23 Sep 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a man after His own heart, Aloha, an understanding heart, angry with Solomon, arise with enthusiasm, but the Lord looketh, faithfulness, for David, further your glorious kingdom, give praise and thanks, go after other gods, good motives, goodly to look at, hacking, heart in the righ place, his heart was turned from, humble servants, incredible aura of LOVE, inroads, into the enemy's camp, jobs, l have refused him, largeness of heart, look not on his countenance, LOVE, man looketh, mistakes, Monday Morniing Battle Hymn, my servant David, not as man seeth, of a beautiful countenance, on the heart, on the outward appearance, packed like sardines, power of the holy spirit, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, ruddy, secret ingredient, serve a useful purpose, sincere prayer, sneezing, steadfast faith, strong wind, the height of his stature, the Lord God of Israel, the Lord seeth, the Lord's friend, thy father's sake, understanding, ungodly world, weary souls, whatever ails you, wisdom
1 Samuel 16:7. But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused (rejected) him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.
Aloha people! It’s Monday, that means it’s time to rise and shine and join the battle lines where Jesus awaits us! Like any good Field General, He’s the first one at the front surveying and reconnoitering the situation, so He can draw up good battle plans to ensure our victory. Remember, without good, solid, wise plans victory is never possible.
Consequently, we His soldiers also ought to have good, wise battle plans for our day. And the first one is to arise with enthusiasm, to greet the new day full of vim and vinegar, giving our Lord thanks and praise for allowing us to see another day! Oh, I know that’s not possible for all of us, but don’t worry, we have the secret ingredient to help us get up to par. We call it our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, a simple but most productive prayer, suitable for any ailment you have on a Monday morning.
So let’s join together in saying it nuh, because we all need prayer regardless of how strong and faithful we are. 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!’
Yuh feel it friends? Yuh feel the power of the Holy Spirit just working its way through your soul and spirit? I know you do, because I feel it too! It never ceases to amaze me that whenever we pray that prayer, how my enthusiasm level just rises another notch, even when it’s already high! That’s the giddy answer (smile) of our great God to our genuine and sincere prayer. And believe me, I needed a boost this morning, because it seems I caught some bug on the plane.
When you’re packed like sardines with so many people hacking and sneezing, with one lady right next to me, it’s not unusual to catch something. Brother! After church yesterday, where I was feeling lousy, with my throat aching, I came home, had breakfast and went straight to bed. Remember I don’t have my I-pad, so I couldn’t play any games first. (smile) And I spent the whole day there, just getting up for supper in the afternoon and going straight back.
I also spent most of the night there, waking and sleeping, listening to the strong wind that kept blowing all day through the trees. Sometimes it sounded like rain, but when I opened my eyes and looked, it was still just the wind. Sometime in the early morning hours I did get up and say some prayers, not fully conscious though, but I know our wonderful God understood, because my heart was in the right place.
Oh friends, I can’t begin to tell you what a wonderful God we serve and worship because He doesn’t look at our outward actions but at the motives of our hearts, and if they are true and sincere, He does accept our faults and frailties. In any case, He already knows them better than us. And we see this plainly in the words of the Lord to Samuel when He sent him to anoint one of Jesse’s sons as the next king of Israel. Samuel looked at Eliab, big and strong and handsome and thought ‘This must be the one‘
‘But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused (rejected) him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.’ But that doesn’t mean that the Lord doesn’t like good-looking people, for it was said of Bruh David: ‘he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look at.’ (1 Kin.16:12) Meaning he had bright eyes and was also good-looking, and he must have been strong too from all those hours out in the wild. (smile)
Oh my people, unfortunately we can only look on the outward actions of our fellow man, so we can’t tell what is truly in their hearts, but the Lord can. And we see the good motives and intentions of our hearts played out quite plainly in Bruh David. Although he made many mistakes, and the Lord did punish him for them, He never left him, because Bruh David never left Him either. He always stuck to the God of His Fathers.
Note too, the prayer of Cousin Sol, when the Lord asked him what he wanted. ‘Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people. And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon has asked this thing.’ (1 Kin.3:9-10) ‘And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the seashore.’ (1 Kin.4:29)
Yes friends, most of what we ask for, if it falls within the Father’s will and our hearts are true, we will get them. But note when Cousin Sol got old and turned to the gods of his many wives, how the Lord blanked him. ‘And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel which had appeared unto him twice. And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the Lord commanded.’ (1 Kin.11:9-10)
Therefore the Lord told Cousin Sol he would take away the kingdom from him, but not in his days, but in his son’s. And why was the Lord so generous? ‘For David thy father’s sake…for David my servant’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake which I have chosen.’ (1 Kin.11:12b,13c) Yuh see mih people, though Bruh David did a whole lot of wrong, his heart never strayed from his God, and that eventually made him a measuring stick for faithfulness in the Old Testament.
Are we faithful, can the Lord use us as a measuring stick for others today? Possibly not, but if we keep striving to be faithful and keep doing our best, one day the Lord might even deign to consider us His friend and a man after His own heart, like He said of Bruh David. I can think of no higher accolade that our great God can pay us. Much LOVE!
…the motives of our heart…must be right…when we come to the Lord in prayer…
06 Jul 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a negative self defeating idea, a shout of joy, Anself, anything is possible, as you have done it, aspires to inspire us, Christ-like, Christian community, comes from your own actions, condemning the goats, discourage others, do to help others, down here on earth, eternal damnation, eulogy, faithfulness, for a better tomorrow, forgiveness, friends, God's will and purpose, godly, grace, greedy world, happiness, hellfire, helping the poor, I was hungry, I was in prison, I was sick, I was thirsty, insignificant, joy, living to please man or God, LOVE, mercy, my brethren, not something ready made, peace, praise and glory, pursuing their dreams, resume, rise and shine, seek the Lord thy God, seems impossible, selfish, the fear of failure, the lost, the Most High God, the naked light of day, the sheep, thou shalt find him, touch your heart, troubles, unto one of the least of these, verily I say unto you, with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with Jesus, ye gave me drink, ye gave me meat, ye have done it unto me, ye visited me, you came unto me, your psyche
Matthew 25:40. Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Ah well, another glorious summer Saturday in the year of 2019! So, whenever you rise and shine, please enjoy it as though it was your last day on planet earth, for who knows, it just might well be. (smile) A lot of people who went to bed hale and hearty last night, did not get up this morning, for one reason or another. And the Lord died that we could have joy and peace right down here on this conflicted earth, not wait until we get to heaven.
So despite our circumstances, let’s all give a shout of joy and declare: ‘All praise and glory be to the Most High God, our heavenly Father, who dearly LOVES us and looks after us like His own beloved children; who has promised never to leave nor forsake us and to see us through whatever troubles come our way in this earthly life!’ Give Him much thanks and praise for His awesome faithfulness, LOVE, mercy, grace and forgiveness my believing brethren!
Ah friends, when you really get to know our heavenly Father, you’ll be amazed at how wonderful He is! But it takes time and serious commitment to get to that point; things that not too many of us are willing to spend or give, but we still want to receive all of His blessings. It doesn’t work that way though.
As Moses told the Israelites so long ago: ‘But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.’ (Deut. 4:29) And in all those years, that hasn’t changed one iota my people! So let’s all seek Him sincerely nuh, starting Right Here and Now!
And enough palavering, (smile) let’s see what words of wisdom our friend Anselm had to share with us this past week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. Listen to this first one: ‘Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.’ And that’s ever so true!
A lot of us sit around and expect others to make us happy, but that’s not very realistic, since all of us have different agendas, and very few of them in this selfish and greedy world are to make others happy. They are more self-centred and concentrate on making I, me and myself happy. So if you want to be happy, you’ve got to get out there and do it for yourself! Nobody’s going to do it for you.
And then there’s this: ‘Just remember: The people that say, ‘your dreams are impossible’ have already quit on theirs.’ More likely than not yes! Yeh friends, in this world there seem to be many more negative thinking people than positive thinking ones, even amongst our Christian community…
Brother! I can’t spell for hell this morning! I made more spelling mistakes in that last sentence than I’ve made in the rest of the Bit. Even spelled brother wrong! (smile) But moving along. Too many of us tend to discourage others from pursuing their dreams. But what’s a dream eh? Basically something that seems impossible in the naked light of day. Remember though, that with Jesus on our side, any and everything is possible!
Consequently, ‘There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.’ And is that ever so true! For once you think you’ll fail, you most likely will, because you introduce into your psyche a negative, self-defeating idea, which then tends to manifest itself in your attitude and the level of work you’re willing to put into making the dream a reality.
Like a li’l mole, it just keeps eating away at your creativity and you end up not putting in the amount of work really need to make the project a success. So don’t listen to the naysayers…listen to Almighty God! That means, the first thing to do is to find out from God, whether the dream fits His will and purpose for your life, for if it doesn’t, then it won’t ever succeed, no matter how much effort and elbow grease you put into it.
Now here’s this very interesting quote: ‘Are you living out things that will affect your résumé or your eulogy? How would your life change if you lived each day with your eulogy in mind?’ That’s a very good question! One we should all take a moment or two to ponder. It’s basically asking are we living our lives to please man or God; to meet the world’s standards or God’s?
And it’s strange, but I heard a preacher ask that very question recently, just in a different form: ‘What would we like our eulogy to be: praise for wealth and power, worldly things, or praise for being godly and Christ-like?’ I suggest the latter is the more worthwhile, but it doesn’t happen overnight, it’s a process, which means you have to start living it NOW!
And the final quote asks very significantly: ‘What needs around you touch your heart? What’s one thing you can do to help others—even if it seems insignificant?’ Right there friends is the heart of our Christian ministry; helping others. Remember Jesus said that He came to seek and to save those who were lost. (Luke 19:10)
But even more importantly listen to His words re when He comes back to set up His kingdom and He sets the sheep on His right hand and the goats on His left and invite the sheep to live with Him for ever after, while condemning the goats to hellfire and eternal damnation. Why? Because the sheep, true believers, helped those who were sick and suffering, lost and lonely, while the goats did not.
‘For I was an hungered (hungry), and ye gave me meat (food): I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison and ye came unto me.’ (Matt.25:35-36) And when the righteous ask when they did all of that, He will reply: ‘Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.’
Yes friends, our earthly job includes helping the poor, the lost and the unfortunate, just like Jesus did. So let’s get with it nuh, and stop concentrating solely on ourselves and our friends and families, because there is so much unmet need out there in today’s crazy world, that even the most insignificant help we can give will be joyfully looked upon by heaven and in due time, well rewarded. Much LOVE!
…you can’t call yourself a Christian…and don’t help anybody in need…
13 Apr 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a boomerang, a modicum of circumspection, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from heat, a sound mind, a spirit of fear, a storm against the wall, accountable, always scared, Anselm, aspires to inspire, big lesson in life, bulldozing through life, came to visit, clear your path, disrupt your life, enjoy life to the fullest, expanse of sea, faithfulness, family members, fear thee, figurative storms, find sunshine, for a better tomorrow, for a reason, for a season, friends leave, glorify thee, God closes a door, God created the universe, he commandeth, Jesus Christ, lifteth up the waves, literal storms, Lord God of hosts, LOVE, maketh the storm a calm, never be scared, O ye of little faith, picturesque scene, power, power in our words, quotes, Radisson Hotel, raiseth the stormy wind, reach your goals, rebuked the winds, responsibility, rise above the storm, roti, rulest the raging sea, storms, strength to the poor, strong Lord like thee, strong people, taking the next step, the blast of the terrible ones, the city of the ruthless, the needy in distress, the storm calmer, the storm Maker, the waves are still, things change, thou stillest them, understanding, waves arise, why are ye fearful, wisdom
Psalm 107:25,29. For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof…He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
And it’s another Saturday in T&T! Glory be! And under a slight cloud cover, which hopefully will soon be dissipated by the bright, rising sun, the wonderful blue-green expanse of sea still lies before me, dotted with nondescript vessels in the foreground, but in the background, in its vastness, seemingly stretching out to forever over the horizon! Wow! What a mouthful! But I like it, and I do hope it conveys the beauty of the picturesque scene in front of me. (smile)
Well we didn’t do anything of note yesterday, just hung around the hotel and rested, until in the late afternoon a couple of family members came to visit. They ended up taking us down to Petite Valley to get some roti. But imagine that nuh, nowadays yuh have to drive all the way to Petite Valley to get a decent roti. In my time, you could get a good roti on almost every street corner. But as they say times change and so do ways and people and situations. And for the record, the roti was good! (smile)
But as we usually do on a Saturday, let’s take a gander at some of the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. Listen to this first one: ‘If you spend your life working, sleeping and doing the basics… Congrats! You’ve just wasted your precious life!’
Well…that’s somewhat of a toss-up. You need to do the basics of life, including working and sleeping, but just doing barely enough to get by, deprives you of some of the most enjoyable aspects that life can provide. So it’s always necessary to go the extra mile, take a risk, if you truly want to enjoy your life to the fullest.
And the next quote advises: ‘The big lesson in life is never be scared of anyone or anything. Say what you want to say and do what you always wanted to do. You will never reach your goals if you are always scared of taking the next step.’ There is a fair amount of truth in that statement, and yes we shouldn’t be scared of anything or anyone in this life, because our great and wonderful God has not given us ‘a spirit of fear, but of power, of LOVE, and of a sound mind.’ (2 Tim.1:7)
However, we can’t just go bulldozing through life to get our way. We need to be careful what we say and to whom, for our words will eventually come back to haunt us, like a boomerang comes back to the thrower. Remember, that there is much power in our words, and as true believers in Christ we have the responsibility to be accountable for our words. So don’t be scared to push ahead, but do have a modicum of circumspection! (smile)
But we got to take a break go for brekkies now. The duchess is ready. Soon come!
Back some three hours later after a filling breakfast over the road at the Radisson Hotel and a short nap. Must have that nap! (smile) And talking about quotes. Let’s not forget this one: ‘Things change. And friends leave. Life doesn’t stop for anybody. If you hang on to things for too long, you will end up hurting yourself.’
Gospel truth that friends! People and things come and go in our lives for a reason or a season, but when their time is up, please don’t try to hold on to them because you will miss the next good thing that God has earmarked for you. And I’ve had to learn that from hard experience. Yeh mih breddren, when God closes a door, don’t try to push it back open, because He won’t open the new one unless you allow the last one to close.
And the last quote says: ‘Rise above the storm, and you will find the sunshine. Not all storms come to disrupt your life. Some come to clear your path.’ That’s for certain sure friends. Above the storm clouds there is sunshine, and not all storms come to make our lives miserable and difficult, but some do come to clear the way. Remember the saying, there’s always a calm after a storm, and that’s gospel truth, as you would see if you look back at the storms you’ve had in your life.
But friends, the only way to continually rise above the numerous storms that come against us, sometimes out of the clear blue sky, is by hooking your cart to the storm Maker and storm Calmer, Jesus Christ! No doubt about that people! Listen to what the psalmist says: ‘For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof…’ And when we cry out to Him for succour: ‘He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.’ (Ps.107:25, 29).
If you believe that God created the universe and all therein and is still in control of it, then you should have no problem in believing His awesome power to create and calm storms, both literally and figuratively! Isaiah puts it thus in his song of praise by the redeemed. ‘Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee, the city of the terrible (ruthless) nations shall fear thee. For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.’ (Is.25:3-4)
That’s how our awesome God deals with the figurative storms in our lives. And per the literal storms, hear Bruh David: ‘O Lord God of hosts, who is a strong Lord like unto thee? or to thy faithfulness round about thee? Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them.’ (Ps.89:8-9)
And if you want to see that in literal action, check out Matt.8:23-27 where Jesus was crossing the sea in a ship with the disciples and a raging storm arose, so much so that they began to take in water and the men were terribly afraid, but Jesus meanwhile was fast asleep in the back of the boat. When they woke Him up and made such a fuss, He berated them:
‘Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea: and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!’ (Matt.8:26-27) And so they should, because He created them and controls them!
Ah friends, unfortunately storms are an essential part of life, and the ONLY way to handle them with suitable aplomb and patience is by having the Lord Jesus Christ as your guide and pilot in this life and the one to come. That’s wisdom and understanding of the most awesome kind! Much LOVE!
…when Christ is our pilot…storms don’t scare us…
28 Mar 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a battlefield, acquiesce to the Spirit's desires, by their fruit, cannot do the things ye would, Christian, compassionate heart, contrary to one another, curse, Daily Bread Devotional, depend on the Spirit, desires of our fleah, faithfulness, forget the things we say, from God the Father, fruit of the Spirit, fulfill the lust of the flesh, gentleness, gospel truth, grace, greetings, Holy Spirit of God, hypocrites, joy, kindness, live by the Spirit, LOVE, meekness, mockery, negative word, our lives, our Lord Jesus Christ, passing judgement, peace, Pharisees, practice what we preach, prosper, remember the things we do, sorry lot, speak louder than our words, spiritual confrontation, success, temperance, the flesh lusts against the Spirit, this I say then, Thursday Blessings, thwart the Spirit, tug-of-war, walk in the Spirit, whitewashed tombs, ye shall know them, yield to the Spirit
Galatians 5:16. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
Ah friends, in the wonderful words of Bruh Paul: ‘Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ. Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world (age), according to the will of God and our Father; To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.’ (Gal.1:3-4)
Yes my faithful brethren, greetings in the name of our most amazing and magnanimous God and His awesome Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, on this dry but somewhat chilly Thursday morning! And please don’t marvel at how early the Bit is because it’s just an anomaly. I simply have to go out of town early this morning and so decided to write it before I go, rather than when I reach my destination, which could be fairly late.
So please don’t go getting any weird ideas about receiving it at this hour every morning. (smile) Tomorrow, God willing, we’ll be back at the usual time. And today, on a most practical level we’ll talk about this quote from a Daily Bread Devotional: ‘Our lives speak louder than our words!’
And isn’t that the gospel truth my people! Those around us pay more attention to how we live than what we say. They quickly forget what we say, but quite easily remember the things we do. That’s why we can’t talk one thing and then do something else in our daily walk with the Lord.
And that’s what a lot of us supposed believers do, no wonder so much of the world consider us to be such hypocrites, whitewashed tombs, like Jesus called the hypocritical and overbearing Pharisees of His day. Yes, there are still a lot of Pharisees in our midst today, and please don’t go passing too much judgement, like they did, because you never know, you might just be numbered amongst that sorry lot. (smile)
So how do we get our lives to speak louder than our words eh? As Bruh Paul says, to do that, we need to walk and live in the Spirit; the Holy Spirit of God! ‘This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.’ (Gal.5:16-17)
And the scholars offer these interesting and useful explanations. ‘5:16. Walk in the Spirit (i.e., “live by the Spirit”). Christians are to live with the Spirit’s help. How does one “live by the Spirit”? (1) The Christian must believe that the Spirit is with him, having been sent by God into his heart (4.6). (2) In every spiritual confrontation the believer must yield to the Spirit, that is, submit his own desires to those of the Spirit.
(3) One must depend on the Spirit for help, enabling him to live a God-pleasing life (v.5). (4) The believer should anticipate the effects of the Spirit’s help in his daily life. The believer who “lives by the Spirit” will not fulfill (accomplish, carry out) the lust (strong desires) of the flesh (sinful nature).’
Yes mih people, it’s all about our living this earthly life in strong association with the Holy Spirit of God, who was sent by the Father to live within us when we believed on His Son, to help us live a holy and sanctified life. But if we don’t acquiesce to the Spirit’s desires, then we make a mockery of the whole thing.
For as the scholars explain: ‘5:17. One’s sinful human nature (flesh) and the Holy Spirit lusteth against one another, that is, they have desires and yearnings that are contrary to one another. The Christian, then, is a battlefield, having desires to do good and evil. The outcome is that ye cannot do the things that ye would: the flesh seeks to thwart the Spirit, who, in turn, attempts to frustrate the flesh’s evil desires.’
Yes friends, it’s a constant tug of war between our flesh and our Spirit. And it’s only with a constant effort and the help of the Spirit, that we can overcome the evil desires our flesh. The Spirit will guide us, but we have to accept it’s guidance, otherwise it will be all for nought. And we won’t bother to list the sinful desires of the flesh because we all know them, (smile) and it’s the fruit of the Spirit that we really want to show in our lives, so that we can practice what we preach.
So here is what Bruh Paul says constitutes the fruit of the Spirit. ‘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.’ (Gal.5:22-23) And that’s how we make our lives speak louder than our words my fellow believers; by letting the fruit of the Spirit proceed from us, rather than the evil desires of the flesh!
Now let’s go home declaring (right ho) our Thursday Blessings, those most generous and magnanimous blessings that our great God has poured down on us as sincere believers. In strong voice and heartfelt sense of purpose: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
And please don’t forget that those blessings were not given so we can hoard them, but to share them just as generously with others less fortunate than us. So let’s go out and do just that nuh! Much LOVE!
…Jesus said of His followers…by their fruit ye shall know them…
22 Mar 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a busy week, a hundredfold, answer for our words and deeds, bear much fruit, boundary lines, brought forth fruit, burgers, compromising, cook on the grill, create havoc, drinking something cold, earthly lives, electronic gadgets, faith, faithfulness, fateful day, fearful stuff, fell upon stony places, fellowship, finally spring, firmly planted, fowls devoured them, Friday chant, fruit fo the Spirit, fun, furthering your glorious kingdom, generous help, gentleness, getting me through another week, goodness, had no root, he who hath ears to hear, hypocritically, immediately sprung up, in Jesus name, joy, judgement day, kindness, let him hear, let our guards down, lock up whole winter, lolling on the deck, long-suffering, lose our joy, LOVE, March break, meekness, my time, no deepness of earth, other fell into good ground, outside in shirtsleeves, parable of the sower, party, peace, refreshed, relaxation, renewed, rest, rooted in his soul, scorched, seeds fell by the wayside, self-control, sixtyfold, steaks, temperance, TGIF!, Thank God is Friday, the enemy, the word of the Lord, thirtyfold, thou good and faithful servant, too far apart, video games, weekends, welcome, welcoming words, wisdom, wishy-washy, withered away, workingman's song
Matthew 13:8-9. But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. He who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Well at last it’s Friday! And many tired but grateful sighs emanate from many tired lungs and bodies, especially those who returned right at the last minute from the March Break and had no time to rest before heading back out to work on Monday. It’s a cruel world friends, a mighty cruel world, especially if you don’t have Jesus as your Lord and Leader.
Yeh, Christians have it hard too, but they have the internal peace and LOVE that Jesus brings to the hearts and souls of His followers, and thus we are able to handle the cruel world with much more sense and sensibility (smile) than the unbeliever. So if you want to be able to handle this cruel world with greater confidence, then the answer is JESUS! Give Him some much deserved thanks and praise my fellow believers!
But since it’s Friday, the workingman is also waiting in the wings to sing his Friday song. So let’s hear what gems of wisdom on life, that he has to offer us today. And he shouts out his usual opening: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday oui! It’s been a busy week…but the weather’s not been bad! And yes, it’s finally spring! So we’ll soon be outside in shirtsleeves and such, barbecuing, lolling on the deck drinking something cold and waiting for the burgers and steaks to cook on the grill!
Wow! Yuh believe it? Springtime is here once again…and then it will be summer! Chuh! Gway with this winter business yes! Time to get the children and them outa the house too, where they lock up whole winter playing foolish video games. Children suppose to be outside playing, be it rain, snow or shine!
But sadly not these modern-day ones who have so much electronic gadgets to play with. Some of them don’t even know what outside looks like nuh! But I not going to kill mihself over them nuh, I know what I like to do and I’m going to do it, especially when it comes to the weekend – party, party, party! Mama Yo! That’s my time! Thank God for Fridays and weekends yes!’
Ah mih people, the workingman does make some good points in his weekly song, but it’s just that it’s usually too far over the edge, too far out on the limb for us believers in Jesus Christ! The boundary lines are set too wide apart, too much freedom to wander into the evil world, when Jesus desires His people to follow the narrow but safe path that leads to and through Him to eternal life.
Consequently, our Friday Chant differs a lot from the workingman’s song. So let’s chant our Friday Chant now with just as much enthusiasm as the workingman had in his song nuh. (smile) Altogether 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 friends, believers are also entitled to fun, to a natural enjoyment in Christ, but we cannot let out guards down, for as soon as we do, the enemy will just jump in there and try to create havoc in our lives. Remember that’s his main aim; to disrupt our lives in Jesus! And we can’t afford to let him do that, otherwise we’ll lose all our joy and peace and become even more miserable than the unbeliever. And believe me, there’s nobody as miserable as a miserable believer! (smile)
That’s why we need to remember Jesus’ parable about the sower and keep it first place in our minds. ‘Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up. Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith (immediately) they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
And when the sun was up, they were scorched, and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. He who hath ears to hear, let him hear.’ (Matt.13:3-9)
Yeh friends, he who has ears to hear let him hear! Let him hear the Word of the Lord, and let it be firmly planted and rooted in his soul, so that neither thorns, nor the sun nor the fowls of the air can uproot or scorch it, and thus it will bear much fruit in their lives.
Oh how Jesus desires us to bear the fruit of the Spirit in our earthly lives so that we can teach others about Him, but more importantly live the life we preach, that we’re currently so good at talking about but unfortunately living it very hypocritically.
Ah my fellow believers, if we’d only seriously read, study and meditate on God’s Word, so that it becomes deeply rooted in our hearts, then we’d be more likely to produce things like LOVE, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness (kindness), goodness, faith (faithfulness), meekness and temperance (self-control), which make up the basic fruit of the Spirit! (Gal.6:22-23)
Now that’s what the world needs to see from believers! Not the wishy-washy, compromising, fearful stuff we’re currently showing them!
Remember though friends, that each of us will have to answer individually for our words and deeds come the judgement day, so please let’s try our best to do what is right, to run a worthy and worthwhile race, so that when that fateful day comes, the Lord will embrace us and joyfully say: ‘Welcome thou good and faithful servant!’
Friends, there are no better welcoming words than those, so let’s live the kind of life that will cause the Lord to eventually say them to us nuh. That’s wisdom of untold proportions! Much LOVE!
…only with the Word…deeply rooted in our souls…can we produce…the fruit of the Spirit…
16 Feb 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a better tomorrow, a calm mind, a sustained basis, adjust my sails, Anself, aspire to inspire, awesome truth, be of good cheer, bearing about in the body, boosting health, calmness of mind, cast down, change the direction of the wind, change the things I can, compassions, Corinth, distressed, encouragement, eternal life, faithfulness, friend, gospel truth, hardships, i have overcome the world, in me ye might find peace, in the world, inner strength, Jesus, let not your heart be troubled, live and die with Him. resurrected, loving-kindness, made manifest in our body, mano a mano, muscles, neither be afraid, never refuse, new every day, not as the world gives, not destroyed, not forsaken, not in despair, not to surrender, peace, perplexed, persecuted, personal experience, promise, relationship with Jesus, roses, Saturday, self-confidence, sincere plea, sleeping in, stability, strength, sunshine, the courage, the dying of the Lord Jesus, the life also of Jesus, the Serenity Prayer, the serenity to accept, the things I cannot change, the wisdom, to know the difference, trainer, tribulation, troubled on every side, troublesome times, turbulent, unsettled world, weightlifting, winning, wise advice, wise decisions
John 16:33. These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
Aye friends, I thought Saturday was a day for sleeping in? Then how come I’m not still in bed eh? I woke up around six and thought, no, this is way too early to get up. But the Lord or the enemy seem to have different ideas, so I rolled around in the bed until six thirty, finally realizing that I’d lost the fight to go back to sleep. But them’s the breaks! Just means that you will get the Bit a li’l earlier. (smile)
And since today is Saturday, let’s get to some of our friend Anselm’s quotes of the week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. Here is the first one: ‘A calm mind brings inner strength and self-confidence, so that’s very important for good health.’ You can’t dispute that friends! Calmness of mind is ever so important for making wise decisions as well as boosting health; physical, emotional and mental!
But then to get that on a regular basis you need to be a follower of Jesus, who is the ONLY person able to give you true peace and stability on a sustained basis. Hear His awesome promise: ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’ (John 14:27) You can’t beat that my faithful brethren!
And then we have: ‘With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.’ More awesome truth my brethren! But again, the rightness of the strength and thoughts depends on our relationship with Jesus, for as the Good Book notes; Because of His great faithfulness, His mercies, His LOVING-kindness, His compassions are new every morning! (Lam.3:22-23) So if we’re not in a strong relationship with Jesus, those early morning, every day new strength and thoughts might not be so good.
Then there is this interesting quote: ‘I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.’ And technically speaking, I suppose that’s usually true, but let me tell you people, if the Lord is in that wind, and wants you to go to a particular place, you can adjust your sails as much as you want, but the only place you’ll end up is where the Lord wants you to.
That I can tell you from personal experience, and I’m sure many of you have experienced the same thing! In the long run, it’s all about where the Lord wants us.
And our friend Anselm threw in the Serenity Prayer for good measure this week: ‘God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.’ And friends, in this turbulent and unsettled world, do we ever need to prayer that pray every day…sometimes several times a day… if we wish to retain our sanity and make good, godly decisions.
And the last quote says: ‘Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.’ And that’s the gospel truth!
Winning doesn’t provide strength, it only makes one lazier than normal, and content to sit on one’s rear end without any get up and go. You get like Rome and all those other big, splendiferous countries that fell to ruin because they became too fat and flaccid from always winning.
The truth is that constant winning eventually ruins you instead of making you stronger. However, when you struggle, when you fight hardships mano a mano, then you develop strength! It’s just like lifting weights; you can’t develop muscles without constant weightlifting.
Likewise, you can’t develop real inner strength without going through hardship and struggles.
And we all know that this evil, ungodly world ruled by the evil enemy certainly is filled with much hardship and struggle, so you will have trials and tribulation cropping up from time to time.
However friends, when you walk with Jesus, which is also not an easy thing to do in this world, He will help and guide you through those suffocating and troublesome times. He’ll be like your weight trainer; always beside you, offering encouragement and wise advice, even helping you lift the heavy weights that you find difficult lifting on your own!
Wow! What a wonderful friend and helpmate is our Jesus! There’s NO other like Him in ALL the universe! Give Him much deserved thanks and praise my people!
And Jesus said it in no uncertain terms: ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’
Ah friends, I know that will be difficult for us to do, but if we believe in Jesus and His promises, then we can do it. Jesus didn’t take an easy step on this earth, and He never promised that it would be all sunshine and roses for us either. But He did say that if we stuck with Him, He will bring us out safely.
Now listen to these tough but encouraging words from Bruh Paul to the church at Corinth. ‘We are troubled (hard pressed) on every side, yet not distressed (crushed); we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken, cast (struck) down, but not destroyed: Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.’ (2 Cor.4:8-10)
Yes my people, even though we suffer much tribulation, we WILL NOT give up, because we have the ultimate promise of Jesus, that if we live and die with Him, we will indeed be resurrected to eternal life, like He was! And you can’t beat that promise in this universe! Much LOVE!
…when troubles come…the wise thing to do…ask Jesus to help you handle them…He’ll NEVER refuse your sincere plea…
11 Feb 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: always before me, antidote, aura of love, awesome love, confidence, Day of Pentecost, death, disobedient children, encouragement, enthusiasm, ever-faitful Deity, evil, faithfulness, foothold, friends, full of mouth, hardhearted, he is at my right hand, hell, holy spirit, hope, humble servants, I have set the Lord, I shall not be moved, immersing ourselves, in thy presence, invincible, is fullness of joy, Jerusalem, Jesus, joy, lies, LOVE, meditation, Monday blues, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, my flesh, my glory rejoiceth, my heart is glad, Peter, prayer, prophecy, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, sacrifice his son, Satan, satanic majesty, see corruption, shall rest in hope, speaking the word, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, stubborn, taunts, the cross at Calvary, the grave, the Lord's help, the path of life, the Word of god, thine Holy One, trust, truth, unconditional LOVE, ungodly world, wisdom, wrecking ball
Psalm 16:8. I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
Yeh mih breddren, I know Monday has rolled around again, and with it has come those dreaded Monday Blues; thoughts and worries and concerns released into our systems by our macabre enemy to steal our joy, our hope, our strength and our wonderful faith in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
He knows that if he can just instill some doubt and insecurity in our souls and spirits he will be able to get some sort of foothold in our lives.
However friends, we need to deny the devil that touch of victory, deny him any victory at all! And the only way we can do that is by immersing ourselves in the Word of the Lord, in prayer and meditation and speaking that Word out loud to rebuke his satanic majesty.
We all know that Satan is only full of mouth, and once we stand up to him, with Jesus by our side, he runs and hide, because he knows he can’t win any battles involving Jesus. In fact he’s already been defeated in the war over death, hell and the grave!
Wow! Our Lord and Saviour Jesus won it hands down when He rose majestic and victorious on Easter Sunday morn! Glory to the Father for His most wonderful and unconditional LOVE for us His stubborn, hardhearted and disobedient children, which caused Him to sacrifice His ONLY Son on our behalf!
Oh friends, our God is a great and ever-faithful Deity yes! And I say that as I chuckle here, because when I came to write, I had no idea of what I was going to write, not even how to open the Bit. But as you can see from the above stuff, with the Lord’s help and encouragement the words and ideas just flowed! (smile)
So how can I ever doubt Him eh? And I’m offering you the glorious opportunity to also have Him be a major part of your life, so that you too can personally experience, His awesome LOVE and faithfulness. And we’ll show you some of that faithfulness as we come to Him and ask Him to drive away those awful Monday Blues and enliven our souls and spirits once again.
So let’s declare (right ho) our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, the antidote, the wrecking ball for those tired and listless feelings with full sincerity and a true sense of purpose, because, without those two elements, it won’t work.
All together now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Oh yes my people, our God is good! And I know that you are feeling that rebirth, that refuelling of the Holy Spirit in your lives, because I too am feeling it in mine! Glory to God! So now we can truly get out into that evil world and fight a good fight in Jesus’ name, like we’ve been destined to do!
And I was also led to some most appropriate scripture to go along with all the other aspects of our Bit. Listen to these words, heart-stopping, sincere, and ever so wise words from Bruh David, as he seeks preservation and blessing from the God of his fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
‘I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest (dwell) in hope.
For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell (Sheol, the abode of the dead); neither wilt thou suffer (allow) thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.’ (Ps.16:8-11)
Oh friends, all of that is oh so true because Jesus came and did it all! He won the victory over hell, death and the grave, and showed the path of life, letting us know that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life, as well as the everlasting Light that engulfs God’s universe, and that ONLY through Him can we ever come to the Father. And when we partner with Him, there is everlasting joy and pleasure, earthly and heavenly, waiting for us.
Now what can be better than all that eh friends? Who else can provide all of that in ONE body eh? Only Jesus Christ! So there is much wisdom in coming to know and adore, admire and live for Him.
And besides, to prove that those words of Bruh David weren’t empty words, Peter preached them in his great sermon on the Day of Pentecost, (Acts 2:25-28) letting the people of Jerusalem and all its visitors know that Jesus Christ had indeed brought that prophecy to fruition by His selfless, once and for all sacrifice of Himself on the cross at Calvary.
So please friends, today, let’s take heart, courage and strength from the wondrous works of Jesus as He full well desires us to do. Much LOVE!
…to receive all that heaven offers…one must give all of oneself to Christ…
04 Feb 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a heart-stopping event, a rushing mighty wind, antidote, aura of love, cloven tongues, communicating with the Father, confidence, Day of Pentecost, dream dreams, enthusiasm, evil, excited to work for Jesus, faith, faithfulness, filled with the Holy Ghost, flood warnings, friends, God's promises, Great Tribulation, holy spirit, hope, humble servants, invincible, it shall come to pass, Jesus Christ, Joel, lies, LOVE, millennial kingdom, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, not drunken, of much repute, old men, omnipotent god, on all flesh, passed the test, peace, Peter, pour out my Spirit, prophecy, prophesy, put a smile on our faces, renewed vitality, rest, roll with the punches, see visions, speak with other tongues, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, taunts, testimony, third hour of the day, trust, truth, ungodly world, up to scratch, wiles, wisdom, work, young men, your sons and daughters
Joel 2:28. And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.
And after the snow and the freezing cold, come the rain and the flood! Yeh friends, flood warnings have been issued in these parts for the next couple days due to the quickly melting snow and the rain accompanying it. As they say, when it’s not one thing, it’s another!
But that’s just life, and we have to roll with the punches, and as believers in Christ we are better prepared to do that than most of the population, so there should be no cause for overly serious concern.
Nonetheless, we’re only human and still liable to fall prey to the deceitful whispers of the enemy, which means we’re somewhat less than up to scratch this wet and rainy Monday morning. (smile) But it’s all good, for we have just the right pick-me-up to solve your problem; that’s our Monday Morning Battle Hymn; antidote of much repute!
So without further ado, let’s get seriously, but humbly and confidently communicating with the Father. As one body 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!’
There you go friends, matter fixed! We’re bright and bubbly now as the Holy Spirit works in us to put a smile on our faces, strength and confidence in our hearts and souls and have us excited to go out now and work for Jesus! Wow! What a transformation can take place when the Spirit of the Lord God Jehovah goes to work in His children! There’s nothing else like it in this whole wide world!
And that points us to God’s promise of that future event through the prophet Joel: ‘And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.’
And then Joel goes on to prophesy about the things that will go on during the Great Tribulation and the establishment of the earthly Davidic millennial kingdom that follows the events of the Great Tribulation. However, we’re only interested here in the pouring out of the Holy Spirit upon all flesh, and we all know that happened on the miraculous Day of Pentecost!
What a majestic showing that was mih people! Nobody can put on a show like our omnipotent God nuh! Can you imagine sitting down in that room with the disciples, and all of a sudden you hear this sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind which then proceeded to fill the whole house? (Acts 2:2) I know they were all waiting for and anticipating the coming of the Holy Spirit as Jesus promised, but I doubt that they were expecting it to be so such a heart-stopping event.
And the mighty rushing wind wasn’t all, for as the Good Book tells it: ‘And there appeared unto them cloven (divided) tongues like as of fire. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.’ (Acts 2:3-4)
And can you imagine the confusion when these uneducated men from the surrounding area came out and began speaking in the languages of the different Jews who had come to Jerusalem for the big feast? They were all amazed, some even claimed that they were drunk: ‘Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.’ (Acts 2:13)
But that’s when Peter gave his great speech: ‘ But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said, unto them, Ye men of Judea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day (9.am). But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;’ (Acts 2:14-16) And then he goes on to specify the words of our Bit and the rest of Joel’s prophecy.
So you see friends, it’s not wise to write off any of God’s promises, especially if He doesn’t give a definite time frame, for remember His thoughts and ways and times are not like ours, so some of those promises could be earmarked for hundreds of years later, like that of the pouring out of the Holy Spirit upon all believers.
Now I sincerely hope we have all been encouraged some this Monday morning, and that our faith has also been strengthened by this review of one of God’s great promises! So please hang in there and don’t ever give up, even when things seem like they can’t get any worse, because they can always get better when our hope and trust and faith are safely placed in our Triune God! Much LOVE!
…logic dictates…that when you’re at the bottom…the only place left to go is up…and Jesus can…and will reach down and pull you up…
P.S. I’m chuckling here as I just realized that I passed the test, and thus have a testimony! Hear it nuh. The ole fella had a rough night, and so was one of those in the not up to scratch group today, (smile) and was really struggling to write the Bit. But I hung in, didn’t give up, and yuh see how Jesus eventually reached down and pulled me up out of the mire and helped me to write something sensible. (smile) Bless His holy name and His faithfulness! That means He can and will do the same for you too. Much LOVE!
30 Jan 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a burst of fire, a derision, a glorious future with Christ, a golden image, afflictions, ammunition, ashes, before my mouth, behold my hands, believers in Christ, bitter water, bitterness, blessed, broken my teeth, but believed, Caleb, deceitful wiles, disobedience, disobeying God, doubting, faithfulness, faithless, forgot the wonderful works of God, God's faithfulness, goodness of god, gravel stones, great is thy faithfulness, grin and bear it, halfway home, handle it, hands on the plough, have I hope, have not seen, humbled, I can do all things, in our stride, Israelites, Jeremiah, Job's motto, Joshua, keep the door of my lips, lack of faithfulness, Lamentations, laughingstock, looking forward, loving-kindness, manna, Marah, Moses, new every morning, not comsumed, not looking back, parted the Red Sea, set a watch, slavery in egypt, the breath of life, the deep freeze, the Lord's mercies, the Promised Land, the rod of his wrath, the Ten Commandments, Thomas, Though he slay me, through Christ who strengthens me, trials and tribulations, unbelieiving, unstoppable faith, wandered in the wilderness, Wednesday Wail, wormwood, yet will I trust in him
Lamentations 3:23. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
Looks like it’s another day in the deep freeze…but not to worry, it’s the end of January, so we’ve only got another couple months of winter to go through. (smile) Ah friends, there’s not much we can do about the weather in these parts nuh but grin and bear it. And as believers in Jesus Christ we have even more ammunition than most to handle it in our stride. Glory be! It’s not easy, no, it isn’t, but with Jesus beside and in us, we can do ALL things through Him who strengthens us!
Give Him some thanks and praise for that awesome promise my people! For without that beautiful scripture strengthening us, many more would have already fallen prey to the enemy and his deceitful wiles and ways. And I’m laughing here because I don’t know how to continue after that wonderful and encouraging opening? I know that I asked Him to ‘Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips. (Ps.141:3) But I only wanted Him to hinder my talking, not my writing too. (smile)
Yeh friends, as strange as it might seem, the ole fella is at a loss for words, but I’m not worried because I know the Lord will pick up the slack and eventually have me writing even more than I anticipated. That’s how much I value His faithfulness! Over the last what…twelve years now that I’ve been writing the Bit, He hasn’t failed me one time, so why would He now eh? Especially since it’s His Word I’m trying to propagate.
Now that’s a place where many of us either have a hard time or just simply fail! I’m talking about remembering God’s earlier faithfulness in our lives and holding on to His promises of I’ll never leave you nor forsake you in times of trials and tribulations. That’s exactly what killed the Israelites when they came out of Egypt: they forgot the wonderful works that God had worked on their behalf when trials struck them in the wilderness.
Look at some of those things nuh. He had Moses part the Red Sea so they could cross on dry land, then drowned the Egyptian army behind them. He had Moses strike a tree in Marah when all they could find was bitter water, making it sweet and drinkable, even getting Moses angry and disobeying God, so that he never entered the Promised Land, only saw it from afar.
Who led them by a cloud during the day and a burst of fire during the night eh? It was the God of their fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! But they forgot His goodness and mercy, even to the point of making a golden image when Moses was up the mountain getting the Ten Commandments. And then they got tired of the manna the Lord was feeding them and even contemplated a return to slavery in Egypt so they could get their old food.
That’s why they wandered around in the wilderness for forty years, until all the people who came out of Egypt beside Joshua and Caleb died. And they didn’t even notice that in those forty years their clothes didn’t get old or their sandals worn out. Why eh? Because even in their disobedience and lack of faithfulness the Lord their God was still looking after them! Glory be to the Most High God Jehovah!
Unfortunately though, too many of us in these trying times are forgetting the good and merciful works of God earlier on in our lives and thus suffering more than is necessary. But Jeremiah says it very clearly in his Lamentations when the Lord seemed to have come up against him.
He opens Chapter 3 by declaring (wrong): ‘I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath…I was a derision (laughingstock) to all my people; and their (taunting) song all the day. He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath made me drunken with wormwood. He hath also broken my teeth with gravel stones, he hath covered me (beat me down) with ashes).
And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace: I forgat prosperity (good). And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the Lord: Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall (bitterness). My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled (bowed down) in me.’ (Lam.3: 1,14-20)
Ah friends, though most of what Jeremiah is lamenting refers to the trials of the disobedient Israelites, he himself suffered much on the Lord’s behalf. But then he continues: ‘This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.’ (Lam.3:21-23)
Yes my people, we desperately need to remember the goodness and faithfulness of our God, especially in times of trial. We can never truly deserve whatever He offers, and it’s only because of His LOVING-kindness that we’re not utterly destroyed. So for those of us who have seen and personally felt that LOVING-kindness, please let’s not forget it at a future date nuh, when it seems that the Lord is dragging His feet or just not answering our pleas. Who knows, He might just be testing our faithfulness.
Friends, please, please, let’s not fall into the category where Jesus rebuked the disciples for their unbelief when they couldn’t heal a mentally disturbed man. ‘O faithless (unbelieving) and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer (bear with) you? bring him hither to me.’ (Matt.17:17)
Neither let us have to be rebuked like Jesus did to Thomas for his doubting. ‘Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless (unbelieving), but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.’ (John 20:27-29)
Yes friends, Jesus was there talking about people like us, who never saw Him in person, yet have believed in Him. Please, I implore us not to stop believing even though circumstances might be driving us to do so. Remember, His compassions, His mercies are new every morning, and His faithfulness is everlastingly great! Now let us go home declaring (right ho) our Wednesday Wail, restoring our unstoppable faith, by letting the world know our remarkable position in Christ Jesus!
All together now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
And it will indeed be a most glorious future in Christ’s heavenly realm! Much LOVE!
…Job’s motto of faithfulness…though he slay me…yet will I trust in him… (Job 13:15a)
P.S. Yuh see friends, I wasn’t lying about the Lord’s faithfulness. He certainly led me to write more than I intended! (smile) Much LOVE!
07 Jan 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a remnant, aura of love, back to normal, bear fruit, Behold, bills, boasts, captures my heart, Christians, confidence, enthusiasm, eternal life, evil, faith, faithfulness, foolish souls, friends, glorious kingdom, God's promises, grace, holy spirit, hope, humble servants, I am the Lord, idle talk, in the dumps, invincible, is anything too hard for me, Jesus, jobs, joy, lies, LOVE, mercy, mince words, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, never leave nor forsake us, not afraid, omnipotence, pay the consequences, peace, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, salvation, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, stellar attributes, take root, the God of all flesh, the Lord of hosts, trust, ungodly world, wiles, wisdom, zeal of the Lord
Jeremiah 32:27. Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for me?
And then it was Monday – the last first day of this new year! Hn! And everything is back to normal now! No more holidays and exorbitant festivities. Now we have to go back to work five days a week and wait anxiously for all the Christmas and New Year’s bills to come in, wondering where we going to get the money from to pay them? And to make matters worse, we still tired from all that holiday activity!
Yes friends, it’s a hard life yes! (smile) But it’s either we live on what we make, or we pay the consequences later! However enough preaching; I know you want some consolation rather than me pushing you deeper in the dumps, so let’s go to our tried and true Monday Morning Battle Hymn and invoke the Lord’s grace and mercy on our poor, sinful and oftimes foolish souls.
Altogether now, like we believe it: ‘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!’
Yes mih people, yes! That’s our great and wonderful God for you! I know your problems haven’t all just disappeared, but I’m sure that you now have the power and confidence to confidently handle them, because the Spirit of our Lord has risen up inside of you and given you the strength you so badly need! Bless His Holy Name friends, and exalt it to the ends of the earth! For He is the ONE who gives us life, and allows us to get health and wealth and all the other good things we enjoy!
So why should we not praise Him and give Him enormous thanks eh? No reason whatsoever my faithful brethren! Now let’s look at some scriptures which reinforce the great might, strength and power of our God; His omnipotence! And we’ll begin with some words from Jeremiah’s prayer after he bought the field. (Jer. 32:1-15)
‘Now when I had delivered the evidence of the purchase (deed) unto Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed unto the Lord, saying, Ah Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard (difficult) for thee.’ (Jer.32:16-17) And Jeremiah continued listing all of God’s great doings and attributes.
But what I like is how our God doesn’t mince words or is ashamed of His power. Here’s how He answered Jeremiah’s prayer: ‘Then came the word of the Lord unto Jeremiah, saying, Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for me?’ (Jer.32:26-27) Yes friends, our God does proudly acknowledge His might and power. And so should we, because we’ve seen it in operation all down through the ages.
Now here is another tidbit of scripture that captures my heart. Remember when Isaiah declared the prophecy of Jesus birth: ‘For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given…The Prince of peace.’ (Is.9:6) Now at the end of the next verse this boast is made:’ The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.’ (Is.9:7b)
And did He ever my people! He sent His only son Jesus to die for us and provide us a way out of total darkness into the light of His salvation and eternal life! Now why wouldn’t I put my trust and hope and faith in Him eh? Again, no reason whatsoever, since He’s shown that He is indeed capable of doing whatever He says! His boasts are not idle talk, but sure reality, stuff that we can confidently base our lives on!
And again, when Judah was about to be besieged by Sennacherib of the Assyrians, He sent Isaiah to him with this promise: ‘And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward: For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this.’ (Is.37:31-32)
And it did happen; whenever Jerusalem was captured or destroyed, a remnant always rose up – to facilitate the coming of Jesus and the prophecy of the Lord’s word. Even today, there is a remnant in Israel!
Yes my faithful brethren, there is omnipotence in our God; there’s nothing He can’t do, so let’s keep putting our hope, faith and trust in Him, for He has also promised never to leave or forsake us, and He keeps His word, even to the thousandth generation! Much LOVE!
…omnipotence and faithfulness…are only two of our God’s…many great and stellar attributes…
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