31 Mar 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a better tomorrow, a perfect heart, a willing mind, all the imaginations of the thoughts, Anselm, as a man thinks, Battlefield of the Mind, be gentle, beating ourselves up, being happy, cast thee off forever, charles stanley, consequences, control our lives, control our thoughts, dangles the keys, deeds, defeated Lucifer, defileth a man, doing the best you can, everything is perfect, focus on the good, friend, Hades, if you forsake him, if you seek him, imperfections, Jesus' blood, Joyce Meyer, know thou the God of thy father, leeway to others, motives, my son, need to function, negative emotions, obey God, of no avail, on the cross, outward show, realm of plenty, resurrection, righteous lives, righteousness, rise above, rule your mind, sacrificial death, salvation, seek ye first, serve him, sinless blood, sins, Solomon, spread the good news, such a sorry state, the full criteria, the gates of hell, the horror of Good Friday, the kingdom of God, the Lord searches all hearts, the Lord understands, the price of sin, the wrong things, there will be your heart, things of Jesus, things of the world, thoughts, true purpose, victory over hell, where your treasure is, wisdom, you will find him
1 Chronicles 28:9. And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off forever.
Well friends, we’ve gotten through the horror of Good Friday, where we saw Jesus crucified to pay for our abominable sins. It wasn’t easy, but we understood the reason why it had to happen: No sacrificial death, no salvation. For the price of sin had to be paid in sinless blood, and Jesus’ blood was the ONLY one that met the full criteria.
Now it’s time to wait for His awesome resurrection; His victory over hell, death and the grave, where He dangles the keys to the gates of hell before an awestruck, defeated Lucifer. (smile)
Yes my fellow believers, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ gave us the victory over the enemy by His sacrificial death on the cross. The least we can do now is show a fair amount of appreciation by living and working diligently and excellently in His name, to spread the good news of His gospel around the entire world.
And since it’s Saturday, let’s look at some of the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. Here’s the first one: ‘Being happy doesn’t mean everything’s perfect. It means you’ve decided to look beyond the imperfections.’ Now that’s something a lot of us perfectionists need to understand. Perfection is not possible, and if we don’t rise above our imperfections, we’ll never be happy.
Then there’s: ‘Be gentle with yourself, you’re doing the best you can.’ That’s something else many of us need to learn and do, because we keep beating ourselves up unnecessarily. Remember we can’t be perfect, so once we’re really trying, there’s no need to abuse ourselves. And what’s so foolish and unfair about that is we give a lot of leeway to others, but not enough to ourselves.
So what then? ‘Focus on the good.’ ‘That’s elementary, my dear Watson,’ you reply. Not really nuh, because if most of us were constantly focused on the good, our world would not be in such a sorry state. It’s because we’re NOT focused on the good that life in this realm of plenty is so rough for so many.
And we’ll end with this quote: ‘Rule your mind, or it will rule you.’ And is that ever so true my brethren, for it all takes place in the mind, or as Sister Joyce (Joyce Meyer) refers to it, ‘The battlefield of the mind.’ That’s where all our wars and battles take place. And that’s why when we allow the enemy to control our thoughts, he can therefore control our lives. Because as a man thinks, so is he. We become what we think about most.
So if we think about the things of the world more than those of Jesus, then we’ll become more like the world, and vice versa. That’s why it’s necessary to have good and positive thoughts above all else. They will lift you up, while negative emotions will only drag you further down to Hades. (smile) And we don’t want that now, do we? Of course not!
That’s why some of the best advice ever given to a son was that of Bruh David to Cousin Sol in our Bit. ‘And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off forever.’
Yeh friends, if we want to live godly and righteous lives, we have to keep our minds focused on stuff that’s godly and righteous. And remember that God looks deep into our hearts and minds to find our true purpose and motives before considering our outward show. So if what’s in our minds and what’s in our actions are different, then the Lord will discover them and act accordingly.
For as Jesus said: ‘Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth that defileth a man.’ (Matt.15:11) And what comes out of us is what we have focused in our minds. So if our thoughts are evil, then our deeds will most likely be evil too. No wonder Jesus also warned us thus: ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things will be added unto you.’ (Matt.11:33)
Fellow believers, our omniscient and all powerful God knows what we need to function on this earth, and He has promised to give it to us if we keep Him first place in our minds, bodies and actions. If you think primarily on the things of the world, they will be of no avail in the long run.
For as Jesus says: ‘Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt (ruin), and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.’ (Matt.6:19-21)
Words of everlasting wisdom my people, from the creator of all wisdom! Now are we going to be wise and follow them, or foolish and think on the wrong things? That’s up to each individual, but please remember that there are consequences for each line of thought, and before you decide, it would be wise to consider the consequences of each. Much LOVE!
…obey God…and leave all the consequences to Him… (Charles Stanley)
21 Oct 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a bodybuilder, a limited life, a lot of times, abundant, an easy row to hoe, Anselm's quotes, at bay, be obedient, believers in Jesus, communicate through prayer, connect the dots, consistent with intentions, deeds, destiny, earthly battles, faith walk, foundation of wisdom, full, getting enough sleep, glory to God, God's help, God's will, God's Word, gut it out, heaven-looking, human nature, hypocrites, hypocritical element, I allow not, I can do all things through Christ, I don't do, I don't understand, integrity, Jesus' philosophy, karma, keep our wits, life, looking forward, lure of sin, natural sinful nature, oncoming enemy, people don't know what they want, praising God, productive life, put your trust in Jesus, read His word, seminal verse, sinful, slept in, spiritual, spiritual armour, spirituality, stick close to Jesus, that which I do, things of the world, trust, two edged sword, two natures, unbelievers, unholy struggle, vapid pleasures, what I hate, what I want to do, wisdom, words, worldly nature, write it indelibly, wrong things, your gut
Romans 7:15. For that which I do, I allow not (I don’t understand): for what I would do (want to do), that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
Ah friends, it seems like I’m one of those who slept in this October Saturday morn! But mine was not by choice though, I just had no idea of the time. And I went to bed fairly early at that too. I’m trying to go to bed at a decent hour these days… Aren’t you proud of me? (smile)
That’s because I believe one of my problems is simply not getting enough sleep. The only problem though is when I lie in bed too long, roughly over four hours, my ole back aches like mad when I do get up. But I guess we have to suffer something to gain something better.
Anyway, I’m up now, and it’s Saturday, so let’s check out some of our friend Anselm’s quotes for this week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. Hear this first one: ‘A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.’
Now that might be true sometimes, but we have to be very careful of what others think we might want, because it just might not jive with God’s will for us.
That leads us to this one: ‘You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever.’
The first part makes sense, but the last part should definitely read ‘put your trust in the One and Only Jesus Christ!’ And if you do that, you certainly won’t do this next quote. ‘Don’t live a limited life.’
Yeh mih people, as true believers in Jesus, you will NEVER lead a limited life, because Jesus’ basic philosophy is for his followers to lead a full, abundant and productive life. Glory to God!
And here is the last quote. ‘Integrity is when our words and deeds are consistent with our intentions.’ And is that ever so true my brethren!
Unfortunately though, too many of us Christians, in these evil and godless times don’t have much integrity, because our words and deeds are not consistent with our intentions. That’s why so many unbelievers, as well as believers, see us as hypocrites!
That’s the reason a lot of people, even supposed believers, use for not going to church; they don’t want to join a bunch of hypocrites in praising God. But yuh know what friends, all of us have some hypocritical element in us – not liking someone for some foolish reason, etc. etc. – so when we go to church, all we do, is add one more hypocrite to the bunch! (smile)
But most of us won’t see it like that. And yes, it’s very possible to have good intentions and do evil deeds, as Bruh Paul declares in our Bit: ‘For that which I do, I allow not (I don’t understand): for what I would do (want to do), that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.’
Yeh mih brethren, that’s just the unholy struggle between our two natures; our sinful and worldly one, and our spiritual and heaven-looking other. And as you can see, even Bruh Paul, with all his spirituality, got caught in the battle between those two strong attitudes.
So it’s not like we are totally immune to the struggle being waged between our two natures. The lure of sin and its vapid pleasures are surely strong, but like a bodybuilder, we have to build our heavenly looking spirit so that it can stand strong and steadfast against our human nature.
As we saw yesterday, the enemy is always on the lookout to steal our joy and have us feeling guilty and miserable. However, if we do, as the Good Book says, resist the devil and draw near to God, then we’ll usually come out victorious.
Oh friends, we know that turning away from, resisting the things of the world is not easy, certainly not an easy row to hoe, but as with EVERYTHING else in this life, with God’s help, we can overcome.
Please don’t ever forget this seminal, foundational, fruit-bearing, productive verse from Bruh Paul to the Philippians. ‘I can do ALL THINGS through Christ which strengtheneth me.’ ((Phil.4:13)
Yes friends, until we truly believe that and totally incorporate it into our lives, our faith walk will not be as good as it ought to be, and we’ll be doing many more wrong things than we want to do, but not understanding why.
And sadly, there’s no easy way around the struggle of our two natures. To overcome our natural sinful nature, we just have to gut it out, stick close to Jesus; consistently read His Word, constantly communicate with Him in prayer, and do our best to be obedient to His dictates.
That means having on our spiritual armour at all times, and continually swinging the mighty, ever-sharp, two-edged sword of God’s Word in the face of the oncoming enemy to keep him at bay.
Yes friends, to win this battle, we need to keep our wits about us ALL THE TIME, but with God’s help, we can certainly do it. Let’s remember that, and write it indelibly in our hearts, souls and minds, for it’s the foundation of wisdom! Much LOVE!
…ONLY with God’s help…can we win our earthly battles…
17 May 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a mere mortal, a strangle hold, abound to your account, according to his riches, actions, Amen, an acceptable sacrifice, aroma, be glory for ever and ever, behaviour, belief in Jesus, bring us together, Bruh Paul, busy lives, celebrate, Christians, church leaders, cliques, confident certainty, courage, deeds, denominations, desire fruit, differences, different functions, dignity, divide, divine destiny, divisions, dominon, ecstatic joy, evil minions, factions, faith, faithfully worship God, food for thought, fragrant scent, fulfill Jesus' mandate, generosity, giving thanks, glorifying God, God's sanctuary, God's word and will, grateful, Herculean task, holding my breath, hope, I do know, in cahoots with the world, inscribed me. in the palms of your hands, insular, investment, Jesus' church is one body, joy, Jude, keep keeping on, keep us apart, kindness, LOVE, lustful things, majesty, mercy, motives, Now unto God our Father, odour, our Saviour, petty, Philippians, pleasant fragrance, power, purpose, reaping, Ruth Harms Calkin, sad commentary, satisfaction, Scrip-Bit family, selfish, sheer delight, similaritites, sing and shout, soar, sob, sowing, spreading the gospel all over the world, strength, Sunlit morning, thankful, the church at Philippi, the God of the universe, the life of the Son, the Lord loves a generous giver, the love of the Father, the One Day Book of Bible Promises, the power of the Holy spirit, the prince of darkness, the things of the world, the work and treasures of heaven, thoughts, trust, ungodly world, united, uniting Christ's church, unlimited resources, uplifting, well pleasing to God, what a wonderful God we serve and worship, wise God, words, work together
Philippians 4:20. Now unto God our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
A warm and welcome, gracious and LOVING Sunday morning to you my Scrip-Bit Family! (smile) I do hope that you are in the process, or will soon be in the process of getting ready to go to God’s sanctuary to celebrate and faithfully worship Him with other believers, as He desires of His followers.
For as I say every week, Jesus’ church is ONE body, made up of many believers, and in fellowship together we find strength, courage, hope and faith to keep keeping on in this ungodly world. And being ONE body, it means that all the parts, though graced with different functions, NEED to work TOGETHER if we’re to fulfill Jesus’ mandate of spreading the gospel to all and sundry, throughout the entire world. (Matt. 28:19-20)
Unfortunately though, there are too many divisions, cliques, religions, factions, denominations and what have you that divide us. That’s why the prince of darkness and his evil minions have such a strangle hold on the world.
Ah Friends, what a serious splash Christians would make in this world if we were truly joined together, united as ONE! Now I’m sincerely hoping for that, but I’m not holding my breath, because it doesn’t seem like it’s going to happen any time soon.
Why? Because we tend to let our differences – many of which are petty, insular and selfish – keep us apart, rather than let our similarities – like our basic faith, trust and belief in Jesus – bring us together. What a sad commentary on our actions and behavior as Christians, my brethren!
But I guess it doesn’t bother our church leaders sufficiently for them to seriously work at uniting Christ’s church. And even if they truly tried coming together, it would be still a Herculean task, because too many of Christ’s supposed flock are in cahoots with the world and the lustful things thereof. Anyway Friends, let that provide ample food for thought today as we go about our too busy lives.
Now here is something much more uplifting, that I couldn’t resist sharing from the One Day Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. It’s titled ‘The Beautiful Sunlit Morning.’
And these are the wonderful sentiments it declares. ‘Dear God On this beautiful sunlit Morning in May You’ve drenched me With ecstatic joy. I want to sing and shout I want to soar with sheer delight. At the same time I want to sob – So utterly overwhelmed I am With the magnitude of You. O God, I know I do know With serene satisfaction And confident certainty That I belong to the God of the universe – To the Creator of all that exists.
I do know That I, a mere mortal Am forever linked to divine destiny – That my life has purpose and dignity. I do know That You have chosen me As the object of Your lavish LOVE That Your thoughts toward me Are thoughts of kindness and mercy That You have inscribed me In the palms of Your hands.
I do know That all the LOVE of the Father And the Life of the Son And the Power of the Holy Spirit Are freely, inseparably mine – Now and through all eternity. O God On this beautiful sunlit Morning in May I do know.’
Oh what a beautiful declaration of faith that is my people! But how many of us, if we declare it, will then have God sadly shake His head when He looks at motives of our hearts eh? Too many, my people, too many. And that is why Christianity isn’t as strong as it used to be; too many people are not truly motivated by the Word of God, we allow the things of the world to have more sway over us than God’s Word and Will.
We’ll leave that alone for today though. (smile) Let’s concentrate on the promise that the beautiful poem was based on, and is our Bit for today. ‘Now unto God our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.’
Now that’s what we’re supposed to be about my brethren; giving thanks to and glorifying our heavenly Father with our words, deeds and actions!
The church at Philippi did that concerning Bruh Paul, because that was the only one that consistently sent him gifts, although he never asked them to. And though he was grateful and thankful for their interest in his well-being, as he told them: ‘Not because I desire (seek) a gift: but I desire (seek) fruit that may abound to your account.’ (Phil.4:17)
He didn’t want them to think that he was just after their money, but rather that their gift was, as the scholars explain: ‘a sure investment in the work and treasures of heaven, each one yielding rich dividends.’
Yes Friends, likewise, when we make sincere investments in the lives of others, those investments will bring forth good fruit on earth, and rich rewards for us in heaven. That’s the basic law of God, re sowing and reaping.
And Bruh Paul continues: ‘But I have all (have received all), and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell (a pleasant aroma), a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God. But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Jesus Christ.’ (Phil. 4:18-19)
And the scholars explain those two verses thus. ‘4:18. I have all means that Paul has received their gifts. And abound signifies that he has plenty, since all needs are now met through their generosity. God looks on their gift to Paul as an odour of a sweet smell (a fragrant scent) and a sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing.’
‘4:19. Because the Lord is aware of the sacrifice (v.18) the Philippians made in meeting Paul’s need, God will surely supply all their need. God will meet their “need” (1) according to his riches, that is in proportion to His unlimited resources; (2) in glory, that is He will meet their need “gloriously” or “in a splendid manner”, and (3) by Christ Jesus.’
Ah Friends, what a wonderful God we serve and worship! And we’ll end with a benediction that resembles our Bit, but from Jude, Jesus’ half-brother.
‘Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling (stumbling), and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.’ (Jude 24-25)
Much LOVE, my brethren!
…if one wants to receive bountifully…then one must learn to give generously… for the Lord LOVES a generous giver…
06 Mar 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adversity, and shall we not receive evil, another week of work, at the hand of God, attitudes, Be not thou envious of evil men, be thankful for all things, blessed is the man, bringeth forth his fruit in season, build our faith, calamity, chaff, congregation of the righteous, Cousin Sol, curse God and die, deeds, disassociate, endurance, evil, evildoers, faith, fellowship, followers of Jesus, Friday chant, friends, fun, generous help, God gives, God takes away, gospel truth, grow in righteousness, his delight is in the law of the Lord, if thou faint in the day of adversity, influence, influences, Jesus Christ, Job, judgement, live by faith not by sight, LOVE, neither desire to be with them, planted by the rivers of water, relaxation, righteousness., running rampant, shall we receive good, sinners, sitteth in the seat of the scornful, storm, succumb to evil, tentacles spread far and wide, test our mettle, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the ungodly shall perish, the way of the righteous, the weekend, Though he slay me, thy strength is small, time of tribulations, trust, truth, understanding, ungodliness, ungodly world, unquenchable faith, walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, whatever he does shall prosper, wickedness, wisdom, woes of labour, yet will I trust him
Proverbs 24:1. Be not thou envious against (of) evil men, neither desire to be with them.
Ah Friends, once again the ever-turning wheel of life has turned, and it’s fallen on that beloved day we call Friday!
And the working people rose up with a great shout of joy. ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday, and our woes of labour will soon be over for a couple of days! Thank God for Fridays yes!’
Yes my brethren, we have to thank our wonderful God for ALL things, both good and bad! As Job so wisely reminded his wife in the time of his tribulations. ‘What? shall we receive (accept) good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil (accept calamity)?’ (Job 2:10)
Oh Friends, whatever happens to us, happens with God’s full knowledge. He might not send a particular storm our way, but He allows it to test our mettle, our faith and trust in Him. And life becomes much easier when we acknowledge that everything comes through Him.
That way, if something untoward happens, then we can see it as a kind of test, which He is allowing, but at the same time will help us through it. That’s the wonder of our eternal God! He gives and he takes away, but He never causes harm. But nonetheless, as Cousin Sol reminds us in Proverbs: ‘If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.’ (Prov.24:10)
Yes my people, adversity is the true test of our endurance, and our reaction to it shows the strength or weakness of our faith. Note that though Job was obviously upset in his time of adversity, he didn’t curse God and die, as his wife suggested. (Job 2:9) Instead, he stood strong during his time of trial, even to the point of declaring: ‘Though he slay me, yet will I trust him…’ (Job 13:15)
That, my Friends, is the kind of unquenchable faith those of us who live by faith and not by sight, need to handle the trials of our earthly journey. And to help us in that respect, let’s chant our Friday Chant with the enthusiasm it deserves, knowing that the weekend is nigh, and we’ll have a short break from our labour.
As one harmonious 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.’
Hopefully Friends, those words will resonate in our spirits this weekend, and cause us to use that free time wisely. (smile) And today we have a rather appropriate Bit for these extremely wicked and ungodly times. It comes from the wisdom of Cousin Sol. ‘Be not thou envious against (of) evil men, neither desire to be with them.’
And that my people is gospel truth! But for those of you who wonder why cousin Sol made that statement, he answers it in the next verse. ‘For their heart studieth destruction (devises violence), and their lips talk of mischief (trouble).’ (Prov.24:2)
Ah mih breddren, wickedness, evil, ungodliness and all sorts of negativity are currently running rampant through our world, but as followers of Jesus we need to disassociate ourselves from it as much as possible, otherwise we’ll become evil and ungodly too.
Now it’s really impossible to completely disassociate ourselves from everyone and everything that’s evil and ungodly since its tentacles are spread far and wide, high and low. However, when we do need to come into contact with that kind, we must ensure that it’s our godly and wholesome influence that’s ruling the day, not their ungodly and evil traits. We should always attempt to influence the evildoers, rather than let them influence us.
And there are indeed a whole lot of scriptures that advise us against hanging out with evildoers. Let’s look at a couple of them. And the first one comes rather appropriately from the first Psalm in the Psalter.
‘Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly (wicked), nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate (ponder) day and night.
And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers (channels) of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgement, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.’ (Ps.1:1-6)
Oh my people, it’s laid out plain as day, there for us. We have no excuses now for being ungodly and evil.
Now the scholars have some explanations that we should hear. ‘Psalm 1. The key word in the psalm is the word blessed. It serves here as a pronouncement upon a man – but a certain kind of man. In essence, the psalm is teaching that the blessed or happy man is the righteous man.
The happy man avoids evil influences, deeds, and attitudes (v.1); he delights in God’s Word (v.2); therefore, God causes him to prosper (v.3). On the other hand, the ungodly is worth no more than chaff (v.4), and his destiny is judgement (v.5). Finally, the evaluation by the Lord himself is described (v.6).
There is an ellipsis (omission from sentence of words needed to complete construction or sense) which is understood with both clauses in verse 6: For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous (and it will be blessed), but (He also knows) the way of the ungodly (and it) shall perish.
The psalm forms an appropriate introduction to the Psalter since it sets before the readers the three characters who will figure mostly in the psalms: the righteous, the ungodly, and God.’
That says it all Friends! And since we certainly have plenty food for thought, let’s end here, then go and ponder it all. Let’s write the important things in our hearts, minds and souls, then put them into practice, into action in our lives, so that we’ll become stronger in faith and understanding. That’s heavenly wisdom, my people! Much LOVE!
…to not succumb to evil…we have to build our faith in God…to grow in righteousness…
26 Feb 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: according to his labour, according to his work, almighty god, and end to all things must be, Apollos, brighten someone's heavy load, Bruh Paul, build, Christians, co-workers, condemnation, deeds, disobedience, Eva Rose York, fairy tale world, foundation, Gentiles, God grants the increase, God only is my rock and my salvation, I shall not pass this way again, if he shall gain the whole world, indignation, Jews, joy, judgment, lose his own soul, loving kindness, man's greatest privilege, masterbuilder, Paradise, plant, proof of what is in the heart, punishment, regenerate, relieve some pain, remove some barrier from the road, Revelation, reward, righteous, spreading the Word, straight from Jesus' mouth, the party's over, time to call it a day, to thee O Lord belongs mercy, to work for Jesus, unregenerate, what is a man profited, wisdom, wrath
Psalm 62:12. Also unto thee O Lord, belongeth mercy: for thou renderest (rewardeth) to every man according to his work.
Well… ‘The party’s over my Friends. It’s time to call it a day…’ Chuh! And as the old saying goes, ‘an end to all fine things must be.’Yeh mih people, the ole fella’s stay on Paradise ends today. How heartbreaking! (smile) But them’s the breaks! It’s time to go back and face the real world now, and leave this fairy tale world behind.
‘But I LOVE this fairy tale world,’ I protest. The Lord answers, ‘Yes I know that, but I have other things for you to do right now.’ And as an obedient child of the Father, I quietly acknowledge, ‘Yes Lord, I know, and I will submit to your will and go back and face the cold with faith and trust in your everlasting wisdom and heavenly guidance.’ What else can I say eh my brethren? Nothing really.
Now here is this timely quote from my One More Day Devotional, Daily Meditations for People with Chronic Illness. It is attributed to Eva Rose York (1858 –after 1935) Canadian composer, organist, teacher and editor. One of the first female composers in Canada.
Eva Rose writes: ‘I shall not pass this way again; Then let me now relieve some pain, remove some barrier from the road, or brighten someone’s heavy load.’
Very worthwhile words and sentiments my Friends and fellow believers in Jesus Christ! And that is exactly what we are all called to do; brighten someone’s day, and lighten their load if we can. If it’s only with a smile or a kind word.
And that quote segues very nicely right into our Bit from Psalm 62 – God only is my rock and my salvation, immortal words of praise and thanks from Bruh David to Almighty God. Let’s begin with the verse before our Bit, so that we can get a better idea of the context of the passage.
‘God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God. Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy: for thou renderest (rewardeth) to every man according to his work.’
And that’s gospel truth my brethren! We are, and will be rewarded for whatever work we do down here on earth, be it good or bad. And though the Lord is indeed merciful, He will not allow us to get away with continual disobedience, punishment of some kind will be definitely in the offing.
Anyway, I don’t have much time to ramble on this morning, as I have to finish packing, so let’s get straight to some scriptures that uphold the truth of our Bit. (smile) And we’ll begin with the words of Jesus, as He foretells His passion to His disciples.
‘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) There you have it Friends, straight from Jesus’ mouth. So if He says so, who are we to doubt it eh?
Now listen to Bruh Paul as he admonishes the church at Rome, as he tells them that to judge others is to condemn oneself. ‘But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; Who will render to every man according to his deeds;
To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious (self-seeking), and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile.’ (Rom.2:5-9)
Oh Friends, there it is again in black and white. We will reap what we sow, be greatly rewarded for our good deeds on God’s behalf, and suffer punishment for our unrighteousness. And here are some explanations on those verses from the scholars.
‘2:6. In this parenthetical discourse setting forth the controlling principle of God’s judgment, Paul explains how and why God will judge, and how He can judge both Jew and Gentile and be completely fair in the process. The controlling principle will be according to…deeds because deeds give incontrovertible proof of what is in the heart.’
‘2:7-10. For the regenerate the judgment will result in eternal life; for the unregenerate it will result in indignation and wrath. To the Jew first: Unbelieving Jews will have prominence in condemnation, believing Jews will have prominence in reward.’
And we’ll end with more words of Bruh Paul, this time from his first missive to the Corinthians, who were bickering about whom they should follow, Apollos or Bruh Paul and letting them know instead that Christians are co-labourers.
‘Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his labour. For we are labourers together with God (God’s fellow workers): ye are God’s husbandry (field), ye are God’s building. According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.’ (1 Cor.3:8-10)
Yes my people, we are all co-workers with God in His ministry of spreading the Word. We might plant and build, but let’s be very careful about why, what and where we plant and build, and above all remember that it is God who grants any increase that we might get. It is not simply of our doing. That is wisdom of the highest order.
So let’s go out today and plant and build in Jesus’ name with the excellence, truth and LOVING-kindness that He expects of His true followers. Much LOVE!
…to work for, and with Jesus…is man’s greatest privilege…and brings forth his greatest joy…
06 Jul 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: actions, Bachelor of Arts degree, Bible, blind, Bruh Paul, carnal minds, Christian instruction, concentric circles, Corinthians, Creator, deaf, deeds, dereliction of duties, divisions, doctrine, envying, evil speaking, fellowshipping, friends, glory hallelujah, gospel truth, growth, guile, heart brimming with Love, Helen Keller, humanitarian, infighting, kind, knowledge is power, LOVE, malice, maturity, mental, milk of the word, miracle, never ending course of study, newborn babes, non-christian manner, personal growth, pettiness, practice, praise his holy name, precautions, responsible, rudimentary understanding, saviour jesus christ, Saviour Jesus Crhist, scriptures, selfishness, solid food, spiritual growth, strife, thanks, the body of Christ, treacherous, troubled times, walk according to man, walk in the flesh, walking in the Spirit, wisdom
1 Peter 2:2. As newborn babes, desire the sincere (pure) milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.
Oh Friends, neighbours and fellow believers, it’s a beautiful morning, so let’s get up and get fellowshipping with others of like ilk! Time to give thanks and praise to our great and wonderful Creator and Saviour Jesus Christ for all they’ve done, are doing and have promised to do for us.
And all God’s people declared a loud, hearty and grateful; ‘Glory Hallelujah! Praise His Holy Name!’
Yes my people that’s what we need to get out and do this Sunday morning, without any reservations, resentment or being forced to go, but just having a heart brimming with so much LOVE and thanks, that we’re automatically propelled to the sanctuary. (smile)
Now here’s an interesting quote from an interesting and inspirational person; Helen Keller (1880-1968), the deaf/blind American author, activist, lecturer and humanitarian, reputed to be the first deaf/blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. Wow! Now isn’t that something else! Nowadays I’m sure it’s much easier than back then.
However, Miss Keller is reputed to have said that, ‘When we do the best we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life, or in the life of another.’
And that’s gospel truth my people! For often we don’t know what ripple effects our actions may cause, somewhere down the line. Like throwing a stone in the water and seeing it form concentric circles; one circle after another. That’s how our actions, both good and bad can affect the lives of those we don’t, or may ever know. Therefore it behoves us to be generally kind and responsible in all our deeds and actions.
And the best part of that kind of responsible behaviour is that often we also see and feel the growth within our own selves. And that my Friends, is what we all desperately need in these vey treacherous and troubled times; personal growth! Not only physical and mental, but even more importantly spiritual growth and maturity, so that we can truly understand what’s happening and thus take the necessary precautions.
As Peter warns us: ‘Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and all evil speakings, As newborn babes, desire the sincere (pure) milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.’ (1 Pet.2:1-3)
Yes my brethren, we all begin as new born babes in Christ, where like infants, we can’t handle the heavy stuff, the heavy food, the heavy doctrine and such. Therefore we need to ingest simpler, lighter stuff, like milk for new-borns. That means first getting a basic, rudimentary understanding of the Scriptures, of Jesus and all that He stands for.
But then Friends, we just can’t stop there, like the mental and physical aspects of our bodies, our spirits also have to grow in the understanding of Jesus, and then we need to put those things into practice in our everyday lives. That’s when we begin to attain maturity. We never really are completely mature, because spiritual growth is a never ending course of study.
That’s why Bruh Paul warned the Corinthians about carnal minds hindering, inhibiting the growth of the spirit. ‘And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat (solid food): for hitherto (until now) ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions (dissensions); are ye not carnal (fleshly), and walk as (according to) man?’ (1 Cor.3:1-3)
Oh my people, you know those statements sadly brand a lot of us in Christ’s church today as spiritual babes, because there is still so much infighting amongst believers, with strife, envy and general pettiness and selfishness causing unnecessary and unwholesome divisions in the body of Christ.
And the scholars explain those verses thus: ‘3:1-3) I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: In the case of newborn babes this would be natural and to be expected (1 Pet.2:2). But it is embarrassing at this stage in their development. ‘Milk’ figuratively stands for elementary Christian instruction, and ‘meat’ refers to advanced doctrine.
Carnal (lit.“fleshly”). The warfare between the flesh and the spirit receives continual emphasis in Paul’s writings (cf. Rom.7:14-8:13; Gal.5:17). The factions that have destroyed the unity in Corinth indicate that these believers were not walking by the Spirit, but were allowing the flesh to direct their behaviour.’
And doesn’t that ever still apply to the church today my people! A lot of us who are supposed to have Bible knowledge, but behave in a non-Christian manner, according to Bruh Paul’s logic, are still spiritual babes in arms. Because it’s not necessarily what we know that’s important, but often what we do with that knowledge, how it causes us to behave. And if we claim to know what the Bible teaches, but don’t practice it, then all that knowledge is wasted. They say knowledge is power – but only if it’s used wisely.
So Friends, as we go out to worship today, let’s seriously consider if we are behaving like newborn babes; that’s walking carnally, in the flesh, or rather like the mature people we’re supposed to be, walking in the Spirit. How we walk in Jesus’ name, my brethren, does cast a serious reflection on His church, therefore let’s do what we know to be right nuh, and walk maturely – in the Spirit, like we ought to. That’s heavenly wisdom! Much LOVE!
…to walk in the flesh…when we should be walking in the Spirit…is a serious dereliction of our duties as believers in Christ…
02 Jul 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: accomplish, anxious, awesome truth, Beauty for Ashes, blessed is he who trusts in the Lord, body of Christ, body rebelled, boss, Canada Day, celebrations, choose life, christianity, cliques, collaborate, collaboration, console those who mourn, cursed is he who trusts in man, death, deceitful intentions, decent and fulfilling life, deeds, denominations, divisions, divisive, dock pay, drive us apart, drought, explosion, forgiving, fractured, glorify God, glory hallelujah, heart departs from the Lord, Heartsongs, Jeremiah, life, long weekend, LOVE, Mattie Stepanek, merciful, muscular dystrophy, negative circumstances, no man is an island, obedient, One Body, one God, one message, one truth, peace, peacemaker, philosopher, planted by the waters, poet, Praise the Lord, predicament, quietness, religions, righteousness., risen Christ, salvation, smile, teamwork, the best of families, the garment of praise, the heart is deceitful, the Holy Trinity, the oil of joy for mourning, the planting of the Lord, the spirit of heaviness, the things of God, the things of the world, the wilderness, trees of righteousness, understanding, unity, unity is strength, upcoming death, what a life, wisdom, yielding fruit
Isaiah 61:3. To appoint unto (console) them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.
And the celebrations went on late into the night! (smile) Well they might very well have, just not at my place. In fact, there were no real celebrations in my yard yesterday. We more or less took Canada Day as a day of quietness and peace, doing stuff around the house that needed to be done. And though I did get to bed rather late, it was certainly not from celebrating.
However, when called upon to arise and get going this morning, the old body totally rebelled. I remember getting up to go to the bathroom sometime after three o’clock and telling the Lord it was way too early to get a move on, especially since I hadn’t been to bed too long before that. But the next time I opened my bleary eyes it was after six o’clock. Hn, hn!
Now I’m sure there are a few of us in that predicament on this morning after. (smile) It’s a good thing though that my boss is such an understanding, forgiving and merciful boss, and He won’t rage on me or dock my pay, as some of the earthly bosses will do to those who are late this morning, especially after what has been an extraordinary long weekend for some.
Praise the Lord! What a life eh Friends! But these things do happen, even in the best of families. (smile)
Anyway, the word from my almanac for today is ‘COLLABORATE.’ And that is a most important word in all aspects of life! For remember that since no man is an island, complete unto himself, we therefore need to collaborate with others to get things done and thus have a decent and fulfilling life.
And the quote for today comes from Mattie Stepanek – Matthew Joseph Thaddeus Stepanek (1990-2004) American poet, peacemaker and philosopher, who published six books of poetry, he called ‘Heartsongs.’
Yes I know he was only fourteen when he died, but apparently his family suffered from a rare form of muscular dystrophy, which took his life and that of three other siblings at rather tender ages. Just goes to show how much we can achieve and accomplish either when pushed by things like upcoming death, or we truly put our minds to it.
Anyway, Mattie tells us this morning that ‘Unity is strength…when there is collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.’
Wow mih breddren! What an awesome truth! And that from a young pup too! It’s true in ALL aspects of life!
But unfortunately, nowhere is it sadly lacking and badly needed more than in the earthly body of Christ Jesus! His church is much too fractured and divisive, with way too many different religions and denominations, all purportedly teaching and celebrating the same risen Christ.
Well if we’re all talking about the same Saviour, and telling the same story, then why are there so many divisions eh? There can be only ONE truth, so there should be only ONE message! I guess it just means that people are seeing the message differently, and thus telling it in different ways.
But Friends, what a beautiful explosion of Christianity there would be in this evil and ungodly world if the true and faithful brethren in Christ would concentrate on collaborating, in getting together, rather than falling apart into small cliques and divisions! Glory Hallelujah! The world would certainly stand up and take significant notice!
Please remember that Christ’s church is supposed to be ONE BODY, just like the Holy Trinity is ONE GOD!
Sadly though, at this juncture in our history, that cannot be said of Christ’s body, when we’re fighting so terribly and frightfully amongst ourselves. How can we expect to hear good tidings of salvation under those negative circumstances eh?
How can we expect the Lord ‘To appoint unto (console) them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.’
It just isn’t realistic my people. The Lord’s seeking teamwork and unity amongst His children. How can we be truthfully called ‘trees of righteousness’ and ‘the planting of the Lord’ when we’re so disjointed and divisive eh, when we’re allowing the things of the world to drive us apart, rather than enjoining the things of God to bring us together?
The prophet Jeremiah spells it out very clearly for us. ‘Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in (the strength of) man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. For he shall be like the heath (a shrub) in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.’ (Jer.17:5-6)
Yes Friends, that’s one side of the equation. Now listen to the other half of it, then tell me which half makes more sense, which one is wiser to follow.
‘Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see (fear) when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful (anxious) in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.’ (Jer.17:7-8)
Yes Friends, those are the two options available to us, and it’s plainly stated what will happen in each. And just in case we hold deceitful intentions, please note that we can’t try to cover up our dark secrets while looking good on the outside, as we can do with men, for Jeremiah continues with the Lord’s declaration.
‘The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked (incurably sick) who can know it? I the Lord search the heart, I try (test) the reins (the mind, the most secret places), even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings (deeds).’ (Jer.17:9-10)
For sure my brethren, the Lord will judge each individual by his or her actions. So it’s up to each of us to choose the option we think best suits us. But let me add a word of wisdom here; (smile) option two wins the contest hands down!
Oh Friends, we can’t glorify our great and wonderful God by fighting amongst ourselves, so starting today, right now, let’s seriously concentrate on trusting the Most High God Jehovah nuh, and consequently live in unity and collaboration with each other, so that we can reap the blessedness that He has prepared for those who truly LOVE Him and seek to be obedient to His will.
It’s not all that difficult to do, and furthermore, it is truly the wisdom of and for the ages! Much LOVE!
…I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing…therefore choose life…that both thou and thy seed may live… (Deut.30:19)
18 Dec 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: 20-20 vision, Abimelech, backbone, bail out, belly, bless, blessing of God, caressing, charles stanley, come to light, commandments, consequences, darkness, deceit, deceive, deception, deeds, destructive, differences, different circumstances, divorces, doomed from the beginning, Egypt, engagement ring, failings of our society, fainthearted, fairy tale, famine, faults, foibles, for better or worse, forbidden, friends, Gerar, hardships, hindsight, hundredfold, Isaac, land of the Philistines, laws, like father like son, living happily ever after, LOVE, makes rich, marriage, marriage primer, myth, no sorrow, obeyed, peaches and cream, persecution, persevere, practicalities, Promised Land, promised seed, proper advice, prospering, reaped, Rebekah, Red Letter Day, revealed, separations, sojourn, sowed, sporting, statutes, suffering, takes two to tango, the Good Book, three-ring circus, till death do us part, topsy-turvy, trust, useful purpose, weave, webs, wedding, wedding anniversary, wisdom
Proverbs 10:22. The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.
Oh Friends, oh Friends, today’s another red-letter day in the ole fella’s life; my 42nd wedding anniversary! Wow!
Who would ever have thought that we’d last so long eh, especially with all the topsy-turvy stuff that went on in the earlier days, most of it my fault? And though there have been a couple of short separations, it’s obvious that the Good Lord had other plans for us.
Now it wasn’t always easy, always peaches and cream, but you can bet your bottom dollar that it was interesting! More interesting now with 20-20-vision hindsight, than it felt during the actual moments. (smile)
That brings me to what I consider one of the many failings of our society. We impress upon our young people the fairy tale about LOVE, marriage and living happily ever after. But Friends, as most of us have seen and and sadly discovered, that’s just a myth!
We should be telling them more about the practicalities, the three-ring circus that’s truly marriage; the engagement ring, the wedding and then the suffering.
It’s no joke Friends, because living in such close proximity to another person, seeing their faults and foibles, many of which you never knew about before, and waking up everyday on the other side of the bed with that person for numerous years is not an easy task, certainly not one for the fainthearted. But if you’re in the marriage for more than just the good times, you will persevere and make it work.
And remember too, that it takes two to tango, so unless both parties are willing to work at it, then it will never last. But now, unfortunately, we’ve raised a generation of children who can’t handle hardships or differences, because even in our own marriages, we’ve gone out of our way to hide the unpleasant parts from the children.
Consequently, there are more divorces and separations than ever today, simply because the young generation lack the proper advice on the subject, as well as the necessary backbone and belly to see it through. So as soon as something goes wrong, everybody wants to bail out of the marriage.
But please remember the words that most of us said in our wedding vows; for better or worse, until death do us part. However we never seem to remember those words when things get rough, and very few of us really live them.
Unfortunately too, there is no marriage primer available that will work for all marriages, because we are all different and live under different circumstances. The only constant Friends, is that both people need to work at it sincerely, otherwise it’s doomed from the beginning.
Ah mih people, as usual I have to chuckle, because our God is truly something else yes! I wasn’t even planning to mention my wedding anniversary, but obviously He had other plans, and when I got to writing, that’s what flowed from my pen.
But if it will help some other couple to understand what marriage is all about; give and take and hard work, and cause them to stand strong and work out their problems together, then it will indeed have served some useful purpose.
That’s why our Bit is powerful and true. ‘The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.’
It would certainly be great if the Lord could use my words to bless some couple having problems with their marriage, which brings us to the Old Testament marriage of Isaac and Rebekah.
One time when there was famine in their land, Isaac thought of going down to Egypt to survive it, but the Lord told him to stay put in Gerar, in the land of the Philistines.
‘Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father…. Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.’ (Gen.26:3,5)
And Isaac obeyed, but like Abraham did with Sarah, he told the Philistines that Rebekah was his sister, because she was beautiful, and like his father before him, thought that they would kill him and take her away. Hn! Like father, like son!
Ah Friends, the webs we weave, when we intend to deceive! But unfortunately those webs of deceit don’t last forever, and our deeds done in darkness, usually come to light at some stage. And the longer they stay hidden, usually the more destructive they are when revealed in the light.
And that’s exactly what happened to Isaac. The Good Book puts it thus: ‘And it came to pass, when he (Isaac) had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with (caressing) Rebekah his wife.’ (Gen.26:9)
Obviously it caused a furor in the Philistine camp. The king called Isaac and blasted him, and instructed his people not to dally with Rebekah. (Gen.26:9-11) But in spite of his deception my brethren, listen to the next words of the Good Book.
‘Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received (reaped) in the same year a hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him. And the man waxed (grew) great, and went forward (continued prospering until) he became very great.’ (Gen.26:12-13)
That was the blessing of the Lord upon him for obeying his directive to not go down to Egypt, despite his deception with the Philistines.
Now Friends, that doesn’t mean we can all be deceitful and still receive wonderful blessings, for even Isaac with all his material blessings still found it hard to live in Gerar because of disputes over wells with the Philistines, and eventually had to move away because he had gotten too big and powerful for their liking. (Gen.26:14-25)
And we’ll end with these thoughts from the scholars, which should make some things clearer. ’26:1-16. A famine in the land: There had been a famine in Abraham’s day (12:10). He had not been forbidden to go down to Egypt as Isaac was now being directed by God in verse 2.
God forced Isaac to trust in His ability to provide, and not do the natural thing that everybody else would be doing (42:5). Besides, this was God’s promised land for Abraham and his descendants (vv 3-4). She is my sister is the very same expression Abraham had used, 12:13 and 20:12-13.
Abimelech was evidently a Philistine dynastic title. This was not the same Abimelech that Abraham had encountered some 97 years earlier. Isaac sowed in the land and received an hundredfold in spite of the famine and persecution because he obeyed God and was the promised seed.’
Awright Friends, that’s more than enough for us to ponder on today. But please remember that Isaac was only blessed because He obeyed God, and he still had his problems otherwise. So even when we’re blessed, everything is not always peaches and cream. (smile) Much LOVE!
…the best wisdom for all time…obey God…and leave all the consequences to Him… (Uncle Charles – Charles Stanley)
09 Oct 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: almighty god, appreciation, Babylon, be acceptable in God's sight, Beelzebub, believe in Jesus, boundary, Calvary, Chaldeans, champion, Charles Spurgeon, chosen people, Christian vocabulary, commit my spirit, confidence, crucifixion, deeds, deliverance, diminish God's mercy, eternal life, faith, faithfulness of God, fatherless, fear, fly right, followers of Christ, fortified wall, fugitives, gifts, glory, Glory Halleujah, God of truth, God's promises, goodness, grateful heart, hand of the wicked, hell, Holy One of Israel, honour, Isaiah, Israel, Jeremiah, Jesus Christ, Jesus-the answer to all problems, Judah, lift up heads hands hearts, Lord God Jehovah, lord of hosts, LOVE, made right from wrong, mankind, meditation of our hearts, mercy, modus operandi, my redeemer, my rock, never-ending wellspring, Old Testament, oppressed, plead their case, prayer, prophecy, ransom, ravages of sin, reassurance, recalcitrant children, rejection, right action, sacrifice, salvation, straighten up, suffering, the property of the needy, tribulation, trust, truth, under the weather, usurp, words of our mouths, worthless sinners
Psalm 19:14. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength (my rock), and my redeemer.
Well a good Wednesday morning to all you beautiful followers of Jesus Christ! I do hope that this message finds you all in good shape. And even though you’re somewhat under the weather, for whatever reason, I encourage you to straighten up and fly right with Jesus, for He’s the answer to ALL our problems.
Lift up your heads, hands, hearts and eyes to heaven and call on Him for relief, for mercy. Then believe you receive it. For as the famous preacher, Charles Spurgeon reputedly said: ‘God’s mercy is so great that you may sooner drain the sea of its water or deprive the sun of its light or make space too narrow, than diminish the great mercy of God.’
And all God’s people declared a loud and joyful, ‘Glory Hallelujah! Praise the Name of our great God!’
Yes Friends, we can never diminish, dilute or use up the mercy of our wonderful God, because it comes from a never-ending wellspring!
Now let’s turn to our memorable and all-encompassing Bit. ‘Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength (my rock), and my redeemer.’
What a simple but glorious prayer my people! Today, the last day for it, I want to focus on the last half. ‘O Lord, my strength (my rock), and my redeemer.’
That word ‘redeemer’ is a very important one in the Christian vocabulary because it envisions a right action, something being bought back, being made right from wrong. And in the believer’s case, it means that the Lord God Jehovah has bought us back from the ravages of sin, where we were once totally lost in the darkness of Beelzebub’s hell, through the atonement made by Jesus’ crucifixion.
But before that happened, the Lord continually told His people Israel, about Him being their redeemer. And today I want to share some scripture from the Old Testament on that, just to show the faithfulness of our great God.
And we’ll begin with Bruh David’s declaration in Psalm 31, superscripted, ‘In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust.’ He confidently states: ‘Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.’ (Ps.31:5)
Have we, or are we able to say that with such confidence my brethren? We should, if we truly believe.
Now hear Cousin Sol: ‘Remove not the old landmark (boundary); and enter not into the fields of the fatherless: for their redeemer is mighty; he shall plead their cause with (against) thee.’ (Prov.23:10-11)
Please pay attention to that people. Don’t usurp the property of the needy, because the Lord, their champion will stand up for them.
Moving on to Isaiah. In chapter 43, titled, ‘The Lord, the only Redeemer,’ he boldly declares: ‘But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.’ (Is.43:1)
Yes my brethren, despite Israel’s rejection of their God and king, He still reassures them, as He continues to do with us, even today.
And in verse 14, Isaiah also declares: ‘Thus saith the Lord, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: For your sake I have sent to Babylon and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans (have brought them all down as fugitives), whose cry is in the (who rejoice in their) ships.’ (Is.43:14)
Yes Friends, the Lord will judge Babylon, after using them to judge His recalcitrant children Israel.
Then in chapter 47, Judgement on Babylon, Isaiah proclaims: ‘As for our redeemer, the Lord of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel.’ (Is.47:4) That tells us loud and clear, the name, the identity of our redeemer.
Now let’s move on to Jeremiah. In chapter 15, where the Lord is angry with Judah, and Jeremiah is despondent and desolate because of his lack of success and his tribulation with the people, He nonetheless assures Jeremiah that if he continues his prophetic work, He will save him.
‘And I will make thee unto this people a fenced brasen (fortified bronze) wall: and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am with thee to save thee and to deliver thee, saith the Lord. And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand (grip) of the terrible.’ (Jer.15:20-21)
Yuh see Friends, the Lord doesn’t leave His servants when they are suffering in His name. And that’s still His modus operandi.
Then in chapter 31, Restoration of Israel, Jeremiah warns: ‘Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles (coastlands) afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock. For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he.’ (Jer.31:10-11)
And finally from chapter 50 – prophecy concerning Babylon – Jeremiah declares: ‘Thus saith the Lord of hosts; The children of Israel and the children of Judah were oppressed together: and all that took them captives held them fast; they refused to let them go. Their Redeemer is strong; the Lord of hosts is his name: he shall thoroughly plead their cause (case), that he may give rest to the land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.’ (Jer.50:33-34)
Oh my people, I do hope that these scripture passages strengthen our faith in the Most High God Jehovah, by showing His faithfulness in keeping His promises to deliver His chosen people Israel back then, and all those who currently believe in Jesus.
He certainly did as promised: redeemed us all by sacrificing His innocent Son on the cross of Calvary, so that we worthless sinners could have salvation and eternal life; the two greatest gifts ever bestowed on mankind.
So I’m asking us today to show our sincere appreciation by going out and living the kind of life that will honour Jesus and bring untold glory to Almighty God!
Let the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts, be acceptable in the Lord’s sight! That’s the least we can do in return for His unconditional LOVE, unending mercy and eternal goodness. Much LOVE!
…a grateful heart will show its appreciation…in the words and deeds it proclaims…
01 Oct 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fool's wisdom, altar, ambush, Assyria, atrocity, beseeching, cherubim, crisis, deeds, deity, deny help, earthquakes, ever-LOVING God, God's omnipotence, gold and silver, heathen, Hezekiah, house of the Lord, idol of power, idols, in the name of God, instructional, Jerusalem, king of Judah, level of faith, living God, lust after, militants, modus operandi, nitty gritty, Northern Pakistan, pay the price, point of interest, political agenda, political power, political separation, prayer, prosperity, reproach, rewarded, semblance of reason, Sennacherib, stay faithful to god, suffering, talk God, things of the world, time of dire need, true motives, true wisdom, trust, trust in God, turn to God, unfortunate circumstances, up the ante, vindicate, weeping, words, work of men's hands, worshipping
Psalm 135:15. The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.
Oh Friends, oh Friends, oh Friends…. One more time I have to ask, what is really wrong with our world eh?
Oh Chuh man! Ponder this story nuh, this atrocity. Some time in the last two weeks, the people in an undeveloped province in Northern Pakistan suffered two serious earthquakes, with many deaths and severe damages to the area. Now apparently there are some militants in the province fighting for political separation and determination.
Now that’s all well and good, for sometimes there is cause to stand and fight. But instead of rushing to help the people in their unfortunate circumstances, it seems these militants were ambushing and killing the Federal people bringing supplies and medical help. Now tell me, is that the kind of people I want to govern and lead me? No way Jose!!!
How can you be killing people who are coming to help me in my time of dire need eh? Steups! And then you want to run my province? Not on yuh life, mih brother! If you see me suffering and deny me help, just to suit your political agenda, can you imagine what you’re going to do to me when you get in power?
Ah Lord eh! But unfortunately, these days that seems to be the modus operandi of all the supposed militants all over the word; they are only interested in one thing, political power, and too bad for anybody, even their own people, who get in their way.
And then they talk about it being in the name of God… Pure Hogwash! They’re simply worshipping at the altar of the idol of power!
And like our Bit says: ‘The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.’
Too many of us talk God, but when it comes down to the nitty gritty, its the things of the world that we truly lust after and spend our lives following. But as we’ve been saying Friends, that’s a fool’s wisdom, because God sees and knows the true motives of our hearts.
Now hear this scripture from way back when, a time when Hezekiah, king of Judah received a threatening letter from Sennacherib, king of Assyria, which stated: ‘Let not thy God in whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.’ (2 Kin.19:10)
Then the letter went on to boast about all the kings and gods of the lands that Assyria had conquered and wiped out, so why should Judah be any different? But Friends, please note Hezekiah’s actions when he received that letter, for it is very instructional to all of us today.
The Good Book says: ‘And Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up into the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord, and said, O Lord God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubim, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth.
Lord, bow down thine ear, and hear: open, Lord, thine eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God. Of a truth, Lord, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands, And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them.
Now therefore, O Lord our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the Lord God, even thou only.’ (2 Kin.19:14-19)
Ah mih people, yuh see how we should ALL respond to EVERY crisis in our lives? Go straight to our wonderful, mighty, ever-LOVING God in prayer! That is definitely true wisdom, my brethren!
But how many of us do that eh? Certainly not enough! We first run to humans. And only if they can’t fix it, do we turn to God, with weeping and all sorts of beseeching, foolishly, but fully expecting Him to fix our problems right away.
Unfortunately though Friends, our God doesn’t operate like that. We need to be like Hezekiah; stay faithfully tuned to God when things are good, then run to Him FIRST, when things begin to go awry!
Even though Isaiah had promised Hezekiah that the Lord would save Jerusalem, (2 Kin.19:6-7) he didn’t rely on the prophet’s words, but went himself before the Lord and placed his request, quite rightly acknowledging the Lord’s omnipotence and singular Deity over all the world.
Oh my people, when are we truly going to get that in our hearts eh, and stop allowing the things of the world prominence over the things of Almighty God? It’s only when we do that, that our world will move away from the nonsense it now elevates and treasures, and some semblance of reason and prosperity will return.
As the scholars say: ‘Hezekiah was truly a man of trust. He takes his concerns to God in prayer, believing that God would vindicate His name and deliver Jerusalem.’
That only says that we don’t truly believe and trust in God to fulfill His promises to us when we run to Him last and not first. Oh my people, I can only point us in the right direction, it’s up to each of us to follow it. If we do, we’ll surely be rewarded. But if we don’t, then we’ll certainly pay the price… and it’s usually a hefty one.
On a point of interest, you can read all about Hezekiah’s decent reign in 2 Kings Chapters 18-19, and the particular scripture I quoted above, can also be found in Isaiah Chapter 37.
So then my fellow believers, today, let’s up the ante nuh; let’s raise our level of faith and trust in the Lord God Jehovah, not merely in words, but even more importantly in deeds, for that’s the only way we will ever improve our own lives and also bring the heathen to believe in the ONE and ONLY TRUE GOD, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Much LOVE!
…only the God who made us…can truly help us…
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Today’s Scrip-Bit 17 May 2015 Philippians 4:20
17 May 2015 Leave a comment
by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a mere mortal, a strangle hold, abound to your account, according to his riches, actions, Amen, an acceptable sacrifice, aroma, be glory for ever and ever, behaviour, belief in Jesus, bring us together, Bruh Paul, busy lives, celebrate, Christians, church leaders, cliques, confident certainty, courage, deeds, denominations, desire fruit, differences, different functions, dignity, divide, divine destiny, divisions, dominon, ecstatic joy, evil minions, factions, faith, faithfully worship God, food for thought, fragrant scent, fulfill Jesus' mandate, generosity, giving thanks, glorifying God, God's sanctuary, God's word and will, grateful, Herculean task, holding my breath, hope, I do know, in cahoots with the world, inscribed me. in the palms of your hands, insular, investment, Jesus' church is one body, joy, Jude, keep keeping on, keep us apart, kindness, LOVE, lustful things, majesty, mercy, motives, Now unto God our Father, odour, our Saviour, petty, Philippians, pleasant fragrance, power, purpose, reaping, Ruth Harms Calkin, sad commentary, satisfaction, Scrip-Bit family, selfish, sheer delight, similaritites, sing and shout, soar, sob, sowing, spreading the gospel all over the world, strength, Sunlit morning, thankful, the church at Philippi, the God of the universe, the life of the Son, the Lord loves a generous giver, the love of the Father, the One Day Book of Bible Promises, the power of the Holy spirit, the prince of darkness, the things of the world, the work and treasures of heaven, thoughts, trust, ungodly world, united, uniting Christ's church, unlimited resources, uplifting, well pleasing to God, what a wonderful God we serve and worship, wise God, words, work together
Philippians 4:20. Now unto God our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
A warm and welcome, gracious and LOVING Sunday morning to you my Scrip-Bit Family! (smile) I do hope that you are in the process, or will soon be in the process of getting ready to go to God’s sanctuary to celebrate and faithfully worship Him with other believers, as He desires of His followers.
For as I say every week, Jesus’ church is ONE body, made up of many believers, and in fellowship together we find strength, courage, hope and faith to keep keeping on in this ungodly world. And being ONE body, it means that all the parts, though graced with different functions, NEED to work TOGETHER if we’re to fulfill Jesus’ mandate of spreading the gospel to all and sundry, throughout the entire world. (Matt. 28:19-20)
Unfortunately though, there are too many divisions, cliques, religions, factions, denominations and what have you that divide us. That’s why the prince of darkness and his evil minions have such a strangle hold on the world.
Ah Friends, what a serious splash Christians would make in this world if we were truly joined together, united as ONE! Now I’m sincerely hoping for that, but I’m not holding my breath, because it doesn’t seem like it’s going to happen any time soon.
Why? Because we tend to let our differences – many of which are petty, insular and selfish – keep us apart, rather than let our similarities – like our basic faith, trust and belief in Jesus – bring us together. What a sad commentary on our actions and behavior as Christians, my brethren!
But I guess it doesn’t bother our church leaders sufficiently for them to seriously work at uniting Christ’s church. And even if they truly tried coming together, it would be still a Herculean task, because too many of Christ’s supposed flock are in cahoots with the world and the lustful things thereof. Anyway Friends, let that provide ample food for thought today as we go about our too busy lives.
Now here is something much more uplifting, that I couldn’t resist sharing from the One Day Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. It’s titled ‘The Beautiful Sunlit Morning.’
And these are the wonderful sentiments it declares. ‘Dear God On this beautiful sunlit Morning in May You’ve drenched me With ecstatic joy. I want to sing and shout I want to soar with sheer delight. At the same time I want to sob – So utterly overwhelmed I am With the magnitude of You. O God, I know I do know With serene satisfaction And confident certainty That I belong to the God of the universe – To the Creator of all that exists.
I do know That I, a mere mortal Am forever linked to divine destiny – That my life has purpose and dignity. I do know That You have chosen me As the object of Your lavish LOVE That Your thoughts toward me Are thoughts of kindness and mercy That You have inscribed me In the palms of Your hands.
I do know That all the LOVE of the Father And the Life of the Son And the Power of the Holy Spirit Are freely, inseparably mine – Now and through all eternity. O God On this beautiful sunlit Morning in May I do know.’
Oh what a beautiful declaration of faith that is my people! But how many of us, if we declare it, will then have God sadly shake His head when He looks at motives of our hearts eh? Too many, my people, too many. And that is why Christianity isn’t as strong as it used to be; too many people are not truly motivated by the Word of God, we allow the things of the world to have more sway over us than God’s Word and Will.
We’ll leave that alone for today though. (smile) Let’s concentrate on the promise that the beautiful poem was based on, and is our Bit for today. ‘Now unto God our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.’
Now that’s what we’re supposed to be about my brethren; giving thanks to and glorifying our heavenly Father with our words, deeds and actions!
The church at Philippi did that concerning Bruh Paul, because that was the only one that consistently sent him gifts, although he never asked them to. And though he was grateful and thankful for their interest in his well-being, as he told them: ‘Not because I desire (seek) a gift: but I desire (seek) fruit that may abound to your account.’ (Phil.4:17)
He didn’t want them to think that he was just after their money, but rather that their gift was, as the scholars explain: ‘a sure investment in the work and treasures of heaven, each one yielding rich dividends.’
Yes Friends, likewise, when we make sincere investments in the lives of others, those investments will bring forth good fruit on earth, and rich rewards for us in heaven. That’s the basic law of God, re sowing and reaping.
And Bruh Paul continues: ‘But I have all (have received all), and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell (a pleasant aroma), a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God. But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Jesus Christ.’ (Phil. 4:18-19)
And the scholars explain those two verses thus. ‘4:18. I have all means that Paul has received their gifts. And abound signifies that he has plenty, since all needs are now met through their generosity. God looks on their gift to Paul as an odour of a sweet smell (a fragrant scent) and a sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing.’
‘4:19. Because the Lord is aware of the sacrifice (v.18) the Philippians made in meeting Paul’s need, God will surely supply all their need. God will meet their “need” (1) according to his riches, that is in proportion to His unlimited resources; (2) in glory, that is He will meet their need “gloriously” or “in a splendid manner”, and (3) by Christ Jesus.’
Ah Friends, what a wonderful God we serve and worship! And we’ll end with a benediction that resembles our Bit, but from Jude, Jesus’ half-brother.
‘Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling (stumbling), and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.’ (Jude 24-25)
Much LOVE, my brethren!
…if one wants to receive bountifully…then one must learn to give generously… for the Lord LOVES a generous giver…