19 May 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Abraham, advice, aura of love, blessings, body of Christ, British Commonwealth, Bruh David, cease from anger, christ jesus, Christian, Christian behaviour, comfort, confidence, Creator of the universe, do no evil, done the will of god, empathizing, encouragement, endurance, enthusiasm, evildoers shall be destroyed, faith, faithful God, favour, fiery darts, footsteps of Jesus, forsake wrath, fret not thyself, further God's glorious kingdom, glorify God, harmonious voice, hold on to our faith, holy spirit, hope, humble servants, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, keeping lives and families together, lies, mature Christians, maturity, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, Oh Lord God Almighty, patience, patiently endured, perseverance, praise Your Holy Name, prayer, Queen Victoria, receive the promise, recompense, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, Rest in the Lord, reward, serve a useful purpose, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, sterner stuff, sure conquerors, surrender our all, the God of patience and comfort, the Good Book, they shall inherit the earth, to the glory of God, unfortunate brethren, ungodly world, unity in Christ, walk of faith, wicked schemes, worthwhile inroads
Luke 21:19. In your patience, possess ye your souls.
Oh Friends, it’s Monday… And some of us unashamedly laugh and cackle because we don’t have to go to work today. Thanks to good ole Queen Vic (Victoria), it’s a holiday in Canada and some other parts of the British Commonwealth of Nations!
But my cackling Friends, that’s not very Christian behaviour. You ought to be empathizing with your unfortunate brethren, who have to go out and labour today in an unfriendly world. Anyway, please repent of your petty behaviour and then sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with those unfortunates in loud, harmonious voice.
As one prayerful and grateful body of Christ 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!’
Ah mih people, that was a good rendition, no doubt bolstered by the enthusiastic voices of those who don’t have to go to work! But whatever, Jesus was pleased. Now let’s see if we can please Him when we go out to labour and the fiery darts of the enemy begin to flash at us.
Let’s see if we can stand up strong, display that tenacity, that backbone and belly for which Christians have been famous for from the early days, and fulfill the words of Jesus in our Bit: ‘In your patience possess ye your souls.’
Yes my brethren, in our faith, patience, perseverance and endurance are everything! If we don’t major in those qualities, then we’ll never become mature Christians. For it’s in our standing steadfast and strong during times of adversity that we improve, mature in our walk of faith. And today, all I want to do is to share some seminal scriptures on the subject of patience, perseverance and endurance.
Hear Bruh Paul talking to the Romans about unity in Christ. ‘For whatsoever things were written aforetime (beforehand) were written for our learning, that we through patience (perseverance) and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
Now the God of patience and consolation (comfort) grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus. That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ (Rom.15:4-6)
Yeh Friends, to be like Jesus and the Father, we need to have patience, because they have that in abundance, and likewise all those who laboured for them, as written in the scriptures for our encouragement.
Now listen to the author of Hebrews, as he enjoins us with a plea to hold on to our faith. ‘Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience (endurance), that after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.’ (Heb.10:35-36)
And we have a wonderful example of that in our father Abraham. ‘For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he swore by himself, Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. And so after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.’ (Heb.6:13-15)
Yes Friends, our God is a faithful God, but by necessity He needs to try and test us to see if we’re made of sterner stuff, able to follow in the footsteps of His Son.
And we’ll close with a word on the subject from Bruh David. ‘Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices (schemes) to pass.
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil (it only causes harm). For evildoers shall be cut off (destroyed): but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.’ (Ps. 37:7-9)
Oh my fellow believers, we couldn’t ask for better advice than that, for Bruh David not only spoke it, but he also lived it. And we see in the God Book, how the Lord favoured him abundantly as he stood strong under his many trials. Now let us go out today and see if we can do the same nuh – all to the glory of our wonderful God! Much LOVE!
…but if we hope for that we see not…then do we with patience (perseverance)…(eagerly) wait for it… (Rom.8:25)
13 Mar 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abhor evil, absolute truth, appreciate what Jesus endured for us, awesome truth, awful pain, basic properties of our faith, bleed and dehydrate to death, Bruh David, carrying His cross, cease from anger, cling to good, closer to Jesus, concentration, consellors of peace, crown of thorns, deceit, dentist, destroyed, devise evil, dissimulation, don't do evil, empathy, evil, evildoers, false witness, fear of the Lord, forced to undergo, forsake wrath, free, free at last, fret not, genuine goodness, God's mercy, God-like characteristics, guile, heavenly account, human rights and justice, hung up on the cross, hypocrisy, immortalized words, in mind of Jesus, indisputable fact, inherit the earth, inhumane treatment, joy, long and short of the story, loony bin, LOVE, lustful desire, lying tongue, mental and psychological degradation, mental effect, nightmare, painful trials, piercing of a sword, pleading to Almighty God, promotes health, psyche, rat race life, reap untold joy, reconciling sacrifice, Rest in the Lord, reverence of God, rewards, righteousness., Roman soldiers, root canal, scourging, seek peace, serious suffering, snowstorm, snowy conditions, sow peace, speak truth, sympathy, terrible pains, thank God, the Lord hears the righteous, the Lord never leaves us in the lurch, tongue of the wise, trauma, trials and tribulations, True LOVE, truthful lip, wait pateintly on god, weather forecast, whipping, wicked schemes, wisdom, worldly things
Romans 12:9. Let LOVE be without dissimulation (hypocrisy). Abhor that which is evil; cleave (cling) to that which is good.
Oh Friends, oh Friends, I’m free…! Free at last! Thank God I’m free at last from that awful pain!
Wow! I certainly hope I never have to undergo such trauma again nuh people. It was indeed a nightmare, or rather a ‘daymare’ yesterday, (smile) because that pain raged for most of the day, despite my best human efforts to alleviate it, and my pleading to Almighty God.
Believe me, I don’t think I’ve ever pleaded for God’s mercy as I did yesterday. And to make matters worse, for once the weatherman’s forecast was correct; by mid-morning the snowstorm was in full swing.
Thankfully though, the Lord never leaves us in the lurch, for my young daughter was at home and I enlisted, or rather conscripted her to drive me to the dentist, because with the pain shooting up every few seconds, I don’t know if my concentration would have been good enough to drive in those dangerous snowy conditions.
Thank you mih young D! Much rewards were surely deposited in your heavenly account yesterday. And I have to chuckle here, because she had great empathy for me, but not much sympathy, since she had the same kind of problem not too long ago, so she indeed knew what I was going through.
The long and short of the story though is that it wasn’t the tooth we had recently fixed, but the one directly behind it. My dentist wasn’t thrilled in having to do another root canal procedure. And in the thirty odd years I’ve been going to him, I’ve never seen him work so hard, both physically and mentally on one tooth, as there seemed to be some slight complications in the tooth’s structure.
Ah Friends, I wouldn’t wish that kind of pain on my worst enemy, and if I had had to endure it for another day, I would surely have ended up in the loony bin. And that’s no joke, because it’s the kind of pain that not only physically affects your face and your brain, but also has a big mental effect on your psyche.
My mouth is still sore from all the pulling and prodding and needles, and I have to be careful and eat gingerly on the left side, but I can certainly live with that for a few days.
There’s one significant thing though I want to address here mih breddren, and it’s when we get all these terrible pains, do they ever put us in mind of Jesus? Meaning, that if our pains seem so severe and heartrending, do we ever consider what Jesus’ pain must have felt like?
The scourging, the whipping, the crown of thorns, the mental and psychological degradation he was forced to undergo from the Roman soldiers, then having to carry His cross and be nailed to it and hung up in the hot noonday sun to simply bleed and dehydrate to death!
Do we ever consider the real torture He went through for us, and then think how lucky we are, that most likely we will never have to suffer such inhumane treatment? I surely hope so.
Yuh better believe though Friends, the full measure of it all was certainly brought home to me in the last couple of days. And it makes me even more grateful for His reconciling sacrifice. I hope when you go through similar painful trials, that it will also bring you closer to Jesus.
And I guess that’s why the Lord allows us to go through such trials and tribulations, because it’s only with some serious suffering that we can ever truly realize and appreciate what Jesus endured for us. Enough ‘preachifying’ though. (smile)
Now let’s turn to our Bit. ‘Let LOVE be without dissimulation (hypocrisy). Abhor that which is evil; cleave (cling) to that which is good.’
Oh my fellow believers, that is such a rich and all-embracing statement, mirroring the basic properties of our faith: true LOVE and genuine goodness. That’s what Christ came to earth for, and died for; to instil those most worthy and God-like characteristics in us.
But do we truly appreciate them? Not nearly as much as we should, otherwise we wouldn’t be living the rat-race life, the overarching lustful desire for worldly things that’s so characteristic of today’s society.
Anyway, let’s continue showcasing scriptures which reflect the absolute truth of our Bit. And we’ll begin with some immortalized words of Bruh David from Psalm 37; the true state of the wicked.
‘Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devises (schemes) to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil (for it only causes harm). For evildoers shall be cut off (destroyed): but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.’ (Ps.37:7-9)
Oh my people, words of awesome truth, from someone who lived them!
And here are some more words of awesome truth, this time from Cousin Sol, as he contrasts the wise and the foolish in Proverbs Chapter 12. ‘He that speaketh truth showeth forth (declares) righteousness: but a false witness deceit. There is that (one who) speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is (promotes) health.
The lip of truth (truthful lip) shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment. Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine (devise) evil: but to the counsellors of peace is joy.’ (Prov.12:17-20)
And isn’t that an indisputable fact my fellow believers? Those who sow peace, do reap untold joy!
And we’ll conclude this series of messages on LOVE and goodness versus evil, with more immortalized words from Bruh David, from Psalm 34; the Lord hears the righteous.
‘Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear (reverence) of the Lord. What man is he that desireth life, and LOVETH many days, that he may see good? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile (deceit). Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.’ (Ps.34:11-14)
Yes mih Friends, if we desire to live a good and long life, as most of us do, then we need to stop doing evil, and instead do good and seek peace, human rights and justice!
Please, let’s take those words to heart today nuh, RIGHT NOW, for they are truly words of absolute, unadulterated wisdom! Much LOVE!
…to work for Jesus…the basic qualifications are TRUE LOVE…AND SINCERE, HEARTFELT GOODNESS…
13 Jul 2012
by randyobrien50
in Inspirational Living
Tags: Black Friday, cease from anger, Commit to the Lord, divine guidance, doing good, expanding our faith, Friday chant, helping, hot summer's day, joy in heaven, Rest in the Lord, Surrender to the Lord, TGIF!, trust in the Lord
Proverbs 16:3. Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established.
Oh Friends, it’s going to be another hot summer’s day, perhaps even hotter than yesterday! But who cares eh? It’s Friday, the start of a summer weekend, and everybody’s greeting each other with shouts of ‘TGIF!’ They are thanking God that it’s Friday and their week of back-breaking labour is almost over. So since it’s Friday, and summer too, then shouldn’t we be having some ‘Hot fun in the summertime?’ Those who can, yes. But Friends, what’s happening with the great numbers around the world, and right here in own backyards, who can’t have any fun in the summertime because of sickness, no jobs, no homes, no money, no food, no clothing? Hn! The question now my people is, what are we doing, or going to do to truly help them? And I’m not referring to the cheap talk that so many of us believers are so good at. Remember that Jesus’ day, while He sojourned here on earth consisted of going about healing, helping and doing good. Now since we’re supposed to be His staunch and avid followers, shouldn’t our ministry, our daily walk of expectant faith and hungry hope reflect the same things? For sure! Oh my people, please, I implore us to step up to the plate and do a little better than we’re currently doing. Too many of our brothers and sisters in Christ are suffering in this world of plenty. And I know that there’s room in all of us to expand our good deeds. If we all just anted up even one iota more, it would make such a noticeable difference. So let’s do it nuh and provide some joy in heaven. They’re hungry up there for some good results from us down here. I pray that this day, we’ll all stand up and be counted, and thus reduce the suffering in our calamity stricken world, in Jesus’ name. Amen. Sadly, some of you might even be concerned that today is Friday the 13th, Black Friday. But please drive that nonsense away from your thoughts, for it does not become who you are, a true believer in Jesus Christ. Anyway, here’s the best antidote for the Black Friday Blues, our own Good Friday Chant. So let’s chant those blues away with much enthusiasm and purpose! All together now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’ Yes Friends, that should put our weekend into proper perspective, and have us, truly following our Bit: ‘Commit thy works unto the Lord (roll on the Lord thy works), and thy thoughts shall be established.’ That’s a gospel truth, if there ever was one my brethren! If we commit all that we do to our LOVING, omnipotent God, then our thoughts will certainly flourish like an oasis in the desert. He will cause all sorts of great imaginations to pour into out finite, mortal minds, enabling us to do greater things than we can ever ask or imagine. That’s because our works are hooked up to God’s powerful system. On the other hand my Friends, if we don’t run our desires by the Lord first, most, if not all of them will fail or have unsatisfactory endings. For it is only when the Lord Jehovah is involved in our dealings, that we are truly energized with divine wisdom, understanding and blessing. Bruh David says it with such simplicity and truth in Psalm 37, the true state of the wicked, that we’ll let him take us home today. ‘Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed (feed on his faithfulness). Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit (roll off) thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgement (justice) as the noonday. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices (schemes) to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil (it only causes harm). For evildoers shall be cut off (destroyed: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.’ (Ps.37:3-9) Yes Friends, it’s al stated right there; a perfect prescription for earthly living. Everything in our lives ought to begin and end with the Lord, for He is our Creator, Provider, Protector and Sustainer. We need nothing or no one else but Him. But we must first trust, surrender and commit our path of life to His divine guidance, before He works miracles in our lives. Now may the God of heaven bless and keep us safe. May He give us his peace, from this day forth and for ever more. Amen. Much, much LOVE, mih people!…when the thoughts of our hearts and minds… first go through the approval of God…then He will shower us with His eternal LOVE and glory…
