21 Nov 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a dangerous supposition, a great family, a light at the end of the tunnel, a man's life does not consist of his possessions, a vapour, arrogance, asking for God's opinion, beware of covetousness, boast not thyself of tomorrow, buy and sell, Christians, confer with God, courage, creativity, curse, destroyed, doeth it not, eat drink and be merry, evil doers will be cut off, faith, favour, good freinds, good health, he sees that his day is coming, holy spirit, if the Lord will, is not rich towards God, Jesus Christ, LOVE, make a profit, mercy, negative word, painted with that brush, prosper, rejoicing in boastings is evil, repercussions, salvation, self-control, self-discipline, shall inherit the earth, success, take heed, take thine ease, that appears for a little time, the abundance of peace, the abundance of things, the Lord shall laugh at him, then vanishes away, they that wait upon the Lord, this night thy soul shall be required of thee, thou fool, thou hast much goods laid up, thou knowest not what a day may bring forth, to him it is sin, to him that knoweth to do good, today or tomorrow, truth, we shall live and do this or that, we will go into such a city, what is your life, wisdom, ye ought to say, ye rejoice in your boasting
James 4:15. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.
And now it’s Thursday; the penultimate day of our work week…and we’re seeing a li’l light at the end of the tunnel…for tomorrow is Friday…the day we live for! But please remember we’ve got to get through Thursday before we can celebrate Friday, and who knows what can happen in that space of time. So let’s not be too confident of being alive and with everything being okay on Friday.
That brings to mind James’ discourse on Rejoicing in Boastings is Evil. He writes: ‘Go to now (come now), ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain (make a profit): Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice (boast) in your boasting (arrogance): all such rejoicing is evil. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.’ (James 4:13-17)
Ah friends, we all do that kind of stuff, without even considering what the Father has in mind, much less asking His opinion or blessing on whatever we want to do. We simply take things for granted, that they will go along as they always have. But that’s a dangerous supposition, for life can change without a moment’s notice. That’s why it’s always good to speak with the Father before making our pronouncements, for He might just be of a different opinion. (smile)
And I like how the scholars explain the first two verses there: ‘This one is a fool, for he thinks he knows something that he doesn’t. He presumes he has the resources to control his destiny. (cf. Prov. 27:1; Luke 12:13-21).’ But sadly, far too many of us, even Christians, can be painted with that brush. But as Cousin Sol so rightly tells us in Proverbs: ‘Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.’ (Prov. 27:1) And we know that scripture, but we still do it, because we’ve gotten so accustomed to doing it without any serious repercussions.
That brings us to the other reference the scholars gave where Jesus teaches us to beware of covetousness. He warns: ‘Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.’ (Luke 12:15) Then He goes on to tell them this parable about the rich, greedy fool. The one where this rich man’s harvest has been so bountiful that he has nowhere to store it.
So he says to himself: ‘This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow (store) all my fruits (crops) and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.’(Luke 12:17-21)
That again is so true of too many of us, who kill ourselves to accumulate the material things of the world, without any thought to God, neither spending time with Him and being obedient to His word or keeping Him first place in our lives, nor giving generously of our possessions to do His kingdom work. That obviously will draw forth His displeasure. And yes, there are many of the wicked who are amassing great fortunes, but please remember the Lord’s Word that the wicked will destroyed, and won’t even be remembered.
Bruh David says it in Psalm 37 – Trust in the Lord. ‘For evil doers shall be cut off destroyed: but they that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider (look diligently for) his place, and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth. The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming.’ (Ps. 37:9-13)
It could not be said any plainer or more straightforward than that my brethren. So please let’s take serious note of those words and do our best to refrain from the world’s entreaties, from the enemy’s attempts to get us involved in evil doing. And let’s remember, as James says, those who know how to do good and don’t do it, to them it’s considered sin. Now, let’s go home declaring (chuh!!!) and thus activating our Thursday Blessings that the Lord has so generously bestowed on us to do His earthly work.
As one voice: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment!
I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’
And having activated those undeserved blessings, it’s now our bounden duty to go out and use them on behalf of others, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us! Much LOVE!
…before making any pronouncements…it’s always best to confer with God first…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
10 Apr 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a live coal, a man of unclean lips, a people of unclean lips, absolution, Advocate, ask forgiveness, beloved of God, blessed life, born again, cleansed, confession, consecration, corrupt environment, Counsellor, court of appeal, Cross of Calvary, crumble to dust, destroyed, emotional discomfort, extenuating circumstances, for Jesus' sake, forgiven, friend of Jesus, God's presence, heinous sins, I am undone, inherited tendencies, intercession, kneel in your presence, legitimate excuse, life's twistings, loving-kindness, mine eyes have seen the king, My only defense, Old Testament, one day at a time, one solitary defense, One Year Book of Bible promises, prince of peace, reality, recommendations, references, Ruth Harms Calkin, sacrifice of Jesus, sacrificial blood, seraphim, share His love, stripped of facade, stupidity, Thank you Jesus, the Lamb of God, the Lord of hosts, the sin of the world, tongs, touched thy lips, truth, Tuesday Mantra, weakness, woe is me, Yahweh
Isaiah 6:5. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone (destroyed); because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.
Okay friends, now that we’ve successfully overcome Monday, let’s turn our attention to Tuesday. Yes, just one day at a time, that’s all the Lord wants us to handle, consequently, He split our time period into days and nights. So let’s not jump ahead of ourselves nuh, and try to do too much all at once.
And on this Tuesday morning, in the cold spring of 2018 (smile) I have an interesting poem to share from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. It’s titled ‘My Only Defense.’
Please pray with me. ‘The powerful reality grips me, Lord That when I kneel in Your presence To ask Your forgiveness I am utterly stripped of façade. You accept no big-name references No high-caliber recommendations. Extenuating circumstances Crumble to dust In Your court of appeal… I am forgiven never Because of inherited tendencies Or emotional discomfort Or nagging weakness…
I can never plead Corrupt environment Or life’s strange twistings Or my own unbelievable stupidity… Ultimately I have one solitary defense. Only one – But always one: Forgive me God For Jesus’ sake. Like a song unending The words keep singing…I am totally forgiven I am totally cleansed Just for Jesus’ sake.’
What an awesome truth that is my brethren! Only by the spilled blood of Jesus on that cross of Calvary are we, or can we be forgiven for our heinous sins by our heavenly Father. Yes, only on the basis of that sacrificial blood are we even allowed into God’s Holy presence. And then all our worldly and personal excuses are worth absolutely nothing in God’s court of law.
Please, let’s remember that it’s only through and because of Jesus that we enjoy anything of the blessed life we now enjoy. So let’s stop putting Him down and blaspheming Him, as so many of us still do. Instead, let’s raise Him up, exalt Him, let’s acknowledge Him as the bright and shining Light that He is; our Lord, Saviour, Advocate, Counsellor, Advocate and Prince of Peace, amongst many other things.
Yeh friends, without Jesus, we are, and we would be nothing! And until we truly recognize and acknowledge that fact our lives will continue to be topsy-turvy and without peace.
And the Bible verse for that promise is also our Bit for today. ‘Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone (destroyed); because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.’
That was Isaiah’s response to his vision when the Lord commissioned him to speak to Israel on His behalf. But then, much to his surprise: ‘Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar. And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged (atoned for).’ (Is.6:6-7)
Oh my people, we are ALL also of unclean lips, dwelling in a society of unclean lips. But luckily for us we don’t have to have a hot piece of coal touch our mouths to be forgiven of our sins. Thank the Lord we have the sacrifice of Jesus performing that rite of absolution!
We just need to be born again and come to acknowledge Christ as Lord and Saviour, and our sins are forgiven. Bless the Lord, oh my soul, for His LOVING-kindness to the children of men!
Now let’s look at some of the scholars explanations re Isaiah’s Confession and Consecration. ‘6:5. Isaiah’s confession: Having seen God in the full glory of His holiness, Isaiah pronounces the prophetic Woe upon himself. This was a legal charge meaning “ruined” or “dead.” His self-evaluation was I am undone (from Heb. ‘damah’, meaning “to be dumb” or “silent.”)
Thus, his response was a statement of total self-condemnation: “I am dead…I am speechless!” Recognizing that he has no legitimate excuse for himself, he further realizes that he is unclean, “defiled” or “polluted”).
This self-evaluation is made in light of the fact that he has seen the King, the Lord of hosts. The heavenly King is identified as Yahweh Himself, who is called “Lord of hosts” 62 times in Isaiah and 261 times throughout the Old Testament.’
‘6:6-7. Isaiah’s Consecration: Isaiah’s confession of his personal sin brought the response of God’s cleansing to equip him for service to the Lord. The altar was the place of blood sacrifice, called by later rabbinic writers the ‘paraclete’, or place of expiation or intercession. The coal has no redemptive ability of its own but is symbolic of the efficacy of the burnt offering consumed on the altar. Thus Isaiah’s sin was purged (cleansed).’
Oh my faithful brethren, isn’t it wonderful that we don’t have to go though all the blood sacrifice and stuff that the people of the Old Testament experienced. Jesus paid for all our sins once and for all on the cross of Calvary! And all Jesus’ followers cried out a loud and grateful ‘Thank You Jesus!’
Now let’s go home, as we do on a Tuesday declaring our Tuesday Mantra, letting the whole world know who and whose we are. In sincere and strong voice now: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
And the next move is to go out and action that declaration. Much LOVE!
…behold…the Lamb of God…which taketh away the sin of the world… (John 1:29b)
20 Feb 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adversity, Alpha, always shining forth, anger, backbone, Be All, become like our big brother, belly, beloved of God, calamity, carnal, cease from anger, commit thy way, cut down like the grass, Daily Bread Devotion, delight thyself in the Lord, destroyed, dismal start to the day, distrustful, do good, do his bidding, do without Jesus, dwell in the land, end all, enduring trials, envious, eternal hope, everything to us, evil lucifer, evildoers, faith, feed on his faithfulness, fend for ourselves, fleshly laws of the world, fodder, fret not thyself, friend of Jesus, glory to God, God's handiwork, gospel truth, grow in grace, growing in faith, him who prospers, impatience, impatient, in the lives of, ineveitable end, jealousy, lack of trust, LOVE, maturity in Christ, more Christ-like, never leave nor forsake us, never reneges on a promise, Omega, physical darkness, purpose for being, put it into action, rain, rely on God, repetition, Rest in the Lord, righteousness, rough times, share God's love, spiritual laws of God, spiritual light of Jesus, steadfast way of life, thank the Lord for Jesus, the body of Christ, the church, the desires of thine heart, the Father gave us the Spirit, the man who brings wicked schemes to pass, the noonday sun, the workers of iniquity, to make us like the Son, tribulations, true believers, trust in God, trust in the Lord, Tuesday Mantra, unholy messages, wait on God's timing, wait patiently, walking with Christ, wither as the green herb, working wonders
Psalm 37:7. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices (schemes) to pass.
Well friends, the rain continues to sprinkle down in my neighbourhood this Tuesday morning, marking a somewhat dark and dismal start to the day. But please remember that despite the physical darkness that might surround you, the brilliant spiritual light of Jesus is always shining forth in the lives of true believers. Glory to God!
What would we do without Jesus eh friends? I really don’t know nuh! For He is our Be ALL and End ALL – Our Alpha and Omega! In fact, He’s EVERYTHING to us! Without Him, our lives would simply be fodder for the evil Lucifer. Thank the Lord for Jesus yes!
And here’s a li’l insight into the situation through a Daily Bread Devotion Thought for the day. ‘The Father gave us the Spirit to make us like the Son.’ Glory be mih people! That’s our inevitable end, our very purpose for being; to become like our big brother, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! It’s God’s eternal hope for us.
Oh, He knows that we will never be completely like Jesus, because we just don’t have all His parts, but we can certainly become more Christ-like than we currently are. And that’s something we ought to work towards, both individually and as the body of Christ, the church.
But growing in faith and maturity in Christ, also means enduring trials and tribulations, adversity and calamity. For one does not grow that much in good times, but it’s in the rough times that we see our faith working wonders, our belly and backbone being strengthened, as we trust in and rely on God more than ever.
And the wonderful thing about our amazing God is that He helps us in doing whatever He asks us to do. He doesn’t ask us to do something, then leave us to fend for ourselves. Absolutely not! He gives us the wherewithal to do His bidding and comes to our aid when we ask for it.
No other supposed Deity does anything like that. Give Him much thanks and praise my people, for being such a wonderful God to us, woeful sinners that we are!
And the problems we encounter in walking with Christ are mostly brought on by our lack of trust in God and our impatience, our failure to wait on His timing. God has promised that He will never leave nor forsake us, and we know that He NEVER reneges on a promise, so why are we so distrustful and impatient eh?
Because we tend to live by the carnal and fleshly laws of the world, more than the spiritual laws of God. The world touts now for now happenings, but the Lord says wait on me.
And nowhere is it said better than in Psalm 37 – the true state of the wicked- those immortal words of Bruh David that make up our Bit for today. ‘Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices (schemes) to pass.’
Yes we all know that passage, but we don’t practice it as much as we should. Oh, I know that the world is always bombarding us with it’s unholy messages, but there’s no real excuse for us not following Bruh David’s wise advice more faithfully, especially as we see God’s handiwork in our lives and we grow in His grace.
And I know that I quoted these verses from Psalm 37 not too long ago, but I’ll quote them again, because we only learn stuff through repetition; hearing or doing them again and again. And we definitely need to hear them again, if we’re ever going to stop living by the carnal laws of the world, and live by the spiritual ones of Christ instead.
So here goes: ‘Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed (feed on His faithfulness).
Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgement (justice) as the noonday.’ (Ps.37.1-6)
Yeh mih breddren, that’s what our faith is all about: trusting in the Lord and waiting patiently and eagerly for Him to do His will in our lives! Only then will righteousness and justice show forth in our lives.
Now listen to these two verses after our Bit. ‘Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. For evildoers shall be cut off (destroyed): but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.’ (Ps.37:8-9)
And there we have the whole believer’s life story in a nutshell: trust in God, forsake jealousy and anger, do good, wait patiently on Him, and He will cause your life to be truly blessed. And that’s gospel truth my brethren! So let’s live up to it, as we should nuh.
Now let’s go home faithfully and sincerely declaring our Tuesday Mantra, proudly letting the whole world know who and whose we are. In unison now: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
And having faithfully declared it, let’s now go out and put it into action as Jesus so badly desires of us. Much LOVE!
…wait…hope…trust…do good…look to the Lord…are not mere words to a true believer…but a steadfast way of life…
10 Aug 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a cross bearing affair, a senior, a spring chicken, a young pup, abundance, actions speak louder than words, agenda, alive in God's kingdom, almighty god, ambassadors, an old fowl, ashamed, ashamed of Jesus, bear his cross, Calvary, cannot be my disciple, celebrating, christianity, Christians, come after me, comfortable life, compassionate heart, compromise, contrariness, courage, creativity, curse, destroyed, disciple, dreams, dreams come true, enjoying to the fullest, eternal life, example of life, faith, favour, focus, for my sake, gain the whole world, hypocrisy, know thyself, lifestyle, loses his life, lost, LOVE Revolution, negative word, one more day, onerous task, pleas for help, prosper, redemption, sacrifice, salvation, save his life, self-control, self-discipline, share our blessings, shortcomings, souring people, spreading the gospel, success, support Jesus in public, talent, tarnishes the image of jesus, the good news of Jesus, the Son of man, the terms of discipleship, the way of life, the wooden cross, the work of Jesus, Thursday Blessings, triumph, turning away from God, undying LOVE, walking our talk, wasting Jesus' sacrifice, wisdom, witness, work while they dream
Luke 14:27. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
One more day, just one more day… Yeh friends, one more day to be alive in God’s great kingdom! It’s such a pleasure to be alive again! (smile)
But have you noticed how those one more days quickly add up to many more years? One day you’re a young pup, a spring chicken, then one day you’re suddenly a senior, an old fowl! Hn, hn! But that’s the way of life.
And let’s hope you are enjoying each of those days to the fullest, because that’s what our Lord and Saviour desires for us and why He sacrificed His life on that wooden cross at Calvary. So if we’re not celebrating that triumph, then we’re wasting His sacrifice. And what an awful thing that would be.
But here are a couple of good questions for us. Where is our focus concentrated today eh? And what’s on our agenda?
Hopefully, as true believers, our focus is directly on Almighty God, and the priority on our agenda is doing the work of Jesus; spreading His awesome gospel of undying LOVE, redemption, salvation and eternal life.
And that doesn’t always mean talking, but more so in the example of life that we live. Our lives should realistically reflect the good news of Jesus. And if they aren’t reflecting it, then we’re not doing a good job for our wonderful Leader and Saviour, we’re not being good disciples, good ambassadors for His kingdom.
Consequently, we’re not the true Christians we ought to be. And that’s the major reason why more people are turning away from God today, than turning to Him.
My friends, we are falling down in our Christian witness when we talk one thing, then people see us living contrary to our talk. We’re obviously not walking our talk. And it’s time to do better, if we truly want Christ’s LOVE Revolution to be successful.
And please remember that actions speak much louder than words. So what we do, will usually have a greater impact on others than what we say. Thus the hypocrisy, the compromise and contrariness in our faith walk is souring people on the Christian lifestyle, and consequently on Christ.
And a quote from my ‘I LOVE YOU’ Poster reminds us that ‘Dreams come true for those who work while they dream.’ The present day Christian problem seems to be that too many of us are dreaming without working, that’s why we’re not accomplishing as much as we ought to.
Obviously we’re not complying with the words of Jesus in our Bit. ‘And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.’
Yes friends, we each have a cross to bear in our kingdom work; a task we have to perform. Now it doesn’t mean that task is necessarily onerous or body-breaking like Jesus’ cross was, but it always entails some sacrifice.
Earlier on in Luke Jesus outlined the terms of discipleship. ‘And he said to them all, If any man will come after me (desires to follow me), let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whosoever will (desires to) save his life, shall lose it; but whosoever will lose (loses) his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged (benefited), if he gain the whole world, and lose himself (is destroyed), or be cast away (is lost)?
For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels.’ (Luke 9:23-26)
There you have it my fellow believers, the terms of discipleships as detailed by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Now are we living up to those terms? Most of us aren’t. Too many of us have settled for the soft, easy comfortable life our society affords.
And surprisingly, too many of us are ashamed of Jesus! We’re afraid to talk about Him to others. We listen to others put Him down and don’t utter a word in rebuke or support, because we don’t want them to know that we are Christians and think badly of us.
Steups! Ah friends, if we can’t support Jesus in public, that means we hold the opinions of man more important than that of God. And that definitely does not lead to true discipleship, but rather tarnishes the image of our Saviour and His movement.
So today is as good as any to sit down and consider the saying ‘know thyself.’ Let’s sit down and seriously inspect our own lives and see if we’re being true disciples of Jesus. Then ask the Lord to help us in our shortcomings. He won’t ever turn down our sincere pleas for help.
Now let’s go home loudly and proudly declaring our Thursday Blessings. In unison: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance!
I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
And since blessings are meant to be shared, let’s go out and bless others now my fellow believers in Christ! Much LOVE!
…just like Jesus had His cross to bear…all Christians have their crosses too …Christianity is a cross bearing affair…
02 Nov 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: 110 percent, a faithful Creator, a glorious future with Jesus, apostle, assurance of salvation, be counted, brought to his knees, case from anger, Christians, commit thy way, confidence, cut off, delight thyself, destroyed, enthusiasm, evildoers, faithful, for I know whom I have believed, for the which cause, forsake wrath, fret not thyself, giving everything, glad to be alive, glory, glory hallelujah, God's gifts, God's grace, halfway home, hands on the plough, he is able to keep, honour, I also suffer these things, I am not ashamed, I am persuaded, inherit the earth, Jesus is the best, judgement, justice, keeping of their souls, mercies, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, negatives, new blessings, no leftovers, not looking back, obedient, passion, positives, preacher, principles, prospers, Rest in the Lord, righteousness, salvation, sincerity, stand up, stewards, teacher, template, thank God, that which I have committed unto him, the breath of life, the desires of thine heart, the judgement seat of christ, the noonday, the will of God, this is the day the Lord has made, Timothy, today's journey, trust, trust in the Lord, until that day, wait upon the Lord, walk of faith, walking in God's will, we will rejoice and be glad in it, Wednesday Wail, well doing, wicked devices schemes
2 Timothy 1:12. For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against (until) that day.
And then it was Wednesday! Yes friends, it’s a brand new day filled with brand new blessings and mercies made especially for this day. No leftovers or anything from yesterday.
So please let’s appreciate it as such and seek all that our wonderful God has prepared for us today, starting by proclaiming with confidence; ‘This is the day the Lord has made, we WILL rejoice and be glad in it.” (Ps.118:24)
That’s the first step in today’s journey my people, acknowledging that we will enjoy the day. That will just lead us to focus on all the positives in our lives and not the negatives.
And to help us do that, let’s wail our Wednesday Wail, again with supreme confidence, overwhelming enthusiasm, strong passion and heartfelt sincerity.
Wailing: ‘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!’
Oh my people, what a wonderful declaration!Who isn’t glad that they are alive today eh? I certainly am!
And the breath of life is one of God’s greatest gifts to us mere mortals. Consequently, it should be highly appreciated, for a lot of people have lost that gift just today, and we are the blessed ones.
And on top of all that, we’re being faithful and obedient in our walk of faith, looking ahead to a glorious future with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Wow friends; that is the ‘mostest!’ (smile)
Yeh, nothing can beat a long and glorious time with Jesus, for He is the BEST!
That’s why, when Bruh Paul was finally brought to his knees by Jesus, he spent the rest of his earthly life working his ‘soulcase’ out in his honour and glory!. Long time I haven’t hear that word ‘soulcase.’ It just means giving your everything, 110 percent.
Therefore, as a preacher, an apostle and a teacher to the Gentiles, he could confidently declare to the young pastor Timothy, the words of our Bit.
‘For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against (until) that day.’
And the scholars offer these insights into that verse. ‘1:12. Persuaded (Gr. peitho): The perfect tense indicates that “I was persuaded in the past and remain so now.“ That he is able to keep refers to the assurance of salvation which is committed…against that day, when we will stand before the judgement seat of Christ.’
Yuh see friends, our faith and our assurance of salvation are not things to be trifled with. They are very serious aspects of our lives, both here on earth and in eternity.
That means we have to be strong in Jesus, be fully committed to doing His earthly work, being good ambassadors for Him, not ashamed of Him, or be afraid to stand up and be counted in His name. Only then can we consider ourselves true followers.
Believers believe, but followers act on their beliefs!
Now hear this corroboration of Bruh Paul’s words by Peter, talking about being good stewards of God’s grace. ‘Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.’ (1 Pet.4:19)
And so it should be my brethren! If we’re walking in and suffering in God’s will, then it’s only logical that we should commit our very beings to Him, especially since He is also our Creator, and a faithful one at that.
But it’s Bruh David who puts it in true layman’s terms, as he confidently declares in Psalm 37 – The true state of the wicked. ‘Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed (feed on his faithfulness).
Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgement (justice) as the noonday.
Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices (schemes) to pass.
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil (for it only causes harm). For evildoers shall be cut off (destroyed): but those that wait upon the Lord shall inherit the earth.’ (Ps.37:3-9)
Oh friends, I couldn’t put it any better. Bruh David has laid out the template for all Christians in that short passage of scripture. If we sincerely adhere to it, then we won’t go wrong.
Please, I implore us to check our lives today and see if we’re adhering to those wise principles, and as always, ask the Lord to help us wherever we are not coming up to scratch. Much LOVE!
…a Christian’s vocabulary should abound in these words…trust, delight, commit, rest and fret not…
05 Jun 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: affirmation of faith, angels, anger, as for me and mine, at his feet, blameless, cease from anger, Christendom, come alive, commit thy way, confidently trust the Lord, consequences, crown him Lord of all, cut off, death, delight, destroyed, discouragement, do good, dwell in the land, encouraging, envious, ever-faithful, everlasting song, evil men, evildoers, exciting life, failure, faith, formula, forsake wrath, fret not, glory, Glory be, God's sanctuary, grace, hope, Hour of Power Devotional, I will move, immoral, inherit the earth, iniquity, Israelite, life boring death, majesty ascribe, move forward, National Anthem of Christendom, omnipotent god, pardon, peace of mind, pious, power, praise, prayer, prostrate, providence, raised the roof, ransomed, recipe, responsive, rest, reversal of fortunes, righteousness, robert h schuller, rooted out, sacred throng, saves you by his grace, seed of Israel, shame, short-lived, strange women, strength, success, Sunday, the Lord's Day, the Lord's presence, the perfect, the power of Jesus name, the Promised Land, the royal diadem, the upright, the wicked, tongue, transgressors, tribe, uplifting, wait patiently, wait upon the Lord, we will follow the Lord, weakness, wickedness, wisdom, worship, wrath
Proverbs 2:21. For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect (blameless) shall remain in it.
Welcome my fellow believers to this blessed and glorious day called Sunday – the best day of the week! And so it should be since its’ the Lord’s Day. And what better way to begin our proceedings than with some praise and worship, so please sing with me this popular old hymn, which is sometimes called the ‘National Anthem of Christendom.’
As one now my people, let’s raise the roof of God’s sanctuary with the passion of our praise and worship. ‘All hail the power of Jesus’ name! Let angels prostrate fall. Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown him Lord of all. Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown him Lord of all!
O seed of Israel’s chosen race now ransomed from the fall, hail him who saves you by his grace, and crown him Lord of all. Hail him who saves you by his grace, and crown him Lord of all! Let every tongue and every tribe responsive to his call, to him all majesty ascribe, and crown him Lord of all. To him all majesty ascribe, and crown him Lord of all!
Oh, that with all the sacred throng we at his feet may fall! We’ll join the everlasting song and crown him Lord of all. We’ll join the everlasting song and crown him Lord of all. Amen!’
And having raised the roof not only of our sanctuary, but also of heaven, let’s tone it down a little with some heartfelt prayer as devised by Gramps Schuller (Robert H Schuller) from his Hour of Power Devotional, titled ‘I Will Move…’ I’m fairly sure that we’ve prayed it before, but as we keep on saying, once it’s nice, it’s okay to pray it twice. (smile)
So please pray with me. ‘Lord, I want your heart to be in my heart. For in you I come alive, moving ahead from boring death to exciting life! In your promises, I will move from discouragement to hope. In your pardon, I will move from shame to glory. In your power, I will move from weakness to strength. In your providence, I will move from failure to success! Thank you, Lord. Amen.’
Oh friends, what an awesome prayer! It highlights all we can do and become, how we’ll move positively forward when we acknowledge and sincerely maintain the Lord’s presence in our lives! Glory be!
And all of that just nicely and naturally segues into our Bit; wise words from Cousin Sol, as he talks about staying away from evil men and strange (immoral) women. ‘For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect (blameless) shall remain in it.’
And that’s a fact my brethren, as Cousin Sol explains in the next verse. ‘But the wicked shall be cut off (destroyed) from the earth (land), and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.’ (Prov.2:22)
Precious people, it couldn’t get any plainer than that. Righteousness will undoubtedly overcome wickedness. That’s the promise of our ever-faithful and omnipotent God, so I wouldn’t go doubting His Word in favour of Lucifer’s lies.
And if you don’t believe Cousin Sol, then listen to his father, Bruh David, from Psalm 37 – The true state of the wicked. ‘Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed (feed on his faithfulness). Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgement (justice) as the noonday. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices (schemes) to pass.
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil (it only causes harm). For evildoers shall be cut off (destroyed): but those that wait upon (look diligently for) the Lord, shall inherit the earth.’ (Ps.37:1-9)
Ah mih breddren, what wonderful words of wisdom…and from a man who lived them! Now let’s hear some interesting explanations from the scholars on those verses.
‘Psalm 37. The psalm is written in the form of an acrostic, although our numbering is out of step with the Hebrew. There is no logical outline to the psalm, so it is best studied according to its topics. The major point of the psalm seems to be that the wicked’s prosperity is short-lived.
Though David was troubled by the prosperity of the unrighteous, he knew by faith that their undeserved bounty would be cut off. His underlying belief is that God will intervene in His time. Then the present, temporary reversal of fortunes will be set right and the righteous “shall inherit the earth” (vv.9, 11, 22, 29, 34).
The mention of inheriting the earth would be encouraging and uplifting to the pious Israelite since all of God’s blessing was connected with the Promised Land. In contrast to this blessed destiny the wicked “shall be cut off,” an expression used often in the Old Testament of a violent death.
The psalm also contains the simple formula for achieving peace of mind in the face of the wicked’s prosperity: fret not…neither be thou envious (v.1), trust…do good(v.3), delight thyself also in the Lord (v.4), commit thy way…trust (v.5), rest…wait patiently…fret not (v.7), cease from anger…forsake wrath…fret not (v.8).
All of those exhortations urge the believer to confidently trust the Lord with all of life’s problems. The psalm concludes appropriately with an undying affirmation of faith and trust in the unchanging character of God.’
What more can I say eh friends? Right there you have the perfect recipe for the best life here on planet earth. It’s now up to you to choose whom to follow. But as for me and mine, without a doubt, we will follow the Lord. Much LOVE!
…it all boils down to…trust, faith and belief in Almighty God…you either do…or you don’t…but remember to consider the consequences of each option before making your choice…
12 Mar 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: auspices, Beelzebub, believe it to see it, chimerical, christ jesus, compassions, contented, correction, deceit, destroyed, evil purposes, faith, faithfulness, furnished unto good works, God's great earth, God's will, God's Word, godliness, great is thy faithfulness, heartwarming, holy, Holy Scriptures, illusory, inspiration of God, Lamentations, live, living the life, Lord God Jehovah, LOVE, lusts of the flesh, material possessions, maturity, meditating, mercies, mirrors, money, moths, obedience, oral instruction, patience, perfect, perks, planned it, praying, prince of darkness, profitable for doctrine, reading, reassuring, reproof, reverence, righteous, righteousness., rust, salvation, sleight of hand, spiritual life, steal your soul, the BIBLE, the good fight of faith, the man of God, treasures in heaven, wisdom, working for good
2 Timothy 3:17. That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished (equipped) unto all good works.
Oh friends, another day on God’s great earth is dawning in our hemisphere, whether we like it or not. Hn! That’s how God, in His infinite wisdom planned it, and we have no say whatsoever in the matter. The only choice we have is how we live, how we spend this day that the Lord has so graciously granted us.
We can either live it under the auspices of Beelzebub, enjoying the lusts of the flesh and the material possessions of this evil world. Or we can choose to dwell under the righteous and holy auspices of the Lord God Jehovah, Maker of heaven and earth and all therein.
Now, I believe that the latter choice is the better one. First of all, the stuff of Beelzebub doesn’t last, can be destroyed by rust and moths etc., plus you can’t take any of it when you depart this life. And besides, a lot of Beelzebub’s work is done through deceit, sleight of hand and mirrors, only giving you the impression that you actually have something good, when in fact you have nothing at all; just a chimerical, illusory state.
However, with Almighty God, you have the ability to store up treasures in heaven, which you can’t do in hell. And secondly, living under the mighty hand of God also brings new perks each and every day. Glory Hallelujah! You certainly don’t get new blessings every day from the evil prince of darkness; he just tries to steal your soul or keep you locked up in darkness to suit his evil purposes.
As Jeremiah reminds us in his Lamentations: ‘It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.’ (Lam.3:22-23).
Oh my fellow believers it is so good, so heartwarming and reassuring to see our heavenly Father working diligently for good in our lives every day. And don’t forget, He is the epitome of faithfulness, He will NEVER let us down under any circumstances, which obviously can’t be said about our evil enemy who roams the earth like a roaring lion, looking for those whom he might devour.
That brings us to our Bit, Bruh Paul’s admonishment to his young protégé Timothy. ‘That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished (equipped) unto all good works.’
And how do we get to be like that? By praying, reading and meditating on the scriptures and living the life it espouses.
As Bruh Paul explains before our Bit: ‘But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.’ (2Tim.3:14-16)
And the scholars illuminate us thus: ‘3:14-17. Continue literally means “remain.” The things which thou hast learned were his oral instruction in the holy scriptures (the Old Testament, here) by his mother (Eunice) and grandmother (Lois). Inspiration of God (Gr. theopneustos, lit. “God-breathed) describes the unique character of Scripture. It is not only written by men, but authored by God.
For doctrine means to tell one what to believe. For reproof means to tell one what is wrong. For correction means to tell one how to correct wrong. For instruction in righteousness means to tell one how to live. Perfect (Gr. artios, “proficient, capable”) is having everything needed to do what God wants. Thoroughly furnished means “thoroughly equipped.” God’s inspired Word, properly used and applied, provides all we need for life and ministry.’
I couldn’t say it any better myself friends. And many of us were raised like Timothy, with oral instructions in the scriptures from some family member, friend or Sunday school teacher, which means that the Word of God was planted in our hearts early on in our lives, so it’s nothing new to us, however we need to continue studying it, so that we will know how to live a godly life as adults.
That’s because the Word is a complete set of instructions on how to live this life. We don’t need anything else beside it; just wisely and diligently follow its instructions and we’ll be well covered. I know that many of us might think otherwise, but you’ll never know the truth until you try it.
Remember in Jesus’ realm, you have to believe it before you see it. That means to have trust and faith in Jesus, regardless of the situation. Again, that’s how the Lord planned His realm and we have no real say in the matter; is either we accept it or not. And we’d be foolish not to accept it, because there’s no faithfulness to be had in Beelzebub’s realm. The word doesn’t exist in his vocabulary. So that’s not a very wise place to be in.
Meanwhile, in our Bit, Bruh Paul to a certain extent is reminding Timothy of his earlier words, re the good fight of faith. ‘But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, LOVE, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed (confessed) a good profession (confession).’ (1 Tim.6:11-12)
That’s after he warned him about the pitfalls of listening to false teachers and being contented with whatsoever he had, as well as the erroneous and disastrous ‘LOVE of money.’
And we’ll end with some thoughts from the scholars. ‘6:11. Flee these things means shun a LOVE for money (v.10) and the striving for material wealth (v.9) with all its resulting woes. Follow after means pursue. Righteousness is practical correctness, conforming to God’s will in one’s thinking and acting. Godliness is proper reverence for, and obedience to, God. Faith is a trust in God that grows stronger. LOVE is a maturing affection for God and man. Patience is perseverance or steadfastness in life and service. Meekness is gentleness.’
‘6:12. The good fight concerns the daily struggle with sin in the Christian life, and the hardships and adversities in the ministry. A genuine believer demonstrates the reality of his faith by being engaged in this warfare. Lay hold on eternal life does not negate the fact that a believer now possesses spiritual life (John 3:36); rather, it speaks of fully realizing or appropriating salvation as the believer matures.’
So friends, as usual, I’m asking us to ponder all that we’ve read today, then, with God’s help, let us try to improve , to steadily mature as we ought, for that is indeed true wisdom. Much LOVE!
…the Bible is God’s Word to us…still fresh through all the ages…and if we read it…we will find God’s wisdom on its pages…
12 Feb 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a bountiful eye, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God, adversity, blessed, broken relationshp, caring, compassionate, cruel, cursed, destroyed, every man shall give as he is able, evil, eyes glued, family friends, family time, focus on God, forgiving, generosity, generous, give bread to the poor, God is the ultimate giver, God LOVES a cheerful giver, good Samaritans, greedy, heartrending, impersonal, inherit the earth, little cottage from Lowlands, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, me myself and I, no way Jose, paradox, reconciliation, ridiculous, sanctity of the family, Scarborough, school chums, selfish, siblings, smile, social entity, soldiers in Christ, strong and trusting faith in Jesus, temptation, Thank the Lord, thanksgiving, the Lord moves in mysterious ways, the Lord's plan for my life, the righteous showeth mercy, the things of the world, this too shall pass away, trial, truth, ungodly, wicked, winter, wisdom, yellow yam, you can't outgive God
Deuteronomy 16:17. Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he hath given thee.
Well Friends, it’s throwback and thanksgiving Thursday! And I’m writing these beautiful words of LOVE from the verandah of my little cottage in Lowlands, with much thanksgiving! I’m giving thanks for all that I have, all that I am, and all that the Lord is calling me to be.
And not to forget, enormous thanks for being in Paradise on another lovely tropical day, when back in the North Country, snow, ice and cold weather reign supreme!
Oh my people, I truly feel for all of you who are up there undergoing the cruel brunt of winter. And sadly, in another couple of weeks I’ll also be feeling sorry for myself when I return to face it. (smile)
But like the good soldiers in Christ that we are, and with His ever-faithful promises to look after us in each and every trial and temptation, plus the fact that like everything else, winter too shall eventually pass and give way to spring, we shall overcome any and every adversity that comes against us.
Please, let’s believe all of that, and walk with it in our hearts, minds and souls, through strong and trusting faith in Jesus Christ, our ever-LOVING Lord and Saviour!
Enough sermonizing for today though. (smile) Now, re adventures. I didn’t do much yesterday, just went into town to the market, so the duchess could get her yellow yam. Hn! Then we visited a couple of old family friends and a couple of school chums; from one end of Scarborough to the next.
The sun was hot sir! I know I came to get sunshine, but not that hot! (smile) And driving around hill and dale on the narrow, badly maintained roads that are still the same width since my youth, was a task in itself, especially with the duchess as my co-pilot. Hn, hn!
One of the people I visited was a 91, well more like 92 year old woman because her birthday is next month. She still lives by herself and looks very good for that age, still getting around on her own to a certain extent, though people, good Samaritans come around and check on her regularly.
Now that’s something I’d LOVE to do; live out my last days in decent health in sweet Tobago! Hopefully that’s in the Lord’s plan for my life. (smile)
But mih people, the best news I’ve heard in a long while, in Tobago or anywhere else, is the recent reconciliation of one of the school friends I visited yesterday and his younger brother.
Thank the Lord for that! He does move in mysterious and glorious ways! For there can be no better or higher action in human life than reconciliation, especially if the break up was originally over petty, unimportant stuff. It’s just like when Jesus died, so that sinful humanity could be reconciled to the Father.
Oh Friends, there’s nothing as sad as a broken relationship especially between siblings, because then it hurts the overall family, the smallest, but most important social entity in our society. And unfortunately the family, as we know it, is dying out because of too many of those break ups, plus the fact that the world now holds the individual as more important than the family.
How often nowadays, do we who live together in the same house, eat or get together as a family to play some game, or just talk eh? Certainly not as often as we should, if we want to protect the sanctity of the family. We’re all so busy with our individual lives that family time is now not a big consideration.
And it’s definitely something we should try to recapture, although the world with its 24/7 schedule, and its widespread communicating devices are making it very difficult to do. It’s a modern day paradox that we are communicating more, but becoming lonelier, because we’re not actually getting together with each other in person.
And even when we do get together, all we do is pull out our little toys and play on them. Chuh! It’s heartrending to see a group of people sitting together, and none of them talking to the others, or even looking at them, their eyes glued to the little screen in front of them, and their fingers busily typing away. Steups!
It’s become so ridiculous, that they could also be sitting together and tweeting or texting each other, instead of talking. When we prefer to communicate through a device, rather than talk to each other face to face, it only means that our society is going further and further downhill. That’s the selfish, impersonal state to which we have finally sunk.
Ah Friends, with all that unscheduled, but vitally important talk, I don’t know how much space and time we have for our Bit. ‘Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he hath given thee.’
Words of immortal truth my people! But are we putting them into practice in this evil, cruel, ungodly society? Not as much as we ought to, for as we said, we’ve become a selfish, individualistic, greedy society, where ‘me, myself and I,’ are the most important pronouns in our vocabulary.
Now let’s look at some scripture that deals with the subject. Yesterday, we saw where Bruh Paul told the Corinthians that whatever and however they sow, that’s what they will reap, and God LOVES cheerful and generous givers, and He always give us enough for our needs. (2 Cor.9:6-8)
Now the scholars in their explanations mentioned Proverbs 22:9, which I doubt, any or many of you checked out. So here it is in living colour. ‘He that hath a bountiful (generous) eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor.’ (Prov.22:9)
Yes my people, in God’s kingdom, generosity is ALWAYS blessed!
Meanwhile in Psalm 37 – The true state of the wicked – Bruh David rightly and wisely declares: ‘The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again (does not repay): but the righteous showeth mercy, and giveth. For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth (land); and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off (destroyed).’ (Ps.37:21-22)
More gospel and immortal truth that my brethren! And we’ll stop there for today, so that we can ponder all the things that we’ve spoken about. So let’s focus steadily on our God today, rather than the things of the world; allowing His words to function in our lives, by being caring, forgiving, compassionate and giving! For that’s the wisdom of heaven! Much LOVE!
…God is the ultimate giver…and besides…you can’t outgive God…no way Jose…
27 Sep 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: autumn, Beelzebub, blessed, Bruh David, capture our minds, control our behaviour, cursed, cut down like the grass, destroyed, destruction to the workers of iniquity, do good, eternal life, evil, fat of lambs, focus, Fret not thyself over evildoers, friends, God's will, God's work, Holy God, hot sun, I lay down my life for the sheep, inherit the earth, iniquity, Joyce Meyer, North country, obedience, one fold, one shepherd, physical wealth, power, priority, pruning our thoughts, purveyors of wickedness, renounce evil, righteous man, salvation, saving souls, strength to the upright, summer-like weather, sumptuous fare, the arms of the wicked shall be broken, the good shepherd, the Lord be praised, the Lord upholds the righteous, the mind makes the man, the way of the Lord, the wicked shall perish, Tobago, trust in the Lord, truth, walking uprightly, watch your actions, watch your character, watch your habits, watch your thoughts, watch your words, where your treasure is there is your heart, wisdom, workers of iniquity, your destiny
Proverbs 10:29. The way of the Lord is strength to the upright: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.
Oh Friends, it looks like it’s going to be another Tobago day in the North Country, the fourth one in a row! (smile) That’s how my brother has been referring to the unseasonal warm, bare-back temperatures we’ve been recently having, with bright sunshine, no clouds obscuring God’s vast, beautiful, blue heaven, and a cool, gentle breeze as a most suitable topping to the sumptuous fare.
All of this after a less than stellar summer – I seem to be one of the few who liked it – and some fairly chilly weather before autumn had even begun. Now, in early autumn, which began on September 23, we’re having summer-like weather that was sadly lacking during the real summer months. But Friends, there’s not much we can do about that now nuh, just say the Lord be praised, and enjoy it for as long as it lasts.
I think sometimes we spend too much time talking about the weather, when our focus, our priority should be on God’s work; saving souls, or rather causing souls to come to Him, so that they can receive the most wonderful gifts available in the universe, namely, salvation and eternal life.
And as a prelude to our Bit, here is something that I think blends in nicely with it. I have shared it before, but like so much other stuff, it’s definitely worth sharing again; a refresher course if you like. (smile) I believe I got it from a Joyce Meyer magazine. The author appears to be anonymous, but his or her words do tell the gospel truth.
It wisely advises us to: ‘Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Watch your words, for they become actions. Watch your actions, for they become habits. Watch your habits, for they become your character. Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.’ Those are certainly words of wisdom and utmost truth, my brethren!
And I guess you can see how it ties in with our Bit. ‘The way of the Lord is strength to the upright: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.’ More gospel truth Friends! But then that’s all we deal with here at the Bit. (smile)
Anyhow, when we begin by pruning our thoughts, keeping them as godly as possible, then the process as explained above, leads us to habits that align with God’s Will. That means we walk uprightly, in obedience to His dictates, and thus enjoy His enormous strength and wonderful blessings. Yes my people, everything begins in the mind, with our thoughts, for the mind makes the man, directs his actions.
That’s why the ole crook Beelzebub always seeks to capture our minds, because then he can control our behaviour. And that’s also why Jesus said: ‘For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.’ (Matt.6:21)
Wherever the things you delight in lie, then that’s where your heart, your focus will be. So to walk sincerely in God’s Will we MUST start out with godly thoughts, and the same goes for walking in disobedience, where ungodly thoughts will prosper.
Now let’s check out a couple scripture passages that lend credence to our Bit. Listen to Bruh David from Psalm 37 – the true state of the wicked. ‘Fret not thyself because of evil doers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed (feed on his faithfulness)…
A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the Lord upholdeth the righteous. The Lord knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever. They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs (splendour of the meadows): they shall consume (vanish): into smoke shall they consume (vanish) away. The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again (does not repay): but the righteous showeth mercy, and giveth. For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth (the land); and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off (destroyed). (Ps.37:1-3, 16-22)
Oh Friends, Bruh David hit the nail on the head in that psalm! Wickedness might last for a season and amass much physical wealth and power, but eventually the purveyors of wickedness will be destroyed by our Holy God, who dislikes evil. So as Bruh David so wisely tells us, don’t fret when we see evil doers prospering, because they will soon be cut down and wither like grass in the hot sun.
Stay upright and obedient to God’s Will and you will be well rewarded. For as Jesus declares: ‘The hireling fleeth, because he is a hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold (flock), and one shepherd.’ (John 10:13-16)
Oh my people, what a mighty promise! If you can’t take encouragement from that and live for Jesus, then I don’t know what else to say. So please, let’s listen to the voice of the Master, and walk upright in His Name, for doing so means we have attained to heavenly wisdom! Much LOVE!
…our God detests evil so much…that He sacrificed His only Son…to get us to renounce it…
13 Mar 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abhor evil, absolute truth, appreciate what Jesus endured for us, awesome truth, awful pain, basic properties of our faith, bleed and dehydrate to death, Bruh David, carrying His cross, cease from anger, cling to good, closer to Jesus, concentration, consellors of peace, crown of thorns, deceit, dentist, destroyed, devise evil, dissimulation, don't do evil, empathy, evil, evildoers, false witness, fear of the Lord, forced to undergo, forsake wrath, free, free at last, fret not, genuine goodness, God's mercy, God-like characteristics, guile, heavenly account, human rights and justice, hung up on the cross, hypocrisy, immortalized words, in mind of Jesus, indisputable fact, inherit the earth, inhumane treatment, joy, long and short of the story, loony bin, LOVE, lustful desire, lying tongue, mental and psychological degradation, mental effect, nightmare, painful trials, piercing of a sword, pleading to Almighty God, promotes health, psyche, rat race life, reap untold joy, reconciling sacrifice, Rest in the Lord, reverence of God, rewards, righteousness., Roman soldiers, root canal, scourging, seek peace, serious suffering, snowstorm, snowy conditions, sow peace, speak truth, sympathy, terrible pains, thank God, the Lord hears the righteous, the Lord never leaves us in the lurch, tongue of the wise, trauma, trials and tribulations, True LOVE, truthful lip, wait pateintly on god, weather forecast, whipping, wicked schemes, wisdom, worldly things
Romans 12:9. Let LOVE be without dissimulation (hypocrisy). Abhor that which is evil; cleave (cling) to that which is good.
Oh Friends, oh Friends, I’m free…! Free at last! Thank God I’m free at last from that awful pain!
Wow! I certainly hope I never have to undergo such trauma again nuh people. It was indeed a nightmare, or rather a ‘daymare’ yesterday, (smile) because that pain raged for most of the day, despite my best human efforts to alleviate it, and my pleading to Almighty God.
Believe me, I don’t think I’ve ever pleaded for God’s mercy as I did yesterday. And to make matters worse, for once the weatherman’s forecast was correct; by mid-morning the snowstorm was in full swing.
Thankfully though, the Lord never leaves us in the lurch, for my young daughter was at home and I enlisted, or rather conscripted her to drive me to the dentist, because with the pain shooting up every few seconds, I don’t know if my concentration would have been good enough to drive in those dangerous snowy conditions.
Thank you mih young D! Much rewards were surely deposited in your heavenly account yesterday. And I have to chuckle here, because she had great empathy for me, but not much sympathy, since she had the same kind of problem not too long ago, so she indeed knew what I was going through.
The long and short of the story though is that it wasn’t the tooth we had recently fixed, but the one directly behind it. My dentist wasn’t thrilled in having to do another root canal procedure. And in the thirty odd years I’ve been going to him, I’ve never seen him work so hard, both physically and mentally on one tooth, as there seemed to be some slight complications in the tooth’s structure.
Ah Friends, I wouldn’t wish that kind of pain on my worst enemy, and if I had had to endure it for another day, I would surely have ended up in the loony bin. And that’s no joke, because it’s the kind of pain that not only physically affects your face and your brain, but also has a big mental effect on your psyche.
My mouth is still sore from all the pulling and prodding and needles, and I have to be careful and eat gingerly on the left side, but I can certainly live with that for a few days.
There’s one significant thing though I want to address here mih breddren, and it’s when we get all these terrible pains, do they ever put us in mind of Jesus? Meaning, that if our pains seem so severe and heartrending, do we ever consider what Jesus’ pain must have felt like?
The scourging, the whipping, the crown of thorns, the mental and psychological degradation he was forced to undergo from the Roman soldiers, then having to carry His cross and be nailed to it and hung up in the hot noonday sun to simply bleed and dehydrate to death!
Do we ever consider the real torture He went through for us, and then think how lucky we are, that most likely we will never have to suffer such inhumane treatment? I surely hope so.
Yuh better believe though Friends, the full measure of it all was certainly brought home to me in the last couple of days. And it makes me even more grateful for His reconciling sacrifice. I hope when you go through similar painful trials, that it will also bring you closer to Jesus.
And I guess that’s why the Lord allows us to go through such trials and tribulations, because it’s only with some serious suffering that we can ever truly realize and appreciate what Jesus endured for us. Enough ‘preachifying’ though. (smile)
Now let’s turn to our Bit. ‘Let LOVE be without dissimulation (hypocrisy). Abhor that which is evil; cleave (cling) to that which is good.’
Oh my fellow believers, that is such a rich and all-embracing statement, mirroring the basic properties of our faith: true LOVE and genuine goodness. That’s what Christ came to earth for, and died for; to instil those most worthy and God-like characteristics in us.
But do we truly appreciate them? Not nearly as much as we should, otherwise we wouldn’t be living the rat-race life, the overarching lustful desire for worldly things that’s so characteristic of today’s society.
Anyway, let’s continue showcasing scriptures which reflect the absolute truth of our Bit. And we’ll begin with some immortalized words of Bruh David from Psalm 37; the true state of the wicked.
‘Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devises (schemes) to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil (for it only causes harm). For evildoers shall be cut off (destroyed): but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.’ (Ps.37:7-9)
Oh my people, words of awesome truth, from someone who lived them!
And here are some more words of awesome truth, this time from Cousin Sol, as he contrasts the wise and the foolish in Proverbs Chapter 12. ‘He that speaketh truth showeth forth (declares) righteousness: but a false witness deceit. There is that (one who) speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is (promotes) health.
The lip of truth (truthful lip) shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment. Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine (devise) evil: but to the counsellors of peace is joy.’ (Prov.12:17-20)
And isn’t that an indisputable fact my fellow believers? Those who sow peace, do reap untold joy!
And we’ll conclude this series of messages on LOVE and goodness versus evil, with more immortalized words from Bruh David, from Psalm 34; the Lord hears the righteous.
‘Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear (reverence) of the Lord. What man is he that desireth life, and LOVETH many days, that he may see good? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile (deceit). Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.’ (Ps.34:11-14)
Yes mih Friends, if we desire to live a good and long life, as most of us do, then we need to stop doing evil, and instead do good and seek peace, human rights and justice!
Please, let’s take those words to heart today nuh, RIGHT NOW, for they are truly words of absolute, unadulterated wisdom! Much LOVE!
…to work for Jesus…the basic qualifications are TRUE LOVE…AND SINCERE, HEARTFELT GOODNESS…
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