31 Aug 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a disciplined mind, a spiritual source, be of good cheer, beats so imperfectly, believers are filled with doubts and fear, believest thou this, Christian themes of faith and grace, come unto me all ye that labour, crapaud smoke yuh pipe, each restless heart, emotional weariness, empowers to overcome adversity, faith, filled with wonder, find rest unto your souls, For God hath not given us a spirit of fear, gentle and humble, give thanks and praise, God will be our God, he that believeth in me, holy spirit, hope perseverance, I am still, I am strong, I am the resurrection and the life, I glimpse eternity, I will give you reat, Jesus Christ, Jesus is our only sure hope, Jesus your Guiding Light, Jesus your Lord and Saviour, Josh Groban, learn of me, LOVE, meek and lowly in heart, mercy, my heart burdened be, my soul so weary, my yoke is easy and my burden light, no life without its hunger, o thou of little faith, of power love and a sound mind, Peter walked on water, Pilot in the times of storm, relying on a divine power, sacrifices of praise, salvation, stand on mountains, strength, strife-filled times, take my yoke upon you, the glorious truth, the great invitation, the Lord's Sabbath, the new heaven and earth, the new Jerusalem, the renewal and regeneration of our souls, the support of another person, the troubles and challenges you face, though he were dead yet shall he live, to be more than I can be, to walk on stormy seas, truth, wait here in the silence, when I am down, when troubles come, whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die, why did you doubt, wipe away all tears sorrow pain and death, wisdom, you come and sit with me, You Raise Me Up
Matthew 11:28. Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
And as always, in the rotation of days, we come right back to Sunday, the first day of the week, and the Lord’s Sabbath, which requires us to attend His sanctuary to give thanks and praise and receive regeneration of our souls, minds, spirits and bodies. Today, on this last day of August 2025, we’ll open our worship session with a most appropriate song for these vexing, uncertain and strife-filled times.
It’s titled ‘You Raise Me Up,’ and was originally released on the 2001 Secret Garden album “Once in a Red Moon”, then was used for commemorations of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks despite not having been released in America yet. Then in 2003, Josh Groban released the American version, and it became a huge hit.
And what is the meaning behind the song? This commentary explains it thus: “You Raise Me Up” is an inspiring ballad about finding strength, hope, and perseverance through the support of another person, often interpreted as God or a spiritual source, especially during difficult times.
The lyrics describe a person’s emotional weariness and how the presence of a LOVING “you” empowers them to overcome adversity, “stand on mountains,” “walk on stormy seas,” and achieve more than they could alone. And for many Christians, the “you” in the song represents God, with the lyrics reflecting Christian themes of faith, grace, and relying on a divine power.’
So, now that we have some idea of what the song is about, let’s offer up sweet sacrifices of praise in a heartfelt soulful version that will have heaven singing along with us. Singing: ‘When I am down and oh, my soul so weary When troubles come and my heart burdened be Then I am still and wait here in the silence Until You come and sit awhile with me
(Chorus: You raise me up so I can stand on mountains You raise me up to walk on stormy seas I am strong when I am on Your shoulders You raise me up to more than I can be: You raise me up so I can stand on mountains You raise me up to walk on stormy seas I am strong when I am on Your shoulders You raise me up to more than I can be.)
There is no life, no life without its hunger Each restless heart beats so imperfectly But when You come and I am filled with wonder Sometimes, I think I glimpse eternity. (Chorus: You raise me up so I can stand on mountains You raise me up to walk on stormy seas I am strong when I am on Your shoulders You raise me up to more than I can be.
Yes, You raise me up so I can stand on mountains (You raise me up, I can stand on mountains) You raise me up to walk on stormy seas (Walk on stormy seas) And I am strong when I am on Your shoulders Oh, you raise me up to more than I can be Yes, You raise me up to more than I can be.’
And that’s the undeniable, indisputable and glorious truth my friends! For when Jesus is your Lord and Saviour, your Guiding Light and Pilot in the times of storm, then He will certainly raise you up above the troubles and challenges you face. And in His Great Invitation, we are welcomed to release all our burdens, weariness, stress and strain to Him and then enjoy His refreshing relief.
Listen to His marvellous 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 (gentle and humble) in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matt. 11:28-30) Now where else can you ever receive such a genuine and welcoming invitation eh? Nowhere else but with Jesus!
And when you’re talking about walking on stormy seas, who else can help you do it but Jesus, as He showed when He went walking to the disciples on the stormy sea. Obviously, when the disciples saw Him, they thought it was a ghost and cried out for fear. ‘But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer (take courage); it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous (violent), he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?’ (Matt. 14:27-31)
And that’s the problem today with so many believers; we are filled with doubts and fear, that’s why our lives are so topsy turvy, and not as calm and peaceful as they ought to be. We need to remember these very reassuring words of Bruh Paul to Timothy and put them into action in our lives. ‘For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound (disciplined) mind.’ (2 Tim. 1:7) That’s what we need to hear continually pounding in our ears every day, not the foolish fear that Satan tries to instill in us.
And I like that last verse which talks about ‘there’s no life without its hunger Each restless heart beats so imperfectly But when You come and I am filled with wonder Sometimes, I think I glimpse eternity.’ And we have eternity right here with us, for remember what Jesus said to Martha when she queried His statement that her brother Lazarus would rise again? Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead (may die), yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?’ (John 11:25-26)
And if you call yourself a Christian, then you’d better believe it, otherwise crapaud smoke yuh pipe! And don’t forget that John saw the new heaven and new earth, the new Jerusalem, where God will be our God and dwell with us, and we shall be His people, and He’ll wipe away all tears, sorrow, death, crying and pain, etc. etc. (Rev. 21: 1-4) I don’t know about you all, but I can hardly wait for that day to come! (smile) Much LOVE!
…trusting in Jesus…is the only sure hope…we have in this world…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
09 Jun 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a burden to you, a Christlike countenance, a merciful forgiving and gracious God, a roof over your head, a similar conversation, a true disciple of Christ, accomplished your purpose, acknowledge the misdemeanour, all these things shall be added unto you, as unto the Lord, at the thought of going to work, authority, busybodies, but wrought with labour and toil, Christian witness, clothes on your back, come around again to bother me, conforms to God's Word, crapaud smoke yuh pipe, dedicated and diligent, disciples of Christ, disturb my peace, do it heartily, eat any man's bread for nought, engaging in productive work, ensure our needs are met, even when we were with you, faith, faithfully keep your promise, faithfully promised, fall into our lap, free of charge, from the Lord, glorify your father in heaven, gossips, grumpy and dismayed, hands shamefacedly raised, holy spirit, humble ourselves, humble servants, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus Christ, knock knock, Let your light so shine before men, living a lifestyle, LOVE, mass confusion in our world, mercy, Monday, neither should he eat, night and day, not be chargeable, not because we have not power, not entitled to anything, our nemesis, partying all weekend, please ease the pain, put bread on your table, receive the reward of the inheritance, righteous anger, salvation, seek ye first, seriously disobeyed your word, set a Christian example, showcase ourselves, sincere repentance, sincerely seeking God, solve all our problems, strong faith in Christ, tent making trade, thank you for life, that if any would not work, that's what life is all about, the disastrous state of our world, the first day of our work week, the God who heals, the kingdom of God and his righteousness, the many suffering from negative situations, the necessities of life, the only one, the throne of grace, they may see your good works, thinking we're entitled, this we commanded you, to alleviate our problems, to be an example to you, to hear and answer our prayers, to live good, to make ourselves an ensample, to prosper us, toil and sacrifice, true believers in Christ, truth, turn from our evil ways, we behaved not ourselves disorderly, we have all sinned, whatsoever ye do, who's there, wisdom, wise guidance, without working for the rewards, working to earn a living, ye serve the Lord Christ
2 Thessalonians 3:10. For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.
And then there was this situation: Knock, knock! Who’s there? It’s me Monday… Oh it’s you Monday, come around again to bother me and disturb my peace by reminding me that I need to get up and go to work, although I feel so lousy after partying all weekend. And I can’t even call in sick, because I’ve used up all my sick time already…and it’s just the middle of the year. Brother, what am I going to do if I do get sick later on in the year eh?
And Monday simply replies: Crapaud smoke yuh pipe! You should not have used them all up by lying and saying you were sick, when you were just tired and hung over from your constant partying every weekend. And self replies in righteous anger: Oh go away nuh Monday and leave me alone! You’ve accomplished your purpose…I’m up and getting ready to go to the stupid ole work. Hope that makes you happy? And with a big grin on his annoying and cheeky face, Monday calmly declares: It certainly does!
Oh my people, did any of us have a similar conversation this morning, or one close to it with our nemesis Monday? Now please speak the truth. And a few hands are shamefacedly raised to shoulder level to acknowledge the misdemeanour. Yes friends, as disciples, ambassadors and agents of Christ here on planet earth, too many of us are still not ready to greet Monday, the first day of our work week with a cheery, Christlike countenance, but instead are grumpy and dismayed at the very thought of having to get up and go to work.
But that’s what life is all about; working to earn a living, so you can put bread on your table, a roof over your head, and clothes on your back. Now, if you don’t want those necessities of life, you don’t need to work. And sadly, too many of us desire to live good without working for the rewards, thinking that we’re entitled to it. In reality though, we’re not entitled to anything in this world, and we need to toil and sacrifice for most of what we want.
And I believe that some of us might be daft, or crazy enough to think that we’re entitled and don’t have to do anything because Jesus says we should not worry about clothing and food and the other necessities of life for our heavenly knows we need them. (Matt. 6:31) And rather, instructs us thus: ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt. 6:33)
Now that doesn’t mean that if we seek God and His righteousness, all those things will just fall into our laps. No, we seek God, by and while engaging in productive work, and He will then ensure that all our needs are met. Remember what Jesus said about discipleship? ‘If any man will (desires to) come after (follow) me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.’ (Luke 9:23) Now, that sure seems like it has some work in it, along with some sacrifice too.
That brings us to this interesting theory that Bruh Paul floated to the Thessalonians in his second letter. He had heard that some people there were behaving disorderly, being simply busybodies, gossips etc., basically not living a lifestyle that conforms to the Word of God. ‘For yourselves know how ye ought to follow us: for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you;
Neither did we eat any man’s bread for nought (free of charge); but wrought with labour (worked) and travail (toil) night and day, that we might not be chargeable (a burden) to any of you: Not because we have not power (authority), but to make ourselves and ensample (example) unto you to follow us. For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.’ (2 Thess. 3:7-10)
What a marvellous idea! If we could only put it into action! (smile) And please note, that Bruh Paul didn’t work because he had to, he could have lived off of the people. But no, he plied his tent making trade diligently and made his own money to set a Christian example for them. And setting good Christian examples to those around us is one of the best ways we can ever showcase ourselves as true believers in and followers of Christ. As Jesus so wisely says: ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your father which is in heaven.’ (Matt. 5:16)
The long and the short of the story though, is that to be true disciples of Christ, we must work, and work diligently, efficiently and sincerely, so that others can see the true reflection of Jesus in us. In other words: ‘Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.’ (Col. 3:23-24) I could not put it any better than that my brethren. So let’s go to the throne of grace through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, sincerely seeking God and His help, with all of our hearts, minds, bodies and souls.
Altogether: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems.
Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems.
Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’
And, as we can see from our prayer, and the disastrous state of our world, our work and Christian witness are not satisfactory, which means we need to pull up our socks and become better witnesses for Christ. And we all know what that means! Much LOVE!
…to be a true disciple of Christ…one must be dedicated and diligent…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
30 Nov 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a banner year for peace and love, a God of hope, a wonderful experience, adhere to Jesus, all should come to repentance, an acolyte of Satan, as a thief in the night, be caught up in the clouds, be not ignorant of this one thing, Bible, cast into the lake of fire, christianity, comfort one another with these words, compassion, crapaud smoke yuh pipe, deepen my breath, descend from heaven with a shout, encouragement, eternal death, eternal life, every one that doeth evil hateth the light, evil deeds, faith, free will, guided like a moth, he that doeth the truth comes to the light, hide from the light, his deeds may be made manifest, holy spirit, I praise you for your unceasing nearness, increase my awareness of you, intimacy with god, Jesus Christ, Jesus wins, kindness, know you all the more, laziness, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, lest his deeds be reproved, live for Christ, longsuffering, LOVE, loyalty, men loved darkness rather than light, mercy, neither comes to the light, not willing that any should perish, obedience, one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, quiet my soul, relax my muscles, repentance, salvation, Satan, shall rise first, sincerity, sinful pleasures, slow my thoughts, so shall we ever be with the Lord, stay strong, tenderness, the amazing presence of God, the day of the Lord, the dead in christ, the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the fallen angel Lucifer, the Great tribulation, the heavens shall pass away, the judgement, the light is come into the world, the Lord is not slack concerning His promise, the Rapture of Christ's church, the trump of God, the voice of he archangel, their deeds are evil, to meet the Lord in the air, to the flame of Jesus, truth, warms the cockles of God's heart, we which are alive, wrought in God
John 3:20. For every one that doeth (practices) evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds shall be reproved (exposed).
Yes friends, on this last day of November, our lazy-day Saturday has arrived, windy and cold, but with more sunshine than cloud, and we’ll take it however it comes, for we can laze around in any kind of weather. (smile) And I did manage to get in some early morning laziness, so I’m not feeling too envious of those of you who can afford to spend the whole day doing nothing. But enough laziness, let’s get to the Lord’s business, and offer up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer with all sincerity and truth.
As one voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’
And it’s always a wonderful experience to come into the amazing presence of our great God; to get into deeper intimacy with Him, for that’s His greatest desire. So let’s never forget that He made us to have deep intimacy with Him, to LOVE Him as He LOVES us! The Lord needed a creation to LOVE, to show His great kindness and compassion to, in return for obedience and loyalty. And there’s nothing that warms the cockles of His heart like His creation seeking deeper intimacy with Him.
It’s unfortunate though, that with the free will He also gave us, not many of His creation are using it to choose Him, but rather to choose the sinful pleasures and evil deeds of the world controlled by the fallen angel Lucifer. It obviously breaks His heart to see so many of us falling under the evil spell of the great deceiver, but thankfully our God is the God of hope, hoping that many more, if not all of us, will one day receive His Son, Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.
Listen, as Peter spells it out in his second epistle. ‘But beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.’ (2 Pet. 3:8-10)
Oh my people, the Lord in His everlasting kindness is giving us a long time to come to repentance and thus obtain salvation, for He will prefer that none of His most marvellous creation suffers hellfire and damnation. However, He will not wait forever, and after the many warnings He’s given us, one day, Jesus will simply appear unexpectedly, like a thief in the night, bringing with the Him the final judgement of man. And if you’re still an acolyte of Satan, then you will suffer the same punishment as him, being cast into the lake of fire, with eternal separation from Almighty God.
Now that is the worst thing that can ever happen to a human soul, which means you need to repent and receive salvation as soon as possible, in fact RIGHT NOW, for who knows if Jesus will return to Rapture us sometime today, and if you’re not ready, then crapaud smoke yuh pipe! You’ll have to go through the Great Tribulation which will be nothing like the earth has ever seen before, and after that, the judgement!
So, wouldn’t it be much better to be amongst this lot as Bruh Paul wrote to the Thessalonians. ‘For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump (trumpet) of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever (always) be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.’ (1 Thess. 4:16-18)
Oh my fellow believers, those are indeed comforting words! How can they not be? Knowing that when Christ returns to rapture His church that those of us who held on to Him till the very end, both dead and alive will rise to meet Him in the skies certainly gives one comfort and encouragement to stay strong and live for Christ despite the many trials and tribulations we will face in this evil and ungodly world.
And I like this brief commentary on the Rapture: ‘When Christ enters the cloud, he brings us with him, not just the first disciples. As he took on our humanity and took it to the cross, so he brings us into the presence and glory of God. As he pours grace upon us, he makes us sharers in the Divine Presence.’ Now what could be better than that eh? Absolutely nothing!
And yuh know the whole thing is not rocket science nuh, but simple common sense, for if the sinful pleasures of this world are short-lived, and Satan has nothing to eventually offer but hellfire and damnation, why take up with him eh? Why subjugate yourselves to his awful lies, deceits and half-truths of which he is a master. On the other hand, if you adhere to Jesus then you will probably enjoy a tough but decent life down here on earth, then a marvellous one with Him in heaven for all eternity. There’s absolutely no comparison! Jesus wins hands down every time!
But, for whatever reason, many of us seem enamoured with the keeper of the darkness and live for him. I guess it’s like Jesus said: ‘And this is the condemnation, that (the) light is come into the world, and men LOVED darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil. For every one that doeth (practices) evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds shall be reproved (exposed). But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.’ (John 3:19-21)
Oh, my fellow saints, that’s a marvellous note for us to end on today! So please, let’s spend some of our lazy-day Saturday time pondering the truth of those words as they apply to us nuh. Are our deeds evil, thus we hide from the light…or are our deeds filled with truth, and thus we are guided like a moth to the flame of Christ? It’s time to take serious account of our spiritual condition! Much LOVE!
…we were granted wisdom and free will…that we could choose…eternal life with Christ…not eternal death with Satan…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
28 Feb 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all ye that labour and are heavy laden, belief is the key to everything, believe right to the end, Christ, come unto me, crapaud smoke yuh pipe, eternal life, eyes fixed straight ahead, faith, feast of the dedication, forgiven sins, hail storm, halfway home, hands on the plough, hell bound, I am meek and lowly in heart, I and my Father are one, I will give you rest, if thou be, if thou be Christ, Jesus Christ, Jesus' invitation, learn of me, lightning, LOVE, makest thyself God, my yoke is easy and my burden light, not turning back, salvation, selfless sacrifice, sinless Son of God, sufferation, take my yoke upon you, thank God, the BIBLE, the breath of life is still flowing through me, the cross of Calvary, the fires of hell, they shall never perish, thunder, to a glorious future with Jesus, Wednesday Wail, wisdom
John 10:30 I and my Father are one.
Well, so much for sunshine yesterday and getting to the doctor’s before the promised rain began! Hn! When I came downstairs to write the Bit, there was brilliant sunshine outside, but then I saw where heavy rain was in the forecast, and by the time I went back upstairs about an hour later, the place was as dark as night and it was raining. Chuh! That meant I went to the doctor in the pouring rain, and came back in it, interspersed with occasional streaks of lighting and bolts of thunder. There were other errands I wanted to run, but decided against doing so, and came straight home.
And it’s a good thing too, for about half an hour after I got home, a powerful hail storm hit my area. It didn’t last long, somewhere between five and ten minutes, but you could hear the pounding on the roof, and I said to myself, that couldn’t be rain, so I looked outside and the small hailstones were just pouring down relentlessly. Then this morning, around 3. a.m. the thunder and lightning and rain again made themselves felt. But so far the day has been fairly sunny, with temps in the mid-teens, though somewhat windy. However, there’s also another promise of heavy rain in the offing. But we’ll deal with that when we come to it. (smile)
In the meanwhile, let’s talk about the best subject we can ever talk about, that’s Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, the One who died on the cross of Calvary to pay for our sins! Wow! How can anything be better and greater than that eh? No Way! That’s why we ought to pay him so much homage and LOVE Him right down to the ground, for without His selfless sacrifice we’d be hell bound without any options whatsoever! But because of His marvellous sacrifice and terrible ‘sufferation’ we now have the option of gaining eternal life and spending it in heaven with Him.
So why aren’t many more of us rushing to get that marvellous gift from heaven, by accepting Christ Jesus as Lord and Saviour eh? It boggles my imagination that with all the talk about hellfire and eternal damnation that people wouldn’t be much more receptive to Jesus’ Invitation, where He offers much more than anyone else does. Listen to His words and see if you don’t desperately need the succour and relief that He is offering, especially in these tense and turbulent times. He LOVINGLY invites: ‘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 friends, in this current crazy and confused society, so many of us are crying out for rest and peace and a break from carrying our heavy life burdens, so why aren’t we turning to Jesus in droves eh, when what we need and desire is exactly what He offers? Wish I knew. And the strange thing is that all we have to do is to believe that He is indeed the Son of God and died to have our sins forgiven. Yes my people, it’s all about belief. So many times in the scripture Jesus admonished us to only believe. That’s all it takes. But I guess too many of us prefer the world’s standard of seeing it then believing it, rather than to believe it then see it, which is what’s desired in Jesus’ kingdom.
But that’s oh so foolish friends, for Jesus has the BEST groove going, both in this world and the next. Anything Satan can give you, so can Christ, and give you even better, unless what you want is the evil, ungodliness, immorality, and licentiousness of this world. But unfortunately those in Jesus’ time were just as foolish as us. Listen to what happens when they charged Him with blasphemy. The Bible tells us: ‘And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication (Hanukkah), and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon’s porch. Then came the Jews round about him , and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt (keep us in suspense)? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.
Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me. But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck (snatch) them out of my hand. My Father , which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck (snatch) them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one.’ (John 10:22-29)
Oh my brethren, what godly assurance that believers will be safe from anyone or anything that desires to destroy them. And that last verse (30) told the Jews what they asked in verse 24. If He was the Christ? But having heard that affirmation, they then took up stones to stone Him. ‘Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not: but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.’ (John 10:31-33)
Can you believe it friends? But, unfortunately, many of us today still think of Christ in those terms; that He was just an ordinary man, or a prophet, or some sorcerer or the other, but definitely not the Son of God. But tell me nuh, who else but the sinless Son of God could have paid for our abominable sins eh? No one else! And now it’s all left up to you, to either believe or not believe in Christ and all that He stands for. But please note that believing in Christ is the BEST decision you can ever make in this world. And if you refuse to make it, then crapaud smoke yuh pipe with Beelzebub in the fires of hell!
Now, for those of us who sincerely believe, let’s go home declaring (awright!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting the whole world know of our marvellous position in Christ Jesus. Altogether now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
And if we believe right down to the very end, then that future will be even more glorious than we can ask or imagine. So let’s plan to see it together nuh! Much LOVE!
…in the kingdom of Christ…BELIEF…is the key to everything…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
15 Oct 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a crown of righteousness, a thirst for spiritual food, be prepared, confidence and faith renewed, crapaud smoke yuh pipe, day of freedom, finished my course, fought a good fight, give me oil in my lamp, joy to keep me singing, kept the faith, like a thief in the night, LOVE, love in my heart, perseverance, seek ye first the kingdom of God, sing hosanna, sing hossana, stamina, the Lord's Day, the righteous judge, till the break of day, to keep me burning, to keep me praying, to keep me sharing, watch therefore, where two or three are gathered, wherein the Son of man cometh, ye know neither the day nor the hour
Matthew 25:13. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
Oh friends, the big day, Sunday, the Lord’s Day is here at last! That joyful day when believers gather in the Lord’s sanctuary, or wherever two or three are gathered in Christ’s name, to celebrate our blessings, to praise and worship our wonderful God with grateful hearts, and have our confidence and faith renewed and uplifted! And all God’s people said a loud and proud ‘Amen!’
And today we’ll begin the celebrations with the singing of an old but favourite gospel spiritual titled ‘Give Me Oil in My Lamp.’ Remember those days when we use to sing that ditty as children? Unfortunately, in these supposed modern times, the children are not taught simple but very inspirational songs like that.
Now, in the Old Testament ‘Oil” is symbolic of the Holy Spirit, as well as ‘wealth, abundance, health, energy, and a vital ingredient for a good life. It can likewise represent spiritual abundance, only possible through what God gives. As Isaiah 55:1-7 shows, this oil is “bought” through listening to God, delighting in what He gives, and seeking to be like Him.’
And thus, in this song it can be said that we’re technically asking for “Oil” of the Holy Spirit to light up our lamps and our lives, to keep them “burning” so that we can keep being on fire for our God. Therefore, in accordance with that sentiment, let’s sing a joyful, up tempo, sincere heartfelt version to set the stage for today’s proceedings.
Singing: ‘Give me oil in my lamp, to keep me burning. Give me oil in my lamp, I pray. Give me oil in my lamp, to keep me burning, burning, burning. Keep me burning till the break of day. (Refrain: Sing hosanna, sing hosanna, sing hosanna to the King of kings! Sing hosanna, sing hosanna, sing hosanna to the King!) Give me LOVE in my heart, to keep me sharing. Give me LOVE in my heart, I pray. Give me LOVE in my heart, to keep me sharing, sharing, sharing. Keep me sharing till the break of day. (Refrain)
Give me joy in my heart, to keep me singing. Give me joy in my heart, I pray. Give me joy in my heart, to keep me singing, singing, singing. Keep me singing till the break of day. (Refrain) Give me faith in my heart, to keep me praying. Give me faith in my heart, I pray. Give me faith in my heart, to keep me praying, praying, praying. Keep me praying till the break of day. (Refrain: Sing hosanna, sing hosanna, sing hosanna to the King of kings! Sing hosanna, sing hosanna, sing hosanna to the King!) (Repeat).’
Oh my people, that ought to have brought back memories of our youth to some of us old fogeys, and thus enlivened our spirits this Sunday morning. (smile) I know it sure did mine. And what’s it all about eh? I guess there could be several interpretations, but I like this one commentary that claims, ‘it signifies a thirst for spiritual food – spiritual food to get one through the darkest of times in hopes of s brighter day, a clearer vision of one’s path or until one gains their salvation.’
And I can surely imagine the slaves on the plantations singing something like this as they unfairly toil in the burning sun, awaiting their day of freedom down here on earth or up in heaven. The song does give one encouragement to keep on keeping on, like Bruh Paul wrote to Timothy: ‘I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course (race); I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that LOVE his appearing.’ (2 Tim. 4:7-8)
Yes my brethren, that’s what we need, stamina, faith and perseverance to fight the good fight for Christ and to finish our earthly race as winners, so that the Lord can give us that awesome crown of righteousness! And that’s what this song helps us to do; stand strong and steadfast in Christ Jesus! But how can we do otherwise eh, with LOVE, joy, and faith in our hearts for our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ?
It seems that the song is based on Jesus’ parable of the ten virgins, which indicates readiness and stewardship of believers. He likened the kingdom of heaven to ten virgins, who were invited to light the way with lamps for a bridegroom when he arrived at the ceremony. But the bridegroom was delayed and didn’t show up until midnight.
And as the virgins went out to meet him, five realized that they didn’t have enough oil to keep their lamps burning and asked the other five who had brought extra oil to sell them some. But they refused, and so the five without oil, or the five foolish went out to buy some, but by the time they got back the bridegroom had arrived and closed the doors and they were left out of the celebration. (Matt. 25:1-12)
And the moral of the story? There are all sorts of controversies over the parable, even to whether Jesus even spoke it, or it was later added. However, the general consensus is that believers must always be in a state of readiness for whenever Jesus returns, for He is liable to come at any time, night or day. As Jesus says at the end of the parable: ‘Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.’ (Matt. 25:13) Or, as the saying goes, He can return like a thief in the night, and if you’re not ready, then crapaud smoke yuh pipe!
And as per the question as to why the wise virgins didn’t share their oil? I like how this commentary answers it. ‘The reason why the wise virgins couldn’t share their oil is because their oil isn’t oil. Their oil is their faith. Our faith is what prepares us for the day of our judgment and the coming of Christ. And you cannot share your faith.’ That means you cannot rely on anybody else’s’ faith, you must have your own! And the only way to get that is by receiving Christ as your Lord and Saviour, then studying His word and putting it into action in your life. That is the wisest decision a human being can ever make! Much LOVE!
…seek ye first the kingdom of heaven…and it’s righteousness…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
30 Jul 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a free gift to all who will receive it, calling for you and for me, can a women forget her sucking child, Christ died for us, come home, come unto me all ye that labour, crapaud smoke yuh pipe, deathbeds are coming, Dwight L. Moody, entices us with a promise of love pardon and mercy, eternal separation from God, God commendeth his own love toward us, God so loved the world, have compassion on the son of her, have everlasting life, he gave his only begotten son, I am meek and lowly in heart, I will give you rest, Jesu is pleading for you and for me, Jesus is calling, joyful fellowship, learn of me, linger and heed not his mercies, LOVE, my yoke is easy and my burden light, ome and accept God's mercy together, raise our voices in sacrificial praise, shadows are gathering, Softly and tenderly, spiritually hungry and thirsty, take my yoke upon you, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, the lord will take me up, the Lord's offer of salvation, time is now fleeting, time to gather in the Lord's sanctuary, when my father and mother forsake me, while we were yet sinners, Will Lamartine Thompson, ye shall find rest unto your souls, you who are weary come home
Psalm 27:10. When my father and mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up (take care of me).
And as it always does friends, Sunday has come around once again, meaning it’s time to gather in the Lord’s sanctuary to give thanks, worship and have joyful fellowship together. And today we open our worship services with a sweet, simple and timely Christian hymn titled ‘Softly and Tenderly Jesus is calling,’ written in 1880 by American lyricist and composer Will Lamartine Thompson (1847-1909)
It seems Thompson was inspired to devote himself to writing while attending a meeting by popular evangelist Dwight L. Moody (1837-1899). And, allegedly, when Moody was dying in the hospital, barred from seeing visitors, Thompson showed up there and Moody insisted on seeing him, then he told Thompson, “Will, I would rather have written ‘Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling’ than anything I have been able to do in my whole life.” That is the high regard in which the great evangelist held the song.
So, with that same high regard, let’s now sing it, let’s raise our voices in sacrificial praise in a soulful, scintillating, harmonious and heartfelt version, that will leave no doubts whatsoever about our sincerity. Singing: ‘Softly and tenderly, Jesus is calling, calling for you and for me; see, on the portals he’s waiting and watching, watching for you and for me. (Refrain: Come home, come home; you who are weary come home; earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling, calling, O sinner, come home!)
Why should we tarry when Jesus is pleading, pleading for you and for me? Why should we linger and heed not his mercies, mercies for you and for me? (Refrain) Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing, passing from you and from me; shadows are gathering, deathbeds are coming, coming for you and for me. (Refrain) O for the wonderful LOVE he has promised, promised for you and for me! Though we have sinned, he has mercy and pardon, pardon for you and for me. (Refrain: Come home, come home; you who are weary come home; earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling, calling, O sinner, come home! (Repeat)’
Oh friends, that was marvellous! Those simple but ever so true genuine sentiments touched hearts all over the universe! And this commentary explains why the song though simple is so powerful and so LOVED. ‘This hymn invites us to come and accept God’s mercy together. The first stanza and refrain give the picture that Jesus is gently calling, like a mother after her small children. The second stanza reminds us that there is nothing to be gained by delay, especially when the third warns that death is coming sooner or later. The final stanza entices us with a promise of LOVE, pardon, and mercy that is wonderfully available for those who wish to accept it.’
And that’s the gospel truth my brethren! Bruh David said it in Psalm 27: ‘When my father and mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up (take care of me).’ (Ps. 27:10) And Isaiah said it thus on the Lord’s behalf, when he advised his people to sing of Gods’ comfort and mercy. ‘Can a woman forget her sucking (nursing) child, that she should not (and not) have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget thee, yet will I not forget thee. Behold I have graven (inscribed) thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.’ (Is. 49:15-16) Now that was God’s promise to Israel, and it still holds true to us today.
And all through the Good Library the Lord promises that He will never leave nor forsake those who come to Him in sincerity and truth. But Jesus, as was His won’t, encapsulated it best when He offered His Great 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)
It could not be said any plainer or simpler than that my people! Jesus lays it all out on a platter for us: Here it is. This is what I can do for you. And NO ONE ELSE can do it like He does! But it’s up to us to accept His invitation. It’s like Isaiah invited on the Lord’s behalf long before that. ‘Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness (abundance).’ (Is. 55:1-2)
Oh my people, the Lord’s offer of salvation is a free gift to all who will receive it. Isaiah spoke of those who were spiritually hungry and thirsty, while Jesus invited the weary and heavy laden, but it’s all the same thing; true spiritual food, a lighter burden and rest can only be had through God’s free gift of salvation, earned by Jesus’ sacrifice of His sinless life on the cross at Calvary. Jesus said it right up front: ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.’ (John 3:16-17)
That’s how much God LOVED us! And He wasn’t afraid to show it. Bruh Paul writes in Romans: ‘But God commendeth (demonstrated) his (own) LOVE toward us, In that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom. 5:8) There can be absolutely no doubt of the very high level of compassion God had, and still has for His most precious but also most disobedient creation. And although we’re own way and disobedient, He’s still pleading with us to come home to Him, because that’s where we belong, and until we accept His offer of salvation, we will never be happy or satisfied, or most importantly get the chance to spend eternity with Him.
For all who reject His Son, Jesus, will end up being eternally separated from Him, and as I keep reminding us, that is the worst thing that can happen to a human soul. And furthermore, time is running out on us friends, we don’t have all the time in world to make up our minds, because the Lord can take away your breath of life at any time and Jesus can also return at any time, like a thief in the night, and if any of those things happen before you accept Christ as Lord and Saviour, then you’re S.O.L, crapaud smoke yuh pipe. So as Jesus said, Let him hear, who has ears to hear! Much LOVE!
…only in and through Jesus…can we find ALL our souls need…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
13 Nov 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a brother is born for adversity, a companion of fools shall be destroyed, a friend is one, a friend loveth at all times, a friend sticketh closer than a brother, a man lay down his life for his friends, admires the flowers in your garden, aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow, be a rainbow in someone's cloud, be in God's will, be of good courage, crapaud smoke yuh pipe, faith is the substance of things hoped for, frendship, Friend Anselm, get a snare to thy soul, God's eternal design between man and man, greater love hath no man than this, have life abundantly, he shall strengthen thine heart, he that walketh with wise men shall be wise, I had fainted, imagine it's already there, in the land of the living, iron sharpeneth iron, it is not good for man to be alone, laze on the couch, LOVE, make no friendship with an angry man, so a man sharpeneth the countenace of his friend, the evidence of things not seen, thou learn his ways, to bring anything into your life, to see the good ness of the Lord, two are better than one, unless I had believed, wait on the Lord, we want everything now for now, who overlooks your broken fence
John 15:13. Greater LOVE hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
So, finally it’s Saturday, and no more work for two, whole, big days! Glory be! But we can’t laze on the couch too much either because there’s housework to be done; stuff that we did not get done during the workweek. So, as they say, there’s just no rest for the wicked! But that’s okay, we can handle anything we have to with the amazing help of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who enables us to do all things. And it’s that enablement I’m counting on right now, (smile) as I try to make some sense of the quotes we got this past week from our friend Anselm, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow.
Now, the first quote says; ‘To bring anything into your life, imagine that it’s already there.’ And we know that’s one of the tenets of our Christian faith: you have to believe or imagine it before you see it. That’s what the Good Book tells us in that famous verse on faith, in Hebrews. ‘Now faith is the substance (realization) of things hoped for, the evidence (conviction) of things not seen.’ (Heb. 11:1) Yes friends, faith has us waiting with eager expectations for stuff that we’ve imagined or prayed for. The only problem here is that it ought to be in God’s will, or His plan for our lives. And if it is, then we know we will receive it, in His timing, that’s why we can wait eagerly for it.
The timing scene can ofttimes be a problem though, because waiting is not in our current playbook, we want everything now for now, and the Lord seems to wait until the very last moment. But He’s never late, although we might feel so. That’s the good things about it. That’s why we need to take these two verses from Psalm 27 to heart, where Bruh David adamantly declares: ‘I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait (in faith) on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.’ (Ps. 27:13-14)
Oh my people, if we can plant those two verses in our hearts, then we have won most of the battle! Believe that God will be good to us down here on earth, since Christ said that He came so we could have life and have it more abundantly. (John 10:10) And since you believe that, then you simply wait expectantly for the goodness of the Lord to show. It’s like when you’ve ordered something online that you greatly desire, and you know it’s going to come, but you’re just not sure when, but you still eagerly wait for it. The same way we must eagerly wait for God’s goodness, because it will come eventually.
Wow! Like I got carried away there. But getting carried away with the Lord’s business is quite okay! (smile) That brings us to the next quote, which is almost the same as the first. ‘Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.’ Yes, we do need to follow our dreams as much as possible, that is if they coincide with God’s plan for us, for if they don’t our dreams will certainly get sidetracked.
And I can give personal testimony to that since I never in my wildest dreams thought about writing scriptural stuff. Writing was one of my dreams yes, but not on the Lord’s Word. But He obviously had other ideas. So, here I am living my dream of writing, but not what I had intended to write, (smile) because it did not fall completely in line with God’s plans for my writing life. But nevertheless, I’m happy and contented, and still do some of the other writing on the side, so I can’t complain.
And the next quote tells us: ‘A friend is one who overlooks your broken fence and admires the flowers in your garden.’ And is that ever the gospel truth! True friends are few and far between, and if you ever are blessed enough to get even one true one, then shout ‘Glory Hallelujah!’ and hold on to them for dear life! There are so many scriptures on the subject of real, good and true friends, that we need to consider some of them. And most of them obviously come from the wisest man ever, that’s Cousin Sol.
Oh, before we go further, one other thing we need to admit and realize here that the flip side of most of these scriptures are also true; that is, we should not only be looking for a true friend, but also be working on being a true friend ourselves. Now listen to Cousin Sol from Proverbs. He writes: ‘A friend LOVETH at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.’ (Prov. 17:17) That means ‘a true friend has unquenchable LOVE that is not diminished by adversity.’ And hear this one: ‘A man that hath friends must show himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.’ (Prov. 18:24)
Now what does that all mean? The scholars tell us: ‘18:24. A man that hath friends must show himself friendly may also be translated, “A man of many friends comes to ruin.” In other words, a man must not spread himself too thin among many superficial relationships. Far better is it to have genuine friends who become like family and LOVE at all times (17:17).’ Truer words were never spoken.
Then there’s this most timely warning: ‘Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go: Lest thou learn his ways and get a snare to thy soul.’ (Prov. 22:24-25) Ah mih people, that simply means, ‘Do not make friends with a hot-tempered man, do not associate with one easily angered, or you may learn his ways and get yourself ensnared.’ And that’s the living truth, since the traits of those we associate with can easily be transferred to us.
And this one proves what we just said. ‘He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.’ (Prov. 13:20) And the scholars explain that thus. ‘Wisdom as well as folly can be transferred by association.’ And if you haven’t found out that bit of wisdom already, please don’t try to prove it, unless it’s to walk with the wise. (smile) Oh friends, there’s good reason why Cousin Sol is described as the wisest man ever, although he didn’t live it out in his own life. But that’s the same with all of us; we give good advice but never take the same advice for ourselves.
Now hear this magnificent word on friendship. ‘Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.’ (Prov. 27:17) And the scholars explain. ‘27:17. As the proper tool shapes and sharpens iron for its desired use, so a man sharpens his friend morally and intellectually by their personal relationship.’
And listen to this last one from Cousin Sol, written as the Preacher in Ecclesiastes. ‘Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow (companion): but woe to him that is alone when he falleth, for he hath not another to help him up.’ (Eccl. 4:9-10) More awesome truth friends! If you don’t have anyone beside you and you fall, then crapaud smoke yuh pipe. No wonder, the Lord, after He made Adam, said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him (a helper comparable to him).’ (Gen. 2:18) And that’s how Eve came about.
But the greatest word ever on true friendship obviously comes from the greatest One who ever lived; our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Hear him declare to the disciples, and consequently to us: ‘Greater LOVE hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.’ (John 15:13) Then He called them friends, and laid down His life for them, for all of those who would believe in Him. That’s what true friendship is all about my fellow saints!
And the last quote simply says: ‘Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.’ And we do that by befriending someone in some form or fashion, lifting them up, being a light in their darkness, the way the Lord put a rainbow in the sky to assure Noah that He would not destroy the world by water again, (Gen. 9:8-17) and the way Jesus died to bring light to our darkened souls. Much LOVE!
…friendship…God’s eternal design between man and man…and between man and God…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
04 Jul 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Amazing grace, crapaud smoke yuh pipe, futile to run from God, How Sweet the Name of Jesus sounds, I shall not want, Jesus christ is Lord, John Newton, my cup runneth over, our magnificent and magnanimous God, personal experience, that every tongue should confess, The Lord is my shepherd, the name above every name, the power of God's grace, the valley of the shadow of death, to a believer's ear, to sweeten a sour soul -call out to Jesus, to the glory of God the Father, to whom all knees must bow
Philippians 2:11. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Gather round friends, gather round! It’s time to give thanks and praise to our magnificent and magnanimous God on His special day, Sunday, when He rested from all His labour, having created this wonderful universe and all therein in six days. Bless His holy name my faithful brethren, as we get together to hear His word and offer up songs of praise and worship. And yes, we are still gathering by technological means, although we are now allowed a few more people in the physical church, but it’s still not enough to warrant opening up.
And today, we are going to open the proceedings with a hymn by John Newton. Yes, the same John Newton (1725-1807) who wrote the awesome hymn ‘Amazing Grace’ and several hundred others, after being a slave trader then finding grace and salvation with Almighty God. The website Hymnary.org, offers us this brief insight into Newton’s life. They say he “was born into a Christian home, but his godly mother died when he was seven, and he joined his father at sea when he was eleven.
His licentious and tumultuous sailing life included a flogging for attempted desertion from the Royal Navy and captivity by a slave trader in West Africa. After his escape he himself became the captain of a slave ship. Several factors contributed to Newton’s conversion: a near-drowning in 1748, the piety of his friend Mary Catlett, (whom he married in 1750), and his reading of Thomas à Kempis’ Imitation of Christ.
In 1754 he gave up the slave trade and, in association with William Wilberforce, eventually became an ardent abolitionist. After becoming a tide-surveyor in Liverpool, England, Newton came under the influence of George Whitefield and John and Charles Wesley and began to study for the ministry. He was ordained in the Church of England and served in Olney (1764-1780) and St. Mary Woolnoth, London (1780-1807). His legacy to the Christian church includes his hymns as well as his collaboration with William Cowper (PHH 434) in publishing Olney Hymns (1779), to which Newton contributed 280 hymns, including “Amazing Grace.”
Ah friends, that just goes to show the power of God’s grace. He can take the biggest sinner and turn him into the greatest saint! And although we often try to run from Him, when He’s really ready for us, we don’t stand a chance! (smile) And I can tell you that from personal experience. Yuh see who the Lord put Newton with in his latter years; the abolitionist William Wilberforce. That had Newton plugging to abolish the very same abominable trade in which he was previously involved. And then the Wesley brothers, amongst the founders of the Methodist Church, and finally turning him into a priest and hymn writer.
So my people, let’s wake up and acknowledge that it’s futile to run from God, but ever so wise and sensible to run to His always open and welcoming arms, as we sing this other wonderful song penned by John Newton, another of our church favourites, titled ‘How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds.’ And does it ever sound sweet mih bredrin. Therefore, let’s just take a moment and roll it around our tongues nuh, as we quietly and proudly say: ‘Jesus…Jesus.’ (smile) Yes, it’s a name that just trips off the tongue my people!
Now, finally, let’s sing; in a medium tempo, with great gusto and sincerity, let’s raise our harmonious voices to high heaven. ‘How sweet the name of Jesus sounds in a believer’s ear! It soothes our sorrows, heals our wounds, and drives away our fear. It makes the wounded spirit whole and calms the troubled breast; ’tis manna to the hungry soul, and to the weary, rest.
Dear name! the rock on which I build, My shield and hiding place. My never-failing treasury, filled. With boundless stores of grace. O Jesus, shepherd, guardian, friend. My Prophet, Priest, and King, my Lord, my Life, My Way, my end, toaccept the praise I bring. How weak the effort of my heart, how cold my warmest thought; but when I see you as you are, I’ll praise you as I ought. Till then I would your love proclaim with every fleeting breath; and may the music of your name refresh my soul in death.’
Oh friends, only the amazing and awesome grace of God can cause a human being to write such authentic meaningful and true words! And without a doubt, there’s no other name in the universe that can do or accomplish the things that the name of Jesus can. As Newton so eerily writes: ‘It soothes our sorrows, heals our wounds, and drives away our fear. It makes the wounded spirit whole and calms the troubled breast; ’tis manna to the hungry soul, and to the weary, rest.’
Wow! Which other name in this universe can do all of that eh friends? None whatsoever! That’s because Jesus is all these other things to us: ‘the rock on which I build, My shield and hiding place, My never-failing treasury, filled, With boundless stores of grace. O Jesus, shepherd, guardian, friend, my Prophet, Priest, and King, my Lord, my Life, my Way, my End,’ There again my people, no other person in this whole wide world can fulfill all those aspects of a human’s life. Only JESUS!
Why, you ask? Because He poured out His sinless lifeblood for us on the cross at Calvary, to pay for our sins, showing the wonderful LOVE He bore towards us. And when He rose triumphant from the grave, then He most generously invited us to come to Him for rest and solace, safety, grace and mercy, salvation and eternal life with Him in heaven for all eternity. Now why wouldn’t I jump for joy when I hear that sweet and beautiful name of Jesus eh?
Oh friends, I want to quote some scripture to back up all I’ve said, but time and space will only allow me to do a few. So here goes. Right up front, Jesus lets us know: ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ (John 3:16) Right away friends, we see that to get eternal life, one must believe in Jesus, otherwise, no dice!
And if you did not get that, then He clears it up even further with these immortal words: ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me.’ (John 14:6) That sets the stage right there; nothing to do with God is possible without belief in Christ Jesus!
Then we all know how Bruh David characterized Him: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.’ (Ps. 23:1-6)
That’s simply talking about the perfect shepherd my people! And finally, as to Jesus’ glory, Bruh Paul had this to say: ‘Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of (those) things in heaven, and (those) things in earth, and (those) things under the earth.And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’(Phil. 2:9-11)
What else can I say eh friends? Jesus is the Greatest; El Numero Uno; Number ONE! And if you don’t know that already and sincerely acknowledge it, then please do so as soon as possible, otherwise, crapaud smoke yuh pipe! Much LOVE!
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..to sweeten a sour soul…just call out…Jesus…Jesus…
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29 Oct 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: apply our hearts unto wisdom, comapssionate heart, compared with eternity our lives are short, crapaud smoke yuh pipe, curse, deceitful and lying words, earthly wealth, eating of the forbidden fruit, every man walketh in a vain show, faith, favour, gain a heart of wisdom, good health, he heapeth up riches, heaven is the best choice, I may know how frail I am, Jesus is our Lord and Saviour, knoweth not who shall gather them, lay up treasures in heaven, living each day to its fullest, made my days as a handbreadth, make me to know mine end, making financial plans for eternity, man's best state is altogether vanity, negative word, one day at a time, only two options: heaven and hell, our bounden duty, our Guiding Light and Comforter, prosper, rejoice and be glad, Satan's hellhole, seize the day, share blessings generously, succeed, supernatural strength, supernatural wisdom, teach us to number our days, the brevity of life, the Grim Reaper came calling, the measure of my days, the number of thy days I will fulfill, the parable of the rich fool, Thursday Blessings, time is short, to whom we turn in all circumstances, use it wisely
Psalm 90:12. So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom (gain a heart of wisdom).
Oh mih bredrin, it’s Thursday, so let’s rejoice and be glad nuh, because our days on God’s great earth have been extended by one! Glory be! Remember way back in time when the Lord brought Israel out of bondage in Egypt, He made them this promise: ‘There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days I will fulfill.’ (Ex. 23:26)
Yeh, God promised that we will be satisfied with a good, long life, but we can only live that long life one day at a time, which means we have to take each and every day as it comes, and enjoy it as though it’s the last one, for we know not when our time will be up. That brings us to Moses’ prayer in Psalm 90. ‘So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom (gain a heart of wisdom).’ (Ps. 90:12)
And I like how the websitewww.theologyofwork.orgexplains it. ‘Numbering our days means, as the NLT (New Living Translation) indicates, realizing the brevity of life. It means knowing that we only have so many days on this earth, and therefore we want to “seize the day,” living each day to the fullest. When we recognize that we have only so much time on this earth, that truth will help us think rightly about how to spend our time.’
And that is exactly what we need to understand this Thursday morning at the end of October 2020 my people. Our lives are short, compared with eternity and time as seen by God, so we need to enjoy it to the best of our ability, and we can only do that when Jesus Christ is our Lord and Saviour, our Guiding Light and Comforter. The One we turn to in ALL cases of difficulty or misunderstanding. The One who understands what we’re going through, because He also experienced the trials and tribulation of this earthly life.
Oh friends, Satan can’t do anything much to relieve our suffering in this his supposed world nuh, all he can do is increase that suffering, and eventually catapult us into his hellhole of fire and darkness. So please, let’s not place our misguided trust in him, despite his sweet, deceitful and lying words. And he is smooth and guileful; yuh see how easy he talked Eve into eating of the forbidden fruit. Please, let’s not allow him to do the same to us.
And when we remember Bruh David’s words in Psalm 39 – A prayer for self-understanding – the situation becomes even more critical. (smile) ‘Lord make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am. Behold, thou hast made my days as a handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity (vapour). Selah. Surely every man walketh in a vain show (as a shadow); surely they are disquieted in vain (make an uproar for nothing): he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.’ (Ps. 39:4-6)
Oh friends, that’s all so true! We spend so much time building earthly wealth, and seeking power and importance, all to what purpose eh? To leave it all behind for others to enjoy, because we can’t take any of it with us. Too many of us behave like the rich fool in Jesus’ parable, (Luke 12:13-21) who was only interested in laying up treasure for himself here on earth. But what happened eh? That same night he made all his grandiose plans was his last day, the Grim Reaper came a-calling.
So precious people, we must not live only for the things of this earth, but also for the things of heaven, be rich towards God, lay up treasures in heaven, for you know not when your time will come. If it comes and you don’t have treasures stored in heaven, then crapaud smoke yuh pipe! (smile) And we’ve said all of that, just to say that our life on earth is fairly short, so we can’t afford to waste it, and our most important task down here is to decide where we will spend eternity, which lasts forever.
And unfortunately, there are only two options available to us: heaven, or hell. And I don’t need to tell us which is the best one – but I will nonetheless. (smile) Heaven is the best choice friends! No doubt about it! So let’s be wise nuh. Knowing that our time here is short, let’s begin laying up treasures in heaven nuh, for that’s where the wise money is headed; that’s where the best benefits and the highest interest rates are to be had, not down here on earth!
Oh my people, it’s time to examine our financial plans for eternity and bring them into line with true wisdom, otherwise we might just end up on the losing side of the equation, which will indeed be an irrevocable tragedy! And for those of us who are already engaged in making financial plans for eternity, let’s go home now declaring (chuh pool!) our Thursday Blessings which the Lord has generously bestowed on those who sincerely seek Him, to enable them to do His earthly work.
All together now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection!
I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
And yes, because some of us might forget, (smile) I will remind us that our bounden duty is now to go out and share those blessings just as generously with others as the Lord has shared them with us. Our God is wonderful friends, I don’t see how we can ever turn away from Him nuh! Much LOVE!
…time is short…so let’s use it wisely…
15 Aug 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a recharge of wsidom, accountability, Anglican Diocese of Toronto, bear anything that comes against us, believest thou this, calls men to, compassionate heart, comprehended it not, crapaud smoke yuh pipe, curse, darkness, deliverance through Christ, distractions, divine protection, doubts, eternal life, evil darkness, evil world, false choices, generously sharing blessings, gospel truth, guided, have the light of life, he that followeth me, hoarding of blessings, I am the light of the world, I am the way the truth and the life, in him was life, in judgement, Jesus' revelation of God, light, light excelleth darkness, light riseth up in darkness, living in darkness, living in light, negative word, no man cometh to the Father, not stumble, prosper, saints in Christ, salvation, see light, self-control, self-discipline, shall not walk in darkness, shineth in darkness, straight path, success, the godly, the grace, the light of men, the meek, the Preacher, the resurrection and the life, the spirit of wisdom, Thursday Blessings, uncertainties, wisdom excelleth folly
John 1:5. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended (apprehended) it not.
And then it was Thursday… Wow! The week almost finish already! In one way that’s good because it means that the weekend and rest from work will soon be here. But on the other hand, the quicker August finishes, the quicker summer and the holiday season will also be over, and it seems like it’s just begun!
Yes mih people, we can’t have it all our way, but through our strong and sincere faith in our wonderful Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, we can bear anything that comes against us; yes, we’re able to handle any circumstance that comes our way, be it storm or calm! And when I asked the Lord what He wants me to write about today, He led me to this little card on my desk from the Anglican Diocese of Toronto that has a prayer printed on either side.
I shared one sometime ago, which began with ‘Sustain us, O Lord, with Your Holy Spirit.’ Now here’s the next one. Please pray with me: ‘O God, by whom the meek are guided in judgement. And light riseth up in the darkness for the godly. Grant us, in all our doubts and uncertainties, the grace to ask what thou wouldest have us to do, that the spirit of wisdom may save us from all false choices, and that in thy light we may see light, and in thy straight path may not stumble; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen!’
Yes my fellow saints in Christ, every day, with our many doubts and fears, we need a recharge of wisdom and grace to save us from making wrong choices in this dark and evil world in which we’re currently living! And it’s only through Christ, our Guiding Light that we can ever hope to counter that evil darkness with light and find the safe and straight path so that we won’t stumble and fall.
And in these days of numerous colourful and addictive distractions, that’s often a hard task. But as John so wisely and truthfully tells us: ‘In him (Jesus) was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended (apprehended) it not.’ (John 1:4-5)
Yes friends, darkness cannot comprehend or apprehend or be superior to light under any circumstance at all! For as Cousin Sol, as the Preacher in Ecclesiastes tells us, during his search for man’s purpose on earth he eventually saw the futility of it all. ‘Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness.’ (Ecl.2:13) And that’s the gospel truth!
Now here’s a note from the scholars. ‘1:4-5. Life…light: See also 8:12; 9:5; 11:25; 14:6. In John’s writings, life represents salvation and deliverance through Christ, and light denotes Jesus’ revelation of God which calls men to accountability.’
And friends I’m chuckling here because I had intended to take the rest of the Bit in an entirely different direction, but after checking out those verses that the scholars mentioned I realized that there was only one way to go, and that’s sharing those verses because they are all Jesus’ words, as pertains to Him being the LIGHT in our Darkness.
So here goes. Jesus said it out loud and clear: ‘I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.’ (John 8:12) He made this immortal statement to the Pharisees who obviously doubted Him because they said He was witnessing to Himself. But Jesus knew who He was and didn’t need the approval of the Pharisees who were darkness personified, as He told them later on in the chapter.
Then hear Him as He healed a blind man: ‘I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’ (John 9:4-5) And yuh know what my people? Now that Jesus no longer walks this earth as a human being, it means that WE are now the light of the world, as He said in Matt.5:14. Let’s remember that, and shine forth accordingly nuh!
Now hear the Lord to Martha after He tarried in coming to Lazarus’ sick bed and so he eventually died. ‘Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead (may die), yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?’ (John 11:25-26)
Oh friends, Jesus Christ is also asking that explosive and monumental question of us this morning? Do we believe that He’s the Giver of Life? Now that’s something we have to very seriously ask ourselves. And hopefully the answer will be a resounding YES! Because if it isn’t, then crapaud smoke yuh pipe! And the scholars tell us: ‘11:25. I am the resurrection is one of Jesus’ greatest “I am” statements, signifying His power to give eternal life.’
Now listen to this other immortal statement to Doubting Thomas, when he queried Jesus about the way to go. ‘Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me.’ (John 14:6) Oh mih people, mih people, if you don’t believe that then there’s no light in you, only darkness!
That means there’s no hope of salvation! For as the scholars note: ‘14:6. Jesus does not tell them about the way, nor does He show them the way. He does not even guide them along the way. He says He is the WAY!’ And so He is my faithful brethren! Please, please believe it, because your very existence through eternity depends on it!
And now, having seen the LIGHT, (smile) let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings, that that very same LIGHT has so generously bestowed on us to enable us to do His earthly work. In strong voice and sincere 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!’
And if you were sincere, then let’s go out and share those wonderful blessings with others, as Jesus so greatly desires. Much LOVE!
…hoarding of blessings…means you’re living in darkness…generously sharing blessings…means you’re living in the LIGHT…
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