10 Feb 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a good attitude, alive and kicking, answer our prayers, back home, be not afraid, Bible, bless the LOrd o my soul, christianity, clean up our act, crowns thee with loving-kindness, divine aid, faith, felt that she was healed, firsthand experience, forget not all his benefits, forgives thine iniquities, give me the strength to endure, go in peace, God shall wipe away all tears, healing all manner of sickness, heals thy diseases, Hesus' healing ministry, holy spirit, humble servants, in faith, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus Christ, LOVE, mass confusion in our world, mercy, neither sorrow nor crying, no more death, no more pain, only believe, redeems thy life from destruction, salvation, satisfies thy mouth with good things, sincerely seek your face, strong faith in Christ, tender mercies, thaknful for prayers, the former things are passed away, the fountain of her blood dried up, the God who heals, the gospel of the kingdom, the needs of my physical body, the throne of grace, the woman with a 12 year issue of blood, thy faith hath made thee whole, thy youth is renewed like the eagle's, truth, who touched me, wisdom, your healing touch
Mark 5:36b. Be not afraid, only believe.
Well, a fine Monday afternoon to all you my faithful Scrip-Bit friends and families! The ole fella is alive and kicking! Yes, with the awesome help of our EVER-LOVING God, I’m back on track. I’m not kicking with the A or B Teams yet, but I am in there! Thank the Lord. As Bruh David would say: ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with LOVINGKINDNESS and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.’ (Ps. 103:2-5)
And the Lord God Jehovah has certainly done that for me during the last two days I spent in the hospital, where a diseased piece of my colon was removed. It was rough a bit of the time, but overall, with His help, I managed to pass the test. (smile) Now, I’m back home, the best place one can ever be, beginning to recuperate and I’m thankful for all the prayers you all offered on my behalf. But there’s one I want us to offer up together right now; a most appropriate one on healing, from the Prayer Cards recently issued by the In Touch Ministry. I know that I’m not the only one who needs healing, but many of us require it in these tough and deadly times.
So please pray with me: ‘Lord Jesus, You are the great Physician. When you walked the earth, You healed the sick, and You still heal today. In faith I bring you the needs of my physical body. I trust in Your goodness today, knowing that one day You will put an end to all pain and brokenness. Walk with me and give me the strength to endure. Thank You for Your healing touch Lord. Amen!’ And if our prayers were sincere, then we know that the Lord heard them and will respond in His own way and time. In the meanwhile, we have to keep our faith strong and bear whatever we’re going through with a good attitude.
And I know it’s not always easy to do that when the whole world seems to be falling down on you, but if you seek the Lord sincerely, He will help you handle it. And I’m talking here from firsthand experience, because that’s what I’ve had to do durng the last few weeks when the pain in my stomach became unbearable, despite some strong medication. And, as the prayer mentioned, we know the great promise of all time: ‘And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.’ (Rev. 21:4) But until then, we just have to grin and bear it. (smile)
And we’ll do one more thing the prayer card advises; that’s read a couple of the many accounts of healing in the New Testament to refresh our minds, bodies and spirits, that Jesus is indeed our Healer. And this first scripture gives us an overview of Jesus’ healing ministry. ‘And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness (every sickness) and all manner of disease (every disease) among the people. And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers (various) diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils (demons), and those which were lunatick (epileptics), and those that had the palsy (were paralyzed); and he healed them.’ (Matt. 4:23-24)
Wow! What a great healing ministry Jesus had here on earth…and still has, through His Holy Spirit that indwells us! But the problem is that we must believe, as these two stories we’re about to hear indicate. Jesus is on His way to heal the sick daughter of Jairus, one of the synagogue rulers, when this woman who had an issue of blood for 12 years, which would have made her unclean and almost an outcast according to Jewish law then, approaches Jesus walking in a crowd, and believes that if she can only touch the hem of His robe, or the fringe, the tassel of His robe she would be healed.
And so, she presses through the crowd, another unclean and unceremonial thing for her to do, and according to Mark’s gospel when she did touch Him, ‘Staightway the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague (affliction). And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue (power) had gone out of him, turned him about in the press (crowd), and said; Who touched my clothes? And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing.
But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. And he said unto her, Daughter thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague (affliction). While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house certain which said, Thy daughter is dead: why troublest the Master (Teacher) any further? As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe.
Then he took Peter, James and John went to the ruler’s house, found the household weeping, and said, Why make ye this ado (commotion), and weep? the damsel (child) is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn. But Jesus put them out of the house, then took the mother and father, and his disciples, and went into the room where the child lay, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is being interpreted (translated), Damsel (little girl) I say unto thee, arise. And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment. And he charged (commanded) them straitly (strictly) that no man should know it; and commanded that something should be giver her to eat.’ (Mark 5:29-43)
Yes friends, Jesus still heals, still does miracles, but we need to have the faith, the trust and the belief! So, to boost our spirits, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, seeking divine aid. 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!’
Now, regardless of how much we beg and beseech, divine aid will not come until we clean up our act. So please let’s get to doing that nuh! Much LOVE!
…many of our problems would be solved…if we’d only believe…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
07 Feb 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all the days of my life, anxiety and confusion, become better witnesses for Christ, Bible, blessed be the Lord, christianity, clean up our act, colon surgery, comforts, divine aid, dwell in the house of the Lord for ever, error of their ways, faith, for His name's sake, Friday chant, goodness and mercy shall follow me, he restores my soul, holy spirit, I will fear no evil, in good hands, in the presence of mine enemies, intorduce a new flock of believers, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus Christ, leads me beside the still waters, leads me in the paths of righteousness, leave you in limbo, LOVE, make the Lord proud of us, malignant, mercy, no need to worry, of the shadow of death, omnipotent help, pleasures, prayers, prepare a table before me, problems are escalating, salvation, Selah, stand strong in the faith, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the God of life death and salvation, the God of our salvation, the God our healer, the issues of death, the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want, the Lord's been making a way, the throne of grace, the weekend, these ungodly times, thou anointest my head with oil, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me, trusting faith, truth, unexpected storm, unto God the Lord belongs, wake up and smell the coffee, walk through the valley, when ye search for me, where there seemed to be no way, who daily loads us with benefits, wisdom, wise guidance, with all your heart, yre shall seek me and find me
Psalm 23:1. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
And though it’s a cold and cloudy morning, many of us are shouting, ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ because the work week is almost over and the pleasures and comforts of the weekend lie straight ahead of us. Let me apologize once again for a lack of the Bit yesterday, but it was another day spent in the hospital going through what they term ‘pre-op surgery.’ And it’s just running from one expert to another to check all the supposed facts and waiting in between to see them. As the doctor so cryptically pit it: ‘Welcome to medicine in the 21’st century!’
And is he ever so right, because despite the numerous computers around, there’s still a whole lot of paperwork being done. Every expert you saw, gave you some sort of paper work to read and study at home. Anyway, the long and short of the story is that today I am going to have colon surgery to remove some diseased parts of that organ. They are not sure whether it’s malignant, but whatever it is, it must be removed. And the good news is that whatever it is, has not spread to any other organs. Thank the Lord!
That’s why you’re hearing from me so early in the day. I just did not want to miss another Bit and leave you in limbo as to what’s happening. Now there’s no need to worry, because I’m in good hands, both the human medics and Jehovah Rapha, the God our Healer, who’s certainly been making a way, when there seemed to be no way. But some prayers will certainly be helpful. I’m not sure when we’ll meet again, but hopefully it won’t be more than a couple of days. Till then, please, let’s stand strong in the faith and make the Lord proud of us.
And not knowing how to proceed from there, (smile) I simply went to my faithful route and opened the Good Library, wherewith, these two interesting verses from Psalm 68 jumped out at me. ‘Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation . Selah. He that is our God is the God of salvation; and unto God the Lord belong the issues (escapes) from death.’ (Ps. 68:19-20) And that’s the gospel truth my people! Our Great God Jehovah is the God of life, death and salvation! So whom else shall we worship eh? No one else!
And having said that, I’m moved to saying one of our most important and favourite prayers, Psalm 23, those magnificent words of Bruh David penned from His own experience with Almighty God. So please pray with me: ‘The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.’ (Ps. 23:1-6)
Wow mih bredrin! Sweeter or more encouraging words were never spoken! That’s why our God is such a great God! Consequently, with all the problems we’re currently having in our disaster-filled world, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, seeking some divine aid to ease our situation.
Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times.
We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
Let’s remember though, that divine aid will only be forthcoming if we clean up our act and become better witnesses for Christ! Much LOVE!
…and ye shall seek me…and find me…when ye shall search for me…with all your heart… (Jer. 29:13)
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
03 Feb 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a Christian soldier's last words, a disadvantage, a friend of the world, a merciful forgiving and gracious God, a spiritual fight to the death, after you have suffered a while, as a roaring lion, assurance of God's grace and mercy, be sober, be vigilant, Bible, called us into his eternal glory, casting all your care upon him, cause the enemy to gain footholds in our lives, Christ has defeated hell death and the grave, Christ the royal Master, Christ's Resurrection, christianity, Christians, cleanse your hands ye sinners, disobeyed your word, divine aid, draw nigh to God, ease the pain, experienced by your brethren, faith, forward into battle, gets his hooks in you, giving us the victory, handled with aplomb, he may exalt you in due time, he shall lift you up, he will flee from you, hear and answer our prayers, Hell's foundations, hold on to the victory won by Christ, holy spirit, humble servants, humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, humility, I have finished my course, I have fought a good fight, I have kept the faith, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus Christ, leads against the foe, like a roaring lion hungry for food, LOVE, marching as to war, mass confusion in our world, mercy, never give up, Onward Christian soldiers, perfect confirm, pray, promised to prosper us, purify your hearts ye doubleminded, quiver at the shout of praise, resist steadfast in the faith, resist the devil, resist the onslaughts of the enemy, resisting the enemy is no laughing matter, salvation, see his banner go, sincere prayer, sincere repentance in our hearts, sincerely seek your face, spiritual lives, step up to the plate, strengthen and settle you, submit yourselves to God, suffering from negative situations, thank you for life and strong faith in Christ, the enemy is difficult to dislodge, the enemy of God, the father of lies, the friendship of the world is enmity with God, the God of all grace, the God who heals, the power of the Holy spirit, the power to solve our problems, the same afflictions, the throne of grace, to alleviate our problems, to him be the glory and dominion for ever, truth, turn from our evil ways, use the spiritual weapons of God, walketh about, walketh about seeking whom he may devour, we have all sinned, wisdom, wise guidance, with the cross of jesus going on before, work week frustrations, your adversary the devil
James 4:7. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
And the new work week frustrations begin again with another Monday on board. But like all those Mondays in the past that we’ve handled with such aplomb, we will handle this one with the same poise and assurance of God’s awesome grace and mercy flowing through us, giving us the victory! Believing anything less is only putting ourselves at a major disadvantage that will cause the enemy to gain unwanted footholds in our lives. And we all know the havoc that the father of lies and deceit can create once he gets access to our minds, bodies and hearts.
And since he’s so difficult to dislodge once he begins his evil work, it’s best not to let him get any footholds at all in our spiritual lives. Consequently, James, Jesus’ brother, warns us: ‘Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of (with) the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be (wants to be) a friend of the world is (makes himself) the enemy of God. Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth (yearns jealously) to envy?
But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh (near) to God, and he will draw nigh (near) to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded…Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.’ (James 4:4-8, 10)
Yes friends, please note that we can resist the devil, but only if we first humble ourselves and draw near to God. For if the power of God’s Holy Spirit isn’t working powerfully in you, then you will not be able to resist the numerous onslaughts of the enemy. And if you did not believe James, then listen to Peter’s wonderful advice along the same lines, from his first epistle.
‘Humble your selves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in (experienced by) your brethren that are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish (confirm), strengthen, settle you. To him be the glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.’ (1 Pet. 5:6-11)
Yuh see again mih bredrin, that you have to humble yourselves, submit to God, before you can have any chance of turning away the devil. That’s because it’s not our strength, but the grace, the power of God that gives us the ability to do so. And believe me, resisting the enemy is no laughing, but a very serious matter, for once he gets his hooks in you, he’s going to tear you up as Peter says, like a roaring lion hungry for food.
Remember this is no joke war we’re engaged in, but a spiritual fight to the death, and if we don’t use the spiritual weapons granted to us by Almighty God, (Eph. 6) then we won’t be able to hold on to the victory already won by Christ on our behalf. Yes, the victory is already ours, because Christ has defeated hell, death and the grave, through His own death and awesome resurrection, we only need to keep it won now.
But the enemy will not give up. Neither should we. That’s why Bruh Paul told Timothy: ‘Thou therefore endure harness (hardship), as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.’ (2 Tim. 2:3) So should we all who call ourselves believers in Christ Jesus, stand up strong and steadfast in His name, and fight the good fight of faith.
As the old anthem calls us to do: ‘Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war, With the cross of Jesus going on before! Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe; Forward into battle, see his banner go! At the sign of triumph Satan’s host doth flee; On, then, Christian soldiers, on to victory! Hell’s foundations quiver at the shout of praise; Brothers, lift your voices, loud your anthems raise!’
Oh my people, that is exactly how we have to behave this Monday morning, the first of February 2025; get out onto the battlefield behind the banner of Jesus and give the enemy what for! That’s the only way we will ever win the spiritual battle for our souls. And to help us bravely step up to the plate, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn seeking divine aid in these most crucial and critical times.
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!’
Now, let’s remember that divine aid calls for humility, sincere prayer, and turning from our evil ways. Much LOVE!
…a Christian soldier’s last words ought to be…I have fought a good fight…I have finished my course (race)…I have kept the faith… (2 Tim. 4:7)
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
27 Jan 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a grain of mustard seed, a hard row to hoe, a true relationship with Jesus, afraid, always striving to conquer our mountains, an opportunity to grow, because of your unbelief, belief, Bible, build a stronger sense of self-awareness, christianity, Christians, come up to scratch, cultivate new beliefs, divine aid, Dr. Robert H Schuller, earnest desire, faith, faith in christ Jesus, faithless, fasting, find a pass through, fruitful in every good work, giving thanks, God's will for our lives, have faith, holy spirit, humble servants, I will not quit, impregnable, in a better space, increasing in the knowledge of God, inroads into the enemy's territory, it shall move, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus Christ, joy, keep striving, lack of faith, living in joy and peace, look to heaven, LOVE, mass confusion, mercy, nonsense, not quitting, nothing shall be impossible to you, O ye of little faith, pateince, peace, perseverance, Peter walking n water, pray, prosper us, pryaer, rebuked the winds and the sea, refreshed, remove hence, repentance in our hearts, rested, salvation, simply stay, sincerely seek your face, spiritual lives, spiritual understanding, strengthened with all might, strong faith in Christ, take a toll on your resilience, tenacity, thank you for life, the God who heals, The Possibility Thinker's Creed, the power to solve our many problems, the throne of grace, to alleviate our problems, trials, tribulations, truth, tunnel underneath, turn from our evil ways, turn the mountain into a goldmine, underlying foundation of faith, until I climb over, walk worthy of God, when faced with a mountain, wherefore didst thou doubt, why are ye fearful, wisdom, wise guidance, with God's help, work week
Matthew 8:26a. And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?
So we’ve come around to Monday once more, and the ole work week nonsense begins again. (smile) But let’s hope and pray that we’re all in a better space than when we left work last week. That means we’ve rested and been refreshed in soul, body, minds and hearts, and strengthened with all might in the Lord, knowing His will for our lives with all wisdom and spiritual understanding, that we might walk worthy of him, being fruitful in every good work, while continually increasing in the knowledge of God, exerting patience and perseverance in any trials and tribulations, nonetheless, giving thanks for all He’s done for us and thus living in joy and peace.
Wow! Now that’s a hard row to hoe, but it’s basically what Bruh Paul prayed for in the opening chapter of Colossians. (Col. 1:9-12) That was his earnest desire for them. He’s certainly asking a lot of and for them. And you’ll notice that in his prayers he doesn’t pray for the believers’ problems to go away or be easily solved, but for them to get the might and understanding to handle them.
Today though, we all want our problems to go away with no effort or suffering whatsoever, but the Lord in His awesome wisdom doesn’t do it very often, for He expects believers to come up to scratch, to get stronger and face each new problem with greater tenacity and faith. So, this Monday morning, let’s look to heaven and offer up that kind of prayer for ourselves and all our fellow saints, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s territory and cause the heathen to want to come to Christ for rescue, earnestly seeking salvation and eternal life.
That brings us to this little poem by Dr. Robert H Schuller called ‘The Possibility Thinker’s Creed.’ It’s short and simple, but bold and strong. So please read with me. ‘When faced with a mountain, I will not quit! I will keep striving until I climb over, find a pass through, tunnel underneath, or simply stay and turn the mountain into a gold mine – with God’s help.’
Yes friends, when our mountains rear up before us, we are not supposed to give up or run from them in fear, because they seem so large and impregnable. One way or another we’re expected to make good use of those mountains…obviously with God’s help. The important thing is not quitting but always striving to conquer our mountains.
Remember what Jesus said to the disciples on the subject of mountains, when they could not cast out a demon spirit from a young child? ‘Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove (move); and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.’ (Matt. 17:20-21)
Oh my fellow believers, nothing happens in God’s kingdom without faith! Some things need little faith, while others need big faith, some even need prayer and fasting, but nothing happens in our spiritual lives without the underlying foundation of faith in Christ Jesus. And until we fully understand that, our lives will feel empty and lost, without a true relationship with Jesus. As one commentary says, losing or lack of faith can ‘take a toll on your resilience and undermine your sense of belongingness. But it can also be an opportunity to grow, build a stronger sense of self-awareness, and cultivate new beliefs that are more closely aligned with your current values, goals, and needs.’
And Jesus also admonished the disciples for their lack of faith while they were crossing the Sea of Galilee and a storm arose that looked like it would bring about their demise, but Jesus was unconcerned asleep in the back of the boat. And they awoke Him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then He arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.’ (Matt. 8:25-26)
Then there was also the incident with Peter walking on the water with Jesus, but when he saw the strong winds, he became afraid, although he was in Jesus’ presence, and cried out for Jesus to save him. ‘And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?’ (Matt. 14:31) Oh friends, it was Peter’s faith that allowed him to walk on the water in the first place, and when he became afraid and faithless, then he was obviously going to lose that power.
Likewise, with us, when our faith is weak, we can’t do a whole lot, but when we keep our faith strong, we can do ever so many more things in the name of Jesus. We’re much more powerful and productive! So, for help to raise our faith, to get strong in Christ, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn.
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!’
Now, let’s remember God’s requirement for giving divine aid; praying, humbling ourselves, sincerely seeking His face, and turning from our evil ways! So let’s get to doing them nuh! Much LOVE!
…it’s all about belief and faith…belief and faith in Christ Jesus…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
24 Jan 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a gnawing pain in my stomach, a means of restoring faith in you, addicted to, annoying pain, anointing him with oil, anxiety, bless the LOrd o my soul, bruised for our iniquities, by his stripes we a re healed, by the example that we set, call for the elders of the church, can't fix problems on our own, chills, Christian witness, confess your faults one to another, confusion, crowneth thee with loving-kindness, crying out for your help, discontent, dissatisfaction, divine aid, divine help, effective supplication, embrace your love and compassion, enough to drive me crazy, faith, faithful believers, forget not all his benefits, forgives your sins, Friday chant, get a healing touch from Jesus, he was wounded for our transgressions, heal me O lord, heals your diseases, heavenly Father, holy spirit, I shall be healed, I shall be saved, if he has committed sins, if he have committed sins they shall be forgiven, in the name of the Lord of hosts, introduce a new flock of believers, is any among you afflicted, is any merry, is any sick among you, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus Christ, Jesus heals Peter's mother-in-law, Jesus touched her hand, keep on pressing on, let him pray, let him sing psalms, let them pray over him, LOVE, mercy, my prayer for today, narcotic based pain medication, omnipotent help, problems are escalating, proper concentration, redeemeth thy life from destruction, regurgitation, return backsliders to your fold, satisfieth thy mouth with good things, save me, scriptural truths on healing, she arose and ministered unto them, sick of a fever, simmering unrest, sinful world, stand strong and steadfast, stomach pains, strong and trusting faith in Jesus, tender mercies, that ye may be healed, the chastisement of our peace, the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man, the error of their ways, the fever left her, the God who heals, the Great Physician, the Lord shall raise him up, the prayer of faith, the prayer of faith shall save the sick, the throne of grace, them's the breaks, thou art my praise, thy youth is renewed like the eagle's, times of desperate need, truth, unexpected storms, wake up and smell the coffee, who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases, wisdom, wise guidance
Jeremiah 17:14. Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.
And the shouts have gone up: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday, with the weekend right around the corner!’ And the ole fella is back after a couple of days of illness. Please accept my apology for those two missed days. It seems that being out Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning in some very cold conditions didn’t agree with me, and when I came back from my church group on Wednesday morning I was tired, having had little sleep during the night, so obviously I had to have a nap. (smile)
But during that supposed nap time, the chills began trembling my body, although I was wrapped up under heavy covers. Then my stomach joined in. At first, I thought I was hungry and got up to get something to eat. But lo and behold, whatever I ate came right back up. Now, regurgitation is something I don’t normally do, (smile) even the Duchess said she’s never seen me do it, but in less than 24 hours she saw or heard me do it six times.
The problem apparently was a stomach pain that I’d had some years before, but after a whole lot of tests, they’d found nothing wrong, so they simply gave me some tablets to take whenever it occurred. And the few times the pain occurred; the tablets did take care of it. But not this past Wednesday. Brother! The whole day was a mixture of chills and stomach pains and regurgitation.
And when the chills settled down in the afternoon, I thought about writing the Bit, but the stomach pain nixed that idea right in the bud, for it just got worse, and nothing I took could ease it. And it’s not to say that it was a bright and blazing pain, but a steady gnawing in the upper left side of my stomach, like some rodent was there just eating away at it, enough to drive me crazy, and not allow proper concentration.
Well, on Thursday morning after the sixth regurgitation, tired, worn out and empty, I went to the Emergency Department of the nearby hospital. I got there at ten o’clock, but didn’t leave until five in the evening, having done all sorts of tests and waiting for reports to come back. And even then, there was no firm diagnosis, so pain tablets and further tests were prescribed. And that’s where we sit right now. Please pray that they come up with something firm and simple, very soon, because I don’t want to get addicted to this narcotic based pain medication.
And I guess since we’ve been talking about illness and healing, we can just continue by renewing our hearts and minds on some scriptural truths on the subject. And there’s no better verse to begin with than this one from Isaiah. ‘But he (Jesus) was wounded (pierced through) for our transgressions, he was bruised (crushed) for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with (by) his stripes (cruel blows that cut into him) we are healed.’ (Is. 55:5)
Then there are these marvellous words of encouragement from Bruh David in Psalm 103. ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases. Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with LOVING-KINDNESS and tender mercies. Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that youth is renewed like the eagle’s.’ (Ps. 103:2-5)
And there’s nothing better than Jesus’ personal touch, as Matthew recounts. ‘And when Jesus was come into Peter’s house, he saw his wife’s mother laid, and sick of a fever. And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them.’ (Matt. 8:14-15) Oh, how I wish could get such a touch from Jesus right now, so that this annoying pain could go away. I would certainly minister to Him with everything I have. (smile)
Excuse me, but I just had to go upstairs and get another pill to ease the pain because the first one had apparently worn off. Ah Lord eh! But them’s the breaks, we simply have to keep on pressing on regardless. Then there’s this prayer from Jeremiah. ‘Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.’ (Jer. 17:14) Now, that’s my prayer for today my fellow believers. (smile)
And scriptures on healing would not be complete without this one from James. ‘Is any among you afflicted (suffering)? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults (trespasses) one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual (effective) fervent prayer (supplication) of a righteous man availeth much.’ (James 5:13-16)
And I would certainly appreciate some effective supplication from you righteous bredrin in our Scrip-Bit family. (smile) Now, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant for divine aid to help in these times of desperate need. Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help.
Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways.
And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’ And before we do like the man who sees his face in the mirror and immediately forgets what he looks like, remember that we need to increase our Christian witness to get divine help Much LOVE!
…who is the Great Physician…Jehovah Rapha…the God who heals…our Jesus…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
20 Jan 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a constant attitude of prayer, alleviate our problems, anxiety, anxious, be careful for nothing, be of good cheer, be prayerful about everything, Bible, by prayer and supplication, catch your fancy, christianity, Christians, concerning you, death, divine aid, divinely bestowed peace, ease the pain, faith, faith in Christ, give thanks to god, he who has ears to hear let him hear, hear our requests, hell, holy spirit, humble servants, i have overcome the world, in every event or circumstance, in every thing give thanks, in me ye shall have peace, in the face of adversity, irresposibility, Jehovah Rapha, legitimate concern, let not your heart be troubled, let your moderation be known unto all men, let your requests be made known unto God, LOVE, maintain gratitude, mass confusion in our world, mercy, moderation, my peace I give unto you, my thoughts are higher than your thoughts, my thoughts are not your thoughts, my ways are higher than your ways, my ways are not your ways, negative situations, neither let it be afraid, not as the world gives, obedience, passes all understanding, Peace i leave with you, pray without ceasing, propser us, protection, repentance, sacrifice, salvation, seeking God's face, the God who heals, the grave, the heavens are higher than the earth, the Lord is at hand, the peace of God, the promises of Christ, the tools of Christ, the will of God, this is the will of God in Christ, throne of grace, time of need, tranquility of mind, tribulation, truth, turn from our evil ways, wisdom, wise guidance, with thanksgiving
1 Thessalonians 5:18. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
Come on down Monday, we’re ready and waiting for you! Hit us with your best shot! But it won’t work, for we have all the tools and promises of Jesus, at the ready, waiting to shoot you down. Therefore, we have taken this scripture from the pen of Bruh Paul to heart. ‘In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.’ (1 Thess. 5:18)
Ah friends, that’s a tough scripture, but one we definitely need to know and totally embrace. And what does it mean? The scholars say that ‘In every event or circumstance (thing) the Christian is to give thanks to God for the good He can bring out of the event, even should the event be unpleasant. The constant attitude of prayer, mentioned in verse 17 – ‘Pray without ceasing,’ will help the believer to maintain gratitude in the face of adversity.’
And if that scripture doesn’t catch your fancy, (smile) then try this one from Bruh Paul’s missive to the Philippians. ‘Let your moderation (gentleness) be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep (guard) your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’ (Phil. 4:5-7)
And I must admit that one seems a tad easier than the first one, although they both basically mean the same thing. Instead of worrying about anything, we are to take every situation, be it pleasant or unpleasant and present it to God through prayer, supplication and thanksgiving.
The scholars advise: ‘The Lord’s nearness (vs. 5b) leads Paul to forbid his readers from worrying. This is no summons to irresponsibility or an invitation to dismiss legitimate concern. The solution to undue anxiety is prayer in every thing, “in any matter of life.” The way to be free of anxiety is to be prayerful about everything. While God is eager to hear our requests, they are to be accompanied by thanksgiving.’
Now, that seems easier said than done, but like all things we need to get good at, it requires continuous practice until it becomes a habit. And what’s the benefit of that exercise, you ask? ‘The peace of God which passes all understanding.’ Wow! Isn’t that important enough to make the effort worthwhile? It surely is!
Because as the scholars tell us, ‘The peace of God is that tranquility of mind freeing the believer from fear and worry. “Peace” which passeth all understanding means (1) peace divinely bestowed in times of anxiety, so wonderful that it exceeds one’s ability to understand it; (2) God’s peace far surpasses one’s own understanding of the problem, and his ability to cope with and solve it.’
That brings to mind this most important scripture from the prophet Isaiah, where he speaks on God’s behalf. ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.’ (Is. 55:8-9) That says it all my people. And so it should be, if He is God!
Therefore, when we take our problems to Him in prayer, with thanksgiving, He gives us His unsurpassable peace that guards our hearts and minds from the enemies attempts to cause us worry and anxiety. And that dovetails very nicely with Jesus words on the subject to the disciples, and consequently to us. ‘Peace, I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’ (John 14:27)
Oh my people, what a marvellous gift is the peace of Jesus! It’s unlike any other that the world knows, and surpasses any other kind. It’s the amazing kind of peace that causes us not to worry or be afraid. Where else can you find that kind of peace eh? Only in and from Jesus! Then later on, He tells us again about the kind of peace we can have if we accept Him as Lord and Saviour. ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33)
Wow! What can we say to that most expressive statement eh? Not much really, but accept it for what it is: Jesus’ faithful promise! There’s no doubt whatsoever that in the world we will have trials and tribulations, but since Jesus has already overcome the world, that’s hell, death and the grave, if we stay entwined with Jesus, then we will have His awesome protection against the world and it’s ungodly masses. You can’t ask for anything more than that friends.
However, Jesus has already done His work, it’s now our turn to live up to our promise when we accepted Him as Lord and Saviour. That’s take up our cross daily and follow Him, even if it calls for personal sacrifice. And sometimes that’s difficult to do, but through prayer and supplication with thanksgiving we can do it. So let’s go to the throne of grace right now, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, seeking divine aid to help us in this our great time of need.
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!’
In closing though, please remember that divine aid is not doled out willy-nilly, but for obedience, repentance, sincerely seeking God’s face and a change in our evil ways. Much LOVE!
…He who has ears to hear…let Him hear…otherwise…He will feel…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
17 Jan 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fierce love, a means of restoring faith in you, a reflex action, a sincere change of heart, anxiety, asking for mercy, bared his soul, be responsible, Beelzebub, Bible, christianity, Christians, communicating with God, confusion, crying out for your help, debauched parties, departed into a solitary place and prayed, discontent, dissatisfaction, divine aid, end up in hellfire, escalating problems, even unto death, evil ways, face time with God, faith, fell on his face, Friday chant, God loves us with a fierce love, holy spirit, human activities, if it be possible, in the morning, insincere hearts, interference in our business, intimate time, Jesus Christ, Jesus went up into a mountain apart to pray, lazy, let this cup pass from me, licentious manner, listening to God, living God, loud voices, LOVE, mercy, mortals, my soul is exceeding sorrowful, natural disasters, not as I will but as thou wilt, omnipotent help, our lives don't run right, out of control, partying, pleasures, prayer, proud, rebellious behaviour, retribution, rising up a great while before day, salvation, Satan, simmering unrest, sinful behaviour, sinful rebellion, sinful ways, sinful world, Sodom and Gomorrah, spend time with God, stay safe, sweet and strong, talking to God, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the Garden of Gethsemane, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the hand of God, the miracle of the five loaves and two fishes, the sinfulness of our world, the throne of grace, truth, unfortunate predicament, ungodly times, wait here, wake up and smell the coffee, watch with me, wisdom
Mark 1:35. And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary (deserted) place, and there prayed.
And finally it’s Friday! The weekend is upon us. Praise the Lord! And we send up our Friday Mantra; ‘Thank God it’s Friday!’ with loud voices, but insincere hearts. It’s now become simply a reflex action and no longer real heartfelt thanks for the end of the work week, for too many of us only look to the weekend as a means of partying, having a good ole worldly time and not giving thought to our Creator and Provider. But friends, that’s an unwise way to live, because our God desires His time with us. He’s not against partying per se, just the debauched and licentious manner in which we do it.
And above all, He expects us to have a reasonable amount of face time with Him. He knows that in the week we’re fairly busy and thus cannot always give Him the time He desires, but for sure on the weekend we can make whatever sacrifice might be necessary to spend more intimate time with Him. Yuh know, intimate, unhurried time with Him is all our God really desires of each of us. And when that happens on a regular basis, everything else takes care of itself.
And there’s no better example of that than our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. When He was here on earth in human form, although He was still God, He always made time to spend with the Father. Why? Because He knew that without the Father’s awesome help He could not properly manage the human activities necessary to carry out His ministry work. And there are several instances in the Bible where it shows that Jesus got away by Himself to go and spend intimate time with the Father. My favourite is this one from the gospel of Mark, where it says: ‘And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary (deserted) place, and there prayed.’ (Mark 1:35)
Wow! How many of us even consider getting up early, or even going to bed a little later so that we can spend time with our heavenly Father and Provider eh? Not enough of us! But if Jesus the Son of God, could get up early to talk to the Father and find out His instructions for that particular day, why can’t we mere, finite, mortals do the same eh? Because we’re too proud, lazy or whatever! But then when our lives don’t run right, we wonder what’s wrong. It’s simple friends; if we don’t have good and regular communion with the Creator of the universe, our lives will never run right.
And we can see that happening right now throughout our entire world, only strife, chaos and disaster everywhere! Why? Because we have turned away from One True and ONLY Living God and foolishly embraced the sinful ways and pleasures of Beelzebub and his evil cronies. Do we ever remember the story of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 18 and 19, where the Lord announced to Abraham His intention to destroy those cities because of their overly sinful behaviour (Gen. 18:20) and then Abraham prayed that He wouldn’t destroy them if they contained any righteous people, including his nephew Lot who lived in Sodom. (Gen. 18:23-33)
But eventually the Lord’s will prevailed, and though Lot escaped, the cities were destroyed. Now that might be a very useful anecdote for us to remember since the sinfulness of our world is out of control, and who knows if all the natural disasters that are occurring all around the globe is not simply the Hand of God wreaking retribution for our sinful behaviour, like He did with Sodom and Gomorrah so long ago.
I believe it would do us a whole lot of good if we’d ponder on that possibility for a while and consider changing our evil ways and returning to the God of Abrahan, Isaac and Jacob, who LOVES us with a fierce LOVE, despite our rebellious behaviour, and does not want to see us end up in hellfire with Satan, so He’s prodding us, none too gently, because we don’t take kindly to interference in what we consider our own business. I like that sentence. It reminds me of some of Bruh Paul’s. (smile)
Ah friends, we’ve drifted away from our topic of intimate or prayer time with God, talking about how Jesus always found time to do so. And we have two other good examples of that. The first is when He fed the five thousand men with the five loaves of bread and two small fishes, and after collecting twelve baskets of left overs, sent the disciples over the lake in a ship, and the crowd away, then went up into a mountain to pray. (Mark 6:37-47)
And how can we ever forget the night before His crucifixion, when Jesus, went into the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. (Matt. 26:36-46) In great agony of spirit, He said to Peter, James and John. ‘My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here (wait here), and watch with me. Then he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.’ (Matt. 26:38-39)
Yes my fellow saints, Jesus bared His soul before the Father, and that’s exactly what many of us today also need to do, because we’re filled with all kinds of anxieties, fears, doubts and troubled minds and hearts, and the only way to relive that pressure is by going to God in prayer and asking for His divine help. And since now is as good a time as any to do so, let’s go to the throne of grace through our Friday Chant baring our souls, asking for mercy.
Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times.
We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
Now, let’s not forget that we’re in this unfortunate predicament because of our sinful rebellion towards God, and only a sincere change of heart and behaviour will bring divine aid. Much LOVE!
…what’s prayer…communicating with God…talking to Him…and listening to Him…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
14 Jan 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a deeper unserstanding, a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, a leather belt, an individual and corporate matter, Bible, by grace ye have been saved through faith, challenges, Christian, christianity, conquer the enemy, cut us down to size, divine aid, dressed in God's spiritual armour, duty bound, eagerness, faith, feet shod, girded your waist with truth, hand to hand combat, having your loins girt about with truth, holy character, holy spirit, hurry, in god's eyes, Jesus Christ, knowledge of the truth, logos, LOVE, mercy, moral conduct, obedience to known truth, of the joints and marrow, offense is the best part of defence, our omnipotent God, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, prayer is indispensable, praying always with all prayer, produces a godly life, quench the fiery darts of the wicked one, responsibly handled, rhema, righteousness, salvation, share His love with my neighbours, share the amazing love and friendship of Christ, sharper than any twoedged sword, spiritual belt, spiritual combat, spiritual warfare, stand, sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof, the armour of God, the assurance of salvation, the beloved of God, the breastplate of righteousness, the gospel frees the believer from anxiety, the gospel of peace, the helmet of salvation, the Holy Spirit's help in prayer, the hope of salvation, the preparation of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the sword of the Spirit, the Word of god, the Word of God is quick and powerful, troubles, trust my friend Jesus, truth, Tuesday Mantra, we cannot achieve victory without prayer, willingness to take the fight to the devil, win the spiritual war, wisdom, with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, worry
Ephesians 6:14a. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth (girded your waist with truth),
So it’s Tuesday, and we have forgotten Monday’s problems, and are instead concentrating on the current ones that Tuesday is bringing, because that’s what Jesus said to do. (smile) ‘Sufficient unto the day is the evil (trouble) thereof.’ (Matt. 6:34b). And the scholars explain: ‘That means each day has its own troubles and challenges to be responsibly handled, without worrying about the hypothetical problems that could arise tomorrow.’ And one of the problems that can and will arise today and every day is that of putting on and keeping on the armour of God which helps us to fight against the deadly attacks of the enemy.
Now, yesterday we talked about what it meant to put on the armour of God and why it was necessary, today we will delve into exactly what it is. Bruh Paul defines them thus, in his epistle to the Ephesians. ‘Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth (girded your waist with truth), and having on the breast plate of righteousness; And your feet shod with preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked (one). And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.’ (Eph. 6:14-17)
Those are the six pieces of the armour of God, which we should always be clothed in, if we desire to effectively turn away, and eventually conquer the enemy. And what does it all mean? It’s essentially the six pieces of protection that a Roman soldier went into battle with, or any soldier should never go into hand to combat without. It begins with the truth, or knowledge of the truth of God’s Word girded about one’s waist. And per the scholars, ‘The ancient soldier’s loins (waist) were girt about with a leather belt which held most of the other pieces of armour in place. Similarly, the other pieces of the Christian’s armour depend on, and are held in place by, his spiritual “belt” or his knowledge of the “truth” of scripture.’
Then the second piece of protection in a soldier’s armoury was his breastplate, a device worn over the torso or chest to protect it from injury. The scholars say that ‘The breastplate of righteousness may be read “the breastplate which is righteousness.” It represents a holy character and moral conduct. Obedience to the “truth” known produces a godly life (righteousness).’
Meanwhile, the third piece of the believer’s armour, the ‘preparation of the gospel of peace, means “eagerness that comes from the gospel of peace.” That is, as the Roman soldier wore special shoes called caligae (heavy-soled hobnailed military sandal-boots) on his feet, enabling him to advance against the enemy, so the Christian must have on his feet (possess) a sense of “eagerness” or “willingness” to advance against the Devil and take the fight to him. Such “eagerness” to contend with Satan “comes from the gospel of peace.” The gospel gives peace to the believer, freeing him from anxiety though he advances against such a powerful opponent.’ That ought to remind us of the old adage; offense is the best part of defense. And that’s oh so true, especially in our spiritual warfare with Satan and his evildoers.
That brings us to the fourth part of our Godly spiritual armour; The shield of (which is) faith, the handheld protection that a soldier used to protect himself from the arrows launched at him, or from the enemy’s weapons in hand-to-hand combat. As per its spiritual interpretation, the scholars say, ‘it means taking God at His word by believing His promises. Such doubts will protect one from the doubts induced by Satan.’
Then there’s the fifth part of the armour, the helmet of salvation. And we know that soldiers going into battle all wear a helmet, or protection for their heads. The scholars put forth that ‘Since the readers are already Christians (Eph. 2:8), they are not here urged to be saved. First Thessalonians 5:8 describes this helmet as “the hope of salvation” that is the certainty (assurance) of salvation.’
And just because I like to spoil us so much, (smile) I will quote the two references that the scholars gave above. The first about Christians already being saved is a verse we all should know and LOVE, for it’s the very basis of our faith. ‘For by grace are ye (you have been) saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.’ (Eph. 2:8) Please let’s remember that salvation has nothing to do with our works or otherwise, but all to do with God’s great LOVE and compassion for us! And the verse from first Thessalonians about the helmet of salvation, says: ‘But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breast plate of faith and LOVE; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.’ (1 Thess. 5:8)
And finally, the sixth part of our spiritual armour: ‘The sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.’ Now, according to the scholars, ‘The Greek term rendered “word” is not logos, referring to the whole Word of God, but rhema, referring to certain portions or selected verses of Scripture.’ However, when we wield those verses at the enemy, they’re powerful enough to cut them down to size. For remember what the Bible says about God’s word?
‘For the Word of God is quick (alive), and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of (able to judge) the thoughts and intents (intentions) of the heart.’ (Heb. 4:12) Yes friends, the Word of our omnipotent God is living, powerful, can cut us down to size, and can judge all of our thoughts and intentions. In other words, we cannot hide from it.
And that’s the six basic pieces of our spiritual armour. But there’s one more piece that doesn’t pertain to the Roman soldier’s armour. And Bruh Paul reveals it in this later verse. ‘Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.’ (Eph. 6:18)
Oh my people, all our armour is of no use unless we pray! The scholars tell us that ‘Without prayer God’s armour is inadequate to achieve victory. Because prayer is indispensable!’ And we have to pray whenever Satan attacks, seeking divine aid with the help of the Spirit. Furthermore, we are to be very vigilant in the matter of prayer, and to pray not only for ourselves, but also for all our fellow believers. Because spiritual combat is both an individual and corporate matter.’ And there we have it, the whole armour of God, that we need to fight the enemy. So please, let’s study, meditate on it, and put it on, so that we can have God’s protection in this our deadly spiritual war.
Now, let’s go home declaring (yesss!!!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting all and sundry know to whom we belong, lock, stock and barrel. As one strong and sincere voice: ‘In God’s eyes, 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 my immediate neighbours, as well as with the whole wide world! Glory be!’
And having made that commitment, we’re now duty bound to go out and share the amazing LOVE and friendship of Christ with others, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like do! Much LOVE!
…only dressed in God’s spiritual armour…with the Holy Spirit’s help in prayer…can we win the spiritual war…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
13 Jan 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a critical position, a fight for life and death, a merciful forgiving and gracious God, a new work week, alleviate our problems, be strong in the Lord, Bible, caught napping, cessation of hostilities, Christian, Christian witness, christianity, crapaud smoke we pipe, demonic onslaughts, departed from him for a season, disobeyed your word, divine aid, eternal death, eternal life, eternal separation from God, eternity, evil weapons, faith, God's guidebook, grace, having done all, holy spirit, in the power of his might, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus Christ, LOVE, mass confusion, meditate on God's Word, mercy, mickey mouse affair, negative situations, no cease fire, no quarter given, pain, pay a horrendous price, powers, pray, principalities, put on the whole armour of God, put the word into practice, renewed confidence, resist the enemy, rest, salvation, Satanic assaults, sincerely seek your face, sinned, spiritual foes, spiritual wickedness, stand against the wiles of the devil, strengthened by the Lord, strong faith in Christ, temporary truce, the God who heals, the rulers of darkness, the spiritual battle, to stand, truth, turn from our evil ways, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, wisdom, wise guidance, withstand in the evil day
Ephesians 6:10. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Here we go again with a new work week, hope we are all prepared for it, with sufficient rest and renewed confidence and faith over the weekend, for the enemy is raising the level of spiritual warfare that’s taking place, daily putting more evil weapons and people into the fray. And if we are not aware and alert, we will certainly be caught napping and made to pay a horrendous price.
That’s why it’s ever so important for believers to get down with the Word, be much more acquainted with it; read it, study it, meditate on it, and put it into practice in our lives. For that’s the only way we will ever defeat the enemy. Remember, the Bible is God’s Guidebook for our earthly lives, and if we don’t know what it says, or how to put it into action, then crapaud smoke we pipe!
Friends, the enemy is not joking, this is not a friendly war… No! It’s a fight for life and death! If we lose it, then we’ll be facing eternal death and separation from Almighty God, and if we win, we’ll be spending eternal life with Him. And that’s the most important aspect of this whole earthly life; where we spend eternity!
And at the start of this new year, we cannot go wrong by examining some of the weapons we have to fight this spiritual warfare. Some of which are outlined by Bruh Paul in his epistle to the Ephesians, where he talks about the whole armour of God which is necessary for us to have, if we intend to fight and win the spiritual battle. He begins with this exhortation: ‘Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.’ (Eph. 6:10)
And the scholars explain that verse thus: ‘Finally may be rendered “from now on” or “henceforth.” The spiritual battle Christians are engaged in exists “from now on until the Lord’s return: there is no quarter given, no cease-fire, no temporary truce, no cessation of hostilities, “From now on” till the end there is all-out war. The remainder of the verse may be paraphrased, “Let yourselves constantly be strengthened by the Lord, more precisely, by His mighty power.”
Oh friends, yuh see this is a most serious and deadly affair, not some li’l mickey mouse matter, where we playing childlike games. Bruh Paul then makes another most significant statement. ‘Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (evil schemes) of the devil.’ (Eph. 6:11)
Now the scholars tell us that the words used for ‘Put on in the Greek language, denotes a sense of urgency, demanding immediate attention,’ and that’s a very crucial fact right now as the battle lines are narrowly drawn. Meanwhile ‘To Stand has military overtones. This verb was used in classical Greek meaning to resist the enemy and hold a critical position in battle.’
That ought to bring home the seriousness of the situation to us. In other words, we cannot stand against the wiles or evil schemes of the enemy unless we’re dressed in the full armour of God. And believe me, Satan carefully crafts schemes and tactics against believers. So please don’t think that He’s just fooling around. He’s more serious about our destruction that ever.
Then Bruh Paul goes on to give us some idea of whom we’re fighting against. ‘For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world (age), against spiritual wickedness (spiritual hosts of wickedness) in high places.’ (Eph. 6:12) So we’re not fighting against flesh and blood, but against spiritual foes.
The scholars explain that ‘Wrestle, used of hand to hand combat emphasizes the personal and individual nature of spiritual warfare waged against each local church and Christian. Flesh and blood refer to humanity. Such is not the church’s adversary. Instead, she opposes principalities (rulers), powers (authorities), rulers (world rulers), spiritual wickedness (wicked spiritual beings), that is, fallen angels, demons, and Lucifer himself.’
Then Bruh Paul reemphasizes the importance of God’s armour in our fight. ‘Wherefore take unto you (take up) the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand.’ (Eph. 6:13) And the scholars explain that means ‘because we face such a formidable foe, we must avail ourselves of God’s provision lest the enemy destroy our Christian witness and ministry. The evil day refers to the periodic demonic onslaughts and Satanic assaults. Having done all includes both dressing oneself in God’s armour and resisting Satan. Having done all these, be ready, for the Devil will attack again and again.’
Now that’s something we have to be very cognizant of; the devil never stops for good. Every so often, he will take a break, especially if he is not getting anywhere with you, possibly to devise new strategy, but he will always come back while we’re alive, it’s his reason for living. We can clearly see that in the scriptures. After Satan unsuccessfully tempts Jesus, the Word says: ‘And when the devil had ended all the temptation (testing), he departed from him for a season (until an opportune time).’ (Luke4:13)
Yes my fellow saints, the devil doesn’t tempt us willy- nilly, but has very deep and deceptive strategies in place to encourage us to fall. However, we will not do that today, because we will go to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, seeking divine aid to help us overcome his evil schemes.
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!’
But let’s remember that before divine aid can be granted, we need to humble ourselves, pray and sincerely seek God’s face. In other words, turn from our evil ways! Much LOVE!
…to fight God’s fight successfully…one must have His protective armour…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
10 Jan 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fool's voice is known by multitude of words, a man's word is his honour, all the days of his life, ambassadors for Christ, anxiety, ascended to high heaven, backsliders, barren woman, barter with God, be better witnesses for Christ, be not rash with thy mouth, be resposible, better is it that thou shouldest not vow, Bible, bitterness of soul, break our oaths, broken with impunity, burn out, character, chores, christianity, Christians, confusion, contracts, covenants, crying out for your help, deceitful, deceitful world, defer not to pay it, disciples of Jesus, discontent, dissatisfaction, divine aid, error of their ways, faith, fellowship, forget our part of the bargain, fraudulent, Friday chant, give me a man child, go our merry way rejoicing, God hath no pleasure in fools, God is in heaven, God pulls us out, Hannah, high esteem, holy, holy spirit, housework, I will give him unto the Lord, in olden times, integrity, Jesus Christ, lack of cooperation, let not thine heart be hasty, let thy words be few, LOVE, mercy, new flock of believers, no razor shall come upon his head, not held sacred, omnipotent help, our Number One Job, our sinful world, partying, pay that which thou hast vowed, prayed tearfully, problems are escalating, promises, promises are made to be broken, promises should be unbreakable, sacrosanct, salvation, Samuel's mother, simmering unrest, sindul behaviour, stand strong and steadfast, stay safe, sullies our reputation, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, than thou shouldest vow and not pay, the example we faithful believers set, the fiery furnace, the priest Eli, the throne of grace, thou upon the earth, to utter anything before God, took him under his wing, totally binding, truth, ungodly generation, ungodly times, vows, wake up and smell the coffee, wept in anguish, when thou vowest a vow unto God, wisdom, wise guidance
Ecclesiastes 5:5. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than thou shouldest vow and not pay.
So friends, Friday’s here at last, and numerous shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ have already ascended to high heaven. And it’s good to have the weekend come around, but please, let’s remember to not use it just for partying and idle, sinful behaviour, but for the purposes that it was granted; that’s rest, relaxation and fellowship with other believers in Christ Jesus! And that’s because we need to have our minds, souls, bodies, and faith renewed and refreshed so that we can go back into the world the following week and once again work diligently for Christ.
Now, I know that many of us have lots of housework to do, chores that couldn’t be done during the work week, but please don’t let the weekend be all about housework, make time to get in a reasonable amount of those renewing and refreshing factors of life. (smile) That way, we will escape burn out from too much work and worry, and continue being useful ambassadors and disciples of Jesus, which is our Number One Job.
And today we’ll talk about vows, promises, covenants, contracts, things that today are not held sacred, but are broken with impunity, helped by the lax law of the land. In olden times a vow, promise, contract or covenant was totally binding, but in this deceitful, fraudulent and ungodly generation those things are not held in high esteem and agreements are disregarded without much thought or fear. A man’s word is no longer his honour. We seem to believe the saying; promises are made to be broken.
But friends, breaking a promise or contract is one of the worst things we can ever do, for it sullies our reputation, while damaging our integrity and our character. Our word will no longer be trusted by others, and we will suffer judgement and lack of cooperation by those we desire to work with. So, it’s not wise to break our oaths without very good cause, especially one made to God. Yuh know how we like to barter with God, especially when we find ourselves in tough situations, with words like: ‘Oh God, if you will only do this or that for me, I will do this or that in return.’ And when the Lord pulls us out of the fiery furnace, we forget all about our part of the bargain, and just go our merry way rejoicing.
Now that won’t wash with God, for He doesn’t like people who don’t keep their promises. We need to be people of integrity, especially with God. People like Hannah, the prophet Samuel’s mother. Remember how she was barren for a long time and prayed tearfully to the Lord to have a son. The scripture tells it thus: ‘And she (Hannah) was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore (in anguish). And she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then will I give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.’ (1 Sam. 1:10-11)
And we know that the Lord heard Hannah’s prayer, and did indeed bless her with a man child, whom she named Samuel (heard by God), and when he was probably about three years old she took him to the temple in Shiloh and presented him to the priest Eli, who took him under his wing and taught him about the Lord and the workings of His service. Now that’s what meant by keeping your word, your vow.
And, as the Preacher in Ecclesiastes, Cousin Sol issues a very strong warning on the subject. He writes: ‘Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter anything before God: for God is in heaven and thou upon the earth: therefore let thy words be few. For a dream cometh through the multitude of business (effort, activity); and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words. When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer (delay) not to pay it: for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than thou shouldest vow and not pay.’ (Eccl. 5:2-5)
Oh my fellow believers we cannot get any better advice than that. And please, let’s also do it in all our communications with man, not just with God. That’s the only way we will bring some integrity back into our forlorn and deceitful world. And I like how the scholars explain it. ‘The emphasis of the passage is on the folly of an empty religious profession before a sovereign God: God is in heaven, and thou upon the earth. God expects sincerity and meaningfulness in worship; He is not impressed with foolish vows.’
Oh, how I wish that many of us could understand that and stop trying to barter with God. Cousin Sol tells it thus in Proverbs. ‘It is a snare to the man who devoureth that which is holy (to devote rashly something as holy, consecrated), and after vows to make enquiry (reconsiders his vows).’ (Prov. 20:25) Yes friends, let’s not speak too quickly, or too much, for it will only get us in serious trouble, both with God and man. So now, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, seeking divine aid to help in these troubled and trying times.
Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times.
We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
Now, let’s not forget, that for divine aid to be doled out to us, we need to become better, more faithful witnesses for Christ! Much LOVE!
…promises…both to God and man…should be held inviolable…unbreakable…sacrosanct…holy…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
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