01 Oct 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a bribe, a bright and sunshiny day, a double heart, all lie in wait for blood, an inconsistent mind, as silver tried in a furnace, be careful whom you listen to, catching our second wind, deceitfulness, do evil with both hands successfully, don't give up hope, endure to the end, enter into peace, everyone with their neighbour, evil has a stranglehold on our world, evil tendencies, eyes fixed straight ahead, faith, find comfort in the Lord, flattering lips, flowing through me, fraudulence, from among the children of men, from him that puffeth at him, God shall preserve the Godly, greater than he that's in the world, halfway home, hands on the plough, He who is in us, Help Lord, holy spirit, hunt every man, hunt every man his brother with a net, insincere flattery, Jesus Christ, just a matter of time, looking forward to a glorious future with Jesus, LOVE, materialism, merciful men are taken away, mercy, no one takes it to heart, not looking back, now will I arise saith the Lord, on a large scale, our lips are our own, preserve them from this generation, prideful speech, purified seven times, pursue the Lord's work, rampant in our world, reinvigorated, rest in their beds, resting in peace, salvation, Schemers don't take a break, set him in safety, so they scheme together, spiteful speech against the righteous, stay strong and persevering, taken away from the evil to come, thank God, the breath of life, the faithful disappear from amomg the children of men, the faithful fail, the first day of October, the godly man ceaseth, the good man is perished out of the earth, the great man utter his evil desire, the judge asks for a reward, the Lord shall destroy all flattering lips, the oppression of the poor, the prince asks for gifts, the righteous, the righteous perish, the sighing of the needy, the tongue that speaketh proud things, the vilest men are exalted, the wicked walk on every side, the words of the Lord are pure words, there is none upright among men, they speak vanity, to escape the ongoing fraudulent schemes, truth, walk a fine line, walking in his uprightness, Wednesday Wail, who is lord over us, wisdom, with a productive excellence, with our tongue we will prevail
Psalm 12:1. Help (save), Lord, for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail (disappear) from among the children of men.
Wow mih bredrin, October has opened this Wednesday morning just like September closed yesterday; bright and sunshiny and fairly warm! Glory be! Let’s hope that October gives us a bit more of that summer-like weather before the cold season comes in, because it will, for as Brook Benton so wisely said in his song: ‘It’s just a matter of time!’ (smile) And I also hope that we are catching our second wind this middle day of the work week, and thus be reinvigorated to pursue the Lord’s work with an aggressive, productive excellence, as He desires of us.
Now, today I want us to look at another interesting psalm, Psalm 12, titled ‘God Shall Preserve the Godly.’ In it Bruh David speaks of the effects of vain, proud and spiteful speech against the righteous. So please read with me as Bruh David pleads: ‘Help (save), Lord, for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail (disappear) from among the children of men.’ (Ps. 12:1)
And friends, those words written so long ago are still ever so true today…if not truer than they’ve ever been, since evil and ungodliness have taken such a stranglehold on our current world. Godly people are surely disappearing from our societies at a rather rapid rate, as materialism and evil tendencies daily increase amongst the populace.
Then Bruh David continues: ‘They speak vanity (idly, falsely) every one with their neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart (an inconsistent mind) do they speak).’ (Ps. 12:2) That’s also ever so true on a very large scale in our society today. Deceitfulness, fraudulence, insincere flattery, prideful speech, all these things are rather rampant in our world, and you have to be oh so careful of whom you listen to and how you respond to them.
And to make matters worse, today’s schemers don’t ease up, they don’t take a break. Like Beelzebub, they just keep attacking you with a merciless regularity. I can personally testify to that, as every day, at all hours, my phone keeps ringing with long distance numbers I don’t know, and my junk e-mail is also filled with invitations from veritable strangers. It’s a fine line we need to walk to escape the many ongoing fraudulent schemes.
And sadly Bruh David was not the only one who wrote on the subject, the prophets Isaiah and Micah also had something to say about it. Isaiah puts it this way. ‘The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth (takes) it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come (presence of evil).’ (Is. 57:1)
Meanwhile Micah says it thus: ‘The good (faithful, loyal) man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net. That they may do evil with both hands earnestly (successfully), the prince asketh (asks for gifts), and the judge asketh for a reward (bribe); and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous (evil) desire: so they wrap it up (scheme together.) (Mic.7:2-3)
Oh my people, it seems like Micah is still living today, for he paints the picture exactly how it’s happening. And that means we need to walk a very fine line to escape the many ongoing fraudulent schemes. But thankfully Bruh David gives us some encouragement for the detestable situation, when he writes: ‘The Lord shall cut off (destroy) all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud (great) things: Who have said, With our tongue we will prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us?’ (Ps. 12:3-4)
Now that’s a good question, and the vain and proud and deceitful ought to take notice, because their tongues do not belong to them; they belong to their Creator, Almighty God. Thus: ‘For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the Lord; I will set him in safety (the safety for which he yearns) from him that puffeth at him.’ (Ps. 12:5)
Yes friends, the Lord God is indeed our deliverer, and we need to believe that with all of our heart and soul, if we expect His help. For as Bruh David continues; ‘The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever. The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted.’ (Ps. 12:6-8)
And isn’t that the gospel truth! We see it in spades in our current world, where some of the vilest men ever have been exalted, and beside them are walking evil doers of every race, creed and class. What a sad situation. But let’s remember what Bruh David says above there; ‘the Lord shall keep them, and preserve them from this generation for ever.’ And that’s the indisputable truth, for as Bruh Daivd also says, the Lord’s words are as true as silver that’s been purified seven times. Can you imagine how pure that silver is after being purified so often. Well, that’s how true the Lord’s word is also.
And we’ll end with this reassuring verse from Isaiah, re the righteous perishing: ‘He shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness.’ (Is. 57:2) Yes my people, that’s the reward the Lord has for the righteous…walking in uprightness and resting in peace. So please don’t give up hope because evil and evil doers are running rampant in our world. Let’s remember that He who is in us, is greater than he that’s in the world, (1 John 4:4), so we shall conquer them eventually, if we only stay strong and persevering.
Now, let’s go home declaring our Wednesday Wail, letting the whole world know of our wonderful position in Christ Jesus. As one strong and sincere voice: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
And fortunately, it’s been promised that all who endure with Jesus right to the very end, will see a future even more glorious than they can ever ask or imagine. So please, let’s endure to the end nuh, so that we can enjoy that more than glorious future together! Much LOVE!
…the righteous may suffer…but they’ll find comfort…in the Lord and His infallible, comforting Word…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
08 Jan 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a crown of righteousness, a full work week, deceitfulness, faith, fiery trial, finished my course, fought a good fight, get us to lose heart, holy spirit, humble servants, if any man suffer as a Christian, in heaviness, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus Christ, kept the faith, let him glorify God on this matter, let him not be ashamed, lies, LOVE, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, more precious than gold, pray, refining faith through trials, rejoice with joy unspeakable, reproached for the name of Christ, salvation, sincerey seek your face, some strange thing happened to you., suffer without complaints, temptation, the God who heals, the spirit of glory rests on you, the trial of your faith, them that love his appearing, to be discouraged, to faint, tried with fire, truth, wiles, wisdom, wise guidance
1 Peter 4:16. Yet, if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf (matter).
And the first full work week in a while has dawned damp and cloudy, and undoubtedly some of us will find it difficult to handle the full five days. But we must rise up to the challenge if this year is to be a very important one in the annals of the Christian faith. The one where we make a significant impact on the negative, sinful, ungodly and evil doings of our world, as encouraged by the enemy. And believe me Satan won’t take out offensive decisions and actions lying down. No! He will increase his efforts of temptation and deceitfulness to get us to lose heart, to faint and be discouraged.
But friends, we can only gain the victory if we stand strong and steadfast in the promises and LOVING-KINDNESS of Christ, and not fall prey to the tempter’s wiles and lies! And he is very good at what he does, so please don’t think we can ever defeat him on our own. We most definitely need the help of the Holy Spirit to do it successfully. We need to be as Peter describes in his first epistle.
‘Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried (tested) with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing (revelation) of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye LOVE; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.’ (1 Pet. 1:6-9)
Yes friends, while we are alive in this world our faith will be tried, first by the devil through manifold or diversified temptations, and also by God, to see if our faith can stand the test of those temptations better than gold can stand the test of fire. As the scholars explain: ‘The problem of salvation looks to the present. Earthly trials constitute a problem of our salvation, but they are only for a season, or temporary. True faith cannot be destroyed though God is in the process of refining faith through our trials.’
Oh my people, if our faith is strong and true, then it will not be destroyed by God’s testing nor the devil’s provocation! And Peter solidifies that later in the chapter, when he talks about being partakers in Christ’s suffering. ‘Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you. But rejoice, inasmuch as (to the extent that) ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
If ye be reproached (insulted) for the name of Christ, happy (blessed) are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of (blasphemed), but on your part he is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief or as an evildoer, or as a busybody (meddler) in other men’s matters. Yet, if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf (matter).’ (1 Pet. 4:12-16)
No doubt about it mih bredrin, the Christian life can be a difficult one to live, but if we stand up strong for Jesus and suffer whatever it is that comes against us in His name, with a true sense of purpose, then we will be well rewarded in the end. We need to be able to say like Bruh Paul did to Timothy: ‘I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course (run my race), I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that LOVE his appearing.’ (2 Tim. 4:7-8)
So my fellow saints, that’s some of what we are up against if we truly desire to live for Christ and make a significant difference in this year of 2024! There’ll be temptations from Satan, tests from God, unjust accusations and trials, simply because we profess Christ’s name. However, in all these things we are expected to stand strong through Christ who strengthens us through His indwelling Holy Spirit. Now, there are times when we will falter and or fail, and God knows and expects that, but we must always get up and try again, for in Christ’s vocabulary the words ‘give up’ don’t exist. No friends, giving up is NEVER an option.
And if overall, we run a good earthly race and fight a good fight, then we will be handsomely rewarded come the judgement day with a crown of righteousness by the righteous judge, the Lord God Jehovah Himself! Now what can be better than that to look forward to eh? NOTHING my brethren, absolutely NOTHING! Now, with all of that possibly sitting on some of us like a heavy load, let’s take our problems to the throne of grace through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, so that we can find help in time of need.
Altogether now: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face.
So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’
And as our prayer so wisely advises, if we expect to receive divine help, then a good place to begin is turning from our evil ways, with sincere repentance in our hearts. Much LOVE!
…Jesus suffered much for us…without complaints…and we are also expected to suffer some for Him…without complaints…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
03 Mar 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a positive note, action, action based, Almghty God, almighty god, anxiety, anxious thoughts, atonement for our sins, awesome Son Jesus Christ, Beelzebub, beginning the day with Jesus, Bruh David, calm and peace of God, calm our storms, Calvary, christianity, confidence, control, cut him some slack, daily ritual, deceit of the enemy, deceitfulness, delivered my soul, deliverer, despair, die on the cross, enemies, everything will work out for our good, faithful, faithfully walking with Jesus, frail, from strength to strength, generous, glory, God is never late, guidance, gullible minds, Hades, hope in the Lord God, I wait all day long, jehovah god, just in time, keep it unto the end, lead me in a plain path, Lent, LOVE, loving kindness, Lucifer, maganimous God, mercy, Most High God, negative, O Lord, omnipotent, peace, promises, prosperity, protection, Redeemer, reverential awe, smart, Son Jesus, spreading God's Word, stand strong, strength, talk show, Teach me thy way O Lord, thanks and praise, the beauty of knowing Jesus, the bondage of sin, the depths of fear, the god of Jacob, The God of my salvation, the ladder of success, the straight and narrow path, the way of thy statutes, tired and out of sorts, tough times, tribulations, true, true followers of jesus, truth, unconditional LOVE, walk a smooth path, walk in thy truth, walking with Jesus, wisdom, with God's help, with Jesus leading the way, woldly
Psalm 27:11. Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain (smooth) path, because of mine enemies.
Oh Friends, the ole fella woke up late, somewhat tired and out of sorts this morning, so you have to cut him some slack eh. (smile)
But nonetheless, I remembered to give our wonderful God some thanks and praise for bringing me safely through the dark night into the beautiful and brilliant light of His awesome Son Jesus, on this glorious Tuesday in Lent!
That’s because it is only through His enduring and never ending mercy and LOVING-kindness that I’m alive to see another day. I also remembered to ask Him for strength, guidance, wisdom and confidence to stay on the straight and narrow path that leads to Him, while spreading His Word, as well as the peace and LOVE that He desires of me.
Oh my people, that’s a daily ritual we’ll all go through if we’re smart and walking with Jesus! For when we begin the day on a positive note with Almighty God, our day goes much better than if we begin with a set of negative, worldly, anxious thoughts flooding our frail and gullible minds.
Beginning the day with Jesus, we move from strength to strength, going up the ladder of success and prosperity. However, starting out with Lucifer invading our thoughts, just keeps taking us down lower and lower, and finally into the depths of fear, anxiety and despair. And that certainly is never a good place to be my brethren!
So please, let’s remember to begin each and every day on the right note, with Jehovah God, so that even if our whole world seems to be falling down around us, we will still have the calm and peace of God, and His everlasting confidence to face the tribulations, knowing that He is in perfect control, and will eventually work everything out for our good.
Life is already difficult as it is, why make it more difficult by holding on to the lies and deceit of the enemy eh, when we can hold on to the true, generous, faithful and wonderful promises of our omnipotent and magnanimous God? And that’s today’s sermon! (smile)
Now let’s turn to our most appropriate Bit, just one verse after the one of yesterday, for that’s where I was led. And in it, Bruh David sincerely declares: ‘Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain (smooth) path, because of mine enemies.’
Yes Friends, we all have people and things that come against us, but when we are true followers of Jesus, and have His Word engraved in our hearts, we can stand strong in those tough times and walk a path that’s smooth and calm, with Jesus leading the way.
As we said above, if we give in to Beelzebub and his deceitfulness, then we’ll experience a path strewn with obstacles that we’re too afraid and anxious to deal with.
Now Jesus doesn’t necessarily calm our storms, but He does give us the wherewithal to face and go through them without a whole lot of fear and anxiety. And that’s the beauty of knowing His ways and faithfully walking with Him in them!
Now listen to some scripture that upholds our contention, starting with Bruh David from Psalm 25 – A prayer for guidance and protection. He again seeks to know the ways of God. ‘Show me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.’ (Ps.25:4-5)
Yeh Friends, we do need to look to the Most High God for guidance and salvation! For he is the One who, through His great and unconditional LOVE for us, sent His Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross to procure the atonement of our abominable sins.
But remember too that sometimes our pleas will not be answered right away, so there will be some waiting involved. But note that our God is NEVER LATE, for He is the God of just in time!
And we all know these fateful and faithful words of Psalm 119, where the psalmist beseeches God: ‘Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end.’ (Ps.119:33) Again my brethren, we have to note the last words of that verse ‘and I shall keep it unto the end.’
For what good is the Lord teaching us His ways, if we don’t keep them eh? None whatsoever!
But unfortunately, many of us only want to learn His ways to get through whatever difficulty is currently confronting us, and after that is resolved, we forget about those ways until the next time we find ourselves in a difficult situation.
But that’s not how it ought to be my people. We ought to learn the ways of the Lord and faithfully keep them from that time until forever! That’s what he desires and expects of us, and really the only path in this world that makes any sense at all.
And we’ll end with some more appropriate words of Bruh David from Psalm 86 – Teach me thy way, O Lord. ‘Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart (give me singleness of heart) to fear thy name (to have reverential awe for you).
I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore. For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell (from the depths of Hades).’ (Ps.86:11-13)
Oh my brethren, what words of indisputable truth and glory! For it is indeed the Lord God who truly has delivered our souls from the sure destination of Hades, through the sacrificial atonement of Jesus’ death on the cross of Calvary.
Otherwise, without the option of heaven, we would all be surely bound for death and destruction with Lucifer, the prince of darkness. And that’s not a very pleasant thought or destination!
So all God’s children declared a loud and grateful: ‘Thank You Father for sending Jesus to be our redeemer and deliverer! And thank You Jesus for being selfless and obedient to the Father’s will, thus setting us free from the bondage of sin. We glorify You and praise Your holy name! Amen!’
Now Friends, let’s go out into the cruel and evil world and put all that we’ve spoken about today into action. Remember that Christianity is an action based and action packed movement, not simply a talk show, as we often tend to make it. Much LOVE!
…happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help…whose hope is in the Lord his God… (Ps.146:5)
P.S. It’s pretty late, but with God’s help, also pretty good! (smile) Much LOVE!
26 Sep 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: ask, assaulted teenagers, assess, authority figures, beautiful day, better and brighter days, brilliant sunshine, Christians, commandments, confidence, confidence in God, conversion to Christ, deceitfulness, edification, effective prayer, emotionally violated, encouragement, endurance, evil heart, exhort one another daily, exhortation, faith, faithful, glorifies, God's house, God's plans. purposes, God's promises, God's will, gospel truth, hallmark, harden your hearts, heart condemns, hip hip hurray, holy spirit, homosexual urges, influential positions, Israel did not believe, Jesus Christ, Jesus' church, keep the faith, life of purity, living God, LOVE, Moses, nuture the seed, partakers of Christ, patience, perseverance, physically violated, pleasing in God's sight, probation, promises, rape, reality of faith, receive, recompense, religion, reward, scripture, seeds, sin, standard of Christian living, steadfast unto the end, successful praying, take it to heart, take note of, teacher remiss, test, theology, today, true believer, trust, trustworthy positions, truth, turn them straight, unbelief, undeniable truth, warning, well-spring, wisdom, wrongdoing, youth pastor
1 John 5:14. And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us.
Oh Friends, another beautiful day is about to dawn in my neighbourhood, and I hope in yours too! This past week has really been marvellous; brilliant sunshine and temps in the high teens and low twenties! And hopefully, the weatherman is right, when he forecasts that this wonderful weather will continue for the rest of the week.
But sadly though Friends, once more I have to ask, what’s our world coming to eh? I don’t know if this story I received in a newsletter is true, but if it is, then the Lord help us yes!
Apparently this youth pastor in Iowa, in the U.S. confessed to raping at least four teenagers, according to him, ‘to turn them straight.’ Hn! His actions were bad enough, but listen to this. The judge sentenced him to 17 years in prison, then turned around and suspended the sentence, instead giving him 5 years probation.
Ah Lord eh! And it seems that he assaulted more than four teenagers over the years, for at least four more young men have come forward with the same claim. And this wasn’t simply a one and done thing either, but some of the assaults seem to have gone on for more than four years. All ‘to help them with homosexual urges.’
Steups! How can these young men ever trust authority figures again eh? Some of them might even continue the wrongdoing. They trusted their pastor, one of the most influential and trustworthy positions in our society, only to be physically and emotionally violated by him. And then all he gets is probation….
Something about all of that just doesn’t sound right nuh people. But I’ll let the Lord be the judge, and stick to my task. So here’s our Bit: ‘And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us.’
It’s the last day Friends… And many voices sang: ‘Hip, hip, hurray! (smile) I know some of you don’t like to see the same Bit everyday, but my brethren, when there’s a lot of scripture to share on a topic, it would be very remiss of me to not share and or point them out. Isn’t that what a teacher is supposed to do?
And having confidence in God, His plans, purposes and promises is of the utmost importance for all believers, because it’s hope and faith we live by, things that are not readily seen by the naked eye, but have to come from a well-spring deep inside of us.
And we’re going to begin in Hebrews 3, moving on from yesterday, where we saw that Moses was faithful, but yet still only a servant in God’s house, while Jesus, the Son, built His own house, the church.
Today, the author of Hebrews is warning that under Moses, Israel failed to believe. But if we should now hear Christ’s voice calling out to us through the Holy Spirit, we should not harden our hearts. (Heb.3:7-11)
‘Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called TODAY; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made (have become) partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end;’ (Heb.3:12-14)
What wisdom and truth my Friends!
And the scholars have this to say about the last verse. ‘3:14. One’s conversion to Christ, which occurred in days past (we are made partakers of Christ), is proved to have been genuine by perseverance in the days to come (if we hold…our confidence steadfast unto the end). This means that continuance in the faith is a test of the reality of one’s faith in Christ.’
And that’s certainly true my people! If we don’t keep the faith, then we’re not true believers!
Now listen to this scripture from 1 John 3, where he’s trying to nurture the seed that’s already been planted in the hearts of his readers; that they should LOVE one another.
‘BELOVED, if our heart condemn us not, then we have confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. (1 John 3:21-22)
And the scholars explain those verses thus: ‘3:21-22. If our heart condemn us not: We have confidence toward God if our lives are in line with the standard of Christian living set forth above. John is not saying that whether a person is right or wrong is simply a matter of how he subjectively feels about himself.
That is why John has given so many indicators and commands for Christians to take note of and assess themselves by. And one of the great results of a life lived in purity before God is a life where there is effective prayer. Right living is an important part of successful praying.’
More undeniable truth Friends!
And I’ve left this well known scripture for last, because it truly gets to the heart of the matter. (smile) It comes from Hebrews 10 and says: ‘Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience (endurance, perseverance), that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.’ (Heb.10:35-36)
Oh Friends, what magnificent scripture! It contains seeds of warning, wisdom, encouragement, edification, exhortation and promise! Wow! (smile)
Please let’s take it to heart today, and live our lives to suit, because it’s simply gospel truth! And if we do hope to see better and brighter days, then our lives must encompass all those things written in that scripture. Much LOVE!
…coming to believe in Christ…having the utmost trust and confidence in His power and promises…and living a life that glorifies Him…is the hallmark of a true believer…
24 Aug 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a step backwards, actions of man, back to school, believers, blame game, breakdown of the family, chameleons, church, commensurate action, confidence in man, confidence in princes, constant fear, deceitful above all things, deceitfulness, deceptions, deceptiveness, divine direction, ever-faithful God, evil deeds, faithful God, faithful promises, fellowship, food for thought, fruit of his deeds, gospel truth, grieved the Lord's heart, hazardous act, heartbreaks, holy presence, incurably sick, Jesus Christ, lazy weekend, let our faith soar, lies, LOVE, make ends meet, man's innermost being, man's natural disposition, outsourcing, price to pay, progress, proper fellowship with God, redeemed heart, redeeming grace, refined by the fire, religion, righteous purposes, spirituality, stand strong in Christ, sunshine and roses, take heart, the heart is deceitful, the Lord searches hearts, theology, tree of life and knowledge, true motives, trust, umemployment, untrustworthiness, weekends, wickedness, working two jobs
Jeremiah 17:9. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked (incurably sick): who can know it?
And then it was Saturday… Hip, hip hurrah! (smile) Long time I haven’t heard that one. Yes Friends, it’s Saturday with all its late rising due to tiredness from the workweek, plus from Friday night’s partying, with more plans for partying later on. Let’s hope though, that somewhere in our busy and /or lazy weekend, there are also plans for church and fellowship with other believers.
Unfortunately, some people work harder at home on the weekends than they do during the week at their places of employment. What with young children to look after – no baby sitter then, laundry to be done, groceries bought, the house cleaned, and all the necessary preparations for the following week.
Some people, especially mothers long for the week to begin. And with school soon opening, hn! That means more shopping for new fashionable stuff to wear, and all the other accoutrements for back to school. It’s a good thing my days for that stuff are over. Thank You Lord!
No wonder a lot of parents aren’t too enamoured of the weekends since their personal lives get even busier than during the week. But Friends, that’s the price they say we have to pay for progress, although I really don’t see how we can call it progress, when we’re so busy that we don’t have much time for ourselves.
And with both parents out working now, often at more than one job, just to make ends meet, that seems to be a step backwards rather than forwards, especially when you add stuff like the breakdown of the family, the high unemployment rate and the constant fear in the air of losing one’s job to outsourcing in some undeveloped country.
Anyway my brethren, I know it’s rough out there for many of us, and it’s liable to get rougher before it gets better. But as believers, we need to stand strong in Christ and the faithful promises of our wonderful and ever-faithful God.
Now He never promised that life would always be sunshine and roses, but that He will not cause us to suffer more than we can bear, and will bring us out of anything He allows us to go through, refined by the fire. So we need to let our faith soar, to take heart and believe that our Creator will come through for us, as He’s promised.
And talking about heart, let’s finally bring in our Bit: ‘The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked (incurably sick): who can know it?
And that’s gospel, gospel truth my people! Our hearts are so deceptive, and change so quickly, like chameleons, from one extreme to the next, who can really know what’s truly buried in them eh?
That’s why Jeremiah continues speaking on God’s behalf: ‘I the Lord search the heart, I try (test) the reins (mind, most secret parts), even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings (deeds). (Jer.17:10)
Oh Friends, the Lord’s lucky, He can see into the depths of man’s soul and reveal their true motives. Meanwhile, we humans can only judge another’s heart basically by their words and outward actions. And sadly that leads to an inordinate amount of lies, deceptions, heartbreaks and other evil deeds.
Now before we get into some relevant scripture, hear these important words from the scholars. ’17:9-10: The heart (cf. Prov.4:23) means man’s innermost being. The bent of man’s natural disposition, apart from God’s redeeming grace, is described as deceitful (lit. crooked) and desperately wicked (incurably sick).
Therefore man cannot trust his own heart but must leave all to God who alone knows the heart and judges all men fairly. Only a person with a redeemed heart can live in proper fellowship with God. (Job 11:13; 1 John 3:18-24).’
Yes my people, because of the naturally evil disposition of our hearts, trust in man is a very uncertain and hazardous act. No wonder the psalmist so strongly advised: ‘It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.’ (Ps.118:8-9) Please note that he specified that not even royalty can be trusted.
But all of this untrustworthiness began right at the very beginning when Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command not to eat of the tree of life and knowledge. When the Lord came looking for them, they hid, because they knew they had disobeyed Him. Their eyes were also opened and thus they realised their nakedness and attempted to cover up themselves. And when God asked them what had happened, the blame laying began. Adam blamed Eve, and she blamed the serpent.
Ah Lord eh! But God was having none of their deceitfulness and kicked them out of the beautiful garden. (Gen.3) And sadly Friends, from that day onwards, man’s heart just kept getting more and more evil.
Until the day God finally took stock of man: ‘And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination (thought or intent) of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually (all the day long). And it repented the Lord (the Lord was sorry) that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.’ (Gen.6:5-6)
So much so, that He decided to destroy everything that He’d so tenderly made. Ah mih breddren, when man’s heart becomes so wicked that it alarms God and grieves Him so much that He considers destroying all the beautiful things He’s made, you must know that things are in a really bad state.
And we’ll end with some more important words from the scholars on those two verses. ‘Repented does not imply that God made a mistake in His dealing with men, but rather indicates a change in divine direction resulting from the actions of man.
It is “an anthropopathism” (a human emotion applied to God), describing the pain that is caused God by the destructiveness of His creatures. It is used 30 times with God as its subject, each time speaking of a change of mind or intention that accords with His righteous purposes, and results in action commensurate with those purposes.’
Wow! We’ll soon need someone to explain the explanations! (smile)
Oh mih people, there’s a lot more to come tomorrow, God willing of course. But let’s ponder today’s stuff with an open heart, remembering that it’s only as we turn to Almighty God with a redeemed heart, that we’re able to stand in His holy presence. That ought to give us plenty of food for thought. Much LOVE!
…who knows the true thoughts of a man’s heart…only the Lord God Jehovah…
18 Jul 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a positive idea, altruistic service, among thorns, assuage earthly lusts, bears fruit, beware of what you ask for, by grace are ye saved, cares of the world, children of disobedience, children of wrath, choke the word, common sense, controlled speech, deceitfulness, deceitfulness of riches, deserting God's army, desires of the flesh, diligence, dr robert schuller, evil, faith, foolish pride, godliness, good ground, grace, hears the word, hot and humid day, Hour of Power, living for Jesus, loved the world, Lucifer's wicked ways, lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, mind of a believer, new creations, passion, positive manner, pure religion, rich in mercy, separation from the world, sins, smart money, summer time, the world's spell, trespasses, truth, understanding, ungodly world, walking in God's will, win souls, wisdom
Matthew 13:22. He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.
Oh Friends, it’s ‘Summer time! And the living is easy…’ Well not for those who don’t have A/C or a cool basement to inhabit these last few days. For it was another hot, humid day in my neighbourhood, except that there was a decent breeze during the day. But as soon as the sun disappeared, the wind did the same.
Sitting on my porch, late last night, I had to strain to see any movement in the leaves on the trees. And again, even the insects refused to come out of their cool lairs to play in the dark, as is their wont. (smile)
Today seems like it will be more of the same. We’ve been calling for summer all along, and now that we have it, we’re not too thrilled. That reminds us of the old saying; beware of what you ask for, because when you get it, it might not be all you expected.
But let’s get right to our Bit, because there’s plenty stuff to share. ‘He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care (cares) of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.’
Ah Friends, how sad it is when we allow the cares of the world to choke our godliness and make us unfruitful! But here’s this little prayer, or poem, from Dr. Robert Schuller’s Hour of Power Devotional, which puts our shortcomings in the right perspective.
It’s titled, ‘My Walk,’ and goes thus: ‘O God, I’m inspired. For you have just impressed this truth into my mind: The most powerful force in the world is a positive idea in the mind of a believer who is walking in your will! I now reach forth my life and say, “God, put my life into the centre of your will.” Amen.’
Now Friends, that’s how we should be walking with our God, in a positive manner, passionately doing His will!
And as Jesus adds in the last verse of the parable on the sower. ‘But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth (produces), some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.’ (Matt.13:23)
Yes my people, that’s how we ought to be; hearing the Word, understanding it, then using it to successfully bring forth fruit, win souls, get others interested in living for Jesus!
However, too many of us still keep resisting Him, paying more attention to the things of the evil, ungodly world, things that sadly only raise up the lusts of our flesh and the lusts of our eyes, and cause us to walk in foolish pride.
Bruh Paul pointed this out to Timothy when he told him: ‘Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me: For Demas hath forsaken me, having LOVED, this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.’ (2 Tim.4:9-10)
Yeh mih people, Demas fell under the world’s spell and deserted Bruh Paul. And unfortunately that sort of thing is still happening today; believers are still deserting God’s army to assuage their earthly lusts in the wicked ways of Lucifer.
Meanwhile, listen to Bruh Paul as he tells the Ephesians about grace and faith. ‘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:
Among whom also we all had our conversation (conducted ourselves) in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great LOVE wherewith he LOVED us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us (made us alive) together with Christ, (by grace ye are (have been) saved.’) (Eph.2:1-5)
Yes Friends, all of us, like the Ephesians were once following the tendencies, values, pursuits and deeds of this evil world, until God sent Jesus to save us, and we became new creatures, new creations in Christ. Unfortunately though, too many of us are still following the world’s vision and values, foolishly reluctant to give them up and fully embrace Christ.
But listen to James talk about hearing and doing the Word nuh. ‘If any man among you seem to be (thinks he is) religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain (useless). Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.’ (James 2:26-27)
That says it all Friends!
But here are a few words from the scholars on those verses. ‘In verses 22-25 James has rebuked mere listening – by the hearer who does not do. In verses 26 and 27 he rebukes mere doing – by the doer who leaves his inner life unchanged. James offers not a formal definition but three key aspects of pure religion: controlled speech, altruistic service, and separation from the world.’
Now my brethren, it’s up to us to choose whom we will follow, the world, or Jesus. I’d suggest you make that decision right now, because time is running out, and decide to follow Jesus, for that’s where the smart money, the wisdom and common sense lies. Much LOVE!
…as for me and mine…we will definitely follow Jesus…
17 Jul 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: authority of the Scriptures, beautiful exteriors, become unfruitful, body of Christ, bountiful blessings, cares of the world, Christian behaviour, Christian habits, christianity, common sense, covet the things of the world, darkness, deceitfulness, dressed up garbage, elevate level of Christianity, enemy of God, enmity with God, everlasting light, evil desire, Excellence in Jesus, fall of the race, flesh overrules, forgiveness, friend of the world, friendship with the world, gain the whole world, hot and humid, human existence, julie mango, light, LIGHT that's Jesus, lose your soul, LOVE, loving kindness, lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, lusts, mercies, motto, no substance, personal desires, physical desire, pride of life, raise our standards, rewards, Satan, self-interest, sin, Son of man, summer, sweltering day, temptations, testimony, the things of God, the things of heaven, the will of God, the Word of god, weaknesses, wisdom, working for Jesus, worthless
Matthew 13:22. He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.
Oh Friends, it’s going to be another hot, sweltering day in my area! Summer seems to be finally hitting us with a big stick! Last night I went for a walk around midnight, and it was still so hot and humid that even the insects refused to come out and play. (smile)
The best part though, was when I came back, I sat down on my porch and devoured a cold, delicious Julie mango. My, my, my, was it ever tasty! Now usually I don’t like them cold, but that was just what the doctor ordered for that particular time.
Anyway, here’s an interesting, but also very important question for us. Are we ready to receive the bountiful blessings, mercies and forgiveness that’s about to descend on us today from heaven?
We better had be ready, be on the lookout for them, otherwise we’ll miss them, and our day will not be as wonderful and joyful as it could have been. The darkness that’s now giving way to light in the physical world will also be lifted from our souls and be filled with the everlasting LIGHT that’s Jesus, so we can go about His business here on earth.
That brings us to our Bit: ‘He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care (cares) of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.’
Ah mih people, that is so true of many of us today, it’s not funny. We hear the Word, even know the Word, but the lusts of our flesh overrules it way too often. So much so that we become unfruitful, we’re not working successfully for Jesus, our lives and actions are not a testimony to His LOVING-kindness, mercy and forgiveness.
But Friends, it’s very important that our lives bear testimony to Jesus, for as He asks, after foretelling His passion: ‘For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels: and then he shall reward every man according to his works.’ (Matt.16:26-27)
Oh my brethren, do we want to gain the world and things it has to offer, all of which will eventually be destroyed, and lose our soul in the process? I doubt it very much. Though the things of the world seem bright and flashy and golden and beckon us with great promises, they’re mostly dressed up garbage, stuff adorned with beautiful exteriors, but inside they’re worthless, they have no real substance.
But if we want to save our souls, we need to raise our standards, elevate our level of Christianity, both as individuals and as the body of Christ, the church. Remember yesterday we said that as the individual members go, so does the body, the church. And the only way to change that is by rising up, first as individuals, then as the church, and pursuing true Christian behaviour and habits.
Our motto should be: ‘Excellence in Jesus’ Name!’
But we can’t do that if we’re concentrating too much on the things of the world. For as James so rightly says: ‘Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of (with) the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will (wants to) be a friend of the world is (makes himself) the enemy of God.’ (James 4:4)
And that’s gospel Friends! We definitely can’t be a LOVER of God and of the world at the same time. We therefore have to choose one to follow, and in my humble opinion, following God is the wisest choice.
For as John so wisely advises us: ‘LOVE not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man LOVE the world, the LOVE of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever!’ (1 John 2:15-17)
Ah mih breddren, truer words were never spoken!
Now we’ll end with some info from the scholars on those verses. ‘World for John signifies the evil desire and sin so much a part of human existence. Though all people are tempted differently, according to their individual weaknesses, temptations follow patterns. They appeal to three fundamental areas of life: (1) the lust of the flesh (physical desires); (2) the lust of the eyes (personal desires); and (3) the pride of life (self-interest).
Illustration: When Satan caused the fall of the race, he appealed to each of these areas of weakness (Gen.3:6). He also appealed to them when he tempted Christ (Matt.4:1-11), who defied Satan’s temptations by relying on the authority of the Scriptures.
Application: The Christian today should also depend on the Scriptures to defeat temptation. (First Ref. Gen.3:1-6; Primary Ref. 1 John 2:15-17; cf. Rom.5:12)’
So my people, as I regularly ask us to do, with all that important info at hand, let’s take a few moments to ponder how it all affects us personally nuh. Then let’s sincerely ask the Father to help us make whatever changes are necessary, so that we can come ever closer in line to the plan He has for our lives.
That’s both wisdom and common sense at their zenith! Much LOVE!
…when we covet the things of the world…it turns our hearts away from the things of heaven… and thus of God…
19 Feb 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: affairs of the world, beautiful day, christianity, cleansed of our sin, day of salvation, deceitfulness, dog's vomit, dr robert h schuller, fall from grace, false teachers, fool's folly, glory hallelujah, Jesus Christ, learn from mistakes, omnipotent god, Pharaoh, pig from the mud, plagues, power of LOVE, Praise the Lord, repeating mistakes, saviour jesus christ, Thank you Father, the way of righteousness, uplifting prayers, warm sunshine, wisdom
Proverbs 26:11. As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.
Oh Friends, oh Friends, it’s another beautiful day in the life! Wow! Praise the Lord! Yes, praise our wonderful God for it, because regardless of the suffering, the hardship, the heartache, the pain and illness we may be experiencing, we still know for sure that our God is good and fair and just, and He will not allow us to handle more than we can bear. And furthermore, whatever He brings us to, He’s faithfully promised to bring us through. And all God’s people declared a loud and joyful: ‘Glory Hallelujah! For the Lord He is indeed good to the undeserving children of men!’ Oh my brethren, that’s the basic beauty of the omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient Deity we serve and worship! And now, here’s one of those inspiring, positive, uplifting prayers from Dr. Robert H. Schuller’s Hour of Power Devotional, to get us started on the right foot for the day. It’s a prayer of joy, optimism and great expectations that today we’ll do well in the service of our Leader and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Pray with me: ‘Thank you, Father, for the beautiful surprises you are planning for me today. So often in my life, when it looked like the day would be dismal, depressing, and dark, an unexpected burst of golden sunshine exploded through a black cloud sending inspiring shafts of warm, beautiful sunshine into my life. Father, it is happening now! I can already feel the power of your LOVE, through Christ my Lord. Amen.’ Yuh know Friends, it truly amazes me, that I’ve been reading that Devotional for a few years now, but every time I come to one of those uplifting prayers that I share with you, it just seems like I’ve never see them before. It’s the same thing with the Good Book; every time you read it, you discover something new. That happened to me recently while reading Job. I discovered that his friends had actually come and sat down seven days and nights with him in the dust and ashes of his grief, without saying a word. It’s only after that, they began to rag on him about his supposed sins. (Job 2:13) That brings us to our Bit: ‘As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to (repeats) his folly.’ Ah Friends, that’s so true of so many of us today, it’s not funny! Just like a dog goes back and plays in its vomit, it seems very difficult for too many of us to learn from our mistakes, and thus we keep repeating the same ones over and over. As Sister Joyce (Joyce Meyer) likes to say, you can’t keep on doing the same thing and expect different results. Now listen to Peter, as he talks about false teachers and those who once knew God, but fell from grace and again became entangled in the shoddy, disgusting affairs of the world. ‘For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned (returns) to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.’ (2 Pet.2:21-22) Oh mih breddren, is that ever so true! I guess it’s where the saying, ‘you can take the mud from the pig, but you can’t take the pig from the mud,’ comes from. And we do it all the time. Jesus washes and cleanses us of our sins, but we then let the wily Lucifer tantalize us with his glitzy but empty and useless worldly things, and we fall right back into the mire of sin again. And a good example of that from way back when is Pharaoh, when Moses comes and asks him to let the Jewish people go, but Pharaoh refuses. It took something like (10) ten disasters upon his land and people, before Pharaoh agreed to set God’s people free. And my people, the worse thing that can happen to us when we’re undergoing tribulation or making serious mistakes is a break in the action, where we get a little relief from our misery. That unfortunately often gives us the wrong message, and causes us to continue our folly. That happened to Pharaoh after the plague of frogs, when Moses cried out to the Lord about it. (Ex.8:12-13) The Good Book declares: ‘But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite (relief), he hardened his heart, and hearkened not (did not listen) unto them; as the Lord had said.’ (Ex.8:15) Likewise do we my fellow believers, usually to our subsequent hurt. Pharaoh foolishly suffered through another five plagues after that, before he finally saw the light. And we’ll end with an interesting scripture from the hymn of praise in the day of salvation per Isaiah, re the foolishness of the wicked. ‘Let favour (grace) be showed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the Lord.’ (Is.26:10) Yes Friends, such is the deceitfulness and stupidity of the wicked, that even though Almighty God shows them favour, pours out His grace on them, they will not learn righteousness but continue their wicked ways. Please my people, let us not be numbered amongst that sorry, unfortunate lot. It’s a fool’s folly! And followers of Jesus are anything but fools; wisdom is our middle name. Much LOVE!…a wise man learns from his mistakes…but a fool continues in his foolish ways…
28 Sep 2012
by randyobrien50
in Inspirational Living
Tags: affliction, cry out, deceitfulness, deliverance, disobedience, distress, fellowship, Friday chant, glorious kingdom, integrity, Jonah, refreshed soul, rejuvenation, right perspective, righteous, TGIF!, Thank God it's Friday, welfare
Psalm 120:1. In my distress I cried unto the Lord, and he heard me.
Oh Friends, I must say that I’m not as bright and bubbly as I was yesterday because my allergies are acting up. They had me feeling real lousy earlier on with the sneezing and sniffling, but I eventually took some medication and they are settling down now. And though I’m still not 100 %, my heart is still encouraged in our God. Praise Him for His tender mercies! Nonetheless, today is Friday, and as my buddy James remarked when I asked how he was doing: ‘Rough mih brother. Ah work out mih soul case this week. But yuh know what… Thank God is Friday yes, and the weekend soon come!’ Yes Friends, the weekend is here for us to rest up and refocus ourselves. So as always, let’s chant our Friday Chant with much enthusiasm nuh, while eagerly looking forward to the couple of days off. All together as one voice now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’ Ah mih people, we have to keep our lives totally focused and in the right perspective at all times, otherwise we’re liable to fall prey to the evil of Beelzebub. But even when that happens, we ought not to fear, for as our Bit so faithfully declares: ‘In my distress I cried unto the Lord, and he heard me.’ Yes my brethren, that’s exactly what we need to do when we’re under any stress or strain. The psalmist, befuddled by the wrong that was being done to him, continues: ‘Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue.’ (Ps.120:2) Ah Friends, many of us have personally experienced the harsh and often wrong criticism, ridicule and deceitfulness cause by others spreading lies and false innuendo. And we know that it hurts a lot, for as Willie Shakespeare claims in one of his plays – I don’t remember which one – if you steal my purse, you’re stealing trash; but my good name, my integrity, now that’s a horse of a different colour. So our good name and integrity do mean a lot, especially to believers operating under Jesus’ triumphant banner. We cannot allow our character to be besmirched, because it reflects badly on our Saviour and our faith. But the wise thing to do, if and when that happens, or any calamity at all strikes us, is to first cry out to God for help. I can tell you that from personal experience, since there are many times I’ve cried out to Him for one reason or another, some of them when I couldn’t find a Bit or figure out what to write. And the good news Friends, is that our God has always helped me to come up over my problems. And on the matter of crying out to Him in distress, there’s no better example than Jonah in the belly of the great fish. Though Jonah was disobedient to God’s directive, spending some time in the fish’s stomach woke him up to the reality that his God was both powerful and merciful. ‘Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish’s belly, And said, I cried by reason (because) of my affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.’ (Jon.1:1-2) So Friends, if the Lord could forgive Jonah for his disobedience when he cried out in distress, why won’t He hear our cry when we’re wronged and persecuted eh? No reason whatsoever my people! Bruh David hit the nail on the head when he declared in Psalm 34, the Lord hears the righteous: ‘The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry…The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. (Ps.34:15,17) And nobody knew that better than Bruh David. Then again in Psalm 65 he’s correct, when he says: ‘O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.’ (Ps.65:2) And that’s the gospel truth Friends, as Isaiah proclaims on the Lord’s behalf. ‘For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord.’ (Is.66:22-23) Oh my people, there’s our God talking, and He doesn’t talk simply for talk sake, but because He wants us to get to know Him and His ways. And one of the things He sincerely wants us to know and do is to come to Him in prayer; cry out to Him when disaster strikes, for He’s totally interested in our welfare, the way a good, kind and merciful God should be about His subjects. So Friends, please don’t be afraid or ashamed to call upon His Holy Name when things get rough, for that’s what He desires of us. Remember that even Jesus cried out to Him when the going got tough, so why shouldn’t we, mere mortals that we are. Much LOVE!…what’s the purpose of having a God…if you can’t cry out to Him for help in times of trouble…
SCRIP-BITS 