30 Apr 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a positive outlook, a rock and a hard place, a sound mind, agony, anguish, brings Jesus to his knees, Coronavirus pandemic, courage, creativity, crucifixion, current reality, curse, divine protection, economic situation, endurance, face the cross, faith, favour, for my name's sake, freedom, Garden of Gethsemane, Good to Great, he that endureth to the end, holy spirit, hour of greatest need, Jim Collins, lost their hope, LOVE, medical safety, negative word, of all men, of power, optimists, pessimists, prevail in the end, prisoner of war, promotion, prosper, sanity, shall be saved, Stockdale Paradox, succeed, the defining event of my life, the devil and the deep blue sea, the spirit of fear, Thursday Blessings, torture, turn the experience, what a bam bam, win the crown, wisdom, ye shall be hated
Matthew 10:22. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.
Welcome friends, to Thursday April 30 in the year of our Lord 2020 – the year of the Coronavirus pandemic! Unfortunately, some three months in, the deadly virus is still causing havoc and confusion amongst us. Nothing much has changed. We still don’t know anything much about it, but everybody has their opinions. Hn! What a bam bam! Now the panic is increasingly becoming not only about contracting the virus, but more about work, money and food, as a serious shortage is beginning to show up in those vital areas.
And believe me, I wouldn’t want to be a political leader in these times at all, because the virus has dropped them right between the proverbial rock and a hard place, the devil and the deep blue sea, for now the decision has to be made between the medical and economic fronts; either save people and keep social distancing going, or save the economy and open back up the business, which at this crucial time could lead to a worsening of the medical situation. You’re damned if you do either, because there are strong sentiments in the populace for both actions. So friends, let’s pray that our leaders get it right yes, else we’re in for a long, extremely difficult time.
But here’s something I heard a preacher recently talk about, something called the Stockdale Paradox, coined by the author Jim Collins in his book ‘Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t.’ And does it ever seem rather appropriate to our current situation. Apparently Admiral Stockdale, a Navy Pilot spent seven years as a Vietnam prisoner of war and surprisingly he witnessed that those prisoners who were optimists were dying before the pessimists, because after several disappointing episodes of predicting freedom, they lost their hope and gave up. The pessimists, already without hope just went about their business in pessimistic fashion and died off as expected. (smile)
When asked how he managed to keep his sanity and faith, despite several severe bouts of torture, the Admiral replied: ‘I never doubted not only that I would get out, but also that I would prevail in the end and turn the experience into the defining event of my life, which, in retrospect, I would not trade.’ Imagine thinking and doing that in a prisoner of war camp nuh! And he added: ‘You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.’
What words of awesome wisdom my people! Words that I believe will certainly help us in these scary and confusing times. Faith will allow us to believe that we will eventually prevail, but we must also be wise and disciplined enough to recognize and confront the hard and unrelenting facts of what we’re currently going through. I think we saw that principle magnificently epitomized in Jesus, especially during His torment in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before His crucifixion.
Yes, as a human being, He was terrified of having to face the cross, so much so that three times He prayed ‘Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine be done.’ (Luke 22:42.) The Good Book further says: ‘And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.’ (Luke 22:43-44) Yeh friends, Jesus certainly didn’t have it easy.
And the scholars offer these interesting explanations: ‘22:43-44. Only Luke notes this. Jesus is borne up in His hour of greatest need, when He must intercede not only for Himself but for His followers, who are about to leave Him in the lurch. Agony appears only here in the New Testament; it points to the intensity of Jesus’ struggle. Surely Jesus wrestles, not so much with death itself, but with His own destiny to be made the sin-bearer for all mankind for all the ages. The punishment that had to be borne for our sins brings Jesus to His knees in anguish.’
But as the Son of Man, the Son of God, Jesus knew that was His major purpose for coming to earth was to be the sacrificial lamb for sin, and He really couldn’t escape it. He also knew though that He would win the battle eventually and be resurrected victoriously from the grave. So like Admiral Stockdale said, He didn’t lose faith, although things seemed rather dim, but also faced the reality of His crucifixion, knowing that He would win in the end. And that’s the exact kind of behaviour we believers need to exhibit in these trying times my brethren!
We know that we will win in the end, Jesus has promised it: ‘And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.’ So we need now to hold on tightly to that promise, while wisely facing our current reality. Remember our motto for this Covid-19 season: ‘For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power (His Holy Spirit), and of LOVE, and of a sound (disciplined) mind.’ (2 Tim. 1:7) Let’s use them nuh. And in addition to those attributes, we also have our Thursday Blessings, such wonderful blessings that God has also given to us so we can perform His awesome work down here on planet earth.
So let’s declare them now nuh, in strong voice, with truly sincere hearts: ‘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!’
Now let’s go out and generously share those blessings as the Lord greatly desires. Much LOVE!
…strong faith…with wisdom…and endurance…win the crown every time…
23 Apr 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a very present help in trouble, a war situation, abundantly available help, behold the works of the Lord, Biafra, bless the Lord, by every word, cease-fire agreements, civil war, compassionate heart, complain of hunger, convention, Coronavirus, Covid-19, curse, divine protection, faith, favour, freedom, God is our refuge and strength, help, I will be exalted, ideological hegemony, in your own hands, live to eat again, man does not live by bread alone, military depot, need the Lord's help, negative word, out of the mouth of God, penultimate day, physical distancing, pray, prosper, protocol, repent, Selah, share our blessings, social distancing, social media, succeed, take your destiny, that proceeds, the earth be removed, the god of jacob is our refuge, the Lord of hosts, the mountains be carried to the sea, the sons of Korah, Thursday's Blessings, Uganda, war, will not we fear
Psalm 46:1. God is our refuge and strength, a very present (abundantly available) help in trouble.
Now bless the Lord, we ‘ve moved on to Thursday, which used to be important as the penultimate day of the work week, because it heralded Friday, which in turn heralded the much looked forward to and desired weekend! But now that work is such a scarce and nebulous thing, mostly virtual, (smile) Thursday has become just like any other day…bland and unappealing, with mostly the same ole, same ole nothing to do – except to delve into social media with even more gusto than before.
Hn! And is there a lot to delve into! Here’s some more rhetoric that’s traversing the social media. It’s reputed that Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni said these words as he warned against people misbehaving during this Covid-19 period. “God has a lot of work, He has the whole world to look after. He cannot just be here in Uganda looking after idiots…’ Now who knows if he really said that eh? But it does make for interesting reading. Now there was another part attached to the message I received, but the sender wasn’t sure if it was the Ugandan president speaking, so we’ll just report this message separately, cause it’s also an interesting message.
So read with me: ‘In a war situation, nobody asks anybody to stay indoors. You stay indoors by choice. In fact, if you have a basement, you hide there for as long as hostilities persist. During a war, you don’t insist on your freedom. You willingly give it up in exchange for survival. During a war, you don’t complain of hunger. You bear hunger and pray that you live to eat again. During a war, you don’t argue about opening your business. You close your shop (if you have the time), and run for your life. You pray to outlive the war so that you can return to your business (that’s if it has not been looted or destroyed by mortar fire).
During a war, you are thankful to God for seeing another day in the land of the living. During a war, you don’t worry about your children not going to school. You pray that the government doesn’t forcefully enlist them as soldiers to be trained in the school premises now turned military depot. The world is currently in a state of war. A war without guns and bullets. A war without human soldiers. A war without borders. A war without cease-fire agreements. A war without a war room. A war without sacred zones. The army in this war is without mercy. It is without any milk of human kindness. It is indiscriminate – it has no respect for children, women, or places of worship.
This army is not interested in spoils of war. It has no intention of regime change. It is not concerned about the rich mineral resources underneath the earth. It is not even interested in religious, ethnic or ideological hegemony. Its ambition has nothing to do with racial superiority. It is an invisible, fleetfooted, and ruthlessly effective army. It’s only agenda is a harvest of death. It is only satiated after turning the world into one big death field. Its capacity to achieve its aim is not in doubt. Without ground, amphibious and aerial machines, it has bases in almost every country in the world.
Its movement is not governed by any war convention or protocol. In short, it is a law unto itself. It is Coronavirus. Also known as Covid-19 (because it announced its destructive presence and intention in the year of our Lord 2019). Thankfully, this army has a weakness and it can be defeated. It only requires our collective action, discipline and forbearance. Covid-19 cannot survive social and physical distancing. It only thrives when you confront it. It LOVES to be confronted.
It capitulates in the face of collective social and physical distancing. It bows before good personal hygiene. It is helpless when you take your destiny in your own hands by keeping them sanitized as often as possible. This is not a time to cry about bread and butter like spoilt children. After all, the Holy book tells us that man shall not live by bread alone. Let’s obey and follow the instructions of the authorities. Let’s flatten the Covid-19 curve. Let’s exercise patience. Let’s be our brother’s keeper. In no time, we shall regain our freedom, enterprise and socializing.’
Phew! That was long, but certainly interesting. I know many of us can’t associate with the pictures of war that the author draws, but coincidentally, I am currently reading a book about the Nigerian civil war when the nation of Biafra was born for a short while – May 1967- January 1970, and one of the fears of the populace was indeed young men being forcibly drafted in to the army that was training in previous school compounds, as well as a serious shortage of food and housing.
And yuh know what, Jesus did respond to one of Satan’s temptations in the wilderness with the man should not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.’ (Matt. 4:4). So let’s find some suitable words from God’s mouth that we can live by in these turbulent times nuh. What about these from Psalm 46, titled ‘God is our refuge and strength?’ The words of the sons of Korah are indeed encouraging and reassuring, so please recite them with me: ‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present (abundantly available) help in trouble.
Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst (the heart) of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah. … Come behold the works of the Lord, what desolations he hath made in the earth. He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in fire. Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.’ (Ps.46:1-3; 8-11)
And there is nothing stronger or more reassuring than knowing that our great God is with us my faithful brethren! He will end this crazy war – in His own time! So let’s not fear! Instead let’s loudly and joyfully declare our Thursday Blessings, that He so generously bestowed on us to do His awesome work in tough times such as these. All together now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance!
I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
So what we waiting for then eh? Let’s go out and generously share all that stuff… or rather, share it through social media and social distancing! (smile) Much LOVE!
…this is not a war we can win on our own…we desperately need the Lord’s help…so let’s repent…and pray for it…
12 Mar 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a good example to follow, a strong will, all thy children, at the end of the road, August Town, child of the Most High God, chose to remember my face, Christ's death, curse, declare thy mighty acts, Duane Stephenson, faith, far from oppression, favour, great shall be the peace, I never lived like he wanted, in righteousness, justified, mindful of what he taught, negative word, one generation, one more day, prosper, reconciled, redeemed, salvation, sanctified, sealed by the Holy spirit, self-control, shall be taught of the Lord, shall praise thy works to another, shalt not fear, shalt thou be established, sinful earth, succeed, supernatural wisdom, teach the children, terror, the cross at Calvary, the Light, the spark, the Word of god, Thursday's Blessings, to experience heaven on earth, true christians
Isaiah 54:13. And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.
One more day friends… One more day to experience heaven right here on earth! Wow! That’s why Jesus came and died for us yes – so that we could have life and have it more abundantly. (John 10:10) That means we don’t have to wait until we actually reach heaven to enjoy heaven; we can also get a slice of it right down here on this sinful earth, because of the salvation He died for us to have. We are now children of God; redeemed, reconciled, sanctified and justified by Christ’s death on the cross at Calvary; sealed by the Holy Spirit until forever!
Wow! Thus, if you’re a born again child of the Most High God, then your life ought to be moving on a higher plane now. Not that you won’t have problems and trials, but because you will be able to overcome them with the awesome help of our wonderful God who has faithfully promised never to leave nor forsake us. (Heb. 13:5)
And I just espied this wonderful scripture as I opened the Good Book in the writings of Isaiah, where he talks about the Lord’s everlasting LOVE for Israel. ‘And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children. In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee.’ (Is.54:13-14) Oh my fellow believers, yuh see that? Once again the Lord instills and impresses on us that we MUST TEACH the children about Him and His Word, since that’s the only way they will have peace on this earth.
And you’ll surely notice that quite a lot of young people nowadays are tied up in uncertainty and don’t know where they’re going and are falling for all sorts of foolish and ungodly stuff, because we the parents have not taught them the Word of God as the Lord requires. Ah friends, the only way the Word of God can survive is if the next generation knows it and keeps passing it on. How do you think we got it eh? Because our parents instilled it in us. As Bruh David says in Psalm 145 – The Lord is gracious – ‘One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.’ (Ps. 145:4)
Oh my people, did our generation praise the works of the Lord to this current one and declare His mighty acts? Not as much as we ought to, else our children would not be as lost and vulnerable to every whim and fancy of this evil world, as they are today. And I know we don’t like to hear of or take the blame for the current situation, but the truth is a lot of it sits on our shoulders because of our reluctance, for whatever reason, to teach our children the Word of the Lord and tell them about his awesome doings. Just like we were told about them by our parents, we are responsible for telling our children. And unfortunately we have not come up to scratch in that department.
Remember when you train up the children right, that even when they’re old, they’ll still remember what you taught them. That reminds me of the reggae song ‘August Town’ by Duane Stephenson, where he was a bad boy dealing with evil forces, more into guns and ammunitions and striving with God-fearing people, than following the Lord. That disheartens me some, because in my days in Jamaica, August Town, situated right below the Mona Campus of the University of the West Indies was a decent enough place, not filled with the crime and violence Duane sings about.
But as he says “For all the lives that I’ve taken, They can never be replaced, But still Jah Jah chose to remember my face. Though I never lived like He wanted, I’m still mindful of what he taught me. So now I beg and plead, I’m on my bended knees, Cause Father you rescued me.’ That’s what I’m talking about friends, as a child, he was obviously taught the Word, though He never chose to live it as an adult. But yuh see when life got really tough, when it got dark, because of His early training in the Word, he knew where to turn to for help, ‘the only spark, the light at the end of the road.’
And obviously, ever-faithful to His promise the Father rescued him. So though it might be a tad late for teaching our children about God, but certainly don’t stop trying with them, we should possibly concentrate more on our grandchildren; getting the Word into their hearts and souls as early as possible. Now Moses told the children of Israel that from the very beginning. ‘And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.’ (Deut. 6:6-7)
Yuh see friends, not only should we teach the children, and teach them diligently, but the Word should always be in our mouths and hearts and minds. That way we have them to quickly draw upon whenever we need them, which is almost constantly in these evil times. End of sermon! (smile) Now let’s go home declaring (steups!) our Thursday Blessings, generously given to us so that we can also generously share them with others while doing God’s work. All together now in strong voice with sincere hearts.
‘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!’
Yes friends, let’s get it together nuh, and show the heathen world what true Christians are really like! They are just dying to see us like we ought to be, so they have a good example to follow! Much LOVE!
…we can only teach what we know…
27 Feb 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a future and a hope, according to his riches in glory, all these things shall be added, an expected end, and find me, ascetic, Ash Wednesday, Babylon, bondage, calamity, compassionate heart, curse, disobedience, divine protection, faith, fasting, faults, favour, forty days of Lent, generously share, God will provide all your needs, hypocrite, I shall not want, ignorant, Israelites, Lent, Lenten season, Love the Lord thy God, negative word, Pharisee, pray, prayer, prosperous relationship, relationship with god, righteousness., seek ye first the kingdom of God, self-control, self-discipline, self-indulgent, selfishly hoard, sinful, success, supernatural strength, The Lord is my shepherd, the vine and the branches, thoughts of peace, through Christ Jesus, Thursday Blessings, to build us up, to give you, when ye search for me, with all thy heart soul and mind, with all your heart, without Christ we're nothing, ye shall seek me
Jeremiah 29:13. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
Greetings my brethren on this beautiful Thursday after Ash Wednesday. Yesterday I was so excited to get the Bit out early that I even forgot that it was Ash Wednesday. (smile) And strangely enough Ash Wednesday is a holiday in J.A. It’s the only place I know of that celebrates it as a holiday…and celebrate it they do.
Now Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent; a time in our spiritual lives when we become somewhat ascetic, that means becoming a li’l less self-indulgent and more prayerful, abstaining from some things of the flesh, with fasting and prayer becoming more important in our everyday lives. The forty days of the Lenten season correspond to the forty days our Lord and Saviour spent fasting in the wilderness after He was baptized and before He effectively began His earthly ministry.
In this time we’re expected to seriously think about our faith, and what it really means to us, how we can improve it and thus get a deeper and better understanding of our great and wonderful God, and thus develop an even better relationship with Him, because that’s what He wants; a strong and beautiful relationship with His children, sinful and ignorant though we may be. (smile)
But friends, that’s the amazing kind of God we serve and worship, regardless of our faults and mistakes, His everlasting goal is for us to come into a sincere and prosperous relationship with Him, for He is our Father, and we are His children. And just like we earthly parents desire to have good relationships with our children, in the same manner our heavenly Father desires to have great relationships with His earthly children.
And our God is so wonderful my fellow believers, that having caused Israel to be in bondage in Babylon for their disgraceful disobedience, He promised that they would return to their homeland after a period of seventy years… Oh, let the Good Book tell us the story, it can do it better than I can. (smile) ‘For thus saith the Lord, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good work toward you, in causing you to return to this place.
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you an expected end (a future and a hope). Then you shall call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto (listen to) you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.’ (Jer. 29:10-13)
Yes friends, that’s what our God desires of us, to seek Him with our whole hearts, with every fibre of our mortal being. And when we do that, then we will find Him, ready, willing and able to hear and respond positively. He doesn’t just require lip-service, but true, heartfelt, diligent seeking of Him. What yuh think Jesus did in the wilderness for those forty days eh, beside not eat eh?
PRAY! That’s what He did, seeking guidance and understanding from His heavenly Father so that He could do His earthly work with diligence and excellence. That’s why in this Lenten season we also ought to seek our heavenly Father’s face even more than usual, to get right with Him, to get His plans for our lives, how He wants us to go.
Remember He says He has a plan for each and every one of us, not to bring us down, but to build us up, to give us a future filled with hope and good things. But we need to seek Him. I don’t know how to get that most important fact home to us nuh my people, but it’s simple logic; if we don’t diligently look for Him, we won’t find Him.
And without Him in our lives we’re absolutely nothing! Jesus said it quite plainly when He spoke about Him being the vine and we the branches. ‘He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.’ (John 15:5) It could not be said any plainer than that friends.
And note too that when the hypocrite Pharisee lawyer tried to tie up Jesus by asking which is the great commandment? ‘Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt LOVE the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.’ (Matt. 22:37-38) And Jesus was only repeating the words that Moses had told the Israelites long before when they came out of bondage in Egypt. (Deut. 6:5)
And nothing has changed since then. That is still the first and great commandment. And that’s also why Jesus so strongly advised us to: ‘Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt. 6:33) Oh my people, running down the foolish things of the world that corrupt our souls and don’t last for any length of time, but rust and depreciate, is not the wisdom of God, but of the world.
And moreover, Jesus said that if we seriously and sincerely follow the Father, then He will give us all those worldly things that we do need. Bruh David said it too in such precise and wonderful terms. ‘The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.’ (Ps.23:1) And Bruh Paul was also very sure when he declared to the Philippians: ‘But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.’ (Phil. 4:19)
I don’t know what else to say nuh friends except to let us go home now declaring (yeah!) our Thursday Blessings, whereby the Lord has provided for our needs in His everlasting faithfulness. So altogether now, let’s declare those blessings with strong voice and sincere hearts. ‘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 please remember that those blessings are not for us to selfishly hoard, but to generously share with the less fortunate, just like the Lord generously shares them with us! Much LOVE!
…it’s extremely foolish…not to believe and act on…the words of the one who made you…then selflessly saved you…
13 Feb 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a light, blessed is the man, compassionate heart, converting the soul, curse, decitful ways, divine protection, enduring for ever, enlighteneing the eyes, faith, favour, fear the Lord, groundhogs, how sweet are thy words, I get understanding, I hate every false way, indeliblyungodly world instilled in our souls, it warns us, lies. evil schemes, Lucifer, making wise the simple, meditate on God's Word, mid-winter tradition, more beneficial, more to be desired than gold, negative word, positive outlook, rejoicing the heart, reverence, Satan, see their shadow, self-control, snow, sweeter than honey, taste and see, that trusts in Him, the Lord doesn't change, The Lord is good, the testimony of the Lord is sure, the Word of god, there is great reward, there is no want, through thy precepts, Thursday Blessings, thy word is a lamp, to my mouth, unto my feet, unto my taste, woodchucks, ye saints
Psalm 119:103. How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth.
And the snow flew during the night…and the snow is flying again now…making it all a pretty white picture! (smile) Ah friends, we have a mid-winter tradition about certain ground hogs, or woodchucks coming out of their lair on a certain day, and if they see their shadow or not, spring will either be here shortly, or it will take a while to come.
Now I’m not sure which situation means what, (smile) but whatever the recent reaction was, meant that spring would soon be a coming. However, they didn’t say what kind of weather we’d have in between. Now that’s the cut-tail question. (smile) Spring might soon come, but we can have all sorts of bad weather before it comes. So the promise of an early spring doesn’t mean a blooming thing!
But here’s what we ought to be more interested in…the Word of our wonderful God which helps us to successfully handle whatever situations or circumstances that come against us! As the psalmist so poignantly and truthfully says: ‘How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth.’
Wow mih people! Isn’t that something? Who would have ‘thunked’ it eh? (smile) Not many people. But it certainly is true. And why is that? The psalmist explains: ‘Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.’ (Ps.119:104-105)
Mama Mia! The rules and guidelines of God give us understanding and wisdom in living this earthly life, so clearly, that His Word appears to be like a lamp and a light guiding us on our everyday journey. What more can we ask for eh friends? Not a whole lot.
But the problem is to get that wisdom and understanding we have to read, study and meditate on the Lord’s Word, so that we can have it indelibly instilled in our souls and spirits, and thus available to give us the guidance we need to go gratefully and confidently through this evil and ungodly world.
Hear how Bruh David puts it in Psalm 34, after escaping from Saul and running to the Philistines for succour. ‘O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. O fear (reverence) the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want (lack) to them that (reverence) fear him.’ (Ps. 34:8-9)
And Bruh David ought to know about trusting and reverencing God, since that’s what kept him alive for so long, both from Saul’s murdering intentions and the many other enemies he had. So why do we doubt, or not pay serious attention to his words eh? Because we in this supposed modern age think we know more than the sages of olden times.
Yes,these are the modern times, so we must embrace modern things. Steups! But friends, that’s a fool’s wisdom. The Lord our God doesn’t change, neither does his Word. So if it was good three thousand years or however far back, that means it’s still good today!
Hear Bruh David again, this time from Psalm 19 – The creation and covenants of God. ‘The law of the Lord is perfect, converting (restoring) the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgements of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honey comb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.’ (Ps. 19:7-11)
Oh my people, precious people of God…what more will it take for us to get to LOVE and sincerely practice the Word of God eh? Look at what it does for us nuh: restores our souls, makes the simple wise, rejoices our hearts, enlightens our eyes, endures for ever, it’s true and righteous, it’s even more desirous than the best quality gold to be found, it’s sweeter than the honey from the honeycomb, plus it warns us, and oh boy, oh boy, we get great rewards when we keep it!
Now tell me, is there anything else in this great wide, modern, technological and far reaching world of social media that can do ALL of those things? Not on your life! Only the Word of God has that awesome power because that’s why it was specifically created; to give us guidance and understanding and teach us how to handle each and every situation that we encounter on our earthly pilgrimage!
So friends, let’s do what we know to be right nuh, and stop embracing and following the foolishness of this world. Remember, Satan was once the high angel Lucifer, so he knows more about heaven and how it works than we do, that’s why He expends so much energy in keeping us away from the Good Book and all that it entails. But thankfully we know his deceitful ways and won’t fall for his lies and evil schemes.
So let’s go home now declaring (yeah!) our Thursday Blessings, wherein the Lord has generously blessed us with all that we need to do His work successfully down here on His great earth. All together now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance!
I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Now don’t allow Satan to throw us off and not go out and generously share those many blessings with the less fortunate, for that’s why we were granted them. Much LOVE!
…there’s nothing more powerful…and more beneficial…on God’s earth…than God’s Word…
06 Feb 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, cat-scan, curse, dominion over the earth, extremely dangerous, faith, favour, fulfillment, generously share, give, hoarded, in our own strength, in the name of Jesus, it will be given unto you, lean not, LOVE, make a wise decision, man's scheming and planning, negative word, Pituitary gland, prosperity, rob the Lord, stewards, success, technologically intelligent, the Lord is sovereign, the Lord loves a cheerful giver, the morning commute, Thursday Blessings, trust in the Lord, truth, unto thine own understanding, wisdom, with all thine heart
Proverbs 3:5. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Oh friends, the weather forecasters got it right this time! It’s out there, in decent enough proportions; white and cold and beautiful, but extremely dangerous! (smile) We talking about a snow storm that hit the area last night and has most likely made and is still making a mess of the morning commute. But what to do eh? It’s all a part of the life scene in the northern climes, so we just have to grin and bear it and ask the Lord to help us get through it safely.
And would you believe this is the day that I have to go into the city for a cat-scan on my head? Steups! I haven’t quite made up my mind if I’m going, but it’s not until late afternoon, so we still have time to make a decision. Cancelling it though could mean another couple of months to get another appointment. And it’s all for my benefit, to make sure the tumour they removed from my pituitary gland almost two years ago is not growing back. But not to fear, the Lord will help me to make a wise decision. (smile)
And talking about wise decisions, this most appropriate scripture just came to me: ‘Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.’ Oh my people, wiser words were never spoken! It ought to be a no-brainer to trust securely in the One who made the universe and all therein, but unfortunately it isn’t! Mankind feels because his Maker gave him dominion over the earth and all within it, that his own wisdom is sufficient to handle all his affairs. Heifer dust!
And as he’s grown more prosperous and technologically intelligent, so has his foolish pride in his own superiority increased. But what he’s foolishly not realized is that although the Lord gave him free will, He stills holds the reins, though somewhat loosely, and still controls the bit in his mouth. (smile) And Cousin Sol reminds us of that in two verses of Proverbs: ‘The preparations (plans) of the heart in (belong to) man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord.’ (Prov.16:1) And the scholars explain that thus: ‘16:1. The Lord is sovereign, even over a man’s thoughts and words.’
And later in the same chapter, Cousin Sol tells us: ‘A man’s heart deviseth (plans) his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.’ (Prov.16:9) And the scholars explain: ‘16:9. The Lord is sovereign over man’s scheming and planning.’ So yuh see friends, our God whom we consider omnipotent and can do anything, is in reality the ruler of our thoughts, words, schemes and plans. He just allows us to make them, but He does the final directing. And until we wake up and realize that awesome truth, and stop trying to make decisions in our own strength, we will never really enjoy all that the Lord has prepared and planned for mankind. End of story!
And the next few verses after our Bit are probably some of the most important and wisest in the Good Book, meaning that if we follow them sincerely, we will never go too wrong, or fall off the straight and narrow path. Listen to these amazing words of truth and wisdom nuh from the writings of Cousin Sol. ‘In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct (make smooth or straight) thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear (reverence) the Lord, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel (body), and marrow (strength) to thy bones.’ (Prov.5:6-8)
Oh mih people, yuh see the awesome benefits to our health and strength from listening to the Lord, from asking for His direction and guidance! And then there are these two amazing verses that deal with our prosperity: ‘Honour the Lord with thy substance (possessions), and with the first fruits of all thine increase. So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses (vats) shall burst out with new wine.’ (Prov.3:9-10) Mamacita!
Friends, it’s all laid out right there for us in black and white: Give to the Lord of the first fruits of your bounty, and He will enlarge you! But for some foolish reason(s) we refuse to give to the Lord what is actually His. Yes, ALL that’s in the heaven and earth and sea belongs to Him! We are only stewards of His business. That’s what we forget, or don’t know. And how often do the scriptures recommend that we give eh? Very often!
The Lord even complained that the Israelites robbed Him by not giving their tithes like they should, and that led to a lot of their ‘sufferation.’ However if they did, He would open the windows of heaven and pour down a blessing that they wouldn’t have room for. (Mal.3:8-10) And friends the same direction applies to us nowadays. But like the foolish and greedy Israelites, we too refuse to give to God what’s His rightful due.
And precious people, all He asks for is ten percent of what we make so that He can have provision in His house for those who do His work and those who come to them for help and succour. And so many of us wonder why our earthly means are so measly…because we don’t give enough and give generously from the heart. Remember the Good Book says the Lord LOVES a cheerful giver! (2 Cor. 9:7)
And sadly, that’s one of the important factors in churches going belly up these days; many of the congregants are not giving sufficient funds to keep the churches running. They all want to come to church and see everything looking good and hear an uplifting sermon from the pastor, but they don’t think that pastor needs to be paid a living wage, just like them, and the church has bills just like their houses.
Ah friends, enough for today! (smile) Let’s go home now declaring (yeah!) our Thursday Blessings, blessings that the Lord has provided for those of us who are seriously interested in doing His work. Remember, He doesn’t give us work to do without the tools to do them.
Altogether now, in strong voice with sincere hearts: ‘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 as always, the corollary to that, is for us to go out and generously share those blessings with others, just as the Lord has generously shared them with us. They are definitely not to be hoarded! Much LOVE!
…true wisdom comes from the Lord…give…and it will be given unto you…
30 Jan 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, accountability, curse, deliverance, divine protection, faith, favour, fulfillment, generously share, glorify your father in heaven, have the light of life, he that follweth me, I am the light of the world, in Jesus' name, joy, Let there be light, let your light so shine, lifts the spirits, made to enjoy light, negative word, physical sunlight, pleasure, prosperity, revelation of God, salt of the earth, salvation, see your good works, self-control, selfishly hoard, Sermon on the Mount, spiritual light of Jesus, success, sunshine, supernatural wisdom, the Beatitudes, the darkness comprehended it not, the Life, the Word, Thursday Blessings, walk in darkness, work the works
John 9:12. I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
Well it’s begun as a somewhat grey and unappealing Thursday morning, but let’s hope that it will eventually turn into a bright sunshiny day like yesterday, although it was a tad on the chilly side. Yes friends, there’s something to be said for sunshine, even when it’s freezing cold! (smile) It just lifts the spirits…don’t know if it’s because of the light and our spirits were made to enjoy light, not darkness, but it certainly does help to see a nice, bright day filled with sunshine, especially when things are not going too well.
But yuh know what? We believers don’t really need to depend so much on the physical sunlight because we have the one who made that sunlight, who is also that sunlight, dwelling deep down inside of us! And consequently, when the physical sunlight is not apparent, we can faithfully call on the spiritual light of Jesus to brighten up our days…and also our nights! Wow! That’s why He could make this awesome, but oh so true statement: ‘I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.’
Ah friends, what a blessing it is to have the Light of the world in our lives; dwelling securely and faithfully in the souls and spirits of each believer! (chuh!) Give Him much thanks and praise for He is certainly deserving of them! Now hear how John characterizes Him nuh: ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.’ (John 1:1-4)
Yes my people, Jesus was there from the very beginning: He was the Word; the awesome Word that God spoke to create the universe! ‘Let there be light…and there was light.’ (Gen. 1:3) He was also ‘the life’, which was the light of men, meaning when we have Jesus, we have both life and light! Glory be! And as the scholars explain: ‘1:4-5. Life…light: See also 8:12; 9:5; 11:25; 14:6. In John’s writings, life represents salvation and deliverance through Christ, and light denotes Jesus’ revelation of God which calls men to accountability.’
That’s why it’s so sad and unfortunate when John continues: ‘And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness comprehended (apprehended) it not.’ (John 1:5) Yes, Jesus came to shine light into a darkened world, but the world did not cotton to His light. Why, you wonder? Because as Jesus said in His famous discourse to Nicodemus: ‘And this is the condemnation of the world, that light (the light) is come into the world, and men LOVED darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.’ (John 3:19)
No wonder we refused the life and light that was, is, and will always be Jesus! It’s hard for evil man to give up his evil deeds because it’s just an inherent part of his nature. But friends, that evil nature will not get us anywhere except hellfire and damnation, eternal separation from Almighty God, which is the worst thing that can ever happen to a human soul and spirit! That’s why the Father sent Jesus to earth to redeem us and to reconcile us to Him, otherwise come the big judgement day, we’d be left on the outside looking in. And believe me friends, whatever that might entail in reality, it certainly will not be a good thing!
Now listen to Jesus again on the subject of ‘the light of the world,’ when He was about to heal a man born blind and the disciples asked Him who had sinned that he was born blind? ‘Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest (be revealed) in him. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’
Yes precious people of God, certain things are made to happen in this evil word so that our God can cause them to be rectified and thus glorify His most blessed and holy name! But the most important part of those statements is the fact that while Jesus was in the world, He was indeed the light of the world, but once He left the world, the duty of being light to a darkened world fell on us, His believers. Like He said back on the Sermon on the Mount after the Beatitudes: ‘Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. …Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt. 5:14, 16)
Ah my fellow believers (yeah!), we are now the reflection of Jesus’ shining light to this evil world, so let’s go out and shine nuh… Oh and don’t forget we’re also the salt of the earth, so we have to be tasty too, otherwise we’ll just be cast out and ground underfoot. (smile) And the great thing about Jesus is that He never gives us a task to perform unless He gives us the wherewithal, the tools to perform it. And He’s certainly given us the tools to be the salt and light of the earth in our Thursday Blessings, so let’s declare (yeah!) them now nuh, so we can invoke them in our daily routine.
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 everyday! Amen!’
And if we truly believe and are truly sincere, then we’ll go out now and generously share those blessings with others as Jesus desires of us, and don’t selfishly hoard them for ourselves. Much LOVE!
…oh…what a joy and pleasure it is…to be the salt and light of this evil world…in Jesus’ name…
16 Jan 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a brand new creation, a compassionate heart, a concentrated form of dust, a gift of God, a masterpiece, a purpose to accomplish, be obedient to the Lord's will, blameless, brain or spirit candy, constant upheaval, created in Christ Jesus, creation, curse, encouraging words, eye candy, faith, favour, for good works, forgiven, God hath before ordained, God's workmanship, healed and whole in Jesus, hoard selfishly, holy, in the name of Jesus, lest any man should boast, more than a conqueror, negative word, not of works, physical birth, propserity, puny and finite brain, redeemed, share generously, spiritual renewal, strengthen your faith, success, the Holy Spirit, the human body, the scoop, Thursday Blessings, too big for his britches, we are his workmanship, we should walk in them, what a blessing
Ephesians 2:10. For we are his workmanship (creation), created in Christ Jesus unto (for) good works, which God hath before ordained (prepared) that we should walk in them.
Ah mih people, another alive day in God’s great universe! Wow! What a blessing! That means there’s a purpose for us to accomplish, otherwise the Lord would not have allowed us to see the light of day. So what say we buckle down and seek out that purpose eh, or if we know it, buckle down and do it, be obedient to the Lord’s will, because that’s all He ever asks of us; simple obedience and trust. And right now I want to share an anomaly with you, one of which I’m not overly proud, (smile) and I think it’s a symptom of the busyness of our lives. Good excuse!
And the scoop is that the walls of my office and the door are littered with pictures and articles and handwritten stuff supposedly placed there so when I come into it, I can see them and be encouraged and energized. Hn! But the truth is that I come into the office every day I’m at home, but very seldom, no…don’t ever seem to see them. I just walk in and out, spend time writing the Bit and doing other paperwork, and don’t notice any of the supposed encouraging words and pictures. Now why is that eh?
I really don’t know nuh. Have I just become so accustomed to them as eye candy rather than brain or spirit candy? (smile) And some of the stuff is big and colourful, especially what’s on the door, but I still pass by them every day, sometimes several times, and they still don’t register on my brain cells. This morning though, as I was going back up the stairs to make some caffeine, I was sombrely presented with that realization, most likely by the Lord, because He desired me to share some stuff about Him and us that’s on one of the posters on the door.
Now I put that up there some time ago, but I don’t think I’ve ever read it, since I put it up. What a crying shame! And though it’s stuff we all ought to know, it’s also stuff that we have to keep hearing about and keep remembering because it mightily affects our faith walk with God. So here’s what the poster says, the info God wanted me to share this Thursday morning in mid January of the upheaval year of 2020. (smile)
It says: ‘When God created you…HE CREATED A MASTERPIECE! God created something truly special when He created you. Here are just a few things God says about you: You are holy and blameless, redeemed and forgiven. (Eph. 1:4, 7) You are God’s workmanship. (Eph. 2:10) You are more than a conqueror. (Rom. 8:37) You are healed and whole in Jesus. (Is. 53:5. 1 Pet. 2:24) You are greatly LOVED by God. (John 3:16. Eph. 2:4) You are a brand new creation, alive and made new in Christ Jesus. (2 Cor. 5:17) Your strength, your joy, your provision, your confidence and boldness…it is all found in HIM!’
Yes my people, all that we are stems directly from Almighty God! Please check out those scriptures for yourselves so that they can energize you and strengthen your faith. And when you sit down and analyze it seriously, the human body is a masterpiece! Just look at how all the different parts interlock together. They all have different functions but are synced are primed down to the nth degree. No man made piece of machinery is as perfectly primed and synced as the human body, God’s greatest creation!
And when you add all the other things on top of that; things like the LOVE of God, the saving grace of Jesus, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and faithful promises like salvation and eternal life…Chuh! A Christian must be the masterpiece of the world! The sad fact is that most of us don’t seem to think so. But then too, we ought not to let that most salient fact go to our heads and boast about it, or be exceptionally proud and prideful because of it. (smile)
That’s why Bruh Paul stops us in our tracks from the very get go: ‘For by grace are ye (you have been) saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: for it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship (creation), created in Christ Jesus unto (for) good works, which God hath before ordained (prepared) that we should walk in them.’ (Eph. 2:8-10)
Yeh friends, it’s all God’s handiwork; from our physical birth to our spiritual renewal to the good works we do; it was all a part of God’s plan, because He knew the boastful type of being He was going to make. (smile) But that doesn’t stop us from being boastful and full of ourselves! Why yuh think the world is in the sad and sorry state it’s now experiencing eh? Because mankind has gotten too big for his britches and figures that he runs and controls the universe and all the innovations and otherwise come from his wonderful, puny and finite brain.
He has forgotten that He’s merely dust in a concentrated form, and that to that dust he must eventually return. Neither does he stop to think that he has no control whatsoever over the length of his days on this God-given earth, and that the breath of life he so arrogantly breathes come directly from the Lord God Himself. And friends, until we come to the true and real realization that we are not our own, but God’s, and we ought to bow to His wishes and desires, then our lives will be in a state of constant upheaval.
Now for those of us who sincerely believe and sincerely try to do His will, let’s go home declaring (yeah!) our Thursday Blessings, so generously bestowed on us by our heavenly Father so that we can do the good works He ordained for us. All together now in loud voice and sincere hearts. ‘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 one more thing to remember; Jesus desires us to share those blessings with others, just as generously as He shares them with us. Much LOVE!
…blessings are meant to be generously shared…not selfishly hoarded…
09 Jan 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: bestow generously, coincidence, compassionate heart, consumed in, curse, Ecclesiastes, enjoy life, every work into judgement, faith, faithfulness, favour, fear God, fulfillment, futility, gift of grace, God shall bring, hoard for ourselves, Jesus Christ, keep his commandments, luck, negative word, our Lord and Saviour, positive outlook, Praise the Lord, prosperity, receive a reward, research project, riding shotgun, sovereignty, success, the conclusion, the fire, the judgement day fire, the only wise foundation to build on, the Preacher, the same yesterday today and forever, the storm, the whole duty of man, the whole matter, through the flood, Thursday Blessings, unchanging nature of God, vanity, white flakes, with a vengeance, working diligently for Jesus
Ecclesiastes 12:13. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter; Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
Well who says that this life isn’t interesting eh? When I got up about half an hour ago, it only seemed to be a cold, dreary looking kind of day in my neck of the woods. However, on going back upstairs just now to make a cup of caffeine, I happened to look outside again, and boy was our friend, those beautiful looking white flakes ever coming down out there! Yeh! With a vengeance too! Just goes to show how quickly things and times can change – except for ONE all-important fact; the unchangeability, the unchanging nature of our great God, Jehovah! The steadfast and everlasting sameness of His sovereignty and faithfulness!
And all of God’s children gave out with a loud and grateful shout of ‘Praise the Lord! Bless His holy name! Praise Him for being the same yesterday, today and forever! Praise Him for being ever-faithful and constantly watching over us like a good shepherd does over his flock! We thank You Lord for giving us this day, and know that despite the difficulties we may face, you are always right there beside us, riding shotgun, through the flood, through the fire and through the storm, ably leading and guiding us! We give you thanks and praise in the most holy and revered name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
Ah friends, our God is indeed a great and very interesting deity. It wasn’t my plan to get into that prayer above, but I guess He wanted to hear some sacrifice of praise from us this morning, so He led me there. (smile) And if that’s the case, then I had better do the other thing He seems to want me to do. What’s that you ask? Well yesterday when I opened the Good Book, it opened at this particular scripture, but I ignored it and looked elsewhere for our Bit. However, today, it’s opened at the very same scripture!
Now would you call that coincidence…or luck…or some such worldly thing? Well it just might be, but I’m not taking the chance to ignore it for another day. I’m going to behave as if it’s a sign from the Almighty, that He wants us to delve into this particular Bit of scripture on this particular, cold and snowy day! Call me cowardly if you want. (smile) So here s that particular Bit of scripture…and it’s a powerful one too! Hold on to your hats and your horses, as Cousin Sol, writing as the Preacher -Ecclesiastes, gives us the benefit of his extensive research.
‘Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter; Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.’ Yes friends and fellow believers, that is the wisest and most sensible course of action we can ever take in this life. And how did Cousin Sol come to that awesome and auspicious conclusion? Because with his time, money and wisdom, he had embarked on a thorough research project of seeking work, pleasure and all the other vices known to man and had found them to be all less than fulfilling. In his own words, it was all, nothing but vanity; futility.
And what made him conclude thus? I suppose this certain fact he discovered: ‘For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.’ (Eccl.12:14) And that’s something most of us either don’t know, or forget or just casually ignore. But please listen to these immortal words of Bruh Paul to the Corinthians, re Jesus Christ being the only wise foundation to build on.
‘Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble (straw); Every man’s work shall be made manifest (become evident): for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try (test) every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide (endures) which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by (through) fire.’ (1 Cor. 3:11-15) Oh my people, those are words of mighty importance to our lives.
Listen to the scholars explain them. ‘3”13. The day is the day of the judgement seat of Christ (cf. 4:5; 2 Cor. 5:10). Fire is figurative for judgement, more specifically, the absolutely righteous judgement of God. Fire is used here to denote, not enlightening power, but consuming power. Of the six types of material mentioned, three are combustible and three are incombustible. See also Deut.4:24; Malachi 3:2; 2 Thess. 1:8; Heb. 12:29.’ That means our work for Christ has to be solid, not cheap and frivolous, built on gold, silver, or precious stones, not hay, wood and straw, which will be quickly consumed in the judgement day fire.
‘3:14. Reward (lit. “wages,” cf. 3:8). Of course, even the “wages” mentioned here are entirely a gift of grace (cf. 1 Cor.9:17; 2 John 8; Rev. 11:18).’ Yeh friends, we can get many rewards in this life and the next, but ALL are based on the grace of God, not on our efforts. ‘3:14. Saved: Such a one does not suffer the loss of his salvation, but the loss of reward. The stress in this entire passage is not on a person’s relationship to Christ, but on service to Christ.’ Hope those explanations bring a greater understanding to Bruh Paul’s words. But it’s also important for us to check out the scriptures listed in the explanations of the scholars. You will be surprised how they can enlighten you on a particular topic.
So having said all of that, we come back to Cousin Sol, who from all he’s seen and experienced, reasons thus: ‘Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely (fitting) for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun (in which he toils) all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion.’ (Eccl. 5:18). Ah my fellow believers, as the scholars explain: ‘5:18-20. Enjoyment is a gift of God, and man should be motivated by the brevity of his own life to experience it.’
No wonder Jesus said that He came so that we could have life and have it abundantly. (John 10:10) And He’s certainly given us the tools to do so; our Thursday Blessings. So let’s invoke them now in loud voice and sincere hearts nuh. ‘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 the same way those blessings were so generously bestowed on us, the same way we have to generously bestow them on others, not selfishly hoard them for ourselves. Much LOVE!
…working diligently for Jesus…doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy life…
02 Jan 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a spark of hope, acuity, being fashioned like Jesus, compassionate heart, curse, darkness, divine protection, endurance, faith, faith is based on hope, favour, fulfillment, generously shared, God's faithfulness, hell in a handbasket, hellfire, imploding into war, Jesus' triumphal entry, Joyce Meyer, long term goal, mental sharpness, misdirected world, negative word, not selfishly hoarded, on the edge of the precipice, our descendant's sake, perseverance, Plato, prisoners of hope, promotion, prosper, put my hands to, render double unto thee, ride for Jesus' sake, salt and light, saved by hope, succeed, the beginning, the evidence of things not seen, the most important part, the stronghold, the substance of things hoped for, Thursday Blessings, to hope or not to hope, today I do declare, turn you, urgent word of the Lord, while there is life there is hope, wisdom, with patience wait for it, Zecharaih
Zechariah 9:12. Turn you to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope: even today do I declare that I will render (restore) double unto thee.
Well here I am, on this first Thursday in the new year, anxiously asking the Lord what I should write about today. Hn! It certainly seems like the ole fella is lacking in mental …what’s the word…I think it’s acuity – mental sharpness, this cold but somewhat sunny winter’s morn. And I seem to remember the great philosopher Plato saying something like, remember the beginning is the most important part of the work. And the beginning certainly is important, that’s why I want to begin good today. (smile)
But I don’t know if it’s the most important part, because with Jesus, it doesn’t matter so much where we begin, but more so where we end! And on His continuum, as Sister Joyce (Joyce Meyer) likes to say: ‘I’m not where I want to be just yet, but thank God, I’m certainly not where I used to be’ ….or something to that effect. (smile) And is that ever good news my fellow believers!
The fact that Jesus will take us however and wherever we are, at any particular moment in time, and make us into what He desires us to be, with the long term goal of being fashioned in His unbeatable and wonderful character, which ought to lend a spark of hope to all who hear His Word and believe His awesome promises! A Bruh Paulian sentence, if there ever was one! (smile) And believe me my brethren, that just sparked a thought, obviously a God-given one, re what I should write about today.
Yuh see God’s awesome faithfulness! One of my favourite scriptures just jumped up and became number one for today. Hear this great promise from the Lord our God, through the mouth of the prophet Zechariah when talking about Zion’s future king; a prophecy that Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday uniquely fulfilled. ‘Turn you to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope: even today do I declare that I will render (restore) double unto thee.’
Oh my people, what a beautiful promise! But what I like most about that scripture is the descriptive term, ‘prisoners of hope.’ It just so aptly describes what followers of Jesus ought to be; people with unending hope because He is the ‘stronghold,’ the fortress, the high tower, the fountain, the eternal source from wherein hope is spread abroad.
Yes mih breddren, hope is the believer’s greatest treasure, since it’s the forerunner of faith. You can’t have faith without first having hope. Because as the Good Book says: ‘Now faith is the substance (realization) of things HOPED for, the evidence (conviction) of things not seen.’ (Heb.11:1) So you see faith is indeed based on hope. And as Bruh Paul reasons in Romans: ‘For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience (perseverance) (eagerly) wait for it.’ (Rom.8:24-25)
Now that’s what separates the goats from the sheep, what shows up the true prisoners of hope! If we truly believe in Jesus and all that He’s said, done and promised, then with strong hope and faith, meaning endurance and perseverance, we will eagerly await His coming and the fulfillment of His awesome promises! But friends, it’s all got to begin with belief and hope that lead to an indestructible faith! No wonder we have the clichéd but oh so true statement, that while there is life, there is hope!
Indeed there is, especially in Christ Jesus, who never turns away anybody, even when they are down to their last and dying breath! Wow! So how can we not have strong faith and indescribable hope if we claim to be true believers eh? O mih people, this new year of 2020 is calling us to be awesome prisoners of hope and faith because our world is in a very disastrous place, right on the edge of the precipice of imploding into war, darkness and hellfire! More than ever, we believers need to be the sensational salt and light of this misdirected world as Jesus declared of and still desires of us.
The fate of our world, and thus our children’s and children’s children lives depend on our faith and hope and desire to try and set things right! There’s no denying that so far our generation hasn’t done a great job, we’ve allowed our world to keep falling to hell, like you know what in a handbasket. But as we said earlier on, while there is life there is always hope. So this morning I’m imploring, begging, bullying; yes whatever it takes, for us to get on our horses and ride; ride for Jesus sake, also for our descendants sake, for if we don’t do something in the near future, we won’t like to see what our world will come to.
And I guess that’s the highly inflammable, important, and urgent word the Lord wanted me to pass on this morning! (smile) Let’s get serious friends, and realize the sense of immediacy, of urgency in His message, and thus get totally and seriously involved. And we can’t say that we don’t have the wherewithal to do the job, because the Lord has already given us all the tools we need, so artfully contained in our Thursday Blessings. So let’s declare them out loud now nuh, so that they can be put into force.
In strong voice and sincere 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!’
In closing, I must remind us that those tools are to be generously shared, not hoarded for our selfish benefit, especially in this new year, which will be such a pivotal one in the annals of mankind! Much LOVE!
…to hope…or not to hope…that is the question for believers today…
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