24 Dec 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a correct picture, a faithful saying, a paatern, an abomination to the human soul, anger, be not dismayed, bear thee up in their hands, Bible, bitterness, christianity, Christmas, concentrate my thoughts on you, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, disastrous times, don't understand your ways, dwell in the land of the shadow of death, early in the morning I cry to you, enable me to live now, faith, fear not, feeble in heart, give his angels charge over thee, hatred, have the light of life, he is my refuge and my fortress, he that follows me, he;lp me to pray, help in you, holy spirit, hurry, I am lonely, I am the light of the world, I am thy God, I cannot do this alone, I will say of the Lord, I will strengthen you, in god's eyes, in him will I trust, In me there's darkness, Jesus Christ, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus, last minute preparations, let not your heart be troubled, life everlasting, light emanates from God, lock stock and barrel, longsuffering, LOVE, mercy, my god, my peace I give unto you, my thoughts are not your thoughts, my thoughts higher than your thoughts, my ways are not your ways, my ways higher than your ways, negative emotions, neither let it be afraid, never enough time, no evil shall befall thee, no need of the sun or moon, no plague shall come nigh thy dwelling, not as the world gives, pateince, patience, peace, persih, restless, salvation, seen a great light, shall not walk in darkness, share His love with my neighbours, strife-filled world, strive with thee, suprasses all understanding, Thank You Lord, the beloved of God, the glory of God illuminated it, the gospel truth, the grace of God, the heavens are higher than the earth, the Lamb, the light thereof, the peace of God, the people that walked in darkness, to keep thee in all thy ways, trust my friend Jesus, truth, Tuesday Mantra, uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness, upon them hath the light shined, wisdom, with you there's light, without me ye can do nothing, worry, worthy of all acceptance, you never leave me
John 8:12. I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
Well a Happy Christmas Eve to all you my Scrip-Bits friends and families. I sincerely hope that today meets you in good health and that you are busy making your last minute preparations for the big day tomorrow! (smile) Oh, it amuses me when I see people running around like chickens with their heads cut off to get all their Christmas activities together. I just smile and say, ‘Thank You Lord!’ Why? Because I’ve learned over the last few years to do whatever little I intend to do, as early as possible so as not to get involved in all the last minute rushing and pushing.
It just seems that at Christmas time, there’s always so much we want to do, but there’s never enough time to do it, either because we’ve left too much for too late, or we’re simply trying to do much. But who am I to question the overflowing attitudes of others eh? (smile) And to help us get through all the ‘confufflations’ of the day, let’s sincerely offer up this prayer from the Prayers Through The Ages Pamphlet – Prayers for Spiritual Renewal – recently put out by the Anglican Diocese of Toronto. This prayer is attributed to Dietrich Bonhoffer, a martyred German theologian, (1904-1945).
Please pray with me. ‘Oh God, early in the morning I cry to you. Help me to pray and to concentrate my thoughts on you: I cannot do this alone, In me there is darkness, but with you there is light, I am lonely, but you do not leave me; I am feeble in heart, but in you there is help; I am restless, but with you there is peace. In me there is bitterness, but with you there is patience; I do not understand your ways, but you know the way for me… Restore me to liberty, and enable me to live now That I may answer before you and before me. Lord, whatever this day may bring, your name be praised.’
And is that ever a correct picture of the human soul in these disastrous times! And do we ever need the Lord’s help, because we cannot do anything on our own. For as Jesus so rightly said; ‘for without me, ye can do nothing.’ (John 15:5) And I like the contrasts that the prayer makes: There is darkness in the human soul, but only light emanates from the Godhead. How did Jesus put it? ‘I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.’ (John 8:12)
Now that’s the gospel truth, it also fulfills the prophecy of the prophet Isaiah: ‘The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.’ (Is. 9:2) And that’s how it is for all those who walk with Jesus; we walk in the light, because He is the light of the world. It will be also as John says in Revelation: ‘And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten (illuminate) it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.’ (Rev. 21:23)
That brings us to where the prayer says we’re lonely, which is oh so true in these days of deceit and strife, and though we may be amongst a crowd of people, our hearts can still be lonely. But the good news is that our God is always with us, He never leaves us. Though He may seem to be far away, the truth is that He is always around us, present and ready for action on our behalf, through His Holy Spirit that indwells us. And Psalm 91 – The Secret Place of the Most High – gives us that assurance:
‘I will say of the Lord, he is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust… Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation (dwelling place); There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear (lift) thee up in their hands, lest thou dash (strike) thy foot against a stone.’ (Ps. 91:2,9-12)
Oh friends, we cannot ask for any more assurance of our safety and closeness to Almighty God! And though we are also feeble in heart, when we place our trust in the Most High God, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, there’s much help to be had. As the prophet Isaiah promised in His name: ‘Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded (disgraced): they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish.’ (Is. 41:10-11)
Oh my people, there’s no greater assurance than the faithful help of our Creator and Provider! None whatsoever! And though there’s a restless spirit within us, when we turn to Him, we find peace, the peace that’s not like what the world offers. As Jesus says: ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’ (John 14:27) Yes friends the peace of Christ far surpasses any other peace we might know. It’s that ‘peace of God which passeth all understanding, and which shall keep (guard) your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’ (Phil. 4:7)
And sadly with our strife-filled world, bitterness, anger, hatred and all the negative emotions are ever so prevalent, but thankfully in God, there’s patience. And did Bruh Paul ever know and experience God’s patience! Here’s what he told Timothy: ‘And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and LOVE which in in Christ Jesus. 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. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering (patience), for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.’ (1 Tim. 1:14-16)
Yes friends, our God showed much patience with Bruh Paul while he was persecuting the early Christian church, until He was ready to reform him and turn him into the most zealous of the apostles. So there is no need to fear, for He will do the same with us, when He’s ready. And because we are only a creation of God, with only finite understanding, we cannot understand how He operates.
But if we allow Him to lead us, these words of His ought to give us peace and not worry about the way we go. ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.’ (Is. 55:8-9) That explains it all, my people.
Now, let’s go home declaring (steupsss!!!) 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 now it 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!
…in Jesus Christ…the human being finds…all they need to live a good life…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
10 Apr 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: against the knowledge of God, all things are become new, anger, As God for christ's sake forgave you, be ye angry and sin not, be ye renewed in the spirit of your mind, Bible, bitterness, Casting down imaginations, christianity, climate change, coloured our days, deceitful lusts, endure to the end, every high thing, faith, forgiving one another, given themselves over unto lasciviousness, god, God-given wisdom, greediness, halfway home, hands on the plough, he is a new creature, holy spirit, I will do a new thing, if any man be in Christ, invite Jesus, Jesus, Jesus Christ, long term residents, LOVE, make a way in the wilderness, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, neither give place to the devil, not turning back, now it shall spring forth, old things are passed away, put off the former conversation, put on the new man, remember ye not the former things, rivers in the desert, shadowed our nights, shorts and t-shirts, spring, thank God, that exalteth itself, the blindness of their hearts, the breath of life is still flowing through me, the cellars of fear, the crux of the matter, the neighbourhood of our thoughts, the sun of his love, throw out our old baggage, to a glorious future with Jesus, uncleanness, walk not as other Gentiles walk, Wednesday Wail, wisdom, worrisome thoughts, wrath
2 Corinthians 5:17. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (creation): old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
Oh friends, if I didn’t know that we were still officially in the season of spring, I’d believe that today was a grand summer’s day. Yes, this Wednesday, has blossomed bright and sunshiny with temps in the high teens! And people are already out in their shorts and t-shirts. But this temperature is possibly an abnormality, and we will soon revert to true spring time temps. Anyway, who doesn’t like a summer’s day eh, at any time of the year! And with the climate change business making things topsy turvy and eccentric, we’ll take a good day whenever we can, be it spring, summer, winter or fall! (smile)
Now, let’s cool the enthusiasm a tad, with this snippet from the In Touch Devotional for this month, titled ‘Consider This.’ Please read with me: ‘Worrisome thoughts aren’t always intrusive – sometimes they’re long-term residents. In fact, we may not remember a time before they coloured our days and shadowed our nights. What would life be like in their absence? It’s hard to know. And not knowing is one of the most fearful things of all. But when we invite Jesus into the neighbourhood of our thoughts, He speaks gently to our worries – He calls us out of the cellars of fear and into the sun of His LOVE. All we have to do is reach out. And then let Him do what He does: make all things new.’
And isn’t that the gospel truth my fellow believers? Christ makes all things new when we turn to Him, when we entrust our very lives to Him in true surrender. And there’s no better scripture that details that fact than this one from Bruh Paul’s second missive to the Corinthians. ‘Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (creation): old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.’ (2 Cor. 5:17) Yes friends, when we become believers in Christ we need to throw out all our old baggage, for we’ve become new people, and old stuff will tempt us back to our old way of life.
But we must also allow Christ to do new things in us, that He dearly desires to do. It’s like the Lord promised the Israelites through the prophet Isaiah. ‘Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.’ (Is. 43:18-19) And that’s exactly what Christ will do in our lives – make a new and godly person out of us… if we let Him.
It’s also as Bruh Paul wrote to the Ephesians, re putting on the new man. He writes: ‘This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity (futility) of their mind. Having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through (because of) the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness (hardening) of their heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness (licentiousness), to work all uncleanness with greediness.’ (Eph. 4:17-19)
Now that’s how most of us lived before we accepted Christ as Lord and Saviour, and it’s how the other unbelievers still live, with hardened hearts and a stubborn will, adhering to fleshly lusts and licentiousness, that’s caused them to be separated from God. And Bruh Paul continues: ‘But ye have not so learned Christ; If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation (conduct) the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
And be ye renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members of one another. Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place (an opportunity) to the devil. Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.
Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister unto hearers. And grieve not (don’t make sad) the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.’ (Eph. 4:20-32)
There you have it my brethren; some valuable practical steps we can all take to put on the new man, and then to keep him on! And keeping him on is the crux of the matter; keeping him on the rest of our earthly lives, because the devil will try mightily to make us go back to our old way of living. Yuh see how Bruh Paul also warned about not giving the evil one an opportunity to get into our heads and thus our hearts. And he wrote about that in more detail to the Corinthians: ‘Casting down imaginations (arguments), and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.’ (2 Cor. 10:5)
And what does all of that mean. Check out this commentary. ‘Casting down imaginations (not accepting the devils thoughts, suggestions, visions) is a spiritual weapon that you must use to be victorious over the enemy. You must learn to actively fight to maintain God’s vision for you. You must only accept imaginations (thoughts) that line up with the Word of God.’ Yes my people, let’s remember that this earthly life is an ongoing battle with the devil, who fights with spiritual weapons, but we have already won the victory through Christ Jesus, we now only have to maintain it; not allow the wicked one to steal it back. And no, it’s not easy, but we have all the tools and weapons to do it, if we so choose.
Now let’s go home declaring (chuh!!!) our Wednesday Wail letting the whole world know of our most wonderful position in Christ Jesus. Altogether: ‘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!’
Then there’s this proviso; if we endure right to the very end with Christ, that end will be even more glorious than we can either ask or imagine. So please, let’s use our God-given wisdom and plan to meet there nuh! Much LOVE!
…in Christ…we are all new creations…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
14 Sep 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a new commandment I give unto you, a personal relationship with Christ, anger, bitterness, by this shall all men know, Christ's body of followers, full of dead men's bones., full of hypocrisy and iniquity, given you an example, His rewards are outstanding, His yoke is easy to bear, hurry, I am the beloved of god, if ye have love one to another, in god's eyes, lack of togetherness, LOVE, love one another as I have loved you, negative emotion of hate, not what I do, not what people say about me, petty differences, sad state of affairs, share His love with the world, strife, that ye are my disciples, the best of all worlds, the goodness and mercy of Jesus, the love of God perfected, treasure Christ as Lord and Saviour, trust my friend Jesus, Tuesday Mantra, walk even as he walked, whited sepulchres, woe unto you Pharisees, worry
John 13:35. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have LOVE one to another.
So mih bredrin, a warm and wonderful Tuesday to all you who treasure Christ Jesus as Lord and Saviour! May His light and LOVE shine through us today, as we go about doing His awesome earthly work, encouraging others to come to Him and enjoy the amazing benefits of being in His blessed organization, His church, and also having a most splendiferous personal relationship with Him!
What could be better than that eh mih people; belonging to Christ’s body of followers, but also having a personal friendship with him? Absolutely nothing! Yes friends, in Jesus we have the best of ALL worlds! Never forget that! So let’s stop selling both Jesus and us short by thinking and consequently acting like He is not enough, for He surely is…and much more too!
Ah friends the ole fella’s just getting excited, as I usually do when I talk about the goodness and mercy of Jesus, because I’ve experienced so much of it during my long life, even when I didn’t know what it was. Yes, in hindsight, I can now see and realize that it was indeed the goodness and mercy of God that kept me going through some serious situations before I fully gave my life to Him.
And since I’ve done that…Brother! I’ve seen so much of His undeserved grace and mercy, that I can’t even count or remember half of them! That’s why I can confidently tell you that Jesus is an awesome friend and Saviour. His work is demanding, but His yoke is light and easy to bear, while His rewards are outstanding! Glory be my faithful brethren!
And all Jesus really desires of us is to show that most worthy and amazing attribute of LOVE in our everyday lives. When you break it down it looks like this: to LOVE the Father, LOVE Him, and LOVE ourselves and each other. Now that should not be as hard to do as we make it seem, since it’s basically showing kindness and goodness to those we meet. But unfortunately, it seems that the opposite and very negative emotion of hate, found in things like anger, bitterness, resentment, strife and unkindness, are much easier for us to propagate, since it’s that negative stuff that’s now holding our world hostage.
How sad it is my people, that goodness and mercy can’t seem to outweigh hate and its evil companions. And it’s only when we receive Jesus and hold on tightly to Him and what He stands for that we can ever hope to defeat the enemy and His wicked ways. That’s why Jesus said to the disciples: ‘A new commandment I give unto you, That ye LOVE one another; as I have LOVED you, that ye also LOVE one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have LOVE one to another.’ (John 13:34-35)
Yes, my fellow saints, that’s the big difference between the followers of Christ and the non-followers; the followers are supposed to have LOVE for each other in words and deeds, not just meaningless talk, nor as He blasted the Pharisees. ‘Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye are like unto whited sepulchres (whitewashed tombs), which indeed appear beautiful outside, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity (lawlessness).’ (Matt. 23:27-28)
And sadly, that’s how too many of us supposed believers and followers of Jesus behave nowadays. That’s basically why the unbelievers don’t pay more attention to us, because we don’t truly walk our talk, that LOVE for each other is most definitely not shown in our daily dealings. Just think about all the divisions in the church of Christ nuh, with umpteen religions, sects, denominations etc., which only breed petty differences, resentment, anger and the whole host of negative emotions amongst supposed Christians.
How can that sad state of affairs draw others to Jesus eh? The enemy is more together, more as one, than we believers are. No wonder they are in the ascendance right now, while we believers are running a far second place because of our many differences and lack of togetherness.
And in his own way, John repeated Jesus’ invocation to the disciples in his first epistle. ‘And hereby we do know that we know him (Jesus), if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the LOVE of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.’ (1 John 2:3-6)
Yes friends, as the scholars so rightly inform us: ‘The test of knowing God’s LOVE is keeping His Word… While no one can or need duplicate Jesus’ atoning (earthly) ministry, His disciples are called to imitate His devotion to God and compassion for others. See John 13:15; 1 Peter 2:21.’ Those are indisputable facts, but unfortunately, our devotion to God and compassion for others is sadly lacking in these terrible times. And I believe it’s my bounden duty to highlight those two passages the scholars referred to above there.
Listen to Jesus after He had washed the disciples’ feet. ‘If I then, your Lord and Master (Teacher), have washed your feet; ye ought also to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.’ (John 13:14-15) It couldn’t get any clearer than that friends! Jesus is the example we ought to follow. Granted, we can’t do all that He did, but we surely can have much more reverence and devotion to the Father and show more simple compassion for each other.
And Peter tells it to us thus: ‘For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow in his steps.’ (1 Pet. 2:21) Don’t know what else to say nuh. So, for those of us who sincerely try to follow in Jesus’ footsteps, let’s go home declaring (yeah!!!) our Tuesday Mantra, telling the whole world who and whose we are; to whom we truly belong.
Altogether now: ‘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 the world. Amen!’
Now, it’s our duty to go out into the world and share that amazing LOVE and friendship of Jesus with the many who don’t know it! Much LOVE!
…it’s time for Christians…to play a strong and true game of…follow the Leader…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
14 Oct 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a beautiful autumn day, a dire proposition, a major dose of pride, an individual choice, anger, be not proud, before your feet stumble, bitterness, bring us our better, celebrate our great God, collect his rightful dues, day and night, endure till the end, for your pride, Give glory to the Lord your God, great shall be the peace, greed, halfway home, hands fixed securely on the plough, hard-hearted, hate, have good success, in this sinful world, inhumanity, Isaiah's warning to Israel, Jehovah Rapha, knowledge revolution, leave all the consequences to Him, LOVE, make thy way prosperous, more glorious than we can ask or imagine, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, negative consequences, not turning back, obey God, our duty to teach the children, power-hungriness, prideful, put the children at a disadvantage, reverencing God, run down with tears, see us through tough times, show faith and rust, strife, stubborn, sufferation, teach them diligently unto the children, thank God, the breath of life, the Lord our God is one God, the shadow of death, thou shalt love the Lord thy God, thou shalt meditate therein, thy children shall be taught of the Lord, to a glorious future with Jesus, ungodliness, Wednesday Wail, weep in secret places, willful disobedience, with all thine heart, with all thy might, with all thy soul, withstand the barrage of negative stuff, ye look for light
Deuteronomy 6:5. And thou shalt LOVE the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
And then it was Wednesday; another beautiful autumn day! So let’s be glad and rejoice in it nuh, celebrate our great God and give Him thanks for all He’s done, still doing and faithfully promised to do for us in the future! Yeh, times might be a tad rough right now, but He has also promised to see us through those tough times, and bring us out better on the other side…if we have faith and trust in Him. That means we have to show faith and trust now more than ever, since the rough times seem like they’re going to last for longer than we expected. (smile)
As Jeremiah so wisely warned his people long ago, I am here today to warn us of the consequences of lack of faith and trust, of ungodliness and willful disobedience and sinfulness. ‘Hear ye and give ear; be not proud: for the Lord hath spoken. Give glory to the Lord your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness. But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the Lord’s flock is carried away captive.’ (Jer. 13:15-17)
Ah mih friends, I know that sounds like a dire proposition, but it’s a true one. Sinfulness and ungodliness, especially when laced with a major dose of pride, WILL undoubtedly bring negative consequences from Almighty God! And our society has been guilty of all those things, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise if we’re suffering some major heartaches now. And the sad part is that though our efforts to quell our problems in our own strength aren’t working, we still refuse to turn to the great healer, Jehovah Rapha for help.
Oh, we’re so stubborn, hard-headed and prideful, thinking that we know so much, when in actual fact, we don’t know a blooming thing! That’s why we can’t even cut down the numbers of the Covid-19 pandemic, for so many of us refuse to do the only things we know will ease the pain. So we not only disobedient and stubborn towards God, but also towards man. That means ‘sufferation’ will be in the cards…unless we smarten up and get back to LOVING and praising, sincerely worshipping and reverencing our Creator. It’s as simple as that.
And yuh know, the Lord doesn’t have to bring anything negative against us nuh, because we are doing it to ourselves. We are our own worst enemies with all the hate, anger, bitterness, strife, greed, power-hungriness and inhumanity that’s currently running rampant in our society. No society can withstand the barrage of negative stuff that’s happening right now and survive, much less prosper. And I have to chuckle sadly as I turned the pages of the Good Book and these rather appropriate words shot out at me. Isaiah’s warning to Israel. ‘And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.’ (Is. 54:13)
Unfortunately though, we have not taught our children of the Lord, so they obviously cannot find peace. They know only one option; that put forth by the world. And I don’t blame the children, I blame us, the parents, because it’s our duty to teach them about God, and it’s obvious that we haven’t done such a good job because so many of them don’t believe, and don’t even want to hear about God.
But from day one, Moses instructed Israel and all those who accept the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob thus: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt LOVE the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.’ (Deut. 6:4-7)
And have we done those things? Hardly…or not to the extent that we should have. Our parents taught us about God and the way we ought to go, so we knew the two options available, but for some reason we have not done the same for our children, thus putting them at a disadvantage in this sinful world. Why? I don’t know. Possibly because we got too full of ourselves with the knowledge revolution that was going on in our time.
But hear what the Lord Himself told Joshua nuh. ‘This book of the law shall not depart out of 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) Now have we spoken of the book of the law, or meditated on it continually? Obviously not!
And yes, some of us have had what the world terms success, but it’s not the good kind, the lasting kind. We’ve sold our souls to the devil to acquire worldly things, but be it known that that gentleman – hn! – will eventually come calling to collect his rightful dues. And what then eh? Hellfire and damnation…? Most likely.
But when we adhere to God’s Word and Will, the result is heaven… and rewards.. a peaceful and prosperous eternity with Jesus as the Light and King of our lives. I don’t know about you, but I think I much prefer to live for Jesus than Satan. It might be harder, but it’s much more rewarding in the long run. In any case, it’s an individual choice we all must make, hopefully we ALL will make the right one…Jesus!
And for those of us who have already made that right and most wonderful choice, let’s go home now telling all and sundry our wonderful position in Christ Jesus, through our Wednesday Wail. In strong voice, with sincere hearts: ‘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 as Jesus has so faithfully promised, if we endure until the end, that future will be even more glorious than we can ever ask or imagine. Much LOVE!
…obey God…and leave all the consequences to Him…that’s true wisdom… (Dr. Charles Stanley)
07 Jul 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a little child, abides for ever, at the same time, be of good cheer, bitterness, Divided Heart, facades, filthy rich Christians, foolishly mix weeds with seeds, gain the whole world, glorious summer days, hate, he that doeth the will of God, history of 2020, I don't have to hurry, I don't have to worry, i have overcome the world, if any man love the world, in god's eyes, in me ye might have peace, lack of direction, lose his soul, love not the world, lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, maelstrom, naturally sinful nature, One Year Book of Bible promises, pandemic, personal desires, physical desires, pride of life, relying on the authority of the Scriptures, resentment, righteousness., rock her doll, Ruth Harms Calkin, seek ye first the kingdom of God, self-interests, set apart for godly purposes, share His love with the world, skip rope, stife, temptations, the love of the Father is not in him, the secret chamber, the things that are in the world, the world passeth away, there will be your heart aslo, tormented, tribulation, trust my friend Jesus, Tuesday Mantra, U.S. presidential election, violence, walk the straight and narrow, what is a man profited, where your treasure is, why do you
1 John 2:15. LOVE not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man LOVE the world, the LOVE of the Father is not in Him.
And the glorious summer days of 2020 keep rolling along like the tumbling tumbleweed! We could certainly use a li’l rain though to cool the parched ground… and even more, some respite from the ever-present pandemic and the strife and protests that are stirring up our world into a maelstrom of bitterness, hate, resentment and violence. Ah Lord eh people, when the history of this summer – well not only of the summer, but the entire year of 2020 is written, it will consist of nothing but disturbing events – and we still have the important U.S. presidential election to come later this year.
Bubba! Can you imagine how that will resonate around the world, regardless of how it ends up! Ah Lord eh…! Will mankind ever learn? Or do we have to wait until Jesus comes back? It certainly seems like the last proposition is the correct one! (smile) And that brings us to this most appropriate poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. It’s titled ‘Divided Heart.’
Please pray with me: ‘Lord I am so often tormented By my lack of direction – So often disturbed By my divided heart. I am like a little child Who wants to rock her doll And jump rope at the same time. I want to obey You in part If I can choose the area of obedience. I want to be real except at those moments When compromise is more appealing.
I want to be half-motivated And half-satisfied with things as they are. I want to walk a straight path If now and then I can enjoy A few side trips into the far country. I don’t want to be a miserable sinner But neither do I feel excited About being a stoic saint. I want to be partly Yours And partly my own. But in the secret chamber Of my divided heart I am so often disquieted By the pointed question “Why do you so foolishly Mix weeds with seed?”
And yuh know what my friends, we all do just that! We want to sit on the fence and do a li’l to please God and a li’l to please ourselves. But the problem with that situation is that God doesn’t want our leftovers, or what we so generously choose to give Him. He wants ALL of us or NOTHING at all! Remember Jesus’ words as part of our discipleship: ‘For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?’ (Matt. 16:26) Those are very good questions that we should all consider my people!
And Remember Jesus’ earlier advice: ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt. 6:33) Yeh friends, if we seek God and His righteousness first, He will give us all the worldly things we need to make it comfortably in this world. Believe me, there are quite a lot of well off, even filthy rich Christians in this world, so it’s not like God isn’t generous when we try our best to walk the straight and narrow path and not sit churlishly on the fence.
And remember also when Jesus prayed for the disciples… ‘I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them… They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them (set them apart) through thy truth: thy word is truth.’ (John 17: 9-10; 16-17) Yes friends, Jesus was very plain and straightforward about it. He knew we had to live in the world to do His will, but He did not want us to be a part of it. Instead, He desired of the Father that we be set apart for godly purposes!
But because of our naturally sinful nature, we are so enamoured of the world and all its sinful things, so easily fooled by their pretty but false, empty and deceitful facades. Oh, I know it’s not easy to bypass all those outwardly beautiful things that the world favours, but as true followers of Jesus we must do our best to stay on the straight and narrow road. That’s why John in his first epistle seriously warns us.
‘LOVE not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man LOVE the world, the LOVE of the Father is not in Him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.’ (1 John 2: 15-17)
Oh my people, it couldn’t be put any clearer than that nuh! The world and all its supposedly beautiful things are run by the enemy and he wants nothing better than to get us saints of Christ, so bemused and in LOVE with his stuff that we forsake the things of God and thus besmirch or tarnish our godly reputation and testimony. But my people we need to be strong and ignore all the empty and false advances of the enemy.
And to help us, hear this explanation of the scholars re Temptation. ‘2:16. Though all people are tempted differently according to their individual weaknesses, temptations follow patterns. They appeal to three fundamental areas of life: (1) the lust of the flesh (physical desires); (2) the lust of the eyes (personal desires); and (3) the pride of life (self-interests).
Illustration: when Satan caused the fall of the race, he appealed to each of these areas of weakness (Gen. 3:6). He also appealed to them when he tempted Christ (Matt. 4:1-11), who defied Satan’s temptations by relying on the authority of the Scriptures. Application: The Christian today should also depend on the Scriptures to defeat temptation. (First Ref. Gen. 3:1-6; Primary Ref. 1 John 2:15-17; cf. Rom. 5:12.)’
And we all have been thus tempted, and it’s not always easy to refute or refuse them, but let’s hear our Lord and Saviour one more time. ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33)
Wow! What assurance my brethren! That means we can go home today in such good spirits declaring (steups!) our Tuesday Mantra. In strong voice with sincere hearts: ‘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 the world. Amen!’
So what we waiting for eh? Let’s go and do just that nuh! Much LOVE!
…for where your treasure is…there will be your heart also… (Matt. 6:21)
P.S. Don’t pay attention to the lateness, just check out the great substance! (smile) Much LOVE!
18 Oct 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: anger, anger inflames talk, annoying rigmarole, as God, ate, be put away, bedrock, better than the mighty, between a rock and a hard place, bitterness, Charles stanlwy, clamour, create havoc, drank, Ephesians, evil speaking, exalteth folly, feel the anger, fellowship, for Christ's sake, forbearing, forgiving, fortification, Friday chant, furthering God's kingdom, glory, go down upon your wrath, got sick, great understanding, has forgiven us, hasty of spirit, he that ruleth his spirit, he that taketh a city, impulsive, in Jesus name, in our souls, kind to one another, later than you sow, learn mih lesson, let not the sun, listening to God, malice, mere coincidence, more than you sow, muddy our waters, partied, pass over a transgression, patience, playing the fool, Praise the Lord, refreshed, relaxation, rest, rising up, roaring lion, scripture, sick time rights, silence., sin not, slow to anger, slow to speak, slow to wrath, swift to hear, talk inflames anger, tenderhearted, testimony, testing my resolve, TGIF!, Thank God is Friday, the discretion of a man, the Lord saved me, the righteousness of God, too much, trusty desktop, workingman, wrath, written indelibly, you reap what you sow
Proverbs 16:32. He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.
Yeah, it’s Friday! And though the sun is struggling to get out from under the cloud cover, there is joy in the land, simply because it’s Friday and the workweek is ending! Thus, there are many ‘Praise the Lord’s!’ both sincere and insincere, (smile) ringing out from all parts of the world. And there’s none louder than that of the ordinary workingman, who never shies away from expressing his true feelings.
And today, he shouts: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday oui! What a week it’s been! I ate and drank and partied so much this past Thanksgiving weekend, that I was truly sick come Tuesday and couldn’t go to the slave master’s work. Obviously he tried to give me a hard time when I showed up on Wednesday, but I just ignored him, because I have my sick time rights and this one was certainly legitimate. He feels that nobody should ever book off sick, because he loses money when they do.
But when he books off sick is okay though, because he’s the boss… Chuh! Just forget the li’l greedy man yes! And yuh better believe this weekend is going to be strictly rest! I like mih food and drinks, but not to the extent that I want them to get me sick. I surely hope I learn mih lesson this time yes. Thank God for Fridays and weekends oui!’
Ah friends, yuh see what happen when we overdo it? Unwanted consequences usually come back to haunt us. As Uncle Charles (Dr. Charles Stanley) likes to say: ‘You reap what you sow; more than you sow, and later than you sow.’ And that’s the gospel truth! It holds in all situations in life! So let’s turn now to our Friday Chant nuh, which isn’t as verbose and in your face as the workingman’s song, but does do the trick for us believers.
All together in true sincerity now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen!’
Yes, we do need to be careful how we operate, because the enemy, like the roaring, toothless lion that he is, is always lurking around seeking ways to get into our lives and create havoc. And I have a very good testimony on that point to share. This morning as I was getting ready to write the Bit, my trusty desktop computer began playing the fool. It just would not access the Internet after booting up.
And as the Lord would have it, I opened the Good Book and began flipping pages and just happened to stop in Proverbs 16…no I don’t think that just happened nuh, because the Word that I read plainly said: ‘He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.’
That was certainly more than mere coincidence, because every time I turned my computer off and on, and got no progress, I could feel the anger rising up in me and I wanted to give it a few good thumps. But with that scripture staring me straight in the face, and knowing that the Lord, or the enemy was testing my resolve, I managed to not thump it, and it did behave properly after the fifth or sixth time of turning it on and off.
I believe the Lord saved me though, because I’m pretty sure that I would have thumped it if I had had to go through the annoying rigmarole one more time. (smile) So I passed the test…but just barely. And that’s the way this earthly life is my faithful brethren. Life just likes to test us, to muddy our waters and see how we react.
Sometimes it’s the Lord, other times it’s the enemy. But whoever or whatever causes us to find ourselves between a rock and hard place, we need to be able to bring up scripture written indelibly in our souls, bodies and minds, to help us handle them in a godly and sensible manner. And today we just going to check out a few of those scriptures that we need to have as our bedrock, our fortification against unnecessary anger.
Hear Cousin Sol earlier on: ‘He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit (impulsive) exalteth folly.’ (Prov.14:29) And that’s certainly no lie, as many of us have found out over the years. And just recently we featured these immortal verses from Bruh Paul to the Ephesians.
‘Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.’ (Eph.4:31-32) Words of eternal wisdom my brethren!
Meanwhile James adds his two-cents worth thus: ‘Wherefore my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not (does not produce) the righteousness of God.’ (James 1:19-20) And if you’re a true believer, you ought to know that. But listen to the scholars’ explanation anyway.
‘1:19. This is a key verse because it expresses three topics that James develops later: hearing, verses 19-27; speaking, 3:1-12; and wrath, 4:1-12.’ ‘1:20. Trials require silence and patience because talk inflames anger, and anger inflames talk. Anger also distracts from listening to God.’ I hope we all hear that friends: anger distracts us from listening to God, and when we don’t listen to God, we go astray and end up suffering severe consequences.
And here are some final words on the subject from Cousin Sol once again. ‘The discretion of a man deferreth his anger (makes him slow to anger); and it is his glory to pass over (overlook) a transgression.’ (Prov.19:11) Awright mih people, there’s the ammunition to fight the battle against anger, let’s go out and put it to good use now nuh! It’s Jesus’ desire for all His followers. Much LOVE!
…be ye angry…and sin not…let not the sun…go down upon your wrath… (Eph.4:26)
15 Oct 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a clean heart, a conscious decision, actively work towards, anger, as we forgive our debtors, bitterness, bluntly refuse, Christian, create in me, deficiencies, Devon House patties, evil times, faithful believers, fellow saints, forbearingflaws, forgive my brother, forgive us our debts, forgiveness, having a nap, how oft, hurry, lively spirit, my friend Jesus, negative emotion, Open Week Library, renew a right spirit within me, seven times, seventy times seven, share His love, stand us in good stead, strange things, the forgiven, the forgiver, to our peril, Tuesday Mantra, unforgiveness, weaknessess, worry
Matthew 6:12. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Ay mih people, is Tuesday…and the ole fella is tired. Just finished having a nap after breakfast. Believe me, it was hard to get up, and I still can’t catch mihself, so if some strange things happen in the Bit, don’t be surprised eh. (smile) Today seems to be a rest day, as the people who were supposed to come from the country to visit won’t be coming, but some of the town folks will, so it won’t all be rest.
Oh, yesterday was certainly a busy day, out and about in the hot sun, visiting a friend in the afternoon, stopping along the way for a couple of the famous Devon House patties – add a piece of a nice bread pudding to that – then getting home just in time to shower and change and go back to an Open Week Library function on the university campus, acknowledging and celebrating some of the educational books, some twenty of them, published in the last year by university people.
That was a good time too, some singing by a young lady, Mrs. Alicia Taylor, I believe that was her name. Then we had some fine words from our guest speaker, Poet Laureate Lorna Goodison, wine and scrumptious finger food and good mingling. Just for your info, they appreciated the ole fella’s lively spirit. And why wouldn’t they eh? (smile) Enough of my rambling though, let’s get to what the Lord put in my heart and soul to talk about today.
And friends, today’s topic is oh so important; it’s possibly the most important element in a Christian’s life after acceptance of Jesus…and we talking about FORGIVENESS! Yeh fellow saints, it’s so important that Jesus included it in the prayer He taught His disciples, and consequently us, to offer up to the Father, each and every day: ‘And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.’ Oh precious people, those words are so important that we ignore them to our peril.
And if you don’t believe me, then listen to Jesus again. ‘For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your heavenly Father forgive your trespasses.’ (Matt.6:14-15) Yes people, as always, Jesus spells it out loud and clear: forgive and you will be forgiven; do not forgive, and you will not be forgiven! It’s as simple as that. But you know that we selfish and sinful humans like to ask, even beg the Lord for forgiveness, but hesitate, no, bluntly refuse, to offer forgiveness to others. How can that ever stand us in good stead eh my fellow believers? It certainly won’t.
But even putting aside Jesus’ warning, what we foolishly don’t seem to realize is that forgiveness is not really for the other person but for us. When we forgive, we are set free from whatever bitterness and anger and any other negative emotion that we’re holding on to by not forgiving. A Bruh Paulian sentence that! (smile) Ofttimes the other person, or persons, are not even aware of any wrong they’ve done you, or know and really don’t care, so it’s just you who’s holding and strangling your soul with all that ungodly emotion.
And you don’t necessarily have to tell them that you forgive them either. You just make a conscious decision to do so, ask the Lord for His help, let it go, and move on with your life. Yeh, I know it’s seldom that easy, taking into consideration some of the awful wrongs that have been done, and are being done in these evil times, but like life itself, it is a process, and the sooner you make that decision to forgive and actively work towards that forgiveness, the sooner it will happen, and the better off you will be.
Now hear this rather informative exchange between Jesus and Peter on the subject. ‘Then came Peter to him (Jesus), and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times.’ (Matt.18:21) Peter must have figured that he was being very generous to forgive his brother seven times. But listen to Jesus’ answer. ‘Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.’ (Matt.18:22) Mamacita! Can you imagine forgiving somebody 490 times – especially for the same wrong! Not many of us can, but it’s what we’re required to do if we want to be faithful believers and workers for Jesus.
And these words of Bruh Paul to the Colossians, highlighting the Christian virtues, admirably guide us in this respect. ‘Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of (tender) mercies (heartfelt compassion). Kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering; Forbearing (bearing with) one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.’ (Col.3:12-13)
And the scholars explain that verse thus: ‘3:13. The fact of believers being urged to assume the virtues of verse 12 signifies that none has yet “arrived” spiritually. As the believer is developing these virtues, he must be forbearing and forgiving toward his fellow church member. For his Christian brother is also in the process of acquiring the virtues of verse 12 and therefore retains some flaws, deficiencies, and weaknesses. Hence the need of forbearance and forgiveness.’
Friends, that means we need to be forbearing and forgiving until we die, or Jesus’ comes back, because NONE of us will ever arrive spiritually before those times! So for all of our sakes, let’s ponder the state of our hearts today, and see if there be any unforgiveness in them nuh, then ask the Lord to help us. As Bruh David requested of the Father: ‘Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right (steadfast) spirit within me.’ (Ps.51:10) And you know the Lord will always answer that kind of prayer if it’s sincere.
Now let’s go home declaring (chuh!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting the world know who and whose we are. In strong voice with all sincerity: ‘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 the world. Amen!’ So let’s go and do just that nuh! Much LOVE!
…forgiveness benefits the forgiver…more than the forgiven…both emotionally and spiritually…
12 Oct 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a free for all, anger, Anselm, ask questions, baby-faced students, be kind, being turfed out, believers to live by, bitterness, brotherly kindness, clamour, comfort zone, communication, deceit, deviation from the norm, disorderly, evil speaking, fast and furious times, fighting a hard battle, finger food, for Christ's sake, fraudulence, friend, gala, god, godliness, hath forgiven you, healing balm, immoral, kind to one another, kindness, LOVE, malice, mingling, mixing, morality, morals, no control, opens her mouth, out of sync, progress, refreshing beverages, reminiscing, revolutions, sorrows, strains of a steelband, strenuous endeavours, taken advantage of, technological, the law of kindness, the ruins, to push God out, wisdom her tongue, words, wrath
Proverbs 31:26. She openeth her mouth with wisdom, and her tongue is the law of kindness.
So we’ve finally come to Saturday! Wow! Can’t believe that a week’s already passed since I’ve been in J.A; a busy week to boot! But as they say, time waits on no one, especially in these fast and furious times, when life is often just a blur, unless you take the time to really step back and consider what’s happening in your own life. Well yesterday evening we had what they called the gala event…but it wasn’t a real gala as the word usually implies, I think tonight’s formal dinner might more suit that bill.
But anyhow, at around seven thirty, about fifty something of us got together in the Mona Visitors Lodge, a nice venue on the campus for holding special occasions. After mixing and mingling for a while, we watched a video compilation of graduates, showing then and now pictures. That obviously brought forth hoots of laughter and comments as we saw the serious contrasts between the baby-faced students we were then, and the harder, older looks of the current times. Then there was a roll call of all those who had graduated in 1969, including the dear departed, and those who were at the function got up and acknowledged themselves.
After that we went up to the back of the building to what they call the ruins; the ruins of some old stone building, never knew it was there, and had finger food and refreshing beverages, (smile) and mingled some more, all the while being feted by the beautiful strains of a steelband. I guess a lot of reminiscing, as well as catching up went on. But it was certainly good to see people you hadn’t seen for at least fifty years and talk about things that happened way back then and persons you wouldn’t see for even longer. All in all, it was an interesting evening, but today is the real party…Bring it on!
And not forgetting that today is Saturday, let’s see what quotes our friend Anselm sent us this week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. Hear this first one: ‘The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.’ Yeh friends, curiosity is an interesting thing and does lead to all kinds of further interesting stuff, so it is of some importance to ask questions, if you want to get answers, though they say that ‘curiosity killed the cat.’ (smile) Yes, we can’t belabour the questioning just for questioning sake! And furthermore, in this day and age, where deceit and fraudulence are rampant, it is of exceeding importance to ask questions if you don’t want to be taken advantage of.
And this next quote says: ‘Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.’ There can be no doubt of the truth in that statement, for it’s only when we step out some from our comfort zone that we make what’s call progress. The problem however is how much deviation do we want, or how much is sufficient to not upturn the whole applecart?
That means to have a fairly stable society, progress ought to be orderly and sort of linear, moving from one point to another in an orderly fashion, otherwise all hell can break loose. Look at what happens in revolutions, be they armed and physical, or like what’s happening right now in our communication and technological sectors. The supposed progress is happening so quickly and disorderly that it’s throwing everything out of sync, and there’s no real control taking place, it’s become more like a free for all.
Then there’s this: ‘Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.’ Another truism, you might say! We can all find happiness in the most trying times if we turn on the real and true light…His name is Jesus Christ! John said that he was sent to bear witness of ‘the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.’ (John 1:8-9) So friends, with Jesus as the mainstay of our lives, happiness is indeed possibly in any kind of situation. Please never forget that!
Now hear this: ‘Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right.’ That makes me chuckle, for as far as I’m concerned our sense of morals should naturally make us do right. I guess it’s all in the interpretation, for when we talk about having morals we usually mean the good aspect, not the immoral part. So here it seems the whole morality landscape is being considered. But sadly morality seems to be a forgotten word today, just like God and godliness are being turfed out of our society.
Anyway, this last quote should help to fix all of that. ‘Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.’ And is that last part ever true my brethren. These are indeed some rough and difficult days and we can’t truly handle them without some kindness on the part of everybody. Unfortunately though, kindness seems to be a word that is fast disappearing from our society, as we just said, in the wake of our strenuous endeavours to push God and godliness out. But friends, the truth of the matter is that kindness is next to godliness.
Hear how Proverbs puts it, when talking about a virtuous woman. ‘She openeth her mouth with wisdom, and her tongue is the law of kindness.’ You can’t ever beat that my people…and it doesn’t apply to virtuous women alone, but to all God’s children! Yuh see how Ruth, born into idolatry, a Gentile, became a descendant of Jesus, Bruh David’s great grandmother, because of her steadfast support and kindness to her mother-in -law Naomi. Simply read all of Ruth. It’s a short book. (smile)
And there’s no better passage of scripture to end today’s Bit than this one from Ephesians. Hear Bruh Paul: Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.’ (Eph.4:29-32)
Ah mih people, what wonderful words for us believers to live by! Please, let’s do our sincere best to put them into action nuh, for they will indeed be healing balm to all our sorrows! Much LOVE!
…and to godliness…(add) brotherly kindness…and to brotherly kindness…LOVE… (1Pet.1:7)
29 Jun 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fool's wrath is heavier than both, a man of great wrath, a state of mind, a stone is heavey, anger, anger is outrageous, Anselm, as God, aspires to inspire us, be put away from you, be ye angry, bitterness, Canada Day, Christians, clamour, control our situations, don't take anger to bed, drag the past, every day is a new day, every minute you're angry, evil speaking, evil with good, for a better tomorrow, for Christ's sake, forgave you, forgiving, friends, give place to the devil, grieve not the Holy Spirit, happiness, kind to one another, let not the sun go down, LOVE, malice, miserable as hell, move on, psyche, replace anger with love, responsible for our happiness, sealed until, selfish machinations, shall suffer punishment, sin not, sleep in, solemn prayer, spoil the future, stand before envy, stress, tenderhearted, the day of redemption, the joy of the Lord, the sand weighty, the way you look at things, upon your wrath, well-being, wrath, wrath is cruel, you lose 60 seconds of happiness, your strength
Ephesians 4:26-27. Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place (an opportunity) to the devil.
Brother does it ever look glorious outside! Thank the Lord! And a li’l rain fell yesterday afternoon and in the middle of the night, but that was just to wash away the dirt and grime and cool the temperature down. So we open with a bright clean new day, with Jesus as the one constant in our lives, the ONLY One we need, leading and guiding us in His work!
And I know that many of us won’t see the bright new day until it gets old because we’re sleeping in on this wonderful Canada Day weekend Saturday morning. But that’s okay, you’re allowed! (smile) Anyway, since it’s Saturday, let’s turn to the quotes that our friend Anselm sent us this week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And like this week he was all caught up in the throes of happiness, (smile) because all the quotes deal with some aspect of happiness.
And the first thing we need to realize is that ‘Happiness is a state of mind. It’s just according to the way you look at things.’ Now there’s much truth to that because our life is basically built on our attitude towards it. Some of us can go through certain circumstances and be happy, while others go through the same things and be miserable as hell. That’s why as Christians, we’re taught that the joy of the Lord is our strength. (Neh.8:10)
With that joy constantly running through us, it gives us a steady kind of happiness, regardless of our circumstances, because our mind is stayed on the Lord. As Isaiah says: ‘Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on (sustained by) thee: because he trusteth in thee.’ (Is.26:3) And that’s why the enemy always tries to steal our joy, get us away from concentrating on the Lord, because he knows that’s the source of our strength.
Now hear these next two quotes, because they run together: ‘The thing everyone should realize is that the key to happiness is being happy by yourself and for yourself.’ And ‘Happiness depends upon us.’ They simply mean that we are responsible for our own happiness. We ought not to allow others to control our happiness by their selfish machinations.
The sad truth is that no one can make us happy unless we want to be happy, and the opposite is also true; no one can make us unhappy unless we allow them to do so. Therefore, let’s remember that when we say so and so made us happy or unhappy, we’re allowing them to control our situations, and that is definitely not the best thing for our psyche, for our well-being.
That brings us to this quote. ‘Every day is a new day, and you’ll never be able to find happiness if you don’t move on.’ Yes friends, we have to come to each day with the attitude that we will be happy, come what may; forget the problems of the past day and move on to the golden opportunities being provided by the new one. But unfortunately, too many of us drag the past with us to the present and thus spoil the future.
And thus we come to the last quote that so wisely informs us: ‘For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.’ Now isn’t that the gospel truth! (smile) It sounds simplistic, and it might very well be, but it is a fact of life. For however long we’re angry, we lose that much time which could have been spent in happiness. And I don’t know about you, but I like to spend as li’l time as possible being angry, and as much as possible being happy.
But we all are different, and some souls just seem to thrive on anger, not realizing that it’s killing them both literally and figuratively. That’s because anger, like stress, manifests itself in so many different ways; emotionally, mentally and physically, and are often all tied together, indistinguishable each from the other, but all doing evil and dirty work in our lives.
In any case, being constantly angry, or for long periods of time is not a good Christian characteristic, that’s why Bruh Paul gave this warning to the Ephesians. ‘Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place (an opportunity) to the devil.’
Yeh friends, it’s okay to get angry every so often, but it should only be for a brief period, but definitely don’t take it to bed with you, because you’ll just sleep angrily, if you sleep at all, and wake up angry too, thus allowing the devil to steal your joy for much too long. Getting angry doesn’t mean you’re automatically being sinful, but the longer you hold that anger, the more liable you are to give the enemy the opportunity to creep into your soul.
And it’s interesting some of the things Cousin Sol had to say about wrath and anger. For example: ‘A man of great wrath shall suffer punishment: for if thou deliver him, yet thou must do it again.’ (Prov.19:19) And how true that is! You always have to deliver the angry man from some problem he’s caused by his anger.
And: ‘A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool’s wrath is heavier than them both. Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous (a torrent); but who is able to stand before envy (jealousy)?’ (Prov.27:3-4) Wow! Does Cousin Sol ever lay it on thick, but true!
And because of all that intrinsic evil in those negative emotions, we need to hear and accept Bruh Paul’s warning. ‘And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.’ (Eph.4:30-32)
Oh my people, that’s my solemn prayer for us this Saturday morning. So on this Canada day weekend, as we celebrate the birth of our nation, let’s do it with those sentiments front and centre in our minds and lives nuh. It is the definite desire of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Much LOVE!
…let’s replace anger with LOVE…and evil with good…
11 May 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a place of learning, a place of living, a place of reference, a place of residence, Andselm, any man, ashamed of me, aspire to inspire, bitterness, caught napping, colour our present, crapaud smoke yuh pipe, depression, disunity, down in the dumps, follow me, for my sake, gain the whole world, go the extra mile, gratefulness, gratitude, have life in abundance, let him deny himself, let the memories of your past, limit the, living in the past, lose, lose his soul, LOVE, make improvements, negativity, not attention, not excuses, play the blame game, save his life, seek respect, selfish desires, sincere beleivers in Jesus, smell the roses, take up his cross daily, take up our cross, the past, the potential of your future, the Son of man, treasure we have in Jesus, trun the other cheek, wake up, will come after me
Luke 9:23. If any man will (desires to) come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
Oh isn’t it great to be alive on a sunshiny morning my faithful brethren in Christ? It surely is! And though it’s still somewhat chilly in my area, life gets even better when we realize the treasure we have in Jesus Christ being our Lord and Saviour, our Leader and Guide, etc. etc! That’s just the cat’s pajamas; (smile) the best it can get, both in this world and the next!
So let’s not murmur and complain about the problems we have nuh, instead, let’s give thanks and praise and glory to Almighty God for the great blessings He’s bestowed on us, especially that of His Son, Jesus Christ! And since it’s Saturday, let’s get right to the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this week, as he sincerely aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow.
Hear this first one: ‘Happiness is not the absence of problems, it’s the ability to deal with them.’ And is that ever so true. This earthly life is chocked full of problems, but we can’t allow them to get us down, otherwise we’d just lead a negative and depressed life.
And remember Jesus said that He had overcome the world and we should cheer up, be glad, in spite of the tribulations we encounter. (John 16:33) So please, let’s not allow problems to ruin our happiness. With Jesus help, they are all conquerable!
And listen to this quote: ‘Make improvements, not excuses. Seek respect, not attention.’ More truth there friends! Our society nowadays is one of excuses and casting blame everywhere else but on ourselves, where more often than not, it truly belongs! But let’s not play the blame game nuh, because it doesn’t help, just causes more confusion and bitterness and disunity. And above all, it doesn’t show the kind of people we ought to be as followers of Jesus.
And I like this quote: ‘The past is a place of reference, not a place of residence; the past is a place of learning, not a place of living.’ Oh is that truth in spades my people! The past is very useful, but only as a guide to the future, to show you what mistakes you should not make again. But unfortunately too many of us live in the past, that’s why we’re so unhappy and unfulfilled. We let the past colour our present and future lives too much.
Living in the past is the worst thing we can do to our present day lives. Therefore: ‘Do not let the memories of your past limit the potential of your future. There are no limits to what you can achieve on your journey through life, except in your mind!’ So true friends so true! All the past does is limit our future and hold us back from the awesome life that God has prepared for us. So please, let’s just learn from the past nuh, but not live there in squalor and hopelessness. (smile)
And this last quote also aligns nicely with those gone before, sort of paraphrasing them. ‘Life is about accepting the challenges along the way, choosing to keep moving forward, and savoring the journey.’ And before we even talk about the challenges, let’s remember that life is a journey, one we ought to enjoy, one in which we grow from glory to glory, meeting the challenges that this evil and ungodly world constantly throws at us with the help of the Holy Spirit of God that dwells within us.
Some of us believe that life is just something to muddle through and be constantly depressed and negative. But remember what Jesus said, that He came that we might have life, and have it in abundance! (John 10:10) Now does that sound like we should always be down in the dumps, beaten by the challenges of life? No! Exactly the opposite!
We talk about how Jesus has conquered, hell, death and the grave, so if He’s conquered the evil forces of this world, why should we be mired in depression and negativity, anxiety and fear eh? The victory is already ours, we just have to live it out in confidence and assurance, if we truly believe in Jesus and all that He’s said.
But yuh know what friends, for us to successfully do all that we’ve talked about above, we have to do one basic thing, sincerely take up our cross and follow Jesus! That’s the ONLY way our lives will ever be truly worthwhile! Jesus didn’t mince words when He said it. ‘If any man will (desires to) come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.’
Oh my people, I know that many of us believe that taking up our cross and following Jesus is extremely difficult. And at times it is yes; like giving up our selfish desires to help others, facing up to challenges that we want to shy away from, going the extra mile and turning the other cheek, like Jesus desires of His followers. Yes, we are not supposed to be like the world, but show the world a different style.
And I bypassed the most important word in Jesus’ statement on purpose; ‘daily.’ Now that’s the magic word friends. We don’t pick up our cross when we feel like, or when it’s convenient for us, but each and every day of our earthly lives, if we are truly sincere believers in Jesus! Yes, it’s hard. But nobody ever said that life would be easy. And just look at what Jesus suffered for us nuh. The least we can do is to show a li’l gratitude and gratefulness by picking up our cross and following Him daily.
‘For whosoever will (desires to) save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose (loses) his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged (benefited), if he gain the whole world, and lose himself (is destroyed), or be cast away (lost)? For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels.’ (Luke 9:24-26)
Oh my people, it couldn’t be any plainer and clearer than that! So please, let’s wake up and smell the roses nuh, because Jesus can return at any time, and if you’re caught napping when He comes, then crapaud smoke yuh pipe! Much LOVE!
…to truly serve Jesus…one must take up one’s cross…DAILY…
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