01 Mar 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a work in progress, an analogy for the Holy Spirit, ask and it shall be given to you, being confident of this very thing, Bible, but can't tell where it comes from, call unto me and I will answer thee, call upon God through prayer, casting all your care upon him, chill you to the bones, christianity, cleans eyour hands, cold, communication with God depends on us, deepen my breath, divinely continued, draw nigh to God, elementary requirements, eternal security, faith, faithful, God cares for you, God has a purpose in view, God reassures us of His favourable response, God will not abandon His purpose, God's reinvigorating presence, he may exalt you in due time, he which hath begun a good work in you, hearts and souls opened wide, heaven's 911, holy spirit, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, I may know you all the more, I praise you for your unceasing nearness, I want to be with you now, in every circumstance, in every time of trouble, increase my awareness of you, Jesus Christ, knock and it shall be opened, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, LOVE, mercy, Nicodemus, obedient, opened like a lion, purify your hearts ye doubleminded, quiet my soul, relax my muscles, resist the devil, salvation, seek and ye shall find, shew thee great and mighty things, sincerity and truth, slow my thoughts, so is every one born of the Holy Spirit, submit yourselves to God, thank you for this tenderness, the gospel truth, the presence of God, the wind bloweth where it listeth, the work of grace, thou hearest the sound thereof, truth, until Jesus returns to earth, we want to know you, we want to see your glory, will perform it until the day of Jesus, windy, wisdom, wither it goes, you are here with me, you can't be contained, your love both fills and surrounds me, your peace and love are present
Jeremiah 33:3. Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty (inaccessible) things, which thou knowest not.
And the month of March has opened like the lion it purports to be; cold, windy and with bright sunshine! And truthfully, it’s always been the winter month that I’ve least liked because of the cold, biting, icy winds that it stirs up; winds that get into your clothing, no matter how much you have on, and still chill you to the bones.
It’s like Jesus says of the wind in the gospel of John while talking to the Jewish leader Nicodemus, when He uses it as an analogy for the Holy Spirit. ‘The wind bloweth where it listeth (wishes), and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and wither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.’ (John 3:8)
Now, that basically means, as this commentary explains: ‘You can’t see the wind directly. But you can see it move tree tops and hear it when it rustles through the leaves. It’s similar to the Spirit. You can’t see it directly either, but you can see through the way it changes people when it’s there.’ And once you’re born again, the Holy Spirit is always with you, working to bring you to the place that the Lord desires, that’s as close as possible to Jesus in both behaviour and outlook. (smile)
That reminds us of this interesting scripture, where Bruh Paul writes to the Philippians: ‘Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform (complete) it until the day of Jesus Christ.’ (Phil. 1:6) Yes friends, in other words, we’re a work that’s always in progress, until whenever Jesus comes back.
The scholars say that ‘Paul is convinced that the work of grace that God began in the Philippians at conversion will be divinely continued until the day of Jesus Christ. That is, the Lord will keep working in these believers until Jesus returns to earth, at which point He will finish His work, bringing it to completion. This speaks of the Christian’s eternal security. For God had a purpose in view when He began His saving work in the Philippians, and that purpose will neither be abandoned nor unrealized.’
And the same goes for all those who put their trust in Christ Jesus as Lord and Saviour. The Lord will keep working His saving grace in them through His Holy Spirit until Christ returns. So, we don’t have to worry about a thing, the Lord’s at work, just be obedient and faithful the best we can. (smile) And don’t think that I’ve forgotten our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer. No, not at all! It’s just that the other stuff got in the way. (smile)
Then, let’s offer it up right now in all sincerity and truth nuh. ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’
And as always, that prayer just brings the presence of God ever nearer, with a heightened sense of peace, calm and grace, because the Lord just cannot deny us His amazing presence when we come to Him in such sincerity and truth. In fact, that’s how He would always like us to come to Him, with hearts and souls opened wide to receive His reinvigorating and regenerating presence. But that’s entirely up to us, because He’s always there waiting for our call.
Remember the Lord’s promise to Jeremiah the second time, while he was locked up in prison. ‘Thus saith the Lord the maker thereof, the Lord that formed it, to establish it; the Lord (Jehovah) is his name; Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty (inaccessible) things, which thou knowest not.’ (Jer. 33:2-3) Oh friends, we are to call upon God through prayer, in every time of trouble, in every circumstance – knowing He hears us and will be there.
And I like how this commentary puts it. ‘One of the most profound promises in the Bible during times of crisis is Jeremiah 33:3. Some aptly refer to this verse as heaven’s 911—an emergency line to call when we are in distress. The Lord implores us to call to Him and reassures us of His favorable response when we do.’ And that’s the gospel truth my people, when we call from a sincere heart, the Lord will hear and respond. We just need to remember that most of the communication depends on us, because God is always hovering over us waiting for us to call, so that He can show us wonderful things that we don’t know.
Meanwhile, this other commentary configures verse 33 thus. ‘Shows Us the Great and Hidden Things About God. You will tell us great and hidden things we’ve not known in your word and by your spirit. God, we want to know you. We want to see your glory. Lord, we want to see great things in you.’
And do we ever my faithful brethren! But as James so rightly says: ‘Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh (near) to God, and he will draw nigh (near) to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded. (James 4:7-8) And Peter admonishes: ‘Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.’ (1 Pet. 5:6-7)
Now, my fellow saints, those are the elementary requirements for being in God’s calming and peaceful presence. So please, let’s spend a part of this cold and blustery lazy-day Saturday in March, doing just that nuh; seeking God and all the good things He has to offer and tell us about! Much LOVE!
…Jesus said it very simply…ask, and it shall be given you…seek, and ye shall find…knock, and it shall be opened unto you… (Matt. 7:7)
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
15 Apr 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: advanced doctrine, battle howling storm, blazing sun, carnal, carnal minds, Christians, cold, competitiveness, Coronavirus, craggy, dissensions, divide and conquer, divisions, elementary Christian instruction, envying and strife, eyes fixed straight ahead, fed you with milk, fleshly, forgiveness, fortunate mountain, gifts of god, glory hallelujah, grace, halfway home, hang on tightly to Jesus, hindering the growth of, James Dillet Freeman, jealousy, let us rejoice and be glad in it, look far out across the world, mercy, mish-mash world, nature, newborn babes, not looking back, one family, one fold, only lie still, out of their darkness, peaceful, proactive, productive, salt and light, slavation, snow upon the mountain, social media, start eating solid food, stop drinking milk, the breath, the church at Corinth, the Holy Spirit, this is the day the Lord has made, those in Christ, to a glorious future with Jesus, To Thine Own Self, uncomfortable, walk as men, warlike proportions, warm-breasted Earth, Wednesday Wail, ye are yet carnal
1 Corinthians 3:3. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying and strife, and divisions (dissensions), are ye not carnal (fleshly), and walk as men (according to man).
Oh my people, this is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it nuh! Yes, that’s the wisest plan we can have for this awesome day! God didn’t make it just for making it sake, but so that His children could enjoy it with all His other wonders, like nature, salvation, grace, mercy, forgiveness, etc. etc. Yeah! And God made us just for this particular time otherwise we wouldn’t be here. That also means we have work to do on His behalf. So let’s get to it nuh and stop dilly dallying for we know not how much time we have left, and come the judgement day, when He asks why we did so li’l with our lives, what good excuse are we going to have eh? The Coronavirus will only cover a small part. (smile)
And today I want to share a simple but very insightful poem that recently came my way. The author is James Dillet Freeman, and the poem, titled ‘To Thine Own Self’ comes from his book ‘Angels Sing in Me: The James Dillet Freeman Memorial Book’ (Unity Books, 2004). ‘To Thine Own Self,’ admirably points out a couple of serious flaws in our earthly living; that of comparing oneself to others, and wishing for what they have, not considering what gifts God gave them, because He gave us all different gifts, nor how they achieved whatever they possess, the problems they might have gone through, or whether they have even sold their soul to the devil or some such unwise thing.
So please read with me: ‘The lake looked at the mountain, and thought: O fortunate mountain, rising so high, while I must lie so low. You look far out across the world and take part in many interesting happenings, while I can only lie still. How I wish I were a mountain! The mountain looked at the lake, and thought: O fortunate lake, lying so close to the warm-breasted Earth while I loom here craggy, cold, and uncomfortable. You are always so peaceful, while I am constantly having to battle howling storm and blazing sun. How I wish I were a lake! All the time, quietly, the mountain was coming down in silver streams to run into the lake, and the lake was rising as silver mists to fall as snow upon the mountain.’
Ah friends, in today’s fast paced, mish mash world so much of that kind of envious behaviour is so prevalent that it causes us serious problems, especially when we put all the foolishness of social media on top of our natural jealousy. But our God wasn’t foolish when He made us. Just like the mountain supplies fresh water to the lake, from the mists and snow that the lake provides to the mountain, the Lord made us to be complementary to each other, not competitive against each other and even worse, raising the level of that competitiveness to warlike proportions of envy and jealousy.
A lot of our world problems stem directly from that unwarranted situation; within societies, as well as between nations. We all aspire to be at the top of the heap, and too often do whatever it takes to get us there. Yes, that might be the way of unbelievers and their unbelieving world, but it is definitely not what Christ desires in His followers, as Bruh Paul so clearly stated in his first missive to the church at Corinth, re carnal minds hindering the growth of the Holy Spirit within us.
‘And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat (solid food): for hitherto (until now) ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying and strife, and divisions (dissensions), are ye not carnal (fleshly), and walk as men (according to man).’ (1 Cor. 3:1-3) And that’s the gospel truth re the situation in many churches and amongst too many believers today!
Hear the scholars nuh. ‘3:1-3.I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: In the case of newborns babes, this would be natural and to be expected (1 Pet. 2:2). But it is embarrassing at this stage in their development. Milk, figuratively stands for elementary Christian instruction, and meat refers to advanced doctrine. Carnal (lit. “fleshly”). The warfare between the flesh and the spirit receives continual emphasis in Paul’s writings (cf. Rom. 7:14-8:13; Gal. 5:17). The factions that have destroyed the unity in Corinth indicate that these believers were not walking by the Spirit, but were allowing the flesh to direct their behaviour.’
And that friends is exactly what’s happening in our churches today. Those who should be mature believers by now, are still in elementary classes, still walking as worldly men and not spiritual believers. And we can’t walk both after the dictates of men as well as of the Spirit. Thus there is way too much dissension and division amongst the different denominations, and even more so amongst their members. Christ’s church is full of way, way too much envying and strife my brethren!
Remember, we are supposed to be all a part of ONE body, Christ’s church, and if one part is sick or diseased, just like the human body, the rest of it will also suffer problems. We are allowing the enemy to divide and conquer us by being so divided and envious and strife-filled. That means we’re acting just like the world. But remember too that we’re supposed to be in the world, not behave like the world. We are supposed to be the salt and the light, be proactive and productive and show the unbeliever the light, take them out of their darkness. But how can we do that, when so many of us are still living in unproductive darkness eh?
Let’s rise up then and live like Bruh Paul advised the Galatians nuh: ‘This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other…’ (Gal. 5:16-17a) Yes friends, the flesh and Spirit pull us in opposite directions, but when we know the Word, and with the Spirit’s help, adhere to it, then we become fruitful Christians, salt and light, as Jesus desires of us.
So let’s endeavour to get rid of all the dissensions and divisions nuh, and just live peacefully with each other, because we are all ONE family, ONE fold of Almighty God. We won’t always agree, but because we are all of God, we can get along with His help. Now let’s go home sincerely declaring (right on!) our Wednesday Wail, letting all and sundry know of our most enviable position in Christ Jesus.
As one 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 will that future ever be glorious, if we hang on tightly to that plough with Jesus! Much LOVE!
…it’s time…for those in Christ…to stop drinking milk…and start eating solid food…
23 Mar 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a believer, a guideline, all that is written therein, always comes through, Amen, Anselm, begins with the first step, Book of the Law, build a door, cold, contemplate, day and night, ears to hear, failures, fallacy, feed him for a day, feed him for a lifetime, foolishness, for a better tomorrow, from glory to glory, getting started, give a man a fish, have good success, heavenly values, I forget, i have not failed, I learn, I remember, if opportunity doesn't knock, inspire us, Involve me, Israelites, Jesus' philosophy, Joshua, let him hear, like a puppy dog's nose, living our earthly lives, make thy way prosperous, meditate, mistakes, Moses, observe to do, opportunity, out of thy mouth, Saturday, shall not depart, Spring Equinox, stop trying, straight from the horse's mouth, teach him to fish, teach me, tell me, thank God for small mercies, the Holy Spirit, the longest journey, the Lord's faithfulness, the Lord's Word, the secret of getting ahead, thou shalt meditate therein, will certainly feel, wind played havoc
Joshua 1:8. This book of the law shall not depart out of (shall be constantly in) thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
Well it’s a big Saturday morning in the springtime, but it’s cold as ever, like a puppy dog’s nose, (smile) something like minus 5 or 6 in my area. And before we go on, let’s make one thing perfectly clear, the idea that because a date on the calendar says that the Spring Equinox has arrived, does not mean it suddenly gets warm! That is pure foolishness and fallacy yes! (smile) It’s still so and so cold – all like yesterday when the wind lent its support to the cold, though it was a bright and sunshiny day!
And the wind itself played havoc with my area yesterday, from late afternoon into the middle of the night, just howling like crazy every few minutes, having stuff creaking and clanking and whatever, leaving homeowners hopeful that no part of their houses or property got damaged by it. But it seems to have settled down now, and no serious damage seems to have been done in my area. Thank God for small mercies yes!
Anyway, since it’s Saturday let’s take a gander at some of the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this week, in his noble attempt to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And I laughed when I first read this one: ‘If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.’ I suppose that’s because we refer to opportunity as knocking on a door, and it only knocks once and that sort of thing.
So it’s only logical to assume that if opportunities aren’t making themselves available, then the problem might be that there is no door for them to knock on. In that case the sensible thing to do will be to build a door for them to knock on! (smile)
And the next one says: ‘I have not failed, I have just found 10,000 ways that will not work.’ Now that is the way we have to view our mistakes and supposed failures! We can’t ever give up, or stop trying, because in truth, failure is not failure until we stop trying, and that idea is found nowhere in Jesus’ philosophy.
So if you’re a believer, you can’t ever give up or stop trying; you’ve got to keep moving ahead, learning more about Christ and becoming more like Him every day, moving from glory to glory. Praise His holy name!
And this next quote segues nicely with the others: ‘The secret of getting ahead is getting started.’ Yeh friends, we can’t get anywhere until we begin going somewhere! Likewise, we can’t make any progress in our projects and/or ambitions until we begin doing stuff related to them. Everybody wants to write the great American Novel, but no one will ever do so, until and unless they begin writing it. As the Chinese Proverb so eloquently puts it: ‘The longest journey begins with the first step.’ Matter fix!
This upcoming quote is also quite relevant to our everyday lifestyle. It says: ‘To create more positive results in your life, replace ‘if only’ with ‘next time.’ So true my people, so true! We have a bad habit of saying, ‘if only so and so had happened,’ moaning about some past circumstance. But that only gets us in the negative stream of life. What we ought to be saying is ‘next time, I’ll do so and so.’ Try and keep it in the positive stream of the future. We’ll all be better for it.
And the last quote declares (right ho): ‘Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.’ Gospel truth that my brethren! It’s like the saying goes, give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. But teach him how to fish and you’ll feed him for a lifetime!
And I want to put that into perspective with the Lord’s Word: If I just tell you about it, most likely you’ll forget about it shortly thereafter. If I teach you about it, you’ll remember it for a longer period of time. However, if I involve you in the whole process, then you’ll probably learn more than in the two previous scenarios, because you are hands on in the situation, getting down and dirty with the subject matter.
Consequently friends, it is all well and good to go to church and hear sermons, but most of us, by the time we get in the parking lot have forgotten what the sermon was about, although we clapped and said numerous ‘Amen’s’ during it.’ And that’s no lie! (smile) Now, if we then go home and read up the scripture that the sermon was based on, we’ll have a better idea on what the pastor was talking about.
But better still, if we sit down and begin to contemplate, meditate, think seriously on those scriptures, then eventually we will really know them. That’s the only way to truly learn the Word my brethren! We need to get totally involved in it, seeking guidance from the Holy Spirit, asking Him to talk to our hearts about it, show us how it affects or can be successfully made a part of our lives.
Please remember friends that scripture is a guideline for our lives, and until we make it such, it will be of no real use to us. Knowing it and not putting it to use is a complete waste of time. We’ll never get ahead until we begin living our earthly lives by the heavenly values found in the Lord’s Word!
And I have to chuckle here friends, because I’ve been writing all of the above with no thought of what scripture we could use to tie it all together. Then I went looking for something in the Good Book, asking the Lord to show me an appropriate one. For a couple minutes nothing happened; my flipping through the word produced nothing useable…
Then Bingo! It suddenly happened. The light went on, and I knew the perfect scripture for out Bit today! Oh, how can I ever doubt the Lord’s faithfulness eh? He doesn’t always make it easy, but He ALWAYS comes through! And the scripture we’re talking about is when the Lord spoke to Joshua, making him the leader of the Israelites after Moses’ death.
‘This book of the law shall not depart out of (shall be constantly in) thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.’
Ah mih people, it couldn’t get any plainer and more straightforward than that nuh! And here it’s the Lord Himself speaking to Joshua; straight from the horse’s mouth as it were, not secondhand info.
And if the Lord thought it important enough for Him to personally tell Joshua about the importance of keeping the Law, then it’s obviously important for us to follow the same path, for therein we too shall be prosperous and have good success. What more needs to be said eh…? Much LOVE!
…he who has ears to hear…let him hear…else he’ll certainly feel…
29 Jan 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a liar, all men know, as I have loved you, beloved of God, cold, Deuteronomy 6:5, die on the cross, discipleship, distinctive recognition, evil emotion, flimsy flakes, friend of Jesus, godly attribute, guiding light, hang all the law and the prophets, hate, hate his brother, hindering, hurry, hurt, I love God, land of the living, LOVE, Love given, LOVE one another, Love received, Love the Lord thy God, love thy neightbour as thyself, number one priority, Old Testament, our love walk, pay me now or pay me later, pay our sin debt, Pharisee, share His love, shirk away from love, shrug off, snow, spread the friendship, supreme attribute of God, the best form of therapy, the first and great commandment, the judgement day, Tuesday Mantra, ungrateful sinners, vulnerability, watchword, winter, with all thy heart, with all thy mind, with all thy soul, worry, ye are my disiciples
Matthew 22:37-38. Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt LOVE the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.
‘Winterlicious winter…lots of cold and snow. Winterlicious winter…why don’t you go…back to where you came from and leave us all alone eh?’ Now that’s a question that many of us in my area will be asking this morning as they struggle through the mucho snow left by the major snowstorm yesterday.
I remember looking out the window after lunch yesterday and there was just the residue from the day before, but by mid afternoon when I looked out again, it was all white, and the flimsy flakes were falling down from heaven like rain! Hn! Hn! But that’s what winter is all about.
We thought we were getting a nice, snow free winter, but that was just a fantasy, a figment of our imagination. As the repairman in the ad used to say: ‘You can pay me now, or pay me later.’ It’s the same thing with the snow, we can get it early or late, or even in between, but we will get it. End of story!
Now having said, that here is something to counteract the negative concerns. It’s a quote from Gordon W. Allport (1867-1967) a pioneering American psychologist and Harvard professor. It’s said that ‘He rejected two of the dominant schools of thought in psychology at the time, psychoanalysis and behaviorism, in favor of his own approach that stressed the importance of individual differences and situational variables.’
Consequently, he was able to come up with this gem: ‘LOVE received and LOVE given comprise the best form of therapy.’ Mama Mia! What awesome words of wisdom! Friends, there’s nothing better in this land of the living than giving and receiving LOVE! That’s because it’s the greatest emotion in the world, the supreme attribute of our great God, and the one that caused Him to send His Son to die on the cross for us at Calvary to pay our sin debt in full! Glory Be!
So how could it be anything but great eh, since its effects are ever so wonderful? I know many of us, including believers, shrug off or shirk away from LOVE because we’re afraid of the hurt it can bring and the vulnerability that it imposes on our souls. But just think for a moment, if our heavenly Father had thought about the hurt it would bring Him, do you think He would have sent His Son to die for a bunch of miserable, ungrateful sinners? Definitely not!
And think again, if Jesus had considered the severe pain and vulnerability His LOVE for the Father and us would bring Him, He would have willingly gone to the cross on our behalf? No way Jose! That’s why, as believers in and followers of Jesus, we ought to embrace that wonderful attribute of LOVE as our watchword and guiding light!
Remember Jesus’ answer to the hypocrite Pharisee lawyer who tried to trick Him by asking: ‘Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt LOVE the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.’ (Matt.22:36-38)
Yes friends, LOVE for God should be…no not should be, but IS our number One priority in this fallen world! And it’s not like the Pharisee didn’t know that, because all Jesus was doing there was quoting from the Old Testament, Deuteronomy 6:5. The foolish Pharisee even got more than he bargained for, because Jesus continued: ‘And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thy self. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’ (Matt. 22:39-40)
Oh my people, my people, from day one, when the Lord made us, it was all about LOVE! And when He sent Jesus to save us, it was still all about LOVE! And when Jesus comes a second time, to take us home to heaven with Him, it will still be all about LOVE! Some of us claim to abide by the first commandment, LOVE for God, but can’t get our heads around the second; LOVING our neighbours as ourselves.
But friends, we can’t have one without the other. For as John so rightly says: ‘If a man say, I LOVE God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that LOVETH not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he LOVE God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who LOVETH God LOVE his brother also.’ (1 John 4:20-21)
That’s as plain as night and day my brethren! Yet we foolishly try to have one without the other. Perhaps it’s because we DON’T LOVE OURSELVES, that we can’t LOVE our brothers! That’s something for us to check up on as soon as possible, because that might just be what’s hindering our LOVE walk.
Oh friends, Jesus’ teaching was ALL based on LOVE and so should our lives ALL be based on it. Listen to this heart-opening directive as He wound down His earthly ministry. ‘A new commandment I give unto you. That ye LOVE one another; as I have LOVED you, that ye also LOVE one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have LOVE one to another.’ (John 13:34-35)
Yuh see that friends, the distinctive recognition of our discipleship on Christ’s behalf must be that mankind sees our LOVE for each other! And I won’t even get into a discussion on whether we’re showing that distinctive difference, because we all know that we’re not showing it as much as we ought to. But yuh know what friends, come the judgement day, we’ll each have to answer as to why we did not keep that commandment. So nuff said!
Let’s go home now declaring (got it right) our Tuesday Mantra, letting the world know who and whose we are – even though we’re not as good as we ought to be. (smile) As one voice, in all sincerity and truth: ‘In God’s eyes, 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!’
And if we are sincere about that, then let’s indeed go out and spread the friendship and LOVE of Jesus with the world! Much LOVE!
…it’s so sad…that the evil emotion of hate…is so much easier to come by in this world…than the godly attribute of…LOVE…
05 Nov 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a faithful messenger, allowing you, almighty god, are gathered, aura of love, blessings, Christians, cold, confidence, construction sites, difficult, disgruntled remarks, enthusiasm, every day, evil, fellowship, forgiveness, friends, fun, generous help, glorious kingdom, glory hallelujah, glory to God, go to work, gospel truth, grace, harvest, he refresheth, heavenly Father, holy spirit, hope, humble servants, inroads, invincible, irascible, Jesus Christ, jobs, joy, lay your cares, lies, LOVE, messenger, miserable, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, on his strong, peace, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, salvation, Scrip-Bit family, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, that send him, the cold of snow, the soul of his masters, the time of harvest, tired, to God, to see another day, traffic jams, trust, unfair, ungodly world, warm the cockles of God's heart, where two or three, wisdom, your first priority
Proverbs 25:13. As the cold of snow in the time of harvest, so is a faithful messenger to them that send him: for he refresheth the soul of his masters.
Well a good Monday morning to you my Scrip-Bit family in all and sundry parts of God’s great universe! And I hear numerous sighs, steups’ and disgruntled remarks, like: ‘What’s so good about it eh? It’s cold and miserable and I have to get up and go to work; plus face the endless traffic jams and construction sites, only to get there tired and irascible!’
And I smile and reply: ‘The first order of the day is talk to our heavenly Father. Thank Him for allowing you to see another day, then lay your cares on His strong and caring soul. And then you can join us here as we sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, petitioning Him together for strength and guidance to face the day and the evil world.’
Remember what Jesus said? ‘For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.’ (Matt.18:20) And we are gathered together in His name, in the world of digital and wireless communication, so He is in our midst. And it’s time to sing that awesome prayer, that antidote for all our Monday ills. Altogether now, with as much enthusiasm as you can manage.
‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Yes friends, prayer and praise are two of the most powerful tools in the Christian arsenal, but unfortunately we don’t use them as much as we ought to, that’s why our lives are often so dry, miserable and lacking true joy. Serious, sincere and continual communication with our Godhead is the oil that makes our lives run smoothly.
So now that we have all been uplifted, and the adrenaline is flowing freely, let’s get a move on and do Christ’s work with diligence and excellence nuh; be good ambassadors on His behalf, for that’s our calling. And all it really entails is to be a good example to those we come into contact with. Tell them about Christ, by sharing the good news of His gospel, and live as best and faithfully as we can by the tenets it espouses.
And the wise words of Cousin Sol in our Bit state it simply enough. ‘As the cold of snow in the time of harvest, so is a faithful messenger to them that send him: for he refresheth the soul of his masters.’ Yeh friends, being an ambassador for Christ is basically being a faithful messenger, taking His message to whomever, wherever you can.
And when we do that, we warm the cockles of God’s heart; bring joy to His soul, because He wants every living being to hear the message of Christ, and for ALL to be saved: not even one soul being lost to the evil enemy Satan.
And we are indeed the hands and feet, mouth and ears of Christ, blessedly entrusted to faithfully ‘Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you…’ (Matt.28:19-20a)
As representatives of Christ my brethren, that’s our earthly mandate; what we sometimes call the ‘Great Commission.’ And the wonderful thing about working for and representing Jesus down here on earth is His awesome and faithful promise at the end of the Commission: ‘and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt.28:20b)
How can you beat that eh friends? Our exciting, generous, strong, powerful and courageous Lord and Saviour saw it fit to inform us that He would always be with us as we go about doing His work and will…even to the end of the world! Glory be my people! That’s why we should have no qualms, fears, doubts or anxieties about working for such a wonderful boss!
And remember too, that even on our daily jobs, the jobs that cause us to live and survive, we’re essentially doing them for Jesus, that means we have to do them well, with diligence and excellence.
Yeh, I know some of you are complaining that too much is expected of us believers, but just consider what Jesus suffered for us nuh, and then see if what we have to do can ever come close to the ‘sufferation’ that He endured, the load of sin that was placed on His shoulders, so that we could be saved. Then come back and tell me if He’s asking too much of us. Not one bit! Much LOVE!
…ambassadors of Jesus…should be walking tall and proud…and be happy to do His work…
14 Mar 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a believer in Jesus Christ, a persoanl faith commitment, a storm of wind, a struggle, afaid, beloved of God, calm, cancelled flights, cold, come to grips, commands, commitment, cough, decision, disciples, doing your best, everlasting truth, excellence, failure, faith, faithful, friend of Jesus, glory hallelujah, God works in mysterious ways, gospel truth, He maketh the storm a calm, heart problems, hurry, in the midst of them, Jesus Christ, Luke, M.R.I, marvelled, maturity, mighty works, neck of the woods, notice of cancellation, perish, rebuked the wind, reeling, share His love, snow, storms of life, the answer to everything, the Good Book, the New testament, the only one, the other side, the person of Christ, the raging of the water, the real McCoy, the sea of Galilee, the water, the waves are still, the wind, they obey him, trappings, trust, truth, Tuesday Mantra, unfavourable conditions, what manner of man is this, where is your faith, with Jesus on our side, witnessing, wondered, working them out for our benefit, worry
Psalm 107:29. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
And then the snow came…white and plentiful! (smile) Yes friends, it does look beautiful out there, with the area all covered in white. It began yesterday afternoon and is scheduled to go in to tomorrow, Wednesday.
Hundreds of flights have been cancelled at the airport. They haven’t even gotten around to cleaning the lanes in my area as yet, so much of the white stuff has fallen. And it’s not only snowy but cold too. The temperature in my neck of the woods is around minus 11 Celsius. Hn!
And the best part of the whole scenario is that I am scheduled to go into the big city of T.O. for an M.R.I. on my heart this morning at 11:15. Well what do you know? That doesn’t seem to be happening nuh!
With my supposed heart problems, I’m definitely not going to fight the treacherous roads and weather to go into the city. And they can charge me the hundred dollars for not giving them 2 business day notice of cancellation, which I’ll fight anyway.
And on top of all that, I’ve been fighting a cold all weekend, which today has morphed into a cough. So I obviously can’t go and lie quietly in their disgustingly loud machine for the half an hour or forty-five minutes that it takes.
Now don’t get me wrong, I do want to get the procedure done, but not under these unfavourable conditions. End of tirade! (smile)
And before we get into our Bit, here’s an interesting quote from my ‘P.S. I LOVE YOU’ Poster. It says: ‘If you are doing your best, you won’t have to worry about failure.’
And that’s gospel truth friends! Once your mind is focused on excellence, you won’t have time to consider failure. And if you’re a believer in Jesus Christ, then that’s even more of a gospel truth, because with Jesus on our side we can’t fail!
We might make mistakes and feel like failures, but since with Jesus there is no giving up, and since failure only comes when you give up, then through pure logic, true believers never fail. Ah mih people, I know it’s a tad convoluted, but it’s all true. (smile)
Now here is our Bit which resounds with everlasting truth. ‘He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.’
Yes my fellow believers that’s indeed what our wonderful Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ does! Yesterday we read about the metaphorical stuff before our Bit about sailors drunkenly reeling around in storms on the sea, today we’ll read about the real McCoy.
Listen to Luke’s account in the Good Book. ‘Now it came to pass on a certain day, that he (Jesus) went into a ship with his disciples: and he said unto them, Let us go over to the other side of the lake. And they launched forth.
But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled (filling) with water, and were in jeopardy. And they came to him (Jesus), and awoke him, saying, Master, Master, we perish.
Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was calm. And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered (marvelled), saying one to another, What manner of man is this! For he commandeth even the winds and the water, and they obey him.’ (Luke 8:22-25)
Ah my people, it was the same God-man who created the wind and the water, so obviously when He spoke to them they would listen to Him! And Jesus is asking us the same thing today: where is our faith in Him in the midst of all our storms of life?
Do we run afraid to Him, or are we faithful enough to believe that He is already in the midst of them with us, working them out for our benefit?
Now the latter just shows more maturity, but the important thing is that we come to Him in all aspects of our lives, be they stormy or not. For He is the ONLY ONE who can truly calm anything that’s happening with us.
And the scholars offer these explanations. ‘8:23. The Sea of Galilee is surrounded by mountains. High winds sweep down suddenly from these heights, whipping up the sea.’
‘8:25. It was a struggle f or the disciples, as for others, to come to grips with the person of Christ. Witnessing His mighty works helped, but a personal faith commitment still had to be made. The decision would not have been an easy one.’
No my people, it would not have been easy for those disciples way back then, seeing this ordinary looking man calming the wind and the sea.
It’s still difficult for many of us today, even knowing what we know, with all the trappings of the New Testament and the teachings down through the last two thousand years. Imagine their dilemma nuh!
And we’ll go home declaring our Tuesday Mantra in all sincerity and truth. As one now: ‘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!’
Oh precious people, how wonderful it is to be the beloved of God and the friend of Jesus! Glory Hallelujah! Now let’s go out and share it with the world as He desires nuh! Much LOVE!
…Jesus is simply the answer to …EVERYTHING…
P.S. I just called the hospital and cancelled my appointment, and they didn’t charge me the hundred dollars. Glory to God! Only thing is that the next available appointment is in May. But who knows, by then I might not even have a heart problem, the way our mighty God works in mysterious ways. (smile) Much LOVE!
09 Apr 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: A journey of love, a man after God's heart, a man of God, a second cahnce, an integral part of our lives, anger, basking in the Father's presence, be of good courage, blessed be the Lord, Christian's desire, climate change, cold, compromise, courage, disobedience, doubt, fear, hate, he shall strengthen your heart, how great is thy goodness, I will give thee rest, Jonah, LOVE, loving kindness, mercy, Moses, my presence shall go with thee, negativity, Nineveh, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, pray, prayer, prophet, provider, rainy, repenting, reproach, responsibilities, rewards the proud doer, Saint of the Little Flower, secret of thy presence, seek God's face, shame, snowy, spring, St. Therese, strife, the Alpha and Omega, the Creator, the First and the Last, the irony of it all, the Lord preserves the faithful, the Lord's presence, trials, tribulations, troubled times, trust, vocation, walk in your steps, wet, winter, wisdom
Exodus 33:14. And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.
And then it was Saturday, and the next couple days in my area are supposed to be cold and snowy and wet and rainy. Steups! Whatever happened to that thing called spring eh? In winter we didn’t get any snow, and now in what’s supposed to be spring, it’s too often cold and snowy! Chuh! And yet they insist that climate change is not real.
But anyway, whether it is real or not, we believers in Jesus Christ don’t have to let it worry us. Oh yes, the weather will become irascible like many of us, (smile) but we can’t afford to allow that to dictate our lives, that ought to be done by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
So to help us handle all the unwanted stuff we have to handle, let’s pray this prayer taken from a Devotional titled ‘A Journey of LOVE. Walking with St. Therese of Liseux’ – The Saint of the Little Flower. I’ve shared it before, but in these troubled times, times of hate and anger and doubt and all the negative stuff that’s predominant in our world, we need something to counteract that negativity.
And the only thing able to do that is LOVE, and we have been assigned the vocation of LOVE. So let’s pray for help in our vocation. Please pray with me: ‘Jesus, I desire above all else to centre my life in you. Only you can give me the courage to face up to my responsibilities, to be compassionate and forgiving, to let go of what is not important and to embrace what is important.
I am called to accept and to cherish your LOVE for me and to allow your LOVE to go out from me to all your people, Help me to walk in your steps without compromise and to be open to your presence in all of the people I meet. I make my prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.’
Yes friends, the irony of it all is that we cannot do God’s work without God’s help! And the most effective way to receive that help is through prayer. The Lord has promised that when we diligently and sincerely seek Him, He will be found by us. That’s why prayer is so important in a believer’s life.
That’s also why Bruh Paul told the Ephesians to pray ALWAYS; (Eph.6:18) the Thessalonians to pray WITHOUT CEASING; (1 Thess.5:17) and his young protégé Timothy to pray EVERYWHERE. (1 Tim:2:8) So to all intents and purposes, prayer MUST BE an integral part of a believer’s life, because in doing so we will always be in the presence of God, which is ever so important for our earthly journey.
Moses, one of God’s greatest prophets was adamant about not continuing the journey through the wilderness if the Lord’s presence was not going to be with him. That is even after God promised in our Bit: ‘And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.’
Ah mih people, without God’s wonderful presence in our lives, innumerable trials and tribulations will come our way, from which we’ll have little or no leeway to escape. However, when we are basking in the Father’s presence, we are assured of His help to get through the difficulties, though not necessarily complete escape.
That’s because He has promised to work everything out for the good of those who LOVE Him and are called according to His purpose. (Rom.8:28) And if there’s one thing we can rest comfortably on, is that our ever-faithful God NEVER reneges on His promises.
Now let’s look at some scripture that exalts the glory and wisdom of being in God’s presence. And we can’t talk about that without including words from Bruh David’s heartfelt declarations. This comes from Psalm 31 – In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust.
‘Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men! Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence (secret place) from the pride (plots) of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion (shelter) from the strife of tongues. Blessed be the Lord: for he hath showed me his marvellous kindness in a strong city.
For I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes: nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplications when I cried unto thee. O LOVE the Lord, all ye his saints: for the Lord preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer. Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart.’ (Ps.31:19-24)
And we can’t argue with Bruh David because in spite of his mistakes, he was still considered a man after God’s own heart, so intense was His longing for Him.
Meanwhile, in Jeremiah, when the Lord is dealing with the false prophets, He promises: ‘Therefore, behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, and cast you out of my presence. And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.’(Jer.23:39-40)
Yes friends, that’s the kind of thing that happens when we are cast out of God’s presence. Please pray that it never happens to us. And we’ll end with this great example from the prophet Jonah.
The Lord had said to Jonah: ‘Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry (out) against it: for their wickedness is come up before me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.’ (Jon.1:2-3)
Now how foolish was that eh my brethren? As a prophet, a man of God, Jonah should have known better than that. And we all know the story of the terrible storm that arose, due to Jonah’s disobedience, and how he was thrown overboard and spent three days and nights in the belly of a great fish, before coming to his senses and repenting. And the Lord in His great mercy and LOVING-kindness forgave him and gave him a second chance.
Oh my fellow believers, fleeing from the Lord is not easy if He doesn’t want us to flee. But why should we want to flee from Him anyhow eh, when He is the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Creator and Provider of all? That’s certainly not wisdom. So please, let’s be wise today and seek the Lord’s presence rather than try to flee from it. Much LOVE!
…the Christian’s desire ought to be…to continually seek God’s face…and to continually bask in His presence…
12 Dec 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a new covenant, battle the heathen, bring them out of Egypt, cherish every moment with those you love, Christ's atonement for the sins of mankind, Christmas, circumspection, cold, end of the workweek, enjoy each other's company, every stage of your journey, fell on deaf ears, fellowship, forgive and forget, Friday chant, Friends and family, further God's glorious kingdom, generous help, Gentiles, give us His peace which passes all understanding, giving thanks, glory hallelujah, God will extend His grace to the gentiles, God willing, grace, greater toronto area, heavenly wisdom, here today gone tomorrow, holy spirit, house of Israel, house of Judah, I was a husband unto them, I will be their God, I will forgive their iniquity, I will put my law in their inward parts, I will remember their sin no more, Israel, Jack Layton, Jeremiah, Jesus Christ, joy, know the Lord, live in the now, LOVE, material gifts, may the Lord bless and keep us, New Covenant, peace, promise, prophecy, psitive human emotions, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, restorative function, saith the Lord, shopping putting up lights, slave driver supervisors, snow-filled, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the big house in the sky, the bride of Christ, the coming of Jesus, the Good Book, the hous of Israel, the House of Judah, the indwelling of the Holy spirit, the miraculous birth of Jesus christ, the weekend, they shall all know me, they shall be my people, till we meet again tomorrow, warning, who knows what the future holds, wrapping presents, write it in their hearts
Jeremiah 31:31. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah.
Well Friends, we’ve finally reached that day for which we’ve all been waiting and longing for – Friday!
But it’s a cold and snow filled one for those in and around the Greater Toronto Area. That means it will be a longer, slower and more miserable drive this morning.
So please leave home a little earlier and be very careful in your driving, if you want to get to work on time and in one piece, that’s bodily piece, because your mind might be very frustrated after this morning’s commute. (smile)
But that warning fell on deaf ears, it didn’t stop some of us from still declaring, ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday! And snow or no snow won’t stop me from giving thanks that the last day of the workweek is here. Glory Hallelujah!
My time will soon be my own, to do what I please with it during this upcoming weekend. No more listening and kowtowing to slave driver supervisors! Let’s give God some more praise nuh. Thank God is Friday yes! Wow!’
Ah mih people, Friday has such an appealing and restorative function in our lives that we care less about the inclement weather conditions than the end of the workweek.
But remember though, the weekend is not ours to do completely as we please; we have to have a bit of circumspection about our time and our doings. So let’s chant our Friday Chant, which helps to give us a better perspective of our insufficient two days off.
As one now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Yes my brethren, that’s the way we ought to spend our weekend. I know though, that this close to Christmas, the weekend will be filled with a flurry of activities, like shopping, wrapping presents, putting up lights, and all the other necessities we feel the season ought to have.
But just be sure to get enough rest, relaxation and fellowship, so that you can go back out on Monday bright and fresh to battle the heathen to a standstill. (smile)
And today we have a beautiful, heartwarming and ever so wise quote from the recently passed away Leader of the Opposition New Democratic Political Party in Canada, Jack Layton (1950-2011). Jack is reputed to have said: ‘Cherish every moment with those you LOVE at every stage of your journey.’
And that’s heavenly wisdom Friends! For life is so finicky and uncertain that our LOVED ones could be here today and gone tomorrow, either to another earthly place or to the big house in the sky. So we do need to cherish any time we get to spend with them. And this Christmas season is one of those times.
Around the world, a lot of us don’t see our friends and families except at holiday time like this upcoming one. I therefore encourage us to just enjoy each other’s company, forgive and forget old hurts and disappointments, live in the now, not the past, because that’s already gone, neither in the future, for who knows what the future holds for each of us.
So please enjoy the present, not the material gifts now (smile) but the time spent with those we cherish, for this might just be the last opportunity to do so.
That brings us to our Bit: ‘Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah.’
And my brethren, this Christmas season, or rather, the first one, two thousand years ago, is when our most wonderful God decided to implement that new and forever covenant, beginning with the miraculous birth of Jesus Christ.
And the Good Book details it thus: ‘Not according to the covenant I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was a husband unto them, saith the Lord.
But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts (mind), and write it in their hearts, and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord; for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and will remember their sin no more.’ (Jer.31:32-34)
Oh Friends, what a mighty promise! One that we all know has been fulfilled by the coming of Jesus and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit amongst believers.
And the scholars explain this New Covenant thus: ’31:31. In this prophecy Jeremiah foresees the new covenant (testament) that God will make with mankind by extending His grace to the Gentiles. Under this new covenant, God will call out a people for Himself from all the nations of the earth to form the bride of Christ (Rev.21:1-9).
This new and unconditional covenant is better than the old covenant because it rests on the efficacy of Christ’s atonement for the sins of mankind (Heb.8:10-12). (First Reference, Jer.31:31; Primary Reference, Luke 22:17-20; cf. Eph.1:10.)’
Oh Friends, please take a few moments and check out those references, because they will help us in better understanding the scriptures.
And now may the Lord bless and keep us, guide us safely and give us His peace that passes all understanding, till we meet again tomorrow, Him willing. Much LOVE!
…nothing on earth compares to the joy and other positive human emotions…that resonate between true and LOVING friends and family…
03 Feb 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adventures, almighty god, arguments, atonement, aura of love, bachelors, believers, benefits, bless, Blessed be the God and Father, blessings, captive, celebrations, Christ's blood, cold, common sense, confidence, Cross of Calvary, dancing, dark, disagreements, dungeons of hell, enemy's wiles, eternal life, eternity, forgiveness of sins, forsake, forsaken, future, God's favour, God's help, God's little Acre, good works, goodness of god, greatest gift, grin and bear it, harmony, heaven's happy today, heavenly Father, heavenly places, holy acceptance, holy spirit, home cooked food, humble servants, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, joy, lies, lord jesus christ, loving kindness, Lucifer, memories, memory lane, obedience, Oh Lord God Almighty, Peyton Manning, planet earth, ponder, recollection, reconciled, redemption, rejuvenation of spirit, reminiscing, renewed vitality, sacrifice, sanctified, significant events, sinful state, singing, soulful, special relationship., spiritual blessings, Super Bowl, sure conquerors, tete a tete, the North Country, them's the breaks, two step dance, weary souls, wisdom
Ephesians 1:3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.
Oh Friends, it’s Monday… And poor me, ah crying because is only three days left before I have to leave God’s Little Acre and return to the cold, dark, North Country. Steups! But what yuh going to do eh? Them’s the breaks! So you just have to grin and bear it. And most importantly, I know that our great and wonderful God will bless me wherever He leads me on His beautiful planet Earth.
So there’s really no need to worry, although the hot sun is much preferable to the cold one. (smile) Anyway, yesterday was a great day in memory lane travel. After writing the Bit, I went by Aunt Cicely for some home-cooked food. And it did taste better than and different to the store bought stuff I’ve been living on for most of the last two weeks.
Then my Uncle Foster came over and spent the night with us. We watched Barbados beat T&T in regional cricket competition, and Seattle blow out Denver in the overhyped Super Bowl. I felt real sorry for Peyton Manning though, because from the first snap of the ball, which went over his shoulder into the end zone, before he even appeared ready for it, you could tell that it would be a rough day for him.
Seattle however did deserve to win with their excellent play, both on defence, offence and special teams. That’s how teams are supposed to play; with all aspects positively contributing to the overall effort.
But Friends, yuh know in all the reminiscing that’s been going on for the past two weeks, last night’s was the most important, because my Uncle Foster and I had a very special relationship when we lived bachey (as bachelors) in Trinidad in the early 70’s. We made so many memories, or as he termed them adventures, that some he mentioned, I had no recollection of them whatsoever. He obviously remembers more of them than I do.
And yuh better believe that the Duchess and him had their own private tete a tete, reliving their own memories, since she was always his favourite. And though I tried to stay out of their business, they still found some way to gang up on me, like they did in the past. Anyway, it was a most excellent time, with some of everything involved, even serious arguments. But the disagreements didn’t last long, because that’s the way we’ve always been.
And now Friends, on this Monday morning in early February 2014, let’s raise the roofs of both heaven and earth, with a miraculous rendition of our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. Let’s make it so sweet, that our Father in heaven will automatically get up from His throne and passionately begin singing the music and doing a feisty two step dance to it. (smile)
And remember my fellow believers, we can do anything with His help. So let’s sing up a godly storm. On three: one, two, three: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Oh yes mih people! We did it! We did it! The soulful harmony touched our heavenly Father’s very soul, and had him up singing and dancing His own version of the two step. And can the Father move! You bet!
During that time, Jesus stood aside smiling, clapping and urging Him on, for it had been a long time since He’d seen the Father so happy that He wanted to bust a move. So we know for sure that heaven will be a somewhat happier place today, but what about planet earth eh?
It won’t be so great unless we believers get out there and work some good works for Jesus! And since we have the Father prepped and in the mood for celebrations, we can’t afford to let Him down now. So please Friends, let’s try our very best to walk worthy of Him today nuh.
And how can we even contemplate doing otherwise after looking at our Bit and the resultant benefits and blessings that flow from it? ‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.’
So let’s continue from where we left off yesterday; talking about how He predestinated us as His adopted children through Christ, through His fatherly LOVING-kindness. And why did He do all that?
‘To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved (bestowed grace – favour – on us). In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.’ (Eph.1:6-7)
And since the scholars have excellent explanations of those verses, let’s hear them. ‘1:6. The reason God predestined us to be His sons (v.5) is expressed in the words to the praise of the glory of his grace, that is, in order to magnify the splendour of His goodness to us. Wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved may also read, “which (grace) He has bestowed on us by the Beloved.” Through Christ, we are the recipients of God’s unmerited favour.’
And there can be no argument about that Friends, for all our blessings, etc. etc. come straight from the goodness of the Father’s heart. That should be obvious, since in our natural, sinful state, we could never do anything to earn or even deserve His holy acceptance.
And re verse ‘1:7. Redemption referred to the release of a slave or captive upon receipt of ransom. But the following words, the forgiveness of sins, show “redemption” is used here in a moral sense. Christians are therefore released from their enslavement to sin and the resulting divine wrath. Redemption is effected for us through his blood, that is, by Christ’s atonement secured by His death on the cross.’
Oh my brethren, what else can we say but oodles of heartfelt ‘thank you’s’ to Almighty God, for the greatest gift ever bestowed on mankind, Christ’s atonement for our abominable sins on the cross of Calvary! What a blessed day! For without it, we would all be staring at a dark and disastrous eternity in the dungeons of hell, with Lucifer as our evil leader and companion.
However, fortunately for us, with Christ’s selfless sacrifice, His shed blood paid once and for all for all our sins, and now we’re able to look forward with great joy to spending eternity in heaven, holy, sanctified and reconciled to our Creator and Provider!
Wow! What a blessed future awaits us! So please my fellow believers, today, let’s ponder on those significant events, and try, with God’s help obviously, to bring our lives into line, into obedience with His plans for us. That’s the height of wisdom and common sense! Much LOVE!
…he who forsakes His Maker…will be forsaken by His Maker…as simple and straightforward as that…
26 Dec 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: alive and kicking, almighty god, Amen, beatiful soul, believe in God, believers, birth, Boxing Day, business owners, caring, celebrate God's Love, Christmas, Christmas tree, cold, colt, Creator, cross, dark, daughter, depressing news, disatrous situations, earthly pilgrimage, Easter, Emergency, eternal life, evergreen, exalted position, faith, faithfully fulfilled, forgiveness, G.T.A, God will stop at nothing, God-given ability, grace, guide and leader, hands that reach to touch, hanging on a tree, hearts that hurt, help, Holy Name, holy spirit, humble, inspiring and encouraging words, Jerusalem, Jesus Christ, judge, just, king, lack of access, lack of power, lawgiver, life-giving, lift us up, Lord, lose one's mind, LOVE, lowly, manger, merchants, mercy, Ms. Wynne, negative, omnipotent force, outstrecthed arms, Palm Sunday, physical damage, pointing, praying, Premier, province wide, pushing on, quiet rest, reaching, rejoice, riding an ass, righteous, road-weary, rough time, sacrificial work, sales, salvation, saviour, Scarborough area, scriptures, setbacks, sharing, shoppers, significant difference, solid, sparkling, strong rooted in god's love, sturdy, suffering, The Christmas season, thoughts of God, three days, to save my soul, travel-worn, treasures, tree branches, trust, twinkling Christmas tree, two thousand years, wayfarers, whole world, young man, Zechariah, Zion
Isaiah 33:22. For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he shall save us.
And then it was Boxing Day! Yes Friends, most of the Christmas hoopla has died down now. Thank the Lord! The Christmas season itself is wonderful, but all the unnecessary fuss can get to be a bit much.
Unfortunately though, some 60-70 thousand people, primarily in the Scarborough area of the G.T.A, are still without power, and many trees and other impediments are still to be removed from the roads to provide access.
It’s certainly been a very rough time for those people, and though some are still complaining about the refusal to declare a state of Emergency, the Premier of the Province, Ms. Wynne, says that isn’t necessary because all the people who would have been called in province wide, are already here helping out.
But that’s cold comfort for those who still don’t have power. I spoke to a friend last night, she and her husband, both in their 70’s were without power for almost 72 hours over the weekend. At one point she thought she was about to lose her mind. Imagine two people in their 70’s in a cold, dark house for almost three days nuh!
Ah mih people, it’s truly been a harrowing Christmas for many people in the province. And sadly, on top of the ice, there’s been some snowfall over the last couple days, not a great deal, but enough to make matters worse. Please continue praying for us and helping in whatever way you can.
And another group that has certainly suffered is the business owners and merchants, since many of them couldn’t open because of lack of power and possibly physical damage to their properties. And even for those who were able to open, the number of shoppers must have been seriously curtailed due to the latter’s disastrous situations.
To spoil their Christmas even further, today, Boxing Day, usually Canada’s biggest sales and shopping day, has seen its importance steadily eroded as we try to compete with the U.S. Thanksgiving Black Friday sales pitch. So the merchants are seriously suffering, any which way you take it.
However my brethren, here’s something to lift us up after all that negative and depressing news. It’s a Christmas Prayer, from the Robert H. Schuller Hour of Power Devotional. I only read it after I wrote the Bit yesterday, otherwise I would have included it. But it’s still the Christmas season, so it’s still very appropriate.
And again I have to wonder how this prayer seems so new and unfamiliar to me, although I’ve been reading this devotional for a number of years.
Anyway, it inspirationally says: ‘You lead me, Jesus Christ, to thoughts of God. I see you in a manger carved from a tree. I see you as a young man with hands that reach to touch hearts that hurt. Your caring reaches out like the strong and kind branches of a gentle tree reach out to invite road-weary and travel-worn wayfarers to quiet rest.
I see you again hanging on a tree with outstretched arms taking in the whole world. From your cross, you show me that God will stop at nothing to save my soul. So, I celebrate God’s LOVE today as I celebrate your birth around a twinkling Christmas tree.
I pray my life, like yours, O Lord, may be tall and upright as a pine tree pointing, reaching, sharing, sparkling, life-giving; solid, sturdy, strong-rooted in God’s LOVE, a beautiful soul, evergreen forever: Amen.’
What inspiring and encouraging words my people! Though I had to chuckle at the end, because a lot of pines and other trees around the Province, certainly aren’t standing tall and sturdy today.
But the significant difference is that we believers, despite any setbacks, still have the God-given ability to stand sturdy, strong and deeply rooted in God’s amazing LOVE, becoming truly beautiful souls.
And we find that possible because of scriptures like our Bit. ‘For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he shall save us.’
Yes my brethren, since Almighty God, the Creator and most omnipotent force in the universe is our guide and leader, we can stand strong in the power of His Holy Name, through the current working of His Holy Spirit, and the sacrificial work His Son, Jesus, our Lord and Saviour, did for us two thousand years ago!
That just goes to show how strong and powerful is our God! Two thousand years later, He’s still alive and kicking, and pushing on as strong as ever. Wow!
In fact He’s becoming stronger every day, as more and more people come to recognize His tremendous power, LOVE, mercy, grace and forgiveness, and thus believe in Him, put their trust and faith in Him, for help in their earthly pilgrimage.
Ah Friends, it’s time to close. I had envisioned getting to the ‘lawgiver’ aspect of our Bit, but that obviously wasn’t meant to be today. However, I’ll leave us with a wonderful scripture on the ‘king and saving’ aspect that I could not include yesterday.
Listen to these beautiful and encouraging words from the prophet Zechariah, as he prophesies about Zion’s future king. ‘Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just (righteous), and having salvation; lowly (humble), and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.’ (Zech. 9:9)
And we all know that scripture was faithfully fulfilled on Palm Sunday!
So fellow believers, we’ve celebrated, sorry, we’re still celebrating the birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ, but we indeed have the next big occasion to look forward to, Easter, when He truly did His saving work and definitely earned His exalted position as our Lord and King. Much LOVE!
…to whom do we owe the treasures of salvation and eternal life…JESUS CHRIST…what a wonderful SAVIOUR…!
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