14 Feb 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a God-given morn, a wave of joy, aches, beloved of God, bless your Holy Name, but as thou wilt, Christian living, crucifixion, cruelty, desires, discernment, disgrace, do the will of him that sent me, doing God's will, dr robert h schuller, faith, fear of death, feels great to be alive, fell on his face, finish his work, focus, friend of Jesus, glory hallelujah, healing on the Sabbath, I the name of Christ, if it be possible, in my heart, in my life, in my mind, insistent, inspiring spirit, Jacob's Well, joy, led astray, let this cup pass from me, longings, LOVE, moment of prayer, my meat, my soul id exceeding sorrowful, not as I will, o my father, obits, of mine own self I can do nothing, on the right path, our heavenly Father, pains, persistent, problems, Samaritan woman, seeing Jesus face to face, share with others, Something Beautiful, tarry, Thank You Lord, the eternal God, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Holy Spirit, the Son's relationship with the Father, the straight and narrow path, the wiles of the enemy, trust, Tuesday Mantra, unfortunate circumstances, waking up in heaven, walk in your will, watch with me, world-changing event
Matthew 26:39. And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
And then it was Tuesday – a semi-cloudy, chilly day in my area, but it sure feels great to be alive!
Yes friends, there’s nothing to beat waking up to a new God-given morn, regardless of all the problems you know await you, once you set your feet on the ground. I guess the only thing better would be waking up in heaven and seeing Jesus face to face! Wow!
But we’re not ready for that just yet, (smile) and I don’t think He’s quite ready for us yet either, otherwise we we’d be reading our names in the obits this morning.
So let’s give Him a great big shout of praise in a ‘Thank You Lord! We LOVE You and bless Your Holy Name, and will do our very best to walk in Your will this Tuesday morning! Amen!’
In addition to that, let me share a li’l prayer from Gramps Schuller’s (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) Hour of Power Devotional. I believe I’ve shared it before, but like so many other prayers – it’s like forgiveness – (smile) one worthy of being shared again and again.
Please pray with me. ‘Father, I turn these minutes over to you. Do something beautiful in my mind, in my heart, and in my life today. So I will look back and say: “I was caught up by an inspiring spirit of the eternal God in this moment of prayer.” In the name of Christ I pray. Amen.’
Oh friends, it’s so beautiful when the Holy Spirit inspires us! A wave of joy just spreads through our entire being, because we know that our heavenly Father has just communicated with us, and we are definitely on the right path, the straight and narrow one. Glory Hallelujah!
I don’t know about you all nuh people, but my problem is not so much doing God’s will, but knowing what is His will? That’s why I ask for discernment and focus every day in my prayers. Once I know the path He wants me to tread, then I can usually set my mind to it.
Too often I’ve thought that I knew His will, only to discover that it really wasn’t His will, but my own, which led to unfortunate circumstances. And the way the world is so flashy and insistent and persistent today, it’s very easy to get thoughts into our heads that seem to be God’s, when in actual fact they are our own longings and desires.
So we have to be very careful in our discernment, otherwise we can be very easily led astray by the wiles and deceptions of the enemy. And my fellow believers, knowing the will of God, and pursuing it is one of the most important aspects of our faith.
And we can see how important it was to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, so it had to be even more important to us. At the time of His greatest anxiety, the night before His crucifixion, in the Garden of Gethsemane, what was His prayer eh?
After telling Peter, James and John, the three disciples that were with Him: ‘My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry (stay, wait) ye here, and watch with me.
And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.’
Ah mih breddren, Jesus was every bit as human as us, with all the aches and pains and fear of death. Now wouldn’t you be afraid if you not only knew the time of your death, but also the unimaginable cruelty and disgrace involved.
However, Jesus knew that He was also born for that momentous, world-changing event, and as always put the Father’s will before everything else. So too should we my believing brethren. Listen to a couple of Jesus’ pronouncements on doing the Father’s will.
After the episode of the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well, (John 4), the disciples pleaded with Jesus to eat. ‘Jesus saith unto them, My meat (food) is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.’ (John 4:34)
Yuh see friends, He’s more interested in doing the Father’s will, than in physical food, which He needed to keep His body strong and healthy. How many of us are willing to make such a serious statement eh?
Not too many. But that is exactly the kind of statement we Christians ought to be able to make, if we are to be successful in Jesus’ work here on earth.
Now hear Jesus’ statement when the Jews tried to persecute Him after healing a lame man on the Sabbath. Here He is talking about the Son’s relationship with the Father.
‘I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgement is just (righteous); because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.’ (John 6:30)
So friends, just like Jesus, let’s seek to do the Lord’s will at all times nuh, because that is the secret of true Christian living. Now let’s go home loudly and proudly declaring our Tuesday Mantra as one body secure in Christ.
‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am thebeloved 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 Glory Hallelujah my people! Let’s go out now, fully clothed in the LOVE of God, and share it with all we come into contact with nuh, for that is the stated desire of our friend Jesus! Much LOVE!
…the Lord gives us LOVE…not only for ourselves…but also to share with others…
13 Feb 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abnormal hour, adrenaline, almighty god, aura of love, be thankful unto him, bless His name, blessings, call upon the name of the Lord, choirmaster, come before his presence with singing, confidence, conquerors, early morning foray, enter into his gates with thanksgiving, enthusiasm, evil, exaltation, faith, friends, glorious kingdom, glory, glory hallelujah, God's greatness, he made us, heartfelt thanks, holy spirit, honour god, humble servants, I am thy servant, I'm getting better, I've come a long way, into his courts with praise, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, Joyce Meyer, lead and guide, lies, loosed my bonds, LOVE, make a joyful noise, medical problems, no sweet Tobago, pay my vows, praise, puny lives, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, resigned myself, rest, salvation, secret, seek God, servant, serve the Lord with gladness, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, taunts, thanks, the living truth, the Lord he is God, the mindset, the sacrifice of thanksgiving, the sheep of his pasture, the son of thy handmaid, truth, undesrving, ungodly world, useful purpose, we are his people, wiles, wisdom, with a right heart
Psalm 100:4. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
Oh, friends, I’m getting better! Yes I’m getting better! Yeh mih breddren that’s the living truth! The ole fella is getting better; the only problem is that I’m still a long way from being better. (smile)
But as sister Joyce, (Joyce Meyer) likes to say, I haven’t arrived as yet, but I’ve surely come a long way from where I was. Glory Hallelujah!
Sorry for the lateness of the Bit, but I had another early morning foray into the big city for more doctor’s visits and tests.
Chuh! I had to be up at an abnormal hour to get in the city for seven a.m on a Monday morning. But the good news is that everything seems to be progressing as it should – just a little too slowly for my liking though.
Now for the bad news – I can’t travel anywhere until my heart problems are resolved. Ah Lord eh! That means no sweet Tobago for this winter season!
Steups! But from the time all these medical problems began, I’d resigned myself to that possibility, so it comes as no great surprise, though it is somewhat disappointing.
Anyway, enough about me, it’s time to sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with all the chutzpah we can manage.
‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Now that wasn’t bad at all my people, Jesus, our choirmaster was smiling, but I guess that’s because we’ve been up and about for quite some time now. (smile) The important thing though is that at whatever time we sing it, it raises our faith level, gets the adrenaline pumping for Jesus! And that’s what we’re all about!
Consequently, these verses of Psalm 100, which come before our Bit, are therefore very much in line with our general purpose of exalting our most wonderful God!
Listen to the psalmist as he delightedly gushes: ‘Make joyful noise (shout joyfully) unto the Lord, all ye lands (all the earth). Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves, we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.’ (Ps.100:1-3)
Wow friends! What a stirring acknowledgement of our God’s greatness and the central part we play in His entire operation! Hence our Bit: ‘Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.’
Yes my fellow believers, that is exactly how we ought to come into the presence of our magnificent and magnanimous God; with much praise and thanks and glory and exaltation – for He is most worthy to be praised!
Just think about all that He’s done for us down through the ages nuh, undeserving though we are, and is still doing, though we are still undeserving! And in our finite, comparatively puny lives, how else can we truly honour Him eh, but with exceedingly abundant thanks and praise?
Now hear the psalmist from Psalm 116 – Praise for deliverance from death – as he exudes his heartfelt thanks and praise. ‘O Lord, truly I am thy servant; I am thy servant, and the son of thy handmaid (maid servant): thou hast loosed my bonds.
I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all his people. In the courts of the Lord’s house, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Praise ye the Lord (shout Hallelujah!).(Ps.116:16-19)
Oh friends, oh friends, those are the very words and emotions we ought also to exude! Note how the psalmist says twice, that he is the Lord’s servant? Can we sincerely say that even once and mean it? I certainly hope so for all our sakes.
In conclusion, I want to implore us to work towards acquiring the mindset of the psalmist, for there, and only therein lies the true wisdom of Almighty God and the true secret of finding Him. Much LOVE!
…seek me with a right heart…and you shall find me…says the Lord our God…
12 Feb 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: All Creatures of our God and King, all things their Creator bless, Alleluia, be thankful unto him, bless His name, blessings, breath of life, burning sun, burnt offerings, cast your care, Christ our Lord, clouds that sail in heaven along, day of the lord, enter into his gates with thanksgiving, exaltation, face the music, faith, find a voice, fire so masterful and bright, flowers and fruits, flowing water, forgiving others, gather in the sanctuary, givest man both warmth and light, glory, golden beam, grace, guidance, his mercy is everlasting, his truth endureth to all generations, in humbleness, in Jesus' name, in praise rejoice, into his courts with praise, lift up your voice, lights of evening, LOVE Revolution, make music for thy Lord to hear, mano a mano, men of tender heart, mercy, Mother Earth, my mouth have spoken, pain and sorrow bear, praise God, praise him, rejoice, rising moon, rushing wind, sacrifices of praise, sad state of affairs, Selah, silver moon, softer gleam, Son, step up to the plate, strength, Sunday, that art so strong, the child of God, the fat of rams, the Father, the great works of God, The Lord is good, the spirit, the way hath trod, Three in one, through fire and water, truth, victorious, vows, walk of faith, worship Him
Psalm 100:4. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
Well friends, another Day of the Lord, Sunday, is upon us, which means it’s time to gather in the sanctuary, even though the snow is falling, (smile) and rejoice and give thanks and praise for the past week, and ask for blessings and guidance and strength for the one to come.
So let’s offer up some sacrifices of praise with our lips to our heavenly Father nuh, let Him know that we truly appreciate his wonderful grace and mercy bestowed anew, each and every day. Let’s raise our voices high by singing this favourite hymn, ‘All Creatures of our God and King.’
In perfect harmony now: ‘All creatures of our God and King Lift up your voice and with us sing, Alleluia! Alleluia! Thou burning sun with golden beam, Thou silver moon with softer gleam! (Refrain)
(O praise Him! O praise Him! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!) Thou rushing wind that art so strong Ye clouds that sail in Heaven along, O praise Him! Alleluia! Thou rising moon, in praise rejoice, Ye lights of evening, find a voice! (Refrain:)
Thou flowing water, pure and clear, Make music for thy Lord to hear, O praise Him! Alleluia! Thou fire so masterful and bright, That givest man both warmth and light. (Refrain)
Dear mother earth, who day by day Unfoldest blessings on our way, O praise Him! Alleluia! The flowers and fruits that in thee grow, Let them His glory also show. (Refrain)
And all ye men of tender heart, Forgiving others, take your part, O sing ye! Alleluia! Ye who long pain and sorrow bear, Praise God and on Him cast your care! (Refrain)
And thou most kind and gentle Death, Waiting to hush our latest breath, O praise Him! Alleluia! Thou leadest home the child of God, And Christ our Lord the way hath trod. (Refrain)
Let all things their Creator bless, And worship Him in humbleness, O praise Him! Alleluia! Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son, And praise the Spirit, Three in One! (Refrain) O praise Him! O praise Him! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!’
Oh my fellow believers that was wonderful! And that’s exactly what ought to go on on ALL the earth, ALL the time – God’s creations giving Him thanks and praise for His everlasting goodness and mercy!
And that segues very smoothly into our Bit for today. ‘Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.’
And why should we do that eh? ‘For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.’ (Ps.110:5)
Ah mih people, we couldn’t want a better reason than that to give our omnipotent, omniscient, omni-present, magnanimous and magnificent God praise and thanks!
Unfortunately though, most of the world today has either forgotten, never known, or don’t want to know His heavenly Majesty, their Creator, Provider, and the One who causes them to open their eyes each morning and breathe His breath of life. What a sad state of affairs!
But we believers will stand up and face the music, give Him His due deserts of exaltation and glory! We will fight the enemy, mano-a mano, and we will be victorious, in Jesus’ Name!
How can we not be victorious if Jesus is fighting with us eh? For as the Good Book assures us: ‘What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?’ (Rom.8:31)
And the overwhelming answer to that my people is ‘NOBODY!’ For NOBODY can stand against our triumphant God!
Now listen to the psalmist from Psalm 66, as he declares the great works of our mighty God, and corroborates our Bit. ‘Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy (an abundant) place.
I will go into thy house, with burnt offerings: I will pay thee my vows (promised deeds), Which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble. I will offer unto thee burnt sacrifices of fatlings, with the incense of rams: I will offer bullocks with goats. Selah.’ (Ps.66:12-16)
Yes friends, those verses should be familiar as we read them recently when talking about keeping promises. Today though we look at them in the light of giving God thanks and praise for His succour in times of trouble. That’s the beauty of His Word: the same stuff can be used for different aspects of life!
Now let’s take a moment, as the psalmist suggested, and ponder all that we’ve said today, and see how it reflects in our personal lives, and vow, yes vow, to improve them, for it’s only in that way can we ever truly improve our walk of faith. Much LOVE!
…believers must step up to the plate…if Jesus’ LOVE Revolution is to be victorious…
11 Feb 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: after God, anger, Anselm's quotes, be jind one to another, be renewed, biggest heart, bitterness, blessed talent, born again, Christians, clamour, communication, competitive, corrupt, could do better, created in righteousness, debtors, debts, deceitful lusts, edifying, Ephesians, even as Christ forgave you, evil speaking, faith, father in heaven, foolishness, forbearing one another, forgive, forgiving one another, God for Christ's sake hath for given you, gospel truth, grieve not the Holy Spirit, hardest working, hearers, if any man have a quarrel against any, if you don't have anything to say, in the spirit of your mind, Ironman, jack of all trades, Jesus' vocabulary, lazy boy, malice, meaningful, medical malaise, minister grace, motivated, pain is temporary, pinnacle of their profession, practical guidelines, praying, put away from you, put off the old man, put on the new man, quitting is forever, sealed, shut up, so also do ye, social media, talented, tenderhearted, the day of redemption, this too shall pass, trespasses, true holiness, walk of faith, wrath
Colossians 3:13. Forbearing (bearing with) one another and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
Sorry that the Bit is a tad on the late side friends, but I had an Ironman’s Breakfast to go to early this morning at the church. And like every time I go out I seem to come back tired, so I had to rest a spell. Chuh! I’m tired of being tired yes!
The great thing about this Ironman side though, is that none of us are under fifty…and possibly older. What a hoot! But we do get done the things we need to get done. And that’s the important thing.
Now since today is Saturday, let’s contemplate a few of our Friend Anselm’s quotes of this past week. And this first one is very interesting and meaningful to many of us. ‘If I have something to say, I want it to be meaningful.’
Oh friends, so often, especially in this world of social media, we talk such foolishness; stuff that doesn’t deserve to be even thought about, much less spoken! Where has the wisdom gone of if you don’t have anything sensible to say, shut up? I guess that we all feel that what we’re saying is sensible. I beg to differ.
This second quote is also interesting and pertains very nicely to our Christian faith. ‘Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever.’ And isn’t that gospel truth! As Christians, we’re taught that ‘this too shall pass.’
And that better had be true, because that’s what I’m counting on in these days of medical malaise. (smile) But under no circumstance are we ever to quit, for quitting does not exist in Jesus’ vocabulary. Every time we fail or fall, we’re to get right back up, and with God’s help, continue pushing forward.
And the last quote says: ‘A lot of times I find that people who are blessed with the most talent don’t ever develop that attitude, and the ones who aren’t blessed in that way are the most competitive and have the biggest heart.’
Now that is ever so true! I’ve seen it happen over a lifetime, where the most talented are the least motivated, and the ones that rise to the pinnacle of their profession, are usually the least talented but hardest working.
Some might even dare to put me in that category, especially my High School Principal, who liked to write on my report card: ‘Lazy boy, could do better.’ But I don’t think I’m that talented in any particular area. I’m more a jack-of-all-trades kind of guy. (smile)
Anyway, here is our Bit for today: ‘Forbearing (bearing with) one another and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.’ And this is definitely the last day for it. I just never got in all I had to say yesterday.
Now we’re going to quote some of Bruh Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, per the new life in Christ, when we’re born again. ‘That ye put off concerning the former conversation (conduct) the old man, which is corrupt according to deceitful lusts;
And be renewed in the spirit of your mind. And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.’ (Eph.4:22-24)
Yes friends, when we receive Christ, we’re to renounce our old way of living, and renew our minds with the things of God, constantly improving, getting stronger in our walk of faith.
Then Bruh Paul offers some practical guidelines on how to throw off the old man and put on the new. Here are a few of them. ‘Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good for edifying, that it may minister grace unto hearers.
And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you with all malice:
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.’ (Eph.4:29-32)
Yeh mih breddren, those are just some of the things we need to work towards when we become Christians. And please notice how Bruh Paul ends the exhortation; with the tenet on forgiving.
Ah mih people, forgiving in our Christian faith is so important, that I’ll end this series on it by reminding us of some of Jesus’ words on the subject.
‘And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have aught (anything) against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.’ (Mark 11:25-26)
That says it all my fellow believers. So until we meet again tomorrow, the Lord in favour, please let’s get serious about practicing forgiveness nuh, because however we mete it out, that’s exactly how it will be meted back out to us. Much LOVE!
…and forgive us our debts…as we forgive our debtors… (Matt.6:12)
07 Feb 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a good soldier, actions glorify God, adore, bear up, before all nations, believers, beloved of God, bride, bridegroom, constant strain, contented, despair, doubt, drawback, ever-faithful promises, experience it personally, fail, faith, falter, foolish, friend of Jesus, friends, God is always good, God is always in control, God is victorious, God is watching, God's promise, good tidings, grace, grateful, hanging in, hardship, Holy Name, I will joy in the God of my salvation, I will not fear, I will rejoice in the Lord, Isaiah, Jesus, jewels, joy, joyful in my god, judge our sincerity, lack of sleep, LOVE, loving-kindness, magnanimous god, medical problems, medication, mercy, mind-blowing, motives of our hearts, ornaments, praise, reassuring words, rejoice, righteousness, rough times, salvation, share, side effects, sincerity, spirits lifted high, suffering, tear to our eyes, tears of joy, Thank You Lord, the garments of salvation, The Israelites, the robe of righteousness, the source of their joy, to spring forth, truth, Tuesday Mantra, words of our mouths
Habakkuk 3:18. Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
Well my people, it’s another brand new day, filled with grace and mercy from our magnanimous God!
And all God’s people declared a loud and grateful: ‘Thank You Lord for your undeserving grace and mercy towards us! We LOVE You and adore and praise Your Holy Name!’
Yes friends, we’d be very foolish if we did not sincerely mean those words, because the Lord looks at the motives of our hearts, not the words of our mouths to judge our sincerity.
To tell the truth friends, the ole fella is not in the greatest shape this morning; tired from too much running around and lack of sleep, with my back aching. I even had to go and dig out my old back brace.
Chuh! It’s so annoying when you’re given medication to solve one problem but it also causes another. It doesn’t seem as if there is any medication around these days without numerous side effects.
But I’m hanging in, fighting like a good soldier, (smile) holding on tightly to ‘God’s Promise’ in this prayer. I don’t remember where I got it from, and most likely have shared it with you before, but it’s powerful and assuring enough to be shared again and again.
Please pray with me: ‘I will not fear; God is always with me. I will not doubt; God is always in control. I will not despair; God is always good. I will not falter; God is always watching. I will not fail; God is always victorious! Amen!’
Yes mih breddren, let’s hang on to those reassuring words of faith and add them to the awesome words of our Bit, so that our spirits can be lifted high, and our deeds and actions glorify our wonderful God.
‘Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.’
Oh my fellow believers, our LOVING heavenly Father has provided us with such amazing, such beautiful stuff, that seldom should a doubt come to our hearts, or a tear to our eyes. And even when tears do come, they should mostly be tears of joy for His LOVING-kindness towards us.
Oh, we all go through hardship and suffering, but in those times we desperately need to hang on to the ever-faithful promises, like in the prayer above, of our mighty God!
Unfortunately though, a lot of us talk it but don’t feel it when the times get rough. That’s because we don’t sincerely believe them in our hearts. I can tell you from personal experience that if we do believe God’s promises, we’ll bear the rough times a lot easier than if we don’t.
As some of you know, I’m going through a pretty rough time right now with several medical problems, whose outcomes are still up in the air, and it’s only by hanging on to the promises of God that I’m able to bear up successfully under the constant strain.
It’s the Lord’s mercy and grace that are carrying me to the numerous doctors and tests which seem to take up a lot of my time. No, it’s not easy, but if we sincerely ask the Lord for help, He will give it to us. The only drawback to all this, is that you must experience it personally to truly believe it. (smile)
But enough about me, let’s get to some scripture that enhances our Bit. Listen to Isaiah as he delivers to the Israelites, the Good tidings of salvation to Zion.
After assuring them of the Lord’s good intentions towards them (v.1-9), he heartily declares: ‘I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God: for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.’ (Is.61:10-11)
What an awesome promise my people! Only our omnipotent and ever-faithful God can make such outstanding promises and then fulfill them.
And He certainly has begun to fulfill that one with the amazing coming of Jesus, and all the mind-blowing benefits that He brought to the table. So how can we not rejoice and be glad in the salvation of our awesome God eh?
If we are sincere believers, then we ought also to be joyful and grateful followers. The one, by just its very nature, demands the other. Now let’s go home raising even higher, the bar of our joy and contentment by declaring our Tuesday Mantra.
‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
Yes friends, let’s believe that deep down in our hearts and souls, because it’s the awesome truth, then let’s go out and share the bountiful and undying LOVE of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ with the rest of the world as He instructed us to do. Much LOVE!
…true believers are happy, contented people…who desire greatly… to share the source of their joy…Jesus…with others…
06 Feb 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a righteous standard, Adonai, aura of love, blossom, Christians, confidence, doom and gloom, ease, enthusiasm, eternal life, evil, faith, fear, fellowship, food, friends, fruit in the vines, fun, God's deliverance, God's great earth, goodness, habakkuk, holy spirit, humble servants, I will joy in the God of my salvation, I will rejoice in the Lord, invincible, Jesus Christ, joy, labour of the olive, lead and guide, leisure, lies, LOVE, LOVE to hate, luxuries, magnanimous god, make my feet like hinds feet, mantle, mercy, motors running, neck of the woods, no meat, obedience, Old Testament, oxymoron, praise, preservation in the wilderness, rejoice, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, righteousness., salvation, sincerity, slave labour, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, thanksgiving, the enemy's ranks, the Exodus, the gig tree, the Promised Land, trust, truth, ungodly world, wisdom, Yahweh
Habakkuk 3:18. Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
And then it was Monday, that day we all LOVE to hate! Now isn’t that akin to an oxymoron? We can’t have hate and LOVE working together. It’s either one or the other. It’s like fear and faith; two different sides of the same coin.
Anyway, very few people like Mondays, because they have to get up and go to work, and the chilly weather in my neck of the woods doesn’t enhance the situation any. But get up and go to work we have to, if we want to survive, so let’s get rid of that mantle of doom and gloom and get ourselves together to enjoy another wonderful day on God’s great earth. All the slave labour in the world can’t take that away from us! (smile)
And to help us get our motors running, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with sincerity and all the exuberance we can muster. As one now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Ah mih people, we certainly didn’t muster much exuberance there! You could see that our choirmaster, Jesus, wasn’t very happy with that performance. But thankfully, He’s an understanding and forgiving Being and won’t hold it against us. Instead, He will go out of His way to shower us with goodness and mercy, so that we can go out and do a good job in His awesome name. That’s the kind of Lord and Saviour we have.
That brings us to our Bit of praise and thanksgiving. ‘Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.’
Oh friends, that should not be an option for Christians, it must be a righteous standard for all believers! For there’s absolutely no reason not to rejoice in the awesome, the magnificent and magnanimous God we serve and worship, who also provided us with salvation and eternal life through the sacrificial death, triumphant resurrection and glorious ascension of His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!
Now the Old Testament followers didn’t have all the good news of Christ’s gospel that we possess today, but the prophets of God kept them attuned to God’s word. Our Bit comes at the end of a prayer of Habakkuk, which according to the scholars ‘contains two poems (vs.3-7 and 8-15) recounting God’s deliverance of His people in the days of the Exodus. The poems emphasize His preservation in the wilderness and His triumphal leading into the Promised Land.’
And listen to this verse before our Bit. ‘Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat (food); the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.’ (Hab.3:17-18)
Oh friends, yuh see the kind of faith those old timers displayed – at least some of the time. (smile) We can’t even exhibit a decent faith with all the luxuries we have. Hn! That’s possibly because we have too many luxuries and have become accustomed to too much ease and leisure. Yuh think many, or any of us would declare such a statement today, if we fell into such disaster? I doubt it.
We can’t, or won’t even produce a strong enough faith to resist the enemy now, when we have Jesus and all the good stuff that goes with Him, imagine if we didn’t have Him. Ah Lord eh!
Now let’s end as Habakkuk did. ‘The Lord God (Yahweh, Adonai) is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds (deer’s) feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments. ’ (Hab.3:19)
And per the scholars: ‘3:16-19. The instructions in the postscript indicate that this psalm (Bruh David’s Prayer of deliverance – 2 Sam.22; Ps.18 [edited]) was used as a part of the temple liturgy. It is a great psalm expressing obedience and praise to God, and trust in Him.’
All I can add to that my fellow believers is that we go out today, dressed in our spiritual armour, be obedient to our omnipotent God, trust Him and praise Him with all sincerity and truth, for that is the wisdom of the ages. Much LOVE!
…the reason we exist…is to be in fellowship with God… (from the Daily Bread Devotional)
03 Feb 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a powerful opponent., a waste of time, admonishment, anxiety, carnality, Christians, contradicts our faith, dance, doubts, Ephesians, evil hordes, evil schemes, faith, fellowship, fight for Jesus, Friday chant, friends, fun, generous help, glorious kingdom, gospel, holy character, in Jesus' name, like no tomorrow, LOVE, Lucifer, moral conduct, party, peace, pounce on, put on the whole armour of God, quench the fiery darts, refreshed, relaxation, renewed, rest, Roman soldier, Satan, sincerity, sing, song of freedom, spiritual armour, stand, stand against the wiles of the devil, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the breastplate of righteousness, the helmet of salvation, the hope of salvation, the preparation of the gospel of peace, the prince of darkness, the shield of faith, the sword of the Spirit, the weekend, the wicked one, the Word of god, the working people, truth, week of work, your feet shod, your loins girt about, your waisted girded
Ephesians 6:11. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (evil schemes) of the devil.
Well friends, it’s Friday! That means another weekend is upon us, and the working people are delighted and shouting out their song of freedom: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and the wonderful weekend is here. No punching a time clock!
Wow! It’s time to sing and dance and party like there’s no tomorrow…for who knows if we’ll ever see tomorrow eh? But this day we’ll always remember…or maybe not! Hn! Thank God though for Fridays and the weekend!’
Ah mih people, nothing’s wrong with the general idea of enjoying oneself during our days off, but as usual it’s the extreme length to which the world desires to carry it that contradicts our faith. So let’s hear what our faith says to counter that extreme position.
Let’s chant our Friday Chant with truth and sincerity. ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Yes friends, that sounds like a much more sensible way of handling our short time off, so please let’s follow it, and not overdo the partying, the carnality aspect of the situation.
Now without further ado, let’s get to our Bit. ‘Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (evil schemes) of the devil.’
Ah mih breddren, those words are ever so important in these very evil times! We’ve just got to be always prepared, for as we saw yesterday, the prince of darkness is always on the look out for Christians he can pounce upon.
Now, hitherto, we’ve been talking about the armour of God and what it does, today, let’s look at what it actually is. So let’s continue with Bruh Paul’s admonishment to the Ephesians.
‘Stand therefore, having your loins girt about (girded your waist) with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked (one). And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:’ (Eph.6:14-17)
There you have it my people, the basic breakdown of God’s powerful and protective spiritual armour! And the scholars have some good explanations of what they are and what they mean.
‘6:14-17. The whole armour of God consists of six pieces. (1) Truth (v.14a) is a knowledge of the truth of God’s Word (cf.4:21). The ancient soldier’s loins (“waist”) were girt about with a leather belt which held most of the other pieces of his armour in place.
Similarly, the other pieces of the Christian’s armour depend on, and are held in place by his spiritual “belt” or his knowledge of the “truth” of Scripture.
(2) The breastplate of righteousness (v.14b) may be read “the breastplate which is righteousness.” It represents a holy character and moral conduct. Obedience to the “truth” known produces a godly life (“righteousness”).
(3) Preparation of the gospel of peace (v.15) means “eagerness that comes from the gospel of peace.” That is, as the Roman soldier wore special shoes called ‘caligae’ on his feet, enabling him to advance against his enemy, so the Christian must have on his feet (possess) a sense of “eagerness” or “willingness” to advance against the Devil and take the fight to him.
Such eagerness to contend with Satan “comes from the gospel of peace.” The gospel gives peace to the believer, freeing him from anxiety though he advances against such a powerful opponent.
(4) The shield of [which is] faith (v.16) means taking God at His word by believing His promises. Such trust will protect one from doubts induced by Satan.
(5) The helmet of salvation (v.17a): Since the readers are already Christians (2:8), they are not here urged to be saved. First Thessalonians 5:8 describes this helmet as “the hope of salvation” that is, the certainty (assurance) of salvation.
(6) The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (v.17b): The Greek term rendered “word” is not ‘logos’, referring to the whole Word of God, but ‘rhema’, referring to certain portions or selected verses of Scripture.’
There it is friends, the basic explanations concerning the ‘whole armour of God.’ I do hope it helps us to better understand the Word. Those are the things with which we need to be equipped, if we want to fight a serious and victorious battle against Lucifer and his evil hordes.
Like any good soldier, we cannot go into battle unprepared, and the first thing we need is physical protection. But since our battle is spiritual, we need spiritual protection, which our God gives us totally. It is now up to us to accept it and put it to good use.
Please my fellow believers, let’s ramp up our fight for Jesus nuh, otherwise our talk and our supposed faith are all a waste of time! Much LOVE!
…a Christian…who isn’t fighting a serious battle for Jesus…is no Christian at all…
02 Feb 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a positive outlook on life, abundance, against the wiles of the devil, ambassadors, arrows, arsenal, broken right now, Christian witness, clear direction, courage, creativity, curse, demonic onslaughts, divine protection, evil schemes, faith, favour, fight, formidable foe, fulfillment, having done all, in high places, in the name of Jesus, ministry, negative word, one of those days, patience, President Trump, promotion, put on the armour of god, resisting Satan, self-control, self-discipline, slings, soldiers of Christ, spiritual wickedness, stand up, strong will, success, supernatural strength, supernatural wisdom, talent, the devil, the whole armour of God, Thursday Blessings, to stand, to the very end, to withstand in the evil day, withstand, ye may be able to stand
Ephesians 6:11. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (evil schemes) of the devil.
Oh my beautiful fellow believers, please accept my heartfelt apologies, but it was just one of those days!
Ah Lord eh! I had to go into the big city of T.O. for an early doctor’s appointment, and after handling the traffic and waiting for the doctors and waiting for unscheduled blood tests, I did not get back home until minutes to one.
Obviously by then the ole bod was tired and crying out for rest and I did not get up until minutes to five. And it was only after about half an hour that it struck me that I had not yet written the Bit.
The good thing about it all though is that we did make some headway in the medical realm today. At least the major problems have been sorted out under one team, and hopefully no more running from pillar to post.
Enough about my woes though, let’s get straight to our Bit. ‘Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (evil schemes) of the devil.’
And I’m chuckling here friends, because I must have had it on today, otherwise I would not have been able to successfully handle the slings and arrows that were thrown against me, especially in the patience realm. (smile)
All praise and thanks be to our great and wonderful God!
Now yesterday we had stopped where Bruh Paul was talking about ‘spiritual (hosts of) wickedness in high places,’ so let’s continue with his admonishment from there. ‘Wherefore take unto you (take up) the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.’ (Eph.6:13)
Now this is a very important verse in the whole scenario, so let’s look at what the scholars have to say about it. ‘6:13. Wherefore means “because of this,” that is, because we face such a formidable foe, we must avail ourselves of God’s provision lest the enemy destroy our Christian witness and ministry.
The evil day refers to the periodic demonic onslaughts and Satanic assaults. Having done all includes both dressing oneself in God’s armour and resisting Satan. Having done all these, be ready, for the Devil will attack again and again.’
Yes friends, as a beautiful Christian soul the enemy will NOT stop attacking you, and the only way to resist Him is by being dressed in the total armour of God.
Fellow believers, I can’t stress how important this aspect of our Christian walk is, for without God’s protective armour we don’t stand a chance against the enemy, or as they would say, a snowball’s chance in hell!
So please, please, I’m imploring us to take this very seriously, especially with the crazy state of our world, which is apparently getting crazier everyday under the leadership of President Trump.
Ah mih people, I don’t even pay much attention to his antics these days, but we have to be concerned because everything he does seems to just cause more strife, anger, resentment, fear and anxiety around the globe.
As I said a few days ago, the Lord must have put him there to wake us up from our dreadful complacency. That’s why this message about putting on God’s total armour is so important at this particular period in time when the elements of evil are rising even higher than they were before.
I won’t belabour the situation, but I’ll just remind us that we are Christ’s ambassadors down here on earth. He is depending on us to conduct His affairs with righteousness and justice, but we can’t do that until we wake up and get serious about His LOVE Revolution, and stop all the aimless talking and instead take some positive action.
The enemy should never be where he’s at right now, and wouldn’t have been there without our lack of interest and complacency where we allowed him to remove things like prayer and the Ten Commandments from our schools, and put God on the back burner in most other parts of what was once a mostly godly scene.
But it’s not too late to wrestle it all back from him if we COME TOGETHER and seriously start pushing back, let him know that we’ve finally woken up and now mean business. Yes friends, it’s time to start pushing back, if we ever hope to win this earthly battle for Jesus!
Now let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings. Yuh see, we have so much good stuff in our arsenal, if we would only use them. The Lord’s already given us everything we need to battle the enemy and win, we only have to take them and put them to full use.
Chuh man! What’s wrong with us eh? We’re letting the good earthly life spoil us. So let’s bless ourselves. And remember that a blessing isn’t a blessing until it’s been spoken over someone.
All together now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
What more can we ask than all that eh mih people? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! So let’s go out and bless others now nuh. Much LOVE!
…as true soldiers of Christ…we must first be dressed in battle gear…then stand up and fight bravely…right to the very end…
31 Jan 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fleeting glimpse, alive and kicking, ambassadors for Christ, anger, bitch, Christians, complain, controlling things, defeated church, disunity, divide and conquer, divisions, divisive strategy, envious, evil schemes, faith, false notion, follow Jesus, fragile life is, frail, friend of Jesus, health problems, how high, impending date, in unity is strength, insanity, jealous, jump, LOVE, Lucifer, mortal coil, petty squabbles, power hungry behaviour, put on the whole armour of God, resentment, robotic, sedative-like existence, selfish, share jesus' love, skulduggery, stand against the wiles of the devil, still on the throne, strife, supreme control, thanks and praise ot God, the beloved of God, the Lord God Jehovah, the President of the U.S., the real meaning of life, Trump, Tuesday Mantra, unity, unwise decisions, victorious body, your Maker
Ephesians 6:11. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (evil schemes) of the devil.
Oh boy, it’s Tuesday! Wow! And it’s also the last day of the first month of 2017!
Brother! Can you believe a whole month has already gone by since the inception of this new year, and we made our ONE Resolution, a very serious resolve to follow Jesus even more closely this year than ever before? Well that’s time for you!
And I believe the celebrations were enormous. I can’t say for sure, because unfortunately I didn’t participate in them because I was in the hospital. Hn! I don’t think I even knew when the new year began.
But most importantly, I am still here today, still alive, though not kicking as powerfully as I would like to. (smile) But every day I’m getting better and stronger… all thanks and praise to the wonderful God we serve and worship! And I can’t even praise and glorify Him enough for what He’s successfully brought me through.
Oh friends, it’s only when you keep hearing about your associates departing this mortal coil – oftimes suddenly and unexpectedly, that you seriously think about your own impending date with your Maker. Only then do you realize how frail and fragile this thing we term life, truly is.
And it comes home to you even stronger when you suddenly discover serious health problems of which you were totally unaware. And without the Lord’s LOVING-kindness, His drawing it to your attention, you could have made your journey home sooner than you expected.
Then and only then, do we truly realize the wonders of being alive in God’s great and beautiful universe! We might bitch and complain every day, but when we get even a fleeting glimpse of moving on, especially if we’re not truly ready, it pulls us up short and we seriously begin to contemplate the real meaning of life, of LOVE, and of faith.
Ah mih people, I’m chuckling here because I don’t know where all of this came from, or where it’s leading to. (smile) I guess though that I’m trying to say, it’s time for us to wake up and seriously smell the roses, the coffee, the dung heap, or whatever!
Our world is in a serious mess, and with the advent of the new President of the U.S. it only looks like it will get worse. Now isn’t that a scary thought? It surely is!
Since his first day in office, he’s just gone around causing more divisions, disunity, strife, anger and resentment, not only in the U.S. but all around the globe. Like we didn’t have more than enough of that already. Steups!
His unwise, unthinking decisions and actions are making others around the world even more anxious and afraid than they already were. And that’s not a good thing.
He seems to think that he is still running his own business, and all he has to do is snap his fingers and say ‘Jump!’ And everybody will respond, ‘How high Mr. President?’ But we’ve got to rid him of that false notion…and the sooner the better.
Remember though people, regardless of all the skulduggery that is currently going on in our world, at the end of the day, the Lord God Jehovah is still on His heavenly throne and still in supreme control.
So He allowed Trump to ascend to such high authority because He has a plan. And I believe that plan is to shake us from our robotic, sedative-like existence. For the only thing that can put a stop to the prevailing insanity is the LOVE Revolution of Jesus Christ!
Nothing else can stop the marauding hordes of Lucifer in their wild ride for glory. And we, as Christians, as ambassadors of Christ, as brave and battle hardened soldiers in His glorious army, are the ONLY ones who can stop the evil enemy!
But we first have to come together. Remember in unity there is strength. And above all, we can’t fight a successful battle unless and until we do what our Bit declares. ‘Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (evil schemes) of the devil.’
Yes mih breddren, before we can do any successful fighting, we have to be dressed in God’s impenetrable armour and be unified, so we can battle the evil one’s strategy of divide and conquer. He’s already had too much success with that divisive strategy, we’ve got to stop him RIGHT NOW, else it will soon be too late!
My fellow believers in Christ, our Lord and Saviour will soon return, do we want Him to come back and find a fractured, broken down, anemic, defeated church? Or do we want Him to find a powerful, unified, LOVING, compassionate, understanding and victorious body that bears His awesome Name?
Hopefully it’s the latter. And if so my brethren, then we don’t have a moment to waste in ending all our petty squabbles and selfish, jealous, envious, power hungry behaviour, which is currently plaguing Christ’s earthly body!
For the LOVE of God my people, let’s get truly serious and begin seeking out the worthwhile and immortal things of God nuh, rather than the worthless, non-lasting things of the world.
It’s time to truly put on the full armour of God, and diligently and sincerely talk the talk, walk the walk, and fight the fight for our immortal lives! It’s the ONLY way we’ll ever win the battle.
Now let’s go home strengthened and emboldened by declaring our Tuesday Mantra with much verve and faith.
All together 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!’
Friends, in ending, all I can say is, it’s NOW or NEVER! Much LOVE!
…stand up…stand up for Jesus…ye soldiers of the cross…the trumpet call obey…till every foe is vanquished…and Christ is Lord indeed…
30 Jan 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: and he strengthened me, appearance of a man, aura of love, Babylon, being foolish, child-like faith, confidence, demons, enthusiasm, eternal life, evil, exuberance, faith, fasting, fled in terror, friends, Guide, holy spirit, humble servants, invincible, Israel's future, Jesus Christ, jobs, joy, labour, lead, lies, LOVE, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, mourning, one like the appearance of a man, our benefit, promises, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, satanic opposition, similitude, speechless, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, tarnish the image of Jesus, taunts, the author of salvation, the latter days, the likeness, the sons of men, the Tigris River, the vision, then there came again and touched me, truth, ungodly world, wiles, wisdom, work diligently
Daniel 10:18. Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me.
Ah mih breddren, Monday morning has rolled around again, and it’s time to go out and labour once more. As they say, no rest for the wicked. (smile) But we’re not wicked; we’re saints, followers of the one and only Lord Jesus Christ, the author of salvation and eternal life!
But if we want to eat, then we have to work – and work diligently and sincerely too, so that we do not tarnish the wonderful and holy name of Jesus. And to help jump start our cold engines this chilly morning, let’s declare our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with much exuberance and child-like faith.
As one earthly 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!’
Oh friends, that was a good rendition, and Jesus was pleased, as the smile on His handsome face showed. And if that didn’t get our adrenaline running, I don’t know what will!
But as we always try to do, especially on a Monday morning, here is our Bit, which encourages, reassures and strengthens our resolve. ‘Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me.’
I know many of us won’t know that wonderful scripture, but it’s a seminal scripture, and one that we all should know, especially when added to the verse after it. To summarize, the story begins when Daniel is given a vision by the great river ‘Hiddekel’ (the Tigris) in Babylon.
Daniel declares in verse 2. ‘In those days I Daniel was mourning (fasting) three full weeks.’ Then on the 24th day, while by the river, he saw this angel dressed like a man. His acquaintances, though they didn’t see the man, fled in terror and hid themselves. And Daniel was left alone with the man. Obviously he too was afraid, but he stuck it out.
The angel told him how he was greatly beloved and encouraged him. He also explained about how he was twenty days late because of problems with certain demons. This can all be fleshed out by reading Daniel 10:1-13.
However, this explanation of verse 2 by the scholars shows the basic purpose of it all. ‘10:2. The entirety of chapter 10 is concerned with Daniel’s preparation to receive the vision. The emphasis of the chapter is the strengthening of Daniel and the satanic opposition that he and God’s angels encountered.’
Yes friends, even angels can be held up by demons. And yuh see Daniel needed to fast so he could be spiritually strengthened before receiving the vision, that’s how important fasting can sometimes be in our faith.
Then we come to verse 14, where the Lord showed him what would happen in the roughly two hundred years of Israel’s future. ‘Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days (a long time in the future).’ (Dan.10:14)
But when Daniel heard those words, he fell to the ground and became speechless. ‘And, behold, one like the similitude (having the likeness) of the sons of men touched my lips: then I opened my mouth, and spake, and said unto him that stood before me, O my lord, by (because of) the vision my sorrows are turned (have come) upon me, and I have retained no strength. For how can the servant of this my lord talk with this my lord? for as for me, straightway there remained no strength in me, neither is there breath left in me
Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me, And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me.’ (Dan.10: 16-19)
Oh my fellow believers, it’s the same thing that our God is saying to us this morning, and every morning that He keeps us alive. And it’s certainly a promise that has buoyed me since I discovered it a few years ago. Let’s hope that it will speak to some of you like it did to me. Much LOVE!
…the promises of God…are given for our benefit…not to accept them…and hold on to them… is being rather foolish…
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