20 Feb 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a great family, accounted as sheep for the slaughter, adversity, all things work together for good, anxiety, any other creature, as it is written, be not afraid of life, be not dismayed, Bible, christianity, clear direction for my life, curse, depth, distress, faith, famine, favour, fear thou not for I am with thee, for thy sake, God gives us the tools to do His work, God is greater than any potential enemy, God's desire for us, God's desire to redeem believers cannot be frustrated, God's purpose, good friends, good health, hard tiems, hjeight, holy spirit, hunker down, I am persuaded, I am thy God, I will strengthen thee, I will uphold thee, in a state of alarm, in all these things, in Christ Jesus our Lord, Jesus Christ, LOVE, make the right decisions, mercy, nakedness, negative word, neither death, nor angels, obedient to God's will, peril, persecution, powers, prevailing circumstances, principalities, prosper, salvation, show our mettle, statements of trust and faithfulness, succeed, success, supernatural strength, supernatural wisdom, sword, the right hand of my righteousness, things present, things to come, through him that loved us, to grow in spiritual maturity, to separate us from the Lorve of God, to them that love God, tribulation, truth, undeserved blessings, want to have things easy, we are killed all the day long, we are more than conquerors, we can do all things though Christ who strengthens us, who are called according to His purpose, who shall separate us from the Love of Christ, wisdom, with God's help
Romans 8:35a. Who shall separate us from the LOVE of Christ?
And it’s a somewhat cold and cloudy Thursday morning in my part of the universe. The sun’s striving valiantly to come out, but not with a whole lot of success. Thankfully, that does not apply to us faithful believers in Christ Jesus, for He’s promised that when we are obedient to His will, we can do all things through the strength He provides us. (Phil. 4:13) Therefore we should not be dismayed, or afraid to keep on keeping on when things look somewhat dismal, and we can’t seem to make the right decisions in our prevailing circumstances.
That’s why I LOVE this verse from the prophet Isaiah, where God tells us: ‘Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.’ (Is. 41:10) Oh friends, there could not be a better promise than that from the Lord our God, Creator and Controller!
And just for your information, they say that the phrase ‘do not be afraid,’ occurs 365 times in the Bible. Therefore, it must surely be important for our wellbeing. And this commentary offers an interesting take on the subject. It says, ‘There’s a word in that verse, you don’t hear much anymore… dismayed. Dismayed means feeling distress or anxiety, typically at something unexpected. It also means to look around in terror. God is speaking with tenderness here, telling us not to look around as one might do in danger or in a state of alarm.’
Now that’s the gospel truth my fellow believers! For all through the Lord’s Word we are reminded not to be afraid, not to live in fear, not to be dismayed, because our great and ever-faithful God is always with us! That’s why Bruh Paul could make these wonderful statements of trust and faithfulness in that mighty Chapter of Romans 8.
‘Who shall separate us from the LOVE of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that LOVED us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the LOVE of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ (Rom. 8:35-39)
Wow! What a wonderful scripture! And the scholars offer this explanation per the last two verses. ‘We cannot be separated from God’s LOVE, because it is set forth in a person who is God Himself, Jesus Christ, our Saviour. God’s desire to redeem believers cannot be frustrated, because He is definitely greater than any potential enemy. His plan will be realized because it is His purpose (cf. vs. 28).’ Which says: ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are called according to his purpose.’ (Rom. 8:28) More acknowledgement that though life will not always be easy, God will eventually work it all out for our good.
And all these promises that our great God has made are certainly wonderful, but the problem is that they don’t just happen automatically. No! We must have the hope, faith, and trust to believe them, and live a life, an obedient life, that will allow them to come true. And yes, we all want to have things easy, but that obviously is not God’s desire. He desires that we grow in spiritual maturity, and the only way to grow is through adversity, through hard times. That’s because in the good times we learn nothing at all, or very little, but when the times get tough, we need to hunker down and show our true selves, show the mettle that we truly possess, all with God’s help!
And the marvellous thing about our God is that He not only helps us in all situations, but that He’s also bestowed underserved blessings for us to do His earthly work. He’s not asking us to do stuff in our own strength, which He knows we are incapable of doing. So, He gives us the tools to do it. We call these particular tools our Thursday Blessings. And to activate them, we must declare them aloud. So, let’s do that right now nuh.
As one strong 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’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 having made that awesome declaration (yesss!) we must now go out and use those blessings to help others, just as generously as the Lord bestowed them on us, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!
…true believers in Christ…ought not to be afraid of life…and the troubling circumstances that can and will confront them…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
22 Oct 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: absolutely nothing, advice, alert, all things work together for good, angels, Anselm, aspires to inspire, backslide, can separate us, Christ Jesus our Lord, complain, create a flow, death, distress, enemy, everlasting, faith, faithfulness, famine, flaming torch, get started, God's purpose, inspiration, jehovah god, Job, labouring for the man, life, lives by faith, LOVE, more than conquerors, motivated, nakedness, not by sight, our journey with Christ, peril, persecution, powers, principalities, punch in, punch out, ready to go, redeem believers, salvation, sheep for the slaughter, something small, start small, succour, the called, the God of his fathers, the Good Book, the Love of Christ, the LOVE of God, the sword, things present, things to come, Though he slay me, through him that loved us, time clock, to them who love God, trials, tribulation, tribulations, unconditional, wisdom, yet will I trust in him
Romans 8:37. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that LOVED us.
And then it was Saturday! A day when most of us don’t have to go out and labour, punch in and out on the man’s time clock. Oh what a blessing! Although we might actually work harder at home doing household chores than when we’re out labouring for the man. But at least we can do how much we want, when we want and at the pace we want. Glory to God!
And would you believe, I have just the right inspiration this morning for us from our friend Anselm, who always aspires to inspire us for a better day.
And for this Saturday morning, Anselm advises: ‘Do something small and create a flow. Just clean your desk. Or pay your bills. Or wash the dishes. You just need to get started. When you have finished that small task you’ll feel more alert and ready to go do the next thing. You just have to get started to get motivated. So if you really don’t feel like doing anything, start with something small and work your way out and up.’
That’s pretty good advice my people, especially if you’re somewhat under the weather and you don’t feel like doing anything at all, but there are things you must do. Just start small and gradually work your way up to the big things. You’ll be surprised at how much you have accomplished at the end of the day.
Ah friends, life is certainly strange yes! And why do I say that? Because some days you need to tackle the big things first, the ones you fear or dread the most, else you’ll just keep on putting them off and they’ll never get done. At other times, like today, it’s the small stuff we need to do to motivate us into doing bigger ones.
And you know what? That ties in rather nicely to our Bit. But before we get to it, let’s set the scene with a couple of verses before it. ‘Who shall separate us from the LOVE of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that LOVED us.
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the LOVE of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ (Rom.8:35-39)
Oh my fellow believers in Jesus Christ, what a marvellous bit of scripture! Bruh Paul says that ABSOLUTELY NOTHING can separate us from the LOVE of God which is found in Christ Jesus. Glory Hallelujah! That is something to sing and shout and gloat about my people! For once we have become new creatures in Christ, NOTHING WHATSOEVER can break that bond; neither life, death, angels, nor the evil powers that be!
That should be very reassuring to all who come to Christ for rescue. Knowing that even though we may be considered simple sheep to be slaughtered, the unconditional and everlasting LOVE of God shall never depart from us and will comfort us through each and any situation, be it good or bad.
And the scholars offer this explanation. ‘8:38-39. We cannot be separated from God’s LOVE, because it is set forth in a person who is God Himself, Jesus Christ, our Saviour. God’s desire to redeem believers cannot be frustrated, because He is infinitely greater than any potential enemy. His plan will be realized because it is His purpose (cf. v.28).’
Yes my believing brethren, our God is the greatest power in the universe, because He created it and still controls it. Everything in it is subservient to Him. And His purpose for and towards us? Why, it’s something we all know, or should know.
The Good Book generously shares it with us, in the uplifting words of Bruh Paul. ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.’ (Rom.8:28)
And the scholars explain that verse thus: ‘8:28. To them that LOVE God is the human perspective. God is working all things together for good, but those who LOVE God are best able to appreciate that fact because they LOVE Him no matter what (cf. Job 13:15). To them who are the called is the divine perspective. Scripture often refers to believers as “the called” or “the elect.”
Yeh friends, only those who truly LOVE God can appreciate the fact that even during our worst trials and tribulations, He is in the background working it all out for our good eventually. And I’m going to spoon feed you here again (smile) because the scripture is so phenomenal and relevant to what we are talking about.
Listen to Job during his time of tribulation. ‘Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways (defend my ways) before him. He also shall be my salvation: for a hypocrite shall not come before him.’ (Job 13:15-16)
Now isn’t that the utmost in faith? It surely is! Job has suddenly lost everything, his family and his earthly possessions, through no fault of his own, or no evil deed, but yet still he carries the flaming torch of trust and faith in the God of his fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
Mama Mia! How many of us possess such great faith today eh my people? Certainly not enough, for as soon as the first lash hits, and no succour is forthcoming from God, many of us begin to complain, lose faith and backslide.
Hear the scholars on Job’s faithfulness. ’13:15. Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him expresses the unquenchable faith of one who lives by faith, not by sight. Even when it appears that God Himself has turned against Job, he will still trust in God.’
Ah mih people, there’s no more for me to say, except that we should sincerely ponder those scriptures that we’ve touched on today and try to see where they fit into our journey with Christ, and as always, turn to Jehovah God and ask for help in bettering ourselves faith wise. That’s the greatest wisdom available to mankind. Much LOVE!
…only when one truly walks by faith…and not by sight…can one truly appreciate the LOVE of God…found in Jesus Christ…
23 Jan 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a relationship with God, advice, any man should boast, beloved followers, better understanding of God, blessings, by grace you are saved through faith, care, Christ's atonement, compassion, created in Christ, divine grace, easy yoke, Ephesians, faith, foolish pride, for God so loved the world, for good works, forgiveness, free choice, glory hallelujah, God's goodness, God's purpose, going his own way, grace, grow in Christ, have everlasting life, he gave his only begotten son, holy spirit, Jesus, lead and guide, leftovers, life-changing words, light burden, logic, loving kindness, maturity, meat and potatoes, menu, mercies, not of works, read and spell, recreated by Christ Jesus, rocket science, running back for more, salvation, sample God's wares, sinful nature, spiritual birth, surrender your life to God, the cross at Calvary, the gift of God, the greatest gift ever given to man, the kindness of God, the long and short of the story, understanding God's Word, unmerited favour, whoever believeth in him should not perish, workmanship
John 3:16. For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
And the people sang: ‘Saturday, oh Saturday, what do you have in store for us today?’
And the Lord replied likewise in song: ‘For my beloved followers, today I have brand new blessings, brand new mercies, etched with forgiveness, grace, care, compassion and LOVING-kindness. That’s my constant menu, except they are freshly prepared each and every day. I don’t do leftovers for those I sincerely care about.
And I have the best server in the world, My Holy Spirit. He will lead and guide you through the entire day, giving you good advice as to what to do and say.
So if you like what I’m offering, come on down and sample my wares. I guarantee that once you’ve sampled them, you’ll never go away; you’ll just keep running back for more. So see you soon. All my LOVE! Your heavenly Father.’
And that’s exactly how it is friends! Our magnificent God prepares His menu of delights afresh for us every day. As he says, He doesn’t do leftovers. But the only way you can truly sample His wares is by surrendering your life and soul to Him, so that He can set up His Holy Spirit in your soul.
The Holy Spirit is the server, so if you don’t surrender and allow Him in, then you won’t be able to sample the menu. No rocket science my brethren, just simple logic!
And all of that is borne out in the marvelous words of our Bit. ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’
Oh precious people, how can we doubt or disbelieve those life-changing words eh? It’s been historically proven that Jesus did die on the cross at Calvary, and if He was indeed whom He claimed to be, and there’s no reason to doubt it, then that’s the greatest gift that has ever been given to mankind! Glory Hallelujah!
We should all be shouting and praising and thanking God for His wonderful gift of salvation through Christ, and be ever so willing to live under His easy yoke and light burden.
But mankind is a different animal, possessing free choice, foolish pride and a sinful nature, so he doesn’t always make the wisest decisions. And even when you read and spell for him, like I’m trying to do here, he still insists on going his own way.
However, let’s turn to the scriptures for more facts on the subject. Yesterday we were looking at Bruh Paul’s message to the Ephesians, concerning faith and grace and how they work in a believer’s life. We ended up where he declared that God’s purpose was to demonstrate His goodness to them through Jesus Christ so they could have a better understanding of Him. (2:7)
Today, we’ll continue from there. ‘For by grace are ye (you have been) saved through faith; and not that of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship (creation), created in Christ Jesus unto (for) good works, which God hath before ordained (prepared) that we should walk in them.’ (Eph.2:8-10)
Now friends, those are three of the most important verses concerning our faith! The first thing we need to realize is that we are saved by God’s grace, His unmerited favour, and nothing that we have done ourselves.
The scholars explain that verse thus. ‘2:8. For gives the reason for this future demonstration of divine grace. It is because man owes his salvation to this grace or undeserved divine favour.’ Then they go into all sorts of explanations about the different tenses and genders of the Greek words which I will leave out.
The long and short of the story though is: ‘This means that no part of salvation is “of yourselves” or due to what we do – the whole of salvation is the gift of God. Man is saved “by grace” that is, by the kindness of God in having Jesus die for our sins. But this grace is appropriated through faith, that is, man believes what God has done for him and relies upon Christ’s atonement to blot out his sins and bring him into a proper relationship with God.’
In other words, NONE of our good works can get us into heaven. We can ONLY get there by accepting God’s LOVING-kindness and having faith, believing In Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour. Unfortunately though, a lot of people still misguidedly believe that good works will get them into heaven. I sincerely hope that they smarten up before it’s too late.
As for ‘2:9. The reason in part, that salvation is not achieved by good works is to prevent men from bragging of having earned a place in heaven by themselves.’
Yuh think the Lord stupid? He made man, and He knows what we are capable of. Can you imagine the bragging and boasting that would have gone on if we could get to heaven through good works!
‘2:10. For verifies the assertion of man’s good works having no part in obtaining salvation. Workmanship refers not to our original or physical birth, but to our spiritual birth: what we are spiritually in the good sense is due to God, not ourselves. Created in Christ Jesus unto good works means “having been (morally) recreated by Christ Jesus for good works;” that is, Jesus remade our spiritual lives so that we could then do good works.
The apostle’s thinking is this: since the Christian has been given spiritual life for the purpose of doing good works, there could have been no good works by him prior to conversion that would merit salvation. Good works follow – do not precede – salvation.’
There you have it friends, Bruh Paul’s treatise on grace and faith. I know I’ve shared most of this stuff before, but it’s such an important part of our belief system that we can never hear it enough.
So today let’s spend some time pondering on the meat and potatoes set before us nuh. It’s time we stop drinking milk and eating baby food and gain some maturity, moving on to a higher understanding of God’s Word (smile). Much LOVE!
…we can only grow in Christ…by gaining a deeper understanding of His Word…
30 Mar 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Abraham Mazlow, abundant sins, Adam and Eve, Advocate, all have sinned, almighty god, beautiful, Beelzebub, believers, box office draw, Bruh Paul, buck up, carried away captive, Christians, Christians should not sin, come short of God's glory, come to their senses, confess sins, dealt wickedly, death, despicable, destroy the natural process, disobedient, divine authority, does good, done amiss, escape serious injury, eternal death, eternal life, exercising our own wills, face to face with death, faith, fellowship, fellowship with God, forbidden fruit, forgive, Garden of Eden, God's house, God's purpose, gospel truth, grim reaper, hideous results, impulse to live, jehovah god, Jesus Christ, land of their captivity, life is wonderful, life threatening accident, LOVE, mortal lives, mortality, negatives in our world, not a just man on earth, overwhelmed, pray, precious, promise ourselves, rampant, relationship with god, repent, righteous, Sabbath, sacred, Scrip-Bit family, share our faith, sin, sin of commission, sin of omission, sinful nature, sins not, sown in our souls, standing steadfast and strong, start enjoying life, stupidity, supplications, technological society, the seeds of sin, trespassing, ultimate in wisdom, virtually impossible, wandering sheep, wily deceiver
Ecclesiastes 7:20. For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.
So how is the Scrip-Bit family this Sunday morning eh? I hope we’re all standing strong and steadfast in faith, and giving God all the glory, as we should.
And as always, we expect those who celebrate the Sabbath on a Sunday are going to get to God’s house, at sometime today, to fellowship with other believers. That’s one of the best ways to share our faith and keep it strong.
Now I want to share an interesting quote from one Abraham Mazlow (1908-1970), an American psychologist, considered the Father of Modern Management Psychology. He states: ‘This confrontation with death… makes everything look so precious, so sacred, so beautiful, that I felt more strongly than ever the impulse to live it, and to let myself be overwhelmed by it.’
Wow! How true that is my Friends! For I’m sure you’ve noticed that whenever we become really sick, unto possible death, or have been in a life threatening accident, or narrowly escape serious injury from whatever circumstances, how we suddenly become very concerned about our lives?
And it doesn’t even have to be us who has the close call with the grim reaper, but just someone we know, and it forces us to consider our own mortality. Then we suddenly wake up and realize how wonderful life is, and begin to, or promise ourselves to enjoy it more fully.
Ah mih people, why wait till we come face to face with death before we truly appreciate life eh? Life is indeed beautiful, and despite the many negatives in our world, none of us really want to go over to the other side just yet. (smile)
So regardless of our circumstances, let us buck up and start enjoying this mortal life today nuh! This life that Almighty God has so generously breathed into our bodies. That was His original purpose for doing so yuh know. And if we don’t enjoy and appreciate it, means we’re being disobedient to His wish.
Now here is another interesting proposition, namely our Bit: ‘For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.’
And that, most of us realize is indeed gospel truth! Our sinful nature began when our forefathers Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, against God’s very specific command not to do so. Hn!
And since then, that sinful nature has just become more sinful and despicable with each passing day. Until now, in this wealthy, modern technological society, sin is the number one box office draw, being totally rampant in its many forms and fashions.
And though some of us might try to do good, try to be righteous, unfortunately the seeds of sin have been so deeply sown in our souls, and have sprouted up in so many different ways to make that virtually impossible. No wonder Bruh Paul could write to the Romans: ‘For all have sinned, and come (fall) short of the glory of God.’ (Rom.3:23)
And to help us understand that, here are some thoughts from the scholars. ‘3:23. A personal sin may be one of commission (doing something that is prohibited) or a sin of omission (failing to do what is required of us). It may also express itself in either an act or attitude.
Illustration: Sin is portrayed in Scripture as falling short of God’s glory (v.23), going astray like a wandering sheep (Is.53:6), transgressing or overstepping the law (Ps.51:1; Luke 15:29), and trespassing, which means exercising our own wills in the realm of divine authority (Eph.2:10).
Sin brings hideous results, affecting not only our relationship with God, but also our relationship with others. If not checked, sin will destroy the natural process of every person.
Application: Christians should not sin, but if they do, they should remember their Advocate (Jesus Christ), and confess their sins in order to restore fellowship with God (1 John 1:9-2:2). (First Ref. Gen.3:6; Primary Ref. Rom 3; cf. Ps. 51:5).’
Yes Friends, I surely hope that gives us a better appreciation of what sin is, and what it can do. Please check out those reference verses too. If we’re not careful, sin can, and will totally destroy us, as well as those associated with us.
That’s why we keep stressing not to let the ole crook, the wily deceiver Beelzebub to get even a fingernail hold in our lives. We have enough sinful nature already, no need to encourage him and make it even worse.
And we’ll close with some verses from Cousin Sol’s prayer when he dedicated the temple. ‘If they, (Israel) sin against thee, (for there is no man which sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them over before their enemies, and they carry them away captives unto a land far off or near;
Yet if they bethink themselves (come to their senses) in the land whither they are carried away captive, and turn and pray unto thee (repent) in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done amiss, and have dealt wickedly;
If they return to thee with all their heart and soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captives, and pray toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, and toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built for thy name:
Then hear thou them from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive thy people which have sinned against thee.’ (2 Chr. 6:36-39) That speech can also be found in 1 Kings 8:46-50, with a few variations.
However my people, in this oh so sinful world of ours, what we desperately need to do is what Cousin Sol advised; sincerely repent and turn back to Jehovah God so that He can forgive us of our abundant sins. That Friends, is the ultimate in wisdom! Much LOVE!
…so what’s it going to be eh…forgiveness and eternal life…or stupidity and eternal death…
27 Mar 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abundance, almighty god, blessings, buy and eat, call upon God, come and drink for free, come unto me, comfort, Controller, courage, Creator, drunks, dwell with humanity, eternal life, excellent job, faithful believers, faithfully, faithfulness, for our benefit, free gift, glorified, God is the greatest, God works on our behalf, God's purpose, God's thoughts higher than mans, God's ways higher than man's, gospel, grace, highway 401, Holy Ghost, holy spirit, hunger and thirst after righteousness, in Jesus' name, indulge in sin, indwelling of the holy spirit, Jesus Christ, keep on doing it diligently, knowledge, let the wicked forske his ways, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, magnanimous, mercy, milk, mind-boggling offer, motivate the believer, omnipotent, pardon, peace, Pothole Season, potholes, provider, put it into serious practice, return unto the Lord, righteousness., rivers of living water, roads in bad shape, salutations, salvation, seek the Lord, sgnificant cracks in the roads, source of new life, Spirit of God, spiritual experiences, spring, take all this to heart, teetotallers, unconditional LOVE, understanding, walking in Jesus' footsteps, whoever is thirsty, wicked world, wine, winter weather, wisdom, without money, without price, workmanship
Isaiah 55:1. Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.’
Oh my Friends, salutations and blessings, and courage and comfort, with wisdom and peace to all you who desire to walk faithfully in the tough but energizing footsteps of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, this chilly Thursday morning at the end of March 2014! May He, in His wisdom and great faithfulness, grant us all that we need to go out and do an excellent job in His Holy Name! Amen!
Now today I want to share something from a comic strip called Rhymes with Orange, posted in the newspaper a couple of days ago. This particular scene shows two police officers, one white, one black, sitting in a patrol car, with the white one telling the black one: ‘Look for the cars driving straight… They’re the drunks. It’s the teetotallers swerving all over the road.’ And at the bottom of the strip, there’s a sign that says: ‘POTHOLE SEASON.’
And although all that is meant as a joke, right now it could be taken quite seriously in Toronto and its environs, because I’ve never seen our roads in such bad shape. This winter’s been real hard on them. The potholes are usually prevalent, but this year there are also significant cracks extending for long distances on all the roads.
I recently drove down the major highway 401 that runs north of Toronto, it’s one of the busiest in the world, and right by the airport, the cracks and potholes were so bad that it didn’t make sense to try and avoid them. In some places you’d think you were driving in some impoverished third world country.
And on my street, the cracks go almost all the way down, on both sides of the yellow, dividing line. I also noticed yesterday like they attempted to patch up some of the more serious cracks and holes, but that only makes the ride bumpier. Chuh!
And despite the calendar saying it’s now spring, don’t fool yuh fat nuh, the winter weather is still here, though the weather people have promised us a short break this week.
Anyway my people, all of that is small potatoes – until you have to take your vehicle to the mechanic (smile) – and we can handle whatever comes against us because our God is the GREATEST; not only omnipotent, but also magnanimous to a fault, and He always works on our behalf, for our benefit!
How awesome my people! We have a powerful and magnificent God who is always with us, working for our good. And it is all shown right here in our Bit: ‘Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye, buy and eat: yea, come buy wine and milk without money and without price.’
Now how can we ever refuse such a mind-boggling offer from our Creator, Controller and Provider eh?
But unfortunately many people are doing exactly that. Only because they don’t really understand what this life is all about, whom Almighty God truly is, and how He operates.
However Friends, that’s where we come in. It’s our job, as faithful believers, to get out into our extremely violent and wicked world and tell them about Jesus; of His unconditional LOVE, and free gift of grace that leads to salvation and eternal life.
We need to get the unbelievers -and many supposed believers too – to a place where they can truly appreciate these verses: ‘Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.’ (Is.55:6-9)
Yes my brethren, only when mankind fully understands, appreciates and believes those words, will he be able to sincerely seek refuge in our most wonderful Deity, Jehovah God!
And all of what Isaiah says is no lie my people, because we’ve seen Jesus saying the same thing. And we’ll quote another of Jesus’ immortal sayings on people hungering and thirsting for righteousness.
‘In the last day, that great day of the feast, (feast of the tabernacles) Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly (heart) shall flow rivers of living water.’ (John 7:37-38)
Oh fellow believers, that’s the third time that Jesus has spoken of giving living water to those who believe in Him. Now what does He mean by that eh? The next verse clears that up.
‘(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe in him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)’ (John 7:39)
Yes mih breddren, it’s the Holy Spirit which indwells ALL believers, that Jesus is referring to! And we’ll close with some interesting comments from the scholars, re the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
‘7:39. One of God’s purposes since the beginning has been to dwell with humanity and enjoy fellowship with us. He does it in this dispensation through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
The indwelling of the Holy Spirit (1) occurs automatically when a person is saved; (2) is not an “experience,” but produces spiritual experiences; (3) remains permanently; (4) is the basis of all the other ministries of the Holy Spirit; and (5) is the source of new life in the believer:
Illustration: When Paul met 12 disciples of John who did not know of the Holy Spirit, he knew they needed to be saved. So he preached the gospel to them (Acts 19:1-5).
Application: The Holy Spirit’s indwelling should motivate the believer to be careful not to harm his body nor indulge his body in sin. (1 Cor.6:19-20). (First Ref. Ex.35:31; Primary Ref. John 7:37-39; cf. 1 Cor.12:13.)’
Oh Friends, please, please let’s take all this to heart and either put into serious practice, or if we have already done that, then let’s just keep on diligently doing it nuh! In Jesus’ name, I pray. Much LOVE!
…and he hath filled him (Bezaleel)…with the spirit of God…in wisdom…in understanding…and in knowledge…and in all manner of workmanship… (Ex.35:31)
27 Nov 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: above average life, allergies, B.S. baffles brains, barrier breaker, better late than never, blessed, Bubba Joel, calamities, Christian, come to pass, commandments, compassion, Creator of the universe, defeated, destiny, Deuteronomy, disasters, disobedience, disobedient, disobey, downtrodden lives, economic distress, enemies, enlarged vision, escape, everlasting promise, evil hold, fabulous blessings, favour, flee seven ways, foolish, forgiveness, fruit of thy cattle, God's goodness, God's purpose, godly people, Good Book, good life, have life more abundantly, holy people, idolatrous, immense proportions, in grip, in the city, in the field, increase, Jewish prosperity, Joel Osteen, know it all, limited mindset, listen diligently, live high on the hog, LOVE, mercy, obey His rules, observe and do, obstinate, offspring, palms of his hands, pay, pick ourselves up, pluck up courage, ponder the situation, poor, positive thinking, poverty, prideful, prosperity thinking, reap what we sow, rebellious, scripture, seeds of greatness, set your hand to, short-change ourselves, sickness, simpler, sold our souls, storehouses, straightforward, strife, sworn, tender mercies, the voice of the Lord thy God, tired, Today is my day, true, true believers, trusting, turned from God, voice of God, walk in his ways, war, wisdom, wise changes, wonderful god, worldly goods, worthless worldly treasures
Deuteronomy 28:1. And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee high above all nations of the earth.
Ah mih people, in this rough and rugged world, when it’s not one thing, it’s certainly another yes. Now yesterday my allergies were bothering me, but I beat them off. Today though, I couldn’t get up. Like the ole body was more tired than I thought.
However, as the old people would say; better late than never. So if the Bit’s a tad late, please bear with the ole fella, let your tender mercies and forgiveness, your Christian compassion come to the fore, as you remember that he’s only human and thus very fallible. (smile) And that’s why they say B.S. baffles brains!
But I have an interesting acclamation to share today. It comes from Bubba Joel (Joel Osteen), so those of you who deal with him might have already seen it, but for the many who don’t, it’s very useful to share.
And Bubba Joel excitingly declares in the title: ‘TODAY IS MY DAY! God has destined me to be a barrier breaker! He created me to be uncontainable. I have talent and potential given to me by the Creator of the universe. There are seeds of greatness inside of me. Today, I choose to break free from a limited mindset and enlarge my vision.
Today, God is taking me places I’ve never even dreamed of before. Today, God is fulfilling His purpose and destiny in my life. Today, I will experience His favour like never before in every area of my life.’
Yes Friends, we all need to enlarge our vision and change our mindset to one that expects God’s favour, His goodness and mercy, every day of our lives, otherwise we’re more than likely to short-change ourselves.
Oh I know that lots of people cry down what’s generally called prosperity and positive thinking, but why not embrace it instead eh? Jesus said that He came to earth so that we could have life, and have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)
So what does that mean eh? It surely doesn’t mean we should live poor, downtrodden lives. But neither does it mean that every believer will become filthy rich in worldly goods and live high on the hog, as some preachers preach, and some believers believe. I think it means that generally speaking, true believers will live a decent, above average life.
For as our Bit so wonderfully puts this everlasting promise of our great and wonderful God: ‘And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee high above all nations of the earth.’
As usual Friends, our God’s pronouncements are plain and simple: obey, and you’ll be blessed. ‘And all these blessings shall come upon thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.’ (Deut. 28:2)
Ah mih people, how wonderful He is eh! He even goes on to spell out in more detail, the many fabulous blessings He has in store for us, if we obey His rules.
‘Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body (offspring), and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine (cattle), and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store (kneading bowl). Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten (defeated) before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways. The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.’ (Deut.28:3-8)
Oh my brethren, what’s in that not to understand eh? But being foolish, rebellious, prideful, think we know it all, trusting in our own sub-par provision, we’ve turned from the Lord. And what’s the result? We’re obviously reaping what we’ve so stupidly sown with our disobedience; poverty, sickness, economic distress, war, strife, and all other sorts of disasters and calamities.
But do you think we’ll even for a moment sit down and seriously ponder the situation? Oh no! Because Beelzebub has us in grip, we’re so firmly ensconced in the palms of his hands, we can’t escape his evil hold, for we’ve sold our souls to him for the worthless treasures of this soon to be destroyed world.
And we’ll end with this simple, straightforward, but oh so important verse of scripture. ‘The Lord shall establish thee a holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways.’ (Deut.28:9)
Oh Friends, it can’t get any simpler and more straightforward than that! So please, today, as true believers in Jesus Christ, let’s all pluck up our courage, pick ourselves up from wherever we’ve fallen, and believe God for a good and decent life, if we follow His dictates.
And it’s not like we haven’t seen it played out just as He said, all down through the centuries; from the days of Jewish prosperity, to their calamities when they disobeyed, right down to our earlier prosperity when we were a more godly people, to our now divisive, disaster and strife torn world, as we’ve become very idolatrous and disobedient.
So it’s not like the words of the Good Book haven’t been played out and found to be true. It’s just that we’re obstinate, rebellious, prideful and foolish.
So please my people, let’s try and make some wise changes nuh, once again becoming obedient to God’s Word, starting TODAY! That’s wisdom of the most immense proportions. Much LOVE!
…if you want to disobey…then know that you’ll surely pay…and pay large too…
31 May 2012
by randyobrien50
in Inspirational Living
Tags: blessed day, blessings of rain, Comforter, Day of Pentecost, emotion of LOVE, God's purpose, holy spirit, indwelling of the holy spirit, loving others, prosper and flourish, the God of All Comfort, to dwell with humanity
Acts 1:5. For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
Well a blessed day to all you fellow believers in Christ Jesus! Our God is on His throne, in full control of the universe, and we’re alive, gratefully ready to receive the new mercies and blessings He’s pouring down on us today. Just wish though, that He’d pour down some blessings of rain in my neck of the woods. The weather forecasters have been promising rain for ages, but despite the appearance of dark clouds every so often, nary a drop of heavenly water has fallen upon the land in at least a couple weeks. But as we just said, the Lord’s in control, so hopefully He has a higher plan in mind. It would be greatly appreciated though if we could pray for some rain. In the meanwhile, let’s hear this quote from a Joyce Meyer Devotional. It tells us: ‘That the best days you live are the ones you spend LOVING other people!’ And isn’t that the God-awesome truth mih breddren! That’s because there’s no higher emotion than LOVE! So let’s get out into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us and LOVE some body or bodies’ today nuh Friends! But one word of caution; we can’t do that unless the anointing of our Bit covers us: ‘For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.’ Yes mih people, we can’t truly LOVE others unless that wonderful Spirit of Jesus richly dwells in us. Now today I want to look at some other scriptures where Jesus promised the coming or sending of the Holy Spirit. But first let’s hear from the scholars, re the Spirit’s indwelling. ‘One of God’s purposes since the beginning has been to dwell with humanity and enjoy fellowship with us. He does it in this dispensation through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit (1) occurs automatically when a person is saved: (2) is not an ‘experience,’ but produces spiritual experiences: (3) remains permanently: (4) is the basis of all the other ministries of the Holy Spirit; and (5) is the source of new life in the believer. Illustration: When Paul met 12 disciples of John who did not know of the Holy Spirit, he knew they needed to be saved. So he preached the gospel to them (acts 19:1-5). Application: The Holy Spirit’s indwelling should motivate the believer to be careful not to harm his body nor indulge his body in sin (1 Cor.6:19-20).’ Yes Friends, that’s the basic working of the Holy Spirit. He’s the worker bee of the Trinity, as I recently termed Him. Now it’s time to hear directly from Jesus, re the provision of that Spirit. Listen to Him in John, where He tells the disciples: ‘If ye LOVE me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter (Helper), that he may abide with you for ever, Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless (orphans): I will come to you.’ (John 14:15-18) Oh Friends, what a wonderful man and friend is our Jesus! Now here’s another word from the scholars, re the Comforter. ‘The Greek word parakletos literally means ‘one called alongside to help,’ hence the idea of a comforter. The Holy Spirit is called another comforter because this is also one of Christ’s title (1 John 2:1, transl, ‘advocate’) Illustration: The Father is also known as the God of All Comfort (2 Cor.1:3) Though those in the early church often endured persecutions, they found their comfort in the Holy Spirit (Acts 9:31). Application: Today, Christians can find comfort in the Holy Spirit when trials come. (John 7:37-39)’ Oh my people, how great and considerate is our God! There’s none other like Him! Now listen to Jesus later on in the same conversation with the disciples: ‘These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter (Helper), which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.’ (John 14:25-26) Yes Friends, as the scholars explain; the Holy Spirit is a person, not a force, which will enable the apostles to remember all the words and works of Jesus when they were writing the New Testament. And finally, we’ll touch on the importance Jesus placed on the coming of the Comforter. Just before His ascension, He tells the disciples: ‘And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry (stay, wait) ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.’ (Luke 24:49) And the disciples heeded His advice and stayed in Jerusalem until that remarkable and memorable Day of Pentecost when the promise of the coming of the Comforter was fulfilled. Oh my brethren, as followers of, and believers in Jesus Christ, His indwelling Spirit is the most important thing we possess! It’s been given to lead and guide us safely through our earthly pilgrimage, but sadly, many of us aren’t as well acquainted with the remarkable inner Being as we should, which is why many of us are not getting His full benefits. Please, I strongly advise us, implore us, whatever, to get in touch, in close relationship with our indwelling Helpmeet, so that both our lives and God’s glorious kingdom can prosper and flourish right here on planet Earth. Much LOVE!…oh…to be walking in step with the Spirit of Christ…it’s the most wonderful thing in a believer’s life…
SCRIP-BITS 