10 Dec 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Advent, advice, ambassadors, begotten, behold him, Bethlehem, cast aspersions, cast off, chambering, choirs of angels, Christ the Lord, Christ's birth, Christians, Christmas, citizens of heaven, cloak of darkness, cradle, day is at hand, demean His reputation, disciples, drunkenness, envying, eternal life, faith, faithful, far spent, fellowship, flocks, future, glory to God, goodwill, hope, hypocrisy, improprieties, in flesh appearing, joy, joyful lips, king of angels, lewdness, licentiousness, light, light eternal, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, makes manifest, manifest works, mantle of light, O come all ye faithful, O come let us adore Him, peace, put on, raise the roof, reflected in us, revelry, sacrificial praise, salvation, sanctuary, secular society, shepherds, sin nature, sing in exultation, sinners awe, Son of the Father, strife, the armour of light, the new life in Christ, the night, the virgin's womb, the workers of iniquity, the works of darkness, triumphant, true God, unfruitful works of darkness, walk honestly, wantonness, word of the Father, worship, wrongdoings
Romans 13:12. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
And as the days of Advent, the preparatory period before Christ’s birth advances, and the Christmas season intensifies, LOVE and joy, peace and goodwill fill the air! Wow! And I naively wonder, why can’t it be like that all year round eh? But I guess that’s just asking too much of our sinful secular society. A few days, once a year is all they seem to be able to spare. But we’ll take it and just keep working to get more.
And as we gather in the sanctuary this Sunday, to worship and fellowship and give thanks, let’s burst out with a most worthy song, one of the all-time favourites of the Christmas season, ‘O come all ye faithful.’ In true Christmas spirit, let’s raise the roof of our sanctuary and that of heaven too with harmonious sacrificial praise from our joyful lips and hearts.
‘O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant, Come ye, O come ye, to Bethlehem. Come and behold Him, born the King of angels; ( Chorus: O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.) True God of true God, Light from Light Eternal, Lo, he shuns not the Virgin’s womb; Son of the Father, begotten, not created; (Chorus) Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation; Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above! Glory to God, all glory in the highest; (Chorus)
See how the shepherds, summoned to His cradle, Leaving their flocks, draw nigh to gaze; We too will thither bend our joyful footsteps; (Chorus) Child, for us sinners poor and in the manger, We would embrace Thee, with love and awe; Who would not love Thee, loving us so dearly? (Chorus) Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning; Jesus, to Thee be glory given; Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing. O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.’
Ah friends, what a beautiful and grateful way to praise our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ for all that’s He’s done, is still doing and will do for us in the future. Praise His Holy Name. He is the reason why we have hope for the future, faith in salvation and joy in the promise of eternal life! All the more reason to LOVE and adore Him! Not to despise and cast aspersions and try to remove Him from our society.
But I guess there will always be doubters and evildoers, so it’s up to us believers to raise His profile and make His LOVE Revolution a success. For we are His ears, arms, mouths, legs, and hands in the world, His ambassadors, His disciples, and as we go, so will His movement, His church. Some parts of it are thriving, who knows why, but most are finding it difficult to survive, and many are even closing.
That’s not a very good vibe my people, and means that we’re not doing as good a job as we should. Christ is not being reflected in us as fully as He should be. That’s why we need to take the wise advice in our Bit, from Bruh Paul to the church at Rome. ‘The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.’
Yeh friends, it’s almost dawn, Jesus will soon be coming back, and right now our efforts are sadly lacking, so we need to improve dramatically. As Bruh Paul continues to the Roman church: ‘Let us walk honestly (properly), as in the day; not in rioting (revelry) and drunkenness, not in chambering (licentiousness) and wantonness (lewdness), not in strife and envying.’ (Rom.13:13)
And it’s no secret friends that too many of us so-called Christians are deeply involved in too much of those worldly improprieties. We need to stop the hypocrisy; narrow the gulf between the Christian stuff we mouth, and the worldly trail we walk. As Bruh Paul warns: ‘But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.’ (Rom.13:14)
And the scholars offer this explanation re that verse. ‘13:14. Make not provision for the flesh: One should not seek opportunities to satisfy deep-seated desires of the sin nature, but should seek occasion to manifest works that are consistent with the new life in Christ.’
And that’s all Christ is asking of us yes friends: if you claim to believe in Him, then please live the way He desires you to live. He doesn’t expect us to be perfect, because we don’t have the capacity for that, but He does expect us to be excellent and diligent in doing His work, like He was excellent and diligent in doing the Father’s work here on earth. When we don’t walk our talk, we just cause others to bad-mouth our Saviour and further demean His reputation, thus playing into the hands of the workers of iniquity.
Therefore my faithful brethren, let’s do like Bruh Paul suggests to the Ephesians nuh. ‘And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove (expose) them). For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved (exposed) are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.’ (Eph.5:11-14)
Oh friends, if we sincerely want to help the cause of Jesus, then we have to stop indulging in those sins that we know are ‘unfruitful works of darkness,’ sins of the unsaved, and instead expose them, bring them into the light, show them for the wrongdoings that they are. It’s time friends, time for less talk and more action, time to throw off the cloak of darkness and put on the mantle of light that Jesus offers. That’s the ONLY way our world will ever improve. Much LOVE!
…Christians…oh Christians…where is your light that’s supposed to shine in the darkness…to light up the world…
04 Dec 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adrenaline, ambassadors, aura of love, bombarded, buffeted, Christians, Christmas, compromise, confidence, conquerors, diligent, disciples, drinking, eating, enthusiasm, eternal life, evil, evil forces, excellence, faithful, fear, festive season, forgiveness, friends, glorious kingdom, glory to God, holy spirit, humble servants, invincible, Jesus, jobs, laziness, lies, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, mercy, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, negative pangs, no man can work, not afraid, of him who sent me, peace, preparations, presnets, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, run away from work, salvation, Samaritan, servants, shopping, spiritual armour, state of mind, steadfast faith, suffering, the last days, the night cometh, the reason for the season, trust, truth, ungodly world, up to par, useful purpose, week of work, while it is day, wiles, wisdom, work, work the works
John 9:4: I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
So friends, as we rush headlong into the festive season of Christmas, let’s not forget the real, the ONE and ONLY reason for Christmas: Jesus! Not the shopping, the presents, the eating and drinking and otherwise.
And yuh know, life is so strange, that on most Monday mornings many of us have a hard time getting out of bed to go to work, but in this Christmas time we eagerly roll out because we have shopping and other preparations to make before the big day! Don’t know if some of our employers are, or will be very thrilled by that nuh, because this is when we take a lot of paid time off, in other words, run away from work to go shopping etc.
Thank the Lord that I don’t have any personal preparations to make! (smile) I’m just trying to keep my life on an even and balanced keel during this crazy time. I think I’ll spend the time I would normally devote to preparations in pondering on Jesus and all that He means and stands for. That ought to serve me in better stead than busily running around the place trying to accomplish what the world considers important at this time of the year.
And having said all of that, let’s turn to our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, our picker-upper to help us get out the door in a Jesus state of mind. In loud, enthusiastic voice now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN! ‘
Yes mih people, that was an excellent rendition! Our choirmaster Jesus was pleased with it. So now let’s get out on the road and keep that level of adrenaline flowing and our spirits bubbling with His energy and Spirit, as we do His ambassadorial work, furthering His LOVE Revolution! Mama Mia! The ole fella’s in good form this morning! (smile)
That brings us to our rather appropriate Bit: ‘I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.’
And please note the picking of that Bit wasn’t my doing; it was divine guidance. As always, I asked for guidance on what to write on, and as I opened the Good Book, my eyes fell on that verse. Glory to God! He is such a wonderful, LOVING and faithful Deity! That’s the only reason why I can write the Bit every day.
Oh friends, just as Jesus had to do the work of the Father who sent Him, as His disciples and ambassadors, we too need to do the work that Jesus’ commissioned us to do. ‘…Teaching all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always(s), even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt.28:19-20)
And Jesus was very diligent in doing the Father’s work. Listen to Him as the disciples offered Him food after He had spoken to the Samaritan woman at the well. ‘My meat (food) is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.’ (John 4:34)
Oh my fellow believers, Jesus certainly wasn’t skylarking on the Father’s job. Likewise we should all be diligent in doing Jesus’ work. Unfortunately though, too many of us are not as diligent as we should be, and thus Jesus’ work is suffering; suffering from the negative pangs of fear, compromise, and simple laziness. That’s not good my people.
Remember Jesus said we should be the salt of the earth and the light of the world, so that the world could look to us and see His wonderful reflection in us, and thus want to come to Him for succor; to enjoy His awesome LOVE, grace, mercy, forgiveness, redemption, salvation and eternal life. And it’s obvious to even a blind person, that we’re not doing a bang up job, because people are turning away from God in droves.
If our diligence and excellence were up to par, unbelievers would be beating down Jesus’ door to get into His kingdom. Now that shoddy work doesn’t look very good on us my brethren, especially as the last days come into view. So please, I implore us to take very seriously the words of Jesus in our Bit, and let’s go about His business as He went about the Father’s business. That’s the only way we’ll ever conquer the evil forces of this evil world and win the unbelievers to Him. Much LOVE!
…until He comes again…Jesus’ work is never done…
18 Sep 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a big splash for Jesus, a day in the life, a useful purpose, abide with you for ever, adrenaline, ambassadors, another comforter, aura of love, bear witness, Christians, confidence, conquerors, enthusiasm, famine, friends, get a move on, get excited, glorious kingdom, glory hallelujah, grace, harvest, holy spirit, Holy Trinity, humble servants, in christ, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, lies, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, number one job, our Lord and Saviour, perfect remedy, plan, pray the Father, promise, purpose for our lives, rain, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, salvation, snow, spiritual armour, spreading the gospel, steadfast faith, surrender, taunts, thanks and praise, The Day of Pentecost, the good news, the Spirit of truth, the will of God, truth, ulitmate priority, wiles, wisdom, working for Jesus
John 14:16. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever.
Come on down friends and neighbours, it’s Monday morning, time to get excited about simply living. Time to give some thanks and praise that we haven’t seen our pictures or read our names in the obits this morning. Mama Yo! That means the Creator still has some plan and purpose for our lives down here, otherwise we’d be gone up on high, or down low, already.
So let’s get up and get a move on nuh. It’s going to be another glorious day in the life, regardless of what happens. And how do I know that? Well it’s obvious; because we are in Christ, and He is in us, which means we can handle anything that comes against us with His awesome help. Glory be mih people!
And for those of us who are finding it difficult to get up and get going, we have the perfect remedy for you; our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. It’s guaranteed to put you in the groove. So let’s declare it right now, in loud, harmonious and enthusiastic voice.
‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Yes mih breddren, yuh see we weren’t lying when we said it would pick you up. So now that the adrenaline is flowing and your engine is purring like a well-tuned and well-oiled machine, let’s go out into the mish-mash world that we currently live in and make a big splash for Jesus, as He desires of us, His earthly ambassadors.
Remember, that working for Jesus is our number one job, our ultimate priority as Christians, and it’s not something we can do when, and if ever we feel so inclined. It’s something we have to be constantly working at. The good news of Jesus, like the mail, has to be declared to mankind each and every day, be it snow or rain, harvest or famine.
For we know not when Jesus is coming back, but whenever He does, those who are not living under his saving grace won’t ever have a chance to do so again. That’s why we have to get moving, get seriously working on Christ’s LOVE Revolution, so that hopefully none will eventually be lost, as our heavenly Father so earnestly desires.
And we are able carry out those desires because of the promise Jesus made to the disciples and also to us as He was getting ready to go back to heaven. ‘And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever.’ And that Comforter was His Holy Spirit which began indwelling ALL believers from the Day of Pentecost.
Jesus knew that His followers would be helpless without Him around, but He, as a man, could only be in one place at any time. However His Spirit could exist in each and every man at the same time. And listen to the end of Jesus’ monologue when He told the disciples about how the world would hate them because they knew not God. (John 15:18-25)
‘But when the Comforter (Helper) is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me. And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.’ (John 15:26-27) And by extension my people, the Comforter , the Holy Spirit, the Helper, sent from Christ, is also beside us as we bear witness of Christ. What a magnificent assurance of God being with us with each breath and step we take in this confused and crazy, strife-filled world!
Now here is some interesting info from the scholars re the Procession of the Spirit. ‘15:26. The action of the word translated “proceedeth” is “in the process” – “continually proceeds.” The eternal procession of the Spirit means that He continually proceeds from beside, not out of, the Father. If the Holy Spirit came out of God, He would be less than God. To be more specific, the Holy Spirit not only proceeds from the Father, but also from the Son. This means the Father and the Son continually send the Holy Spirit.
This in no way suggests the Spirit is less in deity than are the Father or Son. Instead it explains the relationship among the three eternal persons of the Trinity. Illustration: Just as Jesus came to do the will of the Father, so the Holy Spirit is sent to speak not of Himself, but of Christ (16:13). Application: In this sense the Holy Spirit is the Promise of the Father who has been given to every Christian (Acts 1:4; 2:39).’
Ah friends, I do hope that somewhat lengthy explanation clears up some the mystery of the relationships of the Holy Trinity. Nevertheless, let’s go out and do diligent and excellent work in spreading the gospel and the LOVE of Jesus, as we are called to do nuh. Much LOVE!
…without the Comforter…the Holy Spirit…to lead and guide us…Christians would be completely lost…
12 Aug 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a better tomorrow, a tree without roots, acceptable, ambassadors, anarchy, anger, Anselm, be not conformed to this world, be transformed, behaviour, bitter trials, blessings in disguise, change our thinking, charles stanley, choose hope, Christian experience, corners us, culture, deceiving your own selves, disaster, doers of the Word, elusive ideal, eternity, faith, freedom, God's will, God's Word, gospel truth, History, hooking our star, implanted word, in league with Jesus, knowledge of their past, leading the parade, leave all the consequences to Him, leaving your soul in limbo, live happily ever after, looking on the dark side, Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, Marcus Garvey, never easily gained, obedience, obey God, on any street corner, optimism, origin, our desires, perfect, personal expereince, pessimism, pilgrims, power, prove what is good, responsibility, saints, salvation, save your souls, separation from God, sin, slow to speak, slow to wrath, soldiers, source of true hope, swift to hear, tested, the chain of life, the end of time, the fire, the flood, the mountain top, the new man, the old man, the renewing of your mind, the valley of the shadow of death, the worst possible scenario, to Jesus' bandwagon, transformation, utopia, walk to freedom, weakness, while there is life there is hope, wickedness, will of God, work hard at
Romans 12:2. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Wonderful days are here again! O Glory be my people! And our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is leading the big parade down Main Street decked out in all His splendour and glory!
Let’s hope that you are a member of that glorious band of soldiers and saints, pilgrims and ambassadors for Jesus, else you’ll be missing out on the most important aspect of your life; your salvation and what will happen to your spirit in eternity!
Yeh friends, only when you are in league with Jesus, do you know that you will live happily ever after with Him till the end of time!
So why don’t you make that decision today eh, and stop leaving your soul in limbo? For there are only two places it can go after death; heaven or hell. And believe you me, separation from Almighty God is the last thing you want to happen to you; it’s the worst possible scenario in the chain of life.
Anyway, today is Saturday, so let’s consider some quotes from our friend Anselm, as we do every Saturday, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. Here is the first one: ‘Once you choose hope, anything’s possible.’
And that’s gospel truth my fellow believers, for we know that whilst there is life, there is always hope. And the greatest source of true hope is found in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! That gives us even further confirmation of the wisdom of hooking our star to His bandwagon.
Now the second quote says: ‘Pessimism leads to weakness, optimism to power.’ More obvious gospel truth friends! You can’t be pessimistic, looking on the dark side all the time and expect to be powerful!
And this next quote is very interesting especially for us Christians. ‘What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise.’ And why is that you ask? Simply because it’s especially true in our Christian experience.
We can’t grow in our Christian faith unless we are tested; pass through the fire and the flood to see how strong we truly are. And oftimes what looks like a total disaster is only a trial that has a blessing waiting on the other side if you pass the test.
And that quote segues very nicely into this one: ‘There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires.’
Yes my brethren, we all talk about freedom, and we all want freedom, but freedom is NEVER easily gained. That’s something a lot of us nowadays still need to learn, and stop talking about it as though you can just go out and buy it cheaply or pick it up on any street corner.
It’s something you have to work hard and constantly at, while passing through the dark, shadowy valleys many times. More lives have been lost through history in the name of freedom than any other ideal. And even when you seem to have attained the mountaintop, you still won’t have freedom, because it’s an elusive ideal, linked to utopia.
Oh friends, we are NEVER really free, since, if we want to do it right, that thing called responsibility ALWAYS corners us. In any society, true freedom leads to anarchy, if we all want to do what we want, when and how we want to do it. Hn! Hn! But how did we get on that discourse eh? (smile)
And the last quote is one ascribed to Marcus Garvey. It says: ‘A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.’ No doubt about that people!
As the saying goes; if you don’t know where you’re coming from, you won’t know where you’re going to! You must know something about your background to successfully plan your future. That’s why History is so important in our lives.
And that plays right into our Bit. ‘And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.’
Yes, my fellow believers, we know exactly where we’re coming from – a state of total sin – but we also know where we’re going to – a state of total transformation in Jesus Christ. We’re taking off the old, sinful man and putting on the new regenerated, transformed, cleansed and saved one. Glory Hallelujah!
And to do that successfully it has to all begin in our minds. Thus James says: ‘Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath (to get angry). For the wrath (anger) of man worketh not (does not produce) the righteousness of God.
Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity (abundance) of naughtiness (wickedness), and receive with meekness the engrafted (implanted) word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.’ (James 1:19-22)
There we have it friends! if we want to put on the new man, then we have to drastically change first our thinking, then our behaviour. We can’t behave and think the same we were before finding Christ. And it’s not always easy to do. But as I keep saying, if we go to God sincerely seeking help, He will ALWAYS help us.
I speak there from personal experience. But you have to listen to Him, and do what He says, when He says to do it. That’s called obedience to His will and word. (smile) So today, let’s go out and obey nuh, for that’s wisdom in spades! Much LOVE!
…the best way to live…obey God…and leave all the consequences to Him…(Charles Stanley)
11 Aug 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abideth forever, ambassadors, be not conformed to this world, be transformed, behave like the world, burn out, carefree, circumspection, commandment, disciples, dissolute, do a good job for Jesus, enjoy the weekend, enmity with God, enregy, enthusiasm, fellowship, followers of Christ, foolish thinking, free up yuhself, Friday chant, friendship with the world, fun, further God's glorious kingdom, generous help, glory to God, idolize, in Jesus' name, let it all hang out, licentious, limits, LOVE, love not the world, lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, Mammon, mandate, material wealth, obedient children, our major calling, party hearty, pride, pride of life, relaxation, rest, resuscitation going downhill, righteousness, seek ye first the kingdom of God, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, the christian way, the love of the Father, the new man, the renewing of your mind, the things of God, the things of the world, the way of the world, the weekend, the will of God, value systems of the world, you cannot serve God and mammon, you may prove
Romans 12:2. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Oh friends, the week finally finish! Glory to God! And for us Canadians, after the Caribana weekend, it was indeed a short week. So now we have a li’l time to rest and recuperate from all that exhilarating action. (smile)
But for some really exuberant folks, the weekend will always be the time to totally celebrate the couple days off from work. Consequently they are now excitedly shouting: ‘TGIF! TGIF! Thank God is Friday oui! The Lord give us two days to party, so leh we party hearty nuh!
We can’t afford to waste the li’l time we have for weself in foolish thinking about work and all the other nonsense. Just let it all hang out, free up yuhself and doh worry about nothing till Monday! That’s why we have the weekend! Thank God for Fridays and the weekend yes!’
And I dare say that many of us believers would like to let it all hang out on the weekend, (smile) but we know that is not the Christian way; that is the way of the world. Now that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the weekend, but just that we need to put some limits on the ‘carefreeness.’
We definitely don’t want to be dissolute and licentious and give Lucifer any opening whatsoever to come against us. We need to think more like our Friday Chant says: ‘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.’
Yeh mih breddren, that’s the Christian way; we enjoy the time off, get some rest, relaxation and fellowship, so that we can handle the upcoming week with new energy and enthusiasm.
If we don’t apply some limits to our life with some resuscitation along the way, we’ll just keep going downhill until we burn out completely, and worst of all, won’t be able to do a good job on Christ’s behalf, which is our major calling.
So though we may feel to let it all hang out on the weekend, let’s hang in there, persevere with some circumspection, remembering that we are disciples of Christ, ambassadors for His kingdom and we can’t afford to behave like the world does.
That’s why Bruh Paul was so emphatic to the church at Rome as our Bit declares: ‘And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.’
That’s only basic common sense friends, for the world does not recognize the things of God nor His kingdom. So if we want to be true followers of Christ we need to abstain from a lot of things which the world thinks is right, but which our heavenly Father totally abhors and detests.
And the scholars offer this explanation. ’12:2. Be not conformed (lit. “stop conforming yourselves”): They are to resist being poured into the mould of the present thinking, value systems, and conduct of this world. This term is used only here and in 1 Peter 1:14.’
And since most of us won’t go and read that verse, I will spoon-feed us. (smile) Peter in his call to Christian dedication, says: ‘As obedient children, not fashioning (conforming) yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance.’ Meaning we should not go back to being the old kind of persons we were before we found Christ and put on the ‘new man.’
Now let’s look at a couple of scriptures which also admonish us to stay away from the evil, ungodly world. Listen to James: ‘Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of (with) the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will (wants to) be a friend of the world is (makes himself) the enemy of God.’ (James 4:4)
It’s that simple friends. As Jesus said: ‘Ye cannot serve God and mammon (the world, material possessions).’ (Mat. 6:24) So you obviously can’t serve the One True God and also worship, or idolize, or run behind the material possessions of the world.
And we’ll conclude with some of the most authoritative words on the subject from 1 John. ‘LOVE not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man LOVE the world, the LOVE of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.’(1 John 4:15-17)
Oh my fellow believers, it couldn’t be put any simpler and plainer than that. As Christians we ought to LOVE God and do His will first and foremost.
Remember Jesus’ words to the hypocrite Pharisee who asked Him. ‘Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus saith unto him, Thou shalt LOVE the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.’ (Matt.22:36-38).
So friends, let’s go and do just that nuh, for it is the wisdom of heaven! Much LOVE!
…seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness…that’s the Christian’s mandate…
10 Aug 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a cross bearing affair, a senior, a spring chicken, a young pup, abundance, actions speak louder than words, agenda, alive in God's kingdom, almighty god, ambassadors, an old fowl, ashamed, ashamed of Jesus, bear his cross, Calvary, cannot be my disciple, celebrating, christianity, Christians, come after me, comfortable life, compassionate heart, compromise, contrariness, courage, creativity, curse, destroyed, disciple, dreams, dreams come true, enjoying to the fullest, eternal life, example of life, faith, favour, focus, for my sake, gain the whole world, hypocrisy, know thyself, lifestyle, loses his life, lost, LOVE Revolution, negative word, one more day, onerous task, pleas for help, prosper, redemption, sacrifice, salvation, save his life, self-control, self-discipline, share our blessings, shortcomings, souring people, spreading the gospel, success, support Jesus in public, talent, tarnishes the image of jesus, the good news of Jesus, the Son of man, the terms of discipleship, the way of life, the wooden cross, the work of Jesus, Thursday Blessings, triumph, turning away from God, undying LOVE, walking our talk, wasting Jesus' sacrifice, wisdom, witness, work while they dream
Luke 14:27. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
One more day, just one more day… Yeh friends, one more day to be alive in God’s great kingdom! It’s such a pleasure to be alive again! (smile)
But have you noticed how those one more days quickly add up to many more years? One day you’re a young pup, a spring chicken, then one day you’re suddenly a senior, an old fowl! Hn, hn! But that’s the way of life.
And let’s hope you are enjoying each of those days to the fullest, because that’s what our Lord and Saviour desires for us and why He sacrificed His life on that wooden cross at Calvary. So if we’re not celebrating that triumph, then we’re wasting His sacrifice. And what an awful thing that would be.
But here are a couple of good questions for us. Where is our focus concentrated today eh? And what’s on our agenda?
Hopefully, as true believers, our focus is directly on Almighty God, and the priority on our agenda is doing the work of Jesus; spreading His awesome gospel of undying LOVE, redemption, salvation and eternal life.
And that doesn’t always mean talking, but more so in the example of life that we live. Our lives should realistically reflect the good news of Jesus. And if they aren’t reflecting it, then we’re not doing a good job for our wonderful Leader and Saviour, we’re not being good disciples, good ambassadors for His kingdom.
Consequently, we’re not the true Christians we ought to be. And that’s the major reason why more people are turning away from God today, than turning to Him.
My friends, we are falling down in our Christian witness when we talk one thing, then people see us living contrary to our talk. We’re obviously not walking our talk. And it’s time to do better, if we truly want Christ’s LOVE Revolution to be successful.
And please remember that actions speak much louder than words. So what we do, will usually have a greater impact on others than what we say. Thus the hypocrisy, the compromise and contrariness in our faith walk is souring people on the Christian lifestyle, and consequently on Christ.
And a quote from my ‘I LOVE YOU’ Poster reminds us that ‘Dreams come true for those who work while they dream.’ The present day Christian problem seems to be that too many of us are dreaming without working, that’s why we’re not accomplishing as much as we ought to.
Obviously we’re not complying with the words of Jesus in our Bit. ‘And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.’
Yes friends, we each have a cross to bear in our kingdom work; a task we have to perform. Now it doesn’t mean that task is necessarily onerous or body-breaking like Jesus’ cross was, but it always entails some sacrifice.
Earlier on in Luke Jesus outlined the terms of discipleship. ‘And he said to them all, If any man will come after me (desires to follow me), let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whosoever will (desires to) save his life, shall lose it; but whosoever will lose (loses) his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged (benefited), if he gain the whole world, and lose himself (is destroyed), or be cast away (is lost)?
For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels.’ (Luke 9:23-26)
There you have it my fellow believers, the terms of discipleships as detailed by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Now are we living up to those terms? Most of us aren’t. Too many of us have settled for the soft, easy comfortable life our society affords.
And surprisingly, too many of us are ashamed of Jesus! We’re afraid to talk about Him to others. We listen to others put Him down and don’t utter a word in rebuke or support, because we don’t want them to know that we are Christians and think badly of us.
Steups! Ah friends, if we can’t support Jesus in public, that means we hold the opinions of man more important than that of God. And that definitely does not lead to true discipleship, but rather tarnishes the image of our Saviour and His movement.
So today is as good as any to sit down and consider the saying ‘know thyself.’ Let’s sit down and seriously inspect our own lives and see if we’re being true disciples of Jesus. Then ask the Lord to help us in our shortcomings. He won’t ever turn down our sincere pleas for help.
Now let’s go home loudly and proudly declaring our Thursday Blessings. In unison: ‘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 since blessings are meant to be shared, let’s go out and bless others now my fellow believers in Christ! Much LOVE!
…just like Jesus had His cross to bear…all Christians have their crosses too …Christianity is a cross bearing affair…
18 Apr 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a rejuvenated mind set, alive, ambassadors, baptizing, bring glad tidings of good things, bubbling, buoyed our spirits, calling upon the Lord, captivity, celebrations, Christ's Resurrection, cleansing, communication tools, crucial times, Easter, eternal life, expectant faith, feasts, followers of Jesus, forgiveness, friend jesus, from glory to glory, God reigns, God's majesty, good news, gospel truth, harvest, healing, hear without a preacher, how beautiful are the feet, hungry hope, in the name of the Father, Isaiah, labouring, make disciples of all nations, maturity, mercy, Nahum, observe all things, Old Testament, on the cross, peace, put our best foot forward, reapers, reconciliation, reignited the flame of love, salvation, saving grace, selflessly sacrificed, service, share His love, share it, sinless life, spiritual witness, spiritual work, teach, the beloved of God, the Easter season, the end times, the glory ladder, the gospel of peace, the Holy Ghost, the SON, the stairway of maturity, them who preach, Tuesday Mantra, unbelievers, vows, worker bees, worldly occupations, Zion
Romans 10:15b. How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
And then it was Tuesday; Easter Tuesday, a day of work for most! Yeh friends, the over the top celebrations finish now, and it’s time to get back to some serious labouring, both in our worldly occupations and also our spiritual work for Jesus.
Hopefully the Easter festivities, especially Christ’s resurrection, has buoyed our spirits, reignited the flame of LOVE and service in our hearts, thus giving us a rejuvenated mind set, moving us up a notch on the stairway of maturity.
Oh my people, my people, it’s at crucial times like these where we need to improve our spiritual witness, and move up the glory ladder; from glory to glory, where we’re once more alive and bubbling with hungry hope and expectant faith in Jesus!
The end times are drawing ever closer my brethren, but the harvest is still plentiful, there’s yet much to be reaped, and since we are the reapers, we need to be strong and enthusiastic so that we can put our best foot forward for Christ.
Remember we are Christ’s ambassadors, His worker bees here on earth, and He’s expecting us to bring as many people as possible – in fact ALL people to His saving grace.
That’s what the Easter season is about; why He selflessly sacrificed His sinless life on the cross; so that whosoever will may come and receive His cleansing and healing and new way of life, which includes salvation, reconciliation and eternal life with the Father and Himself.
Now how precious is that eh? But friends, how can the unbelievers get this wonderful news unless someone shares it with them eh?
And we are that someone! It’s our responsibility to share the wonderful and free saving grace, mercy, and forgiveness of Christ to all and sundry. ‘So that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ (Rom.10:13)
Yes my fellow believers, as Bruh Paul reminds the Romans, using the words found in Joel 2:32, salvation comes from calling upon the Lord for His saving grace.
But then, as he further queries the Romans: ‘How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent?’ (Rom.10:14-15a)
And that’s all very pertinent stuff my people. How can unbelievers be saved if they don’t hear the gospel? And they can only hear it if someone shares it with them.
That brings us to our Bit. ‘How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!’
Oh friends that’s such a touching bit of scripture! And it’s also indisputable, gospel truth!
For there is nothing as wonderful as believers obeying Jesus’ last command to His disciples: ‘Go ye therefore, and teach (make disciples) of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always(s), even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt.28:19-20)
Now that’s our basic job as followers of Jesus. And you’ll notice at the end that Jesus even assured us that He’d be always with us wherever and whenever we’re spreading His word.
Unfortunately though my faithful brethren, we’re not doing it as well, as purposefully and diligently as we ought to. Why, I really can’t say. It might be through fear of repercussions from this evil world in which we dwell. Or it might just be simple laziness and sloth, or us being more concerned about living a comfortable earthly life than laying up rewards in heaven.
But friends, whatever the reason or reasons might be, if we aren’t helping to spread the good news of Jesus gospel in some form and fashion, then we’re not being good ambassadors of His.
It’s as plain and simple as that. And in these times of quick and far reaching communication tools, there is really no good excuse for any of us to not participate in the spreading of the gospel.
Now let’s look at the two Old Testament Scriptures from which Bruh Paul fashioned our Bit. The first comes from Isaiah, as he promises that the Lord will deliver His people Zion from captivity.
‘How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings (good news), that publisheth (proclaims) peace; that bringeth good tidings (good news) of good (good things), that publisheth (proclaims) salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!’ (Is.52:7)
And the second piece of scripture comes from the prophet Nahum, as he proclaims God’s majesty in mercy and judgement. ‘Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings (news), that publisheth (proclaims) peace!
Oh Judah, keep thy solemn (sacred, appointed) feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked (one of Belial, or worthless one) shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.’ (Nah.1:15)
And there you have it friends, the sources of our Bit. (smile) Now let’s go home sincerely declaring our Tuesday Mantra.
‘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!’
So if we believe it, then let’s go out and do it as we ought to nuh! Much LOVE!
…only as we spread the gospel of Jesus…will the world be saved…
05 Feb 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a bind, ambassadors, better you should not vow, bind his soul with a bond, binding agreement, blemish, defer not to pay it, destroy the work of thine hands, favour, fear thou God, fellowship, forsake me never, futility, glory to God, God be angry at thy voice, God hath no pleasure in fools, God's looking at our hearts, grace, great privilege, he shall not break his word, hearsay, His godly character, his helping hand, I'll lean upon, I'll talk with god, I'll walk with God., let thy mouth cause thy flesh to sin, many words, may the Lord be ever with me, medical problems, mercy, Moses, my faith is strong, my humble pleas, my prayer, pain, pay that which thou hast vowed, pay thee my vows, personal testimony, promised to work everything out for my good, renege on our promise, sacrifices of praise, Selah, Sunday, swear an oath, than vow and not pay, The Israelites, the Lord's time, the multitude of dreams, there is no death, though eyes grow dim, uncertainty, vowest a vow unto God, walking with God, will not fail me, wisdom, worship God in all truth
Ecclesiastes 5:4. When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer (delay) not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.
Oh friends, we’ve been granted the great privilege of seeing another of the first and best days of the week- Sunday! Glory to God! So let’s gather in sincere fellowship and worship Him in all truth, as we are supposed to on this special day nuh. And we’ll begin the celebrations, the sacrifices of praise by singing this popular Christian song, ‘I’ll Walk with God.’
Now let’s belt it out like we truly mean and believe it my people, because God is looking at our hearts to see if what comes out of mouths is truly what’s buried there. Now with a great outpouring of LOVE, let’s raise the roof of heaven.
‘I’ll Walk with God from this day on. His helping hand I’ll lean upon. This is my prayer, my humble plea, May the Lord be ever with me. There is no death, tho’ eyes grow dim. There is no fear when I’m near to Him. I’ll lean on Him forever And He’ll forsake me never. He will not fail me As long as my faith is strong, Whatever road I may walk along.
I’ll Walk with God, I’ll take His hand. I’ll talk with God, He’ll understand. I’ll pray to Him, each day to Him And He’ll hear the words that I say. His hand will guide my throne and rod And I’ll never walk alone While I walk with God.’
Oh my fellow believers, that was magnificent! And God heard it in His high heaven and was immensely thrilled!
However, let me remind us of what we just did there: we just made a promise, or rather several promises to Almighty God – to walk and talk with Him and hold His hand. So that means we cannot renege on those promises, for as the Preacher tells us in our Bit from Ecclesiastes. ‘When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer (delay) not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.’
And we have good authority for that from way back when in Numbers, when Moses gave the Israelites the law concerning vows. ‘If a man vow a vow unto the Lord, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond (binding himself by some agreement); he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth.’ (Num.30:2)
The same applied to women too, unless her father or husband heard her sware the vow and squashed it right then and there. (Num.30:3-8) Meanwhile, the same went of widows and divorcees, unless their vows were made when they were still with their husbands and they said nothing to the contrary. (Num.30.9-15)
So you see friends, vows were taken rather seriously back in those days, and even until recently, with our sudden explosion of irresponsibility and fraudulent behaviour. Therefore it’s not only to God that we shouldn’t make vows and not keep them, but to ALL people. It should be a general way of life amongst believers.
And the keeping of vows was, and still is, so important that the writer of Ecclesiastes solemnly advised us. ‘Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. Suffer not (do not let) thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel (messenger, priest), that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice (excuse), and destroy the work of thine hands.’ (Eccl.5:5-6)
So friends, that just puts us in a beautiful bind; we just have to keep those promises now, and sincerely walk with the Lord. (smile) Believe me though friends, walking with God is not always easy, but the rewards are worth every ounce of pain and/or disappointment. And I am not talking from hearsay, but from personal testimony.
Ah mih breddren, in the last little while I’ve been going through a whole set of medical problems, and though at times I was tired of the pain and uncertainty, I could always see the Lord’s grace and mercy and favour riding along with me. And even though I’m feeling somewhat better now, the fact is that none of my medical problems have been solved or corrected. But at least we know about them and are in the process of doing something about them.
But even then, making things right will still take time, the Lord’s time, so all I can do is stay faithful and walk with God, because He has promised to work everything out for my eventual good. And I know from past experiences that He is ever faithful to His vows. He NEVER reneges on any of them. How yuh think I can write the Bit every day, despite my unfortunate circumstances eh? So why should I get all worried and anxious eh? That’s not going to solve the problem(s), only make me feel worse.
Now listen to the psalmist talk about vows, as he extols the great works of God in Psalm 66. ‘I will go into thy house with burnt offerings: I will pay thee my vows (promised deeds), which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble. I will offer unto thee burnt sacrifices of fatlings, with the incense of rams: I will offer bullocks with goats. Selah.’ (Ps.66:13-15)
Yuh see friends, that is how we must behave as true believers in Jesus Christ our wonderful Lord and Saviour! Anything else will just place a serious blemish on His godly character. Remember we are His ambassadors down here on earth, and all that we do reflects on Him, for either good or bad.
And we’ll close with another pearl of wisdom from the Preacher. ‘For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities (futility abounds): but fear thou God.’ (Eccl.5:7)
That’s indeed the long and short of the story my people, so let’s pursue it diligently and sincerely nuh. Much LOVE!
…walking with God…is the ONLY path of wisdom in this crazy world…
02 Feb 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a positive outlook on life, abundance, against the wiles of the devil, ambassadors, arrows, arsenal, broken right now, Christian witness, clear direction, courage, creativity, curse, demonic onslaughts, divine protection, evil schemes, faith, favour, fight, formidable foe, fulfillment, having done all, in high places, in the name of Jesus, ministry, negative word, one of those days, patience, President Trump, promotion, put on the armour of god, resisting Satan, self-control, self-discipline, slings, soldiers of Christ, spiritual wickedness, stand up, strong will, success, supernatural strength, supernatural wisdom, talent, the devil, the whole armour of God, Thursday Blessings, to stand, to the very end, to withstand in the evil day, withstand, ye may be able to stand
Ephesians 6:11. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (evil schemes) of the devil.
Oh my beautiful fellow believers, please accept my heartfelt apologies, but it was just one of those days!
Ah Lord eh! I had to go into the big city of T.O. for an early doctor’s appointment, and after handling the traffic and waiting for the doctors and waiting for unscheduled blood tests, I did not get back home until minutes to one.
Obviously by then the ole bod was tired and crying out for rest and I did not get up until minutes to five. And it was only after about half an hour that it struck me that I had not yet written the Bit.
The good thing about it all though is that we did make some headway in the medical realm today. At least the major problems have been sorted out under one team, and hopefully no more running from pillar to post.
Enough about my woes though, let’s get straight to our Bit. ‘Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (evil schemes) of the devil.’
And I’m chuckling here friends, because I must have had it on today, otherwise I would not have been able to successfully handle the slings and arrows that were thrown against me, especially in the patience realm. (smile)
All praise and thanks be to our great and wonderful God!
Now yesterday we had stopped where Bruh Paul was talking about ‘spiritual (hosts of) wickedness in high places,’ so let’s continue with his admonishment from there. ‘Wherefore take unto you (take up) the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.’ (Eph.6:13)
Now this is a very important verse in the whole scenario, so let’s look at what the scholars have to say about it. ‘6:13. Wherefore means “because of this,” that is, because we face such a formidable foe, we must avail ourselves of God’s provision lest the enemy destroy our Christian witness and ministry.
The evil day refers to the periodic demonic onslaughts and Satanic assaults. Having done all includes both dressing oneself in God’s armour and resisting Satan. Having done all these, be ready, for the Devil will attack again and again.’
Yes friends, as a beautiful Christian soul the enemy will NOT stop attacking you, and the only way to resist Him is by being dressed in the total armour of God.
Fellow believers, I can’t stress how important this aspect of our Christian walk is, for without God’s protective armour we don’t stand a chance against the enemy, or as they would say, a snowball’s chance in hell!
So please, please, I’m imploring us to take this very seriously, especially with the crazy state of our world, which is apparently getting crazier everyday under the leadership of President Trump.
Ah mih people, I don’t even pay much attention to his antics these days, but we have to be concerned because everything he does seems to just cause more strife, anger, resentment, fear and anxiety around the globe.
As I said a few days ago, the Lord must have put him there to wake us up from our dreadful complacency. That’s why this message about putting on God’s total armour is so important at this particular period in time when the elements of evil are rising even higher than they were before.
I won’t belabour the situation, but I’ll just remind us that we are Christ’s ambassadors down here on earth. He is depending on us to conduct His affairs with righteousness and justice, but we can’t do that until we wake up and get serious about His LOVE Revolution, and stop all the aimless talking and instead take some positive action.
The enemy should never be where he’s at right now, and wouldn’t have been there without our lack of interest and complacency where we allowed him to remove things like prayer and the Ten Commandments from our schools, and put God on the back burner in most other parts of what was once a mostly godly scene.
But it’s not too late to wrestle it all back from him if we COME TOGETHER and seriously start pushing back, let him know that we’ve finally woken up and now mean business. Yes friends, it’s time to start pushing back, if we ever hope to win this earthly battle for Jesus!
Now let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings. Yuh see, we have so much good stuff in our arsenal, if we would only use them. The Lord’s already given us everything we need to battle the enemy and win, we only have to take them and put them to full use.
Chuh man! What’s wrong with us eh? We’re letting the good earthly life spoil us. So let’s bless ourselves. And remember that a blessing isn’t a blessing until it’s been spoken over someone.
All together 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!’
What more can we ask than all that eh mih people? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! So let’s go out and bless others now nuh. Much LOVE!
…as true soldiers of Christ…we must first be dressed in battle gear…then stand up and fight bravely…right to the very end…
22 Nov 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fool, a nuisance, a pronouncement of victory, all things I have commanded you, almighty god, ambassadors, authority, backsliders, baptizing them, Christ's Church, christianity, Controller of the universe, converting, converting influence, converts, Creator, disappointed men, disciple, discipleship, eight hours sleep, eternal life, evangelizing, ever-faithful, faith, friendship, getting old, glory hallelujah, go ye, gospel, grand finale, help, hurry, I am the beloved of god, I am with you always, I can trust my friend Jesus, I'm not what I do, I'm not what I have, I'm not what people say about me, in the name of, Jesus Christ, lack of interest, Living Lord, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, loved unconditionally, martyred leader, power, proclaim His gospel, promise of salvation, promises, proselytizing, resentment, resistance, reverential devotion, salvation, selflessly, share His love with the world, sinless life, sins, something else, teach all nations, teaching them to observe, thanks, the church, the end of the world, the evil influence, the Father, the Great Commission, the Holy Ghost, the prince of darkness, the risen Saviour, the SON, the vehicle of Christ's mission, things of God, things of the world, to pay for our sins, triumphant, trust, Tuesday Mantra, victory, walking to the beat of the world, worry
Matthew 28:19. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Ah friends, I don’t know who decided that we need eight hours of sleep per night nuh, but it obviously does not apply to me. Why am I saying that? Because last night, after a busy day, I decided to go to bed fairly early, around 11 p.m and get a good night’s rest.
But lo and behold, when I got up at 6 this morning, my ole back was a mess. I was stepping around gingerly, like an old man. (smile) I had to go and find my back brace and put it on, something I have not done in ages.
The sad part is that I know I can’t lie in bed for such long periods, but it never reverberated in my brain, (smile) until I got up. This getting old is something else yes!
But yuh know what? If that is my biggest problem for today, then I’m certainly giving much thanks, since it’s something I can handle. Anyway, let’s get the day started with our Tuesday Mantra, to renew our faith and trust.
As one 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!’
Yes friends, we have it all! Glory Hallelujah! We are LOVED unconditionally by Almighty God, the Creator and Controller of the universe, and we have a most wonderful friendship with His Son, Jesus Christ, who selflessly laid down His sinless life to pay for our abominable sins.
Wow! It couldn’t get any better than that nuh mih people! And all we have to do is to share His LOVE with the rest of the world; tell them about His wonderful gospel, the faithful promise of salvation and eternal life, if they make Him their Lord and Saviour too.
But unfortunately, that isn’t as easy to do as it sounds, because we get a lot of resistance, resentment and lack of interest from the masses, who, under the evil influence of the prince of darkness, are more into the flimsy, worthless things of the world, rather than the everlasting things of God.
That doesn’t mean we have to stop trying. In fact it ought to make us try harder, as we follow Jesus’ directive in our Bit, what is known as the Great Commission. ‘Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.’
Ah mih people, proselytizing, evangelizing, converting and baptizing are to be our earthly tasks. And we need to take them seriously, though not to the point that we make a nuisance or a fool of ourselves.
And here is a very important scripture that directly relates to Jesus’ directive. Before our Bit Jesus said to His disciples: ‘All power (authority) is given unto me in heaven and in earth.’ (Matt.28:18) That means Christ indeed had the authority to give the order that He then gave.
Now our Bit was only the first part of the Great Commission, hear the rest of it. ‘Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always(s), even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt.28:20)
Yuh see my fellow believers, even when Jesus gives us a task to do, He doesn’t leave us all alone to do it. He promises to be always with us, and we all know that He is ever faithful to keep His promises.
So why aren’t we doing better than we are eh? Why are people leaving the church in droves and walking to the beat of the world eh? I don’t know. What I do know is that we’re not doing such a bang up job for Jesus, and we definitely need to come up higher.
Now listen to some interesting info from the scholars on the subject. ’28:18-20. The Great Commission brings the first Gospel to its grand finale. Christianity is not represented here as the mere reverential devotion of disappointed men who honour their martyred leader.
Here is a far different scene. The triumphant, living Lord sends forth His ambassadors to proclaim His gospel throughout all the world. The Great Commission is not just an order but a pronouncement of victory (mundus regium Christi) by the risen Saviour through His disciples.
All power or authority (Gr. exousia) is now in the hands of Christ, in heaven and on the earth. On the basis of that authority and power the Christian disciple is to carry out the Great Commission of the church.
Go ye, though a participle, conveys the force of a command: “Go.” In other words the idea expressed is that you must go and make disciples. Teach all nations can be translated “disciple all nations.” Thus the converting influence of the gospel is indicated here.
The “all nations” clearly indicates that the commission to the church is a worldwide one, encompassing the entire missionary effort. The church is not to be merely “missionary-minded.” The church is the vehicle of Christ’s mission to the world.’
Ah friends, the scholars really give it to us there! From what they say, Christ’s church is not doing as well or as much as it should, else we’d be having more converts than backsliders.
Anyhow, the church, though one body, is made up of many individuals, and it all begins with each of us. So today, please let’s take a serious look at how the Great Commission is being enacted in our own lives; if we are doing our best to enforce it.
And as always, whatever answer we come up with, let’s turn to our heavenly Father and ask Him to help us do better, because we can always do better. And He never refuses a sincere plea for help. Much LOVE!
…discipleship means living our lives as Christ’s ambassador…and a worthy one at that…
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