31 Mar 2022
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: be thankful unto God, bless His name, bounden duty, challenge our beliefs, Christians fight against Christians, come before his presence with singing, curse, divine promotion, enter into his gates with thanksgiving, evil doing, filled with mother-lode scriptures, forgive us our debts, give us this day our daily bread, he is divided against himself, his mercy endureth for ever, his truth endureth to all generations, id Satan cast out Satan, into his courts with praise, joy in living for Christ, lean not on your own understanding, living for Christ, LOVE, make a joyful noise unto the Lord, negative vibes, negative word, overflowing grace and mercy, resentment, self-control. self-discipline, serve the Lord with gladness, strife, success, the Christian life in a nutshell, The Lord is good, The Lord is my shepherd, the Lord's prayer, the sheep of his pasture, the wellspring of God's word, thine id the power the kingdom and the glory, Thursday Blessings, Togetherness, unconditional love of God, unity
Psalm 100:1. Make a joyful noise (shout joyfully) unto the Lord, all ye lands (all the earth).
One more day people, one more day! Yes, through God’s overflowing grace and mercy, we’ve been granted one more day to enjoy the fruits of His great earth, in addition to His unconditional and everlasting LOVE! What a marvellous Deity we worship; One who has such care and compassion for us. That’s why scriptures like Psalm 100 – A call to praise the Lord – should continually be in our hearts and mouths. So please declare it with me this bright, sunshiny spring Thursday morning, the last day of March in this contrary year of 2022.
Let’s ‘Make a joyful noise (shout joyfully) unto the Lord, all ye lands (all the earth). Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves, we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.’ (Ps. 100:1-5)
Oh my fellow saints that is the indisputable truth, and if we could just keep those sentiments in our minds and spirits and live by them, what beautiful, God-filled lives we would share! You know, a lot of us believe we must know the Bible backwards and forwards to live righteously, but that’s a big fallacy. In reality, we only need to know a few strong scriptures that embody the word of God, that speak of praise and worship, of forgiveness, of wisdom, of LOVE, and live by them.
Scriptures like this Psalm 100, like the Lord’s Prayer: ‘Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil (the evil one): For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.’ (Matt. 6:9-13) That’s the Christian life in a nutshell my brethren!
Likewise, are those verses Prov. 3:5-10; all about trusting in God and not ourselves and sharing our first fruits with Him. The same thing goes for Psalm 23, that magnificent treatise of Bruh David’s on God’s goodness, that we affectionately refer to as ‘The Lord is my shepherd.’ And there are several other scriptures that fall into that category, which we don’t have the time nor space to get into.
But each of us should personally search the Good Book and find scriptures that apply to our own situations and hold on to them tightly to serve us in time of need. And believe me, we will each have times when we desperately need strong scriptures to lean on and hold on to. So, yes, we do need to have a good grounding in the Good Book so that we can fight the many challenges that come against us, but for basic living, we only need a few verses that encompass the basics of Christian living.
When we have the sentiments and guidance of scriptures like mentioned above, written deep and indelibly in our souls, hearts, spirits and minds, then we don’t have to fight to live the Christian life, it just comes naturally from that wellspring of God’s word buried in us. But until we have solid scriptures living within us, scriptures that automatically rise up to boost our faith, living for Christ will always be an inconvenient struggle.
Now, regardless of the great faith we feel we possess, there will always be times when doubt will rear its awkward head and seriously challenge our beliefs, but generally speaking, when we are filled with mother-lode scriptures we will have comparatively smooth sailing. (smile) Remember too, that the higher we go in God’s kingdom, the greater our faith needs to become, because temptations become bigger and more plentiful as the cream rises to the top. For Satan doesn’t bother those who don’t do good and important work for Christ.
Why would he eh? That’s because if you’re not working for Christ, then you are obviously working for him. (smile) It reminds us of how the Pharisees said of Jesus casting out demons: ‘This fellow doth not cast out devils (demons), but by Beelzebub, the prince (ruler) of the devils (demons)… Then Jesus replied: ‘And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?’ (Matt. 12:24, 26)
That brings us to the question of the day; if Christians fight against Christians, like we are constantly doing, how then will the kingdom of Christ stand, and even more importantly move forward and grow? It won’t be able to do either, because standing strong and moving forth depends on unity and togetherness.
And sadly, I don’t think we can genuinely say that these days Christians are united and working together for the good of Christ’s kingdom, since there is so much infighting, resentment, strife and evil-doing currently existing in the body of Christ. And it’s only when we give up those negative vibes and start living as Jesus truly desires of us, in unity and harmony, despite our many differences and disagreements, that the kingdom of God will draw unbelievers to its fold and move forward in true righteousness!
And it’s not like we don’t have the tools and the wherewithal to do Christ’s work properly, because we do, it’s just that we are not putting our noses to the grindstone. We’re talking about tools we call our Thursday Blessings that the Lord has generously bestowed on us to do his earthly work. Now, those tools aren’t operational until we declare them, so let’s do that right now nuh.
Altogether: ‘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 now that we’ve declared those blessings and thus made them operational, it’s our bounden duty to go out and share them with others just as generously as Christ shared them with us! Much LOVE!
…there’s such joy in living for Christ…when we’ve mastered the basic principles…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
13 Feb 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abnormal hour, adrenaline, almighty god, aura of love, be thankful unto him, bless His name, blessings, call upon the name of the Lord, choirmaster, come before his presence with singing, confidence, conquerors, early morning foray, enter into his gates with thanksgiving, enthusiasm, evil, exaltation, faith, friends, glorious kingdom, glory, glory hallelujah, God's greatness, he made us, heartfelt thanks, holy spirit, honour god, humble servants, I am thy servant, I'm getting better, I've come a long way, into his courts with praise, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, Joyce Meyer, lead and guide, lies, loosed my bonds, LOVE, make a joyful noise, medical problems, no sweet Tobago, pay my vows, praise, puny lives, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, resigned myself, rest, salvation, secret, seek God, servant, serve the Lord with gladness, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, taunts, thanks, the living truth, the Lord he is God, the mindset, the sacrifice of thanksgiving, the sheep of his pasture, the son of thy handmaid, truth, undesrving, ungodly world, useful purpose, we are his people, wiles, wisdom, with a right heart
Psalm 100:4. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
Oh, friends, I’m getting better! Yes I’m getting better! Yeh mih breddren that’s the living truth! The ole fella is getting better; the only problem is that I’m still a long way from being better. (smile)
But as sister Joyce, (Joyce Meyer) likes to say, I haven’t arrived as yet, but I’ve surely come a long way from where I was. Glory Hallelujah!
Sorry for the lateness of the Bit, but I had another early morning foray into the big city for more doctor’s visits and tests.
Chuh! I had to be up at an abnormal hour to get in the city for seven a.m on a Monday morning. But the good news is that everything seems to be progressing as it should – just a little too slowly for my liking though.
Now for the bad news – I can’t travel anywhere until my heart problems are resolved. Ah Lord eh! That means no sweet Tobago for this winter season!
Steups! But from the time all these medical problems began, I’d resigned myself to that possibility, so it comes as no great surprise, though it is somewhat disappointing.
Anyway, enough about me, it’s time to sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with all the chutzpah we can manage.
‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Now that wasn’t bad at all my people, Jesus, our choirmaster was smiling, but I guess that’s because we’ve been up and about for quite some time now. (smile) The important thing though is that at whatever time we sing it, it raises our faith level, gets the adrenaline pumping for Jesus! And that’s what we’re all about!
Consequently, these verses of Psalm 100, which come before our Bit, are therefore very much in line with our general purpose of exalting our most wonderful God!
Listen to the psalmist as he delightedly gushes: ‘Make joyful noise (shout joyfully) unto the Lord, all ye lands (all the earth). Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves, we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.’ (Ps.100:1-3)
Wow friends! What a stirring acknowledgement of our God’s greatness and the central part we play in His entire operation! Hence our Bit: ‘Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.’
Yes my fellow believers, that is exactly how we ought to come into the presence of our magnificent and magnanimous God; with much praise and thanks and glory and exaltation – for He is most worthy to be praised!
Just think about all that He’s done for us down through the ages nuh, undeserving though we are, and is still doing, though we are still undeserving! And in our finite, comparatively puny lives, how else can we truly honour Him eh, but with exceedingly abundant thanks and praise?
Now hear the psalmist from Psalm 116 – Praise for deliverance from death – as he exudes his heartfelt thanks and praise. ‘O Lord, truly I am thy servant; I am thy servant, and the son of thy handmaid (maid servant): thou hast loosed my bonds.
I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all his people. In the courts of the Lord’s house, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Praise ye the Lord (shout Hallelujah!).(Ps.116:16-19)
Oh friends, oh friends, those are the very words and emotions we ought also to exude! Note how the psalmist says twice, that he is the Lord’s servant? Can we sincerely say that even once and mean it? I certainly hope so for all our sakes.
In conclusion, I want to implore us to work towards acquiring the mindset of the psalmist, for there, and only therein lies the true wisdom of Almighty God and the true secret of finding Him. Much LOVE!
…seek me with a right heart…and you shall find me…says the Lord our God…
12 Feb 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: All Creatures of our God and King, all things their Creator bless, Alleluia, be thankful unto him, bless His name, blessings, breath of life, burning sun, burnt offerings, cast your care, Christ our Lord, clouds that sail in heaven along, day of the lord, enter into his gates with thanksgiving, exaltation, face the music, faith, find a voice, fire so masterful and bright, flowers and fruits, flowing water, forgiving others, gather in the sanctuary, givest man both warmth and light, glory, golden beam, grace, guidance, his mercy is everlasting, his truth endureth to all generations, in humbleness, in Jesus' name, in praise rejoice, into his courts with praise, lift up your voice, lights of evening, LOVE Revolution, make music for thy Lord to hear, mano a mano, men of tender heart, mercy, Mother Earth, my mouth have spoken, pain and sorrow bear, praise God, praise him, rejoice, rising moon, rushing wind, sacrifices of praise, sad state of affairs, Selah, silver moon, softer gleam, Son, step up to the plate, strength, Sunday, that art so strong, the child of God, the fat of rams, the Father, the great works of God, The Lord is good, the spirit, the way hath trod, Three in one, through fire and water, truth, victorious, vows, walk of faith, worship Him
Psalm 100:4. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
Well friends, another Day of the Lord, Sunday, is upon us, which means it’s time to gather in the sanctuary, even though the snow is falling, (smile) and rejoice and give thanks and praise for the past week, and ask for blessings and guidance and strength for the one to come.
So let’s offer up some sacrifices of praise with our lips to our heavenly Father nuh, let Him know that we truly appreciate his wonderful grace and mercy bestowed anew, each and every day. Let’s raise our voices high by singing this favourite hymn, ‘All Creatures of our God and King.’
In perfect harmony now: ‘All creatures of our God and King Lift up your voice and with us sing, Alleluia! Alleluia! Thou burning sun with golden beam, Thou silver moon with softer gleam! (Refrain)
(O praise Him! O praise Him! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!) Thou rushing wind that art so strong Ye clouds that sail in Heaven along, O praise Him! Alleluia! Thou rising moon, in praise rejoice, Ye lights of evening, find a voice! (Refrain:)
Thou flowing water, pure and clear, Make music for thy Lord to hear, O praise Him! Alleluia! Thou fire so masterful and bright, That givest man both warmth and light. (Refrain)
Dear mother earth, who day by day Unfoldest blessings on our way, O praise Him! Alleluia! The flowers and fruits that in thee grow, Let them His glory also show. (Refrain)
And all ye men of tender heart, Forgiving others, take your part, O sing ye! Alleluia! Ye who long pain and sorrow bear, Praise God and on Him cast your care! (Refrain)
And thou most kind and gentle Death, Waiting to hush our latest breath, O praise Him! Alleluia! Thou leadest home the child of God, And Christ our Lord the way hath trod. (Refrain)
Let all things their Creator bless, And worship Him in humbleness, O praise Him! Alleluia! Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son, And praise the Spirit, Three in One! (Refrain) O praise Him! O praise Him! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!’
Oh my fellow believers that was wonderful! And that’s exactly what ought to go on on ALL the earth, ALL the time – God’s creations giving Him thanks and praise for His everlasting goodness and mercy!
And that segues very smoothly into our Bit for today. ‘Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.’
And why should we do that eh? ‘For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.’ (Ps.110:5)
Ah mih people, we couldn’t want a better reason than that to give our omnipotent, omniscient, omni-present, magnanimous and magnificent God praise and thanks!
Unfortunately though, most of the world today has either forgotten, never known, or don’t want to know His heavenly Majesty, their Creator, Provider, and the One who causes them to open their eyes each morning and breathe His breath of life. What a sad state of affairs!
But we believers will stand up and face the music, give Him His due deserts of exaltation and glory! We will fight the enemy, mano-a mano, and we will be victorious, in Jesus’ Name!
How can we not be victorious if Jesus is fighting with us eh? For as the Good Book assures us: ‘What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?’ (Rom.8:31)
And the overwhelming answer to that my people is ‘NOBODY!’ For NOBODY can stand against our triumphant God!
Now listen to the psalmist from Psalm 66, as he declares the great works of our mighty God, and corroborates our Bit. ‘Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy (an abundant) place.
I will go into thy house, with burnt offerings: I will pay thee my vows (promised deeds), Which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble. I will offer unto thee burnt sacrifices of fatlings, with the incense of rams: I will offer bullocks with goats. Selah.’ (Ps.66:12-16)
Yes friends, those verses should be familiar as we read them recently when talking about keeping promises. Today though we look at them in the light of giving God thanks and praise for His succour in times of trouble. That’s the beauty of His Word: the same stuff can be used for different aspects of life!
Now let’s take a moment, as the psalmist suggested, and ponder all that we’ve said today, and see how it reflects in our personal lives, and vow, yes vow, to improve them, for it’s only in that way can we ever truly improve our walk of faith. Much LOVE!
…believers must step up to the plate…if Jesus’ LOVE Revolution is to be victorious…
10 Nov 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all praise and thanks, all ye lands, bless His name, blessings, canyons, child-like behaviour, children of the Most High God, churlish, City of Toronto, come before his presence with singing, concrete jungle, confrontational, daily commuters, donkey's years, eternal life, glory hallelujah, glory to God, Go station, Go-Bus, He is love, his mercy is everlasting, his truth endureth for ever, I am the beloved of god, I can trust my friend Jesus, I don't have to hurry, I don't have to worry, I'm not what I do, I'm not what I have, I'm not what people say about me, it feels good to be alive, lazy, like ants, LOVE, loving kindness, make a joyful noise unto the Lord, mercies, mercy, miserable, my neck of the woods, our heavenly Father, our Lord and Saviour, resentful, salvation, Scrip-Bit Friends, scurrying along, serve the Lord with gladness, share His love with the world, shout joyfully unto the Lord, shouting for joy, skyscrapers, sons and daughters of God, stressed out, thanskgiving, the elders in heaven, the Light of our lives, the Lord he is God, The Lord is good, the sheep of his pasture, the things of God, the wisdom of heaven, thou art worthy O lord, thou hast created all things, tired as a dog, to get to and from work, to receive glory honour and power, traffic congestion, Tuesday Mantra, Union Station, walking stick, we are his people, with the help of God, worthwhile action, written indelibly into our souls
Psalm 100:1. Make a joyful noise (shout joyfully) unto the Lord all ye lands (all the earth).
Well a hearty good morning to you my Scrip-Bit Friends and family! It’s a somewhat chilly Tuesday morning in my neck of the woods, but that’s the norm for this time of year. And it surely feels good to be alive, especially after inhaling some of that fresh air while doing my garbage man duties. (smile)
Now, before I forget, the ole fella had a thrilling adventure in the goodly city of Toronto yesterday afternoon… well it wasn’t all that thrilling, but it certainly was interesting. I had a medical appointment in the city and through my young daughter’s encouragement, I parked my car at the nearby Go Station and took the Go Bus into the city.
That in itself was a first, and from high up, I noticed a lot of stuff that I never notice while driving in my car. Unfortunately though, after reaching the Bus Terminal I had to walk some four or five blocks to my appointment. But glory to God, between Him, my trusty walking stick and I, we made it without too much trouble. The knees held up admirably!
Oh Friends, Toronto has become the veritable concrete jungle that Bob Marley sang in his song of the same name. All you can see is the sky right above you, as you walk down the streets that resemble canyons between the numerous skyscrapers. And you’d better believe that there are still several buildings in construction around the downtown area. Ah Lord eh, when is it ever going to end?
Then I had to walk back the same distance to Union Station to catch a train home. I haven’t been in that place for literally donkey’s years, (smile) and with its new and refurbished look it was at first somewhat disconcerting. But again, with the help of God and the service people there I found my way to the train on time.
Now that too was another eye-opening experience, since I had never ridden the Go-train on that route before. And it’s amazing what you see when you ride the train; all the undesirable and not-so beautiful backside of the city. I never even knew that there were so many stops along that route either.
And if you think the traffic congestion is bad now, just imagine if the hundreds of cars parked in each Go-station parking lot were also on the road. Mama Mia! But I can now understand what the daily commuters go through; just like little ants scurrying along to get to and from work.
And I left the city early, before the real rush began. Thank the Lord I don’t have to do that kind of commuting nuh! I can now understand too why the society is so stressed out, miserable and confrontational. Doing that sort of thing twice a day, five times a week is no joking matter. And by the time I got back home, I was as tired as a dog.
Anyway, enough about my adventures. (smile) Today is Tuesday, so let’s recite our Tuesday Mantra. All together now: ‘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!’
Glory to God my people, for being such a wonderful Deity! And as children of the Most High God Jehovah, we have all His considerable and wonderful blessings and mercies set out before us in new batches each and every day! All praise and thanks be to our incomparable heavenly Father!
Sadly though, I don’t think that we do offer our wonderful and awesome God enough sincere thanks and praise for our blessings, that’s why we’re continuing today with more scripture extolling those facets of our faith. Our Bit from Psalm 100 – A call to praise the Lord – declares it in great fashion. ‘Make a joyful noise (shout joyfully) unto the Lord all ye lands (all the earth).’
Now that’s exactly what we ought to be doing my fellow believers! We have so much to be thankful for, especially salvation and eternal life, that we ought to be jumping and shouting for joy, praising and thanking the Light of our lives, our Lord and Saviour, for His endless mercy and LOVING-kindness towards us, when we don’t deserve one iota of it.
But what do we do? Instead we get sour and churlish, miserable and resentful as soon as some little thing doesn’t go our way. Chuh! That’s selfish and child-like behaviour my brethren, definitely not suitable for true followers of, and believers in Jesus Christ!
Oh my people, what we truly ought to be doing as sons and daughters of Almighty God, is what the psalmist lays out as he continues: ‘Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.’ (Ps.100:2)
That is what the elders in heaven are doing; around God’s throne: singing a new song to Christ: ‘Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.’(Rev.4:11)
So Friends, if the heavenly hosts can sing praise and thanks to the Lord, why can’t we earthly beings do it to eh? No good reason whatsoever my people!
And it’s not like we don’t know what we’re to do, but we’re just lazy and uninterested in the things of God, paying more attention to the earthly circumstances of our lives and the unprofitable sleek and shining things of this world.
And though this will make the bit longer than I desired, I believe it’s necessary for us to hear the rest of the psalm. ‘Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.’ (Ps.100:3-5)
Please my people, let’s allow that scripture to be written indelibly into our souls nuh, for it is the gospel truth! And as we ponder upon it today, let’s ask our heavenly Father, who refuses us nothing that’s within His will, to help us put it all into worthwhile action. That my Friends, is the wisdom of heaven! Much LOVE!
…praise Him, praise Him…Glory Hallelujah…for He is LOVE…He is LOVE…
13 Aug 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: be thankful unto God, bless His name, blessings, Bonjour, burdens of this world, come before his presence with singing, contentment, enter into his gates with thanskgiving, godly attitude, gospel truth, grab the horns of happiness, great to be alive, happiness, his mercy is everlasting, his truth endures to all generations, into his courts with praise, joy, joyful noise, life just gives us time and space, LOVE, make a joyful noise unto God, make his praise glorious, No one is guaranteed happiness, serve the Lord with gladness, shout Hallelujah, sing forth the honour of his name, singing the praises of God, the annals of man, the bitter waters of Marah, the goodness of God, the joy of the Lord is our strength, the long and short of the story, the Lord he is God, The Lord is good, the sheep of his pasture, we are his people, we must fill it with joy and meaning, wonderful god, write those words indelibly
Psalm 66:1-2. Make a joyful noise (shout Hallelujah) unto God, all ye lands (the entire earth). Sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious.
Bonjour mes amis! Welcome to another bright and sunshiny day in the annals of man! (smile) It sure is great to be alive on beautiful days like these, isn’t it?
With the wonderful breath of life flowing through our frail human bodies, we can’t help but enjoy the goodness of our God as we arise to greet another new day filled with all sorts of interesting blessings.
But here is an important point to note in all of that. It comes from a quote on my ‘P.S. I LOVE YOU Poster.’ And it says: ‘No one is guaranteed happiness. Life just gives us time and space. It’s up to us to fill it with joy and meaning.’
And isn’t that the gospel truth Friends? It certainly is! Joy, happiness, contentment, call it what you may, is dependent on the individual embracing it. Granted we can have circumstances from which those things flow, but if we don’t take hold of them, they will pass us by completely.
Remember, no one’s responsible for our happiness but us. Too many of us wait for circumstances, things or people to make us happy, but that is not a wise idea, for we might just end up waiting to be happy all our lives. Each one of us has to grab the horns of happiness and feed our souls with it, if we want to live a happy and joyful life.
The Good Book says that the ‘joy of the Lord is our strength,’ (Neh. 8:10) but even that does not come to us automatically, we have to make a conscious effort to take hold of it, and keep holding on to, it if we want that joy to last.
The long and short of the story friends, is that happiness or joy doesn’t simply find us and keep us going in a suitable manner, we have to find or create it, then sincerely embrace it, and keep it going by our godly attitude.
It’s possible to have poor circumstance and be happy or joyful, but by the same token we can have wonderful circumstances and be miserable and discontented. The choice is always ours to make and embrace. End of sermon. (smile)
Therefore my people, on this glorious and terrific Thursday morning let’s put it all into practice nuh, by doing what our Bit says. ‘Make a joyful noise (shout Hallelujah) unto God, all ye lands (the entire earth). Sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious.’
Oh Friends, how good and right and enjoyable it is to give praises to our most wonderful God! Not only is it right for us to sing praises to God, but be it known also that God also delights in our praises. It warms the cockles of His heart and brings a smile to His face when He hears us lavishing praise on Him.
As the psalmist continues after our Bit. ‘Say unto God, How terrible (awesome) art thou in thy works! Through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee. All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah.’ (Ps.66:3-4)
Yeh friends, this morning is just an invitation to worship, to sing praises to our Great God and Redeemer, so it’s all about joyful psalms, beginning with this favourite.
‘O come let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise (shout joyfully) unto him with psalms (songs). For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods…
O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker. For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand (under his care). Today if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your heart, as in the provocation (rebellion), and as in the day of temptation (trial or testing) in the wilderness; When your fathers tempted (tried) me, and saw my work.’ (Ps. 95:1-3, 6-10)
Yes my brethren, if the Lord chooses to speak to your heart today, please open and let Him in. Don’t do like the rebellious Israelites in the wilderness, who tried to test Him, but eventually saw His miraculous works – turning the bitter waters of Marah sweet (Ex.15:22-26), and providing water from a rock (Ex.17:1-7).
Oh my people, our God surely is a great and mighty God; the ONLY TRUE AND LIVING DEITY!
And we’ll go home with these beautiful words of Psalm 100- A call to praise the Lord. ‘Make a joyful noise (shout joyfully) unto the Lord, all ye lands (all the earth). Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.’ (Ps.100:1-5)
What beautiful words of indisputable truth and encouragement my brethren! Especially that last sentence: ‘for the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting, and his truth endureth to all generations.’
Oh my fellow believers, this morning, please let’s write those truthful words indelibly in our souls, hearts and minds, and allow them to keep us strong, motivated and full of the joy and the LOVE of our wonderful God! For that is undoubtedly wisdom for all seasons, times and places! Much LOVE!
…singing the praises of God…will lighten the burdens of this world…
18 Mar 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a call to praise God, a great King above all Gods, a lose-lose situation, a psalm of praise, appreciate each day, appreciative, bless His name, blessings to brighten our way, build up thy throne to all generations, burst out in song, come before his presence with thanksgiving, covenant, Each day is a gift from God, Ethan the Ezrahite, faith, faithfulness, flowers, followers of Jesus, forgiveness, Friday, fulfilled, glorify His holy name, god's great mercies and loving-kindness, gospel truth, green beer, hands of our dear ones, his mercy is everlasting, his truth endureth to all generations, I will sing of the mercies of the Lord, it is meet and right, jehovah god, joyfully singing, laughter to share, lighten our hearts, LOVE, loving kindness, magnificent and magnanimous God, make a joyful noise, mercy, natural reaction, O come let us sing unto the lord, passed down, praise, prayer, preamble, promises, Psalm 100, Psalm 95, rainbows, rightful due of thanks and praise, Selah, serve the Lord with gladness, shortchange ourselves and God, shout joyfully, singing, song, spirits and souls, St. Paddy's Day, sworn unto David, take for granted, thankful, thanksgiving, the beauty of nature, the blessings of God, the gift of another new day, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the joy of God, the Lord he is God, the Lord is a great God, The Lord is good, the middle day of the workweek, the Most High God, the rock of our salvation, the sheep of his pasture, the weekend, thy seed will I establish for ever, to all generations, troubled, troublesome hour, true believer, trust, we are his people, Wednesday, wisdom, with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness, wreak havoc
Psalm 89:1. I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.
Oh Friends, please sing this ode to Wednesday with me. ‘Wednesday, oh Wednesday, the middle day of the workweek. Wednesday, oh Wednesday, you make me forget Monday and Tuesday.
Wednesday, oh Wednesday, you show me that there’s no going backward, only forward. Wednesday, oh Wednesday, you bring me ever closer to Friday and the weekend. Oh how I LOVE you Wednesday!’
Yes mih people, just a little fun to stir up our souls on this chilly Wednesday winter’s morn, after a hectic St. Paddy’s Day. Hope the green beer and other strange coloured beverages didn’t or don’t wreak too much havoc on you all. (smile) Thankfully I stayed away from it all, but not from the late night, hence my late awakening.
Now what shall we preamble about today eh? And I just saw the perfect preamble for today! It’s a poem on a birthday card I received last year. It was just sitting at the edge of my desk, and I was wondering why it was there. But after reading the words that covered the outside, I realized why.
Listen to these beautiful words and sentiments. I don’t know if I’ve shared them before, but I must have, because they’re so beautiful and appropriate for our time. But like most beautiful words and sentiments, they are definitely worth sharing again. The poem’s titled: ‘Each Day Is a Gift from God.’
Please say with me: ‘He has given us morning, brightness, and sun, Laughter to share, and work to be done. He has given us rainbows, flowers, and song, And the hands of our dear ones to help us along. He has given us prayer, with its wonderful power To lighten our hearts in a troublesome hour. He has given us blessings to brighten our way, And always – the gift of another new day.’
Wow mih people! It’s all so wonderful and true! But do we really appreciate it all? I don’t think so nuh, otherwise our spirits and souls would not be as troubled as they are. And many of us unfortunately just take the beautiful things of nature and blessings of God for granted.
However Friends, we shouldn’t be doing that, because then we foolishly shortchange ourselves of the joy of God, and also shortchange the Lord in giving Him His rightful due of thanks and praise, so it just turns into a lose – lose situation.
Instead, we ought to be doing as our Bit so wisely declares: ‘I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.’
What wisdom Friends! And why should we do that? Ethan the Ezrahite, author of the psalm tells us why, as he continues: ‘For I have said, Mercy (LOVING-kindness) shall be built up for ever: thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens.
I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant, Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah.’ (Ps.89:2-4)
Yes my people, for all those wonderful promises, which have been fulfilled and passed down to us, we too should be joyfully singing of God’s great mercies and LOVING-kindness!
Now let’s check out a couple of other scriptures that encourage us to sing praises and thanks unto the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
In Psalm 95 – A psalm of praise to the great God – the psalmist joyfully proclaims: ‘O come let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise (shout joyfully) to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise (shout joyfully) unto him with psalms (songs). For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all Gods.’ (Ps.95:1-3)
Oh Friends, there’s nothing but gospel truth in those statements, statements to which we should all be adhering to!
Then in Psalm 100 – A call to praise God – the psalmist also proclaims with great wisdom: ‘Make a joyful noise (shout joyfully) unto the Lord, all ye lands (the entire earth). Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.’ (Ps.100:1-5)
Oh my people, with all the good things we have coming from our magnificent and magnanimous God, how can we not be thankful and appreciative eh, and make us just want to burst out in song, to sing His wonderful praises, and glorify His holy name!
It ought to be the natural reaction of a true believer, one who has put their sincere faith and trust in Jehovah God, and is enjoying His blessings, mercies, forgiveness and LOVING-kindness!
Oh my fellow believers, please, oh please, let’s try and rectify that situation nuh, by increasing our appreciation of God’s goodness, and thus being ever more willing to break out in song, giving thanks and praises to the Most High God, for all He’s done, is doing, and has promised to do for us.
That is certainly the wisdom of the truly wise! Much LOVE!
…it is meet and right…for followers of Jesus…to break out in praiseful song…every time they consider His goodness…
25 Jan 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a child of God, a free gift of God, a true child of God, appreciation, awesome truth, bless His name, by grace are ye saved, child of God, christ jesus, covered me in my mother's womb, created in Christ unto good works, doing good works, enter his gates with thanksgiving, evil ways, faith, faith strengthened, fear the God of Israel, fearfully and wonderfully made, forgiveness, formed my inward parts, give me understanding, Glory Halleujah, grace, greetings, hope, inner beauty, into his courts with praise, Isaiah, it is meet and right to do so, it is the gift of God, Jesus Christ, knives through the darkness, lest any man should boast, look to the future, LOVE, marvellous are thy works, mercy, my life will be beautiful, new creations, not of works, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, positive actions, power of God, praise, recreated by Christ, s bright spotlight, Sabbath Day, salutations, salvation, sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, saturated with Christ, Something Beautiful, spirits renewed, spiritual life, Sunday, the living truth, the Lord he is God, the One Year Book of Bible Promises, the redemption of Israel, the sheep of his pasture, the work of mine hands, they shall sanctify my name, token of love, we are his people, we are his workmanship, worship
Ephesians 2:10. For we are his workmanship (creation) created in Christ Jesus unto (for) good works, which God hath before ordained (prepared) that we should walk in them.
Greetings and salutations my people, in the glorious name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, on this blessed but damp and foggy Sunday morning! All power and glory be to the One who sacrificed His holy and sinless life for us disgusting sinners.
And to show our grateful appreciation of that wonderful token of LOVE, let’s gather together in His sanctuary on this Sabbath Day, as He desires, to praise and worship Him, give Him the thanks that He so rightfully deserves, and in return receive His grace, mercy and forgiveness, so that our spirits can be renewed, our faith strengthened, and our actions positive and LOVE-filled!
And all God’s people said a loud and sincere: ‘Yes, let us do that, for it is meet and right so to do!
And now, from the One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings from Ruth Harms Calkin, here is ‘Something Beautiful!’ ‘Here I am dear God Your Child A member of Your Family Asking You To make something beautiful of my life. Yet, even as I ask I am convinced That the one beautiful thing About a child of God Is You, Jesus Christ. So, dear Lord As You saturate me with Yourself My life will be beautiful.’
And isn’t that the living truth Friends! There’s nothing as beautiful as a human being saturated with Jesus Christ! That inner beauty and LOVE of a true child of God just shines through the darkness of this world, knives through it like a big, bright spotlight closely focused on a performer on a stage! Oh my brethren, there’s no better state for us to be in, than to be filled with the beauty and joy of Jesus Christ! For we become new creations, old, evil ways are forgotten, and we look to the future with hope and faith.
And the Bible promise for that poem is our Bit today; fateful words of Bruh Paul to the Ephesians. ‘For we are his workmanship (creation), created in Christ Jesus unto (for) good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.’ Friends, that’s truth to the nth degree!
And here are some explanations from the scholars to enlighten us. ‘2:10. For verifies the assertion of man’s good works having no part in obtaining salvation. (vs.8-9) Workmanship refers not to our original or physical birth, but to our spiritual birth: what we are spiritually in the good sense is due to God, not ourselves.
Created in Christ Jesus unto good works means “having been (morally) re-created by Christ Jesus for good works,” that is, Jesus remade our spiritual lives so that we could then do good works. The apostle’s thinking is this; since the Christian has been given spiritual life for the purpose of doing good works, there could have been no good works by him prior to conversion that would merit salvation. Good works follow – do not precede – salvation.’
And I’ll be my usual nice self (smile) and quote the two verses we mentioned above, re good works having no part in salvation. ‘For by grace are ye (you have been) saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.’ (Eph.28-9)
Yes Friends, part of the reason why salvation is not achieved by good works is so that men can’t boast about obtaining it on their own strength or merit. Remember, it is a free gift of God!
Now let’s look at a couple scriptures that reflect the theme of our Bit. Hear the palmist declare from Psalm 100 – A call to praise the Lord. ‘Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.’ (Ps.100:3-4)
Oh my people, if we’d only follow that wise advice of the psalmist, our lives and our world would be a much better place than it currently is!
Now listen to Isaiah, as he talks about the redemption of Israel. ‘But when he seeth his children, the work of mine hands, in the midst of him, they shall sanctify (hallow) my name, and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel.’ (Is.29:23)
Without a doubt Friends, we are God’s handiwork, His greatest creation! Glory Hallelujah!
Another psalmist joyfully proclaims: ‘Thy hands have made me and fashioned me: give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments.’ (Ps.119:73) Words of awesome truth my brethren! And we’ll end with Bruh David’s version from Psalm 139 – The everlasting presence and power of God. ‘For thou hast possessed my reins (formed my inward parts): thou hast covered (weaved) me in my mother’s womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right (very) well.’
My substance (frame, bones) was not hid from thee when I was made in secret, and curiously (skillfully) wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect (unformed); and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned (the days fashioned for me), when as not there was none of them.’ (Ps.139:13-16)
Yes Friends, Jehovah God was the planner, designer, architect and builder of every human being that was ever made. Therefore He knows all about us. We are definitely His, for He is our Creator, our Provider and our God. Without Him, we would not exist. Please, let’s remember that and give Him the appropriate level of praise, worship and thanks He deserves. That’s the duty of a sincere child of God. Much LOVE!
…without the Most High God Jehovah…nothing that was made…would be made…
27 Sep 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: almighty god, bless His name, bright and bountiful day, cars, cell phones, christianity, computers, contentment, dead idols, disobedience, dumb, dumber, evil, evil cohorts, Facebook, fallacy, fantasy, fellowship, Friday chant, fun, furthering God's glorious kingdom, generous help, godly insight, gold, gospel truth, hail the power of jesus name, happiness, heathen, holy spirit, houses, idols, idols of the world, Jehovah, joy, living God, LOVE, Lucifer, money, pandering to idols, passion, political power, power of Jesus' name, Praise the Lord, relaxation, religion, renewed in body soul and mind, respite from work, rest, see the light, sham, silver, social media, social status, spirituality, television, Thank God it's Friday, thanks to God, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the Most High, the work of men's hands, things of the world, time for God, too busy, true perspective, true wisdom, tweeting, twitter, unwise actions, wisdom of the foolish, worship idols, Yahweh
Psalm 135:15. The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.
All hail the power of Jesus’ Name this Friday morning Friends!
And all believers joyfully declared: ‘Praise the Lord! Bless His Holy Name! Thank Him for allowing us to see another bright and bountiful day! Thank Him that it’s Friday and we’ll soon get a much needed respite from our labour! Yes, thank God, it’s Friday!’
And that’s the way it ought to be my people, because it’s Almighty God who enables us to do all that we do. He is most definitely the ONE who enables us to get jobs, wealth, prosperity, peace joy and LOVE in this ungodly world, in these very troubled times!
As you can see mih breddren, Friday has come around again, and as always, we need to chant our Friday Chant, so that we can choose and keep the right options presented or available to us, and thus gain true perspective. (smile)
So let’s chant in full and grateful voice nuh: ‘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.’
Great chanting mih people! Now let’s turn to our new Bit. ‘The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.’
And yuh know what Friends, all that stuff that’s gone before fits our Bit to a ‘T’. And it wasn’t my brilliance either, but the leading of the Holy Spirit. It’s only after I decided on the Bit that I realized how pertinent it was to the weekend.
And you ask why? Because it’s usually on the weekend, when we have some spare time, time to ourselves, that we most often turn to the idols of the world, the man made stuff which takes up so much of our time, and leaves little, if any for God.
We can always make, or find time for the television, the 500 channels with so much nonsense on most of them, that only about a dozen, if so many, are truly worth watching. Don’t talk about the computers, the cell phones, the tweeting on Twitter, the posting of our private and personal business on Facebook and all the other social media.
Unwise actions that are only getting us in trouble and causing our young people to get even dumber than they already are, while the purveyors of all the nonsense clap their hands in evil contentment and laugh all the way to the bank.
And they’re numerous other worldly things that we pay unnecessary attention to, which then become idols; like cars, houses, money, political power and social status, hoping that they will bring us joy and happiness on this earth.
But Friends, I’m hear to tell you that it’s all a fallacy, a fantasy, a great sham, engineered and perpetrated by Lucifer and his evil cohorts, to turn us away from the ONE and ONLY TRUE GOD; He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
If you ask a lot of supposed believers, when last they went to church or read their Bibles, too many would be at a loss to give you an answer. And when you ask them why, the answer is usually they’re too busy.
Too busy doing what eh? Too busy pandering to the idols and things of the world! But my brethren that’s the wisdom of the foolish! For if you’re too busy for God now, in your time of need, He will also be too busy for you.
Our God LOVES us unconditionally and with great passion, but just like we don’t, or rather are not supposed to put up with disobedience from our children, He doesn’t put up with disobedience from us.
And listen to the psalmist as he continues to tell us about the greatness of the Lord and the vanity, uselessness of idols. ‘The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not; They have ears, but they hear not; neither is there any breath in their mouths. They that make them are like unto them: so is every one that trusteth in them.’ (Ps.135:15-18)
And that’s the gospel truth my people! The idols of the world are pure foolishness! Some of them are indeed useful in our earthly lives, but to place as much attention on them as we do, to kill ourselves in acquiring them is certainly not wise.
How can you treat stuff made by man, as God eh? Especially when they have eyes but can’t see; ears that can’t hear, mouths without breath and can’t talk, and the men who made them have to carry them around.
Oh Friends, I’ll leave us to ponder those questions that we’ve raised today, sincerely hoping that many of us who worship these idols will see the light, will get some godly insight into our unwise actions.
May the Lord open our eyes and grant us true wisdom this Friday morning, for we badly need it. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Much LOVE!
…where’s the sense in worshipping dead idols eh…when there’s a vibrant and living Deity…known by names such as… Yahweh, Jehovah, The Most High, Almighty God…who’s created all…and still controls everything…
P.S. No complaining about the length of the Bit today please, because it’s pretty short. (smile) Much LOVE!
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