13 Mar 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a guarantee of salvation, a new creation, a positive outlook on life, a significant undertaking, accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour, after you believed, all things are become new, avoiding wrongdoing, baptism, born spiritually, christianity, clear direction for my life, conflict of rules, courage, creativity, curse, down payment on our inheritance, enter in at the strait gate, eternal life, except a man be born again, faith, favour, forgiveness of sins, fulfillment, giving up our old way of life, God's Word, he cannot see the kingdom of God, holy spirit, if any man be Christ he is a new creation, Jesus Christ, lead and guide us, LOVE, mercy, negative word, Nicodemus, old things are passed away, perceives Christ in a new way, repentance, salvation, Satan, Satan bombards us with temptations, sealed for all eternity, sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, self-control, self-disciplime, supernatural wisdom, take it all in stride, the BIBLE, the earnest of our inheritance, the gospel of your salvation, the importance of staying on the right path, the new life that Christ has planned for us, the paths of righteousness, the way God planned it, the wide gate that leads to hell, the word of truth, truth, underserved blessings, until redemption of the purchased possession, vital union with Christ, wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, wisdom
2 Corinthians 5:17. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (creation): old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
And then it was Thursday, our penultimate day of the work week. But can you imagine that the week is almost finished? It seems like it was only yesterday I wrote about it beginning. (smile) But that’s the way God planned it, so we just have to take it all in stride. And we can do that because He’s given us the tools to do so, if we sincerely pay heed to His Word and Holy Spirit that dwells within us to lead and guide us in the paths of righteousness.
Now, let’s look at this interesting verse from 2 Corinthians that describes in basic terms what happens when we accept Christ as Lord and Saviour. Bruh Paul writes: ‘Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (creation): old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.’ (2 Cor. 5:17) Now that’s something we all ought to know, accept and make happen. As the scholars explain: ‘When a man comes into vital union with the risen and glorified Lord, he is a “new creation” and perceives Christ in a new way.’
That’s why Jesus told Nicodemus, the Jewish leader who came to Him by night to find out who He really was: ‘Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again (spiritually, from above), he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ (John 3:3) That tells us right away that coming into union with Jesus is a significant undertaking. It’s easy to begin; simply asking God to forgive your sins and sincerely promising to accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour. But then the road gets somewhat difficult, because Jesus has His own rules and regulations, which very often conflict with those of the world.
No wonder Bruh Paul declares that when you’re born again, old things are passed away and everything then becomes new, for that’s how Jesus wants them to be, and He helps us make them so. The scholars tell us, ‘that indicates a decisive break with the old life at the moment of salvation.’ Yes friends, we have to let go a lot of our old life, the things we did, the places we went, and the people we hung out with, because those things prevent us from getting into the new life that Christ has planned for us.
And giving up our old way of life is not always easy to do, especially when Satan keeps bombarding us with temptations to revert to that old way. But if we are serious, and strong, we can resist the devil’s wiles through the power of the Holy Spirit that immediately comes to dwell in us at salvation, and by learning God’s Word from the Bible and putting it into practice. For this relationship with Jesus is a very binding and lasting one, as described by Bruh Paul in his letter to the Ephesians.
‘That we should be to the praise of his glory, (glorify God), who first trusted in Christ (Jews). In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy spirit of promise, Which is the earnest (down payment, deposit) of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.’ (Eph. 1:12-14)
So, Bruh Paul is pointing out that the Jews first believed in Christ, then the Gentiles, but there’s no difference between the two groups, because they are both under the umbrella of Jesus who’s sealed them as His for all eternity. Or, as this commentary informs us: ‘being “sealed by the Holy Spirit” signifies that God has marked believers as belonging to Him, and it’s a guarantee of their salvation and future inheritance.’
Now it’s important to note that we won’t lose our salvation if we revert to some of our old ways, but it’s oh so necessary to adopt the new ways that Jesus desires of us, so that we can walk hand in hand with Him. Remember how Jesus puts it in the gospel of Matthew? ‘Enter ye in at the strait (narrow) gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate (how narrow is the gate), and narrow (difficult or confined) is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.’ (Matt. 7:13-14)
And what does that mean? This commentary states: ‘The straight and narrow path” is an idiom that refers to a course of behavior that is honest, moral, and correct, emphasizing the importance of staying on the right path and avoiding wrongdoing.’ And this other commentary explains: ‘the gate that opens on the path to eternal life is “strait”—that is, narrow—since repentance and baptism in the name of Christ is the only gate. The narrow gate is contrasted with the wide gate that leads to hell.’
So, basically, the world says we can do about almost everything, that gives us much leeway, or a broad path. However, in Jesus’ kingdom, there are a lot of things that believers are not expected to do, which makes our path somewhat restricted, and the sinful nature of man draws many more of us to the wide and broad path that leads to destruction than to the narrow one that leads to eternal life. But as we said earlier on, God gives us tools to handle our every situation, and some of those tools we call our Thursday Blessings. So, let’s declare them right now nuh, so that we can activate them and keep on rolling even stronger in Christ.
As one sincere voice: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment!
I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’
And now that we’ve been strengthened with God’s undeserved blessings, it’s time for us to go out and use those blessings to help others, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!
…If you’re born again…and don’t act somewhat differently than before… then something’s wrong, somewhere…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
06 Mar 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a cold and windy day, a compassionate heart, a living wage, a modicum of circumspection, a natural human emotion, a wrathful man stirs up strife, abundance, allow the devil to breach our spiritual armour, an albatross around one's neck, anger does not produce the righteousness of God, anger must be tempered, anger rests in the bosom of fools, be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry, be ye angry and sin not, better is the end than the beginning, better than he that takes a city, better than the mighty, better than the proud in spirit, christianity, curse, divine protection, duty bound, faith, favour, fools are predominant in our world, God's supernatural wisdom, grin and bear it, he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly, he that is slow to anger appeases strife, he that is slow to wrath, he that refrains his lips is wise, he that rules his spirit, house ownership, in the multitude of words, Jesus Christ, leaking basements, let every man be swift to hear, let it all hang out, let not the sun go down upon your wrath, LOVE, mercy, negative aspects of house ownership, negative word, neither give place to the devil, of great understanding, promotion, salvation, slow to speak, slow to wrath, spiritual armour, success, talent, the BIBLE, the lead and guidance of Jesus, the patient in spirit, the wrath of man, there wanteth not sin, this fallen world, truth, wisdom, worketh not the righteousness of God
Ecclesiastes 7:9. Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.
Well, this second day of Lent, Thursday, has opened cold and wind and somewhat cloudy. But that’s fine by me, because that means the rain’s stopped falling and the snow has stopped melting and consequently my basement has stopped leaking, for however long the dry and cold weather continues! Glory Be!
Ah friends, this owning a house racket is the biggest scam in our country. They tie you to a mortgage for umpteen years, at prices you can barely afford, and give you all the glowing accounts of house ownership, but never tell you a word about the many negative aspects, like the fast-risinginsurance premiums, ever increasing taxes and ever diminishing returns on those taxes, the untimely repairs and the numerous unforeseen things involved in owning a house. And sometimes I think it’s good that house prices have skyrocketed so that young people cannot afford them, and consequently don’t get shackled with a lifelong albatross around their necks.
But that’s just my take on the subject, having been an owner of several homes, both old and new over the years. And believe me, even the new ones have unforeseen problems that can be both expensive to fix and also frustrating, because when you buy something brand new, you don’t expect to have any more layouts of time and money for a while.
And it wouldn’t be so bad if most of us were making a living wage, meaning one that we can afford the necessities of life without too much hassle. But that’s not true for a majority of the population. However, that’s life in this fallen world my brethren, and we just have to grin and bear it as best we can, sincerely following the lead and guidance of Jesus’ Word and His Holy Spirit which indwells us.
Enough of my complaining though, let’s check out some interesting and very appropriate words from Cousin Sol, writing as the Preacher in Ecclesiastes. He declares: ‘Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.’ (Eccl. 7:8-9)
Excellent words of wisdom my people! And how I wish our world would hear those words and take them to heart, because right now it’s filled with an overabundance of proud, egotistic, entitled, angry, dissatisfied and vengeful humans. And if you follow Cousin Sol’s logic, then fools and foolishness are indeed predominant, because anger now has such a deep-seated position in today’s society. And it’s sad that there are so many scriptures that reject and rebuke that kind of attitude and behaviour, yet we persist in making it so predominant in today’s world.
So to help us get a better perspective on the problem, and hopefully turn things around, let’s check out a few scriptures that detail the folly of anger and pride, beginning with this poignant one from James, where he talks about being hearers and doers of the word. ‘Wherefore my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not (does not produce) the righteousness of God.’ (James 1:19-20)
It could not be said any clearer and more straightforward than that my fellow believers. And we all know it, because whenever we get angry, we do and say things that don’t mix and mingle well with the Lord’s expectations. And that’s why we ought to not get angry too quickly, always try and instill a modicum of circumspection. (smile) But if we do get angry, let’s keep these words of Bruh Paul to the Ephesians in mind. ‘Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil.’ (Eph. 4:26-27)
Yes friends, the scripture acknowledges that anger is a natural human emotion, but it must be controlled and not lead to sin. The scholars put it thus: ‘Sinful anger is to be replaced by (briefly held) righteous indignation, that the devil may not be given opportunity.’ Oh so true! But unfortunately, not enough of us, both believers and unbelievers, ever tend to follow that route. Instead, we let it all hang out, and thus give the devil lots of space to breach our spiritual armour.
But getting back to the scriptures on anger and pride, Cousin Sol has several in Proverbs. Let’s check out a few of them. This first one says: ‘In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth (restrains) his lips is wise.’ (Prov. 10:19) In other words, when you talk too much you run a much higher risk of committing sin than when you keep your words few.
Then there’s this: ‘He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit (impulsive) exalteth folly.’ (Prov. 14:29) That’s self-explanatory. And what about this one? ‘A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife (contention).’ (Prov. 15:18) That’s also self-explanatory. (smile) And we’ll finish with this one: ‘He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.’ (Prov. 16:32) Yuh see mih people, being slow to get angry is much better than being a mighty warrior. (smile)
And to help us do His earthly work properly, our good God has bestowed showers of undeserved blessings upon us. We call them our Thursday Blessings. So let’s declare and thus activate them right now nuh. As one strong and sincere voice: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’
And having made that declaration (awright!!!!) we’re now duty bound to go out and use those blessings to help others, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!
…anger comes naturally…but like fire…it must be tempered…lest it cause serious and unnecessary damage…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
27 Feb 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a great family, a sense of shame or remorse, a tooth for a tooth, abundance, all scripture is given by inspiration of God, an eye for an eye, angry attitudes, avenge not yourselves, basement leak, be not overcome of evil, be tenderhearted, be ye all of one mind, christianity, clear direction for my life, courage, courteous, creativity, curse, duty bound, equipped to do good works, faith, favour, give place unto wrath, give way to anger, go two miles when asked to go one, God has the right to avenge, God's supernatural wisdom, good freinds, good heallth, good will always prevail over evil, haing compassion on each other, have regard fro good things, heap coals of fire on his head, holy spirit, if he thirst give him drink, if thine enemy hunger feed him, in the sight of all men, inherit a blessing, instruction in righteousness, Jesus Christ, like manna from heaven, live peacefully with everybody, LOVE, love as brethren, make the right choices, mercy, negative word, not rendering evil for evil, overcome evil with good, profitable for doctrine reproof correction, prosper, provide things honest to all men, recompense to no man evil for evil, salvation, self-control, snow raining down, strive to be kind, succeed, talent, the BIBLE, the Lord shall reward thee, the man of God may be perfect, truth, turn the other cheek, vengeance is mine saith the Lord, when it's not one thing it's another, wisdom
Romans 12:21. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
Oh friends, I woke up this morning, looked outside and saw snow raining down like manna from heaven and thought the balmy weather was over. But a short while later the snow stopped and it began melting. And therein lies the source of my biggest problem this Thursday morning. Ah Lord eh! But as the old people would say, when it’s not one thing in this life, it’s certainly another!
I came down to write the Bit about an hour ago, only to discover an unknown leak in the laundry room of my basement that the melting snow was seeping through, apparently for some time now, because all the stuff on the ground around it was wet, and water was flowing down to the furnace. We thought that the furnace was leaking, and called the furnace people, but I’m not so sure about that now nuh. (smile) So I obviously had to move things around and clean it all up, plus set some preventive measures in place so that the new leak would not spread water all over the laundry room floor.
By the way, the furnace repair man eventually came, wasted a half hour more of my time, only to reaffirm my suspicion, the furnace was not leaking, it was the water from the leak on the wall finding its way down to the drain at the bottom of the furnace. No wonder the Bit keeps getting delayed. (smile) Anyway, as promised, today we’ll continue with the words of Bruh Paul from Chapter 12 of Romans. And my fellow believers, these are some very important ones pertaining to our behaviour between good and evil.
So please read and inwardly digest with me. ‘Recompence (repay) to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest (have regard for good things) in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in (depends on) you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not your selves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.’ (Rom. 12:17-21)
Ah mih people, those instructions are indeed godly and good, but very difficult to maintain in this evil and vengeful world. Nonetheless, as believers in Christ we have to try our best and live up to them. Not repaying evil for evil seems to be the same thing Jesus teaches on forgiveness in Matthew 5:38 42., about not giving an eye for an eye, or a tooth for a tooth, turning the other cheek and going two miles when asked to go one. It’s just not a natural human reaction. But the truth of the story is that Jesus’ kingdom and ways are different to normal human reactions.
And Peter also weighs in on the topic. ‘Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, LOVE as brethren, be pitiful (tenderhearted), be courteous: Not rendering evil for evil, or railing (reviling) for railing (reviling): but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. (1 Pet. 3:8-9)
Next comes the admonishment to live peacefully with all men. Now that’s truly difficult to do with the angry, hateful and resentful attitudes that are now running rampant in our world. Then there’s the big one, where we are advised not to give way to anger and take vengeance in our own hands, for that is the Lord’s jurisdiction. The scholars say that ‘Paul quotes Deuteronomy 32:35 to show that only God has the right to avenge, and he certainly will avenge.’
As per heaping coals of fire on an enemies head by treating him good, the scholars believe that Bruh Paul might have been referring to ‘a sense of shame or remorse engendered when we treat an evildoer kindly. Paul is discussing personal, not national enemies. He is not teaching pacifism.’ And it’s interesting to note that Bruh Paul might have gotten those words of being kind to our enemies and heaping coals of fire on an enemy’s head from the wisdom of Cousin Sol. In Proverbs 25, he solemnly states: ‘If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink: For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the Lord shall reward thee.’ (Prov. 25:21-22)
Now, isn’t it interesting that throughout the Bible you have different people reiterating different things from by gone times to reinforce the stuff they want to get home to their readers and/or listeners. That’s why the Bible is such a wonderful Book, it gives encouragement, wisdom and spiritual understanding all the way through, from the first page to the last. That’s why Bruh Paul could attest to these facts to Timothy: ‘All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished (equipped) unto all good works.’ (2 Tim. 3:16-17)
And one of the most important of those facts that are good for doctrine, reproof, correction and instruction in righteousness is this last one that Bruh Paul wrote in our scripture passage for today: ‘Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.’ (Rom. 12:21) Once again, that’s a hard nut to crack, especially with all the evil that’s floating around in our current world. However, we are required to do our best, obviously with God’s help. And to show how our God is a good and wonderful God, He’s generously bestowed on us all kinds of tools to help us do His earthly work. We call them our Thursday Blessings. So, let’s declare and thus activate them right now nuh.
As one strong voice: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment!
I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’
Now, we’re fully equipped to do God’s work, and therefore duty bound to go out and share those blessings with others just as generously as the Lord shared them with us, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!
…Let us always strive to be kind and make the right choices…for in the end…good will always prevail over evil…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
20 Feb 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a great family, accounted as sheep for the slaughter, adversity, all things work together for good, anxiety, any other creature, as it is written, be not afraid of life, be not dismayed, Bible, christianity, clear direction for my life, curse, depth, distress, faith, famine, favour, fear thou not for I am with thee, for thy sake, God gives us the tools to do His work, God is greater than any potential enemy, God's desire for us, God's desire to redeem believers cannot be frustrated, God's purpose, good friends, good health, hard tiems, hjeight, holy spirit, hunker down, I am persuaded, I am thy God, I will strengthen thee, I will uphold thee, in a state of alarm, in all these things, in Christ Jesus our Lord, Jesus Christ, LOVE, make the right decisions, mercy, nakedness, negative word, neither death, nor angels, obedient to God's will, peril, persecution, powers, prevailing circumstances, principalities, prosper, salvation, show our mettle, statements of trust and faithfulness, succeed, success, supernatural strength, supernatural wisdom, sword, the right hand of my righteousness, things present, things to come, through him that loved us, to grow in spiritual maturity, to separate us from the Lorve of God, to them that love God, tribulation, truth, undeserved blessings, want to have things easy, we are killed all the day long, we are more than conquerors, we can do all things though Christ who strengthens us, who are called according to His purpose, who shall separate us from the Love of Christ, wisdom, with God's help
Romans 8:35a. Who shall separate us from the LOVE of Christ?
And it’s a somewhat cold and cloudy Thursday morning in my part of the universe. The sun’s striving valiantly to come out, but not with a whole lot of success. Thankfully, that does not apply to us faithful believers in Christ Jesus, for He’s promised that when we are obedient to His will, we can do all things through the strength He provides us. (Phil. 4:13) Therefore we should not be dismayed, or afraid to keep on keeping on when things look somewhat dismal, and we can’t seem to make the right decisions in our prevailing circumstances.
That’s why I LOVE this verse from the prophet Isaiah, where God tells us: ‘Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.’ (Is. 41:10) Oh friends, there could not be a better promise than that from the Lord our God, Creator and Controller!
And just for your information, they say that the phrase ‘do not be afraid,’ occurs 365 times in the Bible. Therefore, it must surely be important for our wellbeing. And this commentary offers an interesting take on the subject. It says, ‘There’s a word in that verse, you don’t hear much anymore… dismayed. Dismayed means feeling distress or anxiety, typically at something unexpected. It also means to look around in terror. God is speaking with tenderness here, telling us not to look around as one might do in danger or in a state of alarm.’
Now that’s the gospel truth my fellow believers! For all through the Lord’s Word we are reminded not to be afraid, not to live in fear, not to be dismayed, because our great and ever-faithful God is always with us! That’s why Bruh Paul could make these wonderful statements of trust and faithfulness in that mighty Chapter of Romans 8.
‘Who shall separate us from the LOVE of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that LOVED us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the LOVE of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ (Rom. 8:35-39)
Wow! What a wonderful scripture! And the scholars offer this explanation per the last two verses. ‘We cannot be separated from God’s LOVE, because it is set forth in a person who is God Himself, Jesus Christ, our Saviour. God’s desire to redeem believers cannot be frustrated, because He is definitely greater than any potential enemy. His plan will be realized because it is His purpose (cf. vs. 28).’ Which says: ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are called according to his purpose.’ (Rom. 8:28) More acknowledgement that though life will not always be easy, God will eventually work it all out for our good.
And all these promises that our great God has made are certainly wonderful, but the problem is that they don’t just happen automatically. No! We must have the hope, faith, and trust to believe them, and live a life, an obedient life, that will allow them to come true. And yes, we all want to have things easy, but that obviously is not God’s desire. He desires that we grow in spiritual maturity, and the only way to grow is through adversity, through hard times. That’s because in the good times we learn nothing at all, or very little, but when the times get tough, we need to hunker down and show our true selves, show the mettle that we truly possess, all with God’s help!
And the marvellous thing about our God is that He not only helps us in all situations, but that He’s also bestowed underserved blessings for us to do His earthly work. He’s not asking us to do stuff in our own strength, which He knows we are incapable of doing. So, He gives us the tools to do it. We call these particular tools our Thursday Blessings. And to activate them, we must declare them aloud. So, let’s do that right now nuh.
As one strong and sincere voice: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection!
I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’
And having made that awesome declaration (yesss!) we must now go out and use those blessings to help others, just as generously as the Lord bestowed them on us, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!
…true believers in Christ…ought not to be afraid of life…and the troubling circumstances that can and will confront them…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
13 Feb 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a dazzling effect, a desire for eternity, a positive outlook on life, abundance, as the heavens are higher than the earth, be a part of both worlds, Bible, bounden duty, bringeth forth much fruit, cannot serve God and mammon, christianity, Christians, clear direction for my life, courage, creativity, curse, divine protection, entice to eat the forbidden fruit, enveloped by the bright rays of the sun, eternal separation from Almighty God, eternity, everlasting, faith, favour, from the beginning to the end, frustrated by his finite limitations, generous manner, God has made everything beautiful in his time, God's supernatural wisdom, greater love hath no man, he hath set the world in their heart, his ways past finding out, holy spirit, how unsearchable are his judgements, I am the vine ye are the branches, Jesus Christ, LOVE, major snowstorm, mercy, my thoughts are not your thoughts, my thoughts higher than your thoughts, my ways are not your ways, my ways higher than your ways, negative word, no man can find out, no pain sorrow tears or death, o the depth of the riches, of the wisdom and knowledge of God, on the same wavelength as God, our basic DNA, perpetuity, promotion, ride the fence, salvation, self-discipline, stick to Christ like white on rice, success, sunshine reflecting off the pure snow, talent, temporal mans quest for the eternal, the hope of salvation, the work that God does, truth, unsullied by human hands, we can do all things though Christ who strengthens us, what God has for his human creation, wisdom, without me ye can do nothing, you shall be as God, your eyes shall be opened
Ecclesiastes 3:11a. He (God) hath made everything beautiful in his time:
And then it was Thursday; the day of the big cleanup, after the evening of Wednesday’s big snowstorm. It’s definitely the biggest we’ve had so far and thoroughly disrupted the evening commute with people and traffic snarled for hours in the Greater Toronto Area. But yuh know what, it’s still not as big as some other parts of the country have received. And we need to be thankful for the dry day and the beautiful sunshine that’s reflecting off of the pure, driven snow, unsullied by human hands.
Now you might not like snow, but you cannot deny the dazzling effect it has when it’s enveloped by the bright rays of the sun. (smile) Remember, everything that God’s made is beautiful in its own way. And this is so eloquently and truthfully borne out by these words of Cousin Sol, writing as the Preacher in Ecclesiastes. ‘He (God) hath made everything beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world (eternity) in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh (does) from the beginning to the end.’ (Eccl. 3:11)
And that’s a very interesting verse of scripture which says a whole lot to us. As the scholars explain. ‘The world is better translated “eternity.” God has given man a desire for eternity and perpetuity; therefore man cannot be satisfied with what is merely temporal. Man’s quest for the eternal, however is frustrated by his finite limitations.’
And Bruh Paul follows that up with this agreeing verse from Romans 11: ‘O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgements, and his ways past finding out!’ (Rom. 11:33) That’s for sure my people! We seek greater involvement and deeper understanding, because God’s put that in our basic DNA, but unfortunately our finite limitations indeed keep us from understanding the higher things and ways of God. God did that on purpose, to always keep us on our toes.
Remember what He says through the prophet Isaiah? ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.’ (Is. 55:8-9) And for Him to be God, that’s how it ought to be, otherwise we’d be on exactly the same wavelength as Him, and therefore have no need of Him.
And that’s the deceitful trick the enemy played on Eve in the garden of Eden when he enticed her to eat of the forbidden fruit. ‘And the serpent said unto the woman, ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and shall be as gods (God), knowing good and evil.’ (Gen. 3:4-5) And it’s the same old trick he’s still plying with us today, deceiving us into thinking that if we do his bidding we’d be like God.
But friends, there’s nothing further from the truth. We can never be like God, in the sense that we’re a created being, and we simply don’t have the capacity to do much without His help. As Jesus so nicely tells us in the gospel of John. ‘I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.’ (John 15:5)
There again, truer words were never spoken my brethren! With Jesus we can do all things, because He strengthens us to do them, (Phil. 4:13) but without Him, we’re definitely not able to do a whole lot. That means we have to stay as close to Him as possible, like white on rice, (smile) if we ever hope to accomplish anything worthwhile in this world. And when we say worthwhile, we’re not speaking about what the evil and ungodly world considers worthwhile, but what Jesus considers worthwhile in His kingdom.
And yes, on a few occasions, they can be the same things, but oftentimes, they are not, because the things the world holds worthwhile, and the things Jesus considers worthwhile are usually the total opposite. That’s why you cannot serve God and mammon too. It’s either one or the other. Although many of us supposed believers foolishly try to ride the fence and be a part of both worlds, but in the long run you only find great disappointment in that tactic.
And it’s so much easier serving God than mammon. For the pleasures of the world are fleeting, and most of them only lead to hellfire and damnation, or eternal separation from Almighty God, while the hope of salvation and heaven are everlasting, and lead to eternity with God, where there’s no pain, sorrow, tears, death or any of those former things. And our God is so good to us that He’s even bestowed underserved benefits on us, so that we can do His earthly work. We call them our Thursday Blessings.
So, let’s declare and thus activate them right now nuh, so we can get on with His business. As one strong and sincere voice: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment!
I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’
Now, with that awesome declaration (awright!!!) it’s become our bounden duty to use those blessings to help others, in the same generous manner that the Lord bestowed them on us, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!
…greater LOVE hath no man…than what God has for His human creation…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
30 Jan 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a benevolent young couple, a compassionate heart, a great family, a piece of life, abundance, ask forgiveness, at thy right hand, bruised for our iniquities, by his stripes we a re healed, clothing, compassion, complain unnecessarily, courage, creativity, curse, disappointment, divine protection, doesn't always come to the surface, doubted God's faithfulness, eternal life, faith, faithfulness, fall on our knees, favour, food, God's goodness, grace, grin and bear it all, He is enough, holy spirit, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, in god there is enough of everything, in our heart of hearts, in the annals of the Bit, in thy presence is fullness of joy, is now and forever, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus Christ, joy, LOVE, M, may I never forget, mercy, misfortune, my great enough, my limited concept of God, negative word, never enough of anything, New York, not enough, One Year Book of Bible promises, pain, pass the test, pleasures evermore, pleasures intermingled with pain, promotion, prosper, Ruth Harms Calkin, salvation, shelter, spend a week at the seashore, succeed, supernatural wisdom, take it in stride, talent, that God Himself, the chastisement of our peace, the crowded city, the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want, the miracle healer, the most deprived section, the path of life, to satisfy the longings of my heart, truth, uncertainty, unwanted side effects, warmth, wisdom, with me in the middle of it all, worship Christ like never before
Psalm 16:11. Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand are pleasures evermore.
Ah friends, that’s another missed day in the annals of the Bit, but the good thing is that we’re still alive and kicking. (smile) Yesterday was another day spent in the hospital going through procedures, and by the time I got home in the afternoon, I was all tired out from the procedures and whatever medication they used, so all I could do was get into bed and try to catch myself. Let’s hope that that concludes all the searching and questions, and now we can spend time fixing whatever is wrong, and there won’t be any more days with missed Bits.
Now, let’s turn to an interesting poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. It’s simply titled, ‘He Is Enough.’ As always, I don’t know if I’ve shared it before, but even if I have, it’s still worth sharing over and over again. (smile) So, please read with me. ‘She lived in the most deprived section of the crowded city of New York, where there was never enough of anything – never enough food or clothing, never enough warmth or shelter, never enough compassion. But one day a benevolent young couple invited her to spend a week at the seashore, to experience a piece of life she had never known.
Hour by hour she breathed deeply as the crashing waves brushed against her small frame. She looked at the vast expanse of water – and then, without warning she began to sob. For the first time in her life she saw something of which there was enough! Today I ask forgiveness for my limited concept of God. At times I’ve secretly felt cheated – as though somehow He was not enough to satisfy the longings of my heart. I need to learn and relearn that in Him there is enough faithfulness, enough LOVE, enough grace, enough joy! May I never forget that God Himself is now and forever my great enough.’
Oh my people truer words were never spoken! And although most of us know that deep down in our heart of hearts, sometimes it doesn’t always come to the surface when we need it, which unfortunately causes us to complain unnecessarily. And I can certainly testify to that in this past week of so much pain and uncertainty. I never doubted God’s faithfulness, and I knew that He was right there with me in the middle of it all, but yet, sometimes I felt a bit of disappointment that He was not taking me through the process quicker and with less pain and provocation.
And even now, when most of the questions have been answered, I still have pains, and the pain medication, as it so often does, is causing unwanted side effects. But I just have to grin and bear it all, knowing that the medical personal are doing their best – and believe me, I am having the best treatment possible – and in God’s own good time, this problem will be solved, but until then I need to grin, bear down and pass the test. (smile) But as with so many other things in this life, that is much easier said than done. However, since I know that I am in the miraculous hands of Jehovah Rapha, the miracle healer, I won’t be worried.
And the good thing about our God, is that whenever He allows misfortune to befall us, He always gives us the strength and surety to go through it with a smile. Yes, sometimes it is difficult to smile when enveloped in all the pain and uncertainty, but when you’ve been experiencing God’s goodness as long as I have, I should be able to take it in stride. And that’s where the scriptures like these come in handy. ‘I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me:’ (Phi. 4:13) ‘But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus,’ (Phil. 4:19)
‘Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt. 6:33) ‘But he (Jesus) was wounded (pierced through) for our transgressions, he was bruised (crushed) for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with (by) his stripes (the blows that cut into His body) we are healed.’ (Is. 53:5) Not forgetting these most encouraging words of Bruh David from Psalm 16, the Bible Promise for today’s poem: ‘Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand are pleasures evermore.’ (Ps. 16:11)
And that’s the indisputable truth friends! There are joys and pleasures intermingled with the pain and suffering, but let’s remember the hefty price Christ paid for us to have them. He paid such a mighty price for our redemption that we can never really evaluate it. It therefore behooves us to fall on our knees and worship Him, like we’ve never worshipped anything or anybody before! That’s what His sinless, selfless sacrifice on our behalf calls for. And we ought to be very serious about doing His earthly work, of trying to lead sinners to Him for salvation and eternal life, especially when He’s bestowed on us undeserved blessings to do that work.
We call them our Thursday Blessings, so let’s declare (chuh!!!) and activate them right now nuh! As one strong and sincere voice: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment!
I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’
Now, let’s go out and use those blessings to help others, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us, so that others can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!
…the Lord is my shepherd…I shall not want… (Ps. 23:1)
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
09 Jan 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a journey of becoming like Jesus, a legal benefit of our union with Christ, a mercy seat, a part of the discipleship process, a product of God's grace, a spiritual benefit of our union with Christ, a weekend release, all have sinned, attain God's standard of righteousness, being justfied freely by his grace, Bible, can never be reckoned, Christ has imputed His righeousness to the sinner, Christ has satisfied God's holy law, Christ's death is the ransom, christianity, curse, declared righteous, divine provision, duty bound, faith, fallen short of the glory of God, favour, fly away to heaven, forgiveness of sins, from the tiring throes, get a good handle on, God hath set forth, God's unmerited favour, good health, grace, growing in divine grace, handle the ups and downs, have life more abundantly, having Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, holy spirit, human need, I am come that they might have life, I am the good shepherd, Jesus Christ, Jesus' shed blood, judicial standing before God, justification, justified, life in the big city, LOVE, mercy, negative word, no just cause in man to warrant justification, of the daily grind and common task, passing over of sins, redemption, release on payment of ransom, righteous, salvation, sanctification, sanctified, self-discipline, set apart, set apart for God's purposes, supernatural strength, the good shepherd gives his life for his sheep, the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus, the monumental work of Jesus, the penultimate day of our work week, the process of becoming holy, the remission of sins, the same ole everyday life, the sinner is not rendered guiltless but pardoned, the spilled blood of Jesus, the thief coes only to steal and kill, through Christian commitment, through faith in his blood, through the forbearance of God, through the redemption in Christ Jesus, to be a propitiation, to declare his righteousness, to spend eternity with Christ, transformation into the image of Christ, truth, washed, wisdom, with a good attitude
John 10:10b. I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
And then it was Thursday, the penultimate day of our workweek, and we’re just mindlessly moving along, somewhat impatiently waiting for Friday to show up with its promise of a weekend release from the frustrating and tiring throes of the daily grind and common task. (smile) But that’s life in the big city my people, and the only way to get a good handle on the bland, same ole everyday life is by having Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, and thereby getting all the tools to handle whatever ups and downs might come your way, with a good attitude.
That’s called the abundant life! Jesus died that we might have it. Listen as He says so: ‘The thief cometh not but (except) to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.’ (John 10:10) What more can we ask for eh friends? Nothing really, for Christ gave His life on the cross at Calvary so that we could have a decent earthly life and then fly away to heaven to spend eternity with Him!
As He said: ‘I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.’ (John 10:11) And that’s exactly what He did! So why is it so difficult to trust Him eh, to surrender our all to a Deity who died that we could live a righteous, justified, sanctified, holy and blessed life? And Bruh Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians, explained that no evil doers shall inherit the kingdom of God: ‘And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified (set apart), but ye are justified (declared righteous) in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.’ (1 Cor. 6:11)
And what do those terms really mean eh? This commentary takes us a little deeper, as it explains. ‘Justification is a legal benefit of our union with Christ, granting us forgiveness of sin and righteousness before God through faith alone (Rom. 3:23-26; Gal. 2:16). Sanctification is a Spiritual benefit of our union with Christ, involving the believer’s transformation into the holy likeness of Christ.’ So, you see all that we are, comes through Christ!
And I just found this interesting information on Sanctification. It says: ‘Sanctification is a Christian term that refers to the process of becoming holy or being set apart for a special purpose. It can also refer to the state of being sanctified. Sanctification is a lifelong process that involves: Being set apart from the world for God’s purposes, Growing in divine grace through Christian commitment, Being transformed into the likeness of Christ, Submitting one’s heart, mind, and body to following Jesus. Sanctification is part of the discipleship process, which is a journey of becoming like Jesus. It’s a product of God’s grace, and it’s anticipated that Christ will complete the process of sanctification when he returns.’
Hope that helps us to understand more about sanctification and appreciate the big step it is in our Christian life. And yes, it does seem to be somewhat onerous, but let’s remember that with Christ as our Main Man, all things are possible. Now, let’s have a look at those verses in Romans that the above commentary referenced. I believe they can help further our understanding of the process of how and who we become by the spilled blood of Jesus.
Bruh Paul writes: ‘For all have sinned, and come (fallen) short of the glory of God; Being justified freely (without any cost) by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation (a mercy seat) through faith in his blood, to declare (demonstrate) his righteousness for the remission (passing over) of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.’ (Rom. 3:23-26)
Now that’s certainly a mouthful, and is somewhat confusing, so let’s hear how the scholars explain it. ‘3:23: For all have sinned: The human need and the divine provision are alike applied universally. Come short of the glory of God: Man can exceed his own standards but never, left to himself, can he attain to God’s standard of righteousness. 3:24: Being justified indicates being declared righteous. It signifies the believer’s judicial standing before God. Freely: There is no just cause in man to warrant justification. By his grace: Unmerited favour is bestowed through the redemption (release on payment of ransom). Christ’s death is the ransom. The sinner is released on the basis of the ransom’s having been paid.
3:25-26: Through faith: Christ’s death satisfies the Father’s righteous demands. Its benefits are appropriated only through faith in His finished work. In his blood: The emphasis is not on the blood as it coursed through Christ’s veins, but as it was shed for our sins. This is how the propitiation (atonement, forgiveness of sins) was accomplished. Just, and the justifier: God can remain just (true to His nature) and still declare sinners to be righteous only because Christ has paid for sin and satisfied (propitiated) His holy law. The sinner is not rendered guiltless but pardoned. Christ has taken the sin on Himself and has imputed (assigned, credited) His righteousness to the sinner.’
Wow! That’s a whole lot to understand, but it’s ever so important if we are to know all our rights, privileges and responsibilities in God, through Christ! Please, let’s spend some time considering all that we’ve said today nuh, so that we can grow in spiritual understanding and intimacy with God. Now let’s go home declaring (yesss!) and thus activating our Thursday Blessings, which the Lord has generously bestowed on us to do His earthly work.
As one voice! ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’
And having activated those blessings, we’re now duty bound to go out and share them with others, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us! Much LOVE!
…oh…the monumental work that Jesus’ shed blood has done for us…it’s value can never be reckoned…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
02 Jan 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a good attirude, a physical sign, a real crisis, a strong will, a successful Christian life, abundance, all who walk with God face conflicts, answer your letter, anticipate as you wait, Bible, bounden duty, cast thy burden upon the Lord, children of God, christianity, clear direction for my life, common task, conflicts, courage, creativity, curse, daily grind, faith, favour, fear not, Gideon, glorify God's name, God is never too late, God is not a God of confusion, God loves His people, God never contradicts himself, God sends only silence, God wants to buttress us, God will never disappoint our hope, God will work everything out for good, God's agenda is the truth, God's faithfulness, God's highest intention, God's infallible word, God's supernatural wisdom, good health, grow in spiritual maturity, he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved, he shall sustain thee, he will not fail thee, He will not fail thee neither forsake thee, holy spirit, hope in a promise, I asked for a sign, incorrigibly hopeful, intimacy with god, Jesus Christ, joy, know His will, lo I am with you always, LOVE, mercy, negative word, neither be dismayed, no sudden hailstorm, not baby us, on our own two feet, One Year Book of Bible promises, our only evidence, permit the righteous to be shaken, presumptuous, provides wise advice through the Bible, Ruth Harms Calkin, salvation, seek signs, self-control, sincerely believe in God, stand strong, step out to do God's work, still waiting, talent, thanksgiving, the dry fleece, the festivities are over, the hope that He himself implants, the Lord doth go before thee, the promises in God's word, the wet fleece, Thursday Blessings, to free us from unnecessary props, train us to trust His word, trials, tribulations, trust and faithfulness in God's promises, truth, urgent decisions, wisdom, writing in the sky, you can't see ahead, you don't stand alone
Psalm 55:22. ‘Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer (permit) the righteous to be moved (shaken).
And then it was Thursday; the second day of this new year of 2025! Can you believe it? All the festivities, Christmas and New Year’s Eve, are now over and we, unfortunately have to go back to the daily grind and common task. It’s back to work and the slogging it entails, especially when we got a bit of snow this morning, which makes driving and walking even more hazardous than normal.
But we are God’s children and are expected to endure whatever trials and tribulations come our way, with a good attitude, still filled with joy and thanksgiving, knowing that our wonderful God has promised to work everything out for our good eventually. (Rom. 8:28) And if there’s one thing we’re sure of is God’s faithfulness in keeping His promises. So let’s get out and do what we have to do to glorify His great name! End of Sermon! (smile)
And today I want to share an interesting and a most appropriate writing for these turbulent and uncertain times, from Our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. This one is titled: ‘I Asked for a Sign.’ Don’t know if I’ve ever shared it before, but if I have, it’s very worthwhile sharing again. (smile) So please read with me.
‘Even as I answer your letter, you are perhaps still waiting while God sends only silence. There is no sudden hailstorm, no writing in the sky. The crisis is real, and you don’t want to be presumptuous. Like Gideon in Judges 6, you want to feel the wet fleece. Or the dry fleece – you don’t care which one. You just want to know!
You don’t stand alone! All of us who walk with God face conflicts that involve urgent decisions. God is not a God of confusion. We can know His will. When our faith is very new, He may send a sign to fortify us. However, I am convinced that God’s highest intention is to free us from unnecessary “props.” He wants to buttress us, not baby us. Above all, He wants to train us to trust His Word, not the wool!
When He encourages us to hope in a promise, that hope may be our only evidence. At this moment you can’t see ahead. However, you can still be incorrigibly (not given to change) hopeful! You can anticipate as you wait, knowing that God will never disappoint the hope He Himself implants. He is never too late. Remember: Not the wool but His word.’
And will it ever do us much good if we remember that for this new year. It’s not about signs and wonders, but about trust and faithfulness in God’s promises found in His inalienable (cannot be altered), infallible (flawless) Word! And yes, many of us seek signs before we step out to do God’s work, and sometimes we might be blessed enough to get them, as when we’re young believers, but as the writing says, the Lord wants us to stand strong, on our own two feet, as it were, not always desiring ‘props’ from Him.
Once we know that He is faithful and will not let us go astray, we can stand strong and step out in faith. Obviously, we must seek His advice on the matter, but we don’t always have to be like Gideon and need a physical sign. No. We read His Word and the Holy Spirit will speak to us His indomitable but calm and quiet manner…if we’re listening.
And there are two statements in the writing that I think bear reiterating. The first is that we don’t stand alone! No! Never! For our omnipresent God is always by our side. He promised that way back in time to the Israelites, when Moses assured them: ‘And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.’ (Deut. 31:8)
Jesus also assured us of His faithfulness when He promised the disciples: ‘… and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt. 28:20b) And so did the author of Hebrews, when speaking of the Lord as our helper. ‘Let your conversation (conduct) be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.’ (Heb. 13:5) So there you have it; God is always with us.
And the second statement I want us to consider is that God is not a God of confusion. Certainly not! He has every move planned out down to the last minute, to the last detail. And Bruh Paul states it loud and clear when talking about the Author of Peace to the Corinthians. ‘For God is not the author of confusion (disorder), but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.’ (1 Cor. 14:33)
And what does that mean? This commentary explains it thus: ‘God never contradicts himself. He never has to go back and apologize because he “misspoke.” His agenda is the truth, pure and simple. He LOVES his people and provides wise advice through his written word, the Bible.’
Yes friends, it’s in the Bible, the Lord’s Word, our Guidebook for Earthly Living, that we will find the basics of all we need to know. That’s where we truly get to know Him, and we will never know Him unless and until we dig deep into it and meditate constantly on what it says.
And before we forget, (smile) the Bible promise for today’s reading comes from Psalm 55; these most encouraging words of Bruh David: ‘Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer (permit) the righteous to be moved (shaken). (Ps. 55:22) Now that’s another important promise that we need to take to heart if we’re to grow in spiritual maturity and intimacy with God in this new year.
And the great thing about our God is that He gives us all the tools we need to do His work; for instance what we call our undeserved Thursday Blessings. So let’s declare and thus activate them right now nuh. As one sincere voice: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’
And having said all of that, it’s now our bounden duty to go out and use those undeserved blessings to help others, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us! Much LOVE!
…to live a successful Christian life…one must sincerely believe in God…and the promises in His Word…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
26 Dec 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a horrible tragedy, a loving reaction, a merciful forgiving and loving God, a Pharisee lawyer, a resounding success, a sad injustice, a strong will, and of the son, anger, anything less, baptizing them, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Bible, christianity, christmas day, contempt, courage, creativity, curse, disciples of Jesus, divine protection, even unto the end of the world, faith, favour, fellowship, food, foundation of our faith, go ye therefore, God is LOVE, God is the fountainhead of love, God lives to give us, God sent His only begotten Son, God so loved the world, goodnes, hang all the law and the prophets, Happy Boxing day, hate, have everlasting life, he that loveth not knoweth not God, holy spirit, I am with you always, in the name of the Father, in this was manifested the love of God, into the world, Jesus Christ, joy, live the abundant life, LOVE, love is the basic law of God, Love the Lord thy God, Love thy neighbour as thyself, mercy, negative emotions, negative word, on these two commandments, only a fool breaks his own heart, overcome evil with good, peace, praise, promotion, prosper, resentment, salvation, self-discipline, should not perish, strife, succeed, such a magnanimous gift, teach all nations, teaching them, thanksgiving, the antidote, the attribute of love, the Birth of Christ, the first and great commandment, the Great Commission, the LOVE of Jesus, the second is like unto it, thoughts of Jesus, through him we might live, to observe all things, truth, war, we don't love ourselves, whatsoever I have commanded you, whosoever believeth on Jesus, wisdom, with all thy heart, with all thy mind, with all thy soul, you can't give away what you don't have
Matthew 22:37. 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.
A Happy Boxing Day to you my Scrip-Bits Friends and families! I hope your Christmas Day was a resounding success, with lots of joy, peace, fellowship, food, praise, thanksgiving and wonderful thoughts of Jesus, for that’s what the celebration is about. There’s never been such a magnanimous gift in all of history; one we absolutely did not deserve, but the Lord in all His goodness, LOVE and mercy thought otherwise.
And that’s the wonderful foundation of our faith; a merciful, forgiving and LOVING God! There’s none like Him, for all the other supposed gods, only live to take from their followers, and make them live miserable lives, but our wonderful deity, Almighty God, lives to give to us, and desires us to live the abundant life that his Son, Jesus Christ died that we could have.
Therefore, it’s only wise and sensible, grateful and pragmatic to worship and serve Him with all of our hearts, souls, bodies and minds. Anything less would be a sad injustice to Him, and a horrible tragedy to us. And I believe today is a very good day to remember those very authoritative words of Jesus, re the Great Commandment; the basis of all that we do in this world.
On one occasion, a foolish Pharisee lawyer, who was trying to make a name for himself by tempting Jesus into an argument, or to give a wrong answer, asked Him: “Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 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. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’ (Matt. 22:36-40)
In other words friends, those two commandments are the very basis of the law of God, and what all the prophets have been trying to teach us down through the years. And it’s oh so simple that it’s laughable. LOVE God, and LOVE your neighbour as you LOVE yourself! The problem though lies in the fact that so many of us have no real or serious LOVE for ourselves, but mostly an unreasonable contempt. Therefore, we show our neighbours more hate, anger and resentment, than a LOVING reaction. As they say, you cannot give away what you don’t have.
And as John says in his first epistle: ‘He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God is LOVE.’ (1 John 4:8) That means if we truly know God, then we will know LOVE, for LOVE emanates ONLY from God! He is the fountainhead of that most wonderful attribute, so you can only feel and/or acquire LOVE if you get it from the Lord God Almighty. That means you must know Him to even get a sniff of the attribute of LOVE. (smile)
And John proves God’s great LOVE for us in the next verse. ‘In this was manifested the LOVE of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.’ (1 John 4:9) Wow! What an awesome God we serve and worship! He gave His only Son that through him we might live! And this Christmas season we’re now celebrating, the birth of Christ, was the beginning of that most meaningful and important occasion.
And Jesus puts it thus in His ministry to Nicodemus, the Jewish ruler who came to him under cover of night to find answers to his troubling questions. ‘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) It’s a simple but oh so profound and heartbreaking statement. And it does show the great LOVE the Father had for His human creations, for why else does one break their own heart by sacrificing their only Son eh?
The song says, ‘Only a fool breaks their own heart.’ So does that make God a fool because He broke His own heart by sacrificing Jesus to pay for our abominable sins? Unfortunately, sometimes, like right now, it does seem so, what with all the war and strife and all the negative emotions that are running rampant over our world, with the antidote LOVE running a far second behind Satan’s wiles and lies.
Ah friends, our world is in a very bad state, and sadly, it seems to be getting worse every day, with more strife and anger-filled emotions coming on board, rather that LOVE. So what are we going to do about it eh? Remember when we became disciples of Jesus, it was with the expectation that like Jesus says in the Great Commission: ‘All power (authority) is given unto me in heaven and earth. Go ye therefore, and teach (make disciples of) all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt. 28:18-20)
Oh my people, down through the years we have made some headway, but obviously not enough, otherwise Satan and his evil-doing hooligans wouldn’t be running the world to such a great extent right now. Obviously, we have lost our way, we’re no longer the salt of the earth and the light of the world that Jesus expects to be. We’ve become too afraid of what man can do to us, and too comfortable in the comforts that the world can provide. But all is not lost, we just need to reignite our faith and put to good use all the tools that our generous God has bestowed on us; tools that we call our Thursday Blessings. So let’s declare and thus activate them right now nuh.
As one sincere voice: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment!
I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’
And having activated those heavenly blessings, it’s now our duty to go out and use them on behalf of others, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us! Much LOVE!
…it’s all about LOVE friends…we overcome evil with good…with the LOVE of Jesus…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
19 Dec 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a melly stable, a positive outlook on life, a Saviour, angelic host, Bible, born to lowly parents, Christ the Lord, christianity, christmas day, come to seek and save, courage, creativity, curse, disregard the spiritual implications, divine protection, faith, favour, fear not, found in the most unlikely places, give God thanks and praise for Jesus, Glory to god in the highest, god hath chosen the foolish things of the world, good tidings of great joy, hid these things from the wise and prudent, holy spirit, hullabaloo, I bring you good tidings of great joy, in the city of David, Jesus Christ, Jesus is the reason for the season, Jesus' joyful birth, LOVE, love is like wildflowers, lowly shepherds, lying in a manger, mercy, negative word, on earth peace good will to men, put to shame, revealed them unto babes, revenge, salvation, self-control, shone round about them, sinful, success, supernatural strength, tenor of the festivities, that which was lost, the angel of the Lord, the excitement, the glory of God, the gospel truth, the Messiah, the mighty king, the Saviour of humanity, the seasonal hoopla, the Son of man, the weak things of the world, to all people, to confound the things which are mighty, to confound the wise, truth, ungodly mankind, unto you is born this day, war, wisdom, without pomp and glory, wrapped in swaddling clothes
Luke 2:10. Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
And then it was Thursday, only seven days to Christmas Day! And the excitement and the tenor of the festivities grow more intense with every passing day, as we hurry to finish our tasks before that glorious day dawns. The shopping, the baking, the cooking, the Christmas parties, everything just gets ramped up as the day draws near. But let’s hope and pray that amongst all the seasonal hoopla, we don’t forget to give the Good Lord thanks and praise for His marvellous gift of Jesus to a sinful and ungodly mankind.
Because, as I like to keep reminding us, Jesus is the reason for this festive season, and so many of us simply concentrate on the worldly parts of the event and totally disregard the spiritual and godly nuances and implications. So please, despite all the hullabaloo, let’s make it a habit several times during the day to remember that the coming of Jesus is the reason why we’re so joyful and offer up some sincere thanks for His joyful birth. End of sermon!
And today I want to talk around a quote from my ‘I LOVE YOU’ Poster. We haven’t shared anything from that in ages. Some of you might not even know of it. But it’s just a long card with several quotes under that heading, a long ago present from one of my daughters. And I just figured out that the first quote is rather applicable to this season of Christmas. It says: ‘LOVE is like wildflowers. It’s often found in the most unlikely places.’
And isn’t that the gospel truth! Just look at the LOVE the Father showed for us on that long ago Christmas day, when He gifted us with the baby Jesus. And to whom was the mighty King born? To lowly parents. And where was He born? In a smelly stable. And who were His first visitors? Lowly shepherds keeping watch over their flocks in the dead of the cold, winter’s night. Yes, they were the ones whom the angel and heavenly host first broke the news to about the marvellous birth of the newborn king, the Messiah, the Saviour of humanity.
I like how the Bible tells it: ‘And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon (stood before) them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore (greatly) afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes (strips of cloth), lying in a manger (feed trough).’ (Luke 1:9-12)
Now how would you feel or respond to such amazing news with the glory of God shining brightly around you in the middle of the night in the dark fields watching over your sheep eh? Totally afraid! But that was just the opening salvo of the marvellous event. For the Bible tells us that after the angel delivered His news: ‘And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly host praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.’ (Luke 1:13-14)
Oh brother, that sudden appearance of an angelic choir must certainly have driven many of them into shock, as it would do to us today! But it just shows how much the Lord cares for the lowly, the poor, the downtrodden. As Jesus kept saying throughout His earthly life: ‘The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.’ (Luke 19:10) However, in man’s opinion, such an awesome personality should have been born to wealthy, powerful parents, in a mega-palace, and the first visitors ought to have been other kings, queens and princes, other royalty, not common folk like shepherds, although three kings from faraway did visit Him later on. (Matt. 2:8-12)
But it’s like Bruh Paul writes in his first epistle to the Corinthians. ‘But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound (put to shame) the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound (put to shame) the things which are mighty.’ (1 Cor, 1:27)Yes, friends, our God takes pleasure in using what and whom the world thinks are unworthy to put the world to shame and show them otherwise.
It reminds us of Jesus words, who after predicting serious consequences for unrepentant Jewish cities, (Matt. 11:20-24) and just before He issued His Great Invitation said: ‘I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father: for it seemed good in thy sight.’ (Matt. 11:25-26)
Oh my people, the Lord could have chosen anywhere and anyone to host Jesus’ birth, but He chose the lowly people and places, because that was how Jesus was coming to live, lowly and without pomp and glory. For His Messiahship was not one of war and revenge, but one of peace and LOVE, of good will toward men; an invitation for all to live as one with Him, the Father and each other. That’s why we can truly say that ‘LOVE is like wildflowers. It’s often found in the most unlikely places.’
Just look at where LOVE was found on that first Christmas nuh; in the most unlikely shepherd’s fields and a smelly stable. Only our great and unassuming God could write such a story! And He’s also given us the tools to write such a story of LOVE, tools we call our Thursday Blessings. So, let’s declare and activate then right now nuh.
As one voice: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection!
I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’
And having activated those blessings, we’re now duty bound to go out and use them to help others, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us! Much LOVE!
…how God-like and encouraging…that at Christmas time…all faiths show much more LOVE…than at any other time of the year…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
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