30 Jun 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a spring of water, Always there, blessed they who hunger and thirst, but and eat, buy wine and milk, call on the name of the Lord, can't make him drink, come to the waters, comfort ye my people, condolences, eternal rest and comfort, every that thirsts, faith, for free, hurry, I'm not what I do, impoverished, in god's eyes, in the arms of the Lord, invitation to all men, Jesus Christ, lead a horse to water, like a well-watered garden, magnanimous god, make fat thy bones, merciful God, my friend Jesus, new reulations, no money, One Year Book of Bible Promises our spiritual eyes, only begotten Son, physical distancing, put foot in a church, rest in peace, righteousness., Ruth Harms Calkin, salvation, satisfy thy soul in drought, seek ye the Lord, self-sufficiency, share His love with the world, the ability to see far, the beloved of God, the darkest times, the Lord shall guide thee, the New Covenant, they shall be filled, Tuesday Mantra, visited the Lord's sanctuary, whose waters fail not, worldwide sickness and strife, worry
Isaiah 58:11. And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought (times of need), and make fat (strengthen) thy bones: and thou shalt be like a well-watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
Oh my people, my people, finally, after about three or four months, the ole fella actually visited one of the Lord’s sanctuaries yesterday! Glory be! And was it ever good to put foot in a church again, although it was for a sad occasion, the funeral of one of our long-time friends, Herman George Gabay. And it was a fairly new Catholic church, so you know it was fine, (smile) but with all the new regulations, we could only sit in every other pew and not too close to anybody not family.
And it was indeed strange to see the fifty people now allowed for public gatherings all spread out over the large church and all the tape and ribbon and signs to keep us safely separated from each other, plus everybody, even the priest and his helpers in masks. But I guess that’s the new normal now. So, hopefully, we’ll do it responsibly and thus not have to lockdown the society again.
Anyway, my condolences go out to the Gabay Family. Herman was indeed a kind, friendly, quiet and generous man, and led a long and interesting life. And did he ever look beautiful and at peace lying there in his coffin yesterday in his off-white suit! (smile) He will be missed by all of us though.
And I have one more set of condolences to send out to the Wilson family in Tobago, as I understand that the neighbour of my youth and big brother Neil also passed away recently. He was much older than me, but I can remember growing up and seeing him dressed in his B.W.I.A (British West Indian Airlines) uniform.
In my time that was a position to which many aspired. We were never bosom chums or anything like that, but whenever we met each other, he was always friendly. I haven’t seen him in many a year, and never knew that over the years, he had become such a stalwart in Tobago politics; Chairman of the PNM party Council in Tobago, as well as ‘the heartbeat of Tobago tourism.’
May you both Herman and Neil rest in peace in the arms of the Lord, because that’s where eternal rest and comfort are to be found. And that’s not only for the dear departed my friends, but even more so for the living, as the prophet Isaiah long ago declared: ‘Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.’ (Is. 40:1) The prophet saw salvation and comfort in Israel’s future, and that has become even more firmly entrenched for us under the New Covenant with Jesus.
And do we ever need comfort and consolation and assurance in these uncertain and trying times my brethren. We need all consuming faith so that we can stand strong and steadfast in the mighty purpose of God! And the minster at the funeral yesterday said he teaches the children that faith is the ability of our spiritual eyes to see beyond the short distance that our physical eyes can see.
And that’s oh so true friends. If we can’t see figuratively far beyond the literal distance of our physical eyes, then there’s li’l or no chance for us. If we can’t see, feel and understand that our great God is ‘Always There’ for us, as described by this poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin, then we’re in sad trouble.
Please pray with me: ‘So often, Lord I reach the bottom of the abyss. So often, I taste the dregs Of my own helplessness. Yet it is there, exactly there That You come to my immediate rescue. When I feel totally impoverished Of all self-sufficiency When I want to vanish into nowhere From the depths of despair I call Your name And You are always there for me!’
Now that’s the gospel truth friends! Our God is ALWAYS THERE for us – especially in the darkest times of our lives! All we have to do is call out to Him in true sincerity! And I know that these current times of worldwide sickness and strife are amongst the worst ever for many of us, that’s why I’m encouraging us, pleading with us, to call on the name of the Lord through our Saviour Jesus Christ, for He is the ONLY ONE, who can provide care, comfort, true wisdom and guidance and release from our earthly troubles!
And when we read His Word, we see that He constantly and faithfully promises to look after us if we come to Him, like in this passage from Isaiah, that’s used as the Bible verse for today’s poem. ‘And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought (times of need), and make fat (strengthen) thy bones: and thou shalt be like a well-watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.’ (Is. 58:11) And the Lord does keep His promises, but He can’t help us until we come a calling on Him. That’s why faith, strong faith is absolutely necessary in these troubled times!
And just in case you didn’t believe what Isaiah says above there, listen to him again with more substantial and faithful promises of our magnanimous and merciful God. (smile) ‘Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.’ (Is. 55:1)
And the scholars explain thus: ‘55:1-7. God’s free gift of salvation is offered to all who will receive it. Those who are spiritually hungry and thirsty may come to eat and drink without money (or freely). He promises an everlasting covenant to the Gentiles like the one He established with Israel. His invitation to all men is clearly stated by the appeal, Seek ye the Lord and call ye upon him.’
Oh my people, the Lord has done all He can, right down to giving us the New Covenant though the sacrifice of His only begotten Son Jesus! Now it’s up to us to make use of all that He’s provided. And if we don’t, we can’t blame anyone else but ourselves, although nowadays we take great pleasure in playing the blame game! As they say, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. I can only lead you to Jesus, I can’t make you accept Him. But for those of us who have wisely done so, let’s go home now declaring {steups! – and I thought I was spelling it right oui – smile} our Tuesday Mantra, letting the world know who and whose we are.
In strong voice, with sincere hearts: ‘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!’
Now it’s time to seriously action those statements! Much LOVE!
…blessed…are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness…for they shall be filled…
17 Aug 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: accomplish the purpose, all creatures, awesome truth, blown bulb, break forth in singing, brier, carnal, clap their hands, come to the waters, consternation, cypress, diligence in God's work, eat bread freely, empty, enjoy yourself, eternal separation, eventual benefit, everlasting promises, far out on the limb, Father, fellowship, Friday chant, frolic, from whom all blessings flow, fun, furthering God's glorious kingdom, generous help, go out with joy, grace, Hades, heavenly host, here below, Holy Ghost, I will rejoice and be glad in it, in Jesus name, inconveniences, it's later than you think, led forth with peace, li'l children, looking over we shoulder, Lucifer, lustful, mechanical ingenuity, mercy, my thoughts, my ways, myrtle, not your thoughts, not your ways, party time, praise God, refreshed, relaxation, renewed, rest, return void, sensible manner, simplicity of soul, slave labour, Son, steal my joy, succulent fruit, TGIF!, thank God for everything, Thank God is Friday, the mountains, the trees of the field, the weekend, the workingman, things of the world, thirsty, this the day the Lord has made, thorn, unfruitful, we time to party, week of work, with the Lord's help
Isaiah 55:8. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
Ah friends, when it’s not one thing, it’s always another eh? This morning I came down to write the Bit, already a tad late, to find that the bulb in the lamp over my desk had blown. But to complicate matters, when I tried removing the bulb, the glass part broke off from the metal part, leaving the latter in the socket.
You can imagine my consternation, but with the Lord’s help and some mechanical ingenuity (smile) I finally extracted the metal part from the socket. But would you know that when I put in a new bulb, the lamp didn’t work. Steups! So I then had to go around the house looking for a lamp that could fit in the small space allotted for lamps over my computer desk. The old one was clamped to a bookcase over the desk.
Obviously I had no more with clamps, so I have to make do with one sitting on top of the books, and the overhead room lamp, which itself isn’t very bright. I haven’t opened the Good Book as yet to see how I’m going to handle it, but yuh know what? I won’t let those li’l inconveniences steal my joy. I said it when I got up, and I’ll say it again: ‘This is the day the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it!’ And I hope you will too.
I know the workingman is surely doing that, because he’s been out early singing his song. ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday oui! Another week of slave labour done! And now it’s the weekend…Glory be! It’s we time now! No more slave master constantly looking over we shoulder like we is li’l children and doh know how to do we work! Steups! Is we time now to party and do whatever we want to do, whenever we want do it!
And yuh better believe that is exactly what we going to do, especially with the summer quickly coming to an end! As the man says in his song: ‘Enjoy yourself, enjoy yourself, it’s later than you think…!’ And isn’t that the awesome truth! Mama Yo…Is party time! So let’s thank God for Fridays and the weekend yes and go out and enjoy we self!’
Yeh friends, we have to thank God for EVERYTHING, including bad breaks and frustrating inconveniences, for it’s only with His help are we able to overcome them in a sane and sensible manner. And in all truth, the workingman has such simplicity of soul and spirit that you can’t help but admire his commitment to partying.
But unfortunately, or fortunately, as followers of Jesus, we are not allowed to go that far out on the limb to pick the juicy, succulent fruit that we all wish we could pick and enjoy. Hn! But it’s all for our eventual benefit friends, so that we don’t indulge in the carnal and lustful things of the world and give that fallen fool Lucifer a chance to get under our skin, and thus end up in Hades with him, facing eternal damnation and separation from Almighty God.
And all God’s children gave a mighty and grateful shout of ‘Thank You Lord!’ And that’s why our Friday Chant differs from that of the workingman, though mostly in not going to extremes and continuing diligence in God’s work. So let’s chant it now with enthusiasm and sincere anticipation.
All together: ‘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.’
Yuh see mih people, we too need to frolic and have fun, but we need to do it in a more restrained way, with some circumspection, as we reboot and get ready for next week’s labours.
And all I want to point out today, is that though the Lord made us know what is what in our Bit: ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts,’ He is still such a LOVING, kind hearted and compassionate Deity.
After inviting everyone that’s thirsty to come to the waters and drink freely, and those without money to come and eat bread freely, and to stop spending our money on things that don’t satisfy us, (Is.55:1-2) He further promises. ‘For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir (cypress) tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.’ (Is.55:12-13)
Ah friends, what a wonderful God we serve! Who else would make such magnanimous promises eh…and keep them too? Nobody else! And in closing, I just want to remind us that He said His word would not return void (empty or unfruitful), but would accomplish the purpose for which it was sent.
And for His great mercy and grace, we can all sincerely and loudly sing: ‘Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below; Praise Him above, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost! Amen!’ Have a blessed day my brethren in Christ! Much LOVE!
…only in Christ…can everlasting promises come true…
01 Aug 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fool's wisdom, a toe hold, adversary, afflictions, as the deer longs for water, be extra careful, bounden duty, buy wine and milk without money, Caribana, carnival time, celebration, Christ's ambassadors, come to the waters, devour, direction, Drunk or sober mind yuh business, easy pickings, error of their ways, eternal life, everlasting covenant, everlasting life, fantabulous, fellowship, freely, Friday chant, friends, fun, furthering God's glorious kingdom, gay abandon, generous help, Gentiles, God's free offer of mercy, God's invitation, grace, Granny's advice, guidance, heaven's doors, heavenly succour, holy spirit, Isaiah, Israel, Jacob's Well, Jesus is the Light, leggo-beast, light, long weekend, LOVE, Lucifer, mistake, my soul's thirsty for God, no one comes to the Father but through Jesus, Peter, relaxation, renewed and refeshed, resist steadfast in faith, Revelation, rivers of living water, roaring lion, salt, salvation, Samaritan woman, seek ye the Lord, sober, spiritually hungry and thirsty, steadfast faith, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, the devil, the Truth, the water of life, the Way, true believer, ungodly world, vigilant, vulnerable, wisdom, without money
Psalm 42:1. As the hart panteth after (the deer long for) the water brooks, so panteth (longs) my soul after thee, O God.
Oh Friends, it’s Friday – Caribana Friday! And the joyful but raucous shouting begins: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday yes! Caribana Friday to boot! The partying in T.O is going to be fantabulous this long weekend, with everybody drinking, smoking, doing whatever, behaving like real leggo beast…!’
Hold down mih people, hold down! Wait a minute here! This leggo beast behaviour is not a wise move at all nuh, for you know it is at times like these, when we are at our most vulnerable, that that ole crook and rapscallion, Lucifer, is busiest, at his most zealous, because he knows when we start carrying on with gay abandon, we’re easy pickings.
So please check yuhself from the very start. For if is one time you truly need to heed Granny’s wise advice; ‘drunk or sober, mind yuh business,’ is at Carnival time. And if you don’t believe me and Granny, then listen to Peter.
‘Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in (experienced by) your brethren that are in the world.’ (1 Pet.5:8-9)
Yes Friends, it is in times of great celebration that we have to be extra careful not to open ourselves up to the enemy and allow him to get even a toe hold in our lives. Now let’s chant our Friday chant with as much gusto as we were just shouting, ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday!’
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.’
Now please take that to heart my people, because it will save us a whole lot of heartache later on. And having said all of that, let’s finally turn to our Bit: ‘As the hart panteth after (the deer long for) the water brooks, so panteth (longs) my soul after thee, O God.’
You know Friends, I had considered that Bit finished yesterday, but on further research, I found a few more scriptures that also complement it. Listen to Isaiah with God’s free offer of mercy to all. ‘Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.’ (Is.55:1)
And the scholars have this to say about that offer: ’55:1-7. God’s free gift of salvation is offered to all who will receive it. Those who are spiritually hungry and thirsty may come to eat and drink without money (or freely). He promises an everlasting covenant to the Gentiles (vs.3) like the one He established with Israel. His invitation to all men is clearly stated by the appeal, Seek ye the Lord, and call ye upon him (vs.7).’
Ah Friends, you see that from way back when, our wonderful and magnanimous God was freely offering food and drink to hungry and thirsty travellers. But, for whatever reason, people just refused to accept it.
And then along comes Jesus, many years later, making essentially the same offer. As He says to the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well: ‘Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well (fountains) of water springing up into everlasting life.’ (John 4:13-14)
And later on, Jesus again makes this incredible offer: ‘If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly (heart) shall flow rivers of living water.’ (John 7:37-38)
But even then, the multitudes refused His offer. And unfortunately my brethren, two thousand years later, Jesus’ offer of heavenly succour is still on the table, and millions of earthlings are still unwisely refusing it. What can we say to that eh? Not much, other than it’s a fool’s wisdom!
Refusing Jesus’ free offer of grace, salvation and eternal life is the biggest mistake any human being can ever make. But sadly Friends, many many of us are doing it. And it is the job of the true believer to try and show them the error of their ways. To let them know that Jesus is indeed the Truth, the Light and the Way, and no one can come to the Father; enter heaven’s hallowed doors unless they do so through Him!
And John in his Revelations of Jesus’ plans, again offers this great invitation to all and sundry. ‘And the (Holy) Spirit and the bride (the church) say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst (thirsts) come. And whosoever will (desires), let him take the water of life (eternal life) freely.’ (Rev.22:17)
Oh Friends, it’s all available simply through belief and faith in Christ, our wonderful Lord and Saviour!
So today, let’s remember that we are Christ’s ambassadors, the salt and the light of the world, the ones He left to do His work here on earth. That means we have to go out and show the evil, unbelieving, ungodly world what Jesus is truly like, by being our best, most excellent selves, putting forth our best efforts on Jesus’ behalf, so that the unfortunate others can also see the light and add salt to richly flavour their lives too.
That’s our bounden duty that Jesus bequeathed to us. (Matt.28:19-20) So please, let’s go out and do it nuh, for it is wisdom, guidance and direction from on high! Much LOVE!
…too many people are living in the waterless desert… foolishly suffering from thirst…while right in front of them…rivers of living waters abundantly flow…from the free offerings of Jesus…
29 Mar 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: ability to make choices, believe, blessings, book of life, bringing us down easy, brow beat, buy wine and milk, cold temps, come to the waters, compassion, consideration, decisions, distortion, disturbing, eternal life, eternally grateful, fear not, floods, genuine believer, gift of grace, God's invitation, God's Word, heap abuse, holy city, holy spirit, horrific winter, hunger nor thirst, I come quickly, ice storm, infinite wisdom, Israel, Jacob's Well, Jesus, Jew, litany of woes, living water, Lord jesus, loving kindness, magnanimous god, mind-boggling, molly-cuddle, multitude, New Jerusalem, northern climes, offspring, palm branches, plagues, pour water on who thirsts, prophecy, repercussions, Revelation, right and wrong, Samaritan, shepherd. living fountains of water, sigh of relief, snow, snow belt, spring, substraction, testify, thanks and praise, the gift of God, the greatest, the Lamb, the Spirit of God, the throne of God, the water of life, thumbs up, too late, Toronto and environs, tribulations, warning, we bless your holy name, we Love you Lord, white robes, whoever is thirsty, winter weather, wipe away all tears, wisdom, without money, without price
Isaiah 55:1. Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
Oh Friends, we’re going to begin this morning by giving our wonderful God some thanks and praise for His infinite wisdom and LOVING-kindness to us up here in the northern climes, in particular Toronto and its environs. Why you ask?
Remember how we’ve been complaining about the terrible winter weather and the great amounts of snow piled up all around, wondering where we’d put it if any more fell, and also about spring taking long to come?
Well mih people, spring still isn’t here on a consistent basis, but there’s been method to the Lord’s madness, meaning that there’s hardly any snow on the ground now, and the Lord in His wisdom, compassion and consideration for us did it slowly. That’s why we’d have a day of warmish weather, then some cold ones.
All to allow the snow to melt a little at a time, because if He had allowed it all to melt at once, we’d surely be adding floods to our litany of woes; abundant ice and snow and bitterly cold temps for far too long. Some people and places have not even fully recovered from the ice storm, can you imagine if there were floods to add to their tribulations.
So all you people who live in the snow belt, please give the Lord a big thumbs up for bringing us down easy after such a horrific winter. And all God’s people uttered a huge sigh of relief, then let loose with an astounding voice of praise. ‘Thank You Father for looking after us! You are indeed the GREATEST! We LOVE You Lord and bless Your Holy Name, today and for ever more! Amen!’
Yes my brethren, I don’t know about you all nuh, but I am eternally grateful, for with the three or four feet of snow on my back deck, my backyard and by the side of my driveway, I don’t know what I would have done if it had all melted at once. At least I can now see some of the grass in my backyard, and some of the floor boards on my deck.
That’s why Friends it’s so disturbing and mind-boggling that people constantly ignore, and even heap abuse on our magnanimous God and His free gift of grace as outlined in our Bit. ‘Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.’
Today’s the last day for this Bit, and I’m not going to get into any arguments over it or try to change anyone’s mind. We have done enough of that over the last few days, and if people aren’t wise enough to accept God’s invitation, then too bad for them. We shouldn’t have to brow beat people, or molly-cuddle them. The Lord gave us all the ability to make choices and also showed us what’s right from what’s wrong. We’ll just have to live with the repercussions of our decisions.
Today we’ll just quote a few more scriptures that deal with the living water, the Holy Spirit, which Jesus promises to every one who believes in Him. And the first scripture comes from Jesus’ opening parry with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. She obviously was most surprised when Jesus, a Jew, asked her, a Samaritan for a drink, since Jews despised Samaritans and had nothing to do with them.
‘Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.’ (John 4:10) And we already know how that story eventually panned out.
The next scripture comes from Isaiah, some chapters before our Bit, where he is also promising that the Spirit of God would be upon Israel. ”Thus saith the Lord that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen. For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground:
I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring; and they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses. One shall say, I am the Lord’s; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord (write with his hand, the Lord’s), and surname himself by the name of Israel.’ (Is.44:2-5)
Then in Revelation, where the numberless multitude stand before the throne of God and the Lamb, clothed in white robes, holding palm branches, serving the Lord day and night, having borne great tribulations, (Rev. 7:9-14) John reveals: ‘They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on (strike) them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed (shepherd) them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears (every tear) from their eyes.’ (Rev.7:16-17)
And finally, from Revelation again, John concludes: ‘And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst (thirst) come. And whosoever will (desires), let him take the water of life freely. for I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. He which testifieth these things (Jesus) saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.’ (Rev.22:17-21)
Oh Friends, that says it all! It’s a serious warning against distortion and subtraction of God’s Word!
And per the scholars: ‘Anyone who wilfully distorts the message of the Book of Revelation shows himself not to be a genuine believer and will not participate in eternal life or the blessings of the New Jerusalem.’
So please my brethren, consider ourselves warned. Much LOVE!
…to believe or not to believe…that is the question…and the choice must be made NOW…for when Jesus comes again, it will be too late…
28 Mar 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abominable, Alpha and Omega, anger, basic attitudes, Beginning and the End, blatantly, bless the Lord, Book of Revelation, buy wine and milk without money, chant, come buy and eat without money, come to the waters, corruption, cowardly, disobedience, don't abuse the weekend, don't despair, envy, eternal separation from God, evil doings, exorbitant price, faith, false glitz and glory, fearful, fellowship, fire and brimstone, foregoing God's free gift of grace, forsaking God, freedom from toil and labour, Friday chant, friends, glorious kingdom, God's favour, God's Word, Good Book, greed, he that overcomes, holy spirit, idolaters, ignominous end, incompetence, inflationary world, Isaiah 55:1. Ho, jealousy, Jesus Christ, jesus name, judgement day, justice, liars, LOVE, loving kindness, maganimous and magnificent God, marvellous and miraculous services, mercy, murderers, no money, oh my soul, our great God, pain, pain Jesus' heart, peace, proper focus, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, resentment, riotous living, sacrificing His life, sanctify, serious attention, sexually immoral, shall inherit all things, sins, sorcerers, stumble and fall, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, the evil one, the hammer falls, the norm, the second death, the sin level, the way the world works, truth, unbelieving, ungodly world, vacillate like the tide, wake up, wanting more and more, water of life, week of work, whoever is thirsty, whoremongers, wickedness, wide and winding road, without price, work everything out for our good
Isaiah 55:1. Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
Oh Friends, I’ve gotten the message! Yes, you already know that today is Friday, because I can hear your joyful shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday yes! And thank God that work soon done for another two big days! Bless the Lord, oh my soul, for that short bit of freedom from weary toil and labour!’
Ah mih people, I know how hard some of us work to make a few dollars which never seem to be enough in this ever inflationary world. But please don’t despair, for our great God will be with us, if we be with Him, and work everything out for our good.
Now that also means not abusing the weekend with strictly riotous living, but also engaging in some fellowship, rest and relaxation to rejuvenate our souls and continue the cycle come Monday morning.
Oh, oh! I know that right now many of you don’t even want to hear about Monday, but it’s the reality of our situation, and the sooner we face up to it, the sooner we’ll have peace on the subject. Otherwise we’ll continue to unwisely vacillate, be washed one way, and then the other, like the tide on the beach’s edge.
So to help us keep everything in proper focus, let’s chant our Friday Chant, as loudly and gloriously as we were just singing ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday!
As one sincere and harmonious body 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 Friends, please keep that in mind as you go through the weekend, so that you don’t overdo it, then stumble and fall. And to further help us with all that we’re dealing with, we have this wonderful Bit that we’ve been studying for the last couple days.
‘Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.’
Oh mih breddren, every time I read that verse of scripture, it just reminds me of how magnificent and magnanimous a God we serve and worship! Wow! There’s NO other being in the universe either able or willing to provide such a marvellous and miraculous service to those in need!
But as we’ve been saying, a lot, in fact too many people are forsaking God, foregoing His free gift of grace in all areas of their lives. Why? Only God alone knows for sure! Instead of wisely seeking God’s everlasting favour and LOVING-kindness, they are foolishly turning in droves to the idols and crooks and deceivers of this world.
Yes my brethren, too many of us are still stupidly running behind the material things of this world, spending hard earned money for that which isn’t really important, and labouring to accomplish goals that don’t truly satisfy our spirits.
It’s clearly discernible from our basic attitudes, where we already have a whole lot of stuff, but we keep on wanting more and more, even though the increase doesn’t do us any real justice, but that’s the way the world works, so we do the same thing.
But please remember Friends, we’re only supposed to be IN the world, NOT a part of it.
Jesus even prayed to the Father on the subject on our behalf. ‘I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil (one). They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them (set them apart for Your purposes) through thy truth: thy word is truth.’ (John 17:15-17)
Oh my people, what will it take for us to truly wake up and realize that we’re going down the wide and winding road that leads to eternal separation from Jehovah God eh? Look at the sad state of our world nuh!
No institution, even Christ’s church is running smoothly. All of them are filled with wickedness, greed, envy, jealousy, resentment, anger, incompetence and corruption!
And the sad part is that it’s all done so blatantly these days. Very few of us take the trouble to hide our evil doings, because it has now become more or less the norm around our evil and ungodly world.
How Jesus’ heart must pain Him when he sees what we’ve come to! I’m sure He must often regret ever sacrificing His holy, sinless life to pay for our disgusting, abominable sins because we don’t seem to truly appreciate it, the way we’ve upped the sin level of our world.
But Friends, please pay close and serious attention to these immortal and true words found in the Book of Revelation. ‘And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst (who thirsts) of the fountain of the water of life freely.
He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful (cowardly), and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers (sexually immoral), and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.’ (Rev.21:6-8)
Oh mih people, that’s a very serious warning! One which we should all take to heart if we believe that the Good Book is indeed God’s Word, in truth and in deed.
If we do, then we need to shape up immediately, else when the hammer falls on judgement day, we’ll be looking at eternal death. And believe me, all the false glitz and glory of this present world are definitely not worth such an ignominious end! Much LOVE!
…he who has ears to hear…let him hear…or he will eventually pay…a rather exorbitant price for his disobedience…eternal separation from Almighty God…
26 Mar 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a leader, a witness, abundance, accept God's offer, afraid of free stuff, always working for our good, amazing offer, belt of truth, blessed eternity, breastplate of righteousness, can't come to the Father but through Jesus, caught in schemes, chutzpah, come buy and eat without money, come to the waters, come unto me, commander, covenant, deal, delight in fatness, don't have any money, eternal life, eternity, everlasting, everlasting life, example of righteousness, flocking to God, forgiveness, fountain of water, free gift of grace, get up and go, God is always with us, helmet of salvation, immortal, incline your ear, Isaiah, Jacob's Well, judgement day, loving kindness, Lucifer, magnanimity, magnificent God, mercy, milk, moan and groan, never thirst, no need to worry, on the outside looking in, pass up, poison, poisoned dart, powerful God, Praise the Lord, salvation, Samaritan woman, sandals of peace, scam, shield of faith, sounds too good to be true, sour and sombre mood, spiritual offer, suit of spiritual armour, sure mercies of David, sword of the Spirit, taken in, testimony to god's mercy, Thank the Lord, the best, the Good Book, the greatest offer ever made to man, the Life, the Truth, the Way, thirst again, we can handle whatever comes against us, who ever's thirsty, wine, wisest decision, word to the wise, words of jesus, your soul shall live
Isaiah 55:1. Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye, buy and eat: yea, come buy wine and milk without money and without price.
Oh Friends, the ole fella’s in a somewhat sour and sombre mood this Wednesday morning. In fact from since last night he’s been that way. And there isn’t any good or valid reason for it, because I’m fine in all other aspects of life. But I just don’t have the chutzpah, the get up and go that I usually have.
Even stuff that usually thrills me, didn’t do so last night. I guess the mind, body and soul are either tired, or that wily Lucifer espied a little hole in my armour and sneaked in a poisoned, fiery dart.
But yuh know what mih people, we’re going to correct that right now by putting on a new suit of spiritual armour…
There, it’s done! I have on a new suit with no blemishes whatsoever! I’m fully dressed in my helmet of salvation, breastplate of righteousness, belt of truth, sandals of peace, shield of faith, and by my side is my trusty sword of the Spirit, my Good Book!
So Lucifer won’t be able to get in again, and we’ll freeze out what little poison is left in my soul. Thank the Lord!
Yes Friends, the ole fella’s spirit is already on the rebound. Praise the Lord! And there’s really no need to ever worry, because we can handle whatever comes against us since we serve and worship a powerful and magnificent God who is always with us, working for our good.
And He declares His awesome magnanimity right here in the words of our Bit. ‘Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye, buy and eat: yea, come buy wine and milk without money and without price.’
Oh my people, that’s one deal no human being can beat or afford to pass up!
But strangely enough, many of us are doing just that; passing up the greatest offer ever made to man! We’ll flock to some business place that claims to have a fantastic deal, although more times than not it’s a scam, but very few of us are flocking to God for this free gift of grace. How sad my brethren!
But I guess we’re all afraid of free stuff and things that sound too good to be true. However, everyday many of us are still being taken in, caught in schemes that sound way too good to be true. We plunk down our hard earned cash, only to see it disappear into the wild, blue yonder. Then we moan and groan about if we’d only known.
Steups! On the contrary friends, this offer of God is one we’ll moan and groan about, because we HAVE NOT ACCEPTED IT! For come the judgement day, there’ll be no excuses or chances to make it right. So please listen, and wisely accept God’s offer, RIGHT NOW! Believe me, it’s the wisest decision you can ever make in this life!
And moreover, it will directly affect what happens to you from the day your body returns to the dust from which it was made, right through to eternity. Now you obviously don’t want to experience anything but the BEST in eternity, and this free offer of grace, salvation and eternal life is the ONLY THING that can guarantee you a blessed eternity!
And we saw yesterday that if you accept this spiritual offer, your soul will delight in fatness, in abundance. (Is.55:2) And there’s even more to this amazing offer, as Isaiah declares: ‘ Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live, and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.’ (Is.55:3)
Oh brother, if you ever received the same kind of mercies that Bruh David received, then it means you’ll be deluged with mercy and LOVING-kindness, because that’s how the Lord treated him!
And consequently, Isaiah could declare: ‘Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people.’ (Is.55:4)
The Lord also holds out Bruh David as an example to us of righteousness, as a witness, a leader, a testimony to His awesome mercy and LOVING-kindness. But we’ll never enjoy any of that abundant mercy and LOVING-kindness until we accept God’s free gifts of grace, mercy, forgiveness, salvation and eternal life.
And we’ll close with some immortal words of Jesus… Sorry, all of Jesus’ words are immortal. These particular ones come from His conversation with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well.
‘Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall NEVER thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well (fountain) of water springing up into everlasting life.’ (John 4:13-14)
Oh my brethren, that’s it right there in a nutshell! If you want to enjoy everlasting life, then you HAVE TO ACCEPT Jesus’ offer of spiritual upliftment. IT’S THE ONLY WAY!
Please remember that and act on it RIGHT NOW nuh, because we don’t know when Jesus will return, but once He does, it will be too late.
As they say, a word to the wise is sufficient, so please be wise today my brethren and make sure that you’re on the wonderful inside when Jesus returns, and not on the damned outside sorrowfully looking in. Much LOVE!
…I am the WAY…the TRUTH…and the LIFE…NO MAN cometh to the Father…BUT BY ME… (John 14:6)
25 Mar 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adventuresome, afflictions, alive and kicking, anger, apathy, assured, awesome wisdom, bad, bless God's Holy Name, blessed, buy and eat, call upon the Lord, christ's character, come to the waters, covenant, delight in abundance, diligent, dr robert h schuller, dread, engourage, everlasting, exhilarating, faith, faithful promises, faithfulness, false dead pretenders, fear, filled, forgiveness, free gift of salvation, free offer, frutiful and faithful plans of god, Gentiles, good, goodness, gospel truth, hearsay, Hour of Power, humbly praise, immortal words, into forever, invitation, Isaiah, Israel, Jeremiah 29:11, Jesus Christ, joy, leading and guiding, life with Jehovah god, light of Jesus Christ, long-winded, LOVE, magnanimous, mercy, negative emotions, negative things, no money, omnipotent god, one and only true God, our benefit, our Lord and Saviour, pain, paths of righteousness, personal experience, planet earth, promises, reaction to circumstances, reaction to problems, reflection, refresh your minds and souls, refreshing, refreshing attitude, righteousness., Romans 8:28, salvation, scriptures, seek the Lord, self-pity, semblance of peace, Sermon on the Mount, soul, spend money, spiritually hungry and thirsty, stand strong, steadfast, strife, take them in stride, tests, thirsty, to all and sundry, unfortunate situations, universal offer, unsatisfactory labour, ups and downs, walking with God, wisdom, wisdom from heaven, wise advice, with God's help, without money, without price, wonderful adventure
Isaiah 55:1. Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
Oh Friends, through the great and tender mercy of our wonderful and omnipotent God, we’ve been blessed to see another beautiful day upon His exotic creation, Planet Earth!
And all God’s children declared a loud and grateful: ‘Thank You Lord for bringing us through another dark, dreary and scary night into the bright, awesome and most refreshing and secure light of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ! We humbly praise You and bless Your Holy Name! Amen.’
Yes mih people, when you’re walking with God, or at least faithfully trying to do so, your life becomes a wonderful adventure, filled with ups and downs, goodness and mercy, LOVE and forgiveness, good and bad, tests and afflictions!
But please know that it all works out to our benefit in the end, according to God’s fruitful and faithful plans for our lives, as entrenched in the promises of Jeremiah 29:11, and Romans 8:28. Please read those scriptures and refresh your minds and souls, so that you can stand strong and steadfast on them.
And to further encourage us, here is some very wise advice from Gramps Schuller – Dr. Robert H. Schuller – from his Hour of Power Devotional. ‘Learn to live by this refreshing attitude: “It’s not what happens to me that matters most; it’s how I react to what happens to me.”
And that my Friends, is the gospel, gospel truth! What happens to us is indeed important, especially when it involves stuff like pain, anger, strife and other negative things. But even more important is how we react to those circumstances.
We can take them in our stride, obviously with God’s help, and maintain some semblance of peace and/or joy in our spirits. Or we can just give in to self-pity, apathy, dread, fear, and all the other negative emotions that tend to bombard us when unfortunate situations occur.
And today we have a rather appropriate Bit that addresses that problem. ‘Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.’
Oh mih breddren, what a magnanimous and universal offer from our most marvellous God! That’s a free offer of mercy to ALL and SUNDRY!
There’s NO other supposed deity who has ever, or can ever offer such a wonderful gift to their believers, because they are not true deities, but false, dead pretenders, while the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the ONE AND ONLY TRUE GOD, IS ALIVE AND KICKING! And kicking mightily too… right into forever!
Now here are some interesting comments from the scholars on our Bit and subsequent verses: ’55:1-7. God’s free gift of salvation is offered to all who will receive it. Those who are spiritually hungry and thirsty may come and eat and drink without money (or freely).
He promises an everlasting covenant to the Gentiles like the one He established with Israel. His invitation to all men is clearly stated by the appeal, Seek ye the Lord, and call ye upon him.’
Oh Friends, it’s so sad when people deliberately choose not to follow Jehovah God, for they know not what they are missing! Doing life with Jehovah God is a most exhilarating, refreshing and adventuresome experience… and this not hearsay, but personal experience!
That’s because you never know what He’ll be up to next, but you do know, you’re completely assured that whatever happens, He’s walking with you, leading and guiding you along paths of righteousness, working you into a reflection of Christ’s character, all for His Name’s Sake. Wow!
And though the road may be rocky and rough, there’s faith in your heart, based on His faithful promises, that eventually things will be fine.
And I like how Isaiah continues after our Bit: ‘Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness (abundance).’ (Is.55:2)
Ah mih people, what a wonderful invitation! And there’s a lot more to say, but since I’m endeavouring to keep the Bit short and sweet we’ll end shortly with some immortal words from Jesus.
And please don’t ever think that I don’t try to keep it short, but sometimes that’s how the Spirit leads me, or there just isn’t enough to spread over two days, plus the fact that I’m just naturally long-winded. (smile)
Anyway, here are Jesus’ immortal words on the subject, which come from the Sermon on the Mount, one of the Beatitudes. ‘Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.’ (Matt.5:6)
Oh my fellow believers, another faithful promise for us to stand on! So please let’s stand on it, today and everyday, and thus be filled with righteousness, every day of our lives!
That’s awesome wisdom – wisdom that can only come from heaven! Much LOVE!
…to seek…to seek… and yet to find God…in His everlasting mercy and forgiveness…
SCRIP-BITS 