The Overwhelming Importance of Man Sincerely Seeking Almighty God with His Entire Being!

31 Jan 2026 Leave a comment

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

Jeremiah 29:13.        And ye shall seek me, and find me when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

And it’s still pretty cold, around minus 11 Celsius on this lazy-day Saturday, the last day of January, so the snow on the banks of the roads and rooftops can’t melt, but it’s also another glorious sunshiny day. And you know there’s nothing as beautiful as bright sunshine on clean, unadulterated snow; it just gleams like a precious jewel! (smile) 

No, I’m not crazy. If you really enjoy God’s creations, you will notice that in every season, He’s made something beautiful and amazing in it. In the spring it’s the beautiful rebirth of the trees in green, in the summer it’s the total resurgence of life in nature, strong and sturdy, while fall shows off the marvellous colours of God’s artistry, and in winter it’s the beauty of the sunshine reflecting off the white snow. That’s God’s LOVE showing through. Although seasons change, and life becomes more difficult, He still graces us with wonders in each one. 

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

And, as always, if our prayer was heartfelt, the Lord will soon respond with His soothing peace and calm overwhelming our spirits, for He’s ever glad to give His grace and mercy to those who seek Him with sincere hearts. And He’s said that so often in the Bible that I can’t understand why more of us don’t do it. As this foundational truth from Jeremiah reminds us, where the Lord clearly states: ‘And ye shall seek me, and find me when ye shall search for me with all your heart.’ (Jer. 29:13) That statement is as clear as day. If you want to find God then you have to seek Him with all of your heart. Not with  wishy-washy lip service. 

Now, that wasn’t something new to the Israelites, for Moses had long ago warned them: ‘And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind (remember them) among all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath driven thee, And shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul; That then the Lord will turn thy captivity (bring you back from captivity), and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the Lord hath scattered thee.’ (Deut. 30:1-3) 

There you have it friends; the prescription for God’s compassion! Obey the Lord and LOVE Him with all thy heart and soul! And it’s exactly what Jesus says when the arrogant, smart-aleck Jewish lawyer tries to tempt Him into an argument by asking about the great commandment. ‘Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt LOVE the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’ (Matt. 22:37-40) 

And as the scholars explain, Jesus outsmarted the lawyer by simply summarizing ‘the two tables of the law: (1) responsibility to God; and (2) responsibility to man, by paraphrasing Deuteronomy 6:5, and Leviticus 19:18, LOVE the Lord thy God and LOVE thy neighbour as thyself.’ And I like the overview from this commentary. ‘This commandment serves as the foundation for all spiritual life and obedience, requiring total, unselfish devotion to God.’ 

That’s for certain sure! It necessitates LOVING God with one’s entire being—heart, soul, mind, and strength. It then explicably leads to the second commandment, to LOVE your neighbour as yourself, as true LOVE for God ultimately leads to LOVE for others. For you can’t LOVE God and hate His human creation. As John so rightly tells us in his first epistle. If a man say, I LOVE God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that LOVETH not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he LOVE God, whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who LOVETH God LOVE his brother also.’ (1 John 4:20-21)  

And when we truly focus on LOVING God, then we are better able to LOVE our neighbours with divine, selfless LOVE. And it’s as Jesus says, all the laws and the teachings of the prophets depend on those two commandments; LOVING God with everything you have and then LOVING your neighbour the way you LOVE yourself. Yes my faithful brethren, it’s all about LOVE, God’s greatest attribute. Remember how Bruh Paul puts it in that famous verse in his first letter to the Corinthians? ‘And now abideth faith, hope, charity (LOVE), these three: but the greatest of these is charity (LOVE).’ (1 Cor, 13:13) 

And that’s the gospel truth! LOVE is indeed the greatest! And we all notice the great difference in our hearts and spirits when we’re filled with LOVE instead of hate. For as we say, though sometimes in jest, it’s very real: ‘LOVE makes the world go round!’ Now, on this cold lazy-day Saturday, it’s a good time to take a look at ourselves and see how we’re truly doing in the LOVE Department, ascertain the true the level of our LOVE meter. 

Now, although some of us might be doing okay, we all have room for improvement, and I don’t need to tell us that our world is currently suffering from a serious lack of LOVE, and it’s our job as disciples and followers of Jesus Christ to embrace the LOVE Revolution and move it forward, so that when Jesus returns, He will find much hope, faith and LOVE here on earth! So, let’s put our hands, heads and hearts together and do it nuh…for Jesus! Much LOVE!

…all we do…should be done out of a sense of LOVE…

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit 1 August 2017 Psalm 23:1.

01 Aug 2017 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 23:1.   The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want (lack anything).

Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea culpa! Yeh friends, it was just one of those days, after running around in the hot sun yesterday afternoon, the old body just cried out for rest and simply refused to get up this morning before it felt sufficiently rested. (smile) 

And yesterday was probably the hottest day yet for this summer. Old July went out with a heat wave, and August seems to want to come in the same way, because it’s also supposed to be fairly hot today. 

And I have to go out and do some more stuff out there today too. But I have no doubt that with the Lord’s invaluable help, it will all turn out fine. 

Now here is something from our One Year Book of Bible Promises, with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin that ought to lift us all up this morning, give us comfort and assurance to face the day’s problems. It’s titled ‘The Promise.’ 

Let’s pray together: ‘O dear God, I continue to believe Your personal promise still stands Though every quivering question within Shouts that it will be broken. I am claiming Your help through the wilderness Despite every frightening shadow and vale. Often You do the most When you seem to do the least. 

Sometimes secretly Sometimes quietly Often slowly But always most certainly You are true to Your word. And so, my Lord Though I am weak, weary, and worn help me not to despair. You see me, You hear me. You know I am depending utterly Upon Your unblemished integrity Surely You will keep Your word.’ 

And that’s an indisputable fact my fellow believers in Christ! The Lord God Jehovah, creator of the universe and all therein WILL keep His Word for He is a Deity of the utmost integrity!  And that’s exactly why we can place our utmost trust in Him and feel safe and assured! Glory to God my brethren! 

Yeh friends, that’s the whole purpose of having a God; someone to look up to, especially in tough times, someone who CAN, and also WILL hear our cries for help and answer them in the affirmative. 

And the awesome, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the ONLY One of the many gods being worshipped today, who is actually capable of doing that! For He is the ONLY LIVING GOD! 

All others are merely dead and lifeless idols, creations of man’s mind, or the creation of the One and Only True God Jehovah. So how can you worship something that is dead, or was created by someone else and has absolutely no power to do anything under its own will or power eh? It just doesn’t make sense. Hope what I’m saying makes sense though? (smile) 

And the Bible Verse that substantiates that Promise is none other than one of our most famous Bible Verses; the true and wonderful words of Bruh David: ‘The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want (lack anything).’ 

What marvellous words of assurance eh mih people! No other faith can proclaim such a statement and have it be the truth…but we can! All power and glory to our great God! 

And Bruh David lays it out, all nice and simple and straightforward. ‘He maketh me to lie down in green pastures (pastures of tender green grass): he leadeth me beside the still waters (waters of rest): He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.’ (Ps.23:2-3)  

Oh my faithful brethren, doesn’t that just resonate powerfully and peacefully through your hearts, bodies and souls? It certainly does through mine, and has me longing for the green pastures and peaceful waters of sweet Tobago, which I haven’t experienced for almost two years. 

And can’t you just imagine Bruh David penning those heartwarming words as he sat below some shade tree, on a beautiful summer’s day, beside a quiet stream, watching his sheep graze on the lush and plentiful green grass around him? 

It was just the perfect metaphor to describe his God; the eternal and merciful One who found healthy forage for his sheep and protected him from the wild animals and natural disasters that constantly came against them. 

That’s why they have become such a standard, such foundational truth in our faith! The only prayer possibly known better than that is the ‘Lord’s Prayer,’ or ‘Our Father.’ 

And Bruh David didn’t stop there, he went on to elaborate even further on the rich and blessed assurances of his awesome God. ‘Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and staff they comfort me. 

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy (LOVING-kindness) shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.’ (Ps.23:4-6) 

And all God’s people shouted ‘Amen and Amen!’ Yeh friends, it couldn’t get any better than that! 

As the scholars explain: ‘Psalm 23: The psalm has been a favourite of God’s people through the ages and with due reason: it expresses as simply and clearly as any the role of God as our protector and provider in life. 

The charm of the psalm rests on two figures of speech: the Lord is compared to a shepherd and the believer to his sheep (vs.1-4); then the Lord is likened to a host with the believer as the guest (vs.5-6).’  

So my people, with all of that bubbling and reverberating in our hearts, spirits and souls, let’s go home now sincerely declaring our Tuesday Mantra. 

‘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!’ 

Now, the next move is for us to put it all into action! Much LOVE!

…with God as our shepherd comes…’an honoured position…abundant provision…vindication before one’s enemies…eternal celebration of God’s goodness…’  

P.S. Yes, I know it’s long and late, but it’s still beautiful, even if I say so myself. (smile)