25 Feb 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a day of rest, a faithful saying, a hammer, a jumble of thoughts, a lamp that guides, a mirror, a sword, abides, abominable iniquity, aches, affirm constantly, asaph, asthma, bends before it, Bibly Study, blessings, born again, bounden duty, breathed life, children of God, Christian, citicenship, contentious, cooperate with God, corrupt, cough, deceit, defeats Satan, disobedient, divers lusts, divine workman, donkey's years, empathy, enticed, envious, envy, ethics, evil, faith, fellowship, flu, foolish, friends, funeral, gentle, glory hallelujah, glory to God, god moves in mysterious ways, God's will, good works, gospel of Christ, grace, hating, holy spirit, human nature, illnesses, imbibed, Jesus Christ, joy, judges sin, kindness, living for Christ, LOVE, LOVE of God, loving kindness, Lucifer, make sense of, malice, material possessions, meekness, mercy, Mt. St. George, new life, newborn, Nicodemus, none that doeth good, pains, Paradise, pay the cost, potholes, powers, principalities, profitable, prosperity, regeneration, resist the wave, reveals sin, righteousness., salvation, sell our soul, stand strong and steadfast, stumbled, surrogate daughters, swept away, talk is cheap, temptation, tentacles, the BIBLE, the fool say in his heart, the likeness of Christ, the wicked, the work of god, there is no god, Titus, treachery, trust, truth, West Indian, winding road., wisdom
Psalm 53:1. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good.
Oh friends, there is so much I want to say this beautiful Thursday morning, but I simply can’t say anything! Chuh!
Has that ever happened to you? My mind is a jumble of thoughts and whatever else that I can’t seem to make sense of, but I’m not worried because I know that our great and magnanimous God will eventually look down on me with empathy and guide me to what He wants me to say.
I guess that part of my problem is that I have a touch of the flu and cough that’s causing my asthma to act up a bit. And there’s nothing that drives me bonkers like coughing.
Anyway, I went to the funeral of an old schoolmate yesterday afternoon in Mt. St. George – and now I realize why it’s so named, for we had to drive up a steep, winding road littered with potholes to reach the church, then come another steep winding one to get back to the main road.
It’s a good thing the duchess wasn’t my co-pilot, because I don’t know if we would have made it back safely. (smile)
The funeral was well attended, and I saw people whom I hadn’t seen in donkey’s years (smile). The deceased lived in the U.S but was brought back home to her village for burial, exactly what I want to happen to me.
And to show how our God moves in mysterious ways, he took one home but also breathed life in to a newborn son of one of my surrogate daughters down here. Glory to God!
Now a buddy and I was supposed to go touring today, but it seems that he imbibed a tad too much last night, so he is also under the weather, which means that tour will have to be put off indefinitely.
Ah mih people, my time in sweet Tobago is swiftly drawing to a close, and as the duchess said recently, the problem is not how we’re going to face the cold up in the Northern climes, but how we’re going to leave this paradise? It will definitely be hard, although every day we complain how the sun is so hot.
So I guess today will just be a day of rest and later this evening I’ll go to the Bible Study class up the road. I heard they missed me last week when I was in Trinidad. I missed them too, because it was a spirited gathering, West Indian style. And call me biased, but nothing beats anything, West Indian style! (smile)
Now that’s the end of my news, but before we get to our Bit, I want to share these words of wisdom from one Leviticus, whom I assume was an olden Greek philosopher. And he is reputed to have said that: ‘He who attempts to resist the wave is swept away, but he who bends before it abides.’
And I rediscovered that in reality recently on the beach. I tried to fight off a big wave and it sent me crashing into the sand. But another one, instead of trying to fight it, I rode it successfully into the shore.
The same way it is with life my friends, especially when we are getting up in age and can’t fight all the unusual stuff that’s coming against us; all the aches and pains and illnesses. We have to learn to bend with the tide, if we hope to continue living a full and enjoyable life.
That also means we cannot emulate the people in our Bit. ‘The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good.’
Now, though we know better, the prosperity of the wicked can sometimes drive us to want what they have. Listen to the psalmist Asaph, as he discourses in Psalm 73 on the Mystery of Prosperous wickedness.
‘Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean (pure) heart. But as for me, my feet were almost gone (I had almost stumbled); my steps had well-nigh slipped. For I was envious at the foolish (boastful), when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.’ (Ps.73:1-3)
Yes friends, although Asaph knew better, the sinful human nature still enticed him to be envious of the wicked in their earthly prosperity. And unfortunately it still does the same thing to us in these very trying and difficult times.
But we need to see the treachery and deceit of material possession and earthly prosperity for what it really is; ofttimes a temptation of the enemy, and don’t allow it to get us caught up in its wicked tentacles. Because once we sell our soul for those things, it’s not very easy to get out of Lucifer’s contract.
Now hear Bruh Paul to Titus on Christian citizenship and the basis of the Christian ethic. ‘Put them in mind to be subject to principalities (rulers) and powers (authorities), to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work. To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers (not contentious), but gentle, showing all meekness unto all men.
For we ourselves also were sometime foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and LOVE of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed (poured out) on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour. That being justified (declared righteous) by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.’ (Titus 3:1-7)
Yes my fellow believers in Christ, it’s only through God’s grace and mercy and LOVING-kindness, poured out on us through Christ that we are able to withstand the wiles and lies of the evil one. That means we have to stand strong and steadfast in faith if we want to resist the enemy.
Now here is some info from the scholars on the term ‘regeneration.’‘3:5. Regeneration refers to the work of the Holy Spirit in the salvation experience that produces new life in the believer. To express this concept, Jesus used the expression “born again” in His conversation with Nicodemus (John 3:3-7).
Regeneration is the work of God, through the Holy Spirit, of placing in one who has faith a new nature, capable of doing God’s will. The Holy Spirit is the agent or divine workman of this regeneration. His instrument is the Bible, which is likened to a hammer that judges sin (Jer.23:29), a mirror that reveals sin (James 1:23), a sword that defeats Satan (Heb.4:12), and a lamp that guides the believers (Ps.119:105).
Illustration: People are instantaneously “born again “the moment they trust Christ as Saviour. (1 Pet.1:23). Application: Christians should be careful to cooperate with God in growing as children of God after they are regenerated, or given new life. (First Ref. John 3:3), Primary Ref. Titus 3:5. cf. Eph.1:15.).’
Oh friends, only by cooperating with God and growing in the likeness of Christ, can we ever hope to stave off the foolishness and deceit of the enemy! And it will benefit us all, if we looked up the references the scholars provided. (smile)
Now let’s end with some more words of Bruh Paul to Titus. ‘This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.’ (Titus 3:8)
There’s nothing left to say my brethren, except that we should all go out, each and every day, being careful to do works that enhance the gospel of Christ, so that the heathen can see the true beauty in living for Christ and want to come to Him. It’s our bounden duty. Much LOVE!
…talk is cheap…but good works cost something…Christians should be prepared to pay that cost…
P.S. I know it’s long, but God’s word is worth it. (smile) Much LOVE!
21 Feb 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Inspirational Living
Tags: a better tomorrow, a rollicking time, analogy, Anselm, as the heaven is as high above the earth, attributes, basic objective, believing is seeing, bless the Lord, blessings, catalyst, children's children, Christ's realm, compassion, edifying, Emotional Quotient, encouraging, EQ, everlasting, faith, fellowship, focused on God, forgiveness, free choice, friendships, generations, glory and honour to God, glory hallelujah, grace, grass, home away from home, hope, Hours of Power Devotional, Intelligence Quotient, IQ, Jesus Christ, joy, life, likeness of Christ, LOVE, loving kindness, memories, mercy, no place like Home, obedient to God's will, Radisson Hotel, relationships, righteousness., Sea Breeze, seeing is believing, so great is his mercy, Thanks be to God, to them that fear him, Tobago, truth, understanding, wander away from God, wisdom
Psalm 103:11. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy (LOVING-kindness) toward them that fear him.
Once again friends and neighbours, on this bright and beautiful Sunday morning, I’m coming to you from my little cottage by the sea in sweet Tobago, aptly called ‘Sea Breeze.’ (smile)
Got back here late last night. And is it ever so good to be back home in Tobago again! As they say, there’s no place like home. And this is my home away from home right now.
Anyway, this morning I’m bringing words of LOVE, compassion, mercy, forgiveness, understanding, grace, and blessings from our heavenly Father; all the attributes of which He is the Supreme Possessor and Giver.
And all God’s people declared loudly: ‘Thanks be to God, who gives us generously of all His attributes!’ And we all know that as gospel truth friends!
Now I’ve got a lot to share today, so let’s begin right away with this quote from our friend Anselm, who delights in inspiring us to live a better tomorrow. And this rather appropriate quote tells us that: ‘Believing is seeing. You gotta believe something will happen for you before you see it. Have faith in the process of getting there.’
And that’s ever so true my people! In Christ’s realm, you have to believe it before you see it. With Christ, believing is seeing, not like the world thinks, that seeing is believing. That’s where those two great attributes, hope and faith come in; for without them we can’t believe without seeing.
And to help us along in that regard, Gramps Schuller (Robert H. Schuller) from his Hours of Power Devotional tells us about our EQ as opposed to our IQ.
Now our IQ or Intelligence Quotient is naturally related to our intelligence. However, our EQ or Emotional Quotient is related to our hope and faith. Gramps defines a high EQ as ‘a heart that has strong faith, unquenchable hope, and passionate LOVE.’
Glory Hallelujah! Oh how I wish that all God’s children were blessed with such a high EQ! Unfortunately though, we’re not, but fortunately it is indeed possible and very necessary that we build up that high EQ. And that is all a part of what out Bit is about; trying to keep us focused on God, His Word and His plan for our lives.
Now remember though, that the Bit IS NOT sufficient reading and studying material for a child of God. It is a useful catalyst, but we all need to get deeply involved in the Word and fellowship with other believers on our own. That’s the only way we’ll ever truly grow to a likeness of Christ, achieve a high EQ, which is our basic objective.
Now I haven’t kept you all up to date on my recent activities, sorry about that, (smile) but I can only write what the Lord directs me to write. And thankfully He’s given me some room for that today.
Well you all know that I was in Trinidad for the last few days. You also know I went to the Southland by water taxi and had a great time.
On Friday evening we also had a rollicking time as some friends and family gathered with me in the lobby bar area of the Radisson Hotel where I was staying. The hotel has a happy hour every Friday evening from 5 to 7, but our happy hour lasted from about six to eleven. Hn, Hn!
We laughed and talked and drank and munched some chicken wings the hotel provided, shared old memories and made some new ones that we can share at a later date. Glory to God!
I saw a couple of friends whom I hadn’t seen since I left the UWI Mona campus in Jamaica in 1969. Brother! That’s something like 45 years. But what I like about these old friendships is that though we don’t see each other often, when we meet, it’s just like we saw each other yesterday, we pick up from right where we left off. That is what true friendships and relationships are all about!
Enough about my activities though. I’ll leave yesterday’s activities for tomorrow though, because it was truly an eye opener for me, and will take up too much time and space.
So let’s get to our oh so wonderful, encouraging and edifying Bit. ‘For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy (LOVING-kindness) toward them that fear him.’
Yes Friends what a wonderful analogy to show how great God’s mercy is towards those of us who revere and worship Him – as high as the heaven is above the earth! Wow! That’s pretty high! So just imagine how much LOVING-kindness He has stored up and pours down on us nuh.
And all I can say in response is: ‘All glory and honour be to our magnificent and magnanimous God who is so interested in our welfare, in every aspect of our lives!’
The problem here though is that many of us have a problem in truly believing that Almighty God, that great entity on high, can be interested in our plain and simple, lowly and mundane lives. But my people, He truly does. He made us and has a big stake in everything that happens in our earthly sojourn.
Listen to how Bruh David continues in Psalm 103, from which our Bit is taken. ‘As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it (remember it) no more.
But the mercy (LOVING-kindness) of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear (revere) him, and his righteousness unto children’s children.’ (Ps.103:15-17)
Ah mih breddren, our God’s mercy spans time from whenever it began to whenever it ends, if ever, and is available to all generations during that time. What more can we ask eh? Not a whole lot, except His guidance and strength to keep on LOVING Him and being obedient to His holy will, so that we can keep on enjoying His (LOVING-kindness.)
Yes friends, it is somewhat of a conundrum; we have to LOVE and obey God, but at the same time we do need His strength, wisdom and guidance to do it. Yuh see how we’re inextricably tied up with our Creator!
And we’ll end with these wise words from Bruh David. ‘Bless ye the Lord, all ye his hosts; ye ministers (servants) of his, that do his pleasure. Bless the Lord, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the Lord, O my soul.’ (Ps.103:21-22)
Now that’s wisdom for all the ages! Much LOVE!
…yes…we do have free choice…but to wander away from God…means we’re not using that free choice wisely…
20 Feb 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abundance, acceptance, affirmation, ailments, alive and kicking, as the heaven is high above the earth, behave appropriately, benefits, bless the Lord, blessings, burden, chameleon, Creator of the universe, crowns, deity, destruction, diseases, dust, enjoy your life, ever-faithful God, ever-LOVING God, faith, flesh and blood, forget, frail, friends, give yourself to God, glory hallelujah, glory to God, goodness, gospel truth, human nature, incomprehensible God, iniquities, inner being, Jesus Christ, living God, LOVE, loving kindness, mercy, my thoughts are not your thoughts, my ways are higher than yours, One Year Book of Bible promises, pains, plans, pray, redeems, revere, Ruth Harms Calkin, satisfies, Saturday, serve, slow to anger, so great is his mecry, the east is from the west, the Exception, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, top of the line, toward them that fear him, transgressions, truth, turn away from God, wisdom, worship, your ways, youth is renewed like the eagle's
Psalm 103:11. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy (LOVING-kindness) toward them that fear him.
Saturday, oh Saturday! What a great day thou art! And isn’t that the awesome truth friends? It surely is! But what’s even better than that, is that every day that God makes is a great one! Glory Hallelujah!
That’s because He has great plans for those who LOVE and sincerely seek Him and dispenses His blessings and mercies in abundance to them each and every new day! Glory to God!
Ah mih people, I can’t impress upon us enough the fact that we worship a most mighty, awesome, generous and ever-LOVING Deity! The ONE and ONLY TRUE and LIVING GOD, Creator of the Universe and all therein!
Yes Friends, all the other supposed Gods are dead, ours is the ONLY ONE who’s alive and kicking! So why worship something or someone that’s dead eh? No good reason at all my brethren.
And in response to the quote from our friend Anselm yesterday, here’s one similar to it that another friend sent me. Thanks Keith.
Listen up: “As you grow older, there are ailments and pains that beset you. Some will stay with you forever. But as you pray and give yourself to God, He gives you ways in which to deal with the aches, and in doing so, He makes them so much less a burden to you that you can still fully enjoy your life.”
And again I say: What an awesome God we serve and worship!
Now here’s some more indisputable truth, this time from our One Year Book of Bible Promises, with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. Today’s writing is called ‘The Exception.’ Please pray with me, because we all need to come to this rather significant conclusion.
‘Lord, too often I demand From my family and friends More LOVE More affirmation More acceptance Than they are capable of giving. Today, dear God I ask You to burn this truth Into the depth of my inner being: Nobody in all the world Can ever LOVE me As much as I need to be LOVED – Except You!’
Ah mih breddren in Christ Jesus, I won’t even comment and say that that is the gospel truth! (smile) But we do expect a lot more from others than some of them are capable of giving.
Sometimes we need to remember that they are only flesh and blood, and though made in the image of God Almighty, yet are but frail and not as top of the line like Him. Thus we can only do so much and give so much, even though we may want to do and give more. Our human nature in other words is rather finite and at a very low level.
As the Lord has so rightly reminded us in His Word: ‘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 than your thoughts.’ (Is.55:8-9)
Now that’s telling us friends! We can in no way truly comprehend the length and breadth of our incomprehensible God! But some of us still foolishly try.
Anyway the promise for today’s writing is also our Bit: ‘For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy (LOVING-kindness) toward them that fear him.’
More gospel and indisputable truth my people! The Lord’s goodness and mercy are unlimited towards those who serve and worship Him faithfully. And I can give testimony to that wonderful fact. Oh, all praise and glory be to our magnificent and magnanimous God!
Hear how Bruh David puts it in Psalm 103 – Thanksgiving for God’s mercy – from which our Bit is taken. ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with LOVING-kindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.’ (Ps.103:1-5)
Oh friends, oh friends, how can I not serve and worship and LOVE and revere such a wonderful God eh! And the most important part of all that is ‘forget not all his benefits.’
And all God’s children gratefully shouted: ‘Oh praise and thank the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob for His undeserved kindness to the children of men!’
And that we should truly do my brethren; much more than we actually do, because too many of us forget His benefits, especially when times get rough.
Now that is something I can’t understand; when times get rough, a lot of us forget or turn away from God. But the truth is, that’s when we most need the affection and caring of our heavenly Father, because ofttimes, He is the ONLY ONE who can set our matters right.
We tend to quickly forget what the Lord has done for us in the past. But friends, if He’s helped us in the past, why would He refuse to do the same in the present, if we’re still being obedient and faithful to Him eh? No reason whatsoever.
Remember that we also serve an ever-faithful God, who does not change, is not a chameleon; one moment this, another moment that, but is ever constant.
Listen to Bruh David again. ‘The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous (abounding) in mercy (LOVING-kindness). He will not always chide (strive): neither will he keep his anger forever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy (LOVING-kindness) toward them that fear him.
As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear (revere) him. For he knoweth our frame (understands our constitution); he remebereth that we are dust.’ (Ps.103:8-14)
Oh my fellow believers in Christ, in ending, all I ask, is that we too remember that we are mere dust; nothing but dust, and behave appropriately. Much LOVE!
…all flesh shall perish together…and man shall turn again unto dust… (Job 34:15)
11 Feb 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: 2016, a mother, a wife, being in the form of God, betrayal, blessings, bone of contention, Christ's Church, Christians, Colonialism, drama, emptied himself, encouragement, fellowship, fighting tooth and nail, foolish pride, Fort James, friends, Genesis, glory hallelujah, glory of Christ, glory to God, gospel truth, haughtiness, holy spirit, house guests, human nature, humbled himself, humility, indulgences, inspiration, inspiring spirit, Jesus Christ, joy, Kenosis, Lent, let this mind be in you, LOVE, Mystery tombstone, neighbours, obedient unto death, omni-present, omnipotent, omniscient, Plymouth, prayer, reality, reputation, Revelation, Robert H Sculler, servant-hood, servants, sinless, sit on our laurels, soldiers, submitting, the eternal God, the likeness of men, the will of God, thought it not robbery, to be equal with God, Tobago, tourists, transfiguration, trust, truth, which also was in Christ Jesus, wisdom
Philippians 2:5. Let this mind be in you, which also was in Christ Jesus.
Well friends and neighbours, it’s Thursday, the second day of Lent in this watershed year of 2016. Yes my people, I do believe that 2016 will be a very important year in mankind’s history; it will either make or break us.
But even better than that my people, the world is unfurling exactly as it should; exactly as the script was penned by our omnipotent, omniscient and omni-present God, many many moons ago. Glory to God!
And so it should be, because the Almighty is the greatest dramatist ever! The Bible, right from the beginning in Genesis, to the very end in Revelation, is filled with all kinds of drama; good, bad and ugly, so we couldn’t want for a better script to show us how life runs, or is supposed to run.
And today I want to share a li’l bit of solid info from Gramps Schuller’s (Robert H. Schuller) Hours of Power Devotional. Listen up: ‘The Bible makes it very clear that Christians are soldiers – not tourists in life. We are also servants of God, not houseguests.’
Yes friends, for those of us who believe we’re just here to enjoy life without any work or effort on our part, please be warned that that is not so!
We have a big role to play in setting up Christ’s church, fighting tooth and nail to make the LOVE Revolution a wonderful and winning reality. And as such, we can’t afford to sit on our laurels and expect to be waited on hand and foot, instead, we have to do a lot of the waiting ourselves.
Now pray this prayer with me that Gramps Schuller finishes the devotion with. ‘Father, I turn these minutes over to you. Do something beautiful in my mind, in my heart, and in my life today. So I will look back and say: “I was caught up on an inspiring spirit of the eternal God in this moment of prayer.” In the name of Christ, I pray. Amen.’
And if we sincerely prayed that prayer my people, then beautiful things will happen in our lives today as the Holy Spirit touches us with inspiration and encouragement! Oh glory to God from whom all mercies flow!
Now re my activities of yesterday, the ole fella played tourist. Hn! I got up in the morning and just felt this urge to visit the town of Plymouth, the island’s capital before Scarborough. It’s not too far from where I am, all on the flat side of the island, so after lunch, the duchess and I headed out to do the tourista thing.
We drove through the villages of Buccoo, Black Rock and Grafton before we came to Plymouth. And in line with the tourist thinking, we visited Fort James, one of the several forts set up on the island by its early colonial rulers.
On a point of interest, I believe Tobago is called the ‘Bone of Contention,’ because of the many different colonial powers who ruled it at some time in the cantankerous era of early colonialism. Anyway, from its promontory one can get a beautiful view of that part of the island.
And not to be amiss, we also visited the ‘Mystery Tombstone,’ located just before the entrance to the fort. It has always been a talking point and tourist attraction since I was a youth. I have inserted two photos, one of the sign and one of the tomb itself. Hope they come out properly.
But just in case they don’t, the mystery part is the inscription on the tomb that says: ‘She was a mother without knowing it, and a wife without letting her husband know it except by her kind indulgences to him.’
Now you too can go out and ponder the words on the tombstone of Betty Stiven which have perplexed mankind for over two centuries. (smile)
However my brethren, it’s now time for our rather timely Bit. ‘Let this mind be in you, which also was in Christ Jesus.’
And friends, as we’ve been saying over the last few days, it is of the utmost importance and a vital necessity that followers of Christ, Christians, the church, Christ’s body or organization here on earth think like Him, if we expect to become like Him! That’s gospel truth!
And today we’ll continue with Bruh Paul’s treatise on the subject. After our Bit, he notes with assurance: ‘Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion (appearance) as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.’ (Phil.2:6-8)
Oh my people, that is exactly what we were talking about before, where Gramps Schuller informed us that we were not tourists but soldiers in Christ’s army, and not houseguests, but servants in his household. It’s what Jesus came to earth and did, despite His godly connections.
Now here are some scholarly explanations on verse 7, re ‘Kenosis.’ ‘2:7. The word Kenosis is the Greek word for “emptying” and is related to the verb translated here as “made himself of no reputation,” which literally means “He emptied Himself.” Christ emptied Himself by (1) veiling His glory and (2) taking on Himself a true but sinless human nature, and (3) voluntarily submitting to the will of the Father.
Illustration: At all times, Christ remained God, retaining the nature and attributes of God, but taking a human nature in order to have a ministry among men. On the few occasions when His glory was more fully revealed during His ministry, those who saw it were unable to bear it. (cf. Matt.17:6; the transfiguration; John 18:6; His betrayal by Judas and His arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane).
Application: The apostle Paul urges that the attitude of humility (which led to the kenosis) ought to characterize every Christian (v.5). (First Ref. Phil.2:7; Primary Ref. Phil.2:7; cf. John 1:14).’
Oh friends, this morning I want to leave us with that same advice; let’s do some kenosis nuh; let’s empty ourselves of all the haughtiness and foolish pride that so often consumes us, and let’s take on the humility of Jesus, our Lord and Saviour, as we ought to. For that is indeed the zenith of wisdom. Much LOVE
…humility and servant-hood…two of the signs of a true Christian…
09 Feb 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: #One, blessings, buss-up shirt, Carnival Tuesday, children of God, Christians, consolation, disharmony, encouragement, expand our frontiers, faith, fancy costumes, fellowship, focus, friends, front tears, glory hallelujah, harmony, holy spirit, 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, Jesus Christ, joy, let this mind be in you, LOVE, many, mas, mercy, music in the streets, opposition, Philippians, Queen's Park Savannah, Scarborough, service of love to all, share His love with the world, the body of Christ, the church, the gospel, the rich and famous, trust, truth, Tuesday Mantra, ungodly world, unselfishness, virtues, which was also in Christ Jesus
Philippians 2:5. Let this mind be in you, which also was in Christ Jesus.
Oh friends, the big day is here at last! Yes, it’s Carnival Tuesday, when all the pretty mas is supposed to come out in the streets, with the music blaring and the participants jumping and wining in their fancy costumes! It’s the height of the bacchanal!
Around the Savannah (Queen’s Park Savannah) the bands will be gathering to go across the stage for competition. And as far as I was concerned that was the best place to see the mas and hear the music, because everything was centered around that spot, and you could move from one band to the other as they lined up to go across the stage.
Fortunately, or otherwise, I can no longer endure that situation, (smile) so I might watch a little of the Trinidad mas on the tube, then go down to Scarborough and watch the mini mas down there. That will satisfy me.
And since Today is Tuesday, that means we need to declare our Tuesday Mantra. So with a strong sense of purpose and sincerity let’s proclaim: ‘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.’
Yes my people, the only thing that truly matters in this world is that we are children of God, greatly LOVED by Him, and also a true friend of Jesus. Glory Hallelujah! Nothing can be more important than those two things! But we need to sincerely believe them and work accordingly to them in our lives.
We can’t allow what others think and say about us to have more sway over us than what Christ says. And that is one of the problems in our current world; we consider what the people in power, or the rich and famous say and do, more than we consider God’s Word and works. That’s totally unacceptable my fellow believers in Jesus! God and His Word should be our big focus, not what mankind says or does.
And I read a piece in my One More Day Devotional for people with Chronic illness, that I’m going to change to suit our purpose today. It says: ‘Chronic illness means pushing back the “front tears” in our mind so that we can expand the frontiers of our days.’
Now friends, I believe that is also apropos to our situation, where we need to push back our tears, our problems and concentrate on our great and wonderful God, so that we can expand the frontiers of our days. Without truly focusing on God, our frontiers will never expand to their fullest.
And one way to do that is to follow the words of our Bit. ‘Let this mind be in you, which also was in Christ Jesus.’ Yeh mih people, we can’t act like Jesus until we think and believe like Him!
And yesterday we saw what Bruh Paul said to the Philippians: ‘If there be therefore any consolation (encouragement) in Christ, if any comfort (consolation) of LOVE, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, Fulfill ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same LOVE, being of one accord, of one mind.’ (Phil.2:1-2)
Yes friends, all Bruh Paul is talking about there is harmonious living between believers, as he continues through verses 3 and 4 to push unselfishness and brother looking out for brother. The same attitude applies to us today, though unfortunately we’re not living as harmoniously as we ought to.
My people there is too much disharmony amongst believers today…and that’s an indisputable fact. How can the body of Christ be successful if the parts don’t dwell together in unity eh? That’s impossible to accomplish under those circumstances, but it’s exactly what Jesus desires and expects us to achieve.
Anyhow, enough of my preaching, which too often falls on deaf ears. Let’s hear some of what the scholars have to say on those verses. ‘2:1. Therefore resumes the thought begun in 1:27-28, namely, that the Philippians are to be “worthy” and steadfast in unity, striving together for the gospel’s progress. The word if, occurring four times in this verse, denotes fact, not doubt; it might then be translated “since.”
Paul is thus affirming that in Christ there exists consolation (encouragement); comfort of LOVE (solace furnished by LOVE); fellowship of the Spirit (partaking of the Holy Spirit’s life and sharing in His gifts, ministry, help, values etc.); bowels (affection); and mercies (sympathy).
This verse forms the basis for Paul’s appeal in verse 2: “Fulfill ye my joy.” His thinking is this: Since these five benefits or virtues exist in Christ, and since you are Christians, then exercise these virtues toward one another as you contend for the gospel and face opposition.’
Oh my fellow believers in Christ, what more can I say eh? Not much really, because the same situation faces us today, and probably on an even larger scale. Jesus thought in terms of harmony and unselfishness, and so should we, if we want to be truly his followers.
Why do you think Bruh Paul talked about ‘The service of LOVE to all,’ in Romans 12 eh? Because that’s the only thing that would keep Christ’s church together!
Listen to him: ‘For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office (function): So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one (individually) members one of another.’ (Rom.12:3-5)
Yes friends, the long and short of the story is that we are all Christians, believers in Christ, and we all have individual functions to perform, but we need to perform them in harmony, so that the body of Christ, His church, the great organization that He envisaged and founded will be able to go forth and prosper.
That’s enough for today. So my people, please remember that though we are many, we are still one! Much LOVE!
…no organization can grow and prosper…unless there is harmony within it…
P.S. Going to have breakfast now, finish some buss-up shirt and curry that I bought yesterday, (smile) then get ready to go down to the mas in Scarborough. Much LOVE!
08 Feb 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a modicum of circumspection, aura of love, blessings, Carnival Monday, confidence, conquerors, consolation, Creator of the universe, Cricket, Crown Point, Drunk or sober mind yuh business, encouraged, enthusiasm, evil, exaltation, fellowship, friends, fulfil my joy, Granny's advice, holy spirit, Hotel Magdalena, humble servants, humilation, invincible, it begins in the mind, J'ouvert, Jesus Christ, jobs, joy, keep thinking this, labour, let this mind be in you, lies, likeminded, LOVE, lowliness of mind, Lucifer, mas, mercy, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, one accord, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, serve a useful purpose, sound bites, strife, Super Bowl, taunts, think like Christ, trust, truth, ungodly world, vainglory, victuals, weary souls, West Indian brunch, West Indies, which was also in Christ Jesus, wiles, wisdom
Philippians 2:5. Let this mind be in you, which also was in Christ Jesus.
Well mih people, it’s Monday; Carnival Monday, and the craziness has begun!
J’ouvert (the opening) must have been something else, but I did not go to the stuff down at Crown Point here in Tobago, or watch that in Trinidad on the tube. The duchess didn’t want to go and I was somewhat concerned about my left knee, which isn’t as bad as it was a few days ago, but still not as good as it should be.
And to tell the truth, what I saw down at Crown Point last year didn’t thrill me; it was just noise and people walking about. The mas wasn’t impressive at all. So I don’t believe I’ve missed anything at all. Hopefully though, by tomorrow my knee will be feeling good enough for me to go into Scarborough and watch some of the Tuesday mas. Obviously it’s not as good or as big as that in Trinidad, but it will do. (smile)
Yesterday after writing the Bit, I went up to the Hotel Magdalena for Brunch. They serve a good West Indian brunch on a Sunday. The food was good, but like all the stuff I’ve been eating since I’m here it did not thrill me. For some unknown reason, although they taste good, the victuals just haven’t been turning me on. Most of the time I’m just eating
for eat sake.
Anyway, after that I came back home, bloated and tired, (smile) rested, then watched the 50th Super Bowl. As usual it was more hype than substance. A real ugly game too; too many penalties, turn overs and simply a defensive match up. It might have been good to some, but I like to see offense.
Then I watched some under 19 World Cup Cricket, where the West Indies were playing Pakistan in Bangladesh. Now that was more interesting, because the West Indies have a couple of fast bowlers who do look promising for the future. Let’s hope they do live up to that promise, as the West Indies have been at the bottom of the table for far too long.
I don’t know how it ended because after falling asleep on myself a couple times, (smile) I went to bed, but the West Indies were in a superior position at the time, so I hope they prevailed and got into the semi-finals.
However my people, I know that not all of us have the blessing of no work today, so let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with much gusto. And those of you who don’t have to go to work, please lend a healthy enthusiasm to the singing, so that our brothers and sisters who have to go and labour will be truly encouraged.
All together now: ‘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!’
That was good my people. Our choirmaster, Jesus, wasn’t thrilled, but satisfied. So those of you who have to work, please go with the Lord and do his bidding with strength and wisdom.
Meanwhile, those of us who intend to party, please do so with a modicum of circumspection, heeding Granny’s wise and timely advice: ‘Drunk or sober, please mind your business,’ because this is a time when the ole scoundrel Lucifer is in his element, for he knows that come carnival time, we’re not as careful as we usually are and are more liable to do things we shouldn’t do, and open up a spot for him to invade our souls.
Now let’s turn to our Bit which will help us with all those things. ‘Let this mind be in you, which also was in Christ Jesus.’
And what does that mean. Listen to the scholars: ‘2:5. Let this mind be in you means literally “keep thinking this,” that is, constantly maintain this attitude within yourselves. The “mind” or attitude the Philippians are to maintain is spelled out in verses 2c-4, which constitutes harmonious living. Paul informs his readers that the same attitude of verses 2c-4, which they are to retain within themselves, was also in Christ Jesus.’
Ah my brethren, this chapter deals with the humiliation and exaltation of Christ, so before we get to the particular attitude Bruh Paul is asking us to have, let’s put it all in context, so we can better understand it. He begins the chapter thus. ‘If there be therefore any consolation (encouragement) in Christ, if any comfort (consolation) of LOVE, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies.
Fulfill ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same LOVE, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.’ (Phil.2:1-4)
Yes friends, those are the basic things Bruh Paul’s talking about when he writes our Bit: ‘Let this mind be in you, which also was in Christ Jesus.’ And it is also expected that we will do likewise.
Now I don’t want to make the Bit too long, knowing your penchant for sound bites, (smile) so we’ll stop there for today. Tomorrow we’ll get into the meanings of the various words and phrases, so we can better understand what it’s all about. Till then, please walk safely with God, and enjoy your day to the full. Much LOVE!
…to become Christ-like…we first have to think like Christ thinks…it all begins in the mind…
07 Feb 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a bright cloud overshadowed them, a real experience, a voice out of the cloud, anointing, awakening, be not afraid, blessings, Christ's dominion, Christians, confusion, cunningly devised fables, decease, Elijah, embrace Jesus, evil, examples, fables, faith, fear, friends, glorified, godly duties, hear him, his clothes were as white as the light, hit the nail on the head, holy spirit, impending death, inner circle, Jesus Christ, Jesus' footsteps, joy, joyful voices, listen to Jesus, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, Mosaic Law, Moses, Mount Hermon, Mount Tabor, Peter, promised resurrection, salvation, sense of purpose, shaking a tambourine, sinful attitudes, singing hymns, St. Francis, Sunday, tabernacles, testimony, the Lord's sanctuary, the return of Christ, this is my belovd son, transfiguration, transformation, trust, truth, ungodly world, West Indian flavour, wisdom, worship and praise
Matthew 17:5. While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye (listen) to him.
Well Friends, it’s Sunday once again; time for us to gather in the Lord’s sanctuary and worship and praise Him with joyful voices. Hope you are either there now, have gone already, like me, or are preparing to go at some time in the day. Remember it’s where we get our weekly anointing to be able to carry out our godly duties in the ungodly world in which we now live.
Ah mih people, I certainly enjoyed the church service at my Tobago St. Francis church. Not that I don’t enjoy and appreciate the one at my Canadian St. Francis, but this one has more of a West Indian flavour, where you are a little more involved. There’s no organist or choir, that means most of it is left up to the congregation to get involved…
And do they get involved! You have to, otherwise the service will fall flat on its face. And you should hear the ole fella singing hymns and shaking his tambourine, having read the first lesson, like I usually do back in Canada, at the early morning service.
Now today is Transfiguration Sunday. Jesus was about to set off for Jerusalem to fulfill His mission, and this was a sort of reinvigoration, a strengthening of His sense of purpose. Jesus took Peter, James and John (his top men) up a high mountain. ‘And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment (clothes) was white as the light.
And behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elijah talking with him. Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ (Matt.17:2-4)
Yeh Friends, it’s obvious that the disciples did not understand what was really going on, and Mark tells us that Peter was only talking because he was so afraid, he did not know what else to say (Mark 9:6)
But as our Bit states: ‘While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye (listen) to him.
And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man save (except) Jesus.’ (Matt.17:5-8)
Can you imagine the confusion and fear between the three men? One moment they see their teacher’s face and clothes change; the first glistens like the sun and the second is white as snow.
Then two long dead prophets appear from nowhere and begin conversing with their teacher. Then they are covered by a cloud and hear a voice coming from the sky, then the next there’s just Jesus alone. It’s enough to drive one crazy.
But right now, let’s get some info from the scholars on the situation. ’17:1-9. See Mark 9:2-13; Luke 9:28-36. Peter, James and John represent the “inner circle” of leadership among the disciples (cf. Luke 8:51; Matt.26:37) and serve here as ample witnesses according to Mosaic Law.
They went into a high mountain apart, meaning privately, by themselves. Tradition claims that this took place at Mount Tabor, but a more probable location would be Mount Hermon, near Caesarea Philippi.
Jesus was transfigured before them. The verb (Gr. metamorphoo) indicates a transformation of essential form, proceeding from within, but the transformation is outwardly visible. See Romans 12:2 and 2 Corinthians 3:18, where it is used of the spiritual transformation of the believer’s new nature. The witness of Peter in 2 Peter 1:17-18 verifies the testimony that this was a real experience not a vision.’
So friends, it’s clear that the transfiguration scene was not a mere vision, but reality. And I like how Mark describes it: ‘And his raiment (clothes) became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth (no launderer) can white (whiten) them.’ (Mark 9:3) You can imagine how white Jesus’ clothes must have been then!
I also like how Luke puts in his description of Moses and Elijah: ‘Who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease (death) which he should (was about to) accomplish at Jerusalem.’ (Luke 9:31)
And the scholars tell us: ‘9:31. If Jesus is being reminded of His impending death, He will also have been assured of His promised resurrection. (Mark 9:9).’ And as the scholars also point out: ‘Luke 9:35. Compare the voice at Jesus’ baptism (3:22). There, however, God speaks to Jesus; here the message is to the disciples.’ And what is the crux of the message my fellow believers? ‘Hear, listen to Him!’
Oh friends, that’s the same message we are still getting today: Listen to Jesus! But not sufficient of us are listening to it, much less taking it to heart and seriously practicing it. That’s a large part of why our world is so evil and ungodly.
We need true believers to stand up strong, to listen and put the Word into action so that the heathen, the unbeliever will see how we live and behave, how we’re blessed by our great and bountiful God and will thus want to turn away from their sinful attitudes and embrace Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour too.
Oh friends, we are supposed to be the modern day disciples, following in Jesus’ footsteps, bringing others to Him through our example. Unfortunately, though, our examples are either not good enough or plenty enough, because the heathen isn’t coming to Jesus as he should. In many cases he is turning away from Jesus because of our hypocritical examples.
Anyway my brethren, I can only try to encourage us to do better, the rest is left up to each individual, and we’ll each have to answer to the judge on our individual behaviour.
Now listen to Peter. ‘For we have not followed cunningly devised fables. When we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.’ (2 Peter 1:16) So Peter is claiming that he was actually there at the transfiguration of Christ.
And the scholars explain that verse thus. ‘1:16. In Matthew 17 Jesus was temporarily glorified in the presence of three disciples. This was a foreshadowing of Christ’s coming in power and glory to establish His kingdom. The presence of Moses and Elijah on the mountain represented all those who enter the kingdom by death or translation.
The declaration of the Father reinforces Christ’s dominion over His kingdom. Application: Since Christians live expectantly looking forward to the return of Christ, they ought to give Him first place in their lives today, just as He will have in the kingdom.’
Yes my people, the scholars hit the nail on the head; it’s time truly give Jesus first place in our lives. That’s truly wisdom at its highest! Much LOVE!
…oh…if we all could be transfigured today…like Jesus was back then…what an awakening the world would witness…
05 Feb 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living
Tags: afflictions, arthritic bones, Ash Wednesday, bacchanal, backbreaking labour, be sober, be vigilant, blessings, Carnival Friday, doing wrong, Drunk or sober mind yuh business, evil, faith, fanciful, fellowship, Friday chant, friends, fun, furthering God's glorious kingdom, generous help, glamourous, glory hallelujah, glory to God, Granny's advice, Hallelujah, in Jesus' name, Jesus Christ, joy, jump and prance., leggo beasts, Lent, Lenten season, LOVE, Lucifer, make you perfect, mas, merriment, modicum of circumspection, New Orleans, penchant, pleasure, Praise the Lord, rejuvenation, relaxation, resist, rest, Rio, satisfy my soul, Scarborough, seeking whom he may devour, settle, spirit of Carnival, stablish, steadfast in faith, strengthen, suffered, sunburn, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the God of all grace, the Lord in favour, the weekend, time of feasting, trust, truth, ungodly world, walk with god, week of work, wiles, wisdom, words of encouragement, your adversary the devil
1 Peter 5:8. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.
Oh friends, on this Carnival Friday, a wet and windy one, I come to you from my little cottage by the sea in Tobago with these words of encouragement and LOVE! Glory to God!
Yes my brethren, it’s the start of the weekend, and I know that many of you around the world are going to, or have already shouted ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday, and the weekend’s here at last! No more backbreaking labour for a few days! Thank God it’s Friday yes!’
And so it should be my people; constant work deserves a spell of rest and rejuvenation. But the first thing I want to remind us about is how we spend our weekend, not in debauchery and lustfulness, but in thanks and praise and general well-being.
So let’s chant our Friday Chant which helps us to truly understand what the weekend is all about. As one 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 friends, that’s the general scene we ought to hold to on a weekend, especially this Carnival one, where in places like T&T, Rio and New Orleans, where the god of pleasure and debauchery, Bacchanal himself will be ruling the roost and so many of us will be behaving like true leggo beasts.
I don’t know about the other festivals, but here in T&T many people won’t be working from today until Ash Wednesday, so that’s a five-day weekend. And you know what can happen in such a long layoff from work, especially when pleasure is the subject of the day.
At no other time is Granny’s advice more necessary than now my people. So let me spell it out right away. ‘Sonny boy…and young girl too…please, please, ah beg all yuh…this is Carnival time, so drunk or sober, please mind yuh business! For as Shadow says in his kaiso; ‘on Carnival night…when them men get tight…they doh care who they bite…’
And that’s the gospel truth my people! At Carnival time even the most peaceful and ‘geekish’ body seems to develop a penchant for doing wrong, whether it’s through drugs and alcohol, or simply the enervating spirit of Carnival.
Oh I know this is the time before the Lenten Season when we are supposed to release all our pent up energy and frustrations before settling down to a more holy and godly time. But there is a way to do that, and also a way not to do it.
And our Bit today from 1 Peter gives us admirable, wonderful advice, advice truly akin to Granny’s. ‘Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.
And the sad part is that at this particular time of feasting and merriment, the ole crook and scoundrel Lucifer doesn’t have to look far or wide, or even search hard for people to devour, because we open wide the doorway for him to come in and take up residence within our souls, with the kind of behaviour we put down during Carnival.
Now nobody’s saying we shouldn’t celebrate or party, but we ought to do it with a modicum of circumspection, as Jeeves would say. We can’t afford to give the evil one, even an inch, because you know he’ll end up taking a nail. (smile)
As for me, my days for the leggo beast kind of partying seem to be over. Hn! I can’t even walk properly, much less to jump and prance! The last couple days my left knee began acting up on me, and I’ve been limping around, just doing whatever I need to do, plus the duchess had a bout of the flu, so we’ve just been sitting around mostly, trying to get ourselves together.
I have been going to my waterhole every afternoon though. Got to get the ole arthritic bones soaking in that therapeutic sea water as much as possible. I don’t need to worry about the sunshine, because it’s been very hot the last few days, I might even have gotten sunburn. (smile)
This morning though I want to go up into the big city of Scarborough and try to get some proper channels on the t.v. Hn! Now that I have satellite t.v, the channels don’t appeal to me. Not even a good sports station, or a Christian one to boost my spirituality! Chuh! It might cost me more money, but what’s a few dollars for one’s comfort and satisfaction eh!
I’ll be in quiet Tobago for the weekend, hopefully watching some of the mas on the tube. And if my knee feels better, I might even go down to Scarborough on Tuesday afternoon to take in some Tobago mas. Oh it’s not as big and fanciful and glamorous as that in Trinidad, but it will satisfy my soul.
And besides, the overall mas scene has gone downhill as far as I am concerned; the good costumes are few and far between, with just a bikini top and bottom with a few feathers being more the norm, but still costing a lot of money.
Anyway friends, let’s end up here with the continuation of Peter’s warning after our Bit. ‘Whom (the devil) resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in (experienced by) your brethren that are in the world.
But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish (confirm), strengthen, settle you. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.’ (1 Pet.5:9-11)
And all God’s children said a loud and proud and grateful: ‘Praise the Lord! Hallelujah!’
So my fellow believers in Christ, until tomorrow, the Lord in favour, please let’s walk safely and securely under His comforting umbrella, successfully thwarting the evil wiles of the enemy. Much LOVE!
…to successfully thwart Lucifer…one MUST walk with God…
04 Feb 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: almighty god, bless the righteous, blessed is he who trusts in God, blessings, carry them in his bosom, Creator, darkness, difficult, enthusiasm, evil, faith, favour, feed his flock like a shepherd, fellowship, find our way home, friends, gather the lambs, glory, glory hallelujah, glory to God, God is good, God's help, godless world, gospel truth, grace, graeful thought, Heartstrings, holy spirit, Jesus Christ, joy, lead and guide, lead those that are with young, losing my way, LOVE, Lucifer, make things right, minions, need God, no good thing, O Lord of hosts, obeying God, out of sorts, perfect prayer, promises, provider, raised to heaven, rejecting God, rejoice, respects not the proud, ringing in our hearts, rude, sense of direction, shout for joy, stand strong, such as turn aside to lies, surrender, Thank You God, the chicken and the egg, The Lord God is a sun and shield, the tug of God's heart, them that walk uprightly, thou protecteth them, true believers, trust, truth, ungodly world, unmannerly, wisdom
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…
03 Feb 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: according to your faith, blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, blessings, breath of life, confidence, faith, fellowship, friends, glory hallelujah, good, goodness, gospel truth, Guide, happy in Jesus, holy spirit, I'm not focusing on the past, Jesus Christ, joy, lack, LOVE, lusts of the flesh, mercy, Micah, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, Nahum, obey, promise, resolution, reverence, righteousness., surrender, to a glorious future with Jesus, trials and tribulations, trust, truth, we walk by faith not by sight, Wednesday Wail, wine roses and song, wisdom
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, can you believe it’s already the third day of February? How come eh? And it just started a couple days ago… (smile)
Yes mih breddren, time is not waiting on us, and it just seems to be flying by faster and faster. We just celebrated New Years, now we’re about to celebrate Valentine’s day. Hn!
And talking about New Year’s, now is as good a time as any to check and see how we’re doing with our New Year’s resolution, that of following Jesus more closely than we did before. I do hope that we have not already forgotten about it, otherwise our lives will not improve.
And the good thing about that resolution is that when we fulfil it, everything comes together for good in our lives. We don’t have to worry and be anxious for anything, for as we saw yesterday in Jesus’ words, when we seek His righteousness, then all that we need will be provided by our heavenly Father.
What a wonderful promise my people! Please let’s take it to heart and truly begin to seek the righteousness of God, so that we can be blessed nuh.
Anyway, it’s Wednesday, which means we need to declare our Wednesday Wail. So let’s wail nuh friends, with sincerity, truth and feeling! As one now: ‘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!’
Oh my people, I definitely do appreciate the breath of life that’s flowing through me this morning! And how could I not, as I look out at the waves of the sea rolling in to shore and admire the beauty of the land that surrounds me?
Plus, I am feeling somewhat healthier than when I got here a week ago…Steups! A week’s gone by already! Chuh! The time’s definitely flying by too fast for my liking yes! And I hear the North Country is having almost summer like temps…good for you!
And having declared our Wednesday Wail, please my people, let’s keep looking forward nuh, focusing on Jesus, and the glorious future He has planned for all those who sincerely seek Him. As His supposed followers, that is what we’re expected to do.
Unfortunately though, many of us, for one reason or another, are not doing such a good job of it. And I believe that most of our doubts, fears, anxieties and lust for the things of the world stem from a basic lack of true trust in our God and Saviour Jesus Christ.
For if He says to seek Him first and everything we need will be granted to us, the only reason I can come up with for us not doing so, is that we don’t truly believe or trust Him.
And even before Jesus came to earth, His kinsman, Bruh David enthusiastically voiced it in our Bit. ‘Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.’
Oh friends, I don’t see how much simpler or straightforward God’s word can be nuh! All we need to do is surrender our lives to His plans for them, and all will be right with us.
One of the problems I suspect is that when we surrender, we expect to live a life of simply wine, roses and song. And when we don’t, when we experience trials and tribulations instead, we lose the enthusiasm for God and revert back to the ugliness, lustfulness and ungodliness of the world.
But I remind us friends, that Jesus said we would indeed suffer, have trials and tribulations, from just believing in Him. But as true believers, we were to be of good cheer, stay strong and purposeful, because He had already overcome the world. (John 16:33)
Now there again is where the element of trust comes in. If you don’t trust, then most likely you won’t believe, and vice versa. But that’s what required of us. As Bruh Paul told the Corinthians: ‘For we walk by faith, not by sight.’ (2 Cor.5:7) Yeh friends, in Jesus’ realm, you have to believe it before you see it, while the world only believes after they see it.
Remember what Jesus told the two blind men when He healed them? ‘According to your faith be it unto you.’ (Matt.9:29) And that’s the gospel truth friends! According to the level of our faith and consequently trust, that’s how our lives will unfold. The greater the faith and trust, the more blessed we’ll be.
Now let’s look at a couple of scriptures that reinforce our Bit, beginning with this verse from Psalm 34 – The Lord heareth the righteous. Bruh David boldly and truthfully proclaims: ‘O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. O fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want (lack) to them that fear him.’ (Ps.34:8-9)
There again we have it; trust and reverence will cause NO lack!
Now listen to Micah, the prophet of olden times. ‘Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide (companion): keep (guard) the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.’ (Mic.7:5)
Now that might be taking it a bit far, because we do have to have some measure of trust in our close friends and spouses, but by the same token we need to keep some things close to our chests and only reveal to God; the ONLY ONE we can fully trust.
And we’ll end with the words of another old time prophet, Nahum, who righty and truthfully declares: ‘The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.’ (Nah.1:7)
And that’s indisputable truth friends! So please, let’s go out today, walking in the Lord’s goodness and mercy, because He knows that we sincerely revere and trust Him. Much LOVE!
…trust and obey…for there’s no better way…to be happy in Jesus…than to trust and obey…
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