02 Sep 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a brand new day, a day begun with Jesus, a godly life, a good name is better than precious ointment, a good name is to be chosen above riches, a good report makes the bones fat, a good reputation, a shout of thanks, a shout out to Jesus, Advocate, Alpha and Omega, bawling, born again, conflict, earthly riches, every knee shall bow, every tongue confess, excellence, faith, forgiveness, fruits of the Spirit, glory, glory hallelujah, glory to God, godly principles, good character, halfway home, head holding, high priest, holy spirit, hope, human nature, I'm not focusing on the past, I'm not looking back, I'm not turning back, I'm so glad to be alive, in heaven alongside Jesus, in our own strength, integrity, jehovah god, Jesus christ is Lord, joy, kindness, King of Kings, Lord and Saviour, Lord of Lords, LOVE, loving favour rather than silver or gold, material things, meekness, merciful God, mercy, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, my hands are on the plough, no beating about the bush, praise, prince of peace, seek God's favour, self-control, stay focused on God, stress, the breath of life, the day of death, the day of one's birth, the light of the eyes rejoiceth the heart, the obits, the straight and narrow path, the vicissitudes of life, to a glorious future with Jesus, truth, understanding, wealth, Wednesday Wail, wisdom, worries
Proverbs 22:1. A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and LOVING favour rather than silver and gold.
Aye Friends, it’s wailing Wednesday! So let us wail nuh. (smile) ‘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!’
Yes my people, it’s simple, straightforward and to the point! No beating about the bush! If it’s a day for wailing, then why not wail from the very beginning eh?
But you know something else my brethren? A li’l wail, a li’l shout out to Jesus when you wake up in the morning to face a brand new day, is the best way to begin it.
Why? Because it causes you to be more focused, filled with more joy, more LOVE, faith, hope, kindness, forgiveness and mercy…more of the fruits of the spirit, like meekness and self-control. And those of you who practice it, know that I am telling the truth.
Oh my fellow believers, as well as you unbelievers, believe me, a day begun with Jesus WILL outshine any that’s not begun with Him, where He is not the focus of our minds, body and souls! So please, let’s pledge that from here on in, every morning that we arise and don’t see our name in the obits, that we’ll give Jesus a wail, a shout out of thanks and praise and glory.
And if we do happen to see our name in the obits, (smile) well then there’s no need to worry, because we’ll be right there in heaven alongside Jesus, exactly where we want to be.
Oh Glory to God, for giving us such a wonderful Lord and Saviour, Prince of Peace, Advocate, High Priest, the Alpha and Omega, Lord of Lords and King of Kings, to whom each knee will eventually bow, and every tongue confess that He is Lord indeed! Glory Hallelujah!
And like our good God is trying to tell us something significant this morning, because I was led to a rather interesting Bit from Cousin Sol, namely, that ‘A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and LOVING favour rather than silver and gold.’ Oh my people, is that ever so true!
And as the scholars explain it: ‘22:1. A good reputation is more important that wealth.’
Oh if we’d only believe that my brethren, and stop running down the worthless wealth of material things and earthly riches, our lives would be so much better; less stress, less conflict, less head holding and bawling.
That’s what our great and merciful God is trying to tell us today; be a person of good character, one of integrity and excellence, seek my favour, rather than the world’s, and your life will be amazing.
Oh Friends, I know that when the vicissitudes of life come upon us, it’s not always easy to stay focused on Jesus, but we just have to do our best, so that we can receive His best.
When the money and health and relationship worries tumble down on us, it’s difficult not to try and withstand and/or overcome them in our own strength, although we have the faithful promises of our Lord to look after and provide for all our needs. It’s just human nature.
But since we are born again in the Holy Spirit, we need to put away those worldly fantasies and seize the opportunity to stay focused on God and His things, which are way more lasting and edifying than the things of the world. We can’t buy a good name, integrity or character with earthly wealth, although a lot of us are trying to do it, especially in these heady times of upcoming elections.
Earlier on in Proverbs, Cousin Sol tells us that ‘The light of the eyes rejoiceth the heart: and a good report maketh the bones fat (healthy). (Prov.15:30)
That’s ever so true Friends! When our eyes are opened with wisdom, our hearts rejoice, and when we are commended for our stellar behaviour, integrity and character, it does raise the level of our health; physically, spiritually and emotionally. There’s nothing like people saying good and truthful things about us.
As Cousin Sol say in Ecclesiastes 7: ‘A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth.’ (Eccl.7:1)
Yes Friends, wise living, and we’re talking about godly not worldly wisdom, is ALWAYS THE BEST WAY TO GO!
And you cannot be led down that straight and narrow path by anyone else other than Jehovah God.
So please, let’s go to Him today nuh, right now, if necessary, and sincerely ask Him to grant us the wisdom and understanding we need to live a wise and godly life, one that’s ever so pleasing to Him. For that is indeed wisdom to the nth degree…everlasting wisdom! Much LOVE!
…godly principles cannot be bought with earthly wealth…
01 Sep 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a parent, a wise man scaleth the city of the mighty, Ark of the Covenant, ask in faith, blessed, Bobby Schuller, brains, brawn, brute strength, California, casts down the strength of the confidence thereof., copying, Cousin Bobby, Diana Rampersad, didn't understand, direction, forgiveness, friends, generous nature, going to be with the Lord, Gramps Schuller, guidance, he that doubts is like the wave of the sea, heaven on earth, heavenly days, Hour of Power, hurry, I am the beloved of god, I can trust my friend Jesus, I'm not what I do, I'm not what I have, I'm not what people say about me, Independence Day, Israelites, Jamaica's Independence Day, Jericho, laziness, LOVE, mea culpa, Mother Earth, my friend Jesus, my heart is right, not doubting, pasting, paying proper attention, rough times, scales the walls of the mighty, share the Love of Jesus, Shepherd's Grove, smile, sons and daughters of God, Trinidad and Tobago's Independence Day, trumpets of ram's horns, truth, wisdom, worry
Proverbs 21:22. A wise man scaleth (climbs over the walls of) the city of the mighty, and casteth down the strength of the confidence (trusted stronghold) thereof.
Oh Friends, mea culpa, mea culpa, mea culpa, mea culpa!
Yes, on this first day of September, there are four things I want to apologize for. The first is not having the right date at the top of the Bit yesterday; instead of the 31st, I had the 30th. Although I don’t know how many of you noticed it. (smile) But that’s what comes from laziness and copying and pasting and not paying proper attention.
The second is for not mentioning Jamaica’s Independence Day on August 6, which celebrated 53 years of freedom from her colonial rulers. The third thing is not celebrating T&T’s Independence Day yesterday, the 31st, also marking 53 years of independence from Mother England.
I always write about Canada and the U.S Independence Day, but I forget or choose not to write about my two home countries…countries that nurtured me and made me who I am. Chuh! That’s definitely not good enough. And lastly, I forgot to celebrate the fourth anniversary of my beloved mother Molly going to be with Lord on August 31 2011.
Now that one I need some special forgiveness for. But yuh know what Friends? I have no doubt that that is forthcoming, for the ole girl knows that my heart is right, it’s just that my brain is getting a li’l old and foggy. (smile) And it’s not like I have completely forgotten about her, because I visited her just this past week, and we had a good chat, about what’s happening now and all the old times we spent together, both the good and the bad. And believe me, they were indeed some rough times that people don’t know about.
Yeh Mols baby, I myself didn’t understand some of those hard times back then, not until I became a parent myself, and I’m sincerely sorry for any problems I caused through my not understanding. And I know that because of your LOVING and generous nature, you’ll say that’s okay, you didn’t expect me to understand such things at such a young age.
Anyway, I know that you are now resting and enjoying your heavenly days with the Saviour, as you so richly deserve. I know that you and your grandmother Di (Diana Rampersad) are chatting away everyday. (smile) Although it was definitely a shock earlier on this year, to hear that Di had departed this earth so unexpectedly, and at such a young age too. But I guess that was the Lord’s decision, and who can argue with it eh? Nobody!
So you two, please enjoy yourselves and do whatever it is you do heaven (smile), while we slog it out down here on Mother Earth, until the Lord calls us to join you all.
Now for all of us still down here in heaven on earth, here’s a simple prayer that says so much. It’s being used by the congregation of Shepherd’s Grove, the church in Southern California from which the Hour Of Power broadcasts are done, now conducted by Cousin Bobby (Robert Schuller III) Gramps Schuller’s grandson.
Please pray with me. ‘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.’
Yes my brethren, we are indeed the beloved of God, Almighty God’s wonderful children, so we ought to have nothing to worry about, especially where our identification is concerned. We are not distinguished by what we do, where we live, or any other worldly determination. First and foremost we are the sons and daughters of the Creator! Matter fixed!
That brings us to our Bit; certainly an interesting statement from Cousin Sol. ‘A wise man scaleth (climbs over the walls of) the city of the mighty, and casteth down the strength of the confidence (trusted stronghold) thereof.’ And when we reason it out Friends, we see that it’s absolutely true.
The scholars declare it as: ‘21:22. Wisdom is mightier than brute strength.’
And isn’t that the God-awesome truth? It surely is! Brains are far more useful than brawn, as the old saying goes. Brawn can be uppermost for a while, but in the long run it’s the brain that scales the walls of the mighty. Just look at the brilliant example in how the Israelites captured the supposedly impregnable city of Jericho.
They simply marched around it once a day, in total silence, for six days, with seven priests bearing before the Ark of the Covenant seven trumpets of ram’s horns. And on the seventh day they marched around it seven times, with the priests blowing on their trumpets. And when they made a long blast the people shouted a loud shout, and eventually the walls of Jericho tumbled down and the Israelites simply went in and took it over. (Josh. 6:1-27)
Granted that was basically through God’s machinations, but the moral of the story is that brute force would not have brought down the walls of Jericho, but brains, wise council did. And even today my brethren, it is wisdom for us to come before God with every problem and ask for His wise guidance, before we do anything at all.
As Cousin Sol further tells us: ‘A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength. For by wise counsel. Thou shalt make thy war (wage your own war): and in the multitude of counselors there is safety.’ (Prov.24:5-6)
Yes Friends, wisdom, or rather in the pursuit of wisdom, lies the answer to a myriad of our problems. And where does this wonderful thing termed wisdom come from?
James tells us: ‘If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not (without reproach); and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering (without doubting). For he that wavereth (doubts) is like wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.’ (James 1:5-6)
So my fellow believers, today, please let’s turn to the Lord God Jehovah for guidance and direction in ALL that we do, but with a sincere faith and trust that He will acknowledge our requests. Much LOVE!
…blessed is he that has a combination of brains and brawn…but if only one is granted…brains will surely win the day…
30 Aug 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a special invitation, advocating on our behalf, arrogant, awe, blessed be the Lord, Christ died for us, Deity of all deities, embracing, eternal life, foolish, forgiveness, gather together in God's sanctuary, getting into bed with Lucifer, glorify, glory hallelujah, glory to God, god, God demonstrates His love for us, God loved us, God's great compassion, grace, grasp God's love, gratitude, His only begotten Son, human love, Jehovah, jehovah god, Jethro, LOVE, magnify, make a joyful noise unto the Lord, mercy, Moses, obedience, our bounden duty, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, Pharaoh, praise, promting, propitiation for sins, proud, revelling in, reverence, salvation, sing, thanks, thanksgiving, the bells tolling, the Boss, the Lord is greater than all gods, the LOVE of God, the Most High, the things of God, the things of this world, thou art exalted far above all gods, thou Lord art high above all the earth, undeserving children of men, unwise, while we were yet sinners, worship
Psalm 97:9. For thou , Lord, art high above all the earth: thou art exalted far above all gods.
Aye Friends and neighbours! Yuh hear them; the bells tolling sweetly in the distance? Yes, this Sunday morning they are extending a special invitation to all and sundry, to gather together in God’s sanctuary to sing and praise, worship and glorify and magnify Him, for He is a great and wonderful God and is indeed worthy of our awe and reverence, our thanks and our everlasting gratitude. What a mouthful! (smile)
But it’s all true, my people. Our God Jehovah, is a most wonderful Deity; the Deity of all deities!
And John, in his first epistle brings it home to us in these two immortal verses of scripture. ‘In this was manifested the LOVE of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is LOVE, not that we LOVED God, but that he LOVED us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.’ (1 John 4:9-10)
Oh Friends, if the Lord never did anything else for us in this world, that alone would be more than sufficient! Having our sins washed clean, with the promise of salvation and eternal life with God is the greatest thing that’s ever happened to mankind!
And here are a couple of insights into those verses from the scholars. ‘4:9. To grasp God’s LOVE aright, one must look to how God has demonstrated it. Here John is in total harmony with Paul (Rom.5:8).’
And I might as well spell out that reference, because I know that very few of you will actually go and look it up. (smile) ‘But God commendeth (demonstrates his own) LOVE toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom.5:8) Glory Hallelujah!
And as per ‘4:10. No human LOVE is the standard for understanding God’s great compassion, but God’s own action on man’s behalf.’
Yes my brethren, our God is so wonderful that it’s impossible to argue with sentiments of the psalmist in our Bit. ‘For thou, Lord, art high above all the earth: thou art exalted far above all gods.’
And why wouldn’t He be eh? He created the universe and all therein, and still controls it from His throne in the high heavens, where our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ sits at his right hand advocating on our behalf.
And all God’s people declared a loud and proud and grateful: ‘Glory to God for His wonderful grace and mercy and forgiveness to the undeserving children of men!’
And that’s exactly why we ought to hold Him in greater esteem, show Him more reverence, LOVE and obedience than we do. Instead of trying to remove Him from our society, we should be promoting, embracing and revelling in His wonderful word and works!
It just goes to show how proud, arrogant, unwise and foolish we are, that the prevalent action nowadays is getting into bed with Lucifer and the evil, easily destroyed and moth eaten things of this world, rather than with Almighty God and the everlasting things of heaven.
Oh Friends, what can Lucifer, a fallen angel, kicked out of heaven when he tried to over throw God, really do for us now eh? Not a blooming thing, but make us lose our salvation and eternal life with Jesus!
Even from olden times it was recognized that Jehovah God was a most powerful and magnanimous deity. Listen to what Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law declared when he visited Moses and the Israelites in the wilderness. ‘And Jethro said, Blessed be the Lord, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt (behaved) proudly he was above them.’ (Ex.18:10-11)
Yes Friends, even Jethro, who had been on the sidelines all the time that Moses was doing God’s work in Israel, recognized the power and the majesty of Israel’s God. So why can’t we do the same today eh? Who knows!
Now let’s look at some other scriptures that magnify God to the highest, beginning with Psalm 95 – A psalm of praise to the great God. ‘O Come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise (shout joyfully) to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise (shout joyfully) unto him with psalms (songs). For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.’ (Ps.95:1-3) There is absolutely no doubt all that my people!
And finally these words from the psalmist Asaph, from Psalm 83 – A prayer for the destruction of Israel’s enemies. ‘O my God, make them like a wheel; as the stubble before the wind (the whirling dust). As the fire burneth a wood, and as the flame setteth the mountains on fire; So persecute (pursue) them with thy tempest, and make them afraid with thy storm.
Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O Lord. Let them be confounded and troubled (ashamed and dismayed) for ever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish. That men may know that thou, whose name alone is Jehovah (Lord), art the Most High over all the earth.’ (Ps.83:13-18)
Oh Friends, that is exactly what our God needs to do in these evil, wicked, treacherous and troubled times, so that mankind can truly know who is the real BOSS!
In the meantime though, let us continue to press on with our own accolades for our heavenly Father, diligently spreading His Word and living sincere lives that reflect it, and thus glorifies Him. That is our bounden duty. Much LOVE!
…if one doesn’t recognize God’s great LOVE and awesome power…then thou art not one of His children…
22 Aug 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fresh box of strawberries, a pillar of salt, all things are possible with Jesus, blessings, Bruh Paul, but this one thing I do, compassion, culled, die to sin, discipleship, don't dwell on the past, experiences, experiencing His power, fond memories, forgetting those things which are behind, forgiveness, glorification, goodies, gospel truth, guilt, hampering the present, I count not myself to be apprehended, is fit for the kingdom of heaven, knowledge, Laura Palmer, look to the future, looking back, Lot's wife, LOVE, loving kindness, made like Jesus in death, magnanimous, magnificent, majestic, memories, mercies, mercurial, newness of life, no man having put his hand to the plough, obedience, One More Day Devotional, perseverance, Philippians, praise, pressing towards the mark, reaching forth unto those things which are before, resurrection, rinsed of debris, room for improvement, Secret diary of Laura Palmer, served in small portions, sharing His sufferings, shortchanging the future, sweetened judiciously, thanksgiving, the good old days, to know Christ, Top o' the morn, twin peaks, unconditional LOVE, walk with jesus, wisdom, worship, zeal
Philippians 3:13. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before.
Top o’ the morn, mih breddren! A glorious day lies ahead of us, filled with all sorts of wonderful goodies prepared by our wonderful God, especially for this Saturday in August 2015. Glory to God!
He is so good to us that there are no words to truly do Him justice. Magnificent, majestic, magnanimous, mercurial, come close, but still leave something unsaid. His unconditional LOVE, and the undeserved blessings, mercies, forgiveness and compassion poured out on us, especially the sacrifice of His only Son Jesus…
Oh Friends, they are indescribable. (smile) And the least we can do is return His LOVING-kindness with that of our own, to the best of our ability, through obedience, praise, worship, thanksgiving and glorification.
And having said all of that, here is an interesting quote from Laura Palmer. It seems that she was a character on the 1990 hit TV. show Twin Peaks, which apparently is being revived. I guess there is also a book called the Secret Diary of Laura Palmer with a number of her quotes.
This one says that, ‘The past should be culled like a box of fresh strawberries, rinsed of debris, sweetened judiciously and served in small portions, not very often.’
And isn’t that the gospel truth my people. The past should not be dwelt upon, as so many of us do, thereby hampering the present and shortchanging the future. Like Laura says, we ought to just wrap it up nicely and occasionally trot out the good parts.
And my One More Day Devotional for People with Chronic Illness, from which I got the quote, further states. ‘Fond memories are healthy when they remind us how our lives are formed and shaped by our experiences. Memories reveal our development into the productive people we are today. Life does get better every day because we have both the joys of the present and some sweet memories of the past.’
But Friends, we MUST NOT LIVE IN THE PAST, but rather concentrate on each day as something new and alive with lots of wonderful promise. Too many of us look to the past too often and either dredge up the distasteful bits, or talk too much about the good old days.
Certainly the old days were good, but believe me my people, our best days are still out in front of us. And until we realize this, our days will be gloomy and miserable reminiscing too much on what’s already past, and not making new and wonderful dreams for today and tomorrow.
That brings us to our very appropriate Bit from Bruh Paul to the Philippians. ‘Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before.’
Yuh see that Friends, though Bruh Paul had reached some glorious heights in his ministry and walk with Jesus, he still maintained that he hadn’t reached where he really wanted to be. His objective is to know Christ as fully as can be; ‘experiencing His power, sharing His sufferings, being made like Jesus in death, and experiencing resurrection from the dead.
At this point in his life the apostle does know Christ, but not to the full extent possible. He has experienced His power, but not to the degree he desires. He has been made like Jesus in His death, but can still die more to sin and self. He does “walk in newness of life,” but there is room for improvement.’
And so is there for all of us my fellow believers. Those are some explanations from the scholars on verse 12. Therefore since Bruh Paul has not attained his objective, he’s intent on putting everything behind him, so that he can concentrate on what is coming on the next wave.
The scholars explain verse 13. thus: ‘3:13. Forgetting those things which are behind refers both to his religious credentials (vs. 5-6), now counted “as loss” (v.7), and to his past Christian achievements and successes. In ever pursuing his goal to know Christ, (v.10), he refuses to let past guilt pull him down, or to rest on past laurels. Either could spell spiritual disaster.’
Oh my fellow believers are we pursuing the things of Christ, pressing on towards the mark, reaching out to those things which are in front of us, not letting the past distract us from the future, wanting to know Christ so badly that we can think of nothing else?
Oh, I know that not all of us can have Bruh Paul’s zeal, knowledge and perseverance, but we can all do much better than we’re currently doing. If we are truthful with ourselves, many of us are not really concentrating on maturing in our Christian walk, but are just ambling along, without any real zeal or purpose. That certainly is not good enough Friends.
As believers in Christ, we have to have a hunger for Him, for the things which pertain to Him. ‘That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable to his death.’ (Phil.3:10) That’s what Bruh Paul desired, and what we should also be desirous of; that strong feeling to get to know Christ as well as we possibly can.
It’s not easy, as Bruh Paul certainly found out, but he never gave up on his quest, and neither should we, for as we know, all things are possible with Jesus who strengthens us. (Phil.4:13)
So today my brethren, please let’s stop living in the past and look to the glorious future that Jesus has in store for us. Remember too what He said way back when, in talking about the tests of discipleship. ‘No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of heaven.’ (Luke 9:62)
Yes Friends, anyone who puts other matters before God’s work, is of little use to Him. Please don’t forget that, for it’s the wisdom of heaven! Much LOVE!
…but his wife (Lot’s) looked back…and she became a pillar of salt… (Gen.19:26)
12 Aug 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, a leader like Jesus Christ, all things work together for good, appreciate, beautify the meek with salvation, called according to God's purpose, Christian, diligence, discipline, enjoy the wondrous works of God, eternal life, excellence, expectant faith, faithful, first born among many brethren, forge a replica, forgiveness, glory hallelujah, glory to God, God's promises, God's worthy to be praised, good times outweigh the bad, goodness, grace, halfway home, He is love, hungry hope, I'm not looking back, I'm not turning back, in the congregation of the saints, joy, justice, Let Israel rejoice, long term benefits, Lord God Jehovah, LOVE, loving kindness, mercy, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, my hands are on the plough, no weapon formed against you shall prosper, obedience, peace, Praise ye the Lord, prosperity, put us through the fire, rejoice, rise against every tongue that rises against you, roses, salvation, short term benefits, shout Hallelujah, sing unto the Lord a new song, song, test, thanks and gratitude, the breath of life, the children of Zion, the Lord takes pleasure in His people, this is the day the Lord has made, to those who love God, total surrender, true, Wailing Time, we will rejoice and be glad in it, Wednesday Wail, wine, ye shall condemn
Psalm 149:1. Praise ye (shout Hallelujah to) the Lord. Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints.
Oh Friends, another beautiful and glorious day of God’s making has been gifted to us! Wow! So let’s show some thanks and gratitude by saying it loud and proud nuh. ‘This is the day the Lord has made, we WILL, we SHALL rejoice and be glad in it.’
Oh Glory to God my people! For He is so faithful and true to us, filling our lives with all sorts of good things like peace and joy, mercy, grace, forgiveness and prosperity! Oh aren’t you just ecstatic to be a Christian with a leader like Jesus Christ? You should be. I surely am!
The problem though is that until you give your life in complete and total surrender to Christ, you won’t be truly able to appreciate and enjoy the wondrous work He does in a believer’s life.
Oh my people, our Jesus is so awesome that although I know it and experience it on a regular basis, He still surprises me most days with some of the unexpected things He does to enlighten and enliven my days on this earth.
Please understand one very important thing though; working for Jesus is not all wine, roses and song, because He expects diligence, discipline, obedience and excellence from His followers, and also puts us through the fire to test us, and eventually forge us into a beautiful replica of Himself.
But believe me Friends, going through the fire is worth it; the good times certainly outweigh the bad. And the benefits of salvation and eternal life with Him in heaven until forever… oh what could be better than that eh? NOTHING my brethren, absolutely NOTHING!
And those are only the long-term benefits. There are lots more short term wonders to experience down here on earth, like mercy, grace and forgiveness, when we walk obedient to God’s calling. Glory Hallelujah!
And since today is Wednesday, it means that Wailing Time is here. (smile) So let’s wail nuh mih breddren, let’s wail with hungry hope and expectant faith. 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!’
And if you are a true believer, that is exactly where your focus should be; on our glorious Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ!
And since this seems to be a morning of praise, let’s do it right nuh and declare our Bit in loud and faithful voice. ‘Praise ye (shout Hallelujah to) the Lord. Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints.’
Yes Friends, singing praises to our wonderful God is indeed something we ought to do on a regular basis! Many of us don’t, but we should take the psalmist’s wise advice, as he continues. ‘Let Israel rejoice in him that made him (their maker); let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.
Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp. For the Lord taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek (humble) with salvation.’ (Ps.149:2-4)
Oh my fellow believers, what true and faithful and precious words! The Lord certainly takes pleasure in His people; there’s absolutely no doubt about that, as so many of us can testify to. And believe me, when the Lord is on our side… nothing can harm or trouble us, for we have these two great scriptures filled with God’s promises to hold on to.
The first one comes from Isaiah, as he talks about the Lord’s everlasting LOVE for Israel. ‘No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgement thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of (from) me, saith the Lord.’ (Is.54:17)
And Friends, if those promises didn’t touch your souls, then listen to this one from Bruh Paul to the Romans, one we all know and LOVE! ‘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. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the first born among many brethren.’ (Rom. 8:28-29) Mama mia mih people!
Oh Friends, if we are called to God’s divine purpose, and we LOVE Him as we ought to, you can be guaranteed that He is working EVERYTHING out for your good! It might not seem so when the fiery trials and temptations hit us, but just remember that God is faithful and has not ever, nor will He ever renege on a promise! Glory to God!
What can be better than bringing us into His family fold and making us true brethren with His first-born Son Jesus eh? Again we have to say, NOTHING, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, my brethren!
Now let’s go home with these wonderful words of praise from Psalm 33. ‘Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: for praise is comely (beautiful) for the upright. Praise the Lord with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.
Sing unto him a new song; play skillfully with a loud noise (a shout of joy). For the word of the Lord is right; and all his works are done in truth. He LOVETH righteousness and judgement (justice): the earth is full of the goodness (LOVING-kindness) of the Lord.’ (Ps.33:1-5)
And all God’s people declared a loud and proud ‘Praise the Lord! Glory Hallelujah! Bless His Holy Name. Amen!’
Yes Friends, let’s go out today rejoicing in the LOVE, the goodness, the grace, mercy and forgiveness of our Lord God Jehovah, for He is indeed worthy of our praise and thanks! Much LOVE!
…praise him, praise Him…glory Hallelujah…He is LOVE…yes He is LOVE…
09 Aug 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Abraham's seed, Christ's Church, Christians, compassion, covenant, encouragement, epitome of wisdom, eternal life, face the evil world, faith, fight a good fight, first day of the week, forgiveness, frail human strength, go to church, grace, hard hearts of stone, I am in the midst of them, I will be their God, I will forgive their iniquity, I will put my law in their inward parts, I will remember their sin no more, in my name, Israel, Israelites, know the Lord, LOVE, Lucifer, magnificent and magnanimous God, mercy, Moses, Mt. Sinai, One Body, one truth from the Bible, passion for Jesus, peace, planet earth, promises made to Abraham, prosperity, renew the strength, rulership of Christ, saith the Lord, salvation, shout for joy, sincerity and truth, sing and praise Jesus, sitting ducks, smile, soft hearts of flesh, Sunday, the abiding presence of God, the BIBLE, the Bible is God's word to us, the covenant I will make with Israel, the Greater Son of David, the Holy Spirit, the Most High God, the most joyful people on earth, the Promised Land, the second coming of Christ, they shall all know me, they shall be my people, through faith in Jesus, uncoditional love, we'll find God's wisdom on the Bible's pages, where two or three are gathered, worth more than all the wisdom of man, write it in their hearts
Jeremiah 31:33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts (mind), and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Well my brethren it’s the first day of the week, Sunday! And we all know what that means? It’s time to get ourselves out to God’s sanctuary, whether it’s a big cathedral, a secret basement hiding from persecution, or simply in the open air, under the blues skies of heaven. And there, in whatever physical space we’re located, however large or small our numbers, we praise and worship Him as one body; that of Christ’s church.
Remember Jesus promised ‘For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them.’ (Matt.18:20) And He is indeed a faithful keeper of His promises. So Friends, it’s time once again to renew the strength, faith, encouragement and passion for Jesus that we get when we come together to sing and praise Him in all sincerity and truth.
It gives us the spiritual wherewithal we need in the upcoming week to face the evil world in which we dwell, and fight a good fight of faith for Jesus. Without God’s grace propelling us on my people, we will just be sitting ducks for Lucifer, since we are unable to do very much in our own frail human strength.
And before we go any further, let me remind us of two things – I think it’s time to trot them out again. (smile) The first is that ‘The Bible is God’s word to us; still fresh through all the ages. And if we read it, we will find God’s wisdom on its pages.’ It’s hard to argue with that eternal truth my brethren.
But how will we ever know what it says and gain the wisdom it details eh, when in too many cases God’s Word simply sits collecting dust somewhere in our homes; that is if we own a Bible at all?
And the second revelation is that ‘One truth from the Bible is worth more than all the wisdom of man.’ And there’s simply no disputing that indisputable truth, (smile) although many try to and fail miserably!
But the point I’m trying to make is that we definitely need to do more Bible reading my fellow believers. And not simply reading, but more like studying and meditating, so that the Word of God can filter into our innermost beings and raise the level of our faith in and knowledge of God, two things we desperately need to live successfully down here on planet earth.
And all that rambling eventually brings us to our Bit. (smile) ‘But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts (mind), and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.’
Ah Friends, what a wonderful God we serve and worship! Here the prophet Jeremiah is declaring to the Israelites that God was going to make a new agreement with them to replace the old one made at Mt. Sinai, when Moses received the law on tablets of stone. However, this time, the law would not be written on stone tablets but in their hearts, so that everyone could know and reckon individually with Jehovah God. This will be the biggest and the best covenant; the one that will last for all time.
And as the scholars explain: ‘the new covenant assimilates the elements of the promises made to Abraham and channeled with progressive light through David, and brings them to full realization. Thus the final blessing of Abraham’s seed will find fruition in Israel’s possession of the Promised Land in perpetuity under the rulership of Christ, the Greater Son of David, the Seed par excellence.
Further, by faith in Christ, Gentile believers also become the spiritual seed of Abraham and members of the family of God. Although the new covenant is now operative, and is attended by the ministry of the Holy Spirit who is resident in believers’ lives, the full realization of the new covenant, as the capstone of all covenants, awaits the second coming of Christ.
He will give to Israel the promises distinctive to that nation, and will rule over the earth in an unprecedented period of universal peace, prosperity, and the full knowledge of the abiding presence of God’
Yes my people, that new covenant now just awaits Jesus’ second coming for it to be fully realized. Aren’t you grateful for all that? We surely ought to be. Note I didn’t mention any references in the scholars explanations because there just too many, and I know that most people would not check them out anyway. (smile) But a lot of it you can find on your own, if you are interested, through diligent checking, studying and meditating on the Word.
And we’ll continue with the verse after our Bit. ‘And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.’ (Jer.31:34)
And all God’s people loudly and boldly declared: Oh what a magnificent and magnanimous God we serve and worship!’ That’s for certain sure my brethren!
Oh Friends, there’s no other deity who is as interested in the lives and welfare of His people like Almighty God, and who wants everyone to come to salvation and eternal life through faith in His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! And it’s all so wonderful that I just want to stand up, jump and shout for joy! (smile)
Yes Friends, Christians ought to be the happiest and most joyful people on planet earth, given all the stuff; the promises, the grace, the mercy, forgiveness, compassion and unconditional LOVE that the Most High God has for us. Wow!
So please let’s show that joy nuh through the way we talk and live our lives, so that we can encourage others to come to Jesus and be born again into a new spiritual life. That is the epitome of wisdom! Much LOVE!
…truly following Jesus…transforms our hard hearts of stone…into soft ones of flesh…like His…
01 Aug 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a bird's eye view, a bright and shining light, a city that is set on a hill cannot be hid, a darkened world, absolution, Afro Pan, Beelzebub, blessed light of Jesus, bravery, camouflage of darkness, Caribana festivity, cleanse and heal, condemnation, deeds exposed, disappointment, distressful times, evil, flavour of my salt, for a season, forgiveness, glory to God, God is a good god, God's favour, godly work, goodwill, gospel truth, he that doeth truth comes to the light, hidden deeds, Jesus, John the Baptist, laid bare, LOVE, Lucy, men loved darkness rather than light, men's deeds are evil, Pan Alive Steelband Competition, Pan Fantasy, peace, refreshing, repentance, scintillating riddim, the Lord in His goodness, the moral of the story, the redemptive blood of Jesus, they are wrought in God, to rejoice in his light, true faith, trusty cane, Uncle John, untold mercy, wholesome, wisdom of the ages, Ye are the light of the world
Matthew 5:14. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.
Oh Friends, our God is a good God! Please don’t ever doubt that. Once you deal with Him decently, He will return the favour.
As you know, yesterday I suddenly ended up with this painful knee, which made walking somewhat difficult, to put it mildly. But then I wanted to go to the Pan Alive Steelband competition last night, which entailed some walking and climbing steps.
All day I agonized over the situation, because the Pan competition is the only Caribana festivity that I go to these days. However the Lord in His mysterious workings made the decision for me.
Around four thirty in the afternoon I got a phone call from my Auntie Anne and Uncle John saying that they were in town and would be at the Pan Alive. Well obviously I had to get up and get a move on. I couldn’t let them come to town and not see them.
So the Duchess bandaged up my knee and off I went. And believe me, the Lord in His goodness didn’t allow the knee to bother me too much. With the help of my trusty cane, which I hadn’t used in ages, we made the walk to the stadium and climbed the steps almost to the top to get a birds eye view.
And was the party ever good my brethren. The pan was sweet and the people around me; about 8 women and three men were a riot. We carried on all evening, through the cloudy periods, as well as when the sun shone brightly.
The interesting part is that I sat down to listen to the bands, but got up during the breaks, and that’s when the knee would ache some. But surprisingly, I danced it off without a problem. (smile) Like standing up and moving made it feel better. Sitting down just caused it stiffen up.
Now if you know anything about Steelband competitions, you’ll know that there are always arguments, some very heated ones too. But our group wasn’t bad because they were all Panatics fans. Anyway the evening progressed quite nicely, until around 10.45 when the rain began to fall seriously.
It had drizzled a couple times before, but nothing to worry about. This shower though emptied the stands, except for a few hardy folks like myself. Well I had come prepared with my old jeans hat and my jacket, and I knew that if I ever came down those stairs I wasn’t going back up, I would probably have just left and come home.
But that wouldn’t have been wise because the band that was about to play, the second to last band was the reigning three time champions Pan Fantasy, and they were going to play my favourite kaiso for this year, Lucy by Destra.
The good thing is that while the rain fell, the riddim section of Pan Fantasy began pounding out a scintillating riddim and we all just stood up in the rain rocking to it. I even put down my trusty cane and rocked on my own. Wow! Glory to God!
The rain must have lasted for about half an hour, but the proceedings didn’t begin again until around 11.30. And believe me Friends, the wait and the rain were worth it, for Pan Fantasy put on a brilliant performance, they really mash it up, and the entire audience was in agreement that they should now be crowned champions for the fourth straight year.
Don’t know if that happened though, because I left during the playing of the last band, Afro Pan, which wasn’t as strong and powerful as they usually are. I didn’t get home until after one in the morning.
The only disappointment of the evening was that I didn’t see my Aunty Anne and Uncle John. I guess they didn’t come after all, because they would have surely seen me partying up at the back of the stadium. Got to find out what happened to them.
Anyway friends, the moral of the story, is that though the Lord places obstacles in our way, He WILL still enable us to enjoy ourselves once our hearts are right; such is His great favour and untold mercy to those who do try to do His will.
Now let’s see if we have time and space for our Bit after all my raving. (smile) ‘Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.’
And believe me Friends, the ole fella was indeed a bright and shining light in this darkened world yesterday evening, and the flavour of my salt was certainly strong and useful! (smile) I just spread peace, LOVE and goodwill all around. Glory to God!
Oh, and to tell how good the Lord was to me, as I was walking to the ticket window, a guy came up to me sold me a ticket for 20 instead of the official 30 dollars. So how can I complain eh?
That brings us to this statement of Jesus re John the Baptist. ‘He was a burning and a shining light (lamp); and ye were willing for a season (a time) to rejoice in his light.’ (John 5:35) Now why were they only willing for a season, for a short time to bask in the light of John the Baptist eh?
Jesus spells it out earlier. ‘And this is the condemnation, that light (The Light) is come into the world, and men LOVED darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.’ (John 3:19)
And that’s still gospel truth to this day Friends! Possibly even truer in today’s rather evil and ungodly world. We LOVE the darkness because of all the evil stuff that’s running through us, and if we ever came to the light, our true selves and deeds would be laid bare for all to see and we’d no longer have the camouflage of darkness to hide who and what we truly are.
And Jesus continues: ‘For every one that doeth (practices) evil, hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved (exposed). But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.’ (Matt.3:20-21)
Oh my people, these sad and distressful times call for true faith and bravery on our part. None of us is perfect, we all have hidden deeds of which we are ashamed, but we are guaranteed absolution and forgiveness through the redemptive blood of Jesus.
So please let’s be wise and brave nuh, and bring all our evil deeds to Him in repentance, so that He can cleanse and heal us and bring us safely and LOVINGLY through to the light, His blessed light, where we can then flourish in His goodness, having His salt and light about us to do godly work instead of evil. That’s the wisdom of the ages! Much LOVE!
…living in the truth and light of Jesus…is much wiser…more wholesome and refreshing…than living in the evil darkness of Beelzebub…
30 Jul 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a candlestick, a city that is set on a hill cannot be hid, a splendid torch, a torch of hope, aches and pains, and glorify your Father in heaven, arthritic aches and pains, batons, be found wanting, born again, Christians, compassion, cortisone, darkened world, darkness, essential mission, faithful followers of Jesus, forgiveness, foundational characteristic, generosity, Geroge Bernard Shaw, glory hallelujah, glory to God, God's favour, gospel truth, grace, grateful, handing it on to future generations, heals wounds, human depravity, if the salt has lost it s flavour, indisputable truth, judgement day, just up and fly away, Let your light so shine before men, life is not a breif candle, light can dispel darkness, light of the world, London School of Economics, LOVE, meet the needs of the world, melts coldness, mercy, My Fair Lady, neither do men light a candle, Nobel Peace Prize, passion, passion for Christ, passionate speech, preservative, put it under a bushel, relay races, relief, salt of the earth, satisfies our longing souls, summer ditties, thankful, thanks and glory to God, that they may see your good works, the absence of light, the good news, the light of Jesus, the sun and the Son are shining brightly, this is the day the Lord has made, trodden underfoot, truth, unconditional LOVE, understanding, we will rejoice and be glad in it, wisdom, with the Lord's help, Ye are the light of the world
Matthew 5:14. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.
Oh Friends, I’ve run out of well known summer ditties to greet you with. (smile) But believe me, another beautiful summer’s day is in the offing on this terrific day called Thursday! Wow! The Lord in His ultimate wisdom, grace and mercy has prepared it especially for us to enjoy, and to do His wonderful bidding.
So let’s say it with joy and heartfelt gratefulness nuh: ‘This is the day the Lord has made, we WILL and SHALL rejoice and be glad it in! Glory Hallelujah!’
Glory to the great and mighty King that sits upon His throne in the high heavens and satisfies our longing souls with His tender mercies, grace, forgiveness, compassion, understanding and unconditional LOVE! Mama Mia!
Oh Friends, there ought to be nobody happier than us Christians, we faithful followers of Jesus in this beautiful world that the Lord in His wisdom and generosity has created. And the good news is that it does not seem like it’s going to be a scorcher, at least not yet, because a nice cool and gentle breeze is blowing out there, and both the sun and the Son are shining incredibly brightly in their respective elements. Oh Glory to God!
Ah mih people, please excuse the ole fella for his extra passion and passionate speech this morning. I guess it’s because I woke up feeling the best I’ve felt in ages! Glory to God again! The old aches and pains weren’t as bad as usual. I feel light and feathery, like I can just up and fly away! (smile)
It’s possibly due some to a shot of cortisone I got injected into my right shoulder yesterday, ostensibly to ease the agonizing arthritic pain in my right shoulder, but it seems to be helping everything, obviously with a touch of God’s favour and enormous grace.
Oh, I know the basic aches and pains most likely won’t go away, but I am enormously thankful and grateful for any bit of relief I can get. More thanks and glory to God! He’s so wonderful!
Now here is this most important, outstanding and truth bearing quote from George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), the well known Irish born playwright and co-founder of the famous and prestigious London School of Economics, writer of plays like ‘My Fair Lady,’ and winner of the Nobel Peace prize for Literature in 1925.
George is reputed to have said that,’Life is not a “brief candle.” It is a splendid torch that I want to make burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.’ And we know that he did just that with all his world-renowned achievements!
Now it’s our turn my brethren to do the same. You’ll notice how we pass on torches at our big games to try and keep the flame going, the passion, the memories alive for those who come after us. That’s the only way later generations will know and understand where they are coming from, just like we learned it from those who went before us.
And note too, the batons we pass on during our relay races, which is symbolic of how we ought work together and pass on stuff to others in our everyday lives. And my One More Day Devotional for People with Chronic Illness, which is where I found George’s quote, adds an interesting statement to the situation.
‘If we assume that each one of our “small candles” represents another of our strengths, we can blend them together to form a torch of hope.’
I just LOVE that idea Friends! ‘A torch of Hope! Wow! I believe that is exactly what Jesus is looking for from us when He declares in our Bit: ‘Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.’ Oh isn’t that the gospel truth!
Then Jesus goes on to elucidate after our Bit. ‘Neither do men light a candle (lamp) and put it under a bushel (basket), but on a candlestick (lamp stand); and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt.5:15-16)
Yes Friends, being a light unto this darkened world is one of the two things Jesus desires of us down here. The other is to be the salt of the earth, as He says before our Bit.
‘Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour (flavour), wherewith (by what) shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden underfoot of men.’ (Matt.5:13)
Isn’t it interesting how Jesus used two basic, simple things like salt and light to spell out the way He wants his followers to be different from the rest of the world. It’s all a part of His simple, but wise and knowledgeable philosophy.
Now here is some stuff the scholars have to say on those topics. ‘5:13. The Beatitudes are followed by a summary statement of the basic character of the Christian’s life as salt and light. Ye are the salt of the earth: Again the phrase “ye are” indicate that only the genuinely born-again person is salt and can help meet the needs of the world.
Salt adds flavouring, acts as a preservative, melts coldness, and heals wounds. Thus it is a very appropriate description of the believer in his relationship to the world in which he lives.’
And that’s exactly why Jesus chose it as a foundational characteristic of His followers!
‘5:14-16. Ye are the light of the world describes the essential mission of the Christian to the world. He is the condition (salt) to meet the world’s needs and he has a mission (light) to the world. His light is to clearly shine forth into the darkness of human depravity.
He is to set his light upon a candlestick, not hide it under a bushel, that is, a basket. Darkness is the absence of light; and darkness cannot dispel the light, but the smallest light can dispel the greatest darkness’
Oh mih people, what more can I say to all of that indisputable truth eh? Not much, except to encourage us to raise the level of our passion for Christ and His work, so that we won’t be found wanting when the day of Judgement arrives and the Lord asks us: ‘What did your salt flavour, and where did your light shine?’ As believers, that is the ultimate in wisdom! Much LOVE!
…let’s all put our small individual lights together…and form a torch…a torch of hope…that we can blaze across this world of inordinate darkness…and thus bring light…the light of Jesus to a needy, depraved and fallen world…
P.S. Oh Friends, I know it’s long and late, but is it ever so true and heartwarming! (smile) Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it – obviously with the Lord’s help and guidance. Much LOVE!
26 Jul 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abominable sins, be destroyed, blessings, blind, buy of me gold tried in the fire, chasten, denominations, divisions, ecstatic, examples speak more forcibly than words, eyesalve, faithfulness, fellowship, forgiveness, friends, give thanks, God's grace, he that hath an ear let him hear, heavenly Father, heavenly things, hypocrites, I am rich, I know thy works, I will spew thee out of my mouth, indifferent, Jesus, Jesus' demise, Jesus' resurrection, joy, joyful, jump for joy, lack of genuine faith, Laodicea, live a lie, LOVE, lukewarm, material things, materialistic church, mercies, miserable, mock, naked, nausea, our Creator, passion, passionate about faith, petty differences, playing both ends against the middle, poor, praise, promises, rebuke, repent, righteousness., rot, scorn, seek thou first the kingdom of God, Sermon on the Mount, sincerity, sing, sitting on the fence, spiritual things, spiritual understanding, spiritual value, Sunday, the church has lost its way, the heathen, the joy of the Lord is our strength, the shame of thy nakedness, the unbeliever, things of God, things of the world, thou art neither cold not hot, Togetherness, truth, ungodly world, unity, virtue, vision, wealthy, what the Spirit says to the churches, white raiment, worship, worthless, wretched
Revelation 3:15. I know thy works, that thou art neither cold or hot: I would (wish) that thou wert (were) cold or hot.
Oh Friends, oh Friends, it’s Sunday once again! Time to gather in fellowship; to sing, praise, worship and give thanks to our magnificent Creator and heavenly Father. Wow! Isn’t that amazing? It surely is!
Oh I know some of you might think what’s all the fuss about? But if you have the blessings and the promises and faithfulness and all the other good stuff that stems from Jesus’ demise and then His ultimate resurrection, how can you not be joyful, ecstatic and passionate about your faith eh?
Unfortunately we supposed believers are not a very passionate lot. We treat our faith as though it wasn’t that important. But wait until we get a new car, a new house, or some such worldly stuff that will eventually rot and be destroyed, we jump for joy and carry on. But for the mercies, forgiveness of our abominable sins and the blessings that the Lord pours down on us every day, we are lukewarm and indifferent.
However my people, those are the things that we should be joyful and expressive about. Nothing in this evil and ungodly world will ever beat those heavenly things. So let’s show some passion about our faith nuh, let’s talk it up, live it up, enjoy it and behave like we truly appreciate it, for remember, the joy of the Lord is our strength. So if we don’t have joy in God, then we won’t be strong and useful. It’s as simple as that my people.
We are behaving just like the church at Laodicea, to whom Jesus sent this message in our Bit. ‘I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would (wish) thou wert (were) cold or hot.’
Yeh Friends, it’s the same message that Jesus is sending us today, for we’re neither hot nor cold, just sort of indifferent, kind of doh-care, sitting on the fence trying to play both ends against the middle. But my brethren that attitude, that modus operandi seldom ever works positively, but negatively most of the time. We have to stand up and choose a side, else we’ll be levelled by both.
Now here’s a little history on Laodicea per the scholars. ‘3:14. Laodicea was located about 50 miles southeast of Philadelphia, in the Lycus River valley near Colossae and Hierapolis (cf. Col.4:13-16). Its name means “People Ruling,” and represents the unbelieving, materialistic church of all ages…’
Ah Friends, we can certainly fall under that heading, because we don’t behave like we truly believe and we’re extremely materialistic. And consequently, the message from Jesus continues: ‘So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew (spit or vomit) thee out of my mouth.’ (Rev.3:16)
Now my people, we don’t want Christ to spit us out or regurgitate us, do we? Certainly not! For if He does that, we won’t have a relationship with Him again, and thus lose all the blessings and other wonderful things that He represents.
And the scholars have this to say about those last two verses. ‘3:15-16. The church is likened to lukewarm, or as being virtually worthless. Christ says He will “spew them out,” or eject them from His company. The hot waters of nearby Hierapolis were known for their medicinal qualities, whereas Colossae was known for its cold, pure water. But Laodicea was forced to receive water by aqueduct from other areas.
By the time it arrived in Laodicea it was lukewarm and provoked nausea. The works of the Laodicean church were as worthless as the city’s lukewarm water. The description does not refer to a backslidden condition, but rather to their lack of genuine faith.’
Oh Friends, does that sound like our church today? Sadly I will have to answer yes. To a great extent the church has lost its way. We no longer practice what Christ taught, plus there are too many denominations, divisions, petty differences and grievances and consequently not sufficient unity and togetherness to make a worthwhile assault on the enemy.
And we obviously can’t make any inroads against enemy since we’re not seeking first the kingdom of God and its righteousness as Jesus directed in the Sermon on the Mount. But instead we are too taken up with the things of the world, rather than the things of God. Our faith is not demonstrated in the way we live our lives, that’s why the heathen, the unbeliever, mocks and scorns us and calls us hypocrites and are not interested in coming to Jesus.
As I keep telling us friends, examples speak more forcibly than words. So if we sincerely want people to come to Jesus, then we have to begin living the truth, with passion and sincerity, and not the lie that so many of us live nowadays.
Now hear how Jesus puts it. ‘Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods (have become wealthy), and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind and naked. I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire (refined), that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment (garments), that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear (may not be revealed), and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I LOVE, I rebuke and chasten; be zealous therefore, and repent.’ (Rev.3:17-19)
And the scholars explain all of that thus. ‘3:17-19. Laodicea was famous for its wealth, its bankers, its medical school, its popular eyesalve, and its textile industry. Christ says that spiritually the people of the church are poor, blind, and naked. True wealth is found only in God’s grace. This church had no spiritual value (gold), virtue (white raiment), or vision (eyesalve). He urges the Laodiceans to repent of their lack of genuine faith and of spiritual understanding.’
Ah mih people, what’s left to be said eh? Nothing really, because we are behaving just like the Laodiceans. We talk a lot, but don’t have the serious actions to back it up. And we are definitely showing more interest in the material things of the world than the spiritual things of heaven. Please remember Friends that the things of the world will rot and be destroyed, they will pass away, but the things of heaven don’t rot, and will never pass away. Much LOVE!
…he that hath an ear…let him hear…what the Spirit saith unto the churches… (Rev.3:22)
21 Jul 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a discipline always costs, a listening ear, a man of understanding, A Quiet Tongue, anger inflames talk, beginning is half done, blessed day, break into conversations, bringing us safely through another dark night, circled them with red ink, come up above the problem, comfortable, Cousin Sol, don't listen enough, easy prey, enlightened insight, eternal life, evil minions, expounding, forgiveness, glory hallelujah, glory to God, grace, he that restrains his lips is wise, holds his peace, I talk more than I listen, inspiring experiences, it is best to listen much, joy, Joyce Meyer, let every man be swift to hear, listen, listen more than we talk, listening is a discipline, lost sheep, LOVE, Lucifer, mercy, my guilty heart, not become angry, One Year Book of Bible promises, our Lord and Saviour, patience, pay a price, peace, praised and thanked God, room for improvement, Ruth Harms Calkin, silence., slow to speak, slow to wrath, solve the predicament, speak little, talk inflames anger, talk too much, the bright light of Jesus, the Holy Ghost, the leading of the the Holy Ghost, the longest journey begins with the first step, the LOVE of God, the only way, the righteousness of God, the straight and narrow path, the wrath of man, trials, truth, two ears and one mouth, up and about the Lord's business, violence, wherefore my beloved brethren, wisdom, with God's help
James 1:19. Wherefore my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.
Ahoy there mih beauties! How goes it this cloudy Tuesday morning in the summer of 2015 eh?
Hope things are good, and even if they are not so hot, that yet still we’re up and about the Lord’s business, and have praised and thanked Him for bringing us safely through another dark night into the bright light of Jesus, our most esteemed Lord and Saviour. For He is indeed the ONLY way to true peace, joy and truth!
And that’s not simply hearsay, but an acknowledged fact! Without Him working in our lives, we’re like lost and forlorn sheep, easy prey for the wild animals of this world, namely the evil minions of Lucifer.
And that we cannot afford to let happen, so please let’s get serious with Jesus and allow Him to guide us safely along the straight and narrow path that leads to life eternal.
Now here’s a rather interesting, but also very pertinent excerpt from the One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. When I read it yesterday, I had no doubts whatsoever that I needed to share it with my Scrip-Bit family, because it’s oh so relevant to these days and times. It’s titled ‘A Quiet Tongue!’
Please repeat with me. ‘Lord, a revealing fact Began to surface today: I talk more than I listen. I seem to be thoroughly convinced That my ideas My inspiring experiences My bits of wisdom Are exactly what my friends need. Too often I break into conversations Confident that my enlightened insight Will solve the predicament – Whatever it is.
Obviously, I feel more comfortable When I’m expounding. But this morning at a Bible study I cringed when I read your command In the first chapter of James: “Don’t ever forget That it is best to listen much Speak little, and not become angry.”
At first I wanted to run. But as the words kept battering away At my guilty heart I finally circled them with red ink. Now, Lord, please help me to obey them. Remind me daily, hourly That listening is a discipline And a discipline always costs. I know I must pay a price. The price for me Is a listening ear and a quiet tongue.’
Oh glory to God my people! That paints such a true picture of so many of us that it’s unreal. Most of us talk too much and don’t listen sufficiently. I know I’m a guilty party. The Lord dealt with me about that a couple years ago when at the Holy Thursday night vigil His simple message to me was ‘LISTEN!’
And I have indeed been doing better since then. But as Sister Joyce (Joyce Meyer) would say: I haven’t arrived as yet. I still have a ways to go. But look at where I’m coming from!
Yes Friends, the important thing to do is to make a start, which is usually the hardest part, and as the Chinese Proverb says: The longest journey begins with the first step. Yes my brethren, beginning is half done.
But please remember too as it says in the poem, it takes discipline to listen more than we talk, and a very strict discipline too, if we really want to be successful at it.
That reminds me of the saying that the Lord gave us two ears and one mouth so that we can listen more than we talk. And isn’t that the gospel truth! (smile) And especially in this modern talkative society, we do need lots of will power to refrain from talking too much. I think it’s a deep-seated malady in this age of almost instantaneous and far-reaching communication.
And the Bible Promise for that most meaningful poem is also our Bit for today. James’ famous words: ‘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)
Ah Friends, words of indisputable truth! And the scholars offer us this info on those verses. ‘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.’
And is that all ever so true my believing brethren! Talk and anger just inflame each other like nothing else in this world! And all of that tends to lead to violence if they continue for any length of time.
Now this subject of talking and listening is so important in a believer’s life that it is dealt with in several parts of the Good Book. Cousin Sol in particular touched on it several times in his writings. Let’s look at a couple of them. First off this from Proverbs 10: ‘In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth (restrains) his lips is wise.’ (Prov.10:19)
And he backs that up with this gem from Proverbs 17. ‘He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of understanding is of an excellent (calm) spirit. Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace (keeps silent) is counted (considered) wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.’ (Prov.17:27-28)
Oh Friends, that is all so true that it’s amusing! Though we might be the biggest fool and least knowledgeable person on the planet, we will most likely be considered wise and understanding if we keep our mouths shut. Glory Hallelujah!
So let us each diligently ponder today where we are on that continuum of listening and talking nuh, and then make a serious decision to improve, for we all have room for improvement, just some more than others, and with God’s help, let’s come up above this important problem.
Now may the grace, peace, mercy, forgiveness and LOVE of God be with us all this blessed day! Much LOVE!
…if we follow the sure leading of the Holy Ghost…our words will be few and wise…
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