30 Jan 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a benevolent young couple, a compassionate heart, a great family, a piece of life, abundance, ask forgiveness, at thy right hand, bruised for our iniquities, by his stripes we a re healed, clothing, compassion, complain unnecessarily, courage, creativity, curse, disappointment, divine protection, doesn't always come to the surface, doubted God's faithfulness, eternal life, faith, faithfulness, fall on our knees, favour, food, God's goodness, grace, grin and bear it all, He is enough, holy spirit, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, in god there is enough of everything, in our heart of hearts, in the annals of the Bit, in thy presence is fullness of joy, is now and forever, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus Christ, joy, LOVE, M, may I never forget, mercy, misfortune, my great enough, my limited concept of God, negative word, never enough of anything, New York, not enough, One Year Book of Bible promises, pain, pass the test, pleasures evermore, pleasures intermingled with pain, promotion, prosper, Ruth Harms Calkin, salvation, shelter, spend a week at the seashore, succeed, supernatural wisdom, take it in stride, talent, that God Himself, the chastisement of our peace, the crowded city, the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want, the miracle healer, the most deprived section, the path of life, to satisfy the longings of my heart, truth, uncertainty, unwanted side effects, warmth, wisdom, with me in the middle of it all, worship Christ like never before
Psalm 16:11. Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand are pleasures evermore.
Ah friends, that’s another missed day in the annals of the Bit, but the good thing is that we’re still alive and kicking. (smile) Yesterday was another day spent in the hospital going through procedures, and by the time I got home in the afternoon, I was all tired out from the procedures and whatever medication they used, so all I could do was get into bed and try to catch myself. Let’s hope that that concludes all the searching and questions, and now we can spend time fixing whatever is wrong, and there won’t be any more days with missed Bits.
Now, let’s turn to an interesting poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. It’s simply titled, ‘He Is Enough.’ As always, I don’t know if I’ve shared it before, but even if I have, it’s still worth sharing over and over again. (smile) So, please read with me. ‘She lived in the most deprived section of the crowded city of New York, where there was never enough of anything – never enough food or clothing, never enough warmth or shelter, never enough compassion. But one day a benevolent young couple invited her to spend a week at the seashore, to experience a piece of life she had never known.
Hour by hour she breathed deeply as the crashing waves brushed against her small frame. She looked at the vast expanse of water – and then, without warning she began to sob. For the first time in her life she saw something of which there was enough! Today I ask forgiveness for my limited concept of God. At times I’ve secretly felt cheated – as though somehow He was not enough to satisfy the longings of my heart. I need to learn and relearn that in Him there is enough faithfulness, enough LOVE, enough grace, enough joy! May I never forget that God Himself is now and forever my great enough.’
Oh my people truer words were never spoken! And although most of us know that deep down in our heart of hearts, sometimes it doesn’t always come to the surface when we need it, which unfortunately causes us to complain unnecessarily. And I can certainly testify to that in this past week of so much pain and uncertainty. I never doubted God’s faithfulness, and I knew that He was right there with me in the middle of it all, but yet, sometimes I felt a bit of disappointment that He was not taking me through the process quicker and with less pain and provocation.
And even now, when most of the questions have been answered, I still have pains, and the pain medication, as it so often does, is causing unwanted side effects. But I just have to grin and bear it all, knowing that the medical personal are doing their best – and believe me, I am having the best treatment possible – and in God’s own good time, this problem will be solved, but until then I need to grin, bear down and pass the test. (smile) But as with so many other things in this life, that is much easier said than done. However, since I know that I am in the miraculous hands of Jehovah Rapha, the miracle healer, I won’t be worried.
And the good thing about our God, is that whenever He allows misfortune to befall us, He always gives us the strength and surety to go through it with a smile. Yes, sometimes it is difficult to smile when enveloped in all the pain and uncertainty, but when you’ve been experiencing God’s goodness as long as I have, I should be able to take it in stride. And that’s where the scriptures like these come in handy. ‘I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me:’ (Phi. 4:13) ‘But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus,’ (Phil. 4:19)
‘Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt. 6:33) ‘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 (the blows that cut into His body) we are healed.’ (Is. 53:5) Not forgetting these most encouraging words of Bruh David from Psalm 16, the Bible Promise for today’s poem: ‘Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand are pleasures evermore.’ (Ps. 16:11)
And that’s the indisputable truth friends! There are joys and pleasures intermingled with the pain and suffering, but let’s remember the hefty price Christ paid for us to have them. He paid such a mighty price for our redemption that we can never really evaluate it. It therefore behooves us to fall on our knees and worship Him, like we’ve never worshipped anything or anybody before! That’s what His sinless, selfless sacrifice on our behalf calls for. And we ought to be very serious about doing His earthly work, of trying to lead sinners to Him for salvation and eternal life, especially when He’s bestowed on us undeserved blessings to do that work.
We call them our Thursday Blessings, so let’s declare (chuh!!!) and activate them right now nuh! As one strong and sincere voice: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment!
I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’
Now, let’s go out and use those blessings to help others, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us, so that others can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!
…the Lord is my shepherd…I shall not want… (Ps. 23:1)
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
26 Dec 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a horrible tragedy, a loving reaction, a merciful forgiving and loving God, a Pharisee lawyer, a resounding success, a sad injustice, a strong will, and of the son, anger, anything less, baptizing them, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Bible, christianity, christmas day, contempt, courage, creativity, curse, disciples of Jesus, divine protection, even unto the end of the world, faith, favour, fellowship, food, foundation of our faith, go ye therefore, God is LOVE, God is the fountainhead of love, God lives to give us, God sent His only begotten Son, God so loved the world, goodnes, hang all the law and the prophets, Happy Boxing day, hate, have everlasting life, he that loveth not knoweth not God, holy spirit, I am with you always, in the name of the Father, in this was manifested the love of God, into the world, Jesus Christ, joy, live the abundant life, LOVE, love is the basic law of God, Love the Lord thy God, Love thy neighbour as thyself, mercy, negative emotions, negative word, on these two commandments, only a fool breaks his own heart, overcome evil with good, peace, praise, promotion, prosper, resentment, salvation, self-discipline, should not perish, strife, succeed, such a magnanimous gift, teach all nations, teaching them, thanksgiving, the antidote, the attribute of love, the Birth of Christ, the first and great commandment, the Great Commission, the LOVE of Jesus, the second is like unto it, thoughts of Jesus, through him we might live, to observe all things, truth, war, we don't love ourselves, whatsoever I have commanded you, whosoever believeth on Jesus, wisdom, with all thy heart, with all thy mind, with all thy soul, you can't give away what you don't have
Matthew 22:37. Thou shalt LOVE the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.
A Happy Boxing Day to you my Scrip-Bits Friends and families! I hope your Christmas Day was a resounding success, with lots of joy, peace, fellowship, food, praise, thanksgiving and wonderful thoughts of Jesus, for that’s what the celebration is about. There’s never been such a magnanimous gift in all of history; one we absolutely did not deserve, but the Lord in all His goodness, LOVE and mercy thought otherwise.
And that’s the wonderful foundation of our faith; a merciful, forgiving and LOVING God! There’s none like Him, for all the other supposed gods, only live to take from their followers, and make them live miserable lives, but our wonderful deity, Almighty God, lives to give to us, and desires us to live the abundant life that his Son, Jesus Christ died that we could have.
Therefore, it’s only wise and sensible, grateful and pragmatic to worship and serve Him with all of our hearts, souls, bodies and minds. Anything less would be a sad injustice to Him, and a horrible tragedy to us. And I believe today is a very good day to remember those very authoritative words of Jesus, re the Great Commandment; the basis of all that we do in this world.
On one occasion, a foolish Pharisee lawyer, who was trying to make a name for himself by tempting Jesus into an argument, or to give a wrong answer, asked Him: “Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt LOVE the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’ (Matt. 22:36-40)
In other words friends, those two commandments are the very basis of the law of God, and what all the prophets have been trying to teach us down through the years. And it’s oh so simple that it’s laughable. LOVE God, and LOVE your neighbour as you LOVE yourself! The problem though lies in the fact that so many of us have no real or serious LOVE for ourselves, but mostly an unreasonable contempt. Therefore, we show our neighbours more hate, anger and resentment, than a LOVING reaction. As they say, you cannot give away what you don’t have.
And as John says in his first epistle: ‘He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God is LOVE.’ (1 John 4:8) That means if we truly know God, then we will know LOVE, for LOVE emanates ONLY from God! He is the fountainhead of that most wonderful attribute, so you can only feel and/or acquire LOVE if you get it from the Lord God Almighty. That means you must know Him to even get a sniff of the attribute of LOVE. (smile)
And John proves God’s great LOVE for us in the next verse. ‘In this was manifested the LOVE of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.’ (1 John 4:9) Wow! What an awesome God we serve and worship! He gave His only Son that through him we might live! And this Christmas season we’re now celebrating, the birth of Christ, was the beginning of that most meaningful and important occasion.
And Jesus puts it thus in His ministry to Nicodemus, the Jewish ruler who came to him under cover of night to find answers to his troubling questions. ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ (John 3:16) It’s a simple but oh so profound and heartbreaking statement. And it does show the great LOVE the Father had for His human creations, for why else does one break their own heart by sacrificing their only Son eh?
The song says, ‘Only a fool breaks their own heart.’ So does that make God a fool because He broke His own heart by sacrificing Jesus to pay for our abominable sins? Unfortunately, sometimes, like right now, it does seem so, what with all the war and strife and all the negative emotions that are running rampant over our world, with the antidote LOVE running a far second behind Satan’s wiles and lies.
Ah friends, our world is in a very bad state, and sadly, it seems to be getting worse every day, with more strife and anger-filled emotions coming on board, rather that LOVE. So what are we going to do about it eh? Remember when we became disciples of Jesus, it was with the expectation that like Jesus says in the Great Commission: ‘All power (authority) is given unto me in heaven and earth. Go ye therefore, and teach (make disciples of) all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt. 28:18-20)
Oh my people, down through the years we have made some headway, but obviously not enough, otherwise Satan and his evil-doing hooligans wouldn’t be running the world to such a great extent right now. Obviously, we have lost our way, we’re no longer the salt of the earth and the light of the world that Jesus expects to be. We’ve become too afraid of what man can do to us, and too comfortable in the comforts that the world can provide. But all is not lost, we just need to reignite our faith and put to good use all the tools that our generous God has bestowed on us; tools that we call our Thursday Blessings. So let’s declare and thus activate them right now nuh.
As one sincere voice: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment!
I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’
And having activated those heavenly blessings, it’s now our duty to go out and use them on behalf of others, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us! Much LOVE!
…it’s all about LOVE friends…we overcome evil with good…with the LOVE of Jesus…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
19 Dec 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a melly stable, a positive outlook on life, a Saviour, angelic host, Bible, born to lowly parents, Christ the Lord, christianity, christmas day, come to seek and save, courage, creativity, curse, disregard the spiritual implications, divine protection, faith, favour, fear not, found in the most unlikely places, give God thanks and praise for Jesus, Glory to god in the highest, god hath chosen the foolish things of the world, good tidings of great joy, hid these things from the wise and prudent, holy spirit, hullabaloo, I bring you good tidings of great joy, in the city of David, Jesus Christ, Jesus is the reason for the season, Jesus' joyful birth, LOVE, love is like wildflowers, lowly shepherds, lying in a manger, mercy, negative word, on earth peace good will to men, put to shame, revealed them unto babes, revenge, salvation, self-control, shone round about them, sinful, success, supernatural strength, tenor of the festivities, that which was lost, the angel of the Lord, the excitement, the glory of God, the gospel truth, the Messiah, the mighty king, the Saviour of humanity, the seasonal hoopla, the Son of man, the weak things of the world, to all people, to confound the things which are mighty, to confound the wise, truth, ungodly mankind, unto you is born this day, war, wisdom, without pomp and glory, wrapped in swaddling clothes
Luke 2:10. Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
And then it was Thursday, only seven days to Christmas Day! And the excitement and the tenor of the festivities grow more intense with every passing day, as we hurry to finish our tasks before that glorious day dawns. The shopping, the baking, the cooking, the Christmas parties, everything just gets ramped up as the day draws near. But let’s hope and pray that amongst all the seasonal hoopla, we don’t forget to give the Good Lord thanks and praise for His marvellous gift of Jesus to a sinful and ungodly mankind.
Because, as I like to keep reminding us, Jesus is the reason for this festive season, and so many of us simply concentrate on the worldly parts of the event and totally disregard the spiritual and godly nuances and implications. So please, despite all the hullabaloo, let’s make it a habit several times during the day to remember that the coming of Jesus is the reason why we’re so joyful and offer up some sincere thanks for His joyful birth. End of sermon!
And today I want to talk around a quote from my ‘I LOVE YOU’ Poster. We haven’t shared anything from that in ages. Some of you might not even know of it. But it’s just a long card with several quotes under that heading, a long ago present from one of my daughters. And I just figured out that the first quote is rather applicable to this season of Christmas. It says: ‘LOVE is like wildflowers. It’s often found in the most unlikely places.’
And isn’t that the gospel truth! Just look at the LOVE the Father showed for us on that long ago Christmas day, when He gifted us with the baby Jesus. And to whom was the mighty King born? To lowly parents. And where was He born? In a smelly stable. And who were His first visitors? Lowly shepherds keeping watch over their flocks in the dead of the cold, winter’s night. Yes, they were the ones whom the angel and heavenly host first broke the news to about the marvellous birth of the newborn king, the Messiah, the Saviour of humanity.
I like how the Bible tells it: ‘And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon (stood before) them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore (greatly) afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes (strips of cloth), lying in a manger (feed trough).’ (Luke 1:9-12)
Now how would you feel or respond to such amazing news with the glory of God shining brightly around you in the middle of the night in the dark fields watching over your sheep eh? Totally afraid! But that was just the opening salvo of the marvellous event. For the Bible tells us that after the angel delivered His news: ‘And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly host praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.’ (Luke 1:13-14)
Oh brother, that sudden appearance of an angelic choir must certainly have driven many of them into shock, as it would do to us today! But it just shows how much the Lord cares for the lowly, the poor, the downtrodden. As Jesus kept saying throughout His earthly life: ‘The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.’ (Luke 19:10) However, in man’s opinion, such an awesome personality should have been born to wealthy, powerful parents, in a mega-palace, and the first visitors ought to have been other kings, queens and princes, other royalty, not common folk like shepherds, although three kings from faraway did visit Him later on. (Matt. 2:8-12)
But it’s like Bruh Paul writes in his first epistle to the Corinthians. ‘But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound (put to shame) the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound (put to shame) the things which are mighty.’ (1 Cor, 1:27)Yes, friends, our God takes pleasure in using what and whom the world thinks are unworthy to put the world to shame and show them otherwise.
It reminds us of Jesus words, who after predicting serious consequences for unrepentant Jewish cities, (Matt. 11:20-24) and just before He issued His Great Invitation said: ‘I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father: for it seemed good in thy sight.’ (Matt. 11:25-26)
Oh my people, the Lord could have chosen anywhere and anyone to host Jesus’ birth, but He chose the lowly people and places, because that was how Jesus was coming to live, lowly and without pomp and glory. For His Messiahship was not one of war and revenge, but one of peace and LOVE, of good will toward men; an invitation for all to live as one with Him, the Father and each other. That’s why we can truly say that ‘LOVE is like wildflowers. It’s often found in the most unlikely places.’
Just look at where LOVE was found on that first Christmas nuh; in the most unlikely shepherd’s fields and a smelly stable. Only our great and unassuming God could write such a story! And He’s also given us the tools to write such a story of LOVE, tools we call our Thursday Blessings. So, let’s declare and activate then right now nuh.
As one voice: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection!
I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’
And having activated those blessings, we’re now duty bound to go out and use them to help others, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us! Much LOVE!
…how God-like and encouraging…that at Christmas time…all faiths show much more LOVE…than at any other time of the year…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
05 Dec 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a crown of righteousness, a productive difference, a refuge in times of trouble, a very present help in trouble, all the fight is drained out of me, all them that also love his appearing, before many witnesses, Bible, christianity, confessed a good confession, courage, creativitydivine protection, curse, debilitating weakness, divine protection, do not fear, duty bound, ever merciful and lendeth, faith, favour, fellowship, fight the good fight, fight tooth and nail, firmly grasping your right hand, God is our refuge and strength, godliness, his seed begging bread, his seed is blessed, holy spirit, I am now ready to be offered, I have become your helper, I have been young and now am old, I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Jesus Christ, jump to it, keep my hope stirring, lay hold on eternal life, LOVE, meekness, mercy, negative word, now, Now dear Lord now, One Year Book of Bible promises, our omnipotent omnipresent omniscient God, patience, professed a good profession, riding high, righteousness, Ruth Harms Calkin, salvation, Selah, talent, the earth be removed, The Lord will be a refuge for the oppressed, the mountains shake with the swelling, the righteous judge, the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, the time of my departure is at hand, the waters thereof roar and be troubled, they that know thy name will trust thee, thou Lord hast not forsaken them that seek thee, though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, truth, will not we fear, wisdom
Psalm 9:9. The Lord will be a refuge (stronghold) for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.
And the snow fell, but not to a great extent, so that this Thursday morning in early December is not as bad as it could have been! Thanks be to God for that! And what’s on the agenda for today? A li’l something from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. This one is simply titled ‘NOW!’ And by the way, I don’t remember if I have ever shared it before, but in any case, they are all worth sharing over and over again. (smile)
So please read with me: ‘My great strong God! All the fight Is drained out of me. In my debilitating weakness I can’t even hold on to You. But Your own words Keep my hope stirring: “For I Your God Am firmly grasping Your right hand. I am saying unto you Do not fear. I have become your helper.” Now, dear Lord! Now!’
And isn’t that the way we always desire the Lord to react to our problems, with alacrity and undivided attention. And yes, sometimes when that is called for He will respond with haste, but our God is not there to jump when we call, we have the situation all wrong. The truth of the matter is that we are the ones who are supposed to jump to it when He calls.
Anyway, what does the poem tell us? Basically that our omnipotent, omniscient and omni-present God is always there looking out for our problems and troubles. He’s promised to help us in all situations, so we should not be afraid of whatever comes against us. And that promise found in Psalm 9 is the Bible promise for today’s writing. It says: ‘The Lord will be a refuge (stronghold) for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord hast not forsaken them that seek thee.’ (Ps. 9:9-10)
Oh my fellow believers, that’s the indisputable truth! The Lord has never, and will never abandon anyone who puts their sincere trust in Him. And Bruh David spells it out very nicely in Psalm 37 titled – Trust in the Lord, when he writes: ‘The steps of a good man are ordered (established) by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand. I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed (descendants) begging bread. He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed (descendants) is blessed.’ (Ps. 37:23-26)
Now that’s how the Lord treats the righteous and his descendants. And if you don’t believe Bruh David, then listen to the sons of Korah from Psalm 46 titled – Our Refuge and Strength. They open the psalm confidently proclaiming: ‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present help (an abundantly available help) in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.’ (Ps. 46:1-3)
Oh my people, what powerful faith is engendered by those words! And that’s the kind of faith we believers in these ungodly and evil times need to have if we intend to make any kind of productive difference! The devil is riding high right now, but we certainly have the ability and the tools to overthrow him, if we get together and put our hearts, minds, souls and bodies to it.
It’s like Bruh Paul wrote to Timothy in his first epistle. ‘But thou, O man of God, flee these things (the world’s evil); and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, LOVE, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed (confessed) a good profession (confession) before many witnesses.’ (1 Tim. 6:11-12)
Yes mih bredrin, we are expected to fight a good fight of faith, so that when our time to leave this earth comes, we can proudly say like Bruh Paul: ‘For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure (death) is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course (race), I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that LOVE his appearing.’ (2 Tim. 4:6-8)
What a wonderful reward awaits us in heaven my people; that crown of righteousness! But only if we keep on being righteous and fight the good fight of faith down here. And I know all of us desire to have that awesome crown, but please, let’s remember it’s not something that’s handed out willy nilly, but only to those who truly deserve it. And if we sincerely want it, then we still have some time to turn ourselves around and become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus!
And the Lord in His utmost generosity has indeed given us tools to do the job He desires of us. We call them our Thursday Blessings. So please, let’s declare them now so that they can be activated. As one strong and sincere voice! ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’
And having made that declaration (awright!!!) we are now duty bound to go out and use those blessings to help others, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us. Much LOVE!
…to win the crown of righteousness…one must fight tooth and nail for it…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
14 Nov 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a faithful saying, a free gift, a man is not justified by the works of the law, a positive outlook on life, all gone out of the way, all have sinned, an unclean thing, and then the judgement, appears for a little time, ascendeth up for ever and ever, be born of water and the spirit, Bible, bring us to God, by the faith of Jesus Christ, Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, Christ suffered once for sins, christianity, church membership, come short of the glory of God, courage, cowardly, crapaud smoke we pipe, creativity, curse, day or night, divine protection, eternal life, except a man be born again, fade as a leaf, faith, fearful, fervent heat, filthy rags, god, God's supernatural wisdom, he cannot see the kingdom of God, he who has ears to hear let him hear, holy spirit, iniquities, it is appointed unto men once to die, Jesus Christ, like the wind, LOVE, mercy, murderers, negative word, no not one, none that doeth good, none that seek after God, our iniquities have take us away, righteousnesses, salvation, sinful ways, talent, the just for the unjust, the lake of fire, the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, The Leviticus Church, the second death, the smoke of their torment, then vanishes away, there is none righteous, they have no rest, truth, what is born of flesh is flesh, what is born of Spirit is spirit, what is your life, who worship the beast and his image, whoremonges, whosoever receives the mark of his name, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved, wisdom, ye know not what shall be on the morrow, you cannot gamble with salvation, your life is even a vapour
Romans 3:23. For all have sinned and come (fallen) short of the glory of God.
Then it was Thursday, and the world is going along in it’s usual sinful ways, with many of us supposed believers in Jesus Christ helping them on. But as we saw yesterday, this world, both the solid part of it and the wicked within it will not last forever, it will go up in flames one day, or as Peter puts it, ‘in fervent heat,’ when the Lord decides it’s time. And what’s going to happen to us then eh? We’ll either end up in the New Jerusalem or in the lake of fire, to experience the Second Death.
And if you remember, twice in the last couple of weeks we checked out a Bible tract from the Leviticus Church in Jamaica, New York, which had to do with Salvation. The first time we explored what it said about Eternal Life being a Free Gift, and the second time, we talked about how you can be saved. Well, today we’re going to explore the last aspects of the things it talks about, beginning with this one: that Church Membership CANNOT Save You.
In support of their claim, they open with a quote from Romans 3:10, but I’ll add a couple of verses to it ‘As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.’ (Rom. 3:10-12) Now that’s also a fairly accurate description of today’s world.
Then the tract continues with this quote from Romans 3:23: ‘For all have sinned and come (fallen) short of the glory of God.’ Then they declare: ‘Sin is the problem, and belonging to a church will NOT take it away. Jesus Christ Himself said, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)
And for greater clarification, we’ll add these verses where Jesus further enlightens Nicodemus the Jewish ruler who had come to Him by night to question His purpose. ‘Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.’ (John 3:5-6) And that tells us very plainly that we personally have to do something about our style of living if we want to see the pearly gates of heaven, and simple church membership will not cut it.
Then the pamphlet exhorts us: ‘You Cannot Take Your Chances.’ In other words, you cannot gamble on your being saved. Then they let us know: ‘The Bible says, “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement.” (Heb. 9:27) Thus they reason, you really don’t know for sure how much time is left of your life. And they support that with this scripture from James. ‘Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.’ (James 4:14) That in essence tells us that we could be here today, but gone tomorrow, therefore we must take the opportunity to be saved RIGHT NOW!
Then, the tract reminds us of this indisputable truth: ‘You Cannot Save Yourself.’ And they use these Bible quotes to justify their contention. ‘Knowing that a man is not justified (declared righteous) by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ… (Gal. 2:16a). It also says: ‘But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags (a filthy garment); and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.’ (Is. 64:6) I added the last half of the quote.
Then we learn that ‘Salvation is “FREE” to ALL.’ The Bible says, ‘For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ (Rom. 10:13) And furthermore, the Bible says, ‘This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. (1 Tim. 1:15) There again, I used the whole verse. ‘For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God…’ (1 Pet. 3:18a)
Now, we come to the most important aspect of the entire situation: ‘IF YOU DO NOT GET SAVED…’ And the tract expounds: The Bible says, “And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.’ (Rev. 14:11) The tract only gives the first half of that verse, but I thought the whole thing would be more beneficial. (smile)
Then, it continues: ‘For the wages of sin is death;’ (Rom. 6:23a) But this death is more than just physical death. It is an “ETERNAL BURNING!” The Bible says, ‘But the fearful (cowardly), and unbelieving, and the abominable, and the murderers, and whoremongers (sexually immoral), and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the SECOND DEATH.’ (Rev. 21:8)
And that says it all my people! If we do not get saved before we die the physical death, then we will surely end up in that lake of fire for the second death, and then crapaud smoke we pipe for all eternity! Now, is that what we desire? I don’t think so. But the reality is that if you not get saved as soon as possible, there’s a great likelihood that you can end up with Beelzebub and all the other iniquity workers. So, a word to the wise; please look after your salvation, RIGHT NOW!
Now, let’s declare and thus activate our Thursday Blessings, which the Lord has so generously bestowed on us to do His earthly work. As one voice: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’
And having made that declaration, it now behooves us to go out and use those blessings just as generously on behalf of others. Much LOVE!
… he who has ears to hear…let him hear…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
31 Oct 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a familiar spirit, a good fight of faith, a positive outlook on life, a wizard, abominations, an ancient Celtic festival, an ungodly celebration, be blameless before the Lord, be perfect with the Lord, Bible, children offered as sacrifices to idols, Chrisitans, christianity, Christians not willing to sacrifice, creativity. courage, curse, dangerous, demons, detestable things, disater filled world, divination, divine protection, enchanter, evildoers, faith, favour, fear of God, fear of man, god, Halloween, it makes money, Jesus Christ, lose a generation to Satan, LOVE, negative word, pagan rituals, pass through the fire, prosper, put to death, salvation, Samhain, shirking our repsonsibility, sorcerer, spread lies, succeed, suffer not a witch to live, take the bull by the horns, the betterment of our world, the darker side of life, the penultimate day of our work week, the salt of the earth, the souls of the dead, their blood on their own heads, to thwart the kingdom of God, truth, ungodly, wisdom, witch
Deuteronomy 18:13. Thou shalt be perfect (blameless) with the Lord thy God.
And then it was Thursday, the penultimate day of our workweek. But today is also October 31, the day when we celebrate the old pagan festival of Halloween, another opportunity for the greedy money men to raise the level of their coffers at the expense of foolish parents buying ugly, frightening costumes for their children, who then go about the streets in the dark knocking on houses for candy and whatever stuff the houseowners have on offer.
It’s not only an ungodly celebration, where things like witches and other dark, negative bodies are embraced, but it’s also dangerous, for the wicked and evil people in today’s world have begun putting all sorts of dangerous stuff in the things they give away. But, while it makes money for the business men and dentists, I guess it will continue to be celebrated.
And just for your information, ‘Halloween’s origins can be traced back to the ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain, which was held on November 1 in contemporary calendars. It was believed that on that day, the souls of the dead returned to their homes, so people dressed in costumes and lit bonfires to ward off spirits.’ It just goes to show how little we truly LOVE and appreciate our great God, when we still adhere to such pagan rituals, where the things of the dark side are lifted up.
And there are several instances in the Bible of not accommodating negative things and rituals in our lives. For example this directive in Exodus: ‘Thou shalt not suffer (permit) a witch to live.’ (Deut. 22:18) That meant that people who embraced the darker side of life, like sorcerers and sorceresses, who dealt in drugs and potions and spirits should not be allowed to live, for they were not pursuing godly behaviour and would most likely encourage others to do so.
Meanwhile the Book of Leviticus tells us: ‘A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit (ghost, demon) or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.’(Lev. 20:27) That means their blood shall be upon their own heads. And what are familiar spirits? Spirits or servants ready to obey the commands of their evil masters.
This commentary from the gotquestions.org website puts it thus. ‘Familiar spirits and spirit guides are under the control of their master, Satan. They influence people to spread lies and deceit in order to thwart the kingdom of God. To knowingly open oneself to the work of demons is an evil thing.’
And to support that, we have this warning to Israel to avoid pagan practices. ‘When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations (detestable things) of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire (be burned as an offering to an idol), or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,
Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination (a detestable thing) unto the Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee. Thou shalt be perfect (blameless) with the Lord thy God.’ (Deut. 18:9-13)
It couldn’t be put any clearer than that my people. But do you think Israel listened? Not on your life! Several times they turned to worshipping the pagan gods of other nations and paid a hefty price each time for their disobedience. Likewise, our society today is embracing many pagan customs, rites and those who take the lead in such abominations. Is it any wonder then that our world is a state of chaos and upheaval like never before.
Both man-made and natural disasters are proliferating in a world that’s the most prosperous and enlightened it’s ever been. Why is that eh? The efforts of the evildoers are stronger than those of the godly. It’s as simple as that. We have more than enough supposedly godly people to turn this disaster filled world around if we would only get up and do something about it.
But because of things like fear of man more than fear of God, laziness, and a desire for the comfortable life, Christians are not prepared to sacrifice much for the betterment of our world, or rather, as much as it would take to turn our world around. Then we cringe, whine, hold our heads an bawl when we see the ungodly and evil happenings in our world.
Hn! If we were the shining lights of the world and the salt of the earth, as we’re supposed to be, many of those evil things would not be happening. But because we’re shirking our Christian responsibility, the evildoers are ruling the roost, even running away with the first prize. Oh my fellow believers, if we allow the world to continue as it’s going on its evil bent, what kind of world will our grandchildren and their children inherit eh? A totally evil and ungodly world!
Is that what you want for them? I certainly hope not. But then it means that we need to get up right now, take the bull by the horns and make as many godly changes as we can. We cannot afford to lose that generation to Satan, as we’ve lost the current one. And it’s not like we don’t have the tools to do it, for the Lord has generously bestowed on us what we call our Thursday Blessings; blessings that enable us to do His earthly work. So let’s declare them right now, and thus activate them in our lives.
As one strong and sincere voice! ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment!
I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’
And having made that declaration (yesss!!!) we are now duty bound to go out and use those blessings on behalf of others, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us! Much LOVE!
…the evil forces will completely overtake our world…unless Christians put up a good fight of faith for Christ…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
10 Oct 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a man after His own heart, a positive outlook on life, Bible, bring it to pass, christianity, commit thy way unto the Lord, curse, deceit, delight thyself also in the Lord, difficult circumstances, divine protection, emotionally, enjoy all the blessings of God, faith, favour, feed thee, fewer your days, give the the desires of thine heart, god, grateful devoted heart, greed, happiness, holy spirit, Jesus Christ, like putty in God's hands, LOVE, lovers of God, makes you stronger, more like Jesus, negative word, not doing thine own ways, obedience, physocally, pliable in God's hands, praise God, promotion, repentant, reverent, ride upon the high places, satisfaction, seek intimacy with God, selfishness, spiritually, supernatural wisdom, teachable, tender, the clock's ticking, the essence of our faith, the heritage of Jacob, the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it, the world's way, to gain great pleasure, trust also in him, trust God wholeheartedly, truth, turn away from your pleasure, value God for who He is not what He can do for us, value people for who they are, value the giver more than the gifts, wisdom
Psalm 37:4-5. Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass.
And believe it or not, it’s Thursday, the second to last day of our work week. I don’t know if I’m happy or sad that the days seem to be passing by so quickly. The problem might just be that the older you get the fewer your days on God’s good earth become, and you get anxious that you’ve not done as much as you wanted to do, or more importantly, the things you’ve desired to do. And right now, that’s somewhat true for me, because there are several things I haven’t yet done that I greatly desire to do.
When you’re twenty odd, you easily envision many more days alive and kicking, but at the ripe ole age of seventy odd, you know that the clock’s ticking and your days are not that many. But then again, when you trust God wholeheartedly, you’re not supposed to be worried or anxious about anything, for the Bible tells us, in the words of Bruh David from Psalm 37 – titled Trust in the Lord: ‘Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass.’ (Ps. 37:4-5)
And what does it mean to delight thyself in the Lord? Here’s a short and simple answer from this commentary. ‘To “delight in the Lord” is to enjoy all the blessings found in Him, because they are from Him, not merely because they are to our benefit. It’s often said that the person who delights in the Lord values the Giver more highly than His gifts.’ Now that’s an attitude we should surely have towards our God; appreciating and valuing Him for what and who He is, than merely for what He can do for us in terms of worldly needs.
It’s also something we should be seriously pursuing in our daily lives with other people; valuing them more as God’s people, our brothers and sisters in Christ, rather than merely thinking of them in terms of what they can do for us. And that brings us right back to what we’re talking about; foregoing all the selfishness, greed and deceit that our world today teaches as a way of life, and committing to God’s way, which is the exact opposite. (smile)
Meanwhile, this other commentary shows delighting in God in a different light. It asks, ‘What is the biblical meaning of delight?’ And answers: ‘The word delight means “to gain great pleasure, satisfaction, and happiness.” Additionally, another meaning of the Hebrew word for delight is “to be soft, tender.” I think LOVERS of God are those who are soft and tender toward Him, always teachable, always pliable in His hands.’
That’s also true. We need to be like putty in God’s hands, obedient, and committing our ways to Him, meaning ‘invite the Lord to examine our desires and intentions—and change whatever does not fit his purpose or advance his plan for our life.’ And we wonder why God delighted in Bruh David with all of his abominable behaviour. Because he had a repentant, reverent, grateful and devoted heart.
And we can see that from the words of this commentary. ‘Because of his knowledge of God, David refrained from killing Saul when he had the opportunity, content to wait for God to act in his perfect timing. David demonstrated delight in God through his obedience and praise to God despite his difficult circumstances.’
Ah friends, if only we could be so trusting and obedient. That doesn’t mean we won’t do wrong, but when we realize, it we turn asap to God and confess and repent of it. That’s what Bruh David did, and the Lord still considered him a friend and a man after His own heart. The whole point of delighting in God, and committing our ways to Him, is encouraging and challenging us to seek intimacy with God every day. And the greater the intimacy, the greater the obedience and the greater the blessing!
It’s all a part of God’s great plan for us to commune continuously and deeply with Him. It’s one of the reasons He created us. So when we don’t seek to get close to God, then we’re losing out, missing a whole set of wonderful blessings and interesting adventures and situations. Now, they won’t always be a Sunday walk in the park, (smile) but they’ll surely brighten up your life and make you stronger; physically, spiritually and emotionally, in other words, more like Jesus.
Now listen to this scripture from Isaiah, where he’s talking to the people about honouring the Sabbath. ‘If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shall honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places (hills) of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.’ (Is. 58:13-14)
Yes my fellow believers, if we choose the Lord’s way, rather than ours, He will rain down blessings on us in such abundance that we won’t be able to handle them. But unfortunately, too many of us are following the foolish dictates of the world, to basically go against everything that God stands for. No wonder our world is filled with man-made chaos and natural disasters. So what are we going to do about this undesirable situation eh? The answer lies in our hands my fellow saints, and the Lord has most generously given us the tools to handle it. We call them our Thursday Blessings. So let’s declare (chuh!!!) them right now, so that they can be activated in our lives.
As one strong and sincere voice: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment!
I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’
And having made that declaration (yesss!!!) it now behooves us to go out and use those blessings for the benefit of others, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us! Much LOVE!
…delighting in our wonderful God…is the essence of our faith…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
26 Sep 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a bit uncomfortable, a greedy selfish and jealous place, a true disciple of Jesus, assistance, attention, bet your bottom dollar, Bible, charitable organizations, Christian brethren, christianity, Christians, Consider This, courage, curse, divine protection, easy to receive, encouraging words, faith, favour, felt lavish, give, give and it shall be given to you, giving is like a boomerang, god, good measure, hard to give, hard to wrap our minds around Jesus' love, hate to give, have the impulse to giver, In Touch Devotional, it shall be returned to you again, Jesus Christ, Jesus' generoisty is extravagant, kindness, LOVE, love to receive, makes us feel treasured, man's inhumanity to man makes countless thousands mourn, money, negative word, over the top, pressed dwon, promotion, prossper, relive that moment of generosity, running over, shaken together, shall men give into your bosom, sharing with others, succeed, success, talent, thankfulness, the gospel truth, the inequity in our world, time, truth, wisdom
Luke 6:38a. Give, and it shall be given unto you;
Well there’s no rain, and the sun’s out this somewhat cool, last Thursday morning in September. Imagine that nuh, we’re about to go into October and we’re still having twenty degree weather. I can certainly handle that! But have no fear, the cool weather will be here, sooner or later, you can bet your bottom dollar on it. (smile)
So let’s enjoy the good weather while it lasts, showing our thankfulness for it by sharing what we have with others in a more generous manner than we’ve done before. And to help us with this extra generosity, let’s check out this section from the September In Touch Devotional titled, ‘Consider This.’
Please read with me. ‘Can you think of a time someone was truly generous towards you, when you were given much more than you needed? When whatever you received – whether it was money, time, assistance, attention, or encouraging words – felt lavish, even over the top? Take a moment to relive that moment of generosity you experienced. A gift like that makes us feel treasured (and maybe a bit uncomfortable).
That’s why it can be hard to wrap our mind around Jesus’ LOVE and care for us. His generosity isn’t logical; it’s extravagant. Do you want to give that feeling to someone else? If so, here’s one way to start. The next time you have the impulse to give, decide what you want to offer. Then double it. Remember: Generosity is, by definition, excessive. It shouldn’t easily fit into your wallet or schedule. But it will make someone feel truly and deeply LOVED.’
Now that’s definitely a beautiful and very interesting proposal! And the part I particularly like about it is that about Jesus’ generosity being extravagant. I’ve never before thought about Jesus’ LOVE and care being extravagant, but it’s a most wonderful expression of His compassion for us. That brings to mind the thought about whether we are extravagant in our generosity?
Oh, I know that most of us aren’t. We give as little as possible, and definitely not more than we can afford, but as the passage says, ‘Generosity is, by definition, excessive.’ Yes. Our giving ought to be somewhat sacrificial, cause us a li’l pain, cause us to look to Jesus’ selfless and extravagant sacrifice for us. And yuh know what friends, our problem today is not so much being extravagant in our generosity, but being generous period! We hate to give…but do we ever LOVE to receive.
But we ought to remember these most significant words of our Lord and Saviour on the subject. ‘Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over shall men give into your bosom (pocket). For with the same measure ye mete (use) withal it shall be measured to you again.’ (Luke 6:38)
Yes my Christian brethren, that’s a scripture we ought to hold much dearer and closer to our hearts than we currently do. If we did, our world would not be such a greedy, selfish and jealous place! For whatever we give, the same will be given back to us, and if we give with generosity, then even more than we give will be given back to us. Giving is like a boomerang; when we toss it away, it eventually comes back to us.
And the sad part is that in this wealthy and prosperous world, there are so many who desperately need sustenance, who’s lack is so obvious and distressing, that it hurts my heart just to think of it. I’ve known want in my time, but not like so many members of the world’s population currently do. It’s a crying shame that there’s so much wealth and provision available in our world and yet so many are suffering from terrible poverty, literally starving for food, clothing and shelter.
Sadly, the inequity of our world’s goods is completely out of whack. One percent of the population owns 90 percent of it, while the other 99 only own 10 percent. That obviously makes for much poverty and want. And our humanity, our supposed LOVE for Jesus and gratitude for all that He’s done for us, still doesn’t make us want to help our fellow man, wallowing deep in the mire of sickness and poverty.
What kind of Christians are we eh? Granted, many of us don’t have a whole lot ourselves, but we can, and we ought to sacrifice some for the benefit of others, as Jesus did for us. Our world today is filled with charitable organizations like never before. Now that should not be so with all the wealth and provision that’s in the world. But there again, the inequality of wealth causes so many to suffer.
The saying man’s inhumanity to man makes countless thousands mourn, is ever so real in today’s world, when it shouldn’t be because of our overwhelming prosperity. That reminds me of a statement I copied from somewhere or the other, (smile) it says: ‘Kindness is the easiest thing to receive, yet it is hard for some people to give.’ And that’s the gospel truth my people. All of us expect kindness but we feel so hard done by to extend it.
And our world will never improve unless we believers start being more like our Lord and Saviour Jesus; being extravagant in our giving. And we can see that extravagance from our Godhead right in what we call our Thursday Blessings, that He’s poured on us undeserving humans to do His earthly work. That’s a most worthy example for us to set. Now let’s declare those blessings so we can activate them.
As one voice: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment!
I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’
And having activated those blessings, it’s now our bounden duty to go out and use them on behalf of others, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us! Much LOVE!
…to give…to give…and yet to give…that’s being a true disciple of Jesus…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
29 Aug 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abundance, according to his excellent greatness, afraid, all things work together for good, at the hand of God, Bible, called according to His purpose, christianity, climate change, courage, creativity, Creator, curse, divine protection, duty bound, faith, faults and foibles, generously share our blessings, god, god of all comfort, God will help us fix whatever is wrong, help me understand everything in my heart, in the firmament of his power, In Touch Devotional, Jesus Christ, let everything that hath breath praise the Lord, LOVE, mercy, negative word, not receive evil, praise God in his sanctuary, praise him for his mighty acts, Praise the Lord, Praise ye the Lord, promotion, prosper and succeed, receive us with loving arms, shall we receive good, shout Hallelujah, supernatural wisdom, sustainer, talent, the Great God Jehovah, Thursday Blessings, to them that love God, true believers in Christ, trust, truth, upon the loud cymbals, what I'm afraid to see, what I've never noticed, what is pure and good, what's holding me back, wisdom, with stringed instruments and organs, you'll never leave me to face anything alone, your truth sets me free
Psalm 150:6. Let every thing that hath breath, praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord (shout Hallelujah).
Sorry Friends, but today, Thursday, the penultimate day of our work week, doesn’t look like it will live up to the summer image of the last few days, sunny and warm. In fact, it’s been forecasted to be somewhat cool and cloudy. And though we’d like every day of the summer season to be seasonally summer, (smile) we know that’s not always possible, especially with the vagaries of climate change, it’s unpredictable, unexpected behaviour.
And furthermore, since we are true believers in Christ Jesus, we understand as Job says to his wife: ‘What? shall we receive (accept) good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive (accept) evil (calamity)?’ (Job 2:10) That’s a very good question my people, but we can accept the tough things that will happen in this life to all of us, because we also believe these words of Bruh Paul to the church at Rome. ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.’ (Rom. 8:28)
Yes, in the long run, eventually, our great God will work everything out for our good, so we don’t have to worry too much about what happens in our daily lives. And here’s a prayer that can certainly help us to reduce our anxieties as we go about God’s business. It’s the prayer from the In Touch Devotional for this month.
So please pray with me: ‘God, sometimes I feel stuck and hesitate to talk to you about it. Maybe I’m afraid of what You’ll say. Give me the courage to pray these words: Father, help me understand everything in my heart – what is pure and good, what’s holding me back, what I’ve never noticed, and what I’m afraid to see. Help me remember Your truth sets me free and you’ll never leave me to face anything alone. I trust You, God of all comfort. In Jesus’ name, amen.’
Oh friends, is there ever a lot of truth and reassurance in that simple prayer! And by the way, we don’t need courage to go to God, just faith and trust, because we know He’s made it so we can come to Him at any time with anything. Even when we’re so low down, we believe we cannot get any lower, all we have to do is turn to him and pour out our hearts, for He will understand and receive us with LOVING arms.
Remember, the Lord created us and He knows all of our faults and foibles, so nothing we do or happens to us, is news to Him. He just desires us to come to Him with all of our problems, be they big or small, because He enjoys taking an active part in our lives… all parts of them. So whatever is holding us back today, let’s go to God and pour it our to him. He LOVES to listen to us, and will help us fix what ever is wrong.
And as the prayer says, His truth sets us free, and He’ll NEVER leave us to face anything alone, because He’s a most faithful and trustworthy God, of LOVE, comfort, peace and joy! And all God’s children gave out a loud and grateful shout of ‘Praise the Lord! Praise Him for his goodness and mercy to the undeserving children of men!’ And that just dovetails right into these amazing words of praise from Psalm 150. So let’s get right into it:
‘Praise ye the Lord (shout Hallelujah). Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power (his mighty heavens). Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. Praise him with the sound of the trumpet (cornet): praise him with the psaltery (lute or lyre) and harp. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. Let every thing that hath breath, praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord (shout Hallelujah).’ (Ps. 150. 1-6)
And isn’t that the god-awesome truth! Everything that has breath ought to praise the Lord, their Creator and Sustainer! Shout Hallelujah to Him in His high heaven and give Him thanks and praise for the marvellousness of His great creation; heaven and earth, the seas, and all that therein is!
What an amazing God we serve my people! One who can do any and everything. Just look at how His creation earth, heaven, the seas, Mother Nature run, like clockwork, without any help. Who else can create such an amazing entity eh? No One but the great God Jehovah, he of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! That’s why we ought to worship and praise him with all of our hearts, souls, bodies and minds, for without Him, we’re nothing!
And although we don’t deserve His awesome generosity, He still bestows it on us, for example in what we call our Thursday Blessings, given to help do His earthly work. So, let’s activate them now by declaring (chuh!!!) them. As one strong and sincere voice: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’
And having made that declaration (yesss!!!) we’re now duty bound to go out and use those blessings in the same generous manner to help others less fortunate. Much LOVE!
…there’s only ONE TRUE GOD…JEHOVAH…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
22 Aug 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: according to his riches in glory, all the tools, all these things shall be added unto you, became obedient unto death, Bible, chaos, children of God, christianity, climate change, courage, creativity, curse, divine protection, even the death of the cross, faith, favour, good health, handle whatever comes against us, have good success, human reasoning, humbled himself, in the form of God, Jesus, Jesus Christ, know who we are in Christ, let this mind be in you, LOVE, made himself of no reputation, made in the likeness of men, make thy way prosperous, meditate therein day and night, meditation on the word of God, my God shall supply all your needs, negative word, no need to boast, obeying God's word, observe to do all that's written therein, one truth fron the Bible is worth more than all the wisdom of man, Praise the Lord, refuse to go to God, satanic reasoning of men, seek ye first the kingdom of God, shall not depart out of thy mouth, spiritual things are wiser than carnal ones, tempestuous world, the essence to success, the form of a servant, the light of the world, the salt of the earth, the spiritual reasoning of God, this book of the law, true believers in Christ, truth, where the true answer lies, wisdom
Joshua 1:8a. This book of the law shall not depart out of (be constantly in) thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night,
Where has all the hot weather gone, in this August month eh? You’d think it was September! Yes friends, this past week has been sunny but rather chilly in my neck of the woods, no use whatsoever for the A/C. It’s tough to even get the daytime temperature in to the early twenties, much less the thirty we expect in mid August. The windows are also closed at night, for fear of freezing. (smile) The scenario is not helped either by the ever constant, vibrant, cool wind that accompanies it. I guess this is one of the effects of climate change. Let’s hope then that in September and October, we’ll have the hot weather that we’re missing right now. (smile)
But thankfully, as true believers in Christ Jesus, we have all the tools to handle whatever comes against us. And all God’s people said a loud and grateful: ‘Praise the Lord!’ And yes, He does deserve much thanks and praise for all that He’s done, is doing and has promised to do on our behalf! He’s provided us with EVERYTHING we need to make a good go of it in this crazy and tempestuous world.
And the first and most important thing, is as the Lord told Joshua in no uncertain terms when He made him leader of the Israelites after the death of Moses. ‘This book of the law shall not depart out of (be constantly in) thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.’ (Josh. 1:8)
Oh my people, right there is the very essence to success! Meditation on the word of God, then putting what it says into practice! Not all the nonsense that the world writes about success. None of those books on so-called success and prosperity can even come close to what one can gain by reading, studying, and putting the Lord’s word into practice!
But we blatantly refuse to accept what the Creator of the world and the One who allows us to get wealth says, in foolish favour of what sinful and ignorant man writes! Please remember that ONE truth from God’s word is worth more than ALL the wisdom of man. As Bruh Paul puts it to the church at Corinth: ‘Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.’ (1 Cor, 1:25)
And what does that mean? Listen to this commentary. ‘When Paul speaks of the “foolishness of God,” he is not implying that God is foolish. Rather he is saying that since God’s way of reasoning is in accord with things of the spirit, it confounds the reasoning of this world. It is wiser than human reasoning, because spiritual things are wiser than carnal ones.’ And that’s exactly why our world is in such a disastrous and chaotic state! We have not been listening to the spiritual reasoning of God, but to the carnal, Satanic reasoning of men! And what else can you expect from a satanic soul eh, but total chaos and strife, because that’s the very nature of Satan!
Remember too that Jesus backed up that scripture in Joshua, when he told His listeners: ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt. 6:33) That’s God’s indisputable and faithful promise! If you seek the things of His kingdom, then all that you need will be given to you. And God has no need to lie, because with His omnipotence, He can do exactly what He says! And Bruh Paul also promised in his epistle to the Philippians, that our needs will be met when we sincerely seek the Lord and serve Him. ‘But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.’ (Phil. 4:19)
What more do we want or expect eh my brethren? And it’s not like there aren’t oodles of believers who are living comfortably while obeying God’s word, but most of them don’t have to bray or boast about their possessions, because that’s not the attitude of true believers. We ought to go about our business without too much fuss, working for the Lord, being the salt of the earth and light of the world, enjoying whatever He blesses us with, and sharing it with others who are less blessed.
Jesus was the Son of God, could do miracles and anything else He so desired, but He didn’t go around boasting about it. In fact He took the opposite attitude, that of a servant, gave up all his privileges. As Bruh Paul writes to the Philippians. ‘Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion (appearance) as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.’ (Phil. 2:5-8)
Yes my fellow believers, Jesus was the greatest, but He never boasted about it, because He was sure of Himself. He knew who He was, and let it show in His works, rather than in His boasts. It ought to be the same way with us: when we know who we are in Christ, are sure that we’re the children of God, then we don’t need to boast about it, but just show it in how we live our daily lives. And we can never be sure that we’re children of God until and unless we read, meditate and put God’s Word into practice in our daily lives. It’s as simple as that my people!
And what amazes me about mankind in these turbulent times, is that we’re trying everything we know in man’s lexicon to make things better without any success, but for whatever reason, we simply refuse to go to God, where the answer truly lies. Sadly, such is the hold that Satan has on us. But for those of us who are trying to live right, lets’ go home declaring (chuh!!!) and thus activating our Thursday Blessings, generously bestowed by the Lord to do His earthly work.
As one strong voice: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment!
I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’
And having made that declaration (steups!!!) it now behooves us to go out and share the benefits of those blessings with others, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us! Much LOVE!
…Success 101…read, meditate and put into practice…God’s Word…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
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