30 Nov 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a good attitude, Aldwin Roberts, another week of work, Bacchanalian behaviour, be saved, believers, best fruit, black cake, blessings, call upon his name, Christmas, come home to Jesus, Controller, Creator, declare his doings, destructive behaviour, diligence, draw water, enlightening, eternal life, eternal separation, exalt His name, excellence, far out on the limb, fearful, follow God's will, food, Friday chant, fun, furthering God's kingdom, generous help, get moving, get up, ginger beer, God is my salvation, God's mercies, Ham, heavenly Father, idle, in all the earth, inhabitant of Zion, interesting, Isaiah, Jesus Christ, laze about, Lord and Saviour, Lord Kitchener, Moses, most dangerous place, my song, my strength, not be afraid, options, over the boundary, Parang, pastelle, paymee, plenteous, ponchacrema, Praise the Lord, quiet, rejoice and be glad in it, relaxation, rest, safely through, saints, salvation, send forth labourers, sinners, sorrell, spreading God's holy word, sweetbread, TGIF!, Thank God is Friday, thanksgiving, the Good Book, the harvest, the Holy One of Israel, The Israelites, the Lord Jehovah, the lost, the Red Sea, the waters, the workingman, this is the day the Lord has made, Trini style, trust, we time, weekends, with joy, witness, word of caution, work to do
Isaiah 12:2. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.
Greetings and salutations my believing brethren from our great God Jehovah, our heavenly Father, Creator and Controller of this amazing universe and all therein! And He has one message for us this somewhat dark and gloomy Friday morning: ‘I have made you see the light of another day, because I have work on earth for you to do. So please do it with a good attitude. And if you follow my will, you will see the blessings that accrue to you and yours!’
What a message friends! We have two options; to either do God’s work with excellence and diligence, or to laze about in idle and destructive behaviour. In other words, what the Lord’s saying to us is ‘This is the day that I have made, please rejoice and be glad in it!’ And we’d be extremely foolish to do otherwise!
But neither do we have to go to the extreme that the workingman does in his Friday song. ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday oui! It looks dark and miserable and dreary, like it going to snow. But snow can’t stop we from enjoying we time off on this weekend…especially with Christmas coming soon! Brother! Just imagine how the waters and the food going to flow nuh…all the pastelle and paymee…the sweetbread, the ham and the black cake…with sweet parang ringing out in the Christmas air…
Bubba! Yuh can’t beat a Trini Christmas at all nuh! And wherever we go, we carry it with we! Oh, and doh forget the Ponchacrema nuh. Like Kitchy use to sing in cold England: “Mama Yo…Drink a rum and a ponchacrema…drink a rum…it’s Christmas morning…drink a rum…” So this cold snowy weather not going to stop we from celebrating Trini style nuh. Not on yuh life brother! That’s why we does always say, ‘Thank God for Fridays and weekends yes, because that is we time! Glory be!’
But is true friends, yuh really can’t beat a West Indian style Christmas nuh…and Oh Lord, ah forget the sorrel and the ginger beer! How could I commit such a crime eh? (smile) That’s because it have so much things going on at Christmas time in the West Indies.
And a word of enlightenment here: ‘Ponchacrema is really ‘punch de crème’. ‘A potent brew made at Christmas time, consisting of eggs, milk, rum or brandy, bitters and crushed ice swizzled vigorously.’ And ‘Kitchy’ is the late Lord Kitchener, real name Aldwin Roberts (1922-2000), the ‘Grand Master of Calypso.’ And that was one of his first big hits in the fifties when he lived in England.
But another word of caution here; although the workingman’s heart is in his song, we believers are not advised to go so far out on the limb. Granted some of the best fruit might be out at the end of the limb, but out there is also the most dangerous place because the limb is thinnest there and the possibility of it breaking on us as we reach for that sweet, succulent fruit at the end is much greater than if we stay somewhere in the middle.
All of that simply means that that kind of bacchanalian behaviour is an open invitation for the enemy to invade our souls and secure an impregnable foothold. And that’s something we don’t ever want to happen mih people! Therefore, our Friday Chant is somewhat more toned down than the workingman’s weekend song. Please chant it with me now, in strong voice, with sincere hearts:
‘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 friends, it’s necessary that we have fun and relaxation too, but not the over the boundary kind, because our Leader, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ isn’t in favour of it and it spoils our witness for Him. And I’m chuckling here, because I got so caught up in the workingman’s song that I have no idea of what our Bit’s going to be. But soon come, going to check the Good Book.
Back in less than a minute, per the Lord’s favour. Opened the Good Book right on it. (smile) Give Him much thanks my brethren! Now hear this most appropriate scripture from the prophet Isaiah re thanksgiving for God’s mercies: ‘Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.
Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. And in that day shall ye say, Praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings (deeds) among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. Sing unto the Lord; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth. Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.’ (Is.12:2-6)
Oh my brethren that reflects the same things that the Israelites prayed under Moses when they crossed over the Red Sea. (Exodus 15) And they are all true! That means we too should be crying out the Lord’s praise and thanksgiving because we are enjoying His earthly blessings with the promise of salvation and eternal life in the near future.
So why are we supposed believers so quiet and fearful in this evil world eh? It’s time for us to get up and get moving, let the world know what Jesus has done for ALL of us, and give them the chance to get to know Him too. That’s the job the Lord had for us at the beginning of today’s writing; spreading His Holy word and bringing people to His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, so that they won’t suffer the torment of eternal separation from Jehovah God.
So let’s get with it nuh my people. There’s not that much time left and there’s much work to do. As Jesus so rightly said so long ago, and it’s still so appropriate today: ‘The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.’ (Matt.9:37-39) Yeh friends, we need plenty of us to go out there and help the lost be saved and come home to Jesus. Much LOVE!
…in a world of so many sinners…there are comparably…only a few saints to witness to them…
P.S. Yeh friends, I know it’s sorta late and long, but it’s certainly interesting and enlightening! (smile)
23 Nov 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a sad world, a tad grouchy, all the nice things, an easy mark, another week of work, be in the world, Black Friday, black up, body soul and mind, boundaries, brought nothing, Bruh Paul, Canada, carry nothing, Christians, clothing, confession, contemplating life, contentment, coveted after, crooked, deceitful self, destruction, disrupt our souls, drown men, earthly life, economic czars, enthusiasm, erred from the faith, essentials, eternal life, every step, fellowship, fend him off, fight the good fight, food, foolish public, frantic attempts, Friday chant, full mih belly, full mih eyes, fun, furthering God's kingdom, generous help, godliness, great gain, I will rejoice and be glad in it, idols, in Jesus name, LOVE, lying awake, many arrows, meekness, money, never gives up, not of the world, on sale, on the lookout, patience, pierced themselves, raiment, refreshed, relaxation, renewed, rest, righteousness, ruin, rush to shop, seek first, slave work, sober, TGIF!, Thank God is Friday, Thanksgiving Day, the devil, the folly, the kingdom of God, the LOVE of money, the root of all evil, the trend, the workingman's song, this is the day the Lord has made, Timothy, witnesses
1 Timothy 6:6. But godliness with contentment is great gain.
Well friends, it’s that big day, Friday…but unfortunately the ole fella’s not in great shape. I went to bed late last night and my sleep was disturbed so many time by getting up to go to the bathroom and just getting up and lying there awake so many times that I eventually lost count. Chuh! I was even up for about half an hour contemplating life before I finally got out of bed.
So you must know that I was a tad grouchy, and to make matters worse that slimy crook, the devil, who’s always on the lookout for an easy mark, was there on my shoulder whispering all sorts of nonsense to me, until I shut him up by telling him: ‘Listen here nuh devil, I might be feeling somewhat low this morning but I’m not the easy mark you think I am eh. I still know that this is the day the Lord God of Israel has made, and yuh know what…I will rejoice and be glad in it, despite how I feel, so be gone with yuh ole lying, crooked deceitful self!’
Wow! And he was gone! Sometimes friends we just have to tell the ole deceiver where to get off. But he’ll be back later to try again. We constantly have to fend him off, because he NEVER stops trying to get into our souls and disrupt them! And I’m saddened not only by lack of proper rest but also because today is what has become known as ‘Black Friday.’
Steups! The day after Thanksgiving Day in the U.S has now become the biggest shopping day of the year in North America, overshadowing even the Boxing Day charade! Hn! Hordes of unruly human animals line up at all ungodly hours of the morning to rush and push and run over each other in their frantic attempts to get into stores that advertise a few things on sale; things that most of them don’t really need, neither can afford, but because it’s on sale…Ah Lord eh!
The economic czars are lowering everything to their lowest denominator, so they can catch the foolish public into making their cash registers go kaching…kaching! And the saddest part is that Thanksgiving is no longer about really giving thanks, but much more about Black Friday. Everything seems to be rushed so that we can get ready for it. Even in Canada now the trend has caught on, because if the shopkeepers here don’t adapt, our foolish citizens will head to the U.S. to participate in the folly.
And I really heard more about Black Friday than Thanksgiving in the last week or so, on the t.v and in the newspapers. Everybody had an ad out for it. Truthfully, if a friend hadn’t written me yesterday morning and reminded me, I would probably not have mentioned Thanksgiving at all in the Bit. What a sad world we’re living in eh mih breddren, where the LOVE of money and useless stuff is all the rage.
And the workingman doesn’t do us any favours in his song either: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday yes! Black Friday to boot! Where we shopping to kill! Buying up all the nice things in the stores and dem! Brother! Look at that nice big t.v on sale for only three hundred dollars nuh! And that tablet computer for only a hundred! Ah mih people, ah full mih belly yesterday, Thanksgiving Day, now today ah going to full mih eyes and dem. And no slave work until Monday morning, if ah not black up still… Who say ah not thankful for Black Friday and weekends eh?’
Ah friends, what a sad tale. And people have indeed been killed in the rush to shop…but it continues nonstop. Thankfully though, as believers in Jesus Christ, we’re not allowed to go so far out on the limb. We’re restrained by more sober boundaries. So let’s chant our Friday Chant with just as much, if not more enthusiasm than the workingman did in his song nuh. (smile)
‘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 my people, there’s something to be said for being sober! (smile) And we’ll end today with a sermon from way back when, from Bruh Paul to Timothy that addresses the problem they faced two thousand years ago, and which we still face today. He’s been talking about all the strife and evil that’s been happening in Timothy’s surroundings, and finally declares:
‘But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment (clothing) let us be therewith content. But they that will (desire to) be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful (harmful) lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition (ruin and destruction). For the LOVE of money is the root of (all kinds of) evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many arrows.’ (1 Tim.6:6-10)
Ah friends, food and clothing and money are essentials in this earthly life, but it’s when we go overboard and let them become our gods, our idols, that we fall into trouble. There’s nothing wrong in wanting to be rich, but it’s the path we take to fulfilling that dream that causes problems. Jesus says that we should seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness first, then we’ll get all the earthly things we need. (Matt.6:33)
And Bruh Paul tells Timothy: ‘But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, LOVE, patience and meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art called, and hast professed (confessed) a good profession (confession) before many witnesses.’ (1 Tim.6:11-12)
Yes my fellow believers, we too have confessed a good confession before many witnesses as to our trust and fellowship in the body of Christ, so please, let’s do as Bruh Paul says nuh, and stop behaving like the rest of the world! That’s our bounden duty as followers of Christ! Much LOVE!
…Christians…be in the world…but not of the world…
16 Nov 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: accusations, adversity, after one time is two, all the while, allegations, as long as breath is in me, as long as I live, bacchanalian way, Bacchus, be of good cheer, black up, Christians, cohorts, desktop, doh give a darm, drink on an empty stomach, enjoy the fruit of your labour, enjoy yuh weekend, evil, fellowship, forget about work, freedom, Friday chant, Fridays, fun, furthering God's kingdom, generous help, God forbid, hardship, hold fast, i have overcome the world, in Jesus' name, in my nostrils, infinite wisdom, judgemental, justify you, laptop, let the alki flow, LOVE, make of mess of everything, man's penchant, messed up the moon, Microsoft Outlook, my lips shall not, of good integrity, off kilter, on the blink, pittance, pure, refreshed, relaxation, remove mine integrity, renewed, reproach me, rest, righteousness., sense of purpose, sincerity of heart, slave driver's whip, snowfall, soul body and mind, speak wickedness, terrestrial place, TGIF!, thank God, Thank God is Friday, the bulb blew, the god of pleasure, the Good Book, the slave labour, the Spirit of God, the workingman's song, till I die, tired, tribulation, truthful, turned on the light, unsullied by man, utter deceit, virginal, weekend, when Monday comes, working-class breddren
Job 27:3-4. All the while (as long as) my breath is in me, and the spirit (breath) of God is in my nostrils; My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit.
Ah mih friends, as the ole people would say, when is not one thing is two yes… and sometimes even three, as happened with me this morning. Steups!
The first thing is I woke up late, about nine o’clock, because my sleep schedule was somewhat thrown off kilter last night. Then when I came down to write the Bit, I couldn’t get on to Microsoft Outlook, which is where my stuff is.
The server has proper access and good strength, but Outlook seems to be on the blink. For those of you who use it, the circle at the bottom of the stylized ‘O L’ just keeps going around in circles. So after about fifteen minutes of trying, couldn’t even get to it through Firefox, I decided to try the laptop upstairs.
And wonder of wonders, the third thing happened; as I turned on the light to go up the stairs, the bulb blew. Hn, hn! I couldn’t do anything else but laugh. But upstairs on the laptop, the same nonsense happened.
Now at eleven o’clock I’m back downstairs on my desktop, and still can’t get through to Outlook. I can get everything else but that. And without it, I can’t send off the Bit.
So finally, the Lord, in His infinite wisdom, put the brilliant idea to just write it in Word, like I always do anyway, and then transfer it whenever Outlook becomes available. Now why couldn’t I have thought about that two hours earlier eh?
And I would hate to think that the little snowfall that happened yesterday afternoon and overnight has put the great Microsoft system down for the count! Well, in fact it wasn’t a li’l snowfall, but the first big one for the season. (smile)
And during the night it looked so beautiful; pure, virginal and unsullied by man, covering the rooftops and the trees in a perfect white blanket. But then the morning comes, and man gets into it…and it gets all dirty and ugly, as man’s penchant is to make a mess of everything his hands touch.
Look at the mess we’ve made of God’s great earth…and how we’ve messed up the moon and are in the process of messing up any other terrestrial place we happen to land. But the most refreshing action of the morning is the workingman out there singing his song of weekend freedom, despite the snow and the hard times.
‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday yes mih working-class breddren! The weekend is here; two days of freedom from the slave driver’s whip! And don’t mind the snow nuh, because we don’t have to go outside to party, we can do it inside just as well.
So let the alki flow…and bring on all the food, because yuh know a man can’t drink on an empty stomach…is not a wise thing to do! And just forget everything about work and the slave labour we involved in for the next couple days…And besides, if when Monday come yuh still black up and tired, then don’t go to no blooming work!
What the slave massa going to do eh? Fire yuh… so what! Yuh go to work for another slave driver. It have plenty ah them out there who willing to hire you for the li’l pittance they willing to pay.
The important thing though, is to enjoy yuh weekend and the li’l free time as much as possible and doh give a darm about anything else! Just thank God for Fridays and weekends so you could enjoy the fruit of yuh labour like the Good Book says!’
And as always, the basic thing that’s wrong with the workingman’s song is his worship of the god of pleasure Bacchus and his bacchanalian ways. We as believers in Christ are not allowed to go that far because then the enemy will delightedly grab the opportunity to invade our souls and cause enormous confusion.
Thus our weekend song, our Friday Chant, is not as liberal and essentially borderless as the workingman’s song. Please chant it here with me now nuh, in sincerity of heart and a strong sense of purpose.
‘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!’
Oh friends, it is important to realize that as Christians, we too are entitled to have fun, to rejoice and enjoy the fruit of our labour, but not to the extremes that the workingman takes it to. We still have to keep a level and sober head, because the evil leader of this evil world and his evil cohorts are just lying in wait to destroy us.
And here, I opened the Good Book to these wonderful words of Job that comprise our Bit. His spirited response to the overly judgemental accusations and allegations of his supposed friends. ‘All the while (as long as) my breath is in me, and the spirit (breath) of God is in my nostrils; My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit.’
Yeh friends, those are words that we should both think and utter whenever life seems to come against us. Despite hardship and adversity we should always try to be truthful and of good integrity.
As Job continues: ‘God forbid (far be it from me) that I should justify you (say you are right): till I die I will not remove (put away) mine integrity from me. My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach (reprove) me as long as I live.’ (Job 27:5-6)
Ah my fellow believers, that’s the attitude we need to have in this evil world. As the scholars explain. ’27:6. In spite of the loss of family, wealth, and health and the accusations of his friends, Job maintained his integrity to the end.’
Please let that be said of us in these tough and trying times nuh! Much LOVE!
…in the world ye shall have tribulation…but be of good cheer…I have overcome the world… (John 16:33b)
P.S. At 12.45 I’ve published the Bit on the Blog, but I still can’t send it out by email! Steups! But what can one do eh, now that we are slaves to technology! Much LOVE!
09 Nov 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a hard week, a man should rejoice, advantage, all are of dust, another week of work, another wet morning, beat we too, boundaryless partying, bring him to see, carnal behaviour, destiny, do as we please, downward, drink, drive we plenty, drizzles, eat, effervescence, encourages the enemy, enjoy this good life, enthusiasm, eternity, faithfully serve God, feast on our souls, fellowship, flooded out, followers of Jesus christ, Friday chant, fun, further God's kingdom, generous help, God's LOVE, goodness, heritage, I perceive, in heaven, in his own works, in Jesus name, in soul body and mind, learn sense, let the waters flow, like beasts, like no tomorrow, like oxen, limitless, LOVE, massa, new times, nonsense, of the sons of men, one breath, party, people that fight, pittance, pouring rain, pre-eminence, refreshed, relaxation, Remembrance Day, renewed, rest, return to dust, sacrifice, safely through, selfless, slave driver, so does the other, spirit, TGIF!, Thank God is Friday, thanks and praise, that is his portion, the British Isles, the estate, the one dies, the spirit of man, the workingman, there's nothing better, to heaven, to the earth, Triune God, upward, we time, weekend, what shall be after him, yoke we up
Ecclesiastes 3:22. Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion (heritage): for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?
Can you believe it people…another wet morning! Chuh! I’ve lost count now. But thankfully, it has been mostly drizzles and not pouring rain, else we would have certainly been flooded out by now. I thought it was only in the British Isles that you had that kind of weather! (smile) And despite the cold, rainy weather this Friday morning, like the post office delivers be it rain, sleet, or snow, the workingman is out there singing his song.
‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday oui! This week’s been a hard one; the massa really drive we plenty! Steups! He must be think we is oxen or something; the way he want to yoke we up and drive we. Chuh man! Ah sure he would beat we too, if he could get away with it. And all for the li’l pittance he pay we when the week done!
But these is new times, we learn sense, and we don’t put up with that kinda nonsense no more! But enough about the slave driver oui! This is we time to do as we please, to eat and drink and party like if there was no tomorrow…for who knows if we’ll see another day eh?
So let the food…and the waters flow…and remember this is Remembrance Day weekend…so we have to remember all them good people that fight so that we could enjoy this good life. So lift them up…and doh forget to treat the ones that still alive right eh! So leh we thank God for Friday’s, weekends and Remembrance Day, that we not warring no more, and we still around to remember!’
Yeh friends, the workingman was really worked up this morning! (smile) But as usual, he got most of it right, except the limitless, boundary less partying, which only encourages the enemy to feast on our souls.
That’s why as believers in, and followers of Jesus Christ, we institute limitations on our natural, animalistic, carnal behaviour. And that’s why our Friday Chant is different to the workingman’s song.
So please chant it now with me, bringing the same enthusiasm and effervescence that he brought to his praise offering. As one 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 my fellow believers, we also have the right to enjoy life, because that’s one of the things Jesus came and died for; that we might have life, and even have it more abundantly, till it overflows. (John 10:10) We only have to be careful we don’t go overboard and keep Jesus first in all that we do.
And there’s no better scripture for our Bit today than Cousin Sol’s immortal words on man’s destiny and heritage. As the richest and wisest man ever, in his search for fulfillment – and he had plenty time, money and opportunity to do so – he finally came to the conclusion: ‘I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest (test) them, and that they might see that they themselves are (like) beasts.
For that which befalleth (happens to) the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no pre-eminence (advantage) above a beast: for all is vanity (futility).
All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. Who knoweth (knows if) the spirit of man that goeth (goes) upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth (goes) downward to the earth?
Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion (heritage): for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?’
Wise words indeed my brethren! As we saw above that’s one of the reasons Jesus came to earth; enjoying earthly life while we worked towards heavenly eternity. And He also answered one question of Cousin Sol’s; that regarding whether man’s spirit goes upward or not?
And we can say with a joyful shout that the spirit of ALL true and sincere believers go UPWARD, to enjoy a rich and glorious life with the Triune God in heaven until time eternal! Glory to God my people! Give Him much thanks and praise for His wonderful goodness to us, for He undoubtedly deserves it!
What would we be without God’s LOVE and the selfless sacrifice of Jesus eh? Absolutely nothing but dust and hell bound spirits! Thankfully now though, we’re still dust, but heaven bound spirits! Glory Hallelujah! So please friends, let’s remember all that we’ve spoken about today and work it into our earthly lives, so that we can enjoy eternity with God, for that’s our destiny! Much LOVE!
…a glorious heaven… patiently awaits…those who sincerely LOVE God…and who diligently and faithfully serve Him…down here on earth…
02 Nov 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a disicplined soul, a sound mind, a spirit of fear, a true believer, abolished death, accustomed to it, afford that luxury, am persuaded, attitude of jesus, be not ashamed, boundaries, brilliant sunshine, brought life, carefree, cause havoc, character, discipline, each step I take, eat and drink, Ephesus, eternal life, everyday lives, evil world, fellowship, followers of Jesus christ, forgiveness, Friday chant, full steam ahead, fun, furthering your glorious kingdom, generous help, Gentiles, Glory be, God has not given us, grief, heartfelt plea, hold back, hold fast, immortality, in Jesus name, infiltrate our souls, laid back, lead and guide us, let the good times roll, LOVE, massa work, mercy, on our p's and q's, partaker of the afflictions, party time, power, power of God, qualities, rain, relaxation, rest, safely through, salvation, Satan, saved us, share the sufferings, slave mih life away, small pittance, sound words, stand strong, steadfast, steady diet, stop complaining, straight and narrow path, swing and sway, TGIF!, Thank God is Friday, that good thing, the enemy, the gospel, the Holy Spirit, the testimony, the weekend, Timothy, week of work, win souls to Jesus, words of reassurance, workingman's song
2 Timothy 1:7. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound mind (discipline).
Hear me calling: ‘Rain, rain, go away, come again some other day!’ That’s a heartfelt plea my brethren, because since I’ve come back from Jamaica, it’s been a steady diet of rain and more rain…and today looks like it might be more of the same. I guess the Lord’s reasoning is if we could have two weeks of brilliant sunshine, what’s wrong with a few days of rain eh?
And as the duchess recently informed me, in her usual frank manner: ‘Stop complaining. You’ve been here for forty years. You should be accustomed to it by now!’ (smile) But who ever gets accustomed to the cold October and November rains eh? I know one person whom it doesn’t seem to bother though, that’s the ordinary workingman, once it’s Friday he’s happy regardless of the weather. His primary focus is having two days off from work to party.
Hear him sing: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday oui! And though the rain falling, and the place cold and miserable, I don’t care, because I don’t have to go to the massa work and slave mih life away for a small pittance and all the grief he want to cause me! Glory be! It’s the start of the weekend, that means is party time; time to swing and sway, eat and drink and let the good times roll! No holding back, just full steam ahead! Party, party, party! Thank God for Fridays and weekends yes!’
Ah friends, don’t you wish we could be as laid back and carefree as the ordinary workingman? We all surely do. However, as believers in and followers of Jesus Christ, we can’t afford that luxury because then the enemy, the evil Satan will joyfully infiltrate our souls and cause serious havoc therein. That’s why we need some boundaries in our everyday lives, points beyond which we won’t go, and that’s also why our weekend song, our Friday Chant is so different to his.
Chant it with me now nuh: ‘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 my people, we need to be always on our p’s and q’s when dealing with this evil world we live in. We’re workers for Jesus and thus must show the character, qualities and attitude that’s becoming to His glorious name! And yes, it is difficult sometimes to stay on the straight and narrow path that Jesus recommends, but we do have the reassurance and wherewithal to stay the course.
Listen to these fruitful and famous words of reassurance from Bruh Paul to Timothy when the youngster was going through a rough time in his ministry in Ephesus. ‘For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound mind (discipline).’
Ah my people, each of us has been imbued with the Holy Spirit of Christ, which is supposed to lead and guide us in our daily lives; giving us that spirit of power, LOVE and a disciplined soul. However, it can only do its job if we listen to it and allow it to work its grace, mercy and forgiveness in our lives. So we do have what it takes to do Christ’s work, but most of us are not using those tools wisely.
Remember, the Lord, through the Holy Spirit can’t work properly in our lives unless we give up ALL aspects of our lives to Him. Many of us hold back some areas and only give over those we think the Lord might be interested in. But that’s a sure fallacy friends, the Lord’s interested in EVERYTHING in our lives. He doesn’t want bits and pieces of it, He wants it ALL!
Now listen, as Bruh Paul continues his reassurance to Timothy and to us. ‘Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions (share with me in the sufferings) of the gospel according to the power of God; Who hath saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began (time).
But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against (until) that day.
Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and LOVE which is in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed unto thee by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.’ (2 Tim.1:8-14)
Oh friends, just a couple of points before we close. If we truly believe, then we cannot be ashamed of the gospel as so many of us are. And remember, Christ has abolished death and given us salvation unto eternal life. And that is assured! No one can take it from us. But we have to stand strong and steadfast in faith and do whatever it takes to win souls to Jesus and keep ourselves on the straight and narrow.
Let’s hope that these words of Bruh Paul will reassure us and remind us of all the power and LOVE and discipline that we do have through the Holy Ghost, from the work of Jesus Christ. Amen. Much LOVE!
…a true believer…should not be ashamed…of whatever he believes in…
26 Oct 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a harsh price, alive and kicking, another week of work, camaraderie, charles stanley, choked up, class of 69, consequences, crying out, diligence, do them, fellowship, forgiving, Friday chant, fun, gallivanting, glory to God, gracious, grounded, hallow, heart felt sorrow, I am the Lord your God, idols, in Jesus' name, infiltrate, Jesus Christ, keep my judgements, Kingston, larder full, LOVE, loving arms, merciful, Mo Bay, natural disasters, obey God, pay day, prosperous, punishment, redemption, relaxation, reminisce, rent, responsibilities, rest, rocking chair, rooted, sabbaths, smell the caffeine, stuff we face, tears of joy, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, the enemy, the Lord, the straight and narrow way, unforgettable memories, unique flavour, wake up, walk in my statutes, wisdom, words to live by, workingman's song
Ezekiel 20:19. I am the Lord your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgements, and do them.
Aloha one and all! It’s Friday morning in Kingston, J.A! Glory to God! We’re alive and kicking, and very grateful for that fact! Ah mih breddren this will be another holiday of unforgettable memories! Chuh! When I sit in my rocking chair and reminisce, this will be definitely one of my favourite reminiscences.
Yesterday morning I took the Knutsford Express from Mo Bay to Kingston, and after a three and a half hour drive through some lush green and beautiful mountain scenery, amongst which large, beautiful homes nestled, we arrived in the hustle and bustle of Kingston Town. Brother, has it ever grown and gotten busier since my days some fifty years ago! But you can never mistake the unmistakable, unique flavour of Kingston, because it has a flavour all its own.
My sister from my other family (smile) picked us up at the Bus Depot, and after taking us to lunch at a quaint J.A. restaurant, don’t remember its name, she left us in her apartment to rest. And it’s a good thing that we did rest, because when some of the old U.W.I class of 69 began to show up, it got real hectic real fast! Now we’re all seniors many times over, but just like you couldn’t beat our indefatigable energy back in 1966-69, you still can’t beat it now!
And brother, did the old memories and reminisces fly! Most of us looked vaguely familiar to how we were back then, but there was no mistaking the camaraderie and friendship that three years at the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica Campus bred! And the best part is that most of those who showed up were in the Social Sciences Faculty, so we didn’t only share social but also work related experiences.
Oh, by the way, if you added up the years of the dozen or so people that showed up, you’d probably come close to the thousand year figure. (smile) But all of us looked good and prosperous. Now that total would have even higher if several of our classmates hadn’t gone home to be with Lord a li’l bit early.
And I want to thank my big sister Maureen from my heart and soul for putting this amazing gathering together, because I hadn’t seen most of those people since I left the campus a half century ago. Just like how she looked after me in my campus days by writing my notes for the many lectures I missed, gone gallivanting somewhere about the country with friends – and I mean copying the actual notes from her notebook to mine, she’s still looking out for me fifty years later. The Lord bless her wonderful soul!
And as I sit here writing this, looking at her in the kitchen washing stuff from last night’s party, my eyes just flood with tears of joy and thanksgiving because she’s still the same warm, giving, caring and LOVING person she was all those years ago. So how can I say that I’m not amazingly blessed eh, when the Lord has brought such beautiful people into my life? It would be a certain lie, and the Lord would just cut me down to size.
Chuh! I had to stop there for a moment because I got all choked up. And is the ole fella getting choked up a lot on this vacation! (smile) But it’s Friday and we can’t leave out the workingman’s song for two straight weeks. So what’s he singing this bright, sunny, pay day Friday eh?
As usual, he opens with his thanks for Friday: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday…and the weekend here at last. Oh bwoy! Is also payday weekend, so you can imagine how the food and the waters going flow! Hope some of we not foolish enough to blow it all on drinks and pleasure and not pay we rent and we bills and buy food for we pickney them! It good to party and enjoy life when we work hard all week, but we must do what we need to do first. Mama Yo! I done pay mih rent and mih larder full, so is time for me an’ mih friends them to drink up the waters and stuff we face with food, as we thank the Lord for Fridays and weekends!’
Yes mih people, it’s all right to have fun after you have taken care of your immediate responsibilities. But still the workingman allows too much freedom for the enemy to infiltrate his soul. That’s why we believers have a different weekend song, we call our Friday Chant which keeps us rooted and grounded in the straight and narrow way.
So let’s chant up the usual storm, in unison 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 friends, we need to keep up our diligence in the spiritual battle against the evil enemy. And the Lord has sent us this reminder this October morning. ‘I am the Lord your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgements, and do them. And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God.’ (Ezek.20:19-20)
Ah friends, the Lord is crying out to us in heart felt sorrow to come back to Him, to give up our evil ways and the worldly idols we’re now worshipping. Remember when He warned the nations long ago, they did receive punishment when they refused to listen. So I don’t know why we think it would be different with us. The Lord is LOVING and gracious and merciful and forgiving… but only for a time. When you continue in willful disobedience, you will pay a harsh price.
Unoo see all the natural disasters that happening in the world today? So let’s wake up and smell the caffeine nuh, and return to where we came from nuh, when life was so good; the LOVING arms of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Please friends, please let wisdom prevail! Much LOVE!
…as Uncle Charles (Charles Stanley) is wont to say…obey God…and leave all the consequences to Him…words to live by…
20 Oct 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: blessings, Doctor's Cave beach, fellowship, Friday chant, fun, glorious kingdom, goat head soup, Guinness, hate, human brothers God's greatest creation, local food, LOVE, Love God, love his brother, Love thy neighbour as thyself, loving family, makes the world go round, Mo Bay, Pharisee, reinvigorate my body, rest-relaxation, rush hour, the second is like unto it, warm the cockles of God's heart, week of work
Matthew 22:39. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself.
Sorry that the Bit is so late mih breddren, but the circumstances were all out of my control. It started right after breakfast, about nine something, I didn’t even have time to get my after-breakfast nap when I was told to get ready, for a family member was coming to pick us up to go to his place where his wife was preparing goat head and goat belly soup especially for me. Hn!
Glory be! How could I refuse that eh, when one of the major reasons I’m in J.A is to eat healthy local food to try and reinvigorate my old bod. And this is family I haven’t seen for about ten years? Then after downing a big bowl of goat head soup, they took me down to Doctor’s Cave beach, where I enjoyed a good swim in beautiful deep salt water, drank a Guinness, then was taken through the heart of Mo Bay at rush hour time.
And if you think the big cities are bad, well downtown Mo Bay at rush hour is something else! What with the narrow street and narrow sidewalks, but numerous cars and people, all hustling in different directions at the same time. And the driving…Bubba! As crazy as ever, with people cutting in and out, taxis picking up and dropping off. It’s a good thing that the family member who was driving us through town was a tour bus driver himself, so he was familiar with it all and behaved just like them.
I didn’t get back home to the hotel until minutes to six. I obviously had to rest some from all that exerting activity… Oh, I just heard that somebody was coming to pick us up to take us out again later. Brother! Don’t they know that I came here to rest and not gallivant all over the place? (smile) But that’s what happens when you have a lot of good and LOVING family around. Oh how I hope that most families could live more LOVING than they normally do. It would warm the cockles of the Lord’s heart so much and put such a broad smile on His face.
But we going to get back to that just now, first let me apologize for forgetting to declare Thursday’s Blessings yesterday. I was too busy trying to get the Bit written before it was too late. Wonder if anybody noticed eh? And though we’re going to forego the workingman’s song this evening, we not going to leave out our Friday Chant though.
So please chant along with me in enthusiastic manner and strong voice: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen!’
Now remember our Bit from yesterday, where the Pharisee lawyer was trying to trap Jesus by asking which was the greatest commandment, and Jesus’ replied: ‘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.’ (Matt.22:37-38) But Jesus wasn’t done with the upstart Pharisee, He added His own addendum or corollary. ‘And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself.’
Yes friends, there are two basic requirements asked of believers in Jesus Christ: LOVE the Lord thy God, and LOVE thy neighbour as thyself! And once we do those two things, everything else will flow smoothly from them. Unfortunately though, we’re not doing either commandment as fully as we should. And even when we do, it’s mostly a halfhearted excuse for LOVING God and our neighbour. Plenty of us claim to LOVE God, but we treat our neighbours like garbage.
And John strongly refutes that claim when he declares: ‘If a man say I LOVE God, and hateth his brother (neighbour), 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?’ (1 John 4:20) Good question that my fellow believers. How can we LOVE somebody we’ve never seen, but hate someone we’ve seen? That just doesn’t sound very logical.
And John concludes that bit of scripture with these words that paraphrases Jesus’ two commandments. ‘And this commandment have we from him, That he who LOVETH God LOVE his brother also.’ (1 John 4:21) It couldn’t get any clearer than that nuh my people! So what I’d like to find out is why we aren’t LOVING both God and our brothers and neighbours so much more than we are currently doing? Hate seems to be the emotion that’s currently ruling the world, when LOVE should be the emotion that makes the world go around.
And all I can do from my li’l corner is to cry out to us to try and change the situation as Jesus desires of us. Remember if we don’t do it, the evil doers won’t. They like the status quo. So please mih breddren, let’s get a move on nuh, and try to bring real LOVE into our lives, both towards our great God, who first LOVED us and gave His life for us, and also to our human brothers and sisters, our God’s greatest creation! That’s wisdom and obedience at the highest level! Much LOVE!
…when earthly LOVE is real and true…God smiles down from heaven…and bestows blessings untold…
12 Oct 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: angels, another week of work, Beelzebub, boundaries, deny himself, each step I take, eaten by moths, emotional, energy, enjoy it, everlasting life, faithful promise, fall by the wayside, fellowship, fight too hard, for my sake, Friday chant, fun, furthering God's kingdom, gain the whole world, generous help, give in exchange, glory of his father, God the Father sealed, good omen, healthy enjoyment of life, household stuff, if any man serve me, imperishable, in Jesus name, innumerable difficulties, joie de vivre, labour not, let him follow me, lift your spirits, liquid, lose his life, lose his own soul, Lucifer, man hours, mass angry, modicum of circumspection, money wasted, my father will honour him, my servant shall be, natural work, perishable, physical, power, raise a toast, refreshed, relaxation, renewed, rest, rewards, richly blessed, rush hour, safely through, save his life, set up shop, smart money on Jesus, stress and strain, take up his cross, TGIF!, Thank God is Friday, the inner man, the meat that endures, the meat which perisheth, the outer man, the Son of man, the traffic terrible, the weekend, the work hard, traffic jams, two days off, unproductive time, vengeful, we time to play, what is a man profited, where I am, wisdom, work oriented society, working folks, worldly treasures
John 12:26. If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.
And then it was Friday, the day so many working folks look forward to! Yeh friends, because it means the end of another workweek is drawing nigh, and we’ll have a couple of days off to ourselves. Although, in this busy, work oriented society, weekends often mean more work, household stuff for those with young and growing families.
Ah Lord eh friends, I don’t know how some people do it five days a week, twice a day nuh! I’m talking about driving, or rather crawling in the constant traffic jams that pervade most big cities every day now. And more cars are being put on the already congested roads everyday, especially in our Province of Ontario, which is a car producing economy. So you can imagine the necessity to sell as many cars as possible.
We certainly can’t continue this way, for now there is no longer a set time for rush hour – rush hour is now all day long! Steups! Yesterday evening I got caught up in the supposed evening rush hour, and brother! Was it ever annoying! I didn’t get grumpy and angry, but did my hip and right foot ever hurt from the constant movement to gas and brakes. Chuh! I tried going a couple of different routes, but they all were backed up too.
I don’t know the solution to the problem nuh, but I’m sure this is not a good omen for our society. What are the great thinkers doing about it eh? I wouldn’t venture to number the amount of man hours and money that’s wasted by so many people spending so much unproductive time on the road, not to mention the stress and strain, both physical and emotional, it places on them.
But yuh know what? It’s Friday, and workingman is still blasting out his song regardless of the innumerable difficulties. ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday! The work hard…the traffic terrible…and the massa angry and vengeful…But this is the weekend…we time to play! And play we will! Nobody going to stop we now! We fight too hard to get the li’l two days off not to enjoy it. So lift yuh spirits mih people…both emotional and liquid (smile) …and raise a toast to the weekend: Thank God for Fridays and the weekends yes!’
Ah mih breddren, as we remark every week, the workingman does have a sense of joie de vivre (healthy enjoyment of life) but he does go a li’l too far for our liking. He has no boundaries whatsoever, but believers differ profoundly in that respect, because going to the edge of the limb only invites the enemy to step in and set up shop in our souls. And that is the last thing we want to happen. That’s why our song of praise for the weekend, our Friday Chant, is somewhat different, more restrained than the workingman’s.
Please chant it with me 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 friends, we too need refreshing and nourishing, but with a modicum of circumspection, not giving the enemy any chance to creep in, while still going about Jesus’ business. And if we stand strong and steadfast with Jesus, He will give us the power and energy and wisdom to do what He wants and expects of us!
Hear what He says in His Word: ‘If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.’ What a great and faithful promise my brethren! If we follow our Lord and Saviour, we will be richly blessed!
And He also says: ‘Labour not for the meat (food) which perisheth, but for that meat (food) which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.’ (John 6:27) Yes my people, the earthly food and flesh of man perishes, but the life of our spiritual being continues eternally, which means that’s the important body we need to worry about and keep in good shape, else we’ll fall helplessly by the wayside.
Meanwhile, Matthew reports it this way: ‘Then Jesus said unto his disciples, If any will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for His soul?’ (Matt.16:24-26)
Excellent questions those my fellow believers! What shall we sell our souls for eh? Some of us unwisely sell it to Beelzebub for the perishable treasures of this world. But the smart money is undoubtedly on Jesus as He declares (Chuh! Spelled it wrong again!) ‘For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.’ (Matt.16:27)
Glory be mih people! When Jesus comes again in all His splendour and shining glory, He will indeed reward all those who have been faithful to Him, and thus His heavenly Father! Wow!
Thus, wisdom encourages us to put our eternal souls and spirits in the hand of the Son and the Father, for their rewards are imperishable, and way way better than those of Lucifer, whose rewards perish and are eaten by moths and only last a mortal lifetime. So please let wisdom have its natural work today nuh my brethren! Much LOVE!
…concentrate on feeding the inner man…more than the outer one…
05 Oct 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: attitudes, awareness of pitfalls, baby and all, be dislocated, before the eyes of the Lord, boundaries, brings joy, celebrate, circumspection, conversation, days off with pay, do it all over again, down will come cradle, dying, eats away, entitled to enjoy, fellowship, fighting, follow peace, Friday chant, fun, furthering God's kingdom, generous help, glory to God, goess to far, he ponders all his goings, healed, hear a word behind thee, holiness, in Jesus name, in soul body and mind, inherent danger, invite the enemy, Jesus on our side, joyful smiles, juiciest fruit, keep your eyes fixed, lame, let all thy ways be established, lift up the hands, make straight paths, more brittle, no man shall see God, our own bootstraps, ourselves to blame, out on the limb, party hearty, ponder, pull ourselves up, refreshed, relaxation, remove thy foot from evil, renewed, rest, sinful soul, spiritual strength, steadfastly on Jesus, stooped, tears, TGIF!, Thank God is Friday, the bough breaks, the feeble knees, the fruits of our labour, the Holy Spirit's advice, the ordinary workingman, the path of thy feet, the slave massa's eyes, the ways of man, thieving, this is the way, turn not to the right nor to the left, two short days off, unbridled carnal living, upcoming weekend, veer off the straight and narrow, walk ye in it, week of work, weekends
Proverbs 4:26. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.
And I can see all the joyful smiles and hear all the joyful conversation simply because it’s Friday, and the working population has only the upcoming weekend on their minds. What a way our attitudes can change from one day to the next, when something that seems good is on the horizon. Wish we could have that joyful attitude come next Monday morning. (smile)
And there is no stopping the ordinary workingman come Friday morning, for he will sing his song, come hell or high water. ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday mih breddren! The weekend come…and while it brings joy to our lives, it brings tears to the slave massa’s eyes, because he has to pay us for not working for two whole days! Glory be!
You wouldn’t know how that eats away at his thieving sinful soul. But God is good…and fair too. And after plenty fighting and dying we finally get some days off with pay. Wow! And as always, we going to party hearty and celebrate that fact, because we entitled to enjoy the fruits of our labour! Thank God for Fridays and weekends oui!’
Ah friends, the workingman does make some good points in his song, but just goes too far out on the limb in pursuit of the ripest, juiciest fruit. Yes my brethren, there is inherent danger in pursuing that at the edge of the limb, it’s liable to break more easily, because it’s usually smaller and more brittle out there. And when the bough breaks, you’ll fall, and down will come cradle, baby and all. (smile)
And as that pertains to our Christian faith walk, it means allowing the enemy to get into our lives and settling in to spoil them, and have us walk away from Jesus, rather than with Him. Now that’s one thing we definitely don’t want to happen, and the best way to avoid it is to stay away from what appears to be the juiciest fruit at the edge of the limb.
We need to erect some boundaries as to how far we’re going to go, so that we don’t invite the enemy into our lives. That’s why our Friday Chant is different from the workingman’s song, with more circumspection and awareness of the pitfalls of unbridled carnal living. So let’s chant our Friday Chant nuh, with even more enthusiasm than the workingman, because we know that we have Jesus on our side. Glory to God!
Altogether 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.’
Ah friends, to live sincerely for Jesus means always being aware of the world around you and its constant efforts to make you succumb to its evil ways. But we’re blessed, for Jesus’ Holy Spirit that dwells within us warns us of the pitfalls. Oh, we don’t always pay attention to, or take heed to the Holy Spirit’s advice, so we have no one else to blame but ourselves, when that unwise attitude gets us into trouble.
That’s why Cousin Sol warns us in our Bit and beyond: ‘Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.’ (Prov.4:26-27) And that jells nicely with these words of the Lord spoken through the prophet Isaiah. ‘And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.’ (Is.30:21)
Yes friends, anytime we veer off the straight and narrow path that Jesus advises us to follow, we will hear His Holy Spirit calling us back to it, for the broad way of the world only leads to eventual destruction. As Cousin Sol further declares: (Chuh! Spelled it wrong again). ‘For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and he pondereth (weighs, observes) all his goings.’ (Prov.5:21)
So please don’t foolishly believe that we can do stuff that the Lord doesn’t see, because His eyes are always on our goings and comings. That’s why we have to pay close attention to the warning against disobedience in Hebrews: ‘Wherefore lift up (strengthen) the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way (dislocated); but let it rather be healed.’ (Heb.12:12-13)
And the scholars explain: ‘12:12-13. Some of the runners of verse 1 have grown so weary that they have become stooped and need spiritual strength to be straightened up again. They must be given help, yet they themselves also must strengthen their paths by avoiding obstacles that would spiritually trip them up.’
Yuh see friends, neither the Lord, nor our fellow man can or will do everything for us. At some stage of the game we need to strengthen ourselves, pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps and set out eyes firmly on that straight and narrow path.
And here’s a fitting end from Hebrews to today’s message. ‘Follow (pursue) peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.’ (Heb.12:14) So let’s be wise and try our best to do that nuh my people! Much LOVE!
…there’s only ONE way to stay on the straight and narrow…keep your eyes fixed steadfastly on Jesus…
28 Sep 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a future, a hope, a little too far, alive and kicking, an expected end, appreciation, at hand, back-breaking week, be glad in it, believers, broad is the way, calamity, chant up a storm, circumspection, damnation, eat and drink, enjoy, enthusiastic, enticement of the enemy, eternal life, eternity, everlasting life, evil minions, exuberant, fellowship, few find it, forgive us, forgiveness, fraught with difficulty, Friday chant, fun, furthering your glorious kingdom, generous, generous help, get a foothold, good for a man, have mercy, hell fire, human souls, in Jesus' name, in soul body and mind, leadeth to destruction, leadeth unto life, loving thoughts, Lucifer, magnanimous, mama yo, mislead agenda, muddy the waters, narrow is the way, never regret it, not evil, not to tread, obedience, obeisance, only one way, opens wide the door, our best interest, pay the price, praise, refreshed, relaxation, renewed, rest, salvation, seek to enter in, sincere repentance, slave-like labour, Solomon, strait is the gate, strive to enter, TGIF!, Thank God is Friday, thanks, the celebrating thing, the error of our ways, the fruits of his labour, the Life, the limb of freedom, the Most High, the Truth, the Way, the weekend, the wisest man ever, the workingman, this is the day the Lord has made, thoughts of peace, through Jesus, time to celebrate life, to tread, Triune God, truth, two short days off, victory, we will rejoice, week of work, wide is the gate, wiggle room, wisest decision
Matthew 7:14. Because strait (how narrow) is the gate, and narrow (difficult or confined) is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Awright friends, it’s bright and sunshiny out there, so let’s get with the thanks and praise, as we all joyfully declare: ‘This is the day the Lord has made, we WILL rejoice and be glad in it!’
And we’d be very foolish and ungrateful not to do so my brethren, because that’s why the Lord made the beautiful day – so that His precious people could enjoy it. Glory to our Most High God, whose kind, gracious and LOVING thoughts are always upon us, ‘thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you an expected end (a future and a hope).’ (Jer.29:11)
Yes my dear brethren in Christ, our God only has our best interest at heart, but we foolishly screw it up when we don’t pay Him His much-deserved obeisance and obedience. Anyway, He’s also overflowing with forgiveness, so when we realize the error of our ways and come to Him in sincere repentance, He WILL have mercy on our poor human souls, and forgive us. That’s just how magnanimous and generous He is!
And that’s why the workingman, even in his somewhat mislead agenda, can cry out in thanks and appreciation this Friday morning to the Most High: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday! MamaYo! The weekend is at hand; the time to celebrate life is upon us. So what we waiting for eh? Let’s celebrate life!
We alive and kicking, and the wisest man ever, Solomon, said that it was good for a man to eat drink and enjoy the fruits of his labour! So leh we do that nuh, celebrate the end of another back breaking week of slave-like labour, as we give thanks for Fridays and weekends!’
Ah friends, as always, I have no complaints re the workingman’s song, except that he takes the celebrating thing a little too far, so that he opens wide the door for Lucifer and his evil minions to get a foothold in his soul. And that’s why, as believers, our Friday Chant is somewhat different; still exuberant and enthusiastic, but with tighter boundaries and a li’l more circumspection. So let’s chant up a storm now nuh, as we declare our thanks for the weekend to Almighty God.
‘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 people, we have to be careful to not go too far out on the limb of freedom, so that we don’t allow the enemy to muddy our clean, clear waters. And remember too, that not because a wide door or path has been opened to us, that we have to go through or take it, for oftimes, it is the enticement of the enemy.
That’s why Jesus warned us: ‘Enter ye in at the strait (narrow) gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in there at. Because strait (how narrow) is the gate, and narrow (difficult or confined) is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.’ (Matt.7:13-14)
And that’s the God awesome truth friends! Living and working for Jesus, does take away some of our wiggle room. (smile) Meanwhile, Luke puts it thus: ‘Strive to enter in at the strait (narrow) gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.’ (Luke 13:24) Yes my brethren, the way to eternal life is narrow and fraught with difficulty, and only those who sincerely seek it and are willing to pay the price will find it.
And it’s not only narrow, but there’s only ONE WAY, that through Jesus, as He succinctly informed doubting Thomas. ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.’ (John 14:6) Right there you have that narrow, one-way street to eternal life my people! Jesus didn’t mince words; He told it exactly like it is: ONLY through Him can one get to the Father and bypass eternal damnation with Lucifer in the lake of fire!
So what’s it going to be eh: eternal salvation in the amazing company of our Triune God, or hell fire and damnation with the fallen angels? It’s a decision each individual has to make for themself; nobody else can make it for you. They can suggest it, or even lead you to that narrow path, but it’s always going to be your decision to tread or not to tread it.
Let’s hope today my people, that we all make the wise decision; that to follow Jesus on the narrow but difficult and self-sacrificing path to victory and everlasting life. It’s the best and wisest decision we can ever make in this lifetime! And we will never regret it, all the way through eternity! Much LOVE!
…if Christ…who cannot lie…says He is the ONLY way to the Father…then it must be true…
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