14 Jun 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a sheep before shearers, afflicted, as a lamb to the slaughter, atonement, charitable organizations, Christ's sacrifice, church, come unto me, compassionate heart, complaint, courage, creativity, curse, Daily Bread Devotionals, damage, disasters, do God's will, down and out, dumb, electricity, faithful believers, floods, Florida Keys, for the sake of another, generously, give, give God thanks, given unto you, giving up, glory hallelujah, God's economics, good measure, government, great invitation, greatest sacrifice, greedy, heavy laden, hoard, humility, hurricanes, I will give you rest, in a positive manner, labour, measured to you again, money, motivates us, nature of man, needy, negative circumstances, negative stuff, negative word, no one understands like Jesus, opened not his mouth, oppressed, personally testify, pressed down, Puerto Rico, running over, sacrifice, sacrifice ourselves for others, same measure you mete, self-control, self-discipline, selfish, shaken together, share with others, stingily, succour, sunny days, supposed neighbours, talents, the living truth, the Love of Christ, thunderstorm, Thursday's Blessings, time, tornadoes, trailer parks, trials, tribulations, trying conditions, urgent, volcanoes, wildfires, windstorm, wisdom
Isaiah 53:7. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
‘Sunny days are here again! Glory Hallelujah!’ Yeh friends, it’s sunny and beautiful once again, although yesterday did turn out nicely, except that in the afternoon a mild thunderstorm swept through the area leaving a devastating windstorm in its wake.
Ah Lord eh! The thunderstorm wasn’t bad, but the wind provoked the region all evening, late into the night, blowing down stuff and causing a fair amount of damage. Thankfully my property didn’t seem to suffer any damage this time, as the last windstorm we had blew down a part of my fence.
And if that’s the extent of our disasters, then let us give God much thanks and plenty glory yes, because so many others are undergoing much worse disasters, like floods, volcanoes and wildfires, and the tornado and hurricane seasons will soon be upon us in full force, so we have a lot of negative stuff to look forward to.
And I was just reading that a lot of people in Puerto Rico and the Florida Keys are still living in very trying conditions, without electricity, in rundown trailer parks etc, nine months after the last hurricane devastated their areas. How sad is that eh friends? Where is the government…and the church…and we, the supposed neighbours… and the many charitable organizations that are constantly collecting money from us eh?
I don’t know the answers nuh friends, but I do know that in the LOVE of Christ, our fellow men and women should not be living in such trying conditions through no fault of their own. And to help alleviate our concerns, I have two seminal quotes from the Daily Bread Devotionals. The first says ‘No one understands like Jesus.’
And isn’t that the living truth my people! Nobody understands our trials and tribulations like Jesus because He experienced them too in His earthly sojourn. So in times when our small, finite understanding fails us, He is the One we need to go to and just lay all our burdens before Him.
Remember what He said in His Great Invitation: ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’ (Matt.11:28) And He was not joking my brethren, but being very serious. There’s no other Being in man’s history who has ever made such a declaration! That’s because no other has ever had the parts to fulfill it. But Jesus does my people.
So whenever we’re down and out and don’t know what to do, please turn to Him, that’s the wisest thing to do, and He will give you succour. I can personally testify to that. He might not drive away the negative circumstances, but He will certainly give you the wherewithal to bear them in a positive manner. And sometimes that’s all we really need if we are true and faithful believers.
And the second quote is: ‘Christ’s sacrifice of Himself, motivates us to sacrifice ourselves for others.’ Or at least it ought to. Unfortunately though in too many cases it does not. In fact, the word ‘sacrifice’ is not one that’s used much in our everyday lives. Some people don’t even know it, or know what it means.
And for our information, here is how the dictionary defines it. ‘Sacrifice: Giving up of thing for the sake of another that is higher or more urgent, thing thus given up, loss thus entailed.’ Yeh friends, it means giving up something, losing something for somebody else’s sake, because their need is more urgent than ours.
And what’s the greatest sacrifice ever made on the face of this earth? That of Jesus giving up His sinless, holy life for our sinful, disgusting one, so that atonement could be made for our sorrowful, sinful state. The Good Book declares: ‘He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.’
Yeh friends, that’s how Jesus died on our behalf; without a word of murmur or complaint. So why is it so difficult for us to give up much simpler stuff for others eh? Why are we so greedy and like to hoard stuff for ourselves, even when we sometimes have no use for them?
I guess that’s the natural nature of man, especially in today’s selfish and greedy world, and the LOVE and sacrifice of Jesus have not yet truly infiltrated our hearts and souls so that we can become more like Him, generous to a fault. But we LOVE to get, to receive. Oh brother do we ever!
But please remember these immortal words of Jesus: ‘Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give unto your bosom (pocket). For with the same measure that you mete (use to give) withal it shall be measured to you again.’ (Luke 6:38)
Yeh friends, that means if you give stingily, you will be given back stingily. However if you give generously, you will receive generously. That’s just the law of God’s economics. So please let us start giving generously nuh, of our time, talents and money, so that we can receive generously from God and man too. It’s only wisdom friends.
Now let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings, that the Lord has so generously bestowed on us, although we don’t deserve many of them. But that’s the kind of God He is! So all together now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance!
I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Now please note that the Lord didn’t give us all of that to hoard for ourselves, but to go out and share with the less fortunate. So let’s do His will on that nuh, so that He can bless us even more. Much LOVE!
…it is so much better…to give than to receive…but we must also learn how to receive…in humility…
07 Jun 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a light shined, a praying friend, abundance, affirmation, appreciation, basic means, being sick and tired, big bang, Big Island, blessed, chains, Colorado, communicating with God, courage, creativity, curse, Daily Bread Devotional, departed from him, faithfulness, follow me, funk, generously bestowed, God's goodness, godly day, guard posts, Guatemala, Hawaii, iron gate, James, Jews, kept in prison, late morning, late night, lava, miracles, miraculous hand of God, more sleep, negative word, New Mexico, of the church, on our behalf, opened of his own accord, Passover, perform to the level, Peter, power of prayer, prayer was made, problems pale, prosper, razing homes, saw a vision, self-control, self-discipline, share with others, sleep, slow passing of time, succeed, talent, talk to God, the angel of the Lord, the best kind of friend, the expectation of, the Good Book, the Jewish bigwigs, this too shall pass, Thursday Blessings, true believers, unto God, upstanding, volcanic situations, wildfires, wisdom, without ceasing
Acts 12:5. Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.
Ah friends, an unusually late night produced and unusually late morning. It’s as simple as that! Oh, I was up at a fairly decent hour, but the ole bod screamed shrilly at me: ‘Sleep! I need more sleep!’ So what was I to do eh? Nothing but go back to bed and give the ole bod what it desired. Sometimes it’s wisest to do that, else it will not perform up to the level you need or want it to.
And having said all of that, I do hope that you all are having a fine, upstanding, godly day. As for me, I’m not doing too badly, still caught up somewhat in the funk of being sick and tired a lot of the time. Oh, I know that this too shall pass with the passing of time, and I’m not overly worried about it, but it’s just handling the apparent slow passing of time. (smile)
However when I think about the volcanic situations on Big Island in Hawaii, where the lava is slowly taking over, just razing homes to ash and rubble, and that in Guatemala, where the big bang happened all at once and many lives and much property have been lost, I consider myself blessed, in spite of my many problems; problems which pale before theirs.
And those wildfires in Colorado and New Mexico seem to be still blazing away. So, please, let’s keep all these unfortunate people going through these unfortunate circumstances in our prayers. It’s the least we can do, as true believers.
And in appropriate conjunction with that, here is a li’l tidbit from one of the Daily Bread Devotionals: ‘The best kind of friend is a praying friend.’ And is that ever so true my people! For since prayers are our basic means of communicating with God, it’s of the utmost importance to have someone else to talk to God on our behalf, especially when we don’t know or understand what’s happening in our own lives.
And we have an excellent example of that in our Bit. ‘Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.’
Yeh friends, Herod killed James, the brother of John, and when he saw that that pleased the Jewish bigwigs, he then locked up Peter, intending to kill him after the Passover. But he did not reckon with the awesome and outstanding power of prayer, which the church unceasingly kept up on Peter’s behalf.
The Good Book tells it thus: ‘And when Herod would have brought (was about to bring) him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers (guards) before the door kept the prison. And behold, the angel of the Lord came upon (stood) by him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly.
And his chains fell off from his hands. And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him. Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. And he went out, and followed him; and wist (knew) not that it was true (real) which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision.’ (Acts 12:6-9)
Hn, hn! Imagine that nuh, Peter didn’t even realize what was really happening, he thought that he was seeing a vision, when he was actually walking out of the jail. And the Good Book continues: ‘When they were past the first and second ward (guard posts), they came unto the iron gate that leadeth into the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him.’ (Acts 2:10)
Now the scholars offer an interesting explanation of that verse. ‘12:10. The text implies that the guards themselves unwittingly opened the first two gates for Peter, and then through the miraculous hand of God the last gate opened of its own accord (Gr. ‘automate’) or “automatically.” And who says our God is not mighty, powerful and faithful eh?
And the story continues: ‘And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety (for certain), that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.’ (Acts 12:11)
Yeh friends, Peter eventually realized that a great miracle had taken place, and no doubt such faithfulness of God raised his own faithfulness to an even higher level. What I want us to realize though fellow believers, is that God still does miracles in our lives today, everyday. Please look for, and pay attention to them.
They might not be as big and spectacular as Peter’s, but miracles are miracles, be they big or small, and we need to notice them when they happen in our own lives, for they truly raise our faith and appreciation of God’s goodness to us. Now let’s go home giving thanks for the miracles of our Thursday Blessings, which God has so generously bestowed on us.
With sincere thanks and powerful affirmation now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment!
I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
And if you truly believe all of that, then the next move is to go out and share it with others, as Jesus so greatly desires. Much LOVE!
…faithfulness to God…brings miracles from God…
31 May 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a necklace, abundance, adornment, bind them about thy neck, challenge, compassionate heart, courage, creativity, curse, depart from evil, esteem, fear the Lord, filled with plenty, find favour, first fruits, forget not my law, forsake thee, give generously, glory to God, godly obedience, handle the issues of life, honour the Lord, if it's not one thing, intimate association, it's another, Jesus desires, keep my commandments, length of days, let thine heart, long life, loving-kindness, Malachi, mercy, my son, negative owrd, new wine, peace, possessions, prove me now, share, stewards, ten percent, the less fortunate, the mind, the table of thine heart, Thursday Blessings, Thursday's Blessings, tithes, truth, wisdom, wise in thine own eyes, with God and man
Proverbs 3:1. My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments.
At last friends, at long last, a breakthrough! Wow! I can now breathe fairly well through my nose again! Glory to God! You would not understand the difference it makes not having to wake up so often to moisten my dry mouth.
And I guess that’s why I slept in this morning; the body hasn’t had the luxury of sleeping for several hours undisturbed for a while now. (smile) Let’s hope we don’t regress again, because we were already at this stage last Saturday.
Yes, it’s time to move on to bigger and better things, like praying for those unfortunate people in Hawaii who are still struggling with the effects of the volcano lava spreading all over, and thanking the Lord that the tropical storm Alberto did not do as much damage to the Southern U.S. as expected, and has now been downgraded.
Ah Lord eh friends, as the old people would say; in this life, if it’s not one thing, then it’s another. And isn’t that indisputable truth, because we never seem to have a time when something negative is not happening in our lives. That’s why we’ve been admonished to godly obedience in our Bit, because it’s only through intimate association with Almighty God that we can successfully handle the issues of life.
‘My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments.’ And some are brass-faced enough to ask why they should do that? Well here is why! ‘For length of days, and long life, and peace shall they add unto thee.’ (Prov.3:2) And if you don’t want that, then I don’t know what to say to you, because I believe everyone wants those things.
And Cousin Sol continues with his exhortations to obedience. ‘Let not mercy (LOVING-kindness) and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart.’ (Prov.3:3) Wow! What wisdom friends!
But before we look at why doing those things are considered wise, let’s check out some explanations from the scholars on that verse. ‘3:3. About thy neck: The teachings should be made as much a part of one’s adornment as a necklace. The table of thine heart, that is, the mind.’
Yes my people, God’s laws should be so much a part of us, that they come like a necklace around our necks and should also be constantly on our minds. And what’s the benefit of all that? ‘So shalt thou find favour and good understanding (esteem) in the sight of God and man.’ (Prov.3:4) I don’t know about you, but I surely want to find favour with God, and to some extent with man.
Then in his God-inspired wisdom, Cousin Sol pens these words of everlasting truth, which so many of us quote, but don’t really put into practice. ‘Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct (make smooth) thy paths.’ (Prov.3:5-6) Oh mih breddren, what words of truth and wisdom!
And the scholars explain: ‘3:5-6. Three commands are given: trust, meaning, “rely on, depend upon”; lean not, meaning do not depend on your own native instincts; and acknowledge him, meaning have fellowship and intimacy with God in all of life. The result of such devotion is that God will make the paths before you smooth and/or straight.’
And normally people would stop there, but I’m not going to, because there’s much more wisdom that we desperately need to follow in the next few verses. ‘Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.’ (Prov.3:7) And you wonder why? ‘Because ‘It shall be health to thy navel (body), and marrow (strength) to thy bones.’ (Prov.3:8) Yuh see friends, following the Lord even brings bodily health and strength!
And we’ll close with this admonishment, that’s also so important, but which most of us don’t follow to our own demise. ‘Honour the Lord with thy substance (possessions), and with the first fruits of all thine increase:’ (Prov. 3:9) And again you foolishly ask why you should give to God so generously of your earthly possessions? ‘So shall thy barns shall be filled with plenty, and thy presses (vats) shall burst out with new wine.’ (Prov.3:10)
Ah mih people, remember one of the first rules that God laid down for the Israelites was giving a tithe, ten percent of their income to the church, so that the church could support the priesthood and do His work. And when they followed His command, they prospered.
But now, we seem to think otherwise and it’s not taught in many churches. But friends, that’s why a lot of us individually, and churches as a whole, are suffering in these difficult times. We consider it difficult or unwise to give God ten percent of what He has given to us. Remember it’s all His, and we are just stewards of it.
Please note His challenge to the Israelites in Malachi: ‘Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat (food) in mine house, and prove (test) me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.’ (Mal.3:10)
Oh my people, let’s start back teaching it in our churches nuh. Let’s just try it and see, take up that challenge and see if we can prove the Lord wrong nuh. From personal experience, I guarantee that we won’t! End of sermon.
Now let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings that the Lord has so generously bestowed on us, although we don’t deserve many of them. In strong and sincere voice now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance!
I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
And if we’re truly sincere, then we’ll go out and share those blessings with the less fortunate as Jesus greatly desires of us. Much LOVE!
…give generously to God…and He will give back to you…much more than you gave…
24 May 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Abraham, abundance, Amen, baptized, Behold, believers in Christ, bickering, blessings, breaking of bread, brethren in christ, brethren to dwell in unity, Christ's body, communal living, compassionate heart, confusion, continued steadfastly, courage, curse, denomination, disunity, doctrine, fear, fellowship, fire and brimstone, focal point, gladness, gorgeous days, guiding light, having favour, Hawaii, how good and how pleasant, immaterial stuff, infighting, inopportune time, life, Lot, LOVE, name of the game, negative word, no strife, one accord, one in Christ, one mind, peace and LOVE of Jesus, petty, Praise the Lord, praising God, prayers, quarrelling, regeneration of nature, religion, share, signs, singleness of heart, solf their possessions, stand fast, state of affairs, striving together, success, talent, the apostles, the church, the faith of the gospel, the Good Book, the Word of god, Thursday Blessings, volcano watch, walk the talk, we are brethren, wonders
Psalm 133:1. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.
Ah mih brethren, another glorious day is in the offing in my neighbourhood! Can’t remember when last I saw so many gorgeous days strung together. And yuh know, even when the rain falls, it doesn’t fall at an inopportune time, and then those days end up glorious too. (smile)
This springtime has really been a beautiful regeneration of nature! Glory Be! Let’s enjoy it as we thank our great and awesome God for the wonderful blessings of life and LOVE that He has given us. And all God’s people declared a loud and grateful: ‘Praise the Lord! Amen!’
And by the way, that volcano watch on Hawaii – well it seems to be getting worse every day. I believe there have been some explosions that are causing even more problems than before. Let’s remember to keep them in our prayers, and hope it doesn’t truly erupt, as volcanoes are possibly the most terrible of all destructions that can occur; it encapsulates the real fire and brimstone, which we so mythically talk about.
And today we’re going to get into our Bit very early, because it is possibly the most important problem facing Christ’s church right now. Hear these immortal words of Bruh David and give pause, let’s give thought to them in our own lives. ‘Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.’
Oh my people, if only that state of affairs even existed to one iota in the church of today, what a great church we’d have! But bickering and quarreling and disunity are the name of the game. Thus Christ’s body has become of little use to a major part of society. They scorn it and turn away from it because of the tremendous infighting and confusion that exists therein, not to mention that we don’t walk the talk we preach.
So how can Christ’s church ever become the focal point of our society under those conditions eh? Never! And it’s not to say that the arguments are all over major points of doctrine – No- a lot of them are over rather petty and immaterial stuff. But such is the hold of the world on us, that power and supremacy of religion or denomination keeps us from being more together.
Ah friends, can’t we see that strife is the enemy’s number one goal amongst believers? That way he keeps us warring against each other and not living in the peace and LOVE that Jesus desires of us. How unfortunate that we are allowing it to happen. Let’s look at some scripture on the subject.
We see way back when Lot and Abraham’s people were feuding over grazing land and water that Abraham wisely told him. ‘Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.’ (Gen.13:8)
Oh fellow believers in Christ, right there we have the most important aspect of our being on this earth; being brethren in Christ! That means we don’t need to be fighting each other over petty stuff. We won’t ever agree on everything, but this much we ought to agree on: that we are ONE in Christ!
And there is no better example of that than after Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit began indwelling believers and the new church was born. Hear the Good Book tell it re the day of Pentecost. ‘Then they that gladly receive his (Peter’s) word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.’ (Acts 2:41-42)
Yuh see that friends, ‘they continued steadfastly.’ Those are the most important words in that sentence. And they didn’t believe the apostles’ doctrine because they preached it, but because it agreed with the Word of God, which also called for fellowship and prayers.
And the Good Book continues: ‘And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by (through) the apostles. And all that believed were together, and had all things common. And sold their possessions and goods, and parted (distributed) them to all men, as every man (anyone) had need.
And they, continuing daily with one accord (mind) in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house did eat their meat (food) with gladness and singleness (simplicity) of heart. Praising God, and having favour with all people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be (were being) saved.’ (Acts 2:43-47)
Wow! What a moving memorial of the early church! Now we know that the communal living couldn’t happen nowadays, and didn’t last long there either. People sold their possessions because they possibly thought that Jesus was coming back real soon (smile), but look at how they communed together ‘in one accord, one mind.’
That’s how we ought to commune today friends; with Jesus as our guiding light regardless of the circumstance! Not all the other nonsense that we’ve allowed the world to intersperse into the church. Anyhow, time and space are upon us, so please ponder those things and see how we can improve our own situations.
Now let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings that our LOVING God has bestowed on us, even though we don’t deserve most of them. In strong and sincere voice now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
And please remember those blessings were not given for us to hoard, but to go out and share with others. Much LOVE!
…stand fast…in one spirit…with one mind…striving together…for the faith of the gospel…(Phil.2:27b)
17 May 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a more conveninet time, abundance, Agag, Amalekites, Behold, better than sacrifice, courage, creativity, cried unto the Lord, curse, disobedience, divination, divine promotion, doing what god says, epitome of wisdom, grief, Hawaiian volcano, hearken, heartache, help, idolatry, iniquity, negative word, obedience, obeyed the voice of the Lord, off kilter, penultimate day, perfect reason, plead extenuating circumstances, prayers, prosper, rebellion, rejected the word, sacrifice unto the Lord, Saul, shift the blame, storm in U.S, stubbornness, succeed, success, talent, the edge of the sword, the fat of rams, the Lord's bidding, the people, the price of disobedience, the sin of witchcraft, the wisest decision, Thursday's Blessings, to obey, turned from following me, utterly destroyed, what we think is right, when and how he says
1 Samuel 15:22b. Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
And then it was Thursday; the penultimate day of the workweek… And there were some shouts of ‘Glory be!’ to that announcement. (smile) And it also looks like it’s going to be another glorious day in my neighbourhood…Thank You Lord!
Unfortunately though, the people living under the influence of the volcano in Hawaii aren’t seeing any relief from it. In fact it’s getting worse.
Likewise those people involved in the deadly storm in the U.S. Northeast a couple of days ago. Their lives have not returned to normal as yet, and who knows when it will? Our prayers and any other help we can offer will be welcome.
And today I’m going to offer a li’l something on obedience. ‘Obedience is doing what God says, how He says to do it, and when He says to do it.’ Anything other than that is disobedience. That means a lot of us are more disobedient than we might think we are. Why?
Because we don’t always do what God says, or how He says to do it, or when He says to do it. We like to either put off God’s directives until a more convenient time, or just do what we think is right or sufficient to meet His directives. But friends, God doesn’t tell us to do anything unless He has a perfect reason and plan for it.
So if we don’t do it, when and how He says, that means we’re throwing that perfect plan off kilter and not accomplishing the purpose He intended. And we all know that the price of disobedience doesn’t come cheap.
So unless we want to pay some exorbitant prices for disobedience, I’m asking us today to spend some more time looking at whatever God asks us to do, and do it when and how He says.
Look at what happened to Saul, when he disobeyed God’s directives to totally wipe out the Amalekites. ‘And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
But Saul and the people spared Agag (the king), and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but everything that was vile and refuse (despised and worthless) that they utterly destroyed.’ (1 Sam.15:8-9)
Yeh friends, Saul thought He had done the Lord’s bidding, but he obviously did not understand the words ‘destroy all and everything utterly.’ And what happened then?
‘Then came the word of the Lord unto Samuel saying, It repenteth me (I greatly regret) that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the Lord all night.’ (1 Sam.15:11)
But that made no difference to the Lord’s decision, especially when Samuel confronted Saul about his disobedience: ‘And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag, the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
But the people took of the spoil (plunder), sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed to sacrifice unto the Lord in Gilgal.’ (1 Sam.15:20-21)
And once again Saul attempts to shift the blame to others, as he had done in Chapter 13:11-12, after he had usurped the priest’s office, and plead extenuating circumstances. But then who was the king eh? Who made the final decisions eh? King Saul!
Thus Samuel, whose heart was already breaking for Saul’s demise, had to rebuke him. ‘And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft (divination), and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.’ (1 Sam.15:22-23)
And that’s what a lot of us do friends; we pick and choose what we’ll do, instead of following the Lord’s directives to the ‘T’. We behave like we know the Lord’s plans better than Him.
But my brethren that only causes us grief and heartache, and we foolishly lose the Lord’s blessings. Please, I once more implore us to take very seriously whatever the Lord asks us to do, and do it when and how He says. It is the epitome of wisdom.
Now let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings, which the Lord has showered down on us, despite our not deserving them. All together now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance!
I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
And please remember one of the Lord’s directives is to share those blessings with others, so let’s be obedient and go out and do that nuh. Much LOVE!
…it’s not always easy to obey God to the fullest…but it’s always the wisest decision…
10 May 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a better person, a compassionate heart, a different person, a majority, a proven winner, a worse person, adversity, affirmation, almighty god, angry, as the brightness of the firmament, bat of an eyelash, bitter, build my faith, closer to God, common sense, courage, creativity, curse, cynical, disaster, disillusioned, divine protection, dr robert h schuller, drive me away from God, emblazon, end times, faith, faithfulness, good friends, good health, gospel truth, Hawaiian people, hope, Hosea, Hour of Power Devotional, imprisoned by hope, keep on praying, keep trucking on, lead you to God, left out, Let your problem, LOVE, loving-kindness, mental billboards, mercy, more patient, my attitude, negative attitude, negative word, never give up, pouts, prisoners of hope, prosper, rebuked by God, restore double, run away and hide, shatter my faith, shine, showers, sins, sour, stars for ever, stronger, succeed, success, take it to God, talent, the wise, this problem is past, Thursday's Blessings, turn many to righteousness, turn to God, turn to the stronghold, untapped resources, vision of Daniel, volcanic activity, wait on God., wisdom, wiser, you and god, Zechariah
Zechariah 9:12. Turn ye to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope: even today do I declare that I will render (restore) double unto thee.
Well mih people, we might not have as nice a day as the last few, because they’ve called for showers, and we did have a small thunder squall earlier in the morning, but yuh know what? Right now, though it’s somewhat cloudy, the Sun is fighting valiantly to come out and shine, shine, shine! Yeh it does look hopeful out there. And yuh know the SON is always out there doing His thing! So no need to worry on that side of the ledger. (smile)
Unfortunately however, those people in Hawaii are experiencing more volcanic activity, so let’s keep up our prayers for them, that the whole thing will soon settle down without further disruption and disaster.
Now here is something from Gramps Schuler’s (Dr. Robert H Schuller) Hour of Power Devotional. It gives us a very good insight into problems, and is appropriately titled: ‘Let Your Problem Lead You to God.’
Gramps Schuller writes: ‘No problem leaves you where it found you. Read this affirmation out loud: “I will be a different person when this problem is past. I will be a wiser, stronger, more patient person; or I will be sour, cynical, bitter, disillusioned, and angry. It all depends on what I do with this problem.
Each problem can make me a better person or a worse person. It can bring me closer to God, or it can drive me away from God. It can build my faith or it can shatter my faith. It all depends on my attitude. I intend to be a better person when this problem leaves me than I was when it met me.” There are vast untapped resources of faith and talent that can only be discovered in adversity.’
And isn’t that the gospel truth my brethren! It’s unfortunate, but the fact is that only through adversity can we build or discover true faith. And when adversity comes, the way we handle it will indeed make us a better or worse person. If we try to run away from it and hide, or adopt a completely negative attitude, then it will eat us up faster than the bat of an eyelash.
But if we keep our peace and recognize that the problem is bigger than us and take it to God, then we’re already in the driver’s seat! Glory to God! Remember friends that you and God are a majority in EVERY situation, and with Him by your side, you can win every battle.
If you are a wise believer, then taking your problems to God is a no-brainer, because that’s what He has asked us to do. He wants to be involved in EVERY situation in our lives, big, small or otherwise! And if we don’t involve Him in everything, He feels left out and pouts, just like we do, when we’re not invited in. (smile)
Oh friends, we cannot pick and choose which situations in our life to allow God into, that’s why I’ve chosen this encouraging scripture from the prophet Zechariah, as he talks about Zion’s future king, to be our Bit today. ‘Turn ye to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope: even today do I declare that I will render (restore) double unto thee.’
Oh my people, what wonderful advice! And though it was given thousands of years ago, it’s still as pertinent today as it was back then. It only makes sense to turn to whatever is strong in our lives, not what is weak. And the strongest thing there is, is Almighty God, so why wouldn’t we turn to Him in all wisdom eh?
But what I like most about that passage of scripture is the phrase, ‘prisoners of hope!’ Wow! It sounds like the perfect name for believers. Imprisoned by hope in Jesus Christ, we just keep trucking on in faith and never give up! I think it’s high time we emblazon that phrase on our mental billboards, and truly begin considering ourselves as prisoners of hope. We can never go wrong if we do.
And yuh see what happens when we do behave as prisoners of hope? The Lord renders double unto us. He blesses us even more than He has already. So why not become a true prisoner of hope then eh my people? Wisdom and common sense demand it!
And now, I just want to add a couple of obscure scriptures that most of us might not know, but which encourage us to turn to God. Listen to Hosea, as he talks about Ephraim’s sins being rebuked by God. ‘Even the Lord God of hosts; the Lord is his memorial. Therefore turn thou to thy God: keep mercy (LOVING-kindness, faithfulness) and judgement (justice), and wait on thy God continually.’ (Hos.12:5-6) Now that’s a proven winner!
And lastly, these most encouraging words from the vision of Daniel re the time of the end. ‘And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.’ (Dan. 12:3)
Oh my brethren, what a wonderful promise! And since we consider these times, the end times, what better way to go than by being wise and shining brightly and turning others to Christ! Mama Mia! That verse surely excited me! (smile)
Now, since we are wise, and are prisoners of hope, let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings, all that the Lord has given us for being so smart. Hn, hn! Altogether now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life!
I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection!
I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
What a wonderful God we serve and worship! But remember people, that’s not all for us, but also to share with the less fortunate. So let’s go and do that now nuh. Much LOVE!
…if you’ve got to be a prisoner…there’s none better…than being one of hope in Almighty God…
03 May 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fool's wisdom, abundance, among the stars, as the eagle, charles stanley, compassionate heart, courage, creativity, curse, disobedient, divine protection, doh-care times, doom, drcisions, dwell in the clfts of the rock, Edom, egoistic, Esau, every area of life, everything we do, exalt thyself, faithful followers, full benefit, get too full of myself, God;s magnanimity, has deceived thee, haughty, hope, humbled me, I will bring thee down, in our relationships, in the midst of our entire being, Jacob, join with God, Judah, keep god at the centre of our universe, like puppets, LOVE, mountain stronghold, negative word, no respect, Obadiah, our finances, our planse, pick and choose, positive outlook, pride, prideful, prophecy, prosperity, proud, proud perches, pulls our strings, puny efforts, renewal of nature, rough, saith the Lord, say, security, selfish, set thy nest, share the blessing, smell the roses, spring time, stop trying to box God out, talent, that says in his heart, the God of their forefathers, the land of the living, the Lord God Almighty, the pride of thine heart, think, Thursday Blessings, upgrading our walk with God, wake up, welcome Him wholeheartedly, who shall bring me down, whose haitation is high, winter slumber, wisdom
Obadiah 1:3. The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?
Ah friends, one more day in the land of the living! Hope today though will be better than yesterday. We won’t get into the ramifications, but yesterday was rough, to put it mildly. I guess the Lord figured I had come through the operation too smoothly, without any real pain or such, and He didn’t want me to get too full of myself, so He humbled me in a way that only He can do. (smile)
And now that I’m completely humbled, it’s time to move on with getting better. And how do we do that? By upgrading our walk with God. And here are some tips from Uncle Charles (Charles Stanley) on how to do that. He strongly advises that we keep God at the centre of our universe, of our thinking: in everything we do, everything we say, everything we think, in our relationships, our finances, our plans, and EVERY area of life.
Yes, faithful followers of God, the Almighty MUST be in the midst of our entire being. Nothing else is acceptable in His sight. We can’t pick and choose what areas we’ll allow Him into, as we are wont to do. He wants to be involved in EVERYTHING! Even the smallest and most inconspicuous decisions.
So it’s time we stop trying to box Him out of certain areas and things of our lives, and just welcome Him wholeheartedly into every area. That’s the ONLY way we will ever get the full benefit of His magnanimity!
That brings us to our Bit for today, a rather appropriate scripture from the prophet Obadiah, for these proud, egotistic, selfish and doh-care times. It was originally meant for the people of Edom (Esau) because of his actions against his brother Judah (Jacob).
The theme of the prophecy is the doom of Edom, and consequently, our doom, if we keep going the way we currently are. ‘The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?’
Before we get into the Bit though, here is some background info to help us. ‘1 Edom refers to the territory settled by Esau’s descendants. It is a mountainous desert extending for about one hundred miles from the wadi Zered to the Gulf of Aqaba. The Edomites enjoyed the security of their mountain stronghold and the prosperity obtained by taxing caravans travelling through their territory.’
So now we know the setting for Obadiah’s statement. The Edomites figured they were safe and secure in their mountainous lairs, so their prosperity and pride turned them away from the God of their forefathers, just like those things are doing to us today. So many of us today are prideful and haughty and have no respect for man nor God, foolishly figuring that no one can bring us down from our proud perches.
But friends, that’s a fool’s wisdom. There is always some man or woman who can bring us down from our haughty heights. And if a fellow human being isn’t able to do it, then the Lord God Almighty, our Creator can, and will certainly do so, whenever He is ready.
And as always, He clearly and plainly states His intentions, but like the fools we are, we never seem to take Him seriously. Hear the verse after our Bit. ‘Though thou exalt thyself as (high as) the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord.’ (Obad.1:4)
And the scholars explain: ‘4. Though thou set thy nest among the stars: This figure of speech emphasizes the inaccessibility and natural security of their city. However their natural security is no match for God’s determination.’ And that is what we have to realize my people. Our puny efforts at security and safety are no match for our Creator’s ability. Yet we still try to foolishly disregard Him and His laws.
Oh friends, oh friends, the only thing that makes any sense is to join with God, not turn or run away from Him, since He is both wiser and more powerful than any or all of us together. We keep forgetting that He created us, and still pulls our strings. In His hands we can be like puppets, if He so desires.
So let’s wake up and smell the roses nuh, in this most appropriate time for such activity, the renewal of nature, spring time. Let’s awaken from our winter slumber and call on the name of God in all wisdom and truth nuh, for that’s what our plagued world desperately needs.
And yuh see friends, though we are so disobedient, our wonderful God still blesses us with abundant blessings as set out in our Thursday Blessings. Let’s shout them out: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance!
I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
And having all of that, let’s go out now and share it with the less fortunate nuh, for that is what Jesus desires of us, why He blessed us so abundantly in the first place. Much LOVE!
…the first rule of a blessing…is to share it…
26 Apr 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a gift from God, a servant of Christ, abundance, bad luck, be multiplied to you, be obedient, belief in Jesus christ, charles stanley, Commit thy way to the Lord, courage, creativity, curse, delight thyself in the Lord, divine power, do goo, dwell in the land, escaped the corruption, eternal life, evil world, expect something for nothing, faith, faithfulness, fruit of the Spirit, given to us, given us all things, glory, God's unmerited favour, godliness, good examples, grace, great and precious promises, holy spirit, Holy Trinity, is in the world, judgement, justice, licentious behaviour, light, lustful, mercy, negative situations, negative word, noonday, partakers of the divine nature, peace, personally testify, Peter, precious faith, promises, prosper, prosperous life, reward, righteousness, salt, salutation, salvation, self-control, self-discipline, share God's blessings, Standing on the promises of God, succeed, talent, testify, that pertain unto life, the desires of thine heart, the gift of God, the knowledge of god, the Lord's faithfulness, the wages of sin is death, third person, thou shalt be fed, through lust, Thursday Blessings, trust in the Lord, virtue, wisdom, you reap what you sow
2 Peter 1:4. Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
Oh friends, this salutation seemed like the best way to begin today’s message, as it runs with our Bit. And if it was good enough for Peter, it’s good enough for me. (smile) Randy O’Brien, ‘a servant of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like (the same kind of) precious faith with us through the righteousness of (our) God and Saviour Jesus Christ. Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through (in) the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to (by) glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.’ (2 Peter 1:1-4)
Oh my fellow believers, you all hear that? Through our belief in Jesus Christ, we’ve been given ALL things that pertain to life and godliness, accompanied by ‘great and precious promises’ which help us get away, and stay away from the lustful and licentious behaviour of this evil world. Wow! What could be better than that eh friends? NOTHING REALLY!
The Lord has implanted His Holy Spirit to dwell in ALL believers, and the power of the third person of the Holy Trinity provides ALL that we need, or will ever need to be successful in this life. Please remember that, and seriously take hold of it nuh.
The fruit of the Spirit has already been planted in us, all we have to do now is ask the Lord to help us water and nurture them so that they can grow and show up in our lives, so that we can be good examples to the world, salt and light, and glorify and exalt His most precious and Holy Name! Glory be my brethren!
And we going to continue looking at some of God’s promises today. And this is one of my favourite, because I am currently living it. The immortal and oh so true words of Bruh David. ‘Trust in the Lord and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed (feed on his faithfulness).
Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgement (justice) as the noonday.’ (Ps.37:3-6)
Oh friends, if it’s one thing I can testify to is the Lord’s faithfulness. Although I’ve been going through a rough time medically this past year and a half, with no real relief in sight, you wouldn’t believe how the Lord has been blessing me during this time, surprisingly making some of the desires of my heart come to pass. Brother! Is he ever a wonderful God!
The problem with most of us is that we expect something for nothing – both from man and God. But that’s not real life my people! Generally speaking, you get back when and what you give. As Uncle Charles (Charles Stanley) likes to say; ‘You reap what you sow, more than you sow, and later than you sow.’ That’s just a fact of nature!
That brings us to this awesome but also frightening promise: ‘For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.’ (Romans 6:23) Yeh mih breddren, if you insist on following the sinful, lustful world, death will be your eventual reward.
However, if you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour and do your best to be obedient to His rules and principles, then you will receive the most wonderful gift there is; that of salvation and everlasting life with Christ. As the scholars tell us: ‘6:23. Wages: Emphasizes what we deserve. Gift of God: Emphasizes God’s unmerited favour.’
Yuh see the difference friends? One is what you deserve; the other is mercy, giving you something good that you don’t deserve. And please remember that salvation is indeed a gift from God, we can’t do anything to deserve it. All the good works we do mean nothing unless we believe in Christ as Lord and Saviour, for that’s the way the Lord set it up, so that none of us could boast about our good works.
And that, I think, brings us to the end of these messages on the promises of God. I implore us to study them and take them to heart, because as Peter says, they’ve been given to us so that we can lead a good and prosperous life here on earth. Please don’t let them go to waste, and then complain about your bad luck and other negative situations. Then you only have yourself to blame.
Now let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings which have been showered down on us because we have tried to be obedient to God’s law and have taken up and held on to His many generous promises. All together now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life!
I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection!
I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
And one of God’s most important laws is for us to now go out and share those blessings with the less fortunate! Much LOVE!
…promises…promises…I’m standing on the promises of Christ my God…
19 Apr 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a clean heart, accumulate, affluence of the wicked, asaph, boastful, bring us joy, Christ is Lord, Christians, compassionate heart, courage, creativity, curse, cut off, disgusting situations, dreary looking day, envious, every knee must bow, every tongue confess, evil doers, God is good, God is the strength of my heart, God's sanctuary, great commission, great invitation, Hallelujah, happiness, I had stumbled, important aspects, inherit the earth, light, live for Jesus, Love of Jesus, my feet were almost gone, my flesh and my heart fails, negative word, no words, our faith, peace, positive outlook, power, prosper, prosperous wickedness, relationship with god, repented, self-control, self-discipline, seriously enough, sold their souls, succeed, talent, thank the Lord for Jesus, the foolish, the name above every other, the prosperity, the things of the world, the wicked, Thursday Blessings, to do Christ justice, to the glory of God, ungodliness, wait upon the Lord, wealth of the world, wisdom
Psalm 73:3. For I was envious at the foolish (boastful), when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
Ah mih people, it’s a good thing that we have the light, the power, peace and LOVE of Jesus residing within us yes, otherwise when we look outside all we’d see is the beginning of another cold, damp and dreary looking day. Steups!
Thank the Lord for Jesus oui! Shout ‘Hallelujah!’ and praise His most wonderful and holy name. The name that’s above every other name and to which every knee must bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord, to the glory of our heavenly Father.
Mama Mia! How beautiful is our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ eh? There are no words in the human vocabulary to do Him justice! And when we add all the sad and disgusting situations existing in our current world and it’s exceeding ungodliness, it just makes us want to LOVE and live for Jesus even more.
Now over the last two days we have spoken about Jesus’ Great Commission and His Great Invitation, but yuh know what friends, too many of us Christians are not taking those very important aspects of our faith seriously enough.
Unfortunately we are turning to the things of the world to bring us joy, peace and happiness; seeking to accumulate the wealth of the world, so that we can leave lots of it behind for our families and lawyers to fight over when we depart this life.
Oh my breddren, too many of us are behaving like the psalmist Asaph when he wrote Psalm 73 – The mystery of prosperous wickedness. Hear how he opens it: ‘Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean (pure) heart. But as for me, my feet were almost gone (I had almost stumbled); my steps had well-nigh slipped. For I was envious at the foolish (boastful), when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.’ (Ps.73:1-3)
Yeh friends, just like Asaph, many, too many of us are looking at the prosperity of the wicked and are being envious and jealous of them and trying to be like them. But that’s not our calling my people. We are called to be righteous and to do good in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour!
And if we do that, we’ll end up as Jesus promised: ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt.6:33) Yes, if we look to God first, He will provide all that we need. As Bruh Paul said to the Philippians: ‘But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by (through) Christ Jesus.’ (Phil.4:19)
It’s obvious though that many of us either don’t know those promises or don’t believe or adhere to them since we are so busily seeking the things of the world, which eventually perish and we have to leave behind anyway. We seem to think like Asaph did, even though he was a highly spiritual man, as he continues after our Bit.
‘For there are no bands (pangs or pain) in their death: but their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men. Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain (serves as a necklace); violence covereth them as a garment. Their eyes stand out with fatness (bulge with abundance): they have more than heart could wish.’ (Ps.73:4-7)
Yeh friends, the ungodly and wicked are currently prospering in this evil world, but it won’t be forever. Listen as Bruh David tells about the true state of the wicked. ‘Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.’ (Ps.37:3)
And the scholars explain: ‘Psalm 73: This psalm is another dealing with the problem of the prosperity of the wicked. Unlike Psalm 37, however, it does not emphasize the brevity of that prosperity. The author observes that sometimes the bounty achieved by the wicked does in fact last throughout life (v.4).
He emphasizes every believer’s need to test his own personal relationship with God. That alone provides the ultimate satisfaction available to the believer who witnesses the affluence of the wicked. That’s a fact that almost caused him to stumble spiritually and lose his faith.’
Ah mih people, I know that we suffer from the same problem, but like Asaph, we can also overcome it. And how did he do so? Hear him: ‘Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.’ (Ps.73:17)
Yes my fellow believers, as the scholars further explain: ‘Not until the psalmist entered God’s sanctuary and received a divine perspective on the wicked’s prosperity did he find his answer to the problem (vs.17-28) He saw the destiny of the wicked (vs.17-20); therefore he repented of his foolishness (vs.21-22) and found his happiness solely in a warm and growing relationship with God (vs.23-28).’
And so can we my brethren, if we look solely to God for our earthly sustenance and not be envious of those who seem to have it all, for who knows if they sold their souls to achieve that power and abundance. And eventually, like Asaph, we will also be able to declare: ‘My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength (rock) of my heart, and my portion for ever.’ (Ps.73:26)
And having said that, let’s go home now declaring our Thursday Blessings, those wonderful attributes the Lord pours down on those sincerely believe and stand steadfast with Him. All together now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
And the corollary to that, is to now go out and generously share those blessings with the less fortunate, as Jesus intends for us to do. Much LOVE!
…evil doers shall be cut off…but those that wait upon the Lord…shall inherit the earth… (Ps.37:9)
16 Apr 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a change of conduct, a sense of sorrow, a word to the wise, all bets are off, aura of love, bad weather, be born again, Billy Bishop Airport, blasphemous attitude, Canada, commute, confidence, courage, crapaud smoke we pipe, energize, enthusiasm, eternal life, evil, explode, faith, friends, God's mercy, greater toronto area, high winds, humble servants, ice, implode, invincible, Jesus Christ, joy, leading man, lies, LOVE, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, power outages, rain, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, repent, repnetance, rest, rising temps, salvation, shining brightly, sleet, snow, spiritual armour, spread the message, steadfast faith, sufficient, talk to the world, taunts, the end times, the gulf of Mexico, the kingdom of heaven is at hand, the result of, the SON, the status quo, tornadoes, travel, trust, ungodly world, wiles, wisdom
Matthew 3:2. And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Well friends, it’s been a helluva weekend in North America! From the Gulf of Mexico all the way up to Canada, it’s been a succession of high winds, rain, snow, sleet, ice, tornadoes, and any other kind of bad weather one can experience, and it has caused havoc in all areas of life, especially travel and power outages. And in some places in the U.S it hasn’t eased up yet.
In the Greater Toronto Area we had mostly ice, high winds and rain, and outside still looks like the frozen tundra of the Arctic. At one stage at the Billy Bishop Airport in Toronto they experienced winds of 90 km/h per hour. Wow! Why would one want to be flying, or even be out in winds that strong eh? Let’s hope that the rising temps today along with the rain will melt and wash away all of that ice.
I can imagine the state of the commute this morning. And the warning still stands; if you don’t have to go out, don’t go out. And yuh better believe I’m going to take my advice, because I have a doctor’s appointment in the city at lunchtime, but I can guarantee you it’s not happening. Anyway, enough about the weather, let’s turn to our faith, which helps us to handle the inclement stuff.
And this is one day that we definitely need our Monday Morning Battle Hymn to raise our adrenalin level as we contemplate the severe negative aspects of getting to work safely. So with sincere heart and strong voice, let’s sing:
‘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 that ought to raise our level of confidence and courage and energize us this dreadful looking morning. And please remember that regardless of the outward circumstances, the SON is still shining brightly, and is always there to help us in whatever area we may need it.
Now let’s turn to our Bit: ‘And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
Yeh friends, those were the warning words of John the Baptist as he began his ministry foretelling the coming of Jesus. And I think we’d do well to seriously consider them in these evil and ungodly times. Too many out of the ordinary things and circumstances are happening all over the world for them to be just coincidence or happenstance.
And as believers, we know that NOTHING just happens by accident or chance, the hand of the Lord is always involved somehow or the other. And remember how He destroyed the world when it was so sinful in the time of Noah? Well He only promised not to destroy it by water again – possibly by fire and brimstone next time. And it just seems that we’re playing with a lot of fire and explosive material these days.
A lot of destructive stuff is happening in these especially sinful times, and I just wonder if the Lord is not giving us a not so subtle message to beware, He’s getting fed up with our endless shenanigans and trying to rid our society of His presence. Friends, I’m suggesting that we be safe, rather than sorry, and REPENT, give up our evil ways and return to the Lord’s fold.
As the scholars explain: ‘3:2. Repent (Gr. metanoeo) means a change of mind that results in a change of conduct. Repentance is not merely sorrow. It involves a complete change of attitude regarding God and sin and is often accompanied by a sense of sorrow and a corresponding change in conduct. Such repentance does not arise in man himself, but is the result of God’s mercy in leading man to it. (Acts 5:31; Rom.2:4; 2 Tim.2:25).’
Oh my people, please look at those scriptures and let them work in our hearts, for the end times are drawing nigh, and if we are not prepared then salvation and eternal life will be denied us, and that’s the worst thing that could ever happen to a human being.
The world is too sinful and ungodly for the Lord to put up with it much longer. And if we keep going the way we are, with or without His help, we’ll either implode or explode. But the status quo cannot last much longer. Remember too, that Jesus can return at any time, like a thief in the night, and once He comes back, all bets are off.
So it behooves us, believers, to talk to the world, to spread the message, to get it ready. Saying, let’s repent, let’s change our sinful, blasphemous attitude towards our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, be born again, and accept His free offer through grace, of salvation and eternal life. That’s the wisest and best offer going! Otherwise…crapaud smoke we pipe! Much LOVE!
…a word to the wise is sufficient…
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