12 Mar 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: anxiety, are not two sparrows sold for a farthing, assurance, by the path he leadeth, Civilla D Martin, confidence, Daylight Savings Time, done the dastardly deed, exemplifies God's wisdom and faithfulness, fear ye not therefore, feel discouraged, God watches over us like a hawk, His eye is on the sparrow, I draw the closer to him, I know He watches me, I lose my doubts and fears, I sing because I'm free, I sing because I'm happy, I will instruct thee, Jesus is my portion, lack of sleep, let not your heart be troubled, my constant friend is he, negative repercussions., predestinated, sacrificial praise, set the clock one hour ahead, teach thee in the way thou shall go, the fowls of the air, the King of kings is on our side, the very hairs of your head are numbered, the Word of god, they sow not neither do they reap, true saints of God, when hope within me dies, when songs give place to sighing, whenever clouds arise, whenever I am tempted, why should my heart be lonely, ye are of more value than many sparrows
Matthew 10:31. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.
Well friends, we’ve gone and done the dastardly deed again! (smile) What’s that you ask? We’ve set the clock one hour ahead in the Daylight Saving Time Routine. Why we keep on doing it, I just don’t know, because very few people seem to like it, and its negative repercussions outweigh whatever unknown advantages it might have. And a lot of places, even right here in Canada, don’t do it, and they get along just fine! So why we have to go through the drudgery, lack of sleep, anxiety and lateness caused by this unnecessary procedure is a bafflement to me.
But what do I know about these weighty affairs of state, and how much pull do I have eh? Not much, so I’ve just got to accept it and say, the Lord be praised, and get in line. (smile) But I do know someone that knows a whole lot about everything and won’t ever let me down or lead me astray; that’s Jesus. So, because of His wisdom and faithfulness, I can put my sincere trust and faith in Him. And the song we’re going to sing this morning as we gather in His sanctuary to give Him praise and worship, with thanksgiving, exemplifies His wisdom, faithfulness and LOVE to the nth degree. It’s appropriately titled ‘His Eye is on the Sparrow.’
One commentary says this of the song: ‘Throughout life, we may feel discouraged and down. But always remember that He is by our side and watches over us through it all. Just like the lyrics of ‘His Eye Is On The Sparrow’ remember that He is with us in all that we do. And when you hear how this popular hymn came to be written, your heart will be touched. Do not be troubled because we have the King of kings on our side!’ And is that ever the indisputable truth!
But before we sing it, let’s hear how it came to be. The marvellous lyrics were born out of a springtime visit in 1905 by lyricist Civilla D. Martin and her husband to a couple, Mr. and Mrs. Doolittle, whom they had befriended in Elmira, New York. Apparently the couple were ‘true saints of God,’ for Mrs. Doolittle had been bedridden for nearly twenty years, while her husband was an incurable cripple, who got around in his business matters by means of a wheelchair. Now, despite their serious afflictions, they appeared to live happy lives, giving inspiration and comfort to all who knew them.
On this particular day while the Martins were visiting, Mr. Martin commented on their bright hopefulness and asked their secret. Mrs. Doolittle simply replied, ‘His eye is on the Sparrow, and I know He watches me.’ The hymn was born out of that simple but oh so moving experience, with the music later added by composer Charles H. Gabriel. So now, having learned how the song came to be, let’s raise our voices in sweet sacrificial praise, in a soulful, heartfelt, mid-tempo version. And we’ll begin with the chorus, because that seems to stir us up more than when we begin with the first verse. (smile)
Singing: ‘(Refrain: I sing because I’m happy, I sing because I’m free; For his eye is on the sparrow, And I know he watches me.) Why should I feel discouraged, Why should the shadows come, Why should my heart be lonely, And long for heav’n and home; When Jesus is my portion? My constant Friend is he; His eye is on the sparrow, And I know he watches me; His eye is on the sparrow, And I know he watches me. (Refrain)
“Let not your heart be troubled,” His tender word I hear, And resting on his goodness, I lose my doubts and fears; Though by the path he leadeth, But one step I may see; His eye is on the sparrow, And I know he watches me. His eye is on the sparrow, And I know he watches me. [Refrain]
Whenever I am tempted, Whenever clouds arise; When songs give place to sighing, When hope within me dies, I draw the closer to him, From care he sets me free; His eye is on the sparrow, And I know he watches me; His eye is on the sparrow, And I know he watches me. [Refrain: So I sing because I’m happy, I sing because I’m free; For his eye is on the sparrow, And I know he watches me.) Yes, His eye is on the sparrow, And I know He watches me.’
Wow! Isn’t that magnificent my people! As well as encouraging, reassuring and comforting! It’s ever so good to know that our heavenly Father watches over us like a hawk, or like an eagle does her young ones. And it’s not me who says that nuh, but Jesus, who should know what He’s talking about. Listen to how He wove it into His passage on worry in the Sermon on the Mount. He said to the crowd: ‘Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?’ (Matt. 10:26) We would certainly think so.
Then later on, when Jesus warned the disciples about not fearing those who could kill the body, but not the soul, but to fear God who could kill both. (Matt. 10:28) He specified: ‘Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing (a copper coin)? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.’ (Matt. 10:29-31) Now friends, if that doesn’t encourage us greatly, I don’t know what will. (smile)
But let’s try this other scripture from before Jesus’ time here on earth. This from Psalm 32, Bruh David’s words on the blessedness of confession and forgiveness, which lead to divine instruction. ‘I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye. Be not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.’ (Ps. 32:8-9)
Yes friends, that’s just another of the many instances in the Word of God where we find His great faithfulness towards us, His adopted children, the only creation made in His image, whom He predestinated to become as righteous and perfect as His first-born Son, Jesus Christ!! That ought to give us great reassurance and confidence as we journey out into the evil world this week to do His earthly work. Much LOVE!
…why worry…when the Creator of the universe is looking out for us…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
01 May 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a partnership with Jesus, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, avarice of the owner class, blasphemies, come unto me and I will give you rest, confidence, defileth not a man, doesn't happen overnight, false witness, freed from the burden of, grow Christ's kingdom, hard won rights, in Christ we have our very being, in Christ we live and move, it's a gradual process, Labour Day, lazy-day Saturday, LOVE, love our neighbours as ourselves, needing you to accept me, no sign of relief in sight, not that which goeth into a man defileth a man, out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, Praise the Lord, punishing your future for the mistakes of your past, read study and put the word into practice, sets the tone for all your others, that which comes out of the mouth, the ability to feel beautiful, the betterment of society, the brutal fangs, the building block, this defiles a man, to eat with unwashen hands, toting our baggage from the past, your relationship with yourself
Matthew 15:11. Not that which goeth into a man defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.
Glory be friends! It’s lazy-day Saturday, and also the first day of the month of May! That means our world has already gone through four months of this year of 2021 ensnared in the brutal fangs of the Corona virus, racial, political and religious strife and numerous natural disasters. And we’re still locked down with no sign of relief in sight. There are vaccines aplenty, but the pandemic is still roaring ahead strong. And don’t talk about all the different kinds of strife, they seem to be proliferating daily because we keep fanning the flames around them instead of squelching them with LOVE and togetherness.
Consequently, there will be no Labour Day marches and celebrations of the hard-won benefits that the Labour Movement have won down through the Industrial Age. Instead, our sad state of affairs have given the owners of the means of production a chance to retract and restrict some of those hard-won rights. It has always been, and will always be, an uphill fight against the greed and avarice of the owner class of society. They are not really interested in the betterment of the society as a whole, just in that of their upper crust section.
And, unfortunately, we cannot fix the wrongs of the world in the pages of our Bit, but we can certainly offer encouragement and ideas that will help us survive, and eventually overcome. And all God’s children said a loud, proud and grateful: ‘Praise the Lord!’ So let’s keep that promise by checking out the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this past week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow.
Now, this first quote is the building block, the foundation of all the others. ‘Your relationship with yourself sets the tone for every other relationship you have.’ And that’s the indisputable truth friends! You can’t have a good relationship with anyone else until you have a good one with yourself. Why do you think Jesus told us that the second greatest commandment was to LOVE our neighbours as ourselves eh? (Matt. 22:39) Because He knew that only if we had a good feeling about, or relationship with ourselves, that we could have the same with someone else.
That means whatever is inside of us, is what we have to share and nothing else. No wonder He also said: ‘Not that which goeth into a man defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man…. But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart, and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.’ (Matt. 15: 11, 18-20)
So that’s why this next quote is also very important in the life of each individual. ‘There is no sense in punishing your future for the mistakes of your past. Forgive yourself, grow from it, and then let it go.’ That’s more indisputable truth my brethren. It’s a waste of life and precious time to keep toting our baggage from the past constantly along with us. Like the quote says, it’s just ‘punishing your future for the mistakes of your past.’ And that’s certainly not wise.
We need to leave our baggage behind, but certainly learn from it, so that we can have good energy and increased wisdom to move into the future and do better than we did before. And the best way to do that is to accept Christ’s invitation to lay it down at his feet, at the foot of His cross. He sincerely invites us: ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest… For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light’ (Matt. 11:28, 30)
You can’t do any better than giving your problems to Jesus’ friends, because He’s the problem solver, the miracle worker, the I can do anything you want me to individual! And when we do that my people, this next quote comes shining through in our lives. ‘When I accept myself just as I am, I am freed from the burden of needing you to accept me.’
Oh, praise be my precious fellow believers! When we give ourselves and our burdens to Christ, we don’t need to seek acceptance from anyone else, because, Christ, the Lord and Saviour is the ONLY one we truly need acceptance from! Once He accepts us, we are free and clear of the worldly burden that the enemy tries to put on us, saying we must do this or do that to be acceptable in the sight of the world! Give thanks to His holy name friends for freeing us from all the foolishness, deceit and burdens the enemy tries to lay on us through the evil world system!
That brings us to our last quote, another beauty: ‘Confidence is the ability to feel beautiful, without needing someone to tell you.’ Isn’t that wonderful? It surely is! But then you ask, where do we find that confidence that leads to the ability to feel beautiful? From Jesus Christ of course my friends…From Jesus Christ! You can’t get than from no one, or nowhere else but the One who sacrificed His sinless life so selflessly on the cross of Calvary on our behalf! That’s what He gives us when we accept Him as Lord and Saviour and live the righteous way He desires of us.
But unfortunately, that doesn’t happen overnight, it is a gradual process. We can’t live one way for several years and then expect to change to another completely different form in the blink of an eye. And it does take effort on our part, because it’s a partnership we enter into with Christ. There are some things we need to do and some that only Christ will do. And please believe me when I say that He won’t do the things we need to do, so our progress or regress depends quite a lot on us.
And those things include reading, studying and meditating on His Word, the Bible, which is His Guidebook for our earthly lives. Then we not only need to know what that guidebook contains, but even more importantly, we need to practice what it says. Now that’s the major difference between a confident and non-confident Christian. The confident ones go out and do stuff, make things happen in Christ’s name, while the non-confident ones just talk and don’t do anything to grow Christ’s kingdom.
Yes friends, please remember that’s what we are supposed to be all about on this God-given earth nuh, spreading Christ’s Word and growing His kingdom. So, let’s get out there today and do just that nuh, with the wonderful confidence that He so generously instills in us when we truly believe in Him! Much LOVE!
…in Christ we live and move…in Christ we have our very being… (Acts 17:28)
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
14 Jul 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a crown of glory, a state of confusion, actions speak louder than words, amazing salvation, beautiful light of Jesus, brawtha, cast not away your confidence, Christians, confidence, endurance, epitome, fervent charity, friend of Jesus, gifts, God be glorified through Jesus Christ, God's unmerited favour, godly folks, godly grandmotherly woman, gossipy, great recompense of reward, helpful, hurry, icing on the cake, in all things, in god's eyes, lagniappe, LOVE, love covers a multitude of sins, loving kindness, Mavis harvey, need of patience, pandemic, perseverance, petty cliques, physical weather, proportion of faith, rango tango, resentful, reward, share His love with the world, sincere hearts, stand tough, strife, the beloved of God, the grace of God, the measure of faith, the only solution: Jesus Christ, tough people, tough times, Tuesday Mantra, tumultuous times, understanding, unified, what people say about me, worry
Hebrews 10:35. Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward.
And then it was a cloudy and uncertain Tuesday morning, just like the cloudy and uncertain Monday we had yesterday! But it’s oh so refreshing and wonderful when you don’t have to depend on the physical weather to get your sunshine; when you have the bright, amazing and beautiful light of Jesus and His everlasting salvation shining in your souls! Mama Mia! Yeh friends, you can tell that the ole fella is definitely glad to be alive to see another glorious day, be it physically rain or shine! It’s the only way to live this life! It also means that once we’re still here the Lord has big plans for us! Glory be!
One person who’s no longer here with us though enjoying our earthly friendship is our ever-faithful church sister Mavis Harvey. Mavis died last week, thankfully with her family by her side, after being in poor health for a long time. But you would never have known it from her staunch and positive behaviour. She was the epitome of the sweet, quiet, godly, grandmotherly woman. Didn’t say much, but whatever she said had value. She was one of the few people who religiously attended our Wednesday morning service.
And talk about stubborn! In the days before the church was shut down, Mavis, who lived a few blocks away and had some ambulatory problems, most always refused a ride to or from church unless the weather was real bad. She had her walker and that gave her exercise. She will always be remembered for her LOVING-kindness; baking stuff for the church, as well as knitting blankets and other baby stuff. It was good that our pastor, Father Jeff, was able to spend some time with her before she went home to glory. Our sincere condolences and prayers go out to her family. May your wonderful soul rest in peace Mavis, my sister.
Ah friends, for more saints like Mavis in our church families, instead of the rango- tango, gossipy, resentful, petty cliques and divisions that seem to currently proliferate. Sometimes it makes one belief that the world is more inside the church body than outside, the way we behave so much like it. And especially in these tumultuous times when unity is so badly needed, it’s sad and sorrowful that we have such a divided and fractured church.
But I firmly believe that these tumultuous times are instances that our great and mysterious God has allowed to come upon us partly for the purpose of bringing us together and showing the world that His people, Christ’s church are actually whom they claim to be; kind, LOVING, understanding, unified, helpful and godly folks, by actually doing Christ-like work amongst the poor, sick and needy. Yes, I know it’s a rather convoluted sentence, but full of truth, what I like to call a Bruh Paulian sentence. (smile)
That’s why precious people of God, I’m here to encourage us, to exhort us to take a true and sincere stand in these uncertain and trying times to be salt of the earth and lights of the world like Jesus desires of us, so that we can rebuild, renovate, fix, make right, whatever is currently wrong with His church. Remember, actions speak much louder than words, and if ever there was a time that plenty action was needed from the church it’s right now! So let’s not faint and give up during this time of pandemic and strife nuh.
Instead, let’s write this scripture indelibly in our hearts and action it with much vim and vigour. ‘Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience (endurance, perseverance), that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.’ (Heb.10:35-36) Yes friends, remember giving up is not in Christ’s vocabulary. And whosoever will endure to the end will receive a crown of glory. And even then, it’s not so much about the eventual reward nuh, but the fact that we LOVE and admire Jesus and all that He’s sacrificed for us and we just want to do His will as best we can. The eventual reward is just lagniappe, brawtha, icing on the cake. It’s not what should really move us.
And I think this scripture from Peter is very useful for us in these non-understandable times. ‘But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. And above all things have fervent charity (LOVE) among yourselves: for charity (LOVE) shall cover a multitude of sins. Use hospitality one to another without grudging (grumbling). As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles (utterances) of God; if any man minister. Let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.’ (1 Pet. 4:7-11)
Oh friends, please remember that whatever we have, be it earthly wealth and power, or spiritual gifts they still belong to God, and we are only stewards down here on earth to ensure that they are well used and distributed. And please allow these words of Bruh Paul to sink deeply into our consciousness and truly live by them. ‘For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office (function): So we being many, are one body in Christ, and every one (individually) members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith.’ (Rom. 12:3-6)
Ah mih people, the long and short of the story is that through the grace, the generosity, the undeserved favour of God, we have all been given certain gifts in different areas, and we must use them diligently, without grumbling or greed, to effectively promote Christ’s church. That’s it in a nutshell! (smile) And there’s truly no better time for us to come together and do our thing (stir up the gift of God) than right now when the world is in such a state of confusion and we are the ONLY ones with the ONLY solution: Jesus Christ!
Now let’s go home declaring (yeahhh!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting the world know who and whose we are. In strong voice, with sincere hearts: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
And do we ever need to share Jesus’ LOVE and friendship with this sad and sorrowful world! Much LOVE!
…in tough times…tough people…namely Christians…stand tough…
28 Jun 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a great high priest, blind, boldness, Christ's work, come boldly to the throne of grace, confidence, faith doesn't make it easy, faith makes it possible, fall to the temptations, find grace, God never minces words, God spake, God's undying love, guilt and sin, hallowed it, have stopped my mouth, hold fast our profession, hold on tightly to our faith, hope for the lost, in time of need, infirmities, Jehovah is the sinner's friend, Jesus, lame, let us therefore come boldly, lost, obtain mercy, poor bankrupt souls, praise and worship, remember the Sabbath day, rest, scripture of assurance, set the prisoner free, six days shalt thou labour, sufferation, surrender our entire beings, sympathize with the feeling, Ten Commandments, the cross at Calvary, the hell of sin within, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, the Lord will take you in, the sevent day is the sabbath, the Son of God, throuth fasith in Jesus, to help, unto the throne of grace, was without sin, we can enter God's presence
Hebrews 4:16. Let us therefore come boldly (confidently) unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
‘And God spake all these words saying… Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.’ (Ex. 20:8-11)
As always friends, our God never minces words, He comes straight out and tells it like it is. And by the way, for those of you who don’t know, that is one of the original Ten Commandments! (smile) Thus we have been told that we have to keep the sabbath day, which we celebrate on a Sunday, holy and in remembrance of God, with rest and praise and worship.
Unfortunately, though churches have recently been given the green light to open for a specific percentage of people, with numerous safe conditions, most of them are not quite ready to do so. That means we still have to worship and sing and praise through technological methods. But it has never stopped us before, and neither is it going to stop us now. (smile) So without further ado, let’s get started with today’s song of praise nuh, a hymn appropriately titled for these rough and dangerous times: ‘Come Boldly to the Throne of Grace!’
Yes friends, that’s how our wonderful Lord expects us to come to Him – boldly, with confidence and faith in His undying LOVE, grace and mercy, but also humbly. Boldly, doesn’t mean arrogant and bold-faced. (smile) And now, with soulful voices, sincere hearts, and perfect harmony, let’s offer up our sacrifice of praise, boldly to the throne of God.
‘Come boldly to the throne of grace, Ye wretched sinners come, and lay your load at Jesus feet, And plead what He has done. How can I come? Some soul may say, I’m lame and cannot walk; My guilt and sin have stopped my mouth, I sigh, but dare not talk. Come boldly to the throne of grace, Though lost, and blind, and lame; Jehovah is the sinner’s friend, And ever was the same. He makes the dead to hear His voice; He makes the blind to see, The sinner lost, He came to save, And set the prisoner free.
Come boldly to the throne of grace, For Jesus fills the throne; and those He kills, He makes alive; He hears the sigh or groan; Poor bankrupt souls, Who feel and know, the hell of sin within; Come Boldly to the throne of grace; The Lord will take you in. Come Boldly to the throne of grace; The Lord will take you in…the Lord will take you in…Yes the Lord will take you in…take you in’
And He certainly will! The Lord will NEVER refuse anyone, despite their terrible sins, who comes to Him with a sincere heart of repentance. Because that’s exactly whom He came to earth to save; the lost, the sick, the weary, the tired and downtrodden! Jesus said so Himself: ‘For the Son man is come to save that which was lost.’ (Matt.18:11) If He says so, then it must be so! (smile)
But here are the passages of scripture that our song was most likely based on, those to do with the sympathetic Christ, as recorded by the author of Hebrews. ‘Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into (through) the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession (conviction, faith). For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched (sympathize) with the feeling of our infirmities (our weaknesses); but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.’ (Heb. 4:14-15)
And that’s where Jesus wins them my brethren; He is able to sympathize, to empathize with our predicaments, our ‘sufferation’ because He also suffered them as a man here on earth and knows exactly how they hurt and can be detrimental to our very beings! The only difference is that because He was also God, He did not fall to the temptations like we do. Glory be mih people! And that’s why the author of Hebrews could continue in strong proclamation: ‘Let us therefore come boldly (confidently) unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.’ (Heb. 4:16)
Mama Yo! What a glorious proclamation and scripture of assurance! How can we not turn to Jesus eh, since NO ONE else offers such a wonderful opportunity? We’d be truly foolish not to accept such a magnanimous gesture! And, furthermore, if this isn’t a time of rather acute need my friends, I don’t know what it will take to call it such nuh. With sickness and protests simultaneously enveloping our entire world, that certainly sounds like a time of need to me.
And here’s why it’s oh so necessary to turn to Jesus and to hold on tightly to our faith. The scholars explain: ‘4:16. Only Christianity provides such boldness for sinful men before a holy God, and that boldness is possible only because of our High Priest (Jesus Christ). The figure of a throne suggests a place of authority and provision. It is the place to obtain God’s grace when it is especially needed.’
Yes mih people, NO other faith allows it’s members such reassurance! They have to go and beg and plead and try to browbeat their supposed deity. But as Christians, true believers in and followers of Christ, we are gifted with the provision to come boldly to the throne of God and ask for His amazing grace, His powerful favour, all because of Christ’s work on the cross at Calvary!
That’s why Bruh Paul could confidently write to the Ephesians: ‘In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.’ (Eph. 3:12) In other words, in Christ and through faith in Him we may enter God’s presence with boldness and confidence. It can’t get any better than that friends! That’s why I encourage us today to put our whole trust, surrender our entire beings, hearts, souls and bodies to Christ Jesus, for only in Him is there any hope for the lost, the sick and the weary! Much LOVE!
…faith doesn’t make it easy…faith makes it possible…
17 May 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a repentant people, battles are already won, blaspheming God, called by my name, confidence, corporate worship, Covid-19, Da Flame, don't give up, enthusiasm, faithful, feeling like and outcast, get down on my knees, God answers prayer, God is the answer, he sees every tear drop, he sees every weakness, He's never late, hear thou from the heavens, heartache, his thoughts and ways are higher than ours, humble themselves, I will forgive their sin, if my people, in the hard times, learn to wait on Him, made in this place, merciful ever-loving God, mine ears attentive, mine eyes shall be open, physical distancing, physical greetings, pray, problems overflow, repentance, restrictions, seek my face, strengthened me, technological interaction, their prayer and supplication, time of need, turn from their wicked ways, unto the prayer, with strength in my soul
2 Chronicles 7:15. Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent (attentive) unto the prayer that is made in this place.
Chuh! One more Sunday without physical corporate worship friends. But don’t worry, we’re drawing close to the day when the Lord’s sanctuaries will again be opened, and we’ll greet each other with hugs and kisses and handshakes and other physical greetings, as we sing and dance and enjoy physical fellowship together under one roof. (smile) As children of the Most High God Jehovah we must resonate with hope. And the restrictions are being slowly loosened, so it’s not like I’m totally talking out of my hat.
Anyway, we’re still restricted from gathering physically to worship, but not through all the handy technological means we have today. So let’s get on with it nuh, let’s sing and dance and listen to the Word and gain confidence and enthusiasm and strength from it through our technological interaction, in our own personal spaces, adhering to the restrictions of physical distancing, but enjoying the social and spiritual closeness that we so badly need. And in these pandemic times, times of much anxiety and uncertainty, when our world is caught between a rock and a hard place with this Coronavirus that’s overwhelming us, we need a song of praise and worship that encourages and strengthens us and gives us hope for the future.
And today we have one such song, most appropriately titled ‘God answers Prayer,’ sung by a young Jamaican lady who calls herself Da Flame. It’s a medium tempo soulful song, that details our many problems, but gives us hope, because we have someone who looks after us in our time of need. So in soulful harmony, let’s raise our sacrifice of praise and pleading to high heaven, drawing every emotion from deep down in our hurting and anxious hearts. ‘If you’re ever feeling down and like you have no where to go. If you’re feeling like an outcast as your problems overflow, just remember there is someone, and all it takes is for you to know, is that God is the answer, and God answers prayer.
(Chorus: He sees every weakness, every trial, every mountain and sea, and He sees every tear drop, and He wipes them for me. I get down on my knees, and I say Saviour help me please. Because one thing is for certain, is my God answers prayer) You may be broken and feel battered, but your strength will surely come, in the midst of all your heartache. Your battles are already won. Just remember in the hard times, don’t give up, don’t say you’re done, because God is the answer, and God answers prayer.
(He sees every weakness, every trial, every mountain and sea, and He sees every tear drop, and He wipes them for me. I get down on my knees, and I say Saviour help me please. Because one thing is for certain, is my God answers prayer. Oh He sees every weakness, every trial, every mountain and sea, and He sees every tear drop, and He wipes them for us. So let’s get down on our knees, and say, Saviour, help us please. Because one thing is for certain…our God answers prayer.’
Oh yes friends, that’s an indisputable fact: our great and faithful, merciful and gracious, forgiving and ever-LOVING God answers each and every prayer we offer up to Him with a sincere heart. He might not give us what we want when we want it, but He does answer our requests, with either an outright no, because it’s not in His will, a wait, not yet, or a definite yes.
And the one good thing that this Covid-19 disease is doing is turning more people than ever to prayer, because we realize that man made answers are not being quickly forthcoming, and when the chips are finally down, when we have no where else to turn, many of us turn to God, as our last resort, our final hope.
And nothing’s wrong with that, although He should be our first avenue of help. The problem though is when we finally turn to Him and He doesn’t respond as quickly as we like, we get annoyed and go back to blaspheming and bad talking Him. But that’s another sermon for another day. (smile) Today we’re talking about Him answering our prayers. And that He certainly does, though not necessarily in our time. Remember He says that His thoughts and ways and timing are higher than ours, so one of the things we have to do is learn to wait on Him. He might take a while, but I can assure you, He’s NEVER late.
And if you don’t believe me that He answers prayer, let’s look at a couple of scriptures that reassure us of it. Remember when Cousin Sol dedicated the majestic temple in Israel? Well he asked the Lord for one basic thing; if His children faltered in their obedience, but then returned and prayed at the temple, His house: ‘Then hear thou from the heavens their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.’ (2 Chr. 6:35)
And what was the Lord’s reply? ‘If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent (attentive) unto the prayer that is made in this place.’ (2 Chr. 7:14-15) And we see it happen all the way through the Good Book, where the Israelites turned away from God, then turned back, and He heard their prayer and forgave them. The same thing goes for us today my brethren.
As the scholars tell us: ‘7:14-15. While this promise was originally given to Solomon regarding the people of Israel, it is certainly applicable to all who will call on the Lord in repentance and faith. These verses stand as a high expression of God’s LOVING readiness to hear the prayers of a repentant people (cf. 6:37-39; James 4:8-10).’
Yes friends, God answers prayer, but our hearts, our motives must be right. Now are our hearts and motives right, are we being truly repentant in these pandemic times, or are we just mouthing platitudes, and as soon as He heals our land, we’ll go back to our old, wicked ways? I don’t know, but He will certainly check it out first.
And Bruh David verified that the Lord answers prayer, when he declared: ‘In the day when I cried thou answeredst (answered) me, and strengthenedst (strengthened) me with strength in my soul.’ (Ps. 138:3) And Jesus faithfully promised the disciples: ‘And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.’ (Matt.21:22) Meanwhile, John says it thus: ‘And whatever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it.’ (John 14:13-14)
Ah mih people, our God does answer prayer, but there are indeed some requirements for us to meet. Much LOVE!
…answered prayer…calls for…sincere hearts…and true belief in Jesus…
09 Mar 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: antidote, attitudes, aura of love, Caleb, choose life, confidence, dangerous, difficult, disinherit, enthusiasm, fear ye not, floweth with milk and honey, furthering Christ's kingdom, giants, grasshoppers, hard experience, holy spirit, humble servants, humility, invincible, jobs, left God out, let us go up at once, lies, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, Monday Morning Blues, pestilence, possess it, prisoner of hope, rearing to go, rebel not ye against the Lortd, slavery in egypt, souls, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, stilled the people before Moses, supernatural power, sure conquerors, surrender, taunts, the Lord is with us, unfair, wandered 40 years, we are well able to overcome it, wiles, within God's will
Numbers 13:30. And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it (take possession of it); for we are well able to overcome it.
Come Monday morning we’ll all be up bright and early, dressed and rearing to get out into the evil world and do good work for Jesus! Wow! Now that doesn’t have to be a pipe dream, but can become reality if we are really interested in furthering Christ’s kingdom. But unfortunately, though I am a prisoner of hope, I also am practical and know from hard experience that many of us supposed believers will never reach that high state of being ready and rearing to go on a Monday morning.
But I am believing that the numbers will lessen as we move forward. Consequently, I can safely say that we will always need our Monday Morning Battle Hymn to act as an antidote for our Monday morning blues. So let’s get on with it nuh. In strong and sincere voice, with humility and confidence that our prayer will be answered because it is within God’s will.
As one 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!’
And like magic, (smile) through the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit, the heavenly worker bee, our souls and spirits and attitudes begin changing right away! A sudden burst of energy shoots through our bodies, while our souls and spirits react with a hitherto unknown enthusiasm and confidence and we’re finally ready to go out and fight who or whatever the world pits against us, all in the name and strength of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! We no longer see ourselves as grasshoppers in the eyes of the world’s evil giants, unable to defeat them, like the ten spies who went out with Joshua and Caleb to espy the Promised Land. (Num. 13:33)
But we’re now like Caleb, who ‘stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it (take possession of it); for we are well able to overcome it.’ And unfortunately, like the ten fearful and negative spies, such is the state of too many Christians in this day and age. The Caleb’s and Joshua’s are rather few and far between. Thus the people of Israel, listening to the gutless spies, rebelled against the Lord, calling for a captain to lead them back into slavery in Egypt.(Num. 14:1-4) What gutless wonders my brethren! That’s why they wandered 40 years in the wilderness till all those who had come out of Egypt had died, except Joshua and Caleb.
And while the Israelites were looking to go back to Egypt, the Good Book tells us: ‘Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces (prostrated themselves) before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel. And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent (tore) their clothes. (a gesture of deep distress). And they spake unto all the company children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land.
If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it to us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us (food for our consumption): their defense (protection) is departed from them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not.’ (Num. 14:5-9)
What a moving speech by Joshua and Caleb. And the reaction from the people? The Good Book relates it thus: ‘But all the congregation bade stone them with stones. And the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of before all the children of Israel. And the Lord said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke (despise) me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the (miraculous) signs which I have showed among them? I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they.’ (Num.14:10-12)
What a sad state of affairs friends, and Moses had to intercede for them with the Lord. (Num. 14:13-19) But we can’t be too judgemental of the Israelites, because we’re behaving just like them today. And why do I say so? Because of two explanations by the scholars. The first: ‘13:27-29. The report of the spies was factual: the land was fruitful, the people were strong, the cities were walled and very great, and the giants dwelled in the land. But they had left God out. Only Joshua and Caleb had faith (Heb.3:19).’ And the second: ‘14:11. The purpose of the signs performed in Egypt was to encourage the people to trust in God and follow Him (Ex. 4:5)
Yes friends, just like the Israelites we have left God completely out of our current situation, and neither do we have the trust and faith in Him that all His many miracles wrought on our behalf ought to have raised to great levels. Thus so many of us are walking around in this evil and ungodly wilderness called the world, lost and forlorn, but still rebellious, even in the face of God’s truth.
But friends, as the old people would say; however you make up your bed, that is how you have to lie on it. And there are only two ways to make up our beds; faithful and strong with Jesus, or weak and evil with Beelzebub! The choice is yours. But I implore us to choose the former because it’s the wisest and best choice, the one with all the good and lasting benefits! Much LOVE!
…this day…I put before you life and death…choose life…and live forever…
24 Feb 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Abide in me, ask, ask in faith, ask of God, ask what you will, aura of love, bounden duty, coming or going, confidence, double minded, evil, exaltation, fear, frailities, humble servants, humility, invincible, it shall be given you, it shall be opened, jobs, keep his commandments, knock, lack wisdom, lies, LOVE, meet the enemy in battle, men ought always to pray, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, mywords abide in you, not afraid, not faint, not lose heart, not wavering, pleasing in his sight, protect his saints, renewed vitality, right living, right motives, seek, sincerity, spiritual armour, successful praying, sure conquerors, troubled times, ungodly world, weaknesses, who gives liberally, wicked taunts, wiles, without reproach, words to live by, worship, ye shall find
Matthew 7:7. Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
Awright, here we go again, Monday, the first day of the work week. At least I think so, cause I don’t know whether I’m coming or going. (smile) And since we’re a bit on the late side, we hope everybody got to work safe and sound, regardless of flood, fire and storm. (smile)
Oh I know the Good Lord will protect His saints wherever they are, so I’m not worried, but for the fearful and frustrated few – or should I say many, we still going to offer up our Monday Morning Battle Hymn for help to get us through these troubled and disturbing times. As our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ informed us: ‘Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.’ So let’s ask and knock and see what opens.
Altogether now in confidence and humility: remember if we want to get good and serious answers, those two attitudes are quite important when we come to the Lord in prayer. ‘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 my people, yuh feel the blessings? I know you do, because I feel them too! And do I ever LOVE that about out magnificent and magnanimous God; before we’re even finished praying, He begins to work His wonders on and in us! Give Him some thanks and praise my fellow believers, because He’s so wonderful and faithful and so deserving of our praise and worship and exaltation!
As Bruh David so rightfully proclaimed in Psalm 34: ‘O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.’ (Ps. 34:3) And why would he do that eh? Because as he claims: ‘I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.’ (Ps. 34:4) Yes friends, Bruh David was always seeking the Lord! That’s why, despite his many shortcomings the Lord could still call him His friend and a man after His own heart!
And so it should be with us; we ought to keep seeking the Lord despite the troubles we encounter and the mistakes we make. The Lord knows our fears, frailties and weaknesses better than us because He made us with them, so He’s not surprised at what we do, but desires us to come to Him in ALL circumstances. That’s the crux of the matter. As Jesus said we must ask if we want to receive.
And as Bruh David further said: ‘They looked unto him, and were lightened (radiant): and their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them’ (Ps. 34:5-7) Yuh see people, when we look to the Lord, call on him in humility, confidence and sincerity, we are never ashamed, and our faces are radiant, expressing the joy and LOVE that’s found in Jesus.
And the asking and knocking and seeking is very prevalent in the New Testament, so let’s look at a few of those scriptures nuh. Hear Jesus after He cursed the fig tree for not having fruit when it ought to: ‘And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive it.’ (Matt. 21:22) Then, later He spoke the parable of the widow who kept harassing the wicked judge for justice, indicating that ‘men ought always to pray and not faint (lose heart).’ (Luke 18:1)
Oh precious people of Christ, it is ever so important that we don’t ever stop praying, regardless of whatever happens! If you’re a believer, then it’s your bounden duty to pray, because sometimes the Lord is just trying to test our faith by not immediately answering our prayer requests. And as James wisely tells us: ‘If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not (without reproach); and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering (not doubting).
For he that wavereth (doubts) is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.’ (James 1:5-8) And those aren’t my words friends, but those of Jesus’ brother James who eventually came to believe that His big brother was who He really claimed to be; the Messiah.
And John adds his two cents worth: ‘And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.’ (1 John 3:22) Now therein lies the rub my people: we need to live a godly life, if we want to have a successful prayer life. As the scholars tell us: ‘Right living is an important part of successful praying.’ And to add to that, our motives and the things we ask for must be in the Lord’s will, because the Lord looks at the state of our hearts before considering our prayers.
And what better scripture to close with than this one from Jesus: ‘If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto (for) you.’ (John 15:7) So there you have it my brethren, ask and seek and knock with right motives, with Jesus’ words abiding in our hearts, and we’ll have what we need. Much LOVE!
…Jesus’ words…words to live by…
03 Feb 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: 8 hour day, a bad rap, a buckler, according to his riches in glory, Adam blamed Eve, aura of love, cast the blame elsewhere, confidence, courage, enthusiasm, Eve blamed the serpent, faith, faithfulness, fight a good fight, further your glorious kingdom, gentleness, God ahll supply all your need, God girdeth me with strength, God's largesse, God's way is perfect, gospel truth, grouchy people, hids' feet, high places, how good you are to me, human trait, in Jesus' name, jobs, lies, LOVE, maketh my way perfect, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, precious people, renewed vitality, rewarding, serve a useful purpose, shield, shiled of salvation, sleepy-eyed, spiritual armour, teacheth my hands to war, the word of the Lord is tried, through Christ Jesus, unfair, wicked taunts, wiles, work out all things for our good, working for Jesus
Psalm 18:32. It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.
Monday, oh Monday, how good you are to me! I truly do LOVE you! You cause me to get up early in the morning…while it’s still dark…and I haven’t had enough sleep…to fumble around and struggle to get dressed and go out in the freezing cold, to a freezing car, and then inch my way on a blocked up highway, full of sleepy-eyed and grouchy people just like me.
And after it takes me an hour to make a normal fifteen minute drive, I get to the concrete jungle and search for another fifteen minutes to get a parking spot, that costs an arm and a leg, I finally get to my desk and plop myself down in the chair more tired than ever, but now expected to put in a full and productive 8 hour day, doing stuff that doesn’t turn my crank! And this is only the first of five consecutive days of this nonsense! (smile)
Ah friends, we give Mondays such a bad rap eh, when the problem lies with us; we don’t prepare ourselves properly for what we know is going to happen on most Mondays of our working life! But it’s a long time human trait; cast the blame everywhere else than where it rightfully belongs, on us. Check out our forefathers, Adam and Eve after they had eaten the forbidden fruit. Eve blamed the serpent, and Adam blamed Eve. (Gen.3:12-13)
So now that we’ve eased our conscience by blaming Monday for our woes, (smile) let’s get serious and go to the ONLY One who can really help us at this stage of the game nuh, our heavenly Father. And to make it easy, we’ve developed this ‘antidotal’ prayer we call our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, that automatically fills in all the blank spaces, but does not get us an answer unless we go about it the right way; that’s humbly, confidently and sincerely to the throne of grace.
So as one humble, confident and sincere voice now, let’s lift up our petition to heaven: ‘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!’
And yes, that incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit is now moving in all of us who prayed that prayer sincerely and humbly! That’s how quickly our God can move when it’s necessary! He knows that we have to go out and do Jesus’ work at a certain time, with not much to spare, so right away He acts on our request, raising our spirits, strengthening our belly and backbone, thus giving us the courage and confidence we need to go out and fight a good fight in His Son’s name.
No wonder Bruh David could proclaim with such certainty in Psalm 18 – Thanksgiving for deliverance, when the Lord delivered him from the hands of all his enemies. ‘As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the Lord is tried (proven): he is a buckler (shield) to all those that trust in him. For who is God save (except) the Lord? Or who is a rock save our God? It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.’ (Ps.18:30-32)
And that is the indisputable, gospel truth friends! Our God, the most potent Being in the universe, is the One who looks after all our needs on this troubled earth, just like Bruh Paul declared (yeah!) it to the Philippians. ‘But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.’ (Phil.4:19)
And when Bruh David wrote that psalm, his needs were mainly those of a warrior, thus he declared (steups!): ‘He maketh my feet like hinds’ (deer) feet, and setteth me upon my high places. He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken (a bow of bronze can be broken) by mine arms. Thou hast also given me the shield of salvation: and thy right hand hath holden (held) me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great.’ (Ps.18:33-35)
Ah precious people of Christ, wherever we are, at whatever stage of life we’ve reached, the Lord God Almighty, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will supply whatever we need to be victorious! It’s imperative that we believe it and act like we believe it too, through the auspices of our wonderful faith! Otherwise our faith is useless. Remember faith involves believing for something like we’ve already seen it and received it, when, in reality it hasn’t yet happened, but we know for sure that through God’s largesse and faithfulness it will happen in His time!
So this Monday morning, although things might be a tad on the rough side, let’s believe that the situation will change because our wonderful and ever-faithful God has promised that it will! He will work all things out for our good! (Rom.8:28) Now that should be more than enough to raise our desire to get out into our distressed world and do our best for Jesus! Much LOVE!
…working for Jesus can be difficult…but it’s ALWAYS rewarding…
02 Feb 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a man lay down his life, aroma, can ever pluck me, character traits, come unto me, Comforter, confidence, dance before the Lord, depths of peace, for his friends, from his hand, give you rest, greater love, hath no man than this, heavy laden, heights of love, in the love of Christ I stand, in the power of Christ, joy, life death resurrection of Christ, my burden is light, my light, my song, my strength, my yoke is eays, no power of hell, no scheme of man, passes all human understanding, peace, praise, righteousness., sacrificial praise, sing, sinless life, soulful harmony, stands in victory, sweet-smelling savour, the great invitation, the Lord's sanctuary, the Prince of Peace, this gift of love, time for church, timeless theme, uplifting word, worship with our fellow believers, ye are my friends, ye do whatsoever I command you
John 15:13. Greater LOVE hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Sunday morning…time for church! Don’t let the inclement weather we have going in the G.T.A, or for that matter, good weather wherever you are, keep you away from darkening the doors of the Lord’s sanctuary this morning. (smile) Yes, good weather ofttimes can deceive us into not going to worship with our fellow believers, makes us feel we’d be better off doing something supposedly more enjoyable.
But pray tell me people, what can be more enjoyable than meeting with a number of people who share our beliefs, who encourage us, then join with us to sing, praise, and dance before the Lord our God, to hear His magnificent and uplifting Word, and consequently leave His sanctuary refreshed, renewed, and full of the joy, peace and confidence that only He can give! Nothing friends…Nothing! So let’s get the show on the road nuh, beginning as usual with the singing and praising and dancing.
And today’s song of praise is a fairly new Christian song that’s become quite popular over the years. It’s aptly titled: ‘In Christ Alone.’ The website Godtube tells us that the song was written in 2002, by Christian songwriters Stuart Townend and Keith Getty. According to Townend “The song came about in an unusual way. Keith and I met in the autumn of 2000 at a worship event, and we resolved to try to work together on some songs.
A few weeks later Keith sent some melody ideas, and the first one on the CD was a magnificent, haunting melody that I LOVED, and immediately started writing down some lyrical ideas on what I felt should be a timeless theme commensurate with the melody. So the theme of the life, death, resurrection of Christ, and the implications of that for us just began to tumble out, and when we got together later on to fine tune it, we felt we had encapsulated what we wanted to say.”
And did they ever encapsulate a whole lot of stuff about Jesus! So let’s sing it now like we really mean it nuh, letting heaven know that we’re truly grateful for our wonderful Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Let our voices convey the sacrificial praise our hearts feel, in sweet, soulful harmony.
‘In Christ alone my hope is found; He is my light, my strength, my song; This cornerstone, this solid ground, Firm through the fiercest drought and storm. What heights of LOVE, what depths of peace, When fears are stilled, when strivings cease! My comforter, my all in all— Here in the LOVE of Christ I stand. In Christ alone, Who took on flesh, Fullness of God in helpless babe! This gift of LOVE and righteousness, Scorned by the ones He came to save. Till on that cross as Jesus died, The wrath of God was satisfied; For ev’ry sin on Him was laid—
Here in the death of Christ I live. There in the ground His body lay, Light of the world by darkness slain; Then bursting forth in glorious day, Up from the grave He rose again! And as He stands in victory, Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me; For I am His and He is mine— Bought with the precious blood of Christ. No guilt in life, no fear in death— This is the pow’r of Christ in me; From life’s first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny. No pow’r of hell, no scheme of man, Can ever pluck me from His hand; Till He returns or calls me home— Here in the pow’r of Christ I’ll stand…Till He returns or calls me home— Here in the pow’r of Christ I’ll stand… Here in the pow’r of Christ I’ll stand….’
And that’s for certain sure friends! In the amazing and awesome power of Christ we must ALL stand, because there has never been, and will never be another as magnificent and magnanimous as Him! As I keep saying He is indeed our EVERYTHING! Our hope, our light, our strength, our song, the cornerstone on which our faith is built, the ONE who walks beside and guides us through the worst times of drought and storm…
And don’t talk about LOVE…His is the greatest. As He said so simply and sincerely: ‘Greater LOVE hath no man that this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.’ (John 15:13-14) And then He went out and laid down His sinless life, sacrificed it ever so selflessly for us, with the expectancy and anticipation that we would be His friends and do what He commanded us. Yes my fellow believers (steups!), Jesus didn’t just talk the talk, He walked the walk…on our behalf. He died that we could be alive and be reconciled to the Father; took our sins and gave us His righteousness…and so much more.
That’s why when Bruh Paul talks to us about the ways of the believer (steups!), we ought to listen and obey. ‘Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; and walk in LOVE, as Christ also hath LOVED us, and hath given himself for us as an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor (aroma).’ (Eph. 5:1-2) That’s exactly what He did my people, and as followers of His, He expects us to be obedient to His commands, do our best to adopt His character traits, because you know the Father’s ultimate plan is to have us all become like His Only Son…well as close as our human flesh and nature will allow. (smile)
And we don’t even have time and space to touch on all the topics the songwriters touch on in our song. So we’ll just look at these last two; peace and comfort. Oh my my, Jesus is the Master of Peace: the peace that passes all human understanding! Here Him to the disciples nuh: ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’ (John 14:27)
And Bruh Paul describes Him thus: ‘For he (himself) is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition (division) between us;’ (Eph.2:14) No doubt about that! He mashed up the old order and destroyed the enmity between Jews and Gentiles and made them to exist in One body, His church.
And when yuh talking about comfort friends, there’s no better place to find it than in Jesus! Here these extraordinary words from His Great Invitation. ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest…For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matt.11:28, 30) No one else can make that promise and keep it! That’s why I keep saying that Jesus is the ANSWER, for He has everything that you will ever need, both for this life and the hereafter! Please be wise and lean confidently, faithfully and reassuringly on Him! He won’t let you down! Much LOVE!
…The Prince of Peace…of Comfort…and of LOVE…Jesus Christ…
26 Jan 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a sacrificial lamb, all creation praise the Lord, awesome wonder, bled and deied, confidence, exalt, face the evil world, fear the Lord, fellowship, for God so loved the world, free will, grace, have everlasting life, he gave his only begotten son, his son not sparing, How great thou art, joy, like a heap, LOVE, mercy, my burden gladly bearing, my saviour God to thee, once to die, peace, put that in yuh pipe, rebellious, recharged batteries, reverence, sacrificial praise, should not perish, shouts of acclamation, smoke it, song of praise, spiritual strength, stand in awe of him, stubborn, that whosoever believeth in him, the breath of his mouth, the judgement, the waters of the sea, then sings my soul, to take away my sin, when Christ shall come, who doesn't hear will feel
John 3:16. For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.
And Sunday, the great day of wonderful fellowship has arrived! Not that fellowship can’t happen at other times, but Sunday has been set aside by the Lord as the day He wants as many believers as possible to gather together in His sanctuary to sing and praise and exalt His holy name, to hear His amazing Word, then leave there with batteries thoroughly recharged, filled with LOVE, joy, grace, peace, mercy, spiritual strength and confidence to face the evil world in which we dwell!
So let’s make a special effort to gather in the Lord’s house today nuh my people, so that we can have joyful communion with our great God and with fellow believers! Steups! Like I can’t spell believers either! Ah Lord eh! And in a most appropriate manner, let’s open the proceedings with a favourite song of praise that tells of the true greatness of our magnificent God, one aptly titled ‘How Great Thou Art!’ Oh, some people leave out the second verse, but I think that’s wrong, because like the first it describes God’s great work in nature. So we won’t leave out anything that glorifies our God! (smile)
In full voice, like one harmonious whole, let’s raise our voices to heaven in sacrificial praise, sincerely believing the words we sing: ‘O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder Consider all The works Thy Hand hath made, I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder, Thy pow’r throughout The universe displayed, (Chorus: Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee, How great Thou art! How great Thou art! Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee, How great Thou art! How great Thou art!)
When through the woods And forest glades I wander I hear the birds Sing sweetly in the trees, When I look down From lofty mountain grandeur And hear the brook And feel the gentle breeze, (Chorus:) And when I think, that God His Son not sparing, Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in. That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing He bled and died, to take away my sin. (Chorus: )
When Christ shall come, With shouts of acclamation, And take me home, What joy shall fill my heart! Then I shall bow In humble adoration And there proclaim, “My God, how great Thou art!” (Chorus: Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee, How great Thou art! How great Thou art! Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee, How great Thou art! How great Thou art!’
Oh friends what a joyful and grateful song! The Lord was most pleased with our praise. How could He not eh, when the words were oh so true and the sentiments sincere? For throughout the scriptures there are acknowledgments of all that we have sung above. And it’s said nowhere better than in Psalm 148 – All creation to praise the Lord.
Please declare with me: ‘Praise ye the Lord (shout Hallelujah): Praise ye the Lord (shout Hallelujah) from the heavens: praise him in the heights. Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts. Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him all ye stars of light. Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens. Let them praise the name of the Lord: for he commanded, and they were created. He hath also stablished (established) them for ever and ever: he hath made a decree which shall not pass.’ Ps. 148:1-6)
Yes friends, it’s all been the Lord’s doing! As another psalmist gave voice: ‘By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. He gathereth the waters of the sea together as a heap: he layeth up the depth (deep) in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. For he spake, and it was done; he commanded and it stood fast.’ (Ps.33. 6-9) What an omnipotent God we serve and worship my people!
But yuh know what, the second half of our song is even greater than the first half, because it shows God’s true greatness through His mercy, grace, compassion and LOVE for us sinful children of men. Only a truly great, and in total control Deity could have espoused a scheme so magnanimous as sending His only Son to pay for our sins as a sacrificial lamb on the cross of Calvary. The old song says that ‘Only a fool breaks his own heart,’ but our God was no fool nuh when He broke His own to save us from eternal separation from Him. That just showed the immense LOVE He had for His creation, though that creation had turned against Him.
Here these poignant words of Bruh Paul nuh: ‘But God commendeth (demonstrated) his LOVE towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom. 8) And Jesus Himself made it very clear with these awesome words: ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.’ It couldn’t get any better than that nuh friends! The Creator giving up His Son, His sinless wonderful Son to save a bunch of reprobates like us…
Chuh! I don’t see how we could not sincerely LOVE, worship, reverence, exalt and be obedient to Him nuh, after all that He’s done and has faithfully promised to do for us. But since we have free will, freedom to choose whom or what we serve, we getting stubborn and rebellious. Remember though friends, our God might be a compassionate Deity, but He’s also a God of justice and righteousness, and one day we all will have to answer to him for our earthly behaviour. Hebrews warns us quite clearly: ‘And it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement.’ (Heb.9:27) Please put that in yuh pipe and smoke it. Much LOVE!
…he who doesn’t hear…will certainly feel…
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