27 Jan 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a believer, a couch potatoe, a day off, afraid, alive again, amenities, Ansel, better tomorrow, busier, campassionate, child of the Most High God, Christ died for us, circumstances, come to seek and to save, daydreaming, death, decisions, define ourselves, different lights, eternal life, excellence, failure, figment of our imagination, friend, fulfillment, God demostrated his love, happiness, houshold chores, inspires, Jehovah, Jesus Christ, joy, leads to Jesus, life, lost, lost coin, lost sheep, lost son, lost souls, not to try, one true way, order on line, parables, prodigal son, product, rejoicing, salvation, Saturday, searching Herdsman, separated from Almighty God, shepherd central theme, sinners, sins, something you hate, something you love, success, take a chance, that which was lost, the presence of the angels, the Son of man, the straight and narrow road, the world's opinion, walking with Jesus, was dead, young children
Luke 19:10. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
Saturday, oh Saturday! What shall we say about thee eh? You relieve us from the pressures of going to a job outside the home, but then have us working harder there, with all the household chores that we could not do during the workweek. But it’s a day off, you complain! A day off from what? Not your family, or household duties. You don’t have days off from those, especially if you have young children.
And though the amenities make it somewhat easier, you still have to load and unload the washer, the dryer and the dishwasher, fold the clothes and put them away. Well you don’t necessarily have to go to the grocery any longer, for you can order on line and have your stuff delivered. But for some reason we seem to be busier than we’ve ever been.
Is that just a figment of our imagination, or is it real? An interesting thought for us to ponder this Saturday morning as we sit or lay daydreaming about being a couch potato. (smile)
But now, let’s see what quotes our friend Anselm sent us this week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And this first quote is a gem. ’The important thing is not being afraid to take a chance. Remember, the greatest failure is to not try. Once you find something you LOVE to do, be the best at doing it.’
That’s oh so true my brethren. We must not be afraid to take chances, especially if we’re truly and sincerely walking with Jesus. And not trying is indeed the greatest failure you can ever have, because you’ll never know what you might have accomplished, had you tried. Then excellence is a must in whatever you like to do, otherwise you’re just wasting your time.
Now I’m not so sure about this next quote. ‘I honestly think it is better to be a failure at something you LOVE than to be a success at something you hate.’ My thinking is why would you want to be a failure in anything at all?
And then there is: ‘Every day we choose who we are by how we define ourselves.’ Unfortunately many of us define ourselves in different ways, and thus show ourselves in different lights. However, there is only ONE true way to define yourself; as a believer in Jesus Christ, and a child of the Most High God Jehovah! And everything else in your life should follow from that.
So what about this quote: ‘You are not a product of your circumstances. You are a product of your decisions.’ Yes, our decisions play a great part in what we become, but I think that’s cutting the argument a bit fine, because we make so many of our decisions based on our circumstances.
And then there is this last quote. ‘People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they’re not on your road doesn’t mean they’ve gotten lost.’
Ah mih people, that might be true in the world’s opinion, but for believers in Jesus Christ, if you’re not with me on the straight and narrow road that leads to Jesus, to salvation and eternal life, then you are indeed lost! Oh friends, that’s why Jesus had such heavy emphasis on the lost in His ministry.
As he steadfastly declares in our Bit: ‘For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.’ That was His sole purpose of coming to earth people! To save us from our abominable sins which would cause us to be eternally separated from Almighty God!
And our heavenly Father LOVED us so much that He couldn’t stand the thought of losing even one of His most precious creations. Thus Bruh Paul could truthfully declare to the Romans: ‘But God commendeth (demonstrated) his LOVE toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom.5:8) Imagine that nuh people; Christ died in place of our lost souls. He took our death and gave us His life instead. What a hero! One of extraordinary proportions!
Now let’s look at a couple of instances where Jesus harped on the lost idea, and the importance of saving those who are lost. But first hear these explanations from the scholars on our Bit. ’19:10. The words, seek, save, and lost all appear elsewhere in Scripture in a shepherd context. This verse may be taken as a kernel statement of the central theme of Luke: Jesus is the compassionate, searching Herdsman who seeks to save those who can by no means save themselves.’
And that is exactly who Jesus is! Just check out His parables on the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son, Luke 15:3-32. If a shepherd had a hundred sheep and one got lost, he wouldn’t just forget about it, but he’d leave the ninety nine and go diligently looking for that one lost animal.
And when He found it, he’d throw it over his shoulders rejoicing, then go home and call his friends and neighbours to rejoice with him over the lost sheep that was found. ‘I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just (upright) persons. (Luke 15:7)
The same goes for the woman who has ten pieces of silver and loses one in her house. She’ll put on the brightest lights and sweep the area clean to find it. And when she finds it, she calls her friends to rejoice with her. ‘Likewise I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.’ (Luke 15:10)
And we all know the parable of the prodigal son who returns home after wasting his life and fortune in a foreign country. He comes to offer himself as a servant to the father, but the father would have none of it. And he joyfully declares: ‘For this my son was dead, and is alive again, he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.’ (Luke 15:24)
Oh my faithful brethren, that’s the exact reaction our heavenly Father has when we’re saved, and all heaven rejoices with Him. So please, let’s be wise and get on that straight and narrow road that leads to Jesus before it’s too late nuh. Much LOVE!
…he who is lost…and doesn’t want to be found by Jesus…needs his head examined…
08 Jan 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a branch, adrenaline, aura of love, bad seeds, be not deceived, be weary, bombarded, bright and bubbly, buffeted, carnal minded, Christ's vine, Christian brethren, confidence, deceive God, do good, don't give up, easy living, enemy's taunts, enthusiasm, eternal destruction, eternal life, faithfulness, friends, gentleness, get the ball rolling, glorious kingdom, go to work, God is not mocked, good vibrations, goodness, holy spirit, household of faith, humble servants, in due season, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, joy, kindness, lies, long weekends, long-suffering, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, lures of the world, meekness, miserable, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, peace, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, rest, revs our engines, salvation, self-control, sinful nature, sour, spiritual armour, spoiled, steadfast faith, steal our joy, temperance, that shall he also reap, the fruit of the spirit, this too shall pass, trust, ungodly world, useful purpose, warm bed, weary souls, well doing, well rested, whatsoever a man sows, wiles, wisdom
Galatians 6:7. Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
Okay friends, the consecutive long weekends are over now. You have to get back to working five day weeks, so let’s hope that you are well rested and churched, so that you have the wherewithal to make it through the whole week. Hope that you haven’t gotten so spoiled that you expect every week to be a short one. (smile) I know it’s very easy to get accustomed to that sort of easy living.
Anyway, it’s Monday, and regardless of the circumstances or the weather, we have to get up and go to work. So let’s roll out of the warm bed and get the ball rolling by singing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, that awesome song that revs our engines and activates our adrenaline. With some enthusiasm 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!’
Oh friends, yuh feel the good vibrations that immediately wash over us as we sincerely declare those words? Now let’s keep those good vibes going as we hit the road. Don’t allow the bumper to bumper traffic to get to us. Let’s try and be at peace in the storm, using the perfect sense of peace that Jesus instills in us all when we become believers.
Remember that this too shall pass, because we need to be bright and bubbly when we do get to work, so we can do good things on Jesus’ behalf. We can’t afford to be sour and miserable and let the enemy steal our joy, thereby making us incapable of sowing and bearing good fruit for Christ. Thus the important warning from Bruh Paul in our Bit. ‘Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.’
Oh my people, let’s not ever fool ourselves into thinking we can deceive or outwit God. That’s impossible since He sees all and knows all. This means if we sow bad seeds then we will reap bad fruits. And we can only sow good seeds and therefore reap good fruits only if we are operating from a good spiritual place, a place with Jesus first and foremost in our hearts. As Bruh Paul continues after our Bit: ‘For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.’ (Gal.6:8)
And the scholars offer these explanations: ‘6:8. For expands the principle of verse 7 to wider application. Soweth to his flesh means to conduct oneself by the evil dictates and desires of the sinful nature, thus practicing the deeds of the flesh (5:19-21). Such a person shall…reap corruption, that is, be requited with eternal destruction. Soweth to the Spirit means to live by His enabling help in accord with the Spirit’s prompting and leading, thus cultivating the fruit of 5:22-23. Such a person shall…reap life everlasting, that is, be rewarded with eternal life.’
And I know it sounds simple, but it’s not so easy in reality, because our natural sinful nature, in conjunction with the evil lures of the world, constantly exert great pressure on us to be carnal minded. But Bruh Paul admonishes us further: ‘And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not (do not lose heart).’ (Gal.6:9) That means we have to keep on keeping on friends, don’t give up, regardless of how difficult times might be, because we will be well rewarded if we finish our race and stay strong in Christ.
‘As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.’ (Gal.6:9) So my faithful brethren, since we are to be divinely rewarded, it is essential that we seize every opportunity to do good, especially to our Christian brethren. And we’ll close with a gentle reminder of the fruit of the Spirit. (smile) ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness (kindness), goodness, faith (faithfulness), Meekness, temperance (self-control): against such there is no law.’ (Gal.5:22-23)
Yes my people, let’s go out and practice that kind of stuff today nuh, because it is of Jesus, because it will help to build His LOVE Revolution, as well as bring divine rewards. Much LOVE!
…to bear good fruit…one must be a branch of Christ’s vine…
01 Jan 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: ambassadors, aura of love, beloved, bet your bottom dollar, born of God, bounden duty, celebrations, Christ's body, Christians, come together, common sense, confidence, denizens of evil, dictators, disciples, downward spiral, each one love one, enemy, eternal life, faith, followers of Christ, foolish vein, friends, glorify Him, go overboard, godly manner, Happy New Year, hate, hope, humble servants, invincible, Iran, Jesus, jobs, joy, knoweth god, libations, lies, long and short of the story, LOVE, LOVE is of God, LOVE one another, Lucifer, manifested, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, New Year's Eve, North Korea, nuclear conflagration, only begotten Son, peace, power hungry, propitiation for our sins, pulling teeth, push the red button, recapture the world, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, rest, salvation, sense of balance, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, strife, taunts, the greatest of these, the LOVE of God, the Year of Love, trust, truth, turn around year, ungodly world, war mongering, weary souls, wiles, workers of iniquity
1 John 4:7. Beloved, let us LOVE one another: for LOVE is of God; and every one that LOVETH is born of God, and knoweth God.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Well friends, 2018 is finally here, and I wish all of us the best for this New Year. I hope that we all enjoyed a good New Year’s Eve celebration, keeping the libations to a minimum so that the brains didn’t get addled. (smile)
But yuh know what friends, I’m dubbing 2018 as ‘THE YEAR OF LOVE!’ And our motto for this YEAR OF LOVE, is EACH ONE LOVE ONE!
All we have to do is LOVE One person each and every day of the year, so that our world will be filled with more LOVE than hate. Now is that so hard to do friends? It should be much easier than hating one person every day, which we seem to do so well.
The long and short of the story my people is that our world has fallen so low in the last year with all the strife and warmongering, that we don’t have much lower to go. If we continue in this sad and foolish vein, our world will soon explode.
And we’ve already opened the year with threats from North Korea, and riots in Iran, plus all the other theatres of strife that persist from 2017. Is this the way we really want to see our world go, mushroom in a cloud of nuclear conflagration?
Because you can bet your bottom dollar if the downward spiral continues, one of the mad, incompetent, power hungry dictators running our world is going to push that red button, and our world will never be the same. It might even cease to exist, such is the power of nuclear war and weapons.
That’s why I’m advocating so strongly for 2018 to be a turn around year, where Christians come together and truly begin living and LOVING like followers of Christ, fighting tooth and nail to restore some sense of balance and common sense in our world.
Oh fellow believers, if we don’t do it, who else is going to eh? Lucifer and his workers of iniquity like the way the world is going, but Jesus certainly doesn’t, and if we’re supposed to be His ambassadors, His hands, feet, mouth and ears on earth, then it’s our bounden duty to try and recapture the world from the denizens of evil.
So please let’s get with the LOVE Scene nuh man! Let’s do our best to remove the current leaders and elect sensible, godly ones, who won’t threaten to go overboard at the drop of a hat. Let’s cut out the complacency and compromise and begin working together to make Christ’s Body the most powerful in the land. That’s the best way to glorify Him!
And now that I’ve made my plea, added my two cents worth (smile) let’s turn to those unfortunate brothers and sisters who have to go out and labour this cold, cold New Year’s Monday since our 24/7 society needs constant care. Yuh know it’s so cold that some of the water on Niagara Falls froze. So let’s send them out to work with a rousing rendition of our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, which we never have a problem doing, when we ourselves are staying at home celebrating. (smile)
In strong 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!’
Ah mih friends, I could hear the after effects of the New Year’s Eve celebrations; the hoarse, croaky and out of tune voices. But at least we had the right spirit. (smile) And my fellow believers, we couldn’t have a more appropriate Bit this morning than these wonderful words of John, as he informs us that God IS LOVE.
‘Beloved, let us LOVE one another: for LOVE is of God; and every one that LOVETH is born of God, and knoweth God.’ That means if we want to know about true LOVE, then we have to be involved in a serious relationship with God.
And we’ll just end with these oh so appropriate words of John, as he reminds us of the importance of LOVE and knowing God. ‘He that LOVETH not knoweth not God: for God is LOVE. 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.
Herein is LOVE, not that we LOVED God, but that he LOVED us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so LOVED US, WE OUGHT ALSO TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER.’ (1 John 4:8-11)
That’s what I’m trying to achieve friends, but amongst supposed Christians, it’s like pulling teeth. Remember some of Christ’s last words to the disciples: ‘This is my commandment, That ye LOVE one another, as I have LOVED you.’ (John 15:12) Plain and straightforward words, as always from our Lord and Saviour.
Please my brethren, let’s try and seriously action them this year nuh; that is if we want our world to exist in a healthy and godly manner. Much LOVE!
…and now abideth…faith…hope…LOVE…these three…but the greatest of these is…LOVE…
26 Dec 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: allegiance, an option, anticipate surprises, appreciation, awaken slumbering memories, become human, beheld his glory, believing, beloved of God, blessings, brightly lit trees, cards, care, carols, celebrate, celebrations, Christ's birth, Christ's humanity, christmas day, Christmas morning, colourful explosions, conviction, cookies, darkness, death, drama, dwelt among us, entrust myself anew, eternal damnation, eternal life, every day, evil band, excitement, flesh, fragrance of pine, friend of Jesus, gift, glory, glory to God, Gnostic heresy, good cheer, gratitude, greet the world, Hades, heartwarming, heresy, hold, hope, hug, incarnation, It's Christmas, joy, keeping Jesus first place, laugh, let god create, life, light, LOVE, loving-kindness, Lucifer, manifestation of God, mercies, miracle, open your arms wide, open your heart, peace, peace and goodwill to men, pledge our love, poured down, praise, praise to Jesus, pretnese, push away tears, reconciliation, rejoice, resurrection, revolutionary, Ruth Harms Calkin, sacrificed, salvation, save us, say to god, season, share, share love, shekinah glory, shout, sinful selves, sing, sinless life, smile away fears, stir up, stupendous dreams, tabernacle, thank, thank God, the cross, the empty tomb, the good news, the Lord God Almighty, the manger, the Old Testmant, the One Year Book of Bible Promises, the only begotten, the purists, the reason, the Saviour of the world, the word was made flesh, think, time for candles, time of need, trust, Tuesday Mantra, went out on a limb, white christmas
John 1:14. And the Word was made (became) flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
Well friends, the big day has come and gone; the purists got their white Christmas and I do hope that you all enjoyed a wonderful day with friends and families, keeping Jesus first place in your thoughts as He is the reason for all the celebrations.
But yuh know what? Christmas Day might be gone, but the Christmas season is not over as yet, there’s still a lot of peace, LOVE and good cheer yet to be spread. And on this Boxing Day, here is something titled ‘It’s Christmas,’ from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin, to bring the Christmas season into true perspective.
Please read with me: ‘It’s Christmas! Sing! Rejoice! Celebrate! Let God create in you Colourful explosions Of joy and excitement. Smile away fears, push away tears. Out with pretense, in with praise. It’s Christmas! Open your heart to light To trust, to LOVE, to hope. Awaken slumbering memories Stir up stupendous dreams Anticipate surprises Open your arms wide.
It’s Christmas! Time for candles and cards For carols and cookies For brightly lit trees With the fragrance of pine. Time to hug and hold To think and thank Time to greet the world With the Good News. It’s Christmas! Thank God for life Thank Him for the manger For the splintered cross For the empty tomb. Thank Him for His only Son The Saviour of the world. Shout! Laugh! Share! Care! And say to God On Christmas morning: “I entrust myself anew To You.”
Oh friends, doesn’t that picture of Christmas sound wonderful? It surely does! And though we may not be in a position to do all that’s suggested there, we can ALL do the most important things, like give God thanks and praise for all that He’s done for us through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and pledge our LOVE and allegiance anew to Him EVERY day!
Ah mih people, the Lord God Almighty certainly went out on a limb for us when in His awesome LOVING-kindness He decided to save us from our sinful selves. The least we can now do is to show some sincere appreciation and gratitude as we enjoy all of the blessings and mercies that He’s poured down on us, especially in this season of Christmas, when we celebrate Christ’s birth, the beginning of the whole beautiful, heartwarming and revolutionary drama.
And all God’s people declared a loud, proud and grateful: ‘Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace and goodwill to men!’
And the Bible Promise for that poem is also our Bit for today. ‘And the Word was made (became) flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.’ How majestic and marvellous for the Son of God to become human and dwell amongst us!
And the scholars offer these explanations: ‘1:14. Made flesh indicated the incarnation (the miracle) of God the Son becoming human yet remaining God, and bringing us into full conviction of Christ’s humanity. The use of flesh contradicts the Gnostic heresy that God could not be united with human flesh, which was seen as evil.
Dwelt among us: John uses the word for “tabernacled,” here translated “dwelt.” The Old Testament tabernacle was where God dwelt among the Jews in the wilderness. In this context, God is dwelling in the person of Jesus Christ. We beheld his glory: Perhaps John refers to the Shekinah glory which appeared in the tabernacle of the Old Testament. The expression signifies the visible manifestation of God. John later uses glory to refer to Jesus’ life (2:11), death, and resurrection (12:23).’
So my people, we could not ask for a greater gift, especially at this time of gift giving. We need to remember that God the Father gave us the greatest gift ever, God the Son, in our veritable time of need; a time when we were headed directly for eternal damnation and darkness. Not that we aren’t still heading for it, but at least now we have an option to avoid it.
Before Jesus came and sacrificed his sinless life on our behalf, we had no option but to go straight to Hades with Lucifer and his evil band. But all praise to Jesus for giving the option of believing in Him and thus having reconciliation with the Father and eventual salvation and eternal life! Wow! If that isn’t the GREATEST my brethren, then I don’t know what is!
Now let’s go home this Tuesday morning, letting the world know whom and whose we are by declaring our Tuesday Mantra with much gumption and truth. As one now: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
And since we’re truly Christ’s people, then let’s go and truly share His LOVE with the rest of the world nuh! Much LOVE!
…oh…there’s not enough thanks in the world…to truly give to Jesus…for His sacrifice on our behalf…
25 Dec 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a joyous day, a living sarifice, a Saviour, a worthwhile cause, angels, aura of love, blessings, celebrations, cheer, Christ rules the world, Christ the Lord, Christians, christmas day, confidence, divine purpose, enthusiasm, eternal life, fear not, glorifying God, glorious kingdom, goodness, goodwill, grace, heaven, holy spirit, humble servants, in the city of David, invincible, Jesus Christ, Joy to the world, lies, LOVE, loving kindness, lying in a manger, mercy, Merry Christmas, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, nature sing, ramp up, reinvigorated, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, repeat the sounding joy, righteousness., salvation, shepherds, sinners, sins, sore afraid, sorrows, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, swaddling clothes, the curse, the glory of the Lord, the Lord is come, thorns, tidings of great joy, trust, truth, ungodly world, unto you is born, watching flocks, wisdom, wonders of his love
Luke 2:11. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!
Oh friends, it’s Christmas Day! Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas to you and yours! And I do hope you all have a joyous day, a day filled with celebrations and lifting up the LOVING-kindness of God, through His Son Jesus Christ, who was born on this day some years ago. (smile)
And to lead off the celebrations, let’s give voice to one of our favourite Christmas Carols, ‘Joy to the world,’ written by Isaac Watts, in the early 18th century, and which so appropriately describes the beautiful uproarious sensations that should be felt all over the world, at the miraculous birth of Christ.
So with grateful and joyous hearts, let’s sing: ‘Joy to the world, the Lord has come! Let earth receive her King Let every heart prepare Him room And Heaven and nature sing And Heaven and nature sing And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing. Joy to the World, the Savior reigns! Let men their songs employ While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains Repeat the sounding joy Repeat the sounding joy Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy
No more let sins and sorrows grow Nor thorns infest the ground He comes to make His blessings flow Far as the curse is found Far as the curse is found Far as, far as, the curse is found He rules the world with truth and grace And makes the nations prove The glories of His righteousness And wonders of His LOVE And wonders of His LOVE And wonders, wonders, of His LOVE.’
Ah friends, this glorious day is and was indeed all about the wonders of Almighty God’s amazing LOVE toward us. How does the Good Book put it? ‘But God commendeth (demonstrates) his LOVE toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom.5:8) I don’t think we can ever really comprehend the depth of God’s LOVE for us nuh mih breddren. The magnanimity of God offering His Son as a living sacrifice for us, is just too much for our frail and feeble minds to understand. But that’s another thing; the Lord doesn’t need us to understand, just to accept His goodness and mercy and believe on His Son Jesus.
And so, as we eat and drink and enjoy goodwill and cheer with our friends and families, let us not forget the reason for all this celebration and enjoyment; the birth of Jesus Christ on a cold winter’s night long, long ago. Consequently, we need to keep Him uppermost in our hearts and minds today, giving Him much praise and thanks for ALL that He’s done for us from the day of His birth to the current time, and ALL that He’s promised to do in the future.
Unfortunately though, not everyone is able to stay at home and celebrate today, what with our 24/7 society, some of us have to get up and go to work on this cold Christmas Day morn. And though we feel sorry for them, we glad that it’s them and not us. (smile) Anyway, let’s send them off with a rousing rendition of our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, to get their adrenaline flowing and their motors running smoothly in spite of their unfortunate situation.
As one 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!’
And as always, those who are not going to work are the loudest and hoarsest. (smile) But let’s reminisce a li’l, go back to that faithful night, or early morning two thousand years ago. Let’s check out the scene. Shepherds were watching their flocks in the cold weather, when suddenly an angel appeared , ‘and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you 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 (bandage-like cloths), lying in a manger (feed trough). And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying , Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.’ (Luke 2:9-14)
What an amazing time that must have been eh friends! Angels glorifying God, as they deliver the good news of Christ’s birth and His divine purpose to bring peace and good will to all the people on earth. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been accomplished just yet, but we’re working on it, and today ought to be a reminder of Jesus’ purpose for coming to earth, and subsequently ours, as His faithful believers and followers.
So let’s celebrate today and get reinvigorated with Christ’s Spirit nuh, so that we can go out tomorrow and ramp up our efforts to bring that peace and good will to Mother Earth. It’s certainly a worthwhile cause. Much LOVE!
…what better way to celebrate Christ’s birth…than by spreading…peace…LOVE…and good will…
23 Dec 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a future, a hope, accept Him, acceptance, adjust your focus, an expected end, attitude, Babylon, be wise, blurry, born again, calamity, call upon me, captivity, catch more flies with honey, celebrate, Christ's birth, Christian faith, Christmas Season, climate change, come to save, comfort, committed, confess our sins, control centre, difficult, diligently, disobedience, dreams, easy, empty vessels, eternal life, evil, find me, focused, forgiveness, Gentiles, give up, God's li'l Acre' Tobago, good cheer, hearken unto you, how sweet it would be, humble heart, I think toward you, Jesus, Jews, leeway, listen, LOVE, lying in the sun, mercy, mouthwatering aroma, my good word, negatives, northern climes, not come to destroy, not of evil, offer, peace, perform, pleasant attitude, positive talking, pray unto me, productive todays, salvation, saving grace, search for me, secret, seek me, seeking God, sets the tone, seventy years, sincerely, sinful life, snow, soup, sour attitudes, suffer in silence, that which was lost, the children of Israel, the Son of man, the thoughts, thoughts of peace, tomorrows, turn to Him, warm beaches, warmongering, we do today, what you want, white christmas, white stuff, wintertime, wisdom, with all your heart
Jeremiah 29:13. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
Well friends, that white stuff looks like it’s here to stay for a while yes! Steups! And more is forecasted to fall over the next couple of days. Brother! So the folks who so desire might get their white Christmas after all. Good for them!
The rest of us will simply have to suffer in silence, (smile) because that’s just the way it is: if you live in the northern climes, then you can expect snow in the wintertime.
But somehow you never seem to get accustomed to it. And in any case, we’re lucky or blessed, because with the effects of climate change, we don’t get half as much snow now as we used to get when I first came here forty something years ago.
Oh how sweet it would be to be lying in the sun on the warm beaches of God’s li’l Acre, Tobago! But right now that’s just a dream for the future. You can’t allow those dreams to die though. (smile)
Now, since it’s Saturday, -and several different kinds of hot, nourishing soup are being concocted up Calder Hall Road in Tobago – Oh just smell the beautiful, mouthwatering aroma nuh! Dreams friends, dreams; without them we’re just empty vessels. (smile)
Let’s see what our friend Anselm had to say in his quotes this week. Listen to this first one: ‘Every morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.’ Yeh mih people, what we do today is important, because that sets the tone for our tomorrows. If you want to have good, productive tomorrows, you have to begin by having good, productive todays.
And remember that ‘All things are difficult before they are easy.’ Well I wouldn’t necessarily say ‘all,’ but certainly many things begin with such difficulty that unless we’re strong, focused and truly committed, we’re likely to give up before we really get started.
But here’s a li’l secret: ‘When life gets blurry Adjust your focus.’ Ah mih breddren, unfortunately life is getting very blurry these days, and there is only so much focus to adjust. Only if you are focused on Jesus can you have enough leeway for proper adjustment.
Another helpful hint is to ‘Start telling the universe what you want instead of what you don’t want.’ Yeh more positive talking and thinking will certainly be of more benefit than dwelling on the negatives of life. And finally, remember this: ‘The control center of your life is your attitude.’
Oh friends, you’ll be surprised at how much our attitude controls our life, especially in our Christian faith. Sour attitudes simply suck! They turn others off and away. On the other hand, a good, positive, pleasant attitude draws people to you and encourages them to either help you, or be helped themselves.
It’s like the saying you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. And that’s definitely the kind of attitude we need this Christmas season of peace, LOVE and good cheer, because that’s what Christ came to spread amongst us angry, evil, warmongering humans. Yeh friends, Jesus did come to save us, but that salvation is not automatic. We need to first turn to Him and accept Him before we can find salvation.
Listen to the Lord’s promise to the children of Israel during their time of captivity, which in the first place happened because of their gross disobedience. ‘For thus saith the Lord, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place (Jerusalem).
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity) to give you an expected end (a future and a hope).’ (Jer.29:10-12)
It’s the same basic idea and promise God held out to Jews and Gentiles alike when He sent His only Son Jesus into the world to save it. Jesus made that very clear several times. ‘For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.’ (Matt.18:11) ‘For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them…’ (Luke 9:56)
Oh my people, Jesus came as a Saviour, not a destroyer. However, like any other offer, His is also dependent on acceptance. Saving grace, salvation doesn’t just fall on everyone like a blanket. No, we have to come to Jesus and consciously accept His offer of salvation.
Like the Lord said through Jeremiah: ‘Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto (listen to) you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.’ (Jer.29:12-13)
Yes friends, salvation and eternal life have been guaranteed to us through the sinless sacrifice of Jesus’ life, but we have to go seeking it diligently and sincerely in and through the Lord. Until we come to Him and confess our sins with a humble heart, salvation will elude us.
The important thing my brethren, is truly searching and seeking out God because we can’t handle our sinful life any longer and we need the forgiveness, the mercy, the grace, the comfort and LOVE that only He can provide.
So this Christmas season, when we celebrate Christ’s birth, I implore us to sincerely seek out the Lord and let Him give us all that He’s promised to those who diligently search for Him. That’s wisdom in spades! Much LOVE!
…anything worthwhile is worth seeking…and nothing’s more worthwhile…than the saving grace of Jesus…so please be wise…and seek it…
19 Dec 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a new day, a new week, a plan, a tight rrelationship, a well, an unborn infant, aroma, cake, cheer, Christians, Christmas, Christmas tree, comes down from heaven, constant communication, dr robert h schuller, drink of this water, embryonic ideas, encourged, enthused, eternal life, everlasting life, evil, face the sunlight, feast, follow Jesus, fountain, fountain of life., friend jesus, gives life, god, good things, goodwill, heart, heavenly Father, holy spirit, hopeful, Hour of Power Devotional, hunger, hurry, in thy light, insights, light, living water, LOVE, manna, Moses, nourishment, out of his belly, peace, prayer, prayerful attitude, pulls everything together successfully, renew your strength, rivers of living water, share, solve my problems, spiritual life, the beloved of God, the bread of God, the fountain of life, the power, the Samaritan woman, the source of all life, the umbilical cord, thirst, Tuesday Mantra, undiscovered possibilities, ungodly world, wait on the Lord, water, we shall see light, worry
Psalm 36:9. For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.
And then it was six… and counting! Yeh friends, six more days to the big one of Christmas! And I do hope that the celebrations are being ramped up, and all the preparations are falling nicely into place at your homes.
It’s not looking too bad at my place. The outside lights are the best in the neighbourhood. (smile) So I’m somewhat biased, but they do look good. And I came home last night to find the Christmas tree being decorated. That looks good too…as always…!
And brother, was I thrilled when I opened the door and was greeted, or rather assaulted, by a wonderful smell of baking Christmas cake in the air. And for a while the aroma just wafted through the house, adding to the air of Christmas cheer and peace and goodwill that existed.
But all of that though friends should be secondary to the overwhelming presence of the Spirit of Jesus in our homes. For He, His miraculous birth, is the entire reason for all this celebration! And we need to keep that uppermost in our minds.
And talking about birth, today I want to share a passage from Gramps Schuller’s (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) Hour of Power Devotional titled ‘Nourishment from Above.’ And he says: ‘Wait on the Lord, and He will renew your strength! Prayer is the umbilical cord that allows you – with your embryonic ideas – to draw nourishment from a source that you, like an unborn infant, can neither see nor fully know or comprehend – God our heavenly Father!
Prayer is the power that pulls everything together successfully. With this prayerful attitude tackle your problem today. Turn it over to God. Take out a sheet of paper. Pick up a pencil. And get ready for the ideas that he will drop into your mind.’
(And as you do that, you can pray something like this:) ‘Father, I have a strong sensation that you brought me to this moment of prayer because you have a plan to share with me insights to solve my problems. So I will go out and face the sunlight of a new day and a new week crammed with undiscovered possibilities. I am encouraged! I am enthused! I am more hopeful than I have been in a long time! Amen.’
Oh friends, do we Christians ever need to be more enthused, encouraged and hopeful than ever before because of the evil and ungodly world in which we’re living. And that uplifting will ONLY come when we establish a tight relationship, keep in constant communication with our heavenly Father through prayer, for He is indeed the source of all life and all good things.
That brings us to our Bit: ‘For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.’ Oh my people, our God is indeed the fountain of life: it’s through Him that we were granted physical life, and it’s ONLY through Him is eternal spiritual life available! Jesus made this fact clear so often that I don’t see how we can ever forget or neglect it.
Listen to Him talking to the Samaritan woman at the well. ‘Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again. But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well (fountain) of water springing up into everlasting life.’ (John 4:13-14) What an inspiring and encouraging scripture friends!
Now hear Jesus after His listeners told Him about the Lord giving their forefathers bread (manna) from heaven in the wilderness. ‘Verily, verily I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.’ (John 6:32-35)
Glory to God my brethren! For how can we ever beat that promise eh? Jesus IS the bread that gives life; all kinds, although there He is referring in particular to spiritual and eternal life.
And if you still have doubts and misgivings about the true source of life, then listen to Jesus one more time. ‘In the last day, that great day of the feast (feast of tabernacles), Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly (heart) shall flow rivers of living water.’ (John 7:37-38)
Oh precious people, Jesus is indeed the fountain of life, the bread of life, the giver of living water (the indwelling Holy Spirit), the giver of physical life, spiritual life, eternal life – whatever kind of good life you’re looking for, the source, the head spring, is to be found in Jesus! Please remember that and act accordingly.
Now let’s go home declaring loudly and proudly to this evil and ungodly world, who and whose we are in our Tuesday Mantra. ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
And now, in this Christmas season, the time of Christ’s birth, let’s go out and truly share that wonderful LOVE of our awesome friend Jesus! It’s ever so appropriate. Much LOVE!
…as for me and mine…we will follow Jesus…the fountain of ALL life…
14 Dec 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a burning fire, a compassionate heart, a discerner of thoughts, a two-part being, abundance, activities of the mind, believers in Christ, body, bone structure, burns, challenges, Christian mandate, comforts, contradictory., courage, creativity, crooked places, curse, darkness, disturbs, divine protection, easy row to hoe, enlightens, eternal life, ever-LOVING God, faithful, favour, find, flying colours, frighten, glory to God, grace, handle any situation, harsh winter, health, in the name of Jesus, intentions, invigorates, Jeremiah, Jesus dwelling in us, joints and marrow, light, living, living God, living word, LOVE, mercy, merits of the Good Book, negative word, obey its commands, of the heart, One Year Book of Bible promises, persevere, philosophy, piercing, power, powerful, powerful weapon, preserved blameless, pungency, quick, reassures, Ruth Harms Calkin, salvation, seek, self-control, self-discipline, sharper than any twoedged sword, soul and spirit, soul searching, spirit, stay strong, success, talent, the Book of All Books, the dividing asunder, the true way to, the Word of god, Thursday Blessings, topsy-turvy, tough things, white stuff, wisdom
Hebrews 4:12. For the word of God is quick (living), and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of (is able to judge) the thoughts and intents (intentions) of the heart.
And yes friends, a li’l more of that white stuff did fall overnight, but not so much that we can’t take it in our stride. (smile) And our world has become so topsy-turvy and contradictory these days, that even the weather people can’t agree on what kind of winter we’re going to have. Hn! One side claims it’s going to be rather harsh, while the other declares it’s going to be fairly mild. So whom do you believe eh?
But yuh know what, with Jesus richly dwelling within us, we can handle ANY kind of winter or situation that comes against us! Glory to God! Please remember that my people and stay strong when confronted by tough things and times, knowing that our wonderful, all knowing and ever-LOVING God will see us through them with His ever-flowing grace and mercy.
And I know that yesterday we had a poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings By Ruth Harms Calkin, but when I saw this one, I couldn’t resist sharing it, because in general it’s so appropriate. However, in particular, it is a soul searching, questioning piece that will hopefully open up our hearts and souls to the wonderful merits of the Good Book. It’s titled “Book of All Books.”
Please pray with me. ‘Lord, I am overwhelmed As I read Your living Word. What power, what pungency I find within its pages. It stirs me, burns with me It challenges me, invigorates me And often disturbs me. When I obey its commands The results are what You claim: Darkness becomes light Crooked places become straight
The more I seek, the more I find. Within its pages, God I see beyond mere philosophy I see beyond a neat package of ethics. I crash head-on with a living Person The One who makes all things new. No other book can claim as much.’
And that’s the gospel truth my brethren! No other Book that’s ever been written, or will ever be written will ever have the impact of the Bible, of the Living Word of the ONE, TRUE and ONLY Living God on humanity! And all of God’s people said a loud and proud ‘Amen!’
Yeh friends, the Word of God is extremely powerful! As the writer says, it stirs us up, challenges, invigorates, disturbs and also fires us up. How did Jeremiah put it? ‘But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones…’ (Jer.20:9)
Oh my faithful brethren, that’s exactly how the Word of our God should be in us; like a burning fire in our hearts, souls and bellies, ever present at the forefront of our lives, so that we can do justice to our claim of believers in Christ, and fulfill our Christian mandate.
And the Bible promise for that poem is also our Bit for today. ‘For the word of God is quick (living), and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of (is able to judge) the thoughts and intents (intentions) of the heart.’
Ah mih people, that just goes to show how powerful the Word of God is! It’s living, and more powerful and sharper than any man-made two-edged sword! Mama Yo! With the ability to divide and cut up the human body, right down to the joints and marrow, and discern our ungodly thoughts and evil intentions!
Brother! I wouldn’t want to come upon the Lord’s Word in the dark nuh! (smile) But yuh know what friends, when we do come upon the Word of the Lord, it doesn’t really frighten us, it works in the exact opposite way. It enlightens us, brings us out of our darkness, comforts, reassures us and shows us the true way to salvation and eternal life.
But enough of my speechifying, (smile) check out this info from the scholars on the ‘Immaterial Part of Man.’ ‘4:12. The writer here draws an interesting parallel between the joints and the marrow, which have different functions, yet both are part of a human’s bone structure. Thoughts and intents are also two distinct activities, yet both are activities of the mind. And while the soul and the spirit are distinct in function, both have an immaterial character.
When considering the nature of humanity, we must realize a person is a two-part being, that is, with body and soul. But in activity or function the body, soul, and spirit of a person each has a different function. Paul desired that his converts “whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess.5:23). (First Ref. Gen.2:7; Primary Ref. 1 Thess. 5:23; cf. Prov.4:23).’
Oh, I know from personal experience friends, that walking with Jesus is not an exactly easy row to hoe, but if we are faithful and truly believe and persevere, He will bring us through with flying colours. So please stand strong and steadfast! And please check out those references in the scholars info, they will provide a treasure trove of wisdom. (smile)
And what better way to end than by declaring all the wonderful blessings that our magnanimous God has showered down on us for being faithful followers. It’s ever so important that we speak our Thursday Blessings out loud, because a blessing is not a blessing until it’s been spoken; remember the power of God’s Word, which created the world and all therein.
All together now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment!
I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
And now that we’ve declared our Blessings, let’s go out and generously share them with others, as Jesus desires of us. Much LOVE!
…God’s Word…the most powerful weapon in the universe…don’t try to fight it…you’ll lose…
P.S. Yeh it’s long, but beautiful and worthwhile! (smile) Much LOVE!
10 Dec 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Advent, advice, ambassadors, begotten, behold him, Bethlehem, cast aspersions, cast off, chambering, choirs of angels, Christ the Lord, Christ's birth, Christians, Christmas, citizens of heaven, cloak of darkness, cradle, day is at hand, demean His reputation, disciples, drunkenness, envying, eternal life, faith, faithful, far spent, fellowship, flocks, future, glory to God, goodwill, hope, hypocrisy, improprieties, in flesh appearing, joy, joyful lips, king of angels, lewdness, licentiousness, light, light eternal, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, makes manifest, manifest works, mantle of light, O come all ye faithful, O come let us adore Him, peace, put on, raise the roof, reflected in us, revelry, sacrificial praise, salvation, sanctuary, secular society, shepherds, sin nature, sing in exultation, sinners awe, Son of the Father, strife, the armour of light, the new life in Christ, the night, the virgin's womb, the workers of iniquity, the works of darkness, triumphant, true God, unfruitful works of darkness, walk honestly, wantonness, word of the Father, worship, wrongdoings
Romans 13:12. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
And as the days of Advent, the preparatory period before Christ’s birth advances, and the Christmas season intensifies, LOVE and joy, peace and goodwill fill the air! Wow! And I naively wonder, why can’t it be like that all year round eh? But I guess that’s just asking too much of our sinful secular society. A few days, once a year is all they seem to be able to spare. But we’ll take it and just keep working to get more.
And as we gather in the sanctuary this Sunday, to worship and fellowship and give thanks, let’s burst out with a most worthy song, one of the all-time favourites of the Christmas season, ‘O come all ye faithful.’ In true Christmas spirit, let’s raise the roof of our sanctuary and that of heaven too with harmonious sacrificial praise from our joyful lips and hearts.
‘O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant, Come ye, O come ye, to Bethlehem. Come and behold Him, born the King of angels; ( Chorus: O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.) True God of true God, Light from Light Eternal, Lo, he shuns not the Virgin’s womb; Son of the Father, begotten, not created; (Chorus) Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation; Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above! Glory to God, all glory in the highest; (Chorus)
See how the shepherds, summoned to His cradle, Leaving their flocks, draw nigh to gaze; We too will thither bend our joyful footsteps; (Chorus) Child, for us sinners poor and in the manger, We would embrace Thee, with love and awe; Who would not love Thee, loving us so dearly? (Chorus) Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning; Jesus, to Thee be glory given; Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing. O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.’
Ah friends, what a beautiful and grateful way to praise our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ for all that’s He’s done, is still doing and will do for us in the future. Praise His Holy Name. He is the reason why we have hope for the future, faith in salvation and joy in the promise of eternal life! All the more reason to LOVE and adore Him! Not to despise and cast aspersions and try to remove Him from our society.
But I guess there will always be doubters and evildoers, so it’s up to us believers to raise His profile and make His LOVE Revolution a success. For we are His ears, arms, mouths, legs, and hands in the world, His ambassadors, His disciples, and as we go, so will His movement, His church. Some parts of it are thriving, who knows why, but most are finding it difficult to survive, and many are even closing.
That’s not a very good vibe my people, and means that we’re not doing as good a job as we should. Christ is not being reflected in us as fully as He should be. That’s why we need to take the wise advice in our Bit, from Bruh Paul to the church at Rome. ‘The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.’
Yeh friends, it’s almost dawn, Jesus will soon be coming back, and right now our efforts are sadly lacking, so we need to improve dramatically. As Bruh Paul continues to the Roman church: ‘Let us walk honestly (properly), as in the day; not in rioting (revelry) and drunkenness, not in chambering (licentiousness) and wantonness (lewdness), not in strife and envying.’ (Rom.13:13)
And it’s no secret friends that too many of us so-called Christians are deeply involved in too much of those worldly improprieties. We need to stop the hypocrisy; narrow the gulf between the Christian stuff we mouth, and the worldly trail we walk. As Bruh Paul warns: ‘But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.’ (Rom.13:14)
And the scholars offer this explanation re that verse. ‘13:14. Make not provision for the flesh: One should not seek opportunities to satisfy deep-seated desires of the sin nature, but should seek occasion to manifest works that are consistent with the new life in Christ.’
And that’s all Christ is asking of us yes friends: if you claim to believe in Him, then please live the way He desires you to live. He doesn’t expect us to be perfect, because we don’t have the capacity for that, but He does expect us to be excellent and diligent in doing His work, like He was excellent and diligent in doing the Father’s work here on earth. When we don’t walk our talk, we just cause others to bad-mouth our Saviour and further demean His reputation, thus playing into the hands of the workers of iniquity.
Therefore my faithful brethren, let’s do like Bruh Paul suggests to the Ephesians nuh. ‘And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove (expose) them). For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved (exposed) are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.’ (Eph.5:11-14)
Oh friends, if we sincerely want to help the cause of Jesus, then we have to stop indulging in those sins that we know are ‘unfruitful works of darkness,’ sins of the unsaved, and instead expose them, bring them into the light, show them for the wrongdoings that they are. It’s time friends, time for less talk and more action, time to throw off the cloak of darkness and put on the mantle of light that Jesus offers. That’s the ONLY way our world will ever improve. Much LOVE!
…Christians…oh Christians…where is your light that’s supposed to shine in the darkness…to light up the world…
09 Dec 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a life of lasting significance, adore, Anselm's quotes, be long hidden, bread, bread of life, came down from heaven, caring, celebrate Jesus, cherish life, Christmas time, controversy, dreams, earthly sojourn, eat of this bread, eternal life, everlasting life, evil cohorts, flesh, gHis only begotten Son, gift, glory to God, God so loved the world, he that believes on me, high priest, I say unto you, in the wilderness, know the truth, life is a gift, light of the Son, live for ever, live forever, Lord, loving, Lucifer, manna, moon, negative people, not big enough, outer darkness, peaceful, perish, praise and thanks, Redeemer, redemption, respond to, sacrifice, saviour, scare you, shines brilliantly, sun, take for granted, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the life of the world, the living bread, the truth will set you free, truth, tumultuous times, verily verily, wherever Jesus' name is called
John 6:47. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
Ah friends, unlike yesterday, my area is somewhat dark and cloudy today… But yuh know what? The awesome light of the Son is shining just as brilliantly as it always does! Up and down this old world, wherever His name is called, His light shines brightly at all times!
Glory to God! Give Him exceedingly much thanks and praise for LOVING us so much that He gave His most wonderful Son, Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, our Redeemer and High Priest!
And what better time is there to adore and celebrate Jesus than at Christmas, the time He came to earth in human form, as a beautiful baby boy, to begin the awesome process of redemption! Mama Mia!
What a great and wonderful God we serve and worship my people! How could we ever think of throwing Him aside eh, of worshipping anyone else, when there’s NO other Deity who’s truly alive, and as great and wonderful, as LOVING and caring of mankind as Him?
Give Him innumerable praise and thanks my brethren, exalt His Holy Name, for He is the ONE, TRUE and LIVING GOD; the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Creator and Controller of the universe and all therein!
And now that we’ve praised and raised up our wonderful God, this Saturday morning, let’s turn to some quotes from our friend Anselm, who sincerely aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And this week he’s picked some simple, basic but very powerful and truthful quotes.
Hear this first one: ‘The less you respond to negative people, the more peaceful your life will become.’ And that’s no lie! The less you have negative people in your life, the less controversy there’ll be. Listen to this: ‘Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.’
What an awesome truth my people! The sun, moon and the truth can only be hidden for so long until they burst forth in splendour and reality. It’s only a matter of time friends. As Jesus said, ‘And you shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’ (John 8:32)
And this one is interesting: ‘If your dreams don’t scare you, they are not big enough.’ True! What’s the point of having dreams if we know we can easily meet them. But we have to be careful not to make our dreams too big, that they indeed scare us from trying to implement them. There’s got to be some circumspection in those dreams.
And I’ve saved the best for last: ‘Life is a gift. Never take it for granted.’ How very true that is my brethren! Our lives can be put out at such short notice, even in the midst of our youth, that we ought never to take it lightly. We see it so often, especially in these tumultuous times, one moment we’re here, then the next, we’re not.
So we have to cherish this earthly life and use it wisely. But then too friends, we also have to be cognizant of the life after this earthly sojourn; eternal life, whether we’ll live forever, or be thrown into outer darkness with Lucifer and his evil cohorts. And therein lies the big question, how do we achieve or acquire eternal life?
And the question is answered simply, but truthfully in our Bit, in the words of Jesus. ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me hath everlasting life.’
It’s oh so simple people! So simple that some of us think it’s too simple to be true. But believe me, it is true! If you’ll read Jesus words in the Good Book, they are usually very simple and straightforward, except perhaps His parables. And He’s made this most important aspect of life as easy as possible so that ALL can obtain it, regardless of level of understanding or education.
And we all know the great reason behind it all, found in the corollary to our Bit. ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ (John 3:16) Yes friends, that’s the long version. (smile)
Now let’s go back to after our Bit, where Jesus gives a more detailed explanation. ‘I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.’ (John 6:48-51)
Obviously His listeners back then didn’t understand Him. ‘The Jews therefore strove (quarreled) among themselves, saying how can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ (John 6:52)
But all Jesus was really saying was that instead of them having to make continual animal sacrifices for their sins, He would pay for their sins and all the sins forevermore with the sacrifice of His flesh. And that He certainly did my people!
So please, let’s take life a little more seriously than we seem to do these days nuh, especially our eternal life, for what we do on that front now, will mean EVERYTHING in the long run. Much LOVE!
…who gave His life…so that we could have life…life eternal and everlasting…JESUS…Glory to God…
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