle, Glory Halleujah, God's family, God's unconditional LOVE, gospel, grace, heathen, heaven laden, holy calling, humble, humble apologies, I will give you rest, immortality, insight, intimacy, Jesus Christ, jesus name, Jesus' great invitation, joy, joy in Jesus christ, labours, let's dance, let's party, let's shout, let's sing, life, LOVE, lowly in heart, meek, my burden is light, my yoke is easy, no fear, power, power of God, privilege, problems, promises, purpose, realtion to God, reconciled to God, reconciliation, relaxation, renewed and refeshed, rest, sacrificed on the cross, sacrificial death, sacrificial lamb, salvation, sense of responsibility, sin, sinless life, spirit of adoption, spirit of fear, sufferings, testimony, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, the gift of God, the importance of the weekend, ungodly world, uplifting promises, wisdom, wisely, with God's help, woe, yokes of bondage
Romans 8:15. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
Oh Friends, it’s Friday! Let’s dance, let’s sing, let’s party, let’s shout: ‘Praise the Lord! TGIF! Thank God is Friday and the workweek finish! Just imagine nuh, for two whole big days, no more early morning rising and facing the ever-worsening traffic twice a day! Wow! Glory Hallelujah! Thank God is Friday in true yes!’
Yes my people, it’s indeed a wonderful feeling that Friday brings to most of us, but let’s do it as Jeeves, our major domo would advise – with a modicum of circumspection please.
That’s right Friends, the weekend is upon us, and it is indeed a time for some joy and celebration from our labours, but we have to use it wisely, so that it doesn’t cause us problems later on.
So with all of that in mind, let’s chant our Friday Chant with a sense of circumspection and responsibility nuh. As one 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.’
Hopefully my brethren, that will give us some insight into the importance of the weekend besides just for partying, and we can wisely do our do, so that come Monday morning we’ll be bright and fresh, like eager beavers, just panting at the bit to go out and do Jesus’ work amongst the heathen and ungodly world.
Okay, okay mih breddren, I hear you. (smile) So you’re not thrilled that it’s barely Friday and I’m already talking about Monday, the nemesis of so many of us. Please accept my humble apologies, but the only way I know to fight fear or exasperation is by confronting it head on.
So if Monday’s bring you woe, then face it full in the face and say: ‘Mondays, I will defeat you! With God’s help, I WILL bring you to your knees! No longer WILL I allow you to steal my joy and bring me woe. This I pray on the shed blood of Jesus, who died for me at Calvary to give me freedom, salvation and eternal life! Amen!’
Yeh mih people, only by confronting stuff that’s keeping us back from enjoying all the stuff that Jesus has in store for us, can we be set free from their unpalatable yokes of bondage. For as our Bit so wisely and encouragingly declares: ‘For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.’
That’s for sure my brethren! Otherwise, Christ’s horrific and sacrificial death would be all in vain! And we definitely can’t have that now, can we?
And the scholars’ say this about our Bit. ‘8:15. ‘The Spirit of adoption: The Holy Spirit places the believer as a son in God’s family. Abba (Aramaic for “father”). This is the intimate name used only by members of the family. It’s use here denotes the intimacy of the believer’s relation to God.’
Oh Friends, I can’t help saying it nuh: What a wonderful God we serve and worship! Mama Mia!
Now hear this powerful passage of scripture, where Bruh Paul exhorts Timothy to endure: ‘Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on (laying) of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound mind.
Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions (share with me the sufferings) of the gospel according to the power of God;
Who hath saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began (time),
But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:’ (2 Tim.1:6-10)
Oh my fellow believers, what encouraging words! Please, let them stir up our courage and distill our fear! For in Christ Jesus there is no real fear for the true believer!
Yes, there is concern and some anxiety, but NO FEAR, especially when we truly receive Jesus’ great invitation: ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of (from) me; for I am meek and lowly in heart (gentle and humble): and ye shall find rest in your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matt.11:28-30)
Oh my people, my people, there could be no more encouraging words than those of our Lord and Saviour! Wow!
And what better way is there to greet the upcoming weekend than with those uplifting promises buried deep in our hearts, minds and souls eh? None really my Friends!
For remember that’s why Jesus gave up His easy, sinless life in heaven to come to earth and die as a sacrificial lamb on our behalf – so that we could be free from the bondage of sin and be reconciled to God – so that we could once again be part of His family, such an intimate part, that we now have the overwhelming and everlasting privilege of calling Him, Abba – Father!
It’s all so wonderful my fellow believers, that we should just be jumping and shouting and thanking Jesus every moment of everyday for putting His life on the line for us because of the Father’s great LOVE for His most wonderful creation!
So please, let’s show our Christian joy and gratefulness on the outside today and everyday nuh, so that others will see it, and recognize it’s great and awesome value, and eagerly come to want what we have – plenty, plenty joy in Jesus Christ! Much LOVE!
…without the Father’s great and unconditional LOVE…there would be no Jesus sacrificed on the cross…thus no reconciliation…no salvation…no eternal life…no adoption…and no calling out to Abba, our Father…
25 Mar 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adventuresome, afflictions, alive and kicking, anger, apathy, assured, awesome wisdom, bad, bless God's Holy Name, blessed, buy and eat, call upon the Lord, christ's character, come to the waters, covenant, delight in abundance, diligent, dr robert h schuller, dread, engourage, everlasting, exhilarating, faith, faithful promises, faithfulness, false dead pretenders, fear, filled, forgiveness, free gift of salvation, free offer, frutiful and faithful plans of god, Gentiles, good, goodness, gospel truth, hearsay, Hour of Power, humbly praise, immortal words, into forever, invitation, Isaiah, Israel, Jeremiah 29:11, Jesus Christ, joy, leading and guiding, life with Jehovah god, light of Jesus Christ, long-winded, LOVE, magnanimous, mercy, negative emotions, negative things, no money, omnipotent god, one and only true God, our benefit, our Lord and Saviour, pain, paths of righteousness, personal experience, planet earth, promises, reaction to circumstances, reaction to problems, reflection, refresh your minds and souls, refreshing, refreshing attitude, righteousness., Romans 8:28, salvation, scriptures, seek the Lord, self-pity, semblance of peace, Sermon on the Mount, soul, spend money, spiritually hungry and thirsty, stand strong, steadfast, strife, take them in stride, tests, thirsty, to all and sundry, unfortunate situations, universal offer, unsatisfactory labour, ups and downs, walking with God, wisdom, wisdom from heaven, wise advice, with God's help, without money, without price, wonderful adventure
Isaiah 55:1. Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
Oh Friends, through the great and tender mercy of our wonderful and omnipotent God, we’ve been blessed to see another beautiful day upon His exotic creation, Planet Earth!
And all God’s children declared a loud and grateful: ‘Thank You Lord for bringing us through another dark, dreary and scary night into the bright, awesome and most refreshing and secure light of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ! We humbly praise You and bless Your Holy Name! Amen.’
Yes mih people, when you’re walking with God, or at least faithfully trying to do so, your life becomes a wonderful adventure, filled with ups and downs, goodness and mercy, LOVE and forgiveness, good and bad, tests and afflictions!
But please know that it all works out to our benefit in the end, according to God’s fruitful and faithful plans for our lives, as entrenched in the promises of Jeremiah 29:11, and Romans 8:28. Please read those scriptures and refresh your minds and souls, so that you can stand strong and steadfast on them.
And to further encourage us, here is some very wise advice from Gramps Schuller – Dr. Robert H. Schuller – from his Hour of Power Devotional. ‘Learn to live by this refreshing attitude: “It’s not what happens to me that matters most; it’s how I react to what happens to me.”
And that my Friends, is the gospel, gospel truth! What happens to us is indeed important, especially when it involves stuff like pain, anger, strife and other negative things. But even more important is how we react to those circumstances.
We can take them in our stride, obviously with God’s help, and maintain some semblance of peace and/or joy in our spirits. Or we can just give in to self-pity, apathy, dread, fear, and all the other negative emotions that tend to bombard us when unfortunate situations occur.
And today we have a rather appropriate Bit that addresses that problem. ‘Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.’
Oh mih breddren, what a magnanimous and universal offer from our most marvellous God! That’s a free offer of mercy to ALL and SUNDRY!
There’s NO other supposed deity who has ever, or can ever offer such a wonderful gift to their believers, because they are not true deities, but false, dead pretenders, while the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the ONE AND ONLY TRUE GOD, IS ALIVE AND KICKING! And kicking mightily too… right into forever!
Now here are some interesting comments from the scholars on our Bit and subsequent verses: ’55:1-7. God’s free gift of salvation is offered to all who will receive it. Those who are spiritually hungry and thirsty may come and eat and drink without money (or freely).
He promises an everlasting covenant to the Gentiles like the one He established with Israel. His invitation to all men is clearly stated by the appeal, Seek ye the Lord, and call ye upon him.’
Oh Friends, it’s so sad when people deliberately choose not to follow Jehovah God, for they know not what they are missing! Doing life with Jehovah God is a most exhilarating, refreshing and adventuresome experience… and this not hearsay, but personal experience!
That’s because you never know what He’ll be up to next, but you do know, you’re completely assured that whatever happens, He’s walking with you, leading and guiding you along paths of righteousness, working you into a reflection of Christ’s character, all for His Name’s Sake. Wow!
And though the road may be rocky and rough, there’s faith in your heart, based on His faithful promises, that eventually things will be fine.
And I like how Isaiah continues after our Bit: ‘Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness (abundance).’ (Is.55:2)
Ah mih people, what a wonderful invitation! And there’s a lot more to say, but since I’m endeavouring to keep the Bit short and sweet we’ll end shortly with some immortal words from Jesus.
And please don’t ever think that I don’t try to keep it short, but sometimes that’s how the Spirit leads me, or there just isn’t enough to spread over two days, plus the fact that I’m just naturally long-winded. (smile)
Anyway, here are Jesus’ immortal words on the subject, which come from the Sermon on the Mount, one of the Beatitudes. ‘Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.’ (Matt.5:6)
Oh my fellow believers, another faithful promise for us to stand on! So please let’s stand on it, today and everyday, and thus be filled with righteousness, every day of our lives!
That’s awesome wisdom – wisdom that can only come from heaven! Much LOVE!
…to seek…to seek… and yet to find God…in His everlasting mercy and forgiveness…
13 Feb 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: above the earth, above the heavens, afflictions, all-knowing God, awake early, awake my glory, believers ought to operate, bemoaning his unfortunate fate, blessed be God, Bruh David, Bruh Paul, comfort others, comforted of God, Comforter, comforts us in tribulation, concentrating on troubles, Creator, digged a pit, disease, do it twice, dreaming, epitome of a true believer, essence of the situation, ever-LOVING God, evil, exaltation, exaltation of god, exalted, faith, focus thoughts and energy on god, Galilee, Gentiles, glory, god of all comfort, God's greatest invention, great unto the heavens, Guide, Healer, healing, healing power of christ, hell and high water, human mind, innocent of any wrongdoing, Israel's king, keep our attention and focus on God, LOVE, magnificence of the mind, mercy, my heart is fixed on god, my soul is bowed down, negative circumstances, O God, omnipotent, omniscient, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, prepared a net for me, promotion, provider, Saul, see and do life like God desires, Selah, serious turmoil, sickness, sincere faith, sing and give praise, sitting at the right hand of the Father, so nice, steadfast, teaching, testing, the business of healing, the Corinthians, the Father of mercies, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, time of need, trust, truth, ungodly earth, wisdom, workings of the mind
Psalm 57:5. Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.
Oh Friends, the human mind is a most wonderful bit of machinery yes! Possibly our God’s greatest invention, for so far man can replicate most of what happens in the human body, but he’s still completely baffled by the exquisite and exotic workings of the mind.
And I bring this up because during the night I got up a couple of times, looked at the clock and decided it was too early to get up, so I rolled over and went back to sleep. However, at some stage after the last roll over, I discovered that I had gotten up and was putting on my day clothes.
Then something struck me as being not right. I realized that I was really dreaming about getting up and putting on my clothes. Hn, Hn! But yuh know what’s so significant about that dream?
I was dreaming about putting on the very same clothes that I had actually put out to put on whenever I got up. Now does that tell us something about the magnificence of the mind or what!
The same way Friends, when we keep our attention and focus on God, we see and do life the way He desires. Like Bruh David holed up in the cave, hiding from Saul, instead of bemoaning his unfortunate fate, for he was innocent of any wrongdoing against Saul, he instead declares our Bit. ‘Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.’
And that’s how ALL believers ought to operate, my people!
Now yesterday we ended by saying that our God was and is the greatest Comforter and Healer in the universe. Today, I want to share a couple scriptures to drive home those most important points. Listen to Bruh Paul as he talks to the Corinthians re his personal afflictions.
‘Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble (tribulation), by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.’ (2 Cor.1:3-4)
Yes my brethren, our great and wonderful God comforts us in our time of need, so that we can also comfort others in need of comforting. (smile) And re the healing power of Christ, hear what Matthew says about our Lord and Saviour when He walked this evil, ungodly earth.
‘And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of (every) sickness and all manner of (every) disease among the people.’ (Matt.4:23)
Yes Friends and neighbours, Jesus went about healing all sorts of diseases and sickness when He walked this earth. And the beauty of it all is, now that He’s sitting at the right hand of the Father in heaven, entreating on our behalf, He’s still in the business of healing; healing souls, bodies and minds!
So whenever we’re in need of comfort and healing, the first place to turn to is heaven and Jesus, like Bruh David did in that solitary cave in the wilderness. Remember too, that though Bruh David was anointed to be Israel’s next king at a young age, he went through a lot of hell and high water, plenty testing, before it became a reality.
The Lord tested him in many ways before He actually promoted him. And this is one of those times. Listen to his beautiful words of trust, faith and exaltation though his life was in serious turmoil.
After declaring our Bit, he continues: ‘They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down: they have digged a pit before me, into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves. Selah. My heart is fixed (steadfast), O God, my heart is fixed (steadfast): I will sing and give praise.
Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery (lute) and harp: I myself will awake early (awaken the dawn). I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee among the nations (Gentiles). For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds. Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let thy glory be above all the earth.’ (Ps.57:6-11)
Oh my fellow believers, that’s how ALL believers should feel, believe, talk and act! For those words portray the epitome of a true believer.
So today, if we’re being plagued, being beset by troubles that we can’t quite get a handle on, please release them all to our omnipotent, wonderful and ever-LOVING God! Let Him deal with them, for He’s promised to do just that if we come to Him in sincere faith.
The essence of the situation is therefore, instead of concentrating on our troubles, our negative circumstances, let’s do like Bruh David did in his time of need; let’s focus our thoughts and energy instead on our omnipotent, omniscient, all-knowing God; our Creator, Comforter, Guide, Healer and Provider.
That’s wisdom at its highest level, at its very zenith. Much LOVE!
…Bruh David found his exaltation of God so nice…that he had to say it twice… (vs.5,11) (smile)
06 Feb 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: absence, afflictions, after one time is two, atheist, believed, Blessed be the God and Father, blessings, cares, Christ's blood, Christ's work, Christian, deposit, down payment, Ephesians, faith, friend, friends, Gentiles, glory, God Almighty, God's little Acre, gospel, guarantee of our salvation, Health System in T&T, hearts, heavenly places, holy spirit, hopes, hoping and praying, human existence, inheritance, Israel, Jesus Christ, Jewish Christians, level of service, lord jesus christ, Lowlands, memories, mind, negative things, our Lord Jesus Christ, Paradise, physical ailments, praise, praise and glory, prayer power, prayers, priceless, promise, purchased possession, redemption, sadly lacking in professionalism, salvation, saviour, sealed, snowy North Country, sojourn, souls, spirit, spiritual blessings, standards, stimulate, Sugar Mills Suites, swansong, sweet Tobago, thank you, the God and Father, the Lord's will, the party's over, time to call it a day, trust, vocabulary, word of truth, world-wide phenomenon
Ephesians 1:3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.
Well… ‘The party’s over my Friends. It’s time to call it a day…’
Chuhhh! How sad, that I will no longer be writing to you from the balcony of my little bungalow in the Sugar Mill Suites of Lowlands, overlooking the lush greenery, and the well kept golf course on God’s Little Acre.
Yes my people, the ole fella’s rather short sojourn in Paradise will end today. Steups! Ah Lord eh! The next time you hear from me, God willing, will most likely be from the cold, snowy North Country. And I just heard that there’s been a big, beautiful snowfall, just in time for my return. All praise and glory be to God Almighty! Well what else can a good Christian person say eh? (smile)
But Friends, please note that my absence from Paradise will only be for a short period of time, obviously providing it’s the Lord’s will. And since we all know that where there’s life, there’s always hope, and since I still have some life left in me, I won’t give up, I won’t stop hoping and praying that I can return to sweet Tobago some time soon.
And if this just happens to be my swansong, then it was a great one. Mama Mia!
And as regards memories… Oh my people, I made a couple of dandy ones yesterday! Around lunch time, I visited one of my mother’s oldest and dearest friends living in Scarborough, Diana Plante. And was I ever surprised to see how frail and weak she has become, for unfortunately she’s now sick with spinal problems and can’t get around much on her own.
She’s now a shadow of the tall, beautiful, buxom woman I once knew, who along with Mols, my mother, at one stage, were the hottest numbers in Scarborough. But as they so rightly say; after one time is certainly two. Now Mols has gone over to the other side, to the great palace in the sky, leaving Di here to suffer the painful afflictions of human existence.
But thankfully, despite the physical ailments, Di’s mind, spirit and faith are all still strong, and that’s a wonderful thing! But nonetheless Friends, please, let’s remember her in our prayers. Let’s pray for her to be comforted in her time of need, for we never truly know what others are going through just from their outward demeanour and behaviour.
And there’s absolutely nothing in this world as powerful as prayer power!
I made one other good and significant memory yesterday; in the late afternoon, meeting, for the first time ever, one of my nieces, a doctor here on the island. And though we had a long and excellent visit, I was appalled by some of the negative things she recounted about the Health System in T&T in general, and in Tobago, in particular. Although Health Care is basically free, it seems that the level of service and professionalism is sadly lacking.
Ah mih people, what to say eh? Not much, because it’s a world-wide phenomenon; the standards in ALL areas of life have fallen to such low levels that it boggles the imagination. And the sad fact is that they are continuing to fall. Hopefully though, we staunch, strong and steadfast believers in Jesus Christ will soon wake up and begin correcting it, for no one else will do it.
And those are the most memorable memories I made yesterday… Oh, oh, I almost forgot. I also had my last constitutional at Store Bay, which, despite its total commercialism, is still my favourite beach! Amen!
And now, here’s our Bit. ‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.’
Oh my brethren, have you noticed how, over the last few days, the Lord has adroitly manoeuvred me to this most appropriate Bit, one dealing with blessings? I guess He’s just making sure that I am fully cognisant of the many blessings He’s showered down on me over the last three weeks. It truly wasn’t necessary though, for the blessings have been so plentiful, that even an atheist would have been forced to say ‘Thanks!’ (smile)
And I’m saying that now Lord: ‘Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!’ I know it’s insufficient, but that’s the very best our inferior mortal vocabulary allows.
And now Friends and fellow believers, let’s continue with Bruh Paul’s explanation to the Ephesians, re the spiritual blessings received through Christ, from verse 13.
‘In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of (down payment or deposit on) our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.’ (Eph.1:13-14)
Oh Friends, what beautiful, sweet sounding terms – trust, truth, gospel, salvation, believed, sealed, holy spirit, promise – all in one sentence! Wow! Then you have down payment, deposit, inheritance, redemption, purchase, praise and glory in the next. How priceless!
Now let’s hear the scholars’ take on those scriptures. ‘1:13. In whom ye also (or, “by whom also you”): The first person plural (we, us) in verses 3-12 refers to Jewish Christians. The second person plural (you) refers to Gentile Christians. This seems evident from 2:11-12 where the second person is explicitly applied to non-Jews. “Ye being in time past Gentiles… ye were… aliens from the commonwealth of Israel.” Compare 3:1, where Paul calls his readers, “you Gentiles.”
The apostle’s point in this “we-you” distinction is that all those spiritual blessings God has bestowed upon “us” Jewish Christians, He has also granted “you” Gentile brethren. There is no difference.
In whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with the holy Spirit of promise may be read, “By whom also, when you believed, you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.” The Christian receives the Spirit, not “after,” but when He believes in Christ as Saviour. The sealer is Jesus; the seal is the Holy Spirit. In biblical times a seal denoted both identification and ownership and protection provided by the owner.’
And re ‘1:14. Which is the earnest of our inheritance means “who is the guarantee of our salvation.” The Holy Spirit is here called “the earnest of our inheritance.” The word ‘earnest’ means “down payment”; as such the gift of the Spirit is viewed as an installment or as part of our salvation. God therefore assures the Christian that the realization of the rest of His salvation is forthcoming.
How long is the believer assured of his salvation? Until the redemption of the purchased possession may be read, “until God glorifies and perfects the believer (the purchased possession) whom He has bought by Christ’s blood.”
And that’s it for today, and for that message! Please Friends let’s, as always, ponder the words we’ve read, then let them stimulate our hearts, minds and souls as we go out today to do Christ’s work.
And now I’m going out on to my balcony and watch the sun rise up above the Eastern horizon for the last time. (smile) Much LOVE!
…oh what a friend…and saviour…we have in Jesus…our hopes and cares to bear…
12 Aug 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adversity, afflictions, aura of love, backbone, battle hymn, believer in Jesus Christ, belly, bombarded, buffeted, cast down, chains, confidence, conflict, covenant, despair, destroyed, distressed, divine grace, dying of Jesus, earthen vessels, enthusiasm, exhortation, faith, fateful words, finish the course, forsaken, fortitude, furtherance of the gospel, glorious heights, glorious kingdom, God's sake, godless world, good news of Christ, great things, hard knocks, high standard, holy living, holy spirit, human genius, humanity, humble heart, humble servants, imprisonment, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, joy, lacklustre endeavours, lies, living by faith, lord god almighty, manna, maturity in Jesus, Monday, mortal flesh, passion, perplexed, persecuted, petty excuses, rejuvenation of spirit, religion, renewed vitality, salvation, sincere prayer, sincere reverence, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, steadfastness, suffer for Christ's sake, suffering, sure conquerors, testify, the gospel, the grace of God, theological basis, theology, treasure, trials, troubled, true believer, true Christian, ungodly world, unspeakable truth, useful purpose, weakness, weary souls, wicked taunts, wiles, without fear, zeal
Acts 9:16. For I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.
Oh Friends, it’s Monday! Yes, it’s time to get ready to go out and labour! And I don’t want to hear any nonsense about yuh tired or blue, or any such selfish, petty excuse. If you’re a true Christian, a true believer in Jesus Christ, then you have the necessary parts to conquer whatever is holding you back.
So let’s be humble and cast our cares on Jesus, as He’s repeatedly told us to do, and ask for our daily bread, our share of divine grace to handle today. And like the Lord gave the Israelites manna, food sufficient for each day, for forty years in the wilderness, He’ll do the same for us if we come before Him and ask with a humble heart and sincere reverence.
So without further ado, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn as though we really mean it, because I want to finish this Bit on Bruh Paul today, and there’s still a lot to talk about.
With one, loud, harmonious voice then, let’s sing: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies. But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour.
We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
That was excellent singing Friends! Now let’s go out into this godless world and put it all into practice, like Bruh Paul did. And as we do, let’s remember to thank the Lord that we don’t have to bear the extremely hard knocks that Bruh Paul bore in spreading the good news of Christ. For the Lord certainly lived up to His promise to Ananias in our Bit. ‘For I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.’
Now living for Christ means facing some adversity, but whatever they are, let’s hope we face them with the faith, trust and confidence that Bruh Paul did. Listen as we continue with his feelings and sentiments to the trials he experienced. This passage comes from 2 Corinthians. It’s one many of us know and use conveniently. Here, Bruh Paul is talking about living by faith.
‘But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. We are troubled (hard pressed) on every side, yet not distressed (crushed); we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast (struck) down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.’ (2 Cor.4:7-11)
Ah mih people, that level of growth and maturity in Jesus that Bruh Paul exhibits there is not easy to obtain. But it is possible in conjunction with Christ, and as a believer, it’s expected that we’ll all seriously try to reach those glorious heights. And here’s some useful info from the scholars on verse 7 above.
‘Earthen vessels: In the wilderness under the old covenant, God’s presence dwelt in a tent, (the ark). Today He dwells in the believer’s heart. This is unspeakable truth and forms a theological basis for holy living (cf. 1 Cor. 6:19-20) But the stress here is on ‘earthen.’ An earthenware jar is brittle. It depicts humanity in its weakness. The gospel is not a product of human genius or clever intellect (humanity in its strength). Yet it resides in men of clay, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.’
Now let’s turn to Philippians, where Bruh Paul tells them: ‘But I would ye should understand (want you to know), brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen (turned) out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel. So that my bonds in Christ (chains are for Christ) are manifest (well known) in all the palace (by all the palace guard), and in all other places. And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing (becoming) confident by my bonds (chains), are much more bold to speak the word without fear.’ (Phil.1:12-14)
Yes Friends, lots of people in and around the palace knew of Bruh Paul’s imprisonment for Christ’s sake and thus heard about the gospel, which pleased him immensely. And it even made some of the other believers confident enough to publicly promote the gospel. So in Bruh Paul’s mind, instead of it being a disappointment, his imprisonment actually spread the gospel more than if he’d been free.
Then at the end of that chapter, in exhorting them to steadfastness, he tells them: ‘For unto you it (salvation) is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake. Having the same conflict which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me.’ (Phil. 1:29-30)
Oh Friends, that means that salvation from God came to us and the Philippians because of Jesus’ suffering, so that if we want it, we’ll have to suffer some, like Jesus to get it. As well, some of the Philippians were then facing persecution like they saw Bruh Paul do some ten years before in Philippi, when he was beaten and imprisoned, and was again undergoing in the Roman prison, from which he wrote.
And we’ll end this series of messages on Bruh Paul with these fateful words to the Ephesian elders whom he called to Miletus to meet with him. ‘And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: Save (except) that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds (chains) and afflictions abide (await) me. But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.’ (Acts 20:22-24)
Oh Friends, in closing, my fervent wish and sincere prayer is that all believers will eventually come to a truly high standard of belief and faith in Christ Jesus, like Bruh Paul, and spread the Word as selflessly and unafraid as he did. Then and only then will God’s glorious kingdom be truly furthered with the zeal and passion that’s absent from our current lacklustre endeavours. Much LOVE!
…to move this wicked, ungodly world towards Christ…believers need to have…enormous amounts of faith, fortitude, belly and backbone…
19 Mar 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: afflictions, belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, broken heart, christianity, condemned, crushed spirit, ever-LOVING God, God's will, good over evil, gospel truth, helmet of salvation, Jesus, judgement day, LOVE, neck of the woods, new mercies, punishment, rainy morning, sandals of peace, shield of faith, shout of joy, showers of blessings, snowy night, solid protection, spiritual armour, strength of God, sword of the Spirit, temptation, The Lord our Redeemer, the Tribulation
2 Peter 2:8. The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgement to be punished.
Oh Friends, it’s a rainy morning after a snowy night in my neck of the woods, so please be careful out on the roads this morning. Now we’re a tad late because the old body and mind weren’t feeling right, that’s alive and kicking (smile) when I first got up, so I decided to go back to sleep. However, I slept longer than expected. Two hours later I got up with my mind clear, but my back aching. Ah Lord eh! When it’s not one thing is another yes! Anyway, today is still a new day, and it’s going to be filled with new mercies and blessings from our ever-LOVING God. It’s one of His faithfully kept promises. So please remember that regardless of how you feel, or where you are, once you’ve put your trust in Almighty God, surrendered your soul to Him, every new day will bring new showers of blessings, for which we ought to be most thankful. Oh, another reminder of utmost importance. Before you leave home, please make sure you’re securely ensconced, totally dressed in your spiritual armour so that you can safely engage the enemy in battle. We’re talking about your helmet of salvation, your breastplate of righteousness, your belt of truth, sandals of peace, that massive shield of faith, and the all conquering sword of the spirit. Wow! What solid protection my brethren! Please don’t ever leave home without it! In fact, even when you’re home, please be dressed in it, because the wily Lucifer and his evil cronies are no respecter of places or persons. Wherever and whenever they find an opening, they’re going to dart in there as quickly as possible. So basically, once we’re awake, we need to have on that spiritual armour, and be always on guard, even in the comfort of our homes. And I’m chuckling here Friends, because I never intended to write about spiritual armour, but I guess the Lord considered it a good tie in with our Bit on temptation. ‘The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgement to be punished.’ Yes fellow believers, it’s the same Bit as yesterday, because we have more scriptural info to pass along on the subject of temptation. Now yesterday we saw how Bruh Paul warned the Corinthians about temptation, (1 Cor.10:11-13) letting them know that we’re not to play high and mighty in regards to it; as though we’ll never bow to the tempter’s evil, ungodly invitations. He also noted that we’re not alone in temptation, for we’re all tempted at some time or another, it’s just one of the casualties of being an earthling. However, and most importantly, we must know and believe that our wonderful God will not allow us to suffer more temptation than we can safely handle, and will also ensure that we come out safely on the other side of it. One note of caution though, that doesn’t mean we won’t be tempted, or constantly shielded from it, but that He’ll work it out for out good, just as He does with everything else that comes against us. (Rom.8:28) And just in case you don’t believe Bruh Paul, (smile) then please listen to Bruh David as he waxes eloquently about how the Lord hears the righteous in Psalm 34. ‘The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off (destroy) the remembrance of them from the earth. The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. The Lord is nigh (near) unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite (crushed in) spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken. Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate (condemned or held guilty). The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate (condemned).’ (Ps.34:15-22) And all of that is gospel truth my people! Bruh David experienced it personally, and so have many of us. Our God won’t molly cuddle us, and keep us away from all suffering and temptation, but He will most definitely acknowledge the cause and cry of the righteous, and basically keep them safe from harm, while moulding them in the shape of His perfect Son, Jesus. And if you happen to see the wicked prospering from their evil exploits now, please don’t worry, or lose faith, for the Lord will deal with them in His own time, as our Bit truthfully declares. As believers, we just need to worry about doing God’s will, trying to persevere, to stay strong and faithful, with right hearts and clean spirits, so that the Lord will look kindly on us and hear our cry with empathy. And we’ll end with a promise of Christ from His message in Revelation to the church at Philadelphia. ‘Because thou hast kept the word of my patience (my command to persevere), I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation (trial), which shall come upon all the world, to try (test) them that dwell upon the earth.’ (Rev.3:10) Wow Friends! What a promise! And all God’s people gratefully declared: ‘Thank You Jesus! We LOVE and adore You!’ And the scholars agree that this is a real awesome promise. ‘This verse presents a promise that Christ will rapture genuine believers out of the world before the Tribulation period begins. The hour of temptation is the period of worldwide testing (Gr. peirasmos) which has not yet occurred (cf. Dan.12:1; Matt.24:21,29). Christ promises to keep them from (Gr. ek, “out of”) the period of Tribulation. That is, they will not even enter into this period of history. The Tribulation is for the purpose of trying or judging them that dwell upon the earth, those who are connected to the earth and its system. Believers are not included in this term. (cf. Phil.3:18-20; 1 Pet.2:11; Rev.6:10; 11:10; 13:8,12,14; 17:8).’ Please read those scriptural references so we can get a better understanding of it all. Oh my people, I’m shaking my head and wondering how, knowing all that, why would any sane and sensible person decide to revoke Jesus and do evil eh? So please, in light of all we’ve said, let’s ponder that question today and wisely come to the brilliant conclusion that good will indeed win out over evil in the long run, because our God and Saviour, Jesus has promised it. Much LOVE!…in the world…ye shall have tribulation…but be of good cheer…I have overcome the world… (John 16:33b) P.S. And all God’s children, unable to contain their excitement and enthusiasm, gave a mighty shout of joy and most gratefully declared: ‘Praise the Lord! Amen!’ Much LOVE my fellow believers, please stay strong in the strength of the Lord our God!
03 Mar 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: afflictions, anger, bodies and souls, christianity, comfort, comforters, compassion, condemnation, consolation, dictates, dire need, direction, dust, empathy, gentleness, God's guidance, grief, guidelines, hearts minds, judgement, lambastes, LOVE, LOVING_kindness, positive effect, provoke, rebuke, relieve, reproach, resentment, seek God early, spirituality, straight and narrow path, strife, sufferation, tribulation
Job 16:1-2. Then Job answered and said, I have heard many such things: miserable comforters are ye all.
Oh Friends, another today is here! The question is how will we use it? Will we use it wisely, or unwisely? For all our sakes, I certainly hope we use it wisely, otherwise we’d be placing our selves, both our earthly and eternal lives, in serious jeopardy. And what does using today wisely mean, or entail eh? It simply means giving our hearts, minds, bodies and souls to God! Turning to Him for guidance and direction, each and every day of our lives, while attempting to walk the straight and narrow path that comply with His guidelines and dictates. So basically, using the day wisely, means allowing God to direct our footsteps. And the best way to do that is by seeking Him early in the morning, as soon as we get up, possibly before we even open our eyes, just be conscious that we’re awake. That gives the evil fool Lucifer less time to gang up on us and cause us to deviate from the straight and narrow before we’ve even begun the day. As the ole people would say, ‘take in front, before in front takes you.’ And you know it’s always best to read the directions on a package before using its contents, as well as know where you’re going before setting out on your journey. The same applies to starting our day. So Friends, let’s try and make it a habit of starting our day with God, as soon as possible after arising nuh. I guarantee that our days will turn out much better that way. Now turning to our Bit: ‘Then Job answered and said, I have heard many such things: miserable (troublesome) comforters are ye all.’ Oh my brethren, what a story is Job’s later life! He’s living as righteous and faithful as he can, then all of a sudden, for no apparent reason, he loses everything; his family, his health and his wealth. Unknown to Job, the Lord’s using him as a righteous example to Lucifer. And Job stays the course fairly well, obviously unhappy and confused, but not blaming or cursing God. But then, some days later, three of his buddies, Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar, who heard of his ‘sufferation’, show up together ‘to mourn with him and to comfort him.’ (Job 2:11) From what the Good Book says, Job must have been a real mess, because when his friends first saw him, they didn’t recognize him; ‘they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle (each tore off his robe), and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven. So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.’ (Job 2:12-13) Now that was real brotherly of them, and maybe they should just have kept their silence throughout their stay, because after that each one of them lambastes Job about why such a terrible disaster had befallen him. They all figure he’s committed some horrible sin, for which God has punished him. But Job knows that there’s no such horrible sin in his life. No wonder he’s astounded at the way his supposed friends lash out at him. Early on, he reproaches them by saying. ‘To him that is afflicted (despairing) pity (kindness) should be showed from his friend; but he forsaketh the fear of the Almighty. My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, and as the stream of brooks they pass away.’ (Job 6:14-15) Not only did Job’s friends berate him unfairly, his close relations had also forsaken him in his time of dire need. But that’s how it usually goes, although it’s not supposed to. Those who are suffering should be shown compassion and empathy, not dragged roughly across the coals, even though they may done something to bring the disaster on themselves. All that does is add to their afflictions and their sorrows. Then after our Bit, before complaining about God’s dealings with him, Job again rebukes his friends. ‘Shall vain (empty) words have an end? Or what emboldeneth (provokes) thee that thou answerest? I also could speak as ye do: if your soul were in my soul’s stead. I could heap up words against you, and shake mine head at you. But I would strengthen you with my mouth, and the moving of (comfort from) my lips should assuage (relieve) your grief.’ (Job 16:3-5) Now that’s the way it should be my brethren! Whatever we do, or say, should have a positive effect on those who are sorrowful, not increase their sorrow, as Job’s friends did to him with their harsh, unfeeling words. That’s like the unfair snap judgements many of us make in this unfair and judgemental world. We’re quick to jump down the throats of others and criticize them from mere outward appearances, without having any knowledge of the true situation. Remember Jesus said; ‘Judge (condemn) not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgement (condemnation) ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete (use), it shall be measured to you again.’ (Matt.7:1-2) That means we should not be condemning others, judging their inner motives, especially on prejudiced information, neither use ourselves as a standard for the judgement, because it’s by that same standard we’ll be judged. Obviously Job’s friends didn’t follow those rules. Anyway my fellow believers, I believe we’ve got the general picture here, and since time and space are running out on us, let’s end with some wise words of Bruh Paul to the Corinthians, on the topic of comfort that we all know, or should know, but don’t practice sufficiently. ‘Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble (tribulation), by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.’ (2 Cor.1:3-4) Bruh Paul is talking about his afflictions, and how God comforts him, so that he can comfort others. Now that’s how it also ought to be with us, my people! So as of today, let’s try to show a truer Christian side to our criticism and judgement nuh. Don’t condemn, and if we need to correct, let’s do it with gentleness and kindness, in LOVE, as Jesus does, and would have us do. Much LOVE!…the beauty of correcting or comforting with LOVING-KINDNESS…is that it greatly reduces the possibility of anger, strife and resentment…and greatly increases the chances of true comfort and consolation…
21 Feb 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adversity, afflictions, blessed, character of Christ, chastens, consider the consequences, continual wrongdoing, cross to bear, despise not God's corrections, discipline, disobedience, faith and trust in God, fasting, happy is he whom God corrects, humility, man doesn't live by bread alone, manna, psalm 94, religion, statutes, strain and pressure
Psalm 94:12. Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O Lord, and teachest him out of thy law.
Oh Friends, our God is truly a great Deity, but sometimes He can be very sneaky and underhanded. Now I mentioned recently that I had to fast for 12 hours to go for some blood tests, but fasting is not one of my strong points, at least not for 12 hours. Well, it so happens that yesterday evening I went out to a Bible Study class, then ran a few errands, came home and had a late supper. I read for a while then went to bed shortly after midnight. Then lo and behold, I got up after three only to hear or feel this message in my spirit about fasting. Ah Lord eh! Our God certainly moves in mysterious ways, because I wasn’t planning on doing that 12-hour fast today. I’ve been trying to figure out a way to do it on my terms, but the Lord slipped a spanner into my wheel and tripped me up. (smile) So now I’m fasting. Chuh! Just another 5 hours to go. Please pray for me that I don’t spoil it, because I certainly don’t want to start all over again. And as we turn to our Bit, I guess that story goes well with it. ‘Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O Lord, and teachest him out of thy law.’ Yeh Friends, though I knew that I had to do the fasting, and the sooner the better, I wasn’t thrilled with the surprise the Lord sprung on me. But I guess He figured I was pussy-footing around too much, and so decided to take the bull by the horns. (smile) But as our Bit advises, I’m bearing up under the strain and pressure, accepting and bearing it like a man. Hn, hn, hn! And that’s the way we should all handle the corrections of our gracious and LOVING God! Granted, some of them, unlike my petty problem above, can be very hard to bear. But the whole point of the exercise is generally for us to consider the consequences before we do the sinful actions. That’s why from way back when, the Lord through Moses, warned the Israelites about their hardship in the wilderness caused by their disobedience. ‘And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live. Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee (did not wear out), neither did thy foot swell, these forty years. Thou shalt also consider (know) in thine heart, that as a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee. Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him.’ (Deut.8:3-6) Oh my brethren, it couldn’t be anymore explicit than that! The Lord brought them out of the wilderness eventually, but they paid a stiff price for their disobedience, lack of courage and lack of faith in the Word of the God of their fathers. Unfortunately, nothing much has changed over those many centuries. Our society is even more evil, disobedient, faithless and fearful than the Israelites were. Thus the Lord is chastening us, both by nations and individually. But then we get in a righteous snit because of it, completely forgetting the advice in His Word and the far-reaching consequences of continual wrongdoing. Hear how Job’s buddy, Eliphaz rebukes him. ‘Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth; therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty: For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole.’ (Job 5:17-18) Oh Friends, that’s the beauty of our God; though He may chasten us with tough affliction, He also has the power and the mercy to heal and make us whole! Though we fall like Humpty Dumpty, our God can put us back together again, so we shouldn’t get overly upset when we’re chastened. And though that’s the unvarnished truth, like so many other truths, it’s not always easy to accept. But accepting it is the way of the wise. As the Psalmist says in Psalm 119: ‘It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.’ (Ps.119:71) Oh I know we all think he’s crazy for considering afflictions to be good. But remember Friends, it’s only through afflictions and adversity that our faith is built and our Christian character truly formed. For it’s in those times of trouble that we really learn to depend on our God. If we never suffered afflictions or adversity, and everything always came up roses, then we’d have no need for faith or trust in God. Remember too, that before gold and iron can be processed from the impure ore, they must first be passed through a pretty hot fire. Likewise, that’s how our God teaches us His lessons and conforms us to the character of His wonderful Son, Jesus Christ, our Saviour and living example. Now let’s listen to this wise and most appropriate scripture from Cousin Sol, which we all know, but don’t like and refuse to believe. ‘My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of (detest) his correction: For whom the Lord LOVETH he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.’ (Prov.3:11-12) And we’ll end with words from Hebrews that put Cousin Sol’s advice in the proper perspective. ‘And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children (sons), My son, despise not the thou the chastening (discipline) of the Lord, nor faint (be discouraged) when thou art rebuked of Him: For whom the Lord LOVETH He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?’ (Heb.12:5-7) That says it all my people! Whom the Lord LOVES, He corrects. So if you’re being corrected, say ‘Praise the Lord,’ cause He LOVES you. And remember that we all have our individual crosses to bear, so today, please let’s take a serious look at the state of our individual union with Almighty God and see how best we can improve it. That’s true wisdom, my fellow believers! Much LOVE!…actions always bring consequences…so it will serve us well…to consider the latter…before doing the former…
18 Jun 2012
by randyobrien50
in Inspirational Living
Tags: afflictions, for good and not evil, grin and bear it, invincible, Monday Monday, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, parents awesome responsibility, rejuvenation of spirit, sure conquerors, Ten Commandments
Ephesians 6:4. And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Oh Friends, it’s Monday; that fateful day which unfortunately means, to labour, to labour, once again to labour. Chuh! We don’t like it, but it’s a condition of earthly life, so we just have to grin and bear it. Now if I didn’t know better, sometimes I’d think the Lord takes pleasure in afflicting us for no apparent reason yes. For example, yesterday morning I left home to go to church, as bright and bouncy as ever (smile). On the way, I stopped and put some gas in my ole limo, then continued to church without any mishaps. However, as I got out of the car in the church parking lot, a sudden excruciating pain ran through my left knee. Friends, I swear that if I wasn’t holding on to the car door, I would have crumpled to the ground from both the surprise and pain. At first I thought it was a cramp, but after massaging it for about a minute, it didn’t go away, so I limped into the church. And would you believe that all through the service it pained me, making my attention to the Lord’s business less than optimal. Now I’m pretty sure I didn’t do anything physical to bring that on, so it was possibly just my arthritic nemesis simply acting up. But when I cried out to the Lord for some sort of answer, I obviously got no reply. So the long and short of the story is that I said, thank you Lord, went home, iced and rested it, which reduced the pain somewhat. In my humble opinion, that was another unwarranted affliction to grin and bear. And the sad part is that I had taken the arthritis medication about an hour before, so there shouldn’t have been that kind of sudden pain. But them’s the breaks, Friends! As believers, we need to accept that whatever happens to us usually has a higher motive than we can understand, and we know that the Lord will use whatever comes against us for good and not evil, as He promises in Jer.29:11, and Rom.8:28. Anyway, enough of my pity party. (smile) Let’s get ourselves together to go out and do God’s will by singing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with plenty gusto. All together now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together. We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies. But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’ Yes mih people, that should boost our enthusiasm, raise our passion for Christ and enable us to take on the enemy without any fear. Now let’s check out our Bit: ‘And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture (training) and admonition of the Lord.’ And not because Father’s Day has passed, means we can’t talk to, reach out to the fathers. In fact, the state of fatherhood in our anything goes society is so bad, that we should be talking to them everyday. Today though, I just want to share some appropriate scriptures, so that we can understand how important fatherhood is, was, and always will be in the eyes of our God. And what better place to start that at the very beginning, where Moses tells the Israelites: ‘And these words (the Ten Commandments), which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.’ (Deut.6:6-7) Later on, in basically the same words, Moses again reminds them of the importance of teaching their children the laws of God. (Deut.11:19) Then in Psalm 78, Asaph’s reminder of God’s goodness to Israel, he declares that the old stories they heard from their fathers: ‘We will not hide them from their children, showing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.’ (Ps.78:4) Meanwhile, in Proverbs’, Cousin Sol proclaims in no uncertain terms: ‘Train up a child in the way he should go: and (even) when he is old (mature), he will not depart from it.’ (Prov.22:6) And finally, listen to Bruh Paul’s words to Timothy: ‘And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.’ (2 Tim.3:15) Yes Friends, parents have an awesome responsibility to raise their children on the Word and ways of God, especially fathers, who are considered the nominal head, the guide, the leader of the household. Anything less on the part of parents is a sin against Almighty God, because that’s the only way the Word and will of God will continue from generation to generation. So let’s get serious and do our duty nuh people! It’s about time, don’t you think? Much LOVE!…when believers don’t teach their children about God…they’re shirking their greatest responsibility as parents…and doing both their children and society irreparable harm…
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