09 Nov 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a comapssionate heart, a pillar of fire, a sun, abundance, bad, courage, creativity, curse, divine protection, everlasting light, foolish drivers, give grace, give light, glory, glory of Zion, glory to God, glows in the darkness, godly light, good, goodwill to men, halls of heaven, heavenly Father, holy presence, ice, indisputable words, Isaiah, Job, John, led by your dreams, light by day, LOVE, magnanimous god, manifestations, monologue, Moses, negative word, no good thing will he withhold, no temple, no way Jose, out of the mouth of babes, peace on earth, perfected praise, prosper, pushed by your problems, reassurance, revelations, rush hour, saints in Christ, self-control, self-discipline, shekinah glory, shield, sleet, slush, snow, Spirit of the Lord, spiritual sun, spoken word, succeed, supernatural wisdom, talent, Ten Commandments, the Lamb, the light thereof, the Lord God, the moon, the Sun, thy god thy glory, troubled souls, unscathed, veil his face, walk uprightly, weather forecasters
Psalm 84:11. For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
Ah friends, can you believe that this early in the game, the weather forecasters are calling for that beautiful, innocent-looking but oh so dangerous thing called snow? Steups!
Ah Lord eh! But that’s what you get for all the good weather we’ve enjoyed so far this late in the year. As Job, says, you can’t expect to always receive good and no bad.
Can you imagine the mess the place will be in this evening, especially if it begins during the rush hour? And the sad part is that you not only have to look out for yourself, but even more for the many foolish drivers on the road!
But yuh know what, I’ve promised myself that from hereon in, I’m not going out in no setta snow to go anywhere. If somebody wants to drive me, then I’ll consider it. But once I’ve got to drive myself, ‘NO WAY JOSE!’
I can handle the cold, but driving through the slush and sleet and snow and ice and otherwise… too much unnecessary pressure. I think I’ve had enough of that. I’ve come through the last forty something years of it fairly unscathed, no need to go and get my ole bod damaged at this stage of life. End of monologue! (smile)
That’s why I’m going to do as Pastor Bobby (Bobby Schuller – Hour of Power) says: ‘Do not be pushed by your problems, but be led by your dreams.’ Words of wisdom, even from one so young.
For as Jesus rebuked the Israelite leaders when the children praised Him in the temple, using some of Bruh David’s words from Ps.8:2. ‘Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings (nursing infants) thou hast perfected praise?’ (Matt.21:16) Yeh friends, age doesn’t matter all that much if the Spirit of the Lord is upon you.
And our Bit explains why: ‘For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.’
Ah precious people of God, what indisputable words of reassurance from our great God! He has not only set the sun in its physical place, but He also wants to be our spiritual SUN; the bright light that glows in the darkness of our troubled souls.
Hear how Isaiah puts it when he talks about the future glory of Zion. ‘The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.’ (Is.60:9)
Just imagine it nuh friends, at some stage of life, we won’t need the sun nor that moon to provide light for us, because we’ll be dwelling in the holy presence of our awesome God, who Himself will be our light, provide all the light we need.
‘And all God’s people declared a mighty shout: ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace and goodwill to men!’ Oh my fellow saints in Christ, what a glorious day that will be, when we reside in the halls of heaven in the presence of our heavenly Father, who will be just exuding godly light!
Listen to how John describes it in his Revelations. ‘And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten (illuminate) it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.’ (Rev. 21:22-23)
Wow! I can’t get my head around not needing a sun or moon to see around me. But the Lord has promised it, therefore it will be so.
And the scholars offer these explanations on those verses. ’21:22-23. There is no temple in the city, since both the Father and the Son will be present in their fullest manifestations. Its light will be provided by the Shekinah glory of God and of Christ (cf. Ex.3:3-4; 24:15-17; 33:14-16; Luke 2:9; 9:29; Heb.1:3).’
The Shekinah glory of God is basically where He reveals the full majesty of His light and power. Like when He went before the Israelites in the wilderness in a cloud and a pillar of fire, when He passed before Moses, but only allowed him to see His backside, otherwise Moses would have been annihilated, even the radiant look on Moses face when He came down from the Mount after receiving the Ten Commandments and had to veil his face.
So just imagine the treat we’re in for my fellow believers, when we see God face to face, shining in all His might and glory! Now we haven’t come to that point as yet, but in the meanwhile our most magnanimous God has given us enough blessings here on earth to make our mark in His name. So let’s declare them nuh, since the power of our God lies in His spoken word.
Altogether now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
And having declared that with sincerity of heart and strength of purpose, let’s now go out and share those blessings with others, as Jesus requires of us. Much LOVE!
…a blessing isn’t really a true blessing…until it’s been shared…
26 Oct 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a coward about pain, a painful process, abundance, alive and kicking, amenities, anger, anguish, atone, baffling, barely alive, blessings, broken relationship, chasten, Christ's body, Christians, comfort, consequences of sin, courage, creativity, cruel cutting words, crushing, curse, deep cutting pain, desire, divine protection, emotional trauma, energy, entire body screams, evil deeds, faith, favour, fear of the world, financial ruin, frightens me, Garden of Eden, get excited, get moving, get up, going through the motions, growth, hast afflicted me, he corrects, heartache, I AM, I know, I may live, in faithfulness, it is true, Jesus, laws, laziness, loneliness, LOVE, luxuriating, matures, merciful kindness, misunderstood, negative word, no pain no gain, O Lord, on Christ's behalf, One Year Book of Bible promises, overwhelming, physical pain, pray for it, problems, procrastination, prosper, rejection, resist it, righteous, Ruth Harms Calkin, self-control, self-discipline, serious butt, shed light, soft, spiritual growth, spite, stir up the populace, succeed, suffering, talent, tender mercies, tests, the chastening of the Lord, the fall of our forefathers, the good life, the Lord loves, the Pain of Growth, the unbeliever, the very thought of pain, Thursday Blessings, thy judgements are right, thy law is my delight, trials, tribulation, truth, unnerves me, walk of faith, weary of his correction, weather the storm, wimpy, wisdom, work out for our good
Psalm 119:75. I know, O Lord, that thy judgements (laws) are right (righteous), and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.
Alive and kicking, alive and kicking serious butt my friends! That’s the way we should be as Christians. But unfortunately, most Christians seem to be barely alive, just going through the motions. For whatever reason, we don’t have the necessary energy or desire to kick butt for Jesus!
That’s wrong though my fellow believers. How then will Christ be known all over the world if we don’t get up and get moving eh? Remember, we are His body here on earth; His hands, His feet, His mouth. He depends on us to stir up the populace on His behalf.
And I don’t know if it’s simply fear of the world, or just laziness and procrastination that’s holding us back, but it’s obvious that we’re not doing such a great job on Jesus’ behalf, while the unbeliever is luxuriating in his wicked and evil deeds.
Anyway, here is something called ‘The Pain of Growth,’ from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin that I think will shed some light on our problems. (smile)
It says: ‘O God Growth is a painful process. I frankly confess I am a coward about pain. I don’t like it, Lord. I never pray for it Or get excited over it. In fact, I often resist it: The pain of emotional trauma So overwhelming So baffling and crushing.
The deep-cutting pain Of a broken relationship. Physical pain that goes on and on Until my entire body screams. The pain of cruel cutting words. The pain of loneliness, rejection Or financial ruin. The pain of being misunderstood. Lord, the very thought of pain Frightens and unnerves me.
Yet it is true – Again and again it is true: My greatest spiritual growth Has come through pain. Through heartache And anguish. And very often in my suffering When I sadly thought You were doing absolutely nothing At that very moment You were doing more within me Than I ever dreamed or hoped.’
What words of truth and wisdom my people! None of us like pain or suffering, but it is inevitable in the fallen nature of our lives. And that is simply how we grow in any and everything. As the ole mantra goes, ‘no pain, no gain.’
And that’s especially true in our Christian walk of faith, for God matures us through tests and trials which often involve some serious pain. Yuh see the pain and suffering Jesus had to bear to atone for and absolve our sins?
Likewise we need to go through some tribulation, else we’ll never grow in our Christian walk. Unfortunately though, in these modern times, Christians are a soft, wimpy bunch of people who just want to enjoy the good life without any problems whatsoever.
In fact our whole society has become soft and wimpy through all the ‘make life easy’ amenities that we now possess. But since the fall of our forefathers in the Garden of Eden, life has never been easy; the consequences of sin have made it tough and as Christians we are expected to weather whatever storm comes against us.
However, the wonderful news is that we have our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to help us weather it! Glory Hallelujah! Unbelievers don’t have that luxury, so they have to weather it all on their own.
So please let’s stop complaining as much as we do, and instead plead the wise and truthful words of our Bit: ‘I know, O Lord, that thy judgements (laws) are right (righteous), and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.’
Yes friends, whatever our ever-faithful and righteous God allows to come against us has a perfect reason behind it. He is the great I AM, who knows the beginning from the end and has everything in His universe under control.
And we should rightly be saying like the psalmist does after our Bit: ‘Let, I pray thee, thy merciful kindness be for my comfort, according to thy word unto thy servant. Let thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may live: for thy law is my delight.’ (Ps.119:76-77)
Oh my people, our God has promised that though He chastens us, He will not do it out of spite or anger, but out of LOVE. Now listen to these words of Cousin Sol which seal the deal.
‘My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of (detest) his correction. For whom the Lord LOVETH he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.’ (Prov.3:11-12)
There it is in black and white friends! So please not get too antsy about the pain and suffering that comes against us, because it will all work out for our good eventually. Our faithful God has promised that. With all of that in mind then, let’s go home declaring our wonderful blessings, knowing that they will wash away whatever pain we have now, or are yet to face.
In strong and sincere voice now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Oh what a wonderful God we serve and worship my believing brethren! Much Much LOVE!
…whatever comes from God…comes in LOVE…
19 Oct 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, abrogated, action, active, against the evildoers, beacons, cannot be hid, Christ's body, Christ-like, Christian faith, Christians, comfortable, compromising, courage, creativity, curse, desire, distinction, divided, do for christ, do God's will, dreams, dwelt in silence, eliminated, Enjoying Everyday Life Magazine, evil cohorts, evil stuff, flavour, fractured, glorify God, glory to God, good for nothing, good works, have life, held me up, hypocrites, imagination, in our hearts and souls, in the name of Jesus, Jesus Christ, Joyce Meyer, let your light so shine, light houses, light of the world, living the good life, lost his savour, Lucifer, make disciples, mercy, more abundantly, moving God out, negative word, our Lord and Saviour, passive, prosper, prosperity of the wicked, protection, raise a hue and cry, reality, repelling, rights, rise up, self-control, self-discipline, set on a hill, share blessings, shining brilliantly, sit passively by, stand up, succeed, success, taking away our rights, talk a lot, the church, the Holy Spirit, the Lord my help, the penultimate day, the salt of the earth, the workers of iniquity, the workweek, Thursday Blessings, trampled upon, trodden underfoot, under a bushel, up in arms, uphold what jesus stands for, vision, wisdom
Psalm 94:16. Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? Or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?
And then it was Thursday, the penultimate day of our workweek! And some people shout ‘Glory to God!’ thankful that the week is almost over. Hn, hn! It’s amusing that we don’t give God glory when the week begins, but are quick to do so when it ends.
Anyway, though the day has dawned somewhat cloudy, chilly and windy, it’s always nice to know that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is still out there shining as brilliantly as ever, both in our hearts and souls, so that we can be safely guided to do His will and accomplish whatever plans He has for our lives.
Now that is something for which we should all be shouting ‘Glory to God!’ The wise believers will undoubtedly do so. But let me share a li’l something from Sister Joyce (Joyce Meyer) that I found in one of her articles in a recent Enjoying Everyday Life Magazine.
She succinctly states: ‘The distinction between dreams and reality is called action.’ And that’s ever so true friends! Dreams will never turn into reality until we DO something with them. Otherwise, they will simply remain dreams; a glorious vision in our imagination.
Unfortunately that seems to be something that’s happening a lot in our Christian faith today. We all have dreams, some placed in our hearts by God, and we talk a lot about what we’re going to do for Christ, but nothing much ever happens, because we don’t get behind the talk and action our dreams and desires.
It’s one reason why the enemy is slowly pushing us back, and moving God out of our society. We’re not being active enough in repelling the evil stuff that’s coming against us. Everybody’s talking about their rights but Christians. And it seems that our rights are the ones that are constantly being trampled upon, and even abrogated or eliminated.
But we’re not up in arms about it. We talk some, but sit passively by, while others raise a hue and cry and eventually get what they desire. Then we claim they are taking away our rights. Steups!
That brings us to our Bit, an interesting verse from Psalm 94 – How long shall the wicked triumph? ‘Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? Or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?’
The psalmist was there bewailing the rise and prosperity of the wicked, but he did not have the Holy Spirit dwelling in him, as we now do, so he had to look to the Lord totally for help.
Thus he continues: ‘Unless the Lord had been my help, my soul had almost (would soon have) dwelt in silence. When I said, My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O Lord, held me up.’ (Ps.94:17-18)
And of course friends, when the going gets too rough for us, the Lord’s mercy will hold us up. But until then we have the Holy Spirit indwelling us so that we can do God’s will, make disciples of others, which also means fighting against the workers of iniquity. Otherwise why have the Holy Spirit indwelling us eh?
The church is Christ’s body, His organization here on earth, and we’re supposed to uphold all that He stands for! Are we doing that? Definitely not as much as we should!
In the first place we’re too fractured, too divided. Then overall we’re too passive, too compromising, too comfortable living the good life of the world. And remember the Lord did die that we might have life, and have it more abundantly, (John 10:10) but not the way Lucifer and his evil cohorts envision it.
So what am I saying? Listen to Jesus’ words, for He says it much better than I can. ‘Ye are the salt of the earth” but if the salt have lost his savour (flavour), wherewith (by what) shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle (lamp), and put it under a bushel (basket), but on a candlestick (lampstand); and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt.5:13-16)
There you have it my fellow believers, the words, the instructions, the desire of our Lord and Saviour, our Leader Jesus Christ. He wants us to be the salt of the earth, add His Christian, Christ-like flavour to the earth. And also shine like bright beacons; like the lighthouses that were once set on hills to guide the passing ships.
People won’t come to Him unless they see good and favourable examples in us. And sadly, I must say that right now we’re not being either salt or light because too many unbelievers are looking at us and instead of declaring us Christians, they are crying out ‘Hypocrites!’ And I doubt that that sits very well with Christ.
So let’s try and do better nuh mih people. Remember we have the Lord’s help, and with that we can do ANYTHING, if we so desire. But we must first have the desire. Now let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings… And friends, with such wonderful blessings being bestowed on us, how can we not have a great desire to serve and worship the Lord eh?
‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
And the corollary to that is to go out and share our blessings with others. Much LOVE!
…we have ALL we need…to be the salt of the earth…and the light of the world…except possibly the desire…
12 Oct 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a faithful follower of Jesus, a foolish thing, a rainy day, a sovereign Being, a wake up call, a waste of time, action, almighty god, behind the eight ball, believe, bush fire blazing, California, carnage, cease from anger, claimed numerous lives, communication revolution, courage, creativity, curse, earthquakes, engulfed homes, evil ways, evildoers shall be destroyed, extinguish His presence, faith, fellow believers, fires, foolish games, forsake wrath, fret not thyself, friends, glamourous, glitzy, God is alive and well, God is in control, God's infinite movements, God's salvation, homes, hope, hurricanes, impatience, in His own time, inherit the earth, Israelites, Jeremiah, Lamentations, livelihoods, lost their lives, LOVE, moral ineptitude, natural disasters, negative word, now-for-now living, obedience, patience, perseverance, power mongering, punishment, puny imaginations, quietly wait, rain pouring down, rebellion, repentance, Rest in the Lord, self-control, self-discipline, take better care of our planet, the back burner, the beginning from the end, the God of their fathers, The Lord is good, the soul that seeks God, the way of the world, Thursday Blessings, tragedy, trust, unpredictable weather, wait on God., wait patiently, wealth, wicked schemes, work everything out for good
Psalm 37:7a. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him:
It was a rainy day…a chilly one too…and mostly cloudy… Looks like today will be more of the same. Ah mih people, our weather is becoming so unpredictable that who knows what’s happening?
Meanwhile, with rain pouring down on this side of the continent, out on the West Coast, in California, another raging bush fire has claimed numerous lives and engulfed thousands of homes! Steups! So where is the rain that they need eh?
Sometimes, when we see all these natural disasters happening, it gets real hard to trust and believe and wait on our great and good God.
Oh, deep down, we know that He is in control and that all things will eventually work themselves out for good, but nonetheless we don’t want to see our fellow believers suffering such unbelievable tragedy. It hurts us to the very core of our beings, especially when we project ourselves in their positions.
And the number of folks who have lost their lives, homes and livelihoods in the last few months, to fires on the west coast of Canada and the U.S, and to hurricanes in the Caribbean and Southern U.S and to earthquakes in Mexico, is simply staggering.
I don’t know if so much natural carnage has ever occurred in such a short space of time in so many places before. But friends, all we can truly do is take better care of our planet and place our total faith and trust in the One who created us and the entire universe; Almighty God!
And as I keep reminding us, all of these natural disasters might just be a wake up call from God to cut out our intolerable evil ways and return to following Him in true repentance and obedience.
The Israelites suffered severe punishment whenever they drifted away from the God of their fathers, so why can’t it happen to us too, since we have also put God on the back burner of our lives, with every intention to totally extinguish His presence and place in our society.
Obviously that’s a very foolish thing to do, but nevertheless, many of us have done it, or are in the process of doing so. The way of the world; it’s glitzy and glamourous things and wealth and moral ineptitude have bedazzled us into thinking that God is a waste of time.
But my fellow believers that’s the furthest thing from the truth! Our God is alive and well, keeping a very watchful eye on everything, allowing mankind to play their foolish games of power mongering and rebellion.
He knows the beginning from the end and has all His plans laid out and will eventually bring them all to fruition…in His own good time! Now that last phrase is the all-important one… in God’s own time.
Remember God is a sovereign Being, full of might and power, whose thoughts and ways are much higher than ours. So in our finite and puny imaginations we can never truly understand His infinite movements and the time line for them.
Thus, regardless of how religious and holy and righteous we are, true wisdom can only be shown when we adhere to the immortal words of our Bit, which flowed from the pen of Bruh David as he wrestled with the same feelings and constraints that we are currently wrestling with. ‘Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him:’
Oh friends, we’ll never find out how true those words are until we put them into action! Our God has made numerous promises, and He will keep them ALL, but in His own time and His own way! Until we learn to recognize and accept that, we’ll remain continuously behind the eighth ball.
Now listen to how Bruh David continues after our Bit: ‘fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices (schemes) to pass.
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil (it only cause harm). For evildoers shall be cut off (destroyed): but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.’ (Ps.37:7b-9)
Oh mih breddren, we all know how true those words are, so why aren’t we practicing them eh? Because we have been overwhelmed by the world’s impatience and desire for everything as soon as possible. Now-for-now living characterizes our society. We need to have everything immediately! That’s the unfortunate result of our technological and communication revolution.
Now hear this scripture that truly tells it like it is. Jeremiah, in his lamentations, tearfully but truthfully declares: ‘The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.’ (Lam.3:25-26) How much clearer can it get eh my people?
But before we go home declaring our Thursday Blessings, there is one proviso to it all; waiting on the Lord doesn’t mean sitting on our fannies and doing nothing. It means still doing what is necessary, working, persevering in God’s will. For that’s when the Lord showers down these heavenly blessings on us.
So let’s shout them to the world, so that others can see the goodness of God and thus wisely desire to embrace Him too. ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance!
I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
The next step is to now go out and bless others, because blessings are meant to be shared. Much LOVE!
…only as believers show patience and perseverance…will they be truly blessed…
28 Sep 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a liar, a parable, and not faint, blessings, bring us close together, calamitous circumstances, commandments, compassionate heart, courage, creativity, curse, devastation, disaster, enter not into temptation, fall has finally fallen, feuding, foolish people, forgiving, Garden of Gethsemane, God is our only true help, greed, heavenly advocate, help, hurricane Maria, keepeth not his commandments, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, loving-kindness, lust for power, men ought always to pray, merciful, negative word, North Carolina, our Lord and Saviour, power of prayer, pray, preoccupations, prosper, purge the evil, rebuild, recover, Redeemer, religious intolerance, righteous lives, rumours of wars, sacrificed His sinless life, safe not sorry, self-control, self-discipline, sensible headway, share blessings, Sovereign ruler, strife, succeed, talent, temptation, the flesh is weak, the spirit is willing, Thursday Blessings, to this end, topsy turvy world, trust in jesus, truth, ungodliness, warmongering, wars, watch and pray, wild fires, wisdom, wise advice of Jesus
Luke 18:1. And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint.
So friends, like fall has finally fallen! (smile) Yes, it’s still dark out at 7 a.m, it’s somewhat chilly, only 13 degrees, and yesterday I finally saw a set of fallen dry leaves merrily dancing in my driveway! That alone indicates to me that the weather has changed, or is changing.
Anyway, North Carolina is still feeling the wind and water effects of hurricane Maria with plenty shoreline flooding, as she makes her way northward and out to sea. Ah Lord eh friends, it certainly has been a devastating couple of months in so many places from so many forces!
And so much disaster has befallen us in the south and east, that we have forgotten that out in the west, where the devastation first began, they are still daily battling wild fires. Please, let’s continue to pray for them and help in any way we can, as we try to recover and rebuild on this side of the continent.
And my biggest prayer is that this set of calamitous circumstances will truly bring us close together, as we help each other. Also, that it will eventually lead to us realizing that God is our ONLY true help in this uncertain world, which will further lead us to wisely embracing His LOVING-kindness once more, as the Sovereign Ruler over our society.
In other words, we will purge the evil from our midst and go back to trying to live righteous lives, under His merciful and forgiving umbrella. That’s the ONLY thing that makes sense in this topsy-turvy world my brethren!
Right now we need the biggest LOVE Revolution our planet has ever seen if we’re to make any serious and sensible headway in our society. Just look at the number of wars, rumours of wars and bitter strife that’s taking place in our world, despite the overwhelming disasters in almost every part of the planet.
One would think getting together to alleviate those disasters would be the prime target of all nations. Hn! But no, feuding, warmongering, greed, religious intolerance and lust for power still seem to be our major preoccupations!
What a foolish people we are! And yet we boast about mankind being God’s greatest and wisest creation! Steups! What a joke!
Anyway, let’s turn to our Bit, which tells us the basic thing we need to do in this life, if we’re to succeed and prosper. ‘And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint.’
Yeh my fellow believers, that’s the wise advice of our Lord and Saviour, our Redeemer and heavenly Advocate, the ONE who sacrificed His sinless life for us. So if we say that we believe in Him, then we ought to do what He says.
And John tells us right up front: ‘He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. (1 John 2:4)
Unfortunately my people, that means we have a whole lot of liars in our society since so many of us don’t keep Christ’s commandments, although we claim to be believers! But that’s another story for another day! (smile)
Today we’re concerned with prayer and praying. And in Jesus’ most strenuous and difficult moments, in the Garden of Gethsemane, the night before His crucifixion, what was he doing? Praying to His heavenly Father. So Jesus knew the power of prayer and consistently practiced it.
On that momentous night, He also uttered another serious warning on the subject. His inner circle of disciples were supposed to be watching and praying with Him: ‘And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.’ (Matt.26:40-41)
That’s oh so true friends, but not too many, or not enough of us consider those words today, and that’s a major reason why our society is so awash in evil and ungodliness. So please, let’s consider them more than we do right now nuh. It’s all for our benefit, not God’s!
And if we sincerely believe and trust in Jesus, then let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings. Remember there is power in the word, and speaking it only enhances that power.
So in unison, emphatically and enthusiastically: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Glory be mih people! Now let’s go out and share those blessings as Jesus desires of us. Much LOVE!
…to be safe and not sorry…watch and pray…
21 Sep 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a message, a sound mind, armour, be not afraid, calamity, Christian, comfort me, complain, Controller, covenant relationship, creativity, Creator, curse, death, devastating consequences, disappointments, disasters, discouraged, disobedience, earthquakes, faith, fear, fear not, for what we still have, generously sharing, give thanks, glorify God, God will work everything out for good, going forward, haunt us, hope, hurricanes, I will fear no evil, little flock, LOVE, magnify, man-made idols, negative word, no other gods before me, not mourn over what we've lost, obedient to God's Word, overcome, pagan gods, power, prosper, remove God, repent, securely planted, stand strong, strayed away, succeed, surrendering to God, talent, terror, the Good Book, the spirit of fear, the valley of the sahdow of death, the wages of sin, the wicked, the word of jesus, Thusrday Blessings, thy confidence, thy rod and thy staff, to give you the kingdom, trust, turn back to God, whimper, Yahweh, your Father's good pleasure
Luke 12:32. Fear not little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
Ah friends, though the disasters and their devastating effects continue to haunt us, we must ALWAYS remember to give thanks for what we still have, most importantly life, and not mourn too much over what we have lost.
It’s not easy going forward after the calamitous results of hurricanes and earthquakes, I can testify to that personally after experiencing hurricane Flora in 1963 in Tobago. But we have to move forward; that’s the only way that’s open to us.
And we can ONLY truly move forward my people by truly surrendering to Almighty God, our Creator and Controller, by putting our sincere faith and trust in Him, and being obedient to His word. Who knows if that is the message He’s trying to relay to us through all these disasters eh?
The wise thing to do would be to repent and turn back to Him, since we have strayed away from His fold and embraced pagan gods and man-made idols. And remember, from the very beginning, He commanded us in no uncertain manner: ‘Thou shalt have no other gods before me.’ (Ex.20:3)
So although there have been numerous arguments as to what the words ‘before me,’ actually mean, the long and short of the story is simply as the scholars put it: ‘Thus the first commandment teaches that no deity, real or imagined, is to rival the one true God, who is the only One who matters. It demands an exclusive covenant relationship with Yahweh (cf.Ps.81:9-10).
And we all know that we have not kept that covenant relationship, and the Good Book further tells us that ‘the wages of sin is death.’ (Rom.6:23) So that means all kinds of consequences are possible, up to and including both physical and spiritual death, for our blatant disobedience and intense desire to remove Him from all aspects of our society.
Now the good thing about being in true covenant with Almighty God is that in times of trouble and disaster we need not be afraid. Oh we must be concerned, but bone-chilling fear is not necessary since the Lord has made several faithful promises to believers, including that He will eventually work everything out for our good.
So, tough times and calamity are to be expected, but with the word of Jesus securely planted in our hearts, minds, bodies and souls, we can stand strong and overcome whatever comes against us.
Listen to Jesus’ words in our Bit, as He talks to His audience about care and anxiety. He tells them to first seek God’s kingdom and not the things of the world, because when they do, God will give them all that they need. Then He reassures them: ‘Fear not little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.’
Now would Jesus lie to us? Certainly not! But we have to first believe in Him, and obey His commandments, and that is exactly what we are not doing in this ungodly society. Fear is no part of the Christian’s armour or ammunition. Our weapon is FAITH!
Listen to Bruh Paul to his protégé Timothy. ‘For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound mind.’ (2 Tim.1:7) So once Jesus lives in us, we should not be overwhelmed by fear.
And all of us know and often claim this famous verse of Bruh David’s words from Psalm 23: ‘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.’ (Ps.23:4)
So why are we so quick to whimper and complain and fall apart when troubles befall us eh? Is it that we don’t truly believe? Who knows?
But here are a few more comforting words, this time from Cousin Sol. ‘Be not afraid of sudden fear (terror), neither of the desolation of (trouble from) the wicked, when it cometh. For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken (caught).’ (Prov.3:25-26)
The problem is friends, that we have to learn to deal with disappointments without being discouraged, without thinking we’re failures, but to have faith and hope and get up and start all over again.
And why shouldn’t we be able to do that when our magnanimous God has been so beneficent towards us in our Thursday Blessings. Let’s declare them now, so that our spirits can be uplifted and we can magnify and glorify our great and wonderful God.
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!’
Now let’s continue by generously sharing these blessings with others, as Jesus desires of us. Much LOVE!
…oh…how blessed are believers in Christ…especially when they generously share their blessings…
14 Sep 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a cakewalk, a compassionate heart, a passing observation, a positive outlook, a rich man, abundance, action, all things are possible, busy, Christ, Christians, courage, creativity, curse, desires of our hearts, divine protection, dreaming, easier for a camel, effort, enter the kingdom of God, faith, faithful, favour, get up off of our rear ends, go out of my mind, goals, help, hemming and hawing, holy spirit, hotter, in the name of Jesus, Jesus beheld them, Joyce Meyer, LOVE Revolution, medication, medicinally induced dreams, middle of September, my neck of the woods, negative word, nightmares, personal testimony, power in the Word of God, promotion, put your money where your mouth is, required tools, self-control, self-discipline, success, summertime, supernatural wisdom, take on dreams, talent, the distance between dreams and reality, the less fortunate, the living truth, the Lord came calling, Thusrday Blessings, to go through a needle's eye, wake up tired, with God, with men this is impossible
Matthew 19:26. But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible, but with God ALL things are possible.
In the summertime…summertime…summertime… Yeh friends, can you believe that in the middle of September, in my neck of the woods, we’ve been having constant temps in the mid to high 20’s range?
Wow! This week has been hotter than many in July and August. You can actually feel the sun burning your skin. Now please note, this is just a passing observation, it’s not a complaint, (smile) for we will take that kind of weather any and every time!
And I now understand why sometimes I wake up tired instead of refreshed. That’s because my medication has me dreaming constantly, and in the dreams I’m always busy doing something. It’s a good thing they are not nightmares, (smile) otherwise I’d go out of my mind.
And I just noticed an interesting take on dreams on a sticky I have in my Bible. It comes from sister Joyce (Joyce Meyer). And she says: ‘The distance between dreams and reality is called action.’ Now that’s the living truth!
Now she’s not talking about my medicinally induced dreams (smile) but the things we’d like to achieve, our cherished goals, the desires of our hearts. Unless we get up off our rear ends and put them into action, they will always remain dreams, unrealized ones to boot.
And I guess many of us have dreams of things we’d like to do for Christ, but we’re not actioning them, so they are still dreams…useless to everyone, including Christ.
Ah friends, as the ole people would say, to get things done, we’ve got to put our money where our mouth is. And that’s no lie. Until we put sincere and diligent effort into ANYTHING we want to do, NOTHING will get done.
And having Christ and His Holy Spirit on our side, as our more than willing associates and helpers, then NOTHING is impossible to us… if we seriously and willingly make the effort to put whatever it is into action.
Note Jesus’ words to His disciples after He told them that ‘It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.’ (Matt.19:24) Obviously the disciples were amazed by that statement and were left wondering, who then could get into heaven?
And in our Bit, our Master had an answer for their problem.‘But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible, but with God ALL things are possible.’
Oh mih people, mih people, until ALL we Christians truly believe that statement deep down in our hearts and souls, and not just pay lip service to it, then our Christian faith and Christ’s LOVE Revolution will not progress as Jesus desires it to.
Too many of us refuse to put into action the things God puts in our hearts to do because we don’t believe that they can or will ever come to pass. But here’s a personal testimony. Some ten, almost eleven years ago when the Lord came calling about the Bit, I laughed and told Him I didn’t know enough scripture to do something like that.
But he persisted and eventually I gave in. And the first Bits were merely verses from the Bible, possibly with just a few words from me. But over time, as I have been faithful to His work, the Lord has been faithful to me and helped me until I’ve reached the current level.
Now, as Sister Joyce likes to say: I still haven’t arrived, but I’m certainly not where I used to be. And believe me friends, writing this Bit for over ten years now hasn’t been a cakewalk, but the Lord has guided me each and every step of the way.
Many times I’ve begun by telling you I didn’t know what to write about, but then I’ve ended up writing oodles of stuff. Do you think that was just me and my brilliance? Of course not! It was the Holy Spirit of God inspiring me to do His work.
And yuh think I was planning to give a testimony this morning? Not at all! But that’s where the Lord led me. So please friends, if the Lord has put anything in your hearts to do that falls under His will, stop hemming and hawing and get to it. For He won’t EVER ask you to do something and then not give you the required tools and help to do it.
And having said all of that, let’s declare those powerful Blessings of Thursday, which our wonderful God has so magnanimously rained down on us. In full voice now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance!
I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Now let’s go out and share those magnificent blessings with the less fortunate, as our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ desires. Much LOVE!
…there is unbelievable power in the Word of God…if we would only use it…
31 Aug 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a feel good organization, a glowing example, a right heart, a true believer, abundance, adventure, adversity, Advocate, almighty god, belief, believe and trust in Him, believing the promise before you see it, blessings, can you feel it, christianity, courage, covenant, creativity, curse, dance and sing, diligence, divine protection, do your best, epitaph, excellence, faith, family, favour, friends, fulfillment, give thanks and praise, glory, growing your faith, Hades, he did that which was right, He gives thee power, Hezekiah, in the sight of the Lord, Jesus is alive, jobs, Judah, languishing, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, Lucifer, moving through your soul, negative word, obedience, obedient to God's Word, one more day, persevere, personal experience, prince of peace, promises, prosper, prospered, Redeemer, rejoice, remember the Lord thy god, rewards, rocket science, self-control, self-discipline, sense of peace and joy, shared, shining down from heaven, succeed, sware unto thy fathers, talent, tests, the commandments, the house of God, the law, the Son of God, the will and desire, tingle all over, to seek his God, trusting in Jesus, truth, warming the cockles of your heart, warmth, wealth, wine and roses, wisdom, with all his heart
Deuteronomy 8:18. But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish (confirm) his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.
One more day, one more day mih people, to dance and sing, give thanks and praise to Almighty God! Wow! For, like us, Jesus is alive and well and His awesome LOVE is shining down from heaven in a blaze of warmth and glory, falling on all who sincerely believe and trust in Him!
Can you feel it? Can you feel it just moving through your soul, warming the cockles of your heart and putting an amazing sense of peace and joy in your spirit? If you’re a true believer, then I’m sure you can feel it.
And if you don’t feel it, then please get serious about growing your faith, and somewhere along the line you WILL feel it and rejoice in knowing that your faith is strong and you’re a true believer. (smile)
Yeh friends, trusting in Jesus is such a wonderful, heart-warming experience that it makes you tingle all over, wondering what you’ve ever done to deserve such outstanding LOVE.
But the truth is that the only thing you’ve done is to believe wholeheartedly in Him, His awesome LOVE, and the promises He’s made in His Word. That includes that He is the Son of God, your Lord and Saviour, your everlasting Redeemer, your heavenly Advocate and your Prince of Peace.
Chuh mih breddren! Yuh see what a li’l faith and belief can accomplish! (smile) And it’s not rocket science either! His LOVE is there for ALL to share, and you were just one of the wise and smart ones to accept it.
But please be careful, for it’s not going to be wine and roses all the way, because our Jesus is indeed a LOVING, but also demanding Master. We have jobs to do in His kingdom, and He expects excellence, diligence and obedience from ALL of His followers.
And when you do your best to serve Him, with a right heart of course, your life will never be the same again. Take it from me people! I’m talking from personal experience here.
Oh, you will have tests, and adversity like everybody else, because Christianity is not just a feel good organization, but if you persevere, your life will also be filled with unexpected adventure and rewards.
Our Bit says it oh so well. ‘But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish (confirm) his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.’
Yeh friends, the earth and all therein belongs to the Lord, so whatever good thing you receive obviously comes from Him. But you need to stay obedient to His Word and persevere even under the toughest conditions, truly showing your faith, by believing the promise before you see it come true.
Now let’s look at a glowing example of what we’re talking about from the Good Book; the story of Hezekiah, king of Judah. The Book of 2nd Chronicles tells us that he began to reign when he was 25 and reigned in Jerusalem for 29 years.
‘And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done.’ (2 Crh.29:3)
Yuh see friends, like the scholars declare: ‘Hezekiah is commended for his godly faith and trust in the Lord (cf.31:20-21).’
And what did he actually do to deserve such commendation? Well he brought on a revival of repentance and worship in Israel, after a time of evil and wrongdoing and idol worship in the reign of his father Ahaz.
He reopened and repaired the Lord’s house, brought back the priests and Levites to do the tasks commanded by the law of Moses, destroyed the groves and other places that were used for idol worship.
He also had the priests and Levites singing ‘praise unto the Lord with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with joy and gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped.’ (2 Chr.29:30)
Yeh mih breddren, Hezekiah brought about a whole new transformation of Judah, (including many of those from the northern kingdom of Israel) bringing them back to worship the One and Only True God of their fathers, Yahweh.
He also reinstituted the celebration of the feast of the Passover – and was the first one ever a feast! You should read 2 Chronicles 29-31 and see what great and wonderful changes Hezekiah made during his reign.
And the Good Book concludes his story thus: ‘And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah, and wrought that which was good and right and truth before the Lord his God. And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.’ (2 Chr.31:20-21)
Oh friends, that’s the kind of epitaph the Lord would like ALL of His followers to have, and that’s why He’s showered us with so many earthly blessings. So as one big, strong, faithful family, let’s go home sincerely and truthfully declaring them this Thursday morning nuh.
‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
And since blessings are made to be shared, let’s go out and bless others now, for that’s the will and desire of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Much LOVE!
…oh where would we be without Jesus eh….languishing in Hades with Lucifer…
17 Aug 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a new slate, a sad state of affairs, abundance, almighty god, another day in the life, beglad, bless the Lord, blessings, boast in the Lord, calamitous times, Christian, compassionate heart, controversial topic, courage, creative skills, creativity, curse, dead in sins, delivered me, divine protection, eternal separation from God, eternity, exalt His name, failure, faith, favour, for Jesus' sake, from all my fears, gospel truth, grace, harmony, he heard me, help, hurt, I sought the Lord, in the name of Jesus, Jesus, joy, LOVE, magnanimity, magnify the Lord, marvellous feat, mercy, negative word, our heavenly Father, positive outlook, power, praise and worship, problems, prosper, redemption, rejection, sacrifice, salvation, saved him, sorrow, strife, succeed, talent, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the Holy Trinity, the humble shall hear, the LOVE of Jesus, this poor man cried, Thursday Blessings, to die for us, tragedy, true living God, trust, walking with God, wisdom, worry
Psalm 34:4. I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
And then it was Thursday! Another day in the life; a fresh, new slate, one filled with the grace and mercy of Almighty God, our heavenly Father!
How wonderful is that eh, just knowing that you can handle anything that comes against you with His awesome help? I’d say there were no appropriate words to truly describe that scenario.
But then our God is like no other; He is the ONE and ONLY TRUE LIVING GOD who made heaven and earth and all therein. What immense might, power, wisdom and creative skills it must have taken to perform such a marvellous feat!
And then, to show His magnanimity, even when we were dead in sins, He sent His One Son, Jesus to die for us, so that we could receive salvation and spend eternity with Him. That’s why we praise and worship Him with our whole heart, mind, body and soul!
And who is Jesus, you ask? The glorious ONE who brought heavenly LOVE and redemption to be spread around the whole earth!
Now listen to this description of that LOVE from Fil Anderson in an article from In Touch Magazine titled ‘But for Sorrow.’
Fil says: ‘The LOVE of Jesus is the most prevailing and magnificent force in this world. It’s stronger than every rejection, every failure, every tragedy, every worry, and every hurt. And it’s the source of our deepest joy, even in sorrow.’
Oh friends, I believe that is possibly the best description I’ve ever heard of Jesus’ LOVE, for it encompasses EVERYTHING! It brings us joy untold, even in tough, calamitous times and can help us cure all our problems. There is absolutely NOTHING greater in this world than the LOVE of Jesus!
Oh how I wish that many, many more of earth’s people would realize that and place their deepest trust in Him, since He is the ONLY One who can save them from their sins and sorrows and eventually eternal separation from God.
But unfortunately, today, we’re so saturated with the foolish wisdom of man, and listen so closely to the evil forces of the world that we’re turning away from God, rather than turning to Him.
It’s truly a sad state of affairs my Christian brethren, and we have to take some of the blame for that, because we’re not working as diligently and sincerely to enlighten others about Christ as we should.
And it’s not like the message we’re supposed to spread is a lie, but it’s gospel truth! From way back when, man knew on which side his bread was buttered and put their sole trust, depended fully on God.
Listen to Bruh David’s declaration in our Bit. ‘I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.’
What other religious faith can make that claim with any real truth eh mih people? NONE WHATSOEVER! Only the true believers in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the Holy Trinity, can make such a heartfelt and true declaration!
And hear how Bruh David continues after our Bit. ‘They looked unto Him, and were lightened (radiant): and their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.’ (Ps.34:5-6)
Ah friends, why won’t the world turn to our magnificent and magnanimous God eh; the ONLY One who can save them out of all their troubles? Most of them don’t even want to hear about God… and don’t even mention the name of Jesus, for he is the most controversial topic n the universe.
And that’s why He is just the GREATEST and the SWEETEST and the MOST LOVING! Praise His Holy name my brethren! For He indeed deserves infinite praise for His wonderful work and sacrifice on our behalf.
And now I’ll call on us to do what Bruh David declared at the beginning of the psalm. ‘I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.’ (Ps.34:1-3)
Now that is exactly how a Christian ought to behave! And friends, if we’d only do those things on a serious and continual basis, both our individual lives and our world would be so much better off, filled with much more harmony, and much less strife than it currently contains.
So let’s try doing better nuh, for Jesus’ sake. He did so much for us, the least we can do is spread his name and His word around the earth.
And all God’s children declared a loud and bold and sincere ‘Amen!’
Now let’s go home proclaiming our Thursday Blessings, blessings we receive for truly believing. In unison 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 since blessings are supposed to be shared, it’s our bounden duty to go out and share them with others now. Much LOVE!
…walking sincerely with God…doesn’t mean you won’t have problems…but you’ll be able to handle them successfully…with His amazing help…
10 Aug 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a cross bearing affair, a senior, a spring chicken, a young pup, abundance, actions speak louder than words, agenda, alive in God's kingdom, almighty god, ambassadors, an old fowl, ashamed, ashamed of Jesus, bear his cross, Calvary, cannot be my disciple, celebrating, christianity, Christians, come after me, comfortable life, compassionate heart, compromise, contrariness, courage, creativity, curse, destroyed, disciple, dreams, dreams come true, enjoying to the fullest, eternal life, example of life, faith, favour, focus, for my sake, gain the whole world, hypocrisy, know thyself, lifestyle, loses his life, lost, LOVE Revolution, negative word, one more day, onerous task, pleas for help, prosper, redemption, sacrifice, salvation, save his life, self-control, self-discipline, share our blessings, shortcomings, souring people, spreading the gospel, success, support Jesus in public, talent, tarnishes the image of jesus, the good news of Jesus, the Son of man, the terms of discipleship, the way of life, the wooden cross, the work of Jesus, Thursday Blessings, triumph, turning away from God, undying LOVE, walking our talk, wasting Jesus' sacrifice, wisdom, witness, work while they dream
Luke 14:27. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
One more day, just one more day… Yeh friends, one more day to be alive in God’s great kingdom! It’s such a pleasure to be alive again! (smile)
But have you noticed how those one more days quickly add up to many more years? One day you’re a young pup, a spring chicken, then one day you’re suddenly a senior, an old fowl! Hn, hn! But that’s the way of life.
And let’s hope you are enjoying each of those days to the fullest, because that’s what our Lord and Saviour desires for us and why He sacrificed His life on that wooden cross at Calvary. So if we’re not celebrating that triumph, then we’re wasting His sacrifice. And what an awful thing that would be.
But here are a couple of good questions for us. Where is our focus concentrated today eh? And what’s on our agenda?
Hopefully, as true believers, our focus is directly on Almighty God, and the priority on our agenda is doing the work of Jesus; spreading His awesome gospel of undying LOVE, redemption, salvation and eternal life.
And that doesn’t always mean talking, but more so in the example of life that we live. Our lives should realistically reflect the good news of Jesus. And if they aren’t reflecting it, then we’re not doing a good job for our wonderful Leader and Saviour, we’re not being good disciples, good ambassadors for His kingdom.
Consequently, we’re not the true Christians we ought to be. And that’s the major reason why more people are turning away from God today, than turning to Him.
My friends, we are falling down in our Christian witness when we talk one thing, then people see us living contrary to our talk. We’re obviously not walking our talk. And it’s time to do better, if we truly want Christ’s LOVE Revolution to be successful.
And please remember that actions speak much louder than words. So what we do, will usually have a greater impact on others than what we say. Thus the hypocrisy, the compromise and contrariness in our faith walk is souring people on the Christian lifestyle, and consequently on Christ.
And a quote from my ‘I LOVE YOU’ Poster reminds us that ‘Dreams come true for those who work while they dream.’ The present day Christian problem seems to be that too many of us are dreaming without working, that’s why we’re not accomplishing as much as we ought to.
Obviously we’re not complying with the words of Jesus in our Bit. ‘And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.’
Yes friends, we each have a cross to bear in our kingdom work; a task we have to perform. Now it doesn’t mean that task is necessarily onerous or body-breaking like Jesus’ cross was, but it always entails some sacrifice.
Earlier on in Luke Jesus outlined the terms of discipleship. ‘And he said to them all, If any man will come after me (desires to follow me), let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whosoever will (desires to) save his life, shall lose it; but whosoever will lose (loses) his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged (benefited), if he gain the whole world, and lose himself (is destroyed), or be cast away (is lost)?
For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels.’ (Luke 9:23-26)
There you have it my fellow believers, the terms of discipleships as detailed by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Now are we living up to those terms? Most of us aren’t. Too many of us have settled for the soft, easy comfortable life our society affords.
And surprisingly, too many of us are ashamed of Jesus! We’re afraid to talk about Him to others. We listen to others put Him down and don’t utter a word in rebuke or support, because we don’t want them to know that we are Christians and think badly of us.
Steups! Ah friends, if we can’t support Jesus in public, that means we hold the opinions of man more important than that of God. And that definitely does not lead to true discipleship, but rather tarnishes the image of our Saviour and His movement.
So today is as good as any to sit down and consider the saying ‘know thyself.’ Let’s sit down and seriously inspect our own lives and see if we’re being true disciples of Jesus. Then ask the Lord to help us in our shortcomings. He won’t ever turn down our sincere pleas for help.
Now let’s go home loudly and proudly declaring our Thursday Blessings. In unison: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance!
I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
And since blessings are meant to be shared, let’s go out and bless others now my fellow believers in Christ! Much LOVE!
…just like Jesus had His cross to bear…all Christians have their crosses too …Christianity is a cross bearing affair…
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