05 Dec 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a crown of righteousness, a productive difference, a refuge in times of trouble, a very present help in trouble, all the fight is drained out of me, all them that also love his appearing, before many witnesses, Bible, christianity, confessed a good confession, courage, creativitydivine protection, curse, debilitating weakness, divine protection, do not fear, duty bound, ever merciful and lendeth, faith, favour, fellowship, fight the good fight, fight tooth and nail, firmly grasping your right hand, God is our refuge and strength, godliness, his seed begging bread, his seed is blessed, holy spirit, I am now ready to be offered, I have become your helper, I have been young and now am old, I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Jesus Christ, jump to it, keep my hope stirring, lay hold on eternal life, LOVE, meekness, mercy, negative word, now, Now dear Lord now, One Year Book of Bible promises, our omnipotent omnipresent omniscient God, patience, professed a good profession, riding high, righteousness, Ruth Harms Calkin, salvation, Selah, talent, the earth be removed, The Lord will be a refuge for the oppressed, the mountains shake with the swelling, the righteous judge, the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, the time of my departure is at hand, the waters thereof roar and be troubled, they that know thy name will trust thee, thou Lord hast not forsaken them that seek thee, though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, truth, will not we fear, wisdom
Psalm 9:9. The Lord will be a refuge (stronghold) for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.
And the snow fell, but not to a great extent, so that this Thursday morning in early December is not as bad as it could have been! Thanks be to God for that! And what’s on the agenda for today? A li’l something from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. This one is simply titled ‘NOW!’ And by the way, I don’t remember if I have ever shared it before, but in any case, they are all worth sharing over and over again. (smile)
So please read with me: ‘My great strong God! All the fight Is drained out of me. In my debilitating weakness I can’t even hold on to You. But Your own words Keep my hope stirring: “For I Your God Am firmly grasping Your right hand. I am saying unto you Do not fear. I have become your helper.” Now, dear Lord! Now!’
And isn’t that the way we always desire the Lord to react to our problems, with alacrity and undivided attention. And yes, sometimes when that is called for He will respond with haste, but our God is not there to jump when we call, we have the situation all wrong. The truth of the matter is that we are the ones who are supposed to jump to it when He calls.
Anyway, what does the poem tell us? Basically that our omnipotent, omniscient and omni-present God is always there looking out for our problems and troubles. He’s promised to help us in all situations, so we should not be afraid of whatever comes against us. And that promise found in Psalm 9 is the Bible promise for today’s writing. It says: ‘The Lord will be a refuge (stronghold) for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord hast not forsaken them that seek thee.’ (Ps. 9:9-10)
Oh my fellow believers, that’s the indisputable truth! The Lord has never, and will never abandon anyone who puts their sincere trust in Him. And Bruh David spells it out very nicely in Psalm 37 titled – Trust in the Lord, when he writes: ‘The steps of a good man are ordered (established) by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand. I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed (descendants) begging bread. He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed (descendants) is blessed.’ (Ps. 37:23-26)
Now that’s how the Lord treats the righteous and his descendants. And if you don’t believe Bruh David, then listen to the sons of Korah from Psalm 46 titled – Our Refuge and Strength. They open the psalm confidently proclaiming: ‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present help (an abundantly available help) in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.’ (Ps. 46:1-3)
Oh my people, what powerful faith is engendered by those words! And that’s the kind of faith we believers in these ungodly and evil times need to have if we intend to make any kind of productive difference! The devil is riding high right now, but we certainly have the ability and the tools to overthrow him, if we get together and put our hearts, minds, souls and bodies to it.
It’s like Bruh Paul wrote to Timothy in his first epistle. ‘But thou, O man of God, flee these things (the world’s evil); and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, LOVE, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed (confessed) a good profession (confession) before many witnesses.’ (1 Tim. 6:11-12)
Yes mih bredrin, we are expected to fight a good fight of faith, so that when our time to leave this earth comes, we can proudly say like Bruh Paul: ‘For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure (death) is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course (race), I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that LOVE his appearing.’ (2 Tim. 4:6-8)
What a wonderful reward awaits us in heaven my people; that crown of righteousness! But only if we keep on being righteous and fight the good fight of faith down here. And I know all of us desire to have that awesome crown, but please, let’s remember it’s not something that’s handed out willy nilly, but only to those who truly deserve it. And if we sincerely want it, then we still have some time to turn ourselves around and become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus!
And the Lord in His utmost generosity has indeed given us tools to do the job He desires of us. We call them our Thursday Blessings. So please, let’s declare them now so that they can be activated. As one strong and sincere voice! ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’
And having made that declaration (awright!!!) we are now duty bound to go out and use those blessings to help others, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us. Much LOVE!
…to win the crown of righteousness…one must fight tooth and nail for it…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
04 Jul 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a spate of ungodliness, absolutely nothing, abundance, are destroyed, as those who will not see, Bible, blind leaders of the blind, both shall fall into the ditch, cause them to err, christianity, civil war, courage, curse, Declaration of Independence, ego problems of leaders, faith, fight the good fight of faith, fight tooth and nail, flee these things, follow after righteousness, god, going to hell in a hand basket, Happy Independence Day U.S.A, honour me with their lips, if the blind leade the blind, internal conflict, Jesus, Jesus Christ, LOVE, negative word, none so blind, O man of God, Pharisees, prosper, self-control, slavery, succeed, talent, the leaders of this people, the messenger of the Lord of hosts, the preists lips should keep knowledge, their heart is far from me, they draw nigh unto me with their mouth, they that are led of them, Thursday Blessings, truth, War!, what is war good for?, wisdom
Isaiah 9:16. For the leaders of this people cause them to err, and they that are led of them are destroyed.
HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY U.S. OF A!
Yes friends, today the U.S. A celebrates it’s 248 year of independence from Great Britain after the challenging war to gain their freedom ended with the Declaration of Independence on July 4th 1776. So they are not so old either, (smile) less than a hundred years older than us up here in Canada. However, their history has been a tumultuous one from the very beginning. The fight for freedom from Britain, then their own Civil War between the Northern and Southern States in 1861over slavery; with the economics of slavery and political control of that system being more central to the conflict than the basic morality of it.
And sadly, right now the U.S is facing a significant amount of serious internal conflict, while also having deeply committed connections to several other external conflicted areas. Let’s hope and pray that they can solve their many problems without the threat of violence rearing it’s ugly head, for remember as the U.S goes, so does a lot of the world!
That reminds me of the these words of wisdom in that old song by the Temptations: ‘War! What is it good for? Absolutely NOTHING!’ And that’s the gospel truth my people, but yet mankind insists on regularly fighting wars, wars that don’t really prove anything, wars that only kill and destroy, leaving the combatants worse off than they were before. I guess it’s an ego problem; generally the ego of the countries leaders.
That brings up a couple of sayings: one from Jonathan Swift, the English/Irish author (1667-1745) who said ‘There are none so blind as those who will not see.’ Yes, understanding cannot be forced on someone who chooses to remain ignorant. And the other quote is from Jesus , where He says of the Pharisees: ‘Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.’ (Matt. 15:14)
And I like how this commentary explains it. ‘Jesus uses the ridiculous one-sentence mini-parable of a blind person leading another blind person in order to show that following the lead of the Pharisees is equally ill-advised. His point could not be made any more vividly: your highly respected religious leaders, the Pharisees, are not reliable guides at all.’
This all stems from earlier on when Jesus referred thus to the Pharisees. ‘Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias (Isaiah) prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh (near) unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.’ (Matt. 15:7-9) Back then, the Pharisees and various other religious leaders pushed more traditions of men on the people, rather than the dictates of God, using it to advance their powerful place in the society.
And sadly, in these modern times the same thing is happening, many preachers or churches are using the traditions of men to keep the people in quiet submission, rather than teaching them the true word of God. It’s reminiscent of Isaiah’s words re Israel: ‘For the leaders of this people cause them to err, and they that are led of them are destroyed.’ (Is. 9:16) Unfortunately that’s happening quite a lot today, not only in religious circles, but also in political ones. No wonder the enormous amount of strife and upheaval that’s currently endangering our world.
Malachi’s words on the punishment of the priests, who were speaking untruths and thus breaking the covenant of an everlasting priesthood made to Levi and his descendants, also ring true in these ungodly and hypocritical times. He writes: ‘For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the Lord of hosts. Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial (shown partiality) in the law.’ (Mal. 2:7-9)
Ah mih people, a spate of ungodliness and deceitfulness is spreading across our world like we’ve never seen before, and it’s up to us, the true believers in Christ Jesus to rein it in, or preferably, put a stop to it. But it won’t happen unless we give up the pretty baubles and bangles that the world constantly dangles before our lustful eyes, then come together as one true body and fight tooth and nail to regain the lost territory and gain new ones for Christ.
It’s as Bruh Paul says to Timothy: ‘But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, LOVE, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art so called, and hast professed (confessed) a good profession (confession) before many witnesses.’ (1 Tim. 6:11-12) Yes my fellow believers, our world will never turn around, or even have a hope of doing so, unless and until we get up and fight the good fight of faith. It’s all up to us, unless we want the world to go the way it’s currently going; that’s to hell in a handbasket.
And for those of us seriously interested in making some good and godly changes, the Lord has generously provided us with underserved blessings to do His earthly work. We call them our Thursday Blessings. So let’s declare them now, so they can be activated in our lives. Altogether: ‘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 it’s our duty to go out and use those blessings on behalf of others, just as generously as the Lord bestowed them on us. Much LOVE!
…thou therefore endure hardness (hardship)…as a good soldier of Christ… (2 Tim. 2:3)
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
29 Dec 2022
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a form of godliness, a man with a new nature, a sacrificial life, attain a mature knowledge of God, Christ's church is divided, curse, denying the power thereof, divine protection, do the work of God, faith, favour, fight tooth and nail, gospel revival, hell, I am with you always, if any man will come after me, in the last days perilous times shall come, let him deny himself, LOVE, lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God, negative word, new values and a new lifestyle, put on the new man, renewed in knowledge, self-control, take up his cross daily and follow me, teach all nations, the Bible is for everyday living, the bounden duty, the decline of our society, the devil's rightful place, the Great Commission, the sun is shining, the weather is fine, Thursday Blessings
Luke 9:23. If any man will (desires to) come after me (be my disciple), let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
Well, here’s another ‘Can you believe it’: On Thursday 29th December 2022, the sun is shining and the weather is fine! The temperature is about 8 degrees Celsius. That’s in the middle of winter. Rain is expected not snow! As the old people would say, what en’t reach you, en’t pass you! In other words, you won’t believe it until you see it! So it’s obvious that times are a changing; both in weather and the nature of man, and thus in our society. Mankind is certainly becoming like Bruh Paul wrote to Timothy so long ago.
‘This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be loves of their own selves, covetous (money lovers), boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers (irreconcilable), false accusers (slanderers), incontinent (without self-control), fierce (brutal), despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady (reckless), highminded (haughty), lovers of pleasures more (rather) than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof (mere religion without the power of a spiritual life): from such turn away.’ (2 Tim. 3:1-5)
Oh friends, it seems that Bruh Paul is in our midst today writing about the sorry state of our world. For, unless you are blind, deaf, dumb and totally not involved, you have surely noticed the decline of our society, debased to the level of all the things Bruh Paul spoke to Timothy about. I don’t know if there’s ever been an angrier and more strife-filled time in mankind’s history across the whole known world at the same time, like we’re now experiencing, where everybody is in an uproar over something, and nobody’s satisfied about anything.
I daresay the last days can’t be far ahead. But until that time, it is the bounden duty of we believers to fight tooth and nail to keep the world for Christ! This is the time for which we were created. We have all we need to change things, but we are just fearful and lazy, preferring to enjoy the pleasures of the world rather than do the world-changing work of God.
Yes my people, please, let’s remember Jesus’ parting desire, His Great Commission. ‘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. 28:19-20)
Now my fellow believers, please tell me what aspect of that is rocket science eh, that’s so high that we don’t understand it? It’s simple and clear forward like everything else Jesus says! We just don’t want to make the sacrifice it entails to do His work. But please remember these words of Jesus also; the requirements for being His disciple. ‘If any man will (desires to) come after me (be my disciple), let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.’ (Luke 9:23)
Oh my brethren, the life of a follower of Jesus involves daily sacrifice if necessary. It is a good, abundant and prosperous but also sacrificial life, like Jesus’ was. He never asks us to do what He never did, or will not empower us to do. The problem is that we need to raise the level of our faith, the level of our trust and surrender to His faithfulness. We can’t just lie down and play dead before the evil doings of the world. No! We need to put on the armour of God that we recently spoke about and join the spiritual battle that’s taking place for the soul and spirit of our world, our children and our families!
Unfortunately though, most of that fight is being conducted by a handful of believers. And when Christ’s church should be so deeply involved in this fight, it’s not, because it’s divided, disunited and torn apart by selfish, petty disagreements. The enemy has successfully divided and conquered it. Yesterday we saw where Bruh Paul spoke to the Colossians about putting off the old man. Today though is a different day, one where we desperately need to listen and do as he exhorts: ‘And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.’ (Col. 3:10)
Oh friends, that’s what we need in our world today; the new man, the new person we are supposed to become after accepting Christ as Lord and Saviour. And to paraphrase the scholars, that’s a man with a new nature, a Christ-like one, ‘with new values, aspirations and a new lifestyle. And that new man needs to be constantly renewed or developed until he attains a mature knowledge of the God who (re)created him. The more a believer knows and understands God, the more he will be like God in character and conduct.’
And isn’t that the living truth! It surely is! That means to improve our Christ-like mettle, improve our faith and desire to do Christ’s bidding, our first priority is to learn more about God, that’s read, study and meditate on His awesome Word. And a dusty Bible, sitting unopened and unused in a corner is not the way to learn about God. Rather, as they say, the Bible is for everyday living, not only for weekends. So you need to open, read and study it, EVERY DAY, if you truly want to know more about your heavenly Father. That’s the long and short of the story!
And what I LOVE about our great God is His faithfulness and generosity, where He showers us with undeserved blessings so that we can do His earthly work. We call them our Thursday Blessings, but we have to declare them before they can be activated. 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!’
So now that those blessings have been activated, let’s get out there and enthusiastically share them faithfully and generously, and thus put and keep the devil in his rightful place…that’s in hell. Much LOVE!
…we believers need a resurgence of faith and courage…which can only come from serious study of the Bible…and a time of serious gospel revival…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
07 Nov 2022
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all run in a race, cleaning our lampshades, conform to his death, earthly sacrifices, faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers, fight tooth and nail, finished my course, for the prize of the high calling of God, forgetting the things which are behind, heavenly rewards, humble servants, I have fought a good fight, I keep under my body, I press toward the mark, increasing our saltiness, Jehovah Rapha, join the fray, kept the faith, liable to be disqualified, lollygagging, make big waves for Christsalvation is free, mass confusion, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, not as one that beateth the air, not win that incorruptible crown, one reciveth the prize, one thing I do, pussyfooting, reaching forth unto those things that are before, share in his sufferings, sincere repentnace, that I may know him, the God who heals, the power of his resurrection, the throne of grace, the time of my departure is at hand, wise guidance
Philippians 3:14. I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Jesus Christ.
Up and at ‘em friends! It’s Monday, no time to waste lollygagging or pussyfooting, for our Commander in Chief, Jesus Christ is already out on the battlefield ready to engage the enemy. That means our presence is absolutely necessary so the battle can be enjoined, for no wise General will go into combat without all His troops around Him. And if there’s one thing of which we are very certain it’s that our General, Jesus Christ is wise, exceptionally so!. Therefore, let’s get ourselves together this Monday morning and enthusiastically join the fray in the work world, and fight tooth and nail on Jesus’ behalf as good soldiers are expected to.
Yes friends, it’s a new work week and Jesus desperately needs our help to make this world a better place, since He can’t do it all on His lonesome. He is depending on us to be good, reliable agents and ambassadors for His kingdom, thus necessitating raising the level of our involvement against the enemy. In other words, increasing our saltiness, our good and faithful actions and cleaning our lampshades so that our lights will shine brightly in a darkened world.
It’s of the utmost importance that we fight a good fight. Like Bruh Paul wrote to Timothy in his last testament, prior to his death: ‘For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure (death) is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course (race), I have kept the faith.’ (2 Tim. 4:6-7) And that’s the kind of sincere statement we must be able to make at the end of our earthly journey, otherwise our sojourn here would have been a complete waste of time, of absolutely no use to Jesus’ kingdom.
Now let’s consider a couple of other scriptures where Bruh Paul invokes the idea of life being a race and a fight for Christ. In his first letter to the Corinthians, he wrote thus: ‘Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery (competes for the prize) is temperate in all things (has self-control).
Now they do it to obtain a corruptible (perishable) crown; but we an incorruptible (imperishable). I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air. But I keep under (discipline) my body, and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway (disqualified).’ (1 Cor. 9:24-27)
You see my fellow believers this race we run for Christ and the fight we enjoin on His behalf is serious business. It calls for strenuous training and a high level of self-discipline, otherwise we are liable to be disqualified at the end, and not win that incorruptible crown. And it’s ever so important to achieve that crown.
As Bruh Paul explains to Timothy. ‘Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them that LOVE his appearing.’ (2 Tim. 4:8) Now, if we want that crown of righteousness at the end, then we have to pull up our socks right now and sincerely work towards it.
And these other verses of scripture show us how serious Bruh Paul was in his commitment to Christ. He wrote the church at Philippi: ‘That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.’ (Phil. 3:10) Ah yes! Bruh Paul wants to personally know Christ, to experience His resurrection power and share in His sufferings and thus conform to His death.’ Now that’s the kind of enthusiasm we too ought to show as believers in and followers of Christ.
And later on, Bruh Paul emphasizes: ‘Brethren I count not myself to have apprehended (arrived): but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before. I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Jesus Christ.’ (Phil. 3:13-14)
Wow! We should be that enamoured of Christ! To forget our past achievements and success and keep reaching forward for the things of the future, in particular reaching the mark of knowing Christ, and the prize, the joyful satisfaction found in that attainment, as well as the ‘divine commendation and reward to be granted in heaven for having reached this goal on earth. The high calling of God is the divine summons extended to the believer for salvation.’
So, having said all of that, how are we going to handle this new work week eh? I hope in a manner that will bring honour and glory to God through Christ Jesus. And there’s no better way to begin than with prayer. Altogether then, let’s confidently offer up our Monday Morning Battle Hymn to the throne of grace, seeking mercy down here on earth.
‘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!’
Now my fellow saints, let’s get out there and make big waves for Christ! Much LOVE!
…salvation is free…but heavenly rewards call for earthly sacrifices…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ
25 Feb 2022
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a harbinger of times to come, a vexing and worrisome situation, a white winter wonderland, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ, be responisble, bring backsliders back to your fold, Christian faith, facing jail time for tweet, fight tooth and nail, freedom of speech, Friday chant, I have finished my course, I have fought a good fight, introduce a new flock, LOVE, marching as to war, omnipotent help, Onward Christian soldiers, our sinful world, re LGBTQ issues in finland, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the Bible doesn't trump Finnish law, the two bulwarks our society was founded on, thou therefore endure hardness, time to stand up and fight for Christianity, time to walk our talk, tweeted out a Bible verse from Romans, wake up and smell the coffee, wise guidance, with the cross of jesus going on before
2 Timothy 2:3. Thou therefore endure hardness (hardship), as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
Oh friends, it’s Friday; the last day of the workweek, or as some like to say, the start of the weekend and shout ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ But I wonder how many of us shouted that this morning when we awoke to a white, winter wonderland and had to drive through it to work? (smile)
Yesterday, we were exulting a dry, sunshiny day with no precipitation whatsoever, but during the night the white stuff precipitated, and it’s still precipitating right now! (smile) The weather report says -11degrees Celsius with some snow showers. And this is one of the few times they don’t seem to be wrong.
But yuh know what mih people, if snow was our biggest problem that would be quite all right, but I heard about a very vexing and worrisome situation yesterday, which seems like a harbinger of times to come. It’s been said that a female member of the Finnish Parliament tweeted out a Bible verse from the Book of Romans talking about the LGBTQ issues in Finland and now is supposedly facing charges that can bring up to two years of jail time.
That’s not all though. Apparently, a Bishop did the same thing, and now he is also facing up to two years of jail time. The Prosecutor it seems says that the Bible doesn’t trump Finnish law, and you can keep your Bible, but you just can’t say that you agree with it.
Now my fellow believers that’s certainly madness, and if it’s in Finland, a supposed Western democracy and a place of supposed free speech and disagreements, don’t think it won’t soon get to us on this side of the ocean. The Bible, our faith, is literally on trial here, and we can’t allow that to happen, otherwise all that Jesus and our forefathers suffered and died for would have become a total waste! We simply cannot allow that to happen!
The embarrassing and unfair thing with these fringe groups who talk so much about their own rights being subjugated, is that when they get their rights acknowledged, they quickly forget where they came from, turn and begin to subjugate the rights of others, behaving as though their platform is the only correct one, and brook no disagreement with it. They begin doing the same thing they had earlier accused others of doing to them.
Furthermore, it seems they are saying in Finland that the word ‘sin’ can be harmful, and therefore illegal! Imagine that nuh, you can’t talk publicly about the Bible, or sin, which we all commit, but can ramble on about and blatantly commit all the things the Bible tells us are wrong, are sinful.
My fellow believers, it’s time we throw off our mantle of laxity, of laziness, of compromise and get serious about our faith, because such a situation most definitely threatens the very foundation of our Christian faith, of freedom of speech, the two bulwarks that Western Society were founded on!
Yesterday, I believe we talked about others in Eastern lands being persecuted for their faith and having to hide and secretly practice it, well, look at what’s soon coming to us at the nearest theatre nuh; the very same thing…that is unless we get up and seriously fight tooth and nail for our freedom of speech and freedom to worship the One and Only true God Jehovah.
And as mentioned in the clip that I saw, one Holocaust survivor said that the worst crime leading up to the Holocaust was SILENCE! And that’s a fact friends, for when anything negative is happening and a lot of us keep silent, we only embolden the perpetrators.
Now this a fight for our very way of life, our Christian faith, for the right to worship Jesus Christ in our own land, are we going to stay silent and let it happen without a serious fight? I certainly hope not! It’s time we put on our spiritual armour and with sincere prayer stand up and face the enemy mano-a-mano. There’s absolutely no room for backing down or compromise on this situation my faithful brethren.
We all talk a good talk about standing up for God, well this is the time for us to walk that talk! As Bruh Paul said to Timothy: ‘Thou therefore endure hardness (hardship), as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.’ (2 Tim. 2:3) Time to do like Bruh Paul did, so we can later say: ‘I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course (race), I have kept the faith:’ (2 Tim. 4:7)
Yes friends, it’s time we live up to the song we so LOVE to sing: ‘Onward Christian soldiers, marching as to war, With the cross of Jesus, going on before. Christ the royal Master, Leads against the foe; Forward into battle, See His banners go. At the sign of triumph Satan’s host doth flee; On, then, Christian soldiers, on to victory!’
The time has finally come my people, for us to put up, or shut up, there’s no more room to run from our problems. So, let’s begin by doing what we ought to do, go to the Lord in prayer, through our Friday Chant, and ask for His divine assistance in these turbulent times. As one confident but humble voice: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and our many other problems are causing. We can’t seem to fix it on our own Lord, that means we desperately need your help.
Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets. So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, and avoid any more serious setbacks.
And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
Now, let’s set about being the faithful believers we claim to be. Much LOVE!
…Christ, fought, suffered and died to get His church going…now it’s time for us to do the same…to keep it going…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
05 Sep 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a grateful heart, all things are possible with Jesus, aspires to inspire us, Cleanse your hands, create in me a clean heart, divisive enemy, draw nigh to God, faith conquers fear every time, fervently, fight tooth and nail, get the victory, give thanks, he shall lift you up, humble yourselves in the sight of God, LOVE one another, measurment, one thing or another, our Lord God Jehovah, pre-eruption lava, purify your hearts, renew a right spirit within me, repentance, reward someone, seething like magma, thanksgiving, the biggest room in the the world, the enemy never makes it easy, the first step that leads to control, the gospel truth, the Lord looketh on the heart, violence and war, we can do all things with Christ's help, with a pure heart, ye doubleminded, ye sinners
Psalm 51:10. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right (steadfast) spirit within me.
Ah friends, it’s so true that if it isn’t one thing, then it’s another, and when one thing happens, another soon follows it. Steups! I already got up late then I had some computer problems…possibly because I didn’t know what I was doing. (smile) But the enemy never makes it easy, he’s always trying to get in a word edgewise or a toehold somewhere. But don’t worry, we going to drive the ole fool right outa town because after all these years of going to and fro about the earth, he still hasn’t learned the gospel truth that faith conquers fear and anxiety each and every time!
And though the sunny Saturday has opened somewhat on the rough side, we going to bring it right into line with God’s Word and get the victory He has so faithfully promised. Glory Hallelujah! So let’s see what quotes our friend Anselm sent us this week as he aspires to inspire us for tomorrow. Hear this first one: ‘The biggest room in the world is the room for improvement.’ Now if that isn’t the awesome truth, I don’t know what is nuh!
Oh my people, our world is in such a mess, such a state of uproar and dissension, of strife, resentment, anger and hatred, like we’ve never seen it before that there is a whole lotta room for improvement. And the sad part is that what we’re seeing is only the half of it, because a whole lot more negative emotions are quietly seething below the surface and could break out any day, any time now in full blown violence and war.
And that helps us segue right into the next quote. ‘Measurement is the first step that leads to control and eventually to improvement. If you can’t measure something, you can’t understand it. If you can’t understand it, you can’t control it. If you can’t control it, you can’t improve it.’ Now that applies so perfectly to our world that it’s not funny. We can’t measure the amount of unrest, dissension, distrust and division that’s currently running riot in our world, so how can we control it eh?
In fact, it seems that things are daily getting more out of control. The worldwide unhappiness that’s been seething like the magma (molten rock and gas) of a boiling volcano for so long, is now rising in a groundswell of public outcry and indignation! The volcano that’s our world is bubbling and boiling, with pre-eruption lava already flowing down the sides, and who knows when the whole thing is going to erupt eh? That brings us to this next quote: ‘Don’t say it cannot be done, rather say, you don’t know how to do it yet.’
Ah friends, a lot of us are saying that our world cannot be saved, because we don’t how to fix it. But we believers ought never to say that because we know that with Christ ALL THINGS are possible, and we can do ALL THINGS through Him, who strengthens us! Mamacita! What a blessing and Saviour He is to us! The logic here now is simply this: if all things are possible with Christ, and He gives us strength to do all things, then the solution to our worldwide problem is to turn en masse, like one big, full body to Christ, with repentance and thanksgiving!
But the enemy doesn’t want that, that’s why he’s fighting tooth and nail to keep the volcano bubbling and boiling hoping that it would erupt and turn things in his negative, warlike favour. That’s not going to happen though, because Christ’s army of saints are going to stand strong in Christ and fight tooth and nail to defeat the divisive enemy! Glory be!
Now listen to this next quote: ‘If you can’t reward then you should thank.’ And that makes sense. If you can’t reward someone for what they’ve done, then the next best thing is to thank them. Hopefully they’ll understand. Although the way our society is greedy and selfish nowadays, many won’t. Instead they’ll clamour for a tangible reward. But there’s one person who will never do that, who will be ever grateful for just our thanks. That’s our Lord God Jehovah!
Yes, He doesn’t want, or rather we can’t give him a reward, since everything in the world belongs to Him, but He does want to hear our thanks for all He’s done, is doing and has promised to do for us. That’s all He really desires from us. That’s why Bruh Paul repeatedly told us about the giving of thanks. ‘In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.’ (1 Thess. 5:18) ‘Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;’ (Eph. 5:20)
But yuh know my people, giving thanks is only possible when one thing is present. Our last quote tells it: ‘Thou who hast given so much to me, give me one more thing… a grateful heart.’ Yes mih bredrin, only when we have a grateful heart is the giving of thanks truly possible! And that’s’ why our world is in such turmoil; there aren’t enough grateful hearts in it. That brings us to this most important point; a truly grateful heart can only be obtained through sincere communication and reverence with the Lord. That’s why there are so many scriptures about the heart in His Word.
Why yuh think Bruh David desired the Lord after he repented of his sin with Bathsheba – ‘Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right (steadfast) spirit within me.’ (Ps. 51:10) Because when our hearts are of full of unrepentant sin, we can’t be truly grateful. And remember too what the Lord told Samuel when he sent him to anoint Bruh David as the next king of Israel and Samuel was looking at the outward appearances of Jesse’s sons. ‘For the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.’ (1 Sam. 16:7b)
And that’s why James, Christ’s brother warns us so passionately: ‘Draw nigh (near) to God, and he will draw nigh (near) to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded… Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.’ (James 4:8, 10) Oh my people, I don’t think we can have a better scripture to ponder on this Saturday morning. So let’s do that nuh. Much LOVE!
…see that ye LOVE one another…with a pure heart…fervently… (1 Pet. 1:22)
10 Aug 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a man's life, a patriot, Adam and Eve, against greed, against his government, an abundance of possessions, Anselm, aspires to inspire, be merry, be on guard, beware of covetousness, ceded power to Satan, citizens have forfeited ownership, complacent, consiteth not, corruption, drin, earthly things are temporary, eat, endanger the morals, fight back, fight tooth and nail, for a better tomorrow, free for all fight, get fighting mad, godly, greedy lawyers, heavenly things are forever, in the abundance of things, lay not up for yourselves, lay up treasures in heaven, LOVE, moth and rust doth corrupt, of an individual, politicians are our employees, prostitution, rampant, ready to defend his country, rest on his laurels, righteous citizens, selfish interests, steal, take heed, the entire country, the good life, the parable of the rich fool, there will your heart be also, thieves break through, to politicians, treasures on earth, we own this country, where your treasure is
Luke 12:15. Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of things which he possesseth.
Welcome to another sunny summer’s day friends! Yes, I know it’s been going on for a little while now, but if a body can’t sleep in some on the last day of the week, what’s the purpose of being alive eh? (smile)
But nonetheless, let’s give our wonderful God much thanks and praise for allowing, for enabling us to see it nuh! Because it’s only because His breath of life is still flowing through our bodies that we can see and enjoy it. He hasn’t pulled the plug on us, at least not yet, and for that we need to be eternally grateful!
Anyway, it’s Saturday, so let’s see what words of wisdom our friend Anselm imparted to us this past week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And our friend waxed somewhat political and patriotic this week. Listen up to this first one: ‘I would just like to say something, ladies and gentlemen. Something that I think is very important. It is that, you, we – we own this country. We – we own it. It is not you owning it, and not politicians owning it. Politicians are employees of ours.’
Mama Yo! And he’s perfectly right. The citizens of a country own it. However, just like Adam and Eve ceded power to the devil when they listened to his deceitful words and ate of the forbidden fruit, likewise we citizens have forfeited ownership of our countries by allowing the politicians to bamboozle us with their sweet talk that’s only full of lies and deceit. We’ve allowed the crazy inmates to take over the madhouse. And once you’ve ceded power, it’s awfully hard to get it back.
But here’s how it can be won back: ‘A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government.’ Yes friends, once the inmates are in control of the institution, the only way to dislodge them is to fight, fight tooth and nail against them, because they will not give up their power voluntarily.
The unfortunate problem nowadays though is that not too many of us are not willing to fight tooth and nail to recover anything, much less the running of our countries. We’ve become so enthralled and complacent by the good life we’re living, that we just can’t bear to give it up, and fighting for anything has the distinct possibility of losing stuff that we cherish. The whole point here is what do we cherish most, and what are willing to fight for?
And this next quote continues the political discourse: ‘ Corruption is worse than prostitution. The latter might endanger the morals of an individual, the former invariably endangers the morals of the entire country.’ So true my people! But again, unfortunately, that’s the vibe that’s running the world now. Corruption is so rampant and deep in so many countries of the world that it’s easier to list which ones aren’t corrupt, if any, than to list those that are corrupt.
And there too, corruption will only cease when the godly, righteous and decent citizens of a country get fighting mad and decide to actually fight back against it, remove the numerous corrupt people in power and replace them with godly, righteous and trustworthy ones.
But sadly we will need to replace almost all the people in power to do that, because corruption has become another name for politician, and most of our citizens don’t want to disturb their lives, especially when many of them are also recipients of corrupt favours and money. And that’s the end of the political quotes! (smile)
But this one is just as important: ‘What can’t you live without? Why? Is it something that lasts forever, or just for a moment?’ Good question that my people! Remember Jesus’ advice: ‘Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt (ruin, destroy), and where thieves break through and steal:
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.’ (Matt.6:19-21) That advice goes for anything we want or hunger for friends! Technically our wants should have a godly basis, but that’s not very easy to accomplish in this world full of ungodly distractions.
That brings us to the last quote: ‘Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.’ And Jesus spelled that out in spades in the parable of the rich fool. When a man in a crowd said to Jesus, ‘Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me.’ Jesus replied: ‘Man, who made me a judge or a divider (an arbitrator) over you?’ (Luke 12:13-14)
And the scholars declare: ‘12:14. Jesus will not be a part of furthering someone’s selfish interests. He calls for people to serve the Lord and others, not themselves.’ So true! Then Jesus spoke these immortal words of wisdom: ‘Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of things which he possesseth.’
Oh friends, there again, our world today, under the evil, ungodly and corrupt rule of Satan and his demonic followers, is so filled with greed and covetousness that it’s truly difficult not to get caught up in the foolishness. But Jesus warned us about the man who had so much that he had nowhere to store it, and foolishly decided to tear down everything and build bigger and better and then rest on his laurels thereafter.
‘And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.’ (Luke 12:19-21)
And we see that happening a lot in our current world, where people who were seeking the earth’s riches suddenly die and there estates become a free-for –all fight between their descendants, with the greedy lawyers oftimes getting the most substantial portion for their efforts to divide it.
Please, I implore us not to seek the world’s wealth above the work we need to do for God, because that’s just a fool’s wisdom. And the Lord has promised to provide all we need when we put His kingdom first. (Matt.6:33) So let’s take Him up on that nuh, since He never breaks His promises! Much LOVE!
…earthly things are only temporary…but the things of heaven…of God…are forever…
12 Feb 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a name above every name, a servant, adrenaline, aura of love, bombarded, buffeted, burdened, Calvary, confidence, conquerors, craxy, dangerous, darkness, death of the cross, defeated foe, despicable sinners, despise the name, difficult, don't want to go to work, enthusiasm, every knee should bow, every tongue confess, exalted, facetious, fall prey, families together, fight tooth and nail, flippant, furthering God's kingdom, giant, go with the flow, good vibes, harm, heavenly Father, humble servants, humbled himself, I don't work, I won't eat, in god's eyes, invincible, Jesus Christ, Jesus christ is Lord, jobs, lies, lives, Lord of all, lost, LOVE, made righteous, made sinners, make peace, momentum, Monday, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, obedience, on behalf of Jesus, one man's disobedience, plunged into sin, poor, rat-race, reconciled, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, reputation, reverence, righteous, robbery, sacrificed, sally forth, saviour, shame, sinless life, smithereens, spiritual armour, surrender, taunts, the cross, the enemy, the form of God, the Garden of Eden, the likeness of men, the name of Jesus, the obedience of one, the wondrous things, tired, trying to fight it, unfair, unto death, useful purpose, wake up call, weary souls, wiles
Romans 5:19. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
Monday, Monday! What a beautiful sounding name for a beautiful day! And I know that some of you think I’m being facetious and flippant, or I’m just crazy, or even both, because I’m calling Monday a beautiful day, when hordes of you despise the very name Monday and what it entails.
But friends, regardless of how much we might dislike Mondays and what it means, or stands for, we can’t get away from it. So why keep on trying to fight it eh? Why not just make peace with it, knowing that every week it’s going to come around and we will be miserable, because we’re tired and don’t want to get up to go to work.
So let’s just try and go with the flow nuh. (smile) Monday rolls around, you simply say to yourself, if I don’t work, then I won’t eat, and let words to that effect propel you out of the warm, cozy bed. Although, if we’d use the weekend as sensibly as we should, we’d never have the Monday morning problem. But that’s another sermon for another day.
Right now let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn to give us our wake up call, so that we can get ourselves together and get back in the rat-race we call society and fight tooth and nail on behalf of Jesus. All together now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies. But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour.
We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Oh friends, how wonderful that prayer is at causing the adrenaline to speedily course through our bodies! Let’s not waste it nuh, but use it to improve our momentum and all around good vibes, as we begin this new work week, working steadfastly with and for Jesus. And believe people, there’s no better person in the entire world to work with or for than our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ! And if you have to ask why, then you’re not a believer. But I’ll tell you anyway: because of all the wondrous things He’s done for poor, lost and despicable sinners like you and me.
Listen as Bruh Paul explains Jesus’ major accomplishment to the Roman church in our Bit. ‘For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.’
Yes my faithful brethren, just like the whole world was plunged into sin and darkness by Adam’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden, likewise the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ enables all who sincerely desire to be reconciled with God, to bask in the brilliant light of Jesus, be considered righteous in God’s holy eyes.
That’s because Jesus took upon Himself ALL our sins, the Lord burdened Him with them on the cross at Calvary, and instead, like the true Saviour He is, He gave us His righteousness. Wow! What a Champion is our Jesus! There is NO ONE like Him in the universe: not even close!
Hear how Bruh Paul describes him to the Philippians nuh. ‘Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God; But made of himself no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion (appearance) as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.’ (Phil.2:6-8)
Yeh friends, Jesus was God incarnate, man in human form, but didn’t make a big fuss over it. Instead He chose to be a servant, to be obedient to His heavenly Father’s will. Even though it was a catastrophic situation, He withstood the shame and the ‘sufferation’ and sacrificed His sinless and holy life on the cross for us, so that the Father could forgive and wash away our horrible sins!
Now that makes Him an awesome giant in my eyes. And yuh know what, the Father felt the same way: ‘Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of (those) things in heaven, and (those) things in earth, and (those) things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ (Phil.2:9-11)
Mama Mia! I can’t find words to express my feelings! Jesus is just too great for words! And as we go up against the enemy today my faithful brethren, let’s remember that nuh; meaning the enemy can’t do us any real harm unless we allow him to do so. He is a defeated foe, crushed to smithereens by our Jesus and he is just trying to hold on through lies and other deceptive means. Please don’t fall prey to him today. Much LOVE!
…bend your knee…and speak His name with reverence…for Jesus Christ is indeed Lord of ALL…
22 Nov 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a disaster just waiting to happen, acceptable, Battlefield of the Mind, be not conformed, be transformed, brand new day, Christ-like, continuous practice, Dallas Willard, deceitfulness of riches, enamoured of Jesus, evil schemes. unrelenting force, fight tooth and nail, garden of our minds, glorious future, God's goodness, good, hands on the plough, Joyce Meyer, love not the world, loving-kindness, lust, mercies, mindset of Christ, perfect, power to select, present thinking, renewing of your mind, resist, Satan, shortchanging, the good things of God, the mould, titanic efforts, total control, ultimate freedom, ungodly thoughts, uppermost in your mind, value systems, way of thinking, Wednesday Wail, will of God, world, ye may prove
Romans 12:2. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
And then it was Wednesday…another brand new day of mercies and God’s everlasting goodness! Wow! Are we ever blessed my fellow saints in Christ! And I do hope that we truly appreciate God’s LOVING-kindness, else we’ll be missing out on a lot, foolishly shortchanging ourselves. Anyway, that’s a sermon for another day. (smile)
Today, we’re going to get right into our Bit. ‘And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.’ As we said yesterday, you cannot enjoy the good things of God, unless you change your way of thinking, adopting the way God thinks, instead of the way the world operates.
The scholars offer this explanation: ’12:2. Be not conformed (lit; “stop conforming yourselves”): They are to resist being poured into the mould of the present thinking, value systems, and conduct of this world. This term is used only here and in 1 Peter 1:14.’
And the important thing there friends is to RESIST being made like the world. We have to consciously and forcefully resist the world’s titanic efforts to swallow us up in its evil schemes and dreams, because it is an unrelenting force that never stops trying.
And the only way we can resist is by having the mindset of Christ, keeping us resilient and ever strong. Remember friends, all that we are and do begins and ends in our minds. As Sister Joyce’s (Joyce Meyer) book title indicates, it’s a battlefield, ‘The Battlefield of the Mind.’
And that’s no lie, for all our battles are first fought in our minds, then we put whatever it is we think into action. That’s why they say be careful what you think about, because whatever is uppermost in your mind will be revealed in your actions.
Now listen to this cerebral quote from Dallas Willard (1935-2013), American Philosopher, great spiritual thinker and writer. He says: ‘The ultimate freedom we have as human beings is the power to select what we allow our minds to dwell on.’ Selah!
Yeh friends, ponder that for a minute nuh. We have total control over what we think about, but like everything else we need to practice it continuously, for the enemy is always around trying to put unholy and ungodly thoughts into our minds. But when we know who we are in Christ, and consciously take control, then we can fight tooth and nail to keep our minds in a Christ-like state.
Our minds are like a garden; it must be carefully and continuously tended, otherwise like a normal garden, the weeds and other unwanted stuff will spring up and choke the good seed. And as Jesus says, that’s when ‘the care(s) of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.’ (Matt.13:22b)
Yeh mih people, if we want to be fruitful for Jesus, we have to stay attached to His vine and carefully tend the garden of our minds, otherwise we’re liable to lose whatever fruitfulness we might have. As I heard Cousin Bobby (Bobby Schuller) say the other day: ‘Good thoughts bear good fruit. Bad thoughts bear bad fruit.’
And that’s indisputable truth my brethren. So let’s try to keep good thoughts circulating in our minds nuh, so that we can bear good fruit for Jesus. Now here is another very important sister scripture to our Bit, this time from John’s first epistle.
‘LOVE not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man LOVE the world, the LOVE of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.’ (1 John 2:15-17) Oh friends, it couldn’t be stated any simpler, and yet as profound!
Now hear the scholars: ‘2:15. LOVE not the world is a command implying that action now in progress must cease: “STOP LOVING THE WORLD!” There is, of course, one sense in which Christians should LOVE the world, since God Himself did and does (John 3:16). But in the sense of pledging personal loyalty and devotion to one’s whole being and means, Christians are to “LOVE” God first and foremost (Deut.6:5; Mark 12:30).’
And all God’s people declared a loud and sincere ‘Amen!’
Now here is some more important info from the scholars re ‘Temptation.’ ‘2:16. Though all people are tempted differently according to their individual weaknesses, temptations follow patterns. They appeal to three fundamental areas of life: (1) the lust of the flesh (physical desires; (2) the lust of the eyes (personal desires); and (3) the pride of life (self-interests).
Illustration: When Satan caused the fall of the race, he appealed to each of these areas of weakness (Gen. 3:6). He also appealed to them when he tempted Christ (Matt.4:1-11), who defied Satan’s temptations by relying on the authority of the Scriptures. Application: The Christian today should also depend on the Scriptures to defeat temptation. (First Ref. Gen 3:1-6; Primary Ref. 1 John 2:15-17; cf. Rom.5:12).’
And having taken in all of that, (smile) and we do have the God-given capacity, let’s go home proudly and sincerely declaring our Wednesday Wail, letting the world know that we’re on a long and wonderful journey with Christ.
As one now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
Oh friends, let’s weep for joy that we are in Christ, and that He is in us! Much LOVE!
…to truly know Christ…is to be totally enamoured of Him…
31 May 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a cry of anguish, a friend of Jesus, a song of praise, abhorred, afflicted, an army rising up, awesome, awesome power, beliefs, break every chain, breath of life, Christian, comfortable, coming to Christ, contented, descendants, despised, disrepair, do better, earthly heaven, evil, fear, fear the Lord, fight tooth and nail, friend, glorify your Father, Glory be, glory hallelujah, good works, grateful, gratefulness, gratitude, hid his face, hurry, I'm not what I do, I'm not what I have, in Christ's army, Jesus Christ, joyful song, kick in the tail, let your light shine, LOVE Revolution, Lucifer, malaise, minions, my friend Jesus, power, power in the name of Jesus, praise, pressure, reverence, scared, seed of jacob, share His love, soldiers, song, Tasha Cobbs, tendencies, thankful, thanks, the beloved of God, the things of the world, trust, Tuesday Mantra, uplifted in spirit, walking away, what people say about me, worry
Matthew 5:16. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Oh friends, oh friends, it’s another beautiful Tuesday on God’s earthly heaven! Glory be to our heavenly Father! It means we’ve been granted another day with God’s breath of life still flowing rich and strong through our physical bodies!
And for that we ought to be most thankful, be ever grateful for all that He’s done for us in the past, is doing for us right now, and has faithfully promised to fulfill in the future. Now that also ought to lead us to offering some sincere thanks and praise to His most holy and honourable name.
And the best way to give thanks and praise, to offer sincere gratitude and gratefulness is in joyful song. So let’s sing praises and give thanks to our Creator and Provider! Let’s shout out this powerful gospel song that I recently heard. Heard it a few times on different radio stations too.
The singer is blessed with the name Tasha Cobbs, and I believe she was in Toronto last weekend for a live concert. The song is appropriately titled, ‘Power in the name of Jesus.’
Please sing it with me. ‘There is power in the name of Jesus. There is power in the name of Jesus. Yes there is power in the name of Jesus…. To break every chain… Break every chain…Break every chain.
There’s an army rising up. There’s and army rising up. There’s an army rising up…To break every chain…Break every chain…Break every chain.
There is power in the name of Jesus. There is power in the name of Jesus. Oh there is power in the name of Jesus…To break every chain…Break every chain…Break every chain…’
Now friends, I’m doing this from memory, but I’m pretty sure that’s how the song goes. In any case, that’s our version. (smile)
And oh yes my fellow believers, there is indeed power…and awesome power at that, in the holy and majestic name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! A power so absolute and strong that it’s able to break any chain that binds us, any chain that holds us captive to the evil tendencies of this evil world! Glory Hallelujah!
So please, let’s never forget that remarkable power and use it to break whatever is binding us to the things of this world. And now, since it’s Tuesday, let’s declare our Tuesday Mantra with much sincerity and sense of purpose.
All together now: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen.’
Oh my people, whenever we declare that mantra, I just feel real uplifted in my spirit. Why? I’m not sure. But I guess it’s because it defines me in the best way possible: the beloved of God and a friend of Jesus!
Now there could never be a better definition of who we are than that…And better still, NO ONE can take it from us! Oh glory to our great God my believing brethren!
That brings us to our Bit; the avid desire and command of our Leader, Jesus Christ. ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’
Unfortunately though my people, that is one command we don’t seem to be following too well because instead of coming to Christ, people are walking away from Him in droves. That’s definitely not good my fellow believers, because it means we’re not doing our part to assure the success of Christ’s LOVE Revolution.
Through fear and pressure from the evil world, we are allowing our spirits to fall into a sad state of disrepair; a malaise of enormous proportions seems to have taken over the Christian brotherhood, where we don’t fight as much and as hard as we used to do for our beliefs.
That’s not right my brethren. We are supposed to be soldiers in Christ’s army, and soldiers are supposed to fight; to fight tooth and nail for what they believe in!
What’s happening with us eh? Don’t we believe anymore? Or are we just comfortable and contented and want to enjoy the things of the world? Or are we simply so scared of Lucifer and His evil minions that we refuse to fight for what we say we believe in?
I don’t have the answers nuh friends. But I do know that we’re definitely not letting our light shine sufficiently before our fellow men, they’re not seeing enough of our good works, and thus are not glorifying our heavenly Father the way that He desires.
And we’ll end with an appropriate call from Bruh David from Psalm 22 – A cry of anguish and song of praise. ‘Ye that fear the Lord, praise him; all ye the seed (descendants) of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him (hold Him in awesome reverence), all ye the seed of Israel.
For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard.’ (Ps.22:23-24)
Ah mih people, let’s try and do better than we doing nuh! Let’s look deep inside and see where we are falling down, then with all sincerity and truth call upon the Lord to help us. As Bruh David says, He will hear and help us. Much LOVE!
…Christ’s earthly army needs a boost…probably a good, swift kick in the tail…to get us going like we ought…
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