Contemplating the Awesome Benefits of Close Communion with God! Part 2.

01 Feb 2025 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Psalm 103:2.        Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.

Awright friends, it’s our lazy-day Saturday, and a bright and sunshiny though pretty cold one; something like minus 13. Nevertheless, it’s so good to see some sunshine after such a long period of damp, cloudy and dreary winter days. The sun almost blinded me when I opened the blinds a short while ago, and I said to myself, that can’t be true, sunshine after all this time? But it is true, and we thank the Lord, for His goodness to us undeserving children of men! (smile) Anyway, enough prattle, let’s turn to our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer and offer it up with all sincerity and truth. 

As one voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’ 

Oh my people, that prayer is so sweet and compelling that if our voices came from a sincere heart with right motives, the Lord cannot help but answer it with a rush of peace, calm and contentment to our needy souls. Did you feel it? I certainly did. I felt that calm and peaceful feeling just washing over me, helping me to let go of any anxieties and fears that I hitherto had. Hope the same thing happened to you, for our God is a God of comfort and peace. As Bruh Paul calls Him: ‘the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort.’ (2 Cor. 1:3) And so He is! 

Now, yesterday we began looking at some of the many benefits to be had in God’s kingdom, taking our cue from Bruh David’s words in Psalm 103: ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.’ (Ps. 103:2) But unfortunately, we ran out of time after talking about two of the biggest benefits, forgiveness of sins, and healing of our diseases. So, let’s continue now with the list of benefits that Bruh David identifies. ‘Who redeemeth thy life from destruction…’ 

Now what does that mean? Well, basically “Redeeming” signifies God’s act of rescuing or saving someone from a perilous situation, in this case, from destruction. And we see it all throughout the Bible where God rescues His people from destruction. It’s a sacred promise found in Psalm 5: ‘But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest (protects, covers) them: let them also that LOVE thy name be joyful in thee. For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass (surround) him as with a shield.’ (Ps. 5:11-12) 

And nowhere do we see that better than in Psalm 107, titled ‘God’s Redemptive Power.’ It reads: ‘O Give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy (LOVING-KINDNESS) endureth forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy; And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south. 

They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary (desolate) way, they found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distresses. And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation. Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness (LOVING-KINDNESS), and for his wonderful works to the children of men!’ (Ps. 107:1-8) 

Oh friends, in times of distress, when we cry out to God for help, He hears and answers. Meanwhile, ‘In the New Testament, “redemption” refers to the act of being saved from sin and its consequences through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, essentially “buying back” humanity from the bondage of sin by paying the price through his blood on the cross, allowing reconciliation with God and the possibility of eternal life; this is considered the central act of salvation in Christianity.’  And Bruh Paul puts it thus to the church at Ephesus: ‘In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.’ (Eph. 1:7) 

And when we come to the next benefit; ‘who crowneth thee with (LOVING-KINDESS) and tender mercies;’ (Ps. 103:4b) it all dovetails very nicely, because when the Lord redeems us from our distresses, be they sins or physical disasters, He also crowns us with His awesome grace, favour and mercy. One is a natural part of the other. He won’t simply redeem us then leave us to our own designs. No way! Our God does everything in totality. And this next benefit tells it exactly like it is: ‘Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.’ (Ps. 103:5) 

The Lord gives us good food to eat, when we’re hungry, like He gave the Israelites manna in the wilderness for forty years, and also puts good words in our mouths, from His Word. The two of them combine to renew both our physical and spiritual selves. As Isaiah says in these well-known verses: ‘Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. 

He giveth power to the faint (weak); and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint.’ (Is. 40:28-31) 

Oh my fellow saints, on this lazy-day Saturday, the first day of February 2025, let’s take time to ponder all that we’ve said and allow it to renew both our faith and our physical energy, so that we can mount up with wings as eagles, and not grow weary in doing the Lord’s work! Much LOVE!

…Almighty God is a total God…in Him… EVERYTHING can be found for living life…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit 2 May 2017 Psalm 103:2.

02 May 2017 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Psalm 103:2.   Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.

Well friends, at least we’ve begun today better than we did yesterday. Yeh, there is no fog clouding up the place, though it’s still a tad chilly and blustery. 

Let’s hope though, that the incessant rains that plagued us through most of the later day-time hours and evening don’t return, as promised by the weather forecasters, because I need to go out the street and do some stuff today, and I really don’t feel like trampling around through the rain. (smile) 

But be that as it may, I’m still glad, excited, enthusiastic and ever grateful to be alive on this spring morning of 2017! Glory to our Most High God! 

Now here is a li’l something from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. It’s short and simple and titled ‘The Promise of Abundant Life.’ 

Please declare with me: ‘Lord, you always bring ultimate good to those who LOVE you. May I never surrender to the false conclusion that you have no more for me than what I already have.’ 

But unfortunately that’s something a lot of us Christians feel and believe. However friends, I’m here to tell us today, that our God’s great mercies and blessings and grace and forgiveness have not even begun to truly flow upon us, so vast is His storehouse of those things. 

And the verse associated with that promise comes from Psalm 16, where Bruh David seeks preservation and blessing and faithfully declares: ‘Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.’ (Ps.16:11) And isn’t that the gospel truth my fellow believers? It surely is! 

And that flows very nicely into our ongoing Bit: ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.’ 

And again, we need to remember that there are numerous benefits to one’s association with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! 

Now we’ve been reviewing some of the benefits listed by Bruh David after our Bit. Today we’ll move on to verse 4: ‘Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with LOVING-kindness and tender mercies.’ (Ps.103:4) 

Wow! What an awesome verse of promise and assurance friends! And we know that our wonderful God did eventually provide redemption for us through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, an act of such outstanding, amazing and awesome LOVE; one that has never been, and can never be matched! 

But listen to how Bruh David saw it in his time, and how he engraved it in everlasting words for us from Psalm 5 – A prayer for protection. 

‘But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that LOVE thy name be joyful in thee. For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass (surround) him as with a shield.’ (Ps.5:11-12) 

So why are we supposed believers not much more joyful than we are in these trying times eh? With such a promise, and many more like that, none of us should be walking around with sad, droopy, poor-me-one attitudes and countenances. 

But we’ll leave that for another day, because I want to finish this Bit today…and I hear a sigh of relief from some quarters. (smile) 

Now let’s move on to verse 5, which tells us of these benefits. ‘Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.’ (Ps.103:5) 

And we all know the immortal words of Isaiah on this topic. ‘He giveth power to the faint (weak); and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: 

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.’ (Is.40:29-31) 

Oh my fellow believers, today I’m imploring us to firmly grasp and hold tight to the many promises of our wonderful God, because in them we find the strength and wherewithal to fight the many battles we encounter in our earthly pilgrimage. 

It won’t always be easy, but if we believe and persevere, we will come through with flying colours, because our ever-faithful God has promised it! 

Now let’s go home declaring our Tuesday Mantra in true belief and sincerity. ‘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 be my people! Now let’s go out and share that awesome LOVE of Jesus with each and every one we meet today, for that’s what He desires of us. Much LOVE!

… the benefits of being associated with God…are so amazing and so plentiful…that our finite minds can’t conceive even half of them…  

P.S. Please let me apologize for my typo at the end of yesterday’s Bit, where I said that everything in this world belongs to God, ‘let’s forget it.’ Obviously it should be ‘let’s NOT forget it.’ I’m sure you all realized that, but please forgive the ole fella anyway. (smile) I corrected it in the Blog later. Much LOVE!

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 4 February 2016 Psalm 40:4‏‏‏‏‏

04 Feb 2016 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Psalm 40:4.  Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.

Oh friends, the ole fella is a bit out of sorts this morning. Chuh! Nothing’s really wrong nuh, I just got up late and somewhat tired. My enthusiasm seems to be a tad low, but not to worry, by the time I am finished writing, I’m sure the Lord will raise it back up sky high! Oh glory to the wonderful God we truly serve and worship!

And with that I’ll share a most appropriate prayer from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. It’s called ‘Heartstrings’ and says: ‘Lord, with no sense of direction I’m forever losing my way. Please tie a string From Your heart to mine So that even in the darkness I’ll feel the tug of Your heart and find my way home.’

Oh my people, there’s no better way to find our way home in the darkness than with our heartstrings attached to those of Almighty God, our Creator and Provider!

And the Bible promise to which that is attached is none other than: ‘He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.’ (Is.40:11)

Oh what a beautiful promise my brethren! And since we know that our great God ALWAYS keeps His promises, there is no need to fear, if we hold close to, hang tight to Him. Glory Hallelujah! But it all depends on us. We must do our best to rise to whatever occasion that besets us.

Now here is a paragraph from Gramps Schuller’s (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) Hour of Power Devotional that wraps up all of that rather nicely.

He says in no uncertain terms: ‘God is good! Yes, He is! No matter what has happened, God is there for you. And as hard and as crazy as it may sound, when the walls collapse and the world tumbles in, and when it looks like everything that we’ve LOVED is lost, that’s the time to say, “Thank you, God!”  

Oh friends, we all know that that is difficult to do when everything is falling down around us, and we’re at a loss as to what to do to make things right again. But as Gramps Schuller says at the end of the day’s devotion: ‘Believe me – that’s when you need to most to say, “Thank you, God.”  

And that’s the gospel truth my fellow believers, because it’s in our greatest time of need that we truly need God, we need to thank Him for all that He’s done for us before, and for all that He’s promised to do. Being rude and unmannerly, or rejecting Him, won’t endear Him to us, or encourage Him to help us. But praise and thanks will!

Then we’ll show that we are indeed true believers. Yeh mih people, I know it’s not at all easy to do, but Christ’s earthly life wasn’t easy either, but He handled it all with timely help from His heavenly Father. The same is expected of us, His followers.

And as I’ve been saying over the last few days, it all comes right down to the state of our faith; how much we believe, and therefore surrender and trust our lives to Him. For as our Bit so wisely and truthfully declares: ‘Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.’

And all of us who sincerely try to implement that in our lives, know that that is indisputable truth! But it’s not always very easy to do, that is why we also need God’s help to stand strong and stay attuned to Him. I guess it’s like the chicken and the egg; which came first? We need to trust and obey God to be blessed, but we can’t truly trust and obey Him without His help. That’s where our faith and belief comes in.

Ah mih people, trusting and obeying God in this increasingly evil and godless world is becoming more difficult with each passing day. But as true believers, it’s just something we HAVE to do, because who else is going to try and change our world back eh?

Certainly not the evil minions of Lucifer who are holding the trumps right now. That’s why we also need to gather together regularly and pray for strength and guidance, as well as constantly raise up individual prayers for ourselves and each other.

And as I just so happened to read today in my One More Day Devotional for People With Chronic Illness; ‘A simple grateful thought raised to heaven is the most perfect prayer.’ That’s a quote attributed to one Gotthold Ephraim Lessing.  And it’s oh so true friends because gratefulness is truly revered in heaven.

And that brings us right back to the giving of thanks, of saying ‘Thank you God,’ when rough times befall us.

And on this last day for this particular Bit – and I hear some of you release a ‘thank you God’ sigh. (smile) But right there we have a part of our problem; where we need to hear a new bit of scripture every day, when we haven’t even fully digested the one before.

However, let’s end with some scripture passages on trust, beginning with these from Psalm 84 – Blessed are they that dwell in thy house. A psalm of the sons of Korah. ‘For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.’ (Ps.84:11-12)

And hear these immortal words of Bruh David from Psalm 5 – A prayer for protection. ‘But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest (protecteth) them: let them also that LOVE thy name be joyful in thee. For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass (surround) him as with a shield.’ (Ps.5:11-12)

What awesome words of faithful promise my people. So let’s go out today, and every day, with them ringing in our hearts, minds, bodies and souls nuh, so that we will trust and obey, and faithfully and steadfastly do God’s will for us on this beautiful planet Earth. Much LOVE!

…we cannot truly work on God’s behalf…until we truly trust Him to lead and guide us…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 9 April 2013 Psalm 5:12

09 Apr 2013 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Psalm 5:12.     For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.
 
Oh Friends, this is one of those mornings when the ole fella found it hard to rise and shine. That’s because I did some running around yesterday and didn’t get proper rest, so the ole body rebelled on me this morning. Hn, hn!  That sort of reminds me of how we rebel against our wonderful Creator. I guess that ought to give me some inclination of how He feels when I’m disobedient. Don’t know when I’ll realize that I’m no longer a spring chicken nuh, that I’m not young, resilient and sprightly as I used to be, and can’t burn the proverbial candle at both ends, without eventually paying a price. (smile) Anyway, we’re up now, and with God’s help, ready to blast off for places unknown. And we’ll begin the lift-off with this quote from the famous American poet and educator, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882). ‘Believe me, every man has his secret sorrow, which the world knows not, and oftentimes we call a man cold when he is only sad.’ And that’s truth in spades, my people! We use outward behaviour to quickly judge others, and in many cases our judgements are completely wrong. The quandary though, is that most times the outward behaviour is all we have to go on. We either can’t, or don’t want to get to know the other person on a deeper level. The solution to that problem then is not to judge as much or as harshly as we like to do. Let’s give the other person the benefit of the doubt, just like we’d want them to do with us. As the basic principle of our faith decrees; do unto others as we’d like done unto us. Let’s try and follow that principle as closely as possible today nuh Friends, it’ll make life so much easier and much more pleasant for all concerned. And to help us do that, let’s also take this advice from Bruh David’s prayer for protection. It’s the verse before our Bit. ‘But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest (protect) them: let them also that LOVE thy name be joyful in thee.’ (Ps.5:11) Why should we do that, you ask? Our Bit gives us the answer. ‘For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass (surround) him as with a shield.’ And that my people, is one of the most awesome truths in this world! So much so, that all God’s children rose up with one accord and with a mighty shout, gratefully declared: ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul, for He is indeed mighty, and will look down with abundant favour on those who put their sincere trust and faith in Him!’ That’s for certain sure my brethren! And please remember that those words of our Bit didn’t come from any hearsay nuh, but from the personal experience of Bruh David, who was so tight with God, that he was called a man after God’s own heart. (1 Sam.13:14)  Oh fellow followers of Christ, to me that is the greatest commendation a human can receive. And I think it’s what all believers should endeavour to be called. It’s not an easy task, but as with every other good thing, with the Lord’s help and our own diligence, we can certainly reach that level of excellence. Now let’s look at some scriptures that support our Bit. In Psalm 29, the voice of the Lord in the storm, Bruh David solemnly ends with this great statement of faith. ‘The Lord sitteth (sits enthroned) upon the flood; yea, the Lord sitteth (sits) for ever. The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace.’ (Ps.29:10-11) More awesome truth Friends! And in Psalm 68, Bruh David again ends with another declaration of utmost faith. ‘O God, thou art terrible (awesome) out of thy holy places: the God of Israel is he that giveth strength and power unto his people. Blessed be God.’ (Ps.68:35) Oh my fellow believers, it’s all these scriptures of divine assurance, faith and trust that we need to write deeply and indelibly in our hearts, minds and souls, so that we too can stand steadfast, strong and true in this evil world, empowered by them, through God’s Holy Spirit, to do His Holy Will! And we’ll end with one of the most famous passages of scripture, one that we all know, but as usual, don’t put enough trust and faith in, otherwise we wouldn’t be as anxious and fearful as so many of us are. That great man of God, the prophet Isaiah, assures us of the protection and strength of our omnipotent, omniscient and omni-present God. ‘Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint (weak); and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fail: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.’ (Is.40:28-31) And all God’s children sent up a mighty shout to heaven. ‘Thank You Lord! You are most worthy to be praised! We truly LOVE You and bless Your Holy Name! Amen!’ Yes Friends, let’s go about the Lord’s business today with those powerful words of truth and assurance reverberating in our souls, so that we can stand strong and diligently pursue His Will in a most excellent manner. That’s certainly wisdom at its zenith! Much LOVE!…though God’s promises are tried and true…believers should never take them for granted…but always maintain a sense of awe…at the majesty and generosity of our great God…