30 Aug 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fool's wisdom, a permanent rejection of Christianity, apostasy, before it's too late, cause for thought, deepen my breath, disobedience, doctrines of devils, draw near me with their mouth, examples for us, faith, fear toward me, flatter him with their mouth, giving heed to seducing spirits, greater intimacy with God, holy spirit, honour me with their lips, I may know you all the more, I praise you for your unceasing nearness, in the latter times, increase my awareness of you today, Jesus Christ, lack of genuine faith, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, learn to honour God with hearts and mouths, lied unto him with their tongues, LOVE, mercy, neither were they steadfast in his covenant, outward devotion with words, paying lip service to God, punished for our rebelliousness, quiet my soul, rebelled against Almighty God, relax my muscles, removed their heart far from me, salvation, seek to hide their counsel from God, sincere heartfelt prayers, slow my thoughts, some shall depart from the faith, taught by the precept of men, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men, thank you for this tenderness, the doctrines of men, the high god their redeemer, the Lord judges the motives of our hearts, the motives of our hearts, the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid, the whole armour of God, the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, their heart is far from me, their heart was not right with him, their works are in the dark, they remembered that God was their rock, this people draw near to me with their mouth, times of lawlessness and ungodliness, truth, wisdom, woe unto them, worshipping God with insincere hearts, ye hypocrites, you are here with me, you can't be contained, your love both surrounds and fills me, your peace and love are present
Matthew 15:8. This people draweth nigh (near) unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips: but their heart is far from me.
Okay, so today has again opened somewhat sunny with a cloud shadow, but it’s our lazy-day Saturday, so we don’t really care. (smile) We’re not planning on going anywhere, and possibly not doing anything either, for that’s the purpose of the early part of this day. And yes, celebrations for the long, Labour Day weekend will come later, but right now it’s time to just relax, let the world go by, while God comes into our hearts, through our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer.
So, as one strong and sincere voice, let’s offer up this heartfelt prayer to our heavenly Father. ‘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 keep reminding ourselves, if our prayer was sincerely heartfelt, then the Lord who judges the motives of our hearts and not only what comes out of our mouths, will soon join us in a moment of greater intimacy, of peace and calm, for intimacy is what He most desires with His human creation. In fact that’s one of the very reasons He created us. So when we sincerely seek it, He cannot refuse to grant it.
Now, that matter of lip service to God is a very huge one, that’s why He checks the motives of our hearts, before considering our prayers, and it’s a problem that’s been noted several times in the Bible. Let’s check out a few of them nuh, beginning with this scripture from Psalm 78, as Asaph, the writer talks about one occasion when the Israelites having received godly punishment for disobedience, returned to the Lord.
‘And they remembered that God was their rock, and the high God their redeemer. Nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouth, and they lied unto him with their tongues. For their heart was not right (steadfast) with him, neither were they steadfast (faithful) in his covenant.’ (Ps. 78:35-37)
Ah mih people, when we see the foolish disobedience that Israel constantly displayed and the many times that they were punished for it, it ought to give us great cause for thought, because all those things were written in the Bible as examples for us. But we are obviously not paying attention to that, because we have also rebelled against Almighty God in these times of much lawlessness and ungodliness. We’re possibly even worse that the Israelites because we have invented so much more evil than they ever knew about.
And yet we don’t think or expect to be punished for our rebelliousness. That’s fools wisdom my brethren, for the Lord will eventually punish all who disobey Him. That’s a promise. And you know He never reneges on His promises be they good or bad. Let’s hope and pray that we learn to honour God with not only our lips but also with our hearts before it’s too late. Now, here is a second mention of people worshipping God with insincere hearts. This comes from the prophet Isaiah, as he talks about the marvellous work the Lord will do for the Israelites.
‘Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men. Therefore, behold, I will (again) proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.
Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us? Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter’s clay (you have turned things around! Shall the potter be esteemed like the clay): for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed (formed) say of him that framed (formed) it, He had no understanding?’ (Is. 29:13-16)
But yuh know what friends, that’s exactly how we are behaving – like the Lord didn’t make us, and He has no understanding of men’s affairs, which is totally untrue, and only works to our detriment. And all of that leads us to Jesus admonishing the Pharisees using Isaiah’s words when they complained about the disciples eating with unwashed hands. ‘Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias (Isaiah) prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh (near) unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips: but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.’ (Matt. 15:7-9)
And unless we’re blind, we can see that happening all over our world today, where people are showing outward devotion with their words, but their actions show a lack of genuine faith and devotion in their hearts, for their worship is based on human rules, the doctrines of men, laid down in the tenets of religion, which are being taught as the commandments of God. And that’s what religion does, inculcate the traditions of men into the Word of God, that eventually the Word itself gets lost in the overabundance of tradition.
That’s why it’s so important for individual believers to read and know the word, so that they can refute the doctrines of the many false teachers and pseudo-intellectuals who are leading people astray in these ungodly and uncertain times. That’s why Bruh Paul warned Timothy thus: ‘Now the Spirit speaketh expressly (clearly), that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing (deceiving) spirits, and doctrines of devils:’ (1 Tim. 4:1)
And the scholars explain ‘depart as apostasy, which is the deliberate and permanent rejection of Christianity after a previous profession of faith in it.’ And we see that all around us today, where people are leaving the faith, having listened to false teachers, and doctrines of devils (doctrines taught by demons) evil spiritual beings working on Satan’s behalf. And as the scholars further say, ‘Underestimating their immense power would be a grave mistake. Christians who believe they can “wrestle” with demons without using “the whole armour of God are seriously deluded.’
So, let’s end today remembering that we cannot run nor hide from our Creator, for He knows and sees everything that we think or believe, therefore our words must be sincere and heartfelt. We must also be careful about what and whom we listen to, for there’s a whole lot of falsehood and deception out there in today’s ungodly world, that means knowing the Word and being continually dressed in the whole armour of the Lord! Much LOVE!
…our motives must be right with God…if we expect to receive answered prayer…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
05 Aug 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adopt the righteousness of God right now, air quality advisory, all the horns of the wicked will I cut off, all the wicked of the earth, all these things shall be added unto you, before it's too late, blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, but the dregs thereof, caribana festivities, christianity, come to know and love him like we do, cut off all wicked doers from the city of the Lord, duty bound, early destroy all the wicked of the land, exalt the righteous, faith, give thanks for God's deliverance, God is the judge, God's justice will prevail, God's righteous judgement, God's role as the ultimate judge, God's Sovereignty, God's wrath, he poureth out of the same, he shall serve me, he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight, he that walketh in a perfect way, he that worketh deceit, holy spirit, humble the wicked, hurry, I am the beloved of god, I will declare for ever, in god's eyes, in the hnad of the Lord is a cup, it is full of mixture, it is fully mixed, Jesus Christ, leggo-beast kind of partying, LOVE, mercy, mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, no one can take that from me, not be aligned with the wicked of the earth, not what I do, not what I have, on the late bus, salvation, seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, shall not dwell within my house, shall wring them out and drink them, share His love with my neighbours, share the amazing love and friendship of Christ, sing praises to the God of jacob, the BIBLE, the breath of life, the horns of the righteous shall be exalted, the righteous judge, the ultimate faith of the wicked is in God's hands, the wicked may seem to prosper, the wine is red, they shall be filled, to go to bed late is to rise up late, trust in god's righteousness, trust my friend Jesus, truth, Tuesday Mantra, Walk with a Perfect Heart, wisdom, workers of iniquity, worry
Psalm 75:9. But I will declare for ever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
Oh friends, forgive me, but we’re on the late bus this Tuesday morning. And it’s not because I was partying, I’m too old to get into that leggo-beast kind of partying, but I was up late doing some other stuff, and thus went to bed late, and consequently the old adage applies; to go to bed late is to rise up late. (smile) Anyway, the long weekend holiday celebrations are now over; as they say; deh done like dinner! Now we’ll have to wait another year to get back into the Caribana festivities and what ever activities take place at this time of year.
But since the Lord has granted us the breath of life to see another day, although we have another bad air quality advisory, (smile) let’s keep our promise of yesterday to continue looking at the marvellous words of Asaph in Psalm 75, titled ‘The Righteous Judge.’ Yesterday we saw where he offers up thanks for God’s presence and amazing works (vs.1), then tells of the promise of God’s righteous judgement in His own time (vs. 2-5), then he explains, gives us some idea of what that judgment will be like, (vs. 6-8).
However, yesterday we only progressed to verse 7, meaning we did not get all that Asaph said about the judgement. And after Asaph tells us in verse 7 that ‘God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up (exalts) another,’ he paints a tough picture of that judgement in verse 8. So let’s begin there today, as Asaph writes: ‘For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture (fully mixed, foaming); and he poureth out of the same: but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them (drain it) out, and drink them.’ (Ps. 75:8)
Now that’s surely an interesting way for the wicked to be destroyed. And I like the overview this commentary offers. ‘Psalm 75 is a psalm of thanksgiving that focuses on God’s righteous judgment and sovereignty. It highlights God’s role as the ultimate judge, who will exalt the righteous and humble the wicked. The psalm uses imagery of a “cup” to represent God’s wrath, which the wicked will be forced to drink. It also emphasizes God’s power to both exalt and humble individuals, regardless of their earthly status.’
Hopefully friends, we will acknowledge that coming judgement and do our best not to have to drink of the dregs of that deadly cup of wine. Meaning, we will not be aligned with the wicked of the earth, but with the righteous, to whom the kingdom of God is promised. As Jesus says in the Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount; ‘Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.’ (Matt. 5:6) And later on He admonishes us thus: ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt. 6:33)
Yes my brethren, the Lord urges us to seek righteousness above all else, for when we do, everything else will fall into place. That’s the Lord’s promise, and He never makes idle promises, or reneges on them. And having said all of that, (smile) let’s turn back to Psalm 75, the last two verses, where Asaph shows his confidence in God’s judgement, as he writes: ‘But I will declare for ever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob. All the horns (strength) of the wicked also will I cut off (destroy); but the horns (strength) of the righteous shall be exalted.’ (Ps. 75:9-10)
Oh my fellow believers, that’s what’s in store for us all; if we’re wicked, we’ll be destroyed forever, but if we’re righteous, we’ll be exalted, lifted up, by Almighty God! So which scenario looks the best eh? Obviously the one that promotes righteousness! And there are numerous promises in the Bible that the wicked will eventually destroyed, so it couldn’t be a joke. Promises like this one written by Bruh David in Psalm 101, titled ‘Walk with a Perfect Heart.’
Speaking on God’s behalf, he ends the psalm thus: ‘Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect (blameless) way, he shall serve me. He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry (continue) in my sight. I will early destroy all the wicked of the land; that I may cut off all wicked doers (workers of iniquity) from the city of the Lord.’ (Ps. 101: 6-8)
There we have it my brethren, more ammunition that the Lord will eventually destroy the wicked from the face of the earth and give it to the righteous. So what are we waiting for to turn to righteousness and grab hold of it with all of our souls, bodies, hearts and minds eh? For that’s where the answer to everything lies!
And I believe it’s fitting for us to end today’s chat the same way the above commentary does. It concludes: ‘The psalm can be interpreted as a reminder that God’s justice will prevail, and that while the wicked may seem to prosper for a time, their ultimate fate is in God’s hands. It also encourages believers to trust in God’s righteousness and to give thanks for His deliverance.’
Oh my fellow saints, I could not have said it any better! But I can certainly encourage us to do what the commentary says: ‘trust in God’s righteousness and give thanks for His deliverance,’ for that’s where our salvation and eternal life comes from. And for those of us who are trying to live righteously, let’s go home declaring our Tuesday Mantra, letting the whole world know to whom we belong, lock, stock and barrel.
As one strong and sincere 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!’
And with that declaration (awright!!!), we’re now duty bound to go out and share the amazing LOVE and friendship of Christ with others, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him the way we do! Much LOVE!
…let’s adopt the righteousness of God…RIGHT NOW…for soon it might be too late…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
28 Jul 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a bulwark for love and freedom, a merciful forgiving and gracious God, a new theatre of strife, a small inkling, a warning from God, all ye that labour, anguish, at breakneck speed, back of my neck, became obedient unto death, before it's too late, being alone, being found in fashion as a man, chaotic world, Christ needs our help to save the world, Christ's Church, Christ's way of life, come into deep waters, come unto me, crying out for help, disaster laden world, disobeyed your word, divided by petty differences, divine aid, ease the pain, faith, faith if it hath no works is dead, faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers, fighting the good fight, find rest unto your souls, gentle, get back to basics, get our prerogatives straight, getting dirty and gritty, give up the fight, God sent not his Son into the world to condemn it, greed for ever more money, he humbled himself, heavy laden, holy spirit, hot town, humble and obedient, humble servants, I am meek and lowly in heart, I will give you rest, in over our heads, Jehovah Rapha, keep your promise to prosper us, keeps getting worse, learn of me, lost their way, LOVE, mass confusion, mentally incapacitated, mercy, mine eyes fail while I wait for my God, Mother Earth, my burden is light, my throat is dried, my yoke is easy, negative stuff, no help is forthcoming, numerous forest fires, our light has grown dim, our perspectives in order, our salt has lost its flavour, praise Your Holy Name, pray, refuse to interact with each other, ripe for the taking, running to Jesus, salvation, save me O God, sincere repentance in our hearts, sincerely seek your face, sink in deep mire, sitting ducks, something is wrong with your mind, stand up strong, steadfast in faith, strife, strong faith in Christ, summer in the city, take my yoke upon you, take serious and sincere action on Christ's behalf, thank you for life, the chaos on the earth, the death of the cross, the floods overflow me, the God who heals, the great invitation, the many suffering from negative situations, the only one, the oppressive heat, the power to solve our problems, the throne of grace, the waters are come in unto my soul, the world through him might be saved, tired of fighting, to alleviate our problems, too many denominations, truth, turbulent times, turn from our evil ways, turn you off of hell, unassailable odds, unvarnished dictatorial power, wasting our prayers, we cannot give up, we divide ourselves, we have all sinned, weary of crying, what hell would be like, where there is no standing, wisdom, wise guidance and direction
James 2:17. Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
‘Hot town, summer in the city…the back of my neck getting dirty and gritty!’ Yes friends that what it’s been like for the past week, and most likely what it will be like for the next couple of days. The oppressive heat is causing all kinds of illnesses. And then we have the numerous forest fires burning around the country and around the world…it surely seems like hell on earth.
And if this weather and all the other negative stuff that’s happening doesn’t turn you off of hell and have you running at breakneck speed to Jesus, then I’d say that something is definitely wrong with your mind. (smile) For if this is only a small inkling of what hell will be like, then why would I want to go there eh? No reason whatsoever! So please, let’s take this as a warning from our heavenly Father, to wake us up and get our prerogatives and perspectives straight and in order before it’s too late.
And furthermore, none of the strife and anguish that’s taking place right now on Mother Earth is lessening or getting better, but instead, every day seems to bring a new theatre of strife and anguish to the forefront of our already chaotic and disaster laden world. And I guess like Bruh David in Psalm 69, we should be crying out to the Lord for help in these days of undeserved suffering for many. And what was his petition?
He cried out: ‘Save me O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul (neck). I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while wait for my God.’ (Ps, 69:1-3) And sadly friends, that is what’s happening to a large portion of today’s world population. We’re in over our heads, for one reason or another, and we’re crying out for help every day, from one god or another, but no help seems to be forthcoming.
The chaos on the earth just keeps getting worse. And why is that? Who knows? The grab for unvarnished dictatorial power and greed for ever more money is all over, and we can’t seem to stand up strong against it. And that goes doubly for Christ’s church, which was meant to be a bulwark for LOVE and freedom. But how can we stand strong against the enemy when we’re separated, totally divided by all sorts of petty differences and dissensions, with so many denominations and sub groups that refuse to interact with each other, which leaves us like sitting ducks ripe for the taking.
Satan doesn’t even have to divide us, for we have created the divisions for him. He simply has to conquer us. I believe, that in these trying and most difficult times, the church is required to put up sincere and strong resistance against the evil enemy. That’s what Christ died for. Remember what He said to Nicodemus? ‘For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.’ (John 3:17)
And He died for that very purpose. As Bruh Paul writes to the Ephesians: ‘And being found in fashion (appearance) as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.’ (Phil. 2:8) So Christ did what He came to earth for, but the problem is that He cannot save the world by Himself, that’s why He needs disciples, people like us who believe in Him and what He stands for and are prepared to stand strong and steadfast in the faith, even to the death, to serve His purpose and plan.
Unfortunately though, the church as a whole, seems to be fighting against itself and not so much against the enemy. Meanwhile, many individual believers seem to have lost their way, and no longer seem to care about what’s happening in our world, or we are simply tired of fighting the seemingly unassailable odds, thus our salt has lost its flavour, and our light has grown dim. But let’s take a moment on this hot and sweltering Monday morning in late July of 2025, to contemplate what will happen if we give up the fight for Christ’s way of life.
And then let’s remember His Great Invitation, which He issued to all and sundry, and which still stands: ‘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 (gentle and humble) in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matt. 11:28-30) Yes my fellow believers, we’ve got to get back to the basics and refresh ourselves, so that we can continue fighting the good fight in Jesus’ name, for we cannot ever give up.
And to help us do that, let’s go right now to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn seeking divine aid in these turbulent times. 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!’
And yes, praying is necessary, but until we take up all the tools we have and take serious and sincere action on Jesus’ behalf, we’ll just be wasting our prayers. Much LOVE!
…even so…faith…if it hath not works…is dead…being alone… (James 2:17)
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
06 Nov 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a bastion of white male supremacy, a strangle hold, afraid of women, artificial intelligence, before it's too late, Bible, call a spade a spade, christianity, consequences to sin, contrary to popular opinion, corrupt, disappointment, divine revelation, endure to the end, every one of the is turned back, everyone did what was right in their own eyes, eyes fixed straight ahead, glad to be alive, halfway home, hands on the plough, holy spirit, incompetent, Jesus Christ, LOVE, macho men, mentally stronger, mercy, moral and spiritual decline, no king in Israel, no knowledge, no prophetic revelation, Not having the Holy Spirit's guidance, not knowing god, not turning back, people resist change, prophetic vision, rejecting godly wisdom, running wild, shoot the breeze, social media, take the bull by the horns, thank God, the breath of life, the children of men, the fool hath said in his heart, the glass ceiling, the old white boys club, the people perish, the reins of power, the word of the was rare, the workers of iniquity, there is a God, there is no god, there is none that doeth good, to a glorious future with Jesus, truth, turned aside, vengeful, waiting in the wings, wannabe dictator, what they have to gain, what they have to give up, where there is no vision, white male supremacy, wisdom
Proverbs 29:18. Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
Ah friends, the people have spoken! They have elected an old, inept, incompetent, corrupt, vengeful, white male wannabe dictator as the 47th President of the United States, thus assuring the continuation of the U.S. as a bastion of white, male supremacy! But isn‘t that what U.S. democracy is all about – life and liberty and justice for the white population? It’s ever been so, and it’s not going to change while the rich white folk are controlling the purse strings that lead to power. It’s time to stop pussy footing and call a spade a spade!
And isn’t it also interesting that Trump can only win against women candidates. The first time he defeated a white woman, and now a black woman, both of whom are younger, more intelligent and capable than him. In between he was beaten by another old white male. What does that say about the U.S eh? That they’re simply not interested in having a woman lead their government!
Now, that reminds me of something that I noticed when I first came to North America, fifty two years ago; that North American men are afraid of women. In the West Indies, men were not so much afraid of women, but knowing that they would take the bull by the horns and do whatever was necessary, they became lazy, preferring to sit around and drink and shoot the breeze, while the womenfolk did most of the work.
But to this day, in North America we still try to keep women tied to the home and children, and the lesser jobs, while the macho men go out and do the supposedly important work that they believe women cannot do. The trouble is that deep down they know that women are mentally and emotionally stronger than them, and can also do a better job, if given the chance. Just look at the mess males, especially white males have made of our world eh. But the proverbial glass ceiling still tries to throttle their rise to greatness, as the old, white boys club keeps a strangle hold on the reins of power.
And it’s strange that I got an interesting quote yesterday from a friend, which says: ‘The reason people resist change is that they focus on what they have to give up, instead of what they have to gain.’ And that’s very true, since change means forgetting some of the old, hopefully for a better new. But most of us are still afraid of change, especially when we don’t have a good idea of what’s ahead.
And we’ll close this section of our Bit, with these very appropriate words of some wise person. ‘The people get the government they deserve.’ And that’s the gospel truth! By the way, for all of us Canadians who are thumbing our noses at the U.S. for what we consider a terrible choice, please beware that there’s also much dissension in our land, and that there’s also a wannabe dictator quietly waiting in the wings to grab power, if we foolishly elect Him! Nuff said!
That brings us to an interesting and also appropriate bit of scripture for these chaotic times. Its these visionary words of Cousin Sol from Proverbs. ‘Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.’ (Prov. 29:18) In other words my brethren, where there is no prophetic vision in the land, the people run amok, run wild and thus eventually suffer. Meanwhile the New Living Translation (NLT) puts it like this: “When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is joyful.” The “lack of vision” is referring to not knowing God, to not having that guidance of the Holy Spirit.’
And this article on the subject from the bibleref.com website, further enlightens us. They say: ‘This verse emphasizes the extraordinary value of God’s Word. Before the Bible was complete, God revealed His will through prophets. They communicated God’s messages to the people. Solomon observes that the absence of divine revelation leads to moral and spiritual decline. Other lessons in the book of Proverbs point out the dangers which come with rejecting godly wisdom (Proverbs 3:1-2; 8:32-36)
Without divine revelation people follow the dictates of their sinful nature. Instead of society experiencing calm, society wallows in chaos. This happened in the era of the Judges. First Samuel 3:1 tells us, “And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.” Judges 21:25 reports that in the times of the judges, “There was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Invariably, when people do whatever they prefer, they do what is wrong according to the Lord’s will. Today, as in all times throughout history, the culture needs to know what is acceptable to God; the Bible supplies the information.’
But unfortunately, today, just like in the time of the Judges of Israel, there is no prophetic revelation, and therefore too many people are doing what they want; we’re just running wild, especially with the new technologies of Social Media and Artificial Intelligence. We no longer know what is truth from lies. No wonder the disastrous state of our world! And sadly, many people are also putting forth this foolish and unwise theory, as Bruh David writes in Psalms 14 and 53.
‘The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good. God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God. Every one of them is gone back (turned aside): they are altogether become filthy (corrupt); there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread: they have not called upon God.’ (Ps. 53:1-4)
And that’s oh so true my brethren. Too many of us have not called on God, but rather on Satan, as we compromise and live the sinful life that the world promotes. But let’s remember, that THERE IS A GOD, a God, who is constantly looking down on us and sadly shaking His head in disappointment at our oh so sinful ways. Please, for the sake of our grandchildren and their children’s sake, let’s do something godly and worthwhile about it nuh, before it’s too late!
Now, let’s go home declaring (chuh!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting all and sundry 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 right to the end with Jesus, then that future will be even more glorious than we ask or imagine! Much LOVE!
…contrary to popular opinion…there is a GOD…and there are consequences to ALL sin…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
25 Aug 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a comapssionate heart, a death trheat, a merciful God, a positive outlook, a warning, abundance, an air of foreboding, an ultimatum, anger, be obedient, before it's too late, bless, blessed, bottomless abyss, broken right now, Canadian National Exhibition, CNE, conviction, courage, creativity, curse, dangerous times, destroy thee, divine protection, energy, everything I put my hands to, evil times, falling apart, favour, forget the covenant, forget who brought them to the dance, forsake thee, fulfillment, God's punishment, God's supernatural wisdom, godless, good friends, good health, graven images, great family, greed, hate, help of the Lord, idolatry, imbroglio, in the name of Jesus, Jay Douglas, jealousy, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, Luciano, mire, my dancing partner, my trusty cane, negative options, negative word, No night in Zion, no time for God, obey, peace, physically challenged, pray, promotion, prosper, prosperity, receive clear direction, reggae artists, repent, repentance, resentment, rid our society of God, seek God with all thy heart, seek the Lord thy God, self-control, self-discipline, strong self-will, success, supernatural strength, talent, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, The Israelites, the occult, the Promised Land, the sword of Damocles, thou shalt find him, Thursday Blessings, tribulation, turn to the Lord thy God, under the weather, vim and vigour, with all thy soul, worshipping idols
Deuteronomy 4:29. But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
Oh friends, you’ve got to bear with the ole fella this Thursday morning yes, because he’s somewhat under the weather. (smile) Not through illness, but physical tiredness. I was running around doing stuff in the hot sun yesterday, then in the evening I went down to the CNE (Canadian National Exhibition), the big country fair we have every year down on the Lakeshore in Toronto.
Now I didn’t go to see the fair itself, but local reggae artist Jay Douglas and internationally acclaimed reggae singer Luciano. And the walk from the train stop down to the Bandshell where the concert was held is a good one, especially for physically challenged people like my self. But with the obvious help of the Good Lord and my trusty cane, I made it both ways without too many problems.
And my cane, my dancing partner, and I partied heartily throughout the concert. (smile) Jay Douglas was excellent as usual, although he didn’t sing any of his original material, but ole time reggae songs. But for some reason when Luciano came on the mix of the music just didn’t sound right. The bottom end was just too loud and had the music sounding dead and dirty and muffled. But the crowd enjoyed it nonetheless, and so did I really.
If it’s one thing Luciano has is energy. Brother! From the time he came on stage, around 8.50, dressed in his beigeish suit, till the time he ended some 75 minutes later, he was prancing and dancing around the stage. Never even took of the suit jacket. He even did a flip during one of the songs.
I was somewhat disappointed though that my favourite Luciano songs, except the opening one – No night in Zion – didn’t sound as they ought to. All like the one we sang the other day – As long as He is my friend… Chuh! They just spoiled it. Anyway, he ended nicely with an encore medley of old songs – Old Time Religion, When the Saints go marching in, Amen, Hallelujah etc.
The important thing is that the large crowd appreciated him very much, and all in all it was a good evening outing. I didn’t get home until midnight, and by the time I did my own thing, you know it was pretty late. But nevertheless, here we are this bright and sunny Thursday morning, not necessarily full of vim and vigour, but still holding the world by its tail. (smile)
So let’s increase the level of our faith and fortune by declaring our Thursday Blessings nuh. With all sincerity and truth now: ‘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 everyday! Amen!’
Oh what a wonderful God we serve and worship my people, where our words are so powerful that we can even bless ourselves! But please remember that a blessing is not a blessing until it is declared over someone. So today and every day let’s consistently bless our family, friends and ourselves that we may have God’s blessing constantly in our lives.
And I’m chuckling here friends, because we don’t seem to have much time for our Bit. ‘But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.’ Words of ultimate and absolute truth my people! In fact we should take it as an ultimatum for our current society!
Moses was here reminding the Israelites about falling into idolatry after they came into the Promised Land and had enjoyed its prosperity for a while and forgot about who brought them there, who brought them to the dance, engineered their prosperity in the first place.
He continues: ‘When thou art in tribulation, and all these things (God’s punishment) are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; (For the Lord thy God is a merciful God:) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.’ (Deut.4:30-31)
Oh my people that passage resoundingly resonates with a warning for us in these godless and evil times. Our current society fits all the particulars of the old Israelite society. We’re worshipping idols and graven images, the occult is very prominent, while we have little or no time for God, in fact are trying to rid our society of Him completely.
Peace and LOVE no longer exist as a righteously held standard, but have been sadly preempted by negative options like hate, anger, greed, jealousy and resentment. And then we wonder why our world.is falling apart so rapidly, descending into the mire, the bottomless abyss of fear and despair so quickly.
Oh friends, the ONLY thing that can save us is a return to the God of our forefathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! We have to sincerely, and as quickly as possible, embrace the LOVE Revolution of Jesus, if we want to have any hope of surviving this imbroglio, this confusion and negative situation that’s currently hanging over our heads like the sword of Damocles.
Yes my brethren, there’s an air of foreboding, of a death threat, hovering our society. Please, let’s take it very seriously and also take some time to ponder it today, and pray, pray sincerely to Almighty God that He will hear the prayers of the few and cause the majority to come to conviction and repentance. That’s our ONLY Hope in these difficult and oh so dangerous times! Much LOVE!
…let’s seek God…repent and obey…before its’ too late…
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