True Discipleship carries a High Price of Total Surrender and Obedience!

20 Jul 2025 Leave a comment

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

Romans 12:2a.        And be not conformed to this world: but he ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,

And as the world turns, we’ve come to Sunday, the day the Lord rested after creating the universe and all therein.  And He also expects us to rest, as well as gather in worship on that day, remembering all that He’s done for us, with voices of praise and thanksgiving, while renewing our faith, our strength and confidence in Him and His awesome promises.

So, here we are, gathered as required, and we’ll open today’s celebrations with a most appropriate hymn, titled, ‘All to Jesus I Surrender.’ Yes my fellow believers, that’s something we need to do, before we can truly appreciate and experience God’s goodness, grace and mercy. For above all else the Lord desires obedience in His followers, and you can’t be truly obedient until you let all of yourself go to Him.

The author of the hymn is an American Hymnwriter, one Judson W. Van DeVenter, (1855-1939) and it’s believed he wrote it around 1896. This commentary tells us that ‘The song is about consecration, which literally means ‘association,’  but for religious purposes, it signifies a transfer from a secular or profane state to a sacred one, for a special purpose or service. It involves a dedication that is intended to be permanent and can’t be easily revoked or repeated. It often involves rituals, prayers, and ceremonies specific to the religion or tradition.’

And today we’re going to reconsecrate ourselves to Christ as we sing and praise and worship and give thanks. So, let’s raise our sacrifices of praise in a soulful, heartfelt, sincere, mid-tempo version, leaving no doubt whatsoever about our intentions. Singing: ‘All to Jesus I surrender. All to Him I freely give; I will ever LOVE and trust Him, In His presence daily live. (Refrain: I surrender all, I surrender all; All to Thee, my blessed Saviour, I surrender all.)

All to Jesus I surrender, Humbly at His feet I bow, Worldly pleasures all forsaken. Take me, Jesus, take me now. (Refrain:) All to Jesus I surrender, Make me, Saviour, wholly Thine; Let me feel the Holy Spirit, Truly know that Thou art mine. (Refrain:) All to Jesus I surrender, Lord, I give myself to Thee; Fill me with Thy LOVE and power, Let Thy blessing fall on me. (Refrain:)

All to Jesus I surrender, Now I feel the sacred flame; Oh, the joy of full salvation! Glory, glory, to His name! (Refrain: I surrender all, I surrender all; All to Thee, my blessed Saviour, I surrender all…I surrender all, I surrender all; All to Thee, my blessed Saviour, I surrender all… All to Thee, my blessed Saviour, I surrender all…’  

That was wonderful friends! And as always, heaven was singing along with us, for they just LOVE any opportunity to sing of and celebrate Jesus.  And it’s ever so good to rededicate ourselves to Christ every week that we gather in His sanctuary, as it renews our spirits, reignites our faith, and uplifts our souls, for He’s all that we ever need in this world. And all God’s children said a loud and grateful, ‘Thank You Jesus!’

And when we wonder why we need to surrender all to Jesus, we must remember that it’s the cost of discipleship, you cannot be a disciple of Jesus unless you are willing to give it all up for His sake. And Jesus laid it out very clearly to the disciples, and to us. ‘If any man will (desires to) come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.’ (Luke 9:23) And my brethren, the most important word in that sentence is ‘daily.’

Yes, because being a sincere disciple of Jesus means being on the job every day, not just when the feeling takes us. And that’s why a lot of us don’t do such a good job at discipleship, we talk a good talk, but refuse to walk the walk DAILY. Furthermore, too many of us dislike the very idea of denying ourselves, but please remember what Jesus did for us. He selflessly denied His heavenly life to come to earth as a man and give His life so that we could be saved from our sins and receive eternal life instead of eternal death!

Now that most definitely means we owe Christ a debt we can never repay! And what could be more important than doing the little in our power eh? Nothing! But we so LOVE the bright lights, the corruptible material possessions and the good, comfortable life, that we cringe, both physically and mentally, at giving up any of it, even to save our own souls.  

And I believe this verse from Bruh Paul to the Romans gives us good enlightenment as to what our behaviour should be. He writes: ‘I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable (rational) service.’ (Rom. 12:1)

And what does all of that mean? The scholars tell us: ‘By the mercies of God summarizes all that God has accomplished for the believer in Romans chapters 1-11. In justifying the believer (chs. 1-5), enabling him to live a righteous life (chs. 6-8), and being faithful to Israel (chs. 9-11). That ye present refers to a definite act of presentation. The verb is used of offering a sacrifice that became “holy” under the Levitical system (cf. Ex. 29:37).

This shows that the Christian life begins with total commitment and irrevocable presentation. And as per Your bodies: The body has been an instrument of sin (chs. 6). Now it is to be presented to God as a channel through which the righteousness of God is manifested.’

So you see my fellow believers, our body is a temple of the Lord, as Bruh Paul writes to the Corinthians: ‘What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.’ (1 Cor. 6:19-20) It could not be said any plainer or more straightforward than that my people! We do not belong to ourselves, but to God, therefore we must behave as such, in body, mind and spirit.

And how do we do that? Hear this practical advice from Bruh Paul to the Romans. ‘And be not conformed to this world: but he ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.’ (Rom. 12:2) Yes friends, all changes begin in the mind. That’s why we talk about the battlefield of the mind, for there the battle between good and evil, God and Satan continually rages, and the winner is shown through our outward behaviour.

Therefore we need to keep very good and close control of our thoughts, and keep recycling, refreshing and renewing godly ones to keep the enemy out. It’s as Bruh Paul advices the Philippians: ‘Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest (noble), whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise (anything praiseworthy), think (meditate) on these things.’ (Phil. 4:8)

So my fellow saints, let’s do our best to renew our minds by thinking on the right things, and keeping ourselves busy with the right activities, that we can do our duty to our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ! Much LOVE!

…it’s a crying shame…that so many supposed believers…knowingly shirk their duty to Christ…

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   10 July 2022 Deuteronomy 33:27a.

10 Jul 2022 Leave a comment

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

Deuteronomy 33:27a.       The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms:

Another marvellous day on God’s great earth my people! The breath of life is strong and vibrant within us, and the Lord God Jehovah is on His heavenly throne running things for our eventual benefit, thus the glorious celebrations all around the world this Sunday morning! And all God’s people, said a loud, proud and grateful ‘Praise the Lord!’ 

Yes friends, Sunday is the Lord’s Day, and He has earmarked it for plenty praise and worship from His people. That’s why every time Sunday comes around our hearts are filled with joy as we eagerly gather to fellowship with other believers and give Him the praise, honour and glory He so richly deserves. 

And today we’re going to open the proceedings with one of the greatest hymns ever written for obtaining God’s grace and merry, His fatherly comfort in times of solace. It’s aptly titled, ‘Leaning On the Everlasting Arms.’ And there’s definitely no better place in this whole universe to lean for comfort and encouragement than on the everlasting arms of Christ Jesus! 

The website Godtube tells us that the song was written in the late 19th century by Anthony J. Showalter and Elisha Hoffman. It stemmed from letters Showalter had received from two of his former pupils informing him that their wives had died and they were seeking consolation. In replying to their letters, he was struck by the words of Moses from Deuteronomy 33:27, as he blessed the tribes of Israel. He said:  ‘The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.’ 

Apparently that led to his further thinking that they would be good words on which to base a hymn of solace and comfort, so he engaged the services of Hoffman to help him. And thus was born this tremendous, popular and heartlet hymn, which we’ll now proceed to sing in a soulful, mid-tempo version. 

And while are singing it, the website Hymnary.org challenges us to ‘contemplate what it means to find refuge in our heavenly Father’s arms in times of fear and trial, and to allow His joy and peace to replace our loneliness and anxiety.’ Excellent advice for our Sunday morning worship my faithful brethren! So let’s open our hearts and mouths and offer up sincere sacrifices of praise to our heavenly Father, who is indeed our eternal refuge in times of trial. 

And we sing: ‘What a fellowship, what a joy divine, leaning on the everlasting arms; what a blessedness, what a peace is mine, leaning on the everlasting arms. (Refrain: Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms; leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.) O how sweet to walk in this pilgrim’s way, leaning on the everlasting arms; O how bright the path grows from day to day, leaning on the everlasting arms. [Refrain]

What have I to dread, what have I to fear, leaning on the everlasting arms? I have blessed peace with my Lord so near, leaning on the everlasting arms. (Refrain) Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms; leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms, Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms; leaning on the everlasting arms…leaning on the everlasting arms of Jesus… oh how good it is to be, leaning on the everlasting arms of Christ my Saviour….’ 

Oh my fellow saints, I’m sure we’ll all agree that it is indeed good to lean on the everlasting arms of Christ our Saviour! No if’s ands and buts about that! If we must lean somewhere for solace and comfort, then that’s the ideal place to lean! And the simple words of the short verses are so beautiful and true: ‘What a fellowship, what a joy divine…what a blessedness, what a peace is mine…O how sweet to walk in this pilgrim’s way; O how bright the path grows from day to day…What have I to dread, what have I to fear…I have blessed peace with my Lord so near, leaning on the everlasting arms.’ 

Wow! Every sentiment there conveys the gospel truth! And it’s not like Moses alone described the Lord as our refuge, although he did it again in the opening verse of the only psalm he ever wrote, Psalm 90, where he declares: ‘Lord thou hast been our dwelling place (refuge) in all generations.’ (Ps.. 90:1) 

Then in Psalm 142, subtitled ‘Thou art my refuge,’ when Bruh David could find no human solace he writes: ‘I cried unto thee, O Lord: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living. Attend (give heed) unto my cry; for I am brought very low: deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I. Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the righteous shall compass me about (surround me); for thou shalt deal bountifully with me.’ (Ps. 142:5-7) And that’s exactly how the Lord deals with us when we sincerely call upon Him for help! It must be a sincere plea, not just some wishy-washy cry. 

And the author of Psalm 91, aptly subtitled ‘God is a refuge and fortress,’ puts it this way. ‘He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, he is my refuge and my fortress: my God: in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler (bird trapper), and from the noisesome (perilous, deadly) pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust (take refuge): his truth shall be thy shield and buckler (small shield). 

Thou shalt not be afraid for (of) the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth (lays waste) at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh (near) thee. Only with thine eye shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.’ (Ps. 91:1-8) 

Yes friends, that’s the kind of trust and belief we ought to have in our great God. And as we go about our business today and every day, please let’s make it a habit to take a moment and ‘contemplate what it means to find refuge in our heavenly Father’s arms in times of fear and trial, and to allow His joy and peace to replace our loneliness and anxiety.’ Loneliness and anxiety that so many of us are experiencing in these very troubling times. That is wisdom to the nth degree. Much LOVE!

… Christ’s powerful and everlasting arms…were made explicitly for us to lean on…

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   16 September 2021 Proverbs 24:1.

16 Sep 2021 Leave a comment

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

Proverbs 24:1.     Be not thou envious against (of) evil men, neither desire to be with them. 

Oh friends, another beautiful morning in God’s great universe! Give Him much thanks for it nuh! Yes, if we drew breath this sunny morning, that means He still has a plan for us to live through this day, to experience His wonderful grace and mercy, good conversation and timely blessings! Wow! How can we not LOVE our marvellous God eh, with all that He does for us, with His faithful promise to give us a future and a hope, and fulfilling it by giving us the most wonderful gift ever… 

His name is called Jesus, the Lord and Saviour of the world, the King of Kings and the name above every other name, to which every knee must bow and every tongue declare that He is Lord to the glory of the Father! Death could not keep Him in the grave, He won that victory hands down! And thus, He is the reason why our sins can be washed away, and our souls made clean and we have another opportunity to come before our heavenly Father in confidence and joy and be called children of God! Oh mercy, mercy me! 

And that’s why we also declare in the utmost sincerity, that there’s NO God like our God Jehovah! And whether you believe it or not, that’s the indisputable truth! So we had all better come to acknowledge it asap, because our destiny depends on admitting and believing that unalterable truth, and by living our earthly lives in a manner that glorifies Jehovah God. For once we admit and believe that truth, our lives are no longer ours, but we then belong to Him, and must follow His divine will. And how do we do that you ask? 

Well, here’s one wise and practical application as declared by the ever-wise Cousin Sol in the Book of Proverbs. He gives this marvelous advice at the beginning of chapter 24: ‘Be not thou envious against (of) evil men, neither desire to be with them. For their heart studieth destruction (devises violence), and their lips talk of mischief (trouble). (Prov. 24:1-2) Yes friends, when we surrender our lives to God, we cannot go against His will, and that means not getting involved in stuff like envy, violence, wickedness and evil doings. 

And Cousin Sol’s father, Bruh David wrote a lot on that particular subject, including this marvellous advice from Psalm 37 – The true state of the wicked. Bruh David declared in the utmost sincerity and faith,: ‘Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good, so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed (feed on his faithfulness).’ (Ps. 37:1-3) 

That’s the good news of the gospel my brethren: trust in God, stay away from evil and do good, and all will be well with you! Even the other great psalmist Asaph, recognized that amazing truth in his own life. And in that famous Psalm 73, re The mystery of prosperous wickedness – he humbly declares: ‘Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean (pure) heart. But as for me, my feet were almost gone (I had almost stumbled); my steps had well-nigh slipped: For I was envious at the foolish (boastful), when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.’  (Ps. 73:1-3) 

Ah mih people, that is so easy to do when we see the obviously wicked and deceitful getting rich and powerful through their evil deeds and fraudulent schemes. I know it seems that the world thrives on evil, but that’s only on the surface. For when we get right down to the nitty gritty, evil is thrown aside by God, and righteousness conquers all! So even that great man of God, Asaph was intimidated by, and envious of the prosperity of the wicked, because he was human just like us. But though he almost stumbled spiritually and lost his faith, he didn’t quite go over the threshold to the side of evil. 

Hear how he regained his equilibrium nuh, how he conquered that negative, ungodly attitude. He says: ‘Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end. Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction.’  (Ps. 73:16-17) Yes friends, ‘not until the psalmist entered God’s sanctuary and received a divine perspective on the wicked’s prosperity did he find his answer to the problem.’ And sometimes we also need to get closer to God to find solutions to our problems. 

But it’s worthwhile noticing how Asaph closes out the psalm: ‘Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength (rock) of my heart, and my portion for ever. For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed them all that go a whoring from thee (who are unfaithful to thee). But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works.’ (Ps. 73:25-28) 

Oh my fellow saints, those are indeed wise and marvellous words for all of us to live by! So please let’s faithfully embrace them nuh and draw close to God, for the closer we get to Him, the better it is for us. As Bruh David so wisely said: ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.’ (Ps. 103:2) And there is no better time than now to remember some of those many benefits of God, which we describe as our Thursday Blessings. So, in strong voice, with the utmost of faith and confidence let’s declare them nuh. 

‘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 every day! Amen!’ 

And if we truly believe it, then we need to go out and generously share those wonderful blessings with others, just like the Lord did with us. That would surely warm the cockles of His hurting heart. And don’t think for one moment that Christ’s heart isn’t hurting because of the ungodly way His church and followers are behaving down here on earth. You’ll be oh so wrong!  Much LOVE!

…Jesus said it loud and clear…if ye LOVE me…keep my commandments… (John 14:15)                                                                                                                

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit 22 June 2017 Ephesians 6:11.

22 Jun 2017 Leave a comment

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

Ephesians 6:11.   Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (evil schemes) of the devil.

Well mih friends and family, it seems the ole fella was a tad late when he said yesterday that summer would be with us in a couple of days. Hn, hn! Apparently summer has officially been with us for three days now. (smile) 

And my excuse, which by the way I’m sticking to, is that I don’t remember it being on the 20th of June, but more like the 22 or 23. Just goes to show you ought to check your calendar before you make such statements. 

But be that as it may, let’s hope we have a good summer season, one worthy to be called summer; not too hot, but hot enough to make one know that it’s summer…if you follow my convoluted reasoning. So far it has been somewhat mild, with a touch of spring still present, but it’s still early days yet. 

And before we get into today’s sermon (smile), here is a nugget of gold, one of the little snippets that appear at the end of each day’s Daily Bread Devotion. It says: ‘Nothing is hidden from God’s sight. Nothing is greater than God’s LOVE. Nothing is stronger than God’s mercy and grace. Nothing is too hard for God’s power.’ 

Now if ALL of that isn’t gospel truth, then I don’t know what is! Our God is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent, which means He is all-powerful, all seeing and everywhere! You can’t beat that friends! 

And He has so generously granted some of His awesome power to us mere mortals, but we need to accept it, to graciously receive it, because there’s nothing we can do to work for or deserve it. It’s just His wonderful free gift. 

Now one of the things we’re talking about here is the power to rebuke and successfully conquer and control the evil enemy, who desires to take over our lives and turn us away from sincerely worshipping the One and Only True God, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 

So let’s bring in our Bit and continue our conversation from yesterday. ‘Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (evil schemes) of the devil.’  

And we’re going to repeat the verses that contain the description of God’s spiritual armour, so that we’ll have them right in front of us and not have to turn elsewhere to find them. 

‘Stand therefore, having your loins girt about (girded your loins) with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness. And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye may be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked (one). 

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.’ (Eph.6:14-18) 

Now yesterday we explained up to the breastplate of righteousness, so today we’ll continue the scholars explanations with the third piece of God’s armour: ‘Preparation of the gospel of peace (vs.15) which means “eagerness that comes from the gospel of peace.” 

That is, as the Roman soldier wore special shoes called ‘caligae’ on his feet, enabling him to advance against his enemy, so the Christian must have on his feet (possess) a sense of “eagerness” or “willingness” to advance against the Devil and take the fight to him. 

Such “eagerness” to contend with Satan “comes from the gospel of peace.” The gospel gives peace to the believer, freeing him from the anxiety though he advances against such a powerful opponent.’ 

Oh friends, how wonderful is that eh? The gospel of peace frees us from fear and anxiety and allows us to courageously battle Satan. But please note one important point, we ought not to sit back and let the evil Lucifer come against us, we must take the fight to Him, battle him on our terms, on our turf. As they say, the best defence is offence. 

And the fourth piece of God’s armour is ‘The shield of (which is) faith (vs.16). And that means taking God at His word by believing His promises. Such trust will prevent one from doubts induced by Satan.’ 

And that’s awfully important my fellow believers, for Lucifer is the father of lies and deceit and doubts, and if we’re not very careful and have a strong faith and trust in Almighty God, he can easily deceive us into thinking and doing the wrong things. 

Now time and space have run out against us, so we’ll have to continue this tomorrow. And I look at it as God’s mysterious working, not giving us too much stuff to ponder in one sitting. So please think seriously on what we’ve said to day, while we walk gratefully in God’s LOVE and mercy. 

And to end it all on a magnificent note, let’s declare our Thursday Blessings with much gusto and sincere belief. In unison now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! 

I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! 

I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’ 

And since blessings were meant to be shared, let’s go out and joyfully share them nuh, as Jesus so avidly desires of us. Much LOVE!

…having on God’s armour…makes us all invincible conquerors…