13 Jun 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a song of loves, actions, all is not lost, aura of love, bad goods, bombarded, bounden duty, buckle down, character, Christ's body, Christ-likeness, complaining, confidence, contrition, Creator of the universe, disunity, do good, earthly sojourn, enthusiasm, eternal life, evil, examples, fighting, fine fettle, fools, forgiveness, friends, get serious, gift, glorious kingdom, gospel of Jesus, great commission, habits, harmony, hope, humble servants, invincible, jehovah god, jobs, lies, LOVE Revolution, lustful, make thy name remebered, market, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, passion, pilgrimage, public places, rearing to go, relaxation, renewed vitality, repent, reverence, salvation, schools, serve a useful purpose, spiritual armour, spread LOVE, stand up for Jesus, steadfast faith, taunts, teach all nations, the church, the people shall praise thee, things of the world, thoughts, tiredness, to all generations, Trini Quote, trust, ungodly world, unity, urgency, wedding song, wiles, wisdom, words, worship
Psalm 45:17. I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever.
Oh my fellow believers, let’s hope this Monday morning meets us all in fine fettle, up and about, and just rearing to get out into the world and do good, spread LOVE like our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ did in His earthly sojourn!
So forget the complaining, soak up the tiredness, and let’s get a move on! And to aid us in doing that, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with much urgency and plenty passion.
As one earthly choir, sounding sweet like a heavenly host 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 breddren that was a good rendition; strong and passionate, though not as harmonious as we can be. Anyway, our choir master, Jesus, was pleased with our performance, so there’s nothing to worry about on that score. And since our motors are now idling smoothly, let’s get out there and join our fearless Leader on the battle lines, and help to grow His surging LOVE Revolution!
Now before we turn to our Bit, please check out this Trini Quote of de Day, recently sent to me by a Trini friend. And it says: ‘If fools doh go to de market, bad goods would not be sold.’ This quote is used as a warning to pay attention to what you buy; as well as well as laughter to the one who is selling. Have a great day! Watch your thoughts: They become words Watch your words: They become actions Watch your actions: They become habits Watch your habits: They become character.’
Oh yes friends, our thoughts do eventually morph into our characters, so we have to be very careful about what thoughts we allow to percolate in our minds. Nuff said on that!
And now here is our Bit: ‘I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever.’
Now mih breddren, though the psalm was originally written as ‘A song of LOVES; a wedding song for a king, that last verse, our Bit, is the bounden duty of all believers. We were made to worship and reverence our Creator and also to spread the good news of Jesus; His gospel of the free gift of salvation and eternal life!
That’s what we ought to be about in this earthly pilgrimage. We need to be worthwhile examples of Christ-likeness so that others will want to come to Him in contrition, repent and receive His forgiveness and salvation.
That is why Jesus gave the disciples the Great Commission: ‘Go ye therefore, and teach 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 have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt.28:19-20)
Now the disciples did their job, they passed it down to the next generation. And every generation has passed it down until it got to us. So those previous generations have down their job.
Unfortunately though, we don’t appear to be doing such a good job at passing it down to the next generation, for the next one apparently has no time for God, which is our fault as parents and supposed teachers of the Word.
And to make matters worse, the enemy has taken control of the world and is trying his level best to remove God from all aspects of our society. And we’re not putting up the fight we ought to. That means there is even less hope of our children hearing about Jesus in the schools and public places.
It’s a sad state of affairs friends; we as parents have not done our duty properly in teaching the children about God at home, and consequently the children don’t go to church. And where, once upon a time it was possible for them to learn about Jehovah God in the schools, now there’s no religious teaching there either, so our children now have no real opportunity to hear the Word.
Furthermore, the enemy is building on that lack of God in our children’s souls by bombarding them with flimsy, useless, lustful things of the world. Will the next generation remember Jehovah God? And will they praise Him? Certainly not to the extent that they should!
People are turning away from God in great numbers, because the church and those who inhabit them are not walking the walk of true Christianity. We seem to be more interested in disunity than unity and harmony which is supposed to be one of the tenets of Christ’s body.
There is more confusion and complaining in the church than in the enemy’s camps. That’s why churches are failing. Friends, all I can say is that we must not give up; NEVER! We are still alive, that means there’s still hope, if we get serious and buckle down and begin doing our bounden duty the way we are supposed to.
Our God will surely help us, when He sees our sincere commitment. And we know that we can do anything with Him in our corner. So my fellow believers, let’s get it together nuh. In Jesus’ name. Much LOVE!
…all is not lost…the battle can still be won…if we truly come out fighting…and truly stand up for Jesus…
28 May 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: acts of contrition, almighty god, appreciate, arrogance, Asa, association with God, at peace with the world, attention spans, Azariah, benjamin, calm, Cleanse your hands, cleansing, commune with nature, contented, contrition, cool breezes, dearest of all delights, delights, doubleminded, draw near to God, enjoy, evil, foolish pride, force His will on us, forge that relationship, forgiveness, forsake the Lord, gloom, glory hallelujah, glory to God, God will draw near to you, gospel truth, grace, hate, he shall lift you up, heaviness, humble yourselves in the sight of God, Intimate closeness, joy, Judah, lament, laughter, LOVE, mercy, mourn, mourning, necessity, night insects, peace, positive aspect, pride, purify your hearts, quiet, reaching out to God, relationship with Christ, revere God, rustling of the leaves, seek the Lord, sing their songs of thanksgiving, sinners, stress, teach me, tension, the healing aspects of nature, the Lord is with you, the Lord's presence, the One Year Book of Bible Promises, the onus, the right foundation, the Spirit of God, the wisdom of heaven, therapeutic miracle, this is the day the Lord has made, through eternity, to go to bed late is to be up early, tragedy, unconditional LOVE, ungodly world, use to our benefit, usefulness of nature, walk arm-in arm, we will rejoice and be glad in it, weep, what a wonderful God we serve and worship, William Shakespeare, winding path, wisdom
James 4:8. Draw nigh (near) to God, and he will draw nigh (near) to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye dobleminded.
Aye Friends, welcome to another terrific Thursday! Glory to God! We are alive and kicking strongly and diligently in God’s name, so let’s maintain that positive aspect by saying, ‘This is the day the Lord has made, we WILL rejoice and be glad in it!’
What a wonderful God we serve and worship my people! All thanks be to Him and His grace, mercy, forgiveness and unconditional LOVE!
And you know that somewhere in Willie Shakespeare’s vast repertoire of works, he says something to the effect that to go to bed late is to be up early…. Well my people, you can say that the ole fella was up rather early this morning, after three, so if I’m not all that coherent you will understand why. (smile)
And believe me, the early morning commune outside with nature was beautiful. Some of you might laugh, but when I sit out on my porch in the late hours of the night or early morning, just enjoying the peace and quiet of the time, whatever stress and tension I’ve built up during the day seems to evaporate as I feel the cool breezes wash over me, while they sigh in the rustling of the leaves, and the night insects sing their songs of thanksgiving to their Creator.
After a short while, I am relaxed and at peace with the world and all therein, and can go to bed calm and contented, regardless of whatever problems might exist. It certainly works therapeutic miracles for me. (smile)
And it’s sad that so many of us can’t, or don’t want to embrace the healing aspects of nature. Friends, God made it so beautiful so that we can appreciate, enjoy and use it to our benefit.
Anyway, I won’t try to convince you of the beauty and usefulness of nature, for like the same way you came to Jesus, you will have to come to that conclusion…on your own. (smile)
Now hear is a little prayer from The One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin, that I believe we all can, or need to say. It’s titled ‘Intimate Closeness.’
Please pray with me: ‘You promise, dear God That when I draw close to You You will draw close to me. Lord, I give myself to You unreservedly. Teach me more and more Of intimate closeness And fill my heart with You alone. To walk arm-in-arm with You Down every winding path. Seems to me The dearest of all delights.’
And isn’t that the gospel truth my brethren? Walking arm-in arm with Jesus, any and everywhere is certainly the greatest delight we can enjoy on this earth!
And if you don’t believe that, I’m sorry for you, because you don’t know what you’re missing. That’s because with Him beside, inside and around you, there’s no power on earth, in hell or in heaven can touch you! Glory Hallelujah!
And the scripture verse for that prayer was the first part of James 4:8; ‘Draw nigh (near) to God, and He will draw near to you.’ However we will use the entire verse as our Bit for today. ‘Draw nigh (near) to God, and he will draw nigh (near) to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded.’
Ah Friends, so many of us in this ungodly world desperately need to do those acts of contrition, that it borders on a worldwide tragedy. No, it doesn’t border nuh, it is a worldwide tragedy! That’s why there’s so much hate and evil in our world. But when we turn to Jesus we preach peace and LOVE, which is the right foundation for us to build our lives upon.
And I like how James continues after our Bit, in the same cleansing and reaching out to God manner. ‘Be afflicted (lament), and mourn, 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 4:9-10)
Oh my people that’s shades of our last Bit. One of the things this generation certainly needs to do is to give up their foolish pride and arrogance, and humble themselves before Almighty God, if they want to ever receive a positive association with Him. That’s an ultimate necessity before we can even consider coming into the Lord’s presence, before His throne.
And one of the scriptures associated with our Bit, is one we just recently looked at, but it’s worthwhile looking at again. It’s the warning of the prophet Azariah.
‘And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded: And he went out to meet (before) Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.’ (2 Chr,15:1-2)
Yes Friends, that’s no lie! If you sincerely seek the Lord, then you will find Him. But if you forsake Him, then He will do the same to you. Please remember that the Lord doesn’t really need anything from us, but we do need His saving grace and mercy, so the onus is on us to seek His face, not the other way around.
And with that thought foremost in our minds, I think we’ll end for today, because the rest of stuff I have to add will make it much too long for our short attention spans. (smile)
So please, as we go about today, let’s seriously ponder the state of our relationship with Christ, and let wisdom enter our hearts, minds, bodies and souls, and thus enable us to make the wonderful decision to seek God and revere and worship Him for the rest of our lives, and down through all eternity. Now that is certainly the wisdom of heaven! Much LOVE!
…God desires to have a positive relationship with each and every human being…but He’s not going to force His will on us…we must wisely seek Him and His blessings to forge that relationship…
16 Apr 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adultery, awesome God, Bathsheba, be acceptable in God's sight, blabbering, bless the Lord, bless the name of jesus, blessing, brothers and sisters in christ, Bruh David, champion, change, contrition, crucifixion, different, Easter weekend, faithful, fellow believers, godly response, good and positive manner, growing, hearts and minds, Holy Redeemer, Holy Week, immortal words, inner contrition, investigate our hearts, Irene Peter, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus is worthy, Jesus' time, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, meditation, my redeemer, name of Jesus, not in sync with God, O Lord my strength, personality, Pharisees, pleading, Praise the Lord, prayer for cleansing, prophet Nathan, reality of the situation, resurrection, sacrifices, self-control, serve the Lord, shout Hallelujah, Sing praises to the Lord, sing unto the Lord, sinners, talk a good talk, the king of glory, the meditation of my heart, the words of my mouth, tongues, tongues wag, true motives, truth and wisdom, walk the talk, wicked, with Jesus' help
Psalm 19:14. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength (rock), and my redeemer.
And then Friends, it was Wednesday morning of Holy Week! Wow! That most amazing and awesome time is fast approaching! We’re talking about the Easter weekend when Jesus, our mighty Lord and Saviour turned the whole world upside down with His crucifixion and eventual resurrection!
And all God’s people declared a loud shout of joy: ‘Oh bless the name of Jesus, our champion and our Holy Redeemer!’
Yes my people, the name of Jesus is indeed worthy of incomparable blessing, thanks and praise for the overwhelming change He’s wrought in the world and in our personal lives.
And speaking of change Friends, here is an interesting quote from one Irene Peter, taken from my One More Day Devotional. There were so many Irene Peter’s listed when I checked for some info on her, that it was impossible to decide which one it was.
Anyway, Irene says that: ‘Just because everything is different, doesn’t mean anything has changed.’ And that can often be true my brethren!
We are continually growing – hopefully in a good and positive manner – but ofttimes that growth is gradual and we don’t realize or recognize the change (s) until an event, or some events, wake us up to the reality of the situation.
And though our lives may sometimes end up being completely different, deep down inside we are still the same basic person; still having the same unique personality that God has so amazingly granted us. We are still warm, caring, LOVING and faithful people, but we have grown in certain respects.
And it’s always nice to know that though we have grown, through all the changes, our basic personality has remained the same. And oh my people, one of the best ways to grow is by allowing the faithful and immortal words of Bruh David in our Bit, to take hold of, and rule our souls.
‘Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength (rock), and my redeemer.’
What a powerful statement, my fellow believers! One that we should all be trying to practice!
And though it is not always an easy task – what with all the ungodliness and evil that continually badger and buffet us – with Jesus’ help, we can certainly do it most of the time.
That’s provided we’re serious about it, and retain a strong self-control, not allowing our tongues to start blabbering before our hearts and minds consider the situation and are able to formulate a godly response.
And we have Bruh David again pleading in Psalm 51, his prayer for cleansing after the prophet Nathan draped him up for his adultery with Bathsheba.
He prayerfully declares: ‘O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall show forth thy praise. For thou desirest not sacrifice; else I would give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.’ (Ps.51:15-17)
Yes Friends, our God doesn’t desire outward and/or material sacrifices so much as true inner contrition. And that’s where a lot of us, even supposed believers, are sadly lacking today!
We certainly talk a good talk, and sometimes even walk the talk, but yet, like the Pharisees in Jesus’ time, our hearts are not truly turned to God, or in sync with Him and His directives. That’s why He wisely chooses to investigate our hearts, the inner recesses of our souls, to ascertain our true motives.
And we’ll close with these beautiful words and intentions from Psalm 104 – God’s preservation of nature. ‘I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the Lord. Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the Lord, O my soul. Praise ye the Lord. (Shout Hallelujah!).’ (Ps.104:33-35)
And my people, there’s no better time than this Easter Season to shout a glorious ‘Hallelujah! Praise and blessings to our awesome God, and to His most wonderful Son, Jesus Christ, the true King of Glory!’
Let’s now go forth in all truth and wisdom to LOVE and serve the Lord! Much LOVE!
…God’s people are at their best…when their hearts and mouths are filled with His praise…
P.S. Oh Friends, please excuse the lateness of the Bit, but it was all my fault. I got up late, and then at one point Internet Explorer began acting up, as it has been doing since they supposedly made some improvements. Hn!
But at one stage all I could get were capital letters, and there I was thrashing Explorer. I even stopped and got on to Google Chrome, only to experience the same situation. Then it suddenly dawned on me, the capitals lock was on.
Hn, hn! How ‘geekish’ eh! A perfect example of what I was talking about; letting our hearts and minds consider the situation before letting out tongues wag. Ah Lord eh! Our God certainly knows how to drive home a lesson.
Please note too how short the Bits are these days. (smile) Much LOVE, my brothers and sister in Christ!
13 Oct 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a leap of faith, anger, assurance, backsliders, bless, bring others to Christ, Bruh David, contrition, covenant, dive in heart first, encouragement, encouraging, faith, fasting, friends, God is full of compassion, God is gracious, God's glorious majesty, God's glory, God's kingdom, God's power, heavenly wisdom, iniquities, Israel, long-suffering, loving kindness, merciful, mercy, obedience, obeisance, pardon, patient teacher, personal relationship with Christ, personal testimony, project our faith, redemption, rend your heart, repentance, reverence, saints, seek the Lord, shout of praise, sins, slow to anger, step up to the plate, takes two to tango, terrible mess, testify, the Good Book, The Lord's the greatest., trust, truth, unbelievers, undeniable truth, unrighteous man, wicked man, wisdom, word to the wise
Psalm 145:8. The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion: slow to anger, and of great mercy.
Oh Friends, our God is definitely the greatest yes! And I’m saying that for the umpteenth time because yesterday, after writing that I had nothing to say, was bereft of words, He kindly informed me that believers ALWAYS have something to say. And when I didn’t understand, like a patient teacher, He gently explained that whenever our mental apparatus shuts down, we can always testify.
Obviously I chuckled at hearing that information, but people, there is logic to it. We might not be able to come up with any new, fanciful stuff to enthral our listeners, but our personal testimony, what the Lord has already done in our lives, and is currently doing, doesn’t change or ever grow stale.
And in fact, personal testimony is the best way to project our faith, to bring others to Christ. We can know the Good Book from cover to cover, but that information is useless to all and sundry unless some aspect or aspects of it are occurring in our lives. That’s why it’s called a personal relationship with Christ.
The tough part though is that you cannot find out what Jesus is all about until you get personally involved with Him. That’s where faith and trust come in – plenty of both. And that’s why they call getting involved with Jesus a leap of faith! You don’t know what’s going to happen, because He has different plans for each of us, but you’re nonetheless willing to dive in heart first.
As they say, you can’t learn to swim in shallow water, it must be deep enough for you to manoeuvre properly. So anyway, we now know that when our word source dries up, we can testify. (smile)
That brings us to our warm, wonderful and most encouraging Bit. ‘The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion: slow to anger, and of great mercy.’ And all God’s people gave Him a big shout of praise!
But that’s not all Friends, for Bruh David continues: ‘The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.’ (Ps.145:9) Even more assurance there Friends!
But here’s where our endeavours come in. ‘All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord; and thy saints shall bless thee. They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power, To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.’ (Ps.145:10-12)
Now that’s where we have to step back and view the reality of the current situation my brethren. Are we, God’s saints, speaking of His majesty and power, of His glorious kingdom, and also letting men know about His mighty acts down through the ages?
I strongly believe that we’re not doing it to the best of our ability, otherwise there wouldn’t be as many backsliders and unbelievers, and consequently our world wouldn’t be in the terrible mess that it’s in.
Now let’s turn to some scripture that confirms our Bit. The psalmist in Psalm 130 – My soul waiteth for the Lord – says with much wisdom and truth. ‘Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy (LOVING-kindness), and with him is plenteous (abundant) redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.’ (Ps.130:7-8)
What glorious words of encouragement, my brethren! There’s certainly no doubting them!
Meanwhile, Isaiah, in chapter 55, God’s free offer of mercy to all, he also reassuringly declares: ‘Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.’ (Is.55:6-7)
Then, in one of the many instances when Israel was backsliding, the Lord commanded Jeremiah: ‘Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord; and I will not cause my anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger (remain angry) for ever.
Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the Lord thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers (favours to foreign deities) under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the Lord.’ (Jer.3:12-13)
Please note Friends, that it’s all well and good to come back to God, but we must acknowledge our transgressions with sincere repentance, and He will know it by searching our hearts.
And here are two verses from Psalm 86, where Bruh David is entreating the Lord to teach him to pray. ‘For thou Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee… But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long-suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.’ (Ps.86: 5,15) Bruh David certainly knew what he was talking about from personal experience.
Now listen to Joel, with a call to fasting and more repentance. ‘Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning. And rend (tear) your heart, and not your garments, and turn (return) unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness (LOVING-kindness), and repenteth him of the evil (relents from doing harm.’ (Joel 2:12-13)
Ah mih people, NO OTHER GOD shows such grace and mercy towards repentant sinners!
Now here’s a note from the scholars I think we should share. ‘2:12-13. The customary way a Jew showed his grief was to tear his outer garment. This external sign could be meaningless. The tearing of the outer garment is useless, unless the heart is broken in repentance and contrition.’
And that’s the undeniable truth Friends! So though our God is wonderful, with all those glowing attributes, we still need to show Him true reverence, obeisance and obedience. For as the old people would say; it takes two to tango. We can’t expect to reap all of God’s goodness without doing our part. But sadly that’s the way a lot of us, supposed believers behave.
We must remember Friends that we’re in a covenant relationship with Almighty God, our Creator, Controller and Provider, and right now we need to step up to the plate and become better keepers of that covenant, for we are definitely backsliding. And as we’ve seen in all our scriptures, the Lord is only too willing to forgive and forget, if we turn back to Him in sincere repentance and heartfelt contrition. That’s heavenly wisdom! Much LOVE!
…a word to the wise is sufficient…
24 Sep 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: angry, believe and receive, blood was shed at Calvary, brothers and sisters, burdens, Christian house, churches, confidence, contrition, criminals, ecpectant faith, enough is enough, excellent standards, faith, fellow believers, fervent prayer, fight back, freedom, God's will, God's Word, godly assurance, heart and soul, heartfelt pleas, heavy heart, holy spirit, human-rights, in the name of religion, injustice, Jehovah, Jesus Christ, justice, Kenya, live our faith, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, mercy, Most High God, murderers, negate our rights, one true God, openly worship Jesus, opiate of the people, oppressed, Pakistan, perpetrators, persecution, positive hearing, prayer, prisoners of hope, put up, repay injustice, righteous, scripture, shut up, sins, slaughter of innocents, Spread God's Word, stand and be counted, stand strong, steadfast faith, stigmatized, suffering, teach our children, terrorists, the prayer of the righteous, troubles, unfortunate friends, unjust persecution, wake up call, war-like actions, wonderful Son, worship, worship jesus christ, yokes
1 John 5:14. And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us.
Oh Friends, what is our world coming to eh? Everyday now brings some unnecessary slaughter of innocents, all in the name of some religion! Religion is supposed to be the opiate of the people, keeping them nice and quiet, peaceful and law abiding. But unfortunately, in these ruthless and cruel times, it’s doing the exact opposite; stirring them up to war-like actions.
Just look at the attack in the mall in Kenya last week, and that on the Christians coming out of church in Northern Pakistan on the weekend! No one, or nothing is safe and sacred anymore from these despicable murderers. They’ll even kill their own, if they think it necessary. And the sad part is that we allow them to get away with it, calling them terrorists, when they’re simply out and out disgusting criminals!
Ah Lord eh! My heart is heavy and angry this morning Friends, but I won’t write what I really want to, because it might not align with God’s Word or Will. I’ll just ask us to keep praying for our fellow believers in so many parts of the world, who can’t openly worship Jesus Christ, who are oppressed, stigmatized and murdered simply because of their faith.
Please pray with me. ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, You know that we truly LOVE and worship You. The problem though is that some of us can do it in perfect freedom, but there are millions of Your children who are being innocently and unfairly persecuted for worshipping You.
Father in heaven, we implore You to help them this day. Lessen their burdens, lighten their yokes, help them to gain the freedom of worship that we blessed ones have, and please repay the perpetrators of this injustice, for You’ve promised to repay any injustice done to Your children.
Please, please help them Father, for their suffering is so great it’s now reached a stage where many may even consider giving up the faith, and we know You don’t want that. Please help them to stand strong, under all the oppression. Let Your Holy Spirit enable them to remain steadfast in faith, though their whole world seems to be falling apart.
Oh heavenly Father, we pray all this in the name of Your wonderful Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, whose blood was shed at Calvary in contrition for our sins. Amen.’
Oh my fellow believers, please let’s invoke a few pieces of appropriate scripture on behalf of our suffering brothers and sisters around the world. The first comes from the heart and soul of Bruh David in Psalm 34, titled, ‘The Lord hears the righteous.’ ‘The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.’ (Ps.34:17)
And the next scripture verse comes from Cousin Sol. ‘The Lord is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.’ (Prov.15:29)
Then James tells us that ‘The effectual (effective) and fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.’ (James 5:16b) And I know that there are many truly righteous people amongst us, so we ought to get a quick and positive hearing.
And finally, the most encouraging of all the scriptures, this from Jesus: ‘And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.’ (Matt.21:22)
Oh Friends, we’ve asked, and many are righteous who have done so. Now let’s perform the last requirement; that of believing. Let’s truly believe for God to help those many, many believers enduring injustice and ‘sufferation’ around the world.
And as a gentle reminder, (smile) let’s turn to heaven once more. ‘Father God, Your people are crying out today in all righteousness and faith! Please answer our heartfelt pleas with mercy and justice, on behalf of our unfortunate friends suffering such unjust persecution. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.’
Ah mih people, let’s be prisoners of hope and stand in expectant faith, that our merciful and mighty God will hear our prayers and alleviate the ‘sufferation’ of believers all over His world. Let’s keep praying for them, and at the same time, improve our own faith and strength in numbers in this supposed free part of the world, because the enemy is picking away, bit by bit, at our Christian house.
Like a bunch of wood ants, they’re finding the unguarded spots in our situation and slowly gnawing away at them. Note the absence of prayer in our schools, public places and numerous homes, plus the subtle attempts everyday to negate our rights to worship in freedom.
People of other faiths are coming to our Christian countries and getting rights that trample on ours. Friends, we cannot allow this to continue. At some stage, like RIGHT NOW, we’ve got to stand up and say, enough is enough, and fight back. Otherwise, in a few short years, our situation will surely deteriorate to such that we won’t have the freedom of worship anymore.
This is a wake up call my brethren! I’m therefore calling on all of us who claim to believe in Jesus, to stand up and be counted! Let’s build our churches! Let’s teach our children the Word! Let’s live the Faith we claim to have, and spread the Word of God, which is so powerful that He used it to create the universe and all therein!
Oh my people, these are the days of sad reckoning. We either have to put up and get some serious action going, or shut up! Which one will it be eh? Are we going to have our descendants living in fear, running and hiding to serve and worship the ONE TRUE GOD of this universe? I think not! So let’s get a move on nuh.
And we’ll end with the godly assurance and confidence that comes to us from our Bit. ‘And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us.’
Oh my brethren, please let’s not disappoint Jesus, let’s live up to the excellent standards that He requires of us. That’s the only way we can recapture our world and have it turn again to the Most High God Jehovah! Much LOVE!
…if we believers don’t do the Will of God…how else will it get done eh…
19 Aug 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abased, achievements, aura of love, battle hymn, benefits, confidence, conquerors, conscious decision, contrition, corrupt sinner, enemy's wicked taunts, enthusiasm, eternal wisdom, evil practices, evil world, exalted, false exaltation, fantastic job, fight a good fight, foolsih pride, glorious kingdom, God of second chances, God's realm, godless world, haughty heights, help of the Holy Spirit, humble, humble servants, humble spirit, immorality, important principles, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, justified, lazy, lies, lost souls, LOVE, mercy, Monday, necessities of war, new workweek, physical attributes, power, procrastinate, rejuvenation of spirit, religion, renewed vitality, repentance, responsibility, salvation, serious determination, sinful nature, social status, spiritual armour, spirituality, steadfast faith, straddle the fence, the things of God, theology, true believers, ungodliness, ungodly world, useful purpose, value, weary souls, wickedness, wiles
Luke 18:14. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
Oh Friends, it’s Monday once again, time to get ready for a new week of work! And though by nature, mankind is lazy and likes to procrastinate, as believers in Jesus Christ, we have the responsibility to get up and get things done in His name.
That’s why on Mondays we shouldn’t be miserable and complain about having to go to work, but be happy that we have the opportunity to get out and fight a good fight for Jesus; a fight that will consequently have lost souls falling at His feet in repentance, seeking mercy and salvation.
Now let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, in full voice, with purposed hearts, to energize our selves and get us ready to face the wicked and godless world that awaits us.
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!’
That certainly was a most hearty rendition my people! All heaven was pleased. Now let’s check out our Bit. ‘I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.’
Yes my brethren, today we’re again going to look at two major problems in our society, foolish pride and false exaltation. Now the world places great emphasis on our physical attributes, achievements, power and social status, but Jesus teaches the greater benefits to be had from the virtue of humility. That’s because a humble spirit is one of the most important principles in God’s realm. We cannot come before Him without a humble and contrite spirit.
Note what Jesus said about the Pharisee and the publican in our Bit. The former, who exhibited a proud and arrogant spirit, would be abased, cast down from his haughty heights, while the latter with a genuinely humble heart, though a corrupt sinner, would be exalted, simply because of his contrition.
Ah mih people, it’s the very same lesson that Jesus taught in the parable of the wedding feast. (Luke 14:7-14) There He tells us that when we’re invited to a function with no specific seating arrangements, don’t run up to the front, or the place that is the most visible, where you can be seen by everyone and have them think that you’re so important.
But rather, stay in the background, find a seat that’s not so visible, so that when the host or hostess comes and sees you sitting in that lowly position, they will move you up, exalt you to a higher position and chase one of those self-important, social status seekers, who had proudly vaulted himself, down to your position. ‘For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased (humbled); and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.’ (Luke 14:11) And Jesus says the same thing again when He denounces the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23:12.
Oh my brethren, how many times does Jesus have to repeat that all important principle for us to accept it and actually put it into practice eh? Remember we can’t be straddling the fence, having one foot in the ungodly world and one in the divine realm. It has to be both feet in one or the other.
Yes, we do have to be IN the world to see and know what’s happening and help to make it right, but we cannot be OF the world, advancing its immorality, ungodliness and evil practices. And with our sinful human nature, that’s not always easy to do, but with a conscious decision, serious determination, the help of the Holy Spirit and our continued concentration on the things of God, we can do a fantastic job.
And we have time and space for one scripture that also reminds us of the immeasurable value of humility in God’s arena. It comes from Job, when his good buddy Eliphaz was lambasting him for his supposed sins. And though Eliphaz was on the wrong track in particular with Job, in general, he had the right idea, as he tells him. ‘When men are cast down, then shalt thou say, There is lifting up (exaltation); and he shall save the humble person.’ (Job 22:29)
Now Friends, that’s eternal wisdom, for wherever and whenever men are abased for their proud, haughty behaviour, they can yet be exalted by our merciful God of second chances with the proper contrition. So please let’s embrace it and go out and fight a good fight in Jesus’ name today, well suited up in our spiritual armour plus all the other necessities of war. Much LOVE!
…if we truly LOVE Jesus…then we’ll do our very best to fulfill His desires…
18 Aug 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abased, arrogance, Bible Study, boastfulness, condemned, confession, contempt, contrition, corruption, dance, despicable, divisions, exalted, extolled, false accusation, fasting, fellow believers, fellowship, first shall be last, forgiveness, futile arguments, glorify God, God's mercy, haughtiness, high esteem, humble, hypocrite, justification, justified, last shall be first, LOVE, loving kindness, mercy, motives of our heart, outward actions, outward religious expression, penitent heart, pharisee and the publican, Pharisees, piety, praise, pride, Pubilcans, rejoice, religion, repentance, resentment, restore fourfold, Sabbath Day, salvation, seat of sin, sing, sinner, son of Abraham, Son of man, sunday fellowship, superiority, tax collectors, the letter of the law, theology, tithes, true state of heart, true wisdom, undeniable truth, unworthiness, wonderful god
Luke 18:14. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
Oh mih people, is Sunday; fellowship day for most of us! So please let’s get out there and gather with those of like minds, and sing and praise and glorify our great and wonderful God! Wow! What a privilege that is!
And all God’s people joyfully declared: ‘Yes, let’s fellowship in the name of the Most High God Jehovah! Let’s sing and dance and rejoice before Him, for His goodness, mercy and LOVING-kindness endures forever!’ And that’s certainly gospel truth!
By the way, for those of you who celebrate the Sabbath on Friday or Saturday, I surely hope that you got out and joined your fellow believers in giving thanks and praise and worship to our Creator, because one of His earliest commands was to keep the Sabbath Day holy. (Ex.20:8)
And we won’t argue about which day should be rightly considered the Sabbath Day, since that will only bring about more futile arguments and cause more resentment and divisions, of which we already have more than enough. Suffice it to say, that whatever day your denomination has chosen, just make sure you do as the Lord commands.
And today Friends, I want to again talk about the parable of the Pharisee and the publican or tax collector, but in a little more detail. I am also going to quote the verses again, because the scholars have some very interesting info on each of them, info I believe can be very useful in our Bible Study.
So here we go: ‘Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.’ (Luke 18:10)
The scholars say thus about that verse. ‘Publicans (tax collectors) were known for being corrupt. Pharisees on the other hand were held in high esteem by most. Listeners here would have expected the Pharisee to be extolled and the tax gatherer condemned.’
Yuh see that mih breddren, because we look up to outward religious expression, we’d be quick to condemn the corrupt tax collector, while raising up and praising the hypocrite Pharisee. So please don’t let outward expressions of piety fool us. That’s why God chooses to look at the motives of our heart and not outward actions.
Turning to the next verse: ‘The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.’ (vs.11)
And the scholars nail this: ‘Standing was a usual position for prayer, but here standing suggests a certain arrogance. (Compare the sinner’s hesitancy in vs.13) A sense of personal superiority is not a good reason for thanking God. It is rather in itself a cause for repentance.’
That’s undeniable truth Friends! Please remember that our God totally dislikes pride and arrogance.
Meanwhile, the ole hypocrite Pharisee continues: ‘I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all I possess.’ (vs.12)
And the scholars declare: ‘This is not exaggeration, but an example of how Pharisees truly exceed the letter of the law in their piety. But their pride and contempt for others reveals the true state of heart.’
No wonder Jesus was always on their case.
‘And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote (beat) upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.’ (vs.13)
To which the scholars note: ‘The heart was regarded as the seat of sin. The publican’s action implies acute contrition and a sense of personal unworthiness. To obtain forgiveness he thinks not of his own works but solely of God’s mercy.’
And that’s the way it ought to be my people! For as Jesus tells us in our Bit: ‘I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.’
And the scholars say of that verse: ‘The publican’s anguished confession would be followed by results in keeping with his repentance. (See 19:8.) But justification by faith comes independently of the works which that justification produces. Such works are the result and not the cause of God’s accepting the sinner.’
And we see this all borne out in Luke 19:8, where Zaccheus the tax collector, confesses in repentance after he associates with Jesus. ‘And Zaccheus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.’ (Luke 19:8)
To which the scholars add: ‘Zaccheus’s confession reveals a penitent heart. If does not suggest doubt that he is guilty of wrong doing; the only question is to what extent. Leviticus 6:1-5 stipulated that illegally gained money had to be returned, plus one-fifth. A fourfold return was legislated where livestock were concerned. (Ex.22:1, 2 Sam.12:6).’ Please read those scriptures.
And what was Jesus’ reply to Zaccheus’ contrition? ‘This day is salvation come to this house, forasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.’ (Luke 19:9-10)
Oh Friends, let’s hope from all that, we gain the wisdom to do away with foolish pride, arrogance, haughtiness, boastfulness, superiority and all those similar things that the world cherishes, but which the Lord finds totally despicable! For that my brethren, is indeed true, true wisdom! Much LOVE!
…in the day of reckoning…he that is first (proud) on earth…shall be last in heaven…and he that is last (humble) on earth…shall be first in heaven…
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