24 Feb 2026
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a brand new day, a name which is above every other name, accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, alive and kicking, all should come to repentance, appreciate how good God is to us, are not able to kill the soul, at the name of Jesus, believers are not stepping up to the plate, but of power love and a sound mind, cast off the works of darkness, Christ selflessly sacrificed His sinless life, Christ's church is in a terrible state, Christians, come to know and love christ like we do, comfortable Christians, consequences for every misdeed, destined for hell, dissensions, divisions, do something worthwhile for Christ, do stuff in our own backyards, duty bound, eagerly await a Saviour, eternal life, everlasting life, every knee should bow, every tongue confess, evil and ungodliness being perpetrated, faith, fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body, fear not them which kill the body, For God hath not given us a spirit of fear, get up off of our fat fannies, give thanks, glorify your Father which is in heaven, God is longsuffering towards us, God wanted nobody to perish, greed, hitting many home runs, holy spirit, hurry, in god's eyes, it is high time to awake out of sleep, Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God, Jesus paid our sin debt in full, knowing the time, Let your light so shine before men, life altering consequences, light of the world, live in urgent expectation, lock stock and barrel, LOVE, mercy, mind-boggling consequences, mitigate the negative circumstances, more afraid of man than God, movers and shakers, no place for spiritual lethargy, obedience to the Father's will, our citizenship is in heaven, our salvation is nearer than when we first believed, put on the armour of light, rebellious attitude, salt of the earth, salvation, Satan is ruling the roost, see your good works, selfless sacrifice, share His love with my neighbours, share the amazing love and friendship of Christ, sitting on the sidelines, strife, the beloved of God, the BIBLE, the breath of life that's still fowing through us, the day is at hand, the night is far spent, the sad truth, there are consequences to all decisions, time to heed the wake up call, trust my friend Jesus, truth, Tuesday Mantra, undeserving children of men, we owe Christ a debt we can never repay, wide-awake preparedness, wisdom, worry
Romand 13:11. And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we (first) believed.
And after Monday comes Tuesday… just like the Lord designed it. Yes mih bredrin, it’s a brand new day, and we’re still alive and kicking so let’s give our wonderful Lord and Saviour much thanks for the breath of life that’s still flowing through our finite, fragile, mortal bodies, not forgetting the hope of salvation and eternal life that He so selflessly died to provide for us. And all God’s people sent up a sincere prayer of ‘Thank You Jesus! You are the Greatest! And we LOVE and worship you with all of our hearts, souls, bodies and minds! Amen!’
Ah friends, it’s so good when we give God thanks for His wonderful attention and blessings to us underserving children of men. And it’s something I don’t think we do often enough, because we don’t truly understand/or appreciate how good God has been to us, when He had no reason whatsoever to be. Instead, He had, and still has, every reason to destroy us completely for our prideful and rebellious attitude towards Him.
But as the Bible tells us He LOVED us so dearly and is so longsuffering or patient with us, and didn’t want any of His most wonderful creation to perish, but that all should come to repentance, (2 Pet. 3:9) that He broke His own heart and sent His ONE Son, yes His ONLY Son to earth to die for our rebelliousness, so that all who believed in Him could have everlasting life and not perish in the fires of hell, where we were all destined for, before Christ’s death ransomed us. (John 3:16)
So, when we talk about being indebted to our heavenly Father, it’s no joke or simple matter, because it’s a debt we can never repay. But the good thing about our God is that He doesn’t require repayment, all He needs is for us to sincerely accept His Son Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, and thus gain salvation and eternal life. And why is that? Because it’s Jesus who, in obedience to the Father’s will, paid our sin debt in full with the selfless sacrifice of His sinless life.
That’s why the Word says: ‘Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of (those) things in heaven, and (those) things in earth, and those (things) under the earth; And that every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ (Phil. 2: 9-11)
Now that’s how the Father rewards those who do His will. Are we in line for rewards…are we doing His will to the best of our ability? I doubt it. Otherwise, neither Christ’s body, the church, nor the world would be in such a terrible state, with dissensions, divisions, hate, greed, strife and all the negative aspects front and centre, rather than in the background.
And it’s no wonder that Satan is ruling the roost, because we supposed Christians, supposed believers in Christ Jesus, are not doing what He desires of His followers, namely to be the salt of the earth, and the light of the world, and thus show others how living with and for Him is the best life possible. In other words, we’re not doing as Jesus says: ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt. 5:16)
And that’s the sad truth! We believers are not stepping up to the plate sufficiently and hitting the many home runs that we need to turn things around in this evil and ungodly world. Remember that doing nothing to improve matters, is the same as encouraging them to be bad. So, sitting on the sidelines and seeing evil and ungodliness being perpetrated all over the world when you’re in a position to make some small improvement, makes you just as guilty as the perpetrators of the evil and ungodliness.
Consequently, a whole lot of us supposed Christians are guilty of plenty evil and ungodliness, for there’s always some small way that we can mitigate those negative circumstances, if it’s even in our own families or neighbourhoods. Oh friends, any evil or ungodliness mitigated is a win for Christ! Most of us can’t be big movers and shakers of the world, but we can certainly do stuff right in our backyards to improve the situation. It’s just that too many of us who call ourselves Christians, are either afraid of what others might say and/ or do, or too lazy and comfortable in our material wellbeing, and thus we refuse to get up off of our fat fannies and do something worthwhile for Christ!
But under those circumstances, here are two scriptures that we should consider well. The first comes from Bruh Paul to his protégé Timothy, regarding fear. ‘For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound (disciplined) mind.’ (2 Tim. 1:7) And the second in Jesus words, is like unto it: ‘And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.’ (Matt. 10:28)
Now, that means you should not fear mankind, because they can only kill your body and not your soul. But the One to be truly afraid of is Almighty God, who can kill both body and soul in the roaring fires of hell! And it’s a sad fact that many, if not most of us are more afraid of man than of God. How foolish! But I guess we are more concerned about our bodies than our souls. However, let’s remember there are consequences for every misdeed, and sometimes those consequences can be mind boggling and also life-altering.
Anyway, let’s hope what we’ve spoken of today will jumpstart our consciences, will wake us from our stupor, for as Bruh Paul says to the Roman church: ‘And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we (first) believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.’ (Rom. 13:11-12) And as this commentary explains: ‘That means there’s no place for spiritual lethargy in the Christian life. Believers must live in urgent expectation and wide-awake preparedness for what is coming because “our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil. 3:20)
So, nuff said. Let’s go home now declaring (chuh!!!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting all and sundry know to whom we belong, lock stock and barrel! As one strong and sincere voice: ‘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 my immediate neighbours, as well as with the whole wide world! Glory be!’
And with those words, we’ve now become duty bound to go out and share the amazing LOVE and friendship of Christ with others, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!
…it’s time for believers to heed the wake up call…for who knows what will happen tomorrow…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
19 Feb 2026
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a positive outlook on life, abundance, alive and kicking, all these things will I give thee, angels came and ministered unto him, appetite loss, bear thee up in their hands, below ground, by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God, cast thyself down, Chrisitanity, Christians, come to know and love christ like we do, courage, curse, divine protection, duty bound, faith, fall down and worship me, favour, fulfillment, get thee hence Satan, give his angels charge over thee, God's granted us another day of life, good friends, good health, him only shalt thou serve, holy spirit, if thou be the Son of God, it is written, Jesus Christ, Jesus sat on the pinnacle of the temple, lack of sunshine, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone, LOVE, low energy, man shall not live by bread alone, mercy, negative word, preaching ministry, promotion, SAD - Seasonal Affective Disorder, salvation, Satan is no match for us when we have Christ, Satan the usurper, Satan uses scripture deviously, self-control, self-discipline, share the blessings, sleep problkems, success, supernatural strength, talent, the BIBLE, the height of abusrdity, the Kidron Valley, the Messiah, the rightful King, the temptations of christ were real experiences, thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, to build Jesus' faith, trample the young lion and serpent under thy feet, tread upon the lion and the adder, tries to bamboozle us, truth, undeserved blessings, wisdom
Matthew 4:10. Get thee hence, Satan (away with you): for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
Ah mih people, like the good Lord has given us another day of life on this wonderful planet Earth! And though we’ve spoiled it, so that life now is oftentimes tough, we’re still thankful to be here, alive and kicking, rather than unalive below ground. (smile) And thankfully too, there’s no more dangerous precipitation like we had yesterday; just a cold, somewhat cloudy day. And we can live with that.
There’s also one other thing we cannot complain about this year, that’s SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), when we suffer symptoms like low energy, sleep problems, appetite changes, and loss of interest because of a lack of sunshine. For this year we’ve gotten quite a lot of sunshine with the cold weather, so we can’t complain. (smile)
Now let’s get to our topic for today, the continuation of the importance of Jesus’ temptations. So, yesterday we saw where immediately after He was baptized by John the Baptist, He was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness, fasting for forty days and nights, then the devil came and tempted Him. All of it to build His faith, mental and emotional strength for the rather difficult journey He was about to embark on in His preaching ministry.
We saw too that when Jesus was terribly hungry after fasting, the devil tempted Him in that supposedly weak area, by saying if He was the Son of God, He could make bread from the stones around Him. But Jesus rebuked him with that famous statement: ‘It is written. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.’ (Matt. 4:4)
But that did not deter the tempter. The Bible tells us: ‘Then the devil taketh him (Jesus) up into the holy city, and sitteth him on a pinnacle of the temple. And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, he shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt (test) the Lord thy God.’ (Matt. 4:5-7)
Wow friends! The devil quoting scripture! Anyway, the scholars offer these explanation re those verses. ‘The second temptation took place in the holy city (Jerusalem) on the pinnacle of the temple, which towered above the Kidron Valley. Evidently Jesus was transported there by Satan’s power, and this time the devil quoted Scripture (out of context) in order to get Him to sin and ultimately shake His faith in the Word. Satan used Psalm 91:11-12 urging Jesus to cast thyself down. Again Jesus replied with Scripture (Deut. 6:16) that he was not to tempt God by such a presumptuous action. The very passage of scripture quoted by Satan actually goes on to promise God’s ultimate victory over him!’
So my brethren, we see that Satan also knows the Bible and can use it in devious ways to his advantage. That’s why we must know our scripture too, so when he tries to bamboozle us with it, we can quote like Jesus: ‘It is written.’ And here’s the scripture the scholars talk about that refers to victory over Satan in Ps. 91. ‘Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder (cobra): the young lion and the dragon (serpent) shalt thou trample under feet.’ (Ps. 91:13. The serpent there refers to Satan.
And the verse that Jesus quotes in reply to Satan is that spoken by Moses to the Israelites: ‘Ye shall not tempt (test) the Lord your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.’ (Deut. 6:16) That’s when they were in the wilderness with no water and they complained against Moses and God, and God had Moses strike the rock and produce water. (Ex. 17:1-7)
Then we come to the last of the great temptations. The Bible says: ‘Again, the devil taketh him (Jesus) into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan (away with you): for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.’ (Matt. 4:8-11)
But the boldfaceness of Satan! Imagine it nuh! He telling His Creator to bow down and worship Him, when it should be the other way around! But that should not surprise us, because it’s also the way some of us behave towards God, expecting Him to do as we desire instead of us doing His will.
And the scholars offer these explanations: ‘The third temptation takes place on an exceeding high mountain. The mountain is clearly real in the text, though its exact location is unidentified. Despite the grandeur of this temptation, nothing in the passage itself indicates that these temptations were only in the mind of Christ. Clearly, they are depicted as real experiences that actually occurred in the human life of the Messiah. That Satan, the usurper, would attempt to give the kingdoms of the world to Jesus, the Messiah, the rightful King, is the height of absurdity!
For Christ to fall down and worship Satan would have been to acknowledge the Devil’s lordship over Him. In His direct rebuke, Get thee hence, Satan, Jesus clearly asserts His lordship over the old serpent whose head he will soon crush. Matthew’s statement that Satan leaveth him shows that his order of the temptations is the chronological one. (cf. Luke 4:1-13).’
And that reference to Luke’s gospel, simply shows he has the last two temptations in a different order. And for our information, the quote Jesus uses in that last temptation could come any number of verses, such as, Deut. 6:13; 10:20; Ex. 20:1-5. Now, with all of that wonderful information under our belt, let’s go home declaring and thus activating our Thursday Blessings, so generously bestowed on us by the Lord to enable us to do His earthly work.
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 made that declaration, we’re now duty bound to go out and use those undeserved blessings to help others, just as generously as the Lord bestowed them on us, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!
…Satan is a wily one…but he’s no match for us…when Christ dwells within us…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
06 Jan 2026
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a consolation of joy, a joyful exalted song, a peace and calm that comes only from jesus, a spirit stealing winter's day, adhering to Jesus' teachings, alive and kicking, bondage to sin and condemnation, come to know and love christ like we do, consumed by the fires of hell, duty bound, even with my dying breath, every inscrutable mystery, faith, great is his faithfulness, great is thy faithfulness, handle whatever comes against us, he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth my ear to hear as the learned, his compassions fail not, holy spirit, how delightful and how right, How good it is to sing God's praise, hurry, I shout a rousing welcome, I sing a new song, I will sing praises unto my God, in god's eyes, It is of the Lord's mercies that we're not consumed, Jesus Christ, knowing and living by divine truth, living for Jesus, lock stock and barrel, LOVE, mercy, offering a deeper freedom, opens my understanding to his will, praise the Lord as long as I live, praise the Lord O my soul, Praise ye the Lord, salvation, share His love with my neighbours, shout Hallelujah, sing praises to my God, spiritual emancipation, spiritual liberation from sin, the beloved of God, the best is yet to come, the end will be fantastic, the future cannot daunt me, the glorious truth, the promise of new beginnings, the sun is nowhere in sight, the tempo accelerates, the truth shall set you free, the volume increases, the worst may happen, they are new every morning, to go out and share the love and friendship of Christ, to the up-and-coming days, tough circumstances, trust my freind Jesus, truth, while I have any being, while I live I will praise the Lord, wisdom, with glorious anticipation, with you in control dear God, worry, ye shall know the truth
Psalm 146:2. While I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.
And then it was Tuesday, the first one of the new year, but it’s turning out to be like so many of the recent others; a damp, cloudy, spirit and soul stealing winter’s day, with the sun nowhere in sight. Oh Lord, where is the sun? At least with the sun we can brighten up the winter atmosphere some. (smile) But the important thing is that we are alive and kicking and living for Jesus, and thus we can handle whatever comes against us with a peace and calm that comes only from Him! And I’m chuckling here, as I remember I got a zeppo to share the poem slated for the last day of the old year from our One Year Book of Bible Promises on December 31, but not one to share the first one on the first of January of this new year.
However, I finally got it today. Oh Yeahhh! And the first page of the Book very appropriately reminds us about ‘The Promise of New Beginnings,’ letting us know that ‘Great is his faithfulness!’ And the scripture passage for that comes from Isaiah 50:4b: ‘He wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.’ Or, as the NLT (New Living Translation) used in the Book says: ‘Morning by morning He wakens me and opens my understanding to his will.’
And that’s the glorious truth my people! For every morning we open our eyes to a new day, the Lord grants us new mercies and understanding to handle the day. It’s like Jeremiah says in his Lamentations. ‘It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.’ (Lam. 3:22-23) And that’s more glorious truth my brethren! Without the Lord’s mercies and faithfulness we would have long ago been consumed by the fires of hell, and that ought to encourage us to be also faithful to God in our own lives.
Now, all of that was just the preamble to the poem for the first day, (smile) which is titled, ‘Happy New Year.’ So please read with me: ‘This very first day Of the fresh new year I sing a new song – A joyful, exalted song! With Israel’s sweet singer I exclaim: “How good it is to sing God’s praise How delightful and how right.” The volume increases The tempo accelerates. With glorious anticipation I shout a rousing welcome To the up-and-coming days. The future cannot daunt me Every inscrutable mystery Becomes a consolation of joy For with You in control, dear God The worst may happen But the best is yet to come.’
And that’s yet more glorious truth my people! Oh brother are we ever on to the truth today! And so should we be, each and every day, for as Jesus says in the gospel of John: ‘And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.’ (John 8:32) And it certainly will! As this commentary explains; It means ‘adhering to Jesus’s teachings leads to spiritual liberation from sin, not necessarily political freedom, offering a deeper freedom through knowing and living by divine truth. While it’s used academically for knowledge, its core meaning is about spiritual emancipation from bondage to sin and condemnation, achieved by following Jesus and His word.’
And freedom from the bondage of sin is exactly what we’re after as we faithfully follow Jesus’ Word. But getting back to our poem. I certainly hope that as we rang in the new year that we sang joyful and exalting songs to God, our Giver of Life and Eternal Father, for that is the appropriate thing to do. It’s as the scripture passage for the poem exhorts: ‘Praise ye the Lord (shout Hallelujah). Praise the Lord, O my soul. While I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.’ (Ps. 146:1-2) Or, if you prefer the NLT Version: ‘Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, I tell myself. I will praise the Lord as long as I live. I will sing praises to my God even with my dying breath.’
And that’s how it ought to be my fellow believers; praises to our great, wonderful and generous God should be continually coming from the depths of our hearts through our mouths, letting the whole world know what a marvellous God we serve! But my favourite part of the poem is the last section, which says; ‘The future cannot daunt me Every inscrutable mystery Becomes a consolation of joy For with You in control, dear God The worst may happen But the best is yet to come.’
And so it should be, if you are a true believer in Christ. The future ought not to daunt you, for you have God’s faithful promises concerning it, and with God in control, though some tough circumstances may occasionally envelope us, we’re not worried because we know that end will be fantastic. Jesus promised it, and He keeps ALL of His promises! And since there’s nothing to worry about, (smile) let’s go home declaring our Tuesday Mantra, letting all and sundry know to whom we belong, lock, stock and barrel.
As one strong and sincere voice: ‘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 my immediate neighbours, as well as with the whole wide world! Glory be!’
And friends, having made that definitive statement, we’re now duty bound to go out and share the amazing LOVE and friendship of Christ with others, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!
…whatever our current circumstances…Christians ought always to believe…that the best is yet to come…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
04 Nov 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a stranger, alive and kicking, as being yourselves also in the body, as bound with them, as chained with them, be hated of all nations, be not forgetful to entertain strangers, Christians are an easy target, deliver you up to be afflicted, dire straits, even in persecution, faith, for my name's sake, give them words of witness, harrassed, help them hold firmly to the truth, holy spirit, hurry, I have chosen you out of the world, I was hungry, I was sick and ye visited me, I was thirsty, in god's eyes, in prison, in prison and ye came unto me, Jesus Christ, kill you, let brotherly love continue, live in fear of persecution, look forward to the day, LOVE, mercy, naked and ye clothed me, open the eyes of their accusers, persecution of Christians, pray for fellow believers, protect the imprisoned, rejected, remember them that are in bonds, retaliate with violence, salvation, share His love with my neighbours, sincere communion with Jesus Christ, some have entertained angels unawares, suffering for their faith, surround them with your comforting presence, the beloved of God, the gospel, the gospel truth, the world hated me before it hated you, them which suffer adversity, they know not him that sent me, they might also be saved, to vent anger and hatred on, trust my friend Jesus, truth, when one believer hurts all hurt, wisdom, worry, ye are not of the world, ye shall be hated of all men, you are glorified, you gave me drink, you gave me food, you took me in, your peace covers the whole earth
Hebrews 13:3. Remember them that are in bonds (in prison), as bound (if chained) with them; and them which suffer adversity (are mistreated), as being yourselves also in the body.
And the days keep rolling along, just as the Lord programmed them long ago. Thus, after Monday comes Tuesday, a bright and sunshiny but a tad windy day. We’ll take it though, because it means we’re still alive and kicking, and in sincere communion with our heavenly Father. There’s nothing better that a created human being can ask or desire! And all of God’s children said a loud and grateful, ‘Thank You Lord for all that you’ve done for us, for all that you’re still doing, and for all the amazing things you’ve promised to do!’
And today we’re going to talk about a subject that ought to be very near and dear to our hearts; that’s persecution of Christians. So let’s begin with this prayer on the subject from the recently published Prayer Cards by the In Touch Organization. Please pray with me: ‘Jesus, I pray for fellow believers who are suffering for their faith. Please protect those who are imprisoned, harassed, or rejected. Surround them with your comforting presence. Help them hold firmly to the truth. Give them words of witness for You. Open the eyes of their accusers to the gospel so they might also be saved. Thank You that even in persecution, You are glorified. I look forward to the day when Your peace covers the whole earth. This we pray in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.’
Ah friends, the truth of the matter is that even in these supposed liberal and enlightened times many of our fellow believers are suffering serious persecution simply because of their faith. It’s just like Jesus said when he sent the disciples out as sheep amongst wolves to spread the gospel. He warned them: ‘And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.’ (Matt. 10:22) And He warned them again when they asked Him for signs of the end times. ‘Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted (to suffer tribulation), and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.’ (Matt. 24:9)
Then there was also this extended warning. ‘If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would LOVE his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you, for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me.’ (John 15:18-21)
And all of that’s the gospel truth my fellow believers! For we see it happening right before our very eyes in so many countries, where believers are persecuted simply because of their faith and trust in Jesus. And we’d better be careful, because it’s beginning to happen right in our Western World countries as times get harder and people become more angry and strife-filled, Christians are an easy target to vent their anger and hatred on. So we don’t only have to pray for those in unchristian countries, but also those like ourselves who supposedly live in Christian ones.
That brings us to these poignant and very important words of Hebrews, where the writer warns: ‘Let brotherly LOVE continue. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember them that are in bonds (in prison), as bound (if chained) with them; and them which suffer adversity (are mistreated), as being yourselves also in the body.’ (Heb. 13:1-3)
Ah mih people, from the beginning of our faith Christians have been singled out for persecution because we don’t retaliate with violence as so many others do, but bravely endure the persecution for Christ’s sake. And sadly, we must make preparations for such an event, while doing our best to prevent them, for the world is in such an angry frame of mind that any little thing can trigger persecution against us because of our faith. And it’s like the Prayer Card states: ‘When one member of Christ’s body hurts, All hurt. Your prayers do matter.’
Yes friends, our prayers for our hurting brethren certainly do matter In fact they are very important, because knowing that they are being prayed for, helps the persecuted brethren to bear up some under the persecution, and our prayers also draw the Lord’s eyes to their sorrowful cries in those untenable situations. And these words of Jesus ought to drive us to do our best for those who find themselves in dire straits. ‘For I was an hungered (hungry), and ye gave me meat (food), I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in. Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.’ (Matt. 25:35-36)
Oh my brethren, that is how we ought to react to suffering if we are true believers. For as Jesus later says: ‘Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.’ (Matt. 25:40) So let’s keep thinking about, praying for, and helping those unfortunate ones who cannot help themselves, for that’s what Jesus is all about. Remember He came to save the sick and the suffering, the lost and the lonely, and then gave us that job when He returned to heaven. (smile)
Now it’s time to declare our Tuesday Mantra, letting all and sundry know to whom we belong, lock, stock, and barrel. As one strong and sincere voice: ‘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 my immediate neighbours, as well as with the whole wide world! Glory be!’
And having said that, we’re now duty bound to go out and share the amazing LOVE and friendship od Christ with others, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!
…Christians are continually being persecuted…but we don’t need to live in fear of persecution…because we have the faithful promises of Jesus…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
28 Oct 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a worthy walk of faithful believers, after God, alienated from God, alive and kicking, all efforts to obtain happiness end in failure, as God for Christ's sake forgave you, assume a new character and life, be separated from God, be ye angry and sin not, be ye kind one to another, being past feeling, Christian teaching, come to know and love christ like we do, corrupt according to deceitful lusts, created in righteousness and true holiness, darkened understanding, do whatever feels right, evil speaking, faith, forgiving one another, foul language, futility of their mind, Gentile obstinacy against the divine will, given themselves over unto lasciviousness, godly perseverance, gone so deep in sin, gracious speech, grieve not the holy Spirit of God, having become calloused, he may have to give to him that needs, holy spirit, honest work, Hurricane Melissa, hurry, I am the beloved of god, immoral attitude, in god's eyes, in the vanity of their mind, insensitive to moral right and wrong, into line with God's viewpoint, Jesus Christ, let all bitterness, let him labour, let him that stole steal no more, Let no corrupt communication proceed out of thy mouth, let not the sun go down on your wrath, living for Jesus, lock stock and barrel, LOVE, meet the needs of others, mercy, minister grace unto the hearers, neither give place to the devil, practical advice, pray for Jamaica, put off the former conversation, put off the old man, put on the new man, putting away lying, renounce our pre-conversion life, resentment and wrath, righteous indignation, running rampant, salvation, sealed unto the day of redemption, share His love with my neighbours, share the amazing love and friendship of Christ, sinful anger, sins to be discarded, speak every man the truth with his neighbour, tenderhearted, that which is good to the use of edifying, the blindness of their heart, the hardening of their hearts, the right motives, the thing which is good, the truth is in Jesus, theft, through ignorance, to give way to kindness and forgiveness, to work all uncleanness with greediness, trust my friend Jesus, truth, truth-telling, Tuesday Mantra, walk not as other Gentiles walk, we are members one of another, we can do anything through Jesus who strengthens us, wisdom, with all malice, without proper purpose, working with his hands, worry, wrath clamour anger be put away from you, ye have not so learned Christ
Ephesians 4:24. And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
Ah friends, the chilly days, or rather the chilly nights, seem like they are now here to stay, for the daytime temperature still isn’t too bad when there’s sunshine. Unfortunately though, today the sun is not as powerful as we would like it, thus it’s somewhat cloudy. But as we keep saying, regardless of the weather conditions, once we’re alive and kicking, and living for Jesus, we’re all right! In fact better than all right, we’re wonderful, filled with His LOVE and peace! We can’t ask for anything better than that!
However, our fellow believers in Jamaica are surely not so well off, as Hurricane Melissa batters their beautiful island paradise. Please, let’s pray for them, that the loss of lives and property will not be too bad, and that godly recovery will begin right away. For a serious hurricane is no matter to joke about, as I can tell from personal experience in 1963, when Hurricane Flora which blew down Tobago much earlier than forecasted and caused enormous damage.
And today we’re going to talk about believers putting on the new man, as Bruh Paul wrote to the Ephesians. ‘This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity (futility) of their mind. Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through (because of) the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness (hardening) of their heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness (licentiousness), to work all uncleanness with greediness.’ (Eph. 4:17-20)
Yes my brethren, Bruh Paul there continues to spell out what constitutes a worthy walk of faithful believers in Christ. And the scholars further explain that ‘since each Christian is divinely enabled with some spiritual gift, he must walk not as other Gentiles walk, lest his much-needed contribution to the church’s growth be sorely missed. Unbelieving Gentiles live in the vanity of their mind, without proper purpose, causing all their efforts to obtain happiness to end in failure.
The blindness of their heart refers to the hardness of their will. Gentiles’ obstinacy against the divine will has caused them to be separated from God’s life. Being past feeling means “having become calloused.” These unbelievers have gone so deep in sin that they are insensitive to moral right and wrong.’
And we see that immoral attitude running rampant all over our world today. Very few of us care about moral right and wrong nowadays. The current fashion is to do whatever feels right to us. However that does not apply to true believers in Christ Jesus. As Bruh Paul continues: ‘But ye have not so learned Christ;’ (Eph. 4;20) In other words, we didn’t learn that behaviour of the unbelieving Gentiles in our Christian teaching.
Instead, ‘If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus. That ye put off concerning the former conversation (conduct) the old man, which is corrupt according to deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.’ (Eph. 4:21-24)
Now that’s what we’ve been taught in our Christian teaching; to put off the old man, or ‘renounce our pre-conversion life and sins; to be renewed in … your mind, or be constantly changed, being brought more and more into line with God’s viewpoint, as well as to put on the new man, which is to assume a new nature (character) and conduct (life) at conversion.’
And it’s all well and good to tell us to do that stuff, but how do we do it in real life? But that’s the beauty of most of Bruh Paul’s writing; after giving you some doctrine or task, he usually gives you some practical advice on how to accomplish said task. And here, he does give some practical advice on how to take off the old man and put on the new one.
‘Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place (an opportunity) to the devil. Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
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. 4:25-32)
Yes mih people, that’s what our world ought to look like. As the scholars tell us: ‘This section gives practical guidelines as to how “the old man” can be laid aside and how “the new man” can be assumed in daily living. The passage specifies five sins to be discarded, the virtues that are to replace them, and the motive for such exchange: (1) Lying is to be replaced by truth-telling, since Christians are fellow members. (2) Sinful anger is to be replaced by (briefly held) righteous indignation, that the Devil may not be given an opportunity.
(3) Theft is to be replaced by honest work, so that one may have the means to meet the needs of others. (4) Foul language is to be replaced by gracious speech, that it may edify others and not grieve the Holy spirit. (5) Resentment and wrath are to give way to kindness and forgiveness, since God has forgiven us through Christ’s sacrificial doings.’
Now, putting those actions into daily practice will surely take a lot of energy and perseverance, but let’s not forget we have the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us. The long and short of the story though is that we sincerely want to make the changes Bruh Paul describes. If we do, then we will succeed, because we will make the effort, and we can do anything through Christ who strengthens us. So, let’s go home declaring our Tuesday Mantra, letting all and sundry know to whom we belong, lock, stock and barrel.
As one strong and sincere voice: ‘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 my immediate neighbours, as well as with the whole wide world! Glory be!’
And having said that, it now behooves us to go out and share the amazing LOVE and friendship of Christ with others, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!
…with the right motives…and godly perseverance…we can do anything that’s in God’s will…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
11 Sep 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abundance, according to his labour, alive and kicking, all should come to repentance, another beautiful summer's day, another blessed day on Planet Earth, as your word goes forth, because of your love, blessed with a strong will, blessed with God's supernatural widom, both he that sows and he that reaps may rejoice together, bringing lost souls to christ, but God gave the increase, but the labourers are few, clear direction for my life, courage, creativit, curse, dissensions, divisions, duty bound, enmity within the church, envying, evangelists, everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed, faith, gathereth fruit unto eternal life, go before them, God's building, God's husbandy, he that planteth and he that watereth are one, he that reaps receives wages, headed straight for hellfire and damnation, holy spirit, I am of Apollos, I am of Paul, I have meat to eat that ye know not of, I have planted and Apollos watered, I pray amny will put their trust in Christ, in the name of Jesus, infighting, Jesus Christ, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us, labourers together with God, lift up your eyes, look unto the field, LOVE, make their work fruitful, mercy, missionaries, my meat is to do the will of him who sent me, negative word, not willing that any should perish, one soweth and another reapeth, others can come to know and love Christ like we do, pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, Prayer Cards from IN Touch Ministries, preachers, protect them from danger wherever they serve, receive eternal life, receive his own reward, revelling in carnality, salvation, Satan has a stranglehold on our world, self-control, self-discipline, send forth labourers into his harvest, so many need to hear the gospel, sow the seed of the gospel, speak unto you as unto spiritual but as unto carnal, strife, talent, thank you for your great mercy that saves us, Thank You Lord, the Christian's basic job, the harvest of unsaved souls, the harvest truly is great, the Lord is longsuffering to us-ward, the penultimate day of the work week, the saving word of God, there's still time to reach them, to go out and share those blessings, touch hearts to answer your call, truth, walk as men, white already to harvest, wisdom
Luke 10:2. The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.
Then it was Thursday, our penultimate day of the work week. And brother has this week gone by quickly! I guess when you’re having fun and/or busy, the days pass by without you truly noticing them. Anyway, it’s another beautiful summer’s day in my neck of the woods, and you will not hear me complain, because I’m alive and kicking to enjoy it! Thank You Lord for another blessed day on Planet Earth!
And today we’re going to check out one of the Prayer Cards recently issued by the In Touch Ministry, this one deals with ‘Missionaries.’ So please pray with me: ‘Father, so many need to hear the gospel. Thank You that because of Your LOVE, there’s still time to reach them. Please send more workers into the field. Touch hearts to answer Your call as missionaries, preachers, and evangelists. Go before them and make their work fruitful. Protect them from danger wherever they serve. As Your Word goes forth, I pray many will put their faith in the Lord Jesus and receive eternal life. Thank You for Your great mercy that saves us. Amen!’
Yes friends, the world indeed needs many more people to go forth and spread the saving Word of God, otherwise too many will be headed straight for hellfire and damnation with Satan. And remember what Peter says: ‘the Lord is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.’ (2 Pet. 3:9b). And that’s possibly one of the reasons Jesus has not yet returned to take His people home: the Lord’s giving us time to get out there and bring more people to repentance.
But we need many more people; missionaries, preachers, evangelists, whosoever, to get out into the field and spread the Word of God, the good news of the gospel of Christ. For as Jesus said when he sent forth seventy disciples into the field to preach the Word: ‘The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.’ (Luke 10:2) Now that’s the scripture that our prayer above was based on, and it’s a real problem in these evil and ungodly times, because, for whatever reason, many Christians are not interested in going into the world and preaching the Word of God.
And Jesus again made reference to the importance of believers spreading the gospel, when at one juncture, the disciples encouraged Him to eat something. ‘But he said unto them, I have meat (food) to eat that ye know not of. Therefore said the disciples one to another, hath any man brought him ought (anything) to eat? Jesus saith unto them, My meat (food) is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh the harvest?
behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look unto the field; for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured and ye are entered into their labours.’ (John 4:32-38)
Oh my fellow believers the harvest of unsaved souls is very large out there and it takes both those who sow the seed of the gospel and those who reap the harvest by continually preaching the word in encouragement. It’s like Bruh Paul admonished the Corinthians when they were arguing about whom they believed in, Paul or Apollos.
‘And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat (solid food): for hitherto (until now) ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions (dissensions), are ye not carnal (fleshly), and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?’ (1 Cor. 3:1-4)
And unfortunately friends, Christ’s church is still like that; divided and revelling in carnality much more than true spirituality. So how can we ever truly get going to spread Christ’s gospel when there’s so much infighting and enmity within the so-called church eh? It’s impossible! That’s why Satan has such a strangle hold on the world and our society!
Then Bruh Paul continues his admonition thus: ‘Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but minsters by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. For we are labourers together (fellow workers) with God: ye are God’s husbandry (field), ye are God’s building.’ (1 Cor. 3:5-9)
And the long and short of the story my fellow believers is that we are all God’s fellow workers. We work together under the auspices of the Lord God Almighty, and none of us is greater than the other. We do different jobs, but it’s the Lord himself who provides the increase! Please let’s remember that and try to minimize the envy and jealousy and divisiveness that still engulfs the church. Otherwise we will not be able to do a good job of bringing lost souls to Christ, which is one of our most important roles here on earth..
And the Lord’s so wonderful that He’s generously bestowed on us undeserved blessings to enable us to do that earthly work. We call them our Thursday blessings. So let’s declare and thus activate them 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 made that declaration (awright!!!) we’re now duty bound to go out and use those blessings on behalf of others, just as generously as the Lord bestowed them on us, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!
…spreading the gospel of Christ…in both word and deed…is the Christian’s basic job…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
20 Mar 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a tug-of -war, abudance, according to the inward man, alive and kicking, another law in my members, battlefields between the flesh and the Spirit, being controlled by the flesh, Bible, blessings, bringing me into captivity, carnal acts, christianity, contrary to one another, contrary to sound doctrine, contrasting the works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit, curse, divine protection, faith, favour, fight like we do, from the body of this death, God's daily compassions, governed by the Holy Spirit, holy spirit, I delight in the law of God, I serve the law of God, I thank God through Jesus Christ, if a man uses it lawfully, in Christ we have everything we need, Jesus Christ, keep sin out of our lives, LOVE, mercy, moral lives, negative word, no match for the power of the Holy spirit, nothing good in the flesh, O wretched man that I am, our flesh longs for the law of sin, our hearts long for the law of God, predicament, promotion, salvation, sin that dwells in me, sold under sin, success, talent, the carnality of our flesh, the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, the inherited sin nature, the law is good, the law is not made for the righteous man, the law of sin, the law of sin and death, the restraints of the law, the sins of the flesh, the spirit against the flesh, thoughts and deeds that yield only to death, truth, turn away from the flesh's evil yearnings, walk in the Spirit, walking in the Spirit, warring against the law of my mind, weaknesses, who shall deliver me, wisdom, with the flesh, with the mind, ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh
Galatians 5:16. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
And it’s a wet and cloudy Thursday morning, the sunshine we’ve had the last few days has disappeared, but life is still great, because we still have Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, and with Him we have everything we could ever need or want! Glory be! Now, as promised yesterday, if God saved life today, we’d continue looking at Bruh Paul’s words as he explains his struggles with his sin nature. And since we’re alive and kicking, through God’s great and daily compassions, let’s keep that promise. (smile)
So, yesterday we saw how Bruh Paul struggled to overcome the carnality of his flesh, not understanding why he did things he didn’t want to do and didn’t do the things he desired to do, claiming that there was nothing good in his flesh, and that fact caused his predicament. And he goes on to further say: ‘Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would (want to) do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after (according to) the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.’ (Rom. 7:20-23)
And so it is with us; our flesh and our hearts play a constant tug-of-war with each other. Our hearts longing after the law of God, while our flesh longs for the law of sin. And thus, many of us cry out like Bruh Paul: ‘O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death (this body of death)? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.’ (Rom. 7:24-25)
And the scholars explain that ‘the law of my mind refers to the influence of the Holy Spirit in the believer’s life to obedience and good works; which in Rom. 8:2 he refers to as: “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” The law of sin meanwhile refers to that in man which is sold under sin. It is the “law of sin and death” in Rom. 8:2. So, apart from the indwelling Holy Spirit, the law of sin would dominate Paul’s life.’ Just as certainly as it would do ours!
Then, as per verse 24, ‘O wretched man: The reference here is to Paul’s tragic condition of defeat and frustration. The body of this death is not the physical body, but the inherited sin nature from Adam. It is that in him which is continually inclined towards thoughts and deeds that yield only to death.’
Yes friends, although Bruh Paul was a great and zealous apostle, he was also a man, just like us, which means he had all the same weaknesses that we have, and had to fight, just like we do, to stay on the straight and narrow path. That means to stop berating ourselves when we act carnally. However, to mitigate or lessen those carnal acts, we need to grow spiritually by more studying of and meditation on God’s Word, while also paying closer attention to the voice and guidance of the Holy Spirit. That’s the only way we will ever turn down the cries of the flesh for its base desires.
And Bruh Paul offers these words of advice in his letter to the Galatians. ‘This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.’ (Gal. 5:16-18)
Oh friends, our lives are indeed battlefields between the flesh and the Spirit, because they both have yearnings and desires either to do good or to do evil. Consequently, they thwart each other and thus cause us to do things we don’t want to do. However, the situation is not hopeless, for when we are led by the Spirit and yield to His good wishes and desires, then we turn away from the flesh’s evil yearnings and keep sin out of our lives. But we need to consciously make that decision to be led by the Spirit, and when we do, we’re not under the law because then we don’t need the restraints of the law, since our moral lives are then governed by the Holy Spirit.
And as Bruh Paul said to Timothy: ‘But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane…etc. etc… and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;’ (1Tim. 1:8-10) Yes my brethren, the law is made for those irresponsible and disobedient people, not we faithful believers in Christ Jesus.
Now, here’s one last interesting piece of advice in the war against the flesh. The scholars tell us that ‘By contrasting the works of the flesh (Gal. 5:19-21) with the fruit of the Spirit (vs. 22-23) the believer can know whether he is walking by the Spirit or being controlled by the flesh.’ Now that’s an exercise we can all spend some valuable time on today. (smile)
But that’s not all! Our great God has, in His amazing generosity, also bestowed undeserved blessings on us to help do His earthly work. We call them our Thursday Blessings, which we can activate right now by simply declaring (steups!!!) them in all sincerity and truth. As one strong 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 with that declaration (yesss!!!) we are now duty bound to go out and use those blessings on behalf of others, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!
…the sins of the flesh…are no match for the power of the Holy Spirit…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
10 Feb 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a good attitude, alive and kicking, answer our prayers, back home, be not afraid, Bible, bless the LOrd o my soul, christianity, clean up our act, crowns thee with loving-kindness, divine aid, faith, felt that she was healed, firsthand experience, forget not all his benefits, forgives thine iniquities, give me the strength to endure, go in peace, God shall wipe away all tears, healing all manner of sickness, heals thy diseases, Hesus' healing ministry, holy spirit, humble servants, in faith, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus Christ, LOVE, mass confusion in our world, mercy, neither sorrow nor crying, no more death, no more pain, only believe, redeems thy life from destruction, salvation, satisfies thy mouth with good things, sincerely seek your face, strong faith in Christ, tender mercies, thaknful for prayers, the former things are passed away, the fountain of her blood dried up, the God who heals, the gospel of the kingdom, the needs of my physical body, the throne of grace, the woman with a 12 year issue of blood, thy faith hath made thee whole, thy youth is renewed like the eagle's, truth, who touched me, wisdom, your healing touch
Mark 5:36b. Be not afraid, only believe.
Well, a fine Monday afternoon to all you my faithful Scrip-Bit friends and families! The ole fella is alive and kicking! Yes, with the awesome help of our EVER-LOVING God, I’m back on track. I’m not kicking with the A or B Teams yet, but I am in there! Thank the Lord. As Bruh David would say: ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with LOVINGKINDNESS and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.’ (Ps. 103:2-5)
And the Lord God Jehovah has certainly done that for me during the last two days I spent in the hospital, where a diseased piece of my colon was removed. It was rough a bit of the time, but overall, with His help, I managed to pass the test. (smile) Now, I’m back home, the best place one can ever be, beginning to recuperate and I’m thankful for all the prayers you all offered on my behalf. But there’s one I want us to offer up together right now; a most appropriate one on healing, from the Prayer Cards recently issued by the In Touch Ministry. I know that I’m not the only one who needs healing, but many of us require it in these tough and deadly times.
So please pray with me: ‘Lord Jesus, You are the great Physician. When you walked the earth, You healed the sick, and You still heal today. In faith I bring you the needs of my physical body. I trust in Your goodness today, knowing that one day You will put an end to all pain and brokenness. Walk with me and give me the strength to endure. Thank You for Your healing touch Lord. Amen!’ And if our prayers were sincere, then we know that the Lord heard them and will respond in His own way and time. In the meanwhile, we have to keep our faith strong and bear whatever we’re going through with a good attitude.
And I know it’s not always easy to do that when the whole world seems to be falling down on you, but if you seek the Lord sincerely, He will help you handle it. And I’m talking here from firsthand experience, because that’s what I’ve had to do durng the last few weeks when the pain in my stomach became unbearable, despite some strong medication. And, as the prayer mentioned, we know the great promise of all time: ‘And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.’ (Rev. 21:4) But until then, we just have to grin and bear it. (smile)
And we’ll do one more thing the prayer card advises; that’s read a couple of the many accounts of healing in the New Testament to refresh our minds, bodies and spirits, that Jesus is indeed our Healer. And this first scripture gives us an overview of Jesus’ healing ministry. ‘And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness (every sickness) and all manner of disease (every disease) among the people. And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers (various) diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils (demons), and those which were lunatick (epileptics), and those that had the palsy (were paralyzed); and he healed them.’ (Matt. 4:23-24)
Wow! What a great healing ministry Jesus had here on earth…and still has, through His Holy Spirit that indwells us! But the problem is that we must believe, as these two stories we’re about to hear indicate. Jesus is on His way to heal the sick daughter of Jairus, one of the synagogue rulers, when this woman who had an issue of blood for 12 years, which would have made her unclean and almost an outcast according to Jewish law then, approaches Jesus walking in a crowd, and believes that if she can only touch the hem of His robe, or the fringe, the tassel of His robe she would be healed.
And so, she presses through the crowd, another unclean and unceremonial thing for her to do, and according to Mark’s gospel when she did touch Him, ‘Staightway the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague (affliction). And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue (power) had gone out of him, turned him about in the press (crowd), and said; Who touched my clothes? And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing.
But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. And he said unto her, Daughter thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague (affliction). While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house certain which said, Thy daughter is dead: why troublest the Master (Teacher) any further? As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe.
Then he took Peter, James and John went to the ruler’s house, found the household weeping, and said, Why make ye this ado (commotion), and weep? the damsel (child) is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn. But Jesus put them out of the house, then took the mother and father, and his disciples, and went into the room where the child lay, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is being interpreted (translated), Damsel (little girl) I say unto thee, arise. And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment. And he charged (commanded) them straitly (strictly) that no man should know it; and commanded that something should be giver her to eat.’ (Mark 5:29-43)
Yes friends, Jesus still heals, still does miracles, but we need to have the faith, the trust and the belief! So, to boost our spirits, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, seeking divine aid. Altogether: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world.
Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems.
Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’
Now, regardless of how much we beg and beseech, divine aid will not come until we clean up our act. So please let’s get to doing that nuh! Much LOVE!
…many of our problems would be solved…if we’d only believe…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
08 Oct 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: alive and kicking, became obedient unto death, being found in fashion as a man, being in the form of God, Bible, christianity, diligent servants, don't do the right things, duty bound, even the death of the cross, faith, god, he humbled himself, holy spirit, hurry, hypocrites, if there be any wicked way in me, in god's eyes, Jesus Christ, know my anxious thoughts, know my heart, lead me in the way everlasting, LOVE, masquerading as Christians, meditate on the Word, mercy, new mercies and compassions, permeating the land, salvation, search me O God, share His love with my neighbours, sinfulness, the beloved of God, the breath of life, the dustbin of history, the form of a servant, the light of the world, the salt of the earth, to be qual with God, too comfortable, too fearful, too lazy, trust my friend Jesus, truth, try me, Tuesday Mantra, ungodliness, walking our talk, wisdom, without complaining, worry
Philippians 2:8. And being found in fashion (appearance) as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Tuesday, Oh Tuesday! How we LOVE thee! For thou hast pushed that ugly, ole, disruptive, overbearing Monday out of our way! And for that, we give thee much thanks, Oh Tuesday! Yes friends, many of us are happy to see Monday flushed into the dustbin of history, because it brings out too many negative things in us. But that’s just because we don’t do the right things in the first place.
But nonetheless, we’re alive and kicking this Tuesday morning, so let’s give our wonderful God some thanks and praise for that, as well as for all of His new mercies and compassions that He’s poured out on us on this brand-new day, that’s sunny, but a tad cool in my neighbourhood.
Please pray with me: ‘Oh heavenly Father, we thank You for the breath of life to see this new day, and ask that You let Your Holy Spirit lead and guide us in the way You desire us to go, so that we can be good and diligent servants as we engage in our daily walk. Please help us to be the salt of the earth and light of the world that You desire us to be. We pray it all in the holy name of Jesus! Amen.’
Now, that means listening to whatever the Holy Spirit has to say to each of us, then getting up and doing His bidding. And there’s oodles of work to be done, if we ever hope to make something godly and righteous of this sinful world. The point being, that we can only make any worthwhile changes with the help of Jesus and His Holy Spirit.
But there’s so much work to be done, that we cannot only touch the surface with Jesus, but we have to dig deep down in and with Him; study and meditate on the Word like there was no tomorrow, then right away put it into practice. For who knows if there will be any tomorrow? Our biggest problem, I believe, is not so much knowing the word, but putting it into practice, which ofttimes takes more than what many of us are willing to give.
Many of us know the word well enough to make some beneficial changes in our world, but the problem is getting us to make the effort, to put out the energy needed to make the sacrifices required to put those changes into effect. It’s all a matter of us being too lazy, too comfortable or too fearful. Remember, Jesus didn’t have to undergo the sufferation He underwent, but because of the Father’s great LOVE for his sinful creation, that’s us, and Jesus LOVE for the Father, He did it, without complaining too.
As the Bible tells us: ‘(Jesus) Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men (emptied himself of all his privileges): And being found in fashion (appearance) as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.’ (Phil. 2:6-8)
Yes my brethren, that’s what Christ did for us, so why can’t we become a li’l uncomfortable and do His work eh? Because we’re just a bunch of talkative, no good, lazy, compromising, comfortable and fearful hypocrites, masquerading as Christians! Yuh think, with the number of supposed believers in the world, if each one of us would get out into the world and act like we should, not join or compromise with the world, that the sinfulness and ungodliness that’s currently permeating the land would be as bad?
No way! But it’s just that we supposed believers are not prepared to stand up and sincerely fight for what we claim to believe in. And the longer we wait to pull up the reins on the soaring ungodliness, the worst it will become, until we won’t ever have a chance of stopping it. Oh my people, do we really want to see our grandchildren and their children living in a world that’s worse than this one?
Of course not! But to make that happen, we have to stand up strong and fight the enemy RIGHT NOW! It’s high time to stop all the talking, which we’re so good at, like the hypocrite Pharisees of Jesus’ day, and begin walking that talk. That’s the only way we will ever make any serious changes in our current sinful and ungodly world. And what a wonderful world we can bring about if we would just walk our talk a bit more than we’re currently doing.
But it actively requires Christ’s church, that’s His people, not the buildings, to get together and stop fighting against each other, to drop the animosity and petty differences that keep us apart. Christ is depending on us to do His work, and we cannot do it if we’re as divided and uncompromising as we are.
Oh my fellow saints, we desperately need to search our hearts and see what’s there and how we can make the necessary changes. It’s like Bruh David says in that great Psalm 139: ‘Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my (anxious) thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.’ (Ps. 139:23-24)
Yes my fellow saints, that’s what we all need to do TODAY, so that we can be on our way to becoming the true salt of the earth and light of the world as Jesus desires. End of Sermon! (smile) Now let’s go home declaring (oh heifer dust!!!) yes, my exclamation was much stronger today. (smile) Let’s go home declaring (yesss!!!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting all and sundry know to whom we belong, lock, stock and barrel.
As one strong and sincere voice: ‘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 my immediate neighbours, as well as with the whole wide world! Glory be!’
And having said all of that, we are now duty bound to go out and share the amazing LOVE and friendship of Christ with others, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!
…what’s it going to take… for Christians…to get up and truly act like Christians eh…another world war…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
26 Jul 2022
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: accomplish your divine will, alive and kicking, all the upright in heart shall follow it, allowing us to see another beautiful day, be not wise in thine own eyes, but God gave the increase, do as I say not as I do, enmity and strife amongst each other, fear the Lord and depart from evil, God calls the shots not us, God is the Boss, hurry, I am the beloved of god, I have planted and Apollos watered, if any man among you, it shall be health to thy navel, judgement shall return unto the righteous, let him become a fool, let no man deceive himself, let no man glory in men, LOVE, marrow to thy bones, obey God and leave all the consequences to him, our names are nit in the obits, seemeth to be wise in this world, share His love with the world, the amazing hope of salvation, the breath of life, the lies deceits of the enemy, the Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, the Lord will not cast off his people, the sacrificial death of Jesus, the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God, trust my friend Jesus, Tuesday Mantra, worry
1 Corinthians 3:18. Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world (age), let him become a fool, that he may be wise.
Glory be! It’s Tuesday, and we are alive and kicking, thanks to God’s goodness and mercies that are new every day! Wow! Our names are not in the obits like so many others! Now that calls for some thanks and praise, doesn’t it? For sure! So please pray with me.
‘Dear heavenly father, with all of our souls, bodies, hearts and minds, we thank You for allowing us to see another beautiful day on planet earth. We know that it’s only through Your amazing goodness and mercy that it has happened, and it means You have more work for us to do down here. So please lead and guide us today, and every day that You give us the breath of life, to enable us to successfully accomplish your divine will, because that’s all that really matters. This we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!’
Ah mih people, please don’t ever doubt that we worship a most wonderful, merciful and good God, and it’s only through His awesome grace and mercy that we’re still breathing and have the amazing hope of salvation through the sacrificial death of His Son Jesus Christ. Some of us might think otherwise, how come He’s so good, when we suffer pain and sorrow and we don’t get what we want, when we want it?
But let’s remember that God is not there to just give us our selfish desires, if and when we please, but instead, we are here to do His divine bidding, to follow His will, be that as it may, even down to sacrificing our lives or the lives of others, if He so desires! Let’s get it straight; He is the Creator, and we are the created. He is the Boss and we are His servants, or children, or whatever you choose to call us. That means He calls the shots, not us!
And until we get that fact straight in our minds, the devil will always be able to lead us astray with his many lies, deceits and disinformation. We were made to honour and revere God, not for God to play doting grandfather to us. It’s amusing, but also sad, that we expect our children to obey our every wish, but don’t think we need to give the same obedience to our heavenly Father. As the ole people would say, ‘do so ain’t like so, do as I say, but not as I do.’ Yes, the rules pertain to everybody else… but us. (smile)
That leads us to these wise words of Bruh Paul to the church at Corinth when they were fighting over whom to belong to, Paul or Apollos. ‘Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world (age), let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, he taketh the wise in their own craftiness. And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain (futile). Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours. Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.’ (1 Cor. 3:18-23)
Ah mih people, yuh see how it easy it is for contention to spring up in the church? As Bruh Paul said earlier on. ‘I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.’ (1 Cor. 3:6-7) So it does us no good to be contending over who is the most important or wisest, because God gave them all to us to help us in our earthly journey, but in the long run, it is He Himself who produces whatever fruit we bear.
The world however is quite taken up with individual importance and wisdom, which the Lord considers total foolishness, as Bruh Paul says above. And Cousin Sol said it so perfectly long before that, when he declared: ‘Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear (reverence) the Lord, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel (body), and marrow (strength) to thy bones.’ (Prov. 3:7-8)
That’s the truth in spades my brethren! This lust for worldly wisdom and importance is driving us crazy, causing us to strive for unimportant things like wealth, power and glory, and in the fallout, enmity and strife amongst each other. That’s not what the Lord wants for us my people. He desires us to get along, as one body in Christ Jesus, doing His holy will, bringing the unbeliever from the darkness of Satan to the bright, shining and empowering light of Christ. But we can’t do that if we are fighting amongst each other for power and position, or totally neglecting the will of God.
And the psalmist wraps it all up nicely with these revealing words from Psalm 94. ‘The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity (futile). Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest (instructs), O Lord, and teachest him out of thy law; That thou mayest give him rest (relief) from the days of adversity, until the pit be digged for the wicked. For the Lord will not cast off (abandon) his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance. But judgement shall return unto righteousness: and all the upright in heart shall follow it.’ (Ps. 94:11-15)
Yes friends, the Lord God Jehovah is a father unto us, and just like we LOVE, instruct, chasten and have the good of our children at heart, so does He have our welfare at heart. And just like we set a path for our children and enable them to walk it, so will He do whatever is necessary to keep us walking the straight and narrow path that leads through Jesus to Him. He’s playing the same role that we play as earthly parents. It’s as simple as that.
Now, for those of us who are sincerely endeavouring to stay on the straight and narrow path, let’s go home declaring (yeahhh!!!) our Tuesday mantra, letting the whole world know to whom we belong, lock, stock and barrel. As one voice: ‘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!’
And having made that declaration, it now behooves us to go out and share that amazing LOVE and friendship of Christ with others, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!
…obey God…and leave all the consequences to Him… (Uncle Charles – Dr Charles Stanley)
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
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