05 Aug 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adopt the righteousness of God right now, air quality advisory, all the horns of the wicked will I cut off, all the wicked of the earth, all these things shall be added unto you, before it's too late, blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, but the dregs thereof, caribana festivities, christianity, come to know and love him like we do, cut off all wicked doers from the city of the Lord, duty bound, early destroy all the wicked of the land, exalt the righteous, faith, give thanks for God's deliverance, God is the judge, God's justice will prevail, God's righteous judgement, God's role as the ultimate judge, God's Sovereignty, God's wrath, he poureth out of the same, he shall serve me, he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight, he that walketh in a perfect way, he that worketh deceit, holy spirit, humble the wicked, hurry, I am the beloved of god, I will declare for ever, in god's eyes, in the hnad of the Lord is a cup, it is full of mixture, it is fully mixed, Jesus Christ, leggo-beast kind of partying, LOVE, mercy, mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, no one can take that from me, not be aligned with the wicked of the earth, not what I do, not what I have, on the late bus, salvation, seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, shall not dwell within my house, shall wring them out and drink them, share His love with my neighbours, share the amazing love and friendship of Christ, sing praises to the God of jacob, the BIBLE, the breath of life, the horns of the righteous shall be exalted, the righteous judge, the ultimate faith of the wicked is in God's hands, the wicked may seem to prosper, the wine is red, they shall be filled, to go to bed late is to rise up late, trust in god's righteousness, trust my friend Jesus, truth, Tuesday Mantra, Walk with a Perfect Heart, wisdom, workers of iniquity, worry
Psalm 75:9. But I will declare for ever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
Oh friends, forgive me, but we’re on the late bus this Tuesday morning. And it’s not because I was partying, I’m too old to get into that leggo-beast kind of partying, but I was up late doing some other stuff, and thus went to bed late, and consequently the old adage applies; to go to bed late is to rise up late. (smile) Anyway, the long weekend holiday celebrations are now over; as they say; deh done like dinner! Now we’ll have to wait another year to get back into the Caribana festivities and what ever activities take place at this time of year.
But since the Lord has granted us the breath of life to see another day, although we have another bad air quality advisory, (smile) let’s keep our promise of yesterday to continue looking at the marvellous words of Asaph in Psalm 75, titled ‘The Righteous Judge.’ Yesterday we saw where he offers up thanks for God’s presence and amazing works (vs.1), then tells of the promise of God’s righteous judgement in His own time (vs. 2-5), then he explains, gives us some idea of what that judgment will be like, (vs. 6-8).
However, yesterday we only progressed to verse 7, meaning we did not get all that Asaph said about the judgement. And after Asaph tells us in verse 7 that ‘God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up (exalts) another,’ he paints a tough picture of that judgement in verse 8. So let’s begin there today, as Asaph writes: ‘For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture (fully mixed, foaming); and he poureth out of the same: but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them (drain it) out, and drink them.’ (Ps. 75:8)
Now that’s surely an interesting way for the wicked to be destroyed. And I like the overview this commentary offers. ‘Psalm 75 is a psalm of thanksgiving that focuses on God’s righteous judgment and sovereignty. It highlights God’s role as the ultimate judge, who will exalt the righteous and humble the wicked. The psalm uses imagery of a “cup” to represent God’s wrath, which the wicked will be forced to drink. It also emphasizes God’s power to both exalt and humble individuals, regardless of their earthly status.’
Hopefully friends, we will acknowledge that coming judgement and do our best not to have to drink of the dregs of that deadly cup of wine. Meaning, we will not be aligned with the wicked of the earth, but with the righteous, to whom the kingdom of God is promised. As Jesus says in the Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount; ‘Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.’ (Matt. 5:6) And later on He admonishes us thus: ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt. 6:33)
Yes my brethren, the Lord urges us to seek righteousness above all else, for when we do, everything else will fall into place. That’s the Lord’s promise, and He never makes idle promises, or reneges on them. And having said all of that, (smile) let’s turn back to Psalm 75, the last two verses, where Asaph shows his confidence in God’s judgement, as he writes: ‘But I will declare for ever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob. All the horns (strength) of the wicked also will I cut off (destroy); but the horns (strength) of the righteous shall be exalted.’ (Ps. 75:9-10)
Oh my fellow believers, that’s what’s in store for us all; if we’re wicked, we’ll be destroyed forever, but if we’re righteous, we’ll be exalted, lifted up, by Almighty God! So which scenario looks the best eh? Obviously the one that promotes righteousness! And there are numerous promises in the Bible that the wicked will eventually destroyed, so it couldn’t be a joke. Promises like this one written by Bruh David in Psalm 101, titled ‘Walk with a Perfect Heart.’
Speaking on God’s behalf, he ends the psalm thus: ‘Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect (blameless) way, he shall serve me. He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry (continue) in my sight. I will early destroy all the wicked of the land; that I may cut off all wicked doers (workers of iniquity) from the city of the Lord.’ (Ps. 101: 6-8)
There we have it my brethren, more ammunition that the Lord will eventually destroy the wicked from the face of the earth and give it to the righteous. So what are we waiting for to turn to righteousness and grab hold of it with all of our souls, bodies, hearts and minds eh? For that’s where the answer to everything lies!
And I believe it’s fitting for us to end today’s chat the same way the above commentary does. It concludes: ‘The psalm can be interpreted as a reminder that God’s justice will prevail, and that while the wicked may seem to prosper for a time, their ultimate fate is in God’s hands. It also encourages believers to trust in God’s righteousness and to give thanks for His deliverance.’
Oh my fellow saints, I could not have said it any better! But I can certainly encourage us to do what the commentary says: ‘trust in God’s righteousness and give thanks for His deliverance,’ for that’s where our salvation and eternal life comes from. And for those of us who are trying to live righteously, let’s go home declaring our Tuesday Mantra, letting the whole world know to whom we belong, lock, stock and barrel.
As one strong and sincere voice: ‘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 my immediate neighbours, as well as with the whole wide world! Glory be!’
And with that declaration (awright!!!), we’re now duty bound to go out and share the amazing LOVE and friendship of Christ with others, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him the way we do! Much LOVE!
…let’s adopt the righteousness of God…RIGHT NOW…for soon it might be too late…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
04 Aug 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a merciful forgiving and gracious God, a modicum of circumspection, a word to the wise is sufficient, air advisory warning, asaph, bear up the pillars of it, brings down to the grave and brings up, broken to pieces, by strength shall no man prevail, by the might of my power, Caribana cultural activities, choose the appointed time, Christian witness, christianity, deal not foolishly, disobeyed your word, divine aid, drive thee from men, eat grass like oxen, exalt the horn of his anointed, faith, faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers, for the honour of my majesty, full steam ahead, give strength unto his king, gives it to whomsoever he will, God is the judge, God raises up the poor out of the dust, God will keep the feet of his saints, God's awesome works, Hannah's song of praise, he brings low and lifts up, he puts down one and sets up another, his hairs were grown like eagles feathers, his ways justice, holy spirit, humble ourselves and pray, humble servants, humility, hung over, I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the king of heaven, I said unto the fools, indisputable truth, inherit the throne of glory, insolent pride, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus Christ, judge uprightly, lift not up your horn on high, lifts up the beggar from the dunghill, LOVE, makes poor, makes rich, mass confusion, meekness, mercy, nails like birds claws, Nebuchadnezzar's boast, non-existent in our society, out of heaven shall he thunder upon them, party heartily, party wisely, physically sick, praise and thanksgiving for God's presence, pray, promotion comes neither from the east, reject God's authority, salvation, Selah, set the world upon them, seven times shall pass over thee, sincerely seek your face, speak not with a stiff neck, strong faith in Christ, suffer the consequences, suffer wrath beyond their imagination, the adversaries of the Lord, the arrogant, the BIBLE, the boastful, the earth and all its inhabitants are dissolved, the God who heals, the Lord killeth and maketh alive, the Lord shall judge the ends of the earth, the most High rules in the kingdom of men, the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, the power to solve our many problems, the proud and boastful are falling, the righteous judge, the same hour was the thing fulfilled, the throne of grace, the wicked shall be silent in darkness, those that walk in pride He is able to abase, those who oppose the Lord, thy name is near, thy wondrous works declare, to set them among princes, to the wicked, truth, turn from our evil ways, until thou know, unto thee O God do we give thanks, we have all sinned, wet with the dew of heaven, when I shall receive the congregation, whose works are truth, wisdom, wise guidance
Psalm 75:7. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up (exalts) another.
So it’s a bright and sunshiny Monday, the last day of this August long weekend that features the Caribana cultural activities. And even with an air advisory warning from the numerous forest fires, the celebrations are moving full steam ahead. (smile) But please, let’s remember tomorrow is work, and if you don’t show a modicum of circumspection in your celebrating today, tomorrow you’ll suffer the consequences; being physically sick, hung over, dead tired, or whatever negative situation crops up, and it might even endanger your job. So let’s be wise and party heartily, but above all, party wisely! End of Sermon. (smile)
And today we’ll look at the interesting Psalm 75, titled The Righteous Judge, who obviously is Almighty God. This psalm comes from the pen of Asaph, another great song writer that worked with Bruh David. The psalm opens thus: ‘Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks, unto thee do we give thanks: for that thy name is near thy wondrous works declare.’ (Ps. 75:1) And as in so many other psalms, we see the writer opens with praise and thanksgiving for God’s presence and His awesome works.
Then he continues: ‘When I shall receive the congregation (choose the appointed or proper time) I will judge uprightly. The earth and all the inhabitants are dissolved: I bear up (firmly set up) the pillars of it. Selah. I said unto the fools (boastful, arrogant), Deal not foolishly (boastfully or arrogantly): and to the wicked, lift not up the horn (don’t raise your head proudly like a horned animal): Lift not up your horn on high: speak not with a stiff neck (in insolent pride).’ (Ps. 75:2-5)
And what does all of that mean? This commentary explains it thus: ‘The psalm begins by thanking the Lord for His many incredible actions. It then speaks from the Lord’s perspective as He states that judgment will occur only on His timing. The psalmist compares the boastful people to a wild ox that lifts up its horn against heaven and stretches its neck out in arrogance. And those tempted to reject God’s authority, are met with serious warnings. Those who oppose the Lord will suffer wrath beyond their imagination.’
Then Asaph gets to the meat and potatoes of the psalm, explaining God’s judgement. ‘For promotion (exaltation) cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up (exalts) another.’ (Ps. 75:6-7) And is that ever the indisputable truth! For we see examples of it, as well as hear the same words all through the scriptures. But we still refuse to believe it. And these words from the song of Hannah, the prophet Samuel’s mother, in thanksgiving for the Lord’s answer to her prayer for a son, tell it like it is:
‘The Lord killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up. The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and he has set the world upon them.
He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail. The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the Lord shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn (strength) of his anointed.’ (1 Sam. 2:6-10)
Yes friends, Hannah says it all in that marvellous song of thanksgiving for the Lord’s curing of her barren state. And one of the best examples of that lowering and exalting is found in the Book of Daniel, where the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, having troublesome dreams, appeals to Daniel for help, and is given the revelation that because of his arrogance and foolish pride, he will go mad for seven years. And we see it when He get’s proud and boastful about his building of the great empire of Babylon, ‘by the might of my power, and the honour of my majesty.’
While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee. And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass like oxen, and seven times (years) shall pass over thee, until thou know the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws.’ (Dan. 4:30-33)
You see my people, the Lord’s Word is not a joke, so we had better believe whatever it says. And I like how after seven years of madness, the kingdom is restored to Nebuchadnezzar, and he testifies thus: ‘Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth and his ways judgement (justice): and those that walk in pride he is able to abase (humble).’ (Dan. 4:37) Now if a pagan king could make such a mighty testimony about the Lord’s power, why aren’t we believing it eh? For today, we are walking in so much pride and arrogance, that humility and meekness are almost non-existent. No wonder so many of the proud and boastful are falling.
Ah friends, unfortunately, we got away from the psalm, but that’s okay for the scriptures we looked at gave us a better understanding of it. (smile) And if the Lord spares life tomorrow, we will continue looking at the remainder of Psalm 75. Now, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, seeking divine help for our numerous problems.
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 we all know what it will take to get divine aid…better Christian witness from us. So please, in our best interest, let’s cut out all the foolish talking and useless pride, and simply do it nuh. Much LOVE!
…a word to the wise is sufficient…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
08 May 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: age of celebrity worship, be the boss and the janitor, bedeviled mankind, Bible, catch our second wind, christianity, deal not foolishly, disgraceful circumstances, endure to the end, eyes fixed straight ahead, faith, gald to be alive, god, God is the judge, halfway home, hands on the plough, he exalteth another, he knoweth what is in the darkness, he putteth down one, if any man desire to be first, influencers, insolent pride, Jesus, Jesus Christ, lift not up the horn, LOVE, not looking back, pride goeth before destruction, speak not with a stiff neck, the first must also be last, the light dwelleth with him, the Lord killeth and maketh alive, the Lord maketh poor and he maketh rich, the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, the righteous judge, the same shall be last, the throne of heaven, to a glorious future with Jesus, truth, two out of three ain't bad, Wednesday Wail, wisdom, wisdom and might are God's
Mark 9:35. If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last.
And it’s another beautiful sunny, summer-like day, though a rather windy one. But you can’t always have it exactly like you want it, so we’ll take the blue skies and the warmth of God’s great light on this early Wednesday in May, as we try to catch our second wind and finish this work week in good shape. As they say, two out of three ain’t bad. (smile) And today, the Good Library opened at an interesting scripture, to a problem that’s bedeviled mankind since the beginning of time. The disciples of Jesus experienced it, and we also do to a great extent in these greedy, selfish and self-seeking days.
Mark writes of it in his gospel thus: ‘And he (Jesus) came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it ye disputed (discussed) among yourselves by the way (along the road)? But they held their peace (kept silent): for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who would be the greatest. And he (Jesus) sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last.’ (Mark 9:33-35) Yes friends, Jesus knew exactly what they had been arguing about along the way. And it’s the very same problem that raises it’s ugly head in almost every organization or group today. Everybody wants to be Number One, El Numero Uno.
But everybody cannot be first, only one can be first, meaning that figuratively speaking, the others will have to be last. But according to God’s kingdom rules, the first one must also be the last. In other words, to be first, you must be willing to be last. Or to be the boss, you must also be willing to be a servant to the rest of your group or organization. It’s the example of Jesus, who being Number One in heaven, gave up His privileges and came to earth to be a servant to man. Unfortunately though, mankind has a problem with that situation because of our overwhelming pride, figuring that if we are leaders, we are too good or big to do certain lowly tasks.
And as Cousin Sol so rightly says in Proverbs: ‘Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.’ (Prov. 16:18) That simply means that those of us who are too proud and arrogant usually fall. When we are too proud and confident in our abilities, circumstances usually happen to bring us back down to earth, to reality, however in a shameful and destructive manner. And sadly, we see that happening quite regularly; for almost every day, some proud celebrity or wealthy person is brought to earth by their foolish pride and entitled behaviour.
But do we learn from it? No way! Many of us are still clamouring unashamedly for material wealth and celebrity status, because this is the age of celebrity worship. And also very sadly, when you look at the supposed celebrities, the people whom we worship, who are influencing our lives, or as they call them the influencers… Steups! They don’t have a clue about real life, because most of them haven’t even experienced three decades of life yet, haven’t seen any real ups and downs, and consequently shouldn’t be even influencing themselves, much less this blind, mindless, gone astray society, for they will only take it further down into the mire of evil and foolishness.
Enough of my rant though. But let’s remember that one of the six, or seven things that the Lord considers an abomination is ‘a proud look,’ meaning pride. (Prov. 6:16-17) And pride in itself is not a bad thing, because we all need it to encourage ourselves and so do good work. However, when that pride gets away from us and becomes arrogance, conceit, egotism and overwhelming selfishness, then we need to worry and take a good look at ourselves. And you can see that in the numerous dictators, and would-be dictators currently holding or seeking power in our world.
However, their overwhelming pride and ego has stopped them learning about other power hungry men, who have eventually fallen amid shameful and disgraceful circumstances. No. They consider themselves much too big, bright and powerful to have anything like that happen to them. They forget, or simply don’t know who sits on the ultimate throne; the throne of heaven. That’s Almighty God, the Creator and Controller of the universe, who controls all that happens to them. First, He allows them to get power, and then He destroys them when the time is right.
And these words from Asaph the psalmist, re The Righteous Judge , explains it quite clearly. Asaph writes: ‘I said unto the fools (boastful), Deal not foolishly (boastfully): and to the wicked, Lift not up the horn (don’t raise your head proudly like a horned animal): Lift not up your horn on high: speak not with a stiff neck (insolent pride). For promotion (exaltation) cometh neither form the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: he putteh down one, and setteth (exalts) another.’ (Ps. 75:4-7)
Oh my friends, we ought to know this since it’s been shown to be true so often in the Good Library. We see it in Saul’s overthrow by the Lord and the raising up of Bruh David to the throne of Israel. Also in the demise and return of Nebuchadnezzar, one of the Persian kings during Daniel’s time. Listen to a couple of scriptures which confirm the Lord’s power. The prophet Samuel’s mother says in her prayer of gratitude for a child: ‘The Lord killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up. The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and he hath set the world on them.’ (1 Sam 2:6-8)
Yes my fellow saints, Samuel’s mother knew the Lord’s awesome power, as she had seen it work in her life. Likewise Daniel, after receiving the answer to the king’s vision, blessed the Lord of heaven with these words. ‘Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his. And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up (raises up) kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding. He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.’ (Dan. 2:20-21)
Ah mih people, let’s understand and accept all that we’ve read today nuh, for if we do, it will keep us from being too swell-headed and rebellious, which will only bring God’s wrath upon us. End of Sermon! Now let’s declare (yesss!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting all and sundry know of our wonderful position in Christ Jesus. As one strong and sincere voice: ‘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!’
And now, we’ve also been promised that if we endure with Christ to the end, then that future will even be brighter and more glorious than we ask or imagine. So, hoping to see you there at the very end! Much LOVE!
…it’s foolish for a created being…to ignore the awesome power of its Creator…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
06 May 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: contemned the counsel of the Most High, courage, creativity, curse, divine protection, faith, favour, generously share our blessings, give thanks unto the Lord for He is good, glorify His holy name, God is the judge, he delivered them, his mercy endureth for ever, in the name of Jesus, let the redeemed of the Lord say so, LOVE, magnificent and magnanimous God, man's first responsibility, negative word, new mercies and compassions, offer up unto God thanksgiving, promotion, prosper, renewed breath of life, self-disicpline, sick and strife filled world, succeed, their soul fainted in them, they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, they rebelled against the words of God, Thursday Blessings, to praise God
Psalm 107:6. Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.
Give it up for Thursday friends! Give thanks for the renewed breath of life flowing through us, with the Lord’s new mercies and compassions, fresh off the line, made especially for today! It is certainly an immense pleasure and privilege to do life with Jesus on another new day! Oh, glory be my people! Therefore, like the psalmist of old, we can most definitely declare (steups!) in grateful appreciation: ‘O Give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy (LOVING-kindness) endureth for ever.’ (Ps. 107:1)
Yes, my faithful brethren, we ought to be continually pouring out our thanks to the Lord God for His unending goodness to the children of men! I hate to think what would become of us if His mercies and compassions were not always available to us, despite the inherent sinfulness in our souls. And Psalm 107 is such a magnificent acknowledgement of God’s goodness to mankind that we going to look through it and cull some wonderful scriptures from it.
Here is the first one: ‘Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy.’ (Ps. 107:2) And yuh better believe that is what we ought to be crying out in loud voice and sincere appreciation my brethren, because the Lord went out of His way to redeem us from eternal separation and destruction by sending His sinless Son to die on the cross to atone for our abominable sins! Now isn’t that something to be proud of and everlastingly grateful? It surely is! So why aren’t we proud of Him, and shouting out to all and sundry His wonderful mercies eh?
Because we are a bunch of proud and arrogant ingrates! And why do I say so? Just listen as the psalmist continues. ‘And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south. They wandered in the wilderness is a solitary (desolate) way; they found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses. And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation.’ (Ps. 107:3-7)
Yuh see that mih people, when Israel found themselves in difficulty from their gross disobedience, they cried out to the Lord and He saved them from their problems. And I like how Asaph puts it in Psalm 50 – God is the judge. Talking about sacrificial offerings of animals, he speaks on God’s behalf. ‘If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fullness thereof. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? Offer up unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the Most High: And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.’ (Ps. 50:12-15)
Yeh friends, that’s how the redeemed of the Lord ought to behave! No wonder the author of Psalm 107, takes issue with us and sadly declares (spelled it wrong there too): ‘Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness (LOVING-kindness), and for his wonderful works to the children of men.’ (Ps. 107:8) We should have no problem in doing that nuh mih bredrin. But unfortunately, we seem to have just such a problem.
And here’s why the psalmist tell us to give thanks and praises to our great and wonderful God. ‘For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness. Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron (prisoners). Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned (despised) the counsel of the Most High:’ (Ps. 107:9-11)
Oh precious people, those words speak directly to our situation right now. We stubbornly and arrogantly rebelled against God, trying to kick Him out of our society! And what happened? ‘Therefore he brought down their heart with labour; they fell down, and there was none to help.’ (Ps. 107:12) Any fool can see the obvious resemblance there to our current society, where we are suffering all kinds of problems and the more we try to solve them in our own strength, the greater the mess and confusion we’re making.
So what’s the answer eh? It’s obvious friends: ‘Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder (broke their chains in pieces).’ (Ps. 107:13-14) Yuh know, it still boggles my puny mind, that in all the troubles that we currently facing in this sick and strife filled world, very few of us, and none of the powers that be, are even considering calling unto the Most High God Jehovah for help. We’re only concerned about doing it in our own strength.
But what about the God of our fathers eh? Have we forgotten so quickly how good He was to them when they called out to Him in troubled times? It certainly seems so. But friends, please believe, that our problems will not be solved until we turn back to the God of our fathers, and do like the psalmist says: ‘Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness (LOVING-kindness), and for his wonderful works to the children of men!’ (Ps. 107:15)
And now that we have set us straight on that matter, (smile) let’s go home declaring (oh yeah!!!) our Thursday Blessings, which our magnificent and magnanimous God has seen fit to bless us most generously with to do His earthly work. In one loud and sincere voice: ‘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 has 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 every day! Amen!’
Oh my faithful believers, we are ever so blessed, that we can’t truly appreciate it! However, let’s go out now and generously share all those wonderful blessings with others who so desperately need them nuh, for that’s what Jesus desires of us! Much LOVE!
…man’s first responsibility…is to praise God… to give Him thanks…to glorify His holy name…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
07 Sep 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a thief, accusations, adulterers, asaph, at the forefront, call upon me, calling us to account, calminty, Caribbean islands, cast my words behind thee, Christians, compassionate heart, conduct, courage, covenant, curse, deceit, depravity, devastation, disobedience, disobedient, divine promotion, evil, faith, foolish mortals, fools, forget God, glorifies God, God is the judge, gratitude, Gulf of Mexico, Harvey, hates instruction, help, hope, hurricanes, hypocrites, I kept silence, I will deliver thee, in the day of trouble, Irma, Jose, Katia, looming in the shadows, negative word, offers praise, pay thy vows, plenty rope to hang ourselves, prayer, prayer warriors, prosper, rebuke, repentance, reprove, self-control, self-discipline, self-disicpline, sinful, sinful society, sinful souls, slander, succeed, tear you in pieces, thanksgiving, the Most High, the salvation of God, the wicked, the word for today, thou shalt glorify me, Thursday Blessings, thy mother's son, time longer than twine, warning from God, wrongdoing
Psalm 50:15. And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
Oh my people, my people, the word for today is PRAYER: serious, sincere, heartfelt constant prayer! It’s what our world desperately needs, and we Christians need to be in the forefront of it all because we are supposed to be prayer warriors.
And why you ask, do we need so much prayer? Well it’s something we ALWAYS need, but right now with three hurricanes looming in the shadows of North America, after the recent devastation caused by Harvey on the west coast, more devastation would be just too much to bear.
Yeh friends, hurricanes Katia and Jose are already in existence; Katia somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico, and Jose threatening to follow the already destructive path of the raging Irma, as she lashed islands in the Caribbean, like Guadeloupe, Antigua, Barbuda, St. Maarten and Puerto Rico, heading for the mainland.
As far as I know friends, we haven’t had three hurricanes lined up at once since 2010, so what does that mean eh? I believe the safest bet we can make is that it’s a serious warning from Almighty God. He’s tired of the dreadfully sinful society that we’ve become, and like He’s done any number of times before with other societies, is calling us to account.
And if that’s so my brethren, then the only thing that will stop the calamity is sincere repentance and prayer. As the psalmist Asaph so truthfully writes in our Bit which comes from Psalm 50 – God is the judge: ‘And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.’
Ah my people, even in the depths of our depravity, the Lord has provided a way out for us: ‘Call on me when you are in trouble, He says, and I will deliver you…’ And that’s all some of us see. But what about the rest of the verse eh… ‘and thou shalt glorify me?’
Conveniently we don’t see that. Like the sinful souls we are, we just note the words of help, not the gratitude and thanksgiving that’s supposed to follow.
But friends, in this world we don’t get something for nothing, and if we’ve been disobedient and sinful, we can repent, but it will come with a price, the least being exaltation and glorification of God’s holy name.
Now let’s hear how Asaph continues the psalm after our Bit. I think it’s good to jog our memories, wake us up to our serious disobedience and wrongdoing. ‘But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth? Seeing thou hatest instruction, and casteth my words behind thee.
When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedest with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers. Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit. Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thy slanderest thine own mother’s son.’ (Ps.50:16-20)
Oh friends, Asaph is talking about the kind of society we have today. He could be alive to day and writing about us. And we’d be even bigger hypocrites and fools than we already are, if we deny the accusations. But here comes the interesting part, as Asaph continues to speak on God’s behalf.
‘These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such a one as thyself: but I will reprove (rebuke) thee, and set them in order before thine eyes. Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.’ (Ps.50:21-22)
Oh my people, God’s warning couldn’t be any clearer. We sit down and think because nothing drastic is happening to punish our disobedience that God’s not noticing. But you can see we are wrong. God gives us plenty rope to hang ourselves, and as the old people would say: ‘time longer than twine.’
And if is one thing God has is plenty time…but unfortunately we foolish mortals don’t have that luxury. So let’s listen to this last verse of Psalm 50 and smarten up nuh.
‘Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation (conduct) aright will I show the salvation of God.’ (Ps.50:23) Yeh mih breddren, God said it thousands of years ago, and nothing has changed since then…except us, turning away from Him.
But there is yet hope for us. Like Asaph so rightfully says before our Bit. ‘Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the Most High.’ (Ps.50:14) That’s wisdom at its zenith!
Now let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings, which God in His mercy and grace has bestowed on us. ‘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 having declared all of that, let’s go out now and share our bounty with the less fortunate nuh, for that’s what Jesus desires of us. Much LOVE!
…prayer is our method of communication with God…but He can’t answer us…until we pray to Him…
17 Mar 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: 123 Newsletters, asaph, backsliding, blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, calypsos, chosen for his inheritance, Christian time, conduct, confession, day of abundance, Editor Bob, enjoy the day to the fullest, give ear, God is the judge, good fortune, green, growth, have fun, hear O ye kings, Holy Trinity, indigo glow of the sky, Irish Angel's Blessing, Irish folklore, joy, Lenten season, leprechaun, magnanimous, magnificent, mindset, mischief-making, Moments of Leisure, monetary, o ye princes, offering praises, patron saint of ireland, perfection of life, Pot o' gold, praise and thanksgiving, praise is comely, pro-actively cultivate, prosperity, reflections, relationship with god, repentance, shamrock, signs, sing praise to the Lord, sing unto him a new song, spread luck, St.Patrick's Day, symbolism, take life easy, the salvation of God, thethe word of the Lord is right, this is the day the Lord has made, topsy turvy world, truth, we will rejoice and be glad in it, Whoso offers praise glorifies me
Judges 5:3. Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes: I, even I, will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel.
HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY !
Well a Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all you fine Irish and non-Irish folks out there! It’s time to enjoy the luck o’ the Irish! (smile)
St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated every year on March 17; the feast day of St. Patrick the patron Saint of Ireland. According to history though he was not Irish, but was born in Britain in 385 AD and brought to Ireland as a slave when he was sixteen. Six years later he escaped and became a priest, and per a vision, he returned to Ireland to Christianize the Irish people.
According to legend, St Paddy used the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity to the Irish people by showing them the three-leafed plant with one stem. And it eventually became the national flower/emblem of Ireland.
Another part of St. Paddy’s legend claims that he drove the snakes out of Ireland, although some biologists claim there were never any snakes in Ireland. (smile) St. Patrick died on March 17 461 AD.
And today I want to share some words of wisdom from Editor Bob from the 123 Group of Newsletters.
The newsletter begins by saying that ‘St. Patrick’s day is here, we know besides being a day celebrating the revered patron saint of Ireland it has now become a perfect time to groove away with folks and friends wearing green jackets adorned with a shamrock and wish for our pot of gold delivered by the lucky Leprechaun.’
And what is a Leprechaun you ask? Well it’s a type of fairy in Irish folklore, who is usually depicted as a little bearded man, wearing a coat and a hat, with a mischief-making side to his personality.
Now my recollection of St. Paddy’s day is just that as quoted above, because while growing up in T&T, St. Patrick’s Day was the only day you’d hear calypsos on the radio during the Lenten season. So it was basically a break in the staunch and strictly celebrated Christian time. We’d all be dying for St. Paddy’s day to come so we could drink and party with a clear conscience. (smile)
Ah Lord eh! What began as a religious festival has turned in to a universal time of partying. But anyway, here are Editor Bob’s words of wise advice.‘Wisdom comes from the moments of leisure and reflections that you give yourself; sometimes perfection of life is not having perfection at all.
So step down from the escalator and sit on a quiet bench, enjoy the indigo glow of the sky, invite a friend or two to spend the moment of nothingness with you and celebrate the day of abundance which is not necessarily monetary in nature.
The festival is full of signs and symbolism. Green is the colour of growth and prosperity. Leprechaun brings a message to take life easy and have fun with it. Pot of gold is the “good fortune” you crave for on the outside but is within your reach if you just believe. Shamrock stands for trinity indicating the power that you have to attract all that is good. So friends enjoy the day to the fullest.’
And that is exactly what we ought to do, not simply because it’s St. Paddy’s Day, but because we are alive and kicking, being LOVINGLY looked after by a mighty, magnificent and magnanimous God.
So why should we not follow the advice of both Editor Bob and the psalmist, who loudly declares: ‘This is the day which the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it.’ (Ps.118:24)
Oh my people, that is the mantra we should follow each and everyday we are blessed to open our eyes to greet a new morn. It’s not always easy because of the unfortunate circumstances that beset all of us at some time or other. But if we pro-actively cultivate that mindset, life will become much easier, and we will not allow our circumstances to steal our joy in the Lord as much as we’d otherwise do.
Now let’s turn to our Bit: ‘Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes: I, even I, will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel.’
Yes friends, we’ll continue with scriptures of praise and thanksgiving to our great and wonderful God – even though we don’t have much time and space left. (smile) That’s because there is nothing else that brings joy to the Lord and to us than offering up praises to our Creator and heavenly Father.
First off, listen to these words of Asaph from Psalm 50 – God is the judge. ‘Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation (conduct) aright will I show the salvation of God.’ (Ps.50:23).
Oh my people, please let’s remember that the Creator made us to have an intense but beautiful relationship with Him. Mankind is the only one of His creatures that can do that.
But unfortunately, over the last generation or so, we have been backsliding badly, and now need to very seriously come to Him as desperate times are overtaking our world. Only confession, repentance and mountains of praise can right our upside down, topsy-turvy world.
The psalmist in Psalm 33 – Praise to the Lord for His creation- steadfastly and confidently declares: ‘Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: for praise is comely (beautiful) for the upright. Praise the Lord with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.
Sing unto him a new song; play skillfully with a loud noise (joyful shout). For the word of the Lord is right; and all his works are done in truth.’ (Ps.33:1-4)
And all God’s children said a loud and grateful ‘Praise the Lord!’ to those words of indisputable truth.
And we’ll close with an appropriate Irish Angel’s Blessing: ‘May the leprechauns be near you, to spread luck along your way. And may all the Irish angels, Smile upon you on St. Patrick’s Day.’
Yes my brethren, I wish us all a blessed St. Patrick’s Day! Much LOVE!
…blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord…and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance… (Ps.33:12)
P.S. I’m somewaht tardy today because of my early celebrations of St. Paddy’s Day. (smile) Much LOVE!
24 Dec 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: accept Christ, affliction, apologize, arguments, asaph, awesome truth, bad, be sober, beleaguered, belong to Christ, birth of Jesus, black out, Bruh Paul, calamity, cavalier attitude, Christ is our everything, Christmas 2013, christmas eve, Christmas Season, City of Toronto, clean up, damage, despise, different opinion, disasters, disatrous situations, dissipation, drunkenness, earth, eating and drinking, Emergency situation, faithfulness, families, float up, freezing temps, friends, God is the judge, God's help, godly reason, good, good stewards, gospel, great gift of Jehovah God, greater toronto area, heavens, human nature, ice storm, idolatries, indisputable truth, joyful, joyous, judge, king, lasciviousness, lawgiver, live or die, Lord and Saviour, lord jesus christ, lusts, Maritimes, memories, Ontario, people helping people, physical labour, ponder, Praise the Lord, pray, preoccupied, punitive, reason for the season, relationships, relief, rewards, save us, scriptures, sincere prayer, Southern Ontario, spirit, suffering, the judgement seat, the Lord, the Roman church, Timothy, warning, warning to the wicked, watch unto prayer, will of the Gentiles
Isaiah 33:22. For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he will save us.
And the clean up continues…slowly but surely… Yes Friends, the clean up of Southern Ontario continues on this cold, freezing, winter’s day, Christmas Eve of 2013. Ah Lord eh!
I would like to apologize though to my fellow Ontarians for my somewhat cavalier attitude towards our recent ice storm. Well it wasn’t really cavalier nuh, but I just didn’t take it as seriously as I should, and was more preoccupied with my little area, which wasn’t too badly hit, neither did we lose power.
But on watching the news yesterday morning, I was shocked to see the damage that had been done in the Greater Toronto Area, especially in the City of Toronto itself. They really got blasted! Many neighbourhoods have still not even been reached because of the fallen trees and wires, and they’ve been in total darkness and freezing cold since at least Saturday night, early Sunday morning.
It’s been reported that at the height of the storm over six hundred thousand Ontarians were without power, half of that in the Greater Toronto Area. And though the relief crews are working around the clock, the damage is so extensive and requires so much manual, physical labour, that it will take a fair amount of time to clean it up.
You know when these disasters strike, it’s simply human nature that all of us who are affected want and expect relief right away. But unfortunately that’s seldom possible, so many of us have to bear the affliction as best we can, with God’s help and whatever our fellow man can provide.
And one of the arguments going on is whether an Emergency situation should have been declared. Mayor Ford said that he didn’t think the situation warranted it. If the wind and rain we had expected during Sunday had happened, then he might have called it.
But I’m sure those who are still suffering the black out and freezing temps will be of another opinion. One of the problems with calling an Emergency is that many of the people who would come and help are unfortunately dealing with disastrous situations in their own areas.
However, it’s sure that this Christmas of 2013 – Chuh! I’m somewhat ahead of the game yes, for it’s the second time on my rough draft that I wrote 2014. Yes Friends, this Christmas of 2013 will not be such a joyous one in many parts of Southern Ontario, and possibly in the Maritime Provinces on the East coast too, since the storm is supposed to be heading there now.
There will be many memories, but certainly not joyful, Christmas ones. One good thing that seems to have come out of this calamity though, is that neighbours and friends are actually going out of their way to help each other. Praise the Lord! As they say, good can usually come out of bad.
And please Friends, as we ask whenever disaster strikes, that you pray for those suffering it. Today I ask you to pray for us here in Ontario and the Maritimes, and also help in whatever other way you can. When you sit down to enjoy your family relationships, please remember to float up a sincere word or two for all the beleaguered families who can’t enjoy it like you.
Now let’s turn to our Bit. ‘For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he will save us.’
Yesterday Friends, we were looking at scriptures that corroborated that awesome truth, and today we’ll continue doing the same, for it’s very important that we understand the importance of Christ being our EVERYTHING, and in this particular case, our JUDGE!
Listen now to Bruh Paul as he talks to the Roman church about Christ being the ONLY JUDGE. ‘For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.
For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived (lived again), that he might be Lord both of the dead and living. But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why does thou set at nought (despise) thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgement seat of Christ.’ (Rom.14:7-10)
Yes my people, once we accept Christ as our Lord and Saviour, we belong to Him completely, and live and die for Him, just as lived and died for us.
Now check out this info from the scholars’. ’14:10. The judgement seat of Christ: See 1 Cor. 3-10; 2 Cor. 5:10. The judgement seat of Christ is not punitive. It is for the sake of rewards, and every believer will be there, though some will receive special rewards for faithfulness.’
And here again is Bruh Paul, as he gives Timothy the charge to preach. ‘I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick (living) and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom.’ (2 Tim.4:1)
Meanwhile, the psalmist Asaph in Psalm 75, a warning to the wicked, boldly and rightly proclaims: ‘But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up (exalts) another.’ (Ps.75:7)
Indisputable truth, my brethren! And we’ll conclude with some more memorable words of truth from Peter’s first epistle, where he is talking about being good stewards of God’s grace.
‘For the time past of our life is enough (may suffice) to have wrought (done) the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness (licentiousness), lusts, excess of wine (drunkenness), revellings, banquetings (drinking parties), and abominable idolatries:
Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot (dissipation), speaking evil of you: Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick (living) and the dead.
For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit. But the end of all things is at hand; be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.’ (1 Pet.4:3-7)
And isn’t amazing and amusing my people, how we’ve come to that scripture in this Christmas season, a time when we’re usually prone to excesses of the flesh? (smile) There must be a godly reason for it. So please let’s take Peter’s words as a warning on two counts; of Christ being our eventual and eternal judge, as well as not to overdo the eating and drinking this Christmas season.
Let’s spend some more time pondering on the great gift of Jehovah God; the birth of Jesus, the real reason for the season. Much LOVE!
…He shall call to the heavens from above…and to the earth…that he may judge his people… (Ps.50:4)
30 May 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: alive and kicking, almighty god, asaph, be glad and rejoice, circumcision, ever-LOVING Creator, forget God, glorifying God, God is the judge, God's anger, God's promise, God's warning, God-given day, hypocrite's hope, idolatry, Jesus' atonement, living our faith, LOVING Creator, loving kindness, mercy, new creation, none to deliver, obedience, peace, pride, psalm 50, salvation of God, serious business, spreading God's Word, sweetest sacrifice, tear you in pieces, thanks and praise, the cross of Jesus, the One and Only True God, Top o' the morn, wonderful blessing
Psalm 50:22. Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.
Top o’ the morn, mih people! Another God-given day is in the offing, and are we ever blessed to be alive and kicking! Wow!
So let’s give our ever-LOVING Creator some thanks and praise for that wonderful blessing, then go out and enjoy the day, be glad and rejoice in it, spreading His Word, and joyously living our faith as He desires us to.
And all God’s people declared a loud and heartfelt, ‘All praise to the honour and glory of our great God! For He’s the ONE and ONLY TRUE GOD! The Creator and Controller of this amazing universe.’
Yes Friends, it’s ever so right and good to begin our day with some glorification of Almighty God! Even the lesser animals instinctively do it, so why can’t we ‘brainiacs’ eh? And I guess that’s the problem right there; we have too much brains, which makes us think too much, and also too much of ourselves.
Sometimes the best reaction is the instinctive one, not the well laid and thought out plan. Anyway, the important thing is that we’re alive and kicking and glorifying God. And all God’s children said a hearty ‘Amen!’
Now let’s turn to our Bit, a rather interesting one. ‘Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.’
Oh what a warning my Friends! That psalm of Asaph is aptly titled ‘God is the judge.’ And so He very well is, my brethren! Please don’t ever forget that! A judge that we should be very wary of, and careful to do His bidding.
Asaph lists the sins and disobediences of Israel, then that terrible warning to those who forget Jehovah God comes down from on high. It’s no child’s play my Friends. That godly promise of ‘lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver’ – that’s serious business people.
And for those of you who don’t know, haven’t clued in or yet realized it, our God is a very serious God, especially when it comes to things like obedience, pride and idolatry. He’s the most LOVING and generous Being there is, but if you constantly disobey Him and try to shunt Him aside, His anger can be very great indeed.
Listen to Job’s supposed buddy, Bildad, affirm God’s justice. ‘Can the rush (papyrus) grow up without mire (marsh)? Can the flag (reeds) grow without water? Whilst it is yet in his greenness, and not cut down, it withereth before any other herb. So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite’s hope shall perish:’ (Job 8:11-13)
That requires no explanation, my brethren. Now hear Bruh David on the subject, from Psalm 9, ‘Praise for God’s justice.’
‘The Lord is known by the judgement which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion (meditation or song). Selah. The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God. For the needy shall not always be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever.’ (Ps.9:16-18)
Yes Friends, our God is a just God, and He executes justice and judgement on the wicked, while having mercy for the poor and oppressed.
Now let’s open our ears, hearts, minds and souls and listen to God’s promise to those who are obedient and godly. ‘Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation (conduct) aright will I show the salvation of God.’ (Ps.50:23)
Oh my people, that’s the greatness of our God right there! Once you praise and glorify Him and conduct yourself in a manner suited to a believer, He will show you the wonders of His salvation. Now isn’t that much better than the ugliness and sinfulness that Lucifer has to offer? Of course!
And we’ll end with some appropriate words from Bruh Paul to the Galatians. ‘But God forbid that I should glory, save (except) in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world (or by which the cross) is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.
For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature (creation). And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.’ (Gal.6:14-16)
And we’ll have a word from the scholars here. ‘Unlike the Judaizers, who brag about their religious accomplishments Paul takes pleasure only in Jesus’ atonement and all the spiritual blessings it brings. The world is the world system. Paul has renounced his old life and all its ways, along with its values and religious accomplishments in which he used to boast.’
And so should we my brethren, because the fleshly religious stuff like circumcision no longer pertains. It’s all about the new creation of man in the Spirit of Christ, and whether you’re a Gentile or Jew, once you walk in and adhere to that principle, God’s mercy will be forever upon you.
Oh what a wonderful God we serve and worship, my Friends! Please, let’s continue doing so with all that we have, so that His blessings will continually be upon us. Now that’s indeed wisdom at its zenith. Much LOVE!
…to live for God…is the sweetest sacrifice a man can make…
P.S. Ah mih people, our God is so amazing and amusing, would you believe that as I wrote that last word in my rough draft, the lights went out for a split second, putting a godly period to the writing. (smile)
I guess a flash of lightning must have occurred in my area, and caused a loss of power to all the electrical appliances. It’s a good thing I didn’t have anything written on the computer as yet, else I might have lost it all. And you know how annoying that can be. But the Lord in His mercy and LOVING-kindness did not allow that to happen. Praise His Holy Name! Much LOVE!
04 Oct 2012
by randyobrien50
in Inspirational Living
Tags: assurance, blessed, breath of life, constant thanks and praise, creative powers, dictates of God, fruit of our lips, full serving of God, God is the judge, hymns, idols, iniquity, positive, promises, psalms, success, thanksgiving
Psalm 50:14. Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows to the Most High.
Well a blessed day to all you wonderful people out there in Scrip-Bit Land! It’s certainly a pleasure and a privilege to come into your computers, your homes and your hearts every morning and give you an ounce or two of God. (smile) Remember though, you still have to gather the remainder of the necessary pound, so that you can have your full serving of our great God, each and every day. And we do that by reading His word, studying and meditating on it, then putting it into practice. Please note, we can’t go through life successfully without a full serving of God EVERYDAY! And now here’s some stuff, from what I’ll call ‘Off My Wall,’ where I’ll share with you some of the encouraging words I have up there, but never seem to look at. Now, right next to the almanac – which I’m ashamed to say is still set on May, in October, even after I promised to rectify it in September – there’s a small plastic envelope with the heading ‘Today’s Thought’ written above, and today I was led to share the info on the 3 by 5 inch plastic card that’s been sitting in there for a number of years now. Oh, it’s a worthwhile thought for everyday, but the original intention was not to leave the same card in there for all eternity. I do have some other cards, also with some good words, but only the Lord knows where to find them now. I guess though that one day, if He so desires, He’ll lead me to them, so that I can share them. However, today’s ‘Off the Wall’ thought is: ‘A man who is self-reliant, positive, optimistic, and undertakes his work with the assurance of success, magnetizes his condition. He draws to himself the creative powers of the universe.’ And that my Friends is a glorious truth, but with one detail missing – He must be walking under the dictates of the Most High God Jehovah. For regardless of how great a man might be in his own right, if Jehovah God is not with Him, then all his efforts will be either fruitless or not be long lasting! That brings us to our Bit, which comes from Asaph’s Psalm titled, God is the judge. ‘Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows to the Most High.’ Ah my brethren, those are two very essential essentials (smile) of a believer. We cannot say we’re worshipping our Creator without giving constant and bountiful thanks and praise for all that He’s done for us, undeserving though we are. And that’s even more important when we are backsliding like the Israelites back then, and we are now. Some people are also quick to make promises to God for helping them out of a tight spot, then forget to pay them, unfortunately taking the whole thing for a game. But Friends, our God is very concerned and diligent about promises being kept; His to us, and also ours to Him. Now let’s look at some scriptures that deal with the first half of our Bit: ‘Offer unto God thanksgiving;’ And we’ll start with Hosea, who, in entreating Israel to return to God’s good graces, declared: ‘O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. Take with you words, and turn to the Lord: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves (fruit, sacrifices) of our lips. Asshur (Assyria) shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless find mercy.’ (Hos.14:1-3) Oh Friends, unfortunately in this age, too many of us are bowing to the work(s) of our own hands, and not to Almighty God. No wonder so much of our world if facing much calamity. If we’re not paying close attention to the last line of that scripture above: ‘for in thee the fatherless find mercy,’ then we’re completely lost Friends, because it’s one of the many eternal truths in the Good Book. And turning to Hebrews 15, where the author – judging from the language alone, it couldn’t be anybody else but Bruh Paul – talks about service well pleasing to God, we read: ‘For here (on earth) have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to communicate (share) forget not; for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.’ (Heb.13:14-16) More eternal truth Friends! And we’ll end with some words that this time everybody’s sure Bruh Paul wrote to the Ephesians. ‘And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.’ (Eph. 5:18-21) Oh my people, that’s awe-inspiring advice! So please, let’s take it and run our race of glory with it nuh! We’ll continue this Bit tomorrow, provided the breath of life is still flowing through us. Till then, may our most merciful and forgiving God grant us the peace, health, safety and prosperity that we need to endure our days on this confused and troubled planet earth. Much LOVE!…without a strong connection to their Creator…humans are totally lost in the nightmare of their own creation(s)…
SCRIP-BITS 