19 Oct 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a happier bunch of people, a slave trader, a song of worship, a testimony to God's strength, accept the praise I bring, all roads lead to God's house, Amazing grace, bless the LOrd o my soul, borne our griefs, boundless stores of grace, bruised for our iniquities, calms the troubled breast, carried our sorrows, Christ is our be all and end all, come unto me all ye that labour, crowns thee with loving-kindness, do justice to the song, drives away our fear, esteem him stricken, faith, find rest unto your souls, forget not all his benefits, forgives all thine iniquities, friend, guardian, have life more abundantly, heals all thy diseases, heals our wounds, heavy laden, holy spirit, how grateful we are to Jesus, How Sweet the Name of Jesus sounds, how weak the effort of my heart, I am meek and lowly in heart, I am the bread of life, I am the good shepherd, I am the light of the world, I am the resurrection and the life, I am the way the truth and the life, I will give you rest, I would your love proclaim, in a believer's ear, in whom I will trust, Jesus Christ, Jesus is the embodiment of all human needs, Jesus' name resonates sweetly, John Newton, king, lay our problems before Him, LOVE, makes the wounded spirit whole, manna to the hungry soul, mercy, miserable believers, my burden light, my deliverer, my fortress, my god, my high tower, my never failing treasury, my shield and hiding place, my strength, my yoke is easy, praise, praise you as I ought, priest, prophet, receive his awesome blessing, redeems thy life from destruction, refresh my soul in death, salvation, satisfies thy mouth with good things, saved from mine enemies, shepherd, smitten of God, soothes our sorrows, sweet sacrifices of praise, take my yoke upon you, tender mercies, thanksgiving, the chastisement of our peace, the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep, the gospel truth, the great invitation, the horn of my salvation, The Lord is my rock, the music of your name, the rock on which I build, the Sabbath Day, thy youth is renewed like the eagle's, to the weary rest, truth, when I see you as you are, wisdom, with every fleeting breath, with his stripes we are healed, worthy to be praised, wounded for our transgressions, zealous disciple
Psalm 103:2. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
Sunday, Sunday, Sunday! A good day to be alive my fellow believers! Yes, since all roads lead to God’s house, where, along with praise and thanksgiving, we can lay our problems down before Him and receive His awesome blessing on this Sabbath day. And the good thing is that no other faith but Christianity offers that kind of renewal! So why aren’t we a happier bunch of people eh? Why are there so many grumpy and miserable believers, when Christ came to save us, that we could have life, and have it more abundantly?
Who knows? And with all we have going for us, we ought to be the happiest group of people in the world. However, that’s a question for another day, (smile) and today we have a beautiful song of worship that says how wonderful we feel about Jesus, and how everlastingly grateful we are to Him. The song ‘s titled, ‘How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds.’ And is that ever the gospel truth to His followers.
And it’s certainly interesting and amazing how the author of this song, John Newton (1725-1807), who, though born into a Christian home became a licentious, abominable sailor, and eventually a slave trader, could write such beautiful Christian hymns, over two hundred, including that wonderful, popular Christian anthem, ‘Amazing Grace.’ But that just goes to show how the Lord down through History has used some of the most disgusting and unchristian men to do great things in His name.
Just think of Bruh Paul, who was a persecutor of Christians until the Lord called him to ministry, and he became one of the most loyal and zealous disciples despite all the hardships he faced. Anyway, in the same amazing kind of conversion, John Newton turned to Christ, became an abolitionist and eventually a Christian Minister. Enough talk though, (smile) it’s time to offer up our sweet sacrifices of praise, in a soulful, scintillating, midtempo version of the song, letting the whole world know, in no uncertain terms, how truly sweet the name of Jesus is to us!
Singing: ‘How sweet the name of Jesus sounds in a believer’s ear! It soothes our sorrows, heals our wounds, and drives away our fear. It makes the wounded spirit whole and calms the troubled breast; ’tis manna to the hungry soul, and to the weary, rest. Dear name! the rock on which I build, My shield and hiding place, My never-failing treasury, filled, With boundless stores of grace.
O Jesus, shepherd, guardian, friend, my Prophet, Priest, and King, my Lord, my Life, my Way, my End, accept the praise I bring. How weak the effort of my heart, how cold my warmest thought; but when I see you as you are, I’ll praise you as I ought. Till then I would your LOVE proclaim with every fleeting breath; and may the music of your name refresh my soul in death.’
Oh, what beautiful sentiments my people! And did we ever do justice to the song, so much so, that we had the whole of heaven singing along with us, because it’s not only here on earth that Jesus’ name resonates sweetly, but also in heaven too. And friends, the song is so chocked full of references to scriptures that I don’t know where to begin. So why don’t we begin like the song and talk about Jesus healing our wounds and restoring our wounded spirits.
And there’s no scripture that says it as comprehensively as Psalm 103. ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with LOVING-KINDNESS and tender mercies; who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.’ (Ps. 103:2-5)
And then we have this most essential scripture, where Isaiah describes Jesus’ suffering on our behalf: ‘Surely he hath borne our griefs (sickness), and carried our sorrows (pains): yet we did esteem (reckon) him stricken, smitten of (struck down by) God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised (pierced through) for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes (wounds) we are healed.’ (Is. 53:4-5)
Oh my people, we couldn’t ask for more than that from Christ! He took all the punishment for our sins. Meanwhile, we also have Jesus calling us in the Great Invitation to ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of (from) me; for I am meek and lowly in heart (gentle and humble): and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matt. 11:28-30) Now where else we can receive such a marvellous invitation eh? Nowhere else but from Jesus!
And when talking about the Lord being our strength etc. nobody says it better than Bruh David in Psalm 27. ‘I will LOVE thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler (shield), and the horn (strength) of my salvation, and my high tower (stronghold). I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.’ (Ps. 18: 1-4) What a powerful testimony to God’s strength and protection my brethren!
However, with time and space running out on us, I want to get in some of Jesus’ famous I Am’s, which cover so much of all He said and did. Like this one. ‘I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.’ (John 6:35) Then there’s this: ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.’ (John 14:6) Now listen to this one: ‘I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life.’ (John 8:12)
And what about this gem? ‘I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.’ (John 10:11) And we’ll close with this other gem, where Jesus said to Martha, Lazarus’ sister. ‘I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead (may die), yet shall he live.’ (John 11:25)
There you have it friends, so many reasons why we ought to be grateful to Jesus and just burst out with joy when we hear His name. For He is indeed our Be All and End All! Let’s remember that! Much LOVE!
…Jesus is the embodiment…of ALL that human beings need…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
03 Oct 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: an earful of praise and worship, bindeth up their wounds, boundless stores of grace, drives away our fear, find grace to help in time of need, friend, greater love hath no man, guardian angels, he healeth the broken in heart, he that believeth on me shall never thirst, he that cometh to me shall never hunger, heals our wounds, How Sweet the Name of Jesus sounds, I am the bread of life, is become the chief cornerstone, John Newton, keep all my commandments always, lay down his life for his friends, let us therefore come boldly, LOVE, manna to the hungry soul, may the music of your name, My end, my high tower, my life, My Lord, My Way, O that there were such a heart in them, obtain mercy, priest and king, propeht, refresh my soul in death, sacrificial praise, shepherd, soothes our aorrows, that it might be well with them, that they would fear me, the day of the Lord, the horn of my salvation, The Lord is my rock, the stone the builders refused, unto the throne of grace
John 6:35. I am the bread of life; he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
It’s that beautiful day of the Lord again friends – Sunday! And all God’s children shouted a loud, proud and grateful: ‘Glory Hallelujah! All thanks, praise and honour be unto our wonderful heavenly Father, who created us in His marvellous image and blesses us with all we need to see life through, here on earth! We LOVE You and bless Your holy name on this Your day, as we gather to worship You, either physically in your sanctuary or by technological means.
There’s no distance in prayer nor worship, so it doesn’t matter whether we are together or far away, our prayers and worship still come as one to Your waiting ears and excited, expectant heart! That’s because we know Your great LOVE for us, and Your desire for us to only be blessed and not cursed, as You told Moses way back when. ‘O that there were such a heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever.’ (Deut. 5:29)
Yes Lord, we know that the cockles of Your heart are warmed when we live the way You desire of us, that’s why today we come to give you an earful of praise and worship. So please listen up Lord and accept our thanks and praise which sincerely come from the depths of our hearts. This we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!’
And our opening song of praise is one we know so well, and sincerely LOVE. It was written in the 18th century by that old rapscallion and slave trader turned slave abolitionist by God’s mighty hand. We’re talking about John Newton (1725-1807), the writer of that other masterpiece, ‘Amazing Grace.’ Today though, we’ll raise our voices in sacrificial praise to ‘How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds,’ another of Newton’s beautiful hymns. That’s God’s mysterious working, where He takes pleasure in turning notorious sinners into amazing saints! Think of Bruh Paul.
So, in soulful harmony, in an up-tempo riddim, because it’s a song that conveys joy, let’s sing. ‘‘How sweet the name of Jesus sounds in a believer’s ear! It soothes our sorrows, heals our wounds, and drives away our fear. It makes the wounded spirit whole and calms the troubled breast; ’tis manna to the hungry soul, and to the weary, rest. Dear name! the rock on which I build, My shield and hiding place, My never-failing treasury, filled, With boundless stores of grace.
O Jesus, shepherd, guardian, friend, my Prophet, Priest, and King, my Lord, my Life, my Way, my End, accept the praise I bring. How weak the effort of my heart, how cold my warmest thought; but when I see you as you are, I’ll praise you as I ought. Till then I would your LOVE proclaim with every fleeting breath; and may the music of your name refresh my soul in death… and may the music of your name refresh my soul in death…’
Ah friends, that was wonderful, because it was indeed sincere, and the name of Jesus sounds ever so sweet to our ears, as He is our Everything! As the song says, He’s our ‘Shepherd, Guardian, Friend, Prophet, Priest and King, my Lord, my Life, my Way, my End.’ The only thing that’s probably left out is ‘Brother,’ and some versions do sing ‘Brother’ instead of ‘Guardian.’ So, when we say He is indeed our everything, it’s certainly no lie!
And though the song is fairly short it is chocked full of biblical references. So let’s check out a few. We’ll begin with Peter’s confident words to the High Priest. ‘This is the stone which was set at nought of (rejected by) you builders, which is become the head of the corner (the chief cornerstone). Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.’ (Acts 4:11-12) Wow friends! Under those circumstances, what sweeter name can there be to us believers eh? None whatsoever!
And when the hymn talks about manna to the hungry soul, it refers to the Lord providing manna for the children of Israel in the wilderness in Exodus 16. But when the people brought their arguments to Jesus about Moses giving their ancestors bread from heaven to eat. He calmly disputed them by saying. ‘Moses gave you not that bread from heaven, but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life to the world. Then said they unto him, Lord evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life; he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.’ (John 6:31-35)
Ah mih people, Jesus is indeed manna to our hungry souls, for when we believe in Him, we neither hunger nor thirst spiritually! And we know what Psalm 147:3 says: ‘He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds (sorrows).’ Now, it’s obvious that talking about giving rest to the weary, refers to Matthew 11:28, where Jesus declares His Great Invitation. ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’
And when we talking about building on the rock that’s Jesus, nobody says it better than Bruh David in Psalm 18. ‘The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength (lit. rock), in whom I will trust; my buckler (shield), and the horn (strength) of my salvation, and my high tower (fortress).’ (Ps. 18:3) You can’t get any more faith and trust than that.
Now what about Jesus being our priest eh? Listen to the author of Hebrews. ‘Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession (confession of faith). For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched (sympathize) with the feeling of our infirmities (our weaknesses), but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly (confidently) unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.’ (Heb. 4:14-16)
What a wonderful person is our Jesus! He can sympathize with all our problems, yet be without sin. Now that’s an exceedingly good thing, otherwise He would not be able to redeem us. And we’ll do one last scripture, that’s where Jesus considers us friends. He clearly says to the disciples: ‘Greater LOVE hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.’ (John 15:13-15)
And there are lots more scriptures that we can pluck from the skillfully created masterpiece of John Newton. I would suggest some valuable homework; you look through the song yourself and see what other scripture references you can find. That ought to be an interesting task for a quiet Sunday afternoon (smile). Much LOVE!
…there’s no greater or sweeter sounding name in all the world…than that of…JESUS…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
12 Oct 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a free for all, anger, Anselm, ask questions, baby-faced students, be kind, being turfed out, believers to live by, bitterness, brotherly kindness, clamour, comfort zone, communication, deceit, deviation from the norm, disorderly, evil speaking, fast and furious times, fighting a hard battle, finger food, for Christ's sake, fraudulence, friend, gala, god, godliness, hath forgiven you, healing balm, immoral, kind to one another, kindness, LOVE, malice, mingling, mixing, morality, morals, no control, opens her mouth, out of sync, progress, refreshing beverages, reminiscing, revolutions, sorrows, strains of a steelband, strenuous endeavours, taken advantage of, technological, the law of kindness, the ruins, to push God out, wisdom her tongue, words, wrath
Proverbs 31:26. She openeth her mouth with wisdom, and her tongue is the law of kindness.
So we’ve finally come to Saturday! Wow! Can’t believe that a week’s already passed since I’ve been in J.A; a busy week to boot! But as they say, time waits on no one, especially in these fast and furious times, when life is often just a blur, unless you take the time to really step back and consider what’s happening in your own life. Well yesterday evening we had what they called the gala event…but it wasn’t a real gala as the word usually implies, I think tonight’s formal dinner might more suit that bill.
But anyhow, at around seven thirty, about fifty something of us got together in the Mona Visitors Lodge, a nice venue on the campus for holding special occasions. After mixing and mingling for a while, we watched a video compilation of graduates, showing then and now pictures. That obviously brought forth hoots of laughter and comments as we saw the serious contrasts between the baby-faced students we were then, and the harder, older looks of the current times. Then there was a roll call of all those who had graduated in 1969, including the dear departed, and those who were at the function got up and acknowledged themselves.
After that we went up to the back of the building to what they call the ruins; the ruins of some old stone building, never knew it was there, and had finger food and refreshing beverages, (smile) and mingled some more, all the while being feted by the beautiful strains of a steelband. I guess a lot of reminiscing, as well as catching up went on. But it was certainly good to see people you hadn’t seen for at least fifty years and talk about things that happened way back then and persons you wouldn’t see for even longer. All in all, it was an interesting evening, but today is the real party…Bring it on!
And not forgetting that today is Saturday, let’s see what quotes our friend Anselm sent us this week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. Hear this first one: ‘The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.’ Yeh friends, curiosity is an interesting thing and does lead to all kinds of further interesting stuff, so it is of some importance to ask questions, if you want to get answers, though they say that ‘curiosity killed the cat.’ (smile) Yes, we can’t belabour the questioning just for questioning sake! And furthermore, in this day and age, where deceit and fraudulence are rampant, it is of exceeding importance to ask questions if you don’t want to be taken advantage of.
And this next quote says: ‘Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.’ There can be no doubt of the truth in that statement, for it’s only when we step out some from our comfort zone that we make what’s call progress. The problem however is how much deviation do we want, or how much is sufficient to not upturn the whole applecart?
That means to have a fairly stable society, progress ought to be orderly and sort of linear, moving from one point to another in an orderly fashion, otherwise all hell can break loose. Look at what happens in revolutions, be they armed and physical, or like what’s happening right now in our communication and technological sectors. The supposed progress is happening so quickly and disorderly that it’s throwing everything out of sync, and there’s no real control taking place, it’s become more like a free for all.
Then there’s this: ‘Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.’ Another truism, you might say! We can all find happiness in the most trying times if we turn on the real and true light…His name is Jesus Christ! John said that he was sent to bear witness of ‘the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.’ (John 1:8-9) So friends, with Jesus as the mainstay of our lives, happiness is indeed possibly in any kind of situation. Please never forget that!
Now hear this: ‘Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right.’ That makes me chuckle, for as far as I’m concerned our sense of morals should naturally make us do right. I guess it’s all in the interpretation, for when we talk about having morals we usually mean the good aspect, not the immoral part. So here it seems the whole morality landscape is being considered. But sadly morality seems to be a forgotten word today, just like God and godliness are being turfed out of our society.
Anyway, this last quote should help to fix all of that. ‘Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.’ And is that last part ever true my brethren. These are indeed some rough and difficult days and we can’t truly handle them without some kindness on the part of everybody. Unfortunately though, kindness seems to be a word that is fast disappearing from our society, as we just said, in the wake of our strenuous endeavours to push God and godliness out. But friends, the truth of the matter is that kindness is next to godliness.
Hear how Proverbs puts it, when talking about a virtuous woman. ‘She openeth her mouth with wisdom, and her tongue is the law of kindness.’ You can’t ever beat that my people…and it doesn’t apply to virtuous women alone, but to all God’s children! Yuh see how Ruth, born into idolatry, a Gentile, became a descendant of Jesus, Bruh David’s great grandmother, because of her steadfast support and kindness to her mother-in -law Naomi. Simply read all of Ruth. It’s a short book. (smile)
And there’s no better passage of scripture to end today’s Bit than this one from Ephesians. Hear Bruh Paul: Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.’ (Eph.4:29-32)
Ah mih people, what wonderful words for us believers to live by! Please, let’s do our sincere best to put them into action nuh, for they will indeed be healing balm to all our sorrows! Much LOVE!
…and to godliness…(add) brotherly kindness…and to brotherly kindness…LOVE… (1Pet.1:7)
05 Oct 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a good chuckle, a stepping stone, anger, Anselm, aspires to inspire us, autumn, build on failure, but Israel doth not know, calamity, capitalize on what comes, change your direction, Christian brethren, close the door to the past, devastated, disatrous consequences, don't dwell on mistakes, evil world, expect the best, failure is inevitable, fight the good fight, friend, God invented colour, gospel truth, heed His warning, his master's crib, impediments, kept pressing on, knoweth his owner, learn from each failure, long-suffering, LOVE, Love God, most beautiful season, my people doth not consider, no weapon formed against us, not yourdecision, obedience, obstacles, prepare for the worst, rebellion, rebellious children, repentance, sit in a bar, sit in church, the ass, the ox, think about God, thinking about beer, thwart the enemy, use them, we can do anything through Jesus, weather titans, who strengthens us, will prosper, with God's help, you can't succeed until you fail
Isaiah 1:3. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib (manger or feed trough): but Israel doth not know (understand), my people doth not consider.
Oh yeah, the sun finally won the battle of the weather titans yesterday! It came out shining brightly in the afternoon, but without any real strength, so there was a resultant chill in the air. And some premonition tells me that this is the time for the big chill to finally begin! (smile)
There will now be very few warmish days, as autumn gets into full swing. The leaves on the trees are already losing their green colour and turning a rustic brown, yellow and gold. Despite the cold winter months it heralds, autumn is still the most beautiful of all the seasons, colourful like a Carnival Tuesday in T&T! Remember, God invented colour! (smile)
And the last time I looked, the sun was valiantly trying to peek out of the large cloud cover that hid it from sight. But regardless of what happens, today, or any other day, the Good Book assures us that we can do anything and everything through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who strengthens us. (Phil, 4:13)
And that’s gospel truth my Christian brethren! Through the LOVE and grace and mercy of Christ, NOTHING is impossible to us, we can handle any situation or circumstance that comes against us with true assurance and courage…if we believe! Now let’s turn to our Saturday programme, looking at the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this week, as he sincerely aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow.
And I had a good chuckle at this first one: ‘It’s better to sit in a bar and think about God, than to sit in a church thinking about beer.’ Now that might sound like blasphemy or some such thing, but it’s really the truth! Wherever you are, it’s always better to think about God, than what your situation might naturally induce you to think about, simply because when we think about God, we’re led to do godly things, even in a house of sin. (smile)
Listen to this next one: ‘Expect the best. Prepare for the worst. Capitalize on what comes.’ Yes that’s what we all need to do. God promises us the best, but in this evil world, the worst is also possible, that means we have to be prepared for anything that comes against us. And we’ve already said that we can handle it with Christ’s help, so there’s no need to worry there, especially since we also are assured that no weapon formed against us will prosper. (Is.54:17) Glory to God my faithful brethren!
That brings us to this similar quote: ‘When obstacles arise, you change your direction to reach your goal; you do not change your decision to get there.’ Ah mih people, in this evil and ungodly world we’re sure of one thing, obstacles! Whatever we do, especially if it’s for God, the enemy will always try to put obstacles and impediments in our way, so that we don’t reach our goals. But then we don’t need to give up or change our goals, but merely change the direction in which we originally planned to meet them. And does it ever feel good when we thwart the enemy, with God’s help of course!
And the necessary ingredients for doing that are found in this next quote. ‘You build on failure. You use it as a stepping-stone. Close the door on the past. You don’t try to forget the mistakes, but you don’t dwell on them. You don’t let them have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space.’ Yes friends, if we try to do anything in this world, some failure is inevitable. As the saying goes, you can’t succeed until you fail.
But please remember too that failure is not permanent, unless you allow it to be. Most of the successful people in this world have failed on numerous occasions, but they got back up, hopefully with God’s help, and kept pressing on until they were successful. And we all have to do the same thing; don’t let one or two, or even three failures cause us to give up on our godly dreams, but learn from each failure, for each one has lessons to teach us, then get up and keep on fighting the good fight. That’s the only way to really succeed.
And this last quote is really interesting, something that most of us never really consider. ‘A person can LOVE you and still cheat, just like we LOVE God and still sin.’ Think on that for a moment nuh! So many of us claim to LOVE God, but yet we engage in a lot of sin and think nothing much of it. But let someone who claims to LOVE us go astray, or step out of line slightly, yuh see the big noise we make, the way we carry on as though the world is falling down on us!
But have we ever considered how God feels when we betray Him? We obviously don’t class our sinful behaviour towards God in the same light as someone’s wrong toward us. We behave as though the latter is ever so important, while we sort of overlook the former, saying or thinking that God will forgive us. But what about us forgiving those who do us wrong eh? That brings us to an interesting and oh so appropriate scripture from Isaiah, where the Lord complains.
‘Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib (manger or feed trough): but Israel doth not know (understand), my people doth not consider.’ And as it was true of God’s chosen people, Israel, way back then, so is it also true of us in these sinful and ungodly times; we have rebelled against Him after enjoying His goodness and grace and mercy, becoming proud and arrogant, behaving as if we gave ourselves all the good things we have.
And as the Lord continues: ‘Ah sinful nation, a people laden (weighed down) with iniquity, a seed of evil-doers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone (turned) away backward.’ (Is. 1:4) And if we are truthful, we will admit that our society, like that of ancient Israel, has become oh so evil and turned away from God so much, even trying to force Him out, that He must be seething with anger.
And don’t tell me that God doesn’t get angry; it says so throughout the Good Book. He’s just long-suffering; holds in His anger for a long time, but when it finally erupts, as it has done, and will again some day if we keep on the way we’re going; it’s deadly! The scholars explain it thus: ‘1:2-4. Children…rebelled: Isaiah pictures the southern kingdom of Judah as ungrateful children rebelling against their parents. These verses serve as a “great arraignment” of the chosen people who have become corrupt and backslidden. The prophet calls them back to obedience to God.’
Likewise friends, the Lord is calling us back to obedience, to repentance and the godliness our society once knew. And if we don’t obey, but continue down the ungodly path we’re now treading, then someday, sooner or later, He’s going to lose His patience with us, and we’ll end up like the Israelites did, when they did not heed His warnings; devastated, hounded by calamity! Now that’s not a very good legacy to bequeath to our descendants, so please let’s seriously try and change it now nuh! That’s about all I can say. Much LOVE!
…continued rebellion against God…will always bring disastrous consequences…
07 Sep 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a crying shame, aches and pains, add a touch of spice, all that is written therein, all theses things, Anselm, be strong, celebrity status, closer to success, creatures of habit, debilitating effects of age, depart out of thy mouth, do routine things, don't change for change sake, experience, explosive times, fail, faith, following Jesus, friend, getting old, God's Word doesn't change, gospel truth, grin and bear them, have good success, have hope, His righteous ways, his righteousness, humdrum, Israelites, Jesus way, Joshua, lie abed late, loving god, loving our neighbours, make thy way prosperous, mayest observe to do, meditate day and night, mundane lives, never leave us alone, no matter what happens today, of a good courage, on a Saturday morning, only path, our comfort zone, quiet peace, reaching for success, refreshing rest, seek ye first, shall be added unto you, social media, strange comfort, take a risk, technological revolution, thank you, that's how God planned it, the 21st century, the kingdom of God, the more they remain the same, the more things change, the sun will rise again tomorrow, the world's way, this book of the law, to true success, tomorrow will be better, wisdom, zest, zing
Joshua 1:8. This book of the law shall not depart out of (be continually in) thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
What a crying shame it is friends when one can’t lie abed late on a cloudy Saturday morning because the various aches and pains in your aching body won’t allow you to find a comfortable position in that place that’s supposed to be one of quiet peace and refreshing rest! Hn, hn!
Yeh mih people, getting old is nice in many ways, but not so nice in others. The wisdom and experience one accumulates, plus the ability to say most of what you want and get away with it (smile) is marvellous, but I can’t say the same for the many debilitating effects age brings to one’s body. However, we can’t seem to have one without the other, so I’ll just say thank you for the good parts and just grin and bear the bad ones. And that’s enough complaining for this morning! (smile)
Let’s see what quotes our friend Anselm sent us this week, as he sincerely aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And I like this first one: ‘There is strange comfort in knowing that no matter what happens today, the Sun will rise again tomorrow.’ Now is that ever so true!
We all know that regardless of what today brings, tomorrow will show up right on schedule, because that’s the way our great God and Creator planned it! That means we can always have hope and faith that tomorrow, the new rising of the sun, will bring a different and better outcome to our circumstances. So please hang in there…and have hope for tomorrow!
Now hear this one: ‘Try to find pleasure in the speed that you’re not used to. Changing the way you do routine things allows a new person to grow inside of you. But when all is said and done, you’re the one who must decide how you handle it.’ That’s somewhat complicated, but it does contain some truth. In this world we’re usually creatures of habit and comfort, and nothing’s wrong with that, because we can’t have excitement all the time.
But the same old, same old routine does get boring and frustrating if we don’t occasionally add a li’l zing and zest to it. That’s why every so often we need to take a risk, do something new and/or different, get out of our comfort zone for a spell, take a different way home from work, eat at a new restaurant, so we can add a touch of spice to our humdrum, mundane lives.
But having said that though, we have to be careful that we don’t change just for change sake, which is what so many of us are doing these days. We use words like ‘this is the twenty first century; this is 2019, the Old Testament doesn’t matter anymore, etc.’ insinuating that because we’ve reached a certain level of time and space and evolution that things must necessarily change. But please note the old saying, that the more things change, the more they remain the same.
And that’s gospel truth friends! If you really check it out, most of the things we’re doing, and the reactions we’re showing to the various changes in our world, the same things have been going on for ages, possibly just on a different level. So please, especially in these explosive times of social media and technological revolution, don’t change just for change sake, or because others are doing it. The Good Book containing the Lord’s wise and precious Word must still be our guiding light!
And I’d like to take the last two quotes as one, because they are closely intertwined. Hear them: ‘When you fail, that is when you get closer to success.’ ‘Success will be within your reach only when you start reaching out for it.’ And they are both full of awesome truth since you generally don’t have success unless you have first failed, and you can only have success if you reach out for it.
But what do we mean by success eh? Is it how the world terms it; the accumulation of power and fame and money and worldly glory, or celebrity status? Or is it how Jesus describes it; serving the lost, the poor and downtrodden, LOVING our God with all our being, and LOVING our neighbours as ourselves, overcoming evil with good and going the second mile when it’s not necessary?
Whichever path we choose though, the results will still be the same: we won’t always succeed the first time, or even the fourth and fifth, and we’ll never succeed if we don’t try, and that means try sincerely and wholeheartedly, give our all! Anyway, here’s the best path to any kind of success at all. Obviously it comes from the Good Book, God’s direct words of wisdom and warning to His servant Joshua when He made him leader of the Israelites after Moses’ death.
‘This book of the law shall not depart out of (be continually in) thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.’
Oh mih people, that’s Success 101 right there! And it hasn’t changed one iota since the Lord said them to Joshua! That formula for success remains constant forever because it’s God’s Word and his Word doesn’t change! And here’s something I LOVE about our God, although I don’t always appreciate it in my dealings with Him. (smile)
He doesn’t just tell you something and leave you floundering, He often drives it home with another suitable and well placed nail, to oftimes encourage us, like He did there with Joshua, continuing thus: ‘Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.’ (Josh.1:9)
And that’s after telling him basically the same thing two verses before. But He knew that Joshua would need a lot of strength and courage to lead the wayward and stubborn Israelites and that was His way of encouraging Him. And He does the same with us friends! The Lord will NEVER leave us alone and ‘unencouraged’ when He knows that we definitely need encouragement! Please remember that! All we have to do is call on Him in sincerity and truth and He will answer appropriately.
Now let’s end with Jesus’ wise and faithful words on the matter of success. ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt.6:33) No truer words were ever spoken friends! And if we’re wise, we’ll take them to heart and sincerely and diligently put them into action in our lives! Much LOVE!
…following Jesus and His righteous ways…is the ONLY path to true success…
31 Aug 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: after one time is two, and the servant of all, Anselm's quotes, as a man thinks in his heart, bad or good outcomes, behave as you believe, believe as you behave, Christ's Church, come the judgement, desire to be first, easily hurt, example, external circumstances, fall for anything, feelings of security, focus on, friend, godly beliefs, gospel truth, happiness, help the poor, if any man, is our strength, Jesus' principles, joy, Labour Day, memories, New York City, our mind is the battelfield, our way of thinking, positive vibration, pride, radiated in life, Satan, save the lost, servant, serve somemone, shall be last of all, so is he, stand for nothing, sticky situation, thank you, the Big Apple, the evil one, the Holy Spirit, the joy of the Lord, the same, the things of God, tried by fire, vulnerable, washed the disciples feet, watered down, wishy-washy, withstand the fire
Mark 9:35. And he sat down and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.
And then it was Saturday and the ole fella was late getting up. Late nights have a habit of doing that to you! (smile) And it’s not like I did not get up before, but I felt I wasn’t rested enough to take on the big task of writing the Bit, so I went back to bed to get better rested. And that’s why the Bit is late. However, I know that all of you will understand my sticky situation there, having also found yourselves in similar positions at some or other! (smile)
But to tell yuh how things change, and how after one time is really two, I did not even realize that this was the long Labour Day weekend until sometime late yesterday. In times past, oh boy, I would have already been in the Big Apple (New York City), or on my way there to attend their Labour Day Carnival Parade.
But just like the Caribana here has changed, in my opinion, become watered down, so has the New York Labour Day Parade become watered down, also with too much police control now. Steups! As soon as six o’clock comes, they rushing you off the Parkway. And when you add the setta walking …Brother!
The last time I checked it out, believe it was 2007, mih Aunty Anne and I had to park a mile from the parade and walk like everlasting to reach it! We both said no way again Jose! I haven’t been back since then. Even mih Uncle John and them pan side stop coming out because it just wasn’t the same, didn’t have the same flavour.
So I wish that all who go nowadays have a good time, but me ent going nowhere! Like I do with Caribana, I will just remember the good memories I have of those events, and like memories do, they won’t ever leave me! (smile) So let’s turn to the more important matters at hand now nuh; the quotes we friend Anselm sent us this past week.
Hear this first one nuh: ‘Our way of thinking creates good or bad outcomes.’ And that’s for certain sure friends, because it all starts in our minds! Our mind is the battlefield of our souls and bodies. That’s where all the fighting for power goes on between the evil one and the Holy Spirit! For as Cousin Sol informs us: ‘as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.’ (Prov.23:7a).
Yes my people, whatever we think or focus most on, that’s what we become. That’s why believers need to focus on good things, the things of God, if we want to live successful earthly lives.
And the next quote says: ‘Happiness comes from within. It is not dependent on external things or on other people. You become vulnerable and can be easily hurt when your feelings of security and happiness depend on the behavior and actions of other people. Never give your power to anyone else.’
The problem with that statement is the word ‘happiness,’ because that does come from external circumstances. Now if yuh talking about joy, then that’s a different story, because true joy can only come from within, and it’s there regardless of our difficult outward circumstances.
That’ why Satan tries his very best to steal our joy, because he knows that when he does that we simply become down and out. That’s because ‘the joy of the Lord is our strength!’ (Neh.8:10) And also why you can’t afford to allow others to control your situations, since they will invariably steal your joy.
Now listen to this: ‘If you don’t behave as you believe, you will end by believing as you behave.’ So true friends, so true! The corresponding saying is that if you stand for nothing, you will fall for anything and everything! And that’s certainly not a good way to live this hallowed life. So, especially as believers in Christ Jesus, we need to have strong, godly beliefs and stand strong in them, otherwise we’d just be wishy-washy, like so much of the world is today.
And then there’s this: ‘It does not matter how long you are spending on the earth, how much money you have gathered or how much attention you have received. It is the amount of positive vibration you have radiated in life that matters.’ And we all know that to be gospel truth my people! As Jesus said, ‘Ye shall know them by their fruits.’ (Matt.7:16a)
And furthermore, come the judgement, all our works will be tried by fire, and we’ll only be rewarded for the ones that withstand the fire. (1 Cor.3:13-15) So we desperately need to build on the only true foundation, which is our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ!
And the last quote wisely asks? ‘How might you serve someone today? How could you take the time to say “thank you” to someone who has graciously loved and served you?’ Ah friends, those are all questions that we should seriously ponder this Saturday morning, because our destinies depend on them. Remember our mighty and majestic Lord Jesus Christ came down from heaven and became a lowly servant, not the Crown Prince He was entitled to be.
Remember what He said to the disciples when they were arguing amongst themselves who should be the greatest among them? ‘And he sat down and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.’ Oh my people, in Christ’s kingdom, being the greatest oftimes means being the least. And Christ’s desire for us down here is to serve and help those who need help and service.
Remember too the great example Christ gave us when He washed the disciples feet, did possibly the lowliest and most hated job in those times of dusty streets and dirty feet. And then His memorable words to them: ‘For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.’ (John 13:15)
Oh friends, that is certainly one area in which the overall body of Christ, His church, and we the people of that church are extremely weak! We don’t serve each other, or the numerous lost and hurting as much as we ought to, because we still have too much pride, and still believe like the world does, that the one who is being served is better than the one that’s serving.
However, that’s contrary to Jesus’ principles. So please let’s check our service meters today nuh, and see how we rank in that area, and take it to the Lord in prayer, because we can ALL do better than we’re currently doing, and that’s a big reason why Christ’s church is not growing and is not as powerful as it ought to be. Much LOVE!
…Jesus came to save the lost…to help the lowly and downtrodden…and that’s what He expects of His church…
24 Aug 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a beautiful day, a beautiful morning, actions of others, Anselm, avoid a breakdown, be the victim, Christian motto, direction of truth, distractions, do unto others, dod-eat-dog world, fast paced, friend, from the lip, good for the gander, good for the goose, immune to the opinions, integrity, judge not, LOVE, Love the Lord thy God, Love thy neighbour as thyself, most unlikely sources, of needless suffering, open mind, pearls of wisdom, prayer, promises, rat-race, regardless of consequences, rest, self-love, selfish motives, social media, take a break, the great commandment, the same will be meted out to you, the second is like unto it, tough character, what judgement ye judge, what you would have them do unto you, with all thy mind, with all thy soul
Matthew 22:37. 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.
Oh what a beautiful morning! Oh what a beautiful day! It’s somewhat windy and chilly… But everything’s still going our way!’ And for that we have to give much thanks and praise to our heavenly Father for allowing us to enjoy another joyful day down here on planet earth! Praise His holy name friends! Exalt Him to the very ends of the earth, for He is indeed worthy to be praised and exalted!
And having paid our respects to our God, Creator, Provider, etc. etc. let’s see what bits of wisdom our friend Anselm has to offer us this Saturday morning. Hear this first one: ‘Don’t Take Anything Personally. Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.’
Now I don’t know if I agree with all of that nuh. Granted, you can’t be open to the slightest of offences, and people do project their own ideas on you, but you shouldn’t be immune to their opinions and action, because ofttimes, though their motives might be selfish, some of their ideas might be sound and thus beneficial. You need to have a tough character, so to speak, but also an open mind, for pearls of wisdom can come from even the most unlikely sources.
And the next quote wisely advises: ‘To avoid a breakdown, take a break for rest and prayer.’ And is that ever so true! There’s so much meltdown and breakdown in our society today because we live in a fast paced, dog-eat-dog, rat race where there’s never enough time for rest and prayer.
That’s because we don’t make time for it, being too busy trying to keep up with the world and all it’s distractions. And that’s especially true of believers! Oh precious people of God, please, let’s slow down, let’s make time for rest and for God nuh. That’s the only way we can truly enjoy this earthly life!
Then there’s this: ‘Be Impeccable With Your Words. Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the Word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.’ How true my friends, how true all of that is! But unfortunately nowadays most of that has gone out the window, into the trash can of history, especially in these times of all-pervasive social media and all the talking that’s going on.
We no longer think about what we say, before we say it, we just gush everything from the lip, regardless of the possible consequences. Sorry, no one considers consequences anymore, even though there are a lot of sad and tearful ones occurring each and every minute of each and every day!
And don’t talk about integrity nuh! What’s that eh? That’s what a lot of us might ask when posed with that quote. There’s no longer any integrity in our sad and sorrowful world. And that’s basically being of true and sound character, your word being your bond, given to trust and being trusted, fulfilling obligations as agreed upon, etc. etc. Even supposedly lawful contracts are being reneged on every day, so who’s going to stand on their word eh?
Christians ought to! True believers in Christ Jesus are supposed to stand by their promises, just like Jesus did and still does by His. None of us would be happy if Jesus broke any of His promises. We’d be ever so quick to pull Him down, to make a mockery of Him. But it’s okay for us to do it. Ah friends, as they say, what’s good for the goose, is also good for the gander.
Remember these immortal words of Jesus: ‘Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgement ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete (use), it shall be measured you again.’ (Matt.7:1-2) Those are words of great truth friends, for whatever you give out, you will eventually get back; like a boomerang, all your deeds will eventually come back to haunt you, or what you sow, you will eventually reap.
As Uncle Charles (Charles Stanley) likes to say: ‘More than you sow, and later than you sow.’ That’s why we have to adopt the principles mentioned in this last quote as quickly and thoroughly as possible, and also spread them world wide so that our world can be greatly improved. ‘More smiling, less worrying. More compassion, less judgment. More blessed, less stressed. More LOVE, less hate.’
Mamacita! What a wonderful world we’d have if those things played a larger role in our lives! And yuh know what my people? I believe that all of that quote falls under these simple but far-reaching words of Jesus, which He answered to the Pharisee lawyer who tried to tempt Him, by asking:
‘Master (Teacher), which is the great commandment in the law? 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.’ (Matt.22:36-38)
And so it is indeed my fellow believers. The first and most important thing for mankind to do is to LOVE our Creator with all that we have! That sets the tone and direction for everything else in our lives. But the interesting thing in this session is that the man asked about the great commandment, and Jesus gave it to him, but He didn’t stop there. He continued: ‘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.22:39-40)
And our Lord and Saviour and Leader and God, Jesus Christ would never lie to us! So therefore it must be of the uttermost importance that we concentrate in this life on LOVE for our great and wonderful heavenly Father, then LOVE for ourselves, and also LOVE for our neighbours.
But friends, please pay attention to Jesus’ words, ‘LOVE thy neighbour as thyself.’ That means we can only LOVE our neighbours as much as we LOVE ourselves. And we’re not talking in a narcissistic way. But unfortunately, in these trying and troublesome times, too many of us don’t LOVE ourselves, that’s why we can’t LOVE our neighbours. Remember, we can only give what and as much as we have!
And that’s a major reason why our world is in such turmoil. So please, today, let’s ponder the state of our self-LOVE nuh. And whatever state it might be in, let’s ask the Lord for His grace and mercy to bring it up higher, so that we can also LOVE others more, and fulfill His commandment, and thus make our world a much better place for our children and future generations! Let’s let out legacy be one of LOVE! Much LOVE!
…the basic Christian motto…do unto others…as you would have them do unto you…
17 Aug 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a heart with fertile soil, a riney day, Anselm, availeth much, called by my name, Confess your faults, departed into a solitary place, encouragement, friend, good ground, He prayed, heal, heal their land, heavenly blessings, humble themselves, lulled me back to sleep, mere mortals, monumental sins, most powerful tool, my people, never faint, of a righteous man, our disaster-filled land, Our Father, pray, pray for one another, righteous hearts, seek my face, shaped your life story, the believer's motto, the condition of, the darkness of Beelzebub, the effectual fervent prayer, the good news of Jesus, the light of Jesus, the Lord's prayer, the prayer of faith, the rain, the spirit is weak, to pray and yet to pray, turn from their wicked ways, walk in the light, walk of faith, weapon, who encouraged you, whom can we encourage, will forgive their sin, will I hear from heaven, won't stumble in the darkness, your spiritual soil
2 Chronicles 7:14. If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Oh, at long last we might have what can be termed a ‘riney’ day in my area! Wow! We haven’t seen one of those for so long that I’ve forgotten what they look like; cloudy and grey skies, wet streets, etc. (smile) But the parched and hard ground and the dry grass are enjoying it immensely, drinking up the heavenly blessings like there was no tomorrow. And who knows if there’ll be a tomorrow anyway, only Almighty God, our Creator and Provider.
So please let’s be thankful that we do have a today. And yes, the rain induced my late rising, so consequently the Bit is late. I heard it when it began to fall shortly after six, and had all thoughts of getting up at a decent hour, but you know the spirit is weak, and it just lulled me back into a beautiful dream filled sleep. Now that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it! (smile)
Anyway, it’s Saturday, so let’s see what gems of wisdom our friend Anselm sent us this week nuh. And it seems like he was in a godly frame of mind this week, for they all have to do with our heavenly Father. Listen to this first one: ‘How has encouragement shaped your life story in some way? Who encouraged you, and how did they do it? How will you encourage someone in your life this week?’
Wise words indeed friends, and sentiments we ought to seriously ponder, because we all need encouragement in this mish-mash and troubled life. And can you think of someone who encouraged you, and thus helped you change your life? I’m sure all of us can.
But then the next question blossoms: whom can we encourage in our own walk of faith, today, tomorrow, this week, or even next year? Let’s keep a close eye out for that someone or someones, for there are oodles of people in these tremulous and strife filled times who are in need of serious encouragement, and one of our jobs is to encourage the lost and downtrodden with the good news of Jesus.
And our friend Anselm must have been studying our Bit over the last two days, because the next quote is what we’ve been talking about in them: ‘When we walk in the Light, we won’t stumble in the darkness.’ And since we know that’s gospel truth, and we’ve spoken about it just yesterday, we won’t belabour the point, just remind us to make sure we walk in the Light of Jesus, if we don’t want to stumble in the darkness of Beelzebub!
And hear this most interesting quote: ‘What’s the condition of your spiritual soil? Rocky, thorny, or rich in spiritual “nutrients”? Why? When you follow the Son daily, how does this practice impact your honesty and heart?’ Good questions all my fellow believers, and also stuff that we should ponder in accordance with the parable of Jesus, per the sower and the ground upon which he sowed his seed. (Matt.13:3-23)
Please read it, and then ask the Lord to grace us as Jesus said: ‘But he that received seed into good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth (produces), some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.’ (Matt.13:23) Yes friends, that ought to be our stated goal; to have a heart with fertile soil, where the Word will grow bountifully and produce a big harvest for Christ! Glory to God my faithful brethren!
And this last quote quite rightly informs us that: ‘Prayer is the bridge between panic and peace.’ So it is my people, so it is! And I think it’s all brought out by the Lord’s announcement to Cousin Sol when he built and dedicated the temple to the Lord. Here’s what He said: ‘If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.’
It couldn’t be any clearer than that my fellow believers. Now, just think what a difference it would make, with all the wickedness and sin and evil that’s currently in our world, if we would just turn from those negative things, and instead seek the Lord with all of our hearts, minds, bodies and souls, as He directed us to do! The world would be a greatly changed and unrecognizable place. But no, we insist on being sinful and wicked and thrusting God out of our society! So what else can we expect but hurt and pain and sorrow and panic eh?
Now let’s look at a couple of other scriptures that celebrate the importance of prayer in our lives. And the first one is this one from Mark: ‘And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he (Jesus) went out, and departed into a solitary (deserted) place, and there prayed.’ (Mark.1:35)
That’s one of my favourite scriptures, because it shows that though Jesus was deity in human form, He still found it necessary to communicate regularly with His heavenly Father, so why should we mere mortals be any different eh? No reason whatsoever, we need to do it even more than He did!
And the second scripture is the prayer which Jesus taught His disciples; ‘The Our Father, or Lord’s Prayer.’ That is so rich and beautiful my people, and covers all bases too! But as I said sometime recently, it came from Jesus, so what else would we expect eh? Nothing but greatness from Him!
And we’ll close with these two momentous verses from James, Jesus’ brother. ‘And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults (trespasses) one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual (effective) fervent prayer (supplication) of a righteous man availeth much.’ (James 5:15-16)
And there are many more scriptures on the necessity and efficacy of prayer throughout the Good Book. But please my people, please, please, let’s not forget that prayer is the most powerful tool and weapon in God’s great universe, because that’s the method of communication He devised as a link between Himself and His people! And when we pray with sincere hearts and motives, He will answer us!
And right now our strife-filled world is desperately in need of prayer from the righteous. So let’s open our righteous hearts and minds and souls and offer up prayers for our societies nuh. The Lord is waiting patiently and expectantly to hear from us, so that He can forgive our monumental sins and heal our disaster-filled land! Much LOVE!
…the believer’s motto…to pray…and yet to pray…and NEVER to faint…
03 Aug 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a living example, a new commandment, a no-brainer, Anselm, as I have loved you, be gentle, be humble, be patient, bearing with each other in love, bounden duty, building new lives, by this, colour, convict us, democracy, disciples, for all things, for the light, friend, give thanks, give thanks at all times, giving thanks always, glowing tributes, God so loved us, hatred stirreth up strifes, herein is love, I give unto you, in every thing give thanks, in the name of the Lord Jesus, inequlity, injustice, Jamaican fare, long and short of the story, Love covers all sins, LOVE one another, no reason to give thanks, our love walk, Pan competition, pass it on, protect it, rise in the morning, shall all men know, speak out, stamp out, that ye are my disciples, the Holy Spirit, the joy of living, the little dash between them, this is the will of God, transcendent power, two dates on your tombstone, unto god and the Father, utter stupidity, vibrancy, West Indian Diaspora, what you did between, wrong, your food, your life
John 13:34-35. A new commandment I give unto you, That ye LOVE one another; as I have LOVED you, that ye also LOVE one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have LOVE one to another.
Oh friends, please forgive me for the lateness of the Bit, but the last two days have been pretty hectic, and I’m no longer a spring chicken…not yet old though. (smile) I’ve been trying to burn the candle at both ends, going to bed late, getting up early to write the Bit, then getting out and about for the whole day. Well it’s finally caught up to me.
Thursday was a cricket match in the neighbouring city of Brampton, and then yesterday, Friday, was a funeral in the eastern city of Ajax, on the other side of Toronto. The turnout was so overwhelming that the big chapel was packed to overflowing and we had to sit in a holding area downstairs and watch the proceedings on close circuit t.v.
The overlong glowing tributes of our friend made him sound like the perfect man. (smile) But I guess that’s how it is when we bid our friends a final adieu. We don’t recall their faults, just their strong points, like the Lord does in His wonderful forgiveness, casting away our wrongs as far as the east is from the west.
After the hour and half ceremony we spent another hour in the cemetery, this time in the hot sun. Then we went south to another part of the city for the repast. That was a wonderful time, with good Jamaican fare; curry goat, rice and peas and jerk chicken. But the best part was the renewal of several friendships, with people whom we haven’t seen in ages.
We were all a part of the young, well-educated West Indian Diaspora who migrated to Canada in the early seventies and changed the face of Toronto, adding vibrancy and colour, both literally and figuratively to a staid, old white town. (smile) People with whom we worked and partied in those long ago, cold, long winter days, but with whom we’d lost touch as the area expanded and we all became immersed in our building our new lives. That’s just the way it is with the big city.
Unfortunately though, the duchess and I had to eat and run, because there were people back in our town waiting for us to come and pick them up to go to the Pan Competition in the heart of Toronto. So we left there around four, got on the toll road and hustled back home, changed, then hit the road again. Luckily though, for some unknown reason, on a Caribana Friday evening, the traffic into T.O. wasn’t bad, and we made it in time for the seven o’clock start of the pan event.
That was good too, and better organized than in earlier years, though I don’t understand why they allowed some bands to play two songs and others only one. But the music was excellent. However, it finished around midnight and the duchess and my friends were tired, so we didn’t stick around to hear the results, which I’m sure, caused much dissent, as it usually does.
But that’s the nature of pan competitions, everybody rooting for their own side, though knowing deep down that they weren’t good enough to win. The long and short of the story though, is that by the time I dropped everybody home, I didn’t get home till after one. And it was close to two before I finally went to bed. So it’s obvious I was late getting up. So that’s my story…and I’m sticking to it. (smile)
Now let’s see if we can get in some quotes from our friend Anselm, who sincerely aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. Hear this first one: ‘There’ll be two dates on your tombstone and all your friends will read ’em but all that’s gonna matter is that little dash between ’em.’ That’s certainly interesting and true, because the day you were born and the day you died, don’t really matter. What matters most is what you did in the time period between those two days. And I guess a good example of that are the glowing tributes my friend Linton had at his last celebration yesterday.
Now listen to this one: ‘Where you see wrong or inequality or injustice, speak out, because this is your country. This is your democracy. Make it. Protect it. Pass it on.’ That should be a no- brainer my people, because it’s exactly what Jesus came to help us do; right wrongs, stamp out inequality and injustice, help the weak and fight the strong. So as a believer those things are expected of us.
Then this quote speaks for itself: ‘When you rise in the morning, give thanks for the light, for your life, for your strength. Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason to give thanks, the fault lies in yourself.’ Ah mih people, I won’t call not giving thanks for all that we have, the good life we’re living, a fault nuh, but utter stupidity! You didn’t give yourself the ability to rise and see a new day, or the breath that’s still flowing through you.
Remember Bruh Paul’s words to the Ephesians: ‘Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ (Eph.5:20) And to the Thessalonians: ‘In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.’ (1 Thess.5:18) Yes friends, even though our circumstances may be difficult or unpleasant, it’s our bounden duty to give thanks at ALL times!
And this last quote says it all: ‘Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in LOVE.’ Oh mih people, LOVE is the transcendent power of the universe! John said it thus: ‘Herein is LOVE, not that we LOVED God, but that he LOVED us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation (atonement) for our sins. Beloved, if God so LOVED us, we also ought to LOVE one another.’ (1 John 4:10-11)
And Jesus not only gave us a living example of our quote, but also clearly made it known that He expects the same of His followers. ‘A new commandment I give unto you, That ye LOVE one another; as I have LOVED you, that ye also LOVE one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have LOVE one to another.’
Oh friends, it couldn’t get any clearer or plainer than that! And I’ll leave it there; just let those words speak to our hearts, and let the Holy Spirit convict us as it will, in regards to our LOVE Walk! That’s what it’s there for! Much LOVE!
…hatred stirreth up strifes…but LOVE covereth ALL sins… (Prov.10:12)
27 Jul 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a process, a timely word, a tumultuous humanity, a word fitly spoken, acknowledge him, Anselm, aspires to inspire us, cheering on, dangerous times, easily offended, empowered, encouragement, evil world, faith, focused in the right direction, for a better tomorrow, friend, get us offtrack, glorify your father in heaven, glory to God, God's viewpoint, gratitude, have an opinion, have life more abundantly, he shall direct thy paths, honour the Lord, how secure you are, in all thy ways, in line with, keep on learning, lean not, lessons to be learned, let your light shine, like apples of gold, like water off a duck's back, live life your way, marrow to thy bones, naysayers, never go out of style, not a status, pay faithful attention, pictures of silver, pleasing, precious, problems, roll off, saying good words, secure in Christ, see your good works, social media, success, such generosity, sufficency is of God, sufficent of ourselves, supreme opinion, thanks and praise, to live live to the fullest, trust in the Lord, unto thine own understanding, what it take to offend you, with all thine heart, with all thy substance, work towards success
Proverbs 3:5. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Aye mih people, it’s a beautiful day in my neighbourhood! We’re alive…Glory to God! Yes, we’ve been granted another day on God’s great earth…Give Him thanks and praise for such generosity! And even better…the ole fella’s up early to write you encouraging words…and the icing on the cake is that my trusty desktop behaved perfectly this morning, no rebellion whatsoever.
Wow! Would the Lord ever be mighty thankful if we could be that obedient! My spelling seems to be somewhat atrocious this morning though, for I made about five mistakes in that last sentence. (smile) And make no doubt about it, the evil one and his cronies are also up and about early, for I just received a phone call purporting to be from my Credit Card Company, warning me that they had stopped some unauthorized payment on my card and I should call such and such a number.
I don’t know why I even answered the phone because I don’t usually answer numbers that I don’t know. But to be on the safe side, I did check out my Credit Card Company and they did not call me. Just goes to show we have to be on our p’s and q’s each moment of every day, because the master of deceit, falsehood and thievery is always on the lookout for a chance to creep into our souls and our business.
Anyway, with our Lord and Saviour constantly riding shotgun with us, there’s no need to worry! Give Him some more thanks and praise, exalt His mighty name! And since it’s Saturday, let’s look at what words of wisdom our friend Anselm had to offer this week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow.
Hear this one: ‘People will always have an opinion, but you have to live life the way you want to.’ And that’s no lie, especially in these crazy and dangerous times of social media. But you indeed have to live your life the way you see it, though in line with the way our heavenly Father wants us to live our earthly lives. That is the supreme opinion to which you ought to pay constant and faithful attention.
And then there’s this: ‘Success is a process that continues, not a status that you reach. If you are alive, there are lessons to be learned and things you can do.’ Ah mih people, in the first place success from the world’s viewpoint, is definitely not the same as God’s. But in both instances, we have to work towards that successful point, it doesn’t just happen, and once we’re alive, we are supposed to keep on learning, for that’s the whole purpose of being alive! (smile)
What’s the purpose of being alive and not learning anything eh? None whatsoever! It’s ever so important to keep on learning, both what the phony, evil world is really about, and what God’s righteousness calls for. And the next quote highlights that in spades: ‘Saying good words to people will never go out of style. The truth is everybody likes encouragement; everybody likes somebody cheering them on.’ Now that we can all attest to!
And it is the duty of Christians to cheer each other on, as well as non-believers! Cousin Sol says it thus: ‘A word fitly spoken (spoken at the right time) is like apples of gold in pictures (settings) of silver.’ (Prov.25:11) and the scholars explain: ’25:11. A timely and fitting word is precious and pleasing.’ And Jesus was all about encouragement, just read His words, and so should His followers be.
But unfortunately there’s way more discouraging words being spoken in this confused and strife-filled world than encouraging ones, and it is the Christian’s job, to get out there and shine, shine, shine, bring light and encouragement to a dark and tumultuous humanity! As Jesus so desperately desires of us: ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven’ (Matt.5:16)
And this next quote gives some indication of how we’re doing, re maturing faith. ‘A good sign of how secure you are, is what it takes to “offend” you. The more secure you are, the less offended you get.’ And that’s gospel truth! The more secure we are in Jesus, the more it takes to get us offended. And brother, are we ever easily offended these days!
But just look at Jesus’ example nuh. They said all kinds of rotten and blasphemous things about Him, but He went about His Father’s business nonetheless. He just let it all roll of like water off a duck’s back. He knew whom and whose He was, and His purpose here on earth, so He did not allow the naysayers to get Him off track with their evil words and deeds. And we’ll add this scripture here as a lagniappe. (smile) ‘Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God.’ (2 Cor. 3:5) Let’s remember that friends, it’s all about our dependence on God Almighty!
Now hear this last quote: ‘As you keep your mind and heart focused in the right direction, approaching each day with faith and gratitude, I believe you will be empowered to live life to the fullest and enjoy the abundant life He has promised you.’ Yes my faithful brethren, Christ did come that we might have life, and have it more abundantly. (John 10:10b) But the important thing, as our quote says, is to be focused in the right direction.
And what is the right direction, you ask? Well I believe that right direction is found in these wonderful and wise words of Cousin Sol. ‘Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel (body), and marrow (strength) to thy bones. Honour the Lord with thy substance (possessions), and with the first fruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses (vats) shall burst out with new wine.’ (Prov.3:5-10)
Oh my people, my people, no better direction can be found in all the world than those given there by Cousin Sol! Obviously the Lord inspired them, and if we’d just do those few but all-important things, our lives would be ever so wonderful! Not that we won’t have problems, because this world has natural problems coming out of its kazoo, but we’ll be able to prosper and stand strong in Christ despite them all. So please let’s take those words of Cousin Sol to heart this Saturday morning in July of 2019 nuh, so that our lives will manifest the Saviour to this lost and darkened world! Much LOVE!
…to the true believer…Jesus is our BE ALL…and our END ALL…our EVERYTHING…
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