09 Jul 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a demon possessed man, a leper came and worshipped him, a woman with an issue of blood, appeal to the spiritual need in man, as thou hast believed, be of good cheer, believe only, cell phones, children are obese, computers, do thy way, endure to the end, faith, fear not, go in peace, go outside to play. video games, halfway home, hands on the plough, her issue of blood stanched, her spirit came again, holy spirit, I have not found so great a faith, I'm not turning back, Jairus, Jesus and the centurion in Capernaum, Jesus Christ, Jesus heals the centurion's servant sick with the palsy, Lord if thou wilt, LOVE, maid arise, mercy, miracles only happen through strong belief, Moses commanded for a testament, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, no not in Israel, not looking back at the past, offer the gifts, playing in thr rain, salvation, second wind day, she is not dead but sleepeth, she shall be healed, she would be healed, shew thyself to the priest, so be it done unto thee, so glad to be alive, still flowing through me, tell no man what was done, thank God, the breath of life, the cleansing of a leper, the healing of the blind beggar Bartimaeus, the resurrection of Lazarus, the Sermon on the Mount, the simple joys of life, they laughed him to scorn, thou canst make me clean, thy faith hath made thee whole, to a glorious future with Jesus, today's sophisticated children, too many sedentary activities, too much rich food, touch the hem of Jesus' garments, truth, virtue is gone out of me, Wednesday Wail, weep not, wisdom
Luke 8:50b. ‘Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.’
And it seems like our second wind day, Wednesday, is going to be another warm but cloudy day, with the possibility of rain later in the day. But once the stuff that’s falling isn’t white and cold, I don’t think we really care. (smile) And it’s certainly nicer to be playing in the rain than in the snow. I remember having fun doing that as a child. But I guess those simple joys of life no longer appeal to today’s sophisticated children, who refuse to leave their televisions, computers, video games and cell phones to go outside to play.
Oh no! Playing outside is not de rigueur, not fashionable in these modern times. That’s why the children are so sickly and obese; too much rich food and sedentary activities, not enough physical stuff. But who am I to tell these modern day wonders how to raise their children eh? (smile) So, since our good God has granted us the privilege of enjoying another day on His wonderful earth, let’s keep our promise to continue looking at some of the individual healing miracles that Jesus performed.
We stopped yesterday where Jesus was asked to leave the country of the Gadarenes on the other side of the lake after healing a demon possessed man called ‘Legion,’ then putting the demons into a herd of nearby swine, who promptly ran down a steep hill into the lake and drowned. (Luke 8 -26-33) But when he returned home, He found another crowd there waiting for Him, and amongst them was one Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, wanting Jesus to come and heal his twelve year old daughter who was on her deathbed.
But while Jesus was making His way there, with the crowd surrounding Him, a woman who had been sick with and issue (flow) of blood for twelve years, decided that if she could just touch the hem of Jesus’ garments she would be healed. And so she fought her way through the crowd ‘Came behind him and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue (flow) of blood stanched (stopped).’ Then Jesus asked who had touched Him? The disciples were astounded that He could ask such a question with the crowd surging all around him.
But Jesus said, ‘Somebody hath touched me: for I perceived that virtue (power) is gone out of me.’ Then the woman realizing what she’d done came and fell down before Jesus and confessed it all. ‘And he said to her, Daughter, be of good comfort (cheer): thy faith hath made thee whole (well); go in peace.’ However, while she was still speaking to Jesus someone from Jairus’ household came and told him to stop bothering Jesus, because his daughter had died. But when Jesus heard it, he said to Jairus, ‘Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.’
Then Jesus went to Jairus’s house with Peter, James and John, and everybody wept and wailed over her death, But Jesus said to them, ‘Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn knowing that she was dead.’ But He put everybody out of the room, took her by the hand, and called, saying, ‘Maid, arise. And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat (food). And her parents were astonished: but he charged them that they should tell no man what was done.’ And all of that friends, you can find in Luke 8:40-56.
What a busy and unpredictable day that must have been for Jesus. First the demon possessed man on the other side of the lake, then back home, the woman with the issue of blood, and Jairus’ daughter. All one after the other. Oh my people, there are so many individual healings that Jesus did we cannot talk about them all, and we’ll have to be very concise with those we share.
Like this one when Jesus came down from the mountain after the Sermon on the Mount, followed by great multitudes, ‘a leper came and worshipped Him, saying Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, See, thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded for a testament.’ (Matt. 8:1-4)
And the scholars note some interesting things about that healing, like when Jesus touched the leper, instead of it bringing uncleanness to Jesus, as it would to any other person who touched him, it caused the total cleansing of the leper. And the purpose of Jesus telling him to tell no man was to draw attention away from the miracle itself and appeal to the spiritual need in man. In the gospels the crowds were often attracted by Jesus’ miracles, but not always by His message.
Shew thyself to the priest is in obedience to the Mosaic Law regarding cleansing. Offer the gift that Moses commanded. Those can be found in Leviticus 14:2-32, where a whole slew of things was laid out for the cleansing of a leper. The scholars say they are typical of Christ’s atonement and the cleansing it provided. For a testimony unto them: that is evidence to the priest that the leper had indeed been cleansed. Brother! It was a rather thorough interrogation, and took some eight days to work through all the stuff.
Then there was the miracle of Jesus in Capernaum when the Centurion asked Him to heal his servant sick of the palsy, (paralyzed and greatly afflicted). Jesus said he would go and heal him. But the centurion replied that he wasn’t worthy for the Lord to come under his roof. He could just speak the word and his servant would be healed. Then he explained about his authority over soldiers who obeyed his orders, and likened Jesus unto himself in that regard. ‘When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great a faith, no, not in Israel. …And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. and his servant was healed in the selfsame hour. ‘(Matt. 8:5-13)
Ah mih bredrin, Jesus was amazed at the strong belief in His healing ability that the Roman unbeliever possessed. Meanwhile His own Jewish people, ridiculed Him and treated His miracles more as a magic show than a real message. And those are just a few of the individual healing miracles Jesus did. You can read about others like the resurrection of Lazarus (John 11:17-44), the opening of the eyes of the blind beggar Bartimaeus in Jericho (Mark 10:46-52) and several others if you read and study the life and soul-saving Word of God! (smile)
Now let’s go home declaring (chuh!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting the whole world know of our wonderful position in Christ Jesus. As one strong and sincere voice: ‘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 we’ll be wise if we hold on to the promise that all who endure with Jesus to the very end will enjoy a future more glorious than they can ever ask or imagine. See you there! Much LOVE!
…miracles can only happen…where there is strong belief or true faith…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
02 Aug 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, a reasonable time, adversity, and if ye seek him, anger, Asa, Azariah, before our very eyes, benjamin, bickering, calamities, choose the best, Christ's Church, christianity, commitment to excellence, communication with Almighty God, computers, contaminating our world, disasters, dr robert h schuller, enthusaism, excellence, extraordinary, failings, fat lot of good, fellow believers, forsake him, get into our souls, hate, he will be found of you, he will forsake you, heal the divisions, hear ye me, Hotmail, Hour of Power Devotional, injection of ramped up effort, Judah, lack lustre, lack of excellence, let not your hands be weak, LOVE Revolution, lukewarm, mediocre, mediocrity, more trouble than they're worth, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, obey God's will, only true and living God, peace, power base, quell the storms, resentment, return to our god, shrivelling up enthusiasm, solution for our problem, spiritual battle, strength in numbers, strife, taking a holiday, the breath of life, the enemy, the flow of divine enthusiasm, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the Good Book, the Lord is with you, the Old Testamnet, the price tag, the Spirit of God, the victory, turmoil, turn unto the Lord God of Israel, vexations, Wednesday Wail, while ye be with him, without any bite, words of wisdom
2 Chronicles 2:15. Hear ye me Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.
Ah friends, when it’s not one thing it’s another yes! Chuh! The enemy surely knows how to get into our souls. I’ve been down here now for about fifteen minutes trying to get into my E-mail account. It works well until it comes to opening the mailbox, then it stops with about 2% to go.
Everything else seems to be working perfectly, except for the Hotmail nonsense. I’ve refreshed it at least three times, but each time it simply stalls right before the end of the line. Steups! Computers eh! They are often more trouble than they’re worth, and generally cause problems when you need them the most…
Whoopee de! I just got a message about something going wrong which they can’t figure out as yet, so to try later. Fat lot of good it did me then to try and get up at a reasonable time to write the Bit.
But since I write the Bit in Word before transferring it to Hotmail, because of earlier problems with writing it in Hotmail, we can continue doing our thing while they try to figure out what’s wrong.
So, rather appropriately, we have a few words from Gramps Schuller (Dr.Robert H. Schuller) from his Hour of Power Devotional, on being an extraordinary person. Listen up: ‘The capacity to be extraordinary – a little more or a little better than the last time – is a quality that fosters and causes the flow of divine enthusiasm.
Choose the best: shun mediocrity. Mediocrity has a way of shrivelling up enthusiasm. But commitment to excellence taps an incredible source of energy. Elect the best, no matter what the price tag.’
True words of wisdom my brethren! If you are a follower of Jesus, then the best, excellence is what He expects of you. Just checked Hotmail…Wonder of wonders! It’s finally open! But we’ll continue here.
And I believe one of our major failings in Christianity today is our lack of excellence. We seem to be too afraid of what the world will say and or/do, and we also compromise too much, consequently our efforts on behalf of Christ are only lukewarm and mediocre.
But friends, in this spiritual battle in which we’re currently engaged, we can’t afford to be lack-lustre and without any real bite, because the enemy is coming at us full force. He is not taking a holiday or easing up in his efforts to subdue us. So why are we doing our best to give him the victory that Christ won for us through such painstaking effort eh?
I think our current Christian movement needs a serious injection of ramped up effort, which can only come through healthier and more plentiful communication with Almighty God. It brings to mind the warning of the prophet Azariah in the Old Testament.
The Good Book tells us: ‘And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah, the son of Oded. And he went out to meet (before) Asa, and said unto him. Hear ye me Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.’ (2 Chr.15:1-2)
My fellow believers, the battle is heating up right before our very eyes, please note all the disasters and calamities in our world, both manmade and natural; check out the widespread strife and anger, resentment and hate that’s contaminating our world.
Nations are fighting nations without any apparent hope for peace. Leaders are full of political rhetoric, busily trying to build their power base, but doing nothing to quell the storms. The only thing that can help us is a true return to God, for our world is just like Israel was in Azariah’s time.
Hear the Good Book tell it. ‘Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law. (2 Chr.15:3) That surely sounds like the current state of our world!
‘But when they in their trouble did turn unto the Lord God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them.’ (2 Chr.15:4) The exact solution for our problem my fellow believers!
‘And in those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in, but great vexations (turmoil) were upon all the inhabitants of the countries. And nation was destroyed of (by) nation, and city of city: for God did vex them with all adversity.’ (2 Chr.15:5-6)
What a mirror image of our present world my people! I don’t believe our world has ever seen a period of time where so much anger and strife and disasters have enveloped it all at once.
And the ONLY sensible solution is to repent and turn back to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the ONLY TRUE AND LIVING GOD who has the power to make our world better.
But friends, for that to happen, we believers must ramp up our efforts on Christ behalf, focus on excellence not compromise and mediocrity, so that we can get His LOVE Revolution hopping, with people coming to Him in droves, rather than moving away from Him.
We need to take the sincere warning of Azariah seriously. ‘Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak; for your work will be rewarded.’ (2 Chr.15:7)
I therefore implore us to come together in LOVE and peace, for there is strength in numbers. Let’s stop the silly and petty bickering and heal the divisions that are currently entrenched in Christ’s church, so that we can do His work and bring some peace and stability to our world, especially to our children.
And all God’s children declared a loud and sincere ‘Amen!’
And having decided to do all that, we can now go home declaring our Wednesday Wail without hypocrisy. ‘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!’
Oh friends, those objectives will only be accomplished if we stand strong and steadfast in Christ, brimming over with enthusiasm and excellence. Much LOVE!
…true strength comes only from sincerely seeking God…then walking purposely in His will…
10 Feb 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a sailor band, Ash Wednesday, ashes, bacchanal, buss-up shirt, Carnival, Christian, christianity, church, computers, copy and paste, disunity, esteem, fellowship, focus on Jesus, friends, frustrations, fulfill ye my joy, glory hallelujah, goals, happiness, I'm not looking back, I'm so glad to be alive, Jesus Christ, joy, lack of harmony, laziness, Lent, let this mind be in you, living in harmony, LOVE, mas, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, my hands are on the plough, my own strength, needs of others, of one accord, our best days are still ahead of us, pan side, pride, problems of others, put our noses to the grindstone, Scarborough, selfishness, strife, the breath of life, the Lord carried me, to a glorious future with Jesus, Tobago, trust, truth, united in spirit, values, waste of time, Wednesday Wail, which also was in Christ Jesus, wisdom, without partiality
Philippians 2:5. Let this mind be in you, which also was in Christ Jesus.
Ah Friends, laziness is a hell of a thing yes! How many of you noticed yesterday that the top heading had one date and the bottom one another eh? Computers make it too easy for us sometimes. This copy and paste thing can do serious damage if we’re not careful. My sincere apologies to those of you who noticed. I aced it this morning though, got them both right! (smile)
So the bacchanal done now mih people; Carnival over and we now into the godly season of Lent. Let’s hope that we extinguished all our energy and frustrations during the Carnival period and are now ready to settle down to a serious time of consideration and ‘ponderation’ on God and all that He stands for, because this is the season for it.
Now, as per activities, yesterday, after finishing my buss-up shirt, I went down to Scarborough to see some local mas. Hn! We got down there about two o’clock, only to find the streets empty, not a mas in sight.
We walked up to where they were supposed to be judging the bands, but could not get a seat out of the sun because they had private tents, or tents with no seats, so we walked back to a closed up café or chicken joint, that had an awning over the front, the same place we were last year.
This time there were no chairs in front, apparently the owners got smart after last year, but there were a few benches by the side, we put one under the awning and limed there until we left around five thirty.
At two thirty, no mas had appeared, so I told the duchess if none appears by three o’clock we would leave. Luckily, about ten to three a sailor band with about a dozen people, of whom I knew about four, came down the road, passed the judging stand and eventually ended up liming right by us.
As the afternoon progressed about five bands eventually passed up in front of us, and I saw a few other people I knew, so it wasn’t a complete waste of time. As usual though I could not see a pan side on the road to jump with. Ah Lord eh, what has mas come to eh, when there’s no pan on the road? Steups!
One friend there kept telling me how the pans usually come out after six o’clock, but who knows if what he said was true, and I definitely wasn’t hanging around to find out. So the duchess and I walked back to the car, not too far really, but it was a bit difficult, and the Lord ended up carrying me.
I definitely couldn’t make it on my own strength, even with my cane. And who says our God isn’t a great and caring God eh! I certainly won’t because there are many days without His help, I wouldn’t make it through. Anyway, enough about me and mas.
Today is Ash Wednesday. Hope those of you so interested went to church and got your ashes. I was too tired to get up, and the service in my area was too early, six a.m. But I think there is one at six p.m. tonight. I might check that out. And since it’s Wednesday, then we need to declare our Wednesday Wail with much gusto and sincerity.
As one now, let’s wail: ‘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!’
Oh my people, it’s so good to be alive on this Ash Wednesday, and alive in sweet Tobago too, that I can die from the happiness! (smile) But then we need to put our noses to the grindstone and focus our every thought on Jesus, keep looking ahead to the wonderful future He has planned for us, not at the past as so many of us unfortunately do.
Ah my fellow believers, what is past has gone, and believe me, our best days are still ahead, out in front of us, if we keep hanging sincerely with Jesus. But as our Bit tells us, we can’t be like Jesus unless we first think like Him. ‘Let this mind be in you, which also was in Christ Jesus.’
And today I want to share some explanations from the scholars on the 2nd to 4th verses of the chapter. ‘Fulfill ye my joy, that ye be like minded, having the same LOVE, being of one accord, of one mind.’ (Phil.2:2) Then he continues talking about the need for no strife and pride, selfishness and being our brother’s keeper.
The scholars offer these explanations: ‘2:2-4. Fulfill ye my joy (or, “Make my joy complete”). Paul rejoiced over the Philippians (1:3), but his happiness was incomplete, owing to some disunity and lack of total harmony among them. The Greek equates what, to Paul, constitutes “complete joy” with the readers being likeminded. This means “living in harmony” with one another. That is, the Philippians can “fulfill” the writer’s “joy” by living in harmony among themselves.
But what does such harmonious living entail? Beginning in verse 2 and continuing through verse 4, six participles spell out and clearly define what it means to “live in harmony:” (1) having the same LOVE toward one believer as shown toward another, without partiality; (2) being of one accord; that is, they are to be united in spirit; (3) of one mind; that is, the whole church is to have the same values and goals;
(4) let nothing be done through strife or vainglory, for selfish ambition or conceit; (5) let each esteem other better than themselves, that is, each is to regard his fellow Christian as more important than himself; and (6) look…every man also on the things of others; that is, each is to be just as concerned for the needs and problems of his brother as he is for his own affairs.’
Oh friends, oh friends, that’s exactly what Christianity is all about, living in LOVE and harmony with and for each other! It’s what Jesus taught, and how He lived! But are we doing that today? Hn! Definitely not as much as we should, else our world and our Christian fellowship would not be in the bad shape they are in.
So today, on this Ash Wednesday of 2016, please, let’s sit down and consider, ponder the way we live, and try, with God’s help obviously, to bring it more in line with the Christian principles outlined above nuh. For that my brethren, is the indisputable wisdom of heaven! Much LOVE!
…oh how good and precious it is…when brethren live together in true harmony…
31 Jan 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fool, benefits, blessed is the man who trusts God, blessings, breath of life, Chrisitians, church time, computers, Cousin Sol, does not respect the proud, duty to gather, encourage each other, encouragement, exuses, faith, faithful God, fellowship, first fruits, friends, grow in faith, Harvest Sunday, hope, I lift up my soul, in the Lord's house, Jesus Christ, joy, laziness, let go, LOVE, loving kindness, man-made things, mature in Christ, mix and mingle, prosperous, proud heart, Proverbs, put confidence in man., put not your trust in princes, put your trust in the Lord, strength in numbers, strength to face another day, strife, such as turn to lies, Sunday, the god of Jacob, the Son of man, true believers, trust, truth, walk wisely, where two or three are gathered, wisdom, worshipping God
Psalm 40:4. Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
Oh friends, it’s Sunday! That means it’s church time!
Now please, no simpering excuses why you can’t attend. Remember Jesus said wherever two or three are gathered together He will be there. So please, let’s gather nuh, in great numbers too, because it’s also true that there is strength in numbers, and worshipping God together brings more benefits than if we continually try to go it alone.
Anyway, as true believers, it is our duty to gather in the Lord’s house and send up our thanks and praise and receive His blessings, encouragement, and strength to face another day and another week. We also need to mix and mingle with other Christians, hear their stories, share ours, encourage each other and thus grow in the faith.
That’s the only way we will ever truly mature in Christ. It simply cannot be done alone and/or in private! End of sermon!
Hn! But I’m now thinking why do we have to beg Christians to go to church eh? I mean it’s a part of their faith, the Good Book requires it, wherever Jesus was, He made sure that He attended the synagogue on the Sabbath day. So why are we so anti church eh?
Is it just pure laziness, or is there a deeper reason? I don’t know nuh friends, and I refuse to speculate. All I can do is encourage us to go, and to do so myself. And one of the reasons I’m up so early this morning, is so that I can write the Bit before I go to church. You know I hate the late Bits, even though occasionally I do indulge. (smile)
And today is Harvest Sunday up at St. Patrick’s in Mt. Pleasant! Glory be! All like that friends, where we are supposed to offer our first fruits to God, how can we do it when we’re absent from church eh?
When I was growing up we excitedly looked forward to Harvest Sunday, and more so the Monday after, when school was closed and all the produce was set up there to be sold. I doubt today’s children would have any interest in such mundane things. Thank the Lord I was born when and where I was yes!
But let us move on to the matter at hand, our Bit. ‘Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.’
Ah mih people, trust is such an important thing in our everyday lives. We trust that when we turn the switch, the lights will come on, the cell phone will also come on so that we can text. And when we turn on the tap, we expect to see water flowing out.
We trust all these man-made things, especially computers now, where our entire life is somehow tied to the man-made system, but we have problems trusting Almighty God; the Creator and Provider of EVERYTHING we have and enjoy.
Why do you think the psalmist so adamantly declared? ‘It is better to put your trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.’ (Ps.118:8-9)
Because man is untrustworthy! And all of us have suffered some sort of deceit or untrustworthiness at the hand of men at some stage in our lives, but yet we continue to trust them! However, the great and ever-LOVING and faithful God, who has never let us down or deceived us, we are rather reluctant to trust.
Hn! That just doesn’t compute my brethren. It makes no sense whatsoever. No wonder so many of our prayers go unanswered! The Lord looks at our hearts and sees that they are not truly right. Deep down our motives are wrong, we’re selfish and just want to grab the lusts of our flesh and do our own thing.
And if you don’t believe me, listen to the psalmist in Psalm 146 – The blessedness of trusting God. ‘Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth (his spirit departs), he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish. Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God.’ (Ps.146:3-5)
Yes friends, even man’s breath of life is not his to control! One minute he’s here, then the next his life is extinguished and he returns to the earth from which he was formed. So why do we insist on trusting him above the One who made him eh?
Good question that? One which I can’t answer with any certainty, so I won’t try. I can just give us scriptures that will help us to trust in the Lord. So let’s start with the wisdom of Cousin Sol from Proverbs.
‘He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife: but he that putteth his trust in the Lord shall be made fat (prosperous). He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.’ (Prov.28:26-27)
And believe me my people, we can only walk wisely when we walk with the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! Without His eternal guidance we’re just like lost sheep wandering in the wilderness.
Now listen to Bruh David as in Psalm 143, he desires of God – Teach me to do thy will. ‘Hear (answer) me speedily, O Lord; my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be (become) like unto them that go down into the pit. Cause me to hear thy LOVING-kindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.’ (Ps.143:7-8)
Yes my fellow believers in Christ, until we truly start not only believing and trusting God to direct our lives, but more so letting go, so that He can have free rein, we will forever be hampered and confused in our earthly sojourn. Much LOVE!
…truly trusting God…means to completely let go…and let Him do His thing in our lives…
14 Jan 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: almighty god, asaph, Beelzebub, computers, cry out to God, dash thy foot against a stone, encouraging words, faith, fall down in our faith, fandangles, Father, friends, go to God with everything, God is a refuge and fortress, halfway point of the week, he hath set his love upon me, he shall give his angels charge over thee, help, hope, I hope in thy word, in the arms of Almighty God, in times of trouble, it's toast, Jehovah, Lord God in heaven, LOVE, meditate on God's Word, mercies, mighty God we serve and worship, Mountain Mover's Prayer, poison my mind, Possibility Thinker's Creed, protection, proud, redeemed thy people, refuge, refuse to heed God's call, remember the works of God, Selah, show him my salvation, smile, stand strong, stubborn, success, succour, the dragon shalt thou trample, the Most High, thou art my hiding place and my shield, to our detriment, trying my spirit, Wednesday, who is so great a God as our God, wisdom, with long life will I satisfy him, words of faith
Psalm 119:114. Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.
Well Friends, it’s another chilly but fine day in my area! And it’s Wednesday to boot! That means we’re already at the halfway point of the workweek, so there’s no turning back now, just all engines open full throttle and straight ahead to week’s end. (smile)
Now I don’t know if it’s me or the computers I have, but for some reason they both began acting up this morning. I have a desktop where I usually write the Bit, but that’s running a back-up program that’s sorely trying my spirit.
For the last two days we’ve been trying to get it to back up my files, but it seems to be taking forever. I think I’m giving it enough time, the time it says it needs, but my tech seems to think otherwise.
Now this morning I come downstairs to write the Bit, I’m already late as it is, then it won’t allow me to do my business, taking ages to make stuff happen, but all the while it still seems to be transferring files to the back-up drive.
But I have news for it. Today is the last day for this nonsense! Regardless of what anyone says, if it doesn’t finish backing-up today, then it’s toast. I’ve been getting along fine for years now without it, don’t need that hassle now in my old age. (smile) And then when I got my laptop, that took ages to boot up doing all sorts of fandangles’ re updates etc.
Awright, so that’s my vent and part of my excuse for the Bit being so late today. So to give us some sort of boost and encouragement to face the day and the year ahead, let’s recite together the Possibility Thinkers Creed or Mountain Mover’s Prayer as written by Gramps Schuller (Dr. Robert H. Schuller).
As one now: ‘Lord, when I face a mountain, do not let me quit. Give me the strength to keep on striving until I climb over, find a pass through, or tunnel underneath. And if my best efforts fail, give me the patience to stay and the perception to see the possibilities of turning my mountain into a gold mine with your help. Amen.’
Ah Friends, that’s exactly what I need this morning to face the pressure these computers are putting on me! (smile) But seriously though, those are strong, encouraging and faith-filled words that we ought to take to heart and put into diligent practice.
And that’s a direct companion to the saying that our task is to take hold of God’s grace to endure our afflictions with patience, without growing weary. Knowing that in time, our great and wonderful God will perfect, establish, strengthen and settle us. We must wait on the Lord and be of good courage.
Oh Friends, this morning I really do need all of those encouraging words to stand strong and do what I need to do. And I know that I will be encouraged shortly, that I will make peace with my man-made computers who are trying to drive me into the arms of the lying and deceitful Beelzebub. (smile)
Anyway, let’s turn to our Bit, more encouraging and resourceful words of faith. ‘Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.’
Yeh my brethren, there’s no place of help, hope, refuge, protection and succor like in the arms of Almighty God! From day one, He’s been telling us to come to Him for whatever we need, but like the proud, stubborn animals that we are, we consistently refuse to heed His call, to our detriment of course.
When are we going to learn to go to God with EVERYTHING eh my people? From the smallest problem, to the largest one, God has the answer and He is also the answer!
Now listen to these brave and bold words of Asaph, the psalmist, from Psalm 77 – Who is so great a God as our God? In his infirmity and times of trouble, Asaph remembers and faithfully declares, rightly so too: ‘I will remember the works of the Lord: surely I will remember thy wonders of old. I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.
Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary (holiness): who is so great a God as our God? Thou art the God that doest wonders: thou hast declared thy strength among the people. Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah.’ (Ps.77:11-15)
Oh my people, that is one of the ways in which we fall down in our faith; we forget what the Lord has done for us before, not believing or even thinking that if He’s helped us before in times of trouble, there’s no reason why He won’t do it again. That’s where and how our faith is built; by remembering all that God has done for us.
In this new year of 2015, please let’s remember all the wonderful things and times that God has intervened successfully on our behalf, because doing so directly boosts our faith.
By the way Friends, I just checked on the desktop computer and I got the big word that we’ve been waiting for all along; SUCCESS! My tech will be happy. I’m going to call him right now with the good news!
And that’s just what we’re talking about. I know that God has come through for me before in all sorts of situations, but yet still I allowed the computer difficulties to poison my mind. And the fact is that it’s so easy to forget our past mercies when times of trouble arise.
Now let’s close with these powerful faith building words of Psalm 91 – God is a refuge and fortress. ‘Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
They shall bear (lift) thee up in their hands, lest thou dash (strike) thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder (cobra): the young lion and the dragon (serpent) shalt thou trample under feet. Because he hath set his LOVE upon me, therefore will I deliver him:
I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life (length of days) will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.’ (Ps.91:9-16)
Oh Friends, oh Friends, what magnificent and magnanimous promises God makes in that scripture for all those who turn to Him, for all those who know His name and cry out to Him for whatever reason; Lord God in heaven, Jehovah, Father, Almighty God!
Yes my brethren, it is indeed a most wonderful and mighty God we serve and worship! Please let’s never forget that and thus cry out to Him at all times, be they good or bad. That’s wisdom at its highest level! Much LOVE!
…who is a God so great as our God eh…NONE WHATSOEVER…!
08 Sep 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a quick pick me up, alive and kicking, aura of love, Bruh Paul, Christian life, comfortable living, complaning, computers, detrimental behaviour, diligence, evil, family, fervent in spirit, glorious kingdom, grounded in God, heritage, holy spirit, homelessness, humble servants, jehovah god, Jesus, Jesus Christ, laziness, lest thou come to poverty, LOVE, love not sleep, loves pleasure, luxurious living, meet the enemy in battle, moaning and groaning, Monday Morniing Battle Hymn, no weapon formed against you shall prosper, Oh Lord God Almighty, open thine eyes, physical movement, Proverbs, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, righteousness., salvation, sedentary lifestyle, seek ye first the kingdom of God, servants of the lord, serving the Lord, short term remedy, sit down never says get up, slothful, spiritual armour, spirituality, spiritually dead, steadfast faith, TGIM! Thank God it's Monday!, thou shalt be satisfied with bread, Timothy, trust in God, ungodly world, wealth, widow, wisdom, worship
Proverbs 20:13. LOVE not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread.
Oh Friends, it’s Monday, that wonderful first day of the work week! And some industrious, well prepared believers began singing: ‘It’s Monday, it’s Monday; time to go to work and make some money, spread some good cheer around and show them Jesus! TGIM! Thank God it’s Monday… and I’m alive and kicking!’
Yes Friends, those individuals were obviously well prepared to meet the coming work week, because their Sunday revolved mainly around God, family, rest and worship. Their spiritual selves have been made ready to deal with whatever comes against them in the next few days.
It’s not they won’t have problems, but since they grounded themselves in God on the first day, that grounding will enable them to rise up over those problems with assurance that Jehovah God is working with them.
Therefore: ‘No weapon that is formed against them shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against them in judgement they shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of (from) me, saith the Lord.’ (Is.54:17)
Unfortunately though my brethren, many of us did not take the time to prepare ourselves positively yesterday, so today we’re a mess; tired, moaning and groaning and complaining about having to go to work. However, there is a short tem remedy, a quick pick me up for that – our Monday Morning Battle Hymn.
So let’s get into it with all the gusto we can muster. As one earthly and harmonious choir 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!’
Ah mih people, that sounded somewhat hoarse and scratchy, (smile) but nonetheless it served its purpose, jump starting our engines, and getting our adrenalin flowing. So now let’s make the most of it and get a godly move on nuh.
That brings us to our Bit, a rather appropriate one for what we’ve talked about so far. ‘LOVE not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread.’
Truer words have seldom been spoken my fellow believers! Or as the old people would say; ‘sit down never says get up.’ If we are lazy and not industrious, like to lie around and not work, then we shall indeed come to poverty; that could be financially or in our relationships, even our health and our basic attitude towards life.
And it certainly does not reflect a godly or righteous lifestyle! Remember Jesus is all about doing constructive and productive stuff, and His followers ought to be of the same ilk.
This modern day society though, with its wealth and comfortable living, with appliances and gadgets to do many things that humans had to do by hand until recently, certainly lends itself to a more lazy and sluggish lifestyle.
Just think about the proliferation of computers and other communication toys, where we spend more time sitting on our fannies playing with them than physically moving around, like we did before their introduction. That lack of physical movement has obviously contributed to our sedentary lifestyle and thus to the epidemic of obesity that’s currently plaguing our Western world.
What did Bruh Paul tell the church at Rome on the subject? ‘Be kindly affectioned (affectionate) one to another with brotherly LOVE; in honour preferring (giving preference to) one another; Not slothful in business (lacking diligence); fervent in spirit; serving the Lord.’ (Rom.12:10-11)
Yes my people, believers ought to be diligent in all walks of life!
Meanwhile Cousin Sol reiterates our Bit in a slightly different form in the following chapter of Proverbs. ‘He that LOVETH pleasure, shall be a poor man: he that LOVETH wine and oil shall not be rich.’ (Prov.21:17)
It’s hard to argue with those statements my Friends, as we see them lived and acted out in reality and truth in our society all the time. If we concentrate on laziness, pleasure and generally unproductive behaviour, eventually we’ll be brought to nought. And believe me, that’s not a very nice or pleasant situation to find oneself in, since it can lead to things like homelessness and other detrimental behaviour.
And we’ll end with this tidbit from Bruh Paul to Timothy re widows. ‘Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate (left alone), trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day. But she that liveth in pleasure (indulgence) is dead while she liveth.’ (1 Tim.5:5-6)
And the scholars explain those verses thus: ‘5:5. A widow deserving of church aid is desolate (has no family to care for her); trusteth in God (lives the Christian life faithfully); continueth in supplications (constantly prays for her support and for the church’s ministry).
5:6. This may be paraphrased, “But the widow who indulges in luxurious living, though physically alive, is spiritually dead.”
Yuh see Friends, the very real danger of living a lazy, riotous, pleasure-filled, unproductive life will eventually bring us to our knees, with the very real possibility of killing us, both literally and figuratively.
That’s not the lifestyle ordained by Jesus for His followers, so please let’s smarten up nuh, let’s get serious about living a true and faithful life for, and in Jesus, because that’s the highest standard of wisdom there is. Much LOVE!
…seek ye first …the kingdom of God and His righteousness…
13 Nov 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: according to His purpose, all things work together for good, charles stanley, cloud over the earth, colours, computer mouse, computers, covenant, deleted expletives, destroy all flesh, don't worry, ever-faithful, ever-forgiving, ever-Loving, ever-merciful, everlasting covenant, every living creature, exiled, faithfulness, flood, friends, glory hallelujah, God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, God's contemplating, heavens, holding my breath, inconvenience, land of my birth, less stressful life, Lord God Jehovah, Love God, navel string, Noah, promises of God, rainbow, series of messages, serve and worship, sign, sign of God's goodness, sincere plea, Spirit of the Lord, T&T, Thank You Lord, those who LOVE God, today's the day, typewriter, vacation, wipe out mankind, wonderful god, work through, you can never go home again
Genesis 9:6. I do set my bow (rainbow) in the cloud, and it shall be for a token (sign) of a covenant between me and the earth.
Ah Friends, what would we do without computers eh? Have a much less stressful life, that’s for certain! Have you ever noticed that they choose the absolute worst time to act up? I sure have. For instance this morning I came down here early to get an early start…
Chuh! I might as well have slept in, because after booting up satisfactorily, the stupid mouse refused to work. I unplugged it, then plugged it back in, banged it on the desk, clicked it numerous times, but nothing happened.
So finally in frustration I went upstairs to get the mouse from my laptop computer. By the time I came back though, I had some 39 entries for Internet Explorer on the go. Hn!
Then you think I could shut them down? No way! I eventually had to switch off the whole computer. Steups! Then by the time it booted back up, there was this message saying it was downloading updates, which slowed up all the stuff I tried to do.
Then to make matters even worse, it cut in and said that the computer needed restarting so that the updates could take effect. Ah Lord eh! By then I was ready to throw it through the window. (smile) But the Spirit of the Lord prevailed, and I simply used a few deleted expletives.
But that’s why I like my typewriter; just turn it on, slip in a piece of paper and go! No laughter from the penny section now my children. Anyway, if that’s the biggest inconvenience that the Lord has planned for me today, then I’ll definitely declare a big, ‘Thank You Lord!’
But I’m not holding my breath, because that might just be the smallest one for the day. However, I know that whatever He causes to come against me, He will help me to work through, once I come to Him with a sincere plea.
As Bruh Paul told the Romans and reminds us today: ‘And we know that all things work together for good to those that LOVE God, to them who are called according to His purpose. (Rom.8:28)
So if we LOVE God, and He’s called us to be one of His elect, then we don’t have to worry about anything, because God will work it out for our good, one way or the other.
Now Friends, today we’re starting a series of messages on the promises of our great and wonderful God. I got this idea from Uncle Charles (Charles Stanley) some weeks ago, when he preached a sermon on it, but I obviously never got around to doing it until the Lord said today’s the day.
And we’ll begin with one of the first promises God made to man, our Bit. ‘I do set my bow (rainbow) in the cloud, and it shall be for a token (sign) of a covenant between me and the earth.’
Yeh Friends, after the Lord caused the flood to wipe out mankind and his evil from His beautiful earth, He covenanted with Noah and his sons, Ham, Shem and Japheth, to set a rainbow in the heavens.
‘And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow (rainbow) shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.
And the bow (rainbow) shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.’ (Gen.9:14-16)
So mih people, whenever we see a beautiful rainbow arcing through the sky, let’s remember that God is contemplating His ‘everlasting’ promise to never destroy the earth with water again.
Please note my brethren, that it wasn’t just a promise for some short period of time, but an everlasting one; one that would last forever and ever. That’s how much our God valued His promise to Noah and His earthly creations. And please notice too, that our magnificent God didn’t use some little wishy-washy sign to remind Him, but a glorious arc of beautiful colours set in his blue heaven.
That reminds me of my trip to T&T last year. On the plane from Trinidad to Tobago I espied a beautiful rainbow outside my window, one that followed me all the way to landing, which I took as a good sign; a sign of God’s goodness and faithfulness.
And believe me Friends, the vacation in the land of my birth, or as the old people would say, where my navel string was buried (smile) from which I had been exiled for some thirty years, turned out to be most excellent. So I simply don’t believe the adage that you can never go home again.
In fact I’m hoping to go back again some time in the not too distant future, and eventually spend my last days there. ‘Glory Hallelujah!’
And on that glorious note we’ll close today Friends, because we don’t have enough time and space for another promise. But don’t worry, tomorrow, our God in favour, we’ll look at one or more great promises of our ever-faithful, ever-LOVING, ever-merciful and ever-forgiving God.
We simply cannot ask for a better Deity than the Lord God Jehovah, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Please remember that my people, and live accordingly. Much LOVE!
…to mankind…promises are made to be broken…but to God…promises are made…NEVER TO BE BROKEN…so that His children can always feel safe and secure…in whatever situation…what a wonderful God we serve and worship…
27 Sep 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: almighty god, bless His name, bright and bountiful day, cars, cell phones, christianity, computers, contentment, dead idols, disobedience, dumb, dumber, evil, evil cohorts, Facebook, fallacy, fantasy, fellowship, Friday chant, fun, furthering God's glorious kingdom, generous help, godly insight, gold, gospel truth, hail the power of jesus name, happiness, heathen, holy spirit, houses, idols, idols of the world, Jehovah, joy, living God, LOVE, Lucifer, money, pandering to idols, passion, political power, power of Jesus' name, Praise the Lord, relaxation, religion, renewed in body soul and mind, respite from work, rest, see the light, sham, silver, social media, social status, spirituality, television, Thank God it's Friday, thanks to God, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the Most High, the work of men's hands, things of the world, time for God, too busy, true perspective, true wisdom, tweeting, twitter, unwise actions, wisdom of the foolish, worship idols, Yahweh
Psalm 135:15. The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.
All hail the power of Jesus’ Name this Friday morning Friends!
And all believers joyfully declared: ‘Praise the Lord! Bless His Holy Name! Thank Him for allowing us to see another bright and bountiful day! Thank Him that it’s Friday and we’ll soon get a much needed respite from our labour! Yes, thank God, it’s Friday!’
And that’s the way it ought to be my people, because it’s Almighty God who enables us to do all that we do. He is most definitely the ONE who enables us to get jobs, wealth, prosperity, peace joy and LOVE in this ungodly world, in these very troubled times!
As you can see mih breddren, Friday has come around again, and as always, we need to chant our Friday Chant, so that we can choose and keep the right options presented or available to us, and thus gain true perspective. (smile)
So let’s chant in full and grateful voice nuh: ‘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.’
Great chanting mih people! Now let’s turn to our new Bit. ‘The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.’
And yuh know what Friends, all that stuff that’s gone before fits our Bit to a ‘T’. And it wasn’t my brilliance either, but the leading of the Holy Spirit. It’s only after I decided on the Bit that I realized how pertinent it was to the weekend.
And you ask why? Because it’s usually on the weekend, when we have some spare time, time to ourselves, that we most often turn to the idols of the world, the man made stuff which takes up so much of our time, and leaves little, if any for God.
We can always make, or find time for the television, the 500 channels with so much nonsense on most of them, that only about a dozen, if so many, are truly worth watching. Don’t talk about the computers, the cell phones, the tweeting on Twitter, the posting of our private and personal business on Facebook and all the other social media.
Unwise actions that are only getting us in trouble and causing our young people to get even dumber than they already are, while the purveyors of all the nonsense clap their hands in evil contentment and laugh all the way to the bank.
And they’re numerous other worldly things that we pay unnecessary attention to, which then become idols; like cars, houses, money, political power and social status, hoping that they will bring us joy and happiness on this earth.
But Friends, I’m hear to tell you that it’s all a fallacy, a fantasy, a great sham, engineered and perpetrated by Lucifer and his evil cohorts, to turn us away from the ONE and ONLY TRUE GOD; He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
If you ask a lot of supposed believers, when last they went to church or read their Bibles, too many would be at a loss to give you an answer. And when you ask them why, the answer is usually they’re too busy.
Too busy doing what eh? Too busy pandering to the idols and things of the world! But my brethren that’s the wisdom of the foolish! For if you’re too busy for God now, in your time of need, He will also be too busy for you.
Our God LOVES us unconditionally and with great passion, but just like we don’t, or rather are not supposed to put up with disobedience from our children, He doesn’t put up with disobedience from us.
And listen to the psalmist as he continues to tell us about the greatness of the Lord and the vanity, uselessness of idols. ‘The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not; They have ears, but they hear not; neither is there any breath in their mouths. They that make them are like unto them: so is every one that trusteth in them.’ (Ps.135:15-18)
And that’s the gospel truth my people! The idols of the world are pure foolishness! Some of them are indeed useful in our earthly lives, but to place as much attention on them as we do, to kill ourselves in acquiring them is certainly not wise.
How can you treat stuff made by man, as God eh? Especially when they have eyes but can’t see; ears that can’t hear, mouths without breath and can’t talk, and the men who made them have to carry them around.
Oh Friends, I’ll leave us to ponder those questions that we’ve raised today, sincerely hoping that many of us who worship these idols will see the light, will get some godly insight into our unwise actions.
May the Lord open our eyes and grant us true wisdom this Friday morning, for we badly need it. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Much LOVE!
…where’s the sense in worshipping dead idols eh…when there’s a vibrant and living Deity…known by names such as… Yahweh, Jehovah, The Most High, Almighty God…who’s created all…and still controls everything…
P.S. No complaining about the length of the Bit today please, because it’s pretty short. (smile) Much LOVE!
17 Apr 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a voice crying in the wilderness, adulterous generation, Christ, Christian walk, computers, condemnation, confidence, enticing, eternal rest, fanciful stuff, following Jesus, god, hypocritical Jewish leaders, Jesus, Jonah, judgement, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, lustful world, negative response, obstinate, Queen of Sheba, signs, spanner in the works, stubborn, trust God, unscrupulous men, virtual reality, web of deceit, wisdom, Wisdom of Solomon
1 Corinthians 1:22. For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek wisdom.
And then it was Wednesday! Oh Friends, we’re already halfway through the week. The days sure are moving quickly. And before I can catch myself, the enemy decides to throw a spanner in the works. My computer freezes while I’m trying to get going. Chuh! Didn’t anybody tell Lucifer it was too early to get on my case? Obviously not! But thankfully though, through strength and patience granted by Christ, after some fiddling and rebooting, it finally decided to do what it was meant to do. Now doesn’t that remind us of our own behaviour, re following Jesus? It sure does! We’re often just as stubborn and obstinate, refusing to do what we know we’re supposed to do in our Christian walk. That’s why I’m not as enamoured of computers as so many people are. They do have some useful purposes, but in general they’re too finicky, and choose not to respond, or respond negatively, at the most inopportune times. But unfortunately our world has placed its already feeble and watered-down lifeblood in the computer’s treacherous and nebulous hands. We’re even computing in the clouds now. (smile) Ah Friends, we’re placing way too much trust and control of our lives in the hands of machines and virtual reality networks often controlled by unscrupulous men, for my liking. It’s creating too many problems that we’re not in a position to solve. One simple glitch in some distant part of the world can cause untold loss to millions of people. But who am I to dispute the wishes of the people eh, or rather the powers that be, who are enticing us with fanciful stuff that we are lapping up like dogs lapping water? I’m just like a lone voice crying in the wilderness with no one to hear, or nobody’s listening to, because they’re too busy doing exactly what I’m crying out against. But that’s life in this modern world. I just have to grin and suck it up. And I’m doing just that. (smile) That’s enough of my crying for today though. Now here’s our Bit. ‘For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek wisdom.’ I decided to use the same Bit as yesterday to dig a little deeper into Bruh Paul’s contention about the Jews requiring signs. There are stories of signs throughout the entire Bible, but for our purposes, we’ll concentrate on some controversy in Jesus’ time, re signs. Possibly the most famous of Jesus’ disputes on signs occurred after He’d preached on good and corrupt fruit. ‘Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days in the whale’s (great fish’s) belly, so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgement with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, a greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the south (Sheba) (1 Kin.10:1-13) shall rise up in the judgement with this generation, and shall condemn it; for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, a greater than Solomon is here.’ (Matt.12:38-42) Ah mih breddren, don’t you just like how Jesus could lambaste and put down the hypocritical Jewish leaders? But they were either so dumb, steeped in their man made traditions, or too egotistical and taken up with their own authority and power struggle to appreciate Jesus’ words. Here He’s making them sound even worse than the people of Nineveh, who repented after Jonah spoke to them. And He was greater than Jonah. The same goes for the Queen of Sheba, who journeyed far to come and listen to the pearls of Cousin Sol’s wisdom. And Jesus was also greater than Sol, but yet they refused to listen to Him. How sad it is when we’re too busy to pay serious attention to matters that concern us, or simply think we know better than those sharing the information. And that’s exactly what’s still happening today my brethren, two thousand years after Jesus preached those words. We’re still too busy, too caught up in the web of deceit and evil of the lustful world to sit down and try to fathom Jesus’ words. And then there are also the naysayers, who simply cast Jesus aside and put their faith in science and man. Ah mih people, when will we ever learn that Jesus is the answer to all our problems eh? I certainly hope we do so before it’s too late. And we’ll end with some pertinent info from the scholars. ‘The word adulterous means unfaithful to God. It was a metaphor frequently used in the Old Testament for spiritual “adultery.” The prophet Jonah: Jesus uses Jonah’s burial in the fish for three days and three nights as an illustration of the three days and three nights that Christ would spend in the grave Himself. The reference to whale’s belly in verse 40 of the Authorized Version is unfortunate. The Greek word “ketos” means “a great sea creature,” not necessarily a whale. The Old Testament references are to a “great fish” (Jon.1:17). Notice that the Lord placed this entire account on the same level of historical reality as that with which He Himself was dealing.’ Oh Friends, unfortunately not much has changed in man’s thinking and doing since Jesus’ time, at least in regards to the eternal rest of our souls. We’re still being enticed by the flim flam things of man and the evil prince of darkness. But please don’t give, up, for remember where there’s life, there’s always hope. So let’s just keep on doing what our Lord and Saviour asks of us: to LOVE our God, LIVE our Faith, and SPREAD His Holy Word. That’s precious little to ask, when compared to His sacrifice. So let’s get to it nuh. Viva la LOVE Revolution! Much, much LOVE my people!…it is better to trust in the Lord…than to put confidence in man… (Ps.118:6)