12 Nov 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Anselm, aspires, beg, beseech, blessed, blessings, Christians, darkness, deliverance, embraced Jesus, evil, faith, freedom, glory to God, hope, hope for tomorrow, In the beginning was the Word, inquiring minds, inspire, irony, Jesus Christ, John the Baptist, joy, lavish lifestyle, learn from yesterday, life, light, light shines in darkness, lighthouses, lights every man, lip service, live for today, LOVE Revolution, mercies, mistakes of yesterday, Pharisees, questioning, Remembrance Day, revelation of God, rose coloured glasses, salvation, seeds of hope, the light of life, the light of men, the light of the world, the true light, the Word was with God, the world knew him not, veterans, walk in darkness
John 1:9. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
It’s Saturday morning friends, please add one day to your lives! Oh what a joy it is to be blessed by the Almighty with another day of new mercies and blessings, prepared especially for today! We now need to joyfully receive them with praise and thanksgiving and make them an integral part of our lives.
Now yesterday we celebrated Remembrance Day, remembering our fallen heroes with much pomp and fanfare that we reserve for these occasions, while saying all the right words. However, the sad irony is that the heroes who are still alive are suffering serious lack and want.
The governments are only paying lip service to the veterans, for they still struggle financially, emotionally, and medically. The hoops these poor and mostly older veterans have to jump through to get their rightful claims are ridiculous and shameful, especially when you consistently honour their dead comrades.
It certainly gives the impression that the dead are more important than the living. Unfortunately, I can’t do anything to help the situation, except point it out, hoping that others in more powerful positions will notice and do something, sooner rather than later to help these suffering men and women who fought victoriously for our freedom.
They should never have to beg and beseech us for anything, since to a large extent they are responsible for the peace that enables us to enjoy our current lavish lifestyle.
Anyway, since it’s Saturday and I have said my piece, (smile) let’s move on to a couple of interesting quotes from our friend Anselm, who always aspires to inspire us to greater heights. The first one tells us to ‘Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.’
And that’s good advice! The mistakes of yesterday ought to guide us today, while we sow plenty seeds of hope for tomorrow. But we must also have inquiring minds if we are to succeed in harvesting those seeds of hope in the future.
Now the second quote says: ‘Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.’ And that is gospel truth friends! Without hope, in fact plenty hope, in these dark and dreary times, we will certainly be overwhelmed by the evil and darkness that surrounds us.
Only hope, which eventually morphs into faith, gives us the ability to put on rose coloured glasses which light up the darkness and helps us to deal with adversity in a calmer and more reasonable manner. And how do we come by those elements of hope and faith that dispel darkness?
Easily my people; simply by surrendering, believing, and putting our faith in the safe, secure, powerful and magnanimous hands of the LIGHT OF THE WORLD, Jesus Christ!
The Good Book tells us that ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended (apprehended) it not.’ (John 1:1-5)
Oh friends, those are some of the most important and enlightening verses of the scriptures; tying everything together; from the Word being with God from the very beginning, and being God. Thus God spoke the world into existence. From Him also came life, which was a light for us, His most worthy creation. And that light shines in the darkness of our lives, which the darkness cannot overcome.
And the scholars comment: ‘1:4-5 Life…light: See also 8:12; 9:5; 11:25; 14:6. In John’s writings, life represents salvation and deliverance through Christ, and light denotes Jesus’ revelation of God which calls men to accountability.’
Everything just keeps running through Christ, my brethren! John the Baptist was even sent specially from God ‘to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.’ (John 1:7)
And our Bit tells us: ‘That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.’ Yes my fellow believers, the true Light in our lives is none other than our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Glory to God!
The unfortunate thing though is that ‘He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.’ (John 1:10)
And the scholars offer these explanations. ‘1:9. Lighteth every man means God’s revelation is universally available. It does not signify universal salvation (cf. v.12; 3:18, 36).’ ‘1:10. Knew: The world did not acknowledge or recognize Him (v.2) as the true Light.’
Much to the world’s detriment I’d say. But thankfully we Christians have embraced Jesus as the true Light, unlike the hypocritical Pharisees, who sneered at Him in unbelief when He declared to them: ‘I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record (witness) of thyself; thy record (witness) is not true (valid).’ (John 8:12-13)
Now who would the Pharisees believe eh? John the Baptist came telling of Christ; they didn’t believe him. Then Christ came and told them, yet they refused to believe because He was His own witness, tooting His own horn, so to speak.
And we’ll end with one more comment of Jesus on the subject. When He was about to heal a blind man, He declared: ‘As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’ (John 9:5)
Oh friends, those words have serious ramifications in our lives today, because Jesus was only the light of the world when He was here, but after He left, we, His believers and followers then became the light of the world, as He says in Matt.5:14. ‘Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.’
We are expected to be light, like the old lighthouses which guided ships away from shoals etc. It’s our job to now guide men away from the darkness and evil of Lucifer to the bright light of salvation and eternal life that Jesus provides. Let’s take that job seriously please, and go out and do it diligently, for that’s the only way Christ’s LOVE Revolution will succeed. Much LOVE!
…light will only overcome darkness…if it’s shone in the darkness…
05 Nov 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fearful heart, alive and kicking, Anselm, aspires, awesome God, be counted, be not dismayed, bitter waters, Christ, Christians, comfort me, cynical thoughts, deliverance, destroy both body and soul, dwell in the house of the Lord, Egyptians, evil, faithful, fear not, fear thou not, fearlessly, feckless, fickle, focus on today, for His name's sake, foundation, friends, God's LOVE, good pleasure, goodness, green pastures, I am thy God, I am with thee, I shall not want, I will fear no evil, I will help thee, I will uphold thee, in the presence of mine enemies, information, information intake, inspires, invade our minds and spirits, Isaiah, Israelites, Jesus, kill the body, lies, little flock, LOVE, make each day count, make hay while the sun shines, Marah, mercy, miracle, misinformation, more value than sparrows, Moses, negative, paths of righteousness, personal growth, Pharaoh, positive, positive news, prevarication, promises, recompense, Red Sea, restores my soul, righteousness, salvation, save you, Scrip-Bit family, see the salvation of the Lord, social media, spend more time with God, stand still, steadfast, still waters, television, The Lord is my shepherd, the right hand, the valley of the shadow of death, thy rod and thy staff, Top o' the morn, trusting, truth, vengeance, Zion
Isaiah 41:10. Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
Well top o’ the morn to you my Scrip-Bit family! Hope this missive finds you alive and kicking on this lazy, hazy Saturday. (smile) Life is short so we might as well enjoy it. We know not when our time will be up, so here is the first of two quotes from our friend Anselm, who always aspires to inspire us to greater heights.
And first off he tells us: ‘Make each day count. We don’t have all the time in the world. So focus on today and do the things you really want to do.’ That’s exactly what I was saying above. It is imperative that we make hay while the sun shines!
And the second quote is also inspiring. ‘Reprogram your information intake. Program out negative and cynical thoughts from the media and society. Reduce your information intake. Then program in positive news and entertainment, more of your own thoughts and useful information such as personal growth tapes and books. Be selective and keep it positive.’
Ah friends, a lot of us certainly need to do that in this age of so much information and misinformation! Our world is going crazy with the wealth of information that’s now available. The problem though is that too much of it is negative and we can’t easily tell what is truth from prevarication to out and out lies. Therefore our minds are filled with lots of unnecessary and unproductive stuff, that’s why Anselm’s advice is so worthwhile.
We desperately need to clean up our minds; purge what’s not useful and negative, and then replace it with only useful, positive, godly stuff. Give the television and social media a break; spend more time with God, your family and yourself. That way we won’t be bombarded with all the nonsense that’s out there, seeking to invade our minds and spirits.
And last but not least, seek to raise our faith and trust in the God of our fathers. Believe what our Bit says: ‘Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.’
Oh my people, why are so many of us supposed Christians still walking in deep fear of the world around us, when we have such awesome promises from our awesome God eh? We know He’s faithful to keep those promises and that He will work out everything for our good in the end, so why are we still so fickle and feckless?
As Job says, we have to learn to take the good with the bad. (Job 2:10) We can’t be fearful of every little hiccup in our lives. And this morning I want to bombard us with some ‘Fear nots’ in the hope that it will encourage us to stand steadfast and strong in the power of God’s Word.
Listen to Moses on the occasion of the biggest miracle of the time, when the departing Israelites were caught between the army of Pharaoh and the deep Red Sea. ‘And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation (deliverance) of the Lord, which he will show to you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more for ever.’ (Ex.14:13)
And as promised, Moses stretched out his hand over the Red Sea which parted and allowed the Israelites to cross over on dry land, but when the Egyptians followed, the two halves came together again and drowned Pharaoh’s army. Now one would think that after such a mighty miracle, the Israelites would have been trusting and steadfast forever. Hn! But in the wilderness, three days later, at the bitter waters of Marah they were complaining, wanting to return to Egypt.
Now hear Isaiah, as he talks about Israel being restored to Zion. ‘Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; he will come and save you.’ (Is.35:4)
And now, listen to these words of Bruh David that we all know and claim to LOVE and believe. ‘The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the day so my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.’ (Ps.23)
Yeh mih people, if we believe all that Bruh David says there, then we should not be afraid of the vicissitudes of life. Then there’s Jesus to his disciples: ‘And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both body and soul….Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.’ (Matt.10:28,31)
Yes friends, ONLY the Lord can destroy body and soul, and we are much too valuable in His sight, for Him to destroy us, that’s why He sent Jesus to save us.
And we’ll close with a simple, but powerful statement of Jesus. ‘Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.’ (Luke 12:32)
How much more do we need eh my brethren, before we can truly stand strong and steadfast on the solid foundation of God’s eternal LOVE and ever-faithful promises eh? Steups! God alone knows yes! Much LOVE!
…it’s high time for those of us who call ourselves Christians… to FEARLESSLY stand up and be counted….
29 Oct 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: agendas, Amalekites, angry, Anselm, compare yourself, comparison, conceit, contempt, David encouraged himself, depths of despair, discouraged, expectant faith, faith, focus, Gentiles, grocery shopping, hope, horse of a differetn colour, household chores, hungry hope, in black and white, in the Lord his God, jealous, keeping up with the Joneses, lazing around, lifted up their voice and wept, material lifestyle, motivation, negative results, no man stood with me, nutritious soups, oranges with oranges, outdoor sport, Philistines, physical wealth, picnic, playing fields, pride, rock bottom, Saul, selfishness, spake of stoning him, strengthened me, the Lord stood with me, the mouth of the lion, timelines, tropical climes, wisdom, with God uppermost, Ziklag
1 Samuel 30:6b. ‘…but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.’
And then it was Saturday; the day for household chores and grocery shopping for some, while for others it’s just a lazy, lying around day, doing nothing much of anything. For those blessed to be living in tropical climes, it might be a picnic or some outdoor sport or just lying in a hammock below a shade tree.
Or if you’re in Tobago, you might just be getting ready to go up Calder Hall and get some of Brother Kirby’s rich, tantalizing and nutritious soups. That would certainly go down well on this chilly Saturday morning. How lucky can some people get eh? (smile)
But not so in these northern parts, since it’s too cold for the usual outdoor sports and picnics, while it’s not cold enough to go skiing or outdoor skating. But to his each his own; all of us have different agendas and timelines, so let us do whatever we need to do, with God uppermost in our hearts and minds.
And on that note, let me share with you a rather wise offering this past week from our friend Anselm, who always aspires to inspire us. Listen up, as he advises: ‘Compare yourself with yourself. Not with others. Comparing what you have and your results to what other people have and have accomplished can really kill your motivation. There are always people ahead of you. Most likely quite a bit of people. And a few of them are miles ahead. So focus on you. On your results. And how you can and have improved them.’
Words of absolute wisdom my people! The worse thing we can ever do is compare ourselves with others. We all know about keeping up with the Joneses, which is a real killer in terms of physical wealth and material lifestyle. But it’s even worse when we try to compare our personal accomplishments with those of others, even those in like fields and professions because the playing fields are never level, are never the same.
Some start out with a gold spoon in their mouths, some with silver, others with brass, and many with no spoon at all. So comparisons are seldom ever oranges with oranges, but oranges with different fruit. It never pays to measure your accomplishment with others, because more often than not we fall short of the other person’s attainment and then get discouraged, jealous and even angry, which doesn’t help us any.
Then on the odd occasion when our accomplishment is better than others, we’re liable to look down on them with pride, conceit and contempt. That doesn’t help us either friends. The truth is that others will always be both ahead and behind us in accomplishments, and comparisons on either end will only bring us negative results.
So as Anselm advises, if we so badly want to compare, let’s compare ourselves with our selves; take stock of our own accomplishments as we grow and mature. We have all the right tools at hand to measure ourselves against ourselves, but not against other people.
That finally brings us to our Bit: ‘…but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.’ Oh friends, what a potent piece of scripture in only a few words.
Hear the story: Bruh David is running from Saul, whose avowed intention is to kill him. On this particular instance he’s living in Philistine territory in a place called Ziklag. The Philistines are preparing to make war against Saul and Israel and Bruh David goes with his rag tag band of men to help. But the Philistine counsellors distrust him, so they send him back to Ziklag. (1 Sam.29)
Lo and behold though, three days later when they get to Ziklag, they discover that during their absence the Amalekites have invaded the city and burned it to the ground. The really sad part though was that all their families had been taken away captive. The Good Book tells us that ‘Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.’ (1 Sam.30:4)
Then, though it didn’t seem possible, things got even worse: ‘And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved (bitter), every man for his sons and for his daughters.’ (1 Sam.30:6a) It didn’t matter to them that Bruh David’s two wives had also been taken captive; they were just concerned about their own families. At those times the innate selfishness of man usually comes to the fore.
And that’s where our Bit comes in: ‘…but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.’ Ah friends, what a moving and powerful scripture. It’s something that we should all remember and keep deep in our hearts, for when circumstances come against us and there’s no man to stand with us, then we need to encourage ourselves in our God, for He has promised never to leave nor forsake us even when things hit rock bottom.
That brings to mind another instance of the Lord’s providence, this one with Bruh Paul. As he says to Timothy: ‘At my first answer (defense) no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.’ (2 Tim.4:16-17)
Yes friends, there will be times when everything and everyone will seem to be against us, but that is not the time to give up. Instead, that’s the time for us to encourage ourselves in the Lord, to remember all His promises and the good things He’s done for us in the past and call upon Him with strong, expectant faith and hungry hope, knowing that He will not disappoint us, will never leave us in the lurch.
Now I know it all sounds fine in theory, and looks good on paper in black and white, but when push really comes to shove, it’s a horse of a different colour. That’s why we need to do our utmost to build our faith in Almighty God, because it’s only with real strong faith can we handle those situations, and not be totally overwhelmed by them.
More on this tomorrow friends, the Lord in favour. Till then let’s stand strong in our faith and keep looking to Christ for all our needs. He will meet them all. Much LOVE!
…only the powerful arms of Christ…can lift us from the very depths of despair…
22 Oct 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: absolutely nothing, advice, alert, all things work together for good, angels, Anselm, aspires to inspire, backslide, can separate us, Christ Jesus our Lord, complain, create a flow, death, distress, enemy, everlasting, faith, faithfulness, famine, flaming torch, get started, God's purpose, inspiration, jehovah god, Job, labouring for the man, life, lives by faith, LOVE, more than conquerors, motivated, nakedness, not by sight, our journey with Christ, peril, persecution, powers, principalities, punch in, punch out, ready to go, redeem believers, salvation, sheep for the slaughter, something small, start small, succour, the called, the God of his fathers, the Good Book, the Love of Christ, the LOVE of God, the sword, things present, things to come, Though he slay me, through him that loved us, time clock, to them who love God, trials, tribulation, tribulations, unconditional, wisdom, yet will I trust in him
Romans 8:37. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that LOVED us.
And then it was Saturday! A day when most of us don’t have to go out and labour, punch in and out on the man’s time clock. Oh what a blessing! Although we might actually work harder at home doing household chores than when we’re out labouring for the man. But at least we can do how much we want, when we want and at the pace we want. Glory to God!
And would you believe, I have just the right inspiration this morning for us from our friend Anselm, who always aspires to inspire us for a better day.
And for this Saturday morning, Anselm advises: ‘Do something small and create a flow. Just clean your desk. Or pay your bills. Or wash the dishes. You just need to get started. When you have finished that small task you’ll feel more alert and ready to go do the next thing. You just have to get started to get motivated. So if you really don’t feel like doing anything, start with something small and work your way out and up.’
That’s pretty good advice my people, especially if you’re somewhat under the weather and you don’t feel like doing anything at all, but there are things you must do. Just start small and gradually work your way up to the big things. You’ll be surprised at how much you have accomplished at the end of the day.
Ah friends, life is certainly strange yes! And why do I say that? Because some days you need to tackle the big things first, the ones you fear or dread the most, else you’ll just keep on putting them off and they’ll never get done. At other times, like today, it’s the small stuff we need to do to motivate us into doing bigger ones.
And you know what? That ties in rather nicely to our Bit. But before we get to it, let’s set the scene with a couple of verses before it. ‘Who shall separate us from the LOVE of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that LOVED us.
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the LOVE of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ (Rom.8:35-39)
Oh my fellow believers in Jesus Christ, what a marvellous bit of scripture! Bruh Paul says that ABSOLUTELY NOTHING can separate us from the LOVE of God which is found in Christ Jesus. Glory Hallelujah! That is something to sing and shout and gloat about my people! For once we have become new creatures in Christ, NOTHING WHATSOEVER can break that bond; neither life, death, angels, nor the evil powers that be!
That should be very reassuring to all who come to Christ for rescue. Knowing that even though we may be considered simple sheep to be slaughtered, the unconditional and everlasting LOVE of God shall never depart from us and will comfort us through each and any situation, be it good or bad.
And the scholars offer this explanation. ‘8:38-39. We cannot be separated from God’s LOVE, because it is set forth in a person who is God Himself, Jesus Christ, our Saviour. God’s desire to redeem believers cannot be frustrated, because He is infinitely greater than any potential enemy. His plan will be realized because it is His purpose (cf. v.28).’
Yes my believing brethren, our God is the greatest power in the universe, because He created it and still controls it. Everything in it is subservient to Him. And His purpose for and towards us? Why, it’s something we all know, or should know.
The Good Book generously shares it with us, in the uplifting words of Bruh Paul. ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.’ (Rom.8:28)
And the scholars explain that verse thus: ‘8:28. To them that LOVE God is the human perspective. God is working all things together for good, but those who LOVE God are best able to appreciate that fact because they LOVE Him no matter what (cf. Job 13:15). To them who are the called is the divine perspective. Scripture often refers to believers as “the called” or “the elect.”
Yeh friends, only those who truly LOVE God can appreciate the fact that even during our worst trials and tribulations, He is in the background working it all out for our good eventually. And I’m going to spoon feed you here again (smile) because the scripture is so phenomenal and relevant to what we are talking about.
Listen to Job during his time of tribulation. ‘Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways (defend my ways) before him. He also shall be my salvation: for a hypocrite shall not come before him.’ (Job 13:15-16)
Now isn’t that the utmost in faith? It surely is! Job has suddenly lost everything, his family and his earthly possessions, through no fault of his own, or no evil deed, but yet still he carries the flaming torch of trust and faith in the God of his fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
Mama Mia! How many of us possess such great faith today eh my people? Certainly not enough, for as soon as the first lash hits, and no succour is forthcoming from God, many of us begin to complain, lose faith and backslide.
Hear the scholars on Job’s faithfulness. ’13:15. Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him expresses the unquenchable faith of one who lives by faith, not by sight. Even when it appears that God Himself has turned against Job, he will still trust in God.’
Ah mih people, there’s no more for me to say, except that we should sincerely ponder those scriptures that we’ve touched on today and try to see where they fit into our journey with Christ, and as always, turn to Jehovah God and ask for help in bettering ourselves faith wise. That’s the greatest wisdom available to mankind. Much LOVE!
…only when one truly walks by faith…and not by sight…can one truly appreciate the LOVE of God…found in Jesus Christ…
08 Oct 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a better tomorrow, a great King, a wasteland, an eye for an eye, Anselm, aspires to inspire, avenge not your selves, Bahamas, bitterness, blind, bow down, Caleb, Carolinas, come before His presence, come before his presence with thanksgiving, comeuppance, complicated life, complications, corruption, day of temptation, devastation, disobedience, earthquake, enter into my rest, err in their heart, fall into the ditch, giving thanks, go astray, Haiti, harden not your heart, hate, hate people, hurricane flora, Hurricane Matthew, I will repay, in the wilderness, Israelites, Joshua, kneel before the Lord, let us sing unto the Lord, let us worship, LOVE, LOVE people, magnanimous, magnificent, make a joyful noise, miracles of God, Moses, natural disasters, negative situations, our Maker, poverty, praise, psalms, ravages, rebellion, revenge, salvation, savage swath, shout joyfully, showers of blessings, sickness, sincere prayers, songs of praise, storm surges, take off the blinkers, testing, thanksgiving, the blind leading the blind, the Lord is a great God, the people of his pasture, the Promised Land, the provocation, the rock of our salvation, the sheep of his hand, the straight and narrow path, Tobago, trial, vengeance is mine, wisdom
Psalm 95:2. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise (shout joyfully) unto him with psalms (songs of praise).
Oh friends, it’s a wet and windy Thanksgiving Saturday morning in my neighbourhood. And we are thankful for those showers of blessings, but we also have to be concerned about the savage swath that Hurricane Matthew has cut across Haiti, the Bahamas and Florida, in the last few days.
And although it has been downgraded somewhat, it still has the ability to do severe damage to the Carolinas’ coast, through storm surges; raising the coastal water level so that it floods the land. Please, let’s offer up sincere prayers for all those unfortunate enough to be caught up in the devastation caused by Matthew.
And when I think about Haiti, my heart just breaks for those unfortunate people. Steups! Over the last few years they’ve been consistently battered by hurricane, earthquake, sickness, constant poverty and widespread corruption. They don’t seem to get a chance to recover from one devastation before another hits.
And yet, we up here complain about petty stuff, most of us not knowing the ravages that natural disasters can cause. I can tell you about it, because I saw the wind blow in 1963, when Hurricane flora blew down Tobago in a rather short time period.
The weather forecast people said the storm would hit somewhere around five in the evening. Hn! Believe me, by three o’clock sweet Tobago was a wasteland. It doesn’t take long, and you can’t believe the damage that the wind can do.
Anyway my people, let’s give plenty, plenty thanks for our blessed situations and pray sincerely for those not as fortunate. And since it’s Saturday, I’ll share a couple of this week’s quotes from our friend Anselm, who always aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow.
Here’s the first one: ‘An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.’
And is that ever so true my brethren. If we follow that foolish policy of revenge it will only make all of us blind. And then we’d be like Jesus says: ‘they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.’ (Matt.15:14)
I guess that’s why so many of us are in the ditch right now; there are too many blind people leading the blind. I think it’s time we take off the blinkers yes friends, so that we can see where we’re going, so that we can follow the straight and narrow path that leads to Jesus.
Furthermore, we should listen to Bruh Paul’s admonition to the church at Rome. ‘Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord.’ (Rom.12:19). That’s wisdom of everlasting proportions my brethren.
And that segues us very nicely into Anselm’s next quote. ‘I don’t have time to hate people who hate me, because I’m too busy LOVING people who LOVE me.’
Now if we’d all do that, what a wonderful world this would be! And friends, if it’s one thing I’m very thankful for is that I never had that urge for revenge or the ability to hate, like some of us do.
Of course I’ve disliked some people over the years, but never so strong as to call it hate. And though I’ve wished for some folks to get their comeuppance, I’ve never been led to have revenge at all costs. Those negative situations just lead to more bitterness and complications in an already bitter and complicated life.
Oh, enough of all that negative stuff yes, let’s get into some praise and thanksgiving, by declaring these great words of the psalmist from Psalm 95 – A psalm of praise to the great God.
Please declare with me: ‘O come let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise (shout joyfully) unto him with psalms (songs of praise).
For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand (possession) are the deep places of the earth: the strength (height) of the hills is his also. The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.
O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker. For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.
Today if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your heart, as in the provocation (rebellion), and as in the day of temptation (trial or testing) in the wilderness: when your fathers tempted (tried) me, proved me, and saw my work.
Forty years long was I grieved (disgusted) with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart (go astray), and they have not known my ways: Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.’ (Ps.95:1-11)
Oh friends, oh friends, please, on this thanksgiving Saturday morning, let’s not be like the foolish Israelites who saw the great miracles of God when he led them out of Egypt, yet hardened their hearts against Him, so that none of those who left Egypt, except Joshua and Caleb ever entered the Promised Land. Even the great man of God, Moses, only saw it from afar off because of his disobedience.
Instead, let’s be wise nuh, and worship and bow down and sing songs of joy and be thankful for all the blessings that we enjoy from our rock, our salvation, our magnificent and magnanimous God and Creator, today and every day. For that is indeed wisdom to the nth power! Much LOVE!
…I’m giving thanks for all I have…I’m giving thanks for everything…I’m giving thanks…I’m just giving thanks…giving thanks…for all I’ve got…giving thanks…
01 Oct 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a job, a sheep before her shearers, actions speak louder than words, afflicted, amenities, Anselm, as a lamb to the slaughter, aspires to inspire, benefits, blasphemous, blasphemy, chew, Christian faith, coming in the clouds, complacent, complain, contribute, despising the shame, destroy the temple, dumb, endured the cross, fall on deaf ears, false witnesses, fertile soil, followers of Jesus christ, food, giving thanks and praise, glorifies God, gospel truth, groan, healthy, help others, high priest, holy spirit, hypocrites, I am blessed, ignore your example, interrogation, Isaiah's prophecy, Jesus held his peace, Jesus Love Revolution, laughed to scorn, laughingstock, listen to your advice, mirror image, moan, Most High God Jehovah, necessities, on a silver platter, on the cross, opened not his mouth, oppressed, Pilate, pilgrimage, ponder, practice what we preach, problems, rejection, remained silent, resist the temptation, roof over our heads, silence is golden, sin, spoiled, stoic, take for granted, the Pharisees, the right hand of power, the Son of man
Isaiah 53:7. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought (was led) as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
‘Oh friends, I, I am blessed, Yes, I want to tell the world that I, I am blessed!’ Sing it with me: ‘Oh we. We are blessed! Let’s tell the world, that we, we are blessed!’
And that’s the gospel truth my brethren! For as children of the Most High God Jehovah, followers of Jesus Christ, and fertile soil in which the Holy Spirit dwells, then we must be blessed! Only thing is that a lot of the time, many of us don’t behave as though we are blessed. Instead, we moan and groan and complain about insignificant stuff.
And yuh know what friends, a lot of the things we consider problems, are things that most of the world would only be too glad to have, along with the many benefits that we take for granted.
We are just too spoiled and complacent, expecting everything to be handed to us on a silver platter. But that’s not real life friends, for in this world serious problems abound, many of which fortunately don’t touch or concern us.
Most of us have a job, a roof over our heads, food on table and we are reasonably healthy, and if not, we have the opportunity to go to a doctor. Meanwhile, billions of people around the world have none of those amenities, or rather necessities. But yet, we complain about petty stuff.
Anyway, it’s Saturday, so let’s check out a couple of quotes from our friend Anselm, who always aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And this week’s quotes are both short and to the point. The first says: ‘Don’t expect people to listen to your advice and ignore your example.’
And that’s one of the biggest problems in our Christian faith! We talk a good talk, but don’t walk the necessary walk. Consequently we acquire a reputation as hypocrites, like the Jewish leaders, the Pharisees of Jesus’ day.
Oh mih people, that hypocritical aspect of our earthly pilgrimage is hurting our cause so badly that Jesus’ church has now become something of a laughingstock among unbelievers. Sad but true. And it’s our own fault too.
My fellow believers, we badly need to clean up our act on that front, otherwise all our efforts to mobilize the heathen to join Jesus’ LOVE Revolution will fall on deaf ears, and we’ll be laughed to scorn.
Now is that the result we desire for Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross? NO WAY! So let’s get serious and start practicing what we preach nuh, if we truly want to represent Jesus in the best manner possible. Remember, actions work more forcibly on the mind than precepts, mere words.
And the second of Anselm’s quotes declares: ‘Instead of complaining–contribute.’ Now that’s what we were talking about earlier on. We are a society that complains way too much about petty stuff, when we should be contributing to the solutions of the numerous problems we have.
And yuh know mih people, complaining is a sin! Too much complaining doesn’t sit right with our heavenly Father. He wants us to be giving thanks and praise, regardless of our difficult situations.
Just look at Jesus, whom we are supposed to be the mirror image of. He had real serious problems down here on earth. But He never complained. The Good Book tells us in our Bit: ‘He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought (was led) as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.’
And in yesterday’s Bit, we saw where it said that Jesus ‘endured the cross, despising the shame….’ He certainly put up with a lot of affliction and rejection for our sakes without a whole lot of complaining. Now I know that we all can’t be as stoic and uncomplaining as Jesus, but we can surely do much better than we’re currently doing.
And when we have problems, the best way to resist the temptation to complain and carry on is to help others with their problems. It works wonders friends! It not only takes our minds off of our own troubles, but it also pleases and glorifies our heavenly Father!
Now here are a couple of situations where Isaiah’s prophecy about Jesus not speaking came to pass. First up is His interrogation before the high priest, where two false witnesses stated. ‘This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days. And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness (testify) against thee? But Jesus held his peace (remained silent). (Matt.26:61-63a)
However, shortly after, when the high priest said unto Jesus, ‘I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said (it is as you said): nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.’ (Matt. 26:63b-64)
Possibly Jesus should have kept quiet then too because that only caused the high priest to throw a tantrum, rent his clothes and declare that Jesus’ statement was blasphemous for which the council found Him guilty and began to abuse him, physically and emotionally. (Matt.26:65-68)
But I guess Jesus had to say something like that, otherwise they would not have had a case against Him, because it’s that charge of blasphemy for which they finally brought Him before the Roman authorities, seeking His death.
That brings us to the other time when Jesus remained silent. He was before Pilate the Roman governor. ‘And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness (testify) against thee? And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly.’ (Matt.27:12-14)
Oh friends, I know it’s difficult, but sometimes it’s best for us too to keep quiet when we are being wrongfully accused. It throws off our accusers, gives us time to think and also time for God to act on our behalf.
Well enough for us to chew on today. Please take your time, chew slowly, and ponder while you chew. (smile) Much LOVE!
…silence is usually golden in most situations…
24 Sep 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: acknowledge him, advice, Anselm, arthritis, aspires to inspire, be of good courage, better advice ever given, bless, Christians, cold weather, courage, delight thyself in the Lord, depart from evil, depend on, devotion, do good, energy, entourages, faithful, fall season, fear the Lord, fears, fellowship, follow Jesus, frustrations, give thanks, godless, gospel truth, hangers ons, health to thy body, hopes dreams, impatience, in all thy ways, in the limo, intimacy, intimacy with god, keep us safely, lead a horse to water, lean not, leeches, long johns, LOVE, macho image, marrow to thy bones, native instincts, negatives, northern climes, now for now, obedient to god, omni-present, omnipotent, omniscient, parasites, patience, pay a hefty price, peace, perseverance, potential, rely on, ride with you, sinful times, sucker, surapsses all understanding, take the bus, the desires of thine heart, time, to each his own, tried and failed, tropical climate, truer words were never spoken, trust, trust in the Lord, trustworthy, unto thine own understanding, wait on the Lord, with all thine heart, zero, zilch
Proverbs 3:5-6. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct (make smooth or straight) thy paths.
Well friends, it’s the first Saturday in the northern climes fall season. So what is it to you eh, you ask? Well if you’re living in a tropical climate, then it means zero, zilch (smile). But if your abode is in the north country, then you have to start taking out jackets, sweaters, long pants, and long johns for some, and put away the skimpy tops and shorts till next summer.
The thing that annoys me about autumn though is that sometimes the days look so bright and warm and sunny, and you go out dressed for such, but as soon as the sun begins to set, the cold weather creeps in, and you find yourself not suitably dressed for it. And yet, many of us still flaunt the macho image by being not properly dressed in those in-between times.
That’s why so many people get sick around this time. Anyway, to each his own, and as the man said, if you don’t pay me now, you’re going to pay me much more later on, when things like arthritis begin to take their toll. It’s just like Christians who don’t do what they are supposed to, and pay a hefty price later on. (smile)
Now since it’s Saturday, let’s turn to a couple of quotes from our friend Anselm, who always aspires to inspire us. And the first one is certainly good advice. ‘Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do.’
Yes friends, we should not dwell on the negatives in our lives, but we must learn from them and then move on to the bright future that lies ahead, gloriously waiting for us, as we follow Jesus.
And the second one is ever so true. ‘Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.’
Gospel truth mih people, and I can testify to that on a small level. But you’ll notice the numerous hangers’ ons, the large entourages that travel around with the reigning celebrities in good times. However, when the rough times come, a lot of it from spending lavishly on those same leeches and parasites, they simply disappear and look for another sucker.
And the best way to prevent such shenanigans is by paying heed to our Bit. ‘Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct (make smooth or straight) thy paths.’
Ah friends, truer words were never spoken, or better advice ever given!
Hear how the scholars explain it nuh. ‘3:5-6. Three commands are given: trust, meaning “rely on, depend on”; lean not, meaning do not depend on your own native instincts; and acknowledge him, meaning have fellowship and intimacy with God in all of life. The result of such devotion is that God will make the paths straight before you.’
It makes perfect sense my brethren! God is the omnipotent, omniscient, omni-present Creator of the universe and He controls every aspect of it, so He is obviously the best person to get into partnership and fellowship with, if we truly want to be successful.
Now one thing is for sure, He will not forsake you when times get rough and you have to ride the bus rather than preen in the limousine. He will be right there riding the bus beside you. That’s the kind of God we worship my people; faithful and trustworthy to the very end!
And listen to how Cousin Sol continues after our Bit. ‘Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel (body), and marrow (strength) to thy bones.’ (Prov.3:7-8)
More wonderful words of wisdom my fellow believers! Unfortunately though, we can give others the best advice possible, but it’s still their decision to act on it or not. As they say, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. The same goes for human beings, especially in these godless and ever so lustful and sinful times!
And then again, sometimes we try it, but don’t get the results we want, or they don’t come as quickly as we desire, so we lose faith. But if we pay serious attention to Bruh David’s words from Psalm 37 – The true state of the wicked – we’ll see that after he says: ‘Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed (feed on his faithfulness).’ He then specifies: ‘Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.’ (Ps.37:3-4)
Yuh see friends, we need to take pleasure in being obedient to God, before we can get the desires of our hearts. The Lord doesn’t just give out desires for no good reason; we first have to invest time, energy, trust and faithfulness in the relationship. Another thing we need is patience, here considered perseverance.
Bruh David ends Psalm 27 – The Lord is my light and my salvation thus: ‘Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.’ (Ps.27:14) Notice how he emphasizes waiting, both at the beginning and at the end of that wonderful encouraging and uplifting verse.
Ah friends, impatience is one of the serious mistakes we make as Christians. We want to apply the now for now system of the world, but that is not God’s way. He will give us all we desire, but in His own time and in His own way. And until we learn to wait patiently on Him, while keeping a good attitude and being obedient, we’ll never fully attain the great plans He has for our lives.
More on this tomorrow, the Lord willing. Till then, may He bless and keep us safely, and cause His wonderful countenance to shine upon us, and give us His peace which surpasses all understanding. That’s my prayer for us this day. Much LOVE!
…only as we obey…trust in…give thanks…delight in…and are faithful to Almighty God…will our lives be truly blessed…
17 Sep 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a bane to the poor, a boon to the rich, a determined commitment, a positive decision, accidentally eaten, advocate of the enemy, Anselm, aspires to inspire, by choice, can't pay rent, Christians, confrontations, dominion, eat too much, eating habits, evil yearnings, faithful followers of Jesus, follow Jesus Christ, fruitful, giant sponge, grace, guidance, heavenly blessings, Howard Zinn, instruments of unrighteousness, Jesus is ever-faithful, lead us astray, leave things to the market, listen closely, man's survival, mastery, material wants, mire of sin, moral life, obligation, our Lord and Saviour, pay serious attention, people go hungry, putting sin out of daily life, reign in your mortal body, resraints of the law, riddim of the falling rain, seek ye first the kingdom of heaven, sin, sinful desires, Spirit-led person, strength, the lust of the flesh, tug-of-war, two million people homeless, under grace, under the law, voluntary submission, walk a righteous path, walk in the footsteps of Jesus, walk in the Spirit, walk of faith, weigh too much, yield to God
Galatians 5:16. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
Oh friends, it’s so good to wake up to the sound, to the riddim of the falling rain, as I did earlier on this morning. But it’s all stopped now and the dry and thirsty ground has sucked it all up like a giant sponge. The cloudiness remains though, so hopefully we’ll get some more heavenly blessings later on, because we badly need them.
Rain has been in short supply in my area for the last little while. And though it’s nice to have bright sunshiny days, heavenly water is essential for man’s survival. So let’s pray we’ll get some more to keep everything moist and fruitful nuh.
And now as it’s Saturday, let’s check out a couple of quotes from our friend Anselm who always aspires to inspire us. This first one is humorous but nonetheless true. ‘For 24 years of my adult life, by choice I weighed well over 200 pounds. I say ‘by choice’ because I have never ‘accidentally’ eaten anything, so when I choose to eat too much, I have chosen to weigh too much.’
Yes friends, we can all attest to that! Our weight depends a lot on what we eat, and we don’t usually eat stuff by accident, but by choice. So what ever we weigh is a direct result of our eating habits, which means if we don’t like our weight, by choice, we’ve got to develop better eating habits. (smile)
And the next quote is one attributed to Howard Zinn (1922-2010), an American historian, author, playwright, social activist and a professor at Boston University. He’s probably best known for his authorship of the book ‘A People’s History of the United States’.
Anyway, Zinn reputedly made this comment. ‘Leave things to the market, and there are two million people homeless. Leave things to the market, and there are millions and millions of people who can’t pay their rent. Leave things to the market, and there are thirty-five million people who go hungry.’
And that’s no lie my people! The supposed market, when left uncontrolled is a boon to the rich, but a bane of great proportions to the ordinary man. It ruins the lives of so many, through no fault of their own, yet so many of us still foolishly believe in it and sadly trumpet its supposed benefits. They might look good on paper, but they certainly don’t work to the benefit of the majority of the population in actual practice.
But as Christians, as faithful believers in Jesus Christ, we don’t need to worry too much about the market and its workings, because our Lord and Saviour has promised that if we seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, all our material wants and needs will be met. (Matt.6:33) And He is ever faithful to keep ALL of His promises.
Then in our Bit, Bruh Paul tells us about the perfect way of walking in this life. ‘This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.’
Yes my brethren, when we walk in the Spirit, we don’t have to worry about what’s happening, because the Holy Spirit of God that indwells us, will never lead us astray! That’s indisputable, irrefutable truth! But remember though that we need to listen closely, pay serious attention to the Holy Spirit, if it is to work in and for us.
Now here is an interesting statement two verses down from our Bit. ‘But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.’ (Gal.5:18)
And the scholars have this interesting explanation. ‘5:18. Verse 17 may leave the impression of a believer being caught in a hopeless tug-of-war between the flesh and the Spirit. This is not the case. The Christian is led of (by) the Spirit, when yielding to Him, to turn away from the flesh’s evil yearnings, thus putting sin out of his daily life.
The verb “led” indicates voluntary submission; the believer decides by whom he will be led – either by his flesh or the Spirit. The Spirit-led person is not under the law. The Christian does not need the restraints of the law because his moral life is governed by the Spirit.’
But friends, that’s not always easy, because the flesh, our sinful desires, advocate of the enemy, is always trying to drag us back down into the mire of sin and evil. However, once we’ve decided to live by the Spirit – remember it is a positive decision we must make – our lives are not as torn apart as before because the Spirit enables us, give us the strength and guidance to walk a more righteous path.
And we’ll end with some encouraging and uplifting words from Bruh Paul to the Roman church, as he talks to them about freedom from sin’s power. ‘Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
Neither yield (present) ye your members as instruments (weapons) of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield (present) yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments (weapons) of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.’ (Rom.6:12-14)
Yes my people, it’s all grace; the grace of our wonderful and merciful God! Without His grace, we’d be long ago completely destroyed, without not even a remnant left. So be very thankful for His grace.
Now here are a couple of explanations from the scholars on those verses. ‘6:12. Let not (lit. “stop letting”). The believer is to stop letting sin have mastery over his life.’ ‘6:13. Neither yield ye (lit. “stop presenting”). In the day-to-day confrontations with sin, stop giving in. But yield (lit. “present yourselves”). Paul calls for a determined commitment.’
And friends, a determined commitment is exactly what is needed from us when and if we decide to follow Jesus Christ. Without that strong sense of committal our walk of faith will not be successful, for Jesus desires total involvement and obligation.
So let’s ponder all that we’ve said today, see where we are lacking, then sincerely ask the Lord to help us improve. He will NEVER deny such a request. Much LOVE!
…to walk in the Spirit…is to walk in the footsteps of Jesus…
10 Sep 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fleeting illusion, a laughing stock, ambassadors for Christ, Anselm, aspires to inspire, be not afraid, be string and of a good courage, Bob Marley, brilliant light of Jesus, Christian fashion, conspiracy, courage, courageous, declare the gospel, degrade, denied, dismayed, don't give up, enforced, equal rights, eternal life, fence sitting, fight the good fight of faith, for all to see, gospel truth, greetings, guaranteed, guidance, human-rights, hypocrites, ignorance prevails, indisputable truth, inherit, Jesus is alive and well, Joshua, justice, lasting peace, LOVE Revolution, make a difference, Moses, never attained, oppress, passion, passive, poverty, promises, pursued, race, rob, salutations, saving grace, serve christ, stand up, steadfast, strife, the Holy Spirit, the Lord thy God, to the very end, trials, tribulations, trying times, ungodly world, war, wish-washy, witness for Christ, world citizenship, zest
Joshua 1:6a. Be strong and of a good courage…
Greetings and salutations my fellow brethren in Christ! Welcome to what looks like a somewhat cloudy and hopefully rainy Saturday morning in my neck of the woods. And do we ever need some decent rainfall.
But the best part of the morning is knowing that regardless of what the weather is like, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is alive and well and that His brilliant light is shining in our hearts, minds, and souls for all to see.
And the most important part of that sentence is the last part, ‘for all to see.’ That’s because Christ is shining His light not only in, but also through us. The light is for us to share with the rest of the world who don’t know Him and cause them to come to Him for His saving grace, without which they can’t find eternal life.
And it’s especially in these difficult and trying times that the world needs believers to stand up and declare the gospel with great zest and passion, and live it in true Christian fashion.
We must not be seen as wishy-washy, fence sitting hypocrites, else that would just invalidate our witness for Christ and make His organization, His church, more of a laughing stock than it already is.
So friends, please, let’s promise ourselves this morning to be excellent ambassadors for Christ so that we can raise the level, the intensity of His LOVE Revolution, that’s the only hope for our misguided, evil and increasingly ungodly world.
Wow! Where did all of that come from eh? When I sat down just now to write, that was nowhere in my imagination, but as always, I asked for guidance, and I guess that’s where I was guided. Ah mih people, you never know with our great God nuh!
Now let’s check out a couple of quotes from our friend Anselm who always aspires to inspire us. And I like this first one: ‘Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.’
And isn’t that the gospel truth! For as Bruh Bob (Bob Marley) said in his song: ‘That until the basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all, without regard to race. That until that day, the dream of lasting peace, world citizen ship and the rule of international morality will remain but a fleeting illusion, to be pursued but never attained… and everywhere will be war…ah say war…’
Yes friends, until equal rights and justice play a much larger role in our society, we will ALWAYS be engulfed in strife. And the second quote from Anselm tells us that, ‘The strongest people are not always the people who win, but the people who don’t give up when they lose.’
That’s more indisputable truth my brethren! The strongest are the ones who fight the good fight of faith right down to the very end, despite all the trials and tribulations that come their way. And it all segues so smoothly into our Bit: ‘Be strong and of a good courage…’
Yeh mih people, that’s all we dealing with this morning; being strong and of a good courage… Why, you ask?
Because I believe now, more than ever, Christians need to stand up strong and steadfast and be courageous, stop being passive and allowing ourselves to be pushed around and aside by the evil world powers.
Right now we’re definitely not doing justice to the ultimate power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, that’s supposed to lead and guide us along the straight and narrow path destined for us by our Creator.
The anxious and fearful way in which so many of us behave, one would never believe that the Spirit of God resides within us. We have to stand up strong friends, much stronger than we’re currently doing.
Poor Joshua was bombarded with that direction, both by Moses and the Lord. Listen up: ‘And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the Lord hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it.’ (Deut.31:7)
The Good Book also tells us, per the Lord’s direction: ‘Moses therefore wrote this song the same day, and taught it the children of Israel. And he gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge, and said, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I sware unto them: and I will be with thee.’ (Deut.31:22-23)
And the Lord when He commissions Joshua as Israel’s leader, after the death of Moses, He reiterates in our Bit: ‘Be strong and of a good courage… Then in the next verse, He tells him once more; ‘Only be thou strong and very courageous…’ (Josh.1:7a)
And if that wasn’t enough, two verses later, the Lord reminds him. ‘Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest.’ (Josh.1:9)
And that same message also applies to each and every believer today! Yes my people, it is ever so important that we Christians stand up proud and strong in these trying times, because that’s the only way we’ll ever serve Christ properly, and make a sincere and substantial difference in our world, which we are called to do. Much LOVE!…
Christians ought to be the strongest and most courageous people on earth…because of the awesome and ever-faithful promises of Christ…and His Holy Spirit which dwells in them…
03 Sep 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a figment of our imagination, a good man, after one time is two, Anselm, at the mercy of, Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, children of God, Christians, common sense, consciences, cruel and unjust punishment, deceit, deceitful times, discretion, do good, do not repay, drunk or sober, Eastern Parkway, followers of Jesus, forgiveness, fraudulent, generous, gracious, Granny's wisdom, greedy, guide his affairs, hands slapped, he is kind to the unthanksful, indisputable truth, Jesus, labour day weekend, lend, lends, Love your enemies, merciful, mercy, mince words, mind yuh business, our duty, peace, perpetrate fraud, piddling things, prioritize our efforts, put it into action, reward, righteousness endures for ever, rocket science, show mercy, shows favour, sorry comment, strife, talk to your enemies, tattooed to your heart, the Big Apple, the children of the Highest, the evil, the righteous, the righteous show mercy and give, the wicked borrow, want to make peace, with the help of God, you reap what you sow, your reward shall be great
Psalm 37:21. The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again (does not repay): but the righteous showeth mercy and giveth.
Well friends and neighbours, it’s Saturday; Labour Day Saturday to boot! You know I didn’t even remember that this was the long, Labour Day weekend. That just goes to show how things and times have changed. As my Auntie Anne told me the other night when we were talking on the phone; ‘After one time is two yes nephew!’
And that’s ever so true. I never used to miss a Labour Day in the Big Apple. And my Auntie thought I was calling to say that I was coming down this weekend, because that’s how it would happen. I would say that I wasn’t coming, then last minute I’d call and say, I’m on my way. But unfortunately, that’s no longer in vogue. I can’t even handle the walking in Toronto’s Caribana street parade, much less that on the Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn.
And besides, the parades and them not as good as they were; the mas and the music are of inferior quality compared to earlier times. That brings to mind my last Labour Day in New York, I believe it was in 2007. My Auntie Anne and I had to park miles from the parade because there were no parking spots to be had close by, and then walk to the Parkway. Hn!
The walk there in the afternoon hot sun was bad enough, but walking back later in the evening after the parade ended…Steups! That was murder; cruel and unusual punishment! (smile) Anyway, with the help of the Good Lord we made it back in one piece, but certainly aching in the joints and body.
However, before I forget, let me dispense Granny’s wisdom, for it’s on occasions such as this, that it’s ultra-important. ‘Sonny Boy, a beg yuh please…when yuh go out there… drunk or sober…please mind yuh business, because is times like these, when the devil is most likely to pounce unsuspecting…!’ Oh my people, this Labour Day weekend, as you celebrate, please don’t leave home without that critical piece of advice tattooed to your heart, mind and soul!
And now, since it seems to have become a Saturday routine, let’s check out a couple of quotes from our friend Anselm, who always aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. The first quote says: ‘If you want to make peace, you don’t talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies.’
Now that’s not rocket science, but strictly common sense, for you and your friends should always be at peace. Unfortunately though in today’s strife –filled world, not too many enemies are seriously and sincerely talking to each other, consequently peace is mostly a figment of our imagination.
And the second quote from Anselm tells us that: ‘Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.’ That’s also not rocket science but simply common sense. In this crazy and busy world of ours, where so many things call for our attention, we must prioritize our efforts and plans on those things which are more important to the successful running of our lives.
However, too many of us tend to get tied up in the small, unimportant things and thus make our lives harder than necessary. Time is of the essence my brethren, so we need to use it wisely, don’t waste it by getting too involved in the piddling things of life. (smile)
That brings us to our Bit, some interesting words of Bruh David from Psalm 37 – The true state of the wicked. ‘The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again (does not repay): but the righteous showeth mercy and giveth.’
And isn’t that indisputable truth my brethren? Of course it is! And it’s indeed a sad and sorry comment on the state of our society, especially in these fraudulent, greedy and deceitful times, when consciences seem to have disappeared, where honour and truthful dealings have apparently been turfed out, and we lie and deceive with impunity.
White collar crime has certainly been on the rise in the last decade or so and seems to be getting worse with each passing day. And the sad part is that many of the people who have been defrauded by the wicked, don’t ever see a penny of their money again and are basically left to suffer while the defrauder merely has his hands slapped. But that’s our modern-day society for you!
Meanwhile the righteous, of which there are never enough, are the ones who show mercy and give to those in need. And so it should be friends, if we’re to be true followers of Jesus. Christians ought to be amongst the most merciful and generous, although I’m not so sure that we are, for we perpetrate a lot of fraud and deceit on one another too.
But nonetheless, let’s check out a few scriptures that encourage us to be merciful and generous. From Psalm 112 – Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord – come these two beautiful verses. ‘A good man showeth favour (is gracious), and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion… He (a good man) hath dispersed (distributed abroad), he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn (strength) shall be exalted with honour.’ (Ps.112:5, 9)
Yes my people, that’s how a true believer in Christ ought to behave. But how many of us really behave that way eh? I’d venture to say, certainly not enough, otherwise the hunger, poverty, sickness, and other negative things that are currently engulfing our world would not be half as bad.
Now let’s end with some words from Jesus Himself. ‘But LOVE ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again (in return); and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.’ (Luke 6:35-36)
Aye friends, Jesus didn’t mince any words there, He spelled it out as simply and straightforwardly as possible. Now it’s our duty to go out and put all that He said there into action, if we want to be true children of God. Much LOVE!
…he who wants mercy and forgiveness…must also mete out mercy and forgiveness…for what you sow…is what you will reap…
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Today’s Scrip-Bit 3 September 2016 Psalm 37:21.
03 Sep 2016 Leave a comment
by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a figment of our imagination, a good man, after one time is two, Anselm, at the mercy of, Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, children of God, Christians, common sense, consciences, cruel and unjust punishment, deceit, deceitful times, discretion, do good, do not repay, drunk or sober, Eastern Parkway, followers of Jesus, forgiveness, fraudulent, generous, gracious, Granny's wisdom, greedy, guide his affairs, hands slapped, he is kind to the unthanksful, indisputable truth, Jesus, labour day weekend, lend, lends, Love your enemies, merciful, mercy, mince words, mind yuh business, our duty, peace, perpetrate fraud, piddling things, prioritize our efforts, put it into action, reward, righteousness endures for ever, rocket science, show mercy, shows favour, sorry comment, strife, talk to your enemies, tattooed to your heart, the Big Apple, the children of the Highest, the evil, the righteous, the righteous show mercy and give, the wicked borrow, want to make peace, with the help of God, you reap what you sow, your reward shall be great
Psalm 37:21. The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again (does not repay): but the righteous showeth mercy and giveth.
Well friends and neighbours, it’s Saturday; Labour Day Saturday to boot! You know I didn’t even remember that this was the long, Labour Day weekend. That just goes to show how things and times have changed. As my Auntie Anne told me the other night when we were talking on the phone; ‘After one time is two yes nephew!’
And that’s ever so true. I never used to miss a Labour Day in the Big Apple. And my Auntie thought I was calling to say that I was coming down this weekend, because that’s how it would happen. I would say that I wasn’t coming, then last minute I’d call and say, I’m on my way. But unfortunately, that’s no longer in vogue. I can’t even handle the walking in Toronto’s Caribana street parade, much less that on the Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn.
And besides, the parades and them not as good as they were; the mas and the music are of inferior quality compared to earlier times. That brings to mind my last Labour Day in New York, I believe it was in 2007. My Auntie Anne and I had to park miles from the parade because there were no parking spots to be had close by, and then walk to the Parkway. Hn!
The walk there in the afternoon hot sun was bad enough, but walking back later in the evening after the parade ended…Steups! That was murder; cruel and unusual punishment! (smile) Anyway, with the help of the Good Lord we made it back in one piece, but certainly aching in the joints and body.
However, before I forget, let me dispense Granny’s wisdom, for it’s on occasions such as this, that it’s ultra-important. ‘Sonny Boy, a beg yuh please…when yuh go out there… drunk or sober…please mind yuh business, because is times like these, when the devil is most likely to pounce unsuspecting…!’ Oh my people, this Labour Day weekend, as you celebrate, please don’t leave home without that critical piece of advice tattooed to your heart, mind and soul!
And now, since it seems to have become a Saturday routine, let’s check out a couple of quotes from our friend Anselm, who always aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. The first quote says: ‘If you want to make peace, you don’t talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies.’
Now that’s not rocket science, but strictly common sense, for you and your friends should always be at peace. Unfortunately though in today’s strife –filled world, not too many enemies are seriously and sincerely talking to each other, consequently peace is mostly a figment of our imagination.
And the second quote from Anselm tells us that: ‘Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.’ That’s also not rocket science but simply common sense. In this crazy and busy world of ours, where so many things call for our attention, we must prioritize our efforts and plans on those things which are more important to the successful running of our lives.
However, too many of us tend to get tied up in the small, unimportant things and thus make our lives harder than necessary. Time is of the essence my brethren, so we need to use it wisely, don’t waste it by getting too involved in the piddling things of life. (smile)
That brings us to our Bit, some interesting words of Bruh David from Psalm 37 – The true state of the wicked. ‘The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again (does not repay): but the righteous showeth mercy and giveth.’
And isn’t that indisputable truth my brethren? Of course it is! And it’s indeed a sad and sorry comment on the state of our society, especially in these fraudulent, greedy and deceitful times, when consciences seem to have disappeared, where honour and truthful dealings have apparently been turfed out, and we lie and deceive with impunity.
White collar crime has certainly been on the rise in the last decade or so and seems to be getting worse with each passing day. And the sad part is that many of the people who have been defrauded by the wicked, don’t ever see a penny of their money again and are basically left to suffer while the defrauder merely has his hands slapped. But that’s our modern-day society for you!
Meanwhile the righteous, of which there are never enough, are the ones who show mercy and give to those in need. And so it should be friends, if we’re to be true followers of Jesus. Christians ought to be amongst the most merciful and generous, although I’m not so sure that we are, for we perpetrate a lot of fraud and deceit on one another too.
But nonetheless, let’s check out a few scriptures that encourage us to be merciful and generous. From Psalm 112 – Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord – come these two beautiful verses. ‘A good man showeth favour (is gracious), and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion… He (a good man) hath dispersed (distributed abroad), he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn (strength) shall be exalted with honour.’ (Ps.112:5, 9)
Yes my people, that’s how a true believer in Christ ought to behave. But how many of us really behave that way eh? I’d venture to say, certainly not enough, otherwise the hunger, poverty, sickness, and other negative things that are currently engulfing our world would not be half as bad.
Now let’s end with some words from Jesus Himself. ‘But LOVE ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again (in return); and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.’ (Luke 6:35-36)
Aye friends, Jesus didn’t mince any words there, He spelled it out as simply and straightforwardly as possible. Now it’s our duty to go out and put all that He said there into action, if we want to be true children of God. Much LOVE!
…he who wants mercy and forgiveness…must also mete out mercy and forgiveness…for what you sow…is what you will reap…