12 Dec 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: action, body of Christ, Christ, Christ's Church, Christian Church, Christian relationships, Christian unity, church's benefit, comparison, contribute to the church's growth, dissension, diversity, divine ruler, divine wisdom, Ephesians, eradicate, fact of life, Father of all, feeling good, fit of anger, further His righteous kingdom, future certainty, gift of Christ, glad, glorify God, grace, grateful, heavenly destination, hissy fits, Holy Communion, holy spirit, human nature, individually, inferior, jealousy, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, many members, measure, mecahnical things, negative consequences, one baptism, One Body, one faith, one God, one hope, ONE Lord, one spirit, Oneness, oneness among Christians, option, problem, proud, purpose, rampant, rant, rebellious children, resentment, root in our hearts, salvation, serious rot, serve God, software, spiritual gifts, spiritual life, splendour, spoiled brats, superior, tantrums, temperamental equipment, the body is one, thrives, totality, Triune God, trust in Christ, understanding, unity of the Spirit, yesteryear
1 Corinthians 12:12. For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
Ah Friends, as I keep saying, when it’s not one thing, it’s always another! The past few days the main C.P. unit of my computer has been acting up, throwing hissy fits and tantrums, and having solved that, now today it’s the printer.
Earlier on, it kept telling me that the yellow cartridge was empty, or it couldn’t detect it. But I know it’s full, and only a couple of days ago I printed stuff. So I put something to print, but it kept telling me the same nonsense. Then, like it asked, I took out the yellow cartridge a few times and put it back in ‘slowly’ as advised. But I kept getting the same result.
Then in a small fit of anger I slapped it a couple times. And lo and behold, it finally recognized the yellow cartridge and printed the document without a problem. Oh Friends, I had to chuckle, but it’s the same thing we need to do with some of the spoiled brats we have running around our society.
The funny thing though is it’s now telling me that the yellow cartridge is full and the black one, which was just showing as being full, is now very low.
Ah Lord eh! Now why would I want to have all that temperamental equipment around me eh? Software is now running everything, and like rebellious children, at times it chooses to do its own thing.
Oh for the wonderful mechanical things of yesteryear! At least when they acted up, you knew it was a mechanical problem and had some idea of where to look for it. And that’s my rant for the day! (smile)
Now let’s get to our Bit, the same as yesterday, for there is more scripture to be shared on it. ‘For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.’
Now yesterday we saw where Bruh Paul declared the ONENESS of our great and wonderful Triune God, in both the Holy Communion and the Holy Spirit. Today, let’s listen as he tells the Ephesians about that ONE GOD.
‘There is ONE body, and ONE Spirit, even as ye are called in ONE hope of your calling; ONE Lord, ONE faith, ONE baptism, ONE God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.’ (Eph.4:4-7)
And here are some of the scholars’ thoughts on the scripture. ‘4:4-6. This passage elaborates on the “unity of the Spirit” (v.3). This ONENESS among Christians refers to having (1) one body – the one body of Christ, the Christian church; (2) one Spirit – the same Holy Spirit who imparts the same spiritual life to all believers;
(3) one hope – all Christians share the same future certainty and are headed toward the same heavenly destination; (4) one Lord – all submit to the same divine ruler, Jesus; (5) one faith – all believers have placed the same trust in Christ for salvation;
(6) one baptism – Holy Spirit baptism at the time of salvation (1 Cor. 12-13); and (7) one God and Father – all believers in Christ have the same God and heavenly Father.’
Oh Friends, I couldn’t put it any better, and I hope that ONENESS that ought to exist in all Christian relationships has finally found root in our hearts, because without that most necessary understanding, and subsequent action, Christ’s church, His LOVE Revolution would simply fail.
Now here is some more info from the scholars’ that ought to help us better understand the scripture that we’ve read. ‘4:7. But draws a sharp contrast with the preceding “unity” (v.3), expressed in the seven fold “one” of verses 4-6 and in the fourfold “all” of verse 6.
The contrast in verses 7-16 shows that there is a diversity within Christian unity: while the church is one, there is a variety of spiritual gifts within, given for the church’s benefit. Grace is a spiritual gift. Every one of us has been granted some spiritual capability to serve God and contribute to the church’s growth.
According to the measure of the gift of Christ: Jesus determines both what gift each believer is given, and the amount (measure) of that gift. Two persons may be given the same gift, but one may have a greater measure of that gift than does the other.’
Oh Friends, that’s just a natural fact of life that as true believers we must learn to accept, and stop letting it build jealousy, resentment and dissension amongst us, because that’s exactly what happens when we look at the gifts of others and compare them to ours.
In the long run we’ll either get too proud and figure that we’re better than them, or feel inferior, thinking we’re not good enough. I know it’s difficult to do, because human nature simply thrives on comparison, and unfortunately each option has negative consequences.
But as fellow believers we must learn to realize that it’s not about us, individually, but about us as a totality, Christ’s church, and resist and let go of whatever negative feelings may crop up. Sadly though these negative comparisons and resentment and jealousies are rampant in the church.
Oh my people, they’re like a serious rot in Christ’s body that we need to eradicate as soon as possible, because if it gets any worse, the church will eventually fall apart, and that’s something we can’t afford to let happen on our watch.
So my brethren, as of today, let’s stop comparing gifts and whatever else that causes jealousy and resentment in the body of Christ nuh. And instead let’s start feeling good and glad and grateful for all the gifts that Christ has given us, so that we can accomplish our purpose here on earth, namely to glorify God and further His righteous kingdom.
Now that’s divine wisdom in all its splendour! Much LOVE!
…in Christ’s church…self…should be a little thought of or used term…
10 Dec 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: ability to choose, ability to think, advice, affectionate, anger, avenge not, believers, bless, brotherly LOVE, Bruh Paul, bundle of good, Christ's Church, Christian nation, complain, conceit, condescend, curse not, diligence, dissensions, disturbed sleep, dividing, divisions, drifitng apart, enemy, estimation, evil, evil for evil, eye teeth, feed, feel rotten, fervent, followers of Jesus christ, functions, give drink, glorify God, grow, growth, harmony, heap coals of fire, honesty, hospitality, human animal, humble, hypocrisy, in christ, in the end, Jesus Christ, live peaceably, longevity, LOVE, Love God, LOVE your neighbour, low estate, meaningful, members, message, miserable, needs, negative stuff, not always easy, One Body, option, overcome evil with good, overcome of eveil, patient, peace, perplexed, persecute, petty jealousies, petty woes, please Jesus, politice, prayer, preference, preseverance, prized creation, problems, rampant, rebels, recompense, reconciled, rejoicing in hope, repay, resentment, right decision, Romans 12, rumours of war, sacrifice, sad, saints, selfish, serving the Lord, sinless life, slothful, steadfast, talk a good talk, thirst, tired, tribulation, truth, ungodly world, unity of brethren, values of God, values of the world, vengeance hunger, walk, walk in sync, wars, weep, wisdom, work together, works out for good, wrath
Romans 12:4-5. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office (function): So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one (individually) members one of another.
Oh Friends, have you ever experienced the unparalleled joy of going to bed feeling fairly okay, but waking up a few hours later feeling terrible? Well I experienced that joy this morning.
Chuh! I went to bed at a decent hour, feeling good enough, but lo and behold when I got up… brother did I ever feel rotten, tired and miserable! I could barely get myself together. I don’t know if it’s because the phone rang during the night and disturbed my sleep, but I sure had a hard time coming around.
Enough of my petty woes though, a lot of people would give their eye-teeth (smile) to have my problems, compared to their own. And I truly don’t have that much to complain about, for the Lord’s been looking after me fairly well.
Now that doesn’t mean it’s always easy, but it always works out for good in the end. And that is basically the message Bruh Paul is trying to convey to us in our Bit, which continues from yesterday.
‘For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office (function): So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one (individually) members one of another.’
Oh my brethren, as members of Christ’s church, though we have different gifts and different functions we desperately need to work together for it to be successful! That’s the ONLY way the church will ever grow and become meaningful in this evil and ungodly world!
Look at it nuh Friends, everything else that the Lord made without brains function perfectly in His universe. However, the human animal, His most prized creation, the one thing that He made with the ability to think, constantly rebels against Him.
We cannot seem to work together in peace, LOVE and harmony, as He desires. Even those of us who proclaim to be followers of Jesus Christ, who profess to keep the two great commandments – LOVE God, and LOVE your neighbour as yourself – we’re way too often hypocritical on the matter.
And sadly, that hypocrisy seems to be rampant in Christ’s church, where it has absolutely no place. Why is that eh? Possibly because we’re still too selfish, still holding on to the foolish values of the world as our templates for life, instead of the values of God.
Now let’s continue from where we left off yesterday, with Bruh Paul’s advice to the Romans about what should be happening in their church.
‘Be kindly affectioned (affectionate) one to another with brotherly LOVE; in honour preferring (giving preference to) one another; Not slothful (lagging in diligence) in business; fervent (boiling over) in spirit; serving the Lord;
Rejoicing in hope; patient (persevering) in tribulation; continuing instant (steadfastly) in prayer; Distributing to the necessity (needs) of saints (believers); given to hospitality. Bless them which persecute you: bless (speak well of), and curse not.
Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not (don’t sent your minds on) high things; but condescend to men of low estate (associate with the humble). Be not wise in your own conceits (estimation).
Recompense to (repay) no man evil for evil. Provide things honest (have regard for good things) in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in (depends on) you, live peaceably with all men.
Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink; for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.’ (Rom.12:10-20)
Oh my people, how much of all that can we say is truly happening in our world eh? Not a whole lot, otherwise there would not be as many wars and rumours of war.
And what about Christ’s church eh? How much of that wise advice are we showing in the church of today?
Unfortunately not a whole lot either, because if we were doing a good job the anger, resentment, petty jealousies, politics and all the other negative stuff would not be as rampant as they are, and the divisions and dissensions would thus be much less amongst our Christian nation.
But sadly, everyday we hear about more negative stuff happening in the church, and instead of coming together as we ought to, we’re dividing and drifting further and further apart.
As I said yesterday, Jesus must be sad and perplexed about how to solve our problems. But my people, He did the best He could; He did His part by sacrificing His sinless life so that we could be reconciled to the Father. Now we’re foolishly behaving as though we never needed that option, and it’s not important.
Jesus can’t come and hold everybody’s hands yuh know. It’s now up to us to make the right decision. That’s why our Creator gave us a mind and the ability to choose.
Oh my fellow believers, we talk a very good talk, but our walk surely doesn’t reflect that talk. That’s our major problem. And until we get both our talk and walk in sync, make them jive, Christ’s church will never come together as it should.
Now we’ll end our discourse today, the same way Bruh Paul ends Romans 12, with some of the best advice we can ever receive. ‘Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.’ (Rom.12:21)
Now that my brethren is all the different kinds of wisdom and truth wrapped up in one small, but very powerful package! Let’s endeavour to truly heed it nuh, to sincerely adopt it in our lives, for it will do us a bundle of good.
And even more importantly, it will please Jesus and glorify our heavenly Father, the main purpose for which we were originally created. Much LOVE!
…the unity of the brethren…is essential…of the utmost importance… for the longevity and growth of Christ’s church…
P.S. In yesterday’s Bit I left an empty bracketed space between ‘volitional caring’ in the scholars’ note, because I wanted to find a simpler synonym for it, but with all the technical problems I forgot to fill it.
It basically means ‘will or desire,’ a caring that we raise up from deep within our very souls for others. And that’s something we very much need to do these days my people. Much LOVE!
10 Nov 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abuse, almighty god, atrocities, belief, Bible, bounden duty, Calvary's cross, Catholic Church, christianity, compassionate, confidence, conquer the heathen, corrupt things, dark world, death, destruction, die a thousand deaths, divine wisdom, divisions, eternal life, evil doers, evil ways, faith, flavour, flood, foolishness, forgiveness, glorify God, God's favour, good for nothing, good news of Christ, good works, grace, grace of God, heals wounds, heaven, hypocrisy, inhumanity, Jesus, Jesus' work, lack of understanding, laid waste, let your light shine, light of the world, Lord and Saviour, LOVE Revolution, Lucifer, Martin Luther, mercy, naivety, negativity, new beginning, Noah, one true God, Peace and Love, persecution, personal relationship, petty grievances, preservative, prosperous land, redeeming work, Reformation, religious attitudes, salt of the earth, salvation, show of love, therapeutic remedy, things of God, trodden underfoot, trust, trust in God, unbelievers, unity, war, wonder of wonders
Matthew 5:14. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.
Ah Friends, our world is in such a sad state of disrepair and confusion, it hurts to the very core. There are so many more negative than positive happenings, that when you look around all you can see is man’s terrible and ever increasing inhumanity to his fellow man. Not too long ago, it was reckoned in millions, but now it’s counted in billions.
Ah Lord eh! And the atrocities taking place in our supposed civilized world are innumerable and real, real… Hn! I can’t seem to find a word worse than atrocious nuh, so I guess atrocious it is. And the sad part is that many of these atrocities are being committed in the name of some god or the other. And wonder of wonders, all these gods are supposed to be deities which exude peace and LOVE as their main platforms!
Chuh! I guess that’s what I get for reading the newspapers, because they’re simply littered with all the negative aspects of our world, since that’s what is considered worthwhile news today. Very few of the relatively few good things happening in our world are ever reported.
I have to stop here and chuckle yes Friends, because when I was growing up, I could never understand about the constant warfare reported in the Bible and the History Books. And, fortunately or unfortunately, I still don’t understand them, or those happening today. I don’t see what real or useful purpose they serve, for it’s all death and destruction.
So you won the war, big deal! Numerous amounts of your citizens are dead, including your friends and family, your once proud and prosperous land is laid waste… But you won the war, so that makes you a mighty conqueror!
Steups! Pure foolishness Friends! I think I’ll just remain in my lack of understanding and naivety yes. (smile) The Lord might have been wiser though to let all of mankind perish in the flood, because even with that new beginning through Noah and his family, it didn’t take us long to revert to our truly evil ways, and it seems that since then, each generation has gotten progressively worse.
We claim that the Lord made us to have a good personal relationship with Him, but how much of humanity is doing that eh, even amongst the ones that do know about Him? The corrupting things of the world are having a much greater impact on mankind than the things of God, which do not corrupt.
So where does that leave us, eh mih breddren? It leaves the proportionate few who sincerely believe in the ONE TRUE GOD of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the God of LOVE, mercy, grace, forgiveness, salvation and eternal life, to work harder at spreading the good news of Christ and His redeeming work.
Oh Friends, we definitely and desperately need to outwork and outshine Lucifer and his evil hordes, if we truly desire to bring success to Jesus’ LOVE Revolution. To do that though, we need to develop an extraordinary amount of unbelievable faith to be able to put up with all the abuse, persecution and negativity thrown at us by the numerous evil doers of this world.
We need a faith as talked about by Martin Luther (1483-1546) the German minister who played a large part in bringing about the Protestant Reformation a few centuries ago. Now when I went on the Net to check out the dates of his birth and death, I happened to come across the same quote that I planned to share, but in a slightly different form. I considered trying to put them together, but couldn’t get it to work properly, so I’ll just give us both versions.
Version 1, from my Devotional. ‘Faith is a living and unshakeable confidence, a belief in the grace of God so assured that a man would die a thousand deaths for its sake.’
And version 2, from the Net. ‘Faith is a living, bold trust in God’s grace, so certain of God’s favour that it would risk death a thousand times trusting in it.’
Wow! Oh my fellow believers, which ever version you choose, it sure calls for a lot of faith! And right now it’s also obvious that our faith is still too small to successfully conquer the heathen. Without great faith, Martin Luther would not have had the ability to fight the Catholic Church, to stand strong and bring about the Protestant Reformation, which was, and still is, possibly the biggest change in religious attitudes since Christ birthed Christianity.
And Friends, with the great power that evil doers currently possess in our world, it will take a great upheaval, something akin to the Reformation, to bring the heathen to Christ. That’s where the LOVE Revolution comes in my people. We have to put on the greatest show of LOVE the world has seen, since Jesus sacrificed His sinless live on Calvary’s cross, for us to get the world’s attention and cause them to want what we so joyfully possess, to come to Christ to gain salvation and eternal life.
And I’m sorry, but the truth be told, we’re definitely not doing such a good job at it right now. There are too many divisions, too many petty grievances, too much hypocrisy, and simply not enough unity for unbelievers to take us seriously.
So what’s the answer eh mih breddren? We just have to get serious about doing Jesus’ work, to dig down deeper in our souls, find ways to strengthen out faith and trust in Almighty God, so that we’re willing to die a thousand deaths on His behalf.
That means Friends, we need to be two things. The first is to be a bright and genuine reflection of our Bit. ‘Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.’ For as Jesus explains: ‘Neither do men light a candle (lamp), and put it under a bushel (basket), but on a candlestick (lamp stand); and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.’ (Matt.5:15)
And secondly, we truly have to be the salt of the earth! Why is that, you ask?
Listen to Jesus, and all of this comes from the Sermon on the Mount. ‘Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour (flavour), wherewith (by what) shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.’ (Matt.5:13)
Yes Friends, salt adds flavour to our food, acts as a preservative, heals wounds and salt water is the best therapeutic remedy in the world. That means we have to be bright and flavourful, compassionate, comforting, healing wounds, whether physically or psychologically, add taste, flavour and light to our bland, tasteless, dark world.
Yes my people, unless we are the true salt and light of this God-forsaken world, then things will just keep going downhill, which we certainly cannot afford to let happen.
So therefore we need to take Jesus’ advice very seriously. ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt.5:16)
And that my fellow believers is divine wisdom straight from our Leader, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. So please let’s put it into action as soon as possible nuh. It’s our bounden duty. Much LOVE!
…until the followers of Jesus truly become…the salt of the earth…and the light of the world…His church won’t make serious inroads into Lucifer’s camp…
06 Nov 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adversaries, adversity, afraid of life, allergies, antagonistic behaviour, apparition, ashamed, be not afraid, be of good cheer, Bethsaida, buffoons, bully-boys, changed his tune, Christian ways, comforting words, confess, confounded, crack cocaine, deceit, disgrace, do not be dismayed, encouraging words, ever-faithful promises, evil, evil world, fight the good fight, fighting tooth and nail, five loaves, five thousand, followers of Christ, forgiven, ghost, glorify God, gospel truth, help, in vain, inappropriate behaviour, incensed, Jesus Christ, Jesus' miracles, Jesus' sacrifices, laughingstock, live by faith not by sight, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, LOVE of God, mark of true believers, misdemeanours, more than conquerors, overcome the world, palsy, peace, perish, personal fiefdom, positive, pray, prayer, public drunkenness, real leader, resign, restoration of Israel, right hand of righteousness, rights, scaredy cats, separate us, sins, stand strong, steadfast faith, strength, strenthening one's spirit, strive, suffer persecution, take comfort, Toronto mayor, treachery, tribulation, two fishes, under the weather, undesirables, uplifting, victory, walk on water, we get the government we deserve, won the battle
Mark 6:50. For they all saw him, and were troubled. and immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.
Oh Friends, the ole fella’s a bit under the weather this Wednesday fall morning. I got up from a good sleep with my nasal allergies acting up some, which caused my spirit to fall a tad, but the Bit has to go out under any circumstance… except death obviously. (smile)
And I have no doubt that the Lord will enable me to write something sensible that will encourage His followers and glorify Him.
And we’ll begin with the latest story that’s making world headline from Toronto; that’s the inappropriate, ‘unmayoral’ behaviour of Toronto’s Mayor, Rob Ford.
I have to shake my head and sigh, ‘Ah Lord eh.’ That’s because for several months now there’s been talk et al about a video showing him smoking crack cocaine with some youngsters from the Somali community, his hanging out with other undesirables, drunkenness in public and a host of other misdemeanours.
Obviously he claimed that none of them were true. But apparently yesterday he changed his tune and confessed to the crack cocaine smoking.
This deserves another heartfelt sigh and ‘Ah Lord eh,’ for all that the two Ford boys, the mayor and his brother Doug, a councilman, have done since they were elected two years ago, is cause untold and unnecessary controversy and make the city a laughingstock around the world with their antagonistic behaviour.
I stopped paying much attention to them long ago because they behave like a pair of arrogant, bully-boy buffoons, and then they get on their radio talk show and make matters even worse. It even seems that brother Doug is the de facto mayor, because in all the nonsense, you’ve heard more from him than the supposed mayor.
They both should resign, but neither of them seems to have even considered that action. And sadly, it’s been said that Rob Ford has a good chance of again winning the mayor’s position in an election scheduled for the not too distant future.
The good Lord forbid! Then they’ll truly feel that the city is their personal fiefdom and commit even worse actions. But just remember Friends, that we always get the government we deserve. And that’s enough of the foolish Fords. I’ve spent more time on them than I’d planned.
Let’s get to something more important, positive and uplifting like our Bit. ‘For they all saw him, and were troubled. and immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.’
Yes mih Friends, powerful and encouraging words from a real leader, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!
He spoke those words to His disciples when He came walking over the water towards them, as they were fighting to stay afloat and alive in their little boat amidst a terrible storm.
All of this happened after He’d fed the five thousand with five loaves and two fishes. He then compelled the disciples to get into the boat and cross over to Bethsaida, while He sent away the multitudes, then went up into a mountain to pray.
Please note my people, that everyday Jesus got up early and prayed, strengthening His Spirit, before intermingling with the crowds. He also took time to refresh His Spirit in prayer after engaging the multitudes. We would be wise to do likewise; pray before and after our engaging the world and all its evil, deceit and treachery.
It’s amazing and also interesting that after seeing Jesus do the feeding miracle earlier on, the disciples were still terribly afraid when they saw Him walking on the water towards them. In their abject fear, they believed it was an apparition, a ghost. That’s until Jesus spoke those gentle, encouraging and comforting words: ‘Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.’
Oh Friends, it wasn’t the first or last time that Jesus said those comforting words, ‘Be of good cheer.’ He first said it to a man sick of the palsy (paralyzed), lying on his bed, before He healed him. ‘Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.’ (Matt.9.2b)
And He repeated it again in His famous words to the disciples, and by extension us: ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33)
Oh my people, we couldn’t ask for more encouraging and comforting words than those! But yet we’re still afraid of life and what the world brings against us. If we weren’t, we’d be fighting tooth and nail to change our disgusting, deteriorating, evil world. But unfortunately Lucifer and his wicked bully-boys have us scared of what they’ll do to us if we stand up and seriously fight for our Christian ways and rights.
Oh my brethren, as true followers of Christ, we cannot go around living a scared and half-hearted life! Jesus has already given us the victory, we now have to accept it, and behave as though we’ve won the battle, remember we live by faith and not by sight. Otherwise all Jesus’ sacrifices on our behalf would be in vain. And we certainly don’t want that to happen.
The fact of the matter is that long before Jesus even came to earth, many times the Lord instructed His people not to be afraid. Listen to these powerful, encouraging and comforting words from Isaiah, talking of the final restoration of Israel.
‘Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded (disgraced): they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish.’ (Is.41:10-11)
Ah mih breddren, what else do we expect our God to do eh – come and hold our hands and lead us like little children? Chuh! We’re big children, full of talk in good times, but we behave like ‘scaredy’ cats when adversity arises.
Oh Friends, I’m imploring us today to get rid of that fearful attitude and scared mentality. Instead let’s staunchly accept and believe the ever-faithful promises of our Lord and Saviour like true believers should.
As Bruh Paul tells Timothy: ‘Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.’ (2 Tim.3:12)
But then he encourages the Roman church with these words. ‘Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that LOVED us.’ (Rom.8:37) And that’s the gospel truth people!
Oh my fellow believers, we shall suffer adversity here on earth, but through the steadfast faith and strength in the promises of Jesus, who’s already conquered the world, we too shall conquer our adversity and adversaries. Please take comfort in that and let’s stand strong and fight the good fight in His Name. That’s the mark of true believers! Much LOVE!
…nothing can separate us from the LOVE OF GOD…which is in Christ Jesus our Lord… (Rom.8:39b)
20 Oct 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: believers getting together, Belshazzar, breath of life, breath of the Almighty, Darius the Mede, deliverance of Jerusalem, devotions, every living thing, exalted, foundation of the earth, fowls of the air, friends, glorify God, glory, God of Abraham, God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, God's Spirit, gods of silver and gold, hallucinating, heavenly wisdom, humble heart, ignorantly worship, Isaiah, Israel, Israel's Redeemer, loving kindness, Mars Hill, men's hands, mercy, Nebuchadnezzar, omnipotent god, oracle, poignant scriptures, Praise the Lord, pride, prophecy, prophet Zechariah, singing songs of praise, songs of thanksgiving, speak to the earth, Spirit of God, Sunday, temples, the breath of all mankind, the dew of heaven, the hand of the Lord, the Lord of heaven and earth, the only true God, the spirit of man, the unknown God, time flies when you're having fun, time waits for no one, uprightness of heart, utter knowledge, worshipping
Isaiah 42:5. Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein.
Oh Friends, I must be hallucinating yes, because it couldn’t be Sunday already. (smile) It was just Sunday a few days ago. True. But I guess that’s what they mean by time flies when you’re having fun, and also time waits for no one.
However, regardless of what day it is, we’re grateful to be alive and kicking due to the mercy and LOVING-kindness of our omnipotent God! And under any circumstances whatsoever, that calls for a mighty shout of ‘Praise the Lord!’
And what better way to praise Him than by getting together with other believers and worshipping Him; singing songs of praise and thanksgiving this Sunday morning to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the ONE AND ONLY TRUE GOD in this entire universe, who created it and all therein.
And if you don’t believe me, then listen to our Bit: ‘Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein.’
Yes Friends, our wonderful and mighty God is responsible for creating the heavens and the earth; for giving life and spirit to all who walk thereon. Now let’s look at some scripture that heartily agrees with our Bit. Listen first to the prophet Zechariah, as he prophetically ruminates (smile) on the future deliverance of Jerusalem.
‘The burden (oracle or prophecy) of the word of the Lord for (against) Israel, saith the Lord, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.’ (Zech.12:1)
Now hear Isaiah as he talks about the Redeemer of Israel. ‘Thus saith the Lord, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the Lord that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth (out) the heavens (all) alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself.’ (Is.44:24)
Please note people, how the Lord makes sure and specifies that He does all that stuff ‘alone, by myself.’ He does it all in His own omnipotence! He needs no help whatsoever to run His universe. So anyone who tries to lay claim to any part of His work is a total liar.
And as per the Lord’s claim to the breath of life and spirit given to mankind, hear these most beautiful and poignant scriptures.
Job in acknowledging God’s omnipotence, wisely declares: ‘But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee: Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee; and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this? In whose hand is the soul (life) of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind (flesh of man).’ (Job 12:7-10)
Yes Friends, everything that has life, owes that life to the Most High God Jehovah, our Creator, Controller and Provider!
Meanwhile, later on, when Elihu, Job’s friend, reasons with him, he too proclaims: ‘My words shall be of the uprightness of my heart: and my lips shall utter knowledge clearly (purely). The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.’ (Job 33:3-4)
There’s nothing to dispute there my people, since it’s the ultimate in truth! Then ever-faithful Daniel, in interpreting a dream for the Babylonian king Belshazzar, first tells him about his forefather, Nebuchadnezzar’s problems.
‘But when his heart was lifted up (made proud), and his mind (spirit) hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him: And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses (donkeys): they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew (recognized) that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointed over it whomsoever he will.
And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this; But hast lifted up (exalted) thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought thee the vessels of his house (the temple) before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass (bronze), iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified.’ (Dan.5:20-23)
Yes my brethren, all that we are and have depend entirely on the Lord God Almighty, and when we don’t acknowledge Him, we pay a serious price. Yuh see what happened to Nebuchadnezzar; he ended up crazy and living like a wild animal until he recognised Almighty God. And then Belshazzar, the same night that Daniel scolded him and interpreted his dream, he was killed and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom. (Dan.5:30-31)
And last, but by no means least, hear Bruh Paul as he stood on Mars Hill and declared to the people of Athens: ‘For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions (objects of worship) I found an altar with this 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 the 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 to all life, and breath, and all things.’ (Acts.17:23-25)
Ah Friends, yuh see even if we don’t actually know God, like the Athenians, there’s a part of us that subconsciously knows of Him, and has us naturally gravitating towards Him. Therefore Friends, please let’s all join together and worship the ONLY TRUE GOD in existence nuh. It’s the only thing that makes sense, that smacks of true heavenly wisdom! Much LOVE!
…every fibre of our being has been made by…and is controlled by God…so why are we all foolishly acting like…trying to be God eh…
18 Aug 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abased, arrogance, Bible Study, boastfulness, condemned, confession, contempt, contrition, corruption, dance, despicable, divisions, exalted, extolled, false accusation, fasting, fellow believers, fellowship, first shall be last, forgiveness, futile arguments, glorify God, God's mercy, haughtiness, high esteem, humble, hypocrite, justification, justified, last shall be first, LOVE, loving kindness, mercy, motives of our heart, outward actions, outward religious expression, penitent heart, pharisee and the publican, Pharisees, piety, praise, pride, Pubilcans, rejoice, religion, repentance, resentment, restore fourfold, Sabbath Day, salvation, seat of sin, sing, sinner, son of Abraham, Son of man, sunday fellowship, superiority, tax collectors, the letter of the law, theology, tithes, true state of heart, true wisdom, undeniable truth, unworthiness, wonderful god
Luke 18:14. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
Oh mih people, is Sunday; fellowship day for most of us! So please let’s get out there and gather with those of like minds, and sing and praise and glorify our great and wonderful God! Wow! What a privilege that is!
And all God’s people joyfully declared: ‘Yes, let’s fellowship in the name of the Most High God Jehovah! Let’s sing and dance and rejoice before Him, for His goodness, mercy and LOVING-kindness endures forever!’ And that’s certainly gospel truth!
By the way, for those of you who celebrate the Sabbath on Friday or Saturday, I surely hope that you got out and joined your fellow believers in giving thanks and praise and worship to our Creator, because one of His earliest commands was to keep the Sabbath Day holy. (Ex.20:8)
And we won’t argue about which day should be rightly considered the Sabbath Day, since that will only bring about more futile arguments and cause more resentment and divisions, of which we already have more than enough. Suffice it to say, that whatever day your denomination has chosen, just make sure you do as the Lord commands.
And today Friends, I want to again talk about the parable of the Pharisee and the publican or tax collector, but in a little more detail. I am also going to quote the verses again, because the scholars have some very interesting info on each of them, info I believe can be very useful in our Bible Study.
So here we go: ‘Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.’ (Luke 18:10)
The scholars say thus about that verse. ‘Publicans (tax collectors) were known for being corrupt. Pharisees on the other hand were held in high esteem by most. Listeners here would have expected the Pharisee to be extolled and the tax gatherer condemned.’
Yuh see that mih breddren, because we look up to outward religious expression, we’d be quick to condemn the corrupt tax collector, while raising up and praising the hypocrite Pharisee. So please don’t let outward expressions of piety fool us. That’s why God chooses to look at the motives of our heart and not outward actions.
Turning to the next verse: ‘The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.’ (vs.11)
And the scholars nail this: ‘Standing was a usual position for prayer, but here standing suggests a certain arrogance. (Compare the sinner’s hesitancy in vs.13) A sense of personal superiority is not a good reason for thanking God. It is rather in itself a cause for repentance.’
That’s undeniable truth Friends! Please remember that our God totally dislikes pride and arrogance.
Meanwhile, the ole hypocrite Pharisee continues: ‘I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all I possess.’ (vs.12)
And the scholars declare: ‘This is not exaggeration, but an example of how Pharisees truly exceed the letter of the law in their piety. But their pride and contempt for others reveals the true state of heart.’
No wonder Jesus was always on their case.
‘And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote (beat) upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.’ (vs.13)
To which the scholars note: ‘The heart was regarded as the seat of sin. The publican’s action implies acute contrition and a sense of personal unworthiness. To obtain forgiveness he thinks not of his own works but solely of God’s mercy.’
And that’s the way it ought to be my people! For as Jesus tells us in our Bit: ‘I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.’
And the scholars say of that verse: ‘The publican’s anguished confession would be followed by results in keeping with his repentance. (See 19:8.) But justification by faith comes independently of the works which that justification produces. Such works are the result and not the cause of God’s accepting the sinner.’
And we see this all borne out in Luke 19:8, where Zaccheus the tax collector, confesses in repentance after he associates with Jesus. ‘And Zaccheus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.’ (Luke 19:8)
To which the scholars add: ‘Zaccheus’s confession reveals a penitent heart. If does not suggest doubt that he is guilty of wrong doing; the only question is to what extent. Leviticus 6:1-5 stipulated that illegally gained money had to be returned, plus one-fifth. A fourfold return was legislated where livestock were concerned. (Ex.22:1, 2 Sam.12:6).’ Please read those scriptures.
And what was Jesus’ reply to Zaccheus’ contrition? ‘This day is salvation come to this house, forasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.’ (Luke 19:9-10)
Oh Friends, let’s hope from all that, we gain the wisdom to do away with foolish pride, arrogance, haughtiness, boastfulness, superiority and all those similar things that the world cherishes, but which the Lord finds totally despicable! For that my brethren, is indeed true, true wisdom! Much LOVE!
…in the day of reckoning…he that is first (proud) on earth…shall be last in heaven…and he that is last (humble) on earth…shall be first in heaven…
15 Jul 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: almighty creator, approve excellent things, aura of love, battle hymn, be a person of excellence, discernment, enthusiasm, fruits of righteousness, glorify God, glorious endeavour, glorious kingdom, holy spirit, humble servants, inebriated with joy, interact with unbelievers, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, lazy, lies, loving kindness, Monday, Monday Morning, morally pure, my people, overly comfortable, prayer, raise heaven's roof, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, scared, selfish, sincere, spread the gospel, steadfast faith, sure conquerors, talk the talk, thanksgiving, the day of Christ, too big for our britches, ungodly world, walk the walk, weary souls, wicked taunts, wiles, win souls for Christ, work ethic
Philippians 1:10. That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ.
Oh Friends, it’s our favourite day of the week, Monday! And I hear all sorts of complaining, many wondering if I’m mad or just stupid. Hn, hn! No Friends, I’m not any of them…well possibly a little of each, (smile) but not so much that it will affect my credibility.
Now don’t you think that Jesus likes Mondays? He surely does! Because that gives His followers many more opportunities to go out and interact with unbelievers, showing them His philosophy of LOVE through their actions of LOVING-kindness, and also spreading the Good News of the gospel.
So why shouldn’t we like Monday’s too eh? Aren’t we supposed to like whatever Jesus likes? For sure! But we’re just a combination of scared, lazy, selfish, overly comfortable and generally gotten too big for our britches followers. We talk the good talk, but don’t walk the necessary walk.
Anyway my people, it’s Monday and we have to go out and labour if we want to eat, so let’s get over our puny, miserable selves, get up and get ourselves together and go out and win souls for Christ as we ought to.
And to help us in that most glorious endeavour, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle hymn with plenty gusto and sincerity. All together now, in one, loud, harmonious voice. Let’s raise the roof on heaven!
‘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!’
Awright mih people! We did indeed raise heaven’s roof! Jesus was singing with us, as He always does, but this time He was also laughing heartily, pointing to the Father and saying: ‘Yuh see Father, them’s my people! They truly believe in me, and will go out and glorify me, so that we can all glorify You! I know there was a good reason why I sacrificed my life for them!’
The Father just smiles indulgently, looks at Jesus, who’s inebriated with joy that His people were putting on such a good show, and says: ‘Thank You Son! I know it was a bit much to ask, but I surely didn’t want to lose any of them, especially to that fallen fool Lucifer.’
And Jesus, positively gushing with enthusiasm and confidence, assures Him. ‘Don’t worry Father, my people, my body, my church, in conjunction with the Holy Spirit, won’t let us down. You won’t loose one single one to that foolish fool Beelzebub. My people will help us to reconcile them all to You. I solemnly promise.’
Now yuh hear that mih breddren! Jesus promised the Father that we’ll take care of business down here with the Holy Spirit’s help, and we certainly cannot disappoint Him, after all He’s sacrificed for us! So this Monday morning, let’s raise the level of our LOVE, passion for, and faith in Jesus and just go out and do our best to make that promise come true nuh.
Remember our two basic jobs on earth are to spread the gospel and glorify God, neither of which we’re currently doing to the best of our ability. And if you want to work for Jesus, you have to display a wonderful work ethic, because He only deals in excellence, not no wishy-washy, compromising, any old how behaviour like our world currently seems to favour.
Now I have to go and find a Bit that encompasses all that. (smile) But no worries. Soon come!
I’m back people! It took me a little longer than I expected, about fifteen minutes, but that’s because I had a few options to consider. However, once I saw this scripture, I felt that would be the one. But we’ll start with the verse before it, and continue with the one after it, to keep everything in the proper context.
This is Bruh Paul talking to the Philippians about thanksgiving and prayer. ‘And this I pray, that your LOVE may abound yet more in knowledge and in all judgement (discernment); That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ; Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.’ (Phil.1:9-11)
Yes Friends, we need to try our best to be excellent in all things. Remember we saw this verse recently, when talking about ‘Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform (complete) it until the day of Jesus.’ (Phil/1:6)
That’s when the scholars explained that ‘Things that are excellent means “things that really matter.” This refers to important issues. As the Philippians LOVE increases in knowledge and discernment (vs.9), they will be able to accurately distinguish the vital and worthwhile things in life from those that are not.’
The Philippians are worried about Bruh Paul’s imprisonment, but he wants them to realize that his imprisonment was important, serving a useful purpose in God’s plans, causing him to spread the gospel to those around him, and thus working everything out for good as He’d promised. (Rom.8:28)
Bruh Paul wants the Philippians to be sincere, morally pure in their daily dealings, thus bearing fruits of righteousness that will glorify God. Oh my people, the very same thing applies to us today!
And though we’ve heard the scholars take on (vs.11) before, we can definitely stand to hear it again. ‘This verse could be translated, “Filled with the fruit that is righteousness, which comes through Jesus Christ for the purpose of glorifying and praising God.” The believer who is pure and without offense before God (v.10) has divinely developed in him a practical “righteousness” or daily moral life that measures up to God’s standards in character and conduct. The ultimate purpose for this “righteousness” is to glorify God.’
And that’s gospel Friends! So let’s go out and do our bounden duty nuh! We have all the tools we need, plus the expert help of the Holy Spirit, so what are we waiting for eh? Please get a move on, for we just cannot disappoint Jesus. Much LOVE!
…our God doesn’t deal in halfway or half-hearted measures…it’s simply…all…or nothing at all…
01 Jul 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abound in LOVE, anger, battle hymn, british north america act, Canada Day, Christ-like behaviour, Christian nation, coherent answer, deception, discernment, discrimination, drunk or sober mind your business, enthusiasm, fraud, fruits of righteousness, glorify God, glorious kingdom, God's standards, gossip-mongering, holy spirit, hope, humble servants, increase in LOVE, incredible aura of LOVE, ingrates, invade our souls, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, lies, light a fire, LOVE Revolution, Lucifer, Monday Morning, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, morally pure, praise of God, pray for the church, prayer, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, resentment, roaring lion, spiritual armour, sure conquerors, the day of Christ, things that really matter, true wisdom, useful purpose, vim and vigour, weary souls, wicked taunts, wickedness, without offence, worthwhile things in life
1 Thessalonians 3:12. And the Lord make you to increase and abound in LOVE one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you.
Well Friends, it’s Monday once again… And a joyous shout comes from near and far: ‘Thank God it’s Monday; Canada Day and no work to go to! Happy Birthday Canada! Way to go! You’re still the best big country in the world to live in, bar none!’
Yes people, Canada Day celebrates the birth of our wonderful nation! On July 1 1867, one hundred and forty six years ago, the British Parliament passed the British North America Act, uniting the British North American Colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and the Province of Canada, to form a federation of four Provinces, with the Province of Canada being divided into the French speaking Quebec and the English speaking Ontario.
And since that momentous day Friends, we’ve been on the rise as a godly and Christian nation, although now, like so much of the world, our claim to that title is fading fast away. But Friends, we all know that while there’s life there’s always hope, so it’s not too late for people like you and I to pick up the baton and run with it, then pass it on to our children, and so on down the line, till Jesus comes again.
Anyway Friends and fellow Canadians, have a happy Canada Day. Let’s make our country proud of us. Enjoy it, but remember, as Granny would say; drunk or sober mind your business. (smile) I had to put that in, because it’s in times of celebrations that that roaring, toothless lion Lucifer usually finds an unsecured spot in our spiritual armour and preys on our shortcoming. So let’s not give him even the smallest opportunity to invade our souls.
And now, for all those working stiffs elsewhere, who have to go to work today, (smile) let’s commiserate with them and sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn in loud harmony.
All together 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!’
Let’s go out today and truly fight with vim and vigour my people!
And now it’s time for our Bit: ‘And the Lord make you to increase and abound in LOVE one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you.’
That my brethren, is Bruh Paul praying for the church at Thessalonica, encouraging them to increase in LOVE and Christ-like behaviour. And do we ever need a lot of prayers for the church today, as we seem to be slumping, to be losing the fight against the evil powers of this dark and devious world.
Oh my fellow believers, we most definitely need an upsurge in the spiritual fortunes of Christ’s body, for there’s currently so much evil activity, like fraud, deception, anger, resentment and gossip-mongering going on that it boggles the mind. I’m sure that Jesus must at times shake His head up there in heaven and wonder why He ever sacrificed His holy, innocent life for a bunch of ingrates like us.
But what’s done is done. There’s no going backward now, but it’s all straight ahead! And though many of us can’t do anything about the unchristian-like activities in the church, we can certainly pray for it though, like Bruh Paul prayed for all the churches with which he was affiliated.
Listen to his prayer for the church at Philippi: ‘And this I pray, that your LOVE may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgement (discernment); That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ; Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.’ (Phil.1:9-11)
Yes Friends, prayer is our strongest weapon, let’s not be afraid to use it nuh, especially in furthering Christ’s church!
Now here’s some scholarly info on those verses. ‘1:10: Things that are excellent means “things that really matter.” This refers to important issues. As the Philippians’ LOVE increases in knowledge and discernment (v 9), they will be able to accurately distinguish the vital and worthwhile things in life from those that are not. Contextually, the readers’ LOVE for Paul vexes them as they are anxious over his imprisonment.
He (on the other hand) wants them to perceive his imprisonment as being among those “things that really matter” because of the good that God will bring out of it. The purpose for such discrimination is that ye may be sincere (or, morally pure) and without offense till the day of Christ.
1:11: This verse could be translated, “Filled with the fruit that is righteousness, which comes through Jesus Christ for the purpose of glorifying and praising God.” The believer who is pure and without offense before God (v 10) has divinely developed in him a practical “righteousness” or daily moral life that measures up to God’s standards in character and conduct. The ultimate purpose for this “righteousness” is to glorify God.’
Oh Friends, we couldn’t end on a better note! Please remember that our main purpose on this earth is to glorify our wonderful Creator, through our behaviour and our spreading of His Word. Sadly though, we’re not doing a good enough job of it, hence the wickedness so prevalent in the world, and the lack of LOVE.
So please, I implore us to rise up, to light a fire under us and those close to us, as we ought to, and glorify our God, as He expects and rightfully deserves. That is indeed true wisdom, so that when He asks us on that fateful day, why we didn’t do more and/ or better than we did, we won’t be left stammering and shaking, unable to give a coherent answer. Much LOVE!
…to truly glorify God…one must work diligently and painstakingly…to promote the LOVE Revolution of Jesus…
26 Jan 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: beloved friends, Church of Christ, enmity with God, fear God, fleshly lusts, foolish men, friendship of the world, glorify God, holy spirit, honour, LOVE the brotherhood, most cherished creation, pilgrims, sons of God, strangers, surrender to Jesus, unique realtionship with God, walk in the Spirit, war against the soul, wondrous atonement
1 Peter 2:11. Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.
Welcome to another day on Planet Earth, my dearly beloved Friends! (smile) You can be sure of one thing, today won’t be exactly the same as yesterday, nor will it be like tomorrow. That’s because our wonderful God makes each day special. That’s one of the mysteries of God’s universe. Some things may look alike, yet each has its own individual personality. And nowhere is that more pronounced than in God’s most cherished creation; mankind. So though many of us may talk alike and look alike, we all have different mindsets, which produce different ways of thinking, no wonder the great amount of disagreement and controversy that’s always present in our world. However, one instance in which there is no room for divergence is the way that true believers ought to spend their earthly sojourn. We ought to live as servants of God in all respects. Having been reconciled to the Father through the sacrificial, redeeming death of Jesus Christ, we were brought out of the prison-like darkness of sin, into the brilliant light of freedom, forming a body of like-minded light people. Peter describes it thus: ‘Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.’ (1 Pet.2:10) Yes Friends, before Jesus reclaimed us, we were lost, individuals wandering with no proper purpose or direction. But through His wondrous atonement, we now belong to one great body, the Church of Christ, with lots of positive purpose and direction that now culminates in a unique relationship with Almighty God. And all of God’s people declared a loud and grateful, ‘Thank You Jesus!’ And for any organization to grow and function properly, there must be procedures that all the members are required to follow. And one of those procedures that the Church of Christ needs to follow, especially in these desperate and evil times, is dealt with by Peter in our Bit today. ‘Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.’ What we need to remember my brethren is that once we surrender our lives to Jesus, the things of the world and the things that the fallen flesh drive us to do, are no longer appropriate. We need to now realign our lives with the Holy Spirit of Jesus that then comes to dwell in us, to show us how to live in concert with our Saviour. That means we then have to live a Spirit filled and guided life. Thus Bruh Paul waxes philosophical to the Galatians. ‘This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.’ (Gal.5:16-17) Consequently, there will always be a clash of wills within a believer; the fallen sinful flesh against the new reconciled Spirit. But if the believer allows the Spirit to lead him, then there will be much less confusion, and therefore less sin in his everyday life. After that, Bruh Paul goes on to list the more extreme lusts of the flesh, as well as the fruits of the Spirit. (Gal.5:19-23) Please check them out my Friends for yourselves. James also deals with the subject in talking about worldliness and pride. ‘From whence come wars (conflict) and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts (desires for pleasure) that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill (murder), and desire to have (covet), and cannot obtain: ye fight and war (battle), yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts (fleshly pleasures). Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of (with) the world is enmity with God? whosever therefore will (wants) to be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.’ (James 4:1-4) That’s gospel Friends, for instead of wrestling and striving with God in prayer, we foolishly wrestle and strive with each other over the unproductive things of the world. And I like the way the apostles each say basically the same thing, but in somewhat different tones, so to speak. Bruh Paul uses his learned, professorial style, while James gets somewhat rambunctious, in your face, telling you in down to earth language. Meanwhile Peter puts it in simpler, more gentlemanly, drawing room terms. ‘Having your conversation (conduct) honest (honourable) among the Gentiles: that whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation…. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. As free, and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness (evil), but as the servants of God. Honour all men. LOVE the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the King. (1 Pet.2:12,15-17) There you have it my brethren, words of absolute truth and wisdom from three of the greatest men of faith. So you can’t have any arguments with me. (smile) And I’ll leave us with one more offering, a lagniappe, from Bruh Paul, simple but straight to the heart of the matter. ‘For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify (put to death) the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.’ (Rom.8:13-14) That’s it in a nutshell people! Much LOVE!…each man’s decision is his own…but remember…your eternal destiny depends on that decision…
16 Jan 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: blessings, don't forget God, enticements, eternal life, evil web, expose sin, facade, glorify God, greed, heaven, mercies, new mercies, omni-present, omnipotent, omniscient, Praise the Lord, salvation, sinners, words of wisdom
Proverbs 1:10. My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.
Aye mih Friends, have you seen or encountered any of the new mercies and blessings that our great and wonderful God has showered down on earth for this Wednesday? Well I have! And I want to tell you that they are terrific! Wow! I don’t know where our God finds those marvellous mercies and blessings to shower down on us everyday nuh, because everyday they just keep getting better and better. But I suppose that since He is God -omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent – then He can do anything. That means that the many earthlings who don’t believe in Him are not too bright, they don’t know what they’re missing. But fortunately, yes Friends, praise the Lord that we believers do! That’s why we sing and dance and praise and worship our Creator, the Lord God Jehovah, with such passion, such intensity. We know without a doubt, on which side our bread is buttered. That’s why Cousin Sol warns us in our Bit, right at the outset of his proverbial words of wisdom. ‘My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.’ Ah Friends, those words are few, but they pack a mighty wallop! They contain more wisdom than all the words and works of the evil world, for if we follow them, they will keep us from making very grave and serious mistakes, many of them irreparable and even life threatening. Hear how Cousin Sol continues and cements his argument for not walking knowingly with sinners. ‘If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for (to shed) blood, let us lurk privily (secretly) for the innocent without cause: Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit: We shall find all precious substance (wealth), we shall fill our houses with spoil (plunder): Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse: My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain (keep) thy foot from their path: For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood. Surely in vain (futility) the net is spread in the sight of any bird. And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily (secretly) for their own lives. So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.’ (Prov.1:11-19) Oh my brethren, truer words have never been spoken! For once we get involved with sinners and evildoers, we’ll eventually end up selling our souls to Beelzebub instead of Jesus. And believe me, the evil one has nothing really good or worthwhile to offer. His enticements may look bright and shiny in the sunlight, but in the dark of night their true cheapness and unworthiness comes out. It’s all a facade Friends, to catch us in his evil web, then confine us to eternal death with him. Now that’s certainly not a nice picture to imagine ourselves in. Jesus paints a much better and more realistic picture of heaven. And at least we’ve seen and heard what Jesus can do. Lucifer definitely can’t match His talents, so why walk with him eh? Anyway, hear how Bruh Paul puts it to the Ephesians, when talking about the ways of the believer. ‘And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove (expose) them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done in secret. But all things that are reproved (exposed) are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.’ (Eph.5:11-13) The scholars explain it this way. ‘Reprove is better translated “expose.” The believer’s duty is expressed here in two ways. Negatively, he is not to have any fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, that is, not to indulge in the sins of the unsaved. Positively, he is to “expose” (reprove) these sins, that is, bring them to light and show them for what they really are, so that the unbeliever may see their hideous nature and their terrible consequences. For tells why the Christian must expose the sins of the lost. If it is shameful even to discuss their iniquities in decent company (cf. v 3) how much worse is the committing of these sins. Hence we need to bring them to light.’ Ah mih people, a good and simple measuring stick for all that is, if the thoughts and actions before us can’t stand the light of day, but must remain secret, we should not be involved in them. Now listen to the psalmist Asaph’s take on the subject from Psalm 50, God is the judge – and is He ever! ‘But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth? See thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee. When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers. Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit. Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother’s son. These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such a one as thyself: but I will reprove (rebuke) thee, and set them in order before thine eyes. Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver. Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation (conduct) aright will I show the salvation of God.’ (Ps.50:16-23) Oh Friends, that says it all! If we kow-tow with the wicked, then, like them, we’ll be eventually destroyed. However, if we live to praise and glorify our heavenly Father, then we will see His wonderful salvation that culminates in eternal life with Him. Now I ask you, which of those two options will you choose? Please ponder it seriously today, because we don’t know when Jesus will return, could even be today, and your eternal destiny depends on your individual choice, BEFORE He returns. Now may the good Lord shower you with wisdom, so that you’ll make the right choice. Much LOVE!…choose you this day…whom ye will serve…but as for me and my house…we will serve the Lord… (Josh.24:15)
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