06 Jun 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living
Tags: a means of restoring faith in you, a new flock of believers, amidst all the anxiety and confusion, be responsible, cause for pause, ceaseless drive for wealth and power, chaos, chastened every morning, Christian living, corrupt, crying out for help, disaster areas, drifting smoke from wildfires, eyes bulge with abundance, faith, feudal states, Friday chant, genocide, God is good to Israel, gospel truth, holy spirit, I almost stumbled, I have cleansed my heart in vain, I saw the prosperity of the wicked, I was envious at the foolish, in whose powerful name we stand, inequality of wealth, inhumanity, is there knowledge in the most High, LOVE, man's fault, man's inhumanity to man makes countless thousands mourn, mercy, my feet were almost gone, my steps had well nigh slipped, no bands in their death, no holds barred, no pain in their death, no regard for planet earth, not in trouble as other men, omnipotent help, plagued like other men, pride surrounds them like a necklace, problems escalating, return backsliders to your fold, salt and light, salvation, simmering unrest, sinful world, slavery, stay safe, such as are of a clean heart, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the error of their ways, the example your faithful believers set, the King of Kings, the Lord of lords, the ordinary man, the poor are getting poorer, the powerful attraction to a wealthy lifestyle, the prosperity of the wicked, the rich are getting richer, the ungodly, the world to come, their eyes stand out with fatness, their strength is firm, then I understood their end, these ungodly times, they increase in riches, to handle the unexpected storms properly, to whom we belong, too few have too much, too many have too little, too painful for me, truth, until I went into the sanctuary of God, violence covers them like a garment, wake up and smell the coffee, washed my hands in innocency, who prosper in the world, wisdom, wise guidance
Psalm 73:3. For I was envious at the foolish (boastful), when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
And it looks like it might be a hazy and somewhat smokey Friday, as smoke from the wildfires drift our way. And it’s indeed possible, for I remember smelling the smoke in the air a couple of years ago when the wildfires were particularly bad. But that hasn’t stopped the shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ from being sent up to heaven.
Ah Lord eh! What a sad state our world has come to, with only chaos and disaster all over our beautiful earth! But that’s man’s fault, not God’s, as in our ceaseless drive for wealth and power, we have done everything to abuse and destroy all that God’s made. What a destructive, childish, selfish and greedy animal is man, with very little regard for planet earth or his fellow man! That’s why down through the years this saying has continued to be ever so true: ‘Man’s inhumanity to man, makes countless thousands mourn!’ Nowadays it’s millions!
And if that isn’t the gospel truth, I don’t know what is! From slavery, to genocide to feudal states, to right now when the inequality of income and wealth is so vast that so few have the majority of the wealth and power, while so many have next to nothing. But do you think that gives us cause for pause? Not on your life! For the haves are trying to take even the little that the have nots possess. I don’t know how much they want, or how much they need to live, but unfortunately their mantra is more…ever more.
That’s why even the psalmist Asaph was perplexed and envied the wealthy, as he writes in Psalm 73 – Prosperity of the Wicked. ‘Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean (pure) heart. But as for me, my feet were almost gone (I had almost stumbled), my steps had well nigh slipped. For I was envious at the foolish (boastful), when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.’ (Ps. 73:1-3) And for the ordinary man, who’s trying to make an honest living, it’s difficult not to be envious of the boastful, greedy and wicked wealthy.
And there’s no doubting the powerful attraction to that lifestyle, since we all desire to live the good and easy life. It made even a spiritually strong man like Asaph almost to stumble spiritually and lose his faith. And why not, especially as Asaph continues: ‘For there are no bands (pangs or pain) in their death: but their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men. Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain (serves as a necklace); violence covereth them as a garment.
Their eyes stand out with fatness (bulge with abundance): they have more than heart could wish. They are corrupt, and speak wickedly concerning (scoff at) oppression: they speak loftily (proudly). They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth. Therefore his people return hither: and waters of a full cup are wrung out to them (drained by them). And they say, How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the most High? Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world (are always at ease); they increase in riches.’ (Ps. 73:4-12)
Yes my faithful brethren, that’s exactly what’s happening in our world today; the rich are getting richer, while the poor are getting poorer! And the rich are blatantly showing that they don’t give a damn about God or man by their utter avariciousness. Sadly, there are no holds barred to their greed. That’s why Asaph could further say: ‘Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain (kept my heart pure in vain), and washed my hands in innocency. For all the day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning. If I say, I will speak thus; behold I should offend against (would have been untrue to) the generation of thy children. When I thought to know (understand) this, it was too painful for me (too troublesome in my eyes). Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their end.’ (Ps. 73:13-17)
Glory be my people! It was only when Asaph went into the Lord’s house that he understood what would eventually happen to the greedy and wicked and evil. Now, the same remedy might apply to some of the many of us who understandably are envious of the wicked and prosperous. We might just need to visit the Lord’s house and talk to Him, or let Him talk to us about the situation. For as it’s been said throughout the Bible, the wicked may prosper in their day, but eventually they all will be destroyed by the Lord God Jehovah! And they’re so bold face to ask, how does the Lord know, and if there’s knowledge in the most High? That blasphemy alone will condemn them to certain death.
So let’s remember that though the wicked might be prosperous in this world, they will not be in the world to come, therefore let’s avoid envying them, since this world doesn’t count as much as the other. And yes, that’s hard to do when we see the amount of inhumanity being meted out to the poor and downtrodden, but please remember whose we are, and in whose powerful name we stand…Jesus Christ, the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords, the most powerful person in the universe!
Now, let’s go to the throne of grace through our Friday Chant, seeking divine help in these very awful and very atrocious times. All together: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help.
Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times.
We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And if we’re truthful to ourselves, we already know that much of the world’s sad state can be attributed to the faithful not being good examples of Christian living, not spreading enough salt and light to the unbelieving world. So, let’s try and turn things around by better witnessing nuh. It’s not too late to start! Much LOVE!
…now might be the wicked’s time…but tomorrow it will Jesus’ time…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
22 Nov 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a God-given right, a great discerner of motives, a man's heart plans his way, a new flock of believers, a restful weekend, all the ways of man are clean in his own eyes, backsliders, checks the motives, choose God, Christian living, commit thy works unto the Lord, disappointing, divine aid, error of their ways, exhilarating, faith, free will, frolicking, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him, holy spirit, I am the Lord that is my name, in the presence of mine enemies, is from the Lord, Jesus Christ, LOVE, man plans but God laughs, mercy, my cup runneth over, my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images, new vistas, omnipotent help, partying, plans of the heart belong to man, problems escalating, roadblocks, salvation, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the answer of the tongue, the ball's in our court, the best laid plans of mice and men usually go astray, the Lord directs his steps, the Lord is sovereign over our thoughts and words, the Lord weighs the spirits, the preparations of the heart, the road of life, thou anointest my head with oil, thou preparest a table before me, thy thoughts shall be established, trusting faith, truth, wake up and and smell the coffee, when a man's ways please the Lord, wisdom
Proverbs 16:1. The preparations of the heart in man (plans of the heart belong to man), and the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord.
So, finally, it’s the big day of Friday, and as we shout: ‘TGIF Thank God it’s Friday!’ we’re looking forward to either a very restful weekend, or one filled with much partying and frolicking. But either way, we take the weekend to be our God-given right to do as we please. (smile) Be careful though, for the Lord ofttimes has something to say about our doings.
And let’s remember the old saying, ‘man plans, but God laughs.’ The adage is a reminder that life is unpredictable. Yes friends, the Road of Life is certainly unpredictable, and despite our most careful planning, unexpected changes can happen; changes that can be either disappointing or exhilarating. As one commentary puts it: ‘We might have driving and destination strategies but scenic new vistas might beckon us or unforeseen roadblocks can deter us.’
That brings us to the wise words of Cousin Sol in Proverbs 16, which deal with man’s plans and God’s reaction. The chapter opens with this most appropriate and intriguing pronouncement. ‘The preparations of the heart in man (plans of the heart belong to man), and the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord.’ (Prov. 16:1) Yes my brethren, although we have the ability and the right to plan, in the long run it’s what the Lord says that triumphs. Or, as the scholars put it: ‘The Lord is sovereign, even over a man’s thoughts and words.
And Cousin Sol follows that verse with this other important one. ‘All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the Lord weigheth the spirits.’ (Prov. 16:2) And so it is. We believe that all our doings are right and good, but the Lord doesn’t base His approval on what we do, as much as on why we do it. The Lord mainly looks at our motives for doing things. As the scholars state, ‘The Lord is a great discerner of motives.’ That’s why Cousin Sol later states: ‘When a man’s ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.’ (Prov. 16:7)
And that’s the gospel truth! When the Lord’s happy with our motives, He makes us to find favour even with out enemies. It’s like Bruh David says in that most famous Psalm 23: ‘Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.’ (Ps. 23:5) Oh my people, that’s how our Lord blesses us when we do things His way and not our own. For as Cousin Sol repeats in Proverbs 16: ‘A man’s heart deviseth (plans) his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.’ (Prov. 16:9) And per the scholars: ‘The Lord is sovereign over man’s scheming and planning.’
So the long and short of the story is that if the Lord desires to thwart our best laid plans He can. Again, as the old saying goes; the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray. And we can all appreciate and agree with that, because many times our best laid plans have indeed been foiled by unfortunate or unforeseen circumstances. That’s just life. But Cousin Sol also tells us in Proverbs 16, how to make our plans not go astray as often. And how is that you anxiously ask? He says: ‘Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established.’ (Prov. 16:9)
As simple as pumpkin pie my people! If we don’t want too many of our schemes and plans to go awry, then we have to begin by basing them on God’s word and His will; be obedient to them. The problem though with this current society is that we believe we know everything, even more than God. So much so we’re fighting tooth and nail to rid our society of Him. But friends, that’s an impossible, fool’s dream, if there ever was one. Because the Lord created the universe and still runs it, and will not give up His power to anyone, especially Satan.
Mark His words from way back when, through the prophet Isaiah. ‘I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.’ (Is. 42:8) Let’s hope that puts some sense in our heads, for the Lord will not lie down and allow His foolish creations, man and Satan to take over a world He so LOVINGLY created, and has great future plans for. And I don’t know why it’s so difficult for us to understand that God created us and still pulls our strings, although He gives us free will to do a lot of stuff, which we use to do foolishness, like turning away from Him, and trying to erase Him from our society.
But believe me friends, the Lord will have the proverbial last laugh for He is the Creator and Controller of this entire universe. And the sooner we come to that realization, the better off we will be. And to help us get there, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, seeking divine aid to ease our problems.
Altogether. ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times.
We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And if we don’t wake up and become better examples of Christian living, then we will not see any divine aid. It’s as simple as that. The ball is now in our court, so let’s use it wisely nuh. Much LOVE!
…free will is not so much about doing what we want…as about using it to choose God…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
04 Oct 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a parable, ambassadors, apostasy, backsliders, be responsible, better examples, Bible, blasphemers, boasters, Christian living, christianity, corrupt minds, disciples, discontent, disobedience, dissatisfaction, divers lusts, divine aid, faith, false teachers, folly, Friday chant, in the last days, in the last days perilous times shall come, insatiable need, Jambres, Jannes, Jesus Christ, laden with sins, late to bed - late to rise, lead captive silly women, liars, LOVE, lovers of pleasures, lovers of their own selves, manifest unto all men, men, more than lovers of God, omnipotent help, perilous times, proud, resist the truth, simmering unrest, slanderers, smell the coffee, stay safe, the church age, the error of their ways, traitors, truth, turning away from God, unexpected storms, ungodly times, wake up, wisdom, wise guidance
2 Timothy 3:1. This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
And He spake unto them a parable, saying, Late to bed, late to rise. Let him who has ears to hear, hear. And as always, there’s truth to Jesus’ parables. (smile) I did go to bed rather late this morning, thus I woke up rather late, and that explains the lateness of the Bit. But, nonetheless, we were able to shout ’TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday, and the weekend is here at long last!’ Although I doubt it’s at long last, because the days are flying by so fast; they morph into each so speedily that before you can truly consider one, it’s another.
Anyway, it’s also another beautiful sunny, fairly warm day in the month of October, for which we also give great thanks. And finally I get to quote some scripture on the last days of the church age that I’ve been trying to get in from the outset of our discourse on that topic, but could never find the time nor space to fit it in, (smile) and it’s oh so relevant and reflect Jesus’ words on the subject. We’re talking here about Bruh Paul’s wise words of warning to his protégé Timothy.
Listen up, as he says: ‘This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous (money lovers), boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers (irreconcilable), false accusers (slanderers), incontinent (without self-control), fierce (brutal), despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady (reckless) highminded (haughty), lovers of pleasures more than (rather than) lovers of God;
Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers (varied) lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate (disapproved) concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs was also.’ (2 Tim. 3:1-9)
Oh friends, every time I read those words of Bruh Paul, I wonder if he isn’t still alive, because those words so aptly describe our cultures, societies and our overall world today! The world is currently filled with perilous times galore, and mankind is all that Bruh Paul foretold they would be; greedy, with no LOVE for God, but plenty for worldly pleasures, covetous, liars, traitors, haughty, without thanks or holiness, and especially disobedient to parents. Now that last one we certainly cannot deny, as this generation is so disobedient it’s not funny.
And the scholars explain the first four verses thus: ‘The last days began with the birth of Christ and will culminate in Christ’s return to the earth to set up His kingdom. The prediction of perilous times indicates that apostasy (turning away from God) will characterize the final days of the church age.’
And we don’t have to look very far to see that people are turning away from God in droves, while figuratively speaking, only a handful are coming to Him. That doesn’t say much for our world or Jesus’ church, meaning us, His supposed believers, disciples and ambassadors. We obviously have not been the worthy salt of the earth and light of the world we ought to have been, otherwise our world would not have fallen so far and fast on the way to hell in a handbasket.
Meanwhile, per the other five verses in the scripture passage, the scholars explain: ‘A form of godliness is mere religion without power or spiritual life. Paul commands Timothy to turn away from these false teachers who pray upon silly women laden with sins, who are especially susceptible to false teachers. Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth condemns not intense study but some esoteric quest for truth apart from God’s Word. Jannes and Jambres, according to Jewish tradition were the two magicians in Pharaoh’s court who attempted to duplicate the miracles of Moses. (cf. Ex. 7:11; 9:11).’
Ah mih people, there’s absolutely no doubt that Bruh Paul’s prophecy holds true to the state of our current society. But the only unfortunate difference is that not only are silly women, but also silly men are being persuaded to turn away from God by the numerous false teachers out there. And the supposed quest for truth, apart from God’s Word, has never before been so intense in the modern world, with so many different types of truth abounding, and where everyone has his or her own truth.
And though, deep down we might desire to turn things around, we all know we cannot do it without the help of Jesus, for He says, He is the vine, and we are the branches, and if we don’t stick close to Him, we won’t be able to do anything. (John 15:5) So please, let’s go to the throne of grace, right now, through our Friday Chant, seeking that divine aid to help us do what we cannot do in our own strength.
Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times.
We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And having prayed that prayer, let’s not forget that nothing will change until we change, until we become better examples of true Christian living! Much LOVE!
…in a world that’s turning away from God…there’s an insatiable need for true believers…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
05 Jul 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a means of restoring faith in you, anixety, asleep on a pillow, Bible, break every fetter, but of power love and a sound mind, catastrophe, Christian living, confusion, crying out for help, divine aid, don't you even yet have confidence in me, Even God doesn't care, even the wind and the sea obey him, Even This, failure, faith, faith is from God, fear, fear is from the enemy, For God hath not given us a spirit of fear, Friday chant, god, God's love never changes, God's presence never leaves us, how is it that ye have no faith, introduce a new flock of believers, Jesus, Jesus Christ, LOVE, Master carest not thou that we perish, obscured your sense of God's presence, omnipotent help, One Year Book of Bible promises, our sinful world, pages of tear-stained script, pay the price for our folly, peace be still, rebuked the wind, return backsliders to your fold, Ruth Harms Calkin, send faith to answer it, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, that habit that chains you, the error of their ways, the fear that paralyzes you, the frightened disciples, the loss that numbs you, trusting faith, unexpected storms, ungodly times, wake up and smell the coffee, when fear knocks, why are ye so fearful, wisdom, wise guidance
Mark 4:40. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?
And at last it was Friday. But after last weekend’s partying and this week’s tough sledding at work, some of us didn’t have the energy to shout: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ but merely mouthed it. (smile) Yes friends, that’s what happens when we get greedy and overdo it; we pay the price for our folly later on. And sometimes it’s a high price too, one we can barely afford. So let’s allow wisdom to prevail this weekend and concentrate on getting some rest nuh. End of Sermon. (smile)
Now, today, we’re going to look at something from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin; a reading that’s oh so appropriate for these catastrophic times in which we live. It’s simply titled, ‘Even This.’ Please read with me: ‘It was a long letter – pages of tear-stained script. “Even God doesn’t care…” she wrote. Perhaps you haven’t put it in a letter, but has some overwhelming failure or fear obscured your sense of God’s presence? That was the catastrophe of the frightened disciples. The wind was boisterous, they had lost control… and Jesus went on sleeping. We quickly identify with the shouting: “Don’t you even care if we go under?” We’ve all shouted it, at least in attitude.
Jesus quieted the sea that night, but his piercing question hits the target of our hearts: ‘Don’t you even yet have confidence in me?” The awe filled disciples said among themselves, “Even the winds and seas obey him.” “How wonderful,” we say. Then suddenly, often without warning, the winds of adversity beat against our personal lives, and we cry “Lord, don’t you even care?” Again he asks, “Don’t you even yet have confidence in me? That habit that chains you. That fear that paralyzes you. That loss than numbs you… even this – all of this you may fling upon me!” But it means more than half-heartedly singing, “He will break every fetter.” It means surrendering to him completely. He knows your every need – even this.’
Ah friends, how very descriptive that is of us! We talk the talk, but can’t walk the walk. We claim such strong belief and understanding, but when the forces of adversity lash us, we cry out panic stricken, wondering, where is God, and if He doesn’t LOVE and care for us anymore. But God’s LOVE NEVER changes… and His presence NEVER strays from us. It’s our weak faith and/or unbelief that drives us crazy. If we were truly surrendered to Him, then we would know that He’s always there with us, LOVING us, like no other.
We behave like the disciples on the boat. Yes, the winds and the waves were threatening to swamp the boat, but they had been with Jesus for some time and had seen all the miracles He did, yet, they were scared out of their wits. It’s the very same way with us. We’ve seen Jesus do wonderful things in our lives, but when the next problem arises, we still become overly scared. It’s okay to be afraid when the disaster strikes unexpectedly, but soon thereafter that fear ought to be reduced to concern, because we know that the Lord is on our side and is looking out for us.
Oh my people, it’s all a matter of faith and sincere belief, of truly surrendering our souls, hearts, minds and bodies to Christ. Let’s keep remembering these memorable words of Bruh Paul to Timothy: ‘For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE and of a sound (disciplined) mind.’ (1 Tim. 1:7) And that’s the bottom line on which we should always be operating, the basic foundation of our earthly walk. For fear is from the enemy; it’s one of his most useful tools. However faith is from God, and it will overcome fear any ole day. No wonder the saying: ‘When fear knocks, send faith to answer it.’
And the Bible Promise for today’s story comes from the gospel of Mark, and is a very useful one to refresh our memories. (smile) Jesus and His disciples were crossing over the Sea of Galilee along with other small boats. ‘And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full (filling with water). And he (Jesus) was in the hinder part (stern) of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master (Teacher), carest thou not that we perish?
And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? And they (the disciples) feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this (who can this be), that even the wind and the sea obey him?’ (Mark 4:37-41)
And that friends is the same Jesus to whom we’ve supposedly surrendered our lives, the One who can do any and everything, who controls the universe, and is in our corner, and who we know much more about than the disciples did back then. So why is He still asking us even today, ‘how is it that ye have no faith?’ And that’s a question we should certainly ponder, because we will each have to answer it for ourselves. But it’s certainly not one that Christ ought to be asking after all this time.
Anyway, let’s go to the throne of grace through our Friday Chant, asking for divine aid to help us with our many problems. Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly.
And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And for divine aid to be forthcoming, our behaviour has to improve, we must become better examples of true Christian living. Much LOVE!
…we can’t say we have faith…when fear so easily overtakes us…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
21 Jun 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a good attitude, annoyed, anxiety, be perfect and entire, be responsible, Bible, Christian living, christianity, confusion, count it all joy, divine help, faith, fall into various trials, Friday chant, genuine faith will never pass away, god, God's favour, impatient, Jesus, Jesus Christ, lacking nothing, let patience have her perfect work, LOVE, meant to teach a lesson, negative experiences, one's victory over trials, purified genuine faith, restoring faith in you, return backsliders to your fold, spiritual growth, spiritual maturity, stay safe, test our faith, test our mettle, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the error of their ways, the example your faithful believers set, the furnace for gold, the positive work God accomplishes through testing, the refining pot is for silver, the simmering unrest, the treasure trove of wisdom, the trials of life, the trieth the hearts, the trying of your faith worketh patience, trials burn away impurities in the believer's faith, unexpected storms, ungodly times, when the time was right, when ye fall into divers temptations, wisdom, wise guidance
James 1:2. My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations (various trials);
Thankfully, this morning when we shouted ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ we discovered that it was not going to be as scorching as the last few days, but still hot enough, in the mid to high twenties. And additionally it will be somewhat cloudy, which will also help to keep the heat down.
Now here’s an interesting happening. Yesterday evening, having put off some errands all week, because of the heat, I decided to brave the weather and went out in a slight drizzle. After putting gas in my car, I headed for the pharmacy, two blocks away to get some medication. However, before I got to the parking lot of the pharmacy, the rain was pouring down. I didn’t want to get all soaked because I had other errands to run, so I sat in the car and waited for it to stop.
Ten minutes later though, with the windows all foggy, the rain was still pouring down. So annoyed and impatient I decided to get out, get wet, then simply go back home and leave the other errands for a later date. The road in front of the pharmacy was like a river, so much rain had fallen and flowed down the angled parking lot to that flat surface. I braved it all in the name of medication. (smile)
But shortly thereafter, when I exited the pharmacy the rain had stopped. So, somewhat miffed at getting soaked unnecessarily, I headed for home. But before I got there, although the skies were dark and ominous, I changed my mind and decided to complete my other errands, reasoning that I’d already gotten wet, so what was another shower of heavenly blessings. (smile) And as the Lord would have it, I got through my errands before the rain came down again. I don’t know if that was meant to teach me a lesson, (smile) perhaps in persistence and not always seeking the easy way out, but I’m glad I don’t have to go out today to finish my errands.
Yes friends, every so often we encounter circumstances, though small and seemingly insignificant that test our mettle and our faith. And there are numerous scriptures in the Bible that speak of the testing of our faith, so let’s look at a few of them today, for they are very important to know so that we can use them, especially in these very deceitful, evil and trying times.
Now here’s this first one from the man of wisdom, Cousin Sol, from his treasure trove of wisdom, the Book of Proverbs. He writes: ‘The fining (refining) pot is for silver, and furnace for gold: but the Lord trieth the hearts.’ (Prov. 17:3) And that’s an indisputable fact my fellow believers. The Lord tries us to test our faith, to see how strong it is. If we truly believe and care for Him enough to go through such testing with a good attitude and not turn against Him.
And I like this commentary which speaks to what happens when our faith is tested. ‘The trials burn away any impurities in the believer’s faith. What is left when the trials have ended is purified, genuine faith, analogous to the pure gold that emerges from the refiner’s fire. As valuable as gold is, it is not as precious as our faith because genuine faith will never pass away.’
Of course! It’s as James says in his epistle: ‘My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations (various trials); 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 1:2-4)
Now that’s certainly a tough scripture to digest. But here are some explanations on it from the scholars. Per verses 1-2: ‘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. (Greek: 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.
The words in verses 2 and 3 (temptations and trying) are often regarded as synonymous. If this were true, then trials themselves would produce spiritual maturity. But they do not. Often, testings make Christians bitter instead of better, with no spiritual growth occurring. The Greek word for “trying” (dokimion) might be better translated as “approving.” 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.’
Now that last sentence is indeed another tough one to digest, but it’s the gospel truth, because if you look through the Bible, many, if not all of the great heroes of faith went through some very trying times, often when innocent. Take for example, Bruh Joseph. He was sold by his brothers to slavery in Egypt, got locked up in prison for a number of years for sexual assault, a crime he did not commit. Pharoah’s baker and barber forget him when they got out of prison, although they had promised to plead his cause.
But when the time was right in God’s sight, He arranged circumstances to help him get out of prison and become the second most important person in Egypt, the most powerful country then on the earth. And what did Bruh Joseph do through all those trials and temptations? He stood strong and steadfast in his faith. He might not have termed it joy, but he maintained a good attitude throughout it all, possibly because, in all of his trials, he found instances of God’s goodness, of God’s favour.
Likewise friends, when we keep a good attitude, and not get bitter, God will enable us to handle the situations. He’s promised never to leave nor forsake us and He keeps all His promises. So we need to be strong and understand His position, although we many not like it. That’s what our faith is all about. Tomorrow, if God spares life, we’ll continue looking at some more scriptures on the testing of our faith. Now let’s go to God, through our Friday Chant, asking for divine help to keep our faith strong.
Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times.
We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And if we truly want to see divine help, then we’ve got to get the ball rolling by setting good Christian examples to those around us. Much LOVE!
…faith can only be measured…by the tests we successfully endure…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
10 Oct 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a grand opening planned, a law unto itself, a purpose for everyhting, a significant sign of decline, allow Him to lead the way, an unfortunate accident, be a bane or a blessing, be thankful, bite the bullet, bring unnecessary sorrow, Christian living, common sense, complacency, count it all joy, difficult lessons make you stronger, divine gifts, do it if and when you want it breed, do your best and be satisfied, don't compare yourself with others, enjoying everyday life, fear, fear can only be overcome, fear not, God can accomplish through testing, God uses trouble to mature us, godly wisdom, grow in godliness, have it more abundantly, holding our hands, keep on keeping on, laidback nature, lazy, level of complacency, life skills, living our fears, LOVE, mano a mano, moderation in all things, my brethren, negative experiences, never satisfied, never to leave nor forsake us, nor living our dreams, put our trust in Jesus, relax in His awesome presence, run behind the material things of life, send faith to answer it, standards are falling, the devil's work, the forerunner of mediocrity, the Lord knows your heart, the Lord's promised, the natural response to adversity, the positive work, the trials of life, to escape, trust and faith in Christ, various testings, when fear knocks, when is not thing is another, when ye fall into divers temptations, won't enjoy them, work everything out for our good
James 1:2. My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations (various trials);
Ah Lord eh people! Steups! The ole people was right yes: in this life, when is not one thing, is a blooming other yes! Chuh man! The devil get mih early this morning. I was coming downstairs a while ago, early to boot, (smile) to start writing the Bit when I had an unfortunate accident. Steups! So I had to waste valuable time, spend over half an hour cleaning up the spill and myself. Obviously I was annoyed, especially when I had argued in a lost cause for staying longer in bed. I guess the Lord really wanted to wake me up in a big way. (smile)
And I had such a grand opening planned for today: And then it was Saturday; a day unlike the other days! One that does not follow the rules and regulations like the others. It’s a law unto itself; of the lazy, laidback, do it if and when you want it breed. No stuffy rules and regulations for Saturday. And I should have taken advantage of that lazy, laidback nature and stayed in bed! (smile)
But we know that the Lord has a purpose for everything He allows to come our way, I just don’t know, or can’t see His purpose for allowing that accident this morning. But like the good believer I am, I’m just going to grin and bear it, and keep on keeping on. Someday I might know the reason…or I might just never. But that’s okay too, for the Lord is a good God and whatever He allows is always for my benefit, in my best interest. Sermon done!
Now let’s see what quotes our friend Anselm sent us this past week, as he aspired to inspire us for a better tomorrow. Listen to this first one, which is ever so appropriate for our world today. ‘Complacency is the forerunner of mediocrity. You can never work too hard on attitudes, effort and technique.’ And that’s the awesome truth. You can never work too hard on your life skills. But the most significant sign of a declining person and a society is its level of complacency, the level of its overall standards. When we stop building and just decide to relax on our fat fannies, dwell on our laurels or past achievements, that’s when our standards and everything else begin to fall.
Life is a constant cycle; it’s always moving, and if you’re not moving along with it, to a reasonable extent, you’ll get left in its dust. And that’s why our society is now in freefall mode; our complacency is dragging us down; our standards are falling lower and lower every day. And that’s not me speaking, that’s history. Just look at all the old, great societies. Once they got fat and prosperous, they laid down and became complacent, and it was only a matter of time before they died.
That’s why the next quote is important. ‘I don’t worry about maintaining the quality of my life, because every day I work on improving it.’ Yes friends, we need to constantly work on improving the quality of our lives, our standards. Now that doesn’t mean just running after material things and wealth of this world, but more about enjoying everyday life, having it more abundantly like what Jesus promised. (John 10:10) Please note one universal truth: if you run behind the material things of life, without judicial and godly wisdom, without common sense, then you’ll certainly pile them up, but you won’t be able to enjoy them, since you will always be too busy trying to attain more.
So what’s the point of piling them up if you can’t enjoy them eh? None whatsoever! No wonder Bruh Paul advised us to use moderation in all things. (Phil. 4:5) The scholars’ term it ‘graciousness’ or ‘sweet reasonableness.’ I term it simple common sense! (smile)
That brings us to this quote: ‘I’m never satisfied with what I do. I always think I can do a lot better.’ Now that can either be a bane or a blessing in our lives. We can either overdo it, by never being satisfied with what we’ve done, or we can be satisfied when we know we’ve done our best.
Oh, we must always try to be excellent in whatever we do, for that’s what Christ expects of His followers, but at the same time He doesn’t want us to go overboard and be overly fussy. None of us is perfect, and some are just better at certain things because of the divine gifts they’ve been given. So please don’t compare yourself with others, that’s the surest way to bring unnecessary sorrow to your life. Just do your best and be satisfied. The Lord knows and sees your heart.
Now there’s also the other side to that story, as this quote explains. ‘Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears.’ And that’s the living truth. Fear, or the devil’s work is too big a part in too many of our lives. So much so that we can’t get around to working on our dreams. Remember some of Jesus’ favourite words were:‘FEAR NOT!’
And that pertains to both the physical fear of danger and the spiritual and emotional fear of not being able to work on the dreams and desires of our hearts that the Lord bestowed on us. Again, that invokes godly wisdom and common sense, which can only be truly found when we put out trust in Jesus, read His Word and believe His promises. Remember, faith is the opposite of fear. And as they say, when fear knocks on your door, the best response is to send faith to answer that knock.
So finally, we come to this last quote, which sort of encapsulates them all. ‘Pause and remember – Every single event in your life, especially the difficult lessons, have made you smarter, stronger, and wiser than you were yesterday. Be thankful!’ And all of God’s people said a loud and proud: ‘Glory Hallelujah!’ Yes, I’m being a li’l facetious there, because most of us don’t want to experience difficult times. But the truth is they do make us wiser and stronger than before we experienced them.
For as James so wisely says, when talking about Christian living, faith and humility.‘My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations (various trials);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 1:2-4)
And the scholars offer this interesting explanation. ‘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…’
Yes, I know it sounds somewhat harsh and unreasonable, but the truth of the matter is that we don’t grow unless we go through adversity. It’s only in the rough times that we grow and mature, both spiritually and emotionally, so if we want to grow, we have to learn to face adversity mano a- mano. And the scholars wisely add: ‘1:4.The natural response to adversity is to escape it. But God uses trouble to mature His people.’
And that’s the honest truth! So if you really want to grow in godliness, you just have to bite the bullet and find joy in your trials. Remember though, that the Lord has promised never to leave nor forsake us, and that He’ll work everything out for our good. That means He will ALWAYS be beside us in whatever trial we’re going through, holding our hands to bring us out safely and stronger on the other side. But in those trying times, like now, we have to remember the immortal words of Jesus; ‘FEAR NOT!’ Just relax in His awesome presence and allow Him to lead the way! That’s true wisdom! Much LOVE!
…fear can only be overcome…through trust and faith in Jesus…
28 Aug 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: A prayer of success, abound, areas of growth, be in you, beloved children of God, brotherly kindness, charity, Christ our Lord, Christian living, David Rudder, diligence, divine power, dr robert h schuller, endurance, escaped the corruption, everlasting kingdom, eyes fixed, failure, faith, glory, God-likeness, godliness, grace, growing in grace, halfway home, hands fixed securely, hanging tight with Jesus, hope, Hour of Power Devotional, if these things, in the knowledge of, in the world, Jesus Christ, knowledge, knowledge of God, lifelong cycle, LOVE, magnanimous god, moral excellence, on the plough, partakers of, patience, peace, perseverance, precious promises, pressure, rough row to hoe, salvation, sanctifies success, self-control, spiritual truth, stimulates success, straight ahead, sunny days, sustains success, temperance, the awesome power, the breath of life, the divine nature, the Holy Spirit, the ring of success, they make you, through lust, to a glorious future with Christ, unfruitful, virtue, walk of faith, Wednesday Wail, what I am. what I do, wisdom, without your power, ye shall neither be barren
2 Peter 1:8. For if these things be in you (are yours), and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Sunny days are here again…Glory Hallelujah! Yeh, let’s hope that today is nothing like yesterday, with rain straight through until late afternoon. Got caught in it going to an appointment some distance from home, and would you believe it was terrible; traffic just crawling, with road construction like everywhere, and the rain itself one minute petering out to a light drizzle, then next picking back up steam again. Good thing that it had stopped by the time I was on my way back home.
And we can’t have no rain today because this evening David Rudder (the Crown Prince of kaiso) is down in the Bandshell in the Ex. And that’s a totally open space. So please pray that David gets a good chance to share his beautiful kaiso (calypso) offerings later. (smile)
Now here’s another prayer, this one from Gramps Schuller (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) from his Hour of Power Devotional. He calls it: ‘A Prayer for Success.’ Please pray with me: ‘As I become a success with your help, Lord, let me never forget that what I am is more than what I do. Faith stimulates success. Hope sustains success. LOVE sanctifies success. So I cannot and I dare not succeed without your power, peace, and pressure in my life, Jesus Christ. Amen!’
Oh friends, all of that is so true! In the first place we must realize that what we do is not the most important thing in our lives, but who we are; beloved children of God! And that alone gives us a great chance for success. But as Gramps Schuller says, we need these three untouchables and ‘unmeasurables’; faith, hope and LOVE, to even enter the ring of success, much less to achieve it.
And Peter expounds on the subject nicely, and quite at length in his second epistle. Listen to Him as he greets his readers and reminds them of God’s provision for Christian living, past, present and future. ‘Grace and peace be multiplied unto you, through (in) the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord.
According to his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue. Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.’ (2 Pet. 1:2-4)
Oh my fellow believers, we see that our most magnanimous God has already given us all the power and grace and promises that we need to succeed in this life, but we have to now raise them up from our souls through the awesome power of the Holy Spirit.
And Peter then continues, re growing in grace. ‘And beside this, (for this very reason), giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance (self-control); and to temperance patience (perseverance); and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity (LOVE).’ (2 Pet.1:5-7)
Ah mih people, that seems like a real rough row to hoe, but hoe it we must, if we want to succeed in this Christian walk of faith and LOVE! And the scholars offer this explanation: ‘1:5-7. In this section Peter urges his readers to grow to spiritual maturity. Add to your faith indicates the areas of growth that follow after salvation. Virtue is moral excellence. Knowledge is spiritual truth. Temperance is self-control. Patience is endurance. Godliness is God-likeness.
Brotherly kindness (Gr. philadelphian) is brotherly LOVE. Charity (Gr. agapen) is volitional LOVE (making a choice or decision to LOVE). This process is a lifelong cycle of spiritual growth for all believers.’ And so indeed it is my fellow saints in Christ! And Peter reason thus for his advice: ‘For if these things be in you (are yours), and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.’
Glory be mih breddren! For there’s nothing better in this life than to have a good knowledge about Christ and produce good fruit in His image! And Peter further explains: ‘But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off (is shortsighted), and hath forgotten that he was purged (cleansed) from his old sins.
Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall (stumble): For so an entrance shall be ministered (supplied) unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.’ (2 Pet.1:9-11) What a wonderful life is being set up in heaven for those of us who place Christ above all else and do our best to honour and obey Him!
Hear how the scholars explain those last verses. ‘1:10-11. Ye shall never fall: The author is not referring to falling from salvation but to failure in Christian living. The everlasting kingdom refers to the eternal realm of God where Jesus is the undisputed Ruler. It is synonymous with heaven. Thus one who acquires the virtues of verses 5-7 will have a rich inheritance in heaven.’
Mama Mia! It couldn’t get any better than that my people! Therefore let’s go home now joyfully declaring (yeah!) our Wednesday Wail which let’s the whole world know of our serious position in Christ, since heaven is our ultimate home. All together now: ‘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 sincerely believe, then you’ll know that that future will indeed be glorious; so glorious that we cannot even imagine it! Wow! So let’s keep on hanging tight with Jesus nuh friends, for that is wisdom of the highest order! Much LOVE!
…success in anything…means learning and adhering to these three keys…hope…faith…and LOVE…
13 Mar 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a coward, a grain of salt, a loving manner, a snowy morning, all things work together for good, an arduous process, are called to his purpose, backs me in a corner, beautiful faith, become more like Jesus, childlike, Christian living, Christian maturity, christianity, cunning craftiness, curt, disaster, emotional, faithful believer, friend of Jesus, giants, God's promise, grace, grief, grow in grace, growing spiritually, has a purpose, heartaches, hurry, I can see, I want to grow, in Jesus' name, in the image of Jesus, Jesus Christ, long slow process, lonliness, look beyond, Love God, mifget, need help, negative stuff, North Eastern U.S, now and for ever, One Year Book of Bible promises, our Lord and Saviour, pain, physical, pitfalls, positive use, pray, present darkness, put in the effort, reassuring scripture, Ruth Harms Calkin, sarcastic, share jesus' love, sleight of men, sojourners, something positive, sound doctrine, speaking the truth, spring has not sprung, steadfastness, strangers, take heart, takes time, the beloved of God, the knowledge of god, the Lord's second Coming, the present world, thorough instruction, to him be glory, to those who love God, trickery, trust, Tuesday Mantra, unkind, winter, winter storm, worry, worth the waiting
2 Peter 3:18. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever.
And then it was a snowy Tuesday morning…not a whole lot of the white stuff, but certainly sufficient to cover everything and remind us that it’s still winter. Yeh, though we’ve been having some fairly mild temps recently, Ole Man Winter thought it necessary to remind us that spring has not yet sprung. (smile)
And talking about winter; they say things happens in threes, and in the case of the North Eastern U.S. they are probably right, because for the third time in two weeks another winter storm is bludgeoning the area. Ah Lord eh!
Let’s pray for them friends, and do whatever we can to help them otherwise, even if it’s just calling or texting or somehow communicating with those in the affected areas to find out how they are doing. For we never know when we’ll be affected by some disaster and need their help.
And today I want to share something from our One Year Book of Bible Promises, with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin that points out some of the trauma and drama in our spiritual growth. It’s titled, ‘Worth the Waiting.’
Please read with me: ‘Growing spiritually is such a long, slow process! It’s painful too. Every day at the turn of the road I become acquainted with new pitfalls and heartaches. Sometimes the pain backs me into a corner. For example: There is a woman I know who is so sarcastic, so curt and unkind. Am I ever excused? Is forgiveness always a part of my growth?
So often I feel like a spiritual midget while my husband and friends appear to be spiritual giants. I seem to shrink in my own home. Another thing: I confess I’m a coward about pain. Emotional pain. Physical pain. The pain of loneliness, the pain of grief. Yet, again and again it is true.
What I must learn in my pain is that it’s leading to something positive, something beyond what I can see in the present darkness. I do want to grow! I want to become more and more like Jesus. Even though it takes so long, surely it is worth the waiting.’
And it is indeed worth the waiting my fellow believers! Oh my brethren, growing in anything at all takes time and can be an arduous process, but like it is with Jesus, the end will all be worth it. And I know many of us want to grow spiritually but are having a hard time wading through all the stuff that it entails.
But take heart, everything we go through in being recreated in the image of Jesus has a purpose. God never throws away anything in our lives, even the negative, painful stuff, He always puts them to good, positive use. That’s why Bruh Paul writes this very reassuring scripture in the word: ‘And we know that all things work together for good to those that LOVE God, to them who are called according to his purpose.’ (Rom.8:28)
Yeh friends, if we LOVE God and are called to do His work, then everything will work out good eventually. It’s God’s promise, and as a faithful believer, you are expected to accept it…without a grain of salt. (smile) And the Bible Promise for the reading above is also our Bit for today. But before we get to it, let’s hear what Peter says to the early believers who were living in the hope of the Lord’s coming.
‘Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before (beforehand)…’ And he’s talking about the Lord’s Second Coming and how we’re looking for a new heaven, and all the stuff that Bruh Paul has written, some of which is hard to do. (2 Pet. 3:1-16)
‘…beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.’ (2 Pet. 3:17-18).
Oh my people, Christianity is indeed a beautiful faith; the most beautiful, but it is also time consuming and calls for a lot of effort and sacrifice! But it’s all worth it! As the scholars explain: ‘Peter urges his readers to look beyond the present world to the new heavens and a new earth characterized by righteousness.’
And so should we be looking forward to coming in glory of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Remember this earth is not our home; we are merely strangers and sojourners here. Heaven is our real home. We should therefore look forward to it.
But to do that we have to be strong and steadfast, like Bruh Paul warned the Ephesians in talking about the new life in Christ. ‘That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight (trickery) of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby thy lie in wait to deceive. But speaking the truth in LOVE, may grow up to him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.’ (Eph.4:14-15)
Oh friends, to grow spiritually means we must stop being childlike and put in the effort to grow in all aspects of Christian living. And if we do so sincerely, God will give us the grace we need to become more like Christ, each and every day.
Now let’s go home telling the world who and whose we are. Let’s shout out our Tuesday Mantra as though we really mean it. ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
Now let’s go out and action those things in Jesus’ name. Much LOVE!
…‘Christian maturity is attained in part…by thorough instruction…in sound doctrine…given in a LOVING manner…’
14 Feb 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a God-given morn, a wave of joy, aches, beloved of God, bless your Holy Name, but as thou wilt, Christian living, crucifixion, cruelty, desires, discernment, disgrace, do the will of him that sent me, doing God's will, dr robert h schuller, faith, fear of death, feels great to be alive, fell on his face, finish his work, focus, friend of Jesus, glory hallelujah, healing on the Sabbath, I the name of Christ, if it be possible, in my heart, in my life, in my mind, insistent, inspiring spirit, Jacob's Well, joy, led astray, let this cup pass from me, longings, LOVE, moment of prayer, my meat, my soul id exceeding sorrowful, not as I will, o my father, obits, of mine own self I can do nothing, on the right path, our heavenly Father, pains, persistent, problems, Samaritan woman, seeing Jesus face to face, share with others, Something Beautiful, tarry, Thank You Lord, the eternal God, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Holy Spirit, the Son's relationship with the Father, the straight and narrow path, the wiles of the enemy, trust, Tuesday Mantra, unfortunate circumstances, waking up in heaven, walk in your will, watch with me, world-changing event
Matthew 26:39. And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
And then it was Tuesday – a semi-cloudy, chilly day in my area, but it sure feels great to be alive!
Yes friends, there’s nothing to beat waking up to a new God-given morn, regardless of all the problems you know await you, once you set your feet on the ground. I guess the only thing better would be waking up in heaven and seeing Jesus face to face! Wow!
But we’re not ready for that just yet, (smile) and I don’t think He’s quite ready for us yet either, otherwise we we’d be reading our names in the obits this morning.
So let’s give Him a great big shout of praise in a ‘Thank You Lord! We LOVE You and bless Your Holy Name, and will do our very best to walk in Your will this Tuesday morning! Amen!’
In addition to that, let me share a li’l prayer from Gramps Schuller’s (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) Hour of Power Devotional. I believe I’ve shared it before, but like so many other prayers – it’s like forgiveness – (smile) one worthy of being shared again and again.
Please pray with me. ‘Father, I turn these minutes over to you. Do something beautiful in my mind, in my heart, and in my life today. So I will look back and say: “I was caught up by an inspiring spirit of the eternal God in this moment of prayer.” In the name of Christ I pray. Amen.’
Oh friends, it’s so beautiful when the Holy Spirit inspires us! A wave of joy just spreads through our entire being, because we know that our heavenly Father has just communicated with us, and we are definitely on the right path, the straight and narrow one. Glory Hallelujah!
I don’t know about you all nuh people, but my problem is not so much doing God’s will, but knowing what is His will? That’s why I ask for discernment and focus every day in my prayers. Once I know the path He wants me to tread, then I can usually set my mind to it.
Too often I’ve thought that I knew His will, only to discover that it really wasn’t His will, but my own, which led to unfortunate circumstances. And the way the world is so flashy and insistent and persistent today, it’s very easy to get thoughts into our heads that seem to be God’s, when in actual fact they are our own longings and desires.
So we have to be very careful in our discernment, otherwise we can be very easily led astray by the wiles and deceptions of the enemy. And my fellow believers, knowing the will of God, and pursuing it is one of the most important aspects of our faith.
And we can see how important it was to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, so it had to be even more important to us. At the time of His greatest anxiety, the night before His crucifixion, in the Garden of Gethsemane, what was His prayer eh?
After telling Peter, James and John, the three disciples that were with Him: ‘My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry (stay, wait) ye here, and watch with me.
And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.’
Ah mih breddren, Jesus was every bit as human as us, with all the aches and pains and fear of death. Now wouldn’t you be afraid if you not only knew the time of your death, but also the unimaginable cruelty and disgrace involved.
However, Jesus knew that He was also born for that momentous, world-changing event, and as always put the Father’s will before everything else. So too should we my believing brethren. Listen to a couple of Jesus’ pronouncements on doing the Father’s will.
After the episode of the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well, (John 4), the disciples pleaded with Jesus to eat. ‘Jesus saith unto them, My meat (food) is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.’ (John 4:34)
Yuh see friends, He’s more interested in doing the Father’s will, than in physical food, which He needed to keep His body strong and healthy. How many of us are willing to make such a serious statement eh?
Not too many. But that is exactly the kind of statement we Christians ought to be able to make, if we are to be successful in Jesus’ work here on earth.
Now hear Jesus’ statement when the Jews tried to persecute Him after healing a lame man on the Sabbath. Here He is talking about the Son’s relationship with the Father.
‘I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgement is just (righteous); because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.’ (John 6:30)
So friends, just like Jesus, let’s seek to do the Lord’s will at all times nuh, because that is the secret of true Christian living. Now let’s go home loudly and proudly declaring our Tuesday Mantra as one body secure in Christ.
‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am thebeloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
Oh Glory Hallelujah my people! Let’s go out now, fully clothed in the LOVE of God, and share it with all we come into contact with nuh, for that is the stated desire of our friend Jesus! Much LOVE!
…the Lord gives us LOVE…not only for ourselves…but also to share with others…
01 May 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: ambassadors, Amorites, as for me and my house, be my guide, blatant refusal, blessings, bounden duty, Christian living, comfort, covers all the bases, different strokes, difficult times, disicples, do His will, encompassing, encouragement, evil, examples speak more forcibly than words, fear the Lord, feel discouraged, fellowship, first day of May, glamour, glitz, grateful, guidance, happiness, heartfelt thanks, Israelites, Jesus Christ, Joshua, lean on God for support, listen with conern, living God, LOVE, magnanimous god, material possessions, my every deed, my every word, New World Order, one and only God, peaceful moments, praise, praise the Lord for His goodness, prayer, put away the gods, reassure, rejuvenation of spirit, seek God, serve him, sincerity, sinful trap, steadfastness of purpose, strength to keep going, Sunday, talk the talk, thanksgiving, the Euphrates river, the gospel of Jesus, the Great Commission, the Lord's Day, the Most High God jehovah, the other side of the flood, time for church, troubles, truth, ungodliness, ungodly world, uplift, we will serve the Lord, wisdom, worship
Joshua 24:14. Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood (The Euphrates River), and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord.
Oh my beautiful believers in Jesus Christ, it’s the first day of May, as well as the Lord’s Day, better known as Sunday!
That means it’s time for church; time for praise and worship, for thanksgiving and fellowship, for rejuvenation of spirit, encouragement and steadfastness of purpose, plus all the other good things that our magnanimous God pours out on those who LOVE Him, diligently seek Him and obediently do His will!
Now I’m not going to harangue or lecture us about going to church today. That shouldn’t be at all necessary, for if you’re a true believer, then you’ll know that’s your bounden duty, so I’ll just leave that up to you and your heavenly Father. (smile)
What I’ve been guided to do though, is to share a prayer which I shared a long time back, so many of you would not have heard it, but it’s one of my favourite prayers. From the first time I found it in my mother’s Bible after she died, something about it just touched me, and I’ve prayed it almost every day after that.
It’s a special prayer prepared by the Life Study Fellowship, Noroton, Connecticut. It’s titled ‘Lord, Please Accept My Heartfelt Thanks!’ And the sub-title is ‘Praise the Lord for His Goodness.’ – Psalm 107:8’
Now please pray with me: ‘Dear Lord, You are so good to me! And I thank You sincerely for the many blessings You send me! I’m very glad to have You in my life day in and day out – whatever I do and wherever I go! You are the One who always does what is best for my happiness!
How grateful I am to be able to turn to You for guidance and comfort when troubles come my way! If any situation arises that makes me feel discouraged, You let me know I can lean on You for support! And because of Your LOVE for me, somehow I seem to find the strength to keep going – even through the most difficult times!
I’m grateful too, for peaceful moments like these when I’m all alone with You in prayer! Talking with You never fails to reassure and uplift me! Nothing I say to You goes unheard. You listen with great concern to everything I confide in You! For You truly care about me!
As I look to 2016 (or whatever year) I pray that You will continue to watch over me – and grant me even more of Your wonderful blessings! And may I serve You well in my every word, my every deed! Be my Guide hour by hour; I pray! Amen.’
Oh friends, I do hope that prayer touched you all! I guess what I like about it is that it covers all the bases, it’s so all encompassing, plus everything it says is true and relevant. Some of you may not like it, but that’s okay; it’s your choice. As they say, different strokes for different folks! (smile) Anyway, that’s my contribution for today.
Now let’s turn to our new Bit, a part of Joshua’s farewell address to the Israelites. He had just finished reminding them about all the good things the Lord had done for them, giving them houses they didn’t build, vineyards they didn’t plant etc.
‘Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood (The Euphrates River), and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord.’
Ah mih people, that verse is even more appropriate and relevant in this New World Order than it was thousands of years ago when Joshua spoke those fateful words. That’s because the worshipping of other gods, plus basic ungodliness is so rampant in our current society.
Unfortunately, the ONE and ONLY TRUE and LIVING God; He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is not held in respect nor reverence by a rather large part of the world. Many people know of and about Him, but yet they steadfastly refuse to honour and obey Him. How sad that is my people, for our world could be truly such a beautiful place if more of us sincerely worshipped and revered the Most High God Jehovah.
Now why the blatant refusal to accept the God of heaven eh? I believe there are two main reasons. First of all, the pull of the material, lustful and sinful world is rather strong. We feast our eyes on all the supposed glitz and glamour and possessions available, and our hearts clamour for them, and the evil one just makes it so easy for us to fall into his sinful trap.
And the second reason is that we believers, supposed ambassadors and disciples of Jesus, who have been assigned the Great Commission (Matt.28:19-20) to teach and baptize and spread the wonderful gospel of Jesus all over the world, are not doing as good a job as we should. The hypocritical examples of our lives are turning people away from Jesus instead of drawing them closer to Him.
So there we have it; Lucifer and his evil cronies are doing a good job on selling sin, while the followers of Jesus are not doing a good job of selling righteousness. No rocket science involved at all friends.
So what are we doing, or going to do to change this rather unpalatable situation eh my believing breddren? All I can say is that we need to pull up our britches and do a better job of spreading the good news of Jesus, and backing it up with perfect, well not quite perfect, but much better examples of true Christian living.
Remember friends, examples speak more forcibly than words, and we can talk all the talk in the world, if we don’t walk that talk, then it’s useless, just wasted talk. And we’ll close with these precious and fateful words of Joshua, declared after our Bit.
‘And if it seems evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood (The Euphrates River), or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.’ (Josh.24:15)
Yes friends, that’s the big and serious decision we all have to make. And like Joshua, I surely hope that we will all decide, with our families, to serve the Lord God Jehovah, for that is indeed the wisdom of the ages! Much LOVE!
…until more believers get truly serious about the Great Commission…both talking and living it…the good news of Jesus will be sadly lacking in this ungodly world…
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