23 Oct 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abounding in God's work, ambassadors, aroma, aroma of death, ascension, backbone, bear me, belly, blessings, Calvary, celebrations, cheer, comforting power, communication, conquerors, control, Corinthians, cross at Calvary, death, defeat the foe, encouragement, evil powers, evil twins, faith, faithful, fall in our laps, fellowship, foot soldiers, fragrance, futile, glory hallelujah, glory to God, God's LOVE, good and true, grace, grief, hell, help, holy spirit, I choose Jesus, in all things, in faith, in time of grief, in vain, incense, Jesus, justified, keep keeping on, knowledge, labour, life, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, meditate, mercies, nay, need a friend, over the stormy sea, praise, prayer, raise our voices, reassurance, redeemed, reinvigorated, relief, resurrection, sacrifice, sanctified, saved our souls, savour, shield, sin, sincerity, slaves, steadfast, strong, Sunday, temptations, Thanks be to God, thanksgiving, the best for me, the day of the Lord, the grave, the law, the prince of evil, the sting of death, the straight and narrow path, through Christ, through him that loved us, to guide my soul, to yonder shore, trials, tribulations, triumph, unmovable, victory, we are more than conquerors, well rewarded, wisdom, words of truth, world supremacy, worship, your labour is not in vain
Romans 8:37. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that LOVED us.
Once again it’s Sunday friends – the day of the Lord – so let’s begin our celebrations of praise, worship and thanksgiving with a wise and sensible hymn titled ‘I choose Jesus.’ What can be wiser than that eh? Absolutely nothing!
So let’s raise our voices in glorious song. ‘When I need someone in time of grief, Someone my cheer to be, Jesus I choose, for He gives relief, He is the best for me. (Refrain) – I choose Jesus when I need a friend, What I need I know that He will send; I have proved Him, good and true is He; I choose Jesus, He is the best for me.
When I need someone to guide my soul Over the stormy sea, Always to Jesus I give control, He is the best for me. (Refrain) When I need help to defeat the foe, Someone my shield to be, Always to Jesus in faith I go, He is the best for me. (Refrain)
When all my trials on earth are o’er, And the dark stream I see, Jesus shall bear me to yonder shore, He is the best for me. (Refrain) I choose Jesus when I need a friend, What I need I know that He will send; I have proved Him, good and true is He; I choose Jesus, He is the best for me.’
Oh my people what awesome words of truth and wisdom! Jesus is our everything; our be all and end all! Whatever we need we can find in Him, all we have to do is surrender our lives to Him. Then He comes in and takes control of our lives; leads and guides us along the straight and narrow path through the poignant and comforting power of the Holy Spirit.
Yeh friends, all we need is Jesus. As our Bit so rightly declares: ‘Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that LOVED us.’
Yes my fellow believers, through Jesus sacrifice on the cross at Calvary, His glorious resurrection and ascension, we have been redeemed, justified, sanctified and become conquerors over the evil powers that be.
Hear how Bruh Paul puts it to the Corinthians in his first missive to them. ‘The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain (futile) in the Lord.’ (1 Cor. 15: 56-58)
Ah friends, what wonderful words of encouragement and reassurance this Sunday morning! Words of indisputable truth! Through God’s eternal LOVE for us and His sacrifice of His sinless Son, we have been granted victory over the evil twins of sin and death. Glory Hallelujah!
But please note that everything doesn’t just fall in our laps without any sweat from us. We still need to be strong and faithful, full of plenty belly and backbone, and do God’s work, for once we diligently keep keeping on in faith, we will be well rewarded eventually.
Sadly though, that is where a lot of us fall down. We allow the trials and tribulations and temptations of this world to wear us down so that we aren’t of much use to Christ and His LOVE Revolution. That’s very unfortunate my brethren, because Christ is depending on us to be His foot soldiers, His ambassadors in the battle with the evil forces that are fighting against Him for world supremacy.
But we can’t be strong and faithful unless we continually read His word and meditate on it, as well as have meaningful communication with Him through constant prayer, and fellowship regularly with other believers.
So if you find that your faith is slipping, please go to God for help through the means we’ve just outlined. Pour out your heart to Him and let Him comfort and strengthen you. That’s the only way to be reinvigorated with His awesome blessing, mercies and grace.
But getting back to our topic, listen to Bruh Paul in his second missive to the Corinthians, as he talks about being triumphant in Christ. ‘Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to (leads us in) triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour (fragrance) of his knowledge by us in every place.
For we are unto God a sweet savour (the fragrance) of Christ, in (among) them that are saved, and in (among) them that perish. To the one we are the savour (aroma) of death unto death; and to the other the savour (aroma) of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things? For we are not as many who corrupt (peddle by trickery) the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of (from) God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.’ (2 Cor. 2: 14-17)
Yeh friends, in usual Bruh Paul fashion those statements are somewhat convoluted, but the scholars offer us some explanations. ‘2:14-17. Triumph (cf. Col.2:9-15): The imagery conveyed in the use of this term is of the Roman general who marched in victory with his entourage, consisting of two groups: them that are saved…and them that perish.
The former group referred to those allowed to live as slaves of the empire. The latter group comprised the condemned, who were being led to their death. Each group carried burning incense. The one was, verse 16, a savour of death unto death, the other was a fragrance of life unto life.
Calvary was the mighty display of the infinite power of a sovereign God. The human race was divided into two categories, those of life unto life and those of death unto death.’ (2 Cor.2:14-17)
Hope that explanation helps us to better understand what Bruh Paul is talking about. In ending friends, all I can say is ‘Glory to God, through Christ Jesus, that we ended up in the life unto life group!’ Much LOVE!
…who completely destroyed the prince of evil…JESUS…who had victory over hell, death and the grave…JESUS… who saved our sinful souls…Jesus…praise His holy name…
19 Oct 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a basic principle, actions, ambassadors, Azariah, blessings, burn incense, censer, character, compassions, consecrated, devices, every work, forget who brought us to the dance, glory hallelujah, greetings, habits, halfway home, he prospered, Hezekiah, honour, I'm not turning back, in the law, in the service of God, jeopardy, Jotham, judging the people, leprosy, leprous, lifted up to destruction, LOVE, love towards us, mercies of God, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, my hands are on the plough, not seeing the obvious, pride, priests, salutations, search our hearts, spiritual defeat, stand for God, taking someone for granted, Thank You Lord, the breath of life, the commandments, the house of God, the sons of Aaron, the thoughts of God, to a glorious future with Jesus, to seek God, toughts, transgressed against the Lord, trespassed, Trini Quote, truth, Uzziah, valiant men, violate the law of God, we praise and glorify your holy name, Wednesday Wail, when he was strong, with all his heart, words, wroth, yuh need two more eyes to see, yuh so blind
2 Chronicles 31:21. And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.
Greetings and salutations friends on this new morn where all the mercies of our wonderful God are new! Can you imagine that? We begin everyday with new blessings and compassions because the thoughts of our God are of LOVE towards us…
And all God’s people declared a loud and grateful, ‘Thank you Lord! We LOVE You too and praise and glorify Your Holy Name!’
Now please be careful how we go around uttering those claims, because the Lord will search our hearts to see if they are really true, like we saw He did king Hezekiah’s yesterday. And if they aren’t, He’ll probably just leave us to our own insufficient, unsuccessful devices.
And I think that ties in nicely with this recent Trini Quote Of DE Day from my Trini friend: ‘Yuh so blind dat yuh need two more eyes tuh see.’
‘Now that’s generally said to a person who is not seeing the obvious, has a great opportunity ahead and within their grasp, and yet they hesitate, as well as if they are taking someone for granted. Have a GREAT day, every DAY!!!!
Watch your thoughts. They become words Watch your words: They become actions Watch your actions: They become habits Watch your habits: They become character.’
And my fellow believers, when we ponder it all, we discover that it is all indisputable truth! That’s why we need something like our Wednesday Wail to keep us focused, to keep us tuned in to heaven.
So with true sincerity and unbridled passion let’s declare it in unison. ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday!
I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
Ah friends, I do hope that we are thankful for God’s breath of life, and that we are concentrating on the future with Jesus, rather than the past, because if we’re not sincere, then we’re only putting the rest of our lives in jeopardy.
That brings us to our Bit, a beautiful and very encouraging piece of scripture. ‘And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.’
Yes my brethren, that is a basic principle in the Lord’s playbook. You sincerely toe the line, and you prosper. As we saw recently, that’s what happened to Hezekiah and Uzziah, two kings of olden Israel.
Then yesterday we saw where the Lord left Hezekiah alone and his pride and vanity shone forth in showing all of his treasures to the ambassadors of Babylon. Today we’re going to look at what happened to Uzziah.
The Good Book tells us: ‘But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the Lord his God, and went into the temple of the Lord to burn incense upon the altar.’ (2 Chr.26:16)
Ah mih people, why is it eh, that when the Lord raises us up, we suddenly forget our beginnings and behave as though our own power put us there? Uzziah knew that it wasn’t his job to burn incense, but foolishly he insisted on doing it.
‘And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him four-score priests of the Lord, that were valiant men: and they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah to burn incense unto the Lord, but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense: go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed; neither shall it be for thine honour from the Lord God.
Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense: and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the Lord, from beside the incense altar.
And Azariah the chief priest, and all the priests looked upon him, and, behold, he was leprous in his forehead, and they thrust him out from thence; yea, (he) himself hasted (hurried) also to go out, because the Lord had smitten (struck) him.’ (2 Chr.26:17-20)
Oh friends, that’s a story that’s repeated almost everyday somewhere in our world. Once we get dancing, we conveniently forget, as it were, who brought us to the dance. But our God doesn’t.
As the scholars mention: ‘How often spiritual defeat and pride go together!’ And that’s gospel truth!
They also offer this insight:’29:17-19. This passage illustrates the truth that although the believer should obey (Matt.22:21) and support the legally constituted government (1 Pet.2:13-17) and even pray for governmental leadership (1 Tim.2:1-3), where rulers violate the law of God, the believer is to stand for God. No man is above the law of the land or the law of God.’
We all know that, but again, we conveniently ignore it when it concerns our power. But my people, we do so at our own risk. So what of Uzziah then?
‘And Uzziah the King was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house (an isolated house), being a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the Lord: and Jotham his son was over the king’s house, judging the people of the land.’ (2 Chr.26:21)
Let’s hope we all learn that most valuable lesson, as the Lord lifts us up. Much LOVE!
…man’s power will never last long…unless he truly understands that it all comes from Almighty God…
18 Oct 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a new present, a new road, a new wave, a wily God, ambassadors, armory, Babylon, be patient, desires of our hearts, did it with all his heart, diligently work at God's plans, dr robert h schuller, egotism, eunuchs, every work, foundational principle, frustrations, get you out of a rut, give God time, God is good to us, God's timing, gold, gospel truth, he prospered, Hezekiah, idiosyncrasies, impassable, in the commandments, in the law, in the service of God, Isaiah, lonely hearts, LOVE, man-made stuff, mature properly, miracles, misguided world, new love, ointment, over the mountain, personal possessions, precious things, pride, resentments, rush God, scars on sand, share His love, skulduggery, sons, spices, strangers, the beloved of God, the king of Babylon, the powers that be, the truth of God, the word of the Lord, to seek God, treasures, trust my friend Jesus, truth, Tuesday Mantra, use it wisely, vanity, waiting on god, wash away hurts, wisdom
2 Chronicles 31:21. And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.
Well brethren, Monday has gone bye bye; lost forever in the past, so please forget it. But the good news is that we’ve got a new present to replace it from our heavenly Father; Tuesday! Wow! Isn’t God good to us? He surely is!
So what are we going to do with this wonderful present that God has given us eh? I do hope that we will use it wisely; to sincerely seek Him, and to diligently work at the plans He has for our lives; the awesome desires of our hearts that He has implanted there.
Yeh friends, seeking Almighty God and working His plans are the only things that really make sense in this crazy, convoluted and misguided world. That’s what true wisdom is based on, not the trifling man-made stuff that keeps on changing according to the idiosyncrasies of the powers that be.
True wisdom is based on the truth of God, which never changes, for if its true, why should it change eh? Now here is an offshoot of that wisdom as given to us by Gramps Schuller (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) from his Hour of Power Devotional.
He says: ‘Don’t try to rush God. Mountains don’t move overnight. Give God time to work His miracles. I have seen God dissolve resentments, resolve frustrations, fill lonely hearts with new LOVE, and wash away hurts like a new wave washes away scars on sand scratched by children’s sticks.
God can get you out of a rut, onto a new road, and over the mountain that seemed impassable, if you will be patient.’ And that’s gospel truth Friends!
But waiting on God’s timing is also the hardest part of anything we wish to successfully accomplish. However, if we truly want to walk with Him, we have to learn to wait on His impeccable timing. He’s never late; we’re just too impatient! (smile) And we’ll never mature properly until we develop that basic foundational principle of waiting on God.
Now let’s turn to our Bit, which is very interesting as well as educational. ‘And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.’
Yesterday we saw how king Hezekiah early on, worked God’s plan for his life and was prosperous. However, later on, the Good Book gives us this insight into the machinations of our God.
‘Howbeit in the business of the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent unto him to inquire of the wonder that was done in the land, God left him, to try (to test) him, that he might know all that was in his heart.’ (2 Chr.32:31)
Ah mih people, our God is indeed a wily God! He doesn’t just accept our outward actions as gospel, but digs deep into our hearts and souls to discover the true us. And pertaining to the ambassadors above, the Good Book informs us thus.
‘At that time Merodach-baladan (or Barodach-baladan), king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah: for he had heard that he had been sick, and was recovered.
And Hezekiah was glad of them, and showed them the house of his precious things (treasures), the silver and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and all the house of his armour (his armory), and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah showed them not.
Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? And from whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country unto me, even from Babylon.
Then said he (Isaiah), What have they seen in thy house? And Hezekiah answered, All that in mine house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that I have not showed them.
Then said Isaiah to Hezekiah. Hear the word of the Lord of hosts: Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried to Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the Lord.
And of thy sons that shall issue (descend) from thee, which thou shall beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.
Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, Good (Just) is the word of the Lord which thou hast spoken. He said moreover, For (at least) there shall be peace and truth in my days.’ (Is.39:1-8) (2 Kin. 12-19)
Ah friends, does that little story where Isaiah foretells the Babylon captivity, speak to us? I surely hope it does, because Hezekiah’s actions re the Babylonian ambassadors, reeks of pride and egotism.
It’s the same way a lot of us behave when virtual strangers come to our houses, not knowing them or their intentions, we take them around showing off our personal possessions. That’s not wise my people, especially in this age of skulduggery, even amongst friends and neighbours.
And the scholars tell us: ‘There is no doubt that all this was done in vanity and pride, which the king would live to regret. Thus Isaiah predicts that all these royal treasures shall be carried to Babylon in the future, because news of these great treasures would spread throughout Babylon, provoking the Babylonians to come and take them away.’
Now friends, yuh see why God left Hezekiah alone to deal with the Babylonian ambassadors? He knew that his heart wasn’t quite right, and his prideful actions proved it, and possibly laid the groundwork for Babylon’s later invasion of Israel.
So a word to wise here; please don’t show ALL your treasures to anyone, for you never know what that might lead to.
Now, having learned that most important lesson, let’s go home declaring our Tuesday Mantra with heartfelt sincerity and truth.
‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
And if we believe it, let’s go out and put it into action. Much LOVE!
…it never hurts to be careful in our doings…in fact it’s very wise…
26 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: actions, almighty god, ambassadors, baptizing them, bless my soul, bounden duty, Christian brethren, commanded you, control our thinking, dedication, defined by, despair, destruction, diligent, disciple, earthly kingdom, faith cometh by hearing, faithful, fighting for Jesus, friends of Jesus, go ye, gone astray from God's word, hearing by the word of God, Holy Ghost, hurry, I am with you always, improve, in the name of the Father, into the heads, Jesus Christ, Jesus' work, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, lusts, make changes, making hay while the sun shines, martyred leader, missionary effort, missionary-minded, no time to waste, observe all things, overthrow, parameters, pass the baton, pronouncement, quagmire, risen Saviour, save us, serious, share His love, sharing the love of Jesus, sin, sloth, spread the good news of Jesus, teach all nations, teaching them, testing my patience, the beloved of God, the church, the enemy, the gospel of Jesus, the Great Commission, the lusts of the world, the Roman Empire, the SON, the vehicle of Christ's mission, time, to the end of the world, trust my friend Jesus, Tuesday Mantra, unbelievers, victory, working for Jesus, 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.
Bless my soul; Tuesday has rolled around again! Brother! These weeks are flying by so quickly! Wasn’t it Tuesday just a few days ago? (smile) And don’t talk about the month of July; that’s almost finished…and it seems as though it just began!
That means there’s no time to waste or loose my Christian brethren, we need to seriously get together and do Jesus’ work. Remember, we are His ambassadors here on earth, and as we go, so does His earthly kingdom.
And believe me, right now, I don’t think that’s going as well as it can, or ought to. We’re not as serious, as diligent and faithful as we should be. We’re still allowing the enemy and the lusts of the world to control our thinking and our actions too much.
We need to make changes, improve as soon as possible, because time is not waiting on us, and while we laze around, the enemy is making hay while the sun shines. And the best place to begin is in figuring out and believing who we are. So let’s declare our Tuesday Mantra, which does that, in a loud, proud and grateful manner.
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, that’s who we are; the beloved of God and friends of Jesus! It’s time we sincerely and truly believe that and stop allowing the world to dictate otherwise to us, for we are not defined by its parameters, but by those of Almighty God!
And we definitely need to improve our attitude and efforts in sharing the LOVE of Jesus with the world, for that’s our basic duty. We should be getting into the heads of the unbelievers, making them want to be like us, not the other way around.
And we can’t do that until we’re really serious about working and fighting for Jesus, going all out to make sure the world understands who He is and the wonderful things He stands for.
Oh friends, our world badly, desperately needs to hear and learn about Jesus because it’s quickly sinking into a quagmire of sin, sloth and despair in its current direction. We have totally gone astray from the Word of God, and returning to His wonderful and comforting fold is the ONLY thing that will save us from total destruction.
And the world can only learn and hear about Jesus from us, His followers and believers. As Bruh Paul says in Romans: ‘So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.’ (Rom.10:11)
So if the unbeliever doesn’t hear the word from us, how are they ever going believe eh? That’s why we need to ramp up our efforts to spread the good news of Jesus’ kingdom to all and sundry as He directed in the Great Commission, our Bit for today.
‘Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.’ Yes my people, that’s our bounden duty as dictated by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!
And He continues: ‘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)
Oh my fellow believers, it’s all there in black and white; simple and straight to the point. The disciples took it seriously and ran with the baton that Jesus passed on to them, and eventually, through sincere work and dedication on the part of believers, the gospel of Jesus was prominent in the overthrow of the great Roman Empire.
Ah friends, there’s such power in the Word! Now it’s time for us to accept the baton and run with it. And it so happens that in this era of modern technology, we have the parts to spread the gospel, easier, wider and further than any other generation before us.
So let’s seriously, sincerely and diligently step up to the plate and perform our bounden duty nuh, because Jesus is depending on us to spread the good news of His glorious kingdom. And we certainly don’t want to drop the baton, or pass it haphazardly to the next generation.
Now here is some interesting info from the scholars. ’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 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 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 of 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.’
And who is the church my brethren? We are! Therefore we are the ones who are expected to spread the gospel to all nations! Let’s do our job nuh! End of Story! Much LOVE!
…unless believers spread God’s Word…the world cannot be saved…
P.S. Please excuse the lateness of the Bit, I woke up late, then had some problems with Outlook. Ah Lord eh! It’s just testing my patience! Much LOVE!
02 Jun 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abide, abundance, agents, almighty god, ambassadors, answered prayer, awesome plan, badge of honour, baton, bear fruit, before men, believer, blessed, blessing, browbeat, cast forth, charles stanley, chide, clear direction, come up higher, commandments, communication, compassionate heart, conviction, courage, creativity, curse, disciples, divine protection, earthly work, emptiness, encourage, family, favour, filth, foment revolution, friends, fulfillment, glorified, glorify your Father, glory hallelujah, good, good works, gospel of Jesus, gospel truth, health, holy spirit, human form, In Touch Devotional, Job, joy, let your light shine, lost, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, mire, negative word, open our eyes, pass the baton, passion, positive outlook, power, presence, promise, promotion, prosper, purpose, resources, running rampant, self-control, self-discipline, sense of unrest, sheep in the wilderness, sinful, speak blessings, stir up LOVE, strong will, succeed, success, supernatural strength, supernatural wisdom, talent, the next generation, the works of God, Thursday Blessings, umbrella of christ, unloving, uplift, wicked, wickedness
Matthew 5:16. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Oh my wonderful brethren in Christ, another blessed day has been granted to us to spread the good news, the marvellous gospel of Jesus! Glory Hallelujah!
And by diligently doing so, we will therefore increase the power and presence of Jesus’ LOVE Revolution, the movement that’s currently taking both the known and unknown world by storm!
Yes friends, just imagine our God’s thinking and imagination nuh, where He draws up this awesome plan to send His One and Only Son, Jesus Christ down to the earth to stir up, to foment revolution; a LOVE Revolution!
You know my people, that was all Jesus came to do; to stir up LOVE amongst the world’s rather wicked, sinful and UNLOVING population.
He enlisted agents, disciples and ambassadors to help Him do it, because as a man, in human form, He could not spread it all Himself. He could only be in one place at a time. But once He returned to heaven, He sent his Holy Spirit to dwell within those ambassadors, to enable them to do His holy will.
And what a wonderful job they have done! But now, two thousand years later, that badge of honour has been passed down to us to carry on the spreading of the gospel, and then pass the baton down to the next generation, our children.
Unfortunately though friends, I don’t think we’re doing such a good job nuh, otherwise our world would not be getting deeper and deeper in the mire of filth and wickedness that’s running rampant throughout it.
But the good news is that I’m not here to chide or browbeat us, because that’s not Jesus’ way. I’m here to uplift and encourage us; to help open our eyes and allow us to come up higher in our earthly work for Christ.
And to help us do that this first Thursday morning in June 2016, let’s declare our Thursday Blessings with much conviction and passion.
Altogether 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!’
Yes my fellow believers, a blessing is not a blessing until it’s spoken over someone, so please, let’s remember to continually speak blessings over our friends, families and neighbours and thus keep them covered under the majestic, widespread umbrella of Christ.
And all of that will only help us adhere better to the command of Jesus in our Bit. ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’
Now that is our basic job on this earth my friends, the general purpose for which we were made. And we can only accomplish it properly if we stay in constant touch with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, because it is He who enables us, gives us the strength and direction to perform the tasks assigned to us.
As Jesus so bluntly told His disciples: ‘If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto (for) you.
Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath LOVED me, so have I LOVED you: continue ye (abide) in my LOVE. If ye keep my commandments; ye shall abide in my LOVE; even as I have kept my father’s commandments, and abide in his LOVE.’ (John 15:6-10)
Yes friends, if we abide in Jesus and His words in us, we can ask whatever we will and it will be done for us.
As the scholars explain: ‘In my name, means “as My agent.” The promise of answered prayer is based on the disciple acting as the agent of Jesus will (cf. 16:23-26). The promise is for unlimited resources to do the works of God.’
So you see friends, to do the work of God, we need to enlist the aid of God. And we’ll end here with an appropriate word from Uncle Charles (Charles Stanley) on prayer, found at the beginning of the In Touch Devotional for June.
He declares: ‘When we fail to make prayer a priority, we will begin to feel an emptiness in our heart, accompanied by a strange sense of unrest and uneasiness. In contrast, when our prayer life is active, the weight of these burdens will be lifted by the mighty hand of God.’
And that’s the gospel truth my people! Prayer is our method of communication with Almighty God, and if we don’t actively participate in it, we won’t reap all that we can from the wonderful association with our Creator.
So today, please, let’s ponder our prayer lives, and see whether they are up to scratch, and if not, sincerely ask the Lord to help us, because without good communication with the Father, we’ll truly be like lost sheep in the wilderness. Much LOVE!
…oh what joy it is…for a believer…to be in constant touch with Jesus…
01 May 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: ambassadors, Amorites, as for me and my house, be my guide, blatant refusal, blessings, bounden duty, Christian living, comfort, covers all the bases, different strokes, difficult times, disicples, do His will, encompassing, encouragement, evil, examples speak more forcibly than words, fear the Lord, feel discouraged, fellowship, first day of May, glamour, glitz, grateful, guidance, happiness, heartfelt thanks, Israelites, Jesus Christ, Joshua, lean on God for support, listen with conern, living God, LOVE, magnanimous god, material possessions, my every deed, my every word, New World Order, one and only God, peaceful moments, praise, praise the Lord for His goodness, prayer, put away the gods, reassure, rejuvenation of spirit, seek God, serve him, sincerity, sinful trap, steadfastness of purpose, strength to keep going, Sunday, talk the talk, thanksgiving, the Euphrates river, the gospel of Jesus, the Great Commission, the Lord's Day, the Most High God jehovah, the other side of the flood, time for church, troubles, truth, ungodliness, ungodly world, uplift, we will serve the Lord, wisdom, worship
Joshua 24:14. Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood (The Euphrates River), and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord.
Oh my beautiful believers in Jesus Christ, it’s the first day of May, as well as the Lord’s Day, better known as Sunday!
That means it’s time for church; time for praise and worship, for thanksgiving and fellowship, for rejuvenation of spirit, encouragement and steadfastness of purpose, plus all the other good things that our magnanimous God pours out on those who LOVE Him, diligently seek Him and obediently do His will!
Now I’m not going to harangue or lecture us about going to church today. That shouldn’t be at all necessary, for if you’re a true believer, then you’ll know that’s your bounden duty, so I’ll just leave that up to you and your heavenly Father. (smile)
What I’ve been guided to do though, is to share a prayer which I shared a long time back, so many of you would not have heard it, but it’s one of my favourite prayers. From the first time I found it in my mother’s Bible after she died, something about it just touched me, and I’ve prayed it almost every day after that.
It’s a special prayer prepared by the Life Study Fellowship, Noroton, Connecticut. It’s titled ‘Lord, Please Accept My Heartfelt Thanks!’ And the sub-title is ‘Praise the Lord for His Goodness.’ – Psalm 107:8’
Now please pray with me: ‘Dear Lord, You are so good to me! And I thank You sincerely for the many blessings You send me! I’m very glad to have You in my life day in and day out – whatever I do and wherever I go! You are the One who always does what is best for my happiness!
How grateful I am to be able to turn to You for guidance and comfort when troubles come my way! If any situation arises that makes me feel discouraged, You let me know I can lean on You for support! And because of Your LOVE for me, somehow I seem to find the strength to keep going – even through the most difficult times!
I’m grateful too, for peaceful moments like these when I’m all alone with You in prayer! Talking with You never fails to reassure and uplift me! Nothing I say to You goes unheard. You listen with great concern to everything I confide in You! For You truly care about me!
As I look to 2016 (or whatever year) I pray that You will continue to watch over me – and grant me even more of Your wonderful blessings! And may I serve You well in my every word, my every deed! Be my Guide hour by hour; I pray! Amen.’
Oh friends, I do hope that prayer touched you all! I guess what I like about it is that it covers all the bases, it’s so all encompassing, plus everything it says is true and relevant. Some of you may not like it, but that’s okay; it’s your choice. As they say, different strokes for different folks! (smile) Anyway, that’s my contribution for today.
Now let’s turn to our new Bit, a part of Joshua’s farewell address to the Israelites. He had just finished reminding them about all the good things the Lord had done for them, giving them houses they didn’t build, vineyards they didn’t plant etc.
‘Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood (The Euphrates River), and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord.’
Ah mih people, that verse is even more appropriate and relevant in this New World Order than it was thousands of years ago when Joshua spoke those fateful words. That’s because the worshipping of other gods, plus basic ungodliness is so rampant in our current society.
Unfortunately, the ONE and ONLY TRUE and LIVING God; He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is not held in respect nor reverence by a rather large part of the world. Many people know of and about Him, but yet they steadfastly refuse to honour and obey Him. How sad that is my people, for our world could be truly such a beautiful place if more of us sincerely worshipped and revered the Most High God Jehovah.
Now why the blatant refusal to accept the God of heaven eh? I believe there are two main reasons. First of all, the pull of the material, lustful and sinful world is rather strong. We feast our eyes on all the supposed glitz and glamour and possessions available, and our hearts clamour for them, and the evil one just makes it so easy for us to fall into his sinful trap.
And the second reason is that we believers, supposed ambassadors and disciples of Jesus, who have been assigned the Great Commission (Matt.28:19-20) to teach and baptize and spread the wonderful gospel of Jesus all over the world, are not doing as good a job as we should. The hypocritical examples of our lives are turning people away from Jesus instead of drawing them closer to Him.
So there we have it; Lucifer and his evil cronies are doing a good job on selling sin, while the followers of Jesus are not doing a good job of selling righteousness. No rocket science involved at all friends.
So what are we doing, or going to do to change this rather unpalatable situation eh my believing breddren? All I can say is that we need to pull up our britches and do a better job of spreading the good news of Jesus, and backing it up with perfect, well not quite perfect, but much better examples of true Christian living.
Remember friends, examples speak more forcibly than words, and we can talk all the talk in the world, if we don’t walk that talk, then it’s useless, just wasted talk. And we’ll close with these precious and fateful words of Joshua, declared after our Bit.
‘And if it seems evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood (The Euphrates River), or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.’ (Josh.24:15)
Yes friends, that’s the big and serious decision we all have to make. And like Joshua, I surely hope that we will all decide, with our families, to serve the Lord God Jehovah, for that is indeed the wisdom of the ages! Much LOVE!
…until more believers get truly serious about the Great Commission…both talking and living it…the good news of Jesus will be sadly lacking in this ungodly world…
05 Dec 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a tree planted by the rivers of waters, ambassadors, belly and backbone, blessed are the righteous, blessed is he that readeth, blessings, bounden duty, break the enemy's yoke, brings forth fruit in his season, charles stanley, children of men, commandments, crapaud smoke yuh pipe, darkness, evil, fall by the wayside, followers of Christ, for the time is at hand, formula for success, give God thanks, glory to God, God is ever-faithful, gospel truth, hate, his leaf shall not wither, in the way of sinners, Joshua, keep those things which are written therein, lead a horse to water, leave all the consequences to Him, LOVE, lusts of the flesh, make thy way prosperous, meditate on God's Word, mercies, miraculous occasion, obey God, our heavenly Father, prosperous, put God's word into action, rebelled against God, rebuked by God, sits in the seat of the scornful, smart money on Jesus, spread God's word all over the world, success, successful, suffered God's wrath, the Birth of Christ, the book of the law, the breath of life, the counsel of the ungodly, the Creator of the universe, the Holy One of Israel, the One and Only True God, the things of the world, they that hear the words of this prophecy, thy Redeemer, unfaithfulness, war, what God promises He will deliver
Revelation 1:3. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
Oh Friends, what a beautiful Saturday morning to be alive! Glory to God! Just imagine that in a mere three weeks time nuh, we’ll be celebrating that marvelous, miraculous occasion; the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in the manger in Bethlehem! Oh how wonderful and ever-LOVING our heavenly Father has been to us!
Please remember to acknowledge Him and give Him thanks every time you open your eyes to a brand new day. That is the least we can do for still enjoying the breath of life and the many new blessing and mercies He has promised to rain down on us every day. And we know that He’s ever-faithful, so whatever He promises, He WILL deliver.
That’s why I can’t understand why so many people refuse to accept Almighty God, the Creator of the universe as the ONE and ONLY TRUE GOD, especially after all the wonderful things He’s done over the years for the undeserving children of men. But that’s their loss, and our gain.
However our God is so wonderful that instead of simply letting the unbelievers fall unnoticed by the wayside, He requires us to tell them about Him, spread His word all over the world, and live a life that shows His word in action. That is our job, our bounden duty as believers, as true and loyal followers of Jesus Christ, as His earthly ambassadors.
Unfortunately though, it doesn’t seem as though we are doing such a good job because people are turning away from Jesus in droves and the world is filled with untold evil and darkness and war and hate, all the things He doesn’t stand for.
Now why is that eh mih people? Is it because we are paying too much attention to the things of the world, indulging too much in the foolish lusts of our flesh, plus not having enough belly and backbone to stand up to enemy and his evil cronies?
In addition to all of that, can it also be that we’re not following the wisdom of our Bit, which so boldly proclaims: ‘Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.’
Oh friends, I do believe it’s a combination of all those things. But if we want to be faithful believers we have to break the yoke of the enemy in our lives. And the only true and lasting way to do that is to take our Bit seriously; regularly read the Lord’s word, meditate on it, talk about it and put it into action.
And I didn’t make this up, but it came straight from our God, where He solemnly warned Joshua when he took over leadership of the Israelites after the death of Moses. ‘This book of the law shall not depart out of (shall constantly be in) thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and thou shalt have good success.’ (Josh.1:8)
Oh friends, that is one of the most important verses in the Bible, and if we would only take it to heart, sincerely follow it, then as God has promised, we will be prosperous and successful! What’s so difficult in that to understand eh, especially since it’s been proven many a time down through the ages?
Ah mih breddren, as they say, you can only lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink. (smile) Likewise I can only guide us to the Good Book and what it says, I can’t force us to seriously embrace it and put it into action.
Just remember though, that all the smart money has been placed on Jesus, and when the time comes, if you’re not in His pool, then crapaud smoke yuh pipe!
Now let’s end up this series of messages with some more scriptures that corroborate our Bit. Listen to Isaiah as he talks about Israel’s unfaithfulness being rebuked by God. ‘Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.
O that thou hadst hearkened to (heeded, obeyed) my commandments! Then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea. Thy seed also had been as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels (body) like the gravel (grains of sand) thereof; his name should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before me.’ (Is.48:17-19)
Oh my people, all yuh hear what the Lord said in those two passages. If you obey, you will prosper and succeed. If you don’t, then you’re going to pay a steep price. And that is exactly what happened to the Israelites, several times too. When they obeyed they prospered, but like us, then they believed it was their own work that brought the prosperity and they foolishly rebelled against God and suffered His wrath.
Anyway friends, let’s end with these wise words from Psalm 1 – Blessed are the righteous – which most of us know quite well, but obviously don’t pay sufficient attention to.
‘Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly (wicked), nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate (ponder by talking to oneself) day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers (channels) of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.’ (Ps.1:1-3)
There you have it again friends, the formula for success and prosperity in this fallen, sinful world! Now please, I implore us to be wise and use it to the fullest nuh, for that’s what is required of us by our God. Much LOVE!
…as Uncle Charles (Charles Stanley) keeps saying…the best way to live this life…is to obey God…and leave all the consequences to Him… and that’s gospel truth…
13 Sep 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit, adore, ambassadors, broad is the way that leads to destruction, by their fruits you shall know them, calamitous situation, cast into the fire, conformity of doctrine to the Scriptures, continue your merry way rejoicing, diligence, doctrine, earthly comforter, enter in at the strait gate, eternal life, eternal punishment, eternal separation from God, every good tree brings forth good fruit, every tree that doesn't bring forth good fruit is cut down, evil fruit, excellence, faithfulness, false prophets, few there be that find it, get down to brass tacks, give thanks, glorify, glory to God, good fruit, gospel truth, grateful, holy spirit, I am the way the truth and the life, Jesus Christ, no man comes to the Father but by me, not what goes into a man defiles him, our heavenly Father, praise, ravening wolves, reconciled to the Father, sacrifice, saints of Jesus, salvation, Sermon on the Mount, sheep's clothing, sinful wretches, sing, thankful, that which comes out of a man defiles him, the Christian situation, the consuming fires of hell, wide is the gate, wisdom, wishy-washy attitude, words and deeds, worship
Matthew 7:20. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Welcome all you saints of Jesus to this blessed day called Sunday! It’s the day when most believers gather together to sing, praise, worship, give thanks, adore and glorify our most wonderful heavenly Father, His remarkable Son Jesus Christ and our earthly comforter, Holy Spirit.
What a triumvirate they are my brethren! There’s nothing else in this universe like them! And how could there be eh, when they created the universe and still control it? Oh glory to God my people!
And we all ought to be eternally thankful and grateful that they LOVED us so much, that the Father sent the Son to sacrifice His holy and sinless life so that we worthless and sinful wretches could be reconciled to Him, obtain salvation and the promise of eternal life.
Then to complete the cycle, when Jesus ascended back to heaven, they sent the Holy Spirit to live within us, to lead and guide and comfort us on our earthly pilgrimage. Oh all thanks and glory be to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, now and forever more!
Unfortunately though, many supposed believers don’t seem to understand and appreciate the seriousness and gravity of the Christian situation and just muddle along nonchalantly. But Friends, that is the most important aspect of our earthly sojourn; where we will spend eternity. Now you can be frivolous about it and just continue your merry way rejoicing, hoping that it will all fall into place on its own.
But take my word, it won’t. We all have to make definite decisions about whether we’re going to follow Christ or not. And if we do decide to follow Him, then we have to get down to brass tacks and sincerely do what He desires of us. A wishy-washy, haphazard attitude won’t do, because Jesus desires diligence, faithfulness, and excellence from His followers.
As His earthly ambassadors we need to reflect a good and proper image of Him and all that He stands for, both in our words and deeds. Remember Jesus’ words of warning in the Sermon on the Mount? ‘Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening (ravenous) wolves.’ (Matt.7:15)
And believe me Friends, there are a lot of false prophets in existence nowadays leading God’s people astray. But Jesus gave us a way to figure them out. ‘Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil (bad) fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil (bad) fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.’ (Matt.7:16-18)
Simple logics that my brethren. If you’re corrupt inside, you cannot bring forth anything that’s good. And if you’re good, you cannot bring forth bad or corrupt fruit. No wonder Jesus later on declared: ‘Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.’ (Matt.15:11)
Yes my people, it’s what comes from the depths of our souls and our hearts that defile us. So we had better make sure that what’s in our hearts is good, so that we can produce good fruit. For as Jesus continues before our Bit. ‘Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.’ (Matt.7:19-20) Gospel truth that Friends!
Now here are some interesting explanations on those verses from the scholars. ‘7:16-20. A true test of a prophet was the conformity of his doctrine to the Scriptures (cf. 1 Cor.14:37; Deut.13:1-5). Their fruits refers not only to actions of their lives, but also to the doctrines they proclaim. The two trees are contrasted in relation to the fruit they produce.
Every good tree bringeth forth good fruit consistently, while a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit continually. Therefore, the normal and consistent production of fruit, whether good or evil, in a person’s life will bear evidence whether or not that life is of God. Verse 19 illustrates the unfruitful life of the unregenerate who is cast into the fire, a picture of eternal punishment in hell.’
Now there it is in black and white Friends, exactly as I said at the beginning. To be a true and worthy follower of Jesus we have to know and proclaim His doctrines, then bear good fruit which comes from an internally good soul, spirit and heart.
On the other hand, if our internal self is rotten and wicked, then we won’t spread true and proper doctrines, neither will we able to bear good fruit, with the unfortunate result that we’ll eventually be cast into the consuming fires of hell.
Oh my fellow believers, I don’t think any of us wants to suffer that calamitous situation. Therefore, I will encourage us to pay close attention to the words of Jesus that we’ve discussed, as well as these ultra-important ones.
‘Enter ye in at the strait (narrow) gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat. Because strait (how narrow) is the gate, and narrow (difficult or confined) is the way, which leadeth to life, that few there be that find it.’ (Matt.7:13-14)
Yes mih breddren, as the scholars further explain. ‘One must come through the narrow gate in order to reach the path that leads to eternal life. Though many are on the broad…way, that leadeth to destruction (eternal separation from God), the gate that leads to life is so narrow that few there be that find it. Christ Himself is both the gate and the way (cf. John 14:6), and God enables men to find that gate (cf. John 6:44).’
So Friends, let’s get us off to church today and continually seek that strait and narrow path that leads to eternal life, for that is the wisdom of the ages! Much LOVE!
…Jesus saith unto him…I am the Way…the Truth…and the Life…NO man cometh unto the Father…but by ME… (John 14:6)
03 Feb 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: ambassadors, another beautiful morning in Paradise, belief, christianity, Christians, comfort, compassion, coughing bout, doubting, evengelizing, example, faith, Father of mercies, fellow believers, followers of Christ, freezing cold, friends, Glory be, helping others, hope and pray, I grinned and bore it all, Jesus came to save the lost, Jesus taught them many things, Jesus was moved with compassion, multitudes, only in T&T, Pigeon Point, salt water and sunshine, scandal, simple existence, soca music, Thank the Lord, thanks and priaise, the birds are singing, the cool breezes are blowing, the eyes ears hearts and hands of Jesus, the North Country, the sun's shining, they were as sheep not having a shepherd, tribulation, we will overcome, we'll fight it through, with God's help
Mark 6:34. And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people (a great multitude), and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.
Oh Friends, what can I say eh, but that it’s another beautiful Tuesday morning in Paradise!
As I sit on the verandah of my little cottage at Lowlands writing these words to you, the sun’s a shining, the birds are a singing praises, the cool breezes are a blowing, ruffling the trees and leaves, which are a dancing to God’s perfect melody, and one member of His greatest creation is here enjoying it all, adding his thanks and praise to the rest of nature! (smile)
Wow Friends, it couldn’t get much better than this…except for my health! I’m still not in the greatest shape; my chest is still tight and my back’s aching. I’m starting to think it’s the bed, although on the surface it doesn’t feel too soft or too hard. Unless I am sleeping too much, although I don’t think so.
But I much prefer my back to ache me down here in the warm weather than in the freezing cold and plentiful snow that seems to have enveloped the north country since I left. I’ve been seeing pictures of Toronto and other areas in the U.S and they certainly don’t look too welcoming. I’m certainly sorry for those of you who have to deal with it, and I’m glad that I don’t have to in my current condition.
All I can do is thank the Lord that He got me out before it began, and I hope and pray that He keeps you all safe and sound and warm through it all.
Ah Chuh! I just had a small coughing bout! Thought it was all over, but apparently not. But not to worry, we’ll fight it through, with the Lord’s help obviously. Each day I am feeling a little better. I was able to handle the heat and sunshine much better yesterday. And we finally got our phone situation fixed – Glory be!
In the afternoon we went down to the beach. The duchess wanted to go to Pigeon Point, and although I’ve never like there, in my humanity and Christianity, I acquiesced to her desires. (smile) Now I thought she wanted to go right inside the compound where you have to pay to get in.
But lo and behold, as we were driving by a decent looking beach with people bathing and some sweet soca music pouring out of a car, she decided to stop there. Hn! And again being the beautiful person that I am, I stopped.
The beach itself was sandy and the water, though a little choppy with the tide coming in, was blue and inviting. But to my great surprise when I entered the water, before it even got up to my waist, I felt a very rocky and stony bottom.
Steups! It was actually worse than my water hole back home, but I grinned and bore it. It was salt water and sunshine, exactly what the doctor had ordered for my ailing and aching body. And in any case I couldn’t do much swimming because my right arm and shoulder are still aching.
On the way home from the beach we bought some food and some goodies; coconut tart, currant’s roll, rock cake etc. (smile) Then we came home and had a quiet evening, in part listening to the Prime Minister, Kamla Persad, address the nation on t.v. re some scandal amongst her cabinet, which she shuffled around and which is going to cause even more scandal. Only in T&T, you say!
So you see the ole fella’s just leading a quiet simple existence, trying to get healthy. I still don’t feel like eating, and that tells me I’m not up to scratch. But with the Lord’s help, and in His time, there’s no doubt that we will definitely overcome!
And Friends, this morning if you’re doubting your faith and belief in Jesus Christ, just listen to these wonderful words of our Bit. ‘And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people (a great multitude), and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.’
Oh my people, how could you not believe and have faith in such a wonderful and compassionate man eh ? The sequence of events that led up to that outpouring of compassion are as follows. ‘And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things , both what they had done, and what they had taught. (They had just returned from evangelizing around the region.)
And he said unto them, come ye yourselves apart (aside) into a desert (deserted) place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. and they departed into a desert (deserted) place by ship privately (by themselves)
And the people (multitudes) saw them departing, and many knew him, and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and outwent them (arrived before them), and came together unto him.’ (Mark 6:30-33)
Oh my fellow believers, what a wonderful example for us to follow! But do we have that kind of compassion on our fellow men? To some small extent yes, but nowhere near the amount that we should have!
Remember Friends, that we are supposed to be the eyes, ears, hearts and hands of Jesus here on earth. That means we are also supposed to do as He did. But unfortunately, not many of us supposed believers show the kind of caring and compassion we ought to our fellow man. But then, when we need compassion, we expect Jesus, as well as other men to show it to us.
Friends, life doesn’t work that way. We receive what we give, and reap what we sow. Listen to these Bible verses from Bruh Paul to the Corinthians. ‘Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble (tribulation), by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.’ (2 Cor.1:3-4)
My people, God comforts us, has compassion on us, so that we can do the same for our fellow man. Remember Jesus came to save the lost, the sick, the hurting, the unfortunate. (Matt.18:11) And if we are His true ambassadors, then we are supposed to do likewise.
So please, today, as we go about our business, which hopefully is also Jesus’, let’s allow His LOVE to soften our hearts, open our eyes to those who need our caring and compassion, and let our hands and mouths show forth His LOVE! That’s our bounden duty, our earthly purpose and responsibility. Much LOVE!
…if we’re not helping others…then we don’t deserve to be called Christians…followers of Christ…
24 Oct 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a joyful heart, a mllion miles away, a waste of time, all things work for out good, along our pilgrim's path, ambassadors, be assured, better late than never, blessings of obedience, brimming with confidence, confidence, crux of our problem, earthly pilgrim's path, eternal life, fellowship, forgiving, Friday chant, friends, fun, furthering God's glorious kingdom, glory hallelujah, God is always beside us, God is faithful, God's mysterious workings, gospel truth, gracious, greatest gift ever bestowed on man, I shout for joy, I will never let go of our hand, in Jesus' name, indisputable, inheritance, Israel, Jacob, Jesus, Jesus Love Revolution, Jesus' sacrifice, joy, joyful, joyful proclamations, labour, lifts our hearts, little by little, LOVE, loving, maganimous and magnificent God, majestic God, massa's slave-like toil, merciful, my heart was exceedingly joyful, no man shall be able to stand against thee, omnipotent god, One Year Book of Bible promises, our bounden duty, our view of circumstances, peaceful, promises of God, promises of Jesus, prosperous, relaxation, renewed and refreshed, rest, rest and recuperate, riding high in our hearts, Romans 8:28, salvation, scriptural education, serve and worship God, source of fodder, sprit of evangelism, tat odds with truth, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the joy of the Lord is our strength, the Lord thy God, the Promised Land, the reality of the situation, the weekend, true believers, truth, undeniable, veritable, walking hand in hand, what seems to be is not always is, wine and roses, wisdom, work diligently
Psalm 47:1-2. O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph. For the Lord most high is terrible (awesome); he is a great King over all the earth.
Well Friends, at last we’ve reached the finish line for this workweek’s race… It’s Friday! Glory Hallelujah! And I do hope that we all did our best in this week’s sprint…
And all God’s people joyfully declared: ‘Yes, we did our best! Jesus is proud of us! But nonetheless we must proclaim, TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and the weekend is upon us! Oh there’s nothing like the weekend to rest and recuperate from massa’s slave-like toil and labour! That’s why we joyfully sing again: TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday yes!’
Oh Friends, it’s so wonderful to see us so joyful, because Jesus died so that we could enjoy our earthly life, enhanced by salvation and eternal life. And if we don’t enjoy it, especially when surrounded by the two greatest gifts ever granted to man – salvation and eternal life – then we’re just making His death a complete waste of time.
And we definitely don’t want to negate Jesus’ great sacrifice. Therefore, to help us continue in our joyful mode, here is a poem from an old Devotional called the ‘One Year Book of Bible Promises, I recently picked up in a Book Sale at church. It contains a Bible verse of promise for every day of the year, along with some interesting readings.
So expect to hear from it over the next little while. And I must tell you that when my eyes saw it, they lit up large and my heart was exceedingly joyful, because it’s one more source of fodder, of learning and truth that we have to engage us in our scriptural education.
Anyway, enough blather, (smile) here is the poem. It’s simply titled: ‘I Shout for Joy!’ And it says: ‘Sometimes Lord, You seem a million miles away. And then I remember Your unfailing words. “I will NEVER, NEVER, let go of your hand.” Once again I shout for joy, That what seems to be, Is not always what is.’
Oh yes my people, that’s ever so true! Lots of times our view of circumstances are totally at odds with the truth, with the reality of the situation, but at ALL times, we can be assured that our great and wonderful, magnificent and magnanimous, merciful, LOVING, most gracious and forgiving God is ALWAYS beside us, walking hand in hand with us along our pilgrim’s path!
Oh what joy and confidence that brings to our hearts and spirits, my fellow believers! It just lifts our hearts over the proverbial bar, like a high jumper, just brimming with confidence that he can scale the next height in his jump! Yes Friends, that’s what the promises of our eternal, ever-LOVING, omnipotent God does for true believers!
Now it won’t always be wine and roses on our earthly pilgrim’s path – it definitely wasn’t for Jesus – but with Him working mightily in us, we can be assured and confident that ALL things will be eventually worked out in our favour, because that’s exactly what He has promised to do in Romans 8:28.
And my brethren, our majestic God is above everything else, most faithful to His promises!
That’s why we can joyfully declare in our Bit, these words of the sons of Korah from Psalm 47 – God is the King of all the earth. ‘O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph. For the Lord most high is terrible (awesome), he is a great King over all the earth.’
That my brethren, is indisputable, undeniable, veritable gospel truth!
And to enhance those facts, the psalmist joyfully continues: ‘He shall subdue the people under us, and the nations under our feet. He shall choose our inheritance for us, the excellency of Jacob whom he LOVED. Selah.’ (Ps.47:3-4)
Moreover, to corroborate those joyful proclamations, listen to Moses, as way back in the early days of Israel’s journey through the wilderness to the Promised Land, he directs them as to the blessings of obedience to the God of their fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
‘Thou shall not be affrighted at (afraid of) them: for the Lord thy God is among you, a mighty God and terrible (awesome). And the Lord thy God will put out those nations before thee by little and (by) little: thou mayest not consume (destroy) them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee.
But the Lord thy God shall deliver them unto thee, and shall destroy them with a mighty destruction, until they be destroyed. And he shall deliver their kings into thine hand, and thou shalt destroy their name from under heaven: there shall no man be able to stand before (against) thee, until thou have destroyed them.’ (Deut.7:21-24)
And as we all know Friends, those promises were all fulfilled, delivered in spades, once the Israelites served and worshipped Jehovah God sincerely. And the same promises apply to us today my people… once we too serve and worship Jehovah God sincerely.
But that’s the unfortunate crux of our problem though in this ungodly and evil day and age; not enough of us are serving and worshipping our great God, despite all the evidence that when we do so, we become peaceful and prosperous.
However, with the promises of Jesus riding high in our hearts, filling us with the spirit of evangelism, we few will continue to work diligently and sincerely to bring about His LOVE Revolution, because that’s wisdom from on high, as well as our bounden duty as His earthly ambassadors!
Now let’s go home chanting our Friday Chant- no I didn’t forget (smile) – fully embracing the wise perspective that it brings. As one now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Much LOVE, my beautiful and joyful people!
and please remember…that the joy of the Lord is your strength… (Neh.8:10)
P.S. Oh Friends, certain circumstances beyond my control kept me up late last night, and consequently I didn’t arise until late this morning. But through the wonderful and mysterious workings of our great God I arose with a joyful heart, otherwise I couldn’t have written such a joyful Bit. (smile) Please excuse its tardiness. But as they say; better late than never! Much LOVE!
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