The Overwhelming Importance of Christians NOT Worrying, NOT being Afraid, and KEEPING Anger under Control!

21 Oct 2026 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Today’s Scrip-Bit   21 October 2026   Proverbs 14:29.

Proverbs 14:29.       ‘He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit (impulsive, short of spirit) exalteth folly.’

And it’s another beautiful autumn day in my neighbourhood! The Lord’s certainly blessing us with good weather, and let’s hope we catch our second wind on this glorious Wednesday, so we can continue doing good work for Him. Now, since the Lord blessed us life again today, let’s keep yesterday’s vow to continue looking at the scriptural attributes of the Christian D. Larson poem ‘Promise Yourself.’ And yesterday, we’d stopped at the last verse of the poem, which says to promise ourselves ‘To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.’

Oh boy, that verse points to all kinds of scriptures. ‘To be too large for worry,’ coincides with Jesus’ teaching on the subject in the Sermon on the Mount: ‘Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for (do not worry about) your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat (food), and the body than raiment (clothing)? 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? Which of you by taking thought (worrying) can add one cubit unto his stature (height)?

And why take ye thought for (worry about) raiment (clothing)? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed (clothed) like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe (clothes) the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

Therefore take no thought (do not worry), saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow (don’t worry about tomorrow): for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient into the day is the evil (trouble) thereof.’ (Matt. 6:25-34)

There we have it friends; Jesus’ treatise on worry. And I know it’s difficult not worry, especially in these oppressive and turbulent times, but if we follow Jesus’ formula, we will not be consumed by worry, and that will give us time to concentrate on the necessary things, like God and His righteousness.

Then, there’s ‘too noble for anger.’ And there are so many scriptures that talk about not letting anger control us, that we can only address a couple of the more well known ones. Like this one from Bruh David in Psalm 37. ‘Cease (refrain) from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil (for it only causes harm).’ (Ps. 37:8) Then Cousin Sol offers this gem from Proverbs. ‘He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit (impulsive, short of spirit) exalteth folly.’ (Prov. 14:29) That means we need to control our tempers and thus our anger, otherwise we’ll look and be considered foolish.

Now, here’s this other practical gem from Bruh Paul to the Ephesians. ‘Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:’ (Eph. 4:26) And that’s wonderful advice my brethren, as the scholars say: ‘Sinful anger is to be replaced by (briefly held) righteous indignation, that the devil may not be given an opportunity.’ Yes, our anger ought to be short lived, and never go to bed angry, because it will disturb our sleep and we’ll most likely also wake up angry, thus starting our day on the wrong foot.

And when we come to promising ourselves to be ‘too strong for fear,’ well there are even more scriptures on that than on anger. So let’s quote a few of them, beginning with this well known verse from Isaiah, where he encourages his people Israel. ‘Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.’ (Is. 41:10) Then there’s this marvellous verse from Bruh David in Psalm 23. ‘Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.’ (Ps. 23:4)

Meanwhile, the author of Hebrews, having relayed the Lord’s promise to never to leave nor forsake us, (Heb. 13:5) then confidently declares: ‘So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall (can) do unto me.’ (Heb. 13:6) And we have the gumption to not fear also based on these words of Jesus: ‘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 it’s worthwhile to note that during His time on earth Jesus was always chiding those around Him about their fear, or encouraging them not to fear, like these two scriptures illustrate. The first one deals with Jesus and His disciples  crossing the sea of Galilee and a big storm suddenly arises, while Jesus sleeps in the stern of the boat apparently unaware of the storm. In terrible fear, the disciples awaken Him. Jesus gets up, rebukes the wind and calms the sea, then says to the disciples: ‘Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?’ (Mark 4:40)

Then, on the way to heal the daughter of the synagogue leader Jairus, Jesus hears him being told that his daughter had died, He turns and simply says to Him: ‘Be not afraid, only believe.’ (Mark 5:36) Those are words we all ought to take  to heart in these evil and ungodly times. Now, please note that fear is a natural human occurrence, and the Lord expects us to be afraid at times, however, the problem is what do we do, and where we go when we’re afraid? The Lord expects us to come to Him in times of fear, because He is able to handle any fear that consumes us, as He so assertively says to Joshua.

‘Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest.’ (Josh. 1:9) And that’s a wonderful scripture for us to ponder on today, as we go home declaring our Wednesday Wail, letting the whole world know of our marvellous position in Christ Jesus.

As one strong and sincere voice: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’

And for those who endure to the very end with Jesus, it’s been promised they’ll enjoy an even more glorious future than our finite brains can comprehend. So please, let’s endure to the very end, so that we can endure that more than glorious future together! Much LOVE!

…in living for Jesus…we don’t need to worry, be angry, or fearful…for He has us well protected…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

The Absolute Inability Of Worry To Improve Anything!

12 Mar 2025 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Matthew 6:27.        Which of you by taking thought (worrying) can add one cubit unto his stature (height)?

Who says our God isn’t good eh? Well for the third day in a row, my area is bright and sunshiny and fairly warm, and the computer says that temps are going to rise. Wow! It seems that spring is just around the corner, because birds are also chirping in joyful unison, giving thanks to their Creator for life and love! 

And as Jesus so rightly admonishes and encourages: ‘Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for (do not worry about) your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat (food), and the body than raiment (clothing)? 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. 6:25-26) 

That’s for sure, because we are the ONLY creation made in God’s own image. The Bible tells us that in the Creation story: ‘And God said, Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing. So God made man in his own image, in the image of God created him; male and female created he them.’ (Gen. 1:26-27) 

Yuh see friends, God created us in His own image, that’s a spiritual image, because God is a Spirit, without a body, and Jesus only took on a human body when He came to earth to reveal the Father more fully to us. And please note, that God not only made us in His own image, but also gave us dominion over all the earth. That means we’re supposed to rule the earth in His name. So we can see what Jesus is saying in the scriptures at the beginning is absolutely true; we’re worth much more than the birds of the air. 

Then He continues with His teachings on worry, by saying: ‘Which of you by taking thought (worrying) can add one cubit unto his stature (height)? And why take ye thought for raiment (why do you worry about clothing)? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed (clothed) like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe(s) the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith.’ (Matt. 6:27-30) 

And yuh know what friends, we really can’t find anything wrong with Jesus’ argument. For if the Lord looks after the birds of the air and the lilies of the field, dressing them even more beautifully than Cousin Sol, the richest and wisest man ever, it’s logical that He will look after us, His greatest creation in even better manner. But we’ve got to believe it, before we see it come to pass. 

So Jesus continues: ‘Therefore take no thought (do not worry), saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or,  Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.’ (Matt. 6:31-32) Yes, my fellow believers, our heavenly Father knows we need food and clothing just like His other living creations, but we don’t need to kill ourselves worrying about them. 

Why? Jesus gives us the answer in spades: ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt. 6:33) That’s the marvellous answer right there my people! If you put God first place in your life, then He will provide for all your needs. And Bruh Paul reiterated Jesus’ words to the Philippians when he wrote: ‘But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.’ (Phil. 4:19) So, if the Son of God and His most learned and zealous apostle say it’s so, then it’s obviously so. (smile) 

Consequently, Jesus ends this message of seeking God first, then depending on Him for all of our needs, with these wise and reassuring words. ‘Take therefore no thought for the morrow (do not worry about tomorrow): for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil (trouble) thereof.’ (Matt. 6:34) Ah mih people, it’s all of what our Lord and Saviour said, so it must be true, because He has no cause to lie. 

And we all know deep down that worry improves nothing, only makes things worse. So, though we must make some basic plans for the future, we need to concentrate more on the individual day that’s in front of us, for everyday has its own problems and challenges, which we need to handle responsibly, without worrying about the hypothetical troubles that could arise in the future.  

And having received God’s saving grace, then we must continue to seek it all of our lives, because the spiritual side of life is in the long run more important than the material side, for when the body dies, the spirit lives on. The problem though, is where will our spirit live on, in eternal life with Christ, or in eternal death with Satan?  And as the scholars say: ‘When our priority is spiritual, God will take care of the material, for where God guides, He provides.’ And that’s the gospel truth! 

So let’s go home now declaring (chuhhh!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting the whole world know of our wonderful position in Christ Jesus. As one strong and sincere voice:  ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead, straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’ 

Now hear this: it’s also been promised that if we endure to the end with Jesus, then the future will be even more glorious than we can ever ask or imagine. So please, let’s be wise and stick with Jesus right to the very end nuh! Looking forward to seeing you there! Much LOVE!

…God created us in LOVE…and will provide for all of our needs…if we sincerely return His LOVE…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit   23 August 2023 Matthew 6:27.

23 Aug 2023 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Matthew 6:27.       Which of you by taking thought (worrying) can add one cubit unto his stature (height)?

Well friends, in my neck of the woods, Wednesday opened dark, cloudy and drizzly. And at noon time, as I’m writing the Bit, it is still dark, cloudy and drizzly. (smile) However, I’m very thankful that it’s only a constant drizzle and not a constant downpour as places like California have recently had, courtesy of tropical storm Hilary, that’s led to floods, landslides and all sorts of unfortunate disasters. 

Brother! What a world we’re currently living in! We’re not only plagued by manmade strife, economic deprivation and sickness, but also many natural disasters; severe disruptions to our communities, which exceed our capacity to handle them with our own resources. And we’re talking about things like wildfires all around the globe, floods and structural destruction caused by torrential rainfall from major storms and tornadoes, and the reverse of all that; severe heat waves which lead to eventual drought and famine. 

So, couple all the natural disasters with our propensity to create the man-made kind, it’s no wonder that our world is in a catastrophic situation. And the amazing fact is that it’s a worldwide phenomenon, not only one nation or continent is in disastrous uproar, but all of them. I truly don’t know if our world has ever been in such a state of disruption in a supposed time of peace. 

We blame climate change for a lot of it, and it does have its portion of blame, but more than anything else we beastly humans are the ones to shoulder it, because we caused the sudden change in our climate behavior by abusing the sensitivity of the world’s eco-system with our thoughtless and greedy machinations. 

And above all, we have turned away from the God of our forefathers! Now, unfortunately, not many of us are considering that aspect of our disastrous world situation, and many instead of considering returning to the fold of a generous, merciful and forgiving God, instead are trying to remove Him from our society. We’re so foolish and prideful, arrogant and hardheaded that we can’t realize that will NEVER happen, because the Lord will not allow it to! He will put up with a lot of our foolish, childish shenanigans, but turfing Him out of the universe He created…NEVER! 

And why is it so difficult to believe in God or a Supreme Being, more powerful than us, since we cannot control the vicissitudes, the changes and variations of our own lives? We can’t control our births or death. Some of the strongest of us pass away in an instant at a young age, while some weak and sickly seem to live forever. We cannot control all the natural disasters that are occurring, not even keep them in check, much less stop them from happening. So why do we still insist on this foolish cock-of-the-walk attitude we bandy around eh? 

We don’t truly control anything! And until we wake up and realize the truth of that statement, and realize that Almighty God, the Creator and Controller of this universe still sits on His august throne and simply allows us to play our foolish games, we’ll forever be stymied in our lust for power and control. The world didn’t just evolve from nothing to something. No, it’s too ordered and well defined. It had to be created. Someone or something had to set the parameters. 

Why doesn’t the sea overflow the land every time it boils and churns eh? Or who causes day and night to flow into each other without ever a break, with the sun to light the day and the moon to light the night? Who set and controls the birth of a child and the gestation in its mother’s womb? Why do the seasons; spring, summer, winter and fall occur one after the other without hesitation or departure from the regular cycle? Why do the wild animals, the birds, the bees and all the many insects flourish in their own way, when they have no minds or limbs like man to do the toil and labour that it requires to feed man? 

Jesus said it thus ‘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? Which of you by taking thought (worrying) can add one cubit unto his stature (height)? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed (beautifully dressed) like one of these.’ (Matt. 6:26-29) 

Now that ought to cause us to sit and ponder what all our pride and arrogance is about, when despite how hard we try, we cannot truly control our lives or the world around us. And if you want a good read on the subject, check out Cousin Sol’s words in Proverbs 8:12-29, his soliloquy on Wisdom. And we’ll stop there for today because it’s already late, and if I say all I want to say, it will be surely too long. (smile) Tomorrow, God spares life, we’ll continue with that trend of thought. 

Now let’s go home declaring (yesss!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting the whole world know of our wonderful position in Christ Jesus. Altogether now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’ 

And if we endure to the very end with Christ, then that future will be even more glorious than we can ask or imagine. So, let’s plan to meet there nuh! (smile) Much LOVE!

…mankind might be God’s most important creation…but nonetheless he needs to remember…that he’s still His servant…totally dependent on Him for life and LOVE…  

 Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ