The Awesome Beauty of Knowing Jesus and forming a Lifelong Friendship with Him!

19 Jan 2025 Leave a comment

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

Romans 5:6.        For when we were yet without strength, in due time (at the right time) Christ died for the ungodly.

Another Sunday! Another occasion to gather in the Lord’s house and fellowship with other believers. But since it’s somewhat cold and cloudy, we’ve decided to take a much-deserved break from those dreary weather conditions and for today’s worship session journey down south to the beautiful twin islands of Trinidad and Tobago, the land of calypso and carnival. And we’re going to warm up, no heat up the place, hot, hot, hot, with this beautiful meshing of African and East Indian riddims that we call chutney soca. It’s a reworked song with gospel lyrics based on the soca hit ‘Na Leaving’ by the late calypso songbird Denyse Plummer. 

And just as ‘Na Leaving,’ was a big hit as it celebrated all the good things of T&T, that those who were leaving would miss, likewise the renamed song ‘Ah Cyar Leave Him!’ referring to Jesus was, still is, and will always be a mighty gospel hit! So let’s offer up our sweet sacrifices of praise with a sincere and heartfelt, scintillating rendition of this gospel song ‘Ah Cyar Leave Him,’ one so chocked full with everlasting truth! 

And as the sweet, easy rocking chutney soca music starts, we hear a couple bars, then we shout out ‘Jesus…Yahweh…Yeshua… Jahovah! From revelry to righteousness…Cyar leave Him. From hell-bound to holiness…Cyar leave Him. From sin to salvation…Cyar leave him. A kingdom destination…Cyar leave Him. There I was, in my glee, wallowing deep in a pig pen, full of life, but so empty, on my way to a fiery end. But someone told me about a Saviour, who said He LOVES me and He cares. In times of storm He is my shelter, so in His arms you’ll find me there. 

Yuh see ah cyar live life without Him, He is my King of Kings, He’s the reason I’m still living. Ah cyar leave Him…ah cyar leave Him. Never condemn or forsaken me dread…Ah cyar leave Him…ah cyar leave Him. For God man I living, For God I go dead. There are so few, who made it through, and come from the darkness of this world. But I saw the light, I found the truth. I have more than silver, more than gold. I gave my life over to Jesus, the greatest decision I’ve made. Boy I recommend you try Him, Jesus is the best upgrade. He came to earth and died on the cross, rose up just like a boss, when yuh see me smiling, He’s the cause. 

Ah cyar leave Him…ah cyar leave Him. Never condemn or forsaken me dread…Ah cyar leave Him…ah cyar leave Him. For God man I living, For God I go dead. I am under the rock. The rock is higher than I. Jahovah hides me. I am under the rock. Go tell my enemies, that I am under the rock. Jahovah hides me, I am under the rock. I am under the rock. The rock is higher than I. Jahovah hides me. I am under the rock. Go tell my enemies, that I am under the rock. Jahovah hides me, I am under the rock. 

From revelry to righteousness…Cyar leave Him. From hell-bound to holiness…Cyar leave Him. From sin to salvation…Cyar leave him. A kingdom destination…Cyar leave Him. Jesus…Yahweh…Yeshua… Jahovah! (And we shout again) Jesus…Yahweh…Yeshua… Jahovah!’  

Wow mih bredrin, that sure was wonderful! And yuh better believe that all of heaven, even the Father, was rocking along and singing with us as we gave much deserved praise to our great High Priest, our Lord and Saviour, our King of Kings, the One and Only Jesus Christ! And though Jesus seemed to be a li’l embarrassed by all the praise, nonetheless, He too was tapping His feet and clapping His hands as the sweet soca chutney melody permeated heaven and raised the level of joy normally found there! 

Now that’s certainly saying something, for heaven usually has a very high level of joy. But the fact is that all the song says is true, and heaven acknowledged it with us. And yuh better believe that is the kind of difference, the amazing transformation Jesus performs in our lives when we surrender our all to Him! He does bring us from ‘revelry to righteousness, hell-bound to holiness and from sin to salvation.’ For remember that the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life  through Christ Jesus.’ (Rom. 6:23) 

Yes friends, through His shed blood on the cross of Calvary, Jesus saved us from hellfire and damnation and brought us holiness and salvation instead. And when we were joyfully wallowing in our pig pens, clothed in the darkness of sin, but truly empty of God and heading straight for hellfire, we’d better thank the Lord that someone told us about Jesus who LOVES and cares for us, so much so that He freely offered up His sinless life to save us from our sins and eternal death, meaning eternal separation from the Father. 

As Bruh Paul writes in Romans. ‘For when we were yet without strength, in due time (at the right time) Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure (perhaps) for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth (demonstrated) his (own) LOVE toward us, in that, while were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now (having been) justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more being (having been) reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.’ (Rom. 5:6-10) 

Oh my people, all the good things that have happened to us, like salvation, justification, sanctification, reconciliation, righteousness, etc. etc. have all stemmed from Jesus’ shed blood on the cross, for without the shedding of blood there’s no remission of sin. (Heb. 9:22) And He not only saves us from sin, but also shelters us from the storms of life, because He can calm the seas and the winds as He did when crossing the Sea of Galilee with the disciples. And ended up saying to His terrified companions: Why are ye so fearful? How is that ye have no faith .’ (Mark 4:40) 

And that word faith plays a rather big role in our walk with Jesus, for if we don’t believe, have strong faith in Him, then we will not have a successful Christian life. That’s the first step in our Christian walk, after we see the light and find the truth, which is worth so much more than silver or gold. And believe me friends, giving your life to Jesus is the best decision you can ever make, for as the song so rightly says, He is indeed ‘the best upgrade.’ (smile) 

And the scriptures, especially the psalms tell us that Jehovah is indeed our rock, our shelter from the storm. Bruh David says it well in Psalm 18: ‘The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler (shield), and the horn (strength) of my salvation, and my high tower.’ (Ps. 18:2) We couldn’t get a better description than that friends! 

And most importantly, once Jesus comes into your life, you cannot get away from Him, even if you want to, as the Bible tells us: ‘In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,’ (Eph. 1:13) In other words, ‘it is the mark of identification that the believer is truly God’s own and is kept forever by the power of God. It is an unbreakable seal of divine ownership and salvation.’ 

Wow! But yuh know what, my fellow saints, even without that seal unto the day of redemption, (Eph. 4:30) once we truly get to know Jesus, it’s simply impossible to leave Him, for such is the great LOVE and compassion He inspires in us! So please, let’s pay Him the awesome tribute and reverence that He deserves! Much LOVE!

…getting to know Jesus…is a beautiful lifelong relationship…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit 9 August 2021 Daniel 7:14a.

09 Aug 2021 Leave a comment

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

Daniel 7:14a.     And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom that all people (peoples), nations, and languages, should serve him: 
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Time to get a move on friends, that important but much disliked day called Monday is here! And why is it important, you sneer? Because it is the first day of the work week, and the first day after our Sunday worship, when our hearts are still bursting with faith and confidence, that we have a chance to share Jesus with a wide body of people, out there in the working world. And sharing Jesus is one of the most important of our duties as Christians, and earthly ambassadors for Jesus. 

Remember some of His last words to the disciples: `All power (authority) is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt. 28:18-20) We call those instructions the Great Commission, which means we’ve been entrusted with a big job. 

Hear how the scholars explain it nuh. ‘The triumphant, living Lord sends forth His ambassadors to proclaim His gospel throughout all the world. The Great Commission is not just an order but a pronouncement of victory (mundus regium Christi) by the risen Saviour through His disciples. All power or authority is now in the hands of Christ, in heaven and on the earth. On the basis of that authority and power the Christian disciple is to carry out the Great Commission of the church.’ 

And that’s why we are to be up and about our Father’s business this Monday morning! No slouching, laziness or procrastination, for with each passing minute, the time of Christ’s return is getting shorter, and there’s much to be done before He comes back. Now here is an interesting instance when we can determine the authenticity and magnificence of God’s Word as being all from the same source and is like a single thread woven through a whole blanket. We are talking about one of the visions of the four beasts that the prophet Daniel saw in Babylon, centuries before Jesus came. 

He says: ‘I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom that all people (peoples), nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.’ (Dan. 7:13-14) 

Yes mih bredrin, the Word might have been written by different people, but it is still one cohesive document, because its basic source was the same throughout, the Lord God Jehovah. And thus, we can see how things were prophesied long before they even took place. As the Lord so rightly says about the coming of Christ, through the prophet Isaiah: ‘Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth, I tell you of them.’ (Is. 42:9) Oh, what a mighty God is our God! 

But turning back to those two verses from Daniel, here are some explanations from the scholars. ‘7:13. The Son of man who came to the Ancient of days is the Son of God approaching God the Father. Evidently, Jesus took the title ‘Son of man,’ which was His favourite way of referring to Himself in the Gospels, from this passage.’ ‘7:14. The commencement of Christ’s everlasting dominion will take place at His second coming (cf. Matt. 24:30; 25:31; Rev. 11:15).’ 

Now hear how Jesus Himself describes the coming of the Son of man, that Second Coming. ‘Immediately after the tribulation of those days, shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect (chosen ones) from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.’ (Matt. 24:29-31) 

And the scholars tell us: ‘24:29-31. The reference to the events immediately after the tribulation, such as the sun being darkened and the stars falling, refer to the cataclysmic events that will accompany Christ’s millennial kingdom on earth.’ Yes friends, it definitely won’t be a nice time to be without Christ as your Lord and Saviour. And the problem there is that things can get moving at any time. And as Jesus later says: ‘But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.’ (Matt. 24:36) So we just have to be prepared from now, for whenever that fateful day comes. 

And if we are serious about the whole thing, it means we have to get in God’s good graces asap, and stay in them too. And the best way to begin that process is by going to Him in prayer, the method He devised for communication between Him and us. Let’s therefore offer up our Monday Morning Battle Hymn which tells the tale of our troubled world. 

All together now: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. 

And Father, we pray that you will ease the pain of the many who are suffering from negative situations. Please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’ 

And what the Lord’s looking for from us now is sincere repentance and a turning from our evil ways. All our hopes and dreams are now in our hands my people! Much LOVE!

…the Bible is the best-selling book ever, for a reason…it is chocked full of the truth…God’s Word…                                                                                                                  

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8