14 Aug 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, afraid, after he hath killed, awesome Helper, complacent, corruption, dictators, evil rulers, eyes fixed straight ahead, fear him, for Jesus, grace, greed, halfway home, hands on the plough, hath power, heavenly proportions, hell, holy spirit, hot air, I will forewarn you, in doing god's will, lazy, loving-kindness, make disciples, not looking back, of all the world, oust God from society, restore God, rumours of war, setting my sights on heaven, strife, the breath of life, the Father's help, the gilded positions, the Great Commission, the righteous stood up, to cast into hell, to preeminent place in society, took a serious stand, undeserving children of men, uninterested, wanna be dictators, war, Wednesday Wail, whom ye shall fear, winning the world, wisdom
Luke 12:5. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.
Welcome to Wednesday, friends and neighbours! Oh me oh my, another wonderful day is in the offing for us in God’s great universe, His marvellous creation called Planet Earth! Let’s give Him some thanks and praise for that awesome privilege nuh, and show sincere gratitude by going out today, with godly excitement and passion, and doing a good job in Christ’s name, because nothing pleases our heavenly Father like us being good Christ-like examples!
And all God’s children responded with a mighty shout of ‘Praise the Lord for His extreme grace and LOVING-kindness to the undeserving children of men!’ And is He ever gracious and merciful! And are we ever undeserving of those precious gifts! But such is His amazing and never-ending LOVE towards us, His most wonderful creation, that He just can’t help Himself! And thus His goodness and grace just flows unrestricted down from heaven to us here on earth!
But are we truly appreciative of those blessings, especially the breath of life that flows through us that emanates solely from Him? I don’t think so, else so many of us would not be involved in trying to oust Him from our society, especially at this crucial and critical time, when we really need Him more than ever!
Oh friends, don’t we see the disgraceful and disgusting state of our world? How it’s filled with greed, corruption, strife, war, rumours of war and so many other negative things? The evil and negative things certainly outweigh the good and positive ones. And with each passing day it seems to get worse.
Leaders cannot agree on anything that will benefit their people and are constantly fighting to accrue more and more power.I don’t remember a time in my life when there have been more dictators in the world, with all of them trying to run roughshod over their people in a vain and futile effort for more wealth and power! And the people themselves have become so timid and acquiescent that those wanna be dictators are finding it very easy to do as their evil hearts desire.
Ah mih people, it’s time the supposedly righteous stood up and took a serious stand in the affairs of our world, our nations, our cities, our neighbourhoods and our families! Let me ask you this nuh? Do like the way our world and lives are going? Most of you will say definitely not! But then, here’s the clincher: If the righteous don’t get up and do something positive and godly, how will it ever get fixed eh, or even improve some?
Let me tell you friends, it WON’T! That’s because the evil rulers now in power won’t give up their power voluntarily. We have to take it from them; remove them from the gilded positions they have built for themselves, and above all, restore God to the first and preeminent place in our society! But for that to happen, we the righteous have to get up and get a serious move on! We can’t be just talk, a set of hot air, like we currently are; afraid to challenge the powers that be.
Please remember that our God, Jehovah, is the de-facto ruler of the universe, and yes, He’s still on His throne, ruling from heaven on high. But we are the ones to whom He’s contracted the business of setting this world right. But we have to get a move on, RIGHT NOW, for time is quickly running out! And for everyday that the evil are in ascendance, it gets more difficult to remove them. And we certainly can’t do it in our own strength; we definitely need the Father’s help.
And it’s not like He hasn’t given us the most awesome Helper in the universe, His Holy Spirit that dwells within us to lead and guide and empower us in conquering the evil that’s in the world! But unfortunately, like we seem to be afraid, lazy, complacent and just downright uninterested in doing His will.
But friends, we need to remember two things here: the first being the Great Commission that Jesus gave us; to go out and make disciples of all the world, and He will be with us, ALL the time, as He is through the Holy Spirit. (Matt.28:19-20). And secondly the fact that we should not be afraid of what man can do to us. We should preach the word everywhere fearlessly, for everything will be brought to light eventually.
Matthew puts it thus: ‘And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.’ (Matt.10:28) Meanwhile, this is Luke’s version: ‘And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.’ (Luke 12:4-5)
That my brethren is wisdom of heavenly proportions, for the death of the body is not the end of our lives, because our spirit lives on. And even more importantly, Almighty God, is the ONLY One who can both kill the body and soul and cast into to hell, so it’s wise to fear Him above men, who can only kill the body. Let’s hope the words the Holy Spirit has guided me to share today makes a big impression on us and inspires us to get up and get a serious move on in winning the world for Jesus!
Time to go home now, declaring (yeah!) our Wednesday Wail, letting the whole world know of our sincere and secure position in Christ. As one strong voice now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday!
I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
And will that future ever be glorious if we keep our hands on the plough and our eyes fixed steadfastly on Jesus! Much LOVE!
…you can have hell…if you so desire…but I’m setting my sights on heaven…
17 Jul 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: A Family Pledge, a foolish man, a rainy day, and does them, anticipate growth, beat upon that house, both hear and do, built his house on sand, built his house upon a rock, built in defenses, can ask or imagine, Christ's body, Christian families, Christianity 101, conflicts, defeats, degenerate world, delight, demand, eyes fixed straight ahead, family love, focus on each other, give rather than get, glad to be alive, God's amazing love, great was the fall of it, greedy society, hands fixed securely on the plough, I am halfway home, it fell not, it was founded upon a rock, judgement, laughter, lessons, liken him unto a wise man, LOVE each other, loving patience, made in the image of God, mixed emotions, not looking back, One Year Book of Bible promises, perfection, persons, puny minds, quiet growth, resentments, Ruth Harms Calkin, seek to please, selfish, support each other, tantrum of heat and light, tears, the breath of life, the church, the floods came, the rain descended, the winds blew, to a glorious future with Christ, to pressure, two foundations of life, victories, Wednesday Wail, whosoever hear these sayings, without ridicule, withstand the elemnts
Matthew 7:24. Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a (the) rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a (the) rock.
Well it looks like it’s going to be a cloudy, ‘riney’ kind of day in my neck of the woods…at least that’s how it’s begun. But we all know that could change by mid morning and the sun could explode out of the sky in a terrible tantrum of heat and light that has us begging for mercy! (smile) Hopefully the sun will come shining through later, but not in such a striking and unpleasant manner.
In the meanwhile, hear this fabulous promise from our One Year Book of Bible Promises, with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. This one’s called ‘A Family Pledge.’ Please pray and promise with me: ‘We will permit God to use our conflicts and mixed emotions as lessons in quiet growth. With LOVING patience, without ridicule or judgement, we will support each other in the gradual untangling of built-in defenses. We will focus on each other as persons made in the image of God.
We will seek to please rather than to pressure, to delight rather than to demand, to give rather than to get. We will share the humdrums as well as the highlights, the tears as well as the laughter, the defeats as well as the victories. We will not insist on perfection – rather we will anticipate growth.
We will not compete for the mountaintop, rather we will climb the mountain together. We will wait for each other if one of us gets behind. We will lift our hearts in a celebration of gratitude for God’s amazing LOVE, which makes our family LOVE possible. We will LOVE each other as we do these things.’
Oh my fellow believers, what wonderful sentiments and promises! Wow! Can you imagine if only the Christian families truly decided to instill those values and plans and promises, how wonderful our world would be! The family would return to its rightful place in society as being the most important unit. Then the unbeliever would really know what a true Christian is like, because all that we’ve promised above is merely Christianity 101!
Yes, it’s all about LOVING each other, putting each other first, letting go of resentments, of competition, and instead seeking togetherness, of sharing, both the highs and lows, the joy and tears, growing together. As it so strongly states: it’s all about ‘lifting our hearts in celebration of gratitude for God’s amazing LOVE, which makes our family LOVE possible!’
And is that ever so true! It’s only God’s amazing LOVE flooding through our hearts, souls, bodies and minds that makes a true family LOVE possible. But yuh know the most important word in that last sentence friends? It’s GRATITUDE! Yeh people, we’re not truly thankful for God’s LOVE, otherwise we’d gladly share it with each other.
And gratitude, more than anything else is what’s sadly missing in our world! We’re not a very thankful or grateful society anymore. We’ve become so selfish and greedy, envious and jealous, that there’s no room left for thanks, or rather sincere thanks in our society. And the sad part is that that undesirable attitude is also present in Christ’s body, the church, much much more than is called for.
And the Bible Promise for that reading is also our Bit for today; the wise words of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ on the two foundations of life. ‘Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a (the) rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a (the) rock.
And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.’ (Matt.7:24-25) Oh my people, Jesus couldn’t have put it any clearer than that!
And I just have to share the scholars’ explanation of those verses. ‘7:24-27. In drawing His concluding illustration of the two foundations, Jesus begins with the word therefore. On the basis of all that He has taught and illustrated, He concluded that all who both hear and do His sayings shall be saved. As a great master Counsellor, Jesus reminded His listener that hearing this message alone will not change his life. He must both hear and do what Jesus has said.
The elements of the closing illustration are drawn from the simplicity of nature itself, the rock, the rain, and the winds. The man whose house collapsed was at fault, not because he failed to labour, but because he did not lay the proper foundation. The shifting sand represents human opinion and the doctrines of men as opposed to “these sayings” vs.28.’
Oh precious people of God, what more can I say eh, except to warn us about building our lives on the right foundation, for that’s what holds our spiritual houses up in time of adversity and storm. And the ONLY foundation available in this degenerate world, that’s strong enough to withstand calamity and storm is Jesus Christ! As Bruh Paul so wisely put it to the Corinthians: ‘For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.’ (1 Cor.3:11) And that’s gospel truth friends!
So please, as we go about our business to day, I implore us to seriously consider what foundation we’re building our lives on, and if it isn’t on Jesus, then please change quickly, for we know not when the storms of adversity will suddenly come and knock down our houses built on shifting and sinking sand.
And with those words of wisdom frothing in our hearts, souls, bodies and minds, let’s go home declaring (steups!) our Wednesday Wail, letting the world know of our wonderful position in Christ Jesus. All together now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday!
Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
And I have to remind us friends, that if we hold that righteous and positive course in Jesus, then the future will indeed be even more glorious than our puny minds can ask or imagine! Much LOVE!
…nothing built on a foundation of sand can withstand the elements for long…but anything built on the rock…Jesus…can withstand the elements…forever…
15 May 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a clean heart, a life of sin, Amazing grace, appalling hypocrisy, as white as snow, be as wool, Chrales Stanley, cleanse me, clenched fists, come now, condemnation, confess his sins, continual assurance, contradiction, convicts us, courteous words, create in me, cringe, disobedient subjects, eternal damnation, eyes fixed straight ahead, forgive, frantic, glad to be alive, God's Searchlight, grace, guilt, hypocrites, hyssop, impossible effort, invitation to all men, Jesus Christ, justified, leave all the consequences, let us reason together, light of revelation, looking to the future, LOVE, masked motive, most reliable being, Nathan, no rain, not turning back, obey God, omnipotence, omniscience, One Year Book of Bible promises, penetrating gaze, penitent heart, plead thy case, promises, purge me, purify me, put me in remembrance, raises its ugly head, red like crimson, remorse, remove, renew a right spirit, repenting, Ruth Harms Calkin, selfish act, shame, sinful nature, sins, splintered cross, steadfast, the Holy Spirit, the weather system, to escape, transgressions, turning to god, unchristian, uncoditional love, unreliable, utterly shattered, Wednesday Wail, your child, your sins be as scarlet
Isaiah 1:18. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; and though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
No rain! No rain! Glory be! But the skies on the eastern horizon do look a tad dark for this hour of the morning. (smile) And just to let you know that by lunchtime yesterday, rainy day Tuesday had turned into dry and sunny day Tuesday!
Oh the weather system is so tricky and unreliable these days. But thank God our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is the most reliable Being in God’s great universe, so we don’t have anything much to worry about, just our own unnecessary worries. (smile)
And when I read this poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin yesterday, it just spoke to me, saying ‘You’ve got to share me!’ So here it is. It’s titled ‘God’s Searchlight.’ Please pray with me: ‘O God If suddenly You were to reveal To my family, my friends, my neighbours Every real thought behind my courteous words If you were to point to my clenched fists While my other hand is openly extended
If you were to bring to light Every masked motive, every selfish act I would cringe with remorse And beg You to remove Your light of revelation. Yet, Lord, when the searchlight of the Holy Spirit Begins to reveal me to myself I so often close my eyes and turn my back In a frantic but impossible effort To escape Your penetrating gaze.
What a staggering contradiction, Lord what appalling hypocrisy. Apart from your grace I am utterly shattered. I ask you to sweep through me Purify me, cleanse me completely. From the depth of my penitent heart I thank You for Your continual assurance As I turn toward Your splintered cross. Because of Your LOVE I became Your child Because of Your GRACE I remain Your child.’
Oh friends, oh friends, that is all so true! We try to be tried and true believers, but that sinful aspect of our nature too often raises its ugly head and makes us behave very hypocritically! And don’t fool your fat, we’re all a bunch of ole hypocrites, just some to a higher or lower degree than others, because we all dislike things and people and otherwise for which we have no good grounds, and behave in ways that are very unchristian.
However when the Holy Spirit convicts us, hopefully we turn to the cross of Jesus and cry out for the help we so badly need! And those last two lines say it all: By God’s unconditional and awesome LOVE, we became His children, and by His amazing GRACE, we remain His children! Yes friends, it’s all because of our wonderful God that we’re saved from a life of sin, shame and eternal damnation!
And I like the scripture verse that Ruth uses for this poem ‘Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; and though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.’
Oh my people, which other supposed deity is willing to sit down and reason with His sinful disobedient subjects eh? Only the Lord God Jehovah, because He is sure and secure enough in His own omnipotence and omniscience to do so! But please note, that though He is willing to sit down and talk, He is still the one laying down the basic groundwork for our relationships.
And that is: ‘If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.’ (Is.1:19-20)
And for some reason or other we don’t tend to take the Lord’s promises as seriously as we should. The Israelites didn’t several times, and felt the wrath He promised. Now we’re doing likewise, and so many of us are falling by the sword and numerous old and new diseases, and we still aren’t paying attention to God’s Word! How unwise my people!
Now listen to the scholars’ explanation of those verses. ‘1:18-20. The prophet’s appeal to come and reason together reveals God’s gracious invitation to ALL men. It literally means to be “reasonable” by repenting and turning to God. Their sin is described as scarlet and red like crimson, referring to their bloodguiltiness before God.
The term ‘crimson’ also means “worm,” referring to the colourfast red dye of the scarlet worm. The eradication of this stain turns it snowy white and is symbolic of the life-changing grace of God, which delivers men from the guilt and condemnation of sin. Thus the prophet reminds his readers that God stands ready to cleanse and forgive all who will turn to Him.’
All praise and glory to our wonderful God! And it’s not the only time the Lord calls His people to talk with Him about their sins. Listen to Him again, later on in Isaiah: ‘I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. Put me in remembrance: let us plead (contend) together: declare thou (thy case), that thou mayest be justified.’ (Is.43:2-26)
Oh friends, what more can we ask for eh? We have such a wonderful God, who is willing and able to cast aside and forget our sins if we repent and become obedient to His Word. And that’s why the Lord LOVED Bruh David; he wasn’t afraid to confess his sins, even the most abominable ones.
Listen to him from Psalm 51, when Nathan drapes him up with his sin with Bathsheba. ‘Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities, Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right (steadfast) spirit within me.’ (Ps.51:7-10)
Yeh mih people, though Bruh David looked good on the outside, He was suffering mightily with the immense guilt on his heart, but when he repented, that guilt lifted because the Lord forgave him, though he paid a serious price for his sin later on in life, a sin which brought serious disrepute to God’s cause. The same thing goes for us today; we can ALL be forgiven through sincere repentance, but more likely than not, there will be consequences to pay for our sins.
So fully knowing and acknowledging that, let’s go home declaring (yes!) our Wednesday Wail, letting the whole world know our wonderful and illustrious position in Christ. As one now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday!
I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
Oh yes my breddren, let’s keep on keeping on strong and steadfast, and that future will be indeed more than we can ask or ever imagine! Much LOVE!
As Uncle Charles (Charles Stanley) so rightly says…the best way to live this life is to…simply obey God…and leave all the consequences to Him…
17 Apr 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a graven image, absolute truth, artifacts of man, ashamed, back burner, baked bread, beside me there is no God, blind eyes be opened, blinded our eyes, coals, criticism, deaf ears hear, deafened our ears, eateth flesh, eyes fixed straight ahead, folly, gathered together, glorious future with Jesus, golf greens, halfway home, hands on the plough, his redeemer, I am the first, I am the last, idolatrous society, idolatry, idols, Israel, mere men, Mother Nature, not looking back, pagan gods, profitable for nothing, Satan, stormy day in Paradise, taunting, the BIBLE, the breath of life, the king of Israel, the Lord of hosts, thus saith the Lord, ungodly lifestyle, Wednesday Wail, worshipping
Isaiah 44:6. Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.
Well it looks like another dark, cloudy, rainy, windy and stormy day here in Paradise! (smile) Yeh, it rained for much of yesterday, even through the night, and has begun again this morning, just when I have things to go out the street and do! Chuh! First time since I’m here I’ve seen so much rain fall. We’d get the li’l ten seconds drizzle or the two minutes showers, but not continuous stuff like this.
But the land badly needed it because it was dry and brown everywhere. Can imagine the joy of the golf course owners up the street. You couldn’t use the golf vernacular of ‘greens,’ about it because it looked more like ‘browns.’ (smile) Even the sea is acting up some, as I watch the white capped frothing waves break over the nearby reef, then hurtle onwards, only to dash themselves against the rocky shore! But that’s Mother Nature, and try as we want, I doubt we’ll ever tame her, because she’s of God’s own making!
That brings us to another important thing we can’t do; create gods for ourselves, or as Isaiah puts it, the folly of idolatry! Yes friends, we’re living in a rather idolatrous world, not so much the worshipping of pagan Gods, but of worldly things, places and people. We’re talking about the cult of celebrity that’s now dominant in our world; people who don’t’ know their A from their E, but we’re flocking to follow their insipid, eccentric lifestyles and ungodly ways.
And social media is only enhancing the foolishness! We waste so much time on the nonsense, but have no time for the real, One True God, except to try and leverage Him out of our idolatrous society. Yes, these things have some useful purposes, but not when we become addicted to them as we are and place Almighty God on the back burner of our lives, if we even have Him on our stove at all!
But please listen to the words of the Lord to the idolatrous society of Israel, through the mouth of the prophet Isaiah. ‘Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.’ Oh my people, those are words of absolute truth, as the nation of Israel found out to their utter detriment, when they refused to stop worshipping idols and other pagan gods.
Listen further to the words of God: ‘They that make a graven image are all of them vanity (useless); and their delectable (precious) things shall not profit; and they are their own witnesses; they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed. Who hath formed a god, or molten (molded) image that is profitable for nothing? Behold all his fellows (companions) shall be ashamed: and the workmen they are of men (mere men): let them all be gathered together, let them stand up; yet they shall fear, and they shall be ashamed together.’ (Is.44:9-11)
Yeh friends, Satan has blinded our eyes and deafened our ears so that we can’t see or hear the nonsense, neither are we ashamed and regretful of the evil and ungodly lifestyle we’re living! And after that passage above, the Lord goes on to vilify the blacksmith, the carpenter and the tree cutter. And as to the tree cutter, the wood he provides, the Lord declares (right ho!): ‘
Then shall it be for man to burn: for he will take thereof, and warm himself; yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread; yea, he maketh a god, and worshippeth it; he maketh a graven image, and falleth down thereto. He burneth part (half) thereof in the fire; with part (half) thereof he eateth flesh; he roastest roast, and is satisfied: yea, he warmeth himself, and saith, aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire:
And the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image: he falleth down unto it, and worshippeth it, and prayeth unto it, and saith, deliver me, for thou art my god…And none considereth in his heart, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part (half) of it in the fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh, and eaten it: and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? Shall I fall down to the stock of a tree?’ (Is.44:15-17,19)
Ah my people, that’s the exact same way we are behaving today, not literally, but figuratively! Now listen closely to the scholars take on those verses. ‘44:9-20. This expose of idolatry is the most taunting in all of the Bible. The prophet Isaiah, serving as the spokesman of Yahweh, reveals the utter foolishness of polytheistic pagan idolatry. The graven image (carved idol) is called vanity (nothing). Delectable things refers to the adornment of the idols with gold, silver and precious stones.
The prophet announces that the idols themselves are their own witnesses. They see not, nor know. Therefore these inanimate objects are profitable for nothing. Isaiah then berates the workmen (artisans) for designing and constructing their idols in the figure of a man. He exposes the basic fallacy of idolatry, a god made in the image of man. Thus the prophet’s criticism of one who would worship and idol carved from the same tree that he would use for firewood is that he feedeth on ashes.’
Ah mih breddren, I can’t add a whole lot more to that nuh, except to remind us that we are spending too much time involved with the artifacts of man, and not enough with our Creator, our God, and that can only bring serious repercussions in the end. Now let’s go home telling the world about our safe and secure position in Christ by declaring (right ho!) our Wednesday Wail.
With sincere hearts and a strong sense of purpose: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
And believe me, that future sure will be glorious! Much LOVE!
…only through the acceptance of Jesus…will blind eyes be opened…and deaf ears made to hear…
10 Apr 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: 21st century, a glorious future with Jesus, a sound mind, Abel, Abraham, according to your faith, be it unto you, David, disciples, do their own thing, eagerly, enemy's false fire, enoch, expectantly, eyes fixed straight ahead, faith, Gentiles, Gideon, glad to be alive, glory hallelujah, God is the same, grace, halfway home, hands on the plough, hebrews 11, immortal words, impossible to please God, Isaac, Jacob, Jesus, Jewish people, Joseph, lived and died by faith, LOVE, mercy, Moses, not by sight, not looking back, O ye of little faith, power, Samson, second wind, the breath of life, the Good Book, the Roman centurion, the spirit of fear, walk by faith, Wednesday Wail, wherefore didst thou doubt, without faith, your faith has made you whole
Matthew 9:29. According to your faith be it unto you.
And so we come to Wednesday…the mid-week catch yuh breath, second wind day! Everybody feeling refreshed now, having gotten back into the work week routine, and looking forward with much expectancy to the big day of Friday, so they can do their own thing.
Ah mih people, I wish we could look forward with the same amount of expectancy to the things of Christ, to the things that concern our faith! Yuh remember how Jesus kept complaining about the faith of His people…’O ye of little faith!’
He said that several times. Even to His disciples who had been with Him for years and saw all the miracles He had done. When the storm arose on the Sea of Galilee and He was asleep in the back of the boat, they woke him up scared to death. Only to be rebuked after He calmed the storm, by His lashing words: ‘O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?’ (Matt.14:31)
And remember too what He said when He healed people. ‘Go, your faith has made thee whole!’ Even when He healed the Roman Centurion’s slave from afar, He commented: ‘Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.’ (Matt.8:10) Yeh friends, in several circumstances Gentiles, or people of other nationalities showed more faith in Him than His Jewish people. But overall people were not being buoyed by their supposed faith.
And I believe the same thing is also happening now. A lot of us talk a good talk about faith, but when it comes to putting that supposed faith into action we sadly fall down and start thrashing about and looking for other avenues instead of first turning to God and waiting on Him. But friends, it’s ALL about our faith, our sincere trust and reliance on the powers and mercy and grace of Jesus!
Remember what He said to the two blind men who came to him to have their sight restored? ‘Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord. Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you. And their eyes were opened…’ (Matt. 9: 28-30)
And nothing has changed since then my people, for our God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. So why do we think that our faith won’t get us through these rough and difficult times like it did those people of old eh! We have numerous examples of how faith propelled people, armies and nations to victory. Just check out that great chapter of the Good Book, Hebrews 11, where it tells you of all kinds of people who lived and died by faith.
Think about Abraham leaving his homeland at seventy five to journey into an unknown land just because God told Him to and promised Him great things. That could only come through faith. His wife Sarah also had a son in her old age when she lived up to the faith expected of her. Look at the stories of Isaac and Jacob, of Bruh Joseph and Moses, of Abel and Enoch, of Gideon and Samson, of Bruh David and Bruh Paul, and even of Jesus.
It was faith by which all of them traversed this evil world. Though Jesus was God, He was also man in the flesh and He too had to have strong faith in His Father else He would not have been able to do all those amazing things He did! Yuh think He just suffered all the abuse and pain of the cross just so? No! The Father enabled Him to go through it all!
And God hasn’t stopped working in believers lives just because this is the 21st century and mankind is on top of His technological and greedy wealth seeking game! In fact we need faith even more now with all the distractions and lies and falsehood and wiles that are now coming against us.
We need faith to help us discern the sense from the nonsense that is so prevalent in today’s evil and ungodly world. And faith isn’t something we can just pick up or set down anytime we want to! It’s a process, like sowing a seed and watching and waiting for it to grow. And the Lord has done many good things for many of us over our lifetimes, but yet when the rough times come, we forget about those fulfilled promises and cower and fear and doubt under the onslaught of the enemy’s false fire!
But remember too friends, these precious and immortal words of Bruh Paul to his protégé Timothy. ‘For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound mind.’ (1 Tim.1:7)
And what is this thing called faith you all ask? The Good Book tells us that ‘Faith is the substance (realization) of things hoped for, the evidence (conviction) of things not seen.’ (Heb.11:1) Yeh friends, simply put faith is what we don’t see now, but which we hope for and believe that we will get later on. We never seen Jesus, but we believe in Him. We never seen God create the world or us, but we believe it.
All of that is done through faith! For as Bruh Paul told the Corinthians: ‘For we walk by faith, not by sight.’ (2 Cor.5:7) That’s it plain and simple my brethren! In God’s economy and universe He expects us to believe His Word and the promises contained therein and walk expectantly and eagerly with faith, knowing that they will all come to pass in His time!
And if we can’t do that, if we need to see everything before we believe, like the world proposes, then our faith is small or even non-existent, and we won’t receive ALL the wonderful benefits we can from our wonderful God. Nuff said!
So for those of us who say we believe and have faith, let’s go home now declaring (right ho!) our Wednesday Wail, letting all and sundry know our enviable position in Christ. With much fervor and sense of purpose: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday!
I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
Now don’t forget, that future will be even more glorious than we can ask or even imagine…and it’s all based on our faith! Much LOVE!
…without faith…it is impossible to please God… (Heb.11:6a)
03 Apr 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, Alpha, Christ's saints, dark evening hours, darkness, death, destruction, doubleminded, eternal party, everything in between, eyes fixed straight ahead, First, God's self-revelation, halfway home, hands on the plough, hell fire, hereafter, hitch your wagon, hope for the best, immortal truth, Jesus Christ, Jesus' horse, John, John Wesley, Last, not looking back, offer the best hope, Omega, rejoicing, saltwater, Scarborough, shower, sitting on the fence, the Almighty, the beginning, the Creator, the end of the ages, the ending, the Lord, the revelation, the vision, the world, therapeutic properties, Wednesday Wail, which is, which is to come, which was, windstorm, wishy-washy
Revelation 1:8. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
Greetings my faithful Scrip-Bit friends and family from this earthly Paradise so aptly named Tobago! (smile) I can’t believe that I’ve been here already for a week! And the strange thing is although I’ve been out the street every day, I haven’t journeyed to the capital, the big city of Scarborough as yet! But time will take care of that.
Sorry but I did not get back down to that gas station yesterday, went to another one close by, so I couldn’t get that quote for you. I did have a nice li’l swim in Grange Beach, in the early dark evening hours. Obviously I was the only one in the water, while the duchess and some of my Tobago family sat on the sea wall chatting and laughing.
They were dubious about me going for a swim at that time, but I was adamant that I wanted some salt water on my skin, I’d already missed one day, wanted to miss none really! Well why should I eh, when the salt water was one of my main reasons for coming to Paradise? I’ve been known to boast about its therapeutic properties, so I need to have some true testimony about it, otherwise I’m just talking from hearsay, which isn’t good! (smile)
And for your information, it’s been a cloudy and rainy kind of morning – the rain’s actually falling now, not the li’l 10 seconds thing it likes to do, but a good shower. Earlier on we had a small windstorm along with a shower. The dry earth desperately needs some heavenly blessing!
But yuh know what, to my left the skies look dark and somewhat foreboding, but to my right the sun seems to be coming out again. And that just struck me as an interesting contrast between darkness and light, between hope and hopelessness. That brings us to this quote attributed to the great English cleric John Wesley (1703-1791), one of the leaders of the early and formative Methodist Church. He reputedly said: ‘The world hopes for the best, but the Lord offers the best hope!’
Words of immortal truth my people! Where then should we place our hope eh? In the world, or in our Creator? In our Creator obviously, because it’s impossible for the world to make a better offer than it’s Creator! The created can never be better than the Creator! And that’s what this world refuses to believe and to accept in its mad journey into decline, decay, destruction and death!
There is some hope in the world and the things it offers, but they are all transitory and without real substance. The only hope that provides real substance and lifelong continuity is that which comes from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ – the First, the Last and Everything in between! He made that quite clear in His vision to John: ‘I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.’
It couldn’t be any plainer that that my brethren! Jesus Christ is indeed the First and the Last of this universe! He was here before it was created, and He’ll be here long after it’s destroyed! The scholars offer this explanation: ‘1:8. Alpha and Omega, the first and last words of the Greek Alphabet, refer here to God’s eternality and sovereignty, and possibly to the fullness of God’s self-revelation.’
So in light of such convincing evidence, (smile) where then should we, as wise and true believers place our hope eh? Nowhere else but in the hands of the Living and Risen God! In His nail pierced hands lie the hope of this evil world! He bore the pain and paid the price for our sins, so who then should we look to but Him eh?
Hear how He said it to John later on in the vision, or the revelation. John says: ‘And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell (hades) and of death. Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter.’ (Rev.1:17-19)
What more can I say eh friends? Not a whole lot. When John saw the vision, he was initially fearful, but Jesus told Him, as He had said on earth so often, ‘fear not.’ Christ died and rose again, thus defeating hell, death and the grave, so He is in fact the mighty conqueror over the powers of darkness and evil! They cannot prevail against Him, because He was raised to the highest level by the Father for His selfless sacrifice on the cross; to be the name above ALL other names, and to whom ALL knees will eventually bow!
So who else are you going to look to eh? Who yuh going to call when things get rough and tough eh? Not Ghostbusters! (smile) But Jesus! That’s the only wise and sensible name to call out to for hope and help in this life my people. But you can’t be wishy-washy about it. You can’t be doubleminded and try to sit on the fence in the hope of getting the best both sides have to offer, because you’ll end up with nothing from either.
And remember too, that only Jesus has good things to offer after this earthly life is over. All the enemy has is darkness, death, destruction and the hellfire of hades! And you know who conquered all of that nuh? Jesus of course! So please be wise and hitch your wagon to His horse, and He’ll lead and guide you aright.
Now for those of us who have done so, let’s go home declaring (right ho!) our Wednesday Wail, letting the world know our true and sincere position in Christ! All together now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday!
I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
And I need to keep reminding us, that the future planned for Christ’s saints, will be even bigger and better than we can ever imagine! So please stand strong and run a good race, because you don’t want to miss that eternal party! Much LOVE!
…only those in Christ will be rejoicing…at the end of the ages…
20 Feb 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, a timely word, a twoedged sword, a word fitly spoken, and God said, and there was light, ask or imagine, be for signs, beast of the earth, bring forth abundantly, cattle, Christ on our side, climate change, communication explosion, creeping thing, days, discerner of the thoughts, divide the day from the night, dividing asunder, every idle word, eyes fixed straight ahead, give account, halfway home, hands on the plough, have dominion, heaven, in our own image, intentions of the heart, joints and marrow, let birds fly, let the earth bring forth grass, Let there be light, lights in the firmament, like apples of gold, make man, men shall speak, moving creatures, not turning back, pictures of silver, piercing, pleasing, precious, seasons, second wind, silver settings, snowstorm, social media, soul and spirit, the breath of life, the day of judgement, the fowl, the spoken word, the waters, Wednesday Wail, years
Genesis 1:3. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
So it’s Wednesday, and many of us have caught our second wind – or it might just be the first for those who had the long weekend off and abused it. (smile) And it looks like there’s another storm hitting North America these next two days; snow and freezing rain in the northern part and rains and floods down south!
Ah Lord eh! We’re certainly seeing what winter can be and used to be like many years ago before climate change made it sort of ‘jokified’ with more rain than snow sometimes.
Anyway, come what may, we believers will handle it because we have the ONE and ONLY Lord Jesus Christ on our side and He will enable us to handle whatever comes against us! Praise His Holy Name my people! Therefore we can boldly say: ‘This is the day the Lord has made, we WILL rejoice and be glad in it!’
And not only that, but also, ‘The Lord WILL provide all our needs through His riches in glory, through Christ Jesus!’ Wow! And consequently, ‘Me and my house will follow the Lord, come what may!’ Glory be mih breddren! What a way our words have power, power to cause life and/or death, but we need to use them, speak them boldly, confidently and sincerely!
Remember how this great universe was formed; by the spoken word: ‘And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.’ Yes friends, it all began with a spoken word. And so it continued: ‘And God said, Let there be a firmament (expanse) in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.’ (Gen.1:6) ‘And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.’ (Gen.1:9)
‘And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.’ (Gen.1:11) ‘And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years.’ (Gen.1:14)
‘And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life (abound with an abundance of living creatures), and fowl that may fly above the earth (let birds fly) in the open firmament of heaven (across the face of the open expanse of heaven).’ (Gen.1:20) ‘And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.’ (Gen.1:24)
‘And God said, Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.’ (Gen.1:26)
Ah friends, man was so important to God, that instead of just speaking him into being like the other species in His universe, He actually got down on His knees and made man! ‘And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.’ (Gen.2:7)
Wow! That’s how important we were and still are to Him; that He dirties His hands to make us. Everything else, He just spoke into existence. Doesn’t that just touch your hearts my people! It ought to, knowing that we were made in the image of God, and even after we fell into sin, we still retained that likeness, and then Jesus came and gave us the opportunity to get back into God’s good graces and enjoy salvation and eternal life!
But I digress. (smile) We talking about the power of the spoken word. And we have this last wonderful illustration, from the author of Hebrews, telling us exactly how powerful and mighty is the Word. ‘For the word of God is quick (living), and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of (able to judge) the thoughts and intents (intentions) of the heart.’ (Heb.4:12)
Yes friends, words are indeed powerful tools, and we should not take our spoken words lightly, since Jesus Himself warned: ‘But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgement. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.’ (Matt.12:36-37)
Ah mih people, the words we speak down here on earth are so important that we will be judged on them in heaven! That ought to wake us up and help us to control our tongues and words, because in these days of the explosion of social media and communication technology, we’re definitely not paying enough attention to the words we speak. And if we don’t smarten up, we will pay a hefty price come the judgement day for our uncontrolled words. Nuff said!
Now let’s go home declaring (right ho) our Wednesday Wail, letting all and sundry know our wonderful position in Christ. With heartfelt sincerity, and strong sense of purpose, let’s wail: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday!
I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
And please believe me friends, if we stick with Jesus through thick and thin, the future will indeed be glorious, more glorious than we can either ask or imagine! Much LOVE!
…a word fitly spoken…is like apples of gold…in pictures of silver (silver settings)…(a timely and fitting word…is precious and pleasing…) (Prov.25:11)
05 Dec 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future, absolute truth, all is well, Alpha, awesome attributes, believe, breath of life, chided, conception, Conquering Lion of Judah, covered me, Creator and Controller of the universe, darkness, don't deserve it, enfolds me, ever-faithful God, eyes fixed straight ahead, faith, fearfully, First and Last, formed my inward parts, glad to be alive, God is, gospel truth, hairs on our heads, hands on the plough, harangued, jehovah god, King of Kings, knees bow, light, Lord God of hosts, Lord of Lords, loving kindness, made in secret, mercy, my mother's womb, not looking back, Omega, one sparrow, our everything, possessed my reins, protects me, skillfully wrought, surrounds me, take it for granted, thank you, the Holy One of Israel, the light of God, the LOVE of God, the lowest part of the earth, the power of God, the real Boss, the rough times, to give God thanks, weaved me, Wednesday Wail, wherever I am, wonderfully made, Yahweh
Psalm 139:13. For thou hast possessed my reins (formed my inward parts): thou hast covered me (weaved me) in my mother’s womb.
Aye friends and Scrip-Bit family… is Wednesday…and all is well! The ole fella’s somewhat tired though after a long day yesterday in the city, then going to bed fairly early, but not being able to rest properly, and wanting to sleep when I should be getting up. Hn! Yuh think it easy! Then not knowing what to say to you this cold morning doesn’t help matters either. (smile)
But as always, our ever-faithful God just put this in my spirit to share with you. It’s a prayer I first discovered in the flyleaves of my mother’s Bible after her death. And though I’ve shared it before, these kinds of prayers are always useful, especially in the rough times, and it’s ever so appropriate for a morning like this.
Please pray with me: ‘The light of God surrounds me. The LOVE of God enfolds me. The power of God protects me. The presence of God watches over me. Wherever I am…God IS…And ALL IS WELL! Amen!’
And that is the gospel truth my fellow believers! Whatever we’re going through, and wherever we are, our great and faithful God is right there walking with us, before and behind, beside, and in us! Glory Hallelujah! No other faith can make that statement with the absolute truth that we can! Give God some of the much praise He deserves nuh my brethren!
Yuh know for all that our heavenly Father does for us, we certainly don’t give Him enough thanks and praise nuh. Sometimes we get so accustomed to His mercy and LOVING-kindness that we just take it all for granted and forget to say ‘Thank You Father! Thank You for all You’re doing for me, even though I don’t deserve most of it!’
Yuh know friends, one of the things our God likes to hear from us is thanks and praise and exaltation. In fact that’s one of the reasons why He made us; so we could glorify His Holy Name, lift up His wonderful and awesome attributes, and let the evil heathen world know who is the real BOSS!
Not Beelzebub, who the Lord just allows to run this sinful earth; but the Lord God of Hosts, the Holy One of Israel, Yahweh, Jehovah God! Now He is the real sahib: the Conquering Lion of Judah, Lord of Lords and King of Kings, Creator and Controller of this amazing universe!
That’s whom our knees should bow to and our voices declare as our Alpha and Omega; our First and our Last, our EVERYTHING! For He made us… and controls our very destiny from the moment of our conception to the time we return to the dust from which we were created!
And trust Bruh David to have the right words for us this morning: ‘Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. For thou hast possessed my reins (formed my inward parts): thou hast covered me (weaved me) in my mother’s womb.’ (Ps.139:12-13) Ah friends, how can we not glorify such a wonderful Maker and Creator eh?
Listen further to Bruh David: ‘I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well (very well).’ (Ps.139:14) Ah mih people, I have to pause here and ask this very important question: do our souls truly know the extent of God’s marvellous works and how masterfully we were made? I doubt it yes, else we wouldn’t have to be harangued and chided and often forced to give God great thanks and praise.
But hear Bruh David as he continues to praise God’s mighty work in creating human beings. ‘My substance (frame, bones) was not hid from thee when I was made in secret, and curiously (skillfully) wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect (unformed); and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned (the days fashioned for me), when as yet there was none of them.’ (Ps.139:15-16)
Oh my people, how could we not praise and worship our God after reading that kind of truth eh? Our days were numbered in His book even before we were formed in our mother’s womb! Glory to God! And if you don’t believe me, or Bruh David, then listen to Jesus nuh, hopefully you’ll believe Him. (smile)
‘And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him (God) which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.’ (Matt.10:28-31)
Chuh mih people! How reassuring is that eh; to know that the Lord knows the number of hairs on our heads and we are more valuable than many sparrows, who don’t fall down without His knowledge, much less the care and concern He has for us, His most precious creation!
Believe friends…please believe in His goodness and mercy; believe that His presence is always watching over us, as His power protects us, and His brilliant light shines over us, while His wonderful, unconditional LOVE enfolds us in His strong embrace!
Now let’s go home wailing our Wednesday Wail, letting all and sundry know of our wonderful position in Christ Jesus. In unison and full sincerity: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday!
I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
Now let’s keep that wise position friends! Much LOVE!
…what a marvellous creation…is the human being…
28 Nov 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, accept Jesus now, angry, be ready, be wise, blessed, Canadian behaviour, catch us by surprise, concrete jungle, Cooksville, divine revelation, end up, eyes fixed straight ahead, faith, fatality, for my benefit, frustrated, gaze out, glad to be alive, gloriousness of heaven, glory, halfway home, hands on the plough, he that reads, hope, hospital, i-pads, in the twinkling of an eye, investigations, Jesus Christ, keep those things, laptops, life after death, light of heaven, live track, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, money, moral of the story, new truth, no man comes to the Father, not looking back, obey, on Jesus, ophthalmologist, police, position in Christ, prophecy, read, smartphones, stealing, thankful, the breath of life, the coroner, the dragon lady, the grim reaper, the lair, the last trumpet sounds, the Life, the Lord's Spirit, the passing landscape, the prince of darkness, the Rapture, the time is at hand, the Truth, the Way, the words of the prophecy, the wrong place, they that hear, train station, Tribulation period, understand, waited patiently, Wednesday Wail, wet snow, which are written
Revelation 1:3. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
Well friends, it’s another day, and hopefully another dollar …(smile) but unfortunately it’ll be more like twenty-five cents, since the value of the dollar has fallen so much. Anyway, we’re alive and thankful for that glorious fact, regardless of our circumstances.
And as the old people would say, what ain’t meet you ain’t pass you nuh…but something interesting met me yesterday. I was already unhappy that I had to go into the city for a second day straight, and some anger coursed through my system as I saw Toronto’s concrete jungle skyline for the second day in a row.
But I reasoned that it was all for my benefit and went along quietly. I got to the hospital shortly after two, for a two thirty appointment, but didn’t leave there until minutes to six.
But thankfully the Lord’s Spirit was with me and I didn’t get angry or frustrated by the wait. I just read quietly until the dragon lady ophthalmologist was ready to see me. She can be a bit abrasive at times, that’s why I call her that, but she’s really a sweet ole soul, takes a great interest in her work and she LOVES the ole fella everlasting. What’s not to LOVE eh? (smile)
So I leave the hospital, get down to the train station, get on the six twenty-five, heading west, and everything goes well until three stations out, at Cooksville. Around seven o’clock, as the train is about to enter the station, it suddenly stops short of it.
Nobody pays much attention to that because most of them are too wrapped up in their I-pads, laptops and smart-phones, with headphones in their ears – not the ole fella though because I don’t have any of those things – I just gaze out at the passing landscape.
A minute later though, the conductor comes over the p.a. letting us know that a fatality has occurred on the train and we’ll be stopped there for at least two hours, until the coroner and the police have conducted their investigations.
Well you can imagine the stir that announcement caused, because most of those people were on their way home from work, ostensibly to make the journey back to work the next day, and stealing two hours of their valuable time was like stealing their gold.
But as always, our good Canadian behaviour rose to the occasion! Yayyy! We all settled down and did whatever we could do and waited patiently.
I’m sure if that had happened in some other countries there would have been a big uproar and possibly people pushing and shoving, trying to get off the train. But here they couldn’t even open the doors because we were on a live track, and who wanted to get off when wet snow was pouring down anyway. Eventually, we got moving some two and a half hours later, and the rest of the trip proceeded uneventfully – at least to my stop.
And the moral of the story? If you have to ask that, then you’re certainly in bad shape. But I’ll tell you anyhow: It’s that the Grim Reaper can show up suddenly and unexpectedly, at any time, any place, for anyone of us! Therefore, it behooves us to be wise and have our houses in a state of continual readiness so that he won’t’ catch us by surprise and we end up in the wrong place.
That’s why we have to pay special attention to the words of John in Revelation. ‘Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and all things that he saw. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.’ (Rev.1:2-3)
Ah friends, we simply refuse to believe that our time is near, nearer than we think. I sure hope that person whose time expired on the train yesterday evening was ready, else they’ll be in for a rude awakening when they end up in the lair of the prince of darkness instead of the light of heaven.
Now hear the scholars, re those two verses: ‘1:2-3. Bare record: John was a witness of what he wrote. He saw the revelation and wrote what he saw. The blessing of verse 3 has a threefold condition: (1) read the book, (2) hear (understand it), and (3) keep (obey) it.
The essential nature of prophecy was the communication of new truth (divine revelation). God has given it to be obeyed, not simply to be discussed and debated. The time is at hand in the sense that nothing else now has to occur before the Rapture and the beginning of the Tribulation Period.’
Oh my people, please, please understand that anything can happen at anytime. And believe me, you’d much rather be amongst those that are Raptured, taken up in the twinkling of an eye, when the last trumpet sounds, (1 Cor.15:52) than those that are left behind to endure the time of serious tribulation!
That means we have to accept Jesus NOW! For who knows when the Grim Reaper or the Rapture will show up? Nobody but our heavenly Father! And why Jesus? Because He said quite emphatically: ‘I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: NO MAN cometh unto the Father, but by me.’ (John 14:6)
Friends, it’s your decision to believe Him or not. But I can assure you of ONE thing; you’ll never darken heaven’s door, unless you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour! End of story! Now for those of us who have already wisely done that, let’s go home telling the world of our position in Christ nuh! In full voice and true sincerity of heart:
‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home.
My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
Oh my, my…just think about it nuh – the gloriousness of heaven…And it will be even more glorious than that! Much LOVE!
…I’m believing that there’s life after death…and putting my money…my hope,,,and my faith on Jesus…oh glory, glory…
14 Nov 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, a leader, a rewarder, a witness, abominable sins, atoned for, believe, buy wine, call a nation, come, come ye to the waters, commander, covenant, diligently seek him, drink of my wine, dwell in heaven, eat of my bread, every one that thirsteth, eyes fixed straight ahead, faith, find rest, finite souls, foolishness, forsake the foolish, free choice, glad to be alive, Glory be, go in the way, God's Son, hands on the plough, hath no money, hear the call of God, honour, humble, I have mingled, incline your ear, Isaiah, Jesus Christ, knowledge, live, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, lowly, meek, milk, not looking back, omnipotent god, precious blood, promises, raise him up, redeem our souls, redeemed, respond in wisdom, righteousness, run unto thee, sacrifice, seek ye the Lord, selfless sacrifice, show of faith, sins, spiritually hungry, take my yoke, the breath of life, the cross at Calvary, the fold of Almighty God, the Gentiles, the Good Book, the good shepherd, the Great God Jehovah, the great invitation, the Holy One of Israel, the Lord's invitation, understanding, Wednesday Wail, wisdom, without money, wonderful caretaker, work steadfastly, your best interest, your soul shall live
Proverbs 9:5. Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled (mixed).
Welcome, welcome my people, to another bright and glorious day in the fold of Almighty God! Bless His holy name! And please remember that you belong to the BEST fold in all the universe; the one overseen by God’s Son, His first born, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; such a wonderful caretaker that He’s known as the Good Shepherd! Glory be my brethren!
I don’t know what we’d do if we didn’t have Jesus nuh. We’d certainly be in a much bigger mess than we are currently in. But through His selfless sacrifice on the cross at Calvary, His most precious blood redeemed us, our abominable sins were paid for, He took the weight of our sins on His shoulders and gave us His righteousness!
And the great fact of the matter is that He was the Only One who could have atoned for our ghastly sins under the holy and righteous rule of the Father! That’s why we need to constantly remember His great sacrifice and praise His name and exalt Him, like the Father has done. As the Good Book says, the Lord is a rewarder of all those who come to Him in faith, who diligently seek Him and believe. (Heb.11:6)
And the greatest show of faith that ever was, is that of Jesus, who believed that though His Father put the sins of the world on His shoulders and forsook Him for a moment, He would eventually raise Him up again, so that they could once more dwell in heaven…with all of His other children, now deemed righteous by His sacrifice.
Oh friends, can we have such a strong and wonderful faith? It might just be a tad much for our finite souls, (smile) but there’s no reason why we can’t work steadfastly towards as great a faith as possible in this earthly life. And that’s exactly what the Lord desires of us, for it’s only through faith that we can receive all the promises He’s laid out for us.
Now hear this awesome promise as stated by Cousin Sol in our Bit. ‘Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled (mixed).’ Yes friends, that’s the Lord’s invitation for us today…in fact every day He throws out the same invitation… ‘Come!’ And live in wisdom and honour, understanding and knowledge. Like Cousin Sol says in the next verse: ‘Forsake the foolish (foolishness), and live; and go in the way of understanding.’ (Prov.9:6)
How much clearer can it be eh my fellow believers? Not much. But our great and wonderful God always finds a way to do it. Listen to how He says it through His prophet Isaiah: ‘Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money, and without price.’ (Is.55:1) Wow! What an amazing invitation! Only the Great God Jehovah can make such a promise and keep it!
And furthermore He asks? ‘Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satsifieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness (abundance).’ (Is.55:2) Oh my people which other supposed god has ever thrown out such an invitation eh? None other than the omnipotent God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
And He’s still not done: ‘Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people.
Behold thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee. Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near.’ (Is.55: 3-4) Ah my brethren what prophetic words of our great God!
Hear the scholars’ explanation of those verse. ‘55:1-7. God’s free gift of salvation is offered to all who will receive it. Those who are spiritually hungry and thirsty may come and eat and drink without money (or freely). He promises an everlasting covenant to the Gentiles like the one He established with Israel. His invitation to all men is clearly stated by the appeal, Seek ye the Lord and call ye upon him.’
And friends, what the Lord promises, He delivers, in spades too. He sent us Jesus to redeem our souls, and Bruh Paul to lead the Gentiles into His kingdom. And Jesus continued the Great Invitation: ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of (from) me; for I am meek and lowly in heart (gentle and humble): and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matt.11:28-30)
Oh friends, oh friends, what more must the Lord do for us to realize the wisdom of being one of His flock eh? I don’t know, and I don’t think the Lord knows either nuh, seeing that He has given us free choice to make our own decisions, else He would certainly do it. But be all that as it may, I’m imploring us to please hear the call of God today and respond in wisdom, for it’s in your best interest, not God’s.
Now for those of us wise enough to accept the call, let’s go home telling the world our position in Christ as we declare our Wednesday Wail. All together in harmony now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday!
Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
And every time we declare it, my mind just boggles with how glorious that future will be! Much LOVE!
…blessed are they which hunger and thirst after righteousness…for they shall be filled… (Matt.5:6)
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