30 Mar 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a beacon, a candle in every soul, a candlestick, a Spirit, a waste of time, abundance, and glorify your Father in heaven, blessings, brightly burning, brings fire, cannot be hid, clear direction, confused, courage, creativity, curse, dark and cold, darkest times, darkness, deceived, diligent, downtrodden, enthusiastic, family, forthcoming, friends, gives light, Go light your world, godly light, good works, heartfelt plea, hearts ablazing, helpless, holy spirit, ignites a candle, in the name of Jesus, Let your light so shine before men, lied to, light of jesus, lights in the world, lonely, LOVE Revolution, Lucifer, negative word, oppressed, out of kilter, poor, powers of darkness, praying to our Father, prosper, robbed, run to the darkness, seek out the hopeless, self-control, self-discipline, set on a hill, sick, succeed, the light of the world, Thursday Blessings, torn, under a bushel, unproductive, wisdom, without a flame, ying and yang
Matthew 5:14. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.
Ah mih breddren, my ying and yang are completely out of kilter yes! When I should be sleepy, I’m wide awake, and when I should be wide awake, I’m sleepy. Steups!
The medication I’m currently on, plus my normal, abnormal lifestyle (smile) is making it difficult to do things the way I want. And I do apologize for the lateness of the Bit this morning. But that’s my problem, so I’ll have to deal with it the best I can.
Now here is something we all can, should, and ought to do. The story is told in the words of a song called ‘Go Light Your World.’
Some years ago, and I do mean several years ago, I heard this young girl sing this song on the Hour of Power, with Gramps Schuller (Dr. Robert Schuller) and I was quite taken by it and tried to copy some of the words, but I never got them all.
After that, I tried to find them, but couldn’t, and then, the other night while cleaning up my desk, I found the piece of paper with those unfinished words right at the bottom of a pile of paper I was about to throw out.
Excitedly I enlisted my young daughter’s help to find them on the computer. And she did, but this time, sung by a different young lady, but just as sweet and meaningful.
Now listen to these amazing and awe-inspiring words. ‘There is a candle in every soul. Some brightly burning, some dark and cold. There is a Spirit who brings fire, Ignites a candle and makes His home.
(Chorus: Carry your candle, run to the darkness. Seek out the hopeless, confused and torn. Hold out your candle for all to see it. Take your candle, and go light your world. Take your candle, and go light your world.)
Frustrated brother, see how he’s tried to Light his own candle some other way. See now your sister, she’s been robbed and lied to Still holds the candle without a flame. (Chorus: Carry your candle…go light your world)
We are a family whose hearts are a blazing. So let’s raise our candles and light up the sky. Praying to our Father, in the name of Jesus. Make us a beacon in darkest times. (Chorus: Carry your candle…go light up your world.)
Seek out the helpless, deceived and poor. Hold out your candle for all to see it. Take your candle and go light your world. Carry your candle, run to the darkness. Seek out the hopeless, confused and torn. Hold out your candle for all to see it. Take your candle, and go light your world. Take your candle, and go light your world.’
Ah friends, don’t those words just resonate so powerfully in your heart? Well they ought to, since they are the words of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, admonishing us to be lights in this world of overwhelming darkness!
Hear our Bit: ‘Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.’
Yes friends, as believers, the Holy Spirit comes to live within us, igniting a flame to the candle that our Maker has placed there at our creation. And we’re supposed to take that lighted candle around to all the world; the oppressed, the downtrodden, poor, sick and lonely, and brighten their darkness with the LOVE and compassion of Jesus.
But the problem seems to be that our candles are either not lit, or we are hiding their light. But Jesus strongly informs us after our Bit. ‘Neither do men light a candle (lamp), and put it under a bushel (basket), but on a candlestick (lamp stand); and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.’ (Matt.5:15)
Yes people, if our candles are not lit, then we need to light them ASAP! And if they are lit, we need to stop hiding their light immediately! Otherwise the candle and the light are unproductive and a waste of time.
Oh my precious people of Christ, our world is filled with so much destructive darkness these days that we need to truly rise up and spread the wonderful light of Jesus so that some of the immense ‘sufferation’ happening under its hidden canopy can be eased. If we don’t do it, no one else will.
Now hear Jesus to us again, with a humble, heartfelt plea in His voice. ‘Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt.5:16)
Oh my people, my people, Jesus is pleading with us to get up and get a move on. His LOVE Revolution is not progressing as it ought to. The powers of darkness are increasing while God is decreasing, because His people are not being as enthusiastic and forthcoming and diligent as they ought to be in the fight against our carnal and worldly enemy, Lucifer.
All I can do is to encourage us to do better, so that our world can be better, and our heavenly Father can truly be glorified. And that should not be a problem for us after all the blessings that He’s bestowed upon us.
Let’s jog our memory then, and declare our Thursday Blessings, while remembering that a blessing is not a blessing until it’s been spoken over someone or something.
In unison and true sincerity 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 friends, if we believe all that, then let’s go out and let our lit candles shine gloriously and brightly in this our darkened world nuh. With all those blessings, that should be quite easy to do! Much LOVE!
…our darkened world is desperate for our godly light…let’s not unwisely deprive it…
02 Mar 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a feeling of love, a light unto my path, a positive outlook, A prayer for change, a ruined life, a wasted day, after thee O god, blessings, broad highway, Christians, cleanse, commandments, compassionate heart, confession, courage, covenant, creativity, curse, depressing, destruction, disconsolate mood, divine favour, dr robert h schuller, dreary, entrance of thy words, forty days, freedom, give light, glowing sunshine, God's LOVE, God's Word, godly, good stuff, holy, hope, Hour of Power Devotional, introspective, Jesus, joy moves in, judgement, laughing, Lent, magnanimous god, magnificent, mental dial, mercies, moment of prayer, moods, morning mist, negative feelings, negative word, parted clouds, promotion, redemption, repentance, responsible, reverend, richly blessed, righteous lives, rise and shine, self-control, self-discipline, self-pity, selfishly indulge, so panteth my soul, spiritual improvement, springtime, stand fast for ever, success, temptation, testimonies, the hart panteth after the water brooks, the sun breaks through, the works of his hands are verity, Thursday Blessings, thy word is a lamp unto my feet, truth, understanding to the simple, unproductive thoughts, unprofitable, wasting God's goodness, winter, worldly stuff
Psalm 119:105. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Oh my precious people, it’s Thursday, rise and shine and greet the brand new day filled with new mercies and blessings, courtesy of our magnificent and magnanimous God!
Oh, I know some of you have been up a long while ago, but have you invoked the new blessings and mercies provided especially for today? I do hope you have, otherwise you’re missing out on a whole lot of good stuff, and wasting God’s goodness.
Anyway, it’s the second day of Lent, that time when Christians become especially introspective, giving up worldly stuff, concentrating on confession and repentance, seeking to cleanse their souls, bodies and minds. It’s a time about spiritual improvement and upliftment that coincides with Jesus’ forty days of temptation in the wilderness.
Now here is ‘A Prayer for Change,’ from Gramps Schuller’s (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) Hour of Power Devotional, which I believe can be of much benefit to us today.
Please pray with me. ‘O God, when a life has been so richly blessed as mine has been, it’s not right for me not to be laughing! I confess that I am responsible for my moods. I have no right to selfishly indulge in negative feelings of self-pity. It’s time for me to change my mental dial, Lord.
You are helping me. This will be the moment when the sun breaks through the parted clouds, and springtime returns after winter. Thank you, Lord!
The dreary, depressing, disconsolate mood disappears like the morning mist in the glowing sunshine of your LOVE. And joy moves in! And hope begins to build up within me! And a beautiful feeling of LOVE starts to surround me!
Thank you, God, for the great things you are doing within me now in this moment of prayer. Amen.’
Yes friends, with God’s amazing help, we can all change for the better! But as Gramps Schuller states early on in the prayer, we need to change our mental dial to bring about that improvement. Remember it all begins in the mind, with our thoughts. And if our mind and our thoughts aren’t right, then our lives will never be right.
And this is what the Lenten season is all about, changing our mental dial; looking deep inside, with God’s help obviously, to weed out the unprofitable and unproductive thoughts and replace them with God-centred ones that enrich our lives.
And to help us do that, we desperately need to delve into the truth of God’s Word, so that it becomes as the psalmist says in our Bit: ‘Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.’
Ah mih people, until and unless, we allow God’s Word to lead and guide us in this earthly life, we’ll most likely go astray and end up on the broad highway that leads to destruction. And believe me, that’s not a very nice place to be.
Yes it looks good, and there’s lots of freedom, but the end of it all is just a ruined life. So let’s look now at some scripture that corroborates our Bit and encourages us to get into the Word like never before.
This first piece, like our Bit, comes from Psalm 119. ‘Thy testimonies are wonderful: therefore doth my soul keep them. The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple. I opened my mouth, and panted: for I longed for thy commandments.’ (Ps.119:129-131)
Oh friends, is that the way we feel about God’s Word? Do we long for it? Do we pant for it? And do we keep it? Now if we are serious believers, then we should be doing all those things.
As the Sons of Korah put it in Psalm 42 – An intense longing for God: ‘As the hart panteth after (the deer longs for) the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.’ (Ps.42:1)
Yes my brethren, that’s how we ought to feel about our God: long for Him in our souls like the thirsty deer longs for a drink of cold, sweet water! And believe me friends, when we find Him, a joy comes into our souls just like when the deer drinks that thirst quenching water.
And this last bit of scripture reinforces all that we’ve said so far. ‘The works of his hands are verity (truth) and judgement; all his commandments are sure. They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness. He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name.’ (Ps.111:7-9)
And those are all facts, not alternative ones (smile) but facts of gospel truth! So please let’s take them to heart nuh, so that we can live godly and righteous lives.
And finally, it’s time to declare our Thursday Blessings. Remember a blessing is not a blessing until it’s been spoken over someone.
So with sincere enthusiasm and belief let’s declare them: ‘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 bless others! Much LOVE!
…a day that’s not filled with God…is indeed a wasted day…
16 Feb 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a positive idea, a strong will, abundance, abuse of authority, admonition, advice, as to the Lord, be obedient to your masters, blessings, broken, burning the candle at both ends, but as thou wilt, Christian, courage, creativity, curse, dr robert h schuller, Ephesians, eyeservice, faith, family, fathers, favour, fear, fell on his face, forbearing threatening, friends, from the heart, glory to God, god moves in mysterious ways, good thing, health, if it be possible, in the mind of a believer, in the name of Jesus, insomnia, judge, let this cup pass from me, LOVE, Master in heaven, men pleasers, mental disposition, most powerful force, My walk, negative word, not as I will, not unto men, number one priority, nurture of the Lord, o my father, obedience, prayed, promotion, prosper, provoke not your children to wrath, recompensed, respect of persons, rest, reverential respect, self-control, self-discipline, servants, sincerity, singleness of your heart, strength, succeed, success, talent, the rough side, Thursday Blessings, trembling, truth, valid point, walking in God's will, without partiality
Matthew 26:39. And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
Ah mih breddren, the ole fella’s a bit on the rough side this morning. I sincerely tried to get up earlier, but the body rebelled, declaring that it needed more rest. Hn!
And I must say that it had a very valid point, because over the last few days I have indeed been trying to burn the candle at both ends. And the body cannot sustain that for very long, especially with my current state of medication induced insomnia.
Anyway, I’m finally up, (smile) and we’ll begin with this prayer titled ‘My Walk,’ which I know I’ve shared before, and I believe comes from Gramps Schuller’s (Dr, Robert H. Schuller) Hour of Power Devotional. But as always, these prayers are very worthy of being repeated time and time again.
Please pray with me. ‘O God, I’m inspired. For you have just impressed this truth in to my mind: The most powerful force in the world is a positive idea in the mind of a believer who is walking in your will. I now reach forth my life and say, “God, put my life in the centre of your will.” Amen!’
And there’s absolutely no doubt that there’s anything more powerful than a Christian with positive ideas walking in God’s will! Glory to God!
And to tell the truth people, I didn’t even know what the end of the prayer said. I just wanted a prayer to put there, and that was the first one that came to hand. I knew it was good and worthwhile though, otherwise it would not be amongst the others.
Imagine my surprise when I reached the end and saw that it dealt with doing God’s will; the very topic we’re talking about in our Bit. And who says our God does not move in mysterious ways eh! Chuh! They definitely don’t know what they are talking about.
So here’s our Bit. ‘And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.’
Yeh friends, in the last few days we’ve been checking out some of Jesus’ statements on doing the will of our heavenly Father. To Him, it was always the number one priority, and should likewise be to us.
Today, I want share some of the words and sentiments of other saints on the subject. We already have Gramps Schuller’s opinion in our prayer above, now listen to Bruh Paul in his admonition to the Ephesians, re advice to children and servants.
‘And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture (training) and admonition of the Lord. Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart (sincerity), as unto Christ;
Not with eyeservice, as men pleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not unto men. Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond (slave) or free.
And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing (giving up) threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.’ (Eph.6:4-9)
Oh friends, what a wonderful piece of scripture! Bruh Paul details how we should all work together in pursuing the will of God, because that’s the most important thing in our lives!
Now hear some of the explanations from the scholars. ‘6:4. Fathers can provoke their children to wrath by injustice, loss of temper, undue severity, cruelty, favouritism, suppression, sarcasm, ridicule, and misuse or abuse of authority. Nurture basically means “training,” here denoting spiritual education.
Admonition is instruction that points out one’s responsibilities and duties. Of the Lord is in Greek a subjective genitive. (smile) This indicates that behind the parents rearing and instruction of their children stands the Lord as the chief teacher in child education. Parents do not rear children alone.’
I just wish that more of today’s parents, including the supposedly Christian ones, were aware of these stipulations.
‘6:5. Your masters according to the flesh means “your human masters.” Servants are to carry out their slave duties with fear and trembling, that is, with careful concern to do a good job and with reverential respect for their masters.
Singleness of your heart refers to a mental disposition, an attitude that renders obedience out of sincerity, not hypocrisy. As unto Christ explains why servants should obey masters in the manner prescribed here: obedience rendered to their masters is obedience rendered to Christ.’
‘6:6. “Singleness of heart” or sincere disposition excludes eyeservice, that is duty performed only when the master is watching; but it includes doing the will of God from the heart, that is, enthusiastic service coming from within and not having to be coerced by external pressure.’
‘6:7. Good will means “good intention.” The Christian servant (employee) seeks the best interest of his master (employer).’ Hn! How often does that happen eh?
‘6:8. The basis for the servant’s “good intention” (v.7) toward his master is his being recompensed by the Lord – both in this life and in the one to come – the same good he has performed in his servant duties.’
‘6:9. Earthly masters are to behave in a reciprocal manner toward their slaves (i.e. with respect, sincerity, and careful concern). For earthly masters have a heavenly Master who will judge them without partiality.’
Ah mih people, if only we could put one iota of those things into operation in our current world, what a wonderful world it would be eh! That doesn’t mean we must stop trying, but instead try harder.
Now let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings over our blessed lives. And remember a blessing isn’t a blessing until it’s been spoken over someone.
In loud voice and strong belief: ‘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 share those blessings all over the world, as our Lord and Saviour Jesus desires. Much LOVE!
…what were we created for…to do God’s will…
P.S. It’s long and late, but ever so good! (smile) Much LOVE!
09 Feb 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a house divided cannot stand, abundance, anger, as Christ forgave you, as we forgive our debtors, blessings, bowels of mercies, broken right now, cantankerous, celebrate, choose the best, Christ's Church, Christian brother, commitment, contentment, courage, curse, dazzling light, deficiencies, divided, enthusiasm, ever-faithful, excellence, flaws, forbearance, forbearing one another, forgive us our debts, forgiveness, forgiving one another, gem of a quote, God's basic law, hate, heartfelt compassion, humbleness of mind, if any man have a quarrel against any, in Jesus' name, incredible source of energy, joy, kindness, long-suffering, meekness, negative emotions, negative word, on God's great earth, one more day of life, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, peace, persons of excellence, praise and bless your holy name, privilege, qualities, quarrel, resentment, self-control, self-discipline, shun mediocrity, so also do ye, spoken over someone, talent, tender mercies, Thank You Lord, the elect of god, the Lord's prayer, Thursday Blessings, unity, virtues, weaknesses, you reap what you sow
Colossians 3:13. Forbearing (bearing with) one another and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
Ah friends, it’s time to celebrate one more day of life on God’s great earth! Wow! What a privilege!
Remember, a lot of others did not open their eyes this morning, so there must be a reason we opened ours to the bright and dazzling light of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Glory to God!
Let’s therefore give Him appropriate thanks and praise for all the new mercies and blessings He’s specially prepared for us for today.
And all God’s people loudly, heartily and gratefully declared: ‘Thank You Lord for all You’ve done for us, all You’re doing right now, and all You’ve promised to do in the future. We know You are an ever-faithful Deity, thus we praise and bless Your Holy Name! Amen!’
Now here is a gem of a quote, I found on my desk this morning. I don’t who or where I got it from, or if I ever shared it before, but it surely is worth sharing over and over.
Listen closely. ‘Choose the best; shun mediocrity. Mediocrity has a way of shrivelling up enthusiasm. But commitment to excellence taps an incredible source of energy. Elect the best, no matter what the price tag.’
Words of everlasting wisdom my people! And they are particularly pertinent to believers, because Jesus expects us to be persons of excellence, and you can only be excellent when you reach out for the best.
That brings us to our Bit, but let’s start with the seminal verse before it. ‘Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved bowels of mercies (tender mercies), kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering;
Forbearing (bearing with) one another and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.’ (Col.3:12-13)
Even greater words of wisdom my believing breddren, since it’s based on God’s basic law, of you reap what you sow. And the scholars have this to say about those verses.
‘3:12. Put on literally means to “dress oneself” (with clothes); here, used metaphorically, it means to take on or assume certain virtues and qualities. Bowels of mercies means heartfelt compassion.’
‘3:13. The fact that believers are being urged to assume the virtues of verse 12 signifies that none has yet “arrived” spiritually. As the believer is developing these virtues, he must be forbearing and forgiving toward his fellow church member.
For his Christian brother is also in the process of acquiring the virtues of verse 12 and therefore retains some flaws, deficiencies, and weaknesses. Hence the need of forbearance and forgiveness.’
Ah friends, one more reminder that as believers we must always reach for excellence in all our doings. None of us have become spiritually perfect as yet, therefore we all need to forbear and forgive if there is to be unity in Christ’s church.
And right there you have one of the reasons why Christ’s church is so divided and cantankerous; we refuse to forgive others and instead hold on to the negative emotions of anger, hate and resentment.
Oh my people, please remember these immortal words of Jesus. ‘Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand.’ (Matt.12:25)
How do we expect Christ’s church to stand if we are so divided and refuse to forbear and forgive eh? It’s just impossible.
And hear these even more immortal words of Jesus, (smile) which occur in the ‘Lord’s Prayer,’ the sample prayer He gave us, and which most of us pray every day. ‘And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.’ (Matt.6:12)
Oh friends, have we gotten so complacent in praying that prayer that we no longer consider the words we speak and what they truly mean? We ask to be forgiven as we forgive. So what does that tell us eh? Only as we forgive, will the Lord forgive us.
So why are we allowing the nonsense of the world to interfere with our Christian behaviour and beliefs, with our joy, our peace and contentment eh? Let’s wake up and become the people of excellence that the Lord expects of us nuh. That’s the only way we’ll ever defeat the forces of darkness.
Now let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings. Who else has such wonderful favour eh? Nobody but us! So let’s use it nuh friends, while remembering that a blessing is not a blessing until it’s been spoken over someone.
In all sincerity and belief 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 all that, is let’s remember to bless others like we blessed ourselves. Much LOVE!
…to forgive is heavenly…and to be forgiven is even more heavenly…
02 Feb 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a positive outlook on life, abundance, against the wiles of the devil, ambassadors, arrows, arsenal, broken right now, Christian witness, clear direction, courage, creativity, curse, demonic onslaughts, divine protection, evil schemes, faith, favour, fight, formidable foe, fulfillment, having done all, in high places, in the name of Jesus, ministry, negative word, one of those days, patience, President Trump, promotion, put on the armour of god, resisting Satan, self-control, self-discipline, slings, soldiers of Christ, spiritual wickedness, stand up, strong will, success, supernatural strength, supernatural wisdom, talent, the devil, the whole armour of God, Thursday Blessings, to stand, to the very end, to withstand in the evil day, withstand, ye may be able to stand
Ephesians 6:11. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (evil schemes) of the devil.
Oh my beautiful fellow believers, please accept my heartfelt apologies, but it was just one of those days!
Ah Lord eh! I had to go into the big city of T.O. for an early doctor’s appointment, and after handling the traffic and waiting for the doctors and waiting for unscheduled blood tests, I did not get back home until minutes to one.
Obviously by then the ole bod was tired and crying out for rest and I did not get up until minutes to five. And it was only after about half an hour that it struck me that I had not yet written the Bit.
The good thing about it all though is that we did make some headway in the medical realm today. At least the major problems have been sorted out under one team, and hopefully no more running from pillar to post.
Enough about my woes though, let’s get straight to our Bit. ‘Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (evil schemes) of the devil.’
And I’m chuckling here friends, because I must have had it on today, otherwise I would not have been able to successfully handle the slings and arrows that were thrown against me, especially in the patience realm. (smile)
All praise and thanks be to our great and wonderful God!
Now yesterday we had stopped where Bruh Paul was talking about ‘spiritual (hosts of) wickedness in high places,’ so let’s continue with his admonishment from there. ‘Wherefore take unto you (take up) the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.’ (Eph.6:13)
Now this is a very important verse in the whole scenario, so let’s look at what the scholars have to say about it. ‘6:13. Wherefore means “because of this,” that is, because we face such a formidable foe, we must avail ourselves of God’s provision lest the enemy destroy our Christian witness and ministry.
The evil day refers to the periodic demonic onslaughts and Satanic assaults. Having done all includes both dressing oneself in God’s armour and resisting Satan. Having done all these, be ready, for the Devil will attack again and again.’
Yes friends, as a beautiful Christian soul the enemy will NOT stop attacking you, and the only way to resist Him is by being dressed in the total armour of God.
Fellow believers, I can’t stress how important this aspect of our Christian walk is, for without God’s protective armour we don’t stand a chance against the enemy, or as they would say, a snowball’s chance in hell!
So please, please, I’m imploring us to take this very seriously, especially with the crazy state of our world, which is apparently getting crazier everyday under the leadership of President Trump.
Ah mih people, I don’t even pay much attention to his antics these days, but we have to be concerned because everything he does seems to just cause more strife, anger, resentment, fear and anxiety around the globe.
As I said a few days ago, the Lord must have put him there to wake us up from our dreadful complacency. That’s why this message about putting on God’s total armour is so important at this particular period in time when the elements of evil are rising even higher than they were before.
I won’t belabour the situation, but I’ll just remind us that we are Christ’s ambassadors down here on earth. He is depending on us to conduct His affairs with righteousness and justice, but we can’t do that until we wake up and get serious about His LOVE Revolution, and stop all the aimless talking and instead take some positive action.
The enemy should never be where he’s at right now, and wouldn’t have been there without our lack of interest and complacency where we allowed him to remove things like prayer and the Ten Commandments from our schools, and put God on the back burner in most other parts of what was once a mostly godly scene.
But it’s not too late to wrestle it all back from him if we COME TOGETHER and seriously start pushing back, let him know that we’ve finally woken up and now mean business. Yes friends, it’s time to start pushing back, if we ever hope to win this earthly battle for Jesus!
Now let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings. Yuh see, we have so much good stuff in our arsenal, if we would only use them. The Lord’s already given us everything we need to battle the enemy and win, we only have to take them and put them to full use.
Chuh man! What’s wrong with us eh? We’re letting the good earthly life spoil us. So let’s bless ourselves. And remember that a blessing isn’t a blessing until it’s been spoken over someone.
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!’
What more can we ask than all that eh mih people? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! So let’s go out and bless others now nuh. Much LOVE!
…as true soldiers of Christ…we must first be dressed in battle gear…then stand up and fight bravely…right to the very end…
29 Jan 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all I need, blind, broken every barrier, cleanse, Cleanse your hands, come unto me, confidence, conflict, courage, deceitful, deception, detrhone God, doubt, downtrodden, draw nigh to God, evil, face the upcoming week, fears without, fightings within, gather in the Lord's sanctuary, gentle, give you rest, goodness, grace, he who has ears to hear, healing of mind, health, heavy laden, humble, I come, I have put my trust in the Lord, I may declare all his works, inner thoughts, invaluable, it is good for me to draw near to God, James, Jesus Christ, Just as I am, labour, let him hear, lowly, lusteth to envy, meek, my burden is light, needy, O lamb of God, of one dark blot, offer grateful praise, outward deeds, pardon, Praise the Lord, pride, proud, purify your hearts, rascal, receive, relieve, resist the devil, rest unto your souls, rooting for Jesus, sacrifice of our lips, sinners, slow down, smell the rose, strengthen your spirit, submit yourselves to God, Sunday, take my yoke, the first day of the week, the great invitation, the lake of fire, the undeserving children of men, thy blood was shed for me, to rid my soul, to save the poor, understand the Lord's word, wealth, welcome, without one plea, worldliness, worship, wretched
Psalm 73:28. But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works.
And then it was Sunday: the first day of the week, where we slow down, take time to smell the roses and gather in the Lord’s sanctuary to offer Him our grateful praise and worship, and in return receive health, wealth and the ability to face the upcoming week with courage and confidence.
Wow! What a mouthful! But a true mouthful! And all God’s people declared a loud and proud: ‘Praise the Lord for His wonderful goodness to the undeserving children of men!’
And on that glorious note, let’s offer up some sacrifice of our lips by sincerely belting out this favourite old hymn, ‘Just as I am.’ So in loud voice and sincere belief, let’s raise our voices to heaven.
‘Just as I am, without one plea, But that Thy blood was shed for me, And that Thou bid’st me come to Thee, O Lamb of God, I come! I come! Just as I am, and waiting not To rid my soul of one dark blot; To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot, O Lamb of God, I come, I come! Just as I am, though tossed about With many a conflict, many a doubt; Fightings within, and fears without, O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind; Sight, riches, healing of the mind; Yes, all I need, in Thee to find, O Lamb of God, I come, I come! Just as I am, Thou wilt receive, Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve; Because Thy promise I believe, O Lamb of God, I come, I come! Just as I am, Thy love unknown Has broken every barrier down; Now, to be Thine, yea, Thine alone, O Lamb of God, I come, I come!’
Yeh friends, it doesn’t matter what state we are in, our wonderful Saviour will accept us just we are. You know some places you have to clean up before they’ll accept you, but not with the Lord Jesus Christ. He’s looking for you at your worst possible state, because that’s one of the reasons he came to earth, to save the poor and needy, the sick and downtrodden.
He is the ONLY One who declares that you can come to Him just as you are. And believe me, you won’t be wise if you don’t accept His wonderful invitation. ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of (from) me; for I am meek and lowly in heart (gentle and humble): and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matt.11:28-30)
Oh my brethren, every time I hear that beautiful piece of scripture, my heart just jumps for joy, knowing that I have such marvellous person to turn to in my troubles and times of need. All glory be to God for Jesus Christ!
Anyway, before we get into our Bit, let me apologize for my typo yesterday. I don’t know how many of you noticed it, but instead of saying ‘you reap what you sow,’ I wrote ‘you sow what you reap.’ Technically speaking it’s the same thing, since you can only reap what you sow. (smile)
And our Bit just reiterates the ideas we have declared in our hymn, and in the Great Invitation of Jesus. ‘But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works.’
Now why wouldn’t I put my trust in the Creator and Controller of the universe eh? Why would I put it in the foolish and deceitful rascal who tried to dethrone God and now aimlessly walks the earth backed by a façade of evil and deception, until the Lord is ready to immerse him in the lake of fire? I’m sorry friends, but as for me and mine, we’re rooting for Jesus!
Now hear James, the half-brother of Christ, who like a lot of Christ’s family, did not believe until the end of His earthly ministry. Listen as James talks about worldliness and pride. ‘Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy (yearns jealously)? But he giveth more grace; Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
Submit yourselves therefore to God: Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh (near) to God, and he will draw nigh (near) to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded. Be afflicted (lament), and mourn and weep: let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.’ (James 4:5-10)
Oh my fellow believers, God gives us more grace than any of the world’s attractions or the lusts in our spirits, which means we can withstand both of them.
And the scholars explain the last three verses thus: ‘4:7-10. Therefore: The exhortations that follow logically result from the conditions in verses 1-6. Resist the devil: do not submit to, fear, or flee from Satan, but stand against him (1 Pet.5:8-10). Satan cannot lead (one) into sin against one’s will. Draw nigh: God will not be unmoved; His welcoming response is always near (cf. Deut. 4:7; Lam.3:57; Luke 15:20). Hands and hearts: The cleansing of one’s life must involve both outward deeds and inner thoughts (cf. Ps.24:3-4).’
The only advice I can give after reading all of that friends, is to read those references given in the scholars note. I just did, and believe me they are invaluable, they just strengthen your spirit and help you to better understand the Lord’s word. Much LOVE!
…he who has ears to hear…let him hear…
26 Jan 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: 2017, a compassionate heart, a positive outlook, a rejoicing church, a strong will, abiding in, abundance, and again I say rejoice, as in a glass, beholding, blessings, bountiful, challenging, changed, clear direction, cloudy day, courage, covenant, creativity, curse, decisions, divine protection, faith, faithfulness, favour, from glory to glory, fulfillment, generous, glory to God, goals, God is able, God's peace, grace, health, heavenly Father, honest, hope, hypocrisy, Jesus Christ, just, King James version, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, lovely, make all things new, make me clean, make me real, meditate, mercy, miraculously, mirror, negative word, New Year, noble, of good report, omnipotent god, open face, praise, praiseworthy, pray, priorities, productive, promises, promotion, prosper, reflect his glory, reflecting, Rejoice in the Lord always, renovate me, revitalized, Ruth Harms Calkin, self-control, self-discipline, self-righteousness, sham, simplistic, strength, strife filled, succeed, success, talent, the face of Moses, the glory of the Lord, the God of peace, the Most High God jehovah, the New Covenant, the One Year Book of Bible Promises, the right activities, the right things, the same image, the SON, the Spirit of God, the spirit of the Lord, the very depth of my being, think, Thursday Blessings, to all and sundry, transform my fears, transformed, true, trust, unveiled, vibrant faith, virtue, whatsoever things, wisdom, work in me
Philippians 4:4. Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.
Aye mih people, I don’t know what has happened to the sun nuh, because we haven’t seen it in my area for about two weeks now. Today seems to be another wet, cloudy day. And even when the days weren’t wet, very few, they were still cloudy.
But yuh know what? We’ve seen the SON every single day! Glory Hallelujah!
Rain or shine He shows up right on time to help guide us through another blessed day that His heavenly Father has granted us on this bountiful, though somewhat strife-filled earth! And for that faithfulness we are eternally grateful!
Now here is something from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin that seems rather appropriate ‘For This New Year.’
Please pray with me. ‘O Lord God You are able. Able to make me clean Without self-righteousness and sham. Able to make me real Without hypocrisy. You are able To give me wisdom In all my priorities My decisions, my goals. You are able to transform my fears Into vibrant faith And quiet trust.
You are able To make this present year The most challenging The most productive Of all my life. So for this new year I covenant with You, dear God. Please work in me To the very depth of my being. Renovate me Transform me For You are able – miraculously able To make all things new.’
And that He certainly is my brethren! Our omnipotent God can make all and everything new through His miraculous powers!
And in this new year of 2017, that’s already a month old, we all desperately need cleaning up and being revitalized. And that can only happen through the auspices, the grace and mercy and LOVE of the Most High God Jehovah!
So let’s hope and pray that He does an awesome work of revitalization in us this year of 2017. And the promise of scripture for that poem is 2 Cor, 23:18.
The New Living translation boils it down thus: ‘As the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more.’
I’m sorry though, that translation, in my opinion falls way short of the beauty and majesty of the King James Version. ‘But we all, with open (unveiled) face beholding as in a glass (mirror) the glory of the Lord, are changed (being transformed) into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.’
Now friends, that speaks to me much more than the first version. That’s what I don’t like about some of these new translations; they just lose the whole ‘wonderment ‘ of the old language, by making it so simplistic. But that’s just me.
And the scholars tell us this about that verse. ‘3:18. Beholding as in a glass: The term ‘beholding’ can have the sense of “reflecting.” The believer himself “reflects” the glory of the Lord just as the face of Moses reflected the glory of the Lord.
For Moses the glory eventually faded away, but under the New Covenant the believer is changed into the same image. This transformation takes place by the abiding presence of the Spirit of God.’
Now I certainly like that: the longer we live, the more we become like Christ! Glory to God!
And I do hope that we have enough space and time for our Bit, which is enhanced everyday by the promises of the Lord’s Word. ‘Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.’
Yes my fellow believers, a rejoicing church is what our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ wants to see. That’s why He sacrificed His sinless life for us, and if we don’t show our sincere appreciation by being glad and joyful, then all He did was just a waste of time.
Now let’s continue Bruh Paul’s speech to the Philippians, from where we left off yesterday. ‘Finally brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest (noble), whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise (anything praiseworthy), think (meditate) on these things.
Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.’ (Phil4:8-9).
And the scholars explain those verses thus: ‘4:8-9. Finally could be rendered “in this connection,” since verses 6-9 are related: verses 6 and 7 tell how to obtain God’s peace; verses 8 and 9 tell how to keep it. In order to keep God’s peace, the readers must occupy their minds with the right things (v.8) and busy themselves with the right activities (v.9).’
It couldn’t be put any simpler friends, though it’s not always easy to do in this negative, evil and selfish world. However with the untold blessings and promises and help available from our awesome God, we can do it.
Now let’s begin doing it by declaring our Thursday Blessings with much verve, enthusiasm and belief. Remember a blessing is not a blessing until it’s been spoken over someone.
As one 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 having blessed ourselves, let’s go out now and bless the many others in this world of great ‘sufferation’ who desperately need it. Much LOVE!
…Christians must not withhold blessings…but be like Christ…be generous to all and sundry…
19 Jan 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a brand new day, a compassionate heart, a positive outlook, a strong will, abundance, an open sepulchre, appreciative, be in the world, bless, blessings, brothers and sisters in christ, choose Jesus, confirmation, courage, creativity, curse, destruction, divine protection, faith, faithfulness, family, for His name's sake, friends, Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy, glory hallelujah, God is LOVE, greetings, guidance, he restoreth my soul, I choose Christ, I commit my spirit, I shall not want, into thine hand, Jesus Christ, lack, leftovers, LOVE, mercies, my fortress, my rock, my strength, negative word, not of the world, of life and living, paths of righteousness, praise his holy name, prayer for protection, promotion, prosper, Psalm 23, self-discipline, something new everyday, spiritual aid, succeed, talent, thankful, the blue sky is the truth, The Lord is my shepherd, these clouds are lies, Thursday Blessings, tomb, ungodly world, wickedness, wisdom, Woodbine Willie
Psalm 23:1. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want (lack).
Greetings my brothers and sisters in Christ! Welcome to a brand new day of life and living in this wonderful world of Almighty God! Praise His Holy Name!
It’s also another day filled with new mercies and blessings, produced specially for today…Glory Hallelujah!
That’s the wonderful kind of God we serve! He doesn’t give us yesterday’s leftovers, but makes it brand new every day. Consequently we ought to be rather appreciative and thankful for those wonderful things we get that we don’t deserve under the Lord’s mercy programme.
And you know what? We have to choose to believe that, otherwise it’s useless. Listen to this quote from Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy (1883-1929), the Anglican priest and poet who was nicknamed ‘Woodbine Willie’ during the great war, for handing out Woodbine cigarettes along with spiritual aid to injured and dying soldiers.
He reputedly declared: ‘These clouds are lies. They cannot last. The blue sky is the truth, for God is LOVE. Such is my faith, and such my reasons for it, and I find them strong enough. And you? You want to argue? Well I can’t. It’s a choice and I choose the Christ.’
Oh friends, oh friends, I do hope that our faith is strong, strong enough to enable us to unequivocally choose Jesus, for that’s the only thing that makes sense in this ungodly world of today!
And to help us reach that stage of overwhelming faith, we’re going to continue looking at scriptures that offer confirmation and corroboration of the wonders of Psalm 23, as personified by our Bit. ‘The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want (lack).’
Oh I know that some of you are tired with the same Bit and topic day after day, and like the world goes, you want something new everyday. But that’s a foolish way to live friends, because most of the time we have not even understood what we did the previous day.
You can only truly know something if you study it over and over. And remember, we’re supposed to be in the world, not of it, so we don’t have to follow all that it does.
Anyway, let’s turn to verse 3: ‘He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.’ (Ps.23:3)
Ah my fellow believers, how wonderful is that eh! And Bruh David certainly knew about the Lord’s guidance, as he declares from Psalm 5 – A prayer for protection. ‘But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.
Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face. For there is no faithfulness (uprightness) in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness (destruction); their throat is an open sepulchre (tomb); they flatter with their tongue.’ (Ps.5:7-9)
Oh friends, that hasn’t changed since Bruh David’s day, in fact it has probably gotten worse, which means we need to be guided along paths of righteousness by the Lord even more than before.
Now hear Bruh David again, this time from Psalm 31. He confidently proclaims: ‘In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust (take refuge); let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness. Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: be thou my strong rock (rock of refuge), for a house of defense (fortress) to save me.
For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name’s sake lead me, and guide me. Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily (secretly) for me: for thou art my strength. Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.’ (Ps.31:1-5)
And how I do hope that we all have committed our spirits into the hand of the omnipotent God, Creator and Controller of this universe for it’s the only way we’ll ever be peaceful and contented down here on earth, and see His wonderful face in heaven for eternity.
And having said all of that, let’s add to our joy and comfort by declaring our Thursday Blessings over ourselves, for a blessing is not a blessing until its declared over someone.
With much enthusiasm and faith 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 my fellow believers and bless all those we come into contact with, as Jesus desires of us. Much LOVE!
…oh where would we be…without the Lord’s merciful leading and guidance eh…
P.S. Please don’t expect the Bit this early everyday. (smile) I just made a special effort today because I have a cardiology clinic appointment early this morning, and am not sure what time I’ll be back. Much LOVE!
22 Dec 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a performance, a trumpet player, abundance, action, adore, bits of news, blessed, blessed arth thou among women, blessed is she that believed, blessed is the fruit of thy womb, blessings, blocked toilet, born to proclaim, brethren, broken, Christ's mother, Christian fashion, christianity, clear direction, compassionate heart, confidence, courage, creativity, curse, discredit, divine protection, down to earth, Elisabeth, exuding Christian feeling, faith, favour, filled with the Holy Ghost, for brethren to dwell in unity, friendly manner, fulfillment, genuine, glory to God, good friends, great family, greeting, happy to serve, Healer, health, hill country, how good and pleasant, in the name of Jesus, in true action, influential people, John the Baptist, jumps for joy, leaped in her womb, light, LOVE, LOVE in action, Mary, negative word, pleasant, positive, positive outlook, praise, promotion, prosper, reluctant to discredit, renewed my confidence, running sinks, salt, salutation, she spake out with a loud voice, shoddy job, strength, succeed, success, talent, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the Holy Ghost, the house of Zechariah, the mother of my Lord, Thursday's Blessings, told her of the Lord, travail, upbeat note, walk this earth, wisdom, with haste, worked wonders, workmanship, Zechariah
Luke 1:42. And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
Oh friends, oh friends, the ole fella has two good… no not two good, but two of the most wonderful and exciting bits of news to share!
First of all I was told that our bubba Scotty was back at church last Sunday…Glory to God! And he was looking good too…Give the Lord even more glory!
He still is not a hundred percent, but He is much better than he was. So let’s keep on praying that the wonderful healer, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, will soon restore him to full health. Isn’t our God great? He surely is!
And the second excellent piece of news is that I finally saw Christianity in true action. Wow!
The story goes like this: A few days ago, a plumber, a tall white guy, possibly in his forties, came to check out a couple of slow running sinks and a blocked toilet in my house. He fixed the sinks without a problem, but could not unblock the toilet. Finally he called a different department and got them to send someone else the following day.
This guy had to take down the toilet, and after much travail, (smile) finally removed the object that was blocking it. However, to the duchess and I, he did a somewhat shoddy job of putting the toilet back together. So she called and they sent the first plumber back yesterday.
On viewing what we thought was shoddy workmanship, he declared that the fella had actually done his job, but not as well as he could have. And you could see that in good Christian fashion, he was reluctant to discredit the other plumber.
Now, from his first visit, we had established that he was a Christian, also a trumpet player, and we had spoken some about our faith, but not to a great extent. And much to our surprise, he then began to work on improving the job.
Now he didn’t have to do it, and even though he was still on call and getting paid, a lot of others would have just left it and walked away. His manner was also pleasant and friendly and you could feel the Christian feeling exuding from him.
It was actually LOVE in action, not just talk. And I was really moved by his attitude. I saw the proverbial salt and light in his genuine, happy to serve, down to earth behaviour. And it sort of renewed my confidence in our faith.
Ah mih people, I don’t know if I described it properly, but a genuine caring for his job, and the way he did it enthusiastically, worked wonders on the duchess and I. Oh how good it would be to see more of that kind of attitude amongst our Christian brethren!
Anyway, here’s our Bit for today, don’t know if we have space for all I want to say now. (smile) ‘And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.’
Now that was Elisabeth, John the Baptist’s mother talking as Mary, her relative, Christ’s mother came to visit her.
The Good Book describes the scene thus: ‘And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judah; and entered into the house of Zechariah, and saluted (greeted) Elisabeth.
And it came to pass, that when Elisabeth heard the salutation (greeting) of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost.’ (Luke 1:39-41)
That’s when she declared our Bit. And isn’t it amusing, amazing, and mysterious, just like our God, to engineer such a meeting. Mary greets Elisabeth, and John the Baptist jumps for joy in his mother’s womb. He is having his first encounter with the mother of His Lord, whom he will be born to proclaim.
And Elisabeth continues after our Bit. ‘And whence (why) is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.’ (Luke 1:43-44)
Yeh mih people, the Holy Ghost obviously filled in Elisabeth with the enormous task that would befall Mary, and she ends with these powerful and most significant words. ‘And blessed is she that (who) believed: for there shall be a performance (fulfillment) of those things which were told her from the Lord.’ (Luke 1:45)
Elisabeth could only have known those things through the power of the Holy Ghost. What a way our wonderful God, the greatest scriptwriter of all time, tied together the cousins who would bear two of the most important and influential people ever to walk this earth!
How could we not adore, praise and give Him all the glory He deserves eh!
Now let’s go home on a further positive and upbeat note by declaring our Thursday Blessings. Remember, a blessing is not a blessing until it’s been proclaimed over someone.
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!’
Yes mih people, blessings and more blessings! Now let’s go out and bless others and be salt and light in the world as Jesus expects us to be. Much LOVE!
…behold…how good and pleasant it is…for brethren to dwell together in unity… (Ps.133:1)
21 Dec 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a virgin, and bring forth a son, anxious, backwater town, betrothed, blessed art thou among women, bring forth a son, call his name Jesus, calm response, celebrations, Christ's mother, Christmas Season, conceive, consternation, courage, day of Christ's birth, Elisabeth, engagement, espousal, exalt, faith, fear not, found favour with God, full marks, Galilee, glory hallelujah, go overboard, good health, grateful, hail, highly favoured, his father David, House of David, I am a virgin, I am halfway home, I know no man, I'm not turning back, Jesus Christ, John the Baptist, Joseph, joyful spirit, looking straight ahead, LOVE, manner of greeting, Mary, my hands are on the plough, Nazareth, old age, our Lord and Saviour, outlandish approach, Praise the Lord, purity, recognition, reign, rejoice, role players, saga, salutation, star of the show, strict Jewish community, that holy thing, the angel Gabriel, the breath of life, the glorious future with Jesus, the Holy Ghost, the house of jacob, the Lord is with thee, the power of the Highest., the Son of God, the Son of the Highest, the throne, thou shalt conceive, throw a tantrum, to know Jesus, troubled, under heavy manners, Wednesday Wail, womb, Zechariah
Luke 1:31. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
Well, a good Wednesday morning, four days before Christmas, my fellow believers in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! (smile)
Let’s hope that this message reaches you all in good health and joyful spirit as we plan the celebrations for this Christmas season, where we remember and give thanks for the birth of Christ.
And all God’s people declared a loud, proud and grateful, ‘Praise the Lord!’
Yes friends, that day of Christ’s birth will soon be upon us, and we all know that Jesus is the star of the show, but today I want to talk about one of the lesser, but still very important role players in the story, Christ’s mother, Mary.
Now over the last few years, after getting more familiar with her part, I’ve come to believe that she doesn’t get the recognition she truly deserves. Remember it all begins with her.
‘And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused (betrothed, engaged) to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.’ (Luke 1:26-27)
Yuh see friends, right there Mary’s importance in the proceedings is established. An angel of God, come to earth to talk to this young, engaged Jewish girl in a backwater town of Nazareth.
Before we go further though, let’s check out a couple of the scholars’ explanations. ‘1:26. This was the sixth month of Elisabeth’s pregnancy.’ Elisabeth was Mary’s cousin, at first barren, but then pregnant with John the Baptist.
‘1:27. Espousal (similar to our engagement period) was, under Jewish law, as binding as marriage. It lasted about a year, during which time the woman’s purity was maintained.’ So we see right there, Mary was already under heavy manners, because of her betrothal.
‘And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail (Rejoice), thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind (considered) what manner of salutation (greeting) this should be.’ (Luke 1:28-29)
Ah friends, can you imagine being a teenaged girl, engaged to be married in a strict Jewish community, sitting quietly in your parents house and this angel comes up to you and begins to exalt you. Obviously you’d be somewhat anxious and wonder what it was all about.
‘And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.’ (Luke 1:30-31)
Ah Lord eh! Can you imagine Mary’s consternation? She’s already been betrothed, and the rules are so strict, now this angel is coming to tell her that she will get pregnant and bring forth a son, who’s name shall be Jesus!
To make matters worse, she’s little more than a girl with no life experience in a tightly controlled Jewish society. Personally, I would not have wanted to be in her situation. But give Mary full marks for courage. She doesn’t go overboard, jump and holler, or any negative actions. She just listens quietly as the angel Gabriel continues:
‘He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest (Most High): and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.’ (Luke 1:32-33)
Yes mih breddren, even in these enlightened times, such an outlandish approach would be a cause of consternation and anxiety in any experienced female. So can you imagine poor Mary’s thoughts?
She was engaged, and wasn’t supposed to have sex before marriage, but to have a child one must know a man first (at least in those days). So what was this angel trying to do to her life eh? But apparently she didn’t make a fuss, throw a tantrum over Gabriel words, but simply continued with her own question
‘Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know no man, (I am a virgin)? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest (Most High) shall over-shadow thee: therefore also that holy thing (one) which shall be born of thee shall be called the son of God.
And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible.’ (Luke 1:34-37)
Mamacita! What a situation to put a young girl in! But you know what endears Mary to me? Her calm response in the face of all that the situation would entail for her.
‘And Mary said, Behold the handmaid (maidservant) of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.’ (Luke 1:38)
And the scholars tell us to consider and contrast Mary’s response with that of Zechariah (v.18) who didn’t believe when he was told that his barren wife would bear a son, and was made dumb until the birth of John the Baptist.
Yeh friends, Mary’s faith seems to have been well developed at a pretty young age. And we all know what she eventually went through, so please don’t dismiss her as just another bit player in the saga of the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Now let’s go home, suitably challenged, (smile) declaring our Wednesday Wail with sincere passion and truth. In unison now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday!
Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back.
I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
Oh friends, it’s so wonderful to be associated with Jesus Christ, that words can’t describe it! Much LOVE!
…to know, know, know Him…is to LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Him…
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