Understanding the reality of God’s Control over the Universe He created!

24 Oct 2024 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Psalm 33:11.         The counsel of the Lord standeth forever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.

One more time friends; one more time! Yes, it looks like another bright and sunshiny day in my neighbourhood, but it certainly won’t be as warm. I believe that even the trees have finally got the message, for more of them seem to have finally begun changing colour and shedding their leaves. And my neighbour has a tall tree in his backyard and it’s all golden and yellow and rust and whatever! Every time I look out my bedroom window, I’m amazed at it’s beauty, and the awesome power and imagination of our great God! 

And why not eh, since our God created the universe and all therein mostly by speaking them into existence. As the Bible says: ‘By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth, He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth (deep) in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast. The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices (plans) of the people of none effect. The counsel of the Lord standeth forever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.’ (Ps. 33:6-11) 

And that’s the gospel truth, to which Cousin Sol totally agrees, as he says in Proverbs: ‘There are many devices (plans) in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand.’ (Prov. 19:21) Yes my people, our God is a great and awesome God, Creator and Father! There’s no other like Him! That’s why we ought to both revere and fear Him in the real sense of the word. For as Jesus said: ‘And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.’ (Matt. 10:28) 

And that’s a sad fact which not too many of us seem to take notice of, and thus keep on whiling away our precious time in the fleshly lusts and carnality of this sinful and ungodly world controlled by Satan and his evil minions. Yes, the Lord can kill all of our many parts, because He created them, but He certainly doesn’t want us to go to hell, and He doesn’t really send any of us to hell, we do it ourselves. He’s given us the way to salvation and eternal life through His Son, Jesus Christ, and if we don’t obey Him and end up in hell, how can we blame Him eh? 

But from the very beginning with Adam, Eve and Satan, we’ve been  playing the blame game. When the Lord asked Adam why he ate of the forbidden fruit, he blamed Eve, and Eve blamed Satan. (Gen. 3:11-13) So it’s no wonder that today we’re still shirking our responsibilities and then trying to blame others for any negative consequences that occur from so doing. But friends, please, please, let’s remember these fateful words from our dear departed Uncle Charles (Dr. Charles Stanley). ‘Obey God, and lave all the consequences to Him.’ 

That’s about the best motto a human being, especially a supposed Christian can have! It seems though that we have gone back to what we were before the Lord saved us. Listen as Bruh Paul tells the Ephesians: ‘And you hath he quickened (made alive), who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.’ (Eph. 2:1-2) Yes my brethren, while we were wasting away in sinfulness and ungodliness, the Lord saved us from our sinful life by sending Jesus to die on the cross for us. 

Before that as the scholars explain: ‘Ye walked means “you lived.”  The course of this world: The word course signifies all the tendencies, thoughts, pursuits, deeds, and so on, that characterize the present period of history. This world means “world system,” that is those philosophies, values, and life-styles that are opposed to God and hostile to Him. Before conversion the Ephesians used to conduct themselves in accordance with such ungodly values. The prince of the power of the air may be read “the ruler of the kingdom of the air.” They also used to live by the dictates and wishes of Satan.’ 

Unfortunately friends, that’s exactly what’s happening in our current world; the majority of us are living by the carnal and fleshly lusts and desires as promoted by Satan. Many of us still don’t even know about Christ and His saving grace, and therefore are unable to live the way He desires. And we, the supposed believers are neither spreading His gospel to the degree that’s necessary to combat Satan’s evil ways, or living the true Christian life that just might attract others to Christ. 

And the body that’s supposed to oversee and push the overall work of Christ, that’s His church, is so divided into numerous denominations and cliques, and in such dissension over His Word, that it’s falling far short of what it needs to make any worthwhile difference in this evil world. And we only have ourselves to blame for that my fellow saints. We can’t lay the blame on any one else, for we are supposed to be Christ’s ambassadors on the earth, but for whatever reason, it’s obvious we’re not doing such a good job, because instead of being lifted out of the mire, the world is constantly falling into more evil and ungodliness. 

And if we don’t smarten up soon, make some appropriate changes, and improve our witness, we’ll be doing a whole lot of answering to Christ on the judgement day. But thankfully all is not yet lost, for the Lord in His amazing goodness has bestowed undeserved blessings for us to do His earthly work. We call them our Thursday Blessings. So let’s declare them so that they can be activated in our lives nuh. 

As one strong and sincere voice: ‘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 every day! Amen!’ 

And having made that declaration, it’s now our bounden duty to go out and use those blessings on behalf of others, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us! Much LOVE!

…Christians desperately need to improve their witness…if they truly desire to see godly changes…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit   7 January 2022 John 10:10b.

07 Jan 2022 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

John 10:10b.     I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

Boy oh boy! Two days of decent sunshine in a row! That must be a record! But I think it’s going to be a tad on the cold side. That’s okay though, I can handle the cold when the sun’s shining. It’s just the dark, damp, dreary weather that gets to me. But all thanks to Jesus, I can handle both types of weather, if I just put my mind to it. 

And that’s the beauty of living for Jesus: He enables you to do anything that coincides with His will or plan for your life. That’s why we say, with full confidence: ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!’ Phil. 4:13) Now just saying it doesn’t make it true. You have to sincerely believe it, and make it a customary practice, a habit in your life, so that after a while, it just blends in automatically. (smile) 

Ah friends, knowing who we are in Christ, and knowing the benefits that spring forth from such a privileged position, is extremely important if we want to live the abundant life that Jesus promised, and died for us to have. And you ask, what does it mean to be in Christ? 

Well, the simple answer is that when we are born again, when we receive Christ as our Lord and Saviour, He comes to dwell in us through His Holy Spirit, and we become a part of Him. We are made clean, renewed and acceptable to the Holy Father. But I found this article on the subject on the gotquestions.org website which I believe explains it better than I can. (smile) 

So let’s see what it says. ‘In Christ, we are regenerated, renewed, and born again, and this new creation is spiritually minded, whereas the old nature is carnally minded. The new nature fellowships with God, obeys His will, and is devoted to His service. These are actions the old nature is incapable of doing or even desiring to do. The old nature is dead to the things of the Spirit and cannot revive itself. It is “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1) and can only be made alive by a supernatural awakening, which happens when we come to Christ and are indwelt by Him. 

Christ gives us a completely new and holy nature and an incorruptible life. Our old life, previously dead to God because of sin, is buried, and we are raised “to walk in newness of life” with Him (Rom. 6:4). If we belong to Christ, we are united to Him and no longer slaves to sin (Rom. 6:5-6); we are made alive with Him (Eph. 2:5); we are conformed to His image (Rom. 8:29); we are free from condemnation and walking not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit (Rom. 8:1); and we are part of the body of Christ with other believers (Rom. 12:5). 

The believer now possesses a new heart (Ezek. 11:19) and has been blessed “with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 1:3). We might wonder why we so often do not live in the manner described, even though we have given our lives to Christ and are sure of our salvation. This is because our new natures are residing in our old fleshly bodies, and these two are at war with one another. The old nature is dead, but the new nature still has to battle the old “tent” in which it dwells. Evil and sin are still present, but the believer now sees them in a new perspective and they no longer control him as they once did. 

In Christ, we can now choose to resist sin, whereas the old nature could not. Now we have the choice to either feed the new nature through the Word, prayer, and obedience, or to feed the flesh by neglecting those things. When we are in Christ, “we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us” (Rom. 8:37) and can rejoice in our Savior, who makes all things possible (Phil. 4:13). In Christ we are LOVED, forgiven, and secure. In Christ we are adopted, justified, redeemed, reconciled, and chosen. In Christ we are victorious, filled with joy and peace, and granted true meaning in life. What a wonderful Savior is Christ!’ 

And isn’t all that the gospel truth my fellow saints! In Christ Jesus we have EVERYTHING we can ever need! In other words, the abundant life. Like he said. ‘The thief cometh not, but (except) for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.’ (John 10:10) 

Yes friends, that was Christ’s stated purpose; to save us from eternal death and damnation, to give us a better quality of life both here and in the hereafter. So please, let’s not make His sacrifice a waste of time by not enjoying the life He died for us to have. Therefore, let’s turn sincerely to Him, cling tenaciously to him, and live victoriously for Him, for that is the wisdom of the ages! 

And one of the things that come with such absolute devotion is prayer, both in good and bad times. So, in these rough times we are currently experiencing, let’s turn to our Saviour, our Creator for badly needed divine help, through our Friday Chant. As one strong, confident, but humble voice: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and our many other problems are causing. We can’t seem to fix it on our own Lord, that means we desperately need your help. 

Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets. So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, and avoid any more serious setbacks. 

And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’ 

Let’s remember though, that we don’t just pray for help, but we also keep the promises we made in our prayer. Much LOVE!

…only in Christ…can one discover many of the answers…to the mysteries of life… 

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8