The Overwhelming Importance of Joy in A Believer’s Life!

26 Jan 2026 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Nehemiah 8:10b.          …neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.

Well it’s Monday, the day after the big snowstorm, and almost everything is closed for the big clean up, but the sun is shining brightly. (smile) And it was indeed a mighty storm, falling steadily from around eight in the morning to six in the evening. And yes, it does take time and energy to clean up the large amounts of snow that fell, but my beef is that they cleaned the main street and the sidewalks in my area, but then banked up the snow in the entrance to the lanes. That prevented my snow maintenance person from getting into my lane to clean my driveway. Now if you block up the entrances to a community of lanes, how are the people who live there expected to get out eh? 

I sent an email to my City Councilor earlier on and got back an automatic reply with all the official excuses for whatever is happening. But soon thereafter I heard some noise outside and when I checked on it, there were some machines finally clearing the entrances to the lanes and actually plowing them too. God be praised! I don’t think my letter made any difference, but most likely many others in the area must have complained because this is the first time they’ve cleaned the lanes themselves so early after a major snowstorm. Let’s hope they do better next time. And that’s my gripe for today! (smile) 

Now, let’s talk about something good, in fact something that’s great for the saved believer; that’s JOY! And like this extract from an article on joy says: ‘Joy doesn’t always look like giggles and smiles. Joy is not necessarily synonymous with happiness.’ That’s for sure! But joy is a deeper sense of comfort and calm in spite of our circumstances, that comes from knowing Jesus. It’s in times like this overwhelming and rather dangerous snowfall that joy rises up and keeps us strong and keeping on. And we all know that seminal scripture on the word from the Book of Nehemiah: ‘neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.’ (Neh. 8:10b) 

And that’s where true joy comes from; the soul and spirit of our wonderful God! And as Bruh Paul reminds us in Galatians 5:22, one of the fruit of the Holy Spirit is indeed JOY! So it’s correct to assume that true joy can only be had through communion and sincere interaction with Almighty God; the source and fountain of the attribute.  And there are many scriptures that talk about joy and it’s association with the Lord, and not surprisingly many of them are found in the psalms. 

So let’s check out a few of them, like this one from Psalm 16, where Bruh David confidently declares of his God: ‘Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.’ (Ps. 16:11) Yes friends, in God’s presence joy is indeed available, and not a li’l bit either, but in a plentiful amount. (smile) Then we have this great assurance from Psalm 126: ‘They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth (to and fro) and weepeth, bearing precious seed (a bag of seed for sowing), shall doubtless come again with rejoicing (shouts of joy), bringing his sheaves with him.’ (Ps. 126:5-6) 

Of course my fellow believers, when we take time and sometimes heartache to sow good seed for God, we will always reap a joyful harvest. Now listen to this reassurance from Isaiah. ‘For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all of the trees of the field shall clap their hands.’ (Is. 55:12)  What joy there is, wherever the Lord’s Word prospers! 

And these words from the prophet Zephaniah only increases that joy. ‘The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest (quiet you) in his LOVE, He will joy over thee with singing.’ (Zeph. 3:17) Now how can you beat that for joy eh, my faithful brethren! And if you complain that all those verses come from the Old Testament, (smile) then listen to this one from Jesus Himself as He talks to the disciples about His ascension to heaven, and consequently to us. 

‘And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.’ (John 16:22) So there’s Jesus’ promise of joy for us all in God’s good time. And if you’re a true Christian, then you have to believe it. (smile) And we’ll end with this interesting verse from Peter, as he talks about the trial of our faith and our belief in Jesus. ‘Whom having not seen, ye LOVE; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.’  (1 Pet. 1:8-9) 

Yes friends, that’s the power of our faith in Jesus, that although we’ve never seen Him in the flesh, like the apostles did, we do know Him in the Spirit and that’s sufficient for us. Now, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, seeking divine aid to help us in these troubled times. Altogether: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. 

Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. 

Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’ 

And since we know that divine aid will not be forthcoming until we turn from our evil ways, let’s get together and do that nuh, so that our joy will also be full. Remember, it’s all for our benefit…not God’s! Much LOVE!

…the deepest layer of satisfaction possible…is that of true joy…found only in communion with Christ Jesus…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit   28 December 2021 Isaiah 55:6.

28 Dec 2021 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Isaiah 55:6.     Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near.

And then it was Tuesday, and all the partying done for a few days, time to go back to work. But by Friday, the party scene going to start back up in full swing for the New Year’s celebrations. Don’t know how much we have to celebrate this year’s end nuh, with all the disaster and calamity that’s taken place, both natural and human induced. What’s there to celebrate when we can’t get together and solve even a few of our many problems, and some of them are very petty and simple to fix, but ignorance and selfishness and self-righteousness prevent us from doing anything to help our overall cause. 

Steups! What can be more foolish eh, than a lack of cooperation when it only makes matters worse in all of our lives. And they call man the smartest of all God’s creations…Hn! I certainly question that after all the unwise and foolish stuff that I’ve seen mankind do in the last couple of years. The resentment, the strife, the enmity between family and friends over unbelievable stuff is unbelievable! Between partisan politics, the pandemic, racial tumult, climate change and a host of other problems, the world is in a state of upheaval that I don’t think it’s ever seen before. 

When yuh hear we even want to kick Almighty God out of our society, foolishly thinking that we no longer have any need for Him, then you’ve heard it all! Because He is the ONLY ONE who can bring us together and solve our problems! But like so often before, once we get a taste of the good life, we start believing that it’s our doing, and so we get a tad too big for our britches, and the Lord has to bring us back to reality. Well mih bredrin, this is certainly a time of reality. 

But yuh know what? Too many of us are still not waking up to it. Some of us are seeing it in rose-coloured glasses, while others are covered with darkness all round them, but unfortunately the reality is none of those scenarios. The reality is that Jesus is the light, the life, the way, the truth, the Lord and Saviour of this embattled world! And until more of us realize it, and decide to stop the foolish bickering over petty stuff, and sit down and talk seriously about the important things, the battle for supremacy between good and evil, between right and wrong will continue with neither side gaining any useful traction, much less being able to win! 

And we go right back to the wise words of the prophet Isaiah, when he declared on the Lord’s behalf: ‘Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near.’ (Is. 55:6) Oh my people, that would be the wisest decision we could ever make in this quickly deteriorating and sinking world of ours! And sincerely seeking the Lord is not the complete answer to the problem. Hear Isaiah put it all into proper perspective. ‘Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.’ ( Is. 55:7) 

Now isn’t that so very encouraging, mih people? It certainly is, but we’re not paying attention, merely continuing in our stubborn, hard-headed ways, which unfortunately will only lead us further down the path to destruction. And if these next two verses don’t smarten us up, make us wake up and take notice, then I don’t know what will nuh. Listen up to Isaiah again, as he delivers the one two knockout punch. ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.’ (Is. 55:8-9) 

Doesn’t that just make you put your finger to your lips and go ‘Hnnnn!’ all lost in thought, as you consider the truth of those words? It ought to, because it is the reality of the situation. When are we going to learn that since we have no say in how long we live, or what condition we live in, means we are not rulers of the universe? All the money and power we possess doesn’t stop us from succumbing to the call of the Grim Reaper, whenever he calls. 

And until we fully realize that we are just a created being with a limited shelf life, we will always fall prey to the deceit and lies of the foolish enemy Satan, who unfortunately thought that he could wrest power from the Creator of the universe, Almighty God, and suffered an ignominious defeat; that a humiliating, embarrassing, mortifying defeat! Disgracefully cast out to the fires of Hades, he is now seeking revenge by taunting and inducing fear into the lives and hearts of those who want to believe. And seeing that Satan had no power to stop himself from being kicked out of heaven, why do we foolishly believe his lies and deceits that he can do anything worthwhile for us eh? 

Now let’s hope that these words of scripture make it clear, once and for all time, who is the King of glory, the Creator and Controller of this wonderful universe, so ruined by man and the devil. Isaiah puts it forth: ‘For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater; So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void (empty, without fruit), but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. 

For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir (cypress) tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.’ (Is. 55:10-13) 

Oh my people, can the evil one, the prince of darkness make such a faithful promise? Obviously not, because he doesn’t’ have that kind of power. But the Lord God Jehovah has, and He showed His faithfulness when two thousand years ago, he sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to earth to be sacrificed on the cross of Calvary to save our sinful souls. Now has Beelzebub ever done anything even close to that? And an emphatic ‘NO’ is the answer! So why do we still believe Him over the Lord God Almighty eh? I don’t know nuh. 

But listen to the scholars’ explanation of those verses. ‘55:8-13. God’s sovereignty and omniscience are extolled by the statement that His thoughts (i.e. purposes or intentions) and ways (directions) are higher than ours. While God may certainly be known by men, He is still incomprehensible in the totality of His person and purposes. Therefore He reveals Himself to men by His word, which shall not return to Him void (in vain). The Word of God, therefore, accomplishes His purpose in announcing salvation to all mankind.’ 

Yes friends, we can never fully comprehend the Lord’s purposes and ways because of our inferior intelligence. But through His awesome and faithful Word, He lets us know what’s happening, and it’s in this Christmas season, with the birth of Christ that He began the journey of salvation, of bringing us back into His fold, making us know of His exceeding LOVE and tender care. Now if all of that doesn’t touch a tender spot in your heart and soul, and make you seriously consider seeking Him, then I don’t know what else to do. I can only tell it like I know it. 

However, for those of us who already believe and are doing our best to stay connected to Jesus, let’s go home now, sincerely and loudly declaring (steupsss!!!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting everybody know to whom we belong, lock, stock and barrel. Altogether now: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’ 

Now let’s take all that LOVE and friendship to market and sell it like hot bread from an oven! (smile) Share it with all we meet, for that’s Jesus’ desire. Much LOVE!

…the wisest choice of help…our Creator and Controller…who else eh… 

P.S.   I know it’s somewhat long and late, but I think it’s good, (smile) so please take it seriously. Much LOVE!

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8    

Today’s Scrip-Bit 3 October 2019 Isaiah 55:11.

03 Oct 2019 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Isaiah 55:11.    ​So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void (empty, without fruit), but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

 

Well it’s started out wet and cloudy again in my neck of the woods. But who knows what’s going to happen later – only the great God who created it all and still controls it! So let’s give Him some thanks and praise for our joyful awakening to another faithful and fruitful day in our earthly lives, as we commit to seeking His kingdom and His righteousness. 

So let’s sincerely acclaim: ‘This is the day the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it! And consequently: ‘As for me and my house, we WILL follow the Lord!’  Now it’s up to us, as true believers to keep those two promises…just like the Lord keeps His. And the promise of God that I want to look at today is that found in His free mercy to all, as prophesied by Isaiah. 

‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater. 

So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void (empty, without fruit), but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.’(Is.55:8-11) 

Oh friends, the Lord has spelt it out in His usual forthright manner. His thoughts and ways are indeed higher than ours, and His Word will not return empty, but fulfill its purpose! Glory Be! And we all know that He keeps ALLof his promises! And having made that unbreakable promise, the Lord further promises through the mouth of His prophet Isaiah: 

‘For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir (cypress) tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.’ (Is.55:12-13) 

What wonderful promises my fellow saints in Christ! That’s the kind of stuff we have to look forward to, since the Lord has sincerely promised it! And the scholars explain: ‘55:8-13. God’s sovereignty and omniscience are extolled by the statement that His thoughts (i.e., purposes or intentions) and ways (‘derakim’, or directions) are higher than ours. 

While God may certainly be known by men, He is still incomprehensible in the totality of His person and purposes. Therefore He reveals Himself to men by His word, which shall not return to Him void (in vain). The Word of God, therefore, accomplishes His purpose in announcing salvation to all mankind.’ 

And are we ever delighted by that announcement my people! For it’s the greatest thing that’s ever happened to mankind since the great Creation itself! Wow! Without that promise, and the keeping of that promise, through the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, we’d all be goners! All praise and glory to God the Father, Jesus Christ, the sacrificial Son, and the Holy Spirit, the One who works it all out in us! 

And it’s not the first time He’d promise salvation. Listen to Him from an earlier chapter in Isaiah; re salvation will come only by the Lord. ‘For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it not in vain (empty or a waste), he formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else. I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain; I the Lord speak righteousness, I declare things that are right. 

Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are (have) escaped of (from) the nations: they have no knowledge that set up (carry about) the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save. Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the Lord? and there is no God else beside me, a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me. 

Look (turn) unto me, and be ye saved, and all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear (take an oath).’ (Is.45:18-23) 

Ah friends, just like the Lord there was calling His people Israel to assemble from out of the nations of the Gentiles and come to Him for salvation, the same way He is calling us today, we Gentiles, to come to Him through the sacrificial death of His Son Jesus Christ for salvation, because it’s ONLY through Him, that salvation is possible and available! Shall we not answer that call my people? It would be wisdom extraordinaire to do so, for the only other option we have, eternal death and hellfire, is not even thinkable! 

And our Lord is so great and generous that He even gave us a multitude of blessings, which we call our Thursday Blessings, to go out and use them to bring others to Him, so they too can receive those awesome things called salvation and eternal life. Let’s declare them now in strong voice and true sincerity: 

‘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!’ 

Now, with a true sense of purpose, let’s go out and put them to use nuh, for that’s our bounden duty! Much LOVE!

…listen to Jesus…heaven and earth…shall pass away…but my words…shall not pass away… (Matt.24:35)

Today’s Scrip-Bit 17 August 2018 Isaiah 55:8.

17 Aug 2018 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Isaiah 55:8.   For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.

Ah friends, when it’s not one thing, it’s always another eh? This morning I came down to write the Bit, already a tad late, to find that the bulb in the lamp over my desk had blown. But to complicate matters, when I tried removing the bulb, the glass part broke off from the metal part, leaving the latter in the socket. 

You can imagine my consternation, but with the Lord’s help and some mechanical ingenuity (smile) I finally extracted the metal part from the socket. But would you know that when I put in a new bulb, the lamp didn’t work. Steups! So I then had to go around the house looking for a lamp that could fit in the small space allotted for lamps over my computer desk. The old one was clamped to a bookcase over the desk. 

Obviously I had no more with clamps, so I have to make do with one sitting on top of the books, and the overhead room lamp, which itself isn’t very bright. I haven’t opened the Good Book as yet to see how I’m going to handle it, but yuh know what? I won’t let those li’l inconveniences steal my joy. I said it when I got up, and I’ll say it again: ‘This is the day the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it!’ And I hope you will too. 

I know the workingman is surely doing that, because he’s been out early singing his song. ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday oui! Another week of slave labour done! And now it’s the weekend…Glory be! It’s we time now! No more slave master constantly looking over we shoulder like we is li’l children and doh know how to do we work! Steups! Is we time now to party and do whatever we want to do, whenever we want do it! 

And yuh better believe that is exactly what we going to do, especially with the summer quickly coming to an end! As the man says in his song: ‘Enjoy yourself, enjoy yourself, it’s later than you think…!’ And isn’t that the awesome truth! Mama Yo…Is party time! So let’s thank God for Fridays and the weekend yes and go out and enjoy we self!’ 

Yeh friends, we have to thank God for EVERYTHING, including bad breaks and frustrating inconveniences, for it’s only with His help are we able to overcome them in a sane and sensible manner. And in all truth, the workingman has such simplicity of soul and spirit that you can’t help but admire his commitment to partying. 

But unfortunately, or fortunately, as followers of Jesus, we are not allowed to go that far out on the limb to pick the juicy, succulent fruit that we all wish we could pick and enjoy. Hn! But it’s all for our eventual benefit friends, so that we don’t indulge in the carnal and lustful things of the world and give that fallen fool Lucifer a chance to get under our skin, and thus end up in Hades with him, facing eternal damnation and separation from Almighty God. 

And all God’s children gave a mighty and grateful shout of ‘Thank You Lord!’ And that’s why our Friday Chant differs from that of the workingman, though mostly in not going to extremes and continuing diligence in God’s work. So let’s chant it now with enthusiasm and sincere anticipation. 

All together: ‘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.’ 

Yuh see mih people, we too need to frolic and have fun, but we need to do it in a more restrained way, with some circumspection, as we reboot and get ready for next week’s labours. 

And all I want to point out today, is that though the Lord made us know what is what in our Bit: ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts,’ He is still such a LOVING, kind hearted and compassionate Deity. 

After inviting everyone that’s thirsty to come to the waters and drink freely, and those without money to come and eat bread freely, and to stop spending our money on things that don’t satisfy us, (Is.55:1-2) He further promises. ‘For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir (cypress) tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.’ (Is.55:12-13) 

Ah friends, what a wonderful God we serve! Who else would make such magnanimous promises eh…and keep them too? Nobody else! And in closing, I just want to remind us that He said His word would not return void (empty or unfruitful), but would accomplish the purpose for which it was sent. 

And for His great mercy and grace, we can all sincerely and loudly sing: ‘Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below; Praise Him above, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost! Amen!’ Have a blessed day my brethren in Christ! Much LOVE!

…only in Christ…can everlasting promises come true…