29 Apr 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: battle hymn, big up, bounden duty, christianity, Creator of the universe, dangerous jobs, divine protection, do good, easily defeated, enemies, enthusiasm, evil, extol God, forgiving God, give thanks, glorious kingdom, god, God's lifted us up, humble servants, ingrates, invincible, Jesus Christ, joy, joy comes in the morning, maturity, mercy, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, reflection of Jesus, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, sing up a storm, sleeping weather, spiritual armour, spread LOVE, steadfast faith, sure conquerors, ungodly world, useful purpose, weary souls, weeping endures for a night
Psalm 30:1 I will extol thee, O Lord; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.
Oh Friends, on this wet, spring, Monday morning, I won’t harangue us about booting it out of bed and getting a move on, even though this is certainly laze-about, sleeping weather. I’m depending on our sense of responsibility and the strong reflection of Jesus in our spirits, our maturity, to get us up and moving. Am I not very nice now? (smile) Without any more delay then, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn as though our lives depend on it. And who knows, they just might. So let’s sing up a storm 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!’ Now that was most excellent my people! Yuh see what we can do when we put our minds and hearts to it. It was so good that the Father couldn’t help Himself and gave Jesus a big high five for having such good followers. Now don’t let that go to our heads, we still have to go out into the evil, ungodly world and do the job, provide the action for the talk; be humble, sacrifice and serve like Jesus did. That’s where the separation of the sheep and goats takes place. And in all of that it’s still necessary to lift up, to extol the name of our great and wonderful God, like Bruh David says in our Bit: ‘I will extol thee, O Lord; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.’ Yes my fellow believers, just like we extol the names of men; celebrities and other powerful people, though most of them do nothing for us, we ought to ‘BIG UP’ our God. I don’t like the term, but that’s what the young people seem to understand these days. Yes we ought to promote, extol, exalt, lift up the name of the awesome and amazing God who does so many wonderful things for us, like giving us new mercies and blessings everyday and not allowing our enemies to overcome us. And in this Psalm – A thanksgiving for deliverance from death, Bruh David wisely and rightly acknowledges the God of his fathers for keeping him safe from harm, and possibly death. He solemnly declares: ‘O Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me. O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave (the place of the dead): thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit (grave). Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness (holy name). For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life; weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.’ (Ps.30:2-5) Oh my brethren, are we being as reverent and thankful for the trials and tribulations that our omnipotent, but very merciful and forgiving God has saved us from, or brought us safely through? I certainly hope so, since the Lord dislikes ungrateful people…and so do I. Just thought I’d throw that in there. As they say, ‘who the cap fits, let them wear it.’ (smile) Further more, to boost the giving of thanks and praise, please note Bruh David’s words from Psalm 28 – A prayer for God’s help. ‘The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him. The Lord is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed (Messiah, commissioned one) Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance; feed (shepherd) them also, and lift them up for ever.’ (Ps.28:7-9) Oh Friends, please don’t allow the enemy to thwart our thanksgiving to Almighty God! For remember that the joy of the Lord is our strength. (Neh.8:10) Like Samson, when Delilah cut off his locks, and he became weak and easily defeated, the same thing happens to us when we lose that full and bubbling over joyfulness that we acquire when we’re walking in true harmony with the Lord. So let’s get out there into the evil world today and do what Jesus did while here on earth – spread LOVE and do good. That’s our bounden duty, our raison d’être, so let’s live up to it nuh. Much LOVE!…nothing, or no one…should stop the believer from walking in Christ’s footsteps…because we’re assured of His divine protection…
12 Feb 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: afraid, belly and backbone, bounden duty, Carnival Tuesday, Christian walk, Christianity means action, Church of Christ, civic responsibility, evil doings, forgiveness, goodness of heart, help the needy, hypocrisy, Lord of the Sabbath, LOVE, mamby pamby, mercy, opposition, Pharisees, pretty costumes, Sabbath Day, soft, soldiers, spinless, stand up for right, time bomb, walk the talk
Luke 6:9. Then Jesus said unto them, I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?
Aye Friends, getting old is a helluva thing yes! Yesterday morning after writing the Bit, out of the goodness of my heart, and my civic responsibility, (smile) I decided to at least clear the snow from my porch and the walkway. But would you believe that after about ten minutes out there, having only cleaned the porch and the steps leading down to the walkway, I began coughing? What really annoyed me is that I had been cough free for the previous two days. Well that coughing situation put paid to all my heartfelt goodness and civic responsibility, especially when the snow on the walkway was almost a foot high. If they wanted to charge or fine me for not clearing the walkway, then so be it, but I surely wasn’t going to continue doing anything that made me cough! What knocked me for a further six, was that later in the evening, after a short nap, I got up and felt this terrible pain in my right arm and shoulder. I had to laugh, because I had been fine all day. But them’s the breaks! (smile) Now that got me to thinking that if I was in T & T, taking in the wonderful sights and sounds of Carnival, I wouldn’t be having any stupid aches and pains and coughs. I wouldn’t be able to jump and prance, like I used to, but the old bones would have been warm, flexible and relaxed in the hot sun. Chuh! Anyway, today, Tuesday, is the day for the real Big Mas, where all the pretty costumes and their wearers come out to parade and play. Let’s hope and pray that everything goes off okay for all the pre-Lenten celebrations around the world, and no serious disasters or evil doings mar the festivities. And we’ll continue with our Bit from yesterday: ‘Then Jesus said unto them, I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?’ Ah Friends, what a potential time bomb of a question back in those overly strict and religious times! Now yesterday in the background leading up to the Bit, we saw where Jesus reminded the Pharisees of Bruh David and his men eating the holy bread in the temple meant only for the priests, when they were hungry and on the run from Saul. (1Sam.21:1-6) After that ‘He said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.’ (Luke 6:5) Obviously the Pharisees weren’t thrilled by that remark either, but they let it ride. Listen to the scholars comment on that verse. ‘Having already asserted His prerogative, like God Himself, to forgive sins (Luke 5:20), Jesus now assumes the right to interpret the Old Testament in a way far different from that of the religious leaders of His time.’ So true my people! And that’s the background to this later Sabbath when Jesus enters the synagogue and teaches, as He is won’t to. On this particular day though, a man with a withered right hand is present among the listeners, and as usual the hypocrite scribes and Pharisees are watching to see if He would heal on the Sabbath, to get something to accuse Him of. And though Jesus knew their thoughts, He nonetheless tells the man with the withered hand: ‘Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth.’ (Luke 6:8) Now my brethren, you must admire Jesus’ for that; putting His belly and backbone into play, fully knowing the confusion His actions would cause. But knowing that He was in the right, He did what He had to do. Oh my fellow believers, how often do we stand up like Jesus for what is right eh, in spite of the opposition we know will come against us? I’m afraid I’ll have to say not too often, or rather not often enough, otherwise the church of Christ and His dictates wouldn’t be as maligned, unimportant and shunted aside as badly as it now is. Remember as followers of Christ we weren’t called to live an easy, problem free life, but to battle the evildoers and their actions, to be soldiers in this wicked, godless world. And soldiers only win battles when they stand strong in their convictions and fight with plenty belly and backbone for what they believe is right. And sadly my brethren, I believe that’s one area in which we’re falling down today. Christ’s followers have become soft and mamby pamby. We lead the good, relatively soft, easy life and don’t want to, or are afraid to put it in jeopardy by stirring up things, even when we see stuff happening that’s not right. Granted we all can’t be strong like Jesus, but if we’re truthful, we will all acknowledge that we can surely do better than we’re currently doing. So Friends, I’m asking us for the umpteenth time, if we really do LOVE Jesus and want to follow Him and make His church a worthwhile institution in this evil world, let’s pick up the slack in our Christian walk nuh. We need to be much better examples of His LOVE, mercy and forgiveness than we are. We need to bring the level of our actions up to the level of our talk, and even higher, because we can’t belabour people about Christ and His goodness when they are sick, hungry, naked and homeless. Remember Christianity is an action movement, and like Jesus we need to help the needy satisfy their physical wants and needs before we start preaching to them. You can see that’s how Jesus operated, and if we do likewise, we’ll certainly draw many more unbelievers to Him, which is one of our main purposes here on earth. And if some of us don’t want to hear that truth, then too bad yes! We’re no better than the hypocrite Pharisees! Sorry if I went off on a tangent there, but it aches my heart to see the way we supposed Christians, followers of Jesus Christ are behaving so spineless and afraid, so without true LOVE and compassion in a hurting world, where everybody’s looking, fearfully searching for something to hold on to, a something that can only be found in Jesus, a something that we have but are not sharing the way we should. Please Friends, let’s be serious about our bounden duty here on earth and fearlessly do it nuh, with the ever-faithful promises of Jesus and His certain assurance that we have to stand strong on. Only then can we consider ourselves true Christians, true followers of Jesus. Much LOVE!…to simply talk about Jesus…and not do the necessary actions…called for by that talk…is pure hypocrisy…
21 Dec 2012
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: always-lurking enemy, blessed, bounden duty, celebration of christmas, Christmas, eternal life, exaltation, Friday chant, fulfillment of prophecy, he that believes, magnify the Lord, reason for the season, remembrance of his mercy, rich rewards, salvation, saviour jesus christ, TGIF!, Thank God it's Friday, the birth of Jesus, the Magnificat
Luke 1:45. And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance (fulfillment) of those things which were told her from the Lord.
Oh Friends, it’s Friday, and many people around the world are joyfully shouting ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ But many in the northern climes are not shouting that this morning. Instead, they’re crying out ‘Oh Lord, why this bad weather?’ Yes Friends, the first serious snowstorm of the season has already lashed the U.S. Midwest, causing all sorts of damage and inconvenience, and it’s moving north to Canada. Some places in Northern Ontario and Quebec have already seen it’s hideous face and felt its forceful blow. Meanwhile, we in Southern Ontario are experiencing freezing rain, which can change to anything later in the day. So please be careful my brethren when you take to the roads today, for if they’re not snow covered, they will most likely be icy. Take your time and drive with extra care and caution. It’s only four more days to the great celebration of Christmas, the Birth of our wonderful Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. You don’t want to miss it completely, or be lying in the hospital, all broken up, unable to enjoy it. So again, please drive and also walk safely. And as always, to help us get the weekend started in proper perspective, let’s chant our Friday Chant, in loud, serious voice. 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 my people, we need to be somewhat circumspect about our actions over the weekend, especially this long Christmas holiday, where some people might not be going back to work until next Thursday. Remember that drunk or sober, we have to mind our business and don’t give the always-lurking enemy any chance to invade our innermost parts and cause confusion, cause that’s what he’s all about. Stealing our joy and putting us in God’s bad book is his delight. So let’s do our best to remember the real reason for the season, the holidays, as so many now neutrally call it; the Birth of Jesus is what this time is about, not shopping and mere merry-making. Please treat the time with the reverence and solemn esteem it deserves. And today we’ll continue with Mary’s Story. Our Bit though comes from words spoken by her cousin Elisabeth, when Mary visited her. Let’s listen to them closely, and let them take root in our hearts and minds, for they are very important. ‘And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance (fulfillment) of those things which were told her from the Lord.’ Ah Friends, that statement, though at the time pertained particularly to Mary, today it applies to all of us. For blessed are all those who believe, and not necessarily what the Lord has told us, but believe on Jesus’ Name period. As Jesus said to the doubting disciple Thomas, who refused to believe that Jesus was truly resurrected until he touched the wounds in His side and palms. ‘Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.’ (John 20:29) That’s a blessing for all us believers today my brethren, for we never saw Jesus back then, but we believe. Please, let’s keep on believing, because Jesus is still alive and working for us all. And if we don’t faint, don’t give up, in due course, we’ll receive the rich rewards of salvation and eternal life that He’s offering to all who believe and stand strong in faith. And we’ll end today with one of the many beautiful songs of praise found in the Good Book. It’s Mary’s joyous anthem to a great God, who looked down on her with unspeakable blessings and mercy. It’s called ‘The Magnificat.’ And according to the scholars, it’s based on the first word of the Latin translation (the Vulgate). And since Jesus’ coming was in fulfillment of Old Testament promises, it’s suitably rich in Old Testament imagery. ‘And Mary said, My soul doth magnify (exalt) the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low estate (lowly state) of his handmaiden (maidservant): for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. He hath showed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats (thrones), and exalted them of low degree (the lowly). He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath holpen (helped) his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.’ (Luke 1:46-55) Oh Friends, imagine a teenaged girl conjuring up that wonderful imagery and writing such moving words two thousand years ago nuh! The Holy Spirit must surely have been with her, as he is with us today. So let’s see if we can rise to that level of faith, especially this Christmas season. It’s our bounden duty as believers. Much LOVE!…true belief is not only an internal process…but must also be shown by appropriate external actions…
27 Sep 2012
by randyobrien50
in Inspirational Living
Tags: anger, awesome truth, bounden duty, cruelty, encourage yourself in God, encouragement, enthusiasm, false doctrines, flesh and blood, giving, greed, hate, high places, hope, LOVE, oppression, prayer, righteousness., salvation, showing, sincerity, spiritual armour, suppression, truth, violence, wickedness
Ephesians 6:12. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Oh Friends, oh Friends, the ole fella’s extremely bright and bubbly this morning! Wow! I can’t even wait to write the Bit, my enthusiasm level is so high. Don’t ask me why I’m so enthusiastic this early in the morning, because nothing in particular happened over the past twenty four hours to excite me this much. I can only guess, that like Bruh David, my efforts to encourage myself in the Lord are working. (1 Sam.30:6) And all I can say is: ‘Praise be to the Lord our God, who never rejects those who seek him with sincere hearts!’ Now here is a chorus from a song by Ras Shiloh that I heard yesterday and found it rather appropriate to our current world situation. Ras Shiloh melodiously chants: ‘Give a little LOVE. Show a little LOVE. Live in righteousness. Give a little LOVE. Show a little LOVE. That’s what the world needs today.’ And isn’t that the God awesome truth my people! LOVE given and shared is about the only thing that will tone down the raging fires of hate, anger, greed, violence, cruelty, oppression and suppression that are terrorizing our wonderful world today! And undoubtedly that giving and showing of LOVE needs to start with us Christians, because the evildoers are not interested in the beautiful emotion of LOVE. However, LOVE is the mainstay of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, that’s why He sacrificed His, Holy, sinless life for us. If the Godhead that we worship didn’t LOVE us so much, none of that would ever have happened. So it’s our responsibility to keep that LOVE going…and remember, with no conditions attached – unconditionally. That’s a very important part of the whole equation my brethren. It’s our bounden duty to rise up and further the LOVE Revolution that Jesus started. And here’s the best way to begin doing so. It comes from the title of another song, one by Mavado, simply titled, ‘HOPE and PRAY.’ Yes Friends, before we can achieve anything worthwhile, we first have to engage in those two actions; HOPE and PRAY. For without HOPE we won’t last very long in, or be very attentive to any activity in which we’re involved. And without PRAYER… Oh Friends, I don’t need to tell us that without SINCERE PRAYER to our heavenly Father, most, if not all of our activities will get bogged down in failure. That means we need to first have HOPE for our families and ourselves, our neighbours, our nations and our world. Then we have to PRAY SINCERELY for the Lord to bless us and move the LOVE, mercy, forgiveness, truth, wisdom and understanding that He’s already sown in our souls, in a faithful and positive manner, so that we can make serious inroads into the evil that currently has our world in its vice-like grip. It means that we ‘be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.’ (Eph.6:10) Unfortunately though my brethren, the wickedness of Lucifer has spread all over, upstairs, downstairs and sideways, like the tentacles of an octopus. That’s why our Bit warns us so strongly about the fight we’re in. ‘For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world (age), against spiritual (hosts of) wickedness in high places.’ It’s obvious that a lot of the evil that’s permeating our world must be in the high echelons, otherwise it wouldn’t be as pervasive and powerful as it is. Many of us would be surprised to know of the great amount of demon worship that happens in high places. It brings to mind the high places in the Old Testament where the Israelites in their rebellious times worshiped foreign gods. The only difference now is that we’re doing it much more secretively. That’s why Bruh Paul says we need to ‘Put on the whole armour of God, that we may be able to stand against the wiles (evil schemes) of the devil.’ (Eph.6:11) And the armour of God, as Bruh Paul declares in Eph.6:13-18, consists of; the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth, the sandals of peace, the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit, the Good Book. Oh Friends, unless we’re fully dressed in that spiritual armour, we’ll have an exceedingly hard time fighting the evil demons that are trying to take over our world. So please, everyday we awaken, let’s first dress ourselves in that armour. Even if we’re not leaving home, it’s still important to put it on, because we never know how, when and where Lucifer and his evil minions will strike. They can attack us right in our own homes. And we’ll end with some interesting and important words on the subject from the scholars. ‘Several activities in the Bible may involve demons. Sometimes they cause physical disease or mental suffering. However, not all mental disorders are demonic in origin. Demons also tempt people into immoral practices. They originate and propagate false doctrines taught by heretical religious groups (1 Tim.4:1). The Bible also teaches that some people were possessed by demons (Mark 1:23). Although demons are committed to do evil, God will use them to accomplish His plan during the end of the age (Rev.16:14) Illustrations: Demons are also objects of worship in various occult practices forbidden by God. These include divination (an illegitimate means of determining the will of God), necromancy (efforts to communicate and interrogate the dead), magic (using formulas and incantations), sorcery (perhaps the nonmedical use of drugs), witchcraft, and astrology (Deut.18:10-12) Application: When the Ephesian Christians who were “dabbling” in the occult repented, there was a great revival in that place. No Christian can ever justify his participation in demonic activities. (Ex.7:11; Eph.6:12; Heb.1:4) There you have it Friends. No participation in demonic activities. Rather fight them to the death in our spiritual armour. Please pay serious attention to this message, because if we’re not prepared, Lucifer will breach our souls and cause us much heartache. Much LOVE!…if you’re not properly attired for battle…then you’ve lost before you’ve even begun… P.S. Please read the scriptural references provided by the scholars. They are authentic and will give us greater understanding of the subject. Much LOVE!
30 Jul 2012
by randyobrien50
in Inspirational Living
Tags: balls belly and backbone, be positive and productive, bounden duty, Jesus Christ, joyful praise, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, obey God not man, powerful protective armour, steadfast faith
Acts 5:29. Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God, rather than men.
Oh my people, my people, it’s a beautiful Monday morning! So let’s rise and greet it with joy nuh; the joy of our great God, from whence comes our strength! And I have to chuckle at the amount of moans, groans, excuses and inappropriate language I receive in response. But Friends, Monday is a day like any other, it just happens to be the day we return to work after a couple days off and we tend to feel lethargic and lazy to get back into the crazy, slave-like workweek routine. That makes it an unalterable fact, so we might as well just learn to like it, or at least try and live it productively, instead of casting that negative net over it, as we’ve been conditioned to do. And the first step we’re going to take to bring it into a positive and productive pattern is to sing a wonderful, loud and lively rendition of our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. So altogether now, let’s banish those Monday blues with joyful praise to our omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God. ‘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!’ Yes Friends, if we don’t get right into God and His Word as soon as we get up, especially on a Monday morning, the enemy will likely creep in and set the wrong tempo and thus spoil our day, which we obviously don’t want to happen. And now we’ll turn our attention to our Bit: ‘Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God, rather than men.’ Oh my brethren, that’s where the believer’s earthly walk has to all start from; obeying our Supreme Maker and not the creation of His hands. For if we keep on obeying men, our world is just going to sink deeper in the mire of greed, selfishness and evil that’s now got it by the throat in a deadly stranglehold. We believers are very guilty of standing idly by while the wicked have their way with God’s world and His people. It’s time we stop doing that and stand up to them Friends, else Christ’s Church runs a real risk of slowly fading into oblivion. And that’s something we definitely can’t afford to let happen. What a great disappointment it would be to Jesus, after giving up so much for us. No Friends, we need to be strong and stand up to the wicked man, who is trying to remove God from our society. We can take an example from the apostles who had much more to lose than we do in those days of unrest and serious persecution of Christ’s Church. The whole thing started after Peter and John healed a lame man by the temple. When the Jewish elders found that out, they took the apostles to task, asking: ‘By what power, or by what name, have ye done this? Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them…Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole… Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.’ (Acts 4:7-8, 10, 12) We all know that’s gospel truth Friends, but how many of us have the parts to proclaim it unashamedly like the apostles eh? Too many believers today suffer from a combination of shame, fear and lethargy when it comes to proclaiming the Word of God, that’s why Christ’s Church is in such sad shape. The early believers both literally and figuratively laid their lives on the line to proclaim the gospel, but we who have much less to fear, are afraid to do so. Just imagine the guts it took for Peter and John to talk back to the Jewish council when they told them to stop preaching Christ crucified. ‘Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.’ (Acts 4:19-20) Yes Friends, that took plenty B. B and B for lowly, uneducated folk to talk to the powerful council in such a disrespectful manner. But all the council could do was threaten them again, then release them, ‘finding nothing how (for which) they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified God for that which was done.’ (Acts 4:21) Oh mih fellow believers, that’s what happens when we go out and diligently and sincerely do God’s work: the people see and believe and glorify the Father! And that’s our main purpose here on earth. But unfortunately we’re not doing a very good job at it at all. We either preach one thing then do something completely different, which leads the people to believe we’re hypocrites like the Jewish elders in Jesus’ time, or we just do nothing at all and allow the wicked to take over. Both approaches are totally unacceptable my Friends, which means we have to change our habits if we want to successfully bring others to Jesus. And we’ll end with some wise advice from Peter: ‘And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy (blessed) are ye: and be not afraid of their terror (threats), neither be troubled. But sanctify (set apart) the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer (a defence) to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear (reverential awe).’ (1 Pet.3:13-15) Oh Friends, please let’s follow that wise and wholesome advice nuh, so that we can truly do our bounden duty, seriously affect the lives of others and bring them to belief in Jesus. This I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen. Much LOVE!…if we obey God to the best of our ability…then man won’t have any hold or sway over us…
16 Jul 2012
by randyobrien50
in Inspirational Living
Tags: bounden duty, fear the Lord, glorify the Lord's name, joy in heaven, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, Monday Morning Blues, never give up, our God is great, passion for Jesus, rejuvenation of spirit, showers of blessing, spiritual armour, thunder rolls, when the righteous pray
Psalm 102:15. So the heathen shall fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth thy glory.
Oh Friends, our God is truly something else yes! Remember yesterday I implored us to pray for rain to quench the parched earth? Well shortly after I sent out the Bit, I went outside and saw a hazy darkness hovering over the land. My passion rose immediately, and I went ‘Wow!’ I thought that it was surely a quick working of our prayers, even though some of us had not even yet read the Bit. However, a couple of hours later, not a drop of blessing had fallen and the sun was out big and bright and hot. Hn! Yeh, though our God is great and all that, in reality, it was a just little too good to be true. But hang on, in mid-afternoon, the skies again became dark, this time with Thor pounding some on his anvil with his hammer. Then around 5.30, wonder of wonders, the welcome noise of raindrops hitting my window began. It was one of those sounds that makes your heart lurch in thanksgiving, and brings a tear of gratitude to your eyes. However that feeling of thanksgiving and gratitude were short-lived, just like the rain, for in less than minutes, after a couple of scattered showers it was all over, and the mighty sun came shining through again. Chuh! I don’t know if the showers of blessing even made a dent in the parched land. It’s like when you’re dying of thirst and all you can get is a mere mouthful of water. That got me to wondering if enough righteous people didn’t pray, or that we just don’t have sufficient righteous people in the first place? (smile) But as the old people would advise, let’s just be thankful for small mercies. At least it rained some. And now after all that preamble, and possibly having said nothing therein, (smile) let’s get down to brass tacks nuh. It’s Monday my Friends, and many of us are singing the Monday Morning Blues because we have to get up and go out to make a living after a lazy weekend. But please remember people that we’re true followers of Jesus, and though He never took an easy step in His earthly life, He always went out with LOVE and joy in His heart and a big, beautiful smile on His face, because he knew that He had to go out and do the Father’s work, regardless of His feelings or opinions. The same applies to us Friends. We’re not going eat or have a roof over our heads unless we go out and labour. And in the course of that labouring, we’re also required to show our LOVE for God and our neighbour, as well as LIVE our Faith, and SPREAD the good news of Christ’s gospel. That means we have to be strong, faithful, diligent, fortitudinous, persevering and NEVER GIVE UP people! Oh my brethren, I know that living for Jesus is a tough row to hoe, but that’s just the way it is. Jesus doesn’t deal in mediocrity. He’s always in pursuit of excellence. So let’s chase away those vapid Monday Morning Blues and instead put on our spiritual armour, sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, then head out into the evil, ungodly world and win some souls for Christ. All together now Friends, in one loud, enthusiastic, meaningful voice: ‘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!’ And now that Jesus is pulsating in our very souls Friends, let me go and find a suitable Bit, because this is one of those times where the Spirit just gave me a starting thought, then allowed me free rein to run with it. And you all know how I like that. (smile) Oh Friends, I’m back in less than two minutes! Our God is so good to me eh! The Good Book was already opened at Psalm 102, so I decided to peruse it, and voila there was our Bit! ‘So the heathen (nations, gentiles) shall fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth thy glory.’ Now isn’t that exactly what we’re called to do my brethren; bring the Word of our God, His omnipotence, glory, mercy, forgiveness and LOVING-kindness to unbelievers? Remember Jesus’ last command to the disciples was to spread the gospel to all the world, (Matt.28:19-20) and since we’re now the current disciples, that’s become our duty. Now listen to these wise words of Cousin Sol when he dedicated the temple. ‘Moreover concerning a stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy name’s sake; (For they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy strong hand, and of thy stretched out arm;) when he shall come and pray toward this house; Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house, which I have builded, is called by thy name.’ (1 Kin.8:41-43) Yes mih people, our duty is to go out into the highways and byways, wherever there are unsaved people and bring them to a knowledge of Jesus, of the Holy Spirit, and of the Father, so that the name of the Holy Trinity will become a household name in all the world and our wonderful Three In One God glorified. Please, let’s go out this Monday Morning full of vim and vigour, with hearts filled with a burning passion for Jesus, so that we can increase our efforts to do our bounden duty and bring untold glory to God’s kingdom. Much LOVE!…oh what joy there is in heaven…when even one sinner repents…and today there’ll be lots of joy up yonder…because many sinners shall repent…
09 Jul 2012
by randyobrien50
in Inspirational Living
Tags: bounden duty, God is not deceived, God is not mocked, heathen hordes, invincible, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, renewed vitality and enthusiasm, spread the gospel worldwide, steadfast faith, sure conquerors, whatever you sow you'll reap
Galatians 6:7. Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
Oh Friends, it’s Monday, the day we all LOVE! And I suddenly hear a whole lot of hissing, booing, and cursing. ‘What, LOVE Monday! Are you crazy man? What have you been drinking or smoking?’ Unfortunately Friends, all I’ve been doing is drinking water. (smile) Oh I know how we all hate to get up and go to work after a fun-filled weekend, but there’s a good logic towards LOVING Mondays. Sadly though, it comes from that same getting up and going out to work, for that causes us to go out amongst the heathen hordes where we can propagate the gospel, which we all know is our bounden duty. Note that some of Jesus’ last words to His disciples were: ‘Go ye therefore, and teach (make disciples of) all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.’ (Matt.28:19-20) And where else can we teach others about Christ eh, if not in the world, outside of our comfortable homes? So my people, if we’re true, devoted, diligent and faithful followers of Christ, we should be just dying for Monday to roll around, so that we can get back out there amongst the numerous unwashed, passionately broadcasting the most excellent, never-ending benefits of embracing Jesus Christ, the One and Only Superstar, as our Lord and Saviour! And Friends, I know we all want to do just that, but though our spirit is willing, our fallen flesh is weak. Anyhow, we also know that where there seems to be no way, our Saviour will always make one. And for Mondays, it’s through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, where we lively up ourselves in the Lord, give our willing spirits a boost, that jumpstart it requires to get us rolling. So all together now, in one loud, brash, defiant, but yet humble and worshipful mood. (smile) ‘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!’ And now that we’re all set and rearing to go my brethren, let’s check out our ever so important Bit: ‘Be not deceived; God is not mocked (outwitted, outfoxed): for whatsoever a man soweth (does) that shall he also reap.’ Oh Friends, that is the gospel of all gospel truths, for it’s the very foundation, the overriding principle on which God has built His Word and His Universe! As you should all know by now, we cannot outwit or outfox God, for He is all powerful and all-seeing. The scholars give this example: ‘To disobey God’s commands and then escape divine punishment would be to outwit God, thus making a mockery of Him and His Word.’ That will NEVER happen Friends! Therefore, whatever we practice or do, be it good or evil, we will eventually reap a harvest of the seed we’ve sown. I like to think of it as a boomerang; no matter how far you throw it, it will eventually come back to you. Likewise, our deeds will come back to prosper or haunt us. So Friends, if we want to reap things like happiness, prosperity and generosity, then we first have to sow seeds of happiness, prosperity and generosity. The Lord will not give them to us unless, like the farmer, we first plant a seed. So let’s get out there and plant plenty good seeds nuh, so that we can reap an exceedingly abundant harvest of good! Now here’s an appropriate scripture for us to ponder on today: ‘For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth of the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.’ (Gal.6:8) More gospel truth Friends! Please let’s pay close heed to it. Much, much LOVE, mih people!…the wise will sow seeds of LOVE…while the wicked those of hate…but both will reap their reward in the same currency in which they sowed…for you can’t plant peas and expect to reap corn…
29 May 2012
by randyobrien50
in Inspirational Living
Tags: baptism with the Holy Spirit, bounden duty, concrete jungle, excitment, holy spirit, lead and guide, passion for Jesus, Pentecost, prophesy, prophetic promise, workings of the Spirit
Acts 1:5. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
Oh Friends, the ole fella’s a bit messed up this morning, both in body and mind, but thankfully all’s well with my basic soul! (smile) My messed up self was caused by having to go into Toronto yesterday on one of the hottest days on record, thirty some degrees. And sadly, my once beloved T.O. is daily becoming a true example of a concrete jungle. All over the city humongous towers of concrete and steel are rising up, to capture the condo market, which doesn’t seem to be slowing down, at exorbitant prices too. The poor already find it difficult to live in the crowded city, soon it will be impossible. This only makes for even more traffic jams, which I unfortunately got caught in on my way home. But you would have been proud of me; I kept my cool, although my right knee and ankle began aching from all the stop and go, brake and gas pedal movement, I listened to some tunes and finally got home about seventy five minutes after I hit the highway, which normally would only have taken about thirty minutes. Then last night my sleep wasn’t the greatest, and this morning my sinuses are acting up some. But all praise to the Good Lord Jehovah and the amazing power of His Holy Spirit, I’m still excited about the Word and the awesome workings of that Spirit which we’ll continue to talk about today! Let’s hope I can put some meaningful stuff together. But then why not, since one of the jobs of the Spirit is to lead and guide the Lord’s people in all activities. So Holy Spirit, I humbly ask You now to move in my lowly spirit, enlighten and enable me to write encouraging truth, so that all who read it will be encouraged in the faith and trust of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen! And what better way to start off than by sharing the wonderful promise of Christ enshrined in our Bit: ‘For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.’ And we saw that promise faithfully fulfilled on the miraculous Day of Pentecost, some fifty days after Jesus spoke it! Now since the Holy Spirit is like the worker bee in the Trinity, it’s very important that we understand what it’s all about, so I’ll attempt to give us a brief history and explanation of its workings. And the best way to begin seems to be by an explanation of how the Spirit worked before Pentecost. Hear the scholars: ‘Before Pentecost the Holy Spirit’s work had been (1) from without (‘Spirit came upon’); (2) temporary; and (3) exceptional. After Pentecost the Spirit’s work is (1) from within (He indwells – John 7:37-39; 14:17; 1 Cor. 6:19; 1 John 3:24; 4:13); (2) permanent (Rom. 8:9); and (3) normal, involving all (1 Cor.12:12) Under the Old (Mosaic) Covenant, God’s work with Israel had been external, but under the New Covenant, it is internal (Ezek. 36:26-27; Heb.8:9-10) All that simply means Friends, that before Pentecost not everybody was infused with the Holy Spirit. One either had to be exceptionally godly, like the prophets, or chosen to perform some specific task(s) which called for spiritual power. Please read all those scriptures given by the scholars, so that you can become better acquainted with the Spirit’s workings. However, after Pentecost, the Spirit was endowed upon every individual believer in Christ. It then became a universal adjunct to all followers, infusing each and everyone with Christ’s Spirit as He had promised. That brings us to a part of Peter’s great speech on Pentecost, where he quotes the prophet Joel, who prophetically promised the eventual outpouring on all believers. ‘And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the (men) servants and upon the handmaids (maid servants) in those days will I pour out my spirit.’ (Joel 2:28-29) And as all the promises of God, that one was faithfully fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost! Oh Friends, I just can’t help reminding us of what a generous and LOVING God we serve and worship! And all God’s people cried with a joyful voice: ‘Praise the Lord God of Israel, for His wonderful dealings with the undeserving children of men!’ And we’ll close with another prophetic promise re the Holy Spirit. This one from John the Baptist: ‘I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.’ (Matt.3:11) Yes mih people, let’s get excited about Jesus, let the passion for Him burn brightly in our daily lives through the workings of His Spirit, so that others can see Him just shining out of us and come to know and LOVE Him as we do. That’s our bounden duty. More on this tomorrow, if we’re alive and kicking. Till then please, let’s get and keep in touch with the Holy Spirit and let Him lead and guide us as He is supposed to. Much LOVE!…through His Holy Spirit…is Christ manifested in our lives… P.S. Better late than never, and hope it makes sense. (smile)
29 Apr 2012
by randyobrien50
in Inspirational Living
Tags: blessed, bounden duty, fellowship, gathered together, God of Abraham, God of Jacob, God's day, lost souls, Love of Jesus, power in numbers, power of the holy spirit, praise, psalm 146, Sabbath, trusting God, worship
Psalm 146:5. Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God.
Ah Friends, it’s our weekly fellowship time again with other believers! And all God’s people said a loud and hearty ‘Amen!’ Now getting together with others to praise and worship our omnipotent Creator is a very important part of our Christian journey. It’s a decree from our God that we set aside one day a week to spend time with Him as a holy family. And as all His other decrees, it should not be taken lightly since it brings all parts of the body of Christ’s church together to make a powerful whole. This is one of those times when the whole is indeed greater than the mere sum of the parts. Not to mention the fact that there’s power in numbers. And remember Jesus specifically said: ‘For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them.’ (Matt.18:20) So you can imagine the power of the Holy Spirit moving and working in a bigger congregation; the joy, praise, thanksgiving, faith, trust and LOVE that emanates from a crowd of Christians in true worship mode! Wow! No wonder Psalm 146, from which our Bit comes, is called, The blessedness of trusting God. And after the psalmist has opened by praising the Lord, and committing that praise for his lifetime, and also warning us not to put our trust in man whose breath, body and thoughts perish, he blesses us with our Bit: ‘Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God.’ Oh my people, that’s a wonderful bit of advice, as well as an undeniable fact! So why can’t others, especially those who so badly need some peace and joy in their lives discover that fact too eh? Maybe it’s because we who have found joy and happiness in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob aren’t doing a good enough job of passing on the message? Maybe we’re not living it out in our everyday lives, so that others can see how Christ affects us as we walk with Him? We obviously are doing something wrong, or simply not doing enough, because there are too many lost souls out there, who either never heard of Jesus, or did and refuse to embrace His glorious LOVE because of our inability or lack of showing a true sense of joy in living for Him. Yes mih people, there’s nobody to blame but us, if others don’t see the joy we claim to have, because we don’t show it. We can’t be selfish and just keep Jesus to ourselves. We have to share the good news with all the world as He requested, that’s our bounden duty.’ (Matt.28:19-20) Another problem is whether we truly believe the words of our Bit. Yuh know we say plenty stuff, but a lot of it is merely talk for talk sake, and it really doesn’t come from the depths of our soul. However Friends, the facts that our Bit state should be indelibly imprinted in our whole being, if we’re true believers and expect to enjoy the fruits of a relationship with Christ. That means we obviously have to do a better job of portraying real Christian living in our daily walk, as well as telling Christ’s story to more people, spreading the wonderful news of what He’s so selflessly and sacrificially done for us undeserving sinners. Remember too Friends, that live examples work better than mere spoken words. And now that I’ve harangued and tongue lashed us (smile) for not doing enough to spread Jesus’ LOVE Revolution, let’s look at some scriptures that corroborate the gospel truth of our Bit. First off is a wise word of warning from the psalmist: ‘Kiss the Son (an act of homage and submission), lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.’ (Ps.2:12) Yes brethren, we need to be in tight with the Son, if we want to lie in pastures green with Him. Now hear Cousin Sol’s take on the matter. ‘He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he.’ (Prov.16:20) And we’ll give Jeremiah the last word: ‘Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see (fear) when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful (anxious) in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.’ (Jer.17:7-8) That my Friends, is the total, unalterable, living truth of the Word of God, which doesn’t change or lie! Therefore, let’s take it to heart and then put it into action nuh, for the times they are a troubled. Our world is seriously hurting and in need of the peace, joy, calm and LOVE that only living with, in and for Jesus can bring. Nuff said mih breddren! More on this tomorrow if we see the blessed light of day. Much LOVE!…only by truly LOVING our God…LIVING our Faith…and SPREADING God’s Word…can believers positively influence non-believers…
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