02 Jul 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: and my redeemer., and the meditation of my heart, attentive, be acceptable in thy sight, by thy words thou shalt be condemned, by thy words thou shalt be justified, Canada Day celebrations, confusion, consequences, courteous, daily grind and common task, faithfulness, friends, good listeners, gossip, Holy One of Israel, honouring Almighty God, icy silences, idle word, kind, let the words of my mouth, listening love, misunderstanding, monologues, negative reactions, O Lord, O Lord my strength, objective, patient, principles of listening love, righteousness., sarcastic retorts, shoot loosely from our lips, silence is golden, slow to speak, surface talk, swift to hear, talkative society, undivided attention, unselfish, virtual reality
Psalm 19:14. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength (my rock), and my redeemer.
Well Friends the Canada Day celebrations are over now. Time to get back to the common task and daily grind. And it’s a glorious Thursday morning to do so; though it’s still a tad cool, both the sun and the Son are shining brightly across God’s wonderful universe!
As you can no doubt surmise from the lateness of the Bit, my celebrations lasted way into the early hours of the morning. (smile) Well it wasn’t really celebrations, just me doing my usual night time thing, I just happened to begin a tad later than normal.
Anyway, today I have for us a rather interesting and important poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises, with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. This one’s simply titled ‘LISTENING LOVE.’
‘Listening LOVE is one of the greatest gifts we can give our mates, our families, and our friends. Too often we settle for surface talk or icy silences, for monologues or cutoffs, for defenses. What a difference when we follow the principles of listening LOVE!
Listening LOVE is courteous. It says… I will strive not to interrupt or outguess you. I will not finish your sentences or break into your thoughts.
Listening LOVE is attentive. It says… I will give you my undivided attention. I will not turn you off or leave you isolated. Listening LOVE is patient. It says… I will not rush you or insist on a right now conclusion. Listening LOVE is kind. It says… I will not shame you with sarcastic retorts. I will not belittle you.
Listening LOVE is objective. It says… I will try to be informative rather than opinionated. I will not attempt to think for you.
Listening LOVE is unselfish. It says… I will guard against over confidence and trite “spiritual” answers.
Listening LOVE is powerful. It says… I will pray for insight, for wisdom, and for gentle reactions.’
Yes Friends, those are the things that ought to go into all our conversations, how they ought all to be conducted! Not in the negative manner that so many of them are in these tremulous times.
It basically describes the attributes of LOVE, as found in the LOVE Chapter, 1 Corinthians 13, where LOVE is described as being, kind, charitable, not envious, long suffering, not boastful or arrogant, doesn’t behave rudely, selfishly or keeps records of evil. (1 Cor.13:4-8)
Well all these things ought to also govern our conversations my people, for it’s mostly with words that we communicate with each other. Thus the scripture promise for that poem, which is also our Bit, is the popular ending of Bruh David’s Psalm 19 – The creation and covenants of God.
‘Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength (my rock), and my redeemer.’
Yeh mih breddren, all of us know that scripture verse, but do we really practice it? No! Certainly not as much as we ought to, especially in this rather talkative society, where we talk a lot, but say very little, and are too taken up with the concerns of others through the social media, than with our own miserable and mish-mash lives.
Ah Friends, when are we going to learn that generally speaking, the less we say, the better off we will be eh, especially in terms of gossip and stuff we don’t really know the truth about. Unfortunately though, in this age of virtual reality, everyone has an opinion on everything and also chooses to voice it.
But we ought not to utter any words at all, until we have considered their worthiness in honouring Almighty God. That’s why so many of us get ourselves in so much trouble; we just shoot loosely from our lips without giving any real thought to the possible reactions and consequences of our words.
And sometimes too, it’s not so much the words that we use, but the tone of voice, the manner in which we utter them which causes negative reactions. I am sure if we all thought a tad more before we spoke, then there’d be a whole lot less arguments, contentious conversations and negative reactions. End of sermon. (smile)
Now let’s look at a couple of scriptures that support our concerns. This first one comes from Psalm 51; Bruh David’s prayer for cleansing after his adulterous affair with Bathsheba and the prophet Nathan called him out on it. He sorrowfully cries out: ‘O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall show forth thy praise.’ (Ps.51:15)
Yes Friends, we would be so much better off if we’d ask the Lord to guide us in every word that we utter. Then there’d be far less confusion and misunderstanding in our lives, and consequently our world.
And the psalmist in Psalm 71 – a prayer for help in old age – puts it like this. ‘I will also praise thee with the psaltery (lute or lyre), even thy truth (faithfulness), O my God: unto thee will I sing with the harp, O thou Holy One of Israel. My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto thee; and my soul which thou hast redeemed.
My tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness all the day long: for they are confounded, for they are brought unto shame, that seek my hurt.’ (Ps.71:22-24)
Oh mih people, would that we’d take that sound advice and let our tongues speak righteousness all day long!
And James says it this way. ‘Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not (does not produce) the righteousness of God.’ (James 1:19-20)
Oh my beloved brethren, never were truer words spoken! Especially when we put it into context with these all-important words of Jesus, when He spoke about good and corrupt fruit.
‘But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgement. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.’ (Matt.12:36-37)
It couldn’t be put any clearer and simpler than that Friends! So please, let’s ponder all the important stuff that we’ve read this morning and take all the wonderful advice we’ve been given to heart and try our best, with God’s help of course, to become good listeners and slow talkers, so that we don’t have too much negative speech to answer for, come the judgement day. That is the zenith of wisdom! Much LOVE!
…one must always think before one talks…because oftimes the old adage… that silence is golden… is ever so true…
02 Jun 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all generations shall call me blessed, almighty god, awesome truth, blessed is the man that trusts in God, carried to the fountain, earthly pilgrimage, empty pitcher, excitedly, faithfulness, fall, fatted calves, Fill Me, filled the hungry with good things, filled with love and truth, for he satisfieth the longing soul, friends and neighbours, God is ever-faithful, godly purpose, grace, Gramps Schuller, he filleth the hungry soul with goodness, healing in his wings, help, Hour of Power Devotional, hungering, hungrily, in the reverence of God, jehovah god, life force, Lord God of Abraham, LOVE, loving kindness, magnanimous, man-made idol, Mary, mother of Jesus, my soul doth magnify the Lord, my spirit rejoiced in God, no good thing will he withold, no need to worry, O taste and see that the Lord is good, omni-present, omnipotent, omniscient, praise the Lord for His goodness, promises, righteous right hand, righteousness., robert h schuller, sincerity, sons of Korah, soul, stumble, sun, thank you, the breath of life, the children of men, the fear of the Lord, the growing flower, The Lord God is a sun and shield, the Lord God of Abraham Isaac and jacob, the Lord will uphold them, the Magnificat, the mountain springs, the Sun of righteousness, the thirsty deer, them that walk uprightly, there is no want to them that fear God, thirstily, thirsting, this time of prayer, turns hungrily to the satisfying sun, undivided attention, unreliable, untrustworthy, wisdom, wonderful works
Psalm 107:9. For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.
Welcome Friends and neighbours to another terrific Tuesday! The breath of life is still flowing through our bodies, which means there is still a godly purpose for our being. Let’s diligently search out that purpose, then seriously put it into action.
On that note, the day didn’t begin too well for me, because when I came down here to write, my trusty desktop computer began giving problems, wouldn’t allow me to go to Outlook, for whatever reason, thus I had to resort to my laptop. That meant I lost valuable time fooling with it. But the Lord in His absolute wisdom knows what’s happening and is on the problem, (smile) so I have no need to worry.
Consequently, let’s turn to Him with this soulful prayer from Gramps Schuller’s (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) Hour of Power Devotional titled ‘FILL ME.’ I believe we’ve shared it before, but it’s definitely worth sharing again.
Please pray with me: ‘O Lord, like the thirsty deer which goes to drink from the mountain springs; like the growing flower which turns hungrily to the satisfying sun; like the empty pitcher which is carried to the fountain to be filled; so I come, O God, knowing that in this time of prayer my soul will be filled with your LOVE and truth. Thank you! Amen.’
And isn’t that the awesome truth my people? It surely is! Whenever we turn to the Lord in sincerity and faithfulness, we are filled with His wonderful LOVE and truth. So please this morning, let’s seek him hungrily, thirstily and excitedly like the deer going to drink from the mountain springs and the flower that’s turning with so much joy to the sun to boost its life force.
Like those other aspects of God’s creation, we too need to seek His face so that our souls, our life force can be renewed and strengthened, especially in these rough and trying times. And all of this hungering and thirsting after righteousness (smile) complements our Bit quite nicely.
The psalmist quite rightly declares: ‘Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness (LOVING-kindness), and for his wonderful works to the children of men! For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.’
Wow Friends! What absolute and indisputable truth that is! Our God is a real, living, feeling, hearing and seeing Deity, magnanimous in His grace and mercy, and ever-faithful to His promises! And those who sincerely seek him, WILL receive His undivided attention and His awesome help to fix whatever is wrong in their lives.
And before we go further, let’s make one thing very clear: there is none other than Him who can meet our needs, all our needs that is. So please don’t go looking to man to help, for man is unreliable, untrustworthy and cannot guarantee any support they may offer. But he Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob can, because He is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent!
And now that we understand that Almighty God is the first and last place we must seek help in our earthly pilgrimage, regardless of the matter, big or small, important or unimportant, let’s look at some scriptures that support the truth of our Bit.
First off, the Sons of Korah, in Psalm 84, faithfully proclaim: ‘For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.’ (Ps.84:11-12)
Oh my people, we cannot find more truth than that anywhere in this universe! The Lord WILL NEVER turn away those who seek Him sincerely and diligently! Please remember that, and let it permeate all your doings.
Now listen to Bruh David from Psalm 34 – The Lord hears the righteous. ‘O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. O fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want (lack) to them that fear him. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want (lack) any good thing. Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord.’ (Ps.34:8-11)
Oh Friends, there’s not much more to say. Bruh David has said it all in so few words. However, until we learn the fear, the true reverence of God, in worship, in praise, in humility and faithfulness, we will not be able to access those wonderful attributes of His.
Meanwhile the prophet Malachi confidently proclaims: ‘But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall (fatted calves).’ (Mal.4:2)
Yes my brethren, our wonderful God has made provision for all those who turn to Him in sincerity and truth! And that particular promise has already been fulfilled with the coming of Jesus.
Now hear these words from Mary, the mother of Jesus, when she visited with her cousin, Elisabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, and they discovered that both were pregnant through exceptional, God induced circumstances. Elisabeth had been barren and was now well advanced in age, somewhat late to become a mother, if we reason without God’s awesome input.
From this meeting came Mary’s glorious response, known as the Magnificat, in which she praises the Lord. ‘And Mary said, My soul doth magnify (exalt) the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low estate (lowly state) of his handmaiden (servant): for behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
For he that is mighty hath done great things; and holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. He hath showed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats (thrones), and exalted them of low degree (the lowly).
He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath holpen (helped) his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.’ (Luke 1:46-55)
Oh what beautiful sentiments and praise my people! And that from a teenaged girl from a backwater town. I never intended to include the whole thing, but after reading it, I just couldn’t help myself, (smile) it was so beautiful.
Anyway, we’ll conclude for today with the time honoured advice that it is much more beneficial to stay tuned to Almighty God, than any man-made idol. Much LOVE!
…he or she who walks faithfully with Jehovah God may stumble…but will NEVER fall…for the Lord will uphold them with His righteous right hand…that’s His faithful promise…
24 Apr 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Abednego, abide in me and I in you, affections, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, anxiety, basking in hot temperatures, bring forth fruit, Bruh Paul, bundling up in winter coats, circumspection, cling to Jesus, come unto me, crucified the flesh, Daniel, deceitful, difficult and distressing times, envying one another, faithfulness, fear, fellowship, Friday chant, friends, generous help, get relief from your pain, God is a good god, God is ever-faithful, God won't burden us with more than we can bear, goodness, gospel truth, grace, help, I am meek and lowly in heart, I am the vine, I can do all things through Christ, I will give you rest, in Jesus' name, indisputable truth, Jesus Christ, Jesus is the answer, joy, kindness, lay them at the feet of Jesus, learn from me, like super glue, live in the Spirit, long-sufferng, LOVE, lusts, meekness, men plan while God laughs, Meshach, my burden is light, my yoke is easy, no threat of snow, our sufficency is of God, passions, peace, positive action, provoking one another, rejoice, relaxation, rest, running around half naked, self-control, sensible thing, shadrach, succour, sufficent of ourselves, summer accoutrements, take my yoke upon you, temperance, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the best laid plans of men and mice, the fruit of the spirit, the great invitation, the lion's den., times of need, truth, vain glory, walk in the Spirit, what a bam bam, which strengtheneth me, wisdom, wise, wishful thinking, without me you can do nothing, worry, ye are the branches, ye shall find rest unto your souls
Philippians 4:13. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Aye Friends, as the old people would say, the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray, and also, men plan while God laughs. I wanted to get up early, write the Bit and do some other stuff before the morning was finished. Hn! But obviously that was only wishful thinking. (smile)
And remember too, how a couple weeks ago when we were basking in temperatures in the upper teens and low twenties, when people were running around half naked, and all the summer accoutrements were being rolled out to enjoy it? Well that has all been reversed, without any warning either.
We’re lucky if we can get up into the high single digits now in the day time, and we’re back to bundling up in our winter coats. What a bam bam eh?
But Friends, let’s at least be thankful for one mercy; the sun is shining brightly this Friday morning and there’s no threat of snow in the offing.
So let’s rejoice, as we are wont to do, by declaring: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday yes! The weekend’s here and labouring soon finish for another week! Our God is a good God, and He won’t give us more than we can handle! Let’s say it again: Thank God it’s Friday yes!’
Oh Friends, our God is indeed a wonderful Deity and He won’t burden us with more than we can bear, for that just doesn’t make any sense. Instead He helps us to bear our heavy loads, and invites us in His Great Invitation to come to Him for help and succour in times of need.
‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of (from) me; for I am meek and lowly in heart (gentle and humble): and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matt.11:28-30)
Oh my people, what a magnificent offer and invitation! And since we know that God is ever-faithful, and keeps all His promises, this morning I implore all who are bearing heavy burdens, to come and lay them at the feet of Jesus and get relief from your pain, your worry, your fear and your anxiety.
That’s the wise and sensible thing to do, especially in these difficult and distressing times. No one else can even promise such things, much less keep the promise: ONLY JESUS CAN!
Now let’s chant our Friday Chant to get us in the right mood, the right perspective to handle the short but oh so volatile weekend. As one now: ‘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 my people, we do have to handle the weekend with some circumspection, else we’ll be no good to God, or ourselves come Monday morning. And it all begins and ends with the faithful promise of our Bit. ‘I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.’
Glory be, my people! With God’s help we can walk through fire like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and come out without even smelling of smoke. (Dan.3:20-30) And like Daniel, we can rest in the lion’s den without even one hair being plucked from our heads. (Dan. 6:14-23)
No wonder Bruh Paul made this bold and factual statement to the Corinthians in his second missive to them. ‘Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God.’ (2 Cor.3:5) And that is the gospel, gospel truth my brethren!
Now hear Jesus tell it to the disciples, and ultimately to us. ‘Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.’ (John 15:4-5)
And that Friends, is the indisputable truth! Without Christ we can do little or nothing at all! That’s why it is ever so important for us to believe in Him and cleave, cling to Him like super glue (smile) if we want to do good and useful stuff in this godless and evil world.
And we’ll end today with a reminder of the kinds of stuff Jesus is talking about when He refers to us bearing fruit. Listen to Bruh Paul expatiate on the subject to the Galatians. (smile)
‘But the fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness (kindness), goodness, faith (faithfulness), Meekness, temperance (self-control): against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts (its passions).
If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory (be deceitful), provoking one another, envying one another.’ (Gal.5:22-26)
Oh Friends, what a wonderful way to end today’s message! Please, let’s take it all to heart and go out and put it into positive action, in Jesus’ name.
And all God’s people declared a loud, proud and grateful: ‘Praise the Lord! Amen!’ Much LOVE my brethren!
…remember …for whatever ails us…whatever we need…whatever we desire…whatever the problem…Jesus IS the indisputable answer…
19 Mar 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a rough note, a teaching tool, Abraham, Ark of the Covenant, asaph, begun a good work, being confident of this very thing, breath of life, Bruh David, come naturally, compalin, cramp, crushing, declare his glory among the heathen, easy life, Ethan the Ezrahite, faithfulness, friends, give thanks unto the Lord, glad to be alive, glory hallelujah, glory in his holy name, glory to God, God's nature, great is the Lord, grin and bear it, hammering, hidden crevice, I will sing of the mercies of the Lord, image of Christ, impatience, inconveniences, inheritance, Isaac, Israel, Jacob, Lord have mercy, LOVE, loving kindness, make matters worse, make something out of nothing, Martin Luther, Master Builder, Master Potter, mea culpa, mercies, One Year Book of Bible promises, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, pain, promise, psalm of thanksgiving, reduce me to nothing, rejoice, remember His marvellous works, reverential awe, salvation, seek God's face continually, seek the Lord, sing unto the Lord, smile, steups, strangers, take it in stride, thanksgiving, the joy of the Lord, the Land of Canaan', the Lord always fufills His promises, the potter's wheel, touch not mine anointed, true followers of jesus, turned and tossed, unfortunate circumstances, waiting, will perform it until the day of Jesus, wisdom, with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness, woes, working it out for our good, ye seed of Israel
Psalm 89:1. I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.
Oh Friends, mea culpa, mea culpa, mea culpa! Truthfully, I don’t know what happened this morning. I went to bed at my normal hour, around two o’clock, expecting to get up by seven. Unfortunately though I got up after five to go to the bathroom and after that… Lord have mercy, I just turned and tossed, trying to find a comfortable position to ease the pain in my aching shoulders. Steups!
Somewhere along the line, I must have eventually fallen asleep because when I did open my eyes, it was after eight. And to make matters even worse, I got up with a cramp in my left thigh! Glory Hallelujah! What more can I say eh? (smile) And now I’m drinking a cup of caffeine that really doesn’t thrill me – not strong or sweet enough, but since I’m trying to cut back on my coffee and sugar intake, I just have to grin and bear it.
And those are my early morning woes! (smile) But yuh know what my people, I’m still very glad and thankful to be alive, regardless of my petty inconveniences. Lots of others have it much worse than you and I, so please let’s not complain too much when we’re beset by unfortunate circumstances.
Let’s just learn to take it in our stride, knowing that our wonderful God is looking after our every move. And though we might not understand how and why, He’s working it all out for our good. He has promised that and He ALWAYS fulfills His promises. So though the morning has begun on a somewhat rough note, I’m sure it will end up very well. Glory to God!
And my Friends, this morning I have a poem to share with you from the One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. It describes us to a T. When I read it yesterday, I just had to laugh. It’s titled ‘What Is Your Schedule, God?’
And it reads: ‘Lord Many years ago Martin Luther said “It’s God’s nature To make something out of nothing. That is why God cannot make anything Out of him who is yet nothing.” In ways I had never anticipated, Lord Slowly but persistently You continue Your hammering and crushing In every hidden crevice of my life.
You seem determined to reduce me to nothing In order to make me something. I wonder… What is Your schedule, God? As You creatively continue To reshape and remake me How long will the process last? Lord, could You hurry a little?’
Oh Friends, doesn’t that sound just like us? The Lord’s trying to remake us in the image of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, but it doesn’t happen easily or quickly, and having become accustomed to the easy life and impatience of our times, we can’t stand the pain or the waiting. We want to be a beautiful image of Christ, but we don’t want to suffer the changes or spend the time necessary on the potter’s wheel of the Lord.
And the promise for that poem is a rather appropriate one. ‘Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform (complete) it until the day of Jesus.’ (Phil.1:6)
Yes my fellow believers, our God will continue whatever work He has begun in us until that day that Jesus returns in all His splendour and glory. So there’s no need to worry about what we’re going through, for we have a Master Builder and Master Potter looking after us.
That’s why Friends, we can confidently say like the Ethan the Ezrahite in our Bit: ‘I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.’
Yes my people, though it is indeed our duty to pass on the Lord’s goodness and faithfulness to the up and coming generations, our souls should be so full of the joy of the Lord that all those things should just come naturally to us.
And there’s no better example of that than Bruh David in his songs. Listen to this one, his psalm of thanksgiving, when the Ark of the Covenant was brought up to Jerusalem.
‘Then on that day David delivered first this psalm to thank the Lord into the hand of Asaph and his brethren. Give thanks unto the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people. Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works.
Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord. Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face continually. Remember his marvellous works that he hath done, his wonders, and the judgement of his mouth; O ye seed of Israel his servant, ye children of Jacob, his chosen ones.
He is the Lord our God; his judgements are in all the earth. Be ye mindful always of his covenant; the word which he commanded to a thousand generations; Even of the covenant which he made with Abraham, and of his oath unto Isaac; and hath confirmed the same to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant,
Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot (allotment) of your inheritance. When ye were but few, even a few, and strangers in it. And when they went from nation to nation, and from one kingdom to another people. He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes, Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.
Sing unto the Lord, all the earth; show forth from day to day his salvation. Declare his glory among the heathen; his marvellous works among all the nations. For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be feared (held in reverential awe) above all gods.’ (1 Chr.16:7-25)
Oh Friends, we have to stop there, because the psalm is at least half as long again, and we don’t have the time nor space to capture it all. But it does show how Bruh David tied in all the different aspects of Israel’s dealings with their God. It was also a teaching tool, so that the people could learn of Israel’s history, something to be orally passed down to the generations, since writing and reading weren’t as universal as they are today.
Let us therefore remember Friends, not only the Lord’s goodness to Israel in their time, but also His LOVING-kindness to us in these trying days. And thus cause our voices to be raised in song, in thanksgiving for His everlasting mercies to us, His people, the flock of His pasture, so that others can hear it, and come to know Him like we do. That is indeed heavenly wisdom. Much LOVE!
…to true followers of Jesus…singing His praises…ought to come naturally and constantly…as breathing His breath of life…
18 Mar 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a call to praise God, a great King above all Gods, a lose-lose situation, a psalm of praise, appreciate each day, appreciative, bless His name, blessings to brighten our way, build up thy throne to all generations, burst out in song, come before his presence with thanksgiving, covenant, Each day is a gift from God, Ethan the Ezrahite, faith, faithfulness, flowers, followers of Jesus, forgiveness, Friday, fulfilled, glorify His holy name, god's great mercies and loving-kindness, gospel truth, green beer, hands of our dear ones, his mercy is everlasting, his truth endureth to all generations, I will sing of the mercies of the Lord, it is meet and right, jehovah god, joyfully singing, laughter to share, lighten our hearts, LOVE, loving kindness, magnificent and magnanimous God, make a joyful noise, mercy, natural reaction, O come let us sing unto the lord, passed down, praise, prayer, preamble, promises, Psalm 100, Psalm 95, rainbows, rightful due of thanks and praise, Selah, serve the Lord with gladness, shortchange ourselves and God, shout joyfully, singing, song, spirits and souls, St. Paddy's Day, sworn unto David, take for granted, thankful, thanksgiving, the beauty of nature, the blessings of God, the gift of another new day, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the joy of God, the Lord he is God, the Lord is a great God, The Lord is good, the middle day of the workweek, the Most High God, the rock of our salvation, the sheep of his pasture, the weekend, thy seed will I establish for ever, to all generations, troubled, troublesome hour, true believer, trust, we are his people, Wednesday, wisdom, with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness, wreak havoc
Psalm 89:1. I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.
Oh Friends, please sing this ode to Wednesday with me. ‘Wednesday, oh Wednesday, the middle day of the workweek. Wednesday, oh Wednesday, you make me forget Monday and Tuesday.
Wednesday, oh Wednesday, you show me that there’s no going backward, only forward. Wednesday, oh Wednesday, you bring me ever closer to Friday and the weekend. Oh how I LOVE you Wednesday!’
Yes mih people, just a little fun to stir up our souls on this chilly Wednesday winter’s morn, after a hectic St. Paddy’s Day. Hope the green beer and other strange coloured beverages didn’t or don’t wreak too much havoc on you all. (smile) Thankfully I stayed away from it all, but not from the late night, hence my late awakening.
Now what shall we preamble about today eh? And I just saw the perfect preamble for today! It’s a poem on a birthday card I received last year. It was just sitting at the edge of my desk, and I was wondering why it was there. But after reading the words that covered the outside, I realized why.
Listen to these beautiful words and sentiments. I don’t know if I’ve shared them before, but I must have, because they’re so beautiful and appropriate for our time. But like most beautiful words and sentiments, they are definitely worth sharing again. The poem’s titled: ‘Each Day Is a Gift from God.’
Please say with me: ‘He has given us morning, brightness, and sun, Laughter to share, and work to be done. He has given us rainbows, flowers, and song, And the hands of our dear ones to help us along. He has given us prayer, with its wonderful power To lighten our hearts in a troublesome hour. He has given us blessings to brighten our way, And always – the gift of another new day.’
Wow mih people! It’s all so wonderful and true! But do we really appreciate it all? I don’t think so nuh, otherwise our spirits and souls would not be as troubled as they are. And many of us unfortunately just take the beautiful things of nature and blessings of God for granted.
However Friends, we shouldn’t be doing that, because then we foolishly shortchange ourselves of the joy of God, and also shortchange the Lord in giving Him His rightful due of thanks and praise, so it just turns into a lose – lose situation.
Instead, we ought to be doing as our Bit so wisely declares: ‘I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.’
What wisdom Friends! And why should we do that? Ethan the Ezrahite, author of the psalm tells us why, as he continues: ‘For I have said, Mercy (LOVING-kindness) shall be built up for ever: thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens.
I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant, Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah.’ (Ps.89:2-4)
Yes my people, for all those wonderful promises, which have been fulfilled and passed down to us, we too should be joyfully singing of God’s great mercies and LOVING-kindness!
Now let’s check out a couple of other scriptures that encourage us to sing praises and thanks unto the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
In Psalm 95 – A psalm of praise to the great God – the psalmist joyfully proclaims: ‘O come let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise (shout joyfully) to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise (shout joyfully) unto him with psalms (songs). For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all Gods.’ (Ps.95:1-3)
Oh Friends, there’s nothing but gospel truth in those statements, statements to which we should all be adhering to!
Then in Psalm 100 – A call to praise God – the psalmist also proclaims with great wisdom: ‘Make a joyful noise (shout joyfully) unto the Lord, all ye lands (the entire 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. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.’ (Ps.100:1-5)
Oh my people, with all the good things we have coming from our magnificent and magnanimous God, how can we not be thankful and appreciative eh, and make us just want to burst out in song, to sing His wonderful praises, and glorify His holy name!
It ought to be the natural reaction of a true believer, one who has put their sincere faith and trust in Jehovah God, and is enjoying His blessings, mercies, forgiveness and LOVING-kindness!
Oh my fellow believers, please, oh please, let’s try and rectify that situation nuh, by increasing our appreciation of God’s goodness, and thus being ever more willing to break out in song, giving thanks and praises to the Most High God, for all He’s done, is doing, and has promised to do for us.
That is certainly the wisdom of the truly wise! Much LOVE!
…it is meet and right…for followers of Jesus…to break out in praiseful song…every time they consider His goodness…
17 Mar 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abominable sins, be filled with the Spirit, beloeved son, bounden duty, breathtaking knowledge, Calvary, calypso on the radio, Catholicism, Christ's Church, Christians, communing with Jesus, Cousin Sol, demonstrate undying love, dissipation, doubt, driving the snakes out of Ireland, drunk with wine, encourages, epitome of wisdom, eternal declarations, Ethan the Ezrahite, evil times. Beelzebub, faithfulness, fellow believers, followers of Jesus, foolish and fleshly lusts, forgiveness, giving thanks always, glorious green colours, God's sure promises to David, grace, grateful, gratitude, heavenly Father, hell-bent for destruction, hope, hymns, I will sing of the mercies of the Lord, inferiority complex, Ireland's patron saint, it's a good thing to give thanks, It's Good, it's good to be loved by you, Jesus Christ, joy, kaiso, lazy, Lent, lethargic attitudes, life-giving love, LOVE, majestic life symphony, make them known to our children, making melody in your heart to god, mercies, miserable, misery, mortal lives, nothing compares to god's love for us, One Year Book of Bible promises, playing both ends against the middle, praise, protective umbrella of Christ, psalms, pseudo followers, reconciliation, reverence, rings chimes in my tremulous heart, sacrificed on the cross, Saint Patrick, scripture, sentiments, shouting the Lord's goodness from the rooftops, sing about them, sing and make merry to God, sinners, sitting on the fence, sour, St.Patrick's Day, thankfulness, Thanks be to God, thanksgiving, the assembly of saints, the fear of God, the heavens shall praise thy wonders, the Lord's loving-kindness, the Love Revolution, the new generation, things that flow from God, this wicked world, triumph in the work of thy hands, true believers, trust, unconditional, understanding, unsettled questions, we're alive and kicking, wisdom, wishy-washy, with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness
Psalm 89:1. I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.
Well Friends, Thanks be to God, we’re alive and kicking this Tuesday morning; especially on this 2015 St.Patrick’s Day! A Happy St. Paddy’s Day to all and sundry!
And remember to come out bedecked in your glorious green colours today, drink your green beer and other beverages, celebrating the life and death of Ireland’s patron saint, Saint Patrick, the man credited with driving all the snakes out of Ireland. (smile)
And I always remember St. Patrick’s Day fondly, for growing up in T&T that was the only day that you heard a calypso on the radio during Lent. Such was the staunch Catholicism and the inferiority complex that our local music wasn’t good enough to be played during Lent.
That however has now come full circle, with kaiso been played everyday of the year, even some of those that should not be played at all. But that’s the new generation, and you either like it or leave it.
Now here is a little ditty from the One Year Book of Bible Promises, with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin that suitably acknowledges and gives thanks to our wonderful heavenly Father. It’s simply titled ‘It’s Good.’
Please say with me: ‘Oh God, it’s good to be LOVED by You! The breathtaking knowledge of Your life-giving LOVE rings chimes in my tremulous heart. It fashions eternal declarations Out of unsettled questions. It creates a majestic life symphony From a solitary note. God, it’s good to be LOVED BY You!’
And is it ever my fellow believers! There is NOTHING in this world that even comes close in comparison to the LOVE that our heavenly Father has for us! It’s unconditional, it’s pure and true…it’s everything we can ask!
But unfortunately too many of us don’t seem to recognize and/or appreciate it. Neither do we return that LOVE, opting instead to rush and grab for the foolish and fleshly lusts of this wicked world. That’s why there’s so much doubt and misery in our souls in these trying times.
Oh Friends, if we’d only consider the great LOVE that God has for us, and it’s not only talk, for He showed it by sending His only BELOVED Son, Jesus Christ to be sacrificed on the cross of Calvary for our abominable sins, so that we could find hope and reconciliation through Him.
And that while we were yet sinners, hell-bent for destruction. So if that doesn’t demonstrate His great and undying LOVE for us, then I don’t know what does!
And our Bit for today is the promise to which our poem is devoted. ‘I will sing of the mercies (the LOVE) of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.’
Wow! What wonderful sentiments my brethren! They are the opening words of Psalm 89 – God’s sure promises to David – the contemplation by Ethan the Ezrahite; one of the wise men and great songwriters of Bruh David’s time.
He was even used as a comparison for Cousin Sol’s wisdom. ‘For he was wiser than all men; Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol:’ (1 Kin.4:31)
And yuh know what Friends? If we are indeed grateful for the unconditional LOVE, the mercies, forgiveness, grace and all the other good and wonderful things that flow from our great God, then we ought to sing about them constantly and make them known to our children and grandchildren!
But we obviously don’t do that as much as we ought. Is it because we don’t truly appreciate the Lord’s LOVING-kindness, or do we just take it for granted? Either way, we’re wrong. My fellow believers, we ought to be shouting out the Lord’s goodness from the rooftops, each and every day of our mortal lives!
Now let’s look at some scripture that encourages us to do just that. Ethan himself, later on in Psalm 89, wisely declares: ‘And the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O Lord: thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints. For who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord?
Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord? God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had (held) in reverence of all them that are about him.’ (Ps.89:5-7)
Yes Friends, there’s none as mighty and as faithful in this universe as our Lord and Creator! Therefore we ought to acknowledge Him with much praise and thanksgiving!
Now listen to the words of the psalmist from Psalm 92 – Praises for the Lord’s goodness. ‘It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High: To show forth (declare) thy LOVING-kindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night.
Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery (lute or lyre); upon the harp with a solemn (harmonious or melodic) sound. For thou, Lord hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands.’ (Ps.92:1-4)
Oh what a joy to be living under the protective umbrella of our most faithful God! And my people we need to make that known much more than we currently do. Most of the time we just sing and make merry to God when we go to church, but we ought to be doing it all the time, every day.
As Bruh Paul so wisely put it to the Ephesians, when talking about the ways of the believer. Hear him: ‘Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess (dissipation), but be filled with the Spirit;
Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.’ (Eph.5:18-21)
Yuh see Friends, if we consider ourselves a part of God’s flock, then we ought to be always singing and making merry in His name, not going about sour and miserable like so many of us supposed Christians do.
We have been granted a great and wonderful life through Jesus Christ, so let’s be thankful and show that thankfulness and gratitude nuh, so that the unbelievers can see the joy and faithfulness that communing with Jesus truly brings!
If we’re not joyful and thankful for the great mercies and blessings being daily bestowed on us by God, then we’re not true believers or sheep in His flock, just pseudo followers, sitting on the fence, trying to play both ends against the middle.
Ah Friends, at no time in the life of Christ’s church has the necessity for our sincere display of joy and trust in the Lord’s goodness been more important.
Sadly, in these evil times, Beelzebub’s power is on the rise and we desperately need to counteract it with the singing of songs of praise and thankfulness to Almighty God, if we ever hope to regain the running of our world and the success of Christ’s LOVE Revolution.
So please, my brethren, let’s wake up and smell whatever we need to, and do whatever we need to, so that we can rise above the lazy, wishy-washy and lethargic attitudes we currently display. That my people, is the epitome of wisdom! Much LOVE!
…if we’re truly glad to be followers of Jesus…then we need to show it outwardly…so that others will come to Him…and find the joy that we have…that’s our bounden duty…
05 Mar 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Abide in me, against all odds, almighty god, because of mine enemies, blessings, bolsters our spirits, breath of life, brings us joy, Bruh David, cherish every moment with those you love, Clark Gable, confidence, destruction, do God's will, faithfulness, followers of Jesus, furthering God's glorious kingdom, gospel truth, gratitude, guidance, guilt, heavenly Father, hope, I am the vine, I lift up my soul to thee, image of Jesus, improvement, in league with the Creator of the universe, in thee do I trust, Jack Layton, jehovah god, lead me in a plain path, learn God's word, Lent, lessen's regrets, LOVE, loving kindness, make thy way straight, meditate, mercies, misleading, moving onward and upward, my help cometh from the Lord, O Lord, omni-present, omnipotent, omnisicient, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, prayer for protection, privilege, read, remakes us into the image of Jesus, righteous and godly life, righteousness., saviour jesus christ, Spread God's Word, strength, study, teach me thy statutes, Teach me thy way O Lord, thanks and praise, the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, the land of uprightness, the potter's wheel, the Spirit of Jesus, the ungodly world, the wonderful God we serve, Thursday, thy spirit is good, unconditional LOVE, walking with Jesus, wickedness, wisdom, without me ye can do nothing, ye are the branches
Psalm 27:11. Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain (smooth) path, because of mine enemies.
Aye Friends, it’s Thursday, and we’re moving onward and upward with our wonderful Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Wow! What a great privilege that is my people! To be in league with the Creator of the universe and all therein is truly something else!
So let’s give Him some thanks and praise this Lenten Thursday morning nuh, for first imbuing us with His awesome breath of life, then for the new mercies and blessings He has specially prepared for us today, and finally ask for strength and guidance to go out into the ungodly world that surrounds us and do His will; that of attracting souls to Him and thus furthering His glorious kingdom. Now that is indeed a mouthful, but not an impossible one. (smile)
Please pray with me: ‘Oh heavenly Father, we sincerely thank You for the breath of life You’ve breathed into each of us at our birth, and has allowed it to continue to this day. We thank You for all the wonderful work You’ve done in us, and are still doing. Being on Your potter’s wheel can sometimes be rough, but we understand the need for it. It’s the only way you can remake us into the image of Jesus.
Lots of thanks are also forthcoming for the many gifts of grace, mercy and forgiveness that You’ve bestowed on us. Your unconditional LOVE also calls for expressions of gratitude. Please help us this day to LOVE You as we ought to, and grant us your undying peace and wisdom, so that we can go out and diligently do Your Will, spread Your Word and Your LOVE! This we pray in the name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen!’
Yeh mih breddren, it’s ALL about Jehovah God! And I found this quote on a piece of scrap paper yesterday. Don’t know if I’ve shared it before, but even if I have, it’s certainly worth sharing again. It’s attributed to Jack Layton (1950-2011) the late leader of the Federal Opposition party, the N.D.P. Jack has been reputed to advise: ‘Cherish every moment with those you LOVE, at every stage of your journey.’
And that is certainly wisdom for the ages my people! LOVING those around us not only bolsters our spirits and brings us joy each day, but it also lessens the regrets when a LOVED one passes away, whether suddenly or after a long illness. We don’t have the guilt and those negative feelings of not having told or shown them how much we LOVED them. And that takes a lot of pressure off of us when circumstances don’t go the way we want them to.
So Friends, starting NOW, let’s truly cherish those around us, as much as we can. Let’s both show and tell them that we LOVE and appreciate them. I’m sure we’ll see a big improvement in all the lives involved. And your luck’s in today Friends. (smile) Here’s another quote, this from Cark Gable (1901-1960), the famous American movie star of yore. Clark says: ‘The things a man has to have are hope and confidence in himself against all odds.’
And I quote this because though there’s some truth in it, those words ‘in himself’ can be quite misleading, for basically our hope and confidence is supposed to come from our union with our omnipotent, omniscient and omni-present God.
As Jesus warned His disciples, and consequently us: ‘Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.’ (John 15:5-6)
Now that’s truly telling it like it is! It’s gospel truth my people! Without the Spirit of Jesus working in and walking with us, we can do nothing really worthwhile. That’s why I took issue with Clark’s comment. Only when we’re walking sincerely with Jesus, and only then, does that hope and confidence truly blossom in our souls!
That’s why our Bit is so necessary and so powerful. Bruh David truly lays it on the line. ‘Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain (smooth) path, because of mine enemies.’
Yes my brethren, it’s only by doing it God’s way that we can truly live a righteous and godly life, despite the enmity that surrounds us. And Bruh David knew this from hard experience and used it to his advantage. Listen to him from Psalm 5 – A prayer for protection.
‘Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face. For there is no faithfulness (uprightness) in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness (destruction); their throat is an open sepulcher (an open tomb); they flatter with their tongue.’ (Ps.5:8-9)
Ah mih people, our world is so full of wickedness and flattery, that if we’re not careful, we can fall for some ungodly stuff every minute of every day. And the writer of Psalm 119, in the Daleth section – Make me to understand thy way- prayerfully beseeches God:
‘My soul cleaveth unto (clings to) the dust: quicken (revive) thou me according to thy word. I have declared my ways, and thou heardest (answered) me: teach me thy statutes. Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: so shall I talk of (meditate on) thy wondrous works.’ (Ps.119:25-27)
Oh Friends, that’s only logical! We can’t talk about God and His wondrous works if we don’t know anything about Him! That’s why it’s ever so important, necessary and essential that followers of Jesus, read, study, meditate on and learn His Word. And having done that, we can then explain, expound and talk about the wonderful God we serve!
And we’ll end this series of messages on calling out to God for direction and help to learn His statutes, with these fateful, faithful and fruitful words of Bruh David from Psalm 143 – Teach me to do thy will.
‘Cause me to hear thy LOVING-kindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee. Deliver me O Lord, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me (unto thee I take cover). Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.’ (Ps.143:8-10)
Oh my fellow believers, please let those words lift us up today, and keep us centred and focused on Almighty God as we go out to do His will, for it’s only from Him, can true hope and confidence come. Much LOVE!
…I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills…from whence cometh my help…my help cometh from the Lord…which made heaven and earth… (Ps.121:1-2)
24 Feb 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: A journey of love, almighty god, anger, Another Country, be not conformed to this world, be transformed by the renewing of your mind, be ye angry and sin not, bitterness, care, Christians, compassion, darkness, disappointment, Ephesians, evil speaking, faith, faithfulness, five foolish virgins, fleshly lusts, friends, give place to the devil, God's little Acre, good and acceptable to God, gospel truth, Hades, heaven, holy spirit, introspection, James Baldwin, Jesus Christ, Lent, Lenten season, live for Jesus, LOVE, LOVE for God, Lucifer, lying, malice, memorable words of Jesus, nature, practical guidelines, prayer, promises, retrospection, rough and trying times, spirit of your mind, St. Therese, steadfast faith, surrender, the fire next time, the North Country, the prince of darkness, The Saint of the Little Flower, trust, truth, ungodly world, watch, wherein the Son of man cometh, wisdom, wrongdoing
Romans 12:2. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Ah Friends, it’s Tuesday, and we’re in the last days of our stay in Paradise! And as I gaze out at the wonders of nature, hear the birds and insects sing their songs of praise to their Creator, with the seas at high tide bashing against the rocky shore, I sadly realize that in another couple days I won’t be waking up to this beautiful panorama of God’s making, but to a scene of snow and ice, of cold and darkness.
Ah Lord eh! And the ole heart stutters and flutters as it comes to grip with the great seismic change. (smile) But you know the ole fella will take it in his stride, because that’s where the Lord has me based for the present time. This was only a vacation, a blessed change and reprieve from the uncomfortable aspects of winter in the North Country.
And if I claim to have faith and trust in our omnipotent God, and have surrendered my will to Him, then I have no choice but to grin and bear whatever He allows to come against me, trusting in His faithful promises that He won’t give me more than I can bear, neither will He leave nor forsake me, while working everything out eventually for my good.
Oh my people, what a good and mighty God we serve and worship! And I’ve been walking with Him long enough now to be fully aware and fully cognizant of His everlasting faithfulness. He’s brought me through enough rough situations before, so why should He stop now eh, especially when I’m more faithful to Him now than I’ve ever been?
So although there’s sadness and disappointment in my upcoming departure from God’s Little Acre, I am also bolstered by the fact that my God is able to do whatever He promises, and will provide for me in whatever situation I may be in.
Consequently, I’d like to share this prayer from a devotional titled ‘A Journey of LOVE – Walking with St. Therese of Liseux; the Saint of the Little Flower, who promised to spend her heaven doing good on earth, letting fall a shower of roses as her signature. However Friends, in these very rough and trying times, we shouldn’t wait till we get to heaven to do good on earth, we need to do that RIGHT NOW!
And what better time to begin than in this Lenten season of both intro and retrospection!
Please pray with me: ‘Lord, help me to live always in the light of your presence. Should any darkness challenge my belief and LOVE for you, dispel that darkness so that I might witness to your merciful and gracious LOVE. Grant me the wisdom to confront a secular and egocentric world with your message of care and compassion for all people. We make this prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.’
Yes my people, there’s so much darkness and evil in our current world that it’s only with the omnipotent help of Almighty God, His Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit that we can ever hope to dispel and remove them from our lives. And it can ONLY be done through LOVE and compassion! So please let’s come together seriously nuh, and do what we know is meet and right for us to do.
The sad part of the situation is that we full well know what is right, but yet we allow the façade of the world’s false and short lasting beauty to lure us into wrongdoing and ungodly behavior. If we are truly children of God, then we desperately need to be walking according to the dictates of our Bit: ‘And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.’
That’s the gospel truth my brethren! And it reminds me of a quote of James Baldwin (1928-1987), the controversial African American novelist, playwright, poet and social critic, who continually reflected on his experience as a black man in white America, penning such insightful works as ‘The Fire Next Time and Another Country.’
Well James is reputed to have said: ‘The future is like heaven – everyone exalts it but no one wants to go there now.’ And that’s a very accurate reflection of Christians nowadays! We all want to live a godly life, but just not yet, first we want to enjoy the pleasures and lusts of the fleshly world.
But Friends we can’t afford to wait one minute longer to live for Jesus, because we don’t know when He’s coming back. It could be today or tomorrow. And if we’re found wanting when He returns, like the five foolish virgins who didn’t prepare for a long wait with extra oil for their lamps, (Matt.25:1-12) we’ll be simply excluded from His train of glory, and forced to spend eternity in Hades with Lucifer, the prince of darkness.
And as I keep reminding us, that my brethren is the worst thing that could ever happen to a human being! So let’s get to it nuh, let’s begin living serious godly lives, putting into effect these wise and true words of Bruh Paul to the Ephesians: ‘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. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth to his neighbor: for we are members one of another. Be ye angry and sin not; let not the sun go down upon your wrath; Neither give place to the devil…
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.4:22-27, 31-32)
Oh my Friends, that’s how we’re supposed to live! Those are just some simple, every day, practical guidelines as to how we can put aside the ‘old man’ and assume ‘the new man,’ in our everyday lives. They’re definitely not very difficult to do, so let’s begin doing them seriously, diligently and Right Now nuh, so that we won’t be caught napping whenever Jesus comes.
Let’s put into effect these memorable words of Jesus. ‘Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.’ (Matt.25:13)
That’s heavenly truth and wisdom my fellow man, words for us to ponder today, and see if we’re ready to receive Jesus, just in case He returns today. Much LOVE!
…to create a better world…it’s essential that we put into effect…LOVE for God…for ourselves…and for our neighbours… plus sincere care and compassion for each other…
06 Jan 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a second chance, act on, affliction, almighty god, be of good courage, be persistent, Beggars alley, begging Peter to pay Paul, believe, change of address, conceive, corruption, endure our afflictions with patience, faithfulness, fall asleep at the wheel, God is always faithful, God is good, God will never forsake us, He will perfect establish and strengthen us, Higher heights, I am cast out of thy sight, I sought the Lord, in due time, Jonah, life is good, look toward thy holy temple, loving kindness, mercy, my soul fainted within me, Nineveh, our task is to take hold of God's grace, out of the belly of hell, Poverty Lane, prepare to achieve, sacrifice, salvation is of the Lord, the Lord delivered me from all my fears, the Lord heard him, the Lord saved him out of all his troubles, the Lord's never late, the voice of thanksgiving, this poor man cried, Tuesday, unlimited potential, upscale community, vomited Jonah on to dry land, wait on the Lord, without grwoing weary, worthless idols
Psalm 34:4. I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
Well Friends, it’s Tuesday! How was the first day back at work in this new year of 2015 eh? I do hope that it was not too strenuous and you did not fall asleep either literally or figuratively at the wheel, that you took it in full, complete and victorious stride. (smile)
For remember that our task here on earth is to take hold of the grace of our wonderful God to endure our afflictions with patience, without growing weary, knowing that in the due process of time, He will perfect, establish, strengthen and settle us.
We must learn to wait on the Lord with His perfect timing and be of good courage, for He will always come through for us… and in time too, for He’s never late!
Now hear this quote from my Friend Anselm with one of his daily quotes, Inspiring You for a Better Tomorrow. This one talks about a change of address, and it might sound familiar, because I believe I have shared it before. But anyway, it is still a good message to hear and accede to, especially at the start of this new year.
Listen up: ‘This is my change of address notice for 2015. I have moved out from 1 Beggars Alley, located at 2 Poverty Lane at the corner of Bleak and Buster Circle. As of today, I have a brand new home. My new address is: Living Well on 3 Abundance Drive, located at the corner of Blessings Street and Prosperity Peak.
No longer will I allow myself to travel on Begging Peter to pay off Paul route, located at a dead end Intersection called: I Don’t Have, it connects with Borrowers Junction. I no longer hang out at Failure’s Place, near Excuses Avenue, next to Procrastination Point.
I’ve moved on to an Upscale Community called Higher Heights with unlimited potential and opportunities for me to succeed. Look at me, each day that I’m awake, I am thankful to be a product of my new environment. All my clothes are tailor made. I’m dressed in life’s finest.
Let me introduce you to all of them: Conceive, Believe, Act on, Have Faith, Be Persistent, and Always be Prepared to Achieve. Life is good because God is good! Care to change your address?’
Oh my people, that’s an interesting question, and I do hope that all of us would jump up and shout an emphatic ‘Yes!’ because so many of us do need to change our addresses, to move up to Higher Heights from Beggar’s Alley and Poverty Lane.
And so we come to our Bit: ‘I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears’
Oh Friends, that is exactly what will happen, if and when you sincerely seek the face and ear of Almighty God! He will NEVER let you down, or leave you in the lurch, for He’s promised that, (Heb. 13:5) and we all know that God is ALWAYS faithful to His promises.
Hear what Bruh David said in a couple of verses later. ‘This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.’ (Ps.34:6)
Glory be, my people! He just verified our Bit! And today we’ll look at a couple more scripture passages which lend verity, veracity, credence and truth to it. (smile)
We’ll begin with Jonah, who tried to run from God, having disobeyed God’s command to go and preach the truth to the sinful city of Nineveh. In God’s wise plan, Jonah ends up in the belly of a big fish.
Please note that the Lord didn’t merely destroy him for His disobedience, but gave him a chance to make matters right between them. And Jonah eventually comes to his senses and makes good use of that second chance.
The Good Book relates it thus: ‘Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish’s belly, And said, I cried by reason of mine (because of my) affliction unto the Lord, and he heard (answered) me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.
For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst (heart) of the seas; and the floods compassed me about (surrounded me): all thy billows and thy waves passed over me. Then said I, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.
The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth (deep) closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head. I went down to the bottoms (foundations, bases) of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about (closed behind) me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption (the pit),
O Lord my God. When my soul fainted within me I remembered the Lord: and my prayer came in (went up) unto thee, into thine holy temple. They that observe lying vanities (worthless idols) forsake their own mercy (LOVING-kindness).
But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord. And the Lord spoke unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.’ (Jon.2:1-10)
Wow Friends! Imagine that nuh; having to undergo such affliction before we truly come to our senses and sincerely seek Jehovah God!
But sadly, that’s what happens to us in real life. When things are good, we don’t remember or have any use for God. It’s only when affliction and disaster strike, that we rush to our heart’s door and let Jesus in, where He’s been knocking the whole time. And then we expect Him to work miracles on our behalf right away.
That’s not right my brethren, but our God is such a magnanimous and merciful Deity, that whenever we do cry out to Him in sincerity, He hears and answers us. Now hear are some interesting notes on those verses from the scholars.
‘2:1-9. Jonah’s prayer is poetic in form and has three movements, each beginning with a rehearsal of the prophet’s impossible situation, and each culminating in an expression of his faith in spite of his impossible circumstances. The first movement is in verses 2-4. The second movement is in verses 5 and 6. The third movement is in verses 7-9.’
Ah my people, please allow Jonah’s story – first his disobedience and then his undying faithfulness and courage, to stir us up today, and keep us in strong communication with Almighty God, so that we don’t stray too far from the remaining flock of His verdant pasture. That is wisdom of the highest order!
I know that we promised two sets of scriptures, but time and space have run out on us. So, God willing, we’ll continue in this same vein tomorrow. Till then, please walk safely with Jehovah God as our most able guide and veritable embodiment of our strength. Much LOVE!
…walking closely with Jesus…is such a beautiful, beautiful thing…
31 Dec 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: almighty god, an outward indication of an inner condition, Anne Daily Goodwin, as ye see the day approaching, attitudes, believers need to change, Christ-like, church meetings, circumstances, come up higher, comforting conclusions, congregations, Drunk or sober mind yuh business, encourage, encouragement, entire worship of christ, exhorting one another, faithfulness, faithfulness to God will grow, father in heaven, fellowship, foundations of our Christian faith, friends and neighbours, God doesn't change, God's faithfulness, godless deeds, good deeds, good works, gospel truth, Granny's warning, grow, grow closer to Jesus, Happy New Year, hatred, He is faithful that promised, hearts of hope, hold fast the profession of our faith, Jesus Christ, last day of 2014, let us consider one another, LOVE, make Jesus our number one priority, mature, mindsets, New Year's Eve, New Year's resolution, number one promise for 2015, peace, peace floats like music, peace shimmers like water, positive connotation, promote, relationship, room for improvement, spiritual food, stand strong and steadfast, start off on the right foot, stir up, strengthening, succour, sustenance, the assembling of ourselves together, the church is an interacting body, the nature and character of Jesus Christ, to provoke unto love and to good works, warm and welcoming homes, wavering, we thank you for your faithfulness, Wednesday, weighted on one side, win-win relationship, wisdom at its zenith, wishy-washy, worship
Hebrews 10:24. And let us consider one another to provoke (stir up, encourage) unto LOVE and to good works.
Oh Friends and neighbours, what can I say to us this fateful Wednesday morning eh, the last day of the very troubled and tumultuous year that was 2014?
As we said a few days ago, circumstances don’t really change much from one day to the next, but our attitudes and mindsets can. And it’s in that vein I want to address us today.
First of all, I want to remind us of a very salient and most important fact, through a prayer from the back of my late mother’s Bible. It says: ‘Father in heaven, we thank You for Your faithfulness during the past year. Help us to remember that Your faithfulness will go with us into the New Year. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.’
Yes my people, we need to remember that God’s faithfulness will not change, and hopefully, neither will ours. In fact, it’s a sincere wish that our faithfulness to Almighty God will grow with each passing day, so that we can have a win-win relationship with our Creator and Provider.
For no relationship can progress, or even last for any length of time if it is constantly weighted on one side, like our faithfulness to God can often be. We must keep being aware that God doesn’t change. He has no need to.
But we, His followers can change, and do need to in many respects. We definitely need to come up higher, to grow and mature in the nature and character of Jesus Christ.
That’s why we resolved to have only ONE overriding resolution this past year; to grow closer to Jesus each and every day, in some form and fashion. And we’ll continue to let that be our Number ONE promise to ourselves and each other for the coming year of 2015.
Oh my people, I know that all of us grew some this past year, some more than others. But the good news is that if we were truly concentrating on Christ in 2014, we would definitely have improved our relationship with Him. How much, only you and God can tell.
By the same token, we all have room for improvement, for growth. So let’s continue to stay the course, difficult though it may sometimes be, remembering that our faithful God has promised to be with us wherever we go, and to bring us out safely, more Christ-like, from whatever situations we’re forced to endure.
That brings us to some rather appropriate scripture verses that includes out Bit. The author of Hebrews, whom I sincerely believe is Bruh Paul, timely reminds us: ‘Let us hold fast the profession (confession) of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
And let us consider one another to provoke (stir up, encourage) unto LOVE and to good works. Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.’ (Heb.10:23-25)
Yes my brethren, if we want to see the full effect of God’s faithfulness, we do have to stand strong and steadfast in our faith, without wavering, without being wishy-washy.
But then we also have to stir up, to encourage our fellow believers, promoting LOVE and good works, which are the foundations of our Christian faith! We need to do this through constant assembling, regular fellowship, not a once in awhile attendance at church meetings.
Now hear some important explanations from the scholars on those verses above. ’10:24. The word translated provoke (Gr. paroxysmos) usually has a negative sense, as is witnessed by its only other New Testament usage (Acts 15:39).
The positive connotation which the word has in the present text means to stir up. It is easy to stir up hatred and godless deeds; it takes much more to stir up another to LOVE and good works.’
And isn’t that the gospel, gospel truth my people! It’s ever so much easier for us to do evil and ungodly deeds than to do godly and good ones!
Then ‘10:25. Not forsaking the assembling: This admonition involves far more than erratic attendance. It involves the entire worship of Christ and is an outward indication of an inner condition.
The assembling of God’s people provides opportunity for reciprocal encouragement, strengthening, and the stirring up that can be gained from one another (cf. Col.3:12-16).
It consists of participation in worship and fellowship. The church is a body interacting (1 Cor.12:14-27); it is not merely a dispensary of spiritual food and medicine.’
Oh Friends, unfortunately that is often what we refuse to see. The church is supposed to be a totality of all things that pertain to Christ, and consequently to life itself. It’s where believers ought to go for succour and sustenance in whatever circumstance that afflicts us.
Anyway, I know you all are busy making your New Year’s preparations, so I won’t keep you any longer. (smile) We’ll end with this rather appropriate poem, an excerpt from an editorial by Ann Daily Goodwin published in the St. Paul Pioneer Press on December 31 1986.
‘Peace rises like dawn in the hearts of hope…. Peace reaches from warm and welcoming houses when workers go home. Peace wraps congregations as worship comes to comforting conclusions…. Peace floats like music through cabin windows to porch-sitters outside. Peace shimmers like lake water on star-dashed extravagant nights….
Peace blesses the day’s end, in the Dylan Thomas way: “I turned the gas down. I got into bed. I said some words into the close and holy darkness, and then I slept.” And so the last page turns to the new page, and we wish the world a happy new year. In peace.’
Oh my beautiful Friends and Scrip-Bit family members, let’s hope and pray that 2015 is not such a tumultuous year as 2014 was! Let’s hope that it is filled with much more peace and LOVE and good deeds!
And we can start it off on the right foot by not overdoing it later tonight, by paying serious attention to Granny’s warning: drunk or sober, mind yuh business. That’s truly wisdom at its zenith! Have a happy New Year’s Eve my brethren in Christ. Much much much LOVE!
…if we make following Jesus our number ONE priority…then everything else in our lives will fall into place…
P.S. Please don’t expect the Bit too early tomorrow morning. For though my celebrations may be somewhat muted, compared to yours, they will continue late into the night, or early in the morning; your choice. (smile) Much LOVE!
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