10 Aug 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abundant life, actions speak louder than words, aura of love, be exceeding glad, blessedness, blessings, cast not away your confidence, confidence, contagious passion, disposses the child of God, endurance, enthusiasm, enthusiasm for Jesus, eternal destiny, eternal life, everything is right with our world, evil, examples speak more forcibly than precepts, exult, faith, friends, glorious kingdom, glory hallelujah, glory to God, great is your reward in heaven, great recompense of reward, heaven, heaven's on our side, Hebrews, hold fast the profession of our faith, holy spirit, hope, humble servants, invincible, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus Love Revolution, Jesus sacrificed His life for us, joyful spirit, lies, lord god almighty, LOVE, magnificent and magnanimous God, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, passion, patience, peace, persecution, perseverance, pilgrim's journey, rejoice, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, rise and shine, stay confident in the faith, steadfast faith, tears of joy, truth, ungodly world, wisdom
Hebrews 10:35. Cast not therefore away your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward.
Oh Friends, oh Friends, it’s Monday! Yes, Monday, the first day of this new workweek! Glory Hallelujah! So let’s rise and shine and greet it with a grateful and joyful spirit nuh! It’s our Christian heritage you know. Remember Jesus sacrificed His sinless life in part so that we could have a vibrant and abundant one ourselves. And there’s no knowing what wonderful things and situations our magnificent and magnanimous God has in store for us today.
Wow! Let’s get excited nuh my people! Oh I know that Job wisely said that we can’t have good without bad, (Job 2:10) but today, and everyday hence, we must be positive and believe that the good, whatever it may be, will certainly outweigh the bad. Glory to God!
And with all that passion and enthusiasm for Jesus bubbling up in us, let’s give the earth…and the heavens too, a rousing and most awesome rendition of our Monday Morning Battle Hymn.
All together 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 mih breddren, mih breddren, that was beautiful; magnifico, tres magnifique! – couldn’t get in the accents (smile). We were so into it, so sincere and true that tears of joy were flowing down Jesus, our choir director’s cheeks, as our passion was contagious, and He in turn wielded a tantalizing baton to direct us.
Oh Friends, the angels… in fact all of heaven was eventually singing along with us, including the Father. And they all stood up afterwards and clapped for an encore! What a wonderful way to begin our day my brethren! Heaven’s on our side, and thus everything is right with our world!
Now if we could only package that enthusiasm and emotion for Jesus and distribute it all over the earth, then there would certainly be great improvement all around. Jesus’ LOVE Revolution then would be in full swing. But unfortunately, the reality is that we cannot simply package it and send it off. Somewhere along the line we also have to live it, and let others see the passion in our souls.
For remember that actions usually speak louder than words, and people are most likely to do as we do, rather than as we say. If I remember correctly, ‘examples speak more forcibly than precepts (words),’ is how the author of the novel Joseph Andrews puts it. That brings us to the intriguing and encouraging words of our Bit. ‘Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward.’
Yes Friends, in this earthly life, this pilgrim’s journey, one of the most important things we have to do is to stay confident in the faith, the belief and promises of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. It’s not always easy, especially with the enemy and his evil minions constantly breathing down our necks and whispering foolish lies and deceits in our ears.
But as the author of Hebrews continues after our Bit: ‘For ye have need of patience (perseverance, endurance), that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.’ (Heb. 10:36) Yes my people, our faithful God will not fail to reward us for the sincere work we’ve done in His name.
The author of Hebrews also addressed that problem earlier on in the chapter. ‘Let us hold fast the profession (confession) of our faith (hope) without wavering: (for he is faithful that promised :)’ (Heb.10:23) Those are certainly words to live by my fellow believers. It’s even better than money in the bank! (smile)
Jesus even spelled it out for us in the Sermon on the Mount. ‘Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.’ (Matt.5:11-12)
And the scholars have a great explanation of that verse. ‘5:12. Rejoice is the command that grows out of the blessedness of the believer. The phrase, ‘Rejoice, and be exceeding glad means even more, exult! Great is your reward in heaven focuses attention on the eternal destiny of all things. If God is as real as He claims, if the Bible is true, if heaven is to be gained, then no temporary earthly trouble or persecution can dispossess the child of God of joy in the prospect of the eternal glory that lies ahead.’
Wow! What powerful words! And we all know that there are no ifs and buts, doubts and questions about Jesus, heaven, salvation and eternal life. They are for real. So people, let’s do the wise thing nuh and Rejoice… be exceedingly glad, exult, for that is the wisdom of heaven! Much LOVE!
…true believers in Jesus…should be the most exultant lot on God’s planet earth…because of the reality and blessedness…of salvation and eternal life…
04 Aug 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fool's wisdom, a shout of praise, a sovereign God, almighty god, an empty religious profession, arrogant, beautiful summer's day, benefit, blessings, but fear thou God, Caribana Monday, celebration, communication with our heavenly Father, count the apples in a seed, count the seeds in an apple, Cousin Sol, created the heavens and the earth, every secret thing, evil, family thing, fear God, fear the Lord thy God, fertile idea, festivities, foresight, futility abounds, give God a shout of praise, glorify God, glory to God, God makes a way for us, God provides for our every need, God shall bring every work into judgement, good, Gramps Schuller, humble obedience, in the multitude of dreams and many words, judgement, keep his commandments, keep the commandments of the Lord, LOVE, Love the Lord thy God, loving kindness, meaningfulness, mercies, Micah, Moses, our lifeline to God, pilgrim's journey, proud, reconciled, rocket science, salvation, sincere prayer, stubborn, the BIBLE, the children of Israel, the conclusion of the whole matter, the Good Book, the Guidebook of Life, the party's over, the Preacher, the ups and downs of life, the whys and wherefores of life, time to call it a day, to do justly, to love mercy, treasure in heaven, truth, unconditional LOVE, unlimited possibilities, vows, walk humbly with God, walk the straight and narrow path, welfare, what doth the Lord require of thee, when there seems to be no way, wisdom, wise words, worship
Ecclesiastes 5:7. For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities (futility abounds): but fear thou God.
Ah Friends, it was Caribana Monday, so the ole fella had to celebrate, which meant a late night – early morning scenario! Well it wasn’t any real celebration, just doing my family thing a little later than usual.
Anyway, Caribana Monday did turn out to be a beautiful summer’s day after all! Glory to God! That means most of the festivities planned for the day were able to go ahead and the day wasn’t spoiled for the many out of town visitors and our residents who look forward so much to the weekend, and the Monday holiday in particular.
However, as the song says, ‘The party’s over my friends, time to call it a day,’ time to get up and go out and labour on this fine Tuesday morning that has been specially prepared for us with many new blessings, and mercies. Give God a shout of praise and thanks for His wonderful goodness to us undeserving children of men!
And all God’s children loudly declared: ‘All praise and glory to our great and wonderful God who makes a way for us when there seems to be no way, and who provides for our every need, when we come before Him in humble obedience! Amen.’
Now here’s a li’l something from Gramps Schuller (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) from his Hour of Power Devotional. He calls it ‘POSSIBILITIES UNLIMITED.’
And it goes like this: ‘I can count the seeds in an apple. But, Lord – you alone can count the apples in one seed! Some things are impossible, Lord! It’s impossible for me to see immeasurable, unlimited possibilities in one fertile idea. Praise the Lord. Amen.’
And that’s solid truth my people. We can see the small, finite stuff, but only Almighty God who created the heavens and earth, in His great wisdom and foresight, can see the unlimited possibilities in any given idea. Glory to God!
Consequently, we need to come before Him in sincere prayer and humble obedience for Him to point out the numerous possibilities in each fertile idea with which He has blessed us.
Oh, we can possibly envision a few in our own strength, but to get the real gist and gumption, (smile) of what He desires of us, we have to have serious communication with our heavenly Father.
In all of that though Friends, we still need to consider the wise words of our Bit. ‘For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities (futility abounds): but fear thou God.’ Everlasting truth that my people!
And the scholars explain this section about hasty vows thus. ‘5:1-7. The emphasis on the passage is on the folly of an empty religious profession before a sovereign God: God is in heaven, and thou upon earth. God expects sincerity and meaningfulness in worship. He is not impressed with foolish vows…’
And believe me Friends, we do make a lot of foolish vows to God, especially when we are caught up in the heat of a moment’s anguish and concern. But long, long ago, Moses exhorted the children of Israel with the Lord’s desires.
‘And now Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to LOVE him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul. To keep the commandments of the Lord, and his statutes, which I command thee this day, for thy good (benefit or welfare)?’ (Deut.10:12-13)
Yes my brethren, we need to ALWAYS remember that whatever our God commands, in the long run is for OUR benefit and welfare, not for His. I think we often lose sight of that most important fact, and thus murmur and complain unnecessarily when He asks us to do certain things.
Please remember that the Good Book is OUR lifeline to God, our guidebook, so that we can walk the straight and narrow path and eventually come to the throne of the Most High, reconciled and headed for salvation throughout eternity.
In His great and unconditional LOVE for us, He designed it so that we could find answers to whatever questions we might have down here on this frail and fallible earth. And many of us have problems we can’t solve because we don’t, we simply refuse to read that awesome Guidebook of Life!
But how can we know what God desires of us eh friends, if we don’t read His Word eh? We simply can’t. That’s why so much emphasis is placed on personal reading of the Bible. But as usual, too many of us are too proud, stubborn and arrogant to read it, preferring to decipher the whys and wherefores of life in our own strength.
However my people, that is undoubtedly a fool’s wisdom. What better way could there be to understand the ups and downs of life than through the words of the One who created life in the first place eh? None whatsoever!
And these words of Micah from times bygone, aptly paraphrase what the Lord expects of us. ‘He hath showed thee, O Man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to LOVE mercy (LOVING-kindness), and to walk humbly with thy God?’ (Mic.6:8)
Yes Friends, it’s that simple; not rocket science or any other great mind exercise; do good and righteous deeds and walk in humble obedience before Him.
What’s so difficult to understand about that eh? It might not be always easy to put into action, but we do need to understand what is required of us before we can consider doing it. And I believe that’s where many of us fall down; we simply don’t understand, or refuse to understand God’s requirements for this pilgrim’s journey called earthly life.
And we’ll give the last word to Cousin Sol in his capacity as the Preacher. ‘Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.’ (Eccl.12:13-14)
That says it all Friends! So please, let’s be wise nuh, and go out and do just that, so that we may glorify our Great God and lay up storehouses of treasures in heaven for us to enjoy at a later date. That is true and simple wisdom. Much LOVE!
……be not hasty…consider thy words and thy works…before a just, holy and righteous God…
P.S. Would you believe that just when I was ready to send out the already late Bit, my trusty sidekick, my desktop computer froze on me, and I had to reboot it? Ah Lord eh! The trials and tribulations we have to endure in this life eh! (smile) Much LOVE!
01 Aug 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a bird's eye view, a bright and shining light, a city that is set on a hill cannot be hid, a darkened world, absolution, Afro Pan, Beelzebub, blessed light of Jesus, bravery, camouflage of darkness, Caribana festivity, cleanse and heal, condemnation, deeds exposed, disappointment, distressful times, evil, flavour of my salt, for a season, forgiveness, glory to God, God is a good god, God's favour, godly work, goodwill, gospel truth, he that doeth truth comes to the light, hidden deeds, Jesus, John the Baptist, laid bare, LOVE, Lucy, men loved darkness rather than light, men's deeds are evil, Pan Alive Steelband Competition, Pan Fantasy, peace, refreshing, repentance, scintillating riddim, the Lord in His goodness, the moral of the story, the redemptive blood of Jesus, they are wrought in God, to rejoice in his light, true faith, trusty cane, Uncle John, untold mercy, wholesome, wisdom of the ages, Ye are the light of the world
Matthew 5:14. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.
Oh Friends, our God is a good God! Please don’t ever doubt that. Once you deal with Him decently, He will return the favour.
As you know, yesterday I suddenly ended up with this painful knee, which made walking somewhat difficult, to put it mildly. But then I wanted to go to the Pan Alive Steelband competition last night, which entailed some walking and climbing steps.
All day I agonized over the situation, because the Pan competition is the only Caribana festivity that I go to these days. However the Lord in His mysterious workings made the decision for me.
Around four thirty in the afternoon I got a phone call from my Auntie Anne and Uncle John saying that they were in town and would be at the Pan Alive. Well obviously I had to get up and get a move on. I couldn’t let them come to town and not see them.
So the Duchess bandaged up my knee and off I went. And believe me, the Lord in His goodness didn’t allow the knee to bother me too much. With the help of my trusty cane, which I hadn’t used in ages, we made the walk to the stadium and climbed the steps almost to the top to get a birds eye view.
And was the party ever good my brethren. The pan was sweet and the people around me; about 8 women and three men were a riot. We carried on all evening, through the cloudy periods, as well as when the sun shone brightly.
The interesting part is that I sat down to listen to the bands, but got up during the breaks, and that’s when the knee would ache some. But surprisingly, I danced it off without a problem. (smile) Like standing up and moving made it feel better. Sitting down just caused it stiffen up.
Now if you know anything about Steelband competitions, you’ll know that there are always arguments, some very heated ones too. But our group wasn’t bad because they were all Panatics fans. Anyway the evening progressed quite nicely, until around 10.45 when the rain began to fall seriously.
It had drizzled a couple times before, but nothing to worry about. This shower though emptied the stands, except for a few hardy folks like myself. Well I had come prepared with my old jeans hat and my jacket, and I knew that if I ever came down those stairs I wasn’t going back up, I would probably have just left and come home.
But that wouldn’t have been wise because the band that was about to play, the second to last band was the reigning three time champions Pan Fantasy, and they were going to play my favourite kaiso for this year, Lucy by Destra.
The good thing is that while the rain fell, the riddim section of Pan Fantasy began pounding out a scintillating riddim and we all just stood up in the rain rocking to it. I even put down my trusty cane and rocked on my own. Wow! Glory to God!
The rain must have lasted for about half an hour, but the proceedings didn’t begin again until around 11.30. And believe me Friends, the wait and the rain were worth it, for Pan Fantasy put on a brilliant performance, they really mash it up, and the entire audience was in agreement that they should now be crowned champions for the fourth straight year.
Don’t know if that happened though, because I left during the playing of the last band, Afro Pan, which wasn’t as strong and powerful as they usually are. I didn’t get home until after one in the morning.
The only disappointment of the evening was that I didn’t see my Aunty Anne and Uncle John. I guess they didn’t come after all, because they would have surely seen me partying up at the back of the stadium. Got to find out what happened to them.
Anyway friends, the moral of the story, is that though the Lord places obstacles in our way, He WILL still enable us to enjoy ourselves once our hearts are right; such is His great favour and untold mercy to those who do try to do His will.
Now let’s see if we have time and space for our Bit after all my raving. (smile) ‘Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.’
And believe me Friends, the ole fella was indeed a bright and shining light in this darkened world yesterday evening, and the flavour of my salt was certainly strong and useful! (smile) I just spread peace, LOVE and goodwill all around. Glory to God!
Oh, and to tell how good the Lord was to me, as I was walking to the ticket window, a guy came up to me sold me a ticket for 20 instead of the official 30 dollars. So how can I complain eh?
That brings us to this statement of Jesus re John the Baptist. ‘He was a burning and a shining light (lamp); and ye were willing for a season (a time) to rejoice in his light.’ (John 5:35) Now why were they only willing for a season, for a short time to bask in the light of John the Baptist eh?
Jesus spells it out earlier. ‘And this is the condemnation, that light (The Light) is come into the world, and men LOVED darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.’ (John 3:19)
And that’s still gospel truth to this day Friends! Possibly even truer in today’s rather evil and ungodly world. We LOVE the darkness because of all the evil stuff that’s running through us, and if we ever came to the light, our true selves and deeds would be laid bare for all to see and we’d no longer have the camouflage of darkness to hide who and what we truly are.
And Jesus continues: ‘For every one that doeth (practices) evil, hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved (exposed). But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.’ (Matt.3:20-21)
Oh my people, these sad and distressful times call for true faith and bravery on our part. None of us is perfect, we all have hidden deeds of which we are ashamed, but we are guaranteed absolution and forgiveness through the redemptive blood of Jesus.
So please let’s be wise and brave nuh, and bring all our evil deeds to Him in repentance, so that He can cleanse and heal us and bring us safely and LOVINGLY through to the light, His blessed light, where we can then flourish in His goodness, having His salt and light about us to do godly work instead of evil. That’s the wisdom of the ages! Much LOVE!
…living in the truth and light of Jesus…is much wiser…more wholesome and refreshing…than living in the evil darkness of Beelzebub…
20 Jul 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a follower of Christ, adrenalin pumping, aura of love, back-breaking labour, blood relatives, Bruh Paul, church families, confidence, Creator of the universe, defraud, divide and conquer, do wrong, enthusiasm, evil, failure, faith, fellowship, for all that jeus has done, for brethren to dwell together in unity, friends, give your life to Jesus, glorious kingdom, go to the law, good stewards of God's grace, gratefulness, grumbling, gusto, have fervent charity, heartless slave master, holy spirit, hospitality, how good and how pleasant it is, humble servants, infighting, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, joy, lies, live in harmony, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, love shall cover a multitude of sins, Monday Morning, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, morbid fear, no way Jose, Oh Lord God Almighty, Peter, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, shame, slave, Sparrow, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, strength, taunts, trust, truth, ungodly world, unity, wash our dirty laundry, wickedness, wiles
Psalm 133:1. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
Well Friends, once again it’s our favourite day, Monday…!
‘Hn! Yuh must be joking yes man!’ is the quick response I receive from one disgruntled member. ‘How the devil could Monday ever be one of my favourite days eh, especially when I have to go back out and do more back breaking labour for that greedy and heartless slave master? Steups! No way Jose!’
‘Awright, awright mih breddren, cool yuhself nuh,’ I try to pacify. ‘It’s not all that bad yuh know’ But to no avail.
‘Doh tell me to cool mihself man! You don’t know how I feel when Monday morning rolls around nuh. I feel like Sparrow sang in the song ‘Slave’ many years ago every time he thought about escaping. “But when ah think about the whip…and them dogs…oh Lord…mih body just start to tremble and shake.” Now that is how I feel on a Monday morning, knowing what I have to go out there and face. What yuh have to say to that eh?’
‘I have plenty to say about that mih friend!’ is my reply. ‘First you have to give your life to Jesus, and He will enable you to get over that morbid fear you have of going to work on a Monday.
And secondly, right now you can join us in singing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn which gets the adrenalin going, pumps you up, so that you go out in confidence and strength , knowing that you are LOVED and protected by the might and power of Jesus and His resurrection. Now let’s sing with great gusto and gratefulness for all that Jesus has done, is doing, and has promised to do for us.
As one loud, harmonious and confident choir 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!’
Awright mih people, awright! That was wonderful! We even had the Father tapping His feet and keeping time with his hands on the sides of the throne. Mama Mia! And was Jesus ever proud of us. Glory Be! Now let’s go out and face the world with that same confidence and chutzpah and faith in Jesus, and really show the heathen what it means to be a follower of Christ.
And there’s no better way to do that than by living up to the gospel truth of our Bit. ‘Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!’
Yes Friends, that’s how it ought to be! But sadly it just isn’t as good as it ought to be. We all know about the infighting amongst blood relatives and the church families which breaks the Father’s heart, but even more so Jesus’ since He put His very life on the line, sacrificed it so that we could have unity amongst believers and ordinary families.
Yuh know Friends, once there is disunity within the most important unit in society, the family, and also within church, the LOVE Revolution of Jesus will not prosper, will not win the battle over evil and wickedness. Now how can we afford to let that happen eh? We simply can’t.
Now here is how Bruh Paul put it to the Corinthians, re Christians and the civil law in his first missive. ‘I speak to your shame. Is it so that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren? But brother goeth to the law with brother, and that before the unbelievers.
Now therefore there is utterly a fault (an utter failure) among you, because ye go to the law with one another. Why do ye not rather take (accept) wrong? Why do ye not suffer yourselves to be defrauded? Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that (to) your brethren.’ (1 Cor.6:5-8)
Ah Friends, there is still a lot of truth today in those words written so long ago. Shamefully, we still defraud our brethren and treat them in an unchristian like manner, and we end up in the courts and wash our dirty laundry before the unbelievers. Obviously this does not set a good example for the people we are trying to bring to Christ.
And we’ll end with these wise words of Peter, re being good stewards of God’s grace. ‘And above all things have fervent charity (LOVE) among yourselves: for charity (LOVE) shall cover a multitude of sins. Use hospitality one to another without grudging (grumbling) As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.’ (1 Pet.4:8-10)
Oh Friends, all I can add to that is to encourage us to seriously and diligently take Peter’s wise advice and put it into effect in our own lives in these modern times, where it’s so badly needed. Much LOVE!
…the only way to beat the evildoers mantra of divide and conquer…is to live in harmony and unity with each other…
21 Jun 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a father's wisdom, before the evil days come, Cousin Sol, darkness, deteriorate, discipline, economic providers, egotistical, emotionally tiring, even when he is old, evil, Father's Day, fatherly responsibilities, first day of summer, forsake not my law, glory hallelujah, God-given authority, godless world, good doctrine, he will not depart from it, honour thy father and mother, I have no pleasure in them, in the days of thy youth, in the way he should go, irresponsible, live up to expectations, LOVE, nor the years draw nigh, obey your parents, prideful, receive my sayings, remember now thy Creator, right paths, spiritual guides, spiritually tiring, spring, Sunday, sunshine, take fast hold of instruction, teaching our children, the annals of mankind, the bread of wickedness, the family, the instruction of a father, the path of the just, the perfect day, the things of God, the way of wisdom, the wine of violence, the years of thy life shall be many, thou shalt not stumble, train up a child, understanding, ungodly, upside the head, warm weather, when thou shalt say, winter, worth their weight in gold
Ecclesiastes 12:1. Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not (before the evil days come), nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say I have no pleasure in them.
HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!
Oh Friends, welcome to a most auspicious day in the annals of mankind! (smile)
And why do I say that? First of all, we’re alive and doing relatively well. Then it’s also Sunday; the day we gather together to sing and praise and worship and glorify our wonderful God and Creator. Thirdly, it’s the first day of summer in the northern climes… And triumphant shouts of ‘Glory Hallelujah!’ reach up to heaven for that blessing.
Yes my people, I know that the winter and spring seasons have been long, spiritually and emotionally tiring and just flat out disgusting and depressing. Now we expect to have at least have a couple months of constant sunshine and warm weather. Although we might soon start complaining that it’s too hot. (smile) But that’s just the nature of the beast.
And last but certainly not least, today is Father’s Day. Wow! If all of that doesn’t make this an auspicious occasion, well then I don’t know what does.
And I’d like to wish ALL the Fathers around the world a Happy Father’s Day! It doesn’t matter whether you’re a good, bad or indifferent Father, today is your day, so please enjoy it.
Now I don’t intend to preach a sermon about being a good father, (smile) but just highlight scriptures that point the way. Before we get to that though, just let me say that good fathers are definitely worth their weight in gold; as economic providers, as well as emotional and spiritual guides.
The father is supposed to be the head of the household, the one with the God-given authority to lead and guide the family with a fine balance of LOVE and discipline as we saw in the scholars explanation yesterday.
Sadly, that is not an easy task, and not all men are capable of doing it, or are even willing to try. And that’s when and where the main unit of society, the family, begins to deteriorate. And once that bed-rock foundation goes, then the society itself will eventually crumble. Unfortunately we’re seeing a lot of that, in fact way too much of that deterioration nowadays.
Men aren’t standing up to their responsibilities as they should, thus leaving the mothers with too much to do. And though mothers are great, can withstand plenty pressure, they are only human and can only do so much with so little. So all I’m asking us men to do is to please accept our responsibilities as fathers, to live up to the expectations that the name implies.
Children weren’t brought into the world by mothers alone, and if, as many of us are, such big, prideful, egotistical men when we impregnate the ladies, then we ought to be just as big and proud and conscientious to help raise the children that we bring into this evil and godless world. End of sermon. (smile)
Now let’s turn to our Bit. ‘Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not (before the evil days come), nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say I have no pleasure in them.’ And we couldn’t find a more appropriate one for this Father’s Day message, because it’s all about teaching our children about the things of God.
Remember yesterday we highlighted this scripture from Proverbs. ‘Train up a child in the way he should go: and (even) when he is old, he will not depart from it.’ (Prov.22:6) Well that’s what being a father is all about.
And earlier on in Proverbs, re a Father’s wisdom, Cousin Sol declares: ‘Hear ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding. For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law…. Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many. I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths.
When thou goest thy steps shall not be straitened (hindered), and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble. Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life. Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it (do not travel on it) turn from it and pass away.
For they sleep not, except (unless) they have done mischief (evil); and their sleep is taken away (they are robbed of sleep), unless they cause some to fall. For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence. But the path of the just is as the shining (bright) light, that shineth more and more (ever brighter) unto the perfect day. The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.’ (Prov.4:1-2, 10-19)
Ah mih people, those are some of the things a father ought to be teaching his children; showing them the two ways of living this life, the wise and godly one, and the wicked, ungodly fleshly manner.
Now let’s end with these famous words of advice from Bruh Paul to the Ephesians. ‘Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and thy mother; which is the first commandment with promise; That it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest live long on the earth. And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture (training) and admonition of the Lord.’ (Eph.6:1-4)
Yes Friends, it’s a two way street, but it all begins first with the Father, who must teach the children the right and godly way, which includes spiritual education as well as responsibilities and duties. Sad to say, we have not done a good enough job of that with this current generation, that’s why they are so ungodly and irresponsible.
Fathers, and mothers where necessary, please let’s try and improve that nuh, for without those strong foundational building blocks our children will be lost forever. Much LOVE!
…the home is the training ground of the young…and what they learn there…they will practice outside…
P.S. Friends, will somebody please slap me upside the head for being too lazy to type the headings anew every day, and then making matters worse by forgetting to change the date on some of them. I did it again yesterday.
Chuh! I know many of you don’t notice it, but when I do, it just drives me crazy, because it means I am not doing as excellent a job as I should on the Lord’s business. Anyhow, I know the Lord and you my readers will forgive me, let’s just hope that I can forgive myself. (smile) Much LOVE!
15 Jun 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abuse the weekend, almighty god, aura of love, blessings, Colossians, comfort your hearts, complaining, confidence, conquerors, corrupt communication, Creator of the universe, enthusiasm, eternal life, evangelism, everlasting consolation, evil, faith, fellowship, for by grace you have been saved, friends, glorious kingdom, glory hallelujah, glory in my infirmities, good hope, gospel truth, grace, His only begotten Son, holy spirit, hope, humble servants, invincible, it is the gift of God, Jesus Christ, lies, living God, lord god almighty, lord jesus christ, LOVE, magnificent and magnanimous God, minister grace, Monday Morniing Battle Hymn, Monday Morning, my grace is sufficent for thee, my strength is made perfect in weakness, negative, not of yourselves, Oh Lord God Almighty, opportunity, pep in our step, pity parties, redeeming the time, rejuvenation of spirit, rise to the occasion, sacrifice, saved through faith, seasoned with salt, self-serving, sins, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, that which is good, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the power of christ, the thorn in his flesh, to the use of edifying, ungodly world, unmerited favour, walk in wisdom, whining, wisdom, wise behaviour, witnessing
Ephesians 2:8. For by grace are ye (you have been) saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Oh Friends, unfortunately the two big days off for the weekend are now over… And I hear a loud ‘Steups!’ in response. (smile)
That means today is Monday…yes Monday, and we need to get ourselves up and out to labour for another week, so that we can earn some money, often a pittance, to try and lead a half-decent life.
We all know it’s not the ideal scenario, but it’s what we have, so let’s just get over ourselves, stop the pity parties, the whining and complaining and rise to the occasion as Jesus desires of us. And remember that if you abuse the weekend, you won’t be fit for anything come Monday morning. So enough with the sermon, (smile) instead let’s belt our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with a whole lot of vim and vigour.
All together 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 chuh people! That was a rather hoarse, half-hearted and off-key rendition! Jesus wasn’t thrilled at all. You could see Him shaking His head all through it, while His face bore an unhappy, puzzled ‘what else can I do eh?’ expression.
Anyway Friends, it’s too late to worry about that now. Hopefully though, just singing it boosted our adrenalin output and put a li’l pep in our step, enabling us to go out and do a good job in Jesus’ name.
We also need to remember quite clearly from whence all our blessings flow; from Almighty God. And one of the biggest blessings, if not the biggest, ever to befall mankind is enshrined in our Bit. ‘For by grace are ye (you have been) saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:’
Mama Mia! I can’t help but say it Friends – what a magnificent and magnanimous God we serve and worship! And there should be NO DOUBT whatsoever about that, just judging from the fact that He gave His only begotten Son as a sacrifice for our disgusting sins. Has any of the other supposed gods ever done anything like that? Obviously not, because they are all dead, inanimate, ephemeral objects. But the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the ONE AND ONLY TRUE LIVING GOD!
And all God’s people shouted a loud and lusty: ‘Glory Hallelujah!’ Yes Friends, our God is a true living and breathing Being, who sees and knows all that goes on in our world.
Now let’s turn to some provocative scriptures that deal with grace. And one of the most famous ones occurs when Bruh Paul asks the Lord three times to take away ‘the thorn in his flesh.’ But the Lord’s response is certainly interesting. ‘And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength (power) is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities (weaknesses), that the power of Christ may rest upon me.’ (2 Cor.12:9)
Yes my people, in our weaknesses God’s power is demonstrated, for when we are unable to bear up in our own strength, God’s grace pulls us through. Please remember that in times of weakness and frailty. He doesn’t always solve our problems, but He ALWAYS gives us the wherewithal, the grace to handle them in our weakness.
Now hear what Bruh Paul says later on to the Ephesians, re the new life in Christ. ‘Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.’ (Eph.4:29)
Ah mih people, are we following those wise words of advice? I certainly hope so, because it is imperative that our words lift up, benefit those who hear them. We can’t expect others to come to Jesus if our words are negative and self-serving.
Then to the Colossians, he says: ‘Walk in wisdom toward them that are without (outside), redeeming the time. Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.’ (Col.4:5-6)
And the scholars offer these explanations on those verses. ‘4:5. Paul turns from his responsibilities for evangelism (v.3-4) to the Colossians’ evangelistic duties (v.5-6). They are to walk in wisdom or “live wisely” in their relations toward them that are without, that is, unbelievers. Redeeming the time is to make the most of every opportunity. They are to seize every opportunity to display wise behaviour toward the unsaved and to use it as a chance for witnessing.’
And yuh know what Friends? Those same sentiments apply to us in these worrisome and difficult times.
‘4:6. An example of wise conduct (v.5) is daily speech that is gracious (with grace) in nature. Such speech is to be seasoned with salt, that is, characterized by the wisdom of verse 5. Gracious, wise conversation will enable the Colossians to know how to answer every man when speaking to him about the gospel.’
That also applies to us today my brethren!
And we’ll end with Bruh Paul’s words to the Thessalonians. ‘Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath LOVED us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts, and stablish (establish) you in every good word and work.’ (2 Thess.2:16-17)
Oh Friends, I wish those exact sentiments upon us all today, as we go out into the crazy world to live and work for Jesus. Much LOVE!
…grace…the totally unmerited favour of God…given to totally undeserving men…a true and wonderful testimony…of God’s great LOVE for us…
08 Jun 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: aberrant behaviour, aura of love, believers in Christ, confidence, Creator of the universe, do good, ever-faithful God, evil, fellowship, follow peace, glorious kingdom, glory hallelujah, good report, gospel truth, holy spirit, honest, humble servants, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, lay me down in peace, let not your heart be troubled, lies, LOVE, maturing, meditate, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, my peace I give unto you, noble, not as the world giveth, Oh Lord God Almighty, Peace i leave with you, Philippians, praiseworthy, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, reverence, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, the God of peace, trust in God, truth, ungodly world, wiles, wisdom
John 14:27. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
Well, well Friends, if it isn’t Monday again; the day we all like to hate! And while I’m expecting that announcement to bring forth some exasperated moaning and groaning and a cuss word or two, am I ever surprised by the shout of ‘Glory Hallelujah!’ that emanates from God’s people.
Wow! Are we growing up, maturing or what? I surely hope so, and this not some kind of aberrant behaviour that will fizzle out next week. (smile)
Ah Friends, I know that getting up to go to work any day is difficult, but it’s especially so on Mondays, after you’ve had a couple days off. But that’s the way our society has been framed, and there’s not much we can do about it, so we might as well get used to it, and rise up over it. And as true believers in Christ, that is exactly what is expected of us.
But since we are not all good at the Monday wake up call, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn which energizes us, gets our adrenalin going. So with one voice, sweet as a heavenly choir, 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!’
Ah mih people, that rendition wasn’t too bad, but it didn’t get a standing ‘O’ in heaven. (smile) However, I hope it got our motors running and that we’re now fully in tune with Almighty God, so we can get out and perform to the level of excellence that’s expected of us. Yes Friends, we’re now ready to go out into the calamitous world and like Jesus during His earthly sojourn, simply do good. That’s all He asks of us.
And to help us in that most worthwhile endeavour, He granted us strong encouragement and assurance in our Bit. ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’
Oh Friends, without that peace of Jesus we will not be able to successfully navigate this evil and sinful world. We’ll continuously be filled with fear, anxiety, dread and worry; none of which are good stabilizers. But when we embrace Jesus and all that He stands for, then we are supernaturally empowered, through His Holy Spirit to fight the good fight…and win!
Now let’s hear some scripture verses which support our contentions. Listen first to that mighty prophet Isaiah from his hymn of praise. ‘Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on (sustained by) thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength (the Rock of Ages).’ (Is.26:3-4) What beautiful, reassuring and absolutely true sentiments my brethren!
Now hear Bruh David, first from Psalm 4 – An evening prayer of trust in God. He ends with these faithful and powerful words of trust. ‘I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.’ (Ps.4:8) And then, this ending from Psalm 29 – The voice of the Lord in the storm. ‘The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace.’ (Ps.29:11)
Oh my people, we all know that Bruh David was no goody-two-shoes, but he had abundant faith and trust in the God of His Fathers, and that magnanimous and ever-faithful God kept him from going under, though he stumbled several times, he never fell. And if we genuinely believe, trust in and reverence the Lord of Hosts, He will undoubtedly do the same for us.
Meanwhile, the author of Hebrews wisely advises us to: ‘Follow (pursue) peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.’ (Heb.12:14) I couldn’t put it any simpler or clearer that that Friends.
And we’ll end with some of Bruh Paul’s advice to the Philippians, re things to think on. ‘Finally brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest (noble), whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise (anything praiseworthy), think (meditate) on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.’ (Phil.4:8-9)
I can’t add anything to that Friends, except to implore us to do exactly what Bruh Paul advised the Philippians, because it is gospel truth, as well as heavenly wisdom! Much LOVE!
…mercy unto you…and peace…and LOVE…be multiplied… (Jude 2)
01 Jun 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fact of life, a fait accompli, adrenalin, alive and kicking, an easy row to hoe, aura of love, be dead with Christ, be wise, but after the Spirit, children of God, chutzpah, committment, confidence, conquerors, diligently, dominion, enthusiasm, eternal life, evil, faith, faithfully, friends, get with the programme, glorious kingdom, Glory be, guidance, gusto, high-fived, holy spirit, humble servants, identification with Christ, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, lies, lifestyle, living for Jesus, LOVE, lusts, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, mortal body, natures, no condemnation, Oh Lord God Almighty, outcasts, prodigal children, rejuvenation of spirit, rewards, right living, right thinking, righteousness., safety, separation from sin, shedding of jesus' blood, sins, sourpusses, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, taunts, thanks, the bondage of sin, things of the flesh, to them which are in Christ Jesus, truth, ungodly world, useful purpose, wake up, walk not after the flesh, wiles, wisdom
Romans:8:1. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Well Friends, that wonderful day we call Monday has rolled around once again! Wow!
And yuh know what? I’ve just finished reading the obits and I didn’t see any of our names there. That means we’re still alive and kicking and the Lord still has wonderful plans for our earthly lives! Glory Be! Yes mih people, all glory to our wonderful God and Heavenly Father!
And I do hope that when we got up we gave Him some much appreciated thanks for getting us safely through the night and asked for His safety and guidance as we begin another week of work.
And all you sourpusses out there, who are still miserable and complaining when Monday comes, wake up and be wise nuh. There’s not much we can do about it, so we might as well accept it as a fait accompli, a fact of life and get with the programme. (smile) You’re only making yourself and those around you miserable unnecessarily.
And now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, (smile) let’s get to singing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn which is guaranteed to get our spirits up and our adrenalin running. As one big choir now, with much gusto and plenty chutzpah:
‘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 was most excellent Friends! One of the best renditions we’ve done in long while. Our august choirmaster Jesus, was very proud of us, so much so that He even high-fived the Father, saying with a big grin, ‘That’s my people!’ (smile) Yes Friends, that sort of thing goes on in heaven when we do excellently down here on earth.
So let’s get out there and work diligently and faithfully on Jesus’ behalf nuh, so that we can raise some more joy in heaven. And all God’s people said a loud and sincere: ‘Yes, let’s do it!’
But you know what my brethren? Before we can do ought for Jesus, we have to first read, mark, believe, digest and put our Bit into practice. ‘There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.’
That’s the absolute truth! We are powerless until we truly believe that our sins have been paid for by the shedding of Jesus’ blood on the cross. That means we have been set free from the bondage of sin and are no longer condemned. The Father no longer considers us unseemly outcasts, but prodigal children who have finally come to their senses and have returned to the family home.
Obviously He welcomes us with open arms and there is much celebration in heaven when a wayward child returns to the roost. But then we have to learn to give up the old lifestyle we originally embraced and take up the new one that’s prescribed by Jesus. That’s walking not after the things of the flesh, the lusts of this world, but being led and guided by the Holy Spirit of Almighty God which comes to indwell us when we accept Christ as our Lord and Saviour.
Oh my people, living for Jesus, resisting and rejecting the evil, as well as the material and worthless things of the world, is not an easy row to hoe, but believe me, the rewards are well worth the effort.
Now let’s look at some scripture that ties in admirably with our Bit. This is Bruh Paul writing earlier on in the epistle to the Romans. ‘Now if we be dead (died) with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once (once and for all): but that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
Likewise reckon ye (consider) also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through (in) Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield (present) ye your members as instruments (weapons) of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield (present) yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments (weapons) of righteousness unto God.’ (Rom.6:8-13)
Yeh Friends, I know that’s a mouthful from Bruh Paul, but here are some explanations from the scholars. ‘6:11. Reckon (Gr. logizesthe, “reckon, take into account, calculate”). The believer is to calculate all the facts as to his identification with Christ and his separation from sin, then live accordingly.’
‘6:12. Let not (lit, “stop letting”). The believer is to stop letting sin have mastery over his life.’ ‘6:13. Neither yield ye (lit. “stop presenting”): In the day to day confrontation with sin, stop giving in. But yield (lit. “present yourselves”): Paul calls for a determined commitment.’
Ah Friends, we all know that the things of the world are bright and flashy and tend to attract and drive our sinful nature, but if we want to be true disciples of Jesus, we have to make a special effort to reject sin and all that it stands for. And our God is so wonderful and well organized that He sent His Holy Spirit to dwell in us to enable us to do it.
The problem though is that we have to listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, because He will not force His will on us. That means it’s up to us to get serious and buckle down to the bidding of the Holy Spirit, if we’re to be truly children of God. Let’s wake up to right thinking and right living nuh my people, for that is indeed wisdom at its zenith! Much LOVE!
…humans struggle with two natures…one that tends toward sin and the things of the world…and another that looks to righteousness and the things of God…the latter is by far the much better one to adopt…
31 May 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a dry and thirsty land, a God-pleasing life, believe in Jesus, but after the Spirit, calamity, christ jesus, Christians, climate change, condemnation, contention, curse, desires, disunity, divide and conquer, earthly pilgrimage, enemy of God, enmity with God, evil, evildoers, fellow believers, flooding, forgiveness, free from the law of sin, friend of the world, friendship with the world, Galatians, glorified, glory to God, godless world, grace, holy spirit, Jesus Christ, joy, largesse, live life in the Spirit, lusts, mercy, new creatures in Christ, no man can serve two masters, obedient to God's will, parched, praise and worship God, responsibility, showers of blessing, sin, sinful flesh, sinful lusts, sinful nature, sitting on the fence, Spirit of Christ, spiritual confrontation, strength, strength in numbers, Sunday, the dictates of God, the law of the Spirit, the Lord's Day, the things of the Spirit, the wages of sin is death, there is therefore now no condemnation, Thor's hammer, to them which are in Christ Jesus, truth, unified, walk not after the flesh, walk with god, walking in the Spirit, wicked, words of wisdom, Ye cannot serve God and mammon
Romans:8:1. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
At last Friends, at last we’ve been blessed with the long-promised showers of blessing from heaven! It began in mid-afternoon yesterday, and has been falling on and off since then. There was some of Thor’s hammer pounding away on his drum and some strong winds which earlier blew away the small rain clouds like a man’s hand. Hn!
But when the big, dark, ominous clouds finally loomed, the wind was helpless to blow them away, and those clouds emptied their watery blessings on the parched and thirsty land. Glory to God!
Let’s hope now that the blessing of rain doesn’t continue for too long and become a curse, a calamity with the opposite effect, that of flooding, for in these days of climate change there’s no telling when one aspect of the weather will change, or how long it might last.
But please remember that today is Sunday, the Lord’s Day, and whether it’s raining or not, we have a responsibility to go to church, to praise and worship Almighty God with other fellow believers, so that He might be glorified here on earth, and we might receive His largesse of mercy, grace, forgiveness and strength to keep being obedient to His will, regardless of what comes against us.
As we all know, there’s strength in numbers, and when plenty Christians get together to praise and worship God, the evildoers of the earth tremble in fear, because they know the power that we wield when we’re unified. That’s why they use the age-old technique of divide and conquer to keep us mired in contention and disunity.
But if we are truly believers in Jesus Christ, then we will recognize the ploys of the enemy, whose middle name is sin and evil, and will use the indwelling Spirit of Christ to fight against and destroy it. And our Bit certainly accentuates the benefits of walking in the Spirit of Christ. ‘There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.’
Oh Friends, what a joy it is to believe in Jesus, and thus live life in the Spirit and not in the sinful nature of our flesh! For as our Bit truthfully declares, then we are no longer condemned, and consequently no longer burdened by the fact that ‘the wages of sin is death.’ (Rom.6:23) We’ve been set free from the bondage of sin by the sacrifice of Jesus and our acceptance of Him as the new ruler in our lives.
As Bruh Paul continues: ‘For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for (on account of) sin, condemned sin in the flesh. That the righteousness (righteous requirement) of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind (set their minds on) the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.’ (Rom.8:2-5)
Yes my people, once we become new creatures in Christ, we need to put away our sinful lusts, and let the Holy Spirit lead and guide us in all truth, according to the dictates of God. Unfortunately though, in this wicked and godless world, too many of us supposed believers are sitting on the fence; we want to walk with God, but the lusts of our flesh and our eyes still have too much sway over us.
Remember what Jesus said: ‘No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and LOVE the other; or else he will hold (be loyal) to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (riches, wealth, material possessions.)’ (Matt.6:24) And that’s the unadulterated truth Friends! We cannot serve God and worship the things of the world at the same time.
For as James so candidly and wisely declares: ‘Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of (with) the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be (wants to be) a friend of the world, is the enemy (makes himself an enemy) of God.’ (James 4:4)
No Friends, we can’t be both a LOVER of God and a LOVER of the world! That’s just an impossible situation! So what are we to do then, you ask? Listen to Bruh Paul explain it to the Galatians.
‘This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.’ (Gal.5:16-18) Sure words of wisdom Friends!
Now let’s hear some explanations from the scholars. ‘5:16. Walk in the Spirit (i.e. “live by the Spirit”). Christians are to live with the Spirit’s help. How does one “live by the Spirit”? (1) The Christian must believe that the Spirit is with him, having been sent by God into his heart (4:6) (2) In every spiritual confrontation the believer must yield to the Spirit, that is, submit his own desires to those of the Spirit.
(3) One must depend on the Spirit for help, enabling him to live a God-pleasing life (v.5) (4) The believer should anticipate the effects of the Spirit’s help in his daily life. The believer who “lives by the Spirit” will not fulfill (accomplish, carry out) the lust (strong desires) of the flesh (sinful nature).’
Oh my people, there’s a lot of information in the Bit to consider, so we’ll conclude with those helpful hints from the scholars. Please, let’s ponder on all that we’ve read, and try to bring our personal lives into line with God’s dictates, with the Spirit’s help of course, so that it can truly be said that we’re walking in the Spirit. Now that’s wisdom everlasting! Much LOVE!
…to sincerely walk with Christ…means letting His Holy Spirit…continously lead and guide us on our earthly pilgrimage…
28 May 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: acts of contrition, almighty god, appreciate, arrogance, Asa, association with God, at peace with the world, attention spans, Azariah, benjamin, calm, Cleanse your hands, cleansing, commune with nature, contented, contrition, cool breezes, dearest of all delights, delights, doubleminded, draw near to God, enjoy, evil, foolish pride, force His will on us, forge that relationship, forgiveness, forsake the Lord, gloom, glory hallelujah, glory to God, God will draw near to you, gospel truth, grace, hate, he shall lift you up, heaviness, humble yourselves in the sight of God, Intimate closeness, joy, Judah, lament, laughter, LOVE, mercy, mourn, mourning, necessity, night insects, peace, positive aspect, pride, purify your hearts, quiet, reaching out to God, relationship with Christ, revere God, rustling of the leaves, seek the Lord, sing their songs of thanksgiving, sinners, stress, teach me, tension, the healing aspects of nature, the Lord is with you, the Lord's presence, the One Year Book of Bible Promises, the onus, the right foundation, the Spirit of God, the wisdom of heaven, therapeutic miracle, this is the day the Lord has made, through eternity, to go to bed late is to be up early, tragedy, unconditional LOVE, ungodly world, use to our benefit, usefulness of nature, walk arm-in arm, we will rejoice and be glad in it, weep, what a wonderful God we serve and worship, William Shakespeare, winding path, wisdom
James 4:8. Draw nigh (near) to God, and he will draw nigh (near) to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye dobleminded.
Aye Friends, welcome to another terrific Thursday! Glory to God! We are alive and kicking strongly and diligently in God’s name, so let’s maintain that positive aspect by saying, ‘This is the day the Lord has made, we WILL rejoice and be glad in it!’
What a wonderful God we serve and worship my people! All thanks be to Him and His grace, mercy, forgiveness and unconditional LOVE!
And you know that somewhere in Willie Shakespeare’s vast repertoire of works, he says something to the effect that to go to bed late is to be up early…. Well my people, you can say that the ole fella was up rather early this morning, after three, so if I’m not all that coherent you will understand why. (smile)
And believe me, the early morning commune outside with nature was beautiful. Some of you might laugh, but when I sit out on my porch in the late hours of the night or early morning, just enjoying the peace and quiet of the time, whatever stress and tension I’ve built up during the day seems to evaporate as I feel the cool breezes wash over me, while they sigh in the rustling of the leaves, and the night insects sing their songs of thanksgiving to their Creator.
After a short while, I am relaxed and at peace with the world and all therein, and can go to bed calm and contented, regardless of whatever problems might exist. It certainly works therapeutic miracles for me. (smile)
And it’s sad that so many of us can’t, or don’t want to embrace the healing aspects of nature. Friends, God made it so beautiful so that we can appreciate, enjoy and use it to our benefit.
Anyway, I won’t try to convince you of the beauty and usefulness of nature, for like the same way you came to Jesus, you will have to come to that conclusion…on your own. (smile)
Now hear is a little prayer from The One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin, that I believe we all can, or need to say. It’s titled ‘Intimate Closeness.’
Please pray with me: ‘You promise, dear God That when I draw close to You You will draw close to me. Lord, I give myself to You unreservedly. Teach me more and more Of intimate closeness And fill my heart with You alone. To walk arm-in-arm with You Down every winding path. Seems to me The dearest of all delights.’
And isn’t that the gospel truth my brethren? Walking arm-in arm with Jesus, any and everywhere is certainly the greatest delight we can enjoy on this earth!
And if you don’t believe that, I’m sorry for you, because you don’t know what you’re missing. That’s because with Him beside, inside and around you, there’s no power on earth, in hell or in heaven can touch you! Glory Hallelujah!
And the scripture verse for that prayer was the first part of James 4:8; ‘Draw nigh (near) to God, and He will draw near to you.’ However we will use the entire verse as our Bit for today. ‘Draw nigh (near) to God, and he will draw nigh (near) to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded.’
Ah Friends, so many of us in this ungodly world desperately need to do those acts of contrition, that it borders on a worldwide tragedy. No, it doesn’t border nuh, it is a worldwide tragedy! That’s why there’s so much hate and evil in our world. But when we turn to Jesus we preach peace and LOVE, which is the right foundation for us to build our lives upon.
And I like how James continues after our Bit, in the same cleansing and reaching out to God manner. ‘Be afflicted (lament), and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness (gloom). Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.’ (James 4:9-10)
Oh my people that’s shades of our last Bit. One of the things this generation certainly needs to do is to give up their foolish pride and arrogance, and humble themselves before Almighty God, if they want to ever receive a positive association with Him. That’s an ultimate necessity before we can even consider coming into the Lord’s presence, before His throne.
And one of the scriptures associated with our Bit, is one we just recently looked at, but it’s worthwhile looking at again. It’s the warning of the prophet Azariah.
‘And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded: And he went out to meet (before) Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.’ (2 Chr,15:1-2)
Yes Friends, that’s no lie! If you sincerely seek the Lord, then you will find Him. But if you forsake Him, then He will do the same to you. Please remember that the Lord doesn’t really need anything from us, but we do need His saving grace and mercy, so the onus is on us to seek His face, not the other way around.
And with that thought foremost in our minds, I think we’ll end for today, because the rest of stuff I have to add will make it much too long for our short attention spans. (smile)
So please, as we go about today, let’s seriously ponder the state of our relationship with Christ, and let wisdom enter our hearts, minds, bodies and souls, and thus enable us to make the wonderful decision to seek God and revere and worship Him for the rest of our lives, and down through all eternity. Now that is certainly the wisdom of heaven! Much LOVE!
…God desires to have a positive relationship with each and every human being…but He’s not going to force His will on us…we must wisely seek Him and His blessings to forge that relationship…
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