Jesus is the ONLY Solid Foundation on which we can build Our Lives!

02 Oct 2024 Leave a comment

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

Matthew 24:13.       But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

And yes, we have already reached the mid-point of our work week! It’s Wednesday, a bright and sunshiny day with temps rising to at least the high teens. Wow! It’s still almost summer in October! We certainly cannot complain about the weather. And even the rain is cooperating by falling in the late hours of the night, so that we can have bright and sunshiny days.  But unfortunately, in many other places our brethren are not having it so wonderful, and instead are suffering disastrous times due to floods and hurricanes, fires and other natural, as well as man-made disasters. 

Oh friends, our world right now is filled with so much chaos, a state of pandemonium like we’ve never seen before. And it doesn’t look like it’s going to go away or end any time soon. The man made strife is escalating instead of subsiding, and the natural disasters seem to be also spreading, partly due to climate change. And the only solid foundation left in our world is Jesus! 

Yes, that’s the gospel truth! Jesus is the ONLY ONE we can cling to with some degree of certainty when things get bad. He won’t always pull us out of them unscathed, but He will help us get through them peacefully and with a good attitude.  Please note His awesome assurance in these most encouraging words. ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33) 

That’s the beauty of our Lord and Saviour. He’s always there for us, be it sunshine or rain, strife or LOVE-ins.  The sad part is that we don’t have very much of the latter in our world today, as strife seems to be ruling the roost. Right now it’s probably easier to name the nations that are not strife-filled, either internally or externally, than to name those that are engaged in serious strife. The number of the latter is much greater that that of the former. And in addition to all the natural disasters that are occurring, mankind seems to have gone on a strife rampage in the early years of this 21st century. 

Who knows if this is the time that Jesus spoke of when He answered His disciples’ question about His coming again and the end of the age. (Matt. 24:3) But in answer to their questions Jesus replied: ‘Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers (various) places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. 

Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted (to tribulation), and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity (lawlessness) shall abound, the LOVE of many shall wax (grow) cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.’ (Matt. 24:4-14) 

Ah mih people, those are tough words to hear and digest, but if Jesus said them, they must be true. And believe me, we are seeing those signs like never before. The false prophets and messiahs are all over the place, leading people astray. Just look at the divisions and dissensions in Christ’s church nuh! Then there are wars and rumours of wars that have been with us all through the ages, but are now more rampant than ever, as well as the many natural disasters, that we see happening with unexpected frequency. 

But according to Christ; that’s only the beginning of sorrows. For then believers will be persecuted, they will face martyrdom for simply believing in Jesus. Then offence-taking, hatred and betrayal will be the name of the game. And that’s certainly true right now, with lawlessness and irresponsibility abounding, while LOVE is placed on the back burner. And through the sudden rise in technology, the gospel today is being preached to many parts of the world, there are only a few more parts left for us to reach. That means, according to Jesus’ words, the end cannot be too far away. 

But yuh know what my fellow believers, all that stuff can be rather frightening and worrisome, but with the Holy Spirit of Jesus indwelling our souls and spirits, we can handle whatever might come against us. And the most important words of Jesus’ discourse were these: ‘But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.’ (Matt. 24:13) 

Oh my fellow saints, as true believers in, and disciples of Jesus that’s what we need to do; endure to the very end! And we can do it, because He’s given us all the tools we need to do so. But we have to rise up, grow in Christian maturity, and stand strong in His name despite the trials and tribulations that might come against us! It’s the only way for us to be successful disciples and believers! 

So please, lets raise our faith and stand up strong for him nuh! Just look at all He’s done for us, the least we can do is to believe, live the way He desires, and spread His gospel as much as we can. And we can begin doing that right now by declaring (chuh!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting the whole world know of our wonderful position in Christ Jesus. 

As one strong and sincere voice: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’ 

And if we truly endure right to the very end, as Jesus desires, then as He promised, we will be saved, and that future will be even more glorious than we can ask or imagine. So, hoping to see you at the very end that we can enjoy that glorious future together! Much LOVE!

in this world…trials and tribulations may batter and buffet us…but they will not kill our LOVE for Jesus…

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Today’s Scrip-Bit 31 August 2021 Matthew 24:13.

31 Aug 2021 Leave a comment

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

Matthew 24:13.     But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 

Awright friends, it’s Tuesday! That means we got through Monday beautifully, with the help of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ of course! And if He saw fit to keep on breathing His breath of life into us today, it obviously means He has a job for us to do, and will again help us get through today in fine shape and form! All glory to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! 

And let’s not forget that this is the last day of August, which means that cooler weather is now in the offing, as the summer season winds down. It’s also Independence Day in T&T, that marvellous li’l twin island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago down in the Southern Caribbean, the birthplace of Steel Pan, Limbo, Kaiso and Carnival! 

Now that tells us that they are the possessors of a very creative, flamboyant, colourful and stubborn nature. Consequently, we can be assured that despite the tight Covid 19 virus lockdown, there will be much celebration today in T&T. You can bet your bottom dollar on that! Even with Babylon out in full force, the Trinbagonians will find a way to celebrate, because celebration is just a part of their natural nature! (smile) 

Anyway, we’re wishing them a safe and wonderful Independence Day, and hope that they will faithfully do whatever it takes to rid themselves of the Covid 19 virus as soon as possible, since it is curtailing their celebratory agenda. All those things above there for which they are famous have now been shut down causing endless loss in all sectors of life, so the sensible thing would be to try and get rid of the virus so that life can continue in in reasonable shape. 

And that’s not a message for T&T alone, but for the whole world, because all of us are still experiencing the ravaging power of the virus or bacterium or whatever you choose to call it. And it doesn’t say much for the wisdom of man, the only creature who supposedly has brains to think, when we cannot come together and destroy a sickness that’s killing us willy nilly. 

Yes friends, it’s awful to see us in strife over something that’s so deadly, instead of trying to come together, learn about it and rid our society of it. Just shows the level of degradation to which our world has fallen, when cooperation in a time of a serious pandemic is so sadly lacking. But thankfully, the Lord God Jehovah is still on His throne running things, and in the long run, He will make them all work out for good to those who LOVE Him! That’s what we people of faith in Christ Jesus have to depend on and look forward to; His ever-faithful promises to guide and lead us and eventually bring us into eternal fellowship with Him. 

That brings us to these interesting words of Jesus to His disciples, re signs of the end times. ‘Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers (various) places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.’ (Matt. 24:4-8) 

Ah mih people, right now we are certainly witnessing a lot of what Jesus spoke of there. And if that’s only ‘the beginning of sorrows,’ can you imagine what the end of sorrows will be like? Hn! Obviously not very nice! But let’s continue listening to Jesus. ‘Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted (see tribulation), and they shall kill you, and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. 

And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity (lawlessness) shall abound, the LOVE of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.’ (Matt. 24:9-14) 

Now, that’s Jesus’ explanation of how things will wind down. And yuh better believe we have seen a lot of what He says increasingly happen down through the ages, but right now I believe it’s worse than it’s ever been. So, if we are wise, we would certainly put our house in order, for as Jesus also said of His Second coming. ‘But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.’ (Matt. 24:36-37) 

Yes, just like how the people of Noah’s day were living in sinful oblivion, and the flood suddenly came and ended their good times, likewise Jesus’ Second Coming will be unexpected in a time of much sinful revelry. But let’s get back to those signs of the end time that Jesus spoke about, and try to put them into context with some explanations from the scholars. 

‘24:5-14. Many shall come (vs. 5) refers to the parade of false messiahs who have now spanned the centuries of church history and have led many astray into false religious cults. Wars and rumours of wars (vs. 6) refers to peace being taken from the earth and the constant wars that have continually marked “the age of the Gentiles.” Famines and pestilences:  (vs. 7) These events mark only the beginning of sorrows, “birth pangs.” 

This is followed by martyrdom and the rise of false prophets and the abounding of iniquity. (vs. 9-12) The “gospel of the kingdom” (vs. 14) refers to the missionary expansion of the church in all the world. The gospel shall be preached in all the world, the inhabited world, and unto all nations, “Gentile nations,” as contrasted with the Jews. Then shall the end come would then refer to the end of the church age.’ 

And yuh know what mih bredrin? All those signs have happened, or are happening right now, but please note that last one, where the gospel will preached to all the inhabited world. That has been almost accomplished, and with the sudden rise in technological prowess, it won’t be long before that last sign is fulfilled. So please, let’s wake up and get ourselves together, for the day of reckoning is closer than it’s ever been. And as Jesus faithfully promised: ‘But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.’ End of sermon! (smile) 

Now for those of us who are sincerely trying to live right, let’s go home declaring (awright!!!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting the whole world know who and whose we are, who we unequivocally belong to! Altogether now: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’ 

And that’s exactly what we need to go out and do; trust our wonderful friend Jesus, and share His amazing LOVE with this crazy, ungodly world! Much LOVE!

…hanging on to the end is not easy…but with Jesus’ help…we can surely do it…                                                                                                                                        

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