16 Aug 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a position of authority, a sincere heart for God, according to my integrity, according to the fruit of his doings, believe not every spirit, boggles the mind, chaotic world, Christians, concrete jungle, deceit, deepen my breath, desperately wicked, every spirit that confesseth Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus is come in the flesh, false doctrines, false prophets, false prophets are gone out into the world, God is omniscient, God searches our hearts to discover our true motives, God's plan for our lives, God's playbook, greater is he that is in you, greed, holy spirit, honour me with their lips, I may know you all the more, I praise you for your unceasing nearness, I test the most secret parts, I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, in vain they do worship me, increase my awareness of you today, incurably sick, inequality, inequality of wealth, is not of God, is of God, it is already in the world, Jesus Christ, judge me O Lord according to my righteousness, know ye the Spirit of God, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, look not on his countenance, Lord I want to be with you now, LOVE, man looks on the outward appearance, mercy, my defence is of God, negative and ungodly things, outright lies, poverty, quiet my soul, relax my muscles, salvation, seeking intimacy with God, slander, slow my thoughts, strife, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men, test the mind, than he that's in the world, thankful to see another day, the BIBLE, the fruit of his deeds, the gospel truth, the heart is deceitful above all things, the height of his stature, the indisputable truth, the Lord looks on the heart, the Lord sees not as man sees, the main point is sincerity, the medium of prayer, the power of the Holy spirit, the spirit of the antichrist, their heart is far from me, these people draw near to me with their mouth, to give every man according to his ways, truth, try the spirits whether they be of God, try to hide things from God, who can know it, wisdom, ye are of God, ye have overcome them, you can't be contained, your love both surrounds and fills me, your peace and love are present
Today’s Scrip-Bit 16 August 2025 1 Samuel 1:7b.
1 Samuel 1:7b. for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.
Oh friends, am I ever disappointed that I could not stay longer abed this glorious lazy-day Saturday in the middle of August 2025! And why is that? Because after spending almost the whole day in the concrete jungle city called Toronto, enduring traffic jams, going and coming, and waiting a couple of hours before I could have my procedure done, I got home tired and went to bed early – well early by my standards. (smile) But then the ole back eventually rebelled when I lay abed for longer than normal, thus forcing me to get up earlier than I intended. But that’s what happens when you’re getting on in life. Note, I did not say getting old. (smile)
Anyway, we’re up and about, and thankful that we’re alive to see another beautiful day on God’s beautiful but currently chaotic and disastrous earth. That means we have a purpose for being here at this time and place, and the Lord is trying to initiate His plan, His playbook for our lives, but unfortunately too many of us are resisting His advances and His plays. But let’s see if we can’t turn things around somewhat nuh, through the medium of prayer, which God instituted so we can communicate with Him, thus letting Him know how we feel about any and everything, especially the plays He’s calling in our lives. (smile)
Remember, He wants to be involved in everything that concerns us, be it big or small, relevant or irrelevant. So let’s begin with offering up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer. As one strong and sincere voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’
Now that’s the easiest way to get God’s attention, by seeking greater communication and intimacy with Him. For remember one of the reasons He created us is for us to LOVE Him and each other, and achieve an intimacy that’s pure and wholesome. But the main point of the whole process is sincerity. If we’re not sincere, then the Lord will ignore whatever we say. For unlike mankind, He doesn’t just listen to our words, but searches the depths of our hearts to discover our real motives.
And there are several scriptures which repeat that fact, beginning with this one from 1 Samuel, where the Lord admonished Samuel when he sent him to anoint a new king from the sons of Jesse, and Samuel looks on the comely and manly features of the eldest son, Eliab and believes that he is the chosen 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.’ (1 Sam. 16:7)
And so it went, until the Lord chose the most unlikely of Jesse’s sons to be king, Bruh David, because he had a sincere heart for the Lord. Then, we have these words of Bruh David from Psalm 7 – A Plea for Protection from Enemies – where he declares: ‘The Lord shall judge the people: judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness, and according to mine integrity that is in me. O let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins (tests the hearts and minds). My defence is of God, which saveth the upright in heart.’ (Ps. 7:8-10)
Oh my people, being of an upright, sincere heart is ever so important in our relationships; both with God and with our fellow man. Although, like the prophet Jeremiah said so long ago: ‘The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked (incurably sick): who can know it?’ (Jer. 17:9) And that’s the indisputable truth! Man’s heart is oh so wicked that it cannot be trusted, especially in what looks like these last days, when negative and ungodly things like greed, deceit, envy, slander, strife, poverty, inequality are ruling the roost in our world.
That’s why Jeremiah follows up that verse with this one: ‘I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins (test the mind, the most secret parts), even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings (deeds).’ (Jer. 17:10) And knowing all that, it boggles my mind to think that so many of us, even supposed believers, still try to hide things from God eh? We go to Him with a lot of praise and whatever in our mouths, but our hearts are nowhere close to what our mouths are spewing.
It’s like Jesus said to the scribes and Pharisees: ‘This people draweth nigh (near) unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.’ (Matt. 15:8-9) And brother, is that ever happening in today’s society! The false prophets, the evil snake and His cohorts are running riot over the land with false doctrines, deceits and even outright lies. And sadly, many of us are buying into it!
But if we are true believers, we ought to know better, for as John warns in his first epistle: ‘Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try (test) the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is the spirit of the antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.’ (1 John 4:1-3)
And that’s ever so true friends, for the antichrist is raising a hue and cry all over our world right now, and we have to be very careful about what and whom we listen to. But hear this most important fact from the next verse. ‘Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.’ (1 John 4:4)
Now my people, if we don’t believe anything else today, please, let’s believe that, and please, let’s take it to heart, write it indelibly in souls, mind and bodies, because it is the gospel truth, and only as we believe it, and operate from that position of authority and power of the Holy Spirit, will we ever defeat the enemy. Much LOVE!
…it’s foolish to try and hide anything from God…for He created us…and is omniscient – all-knowing…knows everything about us…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
28 Apr 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a human's work, a merciful forgiving and gracious God, Ai, all scripture is given by inspiration of God, answer our prayers, artificial intelligence, as fresh as the day it was written, blasphemed, christianity, correction, covetousness, damnable heresies, deceptive words, denying the Lord, destructive heresies, destructive ways, die early from boredom, difficult to know what is true, divine aid, ease the pain, evil be spoken of, exploit you, eyewitnesses to Jesus' majesty, faith, false prophets, false teachers, feigned words, find God's wisdom and truth, fit to a T, follow their pernicious ways, fully equipped, gospel truth, has not been idle, have a hobby, holy spirit, humble ourselves, humble servants, humility, inspiration of God, instruction in righteousness, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus Christ, judgement, justice, lack of physical activity, leading God's people astray, long time lingereth, LOVE, make merchandise of you, making them an example, mass confusion, mercy, missed the work activity, more depressed, of the many suffering from negative situations, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, people are lonelier than ever, people are not trustworthy, pray, productive activity, profitable for doctrine, read the Bible, reproof, retirement, righteousness, salvation, Satan and his fallen angels, scripture, sincere repentance, sincerely seek your face, social interaction, social media, social media foolishness, strong faith in Christ, suffer the consequences, superficial relationships, swift destruction, that those that came after should live godly, the BIBLE, the Bible is God's word to us, the drop of a hat, the God who heals, the long days of retirement, the Lord's promised to save the righteous and destroy the wicked, the man of God may be perfect, the power of the Holy Ghost, the power to solve our problems, the rigmarole, the throne of grace, the way of the truth, the work life journey, the work of a machine, their damnation slumbereth not, thoroughly furnished unto all good works, to alleviate our problems, truth, turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, what is artificial, wisdom, wise guidance
2 Timothy 3:16. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.
And the rigmarole continues, as another work week opens with a warm and sunshiny Monday with temperatures in the high teens. And many of us wonder, will this ever end? Unfortunately, not for a long while, if you’ve just begun the work life journey. And I’d be lying if I told you that you’d eventually get accustomed to it. But the amusing and sad thing is that when you retire after forty years of constant work, ofttimes you end up missing the early morning get up and get out to a job you never liked.
Now that especially happens when you don’t have a hobby or something to keep you occupied during the long days of retirement. That means in planning your retirement you ought to ensure that your days are occupied with some kind of productive activity, otherwise you tend to die early from boredom and a lack of physical activity and social interaction. And please don’t plan on using social media to occupy your time, for inexplicably, although we have so much activity and connections through all the many social media platforms, people are lonelier and more depressed than ever.
That’s possibly because the social media hook ups are not true friendships, but rather tenuous and superficial relationships, which cannot be trusted and are liable to change and /or deteriorate at the proverbial drop of a hat. And it’s somewhat amusing, but oh so sad when you see four supposed friends around a dinner table, supposedly out to spend valuable face time with each other, but each one is more focused on the phone in their hands than on their friends next to them. That’s what the social media foolishness has brought us to.
And to make matters even worse the latest invention, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is sweeping the world like crazy, so that now it’s more difficult than ever to know what is true and what is artificial; what is actually a human’s work and not that of a machine. And that once celebrated thing called truth, is now carelessly bandied about, apparently with there being more than one truth possible in these confusing times. But thankfully, to us Christians, there’s still only, and can ever be only ONE TRUTH; that of the Lord’s Word!
And it will do us good to remember that the Bible is God’s Word to us, and though it’s been around for ages, yet it’s still fresh as the day it was written, and if we read it, we will find God’s wisdom and truth on its pages. And Bruh Paul’s words to Timothy corroborate that statement. ‘All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished (equipped) unto all good works.’ (2 Tim. 3:16-17)
Yes friends, the Bible, God’s Word is the only tome that can provide all that mankind needs to live a good life, and sadly if many more of us would read and put it not practice, our world would be a much better place to abide in. And Peter in talking about the disciples being eyewitnesses to Jesus’ majesty, reinforces Bruh Paul’s statement to Timothy, when he writes: ‘Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation (origin). For the prophecy came not in old (any) time by the will of man: but the holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.’ (2 Pet. 1:20-21)
But of course! The prophets of old did not just write the Bible on their own, but were directed and instructed by the power of the Holy Ghost. Then Peter continues to make another invaluable statement: ‘But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily (secretly) shall bring you in damnable (destructive) heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.’ (2 Pet. 2:1)
And that’s the gospel truth, for there have always been false teachers, and these disruptive and troubled times are filled with a numerous amount of them, false teachers, who are leading God’s people astray. And Peter certainly knew what he was talking about when he continues. ‘And many shall follow their pernicious (destructive) ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of (blasphemed). And through covetousness shall they with feigned (deceptive) words make merchandise of (exploit) you: whose judgement now of a long time lingereth not (has not been idle), and their damnation (destruction) slumbereth not.’ (2 Pet. 2:2-3)
Oh my fellow believers, these greedy, covetous, deceitful and blasphemous times fit those words to a T! Too many of us are following false teachers whose destruction is already lined up. And I like how Peter makes his point for the destruction of the false teachers and those who foolishly follow them, by using the examples of Satan and his fallen angels, the destruction of the ungodly world by flood, with the only humans saved being the righteous.
Then he makes this monumental and true statement. ‘And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow (destruction), making them an ensample (example) unto those that after (afterwards) should live ungodly.’ (2 Pet. 2:4-6) Oh my people, those words should cut right to our very hearts, because all through the Bible the Lord has faithfully promised to save the righteous and to destroy the wicked and ungodly, and there are several examples where He did just that, so why do you think He will not do the same to our very evil and ungodly world today eh? That’s the wisdom of a fool!
So please, let’s get to seriously studying God’s Word and putting it into practice, so that being righteous and godly, we will be saved from God’s destruction. And for help to do that, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning battle Hymn, seeking divine aid. Altogether: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems.
Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems.
Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’
And we know what’s necessary to receive divine aid; for a start, let’s try humility, prayer, repentance, and sincerely seeking God’s face. Much LOVE!
…God gave us His Word to live by…and if we don’t…then we’ll suffer the consequences…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
02 Oct 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: be of good cheer, betrayal, Bible, but the end is not yet, chaos, christianity, earthqukes, faith, false prophets, famines, fires, floods, for a witness unto all the nations, god, gospel truth, halfway home, hands on the plough, hate abounds, he that shall endure to the end, holy spirit, hurricanes, in me ye might have peace, in the world ye shall have tribulation, iniquity, Jesus is always there for us, Jesus is the only one we can cling to, Jesus is the only solid findation, lawlessness, LOVE, love is on the back burner, man-made disasters, messiahs, murder and martyrdom, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, nation shall rise against nation, not looikng back, offence-taking, pandemonium, pestilences, rise in technology, shall be preached in all the world, strife, summer in October, take heed that no man deceive you, thank God, the beginning of sorrows, the breath of life, the gospel of the kingdom, the love of many will wax cold, the same shall be saved, then shall the end come, to a glorious future with Jesus, truth, Wednesday Wail, wisdom, ye shall be hated for my name's sake
Matthew 24:13. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
And yes, we have already reached the mid-point of our work week! It’s Wednesday, a bright and sunshiny day with temps rising to at least the high teens. Wow! It’s still almost summer in October! We certainly cannot complain about the weather. And even the rain is cooperating by falling in the late hours of the night, so that we can have bright and sunshiny days. But unfortunately, in many other places our brethren are not having it so wonderful, and instead are suffering disastrous times due to floods and hurricanes, fires and other natural, as well as man-made disasters.
Oh friends, our world right now is filled with so much chaos, a state of pandemonium like we’ve never seen before. And it doesn’t look like it’s going to go away or end any time soon. The man made strife is escalating instead of subsiding, and the natural disasters seem to be also spreading, partly due to climate change. And the only solid foundation left in our world is Jesus!
Yes, that’s the gospel truth! Jesus is the ONLY ONE we can cling to with some degree of certainty when things get bad. He won’t always pull us out of them unscathed, but He will help us get through them peacefully and with a good attitude. Please note His awesome assurance in these most encouraging words. ‘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.’ (John 16:33)
That’s the beauty of our Lord and Saviour. He’s always there for us, be it sunshine or rain, strife or LOVE-ins. The sad part is that we don’t have very much of the latter in our world today, as strife seems to be ruling the roost. Right now it’s probably easier to name the nations that are not strife-filled, either internally or externally, than to name those that are engaged in serious strife. The number of the latter is much greater that that of the former. And in addition to all the natural disasters that are occurring, mankind seems to have gone on a strife rampage in the early years of this 21st century.
Who knows if this is the time that Jesus spoke of when He answered His disciples’ question about His coming again and the end of the age. (Matt. 24:3) But in answer to their questions Jesus replied: ‘Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers (various) places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted (to tribulation), and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity (lawlessness) shall abound, the LOVE of many shall wax (grow) cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.’ (Matt. 24:4-14)
Ah mih people, those are tough words to hear and digest, but if Jesus said them, they must be true. And believe me, we are seeing those signs like never before. The false prophets and messiahs are all over the place, leading people astray. Just look at the divisions and dissensions in Christ’s church nuh! Then there are wars and rumours of wars that have been with us all through the ages, but are now more rampant than ever, as well as the many natural disasters, that we see happening with unexpected frequency.
But according to Christ; that’s only the beginning of sorrows. For then believers will be persecuted, they will face martyrdom for simply believing in Jesus. Then offence-taking, hatred and betrayal will be the name of the game. And that’s certainly true right now, with lawlessness and irresponsibility abounding, while LOVE is placed on the back burner. And through the sudden rise in technology, the gospel today is being preached to many parts of the world, there are only a few more parts left for us to reach. That means, according to Jesus’ words, the end cannot be too far away.
But yuh know what my fellow believers, all that stuff can be rather frightening and worrisome, but with the Holy Spirit of Jesus indwelling our souls and spirits, we can handle whatever might come against us. And the most important words of Jesus’ discourse were these: ‘But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.’ (Matt. 24:13)
Oh my fellow saints, as true believers in, and disciples of Jesus that’s what we need to do; endure to the very end! And we can do it, because He’s given us all the tools we need to do so. But we have to rise up, grow in Christian maturity, and stand strong in His name despite the trials and tribulations that might come against us! It’s the only way for us to be successful disciples and believers!
So please, lets raise our faith and stand up strong for him nuh! Just look at all He’s done for us, the least we can do is to believe, live the way He desires, and spread His gospel as much as we can. And we can begin doing that right now by declaring (chuh!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting the whole world know of our wonderful position in Christ Jesus.
As one strong and sincere voice: ‘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 if we truly endure right to the very end, as Jesus desires, then as He promised, we will be saved, and that future will be even more glorious than we can ask or imagine. So, hoping to see you at the very end that we can enjoy that glorious future together! Much LOVE!
in this world…trials and tribulations may batter and buffet us…but they will not kill our LOVE for Jesus…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
24 Mar 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a free gift of God's grace, a hearer of the word and not a doer, a means of restoring faith in you, but he that doeth the will of my Father, defeat the simmering unrest in our land, eternal punsihment, eternal separation from Almighty God, every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, every true that bringeth forth not good fruit, false prophets, forgets what manner of man he was, Friday chant, hewn down and cast into the fire, I never knew you depart from me, Jesus the Rock, like unto a man that beholdeth his face in a glass, LOVE, not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, Not everyone that saith unto me Lord Lord, omnipotent help, our sinful world, salvation, Satan the sinking sand, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, sheep in wolves clothing, show them the error of their ways, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the doers of the law shall be justified, the end of he work week, wake up and smell the coffee, wise guidance, ye shall know them by their fruits
Matthew 7:21.Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Well, here we are again on another new day, filled with God’s new mercies and compassions. But since this is Friday, the end of the work week, which we look forward to so much, on account of the couple of days off from work, when it finally arrives, we offer special thanks for it. ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ And that’s an utterance heard all around the world. Whether it’s a sincere prayer or not, well that’s another question. (smile)
But let’s get down to business. Yesterday, we promised that if the Lord gave us life and strength to see today, then we’d continue looking at some of the last things Christ said in his Sermon on the Mount. We spoke of the two foundations on which to build our lives, Jesus, the Rock, and Satan, the sinking sand. Also of the two paths that we can take in living this earthly life: the strait and narrow road that leads to Jesus and eternal life, or the broad and wide way which leads to hellfire, damnation and eternal separation from Almighty God.
Then we ended on the note about the false prophets who come around to entice us into sin and following the wrong path. And unfortunately, just as back in Jesus’ time there were many of those false prophets, that Jesus referred to as sheep in wolves clothing, there are many of them today too. Those preachers who have denied or distorted the truth of the gospel, and we follow them to our own demise. But thankfully, Jesus, with His great skill as a Teacher, didn’t just tell us about the false prophets and leave us hanging there.
No. He also gave us a way to divine them. He says: ‘Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil (bad) fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil (bad) fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast in the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.’ (Matt. 7:16-20)
Yes friends, the true test of a prophet or preacher is their fruit. In other words, their conformity to the scriptures, both by their doctrines and the actions of their lives. And we see what happens to the false prophet. His unfruitful life causes him to be cut down and thrown into hellfire, eternal punishment. Now there’s one last thing to talk about today. That concerns these very important words of Jesus.
‘Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? and in thy name have cast out devils (demons)? and in thy name done many wonderful works (miracles)? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.’ (Matt. 7:21-23)
That’s the gospel truth my brethren, and it is a tough nut to crack. But as the scholars explain: ‘Not everyone professing Christ is genuinely saved. Even the outward verbal acknowledgement of His Lordship is in itself not enough to save the unbeliever apart from true repentance and faith. A genuinely saved person is one that doeth the will of my Father. That means continually living in obedience to the will of God as the normal course of his life.’
End of story my people. We can talk and carry on about Jesus all we want, but at the end of the day, if our fruit is not good, and we haven’t been doing God’s will on a steady basis, our witness will not be recognized. Yes, it’s simple to believe in Jesus, but it takes a concerted, serious and total effort to live sincerely for Him. As Bruh Paul, when talking about God’s Righteous Judgement, says in his letter to the Roman church: ‘For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.’ (Rom. 2:13)
Now, there’s neither time or space to get into all the scripture surrounding that verse, but the scholars’ explanation will suffice. ‘God can judge on the basis of works because He is impartial and because the law is immaterial. The Gentile will not be judged on the basis of the Jews’ law, and the Jew will not be excused by the Gentiles’ lack of law. Works demonstrate the heart’s true condition. Conscience is sufficient grounds for condemnation because it establishes a framework of right and wrong and reflects the law written in their hearts.’
That means having the Holy Spirit living in us to lead and guide us into all righteousness and truth, is a sufficient basis on which the Lord can judge us. And it brings us to these similar words of James. ‘But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word , and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding (observing) his natural face in a glass (mirror): For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed (what he does).’ (James 1:22-25)
Oh friends, it all comes right back to Jesus’ statement: ‘Ye shall know them by their fruit.’ Whether we be Gentile or Jew, false prophet or true, our works will speak voluminously about the state of our hearts. And no, we won’t get salvation by our works, because that’s only available as a free gift of God’s grace, and we must believe, but what happens after we believe eh? God needs to see the fruit of our belief from a true heart, not just works for works sake. That means earthly works will have some say in our heavenly rewards. But the works must be built on the foundation of Jesus, because, as Bruh Paul says, all works will be tried by fire, and only those found to withstand the fire will be rewarded. (1 Cor. 3:10-15)
Now, let’s go to the throne of grace, in prayer, through our Friday Chant asking for divine guidance and wisdom to help with our many problems. As one voice: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the confusion and anxiety caused by the pandemic and our many other serious problems. We can’t fix them on our own Lord, so we desperately need your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land.
So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, without further serious setbacks. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe. And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to return backsliders to your fold, show them the error of their ways.
And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic, the bubbling discontent and dissatisfaction in our land, as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
Now, it’s time to sincerely keep our part of the covenant, so that God can keep his. Much LOVE!
…living for Christ calls first for belief…then showing it in good works…
P.S. Yes, it’s long…but it’s early…and oh so LOVERLY! (smile) Much LOVE!
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
23 Mar 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a foolish man built his house on the sand, a great family, a positive approach to life, a wise man built his house on the rock, beware of false prophets, broad is the way that leads to destruction, build on a solid foundation, come to you in sheep's clothing, curse, enter ye in at the strait gate, false prophets, few go in at the narrow gate, few there be that fins it, good freinds, I am the way the truth and the life, inwardly they are ravening wolves, Jesus -the same yesterday today and forever, live the abundant life, living for Christ brings joy, many go in at the broad gate, negative word, no man cometh unto the Father but by me, rock of ages, Sermon on the Mount, spring has sprung, success, the rock that's jesus, Thursday Blessing, volatile weather, wide is the gate
Matthew 7:15. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening (ravenous) wolves.
So it’s a wet and cloudy Thursday morning, hopefully a true harbinger of spring and not merely a date on the calendar that announces the beginning of that beautiful season of green. Yes, a couple of days ago, the calendar said that spring had finally sprung, but with the weather situation being so precarious and volatile, who knows what to expect these days. It’s a good thing that we have Jesus on whom to build a solid foundation, One who never changes, but is the same today, yesterday and forever!
And it’s certainly sad that so many people choose not to believe in Him, after all He’s done for mankind. And like He so simply explained in some of His last words on the Sermon on the Mount. ‘Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken them unto a wise man, which built his house upon a (the) rock (Jesus): And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a (the) rock (Jesus).
And every one that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.’ (Matt. 7:24-27)
Oh my fellow believers that is such a serious warning for all mankind, although it’s couched in simple everyday language, because Jesus is in fact saying, if we don’t build our lives on Him, the Rock of Ages, then our lives will not be very fruitful or worth anything. All we do or hold dear will be washed away when the inclement weather comes. However, when we build our lives on His words, then we will prosper and live the abundant life, despite all the inclement weather and disasters that occur.
But there’s more to it than just believing. Remember Jesus first words in the above scripture: Whoever hears His sayings and does them. Now that’s the crux of the problem. Not only hearing His words, but much more importantly, doing them. So, let’s look at some of the things Jesus said that that we should pay attention to and do.
The first thing we need to consider are His words re the Strait and Wide gates. He adamantly advised, seriously warned us to: ‘Enter ye in at the strait (narrow) gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait (how narrow) is the gate, and narrow (difficult or confined) is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.’ (Matt. 7:13-14)
Ah mih people, Jesus is simply saying that we must come through the narrow gate to reach the path that leads to eternal life. Unfortunately though, many are on the wide path that leads to destruction or eternal separation from Almighty God. And even worse, the gate that leads to eternal life is so narrow that only a few people find it.
Let’s remember though that Jesus is indeed the gate and the way as He said in John 14:6. ‘I am the way the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me.’ And furthermore, God enables men to find that gate as He says in John 6:44. ‘No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.’
So it’s obvious that if we want to spend eternity with, or even have a relationship with the Father, then it’s necessary to go through Jesus. Let’s understand that right up front. First we have to find the narrow gate and walk along the narrow path to get to Jesus. But then He also said: ‘Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening (ravenous) wolves.’ (Matt. 7:15)
And the scholars explain that verse thus: ‘The warning Beware of false prophets fits appropriately with the concept of the two ways above. Since many are being led in the wrong way, they are obviously being led by the wrong people. False prophets were prevalent in the Old Testament, whereas God’s true prophets were often in the minority.’
And I’d like to add that it’s still the same today. Nothing much has changed in that respect. There are still more people preaching falsehood than those preaching the truth. You just have to listen to the numerous people supposedly spouting God’s word, and the different stuff they all are saying. If it’s the truth, everybody should be saying basically the same thing, which they are not.
And as per false prophets appearing in sheep’s clothing, but are actually ravenous wolves, the scholars say: ‘This is a perfect description of those preachers who have denied or distorted the truth of the gospel. They look like lambs but act like wolves. Their description is similar to that of the great False Prophet in Revelation 13:11)’ Now, I would strongly advise us to take a look at that scripture and see how eerily similar that False Prophet would be to Jesus, being able to do miracles and such, though of an evil nature, but nevertheless quite capable of fooling us.
Ah friends, there’s more I’d like to say on the above subjects, but we’re already late, and it will get too long, what with our short attention spans, (smile) so we’ll leave that for tomorrow, God willing of course. For those of us though, who are sincerely trying to live for Christ, the Lord has most generously bestowed several blessings on us to enable us to live that life. We call them our Thursday Blessings. So let’s declare (yesss!!!) them now, that they can be activated.
As one strong and sincere voice: ‘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 every day! Amen!’
Now, to show our sincerity, let’s go out and share those blessings with others, just as generously as Christ shared them with us! Much LOVE!
…living for Christ isn’t easy…but it sure brings deep and lasting joy…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
21 Aug 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adventuresome, an angel of light, bewaare, Christ's gospel, climbed the mountain, confess not, confession, deny the truth, doctrine, eagle eye, false Christs, false prophets, follow their own spirit, Gnostics, God's greatest invention, grey matter, halfway home, have no vision, have seen nothing, hump day, in Christ's name, is come in the flesh, Jesus Christ, know them by their fruits, looking ahead, many deceivers, ministers of righteousness, not easy, not looking back, out of their own hearts, prophesy, pseudo-Christians, psychological ease, repentance, Satan, sheep in wolves clothing, take a refreshing breath, the breath of life, the human mind, the Incarnation, the root of Christianity, the Spirit of God, thus saith the Lord God, to a glorious future with Christ, walking with Christ, Wednesday Wail, whitewash, woe unto the foolish prophets
Ezekiel 13:3. Thus saith the Lord God; woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing (no vision).
It’s hump day friends! Wednesday! The middle of the work week, where we feel a psychological ease as though we’ve finally climbed the mountain, and can now take a refreshing breath as we get ready to go down the other side, meaning we’re in the easy part of the week. What tricks our mind can play on us eh? Or what mental ruses we can use to alleviate the pressure of work? Hn, hn!
Yes my people, the human mind is God’s greatest invention, one that man cannot quite figure out, and I doubt if he ever will, so intricate and complicated is that handful of grey matter that runs the human body and thus the world! And yuh know what? That fact alone ought to make us appreciate and exalt our heavenly Creator.
Look at how we worship and exalt men who do supposedly great things in the world, but the One who created those men and the minds they use to do great earthly things we want to relegate to the trash basket! How foolish! That reminds me of this bit of scripture from Ezekiel:
‘And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts (inspiration), Hear ye the word of the Lord; Thus saith the Lord God; woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing (no vision).’ (Ezek.13:1-3)
Yeh friends, there are so many false prophets in the world today that it’s becoming ever more difficult to tell the true ones from the false ones. And the sad part is that they think they will get away with their falsehood, but they won’t. The scholars explain it thus: ‘13:3. Woe unto the foolish prophets introduces a curse on false prophets. They were like workmen who tried to cover a severely cracked wall with whitewash (vs.11-12).’
And so are the false prophets of today trying to whitewash away our serious faults. But that’s a fool’s wisdom my faithful brethren, because the Lord’s eagle eye is upon us all and whitewashing our sins is just not going to work. They need sincere confession and repentance in Christ’s name! And it’s not like Jesus didn’t warn us about those false teachers. Hear Him in the Sermon on the Mount after He talks about two ways to live life.
‘Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening (ravenous) wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?’ (Matt.7:15-16) No they don’t! And a substantial price will be paid by those false prophets who distort or deny the truth of Christ’s gospel and teach doctrines that are not in consort with the truth, neither are the actions of their lives in line with it.
Meanwhile Mark poses it thus: ‘And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he is there; believe him not. For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall show signs and wonders to seduce (deceive), if it were possible, even the elect (chosen ones). But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.’ (Mark 13:21-23)
And indeed He has my people. But the falsehood will be so strong and so prevalent that through powerful signs and wonders it might even be able to fool the elders, the chosen ones. So if it can fool those who are reputedly strong and wise in the faith, what will it do to those who are not eh?
That’s why we have to be ever so careful about whom we listen to, what we watch and what we read, for the enemy is very devious and with all the tools available in our modern society can put up a very good case for his false prophecy. As Bruh Paul warned the Corinthians against false leaders:
‘For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed (transforms himself) into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.’ (2 Cor.11:13-15) Ah friends, as Jesus said, we shall know them by their fruits, and they shall pay according to their works. There’s no getting away from that!
And John also warns in his epistle: ‘For many deceivers are entered unto the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.’ (2 John 7) And the scholars explain: ‘7. The deceivers seem to have been Gnostics, pseudo-Christian individuals who denied that the Son of God had really taken on human flesh (see 1 John 2:18-27, 4:1-6). John realizes that to attack the doctrine of the Incarnation (Christ’s taking on human flesh) is to strike at the very root of Christianity.’ And so it is people! Once you take away Christ becoming man, there’s nothing left of our faith!
And John also gives us a basic way to challenge the truthfulness of what we hear and see. ‘Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.’ (1 John 4:2-4)
But friends that’s just the basic step in telling whether something is really of Christ, because the enemy is so wise and devious that he can claim in his doctrine that Christ is come in the flesh, which he very well knows, but hook you in some other aspect. So please, please let’s be on serious guard in these very treacherous and deceitful times, for the enemy is always lurking around trying to gain a foothold in our lives.
Now let’s go home declaring (yeh!) our Wednesday Wail telling all and sundry of our wonderful position in Christ! In unison, with power and sincerity: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
And if we keep that steadfast and strong position in Christ…Wow! Will our future ever be glorious! Much LOVE!
…walking with Christ is not easy…but it sure is adventuresome… (smile)
09 Aug 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a good soldier of Christ, a party animal, all ye that labour, arguments, Casting down imaginations, closer to home, come unto me, comfessesth, easy pickings, entangles himself, every high thing, exalteth itself, false arguments, false prophets, fill your mind, Friday chant, furthering God's kingdom, generous help, go overboard, God's Word, godly wisdom, heavy laden, I will give you rest, in Jesus name, is come in the flesh, Jesus Christ, lined up with, LOVE, mighty through God, monkey do, monkey see, not carnal, of the flesh, our mind is the battlefield, powers of darkness and evil, pulling down of strongholds, refreshed in soul body and mind, set boundaries, slave driver, spiritual world powers, TGIF!, Thank God is Friday, the affairs of this life, the knowledge of god, the Lord will meet all our needs, the spirit of the antichrist, the things of Christ, the truth of Jesus, the workingman's song, through His riches in glory, try the spirits, we do not war after the flesh, we walk in the flesh, weapons of our warfare, work is good, zest for life
2 Corinthians 10:3. For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after (according to) the flesh.
And then it was Friday…the one after the Caribana long weekend…and mucho prayers are being sent up to heaven giving thanks for making it through this rough and tiring though short workweek! So what else is new eh? Heaven is always bombarded with more prayers when things are rough with mankind. And I guess that’s how it was meant to be since Jesus invited us to: ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’ (Matt.11:28)
I don’t know if He meant tired from too much partying too, (smile) but I’m sure that whenever we call on Him, for whatever reason, He will NEVER turn us down, once our prayers are sincere. So please keep crying out to Him in sincerity, whatever your needs are, because Bruh Paul also promised that the Lord will meet all our needs according to his riches in glory through Christ. (Phil.4:19)
So now that we’ve straightened that out, (smile) let’s hear what the ordinary workingman has to say for himself today. As always, he’s really enthused about the weekend. ‘TGIF! Thank God for Friday yes mih breddren because it’s the start of the weekend! Yeah! My time to do whatever, whenever and however I like! No slave driver in mih life for at least two big days! Wow! Thank the Lord for that yes! Work is good, but like too much of everything else, too much of it is no good!
Well…possibly except for partying…Oh yes, I am a party animal, but I try not to overdo it, try to set a half decent example for the children, because yuh know they quick to do what they see you do, rather than what you tell them. As the old saying goes, monkey see, monkey do. Anyway, enough philosophizing…is Friday…and we starting the party right here and now…regardless of what the slave master think or say! Lift them high friends…and thank God for Fridays and weekends!’
Ah mih people, you have to enjoy the workingman’s zest for life though he tends to go somewhat overboard. He’s not a bad philosopher either. (smile) But his limits are just too far out for those of us who sincerely believe in Jesus. We set boundaries a li’l closer to home than he does. So let’s hear what our weekend song, our Friday Chant sounds like nuh, as we proclaim it to all and sundry in full voice and sincere hearts.
‘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!’
Ah friends, as followers of, and true believers in Christ, we have to be somewhat more cognizant of the world around us and how the enemy is operating because we are in a big battle with the spiritual world powers of darkness and evil, so we can’t afford to be footloose and fancy free like the ordinary workingman. And that’s the gospel truth as Bruh Paul so wisely informs us:
‘For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after (according to) the flesh. (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal (of the flesh), but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;) Casting down imaginations (arguments), and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ and having a readiness to revenge (punish) all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.’ (2. Cor.10:3-6)
Yes my fellow saints, I know that’s a mouthful and might be somewhat obscure and incomprehensible to some of us, (smile) but here’s what the scholars have to say about it, hope it will help you to better understand Bruh Paul’s teaching. ’10:3-5. Though we walk (live) in the flesh (in a body), we do not war (fight) after (according to) the flesh (human standards): The first phrase of verse 5 looks back to verse 3 and expresses the manner in which believers conduct spiritual warfare. It is by casting down (destroying) imaginations (false arguments), such as Paul’s opponents have raised.’
And believe you me, in these troubled and insecure times, there are so many false arguments, theories and doctrines floating about from so many false teachers, that if you’re not careful, and are not solidly grounded in the Word you can easily fall for any and all of them. That’s why it’s so important for believers to read, know, meditate and understand God’s word, because it’s the truth, and nothing but the truth! Anything that varies from it is of the enemy!
As John says in his epistle: ‘Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try (test) the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God. And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of the antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.’ (1 John 4:1-3)
Oh friends, the spirit of the antichrist is surely with us today. And though John gives us a rough benchmark to test the theories that come against us, whether they acknowledge that Jesus actually came to earth in the flesh or not, we still have to be very careful of what we let into out thinking, because the enemy is so deceitful and treacherous, he uses all and any method to deceive.
And remember too that it all begins in our minds, our thinking. He tries to disrupt our thoughts because our mind is the battlefield, and what sticks there, shows up in our behaviour and values. That’s why Bruh Paul emphasized ‘bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.’ Our thoughts have to be lined up with the truth of Jesus, else we’ll be easy pickings for the enemy.
That’s why Bruh Paul also encouraged Timothy thus: ‘Thou therefore endure harness (hardship), as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.’ (2 Tim.2:3-4)
Likewise friends, we can’t afford to get entangled in the affairs of the flesh and this ungodly, evil world, we need to concentrate on the things of Christ, and suffer whatever is necessary for His sake, so we can be good soldiers in His LOVE Revolution! Much LOVE!
…fill your mind with God’s Word…then there won’t be any space for the enemy…what godly wisdom… (smile)
17 Nov 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a child of God, a corrupt tree, a Rasta breddren, a record of the past, admonishing, all his saints, Anselm, aspires to inspire, astute, Azariah, be strong, believers, brings forth evil fruit, brings forth good fruit, by their fruits, cast into the fire, Christians, discourse of Jesus, eventually it'll pay off, every good tree, everybody wants to be famous, false prophets, faults, figs of thistles, fogiven me, foibles, for a better tomorrow, friend, from glory to glory, fruits, glorify your father in heaven, godliness, grapes of thorns, grind hard, growing in the faith, harvests, hate to make mistakes, hewn down, History, hope for tomorrow, how effective you live, how long you love, in Jesus' realm, in prayer, its donation, learn from yesterday, learning, let not your hands be weak, let your light so shine, light, live for today, LOVE Revolution, Love the Lord, more Christ-like, muzzle not the ox, nobody wants to do the work, not its duration, play hard, predict the future, questioning, quotes, ravenous wolves, rewards, salt, sheep's clothing, take it to God, the fiasco, the Good Book, the heathen, the labourer, the Lord preserves the faithful, the Lord's Word, the proud doer, the scripture says, the value of life, treads the corn, under a bushel, understand the present, wages, well-versed readers, what is history, why do we learn history, with God's help, worthy of his wages, ye shall know them, you reap what you sow, your work shall be rewarded
Matthew 7:20. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Well friends let me begin by apologizing for the fiasco that was yesterday’s Bit. I don’t know how and why it really happened but it did, and consequently, in the header, I made the mistake of quoting the Bit as being from Job 17 instead of Job 27. But I do know that you, my astute and well-versed readers would have known exactly where it came from. (smile)
Please excuse the ole fella for that. But I just hate to make mistakes when writing about the Lord’s word. Oh I know He’s forgiven me, so in your godliness, I hope you will too. (smile)
And since it’s Saturday, let’s turn to some quotes that our friend Anselm sent us this week, as he nobly aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. Here is the first one, which says: ‘Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.’ And that’s oh so true.
And it’s well encapsulated in a quote from a Rasta breddren who taught me history in High School eons ago. As he thoughtfully scratched his scraggly beard, with his brogued feet up on the desk, he would ask: ‘What is History? And why do we learn History?’ And His answers were: ‘History is a record of the past, and we learn it so we can understand the present and predict the future.’
And especially if you are child of God, you need to be continually questioning and learning and growing in the faith; hopefully moving from glory to glory, becoming more Christ-like everyday!
And the second quote is like unto the first: (smile) ‘Everybody wants to be famous, but nobody wants to do the work. I live by that. You grind hard so you can play hard. At the end of the day, you put all the work in, and eventually it’ll pay off. It could be in a year, it could be in 30 years. Eventually, your hard work will pay of.’
Yeah friends, there are no serious rewards without serious work. As the Good Book says, you reap what you sow. And that’s gospel truth. You can’t put in a little work, or only plant a small crop and expect to reap huge rewards and harvest.
And it doesn’t matter how long you have to work hard before you reap those rewards and harvests either, for as the Lord said to the people of Judah through the prophet Azariah, when they were going through tough times: ‘Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded.’ (2 Chr.15:7)
And if you don’t believe that, then listen to Bruh David from Psalm 31: ‘O LOVE the Lord, all ye his saints: for the Lord preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth (fully repays) the proud doer.’ (Ps.31:23)
And if you still don’t believe that, (smile) then listen to Bruh Paul to Timothy: ‘For the scripture saith, thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn, and the labourer is worthy of his reward (wages).’ (1 Tim.5:17) So friends, whatever effort we put into our work, that is what we will gain from it.
And all of that runs smoothly into our third and last quote: ‘The value of life is not in its duration, but in its donation. You are not important because of how long you live, you are important because of how effective you live.’ And wiser words were never spoken in that regard my people!
Listen to this discourse of Jesus on the subject. ‘Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening (ravenous) wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil (bad) fruit.
A good tree cannot bring forth evil (bad) fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.’ (Matt.7:15-20)
Yes my brethren, it’s ever so important how you live, not so much how long you live. And the longer you live, the more good fruit you are expected to bear in Jesus’ realm. And that good fruit must be exposed to the unbelievers so that they can see it and accept Christ themselves.
That’s why Christ also said that we are the salt and light of the earth, and we’re not supposed to hide our lights under a bushel, for what good is flavourless salt or a hidden light eh? None whatsoever! (Matt.5:13-15)
And we’ll end with this oh so important admonishing of Jesus on that subject. ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt.5:16) Now that friends, is what all we supposed Christians, believers and whatever we call ourselves are supposed to be about.
But I don’t think we’re doing such a good job; we’re not bearing as much good fruit as we should, or being as flavourful and bright shining to the heathen world! And that’s why Jesus’ LOVE Revolution is faltering; why more people are seemingly leaving it, than joining it. And we just can’t have that my people!
So today, I implore us to take a good look at ourselves and truly ruminate on the role we are playing in Jesus’ body, where we are falling down, because all of us have faults and foibles, and sincerely make the effort to do better. Let’s take it to God in prayer and ask for His help, for with God’s help, we can all do better! Much LOVE!
…truly living for Jesus means…being flavourful…a bright shining light…and producing good fruit…in this evil, corrupt world…
29 Oct 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a day of rest, a generous heart, a song of praise, all your needs met, amoral, bad leaders, bounty, Christians, compulsion, con men, covetousness, denominations, distrust, divide and conquer, divisions, eternal life, exhort, false prophets, financially wealthy, first day of the week, friends, generosity, generous believer, give, giving, God LOVES a cheerful giver, God-like attitude, good measure, grace, grudging, hard labour, harmonious voices, holier, into your bosom, it shall be given, Jesus Christ, lesser things, lift high, LOVE, mercy, more righteous, more time for God, motive, necessity, O men of God, obligation, petty discord, pressed down, prosperity theology, raise the roof, reap sparingly, religions, respect, reverence, rise up, rocket science, running over, sacrificial praise, salvation, scam, sects, serve the king of kings, shaken together, sinful times, sinless life, sinners, slant, soweth bountifully, soweth sparingly, spiritual increase, Sunday, the breath of life, the cross of Christ, the day of brotherhood, the evil ones, the Lord's Day, the Sabbath, the same measure ye mete, true colours, unequal to her task, wisdom, you'll reap what you sow
Luke 6:38. Give, and it shall be given unto you: good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom (pocket). For with the same measure that ye mete (use) withal it shall be measured to you again.
Awright friends, it’s the first day of the week; the best day of the week; the most restful and peaceful day of the week; the day when we choose to gather most in praise and fellowship to Almighty God! And if you haven’t figured out what day it is as yet, well it’s Sunday! Glory Be! The Lord’s Day; the Sabbath; the day the Lord rested…after a week of hard labour. (smile) And that’s what He requires of us; a day of rest, where we spend most of our time and energy concentrating on Him. And today is that day!
So let’s open the proceedings as always with a song of praise, that old hymn, ‘Rise up O men of God,’ written by William Pierson Merrill in the early 20th century. But have you ever noticed that the old hymns sound more powerful and sacred than the newer ones? Perhaps because they were written in a time when we were holier and more righteous, had more time for God; more reverence, more respect, and we weren’t trying to remove Him from our society.
Anyway, let’s burst out in song, in sacrificial praise, sing these words like we truly mean them, because Christ’s church badly needs to rise up in these amoral and sinful times. Let’s raise the roof with harmonious voices: ‘Rise up, O men of God! Have done with lesser things. Give heart and mind and soul and strength to serve the King of kings.
Rise up, O men of God! The kingdom tarries long. Bring in the day of brotherhood and end the night of wrong. Rise up, O men of God! The church for you doth wait, her strength unequal to her task; rise up, and make her great! Lift high the cross of Christ! Tread where his feet have trod. As brothers of the Son of Man, rise up, O men of God!’
Ah mih people, I don’t know if there has been any other time in the church’s history that it’s members have needed to rise up and show the true colours of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ more than now nuh! The church is filled with too many divisions, too many religions which also have too many denominations and/or sects, too many bad leaders, false prophets and con-men, and everybody is teaching their own brand or slant, or scam of Christ’s supposed message. And the evil ones are just laughing their heads off as they divide and conquer us.
Oh my fellow believers, until Christians come together and get rid of the distrust and petty discord that separates us, until we truly ‘Lift high the cross of Christ,’ and ‘Tread where He has trod,’ we will never retake the world for Christ. But that’s a sermon for another day. (smile)
Today’s sermon is based on the God-like attitude of GIVING as described in our Bit. ‘Give, and it shall be given unto you: good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom (pocket). For with the same measure that ye mete (use) withal it shall be measured to you again.’
And before we try to dissect Jesus’ words, let’s look at how the Lord gave to us nuh. First it was the breath of life, then LOVE, the sinless life of his Son Jesus Christ, while we were yet sinners, mercy, grace, salvation, eternal life etc. etc. All those things that we did not and could never deserve, the Lord gave to us out of the generosity of His wonderful heart. Wow!
So I don’t see how in all reason, common sense, devotion and LOVE for Him we can afford to be selfish, ungrateful, unkind, greedy and not wanting to give with a generous heart; one supposedly made in the image of His heart. And it’s not rocket science friends. All Jesus is saying, is that the same way you give, it will be given back to you. As you sow, so shall you reap. If you give out of a generous heart, you will be rewarded with generosity. Out of a grudging and greedy heart, you’ll receive grudgingly.
And one of the best illustrations of this in the Good book is Bruh Paul’s exhortation to the Corinthians, re God LOVES a cheerful giver. Read with me: ‘Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren, that they would go before (on ahead) unto you, and make up beforehand your bounty (beautiful gift), whereof ye had notice (promised) before, that the same might be ready, as a matter of bounty (generosity), and not as of covetousness (grudging obligation).
But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully (generously) shall also reap bountifully (generously). Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity (compulsion): for God LOVETH a cheerful (joyful) giver.’ (2 Cor.9:5-8)
It couldn’t get any clearer than that my brethren! Remember, it’s all based on attitude and motive; ‘a willing heart and a sincere desire to participate in the offering.’ Your giving must not be done because of what you think you’ll receive in return, or you are compelled to give.
And please note, as the scholars point out, Bruh Paul is not advocating “prosperity theology,” that is, that every generous believer will be financially wealthy.’ If you read the rest of the chapter you’ll see that it only promises that you will prosper by all your needs being met financially, so that you can keep on giving (vs.8), and spiritually, that you’ll increase in everything (vs.12)
Anyway friends, let’s just remember that the Lord looks at the state of our hearts and not just our talk or outward actions before He makes any decision pertaining to us. So let’s try and clean up our hearts nuh. That’s wisdom for the ages! Much LOVE!
…a truly generous heart…begets true generosity in return…Christianity 101…
31 May 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a covenant, a glorious future with Jesus, a man has faith but no works, a partnership, Abraham, adulation, can faith save him, carelessly ignored me, Christians, circumcision, darkness and dread, deeds of love, faith, false prophets, favour, fear, forget the Lord, frenzy, fruit of the Spirit, glory, glory to God, God's will, hold my head and bawl, I will never leave nor forsake you, I'm not turning back, Isaac, Jesus, justified, leaking water, leave it in God's hands, length of days, Lord help me, LOVE, my hands are on the plough, New Testament, Old Testament, One Year Book of Bible promises, our benefit, Rehab, righteous, Ruth Harms Calkin, sacrifice, sanctified, screaming question, serve and worship God, solve my problem, the breath of life, the needy ones, things were going well, topsy-turvy, Two Questions, wandering child, Wednesday Wail, what does it profit, where are you, work everything out for good, works
James 2:14. What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
Well friends, it’s Wednesday! What’s on tap for today eh? I’m supposed to have my eaves troughs replaced today, so hopefully that will solve my problem of water leaking down into my basement when the rain falls.
Let’s hope and pray that it actually does stop it yes, else I’ll just hold my head and bawl! Yes, I will, because I’ve been trying to fix the problem for a while now and nothing else has worked. And for the kind of money I’m expected to pay, it ought to… it better had work! (smile)
But all I can truly do is leave it in God’s hands, for regardless of what I think or do, it’s His will that will eventually prevail, and I know that He will in His own time work everything out for my good. Glory to the great God we serve and worship my faithful brethren!
Now here is a li’l something from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. It so reminded me of our foolish behaviour that I just had to share it. It’s titled ‘Two Questions.’
And it simply says: ‘O God In my fear and frenzy In my darkness and dread My screaming question is “Where are You?” And in reply, the Lord simply answers: ‘Wandering child When things were going well And you carelessly ignored Me Where were you?’
Now that’s a very question friends, to which we have no good answer. That’s because too often, too many of us conveniently forget the Lord when things are going well. But as soon as our lives begin to get topsy-turvy we’re quick to run to Him and plead, ‘Oh Lord help me!’ And we expect Him to jump right on the problem. Hn!
But life doesn’t work like that friends. Our God is not there to simply fix our problems when we decide to ask Him. We have the whole concept wrong: We’ve been created to serve and worship Him, to be available at His behest, not He at ours.
But He’s so wonderful that He’s arranged a covenant, a partnership with us, that if we serve and worship Him faithfully, He will indeed answer us when we call. He has even gone so far as to promise: ‘I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.’ (Heb.13:5)
But friends, that all depends on us keeping our part of the bargain, faithfully serving and worshipping Him. So please let’s stop the nonsense nuh. It’s high time we stop ignoring our God and our Creator when times are good, and instead constantly seek Him, whatever the state of our lives.
And it’s all for our own benefit yes mih people. Our God doesn’t need anything from us since He owns everything and everyone in the universe. We are the needy ones. So let’s start knowing our place and begin giving Almighty God the adulation and glory He so rightfully deserves…that is if we want to see favour and length of days.
And one of the surest ways to obtain God’s favour is by understanding our Bit and living according to it. ‘What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?’
As we said yesterday friends, one must have faith to be saved, but one must also show that faith by doing good works in Jesus’ name, for He expects it of His followers.
Remember what He said about false prophets? ‘By their fruits ye shall know them.’ (Matt.7:20) The same goes for us my brethren; true believers shall be known by their faithful works. It’s very easy to profess faith, but to manifest it is another story.
That’s why Bruh Paul talks about the fruit of the Spirit (Gal.5:22). And when we walk in it; in LOVE, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness (kindness), goodness, faith, meekness, temperance (self-control), then we will obviously bring forth good fruit, good works, to back up our faith.
Now after our Bit, James goes on to argue about Abraham and his willingness to offer up Isaac as a sacrifice as an example of the faithful being recognized for good works. And then he talks of the harlot Rehab, as a non-believer being considered faithful for her good works by her saving the Jewish spies. (James 2:21-26).
However friends, the scholars have a long explanation which I can’t go through for lack of time and space, but what they essentially say is that James and Bruh Paul are using the word for ‘faith’ with different meanings and ‘justified’ in different senses.
Bruh Paul using his New Testament theological idea of ‘God’s act of declaring all believers righteous on the basis of Christ’s redemptive work. But a common Old Testament and gospel usage involves demonstrating or showing something to be righteous (cf.Ps.51:4; Luke 7:35; Rom.3:4); it is this usage that James follows.
They are discussing totally different subjects, since they are confronted by different problems. Paul opposing the Judaizers seeks to prove that the Gentiles can be saved and sanctified apart from circumcision or any other work of the law. James opposing merely nominal, professing Christians, seeks to show that true faith confirms itself by deeds of LOVE.’
So let’s understand that they are not fighting each other, but together, against different foes on different subjects. And now that that has all been cleared up, (smile) let’s go home sincerely declaring our Wednesday Wail, which addresses our faith, and consequently, our good works.
‘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!’
Have a blessed day my faithful brethren, manifested by good works! Much LOVE!…
both faith and works are important parts of Jesus’ awesome LOVE…
Previous Older Entries
SCRIP-BITS 