26 May 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a healthy chance, a mirror image, a serious note, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land, arrogance, arrogant, ask for the old paths, backsliding, Beelzebub, blind leading the blind, break free, calmitous, catastrophic, Christians, commune with nature, crapaud smoke we pipe, dancing madly, deceit, destruction, dilgent, dream, drought, evil monster, flooding, friends, Friends in Christ, godless, harness our limited power, hot and humid, human errors, idolatry, in the throes of death, Jeremiah, Jesus, LOVE, Memorial Day, mind-blowing, my neck of the woods, my people which are called by my name, natural disasters, Oklahoma, our own counsel, path of destruction, persevering, pray, pride, promise, prosperity, proud, rampaging, raod to disadter, refuse to try somethig different, removing God from society, repent, rest for your souls, return to God, righteousness., seek my face, shall humble themselves, short mind spans, sincere, sinfulness, Southern California, stand ye in the ways, stranglehold, success, Texas, the annals of history, the awesome might of Jesus, the good way, the Love Revolution, the universe is unfolding as it should, the wages of sin is death, the way of the ungodly, the wisdom of a fool, then will I hear from heaven, tight grip, torrential rains, trying times, turn away from their wicked ways, walk therein, wickedness
2 Chronicles 7:14. If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn away from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Oh my beautiful Friends in Christ, called by His holy name – Christians, welcome to another glorious day in the annals of history! (smile) The universe is unfolding as it should.
It’s going to be hot and humid today in my neck of the woods; something like 30 C. but the wind is not going to be rampaging like it was yesterday. Boy, was I ever sorry for those trees yesterday, for the wind had them dancing madly all day long, even into the night.
And hear this nuh; about 1:15 this morning I went outside to sit on my porch and commune some with nature, but less than ten minutes later, I had to come back in because the wind was strong and cool and I only had on shorts and a T-shirt. Hn, Hn!
But on a more serious note my brethren, what a way our world is disaster prone these days. It wasn’t a very happy Memorial Day for some of our Friends down in the Southern U.S. states, especially Texas and Oklahoma, where torrential rains caused immense flooding and damage. Meanwhile in poor Southern California, a long and fierce drought is doing serious damage of another kind.
Ah Lord eh! I don’t know what to say nuh my people, except that we should seriously consider applying the promise contained in the words of our Bit, for we obviously can’t stop the disasters that are occurring ever more often in these most difficult and trying times.
‘If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn away from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.’
But yuh know what, mankind has become so proud and arrogant and godless nowadays that even though we see what’s happening, the calamitous natural disasters and catastrophic human errors, we refuse to try something different.
But as I keep reminding us, that is the wisdom of a fool! Even the Israelites, when they hit a bad spell after a season of idolatry, were smart enough to repent and return to God, and He did as promised; healed their land and returned it to prosperity.
But this foolish and wicked generation, even in the throes of death, refuses to even consider that option, much less adopt it. They’re still more intent than ever in removing God from our midst.
Chuh! Beelzebub certainly has us in grip, in fact in a tight, stranglehold my people! It’s a stranglehold from which we desperately need to break free, if we ever expect to return our countries, our world, from the path of total destruction on which we’re currently headed.
To accomplish that most worthwhile dream though, will take oodles of diligent, sincere and persevering work from us, the comparatively small band of people called by Christ’s name. But it is definitely possible when we harness our limited power to the awesome might of Jesus.
Oh my brethren, please, I implore us today, RIGHT NOW, to begin working seriously on the LOVE Revolution that’s necessary to save our world and give our children, our descendants, a healthy chance of success in the upcoming years.
For without that turn around to a godly world, Friends, we don’t stand a chance of success, as much chance of success as a snowball in hell! And that’s the living and factual reality of the situation, because our God doesn’t make idle promises, and He says that the wages of sin is certain death. So nuff said on that subject.
Now let’s continue looking at some scriptures which highlight the last of the four parts of our Bit that’s necessary for the Lord to hear our pleas, forgive our sin and heal our land, that’s ‘and turn away from their wicked ways.’
Oh my people, the wickedness of this current world is so rampant, widespread and incisive that it’s mind-blowing! I don’t think our world has ever been this wicked, and it’s been helped by all the advancements we’ve made in terms of modern living. More knowledge and power and greater material wealth have led to even greater sinfulness.
The Lord must certainly be shaking His head in disgust, thinking and sadly muttering, ‘what an evil monster I have created eh!’ Listen up to these scriptures Friends.
Jeremiah proclaims: ‘Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.’ (Jer.6:16) What pride and arrogance my people!
And the scholars have this to say about that verse. ‘6:16. The people’s stubborn refusal to walk in the traditional ways of true righteousness is often mentioned by Jeremiah (12:16; 18:15; 23:12; 31:21)
Moving in their own paths and following their own way could only lead to Judah’s destruction (cf. Prov.14:12). The contrast of the way of righteousness and life with the way of the ungodly and death is often made in the Scriptures (e.g.Ps.1; Matt.7:13-14).’
Oh Friends, that is exactly what we are doing today; walking in our paths, to the tune of our own counsel, so what can we expect but destruction eh?
Now hear Jeremiah again, as he mourns the desperate state of the Jews. ‘Moreover thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord; Shall they fall, and not arise? shall he turn away, and not return? Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding?
They hold fast (to) deceit, and they refuse to return. I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repented of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? Everyone turned to his (own) course, as the horse rusheth into the battle.’ (Jer.8:4-6)
Oh my people, there again Jeremiah is painting a mirror image of our society today! How sad it is eh. Steups! But we’ll stop there for now. I was trying to get it all in today, but it would just be too too long, and I’m having respect for our short mind spans. (smile)
Anyway my people, please, please, let’s wake up and see the destructive actions that are taking place in our world nuh, which are carrying us steadily and ever quicker down the pathway to eventual destruction. For our children’s sake, let’s do something concrete and positive about it nuh, and quickly too, else crapaud will surely smoke we pipe! Much LOVE!
…there’s no surer road to disaster…than the blind and foolish…leading the blind and foolish…away from Jesus…
07 Jul 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: 4th of July, Africa, appreciation, aura of love, California, Canadian Maritime Provinces, carnal lusts, chosen generation, complaining, confidence, conquerors, darkness, dissension, drought, economic fallout, enthusiasm, Europe, famine, flooding, greed, holy spirit, homage, homelessness, humble servants, Hurricane Arthur, invincible, Jesus Christ, light, LOVE Revolution, lust for power, Manitoba, maturity, Melchizedek, Middle East, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, need of milk, negative influences, newborn babes, North America, poverty, racial religious and ethnic tension, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rich are getting richer, righteousness., royal priesthood, Saskatchewan, sickness, soccer, solid food, sorry state, Southern Ontario, spiritual armour, spiritual immaturity, spirituality, state of our world, steadfast faith, strife, surrender, terrorism, Texas, the body of Christ, the Word of god, things of God, tornados, trust, U.S. Midwest, ungodly world, violent acts, wars, whining, white elephant stadiums, wisdom, World cup
1 Peter 2:2, As newborn babes, desire the sincere (pure) milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.
Oh Friends, it’s a brand new day – Monday – the first day of the new work week. And for whatever reason, I’ve been guided to take a brief inventory of the state of our world.
And it’s in a real sorry state at the present time – what with a variety of strife, wars, terrorism and other violent acts dominating the landscape of Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East, spawned mainly by greed, lust for power, racial, religious and ethnic and economic tension. And in many of those same places where the violence is taking place, there is famine, drought, flooding, sickness and extreme poverty.
Meanwhile, on this side of the pond, in North America, the confrontations are not as violent, though racial, religious and ethnic tensions are also on increase. There is plenty dissension and the continuing economic fallout is causing poverty, homelessness and sickness to be more rampant than ever, especially in such an affluent society. But that’s because the greed and non-social conscience of the rich are causing them to get richer, while the rest are certainly getting poorer.
And besides that we’re simply having floods in the Western Canadian Provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, while several violent tornados have recently ripped through the U.S Midwest and Southern Ontario, and this past weekend Hurricane Arthur deluged the U.S North East Coast and the Canadian Maritime Provinces with tons of rain. But then states like Texas and California are enduring extended periods of drought.
But down in South America, where poverty and strife are always present in large amounts, the supposedly ‘beautiful game,’ soccer is having its World Cup expose in Brazil amidst large demonstrations and unhappiness at the amount of money spent to build new, white elephant stadiums to host the games. But the games are being doted on and bet on by billions around the globe.
What’s going to happen after the finals this week eh? The already wealthy clique that controls the game will walk away even wealthier, leaving the poor and downtrodden in Brazil possibly even worse off than before. And before long we’ll certainly hear about some unnecessary violence committed in the name of the football gods.
Ah Lord eh! And that Friends is only a brief overview. So what sort of picture does it paint of our world eh? Certainly not a pretty one! And though there’s serious unrest and tension all over, there’s not much any of us individuals can do, except to try and keep our immediate families and friends as safe and secure as possible, and free of those negative influences.
However as a group, a group of true believers in Jesus Christ, we can do something to lessen those negative influences. And we can begin by being thankful and responsible this Monday morning; by getting up and going to work without whining and complaining, especially after the 4th of July long weekend, for we are living better than three quarters of our world.
So in appreciation of that, and homage to our wonderful God, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with great gusto. As one powerful army cum choir of God, let’s sing. ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Now that might suffice for today my people, but what happens tomorrow eh? We have to turn to the wisdom of our Bit: ‘As newborn babes, desire the sincere (pure) milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.’
We need to grow in the Word of God if we hope to make a positive difference in this world. And you can see from our overview that our world is in bad shape, which means we have to get a move on sooner, rather than later if we want to stop its slide into total destruction. And this section of Scripture from Hebrews, where the author wants to talk about Jesus the High Priest after the order of Melchizedek, brings home that point.
‘Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered (explain), seeing ye are dull of hearing. For when for the time (though by this time) ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles (sayings) of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat (solid food)
For every one that useth (partakes of) milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat (solid food) belongeth to them that are of full age (mature), even those who by reason of use (practice) have their senses exercised (trained) to discern both good and evil.’ (Heb.5:11-14)
Yes Friends spiritual immaturity is holding back the body of Christ. Many of us, who should be teachers by now, are still immature in the faith. We can’t cause a LOVE Revolution through immaturity. We need to be versed in the Word and then put it into practice.
Now listen to how Peter describes us: ‘But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people (God’s special people); that ye should show forth (proclaim) the praise of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.’ (1 Pet.2:9)
Yes my brethren, that’s what we’re supposed to be, chosen of God, special! That also means we have to be behave like royalty! So please let’s get with the programme nuh, let’s seriously study the Word and thus not be fooled by the wiles of the enemy. It’s only through maturity we can do that, and also be able to teach others. That’s what Jesus desires of us.
Much LOVE!…it’s high time believers stop allowing the carnal lusts of the world to rule their lives…and turn to the things of the Spirit and of God instead…
02 Jul 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: accomplish, anxious, awesome truth, Beauty for Ashes, blessed is he who trusts in the Lord, body of Christ, body rebelled, boss, Canada Day, celebrations, choose life, christianity, cliques, collaborate, collaboration, console those who mourn, cursed is he who trusts in man, death, deceitful intentions, decent and fulfilling life, deeds, denominations, divisions, divisive, dock pay, drive us apart, drought, explosion, forgiving, fractured, glorify God, glory hallelujah, heart departs from the Lord, Heartsongs, Jeremiah, life, long weekend, LOVE, Mattie Stepanek, merciful, muscular dystrophy, negative circumstances, no man is an island, obedient, One Body, one God, one message, one truth, peace, peacemaker, philosopher, planted by the waters, poet, Praise the Lord, predicament, quietness, religions, righteousness., risen Christ, salvation, smile, teamwork, the best of families, the garment of praise, the heart is deceitful, the Holy Trinity, the oil of joy for mourning, the planting of the Lord, the spirit of heaviness, the things of God, the things of the world, the wilderness, trees of righteousness, understanding, unity, unity is strength, upcoming death, what a life, wisdom, yielding fruit
Isaiah 61:3. To appoint unto (console) them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.
And the celebrations went on late into the night! (smile) Well they might very well have, just not at my place. In fact, there were no real celebrations in my yard yesterday. We more or less took Canada Day as a day of quietness and peace, doing stuff around the house that needed to be done. And though I did get to bed rather late, it was certainly not from celebrating.
However, when called upon to arise and get going this morning, the old body totally rebelled. I remember getting up to go to the bathroom sometime after three o’clock and telling the Lord it was way too early to get a move on, especially since I hadn’t been to bed too long before that. But the next time I opened my bleary eyes it was after six o’clock. Hn, hn!
Now I’m sure there are a few of us in that predicament on this morning after. (smile) It’s a good thing though that my boss is such an understanding, forgiving and merciful boss, and He won’t rage on me or dock my pay, as some of the earthly bosses will do to those who are late this morning, especially after what has been an extraordinary long weekend for some.
Praise the Lord! What a life eh Friends! But these things do happen, even in the best of families. (smile)
Anyway, the word from my almanac for today is ‘COLLABORATE.’ And that is a most important word in all aspects of life! For remember that since no man is an island, complete unto himself, we therefore need to collaborate with others to get things done and thus have a decent and fulfilling life.
And the quote for today comes from Mattie Stepanek – Matthew Joseph Thaddeus Stepanek (1990-2004) American poet, peacemaker and philosopher, who published six books of poetry, he called ‘Heartsongs.’
Yes I know he was only fourteen when he died, but apparently his family suffered from a rare form of muscular dystrophy, which took his life and that of three other siblings at rather tender ages. Just goes to show how much we can achieve and accomplish either when pushed by things like upcoming death, or we truly put our minds to it.
Anyway, Mattie tells us this morning that ‘Unity is strength…when there is collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.’
Wow mih breddren! What an awesome truth! And that from a young pup too! It’s true in ALL aspects of life!
But unfortunately, nowhere is it sadly lacking and badly needed more than in the earthly body of Christ Jesus! His church is much too fractured and divisive, with way too many different religions and denominations, all purportedly teaching and celebrating the same risen Christ.
Well if we’re all talking about the same Saviour, and telling the same story, then why are there so many divisions eh? There can be only ONE truth, so there should be only ONE message! I guess it just means that people are seeing the message differently, and thus telling it in different ways.
But Friends, what a beautiful explosion of Christianity there would be in this evil and ungodly world if the true and faithful brethren in Christ would concentrate on collaborating, in getting together, rather than falling apart into small cliques and divisions! Glory Hallelujah! The world would certainly stand up and take significant notice!
Please remember that Christ’s church is supposed to be ONE BODY, just like the Holy Trinity is ONE GOD!
Sadly though, at this juncture in our history, that cannot be said of Christ’s body, when we’re fighting so terribly and frightfully amongst ourselves. How can we expect to hear good tidings of salvation under those negative circumstances eh?
How can we expect the Lord ‘To appoint unto (console) them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.’
It just isn’t realistic my people. The Lord’s seeking teamwork and unity amongst His children. How can we be truthfully called ‘trees of righteousness’ and ‘the planting of the Lord’ when we’re so disjointed and divisive eh, when we’re allowing the things of the world to drive us apart, rather than enjoining the things of God to bring us together?
The prophet Jeremiah spells it out very clearly for us. ‘Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in (the strength of) man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. For he shall be like the heath (a shrub) in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.’ (Jer.17:5-6)
Yes Friends, that’s one side of the equation. Now listen to the other half of it, then tell me which half makes more sense, which one is wiser to follow.
‘Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see (fear) when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful (anxious) in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.’ (Jer.17:7-8)
Yes Friends, those are the two options available to us, and it’s plainly stated what will happen in each. And just in case we hold deceitful intentions, please note that we can’t try to cover up our dark secrets while looking good on the outside, as we can do with men, for Jeremiah continues with the Lord’s declaration.
‘The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked (incurably sick) who can know it? I the Lord search the heart, I try (test) the reins (the mind, the most secret places), even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings (deeds).’ (Jer.17:9-10)
For sure my brethren, the Lord will judge each individual by his or her actions. So it’s up to each of us to choose the option we think best suits us. But let me add a word of wisdom here; (smile) option two wins the contest hands down!
Oh Friends, we can’t glorify our great and wonderful God by fighting amongst ourselves, so starting today, right now, let’s seriously concentrate on trusting the Most High God Jehovah nuh, and consequently live in unity and collaboration with each other, so that we can reap the blessedness that He has prepared for those who truly LOVE Him and seek to be obedient to His will.
It’s not all that difficult to do, and furthermore, it is truly the wisdom of and for the ages! Much LOVE!
…I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing…therefore choose life…that both thou and thy seed may live… (Deut.30:19)
02 May 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adviser, all praise and thanks to God, another week of work, as a tree planted by waters, be anxious, belly and backbone, blessed, blessed is he who trusts in the Lord, blessings, business, clouding our senses, corrupt governments, crooks, cursed, cursed is he who trusts in man, debts, debts incurred in getting education, decadent lives, degrading, downtrodden of society, drought, economic system, education, efficient, embracing the materialistic world, evil cohorts, evil rapists, famine, fellowship, first world nations, floods, folly of our choices, foolish decisions, foundations of society falling apart, Friday chant, fun, furthering God's glorious kingdom, future generations, generous help, godliness, godly, greedy, higher standard of living, homelessness, hope in the Lord, I pray in Jesus' name, if you don't hear- you'll feel, in Jesus' name, in the name of profits, inefficent, inhabit parched places, Jesus Christ, leader, lost jobs, lower wage costs, Lucifer, lusts of the flesh, make it in the material world, makes my heart terribly sad, man-made disasters, menial, mercies, natural disasters, Nero, outsourcing, part-time work, poor getting poorer, poverty, present age, profits, refreshed, relaxation, remove God from our lives, renewed vitality, resist temptations, rest, rich getting richer, righteousness., Rome burning, senseless world, shall not fear, siphoning the cream, spreads her roots by the river, storing up treasures, straight and narrow path, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, Thank God the work week finish, the Good Book, the Holy Spirit, the shrub in the desert, the wilderness, the year of drought, third world countries, true believers, truth, weekend, whose heart departs from God, yielding fruit, you get the government you deserve, you have done worse than your fathers, you walk after the stubbornness of yoru evil heart
Jeremiah 16:12. And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination (stubbornness) of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me.
And then it was Friday…! ‘Friday… already?’ Some questioned. Yes, Friends, it is indeed Friday! This week has passed very quickly.
Then all those who were too busy working to notice that it was Friday, rose up with a mighty shout of joy: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday yes! Things must be real good when we don’t even realize that it’s Friday. All praise and thanks to our great God for His many mercies and blessings that are going to flow this weekend! Thank God the work week finish!’
Yeh mih people, life has to be good when we don’t even know it’s Friday. But as always, let’s chant our Friday Chant to help us keep the right perspective on the upcoming weekend.
All together now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Now that ought to help keep us on the straight and narrow path that leads to Jesus. So let’s turn to our Bit: ‘And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination (stubbornness) of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me.’
Ah mih people, those words are so very true of our society today that it makes my heart terribly sad. What is our problem eh? When God was our leader and adviser we lived such good lives. But now that Lucifer and his evil cohorts are running the show, our lives have turned sour and most miserable.
The basic foundations of our society are falling apart. The economic system is a mess, with thousands of jobs been lost everyday, all in the name of profits. That corresponds to the big outsourcing, where jobs are being transferred to countries with lower wage costs, thus the rich are getting richer and the poor poorer.
The best we can do is offer part time, menial, underpaid work in the service industry. Our children are graduating from school and can’t find jobs to match their qualifications, so they take whatever they can find, if they can find anything, and wonder how they’re going to pay back the large debts they incurred to get that unfruitful education.
All of that unfortunately brings back the horrors that we tried to eradicate with a higher standard of living. That means poverty, the abject kind is on the rise. Don’t even talk about homelessness. The situation in the supposed first world nations is possibly worse than in the third world countries. That’s how bad it is.
And sadly, the inefficient, corrupt, greedy governments that we’ve elected over the last couple decades couldn’t care less about the downtrodden members of their society. All they talk about is business, business and more business, when the business people are the biggest crooks in the world, just siphoning off the cream from the society so that they can lead ever more decadent and degrading lives. Steups!
But yuh know Friends, whoever said that you get the government you deserve was quite right! And until we elect godly, efficient, people with belly and backbone to stand up against the evil rapists of our society, things will never improve. But it’s all got to start with us my people, with the true believers in Jesus Christ!
Why? Simply because we are the only ones who give a damn about the downtrodden! At least we’re supposed to. Unfortunately though, too many of us are also trying to make it in the material world, storing up treasures for ourselves down here on earth, rather than in heaven.
And if we believe in the Good Book at all, we’d take very seriously these words of our Creator to the people of Judah, way back when.
‘Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in (the strength of) man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. For he shall be like the heath (shrub) in the desert, and shall not not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.’ (Jer.17:5-6)
Oh my brethren, those words are slowly coming to pass as our society moves further and further away from Almighty God! Famine, floods, drought and all sorts of natural disasters, as well as man made ones, are levelling our planet while we behave like Nero did while Rome was burning – indulging in lusts of the flesh!
What’s wrong with us eh? Why can’t we see and understand the folly of the choices we’re making to embrace the materialistic world that’s now controlling almost every aspect of our lives?
As believers in Jesus we can certainly resist the temptations that come against us. We have His awesome power dwelling in us – the Holy Spirit that’s meant to lead and guide us into all truth and righteousness. But we are letting the evil powers continue to remove God from our lives. Ah mih people, how sad!
And we’ll close with some more true words of scripture. ‘Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see (fear, be anxious) when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful (anxious, worried) in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.’ (Jer.17:7-8)
Oh Friends, there’s nothing to compare in those two readings. The last one is obviously the only one that makes any sense. So please please, in Jesus’ Name I’m pleading with us to let go of the absurd materialism that’s clouding our senses and turn instead to the godliness and righteousness of our forefathers, so that future generations will be blessed and not cursed by our foolish decisions in this present age.
It’s the only thing that makes sense in this senseless world! Much LOVE!
…if you don’t hear…at some stage you’re certainly going to feel…and feel very hard too…
07 Jul 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: afflicted soul, ashes, break forth as morning, comfort zone, downtrodden, drought, exploitation, faith, faith in God, faith in others, faith in ourselves, fasting, god moves in mysterious ways, God's LOVE, God's power, homeless, hungry, in prison, insensitivity, light, little miracle, LOVE, loving kindness, miracle moment, musical heaven, naked, our God is magnificent, personal testimony, pointing of the finger, poor, repairer of the breach, righteousness., sackcloth, saving faith, selfishness, share wealth, sharing, sick, Society of the Little Flower, strife, the glory of the Lord, the path of faith, the way to prosperity, thirsty, undo heavy burdens, watered garden, who do we think we are, wickedness, worldly lusts and desires
Matthew 25:35-36. For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Oh Friends, oh Friends, as I keep saying, our God is indeed a magnificent and mysterious God yes! He constantly bends over backwards to help us, and in the process, amazes us with His LOVING-kindness. Now here’s a personal testimony to His goodness.
Yesterday morning I was listening to some music on the R&B channel of the t.v and my mind happened to focus on a song I had heard about a week before. The song had taken my heart by storm then. I even considered calling my young daughter and asking her to get it for me, as we had been big fans of the artiste in the early stages of his career. But as the Lord would have it, I didn’t call her.
Then yesterday morning, a couple of minutes after the tune flashed through my mind, I heard the opening bars of this music that caught my attention, and when I looked up at the screen, lo and behold, the title of the song that greeted me was, ‘Who do we think we are?’ by John Legend, featuring Rick Ross. And yuh better believe mih people, that the ole fella was immediately transported to musical heaven, because that was the tune I had just thought about!
And they say that our God isn’t good and doesn’t move in mysterious ways to satisfy us? Nonsense yes! He certainly does!
Aye mih young D, I hope you got the message. (smile) Cousin John has a tune out that the yuh ole father truly, truly likes, and you know when he likes a tune, he just goes crazy over it, regardless of what anybody else thinks.
Anyway Friends, enough about me and my little miracle moment, though as I keep reminding us, it’s in the small, sometimes seemingly unimportant things that our God shows His favour, works His miracles. So please pay attention to the small things in your life, because that’s where we often encounter stuff that truly opens our eyes and thus builds our faith.
And talking about faith, here’s an excerpt on the subject from an article by Father Bob Colaresi, the Director of the Society of the Little Flower, St. Therese, taken from the 2013 summer issue of their magazine, Between Friends.
He begins the article thus: ‘This Year of Faith is a call to deepen our lives as followers and friends of Jesus. We continue to be invited to walk the path of faith: faith in God’s presence, power and LOVE, faith in other people, and faith in our selves as the dwelling place of God. Jesus constantly said to everyone He healed: “Your faith has saved you!’
And that’s the undeniable truth my brethren! Our faith is what keeps us going on. But then part of that faith is to show it in good works in action, as specified by our Bit: ‘For I was an hungered (hungry), and ye gave me meat (food): I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.’
Yes my people, those are the things our Lord, Saviour and Leader, Jesus Christ expects of His followers. And today I want to highlight a few scriptures that show those were very important things to our God, long before Jesus ever came to earth in human form. Listen to Isaiah, as he talks about true religion in Chapter 58.
The Israelites were fasting and doing other stuff to get God’s attention, but not with right hearts and motives. Thus God admonished them: ‘Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact (exploit) all your labours (labourers).
Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite (strike) with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord?
Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens (bonds of the yoke), and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal (share) thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out (homeless, wandering) to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health (healing) shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward (rear guard). Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am.
If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth (pointing) of the finger, and speaking vanity (wickedness); And if thou draw out (extend) thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity (from darkness), and thy darkness (gloom) be as the noonday.
And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought (dry places), and make fat (strengthen) thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. And they that shall be of thee (offspring, descendants) shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths (streets) to dwell in.’ (Is.58:3-12)
Oh Friends, after reading that section, I just had to include the whole thing, because it just encompasses all that our Bit talks about. So yuh see, is from long time now that our God has been trying to teach us that to help the poor and downtrodden, to share our wealth with the less fortunate is the way to prosperity and His LOVING-kindness.
Then Jesus came and preached the same message. But have we learned that lesson yet? Not really, because we still insist on concentrating on our selfish, worldly lusts and desires, instead of helping the way too many unfortunate souls in our wealthy societies.
Oh my brethren, there are so many who desperately need our help, but are not getting it because of our insensitivity. But to be a true believer and follower of Jesus, we cannot let insensitivity capture and take over our souls. We have to be sensitive to the needs of others, whatever they may be, and try to help ease their burden, as Jesus desires of us. Otherwise we’re not true followers of Christ, plain and simple. Selah.
Yes Friends, food for thought. Take a moment and ponder it. By those guidelines, are you a true believer? And if not, why not? Much LOVE!
…talk is cheap…but taking action…means stepping out of our comfort zone…and that’s the mark of a true believer…
24 Mar 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: asap, bitterness, blessed day, disastrous pit, drought, earthly hell, faith, faithful prayer, famine, fleshly lust, forces of destruction, glorification, great deeds, great LOVE, heavenly Father, joblessness, LOVE, loving kindness, negative forces, no time to lose, noble emotion, poverty, praise, resentment, rule the roost, rumours of wars, Saint of the Little Flower, sickness, sincere repentance, son jesus christ, spiritual rebirth, spirituality, St. Therese, strife, The Lord who comforts, trust, wars, workers of iniquity, worship
Isaiah 51:12. I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass.
Oh Friends, isn’t it most excellent to see another blessed day on God’s wonderful earth? It certainly is! So let’s all take a deep breath, hold it for a moment, then slowly let it out, while simultaneously contemplating the miracle of life that exists in us, and the goodness of God that enables us to keep on breathing minute after minute, day by day. And having done that, and realizing what rich and exquisite gifts the Lord has bestowed on us, both through ordinary physical life and spiritual rebirth, reconciliation through His Son Jesus Christ, all His earth bound children declared a heartfelt: ‘Thank You Lord! We LOVE You and praise Your Holy Name! We know that it’s nothing we’ve done, but Your monumental, unconditional LOVE for us that causes You to continue looking upon us with such awesome and amazing LOVING-kindness. We faithfully pray that our wonderful LOVE relationship will continue forever, throughout eternity. In Jesus Name. Amen.’ Yes Friends, what a great LOVE our heavenly Father bears towards us, and consequently desires us to bear to each other. No wonder St. Therese of Liseux, the Saint of the Little Flower, emphasized in her short, rough but productive earthly sojourn, that ‘What matters in life, is not great deeds, but great LOVE.’ And if that isn’t an undeniable truth, then I don’t know what is! Sadly though, of all the emotions, that noble emotion of LOVE, which we need the most, is what we have the least of. Granted, the word is constantly bandied about, but there’s no true substance to it. It’s used mostly in a worldly, carnal manner, oftimes as a synonym for fleshly lust. But when coming to true LOVE for God, and true LOVE for our fellow man, our world is sadly lacking. True LOVE for God doesn’t mean continually disparaging Him and removing Him from our society. And true LOVE for our neighbours certainly doesn’t mean the worldwide strife, resentment, bitterness and other stressful emotions that currently dominate our days and nights. And unfortunately my people, without real LOVE, we’re just spinning our wobbly wheels in self-destruct mode. That’s because the negative emotions opposed to LOVE aren’t conducive to building or creating, but are all forces of destruction. And if we keep letting those negative forces rule the roost, then we’ll just keep going the way we are now…falling, falling, falling into the disastrous pit of an earthly hell. It doesn’t take a genius to see that my brethren. But it does take a wise, considerate and LOVING human being to want to do something to stop the carnage, the ever-quickening downward trend. And as I keep reminding us, it’s only the true believers who are capable of catching the reins of this runaway horse and carriage we call modern-day life and bringing it to a halt and then reversing its sordid direction to that which leads to sincere repentance, praise worship, glorification and LOVE for our Creator, Jehovah God. Ah mih people, unless this reversal of directions happens, and happens soon too, we’ll all end up in dire circumstances. The terrible plight of our world is there for all to see; what with the tough and getting tougher economic situations creating worldwide joblessness, the immense poverty, sickness, homelessness, famine, drought, climate change and all the other negatives now consuming us. None of that speaks of real LOVE, especially when there’s more than enough of everything to go around. And we haven’t even mentioned the numerous social uprisings, the wars and rumours of wars that are concurrently taking place alongside all the other disastrous situations. Oh Friends, what a mess we’ve made of God’s wonderful creation! And it all stems from a sad lack of LOVE. The unfortunate thing about LOVE though, is that it takes time to build, because it needs trust and faith, things that cannot be had instantly. Meanwhile, hate, anger and strife can be raised up immediately and produce immense destruction at the proverbial drop of a hat. Anyway my fellow believers, the moral of the story, the purpose of this epistle (smile) is to have us wake up and realize that it’s imperative we get the ball of LOVE rolling as quickly as possible. There’s absolutely no time to lose, since Lucifer and his wicked cronies already have a substantial head start on us. That means we have lots of ground to make up, before we can even think of forging ahead of the evildoers. So please, if we seriously and sincerely LOVE Jesus and want to please Him, want to help build His glorious kingdom, then let’s get it together nuh. Let’s cut out all the pussyfooting and blah blah blah, and get some real action going. We can’t allow the immense sacrifice of Christ’s sinless life on Calvary’s cross to be wasted, to go for naught under the evil onslaught, because we’re too comfortable, lazy and/or afraid. Remember Bruh Paul’s strong assurance to Timothy: ‘For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound mind.’ (2 Tim.1:7) Therefore, as true believers, we ought to come out swinging, giving no quarter to the workers of iniquity in this LOVE Revolution, if we want to see a return to God and all the things that make for a safe, satisfied, wonderful, godly and righteous life. Now let’s allow our Bit, and the three verses after it, to take us home, so that we can ponder on the truth contained in them, and how our lives reflect that truth. ‘I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a (mortal) man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass; And forgettest the Lord thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready (preparing) to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor? The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed, and that he should not die in the pit, nor that his bread should fail. But I am the Lord thy God, that divided the sea, whose waves roared: The Lord of hosts is his name.’ (Is.51:12-15) Oh my people, please let’s contemplate today on those harsh words of our mightily displeased God. Yes, He is mightily displeased because we’re doing just like, and even worse than the Israelites of old, to whom Isaiah directed those words. And having pondered them, let’s then rise up and do better. If not for our sakes, then for Jesus and our children’s. It’s the wisdom of the ages. Much LOVE!…he who has ears to hear…let him hear…otherwise he’ll surely feel the wrath of God…
30 Sep 2012
by randyobrien50
in Inspirational Living
Tags: calamity, conviction, death, deceit, disaster, disobedience, drought, evil, false prophecy, foolish people, God's punishment, life, persecution, rebellion, repentance, repercussions, respect, reverence
Jeremiah 7:28. But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the Lord their God, nor receiveth correction: truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth.
Oh Friends, one more day is dawning in our lives and in the annals of History. When this day is reviewed in our lives, what will it look like eh? And when it’s written in the historical records, what will be the overriding story? Right now only the Lord God Jehovah knows the answer to either question, which means that He is wiser and more knowledgeable that us. We can only make all sorts of guesses, but there is no guarantee that we will even come close to the truth. Meanwhile, the Most High God, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has already planned what will happen all over His creation today. But yet still too many of us refuse to acknowledge His awesome power and wisdom. And Just like He told Jeremiah to warn Judah, re the punishment for their rebellion, I believe He’s telling us the very same thing now, as embodied in our Bit. ‘But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the Lord their God, nor receiveth correction (instruction): truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth.’ Oh my people, I don’t know if at any time in the last few hundred years there’s been a generation that has ever repudiated and rebelled against our heavenly Father like this one. Our sinfulness and lust for earthly pleasure is overwhelming. In fact it knows no bounds. We are doing everything that the Good Book tells us not to do and not even considering the repercussions. The evildoers are trying every tack and trick to get rid of God completely from our society, and unfortunately are being comparatively successful. That means unless the Christian element reverses itself and stands up strong for what we’re supposed to believe in, God will eventually be removed or shunted off to some small, remote part of our society, with the possibility of persecution very likely. Oh Friends, when are we going to learn that rebellion against God, and disobedience to His Will and Word don’t pay, but always bring disastrous consequences eventually? Listen to the Lord’s directive to Jeremiah, re the spiritual and civil corruption amongst the Lord’s people. ‘Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish (proclaim) it in Judah, saying, Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not, which have ears and hear not: Fear ye not me? saith the Lord: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves (to and fro) yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it?’ (Jer.5:20-22) Obviously this generation doesn’t fear the Lord, otherwise evil would not be as prevalent and pervasive. And if we continue with that telling passage from Jeremiah 5, the Lord continues: ‘But this people hath a revolting and rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone (departed). Neither say they in their heart, let us now fear the Lord our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his season: he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest.’ (Jer.5:23-24) And isn’t that the living truth Friends! Remember the extensive drought filled summer we’ve just recently experienced, and the poor harvest that we’re going to reap this year? Obviously not, because as far as most of us are concerned that has nothing to do with God. But are we ever so wrong my brethren. It has everything to do with God! And sadly, I’ve yet to see a time in my three decades of life, when there’s such little respect or fear of God, even with all the untimely and unnatural calamities that are currently and constantly befalling us. But listen to these next verses, as the Lord detailed Judah’s problems, and in this age, our own. ‘Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you. For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait (lie in wait), as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men. As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen (grown) rich. They are waxen (grown) fat, they shine (are sleek): yea, they overpass (surpass) the deeds of the wicked: they judge (plead) not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge (defend). Shall I not visit (punish) for these things? saith the Lord: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? A wonderful (an astonishing) and horrible thing is committed in the land; The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means (own power); and my people LOVE to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?’ (Jer.5:25-31) Yes my people, that’s the billion dollar question; what will we do in the end? I don’t know, but my advice is for our society to turn back as quickly as possible to truly worshipping and serving the ONE TRUE GOD, who created and still controls this universe and everything in it. And I have to note the scholars’ explanation on the second to last verse above. ‘Judah’s sin is so exceedingly evil that it is described as being appallingly horrible and staggeringly wonderful (wondered at in shocked disbelief).’ Now doesn’t that sound just like our society? It sure does? And Friends if we don’t quickly clean up our act then in the Lord’s own words, here’s what’s liable to happen. ‘Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them. Hear, O earth: behold I will bring evil (calamity) upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it.’ (Jer.6:18-19) Oh my people, it’s extremely urgent that we return to God’s path asap, because from Jesus’ description the end times are in the offing. Exactly when, only the Father knows. But there is certainly too much calamity in the world for it to just go away. Our world is like a smouldering volcano, just waiting for the right moment to erupt. So what will it be Friends; self-destruction, God’s punishment, or conviction and repentance? For our children’s sake, I urge us to choose the latter two options, and quickly too. That’s the true zenith of wisdom. Much LOVE!…I have set before you…life and death…blessing and cursing…therefore choose life…that both thou and thy seed may live… (Deut.30:19)
11 Aug 2012
by randyobrien50
in Inspirational Living
Tags: calamity, corruption, drought, evil, famine, Jesus, natural disasters, political upheaval, strife, wars and rumours of wars
Jeremiah 24:10. And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers.
Oh Friends, it’s good to see that we’ve had two wet days consecutively; Wednesday and Thursday! Wow! That hasn’t happened in my area for ages. And then it was only yesterday that we had what you’d truly call rain, not just a series of on and off drizzles. And it’s surely good to hear that some parts of the vast drought stricken areas in the U.S. have also gotten some rain, though still not enough to make any substantial difference. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, places like Manila, the capital of the Philippines and the surrounding area received a month’s worth of rain in just 24 hours this past week, causing the place to look like a vast wasteland. And sadly they’re soon expecting even more monsoon like weather. I believe North Korea and parts of China have also recently been seriously flooded. Oh Friends, let’s pray for them in their time of disaster, and hope too that the current flood waters will recede before the next bout of torrential rain comes. Ah mih people, that brings us to our Bit: ‘And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, till they be consumed (destroyed) from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers.’ And I have to chuckle here as I verify that our Lord does move in mysterious ways. That’s because earlier on, when I opened the Good Book to look for a Bit, it opened at Jeremiah Chapter 24, and verse 10 was the first thing I read. I considered it for a Bit since it seemed so appropriate to what’s currently happening around our world. But then I decided I wanted something more positive and went looking for something else. However, after writing the intro, the Spirit sent me back to Jeremiah’s words. And they really are thought provoking Friends, for there’s never been a time when our world has been so rich, yet so poverty stricken; so healthy and medically capable, yet plagued by so much sickness and disease. Neither have we ever been so mentally brilliant, with so much possibility for wisdom to be far flung, yet our world is ruled by foolishness; the foolishness of Beelzebub, instead of the wisdom of God. The same goes for strife: our world is being torn apart by it. It’s much easier to name the few places where there’s little or no strife, than to name the many where strife has more or less become the norm. Floods and other natural disasters are causing havoc right around the world. And when we talk about famine and drought, they too are so widespread that even the rich, developed countries are not immune to them. Everywhere hunger and poverty are raising their cruel heads, while the rich and famous continue to live a dissolute lifestyle, which too many of us are hungering for and trying to imitate. So my brethren, what does all of that tell us eh? Something must be wrong somewhere, if our oh so highly evolved and developed world is so beset by calamity in all areas of life! And we won’t even talk of the political and economic upheavals that are plaguing us. The problem’s simple though Friends: we have foolishly turned away from serving and worshipping the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, our Creator, to the worshipping of idols, in particular things like money, pride, earthly possessions and power. They have now become our focus rather than Almighty God. But what else can you expect but calamity when the majority of society are just seeking their own good and don’t care about anyone else. A selfish and greedy society is obviously going to be plagued by serious problems like fraud, theft, murder, societal unrest and finally anarchy, because no one’s really interested in the overall society, only their personal aggrandisement. My brethren, please listen to these wise, truthful words of Bruh David from Psalm 37, re the true state of the wicked. ‘A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the Lord upholdeth the righteous. The Lord knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever. They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs (splendour of the meadows): they shall consume (vanish); into smoke shall they consume (vanish) away. The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again (does not repay): but the righteous showeth mercy, and giveth. For such as be blessed of him (The Lord) shall inherit the earth (land); and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off (destroyed).’ (Ps.37:16-22) Oh my people, why can’t we understand that wickedness and all that it connotes, might pay in the short term, but eventually it all falls apart, is consumed, vanishes like smoke in our God controlled universe? And the sad part is that many of our leaders – political, economic and religious – know these things, but yet they refuse to stand strong against the evildoers who only want to perpetrate Lucifer’s negative agenda. That brings us to this serious warning from Jesus: ‘Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers (various) places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.’ (Matt.24:4-8) Yes Friends, it is clearly the beginning of the end! But unfortunately only a handful is paying attention to the warning signs of the Saviour. How foolish can we really be eh, with our world crumbling around us, and we obviously unable to fix it in our own strength! Oh my brethren, there are not enough voices crying out in the wilderness of our world, re the second coming of Jesus in all His glory. That means we believers need to do a lot more than we’re currently doing to wake up and shake up an evil, sedentary world where the evildoers are ruling the roost. Please note my people, that though wickedness is in the ascendance, its perpetrators are not sitting on their laurels like we are. They are still working as hard as ever to achieve their evil goals. We have to do likewise Friends, otherwise we’re going to lose the war and bring disgrace to Jesus and His Church. And we certainly don’t want to do that! So please, let’s get real active nuh, and get as many people prepared as possible, for we don’t know when Jesus will come again. He might come tomorrow…or even TODAY! Much LOVE!…whoso readeth…let him understand… (Matt.24:15)
06 Aug 2012
by randyobrien50
in Inspirational Living
Tags: Caribana, celebrations, drought, economic disaster, enthusiasm, floods, Holy Ghost, Jesus Christ, LOVE, Monday, renewed vitality, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, the enemy's lies
Jeremiah 17:7. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.
Oh Friends, it’s Monday! Yeah, the day we’re all growing to LOVE, because it gives us a fresh opportunity every week to bring others in the work world to Christ. Wow! Isn’t that wonderful? It’s also Caribana Monday in T.O. and the party is still going strong; right up till midnight. Thankfully, I haven’t heard about any untoward incidents over the weekend, because you know how they like to over react. You can’t have thousands of people celebrating in fairly congested areas and not have some problems, especially when the young people nowadays so quick on the draw. Let’s hope nothing serious happens to mar the celebrations and have the more righteous than thou complaining about violence at the parade, conveniently forgetting the number of people that have recently been murdered just normally going about their everyday lives. Anyway, enough negativity, let’s get down to brass tacks and give those people who unfortunately have to go to work today, some incentive to get out there and do Christ’s bidding. So let’s have a rousing rendition of our Monday Morning Battle Hymn! As one voice now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together. We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies. But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’ Yes my people, that ought to get the adrenaline flowing and our minds fully focussed on Christ! Now let’s look at our Bit: ‘Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.’ Yeh Friends, more on that topic of HOPE today, because it’s what our world is so sadly lacking and needs more than anything else. People are losing their jobs and homes by the thousands, causing families to fall apart. The world economic situation is getting worse everyday, generating more fear, more greed, anger, envy, jealousy and strife worldwide, than at any other time in history. Then there’s widespread drought in many places, while serious flooding elsewhere is also causing untold damage. That just means there’s less food available at higher prices. So with all of that, people do have practical reasons to be concerned. And what are our leaders and the supposed experts doing to fix the problems? Absolutely nothing of any real value! They meet often, spend oodles of tax payers money on security, live high on the hog and talk a good talk, but don’t do anything concrete to help solve the problems. And why is that eh Friends? It’s a simple reason. We have forsaken the Lord God Jehovah, our Creator, Controller and Provider, and have turned to our own foolish devices. So if you turn away from the ruler of the universe, what else can you expect but disaster eh? Oh Friends, the only way to reverse all the negativity is by returning to the fold of Almighty God! If we don’t, then we’ll soon be history; the laughingstock of the ages. Sadly, many believers have bought into the negative trends of the world and are losing hope too. But my brethren the one thing we have over everybody else is that secure HOPE of a bright future in Christ! And if we serve Him faithfully, He will provide for us, as He’s faithfully promised. So Friends, please don’t get scared and lose hope. I know it’s not easy with all the negative stuff that’s happening, but that’s where our Christian strength and maturity come into play. Because of our trust and faith in our great and good God, we have no reason to fear anything or anybody. Please, let’s write that indelibly in the deepest recesses of our souls, so that we can use it as a sure foundation. Now let’s go home with some scriptures that will buoy our spirits and give us the hope, comfort and joy, we so badly need. And how did you know (smile) that the first passage is from Bruh David eh? From Psalm 34, the Lord hears the righteous, where he’s running for his life from Saul, lies to Abimelech the priest about being on some hasty secret mission for Saul, so he didn’t have time to get food or weapons. So he takes the shrew bread meant for the altar and Goliath’s sword and flees to Nob. (1 Sam.21) He solemnly proclaims: ‘O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. O fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want (lack) to them that fear him. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want (lack) any good thing.’ (Ps.34:8-10) Truer words were never spoken my brethren! If we put our trust in the most omnipotent Being in the universe, to whom nothing is impossible, why should we want for anything eh? And finally, some more moving words, this time from Bruh Paul: ‘Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.’ (Rom.15:13) And all God’s people uttered a loud and glorious ‘Amen!’ Oh Friends, if those words and the rest of the Bit don’t get you excited and make you jump for joy in the Lord, then I don’t know what will! (smile) But seriously though, let’s all lift up our heads and hearts with the hope that’s found in Christ Jesus as we go out into the evil, ungodly world today, and let’s show them what true Christians are made really made of…B, B and B! Much LOVE!…if you have true hope in Jesus…then you won’t be afraid of anything… P.S. It’s a bit long, because I wanted to finish with Hope today. But then it’s also revitalizing and true. (smile) Much LOVE!
05 Aug 2012
by randyobrien50
in Inspirational Living
Tags: blessings, Caribana, comfort, communing with God, desires, drought, faith, hope, solace, Tobago, trust, wiping away tears and fears, wisdom
Jeremiah 17:7. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.
Well mih people, the Caribana Parade for 2012 is history now! But plenty activities are still there for the taking. They’ll continue until Monday night, because Monday is a holiday in most of the provinces. Now don’t ask me what they are for they’re so plentiful, that I’m wondering how many are well attended. The only thing that I might check out is a Tobago Expo, all things Tobagonian, at Harbour Front this evening, provided the weather is good, since it’s supposed to rain, and the spirit takes me. (smile) By the way, I erred on the side of wisdom yesterday and didn’t go to the Caribana Parade, just stayed home by myself and rested. Oh sorry, sorry, the Lord God Jehovah stayed home with me too, and we spent a quiet but interesting afternoon, communing openly and frankly with each other. But that’s the only wise and sensible way to commune with our Maker! He showed me some insights into life and I opened up my heart and soul to Him, spilled every negative thing that was built up in me and was blocking our proper communication. Now the lines of our communication are wide open. Thank you Lord! Oh Friends, please remember, and also act on this principle, that Almighty God is the ONLY BEING in the universe who can offer us true solace and comfort, wiping away our tears, our fears and sins and bringing us back into a right relationship with Him thru the precious spilled blood of His Son Jesus. No wonder the prophet Jeremiah tells us about the blessedness of trusting the Lord in our Bit: ‘Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.’ Yes mih people, that’s an indisputable fact! Now hear how Jeremiah continues to describe the blessedness of trusting Jehovah: ‘For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see (fear) when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful (anxious) in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.’ (Jer.17:8) Wow! That’s certainly what you’d call blessedness Friends! But unfortunately we can’t get to the blessings until we first have the hope in God, then let it show forth as trust and faith. Yes my brethren, today we sticking with that awesome word HOPE and all it entails, for without it nothing’s really going to be accomplished in our lives, especially in the spiritual realm, since it all begins all right there with HOPE. The dictionary describes HOPE thus: ‘To look with expectation and desire for something, be it concrete or abstract; a feeling of trust; probability.’ And Friends, all three definitions lead us straight to our great and powerful God! For it’s only Him to whom we can look to with true expectation and desire for stuff within His Will, and who will faithfully fulfill those expectations and desires. Man cannot fulfill many of our desires, but the Eternal God can fulfill them ALL! And what does that faithful fulfilling of our expectations do? It breeds a feeling of supreme trust in us towards Almighty God! And there’s no better place to centre that trust my people! Now let’s look at some scriptures that boost our hope, faith and trust in the Lord, starting with words from Psalm 146, superscripted, the blessedness of trusting God. And the psalmist profoundly proclaims: ‘Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God.’ (Ps.146:5) Words of awesome truth Friends! Now listen to Bruh David from Psalm 5, a prayer for protection: ‘But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that LOVE thy name be joyful in thee. For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass (surround) him as with a shield.’ (Ps.5:11-12) And just in case you don’t believe either psalmist, then hear Isaiah tell it: ‘And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgement (justice): blessed are all they that wait for him.’ (Is.30:18) And just suppose you don’t believe Isaiah either, remember is only suppose we supposing eh, (smile) then listen to Jeremiah declare it: ‘For I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey (as a prize) unto thee: because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the Lord.’ (Jer.39:18) Ah mih people, I can only implore us to have hope, faith and trust in the Creator of the universe. It’s the best advice you can ever get in this world, but you still have to make the decision to surrender your all to Almighty God, then cling to Him for dear life. I sure hope you make that decision soon…like today, right now, because it will determine where you’ll spend eternity, and that’s of the utmost importance for your spiritual self. Much LOVE!…without Hope in God…life’s a disaster just waiting to happen… P.S. Please notice the new address for the Scrip-Bit Blog. I just discovered it myself tonight. Hope too many of you didn’t go looking for it on the old site, like I did. Much LOVE!
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