29 May 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a great family, a positive outlook on life., a reverential awe of God, a tree of life, abundance, all her paths are of peace, an understanding heart, as a shining light, being obedient to God's Word, by god's knowledge, by understanding he established the heavens, courage, creativity, curse, discern between good and bad, drink the wine of violence, eat the bread of wickedness, enter not into the path of the wicked, faith, favour, for Christ's sake, forget not wisdom, forsake her not, get understanding, get wisdom, go not in the way of evil men, good freinds, happy is everyone that holds wisdom fast, happy is the man that findeth wisdom, hear O my son, help us overcome the world, holy spirit, humility, Jesus Christ, keep Gdd's commandments, led thee in the right paths, let her not go for she is thy life, LOVE, love wisdom and she will keep you, mercy, negative word, promotion, receive my sayings, riches and honour in wisdom's left hand, salvation, seeking God's advice, share our blessings, she shall preserve thee, success, supernatural strength, take fast hold of instruction, talent, the clouds drop down dew, the contentious quality of wisdom, the depths are broken up, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, the Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth, the path of the just, the perfect day, the way of wisdom, the years of thy life shall be many, therefore get wisdom, they sleep not unless they've done evil, they're robbed of sleep unless they casue someone to fall, thou shalt not stumble, thy steps shall not be hindered, to judge thy people, treacure chest of wisdom, truth, when thou runnest, wisdom, wisdom is more precious than rubies or anything we can desire, wisdom is more profitable that gold or silver, wisdom is precious, wisdom is the principal thing, with all thy getting
Proverbs 4:7. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.
And finally the rain’s ended, after a somewhat rainy evening in my area. However, it’s fairly cloudy with a strong breeze trying to exert its authority over the poor trees. (smile) But that’s God and Mother’s Nature business, and I have no intention of getting between them. (smile) Anyway, as promised yesterday, if God spared our lives to see another wonderful day, we’d continue looking at the wise advice of Cousin Sol in Proverbs, re the unique, but rather contentious quality of Wisdom. And since we’re still alive and kicking, let’s get right into Cousin Sol’s treasure chest of Wisdom.
Now, the first thing we need to understand is that wisdom is precious, therefore he writes: ‘Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. For the merchandise of (gain from) it is better than the merchandise of (profit from) silver, and the gain (profit) thereof than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies: and all things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her. Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour. Her ways are of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her (holds her fast).’ (Prov. 3:13-18)
Wow mih bredrin! What a marvellous thing wisdom is! More profitable than silver and gold, and more precious than jewels or anything else that we can desire! Mama O Mama! Then she controls length of days in one hand, and riches and honour in the other! She brings joy and peace. She’s a tree of life to those who find her, and all who keep her close are exceedingly happy! Now, what a mighty woman is wisdom to be able to do all that! And furthermore: ‘The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens. By his knowledge the depths (deeps) are broken up, and the clouds drop down dew.’ (Prov. 3:19-20)
Oh brother! If the Lord used wisdom and understanding to create the universe, then that just shows how important those two things are! No wonder, Cousin Sol could later declare: ‘Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline (turn it away) from the words of thy mouth. Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: LOVE her, and she shall keep thee.’ (Prov. 4:5-6) Yes, Wisdom is surely something else my people! Thus Cousin Sol’s cry: ‘Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.’ (Prov. 4:7)
And Cousin Sol did not just talk the talk, but also walked it. Remember that is exactly what he asked the Lord for when he became king of Israel. ‘Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart (a wise heart) to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?’ (1 Kin. 3:9) Oh friends, the Lord was so thrilled that Cousin Sol did not ask for riches, or long life, or his enemies capitulation, that He gave him what he asked for and a whole lot more; made him both the wisest and richest man ever! (1 Kin. 3:11-13)
And that’s how the Lord desires that His people approach life; in humility, seeking His advice and being obedient to His Word. And let’s not forget that ‘The fear (reverential awe) of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.’ (Prov. 1:7) So we ought not to be foolish and despise wisdom, but voraciously seek it, for as Cousin Sol continues: ‘Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. She shall give to (place on) thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.’ (Prov. 4:8-9)
And we all desire those things, but we cannot acquire them unless we listen to and practice these wise and instructive words of Cousin Sol. ‘Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many. I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths. When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened (hindered); and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble. Take fast hold of instruction: let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life.
Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass by it (do not travel on it), turn from it, and pass away. For they sleep not, except (unless) they have done mischief (evil); and their sleep is taken away (they’re robbed of sleep), unless they cause some to fall. For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence. But the path of the just is as the shining (bright) light, that shineth more and mor (ever brighter) unto the perfect day.’ (Prov. 4:10-18)
And yuh know what friends? There’s nothing in those wise words of advice that we’ve not heard many times over, but still too many of us refuse to follow them. Let’s hope that this time they will encourage some more of us to follow the path of the just, which like a bright light, shines brighter and brighter every day, for that is what our world desperately needs right now since evil is rampant and the men who use it to their advantage are controlling our world, something that we cannot allow to continue, for Christ’s sake!
And let’s also remember, to help us fight that encroaching evil, the Lord in His exceeding goodness has bestowed on us our undeserved Thursday Blessings. So let’s declare and activate them right now nuh! As one strong and sincere voice! ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’
Now, it behooves us to go out and use those blessings to help others just as generously as the Lord shared them with us, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like do! Much LOVE!
…wisdom dictates that we keep God’s commandments…which are not burdensome…and furthermore…help us to overcome the world…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
11 Feb 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a busybody, a mountain of paperwork, a murderer. a thief, abundant revelations, an evil doer, be glad also with exceeding joy, be not ashamed, become like Christ in his death, beloved of God, blessed are ye, distresses, duty bound, exalted above measure, faith, for Christ's sake, glorify God, glory in my infirmities, God will help us with it, holy spirit, hurry, I may know him, in god's eyes, Jesus Christ, Jesus' sacrifice, LOVE, made conformable unto his death, mercy, my grace is sufficent for thee, my strength is made perfect in weakness, necessities, one iota, partakers of christ's sufferings, persecutions, rejoice, reproached for the name of Christ, reproaches, right up my alley, salvation, share His love with my neighbours, share in Christ's sufferings, suffer as a Christian, suffering for Christ is not easy, take pleasure in infirmities, the fellowship of his sufferings, the fiery trial, the power of Christ may rest upon me, the power of his resurrection, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak, the spirit of glory rests on you, the thorn in his flesh, think it not strange, trust my friend Jesus, truth, Tuesday Mantra, when his glory shall be revealed, when I am weak then I am strong, winter season, wisdom, worry
2 Corinthians 12: 9a. And he (the Lord) said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength (power) is made perfect in weakness.
Oh friends, it’s been a weird kind of Tuesday with the ole fella; feeling good, then not feeling so good, with pains, and then without much pain. But I’ve finally figured out that I’m the source of the problem. I think I’m healthier than I really am, so I try to do too much. Now I came down here earlier on in the afternoon, prospectively to write the Bit, but after looking at the mountain of paperwork that had piled up on my desk for a couple of weeks, I decided to tackle that first. And by the time I had brought some sort of normalcy to that situation, I was in no condition to write the Bit.
But here we are finally, better late than never, on this somewhat cloudy and chilly Tuesday afternoon. And one thing’s for sure, Mother or Father Winter is undoubtedly letting us know, that we are in the winter season with all the snow we’ve been receiving this year. They haven’t been overly big snowfalls, but we’re indeed getting snow more often than usual. We had a decent amount last Saturday night, and we’re expecting some more tomorrow and Thursday. And it’s not melting away either, like it’s done in the past few seasons.
And I’m chuckling here now, because there’s a scripture that’s been nagging me all day, as though it’s right up my alley. (smile) It’s this response to Bruh Paul’s three requests that the Lord take away the thorn in his flesh, given to him, so that he would not be exalted above measure for the abundant revelations entrusted to him. ‘And he (the Lord) said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength (power) is made perfect in weakness.’ (2 Cor. 12:9a)
Now why should that scripture keep nagging at me all day eh? I haven’t been given any great revelations like Bruh Paul, but I guess at some stage of the game I did ask the Lord to take away the pain, or even make it so that I could bear it. And that’s probably the answer that was finally conceded. (smile)
However, I don’t think I have the parts like Bruh Paul to simply say: Well then or ‘Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities (weaknesses), that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.’ (2 Cor. 12:9b-10)
Now those are interesting ruminations, and we most certainly ought to consider them if we want to be true believers, and the Lord does show up with His strength in our weaknesses, but unfortunately while the spirit might be willing, our flesh is usually too weak to appreciate those spiritual truths. Especially that one ‘for when I am weak, then I am strong.’
But it’s basically the same message that Peter preached to his readers, which includes us. ‘Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as (to the extent that) ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
If ye be reproached (insulted) for the name of Christ, happy (blessed) are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of (blasphemed), but on your part he is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evil doer, or as busybody (meddler) in other men’s affairs. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf (matter).’ (1 Pet. 4:12-16)
Yes friends, I know that we’re being asked to put up with a lot of unfortunate stuff, but just look at what Jesus put up with for us nuh. And we can never repay even one iota of His sacrifice. So, the least we can do is suffer some on His account, so that when He is revealed in all His splendour and glory, we will also be revealed with Him.
As Bruh Paul wrote to the Philippians: ‘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) Or in other words: ‘All I want is to know Christ and to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings and become like him in his death.’ And though that’s not easily manifested, it is indeed a most worthy statement for ALL believers to work towards. End of Sermon!
Now let’s go home declaring (chuh!!!!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting all and sundry know to whom we belong, lock, stock and barrel. As one strong and sincere voice: ‘In God’s eyes, 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 my immediate neighbours, as well as with the whole wide world! Glory be!’
And having said that, we are now duty bound to go out and do it, so that others can come to know and LOVE Christ like we do! Much LOVE!
…suffering for Christ is not easy…but it’s expected of us…and the Lord will help us with it…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
21 Sep 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a thorn in the flesh, be exceeding glad, Covid-19, dependence on God's grace, devoid of wise and encouraging words, distresses, divine help, easier said than done, exalted above measure, for Christ's sake, forgive us, glorying in his own power, God's faithfulness, great is your reward in heaven, he said unto me, heal our land, hear our prayer, I besought the Lord thrice, I take pleasure in infirmities, Jehovah Rapah, mental acuity, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, my grace is sufficient for thee, my strength is made perfect in weakness, natural disasters, negative situations, pandemic, persecutions, racial strife, rejoice, reproached for the name of Christ, reproaches, say all manner of evil falsely against you, sincere repentance, the God who heals, the Lord is always near, the messenger of Satan, the spirit of glory, the weakness of God is stronger than men, we have all sinned, we have Christ to enable us, we not giving up, we soldiering on, when men shall revile you, zeppo
2 Corinthians 12:9a. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength (power) is made perfect in weakness (weaknesses).
Oh friends, the old fella is feeling somewhat ‘achy, breaky’ this Monday morning in soul, body and mind. Hn! That means his mental acuity is not up to scratch and thus he is devoid of any wise and encouraging words at this present time. (smile) But don’t despair, for the Lord our wonderful God is near – He always is – and in His time, He will fill me with guidance and direction as to what wonderful, LOVING sentiments He desires me to convey to you all today. (smile)
Yeh mih people, the ole fella shaking it a tad rough this morning, lack of enough rest I believe, but we not giving up, we soldiering on because we have Christ with us to enable us with His strength and grace…. Oh mih bredrin ah just got the zeppo I was waiting for…Glory be!
Yuh see I wasn’t lying when I said that the Lord would eventually tell me what He wanted me to talk about today. And He just did that – today’s topic mirrors my present predicament; tiredness, a kind of weakness of body, soul and spirit that causes unavoidable dependence on God’s grace and mercy. And one of the best examples of that in the scripture is Bruh Paul’s conversation with the Lord about removing ‘the thorn in his flesh.’
As he puts it in his first letter to the Corinthians. ‘And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet (beat) me, lest I should be exalted above measure.’ (2 Cor. 12:7)
Yeh friends, Bruh Paul had some bodily or mental problem, no one knows for sure what it was, but it was painful (a thorn) and somewhat embarrassing, and he believed it was the devil’s doing, and it also prevented him from exalting himself, from glorying in his own strength and power, because of the amazing revelations that the Lord had showed him.
And he further explains: ‘For this thing I besought (pleaded with) the Lord thrice (three times), that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength (power) is made perfect in weakness (weaknesses).’ (2 Cor. 12:8-9a)
What a bam-bam mih people! But it’s the same thing that the Lord is saying to us today, and what He just demonstrated in my life, and has done so often over the thirteen years that I’ve been writing the Bit. I’m trying to do His work, I didn’t ask Him for it, He offered it to me, against my wish (smile), so He keeps on showing His faithfulness, never leaves me in the lurch.
But that doesn’t mean to say it’s always easy. No sir! Sometimes he makes me work very hard to find out what I need or want to say. But in the end, He always comes through. That’s why I can testify to His awesome faithfulness and the fact that He never gives you something to do without giving you the wherewithal, the anointing to do it.
But getting back to Bruh Paul, as a result of God’s proclamation, about His ‘strength is made perfect in weakness,’ he then declares (yehhh!) ‘Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities (weaknesses), that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then I am strong.’ (2 Cor. 12:9b-10)
Oh friends, ah sorry, but I haven’t reached Bruh Paul’s level yet nuh! I can’t say I take pleasure in those things – don’t know if I’ll ever say so – but I know that I can stand strong and handle them with God’s help because I’ve been doing it, the pleasure part though, that’s a different story. (smile) So all it means is that when we are weak, not up to scratch, it’s the opportune time for God to show up and demonstrate His might on our behalf. Look how often He did it for Bruh Paul, through all the trials and tribulations He allowed Him to go through. So He’ll do it for all His people, if we’ll just believe and have faith in His word and His promises.
And Peter offers an interesting statement, re being good stewards of God’s grace. ‘If ye be so reproached (insulted) for the name of Christ, happy (blessed) are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of (blasphemed), but on your part he is glorified.’ (1 Pet. 4:14) Yeh friends, when you suffer for Christ, you are blessed.
As Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, in the Beatitudes: ‘Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.’ (Matt. 5:11-12) Yeh precious people, I know that’s easier said than done, but with Jesus’ strength, power and authority, we can do it.
So let’s go home now offering up our Monday Battle Hymn to Almighty God, asking for His divine help to do what needs to be done. All together now, in confident voice, but humble heart. ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You that this Monday morning we’re alive and standing in faith despite the mass confusion that’s currently prevailing in our world.
We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems; the pandemic of Covid -19, the racial, political, and religious strife that’s ignited worldwide, plus the natural disasters like storms, famine, drought, plagues, climate change, wildfires, earthquakes and erupting volcanoes that suddenly seem to be blossoming more and more as time goes by.
Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously come short in obedience and compliance to Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, and You have 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, ordinary folks, as well as our leaders, employers and medical personnel, wise guidance and direction to bring our problems under control.
And for those who are currently suffering from the many negative situations, we pray that You will ease their suffering and heal them. Father, please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again we say: Amen!’
And as always, sincerity ought to lead to action. So what we waiting for eh? Much LOVE!
…the weakness of God…is stronger than men… (1 (Cor. 1:25a)
18 Oct 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: anger, anger inflames talk, annoying rigmarole, as God, ate, be put away, bedrock, better than the mighty, between a rock and a hard place, bitterness, Charles stanlwy, clamour, create havoc, drank, Ephesians, evil speaking, exalteth folly, feel the anger, fellowship, for Christ's sake, forbearing, forgiving, fortification, Friday chant, furthering God's kingdom, glory, go down upon your wrath, got sick, great understanding, has forgiven us, hasty of spirit, he that ruleth his spirit, he that taketh a city, impulsive, in Jesus name, in our souls, kind to one another, later than you sow, learn mih lesson, let not the sun, listening to God, malice, mere coincidence, more than you sow, muddy our waters, partied, pass over a transgression, patience, playing the fool, Praise the Lord, refreshed, relaxation, rest, rising up, roaring lion, scripture, sick time rights, silence., sin not, slow to anger, slow to speak, slow to wrath, swift to hear, talk inflames anger, tenderhearted, testimony, testing my resolve, TGIF!, Thank God is Friday, the discretion of a man, the Lord saved me, the righteousness of God, too much, trusty desktop, workingman, wrath, written indelibly, you reap what you sow
Proverbs 16:32. He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.
Yeah, it’s Friday! And though the sun is struggling to get out from under the cloud cover, there is joy in the land, simply because it’s Friday and the workweek is ending! Thus, there are many ‘Praise the Lord’s!’ both sincere and insincere, (smile) ringing out from all parts of the world. And there’s none louder than that of the ordinary workingman, who never shies away from expressing his true feelings.
And today, he shouts: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday oui! What a week it’s been! I ate and drank and partied so much this past Thanksgiving weekend, that I was truly sick come Tuesday and couldn’t go to the slave master’s work. Obviously he tried to give me a hard time when I showed up on Wednesday, but I just ignored him, because I have my sick time rights and this one was certainly legitimate. He feels that nobody should ever book off sick, because he loses money when they do.
But when he books off sick is okay though, because he’s the boss… Chuh! Just forget the li’l greedy man yes! And yuh better believe this weekend is going to be strictly rest! I like mih food and drinks, but not to the extent that I want them to get me sick. I surely hope I learn mih lesson this time yes. Thank God for Fridays and weekends oui!’
Ah friends, yuh see what happen when we overdo it? Unwanted consequences usually come back to haunt us. As Uncle Charles (Dr. Charles Stanley) likes to say: ‘You reap what you sow; more than you sow, and later than you sow.’ And that’s the gospel truth! It holds in all situations in life! So let’s turn now to our Friday Chant nuh, which isn’t as verbose and in your face as the workingman’s song, but does do the trick for us believers.
All together in true sincerity now: ‘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!’
Yes, we do need to be careful how we operate, because the enemy, like the roaring, toothless lion that he is, is always lurking around seeking ways to get into our lives and create havoc. And I have a very good testimony on that point to share. This morning as I was getting ready to write the Bit, my trusty desktop computer began playing the fool. It just would not access the Internet after booting up.
And as the Lord would have it, I opened the Good Book and began flipping pages and just happened to stop in Proverbs 16…no I don’t think that just happened nuh, because the Word that I read plainly said: ‘He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.’
That was certainly more than mere coincidence, because every time I turned my computer off and on, and got no progress, I could feel the anger rising up in me and I wanted to give it a few good thumps. But with that scripture staring me straight in the face, and knowing that the Lord, or the enemy was testing my resolve, I managed to not thump it, and it did behave properly after the fifth or sixth time of turning it on and off.
I believe the Lord saved me though, because I’m pretty sure that I would have thumped it if I had had to go through the annoying rigmarole one more time. (smile) So I passed the test…but just barely. And that’s the way this earthly life is my faithful brethren. Life just likes to test us, to muddy our waters and see how we react.
Sometimes it’s the Lord, other times it’s the enemy. But whoever or whatever causes us to find ourselves between a rock and hard place, we need to be able to bring up scripture written indelibly in our souls, bodies and minds, to help us handle them in a godly and sensible manner. And today we just going to check out a few of those scriptures that we need to have as our bedrock, our fortification against unnecessary anger.
Hear Cousin Sol earlier on: ‘He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit (impulsive) exalteth folly.’ (Prov.14:29) And that’s certainly no lie, as many of us have found out over the years. And just recently we featured these immortal verses from Bruh Paul to the Ephesians.
‘Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.’ (Eph.4:31-32) Words of eternal wisdom my brethren!
Meanwhile James adds his two-cents worth thus: ‘Wherefore my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not (does not produce) the righteousness of God.’ (James 1:19-20) And if you’re a true believer, you ought to know that. But listen to the scholars’ explanation anyway.
‘1:19. This is a key verse because it expresses three topics that James develops later: hearing, verses 19-27; speaking, 3:1-12; and wrath, 4:1-12.’ ‘1:20. Trials require silence and patience because talk inflames anger, and anger inflames talk. Anger also distracts from listening to God.’ I hope we all hear that friends: anger distracts us from listening to God, and when we don’t listen to God, we go astray and end up suffering severe consequences.
And here are some final words on the subject from Cousin Sol once again. ‘The discretion of a man deferreth his anger (makes him slow to anger); and it is his glory to pass over (overlook) a transgression.’ (Prov.19:11) Awright mih people, there’s the ammunition to fight the battle against anger, let’s go out and put it to good use now nuh! It’s Jesus’ desire for all His followers. Much LOVE!
…be ye angry…and sin not…let not the sun…go down upon your wrath… (Eph.4:26)
12 Oct 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a free for all, anger, Anselm, ask questions, baby-faced students, be kind, being turfed out, believers to live by, bitterness, brotherly kindness, clamour, comfort zone, communication, deceit, deviation from the norm, disorderly, evil speaking, fast and furious times, fighting a hard battle, finger food, for Christ's sake, fraudulence, friend, gala, god, godliness, hath forgiven you, healing balm, immoral, kind to one another, kindness, LOVE, malice, mingling, mixing, morality, morals, no control, opens her mouth, out of sync, progress, refreshing beverages, reminiscing, revolutions, sorrows, strains of a steelband, strenuous endeavours, taken advantage of, technological, the law of kindness, the ruins, to push God out, wisdom her tongue, words, wrath
Proverbs 31:26. She openeth her mouth with wisdom, and her tongue is the law of kindness.
So we’ve finally come to Saturday! Wow! Can’t believe that a week’s already passed since I’ve been in J.A; a busy week to boot! But as they say, time waits on no one, especially in these fast and furious times, when life is often just a blur, unless you take the time to really step back and consider what’s happening in your own life. Well yesterday evening we had what they called the gala event…but it wasn’t a real gala as the word usually implies, I think tonight’s formal dinner might more suit that bill.
But anyhow, at around seven thirty, about fifty something of us got together in the Mona Visitors Lodge, a nice venue on the campus for holding special occasions. After mixing and mingling for a while, we watched a video compilation of graduates, showing then and now pictures. That obviously brought forth hoots of laughter and comments as we saw the serious contrasts between the baby-faced students we were then, and the harder, older looks of the current times. Then there was a roll call of all those who had graduated in 1969, including the dear departed, and those who were at the function got up and acknowledged themselves.
After that we went up to the back of the building to what they call the ruins; the ruins of some old stone building, never knew it was there, and had finger food and refreshing beverages, (smile) and mingled some more, all the while being feted by the beautiful strains of a steelband. I guess a lot of reminiscing, as well as catching up went on. But it was certainly good to see people you hadn’t seen for at least fifty years and talk about things that happened way back then and persons you wouldn’t see for even longer. All in all, it was an interesting evening, but today is the real party…Bring it on!
And not forgetting that today is Saturday, let’s see what quotes our friend Anselm sent us this week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. Hear this first one: ‘The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.’ Yeh friends, curiosity is an interesting thing and does lead to all kinds of further interesting stuff, so it is of some importance to ask questions, if you want to get answers, though they say that ‘curiosity killed the cat.’ (smile) Yes, we can’t belabour the questioning just for questioning sake! And furthermore, in this day and age, where deceit and fraudulence are rampant, it is of exceeding importance to ask questions if you don’t want to be taken advantage of.
And this next quote says: ‘Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.’ There can be no doubt of the truth in that statement, for it’s only when we step out some from our comfort zone that we make what’s call progress. The problem however is how much deviation do we want, or how much is sufficient to not upturn the whole applecart?
That means to have a fairly stable society, progress ought to be orderly and sort of linear, moving from one point to another in an orderly fashion, otherwise all hell can break loose. Look at what happens in revolutions, be they armed and physical, or like what’s happening right now in our communication and technological sectors. The supposed progress is happening so quickly and disorderly that it’s throwing everything out of sync, and there’s no real control taking place, it’s become more like a free for all.
Then there’s this: ‘Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.’ Another truism, you might say! We can all find happiness in the most trying times if we turn on the real and true light…His name is Jesus Christ! John said that he was sent to bear witness of ‘the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.’ (John 1:8-9) So friends, with Jesus as the mainstay of our lives, happiness is indeed possibly in any kind of situation. Please never forget that!
Now hear this: ‘Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right.’ That makes me chuckle, for as far as I’m concerned our sense of morals should naturally make us do right. I guess it’s all in the interpretation, for when we talk about having morals we usually mean the good aspect, not the immoral part. So here it seems the whole morality landscape is being considered. But sadly morality seems to be a forgotten word today, just like God and godliness are being turfed out of our society.
Anyway, this last quote should help to fix all of that. ‘Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.’ And is that last part ever true my brethren. These are indeed some rough and difficult days and we can’t truly handle them without some kindness on the part of everybody. Unfortunately though, kindness seems to be a word that is fast disappearing from our society, as we just said, in the wake of our strenuous endeavours to push God and godliness out. But friends, the truth of the matter is that kindness is next to godliness.
Hear how Proverbs puts it, when talking about a virtuous woman. ‘She openeth her mouth with wisdom, and her tongue is the law of kindness.’ You can’t ever beat that my people…and it doesn’t apply to virtuous women alone, but to all God’s children! Yuh see how Ruth, born into idolatry, a Gentile, became a descendant of Jesus, Bruh David’s great grandmother, because of her steadfast support and kindness to her mother-in -law Naomi. Simply read all of Ruth. It’s a short book. (smile)
And there’s no better passage of scripture to end today’s Bit than this one from Ephesians. Hear Bruh Paul: Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.’ (Eph.4:29-32)
Ah mih people, what wonderful words for us believers to live by! Please, let’s do our sincere best to put them into action nuh, for they will indeed be healing balm to all our sorrows! Much LOVE!
…and to godliness…(add) brotherly kindness…and to brotherly kindness…LOVE… (1Pet.1:7)
29 Jun 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fool's wrath is heavier than both, a man of great wrath, a state of mind, a stone is heavey, anger, anger is outrageous, Anselm, as God, aspires to inspire us, be put away from you, be ye angry, bitterness, Canada Day, Christians, clamour, control our situations, don't take anger to bed, drag the past, every day is a new day, every minute you're angry, evil speaking, evil with good, for a better tomorrow, for Christ's sake, forgave you, forgiving, friends, give place to the devil, grieve not the Holy Spirit, happiness, kind to one another, let not the sun go down, LOVE, malice, miserable as hell, move on, psyche, replace anger with love, responsible for our happiness, sealed until, selfish machinations, shall suffer punishment, sin not, sleep in, solemn prayer, spoil the future, stand before envy, stress, tenderhearted, the day of redemption, the joy of the Lord, the sand weighty, the way you look at things, upon your wrath, well-being, wrath, wrath is cruel, you lose 60 seconds of happiness, your strength
Ephesians 4:26-27. Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place (an opportunity) to the devil.
Brother does it ever look glorious outside! Thank the Lord! And a li’l rain fell yesterday afternoon and in the middle of the night, but that was just to wash away the dirt and grime and cool the temperature down. So we open with a bright clean new day, with Jesus as the one constant in our lives, the ONLY One we need, leading and guiding us in His work!
And I know that many of us won’t see the bright new day until it gets old because we’re sleeping in on this wonderful Canada Day weekend Saturday morning. But that’s okay, you’re allowed! (smile) Anyway, since it’s Saturday, let’s turn to the quotes that our friend Anselm sent us this week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And like this week he was all caught up in the throes of happiness, (smile) because all the quotes deal with some aspect of happiness.
And the first thing we need to realize is that ‘Happiness is a state of mind. It’s just according to the way you look at things.’ Now there’s much truth to that because our life is basically built on our attitude towards it. Some of us can go through certain circumstances and be happy, while others go through the same things and be miserable as hell. That’s why as Christians, we’re taught that the joy of the Lord is our strength. (Neh.8:10)
With that joy constantly running through us, it gives us a steady kind of happiness, regardless of our circumstances, because our mind is stayed on the Lord. As Isaiah says: ‘Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on (sustained by) thee: because he trusteth in thee.’ (Is.26:3) And that’s why the enemy always tries to steal our joy, get us away from concentrating on the Lord, because he knows that’s the source of our strength.
Now hear these next two quotes, because they run together: ‘The thing everyone should realize is that the key to happiness is being happy by yourself and for yourself.’ And ‘Happiness depends upon us.’ They simply mean that we are responsible for our own happiness. We ought not to allow others to control our happiness by their selfish machinations.
The sad truth is that no one can make us happy unless we want to be happy, and the opposite is also true; no one can make us unhappy unless we allow them to do so. Therefore, let’s remember that when we say so and so made us happy or unhappy, we’re allowing them to control our situations, and that is definitely not the best thing for our psyche, for our well-being.
That brings us to this quote. ‘Every day is a new day, and you’ll never be able to find happiness if you don’t move on.’ Yes friends, we have to come to each day with the attitude that we will be happy, come what may; forget the problems of the past day and move on to the golden opportunities being provided by the new one. But unfortunately, too many of us drag the past with us to the present and thus spoil the future.
And thus we come to the last quote that so wisely informs us: ‘For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.’ Now isn’t that the gospel truth! (smile) It sounds simplistic, and it might very well be, but it is a fact of life. For however long we’re angry, we lose that much time which could have been spent in happiness. And I don’t know about you, but I like to spend as li’l time as possible being angry, and as much as possible being happy.
But we all are different, and some souls just seem to thrive on anger, not realizing that it’s killing them both literally and figuratively. That’s because anger, like stress, manifests itself in so many different ways; emotionally, mentally and physically, and are often all tied together, indistinguishable each from the other, but all doing evil and dirty work in our lives.
In any case, being constantly angry, or for long periods of time is not a good Christian characteristic, that’s why Bruh Paul gave this warning to the Ephesians. ‘Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place (an opportunity) to the devil.’
Yeh friends, it’s okay to get angry every so often, but it should only be for a brief period, but definitely don’t take it to bed with you, because you’ll just sleep angrily, if you sleep at all, and wake up angry too, thus allowing the devil to steal your joy for much too long. Getting angry doesn’t mean you’re automatically being sinful, but the longer you hold that anger, the more liable you are to give the enemy the opportunity to creep into your soul.
And it’s interesting some of the things Cousin Sol had to say about wrath and anger. For example: ‘A man of great wrath shall suffer punishment: for if thou deliver him, yet thou must do it again.’ (Prov.19:19) And how true that is! You always have to deliver the angry man from some problem he’s caused by his anger.
And: ‘A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool’s wrath is heavier than them both. Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous (a torrent); but who is able to stand before envy (jealousy)?’ (Prov.27:3-4) Wow! Does Cousin Sol ever lay it on thick, but true!
And because of all that intrinsic evil in those negative emotions, we need to hear and accept Bruh Paul’s warning. ‘And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.’ (Eph.4:30-32)
Oh my people, that’s my solemn prayer for us this Saturday morning. So on this Canada day weekend, as we celebrate the birth of our nation, let’s do it with those sentiments front and centre in our minds and lives nuh. It is the definite desire of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Much LOVE!
…let’s replace anger with LOVE…and evil with good…
18 Dec 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fallen world, action, anger, as God, basic foundation, be kind, bitterness, change, Christians, clamour, corrupt communication, effective, ever learn, fervent prayers, for Christ's sake, forgive men, forgive your trespasses, forgiving one another, fretful patience, grieve my attitude, grieve not, hath forgiven you, help the needy, hurry, immortal words, impatience, in god's eyes, intolerant, labour, LOVE, loving, malice, members one of another, more flexible, need to grow, negative traits, one to another, One Year Book of Bible promises, past mistakes, practical ideas, put away lying, put on the new man, renewed, righteousness, Ruth Harms Calkin, sealed, share His love, sincere hearts, sink into our consciousness, Slow Growth, so slow, speak truth, steal no more, strong voice, support, talk, tenderhearted, the beloeved of god, the Big Day, the day of redemption, the Holy Spirit, the Lord's time, the spirit of your mind, tolerant, treasure trove, true believers in Christ, true holiness, trust my friend Jesus, Tuesday Mantra, understanding, what I do, what I have, worry, wrath
Ephesians 4:32. And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
And so it’s Tuesday, the day before the next Big Day. Steups! Let’s hope it happens as planned now yes, and no more silly postponements! That means friends, many prayers bombarding heaven for the ole fella’s safe and productive surgery tomorrow. Glory be! That is if you want him to be around for a long time writing these interesting and provocative Bits! (smile)
And I sincerely thank you for all the support I’ve gotten so far, and I know that the effective and fervent prayers of you righteous people will be heard and positively answered in heaven. So I’m not worried, just a li’l skeptical that something might happen to put it off again. Let’s hope that this is now the Lord’s time! Amen!
And with that, let me share a most appropriate poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. This one’s titled ‘Slow Growth!’ Please pray with me: ‘In my fretful patience I am so often inclined to ask “Why can’t she change?” “Why is he always so slow?” “Will they ever learn from their past mistakes?”
And then You begin to impress me With my own slow progress upward. I see Your stretched-our patience. I remember how long you’ve waited for me. And I grieve that my attitude Is so often intolerant. O God, keep fresh the imprint Of my own need to grow And make me more flexible More understanding And always more LOVING.’
Ah mih people, not one of us can truly say we don’t see ourselves in that picture, because impatience and intolerance with the attendant hypocrisy are big parts of our society today. We all show some of those negative traits at some time or the other because we are human and live in a fallen society. But as sincere Christians, true believers in Christ, we ought to show those negative characteristics on as few occasions as possible.
Instead my faithful brethren, we ought to let these momentous words of Bruh Paul sink into our consciousness and lead us on a more Christ-like path. Hear him to the Ephesians, re the new life in Christ: ‘And be ye renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.
Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place (an opportunity) to the devil. Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.’ (Eph.4:23-32)
Oh my people, what a treasure trove of practical ideas for godly and righteous living! If we’d only adopt a few of them, our lives would be oh so much better. And it’s not like they are so difficult to put into practice. Once we accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, His Holy Spirit comes to live within us and seals us forever. Consequently our behaviour ought to change, granted, not all at once, but there must be some newness in our behaviour otherwise Jesus is not truly dwelling within us.
And hear these oh so practical options nuh: No more lying, but truth speaking to everybody, because we are all members of Christ’s body, His church. No keeping of anger after sundown, because it destroys our sleep and we wake up angry the next day. As best we can, don’t give the enemy any opportunities to invade our souls. Like no more stealing, but productive work, so that we can share with the unfortunate.
No cursing and corrupt communication, but words that can edify and uplift those who hear them. And put away all the negativity of vs. 31, which tend to be Satanic in nature. But instead, we ought to be kind, tenderhearted, forgiving, showing grace and mercy to others, just like our heavenly Father has showered down all that stuff on us.
Remember these immortal words of Jesus, the basic foundation upon which our faith has been founded and still rests: ‘For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.’ (Matt.6: 14-15)
Friends, it couldn’t be any simpler or plainer than that! So please, let’s seriously get ourselves together and begin treating each other the way we ought to nuh. Remember, it’s all for our benefit, not God’s! Now let’s go home declaring our Tuesday Mantra, letting the world know who and whose we are.
In strong voice with sincere hearts: ‘In God’s eyes, 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!’
And if we truly believe it, then let’s go out and action it! Much LOVE!
…true Christianity places much more emphasis…on action…than on talk…
02 Oct 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a clean heart, a fair try, a right spirit, abnormal situation, acceptable excuse, alacrity, be not ashamed, beloved of God, blameless, choice to obey, command me to do, create n me, cry out for mercy, diligence, distresses, doddering old man, ease the pain, expect me to do, faith, faithfully promised, fickle, fool myself, for Christ's sake, friend of Jesus, generosity, give grace, give light, glory in my infirmities, gospel truth, great reward, grin and bear the apin, have faith, hawing, hemming, holy spirit, humanly possible, hurry, indisputably true, infirmities, intimating, keep, keep thy heart, let my heart be sound, light, LOVE, magnanimity, make all things right, maturity, mind, mind-boggling situation, motives, my grace is sufficient, my strength, natural weakness, necessities, obey me, One Year Book of Bible promises, outward actions, perfect, perfection, power made perfect in weakness, power to obey, principles, racked with pain, ramifications, reproaches, rest upon me, Ruth Harms Calkin, salt, seat of the intellect, seductive rain, seek, share with the world, smiling, statutes, take pleasure, the issues of life, the keeping of my word, the power of christ, the soul of man, the thorn in his side, then I am strong, true colours, Tuesday Mantra, unalterable truths, unreachable standards, walking hand in hand, when I am weak, wisdom, worry
Psalm 119:80. Let my heart be sound (blameless) in thy statutes; that I be not ashamed.
Oh mih people, would somebody please explain it to me, because I obviously have not been granted the heavenly wisdom to understand the ramifications of this mind-boggling situation! And I’m talking about how a body can go to bed feeling perfectly fine – well not perfect perfect, but fairly decent – then some five or six hours later wake up racked with pain in body and soul, reduced to moving around like a doddering old man?
Oh, I know some of you will say than I am old, so that’s no surprise… But please, I beg to differ. I’ll grant that I’m somewhat aged, (smile) but nowhere enough yet to be doddering! And to make matters worse, while lying there contemplating the pain and getting up, I was seduced to stay in bed for another forty five minutes by a couple showers of seductive rain. Yes, it looks like it’s going to be a ‘riney’ day. But how fickle is the soul of man eh! (smile)
And though I’ve asked the Lord a couple of times about this abnormal situation, I’ve gotten no answer, which leads me to thinking that He’s intimating to me, the same thing that He said to Bruh Paul, when he asked for relief from the thorn in his side. ‘My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength (power) is made perfect in weakness.’ (2 Cor.12:9a)
And though I know that, and gratefully acknowledge it, it still doesn’t ease the pain. (smile) I guess the Lord’s waiting for me to say like Bruh Paul did after receiving that Bit of info. ‘Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then I am strong.’ (2 Cor.12:9b-10)
Oh my brethren, I’m trying, but I’m nowhere close to Bruh Paul’s maturity nuh, and the Lord knows it. So I’m not going to fool myself by saying all those things that he says above. I’m just going to move around as best as I can, grin and bear the pain, and/or cry out for mercy, (smile) and have faith for the Lord to make ALL things right as He’s faithfully promised.
Now let’s hope that I have enough space to write what I really intended to write, before the Holy Spirit led me to write what I’ve actually written. (smile) And it’s a most appropriate poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin, titled, ‘Three Unalterable Truths.’
Please pray with me: ‘Lord, through the years Of walking hand-in-hand with You I have learned three unalterable truths: First, what you command me to do You consistently expect me to do. Never do you say, “Give the command a fair try.” Nor do You say, “Consider and then decide.” My natural weakness is never An acceptable excuse. Nor is my inability To reach unreachable standards. Rather, You tell me to seek And then to keep your commands.
Second, all of Your commands Are always for my ultimate good. “Obey me,” Your Word says “So that I can do for you All the wonderful things I promised…” “In the keeping of My Word There is great reward.” Third, whatever You command me to do You fully enable me to do. As You give light to reveal a command So you give grace to fulfill it. Your divine energy is always at my disposal. The choice to obey is always mine. The power to obey is always Yours.’
And the sad, humorous and glorious fact friends, is ALL of that is indisputably true! When the Lord gives us a command, He expects us to obey without a lot of hemming and hawing, as we so often tend to do. And that’s simply because He never asks us to do something without giving us His powerful grace to enable us to do it.
And the best part of it all my brethren is when we obey with alacrity and faith, there are innumerable rewards to be reaped from His magnanimity and outrageous generosity! Give Him His much deserved glory my people! And the Bible Promise associated with that poem is also our Bit for today: ‘Let my heart be sound (blameless) in thy statutes; that I be not ashamed.’
Yes my brethren, being blameless in keeping the Lord’s principles is something we should all aspire to. And don’t worry, He knows that we’re not perfect, because He didn’t make us perfect, but He does expect us to try and get as close to perfection as is humanly possible. It’s all in the state of our hearts friends. As Cousin Sol warns: ‘Keep (look after) thy heart (and mind) with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.’ (Prov.4:23)
And the scholars explain: ‘4:23. Heart could often be translated “mind” in the book. Since the Hebrews had no separate word for “mind,” the word “heart” often served to represent the seat of the intellect. The key to the whole man is his mind. Whatever captures the mind captures the man.’ Gospel truth that my fellow believers!
And remember the Lord doesn’t go by our outward actions, He searches our hearts and minds to discover our true motives. That’s why we have to cry out like Bruh David did in his prayer for cleansing: ‘Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right (steadfast) spirit within me.’ (Ps.51:10)
And having taken all of that to heart (smile), let’s go home declaring (Steups! Spelt it wrong again) our Tuesday Mantra, letting the whole world know who and whose we are. In loud voice and strong sense of purpose: ‘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!’
And the obvious corollary to that is for us to now go out and share Jesus’ amazing LOVE with the rest of the world, as He so greatly desires of us. Much LOVE!
…Jesus is still waiting for us to show our true colours…to be the salt…and the light of the world…as He asked us to be…
P.S. It’s certainly been a smiley day! But why not eh? That’s why the Lord gave us the wonderful ability of smiling…to smile! Much LOVE!
20 Dec 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living
Tags: actions, admonishing, alive and kicking, anger, as God, be thankful, be ye kind to one another, believe that ye receive them, bitterness, brothers and sisters in christ, caring, charity, Christ's birth, christianity, Christians, Christmas, clamour, compassion, desire, early mornings, evil speaking, faith, flexible, for Christ's sake, forbearing, forgive, forgiveness, forgiving one another, foundational truths, giving thanks to god, grace, hath forgiven you, hymns, impatience, in honour of christ's birth, in the name of the Lord Jesus, intolerant attitude, judging others, late nights, learn from past mistakes, LOVE, loving, loving kindness, malice, need to grow, negative attitudes, oil, One Body, One Year Book of Bible promises, our shortcomings, patience, pleasure, power, pray, psalms, put away from you, quarrel, refuse to forgive, rule in your hearts, Ruth Harms Calkin, sense of purpose, share jesus' love, singing with grace, Slow Growth, slow progress, spiritual songs, teaching, tenderhearted, the beloved of God, the bond of perfectness, the Colossians, the Ephesians, the imprint, the new life in Christ, the peace of God, trap, trespasses, truths, Tuesday Mantra, understanding, water, wisdom, withering of the fig tree, wonderful world, words, wrath, your Father in heaven
Ephesians 4:32. And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
Aye friends, we all know that like oil and water, late nights and early mornings don’t mix. So please tell me why I insist on trying to make them mix eh? I guess you’ll realize by now that I had one of those extremely late nights, and the ole body refused to get up too early to write the Bit. (smile)
But that’s life mih breddren. At least I’m alive and kicking, though somewhat late. And enough with the excuses, let’s get to a rather appropriate poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises, with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. It’s titled ‘Slow Growth.’
And it says: ‘In my fretful impatience I am so often inclined to ask “Why can’t she change?” “Why is she always so slow?” “Will they ever learn from past mistakes?” And then You begin to impress me With my own slow progress upward.
I see Your stretched-out patience. I remember how long You’ve waited for me. And I grieve that my attitude Is so often intolerant. O God, keep fresh the imprint Of my own need to grow And make me more flexible More understanding And always more LOVING.’
Ah mih people, how many of us fall into that trap eh? We complain about the slowness and negative attitudes of others, only to later on find out that our progress is just as slow and negative, if not slower and more negative.
We just seem to take immense pleasure in judging others, without paying any, or sufficient attention to our own shortcomings. Now that’s definitely not right my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Instead we should have the attitude as declared by the Bible Promise for that poem, which is also our Bit for today.
However, let’s begin with the verse before it, so that we can have a better idea of the context. Bruh Paul was here explaining to the Ephesians the new life in Christ that Christians ought to live after they are saved.
And having given them a long list of do’s and don’ts, he finally ends up thus: ‘Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.’ (Eph.4:31-32)
Yeh friends, if there are two things we always need to remember in our dealings with our fellow man are the forgiveness and LOVING-kindness that the Lord God Almighty has shown us in our own lives, and show the same to those we come into contact with.
Remember what Jesus said to His disciples after the withering of the fig tree. ‘Therefore I say unto you, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have aught (anything) against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.’ (Mark 11:24-26)
Oh precious people of Christ, I don’t see how Jesus could have made the utmost importance of forgiveness any clearer nuh! But yet we still refuse to forgive others, while seeking forgiveness from heaven.
It’s NEVER going to work my brethren! Only as we forgive, will we be forgiven. Forgiveness begins with us! Let’s try and remember that nuh, especially in this Christmas season, one of LOVE, caring and compassion in honour of Christ’s birth.
And in regards to tenderheartedness, let’s check out this sermon on the Christian virtues, as outlined by Bruh Paul in his letter to the Colossians. ‘Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies (tender mercies), kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering;
Forbearing (bearing with) one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity (LOVE), which is the bond of perfectness.
And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.’ (Col.3:12-17)
Oh my people, my people, what a wise and powerful prescription for earthly living! Can you imagine if Christians even put half of that stuff into their everyday lives, what a wonderful world we’d have?
But as usual, we like to merely talk the talk and not walk the walk. But let me remind us friends that Christianity is an action movement, not simply a talk show. Jesus came and died for us, putting His words into actions. Now it’s up to us to do the same.
And to help us do that, let’s go home declaring our Tuesday Mantra with power and faith, and a strong sense of purpose.
As one 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!’
And as we believe those foundational truths my brethren, let’s put them into action nuh, otherwise it’s all a big waste of time. Much LOVE!
…only as we are tenderhearted and forgiving…will we receive the same…
06 Aug 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a command, as we forgive our debtors, August, believers, body of Christ, Church of Christ, church wardens, clothing, comfort, conditional statement, crapaud smoke we pipe, divesting, elementary priciple, fellow believers, finances, food, for Christ's sake, forgive, forgive our debts, forgiveness, generosity, generous gifts, give voice to, good work, green foliage, grow, harsh reality, harvest, help, holy spirit, if you don't forgive, impartiality, Jesus, Jesus' earthly body, Jesus' kingdom, judgement, July, justice, kind to each other, law of liberty, levels of giving, LOVE, mercy, missions, nakedness, needy, nourishment, orphan, out of luck, outreach, poor, rebuke, repent, special place in God's heart, stranger, succour, summer's almost over, support of parishoners, survive, talent, tenderhearted, the church, the forgiveness hard, the hurt is great, the life of a believer, the Lord's prayer, time, tithes, toe the line, triumph, up the stream, widow, winter, wisdom, without a lifeline, written indelibly in our consciousness, you reap what you sow, your Father won't forgive you
Matthew 6:15. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Oh Friends, do you realize that we’re already in the middle of August, and that just last week it was July? (smile) Yes mih people, the days are certainly rushing ahead fast and furious. The summer’s almost over! Where did it go to eh?
In another few weeks the trees will begin divesting themselves of all their beautiful green foliage, getting ready to face the harsh reality that’s winter in their total nakedness, when food and nourishment become scarce.
Let us hope though, that no human brethren are doing, or planning to put that same strategy into effect, for there is always nourishment and succour available in the body of Christ.
Let me put that in more practical terms; there should always be food, clothing and comfort available to those in need, from Jesus’ earthly body, the church.
That’s one of the basic reasons the Lord instituted tithes; so that His personal storehouse would always have supplies for the poor and needy, for the stranger, the widow and the orphan. Note that God has a very special place in His heart for those people, and has provided for them thus.
Oh my fellow believers, are we tithing to our local church? We should be, for without our generous gifts, Jesus’ church would not be able to function as it ought.
Remember that the church is not merely the building, but even more so the believers who occupy it. And we can’t maintain the buildings, or do the outreach and missions desired by Christ without the generous help of the congregation in terms of talent, time and finances.
Everybody wants to see their church buildings looking spiffy and fine, and want to hear about all the good work that body of Christ is doing in their community and around the world, and that’s a very worthwhile dream and wish, but we also need to be practical and realize that none of it can happen without the generous support of the parishioners.
So I urge us today, to check our individual generosity to our local church, and seriously consider raising our levels of giving, in terms of time, talent and money, for that’s the only way the church, as Christ’s body here on earth, will survive and grow the way He desires it to.
Hn, hn, hn! Yes Friends, I’m here chuckling because I don’t know where all of that came from. I certainly wasn’t intending to write about it. I guess it must have come from the church warden’s meeting I attended last evening, where one of the topics we discussed was finances, and the need to improve, to upgrade ours. And I guess that would be the situation in many other churches too, hence the Holy Spirit’s leading to give voice to it.
Anyway mih breddren, let’s see if we can finish up the message on forgiveness with this Bit today. ‘But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive you.’
Oh my people, my people, we can never overestimate the importance of forgiveness in the life of a believer! And it’s simply because we won’t be forgiven, if we don’t forgive. Jesus made that quite clear in the Lord’s Prayer: ‘And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.’ (Matt.6:12)
Please note that it’s a conditional statement; forgive us, AS we forgive. Yes my brethren, only as we forgive, will our heavenly Father forgive us. So we had better get that written indelibly in our consciousness and practice it, otherwise we’re simply out of luck. Well not really luck, but you know what I mean; crapaud smoke we pipe, we up the stream without a lifeline. (smile)
Now let’s look at some scriptures that emphasize forgiveness. In this first passage, Luke has Jesus saying these most meaningful words when He teaches forgiveness.
‘Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent; forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.’ (Luke 17:3-4)
Oh Friends, that means that every time we’re asked for forgiveness, we MUST give it! ‘Thou shalt forgive him,’ is a command, meaning that no flexibility is allowed in our behaviour, even though the hurt is great and the forgiveness hard!
I know that sounds sort of rough and unfair my fellow believers, but that’s just the way it is in Jesus’ kingdom, and if you desire to be His follower, then you need to toe the line. It’s as simple as that.
Every organization has rules, and if you want to be a continual member, then you must abide by their rules. The same goes for the church of Christ!
Now listen to James as he talks about impartiality to all. ‘So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. For he shall have judgement without mercy, that hath showed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against (triumphs over) judgement.’ (James 2:12-13)
Yes Friends, it all comes right back to the elementary principle in God’s handling of the universe; you reap what you sow. So if you sow things like mercy, forgiveness, justice and LOVE, those are the things you will eventually reap, in greater amount than what you sowed too.
So please my people, let’s faithfully go out and sow the good things of Jesus today nuh, so that tomorrow, when our harvest comes in, we will reap the wonderful abundance that’s granted to those who sow in LOVE, forgiveness, justice and mercy.
As Cousin Sol would say, ‘that’s the wisdom for each and every age!’ (smile) Much, much LOVE my fellow believers!
…and be ye kind one to another…tenderhearted…forgiving one another…even as God…for Christ’s sake…hath forgiven you… (Eph.4:32)
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