28 Jun 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, a purpose and a plan, a resurgence of passion, another day of life, be not conformed to this world, be ye transformed, Beelzebub, Daily Bread Devotional, draw near to God, evil desire, get fired up again for Jesus, glory to God, gospel truth, halfway home, hands on the plough, if any man love the world, image of Christ, intelligence, love not the world, LOVE Revolution, loving god, lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, mind-boggling, minds are refreshed, reignite God's image in our hearts, rekindle your fire in our souls, Scrip-Bit family, sin, spreading the gospel, St. Therese of Lisieux, strength is renewed, technology, thanks and praise, the breath of life, the good news of Jesus, the heights of sin, the love of the Father, the pride of life, the renewing of your mind, the things of God, the things of the world, the will of God, the world passes away, ultimate in truth, Wednesday Wail
1 John 2:15. LOVE not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man LOVE the world, the LOVE of the Father is not in him.
Well a good morning to all you wonderful Scrip-Bit family members! We’ve been blessed with another day of life on planet earth! Glory to God!
Oh, I know that life often isn’t the greatest, but I’m sure most of us aren’t ready to give it up just yet. (smile) So let’s give our heavenly Father some thanks and praise and find out why He’s left us down here still, because He does have a purpose and a plan for each of our lives.
Now listen to these two quotes which ought to be very useful to us all. The first one comes from a Daily Bread Devotional and says: ‘When we draw near to God our minds are refreshed and our strength is renewed.’
Gospel truth that my brethren! Because our heavenly Father is the only one who can really accomplish that feat in our souls.
And the next quote is actually a prayer from one of the St.Therese of Lisieux Devotionals, and that calls us to plead with Almighty God to ‘Reignite your image in our hearts; rekindle your fire in our souls.’
Yes friends, in these trying times where true passion for Christ is sadly lacking in too many supposed believers, we desperately need a recharging of our hearts with the image of Christ and a rekindling of the fire that burned in our souls when we first believed.
Unless there is a resurgence of that passion and LOVE for Christ, Christianity is doomed to be mediocre and second-class. And we definitely don’t want that now, do we? Obviously not!
So please let’s get fired up again for Jesus nuh mih people! Let’s get His LOVE Revolution in full swing nuh, so that the hordes of people who don’t know Him will get to meet and know Him and come to LOVE Him just like we do.
We can’t be selfish with Christ and try to keep Him all to ourselves. He was made to be shared with ALL THE WORLD, and it’s our appointed and anointed job to do that. So please let’s do it nuh!
And why aren’t we doing our appointed job, of spreading the gospel, the good news of Jesus to all the world? Because as our Bit says, we are still too enamoured with the things of the world and not as much as we should be with the things of God!
‘LOVE not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man LOVE the world, the LOVE of the Father is not in him.’
That’s the ultimate in truth my believing brethren! We can’t LOVE God and Beelzebub too! It’s either one or the other. And true wisdom dictates that LOVING God is the correct answer to the problem!
And John continues his argument after our Bit. ‘For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.’ (1 John 2:16-17)
Yeh friends, all the supposed wonderful things in this world will pass away at some time or the other, and the world itself will pass away eventually. So what will we have left if we embrace the world and its finite things eh? Absolutely nothing! For only the things of God will last forever!
And here is an inkling into John’s thinking from the scholars. ‘2:16. World for John signifies the evil desire and sin so much a part of human existence.’
And believe you me friends, sin and evil desire is so rampant in our present world, that it’s mind-boggling. Just like we’ve reached the heights of technology and intelligence, likewise we’ve reached the heights of sin.
Ah Lord eh! John and Bruh Paul and them talked about sin back in their day, but they would be absolutely floored by the heights that sin and evil desire have reached today.
Listen to this wise advice from Bruh Paul to the Romans. ‘And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.’ (Rom.12:2)
Oh my people, that advice is ever so necessary for us in these modern times because of the rampant nature of sin in the world!
And the scholars explain: ’12:2. Be not conformed (lit. “stop conforming yourselves”): They are to resist being poured into the mold of the present thinking, value systems and conduct of this world. This term is used only here and in 1 Peter 1:14.’
We desperately need to take that same advice in these end times, my people! Why? Because things are not going to get any better unless we do. So let’s go home now with all of that good info inspiring us, flowing through our hearts and souls with a resurgence of passion for Christ, as we sincerely declare our Wednesday Wail.
With feeling now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday!
I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
That’s the only wise and sensible approach to this life friends! Much LOVE!
…one’s body and soul can only be refreshed and renewed…when one sincerely turns to Almighty God for help…
21 Jun 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a belt of truth, able to stand, accepted Christ, against the wiles of the devil, armour, bull's eye, christianity, Christians, depressing winter, discombobulate us, earthly race, endurance, evil cohorts, evil schemes, fall by the wayside, fame, fiery darts, giving no ground, glorious future with Jesus, glory to God, gospel of peace, grow in faith, halfway home, health, helmet of salvation, holy character, hot, humid days, internal parts, knowledge of the word of God, loins girded with truth, Lucifer, mano a mano, moral conduct, our Lord and Saviour, patience, peace, perseverance, praying, protective armour of God, run the race, saints, shield of faith, short attention spans, sitting ducks, spiritual warfare, stand, struggle, suffering, summer, supplication, sword of the Spirit, take up the whole armour of God, the breastplate of righteousness, the breath of life, the strength of the Lord, the Word of god, truth, wealth, Wednesday, Wednesday Wail
Ephesians 6:11. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (evil schemes) of the devil.
Lo and behold friends, it’s already Wednesday, the middle of the workweek! These days sure are passing by quickly, and in another couple, summer should officially be upon us.
That ought to make us happy up here in the colder climes. What a way we look forward to the hot and humid days of summer eh, after months of cold, depressing winter. But then we also complain that the summer’s too hot and humid! (smile) How to please us eh?
Apparently we can’t be truly pleased. We are like our nowadays children, who, despite their abundance of toys, nonetheless get bored with them very quickly, and keep wanting something new to hold their short attention spans.
That’s why some of us supposed Christians never grow in faith. We look upon Christianity as a toy, or something that will automatically bring us health, wealth and fame. But nothing is further from the truth friends.
Of course you can become, healthy, wealthy and famous as a Christian, but that is not the reason for it all. And Christianity desires lots of perseverance, endurance, patience and oftimes much suffering and struggle.
It’s not an easy row to hoe, especially when confronted by the many wiles and evil schemes of the devious enemy, who have set out to purposely discombobulate us.
Consequently, many Christians fall by the wayside, because they don’t have the internal parts to run the hard race that’s set before them. But my people, if we are to be successful in the running of this earthly race, then we have to make certain preparations and hold on tightly to certain things.
Now over the last couple of days we’ve been talking about the spiritual warfare in which we automatically enter in when we become followers of Jesus Christ. The enemy targets us, puts a big bull’s eye on our backs, once we’ve accepted Christ as our Lord and Saviour.
And yesterday, as we saw from our Bit, one of the necessities for fighting this war is having on the protective armour of God at all times. ‘Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (evil schemes) of the devil.’
Yes my fellow believers, without God’s armour in our possession, we’re like sitting ducks for Lucifer and his evil cohorts. But with it on, and the strength of the Lord flowing through us…oh my people, we can battle like you won’t believe. Glory to God!
And since some of you might be wondering what this glorious armour consists of, let’s listen to Bruh Paul as he explains it to the Ephesians after our Bit. ‘Stand therefore, having your loins girt about (girded your loins) with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness. And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye may be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked (one). And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.’ (Eph.6:14-18)
Yes friends, those are the things we call the armour of God, with which we can fight the devil mano-a-mano, giving no ground whatsoever!
Now let’s get a brief synopsis of all that. Having our loins girded with truth is basically having on a belt of truth, which is knowledge of the word of God.
The scholars tell us: ‘The ancient soldier’s loins (“waist”) were girt about with a leather belt which held most of the other pieces of his armour in place. Similarly, the other pieces of the Christian’s armour depend on, and are held in place by his spiritual “belt” or his knowledge of the truth of Scripture.’
There we have it precious people of God! The first and most important piece of armour is knowing the truth of God’s word! We can’t put up any resistance until we have God’s truth firmly entrenched in our souls, since that is the basic reason for our war; the truth of God, versus the lies of the enemy.
Then we need to put on ‘The breastplate of righteousness,’ which the scholars say ‘may be read “the breastplate which is righteousness.” It represents a holy character and moral conduct. Obedience to the “truth” known produces a godly life (“righteousness”).’
Now there is much more stuff to talk about re God’s armour, but unfortunately we’ve run out of time and space. But tune in tomorrow and we’ll continue it. In the meanwhile, please ponder on what we’ve already talked about; the first priority of knowing the truth of God’s word, and then putting it into action with a godly, moral lifestyle.
Now let’s go home declaring the truth that’s in our hearts via our Wednesday Wail. Wailing all: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday!
I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
Ah mih people, what bliss it is to be in league with Jesus! Now let’s go out and share that joy with those who unfortunately don’t know Him. Much LOVE!
…a soldier of Christ…desperately needs God’s armour…to successfully fight his Christian war…
15 Jun 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a new world, abundance, abundance of peace, blessing, cast down, Christians, Commit thy way to the Lord, courage, creativity, curse, delight thyself in the Lord, divine protection, don't do evil, evildoers, evildoers shall be destroyed, fall, forsake wrath, Fret not thyself over evildoers, glory to God, God is in control, God's ever-faithful promises, gun culture, in the name of Jesus, inherit the earth, justice, Look to God, magnanimous god, negative word, neither be envious, peace, prosper, Rest in the Lord, rie in London, righteousness, seed begging bread, self-control, self-discipline, sharing, state of confusion, stay calm, succeed, supernatural wisdom, talent, the desires of thine heart, the Lord loves justice, the Lord upholds him, the meek, the righteous forsaken, the steps of a good man, the workers of iniquity, this is the day the Lord has made, Thursday Blessings, turbulent times, vengeance is mine saith the Lord, wait patiently for the Lord, we will rejoice and be glad in it, wicked schemes, with the help of God, you die by the gun, you live by the gun
Psalm 37:1. Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
And then it was Thursday; another blessed day on earth so generously granted to us by our magnanimous God! Give Him some thanks and praise people as we gratefully and joyfully declare: ‘This is the day the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it!’
Unfortunately though several people involved in the fire in London yesterday won’t see today, and in the U.S a couple in the shooting of Republicans at their baseball practice might not see tomorrow.
What a life eh! What are we coming to? A group of legislators gather to practice for a charity game and then all hell breaks loose!
But in a country where the gun culture rules and guns are so easy to come by, the gun will be used to settle a lot of scores. As the old adage goes: ‘You live by the gun, you die by the gun.’
It’s been reported that a U.S Republican congresswoman from New York received an email that asked what else she expected after her party, which has the majority in both the House of Reps and the Senate, was making the poor even poorer in order to enrich their already rich friends.
And the current state of confusion that reigns in the U.S between its President and some of the lawmakers, doesn’t help the situation at all. But all I can say is that God is still in control, and nothing is going to happen unless He allows it, for whatever reason.
So we just need to stay calm and collected, holding on to His ever-faithful promises and run the race that He has assigned for each of our lives. Christians definitely need to look to God more than ever in these turbulent times, where stuff we never dreamed of is sadly happening.
Friends, this a whole new world, and it’s definitely not a brave one, but we have to have courage, and with the help of Almighty God, we can, and WILL handle whatever comes against us.
And one of the ways we can handle this new world, is by paying serious attention to the words of Bruh David enshrined in our Bit. ‘Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.’
Why, you ask? Because our God will deal with them in His own way and own time! Don’t worry friends, our God said that vengeance was His, and that He would repay it. He’s taking note of all the evil and evildoers, and at the right time, He will cut them down and burn them. Glory to God!
Meanwhile, what we believers need to do, is to follow the words of Bruh David found later on in Psalm 37. ‘Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgement (justice) as the noonday.
Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices (schemes) to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath, fret not thyself in any wise to do evil (it only causes harm).
For evildoers shall be cut off (destroyed): but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider His place (look diligently for him), and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.’ (Ps.37:4-11)
Oh my people, that is the best remedy for whatever ails us: turn sincerely to God and try our best to live in peace and harmony.
And if you don’t believe me, then listen to these words of Bruh David, found later on in Psalm 37. ‘The steps of a good man are ordered (established) by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand.
I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed (descendants) begging bread. He is ever merciful (merciful all day), and lendeth; and his seed (descendants) is blessed.
Depart from evil, and do good, and dwell for evermore. For the Lord LOVETH judgement (justice) and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever; but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.’ (Ps.37:23-28)
There we have it friends; the perfect prescription for earthly living! And when we follow it, then we are continually showered by our Thursday Blessings. Wow! What a wonderful God we serve and worship!
So let’s declare those blessings now with strong belief heartfelt passion. ‘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!’
And the ultimate factor in blessings is that they must be shared, so let’s go out and do that now nuh, so that we can please our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Much LOVE!…
blessing and sharing…IS the Christian way…
13 Jun 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a follower of Jesus, a miracle is happening, a wasted life, be fed, be thou envious, bring it to pass, Christians, come into my life, commit thy ways to the Lord, common sense, cut down like the grass, David, delight thyself in the Lord, divine destiny, do good, dr robert h schuller, dwell in the land, encouraging scripture, evil doers, faithful children, fret not thyself, frined of jesus, glory, glory to God, God controls everything, God's ways are higher than ours, great god, have faith, hectic riddim, I want to improve, iniquity, insignificant, Israel's greatest king, lost passion for God, LOVE, loving-kindness, miracles, obedient, obey, our heavenly Father, passion, praise, problems, serve, Something Beautiful, something good is happening, strong belief, thankful, thanks, the beloved of God, the desires of thine heart, the Good Book, the Holy Spirit, the storms of life, the true state of the wicked, the workers of iniquity, trust, trust in the Lord, Tuesday Mantra, unified voice, wisdom, wither as the green herb, worship, zest for life
Psalm 37:1. Fret not thyself because of evil doers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
Well friends, yesterday I finally had to turn on my a/c for the first time this year. It was the first of many truly hot days I believe we’ll have this summer. But what amazes me is that though it was hot, the wind was also blowing at a brisk pace, the poor trees were dancing all day to its hectic riddim.
But then this morning, around 3.a.m, I was outside on my porch, and though it was somewhat cooler than during the day, there was not a breeze to be had.
I don’t know if it’s just my imagination, but in the last year or so, I’ve noticed that regardless of the season or time of day, in my area, the winds have been much stronger and more persistent than before.
Who knows what our great God is doing eh? He controls everything, and His ways are so much higher than ours, that even if He explained it to us, we would not be able to comprehend it. So we just have to have faith, and trust and obey.
And to help us do that, here is a li’l something from Gramps Schuller (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) from his Hour of Power Devotional titled ‘I want to Improve.’
Please pray with me. ‘O God, how thankful I am that you have come into my life through the Holy Spirit. I’m willing to say: “I’m not perfect, Lord! I want to improve. Show me where I can.” So, Father, I sense that a miracle is happening in my life right now. You are doing something beautiful in my heart this very moment. I thank and praise you! Amen.’
Yeh friends, if we sincerely and faithfully prayed that prayer, then I’m sure something good is happening in our hearts right now.Wow! What a great God we serve and worship!
Now it might not be a huge miracle, or manifest itself right away, but I’m sure that sometime down the line you’ll suddenly realize what’s changed, what’s improved, and then you’ll want to give even more praise, thanks and glory to our heavenly Father for His extraordinary LOVING-kindness to His undeserving but oh so faithful children! Glory to God my brethren!
One of the problems we Christians suffer these days is that we’ve lost our passion for God, lost our zest for life, lost our faith in miracles. Chuh!
Even worse, we expect miracles to be always big and uproarious! But the truth is that the Lord doesn’t do that many big and uproarious miracles, but He does plenty small and seemingly insignificant ones, which we either don’t notice at all or simply ignore.
Ah friends, please remember that once we truly surrender our lives to Christ, He works continuously in them, and not everything is big and monumental.
So please, let’s start regaining our passion for Christ nuh, which brings with an increased zest for life in general, and let’s also begin looking for and appreciating the small but still important ways He works in our lives. We are missing out on a whole lot of wonderful stuff by only looking for big, eye-catching things. End of sermon! (smile)
Now don’t blame me, if we don’t have much space and time for our Bit, because that’s where the Lord led me. And being obedient, I had no choice. (smile)
And is it ever an encouraging and reassuring Bit. ‘Fret not thyself because of evil doers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.’
Yes friends, that’s the amazing opening advice from Bruh David from that amazing Psalm 37- The true state of the wicked.
And Bruh David certainly knew what he was talking about because he stuck with the Lord through thick and thin, and likewise, the Lord stuck with him. His life wasn’t easy, a lot of it because of his mistakes, but he never lost his passion for the Lord God of his fathers.
Now, as I’ve said above, lost passion for God is one of our major problems today, that’s why we’re so tossed and upset by the storms of life, by how the wicked seem to be increasing and the righteous decreasing.
Bruh David ran from his enemies, Saul and his son Absalom for many years, but the Lord always kept him safe and secure, then finally brought him to his divine destiny; the greatest king that Israel ever knew. That’s why he could confidently open the psalm with our Bit, and then continue with that same confidence.
‘For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed (feed on his faithfulness). Delight thyself also in the Lord in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.’ (Ps.37:2-5)
Oh friends, there’s no more encouraging scripture than those few words in the Good Book, and that from a man who truly lived them and thus knew exactly what he was talking about.
Today I implore us to take his words to heart and put them into practice, so that we too can be led to our divine destiny. Common sense and wisdom dictate it!
Now let’s go home declaring our Tuesday Mantra with the passion and strong belief that it ought to engender in us. In one, strong and unified voice now: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
And the best way to show that passion is to go out now and share the LOVE of Jesus! Much LOVE!
…a life lived without passion…is a wasted life…especially if you’re a follower of Jesus…
P.S. Yes, it’s late, but it’s very worthwhile. (smile)
11 Jun 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a cloud of witnesses, a race, abundant, Alpha, assurance, beset, blazed the trail, bloodshed, comforting arms of Jesus, conquerors, contradiction of sinners, courage, death, discouraged, dominion, encouragement, endurance, ensnare us, exalt, exhortation, faint, fellowship, finished the course, free, give thanks, glory to God, heal your soul, Heavenly Vision, Helen H Lemmel, hostility, I AM, lay aside every weight, life, life everlasting, looking unto Jesus, LOVE, no light in the darkness, Omega, originator, peace, perfector, perseverance, praise, run with patience, Sabbath Day, sacrifice of praise, salvation, sin, sing, striving against sin, take all your troubles away, the author and finisher of our faith, the First and the Last, the things of the earth, the ultimate answer, true believer in Jesus, Turn your eyes to Jesus, wearied, worship
Hebrews 12:2. Looking unto Jesus the author (originator) and finisher (perfector ) of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Arise my people and greet the bright and bountiful Sabbath Day, when the Lord rested, having created the universe and all therein in the six previous days! And He saw that it was all good! It’s a day of fellowship, of the gathering of Christ’s church in His sanctuary to praise and sing, give thanks and worship and exalt His Holy Name!
And all God’s children declared a loud, proud and grateful: ‘Glory to God in the highest! Praise His Name on high! For He is the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, Only He knows the true workings of the universe!’ Yes friends, He is the great I AM, the ONLY ONE who can heal your soul and take all your troubles away.
That’s why, our song of praise and worship this morning is titled ‘The Heavenly Vision’ or ‘Turn your eyes upon Jesus.’ So let’s do just that nuh, as we offer up the sacrifice of praise with our lips. As one true body now: ‘O soul, are you weary and troubled? No light in the darkness you see? There’s light for a look at the Savior, And life more abundant and free!
(Refrain: Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.) Through death into life everlasting He passed, and we follow Him there; O’er us sin no more hath dominion— For more than conqu’rors we are!
(Refrain) His Word shall not fail you—He promised; Believe Him, and all will be well: Then go to a world that is dying, His perfect salvation to tell! (Refrain: Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.)
Ah friends, such words of assurance and peace, exhortation and encouragement, penned by Helen H Lemmel (1863-1961). Her biography says that in 1918 she was given a tract by a visiting missionary. The leaflet was entitled “Focused,” and in it was this exhortation: “So then, turn your eyes upon Him [Christ]. Look full into His face and you will find that the things of earth will acquire a strange new dimness.”
Mrs. Lemmel was riveted by those words. She says, “I stood still. And singing in my soul and spirit was the chorus, with not one conscious moment of putting word to word to make rhyme, or note to note to make melody.” The three stanzas of the song were added later the same week.’ My fellow believers, that’s just one of the mysterious ways in which our great and awesome God moves, His works to unfurl!
And the scripture it seems to have been based on is our Bit for today. But first let’s look at the verse that precedes it, because that sets the context for our Bit. ‘Wherefore seeing (since) we also are compassed about with (surrounded by) so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset (ensnare) us, and let us run with patience (perseverance) the race that is set before us.’ (Heb.12:1)
Ah mih people, the author of Hebrews looks at our Christian life like a race; one that is indeed difficult to run, but acknowledges that we have faithful heroes that have gone before us (a cloud of witnesses), who have run it successfully, and so can we. How?
By ‘Looking unto Jesus the author (originator) and finisher (perfector) of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.’
Yeh friends, though there were others who successfully ran the race, and gave us worthy examples to emulate, Jesus is our best example, our bright and shining star! He set the tone for it all.
The scholars tell us: ‘12:2. Just as verse 1 establishes some qualities for the entrance into the actual running of life’s race, so verse 2 directs one’s eyes to the finish line. Jesus is the author and finisher in that He has already blazed the trail and finished the course.’
That means fellow believers we don’t have to blaze a new trail, just follow the one Jesus laid down, and that makes it easier for us. Imagine if we had to blaze a new trail for ourselves? We’d find it even more difficult than it is now, what with all the sin that’s lurking around the corner, just waiting to ensnare us, we need to have the utmost in patience and perseverance to last the distance and finally end up at the finish line in the welcoming and comforting arms of Jesus. Praise his Holy Name!
And these two verses following our Bit, just bolster it. ‘For consider him that endured such contradiction (hostility) of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint (be discouraged) in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood (bloodshed), striving against sin.’ (Heb.12:3-4)
Oh friends, Jesus is the ‘supreme example of endurance.’ Just look at all the ‘sufferation’ He bore on our behalf nuh. We could not have had a finer example of perseverance and endurance. So let’s remember that, take courage from it, and steadfastly bear up under our own weight of sin in this earthly race of life. That’s the only way to do it as a true believer in Jesus. Much LOVE!
…for whatever befalls us…the ultimate answer is to turn to Jesus…
09 Jun 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a sparkling day, a waste of time, all for nought, believe in Jesus, boundaries, Calvary, Christians, come short of the glory of God, divine provision, dry weather, enormous price, eternal life, extremes, faith, fellowship, fleshly activity, for all have sinned, forbearance of God, free gift, freed from sin, Friday chant, fun, generous help, glorious kingdom, glory to God, God's standard, grace, guiltless, hot like hell, human need, in Jesus' name, just, justified freely, justifier, LOVE, made him to be sin for us, our flesh, pardoned, party time, praise, propitiation, ransom, redemption, relaxation, remisiion of sins, rest, righteous demands, salvation, shedding of blood, slave driver, Spirit of Christ, susceptible to sin, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, Thank you Jesus, thanks, the righteousness of God, the workingman, walk steadfast, waste not want not, week of work, who knew no sin, work never dead
2 Corinthians 5:21. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Oh friends, like another sparkler of a day is in the offing in my area! Wow! Three sparkling days in a row! We need to give the Lord plenty thanks for such wonderful weather!
I know for some of you the good weather is small potatoes, because you receive it most of the time, but we’ve had such chilly and rainy days the last couple weeks that some warm, sparkling, dry weather is greatly appreciated.
And you certainly won’t hear the workingman complain. He is even zestier in his attitude as he unabashedly declares: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday yes! The weekend is upon us… And it going to be hot like hell too! Temps in the thirties! Oh party time…party time…
Steups! Look, forget the chupid slave driver and his work yes. Work never dead yet! Just let me loose here now, so we can get the party going! Much thanks to God for Fridays and the weekends!’
Oh mih breddren, how our flesh would LOVE to participate in such interesting endeavours, (smile) but our minds and spirits are crying out for us to resist such fleshly activity. And as sincere Christians, we ought to have some boundaries to our behaviour, not allow ourselves to go to such extremes.
The Christian way is more like our Friday Chant, so let’s put the lust of the flesh behind us and chant it heartily nuh. ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
And that’s the way it ought to be my people, especially when we take our Bit into account. ‘For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.’
Yeh friends, after Jesus paid such an enormous price for us to be freed from sin, we just can’t go back and commit sin willy-nilly again. Oh, we are all still susceptible to sin, but with the Spirit of Christ dwelling in us, we ought to have a strong enough conscience to resist it.
And we have these powerful verses of scripture from Bruh Paul to the Roman church to help explain the situation and consequently uplift us. Hear him pontificate (smile): ‘For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely (without any cost) by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation (a mercy seat) through faith in his blood, to declare (demonstrate) his righteousness for the remission (passing over of) sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.’ (Rom.3:23-26)
Oh friends, right within those verses lies the basis of our salvation… Glory to God! Let’s see if, with the help of the scholars we can get a good understanding of what Bruh Paul is saying there.
‘3:23. For all have sinned: The human need and the divine provision are alike applied universally. Come short of the glory of God: Man can exceed his own standards but never, left to himself, can he attain God’s standard of righteousness.’
Ah mih breddren, regardless of how good we are, we will NEVER reach God’s standards. But He is so wonderful, that knowing that sin pervades and invades all our souls, He wisely provided provision for everybody, if we’d only believe in His Son Jesus Christ, who paid for our sins by the sacrifice, the shedding of His sinless blood on Calvary.
‘3:24. Being justified (Gr. dikatoumenot) indicates being declared righteous. It signifies the believer’s judicial standing before God. Freely: There is no just cause in man to warrant justification. By his grace: Unmerited favour is bestowed through the redemption (release on payment of ransom). Christ’s death is the ransom. The sinner is released on the basis of the ransom having being paid.’
So yuh see friends, we don’t have a leg to stand on, it’s all through God’s grace and Jesus paying the ransom for our sins by the shedding of His blood at Calvary.
‘3:25-26. Through faith: Christ’s death satisfies the Father’s righteous demands. Its benefits are appropriated only through faith in His finished work. In his blood: The emphasis is not on the blood as it coursed through Christ’s veins, but as it was shed for our sins. This is how the propitiation was accomplished.
Just, and the justifier: God can remain just (true to His nature) and still declare sinners to be righteous only because Christ has paid for sin and satisfied (propitiated) His holy law. The sinner is not rendered guiltless but pardoned. Christ has taken the sin on Himself and has imputed His righteousness to the sinner.’
And all believers shouted a loud and most grateful ‘Thank You Jesus! Thank You ever so much for redeeming us from our abominable sins! We LOVE You, and give You plenty thanks and praise! Please help us to walk steadfast in Your everlasting LOVE! Amen!’
Yes friends, I hope we all understand now that it was all the doing of the Father and Jesus, no thanks to us whatsoever.
So please lets be wise and accept the free gift of salvation and eternal life that’s been offered nuh. Otherwise Jesus’ sacrifice would have been all for nought, a complete waste of time. And I’m sure we don’t want that to be the case. Much LOVE!
…remember the old adage…waste not…want not…
P.S. It’s long and late, but full of redemptive grace (smile) Much LOVE!
07 Jun 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, a glorious world, a new creature, all things are new, dampens our spirits, died on the cross, eternal life, faithful brethren, glad to be alive, glory to God, gospel truth, grace, Hades, halfway home, hell, hostility, if any man be in Christ, imputing trespasses, inconsistent weather, Jesus redemptive work, joy, justice, life just gives us time and space, LOVE, Lucifer, made him to be sin for us, maturing fellowship, meaning, mired in unhappiness, No one is guaranteed happiness, old things are passed away, P.S. I Love You, possessions, reconciled us to himself, reconciliation, redemption, righteousness, shining brightly, sin, sinless, soul-winning, spiritual vocabulary, sternity, the basis of christ's death, the breath of life, the cross, the LOVE of Jesus christ, the ministry of reconciliation, the righteousness of God, the Sun and the Son, the things of the world, took our sin, wealth, Wednesday Wail, who knew no sin, wisdom
2 Corinthians 5:21. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
And then it was a bright, sunshiny Wednesday morning… Glory to God! And though it is still a bit cool, the temperature is expected to rise to at least twenty by mid afternoon. That we can handle.
Unlike yesterday where it was rainy and sunny, rainy and sunny all day long. Chuh! That kind of inconsistent weather only dampens our spirits. But when both the Sun and the Son are shining, it’s a glorious world. (smile)
Now here is a li’l something from my ‘P.S. I LOVE YOU’ Poster, which informs us that:’No one is guaranteed happiness. Life just gives us time and space. It’s up to us to fill it with joy and meaning.’
And that’s gospel truth! Unfortunately though some of us don’t realize it and expect life to guarantee us happiness. But nothing could be further from the truth friends. If life had its way, we’d all be mired in unhappiness. So it’s left to us to fill our lives with pleasant and joyful stuff.
And where can we best find that joy and happiness? Not in the things of the world; it’s false wealth and possessions. But in the strength and LOVE of Jesus Christ; the One who selflessly died on the cross for our redemption; took our sins upon His broad and able shoulders and gave us His righteousness instead.
Hence our Bit: ‘For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.’
Oh friends, what a wonderful God we serve and worship! No other supposed deity has ever, or can ever do that for us. Take our sins and put them on another, so that they can be forgiven.
Listen to these powerful, exciting and heart-warming verses before our Bit nuh. ‘Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
To wit (that is), that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.’ (2 Cor.5:17-19)
Oh my brethren, we have to acknowledge it again: what a magnificent and magnanimous God we serve and worship! He has reconciled us to Himself! Glory to the Most High God Jehovah!
And if you don’t understand what reconciliation is all about, listen to the scholars’ explanation. ‘5:19. Reconciliation is the act whereby God on the basis of Christ’s death, has eliminated the cause of hostility between Himself and humanity, making possible a complete and maturing fellowship. (The hostility was caused by sin, and was eliminated by the Cross).
Illustration: When David prepared to fight for the Philistines, they feared he might betray them in battle in order to become reconciled with Saul. They answered that such an act would greatly please King Saul and be sufficient to restore a decayed relationship between Saul and David.
Application: Those who have become reconciled to God have also been given the ministry of reconciliation, which is fulfilled when they engage in soul-winning (v.19). (First Ref. Lev.6:30; Primary ref, 2 cor.5:19; cf. Rom.3:29).’
Ah mih people, yuh see how important that word ‘reconciliation’ is in our spiritual vocabulary. Out of God’s everlasting grace and LOVE, He decided to become reconciled to us, and in the process forgive us, not impute our sins to us.
But just forgiving us out of hand would stain His sense of justice and righteousness, so someone or something had to eventually pay for our sins. The crux of the matter though was that the sacrifice had to be sinless.
Hn! And lo, and behold ONLY His ONLY Son Jesus Christ fit the bill. I’m sure the Lord agonized over it some, but eventually His immense LOVE for us won the day, and He decided to sacrifice His Son, despite the great heartache it would cost Him.
And here we are now friends, with so many of us ignoring and not appreciating the miraculous work that the Lord did on our behalf. How foolish and ungrateful eh!
Without Jesus work on the cross we’d be left high and dry, to spend eternity in Hades with the evil one Lucifer. But with Jesus redemptive work, we have the option to believe in Him, surrender our all to Him and spend eternity with Him in heaven.
Now which option makes more sense eh; Hades with Lucifer, or Heaven with Christ? My people, I humbly submit that the latter choice is the wiser one. So I’m advising us to please, please choose Christ as your Lord and Saviour, otherwise your eternal life will certainly be hell.
Now for those of us who vote for Jesus, let’s go home declaring our Wednesday Wail, which let’s the whole world know in which camp we permanently stand.
All together now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday!
I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
Now that is what’s called wisdom of exceedingly great proportions! (smile) Much, much LOVE, my faithful brethren in Christ!
…as for me and mine…without a doubt…we will follow Jesus…
P.S. Please excuse the lateness of the Bit. It was just one of those nights, and consequently one of those mornings. (smile) Much LOVE!
04 Jun 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a part of God's people, a rushing mighty wind, a sound from heaven, baptisim of the Spirit, baptism, baptized with the Holy ghost, be nor drunk with wine, cloven tongues like fire, controlling influence, conversion, excess, filled the house, filled with the Holy Ghost, filled with the Spirit, filling, generosity, glory to God, helpless to resist, holy spirit, in my soul, Jerusalem, John baptized with water, joy, Judea, like a fountain, like a river, LOVE, love like an ocean, mind-blowing, omnipotence, peace, Pentecost, power, prayer breakfast, purpose of mind, riotousness, Samaria, speak with other tongues, spreading the gospel of Jesus, technology, the church, the New testament, the uttermost part of the earth, unity, within the believer, witnesses
Acts 1:5. For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
Welcome friends to Pentecost Sunday; that great day in our faith, fifty days after Jesus rose from the dead, when the Holy Spirit made its miraculous entry into the lives of each and every believer at the time, in Jerusalem, the city of God!
Wow! What a momentous and memorable day that was my fellow believers! Before His ascension, Jesus told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem so that they could be baptized with the Holy Spirit. ‘For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.’ And as loyal followers they obeyed His command and stayed in Jerusalem, and were they ever amazed by the happenings on that fateful day.
Hear how the Good Book puts it nuh. ‘And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord (purpose of mind) in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven (divided) tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.’ (Acts 2:1-4)
Can you imagine that scene on that fateful Sunday friends? It must have been literally and figuratively mind blowing with the sudden appearance of a mighty rushing wind, the cloven tongues of fire and all of a sudden their ability to speak in other languages! Glory to God for His omnipotence and His awesome generosity to His people!
Now let’s clarify a couple of things. Jesus said in our Bit that the disciples would be ‘baptized’ with the Holy Ghost, but on Pentecost Day the Good Book says they were ‘filled’ with the Holy Ghost. I’ll try to paraphrase a long explanation that the scholars offer. ‘2:4. The filling and baptism are two different works performed by the Holy Spirit.
Note their contrasts: (1) Following Pentecost every believer receives the baptism of the Spirit (1 Cor.12:13), hence the New Testament never commands the Christian to receive it. But the filling of the Spirit is not experienced by all believers, and so is commanded (Eph.5:18).
(2) The baptism is permanent, happening but once for all. The filling is ongoing, occurring continuously as seen in the present tense imperative of Ephesians 5:18, that is, “Keep on being filled.” The verse commands: “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess (riotousness), but be filled with the Spirit.”
Since Paul compares the influences of wine and the filling of the Spirit, the word ‘control’ can aptly express the idea of either. The filling of the Spirit is the controlling influence of the Spirit within the believer. Such control is neither universal nor unending, thus it must be commanded and does recur within the believers…
The baptism is the act by which Jesus, through the Spirit, at conversion brings the believer into relation with Himself and makes the believer a part of God’s people, the church. The filling is the continuous experience within the Christian whereby the Spirit, who already indwells him, keeps control over his life.’
Phew! Hope you all understand that friends. I guess we can compare it somewhat to God breathing life into us ONE time, but then we have to keep on refilling our lungs with air, if we want to stay alive.
Yes my brethren, Jesus’ words certainly came true, as just before He ascended to heaven, He told them: ‘But ye shall receive power, after that (when) the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.’ (Acts 1:8)
And they certainly made mas (smile) in Jerusalem that day, (read the rest of Acts 2) and around the country later on, and we are now spreading the gospel of Jesus to all parts of the world with the aid of technology! Glory Hallelujah!
Oh friends, I know it’s our custom to begin each Sunday with some praise and worship, but today I was filled with, controlled by the Holy Spirit to do it differently. (smile) I was so enthused by the Spirit’s working in me, that I had to get to the heart of the matter right away. (smile)
And Oh, our church held a wonderful Pentecost Prayer Breakfast yesterday morning, with plenty good food, music, and fellowship from several other churches and denominations, plus a couple of Muslim leaders. And it was all rounded out by a moving address on ‘Prayer,’ by our new Bishop, Jennifer Anderson. As usual, a fine time was had by all. And I’m sure Jesus was delighted by that little bit of unity shown by His church, instead of the disunity we are so prone to show.
Now let’s go home singing one of the songs we sang yesterday. And how appropriate it is eh on this Pentecost Day! So let’s raise out voices in song, and pour forth, the peace, joy, and LOVE that fills our Spirit.
‘I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river in my soul, I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river in my soul. I’ve got love like an ocean, I’ve got love like an ocean, I’ve got love like an ocean in my soul, I’ve got love like an ocean, I’ve got love like an ocean, I’ve got love like an ocean in my soul. I’ve got joy like a fountain, I’ve got joy like a fountain, I’ve got joy like a fountain in my soul, I’ve got joy like a fountain, I’ve got joy like a fountain, I’ve got joy like a fountain in my soul.’
And that’s the way it ought to be my people! So let’s go out now and faithfully spread that peace, LOVE and joy the way Jesus desires of us nuh. Much LOVE!
…when the Spirit moves you…you’re helpless to resist…
01 Jun 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: 2017, a compassionate heart, a sinful bunch, a sinless soul, a watershed year, abundance, acknowledge Jesus, advocating on our behalf, afraid to stand up, Christians, controlling things, courage, creativity, curse, destroy, disasters, divine protection, eternity, faith, fallen angel, favour, fearful, foolish people, for his sheep, frail, gives his life, glory to God, gnashing of teeth, God reigns supreme, grateful, he shall be saved, I am the door of the sheep, I am the good shepherd, if any man enter in, illness, in God's heart, in the name of Jesus, intercessor, Jesus Christ, kill, lamb of god, lost, LOVE, loving-kindness, Lucifer, more abundantly, negative word, only a fool breaks his own heart, promises of God, promotion, robbers, sacrificial, self-control, self-discipline, shepherd-less sheep, sinless, steal, talent, talking the talk, thankful, thanks and praise, the evil one, the evil world, the supremacy of God, they might have life, thieves, throne, Thursday Blessings, topsy-turvy, unconventional, undying LOVE, upheavals, wailing, walking the walk, wayward, wisdom
John 10:11. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
Well my people, it’s Thursday! Can you believe that the week is almost over? And can you also believe that today is the first of June? The year is almost half over! Hn! Hn!
This year of 2017 is truly passing by quickly, and I’m sure many of us have not seen one like it before, both personally and internationally. I know I haven’t. What with my sudden and unexpected personal illness and the numerous upheavals and disasters around the globe, highlighted by Donald Trump’s U.S. Presidency…
Wow! 2017 is certainly shaping up to be a watershed year; a unique, different and rather unconventional one, more so than any we’ve ever seen before. But throughout all the ups and downs friends, the topsy-turvy unpredictable stuff, ONE thing remains constant: the supremacy of our great God!
Oh, they might try to remove Him from our society, blaspheme His Holy Name, and invoke all sorts of other evil and negative behaviour, but He still reigns supreme! Mama Mia! It is His world! He created it, everything in it, and He is still controlling what happens in and to it.
It might not seem so to the casual onlooker, but we believers know that He is still sitting on His heavenly throne controlling things in His way and in His time, with His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ sitting at His right hand interceding for us! Glory to God my brethren!
What a wonderful thing it is to have the sinless, sacrificial Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, advocating on our behalf! We couldn’t have a better and more renowned intercessor! And it’s all been done because of the Father’s great and undying LOVE for us!
Give Him everlasting thanks and praise for being so merciful and forgiving to us my brethren! Without His incredible grace where would we be eh? Making plans to spend eternity with the evil one. Steups! And how sad and disgusting would that be eh? Horrible really!
But because of the immense LOVE in God’s heart, He couldn’t allow His most precious creation to simply be lost for all time to the fallen angel Lucifer. He wouldn’t be able to live with Himself if He didn’t give them a lifeline, a way to come back from the brink of the precipice.
And the only way He could do it and still retain His justice and righteousness is by sacrificing a sinless soul, and the ONLY One who fit that bill perfectly was His One and Only Son, Jesus Christ.
Now don’t you think that just broke the Father’s heart? Just think about our reaction if we had to sacrifice our only child nuh. There be such wailing and gnashing of teeth that it would be heard all around the world.
But the Father cared for us so much that He chose to break His own heart over a bunch of ungrateful sinners. What does the old song say? ‘Only a fool breaks his own heart!’
But I can tell us that God wasn’t a fool for doing what He did. He was just being His natural kind and LOVING self, showing the LOVING-kindness that He was so well known for.
And for that we should all be everlastingly grateful and thankful, just falling all over ourselves to give Him praise and thanks for being so wonderful to us, a sinful bunch of frail and foolish people!
Just look at what our Saviour Jesus says in our Bit. ‘I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.’ And that He did indeed my faithful brethren!
Now look at what He said before that. ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for (except) to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.’ (John 10:7-10)
And so I ask the million dollar question friends: why aren’t we supposed believers having life more abundantly eh, why aren’t we enjoying it so much more than we currently are? That’s why Jesus said He died for us.
So it seems like we don’t truly believe Him, for Christians should be the most upbeat and joyful people on God’s great earth. But that’s not how we appear to the rest of the world. Too many of us are fearful, afraid to stand up to the rest of the evil world even though we have the true, faithful and wonderful promises of God to back us up.
Where is our belly and backbone eh friends? Come on nuh people, if Jesus could give His sinless life for us, the least we can do is stand up and acknowledge His presence in our lives, acknowledge Him as our Lord and Saviour! Steups!
I’m sure it hurts Him terribly to see us walking around like lost, shepherd-less sheep. I simply don’t understand how we could be so lost and wayward, when we have all the blessings that are entrenched in our Thursday Blessings.
Let’s declare them now, so that we can be uplifted and come to our senses. ‘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!’
There’s NOTHING that we lack friends, so please, let’s go out and share it all with the less fortunate nuh, for that’s why Jesus died…so that we might have life…and have it more abundantly! Much LOVE!
…it’s high time believers cut back on talking the talk…and concentrate more on walking the walk…
31 May 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a covenant, a glorious future with Jesus, a man has faith but no works, a partnership, Abraham, adulation, can faith save him, carelessly ignored me, Christians, circumcision, darkness and dread, deeds of love, faith, false prophets, favour, fear, forget the Lord, frenzy, fruit of the Spirit, glory, glory to God, God's will, hold my head and bawl, I will never leave nor forsake you, I'm not turning back, Isaac, Jesus, justified, leaking water, leave it in God's hands, length of days, Lord help me, LOVE, my hands are on the plough, New Testament, Old Testament, One Year Book of Bible promises, our benefit, Rehab, righteous, Ruth Harms Calkin, sacrifice, sanctified, screaming question, serve and worship God, solve my problem, the breath of life, the needy ones, things were going well, topsy-turvy, Two Questions, wandering child, Wednesday Wail, what does it profit, where are you, work everything out for good, works
James 2:14. What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
Well friends, it’s Wednesday! What’s on tap for today eh? I’m supposed to have my eaves troughs replaced today, so hopefully that will solve my problem of water leaking down into my basement when the rain falls.
Let’s hope and pray that it actually does stop it yes, else I’ll just hold my head and bawl! Yes, I will, because I’ve been trying to fix the problem for a while now and nothing else has worked. And for the kind of money I’m expected to pay, it ought to… it better had work! (smile)
But all I can truly do is leave it in God’s hands, for regardless of what I think or do, it’s His will that will eventually prevail, and I know that He will in His own time work everything out for my good. Glory to the great God we serve and worship my faithful brethren!
Now here is a li’l something from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. It so reminded me of our foolish behaviour that I just had to share it. It’s titled ‘Two Questions.’
And it simply says: ‘O God In my fear and frenzy In my darkness and dread My screaming question is “Where are You?” And in reply, the Lord simply answers: ‘Wandering child When things were going well And you carelessly ignored Me Where were you?’
Now that’s a very question friends, to which we have no good answer. That’s because too often, too many of us conveniently forget the Lord when things are going well. But as soon as our lives begin to get topsy-turvy we’re quick to run to Him and plead, ‘Oh Lord help me!’ And we expect Him to jump right on the problem. Hn!
But life doesn’t work like that friends. Our God is not there to simply fix our problems when we decide to ask Him. We have the whole concept wrong: We’ve been created to serve and worship Him, to be available at His behest, not He at ours.
But He’s so wonderful that He’s arranged a covenant, a partnership with us, that if we serve and worship Him faithfully, He will indeed answer us when we call. He has even gone so far as to promise: ‘I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.’ (Heb.13:5)
But friends, that all depends on us keeping our part of the bargain, faithfully serving and worshipping Him. So please let’s stop the nonsense nuh. It’s high time we stop ignoring our God and our Creator when times are good, and instead constantly seek Him, whatever the state of our lives.
And it’s all for our own benefit yes mih people. Our God doesn’t need anything from us since He owns everything and everyone in the universe. We are the needy ones. So let’s start knowing our place and begin giving Almighty God the adulation and glory He so rightfully deserves…that is if we want to see favour and length of days.
And one of the surest ways to obtain God’s favour is by understanding our Bit and living according to it. ‘What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?’
As we said yesterday friends, one must have faith to be saved, but one must also show that faith by doing good works in Jesus’ name, for He expects it of His followers.
Remember what He said about false prophets? ‘By their fruits ye shall know them.’ (Matt.7:20) The same goes for us my brethren; true believers shall be known by their faithful works. It’s very easy to profess faith, but to manifest it is another story.
That’s why Bruh Paul talks about the fruit of the Spirit (Gal.5:22). And when we walk in it; in LOVE, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness (kindness), goodness, faith, meekness, temperance (self-control), then we will obviously bring forth good fruit, good works, to back up our faith.
Now after our Bit, James goes on to argue about Abraham and his willingness to offer up Isaac as a sacrifice as an example of the faithful being recognized for good works. And then he talks of the harlot Rehab, as a non-believer being considered faithful for her good works by her saving the Jewish spies. (James 2:21-26).
However friends, the scholars have a long explanation which I can’t go through for lack of time and space, but what they essentially say is that James and Bruh Paul are using the word for ‘faith’ with different meanings and ‘justified’ in different senses.
Bruh Paul using his New Testament theological idea of ‘God’s act of declaring all believers righteous on the basis of Christ’s redemptive work. But a common Old Testament and gospel usage involves demonstrating or showing something to be righteous (cf.Ps.51:4; Luke 7:35; Rom.3:4); it is this usage that James follows.
They are discussing totally different subjects, since they are confronted by different problems. Paul opposing the Judaizers seeks to prove that the Gentiles can be saved and sanctified apart from circumcision or any other work of the law. James opposing merely nominal, professing Christians, seeks to show that true faith confirms itself by deeds of LOVE.’
So let’s understand that they are not fighting each other, but together, against different foes on different subjects. And now that that has all been cleared up, (smile) let’s go home sincerely declaring our Wednesday Wail, which addresses our faith, and consequently, our good works.
‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday!
I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
Have a blessed day my faithful brethren, manifested by good works! Much LOVE!…
both faith and works are important parts of Jesus’ awesome LOVE…
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