The Great Importance of Christians Believing They can NEVER be Separated from God, and thus Standing Strong in Faith!

14 Mar 2026 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

2 Timothy 1:8.         Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions (share with me the sufferings) of the gospel according to the power of God;

And the strong winds howled constantly through the cold, dark night into the wee hours of the morning. But yuh know what? Those few dozen leaves on the tree in my neighbour’s backyard stood strong and steadfast, never wavered in their commitment to stay attached to their host. Glory be! Now that’s how we believers in Christ Jesus ought to be so thoroughly committed to Him that nothing or no one can move us away from His magnificent, majestic and compassionate orbit.

It’s like Bruh Paul says in that most reassuring and encouraging chapter of Romans 8: ‘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, or any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the LOVE of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ (Rom. 8:38-39) The question now friends, is do we sincerely believe that nothing whatsoever can separate us from the LOVE of God, found in Christ Jesus?

And it’s very important that we truly believe it, and then live like it, otherwise we’ll be forever at the mercy of Satan and his evil cronies. They will always be able to influence us with doubts and misgivings about our true situation in Christ. And we certainly don’t need those doubts and misgivings further clouding our already unpredictable lives. Therefore, it’s important that we stand very strong and steadfast in our beliefs about our association with Christ!

And the scholars offer this explanation for those verses. ‘We cannot be separated from God’s LOVE, because it is set forth in a person who is God Himself, Jesus Christ, our Saviour. God’s desire to redeem believers cannot be frustrated, because He is infinitely greater than any potential enemy. His plan will be realized because it is His purpose (cf. 28).’

Now verse 28 of Romans 8 is one of God’s great promises. ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are called according to his purpose.’ So if we LOVE God and are called according to His purpose, then everything will work out good in the end. That’s God’s promise, and He never breaks or reneges on a promise. That’s why we can be reassured that nothing or no one will ever come between us and God if we truly desire and believe it.

That then brings us to these words from Bruh Paul to Timothy. ‘Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions (share with me the sufferings) of the gospel according to the power of God; Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began (before time).’ (2 Tim. 1:8-9)

And as loyal followers of Christ, saved by His shed blood on the cross of Calvary, that’s what we need to be doing; not being ashamed of the gospel of Christ, but doing our best to spread it all over the world, as directed by God’s will and purpose found in the Great Commission, (Matt. 28:18-20 ) and willingly undergoing any sufferings that might come against us while doing so, remembering that our salvation was totally unmerited, and it was only the great LOVE of God that caused it.

And just in case we’ve forgotten what the Great Commission says, (smile) let’s review it and thus refresh our memories. Christ begins by telling the disciples, and consequently all believers: ‘All power (authority) is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach (make disciples of) all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt. 28:18-20)

Now, our job here on earth could not be made any clearer that that my brethren. We are supposed to share the gospel of Christ while also living it. And are we doing that? Not as well as we ought to, because too many of us are indeed ashamed of the gospel, or are too lazy and comfortable in the world to do it, or afraid of what mankind will do to us. But let’s also remember Jesus’ warning on the fear of man. ‘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) And the person who can destroy both soul and body is Almighty God! So, if we’re to fear anyone, that’s whom we should fear, not mankind.

But getting back to the Great Commission, I like how the scholars frame it. They say: ‘Christianity is not represented here as the mere reverential devotion of disappointed men who honour their martyred leader. Here is a far different scene. The triumphant, living Lord sends forth His ambassadors to proclaim His gospel throughout all the world. The Great Commission is not just and order but a pronouncement of victory by the risen Saviour through His disciples.’

Now, hopefully that description of the Great Commission will reawaken our sleeping or dormant spirits and cause us to stop allowing Christ’s victory to slip through our hands, and consequently become better disciples of our Lord and Saviour. And no, I haven’t forgotten it, (smile) but things just worked out differently today. Instead of usually being first, today it’s last. So then, on this chilly but somewhat sunny lazy-day Saturday, where thankfully yesterday’s snow fall wasn’t as bad as forecasted, before we get to lazing around, let’s offer up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer in all sincerity and truth.

As one strong voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’ 

And if our prayer was truly sincere, then the Lord’s peace and calm will soon fall on us, allowing us to spend a peaceful day, pondering on what we’ve spoken about, and the important ramifications thereof. Much LOVE!

…once a child of God…always a child of God…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

The Urgency for Christians to Wake Up and Use Their God-Given Talents to Turn the World Around!

31 May 2025 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

2 Timothy 1:6.       Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on (laying on) of my hands.

There we have it friends, the end of another month of this crazy and unpredictable year of 2025! And I’m still amazed at how quickly the days and months are going by. And not only are the days and months passing by quickly, but the weather is also topsy-turvy. Yesterday we had highs in the twenties and you could feel the heat. Today though, our lazy-day Saturday will barely get up into the mid-teens, while being cloudy and very windy. And, unfortunately, it’s definitely not in our power to stop or control Mother Nature and her eccentricities, (smile) we can only roll along with the tumbling tumbleweed if we want to survive and be successful in the long run. 

Our world today is a paradox that only the Lord could work out and understand. But we can certainly benefit from His colossal wisdom by turning to Him and asking for His wonderful assistance. So lets’ do that right now by offering up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer with heartfelt sincerity. As one strong voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’ 

Now, that’s one of the great things about our God; we can pray to Him, and if it’s in His will, and we’re sincere of heart, then almost immediately we can get a positive response. Especially if it’s a desire to grow closer to Him. That just floors Him every time! (smile) And because intimacy and communion with Him were amongst the major reasons He created us, He obviously cannot refuse a sincere request to get intimate with Him. Not at all! That brings to mind these two marvellous verses from Psalm 42 titled – My Soul Thirsts for the Lord – where the Son of Korah write: ‘As the hart (deer) panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?’ (Ps. 42:1-2) 

Oh friends, that’s how we believers ought to be hungering and thirsting for our great and wonderful God. But sadly, too many of us supposed believers don’t have the time to spend with Him, or even want to spend time with Him, but we do expect to receive His awesome blessings and favours though. What a set of bloody hypocrites we are. It’s like Jesus saying to the Pharisees: ‘Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres (whitewashed tombs), which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and are of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity (lawlessness).’ (Matt. 23:27-28) 

Ah mih people, definitely too many of us fit that disgraceful sobriquet in these perilous times, brought about to a large extent by our unwillingness to get out into the world and impart Christ’s gospel to the heathen, by spreading our salty flavour and bright light in the terrible darkness that exists there. And why have we so badly reneged on our promise to go out and manifest the Great Commission? Who knows? Possibly through laziness, shame, fear, or whatever cunning and deceitful method the devil used to restrict us. 

But let’s remember these fateful words of Bruh Paul to Timothy. ‘When I call to remembrance the unfeigned (genuine) faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice, and I am persuaded that in thee also. Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on (laying on) of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound (disciplined) mind. 

Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions (share with me the sufferings) of the gospel according to the power of God: Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began (before time), But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.’ (2 Tim. 1:5-10) 

Yes my fellow saints, we have been appointed by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who, through His selfless sacrifice on the cross of Calvary, brought us salvation and eternal life, to go over all the world and spread the good news of His gospel, so that all the earth would have the option of accepting His amazing options of light and life over the dreaded darkness and death that Satan offers. But we have failed to live up to our promises as His true disciples, as His ambassadors and representatives here on earth. What a shameful display my brethren! 

But then we whine and complain about the sad state of our world! Do we ever sit and consider what would have happened if many more of us had gotten up off our rear ends and gone out and lived the life of a true Christian. Not even preaching the gospel, but simply living a life filled with salt and light, with LOVE and kindness, one devoid of strife and hatred, of deceit and fraudulence, of greed and envy, of selfishness and self-aggrandizement! Yes friends, if a greater portion of us had lived that kind of life, our world would certainly not be in the ungodly and chaotic state that it’s currently in. 

So, when we complain about the terrible times we’re now facing, let’s remember that a lot of it stems from our lack of living the way we ought to, so we have no one else to blame but ourselves. But thankfully it’s not too late for us to turn things around. So please, let’s wake up and heed the urgent call of Jesus nuh, and get together and use all the tools we have to run Beelzebub out of town! What great joy that would bring, both here on earth and in heaven above! Much LOVE!

…it’s time for us to wake up…and use our amazing God-given abilities…to turn the world around…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit   27 November 2023   2 Timothy 2:3.

27 Nov 2023 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

2 Timothy 2:3.        Thou therefore endure hardness (hardship) as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

Ah friends, even on the fairest day, Monday is tough enough to execute, but when it’s also damp from yesterday evening’s rains, chilly and windy, as it is today, then it just triggers a bigger negative response in our souls. (smile) Oh, we know we are going to get through it all right with the help and guidance of Jesus and His Holy Spirit, but it just takes a li’l more out of us than normal, requires a strong and steadfast burst of faith, trust and surrender. I guess that’s when we have to do like Bruh Paul told Timothy: ‘Thou therefore endure hardness (hardship) as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.’ (2 Tim. 2:3) 

Now that seems like a very simple scripture, but it is rather profound, and it is not always easy to do in this modern day society, with all the distractions and evil deeds that constantly bombard us from all different directions. However, like everything else Christ asks us to do, we can do it, because He always anoints us to do His will. But the doing then depends on us, if we are willing to stand up and face the adversity in His name. And again, it’s like Bruh Paul admonished and exhorted Timothy later on. ‘But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.’ (2 Tim. 4:5) 

Yes friends, those words also pertain to us, because it’s not only pastors who have ministries, for every believer has a ministry; meaning whatever job the Lord has anointed us to carry out on His behalf, whatever plan He’s laid out for our life. So we don’t need to be the shepherd of a large congregation to talk about our ministry, for even if we’re only mentoring one new believer, or being the only believer in a group of unbelievers, then that’s our ministry, and we ought to carry it out with the zest and zeal like if we had a worldwide organization to look after. 

For, as Bruh Paul continues to hammer home to poor Timothy. ‘No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.’ (2 Tim. 2:4) That means if Jesus has appointed us to be His soldier, disciple, agent or whatever, we cannot get entangled in the affairs of this world and all its evil and futile distractions, but we need to pay serious attention to Jesus’ work, concentrate on what He’s asked of us, because He’s the one that’s hired us to look after His affairs. 

Suffering privation, or affliction is an essential aspect of any soldier’s job. Consequently, we must also heed these words of Bruh Paul to Timothy. ‘Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.’ (2 Tim. 1:8-10) 

Oh my fellow believers, one thing we should never be found guilty of is being ashamed of the testimony of Christ, that’s His gospel. It’s the story of His life and death and the good news of salvation, of eternal life and the reversal of sin that it brought about through the unmerited favour and grace of God, absolutely not of our doing. Remember too these very important words of Jesus. ‘Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I also confess before my Father which is in heaven. But whosever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is heaven.’ (Matt. 10:32-33) 

And I know that scripture has some of us scratching our heads and wondering if we fall under it, because for whatever reason(s), we’ve denied Christ at some stage of our life. But I believe this excerpt from a commentary on the subject helps to clarify the matter. It says: ‘The full context of Scripture strongly suggests that a single, panic-driven denial of Jesus will not necessarily end a believer’s opportunity to spend eternity with the Father. Christians are saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus, not by perfect performance in acknowledging Him (Ephesians 2:8-9). 

Peter will most famously deny Christ at a crucial moment because of his own fear of being arrested and killed (Matthew 26:69-74). After Jesus’ resurrection and the arrival of the Holy Spirit, though, Peter will spend the rest of his life powerfully acknowledging Jesus to others (Acts 2). Where this warning becomes more dire is in the lives of those who consistently, or easily, dissociate themselves from Christ for the sake of health, wealth, popularity, or freedom. Those who aren’t willing to be associated with Jesus on earth won’t be allowed to claim association with Him in eternity (Matthew 10:37; Mark 8:36).’ 

And I do hope that explanation settle the queries in some of our minds. (smile) And now, having spoken about some of the difficult but necessary stuff, needed to live sincerely for Jesus, let’s go to the throne of grace through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn asking for divine help to accomplish it. As one voice: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’ 

And the easiest and best way to acquire divine help is by doing exactly what we say above there; turn from our evil ways. Yes friends, that’s the first step in any reconnection with Almighty God! Much LOVE!

…any soldier worth his salt…will stand up strong and steadfast in battle…so should Christians for Christ… 

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ