01 Aug 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: 1 August 1838, a roaring lion, a stepping stone, an excuse, anger, anxieties, aura of love, bask in God's sunshine, behave negatively, blanket of god's love, care, Caribbean people, celebrations, compassion, confidence, conquerors, doubts, Drunk or sober mind yuh business, Emancipation Day, enslavement, enthusiasm, evil, faith, faithfulness of God, fatness, fears, forgiveness, fountain of life., friends, glorious kingdom, Glory be, glory hallelujah, grace, Granny's advice, holy spirit, humble servants, indentured labour, invincible, Jesus Christ, joy, lies, light, light of jesus, LOVE, LOVE of God, loving kindness, mercy, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, negative emotions, peace, positive things, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, righteousness., salvation, spiritual armour, spunk, steadfast faith, succour, the children of men, the infinite power, the Lord will not cast off, the shadow of thy wings, trust, truth, understanding, ungodly world, weary souls, whm he may devour, wisdom
Lamentations 3:31. For the Lord will not cast off for ever.
Oh friends, its Emancipation Day in the Caribbean! Mama Mia! Who would have thought it some years back eh? We’re celebrating that most wonderful, joyous and auspicious occasion of 178 years ago on August 1st 1838, when the slaves in the British Caribbean Colonies were finally set free! Glory Hallelujah!
It is certainly a red letter day in the History of Caribbean people, and it’s wonderful that we have finally come to celebrate it every year. However, please let’s not use the enslavement and indentured labour of our forefathers as an excuse to behave negatively. But rather let’s use it as a stepping stone to positive things. We must not ever forget it, but we must let go of the negative emotions it raises up, else we will never be free of enslavement, that of the mental kind.
On the Other hand, it’s also a Civic Holiday in most parts of Canada, which means a lot of people aren’t going to work today… and I hear shouts of ‘Glory Be!’ in the background. Now that’s good for us, but there are many not so blessed workers who have to get out and face the music this Monday morning, so let’s join with them and sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with as much spunk and enthusiasm as we can muster.
Altogether 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!’
Ah mih people, that was loud but somewhat raucous and not very harmonious! Our choirmaster, Jesus could only shake His head and sigh, because He knows what’s happening. As usual, those with the day off were the loudest and most out of tune.
And before we go any further, let’s declare Granny’s advice which is so important for us believers in times of celebration. ‘Sonny boy, please, please, ah begging yuh, drunk or sober, please mind yuh business out there today!’
Yes friends, we do need to mind our business as we get into the celebrations since our enemy the devil, ‘as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.’ (1 Pet.5:8).
Oh, and by the way, the ole fella testified in church yesterday! It wasn’t anything spectacular, just about ten minutes sharing the wonderful faithfulness of our God, as it related to my writing the Bit over a period of nine years. Hn! I certainly could not have done it without His magnificent, constant and consistent help. And I ended with our Tuesday Mantra. Hopefully that will get a few of the congregation thinking in better terms of whom and whose they are.
That brings us to our Bit, which is rather appropriate: ‘For the Lord will not cast off for ever.’ And that’s the awesome truth my brethren. Regardless of our behaviour, our God will not cast us off for ever. Oh yes, He will chasten and discipline us, but NEVER will He boot us out of His ever-LOVING kingdom.
The psalmist Asaph, in Psalm 77 – Who is so great a God as our God – queried God’s faithfulness. ‘Will the Lord cast off for ever? And will he be favourable no more? Is his mercy clean gone for ever (ceased completely)? Doth his promise fail for evermore (for all generations)? Hath God forgotten to be gracious? Hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah.’ (Ps.77:7-9)
Yes friends, many believers in times of trouble and testing ask those questions since they can’t seem to find any help from God. But listen to Bruh David as he provides a positive answer in Psalm 36 – The steadfast LOVE of God.
‘Thy mercy (LOVING-kindness) O Lord, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds. Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgements are a great deep (ocean): O Lord, thou preservest man and beast. How excellent (precious) is thy LOVING-kindness, O God!
Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness (fullness) of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures. For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.’ (Ps.37:5-9)
There we have it precious people of God! Our Creator will always look after us once we come to Him for succour. So please, let’s put away all doubts, fears and anxieties and instead wrap ourselves in the wonderful blanket of His LOVE, care, compassion, understanding, wisdom, grace, mercy, forgiveness and faithfulness!
Wow! Now tell me which other supposed God has all those attributes eh? None whatsoever! So let’s be wise and just bask in His sunshine nuh, for that’s wisdom to the infinite power! Much LOVE!
…when the bright and beautiful light of Jesus shines on us…there’s no option but to be engulfed in it…
24 Jun 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a spring of water, a watered garden, Abraham, abyss, Always there, anger, believers in Christ, blessed be God, comfort, compassion, confusion of face, conviction, cry out, Daniel, deity, despair, dregs, drought, fellowship, fires of Hades, forgiveness, forgiving, Friday chant, fun, generous help, God is ever-faithful, God's glorious kingdom, Hades, helplessness, I call your name, impoverished, iniquity, Jacob, leggo beast, LOVE, loving kindness, mankind, massa, mercies, merciful, mercy, Micah, One Year Book of Bible promises, pardons, partying, perspective, promise, rebelled, rebellion, refreshed, relaxation, renewed, repentance, rescue, rest, rock bottom, Ruth Harms Calkin, satisfy thy soul, self-sufficiency, shame, sinned, slain for our benefit, spotless Lamb, strengthen thy bones, taste the dregs, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the bottom of the abyss, the depths of despair, the depths of the sea, the Father of mercies, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the God of All Comfort, the redemptive work of Christ, the working class, transgression, trials, tribulations, truth, umbrella of love, vanish, work soon done
2 Corinthians 1:3. Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort.
And then it was Friday; that day the working class holds so dearly, because it heralds the upcoming weekend, the couple of days off from work when they can do their own thing.
That’s why they continually declare, ’TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and massa work soon done! The weekend is upon us, and the time will be fine, partying and carrying on like leggo beast! Thank God for Friday and the weekend!’
Ah friends, as we keep on saying, some partying on the weekend is fine, but the overdoing and leggo beast thing is definitely not. The weekend is made for a sensible mixture of rest and otherwise. So let’s chant our Friday Chant nuh, so we that can get a better perspective on how to use the couple days off we have.
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.’
Yes my people, that’s putting the weekend to much better use! The important thing there is that we’re healthy, rested and ready to undertake next week’s work in the proper manner befitting a child of God, so that our work, character and attitude will glorify Him. Anything less than that is not good enough!
Now here is an interesting poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin, which many of us can no doubt attest to in our own lives. It’s simply titled ‘Always There.’
And it says, in all sincerity and truth: ‘So often, Lord I reach the bottom of the abyss. So often I taste the dregs Of my own helplessness. Yet it is there, exactly there That you come to my immediate rescue. When I feel totally impoverished Of all self-sufficiency When I want to vanish into nowhere From the depths of despair I call your name And you are always there for me.’
And isn’t that the awesome living truth my fellow believers in Christ? It surely is! For many of us don’t call to God until we reach rock bottom and the searing fires of Hades are burning all around us. But our God is such a wonderful Deity that whenever we do cry out, in sincere conviction and repentance, He will come to us and bring us safely through our trials and tribulations.
Oh, what a majestic, magnanimous and magnificent God we serve my brethren!
And the Bible promise attached to that poem comes from Isaiah. ‘And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought (dry places), and make fat (strengthen) thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.’ (Is.58:11)
Oh what a beautiful promise precious people of God! And we know that God is ever faithful, and will keep every promise that He’s made, so there’s absolutely no need to worry if we’re travelling under His umbrella of LOVE!
And that ties in ever so nicely with our Bit. ‘Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort.’
Yes friends, our God is indeed a God of mercy and comfort! He showers us with mercy and comfort so that we can go out and share it with others who desperately need it. So through us, He accomplishes His holy desire.
Now let’s turn to some scriptures which complement our Bit. Listen first to the prophet Daniel. ‘O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face (shame), to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against him.’ (Dan.9:8-9)
Yes my brethren, yuh see the vast difference between our God and us? We are rebellious, but He is merciful and forgiving, in spite of that rebellion! How can we ever want for a better Deity eh?
Now hear Micah, as he extols the wonders of our great and mighty God. ‘Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by (over) the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? He retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy (LOVING-kindness)?
He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast their (our) sins into the depths of the sea. Thou wilt perform (give) the truth to Jacob, and the mercy (LOVING-kindness) to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.’ (Mic.7:18-20)
Now what can be more assuring and uplifting that that eh friends? Nothing really! So as we go about doing the Lord’s work today my brethren, let’s remember these promises, keep them throbbing in our hearts, so that we can be confident in all that we do and say.
And let us never forget, as the scholars tell us: ‘7-18. The forgiveness and pardon of a merciful and gracious God toward sinful mankind is declared by the Scriptures to be based on the redemptive work of the Saviour.’
And all Christ’s followers declared a loud, proud and hearty shout of ‘All praise, honour and glory be to the innocent, spotless Lamb that was slain for our benefit, for our forgiveness of sins. May He live and reign forever!’ Much LOVE my people!
…oh, what would we worthless sinners do….without a merciful, forgiving and compassionate God eh…
P.S. Just one of those days. (smile) Much LOVE!
21 Jun 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: actions, anger, attitude, backbiting, behaviour, character, Christendom, christianity, cooperation, Corinth, disharmony, disrupt harmony, diversity, division, earthly life, embrace Jesus, encourages, exciting, extraordinary, glory, good cheer, greed, harmonious spirit, harmony, hatred, human nature, hurry, hypocritical, I am the beloved of god, in Jesus' name, individually, inner presence, Jesus, let God be God, lifts us up, Love for Jesus, LOVE Jesus, members, mind-boggling, my friend Jesus, New Testament, peace, philosophy, planet earth, Praise the Lord, privately live, problems, publicly show, pull together, reflect Christ's character, religious teaching, reproach, resentment, running things, Scrip-Bit family, serve, share His love, sincerity, souls, spiritual organism, the body of Christ, the church, the Holy Spirit, the Light, the Lord's on His throne, throne, trust, truth, Tuesday Mantra, unity, warms the cockles of my heart, what people say about me, wisdom, wonder, worry, worship
1 Corinthians 12:27. Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular (individually).
Aye mih friends and family – Scrip-Bit family included of course – welcome to another wonderful Tuesday on planet earth! The Lord’s on His heavenly throne running things, and Jesus is with us through the inner presence of the Holy Spirit! So what can be better than that eh? Absolutely nothing!
Ah mih people, Jesus is so beautiful, I don’t see how people can not LOVE Him, and want to serve and worship Him in all sincerity and truth!
Yeh friends, I truly don’t understand how people can dislike Jesus and abuse and blaspheme Him. He has the best religious teaching going, even the best philosophy for living this earthly life; one of peace and LOVE and good cheer! One couldn’t ask for more!
But such is the fallen and dark nature of our human souls that we refuse to see the light even when it’s shining all around us. But thankfully, we smart humans will embrace Jesus in all His glory and wonder and live to serve Him now and forever!
And all God’s children declared a loud and proud ‘Praise the Lord in Jesus’ name! Amen.’
And to support all of what we’ve just said, let’s declare our Tuesday Mantra with a strong sense of purpose and true belief. 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.’
Oh friends, oh friends, that li’l mantra so warms the cockles of my heart when I declare it, that…that I don’t know what to say afterwards! Hn!
To know that I am indeed a beloved child of God and a friend of Jesus…and can simply live this life and share His awesome LOVE with the world…well that is just so mind boggling and extraordinary!
I do hope that you, my fellow believers feel the same way, because if you don’t you are missing out on the most exciting and transformational part of your lives, since true LOVE for Jesus just lifts us up and encourages us so much!
And we’ll continue with our theme from yesterday; members of the body of Christ, of His church, because it is very important for each believer to know and understand His place and role in that most august organization.
Our Bit tells us quite plainly: ‘Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular (individually).’
Yes my brethren, we are all a part of Christ’s great organization called the church, with all that’s needed to make it great, but it’s oh so necessary for the members of that organization to pull together to do that. Listen to the scholars’ input on that verse.
’12:27. In one succinct statement, the apostle expresses both the unity and the diversity of the body of Christ. The absence of the definite article in Greek (ho, “the”) before the expression ‘body of Christ’ emphasizes character: since they are Christ’s body, their actions and attitudes toward one another should reflect His character.’
Oh my fellow believers, that last line there says it all; since we belong to Christ’s organization, our attitude and character ought to reflect that of Jesus! But does it? That’s the million-dollar question.
Unfortunately, I don’t believe that it does, or at least not to the extent that it should. If we were truly reflecting the character and attitude of Jesus as an organization, there wouldn’t be so much division and disharmony within it, none of the greed, the backbiting, the resentment, and pure hatred that exists in some parts of it.
As we said earlier, Christ’s character is one of peace, LOVE and good cheer, and that in no way represents the present day church of Christ!
And before we go any further, listen to the scholars’ description re the Body of Christ. ‘12:27. The church in the New Testament is called the “body of Christ,” and reflects the spiritual organism of the whole church on earth. When the local church is called the body of Christ, the spiritual aspect is emphasized.
Illustration: As the church is considered to be the body, so individual members are seen as parts of the body. For any church to function properly, every member must do his or her part in a harmonious spirit of cooperation with the other members. Had the church at Corinth learned this lesson, many of their problems would have been solved.
Application: When Christians disrupt the harmony of a church, they bring reproach on the body of Christ. (First ref. Matt.16:18; Primary Ref. I Cor. 12:27).’
Oh friends, that’s the problem of today’s church right there! The spirit of harmonious cooperation is sadly lacking in many of the local churches and also in the entire body of Christendom!
No wonder we’re bringing such reproach on Christ and His body, and people are leaving His organization as well as crying it down and calling it totally hypocritical!
And there is a lot of truth there, since the heathen doesn’t see or perceive us as good and kindly and LOVING people from the attitude, behaviour and character we publicly display. We behave just as badly, and sometimes even worse than them! That obviously gives Jesus a bad name and turns off the unbelievers, thus making of no effect our trying to bring them to Him.
Ah mih people, there’s a simple solution to all of that yes, all the confusion and disharmony, the resentment, anger and hatred, backbiting and hypocrisy can be avoided if we’d just implement the words of the song: ‘Let God be God! Let God be God in your life!’
Yes friends, if we’d just allow the Lord to work in our lives as He desires, most of our problems would vanish, and we’d become much more like the harmonious body of Christ that we’re meant to be.
So, starting today, right now, let’s let go and allow God to truly work in us nuh, for that is indeed the highest level of wisdom! Much LOVE!
…for Christianity to be successful…Christians must privately live…and publicly show…the true character and attitude of Jesus Christ…
19 Jun 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a godly turnaround, a taste for, abuse of authority, admonition, anger, asaph, ban' our jaw, bring them up, child support, children, clothing, commandments, complexities of life, cruelty, difficult times, discipline, discouraged, divorced, education, Father's Day, financial support, food, formative years, fulfilling our mandate, guiding light, have a good time, he will not depart from it, hope, injustice, instruction, knowledge of Jesus, look after, loss of temper, LOVE, love for the Lord, mandate, moulding a child's life, necessities of life, nurture, parental training, parents, provide for, provider, provoke not your children, rebellion, responsibility, ridicule, sarcasm, see eye to eye, set their hope in god, shelter, shirk, single mothers, sole parent, spiritual education, spiritual head, sufferation, suffering, suppression, the biblical pattern, the chief teacher, the ideal setting, the palate, the things of God, titular head, train up a child, training, trials, tribulations, undue severity, unfortunate things, with the Lord's help, wrath
Ephesians 6:4. And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture (training) and admonition of the Lord.
HAPPY FATHER’S DAY !
Aye mih fellow fathers, welcome to another Father’s Day! I hope it is a pleasant and happy one for all of us, but knowing the complexities of life, undoubtedly some of us will not enjoy the day. For one reason or another, things will not go the way we want them to, but like so many other unfortunate things in this life, we will just have to ban’ our jaw and accept them.
Anyway fathers, a lot of what is happening in these sad, trying and difficult times is either directly or indirectly our fault. We have to do a much better job than we’re currently doing.
There are too many fine women and children out there bearing our genes, who are suffering real ‘sufferation’ because of our foolish, casual, doh care, irresponsible attitudes and behaviour. We are certainly not fulfilling our mandate to provide for and look after the many children we sire.
Tell me nuh, how do you think the women and children that we’ve used and abused will get the necessities of life eh – food, shelter, clothing and the knowledge of Jesus Christ, if we don’t help them to do so eh?
Now there are many good and excellent fathers in the world, but on the other hand, there are way too many bad ones, who are out to simply have a good time and consequently shirk their responsibility that proceeds from that good time. Remember friends that the father is the titular, the spiritual head of the household and as such he is responsible for setting godly parameters and living up to them by his example.
That’s why our Bit so staunchly declares: ‘And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture (training) and admonition of the Lord.’
Yes friends, the father is supposed to be the guiding light of the household! But if he isn’t around, or around and not doing his duty, then the rest of the family suffers. We have way too many single mothers, whether divorced or never married who are having to raise children by themselves, both as sole parent and provider when there is a father available to help.
Now listen to how the scholars break down our Bit. ‘6:4. Fathers can provoke their children to wrath by injustice, loss of temper, undue severity, cruelty, favouritism, suppression, sarcasm, ridicule, and misuse or abuse of authority. Nurture basically means “training,” here denoting spiritual education.
Admonition is instruction that points out one’s responsibilities and duties. Of the Lord is in Greek a subjective genitive. This indicates that behind the parents’ rearing and instruction of their children stands the Lord as the chief teacher in child education. Parents do not raise children alone.’
So you see my people, the great demands placed on a father. It’s not an easy job, but with the Lord’s help we can accomplish it. I haven’t been the best father at times, and haven’t always led by example, but my children never wanted for the basic necessities of life, and I tried to instill in them LOVE for the Lord and a sense of responsibility.
The problem though today, is that sense of responsibility is fading from the entire world, which includes fathers. Now I was raised by a single mother, who worked two jobs from the time I was old enough to know what was happening, so I know the trials and tribulations of those situations. However, although my father and I didn’t see eye to eye, he at least helped with some financial support.
Many fathers today who can afford it don’t even do that small part of their duty, and the poor women have to take them to court for child support, and even then they don’t pay it. But when the child or children happen to turn out good and successful, they are the first ones to talk and boast about ‘my children!’
Steups! When left to them alone, the children would be eating ‘wind pie and nothing chops.’ Friends, I’ve seen it happen too often, and it sickens me.
Now here is a li’l something from Cousin Sol re the situation. ‘Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.’ (Prov.22:6)
And the scholars give us some good info here. ’22:6. Train up a child refers to the total process of moulding a child’s life. The word ‘train’ (chanak) comes from the root word meaning to “put into the mouth” and implies the idea of conditioning the palate. Thus parental training should help children develop a taste for the things of God. The biblical pattern of effective parental training emphasizes a balance of instruction and discipline (cf. Eph.6:1-4).
The ideal parent is to be neither overly authoritarian nor overly permissive. Rather, he must balance LOVE and discipline so as not to “provoke” his child to rebellion. When he is old means simply, “when he is grown up,” or a mature adult. It does not refer to his elderly years. The verse stresses the simple principle that education in the home forms the man throughout his lifetime.’
And isn’t that the living truth my people! The home is where our formative years are spent, and there is where we learn the things that make us who we basically are.
And we’ll close with these words from Psalm 78, where the psalmist Asaph is reminding Israel of God’s goodness. ‘For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children:
That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born, who should arise and declare them to their children: That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments.’ (Ps.78:5-7)
Unfortunately fathers, we have not done that very well, consequently our children are not setting their hope in God, but rather in the things of the world, and are totally lost where the commandments are concerned.
However, where there is life, there is always hope; hope in God. So today on this Sunday, the Lord’s Day, as well as Father’s Day, let’s try an improve the situation nuh, possibly by going to church with our children, that would be the ideal setting for the much needed godly turnaround. Much LOVE!
…fathers…provoke not your children to anger…lest they be discouraged… (Col.3:21)
05 Jun 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: affirmation of faith, angels, anger, as for me and mine, at his feet, blameless, cease from anger, Christendom, come alive, commit thy way, confidently trust the Lord, consequences, crown him Lord of all, cut off, death, delight, destroyed, discouragement, do good, dwell in the land, encouraging, envious, ever-faithful, everlasting song, evil men, evildoers, exciting life, failure, faith, formula, forsake wrath, fret not, glory, Glory be, God's sanctuary, grace, hope, Hour of Power Devotional, I will move, immoral, inherit the earth, iniquity, Israelite, life boring death, majesty ascribe, move forward, National Anthem of Christendom, omnipotent god, pardon, peace of mind, pious, power, praise, prayer, prostrate, providence, raised the roof, ransomed, recipe, responsive, rest, reversal of fortunes, righteousness, robert h schuller, rooted out, sacred throng, saves you by his grace, seed of Israel, shame, short-lived, strange women, strength, success, Sunday, the Lord's Day, the Lord's presence, the perfect, the power of Jesus name, the Promised Land, the royal diadem, the upright, the wicked, tongue, transgressors, tribe, uplifting, wait patiently, wait upon the Lord, we will follow the Lord, weakness, wickedness, wisdom, worship, wrath
Proverbs 2:21. For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect (blameless) shall remain in it.
Welcome my fellow believers to this blessed and glorious day called Sunday – the best day of the week! And so it should be since its’ the Lord’s Day. And what better way to begin our proceedings than with some praise and worship, so please sing with me this popular old hymn, which is sometimes called the ‘National Anthem of Christendom.’
As one now my people, let’s raise the roof of God’s sanctuary with the passion of our praise and worship. ‘All hail the power of Jesus’ name! Let angels prostrate fall. Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown him Lord of all. Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown him Lord of all!
O seed of Israel’s chosen race now ransomed from the fall, hail him who saves you by his grace, and crown him Lord of all. Hail him who saves you by his grace, and crown him Lord of all! Let every tongue and every tribe responsive to his call, to him all majesty ascribe, and crown him Lord of all. To him all majesty ascribe, and crown him Lord of all!
Oh, that with all the sacred throng we at his feet may fall! We’ll join the everlasting song and crown him Lord of all. We’ll join the everlasting song and crown him Lord of all. Amen!’
And having raised the roof not only of our sanctuary, but also of heaven, let’s tone it down a little with some heartfelt prayer as devised by Gramps Schuller (Robert H Schuller) from his Hour of Power Devotional, titled ‘I Will Move…’ I’m fairly sure that we’ve prayed it before, but as we keep on saying, once it’s nice, it’s okay to pray it twice. (smile)
So please pray with me. ‘Lord, I want your heart to be in my heart. For in you I come alive, moving ahead from boring death to exciting life! In your promises, I will move from discouragement to hope. In your pardon, I will move from shame to glory. In your power, I will move from weakness to strength. In your providence, I will move from failure to success! Thank you, Lord. Amen.’
Oh friends, what an awesome prayer! It highlights all we can do and become, how we’ll move positively forward when we acknowledge and sincerely maintain the Lord’s presence in our lives! Glory be!
And all of that just nicely and naturally segues into our Bit; wise words from Cousin Sol, as he talks about staying away from evil men and strange (immoral) women. ‘For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect (blameless) shall remain in it.’
And that’s a fact my brethren, as Cousin Sol explains in the next verse. ‘But the wicked shall be cut off (destroyed) from the earth (land), and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.’ (Prov.2:22)
Precious people, it couldn’t get any plainer than that. Righteousness will undoubtedly overcome wickedness. That’s the promise of our ever-faithful and omnipotent God, so I wouldn’t go doubting His Word in favour of Lucifer’s lies.
And if you don’t believe Cousin Sol, then listen to his father, Bruh David, from Psalm 37 – The true state of the wicked. ‘Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed (feed on his faithfulness). Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgement (justice) as the noonday. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices (schemes) to pass.
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil (it only causes harm). For evildoers shall be cut off (destroyed): but those that wait upon (look diligently for) the Lord, shall inherit the earth.’ (Ps.37:1-9)
Ah mih breddren, what wonderful words of wisdom…and from a man who lived them! Now let’s hear some interesting explanations from the scholars on those verses.
‘Psalm 37. The psalm is written in the form of an acrostic, although our numbering is out of step with the Hebrew. There is no logical outline to the psalm, so it is best studied according to its topics. The major point of the psalm seems to be that the wicked’s prosperity is short-lived.
Though David was troubled by the prosperity of the unrighteous, he knew by faith that their undeserved bounty would be cut off. His underlying belief is that God will intervene in His time. Then the present, temporary reversal of fortunes will be set right and the righteous “shall inherit the earth” (vv.9, 11, 22, 29, 34).
The mention of inheriting the earth would be encouraging and uplifting to the pious Israelite since all of God’s blessing was connected with the Promised Land. In contrast to this blessed destiny the wicked “shall be cut off,” an expression used often in the Old Testament of a violent death.
The psalm also contains the simple formula for achieving peace of mind in the face of the wicked’s prosperity: fret not…neither be thou envious (v.1), trust…do good(v.3), delight thyself also in the Lord (v.4), commit thy way…trust (v.5), rest…wait patiently…fret not (v.7), cease from anger…forsake wrath…fret not (v.8).
All of those exhortations urge the believer to confidently trust the Lord with all of life’s problems. The psalm concludes appropriately with an undying affirmation of faith and trust in the unchanging character of God.’
What more can I say eh friends? Right there you have the perfect recipe for the best life here on planet earth. It’s now up to you to choose whom to follow. But as for me and mine, without a doubt, we will follow the Lord. Much LOVE!
…it all boils down to…trust, faith and belief in Almighty God…you either do…or you don’t…but remember to consider the consequences of each option before making your choice…
27 May 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a time to every purpose under heaven, anger, apply our hearts, balance, boating, born, Christians, death, deliver his soul, demise, die, don't put off for tomorrow, drinking, eating, Ecclesiastes, fellowship, fishing, focus, fourscore, Friday chant, fun, further God's glorious kingdom, futility, generous help, God's promises, idleness, in vain, intimacy, labour, laugh, laziness, Lord chesterfield, LOVE, mourn, number our days, perspective, procrastination, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, rest, Selah, shame, Solomon, soon cut off, sorrow, summertime, swimming, the brown girl in the bottle, the days of his youth, the days of our years, the evil one, the hand of the grave, the thief of time, the things of God, three score and ten, time, time waits on no one, to every thing there is a season, to gather stones, truth, value of time, waste time, week of work, weekend, weep, wisdom, wrath
Ecclesiastes 3:1. To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.
Summertime, Summertime, Summertime, Summertime! Thank God it’s Friday in the summertime! Mama yo! We leaving work early to beat the traffic, heading for the cottage to spend a marvellous weekend; eating, drinking, boating, swimming and fishing! Wow! The barbecues will be on fire, and the beer will be ice cold… Oh Lord, thank you for Fridays in the summertime!’
Yes friends, that’s the mantra of a lot of people on a Friday in the summertime, as they head for cottage country and their lakeside getaways. Consequently, many of them miss church and the wonderful fellowship and rejuvenation of spirit that comes with it.
And then the boating accidents proliferate, because now they are drinking and driving on the water, just as they do on land. Every summer you hear of several mishaps on the water because of the brown girl in the bottle. Ah Lord eh!
But for us few, who know how to spend a proper weekend, let’s chant our Friday Chant, so that we can get the right perspective. 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.’
Yes my brethren, that’s more like the focus we should have for the weekend; a nice balance of rest, recreation and fellowship. And today I want to share an interesting and important quote attributed to Lord Chesterfield, Philip Dormer Stanhope (1694-1773), 4th Earl of Chesterfield. I believe I’ve shared it before, but as they say, when it’s nice, you’ve got to play it at least twice. (smile)
Lord Chesterfield is reputed to have said: ‘Know the true value of time; snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it. No idleness, no laziness, no procrastination, never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.’
And that my brethren is the god-awesome truth! We can’t afford to fool with, or waste time, because time waits on no one, it just goes along its own rollicking way, whether you decide to use it wisely or not.
Remember the saying too that procrastination is the thief of time. More awesome truth! The more we put off, the less we get done and the less time we have left in our bank. Unfortunately we don’t know how much total time is in our account.
So please, let’s learn to pay better and closer attention to our time because Almighty God has given us just enough to do whatever He desires, and if we waste it, we obviously won’t complete all that He has planned for us. End of sermon. (smile)
That brings us to our Bit, the well-known verse of wisdom from Cousin Sol, writing as the preacher in Ecclesiastes. ‘To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.’ More indisputable truth my people, because as Christians, truth is all we ought to ever deal in.
And after our Bit, Cousin Sol goes on to list a whole set of positive and negative things to which time have been apportioned. Like ‘a time to be born, a time to die… A time to weep, and a time to laugh…A time to LOVE, and a time to hate…’ Just read Ecclesiastes 3 and you’ll see how he has it all nicely laid out.
Now here is some info from the scholars on that scripture. ‘3:1-8. As Solomon reflects on all of life, he expresses a beautiful poem of 14 pairs of opposite events that God has a sovereign design behind all events (cf. Rom.8:28). To gather stones (v.5) refers to the process of clearing land for planting or building. To hate (v.8) means to withdraw from intimacy and should not always be taken in an absolute sense (cf. Mal.1:2-3).’
Yes friends, there’s no real time ever for the true sense of the word hating. It’s not supposed to exist in a Christian’s vocabulary.
Now let’s look at a couple of other scriptures which deal with time in the life of man, starting with the words of Ethan the Ezrahite from Psalm 89 – God’s sure promises to David. ‘The days of his youth hast thou shortened: thou hast covered him with shame. Selah.
How long, Lord? Wilt thou hide thyself for ever? Shall thy wrath burn like fire? Remember how short my time is: wherefore hast thou made all men in vain (for what futility hast thou made all men)? What man is he that liveth and shall not see (experience) death? Shall he deliver his soul from the hand (power) of the grave?’ (Ps.89:44-48)
Now listen to Moses from Psalm 90 – From everlasting to everlasting thou art God. ‘The days of our years are threescore years and ten (the span of our lives is seventy years); and if by reason of strength they be fourscore (80) years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow (their boast only labour); for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
Who knoweth the power of thine anger? Even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath. So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom (gain a heart of wisdom).’ (Ps.90:10-12)
Yes my fellow believers, we know not how long our time on earth will be, so please let’s use whatever we have wisely nuh, meaning in the pursuit of the things of God and heaven, not those of the world and the evil one. Much LOVE!
…no one knows the time nor the hour…of their earthly demise…
30 Apr 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a new day, Abraham, almighty god, an answer for prayer, anger, awesome truth, Babylon, basic principles, be grateful, be thankful for what you have, beautiful memories, blossoming, brought forth fruit, captives, dream, enjoy your coffee, Ernesto Cortazar, fertile soil, for I know that my redeemer lives, glory to God, greed, hate, he shall stand at the last day, hope, innocent blood, Jesus, laugh, live every moment, LOVE, make the most of this day, mornings, negative things, Old Testament, parable of the sower, plant your own garden, poison our souls, prayers of the saints, Redeemer, redemption, refuel your soul, reign on earth, relax, relief, resentment, sacrificial lamb, sinless, strength, stress, take a deep breath, testimony, the blood of Jesus, the heathen, the Holy Spirit, the Lamb and the Lion, the Lord of hosts, the seven seals, the Word of god, they sung a new song, truth, turning away from God, vision of John, wake up with a smile, who hath ears to hear, yearning of thy heart, You Tube, zeal
Job 19:25. For I know that my Redeemer (lit. Kinsman) liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter (last) day upon the earth.
Aye mih fellow believers, friends and neighbours, it’s Saturday; a brand new day! And in celebration of that I thought I would share that wonderful poem with the beautiful pictures by Ernesto Cortazar on YouTube, which I sent to you all by e-mail earlier on in the week.
I don’t know how many of you opened it, but if you didn’t, you surely missed a great treat. But as the D.J. man says: ‘If it’s nice, yuh got to play it twice!’ So here is the poem, aptly titled ‘A NEW DAY,’ without the pictures. Please, read, enjoy and put into practice.
‘Everything may not be good, but there’s something good everyday. Mornings are the most beautiful time of the day. So wake up with a smile on your face and make the most of this morning. Be grateful for the new day. Take a deep breath and relax. Enjoy your coffee.
A new day is a chance to refuel your soul. It’s really nice to wake up in the morning realizing that God has given you another day to live. May God give us relief for every stress, a sweet song for every sigh, an answer for every prayer, and peace for every troubled moment. A blessed day everyone!
Don’t wait for someone to bring you flowers. Plant your own garden and decorate your own soul. Every day may not be good, but there’s something good in every day. When God gives you a new beginning, it starts with an ending. Be thankful for closed doors. They often guide us to the right one.
Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. Don’t start your day with broken pieces of yesterday. Today is a new day, a day to start afresh. Every day starts with some expectation, but every day ends with some experience. Hope your day begins with LOVE and ends with beautiful memories.
Every day is another chance to change your life. Make the most of this day! Laugh, LOVE, Dream… Live every moment! Every morning starts a new page in your story. Make it a great one today!’
Oh how beautiful and true that is my brethren! If we would only put those basic principles into action in our lives, what a beautiful life and world we’d have! But unfortunately, we allow negative things; weeds like hate, greed, anger, resentment, etc. etc. to come into our souls and poison and kill the beautiful and positive things that Almighty God has planted there for our enjoyment.
Chuh! What a waste! Remember Jesus’ parable about the sower who sowed his seed on several different types of ground? Well we are like those seeds which fell on bad ground, for our souls aren’t blossoming as they should. Instead we should be good and fertile soil like Jesus described. ‘But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixty fold, some thirty fold. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.’ (Mat.13:8-9)
Yes friends, with the Word of God and His Holy Spirit indwelling us, we ought to be such rich and fertile ground, bearing so much fruit, that the heathen should be opening his eyes and staring at us in wonder, trying to figure out why we’re so fruitful and wanting to be fruitful like us.
In theory, that’s how it’s supposed to work, but it obviously doesn’t. We aren’t producing sufficient good fruit; our life examples are not good enough, that’s why so many people are turning away from God. But that’s another story for another day. (smile)
Let’s turn to our Bit: ‘For I know that my Redeemer (lit. Kinsman) liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter (last) day upon the earth.’
Oh my people, what a powerful testimony of awesome truth! Job was indeed fertile ground, for despite his disastrous circumstances, he never doubted or cursed God. Just wish that most of us could be so faithful and trusting! (smile)
And we’ll continue with some scripture that talks about the Redeemer in the Old Testament. Hear Isaiah, re the Lord’s favour shown to Israel after they had rebelled.
‘Look down from the heavens and behold from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory: where is thy zeal and thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels (yearning of thy heart) and of thy mercies toward me? are they restrained? Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O Lord, art our father, our redeemer, thy name is from everlasting.’ (Is.63:15-16)
Ah friends, yuh see how we quick to acknowledge God after we rebel and He sets us adrift to do our own thing and life gets hard with us. Hn!
Now listen to Jeremiah, from his prophecy concerning Babylon. ‘Thus saith the Lord of hosts; The children of Israel and the children of Judah were oppressed together: and all that took them captives held them fast; they refused to let them go. Their Redeemer is strong; the Lord of hosts is his name; he shall thoroughly plead their cause (case), that he may give rest to the land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.’ (Jer.50:33-34)
Yes my fellow believers, the Lord has always been the Redeemer of His people, even when they rebelled against Him and He allowed them to be taken captive and endure much ‘sufferation.’
And it wouldn’t be right to end without this wonderful vision of John re the Lion and the Lamb. ‘And he (the sacrificial Lamb – Jesus) came and took the book (scroll) out of the right hand of him that sat on the throne. And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials (bowls) full of odours (incense), which are the prayers of the saints.
And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book (scroll), and to open the seals thereof: for thou was slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred (tribe), and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.’ (Rev.5:7-10)
Now isn’t that wonderful my people? It surely is! Our Lord and Saviour paid the price for our sins, redeemed us, that’s why He is worthy to break the seven seals and be worshipped and glorified. Please, let’s contemplate how that action has affected our lives today, and then give the rightful glory to God. Much LOVE!
…true redemption could have come from only one source…the shedding of sinless, innocent blood…the blood of Jesus…
09 Apr 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: A journey of love, a man after God's heart, a man of God, a second cahnce, an integral part of our lives, anger, basking in the Father's presence, be of good courage, blessed be the Lord, Christian's desire, climate change, cold, compromise, courage, disobedience, doubt, fear, hate, he shall strengthen your heart, how great is thy goodness, I will give thee rest, Jonah, LOVE, loving kindness, mercy, Moses, my presence shall go with thee, negativity, Nineveh, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, pray, prayer, prophet, provider, rainy, repenting, reproach, responsibilities, rewards the proud doer, Saint of the Little Flower, secret of thy presence, seek God's face, shame, snowy, spring, St. Therese, strife, the Alpha and Omega, the Creator, the First and the Last, the irony of it all, the Lord preserves the faithful, the Lord's presence, trials, tribulations, troubled times, trust, vocation, walk in your steps, wet, winter, wisdom
Exodus 33:14. And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.
And then it was Saturday, and the next couple days in my area are supposed to be cold and snowy and wet and rainy. Steups! Whatever happened to that thing called spring eh? In winter we didn’t get any snow, and now in what’s supposed to be spring, it’s too often cold and snowy! Chuh! And yet they insist that climate change is not real.
But anyway, whether it is real or not, we believers in Jesus Christ don’t have to let it worry us. Oh yes, the weather will become irascible like many of us, (smile) but we can’t afford to allow that to dictate our lives, that ought to be done by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
So to help us handle all the unwanted stuff we have to handle, let’s pray this prayer taken from a Devotional titled ‘A Journey of LOVE. Walking with St. Therese of Liseux’ – The Saint of the Little Flower. I’ve shared it before, but in these troubled times, times of hate and anger and doubt and all the negative stuff that’s predominant in our world, we need something to counteract that negativity.
And the only thing able to do that is LOVE, and we have been assigned the vocation of LOVE. So let’s pray for help in our vocation. Please pray with me: ‘Jesus, I desire above all else to centre my life in you. Only you can give me the courage to face up to my responsibilities, to be compassionate and forgiving, to let go of what is not important and to embrace what is important.
I am called to accept and to cherish your LOVE for me and to allow your LOVE to go out from me to all your people, Help me to walk in your steps without compromise and to be open to your presence in all of the people I meet. I make my prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.’
Yes friends, the irony of it all is that we cannot do God’s work without God’s help! And the most effective way to receive that help is through prayer. The Lord has promised that when we diligently and sincerely seek Him, He will be found by us. That’s why prayer is so important in a believer’s life.
That’s also why Bruh Paul told the Ephesians to pray ALWAYS; (Eph.6:18) the Thessalonians to pray WITHOUT CEASING; (1 Thess.5:17) and his young protégé Timothy to pray EVERYWHERE. (1 Tim:2:8) So to all intents and purposes, prayer MUST BE an integral part of a believer’s life, because in doing so we will always be in the presence of God, which is ever so important for our earthly journey.
Moses, one of God’s greatest prophets was adamant about not continuing the journey through the wilderness if the Lord’s presence was not going to be with him. That is even after God promised in our Bit: ‘And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.’
Ah mih people, without God’s wonderful presence in our lives, innumerable trials and tribulations will come our way, from which we’ll have little or no leeway to escape. However, when we are basking in the Father’s presence, we are assured of His help to get through the difficulties, though not necessarily complete escape.
That’s because He has promised to work everything out for the good of those who LOVE Him and are called according to His purpose. (Rom.8:28) And if there’s one thing we can rest comfortably on, is that our ever-faithful God NEVER reneges on His promises.
Now let’s look at some scripture that exalts the glory and wisdom of being in God’s presence. And we can’t talk about that without including words from Bruh David’s heartfelt declarations. This comes from Psalm 31 – In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust.
‘Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men! Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence (secret place) from the pride (plots) of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion (shelter) from the strife of tongues. Blessed be the Lord: for he hath showed me his marvellous kindness in a strong city.
For I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes: nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplications when I cried unto thee. O LOVE the Lord, all ye his saints: for the Lord preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer. Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart.’ (Ps.31:19-24)
And we can’t argue with Bruh David because in spite of his mistakes, he was still considered a man after God’s own heart, so intense was His longing for Him.
Meanwhile, in Jeremiah, when the Lord is dealing with the false prophets, He promises: ‘Therefore, behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, and cast you out of my presence. And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.’(Jer.23:39-40)
Yes friends, that’s the kind of thing that happens when we are cast out of God’s presence. Please pray that it never happens to us. And we’ll end with this great example from the prophet Jonah.
The Lord had said to Jonah: ‘Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry (out) against it: for their wickedness is come up before me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.’ (Jon.1:2-3)
Now how foolish was that eh my brethren? As a prophet, a man of God, Jonah should have known better than that. And we all know the story of the terrible storm that arose, due to Jonah’s disobedience, and how he was thrown overboard and spent three days and nights in the belly of a great fish, before coming to his senses and repenting. And the Lord in His great mercy and LOVING-kindness forgave him and gave him a second chance.
Oh my fellow believers, fleeing from the Lord is not easy if He doesn’t want us to flee. But why should we want to flee from Him anyhow eh, when He is the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Creator and Provider of all? That’s certainly not wisdom. So please, let’s be wise today and seek the Lord’s presence rather than try to flee from it. Much LOVE!
…the Christian’s desire ought to be…to continually seek God’s face…and to continually bask in His presence…
19 Feb 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living
Tags: a better tomorrow, advice, anger, Anselm, broken, Clifton Hills Resort, corruption, decisions, don't give up, drink the sweet, dysfunctional, eat the fat, encouragement, Ezra, fellowship, focus, for the joy of the Lord is your strength, Friday chant, friends, fun, furthering God's kingdom, heal, hockey wilderness, hurt, Jesus Christ, joy, joyful, lack of joy, LOVE, loving kindness, mercy, mirth, money, mourn not nor weep, Nehemiah, one of the least, pain, party time, Point Fortin, rejoicing, relaxation, renewed and refreshed, resentment, rest, San Fernando, send portions to the needy, temptation, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, the Levites, the Pitch Lake, the weekend, the words of the law, this day is holy, trust, try your spirit, understand, Uriah Buzz Butler Highway, water taxi, week of work, wisdom, wounded, ye have done it unto me
Nehemiah 8:10c. For the joy of the Lord is your strength.
And then it was Friday…
And we all know what happens on Fridays – the people rejoice with shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday oui! The weekend’s here at long last, and we can say to hell with work for two days! Party time mih breddren! Oh thank the Lord for Fridays yes!’
Ah mih people, I won’t even bother to say that that is not the best use for us to put the weekend to. (smile) I’ll just say let’s chant our Friday Chant so that we can get a better perspective on our two days off.
As one now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Now that makes a whole lot more sense than just partying away the two little days off we have, then going back out to work next week tired and miserable and complaining. I do hope that eventually most of us learn the right way, for until we do, our lives will keep on being dysfunctional, filled with complaints, resentment, anger and a sad lack of true joy, and that’s definitely no way to live.
And to further help us in living functional and joyous lives, here is a quote from our friend Anselm, who always aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow.
Listen up: ‘You’re going to be okay. This pain you feel is going to pass. Maybe not this moment or today or tomorrow, but sometime soon. The hurt will fade. Don’t give up before things get better. You may be wounded, but you aren’t broken. You can and will heal.’
Oh friends, I don’t know about you all nuh, but the ole fella needs that message, that encouragement badly! Now deep down I do know that things will improve health wise, as I’ve already had an inkling of it, but still, when the aches and pains strike out of the blue, with no apparent provocation on your part, it does try your spirit.
That’s why we need to keep our focus steadfastly on the Lord and His tender mercies and LOVING-kindness, so that we won’t give in to the always nagging temptation to give up! And that’s why our Bit is ever so important: ‘For the joy of the Lord is your strength.’
And did I ever have my joy renewed yesterday friends! We took the water taxi from Port of Spain to San Fernando, a cool hour’s ride along the coast of Trinidad. There, a couple of friends met us and drove us through Sando (San Fernando), then down to their home in Point Fortin.
Oh, is the southland ever busy! Brother, the cars are numerous, with all sorts of traffic jams, and then others just swooping by under less than safe circumstances. We saw the highway that was never completed, ostensibly due to lack of money, aided and abetted by serious corruption. Ah Lord eh!
We also saw the Pitch Lake; that mass of regenerating pitch, (asphalt) from which I understand we export, but don’t use ourselves. Anyway it was a very interesting tour, with all sorts of big and beautiful homes along the way, as well as older, not so big ones.
The people are crying that the times they are hard, and no doubt they are for some, but looking at some of what is going up, one would deduce that there is money, and plenty too, in certain echelons of the society.
Nonetheless, we had dinner at a wonderful new establishment called Clifton Hills Resort, situated next to the beach. A small hotel, not yet functional is also situated on the property. It’s well landscaped, the food was delicious and the service excellent.
Then our friends drove us all the way back to Port of Spain, at least an hour and a half drive. The new Uriah Buzz Butler Highway made it a little easier. And wonder of wonders, as I was going up to my room I saw a hockey game on in one of the little booths in the lobby, and I obviously shouted for joy, because I’ve been in a hockey wilderness for three weeks now.
I was just in time to see the third period. And although my team, the Detroit Red Wings lost against the Pittsburgh Penguins, I felt like a thirsty man does when given a drink of water. (smile)
Now let’s end with the rest of the story re our Bit. ‘And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha (Governor), and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the Lord your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law.
Then said he unto them, go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.
So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, Hold your peace (be still), for the day is holy; neither be ye grieved. And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great mirth (rejoicing), because they had understood the words that were declared unto them.’ (Neh.8:9-12)
Oh friends, how I wish that we could be so joyful when we hear the word read to us because we understood it. So many of us don’t even pay attention, much less understand.
Then again, we can get all sorts of advice, but we all have to make our own decisions, let’s hope we make the right ones today, especially that of closely following our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, for that is indeed the wisdom of all time. Much LOVE!
…in our times of merriment and joy…let’s not forget to share with the needy…for as Jesus said…in as much as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren…ye have done it unto me… (Matt.25:40b)
14 Jan 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a new lifestyle, a new nature, anger, aspirations, Barbarian, behold I make all things new, blasphemy, bond, character, Christ is all, Christmas, Colossians, conduct, conversion, drawing closer to God, dreary middle, encompassed about, falsehood, filthy communication, forget God, free, friends of faith, glory to God, God's faithful help, Greek, Greek Olympics, heroes, humanity, I am the truth, impediments, January, Jew, John Hagee, lay aside every weight, lie not, LOVE, malice, mature knowledge of God, mentors, mid-January funk, New Year's hoopla, One Year Book of Bible promises, our best efforts, predicament, put off the old man, put on the new man, put sin to death, renewed in knowledge, renounced, resolutions, Run to win, run with patience, Ruth Harms Calkin, saints, salvation, salve, sinful acts, slump, so great a cloud of witnesses, social distinctions, springtime, the Lord moves in mysterious ways, the race of life, the race that is set before us, the sin which so easily ensnares us, trinkets, values, vices, victorious, words of wisdom, worldly thinking, wrath, year-end sales
Hebrews 12:1. Wherefore seeing (since) we also are compassed about with (surrounded by) so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset (ensnare) us, and let us run with patience (perseverance, endurance) the race that is set before us.
Ah mih people, it’s another cold, bleak winter’s day! But we have to remember that that’s what winter is all about; cold and bleak, though it doesn’t seem so bad when the sun shines through in all its glory. (smile)
And since this is where we live, we just have to learn to live with it, knowing that through God’s faithful help we will be able to handle it, and eventually come out victorious in the glorious springtime. Oh glory to God friends for His unceasing help!
Now here is something from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin that probably hits the nail on the head with many of us. I couldn’t help but share it.
It’s simply titled ‘January,’ and reads thus: ‘It’s January, Lord – The drab, dreary middle – And my thoughts are as drab As the miserable month. Does everybody hit a January slump Or am I the only one?
The first week wasn’t too bad: There were Christmas thank-yous to write A few resolutions to store away The huddle of year-end sales. But thank-you notes bring no returns And resolutions are quickly broken And marked-down trinkets fast lose appeal.
When you said Behold, I make all things new Did You forget January, Lord? Or in January do I sometimes forget you?’
Oh friends, that poem certainly does resemble the mid January funk that many of us find ourselves in. The weather is the pits, the Christmas bills are starting to come in, and we don’t know where the money is going to come from to pay them, and added to that anxiety, we’re still physically and mentally tired from all the Christmas and New Year’s hoopla. It certainly is a familiar predicament.
But to answer the poets ending question, the response is a definite Yes! We do seem to forget God in these anxious times, when these are the times we should be drawing ever closer to Him. God doesn’t make mistakes or lie. If he says that everything is made new, then it IS made new!
That means the problem lies with us, which brings us to the promise for that poem, which is also our Bit. ‘Wherefore seeing (since) we also are compassed about with (surrounded by) so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset (ensnare) us, and let us run with patience (perseverance, endurance) the race that is set before us.’
Ah my fellow believers that is exactly the kind of advice we need this cold morning in mid-January. And the Lord moves in such mysterious ways, that it’s only last night I watched Uncle John (John Hagee) preach a sermon on that same verse. He titled it ‘Run To Win!’
And so it should be my fellow believers. Why else would we run a race if it were not to win eh? And the particular race we’re talking about here is the race of life!
Bruh Paul likened our earthly lives to a race, having in mind the ancient Greek Olympics, which we can compare to out own modern day Olympiads.
And the first thing he does is remind us of all the other saints, the heroes that have run this race before us, the ‘great cloud of witnesses,’ who are looking down on us as we run our race. So it’s not like we don’t have any examples or mentors to look back at.
Then we have to ‘lay aside every weight,’ that prevents us from running this race of life. Yes my brethren we have to get rid of all the impediments that weigh us down and prevent us from putting forth our best efforts.
And Bruh Paul refers to some of them in Colossians. ‘But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not to one another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond (slave) nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.’ (Col.3:8-11)
Oh my precious friends of faith, those are the kinds of things that prevent us from properly concentrating on running this magnificent race of life that’s set before us.
And here are some explanations from the scholars, which will help us to further understand those scriptures. ‘3:9. Seeing means “since.” The old man is all that a person was prior to salvation: his worldly thinking and sinful acts. Since all this was renounced at conversion, one should lie not. Falsehood ill becomes the person claiming to be a disciple of Him who said, “I am the…truth.”
‘3:10. The new man is the person one becomes after conversion: he possesses a new nature, values, aspirations, and a new life-style. This “new man” is constantly being renewed or developed until he attains a mature knowledge of the God who (re)created him. The more a believer knows and understands of God, the more he will be like God in character and conduct.’
‘3:11. Not only is the “new man” to put sin to death, he is also to put away man-made barriers that divide people and that nourish the vices of the old life. Among renewed humanity there are no national, ceremonial, cultural, or social distinctions. To the redeemed Christ is all: that is, He is everything and He is what matters most to them. And Christ is…in all; that is, He dwells in all believers.’
Yes Friends, we’ll end with those wonderful words of wisdom: Christ is everything to the believer, and He dwells in each and every one of us. Oh what a wonderful scenario!
Let’s remember that, and ponder on all that we’ve said to day, so that we can increase in the knowledge and maturity of Christ our Lord and Saviour. Much LOVE!
…to know, know, know Him…is to LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Him…
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