26 Jan 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a better tomorrow, a future and a hope, adversities, adversity, all things work together for good, Anselm, ashamed of failing, aspire to inspire, audacity, be glad and rejoice, be of good cheer, boldfaceness, building blocks, called to His work, Christian faith, considered my trouble, correlation, couch potatoe, curl up, defeat, double minded, faint, fall for everything, friend, have peace, heartbreak, household chores, known my soul, learn from our mistakes, LOVE, maturity, no better school, no giving up, overcome the world, praying hands, read a book, Saturday, security, sense of purpose, sleeping in, stand for something, stand up for Jesus, technological do-dads, test of endurance, the day of adversity, the fire, the flood, those who LOVE God, thy mercies, thy strength is small, tribulation, troubles, try, try again, until you succeed, walk through, where the sun doesn't shine, wishy-washy
Psalm 31:7. I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy: for thou hast considered my trouble; thou hast known my soul in adversities (troubles).
‘Saturday, oh Saturday; day of not getting up early, of sleeping in, of lying on the couch like a couch potatoe and just letting the world pass me by…Oh how I LOVE thee! Let me count the ways…’ (smile) Yeh friends, Saturday is one of our friendliest days in this busy modern universe, although for some it’s rougher than having to get up and go to work because they have all the household chores to do that have been put off during the week.
And no, I did not sleep in, I’ve been down here for a while fighting with my computer, it wanting to do its own thing and not my will, then having the audacity to freeze up on me. Oh the boldfaceness of these technological do-dads eh! But it makes me smile, because that’s just the way we behave with our heavenly Father; audaciously wanting to do our will and not His. And when He steps on us, we quick to cry foul. Hn! Hn! But that’s His prerogative as our Maker and Controller.
And since it’s Saturday, let’s look at some of the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this week, in his noble attempt to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And this first one answers a question that many of ask: “Why am I as I am? To understand that of any person, his whole life, from Birth must be reviewed. All of our experiences fuse into our personality. Everything that ever happened to us is an ingredient.”
Yeh friends, we can’t disconnect ourselves from anything that has ever happened to us, because they all come together to make us who we are. And then there’s this: ‘Read absolutely everything you get your hands on because you’ll never know where you’ll get an idea from….’ Holy smokes! Reading! What is that eh? Our children don’t know the a from b about that!
Neither do some of us big people. It’s only the nonsense found on the tube and texting the mindless new language that’s developed for these technological toys! One friend sent me an e-mail yesterday with some symbols that seemed to tell me to stick whatever it was where the sun doesn’t shine, only to find out that they meant praying hands. (smile)
Ah mih people, reading is the best form of quiet recreation, and it also opens up your mind to so many other things and places. And as for me, you can’t be a writer unless you read. There’s nothing like curling up with a good book and just getting lost in it. Even if it’s an electronic one! (smile)
And we all know this one: ‘If you don’t stand for something you fall for everything.’ How true that is! Being wishy-washy, double-minded and that sort of thing only makes our lives bounce insecurely from one thing to another, with no steadfastness on the horizon. That’s why as Christians, we are encouraged, and admonished to STAND UP for Jesus, because then we have security and sense of purpose!
And that segues very nicely into this next quote: ‘Children have a lesson adults should learn, to not be ashamed of failing, but to get up and try again. Most of us adults are so afraid, so cautious, so ‘safe,’ and therefore so shrinking and rigid and afraid that it is why so many humans fail. Most middle-aged adults have resigned themselves to failure.’ And that’s no lie! But please remember the old saying: ‘try, try again…until you succeed.’ And as believers in Jesus Christ that should be one of the top priorities in our lives, because in Jesus’ kingdom there is NO GIVING UP!
And though we won’t like this last quote that complements the others very well, it’s very true: ‘There is no better school than that of adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance next time.’
Ah mih people, it’s only in adversity that we grow and hopefully learn from our mistakes. So although many of us are going through some rough times now, please remember they are building blocks for our future, they are the experiences as we said above that make us who we are, and lead us to a future and a hope as the Lord promised. (Jer.29:11) And also that ALL things work together for good to those who LOVE God and are called to do His work. (Rom.8:28)
That means whatever we’re going through has a definite meaning and correlation to the plan that the Lord has in mind for us and there’s no need to run from or bemoan too much the adversities that come against us, for the Lord would not have allowed them if they were going to damage us. Remember He said that when we walk through the fire or the flood, He would always be with us. (Is.43:2)
And since many of us have been walking with God for sometime we must have seen the goodness of His hand on our lives, more than once too, thus we ought to be able to say like Bruh David does in our Bit: ‘I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy: for thou hast considered my trouble; thou hast known my soul in adversities (troubles).’
Yeh friends, when we can say that in our times of trouble then we know that our faith is strong. For as Cousin Sol so truthfully and plainly says: ‘If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.’ (Prov.24:10) And the scholars tell us: ’24:10. Strength in the face of adversity is the true test of one’s endurance.’ And in terms of our Christian faith and maturity, that is oh so true.
And yes, it is not easy to be strong when troubles strike, but we also have that most faithful and true promise of Jesus to hold on to. ‘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) Now friends, as supposedly true believers in Christ, if we can’t rest in, and on that promise…then I don’t know what else to say nuh. Much LOVE!
…adversity brings out the best…in true believers…
09 Jan 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: acclamations, aching, Christian faith, contradiction, depend upon you, desperately need God, do right, eyes fixed ahead, faith, give up sleep, glorious future with christ, glory to God, grouchy, halfway home, hand on the plough, have dominion over me, His Part, honour, I can do all things, in thy word, joy, keep thy precepts, let not any iniquity, living for God, LOVE, love your every wish, loving god, make the first move, make thy face to shine, make your word my guide, men keep not thy law, My Part, not turning back, obey you, One Year Book of Bible promises, order my steps, our benefit, pained in body and soul, paint ourselves, pity party, promises, reassure me, redeem me, refresh, renew, revere, revive me, right out of the picture, rivers of waters, rule over me, run down my face, Ruth Harms Calkin, Satan, secret, sin, steadfast, teach me thy statutes, the breath of life, the heathen, the oppression of man, this is the day the Lord has made, through Christ who strengthens me, times of stress and strain, trust, unassailable position, unmoved by any circumstance, wanting any plan but yours, we will be glad and rejoice in it, Wednesday Wail, words can't truly express
Psalm 119:133. Order (direct) my steps in thy word: and let not any (no) iniquity (sin) have dominion (rule) over me.
Ah friends, can someone explain this contradiction for me please: Why do I go to bed feeling fairly agile and healthy, but wake up a few hours later feeling lousy; tired, aching, grouchy, miserable and pained in both body and soul eh? Isn’t rest and sleep supposed to renew and refresh you, make you feel better and not worse? Between both of us, I’m simply tired of it yes…and I might just give up sleep and rest completely! (smile)
And I know that some of you, my readers, also have that age old and aging problem, and you’d like nothing better than for us to have a pity party this cloudy Wednesday morning…But sorry, it’s not going to happen! (smile) Instead we’re going to put our trust and faith in the Lord God Almighty, surrender our all to Him, like He wants us to, and joyfully and loudly and sincerely and without doubting, declare these two acclamations:
‘This is the day the Lord has made, we WILL rejoice and be glad in it!’ (P.118:24) And, ‘I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me!’ (Phil.4:13) Glory to our great God my brethren, for it is He who gives us breath and life and health and wealth…in fact He is the ONE who gives us EVERYTHING we have and/or need in this crazy, and rather evil world! So in times of stress and strain, He is the most logical ONE to take our cares and problems to!
Now here is a good description of our relationship with our God, taken from our One Year Book of Bible Promises, with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. It’s aptly and simply titled ‘His Part – My Part.’ Please pray with me: ‘Lord You want me to trust You so totally That I am unmoved by any circumstance; Then work in me that steadfast trust. You want me to choose to do right; Then turn me from wanting any plan but Yours. You want me to revere and honour You; Then refresh and revive me.
You want me to obey You uninterruptedly; Then make Your Word my guide. You want me to depend upon You increasingly; Then reassure me that Your promises are mine. You want Your will to be my will; Then help me to LOVE Your every wish. I expect Your help dear Lord For You’ve NEVER broken a single promise And You’re not going to start with me.’
No friends, He’ll NOT start breaking promises with any of us! But please remember we also have a big part to play in this covenant, this partnership with the Lord God of Hosts. We just can’t sit on our fat fannies and expect Him to make everything good come to pass in our lives. We have to offer our trust, our faith and belief in His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, then seek His Will from His Word and obediently follow it.
The big difference between our Christian faith and others, is that our God knows we are not perfect, because He didn’t make us so, but He still LOVES us unconditionally and will help us whenever and wherever we come to Him for help, in whatever sad and sorry state we’re in! Praise His holy name, my people! But we need to make the first move! There must be some effort on our part, otherwise it will just be a one-sided relationship, and that’s definitely not what He wants with us.
And don’t forget, ALL that He’s doing is for OUR BENEFIT, not for His. He doesn’t really need us, but we DESPERATELY NEED HIM! We often mistakenly believe that He needs us, or take Him for granted, or think we can do without Him. But friends, here’s a li’l secret, or as my young daughter would say when she was just learning to talk, a li’l ‘secrat’: NONE of those things are true! And if we keep living by them, we’ll just paint ourselves right out of His picture and all the wonderful things He has in store for each and every one of us.
Now here’s our Bit for the day, the same scripture verse as the promise for the above poem. ‘Order (direct) my steps in thy word: and let not any (no) iniquity (sin) have dominion (rule) over me.’ Yes my people, though we need to come close to God, and stay close to Him, it’s only with His help can we do that successfully.
Thus the psalmist continues after our Bit: ‘Deliver (redeem) me from the oppression of man: so will I keep thy precepts. Make thy face to shine upon thy servant; and teach me thy statutes. Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they (men) keep not thy law.’ (Ps.119:134-136)
Ah mih breddren, what strong words of prayer! And do we sincerely mean them, if and when we pray them? And do we truly weep and moan when our fellow man breaks God’s laws? We ought to. But only God and each individual know for sure, as he checks the motives of our hearts and doesn’t simply rely on our outward behaviour. End of sermon! Hope it makes a good and fruitful impact! (smile)
Now let’s go home declaring our Wednesday Wail, letting the heathen and His leader, Satan, know our unassailable position in Christ. In unison and strong, 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 you believe it, then you’ll know that that future will be even more glorious than we can even ask or imagine! Much LOVE!
…LOVING God…and LIVING for Him…oh…they’re such a beautiful way of life…that no words can truly express the joy they bring…
03 Jan 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a common foe, Aaron's beard, Behold, blanket of snow, blessedness, blessings, Brotherhood, burst with joy, Christ cricified, Christ's Church, Christ's heart, Christian faith, compassionate heart, courage, curse, defeat the purpose, denominations, disturbed cobra, divide and conquer, family unity, for brethren to dwell in unity, forgiving, forgotten our resolution, free, Gentiles, God forgave us, how good and how pleasant, I and the Father are one, in Christ's name, Jews, joy, kind, life for evermore, LOVE, mountains of Zion, negative word, oil, one, Oneness of Jesus, organizational unity, precious ointment, preciousness, put away Christmas decorations, put away christmas spirit, religions, rocket science, sanctifies, sects, slaves, solidifies, spiritual unity, talent, tenderhearted, the dew of Hermon, Thursday Blessings, turbulent times, unity, walk more closely with Jesus, work together
Psalm 133:1. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
Oh, it looks so beautiful undisturbed…but disturb it…and like a disturbed cobra it can bite you in an unexpected second! Ah friends, I’m talking about the blanket of snow that’s covering my area this morning. Yeh it does look white and beautiful when just lying there undisturbed by man. But once you get into it, if you’re not careful it can cause you all kinds of damage and disaster. So like we finally had a snowfall where the people we pay to clean our driveway had to do some work; the first time for the season. And I doubt it will be the last.
Anyway, today’s the 3rd day of the New Year, let’s hope that we haven’t already forgotten our resolution to walk more closely with Jesus this year. And as we begin putting away this season’s Christmas decoration, we won’t also put away the Christmas spirit with it, but allow that wonderful spirit of Christ to dwell with us all year long. And that would make Christ’s heart just overflow and burst with joy! Why, simply because of the immense joy to be found in brotherhood!
Hear how Bruh David puts it in our Bit: ‘Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment (oil) upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts (edge) of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.’ (Ps.133:1-3)
Yeh friends, three simple verses make up that psalm, but they’re all so wonderful and appropriate to our Christian faith and walk in these treacherous and turbulent times! Hear this explanation from the scholars: ‘Psalm 133. This psalm is all about the preciousness of family unity. Its blessedness is exclaimed in (vs.1) and explained in (vs.2-3). It sanctifies (vs.2) and solidifies (vs.3).’
Ah mih people, if individual families in our society could only live that way eh…And even more importantly, if the family of Christ, His church could only do that…Oh what a wonderful place our world would be! We seem to have forgotten that Jesus came to make all nations, all believers in Him ONE! So let’s remind ourselves of some of the ONENESS that Jesus preached so avidly.
He begins with this awesome statement: ‘I and the Father are ONE.’ (John 10:30) Then, as He prayed to the Father for us, Jesus pleaded: ‘And now I am no more (longer) in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be ONE, as we are ONE.’ (John 17:11)
And later on in that same awesome prayer Jesus reiterates: ‘Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be ONE; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be ONE in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.’ (John 17:20-21) Yes my people, Jesus is there praying that those like us, who believe after He’s gone, should also live as ONE.
And the scholars specify ‘17:21. They may be …one conveys spiritual unity, not organizational unity (cf. 1 Cor.12:13; 2 Cor.1:11; Eph.2:19; 4:3-16; Heb.10:25).’ But friends, my contention is that if we live in spiritual unity, there ought to be much more organizational unity among us than is currently in vogue. We have thousands of sects and denominations and religions, all purportedly teaching Christ crucified, why is that eh?
That doesn’t spell unity, but rather reeks of disunity and division in what is supposed to be one body of Christ. The enemy is using the age-old tactic of divide and conquer amongst the Christian brethren, and we are foolishly and compromisingly allowing him to do it! That’s not right nor wise my friends in Christ!
Now hear Bruh Paul on the subject: ‘For as the body is ONE, and hath many members, and all the members of that ONE body, being many, are ONE body: so also is Christ. For by ONE Spirit are we all baptized into ONE body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond (slaves) or free; and have been all made to drink into ONE Spirit ….For the body is not ONE member, but many…Now are they many members, yet but ONE body.’ (1 Cr.12:12-14, 20)
Oh my faithful believers in Christ, it’s not rocket science, as Bruh Paul explains using our human body. Although our human body is made up of many dissimilar parts, it is still ONE body, and all the parts need to work together in harmony for the body to function properly. It’s the same with Christ’s church: we are made up of different races, cultures, languages, etc. but we need to come together and do Christ’s work as ONE, otherwise we defeat His whole purpose.
Yes friends, like the believers in the early church, we need to get together in ONE accord (Acts 2:46) and pursue Christ’s work, not be fighting against each other like hungry wild animals. And if wild animals of the same type can band together against a common foe, why can’t we spiritually led believers do the same eh, instead of foolishly fighting against each other, even purporting it to be in Christ’s name? Steups! End of Sermon! (smile)
Now let’s go home declaring those wonderful Thursday Blessings that the Lord has bestowed on us, expecting us to dwell in unity. In loud and sincere 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!’
Now let’s go out and share and declare those blessings over the less fortunate, for that’s a big part of the reason they were bestowed on us. Much LOVE!
…and be ye kind one to another…tenderhearted…forgiving one another…even as God…for Christ’s sake…hath forgiven you… (Eph.4:32)
P.S. Yeh it’s long, but it’s also early…and it’s ALL for Christ! (smile) Much LOVE!
21 Dec 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all about Christ, assurance, bacchanalian, black cake, black yuh up, carols, chow chow, Christ, Christian faith, Christmas, compassions, Controleer of the universe, excesses of the world, fellowship, Friday chant, fun, furthering your glorious kingdom, generous help, ginger beer, Happy Holidays, have no fear, his compassions fail not, home made bread, hope, in God's time, in Jesus' name, keep Christ in Christmas, Merry Christmas, Parang, pepper sauce, rain, relaxation, rest, saints, salvation, sincere thanks, snow, sorrel, TGIF!, Thank God is Friday, the alco strong, the Lord is my portion, the Lord's mercies, the soul that seeks him, the workingman's song, trials, tribulations, wait, we are not consumed, week of work
Lamentations 3:22. It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
Aye mih people, it’s a brand new day with new mercies, LOVE, forgiveness, blessings and all the other good things that our magnanimous and ever-LOVING God showers down on us each and every single day! Glory be! Give Him much thanks and praise for His enduring goodness and LOVING-kindness to the undeserving children of men! Yes friends, is our God ever good to us!
And would you believe that with only four days – not four shopping days (smile) to Christmas that we have rain in our area and not the crazy white stuff called snow! I’m surely grateful for that, although the skiers and other snow people won’t be thrilled.
Sorry people, but the Controller of the universe apparently feels for rain right now, not snow, and consequently there’s nothing we can do about it! But have no fear, we will get our fair share of the white stuff…in God’s time, that is!
And the workingman has not forgotten us in these most celebratory times. Hear him sing his song: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday – the weekend! And only four days till Christmas too! Oh how we going to make merry and celebrate Christmas…but I already doing that yes!
I eating mih home made bread with ham flavoured with chow chow an’ pepper sauce! Brother does that ever taste good! Nice heavy bread with substance, not them light fluffy chupidness they sell in the bakery an’ call them bread!
Then ah washing it down with sweet sorrel or ginger beer…an’ black cake and ice cream for dessert. Yuh smell how the alco strong in the cake? If yuh eat too much it soon black yuh up yes! (smile) And all we doing is going round to other people’s houses, singing carols and sweet parang music, an’ eating and drinking up all their Christmas goodies! Oh Christmas is such a wonderful time! Thank God for Fridays, weekends and Christmas oui!’
Yeh friends, Christmas is indeed a wonderful time, and all the celebrating is good, but it should not be paramount in our lives. The birth of our Lord and Saviour is what should hold first place in our lives this Christmas season, for it’s the very reason for the season! Without the birth of Christ, there’d be no Christmas!
So why have we allowed that fact to be obscured by the foolishness of the man made festivities eh, where shopping and other bacchanalian activities seem to be honoured above the birth of our Saviour? Yuh can’t even say ‘Merry Christmas’ to some people! All they want to hear is the foolishness bout ‘Happy Holidays!’ What holiday is it eh? CHRISTMAS! So say it loud and proud: ‘MERRY CHRISTMAS!’
And forget the nonsensical watering down of the time when our God gave us His greatest gift ever: that of the birth of His only Son Jesus Christ, so that He would grow and show us the Father, and eventually die on the cross at Calvary to atone for our heinous and abominable sins! Brother! How can we not celebrate and give oodles of sincere thanks for such wonderful occurrences eh?
My Christian brethren, please let’s not fall into the enemy’s trap of considering Christmas as more of a worldly time than it is eh. It’s ALL ABOUT CHRIST! So please let’s keep the CHRIST in CHRISTMAS! Keep it first place, like we ought to keep God first place in our overall lives! End of sermon! (smile)
And I’ve talked so much about keeping Christ in Christmas that I almost forgot about our Friday Chant. Hn! So please let’s chant it up now with the same enthusiasm that the workingman placed in his song. Altogether 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!’
Ah friends, it’s not as worldly as the workingman’s song, but it serves our purposes rather admirably; keeping us away from the excesses of the world, and more in line with the straight and narrow path that’s Christ desire for His people. That finally brings us to our Bit; a most wonderful piece of encouraging and reassuring scripture: ‘It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.’
And is that the gospel truth or what my faithful brethren! If it wasn’t for the Lord’s compassionate heart and intense care for us, we’d be long burnt up like the noonday sun burns up the dry grass! That’s why we need to take our Christian faith more seriously than many of us are doing. But hear how poor Jeremiah continues as he laments over his trials and tribulations nuh.
‘They (the Lord’s mercies) are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.’ (Lam.3:23-26)
Oh my people, those are indeed words of eternal wisdom! If we sincerely believe in God, then we have to HOPE and WAIT for His timing and dispensation! Nothing else makes any sense. And if you don’t believe me, then listen to the scholars’ explanation of that last section. ‘3:26. Jeremiah’s observation resembles those of other saints who have expressed great grief of soul (Hab. 2:20; 3:17-19; cf. Job 40:3-5; Ps.37:7; 73:23-27; Is.26:3; 2 Cor.1:7; 2 Thess.3:5).’
Yuh see friends, even though the great saints suffered trials and tribulations, and more than most of us do nowadays too, they all felt the assurance of hoping in and waiting for God. And I just looked up all those scriptures the scholars noted, and they are indeed interesting and inspiring stuff. So please look them up yourselves so that you too can be enthused and reassured! That’s the only sensible way to live this life my people! Much LOVE!
…ONLY because of Christ’s birth…is there Christmas…let’s remember that…and act accordingly…
30 Jun 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a balancing act, a better tomorrow, a good life, a scorcher, Anselm, aspires to inspire, bad luck, beginning of knowledge, believest thou this, big up, blessed by Almighty God, blessed favour, building on the rock, Canada Day celebrations, Canada is the best, change your whole day, Christian faith, destroy, don't tkae anything personally, epitome of wisdom, fear of the Lord, find pasture, fools despise wisdom, foundation stone, friends, gives his life for the sheep, Go Canada, good luck, grace, Granny's warnings, have life abundantly, I am the door, I am the way, immune to the opinions, inadequacy, lack of preparation, Lazarus, Martha, mercy of God, needless suffering, no man cometh to the Father, on the right foot, on the sand, on the wrong track, opportunities, optimistic, partnership, positive thought, projection of their own reality, quotes, reality, saved, shall never die, starting out, sunscreen, the good shepherd, the Life, the prince of darkness, the resurrection, the shepherd of the sheep, the Truth, to kill, tough skinned, victim, wisdom, wrong foundation
John 14:6. Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me.
And the Canada Day celebrations continue apace! And the weather seems to be in full cooperating mood too; it’s supposed to be a scorcher, possibly worse than yesterday. So get on your sunscreen and turn on the A/C, and celebrate the birth of this wonderful country called Canada, within the limits of Granny’s warnings though! (smile)
Oh we have our problems too, but of all the big countries in the world, I still believe that Canada is the BEST! Go Canada!
And so having ‘big-upped’ Canada; I hate the word, ‘big-up’ but I couldn’t think of anything more suitable at the time, let’s move on to our Saturday treat of this weeks quotes from our friend Anselm, who sincerely aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow.
And this week there’s a whole slate of them, starting with: ‘Choose to be optimistic, it feels better.’ And there’s absolutely no doubt about the truth and wisdom in that statement, for optimism is a foundation stone of our Christian faith.
That leads to the next quote: ‘Just one small positive thought in the morning can change your whole day.’ That also has many grains of truth in it, for if we begin our day with positive thoughts, we will indeed be starting out on the right foot.
Then there is: ‘Good luck is when opportunity meets preparation, while bad luck is when lack of preparation meets reality.’ It’s basically true, but we believers just don’t dabble in bad luck and good luck, but more the blessed favour, grace and mercy of our awesome God.
But we must do our part in the partnership and be prepared for them. If we aren’t prepared, when those opportunities appear or arise, then we’ll simply lose out on a chance, no, an opportunity to be blessed by Almighty God.
Listen to this one: ‘Don’t Take Anything Personally. Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.’
Now I don’t know if I agree with that totally, because there are times when people do things because of us, and we ought to take them personally. The problem is to know when and what things to take issue with. A lot of the time what others do and say is indeed because of their own problems or inadequacy and we have to be wise and somewhat tough skinned to recognize those times and not allow them to bother us.
It’s all a balancing act my people, and we do need God’s help to set the balance right. And the last quote says: ‘The more you are positive and say, ‘I want to have a good life,’ the more you build that reality for yourself by creating the life that you want.’
Ah friends, that statement is only true in the context of Christianity! If you say you want to build a good life under Christ, then fine. But if you want to build what the world and the prince of darkness call a good life, then you’re definitely on the wrong track. Remember the immortal words of Jesus: ‘Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me.’
Yes friends, Jesus was very emphatic in that pronouncement, so if your life is not modelled on His, then you’re indeed going the wrong way, building your life, earthly as well as eternal, on the wrong foundation.
And Jesus makes His point earlier when He declares that He is the Good shepherd: ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep…
I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for (except) to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.’ (John 10:1-2, 9-11)
And that is exactly what Jesus did friends: give His life for us, the sheep of His pasture. So why would we look for some other foundation on which to build our lives eh? Building our lives upon Jesus is like building them on a rock; a rock which stands the test of time and the elements of nature. Building our lives on anything else is like building them on sand, which cannot repel or withstand anything. Check out Jesus’ analogy re the two foundations, in Matthew .7:24-27.
And we’ll close with some more immortal words of Jesus on the subject, as He spoke to Martha when He arrived late on purpose for Lazarus’ burial. ‘Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead (may die) yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?’ (Matt.11:25-26)
And as the scholars say: ‘11:25: I am the resurrection is one of Jesus’ greatest “I am” statements, signifying His power to give eternal life.’
And oh my people, if Jesus has that awesome power, why wouldn’t I believe in Him eh, and shout out a bold and confident ‘YES’ to the question He asked Martha at the end of the last passage above: ‘Believest thou this?’
Oh friends, believing in Jesus is not only the epitome of wisdom, it is wisdom itself! Much LOVE!
…the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge…but fools despise wisdom and instruction… (Prov.1:7)
16 Jun 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a better tomorrow, a blood sacrifice, a diehard grouch, a high priest, a miserable person, a true heart, an evil conscience, Anselm, aspires to inspire, attaining heaven, Bad News, basic truth, blessed, boldness, but by me, celebration, Christ first and foremost, Christian faith, confidence, consecrated, consider one another, Controller, different roads, direct access, doubters, doubting disiciple, draw near, drifting, eternal damnation, eternal glory, eventual outcome, fact of the matter, faith, fighting a losing battle, for all time, for he is faithful that promised, forgiveness, full assurance, get a handle on life, good works, hearts sprinkled, hold fast the confession of our faith, holy of holies, Holy Place of God, hope, I am the way the truth and the life, I go to prepare a place for you, iniquities, inspired by the Holy spirit, lawless deeds, leave the rest to God, life doesn't owe happiness, lost, LOVE, make them happy, no man comes to the Father, not on your road, on the road of Jesus, our bodies washed, outward circumstance, paid for all sins, preferred place, pure water, remission, rent asunder, righteous way of Jesus, sacrificial lamb, seeking fulfillment, sinful highway, sinful world, sins, sleepy time day, small circle, stir up, straddling the fence, strife filled day, the blood of Jesus, the Good Book, the house of God, the Old Testament, the rudder of your life, the way ye know, Thomas, true happiness comes from inside, unbelievers, unnecessary nonsense, without a reason, without wavering
John 14:6. I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Well friends, it seems like it’s another strife filled day in our strife filled world. Hn! Nothing much has changed from yesterday. But blessed are we of the Christian faith, who don’t have to allow all the bad news around the world to affect us too much.
Oh we should be concerned about all the unnecessary nonsense that’s taking place, but with Christ first and foremost in our hearts we know the eventual outcome of the situation and our preferred place in it. Thus we do our best to alleviate what we can in our small circle and leave the rest to God, for it’s His universe and He’s the Controller. Amen!
Now it’s Saturday, sleepy time day, (smile) so let’s look at a couple of quotes I received from our friend Anselm this week, as he sincerely aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. The first says: ‘No matter how hard you try to make a person who’s miserable all the time happy it’ll never work, until they get a handle on their life and try being happy without a reason. Life doesn’t owe anyone happiness, only you owe yourself happiness.’
And that’s the basic truth friends. If a person truly doesn’t want to be happy, you can never make them so. That’s because true happiness has to come from the inside and not merely from outward circumstances. You’re fighting a losing battle from the start if you try to make a diehard grouch happy. (smile)
Until they wake up and want to be happy, all your efforts will be wasted. As the man said, life doesn’t owe us happiness, but we owe it to ourselves to be happy.
And the next and last quote declares that ‘ People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they’re not on your road doesn’t mean they’ve gotten lost.’ I’m sorry friends, but if they are not on the road to and with Jesus, then they are definitely and surely LOST!
Remember our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ made it so plain when He declared in no uncertain terms: ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.’ Yes my brethren, those immortal words were spoken in response to Thomas, he of the doubting disciple fame. Jesus had just told them that He was going back to heaven to prepare a place for them.
‘And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.’ (John 14:3) What a glorious promise people, because that promise extends also to us today! Then Jesus adds: ‘And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.’ But Thomas with his bright self, pipes up: ‘Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?’ (John 14:4-5)
That’s when Jesus lets him have both barrels with our Bit., worthy of being repeated again: ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.’
And until the unbelievers and doubters of this fallen and sinful world get that down their unbelieving craw, they will remain lost! That’s just the simple, indisputable and incontrovertible fact of the matter! All who don’t believe in Jesus will be lost! The Good Book says so, and the Good Book does not lie, because it is the unadulterated word of God, inspired to men of true faith through the Holy Spirit.
And I like this explanation of the scholars. ‘14:6. Jesus does not tell them about the way, nor does He show them the way. He does not even guide them along the way. He says He IS the way!’
And that’s all there is to it my brethren! It’s either the narrow and righteous way of Jesus, or the broad and sinful highway of the enemy! Those are the only choices we have. There is no in-between option. So those of us, who are trying to straddle the fence, please stop it, because there is absolutely no hope of attaining heaven in that manner.
Remember how in the Old Testament the priest went into the secluded Holy of Holies in the tabernacle, by himself, once every year and offered a blood sacrifice for the sins of the people. (Heb.9:7) That meant that the people did not have a direct connection to God; only the priest had that once a year.
However my friends, however, when Jesus died to pay for our sins, everything changed miraculously! The heavy veil that separated the Holy of Holies was rent asunder from top to bottom, because the blood of the Holy sacrificial Lamb had paid for ALL SINS, for ALL TIME! Glory Hallelujah!
Listen to how the author of Hebrews puts it. ‘And their sins and iniquities (lawless deeds) will I remember no more. Now where remission (forgiveness) of these is, there is no more offering for sin. Having therefore, brethren, boldness (confidence) to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh.’ (Heb.10:17-20)
And the scholars add: ‘10:20. Jesus is the new and living way by which believers have direct access into the very Holy Place of God. (cf.4:14; 6:20; 7:25; John 14:6).’ Please check out those scriptures.
That brings us to this dramatic and glorious end: ‘And having a high priest (Jesus) over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
Let us hold fast the profession (confession) of our faith (hope) without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke (stir up) unto LOVE and to good works.’ (Heb.10:21-24)
Ah friends, with Jesus leading and guiding our lives, EVERYDAY is one of celebration, of hope, sure faith, and eternal glory! Much LOVE!
…without Jesus as the rudder in life…you’re inevitably drifting to eternal damnation…
21 Apr 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a bad day, a better tomorrow, a greater purpose, adversity, an enduring daily trust, Anselm, aspires to inspire, assertive action, at the mercy of others, beautiful blossoms, Bible Study, blocking traffic, Bobby Schuller, boulders of ice, brown grass, build faith, built on taking chances, Christ's promises, Christian faith, come against us, count it all joy, do something for Christ, don't let others decide, enable us to do anything, escape, faith, faith is not a leap, faithful promise, fall into divers temptations, fight for your happiness, fleshly suffering, God can do the impossible, God has bruised, God is good, God uses trouble, gospel truth, grow in faith, hard work, heavenly Father, help, ice storm, in all their glory, inconvenience, joy, joyful terms, lacking nothing, laugh, lean on God, learn to value yourself, leaves, look back, Look to God, LOVE, mature, men of faith, Mother Earth, my brethren, natural response, negative experiences, perfect, poor self-image, positive work, press on, produces patience, raise our self-image, risk the usual, running afoul of, same old, settle for the ordinary, short memories, shy away, specks of green, spiritual growth, spring has sprung, stand fast, strength, take a chance, take advantage of, take control of our lives, testing, the enemy, the trials of life, the trying of faith, tough times, trust in God, various trials, victory, wisdom
James 1:2. My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations (various trials).
At last friends, at long last, some of the ice that’s covered the ground from the ice storm a week ago has finally melted…Yay! And we can now see some of Mother Earth’s dirtyish brown grass with specks of green thrown in for good measure. Glory be!
But not all of the ice has melted, there are still several patches of it all around. And from my kitchen window I can see about three or four solid boulders of ice lying at the side of the road, and the big lump of ice that clogged the entrance to my lane when they cleaned the main road last week is still there, blocking traffic and making it difficult to enter the lane.
But God is good! Let’s remember that, and a few weeks from now when spring has finally sprung and the leaves and beautiful blossoms are out in all their glory, we’ll look back and laugh at this inconvenience. Hn, hn! Yeh mih people, it’s a good thing the Lord blessed us with short memories.
However, it’s Saturday, so let’s turn our attention to some of this week’s quotes from our friend Anselm, as he aspires to inspire us to a better tomorrow. Here is the first one: ‘Learn to value yourself, which means fight for your happiness.’
Oh my people, too many of us don’t value ourselves highly enough, we have a poor self-image, thus others take advantage of us. Therefore we need to raise our self- image through Bible study and assertive action if we want to control our lives and thus our happiness. And the next quote is basically about the same thing; taking control of our lives.
‘Don’t let other people decide whether you are going to have a fantabulous or bad day, make that decision yourself.’ Again, too many of us allow others to run our lives and decide what kind of day we’re going to have. That is counter productive friends. We have to learn to stand on our own two feet and make those kinds of decision for ourselves, otherwise we’ll always be at the mercy of others.
And the final quote says: ‘If you are not willing to risk the usual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.’ In other words, take a chance! And that is gospel truth! If you never take chances and just stay with the tried and true, the same old, same old, then the same old, same old is all you’ll ever get.
Our society and our Christian faith was built on our forefathers and the early Christians taking chances, even when it meant running afoul of the authorities and thus possible loss of life. And as we Christians know, whenever we step out to do something for Christ, the enemy will most likely come against us and try to prevent us from doing it.
But because of Christ’s promises and His power to enable us to do anything, we don’t have to shy away, but press on regardless. And we do that through faith. But faith doesn’t just come like by wishing it. On the contrary it’s something we have to build, through constant hard work and adversity.
And Cousin Bobby (Bobby Schuller- Hour of Power) says that ‘Faith is not a leap, but an enduring daily trust that God can do the impossible in your life.’ And that’s no lie! Each and every day we awaken we have to learn to keep the trust in God we earned the day before, and to build on it, so that tomorrow it will be even stronger. That’s how we build faith my brethren – from day to day, through whatever trial comes our way.
That brings us to our Bit, some rather interesting words from James, Jesus’ brother, in his epistle to the Christians dispersed around the world. ‘My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations (various trials).’ Now who wants to find trials joyful eh? Nobody! But friends, that’s the only way we’ll grow in faith.
As James continues: ‘Knowing this, that the trying (testing) of your faith worketh (produces) patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire (complete), wanting (lacking) nothing.’ James 1:3-4) Yeh friends, as long as we are believers, our faith will always be tested, and we need to stand fast so that we can grow.
And the scholars got it right: ‘1:4. The natural response to adversity is to escape it. But God uses trouble to mature His people.’ Oh, we certainly know it’s rough, and do try to escape, but much to our dismay, that’s just part of the life of faith we’re trying live.
The scholars further tell us: ‘1:2-3. In this epistle on Christian living, James opens with a most crucial topic: the trials of life. These verses describe the various testings – whether from the world and Satan, or from God – into which godly Christians fall (Gr. peripipto).
These “negative” experiences are to be accepted with great joy, not for the sake of the trial itself but because of the positive work God can accomplish through the testing….It is not merely one’s presence in such trials but one’s victory over them that brings spiritual growth and maturity. Those Christians whom God can use the most are those whom God has bruised the most.’
Unfortunately mih people growing in spiritual faith is not easy, as can be seen from the lives of all great men of faith, especially Jesus. But they all kept constantly looking to the heavenly Father for the strength to carry on, and He gave it to them. Likewise, if we look to our heavenly Father for strength and wisdom to carry on in tough times, He WILL give it to us.
So friends, whatever is coming against us right now, let’s try and think of it in joyful terms nuh, (smile) believing that God is allowing it for a greater purpose than we can imagine, and lean on Him for the help to come through it successfully. He will not disappoint us. That’s His faithful promise! Much LOVE!
…spiritual growth…is based on fleshly suffering…
12 Apr 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a comapssionate heart, acknowledge, act of denial, adversity, Alex Boyer, Beelzebub, before men, before my heavenly father, cast men into hell, Christian faith, concrete jungle, confess me, courage, creativity, curse, deny me, destroy both body and soul, doctor's appointments, dying for Christ, everlasting fire, evil spirit, favour, fear him, fear not them, fight with the soul, forgiveness, glory to God, health, hell fire and damnation, hoard, in the thick of it, kill the body, life everlasting, lifelong resistance, LOVE, mercy, mish mash, negative word, not able to kill the soul, of more value, our heavenly Father, physical lives, pot holes, practical impossibility, prosper, public confession, reassurance, resurrection, rough times, Satan, secret discipleship, self-control, self-discipline, shaking it rough, share with others, showering of grace, sold for a farthing, sparrows, spiritual aspect, succeed, the body gets tired, the fight for survival, the hairs of your head, the living truth, the Lord's generosity, Thursday's Blessings, Toronto, traffic jams, victory in Jesus' name
Matthew 10:28. 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.
Well hello there mih Scrip-Bit family! How goes it with you all this rainy day Thursday eh? I hope it goes better with you than with me, because the ole fella is shaking it a tad rough after spending the last two days running around in the concrete jungle called Toronto for doctor’s appointments and tests. That’s why the last two Bits were so early. (smile)
But what a mish mash that place is; the roads are full of potholes, the traffic jams are constant…! Brother! I don’t see how people can handle that ridiculous commute for five days every week nuh. But I guess you have to do what you have to do to make a living.
The good news though my brethren, is that the Lord’s generosity has not stopped flowing…and it never will! His ongoing showering of grace, mercy, LOVE and forgiveness on His people is guaranteed for all time. So though we may occasionally face adversity and rough times, we know for sure that our heavenly Father is right in the thick of it with us, and has promised to bring us out better than before.
Glory to God my brethren! What a wonderful God we serve and worship! Give Him some thanks and praise nuh!
And I just noticed an interesting and rather appropriate quote here amongst the confusion of papers on the desk in front of me. It’s attributed to one Alex Boyer, and it says: ‘When the body gets tired, you fight with your soul.’
And isn’t that the living truth friends! The soul is much stronger than the body, though the body leads in the fight for survival. And when the body fails or falters, it’s the soul’s job, the spiritual aspect of our humanity, to take up the battle and lead us to victory in Jesus’ name.
I guess that’s why Jesus gave His disciples the fateful warning found in Today’s Bit. ‘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.’ Ah friends, what wise and wonderful advice from our Saviour Himself; advice that is also applicable to us today.
Hear how the scholars explain that section. ‘10:25-31. Beelzebub refers to Satan himself, the ultimate evil spirit. The disciples are told to fear…not. The disciples’ enemies can only take their physical lives, which cannot prevent their blessed resurrection to life everlasting.
In other words, Jesus reminded them that it was more important to fear Him who had authority over the soul as well as over the body and who can bring both to eternal condemnation in hell (Gr. Gehenna). Notice that God is the One who has authority to cast men into hell, and not Satan, who will himself be ultimately cast into everlasting fire.’
Yes my fellow believers, it’s only Almighty God; our Creator, Controller and Provider who can sentence us to a lifetime of hell fire and damnation! And I’m sure none of us want to suffer that terrible fate. Therefore, we need to live a life down here on earth that is subject to His law and will, if we want to see His glorious face at the end of our earthly sojourn.
Listen to how Jesus continues His warning to the disciples. ‘Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing (1/16 of a denarius – a penny)? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.’ (Matt.10:29:-31)
Oh mih breddren, what a glorious reassurance that is from our Master! We are God’s greatest creation; worth more than many sparrows, and even the very hairs on our head are numbered. Wow! The Lord knows it all and is committed to keeping us together, even though we sometimes falter.
However, these next two verses are the ones that will cement His decision. ‘Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt.10:32-33) There it is in black and white my people! If you deny Christ, He will deny you before His heavenly Father.
And the scholars offer this good explanation. ’10:32-37. Confess me means “Acknowledge that you belong to me.” In reality, secret discipleship is a practical impossibility. Jesus constantly called for an open confession of Himself by His followers. That our confession is to be before men clearly indicates that a public confession of true Christian faith is a virtual necessity.
The warning whosoever shall deny me is a comprehensive historical aorist tense, (hn!) referring not to one moment of denial (such as Peter’s), but to an entire lifelong resistance to Christ. Therefore a single act of denial does not make one unworthy of being a disciple, but a refusal to confess Christ at all eliminates one from being a true follower of Jesus Christ.’
So all of us who claim to belong to Christ, but refuse to acknowledge Him in public, yuh better had think again! But for those of us who gladly acknowledge Him in public and enjoy His wonderful company, let’s go home now declaring the manifold grace and mercy we enjoy in our Thursday Blessings.
In strong and sincere voice 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!’
Yeh mih people all of that is ours, and not just to hoard for ourselves, but to share generously with the less fortunate. So let’s go out and do that now nuh. Much LOVE!
…a true Christian is one…who is not afraid or ashamed to tell the world…and also show the world…that he is living and dying for Christ…
23 Mar 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: accomplishments, backbreaking labour, believes on Him that sent me, boundaries, carnal self, carouse, celebration, Christian faith, cleaners for us, condemnation, crapaud smoke yuh pipe, deceitful, distrustful, drink, Easter, eat, elbow grease, enthusiasm, enthusiastic, envy, eternal life, everlasting life, fellowship, Friday, Friday chant, from death to life, fun, furthering God's kingdom, generosity, generous help, generous offer, get a foothold, glory to God, guaranteed, he that hears my word, Holy Week, I say unto you, in Jesus name, insensitive men, judgement, letting it all hang out, licentious behaviour, lose our focus, lustful, magnanimity, music, only begotten Son of God, our heart's desire, party, reconciliation, refreshed, relaxation, renewed, rest, resurrected, rose triumphantly from the grave, sacrificed, salvation, simple, spoils the broth, symphony, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, the cross at Calvary, the greatest magnitude, the weekend, the workingman's ears, verily, vociferous, wisdom, workingman's song
John 5:24. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation (judgement); but is passed from death into life.
Aye friends, can you believe it’s Friday already; the day we’ve waited for since Monday? (smile) Yes it is. And nobody is more grateful than the ordinary workingman as he shows his appreciation in his song. ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday! That means the weekend is here at last! Wow! That’s music to the workingman’s ears! No more slavish work; no more abuse from insensitive and greedy men.
Is we time now! We time to do as we please, and how we please. And who don’t like what we do, or how we do it…chuh pool! Too bad for them. But we going to eat and drink and party and carouse to our heart’s desire. Thank God for Fridays and the weekend yes!’
Ah mih people, the workingman is surely letting it all hang out, but unfortunately as believers in Christ, we can’t go to those lengths in our song. We need to pay attention to certain boundaries and limit our licentious and carousing behaviour, so that the enemy won’t be able to get a foothold in our souls, thus the difference between the workingman’s song and our Friday Chant.
So let’s chant our Friday Chant now nuh, with commensurate enthusiasm to that of the workingman, and without too much envy, for you know mankind is always more enthusiastic and vociferous when he can let go and show his true lustful and carnal self. (smile)
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.’
Yeh friends, as believers we can relax, but not totally lose our focus because that’s when the evil enemy jumps right in and spoils the broth. And we certainly can’t allow him to do that, hence our more careful and controlled reaction to the weekend.
Please remember too that next week is Holy Week, one of the most important times in our Christian faith, one that culminates in the celebration of Easter, where our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, sacrificed His sinless life for us on the cross at Calvary, then rose triumphantly from the grave, so that all who believe in Him can also be resurrected.
Glory to God my people! What a wonderful God we serve and worship! And don’t you ever forget it, for you do so at your own risk. For please note these memorable words of Jesus on the situation, found in our Bit. ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation (judgement); but is passed from death into life.’
Yes my brethren, Jesus is clearly telling us here that if we hear His word and believe on the Father who sent Him, then we’ll be guaranteed eternal life. However, if we reject the Father, then it’s cleaners for us; condemnation, judgement, eternal separation from Him. And He backs up all of that with some of His most profound and prophetic words from an earlier chapter of John.
‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.’ (John 3:16-18)
There we have it friends, loud and clear, straight from Jesus Himself. So there can be no argument over the situation; believe in Him and the Father, and you’re saved. Don’t believe, and you’re condemned! Simple as that!
I guess though that it’s too simple for some people. Just believing in Christ to be saved seems too easy for us mortals who glorify great works and accomplishments filled with much elbow grease and backbreaking labour. So how can such a magnificent thing be so easily accomplished eh?
Our simple and finite minds can’t get around the generosity and magnanimity of our great God. His LOVE for us, His most wonderful creation, is so great that He can’t bear to be separated from us for ever, so in His ultimate wisdom, He offers us a FREE GIFT of reconciliation and salvation to prevent that most horrible of outcomes.
Now a lot of us think that offer’s too good to be true, and usually offers like that are insincere, but remember, this is not an offer from deceitful and distrustful men, but from Almighty God, your Creator and Controller. He has no reason to lie or deceive you, but offers You His salvation from the wellspring of His amazing LOVE.
And since He also gave you choice and freewill, it’s yours to accept or reject. But my brethren, I beg of you to accept God’s most generous offer, for it’s wisdom of the greatest magnitude. And if you don’t…then…unfortunately…crapaud smoke yuh pipe…! Much LOVE!
…the first movement in Christ’s magnificent symphony is…BELIEF…to enjoy it therefore…one must first…BELIEVE…
01 Mar 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a serious toll, abundance, acknowledge, adamant people, adversity, ashamed, be known, bombarding our world, bounden duty, calamity, can't kill the soul, Christ's body, Christian faith, communicating the gospel, compassionate heart, confess me, confrontation, courage, curse, deny me before men, destroy both soul and body, discipleship, drift away, earthly fortunes, eternal life, fear, fear them not, fight the good fight, first of March, foolish, Gentiles, hard work, hear, hid, I will deny before my Father, in darkness speak in the light, in heaven, in the name of Jesus, individuals, Jews, kill the body, lackadaisical, lifelong resitance, like a whirlwind, magnanimous god, missing out on salvation, necessity, negative word, nothing covered, open confession, persecutors, pilgrim's journey, preach from the housetops, proselytize, prosper, public confession, reap benefits, reap peas, refuse to believe n Jesus, rejection, salvation, scared, shall be revealed, shame, sit on the fence, soldiers in Christ's army, sow rice, stubborn, success, the church, the gospel of christ, the One and Only Living God, the power of God, Thursday's Blessings, tragedy, two edged sword, ungodliness, wisdom, wishy-washy
Matthew 10:33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
And then it was the first of March… Can you believe it? January and February have passed us by like a whirlwind! It’s now an old year! (smile) Unfortunately though, not much has changed over the past two months, there is still an overwhelming amount of adversity, calamity and tragedy bombarding our world.
Ungodliness is also taking a serious toll on our earthly fortunes, as lots of people, for whatever reason, unfortunately drift away from the ONE and ONLY TRUE LIVING GOD. How sad that is friends, knowing that so many of our fellow man stand the very good likelihood of missing out on salvation and eternal life with Christ. And there’s nothing more important that that, in this entire world!
But as individuals, and as Christ’s body, the church, we can only do so much. However, I do believe that we’re not doing as much as we can. It’s doubtful that we’ll ever proselytize EVERYBODY on the planet, because there are just some stubborn, foolish, adamant people who will just flatly refuse to ever believe in Jesus, but we can surely give it a greater effort than we’re currently doing.
Too many of us are too lackadaisical about communicating the gospel to others, and some simply refuse to do it for fear of confrontation, rejection or shame. But please remember the momentous words of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in our Bit: ‘But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.’ Ah mih people, it couldn’t get any plainer than that nuh.
And earlier on He said to the disciples: ‘Fear them not therefore (persecutors): for there is nothing covered (veiled), that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what hear ye in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. 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.10:26-28)
Yes friends, there is no need to fear what man can do to us, because he can only kill the body, but we need to fear God, who can kill both body and soul. Thus, once we embark upon the pilgrim’s journey with Christ, we cannot afford to let fear of man put us off, but we have to keep on fighting the good fight to spread the gospel to ALL the world, because that’s our bounden duty.
And as good soldiers in Christ’s army, we need to do our duty sincerely and proudly and with lots of courage. Please note what Jesus said right before our Bit. ‘Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt.10:32)
And the scholars enlighten us as to the meaning of our Bit and that verse. ‘10:32-37. Confess me means “Acknowledge that you belong to Me.” In reality, secret discipleship is a practical impossibility. Jesus constantly called for an open confession of Himself by His followers. That our confession is to be before men clearly indicates that a public confession of true Christian faith is a virtual necessity.
The warning whosoever shall deny me is a comprehensive historical aorist tense, (hn!) referring not to one moment of denial (such as Peter’s), but to an entire lifelong resistance to Christ. Therefore, a single act of denial does not make one unworthy of being a disciple, but a refusal to confess Christ at all eliminates one from being a true follower of Jesus Christ.’
What more can I say eh mih breddren. The scholars hit the nail on the head. We either acknowledge Jesus in public, or we don’t. We can’t sit on the fence, scared and wishy-washy. That doesn’t work in Jesus’ organization. A lot of us want to reap the benefits of knowing Jesus but don’t want to put in the hard work those benefits require before they can become reality.
Remember friends, in God’s economy, whatever you sow, that is what you’re going to reap. So don’t think you can deny Jesus and still get to heaven. As true believers in Jesus, we ought to proudly and courageously say and act like Bruh Paul: ‘For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek (Gentiles).’ (Rom.1:16)
Yes my people, that’s how we ought to think of the gospel of Christ, because it is indeed powerful, remember, it’s like a two edged sword. That means we have to be very careful with it, not play around with it like some ordinary knife, else we’re liable to get cut very badly with it. (smile) So please, let’s sit and ponder today, how we are treating the gospel of Christ, and if we’re denying or confessing Him, because that’s the key to our eternal salvation.
Now let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings in strong voice and heartfelt sincerity. ‘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 what a magnanimous God we serve my people! Now let’s go out and share those blessings with others, as He intends for us to do. Much LOVE!
…you can’t sow rice and expect to reap peas…likewise…you can’t deny Christ…and expect Him to confess you before His Father…
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