19 Jul 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a guidebook, anger, commandments, courage, creativity, curse, discern justice, fools, fresh through all the ages, generous, God's wisdom, God's Word, greed, honour, important announcement, indisputable truth, inherit glory, inspiring the prophets, legacy, lengthen thy days, long life, lustful, magnanimous, mighty in strength, negative word, none like thee, penultimate day, positive changes, poverty, promotion, putting it into practice, riches, self-control, self-discipline, selfishness, shame, share with others, sickness, statutes, strife, studying God's Word, success, successful living, summer frolic, the BIBLE, the Good Book, the principal thing, Thursday Blessings, truth, understanding, walk in my ways, ways of the world, wicked, wisdom, wise, wise in heart, workweek
Proverbs 3:35. The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion (the legacy) of fools.
And then it was Thursday, the penultimate day of the workweek, and consequently all thoughts are turning to the weekend; considering the summer frolic it will bring. And nothing’s wrong with that, it’s all a basic part of life, but friends, I have an even more important announcement to share this morning; one that will bring enormous positive changes to your life if you embrace it in the spirit it was meant to be taken.
Please remember this: ‘The Bible is God’s Word to us, still fresh through ALL the ages! And if we read it, we WILL find God’s wisdom on its pages!’ That’s indisputable truth my brethren! So please let’s do the sensible thing and read God’s word so that we can find His wisdom and apply it to our lives nuh. That’s why He spent so much time inspiring the prophets and them to write it; so that we could have a Guidebook for successful earthly living.
And if you don’t believe me, just look at the messy, disgusting, evil and foolish lives we are currently living nuh. If we were truly reading and studying God’s word and putting it into practice our world would never be in such a state of anger, hatred, strife, power hunger, greed, poverty, economic deprivation and sickness.
But unfortunately, too many of us, including supposed believers are heeding the wicked and lustful ways of the world and not seeking God and His righteousness first in our lives. Remember Jesus said that if we sought God and His righteousness FIRST, all the things of the world that we NEED would be given to us. (Matt.6:33)
But our actions prove that we don’t believe it. We still attempt to work for them in our own strength and that’s never going to work properly my people! That brings us to our Bit, immortal words of wisdom from Cousin Sol. ‘The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion (the legacy) of fools.’
And that’s gospel truth my fellow believers! The problem though is that once you go down that foolish road and discover what will be your end, it will be too late to turn back then. That’s why you need to embrace the wisdom of the Good Book and the wonderful things it offers NOW!
Let’s take a look at a few scriptures to prove our point. We’ll begin with Job’s question as he acknowledges God’s justice. I know it is so of a truth: but how should man be just with God (can a man be righteous before God)? If he will contend (if one wished to argue) with him, he cannot answer him one (one time out) of a thousand. He (God) is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against him, and hath prospered?’ (Job 9:2-4)
And the sure answer to that is ‘NOBODY has done it, and NOBODY ever will!’ Glory be my brethren! For an infinite God, our Maker and Controller, who’s ways and thoughts are so much higher than ours, is the epitome of wisdom and justice! And there’s no better passage in the Bible that speaks to the importance of the acquisition of wisdom than the situation between God and Cousin Sol in his early days as Israel’s king.
One day Cousin Sol went to Gibeon to sacrifice to the Lord, and the Lord appeared to him in a dream by night: ‘and God said. Ask what I shall give thee.’ (1Kin.3:5) And we all know Sol’s response. ‘Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?’ (1 Kin.3:9)
Oh my people, my people, is that the kind of thing we ask for when God asks what we desire of Him? Very seldom! Most of the time we ask for things of the world.
And I like how the Good Book puts it: ‘And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon has asked this thing. And God said unto him. Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgement (justice);
Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches and honour: so that there shall not be any (anyone) among the kings like unto thee all thy days.’ (1 Kin.3:10-13)
Yes friends, that’s how magnanimous and generous our God can be when we ask for the right things; not stuff in pursuit of greed or selfishness. And let’s note the corollary to God’s goodness to Cousin Sol. ‘And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.’ (1 Kin.3:14)
What more can I say eh friends? Nothing but to implore us to seek the face of God and His wisdom; to read His word and apply it to our lives, so that we may dwell in the peace and joy that accompany His promises. Now let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings which the Lord has generously bestowed on us.
In strong voice with sincere hearts: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment!
I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
And the next step is to go out and share it all with the less fortunate. God blessed us so that we could bless others. Much LOVE!
…wisdom is the principal thing…therefore get wisdom…and with all thy getting…get understanding… (Prov.4:7)
05 Jul 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a better partner, all day, apt description, be prepared, blessed are the righteous, commandments, compassionate heart, conform to heavenly standard, contemplating, courage, creativity, curse, defender, delight, directions for godly living, divine protection, every evil way, firm to the end, friend, God's Word, gospel truth, great importance, grief, heat rash, hot sun, how sweet are they words, how tender, I love thy law, in the name of Jesus, individual directive, instructions, irritating, judgements, lathered in sunscreen, Law, law of the Lord, Maker, multifaceted character, my meditation, negative word, ordinances, Pentateuch, pondering, positive outlook, precepts, promotion, prosper, Redeemer, Revelation, road map, self-control, self-discipline, share blessings, sincere heart, skin cancer, steadfast, study God's Word, succeed, sunburn, sweeter than honey, Thursday Blessings, thy mercies, torah, uncomfortable, understanding, venture out, walks not in the council of the ungodly, wisdom
Psalm 119:97. Oh how I LOVE thy law! It is my meditation all the day.
And another hot one is on the way friends! So please make sure you are lathered in your sunscreen, have on your long sleeves and your hat, and even your gloves (smile) before you venture out into the hot sun today, because it will save you from much grief later on.
Yeh, I use to laugh at warnings like that too, but recently I’ve discovered that if I do too much sun, I get a heat rash on my arms, especially when driving and the sun is coming through the glass of the window. And believe me that kind of rash, or actual sunburn can be quite irritating and uncomfortable and even lead later on to things like skin cancer, etc. etc. So please be prepared.
Now hear this quote from one Robert Grant. There were so many, I couldn’t figure out which one said it. (smile) But whichever one said it, surely had his mind securely on the pulse of the matter. ‘Thy mercies how tender, how firm to the end, our Maker, Defender, Redeemer and Friend!’
Wow mih breddren, that’s gospel truth! And Jesus is certainly all those things, from beginning to end, and steadfast all the time, no ups and downs in His behaviour! We couldn’t ask for a better partner in this life. And from that, our Bit ought to logically follow in our lives. ‘Oh how I LOVE thy law! It is my meditation all the day.’
Yeh mih people, if we think that Jesus is so wonderful, then His Word, His Law and all the other names used for His communication with us, ought to have a high place of honour in our earthly lives, such that we’re always meditating upon it, contemplating it, pondering it, And if that is not truly happening, then we’re not telling the truth and only fooling ourselves.
And here is this explanation by the scholars of the word ‘LAW.’ ‘The multifaceted character of God’s word is revealed by at least eight key synonyms for it in the psalm.
(1) Law (torah) is the most frequent of the words. It comes from a verb meaning “to teach,” and thus came to be applied to a wide range of revelation, from an individual directive to the entire Pentateuch (first 5 Books of the Bible, assumed to have been written by Moses). It emphasizes that God has taught us in His Word what He requires of us.’
So there we have it friends: basically, the ‘law’ is God’s directions for godly living here on earth. Consequently, we can only live a godly life when we know the law and what’s required of us. That’s why we need to meditate and ponder and consider it a great deal. That’s why the psalmist says so profoundly in Psalm 1 –Blessed are the righteous.
‘Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly (wicked), nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate (ponder, talking to oneself) day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers (channels) of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.’ (Ps.1:1-3)
Glory be mih people! Yuh see what happens when we concentrate on God’s Word and put it into action! Our lives prosper! What more can we ask eh? So I really don’t know why we foolishly insist on following Lucifer and his wicked ways that the world embraces and trumpets as wisdom. And I think it’s only appropriate that we hear the rest of the scripture after our Bit, which makes up the portion of the psalm titled ‘MEM.’
‘Thou through thy commandments (commander’s authority, necessity of obeying God’s charge) hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me. I have more understanding than my teachers: for thy testimonies (God’s own testimony in His word) are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients (aged), because I keep thy precepts (instructions from a superior).
I have refrained (restrained) my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word (content of God’s revelation). I have not departed from thy judgements (ordinances from God as judge to make earthly behaviour conform to His heavenly standard): for thou hast taught me. How sweet are thy words unto my taste! Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth. Through thy precepts (instructions) I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.’ (Ps.119:98-104)
Oh my brethren, I just LOVE that line about the Lord’s words being sweeter than honey! Mama Mia! What an apt description! And that’s how it’s supposed to be with ALL believers!
So my people, I implore us today to make the Lord’s word of great importance in our lives, because it is the road map, the guide to the kind of life He wants us to live down here on earth, the kind of life that will prepare us for life in heaven with Him.
Now let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings, which our heavenly father has so generously bestowed on us. In strong voice and sincere heart 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!’
Ah friends, now let’s go out and share those blessings with the less fortunate, for that’s why they were given to us. Much LOVE!
…you can’t know God’s requirements…unless and until you study His Word…
28 Jan 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a ruin, able to withstand, anchor our hearts, beauty, blast, by faith alone, Christian, common sense, confidence, counsels of old, dark night of the soul, depressed, discouraged, distress, dreams, emptiness, encourage, faithfulness, fall on our knees, fallen on my knees, fellowship, fortified, get closer to God, God proved his love to me, God's Word, good ship, gospel tune, grace, grains of sand, Great Tribulation, heat, his eyes are watching me, immortal words, in my hand, Lawrence Chewning, lead me on, LOVE, nnedy, old, on the open sea, palace of strangers, poor, praise, Ray Boltz, refuge from the storm, rejuvenation, rest, reverence, ruthless nations, sabbatical, sacrifice of our lips, safe harbour, sanctuary of God, shadow from the heat, sheltered bay, sight unknown, sincerity, sorrowful time, storm, storm-filled lives, strength, Sunday, take my hand, take refuge, testify to the truth, the anchor holds, the Lord has made, the raging seas, the sails are torn, the ship is battered, the storms of life, the terrible ones, therapeutic help, this is the day, true believer, truth, visions, we will rejoice and be glad in it, wisdom, worship, year of sorrows, young
Isaiah 25:4. For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.
Ah friends, we’re sailing on the good ship Sunday, towards the sanctuary of God, where we will fall on our knees and praise and worship Him, give Him innumerable thanks, exalt His holy name and glorify Him without ceasing!
Wow! What a time we will have in the sanctuary as we fellowship with each other, encourage each other, hear God’s word and bury it deep in our hearts, and souls, and eventually leave the sanctuary fortified with His strength and confidence, able to withstand whatever comes against us. And please remember the immortal words of the psalmist; this is the day the Lord hath made, let us all rejoice and be glad in it! That’s both wisdom and common sense friends!
And as always, we’ll open the proceedings with worship in sweet song. This morning we’ll sing a Christian Gospel tune titled ‘The Anchor Holds.’ It was originally written by a pastor, songwriter called Lawrence Chewning. Apparently the year of 1992 became known as the year of sorrows for him and his family.
One sorrow after another hit them and finally Lawrence, depressed and discouraged, was left burnt out, so he took a six month sabbatical from his pastoring duties and during that time began playing the piano more, in an attempt to get closer to God. In this sorrowful time he read stuff about the long dark night of the soul, when it seems you just can’t find God anywhere, and also experienced that emptiness for a while.
Then, one day, in his many hours of playing the piano, he discovered that he was writing a song, a song that was coming from deep down in his soul. It was so touching that it provided him with therapeutic help in his depression and discouragement. But the song was some ten minutes long. However, a couple of years later, he offered the song to his friend, Christian singer songwriter, Ray Boltz, who edited and recorded it and made it a hit.
Ah friends, ‘The Anchor Holds’ is one of my favourite Gospel songs because I can testify to the truth of those immortal words. And if you’re a true believer, so too can you. So let’s offer it up through the sacrifice of our lips now nuh, with appropriate reverence and heartfelt sincerity. In glorious harmony: ‘I have journeyed Through the long dark night Out on the open sea By faith alone Sight unknown And yet His eyes were watching me (Chorus: The anchor holds Though the ship is battered The anchor holds Though the sails are torn)
I have fallen on my knees As I faced the raging seas The anchor holds In spite of the storm I’ve had visions I’ve had dreams I’ve even held them in my hand But I never knew They would slip right through Like they were only grains of sand (Chorus) I have been young But I am older now And there has been beauty these eyes have seen But it was in the night Through the storms of my life Oh that’s where God proved His LOVE to me.
(Chorus: The anchor holds Though the ship is battered The anchor holds Though the sails are torn. Ohhh yes, The anchor holds Though the ship is battered The anchor holds Though the sails are torn).’
Ah mih people what words of truth and encouragement! And it’s only when we are going through a stormy period in life that we can write such heartfelt words. You’ll notice too, that it’s during the storm that God proves His wonderful and unconditional LOVE to us, more so than when the seas are calm and quiet.
Because that’s when we need Him the most, when we discover that our efforts are too puny to withstand the storm that’s bruising and battering us. And only when we take refuge in His safe harbour, when we allow Him to anchor our hearts and souls in the sheltered bay that’s His awesome LOVE and grace that we truly find rest and rejuvenation for our troubled, storm-filled lives.
Oh what a wonderful God is our God! No wonder in Isaiah’s song of praise by the redeemed the survivors of the Great Tribulation exalt the Lord, lift their voices in praise to God for His protection. ‘O Lord, thou art my God: I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth. For thou hast made of a city an heap (a ruin); of a defensed (fortified) city a ruin: a palace of strangers to be no city; it shall never be built (rebuilt).
Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee, the city of the terrible (ruthless) nations shall fear thee. For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.’ (Is.25:1-4)
Yeh friends, our God runs things; He controls it all. So in your time of need, who are you going to call eh, who are you going to run to for refuge? Almighty God, if you are wise! As the old reggae song says, ‘You’ll run to the rock for rescue, but there will be no rock.’ But if you run to the Creator of the universe, you’ll find Him ready, willing and able to offer help.
As Isaiah prophesies about Jerusalem’s glorious future. ‘And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow (shade) in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert (shelter) from the storm and from rain.’ (Is.4:6)
Oh friends, there’s no better place to hunker down in stormy times than under the wings of our heavenly Father, just like chicks hide under the mother hen’s wings when it rains, for under there we are guaranteed safe passage through the storms of life. Much LOVE!
…through the heartache…through the storm…take my hand precious Lord…lead me on…
21 Jan 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a warrior king, atonement of Christ, believe in God, believing God's promises, blessed hope, Christ my king, deity of christ, divine power, doubt, eternal damnation, eternity, exalt God's name, exhort, faithfulness, fear, give thanks, glorious appearing, glory in the highest, God's Word, godly, good works, grace, heavy burden, howling storms, human creation, humility, I shall prevail, infallible truth, iniquity, let not your heart be troubled, live soberly, living for Jesus, logic, love touting, love's strong cord, many mansions, mercy, Messiah, my Father's house, overcoming, peaceful, praise, prayer, prepare a place for you, rebuke, redeem, reverence, righteously, Roman rule, sacrifice of praise, salvation, saviour, servitude, sincere hearts, sinful souls, speak, specail people, special time, Standing on the promises of God, strenght, Sunday, the grace of God, the living word of God, the Lord's sanctuary, the Spirit's call, the Spirit's sword, to all men, ungodliness, wisdom, worldly lusts, worship
Titus 2:11. For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men.
Sunday, oh Sunday! It’s Sunday my brethren! That means all roads lead to the Lord‘s sanctuary for some special time of prayer and praise, worship and fellowship! What a glorious morning it will be as we gather to give thanks and get strength and mercy in return! The Lord will be just bubbling over with joy this morning as we come to exalt His holy name, show humility and reverence to His majestic Being and renew our faithfulness by believing His promises.
And there is no more appropriate hymn to open our worship session than the old faithful, ‘Standing on the Promises of God.’ It’s a wonder how these old hymns just seem to last forever, but that’s because they are based on the infallible truth of God’s word. So without further ado, let’s offer up the sacrifice of praise with our lips, strong lungs and sincere hearts.
All together now: ‘Standing on the promises of Christ my king, through eternal ages let his praises ring; glory in the highest, I will shout and sing, standing on the promises of God. (Refrain: Standing, standing, standing on the promises of God my Savior; standing, standing, I’m standing on the promises of God.) Standing on the promises that cannot fail, when the howling storms of doubt and fear assail, by the living Word of God I shall prevail, standing on the promises of God. [Refrain]
Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord, bound to him eternally by LOVE’S strong cord, overcoming daily with the Spirit’s sword, standing on the promises of God. [Refrain] Standing on the promises I cannot fall, listening every moment to the Spirit’s call, resting in my Savior as my all in all, standing on the promises of God. [Refrain: Standing, standing, standing on the promises of God my Savior; standing, standing, I’m standing on the promises of God.]’
And isn’t that the best place to stand my fellow believers? Yes sir, right there on the faithful and everlasting promises of God, for there is none as faithful as Him! He never makes promises unless He intends to keep them. So any promise you see written in His word, will most definitely be kept. Yuh see how He promised to send the Jewish people a Messiah, a Saviour, and He did!
They just misunderstood the circumstances. They were looking for a warrior king, to lift the heavy burden of servitude from their shoulders under harsh Roman rule. However, the Lord had a peaceful, LOVE touting rabbi in mind; one to save their sinful souls from eternal damnation.
And today we’re going to listen to Bruh Paul’s words to his protégé Titus on the subject of Christian living, how we can prevent the loss of our souls to Lucifer, through accepting the faithful promise of Christ. It starts out with our Bit: ‘For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men.’
Yes friends, God LOVED His human creation so much that He could not exclude any from His plan for salvation. And Bruh Paul continues: ‘Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world (age). Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself, a peculiar (his own special) people, zealous of good works. These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.’ (Titus 2:12-15)
Absolutely nothing has changed down through the ages friends. It is still the way we ought to live if we consider ourselves believers in, and followers of Christ. Hear the scholars’ explanations on that passage. ‘2:11-15. The salvation that appeared to all men is based on God’s grace that has provided salvation universally for all mankind through the unlimited atonement of Christ.
That blessed hope and glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ refers to His second coming. The use of the definite article “the” with the first noun “God” and the connecting “and” indicates that the first and second “Saviour” (nouns) are one and the same person. Our “great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” is thus one and the same person, clearly proving the deity of Christ.’
Ah mih people, I guess the scholars’ are referring to the Greek text in that last sentence. But we don’t need any evidence or reassurance that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ was deity. It’s evident from all that He did while He was here on earth. Only someone with divine power could have done His miracles, and endured the ‘sufferation’ He did on our behalf without going out of His mind.
But all of that aside, let’s listen to Jesus’ promise to come back for us. ‘Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions (dwellings): if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.’ (John 14:1-3)
So my friends, if we sang about standing on the promises of God earlier on, and then declared that Christ was deity, then simple logic would conclude that we should believe and stand on the promises Christ made in those verses. (smile) So let’s stand strong on them nuh, for He is coming back again, sometime soon, this time in all His glory and splendour, the warrior King that the Israelites first dreamed of.
And He is going to take us home to heaven to dwell there with Him until eternity, if we believe in Him, obey His words and live the lifestyle He desires. So what’s it to be eh friends? Let’s hope we all vote for Jesus, for that’s wisdom at its zenith. Much LOVE!
…there’s nothing as beautiful…as living for Jesus…
27 Oct 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a different attitude, abuse our bodies, afflicted me, bastards, be discouraged, be in subjection, bear our load, bondage of sin, bore our sins, boundaries, chastening, chastisement, Christians, complaining, corrected, crown of glory, delightful experience, diligent, discipline, dissipation, do god's work, drinking, each step I take, eating, endure chastening, endure your afflictions, eternal life, exhortation, faint, faithfulness, fellowship, Friday chant, fun, furthering your glorious kingdom, generous help, gift of grace, God's testing, God's Word, good and faithful servant, grievous, grow, holiness, I know, illegitimate, in Jesus' name, Jesus Christ, joyous, last day on earth, laws, life is not easy, limitations, LOVE, made it through, massa, mature, O Lord, our flesh, our profit, partakers, party all weekend, partying, pay back, peaceable fruit, personal experience, pound of flesh, rebuked, reforming, refreshed, relaxation, remoulding, renewed, respect, rest, reverence, righteous, righteousness, run our race, salvation, sense of purpose, sons, spare the rod, spoil the child, strong, tests, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, the bad times, the Father of spirits, the good times, the image of Jesus, the weekend, their own pleasure, thy judgements, trials, week of work, welcome, with vim and vigour, work like an animal, work schedule, work soon finish, workers, workingman
Psalm 119:75. I know, O Lord, that thy judgements (laws) are right (righteous), and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.
And all over God’s great universe, this morning the general cry is, was, and will be: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday and work soon finish for two whole lousy days! Steups! But we going to get in as much fun, as much partying as we can in those two days though! That’s for sure!
Man wasn’t made to work like an animal all them days, one after the other. That’s how massa gets his pound of flesh, But we going to get our pound of flesh by partying down the place, by eating and drinking as though it was our last day here on earth. Thank God for Fridays and weekends yes!’
Ah friends, when are ever going to learn that pay back never really works. Yuh think massa really cares that his workers party all weekend? To a certain extent yes, but generally speaking, no! Not unless their dissipation interferes with his work schedule.
And if it does, he can just fire them, deprive them of their livelihood. So who loses then eh? Certainly not massa! That’s why we Christians have a different attitude towards the weekend, which is borne out in our Friday Chant.
Let’s chant it in strong voice and sincere sense of purpose like the workingman chants his song nuh. ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Ah mih people, the working life is not easy, but remember with God’s help, we can do anything at all! That’s why our song differs from the ordinary workingman’s. We know we can’t abuse our bodies or anything else and continue to do God’s work in a proper manner.
That’s why we have boundaries and limitations to how far we can go; otherwise we’d just go overboard like the workingman and be of no use to Jesus. So please let’s be sensible and stay within those boundaries this weekend nuh.
We have enough other stuff to worry about, as our Bit indicates. ‘I know, O Lord, that thy judgements (laws) are right (righteous), and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.’
Yeh friends, we have tests and trials that our Lord is putting us through to grow and mature us, so we can’t waste our time in partying, and simply enjoying the good life as the world sees it.
We need to be strong and diligent and run our earthly race with vim and vigour, wisdom and understanding, if at the end of our days here on earth, we want Him to greet us in heaven with a crown of glory and words to the effect: ‘Welcome thou good and faithful servant!’
My people, that’s the best welcome we can ever, or will ever get! So please let’s work seriously towards it nuh, and start by not complaining too much about the things that come against us through God’s testing.
I can tell you from personal experience that it’s not a delightful experience when He has you on His potter’s wheel, working diligently on you, to bring you ever closer to the image of His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
But our God is so wonderful that even as He is remoulding and reforming you, He will also give you the wherewithal to endure your afflictions. He’s promised never to give us more than we can bear or carry. And if that ever happens, He will carry us Himself or bear our load for us.
That’s what Jesus did for us: He bore our sins, so that we could be set free from the bondage of sin. And we don’t want to fall back into it, by refusing His free gift of grace, through salvation and eternal life.
But if we’re going to be truly successful, we must also learn to accept the good times as well as the rough times without cursing God or turning away from Him as Job’s wife encouraged him to do. (Job 2:9-10)
And the author of Hebrews puts it all in New Testament language for us, beginning with Cousin Sol’s words. ‘And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children (sons), My son, despise not thou the chastening (discipline) of the Lord, nor faint (be discouraged) when thou art rebuked of him:
For whom the Lord LOVETH he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom his father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards (illegitimate), and not sons.
Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which have corrected us, and we gave them reverence (respect): shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure (as seemed best to them); but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
Now no chastening (discipline) for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised (trained) thereby.’ (Heb.12:5-11)
That says it all friends! If we want to be considered a son by our heavenly Father, then we must undergo His discipline, just like we do for our earthly fathers. No ifs, ands, or buts about it! Much LOVE!
…spare the rod…spoil the child…that’s God’s Word…
P.S. My sincere apologies for the Bit being so late. I went out to the theatre last night and just never got my act together this morning. (smile) Much LOVE!
21 Oct 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a bodybuilder, a limited life, a lot of times, abundant, an easy row to hoe, Anselm's quotes, at bay, be obedient, believers in Jesus, communicate through prayer, connect the dots, consistent with intentions, deeds, destiny, earthly battles, faith walk, foundation of wisdom, full, getting enough sleep, glory to God, God's help, God's will, God's Word, gut it out, heaven-looking, human nature, hypocrites, hypocritical element, I allow not, I can do all things through Christ, I don't do, I don't understand, integrity, Jesus' philosophy, karma, keep our wits, life, looking forward, lure of sin, natural sinful nature, oncoming enemy, people don't know what they want, praising God, productive life, put your trust in Jesus, read His word, seminal verse, sinful, slept in, spiritual, spiritual armour, spirituality, stick close to Jesus, that which I do, things of the world, trust, two edged sword, two natures, unbelievers, unholy struggle, vapid pleasures, what I hate, what I want to do, wisdom, words, worldly nature, write it indelibly, wrong things, your gut
Romans 7:15. For that which I do, I allow not (I don’t understand): for what I would do (want to do), that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
Ah friends, it seems like I’m one of those who slept in this October Saturday morn! But mine was not by choice though, I just had no idea of the time. And I went to bed fairly early at that too. I’m trying to go to bed at a decent hour these days… Aren’t you proud of me? (smile)
That’s because I believe one of my problems is simply not getting enough sleep. The only problem though is when I lie in bed too long, roughly over four hours, my ole back aches like mad when I do get up. But I guess we have to suffer something to gain something better.
Anyway, I’m up now, and it’s Saturday, so let’s check out some of our friend Anselm’s quotes for this week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. Hear this first one: ‘A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.’
Now that might be true sometimes, but we have to be very careful of what others think we might want, because it just might not jive with God’s will for us.
That leads us to this one: ‘You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever.’
The first part makes sense, but the last part should definitely read ‘put your trust in the One and Only Jesus Christ!’ And if you do that, you certainly won’t do this next quote. ‘Don’t live a limited life.’
Yeh mih people, as true believers in Jesus, you will NEVER lead a limited life, because Jesus’ basic philosophy is for his followers to lead a full, abundant and productive life. Glory to God!
And here is the last quote. ‘Integrity is when our words and deeds are consistent with our intentions.’ And is that ever so true my brethren!
Unfortunately though, too many of us Christians, in these evil and godless times don’t have much integrity, because our words and deeds are not consistent with our intentions. That’s why so many unbelievers, as well as believers, see us as hypocrites!
That’s the reason a lot of people, even supposed believers, use for not going to church; they don’t want to join a bunch of hypocrites in praising God. But yuh know what friends, all of us have some hypocritical element in us – not liking someone for some foolish reason, etc. etc. – so when we go to church, all we do, is add one more hypocrite to the bunch! (smile)
But most of us won’t see it like that. And yes, it’s very possible to have good intentions and do evil deeds, as Bruh Paul declares in our Bit: ‘For that which I do, I allow not (I don’t understand): for what I would do (want to do), that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.’
Yeh mih brethren, that’s just the unholy struggle between our two natures; our sinful and worldly one, and our spiritual and heaven-looking other. And as you can see, even Bruh Paul, with all his spirituality, got caught in the battle between those two strong attitudes.
So it’s not like we are totally immune to the struggle being waged between our two natures. The lure of sin and its vapid pleasures are surely strong, but like a bodybuilder, we have to build our heavenly looking spirit so that it can stand strong and steadfast against our human nature.
As we saw yesterday, the enemy is always on the lookout to steal our joy and have us feeling guilty and miserable. However, if we do, as the Good Book says, resist the devil and draw near to God, then we’ll usually come out victorious.
Oh friends, we know that turning away from, resisting the things of the world is not easy, certainly not an easy row to hoe, but as with EVERYTHING else in this life, with God’s help, we can overcome.
Please don’t ever forget this seminal, foundational, fruit-bearing, productive verse from Bruh Paul to the Philippians. ‘I can do ALL THINGS through Christ which strengtheneth me.’ ((Phil.4:13)
Yes friends, until we truly believe that and totally incorporate it into our lives, our faith walk will not be as good as it ought to be, and we’ll be doing many more wrong things than we want to do, but not understanding why.
And sadly, there’s no easy way around the struggle of our two natures. To overcome our natural sinful nature, we just have to gut it out, stick close to Jesus; consistently read His Word, constantly communicate with Him in prayer, and do our best to be obedient to His dictates.
That means having on our spiritual armour at all times, and continually swinging the mighty, ever-sharp, two-edged sword of God’s Word in the face of the oncoming enemy to keep him at bay.
Yes friends, to win this battle, we need to keep our wits about us ALL THE TIME, but with God’s help, we can certainly do it. Let’s remember that, and write it indelibly in our hearts, souls and minds, for it’s the foundation of wisdom! Much LOVE!
…ONLY with God’s help…can we win our earthly battles…
09 Oct 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: 24/7 society, a wake up call, a warning, aura of love, Babylon, blessings, bondage, boundary, calamity, Christians, Columbus Day, confidence, covenant, disaster, drink the sweet, drunk or sober, earthly journey, eat and drink, eat the fat, Egypt, enthusiasm, evil, feasting, festivity, for whom nothing is prepared, forsake our evil ways, freedom, friends, from whom all blessings flow, generosity, giving thanks, glorious kingdom, go your way, God's Word, good graces of almighty God, grace, Granny's warning, holy spirit, humble servants, hurricane Nate, invincible, Jesus Christ, joy, lies, Louisiana, LOVE, magnanamity, mind your business, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, neither be ye sorry, praise God, recovery, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, repent, rest, salvation, send portions, sharing mode, showered down, spiritual armour, standard of living, steadfast faith, taunts, thanks and praise, Thanksgiving Day, the goodness of God, the joy of the Lord is your strength, the power to get wealth, this day is holy, trials, tribulations, truth, undisputed God, ungodly world, wiles, wisdom
Nehemiah 8:10. Then he said unto them, go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.
So friends, it’s Monday…But the good news is that both in Canada and the U.S it’s a public holiday. In the U.S it’s Columbus Day, celebrating the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas in the 1490’s. Meanwhile, in Canada, we’re celebrating our Thanksgiving Day with feasting and festivity, and hopefully thanks and praise to Almighty God for all the blessings He’s recently showered down on our land.
Let’s also be thankful that hurricane Nate did not do much damage to the part of Louisiana that it passed over yesterday. Ah Lord eh! Hopefully this will be the last storm for this year, for the area could not handle much more disaster. Don’t forget to include in our prayers those who have recently suffered serious setbacks and that they are on their way to recovery and rebuilding their lives. Remember too the ones who are still undergoing trials and tribulations.
And let’s hope that all this unexpected calamity serves as a wake-up call for us to repent, to forsake our evil ways and get back into the good graces of Almighty God, for it’s difficult not to consider the unparalleled circumstances that have recently afflicted us as a warning from Him. So let’s pray that we will take the warning to heart and wisely make amends for our sinful ways, and once again make Him the undisputed God of our society.
Anyway, it’s Monday, which means that in our 24/7 society, some people must go to work, regardless of the public holiday, and there’s no time harder to get up and go out to labour than on days like these, when the majority of people are off. So let’s send them out on a high note with a wonderful rendition of our Monday Morning Battle Hymn.
In strong voice now, with lots of enthusiasm: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
And as always, the voices of those not going out to work are the loudest and most raucous since many of us have already been celebrating for the past couple days. (smile) And whether you like it or not, I have to remind us of Granny’s warning; that drunk or sober we need to mind our business very closely, as too much celebrating can make us cross over the Christian boundary line without even noticing it, thus giving the enemy a gleeful chance to invade our space, something we want to avoid at all costs.
That brings us to our Bit, the words of Nehemiah to the people of Israel after they had rebuilt Jerusalem and had heard for the first time God’s Word read from His Holy Book by the scribe Ezra. ‘Then he said unto them, go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.’
It was indeed a day of rejoicing for those Israelites, many of whom had recently returned from captivity in Babylon and were enjoying freedom for the first time in many a day, if not the first time in their lives. We should also be in rejoicing and sharing mode, but more importantly, making sure that we give God His rightful deserts of thanks and praise for bringing us to this high standard of living, for it’s only through His generosity and magnanimity that it’s possible.
Remember what we sang yesterday? ‘Praise God from whom all blessings flow…’ And that’s the truth in spades! For as the Good Book tells us: ‘But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish (confirm) his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.’ (Deut.8:18)
Yeh friends, the Lord brought Israel out of bondage in Egypt and kept them in the wilderness for forty years, then enabled them to go into the Promised Land and take it over. Without His help, none of that would have been possible. Likewise without God’s help, our current prosperity would not have ever been realized.
So I’m imploring us, that as we gather today, with friends, families and neighbours, let’s spend some time remembering and talking about the goodness of God towards us, and giving Him appropriate thanks and praise, glorifying and exalting His precious name, for each and every one of us has so many things to be thankful to God for in this our earthly journey. We didn’t reach this stage of evolution through our own efforts, but through God’s blessings. Consequently we ought to show the necessary gratitude. Much LOVE!
…it’s not about eating and drinking…but giving thanks…to be able to eat and drink…there is a big difference…
04 Oct 2017
by randyobrien50
in Inspirational Living
Tags: anxiety, apply it to my life, backing out of the garage, bear witness, believers, but my words shall not pass away, calamity, christian heritage, composure, confident, contemplate, day after day, diligence, directives of God, disaters, divine help, eternal life, excellence, faith, faithful, faithfulness, fear, forgiveness, forgiveness of sins, gentleness, glad to be alive, glory hallelujah, god, god head, God is in control, God's Word, grab a bite, greedy, halfway home, hang in, hardships, heaven, heaven and earth shall pass away, hope, Jeremiah, Jesus, joy, Leaders, Let there be light, LOVE, meditate, midway point, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, my hands are on the plough, nothing has changed, obedience, obey, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, peace, politicians incompetent, ponder, power hungry, rejoicing of my heart, returning to God, sacrificial lamb, salvation, scriptures, selfish, shout for joy, sinless Son, So demanding, steadfast, steady attention, stretches of time, strife, strong, that passes all understanding, the breath of life, the dishwasher, the Holy Spirit, the One Year Book of Bible Promises, the SON, the spoken word, the steering wheel, theFather, to a glorious future with Jesus, transforms, triumvirate, true, turmoil, Wednesday Wail, working for Jesus, workweek, year after year
Matthew 24:35. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
And then it was Wednesday; the midway point of our workweek!
But yuh know what friends, nothing much has changed overnight nuh. Our world is still caught up in serious turmoil, with oodles of disasters, unbelievable strife and numerous greedy, selfish, incompetent, power-hungry leaders and politicians.
And what does all of that say? Hn! That we’re nowhere closer to returning to God and the divine help that we need to overcome our problems.
But luckily for us Christians, we still sincerely believe that our wonderful omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent God is in control of the universe He created, thus we have the hope and faith to believe that things will turn out okay eventually, and that all the calamity and strife will pass one day, when He is ready for it to do so.
Consequently my fellow believers, we need to hang in there strong and steadfast, faithful and true, doing our best to bring Jesus to those who don’t know and accept Him. But that’s not easy, and we’ll see why, as we check out this poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. It’s titled ‘So Demanding.’
Now read with me: ‘God, Your Word is so demanding. It demands great stretches of my time – Not just occasionally But day after day, year after year. I can’t just grab a bite of it With one hand in the dishwasher Or on the steering wheel While I’m backing out of the garage.
Your Word insists that I ponder That I contemplate and meditate That I seriously apply it to my life. It insists on obedience and forgiveness On gentleness and LOVE. Its claim upon me is absolute. Only as I obey Can I know the peace that passes all understanding.
But God Its very insistence transforms me For it proclaims Your faithfulness In superlative terms. As I give it my fixed, steady attention My composure increases My anxiety decreases And I am supported on every side.
Jeremiah said, “…your word was unto me The joy and rejoicing of my heart.” And in the margin of my Bible Next to the words of the prophet There is my own personal notation: “My heart, too!”
Oh friends, what a wonderful description of our Christian heritage! Yes, it is demanding, asks a lot of us, including, diligence, excellence, stick-to-itiveness, trust and surrender! But the benefits are even more glorious and wonderful!
We see God’s faithfulness in all its splendour and truth! Enjoy His overwhelming and endless support in ALL that we do. We are strong and confident, with less anxiety and fear dogging our everyday lives! And best of all, there is exceeding joy in our hearts, just like Jeremiah said so many moons ago.
Wow! What a pleasure and a joy to undergo the hardships associated with believing in and working for Jesus! The world’s treasures can in no way compare! Especially when we add salvation, forgiveness of ALL sins and eternal life with Him in heaven!
Oh my brethren, that ought to make us all jump and shout for joy, and harmoniously sing ‘Glory Hallelujah! All thanks and praise be to our most wonderful, merciful, generous and forgiving God! A God who LOVED us so much that He gave His sinless Son to be our sacrificial lamb, so that we could become His children and live with Him forever!’
And all of that is based on His true and faithful Word which keeps on being handed down from generation to generation. As the Bible verse for the above poem, and our Bit declares: ‘Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.’
And how can it eh, when it was through the Word that the universe and all therein was created? Listen to John, the one sent to bear witness, expound on the subject. ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.’ (John 1:1-2)
Yes friends, from the very beginning the Word of God existed, and it’s particularly important to note that the Lord created the world though the spoken word: ‘And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.’ (Gen.1:3)
So the Word of God is like a three part action: The first part refers to Jesus, who IS the Word and was with God in the beginning. Then we have the Word as the written directives of God, the Scriptures. And finally, there is the power that’s contained in the Word when it’s spoken!
So all in all friends, we couldn’t have a better faith, a better place and/or persons to turn to than our triumvirate Godhead of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, all connected through the Word! Now let’s go home then, with joyful hearts and souls as we enthusiastically and sincerely declare our Wednesday Wail.
As one faithful and harmonious body: ‘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!’
What more can I say eh friends…? Much LOVE!
…though the evil world tries to get me down…my Christian faith continuously bolsters me…through the Word…
24 Sep 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a friend so faithful, a parable, all our sins and griefs to bear, be discouraged, be found wanting, believers, bring to remebrance, comfort, Creator, die spiritually, disastrous times, end times, everything to God in prayer, exalt God's holy name, fellowship, find solace, foolish pride, friend, glorify, God's Word, heartfelt, heavy laden, help, Joseph M Scriven, lack of knowledge, LOVE, means of communication, men ought always to pray, mercy, needless pain, not to faint, our every weakness, peace, plead for help, poignant, praise, pray without ceasing, prayer, provider, rapture, refuge, sacrificial praise, sincere, spiritual food, spiritual renewal, sweet portion, temptations, the best day of the week, the Lord's Day, to carry, to this end, trials, trouble, unbelievers, vital part, weak, what a friend we have in Jesus, what a privilege, wisest action, worship
Luke 18:1. And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint.
Ah mih fellow believers, it’s so good to wake up to the best day of the week once again! Yes, it’s the Lord’s Day; time for worship and praise, fellowship and spiritual renewal on a more particular basis.
So let’s not be found wanting, let’s ‘hie’ ourselves hither to His tabernacle today and with our fellow believers praise and glorify and exalt God’s holy name. And, as always, let’s open with a song, for there’s nothing that gets us in the mood, opens our hearts, minds and souls to receive God’s Word like a bout of praise and worship.
And today, as we desperately plead for help for ourselves and our friends, families and neighbours all over the world, who are facing very disastrous times, there is no song more appropriate than this one: ‘What a friend we have in Jesus.’
So let’s sing it out, loud and clear, heartfelt and sincere, as we bring to remembrance all that Jesus has done for us, and has promised to do, both in the good times and the rough times, and the simple, but awesome fact that there’s NO ONE greater, or more important than Him, in our lives.
The hymn was apparently written by one Joseph M. Scriven in 1855 to comfort his mother, who was across the sea from him in Ireland. It was originally published anonymously, and Scriven did not receive full credit for almost 30 years.
With sacrificial praise from our lips then, let’s tell our story. ‘What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.
Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere? We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer. Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share? Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer.
Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care? Precious Savior, still our refuge, take it to the Lord in prayer. Do your friends despise, forsake you? Take it to the Lord in prayer! In His arms He’ll take and shield you; you will find a solace there.
Blessed Savior, Thou hast promised Thou wilt all our burdens bear May we ever, Lord, be bringing all to Thee in earnest prayer. Soon in glory bright unclouded there will be no need for prayer Rapture, praise and endless worship will be our sweet portion there.’
Oh friends, what wonderful words of peace, comfort and reassurance! But yuh know, the most poignant and reality based words in the hymn are: ‘O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.’
That’s ever so true my people! A lot of our pains and problems stem from either our foolish pride or lack of knowledge, because both keep us from taking those same pains and problems to Jesus in prayer. And who knows what the results might have been, had we taken the time to go to Jesus in prayerful mode.
And strangely, even in these times of serious disaster, many so-called believers won’t even consider turning to God in prayer, again because of foolish pride. Amazingly though, it’s the unbelievers, who most of all, in rough times, find their voices and cry out to God for help and mercy.
Oh my brethren, please remember that prayer is the most powerful force in the universe. It’s God’s stated means of communication with us. So if we don’t pray, then effectively, we’re not communicating with the Most High God, our Creator and Provider. And who suffers for that lack of communication eh? Not God, but us!
And though God might not answer our prayers the way we want them to be answered, He always answers them, whether it be ‘Yes, No, Not Now,’ or whatever. The problem is that we’ll never know His answer until we carry our problems to Him in prayer.
Why do you think Jesus communicated the thinking in our Bit? ‘And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint.’
Because prayer is ever so important, so essential for mankind. It’s as important as food and water. If we don’t have those two ingredients for a while we die. We also die, spiritually, if we don’t have prayer.
And the scholars offer this explanation. ‘18:1. To faint means “to lose heart.” Precisely when tempted to give up, men ought to be strong in their resolve to pray.’ I couldn’t have said it any better my brethren.
And why do you think Bruh Paul made that bold pronouncement to the Thessalonians eh? ‘Pray without ceasing?’ Because it’s such a vital part of our existence!
So friends, on this Sunday in September, when our world seems to be falling apart right before our very eyes, let’s be wise, remember the words of Jesus and Bruh Paul and get back to prayer; constantly and diligently, sincerely and humbly. That is the wisest action we can take in what seems to be the approaching end times. Much LOVE!
…prayer is spiritual food…essential for the believer’s soul…
19 Sep 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all is not lost, all power, almighty god, amassing their own fortune, baptizing them, blowing the horn of repentance, calamity, cancer, Caribbean islands, devastating circumstances, Dominica, drink at the trough, east coast of North America, evil, faith, fame, friend of Jesus, go ye therefore, God's chosen people, God's Word, God's wrath, godless way, greedy desires, greetings, happenstance, height of evolution, hurricane Maria, idol worshippers, in the name of the Father, infinite power of God, Jesus riding shotgun, Jose, lobbyists, loving fold, make disciples, medical knowledge, meditation, most intelligent generation, natural disasters, obedience to God's word, of all nations, out of our socierty, pagans, pick up the slack, power, power brokers, prayer, prolong our lives, re-elected, religious leaders, repentance, repented, righteous believers, salutations, share His love, sinful, smartened up, spread the good news of Jesus, sufferation, summer's day, surging seas, teach, the beloved of God, the bounden duty, the Holy Ghost, The Israelites, the puny power of man, the righteous, the SON, tooting their own horns, Tuesday Mantra, ungodly doings, untested chemicals, wealth, wicked land, worship our Creator, writing on the wall
Matthew 28:19. Go ye therefore, and teach (make disciples of ) all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Greetings and salutations my faithful brethren, on what appears to be another beautiful summer’s day in my area!
I feel bad to say it when hurricane Maria has just mashed up the lovely island of Dominica, and is preparing to cut a devastating swath through a number of the smaller beautiful Caribbean islands.
And I guess we can be thankful that Jose seems to be staying off the land as it cruises up the east coast of North America, bringing rain and surging seas to the coastal areas.
I don’t know how else to put it nuh friends, but it surely seems that God is warning us, what with all the natural disasters we’re suffering concurrently, as well as consecutively. It couldn’t all be just happenstance; it’s just too devastating and on too large a scale.
But yuh think anybody is noticing that, meaning the powerful people in our society, like our leaders and the rich and famous amongst us? Yuh think they are calling out for times of prayer and meditation on God’s word and the sincere and diligent doing of it.
Obviously not, because their power and fame and wealth is all tied up in evil and ungodly doings. They are all part of the movement to drive Almighty God completely out of our society and thus out of our lives.
They still foolishly believe in putting their faith in the puny power of man. But when has man ever triumphed over the infinite power of God eh? NEVER!
On the other hand friends, this is the time for the righteous, especially the religious leaders, to start loudly blowing the horn of repentance throughout this sinful and wicked land.
But unfortunately too many of our so-called religious leaders are too busy tooting their own horns and amassing their own fortune to see, or be bothered about the current devastating circumstances.
I can’t help recalling the numerous times that God’s Chosen People, the Israelites turned away from Him and became pagans and idol worshippers, but when the full force of His wrath hit them, they smartened up, repented and returned to His LOVING fold.
What’s wrong with us, eh? Why can’t we see the clear writing on the wall? God is simply tired with the evil and godless way in which we’re living. We’re supposed to be the most intelligent generation of humans ever, but we’re certainly not showing it when and where it counts; in these dismal times of widespread calamity and enormous ‘sufferation.’
We’re trying to prolong our lives through our own efforts, reach other worlds, and do all sorts of nonsensical stuff, but refuse to do the basic thing needed; worship our Creator and live the way He wants us to.
Just look at this simple example; our society is at the height of its evolution, we have so much medical knowledge and otherwise, yet more and more people are dying of cancer today than ever before.
And we’re putting more and more money into its research, which is a farce, because the solution lies in removing the many untested chemicals and other compounds from the food we eat, the air we breathe and the water we drink.
Every day thousands of new untested chemicals are coming on board and making the situation worse, but creating more wealth and power for their creators. Our governments no longer run the country, but the power brokers behind the scenes, fronted by the ever-growing number of crooks, nicely termed lobbyists.
And the supposed leaders have to bow to their evil and greedy desires if they want to get re-elected and keep drinking at the trough of wealth and power. What a crazy and evil-filled world we live in my brethren!
But yuh know what friends,, all is not lost. All is NEVER lost when we have Jesus riding shotgun by our sides. And it is the bounden duty of the minority of the righteous believers to pick up the slack and sincerely and diligently spread the good news of Jesus far and wide as He instructed the disciples in our Bit.
But let’s hear the whole context. ‘And Jesus came and spake unto them (the 11 disciples), saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach (make disciples of) all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always(s), even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt.28:19-20)
Oh friends, that is exactly what we need to do, especially in our own society, in these troubled and unfortunate times. Now let’s go home, declaring our Tuesday Mantra, letting the world know who and whose we are.
In all sincerity and truth now: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
And if that’s the true state of our hearts and our lives, then let’s go out and joyfully share it with the rest of the world nuh, as Jesus so earnestly desires of us. Much LOVE!
…a society truly prospers…in direct proportion …to its obedience to God’s word…
P.S. Please excuse the lateness of the Bit. I just slept in. (smile) Much LOVE!
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