30 Sep 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a roadway, a sacrifice, a song of praise, Abednego, able to bear it, all things work together for good, assurance, awesome praise, Babylon, backbone, be my guide, be tempted above that ye are able, belly, called to his prupose, cares, common to man, confidence, cried out to God, deity, Don Moen, evil likeness of Beelzebub, exalt His name, followers, foolish people, found solace, furnace, gave His only Son, glory to God, God is faithful, God will do something new today, God will make a way, golden idol, grief, hear his word, heartfelt thanks, heaven and earth will fade, heavenly Father, help, His word shall remain, hot on their heels, Hour of Power, in the desert, in the wilderness, in the world, Israelites fled bondage, Jesus' colours, lies, loves, Lucifer, make a way to escape, Meshach, Nebuchadnezzar, never leave nor forsake you, no temptation, not of the world, not overflow thee, obedience, obeisance, omnipotence, omnipotent god, pass through the waters, Pharaoh's army, presence required, promises of our God, ringing of the phone, Rivers, salt, scorch you, shadrach, shall not be burned, sincerity, smelling of smoke, soften our hard hearts, sorrow, strength, suffer you, television ministry, testify, the flame kindle upon thee, the Jordan River, the Lord's sanctuary, the Promised Land, the Red Sea, to those that love God, truth, walk one more time, walk through the fire, ways we cannot see, with love
Isaiah 43:2, When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon (scorch) thee.
Awright my faithful brethren, let’s walk one more time, one more time to the Lord’s sanctuary! It’s Sunday and our presence is required in the house of our great God, to worship and give Him awesome praise, exalt His holy name with other believers, hear His Word and receive His confidence and assurance that He will always be with us, never leave nor forsake us.
No other Deity has ever made the promises our God has, because they’re not really interested in their followers, and in any case they don’t have the omnipotence to keep such promises. But our heavenly Father sincerely cares about and LOVES us so much that He gave His only Son as a sacrifice for us. Glory to God! And all He expects from us in return is obeisance and obedience.
And as always, to soften up our hard hearts, we’ll begin with a song of praise. Today’s song is one written by Don Moen, once the music director for the Hour of Power television ministry, but now retired. I believe the story behind this song is one late night in the mid 1980’s Don was awakened by the incessant ringing of the phone. On answering it, he was shocked to hear the news that His brother in-law and his sister had met in an accident with their four children, and one of the boys had died.
In his grief and sorrow, Don cried out to God for help, and these are the words he found solace in, as he put them to music in the song, ‘God will make a way.’ So let’s raise our voices in all sincerity and truth, declaring the words of Don’s song with heartfelt thanks.
In soulful unison now: (‘God will make a way Where there seems to be no way He works in ways we cannot see He will make a way for me. He will be my guide Hold me closely to His side With LOVE and strength for each new day He will make a way, He will make a way.) (Repeat)
By a roadway in the wilderness, He’ll lead me And rivers in the desert will I see Heaven and Earth will fade but His Word will remain And He will do something new today. Oh, God will make a way where there seems to be no way He works in ways we cannot see He will make a way for me.’
And that’s the awesome truth my brethren as all of us sincere believers can testify, because at some stage in our walk with Almighty God, He has made a way for each of us, when there absolutely seemed to be no way! Praise his holy name my people! Give Him enormous thanks for being the wonderful Deity He is!
And if you don’t believe me, listen to this mind boggling promise of our Bit nuh. ‘When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon (scorch) thee.’
And there are instances where He kept all those promises: When the Israelites fled bondage in Egypt and came to the Red Sea, with Pharaoh and his army hot on their heels, it seemed like they were destined to either drown or be slaughtered by their enemy. But their omnipotent God made a way for them by simply parting the Red Sea and giving them dry land to cross over upon. And it was the mighty Egyptians who drowned that day. (Ex.14:21-31)
Likewise, when they crossed the Jordan River to go into the Promised Land, the Lord parted the river for them to walk across on dry land once more. (Josh. 4) And if yuh think His talk about the fire scene was just idle talk, then read Daniel 3: 8-30, where the story of the three Hebrew young men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego is told.
They refused to bow to a golden image made by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and were thrown into a furnace of fire heated seven times hotter than normal. Hn! It consumed the men who threw them in, but those faithful young men came out without a scorch, not even smelling of smoke!
Wow mih breddren! As I rave every day: what a wonderful and powerful God we serve and worship! Give Him the praise and thanks He so rightfully deserves nuh! And the hordes of foolish people, believing Lucifer’s lies that we ought to get rid of God from our society? Deh mad yes! We ought to be begging Him to come back, not go away!
And if yuh think all of that was in the now irrelevant Old Testament, then listen to Bruh Paul writing to the church at Corinth. ‘There hath no temptation taken (overtaken) you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear (endure) it.’ (1 Cor.10:13)
Yes friends, even when the tempter comes with His best shot, our ever-faithful God will find a way for us to escape the temptation entirely, or walk through it with us, helping us to endure it. But He will NEVER allow us to handle more than we can bear! That’s His promise!
And even more compelling are these words of assurance from Bruh Paul to the Roman church. ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.’ (Rom.8:28)
Oh my people, our wonderful God is working out ALL things for good, but we who LOVE Him appreciate that fact more than others because we LOVE Him no matter what! Like Shadrach and them told King Neb, we know the Lord can save us from the fire, but whether He chooses to save us or not, we not bowing to yuh foolish lifeless golden idol! And that is that! You could do whatever yuh want now!
Oh my fellow followers of Jesus, that is the kind of salt and belly and backbone that we need to have in these oh so evil and ungodly times! For Jesus’ sake, let’s get our act together and be solid nuh. We way too wishy-washy and compromising with the world! Much LOVE!
…remember…we must be in the world…but showing Jesus’ glowing colours…not be of the world…in the dark and evil likeness of Beelzebub…
06 Apr 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a cup of water, a millstone were hanged about his neck, absolutely nothing, assurance, At the cross, beloved, cast into the sea, Christian friends, diligence, diligent, faith, followers, foolish thinking, from pillar to post, glory, Glory be, God is not unrighteous, God's concern, hope, I am halfway home, I bow my knee, I'm not looking back, I'm so glad to be alive, imitators, in my name, inasmuch as ye have done it, inherit the promises, labour of LOVE, LOVE, ministered to the saints, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, my hands are on the plough, no greater love, O Lord you've searched me, our usual allotment, overcome the grave, passionately, patience, pick sense from nonsense, pickup the baton, pride, render sincere service, reward, run a race, running away from Jesus, sacrifice of praise, salvation, slothful, snow, spring, steadfast, the breath of life, the king shall answer, the loving care and compassion of God, the loving fold of God, to a glorious future with Jesus, under the weather, unto one of the least of these, verily I say unto you, Wednesday Wail, what can separate me now, wisdom, words of encouragement, ye belong to Christ, ye have done it unto me, you know my way, you shield my way, your blood was shed for me
Matthew 25:40. And the king shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Aye mih people, the ole fella’s a tad under the weather this morning, having run around from pillar to post yesterday trying to accomplish some errands, then a meeting in the church in the evening just set back all my other stuff and made it a rather late night, or rather early morning. (smile) I’ve got to learn that I’m not as young and strong as I used to be.
Hn! But talking about under the weather, that veritable element is being rather disgusting this April morning. When I went to bed, sometime after three, it was dry and beautiful outside. But when I get up at nine, it’s white as snow and that foolish stuff is pelting down like rain!
Steups! What’s with that eh? That’s the second time in as many days. Chuh! I thought now was supposed to be spring. However, it seems that because we didn’t get our usual allotment during the winter months, we’re getting it during the springtime.
But yuh know what friends? All that stuff is immaterial when placed beside the LOVING care and compassion of our wonderful God! Glory Be!
So to honour Him and get ourselves ready to hear his Word, let’s offer up the sacrifice of praise and worship by singing two verses of the old and glorious hymn, ‘At the Cross.’
Please sing with me. ‘Oh Lord You’ve searched me You know my way Even when I fail You I know You LOVE me Your holy presence Surrounding me In every season I know You LOVE me I know You LOVE me At the cross I bow my knee Where Your blood was shed for me There’s no greater LOVE than this
You have overcome the grave Your glory fills the highest place What can separate me now You go before me You shield my way Your hand upholds me I know You LOVE me At the cross I bow my knee Where Your blood was shed for me There’s no greater LOVE than this You have overcome the grave Your glory fills the highest place What can separate me now?’
And the answer to that poignant question my precious believers in Christ is as always: ‘ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!’
Yes my brethren, once we’re ensconced in the LOVING fold of God, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING can ever take us out or steal us away! That’s just the way it is!
And since today is Wednesday, let’s do some wailing nuh. (smile) As one wailer 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!’
Ah friends, I might be a tad under the weather, and the weather outside might be unkind, but I’m ever so glad to be alive this Wednesday morning, basking in the LOVE of my Saviour Jesus, holding steady to my furrow and looking forward to an even more wonderful future with my friend and brother.
Oh glory to God! Nothing can be better than that my fellow believers! So please let’s grasp the eternal and everlasting lifeline that Jesus has thrown out to us, and hold on tightly to all that He has to offer!
Now let’s turn to our Bit. ‘And the king shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.’
Yes my fellow Christians, we need to render sincere service to the poor and needy as our Lord and Saviour did.
I like how Mark puts it in his gospel. ‘For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward. And whosoever shall offend (cause to stumble) one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.’ (Mark 9:41-42)
Oh my people, yuh see what can, and will happen to us if we, through excessive pride and foolish thinking, refuse to serve our fellow man!
Our God is not only concerned with the big things that impinge, that impact our lives, but also on the small and everyday matters that we have to deal with. In fact He’s concerned about EVERYTHING that concerns us. That’s just the kind of God He is.
But we need to let Him into our lives before He can help us. And that’s the number ONE problem today! Too many people are running away from Jesus rather than into His ever-LOVING arms. That’s just not right or wise my brethren. But I digress.
So let’s end with these wonderful words of encouragement from Bruh Paul in Hebrews. ‘But beloved, we are persuaded (confident of) better things of (concerning) you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak. For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of LOVE, which ye have showed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.
And we desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: That ye be not slothful (sluggish, lazy), but followers (imitators) of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.’ (Heb.6:9-12)
And that my friends is my sincere wish and prayer for all of us today. Please, please, let’s passionately pick up the baton and run a good, steadfast and diligent race with it nuh. For that’s the wisdom of heaven. Much LOVE!
…one can’t win a race and get a reward…unless one runs in it…with diligence, steadfastness, and a strong sense of purpose…
P.S. It’s late and long, and I do hope it makes sense. But in any case, I know that my wise, wonderful and faithful Christian friends can pick sense from nonsense. (smile) Much LOVE!
21 Dec 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: ability, Abraham, admissible evidence, assurance, Athens, authority, balancing act, being fearful, black and white, blatant, boggles the imagination, boldfaced, Bruh Paul, brutality, calamitous state, called to account, Christian, Christmas, confidence, conscience, consitent, corruption, crime, crimes against humanity, culprits, destruction, disobedient, economics, emotional, evil, followers, God-given responsibility, Godhead, good, greed, help, homelessness, hunger, ignorance, incompetence, Jesus, judged, judgement, judgement day, justice, justice of God, letting voices be heard, life, light of the world, loss of jobs, LOVE, marginalization, Mars Hill, mental, mercy, military presence, needy, newspapers, obedient, offspring of God, ordained, parable, pay heed, petty excuses, physcial tiredness, piddling wages, plead, police, politics, poor getting poorer, poverty, prayer, public protests, raised from the dead, relationships, resistance, retribution, rich getting richer, righteousness., rule the roost, rumours of war, salt of the earth, secret thing, selfishness, serious action, Sodom, sorry picture, standards, standing up to wrongdoers, step up to the plate, strife, talents, technological prowess, throw the book, under a bushel, understanding, ungodly, unhappiness, unknown God, walk earhtly paths, wars, wisdom, wrongdoings
Ecclesiastes 12:14. For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
Oh Friends, the ole fella’s tired and unhappy this Saturday morning before Christmas. It’s not physical tiredness nuh, but mental and emotional unhappiness. But it’s all my fault, for I fell behind in my newspaper reading this week, then unwisely tried to catch up on several days reading, all at once. From now on though, I’m going to try my best to stay current, because the news from one day is bearable, but for several…no way Jose!
And what a sorry picture it all painted. We start of with wars and rumours of war, strife in almost every area. Then we have economic and political incompetence and corruption all over the world. And not only that, but the boldfaced and blatant manner in which these crimes against humanity are being carried out, boggles the imagination, especially when very little, if any retribution is being meted out to the culprits.
At least in earlier times we had the good sense to hide our wrong-doings, but not today. Today the greed and selfishness is all out in the open, nobody seems to have a conscience anymore. And in the balancing act that’s life, it only means that the rich are noticeably getting richer, while the poor are not only getting poorer, but also that their numbers are daily increasing at an alarming rate, what with the great loss of jobs and the piddling wages most of the remaining ones now pay.
And since there’s only one pie to be split up amongst several groups, if one group unilaterally increases their portion, then obviously all the others will have theirs curtailed. And consequently, we end up with astronomical rates of marginalization, abject poverty, homelessness, hunger, escalating crime and public protests, more police and military presence and brutality, etc. etc. And who would ever have expected such a calamitous state in a world that is at the height of its technological prowess eh?
Ah mih people, when and where will it all end eh? I guess the Lord alone knows. But we, His people down here on earth also have a serious, God-given responsibility to help, to do our best not to let matters deteriorate any further. And we can only do this by taking serious action; a combination of prayer, letting our voices be heard publicly, standing up to the wrongdoers, and helping those in need.
That’s what Jesus did, and what He fully expects of anyone who calls him or herself a Christian. But there again my fellow believers, we’re not truly living up to the standards that Jesus desires of His followers, and are allowing the ungodly to rule the roost without much resistance. But Friends, please, let’s listen to, and pay serious heed to the words of our Bit. ‘For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.’
Yes my brethren, all our actions will be judged. And when the Lord asks us why we didn’t do better with the talents He gave us like the servants in Jesus’ parable, (Matt.18:23-35) what are we going to tell Him eh? Remember too that ignorance will not be admissible evidence. So it’s full time, or rather overdue time that we get our act together and do something concrete for the world, instead of making petty excuses and being fearful, or being selfish and greedy like the world around us.
Remember we’re supposed to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth, but it seems that in fits of anxiety we’re hiding our lights under a bushel and the salt in us has become seriously diminished and thus useless. But Friends, we need to step up to the plate like so many others have done before us, and we’ll use this example of Bruh Paul in our Bit, as he stood up on Mars hill in Athens, explaining to its citizens about the altar they had erected with the inscription; ‘TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.’ (Acts 17:23)
‘Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead (Divine Nature) is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven (shaped) by art and man’s device (devising). And the times of this ignorance God winked at (overlooked); but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; wherefore he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.’ (Acts 17:29-31)
And we’ll close with some notes from the scholars’ re the Justice of God. ’17:31. The justice of God is the active extension of the holiness of God into matters of decision. It implies that God has the authority and ability to establish the standard for all relationships and that He will be consistent in relating to His obedient and disobedient creatures. The justice of God is both legislative and distributive.
Illustration: When Abraham attempted to prevent the destruction of Sodom, he appealed to God’s justice: he knew that the Judge of all the earth would do right (Gen.18:25). Application: So today, everyone can have confidence that God will deal with him justly, but the believer may additionally plead God’s mercy. (First Ref. Gen.3:14; Primary Ref. Acts 17:31; cf. Mark 10:18)’
There we have it Friends, in black and white! Now we can’t say we didn’t know, and anyway, as we said above, ignorance will not stand as a plausible plea on judgement day. Therefore let’s come together, TODAY, and clean up our acts, so that the just judge, on judgement day, will not have to throw the book at us. Much LOVE my people!
…and may the Lord grant us wisdom and understanding…to walk earthly paths…that will not bring harsh judgement…when He calls us to account…
20 Dec 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: actions, admonish, advice to the young, alive and kicking, awesome truth, bad, balancing act, Bruh Paul, care, cheer, childhood, choices, church at Corinth, consequences, controlling factor, dangerous day, dark days, deceitful conception, decisions, enjoyment, every work, evil, excuses, expectantly, eyes, fear of repercussions, fellowship, firmly grounded, flesh, followers, forearmed, forewarned, freezing rain, Friday chant, fun, futility, generous help, gladness, glorious kingdom, God is judge, God's judgement, good, heart, hedonistic sense, hidden things of darkness, impulses, in faith, jesus name, jobs, joy, judgement, judgement day, justified, life, lifetimes, live it out, LOVE, magnanimous god, magnificent, mighty, motives, perspective, praise of God, prayer, precipitation, prime of life, propagated by evildooers, prosper, real judgement, refreshed in soul, rejoice, relaxation, renewed, rest, reveal, righteousness., secret thing, Selah, self-indulgence, sight, snow, sorrow, sow diligently, straight and narrow, struggle, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, thanks, the Preacher, the world's our oyster, total commitment, trial, umbrella, vanity, vexation, warning, ways, week of work, weekend, words, wrong, youth
Ecclesiastes 12:14. For God shall bring every work into judgement with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
And then it was Friday – a wintry Friday! There’s already some precipitation on the ground in my area – not much, but precipitation nonetheless. And who knows what’s going to follow eh; snow or freezing rain, or a combination of both? Anyhow we cut it, if the weather people are right, today’s going to be a dangerous day.
So please people, let’s all take very good care as we go about our business outside, for the weather conditions will not be ideal… Hn! And we don’t want any accidents or misfortunes just before Christmas. So if you don’t HAVE to go out, then DON’T GO OUT! Words of true wisdom Friends. (smile)
I also noticed that the weather warning somewhat dampened our usually glorious shout of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ But with prayer and care, we ought to make it safely through another winter’s day.
And to top it all off, let’s chant out Friday chant, with joy and gladness, simply because we’re alive and kicking, have jobs to go to, and live under the umbrella of a mighty, magnificent and magnanimous God!
So my brethren, let’s chant: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Now let’s get that perspective firmly grounded in our beings, so that we can live it out over the weekend. And do we ever need stuff like that to keep us on the straight and narrow, especially when we have a Bit like today’s: ‘For God shall bring every work into judgement with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.’
Yeh mih people, all our words and actions WILL indeed be judged on the big day! But as the saying goes; to be forewarned is to be forearmed. So now that we know what’s going to eventually happen, we have no excuses for making bad, or wrong, or evil decisions and choices.
Yesterday we saw the Preacher telling us to sow diligently in the mornings, then in the evenings, hold out our hands expectantly, in faith, because we don’t know which seed that we planted will prosper. But then again, in our rejoicing, we also have to pay attention to the many dark days of trial and struggle that will surely come during our lifetimes. It’s a fine balancing act my brethren! That’s what life is.
Now hear this wise advice from the preacher to the young. Oh if many of us had heard it when we were young!
‘Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways (impulses) of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes (as you see to be best): but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgement. Therefore remove sorrow (vexation) from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth (prime of life) are vanity.’ (Eccl.11:9-10)
And isn’t that the awesome truth my people! When we are young, we feel the world’s our oyster, and we can do whatever we want to, without fear of repercussions or consequences. But that’s a deceitful conception, propagated by evildoers, for as we are seeing, God will one day judge all that we ever did here on planet earth.
And please note the scholars’ take on the situation. ‘Once again the exhortation to enjoyment is put in the imperative mood. Here the appeal is particularly addressed to the youth to admonish him to enjoy life before the onset of the feeble years described in 12:1-7.
Verse 9 can hardly be taken in a hedonistic sense, because the controlling factor in the youth’s enjoyment is said to be God’s judgement. Rather, it is a warning against a life misspent in self-indulgence.’
Oh Friends, the sooner we learn these lessons, the better off we’ll all be! For yesterday we saw Jesus declare the truth of the judgement day. (Matt.12:35-37) Now listen to Bruh Paul in his first missive to the church at Corinth, talking about real judgement.
‘For I know nothing by (against) myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord. Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest (reveal) the counsels (motives) of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.’ (1 Cor.4:4-5)
Ah mih people, more words of divine truth, which will do us a lot of good to hear and inwardly digest!
And here’s an interesting note from the scholars’. ‘4:4. I know nothing by myself (lit. “I know nothing against myself”). This sort of total commitment gave Paul the authority to make such a statement as “be ye followers of me” (cf. 1 Cor.4:16; 11:1).’
Yes Friends, let’s be followers of Bruh Paul nuh, as he was a follower of Jesus! We certainly can’t go wrong if we follow his example. Much LOVE!
…and the heavens shall declare his righteousness…for God is JUDGE himself… Selah (Ps.50:6)
07 Oct 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abominable sins, acceptable, adrenalin, aura of love, battle, bear hug, beautiful day, believers in Christ, bombarded, close attention, complain, confidence, conquerors, control our thoughts, credibility, deceitful fool, defiles, disappointed, enthusiasm, every knee shall bow, every tongue confess, evil, faithfulness, families, followers, glorious kingdom, glory hallelujah, grateful, gratitude, guarantee, hearts and minds, hell or high water, high-five, holy spirit, humble servants, influence our paths, innocent, invincible, Jesus, Jesus Christ, jobs, joy, King of Kings, lies, life of faith, Lord of Lords, LOVE, Lucifer, make or break, master of our lives, meditation, mighty wings, Monday Monday, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, not afraid, only superstar, peace, pedestal, planet earth, platitudes, power, protection, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, represent Jesus, roof of heaven, saviour, shoot the messenger, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, surrender, taunts, Thank You Lord, the greatest, unconditional LOVE, useful purpose, utmost faith, utmost importance, weary souls, whine
Psalm 19:14. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength (rock) and my redeemer.
And the crowd sang lustily: ‘Monday, oh Monday; just can’t wait for you to come…!’
Now, for the good news Friends; Monday is here! Glory Hallelujah! Nothing like the bearer of good tidings eh! And please don’t shoot or curse the messenger, or whine and complain about being tired and otherwise, for that’s not the proper response for followers of Jesus. Simply get up and gratefully say: ‘Thank You Lord for allowing me to see another beautiful day on your beautiful planet Earth.’ Then get yourself together to go out and labour.
And as always, our Monday Morning Battle Hymn is here to get our sluggish engines started, get the adrenalin flowing so that we can go out and represent Jesus in the best manner possible. Now let’s raise the roof of heaven this Monday morning, with a most excellent vocalization. (smile)
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!’
Yes mih people, that was indeed most excellent!
Meanwhile, up in heaven, the Father cannot contain Himself, and high-fives Jesus, saying: ‘Yes mih boy! Your people are certainly in good voice this morning. But let’s see how they’ll do when it comes time to join the battle with that deceitful fool Lucifer.’
Without missing a beat, a smiling and confident Jesus just raises His right hand in a clenched fist salute and replies: ‘Don’t worry Father, they’ll do just fine! I have the utmost faith in them.’
The Father LOVINGLY pats Him on the back and says: ‘I’m glad to hear that Son. Wouldn’t want You to be disappointed in the people You’ve chosen.’
But Jesus calmly rejoins: ‘Don’t concern Yourself Father. I’ve personally vetted every one of them, and they ALL have what it takes to be true, loyal and faithful followers.’
The Father then embraces Jesus in a tight and warm bear hug, and says: ‘Thank You Son. I know the feeling, for I also had the utmost faith in You when I sent You down there to redeem them from their abominable sins.’
Oh mih breddren, mih breddren, all yuh hear that conversation that just went on up there in heaven! Jesus put His actual life on the line once for us already, now He’s putting His credibility before the Father, His ability to pick good followers, guaranteeing our faithfulness! That means that come hell or high water, (smile) we just cannot let Him down, we can’t afford to disappoint Him, especially after all He’s innocently suffered on our behalf.
And after the Father done boast about Him and place Him on that high pedestal, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, to whom every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that HE’S THE GREATEST, the ONLY real SUPERSTAR!
No sir! We definitely can’t let Jesus down. So please, today, RIGHT NOW, let’s get truly serious about being His followers nuh, and get ourselves out into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, requesting His help, like Bruh David did in the memorable words of our Bit: ‘Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength (rock) and my redeemer.’
Yes Friends, all of us know those words, but too many of us just mouth them as simple platitudes, without taking them seriously. Today though, I want ALL of us to begin paying very close attention to them because they are of the utmost importance in our life of faith. Our hearts and minds control our thoughts, emotions and beliefs, and thus greatly influence the paths we choose, while our words declare what’s in our hearts and minds.
Remember too that words contain unimaginable power. So much so, that God used them to create the universe and all therein, as described in Genesis chapters 1 and 2.
And don’t forget either these wise and truthful words of Jesus: ‘Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.’ (Matt.15:11) Therefore let’s pay close attention to our words, for they can either make or break us.
More on this Bit tomorrow, God willing. Till then, may the Lord bless and keep us safely ensconced under the LOVING protection of His mighty wings, give us His wonderful peace and fill our hearts with His unconditional, eternal LOVE! Much much LOVE to all you, my fellow believers in Christ!
…oh what joy and gratitude enriches our souls…when Jesus is the Master of our lives…
SCRIP-BITS 