13 May 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fantastic job, a Mother's legacy, a mother's love, adore, always caring, assurance, awesome strength, bearing children, bearing good fruit, been forgiven, birthing them in travail, Bloodline, by reason of many waters, cantankerous families, cause us grief, cavorting in heaven, certain of His promise, challenges, deceitful, earthly sojourn, faith, feminine towers, follow their example, following His commandments, fountains of living water, fruitful, fruitful vines, full of branches, God's LOVE, goodness and mercy, grace for everyday, guilt, Happy Mother's Day, heaven's gift of love, Honour Christian Mothers, honour your mothers, instruments of god, joyful mother, keep house, kindness, let your lights so shine, life forevermore, like a vine, LOVE, Mother's Day, navel string, never ending, nourishing waters, of our society, one in charity, one in love, Onward Christian soldiers, our cross to bear, par excellence, planted by the waters, praise the One Divine, Praise ye the Lord, raising faithful families, reap what we sow, revere, sons, take away all sorrow, teaching us the way, testimony, the backbone, the barren woman, the original sin, thy mother, time, tribute to Mothers, unconditional, wipe away each tear, worshipping the Lord
Ezekiel 19:10. Thy mother is like a vine in thy blood (bloodline), planted by the waters: she was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters.
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!
And then it was Sunday once again, our favourite day for worship, but it’s also a special Sunday where we celebrate the Mother figures in our lives. Those feminine towers of awesome strength and assurance, the backbone of our society. And in my search, I discovered a real appropriate and praiseworthy hymn dedicated to them. It’s called ‘Honour Christian Mothers’ and is sung to the tune of ‘Onward Christian Soldiers.’
So let’s open today’s proceedings paying sincere homage to the matriarchs in our midst nuh. In full voice let’s sing: ‘(Chorus) Honour Christian Mothers, instruments of God; Raising faithful families, worshipping the Lord.) Following His commandments, showing us the way: LOVE and faith and kindness; teaching us to pray. (Chorus)
“Let it be,” say mothers, trusting to obey, Finding strength, grace for every day. Challenges surround us, but we will not fear. God’s LOVE will sustain us, help, our cross, to bear. (Chorus) God be with our mothers who have gone before, certain of His promise: life forevermore. In His many mansions, LOVE again we’ll share, He will take away all sorrow, wipe away each tear. (Chorus)
Honour Christian Mothers – Heaven’s gift of LOVE. Join with them in service to the Lord above. Follow their example, let your lights so shine – All will see your goodness, praise the One Divine. (Chorus) Onward, still, ye mothers, tho’ the time will come; Sons will leave their parents, daughters leave their homes. We’ll remain united, Mother’s legacy; One in LOVE and faithfulness, One in charity. (Chorus).’
Oh friends, I could not find out the author of those lyrics, but they surely are a terrific tribute to the Mothers that raise and LOVE us! And if you’ll remember people, yesterday morning I got up and went downstairs early on to get something to eat. Well here is what the Lord caused me to write about Mother’s Day, before I came back up to bed.
‘Wherefore, O wherefore art thou Mothers? Is it because of the original sin that you have been given the painful and difficult, but ever so necessary task of bearing children in thy womb, birthing them in travail, then raising them in deceitful and cantankerous families?
Well, whatever the reason, I want to acknowledge that you have done a marvellous, a fantastic job down through the ages, and your God and mankind are very proud of you. Therefore, we wish you ALL Mothers, a very happy, blessed and prosperous Mother’s Day! Happy Mother’s Day Mothers!
And you know, as tears well up in my eyes, my one regret is that my mother, Molly, is not here so I can share those fateful words with her. Oh, like all of us, she had her faults, but nonetheless, she was a mother par excellence!
Yeh Mols, although it’s been almost seven years now since you went to be with Lord, the ole fella misses you, and is crying, as he seems to do every Mother’s Day without you. That’s the one time the tears come without any reservation whatsoever. (smile)
And I’m surely sorry if I didn’t treat or appreciate you as well as I should have. But I know in your sweet soul, you’ve already forgiven me for that. So rest in peace, please Mols sugar. And I do hope that you are cavorting in heaven with Jesus and the angels, as is your right as a believer.’
Oh friends, there will always be some resilient guilt in us, as to whether we treated our mothers as best we could. But please don’t let it cause us grief, because we’ve already been forgiven for it, since that’s what good mothers do. That brings us to our Bit. ‘Thy mother is like a vine in thy blood (bloodline), planted by the waters: she was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters.’
And although that scripture was meant to pertain to Israel, there are so few real references to mothers, all of which I have already used. I wanted something new, and this fits the bill perfectly, for that is exactly how mothers are. They are like a fruitful vines planted by nourishing waters, just bearing good fruit regardless of the circumstances. They are like fountains of living waters, always bubbling forth with goodness and mercy.
One psalmist put it this way: ‘He maketh (causes) the barren (childless) woman to keep house (dwell in a home) and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the Lord.’ (Ps.113:9) Yeh my brethren, we should absolutely praise the Lord for mothers, since we’d be completely lost without them.
And I’m chuckling here as I come to the end of this Mother’s Day message, because it’s something I also wrote yesterday, though not under my own steam. The Lord played one of His tricks on me. Yesterday morning after I went back up to bed, He got into my head with all sorts of stuff for this message, and finally I had to get up and write it down.
And this is what I wrote. ‘Son’s honour your mothers because they, or rather you are a significant part of them, since they bore you for nine painful, uncomfortable months, and it’s to them that your navel string was attached. And most likely they’ve played a most significant role in your life. So it behooves you to adore and revere them.
Daughters, please endear yourselves to your mothers, because one day you might also be a mother. And since we reap what we sow, your child will probably treat you the way you treat your mother.
And finally, let’s not only celebrate our Mothers on this one day of the year, but everyday of their earthly sojourn, for they have certainly put in their time and testimony to deserve it.’ Much LOVE!
…a Mother’s LOVE…is like the Lord’s…unconditional…always caring…and never ending…
24 Apr 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Ak 15, anxieties, assurance, beloved of God, broad daylight, Christ died, courageous, death, depth, distress, everlasting friendship, faithful promises, famine, favourite pastime, fears, friend jesus, God's promise to Joshua, going to hell, hang on to, height, hold on tightly, I am with you always, innocent people, lining their pockets, look to heaven, LOVE, love of Christ, makes intercession, mankind is evil, mental issues, Moses commanded, nakedness, Nashville, never leave thee, nor forsake thee, peril, politicians, power brokers, powers, principalities, promises, proselytize, prosper, quell your worries, risen again, safe, secure, separation of Christ, share His love, Standing on the promises of God, steadfast, strong, take them to heart, talk for the sake of talk, the end of the world, the night is dark, the sword, to all the law, Toronto, tribulation, Tuesday Mantra, turn not to the right nor to the left, uncompromising, ungodly, unsafe world, words of assurance
Matthew 28:20b. and, lo, I am with you alway(s), even unto the end of the world.
Aw friends, what kind of crazy, evil, ungodly, unsafe world are we living in eh, when in broad daylight a young man can drive his vehicle into a crowd of innocent people and kill nine or ten of them and injure a whole lot more? Or another young person can enter a restaurant and just open fire with his AK 15, or some such firearm and kill four people?
The first incident happened in Toronto, the northern section of the city yesterday, and the second down in Nashville, U.S, a couple days ago. It seems we’re safe NOWHERE on the planet. Steups! And then the popular excuse is that these people have mental issues. Chuh! Well then too large a proportion of our society has mental problems! And if that’s a fact, then why aren’t we addressing them properly eh?
Ah mih people, nowadays our favourite pastime seems to be talk; talk for just talk sake, and get nothing done. Our society is fast going to hell in a basket and our politicians and power brokers still only seem to care about getting in power and lining their own pockets. It’s a good thing that we believers have Jesus and His many faithful promises to hang on to yes, otherwise I don’t know what would happen to us nuh.
And as we continue looking at some of the many wonderful promises that our faithful God has made us, we open with one of the most steadfast and uncompromising, that contained in our Bit: ‘and, lo, I am with you alway(s), even unto the end of the world.’
What a powerful promise that is my fellow believers, from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ as He sent the disciples out to proselytize the world! And it’s that kind of stuff that we need to hang on to as we navigate this unsafe and crazy world; look to heaven rather than to mankind who is as evil as the night is dark.
And if that doesn’t quell your worries, then listen to this promise. ‘Let your conversation (conduct) be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath saith, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.’ (Heb.13:5)
Glory be my breddren! What wonderful words of assurance given to us by our God and our Creator and Saviour. The author of Hebrews is there reiterating God’s promise to Joshua when He made him leader of the Israelites after the death of Moses: ‘There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.’ (Josh.1:5)
However friends, there is ONE thing God asked of Joshua, and is also asking of us in these dangerous and trying times: ‘Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left that thou mayest prosper (have success, or act wisely) whithersoever thou goest.’ (Josh.1:6)
Yes my fellow believers, regardless of the number of great promises God has made us, we still have to take them to heart and stand strong under them. That’s our part of the bargain: stand strong and steadfast in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour! But that’s exactly what a lot of us are not doing, thus our fears, worries and anxieties every day of our lives.
Now hear these marvellous words of Bruh Paul to the Roman church on the separation of Christ from His people. ‘Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the LOVE of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the 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.8:34-39)
Oh precious people of God, if that powerful assurance of Christ’s irremovable presence from our lives doesn’t move and reassure you, then I don’t know what will nuh! That’s possibly one of the greatest promises a believer has to hang on to. Once Christ comes into our lives, we cannot be separated from Him. He will NEVER leave or forsake us, unless we push Him away or turn against Him.
Therefore friends, in these troubled times, I implore us to hold on tightly to the promises of our ever-faithful God, to stand strong and courageous as He asks of us, so that we can conquer this evil word in His name. Now let’s go home showing the world that we are indeed standing strong in Christ. Let’s declare our Tuesday Mantra with much vim and vigour.
As one loud and purposeful voice now: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
And if we’re sincere, then let’s go out and share Jesus’ LOVE and everlasting friendship with world, as He desires of us. Much LOVE!
…standing on the promises of God…standing safe and secure… on the promises of God, my Lord…
27 Feb 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: assurance, Behold, beloved, beloved of God, bestowed on us, blasphemous, born again, breath of life, by God's hand, came unto his own, children of God, Christian faith, come running back, disobedient, enduring effect, fellow believers, finite, friend of Jesus, glory to God, grasp the concept, grow, hurry, I love you, in God's image, indisputable truth, Jesus, laugh too loud, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, LOVE one another, love personified, loving, mature, mortal man, my own way, never be in doubt, not of blood, One Year Book of Bible promises, our hearts and minds, penetrate, power to become, propitiation, put you first, quiet, reminder, reservation, right, Ruth Harms Calkin, serene, share His love, sinful, sinful nature, sob too long, spring break, steady, strong, talk too much, tenets of our faith, the Father, the sons of God, the will of man, the will of the flesh, to the very core, troubled society, true light, Tuesday Mantra, uncertain, undeserving, unsure, weak, what manner of love, willingly obey, winter season, without love, worry, wretched, wrong, You love me
1 John 3:1a. Behold, what manner of LOVE the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons (children) of God.
And then it was Tuesday…and the much appreciated spring break amidst the winter season continues seemingly unabated. Oh Glory to God! And on top of that, both the sun and the SON are shining forth brilliantly today. Mama Yo! What more can a mortal man ask for eh? Not much really.
But yuh know what, in our undeserving, sinful nature, our wonderful God gives us even more. Read with me, as I share this poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises, with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. It’s simply titled ‘You LOVE Me!’
‘God When I am wretched and weak You LOVE me. When I am steady and strong You LOVE me. When I am very right Or terribly wrong You LOVE me. When I talk too much Or laugh too loud Or sob too long You LOVE me. When I am quiet and serene You LOVE me.
When I willingly obey You LOVE me. When I insist on my own way You LOVE me. When I fail to put you first You LOVE me. When I come running back to You You LOVE me. I need not beg You to LOVE me For You who are LOVE Cannot exist without LOVING.
And yet this very day, dear God I have no real assurance Of Your LOVE at all. I wonder why? (And the Lord answered) BELOVED child The fact remains I LOVE you.’
Isn’t that something now mih people! Regardless of who we are, or how we behave, our amazing God LOVES US! Even when we don’t feel His LOVE, the indisputable truth still stands; He LOVES us! He just cannot help LOVING, because He is LOVE personified!
And He caused me to share this particular poem today because He wants to remind us of that fact. He apparently sees that we don’t appreciate the true nature of His LOVE enough, that’s why we are so unsure and uncertain of ourselves in this crazy, troubled society.
Please accept this reminder my fellow believers, and let it penetrate our hearts and minds right to the very core, so that we’ll never be in doubt, in any situation whatsoever, of our great God’s true and unconditional LOVE for us. It’s one of the elementary tenets of our faith, and if we can’t accept it without reservation, then our faith will be lacking, and won’t be able to grow and mature, as it ought to.
That’s why John, in his first epistle thought it so necessary to remind us of God’s great LOVE for us, as stated in our Bit. ‘Behold, what manner of LOVE the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons (children) of God.’
Ah mih breddren how can we not appreciate such an awesome bestowal eh? God didn’t have to, but He wanted to. Why? Because we are His; created by His hand, in His image, and we breathe His breath of life. And even though we have become sinful and disobedient, the facts of the matter cannot be changed.
Now listen to the scholars on our Bit. ‘3:1. Bestowed is in the perfect tense, suggesting the enduring effect of the LOVE God has given. Believers are children of God by virtue of being born of Him (2:29). Jesus stressed a connection between how the world related to God and how it would in turn relate to Christ’s true followers (John 15:18). After ‘sons of God’ the phrase “And we are” should be added, according to many ancient manuscripts.’
Yeh friends, for some reason or the other that definitive statement got left out of our version of the Good Book, but there is no doubt that we are indeed children of God, once we are born again and believe in His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
I think though that a part of the problem is that our minds are so small and finite, that we cannot truly grasp the concept of a mighty and holy God LOVING us, despite our sinful and blasphemous nature. But don’t we still LOVE our children though they are disobedient and go astray? So why should it be any different with God eh? Children are children, and fathers are fathers in whatever situation you place them.
Now let’s look at a couple of scriptures that corroborate our Bit. John says in his gospel: ‘He (the true Light) was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
But as many as received him, to them gave he power (the right) to become the sons (children) of God, even to them that believe on his name. Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.’ (John 1:10-13)
We couldn’t get more authority than that to become children of God. Now hear this most momentous and eye opening scripture, re the LOVE of God from John’s first epistle. ‘Herein is LOVE, not that we LOVED God, but that he LOVED us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. BELOVED, if God so LOVED us, we ought also to LOVE one another.’ (1 John 4:10-11)
That’s our Christian faith in a nutshell right there my brethren. Please let’s practice it in all sincerity and truth nuh. Now let’s go home declaring our Tuesday Mantra, letting the world know who and whose we are in strong voice.
‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
And since we’ve declared it, let’s go out now and action it nuh! Much LOVE!
…regardless of what we have…if we don’t have LOVE…we are nothing…
06 Feb 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a deeper phase, a sour face, a tremulous situation, aroma, ascension, assurance, beloved of God, blaming, bring a smile, cracked earth, crediting, deeper the pain, diffuse, ditch of depression, dr robert h schuller, draws back the curtain, essential for survival, eternal life, faithful, force, friend of Jesus, give thanks to Almighty God, gives us the victory, God is good, God's grace, God's great earth, goodness, harder the fall, heartache, heated words, Hour of Power Devotional, hurry, Jesus Christ, lend healing, lose a loved one, LOVE, love of Christ, maturity, negative things, negative times, non-acceptance of Christ, not totally alone, omnipotence, perish, pierce today's darkness, positive prayer, positive thoughts, problems, promise of eternal life, promises, raise the level of our faith, relationship with god, resurrection, reunited, sacrificial death, salvation, saved, seed of faith, share, slippery step, soften a hard heart, standing firm, strife, sweet fragrance, thank you, Thanks be to God, the Father of love, the raging storm, there to help us, through our Lord, tomorrow's light, tomorrows, triumph in Christ, trust, truth, Tuesday Mantra, vital element, war, worry, worse the loss
1 Corinthians 15:57. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Ah mih people, welcome to another day on God’s great earth! Oh, I know that we will be surrounded by numerous problems and everyday we hear of more and more foolish strife, war and heated words in our society, but that’s no reason not to give thanks to Almighty God for the good things He’s done, is doing, and will do in our individual lives. Yeh friends, telling God, ‘Thank You,’ is essential for our very survival.
Now I’m going to share something from Gramps Schuller’s (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) Hour of Power Devotional that I’m pretty sure I’ve never shared before. I don’t know why, if it was just too long and didn’t lend itself to useful paraphrasing, but to day I’m going to share the entire thing, because I believe it’s ever so important for believers in these violent and negative times to understand.
So here goes. In the first place it is titled: ‘Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!’ So you know it’s all about thanking God.
And Gramps Schuller says: ‘When you lose a LOVED one, there is a way to thank God. You can thank Him for the promise of eternal life. You can thank Him for the assurance that someday you will be reunited with the one you’ve lost. The worse the loss, the harder the fall, the deeper the pain – the more you need to say, “Thank You, Lord!”
Thank You, Lord! is the force that draws back the curtains, letting tomorrow’s light pierce today’s darkness. Thank You, Lord! is the first slippery step back up from the ditch of depression. Thank You, Lord! is the seed of faith planted in the dry, cracked earth. When you least feel like doing it – say Thank You, Lord!
You don’t say Thank You to God because you are crediting or blaming Him for your heartache. NO! Nothing could be further from the truth! God is good! He is the Father of LOVE and goodness! Most of the time we make our own heartache. Why then do we say Thank You, Lord, in the midst of the raging storm?
We say Thank You, Lord, that you’re still there to help us! Thank You, Lord, that I’m not totally alone! Thank You, Lord for the help you will send me. Thank You, Lord. Thank You for tomorrows that are sure to come. Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! It’s a vital element of positive prayer.’
Oh friends, I do hope that Gramps Schuller’s words on the importance of saying ‘Thank You,’ to God, have resonated and reverberated in us, and will continue to do so, because if we want to have positive thoughts and actions, we first have to use positive words, in spite of our circumstances. And there are no simpler and yet more positive words than those two: ‘Thank You!’
In our crazy, confused and troubled world, when said to others, they can diffuse a tremulous situation; soften a hard heart, lend healing to a broken one, and bring a smile to a sour face. And when we sincerely say them to God, we just raise the level of our faith and maturity.
Our relationship with our heavenly Father enters a deeper phase, because we are acknowledging His goodness and LOVE, His omnipotence and ability to control circumstances, both our own and the world’s. We are saying in effect, ‘heavenly Father we trust You, regardless of what’s happening in our lives and the world. We’re standing firm on Your promises, because we know that You are faithful and will keep EVERY promise that You’ve made.’
Now here is our Bit, which declares the thing that we ought to be most grateful for and give the most thanks for: ‘But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.’
Yes my fellow believers, we can never be too thankful or grateful for the victory over death, hell, the grave and any other negative things, that Jesus has given us through His own sacrificial death, resurrection and ascension, through the never-ending grace of our heavenly Father.
And Bruh Paul further sates in his second letter to the Corinthians: ‘Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to (leads us in) triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour (fragrance) of his knowledge by us in every place. For we are unto God a sweet savour (aroma) of Christ, in (among) them that are saved, and in (among) them that perish.’ (2 cor.2:14-15)
Oh friends, are we ever a sweet fragrance to God when we accept His Son Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, and wisely accept His free offer of salvation and eternal life, and thus will not be relegated to the foolish group that will perish because of their non-acceptance of Christ. He doesn’t want anything more than that. So, with His awesome help, let’s do our best to bring others to that realization nuh.
Now let’s go home declaring to the world who and whose we are in our Tuesday Mantra. In full voice and heartfelt sincerity: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
And if we are sincere, then let’s go out and share that amazing LOVE of Christ, as He so ardently desires. Much LOVE!
…LOVE unshared…is No LOVE at all…
03 Jan 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abject fear, as for me and my house, as he is, assurance, awe-inspiring love, believe on His son, bless the Lord, blessings, boldness, casts out fear, Christians, comforts of home, confess, convinces, don't need to fear, dread, dwelling in love, eternal, fatherly care, fear, fear hath torment, focusing on what's before me, forgiveness, glorious future with Jesus, glory hallelujah, God's promises, halfway home, hands on the plough, herein is our love, hypocrisy, hypocrites, if we love, Jesus Christ, Joshua, just as we are, kindness, leggo beasts, LOVE, made perfect, mercy, miraculous situation, new every morning, no questions asked, not looking back, perfect love, punishment, reassures, reconciliation, rejection, reverence, sacrifice, saving grace, serve him, sinful children of men, sins, so are we, the breath of life, the children of God, the clay of the ground, the coming judgement, the day of judgement, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the one true living God, the Year of Love, to know Jesus, treasure trove, truth, unconditional, undeserving men, violate God's trust, washes away, way of life, we will serve the Lord, Wednesday Wail, wholesome heart, wisdom
1 John 4:17. Herein is our LOVE made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgement: because as he is, so are we in this world.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, for His bountiful kindness to the sinful children of men! Bless Him for the indescribable mercy that’s new every morning to undeserving men! Bless the Lord, O my soul, for the saving grace, the reconciliation He has provided for us through the awesome sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ, so that we can believe on His Son and be called the children of God!
Oh bless His holy name people, for the breath of life that He breathed into us when He so tenderly formed us from the clay of the ground! That was His awe-inspiring LOVE that He placed in us. And even though we’ve turned away from Him, He has not turned away from us, because that LOVE is unconditional and eternal, needing nothing from us, but to come to Him, just as we are, in whatever shape we’re in, and we’ll receive, with no questions asked, His fatherly care and all the comforts of home.
And finally, bless the Lord, O my soul, for that amazing thing called forgiveness! That miraculous situation where the Lord forgives and washes away my awful sins numerous times per day, once I sincerely confess them and try not to repeat them. Oh bless the Lord, O my soul for the wonderful God we serve! The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! The God who made heaven and earth, and all therein! Bless His holy name, and serve Him with a wholesome heart, for therein lies true and eternal wisdom!
Ah friends, whether you like it or not, that is how I was guided to open today’s Bit. (smile) And it’s all true! No other faith has anything that comes even close to our Christian way of life. And if you add them all up, you’ll see what a treasure trove of blessings we enjoy, even though we don’t deserve them. So for the life of me, I can’t see why we so steadfastly refuse to faithfully serve and worship the ONE true and living God of this universe!
But friends, all I can do is give you the truth, we each have to make up our individual minds on the path we’re going to follow. Let’s hope that like Joshua, we all sincerely declare: ‘but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.’ (Josh.24:15)
And our Bit for today just reassures and convinces us that when we follow the Lord we don’t need to fear anything. ‘Herein is our LOVE made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgement: because as he is, so are we in this world.’
And the scholars tell us: ‘4:17. Herein points back to verse 16 (dwelling in LOVE). By dwelling in LOVE, and thus having God dwelling in him, the believer gains the priceless assurance that he need not fear the coming judgement. This is our assurance, IF we LOVE in this world as He does.’
Please notice that big ‘IF’ there mih people! At some stage of the life hereafter we WILL be judged, whether we believe it or like it. However, ‘IF’ we live in LOVE in this world, we won’t have to fear that judgement. And John explains further. ‘There is no fear in LOVE; but perfect LOVE casteth out fear: because fear hath (involves) torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in LOVE.’ (1 John 4:18)
Yeh friends, if we sincerely live in LOVE, then there’s no need to be afraid, because there’s NO fear whatsoever in LOVE. Listen to the scholars: ‘4:18. Fear hath torment: abject fear of God is based on dread of punishment. But God’s LOVE for us renders such dread obsolete.
Fear is still part of the Christian walk, in the sense of profound reverence, the unwillingness to violate God’s trust in us. (See Acts 10:35; 13:26; 2 Cor.7:1; Eph.5:21; Phil.2:12; 1 Pet.1:17). Believers need not fear eternal rejection as a result of God’s judgement (John 5:24), but this does not mean a Christian’s approach to God is to be casual and flippant.’ Please read the references, I just did, and they are interesting. (smile)
Yes my faithful breddren, not because we don’t have to be afraid of God’s judgement, means we have to live like leggo-beasts. We still need to reverence Him, give Him the honour and glory He deserves. For as John tells us: ‘We LOVE him, because he first LOVED us.
If a man say, I LOVE God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that LOVETH not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he LOVE God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who LOVETH God LOVE his brother also.’ (1 John 4:19-21)
And the scholars declare: ‘4:19-21. Our LOVE, if it exists and mirrors God’s LOVE at all, is not our own, but God’s doing. The epitome of hypocrisy is the claim to LOVE God while withholding LOVE from others. For Jesus Himself commanded that he who LOVES God is to demonstrate this through LOVING others.’
Unfortunately though friends, that hypocrisy is very rampant throughout Christ’s church. We talk the LOVE but don’t walk it. That’s why so many unbelievers just look at Christians, shake their heads, laugh and declare ‘Hypocrites!’ But this year we going to change that my fellow believers, because 2018 is the year of real and true godly LOVE!
And to cement that promise, let’s go home by letting the world know our sincere and secure position in Christ, as we declare our Wednesday Wail with strong conviction, in loud voice. All together now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home.
My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’ And since all God’s promises are true, we know that the future with Jesus will indeed be glorious! Much LOVE!
…to truly know Jesus…is to certainly LOVE Him…
24 Dec 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a good example, a new and glorious morn, a thrill of hope, according to thy word, assurance, barren, behold your king, bounden duty, chains, Christ's birth, Christ-like, Christmas Carol, christmas eve, confidence, damnation, death, Elisabeth, error pining, exalt His holy name, excited, face adversity, fall on your knees, followers of Jesus, forgiveness, friend, Gabriel, give thanks, gladness, glory to God, gospel is peace, grace, grateful chorus, gratitude, hear the angel voices, heartache, heavenly Father, hell fire, his law is love, hymns of joy, improve our lives, in sin, joy, knowing a man, knows our need, light of a star, long lay the world, LOVE, LOVE one another, Mary, mature, mercy, miracle, Most High, mystery, no stranger, nothing shall be impossible, O Holy Night, o night divine, oppression, our weakness, power, praise, raise our voices, resurrection, sacrifice, save sinful man, singing our hearts out, son of god, strength, stress and strain, tears of joy, the handmaid of the Lord, the Holy Spirit, the slave is our brother, the weary soul rejoices, the wherewithal, the wise men, to high heaven, to stand strong, trials, truths, with God, worship, yonder breaks
Luke 1:37. For with God nothing shall be impossible.
And then it was Christmas Eve! Yeh friends, Christmas Eve, the day before Christ’s birth, aren’t you excited? (smile) We should be my people, because it’s around this time two thousand years ago we received the greatest gift ever. The Son of God was born so that He could save sinful man, whom His heavenly Father LOVED with such a great LOVE that He was willing to sacrifice His only Son, so that His human creation could be saved from hell fire and damnation.
Glory to our Most High God my brethren, for there is no other Deity who would have ever dreamed of doing something like that! So my fellow believers, on this Christmas Eve Sunday, as we gather in God’s sanctuary to praise and worship Him, to give Him thanks and exalt His holy name and receive His mercy, grace, forgiveness, strength and confidence to face the upcoming week, let’s show our sincere gratitude and overwhelming LOVE by singing our hearts out with unspeakable joy and supreme gladness.
And the song we’re going to offer up in our sacrifice of praise is the old but ever true and much liked standard, ‘O Holy Night.’ Apparently it was originally written in French, but was later translated to English, and has the distinction of being the first Christmas Carol to ever be played on the radio in 1906. So with sincere feeling now, as we raise our voices to high heaven.
‘O holy night, the stars are brightly shining; It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth! Long lay the world in sin and error pining, ‘Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth. A thrill of hope, the weary soul rejoices, For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn. Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices! O night divine, O night when Christ was born! O night, O holy night, O night divine! Led by the light of faith serenely beaming, With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand. So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming, Here came the wise men from Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger, In all our trials born to be our Friend! He knows our need; to our weakness is no stranger. Behold your King; before Him lowly bend! Behold your King; before Him lowly bend! Truly He taught us to LOVE one another; His law is LOVE and His Gospel is peace. Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother And in His Name all oppression shall cease. Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we, Let all within us praise His holy Name! His power and glory evermore proclaim! His power and glory evermore proclaim!’
Oh friends, what beautiful sentiments, filled with eternal truths, while offering loads of assurance for the believer. I sincerely hope that tears of joy were flowing down all our faces as we sang those exquisite words. For how could it be otherwise eh, when we’re celebrating such a joyful occasion? And friends, the whole story of Christ’s birth is so incredible, that only a superior being could have worked it out so efficiently and competently and dramatically.
That takes us to our Bit: ‘For with God nothing shall be impossible.’ Those were the words of the angel Gabriel to Mary, Christ’s mother, after he informed her that she would bare God’s Son through the auspices of the Holy Spirit, and that her hitherto barren cousin Elisabeth, in her old age, was also pregnant. And what I LOVE about Mary is that despite her young age, throughout Gabriel’s information session she never got riled or overly excited. Of course she was somewhat concerned and confused as Gabriel appeared out of the blue and began to lay such weighty matters on her. Her only real question was how was she going to get pregnant without knowing a man?
And once Gabriel explained, she was fine. ‘The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest (Most High) shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing (One) which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.’ (Luke 1:35) I must say that Mary was pretty mature for her age and background. If an angel suddenly appeared now and told that a teenager, she’d either run away screaming in fright, or hurl vicious and angry words at the messenger. But Mary’s response at the end of the conversation was simply: ‘Behold the handmaid (maidservant) of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.’ (Luke 1:38)
Ah friends, I’m not sure that Mary would have been so relaxed if she had known the immense heartache she would have to face by being the mother of the Son of God. But nonetheless she held up under all the stress and strain of her position fairly well. Obviously the Lord gave her the wherewithal to stand strong and face the adversity, as He does with us all, when He gives us a job to do.
So fellow believers, on this Christmas Eve Sunday of 2017, with our world in a complete mess, let’s try and spend some serious time contemplating the mystery and the miracle of Christ’s birth, and how it affects our lives today nuh. And consequently, what we need to do to improve our lives and the lives of those around us, because if we are to be true followers of Jesus, and for His birth, death and resurrection to truly mean something, then we should always be in the process of becoming more Christ-like and setting a good Christian example to others. That’s Christ’s desire and our bounden duty. Much LOVE!
…ALL things are possible with God…you just have to study Christ’s life to see it…
03 Dec 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a sound mind, action, animal barn, assurance, birthplace, blackbird has spoken, boast, Cat Stevens, cathedral, Christians, Christmas, confidence in God, do it afraid, elation, fear not, fellowship, followers of Jesus, friendship, gladness in my heart, glory to God, God's recreation, good things, hope, hovel, I awaked, I will not be afraid, in Jesus' name, kill the body, kill the soul, laid me down and slept, lay me down in peace, Lord God Jehovah, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, lowly servant, makes me dwell in safety, manger, mine is the sunlight, morning has broken, power, praise, praise for the singing, redeemed, royal splendour, safety, sanctuary, sinful turmoil, sleep, smitten by fear, spend eternity, springing fresh from the world., stand together, station in life, steadfast, strong, Sunday, sunlit from heaven, surroundings, sweet the rain, sweetness, talk, ten thousands of people, the Lord sustained me, the Lord's Day, the new day, the Sabbath, the spirit of fear, the wet garden, thou Lord, trust in God, unconditional LOVE, what's in our hearts
Psalm 4:8. I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.
And after Saturday, comes Sunday… the first day of the week; the Lord’s Day, the Sabbath; the time we gather for great fellowship in the Lord’s sanctuary, be it a majestic cathedral or a lowly hovel! The physical aspect of the place doesn’t matter that much, just the feeling of friendship and LOVE we bring to it. The Lord is more interested in what’s in our hearts than our surroundings.
Yuh see where He allowed His Son Jesus to be born at the upcoming Christmas time? In a smelly, rundown animal barn. Don’t you think, if He wanted to, or if He thought it that important, Jesus could have been born in a palace, or somewhere much better than the manger. For sure! But Jesus wasn’t coming to earth to live in royal splendor…at least not this first time… but as a lowly servant, so His birthplace did fit His station in life.
Anyway, let’s get to the matter at hand, opening our ceremony with some sacrifice of praise, with the old Cat Stevens tune, ‘Morning has broken.’ In full voice and beautiful harmony now, letting heaven know that we’re serious about our praise and worship. ‘Morning has broken like the first morning Blackbird has spoken like the first bird Praise for the singing Praise for the morning Praise for them springing fresh from the world
Sweet the rain’s new fall, sunlit from heaven Like the first dewfall on the first grass Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden Sprung in completeness where his feet pass Mine is the sunlight Mine is the morning Born of the one light Eden saw play Praise with elation, praise ev’ry morning God’s recreation of the new day Morning has broken like the first morning Blackbird has spoken like the first bird Praise for the singing Praise for the morning Praise for them springing fresh from the world.’
Yes friends, a brand new day has indeed dawned, just like the first one did eons ago, and will continue to do until the Lord decides otherwise! And I do hope that we are thankful for being allowed to see this new day, especially knowing that so many good things can and will happen to us, and through us to others. Glory to God!
What a wonderful Deity we serve and worship! There is NO other like Him! Give Him much deserved thanks and praise for all that He’s done for us, my brethren, especially when He didn’t have to! But the undying and unconditional LOVE in His heart wouldn’t allow Him to just let us be destroyed in sinful turmoil without giving us a chance to be redeemed and spend eternity with Him.
That’s why Bruh David could write the last two verses of Psalm 4 – An evening prayer of trust in God – with such boldness and authority. ‘Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn (grain) and their wine increased. I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.’ (Ps.4:7-8)
Wonderful words of assurance friends, which carry over even in to today’s tumultuous and evil world for each and every believer in Jesus Christ! Yes, if we are true followers of Jesus, then we can make the same boast on His glorious name!
And Bruh David wasn’t shy to declare his trust in God. Listen to him from Psalm 3 – A prayer of confidence in God. ‘I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the Lord sustained me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about.’ (Ps.3:5-6)
Ah mih people, are we brave and bold and faithful enough to make such declarations? We ought to be, if Christ is our Lord and Saviour. But I guess too many of us supposed believers are smitten by fear of what the world can do to us, but the Bible tells us oodles of times, ‘FEAR NOT!’ Somebody says it’s listed there 365 times, one time for each day of the year.
And Jesus specifically said to the 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 soul and body in hell.’ (Matt.10:28) That’s the Lord God Jehovah my people! If we need to fear anyone, that’s whom we should be afraid of because He has the power to destroy us six ways from Sunday.
But then listen to Bruh Paul’s words as he encourages Timothy on the subject. ‘For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound (disciplined) mind.’ (2 Tim.1:7) God has given us the ability to do whatever he wills, my brethren, so there is no need to let fear overcome us. And if we do become afraid, then just do whatever it is afraid. (smile) The Lord will see you through.
Oh people of Christ, our world is in a sad, cruel and evil mess, and only we Christians can clean it up. But to do so successfully, we have to stand together strong and steadfast in Jesus name, unafraid of what the world will do or say. Otherwise we’re just wasting our time and energy. So today I implore us to get together in our local communities and get a move on nuh, with establishing Jesus’ LOVE Revolution. It’s the only hope for our world! Much LOVE!
…enough talk now…time for more serious action from Christians…
20 Nov 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a believer in Christ, an expected end, assurance, aura of love, Babylon, boost spirits, breath of life, bring to fruition, calamity, concrete jungle, confidence, conquerors, curtains for us, earthly life, enthusiasm, eternal life, eternal separation, everlasting life, excuses, families, foolish, friends, fruitful vine, future, glorious kingdom, God's plans, hard worker, he who has ears to hear, hope, human being, humble servants, hunker down, I think toward you, in His own image, invincible, Israelites, Jerusalem, Jesus Christ, joy, joyless enormous price, laziness, lies, lose nothing, LOVE, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, negative effects, not of evil, peace, privilege, procrastination, raise it up again, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, reverse, salvation, sins, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, the last day, the will of God, the worst thing, thoughts, to die for us, trust, truth, undisciplined, ungodly world, weary souls, week of work, welcomed in heaven, wiles, will not cast out, wisdom, worthwhile intentions
Jeremiah 29:11. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith, the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you an expected end (a future and a hope).
Ah friends, the days are rolling by quickly and who knows how much time we have left to successfully perform any tasks, or bring to fruition whatever plans God has in store for us. That means we’ve got to get with the program right away; no excuses, laziness or procrastination, but be a diligent, hard worker and fruitful vine bearer for Christ. So that at the end of our days, He’ll greet us with that wonderful, big smile, a tantalizing bear hug, and the overwhelming invitation: ‘Welcome! Welcome home, thou good and faithful servant!’
Wow mih breddren, there can’t be any better welcoming words than those anywhere in the universe! But for our lives to play out that way, means we have to begin by being fired up this Monday morning; no whining and complaining; just seriously, sincerely and conscientiously going about the Lord’s business. Oh, I know some Monday mornings it’s difficult to roll out of the warm and comfortable bed to face our cruel and evil world, especially as the chills of winter descend upon us, in the northern climes.
But that’s why we have our Monday Morning Battle Hymn; to boost our spirits, reverse all the negative effects of an undisciplined weekend (smile) and get us ready to face whatever comes against us with the energy, assurance, joy and peace that come from being a believer in, and a follower of our wonderful Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. So let’s blast it out as passionately as we can nuh.
‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Awright mih people, yuh see how our Battle Hymn changes our entire perspective, how our passion rises as we trill it to the high heavens? So let’s keep that adrenaline flowing nuh, as we get out onto the highways and byways and make our way to the concrete jungles and hunker down to labour for another day. But all the while keeping the unbreakable promise of our Bit solidly grounded in our hearts, bodies, minds and souls. ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith, the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you an expected end (a future and a hope).’
Yeh friends, even when God punished the Israelites by having Babylon take them captive, He promised to bring them back to Jerusalem after seventy years. Hopefully, they would have learned their lesson by then. And it’s the same way my faithful brethren that the Lord has good plans for us, plans to give us hope, joy and peace. Why would He create us in His own image, give us His breath of life and then, when we screw up, send His Son Jesus to die for us, if He didn’t have good and worthwhile intentions towards us eh?
Listen to Jesus tell it like it is: ‘All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise (certainly not) cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.’ (John 6:37-40)
Oh my people, does that sound like a God who has bad intentions towards us? Certainly not! He wants only the best for us, that’s why He sent Jesus to die for our abominable sins; to give us a hope and a future; otherwise it would have been curtains for us, certain calamity through eternal separation from Him. And believe me, eternal separation from Almighty God is the WORST thing that can ever happen to a human being!
So friends, please let’s take this earthly life seriously, let’s take Jesus seriously, because if we don’t, we’ll end up paying an enormous price for the dubious privilege of being foolish. We don’t have to be miserable and joyless, because Jesus came to give us joy, but we do have to be sensible, thoughtful and wise if we want to be welcomed in heaven. Much LOVE!
…he who has ears to hear…let him hear…else he will certainly feel…
19 Nov 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a mystery, a scientific experience, a thing of the past, a thousand ages, a tree of life, agnostic, an ever rolling stream, as a dream, assurance, atheist, bears all its sons away, bowed down, cast down, character, Christ-like, church bells peal, church going, defense, depressed, depression, disquieted, dr robert h schuller, dwelt secure, experience, fly forgotten, foundation of faith, from everlasting to everlasting, gather in Christ's name, glorify God's name, God of Love, Holy Ghost, hope, Hour of Power Devotional, in due time, isaac watts, joy abounds, justification, makes the heart sick, Moses, not ashamed, O God our help in ages past, our eternal home, our hope for years to come, patience, perseverance, personality, poured out, praise, refuge, revitalization, revitalized, saints, saved by hope, shadow of thy throne, shed abroad, shelter from the stormy blast, sing, stalwart of faith, succour, sufficient, Sunday best, the help of his countenance, the living sign, the LOVE of God, the presence of God, the rising sun, the watch, time, tribes of flesh, truth, underlying nature, when the desire comes, without strength, worship
Proverbs 13:12. Hope deferred maketh the heart sick, but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.
And as the church bells peal the call to church, we put on our Sunday best and get ready to gather in the house of God, be it a magnificent cathedral or a manger like where Christ was born. The physical place is not as important as the people who gather in Christ’s name, and what they do there; sing, praise, worship and glorify His holy name.
Oh friends, only the ole fogeys will remember the simpler days when church bells rang to tell us how long before church began. And you’d see a whole lot of us hurrying into church just as the last bell was ringing. (smile) But sadly church bells are now a thing of the past, just like church going is for way too many of us.
Anyway, enough reminiscing, let’s get on with today’s proceedings. And we’ll open with this well-known 18th century hymn by Isaac Watts, based on Psalm 90:1, to instill a sense of assurance and a place of refuge in Almighty God.
So let’s raise our voices in sacrificial praise like we’ve truly found that sense of assurance and place of refuge nuh. ‘O God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come, Our shelter from the stormy blast, And our eternal home. Under the shadow of Thy throne Thy saints have dwelt secure; Sufficient is Thine arm alone, And our defense is sure. Before the hills in order stood, Or earth received her frame, From everlasting Thou art God, To endless years the same.
Thy Word commands our flesh to dust, “Return, ye sons of men”: All nations rose from earth at first, And turn to earth again. A thousand ages in Thy sight Are like an evening gone; Short as the watch that ends the night Before the rising sun. The busy tribes of flesh and blood, With all their lives and cares, Are carried downwards by the flood, And lost in foll’wing years.
Time, like an ever-rolling stream, Bears all its sons away; They fly, forgotten, as a dream Dies at the op’ning day. Like flow’ry fields the nations stand Pleased with the morning light; The flow’rs beneath the mower’s hand Lie with’ring ere ’tis night. O God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come, Be Thou our guard while troubles last, And our eternal home.’
Oh my people, those words come close, but they can’t really do our great God justice, for there are no words to truly describe what He means to mankind. He is our BE ALL and END ALL! We are created by Him, live physical life under His dominion, then end up wherever He thinks our spiritual life is best suited. So since He is Master of ALL He surveys, true wisdom will dictate that we put ALL of our trust and hope in Him.
That brings us to our Bit: ‘Hope deferred maketh the heart sick, but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.’ And we only had time yesterday to admit to that truth; when we don’t have hope, we’re depressed and miserable, but when we do have it, we’re revitalized and joy abounds. But what actually is that thing we call Hope eh?
Here is an interesting definition from Gramps Schuller (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) from His Hour of Power Devotional. He says: ‘HOPE. It is a scientific experience of the presence of God operating in your personality… Your good luck is really your good Lord. Hope is a mystery. God always offers hope regardless of your beliefs, whether you are an agnostic or atheist. Hope is the presence of a God of LOVE coming into your mind, your spirit, your body, your personality. This is God. This is HOPE!’
And who are we to doubt him eh? However we define hope, it is important to realize that it comes from our LOVING Creator, and it is given to reassure and encourage us to have faith in Him. Moses so rightly declared in the opening of his psalm. ‘Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place (refuge) in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed (gave birth to) the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting thou art God.’ (Ps.90:1-2) And if all of that is true my people, then the only logical place to look for succour and refuge, to acquire that mysterious, scientific uplifting experience termed hope, is from Almighty God!
And another stalwart of faith, Bruh David concurs completely with Moses, as he questions his depressed mood. ‘Why art thou cast (bowed) down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted in me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance (presence).’ (Ps.42:5) Yuh see friends, Bruh David is there seeking refuge, hope, relief from his depression, revitalization through God’s presence. And if we are wise, we will do the same thing.
Now hear how Bruh Paul describes hope in his epistle to the Roman church, as he expounds on the results of justification. ‘And patience, experience (character); and experience hope: And hope maketh not ashamed (does not disappoint); because the LOVE of God is shed abroad (has been poured out) in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. For when we were yet without strength, in due time (at the right time) Christ died for the ungodly.’ (Rom.5:4-6) Yes friends, Christ died that we might have hope, and the Holy Spirit dwelling within us is the living sign of that hope, as He walks and talks with and for us.
And we’ll close with one more applicable scripture from Bruh Paul to the Romans, as he talks about Life in the Spirit. ‘For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience (perseverance) (eagerly) wait for it.’ (Rom.8:24-25) Truer words were never spoken my brethren! Now let’s put our hope and trust in God nuh, so that our faith can be boosted and our lives become more Christ-like. Much LOVE!
…you can’t have faith without hope…for hope is the underlying nature…the foundation of faith…
12 Nov 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a servant, a song of praise, above every name, adoration, All hail, angels, assurance, believers, blessings, chosen race, confession, confidence, crown him Lord of all, death of the cross, desire, enthused, enthusiastic fashion, equal with God, every knee shall bow, every tongue confess, exalt, excited, extol, gall, gathering of faithful believers, given him a name, glorify, God hath highly exalted him, God incarnate, harmonious living, humbled himself, humbly, in the form of God, in the mood, injustice, Israel's might, Jesse's rod, Jesus christ is Lord, LOVE, lyre, man divine, martyrs, morning stars, no reputation, obedient, only human, penitently, Philippians, praise, prostrate fall, ransomed, reverence, robbery, royal diadem, sacrifice of praise, saves by grace, seraphs, stimulating openings, strength, Sunday, the likeness of men, the Lord's sanctuary, the name of Jesus, the power of Jesus name, this mind be in you, to the glory of God the Father, tongue, tribe, trophies, ultimate purpose, universal song, universal submission, unto death, where two or three are gathered, wormwood, worship
Philippians 2:19. Wherefore God hath also highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name.
Aye friends, I try, but you have to bear with the ole fella, because I’m only human. (smile) I try to have different, interesting and stimulating openings each day, but there are only so many words and phrases, etc. in the language that you can’t always conjure up new ones every day. So sometimes we just have to settle for the same old ones. In other words, I’m trying to say that I don’t know how to begin this Sunday morning’s Bit in an enthusiastic fashion that I haven’t already done. (smile)
But we do know that since it’s Sunday, it means a gathering of faithful believers in the Lord’s sanctuary, or wherever two or three may be gathered, to worship and give Him praise, glorify and exalt His holy name and receive His blessings, confidence, strength and assurance to face the upcoming week. And, as always, we like to begin with a song of praise, to get us excited, enthused and in the mood to worship our heavenly Father.
And if this late 18th century one by Edward Perronet, ‘All hail the power of Jesus’ Name,’ doesn’t move you, then I don’t know what will. So let’s raise our voices in the sacrifice of praise, as we belt out, in harmony and heart-felt sincerity. ‘All hail the power of Jesus’ Name! Let angels prostrate fall; Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown Him Lord of all. Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown Him Lord of all.
Let highborn seraphs tune the lyre, and as they tune it, fall Before His face Who tunes their choir, and crown Him Lord of all. Before His face Who tunes their choir, and crown Him Lord of all. Crown Him, ye morning stars of light, who fixed this floating ball; Now hail the strength of Israel’s might, and crown Him Lord of all. Now hail the strength of Israel’s might, and crown Him Lord of all. Crown Him, ye martyrs of your God, who from His altar call;
Extol the Stem of Jesse’s Rod, and crown Him Lord of all. Extol the Stem of Jesse’s Rod, and crown Him Lord of all. Ye seed of Israel’s chosen race, ye ransomed from the fall, Hail Him Who saves you by His grace, and crown Him Lord of all. Hail Him Who saves you by His grace, and crown Him Lord of all. Hail Him, ye heirs of David’s line, whom David Lord did call, The God incarnate, Man divine, and crown Him Lord of all, The God incarnate, Man divine, and crown Him Lord of all.
Sinners, whose LOVE can ne’er forget the wormwood and the gall, Go spread your trophies at His feet, and crown Him Lord of all. Go spread your trophies at His feet, and crown Him Lord of all. Let every tribe and every tongue before Him prostrate fall And shout in universal song the crowned Lord of all. And shout in universal song the crowned Lord of all.’
Yeh friends, Jesus has been crowned by the Father as Lord of ALL! And why is that eh? Hear Bruh Paul as he waxes philosophical to the Philippians. (smile) ‘Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus; (constant harmonious living – vs. 2-4). Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God. But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion (appearance) as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.’ (Phil.2:5-8)
Oh my people, what a wonderful, faithful humble and obedient Son, our Jesus was! That’s why our Bit so gloriously proclaims: ‘ Wherefore God hath also highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name.’ What an honour! A well deserved one too! And is not no joke honour that the Father bestowed on Jesus nuh, but the biggest one available.
Listen to how Bruh Paul describes it. ‘That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of (those) things in heaven, and (those) things in earth, and (those) things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ (Phil.2:10-11)
Fellow believers, oh fellow believers, that’s the kind of rewarder our heavenly Father is! You do His will, humbly and obediently, and He will reward you in a just and appropriate manner. For Jesus sacrifice in vs.6-8, the Lord paid Him the highest compliment possible; a name above every other name – that’s JESUS!
And the scholars tell us: ‘There are three purposes for Jesus’ exaltation. (1) That every being in the universe might someday submit to Him. (2) That, in addition to the future universal submission (v.10), there might also be a universal confession that Jesus Christ is Lord. On earth Jesus is recognized by many to be no more than man (v.8), yet in the future ALL will acknowledge Him to be Lord, that is, God. The ultimate purpose for Jesus’ glorification is (3) to the glory of God the Father (v.11) for His honour.’
Yes, Christian saints, that’s the kind of stuff that ought to get us all choked up and filled with true and sincere LOVE, adoration, reverence and praise for our wonderful God! And if you’re not filled with all those things RIGHT NOW, then something is dreadfully and drastically wrong. So please go humbly and penitently to the Lord and ask Him to fix whatever is wrong, so that you can truly delight in Him. Otherwise you are doing yourself an immense injustice. Much LOVE!
…to LOVE…LOVE…LOVE Him…is the believer’s utmost desire for Jesus…
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