02 Sep 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a better tomorrow, a false attitude, a hard night, a rough night, arthritic pains, awe, basis of our faith, be of good courage, believe it to see it, born to win, Christians, courage, disliked, expect to win, failure, faith, feared, Friend Anselm, grin and bear them, heavenly Father, help, hope, I feel so mash up, in his word do I hope, inspire us, Jesus Christ, Labour Day, liked, LOVE, loving-kindness, merciful God, mercy, mount up with wings, my soul doth wait, not be faint, not be weary, omnipotent god, plan to win, prepare to win, Prince Buster, redemption, renew their strength, respect for others, respect for self, responsibility for your actions, reverenced, revolutionary ways, run, sins, strengthen thine heart, success, surrender forgiveness, take note of iniquities, the costume of failure, the fruit of the spirit, the ladder of success, the three R's, trust, wait on the Lord, wait patiently, walk, watch for the morning, what a bam bam, who shall stand, wisdom
Isaiah 40:31. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
Well friends, it looks like it’s going to be a gorgeous Labour Day Saturday! Wow! Both the Sun and the Son are overwhelmingly brilliant, but it is a tad chilly in my area though, a mere 10 Celsius, which means the people up north in the cottage country might even have had the fire and warm clothing going on overnight.
And, like the old Prince Buster song, I’m claiming, ‘I feel so mash up today…It was a hard night…a rough night…’ However, it’s not for the reasons that Prince Buster stated, although that might have made it somewhat easier to bear. (smile) Only the ole Jamaican fogies would know that song, and we can’t discuss it in a family paper. (smile)
But the ole arthritic pains acted up last night. What a bam bam eh! But we’ll just grin and bear them and continue keeping on with the help of our great ever-LOVING and merciful God.
And since today is Saturday, let’s have a gander at some of the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this week, as he sincerely aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. First up is one that all Christians should be following. ‘I’d rather be disliked for who I am than be liked for who I’m not.’
Yes friends, we should always show our true faces, the true Christian one, and who doesn’t like it ‘chuh pool.’ (smile) I’m not sure if that is the correct spelling of the term, but we all know what I mean.
We should NEVER put on a false attitude just for people to like us. Our Leader, Jesus Christ NEVER did that, though a lot of people tended to dislike Him for His revolutionary ways.
This next quote also applies very much to us Christians. ‘You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win.’ And because many of us don’t plan and prepare and expect to win, we end up losing. It’s the very basis of our faith my brethren…believe it and you’ll see it!
The next quote obviously follows from the last. ‘You cannot climb the ladder of success dressed in the costume of failure.’ Figuratively, it takes a certain style of dress to climb that much vaunted ladder of success.
And we’re not talking about the world’s ladder, but Christ’s ladder of success. If you’re not dressed for it, filled with faith, LOVE, trust, surrender, forgiveness and the other fruit of the Spirit then you won’t ever climb it.
And we’ve saved the best for last. ‘Follow The Three R’s: The three R’s are: Respect for self, Respect for others, Responsibility for your actions’ Even more thought provoking Christian actions my brethren, although they should apply to even the non-believers.
Unfortunately though, those three ‘R’s’ have been lost in the craziness of today’s mad scramble for wealth and power. And the ONLY way you can truly accomplish those three ‘R’s’ is through the help of our heavenly Father.
That’s why our Bit is so important in our daily life. ‘But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.’
Yeh friends, when we wait upon our magnificent God, then we do all of the above, because HE gives us the wherewithal to do it. We can’t get it ALL from NO other place or person! And that’s an indisputable fact!
Hear how the psalmist puts it in Psalm 130 –My soul waiteth for the Lord. ‘If thou Lord shouldest mark (take note of) iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared (reverenced with awe). I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.
My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning. Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy (LOVING-kindness), and with him is plenteous (abundant) redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.’ (Ps.130:3-8)
What more is there to say eh friends? Nothing really. So please, let’s be smart and wait patiently, reverently, faithfully and perseveringly on our omnipotent God nuh, for that is the wisdom above all wisdom. Much LOVE!
…wait on the Lord: be of good courage…and he shall strengthen thine heart…wait…I say…on the Lord… (Ps.27:14)
17 Aug 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a new slate, a sad state of affairs, abundance, almighty god, another day in the life, beglad, bless the Lord, blessings, boast in the Lord, calamitous times, Christian, compassionate heart, controversial topic, courage, creative skills, creativity, curse, dead in sins, delivered me, divine protection, eternal separation from God, eternity, exalt His name, failure, faith, favour, for Jesus' sake, from all my fears, gospel truth, grace, harmony, he heard me, help, hurt, I sought the Lord, in the name of Jesus, Jesus, joy, LOVE, magnanimity, magnify the Lord, marvellous feat, mercy, negative word, our heavenly Father, positive outlook, power, praise and worship, problems, prosper, redemption, rejection, sacrifice, salvation, saved him, sorrow, strife, succeed, talent, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the Holy Trinity, the humble shall hear, the LOVE of Jesus, this poor man cried, Thursday Blessings, to die for us, tragedy, true living God, trust, walking with God, wisdom, worry
Psalm 34:4. I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
And then it was Thursday! Another day in the life; a fresh, new slate, one filled with the grace and mercy of Almighty God, our heavenly Father!
How wonderful is that eh, just knowing that you can handle anything that comes against you with His awesome help? I’d say there were no appropriate words to truly describe that scenario.
But then our God is like no other; He is the ONE and ONLY TRUE LIVING GOD who made heaven and earth and all therein. What immense might, power, wisdom and creative skills it must have taken to perform such a marvellous feat!
And then, to show His magnanimity, even when we were dead in sins, He sent His One Son, Jesus to die for us, so that we could receive salvation and spend eternity with Him. That’s why we praise and worship Him with our whole heart, mind, body and soul!
And who is Jesus, you ask? The glorious ONE who brought heavenly LOVE and redemption to be spread around the whole earth!
Now listen to this description of that LOVE from Fil Anderson in an article from In Touch Magazine titled ‘But for Sorrow.’
Fil says: ‘The LOVE of Jesus is the most prevailing and magnificent force in this world. It’s stronger than every rejection, every failure, every tragedy, every worry, and every hurt. And it’s the source of our deepest joy, even in sorrow.’
Oh friends, I believe that is possibly the best description I’ve ever heard of Jesus’ LOVE, for it encompasses EVERYTHING! It brings us joy untold, even in tough, calamitous times and can help us cure all our problems. There is absolutely NOTHING greater in this world than the LOVE of Jesus!
Oh how I wish that many, many more of earth’s people would realize that and place their deepest trust in Him, since He is the ONLY One who can save them from their sins and sorrows and eventually eternal separation from God.
But unfortunately, today, we’re so saturated with the foolish wisdom of man, and listen so closely to the evil forces of the world that we’re turning away from God, rather than turning to Him.
It’s truly a sad state of affairs my Christian brethren, and we have to take some of the blame for that, because we’re not working as diligently and sincerely to enlighten others about Christ as we should.
And it’s not like the message we’re supposed to spread is a lie, but it’s gospel truth! From way back when, man knew on which side his bread was buttered and put their sole trust, depended fully on God.
Listen to Bruh David’s declaration in our Bit. ‘I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.’
What other religious faith can make that claim with any real truth eh mih people? NONE WHATSOEVER! Only the true believers in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the Holy Trinity, can make such a heartfelt and true declaration!
And hear how Bruh David continues after our Bit. ‘They looked unto Him, and were lightened (radiant): and their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.’ (Ps.34:5-6)
Ah friends, why won’t the world turn to our magnificent and magnanimous God eh; the ONLY One who can save them out of all their troubles? Most of them don’t even want to hear about God… and don’t even mention the name of Jesus, for he is the most controversial topic n the universe.
And that’s why He is just the GREATEST and the SWEETEST and the MOST LOVING! Praise His Holy name my brethren! For He indeed deserves infinite praise for His wonderful work and sacrifice on our behalf.
And now I’ll call on us to do what Bruh David declared at the beginning of the psalm. ‘I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.’ (Ps.34:1-3)
Now that is exactly how a Christian ought to behave! And friends, if we’d only do those things on a serious and continual basis, both our individual lives and our world would be so much better off, filled with much more harmony, and much less strife than it currently contains.
So let’s try doing better nuh, for Jesus’ sake. He did so much for us, the least we can do is spread his name and His word around the earth.
And all God’s children declared a loud and bold and sincere ‘Amen!’
Now let’s go home proclaiming our Thursday Blessings, blessings we receive for truly believing. In unison now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance!
I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
And since blessings are supposed to be shared, it’s our bounden duty to go out and share them with others now. Much LOVE!
…walking sincerely with God…doesn’t mean you won’t have problems…but you’ll be able to handle them successfully…with His amazing help…
06 Jun 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a conscious decision, a son of Abraham, abundant life, abundant love, believed, beloved of God, boring death, born again, brand new, company of Jesus, discouragement, dr robert h schuller, evil world, exciting life, exquisite, failure, faithful brethren, forgiving, friend of Jesus, generous, glory, God sent not His Son, guiding light, hope, Hour of Power Devotional, humble, I come alive, I will move, kind, Love of Jesus, loving, merciful, might be saved, pardon, power, promised never to leave nor forsake us, ready access, saving grace, separated from God, shame, shield, spiritual mystery, strength, success, sweet, tax collector, thanks and praise, that which was lost, the best thing, the only begotten Son of God, the providence of God, the saving power of Jesus, the world through him, to condemn the world, Tuesday Mantra, unique, walking with Jesus, walks beside before behind, weakness, wherewithal to face, wise guidance, Zaccheus
John 3:17. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
Ah friends, on this somewhat damp and dreary looking June morning, it’s ever so important for us to have the unique and exquisite LOVE of Jesus flowing sincerely, briskly and securely in our hearts, so that we can have ready access to the wherewithal to face whatever may befall us today.
Yes my faithful brethren, only the overwhelming, the ever abiding and abundant LOVE of Jesus has the power and the spiritual mystery to carry us through each and every day of our lives.
Therefore, as we open our eyes to greet each and every new day, we ought to give Him thanks and praise and ask for his wise guidance as He accompanies us on our earthly journey.
And that He does friends! Having promised never to leave nor forsake us, He walks beside, before and behind us each and every minute of each and every day, once you accept Him as your Lord and Saviour.
As the psalmist says, He’s our shield and guiding light. NEVER forget that!
Now here is a simple but stirring and heart-moving prayer from Gramps Schuller’s (Dr, Robert H. Schuller) Hour of Power Devotional. It’s also simply titled; ‘I Will Move…’ I’m sure I’ve shared it before, but it’s one of those prayers that are certainly worth sharing again and again.
Please pray with me. ‘Lord, I want your heart to be my heart. For in you I come alive, moving ahead from boring death to exciting life! In your promises, I will move from discouragement to hope.
In your pardon, I will move from shame to glory. In your power, I will move from weakness to strength. In your providence, I will move from failure to success! Thank You Lord. Amen.’
Oh friends, that is ALL so true! It’s only with the promises, the power, the pardon and providence of Almighty God that we can truly move from death to life, abundant life that is, and have lasting success in this evil world.
That brings us to our Bit: ‘For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.’
And if you believe that with all your heart, soul, body and mind, then you’re on your way to a great life in the wonderful and unique company of Jesus!
Wow mih breddren! It couldn’t get any better than that! Hanging out with Jesus is the BEST THING that can ever happen to a human being! And if you already know Jesus, you’ll know that what I’m saying is absolutely true!
Oh, I’ve just got to say it again: ‘Wow, mih breddren! Walking with Jesus is the BEST THING that can ever happen to a human being!’ (smile)
He’s so sweet, and kind, humble, LOVING, generous, forgiving, merciful and gracious…etc…etc! And once you truly get to know Him, every so often, you’ll sit down and ask yourself, ‘how ever did I live before He came into my life eh?’
Well you simply weren’t living before that, just existing. But once Jesus entered your life, He made you a brand new person, regenerated you, made you to be born again spiritually…and everything changed…your mindset, your view of life, your habits and behaviour, all began to change for the better. That’s the saving power of Jesus friends!
As our Bit says, He didn’t come to condemn but to save. However, it doesn’t happen automatically; we need to accept His saving grace, that free gift of God.
As Jesus says after our Bit: ‘He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.’ (John 3:18)
So you see friends, it’s a conscious decision that every one of us has to make; to either believe or not believe in Jesus, the only begotten Son of God!
And the scholars offer this explanation. ‘3:18. This verse answers the question, “Why do people go to hell?” It is because they do not believe in Jesus.’
That’s straight and to the point people! It couldn’t be any simpler. Believe and you’re saved; don’t believe, and you spend eternity separated from God, the worst thing that could ever happen to a human soul.
And we’ll give one more example of the saving grace of Jesus, His words after He had lunch with the tax collector Zaccheus.
After Zaccheus repented of his sins, ‘Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.’ (Luke 19:9-10)
And the scholars tell us: ’19:10. The words seek, save, and lost all appear elsewhere in Scripture in a shepherd context. This verse may be taken as the kernel statement of the central theme of Luke: Jesus is the compassionate, searching Herdsman who seeks to save those who can by no means save themselves.’
Truer words were never written friends! And since we believe it all, we can go home joyfully and sincerely declaring our Tuesday Mantra.
All together now, in strong voice and confident humility: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
All glory and honour to our most kind and LOVING Saviour! Now let’s go out and share His LOVE and friendship as He desires of us. Much LOVE!
…when Jesus comes into our hearts…His light and LOVE…will faithfully lead and safely guide us…
09 May 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a father's wisdom, adversity, advice, almighty god, beloved of God, calamity, Christian maturity, decisions, disaster, doctrine, failure, final, friend of Jesus, from glory to glory, giving thanks, Glory to God! flooding, hear ye children, heartfelt thanks, in Jesus' name, instruction, know understanding, knowledge, Law, logic, LOVE, Missouri, my thoughts are higher than your thoughts, my thoughts are not your thoughts, my ways are higher than yours, no giving up, on the move, seek first the kingdom of God, seeking, slaving, success, the broad and destructive path, the heavens are higher than the earth, the instruction of a father, the words of my mouth, this is the day the Lord has made, times, trials, tribulations, true, Tuesday Mantra, understanding, valuable, water damage, we shall rejoice and be glad in it, work, your ways are not my ways
Proverbs 4:1. Hear ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.
And then the rains stopped… Glory to God! And the bright sunshiny, though still not so warm days returned! But thankfully, we didn’t experience the flooding and extensive water damage that the people in the U.S. state of Missouri experienced last week.
Another day of that awesome rain would certainly have put us up to the flooding level. But all thanks to our wonderful God, we did not reach it. And thus we are bold to say: ‘This is the day the Lord has made, we shall rejoice and be glad in it!’
Oh friends, we never know how truly blessed we are until we see disaster and calamity happen to others nuh, and only then do we give some heartfelt thanks. But it ought not to be so. We ought to be giving thanks continually, both in the good and bad times.
Oh, we all know that it is difficult to give thanks when things are going awry, but that aspect only comes with Christian maturity, and Christian maturity only comes with adversity, with trials and tribulations, which serve to make us stronger in our faith.
Yes friends, it’s a vicious cycle that we cannot get around, if we want to grow in our faith, in our likeness to Jesus. That brings me to this quote from my ‘P.S. I LOVE You,’ Poster. ‘No failure is ever final – nor is any success.’
And as Christians we ought to strongly believe that and diligently put it into action. For remember, in Jesus’ world there is no giving up, so when we fall, we need to get back up, dust ourselves off and get back in the race; that awesome race of life in which we’re involved.
And when we are successful, we cannot afford to rest on our laurels, but continue moving upwards and onwards in Jesus. As the Good Book tells us; from glory to glory!
So as true believers, we ought always to be on the move, in some form and fashion, never standing still, never just sitting on our fannies and ‘narcissistically’ admiring, being absorbed only in our own lives, for there is always work to be done in Jesus’ name!
And thus we come to today’s Bit: ‘Hear ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.’
Ah mih breddren, instruction and understanding are ever so important in our Christian walk of faith! If we don’t receive good instruction, and then don’t understand it properly, we’ll most likely go astray, down the broad and destructive path.
Now a father’s job is to impart proper knowledge and instruction to his children, which unfortunately many fathers aren’t doing today, thus many children are going astray. But let’s listen as Cousin Sol continues his treatise on a father’s wisdom.
‘For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law. For I was my father’s son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother. He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments and live.
Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline (turn away) from the words of my mouth. Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: LOVE her, and she shall keep thee.’ (Prov.4:2-6)
Oh my people, what wonderful words of advice from Cousin Sol on the getting of wisdom and understanding! And it’s not really rocket science nuh, but pure and simple logic. If we have wisdom and understanding, then we’ll make wise and intelligent decisions in our lives. And what more can we ask but that eh!
The only problem though is whose or what wisdom and understanding are we seeking – that of the world, or that of Almighty God? Obviously they are both different, hold different things valuable and true.
But since we claim that God is our Creator, Controller and Provider, then it would seem that we should be seeking His wisdom and understanding, since it is higher than man’s.
As the Lord so plainly tells us through Isaiah: ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.’ (Is.55:8-9)
So why would we want to follow man’s wisdom eh? Because it is more attuned to the lusts and desires of our flesh! Simple as that!
God’s wisdom needs us to first seek His kingdom, and His righteousness, and then all the things we need would be given to us. We don’t have to go seeking and slaving after them, like we have to do, if we follow man’s wisdom.
Now doesn’t it make more sense to follow God, rather than man eh mih breddren? It certainly does! God might have more restrictions, but believe me, they are all their for our benefit. So with all of that in mind, let’s go home now declaring our Tuesday Mantra, which tells us who and whose we are, without a shadow of doubt.
As one solid group now: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
How wonderful it is to be the beloved of God and the friend of Jesus! Now let’s go out and show the world that LOVE and friendship of Jesus and our heavenly Father, like we’re supposed to. Much LOVE!
…as for me and mine…we will serve the Lord…
P.S. Please excuse the lateness of the Bit. It ‘s just one of those days. (smile) Much LOVE!
18 Mar 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a godly manner, a good foundation, an assurance, confide in god, couch potato, earthly possessions, eternal life, eternity, failure, faith, fear of success, financial resources, following Jesus, generosity, generous, good works, grocery shopping, haughty, heavenly rewards, highminded, household chores, lazy, liberal in giving, LOVE, moth and rust doth corrupt, procrastination, responsibility, rich, ruin, salvation, selfish world, sharing, sleeping in, step of faith, the living God, the Lord loves a generous giver, the message of Jesus, treasures upon earth, trust, trust in uncertain riches, warning, wealth, words of wisdom
Matthew 6:19. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt (ruin), and where thieves break through and steal.
Ah mih people, the ‘confuffling’ day called Saturday is upon us once again. It’s ‘confuffling’ in the sense that for some it signifies sleeping in and a couch potato existence. However, for others it entails numerous household chores as well as grocery shopping and other running around.
That means some people work harder on Saturdays at home, than they do all week at their place of employment. What an ironic side to our modern-day, have all the gadgets to make life easier society!
Anyway, enough of my snide comments, let’s turn to some of our friend Anselm’s quotes of this past week. You know he always aspires to inspire us with his quotes. Listen to this first one: ‘To think too long about doing a thing often becomes its undoing.’ And there’s much truth to that, for we often sit down and ponder doing something for so long, that we end up not doing it.
That leads us to this second quote. ‘Procrastination is the fear of success. People procrastinate because they are afraid of the success that they know will result if they move ahead now. Because success is heavy, carries a responsibility with it, it is much easier to procrastinate and live on the ‘someday I’ll’ philosophy.’
Oh friends, I don’t know if that’s the real reason people procrastinate nuh, although I’ve had that experience with someone sometime aback. I wondered why they didn’t accept the opportunity that I was giving them to do something at which they were good at. I found out later from a close relative that it was because they were afraid of succeeding, and the added responsibility that would bring. I don’t think I procrastinate because I’m afraid of success nuh, I think I procrastinate because I’m just downright lazy. (smile)
And I like this last quote because it’s so appropriate to our faith. ‘You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.’ That’s ever so true when it comes to following Jesus! It’s like the staircase; once you know that it’s there, you don’t need to see all the steps at once, since some of them wind out of sight. So you just climb it, expecting that there will be another step, and another one until it reaches to the top of wherever it is going.
Following Jesus involves the same action, we just call it faith. Once you’ve accepted Him as your Lord and Saviour, you know that He will always be there for you because of the promises He’s made in His word. The problem in trusting Him in our early faith walk comes from our fear of failure.
But like climbing the staircase, until you take that first step of faith, you’ll never know whether He’ll be there for you and keep His promises. We just have to step out in faith my people. And after you’ve stepped out a few times and seen His awesome promises fulfilled, each step becomes a little easier.
Consequently, we ought also to listen to His words of wisdom and warning in our Bit. ‘Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt (ruin), and where thieves break through and steal.’
Now Jesus must know what He’s talking about since He’s been to both heaven and earth. But many of us still doubt His warning, much to our detriment. So let’s get some commentary on the subject from someone else, Bruh Paul, in his first letter to Timothy.
‘Charge (command) them that are rich in this world (present age), that they be not highminded (haughty), nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy. That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute (give), willing to communicate (share). Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.’ (1 Tim.6:17-19).
That’s Bruh Paul’s recommendation for those who have much earthly possessions. So it doesn’t mean if you are rich you can’t go to heaven. You have to use those riches in a good and godly manner.
Now hear these explanations from the scholars. ‘6:17-18. Paul charges wealthy believers (1) not to be proud and look down on those who are not rich, (2) to confide in God rather than in unstable riches, (3) to be rich in good works by generously sharing their surplus of financial resources with the needy. To be ready to distribute is to be generous in sharing. To be willing to communicate is to be liberal in giving.’
‘6:19. When wealthy believers generously share (v.18), they secure an assurance (laying up in store for themselves a good foundation) that in the future (against the time to come) they will indeed enter heaven (lay hold on eternal life). Salvation is not purchased by the giving of money, but generosity demonstrates the reality of one’s faith. Since the believer trusts God and not money, he gives. This giving shows where his heart is and that he views his wealth in light of eternity.’
So friends, this Saturday morning, let’s ponder our wealth and what we are doing with it nuh. Are we giving generously, or frugally? Remember the Lord LOVES a generous giver! And there is so much need in our crazy, disjointed and selfish world, that only through generous giving will it ever be lessened. So as true believers, let’s try and give even a li’l more than we’re currently giving nuh. You’ll be amazed at what it will do for your heavenly rewards. Much LOVE!
…to give…from our hearts…and yet to give…that is the message of Jesus…
14 Mar 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a believer in Jesus Christ, a persoanl faith commitment, a storm of wind, a struggle, afaid, beloved of God, calm, cancelled flights, cold, come to grips, commands, commitment, cough, decision, disciples, doing your best, everlasting truth, excellence, failure, faith, faithful, friend of Jesus, glory hallelujah, God works in mysterious ways, gospel truth, He maketh the storm a calm, heart problems, hurry, in the midst of them, Jesus Christ, Luke, M.R.I, marvelled, maturity, mighty works, neck of the woods, notice of cancellation, perish, rebuked the wind, reeling, share His love, snow, storms of life, the answer to everything, the Good Book, the New testament, the only one, the other side, the person of Christ, the raging of the water, the real McCoy, the sea of Galilee, the water, the waves are still, the wind, they obey him, trappings, trust, truth, Tuesday Mantra, unfavourable conditions, what manner of man is this, where is your faith, with Jesus on our side, witnessing, wondered, working them out for our benefit, worry
Psalm 107:29. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
And then the snow came…white and plentiful! (smile) Yes friends, it does look beautiful out there, with the area all covered in white. It began yesterday afternoon and is scheduled to go in to tomorrow, Wednesday.
Hundreds of flights have been cancelled at the airport. They haven’t even gotten around to cleaning the lanes in my area as yet, so much of the white stuff has fallen. And it’s not only snowy but cold too. The temperature in my neck of the woods is around minus 11 Celsius. Hn!
And the best part of the whole scenario is that I am scheduled to go into the big city of T.O. for an M.R.I. on my heart this morning at 11:15. Well what do you know? That doesn’t seem to be happening nuh!
With my supposed heart problems, I’m definitely not going to fight the treacherous roads and weather to go into the city. And they can charge me the hundred dollars for not giving them 2 business day notice of cancellation, which I’ll fight anyway.
And on top of all that, I’ve been fighting a cold all weekend, which today has morphed into a cough. So I obviously can’t go and lie quietly in their disgustingly loud machine for the half an hour or forty-five minutes that it takes.
Now don’t get me wrong, I do want to get the procedure done, but not under these unfavourable conditions. End of tirade! (smile)
And before we get into our Bit, here’s an interesting quote from my ‘P.S. I LOVE YOU’ Poster. It says: ‘If you are doing your best, you won’t have to worry about failure.’
And that’s gospel truth friends! Once your mind is focused on excellence, you won’t have time to consider failure. And if you’re a believer in Jesus Christ, then that’s even more of a gospel truth, because with Jesus on our side we can’t fail!
We might make mistakes and feel like failures, but since with Jesus there is no giving up, and since failure only comes when you give up, then through pure logic, true believers never fail. Ah mih people, I know it’s a tad convoluted, but it’s all true. (smile)
Now here is our Bit which resounds with everlasting truth. ‘He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.’
Yes my fellow believers that’s indeed what our wonderful Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ does! Yesterday we read about the metaphorical stuff before our Bit about sailors drunkenly reeling around in storms on the sea, today we’ll read about the real McCoy.
Listen to Luke’s account in the Good Book. ‘Now it came to pass on a certain day, that he (Jesus) went into a ship with his disciples: and he said unto them, Let us go over to the other side of the lake. And they launched forth.
But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled (filling) with water, and were in jeopardy. And they came to him (Jesus), and awoke him, saying, Master, Master, we perish.
Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was calm. And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered (marvelled), saying one to another, What manner of man is this! For he commandeth even the winds and the water, and they obey him.’ (Luke 8:22-25)
Ah my people, it was the same God-man who created the wind and the water, so obviously when He spoke to them they would listen to Him! And Jesus is asking us the same thing today: where is our faith in Him in the midst of all our storms of life?
Do we run afraid to Him, or are we faithful enough to believe that He is already in the midst of them with us, working them out for our benefit?
Now the latter just shows more maturity, but the important thing is that we come to Him in all aspects of our lives, be they stormy or not. For He is the ONLY ONE who can truly calm anything that’s happening with us.
And the scholars offer these explanations. ‘8:23. The Sea of Galilee is surrounded by mountains. High winds sweep down suddenly from these heights, whipping up the sea.’
‘8:25. It was a struggle f or the disciples, as for others, to come to grips with the person of Christ. Witnessing His mighty works helped, but a personal faith commitment still had to be made. The decision would not have been an easy one.’
No my people, it would not have been easy for those disciples way back then, seeing this ordinary looking man calming the wind and the sea.
It’s still difficult for many of us today, even knowing what we know, with all the trappings of the New Testament and the teachings down through the last two thousand years. Imagine their dilemma nuh!
And we’ll go home declaring our Tuesday Mantra in all sincerity and truth. As one now: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
Oh precious people, how wonderful it is to be the beloved of God and the friend of Jesus! Glory Hallelujah! Now let’s go out and share it with the world as He desires nuh! Much LOVE!
…Jesus is simply the answer to …EVERYTHING…
P.S. I just called the hospital and cancelled my appointment, and they didn’t charge me the hundred dollars. Glory to God! Only thing is that the next available appointment is in May. But who knows, by then I might not even have a heart problem, the way our mighty God works in mysterious ways. (smile) Much LOVE!
05 Jun 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: affirmation of faith, angels, anger, as for me and mine, at his feet, blameless, cease from anger, Christendom, come alive, commit thy way, confidently trust the Lord, consequences, crown him Lord of all, cut off, death, delight, destroyed, discouragement, do good, dwell in the land, encouraging, envious, ever-faithful, everlasting song, evil men, evildoers, exciting life, failure, faith, formula, forsake wrath, fret not, glory, Glory be, God's sanctuary, grace, hope, Hour of Power Devotional, I will move, immoral, inherit the earth, iniquity, Israelite, life boring death, majesty ascribe, move forward, National Anthem of Christendom, omnipotent god, pardon, peace of mind, pious, power, praise, prayer, prostrate, providence, raised the roof, ransomed, recipe, responsive, rest, reversal of fortunes, righteousness, robert h schuller, rooted out, sacred throng, saves you by his grace, seed of Israel, shame, short-lived, strange women, strength, success, Sunday, the Lord's Day, the Lord's presence, the perfect, the power of Jesus name, the Promised Land, the royal diadem, the upright, the wicked, tongue, transgressors, tribe, uplifting, wait patiently, wait upon the Lord, we will follow the Lord, weakness, wickedness, wisdom, worship, wrath
Proverbs 2:21. For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect (blameless) shall remain in it.
Welcome my fellow believers to this blessed and glorious day called Sunday – the best day of the week! And so it should be since its’ the Lord’s Day. And what better way to begin our proceedings than with some praise and worship, so please sing with me this popular old hymn, which is sometimes called the ‘National Anthem of Christendom.’
As one now my people, let’s raise the roof of God’s sanctuary with the passion of our praise and worship. ‘All hail the power of Jesus’ name! Let angels prostrate fall. Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown him Lord of all. Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown him Lord of all!
O seed of Israel’s chosen race now ransomed from the fall, hail him who saves you by his grace, and crown him Lord of all. Hail him who saves you by his grace, and crown him Lord of all! Let every tongue and every tribe responsive to his call, to him all majesty ascribe, and crown him Lord of all. To him all majesty ascribe, and crown him Lord of all!
Oh, that with all the sacred throng we at his feet may fall! We’ll join the everlasting song and crown him Lord of all. We’ll join the everlasting song and crown him Lord of all. Amen!’
And having raised the roof not only of our sanctuary, but also of heaven, let’s tone it down a little with some heartfelt prayer as devised by Gramps Schuller (Robert H Schuller) from his Hour of Power Devotional, titled ‘I Will Move…’ I’m fairly sure that we’ve prayed it before, but as we keep on saying, once it’s nice, it’s okay to pray it twice. (smile)
So please pray with me. ‘Lord, I want your heart to be in my heart. For in you I come alive, moving ahead from boring death to exciting life! In your promises, I will move from discouragement to hope. In your pardon, I will move from shame to glory. In your power, I will move from weakness to strength. In your providence, I will move from failure to success! Thank you, Lord. Amen.’
Oh friends, what an awesome prayer! It highlights all we can do and become, how we’ll move positively forward when we acknowledge and sincerely maintain the Lord’s presence in our lives! Glory be!
And all of that just nicely and naturally segues into our Bit; wise words from Cousin Sol, as he talks about staying away from evil men and strange (immoral) women. ‘For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect (blameless) shall remain in it.’
And that’s a fact my brethren, as Cousin Sol explains in the next verse. ‘But the wicked shall be cut off (destroyed) from the earth (land), and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.’ (Prov.2:22)
Precious people, it couldn’t get any plainer than that. Righteousness will undoubtedly overcome wickedness. That’s the promise of our ever-faithful and omnipotent God, so I wouldn’t go doubting His Word in favour of Lucifer’s lies.
And if you don’t believe Cousin Sol, then listen to his father, Bruh David, from Psalm 37 – The true state of the wicked. ‘Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed (feed on his faithfulness). Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgement (justice) as the noonday. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices (schemes) to pass.
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil (it only causes harm). For evildoers shall be cut off (destroyed): but those that wait upon (look diligently for) the Lord, shall inherit the earth.’ (Ps.37:1-9)
Ah mih breddren, what wonderful words of wisdom…and from a man who lived them! Now let’s hear some interesting explanations from the scholars on those verses.
‘Psalm 37. The psalm is written in the form of an acrostic, although our numbering is out of step with the Hebrew. There is no logical outline to the psalm, so it is best studied according to its topics. The major point of the psalm seems to be that the wicked’s prosperity is short-lived.
Though David was troubled by the prosperity of the unrighteous, he knew by faith that their undeserved bounty would be cut off. His underlying belief is that God will intervene in His time. Then the present, temporary reversal of fortunes will be set right and the righteous “shall inherit the earth” (vv.9, 11, 22, 29, 34).
The mention of inheriting the earth would be encouraging and uplifting to the pious Israelite since all of God’s blessing was connected with the Promised Land. In contrast to this blessed destiny the wicked “shall be cut off,” an expression used often in the Old Testament of a violent death.
The psalm also contains the simple formula for achieving peace of mind in the face of the wicked’s prosperity: fret not…neither be thou envious (v.1), trust…do good(v.3), delight thyself also in the Lord (v.4), commit thy way…trust (v.5), rest…wait patiently…fret not (v.7), cease from anger…forsake wrath…fret not (v.8).
All of those exhortations urge the believer to confidently trust the Lord with all of life’s problems. The psalm concludes appropriately with an undying affirmation of faith and trust in the unchanging character of God.’
What more can I say eh friends? Right there you have the perfect recipe for the best life here on planet earth. It’s now up to you to choose whom to follow. But as for me and mine, without a doubt, we will follow the Lord. Much LOVE!
…it all boils down to…trust, faith and belief in Almighty God…you either do…or you don’t…but remember to consider the consequences of each option before making your choice…
04 Jun 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a ploy, Abraham Isaac and Jacob, Anselm, anxious, aspires to inspire, being right, being wrong, bend over backwards, brain power, bring forth, came to my rescue, confidence, decision making, decisions, delight, dependent, dethrone, empty, every aspect of our lives, evil minions, failure, fall into the trap, fearing to be wrong, foolish society, free gift of mercy, good foundations, gospel truth, higher than the earth, holy, humble, idols, important input, in vain, incomprehensible, integral parts, lack of confidence, leave God for last, lose in the end, Lucifer, maturity, maturity in Christ, mercy, minor things, my thoughts are not your thoughts, my ways are not your ways, never giving up, no where else to turn, omni-present, omnipotent, omniscient, over thinking, perspective, ponder, put God first, rebel, rebelling, return to Him void, right hand man, righteous, salvation, sinful, small matters, smell the roses, starting over, the Creator of the universe, the heavens, the one and only true living God, the truth of the matter, threat, unrighteous, void
Isaiah 55:8. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
Oh friends, it’s one of those rare days when the ole fella doesn’t know what to say! Imagine that nuh! (smile) And strangely enough, I think it mostly happens to me on Saturdays. I guess it’s a ploy of our God to keep me humble and dependent on Him. But there’s no real threat of me being otherwise because I can’t do what I do without His tremendously important input.
So since I don’t have anything sensible and concrete to say, then I’ll just use the words of someone else who has, namely our friend Anselm, who consistently aspires to inspire us. And that’s the Lord’s doing too, in case you didn’t notice. (smile) He came to my rescue quite quickly today.
And what does our friend Anselm has to offer us today eh? First of all he advises us to: ‘Realize that failure or being wrong will not kill you. Confidence comes not from always being right but from not fearing to be wrong.’
Now there is much truth in those statements friends, though our selfish and foolish society might choose to differ. Failing and being wrong are integral parts of life. All of us endure them at some time or other, and it’s through failure, that we build confidence, by starting over again, by never giving up.
And as Anselm says, confident people know that they will not be always right, but they’re not afraid to be wrong. And that’s something we believers ought to seriously and sincerely work towards, because it brings us maturity in Christ.
And the second quote from Anselm declares: ‘Put things into a wider perspective. It is very easy to fall into the trap of over thinking minor things in life. So when you are thinking and thinking about something ask yourself: Will this matter in 5 years? Or even in 5 weeks?’
Oh friends, that’s gospel truth, for many of us fall into that trap of over thinking the small things in our lives. And a lot of that comes from our lack of confidence; confidence to make reasonably quick decisions with good foundations, especially on small matters. Too many of us ponder and ponder and become anxious about our decision making.
But fellow believers, if we’d start out with the right decision; that of taking it all to God before doing anything else, our anxiety and lack of confidence would not be a problem. But too often friends, we leave God for last.
What’s that popular saying? After exhausting all the man-made solutions we foolishly declare: ‘Well I guess I have no where else to turn but to God now.’ And we expect God to be happy with us and bend over backward to help us.
Steups! Not so at all my brethren. Our God takes delight when we put Him FIRST in EVERY aspect of our lives, not look upon Him as a last resort.
That brings us to our Bit. ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.’
And that’s truth we cannot dispute my brethren! The Lord’s thoughts and ways are holy and righteous, while ours, because of our fall from grace, are basically sinful and unrighteous.
And He goes on to further explain. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.’ (Is.55:9) And so it should be, if He is indeed the Creator of the universe and all therein!
Now why would we want to bow down to and worship a Deity that has less brain power than us eh? But foolishly we do it when we worship dead and inanimate idols. We have higher thoughts and ways than them, so why worship them eh?
Because we listen to Lucifer and his evil minions and refuse to acknowledge the might and power of the ONE and ONLY true and living God; He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
And yuh know what my people, nobody knows the truth of the matter better than Lucifer, since once upon a time He was Jehovah’s right hand man, until he foolishly chose to rebel, just like so many of us are choosing to do today. But friends, there’s no sense in rebelling against our Creator and Provider, we’ll lose in the end, because He’s the most powerful Being in the universe.
Listen to Him again. ‘For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater; So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void (empty), but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.’ (Is.55:10-11)
Yuh hear the confidence in that statement my fellow believers! Our God is not some little flunky trying to act big and tough like some of our earthly rulers. But He is the real McCoy!
Listen to the scholars. ‘55:8-13. God’s sovereignty and omniscience are extolled by the statement that His thoughts (i.e. purposes or intentions) and ways (derakim, or “directions”) are higher than ours. While God may certainly be known by men, He is still incomprehensible in the totality of His person and purposes.
Therefore, He reveals Himself to men by His word, which shall not return to Him void (in vain). The word of God, therefore, accomplishes His purpose in announcing salvation to all mankind.’
Yeh friends, that is the Word of our great God; powerful and mighty in its own right! It will do whatever He sends it do, and in this particular instance, the prophet Isaiah was talking about the coming of God’s salvation, a free offer of mercy to all. Glory Hallelujah!
And as promised, it came through the sacrifice of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. So please people, let’s wake up and smell the roses nuh, and embrace the most wonderful gift ever – that of salvation, with all of our hearts, souls, bodies and minds, because that is the very essence of wisdom! Much LOVE!
…who or what can dethrone a God who is…omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent…no one or nothing…
P.S. It’s a good thing I didn’t have anything to say! (smile)
01 Jun 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a dark world, aligned with God's Word, aligns us with Jesus, and glorify your Father in heaven, be excited, blessings, bountiful blessing, catch Christ's spirit, challenge, close the door, come up higher, Creator, darkness, defeat, do love, draw close to Christ, dread, dread things, enjoy, expecting success, failure, faith, favour, glad to be alive, glorify, glorious future with Jesus, Glory be, glory hallelujah, going astray, good morning, good works, Guide, halfway home, holy spirit, Hour of Power Devotional, I love you, in contact with Jesus, Joel Osteen, joy, Joyce Meyer, leader, let you light shine, light, live in victory, LOVE, make your path straight, mercies, mindset, misery, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, my hands are on the plough, new tests, open that door, passion, paths of righteousness, pilgrimage, problems, prosper, provider, redesign your self-image, restful night's sleep, Richard Grubb, right off the bat, robert h schuller, running things, shining our light, short mind spans, sincerity, start worshipping, starting your day right, staying positive, talk about your god, thank you, the breath of life, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the mindset of dread, the salt of the earth, the spirit of fear, truth, victorious living, victory, Wednesday Wail, words of defeat, words of faith, worrying
Matthew 5:16. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Oh my people, the great universe of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is unfolding as it should! Yes Friends, our magnificent God, Creator and Provider is sitting on His heavenly throne running things! Glory Be!
And we, His most wonderful creation have been blessed to see another beautiful day on planet earth. Wow! You can’t beat that my friends. But now, the problem is what should our response be to such a bountiful blessing eh?
Let me frame an interesting little scenario here. First of all Gramps Schuller (Robert H Schuller) tells us from his Hour of Power Devotional to ‘draw close to Him (Jesus Christ). Catch His spirit and you will never be the same again. Let Jesus Christ redesign your self-image.
Tomorrow morning try this prayer by Richard Grubb. “Good morning Christ. I LOVE You! What are you up to today? I want to be part of it! Thank you, God. Amen!”
Ah friends, it’s indeed a simple but interesting and powerful prayer, in that it aligns us with Jesus Christ as soon as we awaken, gets us sincerely and securely hooked up with Him, our Guide and Leader right off the bat! That way we have less chance of going astray pretty early in the day.
Then sister Joyce (Joyce Meyer) from her devotional ‘Starting Your Day Right’ tells us: ‘Another key to starting your day right is not to dread things. Don’t lie in bed dreading the whole day before you even get up. Dread is a close relative to the spirit of fear. When dread enters, joy leaves.
Dread sets you up for misery, because by choosing to dread, you decide that you cannot enjoy what you must do today. Be excited when you face new tests. Close the door to the mindset of dread.
Decide early to enjoy every challenge that faces you today, knowing that God will be with you to make your path straight and to prosper everything you set out to do.’
What great advice my brethren! Oh my people, we need to immediately get in contact with Jesus when we get up, and don’t allow the spirit of fear to enter our lives and spoil our day before we even get moving.
And to help us do that, Bubba Joel (Joel Osteen) tells us from his devotional ‘Thirty Thoughts for Victorious Living:’ “God has commanded that we live in victory. That means no matter what you are going through, no matter how dark it looks, you can be encouraged that the darkness has to give way to light. Defeat has to give way to victory!
But in order to open that door to victory, we must continually do what the psalmist did and constantly praise His name. Don’t go around talking about your problems: go around talking about your God! Don’t go around speaking words of defeat and failure; speak words of faith and victory!
Quit worrying and start worshipping! Start praising and thanking God, and expect things to change in your favour. God will take you places that you’ve never even dreamed of, and you’ll start experiencing the victories that He’s commanded to be yours!”
Yes my fellow believers, the only way we can truly benefit from God’s mercies and blessings is by staying positive, expecting success and victory in whatever we do, provided it is aligned with God’s Word.
Ah friends, I wasn’t expecting this little combo to be so long when I dreamt it up, or more correctly was led by the Holy Spirit to put it together. But that’s how it turned out.
Now I sincerely hope that that combination of things to do at the start of each new day and during it, will inspire us to come up higher, to get with God right from the very beginning and stay with Him all day long, so that He can successfully lead and guide us along paths of righteousness.
And again, to help us through our earthly pilgrimage this Wednesday morning, the first day of June, let’s declare our Wednesday Wail with sincerity, truth and lots of passion.
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!’
And is it ever so wonderful that all we’ve said today, when put into action, will certainly help us obey the command of Jesus in our Bit. ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’
Yes precious people, the only way we can truly obey that command is by staying in contact with Christ from the beginning of our day, right to the very end, when we put our heads on our pillows to sleep, after thanking Him for bringing us safely through the day, and asking for a blessed and restful night’s sleep, so that we can awaken next day to do LOVE all over again with Him.
And on that excellent note we’ll close for today, because the rest of stuff I had envisioned sharing will make it too long. And I always have in mind our short mind spans. (smile)
So please my fellow believers, let’s go out today and make Jesus proud of us nuh, by shining our light in this dark world, being the salt of the earth, adding godly flavour to it, and doing good works so that our heavenly Father can be deservedly glorified. Much LOVE!
…oh what a thrill and a joy it is…to do LOVE with Christ…each and every blessed day…Glory to God…!
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…
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