05 Jun 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a positive decision, Abednego, abundantly pardon, angry God, awesome power of God, backed up the Jordan River, be in my heart, beloved of God, blue in the face, boring death, bow down, brand new day, call upon him, Colorado, come up higher, dire need, discouragement, doing miracles, dr robert h schuller, exciting life, failure, fiery furnace, friend of Jesus, from shame to glory, God is still on the throne, grace, grateful, Guatemala, Hawaii, hell on earth, hope, Hour of Power Devotional, I will be with thee, I will move, in full control, in you I come alive, Jesus, let the wicked forsake his way, LOVE, loving-kindness, magnificent and magnanimous God, Maker, Meshsach, natural disasters, new mercies, New Mexico, no need to panic, noised abroad, parted the Red Sea, pass through the waters, promises, providence, seek ye the Lord, sent His only Son, shadrach, shall not be burned, shall not overflow thee, share His love, sinners, smelling of smoke, strength, success, talk, thanks, the flame scorch thee, the Lord's help, through the rivers, to die for us, Tuesday Mantra, unmerciful, unrighteous man, volcano, walk through the fire, weakness, while he is near, wildfires, wisdom, wise
Isaiah 43:2. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon (scorch) thee.
Well it’s a brand new day and brand new mercies are being noised abroad by our wonderful God! Give Him plenty, plenty thanks nuh people, for the grace and unadulterated LOVING-kindness He shows to us when we absolutely don’t deserve it. But that’s the kind of God He’s always been and will always be!
Look at how while we were still sinners He sent His only Son Jesus to die for us… Does that tell of an unmerciful and angry God? No way Jose! So let’s be wise and grateful and give Him thanks for ALL that He’s done, is doing and has promised to do for us in the future.
In the meanwhile let’s pray for those unfortunate people undergoing the volcano situation in Hawaii, and also in Guatemala where the Fuego volcano exploded a couple of days ago, causing much loss of life and many injuries. I tell you friends, a volcanic explosion is the closest thing we can come to hell here on earth. And remember too the people in Colorado and New Mexico where the first wild fires of the season are blazing away.
Brother! The natural disasters are beginning to pile up already. But friends, there is no need to panic, because our great and mighty God is still on the throne in full control of things!
And to help us handle whatever comes against us, here are these encouraging words from Gramps Schuller (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) from his Hour of Power Devotional, titled, ‘I Will Move…’ I’ve shared them before, but I think we need to share them again.
So please pray with me. ‘Lord, I want your heart to be in my heart. For in you I come alive, moving ahead from boring death to exciting life! In your promises, I will move from discouragement to hope. In your pardon, I will move from shame to glory. In your power, I will move from weakness to strength. In your providence, I will move from failure to success! Thank you, Lord. Amen!’
Oh my people, is there any other way we can come up higher than through the Lord’s help? Absolutely not! So I implore us this morning to turn to Him for help in whatever situation or circumstance that we’re going through. Now he might not change or ease up the situation, but He will certainly give you the strength, wisdom and whatever you need to come through it successfully. That’s the magnanimous and magnificent God we serve!
Yuh see what he says in our Bit, through the mouth of the prophet Isaiah? ‘When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon (scorch) thee.’
Oh friends and fellow believers, what marvellous promises! And did the Lord keep them? Of course He did! Just look at how He parted the Red Sea for His people to cross over on dry land, while drowning Pharaoh and His Egyptian army behind them! Then check out how He backed up the Jordan River for them to cross over into the Promised Land!
And if you say that’s only water, He can’t handle fire, then think again and see how the Hebrew lads, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, when they refused to bow down to a golden image, survived the fiery furnace that was heated seven times hotter than normal, and came out not even smelling of smoke!
Mama Yo! That’s the amazing and awesome power of our God my brethren! And He is still in the business of doing miracles and such amazing things for His people, if we turn to Him and sincerely and humbly seek Him. As He said again through Isaiah: ‘Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near.’ (Is.55:6) Are we doing that my brethren? For all our sakes, I sincerely hope so.
But just in case we aren’t, listen to the following verse, which expands on the first. ‘Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.’ (Is.55:7)
Oh friends, I don’t know why it’s so difficult for us to follow the Lord’s guidelines nuh, since He spells them out so plainly and simply! Especially when we’re in dire need of mercy and pardon! But we can only talk; talk till we’re blue in the face (smile), everyone still has to come to their own decision; to accept, or not accept the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour in their individual lives.
Let’s hope we ALL will make a positive decision, sooner, rather than later, for a time will come when it will be too late. Now for those of us who have already made it, let’s go home positively declaring our Tuesday Mantra, letting the world know in no uncertain terms, who and whose we are.
Altogether now: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
Now let’s go out and share all of that with other unfortunate folks, as Jesus desires of us. Much LOVE!
…if you don’t need your Maker…then who else do you need eh…Lucifer…hn, hn!…what a joke…
10 Apr 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a live coal, a man of unclean lips, a people of unclean lips, absolution, Advocate, ask forgiveness, beloved of God, blessed life, born again, cleansed, confession, consecration, corrupt environment, Counsellor, court of appeal, Cross of Calvary, crumble to dust, destroyed, emotional discomfort, extenuating circumstances, for Jesus' sake, forgiven, friend of Jesus, God's presence, heinous sins, I am undone, inherited tendencies, intercession, kneel in your presence, legitimate excuse, life's twistings, loving-kindness, mine eyes have seen the king, My only defense, Old Testament, one day at a time, one solitary defense, One Year Book of Bible promises, prince of peace, reality, recommendations, references, Ruth Harms Calkin, sacrifice of Jesus, sacrificial blood, seraphim, share His love, stripped of facade, stupidity, Thank you Jesus, the Lamb of God, the Lord of hosts, the sin of the world, tongs, touched thy lips, truth, Tuesday Mantra, weakness, woe is me, Yahweh
Isaiah 6:5. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone (destroyed); because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.
Okay friends, now that we’ve successfully overcome Monday, let’s turn our attention to Tuesday. Yes, just one day at a time, that’s all the Lord wants us to handle, consequently, He split our time period into days and nights. So let’s not jump ahead of ourselves nuh, and try to do too much all at once.
And on this Tuesday morning, in the cold spring of 2018 (smile) I have an interesting poem to share from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. It’s titled ‘My Only Defense.’
Please pray with me. ‘The powerful reality grips me, Lord That when I kneel in Your presence To ask Your forgiveness I am utterly stripped of façade. You accept no big-name references No high-caliber recommendations. Extenuating circumstances Crumble to dust In Your court of appeal… I am forgiven never Because of inherited tendencies Or emotional discomfort Or nagging weakness…
I can never plead Corrupt environment Or life’s strange twistings Or my own unbelievable stupidity… Ultimately I have one solitary defense. Only one – But always one: Forgive me God For Jesus’ sake. Like a song unending The words keep singing…I am totally forgiven I am totally cleansed Just for Jesus’ sake.’
What an awesome truth that is my brethren! Only by the spilled blood of Jesus on that cross of Calvary are we, or can we be forgiven for our heinous sins by our heavenly Father. Yes, only on the basis of that sacrificial blood are we even allowed into God’s Holy presence. And then all our worldly and personal excuses are worth absolutely nothing in God’s court of law.
Please, let’s remember that it’s only through and because of Jesus that we enjoy anything of the blessed life we now enjoy. So let’s stop putting Him down and blaspheming Him, as so many of us still do. Instead, let’s raise Him up, exalt Him, let’s acknowledge Him as the bright and shining Light that He is; our Lord, Saviour, Advocate, Counsellor, Advocate and Prince of Peace, amongst many other things.
Yeh friends, without Jesus, we are, and we would be nothing! And until we truly recognize and acknowledge that fact our lives will continue to be topsy-turvy and without peace.
And the Bible verse for that promise is also our Bit for today. ‘Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone (destroyed); because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.’
That was Isaiah’s response to his vision when the Lord commissioned him to speak to Israel on His behalf. But then, much to his surprise: ‘Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar. And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged (atoned for).’ (Is.6:6-7)
Oh my people, we are ALL also of unclean lips, dwelling in a society of unclean lips. But luckily for us we don’t have to have a hot piece of coal touch our mouths to be forgiven of our sins. Thank the Lord we have the sacrifice of Jesus performing that rite of absolution!
We just need to be born again and come to acknowledge Christ as Lord and Saviour, and our sins are forgiven. Bless the Lord, oh my soul, for His LOVING-kindness to the children of men!
Now let’s look at some of the scholars explanations re Isaiah’s Confession and Consecration. ‘6:5. Isaiah’s confession: Having seen God in the full glory of His holiness, Isaiah pronounces the prophetic Woe upon himself. This was a legal charge meaning “ruined” or “dead.” His self-evaluation was I am undone (from Heb. ‘damah’, meaning “to be dumb” or “silent.”)
Thus, his response was a statement of total self-condemnation: “I am dead…I am speechless!” Recognizing that he has no legitimate excuse for himself, he further realizes that he is unclean, “defiled” or “polluted”).
This self-evaluation is made in light of the fact that he has seen the King, the Lord of hosts. The heavenly King is identified as Yahweh Himself, who is called “Lord of hosts” 62 times in Isaiah and 261 times throughout the Old Testament.’
‘6:6-7. Isaiah’s Consecration: Isaiah’s confession of his personal sin brought the response of God’s cleansing to equip him for service to the Lord. The altar was the place of blood sacrifice, called by later rabbinic writers the ‘paraclete’, or place of expiation or intercession. The coal has no redemptive ability of its own but is symbolic of the efficacy of the burnt offering consumed on the altar. Thus Isaiah’s sin was purged (cleansed).’
Oh my faithful brethren, isn’t it wonderful that we don’t have to go though all the blood sacrifice and stuff that the people of the Old Testament experienced. Jesus paid for all our sins once and for all on the cross of Calvary! And all Jesus’ followers cried out a loud and grateful ‘Thank You Jesus!’
Now let’s go home, as we do on a Tuesday declaring our Tuesday Mantra, letting the whole world know who and whose we are. In sincere and strong voice now: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
And the next move is to go out and action that declaration. Much LOVE!
…behold…the Lamb of God…which taketh away the sin of the world… (John 1:29b)
03 Apr 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a barrier breaker, a limited mindset, acclamation, battles are fought in the mind, beloved of God, break free, bring love, daring, doing good, doing the work of Jesus, drama in the synagogue, enlarge my vision, experience god's favour, fall in love with Jesus, filled with rage, friend of Jesus, God is fulfilling His purpose, god-forsaken world, greater honour, heal a man's withered hand, hungry to death, I will ask you one thing, is it lawful on the sabbath days, Jesus interpretations, Joel Osteen, oral tradition, percolating, Pharisiees, potential, power of words, righteousness, rise up, rooted in our subconscious, seeds of greatness, share jesus' love, stand forth, talent, taught the world to fall in love, the Creator of the universe, the LOVE of Jesus, then said Jesus, to destroy life, to do evil, to do good, to save life, Today is my day, true believers, trust Jesus, Tuesday Mantra, unafraid, uncontainable, uplift my spirit
Luke 6:9. Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?
‘And today I taught the world to fall in LOVE again. Yes, today I taught the world to fall in LOVE with Jesus again…’
Oh how I wish those words were true my believing brethren. I don’t know why, but since I got up this morning those words kept percolating in my brain, and I’ve been singing them as a li’l ditty to uplift my spirit. And as believers, we could have no greater honour or work than to bring LOVE, especially the LOVE of Jesus to this God-forsaken world. So let’s see if we can’t work on that nuh.
And in the meanwhile, here is this acclamation which sits prominently on my desk, but which I don’t seem to see, or pay much attention to. However, I was drawn to it last night, and the Lord put it in my heart to share it today. Oh, I’m sure I’ve shared it before, but one more time won’t hurt. (smile) It’s an acclamation from Bubba Joel (Joel Osteen) titled ‘Today Is My Day!’
Please declare it with me in strong voice and full belief. ‘God has destined me to be a barrier breaker! He created me to be uncontainable! I have talent and potential given to me by the Creator of the universe. There are seeds of greatness inside of me.
Today I choose to break free from a limited mindset and enlarge my vision. Today, God is taking me places that I’ve never even dreamed of before. Today, God is fulfilling His purpose in my life. Today, I will experience His favour like never before in every area of my life.’
And all God’s people declared a loud and grateful ‘Amen!’ Ah friends, if we’d only truly believe all of that eh! But the important thing is to keep saying stuff like that, because if we do, it will finally become rooted in our subconscious and we’ll eventually believe it and live it out in our daily lives. Such is the power of our words and our thoughts!
Remember, ALL the battles are fought in our minds and therefore we need to win them there, so that our bodies and souls will function in righteousness, as God desires of us.
And as I opened the Good Book just now to search for an appropriate bit, it opened at the gospel of Luke and these immortal words of Jesus immediately caught my eye. ‘Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?’
Those were Jesus’ questions to a group of overly religious, hypocrite Pharisees, who stood by one Sabbath Day in the synagogue to see if Jesus would heal a man’s withered hand. ‘But he (Jesus) knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth.’ (Luke 6:8)
Then Jesus posed the questions in our Bit to them. And I like how the Good Book continues, re Jesus’ attitude and next move. ‘And looking round about upon them all, he said unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so: and his hand was restored whole as the other. And they (the Pharisees) were filled with madness (rage); and communed one with another (discussed) what they might do to Jesus.’ (Luke 6:10-11)
Oh friends, can you feel the drama in the synagogue that day as Jesus looks around at them daring them to stop Him? So too should we be in doing the work of Jesus, daring and not afraid. And that wasn’t the first time He had had words on what was lawful on the Sabbath with the religious leaders. On another Sabbath Day they had questioned him on the disciples going through a cornfield and plucking some to eat on the Sabbath Day.
According to them that was unlawful. But Jesus pointed out to them how Bruh David and his men, hungry to death, had gone into the Lord’s house on the Sabbath and eaten the showbread that was only lawful for the priests to eat. (1 Sam.21:1-6) And according to the scholars: ‘6:2. The disciples’ action was not in itself illegal (Deut. 23:25), but the oral tradition held that they were breaking the Sabbath.’
Yuh see how we can let tradition and the irrational laws of men turn us away from God’s law. And that time, ‘Jesus said unto them (the Pharisees), That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.’ (Luke 6:5) Obviously inciting words to the religious leaders.
And the scholars tell us re that verse. ‘6:5: Having already asserted His prerogative, like God Himself, to forgive sins (5:20), Jesus now assumes the right to interpret the Old Testament in a way far different from that of the religious leaders of His time.’ Obviously the Pharisees were not thrilled with any of Jesus’ interpretations.
And re our Bit, the scholars explain: ‘6:9. Jesus illustrates the principle lying behind 6:5. If it was in one’s power to do good to someone in such dire need, it would be wrong not to do so, whatever the day of the week. The Sabbath was not designed to make man suffer. The Pharisees seem to have lost sight of this.’
Consequently friends, we must not let ANYTHING or ANYONE stop us from doing good, regardless of time or place. And having taken in all of that, (smile) let’s go home now joyfully declaring our Tuesday Mantra, letting the whole world know who and whose we are.
‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
So as true believers, let’s go out and do exactly that nuh! Much LOVE!
…doing good…at all times…is Jesus’ way…
20 Mar 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a gorgeous day, a point of interest, a solitary note, artificial intelligence, autonomous, beloved of God, blessed, breathtaking knowledge, change our mood, chimes, collisions, congregation of the saints, covenant, declarations, Egypt, eternal benefit, Ethan the Ezrahite, extinct, faithfulness, first day of spring, friend of Jesus, glory to God, God's uncomditional love, heads up, hurry, It's Good, Jesus' gospel, kingdom of Jesus, laziness, life symphony, life-giving love, lift our spirits, LOVE, loving-kindness, make known thy faithfulness, mercy, my chosen, no tails, One Year Book of Bible promises, peace, percolating, praise thy wonders, Rahab, reason, replace ourselves, robots, Ruth Harms Calkin, Selah, self-driving cars, sense of purpose, share His love, sinful law of man, sing of the mercies of the Lord, snwo, spring cleaning, spring has been sprung, strong arm, Thank the Lord, the heavens, the LOVE of God, the raging sea, the Son shining brightly, thy seed, thy throne, to be loved by you, tremulous heart, Tuesday Mantra, unsettled questions, wild animal, winter clothing, with my mouth, worry
Psalm 89:1. I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.
Happy First Day of Spring friends! Yes, today is the official first day of spring, and what a gorgeous day it is in my neighbourhood! So it’s somewhat chilly…so what? Once the sun and SON are shining brightly, it doesn’t matter what else is happening. And besides, from now on, the weather picture is all heads up, no tails! (smile)
Spring has finally been sprung from its winter lair! Thank God for His awesome mercy! Soon there will be no more snow and heavy winter clothing to put on and cart around…Thank the Lord again!
And on a point of interest, it seems as though one of these self-driving cars we’re touting so much and are so quickly trying to build, has killed a woman in Arizona trying to cross the road. Ah Lord eh! Why are we in such a hurry to replace ourselves and make us extinct eh?
Everything we’re working on is autonomous; self-driving cars and trucks, self-flying planes, not to talk about robots taking over most of the functions that humans are supposed to do. Can’t we see that God’s greatest creation is foolishly trying to kill itself off either through horrible collisions, or just through laziness and having nothing to do?
I don’t know about you all nuh, but I’m NOT going in any car that doesn’t have a driver at the wheel, or a plane that has no pilot at the controls! I’ll take my chances with people, not with artificial intelligence. End of sermon! (smile)
Now here is a li’l something from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin to change our mood and lift our spirits this glorious Tuesday. The title simply says ‘It’s Good.’
Please pray with me. ‘God, it’s good to be LOVED by You! The breathtaking knowledge Of Your life-giving LOVE Rings chimes in my tremulous heart. It fashions eternal declarations Out of unsettled questions. It creates a majestic life symphony From a solitary note. GOD IT’S GOOD TO BE LOVED BY YOU!’
And is it ever? If you don’t know the LOVE of God, then you’re missing the best part of life. For without His awesome and amazing LOVE percolating in our souls, and bodies, we’re nothing but another wild animal without any sense of purpose or reason. And that’s why our world is in such a mess; the LOVE of God is absent from too many of our lives!
That brings us to our Bit, the Bible verse associated with the poem above. It’s taken from Psalm 89 – A Maschil (contemplation) of Ethan the Ezrahite declaring ‘God’s sure promises to David. And it joyfully proclaims: ‘I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.
For I have said, Mercy (LOVING-kindness) shall be built up for ever: thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens. I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant, Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah.’ (Ps.89:1-4)
And that is exactly what the Lord has done! He has established the kingdom of Jesus, Bruh David’s descendant, and by His great mercy and LOVE, we are a part of that awesome gathering. Glory to God my brethren! For without His faithfulness, we’d still be living under the sinful law of man, and not God’s unconditional LOVE. Bless His holy name for all of His goodness to us my people!
No wonder, Ethan, the psalmist continues in such glowing terms: ‘And the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O Lord: thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints. For who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord? Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord? O Lord God of hosts, who is a strong Lord like unto thee? or to thy faithfulness round about thee?
Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them. Thou hast broken Rahab (Egypt) in pieces, as one that is slain; thou hast scattered thine enemies with thy strong arm. The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fullness thereof, thou hast founded them.’ (Ps.89:5-11)
Yes friends, on this first day of spring, I believe it’s only wise that we begin spring-cleaning in our hearts and souls. Let’s throw out all the old, false winter stuff and renew our minds with the wonderful LOVE of God that He has shed abroad for our eternal benefit. That’s wisdom personified!
Now let’s go home declaring our Tuesday Mantra, letting the whole world know who and whose we are. In unison and harmony now: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
And the next move is for us to actually go out and share that amazing LOVE of our friend Jesus with those who don’t know about it, or Him! Let’s make known His faithfulness to all generations. Happy LOVE sharing! Much LOVE!
…blessed are those…who sincerely share Jesus’ gospel of peace and LOVE…
13 Mar 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a coward, a grain of salt, a loving manner, a snowy morning, all things work together for good, an arduous process, are called to his purpose, backs me in a corner, beautiful faith, become more like Jesus, childlike, Christian living, Christian maturity, christianity, cunning craftiness, curt, disaster, emotional, faithful believer, friend of Jesus, giants, God's promise, grace, grief, grow in grace, growing spiritually, has a purpose, heartaches, hurry, I can see, I want to grow, in Jesus' name, in the image of Jesus, Jesus Christ, long slow process, lonliness, look beyond, Love God, mifget, need help, negative stuff, North Eastern U.S, now and for ever, One Year Book of Bible promises, our Lord and Saviour, pain, physical, pitfalls, positive use, pray, present darkness, put in the effort, reassuring scripture, Ruth Harms Calkin, sarcastic, share jesus' love, sleight of men, sojourners, something positive, sound doctrine, speaking the truth, spring has not sprung, steadfastness, strangers, take heart, takes time, the beloved of God, the knowledge of god, the Lord's second Coming, the present world, thorough instruction, to him be glory, to those who love God, trickery, trust, Tuesday Mantra, unkind, winter, winter storm, worry, worth the waiting
2 Peter 3:18. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever.
And then it was a snowy Tuesday morning…not a whole lot of the white stuff, but certainly sufficient to cover everything and remind us that it’s still winter. Yeh, though we’ve been having some fairly mild temps recently, Ole Man Winter thought it necessary to remind us that spring has not yet sprung. (smile)
And talking about winter; they say things happens in threes, and in the case of the North Eastern U.S. they are probably right, because for the third time in two weeks another winter storm is bludgeoning the area. Ah Lord eh!
Let’s pray for them friends, and do whatever we can to help them otherwise, even if it’s just calling or texting or somehow communicating with those in the affected areas to find out how they are doing. For we never know when we’ll be affected by some disaster and need their help.
And today I want to share something from our One Year Book of Bible Promises, with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin that points out some of the trauma and drama in our spiritual growth. It’s titled, ‘Worth the Waiting.’
Please read with me: ‘Growing spiritually is such a long, slow process! It’s painful too. Every day at the turn of the road I become acquainted with new pitfalls and heartaches. Sometimes the pain backs me into a corner. For example: There is a woman I know who is so sarcastic, so curt and unkind. Am I ever excused? Is forgiveness always a part of my growth?
So often I feel like a spiritual midget while my husband and friends appear to be spiritual giants. I seem to shrink in my own home. Another thing: I confess I’m a coward about pain. Emotional pain. Physical pain. The pain of loneliness, the pain of grief. Yet, again and again it is true.
What I must learn in my pain is that it’s leading to something positive, something beyond what I can see in the present darkness. I do want to grow! I want to become more and more like Jesus. Even though it takes so long, surely it is worth the waiting.’
And it is indeed worth the waiting my fellow believers! Oh my brethren, growing in anything at all takes time and can be an arduous process, but like it is with Jesus, the end will all be worth it. And I know many of us want to grow spiritually but are having a hard time wading through all the stuff that it entails.
But take heart, everything we go through in being recreated in the image of Jesus has a purpose. God never throws away anything in our lives, even the negative, painful stuff, He always puts them to good, positive use. That’s why Bruh Paul writes this very reassuring scripture in the word: ‘And we know that all things work together for good to those that LOVE God, to them who are called according to his purpose.’ (Rom.8:28)
Yeh friends, if we LOVE God and are called to do His work, then everything will work out good eventually. It’s God’s promise, and as a faithful believer, you are expected to accept it…without a grain of salt. (smile) And the Bible Promise for the reading above is also our Bit for today. But before we get to it, let’s hear what Peter says to the early believers who were living in the hope of the Lord’s coming.
‘Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before (beforehand)…’ And he’s talking about the Lord’s Second Coming and how we’re looking for a new heaven, and all the stuff that Bruh Paul has written, some of which is hard to do. (2 Pet. 3:1-16)
‘…beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.’ (2 Pet. 3:17-18).
Oh my people, Christianity is indeed a beautiful faith; the most beautiful, but it is also time consuming and calls for a lot of effort and sacrifice! But it’s all worth it! As the scholars explain: ‘Peter urges his readers to look beyond the present world to the new heavens and a new earth characterized by righteousness.’
And so should we be looking forward to coming in glory of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Remember this earth is not our home; we are merely strangers and sojourners here. Heaven is our real home. We should therefore look forward to it.
But to do that we have to be strong and steadfast, like Bruh Paul warned the Ephesians in talking about the new life in Christ. ‘That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight (trickery) of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby thy lie in wait to deceive. But speaking the truth in LOVE, may grow up to him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.’ (Eph.4:14-15)
Oh friends, to grow spiritually means we must stop being childlike and put in the effort to grow in all aspects of Christian living. And if we do so sincerely, God will give us the grace we need to become more like Christ, each and every day.
Now let’s go home telling the world who and whose we are. Let’s shout out our Tuesday Mantra as though we really mean it. ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
Now let’s go out and action those things in Jesus’ name. Much LOVE!
…‘Christian maturity is attained in part…by thorough instruction…in sound doctrine…given in a LOVING manner…’
06 Mar 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a child of the king, a thousand times, aches and pains, adversity, against heaven, be miserable, beloved of God, blessings, clasp me, comes against you, complaining, determines my value, determines your love, dwells in you, eat and be merry, ego, enables, enjoy the day, ever-faithful God, ever-LOVING God, every day is a wonderful day, evil living, faithful believers, Father I have sinned, foolish pride, forgiveness, friend of Jesus, friends, gentle smile, going over to the other side, grace, gross unworthiness, handle anything, holy spirit, hurry, hurts, hushes me, in thy sight, is alive, is found, joy in heaven, LOVE, mercy, my value, negative circumstances, new-world society, ninety and nine, no more worthy, one sinner, option, parables of Jesus, Pharisees, Plain Old Me, put a ring on his hand, reaffirm my position, reject, repentance, repents, Ruth Harms Calkin, scribes, share His love, stammering account, surrender, the best robe, the Father's will, the fatted calf, the forefront of our minds, the living God, the Lost Coin, the lost sheep, the Lost Son, the One Year Book of Bible Promises, the son said, to be called your son, tread this evil earth, Tuesday Mantra, unhesitatingly, uplifting, was dead, was lost, waste it, worry, you open your arms, your Father-heart, your love, your response
Luke 15:21. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.
Tuesday…Oh loverly Tuesday…! (smile) Yeh, I guess not as many of you will disagree with me today as did yesterday, when I called Monday wonderful. Hn!
But friends and faithful believers, every day that our great and ever-LOVING God has granted us on His beautiful planet is a loverly and wonderful day! Doesn’t it feel great just to be alive…despite all our aches and pains, hurts and adversity? It surely does.
And I’m sure that very few of us would take the option of going over to the other side right now, if it was offered. And that’s in spite of all our supposedly terrible negative circumstances. So why be miserable and complaining eh? Just enjoy the day, regardless of the circumstances. It’s the day that our ever-faithful God has made, so why waste it.
Remember the Holy Spirit of the Living God dwells in you, and that enables you to handle ANYTHING that comes against you!
Now here is something from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin that seems very appropriate for this morning. It’s something that will help boost our faith. And it’s titled ‘Plain Old Me.‘
Please pray with me. ‘Oh Lord Here I am again Just plain old me Coming to You As I’ve come a thousand times – And this is what always happens: Your response is immediate You open Your arms unhesitatingly You draw me to yourself You clasp me to Your Father-heart. Then you reaffirm my position: I’m a child of the King and all that is Yours is mine.
When I begin my stammering account Of gross unworthiness Your gentle smile hushes me. With endless patience You remind me once more That my value never determines Your LOVE. Rather, Your LOVE determines my value.’
Isn’t that ever so beautiful, touching and true? Yes my fellow believers, that’s exactly how our heavenly Father behaves when we go to Him in humble unworthiness! He reminds us that we are children of the King!
Wow! What could ever be more important and uplifting than that eh? Nothing really! And that’s something we always have to keep in the back…no, the forefront of our minds as we tread this evil earth; who and whom we belong to.
We also need to remember that our value doesn’t lie in how the world sees us, but in the awesome unconditional LOVE that our Creator and heavenly Father lavishes on us.
And that’s fully borne out by our Bit, the words of the parable of the Lost Son that Jesus recounted to the crowd of Pharisees and scribes who gathered around Him doubting His Deity. ‘And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.
But the Father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes (sandals) on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it, and let us eat, and be merry: for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.’ (Luke 15:21-24)
Oh friends, oh friends, that’s exactly how our heavenly Father feels when we come running back to Him! Once we’ve become His child, we can NEVER do anything to give up that status, even when we blow all His blessings on evil living.
And Jesus reinforces all of that earlier on in two other parables; the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin. ‘I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just (upright) persons, which need no repentance.’ (Luke 15:7)
And then: ‘Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.’ (Luke 15:10) Yes my people, there is total joy in heaven when we surrender to the Father in total humility and submission to His will.
So I don’t know why we continue to foolishly reject His LOVE, grace, mercy and forgiveness, since we don’t deserve them and can’t ever earn them. But with the li’l bit of brain that God gave us, in our foolish pride and unfounded ego, we’ve suddenly become more knowledgeable than Him and don’t need nor have time for Him in our bustling new-world society.
Hn! What a crock my people! But I guess that’s why He gave us free will; so that we could make fools out of ourselves, if we so desire. However, for those of us who know who and whose we are, let’s go home joyfully declaring our Tuesday Mantra, shouting it out to all the world.
In perfect harmony now: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
Now it’s time to go out and share that LOVE! Much LOVE!
…once a child of God…ALWAYS a child of God…
27 Feb 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: assurance, Behold, beloved, beloved of God, bestowed on us, blasphemous, born again, breath of life, by God's hand, came unto his own, children of God, Christian faith, come running back, disobedient, enduring effect, fellow believers, finite, friend of Jesus, glory to God, grasp the concept, grow, hurry, I love you, in God's image, indisputable truth, Jesus, laugh too loud, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, LOVE one another, love personified, loving, mature, mortal man, my own way, never be in doubt, not of blood, One Year Book of Bible promises, our hearts and minds, penetrate, power to become, propitiation, put you first, quiet, reminder, reservation, right, Ruth Harms Calkin, serene, share His love, sinful, sinful nature, sob too long, spring break, steady, strong, talk too much, tenets of our faith, the Father, the sons of God, the will of man, the will of the flesh, to the very core, troubled society, true light, Tuesday Mantra, uncertain, undeserving, unsure, weak, what manner of love, willingly obey, winter season, without love, worry, wretched, wrong, You love me
1 John 3:1a. Behold, what manner of LOVE the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons (children) of God.
And then it was Tuesday…and the much appreciated spring break amidst the winter season continues seemingly unabated. Oh Glory to God! And on top of that, both the sun and the SON are shining forth brilliantly today. Mama Yo! What more can a mortal man ask for eh? Not much really.
But yuh know what, in our undeserving, sinful nature, our wonderful God gives us even more. Read with me, as I share this poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises, with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. It’s simply titled ‘You LOVE Me!’
‘God When I am wretched and weak You LOVE me. When I am steady and strong You LOVE me. When I am very right Or terribly wrong You LOVE me. When I talk too much Or laugh too loud Or sob too long You LOVE me. When I am quiet and serene You LOVE me.
When I willingly obey You LOVE me. When I insist on my own way You LOVE me. When I fail to put you first You LOVE me. When I come running back to You You LOVE me. I need not beg You to LOVE me For You who are LOVE Cannot exist without LOVING.
And yet this very day, dear God I have no real assurance Of Your LOVE at all. I wonder why? (And the Lord answered) BELOVED child The fact remains I LOVE you.’
Isn’t that something now mih people! Regardless of who we are, or how we behave, our amazing God LOVES US! Even when we don’t feel His LOVE, the indisputable truth still stands; He LOVES us! He just cannot help LOVING, because He is LOVE personified!
And He caused me to share this particular poem today because He wants to remind us of that fact. He apparently sees that we don’t appreciate the true nature of His LOVE enough, that’s why we are so unsure and uncertain of ourselves in this crazy, troubled society.
Please accept this reminder my fellow believers, and let it penetrate our hearts and minds right to the very core, so that we’ll never be in doubt, in any situation whatsoever, of our great God’s true and unconditional LOVE for us. It’s one of the elementary tenets of our faith, and if we can’t accept it without reservation, then our faith will be lacking, and won’t be able to grow and mature, as it ought to.
That’s why John, in his first epistle thought it so necessary to remind us of God’s great LOVE for us, as stated in our Bit. ‘Behold, what manner of LOVE the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons (children) of God.’
Ah mih breddren how can we not appreciate such an awesome bestowal eh? God didn’t have to, but He wanted to. Why? Because we are His; created by His hand, in His image, and we breathe His breath of life. And even though we have become sinful and disobedient, the facts of the matter cannot be changed.
Now listen to the scholars on our Bit. ‘3:1. Bestowed is in the perfect tense, suggesting the enduring effect of the LOVE God has given. Believers are children of God by virtue of being born of Him (2:29). Jesus stressed a connection between how the world related to God and how it would in turn relate to Christ’s true followers (John 15:18). After ‘sons of God’ the phrase “And we are” should be added, according to many ancient manuscripts.’
Yeh friends, for some reason or the other that definitive statement got left out of our version of the Good Book, but there is no doubt that we are indeed children of God, once we are born again and believe in His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
I think though that a part of the problem is that our minds are so small and finite, that we cannot truly grasp the concept of a mighty and holy God LOVING us, despite our sinful and blasphemous nature. But don’t we still LOVE our children though they are disobedient and go astray? So why should it be any different with God eh? Children are children, and fathers are fathers in whatever situation you place them.
Now let’s look at a couple of scriptures that corroborate our Bit. John says in his gospel: ‘He (the true Light) was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
But as many as received him, to them gave he power (the right) to become the sons (children) of God, even to them that believe on his name. Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.’ (John 1:10-13)
We couldn’t get more authority than that to become children of God. Now hear this most momentous and eye opening scripture, re the LOVE of God from John’s first epistle. ‘Herein is LOVE, not that we LOVED God, but that he LOVED us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. BELOVED, if God so LOVED us, we ought also to LOVE one another.’ (1 John 4:10-11)
That’s our Christian faith in a nutshell right there my brethren. Please let’s practice it in all sincerity and truth nuh. Now let’s go home declaring our Tuesday Mantra, letting the world know who and whose we are in strong voice.
‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
And since we’ve declared it, let’s go out now and action it nuh! Much LOVE!
…regardless of what we have…if we don’t have LOVE…we are nothing…
20 Feb 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adversity, Alpha, always shining forth, anger, backbone, Be All, become like our big brother, belly, beloved of God, calamity, carnal, cease from anger, commit thy way, cut down like the grass, Daily Bread Devotion, delight thyself in the Lord, destroyed, dismal start to the day, distrustful, do good, do his bidding, do without Jesus, dwell in the land, end all, enduring trials, envious, eternal hope, everything to us, evil lucifer, evildoers, faith, feed on his faithfulness, fend for ourselves, fleshly laws of the world, fodder, fret not thyself, friend of Jesus, glory to God, God's handiwork, gospel truth, grow in grace, growing in faith, him who prospers, impatience, impatient, in the lives of, ineveitable end, jealousy, lack of trust, LOVE, maturity in Christ, more Christ-like, never leave nor forsake us, never reneges on a promise, Omega, physical darkness, purpose for being, put it into action, rain, rely on God, repetition, Rest in the Lord, righteousness, rough times, share God's love, spiritual laws of God, spiritual light of Jesus, steadfast way of life, thank the Lord for Jesus, the body of Christ, the church, the desires of thine heart, the Father gave us the Spirit, the man who brings wicked schemes to pass, the noonday sun, the workers of iniquity, to make us like the Son, tribulations, true believers, trust in God, trust in the Lord, Tuesday Mantra, unholy messages, wait on God's timing, wait patiently, walking with Christ, wither as the green herb, working wonders
Psalm 37:7. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices (schemes) to pass.
Well friends, the rain continues to sprinkle down in my neighbourhood this Tuesday morning, marking a somewhat dark and dismal start to the day. But please remember that despite the physical darkness that might surround you, the brilliant spiritual light of Jesus is always shining forth in the lives of true believers. Glory to God!
What would we do without Jesus eh friends? I really don’t know nuh! For He is our Be ALL and End ALL – Our Alpha and Omega! In fact, He’s EVERYTHING to us! Without Him, our lives would simply be fodder for the evil Lucifer. Thank the Lord for Jesus yes!
And here’s a li’l insight into the situation through a Daily Bread Devotion Thought for the day. ‘The Father gave us the Spirit to make us like the Son.’ Glory be mih people! That’s our inevitable end, our very purpose for being; to become like our big brother, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! It’s God’s eternal hope for us.
Oh, He knows that we will never be completely like Jesus, because we just don’t have all His parts, but we can certainly become more Christ-like than we currently are. And that’s something we ought to work towards, both individually and as the body of Christ, the church.
But growing in faith and maturity in Christ, also means enduring trials and tribulations, adversity and calamity. For one does not grow that much in good times, but it’s in the rough times that we see our faith working wonders, our belly and backbone being strengthened, as we trust in and rely on God more than ever.
And the wonderful thing about our amazing God is that He helps us in doing whatever He asks us to do. He doesn’t ask us to do something, then leave us to fend for ourselves. Absolutely not! He gives us the wherewithal to do His bidding and comes to our aid when we ask for it.
No other supposed Deity does anything like that. Give Him much thanks and praise my people, for being such a wonderful God to us, woeful sinners that we are!
And the problems we encounter in walking with Christ are mostly brought on by our lack of trust in God and our impatience, our failure to wait on His timing. God has promised that He will never leave nor forsake us, and we know that He NEVER reneges on a promise, so why are we so distrustful and impatient eh?
Because we tend to live by the carnal and fleshly laws of the world, more than the spiritual laws of God. The world touts now for now happenings, but the Lord says wait on me.
And nowhere is it said better than in Psalm 37 – the true state of the wicked- those immortal words of Bruh David that make up our Bit for today. ‘Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices (schemes) to pass.’
Yes we all know that passage, but we don’t practice it as much as we should. Oh, I know that the world is always bombarding us with it’s unholy messages, but there’s no real excuse for us not following Bruh David’s wise advice more faithfully, especially as we see God’s handiwork in our lives and we grow in His grace.
And I know that I quoted these verses from Psalm 37 not too long ago, but I’ll quote them again, because we only learn stuff through repetition; hearing or doing them again and again. And we definitely need to hear them again, if we’re ever going to stop living by the carnal laws of the world, and live by the spiritual ones of Christ instead.
So here goes: ‘Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed (feed on His faithfulness).
Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgement (justice) as the noonday.’ (Ps.37.1-6)
Yeh mih breddren, that’s what our faith is all about: trusting in the Lord and waiting patiently and eagerly for Him to do His will in our lives! Only then will righteousness and justice show forth in our lives.
Now listen to these two verses after our Bit. ‘Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. For evildoers shall be cut off (destroyed): but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.’ (Ps.37:8-9)
And there we have the whole believer’s life story in a nutshell: trust in God, forsake jealousy and anger, do good, wait patiently on Him, and He will cause your life to be truly blessed. And that’s gospel truth my brethren! So let’s live up to it, as we should nuh.
Now let’s go home faithfully and sincerely declaring our Tuesday Mantra, proudly letting the whole world know who and whose we are. In unison now: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
And having faithfully declared it, let’s now go out and put it into action as Jesus so badly desires of us. Much LOVE!
…wait…hope…trust…do good…look to the Lord…are not mere words to a true believer…but a steadfast way of life…
13 Feb 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: ., a fresh glimpse, a joy, a pleasure, alive to see another day, an action word, an easy thing to do, anger, another great day, Ash Wednesday, bacchanal, blatant, bless, blinded, born again, breath, careless driver, Carnival, children of your Father, comfortable, commercialism, complex self, consciously work at, continue to love me, curse, emotion of LOVE, evil ungodly world, faltering, fete, finagled, finally learn, friend of Jesus, friends, fuelled by, gazing eyes, God's response, gratitude, haunting parade, he makes his sun to rise, hurry, immeasurable love, in deed, in tongue, in truth, injustices, its reflection, lacking, listening to a sermon, LOVE, Love your enemies, mere talk, misdeeds, misjudged me, my little children, necessary, never have enough of, not love in word, off the snow, on God's great earth, on the evil and the good, on the just, our wonderful God, partying, pleasant, practice loving, praise and thanks, pray for, resentment, ringing challenge, Rio, Ruth Harms Calkin, sends rain, shameful, share His love, shining brightly, sit in church, speculating, spouting love, strife, T&T, the beloved of God, the church pew, the darkness, the One Year Book of Bible Promises, the SON, the Sun, the unjust, totalled, true believers, Tuesday Mantra, turbulent times, uncomfortable, unloving attitudes, unscrupulous associate, Valentine's day, vicious remarks, walk the walk, war, welcome, what the world needs, worry
1 John 3:18. My little children, let us not LOVE in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth.
Welcome friends, welcome to another great day on God’s great earth! Wow! Both the SON and the Sun are shining brightly; the latter so bright that if you’re not careful you can be blinded by its reflection off the white snow. (smile) Is it ever a joy and a pleasure to be alive to see another day!
Please give our wonderful God much praise and thanks for the breath we’re still drawing in these turbulent times, for without Him we’d surely be faltering in the darkness of an evil and ungodly world.
And can you imagine the bacchanal that ‘s taking place in places like T&T and Rio right now, at the height of the carnival season? Mama Yo! Fete fuh so! Everybody’s trying to get in as much partying as possible because tomorrow is Ash Wednesday…and then all the party done! (smile)
Enough about partying though, let’s turn our attention to something that’s much more important and oh so lacking, but ever so necessary in our world, if it’s ever to run right; we’re talking about how to ‘Practice LOVING.’ That’s the name of the poem I want to share with us today from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin.
Please pray sincerely with me. ‘It is so simple, dear Lord So pleasant and comfortable To sit in church on a Sunday morning Listening to a sermon about LOVE – Perhaps even speculating a bit On whether my LOVE surpasses the LOVE Of the person to my right Or the Person to my left.
But to LOVE with Your LOVE To practice LOVING, dear God How uncomfortable the church pew becomes When I hear this ringing challenge When I see Your gazing eyes. Suddenly I remember the vicious remarks Of the woman who misjudged me. I remember the unscrupulous associate Who finagled my husband’s job. I remember the careless driver Who totaled our shining new car.
So quickly, Lord, I am faced With a haunting parade Of shameful, UNLOVING attitudes. God, You know me so much better Than I know my own complex self And still You continue to LOVE me. Give me, I pray, a fresh glimpse Of Your vast, immeasurable LOVE For it is only out of gratitude for Your LOVE That I shall finally learn What it means to practice LOVING.’
And isn’t that the everlasting truth my brethren! Only with God’s help can we truly practice LOVE! It’s something our world desperately lacks, but so badly needs! Just look at all the strife and war, the anger, hate and resentment that’s so blatant in our current societies. How could that ever be good for us eh?
We need to come together rather then be split apart, and ONLY LOVE, or rather the PRACTICE OF LOVE, brings people together. And yes, I know that tomorrow is Valentine’s Day and everybody will be spouting LOVE, but LOVE is not, cannot be a one Day Special, if it is to have any real and lasting effect, especially if fuelled by commercialism as Valentine’s Day is in our current society.
Hence the command from the first epistle of John in our Bit: ‘My little children, let us not LOVE in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth.’ And as the scholars tell us: ‘3:18. In tongue refers to mere talk.’ And over the years I’ve tried to beat it into my children’s heads that you can’t talk LOVE, because LOVE is an action word! I hope you finally got the message mih LOVELIES! (smile)
Unfortunately though, when coming to LOVE, that’s all our world is about; TALK! We talk a very good talk about LOVE, but not enough of us walk the walk of true and sincere LOVE. And it’s not an easy thing to do, when we are surrounded and bombarded by all sorts of injustices and other things which don’t normally bring out the emotion of LOVE.
Our poem above points out some of those difficult times; vicious remarks from being misjudged, unscrupulous associates, and careless drivers. Those things certainly don’t bring out LOVE in a natural manner, but our God wants us to have that sort of response, because that’s His response to our own misdeeds.
So LOVE is something we have to actively and consciously work at, especially since our Lord and Saviour, our Leader, Jesus Christ so plainly and purposefully commanded.
‘But I say unto you, LOVE your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully (spitefully) use you, and persecute you. That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.’ (Matt.5:44-45)
Ah friends, obviously that doesn’t sit well with our normal sinful nature, but if we’re born again and are true believers, we need to adhere to the words of our Leader. And we know that anytime we flounder, all we have to do is to cry out to Him for help, and He will help us. So nothing He asks us to do is impossible. That’s why we can go home now sincerely declaring who and who’s we are in our Tuesday Mantra.
All together now, in strong voice: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
All glory to God my people! Now let’s go out and do exactly as we just said; share Jesus’ LOVE with the world. Much LOVE!
…what the world needs now…is LOVE…sweet LOVE…something we can never have enough of…
06 Feb 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a deeper phase, a sour face, a tremulous situation, aroma, ascension, assurance, beloved of God, blaming, bring a smile, cracked earth, crediting, deeper the pain, diffuse, ditch of depression, dr robert h schuller, draws back the curtain, essential for survival, eternal life, faithful, force, friend of Jesus, give thanks to Almighty God, gives us the victory, God is good, God's grace, God's great earth, goodness, harder the fall, heartache, heated words, Hour of Power Devotional, hurry, Jesus Christ, lend healing, lose a loved one, LOVE, love of Christ, maturity, negative things, negative times, non-acceptance of Christ, not totally alone, omnipotence, perish, pierce today's darkness, positive prayer, positive thoughts, problems, promise of eternal life, promises, raise the level of our faith, relationship with god, resurrection, reunited, sacrificial death, salvation, saved, seed of faith, share, slippery step, soften a hard heart, standing firm, strife, sweet fragrance, thank you, Thanks be to God, the Father of love, the raging storm, there to help us, through our Lord, tomorrow's light, tomorrows, triumph in Christ, trust, truth, Tuesday Mantra, vital element, war, worry, worse the loss
1 Corinthians 15:57. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Ah mih people, welcome to another day on God’s great earth! Oh, I know that we will be surrounded by numerous problems and everyday we hear of more and more foolish strife, war and heated words in our society, but that’s no reason not to give thanks to Almighty God for the good things He’s done, is doing, and will do in our individual lives. Yeh friends, telling God, ‘Thank You,’ is essential for our very survival.
Now I’m going to share something from Gramps Schuller’s (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) Hour of Power Devotional that I’m pretty sure I’ve never shared before. I don’t know why, if it was just too long and didn’t lend itself to useful paraphrasing, but to day I’m going to share the entire thing, because I believe it’s ever so important for believers in these violent and negative times to understand.
So here goes. In the first place it is titled: ‘Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!’ So you know it’s all about thanking God.
And Gramps Schuller says: ‘When you lose a LOVED one, there is a way to thank God. You can thank Him for the promise of eternal life. You can thank Him for the assurance that someday you will be reunited with the one you’ve lost. The worse the loss, the harder the fall, the deeper the pain – the more you need to say, “Thank You, Lord!”
Thank You, Lord! is the force that draws back the curtains, letting tomorrow’s light pierce today’s darkness. Thank You, Lord! is the first slippery step back up from the ditch of depression. Thank You, Lord! is the seed of faith planted in the dry, cracked earth. When you least feel like doing it – say Thank You, Lord!
You don’t say Thank You to God because you are crediting or blaming Him for your heartache. NO! Nothing could be further from the truth! God is good! He is the Father of LOVE and goodness! Most of the time we make our own heartache. Why then do we say Thank You, Lord, in the midst of the raging storm?
We say Thank You, Lord, that you’re still there to help us! Thank You, Lord, that I’m not totally alone! Thank You, Lord for the help you will send me. Thank You, Lord. Thank You for tomorrows that are sure to come. Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! It’s a vital element of positive prayer.’
Oh friends, I do hope that Gramps Schuller’s words on the importance of saying ‘Thank You,’ to God, have resonated and reverberated in us, and will continue to do so, because if we want to have positive thoughts and actions, we first have to use positive words, in spite of our circumstances. And there are no simpler and yet more positive words than those two: ‘Thank You!’
In our crazy, confused and troubled world, when said to others, they can diffuse a tremulous situation; soften a hard heart, lend healing to a broken one, and bring a smile to a sour face. And when we sincerely say them to God, we just raise the level of our faith and maturity.
Our relationship with our heavenly Father enters a deeper phase, because we are acknowledging His goodness and LOVE, His omnipotence and ability to control circumstances, both our own and the world’s. We are saying in effect, ‘heavenly Father we trust You, regardless of what’s happening in our lives and the world. We’re standing firm on Your promises, because we know that You are faithful and will keep EVERY promise that You’ve made.’
Now here is our Bit, which declares the thing that we ought to be most grateful for and give the most thanks for: ‘But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.’
Yes my fellow believers, we can never be too thankful or grateful for the victory over death, hell, the grave and any other negative things, that Jesus has given us through His own sacrificial death, resurrection and ascension, through the never-ending grace of our heavenly Father.
And Bruh Paul further sates in his second letter to the Corinthians: ‘Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to (leads us in) triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour (fragrance) of his knowledge by us in every place. For we are unto God a sweet savour (aroma) of Christ, in (among) them that are saved, and in (among) them that perish.’ (2 cor.2:14-15)
Oh friends, are we ever a sweet fragrance to God when we accept His Son Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, and wisely accept His free offer of salvation and eternal life, and thus will not be relegated to the foolish group that will perish because of their non-acceptance of Christ. He doesn’t want anything more than that. So, with His awesome help, let’s do our best to bring others to that realization nuh.
Now let’s go home declaring to the world who and whose we are in our Tuesday Mantra. In full voice and heartfelt sincerity: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
And if we are sincere, then let’s go out and share that amazing LOVE of Christ, as He so ardently desires. Much LOVE!
…LOVE unshared…is No LOVE at all…
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