The Utmost Necessity for a Strong Work Ethic in a Prosperous Society!

09 Jun 2025 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

2 Thessalonians 3:10.         For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.

And then there was this situation: Knock, knock! Who’s there? It’s me Monday… Oh it’s you Monday, come around again to bother me and disturb my peace by reminding me that I need to get up and go to work, although I feel so lousy after partying all weekend. And I can’t even call in sick, because I’ve used up all my sick time already…and it’s just the middle of the year. Brother, what am I going to do if I do get sick later on in the year eh?

And Monday simply replies: Crapaud smoke yuh pipe! You should not have used them all up by lying and saying you were sick, when you were just tired and hung over from your constant partying every weekend. And self replies in righteous anger: Oh go away nuh Monday and leave me alone! You’ve accomplished your purpose…I’m up and getting ready to go to the stupid ole work. Hope that makes you happy? And with a big grin on his annoying and cheeky face, Monday calmly declares: It certainly does!

Oh my people, did any of us have a similar conversation this morning, or one close to it with our nemesis Monday? Now please speak the truth. And a few hands are shamefacedly raised to shoulder level to acknowledge the misdemeanour. Yes friends, as disciples, ambassadors and agents of Christ here on planet earth, too many of us are still not ready to greet Monday, the first day of our work week with a cheery, Christlike countenance, but instead are grumpy and dismayed at the very thought of having to get up and go to work.

But that’s what life is all about; working to earn a living, so you can put bread on your table, a roof over your head, and clothes on your back. Now, if you don’t want those necessities of life, you don’t need to work. And sadly, too many of us desire to live good without working for the rewards, thinking that we’re entitled to it. In reality though, we’re not entitled to anything in this world, and we need to toil and sacrifice for most of what we want.

And I believe that some of us might be daft, or crazy enough to think that we’re entitled and don’t have to do anything because Jesus says we should not worry about clothing and food and the other necessities of life for our heavenly knows we need them. (Matt. 6:31) And rather, instructs us thus: ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt. 6:33)

Now that doesn’t mean that if we seek God and His righteousness, all those things will just fall into our laps. No, we seek God, by and while engaging in productive work, and He will then ensure that all our needs are met. Remember what Jesus said about discipleship? ‘If any man will (desires to) come after (follow) me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.’ (Luke 9:23) Now, that sure seems like it has some work in it, along with some sacrifice too.

That brings us to this interesting theory that Bruh Paul floated to the Thessalonians in his second letter. He had heard that some people there were behaving disorderly, being simply busybodies, gossips etc., basically not living a lifestyle that conforms to the Word of God. ‘For yourselves know how ye ought to follow us: for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you;

Neither did we eat any man’s bread for nought (free of charge); but wrought with labour (worked) and travail (toil) night and day, that we might not be chargeable (a burden) to any of you: Not because we have not power (authority), but to make ourselves and ensample (example) unto you to follow us. For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.’ (2 Thess. 3:7-10)

What a marvellous idea! If we could only put it into action! (smile) And please note, that Bruh Paul didn’t work because he had to, he could have lived off of the people. But no, he plied his tent making trade diligently and made his own money to set a Christian example for them. And setting good Christian examples to those around us is one of the best ways we can ever showcase ourselves as true believers in and followers of Christ. As Jesus so wisely says: ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your father which is in heaven.’ (Matt. 5:16)

The long and the short of the story though, is that to be true disciples of Christ, we must work, and work diligently, efficiently and sincerely, so that others can see the true reflection of Jesus in us. In other words: ‘Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.’ (Col. 3:23-24) I could not put it any better than that my brethren. So let’s go to the throne of grace through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, sincerely seeking God and His help, with all of our hearts, minds, bodies and souls.

Altogether: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems.

Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems.

Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’ 

And, as we can see from our prayer, and the disastrous state of our world, our work and Christian witness are not satisfactory, which means we need to pull up our socks and become better witnesses for Christ. And we all know what that means! Much LOVE!

…to be a true disciple of Christ…one must be dedicated and diligent…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit   17 April 2024 Psalm 141:3.

17 Apr 2024 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Psalm 141:3.       Set a watch (guard), O Lord, before my mouth; keep (watch over) the door of my lips.

And just like that, the sunshine has disappeared, and a rainy day has foisted itself upon us. But because we have Jesus, we roll right along with whatever punch the world, or the devil chooses to throw at us! And helping us to do so are some more of those scriptural tidbits we call acclamations, like this one: ‘My God will supply all of my needs through His riches in glory through Christ our Lord and Saviour!’ (Phil. 4:19) And indeed He will, if we live the life He desires of us. And this one is oh so necessary for so many of us: ‘Set a watch (guard), O Lord, before my mouth; keep (watch over) the door of my lips.’ (Ps. 141:3) 

Yes friends, in this talkative, lying, fraudulent, gossipy world, believers most definitely need to watch what they say, as our words can get us in very serious trouble. Remember what Cousin Sol says in Proverbs: ‘Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that LOVE it shall eat the fruit thereof.’ (Prov. 18:21) Oh my fellow believers that’s the gospel truth, those of us who LOVE to blabber will certainly suffer for it. Remember too that old saying, you shall eat those words? And all of us have seen it come to pass in our lives when we’ve spoken some unkind or unnecessary words. 

And again, Cousin Sol reminds us in Proverbs: ‘He that keepeth (guards) his mouth keepeth (preserves) his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction.’ (Prov. 13:3) And no, it’s not easy to control our tongue, for as James so wisely discourses: ‘And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members; that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature (our existence); and it is set on fire of hell.’ (James 3:6) 

And as the scholars explain: ‘The tongue is a system (world) of iniquity that sets on fire the whole course of life, and is even set on fire by Satan (cf. 3:15) That means the tongue causes a whole lot of problems in our individual, lives as well as our world. What causes wars and rumours of wars, etc. etc. talk and the lawlessness of our tongues. And that reference above there is important enough for us to take it up from verse 13. James writes, concerning earthly and heavenly wisdom: ‘Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge (has understanding) among you? let him shew out of a good conversation (conduct) his works with meekness of wisdom (that his works are done with meekness of wisdom). 

But if ye have bitter envying and strife (self-seeking) in your hearts, glory not (don’t boast), and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish (demonic). For where envying and strife is (self-seeking exist), there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated (willing to yield), full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.’ (James 3:13-18) 

Yes my fellow saints, our tongues can be used for good or evil, but it all depends on which one we choose to use them for. Yuh see what happens when we allow Beelzebub to use our tongues; strife and envying, bitterness and boasting take place. But when we allow the Lord to set a watch upon our lips, His heavenly wisdom comes down to us and we seek peace, goodness, righteousness without partiality or hypocrisy. Now isn’t that the better way? It certainly is! But unfortunately in this current version of our world, one that’s so evil and ungodly, Satan has the upper hand when coming to the tongue, for so many lies, deceitful practices, strife, hypocrisy and partiality are present that it’s brought our world into a total scene of chaos and disaster. 

And social media and the new darling of the public AI (Artificial Intelligence) are just encouraging the lies and misdirection that’s already so widespread on the earth. Then, unfortunately, those of us who know better, Christians, are not pulling our weight, not helping to reduce the garbage that’s circulating in our world, but some of us even add to it by spreading gossip and stories that we know nothing about, instead of trying to limit the foolishness that’s been so easily spread abroad, and also flourishes, or as the word says, goes viral within seconds. 

Oh my people, my people, we have a big task ahead of us, trying to sow peace and righteousness on the earth, and we might never accomplish it until Jesus returns, but the important thing is that we try; we try to turn things around as best we can. But therein lies the problem, not enough of us are willing to try. We just want to sit back and enjoy the fruits, the entitlement that we can get from doing nothing. And to a certain point I can understand that reasoning, because trying to make a positive difference means hard work, sacrifices and other stuff our flesh detests. 

But what about our spirits eh? What about the power, wisdom and LOVE we have from our great God? What about the sacrifices our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ made for us? Are we just going to allow them to be in vain? I certainly hope not. That’s why I’m pleading with us to begin making a difference, strengthening our backbones so that we can sacrifice some of our pleasure and leisure to fight the good fight of peace and righteousness in Jesus’ name. Now it’s up to us to get out into the world and be shining beacons of light and salty and tasty elements of peace and righteousness, as Jesus desires and expects of us. Remember, that’s our bounden duty as disciples of Christ! 

Now, let’s go home declaring (awright!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting the whole world know of our amazing and invincible and position in Christ Jesus. as one strong and sincere voice: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’ 

And for good measure, if we endure right down to the very end with Jesus, then that future will be even more glorious than we can ever ask or imagine. So let’s be wise and plan to meet at the very end nuh, so that we can enjoy that glorious future together! Much LOVE!

…a word fitly spoken (spoken at the right time)…is like apples of gold…in pictures (settings) of silver…(a timely and fitting word is precious and pleasing)…(Prov. 25:11)

 Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ

Today’s Scrip-Bit 26 June 2021 Matthew 15:11.

26 Jun 2021 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Matthew 15:11.     Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man, but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.

And then it was Saturday, our lazy, couch surfing day! And the nature of today is even more conducive to lazing around. Meaning that it’s a wet and windy Saturday morning. Oh yes, we had rain from yesterday afternoon straight through to the early hours of this morning. As the old people would warn; be careful what you wish for eh, because you might just get it. 

But thankfully, though we wished for rain, it was not the shower bound type we received, but just a constant drizzle. That meant the ground had time to absorb it and thus lessen the possibilities of flooding. Our God is so good and understanding! Give Him some thanks and praise nuh people! 

Now, let’s turn to our Saturday business, checking out the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this past week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And the first one says: ‘It’s sad when someone you know becomes someone you knew.’ Now is that ever so true! A lot of times we are heart broken when our relationships end, especially when it was someone whom we thought we’d do a lifetime with and then they end rather nastily too. 

But that’s life friends. We have people in our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. But most of them are either for a reason or a season, very few are there for a lifetime. And until we learn that and move on, broken relationships will always cause us more heartache than necessary. 

And that brings us to the second quote which follows from the first. ‘Growth is painful. Change is painful. But nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere you don’t belong.’ Yes friends, growth and change are painful, but ofttimes that’s what a broken relationship portends; it’s time for us to move on up. And those people in our lives are not the ones to move on up with us, so they have to go. As they say, the Lord closes one door, then opens another that has different people in it, with a brighter future. 

And though it’s always hard to give up the old stuff, if you stay with it, you will eventually become more frustrated and disgusted with your old situation, than if you had moved on to the new one. Sooner or later, you will feel as though you are spinning your wheels in mud, or stuck in a rocking chair, rocking vigorously but not going anywhere. Yes, change isn’t always pleasant, but sometimes it’s necessary to get our adrenaline flowing. 

Then we come to this quote. ‘Life is under no obligation to give us what we expect.’ And is that ever true! Life owes us nothing my people! In fact, it’s we who owe life. We owe it the duty of being responsible and making a positive and productive difference in it. We are not put here just to enjoy the perks of life, but to add to them. 

Entitlement is not our God-given due, as so many of us seem to think. So, unless we are making a positive difference in our everyday walk, we are shortchanging life. And that’s even more important for believers in Christ Jesus, because His desire is for us to make disciples of those we meet by telling them about the good news of His gospel and more importantly, living the way His gospel dictates. For people respond more to examples than words. 

And all of that leads us to this next quote. ‘Sometimes you’ve got to be able to listen to yourself and be okay with no one else understanding.’ Yes my brethren, though others can and will give us advice, both good and bad, in the long run, we are the ones who must make the final decision. And that’s not always easy, especially in our current mish-mash, topsy-turvy world. But it is important that we are strong enough to live with whatever decisions we make, regardless of whether others understand or appreciate them. For, in the long run, we are the ones who have to live with the decisions we make, not the other people. 

And when you are a child of the Most High God, you are enabled by His Holy Spirit to make right decisions, and to stand strong with them. No need to be wishy washy, and wavering, or fence-sitting to see what eventually happens. Yes, precious people, being able to make timely, positive decisions is definitely one of the benefits of being a child of Jehovah God! Glory be! 

That brings us to our last quote. ‘Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.’ Ah my brethren, that’s true in spades! We must all face the death of our mortal bodies at some time or the other, we cannot do anything about that, but we certainly can stop the good aspects of our lives from dying while our bodies are still alive. And we’re talking about our humanity, the thing that makes, or is supposed to make us different from the wild animals; compassion and caring for each other. 

Hn! But today, unfortunately we behave more like the wild animals than the wild animals, the inhumane and uncaring way we treat our fellow man. Most of us are born with good ideals and inclinations, despite our basic sinful nature, but the sad part happens when we refute those good inclinations and accept the bad ones that so much of our world tend to recognize as more beneficial. We are talking about things like greed, envy, taking advantage of others, and the complete renunciation of the fruit of the Spirit. That’s ‘LOVE, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness (kindness), goodness, faith (faithfulness), meekness, temperance (self-control).’ 

Oh my people, when any of those things die in us, while our bodies are still alive, the loss to ourselves and the world is incalculable. It means our world is about to get darker, the enemy is winning the battle, as we become less tolerant and caring, but more negative and adversarial. That’s not the kind of world we want to live in, or leave for our children to experience. And remember what Jesus said about our internal traits. ‘Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man, but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.’ (Matt. 15:11) 

And that’s the gospel truth friends! What we put into our mouths doesn’t defile us, but what comes out of our mouths defiles us. That’s because the things that come out of our mouths come from our hearts, while what goes in comes out as bodily refuse. As Jesus explains: ‘For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things that defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defile not a man.’ (Matt. 15:19-20) 

So whenever the goodness of God dies in us friends, it is indeed a sad day; a day to mourn for the well-being of our world. And right now, so much of the goodness of God has died in so many of us, that it’s no wonder our world is going through a rather dark and grievous time. And for it to turn around, it means that we, the disciples of Christ must do a better job than we’re currently doing. So let’s get to it nuh. Much LOVE!

…he who has ears to hear…let him hear…                                                                            

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8              

Today’s Scrip-Bit 26 July 2018 Matthew 18:11.

26 Jul 2018 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Matthew 18:11.   For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.

And so friends, with God’s help, we’ve come to Thursday and are about to enjoy another awesome day in the life! Wow! Christians are so blessed eh, I can’t imagine what we’d do, or be like, without Almighty God in our lives! Let’s give Him some much deserved praise and thanks nuh people, for being such a wonderful Father, for giving us blessings, mercy, grace and forgiveness that we don’t truly deserve. 

Please pray with me: ‘Oh Father in heaven, we sincerely thank You for allowing us to see another day on planet earth. Life might sometimes be rough, causing our faith to waiver, and neither are we always obedient to Your will, but You made us and You still LOVE us despite our imperfections and disobedience. We thank You and praise your holy name for ALL that You are doing in our lives. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen!  

Yeh friends, without God in our lives, we’d be lost and gone astray like so many people out there, headed for eternal damnation and separation from Him. And as I keep reminding us, separation from Almighty God is the very worst thing that can happen to a human being, that’s why it’s ever so necessary to get involved with Jesus RIGHT NOW, for He is the ONLY way that we can connect with the Father. 

And as sincere disciples of Christ, His ears, hands, mouth and feet here on earth, we are expected to help bring those who are lost to Him. As He says in our Bit: ‘For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.’ Awright mih breddren, Jesus came to save such as you and I, who had gone astray, who had developed strong connections with the evil one, which was definitely not in our best interest. 

And Jesus continues: ‘How think ye? If a man have a hundred sheep, and if one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?’ (Matt.18:12) Oh precious people, do you realize what that means? That if the only lost soul in the world was you or I, Jesus would still have done what He did; come to earth to die and save us! What a wonderful Lord and Saviour we have! 

And that’s not all, because Jesus continues: ‘And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.’ (Matt.18:13) Wow mih breddren wow! Yuh see how important that lost sheep, that lost you and I are to Jesus? He rejoices over the lost that’s been found more than the many others who had not gone astray. 

No wonder Jesus declared: ‘I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just (upright) persons, which need no repentance.’ (Luke 15:7) Jesus also spoke the parables of the lost coin and the lost, prodigal son, showing just how important the lost is to His kingdom. (Luke 15:8-32) And He wraps it up in Matthew with this: ‘Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.’ (Matt.18:14) 

Oh people, oh people, yuh see it all stems from the Father! He doesn’t want to lose even one of His greatest creations to the fool Lucifer, that’s why He sent Jesus to save us. We are His very heartstrings! Whatever happens to us affects Him. But now that Jesus has gone back to heaven and is sitting at the Father’s right hand, interceding for us, it has now becomes our responsibility to look for those who are lost and help them become saved. 

The question is, are we shouldering that responsibility responsibly? And the answer is, I don’t think so. Too many people are turning away from God these days for us to be doing a responsible job. In fact, if we give them a chance, they’d toss God completely out of midst. What a foolish thing to even consider, much less do. 

But that’s how much sway Lucifer has over the world these days. And it’s up to you and I, as true believers to try and mitigate that evil hold, by living lives of good example and spreading God’s Word far and wide. We have the awesome capabilities to do that now, so there’s no excuse for the Word not to be broadcast all over the world. 

So let’s seriously ponder, think on, consider, our actions along those lines nuh, and do our best to come up higher, for we can ALL come up higher and thus bring more of the many lost to Christ. And He’s already given us all the tools to do that through the bestowing of our Thursday Blessings. Now let’s go home declaring them for all and sundry to hear, that they might receive inspiration to want those same blessings. 

In full voice with sincere hearts: ‘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 we were not granted such an abundance of blessings to hoard for ourselves, but to share with the less fortunate, let’s go out and do that now nuh, so the lost will have some good reason to come to Jesus. Much LOVE!

…sharing…caring…LOVING…that’s true Christianity in action…