The Folly of Man…Choosing Eternal Death over Eternal Life!

26 Jul 2024 Leave a comment

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

Romans 6:23.        For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through (in) Jesus Christ our Lord.

And then it was Friday, that magical day, where much of the world joyfully shouts ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and the weekend is here at long last! No more dreary and dreadful work for a couple of days! Thank The Lord!’ Then we go off for the weekend, do our own carnal and lustful thing and entirely forget about the Lord who granted us the weekend away from the dreary and dreadful work! Now that’s gratitude for you! Forgetting about the One who has given you all good things! 

Remember what James, Jesus’ brother says about that? ‘Do not err (be deceived) my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness (variation), neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.’ (James 1:16-18) 

Yes friends, God is the creator and owner of everything in this universe, as Bruh David so rightly informs us in Psalm 24: ‘The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods (rivers).’ (Ps. 24:1-2) And as James tells us above, He’s good and faithful and all good things originate and emanate from Him. 

Then He’s also stable, solid as a rock, He doesn’t change! He’s the same yesterday, today and forever! And there could be no more appropriate scripture to show that attribute than these words of Bruh David from psalm 18: ‘I will LOVE thee. O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler (shield), and the horn (strength) of my salvation, and my high tower (stronghold).’ (Ps. 18:1-2) 

And furthermore, on top of all of that, God has redeemed us to be the first step or first fruits in His redemption of all creation! And isn’t that the most wonderful fact ever! It most certainly is! For if God didn’t LOVE us with an immeasurable passion, we would all be headed straight for hellfire and eternal damnation. But because of His great LOVE, as Bruh Paul wrote to the church at Rome: ‘But God commendeth (demonstrated) his great LOVE toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom. 5:8) 

Wow mih bredrin! Can you imagine a Creator LOVING His creation so much that He would move heaven and earth to give them a chance to survive their sinful and rebellious nature and be reconciled back to Him? Well that’s exactly what our great God did! He put a plan in place that we could have a second chance; that we could repent, believe on His Son, Jesus Christ and be set free from our bondage to sin and live in eternity with Him. Now, if that isn’t the greatest and most unselfish gift ever, then I don’t know what is! 

Remember friends, the Lord broke His own heart on our behalf, by pinning all our abominable sins on His sinless and selfless Son, and having Him die the death we were supposed to die. And let’s not forget what  the Good Library says on that subject. ‘For all have sinned, and come (fallen) short of the glory of God.’ (Rom. 3:23) Consequently the scriptures say: ‘For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through (in) Jesus Christ our Lord.’ (Rom. 6:23) 

So, my fellow believers, you can see that Jesus death on the cross of Calvary had the greatest impact in this world, since its original creation! It was an atoning death! A death in our stead! Imagine a father condemning his only son to death to pay for a bunch of ungrateful, rebellious people nuh. Very few fathers, if any, would make that great sacrifice. But our God did it on our behalf! That just goes to show how much He LOVES us! 

That then raises the question, why can’t we reciprocate that LOVE, which is only good and proper, compassionate, longsuffering, filled with grace and mercy, amongst many other attributes. It just boggles the imagination that after the Lord did so much for us, that we still have the ‘boldfaceness,’ the audacity to refuse His LOVING attentions and turn to the sinful and death bearing things of the evil one, Satan, the ex-archangel Lucifer, who got kicked out of heaven for having the audacity, the foolish pride, to try to overthrow God’s kingdom! 

He forgot that he was only a creation of God, and how can the created overthrow the Creator eh?  But, unfortunately, it’s the same thing that so many of us are doing right now; thumbing our noses at God and blatantly fulfilling the carnal desires of our flesh, devilishly and selfishly encouraged by Satan. Oh friends, it’s time for us to get wise to the devil’s shenanigans. He doesn’t care one iota for us. He’s just looking for company in eternal separation from God. Meanwhile Almighty God cares so much for us, as He’s proven through Jesus Christ. 

Now, let’s go to His throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, and ask for His help to handle our earthly problems in these desperate times of need. 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!’ 

Let’s be aware though, that no divine aid will be forthcoming, until we clean up our act and show ourselves to be worthwhile examples of Christian living. Much LOVE!

…God has done all He can to win our LOVE… the rest is up to us…

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Today’s Scrip-Bit 13 October 2015 Psalm 57:7

13 Oct 2015 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 57:7.   My heart is fixed (steadfast), O God, my heart is fixed (steadfast): I will sing and give praise.

Well Friends, the Thanksgiving partying is over and done with now! Time to get back to some productive labour. But that doesn’t mean we have to stop giving thanks and praise to Almighty God as individuals.Yesterday was just a day set aside to give thanks as a nation. 

But really, every time we open our eyes to greet a new day, we ought to give thanks to our Creator, for the breath of life that He has imbued in us, because it is a gift of such immense proportions, which ONLY He can give. 

And when we hear the birds singing, and feel the joy their trilling brings, our thanks meter ought to rise up even higher. Then when we enjoy the wonderful mercies and blessings of our heavenly Father throughout the day, and contemplate upon the salvation and eternal life He has provided through His awesome grace and the atoning death of His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ… 

Oh brother, then our thanks ought to ramp up so high that it breaks the measuring equipment! That just shows we are so grateful for His LOVING-kindness and compassion to us, undeserving though we are. 

So let’s never forget my people, that thanks and praise is an every day, all day attitude of appreciation to the Most High God Jehovah, our wonderful Creator and ever-generous Provider! 

And since today is Tuesday, it’s only appropriate that we give some thanks and praise through our Tuesday Mantra. 

Now as one harmonious body, let’s pray. ‘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 hurry. I don’t have to worry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world.  Amen.’ 

And all of that is ever so true Friends! Once we have the LOVE of God flowing through us, then there is no need to worry or be anxious about ANYTHING! For in wisely taking EVERYTHING to Him in prayer, and casting ALL our cares upon Him, He will unburden us and give us rest and peace like no one else can. And that is even more reason to be generous in our thanks and praise. 

And to show how real our thanks and praise ought to be, just listen to our Bit, taken from Psalm 57 – A Prayer for Deliverance – written when Bruh David fled from his persecutor Saul to a cave in the wilderness. ‘My heart is fixed (steadfast), O God, my heart is fixed (steadfast): I will sing and give praise.’ 

So you see my brethren, even during some of Bruh David’s roughest times he still was wise, steadfast and faithful enough to keep on giving thanks and praise to the God of his fathers. Likewise Friends, our wisdom, steadfastness and faithfulness ought to have us giving thanks to God in ALL situations, be they good or bad, for that’s what Jesus advised. 

The first part of Psalm 57 is filled with Bruh David’s lament and petition to God for succour, while the second half, starting at our Bit, portrays his trust and thanksgiving. 

Listen to Bruh David pour out his heart in praise after our Bit. ‘Awake up, my glory; awake psaltery (lute) and harp: I myself will awake early (will awaken the dawn). I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: 

I will sing unto thee among the nations (gentiles). For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds. Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let thy glory be above all the earth.’ (Ps.57:8-11) 

Oh my fellow believers in Christ, can we give such acknowledgement to Almighty God during our times of adversity? Most of us cannot, but we ought to be able to, according to the level of our faith and maturity in Christ Jesus. 

Sadly, some of us don’t even sing His praises and give Him thanks during our good times, much less in the rough ones. But we must keep seeking to grow in Christ-likeness, until we can give thanks and praise even in the midst of our trials and tribulations. Then and only then will we have attained a strong enough foundation to take us through our earthly problems and tests. 

But please be careful though, that if and when we achieve such a state, we don’t stop and rest on our laurels, but keep on striving, striving with Jesus to win this race of life. 

Oh my people, we can never afford to stop learning, to stop growing in Christ Jesus – not until the day He takes us home – or else we are liable to backslide, and backsliding is one of the worst things a believer can ever do. 

And please note that the verses of Psalm 57, which we have just read, are also the beginning stanzas of Psalm 108 – Israel looks to God for help. 

And the scholars inform us, re ‘Psalm 108. This Psalm is composed of fragments from two other psalms. The first section verses 1-5, is taken from 57:7-11; the second section, verses 6-13, is taken from 60:5-12, with little change in the wording of either fragment. 

Though taken from psalms of individual lament (ch.57) and national lament (ch.60), the present psalm is composed of the most positive sections of confidence in both. The resulting work is a psalm of victory that only briefly alludes to the nation’s lament, namely, their ever-present enemies (vv.12-13).’ 

And we’ll end with last two verses of Psalm 60 – A prayer for help against the foe – and Psalm 108, verses which are ever so appropriate to our current world situation. 

Please pray with me Friends. ‘Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man. Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.’ (Ps.108:12-13) 

Yes my people, it is indeed the great God of Hosts who will trample down our enemies! But first we have to repent and come back to Him in all sincerity and truth. Let’s wisely begin doing that today nuh, because that’s our ONLY hope. Much LOVE!

…only through Christ’s LOVE Revolution…can the world be saved…

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 11 November 2014 1 Corinthians 11:24

11 Nov 2014 Leave a comment

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

 1 Corinthians 11:24.   And when he (Jesus) had given thanks, he brake it (the bread), and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
 
Oh Friends, it’s Remembrance Day; the solemn occasion when we remember with grateful hearts, spirits and souls, all those who either gave up their lives or fought in the many terrible wars we’ve experienced in the past century!
 
All the powers that be, will turn out in full force, ostensibly to honour those who fought and died that we can enjoy the many freedoms that we do. They will also trudge out some of the surviving vets, as a showpiece. But the stark reality of the situation is that the governments don’t really give a damn about these poor veterans!
 
And why do I say that? Simply because in real life the veterans are indeed poor and are suffering terribly from lack of sufficient government support! A lot of them have mental and physical issues stemming from their wartime activities, but they are in a constant fight with the governments to get proper mental and physical help. Steups!
 
Their pensions are a travesty to their efforts; to the way they laid their lives on the line for us when we so desperately needed them to do so. The corrupt, greedy, inefficient Canadian government is even clawing back money from the vets, if they make a few extra dollars on the side.
 
But the insensitive and hypocritical crooks will get up today and spout a whole lot of lies and half-truths about how much they care for the vets. Heifer dust my brethren!
 
Just ask some of the many struggling families of the dead and living vets how much their governments care about them nuh? You’ll be most surprised at the answers you’ll receive.
 
But yuh know what; we can’t only blame the governments for the poor treatment meted out to the vets. We, the supposedly fine, upstanding citizens are also to blame, because we don’t speak up enough for the vets, or show them enough actual caring. We talk a good talk too, but don’t walk it.
 
However, it is essential that we do remember them, and also teach our children to appreciate the efforts of the many men and women who fought so that they can now live a basically free life, in a free country and society.
 
I think we have also fallen down in our responsibility in that regard too, not teaching our children enough about the war veterans, for many are not even aware of the veterans, so how can they be appreciative of their efforts.
 
And it’s very important that the youth of today understand why and how, they can go about doing what they do without too many restrictions; swaggering about unconcerned, believing that society owes them a living.
 
Anyway my brethren, enough of my ranting. (smile) Please, let’s remember to give our own individual thanks to the vets, and help the surviving ones and the families of those who succumbed in any way we can. It’s only fitting that we do so.
 
But my people, it is even more fitting that we respect, remember and glorify our Saviour Jesus Christ in the fateful and memorable words of our Bit, which Bruh Paul penned to the church at Corinth.
 
‘And when he (Jesus) had given thanks, he brake it (the bread), and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.’
 
Yes Friends, our most important remembrance should be that of Jesus Christ, sacrificing His holy and sinless body for us!
 
And the Good Book continues: ‘After the same manner also he (Jesus) took the cup, when he had supped (after supper), saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as you drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show (proclaim, remember) the Lord’s death till he come.’ (1 Cor.11:25-26)
 
That’s the figurative, ceremonial manner in which Jesus desires us to remember Him!
 
Unfortunately though, for whatever reason(s), a lot of us choose not to do so. But it ought to be a conscious and continual rite though of every believer to participate in the ceremony of Holy Communion, wherein we commemorate Jesus’ tremendous sacrifice on our behalf!
 
That commemorative ceremony is also called the Lord’s Supper, and the scholars have an interesting take on it. ’11:20. The Lord’s supper is the distinctive symbol of Christian worship instituted by the Lord on the eve of His death, being a spiritual partaking of bread and the fruits of the vine.
 
These elements are presented as a thankful expression of Christ’s sacrifice, taken in fellowship with Him and with one another. It is a memorial conducted in remembrance of Christ’s atoning death, anticipating His return to earth. The two symbols of this ordinance are the bread, representing the broken body of Christ, and the cup, representing His shed blood.’
 
And re the ‘new testament’ part of Christ’s words, the scholars say: ’11:25. New Testament: Christ is the Mediator of the New covenant, who “by his own blood entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” (Heb.9:12-15) Notice the emphasis on the blood. This signifies our Lord’s death, which in turn signifies the grounds on which eternal salvation is applied to the heart of the believing sinner.’
 
Therefore Friends, we can see why Holy Communion, and our active participation in it, is of tremendous importance in the lives of all believers! Yes my brethren, it’s through that solemn ceremony that we show a true remembrance of Christ, a true appreciation of His sacrifice, both physically and spiritually.
 
So my people, on this day of Remembrance, let’s sincerely ponder on, gratefully remember and give plenty thanks for the veterans who fought so heroically for us to have safe and free earthly lives, as well as to Jesus, who died that we might have salvation and eternal spiritual life. Much LOVE!
 
…no greater remembrance can we have…than honouring the memories of all those who died in our stead…especially Jesus… 
 
P.S. Please excuse the Bit’s tardiness, but it was just one of those late nights… and thus the body rebelled against getting up early. (smile) Much LOVE!