15 Sep 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious day in the life, Abraham Isaac and Jacob, abundance, assurance, be strong, be strong and of a good courage, blasphemy, bless the Lord, clear direction, communicating in prayer, compassionate heart, corruption, courage, creativity, curse, divine protection, ears of the deaf, eyes of the blind, faith, family, favour, fear not, fearful heart, feeble knees, friends, fulfillment, fullness of joy, God loves unconditionally, God will come, God's goodness, goodness, greatness, health, hell, Holy One, hope, I want Jesus, in the name of Jesus, Jesus Christ, jet-lagged, Lisa Bevere, LOVE, love all my children equally, love them uniquely, love us all the same, maturity, measure God's love, meditating on god's word, mercy, my heart is glad, negative word, number one priority, only begotten Son, pleasures for evermore, positive outlook, promises of God, promotion, rest securely in hope, self-control, self-discipline, streams in the desert, strong, strong will, success, supernatural wisdom, talent, the good plans of God, the one and only true living God, the path of life, the truth of God, the weak hands, the Word of god, Thursday Blessings, tongue of the dumb, unbelievers, uniquely, vengeance, vim and vigour, wilderness
Joshua 1:6a. Be strong and of a good courage…
And then it was Thursday…another glorious day in the life! Yes friends, we are alive to face another day, to action the good plans God has for our lives. Isn’t that wonderful?
It surely is! Because there is no other God like ours; the ONE and ONLY, TRUE and LIVING GOD! He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – The Creator, the Provider, the Comforter, the Healer, the Redeemer, the Saviour, the Giver of Salvation and Eternal Life!
Wow! What a powerful and wonderful God we serve my people! He is a God full of mercy, grace, forgiveness, wisdom, compassion, long-suffering and understanding. So let’s wisely acknowledge Him each and everyday of our lives nuh; make Him the NUMBER ONE priority in our lives, because that’s what He desires and what He also deserves.
And having expounded the goodness and greatness of our magnificent God, listen to this story of His moving in mysterious ways. Recently a lady, Lisa Bevere, an international speaker and writer, was a guest on the Hour of Power Show. She claimed that one day after returning from a long trip, she was somewhat jet-lagged and fell asleep at her computer.
Realizing that she needed rest, she got up and went to her bed, but just as she was falling asleep she heard the Holy Spirit say, ‘I do not LOVE all my children equally…’ At that she jumped up and declared, ‘Wait, that’s blasphemy! You have to LOVE us all the same!’
And He said, ‘I don’t. Same would mean that one of you were replaceable. And equal would mean that my LOVE could be measured.’ He said, ‘I do not LOVE my children equally, I LOVE them uniquely!’
Now we won’t argue over it, but it’s certainly an interesting concept. We’re each uniquely made, that means there is only one of us, and we cannot be replaced, and neither can the LOVE of our amazing God be measured. We just know that it’s so great that He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ as a sacrificial lamb for our sins, and He LOVES each and everyone of us unconditionally.
And yuh know what? Whether He LOVES us the same, equally, uniquely or whatever, it really doesn’t matter. As long as I know that He LOVES me, then that’s quite sufficient for me! Hope it is for you too.
That brings us to the ever-important aspect of our Thursday Blessings. Let’s declare them with joy, enthusiasm, and strong belief. For remember, a blessing isn’t a blessing until it’s been spoken over someone.
All together now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment!
I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Way to go mih people! And that just enables us to put our Bit into action. ‘Be strong and of a good courage…’
Yes friends, with those blessings under our belt, we can’t help but be strong and courageous in this sinful, ungodly and evil world! The problem though is to keep up that strength and courage, all, or at least most of the time. And that can only be done by hearing, reading, studying and meditating on the word, on the truth of God, and then by constantly communicating with Him through prayer.
And eventually, we’ll reach that stage of maturity where we can proclaim like Bruh David. ‘I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel; my reins (heart) also instruct me in the night seasons. I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest (dwell securely) in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell (the abode of the dead); neither wilt thou suffer (allow) thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.’ (Ps.16:7-11)
Oh friends, what wonderful words of assurance in God’s goodness and mercy! If that doesn’t encourage and uplift us, then I don’t know what will. Nonetheless, listen to this awesome promise from our God, spoken through the prophet Isaiah, re Israel restored to Zion.
‘Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm (make firm) the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; he will come and save you.
Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as a hart (deer), and the tongue of the dumb (mute) sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.’ (Is.35:3-6)
Ah mih breddren, more wonderful promises from our magnanimous God! And what’s so great about those promises is that He can bring them to pass! No other supposed deity can do it, but our God can.
So let’s go out today full of vim and vigour nuh, strong, courageous, exuding much hope and faith in the mighty God we serve, so that the unbelievers will sit up and take notice and shout, ‘I want what they have! I want Jesus too!’ That’s my hope and prayer for us today. Much LOVE!
…only as a believer is strong, courageous, enthusiastic and faithful…will others seek what he has…
12 Sep 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a positive attitude, a reserve of scriptures, Abraham, ambassadors for Christ, an anchor, antidote, aura of love, be strong and of a good courage, be strong in the power of God, blessed be the Lord, Christian behaviour, confidence, conquerors, dispositions, enthusiasm, evil, evil tide, faith, fear not, fellowship, friends, fun, glorious kingdom, gospel truth, grace, holy spirit, hope, humble servants, I am helped, I will praise him with my song, invincible, Jesus Christ, Joshua, joy, lies, LOVE, make a difference, meditation, mercy, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, my heart trusted in him, my supplications, nor be dismayed, peace, positive action, promise of God, reading God's Word, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, reward, salvation, Sarah's womb, spiritual armour, stand strong and steadfast, steadfast faith, taunts, TGIM! Thank God it's Monday!, The Lord is my strength, the sun stand still, truth, ungodly world, Venice, we reap what we sow, wiles, wisdom
Joshua 1:6a. Be strong and of a good courage…
And then it was Monday – the day that we all dread! However, a few hardy and smart souls were heard to declare ‘TGIM! Thank God it’s Monday and the new workweek begins! Thank God for Mondays yes!’
Ah friends, the numbers are only a few now, but every week they are growing, and sometime in the future the revolution will be accomplished. (smile)
Now here is an interesting quote from Renier Giustina Michiel (1755-1832), a Venetian noblewoman, who held one of the most vigorous literary salons in Venice. Her interests included literature, science, and local history and culture. And why I find it interesting is because it’s so apropos to what we’re talking about.
She says, ‘The world improves people according to the dispositions they bring into it.’ And that’s gospel truth my brethren. Those of us who are happy to see Monday come around, obviously do better, especially on a Monday, than those who are sour and displeased about it.
As the renowned principle declares: we only reap what we sow. So if we sow complaining and dissatisfaction, that is what we’ll get on the other side. Meanwhile an agreeable and positive attitude will bring an agreeable and positive reward.
Anyway, we have the antidote for our negative Monday morning attitude, our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. So let’s sing it without further ado, putting our all into it, so that Jesus, our choirmaster will be pleased.
As one now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Now that wasn’t bad at all friends! A beautiful smile lit up Jesus’ handsome face, which means He was obviously pleased with today’s rendition.
So, having our engines revving and running smoothly, please lets get out and show the world what true Christian behaviour ought to be like, be good, worthwhile ambassadors for our wonderful Lord and Saviour.
And it all jives with out Bit: ‘Be strong and of a good courage…’
Yes my people, in these turbulent and unsettled times, believers need to stand strong and steadfast in their faith, otherwise the enemy will just beat us down without remorse. And the best way to do that is to have a reserve of appropriate scriptures lined up to declare when the going gets rough.
Let’s check out some of them nuh, starting with Joshua, when he addressed the Israelites after they defeated the Amorites, that time the Lord made the sun stand still so that they could complete their victory. (Josh.10:12-14)
‘And Joshua said unto them, Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of a good courage: for thus shall the Lord do to all your enemies against whom ye fight.’ (Josh.10:25)
Oh friends, that same scripture applies to us today! The Lord our great and mighty God will fight for us against our enemies, once we stand strong and steadfast in our faith.
Now hear Bruh David from Psalm 28 – A prayer for God’s help. ‘Blessed be the Lord, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications. The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.’ (Ps.28:6-7)
Yes mih people, Jehovah God is indeed our protector! There’s none like Him: neither in might, power nor grace! And we’d be foolish to place our trust anywhere else.
And we’ll end with these words of Bruh Paul to the church at Rome, re God’s promise to Abraham of a multitude of descendants from his own loins. ‘And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about a hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb:
He staggered (wavered) not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong (strengthened) in faith, giving glory to God; and being fully persuaded (convinced) that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.’ (Rom.4:19-21)
Oh friends, that is the kind of faith we need in these last days! We need to be totally convinced that whatever our great God promises, He is able to deliver, regardless of the circumstances! Otherwise we’re without an anchor to keep us steady, and can be easily washed away by the evil tide that’s currently controlling our world.
So please, let’s develop that faith nuh, by reading God’s Word, meditating on it, praying for His strength and guidance, and doing our best to put it all into positive action, so that we can make a positive and meaningful difference in our world. Much LOVE!
…be strong in the power of God…our Creator…our Provider…and our strong fortress…
05 Sep 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a right spirit, aura of love, Bathsheba, broken spirit, burnt offering, cast me not away, celebration, confidence, consequences, contrite heart, create in me a clean heart, Drunk or sober mind yuh business, enthusiasm, eternal life, forgiveness, friends, Granny's advice, holy spirit, humble servants, inhumane actions, invincible, Jesus Christ, joy, Labour Day, lies, LOVE, make me to hear joy, mercy, ministry, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, my mouth shall show forth thy praise, Nathan, New Testament, obey God, open thou my lips, purge me with hyssop, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, sacrifices of God, salvation, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, TGIM! Thank God it's Monday!, thanksgiving, the nature of the beast, ungodly world, wash me, whiter than snow, wisdom
Psalm 51:15. O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall show forth thy praise.’
Oh my beautiful people, I’m sure that this morning most of us are joyfully declaring: ‘TGIM! Thank God it’s Monday!’ The only problem is that we’re not declaring it because we’re excited and enthusiastic to go to work, but because we don’t have to go to work this Labour Day Monday.
Hn, hn! We certainly are something else yes! But what to do eh? That’s obviously the nature of the beast. However, unfortunately in this 24/7 society, some of us do have to go to work to keep the essential services running smoothly and allow our highly technological world to function properly and allow us to keep on enjoying all our wonderful amenities.
That means there is still the need for us to sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn in solidarity with our brothers and sisters who have to go out and labour on this Labour Day Monday, which was originally a celebration of the gains made in reducing the work week and other inhumane actions that were then sinfully perpetrated by the management class. However most of that has now been forgotten, and it’s just an occasion to party.
So in clarity and harmony let’s sing. ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Ah friends, the voices were strong, but raucous and not harmonious. That’s because the ones who have the day off were the loudest, and they have already been celebrating, so their voices are a bit hoarse. I could see Jesus simply shaking His head and smiling, knowing full well the reason for the poor rendition. But nonetheless we’ll persevere, because through Jesus, who strengthens us, we can do infinitely anything and everything! (Phil. 4:13)
And so, we come to our Bit. ‘O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall show forth thy praise.’ Yes my people, that’s a very good line for us to follow. These words were written by Bruh David after the prophet Nathan draped him up over his sinfulness with Bathsheba. Having acknowledged his wrongdoing and pleading for mercy and forgiveness, Bruh David prays for inner renewal.
‘Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right (steadfast) spirit within me.
Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free (generous) spirit. Then shall I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.’ (Ps.51:7-14)
Ah friends, Bruh David finally realizes the utter stupidity of his lustful liaison with Bathsheba, and having asked for cleansing, he then promises ministry and thanksgiving. And I have to chuckle, because like so many of us Bruh David obviously never considered the consequences of his sinful actions before he did them. But having eventually being found out, he had no qualms in confessing them and asking for God’s pardon.
Likewise, we should not be too proud to ask for cleansing and healing when our iniquities are brought to light. As Bruh David declares after our Bit: ‘For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.’ (Ps.51:16-17)
Yes my brethren, that’s what the Lord expects from us when we come to Him for forgiveness and mercy; humility and brokenness.
The scholars tell us: ‘This passage clearly teaches that those who have failed God may be restored to the service of God.’ What wonderful news friends!
And we’ll end with these important words from the scholars: ‘The prayer take not thy Holy Spirit from me (v.11) need never be offered by a New Testament saint, since the Holy Spirit indwells every Christian permanently (1 Cor.6:19). David’s cry here may reflect only the fear, not the reality of losing the Spirit, and being rejected by God. Thus he asks God to restore the joy of his salvation, not salvation itself.’
Now that’s something to celebrate my people! Unlike the folks in the Old Testament who only received the Holy Spirit for specific purposes and periods of time, we, through the selfless sacrifice of Jesus, instead have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us continually, leading and guiding us along the straight and narrow path, making it much easier for us to be obedient to God’s word.
But please remember, the onus is still on us to follow the Spirit’s guidance. So as we enjoy the day, in whatever way, let’s not forget Granny’s golden advice, which covers every aspect and occasion of life. ‘Sonny Boy, drunk or sober, please mind your business…’ Much LOVE!
…as Uncle Charles (Charles Stanley) likes to say… the greatest wisdom is to obey God…and leave all the consequences to Him…
01 Sep 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a positive outlook on life, a prayer for solutions, abundance, action, assurance, belief, blessed, Christian, clear direction, conviction, courage, creativity, curse, difficulties, divine protection, doubts, dr robert h schuller, evidence of things not seen, evil lustful pleasures, exercise faith, faith, faith is the substance of things hoped for, family, Father, favour, forgive me, forgiveness of sins, friends, fulfillment, future hope, glorification of the saints, God is alive and well, gospel truth, health, Holy Ghost, hope, Hour of Power, I confess, impossible to please God, in the name of Jesus, increase my faith, lack of faith, leadership of my life, lose faith in God, make my commitment, make the right decision, material possessions, missteps, mistakes, my destiny, negative word, New Testament, possibilities, present realitites, problems, promotion, prosper, realization, resolved, self-confidence, self-control, sense of proof, solutions, Son, strong will, substance, succeed, success, succumb to temptation, supernatural strength, supernatural wisdom, take command, talent, Thank You Lord, the Holy Trinity, the pot of faith, the resurrection, Thursday Blessings, trials, tribulations, we walk by faith not by sight, without faith, works
Hebrews 11:1. Now faith is the substance (realization) of things hoped for, the evidence (conviction) of things not seen.
Welcome my Scrip-Bit friends and family to this glorious Thursday morn; the first day of September 2016! Our God is alive and well in His heaven, faithfully looking over His people here on earth. And all God’s people said a loud and grateful, ‘Thank You Lord!’
Now the 1st of September in the northern climes usually means that the summer is technically over; the free paper burn, holidays are over, no more weekends at the cottage, it’s back to school and work, and begin thinking about the winter weather that will be upon us in another couple of months.
But before we get to that (smile), I want to share ‘A Prayer for Solutions,’ from Gramps Schuller’s (Dr. Robert H Schuller) Hour of Power Devotional.
Please pray with me. ‘Lord, thanks for assuring me that you’ll solve the problems if I’ll exercise the faith and make the right decision! Forgive me for waiting for all the difficulties, real or fanciful, to be resolved before deciding to make my commitment.
I confess I have too often allowed problems instead of possibilities to take over leadership of my life – to make my decisions – and take command over my destiny. I know, now, what faith is, Lord! It’s making the right decisions before I see solutions to all the problems! Increase my faith! Amen.’
And isn’t that the gospel truth my people? It surely is! We allow the problems, rather than the possibilities to run our lives. Remember, we live; we walk by faith and not by sight. (2 Cor.5:7) So as our faith goes, so go our lives.
If our faith is strong, then we walk comfortably with the Lord. If our faith is weak and we have many doubts, then our walk of faith is not as strong and we are liable to take more missteps and make more mistakes than we ought to.
And I sincerely believe that lack of true faith is one of the Christian’s biggest problems nowadays. With the world and all its evil and lustful pleasures and demand for material possessions coming against us so strongly, it’s very easy to falter, to lose faith and sight in God and succumb to the temptation.
That’s why faith is so crucial in our everyday lives, something we need to keep at the forefront all the time, since it’s so easy to lose faith when the trials and tribulations beset us. And what is faith you ask?
Well the Good Book gives us this definition, which is also our Bit for today. ‘Now faith is the substance (realization) of things hoped for, the evidence (conviction) of things not seen.’ Yeh friends, technically, it’s about hoping for and believing what we cannot see.
But here is an excellent explanation on our Bit from the scholars. ’11:1. Verse 1 is not so much a definition of what faith is, as it is a description of what faith does (cf.11:6). Two truths concerning its activity are stated here. First, faith provides substance (Gr. hypostasis). Though broad in its usages, this Greek word normally has the meaning of “assurance” in the New Testament (cf. 3:14, 2 Cor.9:4; 11:17) and this seems to be the best sense here.
Second, faith provides evidence (Gr. elegchos). It is evidence in the sense of proof that results in conviction. The difference between assurance and evidence would be minimal were it not for the phrase qualifying each: of things hoped for and of things not seen.
The first involves future hope; the second involves present realities that are unseen. The first includes the hope of the resurrection, the return of Christ, and the glorification of the saints. The second involves unseen realities, such as forgiveness of sin through Christ’s sacrifice and the present intercession of Christ in heaven. Hope is faith relating to the future; conviction is faith relating to the present.’
Oh friends, I know that is somewhat convoluted and might prove confusing, but please take your time and reason it out, and it will eventually become clear. Faith is the biggest thing in our Christian walk. It’s what keeps us attached to our awesome God; to the Holy Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Only by faith can we believe it all!
As the Good Book tells us: ‘But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.’ (Heb.11:6)
So my brethren, it’s all about hope and belief. Remember, you can’t have faith if you don’t first have hope, for hope is what stirs the pot of faith and keeps it bubbling up strong and positive.
Now let’s truly acknowledge our hope and faith by enthusiastically declaring our Thursday Blessings, for a blessing is not a blessing until it’s been spoken.
Altogether now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment!
I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Wonderful my people! Now let’s go out and put our faith into action nuh, because it’s useless unless and until it is acted upon! Much LOVE!
…faith calls for works…and works demand faith to do them…
29 Aug 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: admonishment, almighty god, antidote, as far as the east, attitudes, aura of love, bind us up, blessings, cast out, Come and let us return unto the Lord, complaining, confession, confidence, cussing, doing nothing, drudgery, enthusiasm, evil, faith, forgiveness, friends, fun, glorious kingdom, God's mercy, grace, groaning, holy spirit, Hosea, housework, humble servants, iniquity, invincible, Jesus saving grace, joy, lazing around, lies, LOVE, loving kindness, mercy, moaning, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, Monday Morning Blues, Moses, Nehemiah, Praise the Lord, rain, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, repentance, rest, scatter you abroad, seek him with all thy heart, seek the Lord, set my name there, spirits lifted, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, TGIM! Thank God it's Monday!, thanksgiving, the uttermost part of heaven, thou shalt find him, trust, unbelievers, ungodly world, wisdom, with all thy soul, witness
Deuteronomy 4:29. But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
Aye friends, that wonderful day called Monday, has rolled around again! Wow!
Are you excited enough to joyfully declare: ‘TGIM! Thank God it’s Monday! Thank God that I will be able to get out of this drudgery of housework, or of just lazing around and doing nothing constructive, and instead go out and meet people, and help bring them to Jesus and His saving grace!’
Oh my people, if you can truthfully declare that prayer this Monday morning, then you’re amongst a very few blessed souls. And may the Lord bless you and give you your heart’s desire. That’s because most of us will be moaning and groaning and cussing and complaining about how we so tired, and how the weekend finish so quick, and we just might call in sick.
But don’t worry my brethren, we have an antidote for the Monday Morning Blues, it’s called our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. So without further ado, let’s get right into it so our spirits can be lifted and our attitudes become more Christ like. (smile)
Altogether now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Oh that was good friends; better than average! It even brought a trace of a smile to Jesus, our choirmaster’s face. Now let’s keep our adrenaline fuelled motors running and get out there and live our lives for Jesus. That’s all He asks of us.
And to help us do that, let’s turn to our current Bit for the last time. ‘But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.’
Oh my fellow believers what a wonderful promise of Almighty God to lay before unbelievers when we witness to them! They can be assured that whatever their sins might be – a li’l white lie or genocide – if they seek God with sincere confession and repentance their iniquity will be washed away.
Bruh David puts it thus in Psalm 103 – Thanksgiving for God’s mercy. ‘The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous (abounding) in mercy (LOVING-kindness). He will not always chide (strive): neither will he keep his anger forever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy (LOVING-kindness) toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.’ (Ps.103:8-12)
And all God’s people declared a loud and proud:’ Glory to God for His LOVING-kindness to the undeserving children of men!’ And that He certainly is my brethren!
Now let’s turn to a couple of other scriptures which corroborate our Bit. Listen to Nehemiah when he hears that Jerusalem is a waste land. He fasts, prays, confesses the sins of his people, and asks for guidance.
‘We have dealt (acted) very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, not the judgements (ordinances), which thou commandedst thy servant Moses. Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress (are unfaithful), I will scatter you abroad among the nations.
But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though they were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there (as a dwelling for my name).’ (Neh.1:7-9)
Yes friends, that’s the beauty of worshipping our great and awesome God; we can remind Him of His promises when we fulfill the requirements! And we’ll end with these glorious words of Hosea – Israel’s reply to God’s admonishment.
‘Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten (stricken), and he will bind (bandage) us up. After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.
Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord (let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord): his going forth is prepared (established) as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.’ (Hos.6:1-3)
Yes my faithful brethren, regardless of the nature of our sins, sincere confession and repentance will bring forgiveness. Just remember that the Lord looks at our hearts, so mere words will not fool Him. Much LOVE!
…heartfelt confession…plus sincere repentance…equals graceful and merciful forgiveness…
22 Aug 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a false witness, a word to the wise, adrenaline, anger, angst, at our peril, aura of love, be about the Lord's business, by our words, Christians, condemned, confidence, conquerors, constructive purposes, curses, death and life, deceit, disgruntlement, enthusiasm, evil, excited to greet the new day, foibles, frailties, friends, frustration, glorious kingdom, going to work, humble servants, ignore them, in the power of the tongue, invincible, Jesus Christ, joy, judgement day, justified, lies, listening to God, LOVE, mass communication, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, nasty weather, negative behaviour, negative reactions, negatives, patience, peaceful, piercings of a sword, raise our spirits, refreshed, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, relaxed, renewed vitality, rest, righteousness., shall eat the fruit thereof, silence., slow to speak, slow to wrath, social media, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, swift to hear, talk inflames anger, technology, TGIM! Thank God it's Monday!, think before we talk, traffic jams, trials, truth, ungodly world, utilize the weekends, wake up devices, weary souls, wisdom
Proverbs 18:21. Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that LOVE it shall eat the fruit thereof.
And then it was Monday…with all the wake up devices going off around the world, and millions of people rolling over, muttering curses, steups’, chuhs, etc. in disgruntlement and frustration at the signal to get up and get ready for work!
What a sad state of affairs it is for the majority of the world’s population on a Monday morning; thinking about how lousy they feel, the traffic jams they will undoubtedly encounter, the nasty weather out there, the bosses and co-workers they have to put up with for another week, etc. etc.
Meanwhile, a handful of smart, peaceful, relaxed and refreshed individuals roll over, are excited to greet the new day, and simply declare: ‘TGIM! Thank God it’s Monday! Time to return to work and do my thing! Thank God for Mondays!’
For whatever reason that group doesn’t allow the many negatives to disturb them. Oh, I would like to say that they are a bunch of Christians, but I know that’s taking it a bit too far. (smile) But friends, until and unless we change our work systems, or utilize the weekends properly, preparing wisely for Monday, there’ll always be a lot of angst, anger, frustration and other negative reactions to getting up and going to work.
And the strange part is that the rest of the week doesn’t bring about such a rash of anger and disgruntlement as does Monday. Anyway, we working on it, and will eventually bring it down to a minority, but until then, let’s continue to sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn to raise our spirits and encourage us to be up and about the Lord’s business. So let’s belt it out with as much enthusiasm as we can muster, remembering that our choirmaster, Jesus, expects us to put on a good show.
As one now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Ah mih people, that wasn’t too bad, but just barely average. Jesus wasn’t thrilled, but neither was He terribly displeased, in His wonderful way of understanding our foibles and frailties. Now let’s keep that adrenaline fuelling our motors as we go out to meet the enemy in battle, paying close attention to the very important words of our Bit. ‘Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that LOVE it shall eat the fruit thereof.’
Oh my brethren, my brethren, those are words of such importance in a Christian’s life that we ignore them at our very peril! Remember what Jesus said yesterday? That we will all have to account for our words come the judgement day, and that we’ll either be justified or condemned by them. (Matt.12:36-37)
So please, I implore us to be very careful with our words. Let’s stop and think before we speak. James puts it thus: ‘Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. For the wrath of man worketh not (does not produce) the righteousness of God.’ (James 1:19-20) So true my friends.
And the scholars expand on those two verses. ‘1:19. This is a key verse because it expresses three topics that James develops later: hearing, verses 19-27; speaking, 3:1-12; and wrath, 4:1-12.’
‘1:20. Trials require silence and patience because talk inflames anger, and anger inflames talk. Anger also distracts from listening to God.’ And not listening to God is something we surely don’t want to be guilty of as believers!
Now let’s listen to Cousin Sol from his contrasts of the wise and the foolish. ‘He that speaketh truth showeth forth (declares) righteousness: but a false witness deceit. There is that (one who) speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is (promotes) health’ (Prov.12:17-18) More words of absolute truth friends!
And the scholars tell us. ‘12:18. Words have the power to penetrate where no sword can touch; for good or for evil. A wise man uses his tongue for constructive purposes.’
Now the first sentence of the scholars’ explanation is ever so true! Words can hurt and cut us to pieces more than any sword can. However, the last sentence is unfortunately not true of our current society, for nowadays we don’t use words constructively; we don’t care what we say or to whom we say them, we wield them more like a sword, intentionally out to hurt others.
We don’t seem to consider the feelings of others in this age of technology and mass communication. And I believe those supposed areas of progress bear a lot of the blame for that negative behaviour, since we didn’t talk as much or at such length before they allowed us to do so.
And we’ll end there for today. But please, please my people, let’s take time to stop and think before we talk, because the words we speak here on earth, will definitely play a big part come the judgement day in heaven. Much LOVE!
…a word to the wise is sufficient…and Christians are supposed to be wise…
18 Aug 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a positive outlook, abundance, affliction, almighty god, authority, awe-inspiring, belief, broken, call upon me, clear direction, confession, confidence, courage, creativity, curse, death, divine protection, faith, faithful promise, family, favour, fire, forgetfulness, friends, fulfillment, God cannot lie, God's supernatural wisdom, gold is tested, good friends, good health, great family, He is faithful that promised, heartfelt words, heavenly Father, hell, hold fast, hope, I cry unto thee daily, I put my hands to, I will deliver thee, in the day of trouble, in the name of Jesus, it is my people, Jesus Christ, lift up my soul, Lord and Saviour, Lord of all, Lucifer, merciful, mercy, Most High God Jehovah, negative word, negatives, our redeemer, plenteous in mercy, power, prayer, promotion, prosper, ready to forgive, reneged, righteousness., Scrip-Bit, self-control, self-discipline, silver is refined, soul, soul of thy servant, strong will, success, supernatural strength, supplications, talent, teach me thy way, test, the evil one, the goodness of God, the grave, The Lod is my God, the profession, the rhird part, the wonderful news of Jesus, thou shalt glorify me, through the fire, Thursday Blessings, trust, truth, try, undeserving children of men, uplifting sentiments, voice, wastes away, wavering, wisdom
Psalm 50:15. And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
A beautiful Thursday morning to you, my Scrip-Bit friends and family! It’s always good to come to you with encouraging and uplifting sentiments based on the wonderful news of Jesus, our Redeemer, Lord and Saviour…
And all God’s people declared a loud and grateful; ‘Praise the holy name of Jesus! Praise Him for His selfless sacrifice on our behalf at the cross of Calvary! For that, the Father gave Him authority over all. Therefore let every knee bow before Him, and let every tongue admit that He is Lord indeed! Amen.’
Yes friends, that’s how it ought to be, and how it will be at the end. No doubt about it! Jesus Christ has already defeated, the evil one, Lucifer, hell, death and the grave, so who’s there to stop Him from becoming Lord of all eh? Absolutely no one or nothing!
Now let’s get into the groove by declaring our Thursday blessings, for remember a blessing is not a blessing until it’s declared. So in one strong, loud, sincere and truthful voice let’s declare blessings over our lives.
‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Oh precious children of God, please don’t let those be only idle words spoken, but sincere, heartfelt words of hope and belief, for it’s only when we believe them that they have authority over our lives.
Now let’s see what our Bit has to offer. ‘And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.’
Ah Friends, that is such an awe-inspiring verse of scripture; a faithful promise of Almighty God, the Maker of everything in this world! Therefore it must be filled with the truth and power which emanates from our heavenly father. There’s absolutely no reason to doubt it.
As the Good Book so wisely advises: ‘Let us hold fast the profession (confession) of our faith (hope) without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised.’ (Heb.10:23)
Yes my brethren our God’s promises are ever faithful, for He cannot lie. He has never reneged on not even one, and will never renege on any, so please don’t be afraid to hold Him to them.
Now let’s check out a couple scriptures that exemplify our Bit, beginning with Bruh David’s immortal words from Psalm 86 – Teach me thy way, O Lord.
‘Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily (all day long). Rejoice, (make glad) the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. For thou, Lord art good, and ready to forgive, and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee. Give ear, O Lord, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications. In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me.’ (Ps.86:3-7)
And call upon the God of his forefathers did Bruh David – often and with deep, strong faith…And answer him did the Lord of heaven and earth with blessings and safeguards untold! Glory Hallelujah!
Likewise my people, will the Lord answer us if we call upon Him in our time of need. We just have to be faithful, persistent, persevering and patient. (smile) We can cry out like the sons of Korah did in Psalm 88 – A cry for deliverance from death.
‘Mine eye mourneth (wastes away) by reason of affliction: Lord, I have called daily upon thee, I have stretched out my hands unto thee. Wilt thou show (work) wonders to the dead? Shall the dead (the Spirits of the dead) arise and praise thee? Selah.
Shall thy LOVING-kindness be declared in the grave? or thy faithfulness in destruction? Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? But unto thee have I cried, O Lord; and in the morning shall my prayer prevent (come before) thee.’ (Ps.88:9-13)
Yuh see friends, despite all the negatives the psalmist writes about, he still insists that his prayers will be made each and every day to the Most High God Jehovah. Nothing is going to stop that from happening! And as faithful followers of Jesus Christ, we should be acting the same way.
Now let’s end with these words from the prophet Zechariah, from the chapter headlined – The cleansing of Jerusalem. ‘And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.
And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try (test) them as gold is tried (tested): they shall call on my name, and I will hear (answer) them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.’ (Zech.13:8-9)
What a beautiful promise friends! Now let’s go out and put it into action nuh… Let’s call upon our God with confidence, trust and faith, for that is the utmost height of wisdom! Much LOVE!
…oh…how great is the goodness of God to the undeserving children of men…
15 Aug 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a back up plan, addiction, alive and kicking, appear before God, aura of love, be persistent, Christian maturity, confidence, Creator of the universe, cry out to God, dreaming large, enlist God's help, enthusiastic, evil, excited, faith, filling my soul with love, friends, glorious kingdom, glory hallelujah, godless world, going to work, hope, humble servants, invincible, Jesus Christ, joy, lies, lustful purposes, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, my soul thirsteth for god, never give up, O Lord God Almighty, o my soul, obedient to God's will, peace, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, rest, salvation, share it with others, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, technically speaking, TGIM! Thank God it's Monday!, that will be the day1, the Holy Spirit is working in me, the living God, the worthless things of the world, trust, truth, ungodly world, where is thy God, why art thou cast down, wisdom
Psalm 42:2. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?
And as they swing their feet over the bed unto the floor, in the early morning hours, a majority of believers gladly declare: ‘TGIM! Thank God it’s Monday! I’m alive and kicking; kicking strong too! And I’m going to work! I’m going to work with joy and peace in my heart because Jesus is filling my soul with His LOVE and I just can’t wait to share it with others in this increasingly godless world! Oh thank God it’s Monday and the Holy Spirit is working its magic in me!’
Oh friends, as our Saviour expects of us, I’m dreaming large! What’s the point in dreaming if your dreams are small and easily accomplished eh? None at all! Our dreams must be big enough that we need to enlist the help of God to make them come true. And yuh better believe I do need God’s omnipotent help to make that one above there come true!
Hn! Believers waking up on a Monday Morning excited and enthusiastic to go to work! That will be the day! But I’m not giving up, because the Lord says we must be persistent and not give up. So technically speaking I’m just being obedient to God’s will. (smile) But fear not, we have a backup plan in place until we meet that plateau of Christian maturity; our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. So let’s sing it loud and proud nuh, in rich harmony and vocal excellence, so that our choirmaster Jesus will be proud of us.
As one earthly choir now, let’s sound heavenly: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Oh that was a beautiful rendition my people! You could see Jesus’ eyes light up, and He couldn’t help looking at the Father dancing in the aisles of the throne room, and proudly mouthing: ‘That’s my people!’
Yeh friends, now that we’re up and our motors are running smoothly, let’s go out and keep that joy running in heaven with our earthly actions nuh. It will please our Lord and Saviour no end, and also make others want to come to Him, seeking salvation and eternal life.
Now here’s our Bit. But let’s begin with the immortal words of the first verse. ‘As the hart (deer) panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?’
Ah friends, do we have that intense longing for God? I surely hope so, because if we don’t, life will never go as straight and smoothly as it ought to. We were made to have that intense longing my brethren. The Lord made us for His glorification, not for our own sinful and lustful purposes. However, we’ve allowed the world to take away that longing for our Creator and replace it with not only a longing, but more like an addiction for the worthless things of the world.
That’s not very wise my people. And the sad part is that many of us, even in the rough times refuse to cry out to Almighty God for help because of our proud and haughty souls. The writer of the psalm though had a very different strategy. Listen to him after our Bit.
‘My tears have been my meat (food) day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God? When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude. I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday (a pilgrim feast). Why art thou cast down (bowed down), O my soul? And why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance (presence).’ (Ps.42:3-5)
Ah precious people of God, you’ll notice that though the psalmist was shaking it pretty rough, he never gave up on the God of his fathers. He still encouraged himself to hope in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to yet praise Him for the help of His presence. Oh friends, are we thus inclined in our sorrowful times to keep on praising our Creator?
It only makes sense my brethren, seeing that in the big picture, He is the provider of all that we have. As we said in in our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, He is the Creator of the universe and all therein, so who else is more qualified for us to turn to in our sorrows and problems eh? NOBODY!
And we’ll end with these words of encouragement and trust from Psalm 84. ‘How amiable are thy tabernacles (lovely are thy dwellings), O Lord of hosts! My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.’ (Ps:84:1-2)
Yes my fellow believers, let us never be afraid or too proud to cry out to Almighty God in times of need, for it is the only reaction that makes sense. Much LOVE!
…one truth from the Bible…is worth more than all the wisdom of man…
11 Aug 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a positive outlook, abundance, blessing, boredom, break asunder, breakdown of communication, breath, broken right now, brutal, clear direction, communicate, courage, crapaud smoke yuh pipe, creativity, critical attitudes, curse, didn't care, didn't understand, different human beings, divine protection, divorce, earthly tenure, embarrassed in public, engagement, fairy tale, family, favour, friends, fulfillment, gives life, God is in control, grin and bear it, happily ever after, harmony, harsh, He said, health, his eyelids test, his eyes behold, ignorantly worship, imprisoned, in the name of Jesus, in the northern climes, inadequacy, infiltration, live for Christ, lonely, Lord of heaven and earth, made with hands, marriage, negative word, no backbone, no belly, pray for relief, preoccupied, problems, promotion, push-away, Rehoboam, reminiscent of life, Ruth Harms Calkin, self-control, self-discipline, self-pity, selfish, She said, splitsville, stifled her dreams, strong will, success, suffering, summer, supernatural strength, talent, temples, the children of men, the Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord's throne, the One Year Book of Bible Promises, the unknown God, three-ring circus, throne, Thursday's Blessings, tragic, unappreciated, wallowed, wedding, what god has joined together, wisdom
Psalm 11:4. The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord’s throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try (test), the children of men.
Well friends, another scorcher is set for today! It’s truly summer in the northern climes. And still no signs of heavenly blessings. But what to do eh? Not much, but grin and bear it, try to stay cool and pray for some relief ASAP. (smile) Anyway, life goes on as it should because our great God is still in control.
Now here is a poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin, that I just had to share because it’s so reflective and reminiscent of life in these sad and troubled times. It’s called ‘He Said – She Said.’
And it goes like this. ‘Another marriage is shattered, Lord. The divorce will be final next week. He said it was the breakdown of communication And the subtle infiltration of boredom.
She said it was an accumulation of things. He said she was unnecessarily preoccupied With home and children and activities.
She said he stifled her dreams And ignored her achievements. He said he felt imprisoned, restricted – That night after night he got the old push-away.
She said he was harsh and brutal And he often embarrassed her in public. He said her critical attitudes Contributed to his sense of inadequacy.
She said she felt lonely and unappreciated With no claim to personal identity. He said she wallowed in self-pity And refused to acknowledge her benefits. She said he was thriftless and irresponsible.
He said she didn’t understand. She said he didn’t care. Lord, how tragic. Through all the wearisome years Neither of them asked what YOU said.’
Ah friends, indeed how tragic is such a scene! But unfortunately it’s being played out numerous times in our current society that has no backbone or belly and can’t seem to communicate properly, although we are in an age of exceptional communication devices and means.
And we all know that marriages have problems because they include selfish and different human beings, but too often the petty statements like those above are used to dissolve, to break asunder what God has joined together. Marriage is supposed to be holy and sanctified, but that certainly doesn’t seem to be the case nowadays.
People seem to rush into marriage nowadays without thinking properly about it, and thus as soon as the first headache appears, everybody is ready to call it splitsville. To a certain extent I blame our society which embraces the fairy tale of getting married and living happily ever after.
That’s all we teach our children, but they have no idea of the reality that marriage is a three-ring circus; the engagement ring, the wedding ring, and then the suffering. (smile) Now that might be putting it too harshly, but the fairy tale of endless harmony is also too unreal.
Ah friends, unless the Lord is present within a marriage it won’t be successful. That’s why the biblical promise for that poem is a reflection of king Rehoboam’s life. ‘And he did evil because he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord (it was not his basic purpose).’ (2 Chr.12:14)
However, we won’t get into the problems of marriage, because everyone will have their own take on it. So since it’s Thursday, let’s get positive and declare our Thursday Blessings so that we can get alive and truly live for Christ, for remember a blessing is not a blessing until it’s been spoken.
All together now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance!
I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment!
I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Oh my people, what a wonderful, awesome, mighty and LOVING God we serve and worship! No other faith can do what we’ve just done; declare positive blessings over our lives and sincerely expect them to come true.
And all of that is made possible partly because of our Bit. ‘The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord’s throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try (test), the children of men.’
You better had believe that my brethren, else crapaud smoke yuh pipe, you’re out of luck, you’ll be left behind!
And to end the writing on this Bit, let’s quickly look at a couple of scriptures that corroborate it. First up is the declaration of Stephen when he was on trial. ‘Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool:
What house will ye build me? Saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest? Hath not my hand made all these things?’ (Acts 8: 48-50) There Stephen puts together Isaiah’s saying (Is.66:1,2), Jesus’ words, (Matt.5:34), and those of the psalmist (Ps.102:25)
And finally, the words of Bruh Paul in Athens on Mars Hill talking to the Athenians about the altar with the inscription ‘To the Unknown God. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship (worship without knowing); him declare I unto you.
God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth life, and breath, and all things.’ (Acts 17:23-25)
Yes friends, the Lord doesn’t need anything from us, but we need everything from Him. Please, let’s remember that as we go about His business today and everyday. Much LOVE!
…unless a man’s eyes and heart are turned toward Almighty God…his earthly tenure will not be successful…
08 Aug 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a broken spirit, a cheerful mind, a merry heart, adrenalin, afflicted, antidote, anxiety, aura of love, balance, brittle, caterwauling, Christains, confidence, doeth good, drieth the bones, enthusiasm, evil, faith, first priority, friends, glorious kingdom, heaviness in the heart, holy spirit, humble servants, invincible, Jesus Christ, joy, lies, lift the world, like a medicine, LOVE, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, mountain-moving faith, peace, put a smile on our faces, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, revitalizing, share the Love of Jesus, spiritual armour, spread the good news of Christ, steadfast faith, taunts, TGIM! Thank God it's Monday!, the evil one, the human psyche, Top o' the morn, truth, ungodly world, warm the cockles of the heart, wiles, win heathen souls for Jesus, wisdom
Proverbs 17:22. A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.
Well top o’ this Monday morn to all you faithful believers in Jesus Christ! And it would be wonderful and warm the cockles of His heart, if we all could shout ‘TGIM! Thank God is Monday! Another week to win heathen souls for Jesus! Glory be!’
Oh my people, I know that’s not going to happen anytime soon, but I keep on dreaming of it happening not too far in the distant future. One of these days we all will wake up feeling good, instead of being weary and tired. We would have found balance in our weekend, and we’d be enthused to go out and spread the good news of Jesus Christ!
But in the meantime, until that day comes along, we’ll just continue singing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with lots of vim and vigour. Altogether now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Now that was a fairly decent rendition my brethren, not too much caterwauling, as we often do. (smile) Jesus, our choir master, was happy with it, and so were we. Now let’s pull it all together nuh, by using the high level of adrenalin flowing through our bodies, and the strong belief we have in Jesus to create some mountain-moving faith, which we can then unleash by getting out into the world and showing the unbeliever how true Christians behave.
And a good example of that is contained in the wise words of Cousin Sol, in our Bit for today. ‘A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.’ And that is indisputable truth my friends!
The scholars explain it thus. ’17:22. A cheerful mind is revitalizing to the entire person.’
And I’m sure all of us have noticed the revitalizing effect that a glad or cheerful heart has on our basic demeanour. When our heart is merry we feel good, strong; physically, mentally and emotionally, like we can lift the world on our shoulders. But when we’re sad and sorrowful our bodies and minds feel brittle and unable to do the simplest chore.
And that’s how the evil one would like to see us remain all the time. But when Jesus is our first priority, we will not stay down for long, because by His very nature and philosophy Jesus is a positive thinker and all He says or does works towards our positive upliftment.
And Cousin Sol has more to say on the matter. Listen to him as he contrasts the wise and the foolish. ‘Heaviness in the heart of man (anxiety) maketh it stoop (causes depression): but a good word maketh it glad.’ (Prov.12:25)
And the scholars tell us: ’12:25. A good word is a kind word that cheers the heart.’
Now how many of us believers have several opportunities each and every day to offer kind words to our fellow man, but don’t do it eh? Way too many of us!
Ah friends, it doesn’t take a whole lot to lift someone’s heart or spirit yuh know. A smile, a kind word or greeting; a simple ‘Hi, hello! How are you?’ can work miracles in our lives, especially when we’re not feeling up to scratch. Holding open a door for someone, or even allowing them to go in front of you in the line if they have fewer items than you, also works wonders on the human psyche.
And Cousin Sol continues with his wise words, re a cheerful heart. ‘A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance (face): but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.’ (Prov.15:13)
And how often have we all experienced that eh; someone or something makes us sorrowful and our spirits refuse to be comforted or lifted up, sadly entrenched in a dreadful malaise, a pity party? Too often I suspect.
And once more we turn to the wise words of Cousin Sol on the topic. ‘All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast.’ (Prov.15:15)
Oh, I doubt he’s talking about a feast in terms of eating, but surely a person with a joyful heart will be happy most of the time. Oh friends, this current world is in such a mess that many of us are running scared and anxious about our lives, or jobs, our children. And we ought to be concerned about all those things, but we must not let them steal our joy.
As believers, our strength comes from our joy in the Lord, and once we lose that joy, we lose our strength. And there’s nothing that Lucifer wants to steal from us more than that joy and thus our strength; have us frail and vulnerable so that he can have his way with us.
So please, as we go out today, to face the wicked world, let’s make sure that there is true joy in our hearts, put a smile on our faces and share the LOVE of Jesus with all we come into contact with! It will surely make our world a better place. Much LOVE!
…LOVE is the antidote for most ailments…
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