25 Nov 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a better tomorrow, a no-brainer, a step forward, abundance, actions, Advocate, an attitude of gratitude, animal instincts, Anselm's quotes, arrogance, better than life, brother, by our hands, Christian hearts, come to pass, Creator, efforts, energizes our Spirits, excellent, faithfulness, fatness, favourable things, full of ourselves, give thanks, goals, harp, hindrance, in advance, in your mind's eye, Israelites, jehovah god, Jesus Christ, Joshua, light, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, loving-kindness, lute, made me glad, make a habit, many hats, marrow, me and my house, meditate, mental, mighty man, my lips shall praise thee, night watches, optimism, positive expectations, precious, pride, provider, put their trust, Redeemer, satisfied, sing praise, thanksgiving, the best, the children of men, the Lord's goodness, the work of thy hands, toward achieving, triumph, under the shadow of thy wings, ungrateful, unworthy, we will serve the Lord, winners, wisdom, without God's help
Psalm 36:7. How excellent (precious) is thy LOVING-kindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.
And yes, it’s cloudy, it might even rain, but you know that doesn’t detract in the least from the light and LOVE in our Christian hearts deposited there by our Leader, our Friend, our Brother, our Lord and Saviour, our Advocate, our Redeemer, Jesus Christ!
Oh what a mighty man is our Jesus! He just had to be with the many hats He wears in our lives. So how could we do anything but LOVE Him eh? It would be most unworthy and ungrateful of us, especially in this Thanksgiving time.
That brings us to our Saturday feature, Anselm’s Quotes; quotes from a brother who sincerely aspires to lead us to a better tomorrow. And the first one addresses what we were just talking about. ‘Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation.’
Oh friends, there’s no better way of living this life than with an attitude of gratitude and thanksgiving, for that’s the way God expects us to live. And doing so, just energizes our Spirits and allows more favourable things to keep happening.
The second quote declares that ‘Winners make a habit of manufacturing their own positive expectations in advance of the event.’ And if you truly expect to win, then you had better have the optimism and winning picture in your mind’s eye, otherwise the winning might not come to pass.
That’s because a large part of winning is mental, of seeing yourself in the winners’ circle. And what’s the point of doing something if you don’t expect to be successful at it eh? None whatsoever!
And this last quote says it all. ‘If what you are doing is not moving you towards your goals, then it’s moving you away from your goals.’ Simple logic friends. (smile) Your actions and efforts can only carry you one way, hopefully in the direction you desire.
But yuh know people, the wisest and best way to achieve any kind of success in this life is by following the gospel truth words of Bruh David in our Bit. ‘How excellent (precious) is thy LOVING-kindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.’
And why wouldn’t we do that if God is our Creator and Provider eh? Because we’re too full of ourselves, possess too much pride and arrogance, foolishly believing that our success has been wrought solely by our hands. Hogwash! Heifer dust! NOTHING is ever done without God’s help or hindrance!
And the psalmist truthfully declares it in his opening remarks of Psalm 92 – Praises for the Lord’s goodness. ‘It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High: To show forth (declare) thy LOVING-kindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night,
Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery (lute or lyre), upon the harp with a solemn (harmonious or melodic) sound. For thou, Lord, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the work of thy hands.’ (Ps.92:1-4)
Yeh friends, it’s ONLY through the work of God’s hands in the background that mankind can ever be successful! Please, let’s remember that and give Him the kind of praise and thanksgiving, glory and gratitude that He deserves nuh. For if He doesn’t get the exaltation He believes He deserves, He is just liable to leave us to do it all on our own, and the wise ones know that we can’t do much of anything on our own.
And Bruh David knew that, that’s why when he was suffering in the wilderness, running from Saul and his many enemies, he could write in Psalm 63 – God satisfies the thirsting soul. ‘Because thy LOVING-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.
My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow (the best) and fatness (abundance); and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips: When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches. Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.’ (Ps.63: 3-7)
Ah mih people, if a man on the run from murderous enemies in a dry and thirsty land can sing the praises of our God so loudly and marvelously, then there must be lots of truth to his words, since his situation is definitely not a joyful or pleasant one.
So what’s it to be eh friends? Shall we follow the Lord, or shall we follow our own animal instincts? It’s an individual choice we all have to make, and make soon too, because once Christ returns, it will be too late.
But yuh know what, as Joshua said so long ago, when he put the same question to the Israelites; ‘but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.’ (Josh.24:15d)
Yes friends, I have yet to see any good reason to do otherwise. Hope you feel the same way too, for that is wisdom of eternal proportions! Much LOVE!
…to sincerely follow Jehovah God…should be a no-brainer…if one believes His holy word…
26 Aug 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a better tomorrow, a day of rest, a loss of power, according to your faith, adversity, advice, Anselm, be it unto you, be of good comfort, be open to change, belief in one's heart, believe, cast into the sea, cease and desist, change for change sake, Christians, circumstances, clean the house, come to pass, complacent, couch potato husband, doubt in his heart, elementary requirement, excellence, face whatever comes against us, faith, fig tree, foundation, gives Jesus a bad name, go in peace, grab ours back, grocery shopping, grouchy remarks, have fath in God, hissing of teeth, in compasison, Jesus' organization, know the whole story, living truth, look after the children, made thee whole, move mountains, perspective, problems, retain your values, Saturday, simple, sloppy, small, solutions, stabilizing factor, stand strong, stop talking nonsense, talk a good talk, testimony, the forest for the trees, the help of Jesus, the issue of blood, touch his garment, tough people, tough times, trials, tribulations, wash the clothes, wishy-washy, work harder
Matthew 9:29b. According to your faith be it unto you.
Ah friends, it’s Saturday, it’s Saturday, a day of rest! But I hear some hissing of teeth and grouchy remarks coming back like: ‘What day of rest yuh talking about eh? Saturday is the day to clean the house and go grocery shopping and wash the big load of clothes in the clothes basket upstairs!
Chuh! I can’t even bring down the basket in one go, cause it so full! And in between I’ve got to look after the children because I can’t depend on my lazy, couch potato husband to do it. So stop talking nonsense about day of rest please. On Saturdays I work harder than during the week at massa work!’
Awright, awright, I get the picture! So I’ll cease and desist. (smile) Instead we’ll talk about the quotes I received from our friend Anselm this week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow.
Hear this first one. ‘If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.’
And that’s the living truth my people. We all figure that we have some of the biggest and worst problems in the world, but if we really saw what others have, we’d rush right back to claim ours because they’d look so small and simple in comparison.
And the second quote says: ‘Perspective–Choose to See the Whole Elephant.’ Yeh friends, it’s often better to see the big picture, so that we miss seeing the forest for the individual tress. We can usually come up with better solutions when we know the whole story.
And here is some world-class heavenly advice, especially for some of us wishy-washy Christians. ‘If you want to achieve excellence, you can get there today. As of this second, quit doing less-than-excellent work.’
Hear ye, hear ye my people, in Jesus’ organization He expects excellence from EVERYONE! But too many of us supposed believers are not providing that excellence in our faith walk. Instead we’re sloppy and complacent, which doesn’t reflect too well on Jesus and gives Him a bad name. So please, please, let’s get serious and start doing better nuh.
And this last quote is also good advice. ‘Be Open To Change, But Retain Your Values.’ Ah mih breddren, in this ever changing world we cannot resist change, but we also don’t have to change just for change sake.
And above all, when we do change, it is of the utmost importance for us to retain our values, especially our Christian values, for those are NEVER to change, no matter how much things around us change.
So with all this good Christian advice knocking at our hearts and minds, let’s channel it to our Bit, that all-important statement of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ: ‘According to your faith be it unto you.’
And that’s just how it is in Jesus’ world! The more you believe, the stronger your faith, then the more you’ll see Him working in your lives. But faith only grows by undergoing adversity; which means oftimes facing harrowing trials and tribulations.
And the truth is that so many of us try to stay clear of those negative things that our faith never grows. We talk a good talk, but we have no testimony to back it up. And you simply cannot be a person of strong faith if you don’t have some testimony of tough times.
What did Gramps Schuller (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) say? ‘Tough times never last, but tough people do.’ Gospel truth my believing brethren!
We all know that our circumstances change along a continuum; sometimes good, sometimes bad, sometimes in between, but we are supposed to be the stabilizing factor in it all. We are the ones expected to stand strong and face whatever comes against us, for with the help of Jesus we can do any and everything we need to.
Now let’s hear some of what the Good Book says about faith. And we’ll begin with the words of Jesus, after He cursed the barren fig tree and it withered and died. The disciples were simply amazed at the situation.
But Jesus said to them: ‘Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.’ (Mark 11:22-24)
Ah friends, that’s the elementary requirement, the foundation of our Christian organization; faith, belief in one’s heart, not doubting. That’s why we can’t come to God unless we believe that He exists.
And we’ll end today with the episode of faith concerning the woman who had the issue of blood for twelve years and couldn’t find healing, then when Jesus passed by she pushed her way through the crowd: ‘For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.’ (Matt.9:21)
And when she touched His garment, she was immediately healed, but Jesus also felt a loss of power and inquired who had touched Him. His disciples questioned how He could figure out who touched him in such a large, jostling crowd? But Jesus persisted, and eventually the lady confessed.
However, instead of being annoyed, Jesus said to her: ‘Daughter be of good comfort (cheer): thy faith hath made thee whole (well); go in peace.’ (Luke 8:48)
Ah friends, that just proves the truth and the efficacy of our Bit: ‘According to your faith be it unto you.’ Much LOVE!
…faith can move mountains…but only if we…sincerely believe…
10 Mar 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a sad state, abyss, advantage, another week of work, answer for his own deeds, appetites, at any time, be prepared, begrudgingly, believer, benefits, blame, by the scruff of the neck, cares of this life, carousing, choice, cold white stuff, come to pass, condemnation, deny Christ, disciples, drunkenness, emotionally, employee, employer, enthusiasm, excessively, fellowship, fight, foolish virgins, Friday chant, fun, generous help, glorious kingdom, God's universe, good paying, Hades, hard labour, in Jesus' name, indulge, infighting, Jesus, jobs, judgement day, lies, like a thief in the night, oil in their lamps, permanent jobs, physically, poorly paid, potent, power struggles, powerful force, pray, prayer, punching a clock, rational, readiness, relaxation, rest, rights, sense of purpose, sensible approach, signs, simple, slackness, small pay, snare, stand before, straightforward, surfeiting, take heed, taunts, temporary jobs, temptation, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, the day of the Lord, the face of the earth, the second coming, the Son of man, the Thessalonians, the weekend, the working world, the workingman, thief, trials, unawares, under pressure, valour, warns, watch, weighed down, wiles, winter, wisdom, your hearts be overcharged
Luke 21:34. And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged (weighed down) with surfeiting (carousing), and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.
So friends, like we gone back to winter now, with highs in the minus bracket and promises of that fluffy, but everlastingly cold white stuff! (smile) But that doesn’t matter as much to the workingman as the fact that it’s Friday, glorious Friday!
And he just goes about his merry way rejoicing, while loudly mouthing: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday! Thank God is Friday and the weekend here at last! No more hard labour for small pay! No more punching a stupid clock! The next whole two days is mine, to do as I please! Oh, thank God for Fridays and the weekend yes!’
And who can really blame him eh, since the working world out there is such a sad state; transitioning from good paying permanent jobs with benefits, to poorly paid temporary jobs with no benefits.
The modern day employer has the employee by the scruff of his neck as it were, with little choice but to accept whatever he begrudgingly hands out. Like we’re going back to the bad old days of employer advantage, where workers had to fight, both physically and emotionally for their rights.
But be that as it may, that excessive, overly emotional reaction is not the best, especially in these lean, rough and tough times. Our Friday Chant provides a much more rational and sensible approach. So let’s chant it out now nuh, with just as much enthusiasm and sense of purpose, as the workingman did his song.
Altogether now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Yes my fellow believers, that is the kind of response we need to have towards our two days off on the weekend, otherwise we’d just keep digging ourselves further down into the abyss of Hades every week.
And my people, our God is wonderful in His awesome and mysterious ways, that He pointed out a most fitting Bit for us today.
‘And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged (weighed down) with surfeiting (carousing), and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.’
I just had to chuckle when I was led to it, because it defines our weekends so well. Jesus was here talking to His disciples about some of the signs of His Second Coming, warning them to be prepared, to not be deceived by the wiles and taunts and lies of the world.
The scholars add this explanation about our Bit. ‘21:34. Surfeiting means “to indulge one’s appetites excessively.” No believer is beyond the temptation to fall into sin. Jesus warns against slackness and lack of daily readiness in the Christian walk.’
In other words my brethren, we have to be always ready, daily prepared to walk the good daily walk, as well as be prepared for Jesus’ Second Coming, which can happen at anytime.
And Jesus continues His warning after our Bit. ‘For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.’ (Luke 21:35-36)
Ah friends, I couldn’t put it any simpler or more straightforward than that! That’s one thing about Jesus; His words are always simple and straightforward. And here He purposely warned us: WATCH and PRAY!
Consequently, I can’t understand how there’s not much more watching and praying amongst the brethren, instead of the infighting and power struggles, which currently manifest themselves to a large degree in the Lord’s church.
But yuh know what? Each man will have to answer for his own deeds come the judgement day, and then we won’t be able to say we didn’t know, or point the blame at someone else. It will all fall squarely on our shoulders. So the wisest move for all of us right now, is to get prepared, and stay prepared!
And we’ll close with this explanation re verse 36, by the scholars. ’21:36. Prayer is the better part of valour when persevering for Christ under pressure. Prayer alone will enable one to stand before the returning Son of Man, when those all around are falling, whether in condemnation before Christ or to temptation to deny Christ under the trials of the hour.’
There’s no more left to be said my friends! So please let’s begin seriously watching and praying nuh, for remember what Bruh Paul said to the Thessalonians: ‘For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.’ (1 Thess.5:2)
So let’s be prepared for when Jesus comes. Let’s not be like the five foolish virgins who ran out of oil when the bridegroom came, because they were not prepared. (Matt.25:1-13). Let godly wisdom reign amongst us my breddren! Much LOVE!
…PRAYER…the most potent and powerful force in God’s universe…
29 Sep 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a glorious deliverer, a marathon race, a positive outlook on life, a strong will, abide by Jesus' word, abundance, agonizing, blessings, broken in the name of Jesus, come to pass, courage, creativity, crucified, curse, dangers, dead in our sins, despising the shame, direction, disbelief, divine necessity, divine protection, endured the cross, eternity, family, favour, finisher, fools, foretold, forgiven, friends, fulfillment, future, glory, glory hallelujah, God's LOVE, good and faithful servant, Hades, health, heaven, History, identity, impediments, in innocence, iniquity, Jesus, joy, leader, look to Jesus, looking unto Jesus, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, Lucifer, Messiah, mindbending, Moses, negative word, New Testament, obedience, of our faith, Old Testament, open the eyes, originator, our heavenly Father, passe, perfector, promotion, prophets, prosper, radiance, reconciled to the Father, Resurrection day, scriptures, self-control, self-discipline, selfless sacrifice, set down at God's right hand, shame, significance of Jesus, sins of the world, slow of heart, succeed, success, successful living, suffering, supernatural strength, talent, thanks and praise, the author, the Father's will, the road to Emmaus, the SON, the true path, Thursday Blessings, trailblazer, transgressions, ungrateful people, welcome
Hebrews 12:2. Looking unto Jesus the author (originator) and finisher (perfector) of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of God.
Well friends, it’s a cloudy morning in my area. The sun is not shining, but thankfully the Son is holding forth as usual in all His wonderful radiance and brilliant glory!
All thanks and praise be to our heavenly Father for giving us Jesus as our Messiah, Leader, Lord and Saviour! Without Him, we’d be certainly dead in our sins, heading for a rough and troubled eternity with Lucifer in Hades.
But thanks to God’s great LOVE and Jesus’ selfless sacrifice, we have been reconciled to the Father and as His beloved children, can now look forward to spending eternity with Him in heaven. Glory Hallelujah!
And on that glorious note, let’s declare out Thursday Blessings, as we remember that a blessing is not a blessing until it’s been spoken over someone. With true belief, sincerity and enthusiasm now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life!
I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection!
I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Glory to God my people! We shall be blessed when we go out and come in, when we sit or lie down… in fact in all aspects of our lives our God will cause us to prosper. Wow! Isn’t that something else? It surely is!
That’s why we have to pay serious attention to our Bit. ‘Looking unto Jesus the author (originator) and finisher (perfector) of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.’
Yes friends, Jesus was the original trailblazer of our faith. He first ran the race and set all the standards for it. Now we need to adhere to those standards so that we can run the race successfully too. It’s not an easy race to run, for it’s a marathon across hill and dale, rivers and streams, one fraught with all sorts of dangers and impediments.
But thankfully Jesus has blazed the trail, shown us the way, lit the path, and if we sincerely abide by His word, then we too will have success, and one day hear the Father declare: ‘Welcome, thou good and faithful servant!’
Oh what a joyful day that will be my people! But first we have to get serious about looking to Jesus and following in His famous footsteps, otherwise we’re just wasting our time and His.
Now let’s look at a couple of interesting parts of our Bit, the first being, ‘who for the joy that was set before him…’
Now I really don’t see the joy in what Jesus was asked to do by the Father nuh – take the sins of the world on His shoulders, be crucified in innocence to pay for the iniquity and transgressions of ungrateful people.
It was joyful for us, because through His actions our sins were forgiven, but it must surely have been mind-bending and agonizing for Him. However, despite the affliction, His obedience to the Father’s will was perfect.
That brings us to Jesus’ words to the two disciples He met on Resurrection Day along the road to Emmaus. He chided them for their disbelief.
‘Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.’ (Luke 24:25-27)
Oh friends, the Lord didn’t send the prophets because He had nothing better to do, but to open the eyes of the people unto the coming of Jesus and what His purpose was going to be.
Hear the scholars. ’24:26. Ought (Gr. dei) bespeaks a divine necessity; what the prophets had foretold (see Is.53; Ps.16; 22) must and did come to pass. The disciples had been ready to see in Jesus a glorious deliverer, but Jesus’ rebuke (v.25) relates to their unwillingness to take seriously the many Old Testament texts that speak not only of the Messiah’s glory, but also of His suffering.’
And unfortunately, today a lot of us are also refusing to understand the importance of the Old Testament in the formation of the New Testament. But the scholars kindly inform us: ‘24:27. The entire Old Testament is indispensable for a grounded grasp of the identity and significance of Jesus.’
That is friends, if we don’t understand Jesus’ role and significance in the Old Testament; His appearances, His status, His doings and the prophesies about Him, we won’t be fully able to comprehend His form and function in the New Testament.
Therefore, please, let’s stop considering the Old Testament as passé, because it isn’t. It’s just as important as the New Testament in that it expounds the nature of our faith; it’s beginnings, its ups and downs, its promises, and above all the great message about our Messiah.
So today, as Almighty God blesses us, and as we bless others, let’s remember where we came from – the Old Testament – because if we don’t know our history and recognize it as being important, we surely won’t know our future; where we’re going, the direction in which we’re headed and how to handle it. Much LOVE!
…only as we look to Jesus…will we see the true path to successful living…
27 Nov 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: above average life, allergies, B.S. baffles brains, barrier breaker, better late than never, blessed, Bubba Joel, calamities, Christian, come to pass, commandments, compassion, Creator of the universe, defeated, destiny, Deuteronomy, disasters, disobedience, disobedient, disobey, downtrodden lives, economic distress, enemies, enlarged vision, escape, everlasting promise, evil hold, fabulous blessings, favour, flee seven ways, foolish, forgiveness, fruit of thy cattle, God's goodness, God's purpose, godly people, Good Book, good life, have life more abundantly, holy people, idolatrous, immense proportions, in grip, in the city, in the field, increase, Jewish prosperity, Joel Osteen, know it all, limited mindset, listen diligently, live high on the hog, LOVE, mercy, obey His rules, observe and do, obstinate, offspring, palms of his hands, pay, pick ourselves up, pluck up courage, ponder the situation, poor, positive thinking, poverty, prideful, prosperity thinking, reap what we sow, rebellious, scripture, seeds of greatness, set your hand to, short-change ourselves, sickness, simpler, sold our souls, storehouses, straightforward, strife, sworn, tender mercies, the voice of the Lord thy God, tired, Today is my day, true, true believers, trusting, turned from God, voice of God, walk in his ways, war, wisdom, wise changes, wonderful god, worldly goods, worthless worldly treasures
Deuteronomy 28:1. And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee high above all nations of the earth.
Ah mih people, in this rough and rugged world, when it’s not one thing, it’s certainly another yes. Now yesterday my allergies were bothering me, but I beat them off. Today though, I couldn’t get up. Like the ole body was more tired than I thought.
However, as the old people would say; better late than never. So if the Bit’s a tad late, please bear with the ole fella, let your tender mercies and forgiveness, your Christian compassion come to the fore, as you remember that he’s only human and thus very fallible. (smile) And that’s why they say B.S. baffles brains!
But I have an interesting acclamation to share today. It comes from Bubba Joel (Joel Osteen), so those of you who deal with him might have already seen it, but for the many who don’t, it’s very useful to share.
And Bubba Joel excitingly declares in the title: ‘TODAY IS MY DAY! God has destined me to be a barrier breaker! He created me to be uncontainable. I have talent and potential given to me by the Creator of the universe. There are seeds of greatness inside of me. Today, I choose to break free from a limited mindset and enlarge my vision.
Today, God is taking me places I’ve never even dreamed of before. Today, God is fulfilling His purpose and destiny in my life. Today, I will experience His favour like never before in every area of my life.’
Yes Friends, we all need to enlarge our vision and change our mindset to one that expects God’s favour, His goodness and mercy, every day of our lives, otherwise we’re more than likely to short-change ourselves.
Oh I know that lots of people cry down what’s generally called prosperity and positive thinking, but why not embrace it instead eh? Jesus said that He came to earth so that we could have life, and have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)
So what does that mean eh? It surely doesn’t mean we should live poor, downtrodden lives. But neither does it mean that every believer will become filthy rich in worldly goods and live high on the hog, as some preachers preach, and some believers believe. I think it means that generally speaking, true believers will live a decent, above average life.
For as our Bit so wonderfully puts this everlasting promise of our great and wonderful God: ‘And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee high above all nations of the earth.’
As usual Friends, our God’s pronouncements are plain and simple: obey, and you’ll be blessed. ‘And all these blessings shall come upon thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.’ (Deut. 28:2)
Ah mih people, how wonderful He is eh! He even goes on to spell out in more detail, the many fabulous blessings He has in store for us, if we obey His rules.
‘Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body (offspring), and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine (cattle), and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store (kneading bowl). Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten (defeated) before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways. The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.’ (Deut.28:3-8)
Oh my brethren, what’s in that not to understand eh? But being foolish, rebellious, prideful, think we know it all, trusting in our own sub-par provision, we’ve turned from the Lord. And what’s the result? We’re obviously reaping what we’ve so stupidly sown with our disobedience; poverty, sickness, economic distress, war, strife, and all other sorts of disasters and calamities.
But do you think we’ll even for a moment sit down and seriously ponder the situation? Oh no! Because Beelzebub has us in grip, we’re so firmly ensconced in the palms of his hands, we can’t escape his evil hold, for we’ve sold our souls to him for the worthless treasures of this soon to be destroyed world.
And we’ll end with this simple, straightforward, but oh so important verse of scripture. ‘The Lord shall establish thee a holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways.’ (Deut.28:9)
Oh Friends, it can’t get any simpler and more straightforward than that! So please, today, as true believers in Jesus Christ, let’s all pluck up our courage, pick ourselves up from wherever we’ve fallen, and believe God for a good and decent life, if we follow His dictates.
And it’s not like we haven’t seen it played out just as He said, all down through the centuries; from the days of Jewish prosperity, to their calamities when they disobeyed, right down to our earlier prosperity when we were a more godly people, to our now divisive, disaster and strife torn world, as we’ve become very idolatrous and disobedient.
So it’s not like the words of the Good Book haven’t been played out and found to be true. It’s just that we’re obstinate, rebellious, prideful and foolish.
So please my people, let’s try and make some wise changes nuh, once again becoming obedient to God’s Word, starting TODAY! That’s wisdom of the most immense proportions. Much LOVE!
…if you want to disobey…then know that you’ll surely pay…and pay large too…
SCRIP-BITS 