04 Jul 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: according to His will, answered prayer, assurance of salvation, assurance of the believer, be not ashamed of christ, believe on the name of the Son of God, Christ is in our hearts, Christ who strengthens us, clear direction, compassionate heart, confess before my Father, confess me before men, confidence in petition, curse, deny before my Father, deny me before men, difficult circumstances, drunk or sober mind your business, faith, favour, glory to the Lamb, Granny's warning, Happy 4th of July, he hears us, I can do all things, I have written unto you, in salvation, negative word, not based on feeling, principles of God's word, prosper, sealed by the Holy spirit, self-control, self-disicipline, share, sonny boy, success, that ye may know, the inner witness of the Holy Spirit, the keeping power of God, the less fortunate, the witness of the word of God, these things, Thursday Blessings, understanding of the Scriptures, until the day of salvation, we keep His commandments, we love the brethren, who was slain for us, ye have eternal life
1 John 5:13. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
HAPPY 4TH OF JULY U.S. OF A!
Yes while we are working today, the U.S is celebrating their Independence Day! And those who can swing it might be able to make it a four-day weekend! Just think on that nuh! (smile) But I’ll tell our U.S friends and family members the same thing I told the Canadian section last Monday, when we celebrated our Independence Day; be careful, remember Granny’s warning: ‘Sonny Boy, drunk or sober, please mind your business,’ because if you don’t, the devil will mind it for you. That’s for certain sure. So please be aware while you’re celebrating.
Now earlier on in the week we talked about the secondary message in John’s first epistle; that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:5) Today I want to delve into the primary message of the epistle: ‘These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.’
Ah mih people, what a blessed message! We have eternal life because we believe in Christ Jesus, the Son of God! Glory to the Lamb who was slain for us! The sad part is that not all of us are assured of the fact that we are saved and heading for heaven. And the scholars offer this exhaustive explanation about assurance that I think I should share.
‘5:13. The scriptures clearly teach that it is possible to know whether you are saved or unsaved. The assurance of the believer is not based on feeling, (though the Christian may “feel” saved), but on the principles of God’s Word. We can know we are saved because Christ is in our hearts (Col.1:27; 1 John 5:12), because of the witness of the Word of God (vs.10-11), because of answered prayer (John 14:14; 1 John 5:14-15), because of our understanding of the Scriptures (vs.20), because we keep His commandments (2 Cor.5:17; 1 John 5:18), because we LOVE the brethren (3:14), and because we have the inner witness of the Holy Spirit (Rom.8:16).
Illustration: Paul claimed to have this inner confidence and was fully persuaded concerning the keeping power of God in salvation (2 Tim.1:12). Application: Because of this assurance, the believer need not be ashamed of Christ, even when He finds himself in difficult circumstances (2 Tim.1:12). First Ref. Gen.15:13; Primary Ref. 1 John 5; cf. John 10:28).’
Oh my fellow believers that’s sure a lot of Scriptures to look up! But if we are in any doubt at all about our deliverance, about our saved state, then we should look them up. And even if we’re sure about it, we should still check them out, because in this evil day and age, we all need as much reassurance as we can get. And just for your info, I took a few minutes to look up those scriptures my brethren, and are they ever interesting and most reassuring! (smile)
I can’t share them all here, but check out these two that follow our Bit. ‘And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us; And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired (asked) of Him.’ (1 John 5:14-15) And the scholars tell us: ‘5:14-15. Assurance of salvation (vs.13) leads to confidence in petition. Effectual prayer is according to his will.’
Yeh friends, please remember that: we can ask for anything we want, but our prayers are most effective when they are in line with God’s will! And I want to share one more scripture here dealing with something that’s ever so pervasive in our Christian society today; that’s being ashamed of Christ, being afraid to acknowledge Him in public.
Ah friends too many of us today are in actual fact ashamed of Christ, but you can’t be saved and/or go to heaven if you refuse to acknowledge His presence in your life. Remember Jesus said it plainly: ‘Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt.10:32-33)
Yeh friends, you can’t be a Christian in secret, at least not in our free religious society. So please stop being ashamed of Christ! Stop letting the enemy make us afraid of possible negative consequences or otherwise. We keep saying that anything and everything is possible with God, and we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us…Well let’s show that in public nuh, let’s stop being wishy-washy and fearful!
Let’s say and do like Bruh Paul, who, in writing to Timothy admonished: ‘Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.’ (2 Tim.1:12)
Yes my people, Christ is indeed able to keep us assured until the judgement day! But we have to first believe it and then work at it! It doesn’t just happen by osmosis! So with that point made and our assurance of salvation being reassured, (smile) let’s go home declaring (yeh!) our Thursday Blessings; those wonderful promises that the Lord has showered down on us to enable us to do His work.
In strong voice and full belief 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!’
Oh how blessed we are my fellow saints in Christ! But please remember that those blessings are not for us to selfishly hoard, but to share with the less fortunate! Much LOVE!
…no need to worry…true believers are sealed by the Holy Spirit…until the day of Salvation…
20 Jun 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a name above every name, a positive outlook, appearance as a man, at the name of Jesus, became obedient, Calvary's cross, comapssionate heart, come back for us, curse, death of the cross, divinely appointed ruler, do christ's work, eternal life, every congue confess, every knee should bow, Father, favour, for ever and ever, found in fashion, given him a name, God hath highly exalted him, God's mighty power, good health, heavenly places, his body, His name, Holy Ghost, humbled himself, interceding for us, Jesus is Lord, Living Deity, made right with God, negative word, only one God, penultimate day, promotion, prosper, put all things, raised him from the dead, sacrificial work, sacrificing Himself, saints of God, salvation, see the Lamb's face, self-control, self-discipline, sins could be forgiven, sitting at the father's right hand, Son, succeed, take us to dwell with Him, that filleth all in all, the church, the fullness of him, the God of Abraham Issac and Jacob, the head over all things, the Holy Trinity, the mansions of heaven, the workweek, Thursday Blessings, to the glory of the Father, Triune combination, under his feet, unto death, wriiten on their foreheads
Philippians 2:9. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
And it looks like it’s going to rain today… Hn! The whole truth though is that it has already rained today, sometime in the early morning hours. And if we do get some rain today, we really can’t complain because we’ve gotten such beautiful warm weather for the last few days.
And anyway, we’re down to the penultimate day of the workweek, and our souls are all bursting with the heavenly fire of Jesus as we mingle in the evil, ungodly world, His assured ambassadors, bringing peace, LOVE, joy and the good news of His wonderful gospel to all and sundry. That’s why we can all declare: ‘I am ONE with God’s perfect order, I am calm and poised, knowing that all is well with my life.’
And that’s only because ‘the Light of God surrounds me. The LOVE of God enfolds me. The Power of God protects me. And the Presence of God watches over me! That means All is Well!’ Glory be my precious people! That’s what happens to us when we become true disciples of Jesus!
Though circumstances may not be the best, there is a radiant joy, an uplifting and encouraging attitude, a supreme peace, one which surpasses all of man’s understanding, alive in our souls and spirits placed there by our Leader, Lord and Saviour – Jesus Christ!
Give Him some sincere thanks and praise ye saints of God, for all that He’s already done for us – sacrificing Himself on Calvary’s cross so that our sins could be forgiven and we’re made right with God the Father, plus making us entitled to salvation and eternal life.
And let’s remember to also thank and praise Him for what He is doing right now – sitting at the Father’s right hand interceding on our behalf. Then there’s the Big One, what’s He’s promised to do in the future – come back for us and take us to dwell in the mansions of heaven with him and the other parts of the Holy Trinity…for ever and ever and ever…!
Wow! What’s there not to like about all that eh friends? Who else has even thought about doing anything like that for us lowly humans eh, much less actually doing it, like Jesus has done? Not a single supposed god! And that’s simply because there is ONLY ONE GOD; He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the Living Deity; the Triune combination of Father, Son and Holy Ghost, Creators and Rulers of this awesome universe!
That’s why nobody else can do what Jesus has done, is doing and has promised to do for us. And that’s why we need to glorify and exalt His Holy Name: that awesome name that’s set above every other for His selfless sacrificial work As Bruh Paul declared to the Philippians: ‘And being found in fashion (appearance) as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:’ (Phil.2:8-9)
Mama Yo! Yuh see how the Father exalted Jesus mih people for obediently doing His bidding! It’s the same way He’ll exalt us if we humbly and obediently do His holy will. Obviously our names won’t be as exalted as Jesus’, but we will be recognized enough by the saints. (smile)
And just think about the awesome recognition that Jesus’ exaltation wrought nuh: ‘That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of (those) things in heaven, and (those) things in earth, and (those) things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ (Phil.2:10-11) Yeh friends, that’s how important the Father made Jesus for His obedience and sacrifice!
And Bruh Paul says it thus to the Ephesians in talking about his praying for them to acquire knowledge and understanding: ‘according to the working of his (God’s) mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set (seated) him at his right hand in the heavenly places,
Far above all principality, and power and might, and dominion, (various classes of angelic beings), and every name that is named, not only in this world (age), but also in that which is to come: and hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all.’ (Eph.1:19a-23) Wow mih breddren! Jesus couldn’t get any higher than that!
Now hear these explanations from the scholars: ‘1:22. And gave him to be the head over all things to the church means God appointed Him head (ruler) over all things for the benefit of the church. Jesus is the divinely appointed ruler over the entire universe for the church’s benefit.’
‘1:23. Paraphrased, this verse reads, “For the church is His body. It is the fullness belonging to Him who fills the universe with all things.” That is, Jesus, who so wisely and skillfully fills the universe with all material elements necessary for its existence, also wisely and skillfully infuses His people (the church) with His own life and character.’
Yes friends, the church represents the body of Christ, and we are the church, not the buildings, which means that whatever is in Christ is also in us. Therefore we need to work together for His benefit, as one body though with different parts, because that’s the only way we will ever overcome the evil that’s currently ruling the world. And in His utmost wisdom and generosity, He has also given us wonderful blessings to use as tools in our earthly work.
So let’s go home declaring (Steups! wrong again!) them out loud with real gusto and true sincerity. As one 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 two last things to remember (smile); our words have awesome power, so when we speak them, we bring them to pass, and secondly, those blessings are not to be hoarded but to pass around generously as we do Christ’s work. Sermon done! Much LOVE!
…His servants shall see the Lamb’s face…and His name shall be written…on their foreheads… (Rev.22:3 & 4)
30 May 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a righteous man, and not faint, availeth much, be effective in ministry, beilieving, called by my name, careful of complaining, Christ-like doing, Christian walking, Confess your faults, consumed them, curse, displeased the Lord, divine protection, faith, faithful promise, family of faith, favour, forgive their sin, generosity, generous sharing, good family, good friends, heal their land, heartfelt prayer, his anger was kindled, humble themselves, I will hear from heaven, in Christ's name, James' theory, less fortunate, magnanimous god, men ought always to pray, mine ears attentive, mine eyes shall be open, mouthing words, negative word, not lose heart, pray always, pray everywhere, pray one for another, pray without ceasing, prayer, promotion, seek my face, selfish hoarding, spiritual man, success, the effectual fervent prayer, the fire of the Lord, Thursday Blessings, to one another, to work everything out for good, turn from their wicked ways, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, ye may be healed, ye shall receive it
James 5:16. Confess your faults (trespasses) one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual (effective) fervent prayer (supplication) of a righteous man availeth much.
Once more dear friends, once more unto the breach, for Christ’s sake, in His mighty name! Yes, the evil and ungodly walls of the world are just waiting to fall, to crumble to the ground, like those of Jericho did so long ago! They only need us, Christ’s saints to get going and walk our walk!
Note, for the first six days the priests blew their ram’s horns, but the people only marched, only walked, didn’t say anything. Then on the seventh day, they marched around it seven times, blew their trumps and shouted, and those massive, seemingly impregnable walls of Jericho just cane crumbling down!
Wow! It’s the same way the walls of our current world will come tumbling down if we do more Christian walking and Christ-like doing than the great amount of talking at which we’re so adept! (smile)
And the first order of the day is to offer up some sincere and heartfelt prayer for Alyssa, the daughter of one of our Scrip-Bit family members, who’s undergoing some serious surgery this morning, as we speak. Please, let’s pray that the Lord will strengthen her, both in body and spirit so that she can undergo the rigours of the surgery – and believe me, surgery is very rigorous, takes a lot out of you.
And that He will also guide the hands of the medical team doing the surgery, and finally bless the family with strength and faith so that they can accept His faithful promise to work everything out for good! In Christ’s name we pray! And all God’s children said a loud and grateful ‘AMEN!’
Yes mih people, prayer ought to be as important to our Christian family of faith, as breath is to our earthly lives. For just like our physical body dies if it doesn’t have a refreshed and renewed air flow, so too does our spiritual man suffer death without continual sincere and heartfelt prayer. That’s because it’s our all-important method of communicating with our heavenly Father who created us and so generously gave us His breath of life!
That’s why we’ve been instructed so often to pray. The Lord said it to Cousin Sol so long ago, when he dedicated the temple. ‘If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent (attentive) unto the prayer that is made in this place (the temple).’ (2 Chr.7:14-15)
And Jesus said it in even fewer words. ‘And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint (lose heart).’ (Luke 18:1) Ah friends, that’s where prayer power comes in. When we’re likely to falter and give up, that’s when we need prayer most!
But then too, prayer isn’t just mouthing words. Listen to how Jesus puts it: ‘And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive it.’ (Matt.21:22) And please note the most important word in that sentence is ‘believing.’ For prayer without belief, without faith is useless! And Bruh Paul says we should pray ‘always.’ (Eph.6:18) We should also pray ‘without ceasing.’ (1 Thess.5:17) As well as pray ‘everywhere.’ (1 Tim.2:8)
Oh precious people of God, you can see how important prayer is in our lives. But another very important aspect of prayer is our praying for each other, not merely our selves. As James so eloquently tells us: ‘Confess your faults (trespasses) one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual (effective) fervent prayer (supplication) of a righteous man availeth much.’
And several times in his epistles, Bruh Paul asked the receivers of those messages to pray for him, that he would stand strong and steadfast in Christ’s name and be effective in his ministry. And somehow, I can’t seem to find any but this one right now (smile) ‘Brethren, pray for us.’ (1 Thess.5:25)
And James’ theory is proven oh so well by this bit of scripture from long, long ago. When the people of Israel complained about the lack of meat in the wilderness after coming out of slavery in Egypt, ‘it displeased the Lord: and the Lord heard it; and his anger was kindled (aroused); and the fire of the Lord burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts (outskirts) of the camp. And the people cried unto Moses; and when Moses prayed unto the Lord, the fire was quenched (extinguished).’ (Num.11:1-2)
Yeh friends, we learn two important lessons from that scripture; be careful of our complaining, for the Lord doesn’t take well to too much complaining, especially when He believes He’s doing a good thing for us. And secondly, the prayer of a righteous person can indeed be very effective.
So with those two lessons burning through our souls, bodies and minds, let’s go home today declaring (yes!) our Thursday Blessings nuh. Blessings we haven’t earned, and don’t deserve, but which our great God, in His awesome generosity, has seen fit to bestow on us.
All together now, in sincere appreciation: ‘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 mih breddren, yes! What a magnanimous God we serve and worship! Now let’s go out and share those awesome blessings with the less fortunate as Jesus Christ so greatly desires of us! Much LOVE!
…heavenly blessings are meant for generous sharing…not for selfish hoarding…
09 May 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a very present help, agonizing repentance, allow trouble to lift you, backbone, be of good cheer, behold the beauty, belly, cast down, compassionate heart, courage, curse, desired of the Lord, distressed, dr robert h schuller, dwell in the house of the Lord, endure pain, endure suffering, face danger, faith, false friends forsake us, favour, glory to God, God is our refuge and strength, grow in Christ, hide me in his pavilion, i have overcome the world, illness strikes, in me ye might have peace, in trouble, inquire in his temple, learn courage, learn patience, learn tenderness, matured as christians, negative word, no progress without pain, no salvation, not destroyed, not forsaken, not in despair, one thing, perplexed, persecuted, prize freedom, prize true friends, seek after, Selah, self-control, self-siscipline, set me upon a rock, sons of Korah, stretch forth thine hand, success, the victory is ours, Thursday Blessings, treasure health, trouble, unwavering confidence, vanquished the devil, walk in the midst of trouble, will not we fear, your greatest opportunity
Psalm 46:1. God is our refuge and strength, a very present (an abundantly available) help in trouble.
Allow Trouble to Lift You: ‘Truly we learn courage when we face danger; we learn patience when we endure suffering; we learn tenderness when we face pain; we learn to prize true friends when false ones forsake us; we treasure health when illness strikes and we learn to prize freedom when we are in danger of losing it!
Without trouble we would be like plants that have sprouted, grown, and been nurtured in the overprotected shelter of a hothouse, too tender ever to live in the open.’ Oh what words of gospel truth those are!
And furthermore: ‘We have matured as Christians when we learn that there is no progress without pain; there is no conversation without crises; there is no birth without painful travail; there is no salvation without agonizing repentance and no Easter without a Good Friday! There is no service without suffering…’
Yes friends, I couldn’t put it any better than that! Unfortunately those are not my words, but Gramps Schuller’s (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) from His Hour of Power Devotional. And yes, until we supposed Christians realize that a Christian life is not a sweet and fairytale life devoid of pain and hardship, but one fraught with periods of suffering, just like Christ’s, we’ll never mature, never grow in Christ as we ought to.
Because as Gramps Schuller so rightly points out, if our lives are just easy and smooth, we won’t be able to face the rough and tumble trials that are truly life in this evil and ungodly world! In good, smooth, comfortable times we don’t grow, we just float along without a care in the world. But when adversity hits, that’s when we separate the goats from the sheep, that’s when we see what we’re truly made of, how strong is our backbone and belly!
And in so doing, if we have the necessary faith and courage to stand strong in Christ, that’s when we grow! As Gramps Schuller also says later on: ‘Your trouble may be your greatest opportunity!’ And that’s no lie, because then you have to stir yourself and get yourself moving to solve your problems, in tandem with Almighty God if you’re wise!
Remember Jesus didn’t promise that His followers would have clear and uneventful sailing in this topsy-turvy world, but exactly the opposite: ‘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)
And if you’re a true believer, then you’ll know that Jesus doesn’t lie. Neither does He make idle promises. So if He says that life will contain rough times, then it will, but on the other hand, if He promises His peace during those times, then that will also come to pass.
And remember He’s already vanquished the devil in his own territory; hell, death and the grave, by rising triumphantly on Easter Sunday, so we should not be overwhelmed by all the nonsense the enemy tries to tell us, for the victory is already ours! Glory to God!
So now, let’s check out some scriptures that can help us handle trouble when it comes against us. And if anybody knew trouble, though he was certainly blessed, it was Bruh David. But he stoically declares (steups, wrong again) ‘One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty (delightfulness) of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple. For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me upon a rock.’ (Ps.27:4-5)
That means friends we just can’t run to God when times become rough, but must be in good communication with Him during the good times too. Now listen to the Sons of Korah: ‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present (an 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.’ (Ps.46:1-3)
Yes my brethren, let’s take a moment and contemplate on that nuh! Is our faith that strong? It ought to be, if we are truly walking in righteous and godly paths. And listen to Bruh David once again: ‘Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.’ (Ps.138:7)
Oh my people, that’s the kind of unwavering confidence we ought to have in our omnipotent God, for with Him ALL things are possible! And no treatise on trouble would be complete without these famous words of Bruh Paul to the church at Corinth. ‘We are troubled (hard pressed) on every side, yet not distressed (crushed); we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast (struck) down, but not destroyed;’ (2 Cor.4:8-9)
And why is that my faithful brethren? Because we’re ‘Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.’ (2 Cor.4:10) And now that we’ve conquered trouble, (smile) let’s go home declaring (right ho!) all the wonderful things contained in our Thursday Blessings.
As one strong and sincere voice 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!’
And as always, I have to remind us that those blessings are not for us to selfishly hoard, but to generously share with others less fortunate than us! Much LOVE!
…if we are in Christ…and Christ is in us…then we can overcome ANYTHING that comes against us…
02 May 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a good foundation, abides forever, all or nothing at all, be loyal to one, be obedient to His word, compassionate heart, curse, despise the other, do good, do his bidding, earthly riches, Emmanuel, enmity with God, eternal life, Everlasting Father, faith, favour, friendship with the world, gave us His freedom, generously shared, good works, gospel truth, grace, halfway measures, hate the one, haughty, highminded, immaculate conception, King of Kings, lay hold on eternal life, laying up for themselves, Lily of the valley, Lord of Lords, LOVE, love not the world, love of the Father, love the other, lovers of God and the world, lust of the eyes, majesty, negative word, no man can serve two masters, positive outlook, pride of life, revere, Rose of Sharon, sacrificed His sinless life, self-control, self-discipline, selfishly hoarded, Sermon on the Mount, sinless character, success, surrender our lives to Jesus, the mighty God, the things in the world, the time to come, the will of God, the world passes away, Thursday Blessings, took our sins, virgin birth, Wonderful, you cannot serve God and mammon
Matthew 6:24. No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and LOVE the other; or else he will hold (be loyal) to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (earthly riches).
And yes, it’s a cloudy, foggy Thursday morning in my li’l part of the world, but hopefully the sun will push through and decimate all the fog and cloud in a short while. But even if it doesn’t, if the sun doesn’t shine, we must remember that we have a friend, a Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ who controls the calm and the storm alike and He can decimate whatever ills, or storms that are blowing through our lives with one single, simple touch of His favour, mercy, grace and/or LOVING-kindness! Give Him the thanks and praise He so well deserves my faithful brethren!
Ah mih people, our Jesus is so wonderful that there are no words in any language that can truly describe Him! We try, but all our man-made descriptions fall far short of the ideal, of the magnificent Deity that He is! Only Deity like Himself might be able to find language to truly describe Him.
But until we get to heaven and hear the Father and the Holy Spirit describe Him, we’ll have to settle for insufficient terms like: ‘Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Rose of Sharon, Lily of the Valley, Emmanuel, A name above every other Name, to whom ALL knees must bow, Heavenly Advocate, High Priest, Son of God, Saviour of the World, ‘Uniter’ of Jews and Gentiles, He of the Immaculate Conception and of Virgin Birth…etc. etc.’
Yes friends, those are only some of the many names we use to describe Jesus, but the great thing about it is that ALL of them are true and reflect some aspect of Jesus’ great and godly character and the extensive list of jobs that He performs with such grace and majesty! How can we not LOVE and revere Him eh? And if we LOVE and revere Him, then we ought to be delighted to do His bidding, be obedient to His Word and His dictates!
But unfortunately that’s where too many of us draw the line! Yes, we all claim to LOVE Jesus and spout a good talk, but when it comes right down to the nitty gritty, doing as he says, that’s an entirely different subject. We hem and haw about giving up our independence, about surrendering completely to the One who LOVES us so much that He sacrificed His sinless life for our sinful ones. He took our sin and gave us His freedom, His sinless character.
But friends, there can only be one driver of a vehicle or ship or plane at any one time, and it’s either we surrender our lives completely to Jesus and let Him run them as He sees fit, or we don’t. There’s no halfway or in-between measure! You can’t sit on the fence and hope one side or the other will work out. With Jesus, it’s either ALL or NOTHING AT ALL!
As He says so vividly in the Sermon on the Mount: ‘No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and LOVE the other; or else he will hold (be loyal) to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (earthly riches).’
Yes my people, that’s gospel truth! In this world you have to serve somebody, but you can only truly serve ONE somebody at a time, and the choices we have are simply Jesus Christ or the riches of this world controlled by the evil Satan himself. And today I just want to look at a few scriptures that promote serving Jesus as opposed to the evil one and his lure of earthly wealth and power.
First up is Bruh Paul in his first missive to Timothy, where he warns. ‘Charge (command) them that are rich in this world (present age), that they be not highminded (haughty), nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy. That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute (to give), willing to communicate (share). Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.’ (1 Tim.6:17-19)
Yes friends, nothing is basically wrong with being rich, God gives earthly riches to many of us, but we need to be generous and godly with those blessings. As the scholars explain: ‘6:19. When wealthy believers generously share (v.18), they secure an assurance (laying up in store for themselves a good foundation) that in the future (against the time to come) they will indeed enter heaven (lay hold on eternal life).
Salvation is not purchased by the giving of money, but generosity demonstrates the reality of one’s faith. Since the believer trusts God and not money, he gives. This giving shows where his heart is and that he views his wealth in light of eternity.’
Now James says it thus: ‘Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of (with) the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be (makes himself) a friend of the world is (makes himself) the enemy of God.’ (James 4:4) Yes my people, we cannot be both LOVERS of God and the world at the same time, as John says so clearly in his epistle.
‘LOVE not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man LOVE the world, the LOVE of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.’ (1 John 2:15-17)
Ah friends, please pay particular attention to the part that says the things of the world pass away, but he who does the will of God abides forever, because it’s gospel truth. End of sermon! (smile) Now let’s go home declaring (right ho!) our Thursday Blessings, which the Lord has rained down on us to assist us in doing his earthly work.
All together now with sincere hearts, in loud 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!’
Oh true believers in Christ, how blessed we are! Now let’s go out and share those wonderful blessings as Jesus desires of us. Much LOVE!
…all that we’ve been given…is meant to be generously shared…not selfishly hoarded…
04 Apr 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abhor evil, Abraham Isaac and Jacob, awe, bane of mankind, believe the Lord, blue skies, castigating, children of transgression, cling to good, cold climates, compassionate heart, cool breezes, curse, debasing ourselves, did our own thing, favour, fearest me not, Garden of Eden, godless, great family, hard ears, hast not remembered me, held my peace, hell bent, holy mountain, idolatry, idols, inherit, Isaia, Israelites, Jesus' heart, laid it to thy heart, less fortunate, make a wide mouth, negative word, no peace, one true God, own way, pagan rites, prosper, rebelled, removing God from our society, reverence, ridicule yourselves, righteous suffer, righteousness., seed of falshood, share, slying children, sons of the sorceres, statnic age, stubborn, success, Thursday's Blessings, to the wicked, unto hell, vanity, warm the cockles, weary
Isaiah 57:21. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.
No rain today! Glory to God! Just blue skies and cool breezes in Paradise…until the sun comes up hot and stinging around the noonday hour! But we can handle it better than the cold, for God didn’t make us to live in the cold climates. Yuh see the wonderful climate the Garden of Eden had? (smile) But mankind so hard ears and stubborn and own way, they decide that they going to live in the cold countries anyway, and do their own thing there.
Ah Lord eh, it is the bane of mankind – always wanting to do their own thing! Jehovah God made us to do His thing, but from the very beginning we rebelled and did our own thing instead. And so it continued down throughout the ages. Listen to this scripture nuh from Isaiah, where through him, the Lord condemns Israel’s idolatry. After castigating them for having the righteous suffer and no one taking up their cause, He declares (steups – wrong again):
‘But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the whore (harlot). Against whom do ye sport (ridicule) yourselves? against whom make ye a wide mouth, and draw (stick) out the tongue? Are ye not children of transgression, a seed of falsehood. Enflaming (inflaming) yourselves with idols (gods) under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys under the clifts (clefts) of the rocks?’ (Is.57:3-5)
Yeh friends, the Israelites forgot the God of their forefathers and made idols of all sorts of stuff and worshipped them as gods, they even practiced child sacrifice like some of the other pagan tribes around them! And I like how the Lord continues a few verses later: ‘And thou wentest to the king with ointment, and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thy messengers far off, and didst debase thyself even unto hell.’ (Is.57:9)
Oh friends we are doing the same things as the Israelites did; turning away from God, following pagan rites, debasing ourselves and worshipping the things of the world, rather than Almighty God! The things of the world are now idols, and we are even figuratively sacrificing our children on the worthless altars of these idols! How foolish is that eh?
And as the Lord continues: ‘Thou art wearied in the greatness of thy way (length of thy road); yet saidst thou not, There is no hope: thou hast found the life (strength) of thine hand; therefore thou was not grieved.’ (Is. 57:10)
Yeh, we found our strength as we developed all our technological stuff and got bigger and bigger and supposedly better, thinking that it was all our own doing and didn’t look back or even consider if what we were doing was right, just plowed right on in our idolatrous ways, until now we’ve become all-powerful in our own eyes and are hell bent on removing God from our society! As far as too many of us are concerned Jehovah God is an old-fashioned, outdated entity, who has no rightful place in our modern day lives! Ah Lord eh!
And just as the Lord asked of the Israelites back then, He’s also asking of us today: ‘And of whom hast thou been afraid or feared, that thou hast lied, and hast not remembered me, nor laid it to thy heart? have not I held my peace (remained silent) even of old, and thou fearest me not?’ (Is.57:11)
Ah mih breddren, in this godless and satanic age we neither fear God with a real fear, like the attack of a dangerous wild animal, nor fear Him in terms of reverence and awe! So many people in the universe still don’t know Him, and too many are turning away from Him to worship the worthless idols and false gods of other faiths!
But please be warned, God’s eyes are upon us all the time! He knows our every move and every thought be it evil or good that we think and plan and when He’s ready, He will take matters into His own hands, and trust, me, we won’t like it when He does.
As He said to Israel: ‘I will declare thy righteousness, and thy works; for they shall not profit thee. When thou criest (cry out), let thy companies (collection of idols) deliver thee; but the wind shall carry them all away; vanity (a breath) shall take them: but he that putteth his trust in me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy mountain.’ (Is.57:12-13)
Oh my people, please believe the Lord our God nuh for He doesn’t make idle promises; if He says He’ll destroy, then He will, and will likewise prosper when He says so. Hear this last piece of that chapter. ‘I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the Lord; and I will heal him. But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.’ (Is.57:19-21)
That’s gospel truth my brethren! Wickedness might pay in the short run in this world, but in the long run it definitely won’t! So please be wise and refute evil and wickedness and sin and the ungodly ways of the world nuh! And when you believe and sincerely try to follow the One True God, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, look what happens: He showers down blessings on us like manna from heaven. So let’s declare (right ho) our Thursday Blessings with enthusiasm and heartfelt assurance nuh!
As one 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!’
Which other faith or supposed God promises and also delivers that kind of stuff eh? None but Jesus Christ! And those blessings are offered so that we can go out and share them with the less fortunate, so let’s do that now nuh and warm the cockles of Jesus’ heart! Much LOVE!
…abhor that which is evil…cling to that which is good… (Rom.12:9b)
21 Mar 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a righteous man, appointed unto men, Beelzebub, believe in Jesus, blaspheme His holy name, broken right now, bruised and battered, Christ died for the ungodly, Christ died for us, crapaud smoke yuh pipe, cried out in anguish, curse, embodiment of evil, eternal hell fire and damnation, eternal life, eternal souls, fallen angel, favour, filled with, finite minds, for a good man, forsake his only son, free offer of grace, God commendeth his love, God so loved the world, good health, grace, guidebook, hanging helplessly, have everlasting life, he gave his only begotten son, heartbreaking deed, in the name of Jesus, LOVE, Lucifer, My God my God, my soul is still, negative word, once to die, our earthly lives, peaceful, positive outlook on life, prosper, salvation, satanic majesty, self-control, self-discipline, share the blessings, should not perish, sinful creation, sinful exploits, sins, some would dare to die, spins on only one thing, succeed, the BIBLE, the Good Book, the heart of God, the heart of his universe, the wonderful love of God, then the judgement, Thursday Blessings, ultimate destination, unconditional LOVE, ungrateful sinners, while we were yet sinners, whosoever believeth on Jesus, why hast thou forsaken me, without strength, wooden cross
Romans 5:8. But God commendeth his (demonstrates his own) LOVE towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Ah mih people, the ole fella doesn’t have a jump out at you, in your face intro for this morning! (smile) Neither does he have anything explosive to talk about today. His soul is still and peaceful, filled with the wonderful LOVE of God! So I guess that’s what we’ll talk about then…the wonderful LOVE OF GOD! (smile)
And I guess there’s nothing better to talk about in these evil and trying times than God’s amazing, awesome and unconditional LOVE for His sinful creation. Sorry Lord, you did not create anything sinful, you created mankind very holy like yourself, it’s just that the creation turned sinful when it came into contact with Beelzebub, so we can’t blame you for that.
But you were so enamoured of that creation that even though it turned against you, you couldn’t leave it to die and suffer eternal hellfire and damnation on account of it’s unholy and sinful exploits. Bless Your holy name our heavenly Father! But what’s truly amazing and incomprehensible about God’s LOVE, are the unbelievable facts noted in these immortal words of Bruh Paul to the church at Rome.
‘For when we were yet without strength, in due time (at the right time) Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure (perhaps) for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his (demonstrates his own) LOVE towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom.5:6-8)
How can you beat that show of LOVE eh friends? NO WAY! Can you imagine the size God’s heart had to be to be able to do that overreaching deed? To put the sins of the whole world on the shoulders of His wonderful Son; to commit such a heartbreaking deed to forsake His only Son!
Can you imagine the state of the Father’s heart when His Son, hanging helplessly from that wooden cross, all bruised and battered, cried out in anguish: ‘My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?’ (Matt.27:46b) It’s the only time that Jesus ever really cried out to the Father in true despair, because it’s the ONLY time that the Father had ever turned away from Him!
My fellow believers, I don’t think our puny and finite minds can really comprehend it nuh! That’s why we don’t appreciate and don’t pay as much attention to it like we should. It must be a godlike thing to sacrifice one’s sinless Son to pay for the debts of ungrateful sinners! But He did it!
And wonder of wonders too many of His creation are not thankful or grateful for it, because they blaspheme His holy name and totally reject His salvation through His free offer of grace. And the sad part is that all it takes to receive eternal life is to believe in and on His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!
And Jesus proclaimed this fact so strenuously Himself: ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ (John 3:16) But unfortunately, a large portion of God’s creation prefers to believe on the fallen angel Lucifer; his satanic majesty, the embodiment of all evil and sin!
How sad my brethren! We take the Lord’s words for a joke when He says that those who believe on His Son will have everlasting life, while those who reject Him will be cast out into hell fire and eternal damnation! It’s amazing how foolish we can be, believing the parts of the Good Book that serve our purposes and not believing the rest!
Friends, I’m here to tell you that the Good Book is ALL TRUTH! So you either believe ALL of it, or NONE of it! You can’t be like so many of us, just sitting on the fence hoping that our number will play sometime and we can fall either which way the wind blows. Friends, our number’s been played already!
Two thousand years ago Jesus died to pay for our sins! Nothing else is needed! And furthermore, the Lord wrote the Bible for us, as a guidebook for our earthly lives, not for His benefit. He knows it all already! So those of us who choose to ignore Him, His Word, His Son and His Holy Spirit are playing a real dangerous game with the ultimate destination of their eternal souls.
For as the Good Book so rightly proclaims: ‘And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement.’ (Heb.9:27) Yes friends, mankind dies once, please note that, ONLY ONCE, and after that he will be judged by God Almighty! And even more importantly, if you don’t make your peace here on earth before you die with Jesus, then all bets are off, unfortunately crapaud smoke yuh pipe, then it’s TOO LATE!
So please, please, I implore us to be wise and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour RIGHT NOW nuh, because you never know when you’ll be called home, it can happen at anytime. And even if you don’t want to believe, then be wise and hedge your bets nuh; accept Him just in case it’s all true. And if it happens that it isn’t, then you haven’t lost anything.
However, if it all turns out to be true, then you’d have won and be on the inside looking in! Glory to God!
Now for those of us who truly believe, let’s go home declaring (steups – wrong again- going to have to stop using it yes (smile)) our Thursday Blessings, wonderful benefits that our great, merciful, forgiving, generous and ever-LOVING God has magnanimously bestowed on us.
In strong voice and full belief 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 forget that those wonderful blessings weren’t given to us to hoard, but to share with the less fortunate of this sorry world, so please let’s go out and do the now nuh! Much LOVE!
…the heart of God…and thus the heart of His universe…spins on one and only ONE thing…LOVE…
31 Jan 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a sense of resilience, anointed me, avoid criticism, backbone, be nothing, be strong, belly, come a foreign, coughing and hacking, crapaud smoke we pipe, criticism, curse, do nothing, Elijah, Elisha, faith, famine, favour, hang in there, heal the broken-hearted, his own family, I say unto you, iron grip, is accepted in his own country, is upon me, lazing, leprosy, like nobody's business, lounging in the sunshine, mind numbing cold, Naaman, negative word, no prophet, persevered, preach deliverance, preach the gospel, prosper, recovering of sight, rejected His claim, resilience, roll with the punches, say nothing, self-control, self-discipline, share our blessings, stay in the southland, succeed, Thank You Lord, the big barrel, the living truth, the Messiah, the spirit of the Lord, Thursday Blessings, to the blind, to the captives, to work for Jesus, verily, Western Union, working their tail off
Luke 4:24. And he said unto them, Verily, I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.
And it continues, seemingly unabated…Yes friends, I’m talking about the iron grip that the soul, body, spirit and mind numbing cold spell currently has on most of North America! Brother! It’s something like minus 23 degrees Celsius in my area. In one part of Minnesota yesterday they said it was minus forty, not Celsius, but Fahrenheit.
Can you imagine what walking around in that weather is like? Give you a li’l example; yesterday evening I took my fresh self and went across the street to get the mail from the communal mail boxes, and would you believe that by the time I got back from the say twenty yards walk, two minutes exposure, I was coughing and hacking like nobody’s business. And the message for all you people down in the southland, where it’s always nice and warm, is please stay there!
I know that plenty of you want to come a foreign because you believe that it’s so wonderful, but it’s not really as wonderful as you believe and your friends and family don’t just go out and pick up money from the street or the trees so that they can afford to send you all the setta money and expensive foolishness that you all ask for. If you don’t have a work down there, you can at least plant something and stay alive. Up here, if you don’t have a job, nobody gives you much of anything.
And believe me, you have it real good down there yes. For when it rains you can call and tell the boss it raining, so you not coming to work. Up here though, in all the ice and snow yuh can’t call and tell them it snowing or too icy for you to come in, else most likely that’s the last phone call you’ll make to that number. You get my drift? (smile)
And I recently saw a video that hit the nail on the head. This Jamaican fella, dressed to the hilt in his snow clothes pleading to his people back home not to send and ask for anything before March, and not the beginning of March, but the end, because it so and so cold, and he has to go out and work in it, and it not easy… so please doh send and beg for anything before the end of March!
And I think that’s a very good idea for us to adopt because it really hard and unfair to the people up here working their tail of in the cold to send back money and stuff for their people lazing and lounging in the sunshine waiting for the big barrel to roll in or the call to go to Western Union! Steups! I guess by now you know my take on the situation; it’s totally ridiculous! I’m blessed I don’t have any family or friends who behave that way. Thank you yes Lord!
And now that I’ve finished my rant, what’s next eh? (smile) And I think we’re going to talk a li’l about criticism today. Now Cousin Bobby (Bobby Schuller – Hour of Power Programme) says that ‘Criticism is training: a temporary opportunity for a permanent gift.’ And so it is, if you are wise enough to accept the criticism for whatever it’s worth.
You’ll never get anywhere, be successful at anything without coming under some form of criticism, whether it be good or bad, and you need to develop a sense of resilience to it, if you want to truly succeed. Like someone else said: ‘To avoid criticism: Say nothing, do nothing, be nothing…’ So there you have the two options available; be damned if you do, and also be damned if you don’t! So what’s it going to be eh?
As believers in Christ we’re expected to do and be damned! In other words roll with the punches, but get the job done. I don’t believe any of us will ever be criticized as much as Jesus was, and yet He persevered. Even His own family rejected His claim of being the Messiah. Look at how they treated Him in His hometown of Nazareth nuh.
This Sabbath day He got up to read the scriptures in the synagogue there and read Isaiah 49:8-9 where he wrote: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised (oppressed). To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.’ (Luke 4:18-19) Then He told them: ‘This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears (hearing).’ (Luke 4:21)
And they were all filled with wonder at his wisdom, but then they reasoned: ‘Is not this Joseph’s son?’ (Luke 4:22b) And it all went downhill from there, especially when Jesus declared: ‘Verily, I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.’ And isn’t that the living truth! People of fame and success are much less appreciated in their own homes and hometowns than elsewhere in the world.
And Jesus made it even worse by telling them about the three years and six months of famine in Israel in Elijah’s time, that though there were many widows in Israel at the time, he was sent to a widow in Sarepta (Zarephath) a city in Sidon, outside of Israel. He also told them about the many lepers in Israel at the time of Elisha, but only Naaman the Syrian was healed. (Luke 4:25-27)
And the response to Jesus words? The Good Book says: And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath (rage), and rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. But he passing through the midst of them went his way.’ (Luke 4:28-30) Can you imagine it my brethren, Jesus’ own people in His hometown of Nazareth, so enraged by His words, trying to cast Him over the nearby cliffs!
Now I don’t think that many of us who want to work for Jesus will face such craziness, but we will face serious criticism from all around, even our friends and families, but like Jesus, please don’t let it stop us. Just imagine our position now nuh, if Jesus had succumbed to the overwhelming criticism that He faced in His three years of ministry! Now we’d be like crapaud done smoke we pipe! So let’s be strong and hang in there and do His work, so that we can be ultimately blessed with our Thursday Blessings.
In strong voice and plenty faith, let’s declare (right ho) them: ‘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 it’s time to go out and share those wonderful blessings with the less fortunate! Much LOVE!
…to successfully work for Jesus…one must have plenty belly and backbone…
24 Jan 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a future and a hope, a good plan for us, a heavy load, bless me, blessings, bountiful, calamity, compassionate heart, curse, discernment, draw breath, escape those rought times, expectant excitement, favour, forgiving God, found grace, give me favour, guidance, help me, I lift up my soul, I love you father, in thy sight, Joyce Meyer, keep me, lead me in a palin path, Lead me in thy truth, make a way, make me to understand, meditate on, merciful, my presence, negative word, on thee do I wait all day, open our eyes, self-control, Show me thy ways, so excited, spend time with God, Starting the day right Devotional, success, sufferation, teach me thy paths, teach me thy statutes, thou art the God of my salvation, through the fire, Thursday Blessings, thy precepts, thy wondrous works, to hear thy loving-kindness, vicissitudes of life, walk through the flood
Psalm 25:4-5. Show me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all day.
And would you believe, that after all the snowing activity over the past few days that it rained yesterday through most of the afternoon and into the night? Steups! What crazy weather. And then I guess it froze up again last night, making the early morning commute extremely dangerous. Hope by the time I have to go out around lunch time that it will have settled down, because I’m in no mood to battle the elements today. (smile)
But to combat all that the enemy wants to throw at us, here is this interesting li’l prayer from Sister Joyce’s (Joyce Meyer) old Devotional ‘Starting Your Day Right.’ Please pray with me: ‘Lord, I am so excited about this day! Oh God, I can hardly wait to see what You are going to do. I believe You are going to keep me, help me, bless me, and give me favour. I LOVE You, Father. I am waiting on You Lord, and I am listening to You.’
Yes friends, we need to be excited about every day that we open our eyes and draw breath in God’s great universe! What’s the purpose in having such a great, wonderful, merciful, bountiful and forgiving God if we’re not excited by the plans He has for our lives each and every day eh?
Remember He promised that He has a good plan for us, not one to cause us calamity, but to give us a good future and plenty hope. (Jer.29:11) And if that’s true, then there should be some expectant excitement in our lives and attitudes to see what’s going to happen.
So my people, let’s come to our wonderful God each and every day and ask for His guidance, His direction, His discernment and anything else that we need to get us safely and successfully through the day nuh. As Bruh David pleads in this scripture passage that’s our Bit for today: ‘Show me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all day.’
Oh friends, there’s no better way to live this life than in constant communication with our heavenly Father, letting Him lead and guide us through His Holy Spirit to do His Will down here on earth! That way we get into fewer problems, and make fewer mistakes, though we’ll still suffer some ‘sufferation’ because that’s just the way life is.
And the Lord has also promised to either make a way for us to escape those rough times, or He will walk through the flood and the fire with us and bring us out safely, in better shape, on the other side! So there’s no real need to fear the vicissitudes of this life. (smile)
Now let’s look at some other scriptures that endorse Bruh David’s plea. Listen to Moses after the Lord volunteered him to lead the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt. ‘Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, show me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.’ (Ex.33:13) Yes friends, it is wise to come before the Lord and ask for His blessings and guidance before we embark on any project or journey, especially if we’re undertaking it in His name.
And I like how the Lord answered Moses: ‘And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.’ (Ex.33:14) But Moses persisted: ‘And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence… And the Lord said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found favour in my sight, and I know thee by name.’ (Ex.33:15, 17)
And if you read the rest of that chapter vs.18-21, you’ll see that Moses kept on asking for more signs and acknowledgement, and the Lord graciously granted them because He knew that Moses was about to carry a very heavy load and He didn’t want him to have any doubts about His being with him. Likewise friends, our God will always make clear our paths if we sincerely ask Him to.
And then we have this scripture from Psalm 119: ‘I have declared my ways, and thou heardest (answered) me: teach me thy statutes. Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: so shall I talk of (meditate on) thy wondrous works.’ (Ps.119:26-27) Ah mih people, we can’t truly walk with God unless and until we know and understand His Ways and his Will. It’s just like everything else in life; to get good at it, we have to put in some brain work!
A plea for learning was one of Bruh David’s mainstays in walking with God. Hear these last two scriptures: ‘When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up (take care of me). Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain (smooth) path, because of mine enemies.’ (Ps.27:10-11) And this one, we all know: ‘Cause me to hear thy LOVING-kindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.’ (Ps.143:8)
Yes my fellow believers, there’s nothing our God likes more than when we come to Him with our hearts sincerely bursting and thirsty for knowledge of Him and His Word. It’s wisdom of untold proportions! And since it’s Thursday, let’s confidently and believingly belt out the many blessings that our magnanimous God has so gracefully blessed us with.
As one 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!’
And please remember that we now have to go out and share those wonderful blessings with others, for that’s a big part of the reason they were granted to us in the first place. Much LOVE!
…to truly know God and His Word…you obviously have to spend time with Him and His Word…
10 Jan 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: above and not beneath, above ye are able, acclamations, Amen, bless and keep us, by the stripes of Jesus, Christ-like, comforting wings, common to man, compassionate heart, curse, eternal life, faith, favour, fear not, fim, forgiveness, glory to God, God of all grace, grace, healed, home to heaven, I will be with thee, justified, keeps all of His promises, leaves us in the lurch, long-winded, LOVE, loving-kindness, make a way, make me strong, mercy, more than a conqueror, more than we can handle, negative experience, negative word, overcomer through Christ, pass through the waters, place of retirement, prosper, reconciled, renovation, restore, resurrected, sacrificial death, salvation, sanctified, self-control, self-discipline, shall not overflow thee, share those blessings, spilling of holy blood, steadfast, succeed, success, suffered a while, temptation, thanks and praise, the BIBLE, the enemy, the flame scorch thee, the Holy One of Israel, the only redeemer, thou shalt not be burned, through Christ who loves me, through the rivers, Thursday Blessings, trying times, walk through the fire
Isaiah 43:2. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon (scorch) thee.
Welcome to a brand new day friends! Oh I know that some of you have begun your day long ago, and those of you over the pond are closer to finishing it, but the ole fella, with the Lord’s help, is just beginning his, somewhat late yes, but at least I’m around to begin! (smile) And that’s something we ought to give our wonderful God much thanks and praise for, so please join me in a short prayer.
‘Oh God of our fathers, we thank you for allowing us to see this bright and splendid day! Our aches and pains, our worries and problems have not gone away, and we’re still living in a sinful world, but we joyfully remember Your promise that by the stripes of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, we will be healed, and by the spilling of His holy blood, reconciled, justified, sanctified, and resurrected to salvation and eternal life.
And we know that You are a Deity who keeps ALL of His promises, so we’re not worried. Consequently we give You much thanks and praise for all the mercy, grace, forgiveness and LOVING-kindness that you’ve bestowed on us in these trying times, and we ask that you continue to bless and keep us under Your safe, caring and comforting wings, till whenever You think it necessary to call us home to heaven, your wonderful place of retreat and retirement. All this we pray in Jesus’ name!’ And all God’s children declared a loud, proud and grateful, ‘AMEN!’
Ah friends, I know that both you and the Lord are chuckling because I promised a short prayer, but you all know that the ole fella is a long-winded soul, so you just have to be godly and forgive me. (smile) Now let’s reinforce that short prayer with a couple of powerful scriptural acclamations.
Here we go: ‘I am an overcomer through Christ!’ ‘I am above and not beneath! The head and not the tail! (Deut.28:13) ‘I am more than a conqueror, through Christ who LOVES me.’ (Rom.8:37) And this last one is one that I need to believe ever so much in my current state of renovation. (smile) ‘And the God of all grace, who has called me to His eternal glory in Christ, after I have suffered a little while, will himself restore me and make me strong, firm and steadfast.’ (1 Pet. 5:10)
And all I can say to that friends, is ‘Glory to our great God!’ That’s because He never leaves us in the lurch, never carries, or allows us to be carried where we can’t be reached by His strong, outstretched arm; never gives us more than we can bear, and even when it seems that way, He will eventually make a way for us to handle our circumstances.
As Bruh Paul told the Corinthians: ‘There hath no temptation taken (overtaken) you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear (endure) it.’ (1 Cor.10:13)
Now friends, that doesn’t mean we will escape all temptation, or all rough and trying circumstances, but that the Lord will bring us through them safely, for meeting and experiencing temptations and trials is an essential part of our Christian growth, we can only become more Christ-like and grow more godly when we experience some sort of negative experience. And that brings us to this wonderful passage and promise of scripture, uttered through the mouth of the prophet Isaiah, as he talks about ‘The Lord, the ONLY Redeemer.’
Listen up carefully: ‘But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon (scorch) thee.
For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable (honoured), and I have LOVED thee: therefore I will give men for thee, and people for thy life. Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather them from the west.’ (Is.43:1-5)
Oh my people, my people, what more can our God promise us eh, so that we’ll stop worrying and place our total trust in Him eh? And throughout His Holy Word, the Bible, you’ve seen numerous instances of where He has kept His promise, especially in redeeming us through the sacrificial death of His Son, Jesus Christ! So let’s rise up to the heights of wisdom in these last time nuh, let’s sincerely accept Him with thankful hearts, minds, bodies and souls, as He so greatly desires.
Now let’s go home declaring (Chuh…wrong again!) the wonderful Thursday Blessings that He’s so wonderfully bestowed on us sincere believers. 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!’
And the next step is to share those blessings with others, for that’s a large part of the reason they were granted to us. Much LOVE!
…those who enjoy God’s blessings…will NEVER pay attention to the enemy again…
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