10 Aug 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a man's life, a patriot, Adam and Eve, against greed, against his government, an abundance of possessions, Anselm, aspires to inspire, be merry, be on guard, beware of covetousness, ceded power to Satan, citizens have forfeited ownership, complacent, consiteth not, corruption, drin, earthly things are temporary, eat, endanger the morals, fight back, fight tooth and nail, for a better tomorrow, free for all fight, get fighting mad, godly, greedy lawyers, heavenly things are forever, in the abundance of things, lay not up for yourselves, lay up treasures in heaven, LOVE, moth and rust doth corrupt, of an individual, politicians are our employees, prostitution, rampant, ready to defend his country, rest on his laurels, righteous citizens, selfish interests, steal, take heed, the entire country, the good life, the parable of the rich fool, there will your heart be also, thieves break through, to politicians, treasures on earth, we own this country, where your treasure is
Luke 12:15. Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of things which he possesseth.
Welcome to another sunny summer’s day friends! Yes, I know it’s been going on for a little while now, but if a body can’t sleep in some on the last day of the week, what’s the purpose of being alive eh? (smile)
But nonetheless, let’s give our wonderful God much thanks and praise for allowing, for enabling us to see it nuh! Because it’s only because His breath of life is still flowing through our bodies that we can see and enjoy it. He hasn’t pulled the plug on us, at least not yet, and for that we need to be eternally grateful!
Anyway, it’s Saturday, so let’s see what words of wisdom our friend Anselm imparted to us this past week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And our friend waxed somewhat political and patriotic this week. Listen up to this first one: ‘I would just like to say something, ladies and gentlemen. Something that I think is very important. It is that, you, we – we own this country. We – we own it. It is not you owning it, and not politicians owning it. Politicians are employees of ours.’
Mama Yo! And he’s perfectly right. The citizens of a country own it. However, just like Adam and Eve ceded power to the devil when they listened to his deceitful words and ate of the forbidden fruit, likewise we citizens have forfeited ownership of our countries by allowing the politicians to bamboozle us with their sweet talk that’s only full of lies and deceit. We’ve allowed the crazy inmates to take over the madhouse. And once you’ve ceded power, it’s awfully hard to get it back.
But here’s how it can be won back: ‘A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government.’ Yes friends, once the inmates are in control of the institution, the only way to dislodge them is to fight, fight tooth and nail against them, because they will not give up their power voluntarily.
The unfortunate problem nowadays though is that not too many of us are not willing to fight tooth and nail to recover anything, much less the running of our countries. We’ve become so enthralled and complacent by the good life we’re living, that we just can’t bear to give it up, and fighting for anything has the distinct possibility of losing stuff that we cherish. The whole point here is what do we cherish most, and what are willing to fight for?
And this next quote continues the political discourse: ‘ Corruption is worse than prostitution. The latter might endanger the morals of an individual, the former invariably endangers the morals of the entire country.’ So true my people! But again, unfortunately, that’s the vibe that’s running the world now. Corruption is so rampant and deep in so many countries of the world that it’s easier to list which ones aren’t corrupt, if any, than to list those that are corrupt.
And there too, corruption will only cease when the godly, righteous and decent citizens of a country get fighting mad and decide to actually fight back against it, remove the numerous corrupt people in power and replace them with godly, righteous and trustworthy ones.
But sadly we will need to replace almost all the people in power to do that, because corruption has become another name for politician, and most of our citizens don’t want to disturb their lives, especially when many of them are also recipients of corrupt favours and money. And that’s the end of the political quotes! (smile)
But this one is just as important: ‘What can’t you live without? Why? Is it something that lasts forever, or just for a moment?’ Good question that my people! Remember Jesus’ advice: ‘Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt (ruin, destroy), and where thieves break through and steal:
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.’ (Matt.6:19-21) That advice goes for anything we want or hunger for friends! Technically our wants should have a godly basis, but that’s not very easy to accomplish in this world full of ungodly distractions.
That brings us to the last quote: ‘Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.’ And Jesus spelled that out in spades in the parable of the rich fool. When a man in a crowd said to Jesus, ‘Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me.’ Jesus replied: ‘Man, who made me a judge or a divider (an arbitrator) over you?’ (Luke 12:13-14)
And the scholars declare: ‘12:14. Jesus will not be a part of furthering someone’s selfish interests. He calls for people to serve the Lord and others, not themselves.’ So true! Then Jesus spoke these immortal words of wisdom: ‘Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of things which he possesseth.’
Oh friends, there again, our world today, under the evil, ungodly and corrupt rule of Satan and his demonic followers, is so filled with greed and covetousness that it’s truly difficult not to get caught up in the foolishness. But Jesus warned us about the man who had so much that he had nowhere to store it, and foolishly decided to tear down everything and build bigger and better and then rest on his laurels thereafter.
‘And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.’ (Luke 12:19-21)
And we see that happening a lot in our current world, where people who were seeking the earth’s riches suddenly die and there estates become a free-for –all fight between their descendants, with the greedy lawyers oftimes getting the most substantial portion for their efforts to divide it.
Please, I implore us not to seek the world’s wealth above the work we need to do for God, because that’s just a fool’s wisdom. And the Lord has promised to provide all we need when we put His kingdom first. (Matt.6:33) So let’s take Him up on that nuh, since He never breaks His promises! Much LOVE!
…earthly things are only temporary…but the things of heaven…of God…are forever…
04 May 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: accept yourself, anointed us, Anselm, aspires to inspire, be grateful for what you have, be the reason someone smiles, believes in goodness of people, bounden duty, complicate our lives, debt, disappointment, face the rigours of the day, friend, fulfilling our destiny, Gentiles, God anointed, God is LOVE, God was with him, goes against the grain, greater is he that's in you, healing, in god's eyes, Jesus Christ, jesus of nazareth, keep moving forward, Lord and Saviour, Love thy neighbour as thyself, love yourself, no better example, oppressed of the devil, Peter, raison d'etre, sleeping in, soaring, someone feels loved, stress, than he that's in the world, the Holy Ghost, the wild blue yonder, this society, unnecessary baggage, went about doing good, with power
Acts 10:38. How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.
Aye mih people, the ole fella took the liberty of sleeping in some this morning. Oh, we were actually up earlier on, but then we, my triune self and I; soul, body and spirit, decided that we were not well rested enough to face the rigours of the day, so we voted unanimously to go back to bed! (smile) I’m sure many of you know how that is.
But an hour and a half later, I’m still not sure that we’re properly rested. However, being the good souls that we are, we’re up and about the Lord’s business. So the Bit will be late, later than it ought to be, because even then I took some time to catch up on some of the trending news on the computer. But so what? It’s Saturday, the day to unwind and relax! (smile)
And just in case any of you are interested, it is wet and gloomy in my area. But that seems to have become the norm these days, so not to worry, because as true believers in Jesus Christ, we still have the greatest power in the universe dwelling in our hearts, souls bodies and minds! We talking about the Holy Spirit of Christ; that amazing and oh so powerful Being that dwells within us and leads and guides us on the pathways to righteousness!
Glory be my precious people! And it’s so wonderful and reassuring to know, as the Good Book says, that ‘Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.’ (1 John 4:4) And that’s gospel truth friends! The Holy Spirit is indeed greater than the evil one who rules this evil and ungodly world, so please don’t forget it, and even more importantly, please act like it!
And since it’s Saturday, let’s see what quotes our friend Anselm sent us this week, as he sincerely aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. Hear this first one: ‘People tend to complicate their own lives, as if living weren’t already complicated enough.’ And that’s ever so true friends! In these modern times with so much stuff available to us, we tend to complicate our lives so much more than we ought to. Life was ever so simple in our parent’s generation when they didn’t have so much to complicate it.
And this next quote is also filled with truth: ‘Live the Life of Your Dreams: Be brave enough to live the life of your dreams according to your vision and purpose instead of the expectations and opinions of others.’ Oh we do have to take the expectations of some people near and dear to us into consideration, but in general, we should be living our dreams, our lives, not those of others.
The Lord has a plan for each and every life He creates, (Jer.29:11) so it’s our duty to seek out that plan, and then live it to the best of our ability, with His awesome help of course! Too often we allow others to interfere with our lives and dreams, and then we end up not fulfilling our destiny. And that is always a mighty disappointment, both in God’s eyes, and our own!
And this next one is also excellent advice: ‘Accept yourself, LOVE yourself, and keep moving forward. If you want to fly, you have to give up what weighs you down.’ The first part is biblical. John says: ‘He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God is LOVE!’ (1 John 4:8)
And the Lord instructed Moses to tell the people of Israel: ‘thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.’ (Lev.19:18b). So accepting and LOVING yourself should be the norm, and if you want to fly, then logically, you need to dispose of any unnecessary baggage, because too much weight stops one from soaring into the wild, blue yonder.
Then there is this: ‘Be grateful for what you already have while you pursue your goals. If you aren’t grateful for what you already have, what makes you think you would be happy with more.’ Now that goes against the very grain of this society, where wanting more is a way of life. Appreciation of the stuff, or being grateful for it is not important, just having more stuff seems to be the reason for living for too many of us.
Our society has become too greedy and unappreciative. And the sad part is that most of the stuff we accumulate just sits around gathering dust, because like children who get fed up playing with the same toy, we always want something new, preferably the latest and the greatest, which just leads us into more debt and eventually more stress, when we can’t pay the debt.
All of us have plenty stuff that we thought we needed, but now just sits collecting dust and deteriorating in some unknown part of our homes. Yes friends, more stuff doesn’t really satisfy the soul, it just leads it further astray. It’s oftimes better to be satisfied with a little, or whatever you have, and work diligently towards what you really want, not what you think you want.
And the last quote tells us: ‘Be the reason someone smiles. Be the reason someone feels LOVED and believes in the goodness in people!’ Oh isn’t that beautiful friends! It surely is, because it’s our raison d’etre; yes my fellow believers, that’s our very reason for being! That’s what we were born to do! It’s a part of God’s plan for every human body He creates; doing good, putting a smile on people’s faces, letting them know that they are LOVED both by God and their fellow man!
Mama Mia! When we do that, we’re following the greatest example ever, that of Jesus Christ. For as Peter said when he preached to the Gentiles: ‘How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.’
Oh my people, the same thing goes for us: the Lord has also anointed us as His special children and placed the Holy Ghost in us, so that we too can go out and help others, do good to all and sundry! That’s our bounden duty! So please let’s get with it nuh, let’s do what is expected of us by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Much LOVE!
…as true believers…we can follow no better example…than that of our Leader…Jesus Christ…
13 Apr 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a boomerang, a modicum of circumspection, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from heat, a sound mind, a spirit of fear, a storm against the wall, accountable, always scared, Anselm, aspires to inspire, big lesson in life, bulldozing through life, came to visit, clear your path, disrupt your life, enjoy life to the fullest, expanse of sea, faithfulness, family members, fear thee, figurative storms, find sunshine, for a better tomorrow, for a reason, for a season, friends leave, glorify thee, God closes a door, God created the universe, he commandeth, Jesus Christ, lifteth up the waves, literal storms, Lord God of hosts, LOVE, maketh the storm a calm, never be scared, O ye of little faith, picturesque scene, power, power in our words, quotes, Radisson Hotel, raiseth the stormy wind, reach your goals, rebuked the winds, responsibility, rise above the storm, roti, rulest the raging sea, storms, strength to the poor, strong Lord like thee, strong people, taking the next step, the blast of the terrible ones, the city of the ruthless, the needy in distress, the storm calmer, the storm Maker, the waves are still, things change, thou stillest them, understanding, waves arise, why are ye fearful, wisdom
Psalm 107:25,29. For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof…He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
And it’s another Saturday in T&T! Glory be! And under a slight cloud cover, which hopefully will soon be dissipated by the bright, rising sun, the wonderful blue-green expanse of sea still lies before me, dotted with nondescript vessels in the foreground, but in the background, in its vastness, seemingly stretching out to forever over the horizon! Wow! What a mouthful! But I like it, and I do hope it conveys the beauty of the picturesque scene in front of me. (smile)
Well we didn’t do anything of note yesterday, just hung around the hotel and rested, until in the late afternoon a couple of family members came to visit. They ended up taking us down to Petite Valley to get some roti. But imagine that nuh, nowadays yuh have to drive all the way to Petite Valley to get a decent roti. In my time, you could get a good roti on almost every street corner. But as they say times change and so do ways and people and situations. And for the record, the roti was good! (smile)
But as we usually do on a Saturday, let’s take a gander at some of the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. Listen to this first one: ‘If you spend your life working, sleeping and doing the basics… Congrats! You’ve just wasted your precious life!’
Well…that’s somewhat of a toss-up. You need to do the basics of life, including working and sleeping, but just doing barely enough to get by, deprives you of some of the most enjoyable aspects that life can provide. So it’s always necessary to go the extra mile, take a risk, if you truly want to enjoy your life to the fullest.
And the next quote advises: ‘The big lesson in life is never be scared of anyone or anything. Say what you want to say and do what you always wanted to do. You will never reach your goals if you are always scared of taking the next step.’ There is a fair amount of truth in that statement, and yes we shouldn’t be scared of anything or anyone in this life, because our great and wonderful God has not given us ‘a spirit of fear, but of power, of LOVE, and of a sound mind.’ (2 Tim.1:7)
However, we can’t just go bulldozing through life to get our way. We need to be careful what we say and to whom, for our words will eventually come back to haunt us, like a boomerang comes back to the thrower. Remember, that there is much power in our words, and as true believers in Christ we have the responsibility to be accountable for our words. So don’t be scared to push ahead, but do have a modicum of circumspection! (smile)
But we got to take a break go for brekkies now. The duchess is ready. Soon come!
Back some three hours later after a filling breakfast over the road at the Radisson Hotel and a short nap. Must have that nap! (smile) And talking about quotes. Let’s not forget this one: ‘Things change. And friends leave. Life doesn’t stop for anybody. If you hang on to things for too long, you will end up hurting yourself.’
Gospel truth that friends! People and things come and go in our lives for a reason or a season, but when their time is up, please don’t try to hold on to them because you will miss the next good thing that God has earmarked for you. And I’ve had to learn that from hard experience. Yeh mih breddren, when God closes a door, don’t try to push it back open, because He won’t open the new one unless you allow the last one to close.
And the last quote says: ‘Rise above the storm, and you will find the sunshine. Not all storms come to disrupt your life. Some come to clear your path.’ That’s for certain sure friends. Above the storm clouds there is sunshine, and not all storms come to make our lives miserable and difficult, but some do come to clear the way. Remember the saying, there’s always a calm after a storm, and that’s gospel truth, as you would see if you look back at the storms you’ve had in your life.
But friends, the only way to continually rise above the numerous storms that come against us, sometimes out of the clear blue sky, is by hooking your cart to the storm Maker and storm Calmer, Jesus Christ! No doubt about that people! Listen to what the psalmist says: ‘For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof…’ And when we cry out to Him for succour: ‘He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.’ (Ps.107:25, 29).
If you believe that God created the universe and all therein and is still in control of it, then you should have no problem in believing His awesome power to create and calm storms, both literally and figuratively! Isaiah puts it thus in his song of praise by the redeemed. ‘Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee, the city of the terrible (ruthless) nations shall fear thee. For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.’ (Is.25:3-4)
That’s how our awesome God deals with the figurative storms in our lives. And per the literal storms, hear Bruh David: ‘O Lord God of hosts, who is a strong Lord like unto thee? or to thy faithfulness round about thee? Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them.’ (Ps.89:8-9)
And if you want to see that in literal action, check out Matt.8:23-27 where Jesus was crossing the sea in a ship with the disciples and a raging storm arose, so much so that they began to take in water and the men were terribly afraid, but Jesus meanwhile was fast asleep in the back of the boat. When they woke Him up and made such a fuss, He berated them:
‘Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea: and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!’ (Matt.8:26-27) And so they should, because He created them and controls them!
Ah friends, unfortunately storms are an essential part of life, and the ONLY way to handle them with suitable aplomb and patience is by having the Lord Jesus Christ as your guide and pilot in this life and the one to come. That’s wisdom and understanding of the most awesome kind! Much LOVE!
…when Christ is our pilot…storms don’t scare us…
30 Mar 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Anselm, aspires to inspire, blessings, comes into the world, courage to continue, failure, failure is not fatal, fools, friend, giving up, God is light, God's attribute, gospel truth, growing in Christ, in him is no darkness, Jesus saved us, keep on learning, lights every man, looking for love, LOVE, pick sense from nonsense, rest on the plateau, say something, settling down, shut up, social media, something that finds you, something to say, something you find, success is not final, sweet Tobago, thanks and praise, the duchess worried, the Holy Spirit, the true light, walk in darkness, walk in light, wisdom, wise men speak
John 1:9. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
And then it was Saturday, a day of rest. All the confusion of getting from there to here and settling down in Sweet Tobago has finally gotten to me. (smile) Would you believe I was up around 7, had coffee on the porch, gave some thanks and praise for all my many blessings, then went back to bed? That had the duchess worried about me because that’s not my style.
And would you believe that I got up again around 9, had coffee again, and I can go back to bed again? But no! I am going to stand up strong and write the Bit before going back to bed, it is already late, can’t allow it to be much later. And with all that jawing, (smile) since it’s Saturday, let’s turn to the quotes we received from our friend Anselm this week, as he sincerely aspires us for a better tomorrow.
And this first one is very interesting and applicable to our lives as true believers in Jesus Christ: ‘Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.’ Yeh friends, when we achieve success in whatever walk of life, that is not our final pinnacle, we don’t just stop there and rest on that plateau, but we keep on learning and attempt to have more success, for resting on our laurels just gives the enemy a brighter spot in our lives.
As true believers, we need to keep growing in Christ until the day He takes us home. And we all know that what we term failure is not the end, but just the beginning of getting up and starting again. Remember there are no words in Jesus’ vocabulary like ‘failure’ and ‘giving up!’ And He imbues us, through His Holy Spirit with the courage to carry on. So we are not lacking in any way!
Then there’s this: ‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.’ And that’s the living truth my people! When we as good and righteous men do nothing to rectify a wrong situation, then the evil people win! Oh, we often say that it’s not our business and we’re not going to get involved, but what yuh think happens when we don’t eh? The bad guys win! No decision is a decision!
That brings us to this interesting quote: ‘Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something.’ And isn’t that the awesome truth! Just look at the amount of nonsense that fools are talking over social media nowadays eh! It’s appalling, like we have no life unless we’re totally involved in it. But all power be to them yes, I beg to refrain from it! I talk enough foolishness without spreading it on all the forms of social media that we have nowadays. (smile) Oh, how our society would be greatly improved if some of us would just shut up!
And the next quote says: ‘LOVE isn’t something you find. LOVE is something that finds you.’ And I guess there’s some truth to that, because ofttimes when we go searching for LOVE we don’t find it, but it’s at the most unexpected and unsuspecting times that LOVE falls right in out laps! I’m sure many of us have fallen in LOVE when we least expected it, with people we’ve least expected to fall in LOVE with! (smile) But that’s the nature of LOVE; God’s greatest attribute! It can hit you at any time, in any place, with anyone! Glory to God!
And the last quote says: ‘It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.’ And that my friends is the God-awesome truth! When our world and circumstances are the darkest, that’s when we have to focus most intently and intensely on the light that’s there in our souls, but hidden from us just then. The name of that light that’s always there is Jesus! Yes friends, as John says: ‘That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.’
Yes my brethren, even if you profess not to believe in Jesus, His light has been branded, burnished into your soul on the day you came to be. There’s a li’l pocket in each of us which can only be filled by God, and in there is that true light that shines at the end of the tunnel, we just have to seek it with all our hearts, souls, bodies and minds, it doesn’t just show up, and even if it should, we still have to receive it and accept it, that’s a condition of having the light shine in our lives.
And now listen to these fateful words of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ on the subject of the Light. ‘Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light…’ (John 12:35-36)
There you have it friends, Jesus declaring that He was the Light of the world! And we all know that Jesus does not, cannot lie, so that must be gospel truth! And His wise advice to the people of His time, to walk in the light, has also been given to us in these turbulent and very strife filled times. However, just like the people of Jesus’ day refused to accept His advice, in like manner, a whole lot of us nowadays are also refusing to accept that heavenly wisdom.
Chuh! How foolish that is my people, because Jesus is the ONLY ONE who can shine true light on our dark times. But I guess until we really reach the end of our rope, we don’t consider it important to turn to Jesus for help. But that’s so unwise my brethren, because the Father made us, Jesus saved us, and the Holy Spirit dwells in us to show us the way to the true Light. You can’t get away from those facts my brethren, so please let’s make up our minds to seek the true light which will brighten our world for ever and ever nuh! That’s wisdom at its brightest! Much LOVE!
…God is light…in him is no darkness at all… (1 John 1:5)
P.S. Yes, it is late and long, and probably a tad ditzy too, (smile) but I know that with the wisdom of Jesus indwelling you, you can pick sense from nonsense! (smile) Much LOVE!
16 Mar 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a better tomorrow, a crown of righteousness, a year from now, all them, Anselm, aspires to inspire, at that day, begins with the first step, bricks, Chinese Proverb, come back to haunt you, criticism, critics, cross at Calvary, dilemma, don't give up, don't stop trying, ever present partner, failure, faith, finished my course, for all eternity, forever and ever, fought a good fight, frailties, friend, gems of wisdom, henceforth, holy spirit, human, if you don't have a ticket, is at hand, Jesus, keep on keeping on, kept the faith, laid up for me, last testament, lay a firm foundation, light at the end of the tunnel, light of heaven, LOVE, most important race, naysayers, no giving up, putting off, race, ready to be offered, righteousness, save our sinful souls, shall give me, strong building blocks, success, that love his appearing, the bright light of Jesus, the longest journey, the Lord, the race of life, the righteous judge, the souls of believers, the time of my departure, Timothy, trust, unforeseen mishaps, weaknesses, wise person, words of wisdom, you don't have a chance
2 Timothy 4:8. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that LOVE his appearing.
And then it was Saturday, and the sun seems to be fighting a losing battle against the dark clouds in my neighbourhood. But thankfully, the souls of believers in Jesus Christ never have to go through that dilemma because the bright light of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is ALWAYS shining brightly in our souls!
And all God’s children gave a loud and grateful shout of: ‘Praise the Lord! Bless His Holy Name! Give Him unending thanks for sending Jesus to save and rescue us!’
Yeh friends, what a blessed day that was when Jesus came to earth to save the lost and free those caught up in the bondage of sin! That’s why I can’t understand why so many of us still reject Him. But to each his own, we’ll have to bear the consequences of whatever decision we make, whether it’s the wise one to accept Jesus, or the foolish one to reject Him!
But since it’s Saturday and we have several quotes from our friend Anselm, who sincerely aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow, let’s check them out nuh. And the first one says: ‘A year from now you will wish you had started today.’ And that’s certainly true!
Any project you keep putting off, will come back to haunt you. You’ll find that time has gotten away from you and nothing’s been done on the project. It’s like the Chinese Proverb says: ‘The longest journey always begins with the first step.’ So it’s advisable to take that first step as soon as possible and don’t keep putting it off.
And the second quote advises: ‘Lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at you.’ That certainly has some wisdom in it. Not all our critics or naysayers are wrong yuh know. Sometimes they do have valid points of criticism, and the wise person listens to those criticisms, evaluates them, and then uses whatever is pertinent to their particular situation.
Granted, a lot of us just criticize for the sake of criticizing, and there’s no real value to what we say, but in many instances, there are some gems of wisdom which we can use as strong building blocks. So never just write off criticism as useless.
Now hear this next quote: ‘I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.’ Words of wisdom friends! We’re not superhuman, only human, and thus are subject to frailties and weaknesses, which mean we will occasionally fail at stuff we do.
However, failure is not really failure until we stop trying! That’s the difference between success and failure; the act of not giving up! Look at our oh so technological society, how do you think we got to where we are? It’s because many inventors and investors did not give up when they originally failed. They tried and tried again until they succeeded!
And that’s exactly what Jesus desires and expects of his followers: NO GIVING UP! Those words are not in His vocabulary at all, and should not be in ours either! So please, let’s keep on keeping on nuh, because we have ALLthe parts to do so. Jesus gave them to us when He died on the cross at Calvary to save our sinful souls and then sent His Holy Spirit to dwell within us for all time! Wow! What an awesome Lord and Saviour we have!
And in this last quote we’re called on to prove the greatness of Jesus in our lives. It says: ‘If you run, you stand a chance of losing, but if you don’t run, you’ve already lost.’ More truth from our friend Anselm! It’s like they say: ‘If you don’t have a ticket, you don’t stand a chance of winning!’
So if you want to win at anything, you’ve got to get into the race and run it. You might lose, but if you’re not in it, you certainly won’t win. Non-runners can’t win a race in which they don’t run. It’s as simple as that! (smile) And my fellow believers, the most important race we’ll ever have to run is the race of life that’s set before each and everyone of us, in bright and glowing colour, Technicolor, if you will (smile) because we are followers of Jesus!
Yes my fellow believers, there’s a light that shines so brilliantly in our lives that at times it tends to blind us, especially when we escape from any dark times in which we find ourselves. It’s like the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel, but in our case it’s a true and sure light, that of heaven with Jesus at the end of our earthly lives…and not just for a short time, but for all eternity! And that means forever…and ever…and ever…until forever…whenever that might be! (smile)
But seriously though friends, listen to these immortal words of Bruh Paul, his last testament to Timothy and you’ll see exactly what I’m talking about. ‘For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure (death) is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course (race), I have kept the faith:
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that LOVE his appearing.’ (2 Tim.4:6-8)
That’s the light at the end of the tunnel friends: a crown of righteousness from our heavenly Father, when we run our earthly race with steadfast faith and trust, and finish it with a fighting spirit, no matter how tired, bedraggled and abused our physical bodies might be!
Ah friends, let me end by reminding us that the race of life is the greatest and most important race we’ll ever run, and the only way to win it is by running it with Jesus as your ever-present partner! That’s it in a nutshell! So please, let’s make the necessary arrangements to run our race of life with Jesus as our partner…RIGHT NOW!
Why? Because we know not when our race will end; it could be shortly, or a long time from now, but wisdom dictates that we do it as soon as possibly, preferably RIGHT NOW, to avoid any unforeseen mishaps! Much LOVE!
…no Jesus in your race of life…means no winner’s crown of righteousness…at the end of your race…
12 Jan 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a better tomorrow, a wonderful God, all these things, Anselm, aspires to inspire, balderdash, be added unto you, best of our ability, bigger than you, bring about change, Chrales Stanley, Christmas tree, come up higher, control, creates the wind, cry over their conditon, decorations, get angry, gospel truth, hating the oppressed, have a purpose, he that forms the mountains, help, homework, in angry mode, insatiable ego, Jesus can, leave all the consequences to Him, LOVE, Love God, love your neightbour, loving the oppressors, make the guilty innocent, make the innocent guilty, makes the morning darkness, making decisions, most powerful entity on earth, not good or sensible, number one priority, obey God, obeying God, obtain the best life, omnipotent hands of God, President Trump, problems become tiny, quotes, raise up the wind, righteousness, Saturday, seek to do His will, seek ye first, the believer, the God of hosts, the kingdom of God, the Lord, the media, the minds of the masses, the power of the media, ultimate purpose, we love and serve
Matthew 6:33. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
It’s Saturday my brethren! Glory be! And most of us are glad to see it although there is work around the house to be done. Have you taken down your Christmas tree as yet, as well as the decorations and the lights, and carefully put them away for next year? The Christmas tree at my house came down long ago when it fell down before Christmas.
I have to chuckle when I remember how the family came home the night I was in the hospital and found the tree lying on the floor, water everywhere, and try as they might they couldn’t get it go back up properly.
They never even told me until the next day. I’m sure it was a heartbreaking sight for the duchess because she had spent so much intimate and LOVING time decorating it…and it did look wonderful. But them’s the breaks. You just have to shrug, grin and move on. And Christmas did pass fairly well without a big Christmas tree in the family room. Just hope she’ll take down the decorations soon. Can’t say anything though, or be very diplomatic about it, else she’ll get on my case. (smile)
Now let’s look at some of the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And the first one says: ‘The media’s the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s power. Because they control the minds of the masses.’
Now the last part of that quote certainly bears a lot of truth, but the first sentence is blatantly untrue! The most powerful entity on earth is its Creator, the Lord God Almighty! As the prophet Amos so emphatically states: ‘For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind (or spirit), and declareth unto man what is his (God’s) thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The Lord, The God of hosts is his name.’ (Amos 4:13)
Yes friends, the newspapers can’t raise up the wind and the sea, or cause a natural disaster, or raise up a dead man…but Jesus can. He can also stop and prevent them, as the Good Book proves. So therein lies the greatest power on earth! The newspapers however do have a lot of power when it comes to controlling the things we focus on.
And as the next quote says: ‘If you’re not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and LOVING the people who are doing the oppressing.’
And we have a very good example of that right now in the U.S, where President Trump is fuelling his apparently insatiable ego by keeping the government closed, and thus holding almost a million people hostage, both away from work, and working and not getting paid, because he’s so fixated on building a useless wall along the southern borders.
And if you read some of the newspapers and listen to Trump himself, they’ll have you believe that it’s all in the name of a worthwhile cause, and that even some of those unfortunate people are standing with him. Utter balderdash! But that just shows the power of the media.
Now here’s the next quote: ‘Usually when people are sad, they don’t do anything. They just cry over their condition. But when they get angry, they bring about a change.’ Now that has some truth to it, but the problem is what kind of change do we bring about when we’re angry? Usually not a good or sensible one. So it behooves us to be very careful when we’re making decisions in angry mode.
And the last quote is simply: ‘If you have a purpose which is bigger than you, all your problems will become tiny.’ I don’t know if that is true all the time, but generally speaking when you focus on your purpose and not your problems, the latter usually become less significant.
The problem with that quote though, from a Christian standpoint, is what purpose are we referring to? Now according to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the greatest commandments of our faith are to LOVE God and to LOVE our neighbours as ourselves. (Mark 12:30-31) But how do we do that eh?
According to Jesus: ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ Yes friends, that’s the ultimate purpose of the believer in this world. Seeking God, and doing what is right in His sight should be our number ONE priority!
And Jesus promises that when we follow that directive, when seeking and obeying God is our main purpose in life, everything else in our life will fall into place. Then, as our quote says: ‘all your problems will become tiny.’ And that’s because you have set them in the Lord’s powerful, omnipotent hands as you seek to do His will.
Mama Mia! What a wonderful God we LOVE and serve my brethren! Therefore let us take a li’l time today nuh, or sometime over the weekend, to seriously ponder if we are fulfilling our earthly purpose to the best of our ability. Let’s sit down and discuss it with out heavenly Father, and ask for His ALWAYS available help to come up higher. That’s our homework for this weekend! (smile) Much LOVE!
…as Uncle Charles (Charles Stanley) so wisely advises…to obtain the best life…simply obey God…and leave all the consequences to Him…gospel truth that…
29 Dec 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a better tomorrow, a lack of imagination, all men know, Anselm, aspires to inspire, comfort zone, comfortable life, commandments, dark evil world, defiles a man, friends, go overboard, gospel truth, happy, hope springs eternal, in Jesus name, light, live extravagantly, lives within their means, living by Christ's example, LOVE, Love thy neighbour as thyself, lustre, makes life interesting, New Year, night's rest, reaching for something better, ringing in, sad, set our goals, sleep in, stepping out, the second is like unto it, tippy toes, up to our necks in debt, what comes out, you are my disciples
Matthew 22:39. And the second is like unto it (the first), Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself.
And it seems like a cloudy Saturday morning, just right for sleeping in, but the ole fella is up early, couldn’t sleep in any longer. I did have a decent enough night’s rest though. The persistent cough I’ve had over the last few days seems to have eased up some, but I still can only sleep comfortably on my right side, which doesn’t enamor me to my back and right hip. (smile) And that’s what caused me to get up earlier than I desired. But that’s life!
So what’s the action eh friends, on this Saturday two days before we ring out the Old Year and ring in the New One? Let’s hope that the LOVING and generous nature of the Christmas season is still fermenting in our souls and bodies and still being shown to all and sundry! This brings to mind an idea I recently read at the bottom of a Daily Bread Devotion, which says ‘as we put away the Christmas decorations, do not put away the Christmas spirit.’
Now doesn’t that sound very interesting, enlightening and Christ-like? It surely does. So let’s ponder on that statement nuh, as we begin taking down the decorations in the next week or so, and just allow the wonderful spirit of Christmas to flow over into, and all through the New Year! Hope does spring eternal! (smile)
Now let’s see what quotes our friend Anselm provided over the last week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And the first one is rather interesting: ‘Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination.’ And we can take that to mean that we should live extravagantly, beyond our financial means, up to our necks in debt etc. etc.
But that is definitely not a very good way to live one’s life. One ought to live within the realm of what one can afford, and not go overboard and cause yourself more heartache and trouble than is necessary. However, the other side to statement is that one ought not to just live a comfortable life without stepping out of one’s comfort zone every so often, because that’s what really makes life interesting.
We ought to set our goals, our caps, a little higher than we can reach on tippy toes, so that it will stretch us, cause us to put ourselves out some, and thus add some light and lustre to this dark and evil world. That’s what our Lord and Saviour expects of us when He says we are the light of the world. We are to be constantly reaching for something better and brighter in His holy name.
Then we have this one: ‘Never let someone else decide for you whether you are going to be happy or sad.’ Now there’s some wisdom in that statement. Generally speaking, our decisions to be happy or sad should be ours, because we are the ones who have to bear the repercussions of either decision. Others can certainly tell us what they think, and we can listen to their well-intentioned advice, but only we can decide what state of mind is right or wrong for us at any particular time.
Now here’s the last quote: ‘LOVE yourself. Stay happy. Live life to the fullest, and focus on the best things in life!’ And I guess those are things we all would certainly like to do in this earthly life. But please note that the only way we can successfully do the last three is if we are successful at the first! Very little of true worth will happen to us if we don’t LOVE ourselves. And even if it does, we won’t be happy because our spirit’s not at peace.
And we don’t mean LOVE in a narcissistic way either, but just being comfortable with whom you are, knowing that you’re doing your best, having Jesus as your guiding light. As they say, you ought to like you, because you take you everywhere with you! And that’s gospel truth! If you don’t like you, then most likely others won’t like you either. How can they when the dislike for yourself comes through in your words and behaviour eh?
That’s why, in talking about great commandments Jesus stipulated in our Bit: ‘And the second is like unto it (the first), Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself.’ Yeh friends, we only need two commandments yes; LOVE God, and LOVE our neighbours as we LOVE ourselves!
Please note that Jesus didn’t just say LOVE your neighbour, but as you LOVE yourself! And that means if you don’t like yourself, then you won’t be able to like your neighbour either. So friends, it all depends on how we feel about ourselves, because what we have inside is what is going to come out.
As Jesus specified to the multitude, and the Pharisees in particular: ‘Hear, and understand: Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.’ (Matt.15:10-11) Likewise friends, if we don’t have true LOVE in our hearts, true LOVE won’t ever come out of us. And the only way to have true LOVE in our hearts is by making Jesus our Lord and Saviour and living by His example and desires.
And we’ll close with these immortal words of Jesus on the subject. ‘A new commandment I give unto you, that ye LOVE one another, as I have LOVED you, that ye also LOVE one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have LOVE one to another.’ (John 13:34-35) And that’s why our world is such an awful and evil place; we’re not LOVING each other the way Jesus LOVED us. It’s as simple as that friends!
Now let’s spend some time seriously pondering the state of LOVE in our hearts nuh, and then ask the Lord to help us make the necessary changes. That’s the only way our world will improve. Much LOVE!
…it all begins and ends with LOVE…LOVE for God…LOVE for ourselves…and LOVE for our neighbours…
22 Dec 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a better tomorrow, against the mother, Anselm, asks for gifts, aspires to inspire, attitudes, basic unit of soicety, being happy, busy world, callous, Christmas Saturday, come face to face, comfort zone, confidence, corrupt, culture, daughter in law, destroy, disagreements, disasters, disobedience, do evil, dodo bird, don't get so worked up, enjoy life, evil desires, extincition, eye contact, faithful God, falling apart, famine, feuds, friend, go with the flow, God will hear me, godd advice, greedy, guard thy mouth, his brother, hunt every man, in public, laugh more, learn life in private, lie in wait for blood, life, lighten up, look unto the Lord, LOVE, morally sinful, morass, morning chat, mother in law, my salvation, perilous times, persihed, petty, playing a violin, poverty, preparations, promises, punishment, recuperating, relax, scheme together, serious, sharp and thorny, shopping, sickness, smile, stick together, stress, stressful, support system, tense, the biggest killer, the daughter rises up, the family, the good man, the judge for bribes, the prince, the son dishonours the father, trust, uncaring, uplift, wait for God, what ent meet yuh ent pass yuh, who you are, words of wisdom
Micah 7:6. For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother in law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own house.
Saturday, Christmas Saturday! And everybody is busy doing their last minute Christmas shopping and preparations! Thank the Lord that does not include the ole fella nuh! (smile) Yeh friends, the ole fella’s recuperating nicely I suppose. I’ve been up for some time now because I could not find a comfortable position in the bed, one that would alleviate all the aches and pains.
Yuh know how it is; when you find a comfort zone for one ache, it causes another to act up. And then I sat at the kitchen table having a coffee and a Saturday morning chat with the duchess – have to take them when I can get them (smile), so that’s why I’m only now getting to the Bit. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it!
Now let’s see what words of wisdom our friend Anselm sent us this week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And the first quote simply says: ‘Lighten up, just enjoy life, smile more, laugh more, and don’t get so worked up about things.’ Oh mih people, those few words do contain lots of good advice and wisdom!
In this stressful and busy world we all need to lighten up and relax and just go with the flow! Have you ever walked down a busy street and seen how people are tense and serious, with very few smiling, everyone just intent on going about their business?
And it always amuses me when I get in an elevator and all the others in the car keep looking up at the roof, everybody apparently dreading making eye contact with a stranger. Chuh friends! Our society definitely needs to lighten up and not take ourselves so seriously, because it only draws us to unnecessary disaster. That’s why stress is the biggest killer in our midst right now, causing all sorts of illnesses! And then we wonder why so many of us are dying so young!
And the next quote declares: ‘Life is like playing a violin in public and learning the instrument as one goes on.’ I guess that means you cannot learn life in private, and only as you go along that you really learn it. It’s a process and you can only deal with it as it comes against you. As the old people would say, ‘what ent meet you ent pass you!’ In other words, people can tell you about life, but you don’t truly learn life until you yourself come face to face with it.
And the last quote says: ‘At the end of the day, life is about being happy being who you are, and I feel like we are so blessed to have the support system and the best family to really just support each other no matter what we’re going through.’ Ah friends, I wish that was so much truer of our world than it actually is!
We ought to be happy being who we are, especially in Christ, and we do need good support systems to help us in those perilous times that all of us undergo at some time or the other. But unfortunately the basic unit of our society, the family, is being undermined and destroyed by the callous, greedy and uncaring attitudes and culture that proliferate in these modern times. Families turn against each other for small and petty reasons, as each one fights to make their mark in this evil world.
Steups! We don’t have to, and we won’t always agree, but when it comes to family, we ought to stick together, for who else are we going to turn to eh, since there is no unit smaller than that supposedly close knit group titled ‘family.’ Right here I’ve got to give thanks for my family yes! We don’t always agree, but we’re always there for each other!
That’s what family is about, why it’s called family. But nowadays there are so many feuds and disagreements between those of the same household, for whatever reason, that our society is falling apart. Whatever happened to that bond, that trust that families exuded once upon a time eh?
That brings us to this scripture where the prophet Micah describes a morally sinful Israel, a true reflection of our modern day society. ‘The good (faithful or loyal) man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net. That they may do evil with both hands earnestly (successfully), the prince asketh (asks for gifts), and the judge asketh for a reward (bribe); and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous (evil) desire: so they wrap it up (scheme together).’ (Mic.7:2-3)
And isn’t that exactly what is going on in our society today people? I don’t think we’ve ever seen a time that’s corrupt and evil as this one! But Micah is not done with us: ‘The best of them is as a brier: the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge: the day of thy watchmen and thy visitation (punishment) cometh; now shall be their perplexity.’ (Mic.7:4) Ah mih people, things are so bad, that even the best of us are sharp and thorny!
But as the Lord has warned so often in His word, continual disobedience will eventually bring His wrath and punishment! And we are seeing it in the failings of our supposed great and modern society; sickness, famine, poverty, natural and man-made disasters are proliferating in the richest times ever.
That’s why Micah advises: ‘Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide (companion): keep (guard) the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom. For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother in law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own house.’ (Mic.7:5-6)
And when all those things are occurring, as they are in our current society, that means our society is on the way down and out unless we turn back to God as Micah so wisely advises: ‘Therefore I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.’ (Mic.7:7)
Yes friends, that’s the only way our society will ever rise up out of the morass that it’s currently embedded in! So please, let’s turn to our great and faithful God and LOVE Him with all our hearts, minds, bodies and souls, as He desires nuh, so that our society will not go the way of the dodo bird – extinction! Much LOVE!
…the Lord fulfills ALL His promises…be they to uplift…or to destroy…please remember that…
17 Nov 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a child of God, a corrupt tree, a Rasta breddren, a record of the past, admonishing, all his saints, Anselm, aspires to inspire, astute, Azariah, be strong, believers, brings forth evil fruit, brings forth good fruit, by their fruits, cast into the fire, Christians, discourse of Jesus, eventually it'll pay off, every good tree, everybody wants to be famous, false prophets, faults, figs of thistles, fogiven me, foibles, for a better tomorrow, friend, from glory to glory, fruits, glorify your father in heaven, godliness, grapes of thorns, grind hard, growing in the faith, harvests, hate to make mistakes, hewn down, History, hope for tomorrow, how effective you live, how long you love, in Jesus' realm, in prayer, its donation, learn from yesterday, learning, let not your hands be weak, let your light so shine, light, live for today, LOVE Revolution, Love the Lord, more Christ-like, muzzle not the ox, nobody wants to do the work, not its duration, play hard, predict the future, questioning, quotes, ravenous wolves, rewards, salt, sheep's clothing, take it to God, the fiasco, the Good Book, the heathen, the labourer, the Lord preserves the faithful, the Lord's Word, the proud doer, the scripture says, the value of life, treads the corn, under a bushel, understand the present, wages, well-versed readers, what is history, why do we learn history, with God's help, worthy of his wages, ye shall know them, you reap what you sow, your work shall be rewarded
Matthew 7:20. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Well friends let me begin by apologizing for the fiasco that was yesterday’s Bit. I don’t know how and why it really happened but it did, and consequently, in the header, I made the mistake of quoting the Bit as being from Job 17 instead of Job 27. But I do know that you, my astute and well-versed readers would have known exactly where it came from. (smile)
Please excuse the ole fella for that. But I just hate to make mistakes when writing about the Lord’s word. Oh I know He’s forgiven me, so in your godliness, I hope you will too. (smile)
And since it’s Saturday, let’s turn to some quotes that our friend Anselm sent us this week, as he nobly aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. Here is the first one, which says: ‘Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.’ And that’s oh so true.
And it’s well encapsulated in a quote from a Rasta breddren who taught me history in High School eons ago. As he thoughtfully scratched his scraggly beard, with his brogued feet up on the desk, he would ask: ‘What is History? And why do we learn History?’ And His answers were: ‘History is a record of the past, and we learn it so we can understand the present and predict the future.’
And especially if you are child of God, you need to be continually questioning and learning and growing in the faith; hopefully moving from glory to glory, becoming more Christ-like everyday!
And the second quote is like unto the first: (smile) ‘Everybody wants to be famous, but nobody wants to do the work. I live by that. You grind hard so you can play hard. At the end of the day, you put all the work in, and eventually it’ll pay off. It could be in a year, it could be in 30 years. Eventually, your hard work will pay of.’
Yeah friends, there are no serious rewards without serious work. As the Good Book says, you reap what you sow. And that’s gospel truth. You can’t put in a little work, or only plant a small crop and expect to reap huge rewards and harvest.
And it doesn’t matter how long you have to work hard before you reap those rewards and harvests either, for as the Lord said to the people of Judah through the prophet Azariah, when they were going through tough times: ‘Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded.’ (2 Chr.15:7)
And if you don’t believe that, then listen to Bruh David from Psalm 31: ‘O LOVE the Lord, all ye his saints: for the Lord preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth (fully repays) the proud doer.’ (Ps.31:23)
And if you still don’t believe that, (smile) then listen to Bruh Paul to Timothy: ‘For the scripture saith, thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn, and the labourer is worthy of his reward (wages).’ (1 Tim.5:17) So friends, whatever effort we put into our work, that is what we will gain from it.
And all of that runs smoothly into our third and last quote: ‘The value of life is not in its duration, but in its donation. You are not important because of how long you live, you are important because of how effective you live.’ And wiser words were never spoken in that regard my people!
Listen to this discourse of Jesus on the subject. ‘Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening (ravenous) wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil (bad) fruit.
A good tree cannot bring forth evil (bad) fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.’ (Matt.7:15-20)
Yes my brethren, it’s ever so important how you live, not so much how long you live. And the longer you live, the more good fruit you are expected to bear in Jesus’ realm. And that good fruit must be exposed to the unbelievers so that they can see it and accept Christ themselves.
That’s why Christ also said that we are the salt and light of the earth, and we’re not supposed to hide our lights under a bushel, for what good is flavourless salt or a hidden light eh? None whatsoever! (Matt.5:13-15)
And we’ll end with this oh so important admonishing of Jesus on that subject. ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt.5:16) Now that friends, is what all we supposed Christians, believers and whatever we call ourselves are supposed to be about.
But I don’t think we’re doing such a good job; we’re not bearing as much good fruit as we should, or being as flavourful and bright shining to the heathen world! And that’s why Jesus’ LOVE Revolution is faltering; why more people are seemingly leaving it, than joining it. And we just can’t have that my people!
So today, I implore us to take a good look at ourselves and truly ruminate on the role we are playing in Jesus’ body, where we are falling down, because all of us have faults and foibles, and sincerely make the effort to do better. Let’s take it to God in prayer and ask for His help, for with God’s help, we can all do better! Much LOVE!
…truly living for Jesus means…being flavourful…a bright shining light…and producing good fruit…in this evil, corrupt world…
03 Nov 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a better tomorrow, a journey, a plan of God, a ray of sunshine, a waste down, a wet morning, action them, against such, an extra day, Anselm, aspires to inspire, attributes of God, be wise, beat us down, biggest adventure, carnal, Christ's sacrifice, Christ's teaching, Christian believer, conceited, consideration, control one's passions, courtesy, death, desirous of vain glory, empathy, envying one another, eternal life, faith, faithfulness, fleshly matters, focus on the positive, forgiveness, friend, from one realm to another, fruitful lives, gentleness, gladness of heart, goodness, grow good fruit, have it more abundantly, hope, I am come, joy, kindness, leading and guiding, live in the Spirit, live life to the fullest, live obediently for Christ, live the life, long-suffering, LOVE, meekness, mercy, motto, negative aspects of the world, of your dreams, patience, peace, provoking one another, self-control, sow good seed, spiritual life, temperance, the ability to harness, the fruit of the spirit, the gifts of the Spirit, the greatest loss, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit's direction, there is no law, they might have life, this is the day the Lord has made, unreasonable dreams, ups and downs, vie-kie-vie, virtues, walk in the Spirit, we will rejoice and be glad in it, what dies inside us, while we live
Galatians 5:22-23. But the fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness (kindness), goodness, faith (faithfulness), Meekness, temperance (self-control): against such there is no law.
Another wet morning, without even a hopeful ray of sunshine! Steups! But thankfully, there’s no precipitation currently descending from on high! (smile) Ah friends, the gloom persists, but as believers and followers of Jesus Christ, we have all we need to handle it. And to boot, we can also truthfully declare: ‘This is the day the Lord has made, we WILL rejoice and be glad in it!’ (Ps.118:24)
And we would indeed be foolish if we did not enjoy this extra day the Lord has granted us on His great earth. And yes, every day we’re here is an extra day, so be wise and enjoy it and live obediently for Christ, do the work God has entrusted to you!
For we each have a purpose and a plan of God for this earthly life. Our God doesn’t move vie-ke-vie; in a careless, unplanned manner, so each day we’re down here means we still have work to do under His awesome, gracious, merciful and LOVING plan. So let’s get to it nuh!
And it being Saturday, we will take a look at some of the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And the first quote says: ‘The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.’
And that’s oh so true! But unfortunately very few of us ever get to truly live the life of our dreams, because life is such a series of ups and downs, and none of us ever experience any downs in our dream life. (smile)
The fact is that most of us have unreasonable dreams, and even with the reasonable ones, we’re not willing to work towards them. Now dreams are important in this life, but until we’re willing to action them, they will always remain dreams.
And the next quote tells us: ‘Live life to the fullest, and focus on the positive.’ Now that ought to be motto of the Christian believer! Christ said: ‘I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.’ (John 10:10b) What’s the point of having abundant life and not enjoying it to the fullest eh? It would only make Christ’s sacrifice a waste down.
But to enjoy our lives, we also have to focus on the positive aspects, especially of Christ’s teaching, because the negative aspects of the world only beat and break us down.
And the last quote says: ‘Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.’ Now that is gospel truth my brethren! In fact, death is not a loss of life at all, for believers it’s only a journey from one realm to the other, and even more importantly it’s from a short, finite and rough earthly life, to a long and glorious infinite eternal life. So we don’t suffer a loss of life at all, but move up to a higher, spiritual one.
The problem is the stuff that dies inside of us while we’re living this earthly life. We’re talking about stuff like, hope, faith, joy, LOVE, mercy, forgiveness, empathy, self-control and self-discipline; the attributes of God we need to live a faithful and fruitful life; things we call the fruit of the Spirit.
Thus our Bit: ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness (kindness), goodness, faith (faithfulness), Meekness, temperance (self-control): against such there is no law.’
Yes my believing brethren, those are the things we want alive and well in all of us, so that we can live the life Jesus died for us to have, and to do His work. Unless those things are reigning in our lives we’ll be unable to live good, Christian, fruitful lives like Jesus desires of us.
The Holy Spirit of God dwells in each believer, and is there for the express purpose of leading and guiding us in God-filled lives. That means we have to follow the Spirit’s direction if we want to live successful Christian lives.
As Bruh Paul so astutely continues: ‘And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts (its passions). If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.’ (Gal.5:24-25)
Now here are a few explanations from the scholars: ‘5:22-23. The word fruit is significant for three reasons (1) It means the result, product, outcome or effect produced by the Spirit in the believer’s life. (2) Unlike “the gifts of the Spirit” (plural), only some of which are given to a Christian, each believer is to have all nine virtues composing “the fruit of the Spirit” (singular). (3) As fruit on a tree takes time to grow and mature, so the spirit does not cultivate these virtues in the believer’s life overnight.
LOVE is the willing, sacrificial giving of oneself for the benefit of another without thought of return. Joy is gladness of heart. Peace is tranquility of mind, freeing one from worry and fear. Long-suffering is patience with others, the opposite of a short temper, a disposition quietly bearing injury.
Gentleness is kindness. Goodness is generosity. Faith here is dependability. Meekness is gentleness, that is, courtesy and consideration in one’s relations with others. Temperance is self-control, that is, the ability to harness and control one’s passions and lusts.’
And there you have it friends, ‘the Fruit of the Spirit Lecture 101!’ (smile) Yes, I know it’s not easy to cultivate all those wonderful attributes, especially with the world on our back to do differently, but with the help of the Holy Spirit we can certainly work towards them and be fairly successful if we set our minds to it.
Remember, as believers in Christ, we are done with carnal fleshly matters, and are supposed to live by the Spirit of Christ imbued in us. So let’s do that nuh, and consequently fulfill Bruh Paul’s desire: ‘Let us not be desirous of vain glory (conceited), provoking one another, envying one another.’ (Gal.5:26). Much LOVE!
…to grow good fruit…we have to sow good seed…
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