The Amazing and Comforting Assurance Christians can find in the Birth, Death and Resurrection Of Jesus Christ!

22 Mar 2026 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

1 Thessalonians 4:18.        Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

And after our lazy-day Saturday comes Sunday, the Lord’s Day, this fifth Sunday of Lent and the first of spring 2026. Now that means, despite the rainy and cloudy situation, it’s time for all able-bodied believers to gather in the Lord’s sanctuary to worship and fellowship with joy and thanksgiving.  How does Psalm 100 put it? ‘Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.’ (Ps. 100: 4)

Yes, that’s how it ought to be in the Lord’s sanctuary all over the world today; entering God’s presence with joy, acknowledging His awesome character, while offering lots of praise and thanksgiving and fellowshipping, that will strengthen us and enable us to get back into the rat race tomorrow and fight the good fight in Jesus’ holy name.  And today’s song of worship is a hymn we all know and LOVE, TITLED ‘Blessed Assurance.’ It was written in 1873 by that marvellous, blind hymn writer Fanny Crosby, with music by Phoebe Knapp.  

And this commentary extols the song thus: ‘Each and every day we sing praises to His name. We are thankful for all of the blessings that He bestows upon us. The lyrics of the classic hymn ‘Blessed Assurance’ is the perfect way to worship. And when you hear the story behind the hymn, you will be even more in awe of His amazing grace. Thank you, Jesus, for dying for our sins!’ Oh, are we indeed thankful for that divine sacrifice!

And the story goes that Fanny, born in New York in 1820, had an eye infection as a baby, which through poor treatment left her blind at a young age. Then, to make matters worse her father died not long thereafter, that meant her mother Mercy had to go out to work, and left Fanny to be raised by her grandmother, Eunice. And it appears that her grandmother was the driving force behind Fanny’s accomplishments. She became her eyes, which helped develop her descriptive abilities, also reading and carefully explaining the Bible to her, while teaching her to pray and ask God for knowledge.

Fanny entered the New York School for the Blind at twelve as a pupil, then became a teacher there for 23 years. In between, she married musician, Alexander van Alstine, a fellow student at the Institute, and one evening while her composer friend, Phoebe Palmer Knapp was visiting, she played a tune on the piano, then asked Fanny what it sounded like. Fanny responded, “Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine!’ Then they went on to write the song together.’ Ah friends, that’s how many great songs have been born, with no rhyme or reason in or for the circumstances.  It just signifies how our great God does work in mysterious, unexpected ways.

And having heard the story behind the song, let’s offer it up with sweet sacrifices of praise in a soulful, mid-tempo, sincere and heartfelt version. Singing: ‘Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation, purchase of God, Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood (Chorus: This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior all the day long; This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior all the day long.) Perfect submission, perfect delight, Visions of rapture now burst on my sight; Angels, descending, bring from above Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

(Chorus…) Perfect submission, all is at rest, I in my Savior am happy and blest, Watching and waiting, looking above, Filled with His goodness, lost in His love. (Chorus: This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior all the day long; This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior all the day long…. Praising my Savior all the day long)’

And the assurance we have in Jesus is more than just blessed, it’s also amazing and marvellous. And per ‘a foretaste of glory divine,’ one commentary explains it thus. ‘This remarkable stanza reflects a lovely reality in Scripture that gives believers unwavering hope in times of tumultuous trials and troublesome temptations: we fellowship with Jesus Christ now, but this is only a preview of the eternal fellowship that is yet to come.’ And it most certainly ought to be, if we are heirs of salvation.

Listen as the author of Hebrews, speaking of the angels, says: ‘Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation.’ (Heb. 1:14) Yes my brethren, ‘we believers in Jesus Christ are destined to inherit eternal life, divine protection, and kingdom benefits, and thus are considered co-heirs with Christ, sharing in his ultimate glory and receiving support from ministering spirits (angels).’ Now it could not get any better than that!

And per ‘purchase of God,’ Bruh Paul puts it very plainly in his first letter to the Corinthians. ‘What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.’ (1 Cor. 6:19-20) Yes my people, we have indeed been purchased by the sacrificial blood of Christ, and are also indwelt by the Holy Spirit, which means we now belong to God, our body is His temple.

And there are several scriptures that talk about being washed in the blood of Jesus, but we only have time and space for this one from Revelation. ‘And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten (born) of the dead, and the prince of (ruler over) the kings of the earth. Unto him that LOVED us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.’ (Rev. 1:5)Wow! What a tremendous accomplishment on our God’s behalf, and a most stupendous, though undeserved, development for our sinful souls

And in light of such a wonderful situation, we are thus enveloped in ‘perfect submission…perfect delight and perfect rest,’ expectantly looking forward to ‘visions of rapture,’ which will any day burst into sight. As Bruh Paul puts it to the Thessalonians:  ‘For this we say unto you  by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent (precede) them which are asleep (dead).

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump (trumpet) of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever (always) be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.’ (1 Thess. 4:15-18)

Yes my faithful brethren, that is exactly what we need to do, today and every day; that’s comfort each other in the wonderful news of the eventual Rapture of Christ’s church! There’s nothing better to look forward to than that marvellous, faithfully promised occasion. Much LOVE!

…in Christ Jesus…we have a Lord, a Saviour, a King, an Advocate, High Priest and Friend…we therefore need no one else…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

The Overwhelming Importance of Christians Being Salty and Bright to do Christ’s work Properly!

26 Apr 2025 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Matthew 5:13a & 16a.        Ye are the salt of the earth: Let your light so shine before men,

And finally our lazy-day Saturday is on board! It’s somewhat cloudy and windy and not as warm as we might like, but it’s nonetheless our lazy-day Saturday, where we can do what we want, when we want, and how we want! (smile) Now isn’t that a joy, after having to do the wishes of others all the live long week? It certainly is! And as always, it’s best to start our day with prayer; that’s salutations, greetings and thanks to our wonderful God for allowing us to see another day on this great though confused and chaotic earth. 

So let’s offer up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer with all sincerity and truth. As one voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’ 

And without a doubt, if our prayer was truly heartfelt, our bodies and souls will soon be filled with the calm and peace of God, that passes all human understanding. Because there’s nothing that our God likes more than His people wanting greater intimacy with Him, for that’s one of the major reasons He created us. And that’s why, when talking about the God of Peace, Bruh Paul could write these marvellous words to the Philippians. 

‘Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation (graciousness, reasonableness) be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all human understanding, shall keep (guard) your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’ (Phil. 4:4-7) 

Oh friends, what wonderful advice! The trouble however, is that though we know the advice, too many of us keep it somewhere in the back of our minds, instead of in the forefront, and consequently not enough of us put it into practice. No wonder so many of us have somewhat miserable and lacking lives, when with simply following Bruh Paul’s advice we could be doing so much better. 

That brings us to the realization that too many of us talk the talk but don’t actually walk it. We all talk about faith and all the things it can do, but how many of us truly put our faith to work in our daily lives eh? Certainly not enough of us, otherwise our world would not be in its current chaotic, ungodly state. That means we’re not doing as Jesus desires. Remember these poignant words of His? ‘Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour (flavour), wherewith (by what) shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.’ (Matt. 5:13) 

Sadly my people, it seems like way too many of us have lost our salty flavour and now are tasteless just like the rest of the world, which could never be a good thing and work in Jesus’ favour. Remember, we are His ambassadors here on earth and are supposed to be telling others, both in word and deed about His wonderful kingdom, and causing them to want to join us. But unfortunately we’re not doing it well enough. And how can we be good representatives of Jesus when we don’t adhere to these words of His either eh? 

‘Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle (lamp) and put it under a bushel (basket), but on a candlestick (lampstand); and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt. 5:14-16) 

And right there my fellow believers is one of our biggest problems and why our world is in such an ungodly mess. God’s people are not shining their lights as brightly as they ought to! Too many of our lights have either been dimmed or simply gone out, for us to be able to make a substantial difference in our evil world that’s sadly heading straight to hell in the proverbial handbasket! 

But my brethren it’s not too late for us to stop the slimy slide down to the gutter of hell. No! If we would only get serious about living for Christ, then drop all our petty Christian differences and get together as ONE, and boldly and confidently restore our salty flavour and turn up the level of our lights, so that the world can see what true Christianity is all about, then we can retake most of the world for Christ, and stop that slimy and sorry slide to hell fire and damnation. 

But unfortunately it first depends on us being willing to individually stand up and fight against the evil around us, then, more importantly for us to get together and fight as ONE! For we cannot defeat the enemy in our present divided and distrustful state. That’s why the enemy has concentrated on keeping us apart, using the old but wise theory of divide and conquer. And once he keeps us divided, his evil plans will meet with much success, as they are now doing so very blatantly. 

So it’s up to us to decide if we’re going to fight the good fight for Jesus, or just let our world slide down into the dark and murky abyss of hell. I’d suggest we all take a few moments today and consider the question and the sure, terrible consequences of our inaction, and let them galvanize us into powerful action, in the strong and mighty name of Jesus! Much LOVE!

…with saltiness overflowing…and light blazing…the enemy cannot stop our drive to victory…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit   8 August 2022   Daniel 11:32b.

08 Aug 2022 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Daniel 11:32b.      …but the people that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits (take action).

It’s time to hit the road friends, as we get about the Lord’s business on this Monday morning that holds so much promise if we live up to our godly potential. Yes, we’ve had ample rest, relaxation, revelation and renewal, which should make us hungry, excited, can’t wait to get into the spiritual battle out there and fight the good fight for Jesus! As the Good Book so rightly declares in Daniel. ‘And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt (pollute) by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits (take action). (Dan. 11:32) 

Oh mih bredrin, that’s us he’s referring to there; ‘the people that do know their God.’ Wow! It’s exactly what we were just saying, that we can’t wait to get out into the world and fight the devil mano-a-mano on Christ’s behalf! We have all the tools to conquer the enemy, including the backing of the mighty Holy Spirit, we just have to want it badly enough. And after all that Jesus has suffered and sacrificed for us, it ought to be a no brainer for us to come up to scratch, to step up boldly and courageously to the plate and mow down the enemy in His marvellous name. 

The problem though is that too many of us supposed believers are either too afraid of the enemy, or just don’t care enough about Jesus and His most worthwhile cause to sacrifice some of our time, talent, treasure and energy. But we do want to participate in the good things that His death and resurrection have made possible. And yes, when we believe on Jesus, our name will be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, and we’ll probably go to heaven, but that’s only the beginning and end points of the story. 

However, there is also a middle portion, which is what intimidates or scares most of us, because it involves us becoming Christ like, conforming to Christ’s character and godly habits and also helping others to seek salvation through Him. It’s like Bruh Paul wrote to the church at Rome. ‘For whom he (God) did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the first born among many brethren.’ (Rom. 8:29) 

And all that means is that from the beginning of time, God decided that all those who decided to believe in His Son, Jesus Christ would go through a training period to become like Him, so we could all be the wonderful children of God, with Christ as the first born. Meanwhile, to the church at Corinth Bruh Paul wrote: ‘But we all with open (unveiled) face beholding as in a glass (mirror) the glory of the Lord, are changed (transformed) into the same image from glory to glory, even by the Spirit of the Lord.’ (2 Cor. 3:18) 

Oh, it’s indeed a lifelong process in which the Holy Spirit is engaged, it doesn’t happen overnight, because it involves changing our inherent sinful nature to Christ’s godly temperament. It’s not easy, and we must do things like die to the flesh, die to ourselves, take up our cross and follow Christ, while giving up many of the ungodly things we did before we knew Him as Lord and Saviour. 

Yes, for many of us that transition can be very difficult, but with Jesus’ help, through the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit it’s very doable. But we need to be willing to make the sacrifices necessary to do it. And it does call for sacrifices, as Jesus plainly tells us in the gospel of John, when He says: ‘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 so He has my fellow believers. He defeated hell, death and the grave when He died on Good Friday then rose again on Easter Sunday, trampling on the devil and his evil followers, clearing the way for us to also have salvation and eternal life. And while we are becoming transformed, we are also expected to spread the good news of Christ to others and encourage them to come to know Him too. But that’s better done by example, by the godly action they see in our lives, rather than just by our talking a good talk, which we are very adept at. (smile) 

So you see friends, becoming a Christian, saying a prayer, believing it, and thereby accepting Christ as Lord and Saviour is indeed the easy part, for salvation is a free gift of God, so that none of us can boast about what we’ve done or not done. Living the life of a true believer is the difficult aspect, with all its ups and downs, pain and sorrow, and hard times that seem more than the good ones. But if we’re serious, and follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we’ll do marvellously. 

And why is that you ask? The answer is very simple. Because Jesus doesn’t ask you to do more than you can handle, and He also gives you the tools to do whatever He desires. All that’s left for us to do is to stay close and intimate with Him, and don’t be afraid. Yes. I know it’s all easier said than done, but the only way you’ll ever experience His warm and wonderful LOVE is by jumping right into the deep end and trusting Him to save you. (smile) After that, you’ll be completely hooked, without a doubt or a fear. 

And to stay close and intimate with God, we must use the communication method of prayer that He developed for that purpose. So, let’s do that right now nuh, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. Altogether now: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. 

And Father, we pray that you will ease the pain of the many who are suffering from negative situations. Please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’ 

And to get positive answers to our prayers, we must now show positive motives and true godly behaviour, not just lip service, because the Lord reads our hearts before he answers our prayers. Much LOVE!

…the Christian life is not for the weak or faint of heart…but the LOVE of Jesus…transforms the weak into the strong… 

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8​