20 Nov 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a believer in Christ, an expected end, assurance, aura of love, Babylon, boost spirits, breath of life, bring to fruition, calamity, concrete jungle, confidence, conquerors, curtains for us, earthly life, enthusiasm, eternal life, eternal separation, everlasting life, excuses, families, foolish, friends, fruitful vine, future, glorious kingdom, God's plans, hard worker, he who has ears to hear, hope, human being, humble servants, hunker down, I think toward you, in His own image, invincible, Israelites, Jerusalem, Jesus Christ, joy, joyless enormous price, laziness, lies, lose nothing, LOVE, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, negative effects, not of evil, peace, privilege, procrastination, raise it up again, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, reverse, salvation, sins, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, the last day, the will of God, the worst thing, thoughts, to die for us, trust, truth, undisciplined, ungodly world, weary souls, week of work, welcomed in heaven, wiles, will not cast out, wisdom, worthwhile intentions
Jeremiah 29:11. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith, the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you an expected end (a future and a hope).
Ah friends, the days are rolling by quickly and who knows how much time we have left to successfully perform any tasks, or bring to fruition whatever plans God has in store for us. That means we’ve got to get with the program right away; no excuses, laziness or procrastination, but be a diligent, hard worker and fruitful vine bearer for Christ. So that at the end of our days, He’ll greet us with that wonderful, big smile, a tantalizing bear hug, and the overwhelming invitation: ‘Welcome! Welcome home, thou good and faithful servant!’
Wow mih breddren, there can’t be any better welcoming words than those anywhere in the universe! But for our lives to play out that way, means we have to begin by being fired up this Monday morning; no whining and complaining; just seriously, sincerely and conscientiously going about the Lord’s business. Oh, I know some Monday mornings it’s difficult to roll out of the warm and comfortable bed to face our cruel and evil world, especially as the chills of winter descend upon us, in the northern climes.
But that’s why we have our Monday Morning Battle Hymn; to boost our spirits, reverse all the negative effects of an undisciplined weekend (smile) and get us ready to face whatever comes against us with the energy, assurance, joy and peace that come from being a believer in, and a follower of our wonderful Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. So let’s blast it out as passionately as we can nuh.
‘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!’
Awright mih people, yuh see how our Battle Hymn changes our entire perspective, how our passion rises as we trill it to the high heavens? So let’s keep that adrenaline flowing nuh, as we get out onto the highways and byways and make our way to the concrete jungles and hunker down to labour for another day. But all the while keeping the unbreakable promise of our Bit solidly grounded in our hearts, bodies, minds and souls. ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith, the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you an expected end (a future and a hope).’
Yeh friends, even when God punished the Israelites by having Babylon take them captive, He promised to bring them back to Jerusalem after seventy years. Hopefully, they would have learned their lesson by then. And it’s the same way my faithful brethren that the Lord has good plans for us, plans to give us hope, joy and peace. Why would He create us in His own image, give us His breath of life and then, when we screw up, send His Son Jesus to die for us, if He didn’t have good and worthwhile intentions towards us eh?
Listen to Jesus tell it like it is: ‘All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise (certainly not) cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.’ (John 6:37-40)
Oh my people, does that sound like a God who has bad intentions towards us? Certainly not! He wants only the best for us, that’s why He sent Jesus to die for our abominable sins; to give us a hope and a future; otherwise it would have been curtains for us, certain calamity through eternal separation from Him. And believe me, eternal separation from Almighty God is the WORST thing that can ever happen to a human being!
So friends, please let’s take this earthly life seriously, let’s take Jesus seriously, because if we don’t, we’ll end up paying an enormous price for the dubious privilege of being foolish. We don’t have to be miserable and joyless, because Jesus came to give us joy, but we do have to be sensible, thoughtful and wise if we want to be welcomed in heaven. Much LOVE!
…he who has ears to hear…let him hear…else he will certainly feel…
13 Nov 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a joyful feeling, a roof over our heads, antidote, ask, aura of love, branches, Christians, confidence, enthusiasm, eternal life, evil, faith, feeling up to scratch, forgiveness, full of glory, glorious kingdom, grace, gusto, holy spirit, humble servants, in my name, invincible, Jesus Christ, joy, lies, LOVE, mercy, merry-go-round, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, negative emotion, pitifully, rejoice, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, ride the rails, righteousness., salvation, salvation of your souls, spiritual armour, spunk, steadfast faith, stirs up, strength, the blues, the end of your faith, the gravy train, the joy of the Lord, trust, ungodly world, vine, wisdom, workweek, ye shall receive, you have asked nothing, your joy may be full
John 16:24. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
Welcome once again friends, to the merry go round that’s our workweek. We’ve got get back on that train, the gravy train, (smile) and ride the rails again, because it’s Monday; the day that stirs up so much negative emotion in us. So if we want to eat, and have a roof over our heads, then it’s simple, we have to work, and it makes much more sense working with a joyful feeling than with a miserable, unhappy one.
But just in case this morning you are not feeling up to scratch, we have the perfect antidote for whatever is ailing you. We call it our Monday Morning Battle Hymn! Yeh friends, it drives away the blues and gets our spirits up and running in fine form. So let’s just sit back, relax and sing it out with as much spunk and gusto as we can muster nuh.
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!’
Ah mih people, I hear you sigh, like a breath of fresh air wafted over you and raised you up from your misery. (smile) I told you, our Battle Hymn will fix whatever is wrong. Consequently, it’s time for us to get out on the road and run our race with excellence, diligence, humility, forgiveness, grace, mercy and LOVE as our Lord and Saviour, our fearless Leader, Jesus Christ expects of us.
Remember, it’s all about Him friends, about His LOVE Revolution, not about us. We’re just His servants, His friends, His brethren, His saints, His warriors, here to do His awesome bidding. And according to our Bit, He wants us to do His bidding with joy. ‘Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.’
Oh my people, contrary to a popular opinion, Jesus did not come to earth to be sad and miserable and make sad, miserable followers out of us. We all know His famous pronouncement: ‘The thief cometh not, but (except) to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.’ (John 10:10)
What part of that says that Christians ought to walk around as though they were suffering so much and on their last breath eh? None of it! So why do so many of us supposed Christians go around like a bunch of ‘poe (poor) me ones’, like we’re struggling so much, with no real joy in our souls. Chuh man! That’s not why Jesus died. Hear what He told the disciples when talking about the vine and the branches. ‘These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.’ (John 15:11)
Yeh mih breddren, Jesus had joy in His soul, and wherever he went others felt and experienced it. And John in his second set of writings, his epistles, penned the same message to the believers. ‘And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.’ (1 John 1:4)
And the scholars tell us: ‘1:4. The major purpose of 1 John is stated in 5:13 (tell of salvation and eternal life), but another purpose is stated here: for the recipients, and no doubt John as well, to enjoy and share in the deep sense of satisfaction and purpose that knowing Christ and walking with Him brings.’
Why then are so many of us believers joyless eh? If we are to be truly His followers, we must cultivate a reasonable amount of joy in our souls too. Remember what they say in Nehemiah: ‘for the joy of the Lord is your strength.’ (Neh. 8:10b) That means, if you don’t have any joy, then you won’t have any strength either.
And Peter, talking about Christ declares: ‘Whom having not seen, ye LOVE; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.’ (1 Pet. 1:8-9)
Oh fellow Christians, if we are saved and believe the promise of salvation and eternal life, then that’s the biggest reason to be joyful! And we’ll end with this prayer request of Jesus to His heavenly Father on behalf of the disciples, and consequently to us. ‘And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.’ (John 17:13)
What more can we ask eh friends? Jesus even prayed to the Father that we might be filled with His joy. So let’s get ourselves together and stop behaving so pitifully, like we’re orphans or something nuh, with no one to LOVE us. We have Jesus…and that’s more than enough! Much LOVE!
…Christians…should be the most joy-filled and joyful people…on God’s good earth…
12 Nov 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a servant, a song of praise, above every name, adoration, All hail, angels, assurance, believers, blessings, chosen race, confession, confidence, crown him Lord of all, death of the cross, desire, enthused, enthusiastic fashion, equal with God, every knee shall bow, every tongue confess, exalt, excited, extol, gall, gathering of faithful believers, given him a name, glorify, God hath highly exalted him, God incarnate, harmonious living, humbled himself, humbly, in the form of God, in the mood, injustice, Israel's might, Jesse's rod, Jesus christ is Lord, LOVE, lyre, man divine, martyrs, morning stars, no reputation, obedient, only human, penitently, Philippians, praise, prostrate fall, ransomed, reverence, robbery, royal diadem, sacrifice of praise, saves by grace, seraphs, stimulating openings, strength, Sunday, the likeness of men, the Lord's sanctuary, the name of Jesus, the power of Jesus name, this mind be in you, to the glory of God the Father, tongue, tribe, trophies, ultimate purpose, universal song, universal submission, unto death, where two or three are gathered, wormwood, worship
Philippians 2:19. Wherefore God hath also highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name.
Aye friends, I try, but you have to bear with the ole fella, because I’m only human. (smile) I try to have different, interesting and stimulating openings each day, but there are only so many words and phrases, etc. in the language that you can’t always conjure up new ones every day. So sometimes we just have to settle for the same old ones. In other words, I’m trying to say that I don’t know how to begin this Sunday morning’s Bit in an enthusiastic fashion that I haven’t already done. (smile)
But we do know that since it’s Sunday, it means a gathering of faithful believers in the Lord’s sanctuary, or wherever two or three may be gathered, to worship and give Him praise, glorify and exalt His holy name and receive His blessings, confidence, strength and assurance to face the upcoming week. And, as always, we like to begin with a song of praise, to get us excited, enthused and in the mood to worship our heavenly Father.
And if this late 18th century one by Edward Perronet, ‘All hail the power of Jesus’ Name,’ doesn’t move you, then I don’t know what will. So let’s raise our voices in the sacrifice of praise, as we belt out, in harmony and heart-felt sincerity. ‘All hail the power of Jesus’ Name! Let angels prostrate fall; Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown Him Lord of all. Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown Him Lord of all.
Let highborn seraphs tune the lyre, and as they tune it, fall Before His face Who tunes their choir, and crown Him Lord of all. Before His face Who tunes their choir, and crown Him Lord of all. Crown Him, ye morning stars of light, who fixed this floating ball; Now hail the strength of Israel’s might, and crown Him Lord of all. Now hail the strength of Israel’s might, and crown Him Lord of all. Crown Him, ye martyrs of your God, who from His altar call;
Extol the Stem of Jesse’s Rod, and crown Him Lord of all. Extol the Stem of Jesse’s Rod, and crown Him Lord of all. Ye seed of Israel’s chosen race, ye ransomed from the fall, Hail Him Who saves you by His grace, and crown Him Lord of all. Hail Him Who saves you by His grace, and crown Him Lord of all. Hail Him, ye heirs of David’s line, whom David Lord did call, The God incarnate, Man divine, and crown Him Lord of all, The God incarnate, Man divine, and crown Him Lord of all.
Sinners, whose LOVE can ne’er forget the wormwood and the gall, Go spread your trophies at His feet, and crown Him Lord of all. Go spread your trophies at His feet, and crown Him Lord of all. Let every tribe and every tongue before Him prostrate fall And shout in universal song the crowned Lord of all. And shout in universal song the crowned Lord of all.’
Yeh friends, Jesus has been crowned by the Father as Lord of ALL! And why is that eh? Hear Bruh Paul as he waxes philosophical to the Philippians. (smile) ‘Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus; (constant harmonious living – vs. 2-4). Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God. But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion (appearance) as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.’ (Phil.2:5-8)
Oh my people, what a wonderful, faithful humble and obedient Son, our Jesus was! That’s why our Bit so gloriously proclaims: ‘ Wherefore God hath also highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name.’ What an honour! A well deserved one too! And is not no joke honour that the Father bestowed on Jesus nuh, but the biggest one available.
Listen to how Bruh Paul describes it. ‘That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of (those) things in heaven, and (those) things in earth, and (those) things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ (Phil.2:10-11)
Fellow believers, oh fellow believers, that’s the kind of rewarder our heavenly Father is! You do His will, humbly and obediently, and He will reward you in a just and appropriate manner. For Jesus sacrifice in vs.6-8, the Lord paid Him the highest compliment possible; a name above every other name – that’s JESUS!
And the scholars tell us: ‘There are three purposes for Jesus’ exaltation. (1) That every being in the universe might someday submit to Him. (2) That, in addition to the future universal submission (v.10), there might also be a universal confession that Jesus Christ is Lord. On earth Jesus is recognized by many to be no more than man (v.8), yet in the future ALL will acknowledge Him to be Lord, that is, God. The ultimate purpose for Jesus’ glorification is (3) to the glory of God the Father (v.11) for His honour.’
Yes, Christian saints, that’s the kind of stuff that ought to get us all choked up and filled with true and sincere LOVE, adoration, reverence and praise for our wonderful God! And if you’re not filled with all those things RIGHT NOW, then something is dreadfully and drastically wrong. So please go humbly and penitently to the Lord and ask Him to fix whatever is wrong, so that you can truly delight in Him. Otherwise you are doing yourself an immense injustice. Much LOVE!
…to LOVE…LOVE…LOVE Him…is the believer’s utmost desire for Jesus…
10 Nov 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a foothold, a heritage of the Lord, a sun and shield, Abrahamic Covenant, Abram, another week of work, ashes, boundaries, brutal winds, calves of the stall, children, Christians, cold of the morning, common sense, confidence, covenant, exceeding great reward, exuberance, faith, faithful to deliver, fellowship, Friday chant, fruit of the womb, fun, furthering your glorious kingdom, generous help, get in trouble, glory, go overboard, grace, grow fat, healing, help, in his wings, in Jesus' name, Jesus Christ, judgements, kill we with work, leggo beast, let it all hang out, Lord and Saviour, Malachi, mama yo, no good thing, parameters, party fuh so, precipitation of snow, promises, rain, refreshed, relaxation, renewed, rest, restrictions, reward, riotous goings ons, slave driver, Sodom, soul body mind, statutes, tendencies, TGIF!, Thank the Lord Friday come, the enemy, the law of Moses, the Lord God, the soles of your feet, the Sun of righteousness, the white stuff, the workingman, them that walk uprightly, thy shield, trample down the wicked, weekend anthem, what a time it going to be, will God withhold
Psalm 84:11. For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
Ah friends, thankfully my area did not get the heavy precipitation of snow that some other areas apparently received overnight. There is a smattering of the white stuff here and there in disparate patches on the ground, but nothing to be concerned about.
We did get lots of rain and brutal winds though. You could hear the wind howling outside and rattling stuff. Hopefully it didn’t do any serious damage to any buildings.
The cold of morning, which seems bright and quiet enough, obviously did not stop the workingman from getting out on the street and lustily declaring his weekend anthem. ‘TGIF! Thank the Lord Friday come! The weekend finally here! What a time it going to be, with all sorts of riotous goings ons.
Mama Yo! Is party fuh so! Party and more party! As the song says: ‘Party, party, party!’ Yeh mih breddren, we have to thank the Lord for Fridays and weekends oui, otherwise the slave driver would kill we with work everyday!’
And as always, there is some truth to the workingman’s song. It’s just that he is carried away by his exuberance. (smile) No doubt many of us Christians might feel the same way, but we know that we can’t just let it all hang, out otherwise we’re going to get in trouble with the enemy.
That’s why our Friday Chant differs from that of the ordinary workingman. We set some boundaries and restrictions to our leggo beast tendencies, (smile) so that the evil, always lurking enemy cannot get a foothold in our business. And believe me, it’s very easy to go overboard and allow him in, when you are tired after a difficult week of work.
So let’s declare our anthem with as much gusto and purpose as the workingman declared his nuh. As one now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Ah mih fellow saints of Jesus, that’s how we operate! We try to stay within the lanes of common sense as the values and directives of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ dictates. And when we call upon our great God for help, He helps us to stay within those parameters which are dear to His will.
As our Bit so explicitly and graciously declares: ‘For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.’
Now yesterday we saw what Isaiah and Revelations had to say about the Lord being our sun. Hear now how Malachi puts it as he talks about the coming day of the Lord. ‘But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall (grow fat like stall fed calves)
And ye shall tread (trample) down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts. Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgements.’ (Mal.4:2-4)
Yeh friends, another great promise of our awesome God, but we also need to remember to live by His statutes and His law. It’s not going to happen regardless of our behaviour.
Now hear this most significant promise of the Lord to Abram. ‘After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and they exceeding great reward.’ (Gen.15:10 )
And the scholars have this to say re that verse. ‘15”1. Thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward: This chapter introduces the Abrahamic covenant by which God promises him an heir and eventual descendants who will one day possess the land of Canaan.
The word “shield” is translated in other passages as “believed.” Thus, God is the object of Abram’s faith and thereby the source of his confidence. The promise of reward is especially significant in view of the fact that Abram had just refused a reward from the king of Sodom (Gen.14:21-24). God Himself would be Abram’s true reward (cf. Ps.127:3).’
And we all know that God fulfilled that promise to Abram in magnificent and miraculous fashion! Just ponder it for a moment nuh; having a child around a hundred years old… That’s only possible with our omnipotent God, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
So let’s cling with genuine faith to the many promises He’s made in His word, as we live in His will, for He who has promised is faithful to deliver. Much LOVE!
…Lo…children are a heritage of the Lord…and the fruit of the womb…is his reward… (Ps.127:3).
06 Nov 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a grain of mustard seed, a pain in the butt, assurance, aura of love, blow the trumpet, cacphony, Christians, confidence, contrariness, cursing, enthusiasm, evil, evil cohorts, faith, fearless leader, fight the good fight, folish world, friends, glorious kingdom, glory hallelujah, God is our refuge and strength, God's sustaining power, gospel truth, hissing of teeth, hope, humble servants, impossible to you, in trouble, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, joy, lies, lift up mine eyes unto the hills, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, man to man, mercy, Monday blues, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, move mountains, my help cometh from God, negative feelings, negative noises, planned properly, prescription, present help, prince of darkness, reap what we sow, refuge, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, righteousness., salvation, sleep, slumber, sound the horn, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, strength, taunts, the good news, the LOVE of God, trust, truth, unbelief, wiles, wisdom
Psalm 46:1. God is our refuge and strength, a very present (abundantly available) help in trouble.
‘Blow the trumpet, sound the horn… And welcome another ‘loverly’ Monday morn!’
Now that just raises a cacophony of negative noises in the background; hissing of teeth, cursing, and complaints like ‘Yuh mad or something boy? Where you ever hear them welcoming Monday as a lovely morn eh? Steups! Monday morning is more a pain in the butt than anything else yes!’
And I respond by saying that’s because we have not planned properly for it. We all know that after Sunday is Monday and we have to get up to go to work. So why don’t we prepare ourselves as needed to do so eh? I guess it’s just the innate contrariness in us. (smile)
But anyway, we have the right prescription for any negative feelings you have this morning. It’s called our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. And when we sing it lustily, it just chases away all those Monday morning blues. So let’s put down a real lusty rendition now nuh.
‘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!’
Wow mih breddren! That was certainly lusty! And yuh see how it drove away all your negative feelings. So let’s get a move on, make hay while the sun shines and the irons are hot and get out into the feckless, fickle, foolish world and spread the good news, the wonderful LOVE of our Lord and Saviour, our fearless Leader, Jesus Christ.
Yes friends, we can go out and battle the enemy mano a mano (man to man) because of the assurance we have in scriptures like our Bit. ‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present (abundantly available) help in trouble.’
And if that is not written deep and indelibly in your soul, then you are in trouble. For without the backing of Almighty God we cannot successfully fight the evil prince of this fallen world and his numerous evil cohorts. But with God sincerely entrenched in our hearts, minds, bodies and souls, we can move mountains!
Remember how Jesus put it to His disciples when they could not heal an epileptic man? ‘Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence unto yonder place; and it shall remove (move); and nothing shall be impossible to you.’ (Matt.17:20)
Ah mih people, we certainly have to believe, if we want to achieve. Now let’s check out a couple of other scripture passages which reassure us of God’s help and place of refuge in times of trouble. First up are these verses from Psalm 33 – Praise to the Lord for his creation.
‘Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waiteth for the Lord: he is our help and our shield. Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in thee.’ (Ps.33:18-22) Please note the psalmist’s sentiment in the last verse – for God’s mercy to fall on us in proportion to our hope in Him. As we sow, we shall reap.
And we all know the famous words of Psalm 121 – God’s sustaining power. ‘I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved (slip): he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is thy keeper (protector): the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve (keep) thy soul. The Lord shall preserve (keep) thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.’ (Ps.121:1-8)
And all God’s people gave a loud and grateful shout of ‘Glory Hallelujah! What a mighty God we serve and worship!’ And that’s the gospel truth my fellow believers. So with that assurance bubbling up in us, let’s go out now and fight the good fight with Christ, as we battle diligently in His LOVE Revolution, to retake the world from the evil prince of darkness. Much LOVE!
onward Christian soldiers…to fight…to fight…and to keep on fighting…with Jesus at our helm…
30 Oct 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: acceptance of Jesus, ambassadors of Christ, aura of love, believeth on him that sent me, bombarded, buffeted, burning coals, burning wind, Christ is Lord indeed, Christ's image, Christian brethren, condemnation, confidence, conquerors, delights, derision, disbelief, enthusiasm, everlasting life, every foe is vanquished, faith, favourite day, fight the good fight, fight traffic, forgiveness, friends, glorious kingdom, glory to God, God's goodness, godless, grace, grouchy, he that heareth my word, hope, humble servants, hypocrite, I say unto you, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, judged, judgement, lies, life-changing words, LOVE Revolution, LOVE to hate, mercy, miserable, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, new workweek, passed from death to life, portion to partake of, rain snares, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, representatives of Christ, rest, righteousness., salvation, servants, soldiers of the cross, spiritual armour, stand up for Jesus, steadfast faith, taunts, tempest, the enemy, the evil world, tries the righteous, trust, truth, ungodly world, useful purpose, verily verily, violence, warm cocoon, weary souls, wiles, wisdom
John 5:24. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation (judgement); but is passed from death into life.
So my people, if yesterday was Sunday, then today is our favourite day – Monday! Hn, hn! Well…it should be one of our favourite days, because it’s the beginning of a new workweek, and we don’t know what wonderful delights awaits us out in God’s great universe. (smile) But sadly, it’s become the day that many of us LOVE to hate!
And why is that eh? Possibly because it means we have to leave the nice, warm, soft cocoon of our homes and go out into the evil world and fight the traffic, Lucifer’s henchmen, and ofttimes our Christian brethren too. And if we haven’t gotten sufficient rest, relaxation and rejuvenation over the weekend, then we will be grouchy and miserable on any and every Monday morning.
However, we do have something to alleviate that Monday morning grouchiness, it’s called our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. It’s designed to raise our spirits and get us up and running, so we can go out and fight the good fight for Jesus. So let’s sing it out loud nuh, with lots of faith and hope.
As one strong choir: ‘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!’
Wow friends! What a difference that song makes, when we sing it with a strong sense of purpose! It does indeed lift our spirits, gets the adrenaline flowing and our motors purring like a well-oiled machine. Well then, what are we waiting for eh? Let’s get out there and give the heathen heck, in Jesus name! Show them what it means to be a real Christian, not the hypocrite kind!
And how do we do that? By modelling Jesus – sharing His LOVE, FORGIVENESS, MERCY, GRACE and whatever else it takes to wake up the unbeliever to the fact that Jesus is their ONLY HOPE of true survival in this godless and wicked world.
And how do we know that? From the words of absolute truth that Jesus spoke in our Bit. ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation (judgement); but is passed from death into life.’
Ah friends, what life changing words! Thankfully we have heard Jesus’ word and believed in the One who sent Him; our heavenly Father! That’s why we shall have eternal life and shall not be judged, be condemned to Hades, like the unbelievers will. Glory to God for His goodness to the children of men!
Unfortunately though, a lot of the children of men don’t appreciate God’s goodness, therefore they continue to wallow in their wickedness and misery. And remember what Bruh David says about the state of the wicked in Psalm 11 – In the Lord put I my trust.
‘The Lord trieth (tests) the righteous: but the wicked and him that LOVETH violence his soul hateth. Upon the wicked he shall rain snares (burning coals), fire and brimstone, and a horrible tempest (a burning wind): this shall be the portion of their cup (their portion to partake of). For the righteous Lord LOVETH righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright (the upright beholds his countenance).’ (Ps.11:5-7)
Yes my brethren, that’s what the Lord has in store for the wicked unbelievers. Let’s hope we are not being counted amongst that lot, and instead are working hard to bring that kind to wise acceptance of Jesus, for that’s a major part of our earthly duty. Please remember friends, that we are Jesus’ hands and feet here on earth, His ambassadors, the ones others look to for wise direction in matters of spiritual life and death.
So let’s get on with our tasks today like excellent, upstanding representatives of Christ nuh, not the wishy-washy, doh-care attitude that so many of us present to the world. That only hurts Christ’s image, brings derision and disbelief to His LOVE Revolution and truly makes us the hypocrites so many think we are. Much LOVE!
…stand up, stand up for Jesus…ye soldiers of the cross…till every foe is vanquished…and Christ is Lord indeed…
23 Oct 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a wily general, all the way, Andrew, aura of love, charles stanley, confidence, consequences, disasters, disobedience, do battle, energy, enthusiasm, eternal life, evil, evil foes, face the world, fishers of men, follow me, friends, gentle, get in line, giant, glorious kingdom, glory hallelujah, glory to God, godless ways, grace, he saith unto them, holy spirit, humble servants, in the thick of the fray, invincible, James John, Jesus Christ, Jesus' business, lay the groundwork, leader, left their nets, lies, lordship of Christ, LOVE, loving, magnanimous offer, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, obedience, obeisant, obey God, Peter, raise our spirits, reaction, reconitre the situation, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, repent, rest, reveille, salvation, sense of purpose, soldiers, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, surrender, taunts, truth, turn back to God, ungodly world, up and at them, wiles, wisdom, Zebedee
Matthew 4:19. And he saith unto them, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
Spananananana! Awake oh friends, the bugle calls reveille; time to be up and at them on this glorious Monday morn. (smile) True soldiers can’t afford to sleep in when the battle awaits. So let’s be up and about Jesus’ business! Let’s get in line as He arrays His troops in battle formation, so He can then go before us to reconitre the situation and lay the groundwork for today’s battle.
What a wily General we follow my fellow believers. There’s NEVER been one like Him; neither will there EVER be another in His class. He is in a class all by Himself. That’s why we follow Him. And for those of us finding it difficult to get ourselves together, here is something to raise our spirits and help us find the energy we need to face the world.
So in strong voice, let’s proclaim our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. ‘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!’
Now we’re cooking friends! I can see us finally coming alive, as a strong sense of purpose rises up in our souls and spirits. That conversation with Jesus has miraculously put us over the top. Now we’re ready to go out and do battle against our evil foes, with Jesus fighting right beside us.
Glory be, my brethren! What a leader we have! One who doesn’t just send us out to fight His battles, while He remains back at HQ, safe and comfortable, but a leader who fights right alongside of us, in the thick of the fray, all the day and all the way!
Wow! No wonder we LOVE and admire and exalt Him so much! He is the kind of Leader who brings out the very best in us; truly inspires us to aspire to greater things, when we receive His magnanimous offer, His free gift of salvation and eternal life. What a giant is our Jesus! And a gentle and LOVING one at that too! That means we have everything we need in Him! We need No One or Nothing beside Him! Glory Hallelujah!
Just look at the unnatural reaction those early disciples had to our Bit. ‘And he saith unto them, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ Peter and his brother Andrew were fishermen and were casting their net into the sea when Jesus passed by and made that offer. And it’s truly interesting to see what happened immediately thereafter. The Good Book tells us: ‘And they straightway left their nets and followed him.’ (Matt.4:20)
Now why would they just give up their livelihood to follow this, poor, itinerant Rabbi eh? Most of us would not have done something so drastic when there seemed to be no good reason for it. But that’s not the best part of the story. The Good Book continues: ‘And going on from thence, he (Jesus) saw two other brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.’ (Matt.4:21-22)
And what would entice four grown men, of apparently sane and sound mind to just give up their successful fishing business to follow a man whom they knew nothing about eh? Who knows, they must have heard something in His voice, or saw something in His demeanour, His heavenly aura might even have overcome their spirits. Or, as the scholars say: ‘The statement in verse 22 that they immediately responded to His call gives us the perfect picture of true obedience to the lordship of Christ.’
Yes my fellow believers, our response to Jesus should be immediate. As Uncle Charles (Charles Stanley) likes to say: ‘Obedience is doing what Christ says, when He says and how He says.’ Anything else is disobedience, which will have negative consequences. However friends, in these godless and evil days, the majority of mankind doesn’t seem at all interested in being obedient or obeisant to their Creator.
That’s obviously not a good sign, for as we said above, disobedience brings negative consequences. And I truly believe that the disasters, natural as well as man-made, that are currently besieging our world is God’s response to our bold-face disobedience. You might not believe me, but the only way to find out is for the majority of us to cease our evil and godless ways, repent, turn back to God and receive His wonderful offer of salvation and eternal life. Now that is wisdom to the nth degree! Much LOVE!
…obey God…and leave all the consequences to Him… (Uncle Charles)
16 Oct 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a positive day, Abraham Isaac and Jacob, adrenaline, advocating, aura of love, called by my name, chickens coming home to roost, chosen people, Christian society, Christians, communicate through prayer, confidence, conquerors, disasters, disciples, do God's will, do Jesus' work, doubleminded, draw near to God, embraced by, enthusiasm, evil, expectation, forgive their sin, friends, glorious kingdom, god head, godless, gone astray, grace, heal their land, heretical, holy spirit, hope, humble, humble servants, humble themselves, I will hear from heaven, in our corner, invincible, James, Jesus Christ, lamp for our feet, lies, light for our path, living God, LOVE, mercy, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, my people, not in sync, Old Testament, omnipotence, on our behalf, pray, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, repentant people, resist the devil, rest, salvation, seek my face, servants, sin, spiritual armour, spiritual beings, steadfast faith, strife, submit yourselves, taunts, the enemy's ranks, the Father, the Great Commission, the heathen, the Holy Trinity, the SON, transformative words, truth, turn from their wicked ways, ungodly world, warning, wiles, wisdom
2 Chronicles 7:14. 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 will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Oh friends, who knows what kind of day any of us will have today eh? When we awaken, it’s usually with the expectation of a bright, productive and positive day, but unfortunately, that’s not always the case. But what’s always the case though, is that on each and every day of our lives, we are positively embraced by the Holy Trinity of our God-head. The Father is looking out for us in His wisdom, omnipotence, grace and mercy.
Meanwhile, the Son is advocating to the Father on our behalf, and also shining down brightly on and around us, so that we can have that proverbial lamp for our feet and light for our path. And betwixt and between all that, the Holy Spirit is operating in our spirits, showing us what the Father desires of us, helping us to do His holy will and communicate with Him through prayer.
And regardless of how our day turns out, those three magnificent, powerful and ever-LOVING spiritual Beings are ALWAYS in our corner. Now what could be better than that eh my fellow believers? Nothing really! That’s why on this Monday morning, even if your body, soul and spirit are not in sync, and you don’t feel like getting up to go to work, you know that that feeling can be overcome through the help of our Triune God and the singing of our Monday Morning Battle Hymn.
So let’s belt it out now nuh with as much enthusiasm as we can muster. ‘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!’
Now feel the Holy Spirit working in you: brightening up your mood, causing the adrenaline to flow as you excitedly and enthusiastically get yourself together to go out amongst the heathen and do Jesus’ work in a most diligent and excellent manner. Glory to God my people! And what work is that, some of you ask?
Well Jesus told His disciples to ‘Go ye therefore, and teach (make disciples) of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway(s), even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt.28:19-20)
And that same Great Commission also applies to us, but instead of going elsewhere, right now I believe we need to concentrate on fixing our own society, which has become so godless and evil and heretical, that an alarming number of us have never even heard about Jesus, in what is supposed to be, or at least once was a Christian Society.
And it all begins with us acknowledging our Bit, putting those all-important, transformative words into action. ‘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 will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.’
Ah friends, how very encouraging is our God eh? For 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).’
And there’s no doubt that although we call ourselves Christians, too many of our actions aren’t Christian-like: we’re not humble before God; we don’t seek His face or pray like we should…and don’t talk about the wickedness that exists in our ranks. Hn! That’s why I maintain that all the recent natural disasters and physical strife are a serious warning from Almighty God.
And if you figure our Bit comes from the Old Testament so it’s outdated, then listen to James, as he talks about worldliness and pride. ‘Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh (near) to God, and he will draw nigh (near) to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded. Be afflicted and mourn (lament) and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness (gloom). Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.’ (James 4:7-10)
Oh friends, if we want to see brighter days and our land healed, then we’ve got to turn back to the One True and Living God; He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, we’ve gone astray for far too long now. So let’s be wise like the Israelites of old nuh; acknowledge the warning…and repent. Much LOVE!
…God punished His chosen people…when they went astray…so why not us eh…the chickens are coming home to roost…
09 Oct 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: 24/7 society, a wake up call, a warning, aura of love, Babylon, blessings, bondage, boundary, calamity, Christians, Columbus Day, confidence, covenant, disaster, drink the sweet, drunk or sober, earthly journey, eat and drink, eat the fat, Egypt, enthusiasm, evil, feasting, festivity, for whom nothing is prepared, forsake our evil ways, freedom, friends, from whom all blessings flow, generosity, giving thanks, glorious kingdom, go your way, God's Word, good graces of almighty God, grace, Granny's warning, holy spirit, humble servants, hurricane Nate, invincible, Jesus Christ, joy, lies, Louisiana, LOVE, magnanamity, mind your business, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, neither be ye sorry, praise God, recovery, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, repent, rest, salvation, send portions, sharing mode, showered down, spiritual armour, standard of living, steadfast faith, taunts, thanks and praise, Thanksgiving Day, the goodness of God, the joy of the Lord is your strength, the power to get wealth, this day is holy, trials, tribulations, truth, undisputed God, ungodly world, wiles, wisdom
Nehemiah 8:10. Then he said unto them, go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.
So friends, it’s Monday…But the good news is that both in Canada and the U.S it’s a public holiday. In the U.S it’s Columbus Day, celebrating the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas in the 1490’s. Meanwhile, in Canada, we’re celebrating our Thanksgiving Day with feasting and festivity, and hopefully thanks and praise to Almighty God for all the blessings He’s recently showered down on our land.
Let’s also be thankful that hurricane Nate did not do much damage to the part of Louisiana that it passed over yesterday. Ah Lord eh! Hopefully this will be the last storm for this year, for the area could not handle much more disaster. Don’t forget to include in our prayers those who have recently suffered serious setbacks and that they are on their way to recovery and rebuilding their lives. Remember too the ones who are still undergoing trials and tribulations.
And let’s hope that all this unexpected calamity serves as a wake-up call for us to repent, to forsake our evil ways and get back into the good graces of Almighty God, for it’s difficult not to consider the unparalleled circumstances that have recently afflicted us as a warning from Him. So let’s pray that we will take the warning to heart and wisely make amends for our sinful ways, and once again make Him the undisputed God of our society.
Anyway, it’s Monday, which means that in our 24/7 society, some people must go to work, regardless of the public holiday, and there’s no time harder to get up and go out to labour than on days like these, when the majority of people are off. So let’s send them out on a high note with a wonderful rendition of our Monday Morning Battle Hymn.
In strong voice now, with lots of enthusiasm: ‘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 as always, the voices of those not going out to work are the loudest and most raucous since many of us have already been celebrating for the past couple days. (smile) And whether you like it or not, I have to remind us of Granny’s warning; that drunk or sober we need to mind our business very closely, as too much celebrating can make us cross over the Christian boundary line without even noticing it, thus giving the enemy a gleeful chance to invade our space, something we want to avoid at all costs.
That brings us to our Bit, the words of Nehemiah to the people of Israel after they had rebuilt Jerusalem and had heard for the first time God’s Word read from His Holy Book by the scribe Ezra. ‘Then he said unto them, go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.’
It was indeed a day of rejoicing for those Israelites, many of whom had recently returned from captivity in Babylon and were enjoying freedom for the first time in many a day, if not the first time in their lives. We should also be in rejoicing and sharing mode, but more importantly, making sure that we give God His rightful deserts of thanks and praise for bringing us to this high standard of living, for it’s only through His generosity and magnanimity that it’s possible.
Remember what we sang yesterday? ‘Praise God from whom all blessings flow…’ And that’s the truth in spades! For as the Good Book tells us: ‘But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish (confirm) his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.’ (Deut.8:18)
Yeh friends, the Lord brought Israel out of bondage in Egypt and kept them in the wilderness for forty years, then enabled them to go into the Promised Land and take it over. Without His help, none of that would have been possible. Likewise without God’s help, our current prosperity would not have ever been realized.
So I’m imploring us, that as we gather today, with friends, families and neighbours, let’s spend some time remembering and talking about the goodness of God towards us, and giving Him appropriate thanks and praise, glorifying and exalting His precious name, for each and every one of us has so many things to be thankful to God for in this our earthly journey. We didn’t reach this stage of evolution through our own efforts, but through God’s blessings. Consequently we ought to show the necessary gratitude. Much LOVE!
…it’s not about eating and drinking…but giving thanks…to be able to eat and drink…there is a big difference…
02 Oct 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: above all gods, aura of love, battle stations, blessed be the Lord, confidence, conquerors, Corinthians, dead objects, diligence, dilly-dallying, Egyptians, enthusiasm, evil, excellence, fearless leader, friends, Gentiles, glorious kingdom, great is our God, heathen, hoarded, honour, house of god, humble servants, idle boast, idols, inroads, invincible, Jehovah, Jesus Christ, Jethro, lies, living God, LOVE, majesty, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, our father's business, Pharaoh, reconnoitering, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, rise and shine, salvation, sing unto the Lord, steadfast faith, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the good news, the Great Commission, the house I build, the trumpet's call, the wherewithal, the work of man's hands, trust, truth, ungodly world, wisdom
2 Chronicles 2:5. And the house which I build is (will be) great: for great is our God above all gods.
Rise and shine, friends, rise and shine! Hear the trumpet’s call! Battle stations all! Our fearless Leader, Jesus Christ is already at the battlefront reconnoitering the situation, waiting for us to come forward, so He can lead us into battle.
Please, no dilly-dallying this morning, there’s urgent work to be done. So let’s get a move on, let’s be up and about our Father’s business! And if you think you don’t have the wherewithal to do battle today, then join us, as we sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, which gets our adrenaline flowing and kick starts our motors.
All together 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!’
Awright mih breddren! That sounded good! Our choirmaster, Jesus was pleased. Now it’s time for us to get out there and join Jesus, our field General, on the front lines, for that’s where the battle is being fought. That brings us to our Bit: ‘And the house which I build is (will be) great: for great is our God above all gods.’
Ah mih people, what words of absolute truth from Cousin Sol as he set out to build the immaculate and magnificent House of God in the Golden Age of Israel! And this no idle boast, as you’ll realize when you hear the proud declaration of the psalmist from Psalm 96 – A call to praise God. ‘Sing unto the Lord, bless his name; show forth (proclaim the good news of) his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the heathen (gentiles), his wonders among all people. For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the Lord made the heavens. Honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.’ (Ps.96:2-6)
Yeh friends, any other supposed deity beside Jehovah, is merely an idol. They are all dead objects, the work of man’s hands, or creatures of his finite imagination. That’s because the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the Only True Living God that there is! And if you don’t believe the psalmist, then listen to Bruh Paul in his first missive to the Corinthians, as he talks about Christian freedom and brotherly obligations.
‘As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and there is none other God but one. For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth (as there be gods many, and lords many,) But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we (live) by him.’ (1 Cor. 8:4-6)
Oh friends, how could there logically be more than ONE God eh? More than one god would never have made such a smooth running, self-sustaining, magnificent universe. It would have been total confusion all over!
Now hear corroboration of that fact from way back when, from Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, when he brought Moses’ wife and children to meet him in the Israelite camp in the wilderness. After Moses told him all that the Lord had done for the Israelites in bringing them out of Egypt, Jethro rejoiced.
‘And Jethro said, Blessed be the Lord, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt (behaved) proudly he was above them.’ (Ex.18:10-11)
Yes friends, our God is above everybody and everything! Give Him much deserved thanks and praise, glorify and exalt His holy name throughout all the earth! Spread His word from one end of the world to the next, so that the heathen can have a chance to experience His never-ending, unconditional LOVE, His healing power and the good news of His salvation!
That’s our Great Commission, so let’s get out there today and do it with diligence and excellence as He desires nuh. Much LOVE!
…the good news of Jesus…was meant to be spread far and wide…not selfishly hoarded…
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