07 Dec 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adore you, asking nothing of yoy, await all things from you, be not as the hypocrites are, Bible, christianity, commune with the Father, contented in the Lord, deep inside your soul, deepen my breath, departed into a solitary place and prayed, distractions, divine aura, enter into thy closet, frail creations, holy spirit, I praise you for your unceasing nearness, I want to be with you now, if you don't use it you'll lose it, in the depths of our being, in the morning, increase my awareness of you, Jesus Christ, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, LOVE, mercy, not fixed on ourselves, on street corners, our prayer may tend to your glory, peaceul frame of mind, pray always, pray to thy Father in secret, pray without ceasing, prayer, prayer gets us in contact with God, prayer keeps us connected to God, praying in the synagogues, quiet my soul, relax my muscles, release the tensions, salvation, shutting out this evil world, sincerity, slow my thoughts, spending quiet time with God, teach our souls to remain silent, Teach us O God, thank you or this tenderness, that deep and simple prayer, that I may know you all the more, that silent language that says all things, that they may be seen of men, the accomplishment of your will, the Christian's lifeline to God, the everyday world, the invigorating light of the rising sun, the presence of God, the true state of our prayer lives, through prayer and quiet time, thy Father shall reward thee openly, truth, which says nothing and experiences everything, which specifies nothing and includes everything, wholly directed to you, wisdom, you can't be contained, your love both surrounds and fills me, your peace and love are present
Mark 1:35. And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he (Jesus) went out, and departed into a solitary (deserted) place, and there prayed.
And then it was our favourite day; lazy-day Saturday, where we can generally do whatever we please, whenever we please. Now isn’t that a good feeling? It surely is, especially when outside looks dark and gloomy with snow on the ground, and more promised this afternoon. We’ve entered that time of year, when you don’t leave home unless you must! And that suits me just fine. (smile)
I’m sorry for those who have to trudge around in the sludgy, dirty white stuff shopping for presents and other Christmas needs or wants. Thankfully, I’ve outgrown that kind of activity. Now, the only present I give is money, you go and do what you want with it. No more of this running around trying to figure out what to buy for whom, and then they either don’t like it, or it doesn’t fit, or some such negative occurrence.
Anyway, enough of the Christmas foolishness, let’s turn to more serious matters, like offering up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer. As one voice, in all sincerity and truth: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’
Now that ought to put us in a very peaceful and contented frame of mind. Of course! For, getting intimate with the Father, or going deeper in His presence is certainly uplifting and soul cleansing. And surprisingly, this past week I’ve read and listened to a number of things that emphasized the great importance of going deeper into the presence of God, getting to know Him more intimately, because that’s what true Christianity is about; a deeper and more intimate relationship with our Maker and Saviour.
And the best way to do that is through prayer and quiet time with Him. Unfortunately though, not many of us realize how important time spent with God is, just sitting quietly in His presence, and letting Him flow over and into us. It’s like that Prayer of the Ages, we said a few days ago, which was attributed to Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941).
So please pray it with me again: ‘Teach us, O God, that silent language which says all things. Teach our souls to remain silent in Your presence; that we may adore You in the depths of our being, and await all things from You, while asking of You nothing but the accomplishment of Your will. Teach us to remain quiet under Your action and produce in our souls that deep and simple prayer which says nothing and experiences everything, which specifies nothing and includes everything. Do pray in us, that our prayer may even tend to Your glory, and our desires and intentions may not be fixed on ourselves, but wholly directed to You.’
Yes my people, there’s nothing like being in the Lord’s presence and just experiencing His majesty and the divine aura that emanates from Him. It’s like sitting quietly with a treasured friend, looking at the glorious colours of the setting sun above the horizon, or being awakened by the brash, sparkling and invigorating light of the rising sun! It all gets to a place deep inside your soul. That’s how spending quiet time with God ought to affect us. And it’s obvious we cannot accomplish this in a room full of people or with the many raucous noises of today’s world intruding into that special time.
It’s like Jesus advised us: ‘And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites (pretenders) are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet (inner room), and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.’ (Matt. 6:5-6)
Oh friends, prayer can really be made anywhere at any time, although as Jesus said not simply to be seen by men and thought of as being so holy and righteous. But getting deep into the presence of God can only be accomplished in a quiet space, with little or no distractions. And technically speaking, if we are serious about our spiritual growth, we all ought to have a quiet space where we can meet with the Father in prayer and worship, thus shutting out the evil world. And furthermore, as a believer in Christ Jesus, prayer is one of, if not the most important aspect of our faith, for it’s in prayer that we are renewed and refreshed, and release the tensions of the everyday world.
And you cannot find a better example of a rich prayer life than that of Jesus. Although He was God Himself, nonetheless, as a man, He recognized the importance of staying in close touch with His heavenly Father and made time to do so. There are several instances throughout the gospels where it says He went away by himself to pray. But this one from the gospel of Mark, shows how truly dedicated to prayer Jesus was. ‘And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he (Jesus) went out, and departed into a solitary (deserted) place, and there prayed.’ (Mark 1:35)
Yuh see that friends, even before day break, Jesus got up and went to a quiet place to commune with the Father, to get guidance and directions for the day ahead. Now, if the Son of God could need prayer so badly, who are we, his mere finite and frail creations not to need it eh? Oh my fellow saints, prayer is the Christian’s lifeline to God, and if we don’t use it, then we’ll eventually lose it. So please, this lazy-day Saturday is as good a time as any to go into our closets and ponder with God, the true state of our prayer lives. Much LOVE!
…pray always…pray without ceasing…for prayer gets us in contact with God…and also keeps us connected to Him…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
06 Dec 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a Julie mango, a new flock of believers, Adam and Eve, anxiety, backsliders, bamboozled them, be as gods, be responsible, believe, Bible, christianity, confusion, crying out for help, discontent, disobedience, dissatisfaction, embrace your love, endeavour to live a godly life, error of their ways, everything God made is beautiful, faith, fell for the sweet talk, free falling mode, Friday chant, God created man with his own hands, God did not speak man into existence, God saw that it was good, God sent not his Son into the world to condemn it, God so loved the world, have everlasting life, he gave his only begotten son, he ha believeth on him is not condemned, he that believeth not is condemned already, holy spirit, in snake's clothing, Jesus Christ, knowing good and evil, leave all the consequences to Him, lost in sin shame and pain, LOVE, mercy, naked, not willing to accept responsibility, obey God, omnipotent help, problems are escalating, redeem us from sin, salvation, Satan, should not perish, sinful world, snow season, stand strong and steadfast, stay safe, the blame game, the breath of life, the cross at Calvary, the example we faithful believers set, the forbidden fruit, the gift of God is eternal life, the simmering unrest, the tools to resist deception, the wages of sin is death, the world through him might be saved, they would surely die, thrive, to handle the unexpected storms properly, trusting faith, truth, ungodly times, wake up and smell the coffee, whosever believeth in him, wisdom, wise guidance, your eyes shall be opened
Romans 6:23. For the wages of sin is eternal death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Well, it certainly seems like the snow season is here to stay. Note I didn’t say winter, because that’s not officially due for another couple of weeks, but the snow has made it’s appearance and looks like it intends to stay, for although the roads are fairly clean, the land and roof tops are clothed with it, while occasional flurries continue to drift down aimlessly. I must say though that the wintry white look is indeed beautiful! And why not eh, for everything our marvellous and artistic God has made is beautiful!
Remember what the Bible says about His creation of the universe? At then of each day, He looked at what He had created that day, ‘and God saw that it was good.’ (Gen. 1:12) Then at the end, the Bible says: ‘And God saw every thing that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.’ (Gen. 1:31) Yes friends, our God was indeed pleased with His creations, especially mankind, whom He actually created with His own hands. It was the only thing He did not speak into existence.
The Bible tells it thus: ‘And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.’ (Gen. 2:7) What a magnanimous, generous and LOVING God we serve my people! One who made us in His own image from the dust of the earth and imbued us with His Holy, Life-Giving Spirit, filled us with the breath of life! What could be more awesome and amazing that that eh? And the Lord had such great plans for us.
Sadly though, our forefathers Adam and Eve screwed everything up when they allowed the evil serpent, Satan in snake’s clothing, to bamboozle them into not believing what God had said to them about eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil; that they would surely die. The smooth talking serpent said unto Eve: ‘Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods (God), knowing good and evil.’ (Gen. 3:4-5)
And Eve fell for the sweet talk, and ate of the forbidden fruit, which I believe was not a crusty apple as many suppose, but rather a Julie mango, the sweetest and juiciest fruit the Lord has made. (smile) And it’s obvious that when they ate the Julie mango their eyes were opened, such was the sweetness of it! (smile) They even knew that they were naked and sewed fig leaves together to make aprons (girding coverings). (Gen. 3:6-7) Then foolishly, when the Lord came looking for them they went and hid themselves.
How foolish can one be? But that’s because they now knew good from evil, and realized that they had disobeyed the one thing that God had told them not to do. And when the Lord asked Adam why they had disobeyed His one command, he laid the blame on Eve for eating of the forbidden fruit. And when He asked Eve, she replied: ‘The serpent beguiled (deceived) me.’ (Gen. 3:13) Right there the blame game began! Then God unceremoniously kicked them out of the Garden of Eden, to fight life on their own.
And since then, mankind has been in a sort of free falling mode, lost in sin and shame and pain, having to till the ground, by the sweat of his brow to get bread, and suffer all kinds of trials and tribulations. All for ONE act of disobedience! That’s how seriously God takes disobedience! And sadly nothing has changed down through the ages; man is still a most sinful and disobedient being, and sill not willing to accept responsibility for his actions. This might possibly be the most sinful and disobedient generation of all.
But thankfully, there’s also another side to our God; the LOVING, compassionate side, where He doesn’t wish to see His greatest creation suffer eternal separation from Him for their sinful behaviour; ‘For the wages of sin is eternal death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Rom. 6:23) Thus He sent His Son Jesus Christ to earth to die on the cross at Calvary and thus redeem us from our abominable sinful condition. And all we have to do is believe and endeavour to live a godly life.
Jesus, as was His wont, said it very simply. ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.’ (John 3:16-17) Yes friends, contrary to what many believe, Christ came to save the world, not condemn it. If He desired to condemn it, He would simply have left it as it was, sinful and sorrowful. But no, He left heaven purposely to come and save us.
And as we said earlier, all you have to do is believe in Christ to be saved. Here’s how He puts it: ‘He that believeth on him (Christ) is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.’ (John 3:18) Ah friends, it’s so simple: believe and you will be saved; don’t believe and you will be condemned! And yes, the serpent is still out there trying to beguile and deceive as many of us as he can, but when we believe in Jesus, He also gives us the tools to resist that deception, with His Holy Spirit indwelling us to lead the way.
So although living the holy and righteous life might not always be easy, we can certainly do it, if we seriously put our minds and hearts to the task. And to help us in that endeavour, let’s go to the throne of grace through our Friday Chant seeking divine aid to stay afloat and thrive. Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help.
Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways.
And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
Now, let’s realize that no divine aid will be forthcoming until we buck up and become better witnesses for Christ! Much LOVE!
…obey God…and leave all the consequences to Him… (Uncle Charles – Dr. Charles Stanley)…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
05 Dec 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a crown of righteousness, a productive difference, a refuge in times of trouble, a very present help in trouble, all the fight is drained out of me, all them that also love his appearing, before many witnesses, Bible, christianity, confessed a good confession, courage, creativitydivine protection, curse, debilitating weakness, divine protection, do not fear, duty bound, ever merciful and lendeth, faith, favour, fellowship, fight the good fight, fight tooth and nail, firmly grasping your right hand, God is our refuge and strength, godliness, his seed begging bread, his seed is blessed, holy spirit, I am now ready to be offered, I have become your helper, I have been young and now am old, I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Jesus Christ, jump to it, keep my hope stirring, lay hold on eternal life, LOVE, meekness, mercy, negative word, now, Now dear Lord now, One Year Book of Bible promises, our omnipotent omnipresent omniscient God, patience, professed a good profession, riding high, righteousness, Ruth Harms Calkin, salvation, Selah, talent, the earth be removed, The Lord will be a refuge for the oppressed, the mountains shake with the swelling, the righteous judge, the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, the time of my departure is at hand, the waters thereof roar and be troubled, they that know thy name will trust thee, thou Lord hast not forsaken them that seek thee, though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, truth, will not we fear, wisdom
Psalm 9:9. The Lord will be a refuge (stronghold) for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.
And the snow fell, but not to a great extent, so that this Thursday morning in early December is not as bad as it could have been! Thanks be to God for that! And what’s on the agenda for today? A li’l something from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. This one is simply titled ‘NOW!’ And by the way, I don’t remember if I have ever shared it before, but in any case, they are all worth sharing over and over again. (smile)
So please read with me: ‘My great strong God! All the fight Is drained out of me. In my debilitating weakness I can’t even hold on to You. But Your own words Keep my hope stirring: “For I Your God Am firmly grasping Your right hand. I am saying unto you Do not fear. I have become your helper.” Now, dear Lord! Now!’
And isn’t that the way we always desire the Lord to react to our problems, with alacrity and undivided attention. And yes, sometimes when that is called for He will respond with haste, but our God is not there to jump when we call, we have the situation all wrong. The truth of the matter is that we are the ones who are supposed to jump to it when He calls.
Anyway, what does the poem tell us? Basically that our omnipotent, omniscient and omni-present God is always there looking out for our problems and troubles. He’s promised to help us in all situations, so we should not be afraid of whatever comes against us. And that promise found in Psalm 9 is the Bible promise for today’s writing. It says: ‘The Lord will be a refuge (stronghold) for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord hast not forsaken them that seek thee.’ (Ps. 9:9-10)
Oh my fellow believers, that’s the indisputable truth! The Lord has never, and will never abandon anyone who puts their sincere trust in Him. And Bruh David spells it out very nicely in Psalm 37 titled – Trust in the Lord, when he writes: ‘The steps of a good man are ordered (established) by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand. I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed (descendants) begging bread. He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed (descendants) is blessed.’ (Ps. 37:23-26)
Now that’s how the Lord treats the righteous and his descendants. And if you don’t believe Bruh David, then listen to the sons of Korah from Psalm 46 titled – Our Refuge and Strength. They open the psalm confidently proclaiming: ‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present help (an abundantly available help) in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.’ (Ps. 46:1-3)
Oh my people, what powerful faith is engendered by those words! And that’s the kind of faith we believers in these ungodly and evil times need to have if we intend to make any kind of productive difference! The devil is riding high right now, but we certainly have the ability and the tools to overthrow him, if we get together and put our hearts, minds, souls and bodies to it.
It’s like Bruh Paul wrote to Timothy in his first epistle. ‘But thou, O man of God, flee these things (the world’s evil); and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, LOVE, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed (confessed) a good profession (confession) before many witnesses.’ (1 Tim. 6:11-12)
Yes mih bredrin, we are expected to fight a good fight of faith, so that when our time to leave this earth comes, we can proudly say like Bruh Paul: ‘For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure (death) is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course (race), I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that LOVE his appearing.’ (2 Tim. 4:6-8)
What a wonderful reward awaits us in heaven my people; that crown of righteousness! But only if we keep on being righteous and fight the good fight of faith down here. And I know all of us desire to have that awesome crown, but please, let’s remember it’s not something that’s handed out willy nilly, but only to those who truly deserve it. And if we sincerely want it, then we still have some time to turn ourselves around and become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus!
And the Lord in His utmost generosity has indeed given us tools to do the job He desires of us. We call them our Thursday Blessings. So please, let’s declare them now so that they can be activated. As one strong and sincere 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 having made that declaration (awright!!!) we are now duty bound to go out and use those blessings to help others, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us. Much LOVE!
…to win the crown of righteousness…one must fight tooth and nail for it…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
04 Dec 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: an essential part of our walk with God, asking of you nothing, await all things from you, be of good courage, belief, Bible, both hope and wait quietly, christianity, diffing out, endure to the end, enjoy God's presence, even the youths shall faint and be weary, faith, first blast of winter weather, for the salvation of the Lord, God gives power to the faint, halfway home, hands on the plough, he shall strengthen thine heart, holy spirit, I had fainted, I'm glad to be alive, in God's time, in the depths of our being, it is good that a man, Jesus Christ, LOVE, mercy, mount up with wings as eagles, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, not looikng back, our desires and intentions wholly fixed on you, our prayer may tend to your glory, perseverance, Prayers Through the Ages Pamphlet, produce in our souls, right motives, run and not be weary, salvation, shall renew their strength, silence speaks louder than words, standing firm, teach our souls, Teach us O God, teach us to remain quiet, thank God, that deep and simple prayer, that silent language that says all things, the accomplishment of your will, the breath of life, the first thing to do is pray, the Lord is good to them that wait for him, to a glorious future with Jesus, to remain silent in your presence, to see the goodness of God in the land of the living, to the soul that seeks him, truth, under your action, unless I had believed, wait I say on the Lord, wait on God's answer, wait on the Lord, waith in faith, we may adore you, which says nothing and experiences everything, which specifies nothing and includes everything, wisdom
Psalm 27:14. Wait (wait in faith) on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say on the Lord.
At last we’re getting our first real blast of winter weather with a decent snow storm dropping it’s payload on us this morning. And it’s scheduled to go on for most of the day. However, thankfully, it’s not as bad as what the residents of some parts of cottage country endured this past weekend; something like around eighty cm. of snow overall. Now that is indeed a lot of snow, and they are still without power and still digging out from under the avalanche of snow. Hopefully, we will not get even half as much today, as we need to be broken back in gently to snow and its eccentric peculiarities; remembering how to drive and walk in it, as well to shovel it and dress properly for it. (smile)
It’s strange, but regardless of how often we experience winter and snow, the first snow fall always has us shaking our heads and wondering how best to handle it. And you know, as believers in Jesus Christ we’re thought that when in doubt, or when trouble arises, the first thing one should do is pray. So since this our first snowfall of the season, and we’re still a tad under the weather about it, let’s offer up this prayer from the Prayers Through the Ages Pamphlet recently put out by the Anglican Diocese of Toronto. This prayer is attributed to a lady by the name of Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941).
So please pray with me: ‘Teach us, O God, that silent language which says all things. Teach our souls to remain silent in Your presence; that we may adore You in the depths of our being, and await all things from You, while asking of You nothing but the accomplishment of Your will. Teach us to remain quiet under Your action and produce in our souls that deep and simple prayer which says nothing and experiences everything, which specifies nothing and includes everything. Do pray in us, that our prayer may even tend to Your glory, and our desires and intentions may not be fixed on ourselves, but wholly directed to You.’
Ah friends, I like that prayer because it says so much about us, about when we go to God in prayer, because it’s so often to ask and plead for something our flesh desires and very seldom to just enjoy His presence, sitting in silence and letting our souls and spirits interact with our heavenly Father, without expressing a desire for anything at all. Yes, sometimes we just need to sit in the Lord’s presence and enjoy silent communion with Him, as the prayer says; ‘produce in our souls that deep and simple prayer which says nothing and experiences everything, which specifies nothing and includes everything.’
As the old adage says, sometimes silence speaks louder than words. But don’t worry, the Lord knows what we need and what we want by looking at our heart, and if our motives are right and in accordance with His will, He will eventually grant them to us. But please note the important word in that sentence is ‘eventually.’ We seem to want everything right now, possibly yesterday, but the Lord doesn’t operate like that, He moves at His own pace, in His own time, and if we don’t learn how to wait on Him, then we’ll lose out on a whole lot of good blessings.
And there are many verses of scripture that advise and admonish us to wait on the Lord, because it is such and important feature of the Christian faith. And this commentary gives us a brief look at what it is. It asks ‘What does it mean to wait on the Lord? Then answers: ‘To some, that means spending time in prayer, seeking God. To others, it means standing firm on what God has already spoken to you. To wait on God’s answer, voice, or promise in prayer is an essential part of our walk with God.’
And is that ever so true! So let’s look at a few bible verses on the subject, beginning with this great one from Isaiah that we all know and quote but very seldom put into action. (smile) ‘He (God) giveth power to the faint (weak); and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.’ (Is. 40:29-31)
It could not get any clearer than that my faithful brethren! But we’ve gotten so accustomed to the ways of the world, it’s busyness, impatience and wanting everything now for now, that we lose sight of what it takes to live for Christ, and thus get impatient, unnecessarily panicking, suffering doubts, fears and anxieties. Meanwhile, Bruh David says it thus in Psalm 27: ‘I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord, in the land of the living. Wait (wait in faith) on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say on the Lord.’ (Ps. 27: 13-14)
Oh my people, Bruh David knew what he was talking about from hard experience. Remember he was anointed to be the next king of Israel as a teenager, but never received that promise until many years later, and in between those two occasions, he spent much of that time running for his life from the jealous king Saul who openly and unashamedly tried to kill Him. But Bruh David remained faithful and waited on God’s timing, even refusing to kill Saul when the opportunity presented itself. And eventually he did get all the Lord promised him.
The Lord seldom tells us when we’ll receive what He’s promised, but if we wait in faith, with patience and undergo whatever trials come our way while waiting, then He usually blesses us with even more than we’ve asked or He’s promised. And we only have time and space for one more scripture; this from another of God’s people who suffered greatly while doing God’s work, but never gave up hope in Him. Listen to the prophet Jeremiah from his Lamentations. ‘The Lord is good to them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.’ (Lam. 3:25-26)
Yes my fellow saints, that’s indeed godly wisdom. So let’s try to improve our waiting on God nuh, for it will only benefit us. Now let’s go home declaring 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, it’s been promised that that future will be even more glorious than we can either ask or imagine. So let’s plan to meet there nuh! Much LOVE!
…waiting successfully on God…demands a strong combination of…hope, faith, perseverance, belief and LOVE…that’s never easy to obtain…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
03 Dec 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a great high priest, a just man falleth seven times and riseth up again, all have sinned, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, Bible, challenges, christianity, cleanse us from all unrighteousness, cleanses us from all sin, come short of the glory of God, confess our sins, do not the truth, faith, fellowship with God, find grace to help in time of need, follow me, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, God is light, God of unlimited chances, God searches our hearts, he is faithful and just, holy spirit, hurry, I am the beloved of god, if any man will come after me, if we confess our sins, in god's eyes, Jesus can empathize with our suffering, Jesus Christ, Jesus is our only good option, let him deny himself, LOVE, magnanimous and magnificent God, mercy, no giving up in Jesus' economy, obedient to His word, rewards, sacrifices, salvation, selfish desires, share His love with my neighbours, sincere repentance, sinshine is a reflection of Christ, stumble into calamity, sympathize with our weaknesses, take up his cross daily and follow me, tempted like we are, tests, Thanks be to God, the blood of Jesus, The God of second chances, the propitiation for our sins, the throne of grace, the wicked shall fall into mischief, to forgive our sins, trials, trust my friend Jesuss, truth, Tuesday Mantra, walk in the light, was without sin, wisdom, worry
1 John 1:9. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
And then it was Tuesday, sunshiny but a tad on the chilly side. But as we always say, we’ll take the sunshine any time because it’s a reflection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who is the Light of the world! And all God’s people said a loud and grateful: ‘All thanks be to God the Father who gave us His only Son Jesus to be the propitiation for our sins! Blessed be His holy name, forever and ever! Amen!’
Ah friends, what a privilege and pleasure it is to live for Jesus! There’s nothing else like it in this world; it can be tough and challenging, with sacrifices and all sorts of tests and trials, but behind it all, let’s remember that Jesus walked this earth as a man like us and experienced all that we experience, but yet was without sin, that means He understands what we’re going through down here on earth and can empathize with our earthly problems.
For as the Good Library informs us from the Book of Hebrews: ‘Seeing that we have a great high priest, that is passed into (through) the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched (sympathize) with the feeling of our infirmities (weaknesses); but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.’ (Heb. 4:14-16)
Wow mih bredrin! What wonderful news, that we can go directly to the throne of grace for help from our Lord and Saviour…and not only directly, but also boldly or confidently, knowing that we will not be, no, never be turned away. Our requests may not be granted, but we’ll always have the opportunity to present them without fear of being turned away. Which other God is so magnanimous and generous eh? None whatsoever!
That’s why it’s such a joy to live and work for Jesus! He’s not a terrible task master either, although He likes His work done when and how He says, and when you are obedient to His word, His rewards can be enormous, can be very significant in the life of a believer. By the same token though, disobedience, laziness and lack of effort bring the risk of punishment. And that’s only fair; since we can’t expect to get good rewards when we toe the line, as well as when we’re out of order.
But again, the wonderful thing about Jesus is that He’s always forgiving, if we repent of our mistakes and try to be better in the future. And John details it for us in his first epistle, when he writes: ‘This then is the message which we have heard of him (Jesus), and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him (God), and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not (practice) the truth.
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.’ (1 John 1:5-10)
Simple and straightforward my brethren. And it’s indeed a fact that we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God, (Rom. 3:23) so we cannot say that we have no sin, but the important thing is that if we confess to our sins, agree with God that we’ve wronged Him, then the Lord is most willing to forgive us…and more than once too. As this commentary so nicely puts it: ‘As a matter of fact, God is not only the God of second chances, but the God of third and fourth and unlimited chances for His children who confess their faults and weaknesses, and come to Him for help.’
Mama Mia! What can be better than that eh? Although it doesn’t give us license to sin and keep running back and forth through insincere repentance. Not at all! The forgiveness is for sincere repentance, although we might commit the same sin several times, in our hearts, where God looks for our true motives, we must be sincerely trying to escape it, and asking for God’s help to do so.
Oh friends, God doesn’t expect us to be perfect, but He expects us to work towards perfection, especially since He’s already given us all the tools necessary to do so, as well as the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit. It’s like Cousin Sol says in Proverbs: ‘For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief (stumble into calamity).’ (Prov. 24:16) And that’s exactly what’s expected of a faithful believer in Jesus Christ. No matter how often you fall, you are expected to get back up, after a brief respite, for there’s no giving up in Jesus’ economy.
So there you have it, a brief overview of what it is like to work and live for Jesus… Oh, I forgot one important scripture that’s the foundation of it all; meaning what it takes to be a true disciple of Jesus. Jesus said it thus: ‘If any man will come (desires to come) after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow me.’ (Luke 9:23)
Now that might seem like a real tough target, and ofttimes it is, but generally speaking it’s not too difficult, especially with Jesus leading and guiding you through it all with His Holy Spirit. The important thing though is that you need to be prepared to sacrifice all your selfish desires to Christ, if and whenever He calls. But there again, He’s the kind of master who believes in helping His people, all the way, every day!
So let’s go home now declaring (yesss!!!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting all and sundry 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 having said that, it now behooves us 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 like we do! Much LOVE!
…living for Christ…is the ONLY good option…we have in this world…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
30 Nov 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a banner year for peace and love, a God of hope, a wonderful experience, adhere to Jesus, all should come to repentance, an acolyte of Satan, as a thief in the night, be caught up in the clouds, be not ignorant of this one thing, Bible, cast into the lake of fire, christianity, comfort one another with these words, compassion, crapaud smoke yuh pipe, deepen my breath, descend from heaven with a shout, encouragement, eternal death, eternal life, every one that doeth evil hateth the light, evil deeds, faith, free will, guided like a moth, he that doeth the truth comes to the light, hide from the light, his deeds may be made manifest, holy spirit, I praise you for your unceasing nearness, increase my awareness of you, intimacy with god, Jesus Christ, Jesus wins, kindness, know you all the more, laziness, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, lest his deeds be reproved, live for Christ, longsuffering, LOVE, loyalty, men loved darkness rather than light, mercy, neither comes to the light, not willing that any should perish, obedience, one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, quiet my soul, relax my muscles, repentance, salvation, Satan, shall rise first, sincerity, sinful pleasures, slow my thoughts, so shall we ever be with the Lord, stay strong, tenderness, the amazing presence of God, the day of the Lord, the dead in christ, the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the fallen angel Lucifer, the Great tribulation, the heavens shall pass away, the judgement, the light is come into the world, the Lord is not slack concerning His promise, the Rapture of Christ's church, the trump of God, the voice of he archangel, their deeds are evil, to meet the Lord in the air, to the flame of Jesus, truth, warms the cockles of God's heart, we which are alive, wrought in God
John 3:20. For every one that doeth (practices) evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds shall be reproved (exposed).
Yes friends, on this last day of November, our lazy-day Saturday has arrived, windy and cold, but with more sunshine than cloud, and we’ll take it however it comes, for we can laze around in any kind of weather. (smile) And I did manage to get in some early morning laziness, so I’m not feeling too envious of those of you who can afford to spend the whole day doing nothing. But enough laziness, let’s get to the Lord’s business, and offer 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 it’s always a wonderful experience to come into the amazing presence of our great God; to get into deeper intimacy with Him, for that’s His greatest desire. So let’s never forget that He made us to have deep intimacy with Him, to LOVE Him as He LOVES us! The Lord needed a creation to LOVE, to show His great kindness and compassion to, in return for obedience and loyalty. And there’s nothing that warms the cockles of His heart like His creation seeking deeper intimacy with Him.
It’s unfortunate though, that with the free will He also gave us, not many of His creation are using it to choose Him, but rather to choose the sinful pleasures and evil deeds of the world controlled by the fallen angel Lucifer. It obviously breaks His heart to see so many of us falling under the evil spell of the great deceiver, but thankfully our God is the God of hope, hoping that many more, if not all of us, will one day receive His Son, Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.
Listen, as Peter spells it out in his second epistle. ‘But beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.’ (2 Pet. 3:8-10)
Oh my people, the Lord in His everlasting kindness is giving us a long time to come to repentance and thus obtain salvation, for He will prefer that none of His most marvellous creation suffers hellfire and damnation. However, He will not wait forever, and after the many warnings He’s given us, one day, Jesus will simply appear unexpectedly, like a thief in the night, bringing with the Him the final judgement of man. And if you’re still an acolyte of Satan, then you will suffer the same punishment as him, being cast into the lake of fire, with eternal separation from Almighty God.
Now that is the worst thing that can ever happen to a human soul, which means you need to repent and receive salvation as soon as possible, in fact RIGHT NOW, for who knows if Jesus will return to Rapture us sometime today, and if you’re not ready, then crapaud smoke yuh pipe! You’ll have to go through the Great Tribulation which will be nothing like the earth has ever seen before, and after that, the judgement!
So, wouldn’t it be much better to be amongst this lot as Bruh Paul wrote to the Thessalonians. ‘For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump (trumpet) of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever (always) be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.’ (1 Thess. 4:16-18)
Oh my fellow believers, those are indeed comforting words! How can they not be? Knowing that when Christ returns to rapture His church that those of us who held on to Him till the very end, both dead and alive will rise to meet Him in the skies certainly gives one comfort and encouragement to stay strong and live for Christ despite the many trials and tribulations we will face in this evil and ungodly world.
And I like this brief commentary on the Rapture: ‘When Christ enters the cloud, he brings us with him, not just the first disciples. As he took on our humanity and took it to the cross, so he brings us into the presence and glory of God. As he pours grace upon us, he makes us sharers in the Divine Presence.’ Now what could be better than that eh? Absolutely nothing!
And yuh know the whole thing is not rocket science nuh, but simple common sense, for if the sinful pleasures of this world are short-lived, and Satan has nothing to eventually offer but hellfire and damnation, why take up with him eh? Why subjugate yourselves to his awful lies, deceits and half-truths of which he is a master. On the other hand, if you adhere to Jesus then you will probably enjoy a tough but decent life down here on earth, then a marvellous one with Him in heaven for all eternity. There’s absolutely no comparison! Jesus wins hands down every time!
But, for whatever reason, many of us seem enamoured with the keeper of the darkness and live for him. I guess it’s like Jesus said: ‘And this is the condemnation, that (the) light is come into the world, and men LOVED darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil. For every one that doeth (practices) evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds shall be reproved (exposed). But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.’ (John 3:19-21)
Oh, my fellow saints, that’s a marvellous note for us to end on today! So please, let’s spend some of our lazy-day Saturday time pondering the truth of those words as they apply to us nuh. Are our deeds evil, thus we hide from the light…or are our deeds filled with truth, and thus we are guided like a moth to the flame of Christ? It’s time to take serious account of our spiritual condition! Much LOVE!
…we were granted wisdom and free will…that we could choose…eternal life with Christ…not eternal death with Satan…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
27 Nov 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, Bible, blessed is the man that walketh not in the way of the ungodly, Blessings on the Godly, brings forth fruit in season, call a spade a spade, cause some to fall, change it from the bottom up, chaos, christianity, day and night, deviated from God's law, do all that's written therein, do not travel on it, don't walk the path of the wicked, drink the wine of violence, eat the bread of wickedness, endure to the very end, evildoers will be destroyed, faith, fireworks, followers of Christ, from the top down, glad to be alive, go not in the way of evil men, halfway home, hands on the plough, have good success, his delight is in the law of the Lord, his leaf shall not wither, holy spirit, hurt God's heart, in his law doth he meditate, Jesus Christ, LOVE, make thy way prosperous, meditate therein day and night, mercy, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, not turning back, robbed of their sleep, running rampant, salvation, set a good example, shall not depart out of thy mouth, sits not in the seat of the scornful, stands in the way of sinners, sure fire option, thank God, the breath of life, the kind of character, the Lord's chosen people, the One True God, the righteous will inherit the earth, this book of the law, to a glorious future with Jesus, truth, turf God from our society, turned back to God, U.S Thanksgiving, unfortunate consequences, whatsoever he does shall prosper, wickedness, wisdom, woke up
Psalm 1:2. ‘But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.’
So it’s Wednesday, our mid-week second wind day. Let’s hope that we all catch that second wind, especially as one of, if not the biggest and busiest time of the year in the U.S, their Thanksgiving Celebrations are currently underway and will explode tomorrow with great fireworks, both literally and figuratively. (smile) And as I was just looking through the Palms for inspiration, I came upon Psalm 1 – Blessings on the Godly – and it struck me that it is a psalm that’s very appropriate to these wicked times, and it’s one we don’t pay sufficient attention to.
So let’s look at it today nuh. It reads: ‘Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly (wicked), nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.’ (Ps. 1:1) Now what does that tell us in no uncertain terms eh? That the wicked, or those who hob nob with them will not be blessed.
And Cousin Sol reiterates that warning in Proverbs 4, titled ‘Instructions of a Father.’ when he writes: ‘Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it (do not travel on it), turn from it, and pass away. For they sleep not, except (unless) they have done mischief (evil), and their sleep is taken away (they are robbed of their sleep), unless they cause some to fall. For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.’ (Prov. 4:14-17)
Yes friends, that’s the kind of character we develop when we choose to do evil, or follow the evil doer. And, unfortunately, it’s the predominant character of our current world. Wish that it were different, but we have to call a spade a spade, and wickedness is simply running rampant, in every level and every direction of our society. That must hurt God’s heart tremendously, because He’s had such high hopes for His most important creation. Here’s what the Lord expected from us, instead of the evil doing in which we’re currently engaged. ‘But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.’ (Ps. 1:2)
Oh my people, that’s the action that the wise and righteous man will pursue; pondering on the Lord’s word day and night. Why? ‘And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers (channels) of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.’ (Ps. 1:3) Oh my faithful brethren, that’s what should be predominating in our world right now instead of the current wickedness.
And the sad part is that it’s not new advice but is as old as the scriptures, for it’s the exact same thing that the Lord told Joshua when He made him the leader of Isreal after the death of Moses. ‘This book of the law shall not depart out of (shall be constantly) in thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.’ (Josh, 1:8)
It couldn’t be any clearer than that my people! And the examples abound in the Bible re the children of Israel. When they obeyed the law of God, they were successful and prosperous, but when they didn’t, reverted into evildoing and worshipping other gods, they suffered terribly, through wars and captivity and whatever the Lord chose to bring upon them. They were the Lord’s chosen people, and if they, knowingly and stubbornly disobedient, did not set a good example, then they had to be chastised, for no other nations would want to come to the One True God under those circumstances.
And it’s a source of wonder to me, that every time the Israelites deviated from God’s law and suffered the unfortunate consequences, they soon woke up and turned back to Him, and He forgave them. However, this generation is certainly not that wise. Our world is in chaos, because amongst other things we’ve deviated from God’s law, to the point of wanting to turf Him from our society, and we have tried every man made way to conquer the strife and disaster, but nothing’s working. Instead, it’s getting worse.
The ONLY thing we have not yet tried is a return to Almighty God and His righteous and just ways. And it seems like we’re adamantly not going to choose the one sure fire option we have to dissolve all the chaos and destruction in our world. But as children of God, as followers of Christ, we cannot give up, we have to keep on keeping on, in His name, and do our best to at least reduce the strife and suffering in our little part of the world. It’s the most many of us can do, because we don’t have the power to change it from the top down, so we’ll have to use our power to change it from the bottom up.
And having said that, let’s go home declaring (awright!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting all and sundry know 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 with Jesus right down to the very end, then it’s been promised that that future will be even more glorious than we can ever ask or imagine! So hoping to see you there! Much LOVE!
…the evildoers will eventually be destroyed…while the righteous will inherit the earth…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
23 Nov 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a LOVING Father, a pleasure to know God intimately, and now abideth faith hope love, assurance of God's love, Bible, born of God, Christ died for us, christianity, damnation, deepen my breath, dissenters, eternal separation, faith, give men for thee, God commendeth his own love toward us, God is LOVE, God so loved the world, have everlasting life, he gave his only begotten son, he that loveth not knoweth not God, heal broken bones, heaven, hell, hellfire, herein is love, holy spirit, increase my awareness of you, infinite patience, intimacy with god, Jesus Christ, know you all the more, lazing around, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, lead you to the abundant life, LOVE, LOVE is of God, loved thee with an everlasting love, mercy, no force more powerful than God's love, not reciprocated the Lord's love, not that we loved God but that he loved us, people for thy life, precious in my sight, quiet my soul, relax my muscles, salvation, set free those held captive by sin, sleeping in, slow my thoughts, stop the roaring seas, thank you for this tenderness, the depth of God's love, the faith journey starts, the greatest of these is love, the Holy One of Israel, the Lord's love song, the propitiation for our sins, truth, unceasing neareness, walk in faith, while we were yet sinners, whosoever beleives in him should not persih, wisdom
1 John 4:8. He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God is LOVE.
And now we’ve come to Saturday; our lazy-day Saturday, where most of us can do as we please, with little or no restrictions on time or effort. (smile) And it’s another damp and cloudy day, so that makes it even better for sleeping in and lazing around. I can’t complain either, because I did manage to get in a li’l lazy time despite the aches and pains crying out to get up and get some movement going in the ole body. But what else is new eh? (smile)
Anyway, let’s get to our most important matter right now, our Lazy-Day Saturday prayer. Please pray with me: ‘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 what a pleasure it is to know our Creator and Provider more intimately! There’s nothing like it in this world! Why? Because God created us for the express purpose of having intimacy with Him; a creation for Him to LOVE, and who would LOVE Him in return. And we see God’s LOVE highlighted all the way through His Word, with explicit scriptures like this: ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ (John 3:16)
Then there’s this: ‘But God commendeth (demonstrates) his (own) LOVE toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom. 5:8) Yes, instead of waiting for us to change, God’s LOVE was so great towards us that He just couldn’t wait any longer for us to turn ourselves around. And what about this scripture from the prophet Jeremiah? ‘The Lord hath appeared of old (from afar) unto me, saying, Yea, I have LOVED thee with an everlasting LOVE: therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee.’ (Jer. 31:3) And as the scholars explain: ‘God’s LOVE for His people is accompanied by infinite patience.’
Yes, my fellow believers, God’s LOVE for His most important creation is unconditional, unending and unmistakable! And what about these most endearing words from the prophet Isaiah? ‘For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee (in thy place). Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable (honoured), and I have LOVED thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.’ (Is. 43:3-4)
That’s how much the Lord LOVED the people of Israel, and consequently all those who believe, trust and have faith in His Son Jesus Christ. Oh friends, the Bible is in fact the Lord’s LOVE song to us! All through it we see His LOVE rearing up on behalf of His people, especially in tough times. And John got it ever so right in his epistle. Just listen to this treatise on God’s LOVE nuh!
‘Beloved, let us LOVE one another: for LOVE is of God; and every one that LOVETH is born of God, and knoweth God. He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God is LOVE. In this was manifested the LOVE of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is LOVE, not that we LOVED God, but that he LOVED us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so LOVED us, we ought also to LOVE one another.’ (1 John 4:7-11)
Oh my people, it could not be put any clearer or more straightforward than that! Unfortunately though, we have not reciprocated the Lord’s LOVE like we ought to. Instead, we’ve turned away from Him to other gods and man-made idols. Made Him so unimportant in our lives, that we’re even trying to eradicate Him from our society. But we know that will NEVER happen, for our God is the ONLY omnipotent, omniscient and omni-present Being in existence, and we cannot even make one move unless He allows it. And He will definitely not allow anyone else to take over the universe He so LOVINGLY created.
And because of His great LOVE for us and our stubborn, foolish and hardhearted, behaviour towards Him, He’s created a sanctuary for those who are wise and desire to have sincere communion with Him. It’s a place called heaven, where those who put their trust in His Son Jesus Christ will spend eternity enjoying the good and abundant life. However, for those who do not desire sincere communication with God, there’s another place called HELL, where those dissenters will spend eternity separated from Him. And if we’re wise, we’ll choose the first option, because the second is going to be pure hellfire and damnation!
Oh friends, God LOVES us because He simply LOVES us. As John says, God is LOVE, and thus can do nothing else but LOVE! And we’ll close today with this excerpt from an article on the subject of God’s LOVE found on the bible studytools.com website, which I believe very nicely explains it.
It says: ‘God absolutely LOVES you. It’s hard to get our minds around, but it is true. This is where the faith journey starts: understanding that God LOVES you. If you do not have an assurance of God’s LOVE, your faith journey will not last long. Fortunately, reading the Bible can help to strengthen your faith in God’s LOVE. There is no force more powerful than the LOVE our heavenly Father has for us, His children. His LOVE can move mountains, stop the roaring seas, heal broken bones and wounded hearts, transform lives, and set free those held captive by sin and shame. So great is his LOVE for you and me that he sent his only Son to die that we might live through him.
God is not an angry taskmaster who shows affection only when you succeed. He is a LOVING Father who will always LOVE you no matter what. Take time to receive the depth of his LOVE for you today. Allow his LOVE to heal you, transform you, free you, and lead you to the abundant life he has always longed to give. Read, meditate, and pray over these Bible verses about God’s LOVE as you walk in faith today.’
Oh my fellow saints, I certainly could not put it any better than that! So please, let’s do what it says nuh, get deep into God’s Word and understand just how much He really LOVES us! That’s wisdom to the nth degree! Much LOVE!
…and now abideth faith, hope and LOVE…but the greatest of these is…LOVE… (1 Cor, 13:13)
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
14 Nov 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a faithful saying, a free gift, a man is not justified by the works of the law, a positive outlook on life, all gone out of the way, all have sinned, an unclean thing, and then the judgement, appears for a little time, ascendeth up for ever and ever, be born of water and the spirit, Bible, bring us to God, by the faith of Jesus Christ, Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, Christ suffered once for sins, christianity, church membership, come short of the glory of God, courage, cowardly, crapaud smoke we pipe, creativity, curse, day or night, divine protection, eternal life, except a man be born again, fade as a leaf, faith, fearful, fervent heat, filthy rags, god, God's supernatural wisdom, he cannot see the kingdom of God, he who has ears to hear let him hear, holy spirit, iniquities, it is appointed unto men once to die, Jesus Christ, like the wind, LOVE, mercy, murderers, negative word, no not one, none that doeth good, none that seek after God, our iniquities have take us away, righteousnesses, salvation, sinful ways, talent, the just for the unjust, the lake of fire, the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, The Leviticus Church, the second death, the smoke of their torment, then vanishes away, there is none righteous, they have no rest, truth, what is born of flesh is flesh, what is born of Spirit is spirit, what is your life, who worship the beast and his image, whoremonges, whosoever receives the mark of his name, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved, wisdom, ye know not what shall be on the morrow, you cannot gamble with salvation, your life is even a vapour
Romans 3:23. For all have sinned and come (fallen) short of the glory of God.
Then it was Thursday, and the world is going along in it’s usual sinful ways, with many of us supposed believers in Jesus Christ helping them on. But as we saw yesterday, this world, both the solid part of it and the wicked within it will not last forever, it will go up in flames one day, or as Peter puts it, ‘in fervent heat,’ when the Lord decides it’s time. And what’s going to happen to us then eh? We’ll either end up in the New Jerusalem or in the lake of fire, to experience the Second Death.
And if you remember, twice in the last couple of weeks we checked out a Bible tract from the Leviticus Church in Jamaica, New York, which had to do with Salvation. The first time we explored what it said about Eternal Life being a Free Gift, and the second time, we talked about how you can be saved. Well, today we’re going to explore the last aspects of the things it talks about, beginning with this one: that Church Membership CANNOT Save You.
In support of their claim, they open with a quote from Romans 3:10, but I’ll add a couple of verses to it ‘As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.’ (Rom. 3:10-12) Now that’s also a fairly accurate description of today’s world.
Then the tract continues with this quote from Romans 3:23: ‘For all have sinned and come (fallen) short of the glory of God.’ Then they declare: ‘Sin is the problem, and belonging to a church will NOT take it away. Jesus Christ Himself said, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)
And for greater clarification, we’ll add these verses where Jesus further enlightens Nicodemus the Jewish ruler who had come to Him by night to question His purpose. ‘Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.’ (John 3:5-6) And that tells us very plainly that we personally have to do something about our style of living if we want to see the pearly gates of heaven, and simple church membership will not cut it.
Then the pamphlet exhorts us: ‘You Cannot Take Your Chances.’ In other words, you cannot gamble on your being saved. Then they let us know: ‘The Bible says, “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement.” (Heb. 9:27) Thus they reason, you really don’t know for sure how much time is left of your life. And they support that with this scripture from James. ‘Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.’ (James 4:14) That in essence tells us that we could be here today, but gone tomorrow, therefore we must take the opportunity to be saved RIGHT NOW!
Then, the tract reminds us of this indisputable truth: ‘You Cannot Save Yourself.’ And they use these Bible quotes to justify their contention. ‘Knowing that a man is not justified (declared righteous) by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ… (Gal. 2:16a). It also says: ‘But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags (a filthy garment); and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.’ (Is. 64:6) I added the last half of the quote.
Then we learn that ‘Salvation is “FREE” to ALL.’ The Bible says, ‘For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ (Rom. 10:13) And furthermore, the Bible says, ‘This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. (1 Tim. 1:15) There again, I used the whole verse. ‘For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God…’ (1 Pet. 3:18a)
Now, we come to the most important aspect of the entire situation: ‘IF YOU DO NOT GET SAVED…’ And the tract expounds: The Bible says, “And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.’ (Rev. 14:11) The tract only gives the first half of that verse, but I thought the whole thing would be more beneficial. (smile)
Then, it continues: ‘For the wages of sin is death;’ (Rom. 6:23a) But this death is more than just physical death. It is an “ETERNAL BURNING!” The Bible says, ‘But the fearful (cowardly), and unbelieving, and the abominable, and the murderers, and whoremongers (sexually immoral), and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the SECOND DEATH.’ (Rev. 21:8)
And that says it all my people! If we do not get saved before we die the physical death, then we will surely end up in that lake of fire for the second death, and then crapaud smoke we pipe for all eternity! Now, is that what we desire? I don’t think so. But the reality is that if you not get saved as soon as possible, there’s a great likelihood that you can end up with Beelzebub and all the other iniquity workers. So, a word to the wise; please look after your salvation, RIGHT NOW!
Now, let’s declare and thus activate our Thursday Blessings, which the Lord has so generously bestowed on us to do His earthly work. 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 having made that declaration, it now behooves us to go out and use those blessings just as generously on behalf of others. Much LOVE!
… he who has ears to hear…let him hear…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
13 Nov 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a new earth, a new heaven, as a bride adorned for her husband, be diligent, be their God, be ye glad, Bible, blameless, Christ's thousand year earthly rule, christianity, cold and heat, come as a thief in the night, day and night shall not cease, endure to the end, eyes straight ahead, faith, god, God shall wipe away all tears, God's great mercy, halfway home, hands on the plough, he that sat upon the throne, holy spirit, I make all things new, Jesus Christ, judgement day, LOVE, may be found of him in peace, new Jerusalme, no more crying, no more death, no more infant of days, no more pain, no more sorrow, not turning back, rejoice for ever, seedtime and harvest, sinful humanity, spiritual maturity, spiritual wisdom, summer and winter, thank God, the breath of God, the day of the Lord, the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the eternal habitation of the saved, the first heaven and the first earth were passed away, the former things are passed away, the heavens shall be dissolved, the heavens will pass away, the holy city, the Millenium, the new Jerusalem, the tabernacle of God, there was no more sea, these words are faithful and true, to a glorious future with Jesus, truth, Wednesday Wail, while the earth remains, wisdom, with a great noise, without spot
Revelation 21:1. And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
And the days move along swiftly without waiting on anyone or anything! Why? Because that’s the way God planned it. It’s His solemn promise as stated in His Word. After destroying the earth and it’s habitants, except Noah and His family by a flood, the Lord promised Noah that He would never destroy every living thing again. (Gen. 8:21) Then He concluded: ‘While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.’ (Gen. 8:22).
And this portion of an article on the subject from the bibleref.com website explains it thus. ‘From this point, throughout the planet’s history, the patterns of nature will remain as God has created them. The cycles will continue. Day will follow night. One season will follow another. The world will continue to function predictably according to God’s design. This is the grace of God upon all His creation.
It is important to notice that this promise begins with “while the earth remains.” God doesn’t guarantee that the planet in its current form will exist eternally. In fact, at some point in the future, God will re-make the heavens and the earth (Revelation 21:1). But while it does, those who live on earth will enjoy the goodness of the repetition of the days and seasons by God’s great mercy on sinful humanity.’
And for our Biblical enlightenment (smile) here’s what Peter says about the destruction of the planet. ‘But the day of the Lord (Judgement day, not the Rapture) will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation (conduct) and godliness.
Looking for and hasting (hastening) unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.’ (2 Pet. 3:10-14)
Oh my fellow believers, since all that stuff will take place eventually, it’s necessary for us to follow Peter’s warning to look beyond this present world, and live accordingly, or so that we can become a part of the new, righteous and peaceful world. Now, here’s what the first few verses of Revelation tells us about that New World.
It’s John speaking: ‘And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. and he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.’ (Rev. 21:1-5)
Yes my brethren, if we remain faithful believers in Christ Jesus, that’s the glorious time we have to look forward to, when the universe will be cleansed of all the effects of sin! Wow! What a time that will be! After the Millenium (Christ’s thousand year reign) upon the earth, which will be a time of righteousness and peace, and the Final Judgement, New Jerusalem will become the eternal habitation of the saved.
The first heaven and earth which was predicted by Isaiah will be destroyed. On God’s behalf, he wrote: ‘For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.
And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be heard no more in her, nor the voice of crying. There shall be no more thence an infant of days (live but a few days), nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.’ (Is. 65:17-20)
Oh friends, yuh see that the Lord promised us a good place from way back when, if we only believe. And why is that so difficult to do eh? Because we don’t have the spiritual wisdom and maturity to look to the future; we’re held captive here by the things of this fallen world, which as we have seen, will all be destroyed. So all the earthly things that we are killing ourselves now to obtain will not serve us one iota of good in the next life.
And nothing’s wrong with things, but they should not be our idols, they should not be placed above the worship and presence of God, as so many of us do. But no one can make you choose Christ and His righteousness over Satan and his evil doings, we each have to make that decision for ourselves. But please, we plead with us to choose Christ, for His is the best choice. Just look to the future and see where you prefer to be, in the New Jerusalem, or the Lake of Fire.
Now, let’s go home declaring (yesss!) 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 very end with Christ, then that future will be even more glorious than we can ever ask or imagine. So, see you there! Much LOVE!
…just imagine nuh…no more tears, pain or death…in the New Jerusalem…can’t wait to experience it…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
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