01 Nov 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, abominable sins, above all that we ask, according to the power, Amen, be assured of, be glory in the church, being foolish, bow my knees, by Christ Jesus, by faith, character, cloudy days, comprehend, compromise, confusion, defer not to pay it, disappointment, divinely enabled, drives away the dark clouds, dwell in your hearts, earthly affairs, embrace of jesus, endearing hug, Enormous Rewards, evil, exceeding abundantly, fear, fixed securely on the plough, forgiveness, freedom, friendship, fulfillment, fully developed, glory hallelujah, grant you, grounded, guilt, holy spirit, I love you, in heaven and earth, in love, is able to do, joy, living for Christ, looking straight ahead, no pleasure in fools, not turning back, One Year Book of Bible promises, only begotten Son, passeth knowledge, penance, prayer for inner growth, promises, purpose, riches in glory, rooted, Ruth Harms Calkin, sacrificing Jesus, saints, satisfaction, shortchanging themselves, sordidness, strengthened with might, successfully live, sunny smile, thank God, the breath of life, the Christian life, the fullness of God, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the Holy One of Israel, the Love of Christ, the whole family, think, throughout all the ages, understand, ungodly world, unto him, virtues of God, vowest a vow, wake up each day, walking obediently with God, Wednesday Wail, worketh in us, world without end
Ephesians 3:20-21. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
Cloudy days are here again…But Jesus drives all those dark clouds away when He greets us with His bright and sunny smile, an endearing brotherly hug and a heartfelt ‘I LOVE You!’
Oh friends, there’s no better way to wake up each and every day than in the wonderful embrace of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Glory Hallelujah!
And all I can say to those who refuse to have that kind of awakening, is that they are being rather foolish and shortchanging themselves of a most wonderful experience. And in the long run, denying themselves of ‘Enormous Rewards,’ as this poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin tells us.
Please pray with me. ‘O dear God Thank You for teaching me The enormous rewards Of walking obediently with You: There is joy without guilt Freedom without fear Satisfaction without sordidness Purpose without confusion Friendship without compromise Forgiveness without penance Fulfillment without disappointment.’
Wow, mih people, Wow! Where else can we find such joy and satisfaction than in walking obediently with the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob eh? NOWHERE ELSE!
And all of that is only possible as Bruh Paul declares in our Bit: ‘Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.’
Yeh friends, it’s ONLY the Holy One of Israel who can do such things! And what Bruh Paul was praying there for, is the same thing that I am praying for us all; prayer for inner growth.
And hear how Bruh Paul puts it. ‘For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in LOVE, May be able to comprehend (understand) with all saints what is the breadth (width), and length, and depth, and height: And to know the LOVE of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.’ (Eph.3:14-19)
Ah mih breddren, what a bold and caring but entirely doable prayer, because our heavenly Father can do all he requests and even more!
Now here are some explanations from the scholars. ‘16-19. In these verses Paul makes three prayer requests for the addressees: (1) That they would be strengthened with might by his Spirit (v.16), that is, that they be divinely enabled to successfully live the Christian life.
(2) That the readers be able to comprehend…the LOVE of Christ, that is, to better understand the enormous LOVE Christ has for them. And (3) that they might be filled with all the fullness of God, that is, that the life, the character, and virtues of God Himself may be fully developed in them.’
Yes faithful friends, followers of Jesus have desperately needed those prayers all down through the ages, and so do we today. And we possibly need them more than some of the other saints because of the dreadfully evil and ungodly world in which we now live.
And just as the believers in earlier ages received the strength and understanding through Christ’s Spirit to handle their earthly affairs, likewise, if we stay faithful and obedient to God, we will be able to handle whatever comes against us, with the help of Holy Spirit that dwells within and walks besides us.
And all God’s people declared a loud, proud and grateful: ‘Thank You heavenly Father for sacrificing Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to pay for our abominable sins! We LOVE You, praise and adore Your glorious name, and promise to live for You all our lives! Amen! And again we say Amen!’
Now my fellow saints, remember what Cousin Sol says about promises, especially to God. ‘When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer (delay) not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.’ (Eccl.5:4)
So since we have vowed to live for Him all our lives, we had better begin doing so right now, so that He doesn’t consider us fools. (smile) And we’ll begin by declaring our Wednesday Wail, which explains our current standing in the obedience to God.
Now with strong voice and sincere heart, let’s joyfully tell the world: ‘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 what a glorious future that will be be my fellow believers! Just keep that in mind as we continue our pilgrim’s journey, and it will certainly strengthen our resolve. Much LOVE!
…only in living for Christ…can mankind be assured of a glorious future…
10 Aug 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a cross bearing affair, a senior, a spring chicken, a young pup, abundance, actions speak louder than words, agenda, alive in God's kingdom, almighty god, ambassadors, an old fowl, ashamed, ashamed of Jesus, bear his cross, Calvary, cannot be my disciple, celebrating, christianity, Christians, come after me, comfortable life, compassionate heart, compromise, contrariness, courage, creativity, curse, destroyed, disciple, dreams, dreams come true, enjoying to the fullest, eternal life, example of life, faith, favour, focus, for my sake, gain the whole world, hypocrisy, know thyself, lifestyle, loses his life, lost, LOVE Revolution, negative word, one more day, onerous task, pleas for help, prosper, redemption, sacrifice, salvation, save his life, self-control, self-discipline, share our blessings, shortcomings, souring people, spreading the gospel, success, support Jesus in public, talent, tarnishes the image of jesus, the good news of Jesus, the Son of man, the terms of discipleship, the way of life, the wooden cross, the work of Jesus, Thursday Blessings, triumph, turning away from God, undying LOVE, walking our talk, wasting Jesus' sacrifice, wisdom, witness, work while they dream
Luke 14:27. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
One more day, just one more day… Yeh friends, one more day to be alive in God’s great kingdom! It’s such a pleasure to be alive again! (smile)
But have you noticed how those one more days quickly add up to many more years? One day you’re a young pup, a spring chicken, then one day you’re suddenly a senior, an old fowl! Hn, hn! But that’s the way of life.
And let’s hope you are enjoying each of those days to the fullest, because that’s what our Lord and Saviour desires for us and why He sacrificed His life on that wooden cross at Calvary. So if we’re not celebrating that triumph, then we’re wasting His sacrifice. And what an awful thing that would be.
But here are a couple of good questions for us. Where is our focus concentrated today eh? And what’s on our agenda?
Hopefully, as true believers, our focus is directly on Almighty God, and the priority on our agenda is doing the work of Jesus; spreading His awesome gospel of undying LOVE, redemption, salvation and eternal life.
And that doesn’t always mean talking, but more so in the example of life that we live. Our lives should realistically reflect the good news of Jesus. And if they aren’t reflecting it, then we’re not doing a good job for our wonderful Leader and Saviour, we’re not being good disciples, good ambassadors for His kingdom.
Consequently, we’re not the true Christians we ought to be. And that’s the major reason why more people are turning away from God today, than turning to Him.
My friends, we are falling down in our Christian witness when we talk one thing, then people see us living contrary to our talk. We’re obviously not walking our talk. And it’s time to do better, if we truly want Christ’s LOVE Revolution to be successful.
And please remember that actions speak much louder than words. So what we do, will usually have a greater impact on others than what we say. Thus the hypocrisy, the compromise and contrariness in our faith walk is souring people on the Christian lifestyle, and consequently on Christ.
And a quote from my ‘I LOVE YOU’ Poster reminds us that ‘Dreams come true for those who work while they dream.’ The present day Christian problem seems to be that too many of us are dreaming without working, that’s why we’re not accomplishing as much as we ought to.
Obviously we’re not complying with the words of Jesus in our Bit. ‘And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.’
Yes friends, we each have a cross to bear in our kingdom work; a task we have to perform. Now it doesn’t mean that task is necessarily onerous or body-breaking like Jesus’ cross was, but it always entails some sacrifice.
Earlier on in Luke Jesus outlined the terms of discipleship. ‘And he said to them all, If any man will come after me (desires to follow me), let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whosoever will (desires to) save his life, shall lose it; but whosoever will lose (loses) his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged (benefited), if he gain the whole world, and lose himself (is destroyed), or be cast away (is lost)?
For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels.’ (Luke 9:23-26)
There you have it my fellow believers, the terms of discipleships as detailed by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Now are we living up to those terms? Most of us aren’t. Too many of us have settled for the soft, easy comfortable life our society affords.
And surprisingly, too many of us are ashamed of Jesus! We’re afraid to talk about Him to others. We listen to others put Him down and don’t utter a word in rebuke or support, because we don’t want them to know that we are Christians and think badly of us.
Steups! Ah friends, if we can’t support Jesus in public, that means we hold the opinions of man more important than that of God. And that definitely does not lead to true discipleship, but rather tarnishes the image of our Saviour and His movement.
So today is as good as any to sit down and consider the saying ‘know thyself.’ Let’s sit down and seriously inspect our own lives and see if we’re being true disciples of Jesus. Then ask the Lord to help us in our shortcomings. He won’t ever turn down our sincere pleas for help.
Now let’s go home loudly and proudly declaring our Thursday Blessings. In unison: ‘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!’
And since blessings are meant to be shared, let’s go out and bless others now my fellow believers in Christ! Much LOVE!
…just like Jesus had His cross to bear…all Christians have their crosses too …Christianity is a cross bearing affair…
27 Jun 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a miserable sinner, a saint, a wave of the sea, all or nothing at all, all thine heart soul and might, area of obedience, beloved of God, carnal, christianity, Christians, compromise, devotion, disturbed, Divided Heart, double minded, easy row to hoe, far country, fleshly universe, half-motivated, half-satisfied, holy spirit, hurry, invade our space, jump rope, lack of clear direction, lead and guide us, love God first and foremost, love not the world, Love the Lord thy God, Lucifer, mix weeds with seeds, Moses, personal loyalty, reminiscent of the weather, rock her doll, Ruth Harms Calkin, share His love, side trips, spiritual world, strobe lights, surrendered to christ, the love of the Father, the One Year Book of Bible Promises, the rains, the things of the world, Thor's hammer, thunderstorm, tormented, trust my friend Jesus, Tuesday Mantra, vagaries of the climate, walk a straight path, wavereth, wet mentality, worry
1 John 2:15. LOVE not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man LOVE the world, the LOVE of the Father is not in him.
And it’s a cool, wet Tuesday morning in my area. Summer seems to have come in with a cool, wet mentality, for we haven’t had any real hot days as yet, and the rain’s been fairly plentiful.
Oh we had a doozy of a thunderstorm yesterday afternoon, with all the glorious effects of Thor’s hammer and the beautiful strobe lights of his fellow god. (smile)
But would you believe that thereafter, it turned into a wonderful day of sunshine and warm weather. And then around four o’clock this morning the rains came cascading down again.
Oh the vagaries of the climate these days eh! Let’s hope that this doesn’t morph into a rather hot and dry summer as time goes by. But here is something that’s reminiscent of the weather, and also of too many of us supposed Christians.
When I read it I chuckled because a lot of us behave this way. It comes from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin and is simply titled ‘Divided Heart.’
Please pray with me. ‘Lord I am so often tormented By my lack of clear direction – So often disturbed By my divided heart. I am like a little child Who wants to rock her doll And jump rope at the same time. I want to obey You in part If I can choose the area of obedience.
I want to be real except at those moments When compromise is more appealing. I want to be half-motivated And half-satisfied with things as they are. I want to walk a straight path If now and then I can enjoy A few side trips into the far country.
I don’t want to be a miserable sinner But neither do I feel excited About being a saint. I want to be partly Yours And partly my own. But in the secret chamber Of my divided heart I am so often disquieted By the pointed question: “Why do you so foolishly Mix weeds with seeds?”
And that’s a question many of us need to ask ourselves my believing brethren, since we apparently haven’t really and truly surrendered our souls to Christ. We want to have one foot in the spiritual world and when it suits us, one in the carnal, fleshly universe.
But that’s not wise my people, and our God won’t put up with it. He wants ALL of us, or nothing at all. We can’t run to Him when we choose, and then run to Lucifer when it’s convenient for us.
In effect we still have too much of this evil world in us, as the Bible Promise associated with that poem and our Bit for today declares. ‘LOVE not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man LOVE the world, the LOVE of the Father is not in him.’
Yes, I know friends, that true Christianity is not an easy row to hoe, but if we truly surrender our all to Christ, He will, as He has promised, give us the wherewithal to hoe it.
Why do you think He put the third Member of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit to dwell in us eh? As we saw yesterday, it’s to lead and guide us along the straight and narrow path that leads to the Father.
But as we also saw yesterday, the Holy Spirit won’t invade our space unilaterally, He waits to be invited to sincerely lead and guide us. And right within our Bit, lies the crux of our problem: We still LOVE the fleshly, carnal things of the world too much.
And as the scholars explain: ‘2:15. LOVE not the world is a command implying that action now in progress must cease: “Stop LOVING the world!” There is, of course, one sense in which Christians should LOVE the world, since God Himself did and does (John 3:16).
But in the sense of pledging personal loyalty and devotion of one’s whole being and means, Christians are to “LOVE” God first and foremost (Deut. 6:5; Mark 12:30).’
And just to further bring home the point to us, we’ll quote the immortal words of Moses to the Israelites way back when. ‘’Hear O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt LOVE the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.’ (Deut.6:5)
Now that hasn’t changed at any time down through the ages my people. And when Jesus’ detractors facetiously asked Him what was the greatest commandment, He reiterated the awe inspiring words of Moses, as you can read in Mark 12:29-30.
So I don’t see how we expect the Lord to approve our fence-sitting, for that is being double-minded, and James warns us that ‘He that wavereth (is doubting) is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.’ (James 1:6-8)
Good Christians, we need to forsake the things of the world and cling to the things of God, if we truly want to see the abundant blessings of God in our lives. That’s all there is to it!
So let’s go home in truth and in spirit declaring our Tuesday Mantra. With one sincere voice 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!’
And if that’s truly whom we are, then let’s go out and let the world know it nuh my brethren, as Jesus so dearly desires of us. Much LOVE!
…one simply cannot LOVE God and Lucifer…at the same time…that’s a true impossibility…
20 Oct 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a great family, a new day, a positive outlook, a strong will, a very present help in trouble, abundance, assurance, behind the eight ball, blessings, broken, clear direction, comforting God, compassion, compassionate God, compromise, conks out, cornucopia, courage, creativity, curse, disappointment, expletives deleted, faith, favour, fear, fear not, frustration, fulfillment, God is our refuge and strength, God's supernatural wisdom, good friends, good health, heart of the sea, hold your head and bawl, horn of plenty, in the name of Jesus, Jehovah, LOVE, my expectation, my help comes from the Lord, my salvation, my soul wait, negative word, new mercies, one of those days, passion, pour out your heart, reap benefits, security, seek refuge, self-control. self-discipline, sleep, slumber, smite thee, sons of Korah, sowing seed, stick to your task, strength, stressors, strong faith, success, success evades you, supernatural strength, sweat of thy brow, talent, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the Rock, the salvation of Israel, Thursday Blessings, thy keeper, thy shade, to make bad matters worse, trouble, trust in God, trusted chariot
Psalm 46:1. God is our refuge and strength, a very present (an abundantly available) help in trouble.
Ah friends, mea culpa, mea culpa, mea culpa! But yesterday was just one of those days; yuh know yuh start out already behind the eight ball, not feeling physically a hundred percent, but nonetheless all afternoon you diligently stick to your task, but in the end success still evades you.
Then to make bad matters worse, later in the evening your trusted chariot fails you, conks out on you when you need it most. But that‘s the way of man made things! Ah Lord eh! It’s enough to make you hold your head and bawl, as well as utter some deleted expletives! I think I did just that. (smile)
I also went to bed late, so the whole thing just percolated into a rather late arising. But fear not, the Bit might be somewhat late, but it’s here!
And even better yet, today is a new day with new mercies and blessings from our compassionate God, so I am expecting better results than yesterday, although I might have to spend the better part of a rainy day getting my chariot fixed. (smile)
So let’s get right down to business by declaring our Thursday Blessings with strong faith and much passion, for remember a blessing is not a blessing until it’s been spoken over someone, and we do owe ourselves these awesome blessings.
All together 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!’
What a cornucopia of goodness, a horn of plenty my people! To which only followers of the great God Jehovah are entitled. But please note, we can’t just sit back and expect them to happen automatically, we also have to do our part to bring them to pass.
That’s where a lot of us go wrong, expecting to reap good benefits without raising any sweat on our brows through the sowing of good seed.
And would you believe in my time of exasperation, the Lord led me to this most appropriate Bit today. ‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present (an abundantly available) help in trouble.’
And isn’t that the indisputable truth my friends? It surely is! When times get rough, and frustration, disappointment and all the other negative stressors set in, then it’s to our comforting God we must run and seek refuge. Under His awesome wings we will find security, strength, LOVE and compassion.
That’s why, after our Bit, the psalmist could continue with such authority: ‘Therefore will we not fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst (the heart) of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.’ (Ps.46:2-3)
Yeh friends, let’s just sit for a moment and ponder those words of utmost assurance.
And it’s not just the sons of Korah (psalmists) who felt that way. Hear Bruh David from Psalm 62: ‘My soul wait thou (silently) only upon God; for my expectation (hope) is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defense; I shall not be moved (shaken).
In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.’ (Ps.62:5-8)
Another moment for us to sit and ponder the awesome benefits of surrendering our lives to, of placing our sincere trust in our magnificent and magnanimous God!
Now listen to how Jeremiah puts it. ‘Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of the mountains: truly in the Lord God is the salvation of Israel.’ (Jer.3:23) Yes friends, all that we are and ever will be comes from Almighty God!
Let’s go home now with these most encouraging and assured words of Psalm 121, appropriately titled – God’s sustaining power. ‘I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills (mountains), from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.
He will not suffer thy foot to be moved (slip): he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy keeper (protector): The Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.
The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve (keep) thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.’ (Ps.121:1-8)
Yes mih breddren, those are the awesome promises of our God, so let’s go out into the world assured of His LOVE and protection and diligently do the work that He’s commanded us to do nuh; do it without fear or compromise. Much LOVE!
…only in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob…can true comfort and compassion be found…
07 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, A journey of love, a positive outlook, abundance, accept, accomplishes His will, allow your love, amend, blaspheming, blessed, broken, by might, by my spirit, by power, ceiled houses, centre my life, change our sinful ways, charles stanley, cherish your love, clear direction, compassionate, compromise, consequences, consider your ways, courage, creativity, curse, cursing, declare blessings, desires, disobedience, divine protection, earthly lusts, embrace, empowerment, examples, expensive price, family, favour, fellowship, forgiving, friends, fulfillment, God doesn't change, God's plan for our lives, God's presence, God's work, good, guidance, Haggai, health, hefty price, in the name of Jesus, lead, let go, lie waste, LOVE, meditation, merciful God, negative word, obey God, panelled, Pentecost, power in the Word, prayer, profitable, promotion, prosper, reading the Word, rebellion, remove God, repent, responsibilities, return to His fold, ruins, saith the Lord, self-control, self-discipline, sinful, smarten up, St. Therese, strong will, succeed, success, supernatural strength, supernatural wisdom, take note, talent, tardiness, the Good Book, the Holy Spirit, the Lord of hosts, the obits, the power of God's word, the time is not come, Thursday Blessings, to face up to responsibilities, ungodly, unrepentant, walk in your steps, wisdom, working relationship, Zerubbabel
Zechariah 4:6b. Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord.
One more day, yes, one more day!
Oh my fellow believers we’ve been blessed with one more day to carry out God’s plan for our lives. So please let’s use it right nuh, since we don’t know if we’ll be granted any more. Tomorrow we might just wake up and read our names in the obits. (smile)
So we need to make the very best use of today, for that is all we have. And let’s begin, as we should, by asking the Lord for His lead, guidance and ‘enablement’ to successfully work His wonderful plan.
Let’s pray this powerful prayer taken from a Devotional, Discovering God’s Presence in LOVE – A Journey of LOVE, Walking with St. Therese of Lisieux. I believe I’ve shared this prayer sometime ago, but as we say, when it’s nice you have to do it twice, if not thrice. (smile)
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 my fellow brethren in Christ, we can only do God’s work with His empowerment. And having asked for God’s guidance, let’s now declare the power of God’s Word over our lives by enthusiastically and sincerely declaring our Thursday Blessings.
All together 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!’
Yes mih people! How good and profitable it is to declare blessings over our lives and of those around us, because there’s awesome power in the Word!
As our Bit so wisely tells us, it’s ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord.’ And that’s gospel truth friends! Since Pentecost, we’ve had the Holy Spirit of God dwelling in us, and it’s through that wonderful Spirit of guidance and LOVE that God accomplishes His will.
But we have to listen closely to it’s leading for any success to be had. And that’s where so many of us go wrong; thinking that we’re listening and following God’s Holy Spirit, when in actual fact we’re following the earthly lusts of our flesh and our own thinking.
And that can get us into some serious trouble. It’s therefore very important that we develop a close and excellent working relationship with our God, through consistent prayer, meditation, reading of His word and fellowship with other believers so that we can understand the moving of the Holy Spirit within us. Remember, not everything that seems right is right, and even if it’s right, it might not be good for us.
Now let’s get a little background on how and why our Bit came to be. ‘In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, (Jazadak) the high priest saying,
Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the Lord’s house should be built. Then came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, saying, Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your ceiled (panelled) houses, and this house (the temple) lie waste (to lie in ruins). Now therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways.’ (Hag.1:1-5)
Yeh friends, the people were living in good houses while the Lord’s temple lay in ruins! Obviously the Lord didn’t take too kindly to that. Hear the scholars’ explanation.
‘1:2-6. Ceiled houses refers to ceilings panelled with fine woods. Such a practice was common for the residences of kings (cf. 1 Kin.7:7; Jer.22:14). In contrast, the Lord’s house lay in waste. The command Consider your ways, is issued five times throughout the course of this prophecy (vv.5,7; 2:15, 18).
It is a plea on the part of God for the people to take note of what they are doing, and amend their ways accordingly.’ Oh my people, our great, faithful, LOVING, forgiving and merciful God is saying the exact same thing to us today: ‘Consider your ways.’
Just look at how we’re living nuh; sinful, ungodly, unrepentant, cursing and blaspheming as though He doesn’t exist. We’re trying our level best to remove His from our society, so that right now it’s all about what we want, as the world and its ungodly lusts and desires drive us.
That’s not right friends, the Lord is still on His throne, sadly looking on at all we do, and if we don’t smarten up, repent and return to His fold sometime soon, then we’re going to pay a rather expensive price for our disobedience and rebellion.
That’s just the way it has been, as we can see from the numerous examples in the Good Book. Our God hasn’t and doesn’t change, so if we don’t, there will be a hefty price to pay.
Please, I beg, I plead with us to remember that, and thus, in heavenly wisdom, change our sinful ways! Much LOVE!
…as uncle Charles (Charles Stanley) says…the best way to live this life…is to simply obey God…and leave all the consequences to Him…
P.S. Sorry for the tardiness of the Bit, but I went our yesterday evening, so it ended up being an exceptionally late (or early) morning. (smile) Much LOVE!
07 May 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fool's wisdom, actions, agenda, apple cart, asaph, atonement, backbone, backsliding, be in the world, belly, blessings, bondage, character, Christians, comfortable, compromise, confession, covenant, cowardly, deliver us, deliverance, do not fear, faith, for thy name's sake, give in, God is always with us, good living, goodwill, habits, hallmark, help us, jeopardize our good thing, Jeremiah, kind, long-suffering, LOVE, loving, lustful dealings, magnanimous god, material prosperity, mercies, merciful, mercy, not of the world, O God of our salvation, O Lord our God, obedience, our redeemer, patient, pressure, purge away our sins, rebellion, remove God from our lives, repentance, righteousness, rights and privileges, rub mih belly, safety, save us, scared, scratch yuh back, seek first the kingdom of God, sleep in, stress, testimonies, the BIBLE, the glory of thy name, the hope of Irael, the weakest generation of Christians, thoughts, Trini, true believers, trust, truth, what a wonderful God we serve and worship, wickedness, wisdom, words, worry
Psalm 79:9. Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name: and deliver us, and purge away (provide atonement for) our sins, for thy name’s sake.
So now it’s Saturday morning friends, meaning that our magnanimous God has granted us another meaningful day on His great earth, to do His glorious work and enjoy His unending mercies and blessings! Oh what a wonderful God we serve and worship my people!
Now some of us are lucky, or preferably, blessed to be able to sleep in, but many others have to get up and get busy around the house, as well as go out and buy food and other necessities for the upcoming week. But fellow believers, whatever our agenda for today, please remember that our wonderful, kind, LOVING and merciful God is ALWAYS with us, ensuring our safety and goodwill.
If we don’t sincerely believe that, then every time the enemy comes against us, even in minor situations, we’ll worry unnecessarily. And if Jesus said it once, He said it a million times – DO NOT FEAR!
And the other day I heard a preacher declare that that sentence was possibly the most used in the entire Bible. I forget how many times they said it was used. But from the beginning of time the Lord has been telling His people not to be afraid.
But despite it all, we Christians are still a scared and cowardly bunch. We let the enemy beat us down too easily, and we don’t seem to have the belly and backbone needed to stand up strong and steadfast again the evil one. Steups!
This has got to be the weakest generation of Christians that our world has ever seen! I guess that’s because we’ve become too comfortable with the good living, and the material prosperity of the world, and we don’t want to upset our precariously balanced apple cart, to jeopardize the good thing we have going in the world.
So we sheepishly give in and/or compromise with the evil world, and consequently loose most of the rights and privileges that our forefathers died to have ensured and enshrined. Remember Jesus said we ought to be IN the world but not OF the world. Too many of us have fallen, and are still falling by the wayside with that directive.
And we also conveniently forget that He declared that if we first seek the kingdom of heaven and its righteousness, then all the stuff that we need will be granted to us. (Matt.6:32) But we don’t seem to have the true faith and trust in our Redeemer that that directive implies, so we try to do it, work for it all ourselves, and then die from the stress and pressure. That’s certainly not wisdom my brethren.
Now here is an interesting but true Trini quote a Trini friend just sent me. ‘Rub meh belly, ah go scratch yuh back.’ Used to reassure someone that there is a need to look out for each other: I’ll help with your issues and you help with mine: Let’s help each other to achieve success. It can even be used as a gentle, but loving scolding — come on and pull your weight because I should not be doing most of the work to build our relationship. Have a great day.
Watch your thoughts: They become words. Watch your words: They become actions Watch your actions: They become habits Watch your habits: They become your character.’ True and faithful words my people! I certainly hope we can successfully apply them to our lives.
And now, turning to our Bit, we hear the psalmist Asaph plead with the God of his fathers. ‘Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name: and deliver us, and purge away (provide atonement for) our sins, for thy name’s sake.’
Ah friends, Asaph was not the only man of God who pleaded fervently with God for deliverance. Let’s listen to a couple of others who did the same, beginning with Bruh David, from Psalm 25 – A prayer for guidance and protection. ‘All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies. For thy name’s sake, O Lord pardon mine iniquity; for it is great.’ (Ps.25:10-11) That was Bruh David pleading on a personal note.
Now hear the psalmist pleading in Psalm 106 on behalf of Israel sins against God’s LOVE. ‘Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the heathen, to give thanks unto thy holy name, and to triumph in thy praise. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting: and let all the people say, Amen. Praise the Lord.’ (Ps.106:43-48)
Oh my fellow believers, the Israelites were surely hard-headed and stubborn, but at least they knew whom to run to when they had gone their own way and things backfired on them. Today, more than ever we need to cry out to our Creator for mercy, grace and forgiveness for our continuing rebellion against Him. But that’s the furthest thing from the minds of the majority of our society.
Unfortunately, we are still so tied up in the bondage of material wants and lustful dealings that we are dying, trying to remove God from our lives, instead of reinstating Him on the throne of the world. Ah friends, as I said yesterday, that’s a fool’s wisdom and no good can ever come from it!
And we’ll end with the words of the prophet Jeremiah, pleading for his people, as the Lord communicates the message of the famine to him. ‘O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou it for thy name’s sake: for our backslidings are many, we have sinned against thee.
O the hope of Israel, the saviour thereof in time of trouble, why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night? Why shouldest thou be as a man astonished, as a mighty man that cannot save? Yet thou, O Lord, art in the midst of us, and we are called by thy name; leave us not.’ (Jer.14:7-9)
And later on in that same chapter, he declares: ‘We acknowledge, O Lord our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee. Do not abhor us, for thy name’s sake, do not disgrace the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us.’ (Jer.14:20-21)
Yeh, I like the reasoning; we can callously and stubbornly break our covenant with Almighty God, but He must not break His with us. Hn! Sadly though friends, it just doesn’t work like that. Our God is patient and long-suffering, but even His patience runs out, especially in the face of boldfaced and continuous rebellion.
My people, we cannot continue rebelling against God and expect Him to still show us grace and mercy. Until sincere repentance and confession become a big part of our society, like the Israelites, our fortunes will continue to decrease. Let’s think seriously on that today nuh. Much LOVE!
…continuous obedience to God’s Word…is the hallmark of true believers…
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…
01 Nov 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: according to the power that worketh in us, benefits, Christ may dwell in your hearts, compromise, confusion, Creator, Daylight Savings Time, depression, disappointment, do not lose heart, drawbacks, edification, Enormous Rewards, Ephesians, fear, filled with all the fullness of God, forgiveness, freedom, friendship, fulfillment, glory to God, God the Good, godless world, guilt, Halloween, holy spirit, I bow my knees, inner growth, joy, lead and guide us, live the Christian life, lose an hour's sleep, One Year Book of Bible promises, penance, provider, purpose, rewards, rooted and grounded in love, Ruth Harms Calkin, saints, satisfaction, sordidness, spiritual life, strengthened with might, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the inner man, the moneyed class, the riches of his glory, the serfs, the whole family is named, to do all that we ask or think, to know the Love of Christ, tribulations, unto him that is able, walking obediently with Christ, ye faint not
Ephesians 3:20. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.
Well Friends, it’s Sunday the 1st of November! That means Halloween is over, October is done and Daylight Savings Time is also over. Now on that last one, the benefits or drawbacks are still being argued over.
What we do know is that some people lose an hour’s sleep while others gain an hour, and now some people will be going to work in the dark and also coming home in the dark.
No wonder there is so much depression and its cohorts come the winter time where people don’t see the sun enough. But that’s the decision of the ruling, the moneyed class, so we poor serfs just have to grin and bear it. (smile) But I’m here to tell us my fellow believers that all of that doesn’t truly matter once we are walking obediently with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
And having read this poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises yesterday, with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin, it struck such a powerful chord in my thinking, that I just had to share it. It’s titled ‘Enormous Rewards.’
And it says: ‘O dear God Thank You for teaching me The enormous rewards Of walking obediently with You. There is joy without guilt Freedom without fear Satisfaction without sordidness Purpose without confusion Friendship without compromise Forgiveness without penance Fulfillment without disappointment.’
Yes my brethren, that is indeed the description of what a true believer enjoys when He walks in close relationship with Almighty God, his Creator and Provider! And consequently, he does not have to worry about all the nonsense that is happening in our wicked, godless world. Oh glory to God!
How wonderful it is to be able to ignore so much of the world’s foolishness because of a strong faith and eternal trust in Jesus! There is no need to worry, hurry or fear anything, because our Saviour has faithfully promised that He will be always with us through the indwelling of His Holy Spirit, which will lead and guide us successfully through this hellish world.
And our Bit today comes from Bruh Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. ‘Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.’
But before we delve into it, I think it’s best that we know what comes before, so we can better understand the context of what he’s talking about. But that puts me in a bit of a quandary, because almost every verse has some useful information from the scholars, and I’m not sure whether I should do the explanation after each verse, or lump them all together. I’m not sure which method will bring easier and greater understanding. But let’s mosey along (smile) and see where the Holy Spirit leads us.
Now in this section of his letter, Bruh Paul is offering a prayer for the inner growth of the Ephesians. And he tells them: ‘Wherefore I desire (ask) that ye faint not (not lose heart) at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.’ (Eph.3:13-15)
And the scholars offer these explanations on those verses. ‘3:13. Which is your glory: God will use Paul’s tribulations and sufferings in the ministry to spiritually benefit his recipients. Such edification will then bring about glory on their part in that they praise and honour God.’
‘3:14. For this cause: This expression resumes the apostle’s prayer begun in verse 1 but delayed by the discussion of verses 2-13.’
‘3:15. Is named means “is derived.” The whole Christian family, including those saints now departed and in heaven, and those saints still living on earth – all of them “derive” their spiritual life from God.’
And Bruh Paul continues: ‘That he would grant you according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that ye, being rooted and grounded in LOVE, May be able to comprehend (understand) with all the saints what is the breadth (width), and length , and depth, and height; And to know the LOVE of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.’ (Eph.3:16-9)
And yuh know what my people? That prayer is still completely viable to our situation today, for we are suffering the same doubt, frustration and lack of confidence that the Ephesians suffered back then, and we need desperately to grow in Christ if we intend to make a positive and meaningful difference in this strife filled world.
And the scholars’ offer these explanations. ‘3:16-19. In these verses Paul makes three prayer requests for the addressees: (1) That they would be strengthened with might by his Spirit (v.16), that is, that they be divinely enabled to successfully live the Christian life.
(2) That the readers be able to comprehend …the LOVE of Christ, that is, to better understand the enormous LOVE Christ has for them. And (3) that they might be filled with all the fullness of God, that is, that the life, character, and virtues of God Himself may be fully developed in them.’
And finally, we’ll turn to the scholars’ explanation of our Bit. ‘3:20. In making the three above petitions (vv.16-19), Paul has not asked for too much. For he prays unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that he can ask or think.’
And that’s it in a nutshell my people! Our God is so great, so powerful, so omnipotent, that He can do way way more than our finite minds can even begin to think, imagine, ask for, or comprehend. That’s why He is GOD! And I do hope that the way I structured the verses and explanations enabled you to better understand the Word.
Now remember today is Sunday and we need to go to the sanctuary and fellowship with other believers; to sing, pray, give thanks and glorify our heavenly Father and receive His strength, confidence, mercy, compassion and forgiveness, so that we can truly live the Christian life. Much LOVE!
…there is only ONE Power…and ONE Presence here…God the Good…God the Omnipotent…
06 Jul 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: almighty god, ambition, aura of love, be rich in good works, Bruh Paul, caressed the air, complaining, compromise, confidence, Cousin Sol, coveted, destruction, eternal life, fall into temptations, friends, generous, glorious kingdom, glory to God, godly enthusiasm, godly purpose, guiding light, haughty, highminded, holy spirit, humble servants, hypocrites, idol, in great spirits, invincible, Jesus Christ, joy, lies, LOVE, love for money, lusts, materialistic, Monday Morning, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, not on the things on the earth, on the ball, peace, pitfalls, praise and worship God, Praise the Lord, Proverbs, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, righteousness., root of all evil, ruin, salvation, set your affection on things above, spiritual armour, spiritually concerned, steadfast faith, the goal of life, the house of God, the moral of the story, the Ten Commandments, the true light of the world, truth, ungodly world, wicked taunts, wiles, wisdom, working for the almighty dollar
Colossians 3:2. Set your affection (mind) on things above, not on things on the earth.
Oh Friends, oh Friends, a fair number of hypocrites came to church yesterday, (smile) and did we ever sing and dance, praise and worship God, and enjoy each other’s company! Wow! So much so that we all left the house of God in great spirits, with our LOVE, peace and godly enthusiasm boosted sky high! Oh Glory to God, my people!
That’s why on this summer’s morn, this Monday morning, we are able to get up and get ourselves together to go out and labour without a lot of fuss and complaining. We set the tone for the rest of the week by affirming our convictions with Almighty God on the first day. And that’s why I keep advising us, that our Sundays set the tone and tempo for our Mondays.
Now for those of us whose spirits are still burdened and heavy laden, let’s get our act together by singing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with much verve and gusto. As one earthly, but angelic sounding choir, let’s sing.
‘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 Friends, that was wonderful, marvellous! And most importantly, Jesus was thrilled. You could tell by the dazzling smile on His face as lost in the music, He swayed and wielded – no, not wielded, because that carries a sense of a crude, rough and heavy manner – but rather, as He gently, lightly, but firmly caressed the air with His conductor’s baton. (smile)
Yes my people, I don’t know what happened, but we are definitely on the ball this morning. As we sang, we must obviously have done what our Bit says. ‘Set your affection (mind) on things above, not on things on the earth.’
Oh, if we could only do that in all the other areas of our lives, what a truly wonderful world this would be! But unfortunately that’s not the case; the things of the world still hold too much sway over us; we’re way too materialistic and not sufficiently spiritually concerned. And per the Good Book, my brethren, that is not a very good or wise way to be.
Cousin Sol puts it this way in Proverbs. ‘Labour not to be rich (do not overwork): cease from thine own wisdom.’ (Prov.23:4)
And why is that? As Bruh Paul explains to Timothy. ‘But they that will be (desire to be) rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful (harmful) lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition (ruin and destruction).
For the LOVE of money is the root of all (kinds) of evil; which while some coveted after, they have strayed from the faith (for which some in their greediness have strayed from the faith), and pierced themselves through with many arrows.’ (1 Tim.6:9-10)
Ah Friends, what absolute truth! When our main ambition is to be rich, to be materially wealthy, we lose sight of our godly purpose and fall into all sorts of compromises and wrong doing, just to make money. In other words we make money our idol, our god.
And that’s obviously not right. At least not in the eyes of our Creator and heavenly Father, who has faithfully promised that if we seek His righteousness, He will provide us with all we need to be successful in this world. (Matt.6:33) Unfortunately, too many of us don’t seem to believe Him and thus kill ourselves working for the almighty dollar.
Now here is an important explanation from the scholars. ‘6:10. The root of all evil means a root or source of all kinds of evil. The LOVE for money is not the only source from which evil comes. Coveted after means that some have “striven after” money as the goal of life.’
Yes my brethren, money, in and of itself is not bad, and we definitely need it to live, but when we make amassing it our be all and end all, begin coveting it, that is when we lose our way. Remember the last of the Ten Commandments; thou shalt not covet. (Ex.20:17) And that means anything that belongs to someone else. Any time you covet anything, it’s a sin. So the moral of the story is to not let material wealth be your guiding light, but rather Jesus, the true light of the world.
Now let’s conclude with some more wise and wonderful advice from Bruh Paul to Timothy. ‘Charge (command) them that are rich in this world (present age), that they be not highminded (haughty), nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute (give), willing to communicate (share); Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.’ (1 Tim.6:17-19)
Oh Friends, what powerful and wise words! The scholars explain them thus: ‘6:17-18. Paul charges wealthy believers (1) not to be proud and look down on those who are not rich, (2) to confide in God, rather than in unstable riches, (3) to be rich in good works by generously sharing their surplus of financial resources with the needy. To be ready to distribute is to be generous in sharing. To be willing to communicate is to be liberal in giving.’
Now please notice as the scholars remind us: ‘Salvation is not purchased by the giving of money, but generosity demonstrates the reality of one’s faith. Since the believer trusts God and not money, he gives. This giving shows where his heart is and that he views his wealth in light of eternity.’
More words of wisdom Friends, so please let’s ponder on it all and then come to some right conclusions re our attitude towards money, for that will certainly make or break us. Much LOVE!
…money is good and necessary…but LOVING it…allowing it to rule your life…is fraught with many serious pitfalls…
28 Jan 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: alive but dead, antidote, buffeted and bombarded, church at Sardis, cocoa tea, compromise, dangerous jobs, difficult jobs, enemy's wiles, incredible aura of LOVE, invincible, jobs, Lamb's book of life, living on past glory, Master Healer, Monday Morning, renewed vitality, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, sure conquerors, wearing white, weary souls, worthy
Revelation 3:1. And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.
Oh Friends, it’s Monday, so let’s be up and at ’em nuh! No pussyfooting and complaining today. Let’s act like the adults, the believing adults we’re supposed to be and cut out the whining and moaning every Monday morning. Jesus is tired with it. He’s saying to us in Cocoa Tea’s words, ‘My people, stop it! Drop it!’ We all know that Monday is a working day, therefore it’s our responsibility to be prepared. That means to stop abusing the weekend, so we can step out smartly on Mondays when the battle call sounds. Now to help us get into a groove and strengthen our resolve, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn as though we really mean it. In unison now: ‘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 my people, that’s the kind of attitude we need to constantly foster, so that Mondays bring energy and determination, rather than fatigue and listlessness. And our Bit today is a very good reminder of that. ‘And unto the angel (messenger) of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art (but you are) dead.’ Yuh see Friends, Jesus wasn’t mincing words there with the church at Sardis. He was telling it as He saw it. They were alive, yet dead, like many of us are today. Now here’s some historical background, re the scholars, on the city of Sardis. ‘Sardis, the ancient capital of the rich and powerful kingdom of Lydia, was located about 30 miles south of Thyatira. The name may mean “Escaping.” It was destroyed by the Persians under Cyrus. Under Roman rule, in the New Testament era, it never regained its earlier prominence. It only possessed its former name of greatness, not those great works. The city was destroyed by an earthquake during the rule of Tiberius Caesar (A.D.17) and rebuilt by him. This indebtedness promoted emperor worship in Sardis and eventually prompted compromise by the church. So the church was now virtually dead in spirit and works, and is representative of dead orthodoxy. Today a small Turkish village named Sart lies near the site.’ Oh my brethren, I sure hope all of that rings an alarm bell in our minds re the modern day church, because we are behaving just like the people of Sardis; living on past glory, worshipping idols. Our spirits are basically dead, we have no real passion for Christ, we’re not excited to be believers and to be working energetically for our Saviour. Consequently, many of the orthodox churches are regressing, not progressing. Petty divisions and dissensions are further weakening Christ’s body. That should not be so my people. Please, let us not become like the people of Sardis, a mere shadow of our great past. And here then is the antidote proposed by the Master Healer Himself. ‘Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect (complete) before God. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment (garments); and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.’ (Rev.3:2-5) All I can do is warn us to pay serious attention to Jesus’ words there Friends. Our society is floundering, and as the serious remnant of Christ’s church we need to strengthen what is left and help to keep the sound teaching of the apostles alive till the day of Jesus’ return, which could be anytime. Please, I implore us, let’s try and be numbered amongst those worthy to be wearing white when Jesus returns, and our names written in the Lamb’s book of life, so that we can be sure of everlasting life with Jesus, because it’s only the names of genuine believers He will include therein and make mention to the Father. Much LOVE!…please listen carefully…and do as advised…for the consequences of disobedience will be life altering…
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