05 Oct 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adversity, anger, Anger versus Love, anguished soul, animosity, arms to hug, between a rock and a hard place, blame, criticize, cry to God, destruction, difficult situations, distinction, encourage, encouragement, Enjoying Everyday Life Magazine, evil, false witness, fasting, feasts, fists to strike out, foolish pride, forgive, generous, glare, gnashed, good, good news, gospel truth, grief, hatred, heartfelt emotion, heaven, heavenly Father, help, human frailties, indisputable truth, jehovah god, joyful soul, LOVE, LOVE one another, mature in Christ, mighty man of God, mockers, mourning, needy, one iota of time, pain, personal experiences, petty stuff, poor, prayer, Psalm 35, rejoice, rescue from enemies, revenge, righteous, sackcloth, salvation, selfishness, silver platter, sincere repentance, smile, social media, social networks, sorrow of soul, take everything to God in prayer, tribulations, troubles, ungodly world, victorious, wicked, wisdom, withhold, wrongdoing
Psalm 109:5. And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my LOVE.
Well Friends, once again we’ve been blessed to see another wonderful day on God’s great earth! Thank You Lord! And I have another piece of good news (smile) for those with an I-phone. I was talking to a reader earlier on, and he says he has his phone read the Bit to him. He just finds it in his e-mail, highlights it, clicks speak, and a friendly female voice reads it to him, while he’s driving, or even lying in bed.
One word of caution; she does have some problems with the West Indian slang and patois, so you might have to read those parts for yourself. He also wasn’t sure if that operation was available on a Samsung phone, but it surely works on the Apple brand. So for all you too busy or too lazy readers, there’s another easy way out for you. (smile)
Now let’s move on to our Bit: ‘And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my LOVE.’ And in deference to it, I want to share a rather apt poem from the September/October 2013 edition of Enjoying Everyday Life Magazine, published by the Joyce Meyer Ministries.
It talks about ‘ANGER VS LOVE: ANGER is a powerful emotion, but LOVE is much stronger. In anger we might criticize, but in LOVE we encourage. In anger we might turn away, but in LOVE we reach out. In anger we might withhold, but in LOVE we are generous. In anger we might use out fists to strike out, but in LOVE we use our arms to hug. In anger we might glare, but in LOVE we smile. In anger we might blame, but in LOVE we forgive.’
And at the end it quotes the Good Book: ‘…Just as I have LOVED you, so too you should LOVE one another.’ (John 13:34)
And that’s all indisputable, gospel truth, my people! Also, as believers, we ought to be living the LOVE aspect of that poem! Granted, it’s much easier to say than to do, but we’d never grow or mature in Christ if everything was easy, or we were just handed everything on a silver platter.
Note that Jesus’ life here on earth wasn’t the least bit easy, but with the help and encouragement from His heavenly Father, He bore the trials and tribulations with great distinction and came out victorious. And so too can we, my brethren. If we just take everything to God in prayer, He will surely enable us to handle the unfortunate and difficult situations we all encounter in this wicked and ungodly world.
And if by chance you think that because Jesus was also God, it was much easier for Him, then let’s check out some scriptures from Bruh David’s personal experiences. Like us, he was a mortal man, so there can be no excuses with his suffering. In Psalm 35, a prayer for rescue from enemies, of which he had a lot, he cries out with great emotion to the God of his fathers.
‘For without cause have they hid for me their net in a pit (hidden their net in a pit for me), which without cause they have digged for my soul (life). Let destruction come upon him at unawares (unexpectedly); and let his net that he hath hid catch himself: into that very destruction let him fall. And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord: it shall rejoice in his salvation.
All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like unto thee, which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth (plunders) him? False (fierce) witness did rise up; they laid to my charge (asked me) things that I knew not. They rewarded me evil for good to the spoiling (sorrow) of my soul.
But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned unto my own bosom (heart). I behaved myself as though he had been my friend or brother: I bowed down heavily (in mourning), as one that mourneth for his mother. But in mine adversity (stumbling) they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together; yea, the abjects (attackers) gathered themselves together against me, and I knew it not; they did tear me, and ceased not: With hypocritical (ungodly) mockers in feasts, they gnashed upon me with their teeth.’ (Ps.35:7-16)
Oh Friends, if one of the mightiest warrior kings, great poet, musician and righteous men who ever lived could cry to God with such heartfelt emotion, why can’t we eh? And I’m sure none of us have as many enemies as Bruh David had, or the animosity with which they sought to destroy him. That’s why he was so favoured of God. In spite of his human frailties and wrongdoing, he never failed to admit his sins when he realized them and wasn’t afraid either to cry out to God with an anguished soul, whenever he found himself between a rock and a hard place.
Oh my people, when evil comes against us, we need to cry out more to God, rather than our fellow man. And we’re not talking about simple whining and complaining about selfish, petty stuff – God won’t answer us anyway – but for truly serious stuff. If it was good enough for Bruh David, a mighty man of God, then it should also be good enough for us.
So please don’t allow things like foolish pride, anger and revenge, to keep us from being all that we can be, and achieving all that we can, by not seriously hooking up with Jehovah God, and staying constantly tuned in to Him, just like you all stay constantly tuned in to your friends through the social media. (smile)
You’d be surprised to see how much your life would improve if you gave God just one iota of the time you spend on the social networks. Now I’ll leave us to ponder our individual attachment to God today, expecting that with true and sincere repentance, we’ll call on Him to help us make the relationship right. That’s wisdom that only heaven can impart! Much LOVE!
…oh what senseless grief and pain we bear…when we refuse to take our troubles…ALL to God in prayer…
04 Oct 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: accuser, anger, Bruh David, calamity, comfort, common grind, condemned, cry out to God, daily rush, deceitful, disappointment, enemies, evil for evil, evil for good, evil world, fellowship, Friday chant, fun, generous help, God's glorious kingdom, good deeds, good works, goodness, gospel truth, great anticipation, hard experience, hatred for Love, hurtful experiences, jesus name, justice, leave revenge to God, LOVE, loving kindness, misery, new workweek, peace, perpetrates, prayer, punishment, recompense, refeshed in body soul and mind, relaxation, repay wrong with wrong, resentment, rest, revenge, rewarded, shame, sin, stone me, such is life, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the weekend, time off, true believers in Christ, undeserving children of men, unfaithful, unrighteous, wicked works, wrongdoers
Psalm 109:5. And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my LOVE.
And suddenly it was Friday! And in recognition of that fateful day, a loud and raucous shout rang out from the workingman. ‘TGIF! Thank the Lord it’s Friday at last! Thought this week would never end, cause it’s just been one headache after another. But give God praise and shout again: ‘TGIF! Thank the Lord is Friday!’
Yeh Friends, some of us look forward with great anticipation to Friday and the start of the weekend. And nothing’s wrong with that, because we are entitled to some time off from the daily rush and common grind. The problem though is how we use the weekend when it arrives.
And since our Friday Chant wisely advises us on the proper use of the weekend, let’s chant it then with great gusto. ‘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, we need to use the weekend very astutely, otherwise we’ll just make life even more difficult than it already is, when the new workweek begins. Why bring unnecessary problems on ourselves eh, when we’re already dealing with so many caused by others?
And our Bit highlights that quite nicely. ‘And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my LOVE.’
Oh Friends, many of us can declare those same words this morning, because we live in such a deceitful, unrighteous, unfaithful and evil world. That means, oftimes the good we’ve done, is sadly repaid with resentment and wicked works.
And I can tell you from hard experience, that that is one of the most hurtful experiences we’ll ever encounter, especially when a close family member, or someone we considered a friend or an ally perpetrates it. But unfortunately such is life my brethren.
As Jesus said to the Jews, who on one instance took up stones to stone Him: ‘Many good works have I showed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?’ (John 10:32)
Yes Friends, though we often want to repay the wrong done to us with another wrong, we need to do like Jesus did, just continue on with our good deeds, leaving revenge in God’s hands.
Bruh David, in the Psalm from which our Bit is taken, a prayer for punishment for the wicked, cried out to God for justice. ‘Set thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan (an accuser) stand at his right hand. When he shall be judged, let him be condemned (found guilty): and let his prayer become sin. Let his days be few; and let another take his office.’ (Ps.109:6-8) And he goes on for another dozen verses advising the Lord how to deal with his enemies.
Now that’s the way it should be Friends. Though we don’t need to tell God the justice that we seek, we do need to leave any revenge up to Him, as He adamantly proclaims: ‘To me belongeth vengeance, and recompense; their foot shall slide in due time; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.’ (Deut.32:35)
Oh my brethren, I know that’s often hard to do, especially when the wound caused by the hurt and disappointment is fresh, and the anger is really pumping, but do it we must, if we are to consider ourselves true believers in Christ.
And as Bruh Paul so wisely and rightly tells us in Romans 12: ‘Recompense to (repay) no man evil for evil. Provide things honest (have regard for good things) in the sight of all men.’ (Rom.12:17) And that’s what the followers of Jesus are expected to do, all the time, my brethren!
But we do have wise words of Cousin Sol, from which to take comfort, as he declares: ‘Whoso rewardeth evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house.’ (Prov.17:13) Gospel truth my people, so please beware of how you handle those situations!
And we’ll let Bruh David take us home with his own words of wisdom. ‘The heathen (nations, gentiles) are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken (caught). The Lord is known by the judgement which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion (meditation or song). Selah.’ (Ps.9:15-16)
Yes Friends, the wicked are usually caught up in their own wickedness and suffer the shame and misery set for the righteous. That’s the Lord’s way! We can therefore have some comfort and peace when wrongdoers come against us, for our mighty God will handle it all on our behalf. We couldn’t ask for more than that.
And all God’s people loudly and gratefully declared: ‘Oh what a wonderful God we serve and worship! Give Him much thanks and praise for His goodness and LOVING-kindness to the undeserving children of men! Amen!’
Now let’s go out today and do just that, my fellow believers in Christ! Much LOVE!
…to know, know, know Him…is to LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Him…
12 Sep 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: advances, anger, ashamed of Christ, Beelzebub, believers in Jesus, bitterness, blessed day, blessings, bounden duty, christianity, cold and rainy, conquer the nations, darkness, death, demonic gates, destruction, doctrine of justification, enduring faith, entreaties, eternal life, evil, faith in the Lord, forgiveness, God's countenance, God's essential attribute, God's revelation, God-sent day, golden arches of heaven, gospel, Great Tribulation, Habakkuk's prophecy, Hades, hate, haughty, hot and sunny, injustice, justification by faith, kneel at Christ's footstool, life, life eternal, light, live our faith, lost souls, LOVE, Love God, loving god, Lucifer, mercy, moral sphere, New Testament, obey God's commandments, Old Testament, part of the problem, part of the solution, peace, plans of mice and men, proud, religion, revenge, righteous, salvation, scholarly explanations, separation from God, sin, Spread God's Word, stand strong, steadfast, suppress the truth, thanks and praise, the enemy, the Father, the guilt of mankind, the just shall live by faith, the power of God, the power of the gospel, the righteousness of God, the SON, theology, true repentance, ultimate gifts, ungodliness, ungodly world, union with God, unrighteousness, upright, victors, weather forecasts, wrath of God
Habakkuk 2:4. Behold, his soul which is lifted up (proud) is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
Oh Friends, another God-sent day is on the horizon. But whether it’s going to be hot and sunny, like the past two days, or cold and rainy, I can’t tell you, because I’ve seen two different forecasts in the last few hours. Around 10 p.m. last night, it said 31 degrees and rain, but at 2.30 this morning, it’s saying 24 and sunshine, and that’s after rain, thunder and lightning last night. So you go figure nuh!
The weather forecaster’s job right now is one of the most unpredictable in the world. But my brethren, regardless of what happens with the weather, believers in Jesus will stand strong, steadfast and upright because of their enduring faith, as our Bit so wisely declares: ‘Behold, his soul which is lifted up (proud) is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.’
And I guess you’re wondering why there’s no wandering preamble? Well I have plenty stuff to share, and I want to get it all in today, while keeping the Bit at a reasonable length. So right away, let’s get to some scholarly explanations re our Bit.
‘2:4. Two classes of people are contrasted (1) the proud, haughty Chaldeans who will be the victors in the forthcoming conflict; and (2) the righteous ones of Judah who will appear to be defeated in the forthcoming conflict, but in reality will be the victors because of their faith in the Lord.
The just shall live by his faith is often quoted in the New Testament in support of the doctrine of justification by faith. (See Rom.1:17; Gal.3:11; Heb.10:38) Thus, this Old Testament prophecy anticipates the New Testament gospel which shall ultimately conquer the nations and bring them to Christ.’
And that’s exactly what the New testament Gospel has been doing Friends; conquering both individuals and nations and having them kneel at Christ’s footstool in true repentance to receive His ultimate gifts of salvation and eternal life! What can be more pleasing to our heavenly Father eh? Nothing, except for the whole, entire earth to believe and receive salvation, not losing a single soul to the enemy Beelzebub!
But just remember my fellow believers, that our most important job here on earth, our bounden duty, is to help bring those lost souls to Jesus. So if we don’t do right, that’s LOVE God, LIVE our Faith, and SPREAD His Word, then we’re part of the problem and not of the solution.
Oh, and by the way, I hope you all checked out the reference from yesterday, Daniel 5:30-31, where Habakkuk’s prophecy came through in the middle of the night. Belshazzar, the Chaldean king was slain and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom.
And today’s certainly your lucky day Friends, sorry blessed day (smile) because I’ve planned to quote all the scriptures the scholars referenced above, including this one from John.
‘The Father LOVETH the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth (remains) on him.’ (John 3:35-36)
Yes my people, those who don’t believe in the light and life of the Son, darkness, death and destruction will continue to dog them forever. And as Bruh Paul said to the Roman church, when he talked about the power of the gospel and the guilt of mankind.
‘For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, the just shall live by faith. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness.’ (Rom.1:16-18)
Ah mih breddren, the gospel of Christ is so powerful that it can propel you from the very demonic gates of sin, death and Hades right to the golden arches of heaven, through salvation, so you can enjoy life eternal.
Wow! I say it every day: what a mighty and LOVING God we serve my people! Everyday we should just be falling all over ourselves to live for Him, to give Him the thanks and praise He so worthily deserves!
But instead we foolishly resist His entreaties and advances, push Him aside, and live with hate, bitterness, anger and revenge as the prominent emotions in our lives, rather than those of Peace, LOVE, Mercy and Forgiveness which flow from Him.
And then we wonder why life is so rough. Hn! The answer is so simple; we’ve turned away from Almighty God. We no longer obey His commandments, so how do we expect to receive His blessings and LOVING-kindness eh?
Oh Friends, I think I have to change my plans here yes, because I’ve just seen some explanations from the scholars re the last two verses above, which I believe will help us understand those scriptures better, so here goes.
‘1:17. Righteousness, God’s essential attribute is revealed. It is not man’s invention; it is God’s revelation. Left to himself, man would never have thought of it. From faith to faith: It’s source and end are the same. To those who possess God’s righteousness Paul pronounces, The just shall live by faith. What one believes does make a difference. If he believes the gospel he has life (union with God); otherwise he has death (separation from God).
1:18. The wrath is not the revelation of a future judgement of God or of the Great Tribulation, but a present revelation that parallels the present revelation of God’s righteousness (cf.1:17). This revelation comes from heaven.
Ungodliness is failure in the religious realm. Unrighteousness is failure in the moral sphere or injustice toward man. Who hold (lit. “hold down,” “suppress”) the truth in unrighteousness. They received the truth concerning the wrath of God but hindered it and prevented it from completing its work.’
Oh my fellow believers, I do hope that brings a clearer understanding of those scriptures. So we’ll end there, and if God’s willing, will continue this topic tomorrow, for we all know that the best laid plans of mice and men usually go astray, (smile) and it’s the Lord’s plan that carries the day.
Till we meet tomorrow then, may we walk in the sunshine of God’s countenance, may peace and LOVE guide our footsteps as we continue looking to Jesus for strength and faith to face this evil, ungodly world. Much LOVE!
…if you don’t believe in Jesus…then you’ll pay the price…just like Lucifer is doing…
11 Sep 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: 9/11/2001, affect our souls negatively, almighty god, Amen, anger, believers in Jesus Christ, calamitous day, capable hands, Chaldeans, christianity, comforting grace, common sense, cowardly, dastardly deeds, death, destruction, difficult situations, embittered souls, emotional comfort, encouragement, enlightenment, faith, faith-filled, flaming glory, foreshadowing, glorious kingdom, God's arena, God's will, hand in hand with jesus, hate, heavenly Father, Holy Name, human understanding, Jesus Christ, Jesus returns, justification by faith, live by faith, look to heaven, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, loving kindness, moving forward, negative memories, New Testament, obstacles, offer up a prayer, Old Testament, Patriot's Day, peace, peaceful faith, Praise the Lord, promise, prophecies, prophet Habakkuk, proud, religion, repayment, rumours of war, saviour jesus christ, tablets of clay, tarry, the fall of Babylon, the just, theology, totally submissive, trials, undeniable truth, understanding, unfortunate incident, ungodly, vengeance, victory through Christ, wait for it, walk safely, walking hand in hand with Jesus, walking obediently, war, wisdom, wonderful peace, World Trade Centre, write the vision
Habakkuk 2:4. Behold, his soul which is lifted up (proud) is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
Oh Friends, on this 11th day of September, Patriot’s Day in the U.S. let’s remember the calamity that befell the people of New York City, a dozen years ago, when two planes flew into the World Trade Centre, causing untold death and destruction.
Let us never forget it, because it just shows how low, how cowardly and how evil and murderous our fellow man can be. And unfortunately, the foundation for all that hate and anger is based on religion and what’s supposedly a peaceful faith.
Anyway Friends, although we won’t forget that disaster, we must not allow it to negatively affect our souls. Remember we have to always keep moving forward, despite our trials and obstacles that stand in our way. And the ONLY way to do that successfully is walking hand in hand with Jesus.
Now let’s look to heaven and offer up a prayer on the matter. Please pray with me: ‘Oh heavenly Father, on this day when we remember the dastardly deeds perpetrated on the U.S. twelve years ago, please help us to not let our souls be embittered by it. You’ve said vengeance and repayment is Yours, so we’re leaving it in Your more than capable hands.
And for those who lost family, friends and co-workers on that calamitous day, please embrace them with Your LOVING-kindness and emotional comfort as they remember their lost ones and contemplate the difficult situations which many are still undergoing because of that unfortunate incident.
Please enable them to put the negative memories behind them, and instead take a strong and tight hold of your comforting grace that will propel them forward in peace and LOVE. We pray this in the holy name of Your Son, and our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.’
Ah mih people, everyday I ask; when will mankind learn that war and destruction is not in his best interest eh? And sadly, everyday I seem to get the same answer – who knows! Possibly not until Jesus returns in flaming glory will we ever be totally submissive to the twin towers of Peace and LOVE!
Anyway Friends, as believers in Jesus Christ, we are expected to do our bit in the fight for wisdom and common sense and understanding. So let’s not give up, even though it might seem that we’re fighting a losing battle with wars and rumours of war escalating every day. That’s because we know we already have the victory through Christ. We just have to keep on keeping on, doing the things that will promote and enlarge His glorious kingdom.
Now let’s turn to our Bit which lends much encouragement and strength to our faith-filled journey, as the prophet Habakkuk tells us: ‘Behold, his soul which is lifted up (proud) is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.’
And that’s the undeniable truth Friends! The proud and ungodly have no place in God’s arena. But those who sincerely hope and believe in God, whom we’ve called the just, they shall live by faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, walking obediently in His will.
Remember recently we said that the Old Testament was a foreshadowing of things to come in the New Testament, well Friends, this is one of those prophecies that actually happened in the Old Testament, but our Bit has been used extensively in the New Testament to prove justification by faith.
And I guess some background on the situation is necessary for a better understanding. The prophet Habakkuk is here talking to the Lord, re the fall of Babylon, then ruled by the Chaldeans.
And he begins the 2nd chapter thus: ‘I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower (rampart), and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. And the Lord answered me and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables (on tablets of clay), that he may run that readeth it.
For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie; though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.’ (Hab.2:1-3)
Now that’s a sure promise my people! The destruction of Babylon might take some time to come, but come it will, whenever the Lord deems it the right time.
And we’ll end today with some explanations from the scholars on those last two verses. ‘2:2-3. Write the vision …upon tablets refers to the common practice of writing public notices with large characters on the clay tablets that someone running by could easily read them. If the notice was a warning it would also cause the reader to run quickly to prepare for what was coming.
An appointed time indicates a specific future fulfillment of Habakkuk’s prophecy of the fall of Babylon. See Daniel 5:30-31.’
I do hope that helps us to better understand the scripture, and please remember to check out the references, for they are always for our enlightenment.
Now my brethren, tomorrow, God willing, we’ll continue this topic, re the just living by his faith. Till then, please let’s all walk safely with Almighty God, and may He bless us and make His face to shine upon us, while giving us His wonderful peace that surpasses all human understanding.
And all God’s children said a loud and proud: ‘Praise the Lord! Amen!’
Much LOVE my fellow believers in Christ!
…each and every promise of Jehovah God…WILL BE FULFILLED…regardless of the time limits involved…
05 Sep 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: almighty god, anger, appreciation, blessings, bondage in Egypt, bottomless morass, catastrophic history, christianity, compacent, covenant, deprivation, fat, finest wheat, first commandment, followers of Jesus, foolish pride, forgiveness, forgot who brought us to the dance, gilty of the same crime, gladness, god, God's dictates, God's goodness, gospel truth, greed, honey, house of bondage, I am the Lord, idolatry, In Touch, insular worlds, Israel's waywardness, Israelites, jehovah god, Jesus Christ, joy, lazy, let us rejoice and be glad, live as though everything matters, lives of excellence, lives of significance, LOVE, loving kindness, lust of their hearts, make a positive difference, mournful lament, my people would not listen, negative results, new mercies, no other gods before me, omnipotent god, one true God, pangs of want, peace, picture of your soul, prosperity, prosperous society, protective umbrella, psalmist asaph, rebellious, refuse to walk in covenant with God, religion, rumours of war, showing LOVE, sin, sincere repentance, sinful nature, stop focusing on ourselves, stubborn people, subdued their enemies, the day of the Lord, too big for their britches, topsy turvy world, tough times, true disciples of Jesus, true discipleship, true reflections, ungodliness, uniform authority, walked in their own counsel, walling in the mire, wars, wickedness, wisdom, worship strange gods, Yahweh
Psalm 81:9. There shall no strange (foreign) god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god.
Oh Friends, another new morn is here with new blessings, mercies and forgiveness! Wow! Are we ready to receive this new day and all the positive things it brings with joy, gladness and humble appreciation? I certainly hope so, because if we’re not, then we’ll lose out on the best stuff that Almighty God has to offer.
And all God’s children joyfully declared: This is the day the Lord has made, WE WILL REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT!’
Yes mih people, that’s the way I like to hear us shout out loud and proud in the name of Jehovah God! It’s the only way to go, otherwise we’re showing ourselves unappreciative of His wonderful blessings, mercies and forgiveness.
Now, while going through some papers here just now, I came upon this little note I’d taken from an article of the June issue of In Touch Magazine. It’s simple, but it says a whole lot. ‘The way you live your life everyday is a picture of your soul.’
Now that sounds like gospel truth to me! Why? Because we generally live our lives the same way everyday, and thus they are true reflections of how we feel, think and behave.
And to expand on that, I’m saying that we should therefore live everyday of our lives as though everything matters. We should try to make a difference, a positive one that is, and stop focusing on ourselves, and our little, insular worlds.
As believers we ought to live lives of excellence, lives of significance that impact positively in, and on the lives of others. Then and only then, will we be showing the LOVE and true discipleship that Jesus desires of His followers.
Now here’s our Bit: ‘There shall no strange (foreign) god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god.’
Oh Friends, that verse comes from Psalm 81, where the psalmist Asaph is writing of God’s goodness and the Israelites waywardness. But in fact it’s the very first commandment the Lord gave His people when He brought them out of bondage in Egypt way back in time.
‘And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.’ (Ex.20:1-3)
Oh my brethren, those words are self-explanatory, simple and to the point, as are most of the words of our great God! That meant the Israelites were entering into an exclusive covenant with Yahweh, the One, True God.
But as we all know, they were a rebellious and stubborn people and did not keep the covenant for very long. In fact they reneged on it several times during their long, stormy and catastrophic history.
This led the psalmist to write of God. ‘But my people would not hearken (heed, listen) to my voice; and Israel would (have) none of me. So I gave them up unto their own hearts lust (stubbornness): and they walked in their own counsels.’ (Ps.81:11-12)
Ah Friends, there’s a direct connection and relationship between the Israelites turning away from God, and our present behaviour, for we are doing the very same thing. We’re refusing to walk in covenant with God, and instead are taking Him out of lives; schools, public places and even homes, as quickly as we can.
And like the Israelites, the Lord has allowed us to walk in our own counsel. Hence the negative results, just like it befell the Israelites, EVERY TIME they turned away from the God of their forefathers.
I don’t have to paint a picture for you of the wars and rumours of war, of the strife, greed, anger foolish pride and idolatry that’s engulfing, no sorry, that’s already engulfed our ungodly world. And it’s getting worse everyday my friends. Everyday we’re sinking ever deeper into the bottomless morass of sin and ungodliness.
That brings to mind the psalmist’s writing, re God’s response. ‘Oh that my people had hearkened unto (listened to) me, and Israel had walked in my ways! I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their enemies…. He should (would) have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should (would) I have satisfied them.’ (Ps.81:13-14,16)
Oh my people, our wonderful God is mouthing the same mournful lament today, as He sadly sees us wallowing in the mire of wickedness as put forward by Lucifer. But He’s also willing and able to help us. However, we need to first turn back to him in sincere repentance and start living obedient to His dictates.
The Israelites belatedly realized this, but they were smart enough to turn back to Yahweh when it finally dawned on them. And in accordance with His covenant their society prospered. But again, that holding on to the covenant only lasted as long as it took for them to become prosperous, and they then forgot who made them so.
We’re guilty of the same stupid crime today my people. Some years ago, when times were really tough, a majority of society worshipped the Lord God Jehovah, and eventually the land prospered. But then, as is our sinful nature, we got fat, lazy and complacent and forgot who brought us to the dance.
We began believing that it was our own hands that had brought us the prosperity. So the Lord left us to our own foolish ways. Now every thing is falling down, coming apart at the seams, because there’s no single, uniform authority, namely Almighty God, to hold it together.
Oh Friends, when are we going to learn that our omnipotent God controls the entire universe and all that happens in it eh?
Listen to what He said long ago through the prophet Isaiah. ‘I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour. I have declared, and have saved, and I have showed (proclaimed), when there was no strange (foreign) god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God. Yes, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let (reverse) it?’ (Is.43:11-13)
Yes mih breddren, the Lord’s omnipotence rules over His universe, and just like the Israelites, we are witnesses to it, especially with the coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
We’ve seen what Jehovah can do, so why are we so foolishly turning away from Him only to suffer the pangs of want and deprivation, when we could be comfortably enjoying peace and prosperity under the protective umbrella of His LOVING-kindness?
It makes no sense Friends, especially when history has a whole lot of societies buried in His dust, when they got too big for their ‘britches.’
So let’s be wise nuh mih breddren, and start turning back to Almighty God. That’s provided we want to see our topsy-turvy, troubled world stable and prosperous again. Now that’s certainly wisdom of the highest order! Much LOVE!
… what is history eh….history provides a record of the past…to light the way of the future…but this foolish generation refuses to see the light of the future…Jesus…
11 Jul 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a friend in Jesus, a-whoring, anger, believe in Jesus, benefits, bless the Lord, blessings, busyness, disasters, disbelief, do God's will, everything to God in prayer, evil ways, faith, faithful promise, fear, forgiveness, gladness, God's LOVING-kindness, hard times, healing, human failings, maturity, mental and emotional radar, needless pain, negative stuff, new blessings, obey God, Old Testament, one true God, petition God, petty differences, positive stuff, praise, pride, privilege to carry, prosperity, rejoice and be glad, salvation, satisfy us with mercy, sins and griefs to bear, something for nothing, souls of humans, summer, thanksgiving, the Good Book, true believer, truth, turn away from God, unified body of Christ, walk in God's ways, wisdom, worship
Psalm 90:14. O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
Aye Friends, how are we this summer Thursday morning in July eh?
Hn! Summer! Steups! Believe me it feels more like spring or fall in my neck of the woods. And I can say that because around 4 a.m I went for a walk to clear my mind – and I sure got it cleared in a hurry by the brisk wind and rather cool temperature. I even had to shorten my intended walk, because it must have been in the mid teens.
But none of that really matters nuh Friends, when we’re all being chased down and pursued this morning by numerous new blessings and God’s LOVING-kindness, as so faithfully promised by the Good Book!
And I surely hope that they will soon catch up to us and overwhelm us with positive stuff. So much so that the negative stuff won’t even show up on the screens of our mental and emotional radar.
Oh I know it seems a lot to hope for, but that’s where out faith and level of maturity in Jesus come in. The Lord’s promised those things to those who believe on His Son, so it’s up to us receive them by faith now, if we truly believe.
And I want to share the first verse of an old but still popular hymn that will help us to do just that. ‘What a friend we have in Jesus. All our sins and griefs to bear. What a privilege to carry, Everything to God in prayer! O, what peace we often forfeit. O, what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry, Everything to God in prayer.’
Now my people, that’s one of our major failings today. For one reason or another, we don’t take our problems to God in prayer, although He begs us to do so. I don’t know if it’s pride, the stupid and false kind, fear, busyness, disbelief, or some combination of them all, but that’s definitely not a wise move on our part.
I’m therefore imploring us, starting today, RIGHT NOW, to take EVERYTHING to the Lord in prayer – and BEFORE you take it anywhere else too, because that’s the wisdom of a true believer in Christ!
And now that I’ve said my piece, (smile) let’s turn to out Bit: ‘O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.’
And doesn’t our Bit jibe ever so well with what we were saying before – turning to God in prayer?
Moses, the author of Psalm 90, knew that only the Lord God Jehovah could grant true mercy and bring gladness to the souls of humans. But before we can get that gladness and mercy, we have to do our part, that’s walk in His ways and do His will.
Though our God is merciful and bounteous, there’s no getting some thing for nothing, although that’s the prevalent approach in our current society. Getting much more of whatever the world offers, than we’re willing to give, is a motto that too many of us live by.
Unfortunately though Friends, our God doesn’t operate like that. We have to walk in faith, with praise, worship and thanksgiving, otherwise our blessings will dry up. And you can see that already happening from the sad state that our world’s currently in. Blessings are indeed drying up, but disasters are multiplying, because of our turning away from God.
And as we said yesterday, Moses wasn’t the only one who recognized our human failings and petitioned God for mercy. In Psalm 85, God has removed his anger from Israel, the sons of Korah say it thus: ‘Turn (restore) us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger towards us to cease.
Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? Wilt thou draw out (prolong) thine anger to all generations? Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people will rejoice in thee? Show us thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us thy salvation.’ (Ps.85:4-7)
Yes my brethren, we need to come to God with petitions like that, but we also have to change our evil ways, if we expect the Lord to hear us and grant our petitions. Until we do that, all the petitions in the world won’t make any difference.
You’ll notice throughout the Old Testament that whenever Israel obeyed God, they prospered, but whenever they went a-whoring after other gods, they fell on extremely hard times. Well that’s exactly what’s happening to us today Friends, and we’ll only return to prosperity when we return to truly worshipping the ONE TRUE GOD, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
And here are some appropriate ending words from Bruh David on the subject, taken from Psalm 103, Thanksgiving for God’s mercy. ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with LOVING-kindness and tender mercies;
Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s… Bless ye the Lord, all ye his hosts; ye ministers (servants) of his, that do his pleasure. Bless the Lord, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the Lord, O my soul.’ (Ps.103:2-5, 21-22)
Oh my fellow believers, those are words of absolute and eternal truth! But we need to get ourselves together as one, unified body in Christ to make them come true. Fighting each other over petty differences and being more interested in the things of the world more than those of heaven will get us absolutely nowhere.
And we can only get together by truly pursuing LOVE for God and LOVE for each other as Jesus told us to do. So do we really want mercy and gladness all our days?
Well then, let’s do the things that will bring them to pass nuh! Let’s truly live for Jesus, do what He desires of us! Otherwise we’ll just keep on falling, going downhill, until we end up in Hades. And I’m sure we don’t want that. Much LOVE!
…he who has ears to hear…let him hear…for the price of disobedience…is awfully high…
01 Jul 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abound in LOVE, anger, battle hymn, british north america act, Canada Day, Christ-like behaviour, Christian nation, coherent answer, deception, discernment, discrimination, drunk or sober mind your business, enthusiasm, fraud, fruits of righteousness, glorify God, glorious kingdom, God's standards, gossip-mongering, holy spirit, hope, humble servants, increase in LOVE, incredible aura of LOVE, ingrates, invade our souls, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, lies, light a fire, LOVE Revolution, Lucifer, Monday Morning, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, morally pure, praise of God, pray for the church, prayer, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, resentment, roaring lion, spiritual armour, sure conquerors, the day of Christ, things that really matter, true wisdom, useful purpose, vim and vigour, weary souls, wicked taunts, wickedness, without offence, worthwhile things in life
1 Thessalonians 3:12. And the Lord make you to increase and abound in LOVE one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you.
Well Friends, it’s Monday once again… And a joyous shout comes from near and far: ‘Thank God it’s Monday; Canada Day and no work to go to! Happy Birthday Canada! Way to go! You’re still the best big country in the world to live in, bar none!’
Yes people, Canada Day celebrates the birth of our wonderful nation! On July 1 1867, one hundred and forty six years ago, the British Parliament passed the British North America Act, uniting the British North American Colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and the Province of Canada, to form a federation of four Provinces, with the Province of Canada being divided into the French speaking Quebec and the English speaking Ontario.
And since that momentous day Friends, we’ve been on the rise as a godly and Christian nation, although now, like so much of the world, our claim to that title is fading fast away. But Friends, we all know that while there’s life there’s always hope, so it’s not too late for people like you and I to pick up the baton and run with it, then pass it on to our children, and so on down the line, till Jesus comes again.
Anyway Friends and fellow Canadians, have a happy Canada Day. Let’s make our country proud of us. Enjoy it, but remember, as Granny would say; drunk or sober mind your business. (smile) I had to put that in, because it’s in times of celebrations that that roaring, toothless lion Lucifer usually finds an unsecured spot in our spiritual armour and preys on our shortcoming. So let’s not give him even the smallest opportunity to invade our souls.
And now, for all those working stiffs elsewhere, who have to go to work today, (smile) let’s commiserate with them and sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn in loud harmony.
All together 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!’
Let’s go out today and truly fight with vim and vigour my people!
And now it’s time for our Bit: ‘And the Lord make you to increase and abound in LOVE one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you.’
That my brethren, is Bruh Paul praying for the church at Thessalonica, encouraging them to increase in LOVE and Christ-like behaviour. And do we ever need a lot of prayers for the church today, as we seem to be slumping, to be losing the fight against the evil powers of this dark and devious world.
Oh my fellow believers, we most definitely need an upsurge in the spiritual fortunes of Christ’s body, for there’s currently so much evil activity, like fraud, deception, anger, resentment and gossip-mongering going on that it boggles the mind. I’m sure that Jesus must at times shake His head up there in heaven and wonder why He ever sacrificed His holy, innocent life for a bunch of ingrates like us.
But what’s done is done. There’s no going backward now, but it’s all straight ahead! And though many of us can’t do anything about the unchristian-like activities in the church, we can certainly pray for it though, like Bruh Paul prayed for all the churches with which he was affiliated.
Listen to his prayer for the church at Philippi: ‘And this I pray, that your LOVE may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgement (discernment); That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ; Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.’ (Phil.1:9-11)
Yes Friends, prayer is our strongest weapon, let’s not be afraid to use it nuh, especially in furthering Christ’s church!
Now here’s some scholarly info on those verses. ‘1:10: Things that are excellent means “things that really matter.” This refers to important issues. As the Philippians’ LOVE increases in knowledge and discernment (v 9), they will be able to accurately distinguish the vital and worthwhile things in life from those that are not. Contextually, the readers’ LOVE for Paul vexes them as they are anxious over his imprisonment.
He (on the other hand) wants them to perceive his imprisonment as being among those “things that really matter” because of the good that God will bring out of it. The purpose for such discrimination is that ye may be sincere (or, morally pure) and without offense till the day of Christ.
1:11: This verse could be translated, “Filled with the fruit that is righteousness, which comes through Jesus Christ for the purpose of glorifying and praising God.” The believer who is pure and without offense before God (v 10) has divinely developed in him a practical “righteousness” or daily moral life that measures up to God’s standards in character and conduct. The ultimate purpose for this “righteousness” is to glorify God.’
Oh Friends, we couldn’t end on a better note! Please remember that our main purpose on this earth is to glorify our wonderful Creator, through our behaviour and our spreading of His Word. Sadly though, we’re not doing a good enough job of it, hence the wickedness so prevalent in the world, and the lack of LOVE.
So please, I implore us to rise up, to light a fire under us and those close to us, as we ought to, and glorify our God, as He expects and rightfully deserves. That is indeed true wisdom, so that when He asks us on that fateful day, why we didn’t do more and/ or better than we did, we won’t be left stammering and shaking, unable to give a coherent answer. Much LOVE!
…to truly glorify God…one must work diligently and painstakingly…to promote the LOVE Revolution of Jesus…
14 Jun 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: absolute wisdom, anger, bitterness, busybodies, christianity, detriment of friendships, envy, errant believer, error of our ways, fellowship, forgiveness, Friday chant, generous help, glorious kingdom, glory hallelujah, gospel truth, gossip, hate stirs up strife, heed God's call, hurricane season, imminent danger, itinerant musicians, jealousy, kind to each other, live in the Spirit, Love covers all sins, Love doesn't envy, Love doesnt boast, Love is kind, Love isn't arrogant, Love suffers long, multitude of sins, negative emotions, praise his holy name, qualities of Love, ramp up our faith, refreshed in soul, relaxation, rest, rising floodwaters, sacrificial blood, seek Love, sinful behaviour, sufficent fun, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, the pit of corruption, the weekend, trangressions, trust in Almighty God, truth, walk in the Spirit, walk with Christ, wisdom, wrath
1 Corinthians 13:4: Charity (LOVE) suffereth long, and is kind; charity (LOVE) envieth not; charity (LOVE) vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up.
Oh Friends it’s Friday! And some workers gathered around a group of itinerant musicians, raucously applaud: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday! The weekend’s here, and work soon done. Ah say, thank God is Friday yes!’
Yes my people, Friday is an important day in our week; for some it’s the start of their Sabbath, for others it’s the start of their weekend and two days off of work, and most importantly it was the day on which Christ was crucified, the day He sacrificed His sinless life for our sinful ones.
And all God’s people said, ‘Glory Hallelujah! What a wonderful Lord and Saviour we have. Praise His Holy Name! Amen!’
Anyway Friends, since it’s Friday, let’s chant our Friday Chant to get us into the right frame of mind to face the weekend in a positive, Christ-like manner.
‘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 ought to give us the right perspective to handle the weekend. However, before we look at our Bit, let’s spend a moment in prayer for the unfortunate residents of the Fort McMurray area in the Western Province of Alberta, who are now facing imminent danger and the loss of their homes and belongings to rising floodwaters.
Oh Friends, so far it seems like this is the year of the flood and tornados, and the hurricane season hasn’t even gotten in to full swing yet. But we simply can’t afford to let disasters get us down.
In fact, as disasters strike, we need to lift, to ramp up our faith and trust in Almighty God, who’s promised to look after all those He’s called and have sincerely heeded that call. (Rom.8:28)
And when we consider our Bit, we see how extremely important it is, because, ‘Charity (LOVE) suffereth long, and is kind; charity (LOVE) envieth not; charity (LOVE) vaunteth not (does not brag on) itself, is not puffed up (arrogant).’
Yes my people, that’s truth of the absolutely undeniable kind!
Now yesterday, we saw in the passages before our Bit (vs.1-3) that regardless of our other attributes, that we’re useless, nothing, unless we have LOVE. And then the Good Book explains the basic God-like qualities of LOVE. (vs.4-8)
Today, we’ll take a gander at some scriptures that deal with the qualities that our Bit talks about; the long suffering of LOVE, its kindness, its lack of envy, its humility and lack of boasting, as well as its non-arrogant nature.
And what better place to begin than in the wisdom of Cousin Sol’s words, as he contrasts the attributes of the wise and those of the foolish. He states in matter-of-fact language, that ‘Hatred stirreth up strifes: but LOVE covereth all sins.’ (Prov.10:12)
And isn’t that gospel truth Friends! Our negative emotions wreak havoc in all aspects of our lives, but that wonderful attribute of LOVE, covers, brings God’s caring and harmonious nature to the front, leaving all negative issues in its wake.
As Hezekiah so wisely states in His glorifying prayer after his healing: ‘Behold, for (my own) peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in LOVE to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.’ (Is.38:17)
Oh my brethren, the wonderful works of the amazing God we serve never ceases to amaze me! In His great LOVE for us, He throws our sins behind Him and forgets them, even more so since Jesus paid for them with His sacrificial blood.
Meanwhile, in Ephesians, Bruh Paul lectures us on the kindness aspect of LOVE: ‘Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.’ (Eph.4:31-32)
Oh Friends, we can never find a higher level of God-like behaviour than forgiveness, especially when it’s based on the fact that God has forgiven us such a multitude of abominable sins! And that can only happen through a sincere LOVE for Christ!
Then in Galatians, re walking in the Spirit, Bruh Paul touches on the question of envy and jealousy. ‘If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory (conceited), provoking one another, envying one another.’ (Gal.5:25-26)
Ah mih fellow believers! I had to let out a long, loud sigh there because, unfortunately too many of us Christians aren’t truly walking in the Spirit, for envy, deceit and selfishness have become hallmarks of our modern society. And though we’re supposed to be in the world, but not a part of it, sadly, we allow the negativity of the world to greatly invade and influence our spirits, and thus our walk with Christ.
Now listen to James, re saving an errant believer. ‘Brethren, if any of you do err (wander) from the truth, and one convert him (turns him back); Let him know, that he which converteth (turns) the sinner from the error of his way, shall save a soul from death, and shall hide (cover) a multitude of sins.’ (James 5:19-29)
Again my people, it’s that attitude of kindness and caring, of not being judgemental, the lack of pride and arrogance in our fellow believers, that helps to turn us around when we’re faltering, and allows God to not only correct our sinful behaviour, but also blot out our sins.
And we’ll end with a last word of absolute wisdom from Cousin Sol. ‘He that covereth a transgression, seeketh LOVE; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very (the best of ) friends.’ (Prov.17:9)
And isn’t that the everlasting truth of man’s behaviour! Unfortunately, many of us have personally experienced it through unreliable gossip and the running mouths of the busybodies who take pleasure in spreading it, to the very real detriment of friendships.
Well that’s it for today my people. I certainly hope that these few words (smile) -as if I ever write few words eh – I do hope though that they provoke serious thoughts in our souls, which then lead to serious Christ-like actions in our lives. I sincerely pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen. Much LOVE my brethren!
…a true walk with Christ entails many things…but none more important than LOVE…
P.S. Sorry that this is somewhat late Friends, but my allergies acted up earlier on and I took some medication to calm them down, but apparently they calmed me down too much. (smile)
And though I wrote a rough draft without any problems, I’ve been in a semi-fog while transcribing it to the computer, making a set of foolish mistakes, which obviously annoyed me. But the Lord in His LOVING-kindness gave me the wherewithal to complete it without losing my mind. Much LOVE!
09 Jun 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a little bit of LOVE, allegiance, Alpha and Omega, anger, best thing, charity begins at home, Christ's Church, christianity, compassion, crux of the matter, decency, Emmanuel, entertaining angels, escalation of ongoing wars, evils of the world, exceeding abundantly, forgiveness, God is LOVE, greed, hatred, high priest, hypocrites, Jesus Christ, let your light shine, LOVE, LOVE in action, LOVE one another, LOVE Revolution, mercy, praise and thanksgiving, pride, prince of peace, propitiation for our sins, right heart, rumours of wars, sacrifical blood, sacrifice, salt of the earth, show Love, sppression, standards of excellence, strife, substantial change, suppression, the world's going to the dogs, thoughtfulness, treat strangers decently, true christianity, undeniable truth, walk the talk
1 John 4:8. He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God is LOVE!
Oh Friends, family, neighbours and enemies, this is Sunday, the day when many of us go to church to worship God! But that doesn’t seem to be helping us nuh, because our world is still going to the dogs, and very quickly too.
Obviously one day a week is just not sufficient for us to pour out praise and thanksgiving, for every day there’s more talk about the escalation of ongoing wars and rumours of new wars starting up. There’s plenty of strife, anger, hatred, greed, pride, persecution, suppression, oppression and all the other negative things – but NO LOVE!
And that’s just unacceptable my people. Our world needs a LOVE Revolution in the worst way! My brethren we need one bad, bad, bad – and right now too! And the sad part is that it won’t take much LOVE to straighten out most of the problems nuh. But unfortunately we can’t seem to find any true LOVE at all.
Remember what B.J. Thomas says in his song? ‘A little bit of LOVE is better than no LOVE at all.’ So all we’re looking for to start us out on the right foot Friends is just a l’il bit o’ LOVE. And we’d be surprised at the substantial change that just a l’il LOVE would make. But for some reason we can’t seem to get around to that, however we do seem to find the time and effort to revel in the inappropriate evils of the world.
Oh my people, yuh see what our Bit says: ‘He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God is LOVE!’ And that’s the undeniable truth!
So if, as we claim, we believe in God, then we ought to have LOVE for God and also for each other. And not only have LOVE, but more importantly SHOW it! My family will tell you that one thing I’ve always tried to drill into their heads is that you just can’t talk LOVE, you have to SHOW it, because just talking it does no good to the hearer, they need to feel it too, for true Christianity is simply LOVE in action.
That’s why unbelievers view us as a bunch of hypocrites, because we only talk the talk, but don’t walk it. Just look at how Jesus showed His LOVE for us nuh; by selflessly sacrificing His sinless life for our sinful ones.
The Good Book describes it thus: ‘In this was manifested the LOVE of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is LOVE, not that we LOVED God, but that he LOVED us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.’ (1 John 4:9-10)
And if that’s not real true LOVE Friends, then I don’t know what is.
And hear this next verse nuh mih people. ‘Beloved, if God so LOVED us, we ought to LOVE one another.’ (1 John 4:11) And therein lies the crux of the matter my brethren. Too many of us out there in the world, in the body of Christ’s church claim to LOVE, but sadly, we don’t show it.
And here’s what the scripture says about that: ‘If a man say, I LOVE God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that LOVETH not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he LOVE God, whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who LOVETH God LOVE his brother also.’ (1 John 4:20-21)
And yuh know what my people, Jesus isn’t asking us to die for anybody, although that could be a very LOVING and Christian thing to do. All He’s asking of us is a l’il thoughtfulness, a l’il caring, a l’il decency, a l’il compassion, a l’il mercy and a l’il forgiveness, which, when all put together, equals a L’IL LOVE!
Oh my fellow believers, what’s so hard about that eh? And it doesn’t even have to be anybody outside, although it’s good to treat strangers decently, for unawares we might just be entertaining angels. (Heb.13:2) But we can begin right in our own family, for as the old people were won’t to say, ‘Charity begins at home.’
And that is the gospel truth! For if you can’t LOVE the people closest to you, how can you LOVE somebody you don’t know anything about, although it’s quite possible in true Christianity.
So my brethren, what do you all have to say about all that eh? Are we going to do this LOVE Revolution thing?
I vote very vociferously that we should, because it’s a perfect win-win situation. We have absolutely nothing to lose, and absolutely everything to gain. So come on nuh, please join with me, starting today, in fact RIGHT NOW, let’s pledge our LOVE and allegiance to the LOVE Revolution in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, Prince of Peace, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Alpha and Omega, our Emmanuel, our Advocate, and don’t forget our High Priest… Wow!
So let me put it to you this way then mih people; if a man with all those awesome and amazing titles – and I’m sure I’ve left out some – gives up His innocent life for your evil one, then plays all those rather important roles in your life, why wouldn’t you want to associate with Him eh? Especially if when you associate with Him from a right and decent heart and motive, He will lift you up, exalt you more that you can ever expect or imagine. The Bible terms it: ‘unto him that can do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.’ (Eph.3:20)
Oh Mama Mia! How could I not want to be a part of all that nuh! No way José! I want to get in on the ground floor of that LOVE Revolution, because it’s the BEST THING this world has to offer!
So let’s say this pledge together nuh Friends. ‘Oh Jesus, today I pledge my allegiance to You and Your LOVE Revolution! I promise to do my very best to work towards the high standards of excellence you seek for those who desire to join your movement. Please help us to fulfil all your desire. We pray this in Your Name and on Your sacrificial blood. Amen.’
So we’re all official members of the LOVE Rev. Club now people! (smile) Therefore, let’s go out into the world and let our light shine, be the salt of the earth, show them what real LOVE is all about, what Jesus is truly about, by helping and serving those in need. For that was Jesus’ purpose here on earth; to serve, not to be served. And we’d do Him proud by continuing in that same humble and righteous vein.
So let’s glorify Him by both walking and talking the Christian talk. And all God’s people cried a loud ‘Amen!’ Much, much LOVE mih breddren!
…if God is LOVE…and shows LOVE…then God’s children should be LOVE…and show LOVE too…
18 May 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a furious man, abundant wisdom, an angry man, anger, bickering, bitter pills, bitterness, busyness, charcoal, coal-pot, coals, contented, contention, forgiveness, God's handiwork, happy, human-rights, impatience, LOVE, mercy, mistrust, molten lava, nature, negative emotions, obedience, peace, petty actions, prince of darkness, resentment, rumours of wars, satisfied, selflessness, spirit of LOVE, spirituality, stirs up strife, strife, transgressions, troubles, wars, worthwhile attributes
Proverbs 29:22. An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression.
‘Saturday, O glorious Saturday! What shall we do this Saturday eh? Take a walk in the park, or a drive out into the country and admire God’s handiwork in nature? Visit the open air markets and country fairs? Or just sit at home and do nothing, relax, take a break from the madding crowd that’s out and about this weekend?’ Oh Friends, there are any number of things we can do today, but there’s just one proviso to whatever it is we intend to do; make sure it includes Jehovah God, for without His active involvement, our actions have the sure potential to turn into disasters. And here’s an interesting quote from an anonymous source. ‘When you dig another out of trouble, you find a place to bury your own.’ And that’s oh so true, my people! I’ve experienced it, and so have many of you. When you help someone with their troubles, yours just seem to naturally fade into the background, at least for the time that you’re helping the other person. Then you’re more concerned with the unfortunate plight of your fellow man, than with your own. But this act of helping must be done out of selflessness, and not merely because it’s the right thing to do, or it will make us look good. That’s because helping others is an integral part of our faith and our general mission in life as followers of Jesus. We have to do it from a spirit of LOVE and obedience. Remember the Good Book tells us that Jesus spent His days going about doing good and healing people, (Acts 10:38) and so too should we. But unfortunately that’s not always possible on account of the negative attitudes some of us hold, as our Bit so wisely points out. ‘An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression.’ That’s the gospel truth Friends, as many, or most of us can attest to, since we’ve been there and done that. Oh my fellow believers, anger is a dreadful poison. It’s possibly the most potent weapon in Lucifer’s arsenal, since so much negativity flows from it. Just look at all the turmoil and strife in the world right now; the many wars and rumours of wars, the mistrust and contention, most of it can be traced right back to anger. And too often that anger has been passed down through the ages, constantly simmering and flowing out like molten lava from a volcano. It’s so prevalent that in many cases the ones involved in the strife today couldn’t tell you why there’s such antagonism between their neighbours and themselves, just that it has always existed. And the sad part is that oftimes it began over some petty action or remark, but the human spirit is so aggressive and warlike in its natural state that the strife has been handed down through numerous generations. Friends, I’m putting it to us today that that’s no way to live! Unfortunately though, our world is currently programmed to produce anger: what with the sorry downturn in all areas of our once so prosperous lives, the busyness and inherent impatience born of that same busyness, as well as the egotistical pride and selfishness that’s running rampant. It’s a veritable breeding ground for instability, lack of self-disciple and control. And an angry man is certainly an unstable man. When we’re angry is the worse time to make important decisions, for then our out-of-sync emotions are in control instead of our reason, and we’re liable to do all kinds of crazy, negative things. That means, as the second half of our Bit points out, we’re liable to engage in much wrongdoing, since then it’s the prince of darkness who’s controlling our sprits and not God or wise reason. Cousin Sol wrote an interesting analogy earlier on in Proverbs 26. ‘As coals (charcoal) are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle strife.’ (Prov.26:21) And there’s a whole lot of truth to that statement Friends! Most of the young people nowadays won’t even know what coals or charcoal are. I don’t even know for sure how the coals was made, since I was a town boy (smile) and we just bought the ready made coals to fire up the coal-pot. I just know that it was made from burning wood in some form and fashion. And a lot of people would contend that food cooked on a coal-pot or wood fire, tastes sweeter than that cooked on a stove, that’s why so many people are enamoured of their barbecues. But as far as I know the new fangled coals used in barbecues is somewhat different to what we grew up with in the West Indies. But just as coals and wood are very combustible, likewise a bickering, contentious, unreasonable person has a great tendency to cause or kindle strife. And what does strife do? Just cause negative things like bitterness, resentment, hatred, anxiety and fear to creep into our souls and set up shop. And once we have those negative emotions festering in us, we can never be satisfied, contented or happy, and will therefore be unable to lead a productive life based on the teachings and principles of Jesus. And Friends, that’s definitely no way to live this earthly life! It’s rough enough without us making it rougher. That’s why it’s so important to stay away from strife, anger and all the bitter pills they produce, as well as the people who like to induce them. Listen to this guideline Cousin Sol gives on the subject. ‘A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife (contention).’ (Prov.15:18) But my people the only sure way to avoid and/ or control that negativity caused by those emotions of darkness is to immerse ourselves in the body of Jesus; accept Him as our Lord and Saviour, read His Word, learn His statutes, and try to live our lives using His earthly sojourn as our example. When we do that, then the myriad of negative emotions won’t have any place in our lives. Instead, worthwhile attributes like peace, LOVE, mercy and forgiveness will reign supreme in our souls. So please, let’s seriously consider today, what part anger and its negative counterparts play in our lives, and penitently ask the Lord to help us get rid of them, so we can walk in the brilliant light of His Son Jesus Christ. Therein lies abundant wisdom! Much LOVE!… the best way to avoid the dangers of anger…truly LOVE our God… sincerely LIVE our Faith…and diligently SPREAD His Word…
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