19 Oct 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, abrogated, action, active, against the evildoers, beacons, cannot be hid, Christ's body, Christ-like, Christian faith, Christians, comfortable, compromising, courage, creativity, curse, desire, distinction, divided, do for christ, do God's will, dreams, dwelt in silence, eliminated, Enjoying Everyday Life Magazine, evil cohorts, evil stuff, flavour, fractured, glorify God, glory to God, good for nothing, good works, have life, held me up, hypocrites, imagination, in our hearts and souls, in the name of Jesus, Jesus Christ, Joyce Meyer, let your light so shine, light houses, light of the world, living the good life, lost his savour, Lucifer, make disciples, mercy, more abundantly, moving God out, negative word, our Lord and Saviour, passive, prosper, prosperity of the wicked, protection, raise a hue and cry, reality, repelling, rights, rise up, self-control, self-discipline, set on a hill, share blessings, shining brilliantly, sit passively by, stand up, succeed, success, taking away our rights, talk a lot, the church, the Holy Spirit, the Lord my help, the penultimate day, the salt of the earth, the workers of iniquity, the workweek, Thursday Blessings, trampled upon, trodden underfoot, under a bushel, up in arms, uphold what jesus stands for, vision, wisdom
Psalm 94:16. Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? Or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?
And then it was Thursday, the penultimate day of our workweek! And some people shout ‘Glory to God!’ thankful that the week is almost over. Hn, hn! It’s amusing that we don’t give God glory when the week begins, but are quick to do so when it ends.
Anyway, though the day has dawned somewhat cloudy, chilly and windy, it’s always nice to know that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is still out there shining as brilliantly as ever, both in our hearts and souls, so that we can be safely guided to do His will and accomplish whatever plans He has for our lives.
Now that is something for which we should all be shouting ‘Glory to God!’ The wise believers will undoubtedly do so. But let me share a li’l something from Sister Joyce (Joyce Meyer) that I found in one of her articles in a recent Enjoying Everyday Life Magazine.
She succinctly states: ‘The distinction between dreams and reality is called action.’ And that’s ever so true friends! Dreams will never turn into reality until we DO something with them. Otherwise, they will simply remain dreams; a glorious vision in our imagination.
Unfortunately that seems to be something that’s happening a lot in our Christian faith today. We all have dreams, some placed in our hearts by God, and we talk a lot about what we’re going to do for Christ, but nothing much ever happens, because we don’t get behind the talk and action our dreams and desires.
It’s one reason why the enemy is slowly pushing us back, and moving God out of our society. We’re not being active enough in repelling the evil stuff that’s coming against us. Everybody’s talking about their rights but Christians. And it seems that our rights are the ones that are constantly being trampled upon, and even abrogated or eliminated.
But we’re not up in arms about it. We talk some, but sit passively by, while others raise a hue and cry and eventually get what they desire. Then we claim they are taking away our rights. Steups!
That brings us to our Bit, an interesting verse from Psalm 94 – How long shall the wicked triumph? ‘Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? Or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?’
The psalmist was there bewailing the rise and prosperity of the wicked, but he did not have the Holy Spirit dwelling in him, as we now do, so he had to look to the Lord totally for help.
Thus he continues: ‘Unless the Lord had been my help, my soul had almost (would soon have) dwelt in silence. When I said, My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O Lord, held me up.’ (Ps.94:17-18)
And of course friends, when the going gets too rough for us, the Lord’s mercy will hold us up. But until then we have the Holy Spirit indwelling us so that we can do God’s will, make disciples of others, which also means fighting against the workers of iniquity. Otherwise why have the Holy Spirit indwelling us eh?
The church is Christ’s body, His organization here on earth, and we’re supposed to uphold all that He stands for! Are we doing that? Definitely not as much as we should!
In the first place we’re too fractured, too divided. Then overall we’re too passive, too compromising, too comfortable living the good life of the world. And remember the Lord did die that we might have life, and have it more abundantly, (John 10:10) but not the way Lucifer and his evil cohorts envision it.
So what am I saying? Listen to Jesus’ words, for He says it much better than I can. ‘Ye are the salt of the earth” but if the salt have lost his savour (flavour), wherewith (by what) shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle (lamp), and put it under a bushel (basket), but on a candlestick (lampstand); and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt.5:13-16)
There you have it my fellow believers, the words, the instructions, the desire of our Lord and Saviour, our Leader Jesus Christ. He wants us to be the salt of the earth, add His Christian, Christ-like flavour to the earth. And also shine like bright beacons; like the lighthouses that were once set on hills to guide the passing ships.
People won’t come to Him unless they see good and favourable examples in us. And sadly, I must say that right now we’re not being either salt or light because too many unbelievers are looking at us and instead of declaring us Christians, they are crying out ‘Hypocrites!’ And I doubt that that sits very well with Christ.
So let’s try and do better nuh mih people. Remember we have the Lord’s help, and with that we can do ANYTHING, if we so desire. But we must first have the desire. Now let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings… And friends, with such wonderful blessings being bestowed on us, how can we not have a great desire to serve and worship the Lord eh?
‘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 go out and share our blessings with others. Much LOVE!
…we have ALL we need…to be the salt of the earth…and the light of the world…except possibly the desire…
12 Oct 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a faithful follower of Jesus, a foolish thing, a rainy day, a sovereign Being, a wake up call, a waste of time, action, almighty god, behind the eight ball, believe, bush fire blazing, California, carnage, cease from anger, claimed numerous lives, communication revolution, courage, creativity, curse, earthquakes, engulfed homes, evil ways, evildoers shall be destroyed, extinguish His presence, faith, fellow believers, fires, foolish games, forsake wrath, fret not thyself, friends, glamourous, glitzy, God is alive and well, God is in control, God's infinite movements, God's salvation, homes, hope, hurricanes, impatience, in His own time, inherit the earth, Israelites, Jeremiah, Lamentations, livelihoods, lost their lives, LOVE, moral ineptitude, natural disasters, negative word, now-for-now living, obedience, patience, perseverance, power mongering, punishment, puny imaginations, quietly wait, rain pouring down, rebellion, repentance, Rest in the Lord, self-control, self-discipline, take better care of our planet, the back burner, the beginning from the end, the God of their fathers, The Lord is good, the soul that seeks God, the way of the world, Thursday Blessings, tragedy, trust, unpredictable weather, wait on God., wait patiently, wealth, wicked schemes, work everything out for good
Psalm 37:7a. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him:
It was a rainy day…a chilly one too…and mostly cloudy… Looks like today will be more of the same. Ah mih people, our weather is becoming so unpredictable that who knows what’s happening?
Meanwhile, with rain pouring down on this side of the continent, out on the West Coast, in California, another raging bush fire has claimed numerous lives and engulfed thousands of homes! Steups! So where is the rain that they need eh?
Sometimes, when we see all these natural disasters happening, it gets real hard to trust and believe and wait on our great and good God.
Oh, deep down, we know that He is in control and that all things will eventually work themselves out for good, but nonetheless we don’t want to see our fellow believers suffering such unbelievable tragedy. It hurts us to the very core of our beings, especially when we project ourselves in their positions.
And the number of folks who have lost their lives, homes and livelihoods in the last few months, to fires on the west coast of Canada and the U.S, and to hurricanes in the Caribbean and Southern U.S and to earthquakes in Mexico, is simply staggering.
I don’t know if so much natural carnage has ever occurred in such a short space of time in so many places before. But friends, all we can truly do is take better care of our planet and place our total faith and trust in the One who created us and the entire universe; Almighty God!
And as I keep reminding us, all of these natural disasters might just be a wake up call from God to cut out our intolerable evil ways and return to following Him in true repentance and obedience.
The Israelites suffered severe punishment whenever they drifted away from the God of their fathers, so why can’t it happen to us too, since we have also put God on the back burner of our lives, with every intention to totally extinguish His presence and place in our society.
Obviously that’s a very foolish thing to do, but nevertheless, many of us have done it, or are in the process of doing so. The way of the world; it’s glitzy and glamourous things and wealth and moral ineptitude have bedazzled us into thinking that God is a waste of time.
But my fellow believers that’s the furthest thing from the truth! Our God is alive and well, keeping a very watchful eye on everything, allowing mankind to play their foolish games of power mongering and rebellion.
He knows the beginning from the end and has all His plans laid out and will eventually bring them all to fruition…in His own good time! Now that last phrase is the all-important one… in God’s own time.
Remember God is a sovereign Being, full of might and power, whose thoughts and ways are much higher than ours. So in our finite and puny imaginations we can never truly understand His infinite movements and the time line for them.
Thus, regardless of how religious and holy and righteous we are, true wisdom can only be shown when we adhere to the immortal words of our Bit, which flowed from the pen of Bruh David as he wrestled with the same feelings and constraints that we are currently wrestling with. ‘Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him:’
Oh friends, we’ll never find out how true those words are until we put them into action! Our God has made numerous promises, and He will keep them ALL, but in His own time and His own way! Until we learn to recognize and accept that, we’ll remain continuously behind the eighth ball.
Now listen to how Bruh David continues after our Bit: ‘fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices (schemes) to pass.
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil (it only cause harm). For evildoers shall be cut off (destroyed): but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.’ (Ps.37:7b-9)
Oh mih breddren, we all know how true those words are, so why aren’t we practicing them eh? Because we have been overwhelmed by the world’s impatience and desire for everything as soon as possible. Now-for-now living characterizes our society. We need to have everything immediately! That’s the unfortunate result of our technological and communication revolution.
Now hear this scripture that truly tells it like it is. Jeremiah, in his lamentations, tearfully but truthfully declares: ‘The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.’ (Lam.3:25-26) How much clearer can it get eh my people?
But before we go home declaring our Thursday Blessings, there is one proviso to it all; waiting on the Lord doesn’t mean sitting on our fannies and doing nothing. It means still doing what is necessary, working, persevering in God’s will. For that’s when the Lord showers down these heavenly blessings on us.
So let’s shout them to the world, so that others can see the goodness of God and thus wisely desire to embrace Him too. ‘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!’
The next step is to now go out and bless others, because blessings are meant to be shared. Much LOVE!
…only as believers show patience and perseverance…will they be truly blessed…
01 Oct 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a majestic morning, awesome wonder, believers, blessings, bow down, burn sacrifice, Carl Gustav Bober, clean hearts, confidence, courage, exalt God's name, fellowship, forest glades, glory, gratitude, great is our God, heartfelt emotions, heaven, heavenly Father, homage, honour, How great thou art, hypocritical, Jesus Christ, kneel before the Lord, living God, LOVE, make a joyful noise, mercies, mountain grandeur, on the cross, praise, psalms, resist the temptation, rhetoric, sacirfice of praise, sing unto the Lord, sings my soul, strength, Stuart K Hine, Sunday morning, take away my sin, thanks, thanksgiving, the birds sing sweetly, the Creator of the universe, the gentle breeze, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the house I build, the Lord God of Hosts, the Lord's sanctuary, the Lord's Word, the mulberry bush, the people of his pasture, the rock of our salvation, the rolling thunder, the sheep of his hand, the upcoming week, truth, unequivocal message, will be great, worship
2 Chronicles 2:5. And the house which I build is (will be) great: for great is our God above all gods.
‘Here we go round the mulberry bush, the mulberry bush, the mulberry bush…Here we go round the mulberry bush on a Sunday morning!’ Oh friends, I could not resist the temptation to begin today’s message with that bit of frivolity, once it came into my mind.
The truth though is that we’re not going round any bush, but we’re on our way to the Lord’s sanctuary this Sunday morning to fellowship with each other, to give praise and thanks for our many blessings and mercies, to hear the Lord’s word and receive His strength and confidence to go out and face the enemy with courage in the upcoming week.
Wow! What a majestic morning it’s shaping up to be! And yuh know what? Only the believers in Jesus Christ can attest to such a wonderful situation in their lives! That’s why I keep reminding us of the amazing and awesome God we serve! And that’s why I chose this most appropriate hymn, ‘How Great Thou Art’ to open our time of praise and worship. It was written in the early 20th century by a Swedish writer, Carl Gustav Boberg and translated into English by missionary Stuart K Hine in mid-century.
So let’s offer up with truthful lips and sincere hearts a genuine sacrifice of praise today, letting our heavenly Father know how much we LOVE and appreciate Him. In loud voice and beautiful harmony now: ‘O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder, Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made; I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, Thy power throughout the universe displayed. (Refrain: Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee, How great Thou art, How great Thou art. Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee, How great Thou art, How great Thou art!)
When through the woods, and forest glades I wander, And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees. When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze. (Refrain) And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing; Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in; That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing, He bled and died to take away my sin. (Refrain)
When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation, And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart. Then I shall bow, in humble adoration, And then proclaim: “My God, how great Thou art!” (Refrain: Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee, How great Thou art, How great Thou art. Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee, How great Thou art, How great Thou art! Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee, How great Thou art, How great Thou art!)’
And isn’t that the God awesome truth my brethren! No wonder that hymn has been recognized by several polls over the years as the number one hymn in America. Our God is indeed the GREATEST! Please never forget that! And neither is it a new idea, because Cousin Sol stated it quite plainly many many moons ago in our Bit. ‘And the house which I build is (will be) great: for great is our God above all gods.’
Yes friends, that was the unequivocal message he conveyed to Huram, king of Tyre, when asking him to sell him lumber and whatever else he needed to build the Lord’s temple. And I like the verse after our Bit. ‘But who is able to build him a house, seeing the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain him? who am I then, that I should build him a house, save only to burn sacrifice before him?’ (2 Chr.2:6)
Ah mih people, our God doesn’t really need a house to live in, because He is the Creator of the universe and all therein, and as Cousin Sol says, even the great heavens can’t contain Him. The houses we build for God are basically for us to get together to worship Him. And if you don’t believe Cousin Sol, then listen to the psalmist from Psalm 95 – A psalm of praise to the great God.
‘O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise (shout joyfully) to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise (shout joyfully) unto him with psalms (songs). For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand (His possession) are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills (the heights) is his also. The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land. O come let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker. For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.’ (Ps. 95:1-7)
Oh friends, those are words of unalterable truth! The Lord God of Hosts is our God; consequently we need to pay Him homage, to exalt His glorious name to all the world. And that is exactly what we are trying to do today, on this His special day, with all the praise and thanksgiving, the honour and the glory, the sincere and heartfelt emotions of LOVE and immense gratitude we’re sending up to heaven on high, as we gather in His sanctuary.
However friends, let’s be careful now, that our motives are right and our hearts are clean, because God can see right through us, and if we’re being hypocritical, then He’ll just ignore us, despite all our good sounding rhetoric. (smile) Much LOVE!
…the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob…He is the One and Only True Living God…
28 Sep 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a liar, a parable, and not faint, blessings, bring us close together, calamitous circumstances, commandments, compassionate heart, courage, creativity, curse, devastation, disaster, enter not into temptation, fall has finally fallen, feuding, foolish people, forgiving, Garden of Gethsemane, God is our only true help, greed, heavenly advocate, help, hurricane Maria, keepeth not his commandments, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, loving-kindness, lust for power, men ought always to pray, merciful, negative word, North Carolina, our Lord and Saviour, power of prayer, pray, preoccupations, prosper, purge the evil, rebuild, recover, Redeemer, religious intolerance, righteous lives, rumours of wars, sacrificed His sinless life, safe not sorry, self-control, self-discipline, sensible headway, share blessings, Sovereign ruler, strife, succeed, talent, temptation, the flesh is weak, the spirit is willing, Thursday Blessings, to this end, topsy turvy world, trust in jesus, truth, ungodliness, warmongering, wars, watch and pray, wild fires, wisdom, wise advice of Jesus
Luke 18:1. And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint.
So friends, like fall has finally fallen! (smile) Yes, it’s still dark out at 7 a.m, it’s somewhat chilly, only 13 degrees, and yesterday I finally saw a set of fallen dry leaves merrily dancing in my driveway! That alone indicates to me that the weather has changed, or is changing.
Anyway, North Carolina is still feeling the wind and water effects of hurricane Maria with plenty shoreline flooding, as she makes her way northward and out to sea. Ah Lord eh friends, it certainly has been a devastating couple of months in so many places from so many forces!
And so much disaster has befallen us in the south and east, that we have forgotten that out in the west, where the devastation first began, they are still daily battling wild fires. Please, let’s continue to pray for them and help in any way we can, as we try to recover and rebuild on this side of the continent.
And my biggest prayer is that this set of calamitous circumstances will truly bring us close together, as we help each other. Also, that it will eventually lead to us realizing that God is our ONLY true help in this uncertain world, which will further lead us to wisely embracing His LOVING-kindness once more, as the Sovereign Ruler over our society.
In other words, we will purge the evil from our midst and go back to trying to live righteous lives, under His merciful and forgiving umbrella. That’s the ONLY thing that makes sense in this topsy-turvy world my brethren!
Right now we need the biggest LOVE Revolution our planet has ever seen if we’re to make any serious and sensible headway in our society. Just look at the number of wars, rumours of wars and bitter strife that’s taking place in our world, despite the overwhelming disasters in almost every part of the planet.
One would think getting together to alleviate those disasters would be the prime target of all nations. Hn! But no, feuding, warmongering, greed, religious intolerance and lust for power still seem to be our major preoccupations!
What a foolish people we are! And yet we boast about mankind being God’s greatest and wisest creation! Steups! What a joke!
Anyway, let’s turn to our Bit, which tells us the basic thing we need to do in this life, if we’re to succeed and prosper. ‘And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint.’
Yeh my fellow believers, that’s the wise advice of our Lord and Saviour, our Redeemer and heavenly Advocate, the ONE who sacrificed His sinless life for us. So if we say that we believe in Him, then we ought to do what He says.
And John tells us right up front: ‘He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. (1 John 2:4)
Unfortunately my people, that means we have a whole lot of liars in our society since so many of us don’t keep Christ’s commandments, although we claim to be believers! But that’s another story for another day! (smile)
Today we’re concerned with prayer and praying. And in Jesus’ most strenuous and difficult moments, in the Garden of Gethsemane, the night before His crucifixion, what was he doing? Praying to His heavenly Father. So Jesus knew the power of prayer and consistently practiced it.
On that momentous night, He also uttered another serious warning on the subject. His inner circle of disciples were supposed to be watching and praying with Him: ‘And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.’ (Matt.26:40-41)
That’s oh so true friends, but not too many, or not enough of us consider those words today, and that’s a major reason why our society is so awash in evil and ungodliness. So please, let’s consider them more than we do right now nuh. It’s all for our benefit, not God’s!
And if we sincerely believe and trust in Jesus, then let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings. Remember there is power in the word, and speaking it only enhances that power.
So in unison, emphatically and enthusiastically: ‘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!’
Glory be mih people! Now let’s go out and share those blessings as Jesus desires of us. Much LOVE!
…to be safe and not sorry…watch and pray…
25 Sep 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a parable, adrenaline, all night in prayer, antidote, ask in prayer, aura of love, bask in the love of Jesus, believing, Christians, complaining, confidence, conquerors, constant activity, courage, death, deserted place, enthusiasm, evil, fat fannies, friends, get a move on, glorious kingdom, God's attention, good news, humble servants, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, joy, King of Kings, lies, Lord of Lords, LOVE, men of faith, men ought always to pray, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, not to faint, our benefit, patient, persevering, prince of peace, promise, rejoicing in hope, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, rest, resurrection, salvation, share the Love of Jesus, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, steadfast in prayer, surrender, taunts, the four corners of the earth, the Son of God, to this end, tribulation, trust, truth, ungodly world, weary souls, weeping, whining, wiles, wisdom, with God's help, workers of iniquity
Luke 18:1. And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint.
Awright mih people, it’s that time again, Monday morning! So let’s be up and at ‘em nuh, bright and beautiful! No whining and complaining, just a faithful promise to bask in the LOVE of Jesus all day long, and consequently share that LOVE and the good news of His death, resurrection and salvation to all those with whom we come into contact.
Nothing could be better than that! We’d be enjoying ourselves as well as telling others about our wonderful Lord and Saviour, the ONE, the ONLY Son of God, Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Mighty Counselor, etc. etc! Who else has as many names as our Master eh? NOBODY! That just goes to show how far reaching is His influence and power.
However, He wants us to take his glorious message to all and sundry, to the four corners of the earth. And He’ll give us the ability and energy to do so, but we have to get up off our fat fannies and get a move on. So, if by chance, you are feeling the after effects of a tiring weekend, don’t worry, we have the antidote for your problem; our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. Let’s belt it out now nuh, so we can get the adrenaline flowing and our spirits lifted.
‘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!’
Yes friends, that prayer surely woke us up, boosted our spirits and gave us the courage to get a move on, to be about Jesus’ work. And why do you think that prayer energized us eh? Because prayer is the effective medium of communication between us and our heavenly Father. That’s what He commanded; we talk to Him through prayer.
No wonder Jesus made the connection in our Bit, during His earthly sojourn. ‘And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint.’ Obviously Jesus knew the connection of prayer between God and man, and also the power that sincere prayer possessed.
Consequently, after He cursed the fig tree and caused it to die, He said to the disciples. ‘And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.’ (Matt.21:22) But please note, the most important word in the sentence is ‘believing.’ Unless you believe, you won’t receive.
And Jesus did practice what He preached, for Luke tells us: ‘And it came to pass that in those days, that he (Jesus) went out into mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.’ (Luke 6:12) Meanwhile Mark records: ‘And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary (deserted) place, and there prayed.’ (Mark 1:35)
So friends, if the Son of God, needed to pray to communicate with His heavenly Father, who are we not to need the same eh? And please remember, it’s ALL FOR OUR GOOD, OUR BENEFIT! God doesn’t need prayer. Who is He going to pray to, Himself? And in these perilous and turbulent times we need prayer more than ever. And all the great men of faith, both told us to pray, and prayed fervently themselves.
Let’s check out a few examples. Hear Bruh Paul on the topic of prayer to the Romans, as he explains how Christians ought to behave: ‘Rejoicing in hope; patient (persevering) in tribulation; continuing instant (steadfastly) in prayer.’ (Rom.12:12) Prayer was to be a constant activity in their lives.
Now listen to Bruh David. In Psalm 5 – A prayer for protection, he declares: ‘My voice shalt thou hear in the morning; O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up. For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness, neither shall evil dwell (sojourn) with thee.’ (Ps.5:3-4)
Then in Psalm 6 – A prayer for mercy, he warns his enemies: ‘Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; for the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping. The Lord hath heard my supplication; the Lord will receive my prayer.’ (Ps.6:8-9)
Ah friends, sincere prayer is the ONLY way to get our God’s attention, as evidenced by Jesus, Bruh David and many other great men of faith. So let’s review our prayer scene and try to improve it nuh, obviously with God’s help, since we can’t do much without Him. Much LOVE!
…without prayer…man is totally lost…
14 Sep 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a cakewalk, a compassionate heart, a passing observation, a positive outlook, a rich man, abundance, action, all things are possible, busy, Christ, Christians, courage, creativity, curse, desires of our hearts, divine protection, dreaming, easier for a camel, effort, enter the kingdom of God, faith, faithful, favour, get up off of our rear ends, go out of my mind, goals, help, hemming and hawing, holy spirit, hotter, in the name of Jesus, Jesus beheld them, Joyce Meyer, LOVE Revolution, medication, medicinally induced dreams, middle of September, my neck of the woods, negative word, nightmares, personal testimony, power in the Word of God, promotion, put your money where your mouth is, required tools, self-control, self-discipline, success, summertime, supernatural wisdom, take on dreams, talent, the distance between dreams and reality, the less fortunate, the living truth, the Lord came calling, Thusrday Blessings, to go through a needle's eye, wake up tired, with God, with men this is impossible
Matthew 19:26. But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible, but with God ALL things are possible.
In the summertime…summertime…summertime… Yeh friends, can you believe that in the middle of September, in my neck of the woods, we’ve been having constant temps in the mid to high 20’s range?
Wow! This week has been hotter than many in July and August. You can actually feel the sun burning your skin. Now please note, this is just a passing observation, it’s not a complaint, (smile) for we will take that kind of weather any and every time!
And I now understand why sometimes I wake up tired instead of refreshed. That’s because my medication has me dreaming constantly, and in the dreams I’m always busy doing something. It’s a good thing they are not nightmares, (smile) otherwise I’d go out of my mind.
And I just noticed an interesting take on dreams on a sticky I have in my Bible. It comes from sister Joyce (Joyce Meyer). And she says: ‘The distance between dreams and reality is called action.’ Now that’s the living truth!
Now she’s not talking about my medicinally induced dreams (smile) but the things we’d like to achieve, our cherished goals, the desires of our hearts. Unless we get up off our rear ends and put them into action, they will always remain dreams, unrealized ones to boot.
And I guess many of us have dreams of things we’d like to do for Christ, but we’re not actioning them, so they are still dreams…useless to everyone, including Christ.
Ah friends, as the ole people would say, to get things done, we’ve got to put our money where our mouth is. And that’s no lie. Until we put sincere and diligent effort into ANYTHING we want to do, NOTHING will get done.
And having Christ and His Holy Spirit on our side, as our more than willing associates and helpers, then NOTHING is impossible to us… if we seriously and willingly make the effort to put whatever it is into action.
Note Jesus’ words to His disciples after He told them that ‘It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.’ (Matt.19:24) Obviously the disciples were amazed by that statement and were left wondering, who then could get into heaven?
And in our Bit, our Master had an answer for their problem.‘But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible, but with God ALL things are possible.’
Oh mih people, mih people, until ALL we Christians truly believe that statement deep down in our hearts and souls, and not just pay lip service to it, then our Christian faith and Christ’s LOVE Revolution will not progress as Jesus desires it to.
Too many of us refuse to put into action the things God puts in our hearts to do because we don’t believe that they can or will ever come to pass. But here’s a personal testimony. Some ten, almost eleven years ago when the Lord came calling about the Bit, I laughed and told Him I didn’t know enough scripture to do something like that.
But he persisted and eventually I gave in. And the first Bits were merely verses from the Bible, possibly with just a few words from me. But over time, as I have been faithful to His work, the Lord has been faithful to me and helped me until I’ve reached the current level.
Now, as Sister Joyce likes to say: I still haven’t arrived, but I’m certainly not where I used to be. And believe me friends, writing this Bit for over ten years now hasn’t been a cakewalk, but the Lord has guided me each and every step of the way.
Many times I’ve begun by telling you I didn’t know what to write about, but then I’ve ended up writing oodles of stuff. Do you think that was just me and my brilliance? Of course not! It was the Holy Spirit of God inspiring me to do His work.
And yuh think I was planning to give a testimony this morning? Not at all! But that’s where the Lord led me. So please friends, if the Lord has put anything in your hearts to do that falls under His will, stop hemming and hawing and get to it. For He won’t EVER ask you to do something and then not give you the required tools and help to do it.
And having said all of that, let’s declare those powerful Blessings of Thursday, which our wonderful God has so magnanimously rained down on us. In full 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!’
Now let’s go out and share those magnificent blessings with the less fortunate, as our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ desires. Much LOVE!
…there is unbelievable power in the Word of God…if we would only use it…
07 Sep 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a thief, accusations, adulterers, asaph, at the forefront, call upon me, calling us to account, calminty, Caribbean islands, cast my words behind thee, Christians, compassionate heart, conduct, courage, covenant, curse, deceit, depravity, devastation, disobedience, disobedient, divine promotion, evil, faith, foolish mortals, fools, forget God, glorifies God, God is the judge, gratitude, Gulf of Mexico, Harvey, hates instruction, help, hope, hurricanes, hypocrites, I kept silence, I will deliver thee, in the day of trouble, Irma, Jose, Katia, looming in the shadows, negative word, offers praise, pay thy vows, plenty rope to hang ourselves, prayer, prayer warriors, prosper, rebuke, repentance, reprove, self-control, self-discipline, self-disicpline, sinful, sinful society, sinful souls, slander, succeed, tear you in pieces, thanksgiving, the Most High, the salvation of God, the wicked, the word for today, thou shalt glorify me, Thursday Blessings, thy mother's son, time longer than twine, warning from God, wrongdoing
Psalm 50:15. And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
Oh my people, my people, the word for today is PRAYER: serious, sincere, heartfelt constant prayer! It’s what our world desperately needs, and we Christians need to be in the forefront of it all because we are supposed to be prayer warriors.
And why you ask, do we need so much prayer? Well it’s something we ALWAYS need, but right now with three hurricanes looming in the shadows of North America, after the recent devastation caused by Harvey on the west coast, more devastation would be just too much to bear.
Yeh friends, hurricanes Katia and Jose are already in existence; Katia somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico, and Jose threatening to follow the already destructive path of the raging Irma, as she lashed islands in the Caribbean, like Guadeloupe, Antigua, Barbuda, St. Maarten and Puerto Rico, heading for the mainland.
As far as I know friends, we haven’t had three hurricanes lined up at once since 2010, so what does that mean eh? I believe the safest bet we can make is that it’s a serious warning from Almighty God. He’s tired of the dreadfully sinful society that we’ve become, and like He’s done any number of times before with other societies, is calling us to account.
And if that’s so my brethren, then the only thing that will stop the calamity is sincere repentance and prayer. As the psalmist Asaph so truthfully writes in our Bit which comes from Psalm 50 – God is the judge: ‘And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.’
Ah my people, even in the depths of our depravity, the Lord has provided a way out for us: ‘Call on me when you are in trouble, He says, and I will deliver you…’ And that’s all some of us see. But what about the rest of the verse eh… ‘and thou shalt glorify me?’
Conveniently we don’t see that. Like the sinful souls we are, we just note the words of help, not the gratitude and thanksgiving that’s supposed to follow.
But friends, in this world we don’t get something for nothing, and if we’ve been disobedient and sinful, we can repent, but it will come with a price, the least being exaltation and glorification of God’s holy name.
Now let’s hear how Asaph continues the psalm after our Bit. I think it’s good to jog our memories, wake us up to our serious disobedience and wrongdoing. ‘But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth? Seeing thou hatest instruction, and casteth my words behind thee.
When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedest with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers. Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit. Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thy slanderest thine own mother’s son.’ (Ps.50:16-20)
Oh friends, Asaph is talking about the kind of society we have today. He could be alive to day and writing about us. And we’d be even bigger hypocrites and fools than we already are, if we deny the accusations. But here comes the interesting part, as Asaph continues to speak on God’s behalf.
‘These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such a one as thyself: but I will reprove (rebuke) thee, and set them in order before thine eyes. Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.’ (Ps.50:21-22)
Oh my people, God’s warning couldn’t be any clearer. We sit down and think because nothing drastic is happening to punish our disobedience that God’s not noticing. But you can see we are wrong. God gives us plenty rope to hang ourselves, and as the old people would say: ‘time longer than twine.’
And if is one thing God has is plenty time…but unfortunately we foolish mortals don’t have that luxury. So let’s listen to this last verse of Psalm 50 and smarten up nuh.
‘Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation (conduct) aright will I show the salvation of God.’ (Ps.50:23) Yeh mih breddren, God said it thousands of years ago, and nothing has changed since then…except us, turning away from Him.
But there is yet hope for us. Like Asaph so rightfully says before our Bit. ‘Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the Most High.’ (Ps.50:14) That’s wisdom at its zenith!
Now let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings, which God in His mercy and grace has bestowed on us. ‘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 declared all of that, let’s go out now and share our bounty with the less fortunate nuh, for that’s what Jesus desires of us. Much LOVE!
…prayer is our method of communication with God…but He can’t answer us…until we pray to Him…
02 Sep 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a better tomorrow, a false attitude, a hard night, a rough night, arthritic pains, awe, basis of our faith, be of good courage, believe it to see it, born to win, Christians, courage, disliked, expect to win, failure, faith, feared, Friend Anselm, grin and bear them, heavenly Father, help, hope, I feel so mash up, in his word do I hope, inspire us, Jesus Christ, Labour Day, liked, LOVE, loving-kindness, merciful God, mercy, mount up with wings, my soul doth wait, not be faint, not be weary, omnipotent god, plan to win, prepare to win, Prince Buster, redemption, renew their strength, respect for others, respect for self, responsibility for your actions, reverenced, revolutionary ways, run, sins, strengthen thine heart, success, surrender forgiveness, take note of iniquities, the costume of failure, the fruit of the spirit, the ladder of success, the three R's, trust, wait on the Lord, wait patiently, walk, watch for the morning, what a bam bam, who shall stand, wisdom
Isaiah 40:31. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
Well friends, it looks like it’s going to be a gorgeous Labour Day Saturday! Wow! Both the Sun and the Son are overwhelmingly brilliant, but it is a tad chilly in my area though, a mere 10 Celsius, which means the people up north in the cottage country might even have had the fire and warm clothing going on overnight.
And, like the old Prince Buster song, I’m claiming, ‘I feel so mash up today…It was a hard night…a rough night…’ However, it’s not for the reasons that Prince Buster stated, although that might have made it somewhat easier to bear. (smile) Only the ole Jamaican fogies would know that song, and we can’t discuss it in a family paper. (smile)
But the ole arthritic pains acted up last night. What a bam bam eh! But we’ll just grin and bear them and continue keeping on with the help of our great ever-LOVING and merciful God.
And since today is Saturday, let’s have a gander at some of the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this week, as he sincerely aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. First up is one that all Christians should be following. ‘I’d rather be disliked for who I am than be liked for who I’m not.’
Yes friends, we should always show our true faces, the true Christian one, and who doesn’t like it ‘chuh pool.’ (smile) I’m not sure if that is the correct spelling of the term, but we all know what I mean.
We should NEVER put on a false attitude just for people to like us. Our Leader, Jesus Christ NEVER did that, though a lot of people tended to dislike Him for His revolutionary ways.
This next quote also applies very much to us Christians. ‘You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win.’ And because many of us don’t plan and prepare and expect to win, we end up losing. It’s the very basis of our faith my brethren…believe it and you’ll see it!
The next quote obviously follows from the last. ‘You cannot climb the ladder of success dressed in the costume of failure.’ Figuratively, it takes a certain style of dress to climb that much vaunted ladder of success.
And we’re not talking about the world’s ladder, but Christ’s ladder of success. If you’re not dressed for it, filled with faith, LOVE, trust, surrender, forgiveness and the other fruit of the Spirit then you won’t ever climb it.
And we’ve saved the best for last. ‘Follow The Three R’s: The three R’s are: Respect for self, Respect for others, Responsibility for your actions’ Even more thought provoking Christian actions my brethren, although they should apply to even the non-believers.
Unfortunately though, those three ‘R’s’ have been lost in the craziness of today’s mad scramble for wealth and power. And the ONLY way you can truly accomplish those three ‘R’s’ is through the help of our heavenly Father.
That’s why our Bit is so important in our daily life. ‘But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.’
Yeh friends, when we wait upon our magnificent God, then we do all of the above, because HE gives us the wherewithal to do it. We can’t get it ALL from NO other place or person! And that’s an indisputable fact!
Hear how the psalmist puts it in Psalm 130 –My soul waiteth for the Lord. ‘If thou Lord shouldest mark (take note of) iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared (reverenced with awe). I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.
My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning. 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.130:3-8)
What more is there to say eh friends? Nothing really. So please, let’s be smart and wait patiently, reverently, faithfully and perseveringly on our omnipotent God nuh, for that is the wisdom above all wisdom. Much LOVE!
…wait on the Lord: be of good courage…and he shall strengthen thine heart…wait…I say…on the Lord… (Ps.27:14)
31 Aug 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a feel good organization, a glowing example, a right heart, a true believer, abundance, adventure, adversity, Advocate, almighty god, belief, believe and trust in Him, believing the promise before you see it, blessings, can you feel it, christianity, courage, covenant, creativity, curse, dance and sing, diligence, divine protection, do your best, epitaph, excellence, faith, family, favour, friends, fulfillment, give thanks and praise, glory, growing your faith, Hades, he did that which was right, He gives thee power, Hezekiah, in the sight of the Lord, Jesus is alive, jobs, Judah, languishing, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, Lucifer, moving through your soul, negative word, obedience, obedient to God's Word, one more day, persevere, personal experience, prince of peace, promises, prosper, prospered, Redeemer, rejoice, remember the Lord thy god, rewards, rocket science, self-control, self-discipline, sense of peace and joy, shared, shining down from heaven, succeed, sware unto thy fathers, talent, tests, the commandments, the house of God, the law, the Son of God, the will and desire, tingle all over, to seek his God, trusting in Jesus, truth, warming the cockles of your heart, warmth, wealth, wine and roses, wisdom, with all his heart
Deuteronomy 8:18. But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish (confirm) his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.
One more day, one more day mih people, to dance and sing, give thanks and praise to Almighty God! Wow! For, like us, Jesus is alive and well and His awesome LOVE is shining down from heaven in a blaze of warmth and glory, falling on all who sincerely believe and trust in Him!
Can you feel it? Can you feel it just moving through your soul, warming the cockles of your heart and putting an amazing sense of peace and joy in your spirit? If you’re a true believer, then I’m sure you can feel it.
And if you don’t feel it, then please get serious about growing your faith, and somewhere along the line you WILL feel it and rejoice in knowing that your faith is strong and you’re a true believer. (smile)
Yeh friends, trusting in Jesus is such a wonderful, heart-warming experience that it makes you tingle all over, wondering what you’ve ever done to deserve such outstanding LOVE.
But the truth is that the only thing you’ve done is to believe wholeheartedly in Him, His awesome LOVE, and the promises He’s made in His Word. That includes that He is the Son of God, your Lord and Saviour, your everlasting Redeemer, your heavenly Advocate and your Prince of Peace.
Chuh mih breddren! Yuh see what a li’l faith and belief can accomplish! (smile) And it’s not rocket science either! His LOVE is there for ALL to share, and you were just one of the wise and smart ones to accept it.
But please be careful, for it’s not going to be wine and roses all the way, because our Jesus is indeed a LOVING, but also demanding Master. We have jobs to do in His kingdom, and He expects excellence, diligence and obedience from ALL of His followers.
And when you do your best to serve Him, with a right heart of course, your life will never be the same again. Take it from me people! I’m talking from personal experience here.
Oh, you will have tests, and adversity like everybody else, because Christianity is not just a feel good organization, but if you persevere, your life will also be filled with unexpected adventure and rewards.
Our Bit says it oh so well. ‘But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish (confirm) his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.’
Yeh friends, the earth and all therein belongs to the Lord, so whatever good thing you receive obviously comes from Him. But you need to stay obedient to His Word and persevere even under the toughest conditions, truly showing your faith, by believing the promise before you see it come true.
Now let’s look at a glowing example of what we’re talking about from the Good Book; the story of Hezekiah, king of Judah. The Book of 2nd Chronicles tells us that he began to reign when he was 25 and reigned in Jerusalem for 29 years.
‘And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done.’ (2 Crh.29:3)
Yuh see friends, like the scholars declare: ‘Hezekiah is commended for his godly faith and trust in the Lord (cf.31:20-21).’
And what did he actually do to deserve such commendation? Well he brought on a revival of repentance and worship in Israel, after a time of evil and wrongdoing and idol worship in the reign of his father Ahaz.
He reopened and repaired the Lord’s house, brought back the priests and Levites to do the tasks commanded by the law of Moses, destroyed the groves and other places that were used for idol worship.
He also had the priests and Levites singing ‘praise unto the Lord with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with joy and gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped.’ (2 Chr.29:30)
Yeh mih breddren, Hezekiah brought about a whole new transformation of Judah, (including many of those from the northern kingdom of Israel) bringing them back to worship the One and Only True God of their fathers, Yahweh.
He also reinstituted the celebration of the feast of the Passover – and was the first one ever a feast! You should read 2 Chronicles 29-31 and see what great and wonderful changes Hezekiah made during his reign.
And the Good Book concludes his story thus: ‘And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah, and wrought that which was good and right and truth before the Lord his God. And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.’ (2 Chr.31:20-21)
Oh friends, that’s the kind of epitaph the Lord would like ALL of His followers to have, and that’s why He’s showered us with so many earthly blessings. So as one big, strong, faithful family, let’s go home sincerely and truthfully declaring them this Thursday morning nuh.
‘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 since blessings are made to be shared, let’s go out and bless others now, for that’s the will and desire of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Much LOVE!
…oh where would we be without Jesus eh….languishing in Hades with Lucifer…
23 Aug 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a comapssionate heart, a positive outlook on life, a riot of colour, abundance, bounden duty, Christian faith, comfortable, commanded I them, communing with God, courage, covenant people, curse, distractions, divisions, elevation of the enemy, encourage those around us, energize ourselves, eventually die, evil heart, evil kingdom, faith, falter, fiery furnace, flora, flourishing, flourishing in the sunshine, God's heartache, God's righteousness, green thumb, hearkened not, I stake my life, I will be your God, imagination, in Jesus' name, in the ascendancy, inclined their ear, integrity, it may be well with you, Jesus Christ, lies, makes any sense, negative word, nothing in this life, obey my voice, One Year Book of Bible promises, our benefit, our Lord and Saviour, our part to do, perform what you promised, petty differences, prosper, pursuit of worldly things, Ruth Harms Calkin, satisfied, self-contol, self-discipline, share, spreading the gospel of Jesus, stellar efforts, stressful mess, strife filled, stubborn refusal, stubbornness, sub-par, succeed, talent, tempestuous storm, the easy life, the evil enemy, the integrity of Jesus, the status quo, the things of God, the voice of the Lord, Thursday Blessings, to come together, trust and obey, truth, valiant for truth, venerable leader, walk in all my ways, walked in the counsels, want our faith to grow, warm the cockles of God's heart, went backward not forward, wisdom, ye shall be my people
Jeremiah 7:23. But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you.
Oh friends, I looked out my bedroom window when I got up a while ago and was pleasantly greeted by a riot of colour in my backyard garden!
Wow! The duchess’ green thumb is certainly on display with a profusion of red, green, yellow, pink, purple and white flora flourishing in the sunshine!
Oh how I wish that our Christian faith could be flourishing as well as those flowers. But unfortunately it’s not. What with our numerous divisions and petty differences and stubborn refusal to come together, plus the ardent work of the evil enemy, our faith seems to be floundering some, with the enemy’s evil kingdom in the ascendancy right now.
And all I can realistically do is call upon us, who read the Bit to energize ourselves, get truly serious about the spreading the gospel of Jesus and encourage those around us to do the same, if we want our faith to grow instead of falter and eventually die. For that’s exactly what it will come to if we continue our less than stellar efforts to advance it.
Each of us has to do our part in our little enclave of the world to bring it all together. That’s the desire of our Lord and Saviour, our venerable Leader Jesus Christ.
Now here is something from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin which exemplifies what we’re talking about. It’s titled, ‘I Stake My Life.’
Let’s pray: ‘I stake my life totally Completely Permanently On the integrity of Jesus. Lord, Your integrity means You will do all You promised. You will see me through Every fiery furnace Every tempestuous storm. If not, Dear God Then nothing in this life Makes any sense whatever. Your part is to perform what You promised. My part is to trust and obey.’
Now that says it all my fellow believers! And the Lord IS doing His part, keeping His promises. However we ARE NOT doing ours, trusting and obeying, to the best of our ability, that’s why our lives and our faith are sub-par, not as flourishing as they could and should be.
And the Bible Promise for that poem, our Bit for today, is ever so appropriate. ‘But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you.’
Ah mih breddren, it’s obvious we’re not fully obeying the command of our God, otherwise our lives and our societies and nations and world would not be in such a strife-filled and stressful mess.
It’s obvious that we’re doing like the Lord said the Israelites did. ‘But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination (stubbornness) of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward.’ (Jer.7:24)
Oh my fellow believers, can’t we see that we’re going backward and not forward with the elevation of the enemy in most walks of our lives? I believe, that as Christians we’ve become too comfortable and satisfied with the status quo. We’ve come to value the easy life and the pursuit of worldly things more than the pursuit of God’s righteousness.
Our world is currently so full of distractions, and we’ve become so soft and flabby and fearful in our mental and emotional beings that the enemy finds it quite easy to draw us away from the things of God.
Can you imagine God’s heartache as He desires so greatly to commune with us, His covenant people, but finds that we don’t seem interested in communing with Him?
And as the Lord further instructed Jeremiah: ‘But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the Lord their God, nor receiveth correction (instruction): truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth.’ (Jer.7:28)
How abysmally sad that is my people, but it is the absolute truth concerning this society, where truth has fallen by the wayside, been made a mockery of, with foolish and foppish celebrations of all kinds and levels of truth.
Steups! How can there be more than one kind of truth eh people? Truth is simply truth! Or else it’s false! Something is either true, or it is not.
And this last word from Jeremiah which describes our current society to a ‘T.’ ‘And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the Lord.’ (Jer.9:3)
Ah friends, can we begin being valiant for the truth? It will warm the cockles of God’s heart so much, that He’ll increase the blessings that He’s already bestowed on us, if that is at all possible.
Remember friends, it’s ALL FOR OUR BENEFIT, not the Lord’s! And let’s sincerely ponder and consider all that we’ve said today as we go home declaring our bountiful Thursday Blessings.
‘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 since blessings are meant to be shared, let’s go out and share them most generously with others, like the Lord did with us nuh, for that’s our bounden duty. Much LOVE!
…in God’s society…when we obey…we prosper…
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