14 Apr 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a sinless being, abuse, abused, assurance, blessings, Christ died for us, cleanse our sins, crucified, dance, death, destruction, drunken celebrations, enthusiasm, eternal darkness, eternal life, family, fellowship, for God so loved the world, Friday chant, fun, furthering God's kingdom, generous help, glory to God, God's LOVE, Good Friday, have everlasting life, he gave his only begotten son, heaven, hope, improvement, in Jesus' name, magnificent and magnanimous God, man made device, musician, negative aspect, pain, pay the price, positive side, Praise the Lord, reconciled to God, Red Letter Day, rejuvenation, relaxation, rest, sacrifice, should not perish, shout praises to God, sing, singer, sinners, sober, sombre, sorrow, suffering, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, that whosoever believes in him, the cross, the magnetic pull of Jesus, victorious life, week of work
John 3:16. For God so LOVED the world , that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Oh friends, oh friends, the ole fella’s getting better! I’m getting better! Yes! Praise the Lord I’m getting better!
And I have to laugh at all my enthusiasm, for one would think that I’d gotten a brand new heart or something of the sort. But all the technician said after the tests yesterday is that there was a ‘li’l bit of improvement.’
But yuh know what friends, it could be just the tiniest bit of improvement, and I’ll sing and dance and shout praises to our most wonderful, magnificent and magnanimous God!
Why? Because it tells me that natural improvement is possible, gives me hope and assurance that I might not have to turn to a man made device for help after all. Glory to God, my people!
Yesterday I also went to my friend Jackie’s memorial service. It was well attended, and I found out some things I didn’t know about her, like her age, which she wore so well, that she was a brilliant musician and singer and very much into her family.
I remember now one day recently we were talking about food when she asked if I liked souse? I went, oh yes, I certainly do! And very generously she promised to make some for me when she felt better. Now I guess I’ll have to wait until I get to heaven for that souse. (smile)
Thank the Lord though that she led a full and victorious life, and her suffering was graciously cut short by our wonderful God, and she now rests peacefully in heaven with Him.
Now today friends is another Red Letter day in the history of our Christian faith; Good Friday! People oftimes wonder why we call it Good Friday when our Saviour Jesus was so cruelly and brutally abused and crucified on the cross.
Well the good thing about it, is that that sacrifice paid for our sins for all time! Without that sacrifice of a sinless being, we would still be headed straight for death and destruction. But Jesus’ selfless gift of His life gave us a reprieve, an opportunity to be reconciled to our Maker and heavenly Father.
And if that isn’t a most wonderful thing – in fact THE MOST WONDERFUL THING -then I don’t know what truly is nuh!
And remember what ignited that whole scenario is God’s great LOVE for us. As Jesus so gloriously declares in our Bit: ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’
Yes my brethren, that is what Good Friday is all about, LOVE; the LOVE of the Father for His sinful children! Without God’s deep, abiding and unconditional LOVE for us Good Friday would never have happened!
And why did it have to be so cruel you ask? Because that’s the price it took to cleanse our sins and reconcile us to God! As simple as that!
As Bruh Paul reminds us in Romans: ‘For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through (in) Jesus Christ our Lord.’ (Rom.6:23) And both the Father and Son were willing to pay that price for us to have eternal life! Glory Be!
And as Bruh Paul again reminds us in Romans: ‘But God commendeth (demonstrates) his (own) LOVE toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom.5:8) So instead of focusing on the pain and suffering, today I want us to focus on the LOVE that went into that awesome and amazing sacrifice.
And though we abhor all the abuse and ‘sufferation’ Jesus bore on our behalf, we have to realize that it was necessary for us to be saved, and look on the bright and positive side, rather than the dark and negative aspect of the situation.
And yuh know what’s strange friends? On this Good Friday, the workingman, having the day off and the long weekend to look forward to, is not out in the streets declaring ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday, and we going to party the weekend away! Thank God for Fridays and the weekends!’
No instead, he is sober and sombre, considering the suffering of Christ on this fateful day some two thousand years ago. What a change in behaviour eh? That just shows us the magnetic pull of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!
There will be no drunken celebrations today for the ordinary man. Although come tomorrow and the rest of the weekend, that will certainly change. (smile)
Anyway my fellow believers, it’s Friday, and we still need to chant our Friday Chant. So let’s do it with sincerity and truth nuh. ‘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.’
Yes mih breddren, we still need the Lord’s blessings and help and rejuvenation to continue His worthwhile work come next week.
So please, though we feel sorrow over the pain and suffering Jesus bore for our sins to be washed clean, let’s not darken our day too much, but also give some praise and thanks for it, because without Good Friday, there could have been NO Easter Sunday! Much LOVE!
…the awesome sacrifice of Jesus…took us from eternal darkness…to eternal light and life…
06 Apr 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a positive outlook, bet your bottom dollar, blasphemed, boundaries, chains of darkness, conduct of the wicked, confines, courage, covetousness, creativity, curse, deceitful words, denial of Jesus, destruction, destructive ways, distinguish sense from nonsense, divine protection, Eureka moment, evil spoken of, false prophets, false teachers, false teachings, feel good message, filthy conversation, follow pernicious ways, in god's own time, in the name of Jesus, inability to schedule, judgement, lies, light the candle at both ends, Lot, negative aspects, negative word, Noah, physical situation, playing both sides against the middle, prevarication, profound realization, prosper, recipe for disaster, retribution, self-contraol, self-discipline, Sodom and Gomorrah, study the Good Book, suffering, supernatural strength, temptations, the angesls that sinned, the flood, the source of my problems, the straight and narrow path, the unjust, the way of truth, the Word of god, the world of the ungodly, Thursday Blessings, universal judgement, unlawful deeds, with God's help
2 Peter 2:2. And many shall follow their pernicious (destructive) ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of (blasphemed).
Aye friends, a short while ago, as I wearily arose from my comfortable bed at a late hour, I think I finally came to my Eureka moment! Hn, hn!
Yes my brethren, on this rainy Thursday morning in the spring of 2017, I’ve finally come to the realization that the source of most of problems is simply me. What a profound realization! (smile)
It’s all wrapped up in my inability to schedule my life within the confines and boundaries of my new physical situation. But the problem there is that I don’t seem to think that I have new boundaries to adhere to. And therein lies the rub.
So I continue trying to play both sides against the middle, trying to light both ends of the candle at the same time. And as most of us know, that is a certain recipe for eventual disaster.
But yuh know what? With the help of the Good Lord I’m going to fix it, because I certainly don’t want it end up disastrously. Just watch me!
And with that promise, let’s go straight to our Bit. ‘And many shall follow their pernicious (destructive) ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of (blasphemed).’
Yes friends, that’s a rather important topic that we cannot simply shrug aside, because it is happening all around us. The false teachers and prophets are roping in people by the dozen with their false teachings.
In a lot of cases it’s simply a ‘feel good’ message, that doesn’t have any suffering or negative aspects. In other respects it’s a thorough denial of Jesus and all that He stands for. But whatever lie or prevarication the enemy throws at us my fellow believers, we must be able to distinguish sense from nonsense.
And we can only do that when we know what the Word of the Lord says. Thus I again implore us to study the Good Book, so that we can have the facts at our fingertips when the enemy brings his foolishness, his blasphemous teaching to us.
Yesterday we stopped at verse 3 in Peter’s sermon, where he mentioned the covetousness of the preachers, their deceitful words, and eventual destruction. Now let’s continue as he recounts God’s earlier retribution to the ungodly.
‘For if God spared not the angels that sinned, (Lucifer and his foolish cronies) but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgement; and spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eight person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing the flood upon the world of the ungodly;
And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow (to destruction), making them an example unto those that after (afterward) should live ungodly; And delivered just Lot, vexed with (oppressed by) the filthy conversation (conduct) of the wicked:
(For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed (tormented) his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgement to be punished.’ (2 Pet.2:4-9)
Yeh friends, a lot of us seem to take God’s promise of judgement and destruction to the ungodly as mere stuff to frighten us into obedience, but believe me it is serious stuff.
Please remember that our God doesn’t make idle promises.
If He says He’ll do something, then you can bet your bottom dollar that He will. It just might not be when we expect it. And we have evidence that He destroyed the world in Noah’s day, and Sodom and Gomorrah in Lot’s time. So it is not mere fiction that He will destroy the ungodly.
And believe me our world is in such an abject state of ungodliness that I won’t be surprised if the Lord chose to destroy it sometime soon. We’re living in worse times and situations than Sodom and Gomorrah, so what’s to stop Him eh?
Anyway, listen to the scholars on those verses above. ‘2:3-9. Future universal judgement of this world is illustrated by the reference to the flood (Gr. kataklusmon, “cataclysm”) of Noah’s day which came upon the old world, that is the antediluvian world.
The universal extent of the Flood is assumed by the author as an illustration of coming universal judgement at the end of this age. The deliverance of Lot from Sodom and Gomorrah is used to illustrate the fact that God will deliver His own from the coming universal judgement.’
Ah friends, the days are becoming more evil, but please don’t forget that evil and the ungodly will be severely punished in God’s own time, so it’s ever so necessary for us to stay on the straight and narrow path. Now let’s declare our Thursday Blessings which help us to stay on that tried and true path.
With sure conviction now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Now let’s go out and put those blessings into action nuh, for they are of no use until they are invoked over someone or something. Much LOVE!
…God’s promises will ALL be upheld…in His time…
05 Apr 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a great God, alternative facts, atonement, blasphemed, Christ crucified, Christians, communication, con men, covetousness, deceived by their own teaching, deceptive words, denying the Lord, destruction, destructive ways, evil spoken of, exploit you, false doctrine, false prophets, false teachers, glory hallelujah, glory to God, gospel truth, guilty of blasphemy, halfway home, heresies, hot flashes, judgement, lying, medical appointment, morning noon and night, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, my hands are on the plough, not turning back, pernicious, Praise the Lord, quality of life, study the word, talk a good talk, the breath of life, the Good Book, the way of truth, the Word of god, to a glorious future with Jesus, Toronto, traffic problems, unorthodox teachings, Wednesday Wail, without rhyme or reason
2 Peter 2:2. And many shall follow their pernicious (destructive) ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of (blasphemed).
Ah mih people, once more I have to go into the great city of Toronto for a medical appointment. That’s why you’re getting this so early. (smile) Ah Lord eh!
The basic problem though with these Toronto appointments is that when they are too early, you experience traffic problems going in, and have to leave home earlier than really necessary. And when they are too late, you experience traffic problems coming out.
But it’s all for my benefit, so I can’t really complain, especially about this particular one, which hopefully will deal with the hot flashes I’ve been having for a couple of years now. Glory to God!
Oh mih breddren, the ole fella will be ever so grateful if those come from where I don’t know, without rhyme or reason, morning noon and night hot flashes can be put to rest!
And please don’t tell me nonsense about women have hot flashes all the time, as one female doctor told me. That might be true, but the reasons behind theirs and mine most likely differ. As far as I was concerned, she took my problem too casually and wasn’t about to do anything about it, so I just stopped going to her.
And strangely enough, it’s another female endocrinologist that I’m seeing now, but she seems to have much more respect for my quality of life and is seriously trying to improve it. Praise the Lord! But enough about me, let’s turn to the word.
And before we get to our Bit, it will be rather informative to study the verse before it, as Peter pontificates on false prophets and teachers.
‘But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily (secretly) shall bring in damnable (destructive) heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.’ (2 Pet.2:1)
And yuh know what friends? That untenable and unfortunate situation still exists today! There are lots of false prophets and teachers amongst us, teaching all sorts of false doctrine, setting themselves up for destruction.
Then comes our Bit. ‘And many shall follow their pernicious (destructive) ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of (blasphemed).’
Now sadly too, those words are still true. Too many of us are being taken in by these false teachers and are thus being guilty of blasphemy. It’s not a joke friends, but a real serious matter, for our eternal lives depend on whom we follow, what we learn and what we believe.
So the next verse is also very important. ‘And through covetousness shall they with feigned (deceptive) words make merchandise of (exploit) you: whose judgement now of a long time lingereth not (has not been idle) and their damnation (destruction) slumbereth not.’ (2 Pet.2:3)
Oh my people, we are indeed seeing all of that stuff happening today, possibly even more than in Peter’s time, because our world is so much larger and communication is so much easier and more widespread.
But listen to the scholars take on those verses. ‘2:1-3. The opposite of true revelation is the message of false prophets and false teachers who deceive God’s flock and bring in damnable heresies. These heresies (unorthodox teachings) include an open denial of Christ Himself.
Denying the Lord that bought them indicates that Christ’s atonement potentially extends to all men, including these false teachers who reject Him. Therefore, they will experience destruction because they themselves will be deceived by their own teaching and continue to reject the way of truth.’
What a bam-bam friends! Being destroyed by your own teaching! But it’s happening all around us; people are teaching all sorts of stuff and they don’t seem to match, so something must be wrong somewhere.
I’m therefore pleading with us my brethren, to please be very, very careful whom you listen to and follow, for there are a lot of smart con men around, who talk a very good talk. But basically, if they don’t teach Christ crucified (1 Cor.1:23) and their words don’t line up with those of the Good Book, then don’t listen to or follow them.
And that is also why it’s so imperative that we read and study the word for ourselves. If we know the word, then no false preacher or teacher can easily fool us. But so many supposed Christians don’t truly know the word of God, that the smooth talking false teachers and prophets are easily fooling them. Ah Lord eh!
When the most powerful man in the world is constantly lying and calling them ‘alternative facts,’ what else can you expect from the lower echelons eh? But as strong and true believers, who know the word, we will not fall for those lies of the evil led blasphemers. And instead, we’ll go home now confidently proclaiming our Wednesday Wail.
In full voice and strong sense of purpose now, let’s wail! ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday!
I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
Yes friends, our God is a great God, and we are truly looking forward to a great future with Him. Praise His Holy Name! Much LOVE!
…our best days are still out ahead of us…with Jesus in heaven…and that’s the gospel truth…
02 Apr 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Amorites, carnal, choose you this day, comeuppance, damnation, dear Lord, destruction, Egypt, el numero uno, end of the rainbow, eternal life, eternal separation, exalt Him in song, eye candy, falter, fear the Lord, fellowship, guide me, hitched to Jesus, I am weak, intercessor, Jesus, Jesus defeated him, Jesus' Second Coming, Just a closer walk, keep me from all wrong, King of Kings, let it be, light, Lord of Lords, LOVE, Lucifer, lustful, Mighty Counsellor, mighty god, my burden, my feeble life, my plea, none but thee, our Lord and Saviour, overthrow Jehovah, possessions, pot of gold, praise, praise his holy name, prince of darkness, prince of peace, second in command, serve him, shares, sincere feeling, sincerity, sing, snares, Sunday, the other side of the flood, thou art strong, thy kingdom shore, time, top dog, truth, walk close to thee, walking to and fro the earth, wealth, who cares, whom you will serve, wisdom, world of toil, worship
Joshua 24:15(a). …choose you this day whom ye will serve…
Awright friends, it’s that great day, Sunday, when we get together to fellowship, praise, sing, worship and hear the awesome words of our most wonderful and Mighty God! Glory to Him in the highest! Praise His Holy Name! Let the people exalt Him in song!
And that’s exactly what we’ll do now; exalt and glorify our heavenly Father by offering up sacrificial praise from our lips by singing the old, but ever so encouraging and assuring hymn, ‘Just a Closer Walk with Thee.’
So with great gusto, and sincere feeling, let’s sing: ‘I am weak, but Thou art strong; Jesus, keep me from all wrong; I’ll be satisfied as long As I walk, let me walk close to Thee. (Refrain: Just a closer walk with Thee, Grant it, Jesus, is my plea, Daily walking close to Thee, Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.)
Through this world of toil and snares, If I falter, Lord, who cares? Who with me my burden shares? None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee. (Refrain) When my feeble life is o’er, Time for me will be no more; Guide me gently, safely o’er To Thy kingdom shore, to Thy shore. (Refrain: Just a closer walk with Thee, Grant it, Jesus, is my plea, Daily walking close to Thee, Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.)’
Oh my fellow believers, there’s nothing greater in this world, this earthly journey, than a close walk with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Prince of Peace, Wonderful Counsellor, Faithful Intercessor, etc. etc.! Yes friends, there are many more authoritative names we can mention, but we’ll let those few suffice for now.
But the long and short of the story is that Christ is the most powerful Being in the universe, and as such, it only makes sense to attach our frail human cart to His powerful spiritual horse. (smile) And it’s very disappointing that so many of us are refusing to do it, because that’s a fool’s wisdom.
And we have no better example than that of Lucifer, who was like second in command, but through greed and innate stupidity was not satisfied. He wanted to be the top dog, El Numero Uno, and thus tried to overthrow the Most High God Jehovah. Obviously he was unsuccessful, for how can you defeat the Creator of the universe eh? And now he’s set to walking to and fro the earth, until the Lord’s ready to deal with him.
Technically speaking, he is the prince of darkness, trying to get God’s people to turn away from Him. But he has no real power, for Jesus has defeated him, left, right and centre! He can only operate on the strength of lies, deceit and subtle trickery. Consequently, he tries to capture us through worldly and fleshly things, what they call eye candy, things that have no lasting value, but do appeal to our lustful and carnal side.
Sadly though, a lot of us are choosing to go over to Lucifer’s side, enamoured by the promise of earth’s wealth and pretty possessions. But what’s going to happen when we give up the ghost eh? Will we be carrying any of that with us? No! Not one iota!
And if your cart isn’t hitched to Jesus’ horse, what’s going to happen to you then eh? Nothing but eternal separation from the One who died to save you, who paid your sin debt in full! Eternal darkness with Lucifer will be your comeuppance, instead of eternal life, light and LOVE with Jesus.
That’s why Joshua in his farewell address asked the Israelites our Bit: ‘…choose you this day whom ye will serve…’
After reminding them of all the wonderful things the Lord had done for them, he admonished them. ‘Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood (Euphrates river), and in Egypt; and serve the Lord.
And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.’ (Josh.24:14-15)
Yes my brethren, it’s a decision, a conscious and serious one that all of us have to make at some time or another, and the sooner the better! Why? Because there are two important time related points that can cause eternal separation from Jesus; His Second Coming, without you accepting Him as your Lord and Saviour, and your dying without doing the same.
Now if any of those things happen without you walking sincerely with Jesus, then there are no other options, but eternal separation. And the truth of the matter is that either of those two things can happen at ANY time without ANY notice! That’s why it’s of the utmost importance that you make a decision RIGHT NOW, so that you won’t get left in the lurch when the end time comes.
Please don’t do like so many have done, put it off until it’s too late. The wisdom of God dictates that we act on the matter ASAP…and that means RIGHT NOW! Please don’t put your eternal life with Jesus in jeopardy through the lies and deceits of Lucifer, who has nothing good whatsoever to offer you, but is just looking for company in his eternal damnation and destruction. Much LOVE!
…Only in Jesus…will you find light, life, LOVE and the pot of gold…at the end of the rainbow…
02 Mar 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a feeling of love, a light unto my path, a positive outlook, A prayer for change, a ruined life, a wasted day, after thee O god, blessings, broad highway, Christians, cleanse, commandments, compassionate heart, confession, courage, covenant, creativity, curse, depressing, destruction, disconsolate mood, divine favour, dr robert h schuller, dreary, entrance of thy words, forty days, freedom, give light, glowing sunshine, God's LOVE, God's Word, godly, good stuff, holy, hope, Hour of Power Devotional, introspective, Jesus, joy moves in, judgement, laughing, Lent, magnanimous god, magnificent, mental dial, mercies, moment of prayer, moods, morning mist, negative feelings, negative word, parted clouds, promotion, redemption, repentance, responsible, reverend, richly blessed, righteous lives, rise and shine, self-control, self-discipline, self-pity, selfishly indulge, so panteth my soul, spiritual improvement, springtime, stand fast for ever, success, temptation, testimonies, the hart panteth after the water brooks, the sun breaks through, the works of his hands are verity, Thursday Blessings, thy word is a lamp unto my feet, truth, understanding to the simple, unproductive thoughts, unprofitable, wasting God's goodness, winter, worldly stuff
Psalm 119:105. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Oh my precious people, it’s Thursday, rise and shine and greet the brand new day filled with new mercies and blessings, courtesy of our magnificent and magnanimous God!
Oh, I know some of you have been up a long while ago, but have you invoked the new blessings and mercies provided especially for today? I do hope you have, otherwise you’re missing out on a whole lot of good stuff, and wasting God’s goodness.
Anyway, it’s the second day of Lent, that time when Christians become especially introspective, giving up worldly stuff, concentrating on confession and repentance, seeking to cleanse their souls, bodies and minds. It’s a time about spiritual improvement and upliftment that coincides with Jesus’ forty days of temptation in the wilderness.
Now here is ‘A Prayer for Change,’ from Gramps Schuller’s (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) Hour of Power Devotional, which I believe can be of much benefit to us today.
Please pray with me. ‘O God, when a life has been so richly blessed as mine has been, it’s not right for me not to be laughing! I confess that I am responsible for my moods. I have no right to selfishly indulge in negative feelings of self-pity. It’s time for me to change my mental dial, Lord.
You are helping me. This will be the moment when the sun breaks through the parted clouds, and springtime returns after winter. Thank you, Lord!
The dreary, depressing, disconsolate mood disappears like the morning mist in the glowing sunshine of your LOVE. And joy moves in! And hope begins to build up within me! And a beautiful feeling of LOVE starts to surround me!
Thank you, God, for the great things you are doing within me now in this moment of prayer. Amen.’
Yes friends, with God’s amazing help, we can all change for the better! But as Gramps Schuller states early on in the prayer, we need to change our mental dial to bring about that improvement. Remember it all begins in the mind, with our thoughts. And if our mind and our thoughts aren’t right, then our lives will never be right.
And this is what the Lenten season is all about, changing our mental dial; looking deep inside, with God’s help obviously, to weed out the unprofitable and unproductive thoughts and replace them with God-centred ones that enrich our lives.
And to help us do that, we desperately need to delve into the truth of God’s Word, so that it becomes as the psalmist says in our Bit: ‘Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.’
Ah mih people, until and unless, we allow God’s Word to lead and guide us in this earthly life, we’ll most likely go astray and end up on the broad highway that leads to destruction. And believe me, that’s not a very nice place to be.
Yes it looks good, and there’s lots of freedom, but the end of it all is just a ruined life. So let’s look now at some scripture that corroborates our Bit and encourages us to get into the Word like never before.
This first piece, like our Bit, comes from Psalm 119. ‘Thy testimonies are wonderful: therefore doth my soul keep them. The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple. I opened my mouth, and panted: for I longed for thy commandments.’ (Ps.119:129-131)
Oh friends, is that the way we feel about God’s Word? Do we long for it? Do we pant for it? And do we keep it? Now if we are serious believers, then we should be doing all those things.
As the Sons of Korah put it in Psalm 42 – An intense longing for God: ‘As the hart panteth after (the deer longs for) the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.’ (Ps.42:1)
Yes my brethren, that’s how we ought to feel about our God: long for Him in our souls like the thirsty deer longs for a drink of cold, sweet water! And believe me friends, when we find Him, a joy comes into our souls just like when the deer drinks that thirst quenching water.
And this last bit of scripture reinforces all that we’ve said so far. ‘The works of his hands are verity (truth) and judgement; all his commandments are sure. They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness. He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name.’ (Ps.111:7-9)
And those are all facts, not alternative ones (smile) but facts of gospel truth! So please let’s take them to heart nuh, so that we can live godly and righteous lives.
And finally, it’s time to declare our Thursday Blessings. Remember a blessing is not a blessing until it’s been spoken over someone.
So with sincere enthusiasm and belief let’s declare them: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance!
I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Now let’s go out and bless others! Much LOVE!
…a day that’s not filled with God…is indeed a wasted day…
28 Feb 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a helping hand, a light unto my path, adultery, Ash Wednesday, bacchanal time, backyards, befriend, believers in Christ, best of health, bind, Brazil, broad highway, caring, carnality, Carnival, christianity, Christians, commandment, destruction, dire need, direction for our lives, Eva Rose York, finding the time, foolish way to live, forsake not the law, foundation, friend of Jesus, helping those who need help, human nature, I shall not pass this way again, kindness, lamp, lay, Lent, lewd behaviour, lewdness, light, lighten someone's heavy load, LOVE, making the time, Mardi gras, meditating, misfortune, nakedness, needy, New Orleans, path, peosperity, Proverbs, put God first, putting into action, reading, reciprocate, relieve some pain, remove some barrier from the road, reproofs of instruction, Scarborough, share His love, straight and narrow path, studying, the beloeved of god, the Good Book, the law, the way of life, the Word of god, them's the breaks, thy word is a lamp unto my feet, to this one lend, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuesday Mantra, utmost importance, while there's life there's hope
Psalm 119:105. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Well friends, it’s bacchanal time in several places in the Western Hemisphere today! Most noticeably, there’s Mardi Gras in New Orleans, and Carnival in Brazil and Trinidad and Tobago. The people are supposedly letting off the last of their carnality before immersing themselves in the seriousness of Lent, which begins tomorrow on Ash Wednesday.
And recently I read that in a few parts of Brazil, the church has gotten them to tone down the lewdness and carnality of the festival. All power to them, because the festivals have really gotten out of hand with the amount of nakedness and lewd behaviour being displayed.
Usually I’d be in T&T, watching the proceedings on the tube, as well as going into the big city of Scarborough (smile) to watch some in person. But since I’ve been grounded here on account of my medical situation, I’ll just have to imagine it in my mind. But them’s the breaks.
Hopefully by next year, I will be strong and healthy enough to not only watch, but also participate in some of the activities. (smile) While there’s life, there’s certainly hope my people!
But there’s also stuff that we can and should do, even though we’re not in the best of health. And today I want to share a quote from Eva Rose York (b Fitch), (1858-1935) organist, editor, teacher and one of the earliest female composers in Canada. This comes from her symphony titled ‘I shall not pass this way again.’
And it says: ‘I shall not pass this way again; Then let me now relieve some pain, Remove some barrier from the road, Or lighten someone’s heavy load; a helping hand to this one lend, Then turn some other to befriend.’
Yes my fellow believers in Christ, those are the kinds of things we should be concentrating on in our own little areas, in our backyards; in some form and fashion, helping those who need help.
Remember, that’s what Jesus came to earth to do; to save and to help us in our desperate time of need. Consequently, as Christians, we need to reciprocate His caring and kindness to the needy.
And believe me, ironically, in a world that is so full of prosperity, it is also full of people in dire need and want. So let’s try and see whom and how we can help in our little way nuh. It’s all a part of our Christian Manifesto.
And to help us do that, we also need to consider our Bit.‘Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.’
Yeh friends, it’s of the utmost importance that we take the Word of God seriously and let it lead and guide us on our earthly journey, because that’s exactly what it is meant to be; a guide book, a manual for earthly living, written by our Creator and Provider for our benefit.
The Lord doesn’t need it, since He penned it, but we miserable sinners do, and if we don’t allow it to set the direction for our lives, along the straight and narrow path, then we’ll eventually get lost, confused and blinded on the broad highway that leads to destruction.
Now we wouldn’t want such misfortune to befall us eh? No siree! So why aren’t we more into God’s Word eh mih people? Why do so many of us complain that we can’t find the time to immerse ourselves in the Good Book?
It’s not a matter of finding the time, it’s a matter of making the time to stay in touch with our heavenly Father and His godly desires for us. It’s easy for us to make time for the foolish pleasures of the world, but making time for God is a hard task and it usually takes second place.
But friends, that’s a very foolish way to live. God should always be in first place in our lives, no matter what the circumstances! If you put Him second, then most likely, He’ll also put you second, and I’m sure you won’t like that.
As the old people, would say, ‘do so, ent like so.’ Meaning that you don’t like others doing to you, what you did to them. I guess that’s just human nature though.
Now here is an interesting take on our Bit from Cousin Sol in his warning against adultery in Proverbs. ‘My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: Bind them continually upon thine heart (mind), and tie them about thy neck.
When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is the light; and reproofs of instruction are the way to life.’ (Prov.6:20-23)
Yes my fellow believers, that’s how important God’s word and His instructions are to us living the good life. So please, let’s try and do better nuh, let’s make time for reading, studying, meditating and subsequently putting God’s word into action in our lives. It’s the wisdom of the ages.
Now let’s go home declaring our Tuesday Mantra with all sincerity and truth. 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!’
Glory Be precious people of God! Now let’s do as we declared nuh; go out and share the LOVE of our friend Jesus with others, for there are many who desperately need it. Much LOVE!
…helping others…is a foundation rock of Christianity…
28 Jan 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: and all these things shall be added unto you, Anselm, as a beast, asaph, aspires to inspire, believer in Christ, boomerang, building christ's body, change our path, change will ever last, change within our hearts, Christians, cloudy days, consumed, desolation, destruction, earthly wealth, envious, every aspect of our lives, far from thee, favourite pastimes, follower, foolish, glory to God, go a whoring, God is the strength of my heart, grace, haunted, held me by thy right hand, history repeats itself, I have put my trust in the Lord, I may declare all his works, ignorant, immortal words, irresponsible place, it is good for me to draw near to God, Jesus Christ, learn the lessons, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, mercy, my flesh and my heart faileth, my portion for ever, responsible, righteousness, Saturday, seek ye first the kingdom of God, selling our souls, shall perish, slippery places, take responsibility, terrors, that's no lie, the agenda, the blame game, the boastful, the foolish, the Lord is totally involved, the prosperity of the wicked, the riches of the wicked, the sanctuary of God, the SON, the uniting call, to the wrong, under the umbrella of god, understood their end, unfaithful to thee, wake up, wisdom, wise advice, you reap what you sow
Psalm 73:28. But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works.
Cloudy days are here again…but at least it’s dry. (smile) Yeh mih breddren, I don’t know where the sun has gone these last couple of weeks nuh, but we do have the SON, and that’s the most important one of them all. Glory to God!
So it’s Saturday, what’s on the agenda eh? Cleaning and household chores, grocery shopping, resting, relaxation… Whatever it is, please make sure that the Lord is totally involved in it with you, otherwise it won’t work as well, or it might not even work.
Remember our amazing and awesome God wants to get involved in every aspect of our lives, even down to the tiniest bit, and He feels sadly left out if we don’t include Him.
Now here are some quotes from our friend Anselm, who always aspires to inspire us. First off, he tells us that: ‘History repeats itself until we learn the lessons that we need to change our path.’ And that’s no lie! We’ll keep on making the same mistakes until we wake up to the wrong we’re doing and change it.
Now here is one that runs contrary to the modern day world. ‘We must take responsibility for what is in our life.’ Oh friends, our world has become such an irresponsible place that it’s not funny.
No one wants to take responsibility for anything. The blame game has become one of our favourite pastimes. But until we become responsible for all that we do, life will remain rather miserable.
And this one says: ‘When we change who and what we are within our hearts, our lives follow suit and change too.’ Now that’s the only way any change will ever last!
And finally: ‘Whatever we put out in the Universe is what comes back to us.’ Oh people, life is like a boomerang; whatever you let fly, will eventually come right back to you. It’s God’s basic principle of ‘you reap what you sow.’
That brings us right back to where started, having God totally involved in our lives, as so well advised by our Bit. ‘But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works.’
Now let’s back up a tad and hear how Asaph was haunted by the prosperity of the wicked. ‘For I was envious at the foolish (boastful), when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.’ (Ps.73:3)
Ah friends, that’s still happening to too many of us today. The wicked are still prosperous and too many of us supposed Christians are wanting what they have and consequently selling our souls to the wrong people to get earthly wealth.
But please remember the immortal words, the everlasting promise of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt.6:33)
Now if you’re not diligently working under that promise, then you’re unwise, and no true follower of and believer in Christ.
But getting back to Asaph. He was falling under the spell of the wicked and earthly riches…’Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end. Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction. How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors.’ (Ps.73:17-19)
Oh my fellow believers, Asaph didn’t understand the situation until he spent time in God’s sanctuary. Maybe some of us need to do that too, so we’ll understand that we don’t have to worry about the riches of the wicked, the Lord will do that in His own time.
We need to get ourselves solidly under the umbrella of God’s LOVE, mercy and grace, and concentrate on building His body, His church here on earth.
Now hear Asaph’s conclusion. ‘So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee. Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden (held) me by thy right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom I have in heaven but thee?
And there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength (rock) of my heart, and my portion for ever. For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee (who are unfaithful to thee).
But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works.’ (Ps.73:22-28)
Ah friends, there’s nothing left for me to say, but to implore us to listen to Asaph, to take his wise advice and follow the Lord God Jehovah, for that is wisdom of heavenly proportions. Much LOVE!
…to faithfully and diligently follow Jesus…that is the uniting call of all Christians…
19 Jan 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a brand new day, a compassionate heart, a positive outlook, a strong will, abundance, an open sepulchre, appreciative, be in the world, bless, blessings, brothers and sisters in christ, choose Jesus, confirmation, courage, creativity, curse, destruction, divine protection, faith, faithfulness, family, for His name's sake, friends, Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy, glory hallelujah, God is LOVE, greetings, guidance, he restoreth my soul, I choose Christ, I commit my spirit, I shall not want, into thine hand, Jesus Christ, lack, leftovers, LOVE, mercies, my fortress, my rock, my strength, negative word, not of the world, of life and living, paths of righteousness, praise his holy name, prayer for protection, promotion, prosper, Psalm 23, self-discipline, something new everyday, spiritual aid, succeed, talent, thankful, the blue sky is the truth, The Lord is my shepherd, these clouds are lies, Thursday Blessings, tomb, ungodly world, wickedness, wisdom, Woodbine Willie
Psalm 23:1. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want (lack).
Greetings my brothers and sisters in Christ! Welcome to a brand new day of life and living in this wonderful world of Almighty God! Praise His Holy Name!
It’s also another day filled with new mercies and blessings, produced specially for today…Glory Hallelujah!
That’s the wonderful kind of God we serve! He doesn’t give us yesterday’s leftovers, but makes it brand new every day. Consequently we ought to be rather appreciative and thankful for those wonderful things we get that we don’t deserve under the Lord’s mercy programme.
And you know what? We have to choose to believe that, otherwise it’s useless. Listen to this quote from Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy (1883-1929), the Anglican priest and poet who was nicknamed ‘Woodbine Willie’ during the great war, for handing out Woodbine cigarettes along with spiritual aid to injured and dying soldiers.
He reputedly declared: ‘These clouds are lies. They cannot last. The blue sky is the truth, for God is LOVE. Such is my faith, and such my reasons for it, and I find them strong enough. And you? You want to argue? Well I can’t. It’s a choice and I choose the Christ.’
Oh friends, oh friends, I do hope that our faith is strong, strong enough to enable us to unequivocally choose Jesus, for that’s the only thing that makes sense in this ungodly world of today!
And to help us reach that stage of overwhelming faith, we’re going to continue looking at scriptures that offer confirmation and corroboration of the wonders of Psalm 23, as personified by our Bit. ‘The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want (lack).’
Oh I know that some of you are tired with the same Bit and topic day after day, and like the world goes, you want something new everyday. But that’s a foolish way to live friends, because most of the time we have not even understood what we did the previous day.
You can only truly know something if you study it over and over. And remember, we’re supposed to be in the world, not of it, so we don’t have to follow all that it does.
Anyway, let’s turn to verse 3: ‘He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.’ (Ps.23:3)
Ah my fellow believers, how wonderful is that eh! And Bruh David certainly knew about the Lord’s guidance, as he declares from Psalm 5 – A prayer for protection. ‘But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.
Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face. For there is no faithfulness (uprightness) in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness (destruction); their throat is an open sepulchre (tomb); they flatter with their tongue.’ (Ps.5:7-9)
Oh friends, that hasn’t changed since Bruh David’s day, in fact it has probably gotten worse, which means we need to be guided along paths of righteousness by the Lord even more than before.
Now hear Bruh David again, this time from Psalm 31. He confidently proclaims: ‘In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust (take refuge); let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness. Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: be thou my strong rock (rock of refuge), for a house of defense (fortress) to save me.
For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name’s sake lead me, and guide me. Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily (secretly) for me: for thou art my strength. Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.’ (Ps.31:1-5)
And how I do hope that we all have committed our spirits into the hand of the omnipotent God, Creator and Controller of this universe for it’s the only way we’ll ever be peaceful and contented down here on earth, and see His wonderful face in heaven for eternity.
And having said all of that, let’s add to our joy and comfort by declaring our Thursday Blessings over ourselves, for a blessing is not a blessing until its declared over someone.
With much enthusiasm and faith now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Now let’s go out my fellow believers and bless all those we come into contact with, as Jesus desires of us. Much LOVE!
…oh where would we be…without the Lord’s merciful leading and guidance eh…
P.S. Please don’t expect the Bit this early everyday. (smile) I just made a special effort today because I have a cardiology clinic appointment early this morning, and am not sure what time I’ll be back. Much LOVE!
11 Jan 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a blade of grass, a breath of air, a challenging day, a flood, a sleep, a thousand years in thy sight, a wake up call, a watch in the night, apply our hearts unto wisdom, as yesterday, blessings, brevity of man, children of men, destruction, eternality of God, fades, flourishes, foolishness, from everlasting to everlasting, gain a heart of wisdom, generously provided, get ready now, glory hallelujah, God's great earth, God-given day, goodies, grwos, guidance, halfway home, heart, heart-failure, in the evening it is cut down, like grass, LOVE, man's life is like a vapour, man's standards, mercies, mortality, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, my hands are on the plough, not turning back, prayer of Moses, reap, shortness of breath, teach us to number our days, thank God, the breath of life, the Lord's vision, the Promised Land, this is the day the Lord has made, thou art God, time, to a glorious future with Jesus, Top o' the morn, we will be glad and rejoice in it, Wednesday Wail, when our number will play, wisdom, withers
Psalm 90:12. So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom (gain a heart of wisdom).
Well hey, hey, hey, my wonderful Scrip-Bit friends and family! Top o’ the morn to you!
The ole fella’s up and about, alive, and though only kicking some, nonetheless ready to face a challenging day on God’s great earth! And is that ever a mouthful! (smile)
Consequently, it causes us to joyfully declare, as the psalmist did so long ago: ‘This is the day the Lord has made, we WILL rejoice and be glad in it!’
And you know what I just realized? If we aren’t glad and rejoicing in this God-given day, we are the ones who will suffer. The Lord will still be on His throne in the high heavens enjoying His life, but we, foolishly, will not reap the myriad blessings and mercies that our ever-LOVING God has prepared for us afresh each new morning.
And that’s foolishness in the heights! So please let’s get wise and begin enjoying every day that we are privileged to see nuh. That brings us to our Bit, taken from the prayer of Moses, the only Psalm attributed to him in the Psalter, and thus the oldest.
‘So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom (gain a heart of wisdom).’
And we couldn’t ask for a wiser thing my friends, since our lives here on earth are so short, like a breath, a breath of air passing through our lungs. You see how long one breath lasts us? Not very long at all.
And that’s the way our lives are; here one moment, then gone the next, often without any notice or chance for preparation. Therefore we need wisdom and guidance to live them to their fullest and also be ready for whatever comes, when it comes.
That brings me to a serious realization and pulls me up short too. A couple weeks ago, unbeknownst to me, my heart was in rough shape, but generally speaking I felt fine, no pain or anything. That is until the shortness of breath became somewhat annoying and uncomfortable.
All I’m trying to say here is that my life could have been blown out in a split second, and I’d be none the wiser. That’s why we need to get ready NOW for Jesus, living the way He desires of us, for none of us knows when our number will play, and everybody will not be lucky or blessed like me to get a wake-up call.
And I have a very good example of that recently with a friend in Jamaica; he had no pain or apparent heart problems either, but in the twinkling of an eye he was taken home unexpectedly, from apparent heart-failure.
Oh friends, you don’t know how much I appreciate that wake-up call nuh, especially when I thought that I was doing okay. Just goes to show that we’re not always right, even when by man’s standards, it seems so.
Listen to how Moses describes our lives. ‘Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting thou art God. Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return ye children of men.
For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night. Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep; in the morning they are like grass which groweth up. In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth.’ (Ps.90:2-6)
Yeh friends, that’s just how it is! And the scholars tell us.’Psalm 90:.. It is a prayer for the new generation of Israelites who will enter the Promised Land.There are four parts to its message. First Moses describes the eternality of God (vs.1-2).
Then, in contrast, he explores the brevity of man before God (vs.3-6). Four key comparisons are used: (1) A thousand years are like one day to God. (2) A thousand years are like a watch in the night (three hours). The implication of these comparisons is simple: if a thousand years to God are like a day or a nightwatch, man’s life is like a vapour.
(3) Your life is like a particle swept away by a flood. (4) Your life is like a blade of grass that sprouts, fades, withers, and dies in a day. Moses was most qualified to speak of death, since he witnessed an entire generation perish in the wilderness…’
Now that should have us all thinking about our mortality and propel us to do the RIGHT THING, RIGHT NOW! But in the meantime, let’s also enjoy the goodies our Lord has so generously provided.
So let’s go home declaring our Wednesday Wail, in strong voice and everlasting belief. ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday!
I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
Yes friends, that’s what we are called to do. Much LOVE!
…time to man might seem long…but it’s the Lord’s vision of time…that truly matters…
17 Aug 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abandoned God, an element of cloudiness, beautiful life, call upon me, calm all our fears, can cheer me so, comfort us, confession, Creator, crying out, cut off, deceitful, despair, destruction, empty-headed, eternal joy, eternal life, faith, false gods, forget thy misery, forgiving, from day to day, glorify, glorifying God, glory hallelujah, gracious, grey clouds hovering overhead, He makes me glad, He's my friend, Hour of Power, I am halfway home, I trust him now, I will deliver thee, idols, imprisons, in the day of trouble, in times of trouble, iniquity, Jesus is all the world to me, Jesus is my strength, Job, life's fleeting days, lift up thy face, living God, LOVE Revolution, loving, merciful, my all, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, my hands are on the plough, my joy, my life, no other, no push over, not looking back, omniscient God, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, practicality, praise his holy name, prepare thine heart, provider, repentance, Samuel, satisfy all our needs, simplicity, sincerity, succour, thank God, the breath of life, the deepest and darkest times, the god of Abraham, the sun is shining, thou shalt glorify me, to a glorious future with Jesus, to Jesus I go, ungodly world, vain men, war, waters that pass away, We can do all things through Christ, Wednesday Wail, when I'm sad, wickedness, wisdom, with God's help, Zophar
Psalm 50:15. And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
And then it was Wednesday; a bright and shiny, but somewhat cloudy day! (smile) I know it sounds somewhat confusing, but the sun is shining and there are a few grey clouds hovering overhead.
However, the important thing is that the Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is shining as brilliantly as He always does. There’s never an element of cloudiness in Him! Praise His holy name!
And so, in honour of His constant faithfulness, I want us to begin today by singing this soulful ditty I heard the Hour of Power choir and congregation singing last night. I don’t know it personally, but the simplicity and practical nature of the song touched my heart and made me want to share it.
So let’s get soulful and sing: ‘Jesus is all the world to me, My life, my joy, my all; He is my strength from day to day, Without Him I would fall. When I’m sad to Him I go.No other one can cheer me so; When I am sad he makes me glad, He’s my friend.
Jesus is all the world to me, I want no better friend. I trust Him now, I’ll trust Him when Life’s fleeting days shall end. Beautiful life with such a friend, Beautiful life that has no end; Eternal life, Eternal joy, He’s my friend!’
Oh what wonderful sentiments my brethren. And as I said earlier, I just LOVE it’s simplicity and practicality. And besides, there’s truly no better friend than Jesus; He is able to satisfy all our needs, calm all our fears and comfort us in the deepest and darkest times of our lives! No human being can do all that for us.
And to further honour and glorify Him, as well as lift our spirits, let’s declare our Wednesday Wail nuh with plenty enthusiasm, and 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, my people, how beautiful it is to be alive on this glorious morn, feeling the breath of God coursing through my body as I look forward to the wonderful future that Jesus has planned for us, if we stick to the programme that He’s outlined! It doesn’t get any better than that friends!
No wonder our Bit seems so appropriate. ‘And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.’ Yes my fellow believers, it’s all about glorifying Jehovah God, our Creator and heavenly Provider!
And we do that by living the life God has set before us, doing so in faith and sincerity, and in times of trouble, crying out to Him for succour so that He can uplift us and further glorify His holy name. Oh what a wonderful Deity we serve and worship my people!
Now let’s turn to some scriptures that corroborate our Bit. And to begin, we’ll go all the way back to the days of the prophet Samuel, when he lead Israel to repentance.
‘And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange (foreign) gods and Ashtaroth (images of Canaanite goddesses) from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hands of the Philistines.’ (1 Sam.7:3)
Oh friends, that is exactly what we need to do in this current evil and godless world. Like the Israelites back then, we’re worshipping all sorts of idols and false gods, thus our world is quickly going to hell in a hand basket. And the only thing that will save it is repentance and a sincere return to serving and worshipping the One and True Living God; He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
Yuh see how all the other societies that abandoned Him and worshipped other gods fared? There was never any true peace, just constant war, destruction and despair. Now why do you think our society would be any different, suffer a different fate eh?
Yes, our God is a merciful and gracious, forgiving and LOVING God, but He’s no push over, He’s very serious about whatever He says. And He’s said several times in His word that if you don’t serve and worship Him, you’ll be destroyed. So I don’t know where we’ve gotten this foolish idea to abandon God, kick Him out of our society, and then expect to prosper. Steups!
Ah friends, it’s up to us believers to bring about that repentance. It’s not going to be easy, but with God’s awesome help we can do it. Remember we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.
And we’ll end with this appropriate passage from Job, where his buddy Zophar reproves him. ‘If he (God) cut off (passes by), and shut up (imprisons), or gather together, then who can hinder (restrain) him? For he knoweth vain (deceitful) men: he seeth wickedness also; will he not then consider it?
For vain (empty-headed) man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass’s colt (when a wild donkey’s colt is born a man). If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch forth thine hands toward him; If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles (tents).
For then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; yea, thou shalt be steadfast, and shall not fear. Because thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that pass away. And thine age (life) shall be clearer (brighter) than the noonday; thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning.’ (Job 11:10-17)
Yes my brethren, though Zophar was wrongly ragging on Job, believing that some hidden, serious sin caused his tribulations, his advice was right on. An omniscient God could clearly see man’s sin, and if he confesses and repents, the Lord will forgive Him and make his life better.
Now that is what we need to do in this ungodly world; bring about confession and repentance, so that our beautiful world can be lifted up, be without spot and without fear. That’s the wisdom of the age! Much LOVE!
…only Christ’s LOVE Revolution can save our sinking world…
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