18 Mar 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a decree, a full moon, a full tank, a glow of wamth, a golden sunset, above the earth and heaven, all creatures, all things, All things bright and beautiful, birds singing, children, Christians, come together, confidence, enthusiasm, exalt, faith, fellowship, fire, flying fowl, gospel truth, gratitude, great and small, hail, handiwork, he commanded, heavens, hope, joy, LOVE, maidens, old men, peace, persistence, praise, praise the name of the Lord, Praise ye the Lord, refresh our souls and spirits, ripe fruits, saints, snow, spiritual touch, sprinkle the night sky, stars, sun, sweet songs of thanks, tenderness, the beauty of nature, the breath of his mouth, the Lord made them all, the Lord's sanctuary, the Lord's Word, the rushes by the water, the strength of his people, the word of the Lord, they were created, waters, wise and wonderful, work diligently, worship, young mne
Psalm 148:5. Let them praise the name of the Lord: for he commanded and they were created.
Seven days have passed friends, since we last visited the Lord’s sanctuary to refresh our souls and spirits. That means we are due for a refuelling today.
So let’s all come together, gather in the Lord’s house and fellowship with enthusiasm, hope, faith, praise and worship, while He replenishes, with His word and spiritual touch, the faith we’ve used up this past week. That will enable us to go back out and work diligently and sincerely on His behalf, with a full tank of joy, LOVE, confidence, persistence and peace.
And all of God’s children declared a loud and thankful: ‘Glory to God for His LOVING-kindness to the undeserving children of men!’ And how right we are, to give God the glory for all the magnanimous and magnificent things He’s done for us.
Now, as always, let’s begin our praise and worship with a favourite old hymn titled ‘All things bright and beautiful.’ It was written by Cecil F. Alexander around 1848. And does it ever celebrate the Lord and His creations in nature. So let’s belt it our now through lips lined with sacrificial praise and hearts filled with enormous LOVE and gratitude to our Maker.
‘(Refrain: All things bright and beautiful, All creatures great and small, All things wise and wonderful: The Lord God made them all.) Each little flow’r that opens, Each little bird that sings, He made their glowing colors, He made their tiny wings. (Refrain)
The purple-headed mountains, The river running by, The sunset and the morning That brightens up the sky.(Refrain)
The cold wind in the winter, The pleasant summer sun, The ripe fruits in the garden, He made them every one. (Refrain) The tall trees in the greenwood, The meadows where we play, The rushes by the water, To gather every day.(Refrain)
He gave us eyes to see them, And lips that we might tell How great is God Almighty, Who has made all things well. All things bright and beautiful, All creatures great and small, All things wise and wonderful: The Lord God made them all.’
Yeh friends, ALL the beauty we enjoy in nature was made by our heavenly Father, for our enjoyment. Unfortunately though, many of us, including Christians, don’t seem to appreciate the wonder and beauty of nature.
What can be more beautiful than a golden sunset; a full moon in full glow while stars sprinkle the night sky, or birds singing sweet songs of thanks in the early morning hours as they rise and give praise to their creator.
Chuh! But we, the most important of God’s creation find it difficult, or even impossible to thank Him for His fatherly goodness and the beauty He’s created to enliven our earthly lives.
Now we’re going to spend the rest of this message giving Him some of the praise He so worthily deserves. And we’ll begin with Psalm 148 – All creation to praise the Lord – from which our Bit is taken. ‘Praise ye the Lord (sing Hallelujah): Praise ye the Lord from the heavens: praise him in the heights.
Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts. Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light. Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens. Let them praise the name of the Lord: for he commanded, and they were created.’ (Ps.148:1-5)
And that’s the gospel truth my brethren! The Lord commanded everything to be made that was made! Therefore everything that was made, especially man, ought to be constantly singing His praises and admiring His handiwork. And He even went a step further than just creating them: ‘He hath also stablished (established) them for ever and ever: he hath made a decree which shall never pass.’ (Ps.148:6) Glory to God friends!
Nothing God has made shall pass away unless He wills it. Therefore ‘Praise the Lord from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps (sea creatures): Fire, and hail; snow, and vapour; stormy wind fulfilling his word: Mountains, and all hills; fruitful trees, and all cedars:
Beasts, and all cattle; creeping things, and flying fowl: Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of the earth: Both young men, and maidens; old men, and children: Let them praise the name of the Lord: for his name alone is excellent (exalted); his glory is above the earth and heaven.
He also exalteth the horn (strength) of his people, the praise of all of his saints; even of the children of Israel, a people near unto him. Praise ye the Lord (sing Hallelujah)’ (Ps.148:7-14)
Oh my people, how awesome is our God eh! I can’t understand why we refuse to exalt and glorify Him the way we should. But this Sunday morning, as we gather to worship Him, let’s begin changing that nuh. Let’s raise up our voices and our hearts in gratitude and tenderness and LOVE and exaltation, so that He can know that we truly appreciate Him and bring a beautiful smile to His face and a glow of warmth to His heart! Much LOVE!
…by the word of the Lord…were the heavens made…and all the hosts of them…by the breath of his mouth… (Ps.33:6)
10 Feb 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a better tomorrow, action, adultery, all things, anger, Anselm, ask, aspires, balance, behnd closed doors, believer in Christ, bring us through, by no means, Christ-likeness, Christian, Christian character, clear your mind, commanded, commitment, contrasts, dangerous, deceiving, depth of message, divorce, draw breath, enter into heaven, exceed, forgiveness, get better every day, go after, God brings us to, God's chosen people, God's timing, hatred, hold the pen, I say unto you, immeasurable value, in god's eyes, inspire, Israel, Jews, Law, LOVE, lust, maturity, murder, no, oath taking, outward show, possible with God, practical application, prosper, quotes, religious, retaliation, righteousness., rise up, Saturday, scribes and Pharisees, seeking, self-righteousness, significance, snow, something to ponder, speak the truth, spirit, step forward, take off, talk a good talk, the answer, the gospel in action, the Lord's will, the story of your life, the will of God, to no avail, tradition, unnecessary baggage, useless stuff, walk the walk, want to fly, weighed down, weighs you down, what you want, winter wonderland, words of jesus, write a good life story, writing
Matthew 5:20. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case (by no means) enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Oh friends, out there is like a true winter wonderland! Everything is as white as ever, for as far as you can see. And the white stuff has begun coming down again, at least in my area. Chuh!
But that’s the Lord’s will. There isn’t anything we can really do about it. It’s winter, and that’s what happens in winter. We’ve just been lucky over the last few years not to see so much snow, so early in the season.
But remember, anything God brings us to, He will bring us through. So if you have to go out today, please be careful, because that white stuff, though it may look beautiful on the ground, like the enemy it can be very deceiving and dangerous.
And since it’s Saturday, let’s look at some of the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. Listen to this first one. ‘When writing the story of your life, don’t let anyone else hold the pen.’ And why would you want to do that eh? It’s your life. You have to control it.
Now check this out. ‘All the days that you wake up, you got one job, and that’s to get better every single day.’ And that’s oh so true, especially for a Christian. We need to aspire to grow in maturity and Christ-likeness every day that we draw breath.
That leads us to: ‘Clear your mind of can’t!’ Wonderful advice! For as a believer in Jesus Christ, ‘can’t’ is not supposed to be in our vocabulary, since ALL things are possible with God, and we are God’s chosen people!
And here’s an interesting one. ‘If you wanna fly, you got to give up the useless stuff that weighs you down.’ Is that ever so true friends! You can’t fly, or prosper, or take off, or rise up if you are being weighed down by useless and unnecessary stuff.
Note how they carefully pack airplanes and ships for balance, and consider how much stuff is placed in them, otherwise they won’t be able to lift off the ground or sail. The same goes for people, improperly placed and unnecessary baggage will hold us back.
And this last quote says: ‘If you do not go after what you want, you will never have it. If you do not ask, the answer will always be NO. If you do not step forward, you will always be in the same place.’
And that is certainly true, but for believers a serious proviso has to be added to it: All we do, must be done under the will of God, His leading, and in His awesome timing! If not, our seeking will be to no avail; we’ll never truly fly, or write a good life story. And I do hope those quotes give us something to ponder this snowy Saturday morning, as we laze around the house. (smile)
And we have a very interesting Bit today; memorable words of Jesus, as He talks about the law. ‘For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case (by no means) enter into the kingdom of heaven.’
Wow mih people! Imagine that nuh! And those people were supposed to be the most religious in their day, but Jesus lambasted them right, left and centre for their hypocritical behaviour.
Hear how the scholars explain it. ‘5:20. Because of the necessity of righteousness as a requirement to enter heaven, Jesus then declares that except their righteousness should exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees they could not enter heaven.
The significance of this is seen in the fact that the Jews of Jesus’ day considered those people to be the most religious in all Israel. However, their religion was largely an outward show of self-righteousness.
In communicating the depth of His message, Jesus used a series of contrasts between the outward behaviour demanded by the law and the inner attitude of the heart desired by God. Here we discover the practical application of genuine Christian character to true spiritual living. Here we see the gospel in action.
Law Spirit
No Murder No anger
No adultery No lust
No divorce Commitment
No oath-taking Speak the truth
No retaliation Forgiveness
Hatred for your enemy LOVE for your enemy
(tradition allowed it) (commanded)
Ah mih people, yuh see the basic difference between the laws of man and those of God. Our God expects us to come up to a higher standard than that of the basic law. Just living by the law is not good enough. And the scribes and Pharisees didn’t even truly live by the law that they propagated.
Unfortunately, so do a lot of us supposed Christians in these end times. Some of us put on a great outward show, talk a good talk, but behind closed doors it’s an entirely different story.
But please remember Jesus’ words; unless we are more righteous than the religious leaders of His day, we won’t enter heaven. Now, that’s something of immeasurable value and importance for us to ponder this Saturday morning. Much LOVE!
…unless you walk the walk…in God’s eyes…where it really matters…talking the talk is useless…
08 Feb 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: 911 Emergency Number, a compassionate heart, a day of rest, a positive outlook, abundance, all things, angel, aspect of belief, At the cross, believing, blessed, broken, careful path, communication with God, Corville Peters, courage, creativity, curse, delivered, divine protection, dump trucks, excessive rest, expectation, faith, favour, God's willingness, hem and haw, Herod, Higher heights, hope, human arsenal, humble apologies, in a trance, in dream land, in Jesus, in Jesus' name, it is his angel, LOVE, more Christ-like, negative word, nowhere in sight, omnipotent god, on our behalf, overcome God's reluctance, Perter, power, powerful tool, pray, prayer, prayer was made, pregnant, prison, promises, prosper, seeing it, self-control, share with others, snow ploughs, strength, stressed out, succeed, success, talent, the Good Book, the Jews, Thursday Blessings, tired, trust, truth, twist God's arms, unborn child, watched the snow fall, weapon, whatsoever ye ask in prayer, wisdom, without ceasing, you shall receive
Matthew 21:22. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask for in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
Ah friends, my most humble apologies for the lateness of today’s Bit. I have absolutely no idea what happened, except that when I was supposed to get up, I was still somewhere far away in dream land. (smile)
And it’s not like I did anything exhaustive yesterday, or went to bed later than normal. In fact yesterday was designated a day of rest, as I watched the snow fall, and then listened to the snow ploughs and dump trucks cart it away later in the evening. So my only conclusion is that I was simply tired from excessive rest! (smile)
But on a serious note, I’m asking us, especially our St. Francis people, to offer up sincere prayers for one of our church members, Abbi, who recently had to trek down to Indianapolis to help look after her very sick mother in the hospital. Some of you might not know her, because she usually comes to the 8.30 a.m service.
Her father doesn’t seem to be doing too well either, as he appears to be stressed out over his wife’s illness. And to complicate matters even further, Abbi is also 6.5 months pregnant, so she also has to look after herself and her unborn child. That means she has to walk a very narrow and careful path in this tremulous situation. There’s not much we can do for the family except pray. So please do that. They would very much appreciate your prayers.
Now here is something appropriate that I just found on one of the many pieces of paper that sit next to my computer. It’s a quote from Corville Peters, host of the Christian call in programme, ‘At the Cross.’ He says: ‘Prayer is not about trying to overcome God’s reluctance, but laying hold of His willingness on your behalf.’
And isn’t that the awesome truth! Prayer is not about trying to twist God’s arms to help us, but to activate His waiting and His willingness to help. I guess it’s something like our 911 Emergency Number. When you call it, you don’t have to beg them to come and help you, because that’s exactly what they are there for.
It’s the same thing with our omnipotent God; He is there to always help us when we call, not hem and haw as to whether He should, or should not. And don’t ever forget friends, that prayer is the most powerful tool or weapon in our human arsenal! Otherwise, Jesus would not have said in our Bit: ‘And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask for in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.’
And it’s very true. But please note the most important word in that sentence: ‘believing.’ Yeh mih people, we have to believe that we will get what we pray for. You’ll notice, that with Jesus, everything is about believing, about having hope and faith, about seeing it when it’s nowhere in sight.
Look at how we believe that Jesus died for us and LOVES us and all those good things, although we never met Him in the flesh. That’s what our faith is all about: when you believe, then you’ll see! And what better example is there than when Peter was imprisoned by Herod.
The Good Book tells us: ‘Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for Him.’ (Acts 12:5) And what happened after that. An angel came and let Peter out of the prison like he was in a trance. (Acts 12:6-10)
The Good Book continues: ‘And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety (for certain), that the Lord had sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.’ (Acts 12:11)
And we all know how when he knocked at the door of Mary’s house, the mother of John Mark, even though they were praying for him, nobody would believe that he was out there, saying nonsense like, ‘It is his angel.’ He had to keep on knocking before they would let him in. (Acts 12:12-17)
So you see friends, even though we pray sincerely, we still lack that ever-important aspect of belief. As Jesus said so plainly before our Bit: ‘Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain; be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.’ (Matt.21:21)
It’s all about faith, and trust and belief in Jesus and His awesome power and promises my brethren! Please, let’s not lose or lessen our faith, but rather build it up, so that we can move to higher heights, become more Christ-like, as the Father desires. And in keeping with all that, let’s go home now, proudly and sincerely declaring out Thursday Blessings.
In strong voice now: ‘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 everyday! Amen!’
And if we truly believe it all, then our next step is to go out and share it with others, as Jesus intends for us to do. Much LOVE!
…prayer…that wonderful…and oh so powerful…method of communication with our great God…
15 Dec 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a discerner, a thief in the night, able to judge, all things, all-powerful, almighty god, archaic, be ready, believers, best gift, Bethlehem, boundaries, breath of life, Christians, Christmas, closest friend, discern his thoughts, drink up deh liquor, dust of the earth, eath up deh food, enthusiasm, erupt, eternal damnation, excuse, fellowship, fight God's word, Friday chant, friend, fun, furthering your glorious kingdom, gain a foothold, generous help, God's eyes, going by everybody, in Jesus' name, inactive, inept, inner secrets, Jesus Christ, joints and marrow, limits, living, loving god, merciful, miraculous birth, naked, of man's mind, of the heart, old, opened to His eyes, party hearty, partying, piercing, powerful, pretense, quick, redeeming saviour, relationship with Jesus, relaxation, rest, safely through, save mankind, scrutiny, Second Coming of Jesus, sharper than any twoedged sword, sin, sincerity, song of freedom, soul and spirit, takes your breath away, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, thanks and praise, the dividing asunder, the enemy, the lime buss, the weekend, the Word of god, thoughts and intentions, too much leeway, volcanic fashion, week of work, workingman, you can run, you can't hide
Hebrews 4:12. For the word of God is quick (living), and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of (is able to judge) the thoughts and intents (intentions) of the heart.
Ten more days friends, ten more days to the Big Day of Christmas! Then the celebrations will erupt in volcanic fashion, as in all parts of the world we give thanks and praise to Almighty God for the miraculous birth of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, born two thousand years ago on a wintry night in Bethlehem of Judea, to grow to manhood, and eventually save mankind from sin and eternal damnation.
Exalt His holy name my people, for it’s the best gift mankind has ever received! And on this chilly Friday morning, the ordinary workingman is also out there singing his song of freedom. ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday! The weekend here! At long last mih li’l time of freedom come! And as is Christmas time to boot, the partying going to be even greater than usual.
We going by everybody to eat up deh food and drink up deh liquor! When the lime buss so, people wouldn’t know what hit them! And please, doh tell me nothing about partying too much nuh, because if I could work for five days straight, then I could at least party hearty for two. So just leh we thank the Lord for Fridays and weekends yes!’
And believe me friends, that is exactly what’s happening in some parts of our world. (smile) But as Christians, as believers in Jesus Christ, that is just simply too much leeway for us, as it gives the enemy too many opportunities to get a foothold in our lives and thus mess with our relationship with Jesus.
And we certainly don’t want anything to mess with that, the most important and wonderful relationship ever! That’s why we have certain boundaries and limits that we try not to cross over, and why our Friday Chant is so different to that of the ordinary workingman. So let’s declare it now nuh, with suitable enthusiasm and sincerity.
‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Yes my people, it doesn’t prohibit us from having fun, but it also emphasizes the necessity to get ready for next week. And, as believers, we should always be ready: readiness should be a constant state of our lives, especially being ready for the Second Coming of Jesus, which can occur at any time, like the proverbial thief in the night.
Now it’s time to check out our Bit; such a mighty piece of scripture, than when you read it, it just takes your breath away. ‘For the word of God is quick (living), and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of (is able to judge) the thoughts and intents (intentions) of the heart.’
Ah mih bredden, that just shows that we cannot fool with the Word of God, for it’s all-seeing and knowing and more powerful than any man-made instrument! And Bruh Paul adds this addendum after our Bit which corroborates our statement. ‘Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in (hidden from) his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do (must give account).’(Heb.4:13)
Yeh friends, you can run, but you certainly can’t hide from your Creator! So those of us who are trying to get away from Him, please, let’s stop the foolishness nuh, for He knows your every move before you even think them. It’s so much easier, and wiser, to just give in to Him and say, ‘Lord, here I am, take me, I’m yours, now and forever more! Amen!’
Now here is some info from the scholars re our Bit and the succeeding verse. ‘4:12-13. For the word of God: The reason given for one’s careful scrutiny of his life involves the reality that God is intently scrutinizing it. His word is quick (living). This word is first in the Greek and is the emphasis. God’s word is not old or archaic; it is alive.
It is not inept or inactive; it is powerful (active). It reaches into the inner secrets of man’s mind to discern even his thoughts and intents. Likewise, God’s eyes sees man as though he were naked, unable to hide behind excuse or pretense.’
What more can I say eh friends? Not a whole lot. Our whole lives are open unto the One who created us from the dust of the earth, then breathed His breath of life into our frail and fragile bodies, so trying to hide anything from Him is a total waste of time.
What’s much better is going to Him with EVERYTHING! That’s what He wants and desires, so He can be an integral, or rather the most important part, closest friend, redeeming Saviour, merciful and LOVING God in our lives. That’s who He is friends! And the sooner we realize it and accept Him, the better off we shall be. Much LOVE!
…you can’t fight God’s word…because it’s All-Powerful…
03 Oct 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a man lay down his life, a proviso, all things, ascension, beloved of God, burden light, comforted, country music festival, death, definitions, destructive behaviour, do whatsoever I command you, dr robert h schuller, easy, encouraged, evil, faithful friend, for his friends, forgave, friend of Jesus, friends, friendship, gentle, good news, greater love, heart biopsy, heavy laden, humble, I have heard of my Father, I have told you, intimate friend, Isis, Jesus, Jesus Christ, labour, Las Vegas, learn from me, lifted suffering, loney, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, lowly, Mandalay Bay Hotel, meek, obedient to His will, prayer, rejoiced, renewed, rest, resurrection, servants, share His love, sharing trusting, sinking, sinning, striving, struggling, succeeding, take my yoke, the great invitation, the Vegas Strip, Tuesday Mantra, ungodly world, What a Friend
John 15:13. Greater LOVE hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Oh friends, what a sick, crazy, evil and ungodly world we’ve become eh! Everyday is some new disaster, either man-made or natural!
And the latest is the killing of some 59 persons in the glitzy tourist town of Las Vegas, and the injuring of hundreds more participating in a country music festival across from the Mandalay Bay Hotel on the Vegas Strip.
The killer, a supposed quiet, retired, ex-accountant apparently had numerous weapons in his room on the 32nd floor of the hotel and just began firing indiscriminately through the window at the crowd. Obviously the crowd of over 20 thousand stampeded, which only made matters worse.
And the sad part of the matter is that Isis, the Islamic State terrorists, boldly claimed responsibility for the attack, although no association or any other grounds for the claim could be justified. That just goes to show how sick our society really is, when we claim other people’s destructive behaviour as ours, without a shred of evidence.
But enough of the bad news, here is some good news; good news about a wonderful friend we have, His name is Jesus. This comes from Gramps Schuller’s (Dr. Robert H Schuller) Hour of Power Devotional. We’ve prayed it before, but we need to be reminded of it again, especially in these rough and anxious times.
It’s titled ‘What a Friend!’ Please pray with me. ‘You have never failed, Lord, to be my one, essential, intimate friend. When I was: Lonely in striving – you encouraged me. Lonely in struggling – you lifted me. Lonely in serving – you supported me. Lonely in suffering – you comforted me. Lonely in sinning – you forgave me. Lonely in sinking – you renewed me. Lonely in succeeding – you rejoiced with me. What a friend I have in Jesus! Thank you, Lord. Amen.’
And those words are ever so true my fellow believers! There is no greater and more faithful friend in this world that our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ! Wow! What a majestic and mighty individual He is! He died for us, paid our sin debt in full, when He didn’t have to. That alone makes Him the greatest friend ever!
And as he philosophized in our Bit: ‘Greater LOVE hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.’ Then my brethren, He went out and proved it, enduring some of the worse ‘sufferation’ known to man, all on our behalf. So how can He not be our greatest and best friend eh?
However, there is a proviso, as He stated after our Bit. ‘Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.’ (John 15:14) Yeh mih people, if we don’t do what Jesus desires, if we’re not obedient to His will, then we’re no friends of His. To be His friend, means to do what He requires of us. As simple as that.
And hear this verse following those other two. ‘Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.’ (John 15:15)
And right there you have a couple of the main definitions of the word friend; sharing and trusting. Jesus so trusted His disciples, that He shared all the information that His Father had told Him. Consequently, He’s also sharing that info with us today, my fellow believers.
He’s telling us all about the life God has planned for each and every one of us through His death, resurrection and ascension. Right now he’s sitting at the Father’s right hand, advocating, pleading our cases to Him. How much more friendship can we need or deserve eh?
But Jesus is so wonderful, that He doles out even more, through His 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 (gentle) and lowly (humble) in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matt.11:28-30)
Ah mih people, what a glorious invitation! That from a sinless man who died so that we could live eternally, then sits in heaven pleading for us. Hn! We’d be rather foolish not to accept His friendship and His invitation to join Him in the magnificent and joyful halls of heaven!
And to round it off in fine style, let’s end by declaring our Tuesday Mantra, letting the world know who and whose we are – believers in, and friends of Jesus.
With much gusto and sincerity now. ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
Now let’s go out and tell the good news story of Jesus and share His LOVE with the world, as He desires of us. Much LOVE!
…oh how wonderful it is…to have Jesus as our best friend…there’s none more faithful…trustworthy…kind and LOVING than Him…
P.S. Please pray for the ole fella this morning as he goes into the city to do a heart biopsy procedure. It’s a fairly safe and common procedure, but a li’l prayer never hurts and oftimes helps. (smile) Much LOVE!
15 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: A to Zee, all things, balance, begrudge, boomerang, building, comes back to you, common sense, cruel, demanding world, destruction, do unto men what you want them to do to you, do unto others, epitome, evil lifestyles, for dear life, Friday chant, friends, fun, generous help, glorious kingdom, God's plan for man, God's Word, greed, harmony, heartless massa, hell on earth, higher than the animals, holding hands, in a line, in Jesus' name, injunction, Jesus Christ, life experience, lower than the angels, Moses, negative emotions, no more work, P.S. I Love You, perpetrate, pilgrimage, pleasure, power, reaping, relaxation, rest, rocket science, rumours of war, self-aggrandizement, selfishness, single file, slaving, sowing, spiritual matters, standing in a circle, stressful, strife, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the golden rule, the law, the lust of the flesh, the prophets, the Ten Commandments, the weekend, topsy turvy world, under the gun, ungodly, unity, vicious cycle, want, wars, wisdom, you reap what you sow
Matthew 7:12. Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
And then it was Friday…
No wonder the workers united to sing this song of emancipation: ‘TGIF! Thank God it is Friday! No more work, no more slaving for a cruel, heartless massa! The weekend is upon us and we will enjoy all the pleasures it offers – from A to Zee! Thank God for Fridays and the weekends yes!’
Ah friends, you really can’t begrudge people some pleasure when they’ve been under the gun all week, just working and doing little else in this supposedly modern but very stressful and demanding world.
However, we can’t afford to only seek the lust of the flesh in the next two days either; spiritual matters must also be of great concern, otherwise we’ll lose the something in our souls that makes us higher than the animals and just a little lower than the angels.
Now let’s chant our Friday Chant which gives us a better perspective on the matter. 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.’
Now that is a much better way to handle the couple days off we have over the weekend; it keeps our soul and spirit in balance, which is something we desperately need to survive and be successful in our current topsy-turvy world.
And here’s an interesting quote from my ‘P.S. I LOVE YOU’ Poster. I don’t know if I’ve shared it before, but if I haven’t, I ought to have, and if I’ve shared it before, then it’s nice enough for us to do it twice. (smile)
And it says: ‘The people on our planet are not standing in a line single file. Look closely. Everyone is really standing in a circle, holding hands. Whatever you give to the person standing next to you, it eventually comes back to you.’
And isn’t that the awesome truth friends? It certainly is! It’s basically God’s plan for man; whatever you sow, you shall reap. Life is like a boomerang; whatever you throw out to it, it will eventually come right back to you.
So if you throw out bad, that’s what you’ll eventually receive, the same thing goes for good. The trouble is that we don’t think sufficiently along those lines, so we sow whatever our flesh wants, then when we get back something negative in return we wonder why.
But life is not rocket science my people, it’s a simple do unto others as you’d want them doing unto you. And Jesus’ words on that subject is our Bit for today. ‘Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.’
Yes my people, that’s what we call the ‘Golden Rule!’ And it’s really the only sensible way to live, if what we said above, about sowing and reaping, is true.
And the scholars explain it thus: ‘Hence, rather than judging others, we are to treat them as we would like to be treated. Therefore all things…do ye even so to them, is the biblical injunction often called the “Golden Rule.” This is the law and the prophets indicates that the statement made here by Jesus is not intended to be novel, but rather a summarization of the second table of the law.’
Yes friends, it’s not new, it’s just what has been required of us ever since Moses got those Ten Commandments. (smile) Unfortunately though, not enough of us are following it in these crucial and critical times, thus the ungodly and evil lifestyles we’re seeing so prevalent over God’s great world.
But it shouldn’t be like that. If we’d use our common sense and life experience we’d realize it. However we tend to live by the lusts of the flesh and the emotions of greed, selfishness etc. which only tear us down. There’s no building of harmony and unity in those negative emotions my people, just breaking down and destroying.
And that’s exactly what’s happening in our world. I don’t know if we’ve ever gone through a more destructive period in a supposed time of peace. Steups!
Everyday we’re becoming better at destruction, for a lot of our manufacturing consists of finding and building better ways to destroy. It’s taken us sometimes hundreds of years to build the great monuments of our world, but we destroy them in mere seconds!
Hn! And not only that, no longer do we have to be up close to destroy, we can stay thousands of miles away and perpetrate hell on earth to our enemies. And then we wonder why our world is going to hell in a bucket!
Look at all the wars and rumours of wars that are currently causing such woeful strife in our world. Friends, it doesn’t take a fool to realize that if we keep destroying, instead of building, we’ll soon have nothing left to destroy.
Our leaders seem to be more inept and inefficient than ever, corruption has never been so pervasive, far-reaching and blatant. It just seems that all they are interested in is self-aggrandizement and holding on to immense power for dear life.
But what they don’t seem to understand is that the more you have, the more you control, the more you have to lose and the more carefully you have to guard it all, which only leads to more problems, in all areas of life.
Please friends, let’s not be caught up in that vicious cycle of want, of greed and selfishness that is so easy to climb on to, but ever so difficult to get off. Let’s use common sense and God’s Word to direct our earthly pilgrimage nuh. It’s the epitome of wisdom! Much LOVE!
…the Golden Rule…do unto others…as you want them to do unto you…is still the most sensible and godly way to live in this mish-mash world…
29 Jan 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all things, almighty god, atonement, awesome, awesome scripture, charles stanley, Christ's sacrifice, Chtist died for the ungodly, clarifies our direction, confirms our counsel, considering, dare to die, darkness, death of Jesus, dictionary, enlarges our view of God, eternal life, eternal separation, faithfully receive, faithfulness, free gift, freely give us, friends, God's promises, God's unchanging word, God's Word, golden platter, good man, gratifying truths, greatest gift, guidance on life, Guidebook of Life, guides us to success, headache, heavenly wisdom, improves our daily lives, in due time, increases our faith, Jesus, Jesus Christ, joy in God, justified, keeps us aware of God's presence and power, light, lord jesus christ, LOVE, Love given, Love received, meditating, meditation, misguided world, onus, pondering, prophet isaiah, purifies our heart, recociled to God, recociliation, resting, righteous man, salvation, saved from wrath, scornful, shadow of death, sharpens our perception, spiel, the best therapy, the Good Book, the Holy Bible, the Life, the Light, the Truth, the Way, the way to heaven, thesaurus, troubled, truth, turn up our noses, unconditional LOVE, undeniable truth, undying LOVE, wisdom, wise and sensible, without strength, wonder
Romans 5:6. For when we were yet without strength, in due time (at the right time) Christ died for the ungodly.
Well Friends, it’s Wednesday, and unfortunately I didn’t make any real good memories yesterday. When I sit back in my rocking chair and reflect on yesterday, it will only come up as one that I spent quietly, resting and trying to get rid of the persistent headache. So there are no tales of awesome wonder to relate. (smile)
However, I did find this list of stuff that meditating on God’s Word does for us. I believe I got it from one of Uncle Charles’ (Charles Stanley) sermons. So are here are some of the ways meditation on the word helps and improves our daily lives.
‘It quietens our spirit; Purifies our heart; Sharpens our perception; Clarifies our direction; Confirms or cautions our counsel; Increases our faith; Enlarges our view of God. Keeps us aware of God’s presence and power; and finally, it Guides us to success.’
Yes Friends, meditating on the Word of God improves our earthly lives in at least those nine ways! So why aren’t we meditating more on God’s Word eh? It brings such amplification, awareness and right perspective to the human mind and life!
When we don’t know the meaning of a word, or are looking for a synonym, we check a dictionary and/ or a thesaurus, but when we’re looking for guidance on life, we either fail to or are rather reluctant to check the Guidebook of Life, the Holy Bible, God’s unchanging Word. That’s certainly not wisdom, my people.
So hopefully, now that we’ve heard some of the things that pondering on and truly considering God’s Word does for us, we’ll begin meditating on it more. For in light of what we’ve just seen, that is indeed wisdom for the ages!
And having thrown in that little spiel on meditation, let’s see what the Lord has in store for us today with our Bit, which deals with one of God’s awesome promises; reconciliation to Him. ‘For when we were yet without strength, in due time (at the right time) Christ died for the ungodly.’
And that my Friends, is one of the most amazing, important and gratifying truths in the Good Book!
Ah my fellow believers, what an incredible testimony that is to God’s unconditional and undying LOVE for us. Wow! He LOVED us so much, that even at our worst, He was prepared to give us His BEST! What a magnificent and magnanimous God we serve and worship my people!
And talking about LOVE, here’s this aside on that topic from Gordon W. Allport (1897-1967) one of the early American psychologists. He so rightly declares that: ‘LOVE received and LOVE given, provide the best therapy.’
Oh my brethren, that’s such undeniable truth! And if you don’t believe me, then check it out for yourselves. Take stock of when you’re the happiest, and you’ll undoubtedly discover that it’s when you’ve both given and received LOVE!
So since our great God gave us LOVE through Christ’s sacrifice, the onus is now on us to faithfully receive the LOVE; the salvation offered, and then walk steadfast and strong in it, all the way to heaven and eternal life!
Unfortunately though, in this troubled and misguided world, too many people seem averse, and oftimes hostile and even murderous, to receiving God’s LOVE and His free gift of salvation and eternal life! How sad my people. How sad that God’s supposed greatest creation refuses to accept His greatest gift; Jesus.
Remember, He promised way back in the time of the prophet Isaiah, to bring His chosen people out of darkness, into the light, despite their abominable disobedience and rebellion? ‘The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.’ (Is. 9:2)
Well Friends, Jesus Christ was that LIGHT; the fulfillment of that promise! So how can we not accept Him, if we want to live a wise and sensible life in everlasting LIGHT and LOVE!
Now my brethren, please check out this awesome scripture of promise, LOVE and faithfulness fulfilled. ‘For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure (perhaps) for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth (demonstrates) his (own) LOVE toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Much more then, being now (having been) justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more being (having been) reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement (reconciliation).’ (Rom.4:7-11)
Oh Friends and fellow believers, what more can we ask of God eh? Nothing really! For He’s placed everything we need to get reconciled to Him, on a huge silver… no a huge golden platter for us, we just have to receive it now.
But I guess most of us scornfully turn up our noses at anything that’s free and so good. But believe me my people, this is the one and only thing in this life that seems too good to be true, but is very, very, very true!
So please, let’s get wise and stop the nonsense of living for this world’s fleeting pleasures and perishable material goods nuh, and instead, wisely, sensibly accept the faithfulness of our great and wonderful God, and joyfully receive the LIGHT and LIFE, the TRUTH and the WAY that He so magnanimously sent us; His One and Only Son, Jesus Christ!
That my brethren, is heavenly wisdom, for it is the ONLY THING that will prevent eternal separation from Almighty God! Much LOVE!
…He that spared not his own Son…but delivered him up for us all…how shall he not with him…also freely give us all things… (Rom.5:32)
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