14 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a bruised and broken world, a compassionate heart, a fruitful vine, a positive outlook, a strong will, abundance, believes on me, blessed, blessed the Egyptian's house, broken, capacity, Christians, clarion call, clear direction, come unto me and drink, count our blessings, courage, creativity, curse, divine protection, encourages us, exhilarating refreshment, expectant faith, faith, faithfulness, family, favour, fears the Lord, Fill Me, for Joseph's sake, frineds, fulfillment, glory to God, grace, happy, health, hungry hope, in the city, in the field, in the name of Jesus, Joseph, lifts our spirits, lightning, my heart longs for you, neck of the woods, negative circumstance, negative word, not sufficient, obedience, obedient to God's Word, olive plants, out of his belly, overflow, overflowing, overseer, Potiphar, promotion, prosper, prosperous man, rain, release, relief, rewards of faithfulness, Rivers, rivers of living water, Ruth Harms Calkin, self-control, self-discipline, succeed, success, supernatural strength, supernatural wisdom, talent, the fruit of thy labour, the Lord was with Joseph, the One Day Book of Bible Promises, the straight and narrow path, thirst, thunder, thunderstorm, Thursday Blessings, walk in his ways, well with thee
Deuteronomy 28:3. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.
Oh friends, it seems like it’s going to be a wet day in my neck of the woods. At least that’s how it’s begun. We had a wicked thunderstorm this morning around one o’clock. Brother! The thunder and lightning and the lashing rain were certainly out for a good run. (smile)
I was sitting down in the family room watching the tube at the time and all I could see were the bright flashes of lightning behind the blinds, as the thunder rolled and the rain beat down.
But it’s a good thing that we Christians are associated with the ONE who has control of the weather, Almighty God. He blesses us, so we don’t have to worry about it affecting us, unless we unwisely do something to cause a negative circumstance.
Oh, and by the way, did we count our many blessings as we awoke this morning, to remind us of what blessed lives we live? I certainly hope so, because that lifts our spirits, encourages us to stay on the straight and narrow path that leads to the Father by way of Jesus!
Anyway, here is a poem from our One Day Book of Bible verses with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. It’s titled ‘Rivers and Rivers.’
And it says: ‘O my Father My heart longs for you! Fill me to capacity with your spirit…No, Father, I’m sorry – That’s not sufficient. Fill me to overflowing with your Spirit And then increase my capacity That there might still be more overflow.
Out of my life May there flow rivers And rivers Of Living Water Bringing relief, release And exhilarating refreshment To a bruised and broken world Where thirst can never be quenched Apart from you.’
What a noble prayer my people! Do we ever pray along those lines, asking to be vessels of Living Water to a broken world? It would definitely be a nice gesture.
And the scripture passage on which that poem is based is Christ’s clarion call: ‘In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly (heart) shall flow rivers of living water.’ (John 7:37-38)
And that’s where we’re supposed to be at my brethren; the stage of belief where rivers of the living water is jut pouring out of us on to the broken and needy around us. So let’s ponder some on that today nuh, see how we’re doing along those lines and with God’s help try and improve it. End of sermon! (smile)
Now let’s do something else that ought also to raise our spirits and encourage us to keep on keeping on with Christ. Today’s Thursday – as least I believe so – (smile) that means we need to declare our Thursday Blessing over our lives.
So with expectant belief and hungry hope let’s declare them in strong voice. ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance!
I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection!
I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Ah friends, please remember that a blessing is not a blessing until it has been vocalized over someone, and we must also bless our friends and families and those around us, so that their spirits can be lifted and encouraged.
And our rather appropriate Bit just strengthens our argument. ‘Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.’
Yes friends, if we are obedient to God’s Word, then the blessings of obedience will flow down on us, run us down and overtake us! Glory to God! But we have to first get the ball rolling for that to happen.
Now let’s look at a couple of scriptures that enhance our position. And the first one deals with Bruh Joseph when he was sold into slavery and bought by the Egyptian army officer Potiphar.
The Good Book tells us: ‘And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous (successful) man: and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all he did to prosper in his hand. And Joseph found grace (favour) in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put in his hand.
And it came to pass from the time that he made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.’ (Gen.39:2-5)
Yes my fellow believers, the Lord blessed Joseph wherever he went, into what ever negative situation he found himself, because he never complained, just tried his best to be obedient to God’s word. Now can that be said of us? It would certainly help us all.
And we’ll conclude with these words from Psalm 128 – The rewards of faithfulness. ‘Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord; that walketh in his ways. For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands (fruit of thy labour): happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.
Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of (in the heart of) thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table. Behold that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord.’ (Ps.128:1-4)
Friends, I can’t say it any better than that. I can only encourage us to do as it says, if we want to be blessed. Much LOVE!
…obedience brings blessings…it’s as simple as that…
07 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, A journey of love, a positive outlook, abundance, accept, accomplishes His will, allow your love, amend, blaspheming, blessed, broken, by might, by my spirit, by power, ceiled houses, centre my life, change our sinful ways, charles stanley, cherish your love, clear direction, compassionate, compromise, consequences, consider your ways, courage, creativity, curse, cursing, declare blessings, desires, disobedience, divine protection, earthly lusts, embrace, empowerment, examples, expensive price, family, favour, fellowship, forgiving, friends, fulfillment, God doesn't change, God's plan for our lives, God's presence, God's work, good, guidance, Haggai, health, hefty price, in the name of Jesus, lead, let go, lie waste, LOVE, meditation, merciful God, negative word, obey God, panelled, Pentecost, power in the Word, prayer, profitable, promotion, prosper, reading the Word, rebellion, remove God, repent, responsibilities, return to His fold, ruins, saith the Lord, self-control, self-discipline, sinful, smarten up, St. Therese, strong will, succeed, success, supernatural strength, supernatural wisdom, take note, talent, tardiness, the Good Book, the Holy Spirit, the Lord of hosts, the obits, the power of God's word, the time is not come, Thursday Blessings, to face up to responsibilities, ungodly, unrepentant, walk in your steps, wisdom, working relationship, Zerubbabel
Zechariah 4:6b. Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord.
One more day, yes, one more day!
Oh my fellow believers we’ve been blessed with one more day to carry out God’s plan for our lives. So please let’s use it right nuh, since we don’t know if we’ll be granted any more. Tomorrow we might just wake up and read our names in the obits. (smile)
So we need to make the very best use of today, for that is all we have. And let’s begin, as we should, by asking the Lord for His lead, guidance and ‘enablement’ to successfully work His wonderful plan.
Let’s pray this powerful prayer taken from a Devotional, Discovering God’s Presence in LOVE – A Journey of LOVE, Walking with St. Therese of Lisieux. I believe I’ve shared this prayer sometime ago, but as we say, when it’s nice you have to do it twice, if not thrice. (smile)
Please pray with me. ‘Jesus, I desire above all else to centre my life in you. Only you can give me the courage to face up to my responsibilities, to be compassionate and forgiving, to let go of what is not important and to embrace what is important.
I am called to accept and to cherish your LOVE for me and to allow your LOVE to go out from me to all your people. Help me to walk in your steps without compromise, and to be open to your presence in all of the people I meet. I make my prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.’
Yes my fellow brethren in Christ, we can only do God’s work with His empowerment. And having asked for God’s guidance, let’s now declare the power of God’s Word over our lives by enthusiastically and sincerely declaring our Thursday Blessings.
All together now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Yes mih people! How good and profitable it is to declare blessings over our lives and of those around us, because there’s awesome power in the Word!
As our Bit so wisely tells us, it’s ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord.’ And that’s gospel truth friends! Since Pentecost, we’ve had the Holy Spirit of God dwelling in us, and it’s through that wonderful Spirit of guidance and LOVE that God accomplishes His will.
But we have to listen closely to it’s leading for any success to be had. And that’s where so many of us go wrong; thinking that we’re listening and following God’s Holy Spirit, when in actual fact we’re following the earthly lusts of our flesh and our own thinking.
And that can get us into some serious trouble. It’s therefore very important that we develop a close and excellent working relationship with our God, through consistent prayer, meditation, reading of His word and fellowship with other believers so that we can understand the moving of the Holy Spirit within us. Remember, not everything that seems right is right, and even if it’s right, it might not be good for us.
Now let’s get a little background on how and why our Bit came to be. ‘In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, (Jazadak) the high priest saying,
Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the Lord’s house should be built. Then came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, saying, Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your ceiled (panelled) houses, and this house (the temple) lie waste (to lie in ruins). Now therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways.’ (Hag.1:1-5)
Yeh friends, the people were living in good houses while the Lord’s temple lay in ruins! Obviously the Lord didn’t take too kindly to that. Hear the scholars’ explanation.
‘1:2-6. Ceiled houses refers to ceilings panelled with fine woods. Such a practice was common for the residences of kings (cf. 1 Kin.7:7; Jer.22:14). In contrast, the Lord’s house lay in waste. The command Consider your ways, is issued five times throughout the course of this prophecy (vv.5,7; 2:15, 18).
It is a plea on the part of God for the people to take note of what they are doing, and amend their ways accordingly.’ Oh my people, our great, faithful, LOVING, forgiving and merciful God is saying the exact same thing to us today: ‘Consider your ways.’
Just look at how we’re living nuh; sinful, ungodly, unrepentant, cursing and blaspheming as though He doesn’t exist. We’re trying our level best to remove His from our society, so that right now it’s all about what we want, as the world and its ungodly lusts and desires drive us.
That’s not right friends, the Lord is still on His throne, sadly looking on at all we do, and if we don’t smarten up, repent and return to His fold sometime soon, then we’re going to pay a rather expensive price for our disobedience and rebellion.
That’s just the way it has been, as we can see from the numerous examples in the Good Book. Our God hasn’t and doesn’t change, so if we don’t, there will be a hefty price to pay.
Please, I beg, I plead with us to remember that, and thus, in heavenly wisdom, change our sinful ways! Much LOVE!
…as uncle Charles (Charles Stanley) says…the best way to live this life…is to simply obey God…and leave all the consequences to Him…
P.S. Sorry for the tardiness of the Bit, but I went our yesterday evening, so it ended up being an exceptionally late (or early) morning. (smile) Much LOVE!
30 Jun 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a positive outlook, a prayer away, a strong will, abundance, advantage, almighty god, backbone, believe in what you cannot see, belly, blessed, boost our spirits, brethren, broken, Calvary's cross, challenge, Christian, circumstances, cleansed, comforting, confidence, confronted, courage, creativity, curse, death, direction, divine protection, embrace, endless, enthusiasm, eternal life, faith, family, favour, fear, fears, friend, friends, fulfillment, give thanks, Glory be, glory hallelujah, grow, guiding light, health, holy spirit, hurt, in the name of Jesus, Jesus Christ, King of Kings, life, Long may He reign, Lord and Saviour, Lord of Lords, mystery, negative experiences, negative word, overtake me, overwhelming, pain, panic, peace, penalyt for sin, pity, play it twice, power, prince of peace, problems, promotion, prosper, reconciliation, Redeemer, rejuvenating, resolved, Robert Nathan, run away, sacrificed, self-control, self-discipline, selfless sacrifice, set free, sins, sorrow, spoken over me, strength, succeed, success, talent, teaches, the bread of life, the Lamb that was slain, the Life, the Light, the Son is shining, the straight and narrow path, the sun is shining, the Truth, the veil, the Way, Thursday Blessings, unbelievers, ungodly world, we face nothing alone, weather, welcome, when it's nice, wine roses and song, wisdom
John 6:48. I am that bread of life.
Well a hearty welcome to you this Thursday morning mih lovelies! The sun is shining in my neck of the woods, and I do hope it’s shining in yours too. But just in case it isn’t, please remember that the Son is ALWAYS shining even in the worst of physical weather and circumstances!
That’s the wonderful advantage we have over the unbelievers; we know that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is there for us ALL the time! He is just a prayer away…
And all God’s children heartily and sincerely exclaimed: ‘Glory be to the Lamb that was slain, that was sacrificed on Calvary’s cross for our sins! Long may He reign in our hearts and souls! Amen!’
Yeh friends, there’s none other like our wonderful Redeemer Jesus Christ! Couldn’t be, for the world only has room for ONE Prince of Peace, ONE Lord of Lords and ONE King of Kings… and that’s our Jesus, our friend and guiding light! Glory Hallelujah!
Now I want to share an interesting and very relevant quote from my One More Day Daily Meditations for People with Chronic Illness. I believe I’ve shared it before, but as we say, when it’s nice, you can play it twice, or even thrice! (smile)
The quote is attributed to one Robert Nathan, but there are so many people out there with that name that I wasn’t able to identify the exact one.
However, the quote says: ‘Give thanks for sorrow that teaches you pity; for pain that teaches you courage – and give exceeding thanks for the mystery which remains a mystery still – the veil that hides you from the infinite, which makes it possible for you to believe in what you cannot see.’
Yes friends, that’s what we call FAITH! And although we don’t like or want to have those negative experiences that cause us hurt and pain, we ought to embrace them because it’s only through experiencing them that we grow in courage and strength, and yes FAITH!
If everyday was strictly wine, roses and song, we’d have no belly and backbone – we already have precious little of that.
As the text says: ‘We cannot run away from problems. Tremendous problems must be confronted and resolved. Fears can be overwhelming. Tasks seem endless, and the challenge seems too great. It is comforting to realize we face nothing alone.’
And is that ever so true my Christian brethren! We’re never alone! The Holy Spirit of Christ, which indwells EVERY believer, is ALWAYS there to lead and guide us, to strengthen and comfort us in our every need!
So Christians ought always to be positive people since we have the greatest power in the universe dwelling within us. Unfortunately that’s not the case with a lot of us. Too many believers are scared and fearful to face the days, the troubles and problems that seem to be always confronting them.
But listen to the energizer at the end of the devotion. ‘I will not allow fear and panic to overtake me today. Courage will open the door to wisdom and peace.’
Yes my precious people, we need to believe that as we step out into the crazy, dangerous and ungodly world that currently surrounds us. And to help boost our spirits, and keep us on the straight and narrow path that leads to Almighty God, let’s declare our Thursday Blessings with premium confidence and glorious enthusiasm.
All together now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Well said my people, well said! Now let’s act it out in real life nuh. And that shouldn’t be a problem, because as our Bit so confidently states, we follow the person, Jesus Christ, who so truthfully declared two thousand years ago: ‘I am that bread of life.’
And indeed He is friends! He gave His physical life for us, so that we could have eternal life, rejuvenating reconciliation with the Father. That’s what He came down from heaven to do.
Without His selfless sacrifice, we’d have no opportunity for life, because the scripture plainly states that the penalty for sin is death, and we were certainly embroiled in sin until His death cleansed us and set us free.
Furthermore, NOBODY can get to the Father but through Him! And a lot of people refuse to belief that. But my faithful brethren, Jesus is truly the LIGHT, the LIFE, the TRUTH, and the WAY!
Let’s never forget that, and keep embracing Him with all our hearts, minds, bodies and souls, for that is indeed wisdom at its zenith! Much LOVE!
…there is power…absolute power…in the holy name of Jesus…
23 Jun 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a positive outlook, a strong will, abundance, adoration, affliction, appreciation, belief, blessed, blessed be God, blessings, breath of life, broken, celebrate, character, characteristics, characterized, christianity, Christians, comfort, comforted of God, courage, created in God's image, creativity, cry in the desert, curse, direction, divine protection, enjoy, enthusiasm, ever-Loving, faith, family, favour, forgive, friends, glory, Glory be, grace, graciously given, have nothing, health, holy spirit, honour, Hour of Power, I cry unto thee daily, I lift up my soul, in affliction I call, in the name of Jesus, Jesus Christ, life, light, LOVE, magnanimous, magnificent, mercies, mete and right, my comfort by day, my Saviour, My song in the night, my soul's delight, negative word, New Testament, not walk with thee, O Jesus, omnipotent, planet earth, plenteous in mercy, praise, praise and worship, promotion, prosper, ready to forgive, rejoice, Satan, saving grace, self-control, self-discipline, sin, sincerity, sonship, spoon feeding, spunk, succeed, success, supernatural strength, talent, tender love, the Father of mercies, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the God of All Comfort, the soul of thy servant, the source, this is the day the Lord has made, Thursday 's Blessings, thy face to see, tribulation, wander, we are nothing, we will be glad and rejoice in it, wisdom
2 Corinthians 1:3. Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort.
Oh my people, our wonderful God has seen fit to bless us with another marvellous day on planet earth! Glory be!
So let’s reciprocate nuh, first by joyfully declaring, as the psalmist did: ‘This is the day which the Lord hath made; we WILL rejoice and be glad in it!’ (Ps.118:24)
Yes friends, it’s only mete and right that we celebrate and enjoy what our God has graciously given to us!
And to further show our appreciation, let’s sing this li’l soulful ditty I heard on the Hour of Power the other night. There was another song I had planned to use, but after hearing the sweet, soulfulness of this one, which I didn’t know, I had no choice but to change my mind. (smile)
It’s simply titled ‘My Song in the Night.’ Please sing with me. ‘O Jesus my saviour, my song in the night. Come to us with thy tender LOVE, My soul’s delight. Unto thee, O Lord, in affliction I call, My comfort by day, And my song in the night.
O why should I wander, and not walk with thee, Or cry in the desert, thy face to see? My comfort and joy, my soul’s delight. O Jesus my saviour, my song in the night. My comfort and joy, my soul’s delight. O Jesus my saviour, my song in the night…in the night…in the night…in the nightttttt…’
Ah mih breddren, how wonderful it is to praise and worship our omnipotent, magnificent and magnanimous God! For without Him, we are nothing, and have nothing!
He is the undoubted source of all that we are and have! We are wonderfully made in His image, and also bear within us His awesome breath of life and Holy Spirit! If you take away those things you are left with absolutely nothing!
So it is essential for us to praise and glorify Him in all that we do, if we want to keep on enjoying His godly mercy and saving grace so generously given to all who sincerely seek it.
And it all segues in so nicely with our Bit: ‘Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort.’
And you know, during that same Hour of Power programme, I heard the interviewed guest mention how important that passage of scripture was to him in his men’s ministry. And friends, it’s also very important in ours. Why?
Listen to the verse that follows it. ‘Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble (tribulation), by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.’ (2 Cor.1:4)
What a wonderful method our God has set up friends: first He comforts us, so that we can comfort others with the comfort that we have received from Him! Praise His holy name!
No other supposed deity does anything like that. ONLY our great and ever-LOVING God! So why wouldn’t we give Him praise and thanks, and honour and glory eh! No reason whatsoever!
And the scholars have this to say about our verses. ‘1:3-4. Blessed (Gr. eulogetos, “well spoken of”) is used in the New Testament of God, (e.g., (Eph. 1:3). It is a term of adoration and praise.
The Father of mercies: The mercies in view here include everything from deliverance from the world, sin, and Satan, to participation in sonship, light, and life. But the force is even more than this. The stress is that the Father is characterized by mercy. (c.f. Ps. 86:5; Dan.9:9; Mic.7:18).’
Yes friends, mercy is one of the unalterable characteristics of our God, which means that it must also be one of our character traits too, if we’re to be true believers and followers of His.
Yuh see how effectively our God works in our lives. He gives us comfort and mercy so that we can then share it with others in need of them. How awesome is our God eh! Oh glory, glory!
And though I wasn’t planning to do it, I will indulge in a little spoon-feeding. (smile) Here is the scripture mentioned above from Psalm 86. ‘Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily (all day long). Rejoice (make glad) the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.’ (Ps.86:3-5) I just added verses 3-4, so we could get a better idea of what’s happening.
And no my people, I haven’t forgotten. I’m getting it right this week. (smile) It’s Thursday, so let’s go home appropriately declaring our Thursday Blessings. So with plenty sincerity, spunk, enthusiasm, faith and belief, let’s do it nuh!
‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Yes my fellow believers in Jesus Christ, let’s go out today, clothed in all those blessings and show the world the true nature of Christianity, as Jesus desires of us! Much LOVE!
…we Christians are so blessed…that we don’t know what to do with all the blessings…
15 Jun 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a dry land, abundance, adoring, Alleluia, bless, blessed, blessing, bound in chains, broken, cheerful sound, Christians, circumstances, clear direction, compassionate heart, courage, creativity, curse, defender, divine promotion, encourage, every land, every tongue, evil, exceedingly rejoice, excitement, extol, faith, family, Father, fatherless, favour, feel better, fill the earth, followers of Jesus christ, friends, from shore to shore, fulfillment, give thanks, glorifying God, glorious day, goodness, hand of the wicked, hate evil, health, heed, I am blessed, in the name of Jesus, in the presence of God, Israelites, Jah, Jesus Christ, joyful, joyful praise, judge, let the righteous be glad, let voices raise, light, LOVE, Love the Lord, loving kindness, magnificent and magnanimous God, mercies, negative word, positive outlook, praising, promotion, prosper, raised to high heaven, rebellious, rejoice, rejoice before God, rides upon the heavens, self-control, self-discipline, sense of purpose, set no more, sincerity, sing unto God, song of Deborah, souls of saints, strength, strong will, succeed, success, supernatural wisdom, talent, thanks and praise, the Creator's praise, the glory of God, the happiest people, the Redeemer's name, the remembrance, the righteous, Thursday Blessings, till suns shall rise, truth, vim and vigour, warms the cockles, wicked, widows
Psalm 68:3. But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice.
Oh friends, oh friends, the ole fella’s just gushing with excitement this morning because a new and glorious day has been born, which means that we have another day ahead of us to give much thanks and praise to our wonderful Creator!
So let’s begin the praise and thanksgiving by singing this awesome song nuh. As one harmonious choir now: ‘From all who dwell below the skies, Let the Creator’s praise arise. Alleluia! Alleluia! Let the Redeemer’s name be sung, Through every land, in every tongue! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
In every land begin the song, To every land the strains belong. Alleluia! Alleluia! In cheerful sound let voices raise, To fill the earth with joyful praise; Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Eternal are your mercies Lord! Eternal truth attends your word! Alleluia! Alleluia! Your praise shall sound from shore to shore! ‘Till suns shall rise and set no more! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!’
Yes my faithful brethren, the sounds of our thanks and praise ought to be raised to high heaven as often as possible because our God is such a wonderful Deity! And besides that, He just LOVES to hear us praising and adoring Him! It warms the cockles of His heavenly heart! (smile)
And to prove His awesomeness, let’s now declare our Thursday Blessings with much vim and vigour, sincerity and sense of purpose. No other faith can do this, like we can.
‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Yes my people, a blessing is not a blessing until it’s been spoken, so we need to remember to continually bless our friends and families, so that they can enjoy the goodness and LOVING-kindness of our merciful and oh so gracious God!
And all of that jives so nicely with our Bit taken from Psalm 68 – God has gone before His people. ‘But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice.’
Oh my faithful followers of Jesus Christ, that directive of Bruh David is one we should all heed with joyful hearts! For where is there another Deity like ours eh? There is NONE whatsoever my brethren!
And as we keep saying Christians should be the happiest people on planet earth because we have such a wonderful faith, such a wonderful Lord and Saviour, and we serve such a magnificent and magnanimous God!
Oh, I know that our circumstances don’t always allow us, or encourage us to give such thanks and praise, but the whole point of the matter is that when we do, we feel better inside, our spirits are lifted and we can handle our situations better, because we are in the very presence of our God, who likes nothing better than hearing us glorifying Him in song.
Now hear how Bruh David continues after our Bit. ‘Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol (praise) him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him. A father of the fatherless, and a judge (defender) of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.
God setteth the solitary (lonely) in families: he bringeth out those which are bound with chains (causes them to prosper): but the rebellious dwell in a dry land.’ (Ps.68:4-6)
Oh friends, right there is sufficient cause to praise God’s holy name! And that doesn’t even include all the other stuff He has done, is doing and will do for us!
Now let’s check out a couple more instances where praise and thanks are offered up to heaven. Listen to this excerpt from the song of Deborah and Barak when the Israelites overcame their superior enemies.
‘Praise ye the Lord for the avenging of Israel, when the people willingly offered themselves (volunteered). Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes; I, even I, will sing unto the Lord; I will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel.’ (Judg. 5:2-3)
And we’ll end with this exhortation from Psalm 97 – The Lord is far above all gods. ‘Ye that LOVE the Lord, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked. Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.
Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness (for the memory of his holy name).’ (Ps.97:10-12)
Oh my brethren, I do hope that today, as we go about the Lord’s business, that thanks and praise will continually be in our thoughts and mouths and reverberate in our souls and bodies, all to the glory of our magnificent and majestic God! Much LOVE!
…a Christian who isn’t joyful…is surely lacking in faith…
26 May 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a godly life, a positive outlook on life, abundance, anxiety, believers, belly and backbone, belt, bounden duty, broken, challenge, Christian foundation, courage, creativity, curse, direction for my life, divine protection, doubt, eagerness, family friends, favour, fulfillment, generously gifted, girded, girt about, God's protective armour, godly armour, good, health, hoighty toighty, holy character, I am blessed, in the name of Jesus, indispensability of prayer, Jesus Christ, knowledge, loins, LOVE, moral conduct, negative word, obedience, opportunity, peace, perseverance, prayer, praying, promises, promotion, prosper, put on the whole armour of God, quench, ridicule, righteousness, saints, Satan, schemes., Scrip-Bit family, self-control, self-discipline, serve our Lord and Saviour, shod, sinful world, sitting ducks, soldier, spiritual belt, stand, strong will, succeed, success, supernatural strength, supplication, talent, the breastplate of righteousness, the devil, the fiery darts, the gospel of peace, the helmet of salvation, the preparation of the gospel, the shield of faith, the sword of the Spirit, the wicked one, the wiles of the devil, the Word of god, Thursday Blessings, trust, truth, waist, watching, willingness, wisdom, ye may be able to stand
Ephesians 6:11. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (schemes) of the devil.
Greetings and salutations my wonderful Scrip-Bit family on this glorious Thursday morning! It’s another most worthwhile opportunity for us to serve our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in this evil and ungodly world.
In fact, it’s not a choice, but our bounden duty as believers, and we only heap ridicule on Jesus’ holy name if we don’t pursue that challenge as we ought to.
And there’s no time to lose, so let’s get busy and declare our Thursday Blessings that will feed our faith, uplift us, and give us the wherewithal to go out and face the enemy with much needed belly and backbone.
Altogether now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Oh glory to our wonderful God my precious people, for He has generously gifted us with all that we need to succeed in this sinful world! Now let’s go out and succeed…
But first we need to do this absolutely necessary thing as directed by our Bit: ‘Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (schemes) of the devil.’
Yes friends, without God’s protective armour, we’re just like innocent, naïve, sitting ducks for the enemy. He’d be all over us in no time at all. That’s why Bruh Paul seriously warned us about wearing God’s armour at all times.
And I’m going to repeat the verses of yesterday about what the spiritual armour of God consists of, because I want to share some very useful info from the scholars on the subject. And don’t get hoighty toighty with me now because you think we’re wasting time by repeating those verses. (smile)
Friends, we can never hear those verses enough since they are a major part of our basic Christian foundation and the deeper we write them into our souls, the better off we will be.
Now hear Bruh Paul pontificate. ‘Stand therefore, having your loins girt about (girded your waist) with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench the fiery darts of the wicked (one).
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.’ (Eph.6:14-18)
Listen to the scholars now: ‘6:14-17. The whole armour of God consists of six pieces. (1) Truth (v.14a) is a knowledge of the truth of God’s Word (cf.4:21). The ancient soldiers loins (waist) were girt about with a leather belt which held most of the other pieces of his armour in place.
Similarly, the other pieces of the Christian’s armour depend on, and are held in place by his spiritual “belt” or his knowledge of the “truth” of Scripture.
(2) The breastplate of righteousness (v.14b) may be read “the breastplate which is righteousness.” It represents a holy character and moral conduct. Obedience to the “truth” known produces a godly life (righteousness).
(3) Preparation of the gospel of peace (v15) means “eagerness that comes from the gospel of peace.” That is, as the Roman soldier wore special shoes called caligae on his feet, enabling him to advance against his enemy, so the Christian must have on his feet (possess) a sense of “eagerness” or “willingness” to advance against the Devil and take the fight to him.
Such “eagerness” to contend with Satan “comes from the gospel of peace.” The gospel gives peace to the believer, freeing him from anxiety though he advances against such a powerful opponent.
(4) The shield of (which is) faith (v.16) means taking God at His word by believing His promises. Such trust will protect one from doubts induced by Satan.
(5) The helmet of salvation (v.17a): Since the readers are already Christians (2:8), they are not here urged to be saved. First Thessalonians 5:8 describes this helmet as “the hope of salvation” that is, the certainty (assurance) of salvation.
(6) The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (v.17b): The Greek term rendered “word” is not logos, referring to the whole Word of God, but rhema, referring to certain portions or selected verses of Scripture.’
And that takes care of the basic armour of God. But we’re not done yet my people. Listen to these other explanations from the scholars.
‘6:18. Praying is grammatically linked to “stand” in verse 14. Without prayer God’s armour is inadequate to achieve victory. Prayer is indispensable. Always means “on every occasion,” that is, when Satan attacks.
In the Spirit signifies that with the Spirit’s help such prayer for divine aid is made. Watching thereunto means “being vigilant in this very matter” of prayer. They are to pray not just for themselves but also for all saints; spiritual combat is both an individual and corporate matter.’
And thus ends this refresher course on the armour of God! (smile) Oh friends, I know that some of the explanations might be somewhat confusing, but if you take your time and concentrate on what you read, you will understand what’s been said.
And above all, please note the indispensability of prayer! Without it, the armour of God is ineffective. Now may the Lord bless and keep us as we go forth clothed in His protective armour, totally backed up by sincere prayer! Much LOVE!
…no Christian soldier goes out to battle without his godly armour…and prayer…
19 Feb 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living
Tags: a better tomorrow, advice, anger, Anselm, broken, Clifton Hills Resort, corruption, decisions, don't give up, drink the sweet, dysfunctional, eat the fat, encouragement, Ezra, fellowship, focus, for the joy of the Lord is your strength, Friday chant, friends, fun, furthering God's kingdom, heal, hockey wilderness, hurt, Jesus Christ, joy, joyful, lack of joy, LOVE, loving kindness, mercy, mirth, money, mourn not nor weep, Nehemiah, one of the least, pain, party time, Point Fortin, rejoicing, relaxation, renewed and refreshed, resentment, rest, San Fernando, send portions to the needy, temptation, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, the Levites, the Pitch Lake, the weekend, the words of the law, this day is holy, trust, try your spirit, understand, Uriah Buzz Butler Highway, water taxi, week of work, wisdom, wounded, ye have done it unto me
Nehemiah 8:10c. For the joy of the Lord is your strength.
And then it was Friday…
And we all know what happens on Fridays – the people rejoice with shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday oui! The weekend’s here at long last, and we can say to hell with work for two days! Party time mih breddren! Oh thank the Lord for Fridays yes!’
Ah mih people, I won’t even bother to say that that is not the best use for us to put the weekend to. (smile) I’ll just say let’s chant our Friday Chant so that we can get a better perspective on our two days off.
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.’
Now that makes a whole lot more sense than just partying away the two little days off we have, then going back out to work next week tired and miserable and complaining. I do hope that eventually most of us learn the right way, for until we do, our lives will keep on being dysfunctional, filled with complaints, resentment, anger and a sad lack of true joy, and that’s definitely no way to live.
And to further help us in living functional and joyous lives, here is a quote from our friend Anselm, who always aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow.
Listen up: ‘You’re going to be okay. This pain you feel is going to pass. Maybe not this moment or today or tomorrow, but sometime soon. The hurt will fade. Don’t give up before things get better. You may be wounded, but you aren’t broken. You can and will heal.’
Oh friends, I don’t know about you all nuh, but the ole fella needs that message, that encouragement badly! Now deep down I do know that things will improve health wise, as I’ve already had an inkling of it, but still, when the aches and pains strike out of the blue, with no apparent provocation on your part, it does try your spirit.
That’s why we need to keep our focus steadfastly on the Lord and His tender mercies and LOVING-kindness, so that we won’t give in to the always nagging temptation to give up! And that’s why our Bit is ever so important: ‘For the joy of the Lord is your strength.’
And did I ever have my joy renewed yesterday friends! We took the water taxi from Port of Spain to San Fernando, a cool hour’s ride along the coast of Trinidad. There, a couple of friends met us and drove us through Sando (San Fernando), then down to their home in Point Fortin.
Oh, is the southland ever busy! Brother, the cars are numerous, with all sorts of traffic jams, and then others just swooping by under less than safe circumstances. We saw the highway that was never completed, ostensibly due to lack of money, aided and abetted by serious corruption. Ah Lord eh!
We also saw the Pitch Lake; that mass of regenerating pitch, (asphalt) from which I understand we export, but don’t use ourselves. Anyway it was a very interesting tour, with all sorts of big and beautiful homes along the way, as well as older, not so big ones.
The people are crying that the times they are hard, and no doubt they are for some, but looking at some of what is going up, one would deduce that there is money, and plenty too, in certain echelons of the society.
Nonetheless, we had dinner at a wonderful new establishment called Clifton Hills Resort, situated next to the beach. A small hotel, not yet functional is also situated on the property. It’s well landscaped, the food was delicious and the service excellent.
Then our friends drove us all the way back to Port of Spain, at least an hour and a half drive. The new Uriah Buzz Butler Highway made it a little easier. And wonder of wonders, as I was going up to my room I saw a hockey game on in one of the little booths in the lobby, and I obviously shouted for joy, because I’ve been in a hockey wilderness for three weeks now.
I was just in time to see the third period. And although my team, the Detroit Red Wings lost against the Pittsburgh Penguins, I felt like a thirsty man does when given a drink of water. (smile)
Now let’s end with the rest of the story re our Bit. ‘And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha (Governor), and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the Lord your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law.
Then said he unto them, go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.
So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, Hold your peace (be still), for the day is holy; neither be ye grieved. And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great mirth (rejoicing), because they had understood the words that were declared unto them.’ (Neh.8:9-12)
Oh friends, how I wish that we could be so joyful when we hear the word read to us because we understood it. So many of us don’t even pay attention, much less understand.
Then again, we can get all sorts of advice, but we all have to make our own decisions, let’s hope we make the right ones today, especially that of closely following our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, for that is indeed the wisdom of all time. Much LOVE!
…in our times of merriment and joy…let’s not forget to share with the needy…for as Jesus said…in as much as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren…ye have done it unto me… (Matt.25:40b)
07 Jun 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a time of peace, a time of war, a time to every purpose under heaven, a time to hate, a time to love, afraid, and have it more abundantly, anxious, broken, Bruh Paul, celebration for peace, Christ is the only judge, church bells are tolling, Cousin Sol, cowed, depart from evil, diverse voices, do good, downtrodden, Ecclesiastes, edify another, encouraging, fearful, food and drink, friends, glory to God, God's largesse, gracious, I am come that they might have life, jeans, Jesus Christ, joy in the Holy Ghost, let not your heart be troubled, magnanimous, Mahatma Ghandi, merciful, miserable, Mother Teresa, my peace I give unto you, neither let it be afraid, not as the world giveth, one voice for peace, painted lady butterflies, peace, Peace i leave with you, Peace Pole, poor, praise, prosperity, put on our Sunday best, reassuring words, rejoice, righteousness., run life, seek peace and pursue it, shorts, sing, sloppy attire, St. Francis Parish, take the bull by the horns, the Holy Spirit, the kingdom of God, the love of power, the power of love, the return of Jesus christ, the state of our hearts, to everything there is a season, we belong to each other, with loud voice, worried, worship the Lord
John 14:27. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
Well mih lovelies, it’s the first day of the week, Sunday! And would you know that all the church bells are tolling, inviting the faithful to come and sing and praise and worship the Lord, to fellowship with those of like belief, and receive the many blessings which come from engaging in those activities!
Wow! What a mouthful Friends, but nonetheless, very true sentiments. So let’s put on our Sunday best and get us hither to the sanctuary and rejoice with loud voice in our Creator and our God, for it is indeed the wise thing to do.
And speaking of Sunday best clothing, I remember the olden days when everybody dressed up to go to church, some possibly overdressed too. (smile) You wouldn’t be caught dead in church with shorts and jeans and sloppy attire.
Now it’s true that back then there was possibly too much emphasis on your clothing, and technically speaking, the Lord cares more about the state of our hearts than our dress, but I’m sure He still appreciates and prefers to see a congregation praising and worshipping Him looking good. It does say something about the people’s prosperity and reflects well on the Lord’s largesse.
If you see people gathering to worship a Deity and they are all looking sloppy, poor and downtrodden, why would you want to join them eh? All I’m saying though is that when we go to church we ought to look as decent as we can.
Now yesterday at our church, St. Francis in Meadowvale, we held a celebration for peace around the Peace Pole on the lawn of the property. Or as the bulletin put it: ‘The Diverse Voices in Meadowvale United in One Voice for Peace.’ We prayed for Peace in our World, our Country, in our Community and in our Families. And then we set free some painted lady butterflies to commemorate the occasion.
We were also graced with the presence of City Councilor Pat Saito celebrating with her annual barbecue and answering the many questions her constituents had. All in all, it was a very pleasant and successful venture.
Now here is one of the quotes from the peace service bulletin that I never knew, but which took my breath away and captured my heart. It’s attributed to Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) the Indian peace activist and leader of the fight for Indian Independence from Britain. He reputedly said: ‘The day the power of LOVE overrules the LOVE of Power, the world will know peace.’
Mama Mia! I like it! And it’s also very true. The only problem though, is when will that blessed day come eh? Most likely not before the majestic return of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who spoke the most celebrated words on the somewhat ephemeral and hard to capture or attain subject of peace.
Listen to our Messiah in today’s Bit. ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’
Wow, mih breddren! What encouraging and reassuring words! And please notice the most important words in the promise ‘not as the world giveth…’ Yes Friends, our Leader is not of this world, so the peace He offers is way different to that which the world acclaims. And because His peace is different to that of the world, we don’t need to be worried, anxious or afraid of anything or anyone in the world.
Now how do you like them beans eh? (smile) I LOVE them, and sure hope you do too, because if you don’t, then your life here on earth will be miserable and fearful. And that’s definitely not what our Saviour came to give us. He said: ‘I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.’ (John 10:10)
Yes my people, our Saviour came that we should enjoy this earthly life, not to live it cowed and broken. That’s why when we are filled with the peace that He offers, we won’t be terrified of life, but will take the bull by the horns and run life, instead of letting life run us.
Oh Friends, like the ole fella’s in fine form this Sunday morning, obviously being led by the Holy Spirit. Glory to God! Now let’s look at some scripture passages that deal with the very elusive term called peace. And we’ll set the scene with the well-known words of Cousin Sol in his role as the Preacher or Teacher in Ecclesiastes.
‘To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven… A time to LOVE, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.’ ((Eccl.3:1, 8) There’s no disputing those facts Friends, the only problem is that the time for peace seems to be taking rather long to come.
Then we have this very wise advice from Bruh David from Psalm 34 – The Lord hears the righteous. ‘Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.’ (Ps.34:14)
Yuh see my brethren, peace is something we ought to actively seek out, to pursue, for it doesn’t just come about automatically. It is a lifestyle that we definitely have to be actively interested in and then get actively involved in. And the peace we’re talking about here is the peace of Jesus, not that of the world.
And we’ll end with the words of Bruh Paul to the church at Rome. He’s talking about Christ being the only judge, therefore we should not judge each other, in this case in the things that we eat. ‘For the kingdom of God is not meat (food) and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost… Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify (build up) another.’ (Rom.14:17, 19)
Oh Friends, with those wise words and thoughts uppermost in our minds this Sunday morning, let’s ponder them as they pertain to our individual lives nuh, and then make the necessary improvements, of course with the help of our magnanimous, gracious and merciful God. Much LOVE!
…if we have no peace…it is because we have forgotten…that we belong to each other… (Mother Teresa)
10 Mar 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: aboslute power corrupts absolutely, abuse of power, advocating on our behalf, Aneurin Bevan, ascended into heaven, British politician, broken, chief priests, Christians, cling to it for dear life, comfort, Daylight Saving Time, eternal life, eternal separation from God, ever-LOVING God, faith, fateful words of jesus, fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body, fear not them which kill the body, for other foundation can no man lay, free offer of grace, glory majesty, grasp the hand of jesus, grin and bear it, grind him to powder, guidance of the Holy spirit, happiness, he who has ears to hear, healing, is become the head corner stone, is to give it away, Jesus Christ, Jesus sacrificed His life for us, Jewish elders, joy, judgement, let wisdom reign, Lord Acton, LOVE, Mama Mia, mercy, null and void, obedience, on the third day, our Lord and Saviour, parables, peace, peace-giving, Pentecost, Pharisees, playing mind games, politicians, power, power hungry, power tends to corrupt, repentance, rose from the dead, salvation, state of good health, struggle for power, the chicken and the egg, the corrupted seek power, the kingdom of God, the Lord's doing, the Messiah, the purpose of getting power, the stone which the builders refused, the unfaithful, thirst, walk in obdience and love, which is Christ Jesus
1 Corinthians 3:11. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Well my wonderful Friends and neighbours, a good Tuesday morning to you all! I hope that these words meet or find you in a state of good health, peace and happiness. But if they don’t, then I hope that they will help to bring you to that place where you can access the comfort and joy of our healing, peace-giving and ever-LOVING God.
And with that, I must say that this Daylight Saving Time thing is not thrilling me at all, for it’s playing games with my mind. I wake up and see it that it’s still pretty dark and think it is yet the middle of the night, when it is already far gone into the morning.
And this is no excuse for the Bit being late. (smile) I was just tired and didn’t feel like getting up early. But as so many things we can’t do anything about, we just have to grin and bear it and work it into our schedules, as best we can.
And today we’re going to check out a most interesting quote attributed to an old-time politician. His name was Aneurin Bevan (1897-1960). He was the Minister of Health in the post-war Attlee government in Britain, also a social reformer and the chief architect of the British National Health Service.
Now Mr. Bevan is reputed to have said that ‘The purpose of getting power is to be able to give it away.’ Wow!
When I read that on the February page of the almanac, I was certainly taken aback. What! A politician talking about giving away power! Hn! It just doesn’t jive with the actions of today’s politicians, where they all want to cling forever to all the power they can get.
And it certainly doesn’t line up with the sentiments of another British politician, Lord Acton (1834-1902), who reputedly said that ‘Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are always bad men.’
Now that sounds more like what a lot of us tend to believe from the actions of our politicians and power-brokers. But in my research I found one journal also stating an interesting fact on the matter, that ‘The part of the truth Lord Acton did not realize when stating “power corrupts” is that the corrupted seek power.’
And that’s absolutely true, because if you want to be a successful corrupted person or entity, then you must have the power to both do your corrupt deeds and then have the power or wherewithal to hide them.
But who knows what really goes on in the minds of corrupt and power-hungry people eh? For example, which leads the other eh? It’s like the conundrum of the chicken and the egg; which one came first?
Anyway Friends, if there is one thing we can be sure of, is that the modern day politicians, or those in any other walk of life today, are NOT seeking power to be able to give it away, but to cling to it for dear life.
And my kind regards to Mr. Bevan for thinking that, and I’m not being cynical, for I wish it were really true, but I’ve yet to see it in action. But enough about man’s thirst and struggle for power and their subsequent abuse of it.
Let’s turn to our Bit, which tells us of where the true power in the universe lies. ‘For other foundation can no man lay that that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.’
Yes my people, as Christians, we know that’s where the true power in this world lies; in Jesus Christ our wonderful Lord and Saviour, who sacrificed His holy and sinless life for us, was crucified, died and was buried, then on the third day rose triumphantly from the grave, thus defeating hell and death, and ascended into heaven, where He’s now advocating to the Father on our behalf!
Mama Mia! Can any mortal man, regardless of how much earthly power he possesses, do that? ABSOLUTELY NOT!
So please let’s not be too worried or concerned about the power of men, for as Jesus said: ‘And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.’ (Matt.10:28)
And yes my brethren, I know it’s very easy to quote all these wonderful scriptures, but actually living them, or putting them into action is not simple or easy.
However, we do have to try and live by the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit that indwells us, if we want to have a successful earthly journey with Christ, that eventually leads to eternal life in heaven with Him.
And per our Bit, listen to these fateful words of Jesus, as He spoke the parables of the two sons and wicked husbandmen, re obedience, to the Pharisees and chief priests. ‘Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner (chief cornerstone):
This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whosoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.’ (Matt.21:42-44)
Ah mih breddren, that’s what the unfaithful have to look forward to – be crushed like powder! And the Jewish elders realized that Jesus was referring to them, in their refusal to accept Him as the Messiah. But they were afraid to touch Him, because the crowd revered Him as a prophet.
And we’ll end to day with these explanations from the scholars. ’21:44-46. The warning The kingdom of God shall be taken from you (v.43) was fulfilled at Pentecost when the kingdom was mediatorily (like in mediation) transferred to the church. Yet, within this warning of judgement, Jesus offers mercy to those falling on this stone, meaning, falling upon Him in repentance and faith. But His falling upon man in judgement will grind him to powder.’
Oh my people, what more can I say to encourage us to fall on Jesus through sincere faith and repentance eh? Not much, because Jesus Himself spelled it out in clear and simple terms. It’s now left up to us, as individuals, whether or not we’re going to accept His free offer of grace and mercy that lead to salvation.
For all our sakes though, I’d strongly recommend that we grab it as fast and as quickly as we can, because He’s not going to offer it again. When He returns in all His glory and majesty, which can be anytime, all the wonderful offers will then be made null and void.
So please, I implore us to let wisdom reign, and let us grasp the hand of Jesus, hold it tightly, and walk in obedience and LOVE with Him, for that’s what our Creator and heavenly Father desires of us. That’s why He sacrificed Jesus on the cross at Calvary. Much LOVE!
…he who has ears to hear…let him hear…else he will pay a grave price for his disobedience…eternal separation from God…
28 Jun 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a consistent basis, angry, another day of life, blessings, breath of life, broken, business, busyness, caring, choose to view the world, consequences, contagious, Danish Proverb, despair of the world's goodness, disarray, disfavour, earthly pilgrimage, Elementary my dear Watson, encourage, enthusiastic, excuses, friends, give the Lord genuine thanks, giving, go astray, God is with us, God's promises will be faithfully fulfilled, God's Word, gospel truth, gracious God, gratitude, guide to earthly living, heartfelt thanks, heifer dust, hogwash, hope, I might not sin against God, I've hidden God's word in my heart, joyful, lives would blossom, lost in the darkness, LOVE, make time, obedient to God's will, optimistic, planet earth, resentful, responsibility, sad, sin, study God's Word, take heed to God's word, take it for granted, thankful, that fateful day, the blind man doesn't see it, the Good Book, the Holy Bible, the reality of the world, the sky is not less blue, true believers, truth, witness another sunrise, words of wisdom
Psalm 119:11. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
Oh Friends, once more our gracious God has seen it fit to bless us with another day of life on planet earth. For such a wonderful blessing we ought to be most thankful, since a large number of our fellow earthlings, for whatever reason (s) have not been so gifted.
The breath of life is one of the most important blessings we have received from our Creator, and too many of us take it for granted, and are most surprised on that fateful day when we don’t open our eyes. (smile)
So please, every morning that you open your eyes to a new day, please remember to give the Lord genuine thanks for allowing you to witness another sunrise, or even another rainy, gloomy day, for every day, many who don’t arise, would have given all they possessed just to see another day, regardless of how it turned out. And you know that there’s nothing our God likes better than our heartfelt thanks and gratitude for His blessings.
That brings us to an interesting sentence hiding under the guise of a Danish Proverb. ‘The sky is not less blue because the blind man doesn’t see it.’
And really my people, we can’t find any fault with that statement because it is the truth. But Friends, the same thing can be said about our lives. The choices most of us make don’t change the reality of the world around us.
We can choose to be optimistic, caring, giving and joyful, or to be angry, resentful and despair of the world’s goodness. But none of that will truly change the world; it will still be whatever it is. However, our choice will either make us broken and sad, or optimistic and enthusiastic. It all depends on how we choose to view the world around us.
And I strongly advise that choosing the optimistic and enthusiastic route is the much better one for true believers, in fact for every single soul on planet earth, because it gives us hope, despite what is actually happening around us. Hope that God is with us, and that ALL His promises will be faithfully fulfilled in His time, if we are obedient to His will. Hope is also contagious and helps us to encourage others.
But where can we find that hope that sustains us in all kinds of weather eh my brethren? In God’s Word of course! Listen to the psalmist as he asks that question, then wisely declares the answer. ‘Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word.’ (Ps.119:9)
‘Elementary my dear Watson!’ as our renowned sleuth Sherlock Holmes would say. Unfortunately though, in this modern world, reading the Good Book and following its dictates has fallen into great disfavour. But then we wonder why our lives and the world around us are in such a terrible state. Hn!
Now hear how the palmist continues: ‘With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.’ (Ps. 119:10-11)
Oh what words of wisdom my Friends! If only more of us would sincerely allow those desires to permeate our hearts and souls, we’d all be much better off. I particularly like the expressed intentions of our Bit: hiding God’s Word in our hearts, so that we don’t disobey Him. How resourceful my brethren!
But before we can hide His Word in the uttermost depths of our being, we first need to READ IT!
That however is where the problem comes in. It’s awfully hard to get people, even sincere believers, to read the Good Book on a consistent basis these days. But that’s the only way we’ll ever know what it says, and be able to hide it in our hearts.
We have all sorts of excuses why we can’t read the Word regularly, like being so busy and otherwise. But Friends, that’s pure hogwash, pure heifer dust! We find time to do all sorts of other stuff of much less importance. Don’t tell me if the Lord was important enough in your life that you couldn’t find a fifteen minutes or half an hour each day to study His Word.
And note I said STUDY, not merely peruse, or give a cursory glance through. Like all the other stuff we need to study to enhance our careers, so too we need to STUDY GOD’S WORD, so that we can know what it says and be obedient to it!
I’m tired with all the business and busyness we claim to have. Something must be wrong with me then, because I don’t seem to have that much business or busyness, but I still have to consciously make the time to read the Word, or else my time will be taken up with much less important things.
Friends, we DON’T FIND TIME, we MAKE TIME, especially when it comes to God’s Word!
And most of us would be surprised to find that our lives would blossom ever so brightly, if we just made the time to spend a few minutes everyday poring over the Word. Yes my brethren, please remember that the Good Book is our guide to earthly living, and if we don’t pay serious attention to it, then we WILL go astray.
And I don’t have to tell us that that is the gospel truth, because it is highlighted right before our very eyes; the total disarray in which our world now finds itself, because it has ceased making the Word of God its guide.
Oh my people, I can only encourage us to read and follow God’s Word, every individual has to take the responsibility upon him or herself to do so or not. Remember though, that you will also have to bear the consequences of whatever path you follow. Much LOVE!
…to truly find our way on our earthly pilgrimage…to not get lost in the darkness of this evil world…it’s essential to read and follow our guide book…THE HOLY BIBLE…
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