13 Apr 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, agony, all that labour and are heavy laden, an angel from heaven, anger, anguish, At the cross, bitterness, but as thou wilt, but the flesh is weak, calm attitude, cleansing, come unto me, courage, creativity, curse, death, demonic, destiny, devastated, divine protection, drops of blood, faith, favour, glory to God, God's mysterious workings, godly help, grace, grateful, grief, grieving a loss, Holy Thursday, human frailties, intercede, Jesus, let this cup pass from me, loving-kindness, my soul is exceeding sorrowful, negative emotions, negative word, not as I will, pilgrim, prayer, promotion, prosper, punishment, quandary, rest, self-control, self-discipline, sin-bearer, sins, sorrow, sorrowful moments, succeed, sweat, talent, tarry, temptation, thanks and praise, the spirit is willing, Thursday Blessings, thy will be done, trying times, unto death, wait, watch and pray, watch with me, widom
Matthew 26:38. Then said he (Jesus) unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye (wait) here, and watch with me.
‘Oh what a beautiful morning! Oh what a beautiful day! Oh what a beautiful morning! Everything’s going my way!’ (smile) Well not exactly everything on this Holy Thursday morn, but sufficient stuff to keep me rather grateful. Glory to God!
Some of you ole fogies might remember that song from way back when, but it’s still very applicable in these trying times, for everyday that we open our eyes and greet the world, it’s a beautiful day and things are going our way!
And today I want to especially give thanks and praise to our ever-faithful heavenly Father for getting me out of the quandary that I was in yesterday; meaning having my friend Jackie’s funeral and an important doctor’s appointment the same time to day.
But in His wonderful mysterious workings I called the doctor’s office and was able to get my appointment time pushed back to later. Thank You Lord!
I would have been very disappointed if I couldn’t go to Jackie’s memorial service, because over the last year or so we had gotten fairly close, and would take interest in each other’s medical affairs, boosting each other to hang in and hope for the best.
Right now she indeed has the best, while I am still here doing my pilgrim’s thing, (smile) but with her memory forever etched on my heart.
And yuh know what friends, our God is so good and wise and wonderful, that the very night before Jackie died, I was watching a programme ‘At the Cross’; a call in religious show for prayer and godly help, and the topic of the night just happened to be, ‘Are you grieving a loss?’
And that loss could be anything at all, a house, a dear one, a job, finances, etc. Once the loss touched you severely, there was room for grief. And the host of that night’s programme identified two types of grieving; one he called demonic grief and the other cleansing grief.
The demonic one was obviously the type of grief that just throws you down and keeps you down for a long time, where you can’t function at all, can’t go on with your life, and there is a lot of bitterness and anger and negative emotions in your soul.
Meanwhile the cleansing grief is the grief that helps you get over your loss. It may take a long while, but in the meantime you will be able to function, because you have given your grief and sorrow to Christ and He has kept His promise of Matthew 11:29: ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’
Yeh friends, that’s the only way that makes sense; take it all to Jesus, admit that you can’t handle it and ask for his saving grace and LOVING-kindness. Then and only then will you be able to handle your grief in a wholesome manner.
And that is one testimony that I can most definitely attest to; a moment in time I’ll never forget. I’m talking about when my mother unexpectedly went to be with the Lord some years ago while I was in California, an unexpected aura of peace just floated over me.
I was most surprised by it, and though deep down I was devastated by the loss, I was able to hold up quite well. Some people were skeptical bout my calm attitude, but I never took offense, because I knew that the Spirit of the Lord had imbued me with the peace to set things in order.
And yuh know what friends? Even Jesus had grieving and sorrowful moments, the main one being His rough moments in the Garden of Gethsemane on the Holy Thursday night before he was crucified.
Listen to our Bit. ‘Then said he (Jesus) unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye (wait) here, and watch with me.’
Yes friends, Jesus agonized over stuff too, that’s why He can understand our human frailties and emotions. Thus the Good Book tells us: ‘And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.’ (Matt.26:39)
Then He went back to the disciples and found them sleeping, and admonished 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)
Extremely good advice for us to take to heart my brethren! Then Jesus went away and prayed a second time, ‘Saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except (unless) I drink it, thy will be done. And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.’ (Matt.26:42-44)
Yes my people, three times Jesus prayed for the cup to pass away. Meanwhile Luke tells us that during His first prayer session: ‘And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.’ (Luke 22:43-44)
And the scholars explain thus: 22:43-44. Only Luke notes this. Jesus is borne up in His hour of greatest need, when He must intercede not only for Himself but for His followers, who are about to leave Him in the lurch.
Agony appears only here in the New Testament; it points to the intensity of Jesus’ struggle. Surely Jesus wrestles not so much with death itself, but with His own destiny to be made the sin-bearer for all mankind for all the ages. The punishment that had to be borne for our sins brings Jesus to His knees in anguish.’
Now hopefully friends, we’ll truly appreciate the great weight, the severe burden that Jesus had to bear on our behalf, and in future give Him much more thanks and praise. So let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings, which, despite our sinfulness, the Lord still doles out so generously to us.
‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Now remember a blessing is not a blessing until it’s declared over someone, so let’s go out now and declare blessings over plenty some ones. Much LOVE!
…grief and sorrow are natural human emotions…but through Jesus …we can bear them successfully…
19 Feb 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a sacrifice of praise, adhered to my hands, any blot, atone, awesome, celebrations, cleft for me, count all my steps, death, deceit, downfall, exalt, eyes, faith, falsehood, fleeting breath, from thy wounded side, glorify, glory hallelujah, grace, gratefulness, guidance, helpless, if there be any wicked way in me, innocence, integrity, judgement, jump, know my heart, know my thoughts, labour of my hands, lead me in the way everlasting, let me hide my self in thee, loving, magnificent and magnanimous God, make me pure, mercy, my heart walked after my eyes, naked, passes all understanding, peace, praise, prayed for his friends, refill our souls with His Holy Spirit, rock of ages, sacrifice, save from wrath, saviour, search me O God, shout for joy, sin, soar, sovereign sway, sow, strengthen our faith, Sunday, tears forever flow, the double cure, the Good Book, the greatest, the Lamb that was slain, the Lord's Day, the water and the blood, throne, thy laws demands, to the cross I cling, to the fountain fly, trusted implicitly, try me, twice as much, undeserving grace, vanity, wash me, weigh in an even balance, worlds unknown, worship, zeal
Psalm 139:23-24. Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my (anxious) thoughts. And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
It ‘s Sunday friends, what we consider the Lord’s Day! That means it’s time to get ready and join other believers in the sanctuary to praise and worship, glorify and exalt our magnificent and magnanimous God!
Wow! How excellent it is to have the chance every week to offer up our thanks and praise, our gratefulness for His awesome and undeserving grace and mercy, and have Him strengthen our faith and refill, renew our souls with His Holy Spirit, so that we have the wherewithal to face another trying but joy-filled week!
And to begin the celebrations, let’s offer up a sacrifice of praise with our lips, through the singing of this old but wonderful hymn – Rock of Ages.
In full voice and sincerity of heart, let’s sing: ‘Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee; Let the water and the blood, From Thy wounded side which flowed, Be of sin the double cure; Save from wrath and make me pure. Not the labor of my hands, Can fulfill Thy law’s demands; Could my zeal no respite know, Could my tears forever flow, All for sin could not atone; Thou must save, and Thou alone.
Nothing in my hand I bring, Simply to the cross I cling; Naked, come to Thee for dress; Helpless look to Thee for grace; Foul, I to the fountain fly; Wash me, Savior, or I die. While I draw this fleeting breath, When mine eyes shall close in death, When I soar to worlds unknown, See Thee on Thy judgment throne, Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee.’
Oh my precious people of God, there’s no better place to run for help and succour than to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, for He has already paid the exceedingly great price for our sins by His selfless sacrifice on the cross at Calvary! Glory to God! And by His stripes we are healed!
So if we don’t run to Him, and cling to Him, and find security and comfort, rest and LOVE with Him, then His most awesome sacrifice would have been a complete waste of time. Remember He offered up His Holy and precious life so that we could be saved from sin, be made righteous in the eyes of our heavenly father and receive eternal life.
Ah friends, every time I think about how great Jesus is, I just want to jump and shout for joy – Glory Hallelujah! All praise and glory to the Lamb that was slain for us! He is indeed the Greatest!’
But let me curb my enthusiasm a tad and get to our Bit, (smile) otherwise I can take up all the time and space by just adding adoration upon adoration. That’s the kind of space I’m in right now. Not that that’s wrong, but it’s not our avowed purpose at the present time.
So hear these heartfelt words of Bruh David to his God. ‘Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my (anxious) thoughts. And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.’
Yes my fellow believers, I’ve expanded the Bit today, because the first part just didn’t seem right without the second. For why are we asking the Lord to search our hearts, but to see if there’s anything wrong or wicked therein, and then to correct it through His LOVING and merciful guidance?
Now let’s put some flesh on the bones of our Bit with other scripture that corroborate it. Listen to Job, when he speaks to his supposed friends of his integrity. ‘Doth not he see my ways, and count all my steps? If I have walked with vanity (falsehood), or if my foot hath hasted to deceit; Let me be weighed (let him weigh me) in an even balance, that God may know mine integrity.
If my step hath turned out of the way, and mine heart walked after mine eyes, and if any blot hath cleaved (any spot adheres) to mine hands: Then let me sow, and let another eat; yea, let my offspring (harvest) be rooted out (uprooted). (Job 31:4-8)
Ah friends, Job knew that he had not committed any great sin or sins, which had caused his sudden, dramatic downfall. Now a lot of us end up being blamed for things we haven’t done, and nothing we can say to our accusers will change their minds. But once we are sure of our innocence, let us take heart that our Lord, the righteous judge, will in His time recompense us for all that we’ve lost and suffered.
And Job is also a very good example of that, as the Good Book informs us. ‘And the Lord turned (restored) the captivity (losses) of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.’ (Job 42:10)
Please note a couple of things here though my people. The Lord restored Job’s wealth and family and friends, after he prayed for his friends. And as the scholars explain: ‘The point to be garnered from the book is not that God intends to deal with every servant as abundantly as He did with Job; rather that God holds sovereign and LOVING sway over every human life. Therefore, He can be trusted implicitly in all things (cf. Rom.8:28).’
Yes friends, if our God is as great and good as we claim, the Creator of the universe and all therein, then we have to acknowledge His sovereignty and trust Him to do the best on our behalf, otherwise our claims are spurious and useless.
Unfortunately time and space have run out, so until tomorrow, the Lord in favour, please sincerely ponder all that we’ve talked about. And may He bless and keep us safe, shine His regal presence upon us and give us His peace which passes all understanding. Much LOVE!
…if we can’t trust our Maker…then whom can we trust eh…
12 Jan 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adopted, At the cross, broken, cantankerous, Christ's body, Christ's death, clear direction, curse, death, dissension, disunity, divine protection, divisions, elders, Ephesus, eternal life, extend your love, family, feed, fellowship, foundation, free, friends, fulfillment, grasping the cross, homage, I bow my knee, injustice, it is done, Jesus, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, made a way, negative word, overcome the grave, overseers, peace, positive impact, promotion, purchased with his own blood, quarrellsome, reconciliation, resentment, sacrifice, salvation, shame, shepherd, sin, sinners, sons of God, success, supernatural strength, take heed, the church, the church of God, the cross of Christ, the focal point, the grave, the Holy Ghost, Thursday Blessings, to all the flock, tore the veil, wisdom
Acts 20:28. Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed (shepherd) the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
And then it was Thursday… and I don’t know what to write about. Hn, hn! It doesn’t happen too often, but when it does, it both amuses and concerns me.
Sometimes I have to wait a while for the Lord to show up and guide me, but today I didn’t have to wait at all. I just happened to look, or rather was guided to look at a sheet of paper in front of me with some quotes that I had written down, and there it was!
It’s titled ‘Grasping the Cross!’ And it says: ‘Lord Jesus, Your cross is the focal point of our lives. Hold us tightly as we cling to Your cross and extend Your LOVE to others.’
And you know friends, we couldn’t want for a more stable and solid foundation to cling to than the cross of Jesus, for that’s where it all came to fruition.
Yeh, it’s at the cross that it was all turned around; sin, death and the grave were defeated; salvation, reconciliation and eternal life were ushered in; our sins were paid for and we became adopted sons of God. Oh glory to the Most High!
And this excerpt from ‘At the Cross’ by the Hillsong Group amplifies it all. ‘At the cross I bow my knee Where Your blood was shed for me There’s no greater LOVE than this, no You have overcome the grave Glory fills the highest praise
What can separate me now You tore the veil, You made a way When You said that it is done You tore the veil, You made a way When You said that it is done.’
Jesus certainly did, my fellow believers! No other act in human history has had such a sensational, fruitful and positive impact as Christ’s death on the cross. And it was all for us my people…all for us worthless sinners.
Now do we truly appreciate that monumental sacrifice of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ? And do we pay the appropriate homage that is due to Him by the way we live our lives? I certainly hope so, otherwise we’d be doing Him a most serious injustice.
He died that we could be free…free from sin and shame…free to live forever under His glorious umbrella of eternal life. Have we accepted that fact, and do our lives reflect it? That’s how His body, the church, ought to be portraying His sacrifice.
That brings us to our Bit, the words of Bruh Paul to the elders of the church of Ephesus, whom he called to him at Miletus.
‘Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed (shepherd) the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.’
Unfortunately though friends, in these modern times, I don’t think we are doing a worthwhile job of shepherding God’s body, the church. There are too many divisions, too much dissension and resentment within Christ’s body over miniscule matters. Too much, I an me, instead of we and thou.
I don’t have to specify anything, because we all know of some negative matter affecting the smooth and godly running of our church, something that should not be taking place at all. And sadly, this disunity within the ranks of the church is turning others away in droves, for who wants to be a part of a body that’s cantankerous and quarrelsome eh?
It’s obviously disrupting Jesus’ LOVE Revolution, since LOVE cannot exist under those circumstances. We desperately need to fix the situation my fellow believers, for until there is true peace and sincere fellowship in Christ’s church, we’ll keep going backward instead of forward, and that’s totally unacceptable.
So let’s get serious about Christ’s business nuh, and stop all the petty infighting. Let’s focus on His cross and be as one, the way He desires us to be. That’s the only way we’ll accomplish anything positive.
Now let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings. With such a great variety of blessings, we ought to be able to fund unity in the church. 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!’
Please put them all into action now, by declaring them over others too. Much LOVE!
…at the cross…at the cross… where I first found Jesus…
07 Dec 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a crown of righteousness, a glorious future with Jesus, a positive difference, afraid, alive and kicking, all those who love his appearing, all who ask in faith, anchor themselves, another day another dollar, anxious, as soon as possible, basic premise, believe in God, believing what Jesus promised, blessings, death, death is at hand, devoid of, direction, doubt, dwellings, endurance, energy, energy for weariness, enjoy, faith, faith in doubt, fellowship, fight a good fight, finished my course, fought a good fight, gives liberally, glory hallelujah, guidance, halfway home, help, hope, I go to prepare a place, I will come again, I'm not looking back, important as life, In my Father's house, Jesus Christ, judgement day, kept the faith, laid up for me, LOVE, many mansions, meditating on god's word, mish-mash world, money, mortal coil, my hands are on the plough, obituaries, our heavenly Father, our Lord and Saviour, prayer, ready to be offered, receive you unto myself, run a strong race, shy away, strength, strength in weakness, surer than taxes, talk of death, the breath of life, the day of reckoning, the great divide, the righteous judge, there's always hope, time of departure, Timothy, weakness, weariness, Wednesday Wail, when life will end, while there is life, winning races
2 Timothy 4:7. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course (race), I have kept the faith.
Ah friends, another day, another dollar! But Ho! Some of you say that a dollar isn’t a dollar anymore, it’s more like fifty cents, or even less, and that’s possibly true.
But yuh know what my brethren, the money isn’t as important as the fact that we’re alive. Our pictures and eulogies aren’t in the obituaries, and that’s much more important than the money we might make today.
We’re alive and have the ability to do lots of good stuff in God’s name. And if by chance we aren’t kicking as strongly as we like, then we can always turn to our heavenly Father for help.
And here’s a good prayer that reflects our problem. I got it from one of the Daily Bread Devotionals. It simply says: ‘Father, at this moment, I turn to You for strength in my weakness, energy for my weariness, and faith in my doubt.’
Simple and straight to the point my people. And if you are sincere, the Lord, who gives liberally to all who ask in faith, will shower you with His blessings until you are kicking mightily. (smile)
Now, without further ado, let’s turn to our Bit, taken from what’s called Bruh Paul’s last testament, in his second letter to his protégé Timothy. And to keep everything in context, we’ll just do it all at once.
‘For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure (death) is at hand. 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.4:6-8)
Oh my fellow believers, there is so much stuff in those verses that still pertain to us. Let’s check them out. First of all, we all will die someday. And a lot of us shy away from talk of death, but it’s the only sure thing in this crazy world, even surer than taxes. (smile)
And blessedly, through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, we have a great time to look forward to. But when that time comes, will be ready to meet our Heavenly Father on the other side of the great divide with strong faith and trust; eagerly expectant for what’s over there, gladly shuffling off this rough and difficult mortal coil?
Or will be afraid and anxious, devoid of or with little faith, not knowing, or rather believing what Jesus promised. ‘Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
In my Father’s house are many mansions (dwellings): if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.’ (John 14:1-3)
Ah friends, that’s the basic premise of our faith; belief in Jesus Christ! And if we aren’t ready when the time comes to depart, then obviously we won’t be able to say as proudly and confidently as Bruh Paul says in our Bit: ‘I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course (race), I have kept the faith.’
And we desperately and definitely need to be able to say that at the day of reckoning! You can’t fight a good fight in Jesus’ name if you don’t truly believe all He’s said, because that belief and faith is what makes you strong, keeps you ticking, has you eager to do His will.
Consequently, there might not be a crown of righteousness laid up for you on that judgement day. That’s why we all need strong faith, and that only comes by diligently reading and meditating on God’s Word, through regular fellowship and constant prayer.
So if we are neglecting any of those things, our faith will definitely not grow to the point that we can fight a good fight, and run a strong race, and thus attain that crown of righteousness which is laid up in heaven for all those who surely and steadfastly anchor themselves in the Word and work of God.
Now please don’t get discouraged if your personal situation doesn’t line up with what we’ve said, because it can always be changed, preferably right now, by going to the Father and asking for strength, guidance and direction to run a good race in His name.
Remember while there is life, there’s ALWAYS hope. But we’re never sure when life will end, so we have to do what we need to do as soon as possible. Now let’s go home with joy and passion, proudly and boldly declaring our Wednesday Wail.
All together now, in strong voice and perfect harmony: ‘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!’
Yes friends, tomorrow we might see our name in the obits, (smile) but we have God’s gift of today, so please let’s enjoy it and go out and do our best to make a positive difference in this mish mash world we live in. For that’s what is expected of us, true believers. Much LOVE!
…winning races…needs strong faith and endurance…which can only be acquired through Almighty God…
27 Nov 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a bastion of mercy, a strife-filled world, abundantly pardon, actions, as black as the sea, awe, burn your bridges, changed, character, commandments, covenant, crying, death, earthly pangs, enemies, eternal life, fasted, feared, fellowship, forgiveness, go alone, God's help, habits, hear the prayer, hope, in Jesus Christ, iniquities, Jerusalem, joy, lay down by the lamb, led by a child, LOVE, Mahalia Jackson, mercies, mercy, Nehemiah, no more death, no sadness, no sorrow, no trouble, oh Lord I pray, pain, passed away, peace, Peace in the Valley, praise, prayed, rebellious behaviour, reverenced, sinful, sinful vein, strength, tame, the bear, the beasts from the wild, the children of Israel, the day of the Lord, the former things, the gift of God, the lamp is alight, the lion, the morning's so bright, the night, the power of life and death, the unrighteous, the wages of sin, the wicked, the wolves, Thomas A Dorsey, thoughts, thy servant, tired, to the Lord our God, treat people badly, truth, wait for the Lord, weary, wipe away all tears, wisdom, words, worship
Daniel 9:9. To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him.
Ah friends, it’s that great day, Sunday – the Day of the Lord – where we gather in His sanctuary to sing and praise and worship and fellowship and receive wisdom and strength to face the strife-filled world for another week. And to get us started, let’s sing this gospel song written in 1937 by Thomas A Dorsey for Mahalia Jackson. We all know it as ‘Peace in the Valley.’
In loud voice, with sincerity, harmony and passion: ‘Oh well, I’m tired and so weary But I must go alone Till the lord comes and calls, calls me away, oh yes Well the morning’s so bright And the lamp is alight And the night, night is as black as the sea, oh yes There will be peace in the valley for me, some day There will be peace in the valley for me, oh Lord I pray
There’ll be no sadness, no sorrow No trouble, trouble I see There will be peace in the valley for me, for me Well the bear will be gentle And the wolves will be tame And the lion shall lay down by the lamb, oh yes And the beasts from the wild Shall be led by a child And I’ll be changed, changed from this creature that I am, oh yes
There will be peace in the valley for me, some day There will be peace in the valley for me, oh Lord I pray There’ll be no sadness, no sorrow No trouble, trouble I see There will be peace in the valley for me, for me.’
And that’s the awesome truth as promised by our God! In the sweet bye and bye, life will be filled with peace: ‘And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.’ (Rev.21:4)
Yes my people, what a blessed day that will be! All our earthly pangs will disappear, as our wonderful God dwells with us, and we with Him, in everlasting peace and joy! It won’t get any better than that!
Now here is a Trini Quote of De Day from my Trini friend. It says: ‘Doh mess in de road, because yuh go pass back an mash it.’ Generally said to someone as advice not to treat people badly or make enemies, for you may have to pass back along that same road.’
I guess it could also be construed as don’t burn your bridges behind you, because one day you just might have to turn around and go back the way you came, and there’ll be lots of people waiting to give you what for. (smile)
And my Trini friend concludes: ‘Have a GREAT day, every DAY!!!! Watch your thoughts: They become words Watch your words: They become actions Watch your actions: They become habits Watch your habits: They become character.’ That’s all gospel truth my brethren! So please, let’s pay serious attention to our words nuh, for they also contain the power of life and death.
Now let’s turn to our Bit, the same one as yesterday. ‘To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him.’ More truth of awesome proportions precious children of God!
In spite of our very sinful and rebellious behaviour, our God is always ready, willing and obviously able to be merciful and forgiving if we come to Him in sincere repentance. It doesn’t mean though that there will be no consequences for our sinful behaviour. For the Lord just can’t let sin go by without some kind of retribution, otherwise sin would be even more rampant than it currently is.
Anyhow, today I want us to take a look at some scriptures which complement our Bit. And the first one comes from Isaiah, as he talks about free mercy to all. He solemnly declares on the Lord’s behalf: ‘Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.’ (Is.55:7)
Yes friends, our God is a bastion of mercy! (smile) Now listen to the psalmist from Psalm 130 – My soul waiteth for the Lord. ‘If thou, Lord, shouldest mark (take note of) iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared (reverenced with awe).
I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope… Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy (LOVING-kindness), and with him is plenteous (abundant) redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.’ (Ps.130:3-5, 7-8)
Meanwhile, Nehemiah, after hearing of the sad plight of Jerusalem, prayed and fasted before the Lord, ‘And said, I beseech thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible (awesome) God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that LOVE him (you) and observe (keep) his (your) commandments.
Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants , and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father’s house have sinned.’ (Neh.1:5-6)
Yeh friends, our God is a magnanimous and merciful God, but also a just and righteous God, He therefore cannot allow sin to go unpunished, especially when we, His supposed people, are so blatantly sinful and ungodly. Remember Nehemiah’s prayer for Jerusalem came about because of Israel’s unconcerned sinfulness, which caused the Lord to let them be taken captive to Babylon and the city destroyed.
The same thing could happen to us my people, or rather something disastrous WILL happen, if we continue in the very sinful vein that’s currently holding our society captive. Let’s pray, like Nehemiah did, for our sinful society, sincerely asking for mercy, as we try to get our sinfulness under control. And don’t forget, it’s only with God’s help, we can do that. Much LOVE!
…for the wages of sin is death…but the gift of God is eternal life…through (in) Jesus Christ our Lord… (Rom.6:23)
P.S. Please, remember to keep on praying for our friend and Scrip-Bit family member Scotty, who is still in the hospital. Much LOVE!
03 Nov 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: accomplishments, assurance, be not dismayed, blessed, confirmation, courage, creativity, curse, death, dr robert h schuller, eternity, faith, faith can move mountains, family, faults, fear not, God's presence, health, honour god, hope, I am thy God, I am with thee, I will help thee, I will strentehn thee, imperfections, Isaiah, keep keeping on, LOVE, magnificent and magnanimous God, negative word, new beginning, omni-present, omnipotent, omniscient, one door closes, opportunity, pride, promise, prosper, regrets, restoration of Israel, resurrection, right hand of my righteousness, righteousness., self-control, self-discipline, shortcomings, success, sunrise, sunset, the light of Christ, the road ahead, Thursday Blessings, time of ending, uphold htee, work for Jesus
Isaiah 41:10. Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
‘Oh rain, rain, go away, come again some other day!’ Aye mih people, how many of you remember that li’l ditty we sang so long ago, when the rain seemed to never stop falling?
Well I think I’m singing it this morning yes, because the rain’s been falling through most of yesterday evening right into this morning.
Obviously it’s dark and dreary out there, but believe me, the light of the Son, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is brilliantly shining like the noonday sun! Glory Be!
Let’s remember that even though we may not see it, God’s light is always brilliantly shining in our hearts, minds, bodies and souls.
Now listen to this devotion titled ‘When the Road Ahead is Short,’ from Gramps Schuller’s (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) Hour of Power Devotional. I’ve shared it before, but I think we need to hear it again.
Please pray with me. ‘O God, from the vantage point of today the road ahead looks very short. I sense that I am about to reach the end. Remind me that every time of ending is always a time of new beginning. Every time one door closes, another door opens.
Every sunset is a move closer to a new sunrise. Death is always the prelude to resurrection. Help me to forgive myself for my imperfections and faults. I dishonour you when I disgrace myself by nursing regrets over my human shortcomings.
Help me to honour you by recalling great accomplishments you’ve made possible through my life. So let me come to the end of the road with pride behind me, LOVE around me, and hope ahead of me – only to discover that what I thought was the end of the road is a bend in the road leading me into an exciting new world of opportunity or eternity. Amen.’
Yes friends, oftimes what we consider the end is merely a bend, and new opportunities flower and blossom before us, through new doors opened by our magnificent and magnanimous God. So we’re always to have hope, even, or rather, especially in the difficult times, for we never know what wonderful things our God is up to.
And that prayer blends in quite nicely with our Bit for today; Isaiah’s prophecy on the final restoration of Israel. Listen, as our great God faithfully proclaims: ‘Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.’
Oh my fellow believers, our God doesn’t change, which means that promise is still valid even today! And brother, do we ever need the assurance and confirmation of God’s renewing and strengthening presence in our lives in these end times.
Our world is swirling out of control with all sorts of war and strife, so we have to have something to keep us buoyed and strong enough to keep keeping on, though times look dark. And there’s nothing like the Word of God to do that.
Listen to Isaiah again as he promises that our enemies will be vanquished. ‘For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. Fear not, thou worm of Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.’ (Is.41:13-14)
Ah mih people, how many times do we encounter those two blessed words ‘Fear not,’ in the Good Book eh? Numerous times!
Our Redeemer keeps telling us not to be afraid, but we keep on being fearful, because our faith is lacking, and in the face of the world’s problems, we just can’t seem to settle down and take them in stride.
But friends, if the One whom we worship and adore tells us not to be afraid, then why should we be eh? He is the Creator and Controller of the universe; the omnipotent, omniscient and omni-present Being, who sees and knows everything and is everywhere.
As I said before, if we are still fearful with such a powerful, caring and compassionate Deity in our corner, then our faith is weak indeed. And remember the words of Hebrews: ‘But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.’ (Heb.11:6)
Oh precious people, I know it’s not easy in these trying times, but we do have the best of the best on our side; Almighty God. So there is no reason to fear or be anxious for anything, because with Him leading and guiding us through His Holy Spirit, which indwells us, we are certainly in the best of hands!
Now let’s go home, full of assurance and confidence, boldly declaring our Thursday Blessings, for remember a blessing is not a blessing until it’s been spoken over someone.
As one now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Now let’s go out and put them all into action, as we sincerely and diligently work for Jesus. Much LOVE!
…faith can certainly move mountains…but it must be strong faith…
24 Oct 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: atonement, aura of love, blessed, born again, born of God, care, compassion, complaining, confidence, death, energy, enthusiasm, everlasting life, faith, faithful, frailties, friends, fun, get with the programme, glorious kingdom, glory hallelujah, God's LOVE, grateful, Hades, hell, His only begotten Son, holy spirit, humble servants, in all things, invincible, Jesus Christ, Jesus' business, jobs, joy, lies, LOVE, Love makes the world go round, Lucifer, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, muttering, nay, negative actions, our Lord and Saviour, perish, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, sacrificing, salvation, sense of purpose, serve a useful purpose, shield, son of god, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, surrender, the cross at Calvary, the fray, the grave, the propitiation for our sins, the shed blood of Jesus, the trumpet is calling, through him that loved us, time to be up and about, trust, truth, ungodly world, we are more than conquerors, wisdom
Romans 8:37. Nay, in all things we are more than conquerors through him that LOVED us.
Awright friends, it’s Monday, so let’s get up and get a move on nuh. There’s no time for pushing the snooze button and rolling over. The trumpet is calling out yonder: It’s time to go to work! Time to be up and about Jesus’ business!
Yes my people, there’s no time for muttering and complaining. You weren’t muttering or complaining last night when you were up till all hours of the night having fun. So let’s cut out the negative actions now and get with the programme.
And to help us do that, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with plenty enthusiasm, energy and sense of purpose. As they say, fake it until you make it.
So let’s sing: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Oh friends, that rendition of our Battle Hymn was barely passable! How can such a lacklustre vocalization ever inspire anybody to go out and fight bravely eh? It’s obvious that our choirmaster, Jesus, wasn’t pleased. But as always, knowing our frailties, and having that great LOVE for us, He forgives us.
Nonetheless, now that our motors are running, let’s pick up the tempo and get ourselves into the fray of this new workweek, with Jesus, beside, behind and before us; in other words, all around us as a protective shield. That’s why we can so audaciously declare in our Bit: ‘Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that LOVED us.’
Yes precious people of God, once you are spiritually born again through the shed blood of Jesus on the cross at Calvary, then you have indeed become a conqueror through His having conquered hell, death and the grave. The same options are open to all who sincerely believe in Him and truly surrender their souls to His leading and guidance.
Now the last couple of days we have been talking about the conquering aspect of our Bit, today however, I want to talk about the LOVE portion. And isn’t that word LOVE, the greatest word in any language on planet earth? It certainly is! Why eh?
Listen to the most important verse in the God’s word. ‘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)
That’s the major purpose behind it all my faithful brethren. God’s LOVE was so great for us, His sinful creation, that He just could not live with Himself to see us all go down to Hades with Lucifer without some option for deliverance. ‘For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.’ (John 3:17)
And all those words were spoken by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the SON of God! So they just had to be true, since God cannot lie. That’s how blessed we are my people! Our Creator’s care and compassion for us was so strong, that He broke His own heart, by sacrificing His only Son, that we could be set free from the ravages of sin and death.
Now doesn’t that touch a soft spot in your heart, make you everlastingly grateful? It ought to. And it also ought to raise up your own LOVE for God, His Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit in thankful appreciation for all that they’ve done for you. But such is the ungratefulness and foolish pride of man that many of us just couldn’t care less about what the Holy Trinity has done, is doing, and will do for us.
Now let’s further develop this theory of LOVE. We have a saying that ‘LOVE makes the world go round,’ and if we follow and believe what John says in his later writings, then it might just be true.
Hear John theorize. ‘Beloved, let us LOVE one another: for LOVE is of God; and every one that LOVETH is born of God, and knoweth God. He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God is LOVE. In this was manifested (shown) the LOVE of God towards us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
Herein is LOVE, not that we LOVED God, but that he LOVED us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation (atonement) for our sins. Beloved, if God so LOVED us, we ought also to LOVE one another.’ (1 John 4:7-11)
And that’s the crux of the disastrous situation right now in our world; we don’t LOVE one another!
And we not talking about no big setta LOVE nuh, with plenty hugging and kissing etc; (smile) but just simple brotherly kindness, goodwill, care and compassion for each other. Now that’s what will make our world go round!
Ah friends, if we want to see our world become a better place, both for ourselves and our descendants, then I implore us to start showing that goodwill, that brotherly LOVE to each other. It’s not too late, and with God’s help we can certainly do it. So let’s begin today nuh; there’s no better time than right now! Much LOVE!
…without more basic LOVE…our world WILL NOT survive for much longer…
23 Oct 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abounding in God's work, ambassadors, aroma, aroma of death, ascension, backbone, bear me, belly, blessings, Calvary, celebrations, cheer, comforting power, communication, conquerors, control, Corinthians, cross at Calvary, death, defeat the foe, encouragement, evil powers, evil twins, faith, faithful, fall in our laps, fellowship, foot soldiers, fragrance, futile, glory hallelujah, glory to God, God's LOVE, good and true, grace, grief, hell, help, holy spirit, I choose Jesus, in all things, in faith, in time of grief, in vain, incense, Jesus, justified, keep keeping on, knowledge, labour, life, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, meditate, mercies, nay, need a friend, over the stormy sea, praise, prayer, raise our voices, reassurance, redeemed, reinvigorated, relief, resurrection, sacrifice, sanctified, saved our souls, savour, shield, sin, sincerity, slaves, steadfast, strong, Sunday, temptations, Thanks be to God, thanksgiving, the best for me, the day of the Lord, the grave, the law, the prince of evil, the sting of death, the straight and narrow path, through Christ, through him that loved us, to guide my soul, to yonder shore, trials, tribulations, triumph, unmovable, victory, we are more than conquerors, well rewarded, wisdom, words of truth, world supremacy, worship, your labour is not in vain
Romans 8:37. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that LOVED us.
Once again it’s Sunday friends – the day of the Lord – so let’s begin our celebrations of praise, worship and thanksgiving with a wise and sensible hymn titled ‘I choose Jesus.’ What can be wiser than that eh? Absolutely nothing!
So let’s raise our voices in glorious song. ‘When I need someone in time of grief, Someone my cheer to be, Jesus I choose, for He gives relief, He is the best for me. (Refrain) – I choose Jesus when I need a friend, What I need I know that He will send; I have proved Him, good and true is He; I choose Jesus, He is the best for me.
When I need someone to guide my soul Over the stormy sea, Always to Jesus I give control, He is the best for me. (Refrain) When I need help to defeat the foe, Someone my shield to be, Always to Jesus in faith I go, He is the best for me. (Refrain)
When all my trials on earth are o’er, And the dark stream I see, Jesus shall bear me to yonder shore, He is the best for me. (Refrain) I choose Jesus when I need a friend, What I need I know that He will send; I have proved Him, good and true is He; I choose Jesus, He is the best for me.’
Oh my people what awesome words of truth and wisdom! Jesus is our everything; our be all and end all! Whatever we need we can find in Him, all we have to do is surrender our lives to Him. Then He comes in and takes control of our lives; leads and guides us along the straight and narrow path through the poignant and comforting power of the Holy Spirit.
Yeh friends, all we need is Jesus. As our Bit so rightly declares: ‘Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that LOVED us.’
Yes my fellow believers, through Jesus sacrifice on the cross at Calvary, His glorious resurrection and ascension, we have been redeemed, justified, sanctified and become conquerors over the evil powers that be.
Hear how Bruh Paul puts it to the Corinthians in his first missive to them. ‘The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain (futile) in the Lord.’ (1 Cor. 15: 56-58)
Ah friends, what wonderful words of encouragement and reassurance this Sunday morning! Words of indisputable truth! Through God’s eternal LOVE for us and His sacrifice of His sinless Son, we have been granted victory over the evil twins of sin and death. Glory Hallelujah!
But please note that everything doesn’t just fall in our laps without any sweat from us. We still need to be strong and faithful, full of plenty belly and backbone, and do God’s work, for once we diligently keep keeping on in faith, we will be well rewarded eventually.
Sadly though, that is where a lot of us fall down. We allow the trials and tribulations and temptations of this world to wear us down so that we aren’t of much use to Christ and His LOVE Revolution. That’s very unfortunate my brethren, because Christ is depending on us to be His foot soldiers, His ambassadors in the battle with the evil forces that are fighting against Him for world supremacy.
But we can’t be strong and faithful unless we continually read His word and meditate on it, as well as have meaningful communication with Him through constant prayer, and fellowship regularly with other believers.
So if you find that your faith is slipping, please go to God for help through the means we’ve just outlined. Pour out your heart to Him and let Him comfort and strengthen you. That’s the only way to be reinvigorated with His awesome blessing, mercies and grace.
But getting back to our topic, listen to Bruh Paul in his second missive to the Corinthians, as he talks about being triumphant in Christ. ‘Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to (leads us in) triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour (fragrance) of his knowledge by us in every place.
For we are unto God a sweet savour (the fragrance) of Christ, in (among) them that are saved, and in (among) them that perish. To the one we are the savour (aroma) of death unto death; and to the other the savour (aroma) of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things? For we are not as many who corrupt (peddle by trickery) the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of (from) God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.’ (2 Cor. 2: 14-17)
Yeh friends, in usual Bruh Paul fashion those statements are somewhat convoluted, but the scholars offer us some explanations. ‘2:14-17. Triumph (cf. Col.2:9-15): The imagery conveyed in the use of this term is of the Roman general who marched in victory with his entourage, consisting of two groups: them that are saved…and them that perish.
The former group referred to those allowed to live as slaves of the empire. The latter group comprised the condemned, who were being led to their death. Each group carried burning incense. The one was, verse 16, a savour of death unto death, the other was a fragrance of life unto life.
Calvary was the mighty display of the infinite power of a sovereign God. The human race was divided into two categories, those of life unto life and those of death unto death.’ (2 Cor.2:14-17)
Hope that explanation helps us to better understand what Bruh Paul is talking about. In ending friends, all I can say is ‘Glory to God, through Christ Jesus, that we ended up in the life unto life group!’ Much LOVE!
…who completely destroyed the prince of evil…JESUS…who had victory over hell, death and the grave…JESUS… who saved our sinful souls…Jesus…praise His holy name…
22 Oct 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: absolutely nothing, advice, alert, all things work together for good, angels, Anselm, aspires to inspire, backslide, can separate us, Christ Jesus our Lord, complain, create a flow, death, distress, enemy, everlasting, faith, faithfulness, famine, flaming torch, get started, God's purpose, inspiration, jehovah god, Job, labouring for the man, life, lives by faith, LOVE, more than conquerors, motivated, nakedness, not by sight, our journey with Christ, peril, persecution, powers, principalities, punch in, punch out, ready to go, redeem believers, salvation, sheep for the slaughter, something small, start small, succour, the called, the God of his fathers, the Good Book, the Love of Christ, the LOVE of God, the sword, things present, things to come, Though he slay me, through him that loved us, time clock, to them who love God, trials, tribulation, tribulations, unconditional, wisdom, yet will I trust in him
Romans 8:37. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that LOVED us.
And then it was Saturday! A day when most of us don’t have to go out and labour, punch in and out on the man’s time clock. Oh what a blessing! Although we might actually work harder at home doing household chores than when we’re out labouring for the man. But at least we can do how much we want, when we want and at the pace we want. Glory to God!
And would you believe, I have just the right inspiration this morning for us from our friend Anselm, who always aspires to inspire us for a better day.
And for this Saturday morning, Anselm advises: ‘Do something small and create a flow. Just clean your desk. Or pay your bills. Or wash the dishes. You just need to get started. When you have finished that small task you’ll feel more alert and ready to go do the next thing. You just have to get started to get motivated. So if you really don’t feel like doing anything, start with something small and work your way out and up.’
That’s pretty good advice my people, especially if you’re somewhat under the weather and you don’t feel like doing anything at all, but there are things you must do. Just start small and gradually work your way up to the big things. You’ll be surprised at how much you have accomplished at the end of the day.
Ah friends, life is certainly strange yes! And why do I say that? Because some days you need to tackle the big things first, the ones you fear or dread the most, else you’ll just keep on putting them off and they’ll never get done. At other times, like today, it’s the small stuff we need to do to motivate us into doing bigger ones.
And you know what? That ties in rather nicely to our Bit. But before we get to it, let’s set the scene with a couple of verses before it. ‘Who shall separate us from the LOVE of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that LOVED us.
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the LOVE of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ (Rom.8:35-39)
Oh my fellow believers in Jesus Christ, what a marvellous bit of scripture! Bruh Paul says that ABSOLUTELY NOTHING can separate us from the LOVE of God which is found in Christ Jesus. Glory Hallelujah! That is something to sing and shout and gloat about my people! For once we have become new creatures in Christ, NOTHING WHATSOEVER can break that bond; neither life, death, angels, nor the evil powers that be!
That should be very reassuring to all who come to Christ for rescue. Knowing that even though we may be considered simple sheep to be slaughtered, the unconditional and everlasting LOVE of God shall never depart from us and will comfort us through each and any situation, be it good or bad.
And the scholars offer this explanation. ‘8:38-39. We cannot be separated from God’s LOVE, because it is set forth in a person who is God Himself, Jesus Christ, our Saviour. God’s desire to redeem believers cannot be frustrated, because He is infinitely greater than any potential enemy. His plan will be realized because it is His purpose (cf. v.28).’
Yes my believing brethren, our God is the greatest power in the universe, because He created it and still controls it. Everything in it is subservient to Him. And His purpose for and towards us? Why, it’s something we all know, or should know.
The Good Book generously shares it with us, in the uplifting words of Bruh Paul. ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.’ (Rom.8:28)
And the scholars explain that verse thus: ‘8:28. To them that LOVE God is the human perspective. God is working all things together for good, but those who LOVE God are best able to appreciate that fact because they LOVE Him no matter what (cf. Job 13:15). To them who are the called is the divine perspective. Scripture often refers to believers as “the called” or “the elect.”
Yeh friends, only those who truly LOVE God can appreciate the fact that even during our worst trials and tribulations, He is in the background working it all out for our good eventually. And I’m going to spoon feed you here again (smile) because the scripture is so phenomenal and relevant to what we are talking about.
Listen to Job during his time of tribulation. ‘Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways (defend my ways) before him. He also shall be my salvation: for a hypocrite shall not come before him.’ (Job 13:15-16)
Now isn’t that the utmost in faith? It surely is! Job has suddenly lost everything, his family and his earthly possessions, through no fault of his own, or no evil deed, but yet still he carries the flaming torch of trust and faith in the God of his fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
Mama Mia! How many of us possess such great faith today eh my people? Certainly not enough, for as soon as the first lash hits, and no succour is forthcoming from God, many of us begin to complain, lose faith and backslide.
Hear the scholars on Job’s faithfulness. ’13:15. Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him expresses the unquenchable faith of one who lives by faith, not by sight. Even when it appears that God Himself has turned against Job, he will still trust in God.’
Ah mih people, there’s no more for me to say, except that we should sincerely ponder those scriptures that we’ve touched on today and try to see where they fit into our journey with Christ, and as always, turn to Jehovah God and ask for help in bettering ourselves faith wise. That’s the greatest wisdom available to mankind. Much LOVE!
…only when one truly walks by faith…and not by sight…can one truly appreciate the LOVE of God…found in Jesus Christ…
04 Sep 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a candle glows, a flower grows, above the storm, all the rpoof available, believers in Jesus Christ, best gift, blessed, condemnation, death, emphasis, encouraged, eternal life, everlasting life, faith, fellowship, fighting in the trenches, foolishness, for every drop of rain that falls, for everyone that goes astray, for God so loved the world, from our lips, he that believes on him that sent me, he that hears my word, hears every word, heartfelt sincerity, His only begotten Son, hope, I am the resurrection, I believe, I hear a newborn baby cry, Jane froman, judgement, Lazarus, life, lifted up the serpent, Lucifer, Martha, Moses, Nicodemus, passed from death to life, perish, Pharisees, Praise the Lord, receptive to God's word, refreshed, Sabbath, sacrifice of praise, see the sky., shall never die, someone in the great somewhere, someone will come to show the way, somewhere in the darkest night, spiritual lives, strong, thanksgiving, the Christ, the Lord's Day, the necessity for belief, the power of, the smallest prayer, the Son of God, the Son of man, things of creation, though he were dead, touch a leaf, touched a sore spot, trials, tribulations, uplifted, verily verily, will still be heard, worship
John 5:24. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation (judgement); but is passed from death into life.
Well well my faithful believers in Jesus Christ, we’ve been blessed once again to see the start of a new week!
And all God’s people declared a loud and grateful ‘Praise the Lord!’
But my brethren, we can, and we will do better than that this Sunday morning, the Lord’s Day. Let’s offer up the sacrifice of praise and worship and thanksgiving from our lips, as we sing the old but still beautiful and soulful song, ‘I believe.’
With heartfelt sincerity and true belief, let’s sing. ‘I believe for every drop of rain that falls A flower grows I believe that somewhere in the darkest night A candle glows I believe for everyone that goes astray Someone will come to show the way I believe I believe I believe above the storm the smallest prayer Will still be heard I believe that someone in the great somewhere Hears every word
Every time I hear a newborn baby cry Or touch a leaf Or see the sky Then I know why I believe Every time I hear a newborn baby cry Or touch a leaf Or see the sky Then I know why I believe (Why I believe).’
Ah friends, that touched a sore spot in my soul! Hope it did in yours too. It just goes to show how the small and simple things of creation can play a big part in our spiritual lives.
Now the story goes that ‘I believe’ was commissioned in 1953 by a lady named Jane Froman, who was troubled by the Korean War so soon after World War 2. She asked these four guys, Ervin Drake, Irvin Graham, Jimmy Shirl and Al Stillman to compose a song that would offer hope and faith to the populace. And it certainly does!
Froman seems to have introduced it on her T V. programme, and it became the first hit song ever introduced on the tube. It’s been recorded numerous times by different artists and consequently, over the ensuing years, has become both a popular and religious standard.
And since it has touched a sore spot in our souls, I believe that it has made us very receptive to God’s word this Sunday morning, as we go to church to hear it preached, and praise Him in fellowship with other believers.
Oh my people, we all need to get our weekly fix of fellowship and worship, which leaves us refreshed and uplifted, encouraged and strong, ready to face another week of fighting in the trenches. Without that fix friends, we won’t be able to withstand the trials and tribulations that will come against us.
So please, let’s not deny ourselves that most necessary washing and cleansing and rejuvenating that occurs when we fellowship in the Lord’s sanctuary on a Sunday morning. In other words, please, let’s get up and get out to church! It’s the best thing we can do, the best gift we can give ourselves today. End of sermon. (smile)
That brings us to our Bit: ‘ Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation (judgement); but is passed from death into life.’ Yeh friends, it all turns on that simple but beautiful, life changing and life-giving word ‘belief!’
Here Jesus is talking to the Pharisees about the Son’s relationship to the Father, after they desired to kill Him because He healed a sick man on the Sabbath. It’s so simple; if we hear His word and believe in the Father who sent Him, then we’ll face no judgement and embrace everlasting life. Wow! What a wonderful opportunity!
But the foolish, self-righteous Pharisees refused to believe. And there are a lot of people like them to day still, who in spite of all the proof available, still refuse to believe. But that’s their hard luck! You can’t make anyone believe, even when they are in possession of all the facts.
Now let’s look at a couple of other Scriptures where Jesus placed the all-important emphasis on belief. And we all know the famous lines following these two verses, where Jesus was talking to Nicodemus.
‘And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up. That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 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 3:14-16)
There again my people, in two consecutive verses Jesus reiterates the power of, the necessity for belief. And He’s still saying it today! But in this evil and ungodly world people are not paying attention to His word. We still are following the foolishness of Lucifer.
Steups! What a pity! Life could be so wonderful if we’d all, or at least a majority of us would truly believe in Jesus. But I guess them’s the breaks. We all reap what we sow. And if we don’t sow belief in Jesus, then I guess we won’t reap eternal life.
And we’ll close with these immortal words of Jesus to Martha, after her brother Lazarus had 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)
Ah friends, Jesus was again signifying there His power to give eternal life! And what was Martha’s reply? ‘She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.’ (John 11:27)
Yes precious people of God, Martha was smart, she believed! Now what about us eh, do we believe too? And I mean truly believe, not merely paying lip service. I sincerely hope that we do, because it will mean the difference between enjoying eternal life in Christ’s presence, or everlasting death with Beelzebub!
Personally, I don’t think there’s any doubt about the wise and sensible choice. Hope you recognize and make it too. Much LOVE!
…as for me and mine…we WILL believe in Jesus…
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