17 Jun 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a horse of a different colour, a righteous life, almighty god, Ananias, Ananias And Sapphira, anger, apostles, as far as the east is from the west, awesome power of the Holy Spirit, bless your Holy Name, blessings, condition for our existence, crash and reboot, Creator of the universe, do your holy will, dragging up the past, evil and ungodly earth, faltering, fateful day, father in heaven, fear, filled with the power of Jesus, forgiveness, glorify God, glorious morn, God has removed our sin, grow more in christ-like character, Holy Ghost, holy spirit, hypocrisy, I told you so, lead and guide us, let bygones be bygones, lie to the Holy Ghost, LOVE, loving kindness, mercies, on its good side, Peter, Praise the Lord, praise to Almighty God, prayer of thanksgiving, precious gift from God, Sapphira, Satan, Sholem Asch, Spread God's Word, struck dead, test the Spirit of the Lord, thanks for life and health, thanksgiving for god's mercy, the blood of Jesus, the cross of Calvary, the Holy Spirit, the power to forget, the power to remember, the Spirit of Christ, the wherewithal to live a godly life, truth, Tuesday, understanding the power of the Holy spirit, undeserving children of men, unholy doings, useful lesson, walk upright and safe, wisdom, wise, yielded up the ghost, you should have listened
Acts 5:3. But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
Tuesday! Glorious Tuesday! A most precious gift from the Most High God, Creator of the universe and all therein!
And Friends, the sleep that that same wonderful Deity provided was so sweet, that I didn’t open my tired eyes until minutes to six on this glorious morn. (smile) But hopefully, that extra sleep will stop me from faltering too early in the day.
Anyway, let’s begin with a prayer of thanksgiving nuh. Please pray with me: ‘Oh Father in heaven, we bless your Holy Name, and sincerely thank You for all the new mercies and blessings you are about to bestow, to shower down on us this fateful day.
We thank You for life and health, and humbly ask that You lead and guide us successfully today, through the amazing and awesome power of your Holy Spirit.
Please help us to grow more in Christ-like character today, so that we can do your Holy Will and thus glorify your Name. We pray this on the blood of your Son and our Saviour Jesus Christ, which was shed for us on the cross of Calvary. Amen!’
Yes my people, we can’t sensibly and successfully go through our day without some sort of acknowledgement of and praise to Almighty God! For He is the One who provides for us, and also enables us to walk upright and safe on this evil and ungodly earth.
Now here’s a bit of wisdom attributed to Sholem Asch (1880-1957), a Polish-born, American Jewish writer, who seems to have bridged both the Old and New Worlds, but fit into neither. Don’t think I’ve ever shared this before, but it just seemed so timely today.
And Sholem tells us that it’s ‘Not the power to remember, but the power to forget is a necessary condition for our existence.’
And is there ever lot’s of truth and wisdom in that statement my brethren! For if we keep dragging up the past, our relationships will never prosper. We all make mistakes, but once acknowledged, they should be let go, set free, and all the ‘I told you so’s’ and ‘you should have listened,’ ought not to be continually dredged up.
Remember that there’s no bigger forgiveness in the entire universe than that which our heavenly Father has bestowed on us, and He doesn’t drag up our earlier sins every time we commit another one.
How does Bruh David put it in Psalm 103, Thanksgiving for God’s mercy? ‘As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.’ (Ps.103:12)
And all God’s people gave a loud and grateful shout of: ‘Praise the Lord God for His LOVING-kindness to the undeserving children of men!’
Therefore Friends, today, let’s learn to allow bygones to be bygones nuh, and just forgive others the way our gracious Father has forgiven us.
However my people, we cannot do that successfully unless we’re filled with the power of Jesus and His Holy Spirit, because it is they who give us the wherewithal to live a godly and righteous life.
And that brings us to our Bit: ‘But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?’
Yeh Friends, the story of Ananias and his wife Sapphira is a very instructional one in the understanding of the power of the Holy Spirit. We saw yesterday how Ananias presented only a portion of the proceeds of the sale of his possession to the apostles, as though that was the overall price. And for that hypocrisy, the Holy Ghost struck him dead right there on the spot.
Mama Mia! What awesome power that Spirit of Christ possesses my brethren! That’s why we would be exceedingly wise to stay on its good side. But unfortunately, that wasn’t the end of the story.
Hear how the Good Book tells it: ‘And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife (Sapphira), not knowing what was done, came in. And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yes, for so much. (Remember she was privy to the deception)
Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt (test) the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.
Then fell she down straightway (instantly) at his feet, and yielded up the ghost (breathed her last): and the young men came in, and found her dead, and carrying her forth, buried her by her husband. And great fear came upon the church, and upon as many as heard these things.’ (Acts 5:7-11)
Oh Friends, oh Friends, I surely hope that we learn a useful lesson from that story, for although it’s not the norm nowadays, it still remains a very great possibility, showing just how powerful God’s Holy Spirit is.
And so I caution us to day, to be very careful in how we deal with and handle the Holy Spirit of Christ that dwells within us, and is desirous to lead and guide us on a straight and upright path.
Please do not knowingly provoke Him to anger through unholy doings, for we never know how He will react when provoked, when ignored and dismissed as irrelevant and out of date, unimportant and simply an old wife’s tale.
Please allow the story of Ananias And Sapphira to guide our doings today. For that’s indeed wisdom from the high heavens! Much LOVE!
…to lie to ourselves and our fellow man…that’s one thing…but to lie to Almighty God…hn…now that’s certainly a horse of an entirely different colour…
P.S. Long time I haven’t heard that old saying; a horse of a different colour. (smile) But they just seem to pop up when the time warrants. And then the oh so efficient Outlook platform froze on me. Steups! So I had to crash it and reboot. Ah Lord eh! The trials and tribulations we have to go through to spread God’s Word eh! (smile) Much LOVE!
15 May 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: add our own spin, Agur, allow God to unfold His plan for your life, almighty god, astonishment, awe, communication with God, consternation, deceitful Lucifer, depart from evil, depart from evil that is understanding, displeasure, don't ignore God, don't interject our own plans into the mix, don't listen to Lucifer, embrace God, eternal truth, eternal wisdom, evil, fear of God, feeling lousy, festivities, friends, give instruction to a wise man, god dislikes falsehood, God is a shield to those who trust Him, God's knowledge is infinte, God's questions to Job, God's word is pure, Godsend, hard ears pickney, he will increase in learning, he will yet be wiser, Holy One, jehovah god, know God intimately, know God personally, knowledge, limitless, lo and behold, LOVE, misfortune, restless sleep, reverence, rise and shine, send me a message, setback, strange dream, surrender, surrender your life to God, teach a just man, the beginning of wisdom, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the Holy One, the knowledge of the holy, the limitations of man's knowledge, the Lord of hosts, the One and Only Living God, topsy-turvey, truth, turmoil, understanding, unsettled lives, where is the place of understanding, where shall we find wisdom, Who hath ascended up into heaven, who hath bound the waters in a garment, who hath established all the ends of the earth, who hath gathered the wind in his fists, wisdom, wisdom comes only from God, without direction and purpose
Proverbs 30:3. I neither learned wisdom, nor have I the knowledge of the holy (Holy One).
Ah Friends, some of us just don’t seem to ever learn nuh! We’re like what the old people would call ‘hard ears pickney.’ Hn, hn!
Would you believe I did it again? Chuh! I got up earlier on in the morning, decided it was too early to rise and shine, so I just went to the bathroom then went back to bed. Lo and behold, some two hours later I finally got up, feeling lousy, with my back and other parts of my anatomy aching.
Not only that, but during those final two hours of restless sleep, I dreamt a strange dream. In the dream, it seems like the duchess and I attended some function up some hill or the other, and after the festivities were over, she wasn’t sure of the way down, so I went over to her car and pointed it out to her, and she drove off.
Meanwhile, somehow or the other, I got into a conversation with this lady who was walking down the hill and I fell into step beside her. Halfway down the hill, we stopped at a restaurant, she to get something to eat, and me to look for the duchess. But the place was so busy and confusing that after a few minutes I gave up and continued down the hill to my apartment building.
Then, much to my astonishment and displeasure, as I was about to enter the front door of the building, which someone was holding open for me, I put my hand in my pocket and only felt my car keys.
Steups! It was only then I realized that going into the building didn’t make any sense since I couldn’t get into my apartment anyway, because I had left my car with all my other belongings back up the hill where the festivities had taken place.
Ah Lord eh! To make matters worse, the duchess was nowhere to be found. So you can imagine my consternation – no consternation is too mild a word – (smile) at having to trudge back up the hill to retrieve my car and my other belongings.
Oh Friends, I’m chuckling now, but in the dream it surely wasn’t funny! Now would you think that the Lord was trying to send me a message?
Namely, when I wake you up, and you’re feeling fine, regardless of the hour of the morning, don’t listen to the deceitful Lucifer and go back to bed. Just rise and shine then and there, because there’s method to my madness, and you’ll be worse off later on if you ignore me.
Ah mih people, I believe I finally got the message… at least for my sake, I hope so. But life is certainly interesting though when you surrender your life to Almighty God and allow Him to unfold the plan He’s prepared for you since before the beginning of time.
And very often, like me, when we try to interject our own plans into the mix, we suffer some misfortune or setback, which only creates unnecessary turmoil in our lives, and sadly affects our communication with our heavenly Father.
No wonder the words of Agur in our Bit can be applied to so many of us. I neither learned wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the holy (Holy One).’
And that’s rather unfortunate Friends! For as Agur continues: ‘Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? Who hath gathered the wind in his fists? Who hath bound the waters in a garment? Who hath established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son’s name, if thou canst tell (know it)? (Prov.30:4)
Oh my people, can we answer those questions? I surely hope so, otherwise things will be very bleak with us.
And the scholars inform us thus: ’30:4. The questions are designed, as God’s questions to Job in Job 38-41, to press home the limitations of man’s knowledge.’
Please read those chapters sometime on your own, for they will give you great insight into God’s nature.
And yes my brethren, man’s knowledge is very limited. However, there’s One whose knowledge is infinite and limitless! His name is Almighty God, the Lord of hosts, the One and Only Living God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
Do we know Him, personally and intimately, like a son knows a father? We better had, else our lives will be unsettled, topsy-turvy, without direction and purpose.
For as Agur declares: ‘Every word of God is pure (tried, found pure): he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.’ (Prov.30:5-6)
Yes Friends, without a doubt, every word that our God utters is indeed eternal truth, and He fiercely protects those who trust in Him! And since our knowledge is limited, we ought not to try and add our own take, our own spin on His words, because our God doesn’t take kindly to falsehood.
Ah my fellow believers, as the Good Book tells us in several places, true wisdom comes from Jehovah God and from Him only!
Now let’s check out a couple of those scriptures. During his time of severe adversity, Job asked the always and ever important question: ‘But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?’ (Job 28:12)
And later on in the same chapter, he gives us the answer: ‘And unto man he said, Behold, the fear (reverence, awe) of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.’ (Job 28:28)
Oh my people, wisdom to live successfully on this earth is truly a Godsend!
And Cousin Sol reminds us of that when he proclaims: ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the Holy (Holy One) is understanding. For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased (years of life will be added to you). If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself: but if thou scornest, thou alone shall bear it.’ (Prov.9:10-12)
What more is there to say eh my fellow believers? Nothing really! The questions have been asked, answered and clarified. If you want to live wisely on this earth, then you MUST first sincerely embrace Jehovah God, and then you NEED to keep Him totally involved in all your doings.
That’s eternal wisdom Friends! So let’s try and attain to it today and everyday hence nuh. Much LOVE!
…give instruction to a wise man…and he will be yet wiser…teach a just man…and he will increase in learning… (Prov. 9:10)
06 May 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all or nothing at all, almighty god, ascension, ask for the old paths, boldfaced, brazen, cannot prevail, compartments, Controller, corruption, Creator, cubicles, death, degradation, departed, destruction, disobedience, don't you fear God, Easter Season, encouragement, evil, evil powers, faith, find rest for your souls, foolish people, foothold, hat trick, have ears and hear not, have eyes and see not, hefty price, holy of holies, house of Jacob, human intelligence, in living colour, invincible, ioo percent all the time, Israelites, Jeremiah, Jesus Christ, Judah, long-suffering, negativity, operative words, pagan instruments, patient, patient and long-suffering God, Pentecost, perpetual decree, rebellious, relevant scripture, resurrection, revolting, righteousness., saviour jesus christ, sinfulness, smartest creation of God, smile, spiritual and civil corruption, spring of 2014, stand in the ways, stubborn refusal, surrender, technology, tenuous hold, the people have a revolting and rebellious heart, the straight and narrow path, traditional ways, tremble at God's presence, truly and completely surrendered to Jesus, trust, turned from God, ungodly times, walk therein, walk upright, we will not walk therein, we will walk therein, where is the good way, wisdom, wisdom for the ages, without understanding
Jeremiah 5:23. But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone (departed).
Well hello there mih Lovelies! (smile) How goes it with us this beautiful morning in the exotic spring of 2014, where we’re continuing the wonderful celebration of the Easter Season?
Oh yes Friends, it’s still the Easter Season until Pentecost!
So please don’t forget just yet, that miraculous and marvellous hat trick of Death, Resurrection and Ascension that our magnificent Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ recently scored! A hat trick like that only comes along once in a lifetime, so please, let’s keep it close to our hearts, ever-present in minds and souls.
And the word for today my brethren is ‘SURRENDER!’ Wow! What an exciting word! (smile)
That leads us then to this most important question – have we truly and completely surrendered our hearts, souls, bodies, minds, souls and lives to Jesus?
And I know that all of us will quickly jump up and shout and astounding ‘Yes!’ But Friends, the operative words in that last sentence were ‘truly’ and ‘completely.’
Yes, most of us have surrendered most of ourselves to Christ, but unfortunately we still have some little compartments or cubicles deep within, that we still keep separate from God. We don’t allow Him to enter what we shall call our personal holy of holies.
But that’s not right, nor wise, my people, because it keeps God from doing lots of good things in our lives. Please remember, that with Jesus, it’s either ALL or nothing at all! He can’t only control 99.999 percent of our lives and make it work properly. He needs the full 100 percent, all the time!
So please, today, let’s carefully and seriously investigate ourselves and see if we have truly and completely surrendered our ALL to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ nuh. And if we haven’t, then let’s do it pronto; like yesterday, (smile) so that Jesus can get on with the great work(s) He has planned for us.
And having said all of that, let’s see how it marries up with our Bit. ‘But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone (departed).’
Oh my people, that was ever so true of Judah back then, and is it also ever so true of us in these modern times! It’s like if Jeremiah was in our midst writing about us. How sad!
When yuh talk about spiritual and civil corruption, our world is generating and experiencing it in living colour, to such an inordinate extent, that it’s breeding total degradation. I don’t know if that sentence makes sense, but I’m sure you got the serious negativity of its intent.
Now hear the also ever so relevant scripture that comes directly before our Bit. ‘Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish (proclaim) it in Judah, saying, Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not:
Fear ye not me? saith the Lord: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves (to and fro), yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it?’ (Jer.5:20-22)
Oh my people, my people, it’s the very same thing that our patient and long-suffering God is saying to us today in these perilous and oh so sinful times! And unfortunately, the answer we seem to be giving is exactly like that of olden Judah. No, we don’t fear the Lord, our Creator and Controller, and neither do we really care.
In fact, I believe that we’re even more brazen and boldfaced than Judah. Nowadays, sitting on the false and easily destroyed wealth of our human intelligence and technology, we so foolishly believe that we’re invincible! Steups! Ah Lord eh!
Oh Friends, what ever happened to that trust and faith we used to have in Almighty God eh? I used to wonder how the Israelites could have turned from God after all those wonderful things He’d done for them. But sadly, now I’m seeing personally how God can disappear from a society, once the evil pagan instruments and powers get a foothold in it.
And now my brethren, having declared our utter sinfulness, we need to consider the solution to it. And the same way it was given to Judah, it’s being given to us.
‘Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, we will not walk therein.’
Oh my people, please, please, unlike Judah, let’s declare instead nuh, in these oh so ungodly times: ‘And we said, we WILL WALK THEREIN!’ That’s the wisdom for the ages my brethren, and the only way we will escape total destruction!
And hopefully, to give us a little more incite into the situation, and thus encouragement to walk upright, let’s hear the scholars’ remarks on that verse. ‘6:16. The people’s stubborn refusal to walk in the traditional ways of true righteousness is often mentioned by Jeremiah (12:16; 18:15; 23:12; 31:21).
Moving in their own paths and following their own way could lead only to Judah’s destruction (cf. Prov. 14:12). The contrast of the way of righteousness and life with the way of the ungodly and death is often made in the Scriptures (e.g., Ps. 1; Matt.7:13-14).
Oh my people, please check out those scriptures and see how tenuous a hold we have on this earthly life nuh, especially if we don’t walk the straight and narrow path that leads to our Creator. We’re supposed to be the smartest creation of God, please, let’s prove it nuh. Much LOVE!
…the Scriptures don’t lie…he who continually disobeys God’s Word…will eventually pay a hefty price for that disobedience…
P.S. Ah mih people, it was brought to my attention by my first born that yesterday, instead of saying that the singing of our Monday Morning Battle Hymn ‘wasn’t’ up to scratch, I mistakenly wrote ‘was.’
Please forgive the ole fella for that typo, though I’m sure you all understood what I meant. Thanks too for pointing that out mih big D. Just goes to show how human the ole fella is. (smile) Much LOVE!
04 May 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: A.N.R. Robinson, almighty god, ambassadors of Christ, Bishop's High School, Bruh David, Castara, circumstances come against us, College Exhibition Exams, confident prayer for help, corruption, coup, courage, cry unto god, disciplinarian, discipline, distress, dreadful situation, education, encouraged, eternal wisdom, excellence, faith, fallible human being, Gath, God has delivered my soul from death, God is for me, God will deliver my feet from falling, help, I will not be afraid, immense faith, imperfect, In god I have put my trust, inspiration, International Criminal Court, LOVE Revolution, mature in faith, my enemies shall turn back, National Alliance for Reconstruction, not afraid to stand for beliefs, P.N.M. Dr. Eric Williams, People's National Movement, Philistines, praise God's word, President of T&T, Prime Minister of T&T., Red House, rest in peace, run first to God, Saul, Scarborough, show strong faith, stand strong and steadfast, strength, strong and steadfast reaction, succour, surety, sustenance, task master, Tobago's most renowned son, true believers in Jesus, walk before god in the light of the living, what man can do to me, wisdo
Psalm 56:9. When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me.
Well Friends, possibly the most renowned of Tobago’s sons has been laid to rest in its rich and fertile soil. We’re talking of Arthur Napoleon Raymond (A.N.R.) Robinson (1926-2014).
Amongst his many achievements was first and foremost being the third Prime Minster of Trinidad and Tobago (1986-1991), during a crucial period in the country’s life. A.N.R. also served as the country’s third President from 1997-2003.
His credentials were impeccable: attendance at Bishops High School in Tobago with excellent grades – Hurrah for Bishop’s High! (smile) Obviously my Alma Mater too – followed by a Law Degree from London University, then one in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from one of the twin ivory towers of learning in the U.K; Oxford University.
And you know that high level of education and excellence doesn’t surprise me, because although I didn’t know A.N.R personally – he had already left Tobago to study abroad when I was growing up – I did know most of his family who lived close to me, just at the junction of Main and Fort Streets, right below the Scarborough Methodist School.
And the one member I knew best of all was his father, an ornery, old-school headmaster, from whom I took private lessons on evenings after school. I believe it was to help me pass the then College Exhibition Exams to get into High School. And you better believe the old man was a hard task master and disciplinarian!
That urge and drive for education and accomplishments must thus have been cultivated in A.N.R. from an early age. I believe the old man’s discipline was legendary in Castara, where he was an Elementary School Headmaster.
A.N.R was also instrumental in the founding of the People’s National Movement Political Party (PNM), which brought T&T to Independence in 1963, under the Prime Ministership of another of the Caribbean’s brightest and best, Dr. Eric Eustace Williams.
From early on, A.N.R was seen as the heir anointed to Dr. Williams, but a falling out seems to have occurred, serious enough to make him quit the PNM and found his own political movement the Democratic Action Congress (DAC), which, after several affiliations with other movements morphed into the National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR), which led to him finally becoming Prime Minister in 1986.
I was always a bit miffed with him though for quitting the PNM when he did, believing that despite the falling out, he would have become P.M much quicker and make a better leader than those then in the party. And I was proven right, because after Dr. Williams passed on, both the party and the country began falling apart under lesser leadership and talk of much corruption in high places. But what else is new eh? For that’s certainly the in-thing these days!
Anyway A.N.R’s most famous moment must have been during the 1990 attempted coup by a Muslim group, who held him and several of his Cabinet members hostage in the Red House, the Parliamentary Building, for some six days, where he was beaten and shot in the leg for reputedly telling the army to attack the building in full force, instead of stopping the attack as desired by his captors.
It’s interesting and amusing that though A.N.R. always had that cherubic, innocent-looking, boyish face, it seems he could be very controversial and autocratic under that pacific appearance. Internationally, he appears to be recognized for the proposal that eventually led to the founding of the International Criminal Court.
Ah Friends, there’s neither time nor space to list A.N.R’s many accomplishments. Like all of us, he was an imperfect and thus fallible human being, but the important thing is that he was not afraid to stand up for what he believed was right. That’s about all we can ask from any of us.
But let it be said that he did Trinidad and Tobago proud with both his personal achievements and his many years involved in public service. A.N.R, I’m sure your father would have been proud of you, as all we Tobagonians are. May you rest in peace in the land of your birth.
And now that we have laid A.N.R to rest with the pomp and splendour he deserved, let’s see what our Bit has to offer. ‘When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me.’
Ah mih people, what a cry of assurance from Bruh David! He wrote Psalm 56, a confident prayer for help, when he was under tremendous pressure, when the Philistines took him in Gath (1 Sam. 21) after having fled from his chief enemy Saul. Can you imagine his distress? Then to write those words, along with these, his faith in the God of his fathers must have been immense.
‘In God will I praise his word: in the Lord will I praise his word. In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me. Thy vows are upon (binding upon) me, O God: I will render praises unto thee. For thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?’ (Ps.56:10-13)
And my fellow believers, we all know that the Lord delivered Bruh David from the hands of both the Philistine king and Saul! Now the question is whether we are so immersed and mature in our faith that when circumstances come against us, we can cry out without fear, with such surety to Almighty God?
Ah mih people, that is the status of faith to which we need to work towards, and eventually achieve, if we truly want to see God work in our lives, and the lives of those around us. I’m sure Bruh David’s men took courage from his lead. They all knew the dreadful situation he was in, but when they saw his strong and steadfast reaction, they too were encouraged to stand strong and steadfast.
And my brethren, as true believers in Jesus, that’s something we desperately need to do in these modern times; show our strong faith when things aren’t looking so good, so that others can draw inspiration, strength, faith, courage and sustenance from our actions.
Remember, it’s not only what we say, but even more importantly, what we do, that inspires others. So please, let’s keep on keeping on, like good ambassadors of Christ in this ungodly world, so that we can bring lasting change to it – destroy the evil powers with the LOVE Revolution of Jesus! That’s eternal wisdom Friends! Much LOVE!
…when problems arise…a true believer…in true wisdom… runs first to God…not to man…for help and succour…
27 Apr 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Abram, adversity, all things are possible, almighty god, as your heavenly Father is perfect, assurance, be perfect, blameless, child of God, complete, El Shaddai, Epaphras, exhortations, expectant faith, faith, faith and humility, fully assured in God's will, furthering God's kingdom, God uses trouble to mature us, God's glorification, God-like characteristics, godly love, goodness, heavenly presence of God, holy spirit, hungry hope, hypocrites, labouring fervently, lacking nothing, let patience have her perfect work, lukewarm faith, mercy, mirror image of Jesus, morally perfect state, negative assessment, new creation in Christ, perfect in Christ Jesus, Pharisees, progressive maturity, satiate, satisfy, scribes, servant of Christ, sinless, stand perfect and complete, strong, talk our talk, the will of God, triune God-head, true reflection of God, trusting in God's goodness and mercy, vibrant, walk our talk, warning
Matthew 5:48. Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.’
Oh Friends, today is one of those days when I don’t have a clue as to how to get the Bit going. (smile) But nonetheless, trusting in our wonderful God’s goodness and mercy, I am putting pen to paper, believing, having hungry hope and expectant faith that He will lead and guide me by His Holy Spirit to write something worthwhile. Something that will eventually lead to His glorification and the furtherance of His everlasting kingdom.
And if, perchance, He chooses not to run around today in a preamble, (smile) then we’ll just get straight into our Bit, because there are several scriptures which corroborate it, that need to be shared.
Anyway, I just want to say here that I dearly LOVE those two phrases I used above; hungry hope and expectant faith. I don’t remember where I first read them, but they certainly resonated, made a huge impact on me. The imagery seems so perfect – a hope that’s hungry, and a faith that’s expectant. They just seem to be made for each other!
And from here on in, that’s exactly how I want us to feel and behave. Let’s try to have a sense of hope that’s so strong and vibrant, reflecting the way we feel when we are dying from hunger and want food in the worst way, to satisfy and satiate our growling stomachs.
Likewise, with faith, let’s endeavour to have real great expectations of whatsoever we’re believing in and for, because passive, wishy-washy, lukewarm faith just doesn’t cut it. Moreover, if we truly want to attain to the level of our Bit, we desperately need a hope that’s truly hungry and a faith that’s really expectant, for how else can we become perfect like our heavenly Father eh?
‘Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.’
And remember, yesterday the scholars explained being perfect doesn’t mean ‘sinless,’ but rather ‘complete,’ having a passionate, godly LOVE, burning within us for both those who LOVE us and those who don’t. In other words, my people, a true reflection of our Creator.
And in fact Friends, from the earliest days, our God has been trying to get us to be perfect and complete. Listen to the words He spoke to Abram. ‘And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God (El Shaddai), walk before me, and be thou perfect (blameless).’ (Gen.17:1)
Then back in the New Testament, we have Bruh Paul, re his service for Christ, writing thus to the Colossians: ‘(Christ) Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.’ (Col.1:28-29)
Then in his closing exhortations in Chapter 4, he writes: ‘Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth (greets) you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete (filled) in all the will of God.’ (Col.4:12)
And the scholars explain that verse thus: ‘4:12. That ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God means that “you may appear perfect and fully assured in all His will.” Like 1:23, 29, this refers to the Colossians being ushered into God’s heavenly presence in a morally perfect state. When this someday occurs, their experience of progressive maturity and assurance will have preceded it.’
Meanwhile, James, in talking of faith and humility encourages us: ‘But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire (complete), wanting (lacking) nothing.’ (James 1:4)
And per the scholars: ‘1:4. The natural response to adversity is to escape it. But God uses trouble to mature His people.’
Ah mih people, to be a true child of God, a new creation in Jesus Christ, we definitely do need to improve our God-like characteristics. Otherwise we’ll end up being big hypocrites, just like the scribes and Pharisees in Jesus’ time – looking good on the outside, but terrible on the inside.
So please, let’s talk our talk, and then walk that talk big time, so that that negative assessment Jesus made of the Pharisees and them, will never be made against us.
If we want to walk in Jesus’ footsteps, we have to work at being like Him and our heavenly Father – perfect and complete in every way. It’s not easy to do in this godless and wicked world, but with the help of our triune God-head, remember that ALL THINGS ARE INDEED POSSIBLE!
That’s the wisdom of the ages! Much LOVE!
…as believers…in all our words and deeds…the world ought to see reflected in us…a mirror image of Jesus…so that they can come to know Him too…
25 Apr 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a journey of hope and love, a saved world, accepting the challenge with a strong faith, advocating, all knees shall bow, all lips declare, almighty god, ascension, Beelzebub, bequeath our children, blessings, cast off forever, compassion, downward spiral, evil, evil powers, examine our ways, exhorting, expectant faith, eyes of faith, faith, fellow believers, forefront of our society, friends, gift, glory, God does not delight in afflicting His people, God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, grateful, grief, heavenly wisdom, honour, hope, hungry hope, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, just and righteous Deity, justified, Lamentations, legacy, lift up our hearts, LOVE, loving kindness, magnanimous Creator, magnificent and magnanimous God, materially, mercies, mire, new day, new every morning, omnipotent god, one true God, only son, pangs of misery, prosper, punishment for sins, put into action, quicksand, raise up the name of jesus, reignite God's image in our hearts, rekindle God's fire in our souls, resurrection, righteous, sacrificial death, Saint of the Little Flower, selfless, sentiments, sinful nature, sinful people, slaves, Son Jesus, spiritually, St. Therese, stooges, sucking away our lifeblood, take us to task, thankful, thanks and praise, the way to salvation, triumphant victory over death and the grave, turn again to God, uncoditional love, ungodly, walk in the steadfastness of god's grace and love, walk of faith, what a wonderful God we serve and worship, wisdom
Lamentations 3:32. But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies.
Oh Friends, oh Friends, glory be! Yes, it’s another new day in paradise! Another marvellous and wondrous gift from our magnanimous Creator!
Oh my people, it just stirs me up so much when I consider the wonderful God we serve and worship!
Wow! Which other supposed deity gives His people new mercies and blessings every single morning eh? Who shows such undeserved compassion each and every day eh? NONE but our omnipotent God, my brethren!
That’s why we ought to give Him enormous thanks and continually praise His Holy Name. Remember, He doesn’t have to do what He’s done and doing for us, neither do our puny efforts deserve His LOVING-kindness. But it’s His unsurpassed unconditional LOVE that causes Him to bless us so richly, in spite of our sinful nature and behaviour.
And please remember too, that while we were yet stooges and slaves of Beelzebub, He sent His ONLY Son Jesus to die for us, so that we could be made justified, righteous, and all the other wonderful things that Jesus’ selfless, sacrificial death, resurrection and ascension accomplished.
So there are indeed numerous reasons for us to be thankful and grateful! Therefore, instead of trying to belittle Jesus’ importance, or take God out of our society, as we are allowing the evil powers that be to do, we ought to be jumping and shouting, beseeching and pleading, picketing and protesting, advocating and exhorting, to raise up the name of Jesus, just like the Father did after His triumphant victory over death and the grave!
We ought to be encouraging ALL knees to bow, and ALL lips to solemnly and sincerely declare that Jesus is indeed the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!
Oh Friends, we ought to be filled with such a hungry hope and expectant faith, that we can clearly see, totally envision through our eyes of faith, a saved world; a world where Almighty God and Jesus Christ are once again at the forefront of our society!
Oh my people, my fellow believers, that’s the ONLY WAY our society will once again prosper, both spiritually and materially. If we don’t feel that way, don’t envision it happening, then we’ll just continue the downward spiral in which we’re now totally engaged.
Oh my brethren, the quicksand in the evil and ungodly mire of the world is slowly sucking away our lifeblood, unfortunately causing us to drift further and further away from the ONE TRUE GOD, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and if we don’t soon put a stop to it, then our children, and their children too, will be the ones to suffer the real pangs of misery and defeat, since we’ll already be dead and gone.
Now is that the legacy we want to bequeath to our children, whom most of us LOVE like the Lord LOVES us? I sincerely doubt it.
However Friends, it’s also necessary to remember that though we are currently a very sinful people, and that sometimes the Lord will take us to task for our sins, He will not cast us off forever. (Lam.3:31)
And all God’s people loudly declared: ‘All glory, praise, thanks and honour be to our magnificent and magnanimous God!’
Yes Friends, those are indeed wonderful sentiments, but we need to not only mouth them, but even more importantly put them into action!
And as our Bit so wisely and rightly states: ‘But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies.’
Ah mih breddren, it gives our God no joy, no pleasure to punish us, but as a just and righteous Deity, He has to keep things right. Now listen to the words of Jeremiah, as he laments the state of his people Israel, which very much approximates to our current state.
‘For he doth not afflict willingly (with delight), nor grieve the children of men. To crush under his feet all the prisoners of the earth. To turn aside the right of (justice due) a man before the face of the most High. To subvert a man in his cause, the Lord approveth not.
Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not? Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil (woe) and good (well being)? Wherefore doth (how then can) a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?
Let us search and try (examine) our ways, and turn again to the Lord. Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.’ (Lam.3:33-41)
Oh Friends and fellow believers, that bit of scripture both highlights our current situation, and also points the way to our salvation!
Please, let’s accept the challenge with a strong faith, and ask God to ‘reignite His image in our hearts, and rekindle His fire in our souls,’ so that we can turn this evil and ungodly world around, and once again walk in the steadfastness of His abounding grace and undying LOVE!
Now that my people, is truly heavenly wisdom! Much LOVE!
’…the walk of faith is ultimately…a journey of HOPE and LOVE…’
P.S. Those words in inverted commas above, have been taken from a devotional booklet on healing, based on the writings and actions of St. Therese, the Saint of the Little Flower.
Please, please, my people, let’s use them to truly reignite the flame and fire of God’s LOVE within us nuh, and thus bring some much needed change to our badly drifting and listing world! Much LOVE!
12 Apr 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a blaze of glory, all is well with my soul, almighty god, anger, anxiety, benefits of prayer, call for the church elders, Calvary's cross, Christ-like character, Christians, communicating with God, confidence, crucifixion, disservice, don't hang our heads and cry, don't lose confidence in God, Elijah, Everly Brothers, faith, faithful leader, fervent prayer, giver of all good things, God has heard my prayer, God hears and answers prayer, God loved us, God's great earth, good morning, he aven gave rain, heavenly fountain, in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ, Jesus died on the cross for us, joyful shout, lift up our hearts and heads, LOVE, negative forces, negative thing, negativity, pass through the fire, Praise be to god, prayer, prayer of faith, put aside fear, reconciled to God, reconciliation, refined, resentment, resurrection, righteous man, sacrifice, sacrificial death, saviour, saviour jesus, sinful life, sing psalms, sinless life, sins, sub-par lives, testimony, tests, the earth brought forth fruit, the power of prayer, Tom Dooley, trials, tribulations, troubling our tender souls, trust, worry
Psalm 66:19. But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
Good morning, good morning! Yes Friends, we’re wishing you a good morning and a wonderful day on God’s great earth!
And although life might not be all that we want or expect, it sure beats anything else that we currently know. So let’s put aside the fear, the worry, the anxiety, the anger, resentment or whatever other negative thing is troubling our tender souls.
Remember that God is always working on, in and for us, trying to make us better people, more Christ-like in character and that includes all sorts of testing, trials, tribulations and being passed through the fire so that we can be refined and brought to the state that He’s prepared for us.
Wow! What a speech! (smile) But it’s all true. So this Saturday morning, regardless of whatever is wrong, let’s not get down on ourselves. Let’s not lose confidence in Almighty God, who LOVED us so much that He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for us on the cross at Calvary, so that we could be brought back into His ever-loving fold, reconciled to Him.
That, my Friends, is the greatest gift that mankind has ever been given, and it’s set to all play out in the coming week, Holy Week, beginning with Christ’s crucifixion and ending in a blaze of glory with His resurrection!
And all God’s people gave a joyful shout of ‘Praise be to Almighty God, the giver of all good things to His chosen people!’
So let’s not hang our heads down like Tom Dooley and cry, (smile) – the old Everly Brothers song of the same name – but let’s lift up our heads and hearts proudly, with confidence, faith and trust in our faithful leader and Saviour Jesus Christ because that’s why He sacrificed His sinless life for our sinful ones. If we just give in to the negative forces and circumstances around us, then we’ll be doing Him a great disservice, making a mockery of His sacrificial death.
Right now is possibly the best time of year to be a Christian, just before Easter, when Jesus turned the whole world upside down with His wondrous doings! It’s a real confidence builder and booster! So sit up, look up, put a smile in your heart and on your face, and take pride in being a child of the ONE and ONLY TRUE GOD, Creator of the universe and all therein!
And in this calamitous and ungodly world, we need to get even closer to God than we currently are. That means going to Him in prayer, the most effective way of communicating with Him. And it still surprises me that many Christians don’t truly believe or understand the power of prayer! That’s why, as I said a couple of days ago, so many supposed Christians still lead sub-par lives. That’s why we have been inspired to write these messages on the positive power of prayer.
And our Bit is a wonderful example of the workings of prayer in a Christian’s life. The psalmist showed no doubt or hesitation when he declared: ‘But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.’
Yes my brethren, God does hear and answer our sincere prayers! And today we’ll share one unbroken passage of scripture which encapsulates all that prayer is and does.
Listen to James enunciate on the benefits of prayer. ‘Is any among you afflicted (suffering)? let him pray. Is any merry (cheerful) let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, (the prayer produced by that faith will heal), and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults (trespasses) one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual (effective) fervent prayer (supplication) of a righteous man availeth much.
Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are (with a nature like ours), and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth (land) by the space of (for) three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.’ (James 5:13-18)
What a testimony for prayer my people! And I’ll add my own small testimony here. Before I began writing the Bit, I was feeling lousy both emotionally and physically, and knew I couldn’t write the Bit in that condition, so I read some uplifting stuff and floated some prayers up to heaven asking for strength and guidance to write a good Bit.
And Friends, though I expected a positive response, I was truly surprised when I began writing and everything just flowed like water from a fountain – a heavenly fountain that is. I didn’t even need to do a rough draft, as I do most of the time.
Now that couldn’t have been just my natural powers. And though I’m still feeling the effects of the cold, Friends, I’m here, and very happy to tell you, that all is now well with my soul! (smile) Please believe in prayer, for it does work wonders in a believer’s life! Much LOVE!
…to pray…to pray…and yet to pray…that is the only way…
08 Apr 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abide by God's rules, adversaries, afraid, almighty god, anger, ashamed, awesome God, awesome truth, blessed be God, blessing from heaven, bold, Bruh David, close contact with God, complaint, deceitful lips, destiny, disasters, dry and parched land, early rains, enemy, evil, evil for good, examined, faith, fear, floods, found nothing evil, fundamental importance of prayer, give myself unto prayer, God answers prayers, God controls our destiny, God has heard my prayer, God of his fathers, God's good graces, God's help, God's never late, God's own way and time, God's timing is always right, good, harassment, hatred, hatred for Love, hear my cry, heartfelt prayers, hope and pray, humble manner, in Jesus' name, jehovah god, lay bare his soul, LOVE, loving kindness, meditation, men of great faith, mercy, mountains of snow, nemesis, plentiful harvest, Praise the Lord, prayer, psalms, raindrops falling on the rooftop, rebellion, Saul, secret counsel of the wicked, sincere heartfelt prayers, sincere prayer, solid foundation, sub-par lives, tender age, tested, transgress, tried, truth, upright, vindication, voice of my weeping, weeping, well watered, wicked, without fear, workers of iniquity
Psalm 66:19. But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
Oh Friends, how good and pleasant it is to hear the refreshing sound of raindrops falling on the rooftop, as has been happening intermittently in my area for the last fifteen or so hours! At last the early rains! The blessings from heaven to saturate the dry and parched land, and cause the harvest to be plentiful.
There’s one problem though; right now our land is not dry and parched, as it has been well watered over the last couple of weeks through the gradually melting mountains of snow that have covered it for most of the winter. That means, although we appreciate the rain, we just don’t want too much, since it’s highly likely to cause flooding.
But all we can do on that front is to hope and pray that our wonderful God will look down on us there with mercy and LOVING-kindness, for we certainly couldn’t afford to have any more nerve-wracking disasters than we’ve already had in the past six months. Remember we had a massive flood just before winter began.
Oh my people, that is why it’s so important to stay in close contact with Almighty God, to remain in His good graces, for He controls our destiny. And the best way to do that is through sincere prayer.
That’s why the psalmist in our Bit, could say with profound conviction: ‘But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.’
And that is such awesome truth Friends! When we try to abide by His rules and regulations, which are not onerous at all, He does listen to and answer our prayers. Though we must realize and accept the fact that they will not necessarily be answered how or when we desire, but in God’s own way and time.
Remember too His timing is ALWAYS right, NEVER late, and ALWAYS in our best interest. That’s why prayer is such an overwhelmingly important aspect of the believer’s life!
And though we keep hammering that idea home, it’s surprising the large number of people, supposed believers included, who refuse to take it seriously. No wonder so many of us are living sub-par lives.
Anyway, today we’ll continue to highlight scriptures that show how men of great faith found prayer to be the solid foundation of their lives.
Yuh know what Friends, and I’m chuckling here, there are so many scriptures, that to make life easy on us all, I’ll just concentrate on Bruh David’s declarations of prayer, because he has so many heartfelt ones in the Psalms, and we know that the Lord heard and answered him.
We gave you a couple on the first day from Psalms 4 and 5, so we’ll now begin with Psalm 6; a prayer for mercy.
Listen to the man after God’s own heart. ‘Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; for the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping. The Lord hath heard my supplication; the Lord will receive my prayer. Let all mine enemies be ashamed and sore vexed (greatly troubled): let them return and be ashamed suddenly.’ (Ps.6:8-10)
Then in Psalm 17; a prayer for protection against oppressors, he pleads unto the God of his fathers: ‘Hear the right (a just cause), O Lord, attend unto my cry; give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned (deceitful) lips. Let my sentence (vindication) come forth from thy presence; let thine eyes behold the things that are equal (upright)
Thou hast proved (tested) mine heart; thou hast visited me (searched me out) in the night; thou hast tried (examined) me, and shalt find nothing (nothing evil): I am purposed that my mouth shalt not transgress.’ (Ps.17:1-3)
And again, in Psalm 28; a prayer for God’s help, Bruh David cries out unashamedly: ‘Unto thee will I cry, O Lord my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit. Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle (sanctuary).’ (Ps.28:1-2)
Then in Psalm 64; plot and punishment, there is more pleading: ‘Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer (meditation or complaint): preserve my life from fear of the enemy. Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection (tumult) of the workers of iniquity.’ (Ps.64:1-2)
And we’ll close with this one from Psalm 109; a prayer for the punishment of the wicked. ‘For my LOVE they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer. And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my LOVE.’ (Ps.109: 4-5)
And I particularly like that one, because I can personally relate to it, as no doubt many of you readers can.
Oh my brethren, from all of that it’s impossible not to see how devoted Bruh David was to prayer. He turned to Jehovah God in each and every situation. And even more importantly, he wasn’t afraid or ashamed to cry out, to lay bare his soul to the God of his fathers!
That’s because from a tender age he had seen the Lord’s hand moving in his life. And it was by no means an easy life, for though he was anointed to be king in his mid-teens, he faced many obstacles, much hate, anger and rebellion from within his own family, not to mention the harassment from his nemesis Saul.
But if it’s one thing Bruh David had and bravely showed, was what the old people called ‘stick-to-it-tiveness!’ That’s patience, perseverance and an unshakeable faith in Almighty God, despite all his troubling and dangerous circumstances. He NEVER gave up on God… and consequently, God NEVER left him in the lurch!
Oh my people, we couldn’t want a better example than Bruh David when it comes to prayer. So today I pray that we will all get this message; the fundamental importance of prayer in a believer’s life, and that we will all take it to heart and begin, or continue to call upon our awesome God, without fear, in bold, yet humble manner, through sincere and heartfelt prayers. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
And all God’s children gratefully declared: ‘Praise the Lord!’ Much, much LOVE, my fellow believers in Christ Jesus!
…blessed be God…which hath not turned away my prayer…nor his mercy from me… (Ps.66:20)
04 Apr 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: almighty god, anger, anxiety, assuring, begging bread, calamity, cast down, comforting, confusion, crime, depart from evil, distribution of wealth, do good, early retirement, eternal truth, evil, evil doers, fallible, fellowship, focused, Friday chant, fun, furthering God's glorious kingdom, generous help, God's largesse, godly men, godly wisdom, happy manner, healthy, hope, immortal, indisputable fact, inequality, infallible, jehovah god, Jesus, leisure, LOVE, mortal, necessities of life, peace, pensions, pipe dreams, poor getting poorer, poor stewards, poverty, relaxation, remove Jehovah God, resentment, rich getting richer, righteous forsaken, sacrifice, sad demise, several jobs, shall not stumble, shortcomings of our society, sickness, sincerity, sins, still can't make ends meet, stressed out, strife, survive in this rat race world, technological revolution, Thank God it's Friday, the weekend, ungodliness, walk safely, wealth, wealthy times, wisdom, work, working harder
Proverbs 3:23. Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.
Oh Friends, it’s Friday, it’s Friday! The weekend’s come, and labour’s done! Thank God it’s Friday!
Yeh mih people, it is indeed Friday, but it never fails to amaze me at how much our society looks forward to those two days off. This was once supposed to be the generation of leisure, of take it easy, of so much wealth etc. that we didn’t need to work our sorry tails off any longer.
Hn! But what’s happened eh? In the midst of all the technological revolution, we’re now working harder than ever, often at several jobs, and still can’t make ends meet!
We’re the most stressed out and anxiety wired generation ever, in times of supposed peace. There’s also more poverty, homelessness, sickness, crime – both white and blue collar – plus oodles of resentment, anger and strife, accompanied by unforeseen ungodliness and evil, in what’s been amongst the wealthiest of times.
Oh my brethren, how did we ever get this way eh? Whatever happened to the dreams of a four and three day work-week, and early retirement with pensions we could afford to live on? Steups!
Unfortunately, those are not even pipe dreams nowadays, but more like impossible ones! Ah Lord eh! We certainly have been very poor stewards of God’s largesse.
I guess there are many reasons for our sad demise, but one of the biggest is the distribution of wealth. The rich have indeed been getting richer and the poor poorer! And once that great inequality in wealth exists, society cannot function in a healthy, much less happy manner.
When so many don’t even have the wherewithal to purchase the basic necessities of life, there must be confusion and calamity – especially when you also remove Jehovah God from the equation!
Anyway Friends, this wasn’t meant to be a treatise on the shortcomings of our society, just a brief edification. (smile) So let’s get to the matter at hand and chant our Friday Chant with much sincerity and hope, to keep us strong and thoroughly focused on what we need to do to survive in this rat-race world.
So let’s chant up a storm this Friday morning nuh! ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Awright mih people, that ought to give us enough of the right perspective in how to handle the weekend! So let’s move on to our Bit, one of God’s great promises. ‘Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.’
Yes Friends, when we give Jehovah God sovereignty over our lives, we WILL indeed walk in the safety and security of His everlasting LOVE and omnipotence!
What can be more assuring and comforting than that eh? Nothing my brethren! Nothing at all!
If we can’t trust the Creator and Controller of this great and wonderful universe, whom then can we really trust? Certainly not mortal and fallible man!
Now let’s check out some scripture that corroborates our Bit, from two of the most godly and God endowed men that ever lived.
First up is Cousin Sol with a proverb of eternal truth. ‘He that walketh uprightly walketh surely (securely, safely): but he that perverteth his ways shall be known.’ (Prov.10:9)
And that’s an indisputable fact Friends, as we’re seeing every day, as more and more evil doers are being brought to light.
Now hear Bruh David; a man after God’s own heart. ‘The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again (does not repay): but the righteous showeth mercy, and giveth. For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth (land); and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off (destroyed). The steps of a good man are ordered (established) by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.
Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand. I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed (descendants) begging bread. He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed (descendants) is blessed. Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.’ (Ps.37: 21-27)
Oh mih people, my fellow believers, what words of grace and godly assurance! And Bruh David lived them! It wasn’t any hearsay, but a true testimonial of his life. Though he occasionally stumbled and fell, the Lord never entirely cast him adrift. Of course he paid a price for some of his more heinous sins, but his name still reverberates throughout the Good Book as a man of God.
All I can say Friends, is that if you deal sincerely and truthfully with Almighty God, He will do the same with you. But you have to put your trust in Him first. He has already done His part by sacrificing Jesus to pay for our sins. It’s up to us now to receive His awesome grace, mercy, LOVE and forgiveness. And if we’re truly endowed with godly wisdom, then we’ll do just that! Much LOVE!
…if you can believe you’re in good hands with All State…a company run by fallible men…why can’t you believe you’ll be in even better…the best hands…with infallible, immortal…Almighty God…
03 Apr 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: after-shocks, almighty god, always and forever, an endless sea, anchor, angels, becalmed, buckle down to our tasks, can never recapture time, caught napping, charge over thee, Chile, Christ's Second Coming, Christian ethic, comfort, crapaud smoke we pipe, deliver, die by the sword, disasters, don't ne lazy, drifitng, earthquake, eternity, evil, fallacy, forever lost, forgiveness, freer use of guns, get serious, glorify the gun, God is a refuge and fortress, God is alive, gospel truth, guide and protect, habitation, healing, heartfelt prayers, heralding, honour, Jesus, just our imagination, killing machines, known my name, lift thee up, live by the sword, long life, loss of life, LOVE, make our way right, mend our fences with God, mercy, natural disaster, nebulous being, no evil shall befall thee, no solid foundation, on the outside looking in, plague, property damage, Psalm 91, pull up our socks, put our lives in God's hands, salvation, set on high, shall not stumble, shooting in fort Hood, spending eternity with Lucifer, spirit is willing, stop fretting, strike thy foot, stumble and fall, take the bull by the horns, the flesh is weak, the Lord's grace, the Most High, the trumpet sounds, Thursday, thy dwelling place, time, trample, tread upon the lion, trouble, tsunamis, unconcerned about mankind, universe, use time fruitfully, use time wisely, walk safely, war zones, waste our God-given time, what have I done for the week, worrying
Proverbs 3:23. Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.
And then it was Thursday… ‘Thursday,’ I asked myself? How could it be Thursday already eh? It was just Monday a couple days ago…
And then I ask myself: ‘What have you done for the week?’ And myself truthfully replies: ‘Not a whole lot nuh.’
And that’s the gospel truth Friends, because I can see the load of stuff sitting next to me, either to be read or actioned in some way. And it’s not like I’ve been watching a lot of television, playing computer games, or even sleeping. Hn!
But some how or other, time has gotten away from me. Unfortunately though, time passes so quickly these days – that’s just our imagination yes, time’s been passing at the same speed all along (smile) – and once it’s passed, we can never recapture it. So it therefore behoves us to use it wisely and fruitfully while we have it.
On the other hand though, once it has passed, we need to stop fretting and worrying over it, and just move on with whatever time we have left. Hopefully, I can begin doing that today, because there is a fair amount of stuff to be done. And it’s not difficult stuff either, just time consuming. And though the spirit is often willing, the flesh is too often weak. (smile)
So Friends, let’s all try and pull up our socks today nuh, take the proverbial bull by the horns and simply buckle down to the tasks we need to accomplish. And that is all a part of our Christian ethic too – not to be lazy and waste our God-given time.
And we’ll just quickly mention two of the latest disasters to hit the West; that of the 8.2 level earthquake that hit off Chile’s north coast yesterday. Let’s pray for all those involved and hope that there is no further loss of life or property damage, through tsunamis and after shocks.
Now that natural disaster we can’t do much about, but the shooting in Fort Hood, the U.S. Army Base … Steups! When is the foolish shooting going to stop eh? So many people are killed everyday by guns, outside of war zones, totally unnecessary deaths, yet we still glorify the gun, even allowing it greater and freer use within our society nowadays, as well as making improvements, to make them even better killing machines.
Ah Lord eh! We seem to have conveniently forgotten the old adage that he who lives by the sword, dies by the sword. That pertains to guns too my people.
Anyway, despite all the negatives involved, let us send up heartfelt prayers to heaven, asking for the Lord’s grace, mercy, healing, comfort and forgiveness on all those involved.
That brings us to our Bit: ‘Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.’
Yes Friends, if more of us would put our lives in God’s hands, and try to live the way He desires of us, fewer of us would stumble and fall. But foolishly we seem to consider God as some nebulous being, way out there in the farthest reaches of the universe, either unconcerned about mankind, or simply unable to help him.
Oh my people, that is a fallacy of enormous proportions! Our God is alive, in control, and right here with us – ALWAYS AND FOREVER!
But until we truly believe that and consequently act on it, we’ll be forever lost, becalmed on an endless sea, just drifting, hither, thither and yon, with no solid foundation to anchor us.
And we have the perfect scripture to back all of that up. It comes from Psalm 91, appropriately titled, ‘God is a refuge and fortress.’ Please listen closely to the psalmist as he declares his holy case.
‘Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation (dwelling place); There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh (near) thy dwelling.
For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear (lift) thee up in their hands, lest thou dash (strike) thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder (cobra): the young lion and the dragon (serpent) shalt thou trample underfeet.
Because he hath set his LOVE upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life (length of days) will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.’ (Ps.91:9-16)
Oh Friends, what’s more to say eh? NOTHING! For that passage of scripture says it all!
Oh mih breddren, it’s so simple and easy – just like the work I’ve been putting off. (smile) We just need to get serious and do it. If we make our way right with Almighty God, He will guide and protect us. If we don’t, then it’s cleaners for us; crapaud smoke we pipe; we’ll end up on the outside looking in, spending eternity with Lucifer rather than Jesus.
Now that surely doesn’t sound like such a wonderful idea! So please, let’s mend our fences with our Creator as soon as possible nuh; preferably today, RIGHT NOW, so that we won’t be caught napping when the trumpet sounds up yonder, heralding Christ’s Second Coming. Much LOVE!
…God has given us two choices…spend eternity with ME in heaven…or spend it in Hades with Lucifer…the choice is ours…wisdom though, strongly advises we pick the first option…
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