10 Aug 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a need is something that's necessary to sustain life, a want is a desire wish or aspiration, an adverse outcome, be filled with the Spirit, be not drunk with wine, blessed is the man that endures temptation, bowing here, Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, Christians, cling to Him, come boldly to the throne of grace, come unto me all ye that labour, death, dissipation, doctrine, dysfunction, excess, faith, fearfully and wonderfully made, feel alone, feel desperate, find grace, find rest unto your souls, for all things, for my yoke is easy, gentle and humble, giving thanks always, god formed us in our mother's wombs, God is all that we need, God knows our thoughts, God wants us to run to Him, heavy laden, holy spirit, I am free, I am meek and lowly, I confess, I find my rest, I need you every hour, I will give you rest, I'll fall on you Jesus, in the fear of God, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, indisputable truth, Jesus Christ, keep our faith going strong, learn from me, Lord I need you, LOVE, making melody in your heart to the Lord, making the most of every opportunity, mercy, my burden is light, my hope and, my one defense, my righteousness, needing Christ as much as ever, not as fools but as wise, obtain mercy, practical advice, praise, receive the crown of life, redeeming the time, sacrifices of praise, salvation, speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns, spiritual songs, submitting yourselves one to another, take my yoke upon you, teach my song to rise to you, thanksgiving, the amazing truth, the BIBLE, the gospel truth, the great invitation, the infallible truth, the Lord hath promised to them that love Him, the Lord's sanctuary, the vicissitudes of life, to help in time of need, trust him at all times, truth, turbulent times, understanding the will of the Lord, walk circumspectly, we cannot hide from God, when he is tried, when I cannot stand, when temptation comes my way, where grace is found is where you are, where sin runs deep, where you are Lord, whetehr it's painful or hard, wisdom, without you I fall apart, worship, you are the one that guides my heart, your grace is more
Matthew 11:28. Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
And since today is a bright and sunshiny Sunday friends, hot like those of the recent past, and also with a heat warning, it means that all roads lead to the Lord’s Sanctuary – hope they are air-conditioned. (smile) We go there to offer up praise, worship and thanksgiving, and to receive His amazing grace, mercy, strength and joy, to help us handle the vicissitudes of the upcoming week. And today we begin our worship with a marvellous and most appropriate contemporary Christian song for these tough and turbulent times. It is simply titled, ‘Lord I Need You.’
And that is the indisputable truth, for in these ungodly and scary times, we need the Lord more than ever. However, before we get into the song, since we are talking about needing God, I believe it would be helpful to define ‘a need.’ So, here’s an interesting definition from this commentary.
It says, ‘A need is something that is necessary for an organism to live a healthy life. Needs are distinguished from wants in that, in the case of a need, a deficiency causes a clear adverse outcome: a dysfunction or death. In other words, a need is something required for a safe, stable and healthy life (e.g. food, water, and shelter) while a want is a desire, wish or aspiration.’
Now, taking that definition of a need into consideration, saying that we need the Lord is certainly another indisputable truth. For without Him in our lives, leading, guiding, and protecting us, we would surely die, both physically and spiritually! Oh yes, He is certainly someone we need to help our human organisms lead a healthy life. (smile) And now that we know what a need is, let’s offer up our sacrifices of praise through this beautiful and most timely song, in an uplifting and lively version, like that done by the renowned Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir.
Singing: ‘Lord I come, I confess Bowing here, I find my rest Without You, I fall apart You’re the one that guides my heart (Chorus: Lord, I need You, oh I need You Every hour, I need You My one defense, my righteousness Oh God, how I need You) Where sin runs deep, Your grace is more Where grace is found is where You are And where You are, Lord I am free Holiness is Christ in me (Chorus)
So teach my song to rise to You When temptation comes my way And when I cannot stand, I’ll fall on You Jesus, You’re my hope and stay (Chorus. Lord, I need You, oh I need You Every hour, I need You My one defense, my righteousness Oh God, how I need You You’re my one defense, my righteousness Oh God, how I need You My one defense, my righteousness Oh God, how I need You.’
And as we said before that is the indisputable truth! And not only the indisputable one nuh, but also the gospel truth as well as the infallible one…and any other serious truths out there! (smile) Yes my people, God created us and still controls us, therefore we need Him big time. And if we read Psalm 139, Bruh David’s Praise to the All-Knowing God, we will see how He formed us in our mother’s wombs, knows our thoughts, and everything we’ll say before we even say, we cannot hide from Him, and above all how ‘fearfully wonderfully’ we’re made. So how can we not need Him eh?
Then, we see, the chorus in the song confesses our need for the Lord every hour as our “one defense, my righteousness.” Meanwhile the first verse talks about finding rest in God, and without Him, we’d fall apart. That’s very true, and recalls Jesus’ Great Invitation to cover just such needs. ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of (from) me; for I am meek and lowly in heart (gentle and humble): and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matt. 11:28-30)
And all who hear that invitation and don’t accept it, they are certainly crazed in the head! For there’s nothing like it to be gained from anyone else. And as the chorus tells us how badly we need the Lord, the second verse let’s us know that ‘Where sin runs deep, Your grace is more Where grace is found is where You are And where You are, Lord I am free…’
And where is the Lord’s grace found? The author of Hebrews reminds us: ‘Let us therefore come boldly (confidently) unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.’ (Heb. 4:16) Yes friends, grace can be found most abundantly at the throne of grace!
Then the last verse declares: ‘So teach my song to rise to You When temptation comes my way And when I cannot stand, I’ll fall on You Jesus, You’re my hope and stay’ Oh my fellow believers, it’s like James says: ‘Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that LOVE him.’ (James 1:12) And to help us endure the temptation, these practical scripture verses from the pen of Bruh Paul to the Ephesians could be our guide.
‘See then that ye walk circumspectly (carefully), not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time (making the most of every opportunity), because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess (dissipation); but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.’ (Eph. 5:15-21)
That’s the good thing about Bruh Paul, he doesn’t only fill us with doctrine, but always gives some practical advice on how to integrate it into our lives. And we’ll end with this testimony from an unknown believer. He testifies: ‘God has used this song so much in my life over the past couple months. There are moments when we feel desperate, when we wonder why, we feel alone, we are so joyful, we feel so blessed…or we ask that God would show us what He wants from us and how to live.
And that’s where these words touch my heart so much…”Lord, I need You, oh I need You. Every hour I need You. My one defense, my righteousness, oh God how I need You.” He is ALL that we need. That’s what He wants from us. For us to run to Him, cling to Him and trust Him with everything we’re going through. Whether it’s painful and hard, or joy filled and exciting! We need Him!’
And that’s the amazing truth, my brethren! So let’s keep our faith going strong by needing Christ as much as ever! Much LOVE!
…when you have Christ…you don’t need anyone or anything else…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
28 Nov 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abominable sins, abundance, as far as the east is from the west, be careful for nothing, be not drunk with wine, bless the LOrd o my soul, but in every thing, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, courage, creativity, crowns thee with loving-kindness, curse, dissipation, enter his gates with thanksgiving, established it upon the floods, every good gift, every perfect gift is from above, excess, faith, favour, firstfruits of his creatures, forget not all his benefits, forgives thine iniquities, give thanks unto the Lord, giving thanks always for all things, great is thy faithfulness, he founded it upon the seas, he is good, heals all thy diseases, his compassions fail not, his mercy endures for ever, his truth endures to all generations, in every thing, in everything give thanks, in the fear of God, into his courts with praise, It is of the Lord's mercies, Jesus Christ, joy, let your moderation be known unto all men, LOVE, make a joyful noise unto the Lord, making melody in your heart to the Lord, mercy, negative word, neither shadow of turning, of his own will, pray without ceasing, prosper, pumpkin pie, redeems thy life from destruction, rejoice evermore, Rejoice in the Lord always, renews thy youth like the eagle, sacrifice, salvation, satisfies thy mouth with good things, serve the Lord with gladness, shall keep your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ, speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns, success, supernatural wisdom, talent, tender mercies, thankful for all our blessings, thanksgiving, the abundant life, the cross of Calvary, the earth is the Lord's, the Father of lights, the fulness thereof, the Lord is at hand, the peace of God which passeth all understading, the word of truth, they are new every morning, this is the will of God in Christ, tribulation, truth, Turkey, we are not consumed, wisdom
Happy Thanksgiving U.S. of A!
Yes, it’s officially Thanksgiving Day in the U.S. and one can imagine how busy it is down there, with all the turkey and pumpkin pie celebrations. And they do have a lot to be thankful for; the question is to whom are they thankful for their many blessings? But that’s a story for another time and place. (smile) And on this Thanksgiving Thursday, I believe it’s only right and most appropriate to check out some scriptures on thanksgiving.
So, let’s begin with this most relevant and interesting one from Bruh Paul to the Thessalonians, where he advises them, and consequently us to ‘Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.’ (1 Thess. 5:16-18) Ah friends, that’s indeed true! For our God desires us to enjoy the abundant life he’s provided for us through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ, but at the same time He desires to hear some prayerful and thankful sentiments from us, His people.
It’s only natural. We give much thanks to humans who give us non-essential earthly stuff, so why not give even greater thanks for ‘Every good and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness (variation), neither shadow of turning. Of His own will he begat us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.’ (James 1:17-18)
Oh my people, the Lord created us to be the best and most important of his many creations and blesses us with more than we can ever ask or imagine, therefore it behooves us to give Him thanks, not only on this special day, but each and every day! Today we just pile it up a li’l higher and be more sincere! (smile)
And then, both 1 Chronicles 16:34, and Psalm 107 1, rightly advocates: ‘O Give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy (LOVING-KINDESS) endureth for ever.’ And isn’t that the gospel truth my brethren! From the very beginning our great God has been nothing but good to us! And even when we’ve fallen into temptation and sin, His unconditional and abiding LOVE shone forth as He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ to die on the cross at Calvary so that our abominable sins could be forgiven, and cast away as far as the east is from the west. (Ps; 103:12)
How then, can we not in all good conscience give Him much thanks and LOVE, for as Bruh David reminds us earlier on in Psalm 103: ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with LOVING-KINDNESS and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.’ (Ps. 103:2-5) Now if that isn’t more than sufficient to give thanks for, then I don’t know what is!
And what about this admonishment from Bruh Paul to the church at Ephesus? ‘And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess (dissipation); but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord: Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear (reverence) of God.’ (Eph. 5:18-21)
What wonderful, godly advice! Unfortunately though, I know that many will be drunk with wine to excess today, despite that good advice. However, let’s hope that that dissipation will not incur too many negative consequences, as it is generally wont to do. (smile)
Then there’s this exhortation from Bruh Paul to the Ephesians. ‘Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation (gentleness) be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep (guard) your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’ (Eph. 4:4-7)
And I’m chuckling here, because it seems like Bruh Paul wrote some kind of admonishment to each of the churches to keep praying, rejoicing and offering thanks to God come what may! And that’s exactly how it ought to be, given the fact that ‘It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.’ (Lam. 3:22-23)
Oh my fellow believers, there are so many things to be thankful to God for, especially His breath of life which He unselfishly shared with us when He created us and breathed it into our lifeless bodies made of dirt. That’s why it’s very surprising and hard to believe that so many of us can be so unthankful and disparaging of God to whom EVERYTHING belongs, and who gave and gives us EVERYTHING we possess. Listen up to these last wo scriptures which attest to those facts. From Psalm 24, Bruh David writes: ‘The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.’ (Ps. 24:1-2)
Then Psalm 100 tells us to ‘Make a joyful noise (shout joyfully) unto the Lord, all ye lands (all the earth). Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.’ (Ps. 100:1-5)
And if you don’t believe that friends, then I don’t know what else to say. However, let’s declare and thus activate our Thursday Blessings, which the Lord has so generously bestowed on us do His earthly work and see if it makes a difference. (smile) As one voice: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance!
I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’
And if you believe, then it behooves us to go out and use those blessings to help others, just as generously as the Lord bestowed them on us! Much LOVE!
…be it in joy…or tribulation…it is essential to give thanks to Almighty God…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
21 Oct 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a sound from heaven, a summer-like day, a well of water, all filled with the Holy Ghost, as a mighty rushing wind, as the spirit gave them utterance, be filled with the Spirit, be not drunk with wine, began to speak with other tongues, Bible, buy wine and milk without money, christianity, come ye, come ye to the waters, divine helphumble servants, eternal life, every one that thirsteth, faith, filled the hungry with good things, god, God's free gift of salvation, grieve not the Holy Spirit, he filleth the hungry soul with goodness, he satisfieth the longing soul, he that believeth on me, he that hath no money, his mercy endureth for ever, his wonderful works to the children of men, holy spirit, if any man thirst, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus Christ, Jesus was not yet glorified, let him come unto me and drink, let your soul delight in fatness, LOVE, making melody in your heart to the Lord, mass confusion, mercy, negative situations, Oh give thanks unto the Lord for he is good, oh that men would praise the Lord for His goodness, out of his belly, reach our full potential, salvation, sealed until the day of redemption, shall flow rivers of living water, sincere repentance, sinned and disobeyed your Word, speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns, springing up into eternal life, strong faith in Christ, th day of Pentecost, the God who heals, the rich he sent away empty, the spiritually hungry and thirsty, they shall be filled, trun from our evil ways, truth, wise guidance
Matthew 5:6. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Another Monday; another beautiful, sunshiny summer-like day in my neighbourhood! As the Good Book says: ‘Oh give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good: for his mercy endureth forever… Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness (LOVING-kindness), and for his wonderful works to the children of men! For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.’ (Ps. 107:1, 8-9)
Yes friends, that’s exactly what our good and LOVING God does for us! When our souls are dissatisfied and frustrated, hungry and lost, He comes and fills us up with His Spirit. The prophet Isaiah wrote it thus a long time ago: ‘Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight in fatness (abundance). (Is. 55:1-2)
Oh my people, as the scholars explain there: ‘God’s free gift of salvation is offered to all who will receive it. Those who are spiritually hungry and thirsty may come and eat and drink without money (freely).’ Now who else offers such freedom spiritual hunger and thirst eh? No one! As Mary, Jesus’ mother says in her song, the Magnificat: ‘He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.’ (Luke 1:53)
That reminds us of Jesus’ own words from the Beatitudes, in particular this one: ‘Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.’ (Matt. 5:6) And the Lord, in His awesome power, made a big showing of just how He can fill hungry souls with His Spirit on that most memorable day of Pentecost when He filled the hundred and twenty souls sitting in the upper room waiting for something to happen.
The Bible tells us: ‘And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as a mighty rushing wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven (divided) tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.’ (Acts 2:2-4) Oh my fellow believers, when our God desires to put on a show, no one can best Him! And from that day henceforth, every believer has been filled with the Holy Spirit as soon as they believe.
Unlike that first filling though, the Lord doesn’t make a big show of it, but does it quietly, without you even knowing, until sometime later you experience this new and different feeling, of a still small voice, talking to your spirit, trying to lead and guide you in the way Jesus desires. And one of the things that Jesus often spoke about was spiritual hunger and invite us to come to Him to satisfy it.
Listen to Him with the Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob. ‘Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again; But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be a well of water (fountain) springing up into eternal life. The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.’ (John 4:13-15) She thought that Jesus was talking about real water, but the living water referred to the Holy Spirit, which Jesus again spoke about later on.
The Good Library tells us: ‘In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly (heart) shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because Jesus was not yet glorified.’ (John 7:37-39) And we saw that happen above on the day of Pentecost after Jesus’s resurrection.
But the Holy Spirit is so important that there are several things we are commanded not do to it. First off is to not grieve the Holy Spirit. Bruh Paul instructs us: ‘And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.’ (Eph. 4:30) That’s don’t make the Holy Spirit unhappy by not listening to Him and doing ungodly stuff. Then later on He says: ‘And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess (dissipation); but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.’ (Eph. 5:18-19)
It’s thus necessary to keep the Holy Spirit alive and kicking in our lives. And being filled by it means being “continually filled” with it. It’s a repeated experience, not like the first indwelling which came once and for all time. And the scholars put it quite nicely. ‘God desires that the minds of Christians be controlled by the Holy Spirit so that they will walk in the Spirit, speak on behalf of God, and understand the things of God. Because people are indwelt by the Holy Spirit at salvation, they do not need to get more of the Holy Spirit, but the filling of the Holy Spirit occurs when the Holy Spirit gets more of the believer.’
And that’s the gospel truth my fellow saints! What we need is to be more obedient and open to the workings of the Holy Spirit as the Lord desires of us. Now, that’s just a brief recounting of the importance of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and we hope it perks us up on this first day of our new work week. So, let’s go to the throne of grace through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, seeking divine aid to handle our problems.
Altogether: ‘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!’
But please remember that nothing positive will happen until we begin sincerely seeking God, and turning from our evil ways. Much LOVE!
…unless the Holy Spirit is truly guiding our lives…we’ll never reach our full potential…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
02 Sep 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all things are lawful unto me, all things edify not, answer our prayers, be filled therewith, be filled with the Spirit, be not deceived, be not drunk with wine, be not weary in well doing, Bible, but not all things are expedient, christianity, climate change, disobeyed your word, do good unto all men, drunkenness, eat only as much as is sufficient, faith, for men to search their own glory is not glory, god, God is not mocked, handle whatever comes against us, hast thou found honey, he that hath no rule over his own spirit, he that soweth of his flesh, he that soweth of the Spirit, holy spirit, humble ourselves, humble servants, if we faint not, in due season we shall reap, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus Christ, Labour Day celebrations, later than you sow, like a city that is broken down without walls, LOVE, mass confusion, mercy, moral intemperance, more than you sow, salvation, self-control, shall of the flesh receive corruption, shall of the Spirit reap everlasting life, sincere repentnace, sincerely seek your face, strong drink is raging, strong faith in Christ, summer frolic, the fruit of the spirit, the God who heals, truth, turn from our evil ways, unpredictable weather patterns, vomit, we have all sinned, whatsoever a man sows, whosoever is deceived by it is not wise, wine is a mocker, wisdom, with Jesus on our side, you reap what you sow
Proverbs 25:16. Hast thou found honey? Eat so much (only as much) as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it.
HAPPY LABOUR DAY!
Well, a fine good day to you Monday! It’s good to know that I don’t have to get up and rush around and face all the hassles of going to work this Labour Day morning! Thanks again for the holiday…only wish you could do it more often, then we would not have so many disagreements.
Yes friends, it’s Labour Day Monday, which means most of the summer frolic is over; schools and such will now open and the cool fall breezes of September ought to blow. However, with the unpredictable weather patterns currently in vogue, (smile) courtesy of climate change, who knows what kind of weather we will receive. But thankfully, whatever happens, with Jesus on our side, we’ll be more than able to handle it, because with and through Him we can handle any and everything that the world throws our way! ‘Glory Hallelujah!’
But please remember that although the day calls for celebrations, we don’t need to go overboard and over do it, we must mind our p’s and q’s, for overdoing most things is not good for us. And there are many verses in the scriptures that speak to that topic, for instance this one from the wisdom of Cousin Sol in Proverbs. ‘Hast thou found honey? Eat so much (only as much) as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it.’ (Prov. 25.16)
And that is a good measure for most things in this life. Especially in the matter of alcohol, as Bruh Paul warns in Ephesians. ‘And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess (dissipation); but be filled with the Spirit.’ (Eph. 5:18) And Cousin Sol corroborates that with this Proverb. ‘Wine is a mocker, strong (intoxicating) drink is raging (arouses brawling): and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.’ (Prov. 20:1)
Yes mih bredrin, too much alcohol is certainly no good for us, because it causes us to lose our mental bearings, get into fights, arguments etc. and we end up doing things that are not in God’s will, or as the scholars say: ‘Drunkenness leads to moral intemperance, and we should instead be filled with the Spirit of God. For a person filled with wine is under its influence; similarly, a Christian filled with the Spirit is under the control of the Spirit, and can control his thoughts, attitudes and actions.’
And furthermore, we have this warning from Bruh Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. ‘All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient (helpful): all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any (anything).’ (1 Cor. 6:12) And that situation seems to have been very important to Bruh Paul, for he says the very same thing in 1 Cor. 10:23, except, there he changes the last phrase to ‘but all things edify not (do not build up).’
Oh my fellow believers, many things may be lawful for us to do, meaning, not proscribed or prohibited by the God’s will in the scriptures, but not all of them are helpful or beneficial in living God’s plan and purpose for our lives. That calls up the fruit of the Spirit of self-control, whereby we don’t let those supposedly lawful but not beneficial things control or have power over us.
That brings us to two more interesting verses from the wisdom of Cousin Sol. He wisely maintains: ‘It is not good to eat much honey: so for men to search (seek) their own glory is not glory. He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.’ (Prov. 25:27-28) There’s no disputing the wisdom in those verses friends, but sadly those things are rather prevalent in our current society. Everybody is seeking their own glory and aggrandizement, with very little if any self-control in the process.
Meanwhile, we have these wise words from Bruh Paul to the Galatians that oversee the entire situation. ‘Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not (do not lose heart). As we therefore have opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.’ (Gal. 6:7-10)
I guess that says it all my fellow saints. We must be careful of our thoughts and actions, for whatever we do, we will reap the necessary consequences. However, our duty is to live good, as much as humanly possible with all people, especially Christians. And to help us do that, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, seeking divine aid.
Altogether: ‘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!’
But unfortunately friends, things will never improve until we turn from our evil ways and begin sincerely seeking God with all of our hearts, souls, bodies and minds. Much LOVE!
…you reap what you sow…more than you sow…and later than you sow… Uncle Charles – Dr. Charles Stanley…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
14 Aug 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: be aware of God's Spirit, be filled with the Spirit, be not drunk with wine, be ye not unwise, brings God's word to life, by taking heed to God's Word, catch our second wind, count it all joy, faith, faithfulness, fall into divers temptations, giving thanks always for all things, goodness, growing in knowledge and understanding in Christ, halfway home, hands on the plough, holy spirit, I will not forget thy word, if we endure to the end, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ, joy, kindness, let me not wander from thy commandments, let pateince have her perfect work, LOVE, making melody in your heart to the Lord, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, not as fools but as wise, not looking back, one's likeness to Christ, patience, peace, perfect and complete, persevering in God's plan, practical guidelines, praise Your Holy Name, redeeming the time, self-control, solid spiritual food, speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns, spiritual maturity, thank God, that I might not sin against thee, the breath of life, the challenges of your life, the days are evil, the fear of God, the milk of the word, the quality of our spiritual fruit, the trying of your faith worketh patience, thy word have I hid in my heart, to a glorious future with Jesus, truth, understanding the will of the Lord, walk circumspectly, wanting nothing, we Love you Lord, Wednesday Wail, wherein is excess, wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way, wiht my whole heart have I sought thee, wisdom, with my whole heart have I sought thee
Psalm 119:10. With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.
And then it was Wednesday, our mid-week work day that enables us to catch our second wind, renews our energy and enthusiasm, and allows us to continue our good work for Jesus. And all God’s people gave a loud and grateful shout of: ‘Thank You Lord for reenergizing us, for boosting our hope and faith on this Wednesday, in the crazy days of this summer season! We LOVE You, and praise Your holy name! Amen!’
Ah friends, unfortunately, life doesn’t get any easier as we get older, but fortunately with God’s help, with each passing day, we mature and get stronger, and are thus better able to handle whatever life throws at us. And what do we mean by growing in spiritual maturity, and how do we do it? This commentary from the cru.org website article on the subject gives a brief but good explanation.
‘You can grow in spiritual maturity by persevering in following God’s plan through the trials and challenges of your life (James 1:2-18) and living a life that is Spirit-filled — that is, learning to be aware of and listen to God’s Spirit, who lives within all Jesus followers (Ephesians 5:18; Romans 6:11-14). Community also plays an important role in character growth, brings God’s Word to life, gives prayer a life-changing impact and is vital for telling others about Christ.’
Yes my brethren, it’s all about growing in knowledge and understanding of Christ and putting it into action for His benefit. And we all know, but don’t like what James says in that reference. (smile) ‘My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers (various) temptations; Knowing this, that the trying (testing) of your faith worketh (produces) patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire (complete), wanting (lacking) nothing.’ (James 1:2-4)
And by any standard that’s tough to do in this evil and ungodly world, but with the help, the numerous tools and promises that God has given to His people, we are certainly able to do it, if we put our hearts, minds, bodies and souls to it. And one of the wonderful things about Bruh Paul, is that not only does he give us sincere doctrine, but always give us some practical guidelines to help us accomplish then. Listen to these simple, practical steps that will certainly help us grow in spiritual maturity, as he writes to the Ephesians.
‘See then that ye walk circumspectly (carefully), not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess (dissipation); but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.’ (Eph. 5:15-21)
Oh my fellow believers, you could not find a simpler way to practice godliness and grow in spiritual maturity. And having said that, I just found this other commentary by Art Tilles from the redding.com website, that interestingly expands on our earlier definition of spiritual maturity. He writes: ‘Spiritual maturity is measured by one’s likeness to Christ. Of course, it goes almost without saying that no likeness to Christ is possible at all as long as a person has no real faith-based relationship with him. That is, spiritual maturity is not even an issue when one is spiritually dead.
For a Christian, though, likeness to Christ is the goal of our election and the purpose of the work of the Holy Spirit in us. Viewed from another angle, spiritual maturity is measured the same way the maturity of a fruit tree is, by the amount and quality of its fruit, specifically what the Bible calls the fruit of the Spirit; and we’re not talking about some hyper-spiritualistic drama; rather, the Bible tells us what the fruit is that the Holy Spirit works in us: LOVE, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Those are the measures of spiritual maturity.’
And all of that is gospel truth! And if you really want a study in spiritual growth, then look no further than Psalm 119, which is all about growing in God through learning and LOVING His Word and putting it into action. And these words from the psalm ought to resonate very loudly and clearly in our hearts. ‘Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.
Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. Blessed art thou, O Lord: teach me thy statutes. With my lips have I declared all the judgements of thy mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches. I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto (contemplate) thy ways. I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.’ (Ps. 119:9-16)
Yes, saints of Christ, what rich, sincere, interesting longing and LOVE for God, His Word and Ways! Oh, if only many more of us could feel that way and put it into practical use! How wonderful our world would be! And no, it’s not a pipe dream, but a positive reality, if we believers in Christ will only wake up and do what we need to do! Now, let’s go home declaring (yesss!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting the whole world know of our wonderful position in Christ Jesus.
As one strong and sincere voice: ‘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 if we stick with Jesus right to the very end, then that future will be even more glorious than we can ever ask or imagine! He’s promised it! So hope to see you then! Much LOVE!
…solid food…not merely the milk of the word…is essential for spiritual growth…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
24 Jul 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a spirit of power love and a sound mind, agents of Christ, anger, arise from the dead, awake thou that sleepest, be filled with the Spirit, be not afraid neither be thou dismayed, be not drunk with wine, be strong and of a good courage, belly and backbone, Bible, Christ shall give thee light, christianity, discern what is acceptable to God, do the right thing, expose ungodly behaviour, eyes fixed straight ahead, faith, For God hath not given us a spirit of fear, giving thanks always for all things, god, goodness, guts and gumption, hands on the plough, hatred, hiding our light under a bushel, I am with you always, in the fear of God, Jesus, Jesus Christ, let courage overcome fear, light in the Lord, LOVE, made manifest by the light, make disciples of all nations, making melody in your heart to god, not as fools but as wise, not looking back, our salt has lost its flavour, redeeming the time, resentment, righteousness, speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns, strife, submitting yourselves one to another, teach all nations, thank God, the breath of life, the days are evil, the fruit of the spirit, the Great Commission, the light of the world, the Lord thy God is with thee, the salt of the earth, the unfruitful works of darkness, to a glorious future with Jesus, truth, walk as children of light, walk circumspectly, Wednesday Wail, wisdom, ye were sometimes darkness
Ephesians 5:14. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.
So it’s Wednesday… What’s new in our world eh? Nothing really, just the same ole, same ole; lots of strife, resentment, anger and hatred, but comparatively little LOVE. What a sad situation! But it is what it is, and we believers in Christ Jesus have to learn to deal with it, to go forward with courage, to let our courage overcome our fear and go out into the foul and evil world and do the right thing. As per the Lord’s long ago directive to Joshua. ‘Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.’ (Josh. 1:9)
And that directive has not changed down through the years my fellow believers. Except that we can now add to the mix, Bruh Paul’s words to Timothy. ‘For God hath not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound or (disciplined) mind.’ (2 Tim. 1:7) So we have everything we need to get out there and make a difference. But just in case we’re still afraid, or we falter, let’s listen to these ever important words of Bruh Paul to the Ephesians, which are very appropriate for these times.
‘For ye were sometimes (once) darkness, but now ye are light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove (expose) them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved (exposed) are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.’ (Eph. 5:9-13)
Yes friends, we were once children of darkness, living in sin and evil and enjoying it. However, having received Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, we should now walk as children of light, flooded with the gospel of Christ, knowing truth from lies and wrong from right. And thus constantly trying to discern what is and what is not acceptable to God. At the same time, refusing to indulge in the sins committed by those who still live in darkness, some of which are so disgusting that they should not even be spoken of in decent company. And furthermore, doing our best to expose that ungodly behaviour, so the unbeliever can realize the appalling and revolting nature of their deeds and the terrible consequences they bear.
And having exhorted us thus, Bruh Paul continues the exhortation: (smile) ‘Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly (carefully), not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess (dissipation); but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart unto the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.’ (Eph. 5:14-21)
Oh my faithful believers, this is indeed the time for us to put those immortal words of Bruh Paul into action, for we are way too lethargic and inactive in consciously and constantly living out our faith. True faith in Christ demands action, wise action, especially in these evil times, that are only getting worse because of our lackadaisical and lacklustre attitude. Remember, we are supposed to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth. But it seems like we’re hiding our light under a bushel (basket), perhaps through fear and/or mere apathy, so that the world cannot see it.
And our salt… chuh! That looks like it’s completely lost its flavour and is therefore no good but to be trampled underfoot by men, which is certainly what’s happening. Oh friends, instead of being lightless and saltless, we’re supposed to be embracing every opportunity to find out the Lord’s will and do it. That includes staying away from drunkenness where your thoughts and actions are controlled by the alcohol, and only leads to moral intemperance. Instead, we should endeavour to be filled with Holy Spirit, God’s will for us, where we can control our thoughts and actions, hopefully in a godly manner.
Doing things like singing psalms and hymns, making melody in our hearts to God, and giving Him thanks for all that He’s done for us through Jesus Christ. As well as putting the wishes of our fellow believers above our own, which pleases the Lord. Now, nobody ever said that living for Christ was easy, and in these very evil times it get’s even more difficult because the evil doers are fighting tooth and nail to repress the gospel of Christ and all the good things it entails. But that’s exactly why we followers of the Saviour have to come up even higher, stronger and more determined than ever to do the work He desires of us.
My people, Christ is depending on us. We are His agents, ambassadors, His legs, feet, eyes and ears down hear on the earth, and as such we have a great responsibility to carry out and live up to, which unfortunately we’re not doing conscientiously or living up to. Remember Christ’s directive in the Great Commission. ‘All power is given unto me in heaven and in the 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. 28:19)
And if we are truthful with ourselves, we will admit that we have not, and still are not doing as good a job as we can or should, else evil would not have the world in such a terrible headlock. End of Sermon! And no, I did not forget about the promise to keep on looking at patience, but this is where I was led today. (smile) Now, let’s go home declaring (yesss!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting the whole world know of our wonderful position in Christ Jesus.
As one strong and sincere voice: ‘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 if we endure to the very end with Jesus, then it’s been promised that the future will be even more glorious than we can ever ask or imagine! See you then at the very end! Much LOVE!
…truly working for Jesus requires…belly and backbone…guts and gumption…nothing else will do…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
25 May 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: 50th anniversary, be not drunk with wine, Come Holy Spirit, deepen my breath, diferent faiths and cultures, different kinds of food, diversity, faith, fellowship, give life to the dry bones, giving thanks always for all things, god, God's good time, holy spirit, in the fear of God, in unity is strength, increase my awareness of you today, Jesus, Jesus Christ, know you all the more, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, let my muscles relax, LOVE, make us a living people, make us agents of peace, making melody in your heart to the Lord, not as fools but as wise, Pentecost Prayer Breakfast, prayer, quiet my soul, redeeming the time, renew the face of the earth, running errands in the rai, sincere witness for Christ, singing, slow my thoughts, speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns, submitting yourselves one to another, the days are evil, truth, understanding the will of the Lord, walk cirumspectly, wisdom, your peace and love are present
Ephesians 5:19. Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
Oh friends, I’m truly sorry that the Bit is this late, but there is good reason for it. Unlike many of you, I was not able to have a lazy-day Saturday morning because I had to attend our annual Pentecost Prayer Breakfast at church, which necessitated me being up and out at an early hour, and by the time I got back home after twelve, having first run a couple errands in the rain, I was too tired and bloated to make a good go at the Bit, so I enjoyed a nap first, and here I am at two o’clock finally beginning the Bit.
Now that’s good Bruh Paulian sentence, as I like to call those long, involved ones! (smile) And yes, the rain finally fell today, as we knew it would in God’s good time. But it was all worth it friends. As usual, it was a good diverse crowd, from different faiths, different cultures and plenty of different kinds of food. And our priest, Father Jeff was in his element, much charged up by the Holy Spirit. Unfortunately though, the guest speaker, an Anglican Bishop fell sick and so was unable to grace us with her company and encouraging words.
But not to worry, a fine time was still had by all, as is always the case when the people of St. Francis of Assisi Anglican church get together, even more so, as we are celebrating our 50th anniversary as a parish in this neighbourhood. (smile) We prayed and sang, danced and worshipped, ate good food, and had wonderful fellowship together, under the encouraging presence of the Holy Spirit. What more can one ask for of a lazy-day Saturday eh? Not much! And hopefully, because of the late hour, we will end up with a short Bit. Hn! Hn! Hn! But I won’t count on it, for brevity has never been one of my many attributes. (smile)
Anyway, let’s get started by offering up our Lazy-Day Saturday prayer with all sincerity and truth. As one 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 as we like to say, if your prayer was offered up from a sincere heart, then it was immediately being answered, because there’s no prayer that our wonderful God likes to hear more than one calling to be in His faithful and ever-LOVING presence. Now, with all of our activity earlier today, this scripture popped up as being a rather appropriate one for the Bit. Please read with me, these educating and encouraging exhortations of Bruh Paul to the church at Ephesus.
‘See then that ye walk circumspectly (carefully), not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time (making the most of every opportunity to expose sin), because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess (dissipation); but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.’ (Eph. 5:15-21)
Oh my people, that is exactly what we did this morning at our Pentecost Prayer Breakfast! We were filled with the Holy Spirit…and not wine…and gave thanks to the Father through Christ Jesus, as we sang songs and hymns, making melody in our hearts and voices to the Lord God Almighty! Nothing could be sweeter than that, my brethren! That’s why I keep advising us to fellowship with each other, for in numbers there’s a greater potential for encouragement and education. And we’ll end with this prayer we offered up this morning, titled ‘The Holy Spirit.’
Please pray with me, in a call and answer fashion. ‘Come Holy Spirit, creator, and renew the face of the earth. Come Holy Spirit, come. Come, Holy spirit, counsellor, and touch our lips that we may proclaim your word. Come Holy Spirit, come. Come Holy Spirit, power from on High: make us agents of peace and ministers of wholeness. Come Holy Spirit, come. Come Holy Spirit, breath of God, give life to the dry bones of this exiled age, and make us a living people, holy and free. Come Holy Spirit, come. Come Holy spirit, wisdom and truth: strengthen us in the risk of faith. Come Holy Spirit, come. Amen’
Yes friends, we desperately need the power of the Holy Spirit to help us do all those things which we’re supposed to be doing, but which we are not doing to the extent that we should. So as I implore us every day, let’s get serious and get together, forget our petty differences, only remembering our common faith in Christ Jesus and begin working towards our goal of true and sincere witness for Christ. That’s the only way we will ever make a positive difference!
And wonder of wonders, the Bit is shorter than normal. Strange things do happen in this world my bredrin. (smile) Much LOVE!
…in unity…there’s strength and power of purpose…just waiting for us to harness them…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
03 May 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: arthritis inducing weather, be filled with the Spirit, be not drunk with wine, be of good cheer, endure to the end, envying one another, eyes fixed straight ahead, giving thanks always for all things, grin and bear them, halfway home, if we live in the Spirit, in the fear of God, Jesus has overcome the world, Jesus is the Great Physician, let us also walk in the Spirit, let us not be desirous of vain glory, LOVE, more lorious than we ask or imagine, not as fools, not looking back, prayer is a great privilege, provoking one another, renew the face of this earth, renew us gracious God, renew us to do justice, so glad to be alive, thakn god, the breath of life is still flowing through me, the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, the fruit of the spirit, the lust of the flesh, the spirit against the flesh, these are contrary one to the other, to a glorious future with Jesus, to love kindness, to walk humbly with you our God, vision for our church community, walk circumspectly, Wednesday Wail
Galatians 5:23. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
Oh, what a glorious, wet, damp, drizzly, arthritis inducing Wednesday May morning! (smile) Yes friends, the last few days have been a combination of drizzle and weak sunshine, and the dampness that sneaks into the bones, causing the arthritis malady to raise its ugly head. But thank the Lord the weather doesn’t affect my aching bones. I don’t know why, but it’s never really made my supposed arthritic condition any worse. My pains come around when they feel like, regardless of the weather. And I’ve learned over the years to just grin and bear them, taking the odd medication when the pain gets a bit much.
What I don’t like about my joint pains is that they are annoyingly intermittent; suddenly showing up out of the blue, with no warning, and no obvious aggravation on my part. They’ll stick around for a bit, then disappear just as suddenly as they came, for another period of time. It’s a good thing Jesus warned us that in this world we’d have trials and tribulations, but we ought to be of good cheer, for He’s overcome, He’s conquered this evil world! Glory be my brethren!
And we do have to learn to handle some of our pain and not run to the medication bottle as soon as the pain shows up. My logic is that if we use the medications too often then they will cease to work properly after a while. But that’s just me, and I suppose my aches and pains might not be as bad as some of you my fellow believers. Each of us though need to keep Christ first place in our lives especially in our times of illness, for remember He is the Great Physician and prayer is our greatest privilege. So let’s try and use it more than we use the medications nuh.
And we can begin right now with this prayer I found amongst some papers while doing some spring cleaning in one of the many cubicles on my desk. I found all sorts of stuff, written ages ago, some that I couldn’t even read properly because of the terrible handwriting, and that was just a small portion of what’s hiding there. I’m sure there are many gems amongst the crud, but only time and my persistence in cleaning the desk will tell. Anyway, enough talk. Let’s pray this prayer that’s titled ‘Renew Toronto,’ but is very appropriate for renewing both our cities and our lives. And please don’t ask me where I got it from, (smile) because I haven’t the foggiest notion.
Instead, please pray with me: ‘Gracious God, in your wisdom and LOVE, You create us in your image and likeness. You call us to be your Presence in the world. Let the Spirit of Jesus grow with us for this journey – inspire in us insight and vision for our Church community – ready our hearts and hands to bring healing to our sinfulness – move our feet to live the Gospel of Jesus with courage and joy. Renew us, GRACIOUS GOD. Renew us by your LOVING acceptance of us. Renew us to do justice, to LOVE kindness, and to walk humbly with you, our God. To renew the face of this earth. Amen.’
Ah friends, I like it, and I hope you do too, because it’s simple and straightforward, yet covers all the bases. And oh, do we ever need a total renewing in these ungodly and evil times, where faith and trust in Almighty God is sadly on the wane, and the enemy is getting bolder and more prevalent every day. How we do need the Holy Spirit of Jesus to fill us up like Bruh Paul exhorted the Ephesians.
‘See that ye walk circumspectly (carefully), not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess (dissipation, licentiousness); but be filled with the Spirit. Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.’ (Eph. 5:15-21)
Yes my fellow believers, that’s how we ought to live; being filled with the Holy Spirit, allowing Him to fill us with God’s own life, character and values, rather than the dissipating wine that leads us astray to ungodly and sinful thoughts, deeds and actions. For it is only when we are filled with the Holy Spirit of God that we can receive the things we just prayed for; that’s inspiration for insight and vision for our Church community, to ready our hearts and hands to bring healing to our sinfulness and to move our feet to live the Gospel of Jesus with courage and joy.
Then, and only then can we fulfill Bruh Paul’s words to the church at Galatia. ‘This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirt, ye are not under the law.’ (Gal. 5:16-18) That’s oh so true my fellow saints, we only have two options; to walk in the Spirit or to walk in the flesh and Bruh Paul breaks down what both consist of in the verses that follow: ‘the lust or works of the flesh vs.19-21, and the fruit of the Spirit, vs. 22-23.
Please read and study them, so that they can take root in our souls, so that we can therefore do as he later says: ‘And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections (its passions) and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory (conceited), provoking one another, envying one another.’ (Gal. 5:24-26) Now, those are certainly words to live by, especially in these turbulent and contrary last days my brethren! And for those of us who are sincerely trying to live that way, let’s go home declaring (yesss!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting the whole world know of our fabulous position in Christ Jesus.
As one strong and sincere voice: ‘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!’
Now, please remember that it’s also been promised that if we stick with Jesus right down to the very end, then that future will be even more glorious than we can ever ask or imagine! Yes, our puny, finite minds simply won’t be able to comprehend it. (smile) So let’s use that as further encouragement to endure to the end nuh. Much LOVE!
…a spiritual walk with Christ…has so much more to offer…than a lustful, carnal walk with the enemy…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
18 Apr 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a rushing mighty wind, a taste of summer, and share His love with the world, baptism of the Holy Spirit, be filled with the Spirit, be not drunk with wine, began to speak with other tongues, cloven tongues like as of fire, Comforter, filled with the Holy Ghost, from the least unto the greatest, hurry, I can trust my friend Jesus, I will be their God, I will forgive their iniquity, I will put my law in their inward parts, in God's eyes, Intro to Holy Spirit 101, John truly baptized with water, LOVE, no more teach every man his neighbour, Pentecost day, remember their sin no more, saying Know the Lord, the abundant life, the beloved of God, the Holy Spirit indwells each believer, there came a sound from heaven, they shall all know me, they shall be my people, Tuesday Mantra, worry, write it in their hearts, ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost, ye shall be witnesses unto me, ye shall receive power when the Holy ghost is come upon you
Acts 1:5.For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
Ah chuh! It’s a chilly, windy, cloudy Tuesday morning in mid-April! The bout of summer weather we had last week has disappeared just as quickly as it came, and now we’re back to regular spring temps, with much wind and rain. But let’s look at it from a positive angle nuh, we’ve gotten a preview taste of summer, and it looks like it’s going to be fine! Glory be! We’ll take a week of hot weather anytime. The important thing though is that we’ll be joyful with whatever we get, and handle it with aplomb, knowing that the Lord’s presence, His grace and mercy are with us, through His Holy Spirit.
And that brings us back to our refresher course, Introduction to Holy Spirit 101, that we were doing yesterday. Then, we mentioned two prophecies of the Holy Spirit coming upon men at a later date, which happened when Jesus came and then returned to heaven. We quoted the prophecy from Ezekiel, so let’s see what the one from Jeremiah says. ‘Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord:
But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts (minds), and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and will remember their sin no more.’ (Jer. 31:31-34)
And all of that happened when Jesus came and did His thing, then returned to heaven. Glory Hallelujah! Yes friends, that New Covenant was made with Israel and with us Gentiles, so that we could be a part of the salvation story. And the major differences there was that animal sacrifices were no longer required to relieve the sins of the people, because Christ’s death had paid for ALL sins, and then the Holy Spirit, which hitherto had only appeared to or dealt with men on a one by one, every so often basis, is now, as the Lord promised, indwelling each believer, and allowing each one to know Him personally.
That’s the beauty of this new Comforter or Helper that Jesus prayed the Father to send. And it’s interesting to note that before ascending back to heaven, He told the disciples not to depart from Jerusalem, ‘but wait for the promise of the Father, which saith he, ye have heard of (from) me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.’ (Acts 1:4-5)
Now that must have been hard for the disciples to understand, because the Good Book tells us that ‘When they therefore were come together, (at the Mount of Olives) they (the disciples) asked him, saying, Lord, will thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times the Father hath put in his own power (authority). But ye shall receive power, after that (when) the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both from Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.’ (Acts 1:6-8)
Then Jesus was taken up into the clouds and they saw Him gradually disappear. Not like the other times after His resurrection when He suddenly appeared and then disappeared. This was an intimation that it was final. Although they might not have understood that at the time. But He would not show up to them again until His Second Coming. And like obedient disciples, they went back to Jerusalem to wait for the fateful moment, for the power of the Holy Ghost to fall on, to baptize them.
And we all know that this happened on the Day of Pentecost, when the whole church, about a hundred and twenty of them were in an upper room, ‘all with one accord (one purpose or mind) in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven (divided) tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues (languages), as the spirit gave them utterance.’ (Acts 2:1-4)
Wow! What an occasion that must have been; a baptism of enormous significance in our Christian faith. That’s because prior to the coming of the Holy Ghost to indwell those first believers on that Pentecost Day, the Holy Spirit’s work had been done from without, (the Spirit came upon), and it was temporary, and only fell for exceptional reasons. However, after that Pentecost Day, the Holy Spirit automatically indwells each and every believer. Once they come to faith, every believer receives the baptism of the Spirit.
But there’s an important difference we should all note, that’s between the baptism and the filling of the Holy Spirit. The scholars explain that ‘the baptism is permanent, happening once and for all. But the filling is not received by all believers and thus is ongoing, occurring continuously as seen in the present tense imperative of Ephesians 5:18: ‘And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess (dissipation); but be filled with the Spirit.’ Yes my brethren we are to be filled with the Holy Spirit, that’s allow the Spirit to fill us with God’s own character, life and values, and not allow the devil to fill us with wine, so that we can live a godly not a dissipated life.
And that concludes our refresher course in the Introduction to Holy Spirit 101! Thanks for coming, but please note that that’s just an introductory course, (smile) now you have to do some studying on your own, first to assimilate all that we’ve spoken of, then reach the point where you can move on to a higher class on the subject. (smile) Now, for those of us truly interested in living for Christ, let’s go home declaring (awright!!!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting all and sundry know to whom we belong, lock, stock and barrel.
As one strong voice: ‘In God’s eyes, 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 my immediate neighbours, as well as with the whole wide world! Glory be!’
Now let’s get out there and do just that; share the amazing LOVE and friendship of Christ with others! Much LOVE!
…don’t be contented with mere baptism of the Holy Spirit…but seek to be continually filled with the Spirit of God…for that’s where the abundant life is at…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
12 Nov 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a means of restoring faith in you, as we forgive our debtors, be filled with the Spirit, be not drunk with wine, be responsible and stay safe, bring backsliders back to your fold, confusion and havoc of Covid 19, crossing our t's, do unto others as you want them to do to you, dotting our i's, Drunk or sober mind yuh business, embrace your love and compassion, forgive and you will be forgiven, forgive us our debts, Friday chant, if we forgive men their trespasses, in psalms hymns and spiritual songs, in the fear of God, it takes two to tango, making melody in your heart to the Lord, minding our p's and q's, not as fools but as wise, one that honours Him, one with God is the best there is, our sinful world, redeeming the time, sonny boy, speaking to yourselves, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, the days are evil, the Lord like a good party, time to party, two together are better than one alone, wake up and smell the coffee, walk circumspectly
Matthew 6:12. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And then there was shouting and singing of ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday oui! Thank God this brutal workweek almost done! The weekend is upon us and the time to party finally come!’ Ah Lord eh! How we do like our parties. Wish we could even give a small percentage of the time we think about partying to thinking about God. Our lives would be so much better all around.
And it’s not like we can’t party in and with the Lord, because we can. Like all of us, the Lord likes a good party, but one that honours Him, in ways that glorify and proclaim His holiness and righteousness, not the leggo-beast parties that the world seems to value so much. Remember the numerous feasts that the Israelites were commanded to have in olden times. Well, likewise we could also have numerous occasions to sing and praise and glorify our great and wonderful God.
Like Bruh Paul told the Ephesians. ‘See then that ye walk circumspectly (carefully), not as fools, but as wise. Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess (dissipation); but be filled with the Spirit. Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.’ (Eph. 5:15-21).
Yes friends, that’s how believers ought to behave in their daily lives. Making melody to God in our hearts, while walking circumspectly and wise amongst the evil and ungodly world in which we live, not being licentious and dissipated and ungodly like so many of us tend to be. Please remember that God sees all that we do, both in public and private, and also reads the motives of our hearts, so it’s foolish to claim to be a believer and then living so much like the world. We might fool our peers, but not the Lord.
As Granny always warned: ‘Sonny boy, please remember, that drunk or sober, always to mind yuh business.’ But, unfortunately, in this crazy and evil world, too many of us supposed believers are not minding our business like we should, not minding our p’s and q’s, crossing our t’s and dotting our i’s. And that’s a big part of why our world is so depraved and ungodly; Christians are not doing their part; we are not standing up to the heathen as we should. We are placidly accepting whatever the world offers when we know to do better.
And not only is our stance against the world not good enough, but our help, edification and encouragement to each other is not worthwhile either. Instead of building up our fellow saints we are ever so quick to pull them down. We forget that one of the building blocks of our faith is helping each other.
As Bruh Paul said earlier in his letter to the Ephesians. ‘Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.’ (Eph. 4:29-32)
Now, if we could only lower the great amount of bitterness, wrath, malice and evil speaking that currently exists in Christ’s church, both the church and the world would be a whole lot better off. We all desire people to be nice to us and forgive us, but sadly we don’t do the same to and for them. Whatever happened to the Golden Rule: ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’ And remember Jesus’ very decisive words on forgiveness in the Sermon on the Mount. A part of the prayer He taught us reads: ‘And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.’ (Matt. 6:12)
That means we are asking the Lord to forgive us in proportion to how we forgive others. And Jesus went on to further clarify that statement by saying: ‘For if we forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.’ (Matt. 6:14-15) That’s it loud and clear friends; forgive and you will be forgiven; don’t forgive, neither will you be forgiven.
But we have become so arrogant and boldface these days that we go to the Lord asking for forgiveness, while bearing a whole lot of unforgiveness in our hearts towards others. And when the Lord doesn’t forgive us and answer our prayers, we foolishly wonder why and get angry with God, even to the point of turning away from Him. Oh my people, many of our problems, anxieties and woes stem directly from our ungodly behaviour. Why can’t we wake up and see it eh? Anyway, it’s never too late to make amends, so let’s begin that process right now nuh, by going to the Lord in sincere prayer, asking for His divine help through our Friday Chant.
Altogether now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and our many other problems are causing. We can’t seem to fix it on our own Lord, that means we desperately need your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets.
So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, and avoid any more serious setbacks.
And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And as the saying goes, ‘it takes two to tango.’ So, if we want the Lord to do our bidding, then we have to reciprocate by doing His. It’s as simple as that my brethren! Much LOVE!
…two together are better than one alone…and one with God is the best there is…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
Previous Older Entries
SCRIP-BITS 